Fire in His Blood

by Ruby Dixon

  His eyes darken at the sound of his name, and he pulls me against him. “Clau-dah.”

  I blush to feel the stab of his erection pressing against my stomach, and it makes me acutely aware of just how naked I am with him. I seem to lose more clothes around this man. Dragon. Whatever. “You’re not good at taking no for an answer, are you?”

  His head tilts, and black flares in his eyes. “No?”

  Of course he’d pick that damn word out. I’m a little nervous at how black his eyes flared, though. He’s probably still feeling possessive from his recent battle, and telling him no right now probably isn’t such a hot idea. “Not what I meant.” I give him a little pat and move to turn the faucets on for more water.

  He holds my arm, not letting me turn away from him. Instead, he growls low in his throat and tries to pull me back into his arms.

  I turn to him with a frown, but he’s got black swirling in his eyes. Okay, apparently even walking a few steps away is triggering him. “I’m just getting more water to clean you.” When he doesn’t let go even after that, I give him an exasperated look. “Claudia is all Kael’s, okay? I don’t want anyone else.”

  He releases me at that.

  I move to the sinks and turn the tap on, letting the water rush out in a gush. Even after days of having running water, it still feels like a treat, and I’m terrified it’s going to dry up, so I never leave it running. But the moment I turn the water on, his arm snakes around my waist, and it causes my backside to plump up against the hard, erect length of him.

  He nuzzles my hair from behind and I can feel his breath on my shoulder. “Clau-dah…Kael?”

  Oh boy. Heat rushes through me at the same time that a tingle of alarm does. I watch him in the cracked mirror. His eyes are black slits of pleasure, and the large arm that wraps around my waist is tender. He brushes his mouth over my shoulder, and then I feel his hips shift, rubbing his cock against my backside in a blatant gesture.

  I…might have communicated the wrong thing to him. My goal was to tell him that I was his and no one else’s so he’d calm down. He seems to think I’ve given him assent to, well, take me as his.

  In all ways imaginable.

  I make a small noise of protest in my throat as he presses against my backside again, stroking the length of him along the cleft of my ass. Okay, that is all kinds of wrong—

  —And it feels amazing. God, I am a sick, sick woman because I want him to do it again.

  15

  CLAUDIA

  “Clau-dah,” he murmurs in that impossibly deep voice, and he sounds so incredibly pleased to touch me that it sends shivers through my body. My nipples harden in response, and I can feel my pulse beat between my thighs. Who has ever said my name with that much sheer pleasure?

  “Kael,” I begin, trying to get his attention, “I’m not sure—”

  My words break off in a gasp when his gaze captures mine in the mirror. There’s a look of stark, sultry pleasure on his face. It’s the look of an extremely aroused male, covetous and sexual all at once. And he’s watching me in the mirror, like he’s noting my reactions to his touch. As I realize this, his big hand flexes on my stomach, and I suck in a breath when it slides up to cup one of my breasts. One thumb-claw grazes over my nipple in a gentle exploration.

  And always, his gaze is locked on mine.

  I can’t help the whimper that escapes my throat. It shouldn’t feel this good, should it?

  He goes still against me. As I watch, his nostrils flare. “Clau-dah,” he growls, voice ragged. His other hand moves to cup my other breast, and as I watch in the mirror, he begins to play with both, stroking and teasing my nipples into hard points.

  Of course I respond. The feel of the big, protective male pressing against my back and his hands caressing my breasts? The knowledge that this is wrong and slightly dirty because he’s the enemy and dangerous? It all makes me incredibly aroused. A little moan escapes my throat, and I close my eyes, leaning into his caress as he continues to tease my nipples ever so gently with those big, scary claws. I can feel myself growing slick between my thighs.

  Kael inhales deeply again and then says my name once more. “Clau-dah.” He’s practically purring.

  “Yeah, I know,” I murmur, both turned on and embarrassed at the fact that he’s smelling the wetness of my pussy on the air. It’s not like I can stop it, though. Not with how intensely he’s watching me in the mirror. Like my pleasure is the only thing that matters.

  And that is an incredible turn-on.

  Because I’m turned on, maybe my natural instincts to be wary around Kael are falling away. Because I want to touch him, too. I slide a hand backward, reaching for that thick, unusual mane of hair. He buries his face against my neck, inhales deeply, and his fingers drag over my nipples again. God, I am getting so wet from this.

  “Clau-dah,” he murmurs again, and in the mirror I watch as his hand leaves my left breast and slips between my thighs. One big, thick finger parts my pussy lips and slides along my flesh, then dips into my core. I know I’m wet and ready—I can practically feel my juices sliding down my thighs. And I wonder what he’s going to think of that.

  His eyes are black slits, but instead of being scary, it’s fiercely, incredibly sexy. The possessive look is stamped onto his face, and I watch as his big hand cups my pussy, and I can feel his claws playing against my folds. He’s incredibly careful, though, and when one thick fingertip presses against my core, I give my hips a little flex.

  His snarl of pleasure makes me even hotter, and he presses his face against my hair. He purrs my name again and then pulls his hand away…and I could just cry at how empty I feel at the loss. But he only raises his hand in the air, turning it and admiring the glisten of my arousal on his skin.

  Then he lifts his hand to his mouth and licks his claws, tasting me. I’m fascinated as his lip curls in a feral snarl. He pushes me forward against the sinks, his hips pressing against my own. One leg wedges between my own, and he pushes my thighs apart, his weight pinning me against the counter.

  He’s going to take me, right here, right now.

  Even though I’m turned on, I panic. “Wait! No!”

  Kael stops, but he snarls again, looking furious. His fingers go to my pussy and he dips them in again, dragging them along my wetness as if to prove that I’m aroused. “Clau-dah. Kael.”

  I moan at the touch, but I still find the strength to somehow shake my head. Very carefully, I push his hand away even as he tries to touch me. “You’re moving too fast. Slow down a second.”

  He cocks his head, watching me, and the black swirls furiously in his eyes. Every muscle in his big body vibrates with barely restrained tension. I need to fix this, or he’s going to throw me down on the counter and fuck me whether I want it or not.

  So it’s best if I really, really want it. And I do. God, I do. I just need a bit more preparation. I have to show him that. “Kael,” I murmur, my voice low and soothing. “I’m not rejecting you. I just need to show you how to make Claudia ready for you. Understand?”

  But he doesn’t speak English, so of course he doesn’t understand.

  I push his hand away and turn slowly. When he reaches for me again, I take his hand and place it on my cheek, leaning in against his palm. “Kael, I do want you. Claudia wants Kael. But let me show you what I like first, okay?”

  Those not-quite-human eyes are mesmerized by my coaxing tone of voice, and I feel him shiver as I press a kiss to the palm of his hand.

  Just like that, I’m in control of him again.

  I lock my eyes to his and then hop backward onto the bathroom counter, evening out our heights just a bit. I pull Kael forward until he’s between my legs, and I put my hands on his chest, noting rock-hard muscles under that dappled amber skin. He’s strong and lethal, his power barely leashed. As I touch him, I can feel him jump with awareness, but he doesn’t move away.

  All right, I’ll try kissing him, then. My hand goes behind his neck, and I pull him
in, gently.

  He stiffens, retreating. His eyes narrow. “Clau-dah,” he growls, grabbing at my hips and pulling me forward on the counter, his cock resting against my sex. He thrusts slightly, pressing the head of it against my pussy.

  “I know,” I tell him, and drag my fingertips along the lines of his neck and collarbone as if he’s not trying to be all bossy. “That might be how dragons do things, but I’m a human, and we like to take a bit more time. So let me do things at my pace, hmm?” I brush my fingers over the seam of my mouth and then place them against his lips, indicating that I want to put mine there.

  Kael’s eyes narrow, and he snaps his teeth at me.

  I jerk back, startled. “No biting. I just want to kiss.” Though looking at his sharp teeth again, I’m starting to have my doubts. I purse my lips, thinking, and then take his big hand in mine. He lets me, his eyes going to gold with pleasure again. All right, progress. With my gaze locked to his, I take his thumb into my mouth and gently suck on it.

  That gets his attention. He makes that low, sexy growl in his throat again, but he doesn’t pull away.

  Now we’re getting somewhere. I gently lick at his thumb pad, stroking it over and over with my tongue, careful to avoid the claw tipping his finger. I lick and suck suggestively and then slowly drag his thumb back out of my mouth. Then I reach out and brush my thumb over his lips.

  He parts them for me, taking my thumb into his mouth and caressing me the way I’d done to him. He makes that low, pleased growl in his throat again, too.

  “That’s good,” I breathe, my arousal returning at the sheer look of intensity on his face. I pull away from his mouth and then gesture that I want to place my lips on his, and I try to pull him down toward me again. My body’s humming with want and excitement, and the thought of being able to kiss him is driving me wild.

  This time, he lets me. His big body hunches over, and he braces his hands on the marble countertop of the sink, one on each side of me. His face is inches away from mine. All I need to do is close the gap.

  I carefully place my hands on his cheeks, tilt my mouth, and move in against him.

  Kael is stiff and unyielding as I put my mouth against his, so I focus on the seam of his mouth, brushing my tongue against it, determined to make him open up for me. After a moment’s hesitation, he parts his lips and I slide my tongue into the warmth of his mouth, trying not to think about those impossibly sharp teeth. He wouldn’t hurt me.

  To my surprise, his tongue immediately tangles with my own and begins to rub in an erotic motion that makes my toes curl. I moan with pleasure, surprised at how good his mouth feels on mine. He seems to be enjoying the kiss as well, the low, purring growl returning to his throat. His hands grasp my hips and he pins me against him, his mouth plundering mine.

  It’s clear that any initial reluctance Kael had is gone—he’s an enthusiastic kisser, and it’s clear that he’s going to dominate the play between our mouths. I’m left gasping for breath, startled at the intensity of the kiss.

  He eventually pulls away from me just long enough for his lips to brush over mine in the gentlest of kisses. “Clau-dah,” he murmurs, and the syllables of my name shiver over my skin.

  “Boy, you’re a fast learner,” I tell him, breathless. A moment later, he proves that even more by kissing my mouth again, and then beginning to kiss along my jaw and neck, nuzzling me with every motion. I eat it up, my hands moving over his warm, golden skin. He’s so big and strong. Big and strong everywhere, really, and my attention goes to the iron bar of his cock pressed against the vee of my legs once again.

  “Clau-dah,” he murmurs, and his mouth moves lower, to the base of my throat.

  “Mmm, keep going,” I tell him. I can’t get enough of his caresses. I’ll worry tomorrow about how wrong it is. For now, I’m just going to enjoy.

  But then he drops to his knees in front of me, and to my shock, he buries his face between my thighs. He inhales sharply, and the low, pleased growl rumbles through his body. Big hands cup my hips, and he tilts me forward, then begins to tongue my pussy the way I’d kissed him.

  Oh dear sweet Jesus.

  I lose any semblance of sanity. Did I think I was ever in control? He’s always been the one in charge. I cry out when he drags that rough, cat-like tongue over my folds. Pleasure rockets through me, and I cling to his hair as he finds the button of my clit. He seems surprised by my fierce reaction to his exploratory flick of his tongue over it and grows more enthusiastic.

  “Kael. Oh god. I…wait…that’s too much.” My senses explode with every drag of his tongue over my clit.

  “Clau-dah,” he murmurs, and doesn’t let up in his licking, teasing and tormenting me with each flick of his tongue.

  My hands fist in his thick waves, and my hips begin to jerk in response to each rough, hot tonguing he gives me. I can’t help it. He’s too damn good with his mouth, and I need this. So badly. Small whimpers escape my throat, and he redoubles his efforts, growing more enthusiastic with each movement of his tongue. It feels like my eyes are going to roll back in my head with the intensity of it all.

  And I have no intention of stopping him whatsoever.

  16

  KAEL

  Clau-dah’s taste is incredible. I can’t get enough.

  It had surprised me when the scent of her arousal flooded in as we touched. Slight at first, but the more I touch her, the more her scent fills the air. She’s not like drakoni females, not at all. She does not want a fight to get her aroused. She wants to be touched, to be petted, to put her mouth on mine.

  I like this.

  I can do this for her. No wonder she has said ‘no’ to me so many times—I have never learned the appropriate signals. A drakoni female will turn bright red in her battle form to get a male’s attention and challenge him to a fight. From there, a male that defeats a female must decide if he will claim her as his mate or wait for a different female.

  I have defeated many females but never fully claimed one. We have mated and I have pleased females, but I have never given one my seed.

  I have never wanted a mate…until now.

  Clau-dah will be mine.

  She is not like drakoni females, though. She does not want to fight to show me her arousal. She wants to put her mouth on mine and have me caress her skin. She is showing me how to please her and make her wet and trembling with desire. It is not with a challenge, but a caress.

  I love pleasing my female. Love the little sounds she makes, the way her body twitches and arches under my touch. She’s not fighting or saying ‘no.’ Instead, she clings to me, wanting more. So I give her more, burying my face against her hot cunt, where her scent of arousal is the thickest, and tasting her there.

  Her taste is maddening. Even more maddening are the choked little gasps she gives as I lap at her flesh. She makes a few strange sounds that might be words as I flick my tongue over her clit, and her aroused scent nearly drowns my senses. It makes me growl deep with pleasure.

  Her hips jerk in response to my tongue, and my cock is hard and aching with need. I resist the urge to stroke it, because I remember how she reacted last time. It would be so easy to take her slight weight down off the stone she sits upon, flip her over, and mount her. Claim her and make her mine. Even now, the madness plays at the edges of my mind, encouraging violence. Not against her—never against my mate—but the urge to change to battle form and take to the air to wreak destruction is great.

  But then Clau-dah makes another soft sound, and I am drawn back to her. To her face, dazed with pleasure. To her scent, filling the air around me with its sweet perfume. Clau-dah is all that matters. If she will let me claim her, the madness will go. I will have my anchor. So I lick her again, caressing her cunt with my tongue like I did her mouth. I want her to enjoy this so she doesn’t pull back and say the ‘no’ word again. I work her sweet, slick folds, licking and tasting her over and over with my tongue. I stroke it over her gleaming cunt, from that little nub that makes her s
hiver, all the way down to her hot core, then back up again. When her hands tighten in my mane, I want to give her more. I bend a finger and press a knuckle into her core, careful to keep my claws from harming her. She’s so very fragile—not like a drakoni. I will be utterly cautious with my Clau-dah. Hurting her during the claiming would be devastating. I would never forgive myself.

  When she moans her pleasure, I thrust my knuckle into her cunt again. She gives a little cry, and her muscles tighten around my finger, milking it. I growl with pleasure at her response, recognizing her pleasure peak as well as the wash of scent that accompanies it. She will be ready for me to mount her now.

  I look up, and beautiful Clau-dah is flushed, her skin dewy with sweat. Her chest heaves, breathless, making her breasts jiggle. Her mouth is soft and full, lips slightly parted. I want to taste her mouth again in that moment, feel it against my own. She is so lush and lovely, my strange female. I cannot get enough of her. I stand to my full height and am pleased when she puts her arms up. I pull her against me, and her arms go around my neck. She is not pulling away. I bend low to claim her mouth in another pressing of lips, and my tongue slicks against hers, sharing her arousal scent. She moans loudly, and her legs lock around my hips, her cunt rubbing up against my cock.

  And she gives another little flex of her hips, as if she wants me inside her. It is another signal from my Clau-dah.

  I…think.

  I pull my mouth reluctantly from hers. As I do, her hands roam over my skin, and she holds to me even more possessively. She should be pushing away, turning around so I can mount her. Does she not want this, then? “Clau-dah?”