Dragon Captain

by Kendal Davis

  “What if he is stronger than you, Kat? What then? Because I can tell you that any dragon is stronger than you by far.” I felt my love bites leaving marks on her neck and it only made me want to do it more.

  She was moaning and squirming with desire under my touch. “I...I can’t think of this anymore. Don’t stop, Cobalt, oh, don’t stop. You feel so good.”

  All the passion I had felt a few moments ago when she had outraged me with her plan now funneled into my desire for her. I strode with purpose to the bed. Without gentleness, I pushed her back onto it. I ripped the blue cloak from her.

  “Kat, you don’t know what you’re getting into. We are dragons. When a dragon wants a mate, he will do anything to take her.” I ran my hands along her willing body. “You are more beautiful than you know. It does not guarantee that a dragon will be kind to you.”

  She wiggled against the pillows. “You are kind. You are always kind.”

  I could not stand it any longer. I took my place over her on the bed. My arms were on either side of her face, boxing her in. She could never get away, not even if she tried. But she did not want to. She trusted me. Her murmurs begged me to keep going.

  I lowered my mouth to hers, our kiss a burning, biting maelstrom of heat. I felt my eyes still glowing bright. She was gasping with desire, opening her legs to me.

  The wet tip of my cock pressed against her. She was slick with passion, with wanting this as much as I did.

  Cruelly, roughly, I asked her again. “Would it be like this with him?” My hands pinned hers against the sheets. “Is that what you want? You want to let him take you? You want him to fuck you?”

  And in some miracle of prescience, she answered in the only way that could have restored my sanity. Her words showed me that she knew who I was, and who she herself was.

  “Cobalt, that’s enough. Leave that madness. Come back to me now. You are the only man in any world for me, my Captain.”

  She did not struggle against my hands. Instead, she looked up into my wild eyes with her own brand of unending clarity.

  Arching her back, she murmured, “Now. Take me now. It is only us here, and that is how it should be. You’re all I want, don’t you know that?”

  And I pressed my cock against the lips of her pussy, entering her with a smooth pressure that made her gasp. I felt my hardness slide into her, the heat of our coupling taking my own breath away. I filled her tight pussy with my wide, throbbing girth, and she moaned in pleasure.

  She was right. Nothing else could ever be like this.

  Chapter 13: Kat

  I wanted it to go on forever.

  For all Cobalt’s talk about being eternal mates, I had not yet begun to really understand what it would be like to live an endless life at his side. Being immortal was something out of legend; it had nothing to do with me. Even though we had just come from a land of dragons who said that they had eternal life, even though Cobalt had told me that he was thousands of years old already, none of that really made any sense when it came to thinking of my own life span.

  If you’d asked me a year ago whether I wanted to live forever, I would have laughed. Not only because I knew it was impossible, but because the idea sounded dreadful. To live longer than all my friends and family? That would have struck me as a kind of torture.

  But now, at last, I was beginning to understand.

  I would get to live thousands more years, and then more after that, and it would be with this dragon man.

  That was all I needed to know, to grasp how much I wanted this.

  He would be with me, and I would be with him. He would ravish my body again and again into eternity. It made me cry out with pleasure to think that such a fate awaited me.

  He held himself above me on his powerful arms, thrusting into my body with smooth strokes. Our hips pulled apart, then touched together again as he drove his cock into me. I felt myself arching backward into the pillows, my throat bared to him as I allowed myself to be ultimately vulnerable.

  I trusted Cobalt in a way that I had never allowed myself to do with any other person. Within his strong arms, I felt safer than I’d been in my life.

  If I’d known how much I would love having a dragon bodyguard, I would have found one long before this.

  And, oh, if I’d known how much pleasure I would have from fucking him, I’d have suggested it the very night we arrived home to my world from his.

  My hands roved along his back, pulling him closer to me. I held his perfect ass in my hands, now returning the favor of the marks he’d left on my body. He would be scratched and bruised tomorrow, but I knew he relished my grip on him. Just as I had spiraled into this ravine of passion when he treated me roughly earlier, now he was taking his turn. There was no end to the ways we wanted to touch each other, both softly and with greater force, within this moment.

  As I raked my fingernails across his back, he moaned out loud. I saw him bite his lip before he murmured, “Kat, you mean everything to me. I want this to go on forever.”

  He lowered his head to kiss my neck, pressing his hips against mine as he buried his cock to the hilt in my pussy. His kisses were hot and wet, sliding down my neck to my breasts. While still inside me, he took one of my nipples into his mouth, teasing it with his teeth.

  My hips bucked with pleasure as I groaned. He somehow managed to keep his thick cock plunged entirely inside me, so that the tip of it pressed against my very core.

  When he took my other nipple in his mouth, this time with a quick bite of passion, then with a teasing swipe of his tongue, I could no longer hold back.

  I felt my body tense in a release that made my world spin around me. My breath came in gasps as I tried to gather enough air. The waves of pleasure that overtook me were so exquisite that they were almost too much. Just as I felt a moment of concern that I could no longer process this much feeling, that my nerve endings were jangling beyond what I could handle, he reached his own climax.

  Cobalt pumped his cock into me over and over as he came, releasing his hot seed into my womb. He filled me completely. I felt him convulse above me just as I was coming back to my own awareness of myself.

  As he came inside me, he leaned down and whispered in a hoarse voice. “Be mine, Kat. Be my mate right now. If I bite you now, I will make you mine for eternity. I will be able to keep you safe from all others. No other dragon will be able to touch you.”

  It was tempting.

  Oh, the idea of being his mate called to me. It was like a siren’s song, encouraging me to dash myself against rocks that I did not yet understand.

  Firmly, I answered. Even as his seed filled me, I knew I would decline.

  “Not yet.”

  Cobalt leaned into me, catching himself on one taut arm and relaxing down onto the now-tangled sheets. We remained joined, but I knew he was chagrined.

  In a gentle voice, as he caught his breath, he said the only thing he could. “Why? If we mated now, you would no longer need to worry about anything. If another dragon knew that I had bitten you, marked you, giving you eternal life as my partner, then he would have no choice but to leave you alone.”

  I met his eyes, feeling almost shy. “I know. And I want to, really I do. But not yet.”

  He lifted himself onto his elbow and looked down into my face. His large hand was infinitely gentle as he brushed my hair from my face.

  “I know you are scared. But think about it.”

  I felt my lips twist in a brief moment of frustration. “I’m not scared. Not like you think. I wish I could explain it in a way that would make you see.”

  “I will make it easy for you,” he reassured me. “If not today, then tomorrow. Or the next day. I will take you to my bed as often as it takes for you to be ready.”

  A wave of fatigue crashed over me, making it impossible for me to answer. Instead of telling him that he was all wrong in his understanding of this, I could only mumble something that neither of us could make out.

  Then, both sated from
our lovemaking, we slept.

  Even as I drifted off into sleep, I was aware that we had reached entirely different understandings of what was going to happen next.

  Cobalt was sure that he would convince me to become his mate right away.

  And I was sure, although I could not explain it to him, that I was going to have to solve my own real-world problems before I took that step.

  I was going to have to clear my debts before I could become his mate.

  Even if it killed me.

  Chapter 14: Cobalt

  When we woke, I was sure that I perceived a disconnect between us. It was hard to keep from mentioning it, but I did not want to spoil the special day we had spent together.

  I suspected that she felt the same, but how could I be sure? What I was learning, after all the thousands of years that I had been searching for my mate, was that she was a complex being that I could perhaps never hope to understand.

  Still, that only made me want her more. I would spend eternity learning about her.

  “Are you hungry?” I asked Kat as she stirred in bed.

  “I am. I would love a big dinner right about now. I know we ate at the club, but it seems like that was so long ago.”

  “It’s all the exercise,” I teased her.

  She grinned at me, not at all embarrassed. “I believe it is, yes.”

  As I texted my kitchen staff to send something in to us, I kept feeling a temptation to bring up the question of mating again. I knew I shouldn’t. I knew it bothered her. Yet I didn’t seem able to drop it.

  “Kat, listen. I want you to think more about it.”

  She was gracefully stepping into her now-dry bathing suit. She looked up from it to give me a blank look. “What?” Then she ducked her head in irritation, although I wasn’t sure if it was with me or herself. “I have already thought about it. I’d like you to stop badgering me about it, please.”

  I almost growled at her. “I am a dragon! I do not badger. I am a king of the air and sea. My kind does not need to beg; we take what we want.” As the words left my mouth, I wished I could recall them. That wasn’t what I meant to say at all.

  Surprisingly, though, my forceful answer gave rise to a certain wistfulness in Kat’s face. “Maybe you should have been more aggressive about it,” she said softly. “Like that.”

  “Woman, you are confusing me. I asked you if you were ready, and you gave your answer. I respected it.”

  “I know.” Her cheeks colored. “I’m not saying I want a controlling man, that’s not it. I like that you are respectful of my wishes. But I’m so confused about the right course of action. I guess...if you had just done it, while we were making love, then we wouldn’t still be agonizing over my stupid problems.”

  There was a muted knock at the door. I pulled on my blue House Caeruleus cloak as I walked to the door of my bedchamber. When my servant brought in a large tray of food, I motioned him to a table, then closed the door after him when he stepped out.

  I wanted to do what she wanted. Why was it so hard to figure out what that was? She did not even seem to know.

  “Come, sit with me. Try some of this...and this.” I lifted the covers of various dishes and began serving Kat. The lobster was perfectly cooked and drizzled with melted butter. The bread was crusty and hot. The scent of the exquisite dinner filled the air, but I was too distracted to relax and enjoy it.

  Kat ate eagerly. I could not help but watch her lips as she opened them and bit into her food. My gaze ran along her pale neck, where I wished I had bitten her to make her mine.

  She continued with her confusing thoughts, as we ate. “If you had just done it, without asking me, then I would be yours right now.”

  I shook my head. “That is not something I would do. I would be no better than the other dragon that seeks to coerce you. I would like to think that I am more honorable than that.”

  We were sitting together, easygoing and relaxed. We had just shared earth-shattering sex. But I kept getting the feeling that she didn’t trust me. Did she trust anybody?

  Kat bit her lower lip. “Honor, yes. I know it is your House trait. Do you mean that the reason you didn’t want to take me against my will was because it is so important to you to be honorable?”

  That was just one of many reasons. I was beginning to feel that there were no answers I could give now that would not lead to an argument.

  “That is actually a topic that I wish to discuss with you.”

  “Your honor?” Something about her tone was faintly ironic.

  “No. The traits that dragons carry, that we are bound to by our House lineage.” I took a sip of my wine, seeking to calm myself so that I could help her be less peevish. “You know that since the days of our Founders, each dragon has been tied to the emotions that are the way of his House.”

  “You are thinking of the House traits of my creditor.” She guessed correctly. We were well attuned to each other. Also, of course, she was as sharp as a dragon’s claw.

  “That’s right, I am. House Rubellus is ruled by ambition and ruthlessness. I think your pursuer is one of the two dragons that came from that House. He passed through the portal as it closed, becoming trapped in the form of a man. If so, then you have everything to fear.”

  “It sounds ideal to me,” she said. “If he cannot shift into a dragon’s body, then he will be less dangerous, right?”

  “I would not go that far. Do not underestimate a dragon shifter, even when he is in his two-legged form.”

  Although I had not meant to describe myself, my words gave her pause. With her eyes wide and her attention fastened to my face, she nodded slightly. “I will not.”

  “What I wanted to say to you is this.” I continued, wishing I had not scared her. “I have a charm from the peasant witch, Laurel. It is a golden bracelet. I want you to wear it when you leave here.”

  I lifted a hand to forestall her questions. I had known she would be angry that I’d kept this news from her. “The charm may not be very powerful, but it will have some effect on any dragon near it.”

  “What effect?”

  “It will ease their connection to the emotional traits of their House. If you carry it when you meet the red dragon you seek, then it ought to reduce his innate aggression. He will no longer be bound to the violence that is the hallmark of House Rubellus.”

  “I don’t need to do anything with it? Just having it with me will make this red dragon, if that’s what he is, less scary?”

  “Yes. He will be able to find room in his mind for thoughts that are not linked to anger or conquest.”

  “Aha. Just as you would find room in your mind for ideas that are less than honorable?

  I grimaced at her words. I was not sure why, but she seemed to think she had scored a point from me. I was not even playing a game.

  My only desire was to keep Kat safe, not to win at anything.

  “Enough,” I answered starkly. “I wish you to have this charm, to protect you. Do you still insist on attempting this foolhardy plan?”

  “I do. Yes.” Her words were firm, but I felt the unease in her mind. If only I could have found a way to help her overcome her obsession with paying her debts.

  I did not speak the thought aloud, but she answered me as if she had heard me say it. “I do need to pay for what my family took. We signed our names for it. It is important to me.”

  “And he knows that. He has always known that, don’t you see?”

  She looked at me mutely. I would not be able to change her mind, even if we debated forever. I admired her strong resolution.

  And I felt, equally strongly, disconcerted by her bravery. She was planning to march right into the problem, with no idea whether she would be able to get away safely. She thought she could best a dragon if she was clever enough.

  On the one hand, I knew that she could not. It was simply not possible.

  On the other hand, though, it might be that she had come away victorious from every conversation she’
d had with me today.

  Well, perhaps that might be said about for every time we had ever spoken.

  I would not say that, but it might be said.

  Chapter 15: Kat

  I pretended to be more absorbed in the gourmet dinner than I really was. It was the best food I’d ever had in my life, true, but it wasn’t so good that I would keep my eyes averted from my handsome dragon bodyguard unless I had a reason to do so.

  Unfortunately, I did.

  My mind was a tumbling mess of thoughts, most of them centered on calling myself names for having ever gotten involved in any of this. What had I been thinking?

  Sure, the billionaire dragon man who was eating dinner across from me at the little table in his bedroom was the most amazing, funny, smart, good-looking guy I’d ever seen anywhere.

  But no matter how many things I could think of that made this situation sound tempting to me, there were just as many reasons why it was a terrible idea. Here I was, encumbered by family debt, constrained by a supernatural contract in which my agreement to marry somebody in an earthly ceremony would lead to becoming his eternal mate. And I still didn’t know exactly who he was.

  All I knew was that he was some sort of megalomaniac puppet master. He had to be, to plan something like this and trap me for the rest of time.

  Finally, after having avoided Cobalt’s eyes for too long, I looked right at him. There was no point in trying to soft-pedal it. This was going to have to get real.

  I drew an uncertain breath, then rushed into what I needed to say. “Cobalt. I know this was kind of awkward. I mean, it was also wonderful. But this last part, I just don’t know. The food is wonderful. Thank you for having me, I mean.” My words dropped from my lips in a nonsensical tangle.

  He smiled at me. I could see in his eyes that he appreciated the humor inherent in my being so tongue-tied. But underlying the joke was the harsh reality that we were about to say goodbye. He spoke quietly, his words carefully chosen. “You don’t have to go, you know.”