by Misty Malloy
Drake rocked into me, passion and fire in his eyes. I felt another inferno building deep within, swirling like a tiny tornado, growing inside my core.
I arched back, my eyes closed, letting a fever of sorts begin to run rampant through me. Mmm. A delicious, fiery fever that threatened to consume every ounce of my soul.
His pace slowly increased, and I writhed beneath him, raking my hands through his hair. He pumped harder and faster—a wild, maddening rhythm—until the inferno twisted and turned and suddenly careened out of control.
My orgasm smashed into me with the heat of a thousand flamethrowers.
“Drake!” I screamed out. No doubt everyone in the house heard, but I didn’t care—I’d screamed out every one of their names at some point or other, and besides, I was in the throes of passion.
Drake groaned, clearly close to his release. “Say my name again,” he growled, his voice hoarse and filled with need.
So I did. I even said it a couple of times for good measure, and it put Drake over the edge. He gave a great shudder and roar, and I could feel the huge explosion of his come that filled me to the brim.
My inner muscles clenched around him, milking him for every last drop.
After a few moments, he pulled out and then flopped onto the bed, rolling over to spoon me. The heat from his body melded with the warmth of his seed, and a sense of comfort washed over me. I snuggled up against him as the fever in my blood died down to a simmer.
“So what now?” I asked, wriggling about a bit. “Do I just lay here, you know, so stuff doesn’t leak out?”
Drake laughed. “Don’t worry about any of that, bella. There is plenty where that came from, and we have the whole night ahead of us.”
11
Lyssa
Some dragons, like Ethan and Trey, were control freaks and hated being passengers in cars. For this reason, we took two cars to the trailhead. Trey drove the Rover with me in the passenger seat, and Ethan drove everyone else in his blue Mercedes G-Wagen.
Drake didn’t like being a passenger, either, but he didn’t have a choice—driving a Lamborghini on an unpaved road was a pretty stupid idea.
I snuck a glance over at Trey as the Rover rumbled up the rocky path. He kept his eyes on the road and hadn’t said much all morning. As a matter of fact, all my dragons had been unusually quiet at the breakfast table.
Dragons could smell a pregnancy at the moment of conception. So, I thought they’d be head over heels this morning, congratulating me and giving me hugs and kisses and all the good stuff. Especially Drake.
But…nothing.
I didn’t think I was pregnant. Unfortunately, dragons couldn’t smell a pregnancy on themselves.
My heart was a little heavy, but hey—we’d only tried once. There would be lots more opportunities. Right?
My dragoness stirred beneath my skin, determined to think happy thoughts with me.
My gaze traveled to the ice pack sitting in Trey’s lap. Ouch. Ethan had told me the entire story this morning.
I squeezed Trey’s thigh, and when he looked over, I shot him a sassy grin. “Hey. So…how are things?” I added a wink, hoping it would lighten the mood. “Feeling better?”
He flicked a glance at me, but immediately returned his focus to the road. “Yeah. A lot better, but still icing like crazy.”
“Okay, good. I’m glad to hear that. I’m sorry you’re in so much pain.”
He remained silent, a sense of aloofness emanating from him. Not necessarily cold, but just…distant. Almost as if a Do Not Disturb sign had been turned on.
Only last night we’d been laughing and joking while chopping vegetables. And I knew that he was upset about not being able to spend the night with me—and the sore manly bits, of course—but seriously.
He had built his wall back up around himself and I honestly didn’t know what to fucking do about it.
A lump formed in my throat. I instinctively dropped my hand to my hip, where my flower tattoo lay. Trey was my true mate. One of the four petals. Would it always be this way with us?
“I’m sorry last night didn’t work out,” Trey said finally. “You and Drake can try again. Maybe it’ll just take a few times.”
“Oh,” I said, not sure what to say about it. “Well, maybe when you’re feeling better, you and I could, you know…”
Ugh. My words fizzled out since there wasn’t really a coherent thought attached.
“No. I think it would be better for Drake to be the sire.”
The sire? Obviously he said the correct term, but his flat tone made it sound like some sort of mumbo jumbo on a legal document.
“Why do you say that?” I asked.
He said nothing, his strong jaw muscles tensing. Without thinking, I reached out to run my fingers along the roughness of his beard. “Really, why?” I repeated.
He shrugged. “I wouldn’t be good at being a father.”
“Okay. How do you know that?”
A long pause hung heavy in the car. “Because…I’m just not. Relationships. Connections. Those aren’t my strengths.”
I searched Trey’s face for any sign of emotion but couldn’t find one. “But that doesn’t mean—”
“Yes, it does,” Trey said a bit roughly, cutting me off. He turned into the entrance of the trailhead and parked next to Ethan’s SUV. He chucked the ice pack onto the center console, and then exited the car. From the tone of his voice, I had a feeling he didn’t want to discuss this topic any further.
Well, holy smokes. If Trey wanted to pout, then fine. My sigh filled the car while I grabbed my backpack from the back seat before following him.
The other guys waited for us—impatiently, as usual—at the start of the trail. Huge red rock formations towered around us, some spindly and jagged, while others looked like they had been chopped off at the top.
“I think you should all stay here like last time,” I told them, not even sure why they all insisted upon tagging along. They could be hanging out by the pool or shooting the shit or whatever. Trey could ice his balls some more. “We don’t want to scare the Oracle away.”
“I think it would be fine for us to come,” said Drake. “I don’t know why the Oracle is so afraid. We are all nice dragons, are we not?”
“All except for you,” I teased, playfully punching him. “But really—I should go on my own. You could even drive home in one car and leave me one in the parking lot. You don’t need to wait for me.”
An image popped into my mind of all four of them, arguing over who would drive the car home. I put a hand over my mouth to stifle a laugh.
“We could head down to the creek for a swim,” suggested Jackson. “It’s not too far—we could always come back and check on Lyssa in an hour or so.”
“Absolutely not,” said Ethan, first glaring at Jackson and then at me. His giant pack was filled to the brim with gods knew what—he clearly had prepped to go on the hike and not sit around waiting.
My gaze locked with Ethan’s. “Seriously. I’ll be fine.”
Ethan cocked an eyebrow at me. Ugh. I did not want to get into this with him right now.
Thank you, I mouthed to Jackson. At least he understood I could take care of myself.
“Okay, let’s just think about this,” said Trey. “I don’t think it really matters if we all go together on this trail or not. The Dragon Oracle’s not going to be walking around—we can’t expect things to be so easy. We need to look for something else, maybe see things a different way. Does that make sense?”
I nodded. Had I possibly missed something during yesterday’s hike? Some sort of clue, or a passageway?
I glanced at each of my dragons. “Okay. Let’s all go together then. But when we find this clue, that’s when I need to go the rest of the way by myself.”
No one seemed particularly excited about that prospect, but they all kept quiet for the moment. I led the way down the trail, taking a few moments to enjoy the juniper trees and yummy-smelling creosote that lin
ed each side of the path.
I kept my eyes peeled for something—anything, really—that I hadn’t noticed the previous day. Nothing jumped out at me. We passed a few hikers, and I cheerfully greeted them while my dragons grunted a hello.
After an hour of walking, I knew we’d gone way too far.
“We’re way out of range of the GPS coordinates that Torm gave us,” Ethan said, but I already knew that. So we turned around, this time Trey leading the way back down the path, and with me in the rear.
After another half hour, my hopes began to plummet. Still nothing. Something different, Trey had said. But how could I see something in a different way?
Maybe give the bracelet a try? suggested my dragoness.
No. Definitely not, I told her. Don’t you remember what happened last night? That was weird shit.
Of course I remember! She did a little happy dance under my skin. It felt soooo good.
No. We’re not using the bracelet’s magick.
But you put it in your backpack this morning, she protested. Why’d you do that if you weren’t planning on using it?
I ignored her, because I didn’t know why—I just did it. Sort of on autopilot. After I’d packed my water and sunscreen and first aid kit, for some reason I’d tossed the jewelry box in as well. Obviously, I didn’t plan on actually using the bracelet, but…well…
Huh. Seriously. So why did I bring it?
My dragoness was right. It had felt good. It had glowed and pulsed and filled me with the most amazing tingles.
Something about the bracelet drew me in, more than ever before. Almost as if it were calling to me. Urging me to wear it, to use it. To take in its light magick and let it completely blow my mind again.
Whatever it was, I didn’t like it. I didn’t need my mind blown. My sister had let magick suck her in, too, and I didn’t plan on falling prey to that.
Well, maybe you could put it on real quick, said my dragoness. Just see how it feels, you know?
Nooo, I don’t think that’s a good idea… I protested, determined to fight this. But a moment later, I found myself stopping while my dragons continued to hike down the path. As if my body and brain were disconnected, and I was motored by my new alter ego, Lyssa-Zombie, I reached into my pack, pulled out the box, and slipped on the bracelet.
It immediately grew warm, and the same soothing, wonderful feeling flowed through my veins once again.
The energy zipped inside of me. It felt so good, so right, and I wanted to cry and laugh at the same time. Part of me wanted this, welcoming it immediately, while the other part wanted to rip off the bracelet and fling it far, far away.
Moments passed as I battled with these two parts of me, my fingers gripping the charms. Finally…I relaxed. Let go. Surrendered to it. Opened myself up to whatever craziness was currently happening.
Energy rippled through me, from my head to the tips of my toes.
“Don’t fuck with me,” I whispered to the bracelet. “But please, help me find the Dragon Oracle.” I lightly touched each of the four charms, saying the names of the elements in the ancient dragon language, and suddenly the bracelet lit up in a fiery glow.
Then I saw it, almost hidden along the side of one of the rock formations. A golden, shimmery window.
A portal.
12
Drake
“Hey, guys! Wait!” Lyssa’s sexy voice called out behind me. I turned to find my beautiful mate running down the trail. Her voluptuous breasts jiggled in the most delectable fashion, and I wanted nothing more than to grab her and pleasure her immediately upon the rocks.
Arghh. But I knew I must wait.
A puff of smoke erupted from my nostrils. I thought for certain she would be carrying my dragonlet by now. Unfortunately, I did not scent it on her, but I did not let it worry me too much—we would try again, of course.
If only it had been just the two of us on this quest…we did not need the others. No, not at all. Ethan was always well prepared for anything, but so was I. Jackson had amazing healing skills, but those weren’t as necessary as good fighting skills. And Trey—oh, I did not want to even go there. I did not give one damn if he was a rocket scientist. He simply rubbed me the wrong way, and I could not understand what my mate saw in him.
“Look!” Lyssa continued, pointing up toward a rock formation. I immediately saw it—an entrance in the stone. A golden glow surrounded the window, and I knew we had found what we were searching for.
Lyssa’s bracelet pulsed strongly with light upon her wrist. Of course. She’d used the light magick of the goddess’s bracelet to open the portal.
She scrambled up the rocks, and this time, my gaze landed upon her luscious ass. Mmm. It bounced and flexed delightfully as she climbed, and all I could think of was spreading those round cheeks and…
Oh, stop, my dragon chided. This is not the right time!
A loud snort escaped me, surprised at my inner dragon—usually he was the one urging me to do naughty things. But I had to agree that we had more important matters to think about at the moment.
Lyssa stood at the portal, her body outlined in the glowing light. “I can see through it…there’s some sort of valley on the other side,” she called down. “I’m going in by myself. You guys wait here.”
“Hang on, I’m coming with you,” said Ethan, easily scaling to the top.
“No, you don’t have to,” she said. “There’s a meadow and some purple flowers. It all looks super safe.” Then she disappeared into the portal, with Ethan right on her heels.
“Shit! We need to hurry,” said Trey, scrambling up the rocks, Jackson and I right behind him. “Since Lyssa’s the one that opened the portal, it may close once she’s through. That’s normally how these doorways work.”
Even as he spoke those last words, the window’s light began to dim. Trey jumped through it, followed by Jackson. I hauled myself up the last few feet just as the light faded almost completely, and then dived through the remaining flicker, expecting to smash into the rock face head on…
But instead found myself sprawled out on the ground. Lyssa and the others peered down at me.
Oh, thank the gods!
“Are you okay?” she asked.
“Of course, bella.” I quickly rose and dusted myself off, grinning at everyone. I had made it.
To my left stood the giant rock wall that we had all gone through, yet nothing remained of the portal. To my right lay the meadow, bordered by tall cliffs on the other side. We were in some sort of valley, on a path that traveled along the rock face.
“I think we’re just on the other side of the butte,” said Jackson. “We probably could have just flown here—up and over, you know?”
Ethan looked around thoughtfully. “No, I don’t think so. There’s something different about this place. I think we’re in a different realm.”
I nodded, sharing the same sentiment. The colors of the landscape seemed brighter, clearer, almost like we had entered another reality. A completely new dimension.
“I think that must be where the Oracle lives,” Lyssa said, gesturing toward a cave-like entrance. “I’m going to check it out.” She began to head toward it when, suddenly, a large brownish gray boulder along the trail began to move.
I stared in awe as the boulder continued to uncoil, and a giant serpent’s head raised itself to loom down upon us. Gods almighty! It stood taller than a house.
The serpent’s tongue flicked and its slitted eyes blinked slowly. A menacing rattle filled the air.
“It’s a rattlesnake,” said Trey quietly. “A giant fucking pit viper. Incredibly venomous, especially since this one’s on steroids.”
The snake hissed and reared its head back, clearly not thrilled by Trey’s comment. Its mouth opened wide and venom dripped from its fangs.
I grimaced. This thing was quite nasty.
Lyssa had by now frozen in place. Trey moved in her direction—very slowly so as not to further piss off our new friend, of course—and
as soon as he was close enough, he pulled her to him, moving her back to safety.
The viper tracked his movements and once again blinked. It unfurled itself even further, and began to move in Lyssa’s direction.
Oh, no. I was not impressed. No one messed with my mate.
I strode up to the viper and smashed my fist right into its ugly snout. Its head whipped back with the impact and a dazed look crossed its face. “Fuck off, my friend,” I told it in the most pleasant fashion I could muster. “If you go away now, I will leave you in peace.”
“Oh gods, why the hell did you do that?” mumbled Ethan, just before the giant snake hissed again and lunged at me. I ducked out of the way just before its disgusting, frothy fangs could chomp down upon my face.
Very well. The snake did not want to allow us to pass. It had made its decision, and I personally did not think it was a smart one.
I made a flying leap onto its back, which surprised it even more. I pummeled the back of its head, and it twisted and turned, hissing its displeasure. More froth flung out in all directions, and I laughed—this felt like riding a bucking bronco, which I had never done before, but had always wanted to do.
Could I cross that off my bucket list?
“Drake, you are seriously pissing it off!” exclaimed Lyssa. “I don’t think this is helping!”
Lyssa was right—it wasn’t really making things better, but I hadn’t been able to help myself. Now I needed to remedy the situation. Unfortunately for the viper, it had no idea what fun I had planned for it.
I hopped off its body, and quickly shifted into my dragon form. Not bothering to remove my clothing beforehand, everything ripped and shredded into pieces as my body turned into the giant red beast. I was more than twice the size of the serpent, and I glowered down upon it with glee.
Then I roared. Loud. Right upon its face so that it could feel the intense, wonderful power of my breath. On top of that, I even added a little bit of smoke for good measure.
The snake appeared slightly dazed from the whiplash, but quickly composed itself, and lunged for me. Now I was annoyed. Couldn’t this snake get the hint? I quickly batted it away with my claw and it went crashing into the side of the rocks, sliding down the wall until it lay limply on the ground.