by Donna Grant
When he lifted his head, she was panting, her body flushed with pleasure. He flipped her onto her stomach and kneeled on the bed. His hands grasped her hips and raised her to her hands and knees.
He kneaded the globes of her ass. Then she turned her head and looked at him. They made eye contact before she leaned back and rubbed her bum against his cock.
* * *
Pleasure vibrated through her from her orgasm as if it had a life of its own as she waited for V to fill her. She couldn’t stand the anticipation any longer. Then she glanced at him. The way he stared at her as if she were something prized, something that was precious, made her heart skip a beat.
She wasn’t given long to think about that as he guided his arousal to her entrance. Claire bit her lip when he pushed inside her. Inch by inch, her body opened for him until he was fully seated.
“Oh, yes,” she murmured.
He felt better than she had imagined. She sucked in a breath when he ran a hand up her spine and grasped a handful of hair. V pulled back until she had no choice but to straighten. When she realized what he wanted, she eagerly complied.
With her back against his chest, his hands found her breasts and fondled her nipples as his hips moved, shifting his cock just enough that she felt him inside her.
“You have a beautiful body,” he said as he kissed along the side of her neck.
“Th—”
The word died on her lips when he pinched her nipple, sending pleasure rippling through her. She didn’t have time to recover from that before his finger was on her clit again.
“You will come for me again,” he ordered.
She nodded, unable to form words.
Claire didn’t know how long they remained like that with his hands roaming her body, teasing her until she was shaking with need, all while gently moving inside her. A reminder of what was to come.
She sank deeper into the desire, into the promise of more pleasure that he tempted her with. Her body was no longer her own. He commanded it with a simple touch. And she willingly gave herself to him and all that he offered.
His teeth scraped along her ear before gently biting down on her lobe. “You’re mine now.”
“Yes,” Claire replied breathlessly. “Always.”
She found herself on her back in the next second with V leaning over her. She reached for him, needing his weight on top of her. And she missed the feeling of him inside her.
Claire sighed when he ran his hard rod against her sensitive sex. He did that twice more before he thrust once and filled her completely.
“Yes!” she cried and lifted her legs to wrap around him.
He kissed her then, deeply. Passionately. Thoroughly. All while pumping his hips so that his length slid in and out of her.
She held onto him as if he were the only thing between her and oblivion.
“Let go,” he urged her. “I’ll catch you, lass.”
Claire opened her eyes and looked at him. A Dragon King was making love to her. He was right. She hadn’t known what she was getting into, not really. But now that she did, she didn’t regret her decision at all.
She sank her nails into him and felt the sweat on his skin. The same perspiration that covered her. He moved with slow, deep thrusts.
“Faster,” she urged.
He immediately complied, pumping his hips quicker while going deeper and deeper.
She felt the orgasm building. “I’m coming,” she told him.
V didn’t relent. He kept the pace she asked for until she cried out from her climax. While the pleasure rippled through her like waves upon the ocean, she heard V shout her name before he buried himself deep and stilled.
They remained tangled with each other, content to bask in the afterglow of their lovemaking.
“That was incredible,” she murmured while stroking his back.
V rose up on his hands and looked down at her. “Aye. It certainly was.”
He pulled out of her, and Claire immediately missed him. But no sooner was he on his back than he pulled her against him. She settled comfortably with her head on his chest. Though she tried to stay awake, her eyes drifted closed.
“You’re dangerous for me.”
It took a second for his words to penetrate her pleasure-filled brain. She shifted her face to look at him. “Why?”
He was silent for a long time as he stared at the ceiling. “Because I doona care about consequences or anything else when it comes to being with you.”
She rose up on her elbow and waited until his ice blue eyes met hers. Claire reached up with her free hand and moved a lock of his dark hair from his face. “I can take care of myself.”
“Nay, Claire. You doona understand.”
“I do,” she insisted. The thought that V might pull away from her was just too much. Despite the caution her mind was screaming she said, “I’ve already been through an encounter with a Dark Fae.”
The way V’s body tensed made her wish she could take back the words. She’d known better than to let that bit of her secret out, but she hadn’t been able to think of anything else to say to keep him with her.
Desperation was a tool of fools, and that’s exactly what she was proving to be.
“Explain,” he demanded.
Claire swallowed and scooted to the opposite end of the bed. Then she rose and reached for her black floral robe. V watched her, never moving.
Finally, she looked at him. “I’ve kept a secret for years now. One I feared would be taken from me if anyone at Dreagan discovered it. I remember everything from that night in Edinburgh when the Dark Fae and Ulrik took Sophie and me to use against Darius. I recall every touch of the Dark, every way my body wasn’t my own, and how it wasn’t men but dragons that saved me. I lied to Darius, Sophie, and anyone else who asked when I said that I didn’t remember any of it. I lied … because I knew it was important.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
For a moment, V could do nothing but stare at Claire as he slowly sat up. Surely, he hadn’t heard right. Because the implications were vast and far-reaching.
“You know about us?” he asked softly, hesitantly.
She swallowed nervously and nodded her head. “I don’t know a lot. I know you can shift into a dragon.”
“You kept this secret for how long?”
“Years.”
“Without telling even Sophie that you knew?”
She lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “Yes.”
V wasn’t sure what to make of Claire or her confession. He had been drawn to her, but never did he imagine that she knew what he was. “And you were no’ afraid? You didna caution Sophie against Darius?”
“Afraid?” she repeated wide-eyed. She snorted loudly and shook her head as she glanced away. “I was terrified. But of the Dark Fae. It was Darius and the Dragon Kings who saved me.”
“We’re no’ human.”
“I know,” Claire replied softly.
The more he talked to her, the more confused V became. “You no’ only kept what you knew to yourself, but you followed Sophie to the village, aware that you would be around us?”
“Dragons saved me from some horrible beings who made me do things I didn’t want to do. I may not know all there is to know about the Dragon Kings or why you’re on this planet, but of course, I came here. In my opinion, there’s no safer place in the world than near Dreagan.”
V ran a hand through his hair and swung his legs over the side of the bed as he tried to sort through what he’d just learned. He’d thought he would spend an hour or more with her against him before he made love to her again. Now, all he could think about was her confession.
“Oh, my,” she murmured.
V jerked his head around and saw that she was staring at his back. He then realized she was seeing his tattoo for the first time.
Despite it being on his back, V knew exactly what it looked like. The black and red ink mixed together to create a dragon spread across his skin. The wings of the dragon f
ollowed the backs of his arms so it looked as if the dragon moved each time V did. The head of the dragon was turned to the right while the long tail curled inward.
“The tattoo is stunning.”
He nodded. “Thanks.”
She licked her lips and swallowed. “Your reaction to my secret is why I never said anything. Not even to Sophie.”
He turned his head to Claire, taking in her arms crossed over her chest, the anxious way she studied him, and the frown that hadn’t left her brow.
V sighed and got to his feet to face her. “You’ve proven you can be trusted. You had ample opportunity to no’ only dig up more information on us, but to leak that information to the world.”
“I would never do that.”
“Why?” V wanted to know.
She blinked as if taken aback by his question. “I don’t know. Maybe it’s because I keep an open mind about things. I’m one who believes that there are other beings out in the vast universe. If they’re out there, why can’t they be on this Earth, as well? But there are those who don’t understand. Who would never accept you.”
“That’s truer than you could possibly know.”
“I don’t want you because you’re a Dragon King. I want you because of the way you make me feel. Man or dragon. My body doesn’t care. I desire you.”
There was sincerity in her voice and in her eyes. V didn’t know details about Edinburgh, and he wasn’t going to make her relive it. But he was going to find out the truth.
And if the Dark who touched her were still alive, he would find them and engulf them in dragon fire.
He walked to her and took her hands in his, pulling her arms away from her body. “What do you want to know about us? I’ll tell you.”
“Really?” she asked in a shocked tone.
V couldn’t help but grin. “I think you’ve earned that.”
“What will the others say?”
“I doona need to ask their opinion.”
Her gentle brown eyes looked up at him excitedly. “Tell me all you can. I want to know everything.”
“Then we better get comfortable. It’s a verra long story.”
She tugged him after her into the living area. They dropped hands so he could pull on his jeans and then join her on the sofa. Claire sat on one side, facing him, and he mimicked her on the other.
V had never told this story before. He knew many of the other Kings had to their women, but he’d never thought to ask how they had begun it. Or what they had said. With no other option, V started at the beginning.
“This realm was ours,” V told Claire. “The dragons ruled all.”
“Were there many of you?”
He nodded. “Millions. So many clans called this planet home.”
“Clans,” she said. “Like Scottish clans?”
“Something like that. There were dragons of all sizes, and each clan was designated by a color. We had territories that we controlled, disputes that had to be managed, and even wars.”
She pulled an accent pillow to her chest and held it. “And your clan was?”
“Copper.”
“Copper,” she repeated with a smile. “Was your clan large?”
“Verra. Our territory was what you now know as the Carpathian Mountains.”
Her eyes widened. “Romania. Yeah, I can see that.”
V drew in a breath. “Each clan had a ruler, a King.”
“Chosen? Or was it hereditary like most monarchies?”
“Chosen,” he replied. “But no’ by anyone.”
Claire cocked her head to the side. “I don’t understand.”
“The Kings are chosen by the magic of this realm. The strongest dragon with the most powerful magic of that clan is chosen to lead. Sometimes, it happened after a King was killed. Other times, a dragon had to fight for the position.”
“Whoa,” Claire said. “I have so many questions. First, if the Kings were strong, how did they get killed?”
“Only another Dragon King can kill a King.”
“That’s pretty important information.” She licked her lips. “But it makes sense. Was it often that someone overthrew a King?”
V nodded. “It happened. Sometimes, the present King lost his way and forgot why he earned that position. Sometimes, another dragon was born stronger.”
“People lose their way all the time, so I can see how that could happen, even with a dragon.”
V rested his arm along the back of the sofa. “It was rare. The magic knows a dragon’s true heart. If it senses any kind of evil, that dragon, no matter how strong or the power of his magic, isna chosen to be a King.”
“But couldn’t he still fight for the right?”
“Aye. And some fools did, only to lose their lives.”
Claire’s brows lifted. “Oh. I see. I do have to point out that you’re only talking about males. Were females not considered?”
“It didna happen, though I doona believe it was because the females were deemed incapable. Male dragons are much bigger and stronger. I knew many females who would have made excellent Queens, but they wouldna have lasted long in their roles because other Kings would’ve attacked, killing them. A clan is only as strong as its leader.”
Claire looked down briefly and twisted her lips. “That makes sense. So, the ones who think they should be King, they just tell the current one?”
“A challenge is issued.”
“How does a dragon know they’re meant to be a King?”
V allowed himself to drift back through memories of that long-ago time. “They feel it.”
“You mean you felt it,” Claire replied in a soft voice.
He nodded. “Aye. I did. Our King was good to us. He protected our clan and our lands for many hundreds of years.” When V saw her shock, he grinned. “Dragons can live for a verra long time. A King is immortal.”
“Wow,” Claire murmured.
“When I first felt the call to challenge my King, I didna heed it. As a result, our King was ambushed and killed by a clan we had a shaky truce with.”
Claire held up her hand. “Wait. You just said the magic never picked a dragon who was evil. How is ambushing and killing another King not evil?”
“It was our life. The larger the clan, the bigger the territory. Much as you humans have. How many civilizations tried to conquer the world?”
She flattened her lips. “Touché.”
“And the other King didna murder mine. It was an ambush, aye, but the fight was just between the two Kings. And mine lost.”
“What happened?”
V shifted his leg to stretch it out on the cushions. “The warring clan attacked. We were without a King, and they believed they could take a chunk of land before a new King took over. They also thought they could easily kill the next King.”
“You talk as if you know that for a fact.”
“Because I do. The moment my King was killed, I became a Dragon King. I was too busy taking over and trying to find where the previous King had been killed that I didna sense the attack. The other clan underestimated the Coppers and me. I called the largest of my clan to head off the attack with me. We got there in time to save several families, but no’ all of them. When I made myself known, the opposing King came straight for me.”
“You had just taken over, and you were already in a fight to the death?” Claire’s face was filled with awe and surprise.
V shrugged. “The battle was long and bloody. He got the upper hand a few times, but ultimately, I came out on top. I had him at my mercy. I could’ve killed him, but I let him go on the condition that the truce made before was enforced, or we would take the matter to Constantine.”
“Why Con?”
“He’s the King of Dragon Kings.”
Claire laughed, nodding. “Of course, he is. It makes sense now.”
“Each King is powerful, but none of us can best Con. He didna just have to earn his position within his clan of Golds, he also had to battle to be King of Kings.”<
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“I admit, I’m impressed.”
V rubbed a hand along his jaw. “Con was born to be King of Kings.”
“That’s how you became King of your clan?”
“King of Coppers,” he corrected. “I wasna a King verra long when the first mortals appeared. Each King shifted into our human form and was given a sword and a tattoo unique to each of us.”
“So, every King has a tattoo?”
V nodded. “Aye. Each is different, but they are all made up of the same red and black ink.” After she nodded, he continued, “Con gathered us, and we approached the mortals. It was immediately apparent that the arrivals had no magic. No’ only that, but they could barely defend themselves. We agreed and made a vow to protect this small band of people.
V laughed dryly. “If only we’d known what that action would bring. Each King gave up a small portion of land and allowed the humans to choose where they wished to live. We helped them build shelters and forge weapons so they could hunt for food. At first, things were good. But we soon discovered that humans procreated at a surprising rate.
“The small group soon turned into a village and kept multiplying. We gave up more and more land. Yet we still managed to get along. Some Kings took humans as lovers. Though we learned quickly that if a mortal became pregnant by our seed, the women soon lost the child. On the verra rare occasions that a woman managed to carry the bairn to term, it was stillborn.”
Claire’s face crumpled. “That’s so sad.”
V drew in a deep breath. “It wasna long before the mortals began hunting the smallest dragons for food. They were about the size of a cat. We didna know what was going on until it had gone too far. Con stepped in, and we tried to work out a truce, but the occasional dragon would snatch up a human for food. It took a while, but we got it sorted. However, the easy peace between our two species was gone. There was a chance at solidifying it when Ulrik set to marry a human.”
Claire’s eyes bugged out. “Whaaaaaat?”
“His uncle, angry that he hadna become King, turned the woman against Ulrik and convinced her to murder Ulrik. Con discovered her treachery and sent Ulrik away on a mission. Then he called to the rest of the Kings and told us what had happened. We all agreed to go after the mortal. And we killed her so Ulrik wouldna have to.”