by Sadie Sears
“Dragon psychosis. I read about it in an old medical journal.”
“Yeah. We have rules now to try to make sure it doesn’t happen.”
Gretta nodded. "I'm sorry. I just want her cured so badly. I hate watching her suffer."
“I know, and I would heal her if I could.”
“So, who was that dragon I saw flying overhead?”
“That’s Mitias. An elder. He’s the one who persuaded us to come here. He’s 560. But don’t tell him I told you that.”
At her smile, I grinned. Now she knew, I couldn’t wait to introduce her to all of them.
“Is there anything else?”
“Oh, there is so much more.” Like telling her she was my destined mate, and how much I wanted to claim her. But I had to slow this down. Take my time and do it right. Even though she was eager, I didn’t want to overwhelm either of us. “You want some tea?”
“Tea?”
“Yeah, all this talking is making me thirsty.” And desperate. Now that I’d gotten so close to revealing everything, my dragon was pacing and growling, ready to get to the claiming part.
I made us both a cup of orange pekoe then set it on the old wooden trunk I used for a coffee table. “Do you want sugar or milk?”
“Neither, thanks.” She took a sip and closed her eyes then looked up at me again. “This is all so fascinating to us ordinary humans.”
“You’re hardly what anyone would call ordinary.” I chuckled. “I think you’re exceptional. Extraordinary. Enchanting.”
Her eyes lit up, and she smiled. “You say all the best stuff.” She leaned in for a kiss, and I got a simple brush of her mouth over mine that still made my heart race and my gut tighten.
She cleared her throat. “All right, so is there anything else special about dragons?” She licked her bottom lip but wouldn’t look at me. “Biologically speaking?”
“You mean like sex?” Finally.
She raked her teeth over her bottom lip and nodded.
“Um, well, dragons have robust immune systems that can destroy any pathogen, so we don’t get sick at all.” When Gretta tilted her head to the side, I knew she’d picked up on my hint.
“Can you mate with humans like other shifters?”
“Mate, as in produce babies?” At her nod, I had to swallow before answering. “Yes.”
“And are the babies human or dragon?”
“They’ll be a dragon, and they’ll be the same as their father. So, as I’m a fire dragon, our babies will be too.”
“Our babies will be?”
Faux pas or Freudian slip, it was out there now. “Unless birth control is used, of course. You know, like condoms or hormonal stuff.”
“What a coincidence. I use hormonal birth control.” She lifted an eyebrow, and I had never hoped a raised eyebrow meant an invitation as much as hers did.
I nodded because I wasn’t sure I could form a word or a thought that wasn’t gibberish.
As if Gretta realized she was going to have to make the first move, she leaned in, parted her lips, and kissed me. She touched her tongue to mine and swirled against it, and heat spread down to my toes. My dragon thrashed, demanding to be satisfied, but I circled Gretta’s wrists and eased her arms from around my neck. She leaned back, a tiny frown pulling her brows together.
“I want you, Gretta, but you have to be sure.” I hadn’t explained the claiming bite, but it would have to wait because I didn’t have another twenty minutes of conversation in me.
“I’m very sure, Sam.” Gretta leaned forward and pressed kisses from my chin to my ear. “I want you.”
"I'm serious, Gretta, this won’t be like anyone else you’ve been with."
“Oh, I’m counting on that.” She unbuttoned the first button of her shirt. “I want the full Sam O’Lachlan experience.” Another couple buttons. “And I’ve been waiting a very long time.” Her blouse gaped open, revealing a black lace pushup bra that accentuated her small but firm breasts, and I had to bite back a groan.
"You’ve been waiting a long time? You have no idea.”
"I think we can argue about who had it worse later on. At a time when I’m not ready to tear your clothes off and kiss my way down that body of yours.” She certainly had a way with words. And a raw beauty. She reached behind her and unclasped her bra, letting it fall to the floor.
“Holy shit.” I quickly pulled her to me and kissed her throat, her shoulder, her collarbone. When she arched her back, I moved to take a taut nipple into my mouth, flicking it with my tongue and teasing it with my teeth. She writhed and whimpered while holding my head in place. I almost got lost in the feel of the smooth skin of her breast against my tongue, and I groaned when blood rushed to my cock.
I peppered kisses down her ribcage, swirling my tongue into her belly button, taking it as slow as I could. But when I reached the waistband of her jeans, I hesitated. Things were about to happen. Things I’d fantasized about, dreamed of, wanted and needed more than anything in my life. I wanted it to be good for her, not fast or hurried.
Gretta looked up at me, then unbuttoned and unzipped her pants. “Sam, please.”
Oh, yeah. That was all I needed. I gripped the waistband and tugged them off. And if the bra wasn’t the best garment ever made, the matching panties with the little red bow on the front certainly were.
“Take your shirt off, Sam.”
Okay.
I’d been reduced to one-word thoughts—there wasn’t enough blood left in my brain for anything else. Without a second’s consideration, I ripped the shirt over my head and bent to run my tongue from between her breasts to her belly and then lower. I met the top of her panty line, and at her silent urging, I eased them down her long legs. “Open for me.” I breathed in her fragrance, and I had to control the urge to take her there and then.
I looked up into her hazel eyes that shone with an inner light. She smiled at me, and I didn’t think I’d ever seen anything so beautiful. When I knelt to kiss the inside of her thigh, she spread her legs wider, and I took advantage of her invitation and slowly ran my tongue along her wet slit. She shivered and moaned softly, but I wanted her wild and breathless. I lapped tiny circles against her swollen flesh as I slowly pushed two fingers inside her. Her inner muscles tightened around my fingers, and I could easily imagine them squeezing my dick, which strained against my jeans.
“Sam, oh, please.”
Though I loved the sound of her begging, I wanted to give her what she was asking for. I sucked her clit into my mouth then skated my tongue around it, over and over until she cried out and clamped her legs around the back of my head. Her long, drawn-out groan preceded the feel of her nails digging into my shoulders, but I welcomed the pain knowing I’d given her pleasure. I continued to suck on her as she rode the waves of her orgasm, and then I waited until her body went limp before I stood and removed my jeans.
"Oh, for the love, that was so good." Her voice was husky, her hands reaching.
"That was just a teaser. The best is yet to come." And damned if it was happening on the sofa. I picked her up and carried her through the house to my room while she kissed and sucked the skin on my throat.
Like the rest of my place, my bedroom was pretty sparse, with just the mattress. I vowed to get a bed at the next opportunity, but Gretta didn’t seem to mind as I put her in the middle. And then I stared at her because she was so beautiful and sexy, so vibrant.
She grinned. “You like what you see?”
I dropped my gaze to my cock, which was stiff and throbbing. A clear drop of fluid beaded at the tip. “What do you think?” I asked her.
She laughed and reached out to me. Complying to her need, I crawled onto the mattress until I knelt over her. The shine in her eyes grew as she pulled me down to kiss her, and the taste of her mouth was just as sweet as she allowed me to explore. God, she set fire to my limbs that rivaled anything my dragon could do, and I shook as I pulled back and poised above her.
Her skin was so soft
as I gripped her hips and positioned myself, and I took a moment to savor the feel of her firm thighs, the curve of her ass, the smooth expanse of her stomach. When her breath hitched a little as I traced one finger between her moist folds, I knew she was ready for me, and with a low groan, I slid my cock inside her.
Her inner muscles gripped me just like they had my fingers before, but around my hard cock, the feeling was so exquisite I almost couldn’t stand it. I thrust hard, unable to control my movements, but Gretta lifted her hips to meet mine. I thrust again and again, burying myself inside her sweet body, becoming lost in the feel of her.
She was so wet, so hot, and as I began to move harder, faster, she grabbed my shoulders and groaned.
“God, Sam!”
I pressed my lips against her neck, right at the point I would love to bite her, to claim her. My dragon roared, urging me to make her mine, but I managed to control the urge—just.
When Gretta wrapped her legs around my waist and arched her back, I knew she was close, and her timing couldn’t have been any better. My balls drew up, ready to unload, and I grunted, pounding harder until I was skating that edge of bliss.
“Gretta, I’m coming…”
I couldn’t hold back any longer. To be inside my mate, to feel her body wrapped around me, to know she’d accepted my dragon—it was too much, and I shouted my release just as her pussy clenched around my cock.
Her cry was followed by a shudder as I emptied my balls and flooded her incredibly receptive body with my cum. She continued to grind her hips, milking me of every last drop and prolonging her own pleasure. Seeing her so abandoned, I held myself up with one arm and then snaked my hand between us and gently ran my fingers over her blood-engorged clit. Her cursed response made me grin, but it was the way she opened her eyes and stared at me in awe that had my heart racing and my stomach doing little flips.
Careful not to crush her, I pulled her into my arms and rolled to the side, making sure I stayed buried to the hilt. I wasn’t ready to pull out of her yet. The connection I felt with her now was something I wanted to feel for as long as I could.
Gretta moaned, then smiled, then pressed her soft lips to mine. Her warm, pliant muscles seemed to melt, and I made sure she was comfortable before I closed my eyes.
My heart still pounded, and I couldn’t quite catch a good breath, but if I died, then I was going to die a happy man. Satisfied and in love.
I woke up as the sun broke over the horizon with Gretta asleep beside me. I loved her. I loved Dr. Gretta Kipling. No need to hide from it. It was all there in front of me.
The revelation wasn’t unexpected. I’d been falling for her from the moment she smiled at me, but it was empowering to have the thought solidified in my mind. I turned to look down at her, at the mess of her dark hair, the spread of her eyelashes on her cheekbones, the pout of her full lips. God, she was beautiful.
And she deserved breakfast because I’d kept her up most of the night, loving her.
I slipped into the kitchen and started the coffee, then cut some oranges and twisted them on the juicer. I whipped up an omelet with three eggs, chopped vegetables and cheese shredded from a block by yours truly. As I slathered butter on the toast I’d just pulled from the toaster, Gretta slipped her arms around my waist from behind.
"Good morning."
I twisted. Gretta in my T-shirt was a sight to behold. Maybe it was because it landed mid-thigh, or maybe because it was my shirt, and I knew what she was wearing underneath. Sucking in a breath to stop myself from going for round four—or was it five—I lifted her onto the kitchen counter.
"You look incredible," I said as she smiled at me.
"I probably look starved and dehydrated. Some hot dragon kept me in the bedroom all night long and didn’t even offer me a midnight snack."
"Bastard.”
Her laugh warmed my heart, so too when she took my face between her hands and pulled me in for a kiss, which became a searing hot meeting of our mouths. She tasted of minty toothpaste and just Gretta, a taste I was never going to get tired of. When I pulled back, it was only so I could feed her something more nourishing than my kisses. I quickly grabbed the plates I’d made up and set one on each side of her.
Gretta picked up a forkful of omelet and then moaned around the mouthful. “I could get used to this.”
And I wanted it. I wanted to wake up beside her every morning, to make her breakfast, to see her smile. I clasped her hands and gazed at her. I needed to tell her how I felt. Now. Before I lost the courage.
“You’re shaking,” Gretta said.
I nodded. “Yes, because I don’t ever want to let you go. I’m in love with you, Gretta. You’re my life, my heart. You own my soul. I can’t help it. I don’t want to help it. I love you.” I said it all in a rush, wanting her to understand, to give me a chance, but Gretta pressed her index finger over my lips.
“I love you, too.”
I froze, unsure if I heard her right. “Really?”
“Yes, really.”
I gripped her hips and pulled her off the counter, and when she wrapped her legs around my waist, I twirled us around the kitchen, so happy I think I could have burst. She laughed, a sound I loved just as much as her, but when her alarm went off, her laugh turned into a low groan.
“Damn, I’ve got to go to work, and I was looking forward to another make-out session on your wonderful couch.”
“My couch? I was going to get rid of it, pick something new.”
“No, don’t. I’m in love with your couch. It’s unique, like you. Antique, like you. Perfect, like you.”
“Okay, I’m keeping it.”
“Good.” She released her grip from around my neck and lowered her feet to the floor. I sighed because I would have loved to have kept her in my arms, in my bed all day, but I had to let her go because Dr. Gretta Kipling, the love of my life who also loved me back, had important things to do.
11
Gretta
It was time to get Bill’s junk out of my place. After the way things had evolved with Sam, I couldn’t stand looking at Bill’s stuff a moment longer, and if he wanted to sue me for wrapping his trophies in bubble wrap and delivering them, then I’d take my chances in court.
Being with Sam made me feel invincible. Figuratively and literally. Not because I needed him to have my back, but because he had it anyway, no questions asked. The last few days since he told me he loved me had become some of the best days of my life. I hadn’t been able to see him every day because I quite often got home late from work, but I spoke to him on the phone, and he sent me silly little text messages that made me laugh.
I stacked a few of the lighter boxes on top of the heavier ones I’d packed up that morning, then popped my door open. And speaking of hot dragon shifters…the one on the other side had a thing for T-shirts that fit him like a layer of skin and jeans that accentuated everything—long legs, solid muscles, and a tight ass that made my mouth water.
Sam brushed his blond hair out of his eyes. "Let me help you with those," Sam said, reaching for the boxes.
I backed up. This was my problem. I could move a box without his help. “I got it. Thanks, though." I was dressed like a construction worker on laundry day—flannel shirt, town jeans, ugly red bandana tied around my head. Typical that he looked like a model.
“What’re you doing, anyway?” He flipped open the flap on the top box and pulled out a framed photo of Bill in his high school football jersey. He grimaced and dropped it back into the box. “Moving day. ‘Bout time. I’ll start putting these in my truck—”
“It’s okay, this is my problem. I’ll do it.”
“Gretta, unless you’ve hired a moving truck, all this stuff won’t fit in your car.”
“I was going to make several trips.”
Sam moved his gaze around my apartment before he looked at me. “His TV and ugly ass chair are not going to fit in your car regardless of how many trips you take unless you decide to take a sledgeha
mmer to them. I might even help.” He grinned and waggled his eyebrows.
“Tempting, but no.” I blew out a breath, fighting back a smile. Sam was right about the chair and TV, but the fierce orange glow in his eyes told me he wanted to come along because he thought Bill might be a problem. It was sweet, and I loved how much he wanted to protect me, but Sam would be the match that lit Bill’s fire. And I didn’t need that.
"No—"
Sam shushed me with a finger against my lips. "Gretta, I know you can handle your own issue with him, but you don’t have to do it alone anymore."
He kissed the tip of my nose, took the boxes, and loaded them into the truck. I knew I could have argued with him, could have stopped him, but I didn’t really want to. I actually liked having him by my side.
After a few trips, we were on the way to Burlington. It would have been a lie to say my stomach wasn’t in knots. Things had the potential to go badly. An argument was probably a best-case scenario, and I couldn’t even consider the worst-case.
“Sam, I need you to not kill Bill. Or punch him. Or threaten him.”
He didn’t answer but laid his hand over mine.
“That’s not an answer, Sam.”
“Gretta, you have to understand, you’re my destined mate. That’s why I was so volatile with him before. To see the way he treated you? It made my blood boil.” He measured every word and it made his speech halted. “But I’m calm now.”
Hold up. There was something that needed to be clarified.
“Sam?” When he glanced over, I smiled because I needed him to know I was calm, too. But really, I was the opposite of calm. Freaked out wouldn’t have been an overstatement. “Destined mate?”
“I didn’t mention that before?” He knew damned well the words destined mate had never passed between us, and I shook my head.