by Sadie Sears
She huffed a pitiful laugh, wiping at her eyes. As soon as Vince had a path cleared, Sophie ran to us, and I let Shae down. “Cam, your feet. Are you okay?”
Looking down, I noticed they were bright red and blistering. That would sting for a while. Vince ducked past Sophie and opened up the freezer.
“I got this,” he said. He filled up two sandwich bags with ice and handed them to me. “Go sit down and put these on your feet. It’ll take the pain down until you heal.” I’d be down for a couple of hours at least. Thank goodness for dragon healing. If it had been Shae’s feet, she could’ve been disfigured.
Sophie helped me to the breakfast table nearby while Shae grabbed the skillet off the burner. “Those should be done now, Shae, if you’d like to dish them out,” I said.
Her face was still red, but she nodded silently. Sophie pulled my feet up into a chair and gently laid the ice packs on them. They still really hurt, but with my dragon healing, it wouldn’t take too long for that to ease up.
“I’m so sorry,” she whispered. “I didn’t realize Shae would have something like that in her hands when I came in.”
I smiled at her. “So you intended to scare her on purpose?”
She fought back a smile. “Not scare, more like surprise. Sometimes I forget how jumpy she’s been since the whole Mary mess started.”
“She’ll come out of it soon,” I reassured her. “It’ll certainly be an adjustment.”
“Thank you. You know, for picking her up off the floor before the water burned her feet, too.” Her voice lowered, gaze growing heated. “I might have to thank you properly later.”
A throat cleared over her shoulder and she jumped slightly as Vince set two plates down, Shae bringing the other two over. She wouldn’t meet my eyes, choosing instead to push her food around on her plate. I reached over the table and took her hand lightly, giving her the room to pull away if she wanted. She didn’t.
“Hey,” I said, squeezing gently. “That was not your fault. I’ll be okay in a few hours or so. It’ll just sting a bit until then. And it’s not even as bad as it would be if I was human. My skin is hardier.”
Shae looked up at me suspiciously. “Only a few hours?”
“Dragon, remember?” I wiggled my eyebrows, managing to get a small laugh from her. “I heal pretty quickly.”
“So, what about something like a bullet to the head?” she asked. She stuffed a cheesy bite into her mouth.
“Shae!” Sophie gasped, horrified.
She shrugged innocently and talked around her food. “What? I saw a movie where a guy could do that. He healed so fast that a bullet to the head popped right back out.”
“Swallow, please,” Sophie said.
I rapped my fist to my forehead. “Yeah, but I don’t have an impenetrable plate in my head to stop it first.”
Shae grinned when she realized I’d seen the same movie. My chest felt light at that moment like I’d found right where I belonged. I hoped we could stay like that. I’d been putting it off for a bit while Sophie and I got better acquainted with each other, but I didn’t want her to feel pressured about the bite.
“So when are you guys selling the old place and moving in here?” Vince asked.
Shae frowned down at her plate. Sophie smiled patiently at him. “We’re still discussing it. Shae has a lot of memories of her dad there, plus her special tree is there.”
Vince shrugged. “Why don’t you just bring it here?” The girls stopped and looked at him. “What? You think Leath and Taurus would have any issue replanting it out in the back yard? They’d love the excuse to remodel the garden again.”
“They could do that?” Shae whispered loudly.
“Well, yeah, they’re earth dragons.” Vince chuckled. “And if there’s part of the house you’re particularly attached to, we may be able to bring it, like a staircase or a certain window.” He glanced at me. “Cam has money. Like all the money. You can do whatever you want.”
Her eyes widened dramatically, and I wished Vince had kept his mouth shut. I had a feeling there would be a treehouse out back soon that was a new tree and an enormous house on it. “That’s so cool. What about you? What can you do?”
“Air dragons happen to be the fastest,” he bragged. He sat up straighter in his chair, and I almost laughed. “I can control air currents and create small tornados. It also makes me great for rescue missions.”
“Is that why you know first aid?”
He nodded. “Pretty much. We’re also great with languages and puzzles, but no one has really figured out how that’s related.”
Shae laughed out loud. Sophie leaned into my side, smiling at her. “So what about ether dragons? I mean, I’ve seen that cool barrier thing you can do, and I’ve seen you zone out. What else?”
“Zone out?” I laughed. “That’s meditation, thank you very much, and it gets me in touch with something called the ether field so I can detect changes and anomalies in the energy in an area. I can also read people’s emotions, communicate telepathically with other dragons, and manipulate electricity to a degree.”
“Like shooting lightning bolts from your mouth, the way fire dragons breathe fire?”
I reached back across the table. “More like static electricity.” I touched my finger to her hand and a tiny blue spark shot between us. Her hand jerked away, but she was grinning. “But even that, if you built up enough of it, can be dangerous.”
Shae leaned forward excitedly. “So, if Lila is an earth dragon, does that mean that Zoe will be, too? Or does it depend on something else, like personality types or something?”
“No, it’s based on who gives you the bite,” I explained. “So yes, Zoe would be an earth dragon like her mom and Leath.”
“Can I have my changing ceremony at the same time as Zoe? I think it’d be so cool for us to become dragons at the same time.”
All three of us stared at her. The question had caught all of us off-guard. Vince met my eyes and smiled, and Sophie leaned toward her.
“Shady-bear, are you saying what I think you’re saying?” she asked. “Are you seriously considering becoming a dragon?”
Shae looked between me and Sophie, confused. “Well, you’re going to take that bite, right? Like Lila and Leath?” When Sophie nodded, Shae did too. “Then yeah, I want to.”
“And you’re sure you’ve thought this through, right?” Sophie grabbed her hand. “Because if you—”
“Mom,” Shae groaned. “I’ve thought about it plenty. After spending more time with everyone, like Lila and Leath, and even you two,”—she gestured to me and Vince—“it made me see how much they protect people, and how good it feels to do that kind of work. I want to do some good in my life, and I want to be with you too, Mom. If you want it, then I do, too.”
Sophie moved around the table to hug Shae, who tried to resist but was smiling regardless. Vince cleared the plates as Sophie refilled my ice packs and Shae threw a bag of popcorn in the microwave. Friday nights were movie nights, and it was the Friday before Halloween, so Shae naturally picked a movie about a claymation skeleton taking over Christmas.
By the time the movie was over, my feet were pretty well healed. Sophie and I followed Shae up to her room and tucked her in for the night. I’d had the small door in her wall opened up to a full-size door so that she and Sophie could access the sanctum whenever they were over. They hadn’t gone through everything yet, but Sophie had taken up with Glenda the last few weeks in her spare time to start training.
“Goodnight, sweet girl,” Sophie whispered. She leaned down and kissed her forehead.
“Night, Mom.” She turned her blue gaze to me. “Could they really bring my tree all the way here?”
Smiling, I nodded. “If you wanted it here, they could and would.”
“Okay. Night, Cam.”
I pulled the door closed, and Sophie and I walked down the hall to my room. As soon as the door shut behind me, Sophie turned to me. “Can we do it tonight?”
&n
bsp; “I do recall something about thanking me properly,” I said teasingly.
Sophie laughed but shook her head. “I mean the bite. I don’t want to wait any longer, Cameron. If Shae is okay with all of this, then I’m ready.”
I felt for a moment like my head was floating above my body. “Are you sure?”
She nodded. “What do I need to know?”
Stepping into her space, I backed her toward the bed. “Before I bite you, I have to have you on the brink of orgasm.”
Her pupils dilated. “Yeah?”
“Yeah,” I whispered. I brought my lips down to hover over hers. “The pleasure sensors will override whatever pain may come, and you’ll orgasm your way into being mine.”
“I’m already yours, Cam.” She drew me against her and kissed me.
I opened my senses to her, loving the heady feeling I got from her when we were like this. We’d been as bad as teenagers the last month and a half, sneaking away every chance we got. Once, we’d even introduced Sophie’s tarot reading table to its secondary purpose.
She pulled her blouse over her head and her fingers slipped under my shirt to get mine off. I had to force myself not to get carried away in my excitement to claim her.
Claim her.
It was all I’d wanted to do since I’d seen her in the park that first afternoon, wild curls and all. She was mine. Now she would always be mine. I knelt on the floor and tugged her skirt down. She stepped out of it carefully, then pulled me back up to undo my belt.
Our lips melded together in long, slow, delicious kisses. I didn’t want to rush anything, especially that night, though it was difficult. My pants fell and bunched around my ankles, and I kicked them aside and slowly guided her back to the bed. She scooted back and I followed, keeping my mouth to hers, savoring the taste of her tongue as it explored my mouth.
I ran my hand along her hip and down her thigh as she curled her leg around me. Pushing her leg back just a bit, I slipped my fingers between us. She gasped in my mouth when my fingers set to work in her slick folds, and one of her hands gripped me. One of the many things I’d learned about my Sophie was that she liked to share the attention, something that made me love her more.
My name was a whisper on her breath as she ground herself on my fingers. Her hand kept up the pressure on my cock, and I leaned over and took a nipple in my mouth. Sophie moaned as I applied gentle pressure with my teeth before swirling my tongue around it. This woman was better than any drug, and my head felt light as air.
Her thumb brushed across my tip and my hips jerked, thrusting myself in her hand. This was the game we would play, to see who would give first. This time, though, had to be different. I needed to bring her to the edge before I gave her my bite. Need surged through me at the thought and I thrust again, Sophie groaning louder.
I released her breast, ran my tongue over it one last time, then pressed my forehead to hers. “I need to get you ready, love. May I?”
She bit her lip, but excitement shone in her eyes and she nodded. I gave her one last, lingering kiss before she released me and I moved down. She was so wet that I didn’t even try to resist the temptation to lap her up. I had to hold her down when she started squirming, and she folded her fingers through mine when I rested them on her belly.
Watching her reactions to my attention would never get old, I thought. Sophie was perfect in every way. Her breasts heaved with each quick breath, her face flushed in the moonlight that filtered through the balcony door. When her back arched, I could see the muscles in her stomach tensing.
So beautiful.
Her breath caught when my tongue entered her, fingers tightening on mine. Muscles bunched and flexed as I stroked her core, applied pressure, sucked the right spots. I could tell she was getting close and it was almost painful to pull myself away before she finished.
“Cam, please,” she rasped.
I slid back up to her side, rubbing my cock against her to keep the friction going. “Are you ready?”
“Yes.” She wrapped her arms and legs around me, forcing me into position. “Please, Cameron.”
I kept thrusting between us, grinding against her clit to keep her close, then pulled back and slid home. And that’s exactly how it felt every time, like coming home. Sophie’s blue eyes sparkled when they met mine, and I smiled.
“I love you so much, Sophie.”
She drew me closer, pressing her lips to mine. “I love you, too.”
Bringing us into a rhythm, Sophie’s unique energy started pouring out of her and swirling around us. My dragon purred deep inside and started moving to the forefront of my consciousness, getting me ready for the bite. Sophie was making the most enticing whimpering noises. I kept the pace up but started pulling out further, slamming in harder, hitting that spot she loved.
“Cam,” she cried out, gripping me tighter to her.
Her passage clenched tight around me, and at that moment, I felt my dragon take the lead. My teeth elongated and sank into Sophie’s flesh. With my senses open, I felt everything. Her whole body shuddered as she came, gripping me so tight that I followed right behind her. The very atmosphere shifted around us, warming, crackling with static.
Pulling back, Sophie’s eyes met mine, swirling with color that matched my own. She gasped, gaze darting over my face in wonder, then she pulled me back down. I grinned and happily obliged.
Sophie was finally a dragon. She was finally mine.
23
Sophie
“It’s snowing!” Shae’s excited shout carried up the stairs to Cam and me. We hadn’t rolled out of bed yet, but it was Saturday. We didn't have to. Lila was supposed to come to get Shae, and she and Leath were taking the girls to the aquarium for the day for some Halloween event. I hadn’t had a chance yet to have my first flight, since everything happened the night before. We’d texted Lila to see if there was any hope that she could take Shae, we wanted my first flight to be just me and Cam.
“That’s lovely, honey.” I peered out my bedroom door, but Shae’s voice drifted up from downstairs.
“They’re here!”
Oh, how blessed I was to have a child that could get herself ready. I hadn’t had to get out of bed or even crack an eyeball after spending most of the night doing anything but sleeping with my mate. Even a couple of years ago, I would’ve had to get up, make breakfast, make sure Shae’s clothes matched, the whole nine yards.
Today, all I did was yell downstairs. “Have fun! Be polite and don't argue with Zoe. Love you bunches!”
"And I love you, too," Cam bellowed from the bed.
There was a short pause. “Love you both!”
What a huge change. A month ago, Shae would’ve dissolved in anger and tears if she’d heard Cam express love for her.
After opening the curtains on his balcony windows, I tiptoed back to bed and slid in beside Cam. The snow was coming down hard, with big, wet snowflakes. My favorite kind. It was a bit early in the year for it, but not unheard of. It would make the entire day more magical.
“I’m excited,” I whispered.
He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close. “I’m excited for you. This is the first day of the rest of our lives. Wanna get started?”
I nodded eagerly, and both of us hopped out of bed.
Slipping on my robe, I hurried down the stairs. Already, the cold didn’t bother me. Something inside heated me up. As I focused on it, I realized I could feel my dragon within. It was still me, but somehow wild and free. Me if I were a beast.
Wow. Too damn cool.
I hurried outside. “Are you sure nobody can see us?” I hissed as I looked around.
“Calm your mind,” Cam said. “You’re an ether dragon. That means you can sense if anyone is in your vicinity.” He cocked his head at me in his boxers as fat snowflakes landed on his hair and shoulders.
Breathing deep, I sat on the porch swing and cast out with my aura, sort of how I would’ve done while reaching to commune with the spirits. Not
hing brushed back against me. “I think we’re alone.”
“Then let’s do this!” He bounded out into the yard and dropped his drawers. I giggled at seeing him stark naked outside.
Rising from the swing, I untied the robe and let it slip from my shoulders. “Okay,” I said. “Here goes nothing!” Sucking in a deep breath, I let it slide down my arms and hurried out to meet him in the grass.
The snow was different. It felt like a cool shower on a hot day. “Is the summer heat unbearable?” I asked.
Cam shook his head. "Your body will regulate your temperature. You'll always feel warm as if sitting in front of a fire."
So damn cool. “Okay, how do I do this?”
“Well, I’m not sure how the others do it, and it’s been a very long time since my first shift, but from what I remember, and what I do now, is I find my dragon and sort of let go. He takes it from there.”
I directed my thoughts inward and let her know that if she knew what to do or where to go from here, she was welcome to. Sucking in a lungful of the cool mountain air, I settled myself and tried to find a way to let go.
And then it happened. No pain, no fuss, I blinked and then I was a dragon.
Whoa.
I twisted my massive head around and tried to look at myself. The snow fell on my back, wetting the iridescent and sparkling scales. Ether dragons were gorgeous, and I couldn’t help but feel proud as I walked around and got used to moving in this body.
Cam shifted, and we worked our way around the backyard as I acclimated. We had to be careful not to squish any of the bushes or statues and fountains.
When I felt comfortable in my skin, I tried to let go and walked across the back yard until I stood at the edge of the driveway. Then I lumbered forward, expecting to run hard and heavy, but surprised when I moved light on my feet and with grace. My wings spread wide and flapped one, two, three times, and then I was off.
It was amazing. It was transcendent. I was flying! Rushing through the air and up, up and over the trees. I let out an exhilarated laugh, but it came out as a roar and sparks erupted from my mouth. I clamped my jaws shut. Cam would have to help me figure out how to control that particular power.