by Sadie Sears
Vince reached up onto a small shelf and grabbed a bar of soap. “Right here with you.”
We washed hurriedly and helped rinse each other off, then used the same towel to dry each other. Vince slung it over a chair in the bedroom to dry before scooping me up into his arms and walking me to the bed. “Can’t have you on that foot,” he said.
Setting me on the unmade bed, he climbed over me, his erection hanging heavy and long between his legs.
He put his hands on my knees and pushed, which I let him do. I relaxed my muscles and let my bent legs fall to the side, exposing me to him fully.
When his tongue pressed against my clit, I nearly jumped off the bed. Vince grabbed my thighs and held me still while I gripped the sheets and tried to force myself not to jerk my hips when he sucked my clit fully into his mouth.
His teeth grazed me, and I nearly came unglued. Moaning, I thrashed my head instead of my body so I could enjoy every moment of his lips and tongue.
But then he shifted his position. Lying over one of my legs, he continued pleasuring me with his mouth as he slipped a finger inside.
That was all I needed. I hadn’t had an orgasm that I didn’t give myself for nine excruciatingly long years. My first one exploded through me like an inferno, lighting all of my nerve endings on fire and then calming them like a soothing balm. I floated back to earth, fairly sure I’d been to heaven for a moment or two, then looked at Vince and grinned wickedly. “Your turn.”
He licked his lips and then sucked his fingers into his mouth, cleaning my juices off of them. Shit. That was more erotic than I would’ve thought.
Sitting up, I grabbed Vince’s hand and pulled him toward me, then pushed him onto his back. Settling beside him, I stroked him a few times, then wrapped my lips around his head.
I had to smile to myself when I noticed him gripping the bed sheets the way I had just a few moments before.
“Shit,” he hissed as I sucked him in deeper, relaxing my throat to take him as far as I could. I hadn’t done this in a long time, but it was like riding a bike. I remembered what he liked, and my mouth and tongue moved as if independent, like it was excited to be back in business again.
I used my hand and mouth in tandem, pumping up and down his cock as he moaned and gripped the sheets harder.
After a few minutes, Vince reached over and grabbed my hips, hauling my lower half up and over him. I spread my legs, and he carefully lifted my bad foot to his other side, so I straddled his chest. He was a lot taller than me. I lifted my head and looked back to see him propping himself up with the two pillows. Then his fingers were inside me again. My body reacted, arching my back, and giving him better access.
He licked, sucked, and pumped into me as I licked, sucked, and bobbed my head on him.
It was damn hard to focus on giving him his orgasm as my second one built, but I did my best.
When he moaned against my clit, and the vibrations of his voice hit me, I exploded again, the fire and ice coursing through my body, ravaging me, then soothing it away. Seconds later, his hot cum spurted into my mouth, hitting the back of my throat as I sucked it all out, swallowing the load that I wished was inside me.
Whoa. That was a new thought. I’d never wished anyone to come inside me before. But my birth control pills were in my bag in the truck, and without being able to take one, this was the closest we’d be getting to the real deal.
I sucked until there was no more salty liquid for Vince to release, focusing on him and my own waning orgasm. When I finished, I carefully moved my foot over him and turned around on the bed, snuggling close to his heaving chest.
“Well,” he whispered. “That was…”
I giggled and hugged him. “I agree. That was.”
6
Vince
We spent the entire afternoon in bed together, reconnecting. Lunch never even entered our minds, so hungry we were for each other. After that, though, we were exhausted. She curled up into me, and we napped. I felt more content than I’d ever thought possible, and so had no issues drifting off with Damini pressed against me.
I wanted to celebrate our reunion. My dragon wanted me out and flying, letting everyone know my utter elation. Even as happy as I was with the fact that we’d gotten stuck there together, cabin fever was starting to set in. I longed for the sky, open air, wind beneath my wings. And my brothers.
Damini hadn’t made any promises for the future, but I was hopeful. We were living in the present and would take things one day at a time. Once we got back to the real world, things might change, but destiny had brought us back together after so long, and I was confident that it had a plan. One way or another, I wouldn’t be spending the next nine years without my mate.
When we woke that evening, I was ravenous for actual food. I dressed and left Damini in bed with a copy of an old Stephen King book I’d found on a small bookshelf in the bedroom. Dinner needed planning, and I hadn’t really known before now just how difficult it was to prepare meals without common refrigerator items. I eyed the cured meats again, but I was afraid I’d end up killing one of us if I didn’t prepare it properly.
I settled for some pasta and a jar of marinara sauce, double-checking the expiration date. The wood stove was becoming a friend of mine, and once I got it heated and some snow melted, dinner was on its way. Unfortunately, when I went to salt the water for the noodles, like I’d seen Cam do many times, the lid to the shaker popped off. White granules poured out of the shaker at an alarming rate. I stopped it quickly, but there was still a lot of salt in the pot.
“Ah, the water gets drained away once the noodles are done,” I muttered to myself. “Should be fine, Vince. Just keep going.”
Peeking back into the pantry, I searched through the canned goods. If we couldn’t have meat, the pasta needed an extra something for flavor and texture. Near the back, I found what I’d been looking for: sliced mushrooms. I also pulled out a jar of minced garlic, finding it was close to expiration but not quite. Might as well, right? I could make a good meal out of that.
Once I drained the pasta, I poured the sauce in and set it back on the stove. I had to dig around the drawers for a manual can opener, then I drained the liquid from the mushrooms and dumped them in. I winced when I realized the whole can may have been too much. How Cameron came up with amazing recipes on the fly, I’d never know.
The garlic was trickier. I knew that too much would overpower everything, but I didn’t know how much was too much. Carefully, I dug out a teaspoonful and dropped it in, stirring it into the pasta and letting it heat up. The aroma wasn’t bad, per se, but I didn’t smell the garlic at all. Two more teaspoons went in, then I put it away.
I let it simmer for several minutes, stirring occasionally to make sure the flavors really blended while I prepared some tea for both of us. When I thought the food was probably ready, I grabbed two plates from the cabinet and dished out large helpings. I was sure Damini would be starving, too. The dishes would need to be done soon, but that wasn’t much of an issue. That was usually my biggest contribution when I’d lived with Cam, since he’d cooked almost all of our meals.
Setting the plates and tea down at the small breakfast table, I went to get Damini. She marked her place with a slip of paper and set the book down when I walked in. The dazzling smile she gave me nearly overruled my stomach. Her long, dark legs were stretched out on top of the blankets, and the oversized shirt blocked my view of the rest of her.
“Is dinner ready?” she asked.
I swallowed hard. “Uh, yeah.” Walking up to the side of the bed, I scooped her up in my arms. She latched her arms around my neck, giggling as I carried her out to the table. The swelling in her foot had improved tremendously, but she was no dragon. It would be at least a week, maybe as much as three, before she could walk on it properly.
“Oh, this looks… nice.” She stirred the pasta on her plate.
“Yeah, I overestimated how many mushrooms come in a can.” I took my seat on the other s
ide. “Do you know anything about cured meat? I’m craving meat but I have no idea what to do with that stuff.”
She burst out laughing. “Are you kidding me? I was on a first-name basis with every restaurant owner within a mile of campus. Even the ones who didn’t offer delivery would deliver to me. You know, when I wasn’t eating your sweet but awful attempt at a romantic dinner.”
“Or sometimes when you were,” I chuckled. “I was a horrible cook.”
Aside from the excessive number of mushrooms, it really didn’t look bad. I was feeling quite proud of myself for cooking a palatable meal for my mate. Until I scooped up a bite… and then immediately spit it back out.
“Why is it so salty?” Damini gasped and took a big gulp of her tea, swishing it around in her mouth for a few seconds.
I smacked my hand to my forehead. “Because I’m an idiot and I wasn’t thinking straight.”
“What did you do?”
But I just shook my head. That was embarrassing. “You wanna just order take-out?”
Damini snorted and almost choked on her tea. “Yeah, I want pizza. Go fly up and get us a signal.”
Laughing and joking with her made me feel a little better about the blunder that was supposed to be dinner. It really was like old times. At least I hadn’t burned anything, which was definitely a step in the right direction.
“At least the tea is good,” she said. “Someone taught you right on that.”
I groaned. “You’d really have to try to mess up tea.”
She shrugged but grinned. “I probably could. My favorite part of North Carolina was the sweet tea you could buy by the gallon. Growing up with all of this fancy tea, I didn’t think I’d like something that was half sugar. I think I miss it.”
“I miss a lot of things about North Carolina.” I propped my chin on my hand, watching her across the table.
“I miss my classes.” Damini sighed heavily, sitting back in her chair. “If you’d asked me ten years ago where I thought I’d be now, this wouldn’t have been it. I wanted to be a journalist so badly.” She bit her lip. “If I’m being totally honest, I fantasize sometimes about going back to college to finish my degree.”
Grabbing our plates, I emptied them into the trash. There was no way we’d be able to swallow that mess down. As I got started heating some water for dishes, I tried to keep her talking.
“Do you enjoy what you do now?”
Her shoulders slumped, but I pretended not to notice. “I mean, yeah, it’s great. I’m managing my family’s estate. There’s always lots to do, so I’m always busy, and that in itself can be a relief sometimes.”
I heard the hesitation in her voice, though. She wasn’t as happy as she pretended to be. If only there was a way to convince her to let go of her family without pushing her too hard. I didn’t want to be that guy, the asshole that made her choose between me and her family. Maybe the truth coming out, and her seeing them for what they were, would be enough. I had to hope.
The water started boiling a few minutes later so I put the pan in the sink and added several scoops of snow until it cooled to only scalding.
“Help me get the chair over there and I’ll dry for you,” she said. “I feel bad enough that I can’t help you with a lot of this stuff.”
Sliding my chair over, I helped her hobble over, and she propped her knee up on it. She grabbed a dish towel and I started handing her things.
“What about you?” she asked. “What big plans did you have for your future?”
“Oh, you know, rescuing damsels in distress and getting snowed in with them.” I winked. “I think mine worked out the way I’d planned.”
She shoved me playfully, and I flicked water at her. “I’m serious. What were your plans for when you got out of the military?”
“My only real plan was finding you again,” I told her honestly. I paused, handed her another dish, and decided to tell her. “Cam’s mate, Sophie, just sold me her old house in Spruce. Like, I’m literally still unpacking and everything, and it’s kind of spacious for one person. It’s outside of town, up the mountain a bit and away from the bustle of everything.”
She gave me a half-smile. “Sounds peaceful.”
“Absolutely.” We finished the dishes quietly, then I unplugged the sink and watched the water drain. “Sometimes it does get noisy. One of my clanmates, Leath, lives close by, down this narrow path through the woods. His mate’s preteen daughter and her best friend have already stopped by to check on me. They’ve just gotten their wings recently and take every chance they can to fly around.”
Damini laughed at the thought. “You have little dragons in your clan?”
“Well, they’re almost teenagers now, but yeah. They’re good girls.” I sighed dramatically, pressing the back of my hand to my forehead. “I just wish they’d let me read in peace.”
I helped her back to the table and pushed my chair back over, then ducked back into the pantry. With my disastrous dinner, I was hoping for something quick. Canned tomatoes and corn caught my eye. Looking around, I found some rice and beans. I eyed the cured sausages and huffed, opting for canned chicken instead. When we got out of there, I was going to ask Cameron more about cured meats and what to do with them.
Well, it wasn’t going to be quick, but I got to work trying to pull together some kind of Spanish food, or Cajun. I wasn’t entirely sure what spices went with what type of dish, so I sprinkled some in that smelled like they’d go well. At that point, I was just praying and hoping for the best.
“So, how many books do you keep in your bag with your clothes?” Damini asked.
“Usually three. Why?”
She chuckled. “Have you ever thought of getting an e-reader and just keeping that with you? That way you’d have a ton of books at your fingertips and only one device to worry about.”
“Ah, but e-readers don’t have that book smell,” I pointed out. “Maybe someday, but there’s just something about the feel of a paperback between your fingers. Plus, the battery doesn’t die on a paperback.”
“Have you read anything good lately? Besides that book I just had, because I’m sure you’ve already read that.”
“And you would be correct there.” I shuffled around the kitchen, draining cans and prepping things. “I’ve read every book in this place unless the old dragon has some hiding somewhere. Oh, I was in the local fall production of Pirates of Penzance.”
Damini threw her head back and laughed again. “As who? Frederic?”
I pressed my hand to my chest in mock offense. “Does the role not suit me?”
She waved her hands and shook her head. “No, no, it’s perfect. Only you would believe someone when they feed you that bull about your twenty-first birthday.”
“Alas, I have been insulted!” I glanced over to where she sat watching me. “Is Romeo and Juliet still your favorite?”
“That one doesn’t really leave you. Two lovers, forbidden from one another, a war divides their people, but they fall in love anyway.” She lowered her eyes and smiled softly. “It’s a concept I resonate with, I guess.”
That it was, I supposed. Only with her family, it was rather one-sided. So far as I knew, dragons didn’t really have an issue with them unless her mother’s family in Pakistan had some dealings that I wasn’t aware of. I put the finishing touches on the second attempt at a meal, and it didn’t look half bad this time.
“I hope this is better,” I said, taking new plates over to the table. “None of the spice lids came off this time, so here’s hoping. Don’t ask me what it is. It’s a Vince surprise.” As in, surprise! I couldn’t even remember what I put in it.
She took a tentative bite and chewed, her eyes widening. “Oh, that’s actually really good. You should write down what you put in it.”
I shook my head and huffed a laugh. “I don’t remember what spices went in. I was just guessing.”
It was really tasty though. We ate and chatted, bringing up more of our adventures in North Caro
lina. The hope in my chest began to swell and the entire scene just felt natural. Both of us eating dinner together, making small talk, enjoying each other’s presence. I imagined her at Sophie’s—or even better, my house. I’d make more of an effort to learn how to cook in that kitchen if I had her to cook for every night.
Then I imagined the space in that house, and how great it would be to hear more little dragons running around other than just Zoe and Shae. I nearly choked on my food. I had no freaking clue where that stray thought had come from. I hadn’t thought about kids of my own in years. Apparently, my dragon liked the idea, however, and made as much known.
After dinner, I carried Damini to the couch and put more logs on the fire. She curled into my side, stroking my chest.
“I really did miss you so much,” she whispered. “I spent so much time mad at you because I still loved you and my stupid brain wouldn’t let go.”
I tilted her chin up so that her eyes met mine. “I know how you feel. I wasn’t mad so much as I was upset. But you’re here now, and I’m here. That’s all I could ask for right now.”
She pulled her face back and made a face. “Were you quoting someone else just now—”
My kiss cut her off abruptly, but she didn’t seem to mind. She leaned into me, opening her mouth to my tongue. My dragon went wild in response, and I had to clamp down on the urge to claim her. We weren’t there yet, but things were looking up for us.
I slid my fingers into her silky hair, taking it slow and easy. Since neither one of us had been to the store, obviously, we were stuck in the same position we’d been in earlier. No condoms. Still, even that much had been fun. It could be fun again.
Damini shifted on the couch, and I felt tugging around my groin as she unzipped my pants. She was still in the oversized shirt, as I’d been doing a fantastic job of keeping the cabin warm enough for her, and her legs were on full display for me. Naturally, because she was Damini, I was already stiff when she reached into my pants.
Her grip was firm, and she picked up as if we’d never stopped from earlier in the day. My grip on her hair tightened. As much as I wanted to just sit back and enjoy her attention, I wanted to please her as well. My hand massaged her inner thigh as I crept up her leg.