He has to be on his way, I tell myself even though dread curls around the edges of my mind when I realize that I can’t even see the stars from this place of deep darkness. After all, that’s what fate means, right?
9
ARTHUR AND ADDIE’S CASTLE
DIESEL
“Fate means nothing!” I roar, punching a stone pillar so hard that chunks of ancient rock fly all over the place. “Sorry,” I grunt, patting the hole in the pillar like that’s gonna patch it up.
“You can’t lose faith in your destiny, Diesel,” Addie says softly from where she’s standing with Arthur. Brogan and Bonnie are hanging back against the wall. Callie and Crane are on the velvet couch but looking as tense as everyone else in the room. “Fate is never a straight shot. You know that. We all know that. Your faith is tested the most when you’re close to the end. Bonnie, did you find anything else in the scrolls that might help?” she adds, looking pleadingly at her friends when I just grunt and shake my head.
I’d flown as hard as I could, but I couldn’t catch Dorrie’s Dragon before it disappeared into the moon. I searched every fucking cave, mountain, and valley on the moon, but it was like she’d disappeared into thin air. It drove me and my Dragon insane, and we burned anything and everything that could be burned on that dead piece of rock.
I roared and thundered, screeched her name so loud my voice formed new craters on the moon’s pock-marked face. But Dorrie didn’t answer. I couldn’t even pick up her scent, which whipped my Dragon into such a frenzy I had to use all my willpower to rein in the beast so we could fly back to Earth and seek out Arthur and the other Dragons.
But clearly they can’t help me, I think as that sickening feeling of rage mixed with despair almost makes me lose control again. Fucking waste of time coming here. Nobody’s got any answers.
I’m about to head to the balcony and launch myself out over the Dead Sea, fly back to the moon and keep searching for my mate. But then Bonnie looks up from the scrolls.
“I found something,” she says hopefully, but when I look at her expression I sense that it’s not all sunshine and roses. “Well, kinda. So apparently there is a twist to the Moon Dragon Myth. Right now Dorrie is trapped inside her Dragon, and the Dragon is trapped by the Moon’s Dark Energy. All of that came to be because of the Grand Blood Moon—which means it can be undone during the next Grand Blood Moon.”
I blink as my heart leaps with hope. But then Callie clears her throat and glances pitifully at me before looking back at Bonnie.
“The next Grand Blood Moon won’t happen for another two thousand years, Bonnie,” Callie says softly.
The answer almost crushes my soul, but I know I won’t break. I’ll wait if I have to wait. I’ll keep searching for two thousand years, never stopping, never slowing down. If that’s what I need to do to claim my mate, I’ll fucking do it.
The question is, will Dorrie survive for two thousand years? Fuck, will the world survive another two thousand years?! No way I can take that chance. No fucking way.
“I’m not waiting two thousand years for Dorrie to get released from some dark spell or prison or wherever she is,” I growl. “There’s gotta be another way.” I glance around the room and then turn once more to the open balcony. “I’ll figure it out,” I mutter as I prepare to Change to my Dragon and continue my search. The others said they were ready to help me search, but I know that the women’s Dragons are still too undeveloped to fly all the way to the moon, and I can’t ask the male Dragons to leave their young children and mates unprotected even though Arthur, Brogan, and Crane already offered to fly back with me.
“I think you will figure it out, Diesel,” Addie says with a smile. “Just like Arthur said, fate doesn’t lock you in a cage without also hiding the key somewhere close. The answer will come to you” She pauses and sighs. “Or maybe you already have the answer hidden away somewhere.”
I raise an eyebrow and try to smile. “Hidden away? Like in one of my vaults? That would be pretty convenient, wouldn’t it?”
Addie blinks and looks away. “Sorry. I should have stayed quiet. That wasn’t helpful.”
“Actually it was helpful,” I say as something occurs to me. “And so was what you said about how fate works. Fate never asks a question for which you don’t already have the answer hidden somewhere, right? So maybe I do have the answer hidden away somewhere. Thanks, guys! See you soon! Hopefully in less than two thousand years!”
I grin at the confused looks around the room, but I’m too excited to explain. Not that I’d know how to explain—I don’t even know if what I thought of makes any sense!
But my Dragon has already burst forth, and soon I’m screaming across the sea, over deserts and grasslands, all the way to the remote mountains of East Africa. I home in on the mountain I’m looking for, and when I come in for a landing I feel a spark of my Dragon’s joy when it sees the carefully hidden door of the vault I built almost two hundred years ago.
“Easy, boy,” I say, Changing to the man and feverishly turning the old combination dial. The door is stuck, but I tighten my naked body and drag it open.
The smell of loot and bounty overwhelms the Dragon in me, and I have to hold myself back from rolling around in cash and gold, feeling my spoils against my skin. There’ll be time for that later. Right now I’m not looking for cash. I’m not looking for gold.
“I’m looking for this,” I whisper in triumph as I see its eerie red glow up on a shelf against the cave walls.
It’s the Red Diamond. The Red Diamond that I stole from Arthur—the only thing I stole from his vaults even though I could have taken so much more.
I remember that night I stole the Red Diamond. I remember dreaming about it before I even knew what it was. I remember finding it like I was drawn to it. I remember ignoring piles of gold coins and barrels of cash because all I wanted was this diamond that glowed red.
Red like blood.
Red like a blood moon.
Red like a Grand blood moon?
I certainly fucking hope so.
10
DORRIE
“Has it been two thousand years? I certainly fucking hope so,” I whisper as my Dragon circles in the Darkness. The beast hasn’t spoken in what feels like days, and I sense it breaking its attachment to me, like the moon’s dark energy is slowly taking over. I don’t know what’ll happen when that process is complete, but judging by how I felt back in the ER just from a glimpse of that dark energy, I don’t wanna know what’ll happen!
I sigh in silence as I force myself to look through my Dragon’s eyes. Still dark as pitch, not a glimmer of light, not a glimmer of hope, not a—
“Wait, what’s that?” I mutter, doing my best to focus even though my Dragon isn’t responding to my commands. “That red glow. It’s moving. Moving fast. A shooting star?”
But the red glow isn’t fading away like a shooting star would, and as I stare it gets bigger and brighter. Then I see a flash of dark wings, and suddenly Diesel’s Dragon bursts onto the scene in a shower of red light, sending sparks through the darkness, purging the night with daylight!
I scream in delight, and I’m even more delighted that I can actually hear my own scream come through my Dragon! The beast is somehow broken from its dark trance, and when Diesel flies close I realize he’s clutching something in his talons. Something red and shiny, shining like a red star—or a red moon.
I don’t understand exactly what’s going on, but somehow I know that whatever Diesel’s holding is the key that pops me from my prison, short-circuits this two-thousand year old law, busts this myth straight out of the sky!
Now I feel my Dragon come out of its stupor, and its eyes go wide as it stares at the red thing that I think is a diamond—a diamond bigger than a pumpkin!
And then suddenly I feel my own body, and I squeal in delight when I realize I just Changed back to myself!
Of course, the excitement doesn’t last.
Because I Changed back to a hu
man . . .
And humans can’t breathe on the moon.
11
DIESEL
“Breathe!” I roar as I pluck Dorrie out of the emptiness. But of course there’s no fucking air on the moon—even in this secret space on the moon—and I roar again when I see Dorrie’s lips turn blue!
“Change to your Dragon!” I howl, but Dorrie’s passed out and so she can’t summon her animal. She’s passed out, and she’s fucking dying in my arms!
We cannot get there fast enough, whispers my Dragon as I turn in the air and wonder if I can fly back to the Earth in time to save her. You must put her inside us.
“What?!” I roar, not sure what my crazy Dragon means. But I have no time to think, and so without thinking I trust my instincts, trust my Dragon, and trust my fate.
I trust my fate . . .
And I swallow my mate.
12
DORRIE
It’s dark where I am, and I start to panic as I wonder if I’m dead—or worse: If seeing Diesel was a dream and he didn’t find me at all!
But then I smell his smoky scent, and immediately I relax. I take another breath, and now I know he’s near. Very near, judging by how strong his scent is. But it’s still so dark in here. So dark and—
And then I scream when a blast of fire shoots across the sky. Well, not the sky. More like a roof. A fleshy, smoky roof.
“Diesel?” I whisper as I realize that I’m moving—or this cavern is moving. “Where are you?”
“Dorrie! Fuck, about time you woke up! I was worried I’d digested you!” comes the answer, the sound rumbling through the walls of wherever I am.
It takes me a moment to figure out what happened. I remember passing out, about to suffocate to death. And then . . . then . . .
“Ohmygod, you ate me!” I scream as the hazy memory comes back. “How could you eat me, Diesel!”
“Dragons store vast amounts of air in their internal chambers,” Diesel responds. “We need the oxygen for our fire. It was the only chance I had to save you. You’re welcome, by the way.”
I try to laugh, but Diesel’s Dragon starts to dive, and I grab onto the sides and hang on. Soon I feel the Dragon’s mouth open up, and slowly I sense fresh air coming through. We’re back in the Earth’s atmosphere, and it’s about time.
We land with a bump, and a moment later Diesel’s Dragon spits me out like I’m a piece of gum. I yelp as I hit soft grass and roll three or four times before sitting up, my hair all over my face. I’m breathless and happy, and I pull my hair back so I can see Diesel in the flesh. The naked flesh, of course. In fact, we’re both naked. Oops. Hopefully there’s no one around.
“Are you an angel?” comes a kid’s voice, and I scream and scramble to cover myself.
I manage to get behind a bush, and when I peer out I realize that we’re in a State Park, not in the forest or wherever Diesel thought he was landing. We’re in a State Park, and a family is unpacking their Subaru Station Wagon to set up at a picnic table up on a nearby bluff.
The rest of the family haven’t seen me, and I figured Diesel must have done his light-bending trick when his Dragon came in for a landing. Sure enough, I see Diesel calmly walk out from behind a tree, naked as the midday sun, bronzed and bared like a god.
I’m stunned by the sight of my mate in all his glory, and I almost lose myself in gaping admiration of his contoured chest, his thick arms, tight stomach, massive cock that’s already hardening like he knows what he wants, knows what I want too, what’s been a long time coming . . . so long it feels like two thousand years.
But I stay hidden as the kid stares at my face and asks his question again. I want to tell him to go, but I dare not let him see Diesel. And if the parents see Diesel, this shit is gonna get out of control.
I smile at the kid and steal a glance at Diesel, hoping I can signal with my eyes.
But Diesel is gone.
And when I look down at myself, I gasp in shock.
Because I’m gone too.
13
DIESEL
I don’t know how I got Dorrie to bend light and become invisible, but I don’t give a shit right now. Right now is about just one thing.
The only thing.
“Shhh,” I whisper against her ear, pulling her luscious body into me and clamping my hand over her invisible lips. “Quiet so we don’t freak that family out.”
That kid has gone back to his family, and although I hear him telling his mom he saw a naked angel in the woods, she’s thankfully humoring him. Not so thankfully, she’s also setting the table for what looks like a nine-course picnic.
“Diesel, we can’t,” she whispers back. “They’ll hear us! Let’s get back home and then we can—”
“No fucking way,” I growl. “The last time I stopped after just a kiss, you were taken over by the Moon’s Darkness and doomed to spend two thousand years in solitude. No way I’m taking any chances that fate tosses another twist my way. I’m bringing this baby home, Dorrie. Now where’s your ass? Ah, there we go. There. We. Go.”
14
DORRIE
His touch sends a shiver through my flesh, and the sensation of being claimed by my invisible mate makes me so hot and wet I can barely hold myself back from moaning.
I want to see Diesel, but there’s also a weird thrill from our first mating happening like this, like we’re making love in the dark. It seems fitting, in a way. We don’t need to see each other, because our love went beyond the world of light and sight. I know now that we loved each other before we even met.
“I love how your body feels against mine,” Diesel whispers from near my neck. He’s squeezing my boobs hard, plucking my nipples until they’re pointy like mountain peaks. “Your ass feels even more perfect than it looks.”
“Than it looks? Um, this is the first time I’ve been naked with you, and I’m invisible. So when exactly did you see my ass?” I tease.
“Right before I swallowed you on the moon,” he says just as he slides his big paw between my thighs and rubs my mound rough and right until I’m dripping all over his hand.
“So I was dying in your arms and you took the time to check out my ass?” I say through a trembling smile.
“I had to decide which part of you to eat first,” he growls against me. “And speaking of eating the best parts of you, here I come.”
I almost let out a scream as Diesel pushes me down onto the soft grass and spreads my thighs so wide I feel the breeze in my curls. A moment later I feel his head in there, and when his tongue slides deep into my pussy I start panting like the she-Dragon I am.
Diesel laps at me like a filthy creature of the night, and I’m thrashing and flailing as he takes my arousal higher each time he plunges his tongue back into my cunt. I dig my fingers into his thick hair and buck my hips up into his face as he drinks from me.
I’m close to coming as Diesel slides his hands under me and palms my buttocks. Then he pulls my rear cheeks apart and slides his middle finger right into my rear pucker!
The shock makes me come all over his face, and I release a muffled scream as my hips jerk up and down. I know I’m squirting all over my mate like I’m marking him, and I can almost hear him grin in delight, if that’s possible!
I’m still coming when Diesel flips me over and spanks my bare bottoms, his palms landing perfectly on the meatiest part of my bum. There’s no masking the sharp cracks as Diesel smacks me twice more and then jams his face between my stinging cheeks.
Before I even know what’s happening he’s licking my rim, coating me with his saliva, marking his mate. I’m beside myself with ecstasy, and when Diesel reaches below and parts my slit, prepares my hole, and then pushes his thick cock all the way inside, I realize it doesn’t matter that we’re invisible since my eyes can no longer focus.
All I know is I’m his.
I’m his, and I don’t need to see it to know it.
15
DIESEL
“You’re mine, and I
don’t need to see you to know it, Dorrie,” I whisper as I slowly fill her with my cock, taking my time to enter even though I feel the urgency to claim her with my seed. “I knew it before I ever saw you. Fuck, I knew it before I even knew I knew it!”
Dorrie doesn’t reply, but I don’t care. Hell, I don’t even remember what I just said. All I know is that everything we’ve been through was worth it even if all we have is this one moment. This moment where all we have is feeling, touch, sensation. The feeling of her body against mine. The touch of her soft skin against mine. The sensation of her heat enveloping my hardness.
I close my eyes tight as I take her from behind. I see her clearly in my mind’s eye, and I’m smiling like a happy dragon as I dig my claws into her buttocks and push into her again. My balls slap against her wet underside as I go harder, and then I groan when I feel Dorrie reach beneath herself and cup my balls.
The warmth and softness of her hand takes me over the edge so fast I don’t realize what hit me, and suddenly I’m coming, exploding into her like a star pouring its cosmic fire into the depths of the universe. I arch my back and roar, sending a flock of birds screaming from the trees, making that wholesome family high-tail it to their Subaru to escape what they think is a pack of feral Grizzlies.
I almost feel feral as my body whips back and forth, my balls delivering load after load of my seed.
But I’m not feral.
I’ve just been tamed.
Just been claimed.
Claimed by my forever.
16
ADDIE AND ARTHUR’S CASTLE
DORRIE
“Took you guys forever to get here!” says Addie after I hug her and make my way to Callie and Bonnie, my sorority sisters and now dragon-sisters.
“Yeah, we had no idea what was going on when Diesel took off like that! No idea what he was planning!” says Bonnie.
Addie introduces me to Arthur, Crane, and Brogan, and then I grab Diesel’s hand and take a deep breath. There’s a moment of turgid silence, and then Arthur speaks.
Dragon's Curvy Doctor (Dragon's Curvy Mate Series Book 4) Page 5