Clamping my hand on her knee and holding it aloft against the edge of the counter, I buried my face against her delicious wetness. Her arousal was sweet and tangy, her flesh a velvety wonderland beneath my tongue, and her harsh cry music to my ears.
Tilting my head to the side, I angled my tongue to reach her clit, toying with it until her thighs began to quiver. I paused and swiped my tongue back through her channel to the tight ring of her ass, a little surprised at the way she flinched at first before relaxing and emitting a faint sigh.
With my tongue still lightly caressing her rear opening, I pushed my fingers back into her pussy, marveling at how greedily she took all four.
She whimpered again, muscles milking my fingers.
“Princess, you’ve got two choices if you want more: My fist or my dick. I’m happy to give you either one.”
It was only a partial lie; as much as I ached to slam my cock into her again, proving that she could take my entire hand would have satisfied a different perverse need.
I twisted my fingers inside her, amused by her uncertainty, like she might actually choose a fisting over a fuck. Then I heard a whisper that was barely more than a breath and my pulse picked up speed.
“Say again?” I asked.
“Please fuck me, Keagan.”
I was on my feet in an instant, unfastening my jeans with one hand as I spun her around with the other. I had her ass hoisted to the countertop and the shirt pushed up over her breasts just in time to slam my dick home.
Her head flew back with a cry and she wrapped her legs around my hips, pulling me into her with the same desperation I felt as I forced her onto my cock. She fell back onto her hands, chest arched up, and I took the invitation, grabbing one delicious, dark nipple between my lips and sucking.
Fuck if this didn’t feel better than the first time, even without Rohan’s big dragon tongue toying with my balls. Had I missed out by avoiding sex with women all this time, or was it just this woman whose body, whose scent, whose luscious pussy was driving me crazy?
She let out a needy moan and slipped one hand between her thighs. My balls tightened at the sight of her stroking her clit in swift strokes.
“Let me,” I growled, pushing her hand aside and pressing my thumb to her clit.
I pumped harder into her while I stroked her and she lifted her hand to the back of my neck, using me for leverage as she pivoted her hips and pumped my cock. Her pussy clamped tight around me just as sweetly as I remembered, the hot friction pushing me closer and closer to the edge.
I’d already lasted longer than the first time. This time, I wanted to hear her fall apart around my cock before I let go. I needed to prove that she didn’t have that much sway over me.
Our eyes locked, hers a strange, fevered variegation of colors filled with some unspoken craving that I sensed went far deeper than her need for release. A melodic humming started in her throat that tugged at my heart for the briefest second before her eyes widened and the sound abruptly stopped.
I was losing her. No fucking way was that going to happen.
I wrapped my arms around her and spun us both, slamming her against the cold steel of the fridge and pumping up into her. She let out a cry of surprise that faded to a moan of renewed ecstasy. Her legs tightened around my waist and she clutched at my shoulders.
“Keagan!” My name faded into a keening cry as Deva’s entire body tensed in my arms, core spasming around my cock. I pulled back enough to look into her eyes again and was gratified to see the uncertainty had fled, replaced by nothing but raw pleasure.
My balls tightened as my climax took over. Our eyes remained locked, her dark lashes fluttering and her full lips parted as she succumbed, lips brushing against mine. I turned my head sharply, unwilling to have that intimate a connection. This was already way too much.
When she relaxed in my arms and my cock ceased twitching, I pulled back, letting her slide out of my arms and back to the floor. Without looking at her, I fastened my jeans and turned back toward the workshop.
“Keagan?”
Her hesitant question was followed by a light touch on my back. I couldn’t imagine what the fuck more she wanted from me, but I’d given all I had.
“That should be enough power to get him through the night, I think. Come find me if you need more.”
13
Deva
Keagan’s abrupt departure left me stunned, too dazed by my intense orgasm to process his strange behavior. Finally it clicked into place, leaving me cold: It’d been all about feeding enough energy to me to help his friend. That was it.
But as much as I appreciated that sentiment, it still stung to have him push me away like there hadn’t been any more to our encounter. There had been so much more. It had been apparent in the flood of his arousal and the flare of his aura. The affection in his eyes had only flashed for a moment, but it’d been enough to trigger a need for me to sing to him before I caught myself.
Singing the kind of song that had swelled against my throat was pointless. I needed to save all that energy for keeping Rohan’s aura fortified and keeping his soul from bleeding out until we could find a way to fully heal him.
The moment I stepped back into Rohan’s bedroom, my mood lifted. Despite the exhaustion in his rumpled face, he smiled at me, though it faltered when I set the plate with the sandwich down on his bedside table, avoiding his gaze.
“Are you all right?” he asked, reaching out and taking my hand in his.
“Better now,” I said, letting him pull me onto his lap.
“Your aura says otherwise,” he murmured into my hair.
“I don’t think Keagan likes me much,” I confessed, clinging to him so I didn’t have to see his reaction.
Rohan snorted. “He’s just overprotective. Besides, if he didn’t like you, I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t have come back to me all covered in his scent. I’m not quite sure whether I ought to start with the real food or with you.”
“You need to eat. And if you don’t mind, can I use your shower?”
“And let you wash off all that delicious ursa goodness?” He laughed and gripped my shoulders, urging me back far enough to look into my eyes. Whatever he saw made him frown again.
“Yeah . . . whatever you need. But I’m spending the rest of the night improving that moody look. You’re saving my life here. That alone earns you the right to happiness.”
A knot formed in my throat and I leaned in and kissed him, unable to voice my doubts about my right to happiness. I needed more than sweet words from him, but it was a good start.
The second I slipped off his lap and padded toward the bathroom, I heard him crunch into the enormous sandwich I’d made. He moaned, the sound every bit as filled with ecstasy as the noises he’d made when we’d fooled around earlier. I chuckled at how very appropriate the reaction was for a Gold dragon.
By the time I finished with my shower, the room was dark, but the sheets rustled as he slid over in the bed when I came close. I slipped in beside him, comforted by the way he enveloped me in his big arms and nuzzled my nape.
He traced a palm down my side and plucked lightly at the fabric of his shirt that I’d put back on after bathing.
“What’s with this?” he asked.
“I’ve decided it’s my favorite shirt too. Do you mind if I keep it on? You should rest anyway.”
He was silent for a second, then gripped my hand in his. “Give me some of your energy, Deva. Just a little.”
Realizing I should have given him quite a bit more already, I let a measure of power loose through my hand, the room filling with an eerie violet glow.
The next thing I knew he exhaled a deep breath and we were encompassed in a gilt and glittering cloud. I only needed a single breath before the euphoria filled me and every worry seemed to fade away.
“You didn’t have to do that,” I said, snuggling back against him.
“Call me crazy, but after everything today, it’s the least I can do. I have
the most insane urge to make you happy, and until I can figure out how to make that a permanent state, this is all I’ve got.”
His magic didn’t leave room for any second guessing, so I gradually fell asleep, more content than I had any right to be.
* * *
Late that night something roused me, my senses sparking like I’d been shocked. I blinked into the darkness, my heart racing, slowly regaining my bearings as the awareness of Rohan’s furnace-warm sleeping body behind me became apparent.
A play of what I’d thought was moonlight shifted near the corner of the room and I darted my eyes in that direction. The blaze down the creature’s face gave it away as the hound who had attacked Rohan, but while its markings had a silver glow before, now they were imbued with golden light.
Its dark eyes fixed on me and I clenched my jaw, but there was no malice within that gaze. I reflexively pushed a fresh surge of magic into Rohan’s body to fortify his aura.
The hound blinked and whined, its blaze fading.
“Get out of here,” I bit with as much force as I could without waking Rohan.
The hound flinched and glanced at the window, but remained where it was.
Sighing, I closed my eyes and began to hum the song I’d used to banish it earlier, then parted my lips and sang in a low voice as near a whisper as I could manage. On the last “I will survive,” I opened my eyes to hazard a glance.
The hound was gone, yet for some reason I couldn’t shake the feeling that I’d hurt it more with my song than Rohan had with his fire, and that somehow that creature was as much a victim as the people it had bitten.
14
Deva
The silvery morning light roused me and I opened my eyes, disconcerted by the misty glow beyond the window. Warmth encompassed me and the lingering sense of rightness. A big, tan arm was hooked around my midsection, a hand securely fastened over one breast, and I closed my eyes again to enjoy the sensation.
I’d never woken up in the arms of a lover before, at least not in real life. I had plenty of dreams about it, and the real thing was every bit as precious. But my savoring of the moment was cut short by memories seeping in from the day before.
Keagan’s rough, urgent touch had been a stark contradiction to his chilly demeanor, but as much as that had confused and hurt, it was obvious he cared deeply for Rohan. Enveloped as I was in the Gold dragon’s pleasant aura, I understood completely.
I gently extracted myself from his embrace, subtly pushing fresh power into him to replace whatever the hound had stolen during the night. I didn’t see any sign of the creature now, and while it could have returned while we slept, I had a feeling it had stayed away.
The creatures were a mystery, and I was at a loss as to how I could unravel it. Perhaps with enough energy and Rohan’s permission, we could experiment a little. They responded to my commands, in a way. Maybe I could figure out what command to give to make them stop attacking to begin with.
But that would require Keagan’s participation, because I could already tell my magic was waning.
Slipping out the bedroom door, I closed it gently behind me. I wasn’t thrilled about the idea of asking Keagan for a refill. While I certainly enjoyed the act itself, I couldn’t stand the constant rejection after the fact. Hopefully he’d be reasonable enough to at least listen to my idea first, and then maybe he’d be a bit less of an asshole the next time around.
I approached his bedroom door and found it open. The big bed in the center looked slept in, but the room itself was empty save for his warm, earthy scent. My belly tightened with a rush of arousal, the memory of that scent surrounding me, making my skin tingle and my head buzz.
Closing my eyes, I shook my head to clear it, irritated by my poor self-control. I knew most of the higher races were adept at separating the need for magic from the need for love. Perhaps that was a skill I still needed to learn, because a small part of me had a really hard time not craving a deeper connection with Keagan similar to the one I’d already felt forming with Rohan.
It’s been a day, I reminded myself. Most of my kind had centuries to acclimate. Even though in my blood I understood the concept of patience, it would still take practice before it felt natural.
That blood was what provided the certainty that I had the potential for far more power than I could display. After all, I had eons worth of memories that weren’t mine stored away, but so far they were all just abstract details; very few of them were attached to any emotion to allow me to latch onto. Perhaps they’d have been more meaningful if the woman who had created me had not been a psychopath devoid of her own emotional ties to the world.
I shivered as I padded through the chilly house, though my reaction was less from the temperature than from one of those more recent memories of early consciousness. In the memory, I was alone in a gray and desolate place, trapped, yet still possessing enough awareness to understand that whoever held me captive did not have kind intentions.
Meri hadn’t wanted love, only a vessel powerful enough for her purposes. But in the end, she’d forgotten how much power she was leaving on the table by leaving love out of her formula.
I’d been free from Meri’s lab for barely more than a year, and in all that time absolutely desperate to find some meaning for my very existence. All those memories that floated around my mind, plus the past year of observing the close bonds my family had to their soul mates, made it clear to me that love was the key to awakening true power.
Yet every time I found myself getting close to another person who wasn’t a member of my family, something went wrong. Those memories were raw and recent and hurt like hell. Was this how love was supposed to be? To have a taste of true affection, only to have it twisted and torn from me?
Yes, it had been only a day since I’d met Rohan, but for the first time I finally had something that meaningful within my grasp. I didn’t care what Keagan thought of me. I only hoped he’d be willing to share. If nothing else, he would help me unravel this mystery and figure out how to control the hounds, or reverse what they had done.
Because even if I didn’t succeed at finding the kind of love I wanted, I would damn sure find a way to protect the bloodline.
I followed the same meandering path through the big house I’d taken the evening before, marveling at how very different the landscape appeared in the dense fog. I could have believed we were atop the mountain near the entrance to the dragon Glade, or perched on one of the cliffs outside the four turul Enclaves. The crashing surf beyond the bluffs was the only thing that gave away our location as being on Earth and not in one of those two higher realms.
I passed through the door to the library and paused, spying a figure on the patio outside, shoulders clad in a black hooded sweatshirt emblazoned with the same design that seemed to grace just about everything in this house, including its two residents. He was hunched in the low-slung wooden chair, one hand gripping a big, steaming mug and the other holding a wooden stick that he idly spun between his fingers.
I braced myself for the conversation, hoping it didn’t devolve into another seduction, but also not quite sure I’d mind. The past twenty-four hours had been the first time I’d experienced the ache that accompanied full depletion, and it was creeping in again like an uncomfortable weariness throughout my entire body. I appreciated that it provided me a deeper understanding of my dragon nature, but I knew better than to let it persist for too long.
While I was pretty sure I wouldn’t devolve into a near-feral dragon like Rohan the day before—my native shape was human, after all—I didn’t want to test that limit when there was so much at stake.
I pulled open the glass door, heart pounding despite my resolve to get this conversation over with. At least I’d caught Keagan somewhat relaxed instead of in the throes of angry carpentry. Maybe he’d be willing to listen.
I winced and hesitated, realizing I probably should have changed out of Rohan’s shirt or maybe conjured something for myself that wasn’t in
fused with the dragon’s scent. But Keagan had heard the door open and was already turning toward me, so I pressed my lips together and stepped outside, rushing past him to get to the chair facing him and blurting out my request before I could lose my nerve.
“I know you’re not crazy about me being here, but last night proved you’re just as determined to help Rohan as I am. I need to know you can be level-headed and help me figure out a way to permanently heal him so we don’t have to keep fucking when it’s obvious you hate it.”
The cold of the wooden Adirondack chair bit into my bare thighs as I sat and lifted my gaze to face him, anxious for his response.
But the eyes that met mine were a stormy gray-blue and distinctly not Keagan’s light brown. My breath puffed out in surprise as I met a familiar turul gaze that sparked with power. Beneath that power was what could only be described as shock.
“Ozzie,” I breathed, my entire body going both hot and cold at the same time. “H-How are you here?”
A warm wind picked up, drying the damp, chilly air and heating my skin. I stared at him, not sure whether I was happy or terrified, but definitely confused to see him here, of all places.
And, oh fuck, what had I just said?
He frowned and gave an exaggeratedly slow look around. “Well, last I checked, this was my house, so I think the better question is how the fuck are you here?”
15
Ozzie
I didn’t know whether to hug her or bend her over my goddamn knee. Both impulses warred in me while I waited for Deva to find her voice. The wind kicked up around us, blowing the fog farther inland and leaving us sitting in a patch of sunlight that had no right to be here at this time of day.
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