by Alisa Woods
I nudge her entrance, just barely getting the head in.
She lets go of the railing and clutches at my shoulder. “Oh, yes, Niko! Ah.” She looks down, but our bodies are mashed together—she can’t see how much of my cock there still is to go. “I knew you were big, but fuck!”
I can barely keep from laughing. “Shall we start over?” I pull out and thrust in slowly again, deeper.
“Oh my fucking… what? Fuck!” Her legs are curled up around me now, her feet digging into my back. And damn, it is tight. “I’m so hot.” She wipes her brow, and for a moment, I forget about the insane pleasure of being half inside her.
“You okay?” I check her face. She’s so flushed. That doesn’t seem right.
“Yes. Fuck.” She’s back to clawing at me. “I just need you inside me, Niko. Now.”
I need it too—I’m desperate for it—so I push in further before pulling out once more and stroking in all the way.
“Oh, my God!” She’s clinging to me, back arched, head buried in the pillows.
I stay seated, adjusting—her to my length, me to her tightness. But we fit. There’s a sudden rightness to it. As if I’ve worked my whole life just to find a way to be joined to this woman in this bed at this moment. The sizzle of the magic is still everywhere in my body. I can feel the heat of hers radiating like an oven. This is just the beginning of the song of love we’ll play with each other’s bodies—we need to finish it together.
“My love,” I breathe, begging. I need to move.
“Niko,” she gasps. “Please.”
And so I do. I stroke out and in, starting gentle but quickly ramping up to a thrusting so hard it jolts us both. She’s grasping onto the head railing again, and my hand is there too, giving leverage to keep pumping. Her eyes are squeezed closed, and she’s mumbling her pleasure as her head thrashes. I’m trying to hold back, trying to make it last, but each stroke unleashes more of the insane lust of my inner dragon, driving me on, thrusting harder. I’m rushing toward a peak, but this isn’t one I can go to alone.
“Ember,” I gasp as I slam her body with mine.
“So close.” Her whimper goes straight to my cock. “Sooo close oh my God. Oh, God, Niko, I’m coming—!” Her words escalate into screams, and her thrashing turns to bucking. I feel her clench hard on my cock, coming in waves upon waves that push me right over the fucking edge.
“Fuck! Yes!” I groan as I come hard, deep inside her. Pure, white-hot pleasure rips through me, and I empty myself. It goes on and on. Fuck. I’ve never come so hard in my life. I can’t see straight for a moment.
Then the second wave hits. The magic blasts through me, turning pleasure into near electrocution. It shoots through every part of me, from my cock to my mouth, which is hanging open, to my hand gripping the iron railing. The metal fucking bends in my grip, a sudden strength greater than any I’ve known coursing through me. I release it, so I don’t wreck the bed, and I peer down at the incredible woman who just turned me into a mated dragon.
All doubts are gone—it worked.
My soul mate. Her expression is gloriously sated. The fever of her transformation has broken, her skin now cool, if damp, to the touch. She’s making a small moaning sound punctuated with whimpers as she grinds slightly around my cock, which is still buried deep inside her.
“Oh… fuck…” Her eyes are still closed, and her hands are limp on the pillows by her head.
I lean forward and nibble at her slack lips. “Was it good for you, love?” If her eyes were open, she’d see my ridiculous grin.
“I think you killed me.” She draws in a deep breath and lets it out slow. “Yeah. Definitely deceased. Lying in heaven with an enormous cock in me. Shhh. Don’t disturb the dead.”
I nuzzle her breasts, something I had no time for in the frantic need to possess her. To complete the mating. I still can hardly believe this is real. In all this time of waiting, I’m not sure when I lost hope of ever finding her. I certainly never expected her to come to me as feisty and beautiful and complicated as she is. I could never have predicted any of this… and it’s absolutely perfect. Even the fact that we still have to rescue her sister from the enemy who took everything from me—it’s exactly as it should be.
Mated. One soul. Taking on the world, together.
I give a gentle nip to Ember’s tightly pointed nipple. The shudder of pleasure through her echoes through my body. What? I bite a little harder. The electric pulse of pleasure makes her twitch… and then zings through the base of my cock and straight out the tip.
Holy fuck.
“Niko.” Her hands are digging in my hair, eyes still closed.
I knew mated sex was hot—I didn’t expect it to be literally magic.
“I’m serious, Niko,” she sighs. “You’ve killed me. There can be no sex greater than what just happened to my body. It’s not possible.”
A smile she doesn’t see slowly spreads across my face. “Would you like to place a wager on that?”
“What?” She squints to peer down at me. “Are you kidding? We have to go. Or something.” Her head falls back into the pillows.
“Not yet.” Mated dragons usually have a week of isolation. Just them and their bodies and their newly fused soul. It’s tradition, but it’s also practical—everything is new and raw, and their bodies need to adjust to their new powers, as well as the fusing of their soul. We don’t have the luxury of a week—but we should take at least an hour. Any less is probably dangerous. And this mission we’re going on is dangerous enough. Besides, this time might be all we have.
I trace the circle of her nipple with my tongue, eliciting another delightful shiver that echoes through my body. Holy fuck, this will be good. Then I lift up to get a better angle for working my beautiful mate’s body. My cock deep inside her, already stirring and getting ready for more. My hand drifting down to coax out even more pleasure from her swollen nub. My bite might have to be reserved for those delicious breasts.
“Oh my god,” she breathes, her body already squirming and angling for more. “You can’t be serious.”
I’ve never been more serious about anything in my life.
Nine
Ember
“You didn’t tell me,” Aleks complains. Pretty bitterly.
“There was no time.” Niko is adjusting my tactical gear, so it fits snugly in the front. I’m still tingly from those glorious two hours in bed with the man, but I insisted that we get moving on this mission.
“You had time to tell Ketu.” Aleks seems genuinely miffed. And I know Niko feels bad it slipped his mind in all the panic. Discovering I was his soul mate came in the middle of everything.
“If it’s any consolation,” I say, “Niko barely told me.” Which is true—he waited until we were back at the lair.
“It is not.” Aleks gives me a glare, but it’s fake.
Niko just shakes his head at me, like I shouldn’t bother. But I can tell they’re best of friends—cousin-brothers really. I don’t want to come between them.
We’re all in the main meeting hall of the lair, suiting up in a ridiculous amount of gear—me, Niko, Aleks, and Constantine, the dragon who brought in the trafficked girl. My education on my new powers has been swift, just because we don’t have much time. Dragons are fireproof, but not magical fireproof. Which is apparently the kind that burned down Niko’s home lair.
“Do we really need the helmets?” I ask, giving the one sitting on the table a skeptical look. Not sure how all my hair will fit—maybe it just hangs out. Constantine’s hair is long but only to his shoulders. He can probably tuck it up.
“Yes, you need it.” Constantine reaches for my helmet and flips up the visor. “These flame-resistant suits are magically enhanced—but that won’t help much if your hair is on fire.” He hands it to Niko to give to me.
I guess my hair is going inside somehow.
Niko gives it over to me then works on securing the straps on his own magically flame-resistant suit. “There a
re mics built-in. Keep the visor down.”
We’ll look like high-tech firefighters as we attempt to infiltrate the Vardigah’s realm and rescue my sister. The helmet has a flap in the back that hangs over my neck to protect it, so I loosen the jacket Niko just buttoned up, feed my long hair down my shirt in the back, then slide the helmet over my head. Niko scowls and comes back to tighten up my jacket straps again while I adjust the helmet.
“I’ll be fine.” I shoo away his hands. He’s making me nervous with all the fussing.
Niko grumps at me. “You won’t be fine if the Vardigah blast us and you’re not properly suited.”
“Don’t argue with his High Lord Nikolais Blackscale,” Aleks says, obviously still salty. “He’s always right, you know. Comes with the title.”
“Blackscale?” I lift an eyebrow to Niko.
Aleks dives right into that. “He hasn’t told you his dragon name?”
“Aleks.” Niko squints at him.
“Oh, she definitely needs to know this.” Aleks makes an imperious face, and I’m seriously about to lose it. “You have the privilege of being mated to his High Lord Nikolais Celosia Gaulumer Thulror Blackscale, Lord Protector of the North Lair, Keeper of the Dragon Tongue, and Son of Pure Fire.”
It’s all I can do not to giggle. “Really?” I ask Niko.
He rolls his eyes but doesn’t deny it. Oh my God, I’ve actually married into royalty. Well, not exactly married. Mating is far more permanent. But definitely royalty.
“Yours truly is a mere peasant by comparison,” Aleks goes on.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Niko mutters, slipping on his own helmet now. “Sorry, can’t hear you.” His visor is totally up.
Constantine gives the whole thing a pinched look like he can’t believe we’re joking around at a time like this.
“What’s your dragon name?” I ask Aleks, barely able to contain my grin.
“Alexsandr Drayce Adunur Blackscale, at your service.” He bows. “Slightly Useful Squire of the North Lair, Keeper of Lady’s Tongues, Son of Barely Lit Coals.”
I’m guffawing inside my helmet.
Niko flips down his visor. “Are you done?” His voice is coming through the headset.
“Not even close.” But Aleks pulls on his helmet as well.
“Radio check,” Constantine says over the headset, just slightly impatient. “Everyone sound off.” A round of heres is followed by a moment of silence. It’s about time to go.
“Hang on,” Aleks says. “We need a dragon name for Ember.”
“My name is already Barely Lit Coals,” I say with a smile.
“I always knew you were one of the people, my Lady.” Aleks gives me an elaborate bow in his tactical gear, and I snort loudly through the mic… then I nearly suffocate trying to hold back the laughter, so it doesn’t ricochet around through everyone’s helmets. Aleks keeps giving me solemn nods and winks, which is making everything impossible.
“If you two are quite done…” But there’s a smile on Niko’s face, and it lifts my heart. No matter what happens next, I don’t want him leaving on bad terms with his best friend.
Niko takes my hand and then gives Aleks a joking punch in the shoulder before he grasps hold of Aleks’s hand as well. Constantine stands on the far side of Aleks and links hands with him. It’s the lineup we figured would be best given the limitations on teleportation for mated dragons. Technically, they can go anywhere, including crossing over some inter-dimensional portal that apparently exists in Ireland and is the entrance to the Vardigah’s realm. The limit is really in the total mass you can move and knowing where you want to move to. If I were better trained—or had been a dragon for more than a few hours—I’d be able to help more. As it is, Niko will have to get us there. The limit in terms of people a mated dragon can transport is about four, besides themselves. But since that’s a mass thing, and these dragons are 100% muscle, we’re just bringing three, including me. I’m strong, but I don’t weigh in like these guys. We’re holding hands because there has to be physical proximity or intertwining in order to not lose people in the transport. Niko knows enough about the Vardigah to target their realm and enough about me to pinpoint my twin sister’s location within the realm. So, he’ll get us there. He assures me that I’ll be able to transport back home—I just have to focus on the lair, and I’ll return.
My job is to get Cinder home.
Aleks and Constantine are there for backup, but Niko and I are the ones with the deadly venom and supercharged dragonfire—neither of which I know how to deploy. I’ve only shifted into my dragon form once, and it was completely awkward. I’d be more likely to fall on my face than land a bite on one of the Vardigah—frankly, I’d be better off using my newfound dragon strength and some Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu throws. But the plan isn’t to fight, other than defensively. This is entirely a rescue operation. We just want everyone back home safe again.
I just pray we’re not too late.
Niko counts it down. We practiced before, and I expected the teleportation to feel strange, like squeezing through a wormhole or spinning through a cyclone, but it doesn’t feel like anything at all. Yet it’s disorienting as hell, just like switching scenes in a Virtual Reality headset. One instant you’re here; the next, you’re in a completely different there. We go from the expansive, modern-looking meeting room of the North Lair to a cramped cell where the walls are made of light, and the floor seems like glass. In the middle, my sister is strapped to a reclined chair straight out of a nightmare—there are restraints on her arms and legs and several metal appendages sticking out from underneath, like a giant upturned insect caught with its legs in the air. A red-haired woman is bent over her, palm to Cinder’s forehead. She whips her head to us, wide-eyed.
Everyone springs into action.
Constantine reaches the red-haired woman first, snatching her hand away from Cinder’s head and twirling her around to trap her against his chest. She’s human… I think? Dressed in a hooded gown that sweeps the floor. She twists to give an amazed look to Constantine, who’s dragging her away from the chair.
Aleks and I are working on Cinder’s restraints. But my sister is passed out cold. With dark circles under her eyes and dry, cracked lips. What did that woman do?
“Hurry!” Niko’s placed himself in front of the one door in the room—I can barely see the outline in the weirdly glowing walls.
I’m trying to work the heavy buckles on her straps, but either they’re locked, or something, and these fucking fireproof gloves aren’t helping. I could try to teleport her home without undoing the straps—in theory, it might work—but I also might bring the whole chair. Which is too heavy. Maybe. Fuck. I don’t know enough about how this works.
“Oh, fuck this!” Aleks says over the mic and starts ripping the restraints straight out of the chair.
Brilliant. I do the same, but just as I pull the last one, the door disappears, and a blast of blue fire sends Niko flying toward us. Aleks and I lunge to cover Cinder, but the magical fire just dissipates into nothing before it reaches us. Standing in the doorway is a creature that has to be Vardigah—straggly, receding hair, elongated face, and pointed ears that stick up above his head. The snarl coming out of his mouth sends chills down my back, but he’s not looking at me or Aleks or Cinder, or even Niko on the floor—he’s focused on Constantine and the red-haired woman. Only Constantine is on the floor now, and the woman is standing tall, hands out. That’s when I see the faint shimmer in the air—some kind of shield between us and the Vardigah.
“Got her!” Aleks yells. He’s slid his arms under Cinder’s limp, but now free, body. “Ember!” he cries. I grab hold of Cinder’s hand and close my eyes just as the Vardigah raises his hand like he’s going to blast us all. I picture Niko’s bedroom and wish like hell I was there. I wish and wish and… forget that I need to open my eyes. Cinder’s hand jerks out of my grasp as my eyes pop open to see we’ve transported—Aleks is laying my sister’s body on Niko’s bed.
“Oh, God, Aleks… where are they?” I squeak out.
“Where are you?” Niko’s harried voice comes through the headset.
“Niko!” I gush. “Thank God. We’re in your bedroom. Me, Aleks, and Cinder.”
“That’s where you came back?” A shaky laugh comes through the headset. “We’re back in the meeting room. I’ve got Constantine. Couldn’t grab the witch, though.”
“Witch?” Aleks looks up.
“Couldn’t be anything else,” Constantine says roughly.
“How’s your sister?” Niko asks.
My heart is still pounding from the drama of the rescue, but it lurches a little when I look at her. Eyes closed. Hands limp against the bed. Dark circles under her eyes. “Not good,” I whisper.
“I’m on my way,” Niko says.
I hope there’s some kind of dragon healing for whatever those bastards did to my sister.
And the witch too.
Ten
Niko
“Any change?” I ask, having returned with coffees for everyone.
Ember accepts her chai latte and holds it with both hands. “She’s started mumbling like she’s having a bad dream. Aleks is in there.” I don’t like the stress lines at the corners of her eyes.
“The specialist is on the way,” I say, hoping that will reassure her. Our hospice nurses couldn’t do much for Cinder. “But it’ll be a few hours. She’s coming from Buffalo.”
