Feral Dragon (Earth Dragons Book 5)

by Charlene Hartnady

  “I don’t have to tell you anything.” She sounded frustrated. “You can’t do that. Just let this go, I beg you.”

  He shook his head. No, he wasn’t giving up. She could see it written all over him. “What’s that? You don’t have to tell me you don’t feel anything for me, or you don’t want to?” There wasn’t much space left between them. “I think you don’t want to.”

  “It doesn’t matter!”

  “Say the words, Cordia, or tell me what’s really going on.” He reached out and gripped her hand. “I need to know what’s happening here. What’s going through your mind. I can’t give up on what might be between us unless I know the truth.” He smiled at her. “I’m afraid I will stalk you until I have an answer.”

  “You wouldn’t!”

  “I will. You’re the one who started this whole stalking bullshit in the first place. I’ll do it. You can try me. I have a feeling I’d enjoy stalking the hell out of you.” He smiled. It was naughty and full of promise.

  She snatched her hand away. “There is nothing going on with me. I can’t take this further…that’s all!”

  “Why not?”

  With a noise of frustration, she turned, ran a few strides and shifted. She needed to get away. He needed to stop pursuing this. If she told him what was going on with her, he’d try to change her mind ‒ might even get it right ‒ that could only end in disaster. Plain and simple. Disaster.

  Cordia took to the air, cursing inwardly when she heard clothing rip behind her. The dragon planned on following her. He was shifting too. Why? It was futile. She could fly circles around him for half the night and outrun him in an instant. She raced away. Not so fast that he wouldn’t keep up, but fast enough that he would have to work hard to keep up…and work he did. His great wings flapped seemingly tirelessly. He’d said he would pursue this. Cordia got the feeling he meant it. It wasn’t all just hot air. She made him chase her for a good long while just to be sure. It was just as she suspected. He didn’t give up the chase. Didn’t falter or slow. He kept on going. Kept on trying. He would follow her around the world. Would follow her home. Would stalk ‒ what is it he had said? Stalk the hell out of her.

  With a sigh, she slowed, looking for a place to land. They were in the middle of nowhere. Darkness all around. It was beautiful. Desolate and lonely too. It was perfect. Maybe it would serve as a reminder of how her life had to remain…and maybe the opposite was true. Maybe the crushing beauty of the desolation and loneliness would push her into something new. Something that would spell disaster.

  Death.

  Maybe some things were worse. Cordia slowed her strokes, lowering herself, the long grass crushing under the pads of her paws as she landed. The great dragon landed beside her. Although he was no match for her, she was astounded by his size and strength. She screeched, giving one last-ditch effort to get him gone. Stone roared right back, making it clear he wasn’t going to back down. These dragons were underestimated by her species. They could be a formidable foe.

  His scales gleamed in the moonlight. Gorgeous amethyst eyes peered at her with intelligence and question. He hadn’t expected her to give in.

  Cordia was the first to shift. Stone was obviously afraid she would take off again if he did so first. Only once she was fully in her skin did he shift too. “I have to say,” his voice was deep and gruff. His vocal cords still remembering his animal. They were still molded to make guttural sounds. “You look just as good in your animal form. Very impressive.” His eyes held hers.

  “The only reason I let you catch me.” Her own voice was more high-pitched than normal. Still remembering her griffin. “The only reason I stopped was that I knew you meant it when you said you would keep pursuing this.”

  “Damn straight. You played that stalking card, so I’ll use it.”

  “Stop with the whole stalking nonsense.”

  “You started it.”

  He was upset about it. Cordia could see that now. Even if he hadn’t let on earlier, it was there. “You’re right. I did and I’m sorry,” she mumbled the apology, keeping her eyes on his.

  “What’s that, Feral? Dragons are hard of hearing.”

  She laughed, unable to hold back. Stone had that effect on her. “If you’re hard of hearing. I’m slow and decrepit. You heard what I said. I’m sorry! There. I said it again. I shouldn’t have said that you stalked me. It isn’t true. I panicked. It was the first thing that came to mind.”

  Stone nodded. The male looked amazing surrounded by the dark, with a shower of stars to highlight his skin, his eyes, his hair. He took a step towards her and his muscles rippled and roped. “Why did you say it then?” There it was. The hurt. The uncertainty. It must be hard on a male like Stone who probably never felt uncertain of anything. He was brave, strong, a natural leader and very good-looking. There was a confidence about him. It bordered on arrogance, at times even overstepping the mark. This was different. This was shy and unsure. This was a side, she surmised, that he didn’t know about himself. The vulnerable side. He was showing it to her. She felt warm inside. She felt herself soften but caught it and put a stop to it. He deserved something from her.

  “I panicked because we can’t be together. It can’t happen. I needed you to stop trying to pursue this. I needed you to stop pursuing me. Not because of you, or anything you did or said, but because of me. I get the feeling you will try to fix it. I don’t think it’s something that can be fixed, or handled, or managed. You will want to do all of those things and it just isn’t possible. I can’t have you trying to talk me into…anything.”

  “Why are you pushing me away? What is it I’ll try to fix? I can see nothing in need of fixing.” He gave her the once-over. “You are amazing. Perfect just the way you are.”

  “You see!” She couldn’t help smiling. “It’s that…exactly that kind of talk that will get us into trouble.”

  “No more cryptic answers. I want the whole explanation. No holds barred.”

  “Okay.” She nodded once, licking her lips. “Where do I start?”

  “At the beginning, maybe.”

  “I lied to you. Well sort of. You assumed something and I didn’t correct you. I allowed you to assume it. I let myself get carried away that first time. It’s been a very long time since I was with a male. Then it happened again. The second time…” She shook her head. “It was wrong of me to let things get as far as they have, but you are right. Despite knowing very little about you. I felt it. A connection. A spark between us. A pull. It has only grown stronger.”

  “I knew it,” he growled, grinning.

  “It doesn’t change anything, Stone. We can’t try to see where this goes because it can’t go anywhere. I lied to you when I said I was infertile.” She blurted it out. It needed to be said. She was sure to keep her eyes on his. They widened for a few seconds.

  Stone frowned. “What? You’re not but…” He shook his head. “Why would you lie about a thing like that?”

  She pushed out a breath. “I may not be infertile, but I may as well be.” She shrugged. “So, it is partly true.”

  “That’s insane thinking. Why? I don’t understand.” He shook his head.

  “Yesterday, each species presented on the fertility problems pertaining to their own kind.”

  “Yes, the fertile Feral females became sick when they were…pregnant and subsequently died. Your species ‒ just like ours and all the others ‒ is highly driven to procreate. All of your fertile females died from this sickness.” She could see he was thinking it through. “There are only infertile females and elders left.”

  “Not true! There is one fertile female left.”

  “One.” She could see him put it all together. His eyes widening and his mouth dropping open.

  “No!” he breathed out the word.

  “Yes.” She nodded. “Namely, me. I have kept my distance from males all these years. I hardly ever give in to sex. I’ve gone there a handful of times over the last twelve years…slightly more tha

n twelve but who’s counting? I’ve done that to avoid this from happening.”

  “Feelings. A relationship. Love.”

  “Exactly.” She sucked in a breath. “I should not be having sex at all…ever. I don’t go into heat often and I can usually feel when it’s about to happen but not always. It’s risky.” She was speaking quickly. “I’m also wired to procreate, as are you. We’ll convince ourselves that it’s okay and then I’ll die a slow, painful death.” Her breathing was ragged. Her eyes were wide. Her palms sweaty.

  Holy fuck! No wonder she didn’t want anything to do with what was happening between them. No fucking wonder. “You lost friends? Family?”

  Her eyes welled with tears. “Yes.” One ran down her cheek. “I had to watch them all die. One after the other. My sister…”

  “I remember, you told me about her.” He assumed it was something else that had killed her, something more…normal. Now he could understand why Cordia was taking this so hard.

  “Yes,” she nodded. “We were close. That’s why I could comprehend your pain. Your sister took her own life and yet…I can…I can understand why…” Her voice cracked and a flood of tears streamed down her cheeks.

  “I’m so…I’m sorry…” He gripped her jaw with his hand, using his other hand to wipe away her tears. “Shit.” He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her in close. “No wonder. I can’t blame you for feeling the way you do. Why didn’t you tell me?”

  She shrugged, crying harder, her shoulders shaking. “I didn’t want you to see me…to see me…as broken.” She pulled back. Her eyes were red and tear-soaked. “I don’t know why. I guess I wanted you that first time. If I told you, you would have run a mile. Most males do. Most males won’t look my way at all. I’m ignored like I have a sickness because I do.”

  “No fucking way,” he growled, feeling angry. “I don’t believe it. A female like you.” He looked her up and down.

  “If I become with clutch I will die. Mounting can quite literally kill me. What kind of male wants a female like that?”

  “I do!” He gripped her hips.

  “No, you don’t. I lied to you. I accused you of being a stalker. You should be running. Looking at me like I have a sickness. I am to be shunned and ignored.” Another tear tracked down her cheek and his heart broke. It splintered into a hundred shards just hearing her words.

  They cut at him. “No! That’s not true. You have so much to offer. I don’t see you in that way.”

  “You should, because it is true.” She nodded.

  “No, it doesn’t have to be. I am not a Feral male. It could be different.”

  “Could be. Might be.” She shook her head. “We have no way of knowing if that is true. The only way would be to go down a path that could lead to death and destruction. I have seen where that path leads. I’m not willing to go there. I can’t!” She shook her head, fear etched in her eyes. “I have already put myself at risk. More so in the last two days than over the last decade. It has to stop!”

  “We won’t have young then. I wanted you even when I was sure you were infertile. You know that.” Desperation ate at him.

  She nodded once. “You’re right in that, but how long would it last? What if a mistake was made? What if I became pregnant anyway? My best friend is trying for a child when she knows it might kill her.” She shook her head. “We sometimes do stupid things in the name of love. We are sometimes driven to do stupid things.”

  “No! It doesn’t have to be like that. I want you and you want me. Why can’t we be together? Just be, dammit.”

  “I don’t want to die, Stone. Being with you could spell death.”

  “It could spell so much more.” He cupped her jaw again. “It could spell a future…and love. It could spell the end to loneliness for us both.”

  “You are not lonely. Don’t even go there. You could go on one of those Hunts.” She sounded anguished. Like the thought was abhorrent to her. “You could win one of the humans. A male like you could do it easily. You could have everything.”

  “I already do. She’s standing right in front of me.”

  “We only met yesterday,” she whispered.

  “I don’t care!” He clenched his teeth. “I don’t care for the Hunt. I don’t want to find a female that way. I’m lonely. I was lonely. I don’t want to feel that way again and I don’t think you do either. I would be able to scent if you were going into heat. We can use condoms and contraceptives.”

  “Human methods.” She shook her head. Not convinced.

  “I swear they work. I swear. Please can we try? Can we just discuss the possibilities? I’m falling for you, Cordia. Call it stalking.” He felt his lips hint at a ghost of a smile. “Call it what you like. I don’t care. I’m mad about you. I want to get to know you. Everything about you. I would hate anything to ever happen to you. I swear we can work around this. Do you trust me?”

  It took longer than he would have liked, but he finally saw a flicker of something in her eyes. She nodded. “I do.”

  Chapter 14

  Thank god!

  A rush of air left him. “Thank you. I want you to come back home with me tomorrow. We can go and see one of the doctors living with us. A human doctor.”

  “Human?” She narrowed her eyes. “I’m still not convinced. What do humans know about species? Specifically, about the Feral?”

  “Granted, not much. That’s why I want you to come with me.” He took both her hands. “She can check you over and give you an oral contraceptive.”

  “Oral…” Her eyes were lifted in thought. “Oh…yes…oral.” She nodded.

  “I’ll organize a whole lot of condoms as well.” He winked at her. “I want you to see our lair. To meet my friend Sand and his mate Macy…you’ll like her. Am I going too fast for you?” He could see she looked a bit shell-shocked. “Tell me to slow down and I will…but I don’t want to.” He squeezed her hands.

  “You are going fast. It makes me feel a touch dizzy.” She swallowed thickly. “But I don’t want you to slow down.” She smiled. “I’m scared but I’m also very excited.”

  “Does that mean you’ll leave with me? Spend a few days at the lair?” Hopefully, he could convince her to stay longer than that. Then they could visit her side of the world as well.

  She nodded. “Yes, I will.”

  He put his arms around her and pulled her in close. “I’m so glad. I’m so happy you told me what was going on. It’s completely understandable that you would feel the way you do.”

  “I knew you would talk me into pursuing this. You know it’s still risky, right?”

  He pulled back. “The risk can be minimized to a negligible level. I’m sure we might even be able to get it down to nothing.” He raised his brows.

  She nodded once. “Let’s talk to your healers.”

  “We’ll take things slow in the meanwhile.”

  She cocked her head and looked at him like he had turned green with pink polka dots.

  “Okay, okay.” He chuckled. “We can slow down. How’s that?”

  “Considering the speed at which we’re going here, slowing down would be still be moving fast.”

  “Point taken. How about this? No sex until we know you’re safe? You don’t scent like you’re about to go into heat or anything, but we won’t take chances.”

  She nodded. “As much as I would love to keep having sex with you…I think it’s a better idea.” Cordia looked disappointed.

  “I think it’s a fantastic opportunity for plenty of foreplay.” He bobbed his brows.

  “You and your foreplay.” She shook her head, laughing.

  “Fooling around can be fun too.” He gripped her hips.

  “I have no doubt.” Her gaze dipped to his mouth and then back up.

  Stone leaned in and kissed her, loving how she felt against his mouth. Loving the taste of her, the feel of her. Her hard nipples rubbed up against his chest. He could scent her arousal. Fucking delicious. He pulled back, his cock was hard, pressing against her belly.

  “What did you have in mind?” Her eyes were bright and beautiful, just like the rest of her.

  “I was thinking I’d like to suck on your clit. I’m good with my hands.”

  She threw her head back and laughed. “Your confidence is astounding. I will ease you with my mouth as well. I don’t mind going first.” She palmed his cock and Stone grunted loudly. Shit! Cordia was good with her hands too. He had a much better idea, though. “What is it?” She continued to palm his dick, her hand moving from base to tip. “You look like you had some sort of revelation.”

  He groaned as she cupped his balls, giving them a light squeeze. “I did! Shit, that feels good.” He groaned again, gritting his teeth. “I know how we can both come at the same time without having sex. Although I’m not going to last if you keep that up.”

  Cordia let him go and Stone had to put a hand over his dick to stop himself from coming right then. Just the thought of what they were about to do, coupled with the way she had just rubbed his cock, made him hornier than a herd of cattle. He felt his chest rise and fall in quick succession. Need rushing through him. The scent of her arousal was now in full force. Both slightly salty and very sweet. Like salted caramel with a scoop of ice-cream. Stone was suddenly hungry as fuck.

  “No sex, though.” Her eyes were wide

  “No sex.” He shook his head. “Not until you’re safe and ready.” He let his eyes dip down, taking in her gorgeous body. “You’re so damned sexy.”

  “What is your plan, then?”

  “It’s called a 69. Have you ever heard of a 69?”

  She shook her head. “Never.”

  “I’ll lie down on my back and you straddle me.”

  “That would be mounting.” She frowned.

  “No, not like that. Your pussy would be over my mouth, which would put your mouth—”

  “Oh…” She breathed out the word. “I understand. I can’t wait to get your prick in my mouth. Ferals don’t have a gag reflex.”

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