Onyx Dragons- Amber

by Starla Night

  "You're right about a lot of things. It is a shame to waste this perfectly good wedding."

  Amber's heart lifted. "I agree."

  Darcy checked Ed and Tara. "Do you mind?"

  Ed gestured for them to proceed.

  Tara's eyes widened. "Wait!"

  They stopped.

  "You can't get married in an old shirt." Her head rose. "Kris! Where's Great Grandma's wedding dress that Mom tried to get me to wear?"

  "Oh, honey, I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy."

  "No, no! It's 'something old,' and besides, Amber promised Mom she'd wear it." Tara's gaze gleamed wickedly. "I'd hate for her to miss her chance."

  Kris bit her lip.

  "I don't mind," Amber said.

  With some sighing, Kris fitted Amber into it. "It's a good thing you're so slender. If you had even a tiny scoop of Tara's boobs, we'd have to suffocate you in Saran Wrap."

  "Now, something borrowed..." Tara arranged Darcy's jacket over the threadbare, moth-eaten shoulders. "Perfect. Something new...Oh, this sunflower arrangement that I stuffed under the table when I came into the backyard is new! Now, something blue..."

  "Darcy's jacket has blue piping," Kris pointed out.

  "I know, but I think it's more fun if she has different things."

  "This is another wedding tradition?" Amber asked, as Eva teased up her hair and brushed on quick makeup, and Jasper hemmed the dress with a portable sewing kit he, like Amber, always carried.

  "I have something." Darcy took one knee and lofted a satin jewelry box. Inside was the new ring she'd chosen with interlocking threads of Darcy's blue-gray and her own bright amber. "Will you be my wife?"

  "Okay," she promised.

  Everyone clapped.

  He slid the ring on her finger and then stood up. "Okay, now go do that in front of the officiant."

  The officiant looked as though he'd already blown his surprise quotient and he performed his duties without cracking a smile.

  "Do you, Darcy, take Amber to be your lawfully wedded wife? As soon as you submit the paperwork?"

  "I have the paperwork. As soon as the firefighters let us go back into the house, I'll hope it's on the side that's less drowned." A smile teased his debonair lips, even with smoke staining his broad, ripped shirt.

  The officiant turned to Amber. "Do you, Amber, take Darcy to be your lawfully wedded husband? In the same conditions I just mentioned?"

  "I do."

  "Then with the authority vested in me before humans and, uh, everyone, I pronounce you husband and wife."

  Nicole leaned toward Tara, who was sniffling with happy tears. "Did you just hear a ghostly scream as if someone were watching on a faraway view screen and can do nothing to stop it?"

  "No. Hush."

  "You may kiss the bride," the officiant declared. "Again."

  Darcy pressed his lips to Amber's. He tasted like smoke and promises, trust and hunger, and devotion as eternal as the stars.

  They broke apart to wish everyone well and celebrate.

  The dragon inspectors formed a line in front of them.

  Serpentine drew himself up. "Amber. You have avoided our request to become the CEO of the Onyx Corporation. We have observed you for a week in the office and out. It is now time to bestow our judgment and determine the fate of the corporation and Earth."

  She stiffened.

  After all this, would she lose everything?

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Amber stiffened.

  Darcy stood behind her. She had to go through this alone, but she wasn't alone. She would never be alone. He would be here for her, her support, and they would get through this together. No matter what.

  He swore it.

  "Amber Onyx, you have acted in a most undragonlike manner—"

  Amber's brothers growled in chorus.

  Serpentine stiffened but soldiered on. He turned to Graphite. "Read."

  The blue dragon consulted his tablet. "Threatening the balance. Baring yourself to a human male. Prioritizing family over business."

  Serpentine took over. "But the most egregious act determined our judgment. You, a dragon, have rejected an aristocrat to marry a human. What do you have to say for yourself?"

  She rested her hand on Darcy's forearm. "I love him."

  "Why?"

  Amber tilted her head. "Because I do."

  "This makes no sense. It is most undragonlike."

  "My brothers have married human wives."

  "But you can wield power. Challenge the Empire. Rule the Outer Rim. What is your justification for turning it down?"

  "I am satisfied with this life."

  Serpentine shook his head in disbelief.

  "...satisfied..." Graphite wrote and paused. "In life meaning what? Satisfied with waking together, grooming, sharing meals, watching the sunset, and resting in the same bed?"

  "Yes," Amber answered before Ulexite. She turned to Darcy and lilted her mouth. "That's perfect."

  He gave her a tender kiss.

  They were married. She trusted Darcy with her full heart. And he trusted her with his.

  "She's gone star-blind," Serpentine said. "As unreasonable as the Onyx family matriarch. 'So long as my dragonlets are happy, I don't care what they do' indeed."

  "...she is satisfied...with the human...in bed."

  "Er," Amber said.

  Graphite put away his stylus. "I'll file this."

  "Wait."

  Darcy chuckled and squeezed her. "Not just in bed. Right? Also on the floor, against the wall, in the bath..."

  Amber eyed him slyly from the side. Her cheeks glowed with radiant, gorgeous arousal.

  He couldn't wait to get back to her lair and make love to his wife.

  "That will convey the needed understanding." Serpentine dismissed her objection. "There is nothing to do on this backwater planet but fulfill bodily needs. Humans should at least be good at sex."

  "And coffee," Ulexite said.

  "Hm, yes. Let's fill our entire cargo hold with coffee."

  "Hey," Amber protested. "He's not only satisfying in bed."

  "I'll amend my report to include other surfaces," Serpentine assured her and the dragon trio lifted off the planet for the last time.

  "Hey!" Amber wiggled in Darcy's arms. "There's more to our relationship than sex."

  "Yes." He kissed the top of her head. "I agree."

  She turned. "Then why are you getting hard?"

  "Because you're a powerful woman who's now my wife and I want to consummate this marriage. We've already wasted far too much time."

  Her gaze heated. She put his arms around her neck. "Allow me."

  He did. Because whatever Amber was in addition, she was capable.

  They bade farewell to their families and flew away from his parents' wrecked house, leaving his dad by the docks on the phone with his insurance and his lawyer, while the rest of the wedding party flew with Pyro to Las Vegas.

  Amber flew Darcy to her tropical lair.

  In the daylight, lush greenery reflected so much vivid life. It was different from the rocky barren dramatic views he'd seen of the Outer Rim.

  At his request, they went straight into the shower, washed off the soot and his overnight in the turret, then dried off with fluffy cotton. He fell atop her bed wrapped in lush silks. Before she could roll over to present her buttocks, he kissed her sweetly, determinedly. "Let's try human style."

  She wrapped her arms around his neck. "Guide me."

  "With pleasure." He speared her mouth with his hot tongue plunging into her depths.

  She gave and took and then arched. Her nipples dragged against his hard chest. She gasped and pressed his palms to her breasts.

  He kneaded her small, sensitive flesh and tongued the sweet beads.

  She wrapped her legs around his buttocks and opened herself to him. "I can't ... you're so ... It's too intense face-to-face. I'll lose control."

  "Good. Lose it."

  "Darcy, fill me. G
ive me everything. I need you."

  He fitted his cock to her wet center and slid in to the hilt.

  Amber locked her legs around him, fixing him in place. The whites of her eyes showed. She moaned with deep, soul-shaking pleasure.

  He thrust, rolling his hips to press his clenching abdomen against her bundle of nerves. Everything about her turned him on. Always had, always would.

  She shivered. Honey and gold shimmered in her eyes, and the delicious bite of dragon nails scratched his back.

  He groaned and thrust into her slick channel. "Can you handle me?"

  "More ... and more...." She rolled with him, accepting and bucking with him as he pounded to his release.

  She clenched and cried out in a hot, hard orgasm.

  He matched her, dragging her into a second peak.

  She squeezed him with little prickles of claws.

  He embedded his wet heat deep within her, shuddering and twitching, and then he fell on his forearms, careful to pillow her head, as they came to a rest.

  She snuggled him. "That was good."

  "Only good?" He sighed.

  Amber traced the red mark on his back, brief worry before she admitted, "I was trying to be careful."

  "You were, thanks." He smoothed the worry lines from her face. "We still have to buy a wedding ring."

  "I love the ring you gave me."

  "It's common to add a band for the wedding itself."

  She clicked a button and a holographic image of a silver ring with amber fire appeared. "Mine could match."

  "So you do like vivid colors." He settled into the neutral tone bed in the subdued room as the sun descended. "I thought I knew you but I have to admit every time we end up here I doubt."

  "Oh, because of how it looks inside? Just wait." She settled in and pointed him to the west. "There."

  While his sweet dragon snuggled in his arms, Darcy looked out on the perfect view of the sun descending into the water. The horizon shot vivid oranges, golds, and reds as it eclipsed the world, and the neutral colors acted as a mirror to splash those same vivid colors across Amber's walls, floor, ceiling, and bed.

  "Your secret," he murmured, kissing her ear. "I knew you liked bright colors."

  "You've always known." She settled against him with pleased satisfaction. "You've always seen the real me. I feared to be myself, Darcy, but I've realized I'm not who I thought I was."

  "You're secretly a hugger?"

  She laughed and nestled against him. "Only to you."

  He could appreciate that.

  "Every moment with you I learn something new. I can't wait for the moment to change. For us to work together, for me to bear your dragonlet and have our marriage validated, to live as a happy family forever."

  He wanted to crack a joke about the pressure, but instead, he just held her tight and let the moment go. He had learned to be serious sometimes too. She'd helped him become the kind of man he'd always wanted to be.

  Soon, they would have little dragonlets flying around. He'd be a devoted father and Amber would be a patient, firm, loving mother.

  Their future was painted in a vivid rainbow.

  She stirred. "Darcy. Is it strange to ask this now? I feel so happy, I want to go out for a drink with my brothers."

  "Sounds great." He fumbled for his new, fancy dragon phone to check the time.

  It was slimmer and shone like it was made of precious metal, but the inside was very familiar. A photo text popped up from Nicole.

  He tilted the phone to Amber. "They're out celebrating right now."

  She squinted at the picture.

  Pyro and Amy, Mal and Cheryl, Syen and Eva, and Nicole - holding the phone out to capture the selfie - were clinking drinks.

  "At a ... a chocolate bar?"

  "Looks like it." The martini glasses and goblets were drizzled with what could be chocolate syrup.

  Amber popped out of bed, tossed the covers, and flexed her scales in a honey-orange shimmer. Her confidence and ease of showing her dragon around him made his heart swell. She slid open the closet, and frenetically rummaged through the hangars of cream, ivory, and beige. "Hurry, Darcy."

  He peeled himself off the bed with a groan. "We're going out?"

  "Yes, I don't want to miss them."

  He strolled to his closet, donned the first outfit he pulled out, and tried new loafers. The leather squeaked but he didn't expect to do much walking.

  Amber debated between a dark navy blouse and forest green.

  He leaned against the mirror, one hand in his pocket, enjoying the view. "You could always ask them nicely to stay."

  Her eyes fixed on his. Panic gave way to calm, and the rims of her irises gleamed. "That's dangerous. When I ask nicely, they hear a command."

  "Even after they defended you?"

  She tilted her head. Things had changed. Her brothers knew her better now. They had said she was in control.

  Her lips curved into a pleased smile. "I might have to ask for a few more things."

  "Do it. Wishing isn't dangerous. Desires aren't dangerous." He pulled the two blouses out of her hands and replaced them with an orange satin chemise with vivid red lace insets, matching bra and panties, sheer hose with clips and garter, and a stunning red choker

  She studied them for a long moment.

  "Recognize your power, don't misuse it, and be honest with your family so they can be honest with you."

  "Honest?" Her lip curled into a wicked smile. "I can be honest. Just watch me be honest."

  She peeled off the white satin undergarments and embraced her inner vixen.

  As each hook locked against its eye, her spine straightened and her shoulders lowered. She relaxed, confident in the bright lace, stunning as the sunset.

  Then, she pulled a navy blouse over the top and zipped up a black skirt. With clogs, she looked conservative yet sharp. She could be true to her inner desires while still presenting the controlled front.

  Wickedness clothed in innocence.

  Darcy moved aside her long hair to fasten the bright red choker.

  She looked up at him. Her amber eyes gleamed.

  He loved this view of her brimming with quiet pleasure.

  "Come on, Darcy!" She rushed him out to the landing pad. "I can't be honest if they leave before I get there."

  "They won't leave."

  "How do you know?"

  "Because you're the fastest dragon on Earth."

  Her eyes glowed and her amber scales gleamed. She pulled him close and launched into the air, twirling as they rose. "Is that a challenge?"

  "It's a fact." He murmured in her ear. "And I told Nicole the next round is on you."

  Amber's smile dissolved into a delighted laugh. "I get to buy a 'round'. My first round."

  "Now you know the secret to getting your brothers to go out with you."

  "Secret? What secret?" She blinked and frowned. "Offer to buy them rounds? Darcy, they're dragons who can't be affected by alcohol, and their billionaires. I don't think providing a few small shots would change anything."

  "You haven't seen how much they drink."

  Her frown deepened. Then, she squinted. "Are you ... are you teasing me?"

  He laughed.

  She celebrated. "I figured it out! Soon, Darcy, you will never get away with teasing me again."

  He buried his smile in her loose hair. "I can't wait."

  The darkened forest blurred as she put meaning to that statement and blasted them across the planet to her welcoming, waiting family with Darcy, her loving and very serious husband.

  * * *

  Dear reader,

  Thanks so much for reading. If you enjoyed this story, please leave a review! Nothing helps an author more, and your fellow readers appreciate your honesty.

  Would you like more dragon shifter goodness? Join my newsletter and receive bonuses full of domineering dragon billionaires + the feisty women who captivate them.

  Subscribe: http://smarturl.it/StarlaNewslette
r

  See you next time!

  Sincerely,

  Starla

  What’s Next?

  Jasper’s devotion to a mystery woman saved his siblings from a terrible fate. Now, while the Dragon Empire teeters on the edge of unrest, he’s prepared to sacrifice everything. Until one fateful night … one chance conversation … and one sizzling hot kiss…

  Onyx Dragons: Jasper

  Also by Starla Night

  Lords of Atlantis

  Seduced by the Sea Lord

  Sacrificed to the Sea Lord

  Enslaved by the Sea Lord

  Stolen by the Sea Lord

  Surrendering to the Sea Lord

  Secrets of the Sea Lord

  Spellbound by the Sea Lord

  Saved by the Sea Lord

  Sheltered by the Sea Lord

  7 Virgin Brides for 7 Weredragon Billionaires

  ~ ONYX DRAGONS ~

  (Series Novels)

  Malachite

  Pyrochlore

  Kyanite

  Amber

  Jasper

  Alexandrite

  Flint

  ~ CARNELIAN DRAGONS ~

  (Linked Novellas)

  Syenite

  Peridot

  About the Author

  USA Today bestselling author Starla Night was born on a hot July at midnight. She hikes, scuba dives, and swims naked in the ocean. She writes about hot, alpha merman shifters at StarlaNight.com.

  She is a secret agent of the Mer-Human Alliance.

  Check out the giveaways and fan freebies on my newsletter, blog, or Facebook.

  starlanight.com