Cole: House of Wilkshire ― Paranormal Dragon Shifter Romance

by Kathi S. Barton

  Closing the door behind him when he entered their bedroom, he stood there leaning against it as Ryan stood by the bed. She didn’t speak as she began taking her clothing off. He didn’t either when he decided to help her. By the time he got to her skin, he was hard as a rock and willing to bet that he wasn’t going to last all that long as soon as he touched her. Cole didn’t care. They had the rest of their lives to make love. Pulling her into his arms, Cole kissed her.

  Chapter 6

  The kiss was much more than she had ever expected from a man. It wasn’t just sexy, but it was claiming, calming too. When he lifted his mouth from hers, she looked into his eyes and saw his dragon. He was so beautiful that she put her hands on Cole’s cheeks so that she could watch him there.

  “He loves you.” Ryan said she loved him as well. That he was a part of him that she would forever love. “I’m glad to hear that. I love you as well, Ryan. With all that I am. All that I will ever be, I will love you until I am no more.”

  He kissed her again, running his hands slowly down her body. When he cupped her ass in his hands, she felt herself being lifted up and his cock right at her entrance. Before she could wonder what he was going to do next, Cole sat her on the edge of the bed and stepped back from it.

  “I’ve thought of nothing else but tasting you. Feasting on your body so I can know your scent, your taste.” He got down on his knees and put her legs on either side of his shoulders. The coolness of his breath made her wet, and she tried to put her legs back together, embarrassed. “Don’t, love. I can smell you. You smell delicious.”

  The first touch of his tongue to her wet clit had her coming up off the bed in a climax that took her breath away. Even before she could regain some of her composure, he was doing just as he said he would. Cole was feasting on her pussy.

  Ryan came so many times she was weak with it. Every time she thought he would be finished, his big body shifting around, she’d come again with just a touch. It didn’t matter if it was his tongue or his fingers, all he had to do was touch her needy flesh, and she’d be screaming out his name again and again.

  Finally, when he stood up, she was ready to tell him she’d had enough. That there wasn’t any way, she could come once more. Then she got a long look at the man in front of her. Sitting up just enough that she could look fully at Cole, her body tightened in anticipation for whatever he wanted to do to her.

  His skin was dewy with sweat from what he’d been doing to her. There wasn’t much in the way of hair on his chest, but he did have a line of it that went to his cock. Following the line down, Ryan sat up and touched her fingers to the tip of his dark full cock. His moan had her wrapping her hand around him. Her fingers wouldn’t touch; he was so thick.

  “You keep that up and I’m never going to get to be inside of you when I come. And that is something I’ve needed for a very long time.” She moved back, sitting up enough to watch him as he moved closer to her. Telling her to scoot up on the bed, she watched his face as she did what she was told. When he was over her, he smiled. “I don’t know how long I’m going to last, love. The thought of coming deep inside of you is making me mad with the need to come now.”

  He filled her. There were no words to describe how it felt to have him there. They were one. They were mates. And when he moved, his cock filling her over and over, Ryan had to hold onto him, or she knew she’d simply break apart, fly away and never be able to tell him how very much she loved him.

  Watching his face was beautiful. Even when he was strained, his body tense, he looked deeply into her eyes. When he pulled her to him, lifting her ass up tighter to his body, Ryan let her body go and came hard enough that she didn’t have breath in her body. The scream lodged in her throat seemed to be a testament to how amazing it felt. Blacking out, she didn’t have a single thought in her head but love. Loving this man was all she had ever needed or would ever want again.

  When she opened her eyes, she could see that Cole was close. Moving her hips just a little, giving him more of herself, his body bowed back, and she saw his dragon race over his skin like he too was coming with his host. Then she felt his release.

  The heat of him filled her from top to bottom. She held tighter onto his shoulders, digging deeply into his skin, so she broke the skin. Feeling blood beneath her nails, she moved to let it fall into her mouth.

  As soon as his blood touched her tongue, she knew she’d just found paradise. A utopia that was so beautiful, so amazing that she had to close her eyes when it became too much. Coming then, her body high on his blood, Ryan felt her world darken around her until there was nothing left.

  Waking up, she reached for Cole. If he was there, he was just out of her reach. Sitting up in the bed, she found him by the window. He was sitting in the wingback chair by the fireplace in their room. Saying his name had him turning to look at her. She was ever so glad to see him smiling.

  “I thought for sure that I broke you.” She said she had thought so as well. “Christ, that was nothing like I’ve ever experienced before. And I’m really old.”

  “Thank you for not pointing out how much practice you have had.” She sat up, pulling the blanket around her as she did so. “Why are you up? Did something happen?”

  “No. Nothing at all. You were sleeping so well that I didn’t want to bother you. And it’s just after midnight, so I was waiting for the night creatures to come out.” Cole patted his lap, and she went to sit on him. “If you look over by the pool, you can see movement. Once they figure out that they’re being watched, they’ll signal to the others that there are other creatures about.”

  Ryan watched as the ground suddenly became bright with blinking lights. She was sure there were thousands of them. She told Cole she’d thought those were fireflies.

  “They are, in a way. The ones that children catch are decoys so the others can complete their work. They do their best work at night, I’m told. They’ll go along the yard, being ever so quiet, and pick up seeds that have fallen from trees. Or from flowers that have gone to seed. When they have their packs full, they’ll race to the bag nearby to fill it. Someone, one of the elders, will watch over the bag so that no human finds it. After they’ve finished their work, the bag and all the little fae will go to another part of the forest to gather what they can there.” She asked him why they didn’t just let them sprout where they had fallen. “It’s a long process of finding seeds to replant. Their diligence is what makes the earth regenerate after a fire or flood. They have the seeds from the area affected, and replant them so others might be able to feed from them.”

  “What a wonderful tale.” She watched as the lights began to move toward the tree line. When they stopped moving, she was afraid for them. “What is it? Do they need someone out there to protect them?”

  “They do. Watch. I told you that William was part fae. It’s him that is the spot in the middle of them. I think he is with your sister.” She watched as the shapes became clearer when the fae lit up the area. It was her sister. Rylie was standing next to William. “I’m sure he’s introducing them to her. They’ll think of her as one of them before the night is over. I’m not really sure of a lot of fae traditions, but I’d be willing to bet that Rylie will have magic beyond what she had before.”

  They sat there for another hour, watching the fae circle around the couple in the middle of them. The bright lights, she noticed, weren’t just white, but all the colors. She wished she could ask her sister what was going on, but a part of her thought that Rylie would be embarrassed to know they were being spied upon. When they all moved into the forest and out of sight, she turned and looked at Cole.

  “Now what?” After he laughed, a burst of humor that she was sure caught him off guard, she smiled at him. “That didn’t come out right. What I meant to ask you is what do we do now that we’re a couple. I’m sure things have changed. I don’t want to be caught unaware of shit that might happen.” />
  “I haven’t any idea. As I’ve been told by all the other dragons, the wives have gotten different types of magic that even their mates don’t have. I believe in this case; we’ll have to wing it.” She said she wasn’t good at winging things. “Yes, I know that about you. You like things in neat order. But there is little that we can do about it at this point. Other than just watch the others and see if you can do what they can. I got some extra magic too. As I said before, I haven’t any idea what it— Holy shit, I forgot.”

  He stood her on the floor and went to his dresser. She knew he wasn’t getting clothing because they could both dress themselves. Cole came back with an envelope in his hand and pulled her back onto his lap. Handing it to her, she asked him what it was.

  “The attorney for the insurance company came by this morning—well, I guess yesterday morning—while you were out with Dillon finding him furniture. He said that your brother and sister were getting an envelope as well. I asked him what it was about, and he said there was an accompanying letter that would make it understood.” Ryan wondered if it was money. “I don’t know, and neither will you until you open it up.”

  Tearing into the envelope, she nearly dropped the check that was in it, wrapped inside the letter. Cole held the check while she read what was said. Ryan read the highlights to Cole.

  “It says that the insurance policies taken out on my parents were good policies. And as we had nothing to do with the death of our parents, the insurance company decided, since we saved them so much heartache and bad publicity, they’d honor it by paying us for finding out what Sandra had been up to.” She looked at Cole when he whistled. “What is it? And I can’t think that we should get any of this money. It was Dillon’s name on the policy.”

  “I think you should look at the amount, babe.” She did then read off the number aloud. It didn’t make it seem any less real. “They gave each of you two million dollars in the form of a cashier’s check. You could give it to your brother if that’s what you want. To us, financially, it won’t make a lot of difference if we have this or not. And since I know that William has a great deal of money too, I’m assuming it won’t matter to him either.”

  “A lot of people would be thrilled to have this kind of money. I mean, even as recent as a few weeks ago, I would have been happy to have it. I’m not saying we couldn’t find some use for it, but I’m thinking Dillon can make it into more. For himself.” Cole asked her if he’d see it that way. “No. But I can make him see it my way.”

  They were still talking about the check when they made their way down to the kitchen. She’d completely forgotten that their cook was a faerie. When she went from the tiny creature sitting on the table to the very unhuman looking person in front of the stove, it sent Ryan into a fit of giggles that she couldn’t stop.

  “You have sparkles all over you.” Bertha laughed along with her. When she showed her her ears, they both got to laughing hard while Cole just stared at the two of them. “We have a sparkly cook. I have no idea why I find that so funny. I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be. I’m happy you’re having fun. I could be big all the time, but I do enjoy being a little person that can fly around should I want to.” Ryan asked her if she didn’t want to be their cook. “Oh, yes, I do. To be able to be with you and your dragon is quite a thing for faeries. To be able to say that I work for the lord of the castle, and him being a dragon is just icing on the cookies. I get so many perks from the other faeries too. Nothing I don’t share, but it’s fun to know that some are a wee bit jealous.”

  “Do faeries need things like we would? What I mean is, do faeries have doctors and places for the elderly to live? I’m not being rude here, but I know so very little about your kind. If I’ve offended you, I’m sorry.” Bertha said she hadn’t and that she loved the questions. “I have come into some money, and I was thinking I’d like to help your kind. You and the others, you’ve done so much for me that I would love to be able to do something for you.”

  “There is always a need for more shelters for us. But as you can imagine, there isn’t much need for a large house or building. Flowers would be great. However, the others, they make sure they plant more than they’ll need so we might have what we’ve a need for.”

  Bertha sat a large platter of food in front of them. Ryan was thinking they were going to share the food, but she also set one down in front of Cole. He dug into his like he’d been starved. She supposed he might be. They had burnt a great many calories.

  “Let me think on this, my lady. I can get with the others and figure out what we can use. It won’t need to be big, just so you know. We’ve been making what we need for a very long time.”

  “I’m betting you could use more materials.” Bertha put a glass of juice in front of her and told her that she’d need to drink more fluids as she went about making a list of things when she thought of them. She did ask her what sort of materials she was thinking. “Well, cloth for one thing. I know you can basically wear what you want, right?”

  “Nay, we have to get ourselves dressed. But that is a good point. Material for new clothing would be good. And small buttons. I so love buttons.” She showed her the shoes she had on. “When I find some that I can affix to my clothing, I put it there. I think them a good invention.”

  Ryan wondered what she’d think of Velcro but didn’t bring it up. She did, however, start on her own list. Surely she could find something she could get for them to use to make their lives better. She’d not need the amount of the check, she knew, so the original plan, to give it to her brother, would still work. Ryan knew that Dillon would make it count for something good too.

  After eating nearly all the food on her plate, she made her way to the office she’d claimed yesterday. There were several messages on her desk, but she pushed them aside, for now, to check on her emails. There were three from her former boss, as well as two from the bank in town. She looked them over first.

  She needed to go to the bank to sign some paperwork. That was good because she needed to get some things squared away in town anyway. When Cole knocked at her door, she looked up at him and smiled.

  “I have to run a few things by Devon’s place. I was wondering if you wanted to go and hang out with Kelly.” Ryan told him she would love that but was way behind on things here. “I thought you’d say that. I can get there and plead with Devon that I have to go home, so he doesn’t keep me all day. Not that I mind spending time with him, but I have been putting things off for some time now.”

  Getting her head buried back into what she’d been working on, Ryan never got around to opening the emails from the president. The man was literally driving her crazy. She didn’t want the job of running the FBI. That would mean she’d have to move back to her home and not be here all the time. She loved this new town and the people that lived here.

  It was nearing dinner time when her phone rang. It was Stanley again.

  “I’m not going to ask you to head up the department. I just need to ask you a few questions about something else. As much as I would love to try and talk you into it, I’ve heard from one of your sisters-in-law, and they made it clear that you’re not going to be moving back here anytime soon.” She asked him which sister she had to thank for that. “All of them. But I do need your input on a couple of things. It can be done on the phone too. There are fourteen files on the desk of your former boss. I can’t make heads nor tails out of what the hell they’re about. Some of them have really old dates on them, while a few of them have only just been opened. What do you know about fae? I know that’s a really strange question, but he swore that there were little pixies around that did magic for, of all things, dragons.”

  Ryan didn’t so much as blink at her end of the call. “What do you mean, pixies? And did he think there were dragons too?” He read to her one of the things that Arnold Baskin had written on sticky notes in one of the files. “So he figured out that there
are really faeries, and that brought him to the conclusion that there were dragons. What do you want me to do about this? I mean, what did you think I could answer for you?”

  “I don’t know. But there is a note here that he was going to meet with a person that claimed they knew where the dragons were living. It has an address here that is just on a residential street. Why would he think a dragon could be able to live in a home?” He sighed heavily. “I guess what I’m asking you about is this—in your years of working with him, did Arnold ever give you the indication that he was a little touched in the head?”

  “No. Not once. He didn’t care for me working for him as a woman unless you count what kind of jobs he wanted me to do for him. Other than that, he seemed all right, I guess. This address you have, have you checked it out?” He told her it was a house, and he didn’t need to check it out. “I have this map thing that I can pull up for anywhere in the world. Can I have the address, please? I’d like to see if this place is a monstrous home or something. I mean, that might be all that had him thinking about dragons. Perhaps he thought a big house must be dragons.”

  “Christ, I hope not.” He gave her the address, and she plugged it into the map search. “What you see there is a home with a swing set in the back yard, as well as a pool house. I would think he’d at least have looked for larger homes with trees all around. I don’t know why I called you, now that I think about it. I just really wanted you to tell me that he had been off his rocker and should have been retired years ago.”

  Hanging up with the president, she sat there for a long time. She had to tell someone, but who did she go to with this? If it was a real dragon, he would have to be warned. Picking up the phone, she called the only person she knew who could get this done.