Her core melted. It was positively molten, like the metal swirling in his eyes. His head bent, and she knew what was going to happen next. At first, his lips fluttered against hers, asking for permission. Courage spurred her forward. Her lips parted for Ryker’s tongue.
He tasted of chocolate and peanut butter. Mina leaned into him, ravenous for everything he had to offer. The growl that filled his mouth slid into her own. It vibrated through her, sparking her own hungry sound.
Her arms curled around his neck. He moved, climbing over her. She leaned back, still holding onto his neck, while his head ducked. When his teeth met the soft skin of her neck, she cried out. He nipped. Once. Twice. His nose grazed the curve of her neck and sent a shudder down her spine.
Mina trailed her hands down his back, reveling in their closeness. Ryker’s grip tightened on her in response. He grew very still. Mina had seen other dragons take on the same stillness, but Ryker’s didn’t terrify her the way others had. She knew it meant he was battling with his beast, but she felt daring with him.
She brought her hands between them and let them glide down his stomach. He wore only a pair of drawstring sweatpants. It was easy to slip between him and the fabric, to find just how badly he wanted her. The size of him surprised her. Mina didn’t know what she expected, but what she held was so much more than she would have thought possible. His growl doubled, punctuated by a low moan that tightened her core.
Mina smiled, intending to further explore when Ryker’s teeth sank into her neck. She cried out, not in pain but in ecstasy. Sensation rippled through her, from her shoulder to her curling toes. It echoed, bouncing in every direction until it had consumed her entire body. Mina didn’t know to hold on, how to keep from drowning in it.
Ryker had her. He wrapped his arm around her middle and kept his face nuzzled against her skin. She was going nowhere. He wouldn’t let her drown.
Was that…was that an orgasm? she wondered.
Mina let out a nervous laugh. She had not bothered to mention before this that she was a virgin. It never seemed right to say. She’d had no expectation of their relationship, no thought that it would ever go beyond the barest brush of fingers. She should have warned him.
“I didn’t mean…” Ryker sounded frantic. She listened to him suck in a breath and steady himself before hanging his head.
Mina pulled her hands out of his pants, rather reluctantly, and set them on his shoulders. When he wouldn’t look at her, she lifted his chin. Her blood darkened his lips, a stark contrast to his bright eyes. The beast was still close to the surface. Her heart thumped when she realized just how real this moment was.
Not only did Ryker want her, his beast did, too. Somehow, it brought home everything he’d said about her. This was not just some crush. Mina was not just filling a void in his life. The way his beast looked at her made her realize that this could be exactly what she wanted.
A mate bond.
Sensation still swirled in the mark on her neck. It danced over her skin and toward her core, only an echo of what it’d been a second ago. Mina did not know what she’d done to deserve this, but she knew she had to fight to make it work. That meant being completely honest.
“Don’t apologize. I liked it. I wanted it.” She ran her thumb over his cheekbone, pausing while she summoned her confession.
Ryker must have caught her turmoil. His brows furrowed, lips parting while he held his breath. Mina knew she needed to get it over with, to just tell him. Before he went blue in the face from waiting.
“I’m a…I’ve never…” Thump, thump went her heart, like a car turning over before it started to race. She drew in a steadying breath. “I’ve never had sex.”
His furrowed brows shot upward. “Is that all? I thought you were going to tell me you only liked women or that my dick is too small.”
She gaped. “No! Neither! I would never say anything like that about you.”
He grinned and lowered himself over her, still careful to keep his weight from crushing her. She appreciated it considering her ribs were still tender. Inch by inch, he wiggled down her body. He watched her the entire time, his eyes never leaving hers. They burned like the heat in her core, blazing and consuming.
Mina could barely breathe let alone think. Ryker didn’t wait for her to say anything. He laid a soft kiss on her stomach before pushing the fabric up to reveal her skin.
“I’d like to show you how, if you let me.”
Mina couldn’t think straight. All she knew was his hot breath over her skin. She felt like every nerve ending had been maxed out. It made her writhe on the sheets. She wanted him, wanted everything he could give her.
“I’ll take that as an answer.”
Mina became aware that she wore nothing more than an oversized t-shirt when his nose grazed her bare stomach and moved further south. She let out a sound of surprise, not expecting what happened next. That was his tongue. She could barely believe where he’d put it, though it felt too good to tell him to stop.
He dug his fingers into her hips, claiming her. She loved the way he held her. For the first time in her life, she felt like she belonged somewhere. Here, in this bed with Ryker, she’d found her place in the world.
Then his tongue slipped past her folds, over her most sensitive part, and all thoughts fled. He lapped her up like she was his favorite flavor of ice-cream, and she melted in his hands. Pleasure built inside her. It wasn’t a sudden blast like the mark on her neck had been. This slowly gathered, like a rope being pulled taut. She didn’t know when it would snap, only that she would drift away when it did.
Ryker kept her anchored, though. His tongue slid inside her, and she let out a sound that was between a squeal and a moan. His every move was unexpected. She didn’t know what would happen next, only that she wanted that and more. She remembered the way his cock felt in her hand. It’d been huge, impossibly thick.
Mina worried it would not fit where she wanted it. Though she had no experience to judge by, the sheer difference in size between them worried her. She was small, almost diminutive. Ryker was the kind of man who made the room hush when he walked in. He was imposing, frightening.
He would never fit inside her.
Then she felt it, the tip of his cock brushing against her entrance. Mina cried out, suddenly hungry and eager. Just the barest touch of it and all thoughts of incompatibility had fled. She arched up, a silent plea.
“We should take this slow,” he said, though she could hear the gravel in his voice that said he was struggling to follow his own advice.
He was right, though. She’d only healed enough to wake. Her body was still working through the wounds she’d received in the fight. When she reached over her head to grip her pillow, her shoulder rebelled with shooting pain. The distant echo of crunching bone filled her ears to remind her of the damage she’d done to herself.
“Don’t…stop…now,” Mina managed to beg.
Ryker’s responding laughter was husky. When she peered at him, his gaze was hungry, devouring her inch by inch in a way that told her she was special. This wasn’t just another hook-up. His shoulders trembled. Mina reached for him. She let her fingers curl in his hair. This was real. It was happening.
Slowly, inch by inch, he eased inside her. Just as she was coming to terms with reality, her mind was blown. She could barely think as ripples of pleasure consumed her. This…this was only the beginning. Once he was inside her, Ryker hesitated. She gripped the back of his neck and held on to keep from drifting away. He’d fit inside her, and she couldn’t believe it.
It was as if they’d been made for each other.
“Are you alright? Do you need me to be gentle?” Ryker’s voice was breathy.
Mina felt the same breath-stealing need inside herself. She didn’t want him to stop. She wanted to push her limits, to experience everything they could have together all at once. Even with her brain scrambled, she knew she had to take it slow. Not only was her body still healing, but this was her
first time. Everyone always said the first time would hurt.
Slowly, he slipped in and out of her. The motion sent small pulses through her body. Her toes curled and her eyes rolled back while she succumbed to the waves of pleasure. Distantly, she heard Ryker’s pleased growls. His motion became faster, harder. Not so much that he was slamming himself inside her, but enough that the pulses grew stronger. Her core tightened until she thought she might snap. Tighter and tighter with every stroke.
She clenched around him, pressing her knees into his sides. Mina didn’t know what else she was supposed to do. She could barely think, let alone return the pleasure. Before she could organize her mind, Ryker clamped his teeth around the mark on her neck and drove himself home inside her.
Mina cried out. The tight sensation in her core burst. She shattered into waves of pleasure. They radiated from her core, from her shoulder, and met in the middle where they amplified into something more. Into fiery pleasure. Mina dug her nails into the back of Ryker’s neck. He growled in her ear, only feeding the pleasure in her core.
“That didn’t take long at all,” Ryker breathed. “I think we have time for another. Don’t you?”
He wound his arms around her back and pulled her into a sitting position without ever exiting her. Her knees touched the soft sheets of the bed. Now, she straddled him. He took the time to pull the shirt over her head and free her small breasts. Once they were free, he gazed at her with an obvious hunger. Even though he was already hilt deep inside her, Ryker still wanted more.
Mina couldn’t help but smile as her heart fluttered. She never thought anyone would look at her like this, like she was the silver moon in the sky. Ryker made her feel like a goddess, the way his fingertips slipped over her skin or the way his lips brushed over her breastbone with devotion. It was all so far beyond her expectations.
His hands settled on her hips, rocking her back and forth. Her cheeks warmed when she realized she should have been doing the work herself, but her embarrassment didn’t last long. Not while her core tightened again. She didn’t know it worked this way. She didn’t think she could feel this much this fast.
Ryker controlled their rhythm. She glided over his cock with ease, arching her back as she let the pleasure overtake her. Ryker’s growls were muffled when his lips found her hard nipple. He brought it into his mouth. His tongue flicked over the sensitive tip, sending tiny waves of pleasure through her.
Mina held onto his shoulders, because if she didn’t, she was sure she would disappear altogether. Her body felt impossibly light. The only places she felt real were the places where her body met Ryker’s. She ran her hands down his chest and found the little steel bar through his nipple. She flicked it with her fingertips, just like she’d done when he first showed her.
This man belonged to her. They belonged together. The thought filled her and amplified everything she felt. Her beast echoed the sentiment. The creature inside her already loved Ryker, though Mina wasn’t sure it was the right time to tell him.
She would wait until she was sure he loved her, too.
Right now, as they pulled away from one another and came crashing back together again, Mina was sure his thoughts would be biased. She thought she saw a flicker of love when he looked up at her. There was a glimmer in his eyes, a spark. Then his hand left her hip and slid between them. His thumb parted her folds and sent a shock of pleasant surprise through her.
“You don’t have to…” But Mina lost the words as the sensation inside her tripled. Her head rolled back, and she succumbed to the feeling his fingers brought her.
Each circle felt like a mini orgasm. She shuddered atop him, thinking it was over, that she was spent, when another ripple came and shattered her. It was all she could do to hold onto him. All the while, he thrust inside her. The bed rocked back and forth, slapping the wall though neither cared.
Mina felt the final break, like a wall crumbling under the force of a flood, and her eyes snapped open. Just as her own orgasm came, she met Ryker’s gaze and saw the same feeling in his face. At the last moment, Ryker reared back and spilled his seed onto the sheets. When he rose again, she felt the pulsing warmth of his cock pressed against her damp folds.
He cupped the back of her neck and brought her forehead to his. Mina fought to control her breathing while the last of the ripples faded. They still pooled in her fingers and toes, like butterfly wings grazing her from the inside. It was a curious sensation, one she was eager to explore again and again.
After their breaths had returned to normal, Ryker scooped her up from the bed. “We shouldn’t sit in the mess. We might as well take a shower, too.”
Mina laughed, filled with glorious glee. She didn’t know if she’d ever felt like this before. The room smelled of their love making, of the two of them. This was more than she’d ever thought would be hers. Mina always assumed she would enter a loveless relationship. She thought a mate bond was something she would have to endure because of her rank.
Instead, Mina had found a man who acted like he loved her. The act was enough, for now.
Chapter Thirteen
Ryker stood at the massive windows of his living room. Beyond the peaks was an encampment of unfamiliar dragons. They’d already attacked the king of these mountains once. Their intent was clear, even if they hadn’t yet announced it.
The sound of soft footsteps echoed in the hall before Mina appeared. Her hair was bound in a wet braid. A towel cloaked her small frame, nearly wrapping around her twice. She stepped up to him. He could feel her hesitation, as if a voice inside her was still trying to convince her this wasn’t real.
He reached and drew her into his arms. She belonged to him. The mark on her neck announced his claim to the world. His beast was pleased, sated and purring like a cat. He clutched her tight. She sank into him, resting her cheek against his chest.
Ryker wanted to fold her into him, to become a barrier that protected her from every outside force that threatened her. It was easy to carve space for her in his home so that she could escape her uncle, but he didn’t know when the unfamiliar dragons would strike. Fear of the uncertain future bothered him. He’d just only gotten her, and the idea of having her taken away terrified him.
When he closed his eyes, he saw Mina plummeting through the air once again. He could see her in the clutches of the unfamiliar dragons, hear her screams. He would not allow that to happen. He’d sacrifice his own life before he let anyone hurt her. But that made him a shitty knight. It was his job to uphold Jasper’s rule and protect Grove.
If all his focus was on Mina, then there was a strong chance he would fail Jasper. Fail Grove.
“You’re tense,” she whispered. Mina laid her hands on his chest, rubbing small circles in an effort to ease the anxiety gripping him.
Ryker had found his mate, the woman meant for him. He only worried about keeping her now. He’d spent his life moving from one place to the next, never thinking about what he left behind because he’d left before it could leave him. He drowned himself in music and alcohol to keep from having to deal with reality when silence rolled back in.
“We should be talking to the dragons on our border, but everyone wants to have a family night. They’re going to the karaoke bar while war waits for us.”
“Do you think they’re ignoring the problem?”
He paused, trying to mull it over. “I think everyone is waiting for a miracle. Ashton and Griffin hold onto the idea that Jasper will suddenly be okay overnight. I don’t think they’re being realistic. We need to be getting our shit together before the dragons strike, not singing in a bar.”
“Maybe this is their way of getting their shit together. You were all alone for so long, each in your own corner of the world. This family night is to bring you and your cousins together. That way you can be a unified court before you face the dragons again.
“Before you, I was alone. Every day was a challenge just to get out of bed. You and your family gave me a reason to enjoy life. Maybe
that’s all Jasper needs. A reason.”
He knew Mina was right, but it did nothing to solve the issue at hand. Until the dragons on the border were banished, he would not sleep easy. He would constantly look over his shoulder, remembering the way they’d batted his mate out of the air. He’d almost lost her before he’d even got a chance to love her.
“Will you come to family night with me? I hate going. Having you with me would be nice. You could also give me a reason to leave early if I get annoyed with them.”
She hesitated, going still in his arms. At first, he thought he’d insulted her, but then she slowly nodded. The look of surprise in her eyes was unmistakable.
“This is your life now, your family. Of course, I’m going to drag you to all the family affairs with me.” He did his best to show her that she had a new life, but he knew it would take time for it to sink in. His Mina was accustomed to her old life, to the hierarchy the chromatic dragons had instated. He needed to allow her time to change.
Ryker needed to have a word with the chromatic dragons. There should not be a hierarchy among them. There should be respect to the generations that came before, but never this berating rank system that allowed others to walk on the backs of those like Mina.
He was going to break it. No one deserved to be treated like that. Ryker wasn’t sure where to begin or what to do, but he was going to do this for his mate.
***
Mina was thankful that everyone in the karaoke bar wore hoodies and torn jeans. She didn’t want to go home for clothing and had to wear the jeans she’d left behind in Ryker’s driveway. He’d given her one of his old concert tees, which she’d knotted in the front to keep it from hanging down to her knees. He’d finished it off by burying her in one of his leather jackets, too.
She didn’t care on the way, ensconced in his scent, but her anxiety peaked in the parking lot. The fear that she was underdressed hit her hard and fast. This was the first time she’d see Ryker’s family not as his maid, but as his mate. At least, that was what Mina thought they were. There was still no way of knowing if they were mates or not.
Ryker Drake Page 10
