by KD Jones
“Probably the same way that the mage amulet and the worm holes made the Zyon reach Earth in ten years,” General Rainier said. “If only the mages had been able to come with us, we could have gotten some answers on this.”
“Did none of the mages survive?” Blazed asked with concern.
“Not that we know of. Most of the mages had to remain on Drakonia to make sure that the portals stayed open long enough to evacuate our people. As far as I know, none of them came through the portal.”
“What if some managed to get a portal open but ended up on another planet?” Blaze looked around the room.
“We’ll keep looking for more survivors,” General Rainier responded.
Reichardt looked over at the older male. “Give your crew time to relax a little before setting off again. I know that Markus and his mate would love to have you spend more time with their family.”
General Rainier smiled. “I am looking forward to a little time on solid ground.”
Reichardt moved his chair back to stand up. “We will do an official welcoming party tomorrow evening. If anyone needs anything, just let one of my people know. I’ll show Leader Blaze to his cabin. General, I have a room available here in the main ranch house if you prefer.”
The general stood up and shook his head. “I’ll bunk in a cabin where you placed some of my crew.”
Blaze stood with the others and watched Arena with longing. She glanced at him briefly before following Reichardt and General Rainier out of the office. He tried to catch up to her but Malachi shoved him to move past. His inner dragon growled a warning. He followed after the group. King Niko moved up to walk beside him.
“Don’t take Malachi’s attitude seriously. He’s had a bug up his ass for a while now. I think he just needs to get laid.”
He wasn’t sure what Niko was saying. “I’m not following. There’s an insect up his anus?”
Niko burst out laughing. “Not literally. It’s a saying here on Earth. It means that he’s in a continual state of annoyance.”
“And the get laid part?”
“He needs sex. You know when you’ve been a while without sex you can get a little testy. Malachi needs to get some in a big way. He’s almost intolerable.”
He wondered if the male had something going on with Arena. She was a beautiful female. Anyone would want her. Reichardt was waiting for him by the front door, but Arena was already gone.
“Ready to see your living space?” Reichardt asked.
“Yes.”
Chapter 17
Arena paced back and forth in her cabin. Her mind raced with questions about Blaze and how he survived ten years on another planet. She had wanted to pull him aside and ask him questions, but there had not been time. He had been taken to one of the cabins assigned to him and his clan. Food and water would be awaiting him. The journey had taken several months so she knew he would need time to relax and settle in. Waiting had never been a strength of hers, though she had managed to improve over time.
“I should go to bed. There’s plenty of time for talking tomorrow,” she told herself out loud.
Want mate now! Her inner dragon demanded.
She tried to remind her dragon that he was not theirs, but the words sounded false to her own ears.
She found herself at the door of her cabin for the fourth time, her hand resting on the handle. Everything in her wanted to find Blaze, but what would she do or say once she did? She released the handle and was about to walk away, but suddenly she sensed something. Turning once more to the door, she reached for the handle, turned it and opened it up. Her heart skipped a beat at what she saw.
“Blaze?”
He moved forward to enter the cabin and she moved back to let him. She closed the door without thinking and the scent of him in a confined space filled the air, enveloping her. Why had she never noticed how wonderful he smelled? Arena needed to get her mind off his delectable scent.
“Are your people settled in all right?” she asked.
“Yes, they were all given cabins like this. Why are you staying in such a small space? Shouldn’t you be back at the palace?” He looked around her cabin, taking in the open space, including a bed to the right and a small kitchenette to the left. Straight ahead was a small sofa with a coffee table. There was a door to the right of the living room that led to the bathroom.
“It’s a ranch house. They offered me a room where the other leaders are staying, but I wanted something more private.”
“Where are your guards? I didn’t see any of them as I approached.”
“I sent Argon on a flight to spread his wings a bit.”
He came closer to her. “You have only one guard? That is unacceptable. As queen…”
“I’m not really a queen anymore.”
“You lead Zocor’s people, do you not?”
“Yes, but I’m more of a leader, not a queen.”
Blaze knelt before her surprising her. “You will always be my queen.”
“Don’t bow to me or to anyone. You are a leader in your own right.” She touched his arm to encourage him to stand. As he got back to his feet, they were mere inches from one another. His almost seven feet towered over her five-feet-two inches. The heat of his body warmed her to her toes.
“By the heavens, you are more beautiful than the stars in the sky.”
His words did something to her, flipped a switch inside her that had been waiting for so long. With no thought to what she was doing, she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him.
Arena knew she took him by surprise but he quickly recovered, wrapping his arms around her to pull her to him. The touch of their lips set off an explosion inside her. Never had a kiss affected her like this. His firm but gentle lips created a craving for him that she knew she would never overcome.
“Blaze,” she whispered when their kissing ended. It didn’t stop for long.
He lifted her up into his massive arms and carried her to the bed. She should stop this, tell him no. She did neither. After centuries of feeling emotionless and dead inside, to finally feel something real was just too tempting.
Blaze gently placed her on the soft mattress. He leaned down to take her lips again. It was deep and thorough and left her breathless. When he pulled away, she could swear she felt light headed. His eyes seemed a little unfocused too, until he locked eyes with her.
“My Arena, how I have longed for this.”
Chapter 18
Blaze fought his inner dragon for control. He wanted to slow things down, take his time and revel in just being able to touch her. His dragon had other plans.
Claim mate now!
He feared he would scare her with how much he wanted to rip her clothes off and bury himself deep inside her. His dragon wanted to sink its teeth into her shoulder as they bonded to her. Fuck! Too fast! Must take our time. He kept mentally repeating that to himself to calm his eagerness.
The scent of arousal grew stronger and stronger. He could almost taste it. Hell, he could taste it on her skin. She wanted him as much as he wanted her, but he needed to make sure of that first. Pulling back, he looked down into her face. Her eyes glowed with her dragon nearing the surface.
“Arena, are you sure about this?”
She bared her teeth and growled her answer. “I’ve wanted you for so long. Don’t stop now.” Then she reached up and gripped his shirt, tearing it down the. Her small, soft hands stroked his flesh and he purred in pleasure. How many nights had he dreamed of her touching him like this? So many, too many. Nothing compared to the real thing, though.
Sitting up onto his haunches, he removed the tattered remains of his shirt and tossed it to the floor. Then he reached for the tied sash of her dress and loosened the knot. Then he slowly unwrapped the material revealing her bare breasts and stomach. All she wore under the dress was tiny white fabric over her mound. He just sat there looking at her, taking in every inch.
“Blaze, I need you.” The lust in her voice was clear and the wa
y her hands stroked over his abs left little doubt that she liked what she was seeing. However, he had been waiting a lifetime for this moment and he wasn’t about to rush things. He longed to touch her skin, memorize every inch of her, worship her from head to toe.
Blaze touched her breasts, cupping them with both of his large hands. She was so soft and delicate. “Perfect. You are perfect.”
Then he lowered his head to take a nipple in his mouth. He suckled and took as much of her small breast into his mouth as he could while torturing her other nipple with his nimble fingers. She made cute and sexy little mewling sounds that drove him crazy. He wanted to hear those sounds while he was buried deep inside her. He could tell she must be feeling similarly because she scratched his back with her nails while she pulled him closer.
He began to slowly remove her tiny white panties, but when she gripped his ass and squeezed, he growled and ended up ripping the material and tossing it to the floor with his shirt.
“Those were expensive,” Arena laughed.
“You shouldn’t cover your beautiful body.”
“You would have me go around naked?”
Blaze growled at the thought of any others seeing the vision before him. “Only for me.”
He kissed her again with more need. She was soft and warm and alive. He couldn’t believe this was happening. He began kissing his way back down her body, teasing her nipples again, then moved down toward her navel.
Blaze used his hands to part her thighs wide for him. Closing his eyes, he inhaled her scent and growled in pleasure. She was as turned on as he was.
He leaned down close to lick her seam. Her juices coated her lower lips and he suckled and nibbled it all up. “Delicious.”
“More,” Arena demanded, reaching to grasp his head and pull him to her. Her aggressive move revved something inside of him — a need to pleasure and conquer.
He growled as he lifted her legs up to have full access to her pussy. Moving his mouth on her he gave a different type of kiss, making love to her with his mouth. The pure sweet taste of her was addicting. He couldn’t get enough of her.
“Blaze,” she moaned as she arched, desperately seeking a release. He wanted to give that to her. He would give her anything she asked of him.
He parted her tender folds using his fingers and slid his tongue inside. She was tight and her inner muscles fought his invasion at first, then her body relaxed into the rhythm of his strokes. Blaze added another two fingers.
“Yes,” she whispered, lifting her hips to match his strokes.
He made love to her like that until her inner walls tightened and she growled out in pleasure. Pulling up he watched her basking in the aftermath of her release. By the gods, she was beautiful. She opened her eyes and smiled.
“Come to me, Blaze,” she said as she raised her arms for him.
Wasting no time, he reached down to unbutton his pants. It was harder to get the pants off while kneeling on the bed. He rolled off to stand on the floor and quickly shoved the offending material down to his feet where they got trapped by his heavy boots.
“Damn it!” he growled as he bent down to pull at his boots.
Arena laughed and he looked up at her. She was at ease in her nudity, lying on her side watching him. The laughter reached her eyes and it softened her usually serious expression.
“Find this funny, do you?” he asked standing back up now completely naked. His cock sprung up at attention, ready to go. A bit of his semen leaked from the tip. That caught her attention and the laughter stopped, replaced with renewed desired.
“No, I find it sexy as hell. Come to me.”
He didn’t have to be told twice. He moved to the bed and slowly crawled his way back up her body, letting his flesh rub against hers. When his face was above hers, he reached down to grip his penis. He put his tip at her entrance, teasing her and letting her juices coat him.
“Are you ready for me?” he asked, his voice deeper and huskier than ever.
“Yes,” she whispered.
In one powerful thrust, he sheathed himself deep inside her. “You feel so good. So tight.”
“Please, Blaze.” She wrapped her legs up higher on his hips and tried to make him move.
“Easy, my queen. Let me set the pace so that I don’t hurt you.” He feared his size might be too much. She was such a tiny thing.
“I’m stronger than I look. Take me, Blaze.”
Her words undid his constraints. He thrust in and out of her with powerful strokes. Harder and deeper, over and over until he was pounding into her relentlessly. He couldn't’ tell how long they had been going at it but both their bodies covered in sweat and he could see light begin to shine through the closed curtains.
His inner dragon rose up, ready to claim her but he held him back. It was too soon for that. They needed more time to talk about things. He concentrated on giving them both what they needed. He reached down to tease her nub and it set her release off. Her inner walls clenched around his shaft milking his release inside her. Instead of leaving his mark on her shoulder, he kissed her there and turned them on their sides, still connected.
It seemed like they had been like that for hours before either one spoke. He finally pulled out of her and reached for a blanket they had kicked to the floor. Covering them both, he pulled her into his arms and held her there. It felt right.
“Tell me what your life on Earth is like,” he prompted her.
“It’s a long tale.”
“I’m up for it. I’m up for anything that has to do with you.” He nudged his still half-stiff cock against her side.
She laughed. “I can tell. Well, I guess I should start from the beginning.”
Chapter 19
Arena pulled the blanket between them. “Zocor was injured and died. I had to…”
“I know, I was told how you had to drag his body through the portal so that his blood would close it.”
A tear was building but she didn’t release it. She hadn’t cried in a very long time. “It was the hardest and the worst thing I ever had to do.”
“I wish I could have been there to help you.”
“It was horrible, but I did it. The hardest part was after we arrived on Earth. There was chaos in the beginning. Earth wasn’t what it is today. It was very primitive. The humans didn’t have the level of knowledge of science that Drakonians did and they certainly were nowhere close to attaining space travel. They outnumbered us. For that reason, the council of the kings divided up the territory of Earth among us, spreading us out in hopes of keeping our existence from the humans.”
“I can relate a little bit to that. I didn’t have to deal with humans but both planets I had ended up on were without technology. We lived mostly out of caves and used rudimentary weapons to hunt for food.”
She nodded her understanding. “It got better over time, and as humans advanced, we were able to advance a little as well. We moved around to different locations and stayed at each for a few decades before moving to another place. We bought land and increased our wealth to where we now own mountains, land, and islands where we can live for longer periods of time.”
“You move around?”
“That’s how we survived so long.”
“But from what General Rainier said, the Drakonians here are even fewer.”
“Our numbers are slowing down. We’ve only recently had true matings and dragonlets be born.”
“Did you mate?” he asked, stilling suddenly.
“No,” she reassured him. It pleased her that he worried about it.
“How could there not be a male on this planet that would want to mate you? Are they blind?” he asked, genuinely offended on her behalf.
Giggling, she snuggled into his side. “It wasn’t from lack of suitors.” He stiffened but wrapped his arms around her, stroking her bare back with gentle strokes. “As advanced as our people were, they weren’t used to a female leading them. The elders of my clan tried to persuade me to take a mate, b
ut I refused.”
He moved to lean over her a little to stare down at her. “It must have been lonely. Taking a mate would have alleviated some of that loneliness even if it wasn’t a true mate. Why did you refuse?”
She looked away from him. She had never spoken to anyone about her reasons and wasn’t sure how he would receive them.
He cupped her face to make her look at him. “Tell me.”
“Did you know that mine and Zocor’s mating was arranged?”
He shook his head. “True mates for royals were not always a true mating, but I thought you agreed to mate Zocor.”
“I had never met Zocor. My father had insisted on the union and at the time, I could not refuse my father. I did hear of Zocor’s good reputation on how he treated his people so I wasn’t totally blind in going into it.”
“I’m sure if you had told Zocor that you were being pushed into it by your father he would have refused the union.”
“To be honest, I was grateful to be out of my father’s house. He wasn’t an easy male to live with. Nothing I did satisfied him. Zocor seemed such a blessing. Eventually, I grew to love Zocor, but we both knew we weren’t true mates. He tried to make me happy, but there was always something missing in our relationship.”
“I didn’t know any of that.”
“Why would you? My father taught me well how to hide my true feelings. He said that emotions were a weakness. I kept it all inside.”
There was a small silence as he stroked her cheek with his fingertips. “No wonder you refused to mate anyone else.”
“I won’t mate anyone except my true mate.”
“I agree with that.”
“Have you mated with anyone?”
“I came close.”
Something about that felt wrong. “Who is she? Is she in your clan?”
“It doesn’t matter. Our relationship ended.”
She wanted to ask him more questions, but he kissed her and she got lost. They had more to talk about, especially about the fact that her dragon was purring in contentment. So was his. They had time to talk things out later. He was alive and here with her, and that was all that really mattered. The rest of it could be figured out later.
