Gambling on Her Dragon

by Anna Lowe

  “I’ll take over from here, boys,” she told the guards.

  The two men fell half a step back and remained silent.

  “I’m Sabrina,” she gushed, squeezing between him and Kaya.

  His wolf yelped at the unfamiliar warmth at his side. Christ, were those her boobs, mashed up against his ribs?

  She all but stroked his ass as she walked along at his side, ignoring Kaya completely.

  “Roric is my father.” Sabrina smiled a crocodile smile.

  Subtext: You fuck with me, you fuck with my dad.

  Trey forced himself not to shove her away, even though his wolf was snarling inside. Kaya was struggling to keep her claws sheathed; he could feel her anger bubbling up to his left.

  Bitch. Kaya’s inner curse sounded loud and clear in his mind, and his head whipped around to look over the annoying brunette.

  Whoa. Had he just heard Kaya’s thoughts? Only packmates or destined mates could do that.

  She’s not a packmate, his wolf filled in smugly. Which means…

  He looked at Kaya, wide-eyed, until something gross and slinky touched his arm. He glanced down to see Sabrina winding her arm through his like she was about to take him for an afternoon stroll. One that would probably end at her bedroom, judging by the way the horny little she-wolf butted her hips against his. Subtext: And by the way, feel free to fuck me against the nearest wall.

  He looked to the guards. Uh, guys, a little help?

  The guards just smirked and stared straight ahead.

  “You look like you’ve had a long day.” Sabrina patted his chest and cooed like a pigeon. Subtext: Feel free to fuck me all afternoon. “Maybe you’d like to rest.”

  “Um…”

  She steered him around a corner and down a long hallway.

  “Your friend can use this room.” Sabrina nodded to an open door. Her eyes brushed over Kaya, saying, That tramp can use this room. “And you can come with me to—”

  He yanked his arm out of Sabrina’s iron grip and darted into the first room with Kaya. He pushed the door closed so fast, he barely had time to squeeze a few words out to Sabrina’s shocked face.

  “This will be fine, thanks!”

  Slam! The door rocked in its frame.

  He half expected the young woman to come raging in, but all he heard was the heavy step of a guard and the click-click of the door locking from the outside.

  He let out a puff of air and looked around. It seemed all he was finding in Vegas was trouble.

  “Now, what?” Kaya asked.

  They both turned and took in the suite. There was a platter of cold cuts and bread on a low table, which was nice enough, though the windows beyond were barred. A door led to what looked to be a bathroom, while an alcove held a canopied bed.

  King-size, his wolf whistled appreciatively. For four hours…

  His eyes slid to Kaya just in time to see her gaze jerk to the floor.

  Now what, indeed.

  Chapter Eight

  Kaya bit her lip and stared at the floor, not sure whether to declare this another up or a down in her roller coaster of a day.

  With Trey standing so close, her whole body hummed. That part was a definite plus.

  But bars on the windows and a locked door? That part…crap. She shivered at the thought of being trapped. Which was the wrong move, because Trey caught the motion and ran his hand along her arm, sending sparks through every nerve.

  “You okay?” he asked in that growly, I-want-to-feast-on-your-body tone.

  “Fine,” she squeaked, skittering away.

  God, it was just like the night before, when she’d lost track of her plan the second he stepped too close.

  “Um, are you hungry?” she tried, waving toward the platter of food.

  Wrong question, because the look in Trey’s wolf eyes said, Yes. Starving.

  Heat pooled low in her body, and she just couldn’t drag her eyes off him.

  A growl built in his chest, and an electric hum filled the room. Barely audible, like the sound of a thousand mini-bolts of lightning zapping back and forth between their bodies. She leaned forward, and her fingers twitched.

  It was just like meeting him in the casino, when it seemed the whole universe had tilted to propel her into his arms. Not that she had fought it. Not one bit.

  But this was different. Wasn’t it?

  She shook her head, trying to free herself from the magnetic attraction that kept pushing her toward him. Her sister was in trouble, a deadline was looming, and now she was captive in a den of wolves. Not the time to be thinking about how good his skin would feel rubbing against hers, or how soft his kisses would land on her bare breast, or how deep he could—

  She jolted and all but jumped away. “Um…I’ll just…um…” Her gaze zeroed in on the open bathroom door and the shower stall beyond. “I’ll take a shower.”

  A very cold shower.

  Before he could protest — and she could see one poised on the tip of his tongue — she fled into the bathroom, closed the door, and leaned against it. Her breath came in pants, as if she’d been chased in there by the big, bad wolf and not her own fears. How far might she go this time, given half a chance? How much of her heart would she hand over and in how little time?

  Cold shower. She stripped her socks off quickly. An extremely cold shower, that’s what she needed. Followed by a new plan.

  Shag him senseless then break out of this joint? her dragon suggested.

  She twisted the tap all the way to the right, shed the rest of her clothes, and stepped in. She yelped at the icy water and grabbed the shower faucet, willing herself to endure.

  It was so cold, her head hurt. Her skin turned bright pink. She lost all feeling in her toes. But the throbbing, achy need deep in her body just wouldn’t go away.

  She turned the tap to warm. Maybe that would work.

  All it did, though, was lull her into a hazy state of mind. She closed her eyes as the stall steamed up, telling herself it was the water she was purring at and not the fantasy of Trey’s warm touch. Reminding herself that was a bar of soap moving across her body and not Trey’s hand.

  But then the shower door opened with a quiet whoosh of cold air, and that part wasn’t a fantasy. Even without looking, she knew it was Trey — the man she’d only laid eyes on yesterday, but who’d already stolen her heart.

  “Kaya.”

  Somehow, his whisper didn’t surprise her. Didn’t make her jump or scream or slip. It just made her hot all over.

  “Kaya,” he whispered one more time.

  She kept her back to him and gave the slightest nod.

  The steam cloud squeezed closer as he moved in behind her and shut the glass door. When he ran his hand down her spine, she nearly purred out loud.

  “I think you need some scrubbing back here,” he said, so quietly she might have missed it.

  Barely moving — barely breathing — she let him pluck the bar of soap from her hand.

  “Definitely need some soap back here,” he murmured, sliding it down her back.

  She squeezed her lips together, trying not to groan at how good it felt, or how hard it made her nipples pucker, or how eagerly it made her sex weep. She tried not to wiggle her ass at him too much and held on more tightly than before.

  “Nice,” he whispered.

  The realization that he was whispering to himself only stoked her inner heat higher.

  “Nice,” she echoed.

  The soft soap swept around her ribs and eased carefully toward her breast. His callused fingers gave just the right edge to his touch. Because soft would only last so long, she knew. Eventually, he’d go over to hard and hot, just like her body was begging him to.

  His hand took the weight of her breast, and he circled her nipple, again and again. She arched, encouraging him to work both sides while the hard length of his cock tapped impatiently at her back.

  God, she wanted this man. This wolf. Wanted him like she’d never wanted anything before.


  “Trey,” she whispered. “That’s so good…”

  A satisfied puff of air tickled her ear, and his cock jutted harder.

  “Just what I was thinking,” his husky voice promised.

  His big, broad foot edged in between hers, and she spread her legs to give him space. Trey scooped a handful of the water cascading over her breast and redirected it downward, toward her mound.

  “God, Trey…” she mumbled, pushing backward against his groin.

  He caught another handful of water and slid lower this time. Lower…

  His left arm, strong and wiry as a tree branch, wrapped around her waist. The fingers of his right hand slid between her legs. Parted her folds, rocked deeper, and teased her clit.

  She threw her head back, murmuring unintelligibly.

  “How’s that?” he coaxed her along. “Feel good?”

  Good was not the word for the skies of heaven, opening up to her in a flash of white light.

  He slid two fingers deep and curled them against her inner walls until she yowled like a cat in heat.

  “Yeah, that feels good.” He nodded. Not a cocky, look-at-the-power-I-wield-over-you, woman but a coo of wonder, of discovery. “And what about this?”

  She stiffened as a third finger joined the first two. Gaped at the ceiling in a silent scream of pleasure she prayed he couldn’t see. A dragon ought to have some pride, right?

  His left hand pushed down against her belly, and the fingers inside curved toward it, intensifying the pressure until she was howling in ecstasy. She grabbed at his hand and pushed harder.

  “Faster,” she said between clenched teeth. “Deeper.”

  His breath came in heavy pants, too, as he complied. Two fingers of one hand inside, with a third finger circling her clit from the other side, while she rattled and cried and shook.

  “Trey!”

  “Come for me, Kaya,” he said in a harsh whisper, like it was him teetering on the edge of orgasm and not her. “Come for me.”

  She shut her eyes, imagining the hard push of his cock inside. Wanting to come for him, not just for herself. When he scraped his teeth along her neck, she promptly came apart.

  “Trey!” Her own voice sounded hoarse and faraway, and the whole world shook as she came. Every muscle in her body shuddered in glorious, willing surrender. Wave after wave of pleasure until she was limp and weepy in his arms.

  One second, she was dead tired; the next, she spun in his arms with a second wind that had her kissing him harder than she’d ever kissed anyone before. Deeper, with her tongue sweeping in greedy circles and her hands yanking his body flush against hers.

  Her leg was already climbing around his, her fingers gripping tight.

  “Okay, cowboy,” she panted, popping out of the kiss. “Bedtime.”

  He crooked an eyebrow. “Bedtime?”

  He pulled her leg higher, and for one second, she thought he’d lift her up and screw her right against the wall. Which would have worked, too. But she wanted more than that. Needed to feel the full weight of him, powering into her.

  “Yeah, bedtime. As in, me, you, and the bed.”

  His fingers gripped her sides harder.

  He needed convincing? She’d give him convincing. She dropped her lips to his ear and whispered in a husky voice. “Bed. As in, hot and hard enough to make a missionary blush.”

  She dropped to her feet as a knowing grin spread across his face.

  “Sounds good to me,” he murmured, pushing the shower door ajar. “Sounds good to me.”

  Chapter Nine

  Trey only had the vaguest recollections of their first time the night before, and that was a damn shame. Practically criminal, like sleeping through Christmas, New Year’s, and his birthday, all in a row.

  So he watched and listened and sniffed, memorizing every detail. Tiny drops of water cascaded down her body as he lowered her to the bed. Her eyes shone, and her fingertips dug into his arms. The scent of her arousal mixed with his in a potent cocktail that had his wolf howling inside as he stretched every moment out.

  “You coming, wolf?” Her feet ran along the outsides of his thighs in a tease.

  Oh, he was coming, all right.

  “You’ll be the one coming,” he murmured. “Very, very soon.”

  Her breath came faster and harder, and he thanked heaven for making dragons as horny as wolves.

  But, Jesus, where to start?

  His cock and balls voted to get right to work, while his wolf screamed for a closer sniff of her neck, and his hands begged for more of those perfect, pert tits.

  He shoved those thoughts aside, because there was only one right way to start this.

  With a kiss.

  A slow kiss. For all that his body was screaming to skip ahead, his soul needed that one kiss.

  He slid up her body, cupped her face in both hands, and lowered his lips. Closed his eyes and drank in the sigh that escaped from her even before he touched down. A second later, it was him sighing at the feeling of that perfect fit. Her lips slid sideways, then opened, and God, she tasted so good. Like peaches. Like honey. Like sunshine, almost. Her hands stopped roving and stayed on his ribs, and the only things that moved for the next minute were their pounding hearts and their lips.

  Until, at some point, he could practically feel his wolf lean in and tap on his shoulder to say, Hey, buddy. You got your one kiss. Now I get mine.

  And then the kiss became a frenzy for more, more, and more that her dragon seemed just as happy to run away with.

  “Tell me what you want,” she gasped between deep, hard kisses. “Tell me what you like.”

  “I want you,” he mumbled, sliding down her body to kiss her neck.

  Want to lick, his wolf added. To pinch, just a little bit. Maybe even nibble—

  He yanked on an invisible leash and slid farther down her body, ignoring his wolf’s inner protest.

  I was just sniffing! his wolf protested. I swear!

  He shook his head. That this was more than just good sex — really, really good sex that made his heart and soul soar — was clear. But there was no way he was going to let his inner wolf grab the chance to do something rash. If there really was truth to the notion of destined mates—

  Of course, there is! his wolf hissed.

  And if Kaya really was his destined mate—

  Of course, she is!

  They’d talk about it later, like a couple of rational adults, not hot-blooded shifters.

  Talk? his wolf scoffed. What is there to talk about?

  Everything. Like how the hell could a wolf and a dragon make a life together…

  How the hell can we not make a life together?

  He struggled for an answer to that one because, for once, the wolf had him stumped.

  Whatever. He shoved the beast aside. All of that was for later. Right now was for letting their bodies get to know each other the very best way. For memorizing every smooth curve, every soft line, every hard ridge of her body.

  “Tell me what you want me to do,” Kaya whispered, running her hands over his shoulders.

  He dropped lower, kissing her collarbone. Her chest rose with deep, needy breaths.

  “This,” he murmured, kissing his way down to her breast. “I want this.”

  “This?” The word turned into a squeak as his lips caught her nipple.

  He licked in circles, letting his body weight pin her down.

  “This.” He nodded. “I want you to lie back and let me explore.”

  She answered with a needy moan.

  “I want to study every inch of you,” he added, nibbling at the underside of the plump flesh.

  Kaya sighed in pleasure, lifting him with her long inhale.

  “I want to touch you. Everywhere.”

  Her knees flopped apart in open invitation, and his wolf howled.

  He nosed her belly, inhaled deeply, and dropped between her legs.

  The night before, he’d been drugged by some chemical. But n
ow, he was drugged on the scent of her skin, on the arousal wafting from every pore. On the crazy little mewing sounds she made when he parted her folds and let his tongue dive in.

  She might have been a dragon, but she sure did cry like a kitten when he turned her on.

  “Is that good?” he asked, glancing up.

  Her hands were clutching the sheets. Her head was tipped back, and her breaths came in gasps.

  “I’ll take that as a yes,” he chuckled and ducked back in.

  He tunneled his fingers into her and scooped with his tongue. Fought his aching hard-on as long as he could.

  “Trey,” she moaned, pulling at his shoulders. “I’m so close.”

  He swept his tongue upward in one last, openmouthed taste. He was so close to coming, it hurt.

  “Please.” She lifted her head, and the line of her abs rose like a mountain ridge. “Inside. I need you inside.”

  He dragged himself away from heaven to shuffle up along her body.

  “Ready?” he asked, nudging her legs wider to make space for his cock.

  “Like you have to ask.” Kaya shook her head, but an indulgent smile slipped over her lips. “Like you have to ask.”

  Chapter Ten

  Kaya clamped her legs around Trey, as ready as she’d ever been in her life. More than ready, because her mind was already two steps ahead, imagining the hot slide of him inside.

  “Like you have to—”

  He slid in, and she gasped. He was so wide, so hard, and the pain was so, so good. Skin-on-skin, because she really didn’t give a damn about a condom right now.

  “Oh, yes,” she moaned.

  He snuck in another half inch, then half an inch more. His legs trembled, and she felt him struggle with his inner wolf to give her time. Thick, muscled arms crisscrossed with a hundred chiseled lines of muscle, caging her in.

  She didn’t know what kind of partner he was used to — sure didn’t want to know the details, either — but if he thought dragons needed slow and careful, he had another thing coming.

  “Deeper,” she moaned, clawing his back. “Deeper.” Damn it, she was begging. But really, how could she resist?