All his fingers slide into his hair and he slightly pulls, as if he needs to hold onto his head because he’s losing it.
I hate seeing him like this and finally spill a little secret I haven’t told anyone. I only noticed I had this ability when I was standing in front of the tiny lake in the middle of the woods as I was staring down at my own reflection in shock all those years ago. “What if I changed color?”
Great. Now he’s looking at me like I’m the insane one.
“It’s a mirage of some sort, you know, like a chameleon. I can adapt color for a short period of time. Well, I think it’s a short period of time. I honestly don’t know for how long or how it works…I only know I can because I’ve done it before.”
Yes. He’s still looking at me like I’m insane.
“Do you want me to show you so you’ll believe me?” I sigh. “Or did you change your mind and suddenly agree with the part where I’m the abomination and not the salvation?”
“It’s the extra dose of magic, it has to be,” he mutters. “How many times have you tried it and for how long can you hold it?”
“Once, and I don’t know?” I wince while giving him my answer as a question because I’ve only ever done so once. “I know I made it sound like I’ve done it countless times but to be honest, I think it was more like a reflex or something.”
Vaughn wraps his fingers around my wrist and drags me with him. “Come on, we’re going to shift and see if you can do it again and for how long you can hold it. This might be what we need to keep questions and panic at bay long enough until we’ve figured out what it all entails.”
My mind is still bouncing around the load of information as Vaughn pulls me through a piece of forest and into a large empty warehouse. He locks the door behind us and flips the light, revealing a wide-open space.
“This is where we used to train children to let them get used to the shift. Now,” he says and places his feet in a slightly open stance as he crosses his arms in front of his chest. “Shift.”
Talk about uncomfortable. “You do realize I’d have to be naked in order to shift, right?”
The annoying man raises one of his eyebrows before a smirk tugs his lips. “Would it make you more comfortable if I shifted before you did? Because like hell am I going to turn my back to give you some privacy.”
Clearly, I didn’t think this through and now I also realize, “How are we going to do the whole shifting thing with this ceremony? Are we going to stand naked in front of all those other people?”
His eyes flare with anger and possessiveness and I have to take a step back due to the mere intensity.
“No one but me will see your naked body,” he says through clenched teeth. “There’s a wall to shift back behind. All Dragon males are protective of their mate.”
“Well, even if I might get all warm and fuzzy over your flattering words, you’re still practically a stranger to me. I don’t feel comfortable stripping down naked, right here, right now.”
I don’t have the time to so much as blink before he’s standing in front of me. His lips cover mine and his fingers are stroking the back of my neck as he tilts my head to give him the right angle to claim my mouth. There’s nothing more to do than open up and surrender to his dominating kiss.
Everything around me dissolves and there’s only tingling pleasure that starts to build low in my belly. It sparks a flame, and if I’m not careful it will threaten to burn for a lifetime. But in this moment, I don’t want to be careful, I want to be careless and relish in the way he makes me feel as if I’m his reason for living and nothing else matters except for the two of us relishing in pleasure.
Suddenly he rips his mouth away and places his forehead against mine. Panting hard he pushes out his words. “If I wasn’t a president and clan leader, I would claim you this instant.”
Screw everything and everyone. I want the fire of pleasure back and I want it now.
“Then why don’t you?” I breathe, not caring about anything other than getting his mouth back on mine.
He groans and mutters, “Don’t tempt me, I’m barely hanging on as it is.”
“Lucio did with Polina. And my human upbringing might defy the whole ‘we’re moving too fast’ one moment to the next, but what I feel when we touch is insane and not at all what I’ve experienced before.”
“It’s the balance in our connection.” His eyes flare with a loaded intensity. “Our bodies are compatible in all ways. It’s why they call it eternal mates because we will stay together for an eternity and not only because of our lifespan but also because our connection will only grow stronger. The rarity of it all is also putting me on edge and I’m fairly sure this is also why Lucio claimed Polina on the spot, right next to the fact he could smell she was fertile. Something only a mate knows. There was no denying and he was right to act as he did. The last mating we had might have been eternal mates but she wasn’t fertile and to say that’s strange is an understatement. No blame will be placed on Lucio because they are the first ones who will give our clan the first step into a new future.”
“Do I…am I?” Shit, weird question.
“Yes,” he croaks. “I don’t need to be mated with you to smell your arousal and the underlying promise that if I fill you with my seed it will take root.”
“It’s still weird with the not knowing who you are, complete stranger, thing. You might be an asshole who leaves me to clean the house each day and expects me to raise the kids and say yes, please, and thank you,” I muse, mainly to myself. “Just so you know, that’s not going to happen.”
I’m all in to follow my body into an oblivious state of pleasure this man is radiating, though it’s scary to think it’s not just this moment; it’s an eternity. But when I listen to my heart it seems to scream Vaughn’s name and longs to connect with every squeeze, filling my veins with the need to claim.
His husky chuckle flows over my skin before he slowly leans in. “I would never expect a strong woman to throw away her hopes, dreams, aspirations, goals,” he murmurs and covers his lips with mine.
This time his kiss releases a spark of euphoria that’s almost blinding me with the need to possess. My brain fills with flashes where we’re both naked—his dick deep inside me—as he’s pounding away until the both of us explode into an overwhelming orgasm.
A low rumble rips from Vaughn’s chest and he breaks our kiss. His eyes are slits and I’m pretty sure mine are too because my hand turns into talons as I carefully rip away his clothes. Vaughn rips away mine and within a few breaths our bodies are crashing against each other naked.
Another growl rips from his chest as he pushes me back. I hit the ground and he covers his body with mine as he tries to pin my hands above my head. The feel of him dominating me gives me a thrill and yet my inner self wants to rebel to make him fight harder. It’s for this reason I put all my strength into one hard push.
I manage to push him off and roll us over, making me land on top of him, exactly how I pictured it in my head. I reach between our bodies and don’t think twice when I grip his hard length and slide it between my folds, desperately wanting to slowly impale myself. My eyes close and my whole world tilts.
When I open them back up, I’m pinned underneath Vaughn again. He slowly slides down my body and cups my breast, letting his tongue swirl around the hard peak. I moan loud when his teeth graze my nipple before he covers it completely and starts to suck and flip it.
Switching to the other breast I let my fingers sink into his thick dark hair to keep him in place. He fights me and slides further down my body as he’s now hovering over my pussy. I hold my breath as his tongue slides through my folds. Teeth grazing, fingers spreading me open as his mouth completely claims me.
I’m tethering on the edge and almost tipping over when he flashes up and slides deep inside me with one stroke. He starts to pound inside me. His grunts scorch my skin as he nuzzles my neck. I want to claw his back so damn bad, but he has his fingers laced with mine
and placed on each side of my head.
Another growl rips from his chest as I tilt my head in submission. My gaze lands on our joined hands and I see his fingers slightly shift. A talon nicks my skin and instinctively I mimic his action, making our blood mingle. Vaughn buries himself deep as blinding light envelops us.
Heat flares and I feel his cum burst inside me with hot jets causing me to drown into another orgasm wave. The ground underneath us rumbles and even if this world would stop spinning this instant, I couldn’t care less because I’m caught in a bubble of euphoria. It feels unbreakable, as if everything fell into place and this is where I’m supposed to be.
Bright silver pupils are staring down at me with so much intensity and devotion my breath catches. “Mine,” he rumbles in a guttural tone. He pulls out of me, grabs my hips and spins me around as I land on all fours. He smacks my ass before he covers his body with mine and growls in my ear, “Again.”
I scream his name as his hard dick slides inside me with one hard stroke. This new angle allows him to slide deeper and even if there’s an erotic bite of pain, I can’t help myself when I start to push back in a silent demand for him to give me more.
His chest rumbles and I feel his tongue sliding over the skin of my neck. He starts to nip and suck while his hand sneaks around my body where his fingers tug my nipple. Electricity flares through my veins, boosting the lust that was already running wild. It’s as if he flawlessly knows how to demand pleasure from me to fire up his own.
“Vaughn,” I moan seconds before my orgasm hits.
Vaughn stills inside me and wraps his arms protectively around me as he guides me up into a sitting position. I can feel him pulse inside me as he bites down on the curve where my shoulder meets my neck. The pull he rips from my body is as if he is merging himself with me.
A scream rips from me when his mouth disconnects, and he guides my head to his neck as I automatically let my teeth sink into him. His taste on my tongue makes a tingle spread through my whole body and the groan rippling through his chest, vibrating through my back, makes our connection more intense.
My mouth leaves his skin and Vaughn slowly leans back and lands on the ground, causing me to fall on top of him. He turns my body so I’m now draped over him. We are both breathing hard, however it doesn’t prevent us from connecting our mouths to dive into a consuming kiss. Another blast of light makes my eyes flash open.
There’s a burning feeling spreading my neck and I hear Vaughn rumble a grunt through his chest. I break our kiss and glance down and see Vaugh now has a tattoo in the same spot that’s scorching my skin too. The mating tattoo.
I look around us and it’s now I notice the building we’re in is completely ruined. Well, more like half of it doesn’t exist anymore. It didn’t just explode or crash down, it’s as if it’s been cut away from existence.
Vaughn chuckles. “I guess it’s a good thing we didn’t do a traditional mating. If that would have happened it would have certainly blown away half of our people.”
“I can’t believe we did that,” I gasp and then cringe because he’s right. “Great way to make a first impression, killing your people during times of celebration.”
The corner of his mouth twitches. “They’re your people now too, Enya. Besides, your mother was a part of this clan, you belong here. Not that you have a choice in leaving, because we’re mated.”
Great way to throw an ice bucket over all the warm and fuzzy feelings he sparked inside me. “So, you basically just screwed me over? Grounded me and...wait, what did happen? I...I feel...you.”
We’re standing and there’s space between us and yet I can feel his warmth, his scent and strength cocooning me.
“We bonded by blood. Our connection is strong enough to withstand anything and allows us to find and help each other where and when needed.” His hand reaches out and he tries to cup my face.
With how hard I seem to find it to deny myself his touch, I have to let him touch me because I need more answers. “It would have been good to know these details up front,” I grumble. “But I guess the blame is on me too. Gah, how could I ever resist you? It’s like an alternate world my ass landed in. Doesn’t any of this seem weird to you? Too fast, too soon, the whole ‘let’s shag together and walk into sunshine la-la-land’?”
He slowly shakes his head. “I’ve been brought up with the stories of an eternal mate. Raised as a Dragon and learned to embrace every angle, possibility, and option. It’s you who has to adjust to what it all entails. Now, are you ready to shift? Or do you need a little help?”
“What?” I gasp. “No, I’m not ready to shift, we are talking about important stuff. You and me. Our connection. Mostly about us and what we just did, and...Oh. My. God. You knocked me up, didn’t you? That’s why I can smell you on me.”
Anger builds up and I can feel the smoke starting to waft from my nose.
“Calm down, Enya,” Vaughn says and makes gestures with his hands, but there’s a glint in his eyes as if he’s taunting me.
If I wasn’t angry, I would roll my freaking eyes. “Didn’t they teach you in Dragon school not to infuriate a woman when she’s ready to blow?”
“You need to calm down or you’re going to shift, and a Dragon shifting due to anger will be unreasonable. Don’t make me stop you from shifting because I will.” The steel in his words rings truth and it makes me even angrier.
“I’d like to see you try,” I hiss.
His eyes narrow and he raises his arms away from his body. There’s pearly glitter stuff swirling like fire around his hands and licking up his forearms. I feel pressure on my whole body. Is he really trying to suppress my shift?
Appalled by his interference and dominating ways, I push back and focus on embracing my inner Dragon form. I can feel the wings sprouting from my back as my hands turn into talons as scales start to cover my body. My face elongates into a snout and my anger turns into a spray of blue fire coming out of my mouth that’s filled with sharp teeth. Fully transformed I stomp my front paw and step closer to Vaughn, who is now smiling like an idiot. What the hell?
Chapter Seven
***Vaughn***
“You didn’t think about how to shift or if it would hurt did you?” I murmur and reach out to touch her nose. I have to clear my throat to push out the word, “Gorgeous.”
A magnificent white as snow Dragon is standing before me. She’s easily over sixty feet long and fourteen feet at the shoulder. Her scales shimmer and she feels warm underneath my hand. I’ve never touched a female Dragon and the feelings coursing through my body all have a possessive undertone. Maybe it’s because Enya is special. A white Dragon. Not only rare but she’s also pregnant, carrying my child.
Lucio’s voice enters my head. It’s a link I have between my VP where he has the ability to reach out to me in case he needs to, and he’s just let me know others have felt the mating blow and are heading this way. Dammit.
“Gorgeous, listen very closely,” I tell her and she huffs, probably because I called her gorgeous—which she absolutely is. “Enya, I called you gorgeous for the sole fact you absolutely are breathtaking. The serene white, while still having your clear blue eyes is a stunning sight. Your imposing size, shimmering scales, it’s everything.”
I let my hand slide in between her eyes and she closes them for a second to take in my words and touch.
“We don’t have much time; others are coming because they heard and felt the mating blast. Can you hide the white color? Camilla, your mother, she was a black Dragon. Maybe gray would be easier for you? Red or green? I hate you have to change the white because it’s absolutely breathtaking.”
Steam wafts from her nose as her scales shimmer in color before my very eyes. It’s as if I’m watching white paint where someone is pouring black paint into the mix. Slowly she turns from serene white to gray and eventually black. Though the shimmering scales stay, highlighting her beauty.
“Motherfucker,” I mumble underneath my breath.
“So. Damn. Beautiful.”
Gasps fill the air behind me and Enya rumbles a low warning growl. Probably because I’m still in human form and naked for all to see, because she instantly shields my body with a part of her wing.
“It’s okay, Enya,” I whisper and place a swift kiss on her snout. Clearly, she’s surprised and she freezes in place. “Stay like this and let me handle everything, okay?”
She doesn’t do anything and I take it as a yes. When I turn around, I’m faced with eight of my brothers and also a few older clan members who are no longer active members of our MC. They are all staring at Enya. Lucio and Polina arrive along with Orion, Emery, and Cyril.
But it’s the old man with the cane trying to move forward while shoving everyone aside that catches my attention. A jolt of protectiveness swirls through me and Enya’s head appears right next to me. She releases a huff and I know she’s tuned into my feelings and knows something is up.
I might as well take this moment to telepathically reach out to her. “The old man with the cane. Typhon.”
A low growl rumbles through her and a puff of blue fire flows from between her strong jaw. Gasps ring out again because Dragons have normal fire, not blue. Dammit.
“Oooops.”
I can’t help but chuckle before I shoot her a quick reply, “That’s the first thing you say to me through our mental connection? Nice. We need to get out of here. Be ready because the second I shift I will come after you, understand? We’re going to start the ceremony, it’s the only way to draw away questions and the possibility of Typhon to cause an uproar.”
Dragons: Death by Reaper MC #4 Page 7
