by Tami Lund
When the backs of his calves hit the side of the bed, he placed his hands on her hips and twisted them both, then he gently pushed her until she fell back against the comforter.
“I get to be in charge for a bit first,” he said.
He dropped to his knees next to the bed.
She propped herself up on her elbows and watched as he wrapped his hands around her thighs and pulled her toward the edge while spreading her legs at the same time, until he was kneeling between them, staring at her sex like a starved man who’d just been served a steak dinner. She gasped and fell back against the blankets and stretched her arms up over her head.
The first touch was his finger, tracing her seam and then circling her nub. She bowed off of the bed and cried out, squeezing her eyes shut and focusing entirely on the sizzling sensation he was creating.
“You are literally sparking for me,” he murmured. “That’s so damn hot.”
Her response was a jumble of sounds she hoped he took for, “Please, more, don’t stop.”
The next touch was different. She felt his hot breath against those sensitive nerve endings a scant second before his tongue scraped against her sex. His fingers tightened on her thigh as he licked between her folds, thrusting into her, a hint of what it would be like when they finally connected in the way man and woman had been meant to since the dawn of time.
She curled her fingers into the blanket and tried to fight off the impending orgasm, only because she wanted to drag this out because, dear God, she’d never felt so utterly free and twisted into knots all at the same time before.
And then he worked two fingers into her while sucking on her nub, and she bucked her hips and let go. Those fireworks were back, bursting into a million shimmering colors behind her eyelids as her body reached nirvana status for long, long moments. He slowed his movements, gently bringing her down from her high.
When her eyes fluttered open, he sat on his haunches on the floor, grinning between her thighs, clearly damned proud of himself. His short beard glistened with her arousal, and she watched as he licked his lips like he’d just dined on a delectable treat and wanted more.
“Oh yes,” she said in a breathy voice, and she felt around on the comforter for the condom.
He plucked it from her fingers and quickly sheathed himself, and then he climbed onto the bed on his back next to her and pulled her to him, rolling her over on top of him. She straddled him.
He curled his arms underneath his head and said, “You can take charge now, if you want.”
She grinned. She wanted.
Wrapping her hand around his erection, she gave it a couple of strokes. The smug look on his face shifted to abject pleasure. His entire body tensed, and he pulled his arms out from under his head so that he could clutch her hips, squeezing gently.
She planned to stroke him until he begged, but, honestly, she wanted to feel him inside her more, so she positioned his erection and then lowered herself onto him, rocking until he filled her completely.
“Oh yes,” she whispered, searching for her rhythm. “I want you to give me another orgasm.”
“I want that too.” He used his hands on her hips to help guide her faster and faster, so fast her breasts were bouncing and the sound of skin slapping skin echoed throughout the room.
“So—good—yes—don’t—stop!” She flattened her hands on his chest, using them for leverage as she worked to keep up with his pace. He gritted his teeth, his eyes wide open as he watched her movements and did not let up.
That fire he’d stoked inside her roared back to life, stronger and brighter than when he’d pleasured her with his tongue and fingers. She kicked up her pace, her body instinctively seeking those precious moments of ecstasy just out of reach.
And then he abruptly changed his rhythm, slowed, and rotated his hips before thrusting hard while pulling her down onto him. She climaxed, her body convulsing while the room seemed to brighten for a few moments until he pumped a handful of times and followed her over the edge.
Gasping for breath, her body still feeling like a human sparkler, she rolled off of him and lay on her back next to him. She could see his chest rising and falling in almost perfect symmetry with her own. Fast symmetry, for the record.
Rahu had stamina. Oh man, her standards had skyrocketed.
She flung her arm out and it smacked against his abs. He grunted and threaded his hand with hers. She liked that he was perfectly content to lie like this, that he wasn’t in a hurry to get dressed and take off. Except…
“I’m starved,” she whispered. “I think we burned about three thousand calories. Each.”
He chuckled. “How about I go downstairs and raid the fridge for snacks? Anything in particular you’re craving?”
She shook her head. “Whatever you bring back will be fine.”
“Okay.” He leaned over, gave her a hard kiss on the lips then slid out of bed, disposed of the condom, and tugged his shorts and T-shirt on. “I’ll be right back.” He practically jogged out the door.
Becca waited until she was certain he was out of hearing range, and then she gave a little squeal and did a silly little sort-of dance while still lying in the bed.
Why in the world had she waited so long to get out from under Aunt Pacey’s wing?
Chapter Nine
“Where’s Rebecca?”
Rahu lifted his head so he could see above the refrigerator door. Ketu stood on the other side, watching him.
“Upstairs,” he said shortly. Naked. Waiting in bed. For him. And if that squeal he heard as he hit the top of the stairs was any indication, she was as excited as he was over what just happened between them.
He wasn’t worthy of her attention, but he’d never been more grateful for a gift in his entire life.
Becca had given herself over—to him. His mind was boggled, and his dick was still wet from sex. With her. What just happened between them had lived up to the anticipation that had been building since Friday. Shoot, for the past year.
More than lived up to it. And now, he needed to feed her, give her fuel, because he sure as hell wanted a repeat performance.
A lot of repeat performances, with no closing curtain in sight.
“What are you doing?” Ketu asked.
“Taking her a snack.”
His friend eyed the items in his arms: a loaf of French bread, a few cups of yogurt, a plastic bowl of homemade salsa, a bag of tortilla chips, a couple of apples, a chunk of Colby Jack cheese, a sleeve of crackers, and he’d been trying to figure out how he could also carry a pitcher of iced tea. And two glasses.
But Ketu studied him intently enough that Rahu finally said, “What?”
Ketu closed his eyes, massaged his temples, and shook his head. “You slept with her.”
“What makes you say that?” Rahu tried to sound innocent, but he wasn’t sure how to do it, and besides, he was an adult and so was Becca. They had every right to act on their mutual attraction.
“You can’t stop grinning. Your hair’s all messed up. You’re taking up enough food to feed a damn army. You either just slept together or you’re about to.”
Rahu thrust out his chin. “So what?”
“We told you to leave her alone.”
Yeah, right. No idea why Ketu thought that was going to happen. But then again, Ketu didn’t know about the sparks that occurred each time Rahu and Becca touched or the way his brain had damn near melted down when she kissed him, or…
There was something between them, something more than just physical attraction. Maybe it was Becca’s latent magic, but he wasn’t—or didn’t want to—buy that.
She wasn’t his fated mate, of course, since she wasn’t a dragon, but given his unique heritage, there likely wasn’t a fated mate out there for him. Until today, he would have said that meant he was destined to be alone in this life. But now… perhaps his fate wasn’t tied to another dragon at all.
Maybe…
“Did you hear me?” Ketu demanded.
Rahu scowled. “You’ve never warned me away from women before.”
“Okay, first, that isn’t true. I warn you away from women all the damn time. Second, this one is different. She’s human—”
“Nope. Not even close.”
Ketu sighed. “She thinks she’s human. And third, she’s being hunted by warlocks—and possibly dragons.”
“All the more reason to get close to her so I can protect her.”
Antoinette stepped into the kitchen. She wrapped her arm around her mate’s shoulders and gave him a peck on the cheek before turning her attention to Rahu.
“Ketu’s right. Right now, I think the best thing is for you and Ketu to focus on finishing that deck so you can go home to your own colony.”
Rahu scowled. “I don’t want to go home. I want to protect Becca.” Gods above, even to his own ears he sounded like a petulant child. All he’d needed to add was, “And you aren’t my reeve, so you can’t make me.”
Before he could decide whether to point that out to her, Delilah and her mate, Trennon Redd, the former reeve of the New Orleans colony, breezed in through one of the French doors that opened onto the wrap-around porch.
Delilah stopped short two feet inside the house. Trennon barreled right into her back and dropped the handles of the two roller bags he’d been lugging behind him.
“Why do I sense magic that isn’t mine in this house?” Delilah asked with her gaze on the ceiling.
“Because dragons live here,” Antoinette said.
“Not that kind of magic,” Delilah said. “My kind.” She stabbed at her chest with her thumb.
“You’re a dragon too,” Rahu pointed out.
“And witch,” Delilah clarified. “More witch than dragon.”
“Pretty sure it’s fifty-fifty,” Antoinette said, “since your dad is a dragon and your mom is a witch.”
Delilah flapped her hand, dismissing Antoinette’s very valid point. “At any rate, I still sense magic that isn’t mine.” She wandered around the room with her head tilted and her brow furrowed. “But it’s…weird.”
“You can sense her?” Rahu glanced at Ketu. “I thought those concealment spells went with her wherever she was?”
Delilah snapped her fingers. “That’s it. Concealment spell. Well, a broken one, at any rate.”
“Broken?” Ketu said, narrowing his eyes at Rahu.
“Before we get into that,” Antoinette said, “what are you doing here?”
“We live here,” Trennon said.
“No, I mean now. I thought you were going to be in Alaska for a month?”
“Oh, that.” Delilah cleared her throat. “Well…”
“We got kicked out,” Trennon announced, sounding almost proud.
“Of the entire state?” Antoinette stared at the two of them. Trennon shrugged. Delilah rolled her eyes.
“Apparently, the fact that it was still daylight at midnight is not a valid reason for dancing naked in the streets.”
“And they were beginning to suspect us of having something to do with those ‘unidentified flying objects’ everybody kept reporting,” Trennon said, barely containing a giggle.
“You were flying around humans?” Antoinette demanded, her eyes bulging.
“Hey, what else were we supposed to do? It literally doesn’t get dark at this time of year. Hard to conceal your dragon form when it’s daylight all the time,” Delilah argued.
“How about not shift at all?” Antoinette suggested.
“Bo-ring,” Delilah said.
Antoinette shook her head. “This is a wrinkle I was not anticipating. I thought we had plenty of time before they came home,” she said to Ketu.
“Look, Delilah, there’s some colony stuff going on right now, and it’s probably best if you and Trennon stay somewhere else for a while. How about we put you up in a hotel on Bourbon Street?”
“In June? What’s the point? And anyway, if it’s colony stuff, we have a right to know what’s going on.”
“Actually, no, you don’t,” Antoinette said.
The soft sound of bare feet on the stairs caught Rahu’s attention, and he watched as Becca made her way down the back staircase into the kitchen. She had gotten dressed, but her hair was still mussed and she looked like she’d just been thoroughly made love to and hot damn, she was gorgeous.
And all his. Well, maybe not, at least, not long term.
Although, hell, why not? She wasn’t dating anyone else, and neither was he. There was no urgency to his return to Detroit. In fact, the idea of staying right here in New Orleans had definite appeal.
What if he did? For Becca? Was that so wrong?
No, his dragon said in his head, other than the fact that she doesn’t know your world exists. She doesn’t know I exist.
Okay, minor problem.
Major problem.
Fine. But it should be temporary. At some point, they had to tell her, right? She deserved to know what she was. Who she was.
His dragon didn’t respond, but it didn’t matter because Rahu knew the beast agreed with him. The problem was, no one else in this room did.
“What do we have here?” Delilah’s voice piped up from behind him, much too close for comfort. When he turned around, she was standing in front of Becca, eyeing her like she was trying to decipher what or who she was. Probably both.
Delilah lifted her hand and brushed a piece of hair out of Becca’s face. Becca’s eyes widened, but she didn’t move away.
“Fascinating,” Delilah murmured, still staring at Becca, whose gaze kept darting to Rahu.
“Um, Delilah, if you don’t mind…” Rahu started.
“Oh, but I do.”
“Excuse us,” Antoinette said, suddenly sweeping in and hooking her arm through the crook of Delilah’s arm. “We have important business to discuss. Upstairs.”
Delilah shook her off. “Latent magic,” she murmured. “Lots of it. Oh, the things we could do together. The worlds we could conquer.”
Looking at Rahu with wide eyes, Becca said, “Um, should I be worried?”
“You are not conquering any worlds. I forbid it,” Antoinette said.
“Such a buzzkill,” Delilah replied.
“What are they talking about?” Becca asked Rahu in a whisper, but of course, every dragon in the room could hear her.
“You know what?” Rahu said. “We should probably head up—”
“We’re talking about you, of course,” Delilah said.
“Me?” Becca’s voice was a squeak.
“Yeah, let’s—” Rahu tried again, wrapping his arm around her shoulders with the intention of herding her up the stairs. That familiar sizzle soared through his body at the contact, but this time it was accompanied by a flash of light.
Becca jerked away from him and stared at her right hand stretched out in front of her. “What was that?” she asked, still watching the appendage like she was waiting for it to do something.
“Wait a minute,” Delilah said, inching closer again. “Are you saying she doesn’t know?” She swiveled her head toward Antoinette. “Seriously?”
“Yes, and we can’t—”
Delilah lifted her hand, cutting off the reeve, and turned to Rahu. “And you’re sleeping with her?”
Becca gasped, the flash of light apparently momentarily forgotten. “You told them?”
Rahu shook his head. “No. No way. I would never. How the hell did you know?”
Delilah smirked and waved at his person. “First of all, it’s pretty damn obvious. Second, it’s equally as obvious it meant something to her, judging by the magic sparking off her. If there’s one thing that will destroy pretty much any concealment spell, it’s a physical connection with someone you are emotionally vested in.”
Becca’s face pinked. That was good, right? Because he sure as hell was emotionally vested in her.
But then she shook her head. “No. I mean, I don’t know. And anyway, is this really the place to discuss something l
ike this? In front of all these people? No offense, but this lady seems a little off. She’s talking about magic like it actually exists.”
Delilah burst out laughing, great, guffawing cackles.
“Okay, that’s enough,” Ketu said, stepping into the melee and, with Antoinette’s help, tried to shove Delilah up the stairs and away from Becca.
And then Trennon spoke up from the other side of the kitchen.
“Well, we all know that you don’t have to be 100 percent dragon to have a fated mate. Look at Delilah and me.”
Fated mate?
Fated?
Mate?
“But she isn’t even a dragon at all,” Rahu blurted.
He and Becca? That would be cool—really freaking cool—but-but—
“How would we…? Wait, she can fly too!” And the reality of the situation pierced through his excitement over the prospect—Becca, his fated mate? Seriously?—and he clamped his mouth shut.
Because Becca was now looking at him like he was crazy.
Delilah canted her head, once again studying Becca like she was a specimen under a microscope.
“We really need to—” Antoinette tried, yet again, to push Delilah up the stairs, but the other woman resisted her efforts.
“I’m not sure if it would work, to be honest,” Delilah said, still watching Becca, whose eyes were going bigger and bigger with each snippet of conversation. “It’s clear she’s a witch—and gargoyle? How fascinating. But there’s something else too.”
“There is?” Rahu asked.
Delilah shrugged. “I’m not aware of any other species who have fated mates. Humans like to believe they do, of course, but for gods’ sake, they don’t even have magic, so I’m not sure how they can be fated mates.”
Becca’s eyes were now so big she could double as a cartoon character. She lifted her hand, palm out, and said, “Wait a minute. You think you aren’t human? That magic is real?”
And then light flashed around her hand.
Chapter Ten
Whoa. What the hell was that?
Becca turned her hand over so that the palm faced her. This wasn’t the first time she’d imagined a flash of light sparked off her own body. Imagined being the key word.
