Of course, the bastard had to ruin everything again.
“Teagan? Are you listening? You’re poisoning yourself! I need to know why you would willingly do something like that.”
Teagan hung up. She tossed the phone down onto the countertop and listened to it clatter.
“I think I’d like to know the same thing,” Reece said behind her.
A sharp alarm raced up her spine. Her lungs clenched. She knew she should turn around and face him, but shame kept her in place. Her secret tool had been identified. Couldn’t they see the reason she needed it? She wasn’t like them. There was no space for her here. She couldn’t be a shifter unless she was a dragon.
That wasn’t going to happen any time soon, so she had to stop being a shifter altogether.
“Teagan,” Reece said softly. His voice grew closer.
She could feel the heat of him reaching out for her like the tender fingertips of a cautious lover. He treated her like a bird that might fly away at any moment. She didn’t have wings, though. They’d been clipped so much that she would never be able to escape this life.
A stone formed in the pit of her stomach. She hated this sensation. She wanted to press her forehead to the cool counter but didn’t want to show weakness in front of a dragon shifter.
Reece took her hand and turned her around so that she faced him. She tried to lower her head so he wouldn’t be able to see the red shame on her cheeks. He didn’t force her chin upwards. Instead, his fingers roved up her hand and settled on her wrist. Teagan’s mind couldn’t process what he was up to.
Not immediately, anyway. Several heartbeats later, she inhaled sharply and tried to pull away.
“You don’t have to pity me,” she grumbled.
Reece wouldn’t let her go. His grip was not crushing, but firm and dominant. Her core tightened, turning molten. The beastly desires in her urged her to lean into him, but she kept herself against the counter.
“You wore a silver bracelet so that you wouldn’t have to hear your beast,” Reece said.
She needed that bracelet more than ever now. Her beast thrashed desperately. It didn’t seek freedom. This time, it craved something more carnal. It told her to throw herself into him. She wondered what his lips would taste like right now. Would she taste coffee? The cool night air from the hours they’d spent outside?
She swallowed the desires and tried to look him in the eye so she could make herself heard when she spoke. Her words vanished when they locked gazes. Her mind turned to mush, heat rushing from the back of her skull, down her neck, to her chest.
This man had a power over her that she’d never known before. For an instant, she wondered if she had the same kind of power over him. Then he turned her hand over and gingerly touched her open palm. Her mind blanked again. Any thoughts of turning the tables fell between her fingers.
“Please don’t wear the bracelet anymore,” Reece said.
Teagan shuddered and reclaimed some of her mind. “I need it. You don’t understand.”
His lips formed a wry twist. It wasn’t a smile, but it wasn’t a scowl either. He simply accepted the fact that she was right, even if he didn’t like it. The gesture was…refreshing, to say the least.
She exhaled, relaxing slightly. She turned her attention to her hand in his. He still slowly traced the lines of her palm like he might be able to read her future in them. There were people who could make such predictions, but she doubted Reece was among them. He simply touched her for the sake of touching her.
The thought sent her heart racing. No matter how she tried to tame herself, her thoughts circled back to sex again and again. The possibility of it thrilled her. She only ever felt this alive while in the skies. Never before, on two feet, had she felt this electric charge in her chest.
“How about this,” she said slyly.
Reece gave her a wary questioning look. He didn’t stop her, but it was clear he did not trust her while her back was against a wall…or, counter.
“Let’s play a game. If you win, I’ll stop wearing the bracelet.”
He raised a brow at her sudden change of mood. “And if you win?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t thought that far enough ahead.” Teagan chewed the inside of her cheek. She was acutely aware that her plan was full of holes.
She didn’t want to have this conversation right now. She wanted to go back to the time when Reece didn’t know about the bracelet. If she could, she would turn time back even further, to before her father interrupted them.
But this wasn’t a vacation. She hadn’t come here to escape her life. She’d crash landed and chosen to overstay her welcome. This was a clear sign that she needed to leave. She had the chance now. While her father was sleeping in the woods, she could sneak home and act like nothing had happened.
That meant leaving Reece once and for all, though. Once she left, she wouldn’t be able to come back. If she tried to see him again, she might start a fight between him and her father. Worse even, she might garner the attention of Alice Montoya.
Right here and now, she could linger. She could flirt a little more. She could pretend that there was nothing outside that door.
Reece released her hand. He braced himself against the counter, locking her between his arms while he grinned down at her. The sight of his lower lip caught between his teeth made her stomach clench greedily. She leaned away from him but couldn’t escape his presence or the rush of desire her beast let loose.
“How about this?” His attention dropped to her lips before flicking back up to her eyes. “We can play a different kind of game and have a little more fun with it. What do you say to strip poker? Loser has to dance for the winner?”
“I’d say I have to go put on some more clothes,” she teased.
He laughed and ran a finger under the strap of her tank top. His knuckle grazed her collarbone and stole her breath. “I think what you’re wearing is perfect.”
Montoya flirt, she thought before her mind became a blur of need.
“Let’s play,” she breathed.
He chuckled and pushed away from the counter, releasing her from the cage he’d made around her. She immediately missed his presence and the heat his body had offered. As the cool air rushed in to brush against her oversensitive skin, she followed him and took a seat in the living room.
Reece pulled a deck of cards from a side drawer and dragged a chair to the other side of the coffee table. Teagan spared a glance at the floor to ceiling window and realized she might find herself naked in front of it. Her lips twisted to the side, earning Reece’s attention.
“Ah,” he said. He dropped the cards onto the table and went over to the window, where he flicked a switch on the wall.
The windows immediately darkened, bathing the room in soft shadow.
“There, no surprise visitors will see you when you lose.”
Her jaw dropped. “You have too much confidence in yourself.”
Tongue in cheek, he grinned and took his place across from her once more. He dealt the first round of cards. She did her best to keep her face blank. Years of hiding her true feelings from her family had prepared her for this moment.
She won the first round. Reece didn’t take off his socks, like Teagan had been planning to do if she lost. He went for his shirt and tossed it to the floor. Shirtless, he stared her down until she had to look away. She couldn’t look at him for long or else she’d lose all sense.
He leaned back in his seat and put his feet on the table. She folded her legs beneath her.
“I wouldn’t get comfortable,” Reece said as he organized his hand. “Those pants are coming off when I win this round.”
Confident that she wouldn’t lose, she raised a brow. That was not how the round went, though. She lost the hand and had to stand to take off her pants. At first, Teagan thought she would be daring and strip slowly for him.
Upon standing, she lost her nerve. She got one leg of her pants off, got her foot stuck in the other, and
fell back onto the couch. Laughing, Reece half-stood and leaned across the table to help her the rest of the way out of her pants. Teagan was left with her feet in the air and Reece’s face framed between her legs.
She blushed and slammed her feet down to the floor. Reece smirked. His attention dropped to her panties before rising back to meet her gaze. She hastily snatched a couch pillow and shoved it over her lap.
“You don’t have to hide on my account,” Reece said, his voice husky and low. “I like the little stars on them.”
Her cheeks flared hot. She clenched her jaw and dealt the next hand, determined to win this one. Not that it would matter. Reece wouldn’t care if she told him to take his pants off. He would flaunt himself in front of her with all the audacity that she’d been unable to muster.
She picked up her cards and tried not to smile when she saw the three of a kind already in her hand. It was a set of fours, but that was better than a pair. She would win this one. Of that, she was sure.
When Reece revealed a full house, her jaw nearly hit the floor. He looked her up and down, smug as ever. She wanted to be mad, but the flicker of heat in his eyes made her feel one thing.
Desire.
She sat on the edge of her seat and waited for him to make a decision. His choice stunned her.
“Bra,” he declared.
She cocked her head, not sure she understood what he was asking for. “You’re skipping ahead. I’m not going to sit here in my underwear and socks because you want to cheat.”
“No, you’ve misunderstood. I don’t want you to take your shirt off. I want you to take your bra off.”
She paused.
“Don’t get me wrong, I like bras and how they hold a woman’s breasts. There’s something to be said about a woman wearing nothing but her shirt, though.” He bit his lip again.
Her core clenched. The pressure of it threatened to start a fire in her. Was this how dragons felt all the time? Were they always on the edge of ignition?
She reached behind herself, undid her bra clasps, and eased the straps over her shoulders all while being careful to keep her tank top in place. Reece watch ravenously. He sat forward in his seat. She wondered if he might leap over the table, cards forgotten. She wanted him to, which meant that he wouldn’t.
This wasn’t going to go any further than flirting. She wanted to leave here knowing what Reece felt like between her legs, but that was asking too much of this moment. They were just flirting. That’s all this was.
Reece did it like a master actor. He slipped into the role of the playboy with practiced ease. He knew exactly how alluring his lips were. He knew exactly what to do with his hands at the right moment. When he hooked two fingers at her in a bid to get her bra from her, she saw the gesture for what it was.
Teagan thought about putting those fingers somewhere else and blushed.
His laugh filled the room like the heat from a hearth. It chased away her demons and brought a smile to her own lips. She tossed her bra at his head. He made no move to catch it, which made them both laugh when it hit him in the face.
Reece snatched the bra away, but didn’t toss it. Smirk on his lips, he raised it to his nose and inhaled. The flash of light in his eyes wasn’t something he could practice. It was his beast. It was untamed desire. Her own beast rose to answer the dragon man’s call.
Wings fluttered against her sternum, making her heart race.
“Alright,” Reece said. “What do we have left? Shirt. Socks. Panties. That’s three games.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “Don’t count me out yet. I could win just as many hands.”
Cocky, he stood. He pulled at the drawstring of his sweats and let the m fall to the ground. Next went his boxers. Finally, his socks. Reece stood before her in his naked glory. Her mind blanked. A hunger pinched her core. The bird in her went wild.
His cock was already hard. He caught her staring and said:
“Don’t worry. That’s only half-mast. I’m a grower, not a shower.”
Her jaw dropped.
“Are you telling me you want a taste already?” he growled.
She snapped her jaw up off the ground and put it back into place before glaring at him. “Have you forgotten how to ask? Or are you just so used to women swooning over you that you think every lady wants that…” She gestured to his cock.
Reece took no offense. “Usually, those who protest the loudest are the ones hiding something. Are you sure you don’t want to give it a test-ride?”
She pressed her lips together to keep from smiling. So, she did want to ride him, but she wasn’t going to say that outright. No, she was going to win this game.
If he was naked already, how could she win? He’d forced a check-mate situation. She could keep this game running until he gave up, but that required a bit more than strategy. Luck was a factor in poker that she couldn’t control.
Teagan needed to turn this situation on its head. She wasn’t going to let him back her into a corner. Chewing on the inside of her cheek, she formed an idea.
“Since you’ve already removed my clothing choices, I need to get something if I win,” she said. “How about, if I win, I get to make you do something for me?”
There it was again, that flash of light. His beast roused itself, as if it wanted to see how this might go. Reece’s grin changed. It wasn’t as relaxed, but it also wasn’t stretched thin or forced. She realized this was a real smile.
A bit of pride flared inside her. Every bit of this false exterior that she could chip away felt like a win. She didn’t have to manage her cards or keep her face blank to win this game. All she had to do was be herself.
The epiphany made her feel light. They weren’t trying to control one another. Not in the way that her family did to her. She and Reece were dancing around one another. They were playing and having fun. She knew that the moment she said no, he would back down and leave her alone.
She wasn’t ready for that yet. She wanted more of this game. She wanted to see how far she could push him before they both caved, because there was only one way this could end now.
Her core throbbed in heady anticipation. Could he smell her desire? He was a dragon shifter, of course he could. It was just another aspect of their dance, though. It drew him closer, enticed him, and promised him a good end to this.
“It’s a deal,” he said without hesitation.
They dealt the next hand. She won almost immediately. With the opportunities filling her mind, she weighed each and took her time to find the best option. Reece waited, excitedly fidgeting in his seat while he likely wondered what she had in mind.
Teagan mused for a while, making him squirm even longer. Then she crooked her finger at him. Without question, Reece stood. The way his lips parted told her that maybe he liked being told what to do. When everything was laid out before you, the fear of making the wrong move vanished. Stripped of power, Reece did not have to think. He did not have to worry. Teagan, on the other hand, savored the power in her hands after having none for so long.
She pointed to the floor before her. Reece bent, shoved the coffee table aside, and knelt in front of her. He reached for her then drew back. She watched the rise and fall of his chest, his breath so quick. Was his mind spinning? Was his beast slamming him from the inside, demanding that he forget about their game and take what he wanted?
Teagan sat forward. She ran her fingers through his thick, auburn hair before taking a fistful and holding him at her mercy. She heard him exhale. His eyelids fluttered, his lips parting even more.
She’d never been so bold before in her life. Power was something she had little practice in. Others always held it over her. She’d known better than to try to grasp it for herself.
Now she took it. Reece felt too good in her hands. The way he exposed his throat to her filled her with an excitement she’d never tasted before. When she leaned forward and pressed her lips to the exposed skin, he let out a moan. The sound made her pause.
“Don’t stop,” Reece breathed.
Teagan tightened her grip on Reece’s hair and dragged her teeth along his throat. Reece shuddered. He grabbed her thighs, his nails digging into her flesh. She inched closer and closer to him until he knelt between her legs. His warmth washed over her, easing away the last of her nervousness.
Tugging his head back, she nibbled at his lips. Reece reached for more, but she held him in place. A hungry growl escaped him. His nails bit into her skin. She kissed him this time, lips against lips. It was almost chaste, but it was enough to send Reece over the edge.
He surged to his feet and brought her with him. Together they crashed into the couch. His weight crushed her body, but she cared little. She wanted more. She hooked her ankles behind him as he ravenously devoured her lips.
Reece ground his hips against hers. He’d been right when he said that his cock had only been half erect earlier. What she felt now should have frightened her. Had she any good sense left in her, she would have worried that he would not be able to fit inside her. Flying on the euphoria of desires being quenched, she cared little for anything other than the feeling of his body on hers.
“These panties are coming off,” Reece growled.
She used her grip in his hair to stop him. “I call the shots.”
His eyes rolled back. She couldn’t believe she had this kind of power over him.
He chuckled, his voice low and husky from his own obvious need. If that wasn’t enough to tell her that he wanted her, the erection pressing into her groin was.
“My demand is that you make love to me,” she said into the soft skin of his throat.
His breath shook as he laughed. She could feel the need pulsing beneath his skin, his heart going wild every time she touched him. To know that she could garner such a reaction from him excited her.
“Didn’t you already tell me to kneel?” he asked. “I think you already used your demand.”
Wings of Destiny (Great Plains Dragon Feud Book 5) Page 9
