by Aurora Reid
"That's what you say, anyway. How do I look?"
She spun around in her black dress that accentuated her curves. There was a keyhole opening on her chest, showing off one of her best physical assets—those lovely breasts.
His erection started again. This woman would not let up on him.
He grabbed her shapely hips. He pressed his erection against the soft curve of her stomach.
And Nico would not let up on her.
"We can't do this here. I'm about to go live in front of the nation. Instead, you're more worried about getting off."
Nico ran his fingers higher up to the next arousing curve, her bust.
She froze. Even though there were many walking around them, she didn't stop him. Her cheeks were fiery red.
"You're going to have me walking on camera a mess."
"And who do you think they'll think made you a mess? They'll all be talking about how you just rode the dragon..."
Chuckling, she started to push him away. Nico didn't like them breaking apart but he could understand it.
"I just wanted to show you how much I missed you."
"Oh, you proved your point," she said, staring down at his bulge. "Now go hide yourself. I don't want others looking at that. This is the worst place for a celebrity bad boy to be with a boner, you're in a TV studio!"
"Yeah, yeah, if I'm going to be walking by you all the time, they're going to have to get used to seeing me aroused."
She gulped.
"Good luck, beautiful," he said, giving her a soft, quick kiss. Then he turned around, heading for the exit.
"I'll be waiting in the limo for you afterward."
On his way, he thought about Jae again—the best way to kill any arousal.
In the back of his mind, he always knew the red dragon would strike again. He always wondered if Jae had something to do with his parents' death as well.
Jae was only a child, though, he thought to himself, the elevator ring awaking him of his paranoid delusion. Dragons didn't trust much. Biologically, he was prone to this, so he needed to keep that in mind.
His parents had died that night as well. Poisoned, in their own home. Their treasure was also stolen afterwards. It had been as equally hard on him.
As he hopped into the limo, Nico decided that he should let those thoughts rest.
This was a new chapter in his life.
And now that he was behind some darkened windows, in the privacy of his own limo, he went back to fantasizing about Cass.
Her sweet curves, her fuckable body, her lips wrapped around his cock...
The TV in the limo showed him his delectable mate. She talked about her new book, a shifter medical book, less technical and more fun. She was making shifters more accessible to the common person, by telling them all cool stories about their abilities.
They’d all been right. She was brilliant.
Interview over, Cass in the limo, he wasted no time in taking her.
It started with him worshipping her body all over with his tongue. Then it was Cass sucking him off so they wouldn't have to fuck in the back. Except that didn't work.
He lasted.
He needed to be inside of her.
His dragon roared to claim all of her, to create an offspring. Not many dragons met their fated mates like this, so for his dragon to, it was beginning to get unruly.
Nico unbuckled his belt. He unzipped and his cock pushed out, full and hard. There was no one who could see them. The driver was blocked out with a locked privacy screen.
He picked her up and straddled her across his lap. She sank down onto his cock, right on down to his balls slowly. His groan probably shook the city.
Cass rocked on him. Slow. It was painful for him. He wanted all of her, but he remained patient, until she shuddered, her thighs and arms trembling too much.
He took over, powering into Cass, thrusting her to his shoulders, where she remained as he swung his hips, angling his cock to slam into her.
Nico kept going until she came.
Then it was time to get his.
It didn't take long, not long at all, to come for his fated mate. Cass hopped off at the last second, swallowing him instead.
They were disheveled, breathing hard in the back seat by the time the limo drove away.
Cass tossed her book upon the stack of books she had piled around her. She was using Coach's office to do some research. So many books might frighten another person. To her, this was paradise.
She was getting to a fantastic subject that she couldn't stop reading, about shifters kept in captivity and experimented upon before there were laws against that, but this was the Championship Game, which meant she would be needed at all hours to prepare.
In five minutes she was due for an interview.
They were all interested in her romance with Nico. What did she have planned for the future? Did she see a wedding? A family? Cass wished she had an answer to any of those questions.
While this whirlwind romance was wonderful, she wondered where they were headed. Nico kept his lips shut about it, and she didn't really want to break the subject. He'd called her his fated mate before, which made her swoon, but what did that mean, exactly?
Was there some sort of ritual?
She checked many books to try to find out more about dragons, but they were annoyingly mysterious. The forum posts she read were pretty generic too.
There wasn't enough information on them, so Cass started to scribble notes whenever she had a chance. Maybe someday her notes would create a foundation for others to learn from. Someday a girl in this situation could use some notes on how to handle their dragon man.
Until then, she was just as clueless as everyone else.
She needed to be by his side, needed to support him. The rest of the chatter could wait for later.
She was sure that he loved him. Cass felt that overwhelming, lifting love inside her. He was very good at expressing that.
Their last night together, Class clawing the sheets and howling for joy as he rammed into her, sending her to new heights, it all came back to her happily.
After this season was over, she'd invite him to go back home. He'd meet her parents. That might be embarrassing because she was sure her dad would never stop asking questions, but she loved her parents. She was sure that they would like Nico too.
They always wanted someone to support her. And most of all, someone who could make her smile, who could make her enjoy life.
That was something she'd been missing for so long.
With an upbeat step, Cass left the office to seek out her next interview.
The players had to be exhausted before they got to the field. It was such a spectacle. She felt for them.
As she walked past the crowds backstage, many of whom were the friends and families of loved ones, she saw a young mother and a child holding hands. The girl was cute, too cute, with a big bow on her and giant eyes that looked anime-like.
"Hi," she said and waved.
"Hi," Cass said.
Her mother stopped in her tracks. "Oh my—" she shouted, once she realized who she was. "My daughter adores you."
Cass didn't know she could feel humility in front of a three-year-old, but here she was. How did the three-year-old even know who she was?
"You da best."
"Why thank you!" Cass said, half a question, half exasperation. What made her so special?
Cass stood there dumbfounded until the kid decided their conversation was over. She was obviously the one in control here.
"Come on, Mom," she said as they headed off down the hallway in the opposite direction.
A hero? What did she do? It was Nico who had saved her. She was no hero. A hero for rushing over when a child fell? That wasn't a hero, that was just someone panicking, following their gut.
Cass shrugged as she headed further, still thinking about the little girl and her mom.
Would Nico marry her? She was growing frustrated with the questioning. M
ost shifters adopted that custom. Some even had it in their societies. Of course, most didn't believe in going to a wedding chapel in a white dress. Some had elaborate ceremonies that put ordinary human ones to shame.
With little info, she had to assume she wouldn’t be married, at least not traditionally. He’d been very quiet about it.
But mating? With the wildness in him, it probably meant he'd want a baby. A family.
She sighed again. Dragons were complicated.
Shifters were already complicated enough. But dragons.
Dragons were really trouble. Some would say not worth the trouble.
Too bad for Cass, she fell in love with one, and he was her world now. She was hedging all her bets on this relationship.
Nico would protect her, but would he understand that she wanted a family, a stable place to settle down? He was a warrior going to a different battle ground each week.
Cass couldn't ask him to give that up. But she also couldn't deny what she wanted.
Once outside, in the humid Arizona heat, she looked around to try to find the camera crew. Many of the press were still broadcasting outside of the stadium.
She spotted the SSPN flag and began to walk across the street towards them. The parking lot was cordoned off with tons of security. It had been months since she heard from Jae.
It seemed that the attack that she repelled had made him change his mind. And being with Nico, she had forgotten about it. Now she felt safe.
She passed by the space of two cars, families walking in the other direction, a throng of people all pumped up and some already intoxicated to see the huge game.
A hand slipped across her lips and yanked her against a parked vehicle.
Cass looked straight into the devil's eyes once again. She whimpered against him, even struck him in the chest with her knee, but it didn't leave a dent. He didn't even flinch.
His nails jabbed her wrists as he whispered, "If you want something done, you've got to do it yourself."
She tried to bite his hand, tried to scream, but he was too strong. Jae used his shifter strength against her while keeping her pinned to the car.
It certainly wasn't fair, and as he took her by the waist and began to transform, she knew that life wasn't fair at all—that this had all been a nice fairytale.
But fairytales have to end.
She was on the ground, then she was above the car, above the parking lot. The sights below were only seen for a split second. Her stomach dropping told her they were going higher.
Jae took her in one claw. Scream and kick as she might try, no one down below with all the music and excitement would hear her.
This time, she realized, Jae wasn't interested in keeping her.
She'd spurned a prideful dragon.
Her stomach leapt to her throat now as they dropped. The last second, she saw lights whipping by her. He let her go, dropping her a little too rough on purpose. It was a drop, a painful one.
Cass nurtured her side as she crawled onto her knees and looked around. She was in a car dump, heaps of cars circling her. In that circle, there were three others waiting, not including Jae.
Jae’s dragon smirked. He transformed back to his human. Her hands were at her sides as fists. She would punch, kick, and scream if it came down to it.
Not like she'd be able to do much. Her tazer wasn't on her. She was only a human, and these three men in front of her, all looking rough and tumble with scars, unshaven faces, and tattoos were most likely shifters.
She recognized one. The panther shifter who had tried to kidnap her before.
He licked his lips at her. She gave him the finger in response. His tongue shot right back in his mouth.
"Boys, get to work," Jae said.
They started toward her. One looked fat and slimy like a toad. The panther shifter might be charming looking, but he was unkempt and greasy. And the third, well, the third was a hulking man who she wasn't looking forward to fighting.
"Jae, please, don't," she started, turning to him.
"This is for the best." He strode toward her. Jae told them to wait.
He snatched her hips. Quite unlike him, he went in for a kiss. It always seemed like he had no sexual energy to him. This wasn't loving, though. This was revenge.
And Cass found her fight. She bit down on his lip, tearing away a piece. She spat it out.
"I know what's best for me. And it certainly isn’t you," she yelled.
He brought his hand up to his torn lip. With his shifter powers, it slowly regenerated in front of her eyes, along with that sickening smile.
"Stupid human." He reared back to punch her. "If I can't have my treasure, I'll take it." Instead he snapped his finger at the men. They collapsed in the circle.
"I've got a championship to win. See you later, my love."
Jae transformed into his dragon and took off into the night, the wind from his powerful wings knocking her back, right into the arms of the panther shifter.
Cass threw an elbow, striking him in the chin. He staggered back.
The toad like man was on her next. "Get off me." She tossed him off.
But by then, the panther was on her again. Cass surprised herself with her strength. Or her ability to wriggle free and throw elbows. That was a strength too, right? A flurry of elbows landed on their faces.
And for a moment, she felt very good about herself, like she was the next incarnation of Bruce Lee.
But then that big guy lumbered in. He must've been a bear shifter. His strength was too much for her as he bear hugged her and carried her kicking in his hold.
"Where you want me to put her?" he asked as he received blows to the head.
"Durry," he said. Cass started to claw at his eyes. He had to have a weakness.
He dropped her down. Cass tried to spring up but they pushed her back. They tied her up to a chair in the middle of the rubbish.
Cass blinked hard. "What do you plan on doing with me?"
The panther shifter cackled as he went about doing something behind her.
"What are you doing back there?" She jerked her neck to the side.
He stood up, proud of himself. "You shut your pretty little mouth. If you piss me off enough, I might just set this thing to blow ahead of time. He might be a dragon, but I'm a panther. I can run pretty fucking fast."
Cass shut up. She looked over her shoulder and heard the ticking. Did it have to have the obnoxious ticking? It helped her understand though. This was serious, deadly serious.
Jae had set a bomb on her. It seemed if he couldn’t have her, no one could. How long she had, or what needed to be done to save her, she had no idea.
But she had a feeling that information wasn't for her anyway.
16
Nico hit the target dead on with a football, and it sprung back, only to reappear at waist level on the net.
He picked up another football and went through the motion, fluid like flowing water to unleash it upon the next target.
He struck it. Perfectly.
Today was the day, the day he'd finally get the Championship MVP ring. It meant more to him than the gold. And what gold it was, the most precious gold one could find. The owners purposely made the MVP ring the most precious treasure they could afford, and being billionaires, they could afford a lot.
They knew what that ring represented.
That ring represented the top of athletic achievement. That ring represented a lifetime of work. There were superstars who worked their asses off twenty-four-seven for years, but they never got it.
Now it was Nico's time. There was only one other who would be competing. Jae.
He'd get it if he sacked Nico enough times. But that wasn't going to happen. He launched another laser-guided throw at the target. Once again, he hit it in the bull’s-eye. The mechanical set up placed it at his knees.
Cass came to his mind, but she wasn't a distraction. She made him throw harder, more accurate. He was fighting so that he could give her what sh
e wanted...what he really wanted as well.
Today, he needed his fighting spirit.
This game was about more than the ring. It was about hurting Jae. And oh, how Nico planned on hurting him. Humiliating him.
The next throw knocked down the entire net, the latches of the target ripped clean off and flying with the football, far, far away.
One of the assistants ran up to Nico. He was holding his cell phone in his hand.
“Nico, you've got a call.”
“Who is it?”
“They didn't say.”
Nico took it. This was unusual. “Thank you.”
The Outlaw assistant ran off.
Nico pressed the cell to his ear. “Hello?”
“Nico,” the voice on the other line said, slowly and clearly.
“Yes?”
As the low voice went on, Nico began to recognize it.
“I've got my girl back.”
Nico said nothing as his dragon began to pace.
“I've got her, and now you need to make a choice. You've got three.”
“Who is this?” A stupid question.
“You know who this is.”
He fell silent. Already, he wanted to race away to save Cass.
“I've got her, and you need to make a choice. You need to drop out of the game or lose your gold or lose your girl.”
“My gold? My girl? You don't have either.” Nico's chest was constricting. He couldn't breathe.
“I have it all, Nico.” Jae was laughing, overjoyed at his expense. “Do you want to hear her? Let me link you in.”
The phone's audio cut out for a moment before a different timbre entered, followed by Cass asking if it was really Nico.
“Cass, are you okay?”
“Nico, I'm fine, I'm—”
It cut out. In came Jae again.
“I'm going to send you a picture. If you didn't believe I had your treasure before, you'll believe it now. Now you have a choice, and I'm not going to say it again. Drop out of the game. Cass will be spared, the bomb will not go off that's attached to her. Your gold, however, that will be mine. So make a choice, the gold, the game, or your girl.”
“Fuck,” Nico shouted. He took the phone and tossed it where the target was before.
