by Lolita Lopez
But the last one he couldn’t do. Even though they’d clearly connected in a way neither had expected, Avani would never consider bonding with him. If he even tried to take her as his mate, she’d probably kick him out of bed and right into that locked cell across the bunker. He remembered what she’d said about having to bite him to seal the deal on her end. She’d wire her jaw shut before that happened.
Not wanting to push his luck, Griff decided to be content with what had been offered to him. Though her request to father a child had come from left field, he considered it the greatest honor imaginable. In time, the issue of bonding and mating might even become something she wanted with him.
Her sharp gasp of desire broke through his troubled thoughts. Focusing only on Avani, Griff cleared his mind and lowered his face to hers. He breathed in her erotic scent and brushed his lips against her silken pout. She mewled softly and ran her hands up and down his sides. He enjoyed the ticklish sensation of her fingers gliding over his rib cage.
Palming her breast, he used his mouth on the dusky brown peak to elicit a moan of pleasure from her throat. She responded so sweetly to the tugging pull of his lips. He ran his finger around her wet nipple, coaxing the puckered skin into the tightest point before suckling her gently. Her toes curled against his thighs as her fingernails scratched at his shoulders.
Still teasing her breasts with a graze of his teeth and light sucking, Griff let his hand slide down her body. He shifted his weight to one side and freed more of her sexy curves for his exploration. His hand dipped between her thighs. She inhaled a shuddery breath as his fingers delved into her slick wetness. He swirled his thumb over the swollen kernel hidden there before plunging two curved fingers into her hot depths. She cried out but widened her thighs, inviting him to stimulate her even more.
Griff happily accepted the invitation. Glad that he had big hands to match his hulking frame, he took advantage of the long span of his fingers to bring her to rapture. While his thumb strummed her clit, two of his digits thrust into her at an increasingly fast pace. She clutched at his arms and bared her neck. Her throat called to him, and he nibbled and nipped the curving slope.
“Griffin! Please. I need…” Her hips rocked against his, but she couldn’t find the right words.
“Tell me,” he urged, his cock aching so badly now. He moved the curved fingers buried in her pussy and rubbed her clit a little faster. “Tell me what you need, Avani. Tell me and it’s yours.”
“Make me come,” she begged breathlessly.
He captured her mouth and found the right rhythm. He swallowed the rapturous cries of her climax. The feeling of her body thrashing beneath his made him growl with hunger. The raging inferno within him would be quieted only once his cock was fully sheathed inside her tight, wet pussy.
Flushed and shaking, she panted for air and squeezed her legs together, trapping his hand. “I can’t…” She gulped. “Oh God, Griffin! No more.”
Laughing, he nuzzled her cheek. “Oh, sweetheart, we’re just getting started.”
*
Limp and boneless, Avani gazed in wondrous awe at Griff. He gently withdrew his hand from its trapped position and licked her shiny nectar from his fingertips. The erotic sight of it made her belly clench. She’d never met a man who so completely embodied raw sexuality. There was nothing about sex that he seemed to consider taboo.
He rolled away from her long enough to shed his pajama bottoms. A few times since meeting him, she’d seen his cock outlined in his pants but nothing had prepared her for the sight of it now. Thick and long, his erection jutted into the air. A quiver of anxiety pierced her belly. Could she take him?
“I know what you’re thinking,” he said and carefully moved closer to her. “We’ll take our time and ease into it.”
She eyed his huge cock with some uncertainty. “Let’s put some emphasis on ease, okay?”
He laughed and brushed his fingertips along her face and down her neck. “I promise I’ll never hurt you.” His lips touched her cheek. “I’ll make it good for you.”
She peered into his ruby-red eyes and caressed his nape. “You already have.”
Wanting to show him her appreciation, Avani reached between their bodies and grasped his shaft. Griff’s eyes closed, and a grumbling rumble of a noise left his throat. She’d never heard anything like it, and it momentarily stunned her.
“Sorry,” he apologized quickly. “It’s my thunder.”
“Your…what?” She blinked a few times. “Your thunder?”
“That’s my gift. One smack of my wings together and I could make a thunderous clap of noise that would deafen you. Two or three smacks and I could bring down a wall of your house.” His fingers moved along his neck. “I’m able to make a similar noise in my throat. It’s enough to daze opponents, especially if I’m in close quarters where I can’t unfurl my wings for maximum reverberation.”
“That’s amazing,” she whispered. Feeling a bit embarrassed, she said, “All I do is make venom. Being a Naga is pretty much the most useless form of dragon.”
Griffin’s brow furrowed. “Don’t say that. You may not be able to fly, but you’ve got other talents that are worth preserving.” He covered her small hand with his and coaxed her palm to move up and down his erection. “Or have you forgotten what we’re trying to accomplish here?” His cock pulsed in her hand.
“No, I haven’t forgotten.” She tightened her grip and stroked him from the wide base toward the blunt tip. His nostrils flared, and she took it as an encouraging sign. Feeling braver, Avani pressed her mouth to his chest and then his nipple. She wasn’t sure if it would feel as good to him as it had for her, but his groan confirmed her suspicion. Grasping his cock, she massaged him harder and faster.
With a shocking growl, Griffin threw his leg over hers and pushed up onto all fours. His massive body covered and warmed her nakedness. When he sought a kiss, she willingly lifted up to meet his descending mouth. His tongue stabbed between her lips and dueled with hers. This was another battle she wouldn’t win.
Surrendering, she closed her eyes and relished his commanding kiss. The orgasms he’d given Avani had done little to douse the wildfire threatening to consume her. If anything, the pleasure he had shown her was like throwing gasoline to flame.
Burning up and desperate to be taken by him, she stroked his muscled arms and tried to wiggle her legs free. Griffin must have guessed what she was trying to do. He slid one leg between her thighs and then the other. The weeping tip of his cock pressed against her soft belly, leaving a trail of precome before nudging her entrance.
A quicksilver flash of uncertainty constricted her chest. This was the last chance to stop her crazy plan. Griffin seemed to sense her hesitation. He searched her face. “Avani?”
Gazing up into his eyes, she expected to feel nervousness or fear, but there was none of that. Being pinned beneath Griffin and waiting to receive his seed filled her with the strongest sensation of rightness. It was as if this was the way it was always meant to be.
Avani wrapped her legs around his waist and caressed his jaw. “Make love to me.”
Griffin claimed her mouth with a sensual kiss and thrust forward. She cried out against his cheek as he breached and entered her a few inches. Ever the gentle lover, he retreated until just the thick crown of him remained inside her. Over and over, he repeated the movements, his pace leisurely. That wicked tongue danced with hers as he let her grow accustomed to the sensation of his big cock plunging into her snug passage again and again.
She’d never been so aroused. Her wet pussy welcomed his intruding cock as he stroked all the right places. She gasped and moaned with every sensual rock of his hips. Loving the feel of his hard body, she ran her hands over his shoulders and arms. His muscles rippled under her fingertips, reminding her just how much power and strength he possessed.
When Griffin clasped both of her wrists in one huge hand, she experienced a flutter of panic. He tugged her hands overhead and held them t
here. Trapped and held captive by him, Avani’s breaths grew shaky and her core clenched. Griffin’s daring gaze told her there would be no escape. To her shock, she found his dominating move exciting.
Holding her gaze, Griffin snapped his hips a bit faster. He lowered his mouth and teasingly ghosted his lips across hers. She tried to kiss him, but he pulled back just enough to make it impossible. Without words, he showed her who was in control. It should have annoyed or infuriated her to be held down like this and denied a kiss, but instead she experienced the wildest thrill of delight.
Breasts aching and nipples tingling, Avani moaned with desire. Griffin took her faster and harder. Soon the bed shook beneath their writhing bodies. His grip tightened on her wrists. One look at his face and she knew he was fighting his building climax. She whimpered when he shifted his hips and reached down to the spot where their bodies were joined. His fingertips tapped her clit.
“Come with me,” he urged thickly. “I want to feel you milking my cock, Avani.”
She gasped at his blunt request. No man had ever spoken like that to her, but she liked it. The burning need coloring his husky voice left her feeling so incredibly sexy and wanted.
His fingers circled her clit with more pressure even as his massive shaft slammed into her harder and harder, deeper and deeper. Bliss tightened like a fist in her lower belly, pulsing and throbbing until finally she exploded. The power of her climax made her scream.
Head thrown back, she shouted his name and let the violent waves of ecstasy drown her. Griffin slammed into her one last time. She felt his cock swell inside her before a warm heat spread through her. Shuddering with orgasmic aftershocks, Avani clung to him.
Surprisingly gentle, he kissed her tenderly and caressed her face. He stayed buried inside her even when he fell to the side, dragging her smaller body along with his. She didn’t have the energy to separate herself from him, nor did she want to leave him. There was something incredibly intimate about remaining connected even after they’d come together.
Those big, rough hands of his roamed over her naked skin. She’d never done this with any man. The handful of times she’d been with a lover, she’d fled his bed as soon as the deed was done. To be held in Griffin’s muscled arms showed her what she’d been missing
She wondered if it would have felt like this with any other dragon male. No one had ever looked at her or caressed her body the way Griffin did right now. He touched her like she was something beautiful and precious.
Avani wouldn’t admit it aloud, but she was beginning to feel something toward Griffin. She tried to convince herself it was simply the effects of the mating heat, but deep down inside she knew it wasn’t. It was all Griffin. There was simply something about this beastly giant of a man that coaxed her to let down her guard. She began to crave his heat and scent and the secure feeling of his arms wrapped around her.
Griffin tipped her chin and forced her to meet his gaze. He didn’t need to speak to tell her that he was feeling similarly conflicted. Whatever was happening between them, Avani understood that her plan to walk away from him at the end of their nine nights of heat had been shattered.
His loving kiss drove that point home. She closed her eyes and reveled in the sensual moment. He brushed his knuckles along her cheek and down her jaw before cupping her face. Avani whimpered against his lips and clutched at his shoulders. She couldn’t get close enough for her satisfaction.
Her eyes flew open at the sensation of his cock twitching to life inside her. Tearing her mouth away from his, she gasped with disbelief. “You’re hard again! So soon?”
His raucous laugh made her smile. “Can you blame me?” He swept his hands down her back to grasp her bottom. “You’re very naked, very tempting, and absolutely gorgeous.”
“Oh!” Avani sucked in a surprised breath when he dragged her on top of him. Straddling his lap, she felt his cock growing longer and harder inside her.
“Pace yourself, sweetheart.” He thrust up into her, and she cried out softly. Griffin grasped her waist and bucked his hips again, making her shiver with desire. “The night is young…”
Chapter Five
Avani leaned closer to the mirror in the small bunker bathroom and rubbed the rich facial moisturizer into her skin. Even though she’d managed to avoid shifting into her serpent form over the last three nights, she still experienced such skin dryness. She suspected this time it was due to dehydration. Griffin was proving insatiable!
Not that she was complaining, of course. She’d expected that their time together would be pleasurable, but she’d never dreamed it would be like this. She blushed furiously as she thought of some of the antics they’d gotten up to last night. Her sex throbbed and grew damp as the erotic visions tormented her.
He’d worn them both out last night, leaving them both trembling and panting when it was all over. It had been noon before they’d dragged themselves from bed and into a shower. He’d tried to get frisky again in the small stall, but she’d managed to fend off his amorous advances. Always easygoing, he’d taken it in stride and left her in the shower after a quick smack on her backside and a noisy smooch on her cheek.
Shaking her head and smiling, Avani combed out her damp hair and reached for the hair dryer attached to the wall. She pushed the door to the bathroom shut with her foot. Griffin’s hearing was much more sensitive than hers, and she’d given him a headache yesterday.
Brushing out her hair, she blasted the black strands with heat to dry and straighten them to the sleek silkiness she preferred before styling it in a simple chignon. She almost left the long tresses loose, because she knew how much Griffin enjoyed running his fingers through it, but she planned to work on some new jewelry designs today, and it would only get in her way.
Avani rubbed a little lip balm on her pout and peered at her reflection. Had she ever considered wearing her hair a special way for a man? The answer came swiftly—no. But Griffin wasn’t just any other man, was he? No, he was special to her.
The awkwardness of their first afternoon and evening together had vanished. Sure, there were small things he did that she found utterly annoying. Her gaze fell to the damp towel he’d left on the floor. Like that, she thought dourly and snatched it up off the tile.
Yet those little things Griffin did that left her rolling her eyes were easily overlooked when compared to all the wonderfully amazing things he did. The man cooked a mean breakfast and gave a neck massage so good her toes curled. He had the wickedest sense of humor, and he made her laugh like no one else ever had. Despite his intimidating size, Griffin showed her such gentleness and kindness.
His patience with her seemed endless. Heaven only knew how much she’d tried his nerves since their first meeting, but he never spoke a cruel or harsh word to her. He seemed constantly in control of his emotions, even when frustrated. It was something she admired about him.
By now, Avani had been expecting to find Griffin’s constant presence tiresome, but her feelings were quite the opposite. They were nearing the halfway point in their mating heat, and the idea that he would be leaving in a few days set her heart racing with panic.
Waking up in his arms had started to feel like the most natural thing in the world. To wake up alone in a cold bed and face the day knowing she wouldn’t see his handsome face across the dinner table? She didn’t think she could face it after her torrid affair with Griffin ended.
So what would she do about it? After all her single motherhood demands, it seemed rather hypocritical to change her mind and ask him to stick around. Griffin had made it clear he wouldn’t be walking away from the child they hoped to create, but what if they weren’t successful? Would he still want to hang around and give a real relationship a try?
That day in his office he’d told her he had no interest in bonding or mating with her. He had his reasons and she respected them. He’d sacrificed and shown such loyalty to the Brotherhood of the Green Hide. Even though their rules seemed to be changing, it wasn’t likely G
riffin would ever take a mate.
In their time together, Griffin had given her no indication that he was reconsidering his stance on a mate. The few times the discussions about the end of their tryst had arisen, he’d been careful in forming his responses, but it was very clear he wasn’t making her any promises.
She, on the other hand, had promised not to bite and claim him. It was a promise she had no intention of breaking—even if it broke her heart to watch him walk away from her.
She gulped and stared at the closed door. Her stomach soured at the thought of him rejecting her. Could she find the courage to bring up her changing feelings toward him?
*
Griff drummed his fingertips on the wooden tabletop of the bunker kitchen and stared at his cell phone’s screen. It had been nearly thirty hours since he’d last spoken to Mad. Their phone conversation yesterday morning had been short and left Griffin feeling anxious. Mad was hiding something from him.
His stomach suddenly clenched. Frowning, he rubbed his hand over his naked belly. Instantly, his concerned gaze jumped to the closed bathroom door across the bunker. He recognized that the pain he felt emanated from Avani.
Their growing connection both concerned and settled him. On one hand, he found her presence so calming. She left him feeling centered and grounded. Waking up with his nose buried in the silky, fragrant strands of her hair brought him such a sense of peace. Right now, the short distance that separated them filled him with an intense longing.
But even though he welcomed the burgeoning bond between them, he knew only too well that Avani had no interest in remaining with him. She’d been painstakingly clear about that on their first day together. Even though she probably experienced the same pull toward him, she’d yet to say anything about it. He couldn’t tell if it was fear or stubbornness on her part.
