“Nora.”
Zul's laughter was an evil-sounding cackle. “I'll let Tessa know that Aunt Nora is coming to dinner tonight.” He made a kissy sound. “Toodle-oo!”
Edriq swore at the dial tone.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Nora smiled and hoped Edriq couldn't tell how nervous she was. She had said yes when he asked her if she would have dinner with his family.
Edriq's words had come out in a rush, and he'd looked so shy and anxious. “Zul said Mrs Vomae is cooking up a storm in the kitchen. But he's never seen her happier. We seldom have dinner guests, so she's really excited. So is everyone. Tessa is...making something for you. A present, I think,” he'd stuttered. “Would you...do us the honor...” With a gulp, he plowed on, “Would you have dinner with me and my family...tonight?”
How could she say no?
She finished work at three, and Edriq had picked her up in his swanky SUV at four sharp. She was wearing a modest pastel-colored shift dress and had applied some light makeup. She wore her hair down but she made sure she smoothed some conditioner over her hair to tame the frizz.
Edriq said it was just a simple family dinner, but Nora felt that it wouldn't be proper to dress too casually. His family was making so much effort for her, going out of their way to prepare a wonderful dinner for her. Edriq mentioned that his brothers were all rushing home early for the dinner.
Edriq was still in his work clothes but he'd loosened his tie and rolled up his sleeves. He told her more about his brothers as he drove, and when he talked about Tessa, she could clearly see the fierce pride and love in his eyes.
The little girl was the apple of his eye. It was so sweet to see a big, tough warrior gushing about a five-year-old girl.
Nora updated him about Omar Faye's condition. Edriq had stayed in the hospital until Omar's sister arrived. Edriq had received a call from one of his managers and had to leave the hospital. But not before he stammered out his invitation to Nora. He couldn't let Tessa down.
“Omar's fine,” Nora reported as Edriq drove down a long scenic road. “The doctors let him go home in the afternoon.”
“Hmm,” Edriq said non-committally. “That's good.”
“I think the doctors told him to take it easy, so I don't think you'll be seeing him at your fitness center for a while.”
Edriq quirked a lopsided smile. “The ladies will miss him.”
Nora laughed and smoothed her hands down her dress. The tall automatic gates in front of them were swinging open, and Nora sucked in a breath at the majestic mansion looming before her.
Edriq drove up the long driveway and slotted his car into the garage. There were two other cars there, a Jaguar and a BMW roadster. It seemed his brothers were already home.
Edriq opened the car door for her and helped her out. “Rohan's probably upstairs with Amelia and Tessa, and Zul...well, he could be anywhere,” Edriq said. “We can have a drink in the living room first, or we could go to the kitchen...”
“I'll like to meet Mrs Vomae,” Nora said shyly.
Edriq grinned. “The kitchen it is then.”
Edriq brought her round the back of the house. Nora marveled at the large, manicured lawn in front of the mansion. “That's our landing pad,” Edriq told her.
“Landing…? Oh, for your dragons.”
“Yep.”
They entered through the back door and walked into the big, brightly lit—and very crowded kitchen.
Everyone was there.
Rohan, Zul, Mrs Vomae, Amelia and Tessa.
“Uncle Edriq!” Tessa squealed. Nora stared at the dark-haired, pretty girl and marveled at how much she looked like her father. Rohan had his arms full, but he gave her a wide grin.
Nora froze in her tracks and gaped, taking in the whole scene. It was unbelievable.
She knew that Rohan was the king of the Dracans, and here he was, moving back and forth between the table and the cabinets as he carried stacks of beautiful, elegant gold-rimmed plates and bowls to the table.
They were carting out their best dinnerware for her. And King Rohan himself was doing the heavy lifting.
Nora felt awed and humbled, amazed and touched at the same time. She was in the house, in the presence of a royal family. But instead, everyone was looking at her and treating her like she was royalty. Nora had the strangest urge to drop to a deep curtsy. It seemed like the proper thing to do.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Edriq put his hand gently on the small of Nora's back and whispered, “Meet my family.”
“H-hi,” she croaked. “I'm Nora.”
She was greeted with big, welcoming smiles and everyone started talking at once.
Edriq made the introductions quickly, and hurried to the stove. Amelia, his queen, was wearing a frilly, pink apron and stirring a big pot of soup.
“Let me do it,” he said, trying to take the ladle from her but she swatted him away.
“Go take care of our guest,” she said.
Edriq turned and saw that Zul was already doing that. With a courtly bow, Zul pulled out a chair for Nora and asked if she would like something to drink. It seemed that Zul was on his best behavior tonight, but it was still early. Once he got to know Nora better, Zul would launch into his repertoire of dirty jokes and torture them with a song or two.
Nora wasn't one to just sit down. She wanted to be part of the action. Jumping up, she insisted on helping with the dinner preparations.
Nora glanced at Edriq and they exchanged a smile. Edriq stood in the middle of the busy kitchen and was momentarily speechless with emotion as he watched his family.
Rohan and Amelia were his king and queen, but they had both rolled up their sleeves and were bustling around trying to prepare a special dinner for their special guest. Even Zul was on his best behavior. He didn't make any risque, rude jokes and was meekly obeying Princess Tessa when she bossed him around and told him how to set the elegant silverware.
And little Tessa was glowing with excitement and importance. She chatted with Nora and rattled off one question after another. She looked highly impressed when Nora told her that she was a paramedic.
“I want to be a paramedic when I grow up,” Tessa promptly declared.
“I thought you wanted to be a teacher,” Amelia said over her shoulder.
“Hmm, can I be both?” Tessa asked.
“You can be anything you want to be, sweetheart,” Rohan said.
Tessa grinned and clambered up onto a chair to watch Nora take the potato wedges out of the oven. A flustered Mrs Vomae had tried to stop Nora. “You're the guest,” Mrs Vomae protested. “Please, please take a seat. You...”
“I'd like to help,” Nora had answered and grabbed the oven gloves before Mrs Vomae could stop her.
Edriq and his brothers knew better than to try and stop Nora. They'd had enough experience dealing with two strong-willed females in the house.
“I made something for you,” Tessa whispered to Nora. “It's a surprise. But I want you to have it now.”
“What is it?” Nora whispered back.
Tessa giggled and raced out of the kitchen. Everyone could hear her running up the stairs and yelling, “Don't tell her what it is!”
In less than a minute, Tessa was back. Panting, she ran up to Nora and thrust a handmade bookmark into her hand. “We just learned how to make bookmarks in school. I drew the dragon myself,” Tessa said proudly. “Mom helped me write your name and I colored all the letters!”
Nora held the pretty bookmark in both hands and looked up at them. Edriq saw her blink rapidly.
“It's beautiful,” she whispered. “I love it, so much!”
Edriq went over to look at the bookmark. Tessa had drawn a fierce-looking, fire-spitting dragon soaring above Nora's name. “That's Uncle Edriq,” Tessa said, pointing at the dragon.
“I know,” Nora said. “I saw his dragon. Once.”
“His dragon is awesome,” Tessa crowe
d. “Can I go flying with you tonight, Uncle Edriq?”
Edriq glanced at Rohan and Amelia. “Not tonight. You have school tomorrow,” Amelia answered.
“Aww, Mom! But you're my teacher. I can be a little late for school, can't I?”
“No you can't,” Amelia said firmly.
“I'll take you flying this weekend,” Edriq said. “Promise.”
The girl stuck out her little finger. “Pinky promise? Promise she'll be my Aunt Nora?” she added quickly.
“Pinky promise,” Edriq said automatically before realizing that the cheeky, clever little princess had slipped in another promise at the last minute.
The princess was young but she was quick, observant and considerate. She'd made a beautiful little present for Nora to show Nora how much the family loved her already, and she had even read her Uncle Edriq's mind and heart like a book.
She had made Edriq promise to put his wants and desires into action and claim Nora as his. So she would be Tessa's Aunt Nora.
She was looking out for him, for his happiness.
They all were.
The whole family had come together and put in so much effort to welcome Nora into their home. It was just a dinner and just a bookmark. Yet it was so much more.
Edriq chuckled when Tessa winked at him.
It was at this very moment that he realized his Princess Tessa would make a great queen one day.
CHAPTER TWENTY
“Thank you so much for the lovely dinner,” Nora said as she shook hands with Edriq's brothers. Tessa and Amelia came forward to hug her.
“Thank you for the present,” she told Tessa. “Thank you for everything.”
“Bye!” Tessa waved energetically as Nora got into Edriq's car. “I've decided,” she announced to Nora. “I'm going to be a paramedic and save lives! Just like you!”
Behind her, Rohan and Amelia shrugged and smiled. They knew that their daughter would probably change her mind again next week. Last week, her burning ambition was to be a teacher. And the week before that, she thought being a mermaid was the coolest job in the world.
“Being a mermaid is hard work. You have to be able to hold your breath underwater for a long, looooong time!” she'd quipped as Amelia drove her to her swimming lessons. “And after that I have to grow a tail!”
Nora beamed and gave Tessa two thumbs-up. “You'll make a great paramedic.”
“I can even save people underwater,” Tessa shouted excitedly. “I can swim like a mermaid now.”
“I think the humans have lifeguards for that,” Zul remarked.
Undeterred, Tessa jumped up and hollered as Nora waved from the car, “I'll be a mermaid paramedic!”
Nora laughed and waved until the tall automatic gates closed behind them. Edriq drove away from the palatial mansion that wasn't just a grand, imposing, humongous house. It was a home that was filled with so much warmth and love.
“I really enjoyed the dinner,” Nora said, smiling. “It was great meeting your family. They're wonderful.”
Edriq smiled back. “They are. And they're super happy to meet you too.”
Nora blushed when he reached over to take her hand. He laced his fingers through hers and gently caressed her hand with his thumb as he drove.
Edriq's soft caress, his gentle yet possessive touch, sent heat spiraling through her body. Her skin tingled with his touch, sending a delicious, erotic shiver through her body.
Nora was aware of how sensitive her nipples felt against her bra. Her traitorous nipples had pebbled, the aching peaks rubbing maddeningly against the fabric of her bra.
Edriq's grip tightened on her hand and she saw his throat move. He kept his eyes on the road but the silver flecks in his eyes had expanded and spread across his iris.
His silver eyes churned and burned with a feral, predatory glow, and Nora let out a tiny whimper.
She suddenly felt like a prey in the clutches of a wild, rapacious dragon. The feeling was exciting, thrilling and highly arousing.
“Nora...” Edriq exhaled a ragged breath.
The sound of her name on his lips made her clench her thighs together. The sudden, intense ache in her core was becoming unbearable and she could feel the moisture gathering between her legs.
She was growing so hot and bothered in his car. His closeness, his unique, masculine scent, his touch was driving her wild with need and desire.
She'd never made out in the back seat of a car before. None of her exes had even owned a car. She didn't mind. She wasn't a high-maintenance woman who needed to be chauffeured around.
But right now she wished Edriq would just pull over to the side of the road and climb into the back seat with her.
He could steam up the windows with his dragon breath.
Or he could just spread her over the hood and take her.
All she knew was that she wanted him with a hunger like no other, a hunger she suspected, that could not be sated by anyone but him.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Edriq forced his hand to remain on the steering wheel and stared straight ahead. It was so damn hard to concentrate when Nora's sweet, intoxicating scent was driving him crazy.
He wanted to grab her and have his hands and mouth all over her. He needed to feel and know every inch of her lush, curvy body, and hear her pants and cries as she shattered beneath him.
The scent of her arousal was driving him to distraction and he couldn't afford to be distracted. If he didn't keep his mind and eyes on the road, they would end up wrapped around a tree. He was a confident, skilful driver but his dick and his dragon weren't letting him rest. Erotic images of Nora straddling him with the moonlight glinting off their sweaty, entwined bodies kept flashing through his mind.
The scent of her fierce, unrelenting arousal wasn't helping.
Edriq growled and floored the accelerator. He would get her safely home, and then he would take her on her bed. Not out here in the open where perverts could see her.
Nora's eyes were half closed and her breathing had quickened to short pants. Edriq knew that her body was responding to the burning lust and desire of his dragon. She was his mate, and she wanted him. Now.
Edriq knew without a doubt that he would have to claim her tonight. He could not deny his dragon or himself any longer.
Edriq parked in an empty lot just in front of Nora's building and snapped his seat belt off.
Nora stumbled out of the car and looked at him with hungry, pleading eyes as he walked round the car to her.
Grabbing her shoulders, Edriq crushed his mouth to hers in a bruising, demanding kiss. His tongue pushed into her mouth and he groaned at the hot, sweet taste of his mate.
Nora trembled as he held her waist and pulled her flush against him. She melted against him, whimpering softly as he kissed her with a crazed, primal hunger.
Holding her to his side, he led her up the stairs to her apartment. Nora swayed and staggered, her legs unsteady beneath her. But Edriq held her firmly, securely, possessively.
Once they were inside her apartment, Edriq locked the door behind them and swept Nora into his arms.
He carried her straight to the bedroom and tossed her on the bed. The hem of her dress rose up her thighs and the sight of her white cotton panties made his cock jerk painfully. He wanted to be inside her, buried in her slick, tight heat.
Edriq pinned her wrists down and kissed her. Nora didn't resist. Instead, she arched her back and returned his kisses with equal passion and ardor. Edriq slid his hands up her hips and pushed her dress up to her waist.
Dipping his head, he ripped away her panties with his teeth.
The tearing sound made Nora gasp and her sweet, sticky juices squirted out of her.
Edriq growled and pressed his mouth to her pussy. This belonged to him. From now on, her pussy would only know his cock, his mouth and his hands. No other male would touch, taste or penetrate this hot, tight pussy. This was his. His to pleasure, to ow
n, to claim.
Edriq kissed her wet, pink pussy lips and sucked greedily at her clit. Nora moaned and cried out in pleasure as he fingered her.
He licked her juices off his fingers before pushing his tongue deep into her. She tasted so exquisite, so fucking delicious.
Nora writhed, her head thrashing as he fucked her hard with his tongue. With a cry, she came against his mouth.
Her entire body shuddered as Edriq kissed the inside of her creamy thighs. She clawed at his shirt as he kissed her on the mouth, letting her taste herself on him.
Nora pushed his shirt off his shoulders and began to tug frenziedly at his belt.
Her hunger was as fierce as his. They needed and wanted each other. His dragon's hunger could only be sated by his mate. And only he could satisfy his mate's maddening, burning, tormenting need.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Nora spread her legs wider as Edriq lowered himself to her. His body was magnificent, rippling with hard, toned muscle. He was broad and big—very, very big.
She swallowed as she stared at his erect cock. His cock was thick and huge, and there was a drop of pre-cum beading on the head of his cock.
Her eyes fluttered close when Edriq started suckling her. Oh, the man was really good with his tongue. He licked and sucked at her breasts, teasing and tormenting her nipples to painful, pulsating peaks.
Mindlessly, she raised her hips and rubbed and ground wantonly against him. She wanted, needed to feel him inside her. A part of her knew that when he took her, it wouldn't be just a joining of their bodies. They would be joining their hearts and souls...and their lives.
Nora made a small sound of pleasure and wonder. Could it be...that she had finally found the one, the perfect one? Edriq wasn't perfect, but he would be perfect for her. He was a relentless, dedicated warrior. Like her. She was a fighter, and she fought hard for the lives of her patients. No matter how grim or hopeless the situation, she never, ever gave up.
To Wed a Dragon Page 5
