by Linzi Baxter
“Angel, you need to stop. I’m going to come. And I don’t want to come in your mouth the first time we’re together.”
The thought of the man losing control because of her turned her on. She reached between her legs and pressed two fingers to her clit.
“Jesus, woman, are you touching yourself?”
She nodded but didn’t stop. Gideon dropped his hands from her hair and pulled her up onto the bed. He was so quick. One second, she had her lips wrapped around him, and the next, he was on top of her.
He pushed his mouth to her ear. “Are you wet for me, angel?”
She was about to answer when he dragged his finger through her folds. Holy shit. His touch alone sent fireworks through her whole body, but it was so soft, almost feather-like.
“Please, more.” She lifted her hips, trying to get more friction. “I need more Gideon.”
His lip twitched against her skin. “I’m going to drive you crazy like you just did to me. Your pretty little lips around my cock almost sent me over the edge, but I want to spend time feasting on you.”
He didn’t give her time to answer. He crawled down her body and took her nub between his lips. Fuck. She’d never felt anything that good before. All the men she’d been with before had been boys compared to Gideon.
“Gideon.” His name left her lips as he slid two fingers into her wet folds.
He slowly worked them in and out as he captured her nipple between his teeth. He gently bit down, and it sent a new wave of pleasure through her body.
“More.”
Gideon used his other hand to pinch her nipple as he sucked on it. The dual sensation had her body on fire. “More of that?”
When she didn’t answer, he moved away, and she whimpered at the loss.
“Yes.”
He pushed her legs wider as he kissed the inside of her thigh and worked back over to her clit. She ran her hands through his hair as he slowly licked her. She bucked her hips as he slid two fingers back into her and grabbed her other hand. He twined their fingers together and touched her clit. It was one of the hottest things she’d ever experienced.
Gideon’s eyes were almost neon green as he watched their fingers together. Pleasure coursed through her, and she could sense the edge coming. A tingle of sensation started at her toes and worked up her body. “Gideon,” she whimpered, and their eyes met. “Please.”
“Now,” he growled. And her body obeyed his command.
He kissed his way back up her body, and she could feel the tip of his cock nudge her opening. She reached between the two of them and gripped his cock. He slowly worked his way in, and the room lit up with green magic. It circled around them. The pleasure was so intense that she closed her eyes.
“Open your eyes, angel.”
She gazed up at him, and something flickered in his eyes. The connection between them was growing, and her dragon wanted to sink its teeth into Gideon’s shoulder. She didn’t understand the feeling, so she continued to focus only on Gideon.
He slowly worked himself in and out of her. She raised her hips with each thrust. He filled her in a way she’d never felt. Sex with Gideon was perfect.
Gideon reached between them and pressed circles to her clit, and her body started to buzz again. It didn’t take long before she came over the edge again. He pushed deep inside her and came.
Then they lay in silence, listening to each other breathe, until Gideon rolled to the side, and she rested her head on his chest. She felt different—more connected to him.
13
Gideon
He loved how Diem had wrapped herself around his body sometime during the night. When he woke up, they were both naked, and her breast pressed against his side.
“Good morning.” Diem yawned.
Her blond hair spread across his chest, and her vanilla shampoo filled the air. Their breakfast was coming soon. He wished he hadn’t scheduled the breakfast deliveries and had instead called when they were ready to eat.
She smiled up at him. “What are you thinking about?”
“About how good it felt to be inside you.”
“What are you waiting for?”
On cue, a knock on the door sounded. Carefully he pulled the blanket up, covering Diem, before he yelled for the butler to bring the food in. Gideon made a quick note to tip extra. The man walked in, left the cart, and didn’t even look their way.
Diem’s stomach growled.
“Let’s get some food in you, and if we have time, we will climb back into bed.”
She smirked before getting up and dropping the sheet. He couldn’t stop a groan from leaving his lips.
“You’re playing with fire, angel. Eat.”
Her laughter filled the room. “Well, I am a dragon. Not sure why you started calling me angel.”
“Because when you looked up at me, I swore you were an angel.”
“I like it.”
Diem sat down at the table in the room and loaded her plate. She’d put on a thin white robe that did not completely cover her body. No matter how much he wanted to have his way with her, they needed to talk. The night before, neither of them had talked much about their visions. He also knew that they were going to have to do it another night. Moreover, watching Diem cry had almost broken him.
He knew there might be an issue because they’d made love. But he would do the same thing over again.
“We didn’t talk much last night. Did you have a vision or anything?” he asked.
“You wore me out. And my vision won’t help.”
“Let’s talk through what you saw last night. Whatever it was upset you, and that is where we need to start. Your mind isn’t going to continue until it can process what is truly bothering you.”
“At the beginning, I saw the two bears in the sky again.” She put her fork down and wrapped her arms around her body. He didn’t like how she was pulling into herself.
“Did you see more of the two bears?” he asked.
“I should be used to this world by now, but it’s still strange.”
“Come over here, and let me hold you, and then you can tell me what you saw.”
Diem padded across the patio to his chair and sat on his lap, draping her arms around his neck. “At first, I saw the two bears in the sky. It was like the night before. Then everything changed. Color filled the sky, and it was like I was watching a movie. Kayda and I were little, I’m guessing no older than four. We were sitting in an old pickup truck. The smell of pine was overwhelming, and it looked like we were in the mountains. A woman was driving. I felt safe next to the woman. Is that strange?”
“Not if it was a real memory you’re unlocking. She might’ve meant something to you. Did anything else happen?”
She nodded. “The woman kept telling us to stay down. Kayda was crying next to me, and we held each other. All of a sudden, the woman driving screamed, and we hit something hard. It was a bear, but the bear wasn’t harmed. He walked over and ripped the door off the truck. Grabbed the woman. Seconds later, two bears were fighting in front of the truck. Kayda was screaming next to me, but my eyes were on the fight. Until—”
“Did one of the bears die?” He knew they were shifters and this vision would help piece together a part of Diem’s past. Gideon wiped the tear from Diem’s face.
“Yes, the smaller bear. The large one that stopped the truck killed the smaller one. I think it was the woman in the car, Gideon.”
“You’re probably right. I know this is hard to relive. Is that why you were crying?” He took a deep breath. “Because I watched you sob, Diem. That woman had to have meant something to you. When we get back to West Virginia, Kirin might be able to help answer the question of who she was. I know it’s not the answers we are looking for right now, but this is something—information about your past that might give us an idea of who your parents were.”
“There’s more,” she whispered.
He nodded for her to continue.
“After he killed the wo
man, the bear ripped off the door to our side of the truck. And he grabbed Kayda. I yelled for the bear to stop and jumped out of the car and hit the bear's leg. He turned his black eyes on me, and he pushed me down. I thought I would die. When he held me down, his nail punctured my side.”
She dropped the side of the robe to show the scar. It was faint. He could barely see it. When he brushed his fingers over it, pain shot through his head, and he screamed. The world went black for a second, and then a vision came to his mind.
Kael came to him and said they had to go immediately. Seconds later, they were transported to the Denver mountains. Cold air brushed against his skin. Darius, the corrupt alpha of the Colorado clan, paced in the snow.
On the ground lay a small girl with blood pooling around her. Gideon didn’t stop and ask questions—he ran to the girl and pressed his fingers to her side.
Kael and Darius argued to the side. Once Gideon had healed the young girl, Kael said they were taking the girls back to West Virginia. After that day, he’d never seen the girl again.
Fuck. He hadn’t protected her from Kael sending Diem into the main world. The human world.
“Gideon!” Diem was yelling.
He opened his eyes to see her staring at him.
“What happened?” she asked.
“Your scar triggered a vision.” He took a deep breath. “I can’t talk about it yet. I need time. Go take a shower, Diem.”
When she stepped out of the room, Gideon reached for his burner phone and turned it on. He’d shut it off when they arrived, hoping that would help clear his mind. A flood of messages came in the second the phone was on.
He didn’t look at them. Instead, he scrolled to Kirin’s number and waited for him to answer. “What the fuck, Gideon? I’ve been trying to reach you for two days.”
“Diem and I are in Costa Rica.”
“That’s where Garth said you were going. Then he shipped Ursula to West Virginia. I have enough shit going on. Do you know how crazy that woman is?”
“Yes. I hope you have her locked away.”
“Of course, I do. I have Arrow working on trying to figure out what she wants with the dragon scale.”
Kirin would know that the dark magic used with the scale had to be extremely dangerous, not only for Ursula but for Diem as well. But that wasn’t the reason Gideon was calling.
“I think I might have a lead on Diem’s sister,” Gideon said.
Kirin went quiet, and Gideon looked at the phone to make sure they hadn’t become disconnected.
“What did you find?” Kirin asked in a low voice.
Gideon had found another reason Diem shouldn’t like him. The memory was so close to the surface. He could still feel the blood on his hands. “When I touched a scar on Diem’s body, it triggered a memory. She has a link to Darius Klin.”
Kirin whistled on the other end of the line. “Are you sure?”
The image of Kael putting cuffs on Darius flashed through his brain. The two girls huddled together before they left. More memories flooded in, causing his head to hurt.
“What’s going on, Gideon?” Kirin said.
“Sorry. Something is triggering memories to come back. And it hurts.”
“You need to get back here fast. Lucy can help you with this.”
“We need to find Darius.” Gideon sighed.
“He escaped years ago. I think the bounty on his head is high, and nobody’s brought him in.”
Darius was strong and evil. There were some shifters born evil, and he was one of them. Gideon hated that Diem had been taken from the shifter world. He tried to force his memory to see if he could figure out where she’d been put afterward.
“Can you pull everything up from the night he was arrested?”
“I’m sure Kia can try, but a lot of the files aren’t there.”
“You know how much I wish we could bring Kael back from the dead so I could kill him over and over. The fucker even haunted my fucking journey vision.”
Fuck, I didn’t mean to let that slip.
“You know, everything in a vision means something,” Kirin said.
“I’m not spending another day here to figure out why he’s haunting me. We need to find Diem’s sister, and I can’t do that if we stay here. We’re getting on a plane tonight and should be there later.” Gideon tapped his fingers on the bed. “Did anyone happen to go see if anything was left of my house?”
“I went over there. They blew up your garage and your cars. Your house is fine. Kia sent over some workers to clean everything up.”
“Thank you. I know I don’t dese—”
“Don’t fucking finish that sentence. Nobody in my family holds a grudge against you or Diem.”
There was no point in arguing with the dragon.
“Diem and I will head to Kia’s house first thing in the morning. We need to figure out where Darius is. I think he has Kayda.”
“Have you claimed her yet?” Kirin asked.
“No.”
“Why are you waiting? You know you can’t fight the pull.”
“There are still things I need to tell her, and it’s her choice, not mine.”
“She’s your mate. What are you so scared to tell her? You’re a good man, Gideon.”
“I haven’t told her about being immortal.”
“I don’t see the issue, Gideon. You won’t ever lose your mate.”
“But she will outlive her sister and everyone else.”
“But that’s her choice, and dragons need their mates, Gideon.”
“I need time.”
“You're an idiot, but that’s a conversation for another day. In the meantime, I will see what Kia can dig up, but I hope you have another vision we can work with, because nobody knows where Darius is.”
Gideon knew the answer was hidden deep in his mind He just needed a little more time to gather his thoughts.
“I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Okay,” Kirin said. “Don’t shut your phone off this time.”
Gideon swiped the end key and debated whether to turn the phone off.
The bathroom door creaked open, and Diem walked out with a white towel tied around her. She ran a brush through her long blond locks. When she was within an arm’s length, he reached out and pulled her to the bed.
Her laughter filled the room. “Gideon.”
He loved how she said his name. There was so much weighing on his mind, but seeing her almost naked made his control slip, and he wanted nothing more than to have her wrap her legs around him. “You make me want things I don’t deserve.”
“Please, Gideon.”
Her soft words were all he needed. He rolled her onto her back, and the soft white towel slipped from her shoulders. “This isn’t going to be gentle like last night.”
Instead of telling him to stop, she hooked her legs around his back and drew him closer. One of his hands traveled down her body. He pressed two fingers into her folds. She was so wet. He needed her more than his next breath, so he pulled away and stripped his pants down. Her eyes trailed down his chest and watched as he threw his clothes to the side.
When he crawled back up the bed, she encircled his length with her soft fingers and lined his cock up, and he pushed in. It was even better than the night before. She was so tight, hot, and slick.
He stopped moving and counted to ten. She twined her fingers in his hair and pulled his mouth to hers. Their tongues danced together. When he didn’t start moving, she dug her heels into his ass and raked her nails down his back.
She tilted her head back and moaned as he worked his cock in and out. “Harder,” she whispered with her eyes shut.
Gideon never wanted to forget this moment. Something had changed. The air had shifted, and his magic was at the surface. He fought the urge to mate. That was a choice they needed to make together.
Her moans grew louder. He dipped his face into the crease of her neck and pressed a kiss there, trying to distract himself from how tight she
was. She raised her hips and met each thrust. Her moans became louder, and she closed her eyes.
“I want to see those pretty green eyes, Diem.”
When she opened them, it felt like she could see deep into his soul. “What do you need, my angel?” he asked.
“You.”
“You have me, angel.”
“Please, Gideon.”
He rolled onto his back so she could be in control. More than anything, he loved to see her riding him. She tilted her head back and placed her hands on his chest. He bit the inside of his cheek as she slowly lowered herself on him.
His hand went to her nub. When he pressed against her clit, she moved faster and moaned his name.
“I want to see those pretty eyes when you come,” he said. Diem’s eyes locked with his. “Come for me, angel.”
She tightened around him, and she screamed, “Gideon!”
He’d never seen anything as hot as her. Her body pushed against his, and he felt her run her teeth over his shoulder. He knew what her dragon was trying to do. For a second, he thought about letting her claim him, but he knew it wasn’t the right thing to do.
He couldn’t take it any longer. “Faster, Diem.” He placed his hands on her hips and moved her. “Just like that—harder.”
She rocked against his chest.
“Christ,” he grunted. “I’m almost there.”
He rolled her back onto her back, and she grabbed him with her legs. His body was on fire with need as he thrust into her. With each thrust, he was closer to the edge. When she gripped down on him, it was enough to send him over.
For a second, they lay there together, their breathing the only sound in the room. When he rolled to the side, she laid her head on his chest and ran her fingers over his tattoos—the tattoos that documented his years through history, the bad and the good. Those were his daily reminders of what he’d done in his lifetime.
She traced his chest with her hand, circling his family crest. Then her hand wandered to the tattoo he was nervous about. He reached up and grabbed her hand and moved it away.
“What does that mean?”
He acted like he didn’t understand. “This one right here is my family crest.”
