by Sophie Stern
It was intimate and reminded her of the way Colton had touched her just before they left for the house.
“I’d love to shoot you sometime,” she said.
“What?” Holly shrieked, jumping back.
“Fuck, no, not like that!” Audrey said quickly. “I’m a photographer! A photographer! I just meant you have really nice bone structure. Fuck, I’m sorry.” She waved her hands wildly around, trying to motion that she wasn’t really crazy, but Holly had jumped back and landed in the wet grass and was now covered in mud. Her borrowed dress was completely soaked now and her legs were dirty now, as well.
Colton chuckled and lifted her from the ground. He picked her up and swung her over his shoulder.
“Um, you’re naked,” she said.
She should have said, “Put me down. I don’t need your help.”
She should have said, “These people don’t need to see my panties.”
She should have said, “I’m shy and my dress is riding up.”
She didn’t say any of those things, though. She didn’t say anything she should have said because she was too busy staring at his perfectly toned ass, too busy staring at his butt. She was too busy thinking about running her hands all over his perfectly smooth skin.
She was too busy thinking about how she was going to play with him.
There was no doubt in Holly’s mind she would be playing with the dragonman tonight. Oh, it might not be forever. They might not be in love. They might not be destined to be together or any of that romance mumbo-jumbo, but they had tonight.
And to be honest, she felt like she deserved a little something.
She felt like she deserved this.
Colton carried her into the house and with a bit of guidance from Audrey, made his way up the stairs and into a guest room of sorts.
“Where are we going?” She asked.
“Don’t worry about being loud or making a mess,” Audrey said. Holly couldn’t see the other woman. She wasn’t a dragon, so she certainly couldn’t smell Audrey. Holly thought her new friend must be out in the hallway, though.
“Stop bothering them,” Gabriel said. Then he started whispering to Audrey, and she chuckled.
“We’ll be in our room if you need anything,” Audrey said, then all Holly heard were footsteps leading away from the room.
Colton carried her to the bathroom and set her down in the walk-in shower. He looked at her dirty dress and messy hair and muddy face.
“It’s just you and me now, darling,” he said.
“We’re all alone,” Holly agreed.
“What do you say, love?” Colton grabbed her hair and pulled her head back, forcing her to look at him, offering just a bite of pain with her pleasure tonight. “Are you going to be a good girl for me?”
“I’ve never been a good girl before,” Holly said. “Why should I start now?”
“Bad girls get spankings.” His voice held a warning, but she wasn’t scared. She was brave now. She was bold. She wanted to play with the big dogs in this fight. She wanted to prove she could do this, she could handle herself here.
She wanted to prove something to Colton and to everyone else.
Most of all, she wanted to stop being so damn scared all the time.
She was attracted to Colton and it was obvious he liked her, too. His dick had basically been hard the entire day. The poor man probably had the worst case of blue balls he’d ever experienced and it was all her fault. Well, maybe Holly could ease some of that pain tonight. Maybe she could help him out a little bit.
Maybe she could get him to stop thinking and just feel.
If she could get past her own insecurities and her own hang-ups, she could help him feel as strong as she thought he was. Something told her Colton had been wounded before and she wanted to be the one who helped him heal.
Summoning up all of her courage, she whispered the words she knew he was going to love, the words that would change everything between them tonight.
“Maybe I want you to spank me.”
“You don’t know what you’re saying.”
“Spank me, Colton.”
13
“Take off your clothes.”
She had given him permission. She had asked for it. She wanted this as much as he did and Colton wasn’t about to deny a beautiful woman.
Not when she’d been so polite.
She stood and stripped out of the dry clothing Lindsey had loaned her. Demurely, Holly held the clothes out in front of her. Colton tossed them to the side. They could have them washed or dry cleaned or whatever later. Not right now, though. Not now.
Later.
There would be plenty of time for that at a different time.
Right now he just wanted to look at Holly. He wanted to look at her sweet body. He wanted to touch her, play with her, tease her.
He wanted to fucking explore her.
Her hair was medium length and bright, fiery red. He liked it. She was a natural redhead with freckles on her nose to match her hair and a patch of bright, lovely pubic hair between her legs. Most of the time, shifters were hairless there or preferred to shave, so it had been a long time since he’d been with someone who had hair on her pussy.
He didn’t mind.
If anything, it turned him on a little bit more because it was a surprise. He expected her to be bare, so the fact that she wasn’t kind of made him want to eat her up just a little bit more.
“Turn around,” he hissed. She obeyed him quickly. Then she placed her hands on the shower wall. He had a perfect view of her spine, of her curvy hips, of her heart-shaped bottom. He had a perfect view of her pink pussy lips peeking out at him. He had a perfect view of his girl.
Holly.
She was going to be his.
He knew it in his heart, right down to his very core. He couldn’t say why or how he knew, only that they were destined to be together, the two of them.
He shuddered at the thought that they almost didn’t get to know one another. They almost didn’t meet. They almost didn’t spend the day together or save the world this evening.
They almost didn’t end up here, alone together in Anthony’s guest bathroom.
What if he hadn’t been curious about her? What if he hadn’t pushed her when she wanted a ride? What if she had simply been left on the docks at Nellenston? What if no one believed her story?
The day ended with little dragonlings safe in their cribs, but it almost didn’t.
The day ended with families safe and intact, but it almost didn’t.
The day was almost the most horrendous day in the world, but it wasn’t.
It was fine.
Everything was over and now everyone was safe.
Colton found it difficult to relax now. He still felt tense, still felt his muscles tightening and contracting. It had been a crazy day and he needed to relax, but he just couldn’t. He couldn’t forget the look on the child’s face when they’d gone into the room, couldn’t forget the way he had counted bodies on the floor.
The day had almost ended very differently.
The day had almost been terrible.
The day had almost been a repeat of his childhood for some other family.
“But it wasn’t,” a soft voice said. Colton realized Holly had turned around and was pressing her hands against his chest. “Forget the spanking,” she whispered. “Just hold me.”
She turned on the showerhead and pulled him into the shower with her. She closed the door behind him, locking them both in the steamy mist, trapping them both beneath the hot water.
He put his hands on her bare skin for the first time and instantly, he felt himself begin to calm. Who was this little vixen and how had she put him under her spell? He had never found anything, anyone, that calmed him this quickly or completely.
“Touch me and forget,” she whispered. “Let it all go, okay?” She wrapped her arms around his neck and began to kiss him, and Colton kissed her back. He kissed her slowly at first, tend
erly, but their kisses grew faster and deeper and soon he had forgotten everything but her taste.
Soon he wasn’t thinking about the fear.
He wasn’t thinking about the death.
He wasn’t thinking about the terror.
He wasn’t thinking about anything but Holly.
It was only her.
It would only ever be her.
*
When they managed to finish showering, the two made their way back into Audrey, Anthony, and Gabriel’s guest room.
“Why is this bed so big?” Holly commented, running her hand over the red satin comforter. “You could seriously fit like seven people on here.”
Colton raised an eyebrow and waited for her to make the connection. Suddenly, sweet Holly blushed and looked over her shoulder at him.
“Oh,” she said. “I guess that’s the point.”
“Dragons like luxury,” he said, sweeping her up in his arms. “And many enjoy multiple partners at once.” He tossed Holly on the bed and she landed with a giggle and a bounce. “Now, me, personally,” he said, crawling up on the bed and making his way toward her. “I like a single woman in my bed.”
“Is that so?”
“That’s so. I prefer it if she’s sweet,” he kissed her neck. “I prefer it if she’s tiny,” he kissed her collarbone. “I prefer it if she’s entirely mine,” he said, and then he kissed her breast.
“Oh,” Holly leaned her head back. Her damp hair fell back over her shoulders and onto the bed. He didn’t care if the blankets got wet. He didn’t care if they got dirty or messy or completely destroyed. He had plenty of money. He’d buy Anthony new blankets.
No, the only thing he cared about was making his girl feel good, about making her relax, about making her feel like she was the most precious thing in the world because suddenly, she was.
Suddenly, nothing mattered as much as making Holly feel like a princess.
Suddenly, nothing mattered as much as making her smile with pleasure.
Suddenly, nothing mattered as much as making her come completely undone beneath his hands.
“Close your eyes,” he said. “And just feel.”
14
So that’s how the dragon wanted to do this.
He wanted her to feel.
He wanted her to focus.
Well, Holly could focus.
She closed her eyes and leaned back, resting on her elbows. The position wasn’t as awkward as she thought it would be. It pushed her breasts forward and gave Colton unlimited access to them.
And oh, could that man use his tongue.
He licked each nipple slowly. He took his time savoring each bit of her skin. He was completely unrushed and something told Holly that if she did try to rush him, she’d quickly find herself on the wrong end of that spanking he mentioned earlier.
She didn’t mind taking things slowly.
She didn’t mind the waiting.
She had been waiting her whole fucking life for a guy like Colton and now?
Now she wondered where he’d been all this time.
Now she wondered how she’d ever live without him.
There was no doubt in her mind they were both running on adrenaline. They were both running on stress and excitement and chaos. Tomorrow, he’d likely send her on her merry way. He’d boat her back to Nellenston or have someone else do it and she’d go back to her boring life in Colorado. She’d go back to her job in Montgomery and she’d go back to the ordinary way she spent her days.
She was a nobody back home.
She was lame.
Holly spent her days filing paperwork and fixing flash drives for people. She didn’t party or date or have any fun, really. She didn’t even have a dog, or a cat, or a shifter.
Suddenly, she really, really wanted a shifter.
She wanted this shifter.
She didn’t want tonight to be it for them.
It would be, but she didn’t want it to be. She wanted to wake up in his arms tomorrow and have him promise everything would be okay, that he thought she was amazing, that he wanted to spend more time with her. She wanted to wake up and have him promise her they could try this thing because there was definitely a spark, definitely passion. She wanted him to promise there was a future for them or that they could at least try.
She wanted him to say she was worth spending more time with.
She wanted him to say she was worth getting to know.
Holly didn’t want to ruin tonight with her anxiety or her self-consciousness, though. She didn’t want to ruin tonight with being a needy girl. That was what guys hated. They hated needy girls who couldn’t stop thinking, who-
“Stop,” she heard his voice, then he nipped her.
“Ouch!” She cried out, opening her eyes. “That was my boob!”
“And I’ll bite the other one if you don’t stop thinking,” he growled up at her. “Relax, Holly. Close your eyes and clear your head and relax.”
“I’ll try,” she whispered.
“You’ll do it now,” he said. “I’m your dragon, Holly. Do as I say.”
She looked down at him and saw his big, pleading eyes looking up at her. She almost thought she could read his thoughts, almost thought she knew exactly what he was thinking without him even having to say it.
Do this for me.
“You’re my dragon,” she whispered, but to Holly, it was a promise. She knew suddenly that she didn’t want anyone else, would never think of anyone else but him.
It was just him.
It was only him.
Colton had given her his trust and his understanding and he had saved her. He had saved all of them. She might have been the one who came to Dragon Isle, but he had made saving those children possible.
He was a hero.
Her hero.
She closed her eyes and lay back on the bed. She was flat against the soft satin comforter now. She took a deep breath and breathed.
“It’s just you and me, little human,” he whispered. “Are you ready to play?”
“I’m ready.”
He nipped at her belly, kissed her hips. Colton traced his tongue lazily along her skin in small, gentle circles. She had goose bumps everywhere now. Because her eyes were closed, she couldn’t watch him to see where he would lick next, but she felt her pussy growing damp, wet with need, and she hoped that was where he was heading.
She hoped that was where he’d go next.
She lifted her hips, giving him a little bit of a hint. She could tell by his immediate chuckle she hadn’t been as discreet as she thought.
“Trying to tell me something, darling?” He asked with his sweet, country drawl.
“More like politely asking,” she whispered.
“Ask me,” he said.
“Please…”
“Oh, darling. You can do better than that.”
“Please go down on me.”
“Try again,” he whispered, kissing her mound. His lips pressed against the tuft of soft hair, and she groaned. He was so close. Just a little bit lower and he’d be there, but he wanted her to ask, to beg. He wanted her to be bold and brave and fierce.
And if it got her an orgasm, if it got his tongue on her pussy, she’d do it. She’d ask him, demand it of him. She’d tell the dragon what she really wanted and what she wanted was for him to eat her out until she was screaming his name, until the world went black, until every thought vanished from her head but his name.
Colton.
“Colton, eat my pussy,” she groaned. “Please. I’m going to fucking die if you don’t run your tongue along my lips.”
“Holy dragons, woman,” he said. “Where the hell did that come from?”
“Please,” she repeated, but that was the last thing she said because he pressed his mouth to her clit and began to suck.
15
She came within seconds.
She came faster than any of his partners ever had before, and that filled him with a sense of masculine prid
e. She came, crying out his name, crying out “Colton.”
She came against his face, and then she melted into the blankets.
“You look beautiful when you come,” he murmured, climbing up and kissing her on the mouth. He knew she could taste herself on his lips, and when he pulled back, he smiled at her. “You taste amazing.”
“Not too bad,” she grinned. “If I do say so myself.”
“What do you think?” He run a finger down her chest and back up again. “Should I fuck you now, little darling?”
“I think I’d like that, dragon,” she said.
He kissed her hard and rolled them at the same time so he was on his back and she was on top of him.
“What did you do that for?” She looked confused.
“You’re in control, princess. This is all about you,” he said. “Take what you want, baby. Use me. Ride me. Enjoy yourself.”
“I’m not…I’m not good at being on top,” she said. “Usually, I’m not…” Her voice trailed off and she looked nervous.
“None of that, baby. Don’t be afraid. Not now. Not with me. This is about you and me. Nothing else. No one else. Your past doesn’t matter and neither does mine. Live in the moment with me, Holly. Let’s be crazy together, darling.”
She bit her lip, then nodded shyly. She adjusted herself and straddled his hips. His cock was at her entrance, but she hesitated for a moment. She rubbed herself against him.
“That’s it, baby,” he groaned. He looked up at her. Fuck, she was gorgeous. Her hair was a big, crazy, frizzy mess and her eyes were drowsy and heavy. He’d done that. He’d done that to her. He’d made her come so hard that now she was tired, but she still wanted more. They both did, and he loved that.
He loved knowing he’d made her come so hard and fast and good.
He loved knowing he’d made her forget her troubles for a little while.
“You’re beautiful,” he said.
“You are, too, dragon.” She ran her hands down his chest. Then she sunk down onto him. His cock filled her, and he groaned as she slid herself down deeper onto his length.
