Dragon's Fake Wedding Date (Dragons of Mount Atrox Book 3)

by Riley Storm

  “So what you’re saying is that there’s nothing else you can do right now?” she asked.

  Rann shook his head, missing the subtle shift in her tone. “Nothing. We’re useless.”

  Gayle pulled her hands out from his back and cupped the sides of his face. “I know a way you can make yourself useful,” she purred.

  This time Rann didn’t miss the hint. His head came up, eyes bright with green light.

  “I missed you,” she pouted, shrugging her shoulders.

  She was wearing one of his t-shirts, her thong, and nothing more. Gayle watched Rann’s eyes travel down her body, noting the exposed skin of her legs.

  “I missed you too,” he said, kicking off his boots and pulling his shirt over his head even as he came at her.

  Gayle bit her lip as his stomach flexed and rippled, further defining his abs.

  “You are just gorgeous,” she purred as he picked her up and carried her across the wooden floor of his cabin to the little room where his bed lay.

  “Stole the words right out of my mouth,” he growled, lowering her to the bed and bending over her so he could kiss her. Hard.

  Gayle wrapped her legs around his midsection, arms around his back. Her nails dug lightly into his back as they kissed, the pressure of his crotch gently rubbing against hers sending tendrils of fire snaking out through her core.

  Breath hissed out in a soft, pleased gasp as Rann pinned her arms above her head, one giant hand wrapping around both her wrists with ease. She struggled playfully, but he was feeling controlling, and she couldn’t move.

  “Tonight you’re mine,” he growled in her ear.

  The possessive tone sent shivers down her spine. She knew he was going to make her his, and her body leapt at the chance to obey. Gayle enjoyed it when he took what he wanted and her pleasure was the result.

  “All yours,” she moaned as his lips found her neck, kissing, biting, even gently sucking at the tender skin there. She shivered.

  Roughly, he pulled the shirt up over her breasts a moment later, grabbing at them, rolling her nipples between his fingers just hard enough to make her breathe harder. When he finally took one into his mouth, she closed her eyes, a soft moan filling the room. His tongue was so warm and soft.

  She didn’t need more than his touch to ensure her body was ready for him. But Rann was a thorough man, and Gayle wasn’t going to say no when he insisted on pulling her underwear to the side and placing his mouth over her core.

  Her low moans grew in fever and pitch. Rann teased her, taking his time, bringing her ever so close to the edge and then backing down.

  “Why are you doing this to me?” she moaned. “Don’t tease me like this.”

  “Because I want you to come for the first time when I enter you,” he growled, standing up and removing the rest of his clothing until he was completely naked.

  “I can do that,” she agreed as he pulled her to the edge of the bed, lining himself up with her that way.

  “Good,” Rann growled, his eyes filled with fire and desire, all of it focused on her. She was the center of attention, and Gayle basked in it, relaxing into the moment and into him as he pushed inside of her.

  “Oh fuck,” she moaned. Getting used to him took some time. He was large. But this time, Rann wasn’t giving her quite as long. She gasped in a mixture of pain and pleasure as he slid in farther and faster than ever before.

  It was amazing. Unbelievable.

  Something touched her center, and Gayle’s entire body locked up, completely rigid. She grabbed at the covers and struggled to breathe. Rann’s thumb continued to play circles around her, even as he pushed deeper. It hurt, oh it hurt, but it felt so good as well. She was being taken right to her limits.

  “More,” she heard herself gasp, craving more. She needed him to fill her, to have his hips pressed against hers. There was nothing quite like it.

  Rann obliged, and the instant he did, Gayle came for him. Hard. She shuddered, and her entire body spasmed uncontrollably. Cries became near screams, and she clamped a hand over her mouth to try and keep the volume down, knowing she couldn’t control herself. Not when it felt like this.

  The instant she showed signs of coming down from the high, Rann withdrew and slid home again. And again. He let go of her clit, grabbed her hips, and lifted her ass clear up off the bed. Rann straightened as well, until her shoulders were the only thing still on the bed.

  She lost the ability to speak as he thrust his entire length home. The angle, the way he was filling her, it was too much.

  Gayle grabbed a pillow and shrieked into it as her body was tortured and abused with another violent orgasm. Rann all but tore it from her. He didn’t stop, and in fact was increasing his pace.

  “I don’t know if I can take it,” Gayle stammered. “Oh god, it feels so good. Don’t stop, Rann!”

  She was about to lose herself in the ecstasy of the moment until she saw Rann’s face. He was close too. On the edge. She felt him swell inside of her.

  “Don’t stop,” she hissed. “It’s okay. Just fuck me hard, Rann. Please.”

  The last word sent him over the edge. He roared, calling out her name as he exploded inside her. Warmth filled Gayle, and she shivered then jerked and writhed so hard that Rann was forced to clamp down on her until she could feel a soft bite of pain from his grip.

  They rode their orgasms to completion and then some. Rann took a long time to finish completely. When he did, he casually pushed her back into the center of the bed, once more impressing her with his strength, and then he draped himself over her. He supported most of his weight, but enough of it pressed down onto Gayle to cocoon her in it, and she sighed, sagging into a puddle, unable to move and uninterested in doing so.

  “I hope you’re less stressed now,” he rumbled in her ear once his breathing had recovered.

  “Who said anything about me being stressed?”

  He snorted, effectively calling her out, and Gayle laughed. “Okay, fine. But yes, for your information, I am much less stressed.”

  “Good,” he growled. “Me too.”

  “Good,” she echoed.

  They both fell silent, neither having any more words to say. There was something simply comforting about his presence that made Gayle feel like speech was unnecessary.

  She liked his presence. Liked having him around.

  Her life would have been very different if the wild fears that had been in her mind while he was out with his team had come to pass. If Rann had never come back…

  Gayle shook her head. She didn’t want to go down that path. Rann was back, and she was coming to realize that she preferred it that way. Preferred him in her life.

  It scared her to admit that, scared her a lot, but not as much as the thought of being without him did.

  So, where do we go from here?

  The future was open, and Gayle was terrified of it. Things were happening fast.

  Too fast? She wasn’t sure.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Gayle

  She stifled another yawn as a fresh gust of mountain breeze washed over her as she wandered the Atrox compound.

  The fresh air helped awaken her, pleasantly tightening the skin on her face ever so slightly. Inhaling deeply, Gayle enjoyed the smell of nature. Pine trees, clear air, and nothing else. It truly was cleansing for the soul.

  Some more sleep would help.

  After waiting restlessly for Rann to return home, then expending even more energy in each other’s embrace before finally getting to sleep, Gayle was running on empty. She’d slept in until mid-morning, but it didn’t matter. It was going to take a solid night’s worth of sleep for her to feel refreshed.

  Thankfully, she didn’t have to worry about Rann leaving her again tonight. She’d made him promise that he was all hers. Or more correctly, she was his. He had every intent on cashing in on that, and truth be told, she was feeling more okay with it by the hour.

  What she was not okay with was the concept
of watching his next fight.

  That morning, before he’d taken off to handle some clan business related to the failed attempt to find the vampires the night before, he’d asked if she would come watch. At a loss for what to say, Gayle had agreed.

  I really don’t want to go watch him get hurt, she thought to herself, but she’d not been able to find a way to say no. Especially since Rann really wanted her to be there.

  So she had promised, and Gayle wasn’t about to go back on that.

  She finished her walk along the hillside and headed back up toward the little cabin that was Rann’s. The fight was due to start in half an hour or so, and she wanted to get ready and be on time. The inside of the cave was still a maze to her, and though he’d left her directions, Gayle was still a bit nervous of finding her way on time.

  As she climbed the gentle incline, she smiled at the other people out and about on the beautiful Wednesday morning. Normally, she’d be at work now, slaving away in her cubicle, but she’d called in sick that morning, and her boss hadn’t put up any resistance.

  Clearly, they were ready for her to be gone as well.

  Although she was trying to be polite, Gayle felt a frown start to grow between her eyebrows. She smiled and waved at anyone she saw, and while some returned the politeness, more than a few were giving her strange looks.

  Feeling self-conscious at the unexpected attention, she glanced down at her clothing to ensure everything was still in place and that there were no unwanted rips, stains, etc. Everything seemed to be in place. Worried that it was something she couldn’t see, Gayle hurried her pace, eager to get inside and in front of a mirror.

  “Excuse me.”

  The unexpected voice came from off to her left, and she jumped as a figure appeared from between two houses.

  “Goodness, you scared me,” she said, clasping a hand over her chest.

  “I’m so sorry,” the man said, smiling apologetically at her, his gray eyes filling with remorse. “I didn’t intend that. In fact, I was hoping to help you.”

  Gayle paused, surprised. “Help me? How? I don’t think I know you, do I?”

  “No,” the man admitted, a smile coming to his craggy face.

  There was something almost unnatural about it, but despite that thought, Gayle didn’t feel threatened by him.

  “What can I do for you then?” she asked, eager to get back to the cabin she was sharing with Rann and prepare for the afternoon.

  “Correct me if I’m wrong, but you’re the woman who came in with Rann last night, aren’t you?”

  Gayle nodded. “That’s me, yes.”

  The unknown man—she figured him to be a dragon shifter, as well—worked his lips, his mouth small under the almost too-long nose.

  “Is something wrong?” she asked when he didn’t immediately continue. “Is Rann okay?”

  “Oh yes, I’m sure he’s fine.”

  The man looked concerned, and he ran his hand up through his hair, the high-fade cut a modern look among the other shifters she’d seen on the mountain. Many of them preferred a rougher, more rugged appearance. Not this one though.

  “Listen, there’s something you need to know about Rann,” he said at last. “It might not be my place to interfere, but I think it’s your right to know.”

  Gayle immediately grew wary. “I’m listening,” she said cautiously, wondering what he could possibly say about Rann.

  “You look like a nice girl, and I don’t want him taking advantage of you like he has all the others.”

  She froze. “The…others?” she asked in a hoarse voice. “What others?”

  “All the other women that Rann has been with,” the gray-eyed man said, looking down his long nose at her. “He’s sort of a serial womanizer. He only uses them for sex.”

  Gayle snorted. “Everyone has had hookups,” she said with a shrug. “Nothing wrong with that.”

  “Not like Rann,” the man pressed. “He leads them on, then when he gets bored of them, he just up and leaves. No warning, nothing.”

  Gayle opened her mouth to deny it, to say that that couldn’t possibly be the Rann she knew, but before she could speak, a memory came to her. A phrase that the bartender Anne had used the night she’d first met Rann.

  Be careful with this one. He’s not an asshole, just a flight risk.

  A flight risk.

  “Yes,” the man said, watching her reaction. “You see what I mean now, don’t you?”

  Was that what Anne had meant when she’d referred to Rann that way? Was that her way of trying to warn Gayle off from him unless all she wanted was sex?

  Come to think of it, Rann never denied that comment either. He accepted it at face value. He knew.

  Gayle looked around, back down the path she’d come up, remembering the strange looks she’d received. Was that why? Were they looks of pity at Rann’s next victim? It’s not like there were many people who lived there. Word was sure to get around about who she was.

  “I hate to be the one who brings you that news,” the man said, shifting uncomfortably from one foot to the other. “But I felt it better that you know now, instead of later.”

  Gayle shook her head. “I don’t know. How do I know you’re telling the truth?”

  The man looked sad. “I thought you might ask me that,” he said quietly and took out his phone.

  Gayle’s blood ran cold, then began to boil as he flicked through his camera roll. On it was picture after picture of Rann. Each time he was with a different woman. Judging by his proximity to them, they were much more than just friends.

  “Thank you,” she said after she’d had enough, putting out a hand to cover the screen. “I don’t need to see more.”

  Why would she? The evidence was there, and she’d had a warning from the very start about him. She just hadn’t listened, and now she’d fallen hook, line, and sinker for Rann’s bullshit. He’d taken advantage of her when she was hurt and wounded.

  He was no better than Mikey. He just pretended to be.

  I should have trusted my gut and stayed single for a while. I knew it!

  Now she had to deal with yet more embarrassment.

  Some luck she was having with men lately. What else was going to go wrong in her life?

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Rann

  Where is she?

  Rann had enough attention focused on his opponent and the fight to ensure he didn’t lose it. His continued inability to eliminate the one remaining distraction, however, was ensuring that he was also not winning it.

  The two shifters circled each other slowly, watching, waiting. Both were battered and bruised, but so far, no serious injuries had been inflicted. Plenty of minor ones, but nothing that would affect how the fight turned out. If he could just regain his last bit of focus, Rann should be able to end the contest. So far though, that was proving impossible.

  Gayle had said she’d be at his fight, that she would come to watch it. With reluctance, yes, but she’d given him no indicator that she’d lied. Why would she? At this stage of their relationship, or whatever it was, he’d thought they could be open enough to tell the truth about those sorts of things. So, where was she?

  His biggest fear was that something had happened to her. They were deep in the stronghold of the Atrox clan though. It was the middle of the day. The vampires couldn’t reach her up here. Not without someone noticing and raising the alarm. It just wasn’t possible. In fact that’s why he’d felt comfortable letting her go do her own thing. It was safe here.

  Yet now…now he wasn’t so sure.

  “Shit,” he growled, ducking to the side as a searing stream of fire shot past his head.

  “Don’t get sleepy on me over there,” Linck taunted.

  Rann glared at his semi-final opponent. “We both know you can’t beat me,” he growled. “Why bother trying?”

  Linck snorted. “You must be more worried about losing than I thought if you’re resorting to blatant lies like that.”

&nb
sp; “It’s not losing that worries me,” Rann shot back. “Because it ain’t gonna happen.”

  “We’ll see,” Linck rumbled, closing the gap between the two of them in a flash.

  Rann greeted him with a blazing ball of fire aimed right at his chest. Linck reached out and simply grabbed it before it could explode, injected his own fire deeper into its core and flung it back at Rann, while still charging forward.

  “Uh-oh,” Rann muttered, bringing both hands up.

  He could deal with one of the oncoming objects. Not both. Not in time, at least. He slashed a bladed hand down through the fireball, splitting it down the center and sending both halves searing out around him.

  The move dropped him into a crouch, and he immediately sprang up and at Linck. The motion canceled out some of the other fire dragon’s momentum, but Rann still ended up receiving the brunt of the impact. It drove him backward and down hard enough that he rebounded off the stone floor and flipped in midair.

  His agility and training served him well, however, and he landed in a crouch. For his part, Linck came on in a blind charge, leaving himself wide open in a bid to end the fight. Unfortunately for him, it wouldn’t work.

  Rann reached behind him, and fire blossomed out from his clasped hands, forming a spear of fire that blossomed into a three-foot oval at the end.

  As it solidified and he lined up his target, he saw movement in the audience up and behind Linck. His eyes flicked over, and his spirit brightened as he recognized the short-haired redhead staring down into the ring.

  It was Gayle! She’d come after all. Rann’s spirits were immediately buoyed, and he turned his attention to the fight fully for the first time, ready to end it and celebrate with her. Once he won, she wouldn’t look so mad, he was sure.

  Mad? What?

  In his confusion, Rann’s attention shot back to Gayle, confirming to his brain that she looked furious. At him.

  Linck slammed into his midsection for the second time, and this time Rann went down hard, his fire weapon disappearing as the impact scattered his brain. He saw stars, each one filled with angry brown eyes and a tiny nose.