by Sophie Stern
“Did you have a good time?”
“I did, but it was a lot of work.”
“You must be tired.”
“I’m a little overwhelmed.”
Dean didn’t say anything. He just watched her for a minute, waited for her to continue. She liked that about him. He was patient. Sometimes it took her a few minutes to figure out what she wanted to say, how she wanted to say it. Even though Renee was used to pulling information from her submissives, sometimes offering it to others was a challenge.
“Sometimes I wonder if I’ll ever have a family,” she admitted. “Sometimes I wonder if I’ve made the right choices in my life. My last relationship was a long one and it failed horribly. It takes two people to ruin a relationship, but I think I had a lot to do with it. I didn’t know she was lying to me, hiding things from me. I didn’t know she was so unhappy.”
“So you haven’t been in a relationship in awhile, but you feel like you’re ready for one.”
“Maybe,” she said. Then she decided she should just go for it and put herself out there. She had been acting meek and tired. She had been accepting what Dean wanted to offer, but she hadn’t really been putting forth a lot of effort.
It was time for that to change.
Renee was no doormat and she knew how to go after what she wanted.
“I like you,” she said to Dean. “I like you more than is normal for having just met. I thought about you all day and I was glad to come over after work. I might not be the perfect submissive because I don’t have a lot of practice in this area, but I like you a lot. I want to please you. I want to make you happy. I want to play.”
“Are you asking me for a relationship, firecracker?”
“I’m asking you to give me a chance.”
Heat filled his eyes and his nostrils flared at her words. The scent of his arousal filled the room and Renee realized they would not be eating dinner tonight. No, Dean had something else in mind and she knew, quite suddenly, she had been right to tell him she wanted him.
She was glad she had told him her fears about the day. She was glad she had told him her worries. It helped her to feel close to him. It helped her know he would keep her safe.
“I can help you relax, Renee. Is that what you want?”
“Yes.”
“You want me to play with you until you forget your troubles?”
“Yes, please.”
“On your knees, darling. Get on your knees.”
10
He pointed at the floor and she moved quickly. She’d done this before, he knew, and it showed in how gracefully she dropped to her knees. Even in the tiny dress she was wearing, she managed to make kneeling look beautiful and perfect.
She made it look elegant.
How did she do that?
She dropped to the floor and spread her thighs. She wasn’t wearing any panties and he got a lovely view of her shaved pussy. Wet. She was already wet for him. He liked that.
“Lovely,” he murmured. “You have a beautiful body, Renee.” She flushed, and he loved the way her skin turned a perfect shade of pink. She really was sweet, wasn’t she? And different than other women he’d been with.
He’d never been with a switch. Not in a serious relationship, anyway, and he knew what this meant. If he did want to pursue a relationship with Renee, which he very much did, they would never be monogamous. They couldn’t.
It simply wouldn’t happen.
Renee had needs he couldn’t help her with. The need to dominate another person was something you couldn’t stop or help. It wasn’t a character flaw; it was a personality trait. While Renee would be submissive for Dean, there would be moments, days, hours when she needed to be with someone else, when she needed to top.
Could he handle that?
As he looked at her, he thought he might do anything to make her smile. He might do anything to make her happy. Sharing her with another woman or even another man wouldn’t be such a terrible thing, and besides, he’d have other submissives in his life since he’d be working at Anthony’s. He wouldn’t love the subs he worked with, wouldn’t look at them the way he looked at Renee, but they would be there.
They would be present.
Could she handle that?
“You’re perfect,” he whispered, and she smiled at him.
“I feel the same way about you,” she said. Then she raised an eyebrow, “Should I call you ‘Sir’ now?”
“I prefer ‘Dragon Master,’” Dean said without missing a beat. Renee laughed. She chuckled loudly and the sound shot straight to his dick, which was already hard for her, but now it was even harder.
“All right, Dragon Master,” Renee purred. She ran her hands over her thighs and up the sides of her red dress. When she reached the top, she slid the straps of the dress off her shoulders. Her creamy breasts came into view; her pink nipples were hard and pokey.
“Pinch them,” he said, and she obeyed. She pinched and twisted her nipples until they were sticking out even more, and he unbuttoned his pants as she did. Dean pulled his dick out and began to stroke himself as he watched her play with her body.
She was quiet as she touched herself, but she looked up at him with her bright eyes and his heart began to melt.
He wanted her.
He wanted her so much.
It wasn’t just teenage lust. No, he was far too old, too mature for that sort of thing. Dean wanted Renee for always. He wanted to keep her: not as a pet, but as a bride. He wanted to marry her. He could already tell.
And wasn’t that strange?
He hadn’t toyed with the idea of marriage for years. After his relationship with Barbara failed, he thought he’d never love again. He knew he sure as hell wouldn’t be getting married again, yet here he was, thinking about taking a sub.
Was that so wrong?
Renee kept touching her nipples, and Dean stroked himself as he watched. She liked being watched, he noticed. She was wetter now, more eager. She was rubbing her breasts with her hands, then pinching and twisting her nipples, and then massaging her breasts more.
“Finger yourself,” he said. The words didn’t sound crass or uncouth to him, though they might to someone else. Renee didn’t bat an eye. He wanted to see her slide her fingers inside of herself. He wanted to see how she’d look when she played with her pussy.
She was perfect.
Sweet.
Delicious.
And he wanted more.
Renee trailed her hands over her breasts and down her belly. Her dress bunched around her waist, but she barely noticed as she moved her hands over her thighs and between her legs. She adjusted her knees so they were spread a bit wider, and then she did it.
She touched herself.
He gripped his cock as she stroked her pussy with one finger. She slid it over her clit and rubbed it in a quick circle, then she smiled at Dean and pressed it into her pussy.
She closed her eyes when she did.
She groaned.
That made Dean groan.
Fuck.
If he wasn’t careful, he was going to spill his load like a fucking teenager, and he couldn’t have that. He was too old for such nonsense, too grown up for such a silly thing, but then, that was Dean.
Wild.
Unpredictable.
Not-so self-controlled.
Renee added another finger and began fucking herself quickly. She leaned back on one hand. This gave Dean an even better view, and oh, was it a lovely view. She was flushed and sweat was glistening on her skin. She closed her eyes.
“Open your eyes, baby,” he murmured.
She did, looking surprised.
“I want you to watch me when you come.”
“You want me to come?”
“Yes, Renee. Finger yourself until you come. Do it for me. Watch me while you play with yourself, then make yourself explode. Will you do that for me, firecracker?”
“Yeah,” she said, breathless. “Yeah, I’ll do that for you.”
“You’re gorgeous, Renee. I have the feeling you aren’t told that nearly enough.”
“No, Dragon Master,” she murmured. Her eyelids looked heavy and she struggled to keep them open. “Not very much.”
“You’re fucking beautiful. I want to feast on you, Renee. I want to lick every inch of you. I want to eat your pussy and make you come on my face, and then I want to fuck you until you forget everything but the sound of my voice.”
“Fuck,” she groaned, pressing her fingers faster and faster into herself.
His dick was hard in his hand, and he knew he wouldn’t be able to hold back much longer. She was close, too. He could tell. Just a little bit more and she’d reach the edge of the cliff and fall.
Just a little bit more and sweet Renee was going to fly.
“Come for me, firecracker,” he said, and that was all it took. She cried out, closing her eyes as the orgasm swept over her. Dean came at the same time, whispering her name as his seed poured out. He made a mess, but he didn’t care.
She was perfect.
She was everything.
When it was over, Renee looked up at him with the sweetest smile on her face. Then she crawled over to him and began to lick his hand and cock, cleaning him with her tongue.
Fuck.
A dragon could get used to this.
11
After her orgasm, Dean took Renee into the bathroom and drew her a bath, then sat with her while she soaked in the tub. It was sweet and tender and everything she had hoped for and more.
She could get used to this.
Dean told her about himself and she told him about herself and the two of them bonded as the bubbles worked their magic on her tired and sore muscles.
As they talked about their lives, Renee felt the stress of the week begin to melt away.
Suddenly, she wasn’t worried about her job.
She wasn’t worried about her performance with Ava.
She wasn’t worried about anything.
She was just being.
Dean made her feel like she could just be. He made her feel like he would take care of her. Is this what having a Dom was like? No wonder everyone loved it so much. Renee was used to caring for her subs, used to giving herself for them, but she realized that her relationships had been missing something.
They didn’t give back.
At least, they didn’t give back in the way they should have. In a relationship, each person needed to give, but each person needed to benefit, too. Sometimes the balance was unequal, but it shouldn’t remain unequal indefinitely. There would be days when one person needed to give more and days when one person needed to receive more.
That was fine.
That was normal.
In her relationships, though, she had always been the giver. She’d always been the one who poured herself into taking care of her subs. She hadn’t been taken care of very much, and to be honest, she kind of missed that. She could get used to having Dean take care of her, but she’d take care of him, too.
She could meet his needs.
He was a dragon who had been wounded, hurt. She could see that in the way he looked at her. He wanted to be with her. She could tell. It was obvious from his scent, but it was also obvious from his eyes. Dean looked at Renee like he was struggling with whether to go for it or hold himself back.
And oh, she didn’t want him to hold himself back.
They would both hurt each other if they were together. That much was inevitable. Couples always hurt each other. They wouldn’t mean to and they wouldn’t try to, but it would happen. Would their love be strong enough to get them through it? Would their desire for each other be enough?
She thought it would.
Hoped it would.
But she couldn’t be sure.
They went to bed together and curled up in Dean’s bed. Two nights in a row she’d slept with this dragon and Renee thought two nights just wasn’t enough. Maybe tomorrow after the club, they’d end up here again. Maybe they’d end up together once more. Maybe it would be the perfect way to end the day.
“Sleep, princess,” Dean told her, stroking her hair. They were both tired and exhausted, and within a few minutes, she was, in fact, completely asleep.
***
Renee and Dean had breakfast together before she hurried home to get ready for work. He had to prepare for his class that evening and she had paperwork to do at the office. They would have dinner together before his class and then it would be time for Renee and Ava to get together.
Oh, she was looking forward to playing with her new little sub.
Ava was fun and exciting and even though Renee had enjoyed submitting to Dean the last few days, she was ready to top tonight. She was ready to bring her submissive to orgasm in front of a crowd.
Renee was ready to be watched.
She pulled on jeans and a blouse, along with a pair of red converse. This wasn’t what she usually wore to work, but it was Friday, so the dress code was a bit more lenient, and Renee wanted to sneak into the childcare rooms to play with the kids today. She had enjoyed her time with Amanda the day before and was hoping she’d get to help with story time or the afternoon craft today.
By the time she arrived at work, the daycare was in full swing. Parents were dropping their children off before heading to work. A few of the dragon shifters had careers that required them to commute. Several of them took a boat together to Nellenston, where they spent the day in corporate offices. While most of the dragons preferred to stay on-island for work, several of them had businesses that took them elsewhere.
“I’m glad we have the option to leave our kids with shifters,” one of the parents had admitted to Renee. The idea of taking a baby shifter to a human daycare center was overwhelming for some of the parents. While most dragons didn’t begin to shift until puberty hit, some of them were able to shift early.
What if that was their child?
What would happen if a baby or toddler shifted randomly in the middle of the human world?
Would their child be cared for?
Or would the caregivers freak out?
Although human-shifter relations improved every year, there were still risks that came with being a shifter. Poachers were real and they would lie in wait for the opportune moment. None of the parents wanted to put their children at risk, especially after the incident at Kade’s mansion last year when several poachers had managed to infiltrate a gala.
Renee made her way past the parents and children who were checking in and went to her office. She sat down in her desk and leaned back in the chair. Despite the noise and chaos surrounding her, she was calm. Relaxed. She was normal. Fine.
She was fine.
It was all thanks to Dean.
Somehow, he had managed to make her feel like everything would be okay tonight. She hadn’t even told him that she was nervous, but somehow, he had known.
“I’m always nervous when I play with a new partner,” he admitted over breakfast. “But you’re going to be great, Renee. Really great.”
She clung to that thought. She held tight to it. Dean believed in her. He’d only known her a couple of days, but he believed in her. How long had it been since someone completely believed in Renee?
Too long.
Forever, maybe.
The day passed quickly in a haze of questions, bandages, hugs, and stories. Renee stopped by every class and participated in two different story times and three craft projects. By the time she left for her house, she was covered in glitter, glue, and boogers, but she didn’t mind at all.
She liked her job, mostly, and today had been a good day.
Now it was “go” time.
Now it was time for her to fly or fail.
She stripped down, showered, and dried her hair. Then Renee put on a simple sundress to wear while s
he made a quick spaghetti dinner for her and Dean. They were both going to need their energy later, so it would be a bigger meal than she might normally have. As she cooked, she thought of him. She thought of how lucky she felt to have him in her life. She thought of how lucky she felt to be around him every day. She thought of how lucky she felt to be able to sleep with him, play with him, submit to him.
And she thought she might feel lucky if this relationship would continue.
She thought she might feel lucky if he didn’t walk away.
12
Dean stood outside of her door for a long time before he finally knocked. His head was filled with thoughts of her. He couldn’t quite get Renee out of his mind.
It was crazy.
It had only been a few days.
He was crazy.
Yet somehow, he didn’t feel crazy. Somehow, he didn’t feel like this was too fast. Somehow, all he could think of was her and the dragon side of him whispered the word he hadn’t thought in forever.
Mate.
She was his mate.
He wanted her. His dragon wanted her. He needed her. She was the one he was meant to be with. Did she feel it, too? She had to. He thought she had to.
Finally, he raised his hand and knocked on the door. Three knocks in quick succession. She opened almost immediately. She’d been waiting for him. He liked knowing that. He enjoyed the idea that she was looking forward to seeing him as much as he was looking forward to seeing her.
“I missed you today,” he said, and kissed her. He didn’t make it soft and sweet. No, Dean went all out with this kiss. He wanted her to remember for the rest of the day. He wanted her to know exactly how much he had missed her, wanted her to know exactly what he thought of her.
“I missed you, too, Dragon Master,” she murmured, and grabbed his shirt. She pulled him back in for another kiss and he reveled in the way her little hands felt pressed against his chest. The scent of spaghetti and meatballs suddenly filled his nose and he pulled back.
