by Milly Taiden
She slipped on her thermals and then put on warm clothing, thinking of going to check out the site herself. She still hadn’t asked Ice and Frost what they had seen. Going down the stairs, the scent of food made her stomach growl. They’d missed dinner the previous night. Though they’d gotten up to snack on some crackers and cheese, but she needed food.
“Ah, there she is.” Frost winked, filling a mug with fresh brewed coffee.
“If that’s for me, I may kiss you.” She grinned, loving his easy smile and that soothing tone he had that always calmed her.
“And what do I get for feeding you?” Ice said, his voice a soft growl. She glanced to her right and he stood in front of the stove, flipping pancakes on a griddle and frying bacon and eggs in two different pans. His gaze roamed her from head to toe, warming her instantly. God, this man was going to be the death of her.
“You,” she mumbled, taking slow steps toward him and stopping in front of his large frame. She grabbed his T-shirt, gripping the soft material in her fists and yanking him down. He lowered, his head level with hers. “You get whatever you want.”
“Those are dangerous words, love.”
She licked her lips and leaned in, brushing her lips over his, then pulled back and smiled. “Try me.”
He wrapped his arms around her waist and picked her up, pressing her into his body, keeping their kiss going.
“Hey, I’d like some breakfast.” Frost chuckled.
Ice pulled back, his gaze tumultuous with desire. “I can think of better things to eat.”
She gulped. “That sounds amazing, but I need food, too.”
Ice’s eyes flashed blue fire. “Then I’ll feed you first, and I’ll eat later.”
Oh, boy. He was making her hot in her thermals.
“I’m there, too,” Frost told her. “I’m in the mood to eat some honey.”
Good god. They were so going to kill her from all the sex. Then Juliet came to mind and guilt ate at Raven. Her friend could be hurt, dying, anything, while she was enjoying herself with two men hotter than the sun.
She studied the guys as they did their things in the kitchen. She noted earlier how tall they were, how wide and strong their chests were. With the light hair and eyes, she wondered about their ancestry.
Vikings, she thought, were big strong men who battled a lot. In that part of the world, light features were prevalent. She imagined a scene in her mind with her two men in leather outerwear and helmets with horns. Thick metal swords in one hand, muscles bulging, and a shield in the other.
They fought the evil dragon that came to eat the village and their sovereign. They were the last two warriors on earth who could save them.
As the dragon approached, the men stood strong in front of her, their beloved ruler and queen. She noted how their legs were corded with powerful sinew and their asses were good enough to bite.
They charged the killer dragon, blocking its fire with their shields, jabbing the scaled creature when possible. But the dragon was fast with its claws. After a few minutes, all the leather clothing the men had on had been stripped away, leaving them in large loincloths that barely covered the jewels.
Raven thought back to how the guys felt as they pushed in and out of her in synchronized harmony, creating the strongest orgasm she’d ever had.
A loud noise shook her from her fantasizing. She was bent over the table, Ice jammed against her body, his cock positioned exactly where it needed to be to enter her and stretch her like last night.
“Whatever you were thinking, my love, I like it. It has you horny and wet. Perhaps you’d like me to take care of that need in you?” he said.
Fuck, would she ever love that. If she had a skirt on, she let him have his way, but she didn’t and fighting off the layers needed to keep warm would take forever and completely ruin the mood.
Instead, she giggled. Fuck, she wasn’t a virgin teenager anymore. “I was thinking about you and Frost as Vikings, slaying a deadly dragon come to ravage their queen.” She caught the look between the guys and wondered what that was all about.
“Did the dragon steal the queen away to his lair where he licked and sucked on her body all night long?” Ice glided his hands down her sides, fingers tweaking her nipples as they passed, brushing her clit before sliding between her legs to spread them farther apart.
A shudder zipped through her body—desire, lust, need. How she wanted him, them, covering her, making her come. Then Juliet came to mind again, reminding her she had a responsibility not akin to heathenism.
She pushed Ice back and sighed. “Play later, guys,” she said. “I’m really worried about my best friend. Her not contacting anyone about her whereabouts in days is not like her. Hell, she tells me when she goes to the bathroom.”
Ice snorted on his way back to the stove. “That’s a bit TMI for me.”
Raven agreed.
“Speaking of Viking and dragons, sweetheart, what do you think of dragons?” Frost asked.
That caught her off-guard. “I-I’m not sure. They look cool, but I’m not sure about the killing and all.”
“Raven,” Frost said, “that only happens in books or movies. In real life, dragons are hot, sexy, and hungry for love.“ Ice glared at Frost a second before turning back to the food on the stove.
Frost raised his brows and gazed at her with a sinful grin. “Raven, have you ever seen a real dragon?”
She laughed so hard, she snorted. “Please, Frost. What kind of fantasy land do you live in?”
He took her fingers and kissed them. “No, really,” he said. “You’ve heard about shifters, right?”
“Everyone’s heard of shifters,” she answered. “I’ve never met one, that I know of.” Her eyes narrowed. What were they getting at?
Frost sat back in his chair. “Consider yourself met, then.”
She laughed. “Are you saying you’re a...a dragon shifter?”
“Yes,” Ice said behind her, “we are.”
Raven looked over her shoulder and gasped. “Holy shit. That would explain why you’re so damn hot. Both of you.”
Ice’s eyes flashed. “Is that your animal?” she asked.
“Yes,” Frost answered, coming up behind her, flattening his body to hers, “both our animals want you over and over.”
“What about the men, though?” she asked with a flirt to her words.
Ice pushed the pan off the hot burner then was flush against her in a heartbeat. Both hot bodies melted her cheese, making them one hell of a patty melt. “Both men,“ he replied, “are frantically thinking of ways to keep you naked and stuffed with our cocks.”
Raven’s knees wobbled. Frost grabbed her around the waist and pulled out a chair for her. “But first, you are going to eat, and then we’ll look for your friend. She’s important to you and we understand that.”
Her heart cracked. His words said so much more than the mere letters he used. She saw the depth of care and concern they had for others. She’d heard that many shifters were self-centered and believed that humans should be second class to them. Or worse yet, shifters who thought of humans as food and bothersome. But not these men.
“I’d like to personally see where Juliet was working. Did you see anything when you flew—” It hit her then. “Oh my god. You said you didn’t have a plane, yet you flew. Do you mean you shifted into dragons and flew?” At the smiles on the men’s faces, Raven leaned back in her chair and laughed.
Oh my god, this couldn’t be happening. This was way out of anything she could possibly imagine. Wait till her mom heard about this. Wait. Maybe that wouldn’t be such a great idea. Then she’d talk more about grandchildren. Raven wasn’t ready for that. Not even close to being ready. Well, maybe. She needed a drink.
Low and behold, her phone rang. Elton John’s “The Bitch is Back” sang out. Yup, the bitch had perfect timing. Her mother probably had a microchip implanted on Raven when she was a baby. Just like she had her cat chipped. But with a hearing device attached.
“Hello, Mother,” she said.
“Good morning, my sweet daughter,” her mom cooed. “How are you this morning? Did you have company last night? All night? Hmmm?”
Raven slapped a hand on her forehead. How did her mother know that kind of shit? Whenever she became a mom, she hoped she’d learn the damn secret. She’d really like to know.
“You call for a reason, Mom?” Raven asked.
“When do I need a reason to call my baby girl?” her mother replied. “Besides, I want to know about your men.”
“Mom,” Raven said, “that’s none of your business—”
“You got laid, then. Excellent—” her mom cut in. Raven wanted to scream and pull her hair out.
“Mom,” she replied with a sigh, “I’m going out to look for Juliet today. Check some places she might’ve been. Talk to the locals.”
“That’s good, dear. But be careful. And call me. Every few hours.”
“Every few hours,” Raven blurted. “Mom, that’s not practical.”
“Well,” Mom continued, “if I don’t hear from you in a reasonable amount of time, I’m calling in the National Guard. Do you hear me?”
Raven rolled her eyes. Drama Mama at her best. “Yes, Mom. I hear you. Look, I need to go. I’ll call later. Love you. Bye.” She hung up before her mother could get in another word.
Geesh, Raven wouldn’t be able to handle her mom if she called like this all day. Maybe she could “not accidentally on purpose” leave her phone here at the house. That would be nice. Impossible, but nice.
11
Raven about shit her thermals when the men stripped to shift. They were both hard, standing in front of her bundled in enough clothes to keep warm in an iceberg for a hundred years.
“Mmmm,” Frost groaned. “Even through all that material, I can still smell your wet pussy, sweetheart.”
Ice breathed deeply. “Yes, we’ll have to take care of that when we get back. Frost, you better carry her. My dragon won’t want to wait if he has her that close for any length of time.”
“Carry me? What?” She hadn’t really thought this through when she agreed they should fly there in their animal forms. Before her eyes, the men shifted. Her mind flipped at the sight and no words or thoughts came to her to describe the transformation. Only the emotions of witnessing beautiful magic and the majestic miracle of nature coursed through her.
Then when Frost’s dagger claws wrapped around her body and lifted her high into the air, those incredible wonderous feelings flew out the damn window. She put her gloved hand over her mouth and screamed. She couldn’t help it. She completely trusted Frost, but her natural instincts, when lifted off the ground and not in a huge metal fuselage, were to shit out a cow and three kittens. The cow was on its way as they scooted over the town above the roof tops.
As they gained speed and height, she started to settle in. Frost held her gently at an angle that allowed her to see between his claws yet be protected from most of the icy wind. On the bright side of all this, if she got motion sickness, all she needed to do was open her mouth. Gravity would do the rest. Then she thought about anyone on the ground under them at that time. Not so good for them.
She focused on the scenery, trying to not get sick. The land was like nothing she’d ever seen. On TV, she’d seen commercials for Alaskan cruises and such, but they did no justice to the immense beauty before her.
Blue mountains with white peaks reached for the clouds. Herds of antelope and moose charged along the flattened planes. Rivers sparkling with diamond ripples rushed toward their destination.
In front of them, Ice pushed his wings to his side and nose-dived toward the ground. Raven sucked in a sharp breath. What was he doing? She waited for him to pull up. Any second now. Her heart jumped into her throat. He was going to slam into the water. At the very last fucking nano-second, the jerk arched his back, spread his wings, and leveled out over the lake.
From his mouth white smoke blew out. Wait, that wasn’t smoke. The water below him froze into thick ice as his breath touched it. Holy shit. He was a freezing-air breathing dragon. That sounded stupid, but it was the truth.
Ice banked to the side and gained height to rejoin them. She was going to kick his ass for scaring the absolute crap out of her. Did he not think about others when having fun? She could’ve had a heart attack.
Barking far below caught her attention. She looked down to see a pack of wolves running with them, try to keep up as if chasing a car. Well, they had a surprise coming if they planned to pee on this wheel.
Ice barrel-rolled and turned flips in midair. The dogs jumped and yipped as if cheering him on. Then he put out his paw and wiggled his claws. Something white fell from his hand. Snowflakes. She gasped at how pretty they fell to the ground around the dogs. They leapt into the air, biting and licking to catch the flakes in their mouths. She did that as a child, too. But hers came from a cloud, not a magical, to-die-for dragon.
Gradually, they descended toward a white plain butted against a brown and green surface. When they were close to the ground, she realized the white plain was an iceberg and the colored surface was the permafrost.
Frost landed on one foot as gentle as a bird on a limb. And that’s where his surefootedness stopped. His large body leaned to the side and he hopped on that one foot moving backward, trying to gain his balance.
Raven heard Ice laughing, or what she guessed was a dragon laugh, his mouth open with a screech and head bobbing up and down. Then her cage jolted a bit and she came to a stop.
She peeked through the claws to see Frost flat on his back, his one leg and foot—with her in it—extended into the air. Human laughing caught her attention when Ice came closer. Holy shit, he was butt naked and looked damn good. Really freaking good. He stuck his hands through the claws and took hold of her.
“I got her, Mr. Swift-on-his-feet.” The claw opened and pulled away.
Before she was set on the ground, Frost said, “Kiss my ass, dickhead. I took care of our—” he cleared his throat—"of our guest.” She looked over her shoulder at Frost. His too-wide grin looked goofy. She turned back to Ice to see him glaring at Frost. What the hell was that about?
She spotted something on the ice and tore from Ice’s hold. “Is that Juliet’s stuff?” She carefully made her way across the berg.
“I don’t know for sure,” Ice said.
Raven nodded. “It probably was her.” Raven tapped on an instrument embedded in the ice.
Frost said, “I think that’s a device to measure distance.”
Raven straightened. “Ah, that would tell if the iceberg was retracting or growing, right?”
“I think so,” Frost replied.
The thumping of helicopter noise echoed in their surroundings. She looked around but didn’t see anything. Ice walked—still naked as the day he was born—around a high tower of ice. “Come look at this,” he said.
She and Frost picked their way over. She couldn’t help but sneak a peek, or three, at the other naked body beside her. “Aren’t you guys cold?” she asked.
Frost chuckled. “We’re ice dragons. We were meant to be in the cold. Dragon and human form.”
“Cool,” she said.
“Of course,” he continued, “if you’re offended by nudity, we can put clothes on.”
Raven raised her glove-covered hands. “No offense taken here. Nope. None. Keep up the good work.” She snickered at her pun “keep up.” Good god, now she was laughing at her own jokes. The cold was messing with her ability to be a strong, professional woman. Instead, she was acting like a fool. Could she appear any dumber in front of gorgeous males?
They stopped next to Ice and stared at an oil rig several hundred yards from them. Men worked around the platform area, moving pipe, rope, and other things she couldn’t make out. She chuckled again at “make out.” For crying out loud. She needed more sex to get it off the brain.
The helicopter they heard wasn’t the normal four-seater TV statio
ns and traffic spotters used. This looked to be almost military. The body was narrow with black plating covering from below the windshield to the rotor.
Ice put his arm out and scooted her behind him. It was something a male would do when trying to protect someone. Then both guys squatted. They were at the same height as last night when she stood with her leg draped over Frost’s shoulder while his tongue worked magic on her. Fuck, that was sooo good.
Both guys breathed deeply and turned to her, their animals flickering in their eyes.
“What?” she said as innocently as possible. She pointed to the rig. “Tell me what’s going on. I can’t see that far.”
“A man in an expensive suit got out of the chopper and greeted one of the workers,” Ice said.
Frost added, “The worker looks sick. Kinda yellowish.”
The only thing she could think to cause that would be jaundice or something wrong with the liver. But she’d only heard of it in babies, not adults. The guys were quiet for too long. She poked Ice’s side. “What’s going on?”
“The two men seem to be arguing. Don’t know why, though. Frost?”
“No idea,” he replied. “I can’t read the lips from this distance.”
“Is there a company name or logo on the helicopter or the rig?” she asked. If she needed to research these people, she should get all the info she could.
Frost answered. “Riggs Oil and Gas.”
Appropriate, she thought, seeing as oil rigs were their product. As she watched, the chopper lifted and turned tail, heading away from their location. Smoke hovering in the air made their disappearance look like magic.
She studied a stretch of the land burning. “Why is the ground on fire?”
“They are melting the permafrost,” Ice answered.
“Why would they do that?”
