Dragon Heart

by Susan Arden

  She giggled. “Yeah, I guess I did the seducing in this relationship. Who knew this is where we’d end up?”

  “Trust me, I had my suspicions all summer,” he whispered, lifting up only to peel off his shirt before he recaptured her body. “You had me going for weeks when you were single and very much on the prowl.”

  “Only for you, Mr. Navy SEAL,” she assured him, running her hands along his arms and wriggling her hips provocatively against him.

  “Good answer,” he replied, raising her arms above her head.

  “What are you thinking, my love?”

  “That I need to be inside you. Deep inside.”

  “Farther than my mind?” she whispered in a husky voice.

  “Are you saying that you’re ready?” He searched her eyes, feeling his cock turn harder than a steel pipe, and his chest constricted. Once he claimed her, she’d be his through eternity. Bonded souls until the end of time as eternals. He’d promised her three weeks of recuperation after giving birth, and even though she was the one that fought the timeline, he was the one who each night was exquisitely tortured. As he watched her bathe, her skin glowing in the heated bathwater, he’d almost shattered his back molars in wanting to sink his cock fully into her.

  “I am—more than ready to take this final step. After all I’ll be claiming you as well, Lord Herensuge,” she returned, locking her gaze with his.

  “Baby, I love you and now you’ll find out how much.” He used his knee to wedge open her legs until he was snugly between her beautiful thighs. “Ah. Feels so fucking good I might keep you busy for hours … days.”

  “It might feel better if you weren’t wearing any pants,” she snorted, tugging on her wrists. “You can’t hold me in this position and undress yourself. So Mr. Navy SEAL, which is it going to be?”

  Laughing, he kissed the tip of her nose. “Correct, almighty one. We’ll both have to bend a little … if we want to achieve satisfaction in the end.” He let that permeate her tumultuous little mind.

  “I can smell a trap a mile away. Spill!”

  Exhaling, he nodded. “What are your thoughts on relocating? And before you go ballistic—”

  “Drake O’Connor Herensuge!” she roared. She sucked in her breath, shaking her head as her cheeks turned bright pink. “I just finished the nursery. All fire retardant materials. Do you realize how long that took?”

  “One word,” he whispered, skimming his mouth along her jaw as she twisted under him. “Harmony.”

  As if a switch had been flipped, she stopped struggling and relaxed. He picked his head up and their gazes fused. “You’re serious,” she said.

  “Never been more,” he assured her. “Without proof that Pestrolii has indeed been dealt with, Denver isn’t a safe place. He or one like him could track you or our children, and in this city, who has your back? It’s too large and too congested with humans and the borders can’t be bonded. Your father and brother have contained the council and the vote to unite with Europe went smoothly.”

  “Babe, you don’t have to tell me twice. Yes. I know Sol will let us crash at my old apartment until we find a place. The nursery is all set up.”

  “Yeah?”

  “A little recounting. My love, I was the one who found Harmony and relocated there first. It’s got friends, Cajun cooking, Wi-Fi, and I don’t have to ride on a donkey up a mountain. Besides, I like Louisiana and so did you. Now let me go!”

  “I’m letting your hands go, Lady Herensuge but only … ” He slid his fingers down her arms and didn’t stop until he cupped her tits, flicking his thumbs over her nipples, savoring the pert peaks pressing against his fingertips. “Because I’ve gotta get inside you. Now.”

  He rose up and away from her; it was excruciating to look down at Shay without touching her. She sat and removed her nightgown, every nuance a sensuous tease to him. Oh holy fuck! His cock jerked to full attention when she displayed her body—her naked, lovely and lush body—to his eyes.

  “C’mere. Love when you go commando,” she whispered, crooking her finger as he unzipped his pants and nearly tripped trying to walk, jump, and remove his feet from his pant legs.

  He was beyond hard, skating the edge of sanity, ready to fully claim Shay as his mate. He stroked his fingers through her damp heat and gritted his teeth, hungry to follow suit with his crown.

  “Baby,” he groaned, swirling his finger around her clit in an arduous circle and relishing how she bit her lip and rolled her hips, widening her legs. She was as eager for him as he was for her. God, she did it for him.

  Between her legs, he dipped his hips, lower until his crown was aligned with her pussy and he couldn’t hold back. He drove his rod inside her, squeezing his ass cheeks and arching upward. Hot heaven wrapped around him, and he groaned so forcefully the walls shook as he worked his cock into her. “You feel so good,” he growled, bowing forward and clamping his mouth down on her neck. No holding back when she moaned, arching her lovely neck for him, and he bit, piercing her skin and infusing her blood with dragon magick.

  Their minds linked and he absorbed what she felt, tightening his hold on her as she was overcome with the feeling of falling through the air but he hauled her closer to him. “You’re mine,” he said against her ear. “Forever mine.”

  “Drake, yes!” she pleaded.

  He bit her neck again and their minds cinched together entirely. Shay was filled with the rush of warmth—golden glowing fire—and she moaned his name.

  “It’s time, kitten,” he prompted her, tipping up her face and nodding. “Your turn.”

  She bared her canines. They were sharper and longer than her leopardess teeth and he presented his neck to her. By instinct she’d know exactly what to do.

  “This is the final step, baby,” he murmured and she bit into him, lancing his skin and the erotic sensation gave way to hurling them through the ethereal. Never had he experienced the starry skies of the universe as he did when she sucked the skin at his neck, filling the void in his existence with her female part feline, part dragon magick, and from this moment forward, he was hers. Bonded as dragon mates, an unbreakable vow until the end of time.

  Lifting her mouth, she said, “I love you. I so freaking love you!” She smiled at him, encircling his shoulders with her arms. “You’re my mate.” She rightly claimed him with all the aplomb of having walked through fire to find him and basically she had on many levels. He pumped his hips against her, their skin slapping together as waves of pleasure washed over him.

  Together they wound their bodies around each other and they returned to the ethereal realm, existing in both dragon and human soul forms, pure energy that flickered with riveting ecstasy. Shay delivered into Drake’s body her own magick now housed within her as his mate, Lady Herensuge, mistress of dragons in her own right, his lover, holder of his heart.

  All at once, he roared his pleasure, releasing the erotically tempered red-black flame across her skin, and together they imploded into one another, their climax exploding like a supernova and reforming all at once. She clung to him as he slammed into her over and over, their bodies flickering between energy and shifter forms until finally they both clung to each other, panting in shuttered breaths, their heartbeats racing, and perspiration covering their skin.

  She met his gaze and smiled, tracing her fingers over his face as shockwaves of their release rippled through their bodies. “Our connection is mind-blowing.”

  “And very much interwoven cogent bonds—locked in place.” She’d felt what he felt, every shade and tone of ecstasy—their minds and souls were linked. That was what he’d tried to define for her—but what she now knew was beyond words and ideas.

  He adjusted his hips, lifting her slender leg along his body, and didn’t even try to hide the smug smile of satisfaction overtaking his lips. “Mine. Finally. All fucking mine.”

  “Yep. Hope you can handle me, my lord. I have no intention of being struck dumb by that display of astonishing lovemaking, even thoug
h it was stupefying.” She laughed at the widening of his eyes.

  “This calls for an encore … does it? Careful, kitten. It’s been three weeks and I’m hungry. Wickedly hungry with only one dish on my menu.” The piston motion of his hips sped up with each of her moans. She raked her fingernails down his back as he arched, driving his cock deeper into her. Shay teased his senses. She squeezed his dick with her muscles, milking him and he pumped harder, moving faster stroke by stroke. Reaching down between her legs, he pressed the pad of his thumb to her erect nubbin, toggling her clit, and pummeling her with his cock. He didn’t stop until her eyes rolled upward in her beautiful head. “That’s it. Let go and come. All over me. Again, baby.”

  He hoisted her hips, driving himself all the way home. At the point of no return, he roared her name. They both rode a wave into another eternal rush as he nuzzled and bit her neck, nestling his cock deep inside her where he’d found his comfort and his release. He was home in her. Didn’t matter where they lived, not to him, as long as he could protect and provide for her and his children.

  “I love you. Forever,” he whispered against her mouth, relishing the intoxicated sounds she uttered in pleasure after they’d made love. Her whimpers of satisfaction brought him contentment, eased the flaming of his soul. Only with her could he be as fierce and predatory as he was a tender lover.

  Only with her. Shay Barclay O’Connor. Lady Herensuge. With one hot kiss on a sultry summer night, his kitten had ensnared him and slain his dragon heart.

  More from This Author

  (From Collared for a Night by Susan Arden)

  The immense grounds of the Downtown Den lay just beyond the trees. A private club for shifters located in the hip LoDo section of Denver just east of the river. The Den catered to all sorts of shifter appetites. From gourmet meals, a jazz club, and then upstairs to the individual rooms reserved for more private, sensual affairs.

  Diana arrived at the Den shortly before nine for her appointment. Rolling up to the front of the guard tower, she was surprised at the change since her last visit. During the day, when she’d met with an intake counselor, she’d been ushered into the club by a side entrance and had seen virtually no one other than a few staff moving about the interior, tidying and getting ready for the evening events. The private club was gaining popularity due to its ability to cater to the exclusive, decadent proclivities of members and a few select guests as well as provide services for first timers in need of heat cycle sex. The Den maintained a highly-regarded reputation of anonymity for clients, assisted by a guardhouse stationed on the perimeter, admitting private members and permitted guests on the nightly admit list. The counselor assured Diana that tonight her name would appear on that list. Two guards with holstered weapons stepped up to the driver’s window. “Your name?” the one with a buzz cut asked, briefly flashing a pair of amber irises in her direction. “Diana Hambre.” She’d opted to use her own name. Either she trusted the Den completely to keep her safe or not.

  Hell, she’d better be able to trust the Den, considering she was about to let an alpha male sexually service her out-of-control needs for the evening. The thought sent a shiver rocketing up her spine. A few more hours, and this yearning to grind her hips against something hard would lessen. She prayed it would, twisting the hem of her dress between her fingers.

  Neither of the guards cracked a smile tonight, nor had they when she’d visited a day ago. Their clipped tones directing the driver to hand over her admission form pulled her already taut nerves further apart, and she fumbled in touching the fingerprint identification screen the silent guard offered to her through the lowered car window.

  “Invalid. One more time, Ms. Hambre. Press firmly on the red circle.” The guard handed her back the electronic scanner. Her finger trembled as she watched the blinking red light.

  The guard nodded curtly at the change to a green flashing light. He stepped back, saying. “Thank you. You’re all set.”

  Her heartbeat slowed once her admission to the Den had been settled, and she sniffed the air. These two guards with their golden eyes were shifters, beta wolves, and held no interest for her even though their muscular physiques might help assuage her cravings in a pinch. But they couldn’t totally abate the mind-blowing urge for sex.

  The driver grunted a response before starting through the gates that slowly swung open. A wrought iron fence surrounded the immaculately-kept grounds featuring yards upon yards of well-manicured grass rivaling a golf course. The Den was housed in the three-story brick and cement building up ahead, lit with flickering gas flames in ornate lanterns on massive columns. Two doormen decked in crimson-colored overcoats, dark hats and white gloves were at the front of the line, assisting clientele from their cars into the building. The doormen’s movements were reminiscent of military precision in that no one actually milled about even though the parking lot was filling up fast.

  Diana sat back against the leather seat, crossing and uncrossing her legs. She tapped her long manicured fingers against her knee, refusing to rearrange the hem of her dress for the fifteenth time. She’d opted to wear a short little number, a black A-line dress and a laced up corset with garters to set the mood. Tonight required a little more motivation than signing forms and paying her bill.

  A queue had formed in which shiny black cars similar to the one in which she rode were creeping toward the front entrance. She lowered the window a titch, glancing up at the overcast sky. Ribbons of clouds appeared to wrap around the sliver of a moon just visible and perilously perched overhead. Soon, the moon would fully rise and the heat within her would boil. The skin all over her body sweltered.

  Diana jumped when the doorman opened her door, welcoming her into the club. After nodding, she moved past his gloved hand that held open one of the massive front doors. The heels of her strappy shoes announced her arrival within the entryway, tapping out of time to the music playing. She walked toward a woman whose inviting smile drew her across the polished floor.

  Under a twinkling chandelier, the woman’s copper-colored eyes mesmerized her. For a long moment, she forgot the lavish surroundings of the club and her reason for coming.

  “Ms. Hambre, welcome to the Den. I’m Sherry. I’ll escort you upstairs.” The woman extended her hand. Sherry’s tone and solid handshake calmed Diana’s second thoughts.

  Sherry started forward and continued speaking. “I hope our driver made the journey pleasant.”

  “Yes, he was more than hospitable.” Diana’s voice quivered. The trip pushed her buttons in all the right ways, and she arrived breathless from her journey in a privately-driven car by a tiger of a man. Sitting in the back seat, she’d nearly come undone from her level of arousal. Only her apprehension about making an unwelcome move on a club staff member had kept her sexual cravings in check. She couldn’t … no, she wouldn’t risk not having her needs dealt with as only the Downtown Den promised they would.

  This heat cycle that leopard shifters experienced was common. Yet being without a partner, as she was, placed her in danger. Without question, she had to allow her sexual nature to be satisfied. Something she’d not done for nearly a year. So she’d silently drooled, observing the driver in his black leather pants, coupled with an inky shirt that seemed poured on, and accepted being reduced to a smoldering mess.

  “Please come with me.” Sherry’s silky voice promised nothing but pleasure. “I’ll show you to your room, unless you’d like to enjoy a cocktail in the lounge. There are several private members here this evening. Men and women who understand your predicament.”

  “No, I’d rather have a moment alone.” Diana hugged her overnight bag to her side, unwilling to test her endurance one second longer than necessary.

  “To unwind? You’re smart. Fridays can be extremely stressful. Do you meditate?” Sherry asked, taking the lead.

  “Not lately. My work schedule is so hectic. And now this … ” Her voice trailed off. No need to mention the obvious.

  Diana sniffed the
air. An alpha scent lambasted her nervous system. She looked around, and there was no one else in the hallway. The scent was familiar. Achingly familiar.

  “Christ,” she swore, ever so softly. On top of everything else, her imagination was playing a mean-spirited game with her. She refused to give in to her warped olfactory ability even though she momentarily lost her concentration.

  Sherry slowed her gait without warning. Diana had to swerve toward the wall in order to avoid bumping into her. She skimmed along the wooden panels for a few steps in order to avoid careening into several chuckling males who had just entered the corridor. Diana brushed back her bangs. Each of them nodded to her with garnet-eyed flashing interest, yet their scents were not the right shifter type to lure her. Only one shifter could ease her maddening carnal urge. Male. Alpha. Leopard.

  “Sherry, a new member?” A man wearing an elegant black suit asked, hardly able to contain the wolf lick to his lips.

  With one glance over to her, Sherry shook her head. “Gentlemen, we’ll do introductions at a later time.” A cast of hungry gazes erupted as pairs of glowing eyes traveled over her body; so sharp was their perusal it felt like having her dress torn from her body. Passing by, she had felt utterly naked in their midst.

  Sherry stepped back, brushing against Diana, their shoulders coming into contact, and for a few seconds Diana’s sensation of being hunted dissipated. The woman’s skin was icy-hot, delivering a burn while at the same time cooling Diana’s skin.

  “You’re not a shifter. Are you?” Diana said the first thing that came to mind. Sherry’s eyes flickered, becoming obsidian black, then changing back to copper. “No. One reason I hold this position. If you’re interested in venturing beyond your room, we have a sensational restaurant, or room service if you get hungry. I mean later, of course.”

  Diana nodded and waited. Nothing more was said. Obviously her hostess was not going to fully respond to her question.

  She followed Sherry through a corridor lined with several doorways. All the while her escort explained the layout of the Den. They passed the restaurant where candlelight flickered over linen tablecloths. Diana sniffed the air, seeking the undercurrent of a hidden aroma that lay embedded within the gourmet-scented creations pouring from the restaurant.