by Ruby Dixon
My dragon-man growls low in his throat, and then his mouth is on my pussy. He makes a sound of pleasure, his arm locking around my thigh as if to hold me still, and then his slightly raspy, impossible to ignore tongue is moving over me, lapping up my arousal, and flicking over my clit.
I whimper, my hand pressing to my forehead, as if pushing against my brow can somehow stop my brain from exploding in pleasure. "Atalim," I moan, arching up against his hot, enthusiastic tongue strokes. "Oh, fuck."
He's voracious, not bothering to take his time with my pleasure. Instead, he's on me, insistent and eager, flicking over my clit and delving deep with his tongue as if he can memorize every inch of me with taste buds alone. It's been so long since we've touched and I'm so sensitive from touching myself that it doesn't take much for me to spiral towards an orgasm. I can feel it building, my toes curling against the cobblestones as he ravenously devours my pussy, his tongue everywhere. And when he sucks on my clit? I shatter into a million pieces, crying out with pleasure as the climax rips through me and my pussy floods with release.
Liam lets out another low growl of pleasure as I undulate against his mouth, his tongue moving slower and more gently against my flesh. I don't know when one of my hands went to his hair, but when I look down, my fingers are knotted in his golden strands, brushing against the horns that crown his brow.
I suck in a deep breath, and as I do, he looks up.
"Andrea," he says thickly, his mouth wet with my release. He licks his lips and then says my name again in another sultry purr. "Annnndrea."
"It's me, babe." Tears of joy spring to my eyes and I sit up, excited. I practically tackle him with my excitement, flinging myself against him until he's on the ground underneath me and I'm peppering his gorgeous face with kisses. "You remember. You remembered my taste. Oh Liam, I've missed you so much."
His hand curls in my hair, and he forces my head back, ever so slightly, revealing my throat. Not enough to hurt, just enough to remind me that he's in control. "Mine," he rumbles, and his eyes are still shot with black emotion as he leans forward and scrapes his teeth over my throat.
"Yours," I agree, breathless. "All yours. Take me."
"Andrea," he says again, this time more insistent than before. "Mine." And he sits up, maneuvering both of us until we're upright. I sit, waiting, as he gets to his knees and then locks his hands on my hips, anchoring me in place as he moves behind me.
All right, we're going to do it from behind, it seems. I don't care. He knows who I am. He won't hurt me.
I'm more than ready as he positions my hips, and I lower my head, arching my lower back and spreading my thighs to present myself to him. He groans, his hand skimming over my flanks, and that's the only warning I get before he notches his cock at my entrance and then thrusts deep.
I gasp, still shocked at how he feels inside me. He's big and thick, and the feel of him invading me twinges for a second, and then it's nothing but intense pleasure. A low moan escapes me as he thrusts into me again, his fingers digging into my hips. "Atalim," I breathe. "My Atalim."
He groans again, thrusting hard, and then a hand anchors onto my shoulder. He leans over me, nuzzling at the back of my neck, his big body covering mine. I tilt my head, giving him access to my throat, and he locks an arm around my waist and pulls me backward as he sits up. His cock is seated deep inside me even as I'm pinned against his torso, both of us on our knees. One hand roams over my belly and then cups my breast, teasing the nipple, and it sends a jolt of pleasure all the way through to my core.
"Andrea," he murmurs again, and then his teeth scrape against my throat, hard.
I gasp again, because that wasn't a gentle nip. Even so, my body responds, my nipples hardening and my pussy clenching around his length.
I reach back, touching him everywhere I can, caressing the side of his face. "Are you going to make me yours?"
A hard, searing bite is my response. My entire body quakes into another brutal orgasm as his teeth sink into my throat. It hurts as much as it feels good, and it's a struggle to remain completely still against him, because his fingers are strumming over my breast and his cock is so deep inside me that I'm feeling every ripple all the way through to my core. His tongue flicks against my neck and then the bite feels…hot. Strangely hot. I whimper as the heat spreads through my neck and then into my veins. It's like fire is coursing through me.
Liam whispers my name again, lifting his mouth from my throat. His teeth lightly scrape against my jaw and then he licks my skin, his breath searing and fanning against my cheek. He holds me tight against him and won't let me go, not even when the world starts to fade and go black around me.
Something tells me that he'll never let me go again. It's the only reason I don't panic as I sink into oblivion.
Liam's got me.
28
LIAM
I growl against my mate's throat as her scent changes, slowly mingling with my own. The taste of her is on my lips, on my tongue, the feel of her small body quaking against mine, her cunt gripping me tight. She sags against me, her eyes closing, and I hold her close, waiting.
Andrea.
I remember her now.
Memories are starting to trickle in, memories clouded by the madness.
I…have not always been mad. I know her. I know her scent, and I know where she comes from. Other faces flash through my memory. A boy with a chipped tooth. A man with a dog. A dark-skinned woman that is friends with my Andrea. More and more faces flit through my memory, but Andrea's is the one that keeps coming up. Andrea laughing as she guards the gate to the fort. Andrea with her shotgun on her shoulder as she walks. Andrea's hips with that little saunter. Andrea's wistful expression as she gazes up at the stars. Andrea as she gasps, holding on to me as I make her climax, my face between her thighs as she stands over me.
My thoughts are full of Andrea, and they bring me joy.
That feeling of joy washes more of the madness away. It hovers at the edges of my thoughts, ready to flood forward if given the chance, but the scent of the woman in my arms keeps them at bay. I hold her close as we lie on the stone-covered ground together, cradling her against me. I touch her strands of golden hair, so soft and silky compared to my own. I touch her delicate pale skin and the curves of her belly. I touch the curls that hide her cunt from my view but capture her fragrance so wonderfully. Just touching her settles my mind.
My mind is still murky, but the longer I sit and hold her, the more my thoughts return.
Sickness. I remember this. I raise one hand into the air, a vague memory of a metal tube with a note in it. I held it once…how long ago was that? A few hours? A day? Two? However long it has been, it's gone now. My shorn claws have grown out some, the ends jagged, and I study them. I will need to keep them short so I don't inadvertently harm my Andrea. I bury my face against her neck and breathe in her scent.
Wake soon, I tell her impatiently. I miss you.
There's no response. Not yet. I can feel her mind gently opening to mine, though, like a desert flower unfurling petal by petal. She's coming to me, but she's not there yet. So I stroke her, and wait, and try to remember human things to counter the stench of the human place around me and the madness that sends little tendrils through my mind.
When she wakes up, we will talk. We will kiss, and mate, and I will fill her with my seed, and her mind will touch mine…and then I will be whole again. My cock aches, desperate to pump into her body, to fill her with my spend, but I cannot take her while she adjusts to my fires.
There will be time enough for that later.
I croon soft sounds at my mate and tuck her against me, closing my eyes. Even though my body aches fiercely with the need to claim her, and the madness threatens at the edges of my mind…I feel content for the first time in what feels like forever.
She has given this to me.
My Andrea.
The human world is quiet around us as she sleeps, my fires seeping into her scent. I love the way i
t’s changing, absorbing my essence into her spirit, until her scent becomes maddeningly intoxicating. It was already irresistible. Now that she smells like I’ve claimed her, she’s that much more appealing. I breathe in deep, enjoying her scent and the way her body curves against mine. She twitches in her sleep, and I feel in her mind when she begins to rouse.
Her thoughts immediately go to me, full of concern and hope.
I am here, I tell her, and gently nuzzle her throat.
I can feel the wonder in her thoughts. Oh. Oh…your thoughts are in mine. Are we joined?
I can’t help but tease her with a little thrust of my hips. You can’t tell?
Pleasure spirals through her, evident in her thoughts. She responds, distracted. You…you know what I mean. We’re connected in our heads.
We are. I rub my nose against her cheek, loving both the touch of her mind and her body pressed to me. My thoughts are full of her, and there is no room for the madness. Does it bother you?
Bother me? It’s amazing. Wonder floods her mind. I’ve been so jealous of the closeness Amy and Rast have. How connected they are. Now I realize just how incredible it is. It’s like there are no boundaries between us any longer. She lifts one hand to mine, lacing our fingers. We’re together in all ways. I love it. I love you, Atalim.
My heart, I tell her. I love you, too. Finally you are mine.
I was so worried about you. Her thoughts are tinged with fear. That you wouldn’t be able to return to yourself.
I’m not entirely as I was, I admit. I can feel the madness ready to creep in, and now that my thoughts are open once more, I will be vulnerable to it. But you brought me back. With our spirits linked, you will always be there to bring me back. I press a kiss to her neck.
Oh, I’m so glad.
Her scent is intoxicating, and the presence of her thoughts twining with my own heightens my desire. My need for her is overwhelming, because I can feel her body’s reaction to me. I can feel her awareness of how big my cock is as I am seated inside her, the press of my length into her cunt. The way I fill her to the point of distraction. You are the one who is distracting, I tease, clasping our joined hands and stroking deep into her again.
God, she tells me, even as she gives a little gasp aloud. I never knew it would feel like this. You’re everywhere…everything’s so deep.
We’re connected at every level. I nip at her ear even as I stroke into her again, and her cunt shivers around my cock in response. I can feel her arousal, and I let her feel mine, sharing my thoughts and the sensations that ripple through my mind. Connected. I thrust again. Forever.
And you’ll never leave me again. She pushes back against me when I rock into her, adding to the friction of our bodies.
Never.
I love you, Atalim. So much.
Hearing my name in her thoughts and the emotion attached to it makes me utterly wild. I drive into her over and over, dragging our joined hands between her thighs. She gasps when I toy with her clit using our twined fingers, and in the next moment, she cries out as the climax overtakes her. The moment she comes, I allow myself to release, too. I bury my face against her neck and growl my release as I surge into her. I pump into her clenching channel and empty my seed for what feels like an eternity.
Slowly, our panting breaths return to normal, and I continue to nuzzle her neck. I can’t get enough of her scent, her touch, the flutter of her thoughts against mine. My mate. How I’ve missed you.
I’m just glad you remember me. She squeezes my hand and I can feel her smile.
I would know you in this world and the next, I promise her. The moment I drank in your scent, I knew you were mine. Even in the madness, I knew. I brush my lips over her skin. But even so…it’s different than I recall. You are still you, but…changed?
It’s your blood. It’s changed us in little ways. Gabe can hear dragons. Benny, too. Not as clear as how we’re speaking right now, I don’t think, but Gabe says he can make out snatches of conversation here and there. I can pick up the emotions when they fly overhead, sometimes. It’s like a thundercloud settling over the fort just before they attack.
Surprising. But when I give her my fires, isn’t that a union of our spirits? Perhaps the blood gave her a bit of drakoni life force, as well. Now that she has mentioned her sickness, I compare the female in my arms to the one in my memories. She’s thinner, her cheekbones more prominent, her ribs easily counted. Have you not been eating?
Andrea gives a tiny snort. I nearly died, Atalim. These things take time to come back from. Look, you can still see my scar. She pushes her hair away from her ear, revealing an ugly jagged red line that’s bright against her skin. The black lump was called a bubo. I did some research in the medical books we have at the fort. We had the black plague and it nearly killed us. So I’m going to be a little weak for a bit longer.
Her mind fills with memories, recent images of the others. Of Gabe, his healthy face thin and sallow, eyes hollow. Of Benny, whose messy hair turned dry and fell out in clumps for a week. Of another young female, Katrina, who was so sick that her skin looked translucent, her blue veins prominent. Of Andrea gazing down at her own wrists and seeing nothing but bones and tendons under the skin.
I run my hand possessively down her arm, studying her. The Andrea I hold doesn’t match the one in her memories. She looks better, healthier, and the scar behind her ear is healed over. How long did you say I was gone?
Weeks. The simple reply is filled with devastation. So many weeks.
You must have thought I abandoned you. The realization sickens me and fills me with self-loathing. I am not a good mate for her to abandon her the moment she became ill. I could have lost her. The madness floods in again, my mouth rushing with saliva even as I feel my eyes go black. Red clouds my vision and my surroundings blur away.
Kill.
Hurt.
Destroy.
Tear this world apart.
“No, Atalim. Be calm, baby. I’m here.”
Andrea’s whisper is a splash of cool water on my mind. The madness bleeds away as quickly as it came on. I realize I am still on the ground, my mate in my arms. At some point I sat up, though, and our joined bodies separated. My throat rumbles and I realize I am growling.
She faces me, her hands cupping my jaw as her eyes—bright gold—search mine. Are you with me, Atalim?
I am here.
Focus on me. Slow your breathing. I’m right here with you. I’m not going anywhere. Her thumbs stroke my skin.
I do as she bids, and when I am myself again, I let out a long sigh and pull her close against me. Now that my mind is open, I must be more careful not to let my emotions rule me.
“You have me. I won’t let you lose yourself,” she says, and gives me a sweet smile.
I nearly lost you.
“No, you saved me,” she corrects gently. “And you shifted forms to try and save me. And I’m going to spend the rest of my life saving you each and every day. We’re a team.”
“My beautiful Andrea,” I murmur, and then decide that I like mental speech better. It feels like a return home, comforting and familiar. I never have to use human speech again.
“Yes, but I like the way you say my name,” she tells me, putting a hand on my chest and pushing me backward to the cobblestones. “It’s sexy.”
I rumble with amusement. Her thoughts are pricking in an interesting direction, mating on her mind as she bears me to the ground. A flashed image picked up from her captures my attention. She…wants to straddle me?
Oh yeah. Her thought is husky with arousal and paired with a mental image of her guiding my cock into her cunt as she slides down on top of me and then rocks her hips over mine, driving me into her body. Is it okay if I’m on top? Or is that not done?
I don’t care if it’s done or not. I watch avidly as she slides one thigh over my hip and then moves over me, her slick folds moving against my cock. Now that I’ve seen it in your mind, I want it.
You did say hu
mans were creative, remember? We can do this in all kinds of ways. And she fills my mind with images of us together. Of me, mounted on top of her, our faces close together instead of me taking her from behind. Of her rising atop me. Of both of us on our sides, our mouths between each other’s thighs…
I growl with lust, grabbing her hips and dragging the wet heat of her cunt over my cock. I’m aching with need for her, but I want her to feed me into her cunt like she did in the mental image she sent. Do it, I tell her. Quick.
My teasing Andrea only gives a throaty little laugh and arches her hips, rubbing her cunt against my length. Or what?
Or I will spend my seed on your skin and shame us both.
“Oh, my love,” she murmurs, her fingers gripping my length as she raises her hips. “There’s no shame in anything we do together. Sometime soon I’m going to let you paint my face with that seed of yours, and you can see how sexy it is.” She licks her lips, looking feral with need, and it makes need slam through me.
She grips me, teasing the head at her slick entrance. With another playful move, she circles her hips, her cunt enveloping just the head of my cock before she flexes and pulls away again. I growl at being robbed of her warmth, and when she does it again, this time I plant my hands on her hips and thrust her down on my length, driving into her.
Andrea’s gasp and the flood of arousal in her mind are delicious. “Cheater,” she manages in a choked voice.
Are you complaining? I arch up against her, rocking my hips to drive into her.
“You’re backseat driving,” she protests, gasping. Her back arches. “Armchair quarterbacking. I’m supposed to be in control.”
You are, I promise her, and then lift her slightly, only to thrust her down onto my length again. You’ve mounted me and claimed me as your own. I’m just…helping.
“Oh god,” she moans, and her hands move to my chest, spreading wide as if she needs to hold onto me. “Keep helping, that feels so good.”
