Lincoln needed this to be a long term thing. She’d said it herself, they were mates. But there was one piece of the puzzle missing.
Anastasia stepped around him and approached the table. Her fingers touched the daisies. “You cooked?”
He shrugged. “I might have had help.”
She picked up a carrot and ate it. “Your help is great at cooking.” Turning to him, she sucked her fingers clean.
Lincoln inhaled deeply. His cock felt hard and heavy in his pants. He wanted this woman. He needed her.
As if she’d read his thoughts, Anastasia threw herself at him. Their tongues clashed in a passionate kiss. Her arms and legs wrapped around him and she growled into his mouth.
She tasted of heat and spices. Lincoln cupped her ass and walked toward his bed. The food would be fine cold. He couldn’t wait any longer.
Lincoln’s hands roved across her skin. He knelt, pulled the dress up to her thighs, and kissed the smooth flesh. She wore knee-high black boots. He ran his hands along the material. She could leave those on. Everything else was coming off. He had to see her naked.
Their hands fought to get Anastasia out of her dress.
With a cry of frustration, she yanked it over her head. Underneath, she wore no bra, a slip of cotton covering her sweet center.
With a growl, Lincoln pulled her underwear off.
Anastasia stilled. Her hands rested on her stomach. Her eyes glowing red with lust. “I need you inside me. Now.”
SHE FELT HOT, AN ACHE of longing between her legs. Anastasia had wanted this for so long. It had driven her crazy that Lincoln had waited. He’d wanted to make sure she was ready. Anastasia had been ready for a long time.
“I have wanted you from the first day I saw you.” He pressed hot kisses on her bare flesh.
She shivered and her scales grew warm. No man had made her feel so alive before. Anastasia grabbed his shirt and ripped the buttons open.
Lincoln’s body was hard, lean muscle. Scars traced across his chest, signatures of the tough life he’d lived.
She sat up and tasted his skin. He groaned as her lips tracked across his nipples.
The taste of him was too much. Wrapping her fingers into his hair, she pulled his mouth to hers and they tumbled onto the bed.
His kiss grew intense and his mouth traveled down her body, pausing to caress her hard nipples, before moving lower.
Anastasia’s heart stuttered as she felt his breath on her center. Her insides ached with longing. Ached to be filled by him. He was her mate, he had to claim her.
“I have needed you for such a long time.” Lincoln’s voice was low.
Her dragon instinct flared. She growled and raised her hips. “Take me.”
“Do you want me inside you?”
“Dragon fire! Yes!”
“Tell me.”
Anastasia arched her back. “I want you inside me. I need to have you fill me.”
This time, Lincoln growled. “I’m tasting you first.” His tongue dove into her, sucking and lapping her already wet folds.
She cried out as a wave of pleasure hit. His fingers held her thighs open wide as he explored her hot center. Ecstasy flew through her veins, throbbing in a central point between her legs. She was close to coming.
Lincoln’s mouth focused on her aching clit, his mouth covering her and teasing with his tongue.
“Oh! Yes!” Anastasia writhed beneath his mouth as his tongue edged her closer to release.
His hands held her in place. Lincoln’s hard, long fingers were suddenly inside her, his mouth still sucking her clit.
Her climax hit and she cried out as her muscles pulsed around his fingers.
Opening her eyes, Anastasia licked her lips. She tore off Lincoln’s pants as he kicked out of his boots. She yanked him to her. “You’re mine.”
His mouth found hers. “I’ve always been yours.” He pressed against her wet folds.
She reached down, her hand pumping the long, thick cock nestled between her legs. She positioned him at her center and arched up, grabbing an inch of him. It was not enough.
His eyes flashed. “What’s the hurry?”
Wrapping a leg around him, she pulled him closer. “I need you.” She gained another hard inch.
“You have me.” Lincoln grasped her hips and pushed in deep.
Anastasia met him with a hard thrust of her own. She cried out as he buried himself inside her.
Their gazes locked. He pulled back and began long, fast thrusts, driving in as far as he could.
Every time, Anastasia rose to meet him. She had to feel all of him. She pulled him down until his hard muscles covered her, her dragon senses in overdrive as musk and sweat surrounded her.
There were no more boundaries. They were joined.
He fitted her perfectly. Stretched her to the point of pleasure-pain. She would feel him for days after this. And she wanted that. Anastasia had her mate for life.
Lincoln slowed and pulled her to the edge of the bed. He raised her hips and slammed into her. “I can’t be soft with you. I’ve waited for too long.”
“You don’t need to be. I want to remember this.”
He growled and gripped her hips, his cock thrusting deeper.
She was close again. The hot, heavy weight of Lincoln’s cock, the lust in his eyes, and the way his fingers danced over her clit was too much.
He took her hand and placed it on her clit. “Come with me.”
Anastasia felt his cock twitch. Lincoln’s breathing grew faster. He was about to fill her.
Her finger slid down her wet folds, her clit pulsing beneath her hand. She encircled his cock, loving the way they were joined. One hand stroked his balls and the other played with her sensitive nub.
Lincoln groaned. “That’s right. You’re so fucking incredible.” His rhythm got faster.
Anastasia joined him, thrusting and moaning, her folds on fire as she watched Lincoln, felt every hard inch of him take her.
Her core shook as her climax hit. Arching her back, she grabbed the bed and held on tight as waves of desire hit her. She’d never felt anything like this before.
Lincoln pumped in hard and stilled as he filled her with his orgasm.
“Anastasia.” Her name was like poetry on his lips.
“I’m right here.” She pulled him on top of her, languishing beneath him as he wrapped his arms around her and pressed kisses to her chest.
“That was...” he looked down at her and smiled.
“Not bad.”
His eyebrows rose. “You’ve had better?”
Biting her lip, she looked down. He was still inside her. His cock already twitching, ready for another round. “You might need to show me more of your moves.”
“Holy dragons!” Lincoln pulled her up and kissed her. “I love you Anastasia Firestar.”
Her breath caught. “I love you.”
“I’m going to keep you here for the next month showing you my moves. You won’t be able to walk at the end of it. Everyone will hear you screaming my name as I fuck you. They’ll know you’re mine.”
As Anastasia pulled him down on top of her, she smiled. That was exactly what she wanted. The darkness was gone. They were mated. She was truly home.
She kissed his lips and rocked her hips as his cock swelled. “Well, we’d better get started.”
Chapter 22
Arlo
The flare was so bright it burned into his eyes, leaving him with dazzling bright flashes on his retina. Arlo grinned and pulled on his thermal gloves.
“A little more bang and a little less brightness, and you’ll be just about perfection,” he muttered to himself, as he mixed his latest explosive powders.
His workroom was a mess of half-finished explosive devices, broken detonators, and empty containers he’d collected that were the perfect size for bombs. He lived in chaos but barely noticed. He was always working on his explosives. His brothers thought he lived to destroy, but it wasn’t about that.
He lived to protect, to keep everyone safe from the State.
He’d learned the hard way that if you didn’t, bad things happened.
Arlo ran a hand down his face, grimacing as he realized he’d smeared himself with oil. He grabbed a rag from the bench and half-heartedly rubbed at the stubble on his cheeks.
The sound of a baby laughing made him look up. He grinned. His favorite kind of company was on its way. A few seconds later, Lincoln, Anastasia, and their adopted daughter, Skyler, walked into the room. Skyler was wrapped in Lincoln’s arms. He gazed down at her as she twirled her fingers in his hair and tugged on it.
Lincoln and Anastasia had been together for three months, drawn to each other when fighting against the State. Skyler had been discovered at a State-run center, kidnapped to do fuck-knows-what to. Fortunately, Anastasia had taken her. They’d been together ever since.
“Freaking hell,” said Lincoln, his gaze leaving Skyler and looking around Arlo’s workroom. “This place just gets worse.”
“The maid’s been sick for the last month,” said Arlo. “Never was good at putting stuff away myself. Mary’s always nagging me about it.” Mary had become Arlo’s right-hand woman ever since he’d help rescue her from a State-run prison. She loved bombs almost as much as he did.
“You working on anything good?” Anastasia nodded at the mess in front of Arlo.
“The usual bangs and flashes,” said Arlo. “I always like to come up with new things to keep the State guessing.”
“And we need to keep them away from here,” said Lincoln, as he passed Skyler to Anastasia. “We’ve seen them at the burned-down warehouse twice, now. It’s been months, but they’re still sniffing around.”
“They think they’ve got us,” said Arlo. “That last newscast they sent out made it sound like they’d killed us all off in the explosion.”
“That’s what they want the public to think,” said Anastasia. “But I’d bet everything they’re still looking for us.”
“Which means we stay on high alert,” said Lincoln. “And you need to make more of these bombs.”
“It’s what I live for.” Arlo grinned at him. “How’s family life treating you?” He thought the look suited Lincoln. Since he’d gotten together with Anastasia, he hadn’t looked at another woman. And he could tell by the way he gazed at Skyler and Anastasia that he was lost to them. And Arlo was glad of it. Lincoln had his heart stomped on once, and had hidden away ever since. It only took a dragon hybrid and a sick baby to make him change.
“It’s good,” said Lincoln. “As for the sleepless nights, play dates, and baby food—”
Anastasia swatted him with the back of her hand. “If you don’t want us, you just have to say.”
Lincoln wrapped an arm around Anastasia’s waist and pulled her toward him, capturing her and Skyler. “You are both stuck with me. And I’m stuck with the baby food and the play dates. And I love it all.”
Anastasia kissed his cheek. “Glad to hear it, because Skyler is due to meet her new friend Ellie in five minutes. And you’re taking her.”
Lincoln shook his head and gave an exaggerated sigh. “My work is never done.” He winked at Arlo. “Catch you later for a beer?”
“Sounds good, if I can get finished here before dawn.” Arlo looked at the mess in front of him. Suddenly, he couldn’t see what he was doing. He was fighting for the same thing as everyone else, to return the dragons and keep the land safe from the State. But it felt like he was missing something. He looked over to where Anastasia and Lincoln both cooed over Skyler.
Shaking his head, he picked up a device and screwed the back on. He had his family already. And his bombs were his passion. He needed nothing else.
“Hey, isn’t that a map of the Badlands?” Lincoln strode to Arlo’s screen before he shut it down.
He shrugged, ignoring the flare of irritation inside him that Lincoln had spotted the map. “What if it is?”
“You thinking of going back there?”
“There’s nothing there.” Arlo turned away, his hands reaching for a pair of wire cutters.
“There’s Juniper.” Lincoln grinned at him. “I haven’t forgotten how the two of you flirted when we went to rescue Annie’s dad.”
“Who’s Juniper?” asked Anastasia.
“She’s trouble,” said Arlo, not about to admit he’d been keeping tabs on Juniper ever since she returned to the Badlands.
“She’s trouble that Arlo likes,” said Lincoln.
“It wasn’t like that.” Arlo ducked his head. She was the first dragon hybrid he’d met. And from what he knew of her, she’d had a hard life, struggling to survive in the back of beyond. And she was young. She couldn’t be more than twenty, too young to settle for a burnt-out bomb-maker like him, with his scars and an inability to sleep through the night without waking in a cold sweat.
“Heath is issuing an invitation for all dragon hybrids to join us in the bunkers,” said Lincoln. “Maybe now’s your chance to bring Juniper back?”
Arlo snorted and flipped over a detonator. “She can do what she likes.” And that was the problem. She had come here, after they’d met in the Badlands. But she’d only stuck it out for a month, before sneaking away one night. She hadn’t even said goodbye. When Arlo had checked in with Heath about it, he’d discovered she’d asked to leave. Heath had no reason to stop her from going. In truth, neither did Arlo.
“What would you like her to do?” Lincoln clapped Arlo on the shoulder. “I can definitely recommend a dragon hybrid as a partner.” He slung an arm around Anastasia’s shoulders and tweaked Skyler’s nose.
“We’re mates,” said Anastasia. “I keep telling you, dragon mates are different.”
“Of course.” He kissed her cheek. “Dragon hybrids make excellent mates. Maybe Juniper will want you to be hers if you invite her.”
“She wouldn’t suit a life here,” said Arlo. “She’s too much of a free spirit.”
“Sometimes even free spirits need a place to call home.” Anastasia smiled at Lincoln.
“You should invite her,” said Lincoln. “From what I remember, the girl has skills. She got us in and out of the Black Zone alive.”
Arlo shrugged again. “I’ll think about it.”
“Sure you don’t want to join me and Skyler on our play date?” asked Lincoln. “I think we’re taste testing banana and spinach puree.” He pulled a look of mock disgust. “Well, the girls are. I’ll be drinking coffee with Ellie’s mom.”
Arlo shook his head. “A tempting offer, but I’m behind on Heath’s order for more bombs. Going to pull an all-nighter to get them together.”
“Any time you need a break, the puree will be waiting. And so will the beer.” Lincoln and Anastasia gave him a wave goodbye, Skyler smiling at him over Anastasia’s shoulder as they left the room.
Arlo slumped against the workbench and dropped the detonator. He’d love to have Juniper around. Their time together had been fun. Sure, they’d flirted, but there was something else there, something that had made him interested. And he wanted to know more about her.
But he’d seen she was wary of him. And he didn’t blame her, with his crewcut and the jagged scar along his jaw, he didn’t have the same good looks as Lincoln. And Juniper was out-of-this-world hot, in every respect. Her scales had fascinated him. And her magenta-streaked hair haunted his dreams.
He glanced at the map of the Badlands. Where she lived was a hellhole, an unsafe, lawless wasteland, constantly threatened by the risk of the volcanoes off the coast. If they went off, she wouldn’t stand a chance. And if the State wiped the Badlands clean of inhabitants, she’d also be at risk.
Arlo shifted back to the computer, his grease-stained fingers hovering over the keyboard. Should he message her, let her know there was a place here if she wanted it?
With a sigh, he dismissed the image of the map and turned to the workbench. He had to focus on these bombs. Without them, they wouldn’t be able to go out on the next mission. Junipe
r would be fine where she was. She was a fighter. Life underground was not for her.
Arlo had his brothers and his bombs. His life was full enough already. A fiery dragon hybrid complicating things was the last thing he needed.
His mouth twisting, he returned to the keyboard and opened an encrypted message. What was the harm of getting in touch? It meant nothing. And Juniper might appreciate the offer. He began to type.
Read on for a sneak peek at Arlo, book 4 in The Ember Quest.
Chapter 1
Arlo Ember should feel nervous. Laid out in front of him was ten pounds of nanofuel thermobaric explosives. If he hit the wrong button or got distracted, all he’d leave behind would be a smoking pile of ashes.
He grinned to himself as he did a final check on the bombs. As a former bomb disposal engineer in the British Army, he was used to handling dangerous, unstable things. And since the State had taken over, his skills had come to the fore. He’d gotten a lot of practice in making things go boom.
The alleyway he’d hidden in was deserted, the street outside quiet. Late evening shadows hid him from any State patrols or people stupid enough to break State curfew rules.
“Have you got enough detonators?” Mary Rusby crouched next to him. A slender woman in her late-fifties with a shock of gray hair and a liking for patterned headscarves, Mary was Arlo’s right-hand woman. Well, right-hand hybrid; half-dragon and half-human. Ever since she’d been rescued from a State-run prison, she’d stuck by Arlo, learning everything she could about the art of bomb-making. She was an asset to him. He’d felt on his own for too long. Although looking at Mary, you wouldn’t imagine she liked destroying things. Every time she got a bomb in her hands, her eyes gleamed. Mary loved destruction as much as Arlo.
“I’m fine for detonators.” Arlo scraped a hand over his cropped, dark hair. They’d been interfering with State communication links for the last month. Ever since they’d obtained information about crucial State-run locations—their hybrid testing facilities and communication hubs—they’d been disorienting the State, disrupting their ruthless efforts to cull anyone who stood against them.
Lincoln (sci-fi romance - The Ember Quest Book 3) Page 22
