by J. R Fox
“Is that why you didn’t want me around?”
“That’s part of it. There’s more to it, but I’m not ready to talk about that yet.”
“So what’s with you and Cecil?” David was disgusted with himself for asking. It was none of his business, and he had no right to pry, but he had to know. If he didn’t, the jealousy tearing at his soul would destroy him.
“He took me in and raised me, after my mother abandoned me. I can’t blame her, me being what I am. He’s the closest thing to a father I’ve ever had, and I owe him everything.”
“I’m glad that’s the case.” David moved closer to Aiden and knelt in front of him. “I was afraid it was something else.”
“You should go,” Aiden said.
“Why do you want me to leave?” David asked.
Aiden opened his mouth, but the words wouldn’t come. Instead, he cradled David’s face in his hands gazing at his lips as if he wanted to devour them.
I shouldn’t do this We shouldn’t do it.
“Why not?” David whispered. His lips parted in silent invitation, and Aiden needed no further permission.
David’s tongue ventured into the heat of Aiden’s mouth, savoring its sweet taste, and Aiden responded with his own passionate exploration. For weeks, David had admired the ripple of Aiden’s toned muscles beneath his clothes, and now David felt emboldened to let his hands slide beneath the fabric and stroke the smooth flesh he had only been able to fantasize about before.
Aiden broke off their kiss just long enough to pull his shirt over his head and toss it away to give David better access to his body. As David had imagined, Aiden’s body looked as though it had been sculpted from marble. His abs were hard and defined, and his chest was strong and well-developed, and covered in a fine layer of silky hair, which David quickly discovered he loved to kiss and caress.
Aiden pulled off David’s shirt, too, and lowered him onto the thin mattress that served as a bed for Draco. His hands and his mouth were everywhere on David’s body. He nipped and suckled David’s right nipple, biting gently to make David flinch, then licking away the sting before offering the left nipple the same sweet torment. David pants were constricting his growing erection painfully, and his swollen cock was demanding to be set free. Aiden pressed his sleek body against David’s, their chests and bellis rubbing together, their throbbing erections touching. David bit his lip and swore, trying with all his might to hold back his release. He wasn’t ready yet, and neither was Aiden. For someone who had seemed so reluctant in the beginning, Aiden was on fire, now that the dragon within had been released.
Not willing to wait any longer to have this man he craved to badly, David coaxed Aiden to his knees and grappled with the zipper of his jeans to free Aiden’s fully erect penis. He was generously endowed and perfectly proportioned, and David wasted no time wrapping his lips around the thick, plum-shaped head and sliding as much of the hard shaft into his mouth as he could take. He swiped his tongue over the slit in the head tasting the salty sweetness of Aiden’s pre cum, then drew more of Aiden’s cock into his mouth and began to suck hard and steady, not letting up. Aiden groaned as David savored the unique essence of his dragon.
When Aiden was slick and ready, David swirled his tongue around the tip of Aiden’s cock one last time, then pulled back, letting Aiden slide out of his mouth with a pop. He positioned himself on his knees in front of Aiden, head down and ass elevated, ready to take his dragon deep inside. David felt Aiden’s warm breath brush the tightly puckered muscle of his anus, then the stroke of Aiden’s tongue as it probed the inside of his rear passage and withdrew, lubricating his rim. A single finger forced its way into his backside, and then another, and another, all pressing and pulling and scissoring, stretching him in preparation for what was to come.
David groaned. “I can’t wait any longer.”
Aiden kissed the back of David’s neck as he began to push the head of his cock past David’s anal sphincter. He thrusted slowly at first, then more vigorously as David cried out for more. The momentum increased, and David moaned with every thrust, stubbornly refusing to orgasm for as long as he could hold off. He never wanted this moment to end. With a firm grip, Aiden wrapped his hand around David’s cock and pumped until David couldn’t hold back any longer. He cried out as he came, his head spinning and vision blurring. Aiden jerked inside him and used David’s shoulders to brace himself until he rode out his own final spasm.
Aiden gently pulled out of David’s body and lay down with him in his arms, David’s face nestled into Aiden’s chest.
“Still want me to leave?” David could hear the smug satisfaction in his own voice as he nuzzled Aiden’s sensitive nipples. He already had his answer, but he wanted to hear Aiden admit that he wanted him to stay.
“I was trying to protect you.”
“Protect me from what?”
“From me,” Aiden said. “You know I’m a dragon, but there’s more I haven’t told you yet. I’m afraid you’ll hate me when I do.”
“I can’t imagine anything you could say that could change my feelings for you. I love you, Aiden. And that’s not going to change.”
“How can you love me? You hardly know me.” Aiden sat up and began rummaging for his clothes.
“I know all the important stuff. You’re smart and kind and thoughtful. And most important, I think you love me too.” At least, David hoped he did.
“I do love you, David. I knew you were the one as soon as I saw you that first time. The day Cecil hired you. Remember?” Aiden traced David’s jaw with a fingertip.
Remember? How could David ever forget the desire that had burned inside him when he first made eye contact with Draco? Even then, David had somehow known that Draco and Aiden were destined to play a bigger role in his life than he could possibly imagine at the time. And he had been so absolutely right. David leaned in to kiss Aiden’s lips and the small gesture reignited the fire of passion. Aiden’s hand closed around David’s scrotum and squeezed gently, eliciting a soft whimper from David, and a satisfied groan from Aiden.
Suddenly, the trailer door swung open, and Cecil squinted up at them in the dim interior. At first, he seemed confused by what he saw. Then he burst into laughter. “Well, well, well,” he said, giving Aiden a satisfied smirk. “I knew you would get around to it sooner or later.”
Go away!
Aiden’s voice roared inside David’s head, even though the message wasn’t meant for him. Aiden and Cecil stared at one another, engaged in a silent conversation only the two of them could understand, and as David watched, Aiden’s mood shifted from one of contentment – almost happiness – to burning rage.
Cecil turned his attention to David. “I need you on concessions tonight.” He turned back to Aiden. “You should start warming up. Things are about to get interesting.”
There was something foreboding and almost sinister in Cecil’s tone that made David dislike him for the first time.
“You look like shit,” Sina said the next day, as they rode the tour bus to the next show venue.
“Gee, thanks, Sina.” David knew exactly how he looked, mainly because he knew how he felt. He had awakened nauseated and vomiting, and the jostling and swaying of the bus wasn’t making it any better. Hopefully, he just had a touch of flu or an upset stomach from something he ate.
He wished he could be riding with Aiden in the dragon truck. At least it would give him something to focus on besides the nausea building in his belly. He hated that Aiden was forced to ride in the dingy truck whenever they traveled to a new location, but appearances had to be maintained. It was important for everyone to see Draco being loaded into the truck. But it broke David’s heart to see the man he loved in shackles during the shows each day. It also made him hate Cecil. How could the man who supposedly loved Aiden like a son force him to transform himself into a beast and hide his true identity just to entertain audiences? What kind of love was that?
After the previous night’s show, David
and Aiden had sat inside the empty circus tent and talked until it was time to strike the tent and move on to the next town. David talked about his relationship with Jason, and the anger that still surfaced sometimes when he thought about the years he’d wasted. He was candid about his feeling of being trapped in his old life, and the yearning to rekindle emotions he hadn’t felt since a careless driver had left his parents dying in a ditch years ago.
Aiden wanted a different kind of freedom. He had never known his family. When he was an infant, his mother had abandoned him in a circus crowd, and that’s where Cecil discovered him. Yes, Cecil had cared for Aiden like a father would, but he also used his foster son’s bestial form to sell his show tickets and make his fortune. Despite being used and exploited by Cecil, Aiden still felt a sense of loyalty to him for saving his life, and he did love him. But the longer he stayed with the circus, and the more he was subjected to the life he didn’t want, the more trapped and bitter he felt. Like David, he just wanted to be free.
Remembering their conversation from the night before, David wondered whether he still wanted to work for Cecil. He had saved up enough money to rent a small place and look for a new job. He could get out and leave the circus behind. But he knew he would never do it. Not as long as Aiden was here. And, wherever Aiden was, that’s where David would be. But what if he could convince Aiden to leave with him?
“Feeling any better?” Sina said, interrupting David’s thoughts as she thrust a can of ginger ale into his hand.
David accepted the icy can and rolled it across his feverish brow. “A little. Thanks.”
Sina leaned in closer. “So, you wanna talk about it?”
“Talk about what?” David adored Sina, but it was too soon to share his feeling for Aiden with anyone else. In time, yes. But not now.”
“About what happened when you and Aiden disappeared together yesterday, and why you were in such a good moon when you showed up for work. Now you’ve got all the symptoms of morning sickness. Did you have sex with Aiden?”
David spewed ginger ale like a geyser. “Morning sickness! Sina, I’m not pregnant!”
But David couldn’t get Sina’s comment out of his mind. He couldn’t be pregnant. Could he?
When the bus pulled into the lot where the crew would be setting up for the next show, David was the first one off. They had passed a pharmacy a few blocks back, and he was determined to scratch pregnancy off his list of things that could be making him sick. On the way back to the bus with the pregnancy test, he chugged another ginger ale so his bladder would be full. The sooner he could put this pregnancy scare behind him, the happier he would be.
In his haste to have done with the test, David failed to close the toilet door completely and was chagrined when Aiden opened the door and nearly caught him in the act of peeing on the test stick.
It was too much to hope that Aiden wouldn’t notice. Those vivid green eyes noticed everything. “What’s that?”
“I was sick this morning,” David explained. “I’m sure it’s nothing.” He glanced at the test strip, intending to look at the result, laugh with relief, and toss the thing into the trash. Instead, when he read the positive result, another wave of nausea hit him and he retched into the toilet. Aiden gently rubbed his back until he was finished, and then he looked at the test himself.
David had never considered himself the sentimental type, but he had envisioned how he would reveal he was pregnant to a lover. This wasn’t it. Instead of tears of joy, David was throwing up, and Aiden looked like he was about to do the same.
“I’m such an idiot,” Aiden said. “We have to tell Cecil.”
Those were not the words David was expecting. “We just found out I’m pregnant, and the first thing you want to do is tell Cecil?”
“He’ll want to know before anyone else does.” Aiden looked distraught and nervous, and it was starting to piss David off.
“So what?” David demanded. “Why does Cecil have to be a part of this right now? Can’t we just take some time and process this by ourselves before with include him? I love you, Aiden, but this hold he has over you is freaking me out,” David stormed down the aisle, shoved past Aiden, and headed out the door.
“Where are you going?” Aiden said.
“To tell fucking Cecil we’re having a baby, if that’s what will make you shut up and be happy for one goddamn second.”
“David, wait.” Aiden rushed to David’s side, pulled him into his arms, and kissed him hard. “I’m sorry. You’re right. Forget Cecil.” Aiden’s words bubbled up like a fountain and poured out between kisses, and David’s anger began to dissipate. “We’re having a baby. We’re going to be dads.” Aiden smiled through fresh tears.
David nodded. “That’s okay, right?”
Aiden chuckled. “It’s better than okay. I can’t remember ever feeling this happy.”
David wrapped his arms around Aiden’s neck and kissed him on the lips, before wiping the tears from his cheeks. “Do you think our baby will be like you?”
“I’m betting on it. Are you okay with that?”
“Better than okay. I think it’s perfect,” David said as Aiden pulled him in for another kiss.
“Congratulations, you two,” Cecil said stepping into the bus. “So you’re going to be daddies, eh?”
Aiden took a protective stance in front of David. “How did you know?”
“Are you kidding? Everyone heard David scream it just now. Why are you two fighting anyway? This is a happy occasion. David’s done an excellent job, just like I said he would. You’re going to have a perfect, healthy baby.”
“Yes, it will be,” Aiden affirmed, “but not for what you have in mind.”
“What’s going on?” David peered at Cecil over Aiden’s shoulder.
“You want to tell him, Aiden? Or shall I?” Cecil asked.
“Tell me what?” David demanded, his eyes darting back and forth from Aiden to Cecil. “Aiden?”
“Leave, Cecil. I’ll talk to him.”
Cecil nodded, his eyes flickering down to David’s stomach. “I’ll be waiting,” he said.
When Cecil was off the bus, David turned on Aiden. “What the hell was that about?”
“I don’t know where to start,” Aiden admitted.
“How about the beginning?”
Aiden sighed. “As soon as I was old enough, Cecil started training me to do tricks in my dragon form. It began as play, just a way for us to bond like father and son. Then he realized that adding me to the circus show would be profitable. Who would pass up the opportunity to witness a real, live dragon spit fire? The older I got, the more I realized that Cecil no longer saw a son when he looked at me, just a dollar sign. Money is the only value I contribute to his life anymore. But I’ve matured now, and most of the people who come to the shows have seen me before. I’m old news, and Cecil and the people that shell out the money to attend the shows want shiny and new. Cecil has been scouting crowds after the shows to find me a mate.”
David felt bile rise to his throat. He knew where this story was going, and it took all the composure he had to listen to the rest.
“That’s why he hired Sina, but I wasn’t interested. Fortunately, she was a wonderful worker, so the crew didn’t have a problem with Cecil’s decision to hire her. When I explained to Cecil that only the dragon could choose its mate, we made a deal. If I sensed someone in our audience that I wanted, I would tell Cecil, and he would take it from there. When I saw you in the crowd that day, I was terrified, and I didn’t want to go through with it. I didn’t tell Cecil about you at first, but he noticed that something in me had changed. I had to come clean. When he brought you to the trailer to meet me, I was cold because I knew you were the one, and I didn’t want you to get hurt. I knew for certain when I yelled at you, and you heard me inside your head. Only my true mate can hear me that way, and you are my true mate, David.”
David’s head felt like it was spinning. He was sure he would pass out, vomit, or both.
“You used me,” he finally said. “Used me as a vessel to carry your spawn… for money?”
Aiden searched for the right words to say, but came up empty. “I’m so sorry, David.” His voice broke.
“Do you care about me at all? Or was it all just an act to get me to have sex with you?” David could tell that his words had wounded Aiden deeply, but it hurt even more for him to have to say them.
“Money doesn’t mean anything to me, David. I love you. I tried pushing you away, but you wouldn’t push. I was afraid things would end this way, but you got under my skin. After I met you, I couldn’t get you out of my head, no matter how hard I tried. And it hasn’t helped that, in the short time I’ve known you, I have felt more loved than I have my entire life.”
“What do you want, Aiden?”
Aiden lifted his troubled eyes to David, but when everything became clear to him, he smiled. “You,” he said. “I want you and our baby, far away from Cecil. Free.”
That was all David needed to hear. “So how do we make that happen?” he asked, placing a protective hand on his stomach.
From outside, the bus appeared to have exploded. Shattered glass and metal debris went flying in every direction. Fortunately, no one was close enough to get hurt, but Cecil was the first one to reach the bus, fearful that his money-makers might have suffered damage.
Inside the bus, Aiden had started his metamorphosis. His spine and neck lengthened, and his limbs turned into four legs with hooked claws. Golden scales appeared and multiplied on his body, fitting together like armor plates. Everything transformed except for the eyes, which were Aiden’s most prominent feature in both forms. He stretched his limbs, breaking through steel and glass as if it were tissue paper, and showering shards of glass onto his hardened skin. Aiden shielded David with his great wings until all of the debris had settled, then he looked at his mate with loving eyes.
Climb on.
David obeyed, using Aiden’s crimson spines to hoist himself up and onto his back. When David’s seat was firmly settled, and his arms wrapped securely around Aiden’s neck, the dragon shot straight up into the sky. Once they were safely above tree level, Aiden spread his wings and took flight, circling three times over the partially pitched red and yellow striped tent. With the exception of Sina, who shouted and cheered her approval, the crew stared in awe at the great flying reptile overhead. Cecil watched them disappear without a trace of emotion. Neither David nor Aiden would ever know what was going through Cecil’s mind as he watched them, because they never saw him again.
