As Remi opened her eyes, she realized Xan still thrust against her, only the material of his pants was no longer between them. His cock slid freely in the wetness coming from her pussy. His face buried between her breasts as he grunted with each thrust, the strain showing in his shoulders and back. Remi wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tight, as the friction of skin on skin started the lust tightening again in her pussy.
Xan pulled her arms down and suddenly sat up between her thighs. Remi got her first good look at his hardened cock. The deep reddish-purple head flared above a solid shaft that was as thick as her wrist. As she watched, Xan grabbed it with his fist and began pumping from base to tip. His hand squeezed and twisted slightly on the upstroke, smoothing the liquid dribbling from the head down the shaft on the return stroke. It looked as if Xan hurt and Remi reached out to help him.
“No, Remi.” Xan’s voice sounded deep and rough. “For gods’ sake, lay still. I barely have…unnhhh…any control left.” Xan never took his eyes off where her pussy spread out before him, still dripping from her excitement. Remi lay still, aching to help him but unsure of how, since he refused to let her touch him. His face looked tortured as he continued to powerfully stroke his cock. Then he leaned over, bracing himself with one hand. His hand continued to stroke as a stream of whitish liquid spurted out of the head. Xan aimed it over her breasts, rib cage, and stomach. “You are mine, Remi. Mine,” he repeated over and over, his voice deep and rough with an almost animalistic snarl to it. With a final groan, his cock began to soften, and the streams of liquid ceased.
Xan didn’t even pause, but shoved down the bed and put his head between her thighs. Remi attempted to sit up with a startled squawk as Xan began licking her pussy, but he just reached up and pushed her flat. His hands ran over her skin, rubbing the fluid in wherever it had landed. As his lips wrapped around her clit and began a sucking rhythm, his hands cupped her generous breasts and began rubbing and kneading. His fingers pinched and twisted her nipples, sending Remi’s senses into overload. Between what his fingers were doing to her breasts and his lips and tongue were doing, the lightning strike feeling was returning swiftly.
Remi could do nothing to stop the onrush of feelings but reach for something to hang on to. She tried clawing at the furs beneath her, but as Xan’s fingers twisted her nipples and pulled them away from her body, her back arched and the furs moved. Breathing became difficult as Xan’s tongue forced its way into her pussy and began lapping at the flood of moisture that poured from her. He was relentless, twisting her nipples and alternating between sucking on her clit and licking along her slit, and she felt as if she were about to explode and float into the stars. The feelings a thousand times stronger than before, and between the panting and pleading with Xan for something, anything, she was losing her mind.
She begged him to make this feeling stop and last all at the same time. As her fingers laced once more into his hair, she pulled until his mouth once more centered over her clit and she yanked him to where she needed him. A rough chuckle sounded and then his lips wrapped around her clit and he began to suckle it like he had her nipples. At the same time, he squeezed her nipples hard, and she exploded.
Back arched away from the bed, gripping his hair to keep him in place, Remi opened her mouth and screamed long and loud. Stars were exploding behind her eyes, the universe imploding and exploding at the same time, galaxies spinning out of control only to reform and do it all over again. Feelings running rampant slowly eased away as darkness settled over her.
As Remi opened her eyes, she became aware that she snuggled into a large, heavily muscled chest with a sprinkling of hair showing through a gaping shirt. Big arms were wrapped around her, holding her tight, and a big thigh insinuated between hers as one of her legs lay thrown over the top of a silky-smooth hip. Déjà vu reigned as she tried to place what was happening. But it wasn’t until she tried to move, the arms tightened, and a kiss brushed across the top of her head that she realized she was literally stuck to the massive chest in front of her by the fluid that had dried on her chest. A chuckle from deep inside that masculine chest rumbled and sent answering zings of excitement through her.
She had to control herself, Remi thought, even as a fiery blush rushed through her chest and up her neck into her cheeks. She wasn’t sure what had just happened. Oh, she had heard the other women whispering and giggling about the fun to be had with a male, and she knew the mechanics of sex. What had happened here today, beyond the mechanics, she didn’t understand. Why had Xan not given her his seed? Why had he licked her there?
Chapter 5
“Little one, your mind is working too much.” Xan ran a hand down her back, cupping a butt cheek to pull her even closer. “I am sorry I couldn’t control myself. There are special ceremonies that need to take place before I claim you as mine, but I couldn’t contain myself. You are a luscious temptation that calls to both the dragon and the man.” He placed another soft kiss on the top of her head as he continued his gentle strokes. His dick was becoming hard again, surging against her lower stomach. She trembled as tiny tingles shot over her skin to center on her nipples and clit. “Shhh, little one. I think we need to get cleaned up and go up top. I want to clean us both up, but I hate the idea of washing my scent from your skin.” His hand ran up her front and cupped a breast tenderly.
Remi jerked her head back to look into his eyes. “Is that why…?” She stumbled on the words and buried her head against his chest again.
His hand moved up and tilted her head back. “Is that why…what? Whatever questions you have, little one, ask. There can be only truth between us.”
Remi closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Is that why you didn’t have sex with me? Is that why you…you know…on my chest?” Remi felt the heat rush up her chest and into her face.
Remi felt his chest rumble and air brush her hair before Xan’s hand gently caressed her cheek. “Little one, I would love nothing more than to take you and make you mine for all time. But while I’m sure my family would understand, I would never want to anger the gods. I was having a hard time controlling my dragon and knew I must do something, or we would have gone past the point of no return.” He tilted her head back until she met his eyes. “But make no mistake, little one, even without the ceremonies or the mating, you are mine.” As he spoke, his voice rumbled deeper, and his eyes changed to a vertical pupil. Remi had no doubt the dragon looked out at her in that moment.
Placing her hand on his chest, she petted him across his rapidly beating heart. As his heart rate slowed, she reached up and stroked the dragon tattoo on his shoulder. Xan’s breath caught, and tremors racked his great frame as she ran a finger over the outline of his dragon. When she ran a finger down the spine of the dragon from head to tail, Remi felt Xan’s cock surge against her and his arms became crushingly tight. Xan’s hand tightened on her hip as he groaned.
“Little one, you must stop. The dragon is sensitive, and unless you want to be mated in this cave at this exact instant, you will stop inciting my dragon.”
Remi pulled her hand away and rested it over his heart again. It thumped madly against his rib cage even harder than it had but a minute ago. Xan placed one more soft kiss on her head before he jumped up and walked once more to the wardrobe. Pulling articles from inside, he turned around and walked back, dropped the items and top of her, then scooped her up into his arms.
“We need to get cleaned up, little temptress. I am anxious to see my family and introduce my True One.” With those words, he strode down the tunnel and out onto a ledge on the cavern wall. Before Remi could say a word, he tightened his grip and jumped.
Remi screamed at the top of her lungs and clenched her free arm around Xan’s neck. He was insane. Whatever it was that took over the man, he was far gone if he was killing both of them in a jump.
Suddenly a whoosh sounded, the wind stopped screaming by them, and their descent slowed to a gentle glide. Xan’s arms tightened even further, and he
murmured into her ear. “Open your eyes, little one. You’ll love the view.”
She forced one eyelid to raise and gasped. Not at the view, but at the wings that had sprouted behind Xan. They were massive and arched over their forms, but even as big as they were they were miniature versions of the dragon’s wings. She opened both eyes and stared, mesmerized as the wings made small adjustments and she felt the breeze alter around them. The breeze slowed, then stopped as the wings folded down.
Looking around, Remi realized they were on the floor of the cavern next to the lake. As Xan set her on her feet, she stepped back to assess the wings that were still fluttering behind his head. The wings barely scraped the ground, but the bend in the wings reached over his head by at least six inches. Considering he stood at least six feet seven or eight inches tall, she calculated his wingspan to be about sixteen to seventeen feet.
“What, little one?” Xan smiled at her when she cut her eyes to his face. “Would you like to see them?” At her nod, he grinned wider and spread his wings. Remi eyed his wingspan and decided she might have underestimated.
Remi started to reach out and touch but then pulled her hand back. Looking into his eyes, she blushed as she asked, “Do you mind if I touch them?”
Xan’s eyes seemed to shift, but he pulled his wings in again.
Remi walked around him and stared with wonder at the wings coming from his back. They seemed to be growing from the vertical scars she noticed earlier that bracketed his spine. Looking up, her eyes followed the curve from where one sprouted from his back up to the pinnacle then back down to where the tip brushed the dirt floor of the cavern. Her gaze then followed the other wing, glorying in the dynamics it took to make such a large man capable of flying.
“Can you spread them out for me, please?” Even with his hair hanging to the middle of his back, she watched Xan’s shoulder, and back muscles come alive and writhe under his skin. The wings spread out to their full span and she inhaled on a gasp. “They are beautiful.” She reached out and ran her fingertips down the center of his spine, feeling the muscles twitch and jerk under her touch. As she ran a hand through his hair, touching skin stretched taut between his wing structural bones, she felt and saw a shiver run through Xan’s giant frame.
“Are you okay?” She stopped, afraid she had hurt him in some way.
“No, I’m fine, little one.” Xan’s voice became deeper and a tad bit husky.
“Are you sure? I don’t want to hurt you.”
“I’m fine. If you have any questions, ask me, little one. There can only be honesty between us.”
Remi reached out again, forgetting both of them were still naked, forgetting her other arm was loaded down with clothes. All she wanted to do was feel the silky skin she had just touched. His skin felt warm and fuzzy on the surface but felt solid and unyielding beneath the surface. She had loved the feel of him on top of her earlier, but this was different. She had a clear head, and this felt different. Maybe the half shift is what caused his back and wings to feel different. As she ran her hand further along his wing, she felt his muscles tremble with tiny tremors.
Suddenly, something wrapped around her leg and moved on her thigh. Screaming, she went to jump back but stumbled. Whatever it was released her only to wrap around her waist and hold her up. Looking down, she caught her breath and froze.
Something that looked like a giant snake wrapped around her waist. Dropping the bundle of clothes from her other arm, she frantically started pushing on the snake to try to dislodge it. Xan spun around and gently restrained her wrists.
“S-s-snake! S-s—”
“Ssshhh, little one. It’s not a snake. It’s my tail.”
Remi stilled and looked up at Xan. “Your…tail?”
“Yes, little one.” Even as Xan said it, his tail unwound from around her waist. As the end of it let loose, it slowly wrapped around her hips and then caressed its way down her thighs before sliding off her calves. As she watched, his tail lazily swung back and forth behind him like a big cat’s.
Xan pulled her into him and wrapped his arms around her. Before she could say anything, he had wrapped his wings around her, too. “Remi, little one, I would never let anything harm you. To be honest…” Xan looked away as a faint blush stole up his cheeks. “To be honest, I have never shown my half-shifted form to any females except my mother and sister. I didn’t realize how…sensitive…my wings would be for someone to stroke.”
Remi realized his cock had become rock hard again and pressed insistently against her stomach. “Sensitive? Do you mean…”
Xan looked her in the eye. “I mean sensitive. Your touch on my wings is one of the most erotic things I’ve ever felt, and when you stroked them, my tail naturally tried to wrap around you.” Xan smirked as he continued. “I had to get used to it once I found out I could partially shift. Not all shifters can. Think of my tail the same as you would a pet cat or dog. It moves with my emotions.”
Remi remained quiet while she mulled this over. So many changes in the last twenty-four hours, let alone the last week. If she were to accept that she was his True One, then she must also accept that he actually could shape-shift, both partially and fully into a dragon. Of all the things she struggled to comprehend, the hardest thing had to be that he was a royal and she was just herself, Remunada Summers – bastard daughter in a line of a bastard daughters. But Remi had to decide what wars to fight and what wars to accept. A tail on her half-shifted dragon shifter? No big deal. Facing down his parents, the High King and Queen? The noble houses? A whole other story.
Looking up at him, she realized his eyes were still shifted into the dragon’s eyes, oval-slit pupils and midnight black velvet. “I think I can live with a tail. What else you got?” She giggled and jumped as she felt his tail wrap around her calf again and his wings fluttered a little closer.
“Little one, you tempt me too much. We need to hurry before my brother decides to come check on us again.”
With that, he released her and turned toward the water. As he walked into the water’s edge, his tail seemed reluctant to let her go. His tail trailed after him and was at least as long as Xan’s height, well over six feet. She couldn’t help but look at where it began at the base of his spine. Broad at the base, his tail narrowed to a small diameter near the end, but the very end was oddly shaped. The end flared out above the circumference looking much like a broad mushroom cap over the tail’s “stem.” It seemed to flick and wave at her right before Xan plunged beneath the surface of the water.
Catching her breath, Remi watched the ripples caress the surface of the water. Xan finally surfaced halfway across the lake and swam toward the far wall. She tentatively stepped into the water until it reached waist deep, then fell backward. The water was just as chilly as it had been the day before, but it felt wonderful on her hot skin. Even with her mind confused, her body still recognized him as her mate.
As much as she wanted to just accept it, she still remembered her mother and grandmother speaking of how the Royals always acted. They usually didn’t speak about them in front of her, waiting until they thought she slept. The stories of intrigue, greed, politics, and sexual promiscuity still resounded in her head. If Xan told her the truth, the promiscuity could be explained by the shifter abilities. But Remi wanted a husband who remained faithful to her, and she had seen how her mother had suffered because of being a single mother. Even with being a healer, she had been snubbed by the “good” women in society. At least until they needed her help. Remi knew the circumstances of her conception, as well as her mother’s and grandmother’s and while she didn’t feel any differently toward her family, she didn’t want to follow in the same footsteps.
Remi stepped out of the lake and heard a strange cry. Whipping around, she saw Xan standing on a ledge, halfway up the falls and even as she looked he dove forward, splitting the water like a knife. His wings and tail were gone. She turned back and quickly used a towel to dry her body and soak up as much of the water in her
hair as possible. As she finished braiding her hair, large rough hands smoothed around her waist, and Xan’s lips kissed her temple.
“You are beautiful, little one. I will be the envy of every male in the kingdoms.” Xan took the towel she had laid on a nearby rock and began drying off. She paused in lifting the shirt over her head, watching as he rubbed the damp towel down his chest. Her body began tingling again, centering on her nether regions. When his towel-clad hand headed toward his manhood, she quickly averted her eyes and pulled the shirt over her head.
The white shirt had laces halfway down the front. Even laced all the way up, the neck still wanted to fall off her shoulders. The sleeves fell beyond her hands, and the shirt tails reached just above her knees. She again marveled that as big as she was, his shirt hung off her like a child playing adult dress-up.
Chapter 6
As Remi stood there looking at the extra-long sleeves she needed to roll up, a male chuckle sounded above her head, and Xan’s hands started rolling up the excess on her left arm. Remi raised her eyes just a bit and realized Xan had put on leather pants and still hadn’t buttoned them up. The fly of his pants hung open, exposing tanned skin with a faint trail of hair disappearing below the leather. Her eyes raised a little more, and her breathing became short and ragged as she stared at his abdomen. Gods above, she could feel her internal muscles twinging at the sight of his tight stomach leading up into a muscled chest.
“Little one, if you keep looking at me like that, I won’t be able to control myself. We must leave the cavern and arrange for the Mating Ceremony and the wedding as quickly as possible.” Xan’s voice was ragged. As Remi looked up, his eyes were shifting between his human and dragon form, and his nostrils flared.
The Dragon's Soul: Xan (Siren Publishing Classic) Page 4
