Julia wasn’t sure, but what she was sure of was that when Jasper leaned in for a tentative kiss, she wanted it, too. She wanted to feel his lips on hers, so strong and warm. And she wanted to feel the delicious tingles that spread through her body at his touch. She couldn’t remember the last time she had craved a man this badly. Perhaps never. She’d had her share of crushes, but none of them had ever been quite as intoxicating as Jasper.
When he pulled away, she felt instantly disappointed. She wanted to reach for him and pull him back. But how could she, when she’d sworn up and down that she didn’t want him? How could she change her mind now?
As he looked into her eyes, though, she realized that perhaps the question was how could she not change her mind? This moment was too perfect. The weather was beautiful, the lake was dazzling, the food was delicious, and Jasper looked adorable wrapped up in that ridiculously oversized blanket. Perhaps he’d planned it all this way. The perfect romantic picnic that managed to not be cheesy. It sure made up for the cheesiness of the huge flower bouquet he’d bought her—although Julia had to admit that those flowers had been gorgeous.
Julia’s thoughts continued on this train, a mile a minute, until Jasper leaned in and kissed her again. His kiss was slow and questioning. She knew he was asking her whether she wanted more. He was giving her plenty of time to pull away and stop him if she wasn’t on board with this. Julia’s mind screamed at her that she shouldn’t be on board, but her heart pounding in her chest told her that she was all in.
And so, she kissed him back. As soon as she gave in, truly gave in to him and focused on their kiss instead of the thousand reasons why they shouldn’t be kissing, she quickly realized that this was the best kiss she’d ever experienced. She felt her body warming up as his hands reached for her cheeks. His palms against her skin sent a fresh wave of tingles through every fiber of her being, and she knew in that moment that she wasn’t going to be satisfied until she had all of him. She knew even before he did that they were going to take this all the way.
She did not protest as he unwrapped himself from his blanket and scooted himself into hers. After making sure they were both completely covered by the blanket’s soft warmth, he pressed his body against hers as he continued to kiss her. His body felt unbelievably warm. His skin burned almost like when someone has a fever, but Julia knew he wasn’t sick. He was merely a dragon, filled with an impossible heat. The only fever he burned with was one of passion—passion for her.
For perhaps the first time, Julia found herself a bit awed by that. She’d been too proud to admit how flattering it was to be wanted by a dragon. But now all she could think about was the fact that Jasper could have had almost any woman he wanted, and yet he’d chosen her. She let out a happy sigh and wrapped her arms around him as best she could as he continued kissing her under the blankets. He slipped his tongue into her mouth, and she closed her eyes to fully enjoy the sensation.
He was a damn good kisser. He was confident and moved with authority, but he was gentle, too. The perfect balance of strength and sweetness. This was a side to dragons that not many were lucky enough to see, and now that Julia was going for it, she wanted to fully experience the moment.
Everything faded away except the two of them. Jasper reached gently to unclasp the back of her bikini top. Julia no longer felt embarrassed about how her body might look under Jasper’s gaze. He must have liked what he saw, if he was continuing to move forward in their makeout session. He slid the top off her shoulders and threw it over his shoulders to the front of the boat. Then he reached to slide off the bottoms as well, struggling just a bit with the awkward bending and maneuvering required to get that off. And, not to be left out, he quickly slid off his Speedo.
Julia lay naked beneath the blanket with him. She normally would have felt nervous and embarrassed, but all she could feel right now was desire. His hands reached to explore her body, and the warmth and tingling she felt made her feel like she was going to explode. It wasn’t easy to keep it all in. He paused for a long time at her breasts, wanting to explore those completely, it seemed. First he took the whole of her breasts in his hands, massaging them and seeming to be awed by their size and shape. Then he ran his fingers across the nipples. He went back and forth across the surface of her skin and then drew circles around each hard, alert nub. Not satisfied with using just his hands, though, he soon bent and put his mouth on her. His tongue flicked back and forth, and he used his teeth to nibble at each nipple.
By this point, Julia felt like fireworks were going off in her body. She had long ago lost any sense of reason. Between her legs, she could feel the wetness of her desire. Her whole body felt like it was pulsing and begging for more of Jasper. She couldn’t think about anything except how badly she wanted him inside of her. Needed him inside of her.
She had no illusions of being in love. This was too soon. Too new. There’s no way this was anything more than a pure, primal need for each other’s bodies. And yet, she couldn’t escape the depth of caring she saw whenever she opened her eyes and met Jasper’s eyes. He was interested in fucking her, yes. But he was also…interested in loving her? There was no denying that the emotions simmering under the surface of his gaze went much deeper than just carnal lust.
Julia couldn’t process what that might mean right now. It was getting harder and harder to think as Jasper’s hands continued to explore every part of her. His fingers found her entrance, and he grunted in approval when he slipped one inside of her.
“You’re so wet for me.” His voice sounded deep and husky. Hungry.
Julia only managed a moan. She reached her own hand down to find Jasper’s dick. She had felt his erection pressing against her, hard and stiff. But she wanted to explore what he felt like with her hands as well. And her exploring did not disappoint her. His shaft was huge, thick, and long. He moaned as she rubbed him with her palm, then used her fingers to tease his head. She kept going, and he kept moaning, until finally he let out an actual growl.
He pushed her down onto her back, then moved to hover over her under the blankets. His eyes, feral and desperate, searched hers. “Julia, if you don’t want more, you better tell me right now. Because I’m about to show you what it feels like when a dragon takes you.”
Julia only smiled. She did want more. She wanted everything he had to give. And he gave it.
With a roar that seemed to reverberate across the entire lake, he slammed into her. She gasped as he did, unable to believe that any man could be so large. And yet he was. He filled her completely, pushing deep into her and setting every nerve ending within her on fire. He slid easily against the wetness of her inner walls. The juices of her desire covered him as his heat emanated into her. They were one in that moment, and Julia had never felt so overcome by ecstasy. She closed her eyes and moaned as the heat, tingling, and pressure quickly built up to a wonderfully unbearable level.
And then, she let go.
She arched her back and threw back her head as she screamed, letting her release take over her in steady, strong waves. Her inner walls pulsed and squeezed around Jasper’s shaft. Every tremor came from deep within her and filled her with a rush of pleasure. She had never known such deep bliss before.
Jasper followed not far behind her. He thrust into her, hungry and desperate. He roared and moved under the blankets with increasing speed, going deeper and deeper with each thrust until he too found his release. He stiffened and pulsed into her, his whole body giving itself to her in that moment. For a perfect, brief moment, they reached the heights of pleasure together out on that lake.
When he finally slid out of her and lay beside her, Julia feared she was going to come crashing back to reality. Surely, now that the moment was over, she would realize that she’d just made a passionate, foolhardy mistake. But there was no immediate rush of regret. There was only a heavenly warmth filling her body, the soothing sound of waves lapping against the side of the boat, and the surprisingly reassuring feeling of Jasper’s fing
ers intertwined with hers. This had not been at all how she’d thought this date would go. And yet, she knew as she lay there that it had gone exactly as it should have.
She couldn’t explain how, but she had a deep certainty that her life and Jasper’s had been destined to intertwine.
Chapter Seven
Jasper had never in his life been so excited to go to work. He had to remind himself to look reasonably serious as he walked down the main hallway of the Advocacy Bureau toward Julia’s office. He didn’t want to attract more attention than he normally did as a famous dragon, because he wanted to hurry up and get to Julia. But it took quite a bit of self-control not to skip down the hallway with a giddy smile on his face.
He and Julia had stayed out on the lake until the sun started to set, making love another time before they drove the boat back to shore. On a normal day, they would never have gotten away with sleeping together out in the middle of the lake. There were always too many boaters and jet skiers around. But Jasper had gotten lucky with the warm November weather. No one else had wanted to bother to get their boat out of storage for one freak day. Jasper had been the only one, but it had been worth it. More than worth it.
He swallowed hard as he approached Julia’s office. Despite his giddiness, he could feel his nerves tightening as well. He hadn’t talked to Julia since he dropped her off at her car after their day on the lake. He’d kissed her good night, and they’d agreed to see each other at work. It had seemed completely natural at the time to leave things like that, but Jasper was all too aware of the fact that Julia had never actually agreed to any sort of relationship, or even to go out on another date with him. What if she had only slept with him on the boat because she was buzzed from the beer, or overtaken by the beauty of the lake that surrounded them? What if it hadn’t meant as much to her as it had to him?
Jasper gritted his teeth together as he approached Julia’s office door. No matter what, he wasn’t giving up on her. He’d insisted on a date with her because he knew they had chemistry. Now, he was sure of the fact that she was his lifemate. And that meant that regardless of how she felt, or how long it took for him to fully win her heart over, he would wait for her.
Of course, he hoped he wouldn’t have to wait. He hoped that when he saw her in the next few seconds she’d be just as excited to see him as he was to see her. Raising his hand and standing straight and tall, Jasper knocked on the door. She called for him to come in, and he opened the door with a broad smile on his face.
“Good morning!” he said. She smiled back at him, but she looked guarded. And the smile froze on his face as well when he saw why. There was another man sitting in her office. One of the Advocates, judging by his fancy wizard robes. Jasper gave Julia a questioning glance.
“Good morning to you, too.” Her smile was sweet, but still guarded. She seemed a bit nervous, and he had a feeling it had something to do with the other man in the room. “This is Noah Mohler, one of our top Wizard Advocates. Noah, this is Jasper Moffatt.”
“A pleasure to meet you,” Noah said warmly, rising to shake Jasper’s hand. Jasper nodded at him.
“Nice to meet you, too.” Jasper did his best to be polite, but he felt impatient. Why was this guy here? As long as he was in the room, Jasper couldn’t have a conversation with Julia about what the future might hold for them.
“Noah has been assigned to show us around some of the advanced Advocate training facilities,” Julia said. “Usually, these facilities are off limits to everyone except for the students actually being trained, and their teachers, of course. But the High Council thought it might be useful for you to see what goes on in there.”
“I agree with the High Council,” Noah said. “Seeing these facilities will give you an idea of some of our hardest tasks. If you ever need to help defend the Advocacy Bureau against an enemy attack, understanding what we do in depth will make it easier for us to work together.”
Jasper nodded. “Sounds good.” He tried not to let his disappointment show in his face. Seeing the advanced training facilities did sound exciting, but he wished he’d had a chance to talk to Julia before going on any tours this morning. He glanced over at Julia, who still looked quite nervous.
“Since these training facilities are so specialized and have such high security, we’re required to have a senior Advocate escort us through them. Even then, it’s rare to be offered a tour. I myself haven’t seen the facilities yet. It’s a great honor to be allowed in.”
Jasper smiled as he detected a note of excitement in Julia’s voice. She might be nervous, but she was also looking forward to seeing a part of the Advocacy Bureau she hadn’t seen yet. He knew she loved this place. She’d told him when they were out on the boat that she had big dreams of becoming an Advocate Defender, and he had no doubt that she would succeed. She was smart, but more than that, she was dedicated. She worked harder than any of the other Advocate Support Specialists, and it was obvious she actually cared about the Advocates more than any of the others, too.
“I’m looking forward to it,” Jasper said. “When does the tour start?”
“Right now,” Noah said. “We were just waiting for you to arrive. The tour will take several hours, so we should get started now if we want to finish up before lunch.”
“Let’s go, then.”
Noah nodded, and Julia and Jasper followed him out of Julia’s office. Julia looked over at him and mouthed “sorry.” He smiled back at her, feeling strangely heartened by that one word. He knew she was apologizing for the fact that they hadn’t had a chance to have a conversation about what was going on between them. But if she was apologizing for that, then at least he knew she was thinking about it, too. She wasn’t intending to blow him off and act like nothing had happened.
Jasper wished more than anything in that moment that he could slip Julia’s hand into his. But that would look wildly unprofessional, and he knew that it was important to Julia to appear professional. So he kept his hands in his pockets as they walked along.
Noah kept up a brisk pace, and soon arrived at the entrance to the highly secured training area. There were two guards by the gate, as well as a retina scanner and fingerprint sensor. Jasper whistled under his breath. Whatever went on in here must be quite important to warrant such a strong show of security.
Noah approached the guards and conversed with them in low tones for a few moments, pointing back to Jasper and Julia. The guards nodded, and one of them looked up and squinted in Jasper’s direction. “We’ll need I.D. from both of them,” the guard said, loud enough for Jasper to hear. Jasper took the hint and started digging in his wallet for his Torch Lake Driver’s License. Julia merely held up her Advocacy Bureau badge, which had her picture and name on it. Jasper’s Advocacy Bureau badge only had the word “Visitor” printed on it in bright red letters. He didn’t think the guards would consider that a proper I.D.
He stepped forward and handed the license over to the second guard. Noah was handing a paper sealed with the official Torch Lake High Council seal over to the guards. The second guard broke the seal and scanned the paper, then nodded.
“All good. These orders allow Jasper and Julia in, just like Noah said.”
“Here you go,” the first guard said, handing Jasper’s driver’s license back to him. “Have fun. You’re lucky. Almost no one from the outside gets to go in here.”
Jasper smiled politely, then waited another moment as Noah stepped forward to allow the retina scanner to scan his eyes. Small beams of light flashed across Noah’s face for just a moment. The system beeped and a computer voice said “Senior Advocate match. Please place fingerprints on the sensor.”
Noah placed his fingerprints on the fingerprint sensor, and then a large click sounded as the fingerprint scanner recognized Noah’s fingerprints and began opening the door. “Welcome Noah Mohler. Have a good day.”
Jasper and Julia exchanged glances. Julia was grinning, clearly enthralled by the security technology. Jasper had to admit that se
eing a retina scanner was impressive. Fingerprint scanners were everywhere in Torch Lake, but this was the first retina scanner he’d seen.
“Come on,” Noah said. “We’ll start in the advanced magical defense techniques room. I know Julia is interested in seeing that.”
Noah winked at Julia, who looked like she might explode from excitement. Jasper had to grin at how adorable she looked. “What’s the advanced magical defense techniques room?” he asked, reading the name of the room, which was written in bold letters across the top of the doorway.
“It’s where the Advocate Defenders train,” Julia said. “They’re pretty much the only people allowed in here, other than the senior Advocates.”
Jasper nodded. He was beginning to understand why Julia was so excited about this tour. She was getting a glimpse into what she hoped was her future.
“We make sure our Advocate Defenders practice advanced techniques on a daily basis, usually with one of the Advocates they work most closely with. And this is also where those who decide to apply for an Advocate Defender position come to take the practical exam they have to pass to get the position.”
Julia was nodding her head up and down excitedly. “It’s so cool to get to see this. Hopefully I’ll be seeing it one day soon as an actual applicant.”
Noah smiled kindly at her and nodded, then opened the door. The room was giant, and looked quite similar to the training room in the fitness studio where Jasper had watched Julia practicing her magical defense moves only a few days earlier. This room had the space for dozens of wizards to practice at a time, though, and even though it was early in the morning, there were already several wizards in here, their faces sweaty and flushed as they shouted out attack spells and ducked and rolled across the room. The noise was deafening, and the room was crowded, but no one bumped into each other. Everyone seemed to know exactly where they were going, and what their next move needed to be. It was almost like watching some sort of impressive fighting dance. Jasper and Julia both looked on in awe for several minutes, until Noah’s voice cut in to explain further.
Dragon Defying Page 5
