“Hold up,” Gage managed to say. He flipped them over and pinned her to the bed.
Kaylee writhed beneath him. “Can’t we get this out of my system then ask questions?”
Gage huffed a laugh. “Depends on how quiet we can be. This feels a bit naughty if you ask me.”
She smiled. “Makes it all the better.”
She dragged her hands along his bare skin, reveling in the sensation of it. Her body prickled with energy, sparking where they touched. She marveled at what was happening, even though a part of her was concerned.
Gage sensed it and leaned back. He studied her face before holding the back of his hand to her cheek. “You’re awfully warm. And your cheeks are redder than usual.”
A sound that was a mixture of growl and groan slipped up her throat. She closed her eyes and leaned into Gage’s touch. She wanted more. She wanted his palm pressed against her skin, wanted it to trail down her neck and chest. She wanted him inside her.
“Kaylee,” Gage’s voice brought her back to the present. Her eyes snapped open to find his filled with concern. “I said your name three times. Did you hear me at all?”
She hadn’t. Swallowing, she pulled away from Gage’s touch. The coyote whined. She rolled over and bared her stomach, begging for any kind of touch.
“What is happening to me?” Kaylee groaned.
The familiar smirk touched Gage’s mouth. It quirked the corners of his lips and made Kaylee angry.
“Alright, talk.”
His lips pursed together, fighting back the laughter rising through him. Why was he laughing at her? This was so rude. She trusted him, loved him, and he was laughing at her. There was something wrong with her. Now was not the time for laughter.
Gage leaned forward, his hands brushing the bare skin of her arms. “You’re in heat, my little pup. That’s what’s making your body temperature hotter than normal. It might also make you… you know?”
“Hornier than usual?” She asked, tossing out the word he’d avoided using. She pulled the hem of her skirt higher so that her skin could rest closer to his. There was still an infuriating layer of khaki between them. She needed it gone.
“Yeah, that. I mean, I kind of like it, but we should talk about this first.”
Her brows creased. She could barely form a thought that didn’t include his cock. She needed it inside her now. She needed him buried as deep as he could be.
“Honey, stop humping me.” Gage caught her hips. She hadn’t even realized what she was doing.
A sheepish look crossed her face.
He sighed, the sound between desire and resignation. “I want to. Believe me, I want to find my way inside you and never leave, but being in heat also means you’re fertile. Before we fuck up and do something we might regret, we need to talk about this.”
Fertile meant the possibility of children… but her mind could only focus on his cock. She gripped the sides of her head and groaned. Would anything make this feeling go away?
“Alright,” Gage said. “I’ve got the solution for the time being. It’s going to suck for both of us, but I don’t think either of us are going to care for long.”
He wrestled his wallet from his back pocket and pulled out a foil square. It was a condom wrapper. She hadn’t used condoms since she met Gage. There’s never been anything between them. She made a sound in her throat. She wanted skin on skin, the real feeling.
“You’re going to thank me later,” he whispered.
Quickly and deftly, Gage unzipped his pants with one hand and slipped the latex sheath over his already burgeoning cock. His hand disappeared beneath her skirt just long enough to find her folds. She was already wet with need. He hissed through clenched teeth when he found it.
She smiled and leaned into his touch. She needed this, needed him. Would the desire ever stop? It was like this all the time, even when she wasn’t in heat, she thought about Gage and his body. When her hands found the line of a new design, her mind was on the lines of Gage’s shoulders or the crinkle in the corner of his eyes.
Gage was her everything and it was hard to imagine she’d lived a life that hadn’t included him.
She lifted her hips and lowered herself on top of him. His thick head caught at her opening, but as she rocked her hips, he slowly made his way inside her. Once he was buried to the hilt, they both sighed. His hands held her back as she began to rock back and forth. He looked up and met her eyes. They burned with the intensity of the passion between them.
There was a bond forged through hardship and trust. It had morphed into love, one that burned through both of them and lit up the night. Together, there was no darkness they couldn’t conquer.
She was gentle as she moved, sliding him in and out of her opening. The pleasure built slowly, but Gage couldn’t handle it. He pulled back and thrust. His cock hit the deepest part of her and pulled a small groan from between her lips. She pressed her lips shut, remembering their need to be quiet.
Beneath her, Gage took control of their rhythm. His pace quickened and slowed, teasing her orgasm to its peak. It would rise and fall with each thrust, threatening to spill over. His fingers curled against her back, as if he, too, could barely handle the passion burning between them. He bit his lower lip and the sight of it sent her overboard.
Her orgasm burst and slammed into her. It hit every part of her body, rushing across her in uncontrollable waves. Her fingers tingled and her tows curled as she spasmed in his arms. Not long after, Gage grunted and thrust inside her. His motion sent another wave of pleasure through her.
She slumped, letting her head fall against his as they struggled to catch their breath. A smile crossed her lips. Finally, her mind was her own again. She still yearned to feel the flex of his muscles beneath her hands, but the desire was no longer so strong it fogged her mind.
“Will it always be like this?” she whispered.
Gage responded by reaching to claim her mouth. His kiss was gentle as he explored the taste of her. It warmed through her like the summer sun.
“Most likely. Although, I’m not complaining.”
She smiled. There was a new strength singing through her veins. What had once confused and crippled her was now a huge part of her life. The coyote rose and peered at Kaylee, as if separate from her. A happy howl echoed through her mind. It, too, was happy with their life.
“No kids. Not yet,” she said.
“That’s fine by me,” Gage agreed. “More time for this.”
He punctuated his sentence with a quick thrust before pulling out. The condom had done its job, but she was going to have to look into other options if they were going to make sure there were no miniatures running around. She wanted Gage all to herself for as long as she could get.
“I think your parents are waiting for us,” he said once he disposed of the condom.
“Oh, shit!” She scrambled off the bed, fixing her panties with one hand and her hair with the other. She’d completely forgotten where she was. Embarrassment crept up her cheeks.
Gage laughed and leaned forward to lay a kiss on her forehead. “Good thing I think they like me.”
She laughed, too, and pulled him close for another quick kiss. Her parents didn’t say anything once they returned, but she could see the laughter in her mother’s eyes. At least the woman was happy for her. It seemed as though they did approve of him. That was good, because there was no going back for Kaylee.
She elbowed her mate. “I have a high school math teacher who flunked me because my mom dissed him in high school. We should pay him a visit tonight.”
Gage’s eyes sparkled and a grin split his lips. “We most certainly should.”
Thank you!
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Mated to the Dragon
Emilia Hartley
Chapter One
Dakota flipped through the school’s flyer more times than she could count on the ten hour flight. There were only so many clouds she could bear to look at beyond the window. After browsing the highlights of the Art History program of Bangor’s University for the millionth time, she sighed and tossed it to the empty seat beside her. At least she’d gotten lucky in that regard.
The person beside her had gotten a free upgrade to first class. She didn’t complain. As a college student, just having the extra bit of space to spread out felt luxurious. She hadn’t been raised with much. Both of her parents worked overtime through her childhood to put clothes on her back and food on the table. College had been a distant dream for her as a child, a thing that even in youth she knew that her family could not afford.
Then, in high school, she got her very first job. Every penny she earned while serving pizza to the kids in her class went into savings. She was determined to reach her dream, to go to school, and escape the grind that her parents seemed doomed to endure. She began with community college. Then, with scholarships and loans that made her cringe when she signed, Dakota took the plunge and applied to universities.
When the grant to study Welsh art and architecture abroad nearly fell into her lap, she took it without a second thought. She’d worked so hard through her childhood and teen years that she wanted to do something that she desperately loved for the rest of her life and during a school field trip, Dakota realized that meant curating art for museums. She loved the almost religious air that filled museums, the wonder and awe as she moved from collection to collection. The study abroad program was a huge step in that direction for her, a new adventure that would look beautiful on her resume. She hadn’t been thinking about what else the world had to offer, what she should have been afraid of.
Her eyes fell on the book thrown atop her backpack. She frowned. Her mother bought it for her when Dakota announced that she’d been accepted for the study program in Wales. She knew what lived in the Snowdonia territories, as did the rest of the world after the Occurrence.
Dragons.
The massive beasts that resided in Wales were masters of fire. They had born more than a few legends in Welsh myth, ones that Dakota had familiarized herself with only so that she’d have a leg up in her studies. Not because she was curious about the beasts that could take the form of humans, mostly men with violence in their eyes and tension in the muscles that could easily crush her thin frame.
The day before she boarded the plane, Dakota’s mother had gifted her with the book. Dakota had felt a lump grow in her throat as she looked at it. Dragon Men and Their Urges was written across the cover. Bea, Dakota’s mother, had opened it right to the chapter on self-defense and escape should she run into one of the dragons.
“Mom.” She’d snapped the book shut. “The school has a policy to protect the students from abroad. If a student should come across a dragon at all they’re forced to pack up and are sent on next plane home so that they aren’t in any danger. Besides, I did my research. There hasn’t been a reported dragon shifter sighting in Bangor in years. You have nothing to worry about.”
Her mother hadn’t looked convinced at all, shaking her hands with worry. Dakota assured her that it was the very last thing she wanted, reminding her mother that she would likely be spending all her time sequestered in museums and crumbling castles. That had been the thing that convinced her mother to let her go. She did know her own daughter after all. Or, at least that’s what she told herself.
Dakota wasn’t going to let anyone ruin her chance to see the world. She’d dreamed about visiting castles and rolling hills all her life, etching their lines in a moleskin journal so that she could keep them close. She’d be damned if she let anyone take this chance away from her, mother or dragon man.
Now, Dakota reached out and picked up the book that her mother had purchased and flipped it open to a random page. A sloppily drawn dragon graced the page with wings spread in clumsy flight, flanked by text that described a dragon male’s urge to find a mate. It described how the dragons often used their human forms to take human mates, despite the availability of the opposite sex in their race.
Once the author started to theorize about traditions of kidnapping and Stockholm syndrome in days past, Dakota shut the book and flipped it over. The author’s face grinned back from above the synopsis. His thick mustache made her think of Tom Selleck, but the author’s eyes were dark and serious, giving him an air of commanding authority. Below the photo was the symbol of the Order of the Guardians of Existence, better known as GOE these days.
GOE was the only force that stood between humanity and the dragons. They were briefly covered during Dakota’s global history class in high school, expanded upon in college if only barely. GOE had existed since the time of knights. Back then, they were only a few, but with time they spread across the earth. In the mid 1900’s when Dragons were forced into the light, the Guardians were the ones that stepped up to defend the humans from the beasts. Since then, the UN has worked closely with the Guardians to ensure that peace and, sometimes, justice remained between human and dragons.
A voice chimed over the communication system above Dakota’s head. Through crackling static, the voice claimed that they were preparing for descent. Dakota’s stomach lurched in excitement for the drop in altitude. The clouds parted outside her window and a foreign city appeared. She couldn’t stop the silly smile that crossed her face as she looked outside the window.
The plane lurched and jumped, finally touching ground. Soon, she would be taking her first step in another country, a whole new world. She had gone from a girl with nothing to finally being able to see her dream on the horizon.
***
After the short bus ride to Bangor University, all the study abroad students had been herded into an introductory seminar. Dakota chose a seat toward the back and flipped open her black, moleskin journal. The pencil fit between her fingers like it belonged there. She studied the profile of a guy a few rows ahead of her. His fair hair launched like a wave over his forehead and his nose sloped up to meet it at the very tip. The pencil scratched those striking lines into her journal while she waited for the seminar to begin.
She had not been expecting to see a familiar face walk across the stage. The man with the thick mustache on the book her mother had given her strode out before the assembled students. A close-lipped smile was pasted on his lips, but his eyes were still dark. His gaze swept over the crowd. Dakota thought that his gaze had lingered on her a little too long. She shook her head. There was no reason for something like that. She was simply exhausted from her flight. It was so much earlier here than it was back home.
Professors that Dakota recognized from the website followed the man out onto the stage. A man wearing a tweed vest stood back with his hands in his pockets, his eyes hidden behind the glare on his narrow glasses. A woman followed them out. Her gray streaked hair was tied back into a braid that flowed over her shoulder. Perhaps it was the distance between them, but the woman appeared too young to have graying hair already. She lowered herself into a folding chair and glared at the back of the Guardian’s head as if it was personal.
Before Dakota could wonder what the Guardian had done to piss her off, the man launched into his speech.
“Welcome to the University at Bangor!” His voice boomed through the room, his hands thrown into the air to encompass them all. “While we know that you all came he
re to devote your time to your studies, there are other things that we must address today.
“As many of you know, Bangor is dangerously close to the territory of Snowdonia, the home of the Welsh Dragons. These dragons have a long history with the people of Wales and might see themselves as their protectors, but they are still predators. No matter how glamourous you think they are, keep in mind that if provoked, they can kill you with very little effort.
“We advise all women travelling this semester to remain within the city limits, if not on Campus altogether. Dragons have always had a desire to steal young women away from their lives and keep them for their own as if they were property.”
Dakota heard the words that the man was speaking, but her eyes were drawn to the woman behind him. Clearly under the impression that no one was watching her, she mocked him by dramatically mouthing his words every now and then with her arms crossed over her chest. She stopped once she realized that one of the students was watching her. Their eyes met and the woman began to nervously chew on her lower lip.
Dakota dropped her gaze, but her pencil picked up and started to trace the lines of the professor’s face. She racked her memory to place the professor. She knew that she’d seen her face at one point in time. That was it, she was the history professor. Dakota was sure that she had at least one class with the woman during her semester. It made her wonder why she thought the man’s warnings were garbage. What did she know that no one else did?
Or, was she simply crazy? One of those women who fantasized about being taken away by the dragons. There were claims every so often that women had been kidnapped by the dragon men. Usually, those stories boiled down to grabs for attention or wives that simply left their husbands in the middle of the night. Dragons didn’t kidnap women anymore, if they ever did at all.
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