Dark Fire (Refuge Book 4)

by Cynthia Sax

  Maybe she was doing it wrong. She licked the seam, wetting his flesh with her tongue. Even that part of him was scaled. She traced the tiny ridges.

  A rumble rolled up his chest, like the engine noise from an approaching ship, growing louder and louder.

  He strapped his arms around her waist and drew her tight against him. Their bodies collided. He captured her lips. She gasped, surprised by the contact, and he surged inside her mouth.

  His tongue was captivatingly different from hers, forked, flexible, alien. His mouth was hot. His teeth were thrillingly sharp. One of them pierced her bottom lip. The metallic taste of blood flavored their kiss.

  He ran his hands up and down her cloth-covered back as he ravished her mouth, thrusting in and out, in and out. She clung to his shoulders. His muscles undulated under her fingertips.

  Needing to be closer to him, she slid onto his lap, straddling his hips. The fabric wrapped around her parted. Her bare pussy pressed against the bulge in his ass coverings and they both groaned.

  This was what she yearned for, what she had been missing. She rocked against him, delighting in the pressure escalating low in her form.

  Her nipples rubbed along his scaled chest, every rounded edge teasing her more and more. Smoke coiled around them. Her Dracheon warrior was close to combustion.

  And she wanted to push him over the edge. She explored his muscles with her hands, skimmed her fingertips along the waistband of his ass coverings, found the fastening and—

  “No.” He peeled her away from his body and plunked her ass back on the horizontal support. “You don’t touch me and my garments stay on.”

  Shocked and confused, she stared at him for a moment, not knowing what to do next.

  He wasn’t stopping her. He was setting boundaries, outlining the rules.

  She could work within them. His garments would stay on. Hers would be removed.

  She rolled her shoulders. The covering cloth fell to the floor. Cool air swept across her breasts, plucking at her nipples.

  An exciting growl rose from her warrior’s throat. “You’re playing with fire, little mate.”

  She wanted his flames, his beast, all of him. “Your garments remain on.” She reclined, the horizontal support chilly against her bare back. “And I’m not touching you.” She stretched her arms above her head, putting her hands out of reach.

  The position arched her back, thrust her small breasts upward. She parted her legs, allowing him to see all of her, shamelessly on display.

  No other male had viewed her naked form. He would be the only one and he did look, gazing at her with fire in his eyes, his countenance stark and primitive, his silver scales gleaming.

  “You can’t touch me.” His voice was thick with lust. “If you do, I’ll lose control of my beast. He could tear you to pieces.”

  She could die. Meeting his gaze, she read that truth in his eyes.

  That possible fate didn’t scare her. Death had always lingered around the next corner, waiting for her. “Many beings kill thieves if they catch them.” Some boys lost hands, eyes, limbs, but most were killed. “If I die, I die.” She shrugged.

  “This ends now if you don’t agree to my terms.” Her dominant male declared.

  She didn’t want to stop. Not now. “I won’t touch you.” Faylee linked her fingers together. “My hands will remain above my head.” She kept her vows also. “Now, kiss me, warrior. I like having your lips on mine.”

  “Did you like it?” He stood, looming over her, big and broad and muscular.

  “I liked it and I didn’t like it.” She tilted her chin upward, being honest with him. “Your kiss made me feel hot all over but I also ached, needing something more.”

  He bent over her, slanting his lips across hers, the contact light, teasing. “What did you need?”

  “I don’t know.” His fingers, his cock, she wasn’t certain. “But I knew you could give it to me.”

  He cupped the back of her head with one of his hands, holding her to him. “I will give it to you.” He followed that vow with action, delving deeper, stroking into her mouth.

  Their tongues twined. He pressed against her lips, opening her more and more to him until they merged, becoming one. She was no longer alone. He was a part of her.

  She wished she could make that connection last.

  That was impossible. Three-eyed Mak owned her, had beings placed all over the settlement. She couldn’t escape him, not until she paid off her debt.

  That could take solar cycles.

  Dare said he’d settle her balance. He didn’t know how large that amount was.

  No male would pay that price, not for her.

  This rest cycle was all she’d have with her Dracheon warrior. She wouldn’t squander the opportunity.

  “Are you feeling hot all over now?” Dare wanted more words.

  She’d give them to him. “I feel hot and needy.” She lowered her voice to the faintest of whispers. “I also feel…wet.”

  “Are you wet?” He drifted his hands along her neck, between her breasts, over her stomach, his palms rough and warm and so very different from her own.

  She shimmied with anticipation. A male was touching her.

  Not any male. Dare was a being unlike any she’d ever known. He was honorable and strong and lived in a clean, nourishment bar-filled world she could only dream about.

  He curved his fingers over her mons and she jerked, the contact divine.

  “Ah, yes.” He caressed her slick, sensitive flesh. “You’re dripping for me.”

  He bent his head and mouthed over her right breast as he played with her pussy. She moaned, her hands twisting above her head, the dual assault spiraling her passion upward.

  In the past, she’d touched herself, exploring her body without a sound, alone in the dark, her hands slipping under layers of garments. It had never felt like this, like an inferno burning higher and higher inside her, lighting up her darkened corners.

  He pinched her nipple with the forked tip of his tongue and she bit her bottom lip to keep from yipping.

  “Silence is prudent. The walls are thin.” He switched his attention to her left breast, lavishing that curve with the same adoration. “But, one planet rotation in the future, I’ll make you scream for me.”

  That future would never happen. They were parting after she brought him to meet with the Rebel female.

  Faylee smooshed that distressing thought, focusing on his mouth, tongue, hands. He worked her breasts, her pussy. She arched her back, offering herself to him.

  He pushed one of his fingers inside her and a whimper escaped her lips.

  “You’re tight, mate.” His eyes were engulfed in flame. “You’re hugging my finger.” He plunged in and out of her.

  She lifted her hips, unable to remain still, wantonly fucking his hand. He gazed down at her as she moved. With him, she wasn’t invisible. He saw all of her.

  She loosened around him and he added a second finger, stretching her open. Pressure built within her. Perspiration beaded on her skin. She panted, thrusting upward harder, faster.

  It wasn’t enough. “Can’t.” She thrashed her head back and forth, seeking satisfaction, unable to find it. “I need.”

  “What do you need, mate?” He nuzzled against her breast as she rode his hand.

  She met his gaze. What did she need?

  His lips curled upward. “You don’t know…but I do.” His eyes glowed. “Cover your sweet lips.”

  She placed her hands over her mouth. What was he going to—

  He rammed his fingers into her pussy and brushed his thumb over her clit. The combination broke her. She smothered her shriek with her palms, the chamber spinning around her, explosions detonating in her brain.

  Dare held her down as she gyrated, bliss streaking over her, greater than any she’d ever experienced. The weight of him felt perfect, right.

  With him, in this moment, she fit. She belonged.

  That feeling dissipated as
the pleasure receded, their connection weakening. Dare slid his fingers out of her pussy, breaking their physical bond.

  His scaled skin glistened. He sucked her juices off that part of him, inhaling every drop. His eyelids were partially lowered, his expression rapturous.

  He liked the way she tasted.

  She liked him. Leaving her Dracheon warrior would hurt. She squeezed her eyelids shut, trapping tears behind them. Parting from him would make the darkness darker and the cold colder.

  But it had to happen. They were from two different worlds. She had no way to escape hers and she wouldn’t drag him into her nightmare.

  “You’re beautiful, mate.” Warm lips brushed against her forehead.

  Only he had ever called her beautiful. With Dare, she wasn’t a boy. She was a female, desirable, wanted.

  He gathered her into his arms and transferred her to the sleeping support. She rolled onto her side, facing away from him. There was a moment of brief separation, giving her a taste of the future, of the loneliness she’d soon endure.

  Two soft clunks and a rustle of leather broke the silence and her warrior rejoined her, lying beside her. He rested one of his big hands on her hip. With each breath, his chest pressed against her back.

  She didn’t open her eyes, couldn’t look at him. If he met her gaze, he’d see her yearning, her sadness, her acceptance.

  They weren’t meant to be. This planet rotation would be all they’d ever have.

  Chapter Five

  Although his mate’s eyes were closed, she wasn’t sleeping. Tension radiated from her stiff form.

  Dare lay beside her, as naked as she was. His beast had insisted he discard his garments, the leather irritating it.

  His female’s unhappiness also bothered him. He rubbed his fingers over her hip, swirling heat into her soft skin.

  He’d satisfied her…temporarily. The pleasure and wonder reflected in her beautiful eyes during her release would be burned into his brain until the end of time.

  Then something had upset her. He didn’t know what that something was.

  “You can talk to me.” As soon as the words left his mouth, he realized how foolish they were.

  His mate used silence as a shield, as a means to protect herself. She wouldn’t speak when troubled.

  He perused her form, looking for the cause of her distress. His gaze paused on the puncture wounds on her neck. He’d marked her. That had pleased his savage soul.

  It had scared her.

  Dread coiled inside him. “Did I hurt you?” He’d tried to be careful with her but she was so tiny, so fragile and his beast had been excited.

  She shook her head.

  He hadn’t harmed her. His muscles relaxed.

  “Good. I wanted only to please you.” He rolled her over until she faced him.

  Her eyelashes fluttered. She didn’t open her eyes.

  His lips twitched. His female was stubborn.

  “You liked my kisses.” Determined to uncover the source of her discontentment, he cradled her delicate face between his big hands.

  Her head dipped.

  “You liked my touch.” He smelled her on his fingers, the scent enthralling his Drache. His cock had been hard since the moment he met her, his balls on the edge of detonation.

  She nodded again, no hesitation in her response.

  He had pleased her physically. It had been a struggle to restrain himself, a battle to slow down. He drew her closer to him, tucking her against his body. The primitive side of him had wanted to start the bonding process, claim her completely. He ran his hands down her back, savoring her slight curves, supple form.

  Her fingers flattened against his chest and he bit back a groan, the contact flowing straight to his beleaguered balls. Her breath wafted along his scales.

  “If fucking excites your beast and your beast kills when excited”—her words were barely audible—“how do Dracheons create children?”

  Frag. He wanted more time with her before revealing his unworthiness.

  “We don’t fuck. We mate.” He started with that harmless distinction. “And normal Dracheons can control their beasts.”

  “You’re not normal?” That admission would alarm another female. His unusual mate turned her face to the side and rested her cheek against him, granting him more of her trust.

  “The medics say I’m a genetic abnormality, a throwback to ancient ancestors.” His parents and many others believed he simply wasn’t trying hard enough. They viewed him as lazy, weak.

  His lips twisted. No being would choose to be an outcast. He had trained harder, tried every technique. Nothing had worked.

  “Your ancient ancestors created children.” His female pointed that truth out to him. “They didn’t kill their mates.”

  “Some of them did.” And he wouldn’t take the risk with her. He threaded his fingers through her hair, the strands falling like water between the spaces. They would wait until they reached the Refuge to mate.

  “I’m not normal either.” She sighed. “I’ve never fit in anywhere, not in the caves, not among the residents of the settlement or the high-credit visitors.”

  “You’ll fit into Dracheon society.” He smothered his doubts about that. His half-wild female was intelligent. She’d adapted to survive on her own. She would learn to live in his world.

  “I’m human.” Her tone was dry. “I won’t fit into Dracheon society.”

  “The bonding process will change you.” She would be normal. He was certain of that. One of the five medics he’d privately consulted had agreed with him. His genetic abnormality shouldn’t be passed on to his female or their children. “After we’ve mated fully twice, you’ll develop scales. After three times, you’ll become stronger, faster.”

  If she survived their bonding. His grip on her hair tightened, the thought of losing her unsettling both sides of him.

  Kralj would mentally monitor them and Dare would control the beast clawing to be freed inside him. He wouldn’t allow his Drache to hurt her.

  His female shifted against him, the brush of skin over skin straining his willpower. “Mating is fucking?”

  “It’s more than that. It’s a bonding of souls.” He outlined the process, relaying what she could expect. They would mate three times. The transfer of him to her would prompt the change within her, her body adjusting to bear Dracheon children.

  They would have to return to his home planet when their bonding was complete. The punishment for refusing to do that was permanent exile.

  That possibility didn’t appear to frighten his solitary female. She shrugged, wanted to know if she’d be able to breathe fire, was disappointed when he told her she would never have that ability.

  He spoke about Dracheon, the culture, the history, the beings she’d meet. His female asked questions.

  The duration between her inquiries lengthened. Her breathing leveled and her body softened against his.

  She was asleep.

  Dare then told Faylee how much she meant to him, how he’d been alone and now was not, how that was strange for him also, a peculiar yet wonderful change. He talked not for her but for himself, expressing his plans, his concerns, everything he couldn’t communicate while she was awake.

  His thoughts grew fuzzy. His voice slowed more and more until he finally joined her in slumber, drifting into the darkness.

  ***

  Soft curves bumping against his hard cock, accompanied by the scent of aroused mate, woke him. His female must be moving in her sleep, didn’t know what she was doing.

  Dare looked down at her, his brain groggy, his humanoid side not yet fully present. Big brown eyes stared up at him.

  His female was awake. His beast howled with happiness.

  Faylee rocked against him, her breasts brushing against his chest, her wet pussy sliding along his rigid shaft. His body heated, stimulated by her touch.

  Frag, she felt good, too good. His Drache clawed at his insides, viewing her movements as an invitation.<
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  He had to stop her. Gripping her shoulders, he brought his face close to hers, curled his lips back and revealed his sharp teeth, reminding her of who he was.

  He was a savage creature. If she pushed him, he wouldn’t be gentle.

  His reckless female seemed to take his warning as a challenge, her eyes flashing with defiance. She rode his cock faster, increasing the delightful pressure, branding him with her juices.

  He shook, battling his beast, fighting to remain still. He could control himself. He could—

  Her lips parted.

  His restraint snapped. With a growl, he leaped on top of her, capturing that decadent flesh.

  The force of his response drove her head against the sleeping support. He plunged his tongue into her mouth and ground his shaft against her pussy, asserting his dominance, claiming her as his.

  She wrapped her arms and legs around him, her fingers splaying over his back, her body open to him, yielding, willing. His beast was captivated. He rubbed against her, teasing her clit with his rim, as he ravished her mouth.

  Smoke coiled around them, scenting their kiss. Part of his primal brain recognized his mate as still being human, sought to protect her. His claws didn’t extend. He resisted the urge to bathe her with fire.

  His beast seemed content to touch her, all of her, the length of him skimming over the length of her. She undulated under him, her lean muscles rippling like a banner in the wind. His mate was small but strong, the power in her form pleasing him.

  Needing to taste her, he allowed one of his teeth to puncture her bottom lip. She gasped, her pussy growing wetter. He sucked on her flesh, tugging on it, pulling her into him.

  The flavor of her blood drove his Drache wild. His chest vibrated with primitive sound. His mate pushed against him, urging him to go faster, press harder.

  He complied, rutting with her without entry, savoring the connection. There had been a space inside him and she now filled it. When they completed their bond, they would be one. Permanently.

  But the time wasn’t right for that joining. Both sides of him realized that truth. While he waited for her and for him to be ready, he’d safeguard her.

  And they’d have this. He grunted into her mouth, reveling in their encounter, in the pleasure it gave him. His mate lifted her hips, her eyes darkening with desire, widening with need. Her short, blunt fingernails dug into his scales, were unable to pierce them.