by Jodi Redford
He held a hand over his heart. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”
She took advantage of the opportunity and yanked her keys from beneath Aiden’s flattened palm. His only response was a serene smile. That’s when she remembered they already had her address, thanks to the Drakoni contract. So much for losing them on the freeway. She gritted her teeth. “If you think I’m going to invite you to stay in my house, guess again.”
His eyes glinting with beastly wickedness, Aiden traced a finger along her neck in a lingering caress. By the time he reached her earlobe, goose bumps dotted every centimeter of her skin. “If there’s one thing a dragon despises, it’s an easy conquest.”
Following Dana’s lead, Aiden made a right turn off the rutted country lane the Navigator had been bumping down for the past fifteen minutes. Soon he found himself on an even worse street.
“Shit, why didn’t I take a leak before we left?” Jace groaned and shifted in his seat. “Ten bucks says she doesn’t actually live on this road, and she only lured us down it to torture my bladder.”
Aiden glanced at the GPS. “Nope, this is the right way. But good theory.”
The taillights on the Suburban flashed and Dana veered onto a hidden driveway flanked by a tall screen of pines. Aiden followed after her. A split-rail fence lined either side of the drive and led to a modest, white-shingled ranch house. He imagined a pint-sized Dana taking bead on a row of pop cans and grimaced. Pretty damn scary to think she might have been using his ass for target practice instead.
Dana broke to a stop in front of a detached garage. Aiden stared at the sagging gutters overgrown with miniature saplings. First chance he got, he was cleaning those suckers out. He swung in next to her SUV and killed the Navigator’s engine.
“I can’t believe she lives out here all by herself.” Jace shook his head. “Her closest neighbor must be half a mile away.”
“Yep, not too safe.”
“Good thing we’re staying.”
Aiden watched as Dana hopped from her vehicle and stomped toward his door. “Something tells me she’s not going to see it the same way.” He reached for his handle the same instant she tapped on his window.
“Well, I made it here fine.” She flicked her fingers in a dismissive wave. “Feel free to take off.”
He snicked his door open, forcing Dana back a step. The look she sent him would have given a snowman frostbite. “What are you doing?”
“Jace and I need to get our tent pitched before the sun sets.”
“Are you out of your freakin’ mind? This isn’t a KOA! You’re not camping in my front yard.”
“Why not? You’ve got plenty of room.” Aiden inched the door open farther and climbed out.
“That’s not the point.” She rolled her lips tight before blinking as if a brilliant idea occurred to her. “This area is known for attracting coyotes and the occasional wolf. It’s probably not a smart idea sleeping outside.”
Jace sauntered behind Dana. “You offering us your bed instead, sweetness?”
She whirled to face him. “No! That isn’t what I meant. And don’t call me sweetness.”
Aiden wiped the grin from his face before she returned her attention to him. Planting a hand on the Navigator’s doorframe, he swung it shut. “In case you forgot, we’re dragons. We’re pretty much top of the food chain.”
Dana shivered. “Oh yeah. Thanks for reminding me.”
“Relax. I already told you we have no intention of harming you.”
“No, you just want to have a dragon ménage with me, that’s all.”
If there was one thing he didn’t want to do, it was share her with Jace. But the council had made their stance on the whole subject crystal clear. As a twin, he couldn’t claim sole rights on the sacrifice. No matter how badly he hungered to.
The damning thing was he’d never been slave to his inner beast before. This need to brace Dana against the Navigator and fuck her senseless, mark her as only his, was a foreign urge he struggled to control. Frustration welling inside him, he stared at Jace. It wasn’t his brother’s fault they were trapped in this circumstance, but it didn’t stop the territorial beast dwelling deep within Aiden from snarling a dark growl when Jace leaned on Dana and whispered in her ear. Whatever Jace said must have been suitably ribald because Dana turned pinker than the low bank of sun-striped clouds on the horizon.
Clenching his fists, Aiden pivoted and walked to the Navigator’s backend. He wrenched the hatch open with more force than necessary and grabbed the box containing the tent he’d purchased earlier in the day. Fully aware that Dana and Jace were tracking his every move, he stalked to the large patch of lawn fronting the house. “If you’re done making a monkey’s ass of yourself, maybe you’d care to help me,” he snapped at Jace.
The bang of a screen door preceded the steady crunch of boots approaching through the leaves. Ignoring the smirk on his brother’s face, Aiden ripped the box apart and dug out the stakes for the tent.
An irritating chuckle snuck from Jace. “I don’t know what you’re so worked up over. We’re on the same team here.”
Jace couldn’t have it more wrong. Instead of opening himself up for Jace’s inevitable ridicule, Aiden tossed the stakes at his brother. Not directly at his head, though it was tempting. “Make yourself useful.”
Dana hung her wench dress in her bedroom closet before venturing into the kitchen. Ms. Whiskers met her with a plaintive yowl near the cupboard. “Oh, so now you’re talking to me. Easy to see where your priorities lie.” Bending, she gave the tabby a scritch behind the ears and snatched the box of cat food. After trekking into the utility room, she shook the ocean catch medley into the ceramic kitty bowl and left Ms. Whiskers to chow down. Much as a hot shower enticed her with its siren song, she found herself abandoning the kitchen for the living room. The large bay window afforded a perfect view of Aiden and Jace erecting their tent.
Okay, tent was a relative term. The damn thing was practically bigger than her house. With mounting dread, she watched Jace walk to the Navigator and drag a pair of inflatable mattresses and an air pump into the clearing. “Oh my God. They’re never going to leave.”
Groaning, she slunk into the bathroom and turned the shower to full blast. Steam filled the cramped space. She quickly stripped and jumped behind the opaque screen, a blissful moan escaping her as jets of hot water pummeled her aching muscles. “Oh yeah, baby, give it to me.” She squeezed a fat dollop of vanilla-scented shower gel into her shower mitt and stroked the suds over her skin. The nubby texture of the mitt glided over her breasts and her nipples pebbled at the friction. Automatically, her mind conjured an image of Aiden’s palms cupping her soapy breasts, his thumbs swirling circles over their tips. Meanwhile, Jace’s mouth would be—
Dana yanked her hand from between her legs. She had nothing against solo stimulation. In fact, she was a big fan of it these days. But getting hot and lathered over the men—correction, dragons—taking over her front yard was a monumentally bad idea. She needed to keep her wits together and not do something stupid.
“It’s all Jace’s fault. Planting that scene in my head.” She tore the mitt off and flung it inside the shower caddy suctioned to the tile. After shampooing and conditioning her hair, she stepped from the shower and dried off. Winding the towel around her head in turban fashion, she pulled on her favorite red flannel pajamas and trekked into the living room. She curled on the couch and reached for the TV remote just as two knocks sounded on the front door. Craning her neck, she spied Aiden through the stained-glass medallion. For a brief moment, she debated ducking to the floor and pretending she wasn’t in the room. Like that’d do her any good. Duh, he obviously knew she was somewhere inside the house.
Huffing a peevish breath, she pushed to her feet and walked to the door. She sprung the lock and narrowed her eyes at Aiden. Despite the fact she was covered head to toe in unsexy flannel, he visually devoured her like she was a tasty T-bone. She coughed pointedly. “Something I can
help you with?”
Rather than answer, he leaned closer, his nostrils twitching. “You smell…delicious.”
His husky words made her tingle in all sorts of inappropriate places. Hopefully my nipples aren’t poking out in a happy hello. To be on the safe side, she crossed her arms over her chest. “Is that a warning? I don’t need to worry about you basting me in barbecue sauce, do I?”
Aiden’s mouth crooked in a slow, wicked smile. “Normally I’d say no, but I’ve got this interesting visual going on…”
Oh great, now she did too. She dropped one arm and tightened her fist on the doorknob. “What did you say you wanted?”
“I didn’t, but since you asked.” He shuffled his feet on the front stoop. “Jace is threatening to kick me out of the tent with how bad I smell. And frankly, he’s not in much better shape. Do you think there’s any way we could use your shower?”
From what she could tell, he didn’t stink at all. If anything, he smelled masculine and yummy, like he’d been rolling around in leaves and damp moss. Buck naked. Yeah, talk about interesting visuals. One that didn’t need to be inside her head. She rubbed her collarbone. “I don’t know if that’s such a good idea.”
His gorgeous blue eyes turned beseeching. “I promise we’ll be fast.”
Well, if there was one thing he was, it was fast. And really did it make much difference if she allowed them in the house? They’d had plenty of opportunity to attack her before now.
And would you mind if they did? She bit the inside of her cheek. Shut up, Dana. Angling the door open wider, she flipped her mocking inner voice the bird. “Come in, but I’m timing you.”
“Can you wait to start the clock until I get back? I need to grab fresh clothes from my duffle.”
She exhaled heavily. “Fine.”
His grin was bright enough to power most of southeastern Michigan. “Thanks. I’ll be right back.”
Waving her hand in dismissal, she returned to the couch. As promised, Aiden returned less than a minute later. He carried a pair of navy blue sweatpants and a small leather bag that she assumed contained his grooming supplies. She started to get up but he held out his hand.
“Stay. Just point me in the general direction and I’ll find the bathroom on my own.”
“Follow the hallway and it’s the first door on the right.”
Aiden nodded and strode toward the hall. She sank into the cushions and crooked an arm over her eyes. “I’ve walked into the freakin’ Twilight Zone.”
The muffled sound of Jace crabbing about something outside leaked through the window. Rather than get up to investigate, she remained sprawled on the couch. Frankly, she was too exhausted to budge. Plus the cushion beneath her head felt extra cushy tonight. So very…nice…and…smooshy.
“Uh, Dana?”
With a jerk, she snapped out of her light doze. Her arm tumbled to her lap and she glanced toward the deep, seductively masculine voice. The air squeezed from her lungs in an embarrassing wheeze. Holy—
Aiden stood less than two feet away, clutching a hand towel over his groin. The skimpy scrap of white terrycloth did a piss-poor job of covering his gloriously naked body. Sculpted muscles contoured a smooth, bronzed chest. His abs—damn, forget about six, they were more like an eight pack—looked to be chiseled from marble.
“Any chance you have a bigger towel?”
Somehow she pried her chin from where it’d dropped to her chest. “Um…yes. Hold on.” Please, please hold on. She most definitely didn’t need him losing his grip on that teensy hand towel.
“Thanks, I appreciate it.”
She leapt from the couch and almost tripped on her own feet racing down the hallway to the linen closet. Grabbing a bath towel from the center shelf, she whirled around and smacked into Aiden with an “Oof.” His hands slid around her upper arms, steadying her. It took five seconds for the ramifications of that to fully register. She gulped. Don’t look down. Don’t look down. Don’t—
Of course her eyes refused to obey. Her breath stuttered in her throat. Sweet mother of cocks. Seriously, words couldn’t adequately convey the impressive—no, mind-blowing—erection bobbing between Aiden’s muscular thighs. The puppy easily topped the eight-inch marker, and it wasn’t lacking in thickness either. Unconsciously, she licked her lips.
Aiden groaned. “Dana…” One hand abandoned her shoulder and he brushed his knuckles along her jaw.
She glanced up and caught the fierce desire flickering across his rugged features. Now would be a really good time to duck beneath his arm and run the hell out of there. So why did her bare feet remain rooted to the carpet? His fingers splayed across her cheek, holding her anchored against the wall as his head descended. Even before his lips brushed hers she knew his kiss would be devastating. Loaded with the kind of full-on ravishment that could detonate a person’s brain.
He didn’t disappoint.
His tongue slicked inside her mouth and made itself at home, its hot, sensual glide coaxing a responding moan from her. He re-angled his approach, his tongue thrusting deeper. Aiden’s possessiveness thrilled and terrified her. It unlocked a dark, hidden chamber of her soul that ached to be branded…claimed.
No, damn it. Jerking her head to the side, she broke the kiss, her ragged breaths puffing fast and hard. “You don’t play fair.”
His lips skimmed along her cheek. “What do you mean?”
“Puh-lease. Like I don’t know what you’re up to. But I’ve got news for you. I’m resistant to your dragon mojo.”
Aiden’s teeth scraped her chin and she squeaked. Yeah, she was doing a bang-up job impersonating a tough-as-nails chick. He licked a slow path to her collarbone and her knees liquefied. Before she could stop herself, she clutched Aiden’s waist.
Big mistake.
His skin was smooth and velvety and oh so touchable. Her nails raked softly over his abdomen, drawing a rippling response from the taut band of muscle.
Aiden’s gaze—smoldering and intense—lifted and locked on her face. “Yes, touch me.”
Despite knowing that would be an epically stupid idea, she tiptoed her fingers upward. Well, at least she was taking the safer route. She encountered the firm expanse of his pectorals and quickly amended her assessment. There wasn’t a centimeter of his body that should be considered safe. Unable to resist, she stroked her thumb over one stiffened male nipple, earning his responding hiss.
“My turn.” His big hands molded over her breasts, rucking her flannel top. The rasp of the soft fabric was almost too exquisite to bear. Apparently Aiden felt the same way because he suddenly tugged at the buttons, wrestling them free. The shirt gaped open and he pushed the sides away, his hungry focus zeroing in on her bared breasts. He swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “You’re so damn beautiful.”
The way he looked at her, she believed his declaration. Those pesky extra ten pounds she’d battled most of her life seemed invisible to him, inconsequential. Under his enraptured stare she felt gorgeous—a sex goddess. Utterly irresistible. He cupped her breasts, his lips brushing reverently over the swells overflowing his palms. Mimicking the move she’d made seconds ago, he teased her puckered nipples with the calloused pads of his thumbs. She attempted to smother her moan and ended up sounding like a goat with a bad case of laryngitis.
Using only the tip of his tongue, he traced the outline of her areola. Her breathing grew fainter and more labored the closer he drew to her nipple. By the time his tongue finally curled around the turgid peak, she almost passed out from lack of oxygen. He nibbled, licked and sucked her one nipple before switching his lavish attention to its mate. She’d never considered her breasts overly sensitive. If anything, she usually tended to zone out and become a little bored anytime a past lover played with them. But Aiden was hitting all the right notes. When he lowered his head she actually sighed in disappointment.
Disappointment turned to panic as his mouth coasted down her belly and he reached for the snaps of her pajama bottoms. She
shoved at his massive shoulders.
He groaned, the sound equal parts sexy and tortured. “Dana, I have to taste you.” The agony lacing his words made it seem she was signing his death sentence if she refused.
“I am not having sex with you.”
“You don’t have to.” Looking up, he revealed brilliant eyes glazed with need. He traced her hipbones through the flannel, making her shiver and squirm. “Please…let me give you pleasure. Only pleasure.”
A shudder ran through her. His fingers returned to the first snap and hovered there, waiting. When she didn’t pull away, he popped the metal button from its resting place. Not displaying the same hesitance for the remaining two snaps, he peeled her pajama bottoms down and combed his trembling fingers through the triangle of blonde curls covering her mound. He slicked a thumb over her clit and she gasped.
“You’re beautiful here too.” He swirled over her labia, heading toward her slit. Unconsciously, she widened her stance, granting him better access. He took full advantage and dipped inside her pussy. She bit her lip to keep from crying out.
“Don’t, sweetheart.” He added another finger along with the first. “I want to hear every groan and sigh. I want your scream ringing in my ears when you come.”
“Hate to disappoint you, but I’m not much of a screamer.”
His mouth curved into a seductive grin. “Yet.”
“Promises, promises.”
Chuckling, he leaned forward and lapped lazily at her clit. The sensations were exquisite and she wiggled against him, panting. His tongue flicked at the aching bundle of nerves a couple more times before he sucked her clit firmly between his teeth. She bowed away from the wall and clamped onto his head, her fingers twisting frantically. He grunted. For a second, she worried that she might have hurt him by nearly tearing his hair from its roots, but then he pumped his fingers and she stopped stressing about accidentally maiming him. Or looking like a shameless, sex-starved nymphomaniac. She rode his hand and mouth, broken gasps spilling from her. His eyes—hot, wild and predatory—devoured her. Curling his fingers, he tapped her G spot. The pleasure was almost unbearable. She tried to escape it, escape him, but he secured her against the wall with his free hand and continued his sweet torture, the rhythm of his fingers keeping time with his tongue.
