by Laurie Roma
The power she held inside her was too great for him to control safely, but he kept at it, needing to heal her as much as he could. When he reached his limit, he wanted to keep going, but he forced himself to stop. He needed to get away from her, to find some way to release the energy without causing her harm.
Getting up, he tried to leave the cave, but didn’t make it. Stumbling, he fell to his knees at the mouth of the cavern, struggling to hold himself together. It was as if his body were coming apart, ripped at the seams by the energy that wanted to be unleashed.
“Jaden?”
Katra sat up, her body still humming with energy, but she was finally able to move. Whatever Jaden had done had healed her. Still, she didn’t feel normal. She wasn’t sure she would ever feel normal again, not after she’d been so connected to him. His withdrawal left her feeling bereft, filling her with a grief so profound it brought tears to her eyes. She realized her magic wasn’t working as she tried to cloth herself, but she pushed that worry to the side for now.
Something was very wrong with Jaden.
“Stay back.”
She’d rolled onto her knees, but stilled when he’d growled out that command. His voice had sounded off, almost guttural and too harsh, as if he’d just swallowed jagged glass. Opening up the bond to his mind, Katra was instantly flooded with his emotions. He was in pain, similar to what she’d felt, but there was something more visceral to what he was feeling.
He…needed her.
Katra could hear him repeating those words over and over again in his mind. He wasn’t aware that she’d heard him, but she knew what she needed to do. The desperate hunger he had for her was enough to steal her breath. Jaden needed to release the energy inside of him, and she was going to help him do it.
She crawled over to him, and saw he was holding his head in his hands as he knelt there in front of her. He was in great pain, curled into himself, like he was holding something back that was trying to break free. Pulling on his hands gently, he fought her briefly, then his head came up so he was looking at her.
His dark eyes were smoldering with fire, his expression hard, as if his face were carved from stone. His jaw was clenched, and beads of sweat dripped down his temples as he struggled for control.
“Let me help you,” she whispered. He tried to jerk his head away as she raised her hand to his cheek, but she felt his pleasure at her touch. Knowing it emboldened her. Moving forward, she knelt in front of him, mimicking his own position as she cupped his face between both of her hands. “Come to me, Jaden.”
“I won’t be gentle. I can’t.”
With her bond opened to his mind, his passion became her own. She was instantly wet, her pussy dripping as her body prepared to take him, to shelter him any way she could. She smiled softly. “I do not need you to be. I am your mate. Anything you need, I will provide.”
Katra was ready for him to fight her, but he only shuddered once before he leaped. Gasping, she fell back with him on top of her. Jaden’s mouth sealed over hers in a brutal kiss. She let out a moan as he forced her mouth open, his tongue thrusting deep to plunder and take. The fires of lust consumed her as he pressed the full length of his powerful body against her.
This was need…raw and vital.
Her hands reached up to grip his shoulders, holding on as he forced her into a storm of passion she didn’t know how to contain. Her pussy clenched and released, aching for the feeling of him pushing inside of her, needing something to ease the ache that began building in her core.
With a growl, his hand slipped between her thighs, and without warning, he shoved two of his thick fingers deep inside her passion-slicked pussy. His touch was electric, her body instantly coming alive as he stroked her with his fingers. He drank down her cry of pleasure, and answered it with a moan of his own.
Katra’s entire world narrowed, her only focus on how Jaden made her feel. She knew he was testing her readiness, but she was more than prepared to take him. Trembling in his embrace, she spread her thighs wider to entice him to fill her. She felt his control snap, like the crack of a whip. Rearing up on his knees, he attacked the fastenings of his pants, ripping them open so his heavy erection sprang free.
Jaden’s cock was so large and thick, Katra could barely get her hand around him as she reached out to stroke it. She swirled her thumb over the head of his cock, spreading the copious pre-cum seeping out of the tip over his hard length. He let out a snarl before he jerked her hands away, pulling them up over her head as he came down on her again.
He took her lips, forcing them apart so he could thrust his tongue deep. She moaned, meeting the fervor of his kiss beat for beat, even as she struggled to pull her hands free. She wanted to touch him, but his grip was unbreakable. Using his thighs, he pushed her legs wider, and surged into her with one hard thrust.
Katra’s head fell back as she tore her mouth away from his. She wanted to scream, but she was breathless, unable to utter a sound. Her body tried to resist his intrusion, but the small bite of pain made the pleasure that much more debilitating. The feel of him inside her was glorious. He was hot and hard, and filled her perfectly. With her head thrown back, he leaned down to savage her neck, sucking and nipping as he began to move inside her, thrusting hard and fast.
He wasn’t gentle, and she didn’t want him to be. Passion flared between them, feeding their hunger for one another until they were both consumed with madness. All the sexual tension that had been building inside of her since she’d met Jaden exploded, surprising her with its intensity as her body clenched around him. His answering shout left her ears ringing, and she felt him pour his seed deep into her when her climax triggered his own.
“More.” His voice was a rough, low sound that made her shiver.
Katra gasped in surprise as he pulled out of her, then flipped her over onto her stomach. He jerked her hips up so she was braced on her hands and knees in front of him, and felt him press down against her, his front to her back. He easily held her in place with his large body, and she felt him press the head of his hard shaft against the entrance of her heated core. She tossed her hair out of her face and looked over her shoulder at him in time to see him pull off the black body armor he wore so his muscular chest was exposed to her gaze.
“I need you again.”
“Then take me. Fill me with you, mate.”
She watched his dark eyes flare with hunger, and she smiled in satisfaction. Her head dropped down, closer to the floor and she couldn’t stop from pressing back against him. The head of his cock pushed into her dripping pussy, but his hands gripped her hips, stopping her from moving any further.
“You are mine, Katra.” His voice harsh with possessive lust. “Tell me you belong to me.”
Her pussy fluttered around his cock, and his hips jerked involuntarily, shoving his shaft deeper. She tried to push back again, then gave out a small yelp as his hand slapped her ass. The small sting made her snarl, and she whipped her head around, baring her fangs at him.
“You belong to me,” he growled again. “Now that I’ve had you, I will never let you go. Say that you’re mine, Katra. Tell me that you understand.”
“Aye, I do. I belong to you as you belong to me,” she snarled back. “You are mine, mate!”
His large body pressed down on her again, and he pulled her thighs wider from the front as he surged deep. He took total control over her, surging deep, hot and hard, spearing into her completely. He bit her ear, then his lips moved down to lick her neck as one arm wrapped around her shoulders, pulling her back against him as he pistoned into her from behind.
She was slick with a mixture of her own desire and his seed from their first mating, making it easier for his massive cock to forge inside her. Pushing back on him, she took everything he had to give her. Her body pulsed around him, pressure building until she could no longer hold back.
“By the gods!” she cried out as she exploded again, her body shaking as she rode out her release. “Jaden!”
He drove himself deep, in a fast, punishing rhythm, never giving her a moment to come down from her high. He rode her through it, continuing to hammer into her roughly from behind. His balls slapped her clit with each stroke, prolonging her release, pushing her toward the next.
Katra’s fingers dug into the ground, trying to find traction to stop her body from moving forward as he powered into her from behind. Releasing his hold on her shoulders, he levered up and gripped her hips in an unbreakable hold so he was able to pound into her more forcefully. The move changed the angle of how he entered her, and his cock hit a spot deep that made her toes curl, tearing a scream out of her throat so loud she was surprised the mountain didn’t fall to pieces around them.
He felt so unbelievably good moving inside of her that she couldn’t help being pushed to the precipice once more. Their combined pleasure was too much for her to take. She moaned each time his cock pounded into her, then she screamed his name as she shattered again, shaking with the force of another powerful climax, her body milking him, demanding that he join her.
Jaden gave a loud roar as his body exploded. He shoved his hips against her ass, driving his cock all the way into her depths as he filled her over and over again with his hot seed. When her arms gave way, he followed her down to the ground so he was laying on her, their sweat-slicked bodies pressed together. He shifted to his side slightly so he wouldn’t crush her, but made sure that their bodies were still connected as he spooned her, unable to let her go.
“What you do to me,” he whispered, nuzzling his face into the crook of her neck.
“It is the same for me,” Katra whispered back, feeling more content than she’d ever been. Her body was deliciously sore, in all the right places. She liked the feel of him inside her, liked how close she felt to him connected this way, with their bodies twined together. Even with their passion spent, he was still hard, ready to go again, but he made no overtures for another round of love play.
At least, not yet.
“So, the rumors about Tarins are true.”
Jaden let out a little laugh as he stroked his hands over the intriguing designs on her arms and torso in a soothing gesture. “Yes, they are. Did I hurt you? The energy inside of me…I needed to release it.”
“I understand.”
“This was not how I imagined our first time together.”
She sighed happily. “I think you made my first time perfect.”
He stilled, and she felt a wave of horror flicker through him from their bond. “Your…first?”
“Aye, my first. My race does not exist on sex as yours does, so there has never been any need for me to seek out a sex partner.” Even though she hated the feeling of him leaving her body, she turned around so she was facing him and narrowed her eyes. “Do not tell me you are regretting what we just did. I may just have to hit you if you do.”
“I don’t regret it, but damn it, I took you like a beast. I should have been gentle with you if you’ve never been with a male before.”
Katra’s eyebrow raised. “Would you have rather I chose a male to have sex with before you, just out of curiosity?” His expression darkened, and he let out an angry growl. She smirked at him. “I thought not.”
When he didn’t calm, she sighed as she rubbed her hand over the planes of his chest and abs, trying to soothe him, but the feel of his hot skin beneath her fingers sparked a new desire in her. Her mate was truly built. It made her want to purr in satisfaction as she saw his erection, so large and thick, swell further at her touch. She wanted him again, and it looked to her like he felt the same. Her hand moved lower, but before she could grip him, he stilled his hand with hers.
“Behave.”
She sighed again and flopped down onto her back. “I thought all Tarin males want sex all the time. How is it I got the one who does not?”
Jaden shifted to his side and propped himself up on his elbow and rested his head on his hand. Stroking her hair out of her face, he leaned down to kiss her forehead. The gentle gesture was at odds with the harsh look on his face. “I want you. Make no mistake about that, but there are things we need to discuss before this goes any further. Don’t think you can distract me, Katra. Hellfire, I didn’t even take the time to undress completely when I took you!”
Katra was about to call forth her magic to will the rest of his clothing away, when she heard it. The sound was faint, but unmistakable. She rolled away from him, and put her ear to the ground. When he started speaking again, she hissed at him. “Quiet.”
Using her magic, she amplified her already enhanced hearing. She felt a twinge of discomfort when using her magic, but she figured her system still needed time to level off completely, and simply blocked out the pain. It would do no good letting him know she was still feeling the effects of being struck by the lightning.
Turning her head slightly, she looked up at him. “We are not alone here. There are—”
Her breath left her in a rush as Jaden scooped her up off the floor and shoved her back against the cavern wall. He bent down to pick up his sword and unsheathed it in one smooth motion. Shielding her body with his, he held his sword out in front of him, ready for an attack. When she tried to move, he shoved her back where he could better protect her.
From their position, Jaden could see that the rain had stopped, giving way to a thick red mist that had swept over the land. It would be hours until the fog dissipated enough for them to make their way back to his palace. Until then, they were stuck where they were.
“Stay behind me,” he commanded.
Katra thought it was sweet how he stood in front of her like a sentinel, but his actions weren’t needed. Tapping him on his shoulder, she spoke softly in his ear. “I was going to say, there are others in this mountain somewhere, not in this cavern. And they are female…which I surmise means they are not a threat. We need to help them.” When he turned to glare at her, she couldn’t help grinning at him. “You might want to put that away…for now.”
Her gaze drifted lower to where his erection jutted out from between his thighs. Following her gaze, he let out a vicious curse. Propping his sword against the wall, he pulled his pants back up, cursing again as he shoved his aching cock back behind restrictive confines. He reached down to pick his body armor up off the floor, pulling it on over his chest, then re-sheathed his sword and fastened his belt around his waist.
By the time he was finished, he turned and blinked in surprise. Katra was fully dressed, wearing the black vest and pants she’d been wearing before she’d changed into a dragon, with the addition of a sword hanging from her belt and a wicked looking dagger strapped to her thigh.
Jaden sucked in a harsh breath. “That…is going to take some getting used to.”
She patted his arm in a conciliatory gesture as she passed by him. “I am sure it will.”
When she tried to walk toward the back of the cavern, he reached out and gripped her arm. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“I am going to find those females.”
“No, you’re not, Katra. We could be walking into an encampment of enemies. Until the death mist disappears, we’re stuck in here and cannot leave or call for aid. We’re fortunate you flew closer to Tor Palace and didn’t head toward enemy territory, or we might really be in trouble.”
“Give me some credit. I studied the map of your world, and I knew where I was going. I was mad, not stupid.” Katra looked out at the red fog that floated outside of the cavern opening. With it covering the outside terrain, she felt like she and Jaden were alone, completely isolated in their own little world. “Death mist? That sounds ominous.”
“It’s actually the storm clouds. Sometimes they drop down to the ground, covering the land. It traps the lightning inside it, so it’s far too dangerous to ever venture into the mist.”
“So, if we are trapped in here, why not go find the females while we wait?”
“I will
not let you—”
Her glowing eyes grew bright with indignation. “When will you learn, you do not let me do anything, Jaden. You may be my mate, but you do not dictate to me. Now, you can either come with me or wait here. The choice is yours.”
* * *
CHAPTER SEVEN
“You drive me absolutely fucking crazy.”
Jaden wanted to strangle Katra as she pulled her arm out of his grasp. Taking his hand in hers, she tugged him with her as she made her way to the back of the cavern. “Come with me, mate. Stop stalling.”
“You’re a menace,” he rumbled in response. To his sanity…and his heart.
She laughed as she led him into the dark. “Where is your sense of adventure, Jaden?”
That did it.
When they reached the point where the small amount of light shining in from the entrance of the cavern was no longer visible, Jaden pushed Katra up against the wall, his hard body uncompromising as he pressed against her. “This is no game, Katra,” he snapped. “We are fighting a war here, and I don’t want you part of this.”
Obviously, she didn’t understand the peril they could be walking into, but he did. He knew exactly how dangerous his world was, and having her there with him now brought home the stark reality of what he could lose. Seeing her get struck by lightning made that perfectly clear. He would risk his life for his people, without regret and with no hesitation.
But he would not risk her.
“I am already a part of this,” Katra countered. “I am because you are.”
He stared down into her glowing silver eyes and felt like he could see his own soul shining back at him. How had this one female become so important to him in the short time they had known one another?
