by Ellis Leigh
He caged me in against the wall with his arms, rocking his hips into mine. Letting me feel where he was so hard and long and thick for me. “You call me daddy, and I just might keep you.”
Words were hard to grasp. Too hard to put together into any sort of response. I wanted to kiss him. Wanted to weave my fingers through that wavy gray hair and tug him closer. Wanted to wrap my body around his bigger one. Death. This was death. Or it would be. This man, those eyes, that grin—death to my single life forever. He was a keeper, but I wasn’t one to be kept. Normally. For him? Oh hell, maybe.
So I inched forward, letting our bodies touch all the way to the knees. Letting us feel. The spicy scent of his aftershave almost had me drooling, and the heat rolling off his body set mine on fire. Or maybe that was simply him being his sexy, infuriating, good-smelling self.
Did I mention he smelled amazing? Because I really need to make that point stick. Ah-may-zing.
I licked my lips, nuzzling his neck and breathing in through my mouth so I could bring the flavor of him inside of me. Unable to resist it. “You smell like…”
“Cinnamon?”
Oh my, his growl sent a shiver up my spine. “Sort of, but spicier.”
“I know.” He nuzzled my neck right back, tugging me into his chest with one hand on my hip as I bent my head back. Waiting and wanting and needing so much more from him. So close to coming right there on the patio with him doing nothing more than cuddling that I almost felt bad about it. Almost.
He didn’t seem to feel bad at all. “You should kiss me, Sparky. I’d really like for you to.”
“Not going to happen, old man.”
“Why not?”
Because I was an idiot. Because I wouldn’t be able to stop at just one kiss. Because if I fucked him on the patio of this bar, people might talk. More. They might talk more. Because I’d never get enough with just one night. Shit. “Because you should make the first move.”
“I can’t do that.”
He doesn’t want to kiss me.
Ice water flashed through my veins, cooling my blood in a heartbeat. Shame and embarrassment cleared my head faster than anything else could have, pulling me out of whatever trance he’d put me under. No way was he human. He had to be a shifter of some sort. No regular man had ever been able to take over my senses like that. Had made me want and need and crave as much as this guy did. He had to be some sort of magical creature with powers of seduction. A male succubus or something.
Which would be an incubus.
Come on, brain. Keep up.
Without a word, I forced my feet to move, my hands to push against him and shove him back. I ignored the way my fingers tingled as I touched his chest, the way they wanted to curl into his shirt and tug instead of push. No good could come from that tingling. That tingling was a sign of danger, and I fully intended to listen to the warning. So I pushed him, and I slipped to the side to move around him. To leave before he unsettled me even more than he already had. Damn Name-Caller wasn’t not playing the game the same way I did, wasn’t turning into putty for me to mold and bend to my will. Instead, he had somehow begun running the show. Forcing me to abide by his rules and trying hard to make me the one who bent. That had never happened.
And I wasn’t in the mood to learn a new trick right then.
“I think it’s time for me to head home. I’ve had enough of you for one day.”
“Me and enough in the same sentence. I doubt that will ever happen again.”
Seriously, I had no response to that. None. No words for the arrogance of his. Okay, fine—I rolled my eyes a little. I mean, that was over the top even for a man like him. So instead of speaking, I locked my eyes on the door leading into the bar and strode in that direction. Escape in my grasp.
He didn’t try to stop me, though he did run his fingers along my arm as I moved past him. He also seduced me with a single sentence. Or tried to. “I like you jealous, Sparky.”
Okay, yeah. Seduced. Totally. Such a jerk.
“I don’t like you at all,” I said, even as my entire body burned from such a simple touch. Hormones were a bitch and all that.
“You’ll change your mind soon enough.”
But as I hit the door, as something in my gut tugged and made me want to go back, I turned. His rakish smirk and casual lean against the wall only confirmed my opinion—the man was dangerous in a way that I needed to avoid. So I pulled on my inner Wonder Woman, threw up my invisible shield, and tossed my hair over my shoulder. Badass woman. That’s what I needed to be. And I knew how.
I posed in the stance that showed off the s-curve of my body—breasts out, hips slightly turned, booty on display—so he could get one last good look at what he’d missed out on. I pursed my lips just enough to hopefully make him think of kisses and blowies—things he’d never get from me—and I raised a single eyebrow in a move that’d taken me months in front of the mirror to perfect and was worth every single second for moments just like this one.
Badass woman definitely activated. “Not in this lifetime. Don’t come back to the bakery. We don’t need your business.”
And then I left. Hoping and praying I could make it out to my car without him chasing me down.
Badass or not, I doubted I’d be able to resist him a second time.
3
Kingston
The city of Kinship Cove sat nestled between a wall of rock and an ocean, the location providing spectacular wind patterns that were much too fun not to ride along. Especially during the dark of night when the human world went quiet and still. Most certainly on the nights after I’d finally—too many centuries past my birth to even count—met my fated mate.
Thinking of the spitfire with the sparks in her eyes, I swooped toward the ground, following my instincts as I stretched my wings. My inner dragon had been screaming to be released all day, ever since the moment he’d basically dragged me into the little bakery in town and I’d seen her. The one who would be mine. Dragons didn’t do the whole immediate fated mate thing like some shifters. We had more choice in the matter, but something about Kinship Cove had drawn me to it for decades. Something had led me to the perfect place at just the right time. A feeling on the air. A vibration through the fates. A scent on the breeze.
Cinnamon.
Of course she smelled like cinnamon. Like a dragon in heat—all fiery and strong, sweet in the right amount but hard to handle in large doses. My Sparky—Ginger, as I’d learned—had been offered up on a platter for me right there in her bakery, and I refused to turn her away.
With a quiet roar toward the rocky coast, I spun in midair and headed back toward the steep mountainside. I’d already found her address—it didn’t take much digging for that. Seemed everyone in town knew the three girls who ran the bakery. The men especially seemed to know my mate, a fact that both frustrated me and brought pride to my inner beast. Our woman was wanted, desired by all, yet no one had been able to catch her. To snag her attention for long. That was fine by me—she’d played with the boys. I’d show her how good a real man—a dragon shifter mate—could be. I’d make her forget every other male in town and only turn that bright, flirty smile my way.
Once I convinced her to make the first move.
Spotting an old friend sitting on a ridge of stone, I dove lower, landing in a swirl of magic and fabric as all my parts, pieces, and clothes reformed from the scales of my dragon side.
“I’ve always envied you that trick.” Jericho—bear clan leader and mayor of Kinship Cove—didn’t even look my way as he asked, “What’s got you flying so high tonight, friend?”
Friend. I didn’t have many of those anymore. Too many years alone had left me slightly cranky, and even the calmest of my dragon brethren seemed to end up making me want to fight them to the death with their inane chatter and constant noise. Jericho, though, was different. His thoughtful nature soothed the anger constantly coursing through me. Something I’d never expected from a bear shifter.
“I
’ve met my mate.” Simple. Honest. To the point. So unlike me.
Jericho sighed, his brow furrowing. “Here? In town?”
“Indeed. You know her, from what I understand.”
“Let me guess—one of the Chance sisters who owns the bakery.”
I couldn’t have been more shocked. “How did you guess?”
The look in his eye as he glanced my way seemed angry and hard, wary in a way. “Seems to be their season. Which one is yours?”
“Ginger.”
His robust laugh broke the silence of the night. “Ah, you’re in for one hell of a ride, my friend.”
Something I’d already guessed. “What about you? I assumed you’d have settled down with a nice sow by now, popped out a few cubs. All that…domestic shit.”
“The fates haven’t given me a sow.”
His tone seemed final, as if he didn’t want to speak more on the topic. But I’d been around a long time—longer than my bear friend, for sure—and I could tell a side step when I saw one. The fates may not have given him a female bear, but they’d given him something. He wasn’t happy about it, though.
And it wasn’t my place to push. “Well, old friend, I do believe I shall hit the skies again. Perhaps ride the air to the north side of town.”
“Ginger lives on the north side of town.”
“I’m aware.”
He stopped me with a growl and a glare. “I understand dragons have different rules for—well, everything. But that girl is like family to me. Don’t fuck around.”
Oh, I was going to fuck. Around, below, on top, from the side, upside down…however she let me inside what I knew would be the sweetest pussy the fates had ever created, I’d happily take it. And I’d give her everything I had to make sure she walked away satisfied, if she could walk at all.
He didn’t need to know that, though. “Of course. She’s my mate—I’ll cherish her for the rest of my days.”
He grunted. “Good. Go on, then. I can’t wait to watch this one play out.”
I had my scales on and the wind beneath my wings seconds later, having jumped right off the cliff in my human form and shifted in midair. That always garnered a reaction from the mammals I left on the ground. Jericho merely chuckled. Not what I’d been expecting. The man seemed lost, something I’d never sensed with him before. Whatever was going on, whatever he felt was missing in his life, I could only hope the fates gave him the opportunity to fix it. Time grew lonely after a century or so.
Refocusing on the new woman in my life, I swept through the night air on my way to the north. To the group of houses that hugged the edge of town with their backs to the forest. Ginger lived there—close enough to walk to work but just far enough away from the bars not to have them be a nuisance. Smart location—and perfectly her. She may have shown up at a bar that night, she may have even frequented them often, but she wouldn’t want them interrupting her evenings or causing issues near her home. She had a den of sorts. A quiet, private residence where she could hole up and be herself. Be truly comfortable. I liked that about her.
It took me three loops around the house to finally spot her—she’d apparently taken to her tub for an evening wash. The idea of all that wet skin—of how warm and fragrant she would be in that steamy room—made my cock leak with need. But I was a gentleman—sometimes—and a dragon shifter who followed the rules laid out by the royal dragon clan. I’d not yet received permission from Ginger to do anything with her or to her—something I needed before I could act. Something only she could give me—no coercion allowed.
So instead of creeping outside her window and getting a good eyeful of all that human flesh, I flew up onto the roof and perched carefully along the ridgeline. And I watched the world pass by. Rigid and ready for battle.
My mate deserved a guardian, and I would be that for her. Even if it was all she ever wanted from me.
* * *
As the sun rose over the mountains to the east, Ginger made her way to work along the quiet Kinship Cove streets. I followed behind her, in the air. Watching over her still. I hadn’t slept the night before, hadn’t closed my eyes for a moment. The idea of losing my mate before I truly had her had settled into my head and gut like a stone, so I’d stayed awake to keep her safe. But I’d grown weary of the distance and wanted to see her face up close, wanted to hear her voice and smell that spicy cinnamon scent on the air.
Thankfully, the bakery would be open soon, and I could make a legitimate visit. I waited outside for the girl behind the counter—not Ginger this time—to turn the sign to Open, then waited a few minutes more. A man walked through the door looking positively frantic. A wolf shifter, if my guess was right—and it usually was. He left soon after without a thing in his hands and an angry sort of glare on his face. Odd…and possibly dangerous. Eight minutes was way more than enough to have my mate out of my sights. I rushed across the street, slowing only when I reached the door with the little bell overhead and pushed through it.
But it wasn’t Ginger behind the counter.
“Welcome to Cake—” The girl’s eyes went big as she saw me, her nose practically twitching. Shifter—Vulpes genus, if the scent didn’t lie. Fox shifters weren’t as prevalent as wolves or bears, but I’d run into a handful over the years. Eaten a few as well, to be honest. I doubted I could say the same for her and dragons—the meeting or eating. This could be fun.
“Good morning,” I said, trying my hardest to keep any sort of growl from my voice.
“Who are you, and what are you doing here?”
No pleasantries. All righty. “I’m Kingston, and I’d—”
“I don’t need your name. What sort of shifter are you, and why can’t I smell you?”
Ah. That was easy. “I’m a dragon shifter, fox. You can’t smell me because I choose not to telegraph my species.”
“Dragon. Huh…hadn’t thought of that.”
Of course not—we weren’t exactly your garden-variety predator. But her lack of knowledge on my breed did little to assuage the deep need within me to check on my mate. “Yes, well…that’s what I am. Now, I don’t want to be a bother, but I was hoping to see Ginger.”
“No.”
I…hadn’t expected that. “Excuse me.”
“I said no. You cannot see Ginger.” The fox shook her head and dropped her towel onto the counter. “What does some dragon want with Ginger, anyway?”
The word dragon dripped with disdain, a fact that had my inner beast snarling and ready to fight. Not that I could let him. So I reined him in, and I did my best not to let the little snack get a glimpse of the claws pushing through my fingers.
“I believe that’s between me—” I paused, making sure to put enough weight behind my words so as to make my point clear “—and my mate.”
She didn’t even blink. “Bullshit. Dragons don’t mate for life like the rest of us. They pick their partners and form a breakable bond.”
Ignorance and the secrets of my breed would be the death of me. From boredom. “Not all dragons mate, no. But some do. Including me—my bond to Ginger isn’t the breakable sort.”
The girl shook her head, looking far more irritated than I would have expected. “First the wolves come after Coco, and now a dragon’s set his sights on Ginger. These girls are dangerous.” She looked up and caught my eye once more. “If you’re fucking around with her, you’ll have to deal with me.”
“Am I supposed to be afraid of a fox?”
“Maybe. Maybe not. But my family skulk will hunt you down and tear you to pieces if you mess with that girl. Starting with all your favorite bits, you get me? She’s important to us.”
She was important to me, too. And I could do nothing but respect the zeal this little creature used to protect her. I would make sure not to eat any of the local foxes for snacks, after all. “Understood. There will be no fucking around…without express consent from Ginger herself.”
“Yeah, I’ve heard about your rules of consent when picking a partner. Y
ou need her to make the first move, right?”
Unfortunately. “Right.”
“Good luck with that. I’m Misty, by the way. I have a feeling you should know that sooner rather than later.”
Suddenly Ginger appeared, carrying a tray weighted down by huge cupcakes covered in frosting of various pastel shades. “I swear, if Coco is getting banged like a screen door in a hurricane by Mr. Hot Silver Fox instead of being on time to work, I’m going to lose my shit.”
“Pretty sure she’s not the one getting banged,” Misty said, tossing a wink in my direction. “Magnus just left—he said he’s looking for Coco.”
Ginger frowned, having not noticed me yet. “But…Coco’s not here. She’s always here on time—early, even. The brat makes us all look like slackers.” She grabbed her phone from her back pocket, still not looking up. “She says she’s not coming in this morning but will be here after we close to finish the macarons.”
“Sounds like she’s sick.”
“No, it sounds like she’s hiding. I swear, I tell my sister to fuck her ex-boyfriend’s dad one time, and the world goes to hell.”
Misty’s grin grew wide and…mocking. “It does—it really, really does. We’ll deal with that in a second, though. You’ve got a visitor.”
Ginger’s head snapped up, and she followed Misty’s nod in my direction. A delightful flush rose along her neck and over her cheeks as her eyes met mine. One I could practically taste. By the fates, she was stunning. Hair up, eyes bright, skin delightfully pink. I wanted to pin her against the glass display case and kiss her delicate throat, wanted to slide my hand up under that white shirt she wore and tweak her nipples until she begged for more. I wanted so much…but I couldn’t take from her. I had to wait to be offered.
But my mate’s mind wasn’t focused on me and all the things I could do for her. At least, not yet.
