by Amelia Jade
The only thing he wished he could do was to tell Quinn. He missed her, and wanted to see her badly. She had to be freaking out after not having heard from him in over two days.
He hoped she didn’t do anything stupid until he could get back to her. Which, he vowed, was something he would do as soon as possible. The taste of her lips came back to him then, and he decided he was going to see her that night.
Asher schooled his features into a neutral mask and turned to face Blaine to accept his punishment.
Chapter Eight
Quinn
She was starting to panic.
No, that’s a lie. You’re already panicking. You just don’t know how to take it up another level.
It was true. Quinn had said he’d be several hours. She was fine with that. But when six hours had gone by, she began to wonder. She had ended up eating their picnic lunch on her own. And then dinner.
Crawling into bed, she lay awake for hours, hoping to hear the sound of the door opening. But it never happened.
Asher was gone. There was no way around it. He hadn’t come home the next day either. After that, he was supposed to report back to his Academy, and she knew it might be days before he came back.
At one point Quinn had put her clothing on and prepared to go outside looking for him. She’d gotten as far as her hand on the doorknob before realizing that if something had happened to Asher, her going out during the day to look for him was tantamount to suicide. No, she’d have to trust that he would come back to her at some point.
So now, at the end of day three with no sign of him, she was once again lying in bed, trying to keep all the various horrific scenarios of what had happened out of her head.
There was a noise from outside. The window was open a crack for some fresh air, and she heard what sounded like claws on stone.
Or talons. Asher?
She slipped from the bed and cautiously made her way downstairs, knife in hand.
“It’s me,” came the call as the door opened.
“Asher!” she cried, dropping the knife onto a table and throwing herself at him.
“Oomph!” he said, but wrapped her up in a bear hug nonetheless, spinning around to absorb the impact.
She planted a kiss on his lips without thinking, then pulled back, anxious to deflect the situation, unsure if that had been a good idea.
“Where were you?” she asked instead. Thankfully it was a valid enough question.
“I am so sorry,” he apologized, looking straight at her. Then he sighed and carried her over to the couch, sagging into it while Quinn twisted slightly so she was sitting in his lap.
“I’m just glad you’re okay,” she said. “I wish you’d been able to notify me.”
Asher nodded. “I know. But cell phones are a no-go in the Academy. I’ll get mine back when I flunk out, or more hopefully, graduate.”
Quinn nodded, remembering that rule. It would have been such a simple thing for him to text her an explanation. But he couldn’t.
He proceeded to tell her about the gryphons and their accusations, and how he’d had to back up his denial any way he could.
“So my leave got rescinded and I had to go from the building to the Academy. They were not impressed with me. Still aren’t,” he added with a funny look. “But I’m here now. As soon as I could sneak away I did. Had to make sure you didn’t do something crazy like go out looking for me.”
“I almost did,” she said, glancing away. “But I realized that that would not be a smart idea at all. It was a close thing though. You’ve had me worried sick.”
He frowned. “I’m sorry, Quinn. I really am.” He kissed her forehead once. Twice.
She nuzzled in closer to him, her lips searching for his. They met, and suddenly heat bloomed between them, the temperature rising several degrees almost immediately. Her body tingled with electricity as the kiss deepened. Quinn knew what might happen. They were not out on the mountainside tonight. They were inside, away from everyone else.
Asher hissed in delight as she moved until she was straddling him, her hips settling down over the top of his in a smooth, grinding manner. They pressed hard enough that she could feel his cock through his pants, causing her to bite her lip as she lost herself in his silvery, light-blue eyes.
One of his lips cocked upward in a half-smile and he pulled her back into him, kissing her full on the lips once more. Her mouth parted slightly as his tongue quested outward. She moaned softly, her hands running up the side of his head, fingers pushing through his short hair.
Fingers tugged at the loose-fitting shirt he had given her to sleep in, and she raised her arms over her head, their lips parting briefly. Asher stopped as soon as the soft cloth cleared her lips. She tried to struggle free, hands trapped above her head and eyes blinded by the shirt, but Asher held her tight as he kissed her again.
The sensation of not being able to see him as he kissed her was electric. It set her nerves on fire as one strong hand kept her arms above her head, while the other dragged his fingertips softly across her now-exposed back. It triggered an outbreak of goose bumps across her flesh as he reached her waist, gripping it tightly and pulling her even closer.
Moments later he tugged her shirt all the way off, freeing her arms, and she immediately sat back and removed his, though she didn’t stop him at any point. The moment his arms were free she pressed herself to him, feeling the warmth of his skin reach out and invite her in. Quinn let herself melt into him, her lips exploring his neck as she kissed it, then nipped lightly at his ear, drawing a rush of breath from Asher.
Below, his cock grew harder until it was pressing against her thigh between both his pants and hers. Feeling mischievous, she dropped one hand behind her and reached under her legs to stroke it softly, surprising Asher with the touch. He jumped a little, but did not tell her to stop. Instead, she saw his eyes fill with desire, passion, and definitely some lust. It was there in a mix, that look that said “I want you, right here, right now.”
The powerful dragon shifter picked her up and slid from the couch, laying her down onto the thick, plush carpet below. Quinn practically sank into it, her back arching slightly as he dragged a single, solitary finger with excruciating slowness from her collarbone all the way down to the start of her pants, which he then tugged with him, exposing her mound. Without waiting, he dropped low and kissed it, teasing her with what was to come.
“Please,” she said, lifting her rear off the floor as he swept her pants off in one motion.
“Please what?” he asked with a wink.
“Please don’t tease me,” she breathed, the last word turning into a strangled gasp as he dipped between her thighs and slid his warm tongue across her clit without warning.
She expected him to say more, but he didn’t. His eyes remained on her, but his lips and tongue kissed and touched her completely. He brought her body to life as he warmed her up, pleasure beginning to trickle out from between her legs and spreading through her entire body.
“Oh, Asher,” she said aloud, uncaring what he thought. “That feels so good.”
It might have been a clichéd saying, but damn if it didn’t feel amazing! Her core began to contract as he increased the pace of his tongue, and then relaxed as he slowed. Each time he would speed up a bit more, and slow down a little less. It was a gradual swelling of ecstasy that quickly overwhelmed her mind and left her drifting on a sea of bliss, uncaring of the cries that filled the room as he pleasured her.
Quinn was at the precipice, her orgasm almost there, when Asher’s finger slid inside of her. The sudden penetration threw her eyes wide open and she suddenly fell over the edge. Her hands shot between her thighs, pulling his head in tight.
“Don’t stop,” she hissed, her arms and stomach beginning to shake as every muscle contracted at once. “Don’t you dare fucking stop. Just like that,” she commanded.
Asher obeyed, and a split second later Quinn threw her head back and began to writhe on the carpet as wave
after wave of intense pleasure rolled out from between her legs and slammed into her body. The never-ending assault knocked her senseless, and made her unaware of anything she was doing.
His tongue kept moving over her clit, and just as she finished her descent from the first cliff, she rolled right off another as a second orgasm hit her in mere moments. Quinn’s eyes rolled up into her head. Her arms shot out wide, fingers digging deep into the carpet as she quivered. It was so excruciatingly wonderful she was unable to move.
“Okay!” she managed to say with a gasp. “Stop.” Her body continued to rock and spasm with the moment as she curled up into a ball, her lungs heaving as they tried to suck in the huge amounts of air they had been denied for what felt like so long.
“Mmmm,” he said from between her legs, kissing his way gently up and over her mound and across her stomach. He stopped to swirl his tongue around each of her nipples, drawing faint cries from her as the sensitive nubs sent flickers of pleasure through her.
Asher moved to curl up next to her, but she shook her head.
“What?” he asked, confused.
“Those. Get ‘em gone,” she ordered, pointing to his pants. “We need to even the equation,” she said, indicating her own complete nudity.
“Yes ma’am,” he said with a grin, flipping to his back and removing his pants, and then boxers, until he was just as naked as she was.
“Much better. Now, come here,” she told him, rolling onto her side so he could come spoon behind her.
“Oh,” he said in surprised delight as she draped a hand over her side and wrapped it around his hard shaft. He began to groan softly as she stroked him up and down, using her grip to rub the tip of his cock against her opening as it pushed through her closed legs, until it was glistening.
Then she placed it against her. Asher needed no more guidance then. He knew what she wanted, and with a smooth motion he pushed the first part of himself inside of her.
Quinn hissed.
“Too much?” he asked, concerned.
“No, no not at all,” she told him, reaching back to pull his hips a little tighter. “Amazing,” she said, her voice dropping an octave as he pushed even more inside of her.
He was so thick, it took her some time to adjust to his size. Eventually she took more of him inside her, and then at one point he just slid all the way in.
Quinn’s eyes flew open and she shivered in delight.
“Oh my,” she moaned as he slowly thrust in and out of her. “So good.” Her eyes rolled back into her head once more, staying there as he continued to move against her.
The press of his body against hers, the warmth of his touch, and the intimacy of the moment burned a lasting memory into her brain. This was a night she was going to remember. As Asher picked up the pace, another thought came to Quinn.
This was a night she was going to want to repeat.
There was no denying it. The charged tension between the two of them was too great for her to deny any longer. There was something there. Something that was more than just physical attraction. They worked too well together, laughed too easily.
It had only been a little more than a week, but Quinn knew already that there was something forming—a connection of sorts—that had more power than she would have given on her own.
Her mind was drawn back to the present as Asher grabbed her and rolled onto his back. Under his guidance she placed her feet on the tops of his legs. Strong hands gripped her waist and held her aloft as she looked up at the ceiling. Then his hips began to move, and Quinn’s moans became cries that echoed through the room as he fucked her harder than before, the entire length of his cock thrusting into her each time.
She had never experienced it like that, but Quinn knew immediately that she liked it. Her hands, unable to reach the bed as Asher held her up, came around to play with her breasts. She tweaked her own nipples, falling deep into the sensations of the moment as he had his way with her.
“Holy shit,” she gasped as he lowered her to the bed several minutes later, her heart hammering against her ribcage.
Asher grinned and gave her a kiss as he moved on top of her, scooping her back up into his arms as he sat back on his knees. Quinn wrapped her legs around his waist and kept herself close, grinding her hips against him as she did the work now, creating long, slow movements with muscles that she did not use too often. It wasn’t long before she was out of breath and shaking from the exertion.
“I think we’re going to have to do both of those,” he told her with a grin. She nodded eagerly, then pulled him close to kiss him some more.
The big, muscular dragon shifter settled on top of her, this time sliding in with ease. They lay there as he moved gently against her, all of a sudden the moment much more intimate as he stared into her eyes. She looked right back, seeing the tightening around the corners of her eyes when he was fully buried within her, and the look of enjoyment as she moaned softly when he pushed back into her.
Her jaw dropped open slightly as she first felt his cock swell inside of her, followed by his face contorting as he came. It was something she’d never done before—just sit back and watch a man’s orgasm face, but to Quinn it was so hot. She felt him blast streams of his hot cum inside of her, and she shook slightly at the intensity of the moment as Asher’s rigid body slowly relaxed. He slid off onto her side, staying close.
There were no words to be said just then, and that was okay with her. She shared several tired kisses, knowing that Asher must be exhausted after everything he’d been through the past couple of days, and the exertion he’d just gone through now.
So, she was quite surprised—and very excited—when he stirred perhaps ten minutes later.
“I have to go soon,” he told her regretfully.
Then he grinned and glanced between his legs. “But not yet.”
Quinn bit her lip and parted her legs. “Then you’d best make the most of it, shouldn’t you?”
Asher set about doing just that, and more, much to her delight. And pleasure.
Chapter Nine
Asher
The next five days passed like a whirlwind. Each night he snuck out to see Quinn. Most nights they ended up naked in bed, but not always. One night they went up to the roof and gazed at the stars, content just to be in each other’s arms. The experience of being with a human in such an intimate setting had forced Asher to do a lot of reorganizing of everything he’d ever thought he knew about them.
It was clear he’d been doing some of that ever since Quinn practically fell into his lap, but the more time he spent with her, the more apparent the gulf between reality and his knowledge was. He laughed to himself, realizing he still had a lot to learn it would seem.
Speaking of learning, this should be interesting.
The cadets had earned a half day of leave. Asher had thought he wouldn’t be included in it, but to his surprise, Daxxton had overruled Blaine and let him leave the Academy. He’d almost headed straight home, but then decided to check in at the Immigration building to see if they had approved Quinn’s forms yet. He wanted to be able to take them back to her as a surprise that night.
He approached the building warily, his last excursion there fresh in his mind.
“Can I help you?” the elderly lady behind the same counter asked, looking bored.
“Yes, I filled out some human immigration forms over a week ago, and I hadn’t heard back yet.”
“Name?”
“Quinn Bryant,” he supplied, trying to sound cheerful.
The woman looked at her screen for a moment. Then, if it was possible, he would have sworn that her expression soured even more. “Permission denied.”
“What? Why?” Asher tried not to sound too angry, but the clinical disinterest she showed was wearing thin on him. What possible reason could they have for denying Quinn access when he requested it? Most internal requests were supposed to be approved without issue.
“Says here that a background check found evi
dence that her motives might not be as clear-cut as the form you filled out.”
Asher frowned. “Can you be more specific? Perhaps I can address them.”
The woman sighed, and looked around him as if wishing there were another customer. Asher tried not to growl, but it took a lot of effort. The woman—a leopard shifter, unless he missed his guess—was really getting on his nerves.
“They provided a link. Let’s see what it says.”
Then there was silence as her eyes scanned the screen. Asher watched, and felt his nerves grow as her eyes widened slightly.
“Son, are you sure you met this woman through an internet dating site?”
He rolled his eyes. “Yes, I’m positive.”
“Well, did you know she runs a blog where she talks about sneaking into Cadia to photograph, and I quote, the ‘exotic wildlife’? The whole thing makes it seem like she’s just trying to come here to get a picture of us for some photo contest. That she sees us as no more than animals in the background of a picture.”
“You’re lying.” It was an automatic response, but Asher said it without vigor.
His mind was back to the large camera Quinn had been carrying. She’d claimed she took it anytime she went out into nature, that she liked shots of the trees and the landscape.
And he’d believed her. Instead, this entire time, she’d been using him to try and get a shot to win a contest? What about her mother? Was that all a lie?
He sagged against the counter, the wood ledge groaning as it tried to support his weight. “You’re positive?” he asked weakly.
The woman eyed him, then nodded unhappily. She turned her screen around for him to see. Asher read the first three lines and then shook his head. “Okay. Enough. Thank you.”
The woman for once seemed sympathetic as he gathered himself together. “I’m sorry. It never feels good to be lied to,” she said softly.
