They rounded another bend, and at the end of the corridor, sunlight streamed through an opening.
“We’ve made it. The gate is open.” Though it should have eased the man’s tension, if anything, he quickened his steps until they were jogging.
A clinking of metal on metal rang through the corridor, and Edmond cursed. “Hurry,” he shouted as he grabbed her hand and started to run. Behind them, more footsteps sounded at an all-out run. Ava didn’t waste time looking back as she sprinted for the entrance to the arena. A wrought iron gate slid slowly from one side as it started to close. Whoever was behind her had to be either Bonnie or Clarice. Either way, they weren’t going to make it.
Ava put on a burst of speed, making it to the gate, then came to a stumbling halt, half in and half out. “What are you doing? Come on,” Edmond said, his voice desperate.
The tingling between her legs surged, making her moan. “I just need a second,” she said with a gasp. If she moved even a little, she would come right there in front of him. She’d ignored the tingling as she’d run, but now that she wasn’t moving, the jolts of pleasure bursting through her couldn’t be denied. She took a breath, then another as the sensation dissipated enough for her to move. Just as she took the last step into the arena, Bonnie came bolting past.
“Thank you,” Bonnie called out as she was led to a station to her left.
Edmond tugged on her hand again. “Come on. You can finish what you started once you’re on your station,” he said as though having a woman come—or almost come—by running behind him was an everyday occurrence. Maybe, for him, it was.
The station, as he’d called it, was a platform with a thick cushion on the top—sticking out from the side, two levers and what looked like a crank. Ten feet to Ava’s right, another platform stood. On it, a woman with curly blond hair was already in position. The station had somehow changed, thrusting her chest out so that her breasts were on clear display. A black satin blindfold covered the woman’s eyes. Her hands clung to what looked like padded posts, but as far as Ava could tell, she wasn’t restrained. With her feet pressed heel to heel and her legs bent at the knees, she lay wide open, fully exposed.
Ava looked around the arena. At least fifty people—mostly women—were presented in the same fashion. Some had black blindfolds while others had red, and a few had purple. The colors, she knew, denoted whether the Chosen wanted a male or female mate. The purple simply meant they would welcome either one. Her blindfold would be black.
All the moisture in her mouth evaporated like the driest desert, and her knees shook. Maybe doing this wasn’t the best idea she’d had.
“Up you get,” Edmond said as he put his hand out, waiting for her robe.
Ava opened her mouth to object, but then she caught sight of Bonnie a few stations away and gathered her courage. As soon as the robe came off, Ava turned and hopped onto the station. There was no point in delaying it, and she sure as hell didn’t want to look at Edmond, much less hold a conversation with him, while nude.
“Lie down and put the blindfold on.”
Once more, Ava followed instructions. The heat in her cheeks rivaled the hottest sun. When her back came to rest on the soft cushion, she did as she supposed she should, bringing her feet together and grasping the pegs on either side of her with her hands.
“Scoot down a bit and relax your legs some more,” Edmond said in the same tone a doctor would use. When she didn’t move right away, his hands came to rest on her hips, tugging her into position.
She let out a little squeak. An instant later, his hands were on her inner thighs, pressing against them to have her open up more. She didn’t want to think about the view he had of her right then, but it came into her mind regardless. Thankfully, his hands were gone the second she was positioned to his liking.
Soft ticking sounds came from the side, then at her back, the cushion moved. Her chest rose as the clicks continued. As odd as the position was, it wasn’t uncomfortable.
“Beautiful. With any luck, I’ll have a bonus on my pay this week thanks to you,” Edmond said. Before she could ask him about it, his footsteps faded as he walked away.
A minute passed, then another. The urge to squirm intensified as the tingles on Ava’s already throbbing clit deepened with the heat of the sun’s rays on her body. As much as she appreciated the moments alone with her thoughts, she couldn’t help imagining the men who would soon be walking along the circuit, examining women, touching them. A fresh wave of need coursed through her. As much as she’d resisted the urge to come up until then, her body was making demands she wasn’t sure she’d be able to deny for much longer. Maybe it hadn’t been such a good idea to hold back after all. One touch, and she would go off like a rocket.
Rumbling voices drew her attention, silencing her mind and setting her heart to a galloping race. The viewing was about to start. As frightening as it was, she was glad to be there. Even if her mate turned out to be less than handsome, she would make a good life for them and any children they might have. As long as he treated her well and was willing to help her with her siblings, she’d be content. That was all that mattered.
“Ladies and gentlemen, the viewing has begun. Make your way around the arena. Take your time. Sample them in any way you see fit, but remember, we are always watching. No harm must come to the Chosen,” a familiar feminine voice Ava couldn’t quite place rang out.
Deep murmurs sounded, and footsteps neared. Ava couldn’t see through the blindfold, but each man’s shadow blotted out the sun for a moment as they came to her station, cooling her skin for an instant as they paused then moved on, not one of them lifting a finger to touch her. Ava lost count of how many times the males passed her by. She should have been grateful, but a lump formed in her throat, and her eyes burned behind the blindfold. It was the same thing all over again. Perhaps she wasn’t worth noticing.
Soft moans sounded on either side of her, some getting louder with each passing second. “I’ll have this one,” a male called out from a short distance away.
“This one is mine,” another man said.
“I’ve made my choice,” the soft, husky voice of a woman called out.
She would not cry, damn it. It was unheard of for a woman to be in the arena for only one viewing. She knew this. Many women remained at the Citadel for weeks before being mated. For all she knew, those who had been picked had been displayed for months already. This didn’t mean anything. She took a deep breath and tried to relax. There was always tomorrow, and the next day if that didn’t work out.
A huge shadow cast itself upon her then, sending goose bumps racing along her flesh and her pep talk out the window. The man stood there, unmoving for a few moments, and Ava couldn’t help but react. Knowing that the male could see every part of her had her nipples pebbling tight and a deeper throb pulsing in her clit. Right then, she didn’t care that there were so many people around. Her body was on fire. She would have begged the stranger to touch her and release the coiled tension in her body, but that wasn’t allowed. So, she did the only thing she could—she breathed through the need and tightened her hands on the pegs. One way or the other, she was going to make it through this.
4
Damon strode alongside Axton as they made their way toward the female he already considered his. It had taken him all of three seconds with his dragon’s eyesight to locate her from across the arena. Some of the other men hurried forward like hounds on a hunt, but he had no need to rush. It didn’t matter if someone got to her first, he would stake his claim, and once he did, no other male would ever see her as she was now or lay a single finger on her body. Only one other male ranked his equal in the group, and he was already removing a buxom redhead from her platform across the way.
“You can stop growling now,” Axton whispered as they neared the station.
Damon raised his eyebrows. “Was I?” he grinned at his friend and settled the beast inside. Okay, so he’d been growling. If some of the men who had ru
shed headlong into the arena had figured out why and steered clear of his female, it only proved that they were smart enough not to anger the dragon. They were territorial and possessive beasts after all.
Axton shook his head and glanced a few stations away for the fourth time since they’d stopped walking.
“Go. If the woman’s yours, we’ll bring her home, too,” Damon offered. They hadn’t planned on taking more than one woman from the Citadel, but Axton worked his ass off for him and deserved the happiness of a mate.
“I shouldn’t. This trip was intended for you, Your Highness,” Axton half protested.
“You should. It’s an order. Go and report back once you’ve examined her.” Even if he didn’t want to do it—which Damon was certain Axton did—he would never go against a direct order, and they both knew it.
Axton gave him a starchy salute that only he could get away with before turning and heading to the woman that had captivated his interest.
With his friend gone, Damon was free to admire his mate. He didn’t approach right away, choosing to get his fill from a short distance, savoring the newness of the heat simmering in his blood.
A couple of young males paused at her station, but after a soft growl from him, they hurried to the next. His message was clear: touch her and die. They understood. Her chest rose and fell with quickened breaths, making her breasts heave a little, entrancing him. Her slightly rounded stomach had his groin tightening at the thought of planting his seed inside her. She’d look beautiful with his dragonling growing in her belly. He glanced lower still. Her knees shook a little, but she held them open. Soon, his gaze would be the only one to light upon her body, but for now, he’d allow others to see her. Not that he had a choice. Until he signed his end of the contract, which Edmond should be coming with at any moment, he couldn’t cover her or remove her from her perch.
He stepped closer, breathing deeply, yet not quite catching the scent he was so eager to capture. Odd. He came closer. His body blocked the sun’s rays from her skin, and she gasped. Her nipples hardened under his gaze, and it was all he could do to keep from bending over and taking one into his mouth.
Sure, other men were doing that all around him, but he was a dragon, and he didn’t share his treasures. Not touches or sounds. And she would be making plenty of noise once he got her alone.
“Ah, there you are, Your Highness,” Edmond said as he rushed up to him, keeping his gaze averted from the female before him. Smart man. “I have the documents you require.”
“Good. When can I place my insignia on her?”
“Three days, Your Highness. It will give you the time you need to decide if you want to keep her and prepare her body for the marking before you make that final pledge.” Edmond handed him the documents he’d already reviewed.
“I don’t need three days. She’s mine.” With a flourish, he signed his name at the bottom, not caring if he hit the line it was meant to go on or not. Damon glanced over at Axton, who crouched over a petite woman with white-blond hair. The woman had her lip caught between her teeth and was trying not to smile.
“Be that as it may, Your Highness, we cannot bend the rules, even for a king.” Edmond’s face turned a deep burgundy, but he held his head high.
“Fine. We’ll abide by the rules. Once you’ve delivered my contract for processing, see to that male, as well.” Damon pointed to where Axton was. “If he so desires, he shall have that woman as his mate. Be sure to tell the High Priestess that it is my order, and that the additional bonus shall be yours.”
Edmond’s eyes all but bugged out of his head. “Yes, Sir. Right away, Your Highness.”
Once the man was gone, Damon turned his attention back to where it belonged—his mate. He came to stand closer, bending at the waist, bringing his sensitive nose to her. Her soft arousal teased him, but she hadn’t come. Amazing. If she had, the smell would have been stronger, her folds would have been wetter.
From what he’d been told, stimulants in the soap used to bathe the women made it all but impossible for them not to have multiple orgasms from the time they had been exposed to it until it wore off hours later.
“I wonder,” he said in a voice low enough for only the beautiful female on the station before him to hear, “how quiet you can be.”
He unbuttoned his shirt, pulled it off, and hung it on the handle protruding from his mate’s platform. Taking a deep breath, he expanded the area between his shoulder blades, allowing his wings to push through. When he was done releasing them, he brought them around himself, encompassing the station, shielding his mate from prying eyes. No other had the right to see her from this moment on. He fingered the satiny material of her blindfold at her temple, and she gasped. Soon, he’d remove even that small barrier keeping her from him.
“Can you? Be quiet, that is?” he asked her as he trailed the tip of one finger down from her collarbone to the tip of her breast. A needy whimper slipped past her lips.
“You need to come, don’t you? I’m shielding you from sight. You may answer my questions by nodding.”
She nibbled on her bottom lip for a second, then gave him the nod he was looking for.
“If I touch you, do you promise that you won’t utter a single sound? Can you keep from crying out?” Damon didn’t want to make her wait—hell, he didn’t want to, either, but pummelling every male still in attendance for having heard his woman’s pleasure wouldn’t bode well for him. It might even nullify his contract—something he could not allow.
She hesitated, then nodded again.
“Good.” He lowered his head and flicked her nipple with his tongue. Her back arched from the platform, but nothing more. Not a sigh, not a whimper, not a moan. Perfect. For now. “As much as I want to draw this out, it’s safest if we get out of here as soon as you’re released, so I’m going to make this quick. Remember your promise.”
She nodded again and released the lip she’d been worrying between her teeth as he slid his fingers between her folds. Slick and ready, her pussy quivered under his touch. It wouldn’t take much to send her flying over the edge. He stroked along her clit on one side, then the other before flicking across it. Her body tensed, and her fingers tightened around the posts she clung to until her knuckles turned white, but she remained silent.
He needed to feel her come apart, not just watch the abridged version his position would allow. With a moan, he slid two fingers into her, then used his thumb to circle and press onto her clit. Her breathing quickened, and she drew a sharp, silent breath, then as quietly as could be, her body clamped around his fingers, squeezing them in her tight grip as she came for him.
A fresh wave of her juices coated his fingers, and he wished he could start all over again, but not in the arena. He hadn’t considered the heady scent he’d just released from her, or the fact that other males now had the opportunity to take it in. The tension in his chest escalated at the thought. Already, the bond forging between the dragon and its mate was like a steel cord wrapped around his soul, connecting him to her, and her to him. He had to get her out of there before the beast lost control. What the hell was taking Edmond so long?
With more strength of will than it should have required, he pulled his fingers from her body. “The next time, I’ll have you screaming my name,” he promised, then reached for his shirt, his wings still hiding her from view.
Finally, Edmond cleared his throat from somewhere behind him, and Damon struggled not to growl at the faerie. In actuality, it hadn’t taken him long to process the paperwork, but every moment his mate was on that station irritated his dragon further. Too many males lingered in the arena.
“Ava Garamond has been released from the Citadel of the Chosen into your care, Your Highness. She is under your protection and considered your ward from this moment until you leave the Citadel. You may remove her from her platform at your convenience,” he informed.
“Thank you. Please leave us,” Damon said, his voice gravelly. Until they were fully mated, the dr
agon would be more territorial and possessive of its mate than ever. It was best they went to his tower at once. He didn’t wait to see that Edmond did as requested. The bonus for having secured an unexpected mating would be hefty. The man would bend over backward to ensure Axton’s mate was also secured.
“You can move now, Ava,” he told her. Ava. Yes, that was a fitting name for a queen. Simple, yet elegant. He liked it.
The woman took a deep breath, then reached up to remove her blindfold. She looked at his face, first, her lips parting at the sight of him, then glanced on either side of her, where his wings still cocooned her in. Her eyes widened. “A dragon,” she said in a soft, accented voice, almost in awe.
“Yes, mate. I’m a dragon. You can call me Damon.”
Her gaze came back to his for a moment, then flitted down his chest. Her tongue darted out to wet her lips. “Nice to meet you, Damon,” she said when she brought her attention back to his face.
He wanted to laugh at the absurdity of meeting his mate after he’d already had her coming in his hand.
“As much as I’ve enjoyed the arena, it’s time we left, don’t you think?” He couldn’t help watching as she wiggled into the shirt he held out for her, making him as hard as steel.
“I’d like that. Thank you.” The wild blush staining her cheeks made her all that more appealing.
They’d only taken a handful of steps when Edmond came rushing toward them. “There’s a bit of a problem, Your Highness,” he said in a rush, motioning to the station where Axton had been. Another male was standing there, growling, and Axton looked ready to shift and swallow the guy whole.
“Edmond, would you please see that my mate gets to my tower safely?” he asked the small man before turning to his mate. “I will join you there shortly.”
“Of course.”
He gave her a small peck on the cheek and turned away. The sooner he dealt with whatever was going on, the faster he’d be with her again.
5
Ava peeked over her shoulder at the man who had claimed her. A dragon. An honest to goodness dragon. A million butterflies took flight in her stomach. Had she heard Edmond right? Had he addressed Damon as Your Highness? Should she curtsey when he came into the room? She lifted her hand to her lips, stifling her giggle. Surely, if he wanted that, he would tell her.
Summer Shifter Nights Page 48
