“Regardless, you’ll want to keep one of these guys by your side at all times. Not that any of them make for particularly good company, but just to be on the safe side,” Mercury said, his dark voice distinct, the harshness in his tone slightly softer now.
There were several protests from the others at Mercury’s remark, followed by unanimous agreement.
“Yes, definitely,” Marina said. “Who would you like stand watch tonight?”
Brittany looked around at all of the reassuring faces waiting for her decision. Yet, despite the confusion between them, there was only one she wanted.
“Lead?” Brittany asked, turning around to look at him. She thought there was a hint of satisfaction in his eyes as he nodded.
“Well, then it’s settled. I need to get to work on that barrier,” Marina said, clapping her hands on her thighs and standing up.
Mercury let out a sigh of annoyance, and Marina punched him in the arm.
“If you need anything at all, just let me know. I’m more than happy to help,” Marina finished, and she walked out of the room, followed by Mercury, who was rubbing his arm.
“Has he gotten better or worse since we last saw him on Drakkaris?” Cadmium asked after the two disappeared.
“He seems happy,” Zinc commented.
“That’s happy?” Arsenic remarked.
Brittany felt Lead’s hand on her shoulder, surprisingly light despite its huge size. “Shall we get you to bed, then?” he asked quietly as the others began to argue.
She nodded, her body quickly starting to give out as adrenaline and fear quickly subsided. But as she reached the steps to her room, Lead leading the way in front of her, the muscles in her body clenched up. The memory of creepy monsters was still too fresh in her mind.
Lead went up the first step, then stopped, turning. His face instantly showed worry, and he came back to her immediately.
“Is everything all right?” he asked.
“I think so. It’s just… Can I sleep somewhere else tonight?” she asked.
“Of course. There are spare bedrooms upstairs and here on the main floor. We can get—”
“Is it all right if I stay with you tonight? In your room?” she asked.
Lead hesitated for a long moment, then relented. “All right. But it’s in the basement. I’m the only one who has a room down there since it’s a little on the cold side. But I can turn the heat up, if you like.”
“That’s fine. I don’t mind the cold. I just don’t want to be alone,” she said.
Lead headed toward the stairs leading into the basement, but instead of heading into the gym, he made a right down a hallway and turned into a large room.
Unlike most basements, the mansion’s had a raised ceiling so everything didn’t feel cramped. But despite that, Lead made everything look cramped by nature of his sheer size.
“I apologize for the mess,” Lead said, a hint of nervousness in his tone as she walked inside, and he closed the door, locking it behind her.
But in spite of his words, the room was the absolute opposite of messy. The room was nicely appointed, decorated in dark browns and warm tans, the furniture upholstered with expensive-looking leather and tables in rich, earthy colors. At the center of the room was a huge four-post bed, the sheets pristinely made. Everything seemed to have a proper place, but aside from the furniture, there were no decorations or accoutrements to speak of adorning the walls and tables.
Homey but lonely. Missing something.
“If there’s anything you need, I can have one of the others go to your room to fetch it,” Lead said, scratching the back of his head as he walked into the room.
“No,” she said. “I already got ready.” She looked around at the spare chairs and cushions, wondering where it would be good to sleep. Her heart was still pounding from adrenaline but also now a bit from being alone with Lead.
“You will take the bed,” Lead said officiously, moving pillows off it and turning the covers back. “Of course.”
He was back to being distant, not even making eye contact with her as he moved about the room.
“How did you get there so fast?” she asked, making him pause and look up at her.
“What do you mean?”
“When I screamed, you were there in a split second. You couldn’t have been down here. You couldn’t have even been downstairs, I don’t think.”
Was it just her, or did his face color slightly?
“Don’t worry about it,” he said. “I was there. That’s all that matters.” He gestured to the bed. “It’s ready for you.”
Oh no. He was clearly trying to avoid this topic, but there was no way Brittany was letting it go.
Embarrassing, Lead thought as he stepped back from the bed and gestured again for Brittany to take it. Would the humiliations of the day never end? Now she was probably going to find out that, like a lovesick idiot, he’d been planning to sleep next to her door to make sure she was fine all night.
He’d tried to tell himself she was safe and she didn’t need him, but his dragon was bonded, it appeared, and couldn’t let it go.
So he’d grabbed a blanket after the others had disappeared to their rooms and gone to sit by her door, waiting for her light to go off.
When he’d heard her scream, his heart had nearly stopped inside him. Then the warrior had kicked in, and he’d been able to rescue her in time. What if he hadn’t been there? He had to thank his dragon for that one, even if it was being a bit obsessive.
But seeing her there, looking so vulnerable in her cute, soft red pajamas, hair still mussed from what she’d been through, he knew he had to hold back.
He’d been asked to do a lot of hard things in his life, but sharing a room with this beautiful female who drove his dragon crazier every second was maybe the hardest.
She needed his protection now, and he couldn’t let her down.
Perhaps his dragon was only obsessed with her because she needed him to protect her, but then again, perhaps not.
She was so beautiful, with that huggable body that was so soft and light in his arms. Those wide blue eyes that looked so innocent despite everything she’d been through and that small smile that always seemed so kind to him.
Marina had once talked about how sad it was that the dragons of Drakkaris mated only by competition and supply and demand, not with their hearts.
Was this what she meant? If so, he was glad there had been a dearth of mates on Drakkaris, because it had led him to come here and meet Brittany.
He froze as he realized the direction of his thoughts. One little incident of rescuing her and her choosing him for protection didn’t suddenly put them on a path to mating. The oracle hadn’t even said if that would be possible at all.
And then there were the other dragons to consider.
No matter what, Lead would be honorable.
Brittany walked over to the bed, smoothed the covers with one small hand, and then looked up at him. “Were you outside my room?”
Embarrassment flooded him, but he wasn’t one to lie, so he nodded.
“I see,” she said.
“Are you mad?” he asked.
“No,” she said, cheeks going a rosy-pink color, even in the dimmed lights in his bedroom. “I’m actually kind of flattered.”
“Flattered?” By his stalking? Lead was confused by that.
She sat on the bed and patted the spot next to her, but Lead didn’t take it. His body was already on edge just being this close to her. He didn’t want to know what would happen if he got closer.
“I guess because after today, I wasn’t sure if you even wanted to be around me. You kept pushing me away, saying I didn’t need you.”
“You didn’t,” Lead said.
“But I do,” she said.
“Yes, if there are outside forces, you definitely do. I only meant from the other dragons earlier. Obviously, I want to be by your side, but I don’t want to trick you into thinking I have to be.”
&nb
sp; “You want to be around me?” she asked. “I thought you didn’t like me.”
His stomach sank. “Why would you think that?”
“I don’t know,” she said. “You pushed me away in the gym. You were fun during gaming, but during dinner, you ignored me. And then you didn’t want to talk after. I assumed I was annoying you or something.”
He shook his head ruefully and finally sat on the bed a little ways over from her, simply because he couldn’t resist. “It couldn’t be further from the truth. I long to be near you always, and I know that is wrong. You are here for our protection, nothing more, and I’m not going to take advantage of that.”
Her blue eyes widened and a smile curved the side of her mouth. “You like me?”
He gazed into her eyes. “I’m not sure that covers it.”
She flushed, looking down at her hands in her lap. “I like you.” She sighed. “I know that sounds crazy because I’ve only known you a day, but I really like you.”
He cocked his head, wondering what she saw in him. Perhaps some women were into warriors. Either way, the situation was just getting even more dangerous because they were alone in his room, and he’d just found out she wanted him, too.
But it didn’t change anything.
He stood and paced at the foot of the bed. “I am the captain of the dragon guard. I should have the highest standards of honor.” When his eyes met hers, he could feel the heat rising inside him. “Instead, in my thoughts of you, I am the most dishonorable.”
She walked over to him, and he backed up, but she kept going until he felt his hips hit the dresser with a thud. He stared down at her, not sure if he was scared or aroused at that moment.
“What kind of dishonorable thoughts?” Her eyes were liquid, her lips pursed, and as she put a finger up and drew it down his chest, he thought perhaps the dishonorable one here might be her.
Except humans weren’t obliged to the dragon guard and had no obligation to be honorable.
“I don’t… It’s not a good idea to…” He trailed off as her finger played down to his abs, running over his muscles and to the edge of his belt.
“To what?” she asked. “Do something both of us want?”
“You were nearly kidnapped,” he stuttered, wishing he could teleport through the dresser to get away. Already, he was getting painfully hard from the way she was looking at him, and he knew there would be no relief tonight.
“Yeah, and this time, someone was there to rescue me. Someone I’m coming to like.” Her hand hooked the edge of his belt. “Someone I’m attracted to.”
He swallowed. He knew dragons had an effect on human women, supposedly, but he wasn’t expecting it to be this strong.
She looked up at him, eyes glowing as her hands caught the edges of his tee shirt and pulled upward. He stayed there, frozen, as she lifted it to bare his abs and let out a sharp breath. Then she tugged upward, and he reluctantly raised his arms, feeling at her mercy despite being so much bigger.
“I know you’re a good man,” she said, tossing the shirt aside and studying his chest and arms with pleasure in her eyes. “That means if I want something, I probably have to make a move.”
“Wait,” he said, pushing her hands away as she moved to place them on his pecs. “We shouldn’t. It isn’t fair to—”
“To whom?” Brittany asked, stepping back in frustration. “I’m the one who was kidnapped and hasn’t had release in weeks. I’m the one who wants something and knows you also want it. What makes it unfair?”
He sighed, knowing he was going to give in whether he liked it or not. The dragon in him just couldn’t say no, and right now, she looked desperate.
The fact that he wanted it more than air had nothing to do with it, obviously.
He set both hands on her waist and picked her up, tossing her onto the bed. She landed with surprised eyes that instantly turned warm as he crawled onto the bed with her.
“Release? I can at least give you that,” he said. “That is fair.”
Deep down, he knew that was bullshit, but he couldn’t withstand any longer. He’d given her all of the chances to back down, and even though he knew he’d probably pay for this in the morning, when his honorable side woke back up, he couldn’t stop himself now.
Not when she wanted him this badly.
Chapter 10
Brittany lay back as Lead crawled toward her, feeling she’d finally won.
Won what?
She’d gotten the stubborn warrior to override his own sense of right and wrong and hop into bed with her, but was she letting her horniness overcome common sense?
She didn’t care, as Lead came forward, putting a hand on either side of her head and kissing the crook of her neck in a way that made her instantly shudder.
Was it her awareness of him as such a big, handsome man? Was it the hard length she saw pressing against his jeans? Or maybe it was just the feeling in the air that this was somehow right.
That she was meant to be here and doing this with this man. He liked her. He wanted her. He’d just been trying to hold himself back, and that made him that much more irresistible. Why didn’t he understand he’d be any woman’s fantasy, with so much brooding, protective hotness?
Her nails dug into his back as he continued to kiss and lick at her neck, and she wondered what Fifi would say about her doing this with her “protector.”
But Lead was more than that now. He was a man who wanted her, and she wanted him back.
She had to, or her body wouldn’t be reacting the way it was, with little lightning shocks of pleasure moving through her at every touch.
She’d been with men for months who never made her feel this much for them, even though they were perfectly capable in bed. It wasn’t Lead’s technique so much as who he was. Honorable. Kind. Sincere.
The muscles didn’t hurt either, she thought as she ran her hands over his shoulders and arms, trying not to hurt his back with her nails.
He pulled back to look at her, closing his eyes as her hands moved over his biceps.
When he opened them, his gold eyes were glowing, and she thought she saw the pupils switch to slits for just a moment.
Was that the dragon in him, or had she imagined it?
Then he was normal, and his hands grabbed hers, pinning them over her head as he came back to kiss her again, this time on the lips.
It was their first kiss, and it was tender and hot and desperate in a way she’d never experienced.
I long to be with you always, he’d said with that innocent face. No one had ever said something so romantic to her.
It made the kiss hotter as his tongue stroked inside her, awakening something deep and wanton that had never been awakened at any other time.
She bit his lower lip and sucked as he gasped, then pulled back. His eyes narrowed slightly as he adjusted her hands again, even tighter over her head.
But though he was holding her captive, she felt like the one in control.
“Take me,” she said sultrily, and he gave a small shake of his head.
“I cannot.”
She squirmed in frustration, but his free hand on her thigh stopped her, his touch warm and coarse and unmistakably masculine. She’d know it was him even with her eyes closed.
“I will give you what you want, but go no further,” he said, stroking along the curve of her hip and thigh, feeling up to her soft belly and squeezing slightly. She would normally be self-conscious, but the way he touched her made it clear just how attracted he was.
“So soft,” he said, closing his eyes as if experiencing sheer heaven. Then he released her hands so he could use both of his to caress her, exploring her as though she were a map he had to memorize every bit of. His hand even curved under her leg, lifting it so he could study her toes. She was shocked when he took one of her feet and kissed it gently before setting it back on the bed again.
The next moment, he straddled her, his trim hips over hers, his wide shoulders towering above her.
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His hands held her waist and then crept higher, and his dark eyebrows raised, as if silently asking her permission. She nodded, and his hands grabbed the hem of her pajama top and slowly raised it, pulling it over her head and tossing it aside much as she had done with his shirt earlier.
He stared for a long moment, then cocked his head in confusion at her bra.
Hadn’t he seen one before?
Laughing, she reached behind her to unhook it and was about to set it aside when he held out a hand, asking for it. She handed it over and watched as he studied it.
Her bra looked oddly small in his big hands, and he turned it over, examining the hooks, and then nodded, setting it aside.
“I understand it now. I won’t mess up again,” he said, leaning down to kiss her forehead. It was oddly tender, but before she could recover, his hands found her breasts, covering them completely. “So soft.”
She arched, pushing her nipples into his touch, feeling herself harden and become more sensitive. He moved his hands to the side of each breast, still cupping her but letting his rough, calloused thumbs gently caress her nipples.
She gasped and jerked, but couldn’t get out of his hold as he continued to apply his slow torture.
“Amazing,” he said. “So sensitive.” Then he lowered his head, taking one nipple into his mouth, and it felt like her world exploded in liquid heat.
How the hell had she come so quickly? She arched as her body convulsed, and he kept his mouth on her nipple, swirling his tongue and sucking as she rode out the ripples of her release.
When he finally sat back, and she was lying there gasping, she gave him a frustrated look.
“You’re relentless, you know that?”
He cocked his head, making a lock of thick, dark hair fall over his forehead. “I have been told as much. Many times.” A rakish grin lit his face. “Mostly by people who were about to be defeated.” He planted a hand on either side of her face and leaned forward until their faces were close. “Of course, I think the kind of defeat you experience won’t be unpleasurable for you.”
His lips fell over hers as his hand slipped between her legs, massaging her wet heat over her pants and panties. She squirmed because the contact wasn’t enough and felt him jerk her pants down, then shove his fingers in her panties until he was directly over her.
Lead Dragon (Dragon Guard of Drakkaris) Page 8
