The Heat of the Dragon's Heart: A Reverse Harem Paranormal Fantasy Romance (Harem of Fire Book 2)

by Willa Hart

  “Except Uncle Max, of course,” I confirmed, waiting for more questions I knew would come.

  “And you’re sure it wasn’t just a dream?” Danic asked. Always the skeptic.

  “I’m sure. The room was dark and dank, made of stone blocks. Maybe underground? Can’t be sure of that, but that’s how it felt. Almost like a tomb.”

  The guys exchanged glances and I knew I’d described the elder meeting chamber.

  “Who was there?” Hale asked.

  I searched my memory for the unusual names. “Let’s see, there was Lazlo, of course. Then Almeric, Tybalt, Gerard, Percival and Bob. By the way…Bob? What kind of dragon name is that?”

  “You misheard,” Ryen said, as I lifted my mug to my lips. “He’s called Bub, not Bob. Short for Beelzebub.”

  My hand froze and I stared at him over the rim of my mug with my mouth gaping open. A drop of coffee fell unheeded onto the lap of the cute little sundress I’d thrown on. “Really?”

  He broke into a grin. “Of course not. I’m just fucking with you, Favor.”

  “Language!” Aunt Shirley called from the stove, slapping her hands over her ears. It was no mean feat, considering her badly dyed red hair acted like a sort of cotton candy helmet most days

  I chuckled softly, filled with gratitude that my previously awful life had turned into this strange scene of domestic bliss. Every time one of the boys spoke to me or said my name, my chest fluttered like butterflies were trapped inside. They’d saved my life, on more than one occasion, and while I was grateful to them for that, what I felt was…more. We shared a deep emotional and physical connection that still surprised and confused me. Whenever we were all together, in the same room, I felt whole in a way I never had before.

  Even at that moment, sitting at Shirl’s table, I felt almost as if a limb was missing. And that limb was named Kellum. I could feel him getting close, and when I saw him again, I was going to give him one hell of a thank-you for sticking up for me at the elder meeting. But in the meantime, the others still had questions, judging by their wide-eyed expressions of awe.

  “I can’t believe this,” Danic murmured. “You saw all of that in your dream?”

  Their scrutiny was starting to make me feel awkward. “Yeah, why? Is that bad?”

  “No,” Ash said, then Hale finished. “It’s remarkable.”

  “Why?”

  “Because it’s true. Kellum did get summoned to the elder chamber in the wee hours this morning.”

  A cold chill rippled across my skin. I was surprised, yet I wasn’t. I wanted to believe it was all simply a dream, but deep down I knew it wasn’t. Something had happened to allow me to see other kinds of visions, not only chats with Max. I had no idea why or how, but the facts were crystal clear.

  “Did he call you or something on his way there?” Ryen asked.

  “No.”

  “Then how did you…” Ash started, then shook his head. “What’s it all mean?”

  We all looked blankly at each other, unsure of what to make of my new, completely uncontrollable talent. Maybe Max would have been able to explain, but he’d left town a week earlier and had given no clue when he might return. I glanced over at Aunt Shirley, happily humming as she plated the eggs, and wondered if she was worried about her husband. After so many years together, she must have been used to his eccentricities and quirks. As for me, I was still concerned — “worried” was too strong a word, but if he didn’t get his leathery old ass home soon, it might head in that direction.

  The front door opened, and I knew it was Kellum before he shouted a cheery hello. Shoving my chair back so hard it toppled over, I ran to meet him in the hallway, drawn to him by an irresistible magnetic force that overwhelmed my own strength by a million. I couldn’t have stopped myself, even if I’d wanted to. Which I most certainly did not.

  I flung myself into his outstretched arms and he folded me into his embrace, my face pressing against his solid chest, breathing in his spicy scent. The thick cloud of desire that had been threatening to blind me since the moment we first met closed around us. I tilted my face up to meet his, both of us gasping for air, for closeness, for completeness. His bright blue eyes flashed like the sun glinting over ocean waves and my heart couldn’t be denied any longer.

  I kissed him, hard and pleading, and I knew we wouldn’t stop there.

  Chapter Two

  The world around us melted away. All I knew was Kellum’s hands sliding down my waist, curving around to my back and slipping down to take my ass in them. He pulled me into him at the same time he pressed hard against me, showing me exactly how he felt. I moaned against his tongue, almost collapsing with need for him. I wanted — no, needed — our bodies to meld together so tightly, so completely, that it would be impossible to tell where one of us ended and the other began. I wanted him to swallow me up, wrap me in the comforting darkness of the tight space between us until the entire universe fell away into nothingness.

  None of it mattered now anyway. Not Enoch’s death. Not Max’s disappearance. Not even the fact that, somewhere down the hall, Aunt Shirley and the rest of my boys were waiting for us to join them. Somewhere in the cobwebby corners of my mind, I knew it wasn’t the best idea to make out with Kellum in the foyer of my aunt’s house, but again…didn’t matter.

  What did matter was that he was here now. That I was here. That we were together.

  Only five years ago, I hadn’t even known he — any of them, actually — existed. So much had changed for me in such a short amount of time that it made my head spin. Spending twelve years in foster care, only to learn I had a secret family hidden away in California. That was a surprise. But then to learn dragons actually existed? Yeah, that one threw me for a loop for a while. Then to learn I had some kind of fluky special powers that let me send out telepathic messages and drop myself into places I’d never been before?

  Mind.

  Blown.

  But none of that held a flame to how I felt with Kellum’s lips on mine. I opened my eyes a little, unable to resist a peek at his handsome face. His lids veiled the oceanic depths of his eyes. I allowed my finger to trace the arch of his eyebrow, drawing a sigh from him as he deepened our kiss. How on earth could a man like this want a girl like me?

  A charismatic leader, never afraid to take up the mantle of responsibility, Kellum stood out in any crowd without even trying. He emanated a sort of animal magnetism that sent shivers down my spine and made my heart trip over itself. The cherry on top was that he was a truly wonderful person. Kind, funny, charming. The total package.

  Then there was the fact no one had ever lit my fire like Kellum did. He was the kind of man who set my every nerve ablaze simply by standing close by. My knees had a tendency to go all rubbery with a single piercing glance, and he could warm me up with a gentle smile as though he was borrowing light from the sun. He was the star shining brightest in my sky right now, and even though I knew I’d be blinded if I stared too long, I couldn’t force myself to look away.

  I’d fought off these feelings for too long, and now that he was enthusiastically reciprocating my passion, there was no going back. We were doing this, come what may. Damn the consequences. We needed each other too desperately to think about such pesky things as consequences.

  Some part of my brain, the part that had grown up watching The Brady Bunch reruns, tried to say what we were about to do was wrong with a capital W, but it didn’t feel like a mistake at all. It felt natural. It felt right. The inevitable result of the tension which had been building softly between us. I was over being selfless and chaste and cautious. I wanted to live out the burning, bright fantasy that had taken hold of my every thought, both conscious and unconscious.

  Kellum’s long fingers tucked my long, blonde hair behind my right ear to give him better access for kissing it. As he sucked my lobe into his mouth, my nipples tightened, and I grabbed two fistfuls of his hoodie. I yelped in surprise — not that he’d done it, but that it had such a powe
rful effect on me.

  The noise I made had a similar effect on him. A low, barely human growl ripped out of him as he claimed my lips again, kissing me with more passion than I thought possible. Yet, I sensed he was restraining himself, holding back, hesitant to force anything on me I didn’t want.

  Chivalrous, but damn! I didn’t want chivalry in that moment. I wanted Kellum to take me — with as much force and intensity as he needed. I wanted him to mark me, claim me, make sure everyone knew I belonged to him — mind, body, and soul.

  With the emphasis at that moment on body.

  I broke away and met his heated gaze with my own. Our breaths came in heavy pants as we asked the same silent question.

  Should we?

  We didn’t even need telepathy to confirm our answer. Nothing could stop us. Every cell in my body ached for Kellum. It was like instinct, a biological imperative, dare I say…destiny. We had to.

  I glanced down the hallway toward the kitchen and listened hard. Not a sound. No awkward throat clearing, no snickers of amusement, no grunts of disgust. Utter silence. I tried picturing Aunt Shirley and the rest of my boys, not really expecting it to work, but a fuzzy image of them all sitting around the patio table in the backyard popped into my head. Aunt Shirl looked a little confused, but the others seemed relaxed and jovial. Almost…happy.

  Now I felt as confused as Shirley looked, especially after the kiss I’d shared with Danic and the fun flirtation with Ryen and holding hands with the twins. They didn’t seem the least bit jealous, even as a pang of anxiety about the situation twisted my tummy.

  But before it could fester into something that would stop what was happening, Kellum kissed me again and I was right back where I belonged.

  It was his turn to break off the kiss, giving me a hot, hungry look before scooping me into his arms, like some damsel in distress. His sapphire eyes never left mine as he swept me down the hall to my room, kicking the door open with one foot. Damn, that was sexy!

  Only after kicking it closed did he set me down, and that was so he could lock the door behind us. He spun me around so fast I had no time to react, then he had me pressed against the door, his powerful frame looming over me. I let out a half-giggle, half-gasp of surprise at the hard pressure of his cock, long and rigid against my hip.

  He bent down to kiss me as his big hands slid down each of my arms to grasp my wrists. His tongue breached my mouth again, dancing against mine as if we’d been doing this for years. He lifted my arms up over my head, pinning them there with one broad hand, while his leg wedged between my thighs. I was trapped like prey and he was taking full control, but I didn’t feel the least bit threatened. The wetness between my thighs was testament to the hotness of it all.

  My flesh tingled as his lips trailed across my jawline, leaving hot spots where he kissed me. He finally released my hands as he kissed his way down my neck and all the way to the edge of my sundress, then he knelt before me, his mouth skimming down my body to my knees.

  I froze, my arms still pinned by nothing over my head, paralyzed by the knowledge of what was about to happen. My breath quickened and my chest flushed bright red as I stared down into his upturned face. A sadistic smirk twitched along one side of his perfect mouth, then he dropped his eyes and slid his hands up my thighs.

  Then his head disappeared under my dress.

  Oh god!

  My eyes dropped closed and I leaned my head back against the door, bracing myself for what was about to come. Namely, me.

  His hands gripped my ass, and I gasped when he kissed the inside of one thigh, then the other. Fingers hooked under the waist of my panties and tugged them off. Sensation and emotion nearly overcame me as he worked his way up until his hot, wet tongue slicked up the center of me. My knees almost went out from under me, but his hold on me kept me upright.

  A big hand slid down my ass and pulled my left leg over his shoulder, exposing myself to him fully. Then…nothing. No movement, no sound, though I could feel his hot breath against me, and in that moment, I knew he was gazing at me in a way that should have made me uncomfortable. But not with Kellum. I wanted him to see me, all of me, exposed and ready for him.

  “Beautiful,” he breathed from under my dress.

  Then all conscious thought flew out of my head as he devoured me like a starving man. A whimper escaped my throat and my body convulsed against him, begging for more, even as my head felt as if it might explode at any moment.

  Kellum’s fingers joined his tongue, exploring my folds and dipping gently inside me, barely breaching the surface. My core tightened with each pass of his tongue against my clit until I cried out his name and thrashed against the door with the intensity of my orgasm.

  “Oh…god…” I panted, caressing the head-shaped lump under my dress.

  I expected him to extract himself, throw me on the bed and take me once and for all, but Kellum apparently wasn’t quite finished with me yet. The finger that had stayed close to the surface dove deep and curled inside me, causing my body to buck in response.

  “Oh!” I cried, my eyes flying wide open, then fluttering shut at whatever he was doing inside me.

  It felt like an unquenchable thirst that was finally being slaked. A need I never knew I had. His lips encircled my nub, his tongue flicking against it gently at first, then picking up the pace as my hips rocked against his face. All the while, his finger danced against a spot inside me that I’d heard about but never really believed existed. Then he added a second finger, filling me and fulfilling me in a heartbeat.

  “Kellum,” I moaned, and he moaned in return. The vibrations sent spasms through me, and my legs began to tremble.

  I’d thought the first orgasm had been good, but it didn’t compare to the fireworks that went off behind my eyelids when everything clenched against him, then released in a blinding explosion. Even as I pulsed around his fingers and whimpered my surrender, he wouldn’t let up until he’d milked every ounce of energy from me.

  The moment he moved to finally release me, my body went limp. He caught me in his arms and smiled down at me, his lips still glistening with my desire. He laid me down on the bed, every part of me hypersensitive and twitching like crazy, then stood back and tugged his hoodie over his head. He stood before me looking like a god in his tight black t-shirt. His sweatpants protruded mightily, giving me a hint at what I was in for.

  Bring it on!

  With a cocky little smile that contrasted his usual staid and controlled self, Kellum slowly pulled off the shirt, giving me an unobstructed view of his ridiculously rock-hard abs. And his shoulders… The man didn’t need any kind of padding in his suit jackets, that much was certain. I wanted to run my tongue along every ridge and dip and curve on his torso, and I hadn’t even seen the grand prize yet!

  With that same teasing smile, he hooked his thumbs inside his waistband and eased his sweats down a tiny bit, then a little more, then a wee bit more, until his cock sprang free from its restraints, standing tall and proud.

  And big. Like…big.

  “Holy shit,” I murmured, entranced by its smooth beauty.

  His smile broadened at the apparent compliment. “Your turn.”

  It took me a second to understand his meaning. My cheeks heated up at the thought of stripping in front of him, which was ridiculous after what he’d just done to me. But, there it was.

  I took my time standing, partly because I wasn’t sure if I could yet, but also to summon up the courage I’d need to get naked. I wanted him to help, so I wouldn’t feel as self-conscious, but he took a step back when I finally gained my feet and simply watched.

  I slipped one strap off my shoulder, then the other, trying to remember the love scenes from sexy movies. When I twisted my arm behind me to try to unzip my dress, all sexiness fled. My elbow wouldn’t bend quite as far as I needed, and I ended up spinning in a circle, like a dog chasing its tail.

  “Shit!” I spat, wriggling my fingers to reach the pull and turning a burning shade of c
rimson.

  Kellum chuckled and finally took pity on me. He stopped my spinning by grasping my shoulders and turning me so my back was to him. Pulling the zipper very slowly, he exposed my back inch by inch. The fingers of his other hand followed the path of the zipper until he had enough room to splay his hand against me.

  I hadn’t bothered with a bra after my shower that morning, so he slid the straps of my dress down my arms until my breasts spilled free. My hands inched upward, my instinct to cover myself, but I forced them to stop. Instead, I laid them on top of Kellum’s hands as they pushed the dress over my hips until it fell in a puddle around my feet.

  I expected him to spin me around so he could see my fun bits, but he didn’t. His hands floated across the skin of my back as if he was memorizing every inch of me. When he reached my hips, he wrapped his hands around me and pulled me backward into him, his shaft nestling snugly into the curve of my ass.

  I leaned back into him, sighing with delirium as I rested my head on his shoulder. Hot kisses trailed against my neck again as our hips moved in a rhythm that seemed so new, yet so natural. One hand edged low and dipped into me again, drawing a sigh of pleasure from my parted lips. The other slid up my belly and cupped my breast. Skilled fingers worked me top and bottom, tit to twat, until I was on the precipice yet again. Spirals of bliss coiled through me, zeroing in on my core, but I wasn’t ready for that again.

  My mouth watered at the thought of taking him in my mouth, as he’d done to me. I wanted to give him the same pleasure he’d given me. Twice. As much as my body longed for him to take me, I didn’t see any reason to rush things. This was the first of what would certainly be many lovemaking sessions, but this would be the one I’d think back on during my dotage. I wanted it to last, and I wanted to rock his world as best I could.

  His tongue was skimming the sensitive skin behind my ear when I whispered, “I want to taste you.” He froze, then I felt his lips turning into a smile against my neck.