Dragon's Blood

by Brynn Paulin

  “It means mate, lover, consort…wife,” Janos answered her as she struggled with her emotions.

  “I’m not those,” she said. “Don’t call me that.”

  Silence filled the air between them, Janos’ measure to contain and suffocate her obstinacy, but instead, it stoked her anger. She bit back a moan as the agitation sent blood into the tissues of her pussy, further arousing her as they swelled with her constant and unwanted need. She bit her lip to draw her attention away.

  It didn’t work, and frustrated tears burned her eyes. She blinked them back, refusing to cry.

  “You’re overwrought,” he commented. “We should go to bed.”

  “I’m not a child, so don’t treat me like a kid who’s up past bedtime. I’m an adult, and I can make my own decisions.”

  Her words brought him to his feet and across the room to her. “Stop this. I know this is a difficult transition for you, but you will be my Velree in all ways. Even now you are mine.” He lifted her arm and matched his to it, showing how the two designs became one. “It is ordained.”

  “No.”

  Dropping her arm, he pulled her against his chest. Immediately, her nipples peaked at the contact. A zing of arousal shot from the knotted tips to her creamy folds. Her womb tugged, and the wet evidence of her arousal filled her pussy, pushing her need higher with every movement.

  Still, when Janos tried to kiss her, Scarlett shied away. The fire thrumming through her veins meant nothing. She could so easily surrender to him again and appease the desire torturing both of them, but wouldn’t that be akin to agreeing he was right? She was his to order about? This wasn’t the middle ages. She had rights.

  Growling, Janos released her and swung away. He swore under his breath. She didn’t understand the language, but she had no trouble deducing the words were curses. The tone and cadence made that perfectly clear.

  He locked the suite’s door and pocketed the key. “I’m going to bed. Join me when you’re ready to act like an adult, and hopefully tomorrow, we can start on a better foot,” he grated. “Don’t worry, I won’t force you to have sex with me. I might be a Dragon, but I’m not an animal.”

  Not sparing her so much as a final glare, he went through the double doors to the bedroom, shutting them with far more grace than she would have. No doubt, he wished he was with Levi and Jonah and the bevy of women Levi had promised. She’d kill him if he even thought about it.

  There lay the infuriating crux of the matter. She wanted him. Platonically, sexually. It pleased her to think of standing by his side—by his side, not behind him. Not under his thumb.

  Confused, frustrated, still angry, she sank down on the hearth and rested her arms on her knees. The design on her arm seemed to glow like a beacon in her peripheral vision. Yeah, yeah, yeah, she thought. I’m his mate whether I like it or not. But he needed to know she wouldn’t docilely roll with whatever he decreed, even if his dominant behavior turned her on a little. Okay, a lot.

  Damn it.

  Sliding off the marble hearth, she curled into a ball on the plush carpet and stared up at the coat of arms at the back of the fireplace. One arm curled over her breasts while the other reached down between her thighs, covering her vulnerable spots as she tried to convince herself she’d be fine in a little while. If she stayed strong, her body would stop this insistence to couple and she could get back to being herself.

  * * * *

  Scarlett woke in bed with Janos leaning over her.

  “You were moaning,” he told her.

  “I need you,” she said, reaching for him.

  “Saints, Scarlett. I need you so much,” he gasped. He surged into her arms, claiming her mouth and slipping between her thighs. She bent her knees, opening her legs further for him and groaning when his cock pressed to her drenched folds. Obviously, he’d taken off her clothes when he’d brought her to bed. A niggling of her earlier anger whispered that she should be pissed, but she shoved it away. She wanted him right now. It was what she wanted. It was a side benefit that he wanted the same. They’d discuss logistics later when her body wasn’t screaming for him.

  He grabbed her hips then paused, staring down at her. His lips parted slightly as he sucked in breaths. For the first time, she glimpsed vulnerability in him. It clutched at her heart and filled her with guilt over what she’d done and what she planned to do.

  His fingers tightened. “Please tell me you’re awake and you know what you’re doing.”

  Oh God.

  She squirmed from his grasp, coming to her knees in front of him. Her hands framed his face, her thumbs tracing his bottom lip. “I’m awake, and I know what we’re going to do. I want to. I meant it… I need you.”

  Leaning into him, she covered his mouth with hers and kissed him as tenderly as she could with lust screaming through her. They ate at each other’s mouths, tasting, drinking in the unity of their destinies. She caught his lower lip between her teeth. Slowly, she released him as fire blazed in his eyes. Her mouth trailed over his jaw to his ear.

  “And I want you to take me really hard.” She smiled at the resulting growl low in his throat. Her trail continued to his shoulder where she nipped at the tendon connecting to his neck. His flesh was so hot beneath her tongue, and she wanted him even hotter. Her body undulated into his as she tasted him.

  “You like pulling the tiger’s tail, don’t you, baby?” he said.

  Reaching between them, she grasped his cock and slid her palm along his thick length. “Mmm…I thought I was pulling the dragon’s tail. Am I in the wrong bed?”

  She ended up on her back with that.

  “You want the dragon?” he grated.

  “I want you.”

  “Turn over. And on your knees.” He helped her turn then yanked up her hips and shoved her shoulders back down. Illicit shivers raked over Scarlett as she gripped the edge of the mattress. She groaned as Janos planted the head of his cock against her slippery folds.

  “You’re so wet, baby,” he said. “You like the fighting?”

  “Been like this all day” she panted. “Every minute with you makes me more and more aroused until it’s almost painful.”

  “It’s our bodies demanding we mate and I change you,” he told her. “It won’t stop until then. It’s nature’s way of ensuring the race continues.” He reached beneath her and rubbed her flat belly. “I can make you feel better.”

  His hand moved lower, slipping along her pussy and pushing inside to flick over her clit. She gasped, her fingers and toes curling. “You’re making it worse. Just…just fuck me, Janos!”

  “Mmm…I like when you talk like that.”

  He dragged his lips along her spine, settling them against her lower back. His hands shifted to frame the tattoo there—a set of stylized black wings that spanned the width of that area. “You have wings, too,” he murmured. “Let’s see if we can make them move.”

  She gasped as his cock surged forward, lodging deep inside her. His balls slapped against her clit.

  “More,” she begged. Her forehead pressed to the mattress as she shuddered at how well he filled her. Her womb contracted, trying to pull him deeper, and she canted her hips toward him. He remained still, his fingers tight on her waist to hold her in place. Did he know the cataclysm wailing through her? Was this punishment for the fight? Did he plan to make her suffer?

  “Janos, damn it!” she swore.

  He chuckled. “It’s so good the way your body clasps me. You feel so damn perfect. Your sweet cream flowing over my cock.” Slowly, he started an easy pistoning. “The way I can slide in you, so tight but so welcoming. Made for my cock, my Velree.”

  Velree… His. Mate. Future. No matter how she protested, their futures were entwined more tightly than their bodies were now.

  “Yes,” she whispered into the bed. Being held immobile by him while he had his way notched up her arousal to a roiling boil. With each drive, he rocked her body and her tight breasts swayed against the sheets. Sizzling react
ion shot to her flooded pussy with each scrape.

  Faster and faster he moved, shoving deep inside. Janos was claiming her. Branding her as his. She’d have it no other way, but she’d always fight to be his equal, not just his mated sex slave—though right now, with his cock making purposeful digs into her g-spot, she’d be whatever he wanted her to be.

  Tomorrow was soon enough for a fight.

  Her back arched as she tried to relieve some of the tension balling up in her groin. Her breasts pressed to the mattress, and small tremors started in her channel, growing stronger and wider with the promise of release. She hovered on the edge of fulfillment, her body pausing, reaching, almost finding the euphoric oblivion held just beyond her grasp…

  Janos stiffened behind her, his hips shoving hard into her. His fingers bit into her as he groaned, and she soared over the edge. She was barely aware of his hot cum filling her as she screamed his name or that as her orgasm dragged her into mindless pleasure, Janos leaned over her and dug his teeth into her shoulder. She sank into the bed. His welcome weight blanketed her and as she tumbled back into sleep, she hoped for night after night of the same pleasure.

  Chapter Five

  Janos still slept deeply as Scarlett moved about the room, dressed and ready for escape. Temporary escape. She was not leaving without seeing Athena. Regardless of what Janos said, this could be the last time Scarlett saw her, and as dangerous as it might be, she was going.

  While she left the shower running in the other room, somewhat masking her actions, she edged the key out of Janos’ pants pocket. She paused, looking at him. Her body instantly reacted, and she steeled herself against climbing back in bed with him. He seemed dead to the world now, but she was sure she could easily wake him. Her teeth sank into her bottom lip. No. She had to see Athena. There would be time for Janos later.

  She grabbed his black hoodie from the top of his bag and slipped it on. His fresh, masculine scent enveloped her. She inhaled, drawing it into her like an elixir of strength. Truthfully, she was more concerned about escaping Levi’s compound than she was of being outside. She’d successfully hidden for seven years. She could manage a few hours. The danger would be in returning here. Janos wouldn’t take this well, and she didn’t suppose she’d be back before he woke.

  Mindful not to jostle anything, she picked up her purse then crept to the door of the suite and let herself out. Carefully, she shut the door, turning the knob so the latch wouldn’t click loudly into place. She let out the breath she’d held. Part one accomplished.

  No one was about as she hurried down the hallway, braiding her hair as she went. From the vampire lore she knew and the Dragon information Jonah had given her, she suspected this was when all good Dragons slumbered—just as she should be since Janos had kept her up most of the night and she’d only slept for short bits at a time. It would work to her advantage.

  From the shadows of the passage, she surveyed the cavernous entry hall. It, too, was deserted. The lack of people unsettled her even as it thrilled her. She almost expected a security contingent—or worse, Janos—to come thundering at her. Gritting her teeth against that fear, she scurried to the front door. She hoped that the magic Janos had mentioned was sufficient for the Dragons and they hadn’t invested in a complicated lock or alarm system.

  She paused for a moment and removed the small note she’d written from her pocket. After setting it on the table, she pulled up her hood and tried the door. It opened easily, without myriad alarms wailing her escape, and with a grateful sigh, Scarlett stepped outside. Part two accomplished. Now to find a way to Athena.

  * * * *

  Something was wrong.

  Janos jerked awake from a nightmare and realized he was being shaken.

  “Man, she really wore you out. I’ve never seen you sleep so deeply,” Jonah said, his grave countenance belying the lightness of his words.

  Janos sat up, horror clutching his middle with jagged claws. “Where’s Scarlett?”

  “Don’t panic. Levi was already sending people to look for her when I came to get you. She snuck out of the compound two hours ago.”

  “Are you certain she’s left? It’s a big place. Surely, she wouldn’t leave the safety of…”

  His words trailed off as Jonah’s look told him not to be an idiot. As he leapt from bed, Janos acknowledged he was grasping at straws. Every fiber of his being spoke of her absence. He felt it in his raging desire and the hollow throb in his middle.

  “When her note was found, Levi checked the cameras,” Jonah told him.

  “Note?”

  “The autograph she promised Sandor.”

  She’d…left an autograph…and…nothing for her mate? Anger sliced through Janos to twine with his growing horror. How dare she risk herself and their future like this? The future of their children. The future of the clan. And for what? A foolhardy visit with her cousin? He had no doubt that was where she’d headed.

  He yanked on his clothes with such force the seams audibly protested. He’d be a laughingstock. A Dragon joke. He might just paddle her when he got his hands on her little bottom again. Despite his worry, Levi and the man still with him appeared grim when he tore into the courtyard a few moments later.

  “You have a strong-willed woman,” Levi commented as they shifted for flight. “The marking and the mating drive should have worn her out. Her strength will serve her well as the mate of an elder.”

  “If I don’t kill her,” Janos muttered. He pushed away the terror that their enemies would get to her first and he’d find pieces of her if he found anything at all. He had no time for fear.

  “Do you have any idea where she’s gone?” Jonah asked. Since it was broad daylight, this needed to be a pinpoint and strike mission, or they’d terrorize the people of New York. While pandemonium could momentarily serve them, the Ghenton and Cruentus Clans would no longer need to worry about extinction. The council would see them exterminated for exposing the Dragons to the world.

  “She wanted to see her cousin before leaving. She mentioned a church, but she could be at her cousin’s apartment.”

  “Well, at least we know the needle is still in the haystack. My scion, Riordan,” Levi indicated the red and black Dragon beside him, “is one of the few who has old magic. His sight can guide us.”

  “She was heading uptown. We were at the Madison Square

  stop when I forced her off the subway. The Djinni attacked us near Thirty-fourth street

  and Fifth avenue

  .”

  Riordan nodded, knelt then rapidly drew in the dirt with his clawed finger. The design quickly took on the shape of the city, and he sectioned it into a search grid then allowed his hand to hover over it.

  Janos paced, wanting Riordan to hurry so they could start now. Jonah placed a hand on Janos’ shoulder.

  Calm down. We can’t rush him.

  I know. I’m just—Jonah if anything happens to her… Janos gut clenched in protest to his thought. Scarlett had to be safe. Though he’d been with her less than a day, their souls had united so completely it would kill him if his enemies cut her down—not because of some magical link, but because he knew he couldn’t exist without her, his true mate. His spirit would wither and die because her light would have been taken from him.

  She’ll be fine. She’s obviously resourceful and we’ll find her in time. Then we’ll take your Velree home where you can lock her away until you change her. Not that I think that will go over well with her.

  Janos heard Jonah chuckle in his head.

  I think you’re gonna have your hands full, Jonah continued.

  Janos smiled at that. Yeah…

  “She’s in this area,” Riordan said. He’d circled an area in east upper Manhattan. “It’s only a few blocks. I’ll guide us to the area then we can split up and search using our senses.”

  * * * *

  Exhausted from the trip into the city, Scarlett slipped into the dim narthex of the church where Athena’s wedding would be lat
er in the week. According to the itinerary Athena had emailed before Scarlett’s trip, she was working on final decorating details.

  Scarlett opened the hoodie and let the fresh air cool her now that she didn’t have to hide. She’d been fortunate to find a tour bus heading into the city a half mile or so from the compound. The driver had taken pity on her when she’d given a sob story about her boyfriend deserting her. Of course, the two hundreds she’d flashed him might have softened his heart. She didn’t care. She’d gotten a cushy ride into town without having to find a cab that might or might not have taken the fare.

  Across from her, two closed double doors led to the sanctuary. Through a small window in one door, she saw Athena flitting around. A man Scarlett assumed was Athena’s fiancé sat on the carpeted steps leading up to the altar and leaned indolently back on his elbows. His lids had drooped to half-mast, and he didn’t bother to follow Athena’s back and forth movement.

  He sighed and looked at his watch. Poor guy. Scarlett wondered how many times Athena had been at this. Scarlett knew from emails that her cousin had been militant about including Tyler, her fiancé, in everything. Scarlett had a feeling—looking at him as he lounged there in his black suit—that he would have preferred to leave all the details to his beloved.

  Scarlett slipped inside and walked toward them.

  “I’m thinking we can have the bows of flowers draping back to here…” Athena said, pressing her tongue to her top lip as she stopped to think.

  “Theenie, I have a feeling Tyler couldn’t care less where you put the flowers.”

  “Scarlett!” Athena yelled, running to meet her halfway down the aisle. “I didn’t think I’d see you.”

  “I made a way.” Over Athena’s shoulder, Scarlett saw Tyler’s head snap toward her. He sat up slowly then came to his feet.