Fire in His Blood

by Ruby Dixon

  Never mad. Never.

  Then his mouth is on mine again, and when I part my lips, his tongue sweeps into my mouth, claiming me in an even deeper kiss. God, you’d think the guy had been kissing all his life the way he takes to it. I love it. I love it when his tongue strokes against mine, and I love the growl of pleasure he makes as our lips lock. It makes my nipples harden in response, and a familiar ache sweeps through my body.

  My Claudia. My mate. I hear the words clear as day in my mind, and a moment later, he sends me a brief flash of a mental image—me sprawled under him, arms raised over my head, Kael between my thighs, fucking me hard.

  I break the kiss, pulling backward. Shock and arousal both wash through me, along with a little bit of fear. I don’t want to be bitten again. I…I don’t know what to do. I want him, but at the same time, I’m terrified of what happens when he comes. I can’t put him off forever, though. It’s going to strain our fragile relationship. Maybe…maybe I can train him that humans like to give pleasure in other ways, too.

  So I slide my hand to his cock and wrap my fingers around it. “Can I touch you like this?”

  He moves in and licks the seam of my mouth, a motion that sends tendrils of lust all through my body. I would give you pleasure.

  “But I want to give you pleasure. Doing this for you would give me much enjoyment. You put your mouth on me…why can’t I do the same for you?” And I give him an encouraging squeeze.

  His eyes go black momentarily. You would put your mouth on me there?

  I lick my lips and watch as his gaze locks on my tongue. “I would. Is that okay?”

  In response, he steps back and closes his eyes. Touch me as you like.

  I’m a little perplexed at that response, because it seems kind of vague. Like I can touch him but he’s not going to care if I do? That’s not the reaction I want. But when I stroke my hand up and down his length and his head tilts back, lips parting, I watch his fist clench and realize that he’s enjoying this very much. I wonder why he doesn’t want to watch.

  My eyes will turn black. I do not wish you to be scared.

  He doesn’t sound like he’s losing control, though, so I’m not afraid. “Because of high emotion?” I let my fingers trace the head of his cock, the large mushroomed head of it, the ripple of delicate scales. There’s a ton of heat radiating off of him, and I’m fascinated how someone so big and strong and covered in scales can have such silky soft skin. But he does, and it’s pleasurable to touch him, though it looks far more pleasurable for him.

  High emotion. Yes.

  “You like my touch?” I can’t help but fish for compliments.

  Nothing is more pleasing. I watch in fascination as he shudders when I lightly scrape my nails along the edge of his scales here.

  “Nothing?” I tease.

  Being deep inside your cunt is better.

  Oh, dragon dirty talk again. It’s making me breathless, and I want to stay in control. So I just make a murmur of acknowledgment and decide to keep distracting him. I sink to my knees, settling down in front of him. I lean in and let my breath gently waft over his skin. “Will your seed burn me today if you spill?”

  There’s a slightly breathless pause, as if he’s imagining all the places my mouth might go and where his seed might spill. No.

  Pre-cum is beading on the head of his cock, so I decide to test that theory for myself. It’s all fun and games until Claudia gets burned, after all. So I gently dab a finger on the droplet of moisture. It feels extremely warm, but not so much that I worry it’ll burn me.

  And then, because I’m curious, I lean in to taste him.

  Warmth bursts on my tongue at the same time I hear his ragged intake of breath. I’m not prepared for the sweet spice of his flavor. I’ve been around the block a few times, and I don’t remember a blow job tasting anything like this. Kael’s spicy scent seems to be magnified a thousand times in the taste of him, and it’s delicious and addicting.

  Unfair that he should taste so good. It would be so much easier to push him away whenever he wanted to touch me if he sucked at sex, had a tiny dick, and tasted bleachy and unpleasant.

  I can’t help my little exclamation of delight, and I wrap my hand around his length again. I need to stop. Heck, I need to calm the fuck down. I want to be the one giving pleasure, because I don’t want to have sex with him again. Maybe I can make him so addicted to blowjobs that he’ll never have to bite his way through an orgasm again. If he tastes like this, I can live with that, and quite happily, too. I drag my tongue over the head of his cock, lapping up the beads of liquid there. And I clench my thighs tightly together, because I don’t want him to smell how aroused this is making me.

  I need to remain firmly in charge. If I don’t, I’m going to be thrown down on this floor and fucked, just like before. And just like before, he’s going to scare and hurt me.

  So I focus on making him come and come fast. Tell me what you like, I send to him, testing out our mental bond even as I let my lips explore his length.

  Everything, comes the ragged reply. Everything you do to me, I like.

  You taste really good, I tell him, and drag my tongue along a thick vein on his cock. I might have to do this more often. It’s the truth—I’m loving the spicy, almost peppery taste of his pre-cum. I’m loving the hot feel of his skin against mine. He’s so big my fingers can’t quite wrap around him all the way, and long enough that I know I’m never going to be able to take all of him in my mouth. His skin is dappled with the scaly pattern here, and ridged along the underside of the crown of his cock to the point that I wonder if they’re still scales, but just smaller and tighter together. I explore all of him with my tongue, even the heat of his sac. He’s completely hairless everywhere, but when I drag my tongue over the soft skin there, I feel a striated sort of resistance, like scales.

  And I can feel it in my mind when he groans, shocked with pleasure. Claudia. Your mouth. You will make me spill.

  That’s the idea, big guy, I send back, and kiss my way back to the head of his cock. I swirl my tongue over it and then pull him in, feeding his big length into the hot well of my mouth. I can feel his shocked reaction, and then he sends a visual to my mind of him pushing his cock into me, inch by slow inch, and the ecstasy on my face as he does.

  A moan escapes me. That is so not fair. He holds himself so still that if it wasn’t for our mental link, I wouldn’t know if he was enjoying this at all. Time to play a little unfair myself.

  So I continue to blow him, taking him as deep as I dare and tightening the suction as I stroke him back and forth over my tongue, trying to shuttle him like he’s fucking my mouth. I send visuals of my own, too. Of him putting his hands into my hair and twisting his fingers in the red curls of it. Of him guiding my head, pushing me to take more and more of him, deeper and deeper. Of him fucking my mouth with rocking motions of his hips, and me loving it so much that I slide a hand between my thighs and begin to touch myself—

  I can hear his muffled gasp, can feel the moment that his control breaks. The low growl starts in his throat again, but I’m not afraid. He’s here in this moment with me. I can feel the connection between us, and when one big hand palms my head, I feel nothing but excitement. Yes. Yes. Feed me your cock. Fuck my mouth like you would my cunt. I’m so turned on by my own visuals that I’m squirming on the floor, unable to sit still.

  I’m in the moment with him as he guides my head, fucking my mouth with big, sure strokes. I feel the prick of his claws against my scalp, but I’m unafraid. It just adds to the edge of excitement, and when his movements become jerky and spasmodic, his breath more rasping, I’m encouraging him to lose control. Spill, I demand. Let me taste you. I want to feel you come in my mouth. And I send to him filthy visuals that leave no doubt as to what I’m thinking.

  He comes with a groan, and his body shakes. My mind fills with an explosion of pleasure, and I’m surprised by it, as well as the sudden burst of spicy come in my mouth. I struggle to drink
all of him down, but there’s more volume than I anticipated, and by the time his eyes open a slit, I’m wiping dribbles off my chin, which only gives him more satisfaction. I sense it pulsing in my mind.

  My mate, he practically purrs in my head.

  I don’t say anything to that, just wipe at my lips. I’m exhausted and achy from the mental battering of our thoughts melding together, but it almost feels like I came, too. The achy wetness between my thighs tells me otherwise, but I can live with that.

  Breathing hard, Kael pulls me to my feet. He tugs me against him, and his mouth claims mine again in a fierce kiss that tells me he’s not quite done, not just yet. And I’m full of need, but at the same time, that’s as far as I want to go for now. The blowjob was so he wouldn’t want sex, not an appetizer for the main course.

  So I push away, putting a hand to his chest. “No. Wait.”

  He pulls away. Of course he does. He always pulls away when I say no. He leans in and simply brushes his lips against mine. I like tasting you. Can I do that? When I nod, he kisses my mouth again. Do humans do this much? Press mouth to mouth?

  I can feel myself blushing, for some reason, as if I worry my explanation will seem silly to him and he won’t want to do it anymore. I’d be sad if we stopped kissing, I think. He does it exceptionally well. “It’s a sign of affection between mates,” I tell him. That seems like the easiest explanation for it.

  So when you pressed your mouth to me, you were accepting me as your mate? Satisfaction wafts through his thoughts.

  Oh dear. “Not quite. People kiss just to try out their partner. It doesn’t always mean that you’ll take someone as a mate.”

  He growls low in his throat, jaw hardening as he gazes down at me. Have you done this ‘kiss’ to many humans?

  “Not many,” I admit. When he looks displeased still, I give his chest a little push. “Quit being so possessive.”

  He steps back, giving me space, and considers me. A moment later, he pulls me close and nuzzles at my neck again, affectionate. I am sorry, Claudia. Your ways are strange to me, but I will learn them. Some are quite pleasurable.

  Yeah, they are. Especially when they come from him. But I don’t know that I should commit to being his mate. “Kael…”

  Claudia, he tells me softly, my name the barest whisper. I know you do not wish to be my mate and that I scare you. I can smell your fear.

  I shiver, a little worried at how he’s going to react. “You smell everything.” I remember him smelling my arousal. Just thinking about that is embarrassing.

  How can I not? His claws caress my cheek, curve along my chin. You are everything to me. I am attuned to your happiness. When you are sad, I feel it. When you are aroused, it arouses me even more. You are brave and strong despite your fragile kind. You please me. I will do whatever it takes to make you happy, but I will not let you leave my side. You are my mate, and you belong with me.

  “And what if I wanted to leave you? What if that’s what would make me happy?”

  I wait for him to freak out, but he only caresses my cheek again. I would convince you otherwise. I would put my mouth on your cunt and lick that small hot bead nestled there until you beg to stay in my arms.

  Heat floods through me. Such a blatant statement, and it makes me wet. But if he keeps turning me on, I’m worried I won’t be able to push him away if he wants more than the blowjob I just gave him. So I make a daring call and decide to tell him the truth. “You hurt me when we had sex. I didn’t like it.”

  Kael’s eyes flare to black, and he goes still against me. I hurt you?

  “When you bit me.” My hand goes to my neck. “Still feels hot.”

  He relaxes, and the claws caress my skin again. That is the giving of fire. We do not bestow it every time we have sex. It is like your kiss—you do it to claim your partner.

  “Well, I didn’t like it. And I don’t like being claimed.”

  I will make it so you like it, he vows. Tell me what I can do to please you. Shall I lay you down and press my mouth to your woman’s flesh? I can smell your need. You like the mental images I send to you.

  Are there no secrets from a dragon? That’s gonna take some getting used to. “You want to please me, huh?”

  More than anything. His swirling eyes are an intense gold, tinged with blackness at the edges. He’s aroused, but more than that, he’s attuned to what I want.

  And I have to think. What do I want? I want Amy. I want Sasha to be safe. But if I can’t have that for now, I need to focus on what’s in front of me. What would make me more comfortable to be here? I never imagined in a million years that I’d be taking a dragon as my ‘mate,’ but I guess I never thought big or crazy enough. Okay, if I’m going to think big and crazy, I’m going to go all out. “I want a home.”

  This makes him pause. I have claimed this territory. Is this not acceptable as a home?

  I shake my head. “It’s not comfortable. I need human things to make this a good place to live. If I’m staying with you—for now—then I want someplace real to sleep. A bed. A bath. Something to eat. Coffee. Things like that. I can’t live like this.” I gesture at the wreck of the tower. If anything, it’s even worse since we arrived, because Kael likes to land on ledges, and they crumble inward, spilling rock and concrete. “This is not a place where my people sleep comfortably. I want that.”

  You wish a nest? I can hear pride in his thoughts. To make a home with me? I would enjoy nothing more, my Claudia.

  For some reason, his pleasure at my request makes me happy. If I can’t have Amy and Sasha, I can at least not live like a damn animal. “I do want a home. And a bath. And something to eat.”

  And time to get used to the concept of being his mate.

  Satisfaction flashes in his eyes. Tell me what you would like first, and I will make it happen.

  23

  CLAUDIA

  So…we go shopping.

  The good thing about Old Dallas is that it’s super spread out. The city itself is completely ruined. Fort Dallas—the only settlement left for miles and miles around—occupies a tiny slice of the landscape, and the rest is left to scavengers, nomads, and wild animals. Oh, and dragons, of course. Can’t forget them. But because it’s so unsafe to venture far from Fort Dallas, and you can’t get far on foot, everything close to the fort itself is completely picked over. The farther out you go, the more choices you have.

  And with a dragon? I can go really damn far out.

  I don’t have to worry about running into outlaw nomads who’ve been exiled from their forts. I don’t have to worry about running into wild animals. I don’t have to worry about dragon attacks. I’m protected. I don’t have to worry about how far I can walk, either—Kael can take me wherever. The thought’s a little exhilarating.

  I give Kael a few mental images of the types of buildings I’m looking for, and he grabs me in his claws and flies, circling the city until we find the right place. We land at a furniture store that’s not completely ruined, and I bounce on beds and sit on couches, testing everything out. There’s dust, but the roof is whole (or was until Kael ripped it open for me) and so the contents inside are unblemished by time. I pick out the first piece I want, and Kael grabs it with one foreleg and me in the other, and we fly back to our office tower. I’ve decided we’ll stay in the crappy office building because the parts with a roof seem to be decent, plus I really like the running water. I’m just going to decorate.

  I sit in my chaise while Kael flies back to the furniture store and grabs the bed and mattresses I picked out. It’s silly how happy the sight of them makes me, but when he gently sets down the big wooden bed and tosses the mattress down, I don’t even mind that it’s got holes in it because he had to carry it in his mouth. I have a bed. A real bed. And a mattress. I fling myself onto it and lie flat on my back.

  I never thought beds would be a perk to living with a dragon, but it seems that they are.

  Once I have a sofa, a chair, and a bed, I rearrange a few
of the unbroken bits of office furniture and make a dining table, just because. Kael flings the rest of what I don’t want out of my new ‘apartment’, and it’s kind of fun to just fling shit over the side of the building and watch it disappear.

  Next, we find one of the big-box stores that’s not too picked over, and I rummage around with a shopping cart, looking for cleaning supplies, linens, and dishes. Kael’s great at feeding me, but I’d like to not have to gnaw on dinner at every meal. If I’m gonna have a place, I want a legit apartment.

  And no matter how much crap I ask for, Kael is happy to get it for me. It takes all day for me to be satisfied with the acquisitions we’ve made, but by the end of the day I have an ‘apartment’ full of stuff to make a home, and a task list that seems to be growing by the minute.

  I’m happy, though. I’m happy with everything we’ve grabbed. Hell, I have more stuff now than I ever did back in Fort Dallas. And I shouldn’t be quite so pleased with material things, but…I am. Maybe it’s because I’ve gone without for so long, but the sight of wrapped packages of bedding and unchipped ceramic cups for morning coffee (and heck, morning coffee) make me so happy. I sigh over my things and can’t stop petting them.

  My stomach chooses to growl as I pull a set of bedsheets out of some plastic wrapping.

  Warm hands wrap around my waist, and Kael comes up to me from behind, newly changed into his human form. His fingers slide under my shirt, brushing over my stomach in a caress that makes my senses leap. My mate is hungry.

  Hungry, I agree. And tired and dirty.

  I really am starving…but I’m super filthy, too, and I’m trying to decide which one is more annoying. I look at the grime streaking my arms. Most of the stores we’d gone into today (and we’d gone into quite a few) had a heavy layer of dust over everything, and picking through debris to find stuff that wasn’t destroyed meant digging to find less-damaged items at the bottom of heaps. I’m pleased with what I got, but I’m also sweaty and exhausted. Kael, however, seems to be full of endless amounts of energy, always ready to do more at the snap of my fingers.