“Come to me, I’ve been waiting for you.” Her soft voice filled the room.
He couldn’t tear his gaze away. What did she mean she wanted to dedicate it to someone special? His heart hammered. She wouldn’t.
“I’ll be whatever you need me to.”
“Everything I’d leave behind for you.”
“Come to me, I’ve been waiting for you.” She closed her eyes as she sang, her free hand coming up to cover her heart.
Fuck. No, no, no. She couldn’t do it, not now—not ever. He didn’t even realize he was heading toward the stage until Luke’s caught his arm.
“Where the hell are you going?” He tilted his head toward the women at the table.
The scales beneath Brycen’s skin shifted, and Luke released his arm, taking a step back. “Hey, what gives? You can go if you want to, man, I just thought—”
“She’s mine,” Brycen cut in. The roughness in his voice had his friend’s eyes widening.
Luke looked at the stage, then back at him with a huge grin. “Damn, dude. Her? You’re one lucky bastard.” His smile dropped as he heard the words she was singing. “Shit. She’s releasing you. What the hell are you doing standing around here for?”
He clenched his jaw. “I can’t claim her yet.”
“Fuck that shit. The job isn’t worth it. Get her.” He shrugged when the women at the table grumbled and stood to leave. “Give me the coordinates and I’ll take over with Miss Priss until you get back. Who’s covering for you now, Jace?”
Sniffles sounded from women all around him. “Yeah.” The song would be over soon, and if he didn’t stop it before she said the words, he’d be totally fucked. He rattled off the directions to the cabin in the woods, knowing his friend would have no trouble finding it, and then turned back to the stage. Heading straight to the front, he pushed his way through the crowd.
The moment she opened her eyes, she saw him. Her voice quivered, and tears slid down her cheeks, but she didn’t take her eyes off him.
“And I wish I could have meant more to you.”
“Everything I am, I’d have given you.”
“Release me, and I’ll release you.”
“Release me, I’m begging you.”
His growl started deep in his chest, getting louder and louder until everyone around him took a step back. He didn’t bother with the stairs, choosing instead to leap up in front of her.
“Release—”
“No.” He didn’t even feel bad for interrupting the song. She’d said the words twice. One more time and that was it.
She shook her head, dropping the mic to her side. “P-please.” Her eyes pleaded louder than her words.
He growled again, advancing on her like the predator he was. “No.”
She opened her mouth to speak again, but by then, he had reached her. He silenced her with his lips in a hard, punishing kiss. Release her, my ass. Not going to fucking happen. Crushing her in his arms, he invaded her mouth, not caring who witnessed it. She melted against him and had it not been for the small distressed sound she made, he would have claimed her right there.
He pulled his head back, breathing her intoxicating scent into his lungs, tasting her on his tongue. Need, more intense than he had ever experienced shot through him, making him want to tear her sexy dress right off her body.
Pain, then fury, chased the dazed expression from her face. Shaking her head, she pulled out of his arms. “I’m nobody’s mistress. Release me and you can go back to her, guilt free.”
So desperate to keep her from breaking their bond, he had forgotten what she had seen, what she had undoubtedly assumed. He wasn’t going to convince her of anything standing on stage with a crowd full of rowdy drunks watching and catcalling. Snapping his mouth shut, he picked her up, cradling her to his chest. When she struggled against him, he growled at her, meeting her glare with one of his own before throwing her over his shoulder. She wasn’t going to get rid of him without at least hearing him out.
“Put me down this instant.” She didn’t raise her voice. She didn’t need to. He would hear her if she whispered, even amongst all these people. The soft curve of her ass fit perfectly in his large palm, and he fought the urge to rub it as he held her snug against him.
When he ignored her and kept walking toward the door, she gave a frustrated growl that vibrated against his back. “Put. Me. Down,” she snapped.
He couldn’t help but smile, his mate had a temper. “Not until you hear me out.”
“Put me down—please.” The words were polite, but he’d bet his bottom dollar that she was already plotting her revenge.
“No.”
She growled again, this time more menacingly before she raised her hand and smacked him right on the ass. His chuckles joined the howling laughs from the drunkards nearest the door.
“I was going to wait until we’d done talking, but if you want to start with foreplay, I’m happy to oblige.” He lifted his hand and smacked her ass as she’d done his, before rubbing it like he’d been wanting to do all along.
“Why, you arrogant, selfish, egotistical—”
“Don’t forget sexy.”
She stopped struggling. He was enjoying having this feisty she-dragon in his arms and wasn’t about to set her down, no matter how much she wriggled. The door swung closed behind them, and he kept walking.
“Where are you taking me?” The small quiver in her voice had a fresh wave of heat rushing through him.
He rubbed a slow, gentle circle over the spot he’d spanked. She hadn’t told him to stop, and although he couldn’t feel the soft skin beneath the skirt, the last thing he wanted to do was stop touching her. So he kept on stroking. “Somewhere quiet so we can talk, and since I don’t know where you live, my place it is.”
“You can set me down. I can walk.”
“Will you come willingly, then?” He made another rotation with his hand, slow and deliberate, knowing she was as affected by his nearness as he was by hers. He could smell her desire, and it fuelled his own.
She sighed. “I’d rather you just say the words and be done with it so I can move on before…”
He stopped short and set her down in front of him, keeping her within reach in case she tried to bolt. “Before what?”
“Before it’s too late.” She bit the words out.
He leaned in close, his nose inches from her own. “Too late for what, precisely?”
“Too late for me to shift back.” She glared at him.
Of all things, that, he hadn’t expected. “Fuck. How close are you?”
Her gaze flicked to his shoulder. “Close.”
He growled, drawing her gaze again. “How fucking close?”
“A few days, a week maybe, if I’m lucky,” she choked out. “If you release me now, I may have enough time to find—”
“You’ll find no one.” His skin itched with the scales threatening to spring out from beneath it. Just the thought of any other male being near her made him want to roar, never mind having another’s hands on her.
She swallowed hard. “You would deny me a full life?” She blinked fast, but not before he noticed the tears shimmering in her eyes.
“I deny you nothing.”
“I told you, I am no one’s mistress, and I meant it. I refuse to sit alone night after night waiting for someone who belongs to someone else.” She clenched her jaw and tried to step away from him.
“I don’t belong to anyone else, and neither will you.” Many humans and even some dragons took on more than one lover, but he sure as hell wouldn’t, and neither would she.
“I saw you in the forest. With her. Do you deny it? You never came back. You stayed there, all night—with her. I waited for you on that blasted trail for hours, and you never came back.”
When she managed to squirm out of his grasp and took a step back, he took one forward. Her scent enveloped him, making his whole body ache with so much need he couldn’t think straight. “I know what you heard, what yo
u saw, and what you undoubtedly assumed. I’m telling you it isn’t so.”
“Fine, so you didn’t spend the night with her. Whatever. You don’t belong to her, so what?” She threw her hands up in the air. “Why, then, do you run from me? You knew I was searching, yet you hid and ran every time I got anywhere close. Am I so unbearable of a mate that you would rather be alone than with me?”
A heavy ball settled in the pit of his stomach at the sadness in her voice. He hated that she thought, even for a moment, that his reasons for not coming to her had anything to do with her. “I have obligations I cannot neglect.”
“More important than a she-dragon trapped in her dragon form because her mate is too busy to claim her?” She shoved at his chest, the fiery spirit she’d shown earlier rearing up again. “You selfish bastard. Maybe I’m getting off lucky. I can find someone who will want to be with me, and only me.”
He caught her hands and pulled her closer. “I thought I’d have more time. And you’re right, I am selfish. Too selfish to allow you to find someone else, that’s for damned sure. I didn’t know you were close to the change. How could I?”
“Oh, I don’t know, maybe you could have stopped running and spoken with me?” She spat the question at him.
“Damn, you are close, aren’t you?”
She blew out a breath and nodded. “I ache all over. My skin feels like it’s shrunk and no longer fits my body, and I can’t keep my temperature steady.”
“Come on. I can help.”
Her pupils dilated, and she took a quick breath. “Where are we going?”
“My place.”
Chapter 3
Her killer stilettos were a perfect match for her blood red dress, but any more than a short walk would destroy her feet. “Is your place very far?”
He followed her gaze down to her feet. “I could always carry you. I don’t mind,” he said as he reached for her.
“You wouldn’t dare.” She took a step back, tugging at her hand, but his firm grip kept her where she was.
“Oh, I dare.” With a quick flick of his wrist, he pulled her close before sweeping her off her feet, only this time to rest against his chest instead of over his shoulder.
“Umm... I’m Stella, by the way,” she said as she closed her eyes and breathed him in.
His arms tightened around her, and he picked up his pace. “Brycen.” The huskiness in his voice had her eyes popping open again.
“I can walk.” She shifted to try to get down, but if she were honest, she liked being held close enough that she could hear his heart beating beneath her ear.
“If you walk, you’ll take the shoes off when we get there. I want them on.”
Had he shown any sign of strain, she might have argued, but he was practically jogging, and his breathing had yet to quicken. When he started a light stroke against the side of her breast with his thumb, it was all she could do to keep from twisting into the caress.
The dark stubble on his jaw begged to be touched, and why shouldn’t she? He was hers, at least for now, and she could touch if she wanted to. The prickly hair tickled at her fingertips, a soft moan slipping past her lips at the thought of it tormenting other, more sensitive flesh popped into her mind.
“Shit, we’re almost there. Hang on.” He rounded one more corner, taking the first path on the right straight to a small bungalow. He didn’t let her down until he reached the front door, and then, only long enough to fish his keys from his pocket to open it, and then slamming it closed with his foot.
He didn’t break stride until he reached his bedroom. Lowering her legs, he slid her down his front, while keeping her close. As soon as her feet touched the floor, his free hand cupped her ass, pulling her tight against his hard length.
“Shouldn’t we t-talk or something?” She couldn’t pull her gaze from his lips. They were made for kissing, and she wanted another taste.
He ground himself against her. “We can talk if you want, but we both know that’s not what you need. You’re too close to the change.” He bent his head to her neck, taking a sniff before licking from her collarbone to her ear. “I can smell the lust rolling off you.”
She shuddered against him. “So what are you going to do about it?” There was no point in denying it. She did have needs, and right then, she would do anything to lessen the ache even just a little. She could get to know him later.
He didn’t reply, choosing instead to nip at her jaw, groaning against her skin as she tilted her head, opening herself up to him.
The sting should have had her pulling away, but she moaned, pulling his hips into her again. Just rubbing up against his erection through the layers of their clothing had her trembling and close to orgasm. God, yes. The closer she had gotten to the change, the less she’d been able to take care of her needs. Try as she might, and in the beginning she had tried, she just didn’t have what her body needed to climax anymore.
“Don’t.” His voice snapped her out of the blissful fog.
“Don’t what?”
“Don’t come. Not until I say you can.”
She groaned, her eyes rolling up as she shifted against him again. So close, so, so close. Later they could take their time, but right then, she needed an orgasm so bad it hurt.
With his hands on her hips, he stilled her movement.
“Please, Brycen, it’s been so long.” She closed her eyes tight, trying to regain control of her overheated body.
“How long?” His breath teased her lips.
“More than six months.” Warmth crept up her neck. What the hell did it matter? She needed an orgasm, and he was the one who could give it to her.
“You haven’t had a lover in over half a year?” He ground against her and pulled back again before she could find release.
She tried to push forward, but his strong grip prevented it. “No,” she snapped. “I haven’t had a lover ever. Period. I haven’t had a fucking orgasm in six months. I can’t get there on my own anymore.”
He groaned and pulled away from her so fast she nearly stumbled. “You waited until you couldn’t come anymore? Of all the asinine things I’ve ever heard.” He shook his head, running his hands through his hair. “It’s amazing you haven’t gone off and killed someone.” His eyes narrowed. “You haven’t, have you?”
“No, of course not!” What kind of animal did he think she was? She straightened her dress as he paced away. Her pulse raced. “I’m sure if we just… if we just had sex—”
“Why did you wait?” His tone softened, and he paced toward her again. “You know as well as I do that it isn’t about sex.”
She swallowed once and then dropped her gaze to the floor. She didn’t know, not really. “I didn’t know what was happening. It’s not like I could go to the local coffee shop and start asking the she-dragons enjoying their morning brew why I couldn’t get myself off. And they don’t have a how-to manual for dragons in heat at the local library.”
He took her hand and waited for her to look him in the eyes. “Do you not have a sister, an aunt, or a friend you could have asked?”
He had to know that if he mated with her, he didn’t get any of the perks of a clan backing her. No real financial benefit other than her meager savings. None of the affluence or power that should have been hers. All that disappeared on the day the hunters annihilated her clan. “What you see is what you get. Just me. I’m the last of my line,” she said, refusing to break his gaze. So, you see, I can’t risk losing the ability to shift. I need to be able to have children, and I can’t do that if I’m stuck in dragon form.”
Brycen closed his eyes and breathed deep. “Pureblood.”
“It’s been getting worse since I saw you on Tuesday. It’s like she knows you’re around, and she’s pissed off that I haven’t been with you yet.”
He dropped her hand and walked to the other side of the bed. “Take everything off except for the shoes, and then come here.”
When she hesitated for more than a second, he snapped
his teeth, his growl rumbling between them. The sound sent a fresh wave of throbbing heat between her legs. Her breath hitched, but she did as asked, reaching behind her to slide the zipper down her back. The silent cascade of silk pooled at her feet followed moments later by her sheer lace bra.
“Stella?”
She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth, enjoying the strangled sound he made before taking a small step toward him. “Yes?”
“Where are your panties?”
She twisted her fingers together in front of her belly, the nervousness she’d all but forgotten rearing up again. “I didn’t wear any. The dress… I didn’t want panty lines.”
“Put your hands down.”
When she did, he looked at her from head to toe, then up again, taking his time. The only thing keeping her in place was the heated passion smoldering in his eyes.
“Good. Okay. Come here. You’ll remove my clothes now,” he said.
Oh God, he was going to make her take his clothes off. All she wanted to do was rip them to shreds. Having him this close and having to hold back was insane. Every part of her was set to break into a million pieces if he didn’t do something soon.
A muscle ticked in Brycen’s jaw, but he stayed where he was.
Putting a little extra sway to her hips, Stella rounded the bed, stopping only a hair’s breadth away. She didn’t stop to think for fear of losing her nerve. Fingers trembling, she undid the first button of his shirt, pulling the edges apart to reveal the top of his chest. She resisted the urge to rub her cheek against the exposed skin.
The next button came easier, as did the next until she had them all undone. Already, her breaths came in short gasps. His chest muscles rippled where her fingers touched as she pushed the shirt open and then slid it down his arms. She had known the hard wall of his chest would be glorious when he had carried her, but seeing it bare had her mouth watering. Not thinking, she leaned forward, and flicked the tip of her tongue over his puckered nipple, then pulled back at his swift gasp.
“Were you given permission to do that?” he asked, his voice strained.
Her gaze flew up to meet his, but his eyes were closed, and he worked his jaw back and forth, grinding his teeth. Her heart thudded. They had only just begun, and already she had displeased him. “I’m sorry.” She pulled her hands away.
Flight of Dragons Page 2
