by Olivia Arran
“Thank fuck for that.” His enthusiastic dismissal of my concerns had a smile tugging at my lips.
“Really? You don’t mind that I’ve got a little too much…” I made a vague gesture, hoping he got the gist.
“Mind? My love, you’re perfect. I can’t believe my luck, that someone as gorgeous as you chose me!” He took my hand, giving it a squeeze, and I relaxed. That was, until he drew it down and wrapped it around his thick shaft. “Look at what you do to me, Faye,” he said in a voice husky and filled with longing.
I gave it a tentative squeeze.
He groaned, his head falling back and chest expanding. “Fuck, your hand on me feels good.”
Encouraged, I slid my hand back along his length, increasing my grip. “Like this?”
“Yeah,” he bit out, his hips thrusting forward.
I experimented, adjusting my grip and speed until his eyes rolled back in his head and his stomach clenched with every flick of my wrist. I had him exactly where I wanted him. Under my—
Oomph. My back hit the mattress, my ass bouncing high in the air. Strong hands cleaved my thighs apart, shoulders bracing them there, then his hot—really hot—wet tongue licked straight through my core, tracing each slippery fold and lapping at my center. My fingers dug into the bed, clawing at the comforter as he tortured me relentlessly, his dark hair flopping forward and hiding his face from view, shielding his intentions until all I could do was feel.
His hands slid around to my ass, lifting me up and holding me open like an all you can eat buffet, the noises ripping from his chest leaving no doubt in my mind that he was enjoying this just as much as I was.
Well, maybe not quite as much, I amended, as a shudder worked its way up my spine, crashing into me with the force of a hurricane and leaving me gasping in its wake. A taste of the real event, I discovered, as a wave of pleasure rippled through me, curling my toes and arching my spine, gibberish falling from my lips and coloring the air with screams.
He lifted his head, the cocky expression I’d expected after such a performance absent, and in its place raw, naked hunger that drove his earlier words home. He licked his lips. “You taste like tart cherries. I want more.” His head dipped.
I grabbed a chunk of his hair, giving it a yank. If he went down on me again I would probably pass out, and I was too eager for the main event to even consider it right now. “Later.”
He was kneeling between my legs before I’d even drawn breath, his cock teasing my slick opening with feather light glances. Large hands gripped my hips, holding me in place. “You sure? Because once I’ve made you mine, there’s no going back. I’m a selfish bastard.”
“You’ll be mine too.”
“I’m taking that as a yes please, fuck me, Bastian,” he decided, sliding his thick length inside me with one smooth stroke of his hips, not pausing until his pelvic bone bumped against mine. A hiss fell from his lips, his jaw clenched in sweet agony. “Breathe, sweetheart,” he half mocked.
But he was right. The moment he’d entered me, stretching me wide and filling me completely, I’d forgotten everything. How to breathe, how to think, how to … see? Everything! I wasn’t even making sense in my head!
I sucked in a deep breath, grounding myself in the moment, letting every detail sink in: how the scratch of hair on his thighs brushed against me as he rocked back and forth, and the tiny twist to his mouth as he bit the inside of his cheek. The unbelievable feel of him sliding back and forth inside me, brushing against nerve endings I never knew I had. The smell of the fabric softener from the comforter below me tangling with his raw, masculine scent, puffing up in clouds invisible to the naked eye.
The bed creaked beneath our weight and the power of his thighs as he quickened the pace, thrusting into me with a wild glint to his eye. His thumbs stroked tender circles around my hip bones, at odds with the way his nails dug into my behind, imprinting himself in my skin.
Hoarse sounds filled the air, along with soft cries as he drove himself harder inside me, faster, loosing all finesse as his body demanded one thing of him. To join us as one.
Heat rolled inside me, stretching my bones in that tingly-good way that signaled my impending launch to the stars.
Bending at the waist, his mouth sealed against mine with an urgent fervor that I matched, our tongues lashing out in a teeth bashing, skin slicked tangle of a kiss that needed no soft words to help translate.
My hands slid up his back, hugging him to me, fingers clawing and hips bucking to meet him stroke for stroke as I stole his breath, and he stole mine.
Breaking free, he locked his eyes with mine, his swirling with silver heat. “You’ve made me whole again, Faye, my true mate. I promise to spend the rest of my life showing you how much you mean to me. How much I love you. You won’t regret choosing me.” Without warning, he ducked his head, sliding his teeth into the base of my throat.
Pleasure rolled over the sharp pain, blotting it from my memory.
Rearing back, his back arched as he shuddered, cursing under his breath, but his hips never slowed. They sped up, plunging back and forth, pushing me higher.
“What was that?” I gasped out.
“The true mate bond—soul to soul. My part, anyway.”
It sounded … magical. And I wanted to be bonded to this man, I’d never been so sure of anything before in my life. “What do I do?”
“Tell me how you feel and claim me as your mate.”
“That’s it? No…” I mimicked biting, gnashing my teeth together.
Deep laughter erupted from him, but it didn’t dislodge the strain lines that stretched out from his mouth. “No biting needed, my love.”
Phew. Though I’d have done it for him. Probably. I cleared my throat, the feel of his cock still plunging inside me throwing off my game. “I love you and you’re my mate,” I blurted out as the orgasm appeared out of nowhere, throwing me straight past the stars and into oblivion. Heat hit me in the chest, the soul bond carving a spot in my heart as emotions poured into me, his, mine, ours, they were one, sending me even higher, not letting me drift back down, another wave crashing over me again and again until my vision blurred and my body was weak with spasms.
He thrust harder, a roar tearing its way out of his chest, his hips jerking and thighs trembling as he reached his own climax, freezing as he found his completion deep inside me.
Collapsing to the side, he dragged me against his chest, smoothing my now wild curls away from my face with a trembling hand.
At least I wasn’t the only one who felt like she’d been put through the wringer. If all orgasms were going to be like that, then I’d better work on building my stamina. Pressing my cheek against his skin, I listened to the steady thump of his heart, curling my leg over his and twining them together. Calm suffused every cell in my body, a quiet contentment that I’d never known, never thought existed. It was a day of firsts.
“I thought I was the one that was blunt.”
I brushed away his retort with a wave of my hand, not bothering to lift my head. I’d said all my pretty words earlier, anyway.
A strange sound came from him, kind of a cross between a cough and a chuckle.
“What is it?” My hand trailed across his chest, following the scattering of darks hairs and smoothing them this way, then that.
“My dragon. He’s talking to me again. I mean, he occasionally spoke to me before, but only to tell me how pissed he was with me. But now…” Hope cracked his deep voice.
I held my breath. “And?”
“He forgives me.”
I snuggled closer, pressing so our bodies touched from head to toe. “About time.”
“He says it’s because I forgave myself. Because I stopped self-sabotaging my recovery.” He snorted, and out of the corner of my eye I saw him shake his head. “Egotistical bastard.”
“Takes one to know one,” I drawled in a light voice.
At once strong arms dragged me off the bed and I was airborne, clasped to
his chest in an iron tight grip. “Little minx. I think I’d better show you exactly how I earned that ego.”
My hand snaked up his neck as he carried me into the bathroom, tugging his head down until we were nose to nose. I flashed him my own version of his trademark smirk. “I’m waiting…” I whispered.
Epilogue
Faye
A month or so later…
Bastian’s hand tugged at mine, dragging me along the dusty lane and into the forest, his low chuckle at my soft protests music to my ears. When we’d first met he hadn’t laughed much at all. Or smiled, apart from that devious smirk that I now knew he used as a shield against the outside world. Which he still did, but not with me, unless I was purposely riling him, or he was being deliberately obtuse, as he was now.
“Where are we going?” I was kind of hoping it wasn’t to visit the school, as I didn’t want to share my mate with anyone this afternoon. We’d snagged an afternoon off, our schedules synching for once, and I wasn’t giving it up for man or beast. Even for the children’s sake.
Especially for the children’s sake. If we were going to make our own, then we needed every available moment to practice.
He pulled me off to the right and I let out the breath I’d been holding. We were moving away from the school. Maybe he was taking me back to that little clearing, the one with the large boulders each a perfect height for clinging onto as he bent me over and thrust into me from behind. Or leaning back on as he buried his head between my legs, wringing scream after scream from me. Or the tree with the smooth bark, perfect for when he’d braced me high in his arms, teasing me with slow, shallow thrusts designed to reduce me to a gibbering wreck.
“I know where your mind just went,” he murmured, pausing to steal a kiss. Which turned into an embrace, our lips breaking away to gasp and stare at each other in wonder.
“Will it always be like this?”
A wicked grin curved his lips, enough to crease the corners of his eyes. “It will if I have anything to do with it, my love.”
A few more minutes and we entered the clearing, which was fast becoming my second favorite place in the world. The first being our bed. Or bedroom. And add in the bathroom. Bastian was a creative lover. Which meant I’d better add in his office too, as he liked to surprise me when I worked. And I had a particular soft spot for the basement. Watching him work out, his skin slick with sweat, knowing that this gorgeous man was all mine just plain out did it for me. And the fact that he usually finished with a stiff cock and an urgent need to bury himself inside me. Quick. Hard. Dirty.
Okay. It was the whole house plus the clearing.
“I like where your mind is going, my love, but that’s not why I brought you here today.”
“It’s not?” I couldn’t help the plaintive whine, or my tiny scowl at being denied.
Crushing me against his chest, his hand tipped my head up. “I’ll make it up to you. I promise.”
I breathed him in, snuggling against his cotton shirt and smoothing my hands down his back to tuck into the back pockets of his snug jeans. “How?”
“You’ll see. Now, go and sit on that rock.” He pointed at the largest boulder, clearing his throat and waggling his eyebrows when I didn’t move.
“Fine,” I replied, grudgingly letting him go and dragging my feet as I made my way over. Brushing off the surface, I lowered myself down and opened my mouth to taunt him further, but what I saw took my breath away.
In the minutes it had taken me to walk across the grass, he must have ripped his clothes to have gotten undressed so fast, because staring back at me, regal head held high, eyes burning with a molten, silver flame, scales running from claw to tail, crouched a dragon. Burnished silver with wings so huge they spanned the clearing, tail curled around and spiked at the end. Steam huffed out of his snout, a low rumble sounding distinctly like a steam engine hummed through the air. And there was no mistaking the pleased smirk curling at his dragon … lips? Bastian’s smirk through and through.
“You can shift!” I gasped out, kicking myself mentally for stating the obvious, but I couldn’t help it. Happiness surged up inside of me, followed swiftly by suspicion. “How long have you known?”
Bastian tilted his head, one wing lifting in a pretty good approximation of a human shrug.
Sliding down off the boulder, I raced across the grass, pulling up short a hairsbreadth away from his sleek, scaly chest. “You … you … could have told me! I was so worried about you. I mean, I thought you might be able to, but when nothing happened I decided it wasn’t going to. And now this! You—”
Bastian lowered his head to meet my eyes, snout nudging at my shoulder with a look on his face that clearly said: shut up. Then he lowered his wing, giving me a nudge that sent me stumbling.
My hand landed on his side, warm and soft despite the scales. “What? What is it?”
Another nudge and his intention was clear.
“Oh! You want me to ride you?”
I could have sworn I felt his chuckle echo through the soul bond, the wave of heat he sent me had my knees trembling and thighs clenching. Both kinds of riding then.
He let out a soft cluck, throaty and hoarse, his head moving from me, to our favorite tree, then back again.
“Oh. Afterwards? I’ll hold you to that,” I murmured, scrambling up his back and giving him a scratch along his brow ridge. “Let’s see what you’ve got then, handsome.”
The wind whipped the squeal out of my mouth as he leaped into the sky, my arms wrapped around his neck and clinging on for dear life. His heart thudded beneath my chest, beating in perfect time with mine, his powerful wings carrying me up into the clouds.
My mate.
My heart.
My forever.
Thank you for taking the time to read Her Dragon Temptation, I hope you enjoyed meeting Bastian and Faye.
If you haven’t read Astrid’s story in Her Dragon Protector yet, I’ve included the first chapter for you to try, or you can grab your copy HERE.
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Also by Olivia Arran
Recommended Reading Order
True Mates - Wolves
(Series complete - best read in order)
Found (a Prequel) HERE
Promised - HERE
Taken - HERE
Healed - HERE
Redeemed - HERE
Cherished - HERE
OUT NOW - True Mates: The Complete Series Boxed Set HERE
Alpha Protectors - Wolves
(Series complete - standalone stories)
Guardian - HERE
Sentinel - HERE
Defender - HERE
Enforcer - HERE
Watcher - HERE
Her Dragon Protector - HERE
The Everson Brothers - Bears
(Series complete - standalone stories)
My Curse to Bear - HERE
My Duty to Bear - HERE
My Wound to Bear - HERE
My Heat to Bear - HERE
My Hunger to Bear - HERE
OUT NOW - The Everson Brothers: Complete Series Boxed Set HERE
Heartsridge Shifters: South- One Bears
(Series complete - best read in order)
Austin - HERE
Cade - HERE
Brent - HERE
Jake - HERE
Nate - HERE
Standalones
Call Me Sassy (Sassy Ever After Kindle World Novella) (US Only) - HERE
Shifter’s Calling (One True Mate Kindle World Novella) (US Only) - HERE
Sneak Peak: Her Dragon Protector
Astrid & Trent
Chapter One
Trent
This is it.
I stare at the door, sizing it up as if it were a living beast ready to challenge me to a duel. All I have to do is push open the door and confirm my suspicions.
I hesitate, my hand wavering in the air.
Wha
t if I’m wrong? What if she isn’t here; if it isn’t her?
Two years I’ve been looking. Two long fucking years I’ve been living out of a bag, traveling across states, crossing oceans, always tired, always searching. Never able to go home.
It has to be her.
Still my hand didn’t move. My feet stayed glued to the sidewalk as the monotonous drizzle of rain continued to plaster my hair to my skull, seeping into my clothes and chilling my bones.
So what if it isn’t her? I’ll keep looking. I’d agreed to this task, vowing to find her. So, man the hell up!
Gritting my teeth, I eased the door open and slipped inside, grabbing the small bell above my head before it had a chance to ring.
Warmth wrapped around me, melting the chill of London in late October. The sweet smell of incense and fragrant tea filled my lungs. The store was lit with an intimate glow, small lamps dotting a multitude of shelves, heroically trying to do their job of pushing the shadows back. With my head down, I made my way across the back of the store, blending into the shadows as I pretended to browse the gaudy knickknacks and baubles, the riot of colors stinging my eyes after the bleak gray of the city outside.
But I wasn’t really looking; my whole attention was riveted on the woman holding court at the front of the store.
She was tiny, with long dark strands of hair hanging loose from a messy knot on her head, and adding a good four inches in height. Her hands flew in the air, punctuating her speech with jabs of elegant fingers, her arms a golden brown in the flickering light. Her whole body swayed with animation as she argued her point with a passion I could feel from my position across the room.
