by Honor James
“It is,” he whispered softly to her. Taking her hand, he led her to the sofa and sat down, tugging her down next to him. Sighing, he scratched at the scruff on his face. “Aiden and I are both Dragons,” he told her honestly. “We’re also human. Gaia, Goddess of the Earth, created us as well as many other changers and the Royal lineages. Talon is the King of our line. While we’re not related by blood, he is King to all the Dragons. We can call the Dragon out, or, if we’re highly emotional, the Dragon can break through in parts. We’re a lot harder to kill than some of the other changers. Even our human forms are slightly different, on the inside, than others because we are Dragons.”
She was staring at him, but he didn’t know if it was good or not, so he just kept talking. “Gaia also chooses who she believes will be our best fit as a mate or, bond-mate. A bond-mate is our other half, the yin to the yang, in a manner of speaking. Not good to bad but just the rest of us. The piece that completes the whole. You are mine,” he said quietly. “A bond-mate is more than a wife, more than a lover. They are everything. The moon and sun rise and set because of them. Our every breath, every minute of every day has meaning only because they are there. For some of the changer races they know their mate by scent, for others, a vibration is set off inside of them. Others still have a knowing, a bit of a tap on the psychic shoulder, I suppose. But once we find our bond-mate, we are incomplete until we complete the bonding, making love basically the first time.” With a few extras for his race that he kept quiet on for the moment.
“Because of who we are we can’t lie. It goes against our core being. We can tell a whopper of a tale absolutely, exaggerating the truth a bit, but lying outright just isn’t for us. To our bond-mate though, to lie is like cutting our own throats. Why do it? We can’t cheat. We’re always faithful and cannot stray at all. We see no other, and there is only one chance unless Gaia sees fit to give us a second chance due to extenuating circumstances,” he told her and paused to see if she was following and understanding.
“I understand,” she murmured and watched him. “And you love me?” she asked and found herself leaning in even closer to him. “So you will love me always and forever,” she murmured. “There will always be me for you,” she whispered. “And you for me?” she asked quietly. “You are sure that you want to be tied to me for the rest of your life?” She was a little more than weird, not very girly at all. “Are you sure that you want to commit to a full life with me?”
“I already did the moment I realized you were mine,” he said quietly. “I was waiting for you to heal some more and to push the drugs out,” he murmured, touching her cheek. “Before I told you anything about my world.” Then she’d left and he’d wanted to die, had been dying, a little each and every day.
“Here I am with no drugs in my system,” she told him. “I have nothing to live for if you turn me away, Allister, and will likely actually succeed in killing myself this time. I want another chance at forever if you are willing to forgive me.” She had a hand on his chest and one on his neck now, just holding onto him as she touched him.
Pulling her into his lap, he stared into her eyes. “I will always forgive you anything, love,” he whispered softly to her. “But if you ever walk away from me again, I will hunt you down and make your life a very real living hell,” he told her quietly.
“But you will always come for me, won’t you?” Jackie asked with a smile. “I’m not leaving you,” she added quickly. “I will never leave you again, I swear. If you take me and want me forever and can accept me and all my quirks then I want you for the rest of time. I want to make love with you and spend the rest of my life making up for being an idiot.”
Allister wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in closer, holding her tight. “I’m taking you and holding onto you for the rest of time, Jackie,” he told her flat out. “You are mine,” he whispered, nuzzling at her neck lightly.
“I love you, Allister,” she confessed and moved in closer to him. “I never, ever will give you away,” she told him and meant it this time. “Forever, always and forever.” She shivered as he nuzzled her neck. “So good. Please do that again?”
Nipping at her soft skin, he tipped her head more and nuzzled at her skin. “You smell perfect,” he whispered quietly. Licking her throat, he drew her taste in and savored it. Gods, she was beyond perfect. She was amazing and his.
“Think you can bar the doors for us so that your brother doesn’t try to come in and make sure that we are actually going through with our bonding? I would have to kill him then,” Jackie murmured. “I want to be with you, darling. Need to be with you.”
“Not here, upstairs,” he told her, standing up with her in his arms. He wasn’t letting her go until he had completed the bonding. Moving to the door, he wrenched on it and caught Aiden unawares. “Lock up when you leave,” he ordered, not taking his eyes off her as he headed for the stairs and climbed them two and three at a time.
Grinning, Aiden shook his head and waited until he heard the door to the bedroom slam shut. “You’re welcome,” he murmured. Pulling out his keys, he did as asked and locked the house down for the soon-to-be-mated couple.
Jackie looked up at Allister and smiled. “So you have seen my naked tushy. How about you let me see yours?”
“And I’m more than happy to get naked so that you can see me as well. I love you so very much, darling, and really want to be with you.”
Setting her down on her feet beside the bed, he kissed her quickly. “I want to see all of you, I want to taste all of you, and I will love all of you,” he promised. Reaching over his head, he yanked the sweatshirt off and threw it aside. He should burn it all, everything he was wearing, and likely would. He didn’t want the reminder around of just how low he’d been because of what he’d nearly lost.
She tugged her shirt off and tossed it onto the pile with his. “Faster,” she said with a grin as she watched him pausing on his pants. “Come on, darling mine, everything,” she said with a wink and pushed her pants and panties off, kicking them into the pile as well. Standing there now before him, Jackie was in her birthday suit and waiting on him to catch up with her.
Letting his eyes run the length of her not once, but twice, he smiled and dropped his sweats, kicking them aside. Moving slowly in closer, he bent to scoop her up and tossed her up onto his large bed. Crawling in after her, he pressed a kiss to her hip, ribs, and side of her breast before he pressed one to her full and lush lips.
Jackie kissed him back with desperation and need. Wrapping her arms and legs around him, she tugged him even closer. “No time for play. I just need to make love with you, Al. Make me yours, my love, please.”
“Play later,” he agreed fully, too desperate for her. But he wouldn’t hurt her either. He was naturally larger than most of the human male population, in all ways. Cupping her as he kissed her again, he slipped two fingers into her body and stroked her slowly, stretching her as he sucked on her lip.
She bit his lower lip and whimpered. “Oh God, this feels so good.” Lifting her ass to meet him and his talented fingers, she sobbed, “More.” It was a demand of need. “Please, Al, more,” she begged. “Because it feels so good.”
Suckling at her neck, he pushed a third finger into her and pumped them in and out of her lush body. She was so damn responsive. Gods, he loved her so much. Nipping at her throat, he nibbled down to her breast. Sucking at her tight nipple, he drew it in deep to roll around with his tongue.
“Oh God,” she cried out. “Another.” He was huge, as evidenced by her hand closing around him and beginning to stroke him harder and faster in time with his fingers in her body. “Killing me,” she said and squeezed the head of his cock before moving her fingers down to stroke him more and more, faster and faster.
Pulling his hand free, he caught hers before he embarrassed himself and, moving over her, thrust into her body hard. Freezing when she stiffened under him, his hazed mind cleared a little. “Oh Gods, Jackie?” he whispered in fear
that he’d hurt her.
“Don’t stop. Talk about it later. For now just please?” He smiled when she begged. “Please don’t stop, my love,” his fiery little bond mate all but demanded. “I want you to fully and totally claim me.”
Her little movements totally fried out his brain again and the Dragon took over. Gripping her ass, he lifted her hips up to take him all the way as he thrust into her again. Groaning at the sensation of bumping into the opening of her womb, he moved harder, faster. Instinct was guiding him fully, ensuring her pleasure was absolute before he claimed her properly. “Mine,” he growled out, the Dragon very evident. Tipping her head to the side, he slid his long incisors deep into her flesh and held her as the bit of mild toxin in them slipped into her system, creating hypersensitivity in her entire body.
She felt the bite, screamed from it, but then a sensation of utter pleasure multiplied by a million spread like fire along her skin. Her hands in his hair, she held him to her throat. “Al.” She could only get out that single word in her surrender. Jackie’s body clenched on him. She felt his cockhead hitting so deep inside of her body she swore that he had to be inside of her womb, but it was that bite which had her seeing stars.
Growling out her name, Allister held her in his grip as his seed emptied into her over and over again. Collapsing over her, he remained still until his teeth returned to normal and he could lift his head. Pressing his cheek to hers, he shivered as she clenched on him again. “Gods,” he moaned out, softly stroking a hand down her side. Obviously not a great idea since her entire body seemed to ripple through another complete orgasm.
Each ripple of his body in hers, each explosion of seed into her body had had her whimpering. “Gods is right,” she panted out. “Al, so good.” He was so very good. “Always will need you,” she admitted to him with a smile. “Especially if making love with you is just this good.” She felt a bond with him. So weird, she felt as if there were ties between them now.
“That was the bonding,” he said softly to her, lifting her hand to kiss her fingers gently. “It won’t always be quite so…intensely explosive.” That was the best he could come up with for the nuclear event they’d just survived. “But it will always be amazing because it will be only us,” he whispered, brushing a kiss to her cheek. “Unfortunately you are going to have a lifelong scar because of how hard I bit you.” And he seriously felt horrid about that.
“I honest to goodness don’t care,” she admitted with a smile. “I will make sure to wear shirts so that everyone and their brother can see the scar, the sign of possession,” she told him happily. “I look forward to it because you are the one that I need. Always, forever, until the end of time.” And he was. A scar didn’t matter at all when she had him there in her life.
Rolling them onto their sides, he wrapped her up in his arms and kissed her bruised shoulder lightly. He’d really bitten her hard. “I love you, Jackie,” he whispered. “I’m also sorry I was so rough, little one.” He’d hurt her in the beginning. He knew he had. She was, or rather had been, a virgin.
“Don’t be, I’m not,” Jackie told him with a smile. “If you hadn’t noticed, I really and truly rather loved it.” She was now, however, sleepy, sore, and just wanted to be held close to him. Later she would need to call her boss and let him know that she wasn’t going to make it. That was unless Aiden hadn’t already made that call. “Just hold me, my love.” She yawned again. “I need some sleep, Allister,” she told him.
So did he. He was exhausted. He really hadn’t slept much since she’d left him. Every time he’d closed his eyes he’d seen her, remembered every little detail. It had been too hard. Hugging her closer, Allister breathed her in. “Sleep, my love.”
“I do love you, Allister.” She yawned again and leaned in closer to him, wrapping her arms around him as tightly as she could. “Still gonna beat your brother,” she said with a smile. Beat him then hug him, but that was neither here nor there.
“I know, darling, I’ll help you,” he whispered to her quietly. Stroking her back lightly, he brushed a kiss to her cheek.
“Sleep. No more talking. Sleep,” she said and patted his chest with a smile, knowing she was the one who kept talking, not him.
Chapter Nine
Two months later
Tipping his head, he frowned at her. “What are you doing?” he asked curiously. All he could really see of his bond-mate was her ass sticking up over the top of his desk. Sharing a look with his brother, he waited for an answer, with none coming. “Jacqueline, what are you doing?” he asked a little louder, trying to gain her attention. Usually using her given name did that, even if it only got her pissy.
Jackie popped up and shot him a nasty look. “Oh, you rotten egg,” she muttered but moved out from behind the desk and moved toward Allister. Looking up at him, she grinned. “Hello, mate, how the hell are you?” she asked and then looked to Aiden. “Hey, you.” She passed him a Wii rifle. “Come on, we are playing games.” She then glanced at Allister. “I was hooking the Wii up and the only free outlet I found was under your desk, so there it is. Now, time for me to beat your brother’s ass in this game,” she said happily and clicked the remote that dropped the large screen from the ceiling, and the game started from the projector.
“In my office?” Allister asked, confused as all get-out. “I know you like beating Aiden at things, darling.” He shot his brother an apologetic look. “But in my office?”
“Dude, it’s the only spot for the Wii,” Aiden pointed out. “You need a big screen for some of the games and this is the biggest one here.”
“Yes, for work purposes only,” Allister said right back at him and her. “You realize if Talon wanders in here I’m the one going to get shit for appropriating government property for frivolity instead of its intended purpose, right?”
Jackie snorted. “Who do you think bought the Wii?” she muttered. “And all of the games as well,” she said with a grin. “But I told him that Aiden and I were first.” She clicked through to the game and smiled. “Ah, there we go. First player is me. You are second. We are going to blow some shit up.” She looked to Allister. “I love you, honey, but you are a better wall than window, so would you mind?” she asked and gestured with her weapon for Allister to move.
“Dissed by my own bond-mate.” He shook his head, leaning in to kiss her. “Unbelievable,” he muttered, moving around her toward his desk. Sitting down behind it, he watched as Aiden put in his name and settled in next to his mate to take on whatever the hell they were taking on. “What are you guys killing?” he asked, only mildly curious.
“Zombies,” Jackie said with a grin. “We are killing zombies and such in space,” she murmured happily and clicked for the game to begin. When the movie portion started, Jackie looked back at Allister and smiled. “Are you going to cheer for me?” she asked sweetly.
“You’re killing brain-eating undead zombies in space. You wouldn’t be able to hear me cheering for you even if I felt the need to cheer you on and heckle my brother,” Allister pointed out. Shifting, he put his feet up on the corner of his desk and settled his chair into a comfortable reclined position.
“I would always know when you were cheering me on,” Jackie said simply and clicked on the mission file. “Because I would feel your love pushing toward me, darling mine,” she added softly. “So please, cheer me on.” She looked back at him and winked. “Mostly because it will irritate Aiden as well.”
“And we know how much you love doing that,” both brothers muttered at the same time. Sighing, Allister shook his head. “Just go and kill something, love,” he advised her, quietly putting his hands behind his head. “You know how much better you feel after you’ve splattered even undead brains all over the place.”
“Hell yeah, I do.” Since she had been told unequivocally by her boss that she was no longer allowed to be a part of the unit she had been in so long, she needed something to help her get rid of her aggression. Lifting her weapon, she looked to Aiden.
“I bet that I have a higher kill count than you,” she tossed out and then focused just on the game.
Catching a look from Allister, Aiden sighed. “Yeah, likely,” he muttered since he’d been throwing every game they’d played just to ensure she was happy and his brother, therefore, was happy. Allister had asked him to do it after Aiden had wiped the floor with her on one game, a game they’d never played again since. He’d asked Aiden to make it close, make her work for it, but, if at all possible, let her have the win. Lifting the “rifle,” he growled. He hated losing.
Jackie looked at him and added, “Oh, and by the way.” She put her face back to the weapon. “This time I’m not going to make it easy on you. I’ve tried throwing every single game, but you are so bad that I can’t even throw the game, so no more. Kid gloves off. I’m wiping the floor with you.”
Feeling his brother’s shock, Aiden grinned. “Oh, darling, I have thrown every game because you got all pouty when I bested you on the first one.” He didn’t even look at the screen as he shot six Zombies in the head. “Bring it, darling, and if you cry this time, I don’t care.” He knocked off three in front of her easily before she could even react.
Jackie grinned and looked back to Allister and winked. “I love you, Al,” she murmured and then allowed herself to get into the game, easily outshooting him by the end of round one. Smiling up at Aiden while the game movie loaded, she said, “No tears yet.”
Growling at her, Aiden settled in a better position. “Don’t taunt him, love,” Allister murmured from his resting position. Yawning, he dozed off again for rounds two, three, and four. By the time they got to round five they were tied and they were also not very happy with the other person. Not sure how it was going to end, he popped an eye open to watch as they were each trying to outdo the other. This was going to get bloody, he realized.
