“What?”
“The platinum dragon showed up.”
There was a short silence. “One of the three precious metal dragons we met with before?”
“Yes,” Titus said. “Noble metals, technically.”
“Hm,” Aegis said. “And he’s there? What does he want? Do you two have history?”
“We do,” Titus said. “But I’m not sure what he wants or why he’s here.”
“No idea? Why would he be there without his crew? I’m glad you told me. It’s something we should be aware of. Do you want me to send someone out there?”
“Not for now,” Titus said. “I don’t really want another dragon out here with my mate. As long as it’s just him and me, I can handle him. If one of his friends shows up, I may have to call for backup.”
“Everyone is here at the castle if you need us.” Aegis reassured him. As grumpy as Aegis was, and as much as Titus liked to verbally spar with him, when any of the metal dragons needed him, he was there without question.
“Thanks,” Titus said.
“Hang in there,” Aegis said. “Is he the braided one, the big guy?”
“Yes,” Titus said.
“He’s Titus-light,” Aegis said. “You can take him. We may not always see eye to eye, but as far as I’m concerned, you’re by far the superior braided barbarian.”
“Aw, thanks, Aegis. And you mean it? You aren’t just saying that because I’m the last metal dragon, and when I’m mated, you can finally be alone with your mate?”
A click on the other side told him Aegis’s answer as the line went dead.
Well, it was good to know Aegis was behind him, and he’d apprised him of the situation.
As he put the phone back in his pocket, he looked up to see Bree standing on the porch, arms folded, hair whipping in the evening wind. She was watching him hesitantly.
Why hadn’t she looked hesitant with Platinum? Did she like him better? Prefer him to Titus?
He wasn’t sure if he was ready to go back over there. He wanted too much from her. He wanted forever. He wanted mating. He wanted to take care of her house and her land and her dog, give her children if she wanted them, support her painting. Live together.
Make love together.
And that was so far from the world she was in, where he was just a contractor.
Not even superior to Platinum.
Even now, as he walked toward her, his feet brushing through the long grass, she looked ready to shrink away and run, when he would never be the one to harm her.
When he reached the porch, he stopped, looking up.
“Is something wrong?” she asked nervously.
“No.” He lied, pushing his feelings down as far as he could push them. She didn’t need to deal with his petulance right now.
“It seems like something’s wrong,” she said. “Did Sever make it out safely? He sure is a good guy.”
Something snapped in him. Hundreds of years and Titus had no problem keeping himself patient, in control. And now he was losing it.
He stomped up the stairs of the porch, backing her up into her own door and pinning her there with a hand on either side of her head. “A good guy, huh? You like him?”
Her eyes were a deeper blue in the dim evening light, and she nodded. “Is that a bad thing?”
He pushed back and away from her and faced out toward the road, trying to catch his breath as she came up beside him.
“Did I do something to upset you?” she asked.
“I’m jealous,” he said quietly. “I know I have no right to be. I know you don’t feel like that about me. I know I’m just supposed to be professional, but seeing you with him, how much you like him more than me…”
She let out a giggle. “Is that what this is? You think I like him more than you?”
He turned to look down at her. “There’s something between us. At least, I thought there was. If you don’t feel it, though, if you can’t feel it, tell me now.”
“I told you,” she said. “I’m not looking for anything right now. I don’t want to be tied down.”
“I’m not talking about that,” he said. “I’m talking about pure, animal attraction. Do you feel it for me?”
“Of course,” she said, and he could make out her reddening blush even in the semidarkness. “Who wouldn’t? You’re gorgeous and kind and handy.”
“Then why are you nicer to Sever?”
She took a step back, folding her arms and avoiding his gaze. He stepped forward, gently taking her elbows and keeping her in place.
She refused to look at him. “You have it all wrong. It’s easy to be around Sever because I’m not attracted to him.”
Now that he didn’t expect. He released her in shock.
She looked up at him now, her cheeks flaming red. “I… Every time I look at you, every time we’re close, I feel like I’m losing control. Even painting him was so much easier. It’s not that you’re not both good-looking guys. In fact, the reason I initially trusted him was because he looks so much like you. Style-wise, I mean. Tall, handsome, the braid.”
Titus let out a growl.
“But also different,” she said. “So different that I’m wildly attracted to you, but not threatened at all by him.”
“But why does that make you nicer to him?”
“I’m not trying to be mean to you,” she said. “It’s just, ever since you walked into my life, you’ve been turning it upside down, and I don’t really know what to do about it.” Her eyes rose to his. “You make me want to run.”
He knew what she meant. At the prospect of her hurting him, of her picking someone else, he’d wanted to run as well. The difference was he knew he never could.
She was his mate, and that meant he’d stay and fight for her, to the death if needed, come hell or high water.
But how did she really feel about him?
He’d never been so tempted to read a human’s mind, but he and his crew generally found nonconsensual mindreading unethical.
Plus, he’d never met a human whose thoughts he cared about.
He cared intensely now. Wanted to know exactly what she thought when her eyes devoured him, when her hands twitched or her body wriggled slightly when painting him.
When her beautiful, floral scent increased in the air around him, making him suspect an attraction he couldn’t confirm for certain.
He’d never been this insecure, and he was sure he didn’t like it.
“Come sit on the swing with me,” she said. “And we’ll talk.”
Bree hoped the swing would hold as she and Titus squished onto it and started rocking.
So far, so good.
She loved this swing, loved watching the land darkening around her, knowing she owned all of it, knowing she had a place of her own.
A place that was getting better every day and would improve even faster now that she had two men working on it.
She wouldn’t have trusted Sever for a minute if he hadn’t reminded her so much of Titus.
She looked over at Titus, and he was leaning forward, his feet planted on the ground as he pushed the swing back and forth on the rocker.
He was jealous. Some small part of her was glad. It explained his coldness earlier when he’d been trying to get her away from him and Sever.
She had no right to be thinking that way, since she had no intention of getting involved with him, but somehow it was still comforting that he didn’t think ill of her.
Looking over at his kind, stressed face, she wondered how he could possibly think she liked Sever more than him.
Perhaps he was just reading into her stiffness, the fact that she felt more and more drawn to him all the time and didn’t want to lose control over it.
“It’s a beautiful night,” she said softly.
“Yes,” was his terse reply.
She was about to ask if something was wrong when she realized she already knew something was. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I don’t know how to han
dle this. I’m attracted to you, but I’m not looking for anything. Plus, you’re working for me.”
“I’m working for the company,” he said. “You’re a client.”
“Yes, well,” she said. “You know what I mean.”
“I still don’t understand why attraction means keeping your distance,” he muttered.
“It’s just that…” Oh well, she might as well put it all out there. She wasn’t going to be able to hold out much longer anyway. Her body was insisting on it. “It’s hard to control myself around you. You’re going to think I’m foolish, but I really want to have sex with you. Even knowing nothing will come of it.”
His eyebrows shot up as he looked over at her as if that were the last thing he’d ever expected to come out of her mouth. “You what?”
“Want to have sex with you,” she mumbled, wishing she could shove the words back in her mouth but simultaneously glad they were out in the open.
Life was just complicated around him.
He leaned back in the swing, overcome by shock. “I want to have sex with you, too,” he said hesitantly, as if he wanted to say more but couldn’t.
“Well, good to know,” she said with a small, nervous laugh, her heart racing.
“I suppose… Can I kiss you?” he asked.
She looked over at him, at his perfect lips and strong shoulders. She didn’t have the will to say no to him. “I suppose.”
He put a hand on the back of the seat behind her and leaned in until they were nose to nose, staying there, a breath apart, until she inhaled shakily.
Then, as if pulled by her, his lips locked over hers with a warm, soft intensity that felt so right she immediately melted into him, pressing her body into his chest.
That was a mistake. It sent heat rocketing through her, making her shudder in the night air in a way that had nothing to do with the cold.
His arms curved around her, a welcome shield from the world, as his lips gently pressed hers open and his tongue delved inside. Warm, wild heat swept through her, seating at the apex of her legs, as he expertly stroked inside her mouth, simulating something she wanted very badly.
She wriggled slightly, and he pulled back, leaving her gasping. She felt like a melted puddle of goo, and he’d only just kissed her. Now her body was screaming for more, while her brain was telling her to think harder about this.
She didn’t want to. She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him again, and his hand came up to entwine in her hair, cupping her head.
The safety with him was unlike anything she’d ever felt. The way she was encased against his big body, touched by his soft lips and hard hands, the way she felt utterly female but for once it didn’t feel threatening to be so.
“Take me to bed,” she said. “Before I can overthink this.”
“But are you sure yo—”
“Now,” she said, jerking on his shirt collar and earning an indulgent grin from her Viking.
“You’re the boss,” he said, hauling her up in his arms and catching her against his chest in a way that knocked the breath out of her—in a good way.
She wrapped her arms around him. It shouldn’t feel right, but it did. She shouldn’t be allowing this to go forward, but she couldn’t help it. He was just that good.
And as he walked in the front door, kicked it shut behind him, and headed for her bedroom, she had a feeling he was about to be even better in bed.
6
Titus carried Bree quickly toward her bedroom, feeling her body temperature rise gradually in his arms with the growing heat of the moment between them.
The kiss between them had only further verified everything he already knew. And he was going to make sure he won his mate over in the bedroom.
He entered her room, realizing he hadn't been inside yet, and quickly noted the cute decorations and paintings hanging on the walls. Cozy.
But of far more importance was Bree, cheeks flushed, wanting him, just as he had wanted her from the moment he’d first laid eyes on her.
Titus came onto the bed over her and kissed her again. But this time it was more frenzied, more heated as she opened her mouth eagerly to let his tongue swipe inside, giving her a taste of the things he could do to her.
She moaned lightly, the soft sound muffled between their mouths as his hand cupped the back of her neck, teasing at her soft hair and skin.
While they kissed, pressing into the soft covers atop her bed, his hand found her breast, squeezing it and enjoying the feel of her curves against him as he pressed his body into hers. She moaned again, signaling her pleasure, and his lips came to her neck. He kissed along the pale skin there, playing with her earlobe between his tongue and teeth, gauging her body’s every response to the things he did.
“That feels even better than I imagined,” she admitted as he bit down lightly on the tip of her lobe.
“We haven’t even started, Bree,” he said lightly, arousal making his blood hot like dragon’s breath. He had to take things slow, easy for his mate. He wanted to let her savor every second of it, not rush her. Convince her this was right in every way, without pressure or forcing.
As he continued to work a slow trail down the side of her neck with his kisses, his hands found the hem of her shirt, pulling it up slightly as he caressed her curves, the soft rise of her belly, the small dip at the corners of her thighs that disappeared beneath the jeans she’d been wearing all day and that he wanted very badly to take off this instant. She squirmed lightly, but he didn’t relent, running his finger inside her belly button before pulling the shirt up even higher, revealing her breasts and the contraption that held them.
Thankfully, he knew how the damned things worked, having seen them in movies. Before she needed to take care of it, his fingers found the small clasp at the back, undoing it quickly so she didn’t have to lift a finger.
He lifted her off the bed slightly, just enough so he could pull her shirt and the thing off with it, baring her torso to him. Her face flushed more deeply, showing her cute freckles, and the sight almost broke him.
He’d traversed centuries of time and thousands of miles to end up here, finally with his mate, pleasuring her as he’d always wished.
Titus answered her aroused expectance without hesitation, squeezing both breasts in his hands as his thumbs pressed into her beautiful pink nipples. The less clothes she wore, the more apparent her curves were, arousing and more perfect than the titanium dragon could have ever hoped for.
Granted, she could be the shape of a carrot and he’d still love her. But it didn’t hurt that she had the silhouette of a goddess and an ample figure made for making love to.
As his hands worked on her breasts, making her arch lightly into the sheets, from the gradually building tension, he claimed her with his mouth, kissing and licking her exposed skin everywhere he could reach. Anywhere that made her gasp or twitch with want.
“You’re very thorough, aren’t you…?” She trailed off, breath caught by a moan as he sucked over one nipple.
“I want our first time to be memorable,” he said, leaving her breast as he came down to kiss up along the side of her hip.
“First time?” she asked, slight alarm in her voice, distracting her from pleasure.
“I mean just the two of us together like this, for the first time ever. Not holding back,” he quickly added, hoping to assuage her worry.
“Ah, I see,” she said, relaxing again as he continued to kiss her.
As much as Titus wanted to say it, telling her this was just the first of countless times he planned on making love to her for the rest of their lives after they were officially mated would definitely not go over well.
Even if he still knew in his heart she was his mate, Bree needed to go slow. Be courted.
Titus would have to be careful to not get too close, too fast.
So he’d just make tonight all about her.
He undid the button of her jeans, then held the small metal zipper with his teeth, pulling i
t down slowly, noting with satisfaction the way she looked at him in surprise and arousal as she held her breath.
Her scent, as delicious as it was tantalizing, filled the air around him as he pulled off her jeans, leaving her in just her pink cotton panties.
Titus brought his hands to her thighs, running them up the soft, curved lengths. She shuddered as they reached the edge of her hips, and they came behind her, squeezing Bree’s ass, relishing the feel of it after so many days of lusting after her.
She was already so tense, so close that it wouldn’t take much to encourage her over the edge.
And Titus couldn’t be happier about it.
His fingers found the apex of her thighs, exploring her body as her hands twisted into the sheets around her. Then, with one gentle flick, he pulled her into her first orgasm.
It was as sudden as it was incredible, and Bree writhed beneath him, biting down on her lip as her eyes flew open, overwhelmed by the sensation of it. Titus was patient, letting her ride out every last second of the pleasure until it had run its course.
Judging by how pent up she’d been, Titus guessed it had probably been a long time for her.
He’d make sure she never had a dry spell ever again.
Only one article of clothing remaining, he pulled off her panties and tossed them to the side, spreading her legs as his hunger for her grew more with each passing second. She didn’t have time to protest or question, the haze of release still over her as his tongue covered her clit immediately, making her mewl with shocked arousal.
This was everything to Titus. Pleasuring his mate wholly like this, no barriers between them. Only a dragon and his mate.
Even if the mate didn’t know about the whole “dragon” thing yet.
Bree was so sensitive it only took a couple strokes for her to come again. But this time she was unable to hold back, calling out his name into the room as her body tightened. His hands found hers, and she clenched onto them with surprising strength while, for many long seconds, she came in a frenzy of release.
Once she’d released, she gave a long, overwhelmed sigh.
“Nobody’s ever done that before,” she said, sounding very satisfied.
Titanium (Rent-A-Dragon Book 3) Page 5
