The call ended. Asha put her phone aside. Instead of getting up, she lay back across her bed. Her robe opened, slipping off one thick but shapely leg as she raised her knee. She folded her hands over her belly. Against the pastel of the comforter, she looked delectable, like a rich chocolate dessert. After a moment, she reached up and unhooked the front closure of her bra. Her breasts rolled out, soft mocha mounds of flesh.
You really need to leave, that voice in Seph’s head said again, almost frantic, but it sounded farther away, now. A whole flight of Dragons would have to swoop in and snatch him off that roof; he wasn’t going anywhere. Mesmerized, he watched as Asha drew circles around her nipples with her fingernails, causing the flesh to rise and harden. Oh my God, Seph thought wildly. What is she doing?
The answer to that question became more apparent a moment later, as Asha’s right hand drifted down her body and slipped under the waistband of her panties. Her legs fanned open in slow motion, heels digging into the mattress. Seph could hear her breathing change, coming in quick, hot huffs broken by the occasional whimper. She continued to pluck at her nipple with her left hand. Seph found himself wishing she had removed her underwear, longing to see her play with her clit. His long Dragon tongue slipped around his mouth from one corner to the other. He wanted to fly over to her window, pull it open, and climb inside her room. He wanted to breathe in the scent of her arousal.
What if I just did it? Seph thought. Suddenly, a fantasy began to play out in his mind. He would leap easily from the rooftop and land on the ledge outside her bedroom. Reverting to his human form, he would duck inside and stand before her. He imagined Asha looking up at him, startled, seeing him there in all his naked glory.
He could see her sitting up, her robe slipping off one smooth, dark shoulder, her chest heaving. ‘What are you doing here?’ she would ask.
‘Something we both want,’ he would answer. Walking toward her, he would stop at the foot of the bed. His Dragon cock would already be hard, rising taut against his belly, flushed purple at the tapered tip, the veins that wound around the widening shaft throbbing with blood. He would run a hand down his own torso and wrap his thumb and forefinger around the base, stroking himself for her. ‘I want to breed with you, Asha. You are so beautiful…every time I think of you, or even say your name, I’m overcome with a deep, burning need.’ He ran his fingers through the golden curls circling his prick, reaching down to lift and squeeze his balls. ‘I want my seed inside you.’
Asha would look up into his eyes, her own dark and fathomless as the night sky, and her mouth would curve into a smile. ‘I want you, too,’ she would say, her voice a sensual purr. She would reach out, spread her hand and press her fingertips against his abdomen, gently urging him to take a step back. Then she would get to her feet. With a slight shrug, her robe and bra would drop to the floor in a puddle of cloth around her ankles. She would look him over slowly as she hooked her thumbs in the waistband of her panties and slowly pushed them down over her hips. Her tongue would travel over her full lips. ‘How do you want me, baby?’ she would ask Seph.
‘Like this,’ he would say, and sink to his knees in front of her. His hands would roam over her thighs and belly, circling around to cup her luscious ass. So plump and plushy, it begged to be smacked; he would crack his palm against one fleshy cheek and Asha would let out a squeal, laughing as she tugged on his hair. ‘I love your ass,’ he would tell her. ‘Every time I’m around you, I can’t resist staring at it.’
She would chuckle at this. ‘You like this booty, do you?’ Thrusting her hips forward, she would peer down at him past the swells of her breasts. ‘What about this pussy? Bet you want to get a taste of that, am I right?’
‘God, yes,’ Seph would say, all too eager to prove it. He would push his face against the neat triangle of dark hair between her legs and drink in her sweet musk, groaning as it filled his senses and spiked his desire. She would spread her feet apart to give him better access, allowing him to nuzzle her mons before he used his tongue to explore her folds. Asha’s knees would tremble and with a moan she would sink back down onto the bed, lying on her back. Seph would hook his hands under her knees and hold her legs open wide before diving in again. He would lick into her, tasting the tang of her juices, fucking her with his tongue until he had her thrashing, moaning, and pleading for more. He would replace his tongue with his fingers, pushing them inside, loving the slick sucking sound they would make as he eased them in and out. He would continue his assault, feeling her body quiver under his touch. Raising his head, he would lick her delicious glaze from his upper lip before grinning at her. ‘I’m going to fuck you,’ he would tell her, his voice low and heavy with passion. His fingers would keep moving inside her, digging deep, his thumb flicking her swollen clit. ‘Once I’m inside you, you will be mine. No other man will be allowed to have you.’
She would look up at him, and her eyes shimmered with longing. ‘I don’t want anyone else,’ she would answer. ‘I just want you.’
Seph would climb off the floor and onto the bed. Asha would reach up and grab onto the headboard. They would gaze at each other as Seph lifted one of her legs over his shoulder. He would kiss the inside of her knee before lining up his cock with her entrance. Slowly, he would sink into her. Her breath would hitch and she would press her head back into the pillow as he filled her, stopping only when he felt the folds of her labia wrapped around the wide base of his dick. He would take a moment to savor the connection, his cock twitching inside her heat. And then he would start to fuck her, just as he promised, taking her in long, hard, thorough strokes. The whole bed would jerk under them, creaking loud enough that she would probably get complaints from the neighbors.
Then, just to make things more interesting, Seph would hold onto her and roll over, pulling her with him. He would sit her up, still impaled on his cock and now sitting astride. ‘How would you like to ride the Dragon?’ he would ask her.
She would grin down at him, arching one fine eyebrow. ‘Hard, fast, and all night long,’ she would reply. Splaying her hands over his broad chest, she would rock back and forth, posting on him. She would start slow but build quickly to a rapid pace. Her breasts would roll and bounce, and Seph would reach for them, caressing them, rubbing her nipples with his thumbs. He would sit up, wrap his arms around her and grab her big, gorgeous ass. He would keep thrusting, meeting her on every downward stroke, over and over while their desperate cries rose in volume. At last, she would throw back her head, her face contorted in ecstasy, her nails digging into Seph’s shoulders. He would feel her tighten around him, and he would respond by pumping her full of his life-giving seed.
‘Mine,’ he would say, as he pressed kisses all over her face and neck, licking up the sweat that pooled between her breasts. Flipping her over again, he would rise above her, his hips moving again, his cock still hard inside her. ‘I can’t stop,’ he would tell her passionately.
‘I don’t want you to,’ she would say. She would look up at him again, and he would see something shining from her eyes that reached deep into his soul…
The sound of Asha letting out an impassioned cry brought Seph out of his reverie. He snapped back to the present, just in time to see Asha’s hips arch up off her bed, her hand still moving inside her panties. His nostrils flared and he felt a twinge low in his belly, realizing she had just achieved orgasm. I want to make her do that, he thought. He wanted to make his fantasy a reality.
A sound from behind him made Seph whip around. The door to the rooftop access stairs opened, and a man in a security guard uniform shined a light around. “Hey!” he shouted, seeing Seph. “What the hell are you doing up here, pal? This ain’t no rest stop for Dragons – this is a privately-owned business, and you’re trespassing!” He waved his free hand. “Go on, before I call the police.”
“Sorry,” Seph hissed out. With a final look back at Asha’s window, he saw her lying there, basking in the aftermath of her climax. He smiled. Yes, he thought. I kno
w what I need to do.
“Come on, pal,” the guard said. “Move it or lose it.”
Without further ado, Seph sprang up and soared away. His mind swam with all the images playing through it, both real and imagined. He reached his terrace a few minutes later; as soon as his feet touched down, his body began to morph back to its human form. Not surprisingly, he looked down and saw his cock was hard. When he took his Dragon shape, it would disappear inside a protective sheath. Now, it stood out from his hips, dripping with arousal. Seph barely got inside his apartment before he had to take himself in hand and start jerking it. He closed his eyes and pictured Asha, lying on her bed, fingering herself. He replayed his fantasy of her; changing it up, he imagined what it would be like to fuck her in his own bed, or in the bath – even on the table in the dining hall at Tamerlane. He thought about those perfectly manicured nails digging into his back, of kissing those thick lips, of being surrounded by all her soft, warm flesh.
Seph heralded his release with a shout. “Asha!” He felt the thick ball of a seed sac roll up the length of his shaft and push out through the tip of his cock, a bubble of semen that burst and oozed down over his fist. Panting and dazed, Seph slumped against the wall, sliding to the floor as his legs buckled. Oh, my God, he thought. It all makes sense, now. His desire to start a family had been awakened, because his mate had presented herself – just not in the way he had expected. I’ve been going about this all wrong, trying all these different women, looking for the one I’m supposed to be with. He leaned his head back against the wall and laughed. This whole time, she was right there in front of me; I never realized it, until tonight. “Now, how do I tell Asha it’s her?”
Asha had made it clear that she had no interest in finding a mate and settling down. She wanted to focus on her business. She had also said she would not marry someone just because they had genetic compatibility. There had to be more; a connection. Seph huffed out a sigh of exasperation. He thought about the rapport he and Asha had developed over the past several months, but that had all been professional. Talking about how you struck out on your dates isn’t exactly what a woman wants to hear, he thought. Asha also knew about his situation, how he needed to find a mate or be cut off from the family. I don’t want to make her feel like she was my last resort, the consolation prize claimed out of desperation. She has to know that she means more to me than that. He recalled the dinner at her aunt’s house, when he felt a shift in the way he looked at her. She became a friend.
But would she be willing to become more than friends?
Seph pulled himself up off the floor. Making his way through the living room, he swept the remote off the glass coffee table and turned on the television to a random channel. Not surprisingly, it happened to be in the middle of a classic Christmas movie. The main character needed a miracle, something to make his holiday – and his life – complete. Seph snorted and shook his head. “Yeah,” he said. “That’s what I want, too. A Christmas miracle.”
He dropped the remote on the table and headed for the master bathroom. As he turned on the water for the shower, he considered how he would approach Asha and tell her how he felt. Part of him wanted to go back to her tonight, to share his revelation and then fulfill his erotic fantasy. No, he chided himself, stepping under the spray. Not like that. He thought about how he would counsel one of his clients, if they had come to him with a similar problem. Easy – I’d say ‘take a few days to mull it over, consider all your options, and then approach the matter from a different angle.’
“Okay, so I’ll wait.” Reaching for the body wash, Seph nodded. “I’ve waited this long to find a mate – I can wait a little longer.”
But not much.
Chapter Eight
The day before New Year’s Eve, Seph found himself outside the frosted glass doors to Wings of Love. He had never believed in resolutions; he had always found them ridiculous and fruitless. But as December drew to a close, he found himself overcome with the need to make a change in his life – one that could not wait for the calendar year to end.
Taking a deep breath, he made his way inside, just in time to see Asha’s receptionist, Lindy, turn off her computer monitor. The young woman looked up in surprise. “Good evening, Mr. Vovin,” she said. “I’m afraid we’re closed for the day. I was just about to lock up.”
Seph’s nostrils flared slightly and he cocked his head. He could smell Asha’s perfume, but he could also hear her heartbeat and the sound of her nails clicking on a keyboard. “That’s all right,” he told Lindy. “I have an urgent matter to discuss with Ms. Hamilton and it can’t wait until tomorrow.”
“Oh,” Lindy said, still seemingly perplexed. She reached for her phone. “Hang on, I’ll let her know you’re here.”
“Thank you.”
Lindy lifted the receiver to her ear. “Ms. Hamilton? Sorry to bother you, ma’am, but Mr. Vovin just arrived. He says it’s urgent. All right, I will. Thank you, you have a good evening, too.” She hung up and gave Seph a smile. “She says you can go on back.”
“Thank you,” Seph said again. As he made his way down the darkened hall to Asha’s office, he could hear Lindy gather up her purse and coat, the click of the reception area’s lights being switched off, and the pneumatic sigh of the door opening and closing. The sound of a key turning in the lock made him nod in satisfaction. Good. We won’t be disturbed.
He stopped in the doorway of Asha’s office. She sat behind her desk, fingers dancing over her keyboard, a stack of files beside her. She had on a button-down blouse of deep red satin. Her usual tight cornrow braids had been replaced with thick, gleaming, rope-like twists that cascaded down the right side of her head onto her shoulder. “One second,” she said, without looking up. “I’m just doing my end-of-day reports.” She finished typing and saved her work, closed the topmost folder and set it aside. “So.” She pivoted in her chair, smiling up at Seph. “What brings you here, so late? Wait…” She held up a hand before he could answer. “Don’t tell me – your last date didn’t work out.”
Seph grimaced. “A disastrous failure,” he admitted.
Asha slumped back with a look of disbelief. “Really? Oh, Seph – not again. I really thought you and Elizabeth were going to be perfect; that she was the one! You went on several dates with her!” She shook her head. “What happened?”
“It was a combination of things,” he replied. He slipped out of his long wool overcoat, leaving him in a light blue pullover and dark jeans. Pacing over to one of the armchairs, he draped his coat over the back and stood there a moment. “Everything was fine, until I took her home with me for Christmas last week.” He looked down at his hands. “And that’s when everything went to Hell. I found out Elizabeth had been intimate with not one, but two of my brothers – one of them more recently. I was willing to overlook that, but I could tell it was going to be a problem for her.” He raised his head, sucking in a deep breath. “But the worst part was how Father treated her. He called her a whore, said she wasn’t good enough to marry any of his sons.” Seph let out a bitter laugh. “He orders us to find mates but he’s not happy with our choices…and I know it’s because he’s jealous.”
“How so?” Asha asked.
“Because he doesn’t want us to have what he lost.” Seph turned around to face Asha. “He tells us he wants us to marry and produce heirs, but he doesn’t want us to be happy. He wants us to be as cold and miserable as he is.” He shook his head. “But I’m not going to do that. I don’t care if he disowns me – I’ll find another family. I will find a woman with whom I will start a new clan and share my life; a woman who I feel is right for me.”
Asha sighed. “Well,” she said, “I will definitely continue to help you look for that woman.” She pulled her keyboard over and tapped on it. “Let me check your file against any new clients who have registered with us since you first tested. There might be someone for you, there.”
“What if I already found her?” Seph asked.
Asha
raised an eyebrow at him. “Oh? Is she someone from Wings of Love?”
“Oh, most assuredly,” he replied. Slowly, he began to move toward the desk, circling around it to stand over her. He reached out and lightly stroked her cheek with the backs of his knuckles. “It’s you, Asha.”
She blinked up at him, startled. “What? Me?”
“Yes,” he said. Dropping to his knees in front of her, he looked up into her eyes, searching. “You said it yourself: none of the women your computer has found for me have worked out – either I’ve counseled them into realizing they could do better, or there’s been some other reason that has made the match fail. But the one constant in the whole time I’ve been coming here? Is you. We understand each other, Asha. We both want to help people find love. You’re determined to find me a mate, right?” He jerked his head. “Then let’s go out together – you and me, on a real date.”
Asha appeared to be speechless. Her mouth opened and closed a few times but she could not immediately form words. Finally, she shook her head and waved her hands. “No,” she said firmly. She pushed back her chair and stood, smoothing her hands down her cream-colored pencil skirt. “We can’t. I can’t.”
“Why not?” Seph demanded.
“Because I make it a rule not to date my clients,” she replied curtly.
Seph stared at her for a moment. “All right,” he said. Rising, he turned to her computer, closed out his own file, and dragged the folder to the trash bin. “There,” he said with satisfaction, straightening. “Deleted, no longer in the system.” He looked at Asha again. “Which means I’m no longer a client. Now, I’m nothing more than a single man in his mid-thirties, asking a beautiful woman to give me a chance and go out on a date with me.” He held out his hand, palm up, and gazed at her pleadingly. “Asha. I think you’re incredible. You’re intelligent, funny, strong, compassionate… You’re everything I could want in a mate.” He shook his head. “I don’t care what my father thinks. He can disown me, cut me off from the family fortune and denounce me as a member of the Vovin Clan – it doesn’t matter. When I marry, it will be to someone who means the world to me, someone I’ve had a chance to get to know, realizing that she’s everything I could possibly want or need.” He smiled again. “And what I need…is you.”
The Dragon King's Prisoner: A Paranormal Romance (Separated by Time Book 1) Page 18
