by Olivia Arran
I glanced down at his cock, bobbing out of sight as he returned to crouch between my legs. The primal urge to mate roared through me. I wanted him inside of me, wanted to feel him thrusting deep and hard, joining us together. Grabbing his hair, I tugged him back up, my lips sliding into a suggestive smile. “Maybe later, but now I want you … inside me.” I added the last bit so there was no chance of confusion. Okay, it came out on a mumble, but I was working on my dirty talk. This was my first time, after all.
Time froze as he wavered, his concern fighting a battle with his need to mate and claim.
Okay… I let my legs fall further apart.
He fell on me like a man starved, his tongue thrusting inside my mouth as his cock slid between my legs. Arms gathered me to him, lifting me up off the bed and onto his lap. “Easier this way,” he grunted. “You can control it.” Lifting me up he held me so I was braced over the head of his cock, his biceps bunching and chest straining.
I slid down an inch, taking his thickness inside. He stretched me, a sharp sting that faded as soon as it had come. Sliding down another inch, my knees hit the bed. Wriggling, I managed another inch, holding my breath and waiting for the pain to hit me. Nothing so far, except for an overwhelming feeling of fullness. Another inch, then another. Still no pain. Here goes nothing. I pushed down, until he was fully hilted and I could barely breath around the feel of him inside me.
“Huh. I guess there really is something to that whole thing about being a dragon shifter,” I mumbled, then I caught the strained look on his face.
Chapter Twenty
Trent
I didn’t dare breath, or move an inch, the need to thrust riding me so hard I was on the verge of turning into an animal.
And then she rocked forward, rising up onto her knees, sliding up and down my cock and my torture multiplied. The slow drag of her pussy on my shaft was like both heaven and hell. Locking my hips in place, I cupped her breast, rolling her pert nipple between my fingers and giving it a gentle tug.
Her pussy rippled around me, her back arching and thrusting her chest forward for more. Pinching a little harder, I ached to take her breast in my mouth. Urging her up, onto her knees, I contorted my neck, latching on to the sweet little nub and rolling it between my teeth, flicking the tip with my tongue.
My hips jerked, driving my cock up into her welcoming heat. Fuck … slow down.
She slammed back onto me, fire heating her eyes, her fingers winding through my hair as she mashed her lips against mine. “Harder,” she whispered against my mouth.
Taking her at her word, I thrust up into her again and again, my hands clamping down on her hips and steadying her in place. Her low moan filled the air, her hair whipping back and forth as she writhed above me, hands dancing over my skin, tracing first my chest, then down my stomach, until her fingers hovered above where we were joined.
Out of barely slitted eyes, she watched me, her lips parted as she panted, but still her fingers didn’t touch, didn’t go where I knew she wanted them.
Releasing one of her hips, I covered her hand with mine, thrusting her finger through the short curls and into the sweet, sticky heat. Together we circled her clit, our skin sliding together, my deep groans echoing her high cries.
Then I felt it, the first ripple of her pussy clenching around me, the first tremor of the peak.
“Astrid, I claim you as my true mate. We will fly together and love together. I love you, now and always. Your life for mine.” I bent my head as I uttered the vow that would bind us together, soul to soul, my fangs sliding carefully into the base of her throat. The soul bond hit me, her emotions and feelings flooding me in a cascade of colors as the indestructible link formed between us. Licking the small wound, I pressed a kiss to her throat.
Love shone in her eyes as she blinked away what suspiciously looked like tears. “Trent, I’ve waited a long time for you, so don’t you ever try to pull anything like that again! I love your strength, your honor, and your gentle heart. It’s not your life for mine, it’s our life together.” Her tiny fangs pierced my throat, her tongue smoothing away the sting.
Her back bowed as the bond hit her. In my mind’s eye I watched as the gossamer strands of light wove together in a display of breathtaking beauty. We were one now, together for always.
A wave of heat traveled down the bond, and headed straight to my cock. My balls tightened, my cock twitching deep inside her. I blinked my eyes open to find her grinning at me. “Fast learner?”
“My dragon told me to do it.”
I sent a wave of heat rolling back to her, until her back arched and her head rolled back. “Two can play—”
“Less talk, more…” she gasped out, her voice squeaking into a groan as I tipped her onto her back, thrusting deep inside her.
“Fucking?”
“Yes. That.” She bit out between moans, her legs twining around my waist to lock above my ass.
Bracing myself up on my elbows, I rolled my hips, determined to drag out every moan and soft cry that she had. We were teetering on the edge, the bond only pushing us faster toward oblivion. Every thrust of my cock and plunge of my hips pushing us higher, until she gasped, her body trembling beneath me, muscles locking as she came.
On a roar, I slammed into her with short, sharp digs, my sweet release barreling up through my cock and exploding out in a torrent of heat that went on and on.
Collapsing in a breathless heap, she snuggled into my side with a contented sigh. Hugging her close, I stroking a finger up her arm, twirling it in a lock of hair, basking in the moment.
“Do you want to know?”
“Know what?” I asked. As long as it didn’t involve us moving from this bed anytime soon…
“What I have on Colin.”
Even the mention of that bastard’s name couldn’t spoil my mood right now. “I figured you’d tell me, or you wouldn’t. Either way, it doesn’t matter.”
“I won’t keep secrets from you.” She sounded a little put out, so I rolled onto my side to face her.
“You’re the Seer, there’ll be times when you learn things that you can’t, or shouldn’t, tell me. I’m okay with that.”
“Well, I’m not. You’re a guardian of the green dragons, you—”
“Wait, I’m a what?”
“There are three guardian clans; the Greentree clan, the Greensky Clan, and the Greenwing clan. All the clans were formed to guard the Seers.”
Things started to click into place; why I was stronger and more powerful than others of my kind. “I was born to protect you.”
She poked me in the chest, a scowl on her face. “No. You were born to be my true mate. Protecting me is a side benefit.”
“With my super macho powers?” I quoted her earlier words back to her, loving the way her lips slid up in a cheerful smile.
“Yeah, and your super freaky fire. Can you really burn other dragons?” Her eyes rounded at my short nod.
It wasn’t something I liked having, the little quirk meaning that I always had to have a firm hold on my temper. “Back to Colin,” I prompted, steering the conversation back on track.
“Patricide.”
It should have shocked me, but sadly it didn’t. “You should report him.”
“Why? His father was just as much an evil ass as he is, and he’s going to have to behave himself from now on. What good can come from reporting him? I don’t have any proof.”
“The shifter council would believe you, you’re the Seer.”
She snorted. “Something they haven’t heard of in, what, seven hundred years? Colin’s fear of me will keep him in line. He’ll have to be good, something that’s a punishment in itself. His clan would suffer more if he was disgraced.”
For the first time in what felt like forever, I didn’t flinch at the word. My clan had its honor restored; the past had been laid to rest. I considered her words; she spoke the truth. “So, you can see the past too?”
She scrunched her face up, look
ing a little sheepish. “Yeah, about that … not really. But he didn’t know I was fibbing,” she finished on a rush.
I was confused. “How did you—”
“The watch. When you passed it back to me I had it in my hand when I came into my full powers. I was so angry watching you being dragged away, having to stand by and let our future be destroyed. I—I think the anger allowed me to tap into my power.”
“But, the watch?”
She shrugged, and I couldn’t resist laying a kiss on her smooth skin. “I’ve always had it … for some reason I knew it would be important, but I didn’t know why. At first, I thought you’d recognize it, that it was somehow linked to you.”
I waited for the punchline.
“It was Colin’s father’s watch. Somehow, I managed to read its energy, see the last thing that the owner had witnessed.”
“His own son killing him.”
“Yeah. Sucks, hey?”
I kissed her forehead, wishing I could wipe all the worry away. “We’ll figure it all out together, what it means and what you can do. After all, I’m a guardian of green dragons, and to my knowledge there’s only one hanging around here.”
“You bet your gorgeous, delectable ass there’s only one green dragon,” she grumbled into my chest, her arms snaking around me to pull me close.
“And she’s mine,” I whispered.
Epilogue
Astrid
I was giddy with excitement, the queasy feeling in my stomach a constant reminder of the happiness I had been blessed with.
We were back in London. And this time, it was for good.
After long talks with the Shifter Council, Bastian, and Trent’s clan, it had been agreed that we could live over in England for the time being. I was pretty sure that their ready acceptance had been in part due to not knowing what the hell to do with me, along with a healthy dose of too-scared-to-say-no-to-the-freaky-Seer.
Which was fine by me. Not to mention, from what my friend Grace and her handsome British mate, Vin, had told me, the British Shifter Council could do with our help. They were messed up four ways to Sunday, or something along those lines.
And I had a big secret, something I was guarding with my life.
The vision had come to me last night, of a little girl with my hair and Trent’s mouth. Then this morning the queasiness had started. It was too soon to be sure, and definitely too soon to shout it to the world. But I was more certain than I’d been of anything before.
We were having a baby. She was going to be the most loved, most protected little girl in the history of dragon shifters.
I’d just told her daddy and he was roaring. Yeah, verbally and the leaking-tears kind.
“For real? Are you sure?”
I laughed at the panic in his voice. “I’m sure. Remember who you’re talking to, right?”
“You could have told me before we traveled God knows how many miles in a flying tin can!” he roared, but his arms were holding me like I was the most precious thing in the world.
“I didn’t know then.” Little white lies are okay, I told mini-me, hoping she could hear me. I’d wanted to come home, and to me, that was my store. And my adopted city.
He stroked the length of my back, and I resisted the urge to purr. “What shall we call her?” I murmured, wriggling under his firm fingers.
The next thing I knew, I was being held at arms length, brown eyes drilling into mine. “Her?”
“Did you want a boy?”
“No!” A dreamy look took over his face. “A little girl. Does she have green eyes?”
“I don’t know, that bit’s not clear to me yet.” In some ways I hoped that she did, but a part of me feared her having to walk the same path as her mother. Already we’d received whispers of threats, yet another reason to disappear to London. Here, we could be anonymous, blend into the crowd.
Not that Trent would ever let anything happen to me. And I was pretty sure his overprotective streak was about to get a whole lot wider. But I was okay with that, I was rapidly finding out I had an overprotective side too—when it came to him.
I almost felt sorry for any man who tried to come near our daughter.
Turn the page a sneak peak of Guardian: Alpha Protectors Book #1
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Also by Olivia Arran
Recommended Reading Order
True Mates (series complete) (best read in order)
Found: Short Prequel (Claire & Adam) HERE
Promised: (Kara & James) HERE
Taken: (Lisa & Sean) HERE
Healed: (Amanda & Tarq) HERE
Redeemed: (Macey & Jason) HERE
Cherished: (Ana & Oliver) HERE
OUT NOW - True Mates: The Complete Series HERE
Alpha Protectors (series complete) (standalone and can be read in any order)
Guardian: (Cole & Natasha) HERE
Sentinel: (Angel & Chloe) HERE
Defender: (Vin & Grace) HERE
Enforcer: (Abel & Frankie) HERE
Watcher: (Greg & Scarlett) HERE
The Everson Brothers (series complete) (standalone and can be read in any order)
My Curse to Bear: (Merrie & Craig) HERE
My Duty to Bear: (Amy & Ryan) HERE
My Wound to Bear: (Jack & Gina) HERE
My Heat to Bear: (Max & Jeanie) HERE
My Hunger to Bear: (Ralph & Connie) HERE
Sneak Peak: Guardian (Alpha Protectors)
Cole & Natasha
Chapter One
Cole
“Are you going take the assignment?”
Lining up the shot, I tuned Vin’s clipped British accent out. Narrowing my eyes, I tried to calculate how much of a spin I needed to sink the black.
“Hello? Earth to Cole—”
“Hey, if he’s not going to take the job, I will,” Angel drawled, snagging the photo out of my back pocket and flicking it between his fingers.
I blocked them out, knowing how this would end—in a game of pool or a bet of some sort. It always did, at a dollar a pop, and Greg kept score. It was good for the team, a way of settling our differences without resorting to violence, and with a team made up of powerful, unmated wolf shifters, the testosterone could run fucking high at times.
My mind drifted back over the last year, to when Jason and Macey, a mated Alpha pair from my old pack, had asked me to head up the first shifter division of their security firm here in the city, I had jumped at the chance. I was already restless, and watching the other Colstone Pack lieutenants find their mates and settle down had made up my mind for me. I’d moved out of the packhouse, relocated to the city, and hadn’t looked back.
So, here I was. In charge of what they aptly dubbed Freelance Undercover Resolutions. Or just FUR. Cringeworthy, but hey, I wasn’t the big boss. Though why I had been chosen to lead the team, fuck only knew. Macey, as one of my best friends from the pack and fellow ex-lieutenant, I could understand. But Jason? White-haired motherfucking coyote.
A low growl trickled from my lips at the thought of Macey’s mate.
Coyotes still got my back up, even if they were supposedly friendly and on our side. Yeah, whatever, old habits died hard.
My first job had been to recruit a team, four strong shifters willing to leave their packs and go it alone. I’d found Angel first, then Vin and Greg. Abel had been the last one in.
Our assignments covered anything from covert missions on foreign soil—the kind that the government requested while being able to deny any involvement—to the kind of job I had just been offered. Basically, babysitting duty. Which was a waste of my skill set and time. So why was I even considering accepting it?
And there you go, back to her. My latest assignment.
Taking a deep breath, I dragged my attention back to the game. Easy… I exhaled, the cue cracking into the ball and sending it flying across the table to smash into the black. Standing up, I watched with
satisfaction as the ball bounced around the table before sinking into the top left pocket.
“Shit,” Vin grumbled, shoving his cue back into the rack and taking a long swallow of beer. His mouth was twisted in a snarl of defeated bravado. I chalked up the win on my mental scoreboard.
“Better luck next time, Brit,” I said, grabbing my own beer off the table and taking a long pull.
Vin slouched into a chair, snagging the picture out of Angel’s hand. “And to think, I’m wearing my lucky Union Jack boxers.”
“Hey, easy on the sharing, bro.” Angel covered his ears, his eyes crossing comically.
Vin stared at the photo, his brow creasing. “She really is gorgeous. Maybe I should—”
I snatched the five-by-eight card out of his hand, folding it back up. “Jason tasked me with this job, so—”
“But you don’t want it. You said so.” Angel’s deep voice sounded suspiciously like a whine. Figures. Angel was a good-looking son of a bitch, and he knew it. There was something about him that made grown women act like teenagers. I’d seen the phenomenon enough times now that it didn’t surprise me, but it was a hell of a show to watch. He only had to zero in on them with his big blue eyes, and they were like putty in his hands. God forbid if he actually flexed a muscle in their direction. Then we were talking heart failure.
I snorted under my breath as I slid the photo into my back pocket. I didn’t know if I was going to take the job. Hell, I knew I shouldn’t want to—it was a run-of-the-mill protection assignment, nothing to get excited about. I should be shoving the photo back in Jason’s face and demanding he send me on a job that suited my skills, or at least made use of them.
But I hadn’t. Why? Burn out?
The woman’s face floated into my mind, her dark cloud of hair, her sultry hazelnut-brown eyes, her pouting lips. Eyes that whispered wicked, naughty things, promises of naked flesh and sweaty moans. And I wasn’t even going to think about her body. Nope.
