Dragon Marked

by Amelia Jade

  His vulnerability was painfully obvious. Megyn wasn’t proud of what she was about to do now, but something told her it had to be done.

  “What about losing someone?” she said quietly. “Someone you care about. Losing them to someone else?”

  Hel’s eyes briefly flashed bright silver. She didn’t have to go into detail. He knew full well that she was referring to herself and Ian. Reminding him that he’d almost lost her. He was close to losing her again if he couldn’t learn to voice his emotions. She wasn’t interested in being with a robot, no matter how hot or the number of orgasms he was capable of inducing.

  Instead of admitting it though, his jaw muscles bunched and he looked away in stony-faced silence.

  Disappointed, she pulled her hand back and changed the subject. “Tell me more about these men coming after you. Should I be worried? It sounded like they were going to threaten me.”

  Hel still didn’t look at her, probably upset she’d called him out, showing that he was vulnerable. Tough titties, bud. I need a man who can describe his emotions and talk about them. Who can tell me straight to my face without me pulling it from him like a tooth that he actually cares about me.

  “If you stay with me,” he ground out. “You’ll be safe.”

  “Well isn’t that just convenient for you.”

  To her surprise Hel cracked a smile. “Yes, I suppose it is, isn’t it?”

  She rolled her eyes, about to say something lighthearted before she noticed the way he was sobering up. Whatever he was about to say next wasn’t going to be good.

  “They’re bad news though,” he admitted. “They mean business, and as much as I tell them otherwise, they’re not half bad at their job.”

  Megyn chewed on her lip. “And what job is that?”

  “Bringing in people like me.” Hel looked down. Was he ashamed? “I’ve done some things. Gotten into some trouble with their likes before. I did some stuff I shouldn’t have. The last straw was at your wedding.”

  “Everything seems to be revolving around that farce,” she snapped, upset at the situation. “My ex-fiancé wants to kill you, possibly me as well. He’s gone crazy. You and I have flown to the other side of the world because of ‘reasons,’ and now I find out you’re secretly a gangster and the mob hired some goons to come take you out. All while I’m caught in the crossfire.”

  Hel shook his head. “The mob didn’t send these guys,” he explained. “They’re closer to government agents than anything. I’m the bad guy.”

  “I got that part,” she growled, perking up as the bartender returned with their burgers, her side salad and a heaping pile of fries for Hel. She dug in, trying sort everything out.

  It just left her more confused.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Hel

  “Sorry about that,” he apologized, sitting back down after returning from the bathroom.

  Megyn shrugged, finishing the last of her burger. The salad plate was empty as well. He glanced at his own half-eaten burger and the pile of fries. She was hungrier than he’d thought.

  Digging in to his own meal, he started to wolf down the rest of his burger. It was actually quite good. Little pubs like this were very hit or miss with their food. Sometimes they nailed it, like this one, other times you needed to drown your taste buds with beer just to make it through.

  “Can I help you?” he asked as Megyn reached for some of his fries. “Would you like me to order you some more?”

  She shook her head, popping them into her mouth. “No, I’m fine.”

  “Right.” He watched as her hand shot out to take a few more.

  “I’m really not that hungry anymore.”

  Hel pushed his empty burger plate to the side and pulled the fries in front of him. Megyn just reached a little farther, but she kept munching.

  “Thank you,” he said suddenly.

  Megyn blinked. “What?”

  “For coming with me. The journey we’ve made, everything. Thank you.”

  “I didn’t have much of a choice in the matter, but you’re welcome I guess?”

  He snatched some fries up, determined to have at least his half of them before she stole them all. “What are you talking about? You’ve had a choice the entire time.”

  “Like when?” she countered.

  “You could have stayed at the wedding, for starters. Or told me to take you home. Instead you came to the cabin. You could have called your mom or someone to come get you from there, but you stayed with me.” He shrugged. “I didn’t force you to leave the country. You never tried to say you didn’t want to come. Despite all the danger you’ve been exposed to, you’ve kept coming along with me this entire way. I just want you to know I’m thankful for that.”

  Megyn smiled. Not a huge, cheek-splitting grin. This was more than that. It was a happy smile. One borne from appreciation and compliment. Her head tilted downward slightly but she kept looking up at him through her eyelashes, a surefire sign that she was tickled pink on the inside by his words.

  Now why can’t I just come up with those more often? Just tell her the truth, about her, about you, about how you feel…

  He couldn’t, though. Something was blocking him from doing it, and he couldn’t figure out what or why! She was right about one thing: he didn’t know how to talk about his emotions, because he’d never had to. Megyn had no idea how embarrassing it was to admit to something like that when you were eighty-six years old. He should be able to say the word “love” by now!

  “I guess, when you put it like that.” She looked away awkwardly then snatched some more fries.

  “I’m just going to order you a plate,” he muttered, looking for the bartender.

  “No, it’s fine. I’m not hungry anymore. I’m done.”

  Hel looked up at the ceiling, then grabbed a fistful and dumped them on her empty burger plate. Megyn smiled guiltily and began to pick at them. Typical.

  “You came of your own free will,” he persisted. “Despite the danger it’s exposed you to.”

  “About that,” she said through a mouthful of potato. “I’m not sure I’m comfortable with that. These guys sound like they’re bad news, Hel. I don’t have any skills for getting me out of bad situations. Not like you do. I beat a girl up once, but that was sixth grade, and I jumped her from behind.”

  His jaw dropped open. He’d never heard that story! “You hit her from behind?”

  “Jumped. Like full-on jumped on her from behind.” Megyn looked away, a mixture of guilt and embarrassment warring for supremacy on her face. “She made fun of my lunchbox. Said it was a boy’s color, and that I must be a boy. I like blue, okay, Marcie!” she snapped.

  Hel started laughing. “Yes, I can see how that wouldn’t translate well to this.” He calmed himself. “You can leave. If you do now, you’ll be okay. Nobody will hurt you.”

  She tapped on the table, thinking it over. “Are you asking me to go?”

  “No,” he said hurriedly. Here was a chance to say something. “I would…prefer it, if you stayed. With me,” he added, taking a deep breath afterward. That had taken a lot out of him.

  It’s just words. That’s all. Just speak them, and she’ll understand.

  Megyn must have picked up on the effort it had taken for him to say even that, because she was looking at him all funny again. Not a bad funny, but the sort of happy funny.

  “Of course, I’ll understand if you want to go.” He should shut up now. “I never meant to put you in danger.” That’s enough, Hel.

  Finally his mouth obeyed his brain, and clamped his lips together before he said something else incredibly stupid.

  “What happens if I go?” she asked. “What about you?”

  Hel smiled. “I’ll be okay. You can trust me on that one. Even if they catch me, they won’t kill me.” Probably.

  “Right.” She finished her share of the fries, then eyed his some more.

  In response Hel picke
d up the ketchup bottle and covered the remaining fries. Megyn made a face. She hated ketchup, and he knew it. The fries were now his.

  “Where would I go, Hel? I’m certainly not going back to Ian. After what you told me, and after the text messages he’s been sending me, that’s just a time bomb waiting to happen.”

  He perked up. “Text messages? What text messages?” This was the first he was hearing about this.

  “Typical possessive, abusive shit. To get my ass back to him. That I belong at his side. I’m his fiancée, all that. Nothing nice, and more than enough to make me afraid for my safety with him.” She blew out air from between her lips slowly. “Thanks for making sure I didn’t marry him, even if your method was…unorthodox.”

  Hel shrugged, then gave her what he hoped was a reassuring smile. “What else was I supposed to do? You wouldn’t listen to me.”

  She rolled her eyes. Perhaps his joke didn’t go over as well as he’d thought it would in his head. “Maybe, Hel, you should have tried using your words and told me how you feel!”

  He stiffened.

  “Probably like you should do right now too,” she added after a brief pause.

  Oh fuck. Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck.

  You can do this, Hel. Just tell the gorgeous woman, your mate, how you feel about her. Speak it out loud.

  His anger spiked when his mouth refused to open. This shouldn’t be so difficult! What the hell was he afraid of?

  “I would like you to stay.” That wasn’t hard. Of course not, because it doesn’t force you to open up to her. To expose yourself to her. He needed to say more. But what? Why do you want her to stay? Right. That was a good idea. “Because, I…enjoy…having you around.”

  A soft, smooth hand rested over his. “In that case,” Megyn said softly. “I’ll stay with you.”

  He stared at her hand, then met her eyes, noticing the change in them. They were softer, more open. Unguarded. That was it. She’d lifted her walls, if only slightly, like he had. It was progress! Relieved that he’d made the right choice, and that he’d managed to get her to stay, he smiled at her.

  She smiled back, and his heart did a twisting backflip.

  “If I’m going to stay though, eventually you’re going to have to tell me everything,” she warned.

  “I know.” And he did. She deserved to know it all at a minimum, and when the opportunity presented itself, Hel vowed he would reveal everything to her. “First, though, how do you feel about visiting Violet’s Cupcakerie again? We’re not far from the tower, and you didn’t buy any to share last time.”

  She grinned. “You didn’t say you wanted one. Gotta use your big-boy voice to get what you want sometimes.” The following wink suggested she was talking about much more than just a cupcake. “But it’s a date.”

  “Yes. A date.”

  Hel could barely contain his elation.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Megyn

  Chocolate cupcakes in hand, they headed upstairs. She felt relaxed around him again, for the first time since before they’d had sex. Things hadn’t been bad, but there’d been a hesitation on her part to truly let it go any further after that. The pause button had been held, was perhaps the best way of putting it.

  Now she was ready to proceed again. The pub had been a breakthrough. Even just hearing him say that he liked having her around was a big step for him. The first step, really, on the way to opening up and exploring his feelings for her. She wasn’t stupid—she knew he had them—but until he was able to vocalize them, neither of them could truly know how strong or serious they were.

  That was why she refused to say anything first. Because if he cared for a lie, or for the person he imagined her to be, then they were going to have a really big problem at some point down the line. It was possible it would even be an unsurmountable one. So in the meantime: baby steps.

  She leaned into him, briefly resting her head on his shoulder as they laughed about something or other. Megyn couldn’t remember what it was, and she didn’t care.

  “Chocolate always makes me happy,” she observed, taking a big bite of the rich, moist cupcake, making sure she got a good chunk of the icing. It was pure sugar, but so good.

  “Me too.”

  Megyn glanced up at him and dissolved into giggles as the door opened, spilling them out into the little hallway that led to the four rooms on their level. She didn’t know who else occupied the others. They’d seen nobody but the doorman since Palin left.

  “What do you find so funny about my appearance?” Hel growled playfully.

  Finishing her cupcake, she shook her head and pulled him into their apartment. “You’re a mess,” she explained. “I can’t take you anywhere.”

  Reaching up she did her best to push the icing from his lip into his mouth.

  “Oh, well, if that’s the case.” Hel then dipped his own finger in the icing left on his cupcake, and pushed it against her mouth.

  “That’s cheating,” she observed, but flicked her tongue out anyway, taking the big parts off his finger. Then, feeling seductive, she took his entire finger in her mouth, looking up at him through her eyelashes and some stray hair while she sucked on his finger.

  Hel was staring at her, arousal clear as day on his face.

  “That feels really nice,” he said, his voice thickening rapidly, becoming deeper, throatier. “Really nice.”

  Megyn kept doing it, watching his face, enjoying every twitch, but also the way the air around them became warmer, more focused.

  “There’s just one problem,” Hel said, speaking up.

  Wait. What? His finger popped from her mouth. “A problem?”

  His serious expression cracked as he held up the remaining half of his cupcake. “What do I do about that?”

  Feeling silly and playful she snatched it from his fingers and danced into the bedroom. “If you want it, come and get it.”

  Hel came charging after her like a freight train, much faster than she was prepared for. “Threatening me with you and a cupcake? Bold move, little one. Bold move.”

  “Who are you calling little?” she asked, taking a bite of the cupcake.

  In one move Hel took the rest of the cupcake, downed it, picked her up and—gently—slammed her into the wall. Moving in close, he paused a fraction of an inch from her face.

  “Until the day I can’t do that,” he growled, his eyes boring into her, “you will always be little to me.”

  “What makes you think I like that?” she asked, her mouth dry.

  “I can feel your pulse,” he said, moving closer, along her cheek now. “I can see the flush in your face and the way your nipples show through your shirt.”

  He was right, of course, on all accounts. She was aflame with desire. This was the sort of thing that never happened to girls her size, and yet Hel was still holding her there, without so much as a tremble. It was fucking hot, and she wanted more of it.

  “Well, if you know I like it so much, why don’t you show me what else I like.”

  “Gladly.”

  His lips seared hers. She gasped, her mouth opening in shock and his tongue was there, exploring her mouth. The aggressiveness of it turned her breath into a moan, and she playfully pushed his tongue back. Wrapping her legs around his waist as best she could and arms around his neck, she held him tight.

  The kiss seemed to last forever, but when they broke apart there was a silver glow in his eyes and desire written on his face. Hel brought her to the bed, but she stayed standing instead of falling back.

  His shirt came off, followed shortly by hers and then her bra. Not to be outdone she took his belt off, and then his pants and boxers in one swift movement, careful not to get poked in the eye as his hard cock came free. It was gorgeous, and since she was at the proper height for it Megyn decided to take full advantage.

  Looking up at Hel, she swirled her tongue around the tip before wrapping her mouth over it and pushing down. An inc
h at a time she bobbed lower, until she was as far as she could go. Hel was groaning loudly, telling her how good it felt and urging her onward. All of that served to make her want to keep going, pleasuring him.

  The ache between her legs grew strong the more she sucked on him, and finally Megyn could deny it no longer.

  “Take me,” she ordered, standing up so he could finish the job.

  He pushed her onto the bed and removed her pants. Using his tongue he brought her to the edge, a short, powerful climax that left her wanting little more than to get fucked. It wasn’t sensual; it wasn’t loving and tender. She just wanted him inside her. Now.

  Pushing his face away she indicated she wanted what was between his legs. “I want to feel you in me,” she moaned, using her legs to pull him in so that he couldn’t tease her. “Yes, like that!”

  Hel growled, and his dominant side emerged. Grabbing her legs, he lifted her lower half clear of the bed. The angle of entry changed and Megyn’s eyes flew wide as he rubbed against entirely different parts of her than before.

  “Oh my,” was all she could manage before he began to thrust in a constant rhythm.

  “Everything okay?” he growled, wrapping one giant arm around her legs and using the other to push his thumb between them until he found the pulsing center of her.

  Megyn gasped and cried out, unable to do anything but nod as she looked at him. The desire to please her was sexy beyond compare, and it aided his already considerable skill in reading her body. He crashed into her and in minutes she tightened around him, her body blasted with pleasure from his cock and his finger, making it all the better for her.

  They fell back into bed, the initial ardor fading, replaced with a desire to spend more time intimately with each other. Hel’s pace slowed, and they focused on the effect of the moment. The way his breathing quickened when she squeezed tight around him, or how her cries grew louder when he thrust harder, not faster.

  It was the little things that began to add up, heightening the intimacy between them, making the moment one that would last with her for a long, long time.