Tropical Dragons Series Box Set: Venys Needs Men: Books 1-3 with Exclusive Short Story

by Lucas, Naomi

Right behind her, I rise and grab her wet coverings. I lose my balance and we fall to the ground. She yelps. She kicks and struggles but stops when I tug her under me and straddle her body.

  She is much smaller than me, her strength no match for mine even in my new form. There is pleasure at the thought. More pleasure than having the femdragon would have given me.

  Her eyes widen to dark beautiful orbs, fluttering shut from the rain. My body stiffens. Her lips part. Her gaze runs up and down my face and body.

  “You,” I rasp. “You have taken everything from me.”

  Her eyes narrow and I focus on them, missing her stick as it comes up and slams into the side of my head, knocking me out.

  6

  Aida Drags Home a Dragon

  “Wake up!” I yell, standing over the male who’s out cold. I struck him impulsively, not thinking what I would do next. He doesn’t stir.

  Guilt settles deep as I look upon what I’ve done. One minute, I was facing two battling dragons, trying to survive—the next, they’re gone and a frightening large manbeast has me under him. It is not my fault! I was protecting myself. Yet the guilt grows.

  Leaning over him, I cup his face and urge him to get up, but there is no response.

  Noticing gashes over his neck, shoulders, and chest, I curse. They’re gnarly and exposed in this weather, and with the lightning continuing everywhere, I begin to worry for his safety from the storm. Bright light flashes over his form, and my mouth drops.

  It’s just your head, I tell myself. I know I hit it and lost consciousness at some point in the mayhem. But I can’t deny the long silvery blue horns coming from the male’s head, or what looks like a scaly tail rising from his lower back…

  Nor his nakedness. My eyes widen and I glance away, searching for a place to go before the tide reaches us. Though the image of his solid, erect cock imprints on my mind… how it lies against the wet sand.

  If I doubted he was the enormous water dragon I had touched, I believe now.

  Squeezing my eyes closed and rubbing my brow, I push the image away. It’s wrong to check him out right now.

  I hear a low moan and my eyes snap open. His fingers reach for his neck.

  In a rush, I pull off my top, ripping it down the back, leaving only a tight band to cover my breasts. Then, using one of the sharp shells adorning it, I tear it into strips and bind his wounds as best I can.

  I get most of his neck and part of his arm covered before I run out of hide. He’s still moaning.

  “I’m so sorry,” I murmur, trying not to touch him more than I should… even though I long to run my fingers over his muscled arms and chiseled chest. I want to so badly my heart pounds relentlessly. Warmth swirls in my belly. “I hope you can forgive me.”

  Glancing behind me once more, I know if we follow the rock wall bordering the jungle, we’ll eventually reach the caves. The cliffs will provide protection from the lightning. It’s a way to go, but we can’t stay here, not with the coming tide. We could be underwater in another hour.

  Peering back at the male, I know I’m going to have to get him to safety on my own. It’s the only way. I can’t leave him here to die.

  Getting up, I take a deep breath and grasp his hands.

  And with every ounce of strength there is, with desperate adrenaline rushing through my limbs, I begin to drag him through the sand.

  Minutes pass by like hours, and the chill of the rain vanishes with exertion. I pause to shift his weight—grabbing shoulders or shifting the way I pull, minding that his bindings stay secure—but I don’t stop. Every time I glimpse the beach, the water is a little closer. Each inhale is excruciating, and when I hear flapping, cracking sounds above me, I find we’re under the rope bridge. It’s broken, and the ends slam the walls with each new gust.

  Gulping, I turn away, heaving the male along. The cliffs go inland from here.

  It feels like an eternity has passed, but we finally make it to the grassy rise before the cave’s entrance.

  The lightning has lessened without me noticing.

  Another deep, straining moan reaches my ears.

  Stopping for a moment, I drop down beside the male and check his wounds. My hands still at their discovery. The bleeding has stopped… The shallow ones are nearly closed. Licking my lips in wonder, I take his hands again and lug him up the final rise.

  When the rain stops falling, I know we’re under the cave entrance’s cover. I collapse at the male’s side. Catching my breath, my muscles crying, I peer out into the storm and realize it’s almost nightfall.

  The storm’s been raging for hours.

  He groans; I moan. Everything hurts. Now that we’re safe, the pain hits me tenfold, and minutes pass before I can even consider moving.

  The warmth in my body worsens instead of cools. Pressing my hands to my chest—I gasp—swearing there’s smoke rising from my mouth. Eyes widening, wiping them several more times just in case, I exhale again, but this time there’s no smoke. Moving my hands to my neck, my pulse vibrates erratically under my fingers.

  What in the waters was that?

  Storms, dragons, a beastly male… and as if the male knows my thoughts, he groans. I turn my head to the side, taking in his outline.

  A huge beastly male, I correct.

  Sitting up slowly, I lean over him and my sex clenches. Frustration guts me. I shouldn’t feel desire, not now, not like this, but my body has its own way of handling the stress of the situation. My sex clamps again, harder this time.

  I nearly died several times over. I curse.

  But then again, I nearly die every day while out hunting. The fact that I haven’t proves my prowess to the tribe, my ability to provide, take care of others, and lead.

  Staring at the dragon male, I remember his prowess and strength on the beach, his glowing, knowledgeable gaze and that enormous body that filled the sky… It all returns to mind at once, exciting me. My body startles. He was so strong. Still is. I take in his dangerous-looking horns.

  Horns, yes. Sharp, long, and pointy, they’re jutting from above and behind his ears. The same color as his scales were.

  Are, I correct myself. He still has scales.

  His shaft has teardrop scales that look like velvet.

  A deeper heat grows inside me. Aida, you pervert. I shake my head.

  He has long white-blonde hair with pale blue streaks throughout, but it’s hard to be sure with how wet it is, the way it’s damp against his skin.

  Then there’s his body, long and toned with muscles only the strongest hunters have, but bigger still. Because he’s long—taller than anyone I have ever known. Taller than me by a head or so, taller still if I include his horns.

  Gaze traveling down to his tail, I barely comprehend it. Mermaids along the coast have brightly colored fishtails, and the dangerous jungle nagas have snake tails, but this male is no mermaid or naga. He has legs. Legs with thighs and calves that beg me to run my hands over them because they are sculpted to perfection.

  And though I try hard not to look at his cock, I can’t help but see it out of the corner of my eye. My strange internal heat bursts when I finally allow myself another glimpse of it.

  A blush rises on my cheeks. Oh, waters, is he endowed.

  I know he is because the elder males and females of my tribe—those who are or once mated—talk about rutting often, often with giggles and jokes, telling stories of when they were young and there were more partners to be had.

  I’ve heard them all, even the fake ones of phantom men coming from the Forbidden Jungle to ravish our women late at night, or those of male merfolk who loved to slide their tongues between our female’s legs—because mermaids only have a cold hole, they complained…

  Or some of the tales the grandmothers would relish telling: the dumb, burly giants, lugging heavy clubs between their thighs, that their mothers and grandmothers had once encountered in the wastes and played with.

  The dragon male’s velvety scaled cock could be considered a
club too. A club that’s smooth and rigid like the rest of him, partially blue, partially silver, with veins pulsing and a tip that’s twice the girth of his shaft. And his girth…

  My hands twitch. I don’t know if I could grip him, not with how bulbous his shaft is… though I’m curious to try.

  My sex flutters again, unwittingly, feeling emptier and needier than ever before. I grump and run my hands over my face. I need this dragon man now. Right now. My chest tightens as something primal threatens to take me over.

  Another streak of guilt hits me. I force my gaze from his cock and steady myself. Again. What is wrong with me?

  Pressing my thighs together, I rub my face harder, only looking again at him when I know I’ve gathered control—I won’t jump him while he’s unconscious. Untoward sexual encounters are a sinful act among all the tribes and are harshly punished.

  His tail twitches, catching my attention.

  It couldn’t have been comfortable having it dragged through the sand. Biting my bottom lip, I check his wounds again, peeling back the makeshift bandages.

  They’re still raw and deep, but like the shallower gashes, they’re practically healing before my eyes. I notice nowhere on his body—which is nearly silvery white—is there a slight bruise or tiny scratch, not even a rash from being hauled through sand and over small rocks. I’m thankful for this.

  Glancing at myself, I know I’m bruised before even seeing them form on my dusky skin.

  “Aida! You’re safe—oh my…” I hear Milaye’s voice from down the cave passage before I see her. She comes to a sudden stop several feet away, eyes widening on my dragon male. “Oh my…” She mutters some more in shock.

  “Help me,” I groan, sitting up straighter, jealously covering him from her gaze. I hate the idea of her seeing him. He’s mine. I sense it deep inside where the heat in my chest has yet to leave. “He’s hurt. He needs help.”

  He’s mine.

  She nods and runs back into the cave. Shielding his nudity with my body, the strange possession continues to build. I wrench my eyes closed and rest my brow against the male’s, praying to the waters that he doesn’t try to kill me when he wakes.

  7

  Dragon Desires

  I get the male settled on a cot near one of the cave streams inside, upon a natural platform by the cave wall.

  A bend in the stream ensures our privacy behind a rocky wall, enough to stop most of the curious gazes of others—and they are curious, anxious even, some frenzied. This spot is ideal for the sickly and hurt, with the shallow pool next to us and the trickle of a spring deep behind the rocks for fresh, clean water. It’s a good spot overall.

  Luckily, most of the tribe has bedded down for the night. No one else is hurt from the storm.

  But those who remain awake and watchful are staring at me and mumbling with others, presumably about me and the new male. Within minutes, their curiosity drives me to find a couple spare hides and erect a makeshift wall to keep their roaming eyes at bay. The beach cave is big, long, and goes on for multiple sections, which spreads us all out. I’m thankful for that because I need privacy more than anything else right now…

  I look around, seeking security in this new location, and see there are some ledges higher up crowded with emergency supplies.

  When we lost a portion of our village to a hurricane shortly after my birth, Sand’s Hunters lived here until they rebuilt the village. Since then, this place has been maintained, a place of safety if ever an event like that falls upon us again.

  Torchlight is flickering, lighting up the cave. The sounds of thunder are distant now. I peer down at the male resting before me.

  Or a dragon… I swallow, staring at him. His eyelids flicker but they don’t open.

  Pulling my tangled, wet hair back and tying it in a knot with some rope, I settle next to him.

  “Aida,” Milaye says softly from beside me, peeking over the hide. “You should get looked at by your mother, she wants to see you. Let me take over or allow one of the healers to tend him.”

  The male groans. But it sounds more like a growl to me.

  I won’t leave you. I don’t think I could even if I tried. My body loses its warmth whenever I step away from him.

  Using a wet cloth and clay bowl, I begin cleaning the male’s skin. “I’m fine.”

  “You could’ve died. When I realized you weren’t behind me… and saw that monster down the coast…”

  Glimpsing Milaye’s face, I see guilt and sadness. I give her a reassuring smile. “You didn’t leave me. I stayed.”

  She frowns. “Why?”

  Shaking my head, I force the smile into my voice. “I had too. I needed… I wanted to make sure that whatever came wouldn’t follow me to the cave. The tribe, you, Leith, Delina, are my responsibility.”

  “I would never forgive you for dying on my behalf,” Milaye says indignantly. She studies me, the male. “You wanted to see if the monster behind the rain was a dragon,” she accused. “Guess he was.”

  “Yes, that too. I stayed for several reasons,” I answer honestly with a shrug. “Regardless, even if it had been a disturbed kraken or a giant serpent, I wanted to make sure it followed me, away from the cave, and not you. Luck gave me a dragon.” I turn to the male, whose brow is furrowed now. I reach up and smooth it out with my cloth.

  A hush settles over us, and I know Milaye is staring at me.

  My sister’s voice breaks the silence. “So the messenger was speaking the truth? Dragons can be turned into humans?”

  Looking back up, Delina’s face is now peeking over the hide next to Milaye’s and both their faces are exactly the same, eyeing the male. Annoyance fills me even though I can’t blame them, knowing I probably have the same look when I stare at him. Good thing he’s draped in hides from his waist down.

  Though there’s a tent where his erection is…

  “Is he…” Milaye pauses. “Is he the beast from down the coast? Is he a—a dragon, Aida?”

  The male groan-growls again, and my eyes snap back to him. I begin unwrapping the bandages from around his neck, hating the half-dried blood and dampness keeping them stuck to his skin. “Yes,” I say, wondering at the question myself. Though I know it has to be. The silver-blue water dragon vanished and in its place, he turned up. With a tail, horns, and sapphire scales. “I think so, yes,” I mutter, throwing the strips of my old shirt aside.

  “Oh my waters,” Milaye gasps. “I knew it.”

  Delina jumps. “I knew it!”

  “You got yourself a dragon, a male. Aida, it’s a miracle!” Milaye’s words flood my ears with excitement and dread. They didn’t see him, didn’t see his violence, his might. I don’t know if he’ll kill me when he wakes up or try to leave… or both.

  What if he leaves without killing me first?

  Delina scoffs. “Just because Aida brought him in doesn’t mean he’s hers. The elders decide who is the best fit for a mate. The best female will be mated with the best male.”

  My heart sinks. She’s right.

  “Even if that’s true, you’re already mated, Delina,” Milaye snaps. “You won’t be considered.”

  “I’m the chosen female!”

  I urge them to lower their voices but they ignore me.

  “And what about Leith?” Milaye gripes.

  “It wouldn’t be my choice,” Delina says with a whine. “It’ll be the elders’ choice.”

  “Stop!” I nearly yell. “Both of you,” I continue, lowering my voice. “He’s hurt and needs rest and proper bandages. Your squabbling isn’t helping. We don’t even know who or what he really is, or if he’ll even stay. Maybe he already has a mate.”

  “I can stay and take care of him. You should rest,” my sister says, beginning to move around the hide barrier.

  Milaye grabs her and pulls her back. “Oh no you don’t.” Delina whimpers, grasping at Milaye’s hand. “We all know you’re terrible at healing. Let’s go tell the others still awake and worrying. I’m sure
Leith is looking for you, and there’s plenty of food left to be passed out.”

  I catch Milaye’s eye and mouth thank you. She smiles and drags my whining sister away. But a moment later, Milaye returns with a bone dagger in her hand, offering it to me.

  “What’s this for?”

  “Protection,” she says almost too softly for me to hear, her eyes going to the male. “He may be a male, but you are a sister to me. Be diligent.”

  Overwhelmed again, I take the dagger from her and hook it into the ties of my skirt. “Thank you,” I mumble.

  “Hollar and the tribe will be here in a flash,” she says.

  I nod, having not given a single thought to finding a new weapon. My mind has been on many other things. Milaye stares at me for a moment before turning and vanishing behind the makeshift walls.

  Peering back at the male, my mind reels. Finally, we’re alone.

  But what if he does harm someone here besides me? I won’t let that happen, I admonish, touching the dagger once with my fingers before dropping my hand.

  I notice his face is turned slightly toward me now when it had been facing the cave ceiling before. I frown. His eyes flicker once behind his eyelids.

  “Are you awake?” I whisper.

  No response.

  Hmmm.

  “Are you faking it?” I ask next.

  Still no response. Squinting in curiosity, I soak the cloth with water and focus on cleaning his wounds. His neck appears under the blood and grime, and I discover his once deep cuts nearly gone. Feeling for a pulse, finding it strong and hardy, I lean back to take him in.

  He hasn’t twitched a muscle, I note.

  I keep cleaning his body, moving down to the gashes on his shoulders and chest. They’re all red and tender but closed. Swiping the blood away that’s gathered, I go to rinse my cloth again. When I check back, I swear the tent where his cock’s heaviness is springing up stands higher.

  Gulping, clenching, I dart my gaze back to his face and chest.

  He’s a gorgeous male, beautiful but robust at the same time. Every part of him is honed and sculpted, from the tips of his spiraling horns down to the glittering hard scales and the claws on his toes. I want to grasp his horns and squeeze them—rub my fingers and palms up and down their lengths. I want to taste the sharp slash of his lips.