by Sadie Sears
“So impatient.” He looked at me from his position between my legs and grinned, his eyes shining like a rainbow in the dim light which poured through the windows. “Let me enjoy this as long as I can.”
His tongue swiped over my sex and all coherent thought left my mind. Only he existed in that moment, and with every suck and pull and tug, he brought me to the edge over and over but never let me fall. He was trying to drive me crazy is what he was doing. I tugged hard on his hair.
He gasped. “Birth control?”
I nodded rapidly. I was on it to regulate my periods. Handy right now. “Cam, I need you now.”
A few seconds later, after bringing me close again, he wiped at his mouth and crawled on the bed as I scooted us back. Bracing on one arm, he positioned himself, hooking one of my legs over his elbow. He glanced up at me one more time and, at my fervent nod, slid home. Perfection fell far short of describing the feeling of utter wholeness, the completion that washed over me. Cam huffed a short breath, as if he’d felt the same thing. Hell, he probably had, if not on his own then at least from me.
Moving unbearably slow at first, he leaned over and brought his face close to mine. I captured it between my hands, wanting to hold on a little longer to him, to everything. His nose brushed mine, just the barest touch, and I brought him down to my mouth, my tongue meeting his halfway. His speed picked up, and I clenched my core, matching him thrust for thrust.
“You are so perfect.”
He slowed and blinked down at me, then laughed. “I should be saying that to you, I think.”
Grinning, I shook my head and pressed my heels into his ass, driving him deeper. He groaned, eyeing me hungrily. “I want you to make love to me, Cameron.”
Even without ether dragon powers, I felt something shift around him, around both of us, around the unspoken words that sentence implied. “I can certainly do that, Sophie.”
His pace picked back up again, and he angled my hips to hit a spot deep inside that had me rushing back to the edge in no time. By then, I gasped his name on every breath. His fingers caught my curls, and he captured my mouth again, swallowing my pleas, my desperate cries for release. My nerves tingled under my skin, something that felt like static building in the room and between us.
Cam’s breaths got shorter the quicker he slammed into me. Just as I felt him stiffen further, I wrapped my legs around him and rolled us. His eyes widened in shock, but I lifted my hips and kept us going. His fingers gripped my ass, and he met each thrust with his own.
He growled my name, a damn sexy sound, and my breath caught in my throat as the most intense orgasm exploded throughout every nerve ending. Cam seemed to have a similar reaction, gasping harshly with the last few pumps, and I lowered myself to his chest carefully before my arms collapsed. We lay together, catching our breath and pondering that intense reaction.
I huffed a laugh and Cam rolled us to the side so he could look at me. “What’s so funny?”
“Nothing.” I batted my eyelashes at him innocently. “Just wondering if dragon stamina was real or rumor.”
He grinned and proceeded to show me just how real it was.
10
Cameron
The dawn hadn’t yet peeked through the split in the curtains when I opened my eyes the next day. My dragon and I woke feeling more complete and whole than I’d ever felt in my life. Resting my head on the pillow, I took a few moments to just gaze at Sophie. My mate. Destiny had chosen her for me, of all the people and all the dragons in the world. All for me.
We hadn’t intended for me to stay in the bedroom with her, just in case Shae came looking for her mother. But then I’d fallen asleep. At some point I woke enough to lock the door. I figured if Shae knocked, I’d disappear out the window in a hurry.
Her blonde hair splayed across the pillow, and her porcelain skin glowed in the shadows of the bedroom. Not for the first time, I thanked my lucky stars for my enhanced dragon senses. I was able to see Sophie even though the bedroom had very little light. For several minutes, I just watched her breathe, her delicate features relaxed and open. She’d been so stressed that it was nice to see her sleep and recuperate her spirit.
Wide awake, I decided to take the opportunity to go for a flight. I hadn’t had much chance, and I normally liked to fly daily. I wasn’t sure how Shae would’ve reacted to seeing me shift and fly, so I’d been keeping to myself. This was a good opportunity to stretch my wings and commune with nature after what had been literally the best night of my life. And it had been a long, rich life.
Not that I minded the reason for my decreased flying time over the past few days. Sophie let out a tiny snort in her sleep, prompting a big grin from me as I slipped out of bed. I could hardly believe how lucky I was to wake up in bed beside her. A huge part of me felt relief that I’d never have another woman in my bed again. Not that I ever brought them to my home.
Fighting off the attraction, and the mating-draw that made my dick want to harden again, I forced myself to tiptoe away from her. Conveniently, I was already naked, so I opened the balcony door and took a running jump off of it, transforming into my smaller dragon in midair. My dragon was just as ecstatic that we’d found our destined mate and was ready to expend some energy flying around. All of my worries began to fade as I soared higher and higher in the sky. My hot blood cooled and pulsed as the early morning autumn air slipped around me, helping lift me higher and faster.
I knew my brother would be looking down at me from the beyond, so happy that I’d found Sophie. I knew it as well as I knew that my name was Cameron. He would’ve been ecstatic to find out I had my mate. He’d always been the dreamer of the two of us. He’d wanted to find his destined mate so much before he died. He had always believed he would.
A roar in the distance caught my attention. I banked my wings and headed toward the sound to find Ben flying over the lake as the first rays of sunshine peeked over the horizon. His aqua scales glistened in a way only water dragons did. I never could tell if they were wet or not. He dipped and skimmed his feet in the water, then curved until one of his wings did. I hovered in the air and watched him dip his other wing before trumpeting and blowing a wave of water out of his mouth and straight up into the air. As it rained down on him, I sent a thought directly to his mind.
You were right.
As an ether dragon, I had the ability to communicate with other dragons in their heads while we were shifted. It never failed to delight me when it scared the shit out of them.
Ben hadn’t heard me approach. He whipped around when I spoke to him and gave me a toothy dragon-grin. I’m usually right. What about this time? He covered well, but I’d startled him.
I joined him over the lake, flying in the opposite direction. I think it’s going to work out with Sophie. It’s getting more serious. Already.
Ben roared and dipped totally into the lake, breaking free of the water with another roar and shaking off the water. I’m so happy for you, Cam.
The water in the lake followed him up and circled around me, arcing up and over me until I changed direction and flew through it. It was damn near icy even this early in the season, and my body rippled with shivers. What a wonderful feeling, to be so happy inside and have such fun.
We continued around the lake, Ben creating an obstacle course of sorts out of the water and me flying through it as it got increasingly more difficult.
When the sun revealed itself fully in the sky, we said our goodbyes, then I headed back home.
Shifting as I fell, I landed on the balcony in my bare feet and walked back in the open door. Sophie’s eyes were open, and she looked me over in the sunlight which was streaming through the doorway. I couldn’t help but stand there a moment and admire her right back.
A smirk formed on her face. “I don’t have to be an ether dragon to know what that smile means.” I growled and launched myself on the bed while she squealed and opened her arms to welcome me.
“I liked watching you shift and land,”
she whispered as I pulled the blanket back to expose her gorgeous, still-naked body.
“I can’t wait until you can fly with me.” I nuzzled the nape of her neck. “I’ll teach you all those tricks.” She would be glorious. With her coloring, she was sure to have the lightest pearlescent scales. The sun would reflect off of her like precious metal.
She sighed and settled back as I went for a repeat of my performance the night before. We still had a little time before we had to be up to make breakfast. I’d make the best of our time.
A good hour later, I got up again and took a quick shower. “I’ll make breakfast while you shower,” I said.
Sophie stretched and nodded, her hair all tangled and wild around her head. Sparing a few more minutes, I knelt over the bed and kissed her, again thanking the universe and destiny for sending her to me. It wasn’t fair that I’d gotten so lucky, but I wasn’t going to argue with it.
Finally dressed, I walked downstairs to find Shae in the kitchen bopping around with headphones on and a huge pile of ingredients on the counter.
After giving her a second to notice me as I looked at the flour, sugar, and other ingredients spread across my kitchen counters, I tapped her shoulder, inadvertently scaring her out of her wits. She screamed and jumped backward, bending at the waist and throwing out her hands.
“I’m sorry,” I yelled as Shae yanked her headphones out.
“What did you do that for?” she yelled, still freaked out. Flour drifted to the floor from her hands as she flapped them at me.
It was hard not to laugh at her little freak-out. “I wasn’t thinking. After what you and your mom went through, I should’ve waited for you to turn around or stomped on the floor or something. I’m so sorry.”
Thundering footsteps on the stairs told me that Sophie had heard her daughter scream. She came rushing down in a towel, a very small towel. I grinned at her sheepishly. At least she wasn’t covered in soap.
“Everything’s okay,” I reassured her.
She looked around the kitchen with a face full of panic, not really absorbing my word. “What happened? Why did you scream?”
Shae shook her head slowly at her mother. “Can you please go put some clothes on? I had my headphones on, and Cam scared the crap out of me. That’s all. It’s all good, except for you being half naked.” She looked away, as if she couldn’t imagine a situation where she could’ve been any more embarrassed.
Sophie flushed dark red. I didn’t mind her being in the kitchen in her towel, but I didn’t voice that particular opinion in front of the preteen. That would’ve set me back on any and all progress I’d made so far.
With one hand on her towel, she blew Shae a kiss and darted back up the stairs. From my vantage point, I got a nice shot of her ass, but luckily, Shae was at an angle to have missed it.
Schooling my features, I faced Shae. “What are you working on?” I asked once Sophie was well out of earshot.
“I wanted to make breakfast for everyone,” Shae explained. “Since you did yesterday, and it’s Saturday.”
I gave her a blank look. What did Saturday have to do with it?
Man, that kid was the master of the adults are stupid facial expression. “Uh, no school today?”
Maybe I was a bit stupid after the night and morning I’d had. To be fair, it had been one hell of a night…and morning. “Right, of course. Well, let me help. What can I do?”
She smiled, a genuine expression, thankfully. “I’d appreciate it if you made the bacon.” She ducked her head and looked suddenly shy.
“Coming right up.” I saluted her and opened the refrigerator, getting busy. An idea popped into my head, hopefully a way of impressing the child in her.
“Have you ever made bacon pancakes?” I asked. “I notice you’ve got some pancake batter going there.”
Her eyes widened. “That sounds amazing. Will you show me?”
Once again, I saluted her, excited my idea might work. “Of course I will. Here.”
I got the griddle out of the cabinet in the island. “It’s easier with this.”
As I showed her how to pour out long, skinny pancakes and let them cook on one side before adding the precooked bacon, she told me her secret recipe for the batter. “It’s easy,” she whispered conspiratorially. “You put the maple syrup in the batter.”
I let my jaw drop as if she’d just given me the secret of life, even though I’d made pancakes that way for years. “These are going to be the best bacon pancakes ever made.”
Giggling, she agreed and dropped the pieces of bacon onto the griddle. Sophie joined us with eyebrows raised. “That smells great. Can I make something to go with it?”
Shae and I exchanged a glance. “Up to you, Chef Shae.” I bowed to her and tipped my invisible hat.
“Eggs,” she said in a firm voice. “Scrambled, with cheese, please, Mom.”
Vincent stumbled down the stairs just as we set the food on the table. I already knew he was home; I sensed his dream state up in his attic bedroom. He’d chosen the big attic for a room. Who was I to argue?
Luckily for Vince, I’d made sure we cooked plenty of food. “What’s the plan?” he asked as he piled his plate high.
“I want to get on the hunt,” I said as I loaded my plate too. Vince wasn’t the only one with a big appetite.
“Well, I was hoping we could spend the day together,” Sophie said. She gave me a wide-eyed look, pleading for me to agree.
Shae’s eyes lit up. “Could we hike?” she asked. “Zoe said she had so much fun in the woods with her mom and Leath.”
It sounded good to me. “I’m game.” Except for the irritating thought that I should’ve been looking into the problem at Sophie’s house.
Sophie nodded eagerly at me. It still made me uneasy, but it was the weekend, after all. And Shae was finally opening up a little.
“Can Vince come?” Shae looked at the hungover dragon with big eyes.
He moaned and scrubbed at his bloodshot eyes. “Who am I to refuse that face?” he asked. “We can take my Jeep.”
Shae was so excited. She hurried us along and before I knew it, we were piling into Vince’s Jeep. Shae called shotgun, leaving me and Sophie to have to ride in the back. Oh, damn. What an inconvenience.
We had the same frame of mind, though, and avoided outward displays of affection until Shae had more of a chance to get used to us being fond of each other. It wasn’t easy. All I wanted to do was touch Sophie.
Vince had taken the top off the Jeep, so the girls bundled up in jackets and we headed for Snowshoe Brew. “We’ll run in and get snacks,” Sophie said as Vince pulled up in the side parking lot. “Be right back.”
“I’ll go!” Shae exclaimed. “You wait here.”
Sophie looked at me with questioning eyes. I grinned at her, and I climbed out of the back of the Jeep, then whirled and held out a hand for Shae, hoping she dug the chivalrous thing.
Thankfully, she did. She grabbed my hand and jumped out of the Jeep. I would’ve kept holding onto her, but she let go immediately. That was okay with me, whatever made her the most comfortable. I followed her inside, where we ordered a large variety of sandwiches and finger foods. They had most of it premade, and within a few minutes, I’d paid and we were on our way out.
“Oh, hello, Mary,” Shae said, greeting a lady who looked a bit frail. A bad feeling slammed into me when I saw the woman. Her skin had the oddest complexion. Almost as if she’d put a layer of putty over it to make herself look young. Her smile widened as she laid eyes on us. Whatever it was about her that threw me off, it had something to do with how perfect she appeared. Somehow it was a mask.
She ducked her head at us and murmured a quiet greeting to Shae as she came through the door and we went out.
As soon as we hit the sidewalk, Shae rubbed her neck. “Ouch.” She pushed her hair out of the way and kept picking.
The disgusting feeling in my gut hadn’t let up. If anything, it was more intense. “Can I look at you
r neck?” I asked. I quickly slipped into my deep, meditative ether field and when she lifted up her long, curly hair again, I saw it.
A mark on her neck, and the same sickly green smoke that I’d seen at Sophie’s house. It led back into the restaurant.
“It’s her,” I said with a growl. Whirling, I ran back inside the Snowshoe and looked all around the dining room, but Mary was gone, as was her trail. She’d stopped doing the spell and the smoke had stopped. Shae followed me in. “She must’ve run out the back,” she murmured, looking shaken. She gasped. “Mom!”
My bad feeling turned into panic. The old witch could’ve gone after Sophie. Once again, we exited, this time in a hurry, but when we rounded the building and got a glimpse of the parking lot, Sophie and Vince had the radio of the Jeep cranked and were dancing in their seats like they were twelve years old instead of Shae.
We stopped in our tracks and both breathed a sigh of relief. Shifting the bag of food, I lifted Shae’s hair again, but the mark had faded. It was still there, but much less obvious than it had been. “I think we scared her off,” I said. “Let’s go tell your mom.”
“Mom, look.” Shae sprinted over to the Jeep and pulled her hair up. “Mary cursed me!”
Gaping, Sophie climbed out of the back of the Jeep before grabbing Shae and yanking her close. Even though Sophie jumped out of the car and looked closely, of course she couldn’t see anything. It would’ve been funny, watching her peer at Shae’s neck, if it hadn’t been such a serious situation. “What are you talking about?” Sophie’s eyes widened and she simultaneously tried to hold Shae close and inspect her at the same time.
Eventually, she let go of her daughter and collapsed against the Jeep. “How could I have not remembered Mary?” she muttered to herself as she leaned forward and looked at Shae’s neck again. “What happened?”
“Maybe she did something so you’d forget,” I suggested as I put the food in the back of the Jeep. Shae described Mary’s behavior with great embellishments and teenage enthusiasm. When I came around to the front again, Shae was trying to wiggle loose from her mom’s grip. Again, I fought the urge to chuckle at their relationship dynamic.
