Dammit.
He’d figured her out for sure.
She reached in and grabbed one, biting into it and letting out a moan. “Oh, so good. Damn, as humans would say.”
His eyes were watching her intently. Hungrily.
Perhaps he wouldn’t be so hard to get in the mood after all.
She took another bite, moaning dramatically, though honestly, the taste was so amazing she didn’t really have to exaggerate.
Strawberry burst over her tongue, both in the frosting and in some kind of jelly at the center of the cake. She swallowed it with one last bite and sat down on the bed, sighing in contentment and setting the box beside her.
“Damn, I might have to think about keeping you after all,” she said, joking. But when she looked up, his eyes were fierce. Hot. Hungry.
For more than just cupcakes. More than sex, if she were honest.
But she just couldn’t answer him.
“These are amazing is what I’m saying,” she said, pulling out another one. “But if you think they’re a replacement for sex…”
He shook his head. “No. I simply find it hard to get in the mood when you’re wounded. And when you won’t let me help.”
She shrugged. “This is the life of a vigilante. Deal with it or get out.”
He sighed, reaching for the box beside her. “Guess I’ll just take my cupcakes and go, then.”
She reached out, her hand grabbing back the box before she even felt it happen. And more than even the cupcakes, she didn’t want him to leave.
Even if they didn’t have sex.
Not that she would ever admit she was lonely.
“Stay,” she said simply.
“All right.” He set the box back down. “But we are going to renegotiate terms. You said we could.”
She nodded, grabbing another cupcake so she at least wouldn’t miss out on one more if he absconded. “Fine, give your terms, dragon.”
“Landon,” he said. “And stop trying to put me in my place. I’m not one of your lackeys.”
“That’s right.” She grinned. “You’re my sex lackey.”
He nearly choked on that, then laughed. “No. No kind of lackey.” And when his gaze met hers, there was steel there beyond that placid kindness.
She sighed, shaking her head. “All right. What do you want?”
“I want to go on missions,” he said.
“Impossible,” she retorted. “We’re in the Blur. You’ll be infected by chaos.”
“I want to go,” he said stubbornly. “To watch your back.”
“I don’t need you to,” she muttered, blushing once again. “But… hm. I’m not sure about it.” She met his gaze. “You’re saying no more sex if I don’t let you?”
He sighed. “Not that exactly. How about this? You bring me on missions. I bring treats every time. You don’t? No treats.”
She gasped. “You wouldn’t. You’re crazy about me, you silly dragon. You’d never withhold—”
“I would,” he said, folding his arms stubbornly. “If I thought it would help you. Because yes, I am crazy about you. But I don’t want to take you while you’re bruised and bleeding from a cut by your eye.” He stood and reached in his back pocket, pulling out a Band-Aid. Then he opened it, gently putting it over her cut. “What about your fae healing factor?”
“Don’t have it as much as others,” she said, shrugging. “Which is why it’s good that I’m a damn good fighter. I mean, I still heal more than a human, but I don’t instantly regenerate like some princes do.” She sighed. “I guess I used it all up already.”
His body tightened in anger, but Vex knew there was nothing to get worked up about.
“It’s fine, dragon—I mean Landon. I was over it a long time ago.”
“Then why are you bent on revenge?”
“It’s not so much revenge. It’s just… having a purpose. When I’m too broken to live normally.”
“You aren’t,” he said. “You could find another purpose.”
She scoffed, reaching for another cupcake and trying not to touch the Band-Aid on her cheek.
No one had cared for her injuries before. Or was it that she’d never shown them to anyone ever since she escaped with Dallin?
She truly didn’t know. Damn, Landon was making her feel off-kilter.
But she couldn’t let him go any more than she could set down her cupcake. She took another bite, moaning with glee.
Only someone who’d experienced a hundred years of starvation could really appreciate food as she did.
She sighed as she finished her cupcake. “So if you don’t want to leave and you don’t want to have sex, what do you want right now?”
“For you to agree to take me on missions,” he said. “Just while we’re together. Just so my dragon doesn’t go insane.”
“What are your powers?” She sighed as he got that sketchy look again. “You have to tell me something, or there’s no way I’m taking you out in the Blur.”
“So you’ll take me?”
“Maybe,” she said. “Then again, you brought unfair leverage with these cupcakes.”
He smiled at her, and she froze, everything in her just wanting to bask in the warmth of it.
Stupid heart, showing up at the oddest moments.
“Tell me your powers,” she said. “Then we’ll think about it.”
“I… can tell you some of them,” he said. “I have the diamond dragon’s power. It was injected during the experiments.”
“Diamond?”
He sighed. “It’s pretty nasty. I turn things to diamond instantly.”
“Then what?” She frowned. “Sell them for jewelry?”
“I don’t know,” he said. “I haven’t done it since the lab.” His eyes darkened. “My refusal to use my powers is what got me sent to the dungeon.”
She grinned. “As opposed to me who just lived there.”
He nodded. “I suppose.”
“Well, that’s useful, if dangerous,” she said. “Then again, I like things that are dangerous.”
His eyes flicked to the Band-Aid on her cheek. “Maybe a little too much.”
“All right, what else do you have just in case I don’t want to leave a block of diamond in the Blur?”
Plus, such a unique power would draw too much attention. The existing light fae would know who was involved.
For some reason, she didn’t want anyone targeting Landon. She felt oddly protective of him.
“I have dragon fire,” he said simply. “Dragon strength. Dragon regeneration. Plus my fae abilities.”
“Which are?”
“I’m not saying,” he said. “Not until I find my mate.”
Vex kind of hated the thought of that but nodded. “Well, you’re probably stronger than the dire bears. But my crew aren’t going to like this.”
“Why? Why wouldn’t they want more cohorts?”
She cocked her head. “You don’t really understand this place, do you? People are here because they wanted to be bad. Or they couldn’t help it. But they aren’t like you and your do-gooder friends. They either want power or to hurt people.”
“What do you want?”
She looked to the side. “I don’t know anymore. But I don’t want you hurt.” Her eyes met his shyly, and he smiled.
“Aw, Vex, maybe you have feelings for me after all?”
She scoffed, reaching for another cupcake and shoving it in her mouth whole so she didn’t have to talk. She just shook her head, chewing angrily at him as he laughed and stood to pace around the room.
When she swallowed the cupcake, she looked sadly at the box, wondering if she could truly live without ever tasting anything like them again.
“I can make other things,” Landon said, glancing over at her with a teasing expression. “Cake. Cookies. Even homemade candy.”
Her eyes went wide. “You can do that?”
He nodded.
Dammit, why did he have to find her weakness?
> She sighed. “All right. You can come.” She didn’t know if she was agreeing because of the cupcakes or because she wanted to be fair to him, but it should be fine.
Though Tyrus and the others really wouldn’t like it, they couldn’t complain about such powerful help.
She’d have to watch his back, though, at every moment.
But it might be fun seeing this gentle giant in action.
He grinned, leaning against the windowsill, and her mouth went dry as her eyes ran up his body.
Dammit.
“So… when’s our next mission?” Landon asked, folding his arms and flexing his biceps.
She looked away. “Tomorrow.”
“I guess that means I’m staying the night,” he said, looking triumphant.
“Nope,” she said, savoring his look of disappointment. He’d already denied her, after all, and used his leverage over her.
“Why not?”
“We aren’t… doing what you came for,” she said. “So what’s the point?”
“So what, if we aren’t having sex, I can’t spend time with you?”
She shrugged. “That’s kind of the idea, right? We already talked about this.”
He sighed. “You’d have to make another portal. I hear that takes a lot of energy.”
She blanched. “Uh, that’s true.”
“Just let me stay,” he said. “Let’s cuddle. Talk.”
She shook her head. “No way, dragon. Now you’re scaring me.”
He came closer, leaning over her on the bed, forcing her to lean backward. “Sex is better with a connection.”
She blinked up at him, eyes wide. “But—”
He caressed her jaw lightly. “Let me tend to the rest of your wounds, okay?” He put his hand over her cheek, and she felt something cool and soothing. “I have some blue dragon in me. They really did try a lot of things on me in the lab. Let me heal you up, and we can eat dinner. And then, if you’re feeling well, I’ll give you what you want so much, okay?”
She thought for a second about how dangerous it would be to spend that much time together, not in a horizontal position, and then nodded.
“I suppose so.” What choice did she have if she wanted to get in his pants?
“Good,” he said, pulling the Band-Aid away gently and running his hand over the now-smooth surface. “I promise to make it worth your while.”
“You better, Landon.”
6
Landon loved every moment of healing Vex, seeing her flush and look oddly nervous as he took care of her wounds.
It soothed something inside him, being close to her like this. Helping her.
He hated that it seemed like no one else ever had.
Vex muttered and pushed his hand away if he ever lingered too long, but she was mostly patient with his ministrations. Then she’d had dinner delivered by Toady, who left it outside the door along with some weird compliments about her taste in cookery.
Now she was sated and peaceful, and his dragon wasn’t roaring with rage at seeing her hurt.
And all he could think was how beautiful she looked lying back on the bed in her tank top and soft pants, which outlined all of her curves.
He hadn’t been in the mood when he’d seen her burned and exhausted, but now that she was happy and cared for and looking up at him with sparkling, hungry eyes, he knew he couldn’t resist satisfying her other hunger as well.
He came onto the bed with her, propping himself over her. “I want you,” he said simply.
Her arms came up around his neck, dragging him down as her lips crashed over his. He loved the way she met him as an equal, always challenging him, her tongue battling with his for dominance.
He loved that about her. Her strength, her indomitable spirit. He just didn’t want her to get carried away and hurt.
Not while he was with her.
And despite her protests, this was definitely more than sex.
Otherwise, she would never have let him touch her.
For a moment, their tongues met in a heated frenzy, hers pushing against his while he stroked against the tiny areas he knew made her melt. Then with a soft moan muffled by their sealed mouths, she slackened slightly, and Landon wrapped an arm around her back, holding her up.
He kissed deeper, farther than before, feeling her arms tense around his neck, signaling her pleasure. With ease and control, he set her back against the bed, still kissing her, still tasting her, still wild with the idea that this was the woman he’d wanted for so long here in his arms.
And when her hands slid off him, resting above her on the sheets, he cupped the back of her head with one hand, turning her slightly so he could nip and lick at her ear.
“Already an expert.” Vex’s purple eyes glanced at him just as he bit down on her lobe, rolling it between his teeth and lower lip, scraping over the soft skin there to stimulate her.
“I’m sorry, I’m sure I have no clue what you’re talking about.”
“Of course you know what I’m—ahh.” A gasp stopped her words as he gently tweaked one of her nipples through the thin fabric of her tank top.
Her breasts had been teasing him from the moment she’d nonchalantly undressed in front of him, as if seeing her naked wouldn’t make him wild.
But as crazy as he was about Vex—crazy to kiss her and touch her and love her—he was smart enough to know he was playing with fire.
It was a good thing he was part dragon, he supposed.
The tip of her breast hardened, skin pressing against the fabric, and he pressed his thumb over the center with a firm, circular motion. She gasped harder this time, and while her mouth was open, neck arched from the sensation, Landon caught her lips with his.
He kissed her roughly now, owning each little crevice and crook of her mouth with his tongue as her entire body tensed. Her hands were at his sides, fingers hooked into the belt of his jeans like they were handles, pulling his hips into hers.
Damn, he was so hard already. Everything about her made him ache with a soul-deep need to pleasure Vex.
When he pulled back, her lips were swollen, mouth wet. She ran her tongue over her top lip, eyes already glossy from the need and want thrumming between them.
So beautiful.
He took both straps of her tank top and pulled them over her shoulders, low enough that her soft breasts came free of the shirt, and she looked up at him with a hungry, defiant blush.
“I should’ve taken your shirt off first. Fair is fair, after all.”
Landon whipped it off over his head easily, watching while her gaze widened slightly, loving the effect he had on her every time.
Also, so she didn’t rip it off this time. After all, he didn’t have spare clothing to change into afterward.
“Fair.” But he didn’t give her time to lie there perusing.
Both hands found her breasts, kneading the flesh as he rubbed the tips of his large thumbs over their centers, making her moan. Vex’s hands tightened at his sides and got even tighter as he began to kiss and lick until she was writhing beneath him in pleasured agony.
But he didn’t stop until she was panting, worked up so hard she was already glowing from exertion.
“You’re right. Maybe I am an expert,” he said, leaning over her chest as he kissed her again and again.
She just watched him, eyes tensed, pent-up arousal heating the air around them.
“At what?” She used her imperious tone as if it could contrast the way she practically purred every time he touched her.
He leaned down, bringing them face to face while one hand trailed down her belly, going over the corner of her hip before covering her sex. She gasped, going wide-eyed, chest holding a breath he knew she’d be letting out harshly in just a second.
He forced the moment to draw out, feeling her body practically shiver, waiting for him to get her off.
“Making you come.”
His finger slid upward.
And she did.
Vex f
elt everything explode inside her as Landon’s finger barely brushed over her clit.
Even over the lounge pants she was wearing, he made her so sensitive that it was all it took to finish the job. Pleasure shot through her nerves like fire, body aching and relaxing as sweet release claimed her within.
Damn, this dragon knew what she wanted. And how to keep her wanting more and more and more.
By the time the waves of pleasure had receded, Landon was pulling her tank top the rest of the way off over her head, piercing blue gaze eating up every inch of her as he did. A thrill went up her spine, and he leaned down to kiss her shoulder and neck with hot, dominant presses that left little fires on her skin wherever he went.
“More. Everything, Landon,” she begged him with a voice that was foreign to her. Ragged. Wanton. Not the Vex she’d known and cultivated over a lifetime of strife and fighting.
“Everything for you,” he said like an oath over her warm body, making good with each fulfilled promise of his mouth, his hands, his tongue, his body.
More than she could have dreamed of.
He kissed toward the back of her neck, making her body feel alive, and she turned her body to give him better access.
He drew a trail past her shoulder and onto her back, kissing new places that lit new feelings inside her. She simply followed her own body now, letting the roiling sensations move her until she was facing the bed, allowing him access to her sensitive back.
Landon wrapped a powerful arm around her stomach, holding her half upright on her knees while he licked down her spine. He only stopped when he reached the top of her hips, then moved up again, sucking harder and harder until she wondered if he was marking her skin.
It felt so wonderful, though, she didn’t really care at this point. She wasn’t going to let anyone else see anyway.
He leaned over her shoulder, his arm around her pulling their bodies together now. Her back was to his chest, her ass pressed against his hips and thighs so close she could feel how much smaller she was compared to him.
Granted, she could end the presumptuous dragon in a heartbeat if she had the inkling.
But for the time being, it was just hot to be encircled by him. Big, hard body wrapped around her, holding her tightly like she was someone precious, allowing her the space to simply feel for a moment without the past or the future encroaching in her mind.
Dragon Reformed (Reclaimed Dragons Book 3) Page 5
