Dragon Soul

by Amelia Jade

“He has pictures of you. Here, on foreign soil. Talking to foreign agents of the government. If I don’t give him a lot of money within three days, he’s going to send those pictures to your superiors with the angle that you’re here as a spy.”

  Kim started to shake.

  “It’ll be okay,” he assured her. “I’ll vouch for your whereabouts, and that—”

  “No, it won’t be okay, Pyne! Don’t you see?”

  He looked down into eyes that had grown large and shiny as tears welled up in them. She was trying to fight them, to stay strong, but it was a losing battle as the first one started to roll down her cheek. Reaching out, he caught it and wiped it away before it could go far, repeating the process on the other cheek.

  “Kim, I can fix this, I—”

  “Not if it goes public, Pyne. They’re going to have to call me back. Court-martial me. Dishonorable discharge. That’ll go on my public record for everyone and anyone to see. What place would hire someone as disgraced as I am? That’s assuming I don’t get tossed in some ultra-secret prison for the rest of my life while they try to figure out what information I gave away. I’m screwed, Pyne. We need to get those pictures back!”

  “That’s it,” he said, realization dawning. “I know his plan.”

  Chapter Ten

  Kim

  They went back to the base immediately. There was no point in staying at the mall any longer. All the fun she’d been having had been wiped away by that single phone call. The entire ride home she’d attempted to remain outwardly calm.

  She’d never seen Pyne’s angry side before, and part of her was scared by it. He was just so powerful. That was no surprise of course, but he always held back around her. This was the first time she’d seen him unleash some of the strength he so obviously held, even though he’d never actually touched anything. It was that ability to project power simply through body language and words that made him so terrifying.

  All that was countered by the extreme sense of protection he seemed to encapsulate her with. Anytime she was near him, she felt safer. Calmer. Even on the car ride when her hand had started to shake, he’d immediately smothered it with his own. A peaceful, calming presence had entered her mind, helping keep the anxiety at bay for a time.

  Now it was coming back with a vengeance.

  “I’m so screwed,” she moaned as they entered his quarters. She immediately flung herself down on the bed and stared at the ceiling, not caring that he was giving her an odd look. It was over. Everything was over, and there was nothing she could do about it besides go along for the ride. All the power was with Morgan and Pyne. They were fighting each other, and she would be the collateral damage if Pyne didn’t come out as the victor.

  “You’re going to be okay,” Pyne stated with just a bit of sternness. He was already solving the problem, while she just wanted to wallow in her emotions.

  “Morgan is an asshole.”

  He snorted. “Got it in one.”

  “I can’t believe he’s trying to get revenge on us both all this time later.”

  Pyne sounded thoughtful. “I can’t see what else it would be. We got him exiled from the country. Chased him out as far as we know, or otherwise sent him into deep hiding. Now he wants to return the favor, starting with you.”

  “He’s never going to give the pictures up. He might give you a copy, but he won’t delete them.”

  “I know. We’ll cross that bridge later, but for now I think I have no choice but to at least play along with him.”

  “You can’t do that!” she cried, balling her fists up in frustration.

  Pyne looked at her, his head tilting from side to side, evaluating her.

  “What?”

  “Sit up,” he commanded in that strange voice he occasionally used, the one that she instantly obeyed without really realizing it.

  She did and he slipped onto the bed behind her, his weight causing her to fall back into his arms. “What are you doing?” She didn’t try to pull away however, because his fingers slid up her arms and then gently dug into her shoulders. “Oh. Ohhh.”

  Pyne didn’t reply, but he didn’t have to. His thumbs did most of the talking for him. Even through her uniform—which she desperately wanted to change out of now that she had real clothes again—it still felt wonderful.

  Her brain calmed slowly, and the rest of her followed, the stress eased away by Pyne’s slow, firm strokes across the muscles of her shoulders, neck, and even upper back. She absolutely wilted under his attention, reduced to a purring puddle. This cleared her brain immensely.

  “What are you doing?” Pyne asked, finally breaking the silence as she pulled out her phone and brought up the browser.

  “Booking a ticket home,” she mumbled.

  “A what?”

  “A plane ticket,” she explained. “I can get home inside of seventy-two hours and explain everything before the pictures go live. I can turn it around. Maybe the government will warn everyone, and if he tries to hand in pictures in person, they can arrest him.”

  “Morgan isn’t that dumb,” he countered.

  “Probably not. He’ll email them, but—”

  Pressure increased on her shoulders until it became uncomfortable.

  “Hey, what are you doing?”

  “Morgan isn’t that stupid,” he repeated. “He’ll know if you go to the airport to fly home. I guarantee it. He’s been following you so far, and none of us have seen it. How do you expect to make it back on a plane undetected? He can send the pictures faster than you can fly.”

  She started to argue, but his fingers tightened some more and she caved. “All right, all right. Fine. You’re right. I’m screwed. What do you want me to do then?”

  He worked across her shoulders some more. “I want you to relax,” he murmured, leaning forward to speak the last word right into her ear.

  His breath washed down her ear and neck, the skin already agitated from his fingers now positively tingling from the close proximity.

  “What should we do?” she asked, letting herself relax into him, her hands resting on his legs that stretched out on either side of her. She idly began stroking one without really thinking about it.

  “First, you need to stop worrying and trust me. This will be okay in the end. You’re not going to be in trouble.”

  “I need to know there’s a plan if I’m going to do that,” she countered.

  “I’m working on a plan. For that though, we’re going to need clear heads.”

  Something in his tone alerted her to a sudden change in the mood. All at once she was aware that they were in his quarters, on his bed, alone, with nobody to interrupt them. She was sitting between his legs, caressing one of them while he ran his hands across her shoulders and upper arms.

  Oh.

  “You don’t think we have clear heads now?” she asked tentatively, her brain shutting down with the increased nervousness of her position. Was she ready for this? Just a few minutes ago she’d been freaking out. Now she was considering…what was she considering?

  Pyne leaned forward, delicate touches of his fingers tilting her head to the side as he brought his lips to her ear. “No,” he whispered, her skin shivering as they brushed against her. “Not quite.”

  “I see.” She leaned back into him, still trying to figure out just what she was doing. Okay that’s a lie, I know what I’m doing. The question is, should I be doing it? This is not why I came here. My career, my life is on the line right now, and I’m letting myself get romantically involved with someone I haven’t seen in a decade.

  Yeah, but he felt so good pressed against her, his size and strength making her feel tiny and cared for all at once.

  He kissed her ear and the hairs on her arms stood straight up.

  “I think we should change that,” he said just as quietly, the ghost of a caress from his lips touching her upper neck.

  “How do—” She had to pause as his hands slipped from her
arms and wrapped around her waist. “How do you propose we do that?”

  This time she felt his mouth descend on her neck, the heat of his tongue as he flicked it down the veins, and the sharp, pleasant bite of his teeth as he ran them over her skin. A moan slipped from her lips, and just like that her tacit permission was given.

  She turned her head and leaned further to the side, Pyne’s strong hand supporting her as she looked back, opening herself up to be kissed by him.

  And kiss her he did.

  Chapter Eleven

  Pyne

  She moved in his hands, all soft curves and delicious flesh, a mass of puzzles and marks that would tell him the story of her life. He ached to get to work, to know everything there was about his mate, the one woman he would spend forever with.

  Instead he took his time. There was plenty of it. He didn’t want to rush and chance missing anything about this wonderful woman. About Kim.

  He kissed her softly, explicitly, and with abandon. At some point she fell onto her back and he went with her, lying half atop her and half on his side, stroking stray hairs from her face as they alternated kissing and staring at one another. Words were unnecessary; they were nothing more than sounds that would have broken the spell of the moment.

  Everything was perfect. The way the light reflected off the multitude of gold mixed in the brown of her eyes. The way her cheek crinkled each time he ran his fingers across her face or moved in to kiss her once more. Her body, tall but soft, yet full of confidence in what she had to offer. He could feel it as she pressed into him.

  All that and more he read and learned without having to speak, body language giving them millions of clues. Eventually his hand wandered down past her neck, to the zipper of the green military outfit. She bit her lip as he stripped it off her in one long, drawn-out movement, never stopping, never letting her do any of the work.

  She wore nothing but her underwear underneath, something that caught him by surprise, though it shouldn’t have. He hissed in surprise, drinking in the plethora of sights that lay before him, not noticing the growl of appreciation that broke the near unending silence between them.

  “I take it you like what you see?” she asked, out of breath from doing nothing at all.

  “Like it? I love it.” He flung his leg up and over her, straddling her while he ran his hands along her ribs, playfully teasing her nipples through her bra until they rose to hardened tips, all the time keeping one eye on her glorious body, the other on Kim’s face. He relished the way her face moved, indicating pleasure, excitement, or interest depending on what he was doing to her.

  In turn he basked in the attention Kim lavished upon him. She wasn’t content to let him have all the fun. Her surprisingly strong hands gripped his legs at first, but they slowly wandered upward, nails dragging across his stomach and chest, little tingles shooting out from the path they wound across his flesh. Her eyes stayed fixed on him, but she was learning his body as well.

  “That feels nice,” he groaned, falling forward to kiss her, urgency starting to push through his restraint.

  “I can do plenty of nice things to you,” she moaned as he bit her neck. “Especially if you keep doing them to me.”

  He grinned, alternating between gently sucking and biting on her neck, feeling her fingernails dig into his back each time. The hiss of breath as she inhaled was everything he’d hoped to get and then some. It drove him wild. The more pleasure he could give, the more satisfied Pyne would be at the end of it all.

  The rest of their clothes came off as he slowly made his way down her body, kissing, biting, licking, rubbing, and squeezing as he went. By the time he reached her breasts, skillfully unhooking her bra and discarding it into the abyss that was the rest of his quarters, Kim was more than ready for him. He could feel her hips gyrating slowly against his leg.

  “I’ll get there,” he teased, realizing she was trying to send him a message.

  “I want you there now.” At the last word he sucked harder on one nipple, causing her to gasp.

  One hand grabbed the back of his head, alternating between pulling it in tight to her and trying to push him lower, while she laid the other across her mouth, muffling the sounds that came out. At one point when he slipped a hand under her underwear he saw her bite down. It was the hottest thing he’d ever seen.

  Pulling back, he ran his eyes over her again from head to toe, searing the image into his brain. This was something Pyne never wanted to forget. His first time with his mate. It had to be special. Memorable. That was why he was taking his time, teasing her and building up the anticipation.

  “You’ve got that weird look in your eye,” she remarked, crossing her legs self-consciously. “Is something wrong?”

  “You’re not reading me correctly,” he said, lifting himself up so he could kiss her to reassure her. “I don’t know what it looks like, but on the inside I’m in awe of your beauty. I want to stare because I can’t get enough of it. I’m trying to make this a sight I’ll always be able to picture.”

  He fell silent, not wanting to tell her how he hoped they would spend many more nights, mornings, and days like this once they were mated. That would freak her out, and he wanted to finish what he’d started.

  “Now.” He kissed her lips gently, dragging them and his tongue down her neck, collarbone, and straight across her chest and stomach. “If you don’t mind. I was about to get into the middle of something.”

  Kim giggled and immediately relaxed, not fighting him as he uncrossed her legs so he could remove her last item of clothing. “I don’t mind at all. I’ve been waiting impatiently for this for at least ten minutes, you tease.”

  “That’s enough out of you,” he growled, and without warning buried himself between her legs.

  Kim yelped in surprise, but immediately relaxed as his tongue slid out and across her, much gentler than his sudden head movement made it seem.

  “Harder,” she moaned as he used the faintest of touches, forcing her to push herself out toward him if she wanted to feel anything but a flutter. “Pyne.”

  He ignored that, wrapping his powerful arms under her legs and grasping her upper thigh, holding them apart so that she couldn’t tease him back by denying what he wanted so badly. To please her.

  It didn’t take long for her to try and speak again. Before she could utter the first syllable Pyne flicked his tongue out and over her with enough pressure to be felt. Every muscle in her body tightened at once and she instantly fell silent. He grinned, continuing slowly but steadily. She was his now. He had her.

  The teasing wasn’t just to be mean. It built up a reservoir of need within Kim that he worked into a frenzy, all the while holding her hips tight. Pyne was in control, all without needing to use overwhelming strength or verbal commands. He kept his eyes on her face, watching it contort until it seemed she could take no more, then he backed down.

  Every time he saw the frustration build a little, but he never let it get too high before he started up again.

  “I can’t take it anymore, Pyne. You need to…please. I want it. I need it.” She was out of breath and sounded like her brain was starting to fry.

  It was time. He brought her to the edge again, and then he applied some more pressure with his tongue and upped his speed. Kim went berserk, thrashing and crying out, alternating between using his name, swearing, and making noises that had no words attached to them. Her entire body convulsed rapidly.

  His keen eyes saw her cheeks and face begin to turn red from lack of air, but he didn’t stop. Not until she went limp and pushed on his head with one hand did he back down, though even then he didn’t just stop. He slowed, bringing her back down from the high to rest. Then he just lay there, letting her recover without allowing himself to be a distraction.

  “Wow.” She stared at the ceiling unblinking, her chest rising and falling swiftly. “Okay.”

  Pyne buried his face in the covers, not wanting her to see his sh
it-eating grin. That was the single best compliment he could ever receive for his efforts. But he didn’t want her to know how happy that made him. The attention needed to be on her and her pleasure, not on his ability to give it to her. Eventually he’d allow that, but for now she was the center of everything.

  Rolling her onto her side, he climbed the bed and curled up behind her, pausing only to lift her upper leg. He slid his hard cock between it, pressing it right up against her sopping wet opening. The mix of his saliva and her wetness felt warm and inviting against him, and he grew instantly harder, but he didn’t push the issue.

  Instead he focused on Kim. His one hand came over her arm and cupped her breast, idly playing with her nipple while he kissed her neck. Two, maybe three minutes later, Kim began to slowly move her hips back and forth, his cock sandwiched between them.

  “That feels really nice,” she whispered, her eyes closed as her body worked. “You’re so hard.”

  “Only the best for you,” he teased, holding her tight as she shook with laughter.

  As she did he angled his hips so that his cock pressed firmly against her opening. Kim fell silent immediately, her body freezing. Pyne wasn’t sure, but there might have been a tiny squeak of surprise.

  He waited there until she started to press back against him, not wanting to force it, just in case she wasn’t actually ready. Both of them gasped when he first pushed inside of her, holding still while they adjusted—him to her warmth and the knowledge that he was with his mate for the first time, and Kim to his size as she slowly worked to accommodate all of him.

  They lay like that, rocking back and forth, until he felt confident he could up his stroke. Holding her steady with one hand he did the work. His hips thrust toward her, and to his surprise she pushed back, until he pressed hard into her ass. Kim moaned and he bit his lip, trying to keep his composure. Between the sensations around his shaft and the visual of Kim in the midst of pure pleasure, it was almost more than Pyne could handle.

  “Harder.”

  The current position didn’t allow for much of that, so he pushed her down into the bed and rolled on top of her, all without removing his cock. Now on his knees, he thrust forward, watching the way her ass bounced as his thighs thundered into her.