“I’m not worried.” He continued to kneel between her thighs, his hand stroking lightly between her breasts. “You won’t hurt me, Kaida.”
“I might,” she whispered.
“You won’t,” he said. “Lie back.”
She chewed at her bottom lip. Her favourite position was being on top, she loved looking down and watching her partner’s face as she rode him, but it didn’t mean she never wanted to switch things up. But with Bren… if she lost control of her flame and couldn’t move away in time…
She shuddered all over, staring mutely at Bren as he stroked her still-glowing chest. “You won’t hurt me,” he repeated. “I want to be on top, honey. Let me.”
She turned her head and blew out a short burst of flame toward the open window before taking a deep breath and lying back on the bed. Bren smiled at her and her feelings of trepidation disappeared when he bent his head and sucked her nipple into his mouth. He teased both nipples, cupping and kneading her breasts until her nipples were hard, her chest was glowing again, and liquid was dripping down her inner thighs.
“Bren, please!” She didn’t often beg, but he was rubbing the head of his cock up and down her pussy, teasing her clit, pausing at her entrance but not slipping in.
He propped himself up on his hands above her. “Look at me, honey.”
She stared up at him, her hands clinging to his waist, her thighs pressing against his hips, as he slowly entered her. Her loud purrs filled the room as he slid into her, filling her to an uncomfortable fullness as her walls stretched around his thick length.
“Fuck, you feel so good,” he muttered.
“Please,” she moaned again.
Bren dropped a kiss against her mouth. Her chest was glowing, and she could feel the heat rising in her, but she kept it at bay as Bren drove in and out of her with slow and deep thrusts. He moved in a steady rhythm, refusing to speed up even when she urged him on with soft cries and her fingernails down his back.
“Please!” she cried out. She needed more, she needed it to be harder and faster.
“Soon,” he said before dipping his head and sucking on her nipple. It had to be too warm, she could feel the heat rising from her body, but it didn’t seem to bother him. He teased her nipple with his tongue as he continued to drive in and out with that same slow and maddening pace that made her want to scream and beg for more.
“My mate, please,” she moaned.
He stopped and stared down at her. She needed to take back what she said, but when Bren said hoarsely, “Again”, she didn’t hesitate.
“My mate, please fuck me. Give me what I need.”
He touched her face before fucking her hard and deep. She wrapped her thighs around his waist and raked her nails down his back as he drove in and out. The slap of their bodies was drowned by the sound of her purring as her mate thrust into her repeatedly.
The heat was growing in her chest, the desire to release the flame before she burned almost impossible to hold in.
Keep our mate safe.
She swallowed down the smoke, ignored the flame. She wouldn’t – couldn’t – hurt her mate.
“My mate!” she cried. “Please!”
When his hand slipped between their bodes and skated across her clit, she couldn’t hold back her orgasm. It washed over her, the heated pleasure sparking the flame inside of her into a fierce fire that threatened to consume her.
She sucked in a breath, the air hot and dry between her and her mate, the fire in her lungs fighting to be free. She watched Bren as his own pleasure washed over him. He closed his eyes, pumping his hips as he came deep within her.
The trust her mate showed, his belief that she would never hurt him, extinguished the flame in her chest. She released her breath, a small plume of smoke drifting from between her lips to rise lazily to the ceiling.
Bren collapsed against her and kissed her throat before rolling off of her with a groan. He stared dazedly at the ceiling, small beads of sweat sliding down his torso.
“Oh my God,” he muttered.
She curled into him, smiling a little. She had pleased her mate.
* * *
Kaida traced her fingers along Bren’s forearm. She loved being curled up with him in the bed, loved the feel of his warm body against hers. The bedroom was cold, but Bren hadn’t asked her to shut the window after their lovemaking was done. Eventually they would have to close the window, winter would be too cold for Bren to sleep with the window open even with the warmth of her body. But for now, she would enjoy it.
How quickly you forget. You won’t be with the human by winter.
Her dragon growled angrily at her inner voice. It wasn’t planning on ever giving up Bren and as each day went by, her dragon’s claim on him grew stronger. It fully believed that Bren was their mate.
As if he’d read her thoughts, Bren kissed the back of her shoulder and said, “Can we talk about the mate thing?”
“It was my dragon who said it,” she replied quickly.
It wasn’t just her dragon who said it. Her voice would have been different if it was, but she’d been more than happy to give in to her dragon’s wishes and call Bren her mate. She waited for Bren to call her out on her lie.
Instead, he kissed her shoulder again. “I know. But is it only your dragon who believes it?”
“My clan knows I’m spending time with you,” she said. “They believe it’s just a fling. I’m not the only dragon in the clan who is socializing with humans.”
“Okay,” Bren said. “But that isn’t what I asked you. We agreed to try the dating thing, and it’s been a couple of weeks. I know how your dragon feels, I want to know how you’re feeling about us.”
“Does it matter?” she asked. “My clan will never allow you to live with them and I can’t be away from them.”
“You spend every night away from them,” he said.
“And every day with them.” She stared out the window at the brick wall of the building next to them. “I can’t be away from my clan, Bren. I’m sorry, but -”
He squeezed her waist and spooned her even closer. “You don’t have to say sorry. I get it. You can’t be away from your clan, so we need to figure out a way to make your clan accept me. Maybe I should get an invisibility potion from Elora and on my days off, spend time with you and your clan. We can ease them into it.”
“It isn’t just my clan.” The topic she’d been avoiding and denying even to herself, finally reared its ugly head. “You want hatchlings.”
“I do. You don’t?” He had tensed behind her.
“I want them very much, but I’m not sure I can have them.”
He tugged on her arm until she rolled over to face him. He pulled her into his embrace again. “Have you seen a doctor about it?”
“No, it’s not that. It’s… dragons are going extinct, Bren. We’re going extinct because our females rarely become pregnant. Jarvis and Sika’s hatchling is the first to be born in our clan in over a decade. The odds that I will ever be a mother are incredibly low.”
“But not zero,” he said.
She cupped his face. “You want hatchlings, I cannot promise to give them to you.”
“No woman can promise to give me a kid, just like I can’t promise to give her a kid,” Bren said. “Having difficulty getting pregnant is not the same as knowing you absolutely can’t have kids. It’s worth the risk to me.”
Her dragon purred with happiness and Kaida could feel warmth spreading through her entire body. Her mate was perfect, and she had no idea how she’d gotten so lucky.
You’re going to disappoint your mate.
She wanted to tell her inner voice to shut up, but it made a point that she couldn’t ignore. It might be worth the risk to Bren now, but after a few years, when it became obvious that she would never conceive, then what?
Bren stroked her cheek with his thumb. “Look, I know we have a lot of hills to climb with this relationship, but I think it’s working for us so far. You’re
important to me and I don’t want to give up on us. Do you?”
“No,” she admitted.
His smile radiated happiness. “Good. So, should I start hanging out with your clan?”
“Let’s give it a bit more time,” she said. “Do you mind?”
“No.” He pressed a kiss against her forehead. “We have all the time in the world.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Bren stepped out of his apartment building. It was a cool and overcast day and he could smell rain in the air. He’d only taken two steps toward his parking spot when the door opened behind him and Kaida called his name.
He turned around, smiling when Kaida threw her arms around his shoulders and pressed a kiss against his mouth. She was wearing just a pair of panties and a shirt of his that fell mid-thigh on her. He squeezed her ass through her shirt and grinned at her. “What are you doing out here? It’s freezing.”
“You’re not allowed to leave for work without saying goodbye to me.”
“You were snoring so sweetly that I didn’t want to wake you,” he said with a grin.
She wrinkled her nose. “I don’t snore.”
“You don’t not snore,” he said.
She poked him in the back, and he laughed and squeezed her ass again. “Sorry, I will never again leave the apartment without saying goodbye.”
“Thank you,” she said. Despite the cold air, she was soft and warm against him. He pressed his mouth against hers and couldn’t resist deepening the kiss. She moaned into his mouth and he sucked on her bottom lip before releasing her mouth.
“Maybe I should take the day off,” he said.
“Maybe you should.” She wiggled her eyebrows at him.
“I would if I didn’t have a court appointment this morning.”
She growled and a puff of smoke came out of her mouth and drifted upward. “Fine, abandon me and go to work, but someone’s being handcuffed to the bed again tonight as punishment.”
She rubbed her pelvis against his erection, and he groaned out a curse. “I want to say that’s a punishment, but I can’t quite find the words.”
“Good,” she said with a wicked grin. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to crawl back into your bed and masturbate.”
“Evil. You are truly evil,” Bren said. He slapped her on the ass as she walked back to the apartment door, letting herself in with the keys she carried.
She paused on the threshold and wiggled her ass at him. “See you tonight, detective.”
He adjusted his dick through his jeans, trying to relieve some of the pressure as he watched Kaida’s delectable ass all the way to the elevator.
Christ, it was going to be a long day at work.
* * *
“Holy shit, Matthews. You’re banging a dragon shifter?” Jeremy stood up and stared over their shared cubicle wall at Bren.
“What?” Bren blinked at him. “What did you say?”
It was midmorning and after his court appointment, he’d headed back to the precinct. Despite the paperwork on his desk, he couldn’t stop thinking about Kaida and everything he wanted to do to her tonight. For a second, he wondered if he’d been talking out loud to himself.
“You’re banging a dragon!” Jeremy’s voice was carrying across the big open room and Bren made a shushing motion.
“Keep your voice down, for God’s sake,” Bren said.
“Everyone probably already knows anyway,” Jeremy said.
“What are you talking about?” Bren said.
“Bren?” His captain, a quiet man named Morales, had stopped in front of his cubicle. “Can I see you in my office?”
His stomach in knots, Bren followed him to the office. Morales shut the door and sank into the leather chair behind his desk. “Have you seen the news?”
“I just got back from court. What’s going on?” Bren said.
Morales turned his computer screen to face Bren. He had a local tv station website on the screen, and he hit play on the video.
A reporter popped up, standing in front of his father’s office building downtown. Bren’s stomach dropped to his feet when she said, “As of yet, there has been no official statement from Senator Matthews regarding the news that both of his children are dating shifters. In fact, it seems he had no prior knowledge of this when we questioned him about it. We’re standing outside of his office, but it appears that Senator Matthews has left. We’ll continue to monitor the situation and let you know if and when he returns to the office.”
The screen switched to the news anchor in the studio. “Thank you, Carol,” the news anchor said. “Channel Five was the first to report this breaking news. As well, we are the only studio to have the exclusive videos of Senator Matthew’s sons, both appearing to be in intimate relationships with shifters.”
Nausea running rampant through him, Bren watched as the grainy video appeared. It was of Tyler and Corey sitting on a park bench, holding hands and talking. The camera zoomed in just as Tyler leaned in and kissed Corey.
“We know the young man on the right is a fox shifter,” the newscaster’s voice droned, “thanks to more anonymous footage sent to our studios.”
The view switched to show the forest outside of the city. Bren clenched his hands into fists as the camera swung to the right and caught the image of the small red fox running past a few trees. The fox stopped next to a pile of clothes at the base of a tree and sniffed the air before studying the forest around him. After a moment, the fox’s body rippled, and he shifted into Corey. He grabbed his clothes and started to dress.
Bren’s hands clenched into fists. “He’s a kid, captain. They recorded a naked kid who -”
“They blurred him out,” Morales said.
“That doesn’t matter, it’s still an invasion of privacy.”
Morales grimaced. “He’s on public land. We’ve already had a few calls from concerned citizens, demanding we arrest him for public indecency.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?”
“I wish I was,” Morales said. “There’s more.”
He tapped the screen, and Bren watched as another video popped up. His chest tightened when he saw Tyler and Corey surrounded by reporters outside of their school. “What the fuck? Where the fuck are the teachers?”
His nails bit into his palms as the reporters screamed questions at Tyler and Corey. Both boys looked upset and frightened, and Bren muttered another curse as a man pushed his way through the crowd and stood in front of the boys.
“Get the fuck back,” he roared at the crowd of reporters.
“Who are you? What’s your name? How do you know the boys? Are you the fox shifter’s father?” A reporter shoved a microphone into the man’s face.
Fur sprouted on the man’s face and he bared his fangs at the reporter. “Get that microphone out of my fucking face or I’ll make you eat it.”
The reporter skittered back, clutching the microphone in one hand as the shifter took Tyler and Corey’s arms. “Let’s go, boys.”
Bren sagged with relief when Davis got both boys into his car and drove away from the school. A few of the reporters jumped into their cars to follow them and Bren rubbed at his temples as the video switched back to the newscaster.
“Any idea who that guy was?” Morales asked as he hit pause.
“Yeah. It’s a shifter named Davis. I hired a security firm to keep an eye on Corey and Tyler because they were being bullied at school for being gay. They were attacked in the forest a few weeks ago by a bunch of football players.”
“Jesus,” Morales said. “Did your father know Tyler was gay and dating a shifter?”
“What do you think?” Bren said. “I gotta go.”
“Wait.” Morales held up his hand. “It wasn’t just Tyler they caught on video.”
Bren sank back into his chair as Morales typed on his keyboard. He stared grimly at Bren. “This video is all over social media.”
Bren read the title on the screen. “Senator’s Son Heats Up with D
ragoness”
“Shit,” he groaned as the video played. Someone had captured his and Kaida’s moment in front of his apartment building this morning. He watched as the shaky but perfectly clear video captured their kiss, him grabbing her ass, and – he groaned again – the puff of smoke that came from Kaida’s mouth.
“Shut it off,” he said.
Morales turned the video off. “So, that’s shitty for you.”
“Yeah,” Bren said. “Do you mind if I take the day -”
His cell phone buzzed, and he pulled it out of his pocket. It was Tyler and he said to Morales, “Sorry, I need one minute.”
He answered the phone. “Ty? Buddy, are you -”
“Bren?” Tyler’s voice was clogged with tears. “Bren, can you come over? Dad’s really mad at me and he’s, like, freaking out. He won’t stop screaming and -”
Bren winced when he heard his father’s voice. “Get off the goddamn phone, Tyler! We are having a fucking discussion! Hang up the phone now, you little shit! I swear to God, if you don’t -”
“Tyler, I’ll be right there,” Bren said quickly. It was too late – the connection had been broken.
Bren jumped to his feet. “Captain, I need -”
“Go,” Morales said. “Take care of your brother.”
* * *
He could hear his father’s angry shouting in the hallway outside of the apartment. Bren dug the key to his father’s place out of his pocket and unlocked the door, letting himself in and closing the door before stalking to the kitchen.
Tyler, his face red and streaked with tears, was standing near the doorway as his father paced back and forth, slamming his hand repeatedly on the marble-topped island.
Bren slipped his arm around Tyler’s shoulders, squeezing him tight. “It’s okay, buddy.”
“I’m sorry,” Tyler said. “I didn’t know what else to do. Dad is losing it.’
“It’s okay,” he repeated.
“I cannot believe you would do this to me. You ungrateful, inconsiderate asshole!” His father hadn’t even noticed Bren’s arrival. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done? Do you?” He whirled to face them. “My career is – oh look who fucking shows up. My oldest ungrateful, inconsiderate son. What do you have to say for yourself, Bren?”
The Dragon's Mate (Shifters Series Book 7) Page 28
