Lead Dragon (Dragon Guard of Drakkaris) Read online

  Not stopping, he continued to press his finger lightly against her clit, pushing her even deeper into her release. And when her orgasm abated, he continued to torture her with his touch, building it again and again and sending her crashing over the edge just as quickly.

  She was so beautiful. Sexy curves beneath him, cute facial features that were so unique, so her, blond hair spread over the pillow in waves. No wonder his dragon had been attracted to her from the moment he’d seen her. And not just her physical appearance. Her personality, too, the way she tested his limits, brought out the side of him that nobody else could.

  Satisfied with what he’d done so far, he released her hands, and she tossed her shirt and bra to the side eagerly. But before she could do anything else, he’d pulled off her pants along with her underwear. Then he hoisted her thighs over his shoulders, kneeing slightly so her shoulders could rest on the bed, holding the rest of her body with his arms.

  Brittany opened her mouth as if to say something, but her words were caught in a husky gasp as his tongue swept over her clit. Her hands clenched into the bedsheets at her sides, her neck arching backward at the sensation of it. Every response he got from her, every signal and sound she gave showing her pleasure only made Lead that much more desperate to claim her.

  She orgasmed, thighs clenching as he held her through the storm of desire swirling within her, then made her come again and again. He wanted her to come so fast, so hard that it stole the very breath out of her lungs, wiped her mind of all thought, erased every memory of every moment she’d had without him in her life.

  But the further Lead fell into his desire for Brittany, the harder his mind pushed against him. He knew he was being dishonorable.

  The oracle had never said she could belong to any of them. And at this point, he was afraid to ask. But he couldn’t help himself, couldn’t fight back the bone-deep urge to claim her, show her exactly how much she meant to him.

  At this point, Brittany was so close even Lead’s breathing could make her come, and he laid her back down on the bed, at odds with himself.

  “So…” she gasped out, attempting a laugh but sounding out of air. “You’re making it pretty clear you do want me, contrary to how you were acting earlier today.”

  “Of course. I want you more than life itself,” he replied.

  “Then why does it feel like you’re hesitating?” she asked, sitting up on her elbows. “Why are you stopping?”

  Lead didn’t know. There were too many unanswered questions. Too many rules that he’d upheld his entire life and only now was starting to break down. What if he lost her? What if the oracle took her away?

  It would break him.

  But regardless of what was right or wrong or up or down, Lead’s dragon knew it wanted her. Had from the very moment he’d laid eyes on her.

  Lead pulled the small square packet from his pocket, running his thumb over it. This would allow him to be one with Brittany, come together with her without mating. But would that be enough? She was it for him.

  His thoughts were interrupted by the packet being pulled from his hand, followed by Brittany’s small fingers hooking around his belt, tugging him forward.

  “Just stop thinking and start living, Lead.”

  The dragon inside him roared to life.

  If such a thing as fated mates existed, then this was it. It had to be.

  Brittany saw the fire return to Lead’s eyes as she undid his belt, and before she could even finish, he pulled it off for her, tossing it aside and undoing the button to his jeans.

  He’d been so possessive, so dominant, so unleashed. Brittany loved it. Like he was actually here, fully with her for the first time. All of him, even the parts he kept hidden from everyone else.

  But before he pulled off his pants, he came forward, pushing her onto her back and placing his hands on both sides of her head, raw, masculine energy emanating from him.

  “I won’t be letting you out of my sight, ever again,” he said, practically growling.

  She tried to respond, but her heart was whizzing past her mind at a million miles an hour, her entire body reacting to his presence.

  “You’re mine now. Mine.”

  So this was the possessiveness he tried to hold back. Brittany felt she could pass out. Her lungs were uncooperative as his yellow eyes practically glowed in the low light of his bedroom. For a split second, his eyes did that thing where the pupils turned to slits, but then they were normal again, devouring her with his gaze.

  He popped off the bed, pulling off his shirt and pants and everything else in record time, giving her the perfect view of his substantial assets. Brittany’s throat went dry. Bulging pecs, broad shoulders, abs for days, muscular thighs.

  So. Much. Man.

  She beckoned him back onto the bed, tearing open the condom wrapper and moving to put it onto Lead’s thick member. It was so big she wondered if he’d even fit inside her, but her body was too hot, too ready and wanting to give up now.

  Lead flinched slightly as she pulled it over him, and for a second, he looked down at it, curious.

  “So that’s how it works,” he commented.

  “Now you just need to put it to good use,” she teased, lying back on the bed, every part of her aching for him to be inside.

  He grinned, a feral look in his eyes as he placed his hands on the bed, surrounding her, making her feel safe as only he could, and positioned himself between her legs. Every nerve was poised at attention, waiting, wanting.

  Then, with a slow, careful thrust, he came into her, and everything went white. Perhaps it was because she was so sensitive, because he’d pushed her so hard and made her come so many times before doing this. Perhaps it was just because she’d been anticipating this for too long. But instantly, it felt as though there were a big, red button labeled “orgasm” somewhere within her, and he’d just pushed it.

  Instantly, Brittany came harder than before, her entire body almost foreign to her as pure sensation overwhelmed her, filled her entire being from the inside out. Lead thankfully stayed steady, not moving, though just the thickness, the length of him felt it was pushing her even deeper into her own release.

  For an interminably long time, her body’s response to him overtook everything. And even as it subsided, she was still aware of him, still turned on and wet and willing to take anything and everything he could give.

  “I… I don’t know what to say,” she said, mind blank, lungs heaving from effort. “It’s too amazing.”

  “Then don’t say anything. I’ll take care of the rest,” Lead said, his hand cupping her cheek for a moment, then moving back to her side.

  He slid out of her, every ridge of his member sending off sparks inside her, then pushed in again, just a hair faster, making her mind buzz with erotic pleasure. It was like a cup so full that the water line actually extended past the edge of it, but wouldn’t spill over.

  She’d known Lead was a good lover from last time they’d been together. But this was something else entirely.

  Brittany would never be able to get enough of him.

  He moved into a slow rhythm, each thrust timed as if with the very beating of her heart, and she tried desperately to hold off her own release, wanting to come with him. So when Lead thrust again, she pushed her hips to his, doubling their speed, begging him to come faster.

  Lead responded to her, the muscles in his forearms flexing, his jaw clenching as he started to go quicker and quicker. Every centimeter of his length was like fire within, surging into her as soon as it retreated, so hot Brittany had to dig her nails into her own palms to try to hold back.

  But it was like trying to stave off a hurricane, trying to tell a tornado to change directions. Lead was a force of nature, the way he knew her so perfectly, inside and out.

  Brittany pushed harder and harder, her body a train headed toward the end of the tracks on the edge of a cliff. But she couldn’t stop it, could only ride it out to its incredible end. And Lead was clos
e, too, his tanned skin glowing with a slight sheen of sweat, the only noise in the room his breathing and the slick sound of their bodies coming together faster and faster.

  And then she careened off the edge, the ground opening beneath her into a free-fall of pleasure. A second later, she felt Lead pulled with her, thrusting in deeper than ever before, all the way to the hilt, and then jerking inside her as her own body pulsed with even greater release.

  To her surprise, Lead held her close, his arms wrapping around her as they came together. Every sense gave out, short-circuited by the pleasure, and instinctively, she held on to him, too, his thick muscles an anchor in the tumult of her orgasm.

  For many long moments, he held her, even long past their releases. Then slowly, he came out of her, making Brittany’s nerves go a little haywire. She was still so sensitive. He headed to the bathroom, cleaned up, and came back onto the bed, pulling her into him to spoon from behind, making her all too aware of just how tiny she was next to him.

  “Mine,” he whispered, his breath warm against her neck.

  Brittany could only hope he truly meant it. Even if she didn’t know what that meant between a human and a dragon (let alone a dragon from another planet), it felt right, felt like it should be.

  And as Lead drifted off to sleep, his breathing deep and melodic, Brittany just hoped when she woke up, he would still be there. That whatever had kept him holding back, he would be able to overcome it.

  Because even if the future was uncertain, there was one thing Brittany was sure of.

  She wanted Lead in it.

  Chapter 14

  Lead knew it was a cowardly move to hit the gym the next morning instead of waiting for Brittany to wake up, but he didn’t feel he had any choice.

  He didn’t want them to fight again, as they had the other morning. And even if she was fine with the way things had gone, because she wanted to release tension, Lead didn’t know how she’d react to the fact that he wanted so much more.

  He’d told her so many things in the heat of passion. How she was his, how he wasn’t letting her out of his sight (which was true because he’d told Arsenic to let him know if he saw her leave the room and come upstairs). Arsenic was always up before everyone.

  But during all of it, the storm of his unreasonable jealousy and possessiveness, she’d been patient and passionate and unfailingly kind.

  There was so much about her he liked, and he still had so much to get to know about her.

  But no matter how he wanted her, she was a still a human with her own life and her own world outside of this one. And even if she might stay here, she might not be allowed to be with him.

  A part of him knew he should just call the oracle and ask about her, but he didn’t know what he’d do if the oracle said no. He didn’t feel he was ready to hear her answer. He didn’t know what havoc the dragon inside him would cause if denied.

  And he didn’t know the oracle well enough to trust her to know what was best for him.

  Yes, he was in more trouble than when he’d slain the beast of Agnar.

  He wiped sweat off his forehead and picked up his dumbbells before lying back on the bench he used for chest presses. He had just started his second rep when the door to the gym creaked open.

  He jerked his gaze over and saw Brittany there, wearing a burgundy robe over her pink nightgown, her hair still mussed from last night, her cheeks flushed as if she’d been running.

  “You scared me,” she said, putting a hand on her chest and walking over to him.

  She leaned over him, upside down in his vision, but no less beautiful, and he sighed and dropped the weights on the ground at his sides.

  Then he sat up slowly, giving her a chance to move back. She sat on the bench next to his, watching him pensively.

  “Why did I scare you?” he asked.

  “I thought you’d run away again,” she said. “That you were going to spend the day avoiding me.”

  “No,” he said, taking his hand towel and wiping off sweat, not wanting to appear unseemly in front of his mate. “I’m afraid that’s not possible anymore.”

  “So you meant what you said last night,” she said carefully.

  He nodded, embarrassment at his lack of honor going through him. He wanted her, and he was glad she knew it, despite the fact that he knew there was a chance this could all go wrong and break both their hearts.

  Still, he’d hurt her yesterday by pulling back and stating his mistake, so he wouldn’t do it again.

  “I was hasty yesterday, but I didn’t lie,” he said, planting both feet in her direction and putting a hand on each of his knees. “I don’t mean to stay away from you.”

  “Why did you come down here, then?” she asked. “Why didn’t you wait so we could get up together?”

  “I… didn’t want a repeat of the other morning,” he said. “Where I took my shame at my lack of control out on you. I wanted to get my head clear, try to figure out what to say.”

  She smiled slightly. “And did you?”

  “No,” he said with a laugh. “I still don’t know what to say. What this is. Why you put up with me. But I like you, Brittany. A lot.” He shook his head. “It’s hard for me to even think about you being around the other dragons. I feel like everyone is going to try and take you.”

  She shrugged. “Well, they do all say as much. But if I like you, I know they’d stand back.”

  Lead wasn’t sure about that. They’d always been loyal as a group, but he didn’t know how they’d react to finding out that the captain who said everyone should stay away from the human had taken her for himself.

  “I don’t think we should tell anyone for now,” he said.

  “So if you like me, what is this mating thing they all talk about?” she asked, leaning back and crossing her legs.

  Lead tried not to think about how beautiful she looked in that robe and how much he just wanted to take her back to his room and make love to her all over again. “On Drakkaris, it is different than on Earth. The act is the same, but the meaning is different. On Drakkaris, mating is simply a way to seal a dragon’s heart and keep it from poison. On Earth, it is an affair of the heart, a promise only to one person. Like marriage but more serious.”

  “And do you want to mate me?” she asked.

  “That is complicated,” Lead said. “I wish I could make promises, but I can’t.”

  “Why not?”

  Lead had no idea what to tell her. “All I can say is I won’t run from you again. Whatever difficulties we face, I won’t leave you unless you want me to.”

  She nodded. “I see. Well, I don’t want you to leave me. You were my first friend in this house. You made me feel safe here, and I’m wildly attracted to you.” Her gaze grew mischievous. “I was thinking of you all day yesterday, too.”

  “You were?”

  “I like the other dragons here, but even though they’re all good looking, the only one I’ve really been able to see is you.”

  He felt unbelievably flattered at that. Almost flattered enough to forget he was being a piece of crap for going along with this. Still, he had to follow his heart. The dragon in him would flambé him otherwise. “I’m glad,” he said. “I never thought I would fall for a human we rescued. I never had ulterior motives, but almost from the moment I met you, I wanted you to be mine.”

  She flushed, smiling happily. “And I’ve never met anyone I liked as much as you. So why is it complicated? Why can’t we just date and see where it goes? Why do you always seem so conflicted?” She frowned. “Does your poison affect me?”

  “No,” Lead said. “It is carefully controlled within me, and even when I use metal as part of my powers, it’s carefully controlled so it doesn’t enter the air or contaminate surfaces. Besides, I’m not even close to the most potently poisonous of the dragons.”

  “Arsenic?” Brittany asked.

  “No, probably the volatile metals. Zinc. Cadmium. Mercury, though he’s already mated.”

&nbs
p; “To another dragon,” Brittany said.

  “That’s right,” Lead said. “And they seem very happy. Good for them.” He felt an odd rush of jealousy at what they had. He wanted that for himself, with Brittany. But it wasn’t that simple.

  Still, he intended to spend as much time getting to know her as possible, getting into her good graces so that by the time he approached the oracle, she would be ready to fight alongside him for what they both wanted.

  “I’m not telling the others about us, but I do want to spend a lot more time with you,” he said. “So be prepared to see me a lot.”

  She smiled, her color deepening. “I’d like that, you silly dragon.”

  He stood, reaching out a hand to help her up. “So I’ll see you at breakfast?”

  “That’d be great,” she said.

  “If you want to head up, I can join you after my shower,” he said, throwing his towel over his shoulder and heading in the direction of his bathroom.

  “Um, if you want, I can help clean you off?”

  His eyebrows shot up as he turned to face her, a slow grin curving his lips. “With such a lovely lady asking, how can I say no?”

  She skipped forward happily, putting an arm around his neck and following him into the bathroom with a little purr.

  Dammit, complications aside, how could he be so lucky?

  He wanted this woman to be fated to him. She had to be. If she wasn’t, well, then he was just going to have to twist fate.

  “Lead, ah, don’t stop, ah, ah…”

  Lead buried his mouth between her breasts with a smile as she arched back against the glass wall of the shower.

  It had been a few days since their talk in the gym, and Lead was getting better and better at just letting go with her and living in the moment.

  Her legs were wrapped around his waist, her wet heat pressed to his abdomen, and his hands held her under her thighs, propping her up as he’d kissed and sucked her sensitive nipples.

  This was her third orgasm. Lead knew he shouldn’t be counting, but he couldn’t help it. These moments between them were too precious, even as they became more common.