Titanium (Rent-A-Dragon Book 3) Read online

  Titus couldn’t determine if he was incredibly satisfied that he alone had pleasured her like this or if he was jealous there had ever been other men before or if he was angry at the sad state of mankind that men failed to pleasure their women fully.

  It didn’t really matter now, he guessed. He was going to be the only man Bree ever cared about or looked at ever again.

  He’d make sure of it.

  Instead of saying something, he went back to her clit, this time teasing around it with his tongue, gently stimulating her so she wouldn’t go too quickly. As he did, he brought one hand between her legs and felt inside her with a finger. She was so wet, so slick that he could imagine them coming together. How immeasurably wonderful it would feel to be one with her.

  But he steeled his resolve, despite how hard he was right now, and just focused on Bree. He hooked his finger inside and stroked while his tongue continued to test her limits, licking lightly until her breathing raced, then pulling back for a moment to let her recover again.

  And each time he stopped, he admired just how beautiful she was, so captivating in the low light of the room filled with the soft glow of the moon trickling in through the windows.

  Titus quickened the pace, using two fingers instead of one now and thrusting into her, filling her like he wanted to fill her right now, licking fully over her clit with his tongue as he did. At that, Bree’s body raced toward release, her hands finding his tightly braided hair and tugging, holding on to anything as he relentlessly pleasured her.

  She came again, longer and louder than ever before, and Titus released her, holding her closely as she clung to him like a lifesaver, adrift a raging sea.

  “Titus. Oh, Titus,” she called out, clinging and thrashing at the same time, anchored to him as he felt wave after wave of pleasure come over her, crashing and receding in countless succession before finally ebbing.

  Completion.

  For at least a minute, Titus held Bree close, letting her sort out the remaining aftershocks as she came to amidst the fog of physical exhaustion and pleasure.

  “What about you? I feel like I should be doing something, too,” she exclaimed, so breathless it was a wonder she could speak at all.

  He loosened his hold on her so he could look into her beautiful blue eyes, made even more blue by the reddish hue of her cheeks.

  “No. Sharing tonight with me was the greatest thing you could have done, Bree. Besides, I’m pretty sure you’ve taken all you can handle,” he said, unable to hold back a slight grin as she looked up at him.

  She didn’t protest, but still looked unsure about the whole thing.

  In response, he pulled the sheets over them both, only now realizing he was still in his clothes but more than happy about the fact that he could enjoy her soft, naked figure a few minutes more.

  “Don’t overthink it,” he said quietly into her ear, and she giggled lightly, even as sleep quickly overtook her.

  An ironic statement, given that Titus was most certainly doing exactly that. But he vowed he would try not to and instead just focus on doing what was right for Bree. He figured things would work out between the two of them if he did.

  Fate had already showed it was on Titus’s side when she’d led him to his mate.

  He just needed to take every chance he had to win her over.

  The next morning, Bree sat on the porch swing with Biff, enjoying the warm breeze and trying to ignore Titus and Sever, who were bickering.

  It was kind of a nice break from the tension between her and Titus. It had boiled over last night and resulted in one of the most mind-blowingly pleasurable moments of her life, but she still didn’t know what to make of it.

  She’d gotten up and seen him asleep beside her, then gone down to make breakfast. They’d eaten quietly, not really talking, and she got the sense that he was holding something back.

  Which was only fair because she was holding back, too. She’d given in to physical sensation, but she was still determined to protect her heart.

  At least for now, while she was still trying to recover and be on her own and while she was relying on him for work.

  It was all too complicated to start a relationship, and she got the feeling that he understood that without her saying it.

  Even if he was comically possessive of her house, nitpicking on Sever whenever he tried to help with it. Once in a while, she caught him calling the gray-haired man Platinum and didn’t really know what that was about.

  When they were together, they both seemed more normal and yet more detached from the normal world.

  She rested her cheek in her hand and watched them, admiring Titus’s huge form, thinking about his body as it had been over her, so close. His eyes, which were usually frosty, had been hot and intense, like a white-blue flame.

  He caught her looking and paused, his expression softening obviously as he looked over at her, making her embarrassed as she turned her attention to the road.

  Her brows lowered as she saw a car there, coming up to her drive. Her private drive.

  She stood, walking to the rail and leaning over it as she watched the long, black car bump and rumble over the dirt toward her house.

  A shiver went over her shoulders and her stomach twisted with nausea.

  It wasn’t his normal car, but she still had a feeling it was Geoffrey.

  Her eyes darted to Titus and Sever, who had both stopped working and were looking in the same direction, alert in a way that was just like Biff when he sensed an intruder.

  Biff scuttled off the seat and made his way clumsily down the steps toward the car, and Bree jumped up with a gasp to stop him, but Titus put out a hand, and the dog skidded to a stop obediently.

  “Stay, boy,” Titus said, keeping his eyes pinned on the car, which stopped a few yards away.

  She wasn’t worried, though. Titus was huge, and Geoffrey was tiny. And even if Sever didn’t get involved, she knew Titus wouldn’t let anything happen to her. She wasn’t sure exactly what was happening between them, but considering how protective Titus was on a daily basis, she was sure of that.

  Geoffrey got out, his slim form in an ill-fitting gray suit, as usual, his brown hair slicked back, a pencil mustache on his face.

  Titus leaned on his shovel, glaring, and Sever took a step forward, interested.

  But then the two back doors opened, and two huge men got out, hulking dudes in black suits that were obviously hired security. Probably the type who knew how to fight and did it professionally.

  Geoffrey was far worse than she’d thought if he meant to try and use physical force to get her to go back with him.

  As he walked forward, looking smug, she glanced over at Titus. Should she tell him to go, given that they were outnumbered, and as big and strong as he was, he seemed more like a lover than a fighter?

  She’d never seen any hint of him losing control, and even when her neighbor had been there, he’d been polite in getting the man to leave.

  She didn’t want him to get hurt trying to defend her.

  Sever snorted. “She’s worried about you.” It was almost like he’d been reading her thoughts. Was she that transparent?

  “Shut up,” Titus said. “Stop doing that.”

  Stop doing what? What were they talking about? Sometimes it was like they were in a whole other world.

  She stepped down from the porch, but Titus walked in front of her, joined by Sever. Both men folded their arms.

  “You got a problem?” Titus asked.

  “I just need to talk with my employee,” Geoffrey said, sneering at her from between them.

  “No,” she said. “I have nothing to say to you, Geoffrey. The gallery doesn’t have any contract with me, despite what you think, and the house is getting fixed and will pass inspection.”

  “Is that right?” Geoffrey asked, eyes narrowing to slits.

  She stepped out around Sever. “Yes. So get off my land.”

  “This is the gallery jerk?” Titus asked.
<
br />   “Who?” Sever asked.

  “Tried to use her work against her. Control her. That’s why her house needs to be fixed so quick. He was going to try to evict her.”

  Why was Titus giving up all her personal information? She put a hand to her head. Oh well. She guessed Sever had a right to know since he was involved now.

  “Look,” she said. “Will you just go—”

  She stopped as Geoffrey darted forward, grabbing her hand and yanking her toward him as he turned and started to run for the car.

  7

  She let out a squeak of surprise as she tried to pull free of his surprisingly strong grip. “Let me go!”

  “We need to talk about this alone, without your two brutes,” he said as his men moved between her and Titus and Sever, who had both run toward her and were forced to skid to a halt.

  She focused on Geoffrey’s wrist as he dragged her, making a karate chop motion that made him howl but not release her as she heard shouting in the distance.

  She had to get free, had to help Titus and Sever. She raised a knee into his groin, and he yelped and released her, falling forward to cradle his crushed nuts.

  She’d done it! She’d fought back. Finally.

  She whipped around to see the two thugs on the ground in a heap, unconscious.

  Titus and Sever were standing there, Sever holding some kind of gigantic… hammer? It looked too big for a human to even hold.

  Was that seriously something he used to work on houses?

  He gave her a caught-in-the-headlights stare and hid the hammer behind his back as Titus stepped in front of him, looking nervous.

  “What happened?” she asked, walking up to the men on the ground, who were stirring and starting to moan.

  “We didn’t kill them,” Sever said cheerfully.

  “And what was that hammer?” she asked, looking at Titus, who was opening and closing his fist, which looked a little bruised.

  “Nothing,” Titus said. “Sever thought it was needed, but I was able to take them both down with my bare hands.” He gave Sever a glare that was chiding, but for what she couldn’t interpret.

  “Wow,” she said. “What do we do now?”

  Sever walked to the men and kicked them with the toe of his work boots. They grunted, and he smiled. “I can get rid of them.”

  Titus stepped forward, clearing his throat. “No. Let’s just put them back in their car. Geoff isn’t unconscious. He can drive them.” Titus and Sever then hefted the men up and hauled them over to the car, opening the doors and depositing them in there.

  She stayed back a few steps as Titus pulled a green-looking Geoff up by the collar and had a few choice words with him that had the man nodding avidly in response.

  When Titus released him, Geoff ran for the driver’s seat and started the car, swerving as they reversed backward out of the drive, skidding over the dirt road.

  They peeled out and disappeared in a puff of smoke, and Sever, whose hammer had mysteriously disappeared, was dusting his hands off as if he’d just gotten rid of some garbage.

  Titus, on the other hand, looked a little nervous. When he came over to Bree, he checked her over, taking the wrist Geoff had been holding to make sure she hadn’t been hurt.

  “I’m sorry,” he said. “I shouldn’t have let him touch you.”

  “No,” she said. “Thanks to both of you, I’m fine. I wouldn’t be if you hadn’t been here.”

  Sever grinned. “No problem, babe.”

  Titus frowned. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

  “I am, thanks to you two.”

  His frown deepened. “Can I talk to you?”

  She nodded, and he pulled her a good ways to the side, where Sever couldn’t hear them.

  “Look, I… think you should send away Sever.”

  “Why?” she asked. “You know why I have to get this work done. You know we need all the help we can get.”

  “No, we don’t,” he said, folding his massive arms as his braid whipped in the wind. Stray hairs came loose, catching the sun in wisps of gold and white. “And I’m getting tired of him interfering.”

  “Didn’t he just help you in the fight?”

  “He almost did more harm than good,” Titus said.

  “Well, what I see is a friend who’s trying to help you,” she said. “And you’re just arguing and not letting him do his job.”

  “And I see a guy who is trying to get in with you, and you’re being hopelessly naive about it. He’s dangerous, don’t you get that?”

  She scowled. “If he’s dangerous and he’s your boss, then aren’t you dangerous?”

  He threw his hands up in the air. “Fine, then. Don’t trust me. See if I care. I’ll just work with that sociopath until something bad happens, and then you’ll see.”

  “Just because we did something last night, it doesn’t mean you can tell me how to live my life,” she said quietly.

  “I’m not trying to,” he said. “Heaven knows I’m trying to hold back. As hard as I can. Give you space. But when I see something that I think is dangerous, I’m going to tell you. Even as your employee.”

  “And I’m going to tell you when you’re stepping out of line, even as your lover.”

  His expression softened. “What am I to you?”

  Someone I had sex with, she thought. Someone I could fall in love with if I wasn’t so damn afraid.

  Sexual or not, every man she trusted ended up controlling and betraying her.

  She didn’t want that to happen with Titus. If she let him decide who she talked to, who she worked with, then what was next?

  “I’m sorry, Titus. Sever hasn’t done anything to make me not trust him. He stays.”

  Titus closed his eyes slowly and exhaled. When he opened them again, they were cold. “Do what you want, then. I’m going to get back to work on the house.”

  Though he was only a few feet away, he felt far from her, and she suddenly wanted to take it all back.

  Sever walked up beside her, cocking his head. “What’s wrong with him?”

  She shook her head. “I don’t know.”

  But she did. She just didn’t know what she wanted to do about it.

  Titus sat rigidly on his stool, waiting while Bree painted him. All he could think about was Sever’s smug face as he’d left that day, fully aware that Titus had tried to get rid of him, unsuccessfully.

  Titus was trying to be patient, but it bothered him that he still didn’t have a say with his mate, especially on matters of safety.

  After meeting Geoff, he’d seen the full toxicity of men who took control and thought they owned someone, but couldn’t Bree see he wasn’t like that already?

  “Pouting isn’t going to make for a very impressive portrait,” she said, peeking at him over the canvas.

  He ignored her, turning slightly to the side.

  “And now you’ve changed the angle.” She let out a sigh and put down her brush and palette. “What’s wrong? Talk to me.”

  “What do you think is wrong?” he burst out. “We made love last night, and while I know it wasn’t promised with any commitment, I thought it at least meant you trusted me.”

  “I do,” she said, shrinking back slightly in the face of his anger.

  “Then why won’t you listen to me? Why won’t you just let me protect you?” he demanded.

  She was shocked and just sat there for a moment, not answering him.

  Then next moment, she nearly stumbled as she got off her stool and hastily started to untie her apron.

  “Wait,” he said, calling after her. “Come on, Bree. Just answer me.”

  She turned back to him, hurt and fire in those beautiful turquoise eyes.

  “What’s so wrong with letting me protect you?” he asked, fully baffled by it.

  “Because,” she said, twisting the apron in her hands, getting paint on them and not really caring. Her hair had escaped her ponytail on the sides and trailed over her cheeks. He was shocked as a tear st
reamed down one cheek as she took a step back from him. “Because protection is just a bullshit excuse a lot of men use to take advantage of you.”

  And then she was gone, running down the stairs in a series of clunks, leaving Titus alone with his thoughts and his guilt over his impatience.

  A few minutes later, he was still totally lost when he saw Biff poke his silvery head into the room curiously.

  “I fucked up, boy,” he said.

  Biff looked back down the stairs, as if telling Titus to try again, and Titus sighed, thinking the dog was probably right.

  “None of this is how I thought it would be,” he said quietly to Biff, even though he knew the dog couldn’t really understand him.

  Biff cocked his head curiously, a good approximation of listening, and that was enough.

  “All right, boy, I’ll go.” He pulled a jacket on over the tight tee shirt he was wearing and followed Biff down the stairs and out the front door. When he walked onto the porch, he saw her sitting on the top step in a little ball, her knees tucked up against her chest and her arms curled around them.

  She looked back at him as he approached her, and he was dismayed to see her eyes were reddened.

  “I’m sorry,” he said, sitting beside her. “I know I get a little crazy about your safety sometimes. I’m just kind of a protective guy. I’m not trying to take liberties or trap you or anything like that.”

  “I know,” she mumbled. “It’s just… I feel out of control right now. I thought when I left him, things would just be fine. I mean, he never really touched me, even if he was creepy at the end. But before that, he was just so helpful. He helped me fulfill my dreams with my art, gave me a safe place to paint. A lot of my friends out of school had parents to go home to, safe places to land.”

  “You didn’t?”

  She shook her head. “My dad was abusive. Verbally more than anything. My mom left when I was little, and I guess I reminded him of her.”

  “That wasn’t fair for him to punish you,” he said. “He should have protected you.”

  “Oh, he did,” she said. “Maybe it was just because he was afraid I would leave, too, looking back at it. But I never got to do the things other kids did. My curfew was early, and if I wasn’t home in time, he would scream at me. He would lock me in my room, sometimes for days. I would miss school.”