Dragon Redeemed (Reclaimed Dragons Book 2) Read online

  Then he pulled his shirt over his head, tossing it to the side and revealing an abdomen that was indeed beautifully “swole.”

  Crap.

  Kira’s throat went dry as taut, defined muscle met her eyes. His broad shoulders and powerful back tapered down to trim hips and a really nice ass that showed through his fitted jeans.

  There’s no way I can do this.

  Ryder went for his belt, and Kira whipped around, not sure she should give herself even more reasons to perv on her partner than she already had from just one glance. But it was frustratingly difficult trying to not look as she heard his pants fall away, then the sound of him rummaging in his backpack.

  After all, she was here to work. Not gape at the perfect body of the only man she’d ever wanted.

  “Good night, Kira,” she heard him say, and when she turned around, he was wearing thin black pajama pants and pulling the covers back, getting into bed. But he was still shirtless, and she got just a hint of pecs and abs before he disappeared under the sheets, his body so long his feet hung off the edge of the bed.

  “See you in the morning, Ryder,” she replied, busying herself with getting ready for bed as quickly as possible. She brushed her teeth, put clips in her hair so it wouldn’t get in her face, and changed into a sleep shirt and pants inside the bathroom before coming out.

  By the time she turned off the lights, Ryder was already asleep, snoring softly on his side, and she crawled gently into bed next to him. The warmth from his body had already made the sheets delightfully cozy, and it was truly difficult to not imagine what sharing a bed with him for the rest of their lives might be like.

  But Kira closed her eyes and just focused on sleeping. Or at least attempted to sleep.

  Every time she was about to nod off, though, the image of Ryder, shirtless, standing over her, flashed through her mind, jolting her awake. Or if it wasn’t his half-naked body, it was their kiss from earlier today. The way he’d claimed her mouth so utterly and thoroughly it only made her desperate for more. More of his kisses. More of his everything.

  And it wasn’t just the Ryder from the past she wanted. It was Ryder now. So funny and sarcastic and sexy and… free.

  She could feel the bond in her pulsing with want and reaching out to him. The way it always had.

  Deep inside her, she knew she would give anything to touch, to hold this man right now. To feel his body and be felt by him in turn. The stuff of dreams.

  But in the flesh. Warm and strong and lying next to her on the bed.

  She turned over and closed her eyes again. She’d resist him somehow, even if she ended up tossing and turning all night.

  9

  Ryder awoke to the sensation of the ground shaking beneath him mixed with a creaking, groaning sound that tingled the edge of his hearing.

  To his surprise, he hadn’t been having nightmares. That was a first.

  His eyes immediately acclimated to the dark, nose scenting for anything around him.

  But it was just him and Kira.

  In a bed together.

  Now he remembered why he’d chosen to go right to sleep as quickly as he could.

  Being this close to Kira, the memory of their kiss still on his lips, burned in his soul. His dragon roared for more.

  The bed shifted again, wobbling as he could feel Kira move next to him. Was she awake? Or just a restless sleeper?

  He turned over and was greeted by a pair of warm brown eyes with a tinge of pink around the center looking directly at him with surprise and shock.

  “Did I wake you? I’m sorry,” she said immediately, looking adorably flustered.

  Ryder grinned. He’d always been a light sleeper. Even the sound of a squirrel rustling leaves was enough to wake him on a good night. “Maybe. Are you the reason I keep dreaming about trampolines?”

  She bit her lower lip nervously. “It’s not my fault. This mattress is too bouncy.”

  He sat up on one arm, immediately noting the way her gaze flitted down his chest before coming back up to meet him.

  She’d been checking him out all day.

  But if she was guilty, then he was doubly guilty. She was just too beautiful to resist looking at.

  And he could no longer deny the pull he felt toward her from the moment he saw her at his doorstep.

  “You can’t sleep?” He studied her face, more tempted to read her thoughts than ever.

  “I…” She paused for a long moment, looking away. “It’s stupid.”

  “I doubt it,” he retorted. “Besides, if it’s keeping you from sleeping, it’s keeping me from sleeping, so you might as well let me help.”

  Her eyes widened slightly as her face flushed with embarrassment. “No. It’s fine. I’m all good.”

  He shook his head. “You’re obviously not.”

  She let out an aggrieved sigh, so cute in her pink nightshirt. “I don’t want you to think I’m unprofessional.”

  His eyebrows rose. Did she mean unprofessional like what they’d done that morning? Because if so, he was definitely on board.

  “Just go to bed, Ryder,” she begged. “I’ll be fine.”

  “You know I can read your thoughts if I really have to,” Ryder said. “Though, I’d rather you tell me what’s bothering you on your own so we can both get the rest we need.”

  She bit her lower lip, a curl falling adorably over her forehead. “I can’t stop thinking about the kiss. From this morning.”

  “Right, the kiss,” Ryder said, feeling his cheeks heat awkwardly at her calling it out so directly.

  During their drive together, Ryder had considered doing it again many times whenever he looked over and saw her sitting in the passenger seat next to him.

  But somehow he resisted. If she wanted him, though…

  “What about the kiss?” He felt his throat tighten like it was warning him, but he couldn’t turn back now.

  “I just…” Kira looked away. “It’s complicated.”

  “Complicated how?” Now that he was fully awake, he could sense her arousal, her want, his own mixing in the air into a heady cocktail that was going to push them both to the brink of their self-control. “Do you regret it?”

  Because he didn’t. Even though she was fae, even though he should hate her, Ryder had been falling from the moment they met.

  Not falling down, though. Falling up. So fast he was afraid he’d hit the ceiling. But instead, he was floating in the clouds, flying toward something a creature like him never deserved.

  She shook her head emphatically. “No! No regrets. The absolute opposite of regret.”

  He blinked, trying not to let his body get too many ideas before he processed what she meant by that.

  Then he got it and grinned as he leaned in closer until their faces were only a few inches apart. “So you wouldn’t mind if it happened again.”

  “Maybe,” she said lightly, though he could see her pulse racing at the base of her throat. “It was just a kiss, after all. Not sure why I’m obsessing over it.”

  “Maybe we should try again. See if it’s really worth obsessing over,” he said, almost daring them both to keep going forward.

  If he stopped now, maybe they could stay professional. Stick to the mission and leave things uncomplicated.

  But if he touched her now, kissed her again, he’d want more. He’d need more.

  All of her.

  “Maybe you’re right. After all, it was just a kiss,” she said softly.

  A stray lock of hair hung over her face, and he couldn’t help reaching up to tuck it behind her ear as he pushed himself up, leaning over her so they were face to face now.

  “No big deal. Just a kiss.” His words echoed like forever in his ears, the magnetic pull between them so strong neither of them could pull away now. “Last chance, Kira.”

  Last chance, Ryder.

  But she didn’t reply, didn’t call his bluff as Ryder leaned down, watching as her eyes shut, lips parting slightly before his mouth crashed
over hers.

  Fire and life lit up Ryder’s senses as their lips melded, the contact soft and firm at the same time. Immediately, he deepened the kiss, desperate for more contact as her mouth opened completely, beckoning him.

  He delved in with his tongue, exploring and caressing the inside of her, her muffled moans even more delicious to hear than he’d remembered from this morning.

  It made the dragon inside him roar with approval.

  For a whole minute—or maybe it was three—he plundered her mouth, each of her squirms, her soft sounds of approval making him lose control of his desire to pleasure her senseless. To make her scream his name. To make her his completely.

  When he pulled away, both of them were breathless, watching each other wide-eyed. Her skin glowed in the soft light from a streetlamp outside their window, her lips swollen and utterly kissable.

  “Maybe one more?” he asked, knowing where this was going but not wanting to stop it.

  “One more,” she said, voice husky, and his mouth covered hers once more.

  Only this time, he was hungry. They both were, working each other into a frenzy as he voraciously licked along the top of her mouth and their tongues entwined.

  And when he pulled away, moving to her ear, finally getting to roll her small, soft lobe between his lips and teeth, Kira didn’t stop him. She just sighed, squirming against the bed, making the man in him so happy he could die.

  “Too hot,” she exclaimed, pushing the covers down her body, revealing her soft figure. Ryder obliged by throwing the blankets off completely and straddling her body. Her hips pressed against his thighs as he continued to work his tongue up and down her neck.

  He could feel her hands on his chest, feel their hunger as she roved up his muscles while he worked her ever deeper into that unquenchable frenzy with his mouth.

  And when he kissed harder at the base of her neck, sucking on the soft flesh there, she gasped with arousal. So he did it again. And again. Moving toward her collar, toward her shoulder, pushing away the thin fabric of her nightshirt so he could taste more of her skin.

  God, she was all he wanted. All he needed.

  Kira was already tugging at her shirt stuck beneath her on the bed, and Ryder pulled it over her head, tossing it aside as his hands immediately found her bare breasts. Her eyes went wide, then rolled back as he caressed the already firm tips with his thumbs, squeezing her plump mounds.

  And when he kissed both, laving and licking with his tongue, her hips bucked against him, pressing against his cock, making him wonder what it would be like to be inside her, driving them both to even greater heights.

  But one thing at a time.

  For a moment, he let his hands explore down her body, tugging off her gray sweatpants and leaving her just in lacy pink panties. Her hips, her thighs, her belly, all of her was soft and sexy and perfect.

  And when he brought one hand close to her center, he watched Kira intently, making sure this was what she wanted, even though he already knew the answer.

  She nodded.

  Ryder’s hand cupped her sex, covering her while one finger began to slide up against her slit. Even over the panties, she was so wet that his digit slid easily, and he immediately moved at a steady rhythm, wanting to see her come.

  To see this mysterious fae falling apart in his arms.

  “Oh God,” she cried out, breath hitching between strokes of his finger, which were getting faster and faster. But after a moment, even the slight barrier of the underwear was too much, and he slid his hand beneath the panties, continuing directly over her tiny nub, the contact of skin on skin as erotic as it was satisfying.

  “Close?” he asked, his entire body feverish and warm as he pleasured her.

  “So… so cl—”

  But her words were cut off just as he swirled his finger in a little circle around her clit, making her come immediately.

  Kira took in a ragged breath, but before she could scream, Ryder leaned down to cover her mouth with his, not trusting the walls of the hotel room and too possessive of her release to risk anyone else hearing. And when she let out the pent-up tension, he continued to thrust his tongue in to meet hers, pushing her deeper even as her entire body quivered beneath him in orgasm.

  As it abated, Ryder pulled away, looking down at his handiwork. Kira’s hair was starting to fall out of the clips she’d put in, the soft brown curls lying against the pillow. Her lips were glossy, breath racing as her lungs tried to catch up with the rest of her. Her body practically glowed from exertion, and he wanted to make her glow even more.

  And he couldn’t help but notice the pink ring at the center of her irises was growing brighter, accenting her overwhelmed, pleasured expression. Around him, he could sense a faint pink tinge to the air, smelling of roses and tickling the fae part of him that dealt with all things magical.

  Ryder didn’t know where this was going. He just knew he wanted to keep going.

  He got off of her and pulled her panties away, casting them aside as he spread her legs, the glistening wetness of her sex tantalizing him.

  “More,” he groaned, wanting to taste her on his mouth. Needing to taste her reaction to him, to know she was his and to show her just how badly he craved her.

  And Kira didn’t protest, just watched with awe as he pulled her lower down the bed with ease until her legs hung partially off the edge. He then knelt at the base of the bed, having perfect access now as his tongue found her clit.

  “Ryder, Ryder…” She said his name between moans, his face buried between her legs, tongue licking between her folds and sliding over her clit again and again. Nothing in his life had ever felt more real, more grounded in the present than this moment with Kira.

  His past was a blur. His future was a question mark.

  His now was all Kira.

  Ryder licked and licked, soaking in her arousal as he held her hips, her legs hanging over his shoulders. He could feel each twitch of her muscles, register each sound of pleasure, noting which direction his tongue moved over her clit caused her to have the strongest reaction.

  And when she came, he held her close, watching as her hands grasped the rickety bed at her sides, clutching dearly while she shuddered in release.

  But he kept going, sucking lightly on the tortured nub, kissing her over and over until she got so close she couldn’t hold any longer. Then, just as she was about to come, he’d pull away, letting his hands slide up her body to tease her breasts again, and he’d turn his head to kiss along the insides of her thighs resting atop his shoulders.

  Then, when he knew she couldn’t hold on any longer, Ryder licked her once more, making her come, loving the way her hips squeezed together with surprising tension as he memorized her release like a dying person enjoying their final meal.

  “Okay. That. Was. Amazing,” Kira said between huffs of breath, voice staccato, barely enough air in her lungs to get out each word.

  Ryder stood from between her legs and grabbed the blankets on the ground and pulled them over her, laying himself next to her.

  All of his senses were aflame, his body twitching for more. But he’d never gone this far, never felt this close to someone.

  The sensation was foreign, dangerous. Dangerous for the creature he didn’t fully know and dangerous for both of their hearts.

  “Wait. What about you?” she asked, a hint of longing in her voice as her hands wrapped around him and he pulled Kira close against his chest.

  “That’s all I can take for now, little fae,” he said, his own heart racing faster than he’d expected.

  She smiled, her skin glowing. “Someone used to call me that back at the lab.”

  He snorted. “I don’t want to hear about it if it was a man.”

  She sighed, looking up at him with so much tenderness he didn’t know what to do with it. “Anyway, I’m not little.”

  He tilted her chin up so he could look into the swirling depths of her gaze. “To me, you are,” he replied with a grin.
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  She shook her head. “You know I’m super strong, right?” He nodded, and she smiled at him and nestled against his chest. “As long as you understand.”

  “I understand that I just want to hold you,” he said. And he never wanted to let go.

  With the rush of watching her come still flooding him, he was vaguely aware that he’d just made love to a fae. He just didn’t care in the moment.

  To him, she was just Kira.

  “I want to hold you too,” she said quietly.

  He smiled and kissed the top of her head as they both lay on their sides, bodies enmeshed, souls warm like two fires in close proximity of each other.

  Just being with her made the chaos in him feel more distant. More subtle.

  Damn, he was falling for a fae.

  10

  The next morning, everything went ahead as planned, a new kind of normal resting in the tense, furtive air between them.

  Kira had fallen asleep in Ryder’s arms, and he’d held her all night, unable to fully rest because it felt like his soul was on fire. And when they’d gotten up, they’d both taken a shower, checked out of the hotel, and made the rest of the drive out to the middle of nowhere for their next mission.

  But even though they hadn’t yet said a word about what they’d done last night, Ryder was extra aware of Kira’s attention. Her unsubtle glances. The way her expression lit up whenever he looked over at her.

  “How close are we?” Ryder asked as they hiked into the middle of the woods, surrounded by aspen and pine trees, this particular facility nestled deep in the mountains far to the north from the city where Kira lived.

  “Almost there,” Kira replied, watching her phone screen attentively.

  Ryder was curious to know more about how she was locating these places, but he figured he’d leave the tech stuff to her.

  His mind was already full of memories of last night. And the desire to make more memories between them.

  But every time he went to open his mouth, he wasn’t sure what to say. How to broach the subject of what they’d done and how wonderful it had been.

  He could sense Kira skirting the same issue as well.