Valentine drew her dragon first, the marker tickling her stomach with every stroke. Their design was a circle, so she wanted it tattooed around her belly button. One side was her dragon, the other side his, with knotwork designs linking them together like an ouroboros. Separate dragons, but whole together, which matched them perfectly.
Valentine hadn't started tattooing yet, and Yelena could already feel the soft hum of their magic in their design. He set out his inks in neat rows and picked up his tattooing gun.
"You ready, baby girl?" he asked.
"To be yours forever? Fuck, yes. But kiss me first," she said.
He leaned down, a lock of his dark hair falling in front of his face, and pressed his lips to hers. It was slow and sweet, like they had all been since they had come home. They had been so tired from the battle and magic, being slow and sweet was called for, and it had felt just right. Valentine's tongue teased against hers, and she nipped his bottom lip in warning.
"Stop teasing me. Magic first, sex later," she growled.
Valentine's grin was infectious. "Right you are."
The first prick of the needles made Yelena jump, and then the endorphins hit, and she relaxed with a happy sigh, lost in the pleasure and pain of it. She could understand why he had so many now if they always felt so good. Valentine kept working, his eyes never leaving her skin. The magic began to flow from him into the gun, and Yelena's toes curled.
"Ohhhh," she breathed out. Now she knew what he had meant about his already working. "That feels…"
"Iknow, Yelena. I can barely focus right now," Valentine grumbled. His tattoo was pulsing with the scarlet aura of his power, and Yelena bit the inside of her cheek and closed her eyes. She couldn't look at him while all these feelings pulsed through her. Her inner eye opened, and she could see the magic working. The mating instinct that her dragon side had always insisted on was a living thing between them. Her tattoo was mirroring, amplifying, and combining with his all at the same time.
Yelena tried to slow her breathing as her pussy clenched, arousal burning hot through her.
Valentine's spare hand stroked her thigh. "Keep breathing, Yelena. Don't tense or it will make the tattoo hurt more."
"This… How did you act so calm when you were doing yours?" she demanded, opening her eyes to glare at him.
"Clearly, you weren't paying attention," Valentine said, gesturing to the hard outline of his dick in his pants.
Yelena's mouth watered. "You need to get this tattoo done."
Valentine groaned and shook himself. "I'm halfway. At least we know the bond is working, right?"
"Right," Yelena said, her voice breaking. She breathed in and out and stared at the ceiling because watching Valentine was making her even worse.
Valentine got back to work, and she did her best not to clench any parts of her body. Her nipples were hard, and her breasts ached. She tried to think about cold mountain winds and plunging into the ice-covered lakes. Her pussy throbbed, wetness dampening the insides of her thighs.
"Fuck, baby girl, my dragon is losing it over the smell of you," Valentine said through gritted teeth.
"I can't help it," she almost sobbed.
Valentine's spare hand slid under the edge of her robe, caressing her skin. Her legs opened without a thought, needing him to touch her to relieve the pulsing heat of magic and desire. His tattooing hand stayed steady, his eyes on the work. Somehow, that concentration made her hotter and wetter. The hand on her thigh touched her soaked slit, making her whimper.
"Stay still," he growled, and the alpha in his voice made her obey.
Yelena settled again and lost time as his fingers stroked and teased their way through her soft folds and over her clit. It took all her willpower not to move an inch. Her hands balled into fists as Valentine made her bite back every tremor, moan, and plea.
"You're doing so well for me, baby girl," he said, and she almost came at the approval in his voice. "We are almost done."
Yelena couldn't reply. Her soul, her body, her heart—everything was on fire. Magic was pulsing all around them as the mating bond wove them together, a little bit by little bit. Shetried counting backward from a thousand and kept losing track of the numbers. She had never been good at numbers anyway.
"A few more strokes," Valentine said, his voice dark silk. The hand between her thighs moved to press two fingers inside of her. Yelena couldn't bite back her moans as he did indeed give her a few deep strokes.
"Oh, fuck, you're killing me," she sobbed, her legs trembling with the effort not to lift her hips.
"No. I'm claiming my baby girl," Valentine growled. His gun touched her skin two times, and the completion of the bond hit Yelena like a lightning bolt. Her pussy gripped his fingers, and her orgasm tore her apart. She was barely aware of the cloth dabbing the blood and ink from her skin.
"Look at me, Yelena," Valentine commanded, and she opened her tear-filled eyes. He moved around her, grabbed her ankle with his free hand, and dragged her to the edge of the counter. He shoved his loose black pants down, freeing his dick with a hiss like even the fabric’s light brush hurt him.
"Open that robe. Let me see you," he said, eyes glowing scarlet. Her fingers trembled as they fumbled with the tie, and the side of the robes opened. "There she is. There's my mate. Now you can move and scream as much as you need."
