His breath went rapid. His hands pressed against the door, claws withdrawn. My mate was going submissive for me, and my dragon couldn't have been happier. This was what it wanted earlier and, surprisingly, it was also what Aras wanted. I did a partial shift for him, a little display of power to sweeten his submission. Aras went still, his stare locked on the claw that extended from my pointer finger. I laid it against his throat. He swallowed, pushing his skin against it, but I moved my finger back so it wouldn't hurt him. Not there. The throat was too much to begin with.
Holding my mate's stare, I slid my claw down his chest—a light tease. A twist and my claw was backward, tip facing me so I could slide it safely around his nipple. Aras shuddered.
Like a snake, I struck, latching onto his dusky, pert nipple with my mouth and sucking hard enough to stretch it. Aras groaned and pumped against my thigh. His hands finally came off the door to slide through my hair and cup the back of my head. Pull me closer. I sucked harder, then bit, but only to knead his flesh. Claim it.
“Oh, fuck!” Aras cried.
I drew my head away, leaving his nipple glistening and long. Flushed with blood. With the back of my claw, I flicked it. Then I sliced him just above it. Aras roared, but as he bucked, I slammed a palm against his sternum and pinned him in place. Blood dripped over his nipple. I watched it, my dragon rolling inside me, eager to taste.
“Please,” Aras whimpered.
It was the word I'd been waiting for and his nudity while I wore pants made it even sweeter. I bent my head and sucked at him again. The flavor of the sea and land burst into my mouth—salt and minerals. This was the taste of my mate. A man pulled in two directions by two elements. Just like me. We had water in common, and I did rule the land. But it was time to add fire to the mix.
I drew back and blew a stream of fire over Aras's nipple, careful not to burn his flesh, just heat it and singe his fur. Aras went into erotic convulsions and then grabbed my hips and pulled me against him. Locked together, he roared once more and came. I felt the heat of his release soak into my pants.
And it pleased me greatly.
Shuddering through the end of his climax, Aras looked up at me. Adoration was evident, but there was more there. I hoped it was the start of something deeper. For both of us.
Then he slid to his knees.
I smiled as Aras undid my pants to free my shaft. I was still hard. Weeping. He licked the liquid bead from my tip, groaned as he closed his eyes, then wrapped his lips around my cock. So beautiful—those thin lips stretched around my flesh. Moving up and down my length. Sending zings into my sacs andback to my channel. Up my spine. I shifted my claw back into a finger and set my palm on the door to steady myself.
“Suck me good and I'll give you more of what you need tonight, Aras,” I said. “I'll tie you to my bed and draw your climax from you with claws and teeth as I milk your cock with my channel.”
Aras moaned around me. Then he looked up, met my stare, and started sucking me like a dock whore.
Chapter Eight
The Eye was not pleased. She pestered me throughout the hours leading up to my date with Aras. My hands began to shake. It's difficult to tone out someone speaking to you, but when they're in your head, it's impossible. I couldn't escape her. She just kept going on and on about the danger I was in and how much we needed each other. She wasn't happy with Aras's sexual proclivities either. She said it weakened my hold over him. I thought the opposite, but she wouldn't listen to me. And the Eye, unlike me with her, could ignore it when I spoke.
As my carriage stopped before the gangplank of the Tiger's Claw, I growled, “If you do not shut up during my date, I will stop seeking you.”
You need me,the Eye said.They are coming for you, Lyrandir. I believe they will attack you soon. They—
“I do not care!” I snarled, still speaking aloud. I had to vent my fury somehow. Angry thoughts didn't offer the same release. “I will have this night with him, and you will let me enjoy it, or I will stop the hunt.”
Silence. Then,As you wish.
More silence. At least in my head. As my mind went clear, other sounds came to me. The people on the docks. The sailors on the ships. And then the certain footsteps of my mateapproaching. The carriage door swung out, and there he was—dressed in the finest garments he owned.
“You look wonderful,” I said as Aras climbed in.
“Thank you.” Aras sat across from me, his tail curling over his lap from within his wool coat. Polished boots gleamed on his feet but the leather of his gloves with a soft dull black. Aras was all contrast—from his clothing to his personality. And I found it enthralling.
The carriage moved away from the dock and back into traffic. We turned toward the Renris Theater.
“You look good too,” Aras said. “I like the all-black thing. It makes your hair even brighter. Like spun rubies.”
“Are you trying to be romantic?” I smirked at him.
Aras grimaced and looked out the window.
I snatched his hand and yanked him forward, meeting him halfway to whisper, “I like it.” Then I kissed him.
Aras slid to his knees and moved between my legs, deepening our kiss. With passion riding me, I considered allowing him to do the same. But I didn't want a rushed fuck in a carriage. I wanted more from my mate. At least in the beginning. I had marked my territory in his cabin, spreading my scent over that of his old lover. That was enough to bank my beast for the time being.
My control made me proud, but I knew it had something to do with the Eye and the relief of her silence. All that internal yammering had been weighing on my dragon as much as me. Now, with her withdrawn, it could breathe. Stretch. Relax for awhile. And just being with our mate made it happy. No need for more.
