Love Bites Extra Hard (Mated to the King #5)

Chapter 1

one

AVERY

My legs dangled off the ledge of the Manor’s roof while the wind blew a few strands of hair around my face. There was a large, purple suitcase sitting on its side a few feet behind me, and my gaze was on the dragon soaring overhead.

His scales were reddish orange, and when moonlight glinted off of them, he looked like a living flame. He was up there almost every night, just like I was.

The roof was my happy place.

The sky seemed to be his.

Though I was sure he’d noticed me before, he’d never flown over or come close enough to make me worried.

I wasn’t sure if he knew who I was, but I had asked around until I figured out his identity.

He was the dragon king. Talon Reeves.

And after that night, I was going to be his mate.

Probably.

I assumed so, at least.

Anyway, I’d texted him earlier to let him know that I’d go with him willingly.

The last of my four sisters, Zora had mated with Bane, the monster king. I was the only unmated siren left hiding out in Vamp Manor.

And Talon had been trying to arrange a siren for himself ever since the first of my sisters, Blair, had mated with the vampire king, Hale. With Izzy mated to the wolf king, Porter, and Clementine mated to the fae king, Kai, the whole situation looked like some kind of nefarious plot by a bunch of wicked sirens who were trying to take over the world.

Considering that sirens were basically prey, it would’ve been quite the accomplishment if we had actually planned it.

The kings were smart enough to realize that wasn’t what was going on. Talon assumed Hale was just giving us away to his best buds, which was utterly ridiculous.

But I didn’t really blame him for thinking that way. We were weak, but we were valuable. Our magic made people feel alive in a way nothing else could, and after we took a mate, they were the only one who could experience it.

It wasn’t a plot, though. Blair had mated with Hale to buy us safety in Vamp Manor. Izzy had sealed her bond with Porter in exchange for him killing Curtis, the werewolf king who had been after us. Clementine had mated with Kai after she was dragged into the fae realm and forced to bond with a fae if she ever wanted to get back home. Zora had mated with Bane to save herself from a monster who tried to claim her as his mate.

So, it wasn’t planned.

But it did look like it, from the outside.

That didn’t give Talon the right to threaten to abduct me, of course. Which he had. My sisters and their mates had threatened war in exchange.

I wasn’t going to let it come to that, and I was tired of spending my life in hiding. So, I’d told my sisters I would let them protect me, and that I’d move wherever they wanted me to in the morning.

And then I’d texted Talon, to tell him I would go with him. I set up a meeting on the roof, too.

I didn’t have his number before… but he had filled out paperwork requesting a siren from Hale every single week since Blair became the vampire queen.

The paperwork was pointlessly long. Hale knew that. Talon knew that. Everyone else in Mistwood who had filled it out in an attempt to convince one of us to mate with them knew it. My sisters and I knew it, too.

But the dragon king filled it out anyway.

Over and over.

Given what I knew about his take-no-shit personality, that surprised me. But it did make it easier to contact him. Thanks to Blair and Hale’s assistants, I had access to all of the mating requests we’d received. Including Talon’s.

So, I pulled his number off it and used that to contact him. It had taken him a while to answer, but he finally had.

In his dragon form, Talon flew in a lazy circle above my head. My gaze followed him. He didn’t seem like he was in a hurry, but maybe that was intentional. Maybe he was watching for guards, or checking to see if it was a trap.

It wasn’t.

The guards were used to seeing me on the roof, and by the time they realized the king had joined me, we would already be gone.

Talon circled a few times, though he was clearly trying to make it look like he wasn’t circling. He took a different route every time, and disappeared for a few minutes as he flew further from the Manor with every pass.

Finally, he dove toward me.

I watched, transfixed, as fire seemed to blaze over his body while he plummeted. His wings were against his side, his gaze focused entirely on me.

Though I knew he wasn’t charging me, I braced for impact.

He lifted his head just before he landed. Right as his claws met the ground, they shifted to large, bare feet. He landed smoothly, powerful muscle stopping him effortlessly. It had to be against the laws of physics, or gravity, or something , but that was magic for you.

It didn’t follow the rules.

I didn’t bother trying to stop my gaze from moving over his body. There was nowhere for a shifter’s clothes to go when they changed forms, so he was naked, of course.

Naked, and gorgeous.

And stalking toward me.

My eyes slid up the insanely thick muscles on his thighs. Over his half-mast cock and heavy balls. Up the chiseled muscles on his abdomen, thick pecs, and oversized biceps. His skin was light brown, his black hair fell in loose curls to his cheekbones, and his dark eyes glittered dangerously.

“Get off the ledge before you get hurt.” His voice was low and gravelly in a way that made my lower belly warm.

Everything about him was deadly, but to a siren like me who had a fucked-up taste in men, that just made me want him more.

I would never act on it, of course. Wanting a dangerous bastard had nearly cost me everything in the past. Now, I only lusted from afar.

It took me a second to register that he’d just chastised me for the one tiny rebellion I allowed myself in my life.

Sitting on the edge of the roof.

“I’m not going to fall, Talon.”

“It’s a pointless risk anyway.”

“If you never take any risks, life starts feeling pretty bleak.” I looked back out over the Manor, and the trees and city around it. “What do you need a siren for?”

He had never given a reason. It was safe to assume he wanted to mate with one of us, to make us his. Lots of men wanted that. Our magic made people feel alive.

But he hadn’t mentioned a dark past he wanted to escape. Or a deep depression he couldn’t get out of on his own.

His reasoning wouldn’t change my offer, of course. I was mating with him willingly to stop my sisters from starting a war that would cost innocent people’s lives.

I still wanted to know the reasoning, though.

“You’ll find out when I’m ready,” he said.

Of course I would.

Hot, gigantic hands grabbed me by the waist and plucked me off the edge of the roof. I was on my feet, a few yards away from the drop, a moment later. He released me as quickly as he’d lifted me up.

“I’m not a pack mule. Your bag can stay here,” he said, not acknowledging the fact that he’d just carried me away from a ledge I’d placed myself on, after ignoring my statement that I was fine.

He was a dominant, controlling bastard through and through.

As expected.

I hated that I liked that, but I did.

“If you leave my bag here, people are going to think you abducted me.” I slipped my hands in the pockets of my jeans to warm them. They were loose on the legs, but fitted everywhere else, and definitely not baggy. I hated baggy jeans. There was too much fabric, and nowhere for it to go.

I felt the same way about my hair, too. There was too much of it, and it drove me crazy. Which was why the long, straight dark strands were pretty much always tied up in a bun or back in a braid. It was easier to tie back when it was long, so I didn’t bother cutting it. A few strands always escaped, but I could ignore them.

A soft breeze made goosebumps break out on my arms. It was the middle of winter, but there was no snow on the ground. Snow never stuck in Mistwood. It just wasn’t cold enough.

I was still shivering a little in the tight, black cropped long-sleeved tee I had on, though. My beat-up white sneakers weren’t keeping my toes warm, either. They were always cold.

Talon scowled. “I don’t care.”

“Are you really ready to go to war with all of the other kings, Tal?” I shortened his name, just to see how he would react. I wanted to know how bad his temper was, and if I was in danger with him. More than the basic, expected amount of danger, at least.

His scowl became a glare, but he didn’t move to hurt me. I knew I was screwed up when every part of my body screamed “green flag”. As if a man not hurting me for shortening his name was all it took to be a saint.

“Fine. We’re leaving,” he finally said.

Wow.

He actually let me win.

That felt like a literal miracle.

He shifted back without warning, and tossed his gigantic, scaly head toward his back.

He wanted me to get on.

His monstrous feet were squashing some part of Blair’s minigolf course, but she wouldn’t care. Golf course repairs were cheaper—and safer—than war.

“I don’t know how you expect me to get on your back. My arms aren’t that long.” I raised one, to prove how short they were. I was way below the top of his scaly neck.

He huffed at me.

I waited.

Reluctantly, he lowered his head to the ground. His shoulders still reached nearly the top of my head.

I grimaced, but set my hands on one of his shoulders. His scales were smooth, and crazy hot. Blissfully hot. I wanted to snuggle up against him for warmth, but that was my crazy side again. I couldn’t listen to that bitch.

I threw all my energy into trying to pull myself up. My abs flexed. My ass did, too. My heart pounded. My hair tangled in my mouth. I pulled and fought and wrestled, but after a minute of scrambling, my feet were on the cement again. My arms and abdomen were scratched and bleeding, too. His scales had felt smooth at first, but their edges were sharp.

“This isn’t going to work,” I said, trying to catch my breath. “You’re too big. Or I’m too small.”

He growled at me, two streams of smoke beginning to float from his nostrils.

Crap.

I stepped back, showing him my arms. “I’m bleeding, Talon. I can’t get up there.”

He shifted back instantly, stepping up in front of me. His body was so much bigger than mine up close to me like that, but I tried to breathe through the sudden surprise.

He caught one of my wrists and lifted my arm to inspect the wounds. “My scales did that?”

“It was probably my fault.”

He scoffed, and his gaze caught on something on the ground near my shoes. His hand tightened on my wrist before he crouched down and picked it up. It was a smooth, palm-sized, reddish-orange scale.

His body went still.

My eyes widened.

I’d knocked one of his scales off?

Uh oh.

A tense moment passed.

Should I apologize?

Make an excuse?

Run?

Just how furious was he going to be?

I started with, “I didn’t mean to?—”

He stood and tucked the scale in the front pocket of my jeans. The abrupt but smooth movement made me cut myself off.

He didn’t seem angry. Whatever his emotions were, he had them locked down surprisingly tight.

And his cock had hardened completely. I tried not to notice it, but it was difficult not to. That definitely wasn’t anger.

Without another word, he pulled my arm over his shoulders, and shifted yet again.

I made a noise of surprise as he grew instantly, hauling me into the air. He twisted just right, and I landed smoothly between his shoulder blades. My arms went around his neck immediately, and I pressed my cheek to his scales. The edges were sharp, but a few little cuts on my face were far better than falling off his back.

I wasn’t afraid of heights, but I gauged the distance between me and the ground anyway.

It was a long freaking way down.

“Please don’t drop me,” I whispered, and he snorted.

I hoped that was supposed to mean, “I won’t.”

If it meant something else, I didn’t want to know.

Talon stepped over to my suitcase.

I wrapped my legs around his neck too, squeaking when I slid a bit. The sharp edges of his scales cut into my arms, cheek, chest, and abdomen. Thankfully, my jeans were thick enough to protect my lower half.

“Careful. Please.” My voice trembled.

There was no way I was going to be able to stay on his back if he actually flew. No freaking?—

I screamed when he launched us off the roof.