Chapter 14
Wes
Feelings of desire floated off Livvie in waves, yet I sensed she wasn’t anywhere close to ready for me to act on them, no matter how badly I wanted to.
I turned on the shower and stripped but froze when I heard a small moan come from the bedroom.
No way.
I cracked the door open a hair and peeked out to find her writhing under the blankets and the room full of the scent of her desire.
Oh, shit.
Shutting the door, I turned the shower to ice cold and stepped under the flow, but my intense erection didn’t care how cold the water was.
Stroking it, I listened closely to the sounds the shower wasn’t drowning out like her skin sliding over the sheets. Every time she let out a small moan, my balls tightened.
I tightened my grip until it was nearly painful, running my hand over my head and down my shaft, thinking about biting her neck and sinking myself into Livvie’s tight sheath, claiming her, body and soul, and giving myself to her the same way.
Hot cum spurted all over the shower wall as I leaned against it, drawing out the last bit of the orgasm that had been almost shamefully fast.
The moans and movements from the other room had stopped, thankfully, or I might’ve had to do this again.
I warmed the water a bit and showered quickly.
After drying, I snuck into the bedroom in a towel, then checked the drawers.
Sure enough, they were stocked with new packs of underwear, T-shirts, and sweatpants.
A staple for any dragon home, especially alphas.
We never knew when a random dragon would need to stay over.
Sometimes the spell that helped us shift without shredding our clothes didn’t work right, or a visiting dragon could come from a place without a witch.
That was much rarer, but it had become custom for dragon homes to keep spare clothes on hand.
I slipped on a pair of boxer briefs and sweatpants before sliding between the blankets and into the double bed with Livvie.
Without a shred of hesitation, I scooted closer and pulled her into my arms, the smell of her shampoo filling my senses. Strawberries, I was pretty sure.
My dragon, on edge since Calvin had shifted, finally settled. The orgasm had helped, but nothing short of Livvie in my arms would fully relax him.
Relaxed, sure. But sleep evaded me. My mind just kept going over the events of the afternoon as the sun sank in the horizon. The view from this bedroom was spectacular, a straight shot over the cliff and to the ocean, which was purple and pink from the sunset.
Sammie getting Livvie separated from me and Leonard was the smartest thing. I’d lost it completely and swiped at him.
The wolf was fast, but not fast enough. I’d gotten him. When she moved us to the woods near Anthony’s house, I’d been disoriented for just a moment, long enough to lose my course and let Leonard get away. He’d run toward the edge of the clan land, through the trees where I was too big to follow.
To chase, I would’ve had to potentially expose myself. Wolves were believable, even as big as Leonard’s wolf was. Humans would write it off, maybe call animal control.
But nobody believed dragons existed at all. I couldn’t let myself be seen.
Sammy had caught up with me. She’d told me she had enough to cover up and to let the bastard go. We’d catch him. Then she’d sent me to protect Livvie. Just in case the mangy mutt doubled back and tried to get to her.
She’d seemed almost as pissed at me for shifting as she did Leonard. How anyone could’ve expected me to stay in my right mind while a wolf ran for my mate was beyond me. She had to know it would have been impossible to deny my dragon what came so instinctually.
After I’d shifted back, I asked her how bad the situation was, and she almost looked scared. Just for a second, but it was enough to chill me to the bone. I’d come straight back to protect Livvie.
I pulled her hair out of her face and smoothed it behind her ear as I chuckled. Who in the hell knew having a fated mate would be this much damn trouble?
Yet at the same time, I had such a contented feeling within me.
Even more than with my chosen mate. Far deeper.
It felt like the world had shifted and settled into a better pattern.
So different, and impossible to argue with.
At some point I’d gone from being uneasy about mating again, almost resistant, to now; I wanted to dive in headfirst, potential consequences be damned.
The threat of possible pain was still there, still a risk, but it was worth it for even one more moment of feeling like this.
“What are you laughing about?” Livvie whispered. I hadn’t noticed she’d woken.
“You’re supposed to be sleeping,” I chided gently.
“You’re so hot it’s hard to sleep,” she muttered.
I gasped. “Why, thank you. That’s so nice.”
Her laughter filled the room as she scooted away and rolled over to face me. “You are one arrogant bastard.” She pushed at my shoulder as she grinned. “You know darn well I meant your body heat.”
I pushed her hair out of her face again. “It’s a dragon thing. Normal for me.”
She sighed, a happy sound. “None of this is normal.” She sobered up a bit. “There are still so many questions. I know you’re trying to give it to me gently, but I feel like I’ve been lied to all my life. I want it all out in the open so I can begin processing.”
“We’re going to have to talk to your grandmother,” I said. “She’s got the majority of the answers you need. Like I said earlier, the rest, the shifter stuff, that’s just details. You know about us and you’re not afraid of me. The rest is filler.”
“I need to know my history,” she whispered.
“Sammy is already working on it.” I smiled at her as she blew a breath out through her lips.
“I’ve got a feeling I’m not going to like what I hear.”
“It’s okay. You’ve got people at your back. Not just me. Liza and the rest of my clan. None of them would abandon you. They’re your family now.”
She furrowed her brow, looking like she was about to ask me to clarify, but that was one of the details I didn’t want to burden her with right now. Besides knowing we had her back, I didn’t need to fully explain the whole mated thing yet.
I leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her lips to stop her question… It turned out to be a mistake. My body lit on fire inside, and my erection returned, just as powerful as before.
It took all my willpower to break the kiss, especially when she sighed, a tiny, shuddering little sound.
I held her tight with my hips twisted so she wouldn’t feel how turned on I was, as she fell back asleep.
Eventually, my body calmed, and I snoozed again. At least, until Sammy’s angry voice roused me. She was downstairs and she did not sound happy. I sighed, and though I hated to wake Livvie up, it was time.
I pulled back and again brushed her hair out of her face before peppering her cheeks, forehead, chin, nose, and lips with kisses. As a result, Livvie woke giggling instead of to the angry voice of Sammy downstairs, which I could still hear, but she likely couldn’t without the aid of dragon ears.
“We need to get up,” I whispered. “Sammy is here, and unless I’m mistaken, I think your grandmother might be as well.”
Her eyes flew open. “Nana is here?” she squeaked as she threw the covers off.
“Give me two seconds,” I said and pulled out one of the drawers to get a tee from the package. I had my sweats on, so I could at least go down. “Okay.”
I followed Livvie down the stairs. When Olivia saw us emerge in the living room, she jumped up off the couch and glared at me, as if all this was somehow my fault.
But then she looked at Livvie and her face softened. She opened her arms and Livvie rushed into them. “Oh, honey,” Olivia said. “I’m so sorry.”
Livvie sniffled. “I told you to stay away from him,” Olivia said.
I assumed he meant me, and my hackles rose a little. There was no reason for Livvie to avoid me.
But then Livvie pulled back. “No, Nana. You warned me off the wrong man.”
Olivia’s brow furrowed and they sat on the sofa with Olivia holding Livvie’s hands. “What do you mean?”
Livvie sighed and looked at me for strength. I sat on her other side, Olivia’s dark look be damned, and put my hand on Livvie’s back.
“Nana,” Livvie said. “What do you know about magic?”
Olivia’s jaw dropped. She looked from Livvie to Sammy, who sniffed and smirked.
“Oh, honey,” Olivia said. “I have so much to tell you.”