Chapter 20 #3
She stretched languidly. The sensation of my cock and tail moving inside her sent a wave of pleasure and contentment through me.
“Mmm…Ardruc.” Her voice was drowsy. She laced her fingers through mine where my hand rested on her abdomen. “Did you just fuck me insensible?”
I kissed her hair. “I believe I did.”
“Oh, the dragon is so smug.” She chuckled. “I take it you didn’t know about that special talent of yours?”
“Which one?” I asked, feigning innocence.
“Oh, dear—now he’s smug and playful too.” She tsk’d. “You lied to me about not having a sense of humor. Naughty dragon.”
Heat stirred in my groin. Being called naughty dragon was quite arousing. I might explore more ways to be her naughty dragon.
She craned her neck to look at me. In the muted light, her blue eyes seemed as fathomless as the deep ocean. “The planet made love with us,” she said. “Did you feel it?”
“Yes, and I saw it too.” I rested my forehead on hers. “To my knowledge, this is the first time the world has truly moved when I came.”
“Mmm.” She sighed contentedly. “It definitely moved for me, in all kinds of ways.”
“I do not know how it is possible that we have this connection to Hyderia,” I said. “But we have become part of this world…and this world has become part of us.”
“And I’ve become part of you, and you’ve become part of me.” She ran her thumb over my lower lip. “Do you like the feeling of your cock and tail inside me, dragon?”
“Very much.” I gently nipped the tip of her thumb. “Do you like the feeling of my cock and tail inside you, little mate?”
“Very much.” Elena smiled. “I feel very claimed.”
Everything about her—her scent, her relaxed body, the way she caressed me—indicated this pleased her.
Still, I was relieved when she added, “I’m rather surprised to discover I like being claimed, though not as surprised as I was to find out I enjoy being dominated…
but only by you. If anyone else had tried it, I would have pushed them out an airlock. ”
She did not ask and I saw no sign of any jealousy, but I felt compelled to say, “I have never once thought of claiming anyone, nor of dominating anyone. Not until you.”
“Strange, for a male dragon.” She pursed her lips in the way that made me long to put some part of my body between them.
“They are usually very territorial and dominant,” she mused.
“This is an interesting insight. I’ll have to add it to my notes, along with my firsthand observations about your mating frenzy and related practices. ”
The scent of her arousal swirled around us.
“Little mate.” I pressed my lips to her ear and delved the tip of my tongue along its interior curves to make her shiver. “You smell very enticing suddenly. Does talk of research make you needful?”
“Well, not all research,” she breathed. “But your cock and tail are inside me as I’m thinking about being dominated by a dragon and I suppose that might make me needful. And there is one way in which you have not yet claimed your mate fully.”
Her lovely ass, which I had yet to fill. I lost my ability to breathe and think for a moment.
“Ardruc,” she said quietly before I could regain my power of speech. “Before we do anything else, I want us to talk face to face.”
My body rebelled at the prospect of separating from her, but she was my world. I might like to dominate her when we made love, and she might like to be submissive, but in all ways and at all times her wishes would forever be my commands.
Carefully, slowly, I withdrew my cock and tail, watching for any sign of discomfort or pain. She sighed and seemed disappointed as I slipped from her, but she did not flinch. I missed her tight warmth immediately.
Then she turned in my arms and nestled herself in my embrace. My fleeting sense of feeling bereft after our separation vanished immediately when she kissed my chest.
She looked for all the world like a goddess of the forest, bathed in the muted colors of suns-set, in our bed of moss with leaves in her hair.
But I did not feel like a god beside her—more like a simple man who had inexplicably found himself favored by the loveliest, more perfect woman he could imagine.
“I feel incredibly good with you,” she said, rubbing her nose on my hot skin over my breastbone.
“Treasured and protected and respected. I understand some of the physiology of true mates and how that has affected you. I look forward to learning more as we spend more time together and I do my research.”
She took my hand and brought it to her mouth to kiss and nibble my fingertips. I rumbled for my bitey little mate.
“You said earlier I could break your hearts.” She took a deep breath. “The truth is, true mates or not, I’m afraid you’ll break mine. I’ve never let anyone get close enough to me to risk that kind of hurt.”
“Neither have I.” I leaned my forehead against hers. “Which I am sure does not surprise you. I have had lovers, but none touched my hearts until you.”
“I want to know why that is, dragon.” She squeezed my hand. “I want to know why you’ve needed all these masks and facades and walls around you for so long. You’ve already let me in. Now I want to help you tear them all down so you can heal, and so I’m less afraid to entrust my heart to you.”
Gods above, I wanted so much to heal in her arms. I had not decided to give in to my need for my true mate for that reason, but the bond was not just for pleasure, physical comfort, and procreation, though those were some of its more celebrated features.
At its core, the true mate bond was meant to heal. My lack of nightmares since Elena’s arrival and the way my soul had quieted were irrefutable proof of that even without all the research that showed it to be true. I would be the greatest of fools to eschew that aspect of mating.
As a human, Elena’s experience would be different from mine. She would still benefit in many ways from our bond—not all of them the same, and not all to the same extent. My purpose was to care for and support her and give her everything it was in my power to give. Nothing would make me happier.
If by telling her the truth about my history, a story I had told no one else—not one single, solitary soul—I could both heal myself and help her believe her heart was safe with me, then I must do it.
But I feared reopening my deepest, most painful wounds.
I feared it more than anything I had faced in my life.
“You don’t have to tell me now,” Elena said, cupping my face. “You can wait until you’re ready.” She kissed me lightly. “In the meantime, we can keep doing whatever feels right and good between a dragon and his little mate.” Her lips turned up. “I have some thoughts on that subject.”
“So do I.” Suns-set had arrived, bringing with it the chill of evening, so I wrapped her in my arms, rolled to my back so she lay on my chest, and draped my wing over us. “It is difficult to believe after we fucked each other into insensibility, but I have not finished claiming you, little mate.”
“A tragic situation we must address immediately.” She crawled up my body to kiss me and gently bite my lower lip. “I need you to finish claiming me, dragon—body, heart, and soul.”
“I know how to claim your body.” I cradled the round swell of her ass with both hands. “You have offered some insight into how to claim your heart. But to claim your soul as you have claimed mine, what must I do?”
“I’m not sure.” She pressed a kiss to my chest. “But when I figure that out, you’ll be the first to know.”
My wristcomm trilled. Reluctantly, I let go of Elena’s ass and scrolled through the message on the screen.
“The computer has created a method by which we may learn to communicate with the tendrils,” I reported.
“It is synthesizing tiles the tendrils can use to inscribe answers to a series of specific questions. The linguistics system composed the questions to elicit responses that should give it enough to attempt translations. The tiles should be ready by morning.”
“Good. The sooner we can talk to the tendrils, the sooner we can solve at least a couple of these mysteries—or at least I hope we can.” Elena nuzzled my chest. “In the meantime, do you remember I said I had some ideas about what we might do together so you can claim me thoroughly?”
“I remember every word you have ever spoken to me. A dragon has a long memory.” I picked leaves and bits of twigs from her hair. “What are these ideas, little mate?”
“I have a bit of a fantasy.” Her cheeks turned an absolutely delightful shade of pink. “But it’s getting late, and it’s probably not anything you’d be interested in…” Her voice trailed off.
What could my little mate be thinking about that would make her flush after all we had already shared together?
“I am intrigued.” I cupped her face with my hand to enjoy the warmth of her blush. “Tell me about your fantasy, Elena. I feel quite certain I will be very interested.”