Chapter 7
“I needa shower before your brother shows up,” Elodie said, stretching her arms out in front of her.
It took every ounce of my self control not to stare at her tits as the motion pressed them together, lifting the heavy curve of them toward me.
I wanted them in my mouth.
She was the sexiest thing I’d ever seen, in that sheer white tank top and those dark panties. She had to change before my brother showed up, or I’d lose my damn mind.
“How do you want to handle showering?” I asked her.
“I don’t know. How do you want to handle it?”
That was a loaded question if I’d ever heard one.
I wanted to handle the shower with her in my arms.
Her breasts in my hands.
My cock buried inside her.
My teeth in her skin, marking her as mine.
“I haven’t thought about it,” I lied.
I wasn’t going to act on my desires, so the truth didn’t seem all that important in the moment.
Elodie considered it. Her dark, wavy hair was a mess, and still smelled annoyingly like flowers. I wanted her scent in my nose, but she seemed determined to hide it from me.
I wanted my hands in her hair just as much.
And her back arching while I devoured her mouth, or her?—
“You can stand outside the shower,” she decided. “I’ll reach out and touch you when the pain gets worse.”
It sounded like torture, but I agreed.
I grabbed the plates, and she picked up her laptop. My free arm wrapped around her waist as we headed inside, and she tugged her top up, exposing her bare hip so I could touch her skin.
My cock strained against my sweats as I squeezed her soft waist.
I should’ve kept my jeans on.
At least they would’ve hidden my erection a little.
“Your touch doesn’t do anything for me if it’s over my clothes,” she explained to me, as we headed for the kitchen. Her laptop went back on the table, and I abandoned the dishes in the sink.
“It’s not a hardship for me to touch your skin,” I said.
She flashed me an amused look. “I sat on your lap in the Hummer, remember? I know exactly how much of a hardship I am for you.”
I chuckled, and her gaze dipped to my erection, fighting against my sweats. She bit her lip, and her scent changed slightly.
I wasn’t well-enough acquainted with her smell to know exactly what the change was, but I assumed it had something to do with her desire.
Or maybe I just hoped for that.
I was losing my mind.
We made it to the bathroom, and she started the water after gesturing for me to turn around. I did, and couldn’t help but look down when her clothes hit the floor beside me.
The shower’s doors were made of glass, so she was going to want me facing away from her the whole time. It’d give a new meaning to the term cruel and unusual punishment.
“Does the house smell better to you now?” she asked me, as she stepped under the water.
“A little. I need to open the windows, to air out the smell of the cleaning solution.”
“And then you’ll be able to smell me better?” She stumbled over the words, and I knew the concept was still strange to her. Hell, it was still strange to me, and I’d known about it my whole life.
“In theory.”
“Why in theory?”
“The scent of your shampoo and shower gel is strong.”
“Oh.” There was a pause.
A long, drawn-out pause.
“I’ll survive,” I finally said, not wanting to lose the ground we’d gained on the porch.
“I didn’t realize it was that big of a deal. Does it bother you?”
Constantly.
“A bit,” I said.
“Liar.” She was quiet for a moment. The shower’s door opened, and her slick hand landed on my bare shoulder.
My cock throbbed painfully, but her soft sigh told me the contact soothed her. That alone made the temptation worth it.
Her hand lingered on my skin. “Go get your unscented stuff. I can look online for something that doesn’t smell as strong.”
“It bothered you last time.”
“My hair doesn’t like it,” she agreed. “But I’ll just tie it up until whatever I order arrives. My mom is a hair stylist; she’ll probably have an idea about what I should buy. Or a few bottles she can send me.”
“Are you sure?”
She squeezed my shoulder lightly.
I closed my eyes and let out a long breath, struggling against the need to wrap my hand around my cock.
“Yes, I’m sure.”
“Alright. Thank you.”
“You don’t need to thank me. We’re a team, remember?”
Maybe that was a bad idea.
It was our best shot… but still.
The more I was around her, the harder it would be to walk away.
Pun not intended.
I stepped away long enough to grab the unscented shit in my bathroom, then headed back.
I froze in the doorway when I reached the bathroom, my gaze landing on my female’s bare figure.
Her hands were in her hair, her head tipped back.
The curve of her ass called my name, and the heavy weight of her tits made my cock throb harder.
She felt my eyes on her and turned her head. Her lips curved upward when she saw me staring. “You always look at me like that.”
“Like what?”
“I don’t know. Intensely.”
“Like I want to fuck you?”
She bit her lip.
I crossed the bathroom, stopping when I reached her clothes. Her eyes widened slightly, dilating when I picked up her panties and lifted them to my nose.
I inhaled her scent deeply, and she made a small noise.
My chest rumbled.
I nearly filled my fucking sweats.
“You like the way I smell?” she asked.
“You tell me, Fireball.”
Her gaze lowered to my erection, and her face flushed. “What do I smell like?”
“The sky.”
The answer left me before I could consider the word.
She blinked.
That probably didn’t sound sexy.
“The sky is a rush. Dragons don’t look for mates, because we can’t fly without them after we’re paired off. Flying is freedom, adrenaline, fun… it’s not an insult. I love the sky.”
She frowned. “What do you mean, you can’t fly without them?”
I let out a harsh breath, tucking her panties in my pocket and stepping closer to the shower. She opened the door long enough to take the shower gel, then set her hand on my shoulder.
With her naked body in front of me, and her hand on my bare shoulder, it took everything I had not to step in there with her.
“Dragons like to keep secrets,” she said after a moment.
“Secrets protect us.”
“You don’t need protection from me, August.”
She had no idea.
“Let’s make a deal,” Elodie said.
“What kind of a deal?”
“We’re supposed to be a team now, right?”
I jerked my head in a nod.
“Well, you’re so horny you can’t think straight.”
It was my turn to blink.
The woman wasn’t wrong.
“And I’m tired of all the mate-related secrets you’re keeping. So why don’t we even the playing field? You get in the shower with me, and I’ll touch you while you tell me the things you’d rather keep quiet.”
My entire body clenched.
How was I supposed to turn that down?
“An hour ago, you didn’t even want me to touch you, Fireball.” My voice was strained.
“An hour ago, I was sweaty and hurting. You fixed it for me, and we agreed to be a team. This is me keeping up my side of the bargain. And besides, it’s not any more of a hardship for me to touch you than it is for you to touch me. I’ve never been more turned-on in my life.”
I inhaled deeply, desperate to have the scent of her desire embedded in my lungs, my mouth, my throat. Hell, I wanted it laced through every fiber of my being.
The water concealed it from me, and I nearly snarled in frustration.
“Do we have a deal?” Elodie checked.
“Yes.” I stepped out of my pants.
The way her eyes locked on my erection made me throb again.
And again.
She opened the shower’s door wider, and I stepped inside.
She took a step back, pressing her ass to the tiled wall.
I gritted my teeth against the urge to sink to my knees in front of her and finally get her taste in my mouth. To watch her unravel on my tongue. To hear her sounds of pleasure.
When I stepped closer, shutting the shower’s door behind me, her hand slid over my abdomen. Hot water fell over my head and down my body, but I didn’t feel it. Not with her touching my skin.
Elodie’s fingers slowly traced the dips and crevices of my abs. “Dragons can’t fly without their mates?”
I lifted one of my hands to the shower wall beside her head, and captured her hip with the other. If I didn’t occupy them, they’d make their way to her breasts and ass, and she hadn’t said I could touch her.
“No. After a dragon takes a mate—or begins a female’s heat—he can’t fly without her. It’s physically impossible. If he tries to take to the sky without her on his back, the magic ricochets, and he automatically shifts back to his human form.”
“So you can’t fly without me right now?”
“No. When heat ends, I’ll have my wings again.”
Her finger dragged down the center of my abdomen, and my body clenched as she slowly found my cock.
My lips twisted in a snarl as her soft hand wrapped around me.
“Does a dragon’s mate become a dragon too?”
“No. Her lifespan will match his, though, and her body changes. She becomes faster and stronger than a human. Like a dragon in his human form.” I gritted the words out. “Tighter.”
She gripped me harder. “Like that?”
I couldn’t suppress my low growl. “Yes.”
“You want more?”
“Fuck, yes.”
She laughed. “Tell me what else I don’t know about mating.”
The woman had complete power over me, and she knew it. Maybe it should’ve pissed me off, but I was proud of her for taking control.
And I was already getting far more than I’d hoped she would offer.
“Heat doesn’t only start the first time you meet a compatible human—it can start at any point. After a deep conversation. A shared smile. A joke. A glare. A fight. Unmated dragons don’t connect with humans in any way, because it’s too much of a risk. Can’t connect with other supernaturals either, because we have to be neutral.”
Her hand tightened around my erection.
I had to clench my jaw to stop myself from losing control. Had to close my eyes, too. She looked too damn good.
“So you’ve never had sex before?”
“No.”
“Has anyone ever touched you like this before?”
“You’re the first, Fireball.”
“Well, that’s hot,” she said.
She dragged her hand slowly down my length, and I nearly lost it then and there.
“Can dragon guys have multiple orgasms?”
All supernatural guys could.
I couldn’t let myself consider why she knew to ask that, though. Not if she wasn’t going to let me hunt Dickwad down and remove his head from his body.
At least Bash had let me know he was dealing with the vampire situation. Elodie had given Brynn her ex’s name, so I had to trust my sister’s mate to take care of it.
“Yes.”
“Then why are you holding back, August?”
“This is your show, remember?” My voice was still strained.
She smiled. “What else don’t I know?”
“I’ll be fighting the urge to bite you, soon. My bite gives you some of my magic, and my scent. It won’t hurt.”
“Sounds sexy.” She stroked me again, and I snarled, too close to the edge.
“Mated dragons are codependent. If we sealed the bond, you’d go into heat every month. It would only last a day or two, but it would be excruciating if I didn’t fuck you through it. The magic would form a mental connection between us, too. We could communicate with our minds, no matter how far apart we were. For now, we can only do so while I’m in my dragon form.”
“But we’d never be far apart, right? Because you couldn’t fly without me?” she continued working my cock.
“Right. A dragon would never let his wings walk away from him for long.”
“Anything else?”
“I can’t fucking think anymore, Fireball.”
“Step closer, then.”
I didn’t hesitate to do so.
She sucked in a breath when my chest met hers, her soft breasts pressed against my thick muscles. I slipped my fingers into her hair, the way I’d wanted to since I saw the soft, wild strands.
“You did it again,” I growled. “The thing where you breathed in.”
“Because I’m attracted to you. Get over it, August.”
“Don’t think I can ever get over that.”
Her perfect body was pressed against mine as she stroked my cock, and it was too much.
I snarled, driving into her fist as I lost control. Her fingers dug into my shoulder as I moved against her, and she was breathing almost as fast as I was when my climax ended.
Her cheeks were flushed.
The smell of her desire was thick, despite the water falling behind me.
She wanted me.
I was still hard, and aching for her.
“Open your thighs and let me see how you touch yourself,” I ordered, chest rising and falling harshly.
I needed to watch her unravel like I needed to breathe.
Her face flushed, but she parted her legs.
I released her hair and sank to my knees, leveling my gaze with her hot, slick core.
Her expression grew a little self-conscious, and she started closing her legs again—but I caught her knees, holding them where they were. “You’re the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen, Fireball. Don’t hide from me.”
Her face was red, but she dipped her head, opening herself wider.
Her fingers slid through her folds, and I watched hungrily as she circled the ridge that must’ve been her clit.
Her touch was slow, but not soft.
Smooth, but not gentle.
I tried like hell to hold back, but she smelled too good.
My hand caught hers, our fingers intertwining as my mouth found her core.
She gasped, her free hand finding my hair and tangling in the strands.
I focused on her clit, mimicking her motions, trying like hell not to lose myself to the taste of her.
She was so fucking delicious.
I devoured her.
She cried out with her climax once, her body jerking and her face twisting in ecstasy.
Her cries were louder with the second, my tongue working her harder and faster.
And with the third, my mate screamed her pleasure for me. I shattered with her, my hand on my cock as her taste sent me over the edge.
She pushed my face away from her core weakly, her expression dazed. The back of her head rested against the wall, and her legs were shaking so much, I didn’t dare let go.
“Well, you’re a fast learner,” she managed. “Can’t say I expected that.”
My chest rumbled. “I could eat you all day, Fireball.”
She dragged her fingers through my hair. “I don’t think I’m ready for that.”
Maybe not, but she would be before the heat was over.
And I’d never get enough of it. Not to last me through the rest of my immortal life.
I barely knew her, but I already knew that walking away from her was going to hurt like hell.