Chapter 2
My heart pounded wildlyas Jasper carried me further and further from the wedding reception. My arms were wrapped around his neck so tight that my fingers were starting to tingle.
I didn’t dare loosen my grip.
I wasn’t even sure the dragon I was clinging to was sane.
Hell, I wasn’t even sure I was sane anymore.
I’d seen fire in Jasper’s eyes.
My body was strangely hot, too.
And I was getting horny even though the situation was absolutely not sexy in the slightest.
Maybe I was dreaming?
It didn’t feel like a dream.
My phone started vibrating against my boob, and I recalled sticking it in my bra so I wouldn’t lose it during the reception.
Jasper rumbled again.
“Who’s calling you?” He sounded angry.
It was my sister, probably. She was most-likely looking for me, so I could declare how great her spaghetti was again.
I pressed my forehead against the back of Jasper’s neck and let out a long breath. His scales were warm, but I felt warmer, somehow. That didn’t make sense, but it was true.
“Tell me,”he commanded.
He didn’t sound anything like he had before his eyes started flaming. He hadn’t wanted to talk to me at all, then. Now, he thought he deserved to know who was calling me?
“Do you even know my name?” I whispered, trying to speak into his mind like he had mine.
It must’ve worked, because he said, “Of course I do, Miranda.”
Maybe he hadn’t been as uninterested in me as he’d seemed?
Yeah, right.
The guy hadn’t even looked at me.
“I go by Randa.”
He ignored my statement. “Who’s calling you?”
“I don’t know, my phone’s in my bra. Probably Viola.”
“Answer it.”
“I’m not answering the phone when you could drop me!” My voice came out a little shrill, even in my mind.
“I would never hurt you.”His growl was ferocious.
“I don’t know you well enough to believe that.”
He snarled, but gave up on arguing with me.
Since he was the one who had started talking to me, and seemed to want me to trust him, I pressed for information.
“What happened back there? Where are you taking me?”
“You ignited heat.”
Heat?
What the hell was that?
“August’s eyes burned like this when he and Elodie had a tentative mate bond.”
“Is that what he called it?”
“Yes?”
Jasper scoffed. “Then a tentative mate bond is created when a male dragon sends his female into heat for the first time. My fire is in your veins right now, and will burn hotter until we’ve either satisfied it by sealing the bond, or fought it until it breaks.”
What?
“I’m so confused.”
“Nature is taking control of me. I can barely think right now. I need you to call Elodie. Get August to meet us at Mate Mountain.”
“Mate Mountain? Is that where we’re going?”
“Yes. Call her. You’re safe on my back, always.”
With that, his wings cut through the air, propelling us forward faster.
I squeezed my eyes shut against the rush of wind.
After I took a few steadying breaths, I finally peeled one of my hands off Jasper’s scales. It trembled as I worked my phone out of my bra. There was sweat on the screen, but I ignored it as I held onto the thing for dear life.
Slowly, I typed the code with my thumb, hit the right button, and lifted it to my ear. Jasper didn’t slow down, so the wind was insanely loud.
“Hey! What’s up? Did someone realize we snuck out?” Elodie’s voice was cheerful. “Why does it sound like you’ve got a blow-drier on?”
Happy—she’d been so happy since she and August got together for good.
Were they mated? I couldn’t remember if I’d ever asked her that. I was pretty sure they were, even though I was hazy on how they had sealed the bond after it broke for a while.
“Jasper says he’s in heat. Or we’re in heat. He’s taking me to Mate Mountain I think?” I had to yell into the phone, pretty sure she wouldn’t hear me over the noise otherwise.
“What?” Elodie screeched.
“I don’t know!” I screeched back. “Help me!”
“Holy shit! HOLY SHIT! Okay, we’re heading to you now. Don’t panic. I’ll cover for you with Vi if she calls. Love you!”
She hung up.
I shoved my phone back in my bra and pressed my face back to Jasper’s scales.
At least that was over.
We must’ve flownfor hours. The air was freezing, but it felt kind of nice on my warm skin.
Jasper didn’t say anything else, though he snarled when my phone rang once more.
I ignored it.
No way was I risking my life to pull it out again.
I relaxed justa little as we flew. The scenery was pretty below us, and while I couldn’t see well in the dark, the moon was shining brightly.
My attention was on the biggest mountain yet as we neared it. Jasper hadn’t said anything, but he was flying straight toward it.
My stomach clenched when we flew closer.
Guess that was Mate Mountain.
I was tense and ready for a landing when he finally dove downward. Though I squeezed my eyes shut, the arch was smooth, and there was no jolt as we landed.
Jasper pulled me off his back with his tail, then shifted forms without warning.
And I was once again front-and-center for the strip show.
Or maybe just the nude show?
Whatever it was, it was gorgeous.
Hewas gorgeous.
I’d never been asked to draw or paint a naked man during my many years of art classes, but I had a sudden itch to do exactly that. The man may as well have been a statue, every inch of his body covered in thick muscles that looked chiseled from stone.
And that erection…
Whew.
I was sweating just looking at it.
…Or maybe that was the heat thing.
Who knows.
Instead of, you know, putting on clothes, he strode over to me.
And tugged the hem of my dress down.
I blinked.
Having a naked man trying to cover more of my body wasn’t exactly something I’d experienced before.
But his eyes were still burning, and there was something wild in them. It made me think he wasn’t all there, mentally.
He growled when the dress didn’t magically gain multiple inches of fabric. Even at its longest, it was short.
But, he gave up on it after a minute.
Then he turned toward an open, doorway-shaped chunk cut out of the mountain, tucked me behind his back, and walked forward.
My hands landed on his bare back. The warmth in my body faded a lot when our skin was touching, which was nice.
But his bare ass was against my abdomen. And holy hell, it felt amazing. I was at war with the urge to touch it, but luckily, I managed to keep my hands pinned to the muscles on his back.
I couldn’t see over his shoulders, so I didn’t know where we were going. Everything around me was dark, so I couldn’t have seen anything even if he wasn’t blocking my view.
At one point, we halted, and he snarled at something or someone. The sound was vicious, and animalistic.
Fear curled in my chest.
I heard a male voice curse, followed by the sound of a door shutting.
Then, we continued onward.
Faster.
My fear faded a little.
Whatever had happened seemed to be over.
Jasper may as well have been dragging me through the hallway, he was moving so fast.
We went around multiple dark halls and up two flights of stairs before he tugged a door open and pulled me inside. As soon as we were shut in the room together, he released me and stalked around the space.
Still naked.
There was murder in his eyes as he studied everything.
I pressed my back to the door, waiting for him to stop investigating or panicking, or whatever else he was doing. I could barely make out shapes in the room, it was so dark, with only a tiny bit of moonlight streaming in through a cutout in the wall that I supposed was a window.
After a few minutes, his fury finally subsided.
And then he prowled toward me.
“Shit,” I whispered.
He didn’t look entirely sane.
Maybe he didn’t look sane at all.
With everything dark like it was, he was a little terrifying.
His nostrils flared as he approached me, and his hands met the door on either side of my head.
Part of me wanted to close my eyes and wait until he was done with whatever he was doing.
The rest of me forced them to stay open, to watch.
He’d said he wouldn’t hurt me… and for some insane reason, I believed him.
I guess it helped that he was my best friend’s husband’s brother. And because I liked August enough to assume that his brothers, who were his closest friends, were decent guys.
He stepped closer.
The tip of his erection pressed against my lower belly, and my entire body tensed.
Not in a bad way, though.
Not at all.
Jasper didn’t even seem to notice that he was pressed against me like that.
He was too busy lowering his nose to my hair, and inhaling deeply.
His chest rumbled. Was it approval? Dislike? Satisfaction? I didn’t know. He didn’t sound angry, though.
He lowered his nose to my lips, and one of his hands moved to my face, to cup my skin lightly. With the gentle brush of his thumb, he parted my lips, and breathed in again.
I was pretty sure all he’d smell was wine, but he rumbled again anyway. Whatever that meant.
The man seemed like he might have actually turned into an animal.
Were dragons even animals?
Were they great big lizards?
This was the wrong time to let my mind wander.
Jasper tipped my head back a little, and my chin lifted as he lowered his nose to my neck.
He was satisfied there, too. Or at least not angry.
His hands landed on my hips, and gripped me possessively.
I was so wet between my thighs, I could hardly think straight, and I didn’t even know why the experience was turning me on.
Nor did I even think it was really sexy.
I was just horny, for no good reason.
Jasper’s nose trailed between my breasts.
I pressed my thighs together.
He slowly slid down my body, breathing me in as he sank down until he was on his knees.
The sight of that gorgeous, massive man kneeling in front of me made me a little dizzy.
I squeezed my legs tighter.
His hands dragged down the curves of my waist and over my ass before they hooked around the backs of my thighs. When he pulled lightly, they opened for him like a damn flower.
I couldn’t have stopped myself if I tried.
…And I didn’t try.
My dress rode up again as my legs parted.
Jasper leaned in without hesitation, inhaling deeply at the apex of my thighs. My cheeks flushed in embarrassment—but the noise he made was so thick with approval that it only turned me on more.
He pushed my dress up higher, then dragged the tip of his nose over the front of me, breathing me in.
My panties were so drenched, he must’ve felt it on his skin.
His tongue followed his nose, and my body clenched as more heat pooled there, responding just for him.
“Fucking delicious.” His growl made me suck in an unsteady breath.
I didn’t know why his animalistic thing was turning me on so much, but it was. It really was.
The compliment didn’t hurt either.
He slid his nose down the inside of my thigh, stopping just a few inches below my core.
His tongue dragged over the skin there slowly.
He rumbled again, and his fingers tightened on my legs, holding me securely. It didn’t hurt, but it wasn’t gentle.
I watched as Jasper nipped lightly where he’d just licked me—then bit down.
My lips parted, but not in pain.
My hips arched toward his face, a cry of pleasure escaping me as an orgasm hit me hard, out of nowhere. My knees buckled, and I would’ve fallen if the dragon hadn’t already taken all my weight, holding me up effortlessly.
I’d never climaxed like that.
It was so intense—and so long.
As the pleasure faded, I already wanted more.
My chest was rising and falling rapidly as I leaned more of my weight against the door behind me. I felt sort of different.
And there was a smell in the air.
A delicious smell.
One that definitely didn’t help dissipate any of the need I was currently dealing with.
My vision was improving, too, as if someone had turned on the lights or put a pair of glasses on my face. They hadn’t, of course. There were no lights to turn on, as far as I could see. His bite must’ve done something to me.
Jasper’s grip on my legs loosened.
When I looked down at him, my eyes met his, and his expression was different. It looked more like it had at the wedding. More neutral. Sharper.
Less beastly.
“Fuck,” he said, in that low, sexy voice.
I blinked.
He released my legs altogether, just slowly enough to make sure I didn’t collapse.
Then he stood up.
I watched him warily, not sure what he would do next. I still didn’t even know what was going on, yet he’d bitten me, and somehow made me climax when he did.
It was insane.
Ridiculously, stupidly insane.
Without another word, he crossed the room.
Now that I could see, I looked around the space and took it in quickly. It was built like an apartment, with a decent-sized kitchen and living room, and a single bedroom. There was a bathroom in the living area, so I assumed there was another one in the bedroom.
Jasper disappeared into the bedroom for a moment.
I could see his back from the doorway. My body remained flushed as I watched him step into a pair of boxer-briefs, followed by a pair of jeans.
I bit my lip when I watched him from behind as he worked the zipper up.
It took much longer than it should’ve, thanks to his erection.
My body warmed at the thought.
Jasper rumbled from the bedroom, and growled, “Try not to let your desire get out of hand. It smells too fucking good.”
I bit my lip harder, accidentally drawing blood.
The taste of it met my tongue, but I didn’t release my lip.
He didn’t want me so turned on.
I needed something else to focus on.
He disappeared for a moment, and came back out with a shirt on.
Suddenly, I was the one without enough clothes on.
My dress was tiny, and rolled up above the bottom hem of my panties. My face flushed more at the realization, and I quickly tugged it down to cover me.
It didn’t help a whole lot.
Anger twisted Jasper’s expression, and my eyes widened as he stormed back to me.
His hands captured my face with surprising gentleness, and he eased my bottom lip out from between my teeth, narrowing his eyes at the blood on it.
“Did I do that?”
The question caught me off guard.
“Miranda.” His voice was rough.
Right.
“No. I did.”
The anger in his eyes intensified.
“It was an accident,” I added quickly. “I’m just overwhelmed. Not sure what to do here.”
He slowly dipped his head.
Then, he released my face. Something about the way he moved made me think it was physically difficult for him to do so.
Finally, he took a step back.
As he did, there was a knock on the door.