Chapter Four
The Dragon King and I sat at opposite ends of his dining table with a feast between us.
He ate voraciously but with proper table manners, even leaning his forearms against the table instead of propping his elbows on it.
My mother would have been impressed. I, however, was hoping for a sign of the beast inside him.
Sex was always better with a hint of savagery.
“Where are you from, Master Sevarin?” King Falken wiped his mouth with his napkin and took a sip of wine.
I gazed at his firm lips a moment before answering. “A small village in the Algrine Mountains.”
“The name?”
“Tuva.”
“Ah, yes. And you're of the Beckhur Clan. Are your people mostly alchemists? I know Volper clans are defined by their professions.”
I lifted my eyebrows; his knowledge of my people was unexpected. “We are known as Mixers, but not all of us are alchemists. We also have chemists, potionists, and healers.”
“Alchemists, chemists, potionists, and healers are all types of mixers?” He leaned back and cocked his head.
“We all mix components.”
The King chuckled. “That sounds like a stretch.”
I shrugged. “I didn't come up with the clans.”
“So, you were born to alchemist parents?”
“Yes, but my grandfather taught me. He was the most talented alchemist of our clan.”
“Was?”
“I surpassed him.”
The King grinned. “I'm sure he's proud of that. Did you leave home to become his apprentice?”
I sipped my wine to give myself a moment.
His interest seemed odd to me. Why did he care why I left my parents' home?
“I did not. My grandfather lives in Tuva as well. I studied with him most days, and then went home at night. When I became an adult, I got my own home and continued to study with my grandfather until I learned all he knew about the craft. Then I traveled around Serai, studying with every great alchemist who would take me as an apprentice.”
“Every great alchemist? I assume they weren't all Volpers.”
“None of them were. My people wander, but we don't settle far from home. Is there anything else you'd like to know about me, Your Majesty?”
The King frowned. “Are my questions annoying you?”
“No. I just don't understand your interest.”
The King chuckled. “I'm making polite conversation. You're welcome to question me in return.”
“Ah, I see.” I fumbled for something to ask him and then decided to use it as an opportunity to seduce him. “Do you prefer men or women in bed?”
He gaped at me. “Excuse me?”
“I assume you enjoy men, what with the way you've been looking at me, but I was wondering if you also bedded women.”
The King cleared his throat. “I don't bed women.”
“I like that answer. And do you appreciate a direct seduction or something more subtle?”
He stared at me for a minute before answering. “You're already being quite direct; subtly now would seem insincere.”
“That's an excellent point. Plus, I lack subtlety.”
The King burst out laughing. “Yes, I see that.”
He went back to eating, and so did I. But then something occurred to me, and I scowled at my food. I was hungry, but I shouldn't eat too much if we were going to fuck afterward.
“Why do you look angry?” the King asked.
I jerked my head up. “Oh, I hate having sex after a meal. I don't perform at my best. Digestion slows me down.”
The King fell back against his chair and gaped at me.
“I should have seduced you before we began our meal.” I shrugged. “Oh, well. Just know that I'm better than I'll be.”
He made a choked sound and then cleared his throat. “You assume a lot, Master Sevarin.”
“Do I?” I frowned, going over our day in my mind. “No, I don't think I do. You've indicated that you'd like to have sex with me. I am likewise interested. Therefore, we shall have sex. No assumptions, only conclusions.”
The Dragon King gaped at me again.
“I see that I've shocked you.” I considered his response. “My apologies. I thought as a king, you'd have many people offering themselves to you, and my seduction would be one of many.”
“Your seduction?” He burst out laughing. “I'd hardly call this a seduction.”
“Well, I haven't gotten to it yet. I've only done the preliminaries.”
The King stopped laughing. “Oh? Then, by all means, Master Alchemist, proceed.”
I grinned. How perfect. For a minute there, I thought I'd read him wrong, but I hadn't. The Dragon King wanted me. But he wanted to be wooed first. Men are so amusing. Very well.
“Are you finished with your meal?” I tossed back my wine.
“I find the thought of you seducing me more palatable than the food.”
“Very well, before I get started, do you prefer to receive or give?”
He jerked back again. “What?”
“Do I really have to explain that?”
“No.” The King cleared his throat again. “I've never received.”
“Interesting. Is it because you don't want to, or because men have assumed you liked to top?”
“Both.”
“So you don't want to?”
“I . . . I don't think so.”
“Then you've never had the urge?”
“Do you prefer to top? Is that why you're asking?”
“No, actually, I prefer to receive. But I enjoy giving as well. I don't mind if you'd like to try it.”
Another strident throat-clearing. “Not tonight.”
“Very well. Then I will seduce you as a receiver.”
He chuckled. “The seduction differs?”
“Yes. Usually, men who bottom prefer an aggressive seduction, and men who top want something more gentle and submissive. It's not always the case, but generally true in my experience. Do you agree? Or have you never seduced a man?”
The King lifted a dark-blond brow. “Oh, I've seduced many men.”
“Well, then, would you prefer to seduce me?”
He leaned on the table and grinned. “I think you're trying to squirm out of it.”
“The seduction or the sex?”
“The seduction.” Then he shook his head and laughed. “I've never met anyone so blunt about sex, and we Dragons are very casual about it.”
I frowned. “Aren't courtiers blunt?”
The Dragon King snorted. “The opposite. It's all pretty words and sultry looks with them. Frankly, it gets old.”
That was some valuable information. I'd use it to fuel my seduction, which, I decided, would continue to be aggressive despite him playing the giver.
King Falken had probably been approached by some of the most delicate and accomplished seducers on the planet.
I was not delicate nor accomplished, but I wasn't after a relationship, and that made things easier.
If you don't care what happens after the sex, you don't have to be cautious before it.
I stood up. “One more thing.”
The King straightened. “Yes?”
“Do not come inside me. I don't enjoy that.” I grinned and added, “You may come anywhere else you desire, including my mouth. That, I enjoy.”
He blinked. “Agreed.”
Licking my lips, I strode over to him. No swagger, no swaying of my hips.
Although my tail swished in excitement. I had no control over that, so it doesn't count.
His scent grew stronger as I approached, and my ears twitched to hear his rapid breathing.
The King pushed out from the table, his chair scraping across the wooden floor as he turned it to face me.
Tops loved men on their knees, so I dropped to the floor before him.
But I didn't stay there. As the King's gaze latched onto my face, I bent forward, sliding my hands up his thighs and nuzzling my face against him.
As the King groaned, I gripped his hips and rubbed my face along his erection.
Breathing deeply of his musk, I bit his shaft through his pants.
“Holy fuck,” the King whispered, his hands gripping my horns.
They always grabbed the horns.
But I wasn't done. Undulating, I pushed myself up to nuzzle his belly, then his chest, and finally his nipples.
As I sucked on the little buds through the blue silk, I undid the straps that held on his pauldrons.
They fell to the floor with a loud thud, revealing broad shoulders that didn't need such protection.
Standing between his thighs, I unfastened his belt and let it fall open.
My hands slid under his tunic, pushing the fabric up.
He obligingly lifted his arms, and I removed his tunic.
The Dragon King's chest was a piece of art—sculpture carved by a master. Smooth and perfect, his skin covered rippling muscles, the largest of which were his pectorals, crested with rosy nipples now hard thanks to my ministrations. I moved to straddle him, but he set a palm to my chest.
“Take off your clothes first,” he said.
“I'm seducing you. I'll get to that later.”
“This isn't a seduction, Sevarin. You blew past that and went straight to bedding me. Luckily, I'm enjoying it.”
I stepped back. “This is how I seduce. It always works.”
He burst out laughing. “I'm sure it does, but seduction requires words.”
“We talked.”
The Dragon King stood up, leaving his belt behind, and suddenly seemed larger than he was, which was massive. “If we're doing this, we aren't doing it here.” He picked me up and carried me to the closed door behind him. “Would you get that for me?”
I turned the handle with my tail and pushed it open with my palm, making him grin wider.
“That's a handy appendage.”
“You have no idea,” I purred into his ear. “But you're about to find out.”
The Dragon King rushed to his massive bed, the round thing set on a pedestal in the center of the room like an altar. My eyes went wide when I spotted it, but then he set me down on the top step and removed my belt.