Chapter 20
Desmon
I counted to ten to stop myself from chasing after my asshole of a brother. I knew he’d only done what he had to rile me up and get a reaction. He didn’t really want me to lose. I’d spent my morning looking into what he’d been up to these past few decades. He had, in fact, made a bet on me. A large one. He definitely needed me to win.
The bet had been made just a few years ago, after The Wall fell and Darlington was suddenly thrust into the spotlight. Usually, once the initial bets were made, they were locked in forever. But the fall of The Wall had been such a great disturbance in the order of things that those with a stake in the competition had demanded an exception. And since, at the time, Gillisandra and I had been tied at two artifacts each, the Gamemaster had allowed it.
But the sudden explosion of Darlington from small town to world-class city, had ended up hiding a lot of my dealings from Gillisandra. It had been contacts made during that first year of opening Darlington up to the world that had secured the third piece of artifact, putting me ahead in the competition.
Emmett had seen what the fall of The Wall represented. Suddenly, I wondered if he’d somehow had a hand in it, or in Darlington’s sudden rise to fame, considering what he was poised to win if I succeeded. I doubted he was truly interested in a human female.
But then, considering the illogical way I’d been reacting to Carly, I couldn’t be sure. What if my brother felt the same crazy pull that I did?
I looked down at the delightful female in my arms. Soft hazel eyes looked up at me, so full of unquenchable curiosity. But there was more there today; piercing through that need for knowledge was an undeniable desire. For me.
Emmett was right. Why hadn’t I claimed her yet?
That was going to change right now.
I bent to lift her into my arms. She let out a squeal and threw her arms around me.
“Hold on tight, My Treasure,” I whispered.
Then I stomped out into the hallway. No one paid us any heed as I hurried toward the large set of double doors at the end of the hall. I still had the look-away spell running. Once outside, I leaped into the air, my wings unfurling.
Instead of shifting into my full dragon form, I stayed mostly human, holding Carly close. My wings tore through my shirt, but that was to be expected. I sacrificed a shirt every time I shifted with clothes on. It just wasn’t worth it to get my tops enchanted like my pants, except for a few favorite silk ones.
Carly inhaled sharply and then wrapped her arms and legs around me. She’d flown with me before, but I had been in my dragon form.
It wasn’t long before we arrived at my sprawling estate, and I landed on the balcony leading to my lair. I opened the door and stepped inside. Without any windows, it was dark in the room, and Carly couldn’t see yet what I’d done with the place.
I laid her down in the center of my nest and clapped to turn on the sconces lining the walls. They flickered to life, casting a warm glow that mimicked the flames of a lantern.
Carly gasped, her eyes wide as she took in the vast array of colorful gems I’d arranged around the nest to catch the light just so. Some I’d strung up, others I’d formed into neat piles. A veritable kaleidoscope of sparkling hues danced over the walls.
“Do you like it?” I asked.
“It’s beautiful. I don’t think I remember it being like this the last time I was here?”
“It is customary to decorate one’s nest with treasures from our hoard to welcome a mate. I hadn’t known you were coming before, apologies. I did this last night.”
“Wow!” She’d just noticed the way the light played on the ceiling from the string of blue and green gems I’d hung up. “It’s so pretty.”
My dragon gave a satisfied huff, glad that she was enjoying it so much. We’d made the right choice.
“The rainbow of colors reminded me of you.”
I encouraged her to lie down on the luxurious, silken sheets. While the nest itself was carved from stone, I’d lined the bottom with a fire-resistant foam. My dragon might enjoy sleeping on rock, but my human form preferred something softer.
I shoved the comforter and all but one pillow out of the nest. The pillow I kept for Carly’s comfort. Anything else left in the nest would meet a fiery end as my dragon fire engulfed us when we solidified the mate bond.
It wasn’t long before I’d also tossed her button-down uniform vest and her black dress out of the nest. She lay before me, her creamy skin pale against the satiny, dark purple sheets. I took a step back to admire her, my cock springing to life at the sexy sight.
“Hey, no fair. You’re still dressed,” she said with the cutest pout.
I tore off my already ripped shirt and tossed it aside. She pushed herself up onto her knees in front of me, her eyes skating over my shoulders and pecs in appreciation. As a dragon shifter, I tended to put on muscle easily, even in human form.
It wasn’t her reaction to my body that worried me, but her reaction to my cock, which even now was straining against the front of my pants. Would she be disgusted? Terrified?
“Do not be frightened, My Treasure.”
She replied with a giggle. “I think the time for that is over. I flew in your claws, remember.”
She didn’t understand what I meant, and I didn’t correct her. Instead, I just undid my trousers and let them drop to the nest to show her.
She sucked in a breath, followed by a small, squeaky, “Oh!”
Was that a good oh? Or a get-away-from-me-you-monster oh?
My cock took on a decidedly dragon cast when I was in half shift, such as I was now. It was dark red with ridges that resembled my scales.
It looked exactly like those monster sex toys. How did I know? Because a particularly prideful wyvern—which was a type of dragon, smaller and with two legs instead of four, like me—had made a cast of his cock some time ago, and a certain company that shall remain nameless had somehow gotten their hands on it. Or at least, that was the story. I suspect the wyvern sold it on purpose because he enjoyed thinking that thousands of humans worldwide were getting off on him.
I searched Carly’s face for signs of fear, but there were none aside from dilated pupils. There was, however, the growing scent of her desire. She crawled forward, reaching for me.
“Fuck,” I muttered under my breath as I felt her soft hands upon me.
“Is it always like this?” she asked, her hands caressing around the rigid length and giving it a tentative tug.
I groaned and looked skyward at the dancing colors. “No. When I’m fully in my human form, it is…what you would think of as normal. But to claim you as my mate, I must be in full or half shift.”
She moved her hands over the ridges, and the contrast of her pale hands on the dark red of my cock was mesmerizing. I couldn’t wait to watch it disappearing into her body. My shaft bobbed in her hand, growing even larger, and a shiny drop of precum oozed from the tip. Carly moistened her lips before bending her head down to lick it up.
Fuck!
I wanted to give her more time to explore, but I was too impatient. I took her hands in mine and kissed both palms before lying her down on her belly over the only pillow I’d left in the nest.
I dragged my fingers down her back. My fingers had become dull claws, and I applied just enough pressure to make rows of red lines on her back, marking her as mine. She arched her back and stuck her ass delightfully higher in the air. I traced over the claw marks with my fangs, grazing her skin lightly.
I gripped the round globes of her ass cheeks, loving that they were the perfect size for my massive hands. Her slit glistened with wetness, and I buried my face in it, thrusting my tongue into her heavenly depths. She hissed and pushed against me, and soon I was tongue fucking her as I held my cock in my hand.
She was a goddess as she rode my face, demanding and passionate. All it took was my fingers on her clit before I tasted delicious, fresh wetness.
Remembering how hard she’d gripped my fingers in the shower, I reached for the bottle of wing oil. She was wet, but this oil made for spectacular lube. I drizzled it all over my cock, coating both it and my fingers. I reached for her clit again and rolled it. She cried out and shoved her ass back at me wildly.
I chuckled. “So eager, my sweet. I need to prepare you more. I’m thick, and you are very tight.” I thrust my greased-up fingers into her. Two slid in easily, but three was still a struggle.
I added a little extra oil, just in case, and removed my fingers, pressing the broad head of my cock to her pussy instead.
“Relax.” I squeezed her ass, leaving the shine of oil on her skin. “You are my mate. I know you can take all of me.”
Carly nodded and wiggled her ass in anticipation. I pushed in, and she made a small strangled noise as the thick head disappeared into her body. The ridges came next. They were designed to give our females pleasure and were supposed to rub in all the right places inside. I hoped it was the same for humans.
I gripped her hips to hold her still and thrust in again, watching as her tight flesh enveloped more of me. Fuck! This was hot.
I thrust into her again, a little harder this time, my eyes glued to the spot where our bodies joined. She cried out as her pussy stretched to accommodate me. I pulled out and watched as she gripped me, the skin dragging a little even with all the lube.
“You’re doing very well.” I ground my palms on her ass, trying to relax her by giving it a light smack.
I reached under her body to circle her clit with my fingers as I thrust a few more times. I was trying to seat myself completely in her when I was surprised by her sudden scream. It was not a scream of pain that filled the air, but pleasure. Her silken channel squeezed me, milking me, threatening to end things before they had even started. I wasn’t even fully inside her yet.
“Fuck!” I gritted my teeth and closed my eyes, trying to stay in control. I remained still, waiting for her rhythmic pulsing to end. It was torture. All I wanted was to drive into her, fuck her until I didn’t know where I ended and she began.
I couldn’t wait any longer. I needed her now. I thrust into her again and, this time, slid right in. She cried out again, but I didn’t stop. I pounded into her, my thick, ridged cock spearing into her soft, yielding body.