ClosertoFire (7 page)

He sat back down, sliding back to the wall and stretching
his legs on the bench. “Go, Lily. I’ll keep an eye on things out here.”

In the small but neat men’s room, Bane splashed water on his
face, trying to regain his composure. He didn’t want to push Lily, especially
now that he knew sex was new to her. But truth be told, though he’d loved every
second of watching her take Darek first, it had taken every ounce of his
control to hold back. He wanted more than the satisfaction of fucking her. The
creature sliding just beneath the surface of his skin would accept nothing less
than her complete surrender. He was haunted by visions of Lily beneath
him—supple, compliant, eager to please. He groaned, a desperate sound that
echoed in the small space. Lily was such a gentle, generous sex partner that his
darker desires made him feel guilty. He heard the door creak open and turned,
swiping the last drops of water from his face.

Lily stood there alone. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” he said, clearing his throat. She dried her palms
against her jeans. The scent of her need laced with a hint of nerves reached
him. He closed his eyes, drinking it in. “Lock the door,” he heard himself say.

She did as he said.

“Come here.”

She walked toward him slowly, an exotic vision in Savara’s
most modest outfit. He stood there, a man transfixed, as she slipped her body
in between his and the sink, placing her palms against his chest. His cock
hardened against his jeans. One of his hands settled on her shoulder, the other
tucked a stray strand of flaxen hair behind her ear. She leaned into his touch.

Without a word, he guided her hand to the waistband of his
jeans and pressed her palm to his belly, watching her closely.
Let her
decide.

She hesitated for the briefest moment, then slid her hand
beneath the fabric. Her cool fingers were a balm to his burning skin. She
cupped his cock so hard it ached and wrapped her fingers around it, tentatively
at first, then with delicious firmness. He groaned with relief, a sound that
emerged a deep, inhuman growl.

Desperate need rose in him, a force so wild he feared for
her. He fought the urge to tear her shirt away from the soft haven of her
breasts. He took her face in his hands, fighting for control. “Lily, I—”

“Bane, I need you,” she whispered. The urgency in her words
cleared his mind and he saw for the first time his own feral desire mirrored in
her amber eyes. She let go of his cock to work at his belt buckle with one
small hand. With the other, she pressed the back of his neck, tugging him to
her. He leaned down, claiming her mouth with his own.

Her thoughts were a silken caress in his mind.
Please
make me yours.

“Lily, I don’t want to hurt you,” he breathed against her
mouth. “I waited because you needed rest, but I waited too long and I need—I
need too much.” He’d never felt so out of control.

“I don’t think you need more than I can give,” she murmured.
He scented her need laced with the fiery allure of her idana blood and it
destroyed what was left of his control. He pinched her nipples gently, testing
her.

She gasped and leaned into his touch, her eyes drifting
closed.
More. Please, more.

The dragon answered—dark, dominant, hungry.
Yes.
She
asked, she received. He lifted her onto the counter and tugged at the hem of
her skirt. “Lift this for me,” he commanded. She did as he said, her gaze
burning. He kissed her, parting her lips with his tongue to explore the velvet
texture of her mouth.

When he found a lacy barrier to his touch he growled,
grasping her chin and forcing her to look into his eyes. One finger lengthened
into a talon and he slit the fabric, careful not to cut her. Her soft,
surprised cry pleased him and he slid his fingers, talons gone, into her wet
heat. She moaned, a wrenching, helpless sound, her tight pussy clenching his
fingers.

“No underwear under skirts. Are we clear?”

Her eyes widened and she nodded, her pupils dilating. A
flood of hot, wet warmth soaked his hand and he realized he’d hit a nerve. A
submissive
nerve.
Interesting.

“Come here.”

Her breath coming in short puffs, she scooted toward him on
the counter. She ground on his hand, her pussy sucking hungrily at his fingers.
He laughed softly.
This
would be a fascinating experiment.

“Say it,” he ordered, eliciting an excited whimper from her.

“I’m…I’m not to wear underwear with skirts,” she said with a
gasp, feathering kisses along his jawline.

Oh God.
He closed his eyes. She was so perfect. “Very
good. Put your hands behind you.” She would need the support.

He knelt in front of her, nudging her knees wide apart to
admit his broad shoulders. His hand was soaked to the wrist and he was eager to
taste her.

Her knees trembled, her back arching. “Bane, please—”

He nipped the inside of her leg, chiding. She gasped and he
kissed the tiny hurt, soothing it with his tongue. “Hush. I’ll tell you when to
beg,” he murmured against the smooth skin of her thigh. But he wasn’t going to
make her wait long. Maybe later…but not now. He needed to be in her, and soon.

He took his time licking her, her cries deeply satisfying,
erotic music. He found the hard bud of her clit and pressed down with his
thumb, bringing it out from beneath its little hood. He breathed over it and
felt her thighs shiver against his shoulders.

“Pl—” she began, and he watched her teeth clamp on her pink
tongue. She’d remembered—no begging.
Good girl.

“Yes?” he asked softly, drawing torturous circles around her
clit with the pad of his thumb, careful not to touch it. “What were you going
to say, Lily?” When she hesitated, he chuckled. “You want to beg, don’t you?”

“Yes,” she groaned, her breath coming in rapid little gasps.
He nipped the inside of her leg again. She jumped, whimpering, and he lapped up
the answering flood of wet warmth from her pussy, still careful to avoid her
hard clit.

“You will use my name when you speak to me,” he corrected
her firmly.

“Yes, Bane.”

“Tell me exactly what you want, Lily,” he said, watching her
hips twitch with her hunger.

“Please make me come, Bane,” she ground out from between
clenched teeth.

His lips curved in a wicked smile. “That’s my Lily,” he
murmured. He drew her clit into his mouth and sucked gently. She came hard,
screaming his name, bucking against his mouth. Her hands slipped on the counter
but he slid an arm around her lower back, catching her.

She’d barely stilled before he stood, positioned the head of
his cock at her entrance and seated himself in her in one hard thrust. The
flutters of her renewed orgasm stroked his length as she wrapped her arms and
legs around him, holding on as though her life depended on it.

“Yessss,” she hissed. She kissed him wildly, tasting,
exploring his mouth with her tongue. “Please,” she whispered finally against
his lips, forgetting his command in her heat, “take what is yours.” He took her
with abandon, pounding his cock into her welcoming little body as hard and fast
as his need demanded. When he came, the orgasm seized him ruthlessly, every
muscle in his body stiffening with shocking force. He sank balls-deep into her
and let go, his shout joining her cries of pleasure in the small space.

They stayed there for what seemed like a long time,
breathing hard, holding on to each other, bodies joined. His hunger sated for
the moment, Bane took his time kissing her, expressing with his hands and mouth
a gratitude he could not put into words. At last he broke the kiss, stroking
her hair and drawing her head to his chest.

“Wow, Lily,” he murmured, burying his face in her soft hair
and inhaling deeply. The scent he’d found so intoxicating the night he’d first
kissed her—lavender and lemon—had combined with a second he recognized as
Darek’s. The synthesis was pleasing and he caught undertones of his own scent
joining the mix.

“Mmm?”

“You amaze me.” He didn’t know what else to say. He’d been
alive for a very, very long time and he’d long ago believed that his run of
firsts was finished. He’d been so wrong. The creature that shared his soul and
his body, an animal he’d thought incapable of fulfillment, was content. At
peace.

Placing a kiss on the top of her head, he held her tightly
for a moment then stepped back to fasten his jeans. She winced a little as he
helped her down from the counter and he dropped to one knee, searching her body
for injury.

Finding none, he asked, “Are you all right?” If he’d hurt
her, he’d never forgive himself.

She laughed, tugging him to his feet.

“My legs were just a little stiff. I’m fine.”

“Are you sure?” He searched her legs for bruises or welts.

“Bane, no. You didn’t hurt me. I’m fine,” she assured him.
“Really.” She grinned. “If you ever hurt me, you’ll be the first to know,
dragon-man.”

“Dragon-man?”

She shrugged. “Unless you prefer ‘Lord Master’, but I think
Darek might object to that.” She frowned. “Speaking of which, I’m not
allowed
to wear panties anymore?”

His dragon rumbled with pleasure and he straightened,
looking down at her. “Just not under skirts.” He observed her response,
curious. The objection surfaced, she considered voicing it, then it faded from
her eyes. “Good girl,” he purred, stroking her jaw.

“I really, really shouldn’t like it when you say that,” she
said, rubbing her cheek against his palm.

“But you do, don’t you, Lily?”

“Mmmm-hmmm.”

“It’ll be our little secret then,” he said. “Yours, mine and
Darek’s.”

She put her hands on her hips and cocked her head. “Is Darek
like you? Is he going to be full of rules too?”

He grinned. “You mean is he dominant?”

“I guess.”

Bane lifted her chin and looked into her lovely wide eyes.
“No, he’s not like me.” He kissed her forehead. “He’s much less patient.”

“Oh.” Her mouth twitched.

“The two of us can be awfully demanding, you know. You’re
going to be a very busy girl.” She blinked, her breath coming in short, shallow
puffs.

Part of him wanted to keep her there, savor the nerves and
arousal playing across her features. Her thoughts, full of self-doubt, made him
relent. “It’s all right to like our rules, Lily.”

She looked surprised. “How did you… Are you always in my
head?”

“Only when I need to be,” he answered. “Is that all right
with you?”

She seemed to consider, then shrugged. “I guess. It just
catches me off guard sometimes.”

He leaned in close, seeking the spot behind her ear where
her fragrance was particularly intoxicating. A sparkle of color at the base of
her throat caught his attention and he tugged her chin up, eliciting a startled
cry. He studied it more closely, his heart pounding.

“Oh Lily.” He ran his thumb over the intricate, shining
design on her skin. The mark—his and Darek’s—rested in the soft indentation at
the base of her throat, between her collarbones.

She gasped when he touched it, her eyelids fluttering
closed. “Do that again,” she purred, interlacing her fingers at his nape.

His hands—steady, reliable surgeon’s hands—trembled.
I
was right. What now?

He grasped her shoulders and turned her around to face the
mirror. “Look in the mirror, Lily.”

She gaped at her reflection, her amber eyes wide, and
reached up to touch the mark.

Bane watched over her shoulder, smiling at her in the
mirror. Unable to resist the temptation, he cupped her generous breasts and
played with her nipples through her shirt. “What do you think?”

The design was circular, made up of the curled bodies of two
dragons, one blue and gold, one red. Bane studied the blue-and-gold dragon, an
unmistakable likeness of his.

Her shocked gaze met his in the mirror. The colors in the
mark shifted and shimmered as she touched it. “This is it then. Your mark.”

He nodded. “This is my dragon,” he said, running his thumb
over the blue-and-gold dragon. She gasped and shivered. “And this is Darek’s.”
He touched the red dragon and it moved beneath his fingertip, flicking its
tail.

She laughed and covered his hand. “That tickles.”

“You’re our wyrmate, Lily.” The sound of his own words made
his heart pound and his cock harden.

She turned to face him, looking nervous, and sudden fear of
losing her overwhelmed him. “Do you like it?” His chest tightened.
Do you
want it?
he wanted to ask, but he didn’t dare.

Lily stood on tiptoe and threw her arms around his neck.
“Yes. To both questions.”

He blinked. She’d heard his thoughts. The knot in Bane’s
chest relaxed. He pulled her close, squeezing her tightly. “Now,” he said,
stepping back and smoothing her shirt with his hands, “you’d better fix your
skirt. Darek’s going to want to see that.”

She turned back to the mirror and pursed her lips, running
her fingers through the tangles he’d put in her hair.

Bane could only stand there, grinning like a fool. “You are
so beautiful.”

She blushed, lowering her gaze.

He chuckled. This from the same woman who had brazenly
begged for his cock five minutes ago.

“Thank you,” she said.

When they came out, Darek was waiting across the narrow
hallway, leaning against an old pay phone and smirking. “Better?” he asked. His
gaze dropped to the mark on Lily’s throat and his smirk vanished. He closed the
distance to her in a single stride, his eyes fixed on the symbol. He reached up
to touch it and Lily’s hand tightened on Bane’s but she did not stop him. As
Darek’s fingers brushed across the symbol, she whimpered softly, her eyes
glassy, and leaned against Bane. Her back arched in unconscious invitation.

“It’s…sensitive,” Bane said in answer to Darek’s raised
eyebrow.