Defiant Dragon (8 page)

He set her down on the landing, reared back, and gave the barrier a kick. Metal screeched as the door bent in the doorjamb. The hinge broke off and skidded out of sight as the steel slab collapsed in the doorway partially folded. Fresh air circulated around them. He offered River his hand to help her over the threshold. Her dress caught on a sharp corner and the material tore away exposing toned, creamy brown thighs. His dick grew hard staring at the exposed expanse of skin. If this continued, he’d have a bad case of blue balls to match the marks sweeping over his form.

She cleared her throat and he lifted his gaze to catch her staring at his hard-on. River raised her face and a seductive smile curled the corner of her lips. “I don’t think we should let that go to waste.” She angled her chin toward his pelvis.

Jax wiped a hand down his face, sure he’d heard her wrong. “You didn’t sip any drinks or open bottles while you were with your girls did you?”

River scrunched up her nose. “What do you mean?”

“Never mind.” He shook his head. “It’s the beach you wanted to visit right?”

She nodded. “Yes.” She looked up at the night sky above them. “It’s high tide. The Yellow sea is beautiful around this time, the way the waves kiss the beach under the moonlight.”

“
Polýtimos
, I really need to know if you ingested anything while we were in the club.” He studied her face for any signs that she may have inadvertently taken a drug like ecstasy, not that the effects would last long with a shifter’s metabolism, but this was a side of River he’d never seen before and her about-face was starting to worry him. He held her chin between his fingers, no glazed eyes or flushed skin, she appeared to be all right.

“For the love of the Goddess.” She pulled her face away. “How am I supposed to be romantic when you keep interrogating me?”

He wasn’t touching that statement, nor was he about to toss aside the gift that was being bestowed on him. If River was finally coming around to his way of thinking, who was he to wonder about it? “I told you I trust you. Now I need to know do
you
trust me,
polýtimo
s?”

“More than others.” Curiosity filled her stare.

He turned away from her. “Climb on my back.” Jax bent down on one knee to accommodate her.

She used his thigh like a step stool, her knee dug into his side as she slung her leg across his back. Her cool palms swept over tense shoulder muscles as she brought her hands around to his neck to lock them together. He shuddered from her touch. She laid her cheek between his shoulder blades and spoke quietly, “Ready”

Jax stood, glanced behind him and cover her intertwined fingers with his palm. “Hold on.” He took off running and dove over the side of the building.

Free-falling, and moments from impact, his dragon emerged. Wings sprouted from his back and his body mass tripled and then quadrupled. Torn clothing fell away in tatters, drifting to the street below them. He flapped and the tips of his wings scraped the asphalt. Wind buffeted the concrete, sending oncoming vehicles careening away from them, breaking signage and whipping debris into the air. Screeching rent the air as brakes were engaged, and cars came to a grinding halt only to be slammed in the rear by other automobiles. He wrinkled his snout at the scent of burning rubber and angled his massive body up. They shot straight up into the air, using the night sky to disappear into, as people exited their automobiles, screaming and pointing. Rising higher, he caught a current and glided toward the shore.

River laughed, a lyrical tinkle like glass chimes brushing against each other in a gentle breeze. Her mouth brushed his neck. “I have a feeling our picture might be all over the media in a few hours. Lizard, you’ll be famous by morning.”

He rolled and felt her legs stiffen. The few minutes it took to fly to the shore were the longest he’d ever experienced. Jax settled down behind a dune dotted with swaying stalks of high grass. Sand gave way under his massive weight and he slowly sunk. She slid off his shoulders and backed away. He reclaimed his human form, muscles reformed as bones broke and realigned. His throat burned as he worked his jaws, reclaiming his ability to talk.

“You’ve got me here, now what?” His tone was a rusty grate. He rolled his head on his neck to loosen the tenseness.

“My bag is at the bathhouse. We’ll have to steal something for you to wear.” She circled him, just out of arms reach.

“Stop avoiding my question.” He tilted his head. “What is it, River? You have me here and don’t know what to do with me. Do I scare you, little fish?” He cupped his balls.

She stopped and stared at his hand. A tsking sound escaped her. “Silly dragon, what is there to fear?” River lifted her gaze and arched a thin brow.

He kicked up a flurry of sand as he moved. Jax pressed his mouth to hers, swallowing the
eep
she uttered. He jerked her against him and swung her around as he dropped into the sugar-fine silt. She landed sprawled across his body and he tangled his fist into her hair to hold her head in place as he plundered her mouth, skimming her teeth with his tongue. Her eyes drifted shut as she relaxed in his embrace. He skated his palm down her spine and over her ass. Pressing his fingertips into her ass as he hiked her up, she slipped between his thighs when he spread his legs.

With a flex of his pelvis, he rubbed his erection against the softness of her mound. Her moan reverberated through him and a slow heat spread through his limbs. He used his hold on her hair to turn her head for better access to her throat and slid his mouth along her jawline, nipping at her skin as he moved. Her nails cut into his shoulders as she pushed up against his grasp. Reluctantly, he released her tresses.

She opened her eyes and stared at him through a clear green irises. “You’re hot.”

“I know. Aren’t you lucky?” He half grinned.

“Ha-ha. I’m serious. The heat you emanate… Lying here with you makes me burn.” She sat up and straddled his waist.

He pulled elbows under him and eased up. “You’re the one meant to tame my dragon. Trust the Goddess.” His somber tone surprised him and his dragon murmured words he couldn’t quite understand in his mind. He would never hurt her, he couldn’t. Gently he pulled his legs from beneath hers and crept forward.

River leaned back as he crawled between the apex of her thighs.

Tiny granules of sand seeped up between his fingers as his hand sunk into the loamy silt when he caged her with his arms. “I will not be denied,
polýtimos
. We have a destiny to define.” He nuzzled her throat, taking his time to caress her skin with his mouth.

He straightened and clutched the collar of her dress. With the flick of talon, he quickly sliced through the fabric and was tearing the material away. Jax slid his palms over her exposed breasts, flicking her nipples with his thumbs. “So beautiful.” He dipped his head and wrapped his lips around a turgid tip.

She fell back and a haze of dust flew up around them.

Jax skimmed his teeth across her tight nub while pinching the other with his fingers. He alternated sucking on each luscious orb before briefly burrowing in the valley between her tits. Leisurely, he kissed his way down the center of her body and laved her belly button. He glanced up at her form, she’d flung her arms out on her side, clawing deep ruts into the beach with her fingers. His dick jerked. Her pleasure would come first. He gripped her ankles and moved her legs to place them over his shoulders. The rosewater scent enfolded him as he spread the wings of her labia and stared at the glistening folds.

Ducking his head, he lapped at her moist folds and the sweet taste of rose hips exploded across his tongue.

* * * *

The first touch of his tongue against her nether lips had her pounding the sand with her fist. In the dark she could only make out the outline of his upper body. Unlike other beasts, mermaids lacked night vision. Ripples of sensation washed through her as the rasp of his tongue glided over her sensitive tissue. She couldn’t stop trembling as the feeling coalesced low in her belly. He clamped down on her clit and shook his head. She bowed up and rolled her hips against his mouth.

Jax planted a spread palm across her stomach, pressing her down. He licked her pussy, darting his tongue in and out of her channel. She tried to close her legs, locking his face in place. His arms blocked her movements and he chuckled. Heated breath grazed her delicate bud, sending another round of currents coursing through her form. She wiggled her ass, trying to withdraw from his touch. He dragged her back and sand scrubbed her back through the thin material of her torn dress.

“Round two, baby,” he whispered against her pussy before sliding his fingers into her sheath and thrusting deep. His heat bled into her core. He sucked her tiny bundle of nerves past his lips and continued his onslaught with his hands while humming against her clit.

Bliss filled her as she bucked her hips while he drove his digits knuckle deep and brushed her slick folds. Her legs quivered and pressure built at the small of her back. River gripped his locks and tried to direct his movements by twisting the strands of hair clutched in her hand. Sound amplified, she could hear the crash of waves against the shore beyond the dune. Colors sharpened, the darkness around them was deeper and the stars above were brighter. Tension rocketed up her spine. The skin along her collarbone tingled. He bit down of her bud. She sat up and opened her mouth, but no sound erupted past her lips as her orgasm shattered her control and she lost use of her arms and legs. River shut her eyes and dropped back, panting.

She lifted her lids and blinked several times to focus. He slid up her side and stared down at her. His lips moved, forming words, their meaning slowly sinking in. “You are the source my power. There is nothing I will not do to keep you safe. I offer my body as your shield and my fire to serve as your weapon. You are the keeper of my heart, know that you are completely and utterly loved. No one, man or beast, will separate us.” He rolled over and drove his cock into her passage.

The connection snapped in place, ancient words slid with ease through her lips. “I offer you my voice, to be your defense when all else fails. I give you my body to use as a harbor against harsh waters. Your love and protection is accepted. Goddess help those who would dare to come between us.” Prickles snaked a way around her neck and along the center of her back. She wrapped her legs around his hips and lifted her pelvis, pushing him closer to her core.

They moved in tandem, the friction of his dick sliding in and out of her cove renewed eddies of sensation that still flowed over taut nerves. He rose up and brushed his fingers across her collarbone. She followed his hand with her own, touching the smooth necklace of scales that curled around her throat.

Jax reached for her hand and pressed her knuckles to his lips before lifting her arm above her head. She cupped his chin and offered him her other limb. He clutched her wrists in his grasp and skimmed his other palm down her side to grasp her waist. River bent her legs, planted her feet in the silt and arched her hips to meet his lunges. Sand shifted beneath her, creating the hollow she sunk into. She looked at his profile, his jaw was clenched and his eyes were closed tight. Sweat beaded on his forehead. His heat flowed over her, but she no longer worried about being burned, it was more of a warm soothing sensation.

Realization dawned on her. He was holding back his fire. She raised her head. “Come for me,” she breathed.

He thrashed his head and droplets of moisture flung from the strands of his hair dappled her skin. Jax’s eyes flew open and he peered down at her through his dragon’s eyes. She dropped her pelvis, pulling away from his rigid member. Night air chilled her moist crevices. His nails cut into her arm and retracted. He blinked and his pupils were normal.

“Give me your flames, Jax.” She sighed.

He burrowed his palm under her ass and urged her up while plunging down. His girth filled her. He released her hands, grabbed her leg, hefted it up into the crook of his arm, and rolled on his side. Moving at a preternatural speed, he pounded into her body. Another surge of pleasure raced through her frame. Gritty sand scrapped her scalp as she whipped her head back and forth on the cusp of another release. She closed her arm around his shoulder and pulled up against him. Her stiff nipples pressed into his chest and her clit throbbed as she was hurtled into a chasm of sensations.

His throat worked as he swallowed. She ground down on his shaft. He threw back his head and opened his mouth, blue fire streamed through his lips, illuminating the area around them in a sapphire glow. Her release sent spasms hurdling along her nerve endings, making her toes curl in the sand. Warmth filled her core as he came and another orgasm piggybacked on the first. She bent back across his arm, opened her mouth, and screamed.

In the background, dogs started barking. Jax’s eyes widened, he took her face between his palms and covered her mouth with his. A sulfuric taste coated her tongue and slipped down her throat. Her gag effectively cut off her yell.

He lifted his head and grinned. “
Polýtimos
, we are going to have to work on how you use your gift. I think there are animals in Alaska that heard your pitch.”

“Goddess, that was nasty! What did you do?” She worked her tongue in her mouth to build up saliva and wash the taste away. She tapped down the urge to spit.