Mated by the Dragon (3 page)

“I will not eat him.”

Chloe tugged off her dress and tossed aside her bra, eager to crawl beneath the taupe jersey sheets. The urgency in Saul’s voice distracted her from diving into bed. “I was joking when I said that, Saul… I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings. I know you wouldn’t eat him.” She hoped that was the case at least, restricting Felix from the room for entirely selfish reasons. She didn’t want the cat to startle her dragon in the morning and provoke his predatory instincts.

His unreadable expression made a gradual transition, alluding to a smile then finally a grin. “It is long over, Chloe. Have no concern for that.”

“But since we’re on the subject… remember what I said about midnight snacks and visits to the fridge,” Chloe warned.

“Boxers.” Saul grinned at her and set aside his jeans. He preferred to go commando, but Mahasti had cautioned him to don appropriate clothing among the humans. It wouldn’t do for Marcy to step out of her room in the middle of the night to find a naked Viking look-alike in front of the fridge, even if it would probably be the most thrilling moment she’d had all year.

Once Saul joined her in bed, she scooted in close against him and tugged the sheets over their nude bodies. The entire month in his company felt a dream, but the reality of sharing her bed with a mythological creature struck her as absolutely surreal.

“Saul?” she whispered in the dark.

“Hm?” His arm circled around her shoulders and kept her close. The secure presence of his body warmed her more than the sheets, a perfect contrast against the cold air circulated from the ceiling vents.

“Thank you for coming home with me.”

“You told me this once before.”

“But I want to thank you again. I think Marcy really likes you.”

“Your friend is a generous and likable woman.” His fingers traveled over her spine, a repetitive circuit that began anew at her nape and ended near the small of her back. She shivered beneath the touch.

“I’m going to miss her.”

“My affection comes without a time limit, Chloe. You are neither required to leave at this month’s end, nor will you be forced to abandon all you know and love. I will wait with you for as long as Marcy accepts my presence.”

“She’d keep you here forever, I think. But I’m glad you two get along. It’ll make things easier in the long run, and she can always come and visit.”

“She is welcome whenever you desire.” Saul continued his strokes down her back until he reached her ass and kneaded the soft flesh.

“That feels nice.” She stirred beneath his touch and lifted her rump, sliding one knee under her body. She next drew the second beneath her and angled her backside into the air.

“Chloe…” Saul’s hands circled her ass with firm pressure and his breath quickened.

“I want you to take me like our very first night,” she whispered huskily.

“I presumed you did not favor the position.”

She pressed her ass into his palms, hot and needy. “Sometimes I dream about our first night in the cave, Saul. I may not like the position, but I like the way
you
do it.”

Freddy had always made it a position of domination, preferring it especially whenever she indulged his desires for anal sex. Saul made it feel different, tender, loving, and wholly natural. It was a vital part of who he was, a mighty beast masquerading as a man.

“Will there be another interruption from your feline?” A touch of humorous warmth filled his voice.

“Saul, please. I’m sorry. I’m sorry, all right? I didn’t mean to make you angry.”

“I was never angry, Ch—”

“Then just fuck me already!” All she could think of was having his cock buried inside of her. She didn’t just crave his touch, she needed it. Chloe had been hot and achy all day, a discomfort inspired by his every touch and as well as the longing looks he’d given her over dinner. She’d frequently wanted to rip his clothes off.

She didn’t have to ask again. For a large man, Saul moved with agility when the mood struck him. He snaked into position behind her and took her hips in his hands, his possessive hold securing her in place to receive the forward nudge of his pelvis.

“Always so wet for me.” His voice thrilled her, a sensual growl against her ear accompanied by the close proximity of their joining bodies. Together, it was undeniable bliss.

“Always! Fuck yes, please,” she cried in satisfaction, urging him to continue. His cock filled and stretched her in all the right ways and every thrust stimulated her clit, which felt hypersensitive to even the most minor touch.

Whenever Freddy stayed overnight, Marcy slept with earplugs and her alarm set on the highest volume. Chloe had no doubt that her best friend had adopted the same practice again.

The headboard slammed against the wall while Chloe clung to it, the helpless recipient to the hard thrusts bringing their bodies together. She wished she could see him and even hungered for the joy of watching his features contort in bliss, but the deeper penetration came at a price.

A mirror. I am buying a goddamn mirror if this is going to become normal for us.
The mere thought of seeing him behind her, muscles rippling as he fucked her, caused Chloe to clench around him. Saul groaned and increased the tempo.

Every stroke slapped his balls against her clit, and when Saul grinded to the full depth of her tight pussy, the world around her spun. His mouth sealed over the mark on her shoulder to deliver a suckling kiss.

“Harder, baby, harder.”

“I do not wish to harm you.”

Chloe reached back and grabbed a harsh fistful of his hair, anchoring him close. “You won’t, baby. But if you don’t fuck me hard and deep right now I’m not responsible for what I do to you.”

Her dragon’s chuckle raised goosebumps over her skin and ran a delectable shiver down her spine. “As my lady commands.” His hand ascended her flat stomach and palmed one breast. The nipple responded to his touch and stiffened.

She lost all sense of the world around her. Nothing mattered but the movement of their bodies and the indulgent gratification it brought. Chloe moaned out, withholding nothing.

“I’m so close,” she whimpered, rocking back against him frantically. Saul dropped a hand between her thighs and slid his calloused fingertips over her clit. A single flick against the sensitive nerve bundle was all it took. She cried out his name, lost all control, and surrendered to her orgasm. The climax spasmed her muscles — harder than she’d ever experienced in all of their many couplings, nearly forcing his dick from within her tight snatch. Saul’s feral growl vibrated through her ear, and then he slammed forward through the unyielding resistance.

“Fuck!” she cried, drawing out the word on a long groan. “More, baby, more.”

Saul’s hips pistoned forward in powerful, churning rhythm that pushed her orgasm beyond normal limits. Or maybe she was having multiples, each rolling into the next, too closely to be differentiated from each other. “Harder!” she screamed at him. The next thrust rocked Chloe physically against the headrail and pressed her cheek into the cool wood. Her climax became a pattern of starburst explosions, each blissful shudder radiating through her core.  

Chloe collapsed against the sheets. Ever since her soul-binding and mating with Saul, she no longer recalled the meaning of mediocre sex. She shuddered and snuck one hand between her thighs where his come created a slippery mess. A shower seemed like the next logical step, and would be, if she didn’t feel like someone had attached lead weights to her limbs.

Multiple orgasms were a thing of fantasy in bad pornography and erotic novels. For Chloe, it had become a reality that left her drained and useless afterward. “Does… does that ever stop happening?” she murmured up to him drowsily.

“No.” He flashed her a sated grin and slipped out of bed. He returned moments later with a dampened, warm washcloth from the adjacent bathroom, and unlike any man of her past decade of sexual activity, he tenderly cleansed her body of the mess he’d made.

Chloe felt like a queen.

“What makes that happen? I know I’ve had a month or so to ask but…”

Saul slipped from the bed to dispose of the cloth into the laundry bin. When he returned, his fair brows rose with curiosity. “I explained this to you but poorly, so you must forgive me. It is… you may think of it as natural selection. When a male dragon performs a soul bond with his mate, certain changes occur to produce young.”

“To produce… young?”

“We are magically inclined to gift one another immeasurable pleasure. As a result, you would submit to me more often, enhancing our chances of bearing little ones.”

“Little ones?” Chloe’s voice cracked.
Relax, Chloe, I’m pretty sure he’s not expecting babies right this second. Can I even have them? Don’t dragons lay eggs? I can’t lay eggs!
Her inner worries approached hysteria and shattered the euphoria left in the wake of their sex.

“What is wrong?” His abrupt question pierced through her frantic line of thoughts.

“Nothing,” she lied while searching for a valid excuse.

“Your heart races. I feel your anxiety, my love. Have I upset you? Have I said the wrong thing?”

“No, Saul… It’s nothing you’ve done. I was thinking.”

“Your thoughts appear heavier with each passing moment. What troubles you?” When she failed to answer, Saul persisted again in a gentler tone. “I am your mate. If I am not the one to whom you air your grievances, then what good am I to you?”

“Why didn’t you talk to me earlier after the shower? You were upset but you didn’t speak,” she blurted out.

“You did not ask.”

He had her there. She’d assumed her preferential treatment to Felix angered him and let it go without inquiring. A nervous giggle slipped past Chloe’s lips as she burrowed into him for comfort. She loved him even more for his cool sense of logic and rationale.

“What about us? I mean, I’m human. Can we have children together?”

“I am unaware of any successful dragon and human breeding, Chloe. For all intents and purposes, we are sterile together. Does this upset you?”

The knowledge didn’t soothe Chloe’s heart. If anything, his words bore an insidious sense of despair.

He’s sacrificed so much for me, and I can’t even give him a child. Why does he want me?
she wondered.
Did he only settle because he’s unable to find one of his own kind?

“Did you… want children?” For all that she knew, he had no desire to father a child, and all of her concerns were the product of a tired mind.

Saul chuckled in the dark. “Once I did, but that is an interest long lost to me. Females of my kind are few and far between, and those with a good heart even more rare to find.”

His words confirmed Chloe’s darkest fears.

“Okay,” she whispered.

“My love, I am happy as we are.” He tucked her in close to his body, an arm wrapped her waist and his cheek atop her head.

She should have been comforted. So why did she feel so uneasy instead?

Chapter 2

Marcy was absolutely smitten by Saul, and if they weren’t such close friends, the Latina might have been jealous that she hadn’t found him first. At some point during their visit, Chloe had wanted to confide the secret of his true nature but couldn’t bring herself to admit that the sexy Viking was a giant fantasy monster.

To their immense relief, Saul adjusted easily to Houston, claiming his life to be no different in the girls’ shared home than his day-to-day activities in California. In the mornings, he and Chloe slept in, and by the afternoon they roused to walk Felix and sight-see local attractions. She even took him to the Houston Zoo, where he became an eager child, thrilled at every new sight.

“You’ve never visited a zoo?” she asked in disbelief.

“Many of these creatures are food to me. I have never pondered their existence beyond the taste of their flesh,” Saul replied, his honesty taking her by surprise. He glanced at a nearby giraffe stretching its neck toward a branch bearing green leaves. The creature remained blissfully unaware of the predator observing its mealtime.

“And now you do?”

“You are a poor influence on me, my love. My behavior would shame others of my kind.”

“Why’s that?” Saul rarely spoke of his people. Between his scant clues and the information Chloe dragged out of Mahasti, she understood Saul to be a rarity among the great dragons in the world.

“My kind prefer solitude, and most certainly wouldn’t mate with a human or live in her domicile for any extended time.”

“If dragons prefer solitude, why do you have a company, a home, and friends like Mahasti and Leiv? Why befriend and care for me after I hurt my ankle? You could have left me there.”

“A corporation is viewed as an extension of my horde, but as I said, I am considered eccentric among my kind. Perhaps Mahasti’s presence has given me more freedom to live so openly.”

Chloe considered that possibility and nodded. “I guess a djinn is handy to have around. But still, you have a job.”