Dragon Heart Read online

  “Then what is your so-called story? I want to know. You owe me.” She gathered the edges of her robe together, covering herself. She felt so stupid.

  Pressing his full lips into a line, Drake darted his eyes down to her now covered body. He clenched his jaw harder and appeared pissed, on the verge of going off. “Doesn’t matter,” he said.

  “Really. ’Cause each time I wanted to let loose and have some fun on the beaches and boardwalk, you’re frowning, arms crossed, and yeah I heard your muttering a mile off—let’s not even get started on the bars and dance clubs you won’t let me visit. You’re the official buzzkill on this trip. You won’t let me ad lib anything. If I’m supposed to be innocently sowing my PG-rated oats for the PR machine back home, why did I get saddled with the all-time party pooper? You’re like some form of dragon chastity belt I’m forced to endure.”

  “In case you’d like to remember, I was recruited for this job as a favor to your father. So I agreed, thank you not very much!”

  “You could have said ‘no.’ But why? You’d miss out on torturing me,” she said and reached out, this time poking him in the chest. “You’re not having any fun and I sure as hell am not!”

  She must have done something right. Drake came at her, his heat undeniable and only a couple of inches from touching her. “Well maybe, just maybe it’s because you’re spoiled to the core, Miss Barclay. You push people’s buttons without regard for the toll or repercussions. I’m warning you, don’t push me.”

  “That’s a lie. Name one person’s buttons I push.” She leaned closer to him. Another inch and she’d be near to rubbing up against him. “Besides yours, Mr. Navy SEAL.”

  “Bull’s eye.” He raked his fingers through his hair, his gaze roaming down her body, then springing upward. “Got that one dead center. During three tours of duty, I didn’t encounter anyone like you.”

  “And what are you going to do about it? I’m curious. You want me and I want you. Will you stand by and let another man take me to his bed, put his hands on me?”

  “Never.” His nostrils flared.

  “Then put up or shut up,” she said.

  “Dammit. You really are something.” Without further warning, he had her back against the railing. He pressed his body to hers as he ripped open her robe. “This body is mine. Only mine. Say please. Nicely.”

  “Saying please. Very, very nicely,” she repeated, biting her lip as he pushed her robe off her shoulders. He didn’t stop until the sleeves were down her arms and the robe lay in a heap at her feet. His fingers set off a chain reaction, fusing the scorching heat from his touch with the fire in her blood. A billion prickling pins shot over her skin, demanding she shift and allow him to mount her in the most intimate of ways. But that would mean she was claimed—owned by Drake if she submitted to him primitively. To preserve her independence, she fought the instinct of her leopardess nature and remained in her human form. And yeah, what he did was a rush. He trailed his hands over naked her flesh, taking possession of her breasts by spanning his long fingers over her curves.

  “How about this for starters?” He thumbed her peaks that hardened under his scalding touch.

  “So very nice. Keep going,” she whispered, pushing forward into his palms and hooking her fingers in his belt loops. Oh she’d heard talk about dragon speed but nothing like this.

  “Do you realize what you risk?” Drake’s hard body held her pinned in place as his gaze swept over her face, blazing a trail that ignited her leopardess senses. He palmed her breasts, rubbing his length against her thigh then moving over an inch or two as his fully erect cock nudged her belly.

  “I risk going insane if we don’t do more than talk,” she hissed, the scent of their mutual arousal unleashing a swarm of goose bumps over her arms as the space between her legs throbbed. Unbearable heat swam within her along with something she’d never acted on, an escalating urge to be wildly mounted and claimed under the moonlight.

  He backed up and began to unbuckle his belt. “Got to hear it from your lips. Do you want me to fuck you?”

  “Please. Yes. All night. Hard. Rough. Fuck me, Drake, until I scream. But only in human form. Can you do that?” The words spilled from her lips, blistering and bubbling as a fire raced through her and left her drenched and ready for him.

  Without breaking eye-contact with her, he unzipped his jeans, and growled, “Perfect answer, kitten.”

  CHAPTER 2

  Shannon’s silky skin was softer than he’d envisioned in the million fantasies he entertained of her over the years. He ran his fingers across her shoulders, releasing a sparkling essence that glowed like magical moonlight. Dammit, if he wasn’t the perfect mark. He thundered from his own internal combustion, craving more than the phantom feel of her body. Everything about her teased and tormented him to distraction. She had his scruples by the balls. Back, say hello to the wall.

  “Baby,” he said, pulling her into his arms and giving into the wild ride they both were about to embark on. “I might not make you roar, but I’m going to make you scream my name.”

  “Pretty cocky. That line work with your other conquests around here?” Shannon wasn’t shy. She gripped his cock and squeezed him hard.

  Holy fuck! His nerve endings burst into flame, spreading a wildfire from his dick throughout his body. His dragon nature savored being touched by a woman who knew what she wanted. When he screwed, he did so with an unrelenting force. He imbued fucking like an animal with a whole new shade of savage.

  He laughed at her spunk, pumping his cock within her curled fingers, and whispered into her ear, “Sorry to disappoint you. I don’t make it a habit of seducing the locals. Been busy twenty … four … seven … keeping track of you.” He made his hips piston, rocking his cock as he spoke. “That’s it, Shay. Let me fuck your hand.”

  She stroked him in her warm palm and he pressed his lips to hers, unable to keep from thrusting his tongue deep into her mouth and showing her how he’d enjoy eating her pussy.

  Her lips were petal soft, unlike her barbed commentary, and when she opened to him, he devoured her mouth. Without letting go of him, she reached up her other hand and raked her nails across his scalp, tangling her fingers in his hair.

  Sweet Lord, he was going to spew flames and come all over her lovely fingers if she kept up her hand mudras on his hard-on. He wrapped his forearms around her waist, hauling her closer to him, and rubbed his crown up and down against her fingers. Shit. Her hands felt so fucking good.

  “Better stop stroking my cock or I’m not going to last in round one. Open your thighs for me,” he growled. “Wider. I’m going to go down on you under the stars.”

  “Like this?” Arching a brow, she lifted her lovely leg, giving him access to thrust into her balls deep. A girl like Shannon had him wild, reckless and skating the edge, doing things he hadn’t done in months.

  He held back—had to for a beat to gather his self-control. “Do you realize what you’re doing to me?”

  Her husky laugh was answer enough—a challenge he refused to back away from. His grip on her tightened and he slammed his hips into her, connected his cock with her mound, and for a second he saw shooting stars. The urge to drive himself into her jetted. Without thinking, he pumped his hips, making her glide over his fully erect shaft without entering her. This teasing boosted his dragon hunger as she whimpered against his mouth.

  “That’s it. Pleasure yourself. I could thrust into you right now and fuck us mindless.” He had a choice: either he take her to her bedroom, or hoist her upward, wrap her legs around his waist and make her ride him rough.

  Naw. Their first time, he wanted her beneath him as he controlled her every move. He needed that type of action with her.

  “Drake,” she moaned in the sexiest voice that commanded all of his senses. He had to thrust into her—own her—right now or he’d blow a gasket.

  “Wrap your legs around me. Don’t make me ask again.” He lifted her, wrapping her slender legs around his
hips and walked into her bedroom. He only paused to kick her bedroom door closed. Hell, he’d been ready to take her up against the wall at the word go, but now he’d own her on top of a bed as she spread her legs. His cock throbbed and felt harder than forged steel. He breathed out a lungful of smoke, careful to refrain from expelling fire. He lowered them and hovered over her, making the mattress springs squeak. “You ever had your wrists and ankles bound?”

  “Come again?” Shannon asked in a hoarse voice as he laid her down on the bed.

  “Ever had a dragon lover?” he asked, not really wanting to hear her talk about past partners. But his ability to breathe fire necessitated some precautions to keep her from getting blistered, and limiting her movement would help.

  “Not one,” she whispered, a cloud of color suffusing her cheeks.

  He liked that response and smirked. “So I’m the first dragon to share your bed.”

  She blushed deeper and closed her eyes. “You’re the first man to share my bed. Period.” Then she opened her amber-colored eyes and stared back at him, unblinking, and for several long seconds he was speechless.

  He dropped his gaze to her spread thighs, her pink swollen lips, and his throbbing cock actually got harder at the thought of being her first. “This is the first time—ever?”

  Shannon bit her lip and nodded.

  For months, he’d sported a hard-on keeping his distance from Shannon. She was his Navy commander’s kid, his friend’s sister, and he’d sworn to her family that he’d watch over her with his life. He’d imagined that she’d acquired some experience in college. If he took her virginity, how much would his life be worth? Zero. Nil. Nada.

  Richard Barclay would gather a hit team composed of hardcore SEALs. Shawn would castrate him first—torture second. Kill third. And he’d deserve everything his friend dished out.

  He channeled his fingers through his hair. “By first, do you mean that you haven’t ever had sex before?”

  “Yeah and don’t look at me like I just announced the world is about to end.”

  “It might … ” He reached down and ran his hand over her waist, tormenting himself. His dick throbbed mercilessly. Conversely, instead of actually being put off at the thought of the shit hitting the fan, he wanted to thrust so deep into her on so many levels and make Shannon his—that was friggin’ ludicrous. Had to be his dick talking.

  She belongs to me.

  The thought burst into his brain and tore through him.

  Horrible way to pay back the Barclays. When he’d been down on his luck and walked away from his family’s archaic polygamous mating rituals, his old commander had taken him in, a recently discharged SEAL without a mission, a.k.a. useless. According to Drake’s family, it was time to take the helm in a dwindling draconian dragon line after his tours of duty were over. But it was not his thing to marry his cousins, the three women who waited for him so he could procreate the bloodline, then step into a cushy corporate career at O’Connor Tech, play golf on Sunday, and attend family reunions annually in Hawaii. Of course, a major part of the time would involve downing Viagra as his brothers did in trying to fuck their wives nine different ways to Sunday.

  Begetting a live dragon birth was near impossible these days, and all males under the age of fifty spent most of their time in bed with an icepack on their balls. Three, four, five wives with thermometers, logbooks, and daily doctor visits. Huge sums were awarded to a live dragon birth—last time a truckload of cash went to his brother and his fourth wife. Before that a third cousin, but that was two decades ago.

  He’d never fall in line and left his family’s rage, refusing dragon dynasty bribes and threats.

  As the head of security at Barclay Enterprises in Denver, he’d been happy knowing nothing about little princesses… until Shannon had returned from college. His first encounter with the girl who’d grown into a woman stalled him in his tracks. Gone was the skinny teenager with braces and in her place, a jaw-dropping beauty. The sight of her endless curves had hit him square between the eyes, not to mention had his dick standing up and taking extreme notice. Then she opened her mouth … oh yeah. He remembered her quick comebacks that never quit and sent his motor into overdrive.

  Active tours of duty overseas during full-on scrambles, and his military training hadn’t prepared him for this earth shattering news. This level of intel hit him in the gut. Now, Shannon leaned upward, giving him a challenging look, and took hold of his cock again. “Stop overthinking this. Where’s all that fire? Drake, I know this is what you want. So, let’s just do it.”

  He stared down at her, then lowered his eyes to her incredible pussy: her pink lips parted and her tiny nub of a clit peeked out. His cock juddered and he tore his gaze away, but focusing on her mouth was equally torturous.

  “You’re just going to give yourself … away.”

  “Silly. Between us, this isn’t arbitrary. I choose you. If I wanted to give it away, I’d have let some random guy at the beach … or Dimitri. He’s the problem. He expects a pure wife. If you do me this favor, he won’t want to marry me. I get what I want, and you get what I want, which also happens to be something you desire.” She spread her legs wider and swiped herself with her fingertips. “How can you turn down a woman in need?”

  Holy. Holy. Holy fuck! His cock went harder than rebar and took extra special notice of her wet pussy displayed and offered to him. His dragon sense roared in frustration and greedy need. His dick seconded the motion to shut the fuck up and thrust into her, claim her, and do it all again, over and over for the next week.

  “Playing dirty pool,” he snarled.

  “If you don’t help me out, I’ll find someone who will. I’m not going to marry that poor excuse for a leopard. Not him … or anyone who isn’t my choosing. Ever.”

  “Just this once? Is that what you think? Shay, we won’t be able to stop.” The muscles all over his body constricted until he spewed a flame from his internal strife to hold back from claiming her. She didn’t get it—he had to get her to understand.

  “How about one night? The whole night,” she asked, her eyes glowing golden and shredding every last one of his good intensions.

  He inhaled. Did she have any idea what she was asking for? “I wasn’t lying about riding between those beautiful legs hard. Rough. Wild … and you’re a virgin. Us having sex will hurt.”

  “Good. I want to remember tonight. Remember what I had to go through to garner my freedom so that I never forget.”

  “Listen to me. If we do this, you’ll be mine. All mine. This isn’t the usual run-of-the-mill shifter screwing … I’m a dragon, for fuck’s sake, and dragons don’t just hump. Shay, I swear you’d better get this memo: I’m going to supremely fuck you. This isn’t just sex. It’s more. Deeper if it’s up to the male—”

  “Shush. Don’t go all dragon domination on me.” She winked and splayed her pussy for him. “I’ve got a plan. No more excuses. Touch me, Drake.”

  He couldn’t hold back. He reached down, stroked his finger between her lips, and fuck him backward, his rod throbbed so hard his cock jetted pre cum. Every dragon cell in his body hummed as though attuned to an ancient verse that strangled all volition except one: he had to fuck her, sink so deep inside her they became one. He stared down at Shay, this mind-wrecking carnal urge breaking him. For years he’d turned away, suppressed his dragon nature. Now logic turned to primitive lust and his dragon nature demanded he take her. Claim her. This female was his and every atom in his body demanded he mark her. Nothing else mattered. Not his past. Not his family … not even hers. Dragon mating was singular and once the instinct was unlocked, there was no stopping him.

  “Baby,” he growled, circling her wetness and holding back, not wanting to hurt her.

  Drake lowered his head and kissed her on the mouth as he rubbed her pussy—his pussy. She tasted so sweet—irresistible to his dragon—the perfect fuel to enflame his feral instinct. He clenched his jaw, shaking off the drowning feeling of coming apart
by focusing on what needed to be done. Like right the fuck now! “I’ll secure your wrists and ankles until you know what to do when I make you come.”

  “So you’ll do it more than once?” Shay transfixed him with the glow of her feline eyes.

  Shit. He’d stay hard all night the way he felt. Hell, by morning Shannon would be fully aware she’d been fucked by a dragon.

  • • •

  Drake climbed between her legs, his cock rigid and outstretched, but instead of thrusting into her, he removed two pillows from up against the headboard. “Lift your hips.”

  “What are you doing?”

  “I’m going to make certain you don’t get burned. This is serious and your skin needs to be protected, kitten.”

  “And what about you? You’ll need protection from me,” she huffed and showed him her leopardess claws.

  He chuckled, running the tips of his fingers across her nails. Why did the deep timbre of his laughter stop her breathing … pierce her chest? Nerves. My leopardess self is highly strung. Nothing more.

  “Teeth. Claws. Those don’t work against a dragon even in human form. Our skin is virtually impenetrable. Tougher than leather.” He cupped her bottom and positioned her hips on the pillows. He knelt between her legs, his erection brushing up against her sex and she jerked, gliding along his length. Excitement raced through her, and he didn’t fare much better. His mouth tensed and his whole body rippled, muscles undulating in a wave.

  “Shannon,” he groaned deep, low, and the forceful sound shook the bed. They moved against each other in a step beyond dry humping.

  She cried out his name. “Drake! Please, don’t tease me.”

  “You like that?”

  She bit her lip, sucking in a shaking breath. “Very much.”