Burning for the Dragon: BBW Dragon Shifter Paranormal Romance (Fated Hearts Club Book 1) (10 page)

Penelope brought her lips to his again just as she rose in
his lap. Her sweet lips rasped against his cock and a growl leaked out of his
chest.

 His hands moved around to cup her glorious ass. He
squeezed and kneaded at her flesh, mind invaded by the dark thoughts of when he
could explore that forbidden part of her. She belonged to him and he would
claim every inch of her before long.

Her every pant urged him closer to the edge. His balls
thrummed and throbbed with the need to fill her pussy with his cum.
His
.

His gums ached as his teeth changed into sharp fangs. His
dragon wanted to roar with triumph. She was his, finally. Soon to be marked and
mated. They’d already proved what lengths they would go to protect her. Let
another try to harm Penelope and see their bloody fate.

Her pussy spasmed around him and he groaned. Her inner
muscles pulled and stroked him to perfection. Heat slithered down his spine and
settled in his balls, drawn tight against his body. If she didn’t start to
move...

He swore when she reversed her course and sank down him
again.

He couldn’t wait to mark her. He couldn’t wait to make her
come and push his fangs into her skin. The taste of her blood would hit his
tongue and be the most delicious taste in the world, next to her cream. He
wanted to lap at her for days.

But not yet. Not until she came apart in his arms. He would
give her pleasure before taking it for himself. He wanted to feel her rippling
around his length when he sank his fangs into her beautiful skin and erased one
mark to replace it with his own.

***

Penelope raised and lowered her hips, sopping heat dragging
along Luca’s thick length. Her skin prickled almost on the edge of pain before
settling into mind-numbing pleasure. He was so large and filled her to the
brim. It was heavenly. She felt as content and pleased as a cat with a bowl of
cream.

“Penelope, mate.” Luca breathed into her shoulder. His teeth
nipped at her skin and she sucked in a breath. But no, it was just a lover’s
bite, not the bite that would bind them for years to come.

She rolled her hips again, pleasure growing and sparking
inside her as she rode him. His cock stroked her from within, rubbing and
caressing her walls in seemingly infinite bliss.

Luca’s hands gripped her hips. Pricks of pain brought her
attention to her waist, and she saw the tips of claws digging into her skin.
Instead of frightening her, it excited her. She liked that she caused him to
lose a bit of his control. Liquid heat slipped down her already wet pussy and
coated him with more of her cream.

She cupped her breasts and rolled her nipples between her
fingers. The pleasure bubbling along her veins increased. Luca stared nakedly
at the heavy globes, hunger clear on his face. It made her grin.

The steam of the shower thickened around them. Luca’s hands
guided her movement and increased her pace. They both panted and groaned with
the pleasure. Sweat coated them both from the exertion and heat. Penelope
wanted to lick Luca clean.

“Sweet,” Luca groaned from between clenched teeth.
“Beautiful.”

He cupped the handfuls of her ass and dragged her up and
down along his length. She had no control. She let him handle her the way he
liked. She moaned as he picked up the pace and slammed her down on his cock in
quick invasions.

He leaned forward and caught a nipple between his lips. His
teeth grazed the pebbled flesh. The bit of pain thudded through her, arrowing
straight to her clit and slicking her channel even more.

“Fuck, yes,” she demanded.

He growled, and the sound vibrated through her in a rolling
wave of pleasure. He licked and sucked at her, switching between one nipple and
the other. Every pull and nip sent a shudder through her body. Her pussy
spasmed and rippled around his thick cock.

The muscles of his arms and chest tensed and bulged. Still,
he lifted and lowered her along his cock. She clutched at his shoulders, behind
his neck, dug her hands into his hair. She was rapidly losing her grip on
reality and needed to cling to him. He was her rock in that moment.

She pressed their faces together, stuffing her fingers into
the dark curls that lay flat against his head. She huffed with each clenched
spasm of her pussy around his thick shaft. Her lips trembled. But when her eyes
met his, she knew she was done. There was more than pure lust in them, more than
just Luca looking back at her. The dragon was there and it wanted to possess
her. Luca’s love overrode the beast’s dominance, but there was no denying they
were one and the same. They were perfect.

She felt tears prickling the corners of her eyes at the
intense pleasure that consumed her from within. He felt almost too good. He
pressed and rubbed against all the magic places inside her. He filled her
completely and stroked her until bolts of ecstasy zinged through her limbs.
Every shift, every thrust, every look sent her sprawling toward the edge that
would push her into oblivion.

“Want to mark you, sweet.” Luca pressed his lips against her
shoulder. His tongue danced over her skin and she shivered.

“Make me yours,” she moaned.

He struck, mouth closing over her collarbone before she knew
what he intended. She gasped when his fangs bit into her skin, pleasure
exploding in every inch of her body. She was nothing under his power. He could
rip at her with a jerk of his head and end her. Or he could lick at the wound
and send lava boiling through her veins.

The pain and pleasure combined and burst through her. Wave
after wave of bliss crashed over her, pulling her into a deep, fiery sea. Her
head fell back and her mouth opened in a silent scream. Her pussy milked him,
rippling and clenching around his throbbing cock.

He pulled her down him hard. Again. His fingers dug into her
hips and his hips jerked as he emptied himself in her sheath. She twitched and
spasmed around him, thrilled with the new heat that spilled into her. She
buried her face in his shoulder, nearly sobbing with the shards of pleasure
that prickled her skin.

Slowly, so very slowly, Luca settled her against him. They
both panted and clung to the other. The day’s events and their mating wrung all
energy from them until they sat limply on the bench in the steamy shower.

He wrapped his arms around her and squeezed tightly before
just holding her gently. A surge of fire raced through her veins when his
tongue touched against the fresh mate mark on her collarbone. “Mine.”

“Mmm.” She stroked his hair and nodded against him. “Yours.
Forever.”

The day had finally arrived. Penelope’s nerves were in full
force and stomping away at her insides. Even the luxurious space inside the
mountain lair nestled in the Alps wasn’t enough to calm her.

Today was the day she’d meet Luca’s parents.

Luca put it off as long as he possibly could, distracting
her with surprise trips to exotic locations and pampering beyond all belief,
but he couldn’t delay it any longer. The Dragon King and Consort commanded a
meeting with their heir and his chosen mate.

Penelope eyed herself in the bathroom mirror. The mountain
had surprised her. The large suite was full of modern amenities, from running
water to electricity. She had an idea of ancient dragons stuck in medieval
times, but her expectations certainly weren’t the reality.

He was at the desk when she finally psyched herself up
enough to exit the bathroom. It felt odd to be ready for an evening party in
the heart of a mountain. She dressed in a long gown. Green, as he requested, to
bring out her beautiful eyes. A scooped neck, to show off the mark on her
collarbone.

A briefcase sat on the ground where he’d moved it aside. He
had treated it like a live viper on the plane and ignored all her attempts to
get him to look at the paperwork inside. Now, its contents spilled across the
desk. Luca rested his head in one hand as he pored over the documents in front
of him. He perked up slightly when she opened the door to the bedroom, and she
knew he’d heard her enter. There was no sneaking up on a dragon, she’d learned.

She knew the papers were contracts to give control of his
company to others. He’d been putting off signing them for weeks. He wouldn’t
have time to run a development firm halfway across the world while ruling the
dragon shifters from his throne.

Their throne. She gulped. She carried his mark on her skin
and would be at his side when his parents abdicated to him. Her nerves came
back with a full assault on her system.

They had movers scheduled to pack up their apartments and
forward all their belongings to the mountain court in Italy. Truth be told,
Penelope didn’t want anything from her studio. It was all from the before-Luca
part of her life. Photos and trinkets, sure. But the chipped dishes and banged
up pots and pans? She didn’t have a need for those.

“Ready?” He asked, turning toward her. He pulled her across
his lap when she came close enough.

“What if they don’t like me?” She wanted to look down and
scuff her feet against the ground, but he held her firm. She opted just to
study the floor in front of her.

“We’ll leave.” Luca shrugged.

It brought her attention fully back to him. “But what about
ruling and caring for them?”

He shrugged again. “It’s the modern day. If the Queen of
England is mostly an honorary position, then the Dragon King can be to all
dragon shifters. They can learn to rule themselves. Or my parents can find
someone else to take their place. I will be with you, regardless.”

“I don’t believe that for one minute.”

He planted a kiss on her forehead and rubbed his cheek
against her shoulder. It was the closest he could get to her mate mark without
them winding up in bed. “I would go anywhere for you, sweet.”

“I just want to get it over with,” she said lightly and
squirmed against him.

He took her hand in his, grazing his thumb over the
sensitive skin of her wrist. “They’re dragons, but they won’t bite. Only I can
do that.” With a grin, he nipped at her skin.

Penelope tried to suppress the shiver that ran through her
body. “They’re still your parents. I’ve never met the parents before. I’m a
little nervous.”

“Mmm.” He continued to toy with her hand. He kissed her
digits, her palm, the top of her hand. He nibbled the inside of her wrist and
trailed kisses up her arm. “I think I can distract you from your nerves.”

“Luca! We have to go. I don’t want to make a bad impression
this early.” She bat at his chest and tried to free herself from his arms, but
he wouldn’t let her loose.

A serious look entered his eyes. “They would be insane not
to love you.”

“But I nearly got you killed!”

He wrapped his arms around her. “Penelope, sweet,
bella
.
Don’t say such things. You did nothing wrong. You are not responsible for how
others act.”

She was quiet. He’d said the same thing since Alexa’s
attack, and she knew it was true at the core, but she couldn’t help the feeling
of doubt that wedged its way inside her. Alexa’s madness was tied to power, and
she saw her way to that power through Luca. Penelope’s mere existence had caused
a whole mess of problems, though she had to admit that they would have likely
happened with or without her presence.

With a reluctant sigh, Luca let her leave his lap. He stood
and stretched, and waited patiently while she straightened the tie around his neck.

“Will we need to fly down?” She asked anxiously. She tried
not to remember the harrowing flight into the mountain. They’d taken his
private plane from the States to the nearest airport, and a car from the
airport to the mountain. But from the ground below to Luca’s suites, she’d
clung to his back. Her stomach gave a sickening lurch anytime Luca leapt into
the air.

“Just a few floors down. Walking.” He looped her arm through
his and escorted her out of the room.

The level they were located was empty and had been for the
entire evening since they arrived. She was surprised that no one was lurking in
the halls as they went lower. Even Luca started to look around as if expecting
others and seeing no one.

She didn’t know what to expect when they came upon a huge,
double door. She was certain Luca’s dragon could easily fit if they were thrown
wide open. Carvings of dragons lined the edges, and floral designs ran through
the center. Two guards were stationed at the seam between the doors. Their
pointed hats were tipped to look like dragon tails.

Luca’s jaw set as the guards turned without greeting them.
They pushed against both doors, swinging them open. Luca held her steady until
the doors were completely open. He whispered, “They’re putting on a show.”

With the doors fully open, Penelope could see into the room.
Hall, she corrected herself. At the opposite end were the Dragon King and
Consort. They sat on two, grand thrones. The backs rose up against the wall,
curved necks of the carved dragons looping together. They ruled together, and
their seats of power showed their shared responsibility.

Luca pat her hand resting on his arm and they stepped
forward. The only sounds in the room were fires burning in braziers and the
whisper of her dress moving. Seats rose up along the side of the room, almost
like seats in a stadium. She didn’t appreciate feeling like an event to watch.

Luca stiffened the nearer to his parents they walked. It was
her turn to gently stroke his arm under her fingers. He glanced at her from the
side of his eyes and she could sense a tiny fraction of his tension leaving his
body.

He bowed his head when they reached the foot of the stairs
to the thrones. “Father. Mother. I would like to introduce you to Penelope. My
mate.”

Penelope flashed a quick look to Luca, then bowed her head
as well. She shouldn’t curtsy or show much more deference than what he did, he
said, because she was his mate.

Luca’s mother eyed his father, then stood. She slowly walked
down the steps and made an even slower circle around Luca and Penelope. After
she completed her circuit, she took Luca into a hug. Penelope refused to shrink
back when she did the same to her. She opened her mouth to say something, but
the woman moved back up the stairs and settled back into her seat.

Thunderous applause broke out from the people gathered to
watch the show.

“They’ve accepted you,” Luca leaned down to whisper.

She glanced up at the two dragons and they did look happy.
Pride was on their faces when they looked at their son, then around the room to
the gathered dragon shifters. Penelope wondered if the room held the entire
world’s population, or if there were others that chosen not to attend.

His mother clapped once and the crowd immediately quieted.
His father tapped his fingers on the arm of his seat and considered his words
for a moment before speaking. His voice was loud and carried to the far corners
with ease.

“Alexa’s betrayal reveals how much we have held ourselves
apart and how damaging that attitude can be. This is the modern world and we
need to take part in it. Luca, you are the next in line to rule. We leave you
the challenge of hauling our people into the new century, but we don’t think it
should be done from our mountain home. You have experience thriving in the
cities. You will go back to your home and lead as an example of integration
with humans.”

Penelope had the good grace to keep her mouth shut tight,
but inwardly she was gaping like a fool. Luca had resigned himself to moving
back to the mountain court, even though it wasn’t what he truly wanted.

She didn’t have much time to think of all the possibilities
before his mother addressed her.

“Penelope. We wish to extend you the apology of the dragons.
Our own kind tried to injure you and separate you from your mate. It’s inexcusable,
but we hope you won’t hold her actions against the rest of us. To Luca and
Penelope, the heirs to the Dragon Throne!”

Cheers rose around them. A handful of dragons rushed down to
the open floor and shifted before launching into the air. They dove and wove
around each other.

Penelope smiled up at Luca as the rest of the stiffness left
his shoulders.

The Dragon King and Consort walked down the stairs with
smiles on their faces. They held each other much like Luca and Penelope touched;
hand on the other’s arm. His mother took Luca into another hug. His father
pulled him a short distance away and shook hands before they started chatting.

“It’ll take a bit to iron out all the details, but you two
should be able to leave shortly.”

Penelope jumped. She hadn’t expected to be the focus of his
mother’s attention. She smoothed her dress and tried to calm away her nerves.
She would need to learn the composure the woman seemed to ooze if she was to
follow her steps.

“But tonight is for celebrating. We’ll all go lower. Food
has been prepared. We’ll drink and eat and dance. This will be your night.”

“Thank you. It’s very generous. I know Luca will be happy to
go back to our city.” She pressed her lips together, unsure of what else to
say. Luca met her gaze and she could almost feel the excitement pouring out of
him. He and his father stepped over to the women, again taking their arms in
preparation to escort them to the party below.

“They like you,” he leaned down to whisper and plant a kiss
on her ear. A blush rose on her cheeks. It was what she wanted, to be accepted
by his family and the other dragon shifters. They would forever be tied to
Luca, and her to them through him.

“Of course we like her. You chose her.” His father
blustered.

Luca rolled his eyes. Penelope knew his parents had urged
him to find a mate and threatened to find one for him if he took too long. Luca
didn’t raise the point and simply stroked his thumb over her skin.

“Your hair is beautiful, darling.” His mother reached out
and cautiously touched a lock of her hair. “I’ve always loved red. But here I
am, dark as the night and cursed my own children with it. I expect to have a
whole passel of redheaded grandchildren before long.”

Penelope put her hand over her stomach. It was much too soon
to tell, but she had her suspicions. She smiled at her new family. Luca, her
impossibly charming, sexy mate. His father, an imposing figure with laugh lines
at his eyes. His striking mother, who moved with the grace she hoped to one day
possess. “I don’t think that will be a problem.”

***

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