Koshi (14 page)

His balls screamed in silence just before he blocked the cheap shot. “Easy, I have plans to use those.” With a simple move, he bent her over his shoulder and carried her to the bedroom. He understood her need to return home, but he’d leave his mark so she’d remember to come back.

“Put me down.”

He winced as her fists pounded against his back, her legs flailed about, their odd angle the only reason he didn’t receive a black eye from a well placed kick.

“You ogre!”

Ignoring her, he captured her legs with one arm, tilting up until she squealed and grasped at the back of his shirt.

“Is there a problem with your hearing? Let me go, Ishi.”

He didn’t answer.

“What are you so upset about? So I took the saji with me.”

That she had showed just how much she trusted him. He’d thought they were progressing in their courtship. He’d lured her into his den, helped her shed her fear of him, seduced her and yet, she still treated him like–like some common thief.

She made a frustrated noise and slapped his back.

“While you’re at it, can you slap a little lower?” He slid her farther along his back so she’d have better access to his ass.

She went limp.

He passed through the threshold of the bedroom and paused to glance over his shoulder. Had she passed out? “Sandra?”

She began to shake.

Gently, he knelt to set her down, but she swatted him on the ass before he released his hold. The sound of her laughter finally reached his ears.

Sliding onto his knee, she grinned. “You’re impossible.” She leaned and pressed a tender kiss on his forehead. The gesture meant more to him than any blowjob or fuck.

He closed his eyes at the soft feel of her lips and sighed. Nothing would keep him from claiming her. If she didn’t come back, he’d fly across the ocean to find her. No matter how many times the gate returned him here, he’d go out and try again. “Remember that trait, Sandra. You’ll never escape me.”

“Why would I ever want to?” She rose to her feet and meandered to his bed. When she pivoted toward him, he saw she’d already undone the buttons running down the front of her dress. She let it slip to her feet. The saji clanged again the stone floor.

They both stared at it.

The symbol of their separation.

It didn’t matter. Her reason for leaving was honorable. He could wait. He picked it up, set the spoon on the bedside table. “It’ll be safe here.”

She ran her hand over his forearm, leaving a trail of heat on his skin. “I know it will be.” Squeezing her hand, she drew closer until she pressed against his side. “I’m sorry. I do trust you.”

He met her wide-eyed stare and raised his eyebrow. “Prove it.”

* * * *

How? What could she possibly do to make him understand she’d seen the error of her ways? Sandra trusted him with her sister’s life, and her own. She had to work past her first impressions, but he’d left a memorable mark with his tomfoolery. “Will you swear, no more pranks?”

His frown grew deeper. “They were only in fun. None of them hurt you.”

She laughed at his defensive tone. “No, only my pride took damage.” She took the saji and placed it in his hand. “Give it to me when I leave.” Before she left, she needed to find the guts to tell him her true feelings for him, but courage was fleeting in the wake of her emotional storm.

He twirled the old, tarnished spoon along his fingers, possibly capable of destroying it with a single fist. “Okay.” With a flip of his wrist, he sent it flying in the air.

She gasped. Her heart fainted dead in her chest.

He caught the precious artifact before it hit the table and then gently set it on the surface.

For a moment, the muscles in her neck wouldn’t relax, seizing at a vision of the saji shattering. He wasn’t human. She couldn’t expect him to have slow reflexes like one, so there was never any chance of him really dropping it, right? She took a deep, calming breath and met his gaze before punching his arm, again.

“Ow, stop that.”

“You want me to react this way, or you wouldn’t keep teasing me.”

Scooping her in his arms, he grinned. “You’re right. It’s too much fun otherwise.” He set her on the bed. “Let’s see what other reactions I can coax from you.”

He undressed, tossing his clothes in whatever direction, all the while pinning her with one of his extremities or another. “Do you want things hard or gentle?”

“Does it matter? I think whatever I answer, you’ll do the opposite.”

“Or I could do what you want just to surprise you.” A touch of playful evil tugged at the corners of his lips.

Her traitorous body responded, all shivery with wanton desire. It liked the macho, alpha stud act. Damn, he made her feel alive and potent, beautiful and dynamic. The Sandra from the Midwest who’d arrived on this island had been a gray blob of boring until she met Ishi. Now, she was colored with passion, anger, and joy.

For the first time in her life she realized her full potential.

He straddled her hips and gripped the front of her bra with both hands. With a sharp tug, he ripped it apart.

She gasped at the sheer power and hunger that radiated from his body. His cock stood erect from his body, hard and thick. Very ready to take her in any way he wanted.

He fell upon her breasts. Sucking, tugging at her nipples, fondling her flesh as if in carnal worship. His groans and thrusts against her thigh were his prayers.

Her cries joined in. She spread her legs so she could draw him closer in her embrace, to give herself over to him completely.

Guiding her hands, he set them on the handgrips at the bottom of the headboard. “Don’t let go.”

Someone set loose a bunch of squirrels in her stomach when she clutched those wooden handles as if her life depended on it. She’d been fantasizing about this headboard ever since she’d seen it, and wanted to watch him unleash his draconic passion.

Heat radiated from Ishi’s body in waves as he hovered so close the small hairs on her skin rose as if aching for his touch.

Sweat beaded her skin, and he licked at the small drops pooling along her collarbone as if savoring her taste. The delicate caress conflicted with the hard need he ground against her core. His hand traveled over her abdomen. Anticipation tingled ahead of his fingers until they slipped inside her panties and cupped her mound.

He ran the rough tip of his tongue over her jaw line and as he reached her ear he whispered, “I took you like a man yesterday. Now I want you with a dragon’s appetite.”

Her hips jerked when he tore her panties off, leaving a burn around her thighs.

Before she could gasp, he entered her with a hard stroke until his balls pressed against her ass.

She arched her back, never letting go of the headboard, at the combination of bliss and sting. A moan crept from her throat as she tried to remember how to breathe. He filled her. Oh God. It burned, yet stretched in such a good way.

He built his rhythm from a letting-her-warm-up pace to I’m-going-to-fuck-your-brains-out pounding.

Things she’d never thought she would say came out of her mouth in a flood of
fuck me’s
and
oh yeah baby’s
.

His mouth found hers, sending the room into silence.

Closing her eyes, her world went fuzzy, the pleasure so intense she bucked and thrashed against the onslaught of sensory overload. She gave him everything she had as he thrust and teased and penetrated.

Except release escaped through her grasp and she couldn’t fall over the cliff’s edge into orgasmic heaven. Desperation made her yank from his kiss with a sob.

He must have sensed her frustration, since he surged against her, spreading her legs wider and bending them to his chest, cranking her into a tight ball. His hands landed over hers, gripping the handholds. He drove deeper inside her, harder, faster.

Pinned in this position left her completely in his control. She didn’t want him to slow, but it forced her to trust him completely.

She watched his powerful body work above her, his abs undulating as he took her with a primal hunger.

His grunts began to sound more like growls as he arched over her, sweat streaming down the length of his chest. The headboard banged the wall with a tribal beat. Heavy breathing sawed in their throats. She rode his desire, taking him. With a roar, he orgasmed, his cock kicking violently, and took her along for the ride.

The blinding bliss of her climax was interrupted by someone screaming.

Her.

Something crashed.

Maybe one of the bedside tables?

When he slowed and partially collapsed on her, she finally pried her fingers from her hold. She was soaked and her limbs made of noodles.

The nightstand on the other side of the bed had fallen. Ishi lifted his head and met her blurry gaze. “Ready for round two?”

His question sent dragon coils of hunger twisting through her exhausted body. “Damn straight I am,” she answered between gasps for oxygen.

Chapter 14

Next morning, Sandra collapsed on the bed, sweat trickling over her skin. Her lungs heaved with the need for cool air. The more her dragon exerted himself, the hotter the air grew in the chamber.

Ishi lay next to her, staring at the ceiling. He’d been so attentive to her needs during the night. Coaxing her confessions of her darkest fantasies, then satisfying them. Did he really care about her? It was hard to imagine.

She wasn’t a fairy princess or anything special. Why had he pursued her? Did he really want to her to come back? If she returned and he shunned her, it would tear her to shreds. He was asking for so much trust. To peel open her heart and soul to him, a creature who ate those things for breakfast on regular basis. What if this was all a cruel dragon game?

“You’re far away, what are you thinking about?” He had rolled over, with his hand supporting his head, as she had spaced out.

She cleared her throat. “Stuff.”

“Seems serious.” He ran a finger over the bridge of her nose. “Don’t shut me out.”

She had closed him off, but it was so hard to peel away her defensive layers. “Why–why me? I’ve seen all the beautiful women on this island and I don’t even know about those on the other side of the gate.” Her voice faltered and she dragged her gaze away from his. The pounding in her chest didn’t come from exertion. The room felt too big. All of it, the den and the volcano were too much for her to exist in.

A callused finger rubbed her chin before drawing it back up so she could meet his stare and shy smile. “You’re wonderful. Isn’t that enough?”

Leaning on her elbows, she rose until their foreheads touched. She wanted to believe him, yet she was just a woman among billions. He was the only known dragon on Earth. How could she compare to that?

She sensed his muscles go stiff like they always did when the gate called him. Their gazes met and he faded from her sight. She slapped the empty spot he’d left in the bed, still warm from his body.

The gate had terrible timing. She buried her face in the pillow and listened for the clash of metal on metal, but nothing rang in the air. Rolling her tense shoulders, she peeked over the footboard toward the doorway. What if whatever came through the gate injured him, or worse, killed her dragon?

She jerked in surprise as he stormed back through the doorway naked, his skin blistering with blush.

“That was fast. Did you eat them on sight? I didn’t hear any battle.”

Tugging on his pants, he pinned her with a glare. “Stay in here.”

Her stomach knotted. “It’s not gone?” She pulled the blanket to her neck, covering her nudity. “How dangerous are we talking?”

He stopped before exiting. “It’s the worst thing that could happen to this world.”

“What the hell is it?” Her innards cramped as they suddenly shrank in terror. All manner of monsters flashed in her mind. She scanned the room for places to hide and things she could use as a weapon.

“My mother.”

She stopped with one bare foot touching the warm stone as she prepared to arm herself. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“I’m not. Stay here.” He pursed his lips. “Uh, maybe hide under the bed.”

Raising her eyebrow, she gave him her best what-the-fuck expression.

“Her favorite bedtime snack is human, Sandra. For her, the idea of my bedding one is as appealing as someone shagging sheep is to you.” His scowl deepened. “Stay out of sight. Remember, she’s the one who trained me how to fight.”

She swallowed a lump of fear and scurried to find some appropriate clothing.

* * * *

Ishi’s mother lay across the gateroom expanse. Her black scales glistened in the torchlight as she swished her tail back and forth with a whip-like snap. She didn’t look at him when he returned. “Why did you run off so quickly at my arrival?” Something on the floor held her attention.

“Because being naked around you has proven to be dangerous in the past. I still have the scars to prove it and I’d like to keep certain aspects of my anatomy unscathed.” He moved to get a better view of what she was playing with. A green arm flailed under her clawed paw. He ground his teeth. She always destroyed his things. “Did you find that here?” He pointed to what he suspected was his pet.