Night Critters (Collection) (22 page)

Jiao's right hand wound her braid around his fist until he bowed her head back away from his lips, exposing her jaw and neck to caressing kisses and nibbling bites. His draconic purr vibrated through her body all the way to her toes.

Staci gasped with pleasure when his lips made their progress to her breasts and rigid nipples. His left hand cupped her butt and lifted her up, and she arched her back to allow him greater access, hoping he'd impale her on that magnificent cock right where they stood.

Instead, Jiao carried her to a table laden with porcelain statues and objets d'art, including a huge stone statue at one end. She'd not been able to look around, and didn't much care at the time. As soon as her weight rested on the edge, his left hand swept the ornaments to the floor. The thick carpeting prevented breakage, she hoped. At least she didn't hear the crashes and tinkles of broken porcelain. Jiao muttered something in Chinese, and then switched to English. “Lay back, lovely lotus flower. Your wings will be safe this way. Stay, and anticipate.” He released her hair and stepped away, out of sight behind a big screen. A door opened and closed with a click.

Staci put her head back and felt a hard substance against her scalp. With both her hands, she reached up to feel what was behind her. Cold stone, carved in the shape of a dragon, she guessed.

Jaio returned and smiled. “Keep your hands on the statue, if you will. Grasp it tightly.” He held up an intricately painted porcelain jar. “You will wish for the support."

Staci studied the jar, half of her panting with excitement at the mystery, and half of her wary. “Ancient Chinese secret potion?"

He shook his head. “Do you consider spiced honey a secret potion?” He took a finger full of amber goo from the jar. “See? Honey."

"Well, who could be scared of that? I always read dragons had a sweet tooth. Do Foo Dogs, too?” She batted her eyes and smiled to let him know she teased.

"Yes, we do. I will have a feast.” He swiped her right nipple and caressed his finger to her navel.

Grateful for the support of the dragon statue, Staci squirmed and burned with lust. Never before had she been treated like a pastry to be decorated before consumption. Not that she was complaining! She felt pretty and cherished, enough to be considered a treat. A moan escaped her mouth before she realized how hot and needy she was.

Jiao decorated her left nipple with another dollop, and attacked his work with hungry fierceness. He licked and suckled, purring in a deep rumble that shouldn't have come from his human form's throat. What Staci didn't expect was for his honey-covered finger to caress her clit when he moved to repeat the procedure on the right.

Oh, man, she needed this. She couldn't remember the last time a male had touched her with such caring attention to detail, waiting for her reaction to see if she liked what he did before moving on to greater things. Like, maybe never? Half the time, if she so much as looked interested, their pants were around their ankles.

Jiao poured a dribble of honey in her navel and took his time licking the nectar from the tiny cup of her “innie.” Her thoughts shredded like wind-torn clouds. Still, she managed to hang on to the cool stone dragon above her head like it was a lifeline to sanity. Maybe it was. Jiao's mobile tongue flicked the last of the sticky treat. “Tell me if I do something you do not like."

"I'm not sure I'd be coherent. You're... oh, gawd.” Staci's breath caught in her throat. He was decorating her inner thigh. “Is that writing you're doing with the honey?"

Jiao swiped a line of honey before answering. His wide grin was mischievous. “Yes. Poetry to your beauty and the taste of your skin.” He nibbled just above her knee.

Staci bit back a moan of sheer delight. She could hear the brush-brush of her tail sweeping back and forth against the legs of the ornate table beneath her. There was something surreal about the perfumed air of Jiao's apartment aerie, high above the city's noise. If he didn't get on with either eating her or fucking her or something—anything but this slow, sensuous torture—she'd rear up and turn the tables on him...

Jiao's tongue swiped her clit. The mere flicker of his forked tongue electrified her whole body. The hiss of the table smoking and the strong scent of burning lacquer varnish made him pause and smile. “Losing control already?"

"Yessss!” Staci's fingers registered how hot the dragon statue became, though she was pretty much fireproof thanks to being part-Neph. The heat she generated outside was nothing compared to the fire raging within. Inside, she was melting like magma and ready to make the explosion of Montserrat's pyroclastic flow look like blowing out a candle. She pulled her legs up and spread out like a sacrifice. “Jiao! Please!"

His dragon's forked tongue drove deeply into her clenched and dripping pussy, going where no human-shaped tongue could manage. He ignored her high-pitched half-shriek, half-gasp, his lips teasing her clit while he tongue-fucked her. His hands, still sticky with honey—though where the jar had gone she didn't know or care—gripped her knees and spread her thighs even further apart.

Joyfully, Staci writhed, despite the smoldering table beneath her. Nothing mattered but her clit. Her whole world narrowed and focused on that one tiny nubbin of flesh. Close. So close to eruption time. More. Give me more. Of its own volition, her right hand reached down to boldly shove his face deep into her. She would not be denied another moment.

A low, rumbling purr, unlike that of any of the feline shifters she knew, issued from Jiao's throat. Well, it was almost a purr, almost a growl. It vibrated through her screaming clit, and then throughout her entire body.

That was all it took to send Staci over the edge and into a massive explosion, both orgasmically and physically. Her body arched, her wings burst into flame, and the table whuffed and three small fires erupted at points all along where her body met the wood.

Naturally, the smoke alarm went off. Then the sprinkler system, full of a special fire retardant chemical that sprayed like water, activated. Instantly, both of them were doused, putting out the fire around Staci and drenching her wings.

Jiao roared at the ceiling and got a face full. Some got in his eyes, and he shut them against the stinging spray. It was too late. The chemical had connected with his sensitive eyeballs.

Staci winced. She knew from personal experience that his eyes would be swollen shut for at least a day. She'd had the same thing happen to her during a fight with a cousin. She reached up and caught one of his hands. “Don't rub your eyes! That'll make it worse!"

Instead, Jiao yanked her to him and impaled her on his cock. Instantly, he was driving into her, with her half-sitting upright, her pussy hanging just far enough off the edge for penetration. “I will not be denied! You're mine!"

The table hissed beneath her, but her body still crackled with flames. Nothing mattered but Jiao fucking her into insanity, and she no longer cared about the world around her. She spiraled back into waves of orgasm, shrieking encouragement over the hiss of the sprinklers as they tried valiantly to put out the elemental flames of a fiery Michael Neph in the throes of passion. The Neph was winning.

Apparently, Foo Dogs or dragons were fireproof. Probably dragons. Jiao ignored her red skin and flaming wings. The furious thrusts into her only increased in tempo and power until, at last, he deafened her with a mighty roar that should have torn his larynx, and shoved in deeply.

Staci felt every pump as he emptied himself into her. Every shot was like white-hot shards compared to her inner fires, welcome fireworks within. She collapsed backwards until her head connected with the once heavily lacquered tabletop. She heard the hiss of the chemical evaporating beneath her. Spent, she lay there and panted. She couldn't even manage enough breath to compliment him.

Jiao hit his knees, his breath ragged and his eyes still tightly shut. One hand reached out to steady himself, using her knee to remain upright. His head fell forward until his cheek rubbed her leg tenderly. He whispered something in Chinese.

"If you said something like
wow
, I'll agree with you.” She managed after two tries to sit upright and caress his thick black hair. She panted for a few breaths. “Can you see?"

Jiao looked up without opening his eyes. His lids were swollen. “No, and I have no wish to open my eyes.” He leaned forward and rested his head on her knee. “No matter what the pain, you are worth everything."

Touched, Staci smiled down, even though he couldn't see her. He'd hear it in her voice. “Yeah, you're amazing, too. But, uh, next time maybe we'd better find a place that's non-flammable?"

Her lover chuckled. “Yes. I would love to take you flying in the mountains of my birth, in the Hubei province, not far from the Yangtze River. Though I admit our lovemaking might even set the sands of the Qaidam Basin afire."

"Sounds great. I —” The doors to the apartment burst open. Staci had half-expected the fire department, but she didn't expect Chinese police to be leveling guns at both her and Jiao. Five of them menaced them both, two very mean-looking assault rifles pointed at her, three at Jiao. The audible click of safety features being released fell in the silence. Staci slowly raised her empty hands to show she was no threat. She managed a fearful squeak. “Jiao? Why are they pointing guns at us?"

"What?” He put his hands in the air carefully, and softly asked something in Chinese.

A man wearing a more elaborately decorated uniform stepped from behind the others and barked an order. The guns that had pointed at her now trained on Jiao alone. The leader bowed to her. “Your forgiveness, lady. We are here to arrest the traitor, not you. Get dressed, and leave your vid number with me. Move slowly."

Staci's voice barely worked. “I... my clothes were destroyed in the storm.” Okay, so it was a small lie. She wasn't about to tell them Jiao had ripped her clothes from her.

"Traitor? I am no traitor.” Jiao made no sudden moves, but his head turned at the sound of the officer's voice.

Jiao's secretary squeezed around the officer, bowed to him, and gestured toward Staci. “May I find the American something to wear, Commander?” The English words were obviously for her benefit. At least she had one sympathetic advocate.

The commander shrugged, his attention entirely on the naked figure of Jiao. He began to speak very formally, probably telling Jiao what he'd been accused of doing.

Whatever he said was enough to make Jiao bow his head. “I understand, Commander Ping. I will cooperate.” He put his hands behind his back and permitted them to cuff him.

Staci's heart broke, and one tear slid down her face. Her wet nakedness didn't matter, despite the shivers coursing through her body from both the cold and terror. She made one tiny protest. “No..."

The secretary came forward and took Staci's hand, ostensibly to help her from the table. He squeezed her hand once, very gently. “You cannot help him now, Miss Thornburn. Come.” He insistently tugged on her hand until she followed, deep in shock. He pulled her past a kitchen to an open doorway leading to a bedroom.

At the door to Jiao's bedroom, with its huge, circular nest bed, Staci turned back to watch the man she now knew she loved be led away in handcuffs.

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Staci flinched when the prison door slammed shut behind her. The cement walls sucked the warmth right out of her, despite her sweater and jeans. She blinked to get her eyes adjusted to the gloom and fingered the package of clothes she'd brought for Jiao. The guards had rifled through every stitch, and seemed disappointed the sweatshirt and jeans were nothing more than what they seemed.

Her escort, a guard who looked like he could break her in half without blinking, jerked his head toward the corridor. “This way, Honored Lady. His Former Excellency has been given a cell large enough to stretch his wings. We are enlightened enough to give prisoners food and room to move. It was not so in the past."

She shivered and allowed him to lead her down the long, dark hallway. She hunched her shoulders, because she hated to be underground, like any flying creature. Claustrophobia plagued many Nephs, and probably Foo Dogs, too. The pain in her chest for Jiao threatened to choke her, and she stumbled.

The guard waited impassively by a huge metal door surrounded by dank stonework walls. He keyed in the passcode and checked the vidcam. Yes, Jiao sat on the bed, his back bent over in a claustrophobic posture similar to Staci's. “We will give you one half hour, as permitted by law. No more. Be aware you are under surveillance at all times."

"No privacy, huh? I get it.” Staci sighed.

The guard shrugged. “The prisoner has waited with great honor and fortitude. For this, he deserves the reward of clothing and kindness. Be happy for him. Such stoicism is correct. He awaits his punishment with great patience. I could not, knowing his fate."

Staci's heart skipped a beat. She swallowed. She was afraid to ask, and yet compelled to know. Her tail, already drooping enough to drag on the ground behind her, tucked between her legs. “What is the punishment?"

The guard opened the door and propelled Staci inside with one beefy hand. “For an immortal dragon and other creatures, there can be but one imprisonment. He will be buried in a glacier.” The door slammed behind her, locking her in with Jiao.

Jiao didn't look up or move, but his quiet, resigned voice echoed off the dark, slimy walls. “Don't look so stricken, my lotus. It is not so bad. I will return to my stone form and will not know the long years as they pass. My heart only aches at the knowledge I will leave you behind."

Staci shut her eyes, and the ache in her heart threatened to close her throat. She swallowed her despairing tears. She didn't understand half of what the secretary had whispered to her in those hurried moments while he threw clothes at her nakedness upstairs. “But, Jiao! You didn't commit treason. Okay, you cursed me with bad luck. How can your government be so sure you caused the flooding?"

Jiao stood, still gloriously naked despite the chill that made his flesh a ghastly gray color. He took the bundle of clothing and put them on the narrow little bed. He put on the sweatshirt with a relieved sigh. “Because I confessed to the crime, my lovely one. I am a Foo Dog. The effects of my curses are sometimes wide-reaching in my angers."