Sapphamire (10 page)

A knock sounded at the door and interrupted his speech. “Come in,” he called out.

Jade stuck her head in the doorway. “Is everything okay? Your staff is going nuts downstairs. What is going on?”

“Hey, Jade, I am just in the middle of dying here, don’t worry about me,” Natasha called out softly.

Blain’s dragon let out a roar. '
NO! Let me out, let me out, let me out
!' he roared and butted up against Blain’s already bruised ribs.

“Baby, don’t go saying things like that, I am losing the battle with my dragon as it is. He wants to be able to see for himself that you are okay,” Blain growled out.

“Then let him out. He won’t hurt me will he?” Natasha asked from her pillow.

Blain chuckled. “No chance of that happening.”

Jade finished letting herself in the room. “Blain, how about I stand guard at the door, and you go ahead and release your dragon. I would imagine he is putting you through hell right now.”

Blain glanced up at her and shook his head. “You have no idea.” And then quickly continued, “Are you sure? I don’t really want the staff to see me transformed.”

Jade nodded her head. “Go ahead. I am going to lock the door for good measure, and then I will stay over here so I can guard the door if necessary.” She then turned her attention to Natasha. “Are you sure you are okay with Blain shifting over to his dragon form?”

Natasha looked over to Blain for a second before replying. His skin and eyes were glowing, and she knew his beast was fighting his way to the surface anyway. Besides, she had been dying to know what his dragon looked like.

“I am fine with it.”

Blain picked up one of her hands and kissed it before standing up and walking down to the end of the bed. Jade reached over and hit the lock on the door. Blain locked eyes with Natasha, reaching up and slowly unbuttoning his shirt. His eyes were smiling at her, he knew what effect he had on her, and he slowly peeled his shirt back and off his shoulders. “Like what you see, baby?”

Natasha quickly propped another pillow behind her so she could see better. She nodded her head and licked her lips as she watched him unbuckle his belt, then with tantalizing slowness unbutton the button at the top of his jeans and then pull the zipper down. Her breath hitched as she watched his long, thick erection spill out when he yanked down his pants.
Lord have mercy, that man is hung!

A few seconds later a twenty-foot dragon stood where Blain had just been. Her eyes immediately lifted to the ceiling. Now it made sense why the house had such high ceilings. Still, Blain the dragon had to stand stooped over a bit, otherwise, his head would go through the ceiling.

The dragon stood still for a moment, eyeing her. He was beautiful. Blue diamond-shaped scales covered his body. His wings were tucked in close to his body, as if he were afraid if he opened them he would destroy something. Which he probably would have. She guessed his wings to be at least fifteen feet long. A keen intelligence shone in those dark eyes. And there was just something about him that turned her on.

“Hello, my pretty little mate. Don’t fret over Blain. The man can be a bumbling idiot at times. But now that I am here, I am going to take care of you. I am going to love you.” His neck was so long that he was able to crane it and bring his head forward until it was directly in front of her face, while his large body stayed in place at the foot of the bed.

Natasha started lifting her hand, but stopped herself. “Can I touch you?” she requested.

“By all means, my pretty mate, I would love it if you would touch me,” the dragon replied in a raspy voice.

Natasha placed her hand on the side of his nose, noticing how smooth his scales were. “Oh, my, your scales are so smooth. You are a very handsome dragon.”

The dragon grinned at her before bringing his nose down and sniffing her cloth-covered pussy. “And you are turned on, my pretty.”

There was no use denying it, but it wasn’t something she wanted to admit to, either. She reached up and stroked the top of his head, and then ran her hand down between his eyes and down the bridge of his long nose. She mapped out every part of his head she could get reach.

A knock at the door brought both of their heads up. Jade stood by the door and called out, “Yes?”

“My lady, Mr. Barrymire requested food and drink for Ms. Natasha.”

Just as calm as can be, Jade replied, “Please leave the tray on the chair in the hallway, and we will get it in a moment. We will retrieve it just as soon as we are finished getting Ms. Natasha changed and comfortable.”

It seemed as if everyone held their breath until they heard the woman’s footsteps leave the hallway. Jade looked over to Natasha. “I am sorry, I couldn’t come up with anything else. You are going to need to change now before we open that door just so there is no suspicion.”

The dragon’s face lit up in a huge grin. “Change, yes, change, my pretty. I am dying to see what you look like.”

Natasha eyed the mighty dragon for a moment. He cocked his head, and she quickly decided that it was not her imagination, but that he was trying to flirt with her. Never in her life had she ever thought she would be considering doing a strip tease for a dragon
A dragon
! Even she shook her head in amazement, and she was accustomed to being around magical beings.

She stood and went to her dresser to find something comfortable to throw on for the time being. As she was digging through a drawer, she felt the dragon’s nose lift up the back of her sweater. Then she heard a loud “
rip
” as it was torn and thrown away from her body.

“Hey! That was one of my favorite sweaters!” she scolded the dragon as she spun around quickly. He ignored her completely, instead moving his head back around to her back and a moment later her breasts fell when the dragon tore her bra. “Hey, what do you think you are doing?” she demanded.

“I want to see you, pretty. I want to see all of you. And you are being slow.” He brought his head back around and placed his nose between her breasts. “Ahh, so lovely. And you smell so good also,” he fairly purred in contentment.

“Finish what you were doing, pretty. You still have clothes on. And when did women start dressing like men? Why hasn’t Blain bought you beautiful long dresses? Ah, yes, you would look so good in one. Plunging neckline, tight waist, and bright blue to match me.” He winked at her and then turned his attention downward.

“Oh, no, you don’t. Before I finish undressing, take that long neck of yours and put it with the rest of your body.” His neck was so long that he could reach her anywhere in the room, simply by craning his neck.

She waited until he had moved his head closer to his body, resting it on the end of the bed. She shimmied out of her jeans, and made sure to put an extra wiggle in her move as the bikini underwear came down.

“Ah, my pretty. I am so jealous of Blain for being able to take you. I’ll be with him, of course, but it’s not the same.” She reached behind her in the drawer and grabbed the first thing she could, quickly throwing it over her head. It was a long sleeping shirt, and covered her down to her knees.

Her dragon pouted. “Why did you cover such beauty? I was enjoying the view.”

“Well, I would like to know a little more about you, and I would feel much better doing that with clothes on. Do you mind if I sit back down?” she replied.

“Of course not. Are you still sick?” the dragon asked in sudden concern.

“Just a bit weak, I haven’t eaten today at all.”

“What? You haven’t eaten? Why hasn’t Blain fed you, my pretty? Why isn’t he taking care of our mate? Do you wish for me to go slay something and bring you meat? I will be happy to take care of you, my sweets. I’ll even see if I can find some berries to go with the meat.”

Natasha smiled. Blain’s dragon must be pretty old she guessed if he was talking about long ball dresses and hunting for food. “That is not necessary. The kitchen sent a tray up. Remember, it is sitting outside?”

“Yeauk!” The dragon made a face of disgust. “What did he order you? A few crackers and some type of clear liquid. Doesn’t sound like much of a meal to me!”

“It is fine. I think he was more concerned with the fact my stomach was upset. He wanted to make sure the crackers stayed down before I tried to eat something heavy.”

Natasha walked over and sat down on the bed while Jade made sure the coast was clear before retrieving the tray.

As Natasha nibbled on her crackers, she attempted to get to know this dragon more. One couldn’t help liking him. He was sweet, he was kind, and he was chivalrous. And where Blain had yet to come clean with her about her being his mate, the dragon had no qualms in letting her know that she was theirs.

"So, do you have a name?” she asked cautiously.

“Yes, my pretty, oh, my, where are my manners? I’ve been talking to you for the past twenty minutes and have yet to fully introduce myself. I am so sorry. Please allow me to rectify that. I am Sapphamire, Dragon of Dragonose, at your service, Madam.” He bowed his head deeply.

“Sapph-a-mire…were you named after the sapphire stone, by chance?”

The dragon looked pleased at his mate. “Yes, I was, my pretty. I am named after the pretty blue sapphire stone and Blain’s last name, Barrymire.”

“So, how does it work with both of you sharing each other’s body?”

“Oh, now that can be a touchy subject sometimes. Blain and I learned to live as one a long time ago, but there are times it is rough.” He stopped and sighed deeply, bringing his head to sit in her lap now that she was finished with her tray. She automatically picked up her hand and started stroking his beautiful scales.

“He doesn’t let me out enough, and we often disagree about that. It has been especially hard since he found you, my sweets. I have wanted to come out and introduce myself and get to know you, but he has refused me at every turn.”

Natasha smiled. In a lot of ways, she felt more at ease talking to Blain’s dragon than she did the man himself. “Why hasn’t he told me I am his mate? Does he not want me? Am I not good enough for him?” No matter what, she felt sure Sapphamire would give her the answers she was looking for.

Sapphamire’s head shot up off her lap. “Good enough! Sweets, he is not—we are not good enough for
you
. As to why he hasn’t told you, believe me, that has also been the topic of disagreement between the two of us. He wanted to wait and let you get to know him. He hoped you would fall in love with the man, not because of the mating bond.”

The two stared silently at each other for a moment. “Speaking of you-know-who, someone is internally screaming at me to let him back out. If you haven’t figured it out yet, he is a bit of a control freak.” Sapphamire sighed and moved his head back in alignment with his body. No sooner did he do that than his size shrank, the blue scales being replaced with skin. Dark hair and Blain’s facial features came into view.

“Natasha,” he acknowledged her for a moment, his head bowed, not moving the first muscle in his body.

And then he looked up. He stood up straight, his gloriously naked body on full view, just for her.

She had actually forgotten about Jade standing over by the door, but Blain had not. “Thank you, Jade, for your help and assistance, but I need a few moments alone with my mate.”

Jade quietly slipped out the door, making sure to lock the door behind her. Blain walked around to the side of the bed and sat down, snatching Natasha up and placing her on his lap. With only a long nightshirt on, she could feel his erection poking her in the ass.

He cupped her face in his hands. “First of all, don’t you ever think you are not good enough, bloody hell, Natasha, I have been trying to figure out what in the hell I ever did to deserve such a beautiful, kind, and smart mate.”

She closed her eyes for a moment, willing her emotions not to take over. Opening her eyes, she pierced him with a look. “Why didn’t I know?”

“I think maybe you did, your mind just hadn’t completely caught up with what your body and conscience have been trying to tell it. You can’t act fully normal around me. You’re more open to me, you take what people say to me to your own heart, you yearn to take care of me, and it pains you to see me with someone else.”

“Is it really that noticeable?!” she mumbled, embarrassed that she had been that easy to see through.

“It is to me, but then again, I already knew we were meant to be together. But what bothers me is how much you doubt that it’s real.”

She turned her head back to the side, casting her gaze down. “There are many reasons to that,” she stated quietly.

His gaze stayed steady, silently locked on her, urging her to continue.

“You’re the cousin of King Thoran of Dragonose are you not? You’re a royal. Why would you settle for someone like me? A non-magical nobody? For God's sake, even the High Council thinks I am a ticking time bomb and wants to either lock me up or kill me. They just don’t understand,” she finished in a low voice, wrapping her arms around herself for comfort.

Seeing her like this broke his heart. Blain reached up and cupped her face in his hands, leaning forward, he kissed the tip of her nose. “In case you didn’t know, love, we don’t choose our mates, their chosen for us by a much higher power. And I couldn’t be more pleased with whom they’ve chosen,” he stated quietly, trailing light kisses all over her cheeks, nose, eyes, and lips.

She closed her eyes and fell into his touch. Could the gods really be this kind? To land something this good and special in her lap just when she was about to hit a dead end?

She opened her eyes and found Blain’s lips a mere inch away from hers. “I want to kiss you,” he whispered. “Besides, you’re thinking too hard about this.” He moaned against her neck.

“And for the first time in my life, I’m going to stop thinking and enjoy what has been given to me before it disappears,” she said, sinking her fingers deep into his hair as she tilted his head back and pressed her lips to his.

No more thinking, no more analyzing, just let this bloom into the beautiful thing that it’s meant to be
, she promised herself, kissing him even deeper. He seemed to pick up on her change of mind with ease, wrapping her legs around his torso, his tongue licking at her lips, begging for entrance. And who was she to deny a dying man a taste of the land of milk and honey?