Taming the Dragon (Loved by the Dragon, #3) (12 page)

“I think I’m ready to go back to your place,” Marcy whispered. The many eyes on them kept Marcy from following through on her desires. Their dance left her with the insatiable need to have Teo naked and close. To move against him, flesh to flesh, bodies joined as one.

Teo’s nostrils flared. He said nothing, but drew her from the restaurant without a backward glance. They didn’t stop until sand was beneath their feet and there wasn’t a single soul in sight. With the darkness concealing them on the beach, Teo stripped from his clothes and transformed.

“Would you like to fly, Marcy?”

“Oh my God, yes.” Marcy had flown on Saul, but this was Teo.
Her
dragon. Without another word she gathered his discarded clothing then scrambled up onto his back. As a dragon, his leaner frame made him narrower than Saul through the shoulders. Straddling the base of his long neck reminded her of riding a horse.

After he stepped into the waves and whipped the sand to clear his tracks, Teo snapped out his wings and took off to soar low over the water. The distance requiring twenty minutes by boat took only five on dragonback. The salty air whipped through Marcy’s hair but not once did she feel afraid.

“Flying is awesome,” she cried out after they landed. She hugged his neck before she slid off then rounded to his jet-colored face. “
You
are amazing.”

“You have no idea how it pleases me to hear you say so.”

“Shift back into my naked man and you could show me,” she suggested, pulling him along toward his beachfront home.

Before her feet could touch the stone path leading to the door, Teo’s arms wrapped around her and drew her back to face him. His fully erect cock pressed into her belly.

“I can... I cannot make promises my dragon half won’t claim you if we make love again, Marceline. The urge is too strong.” He dragged in deep and heavy breaths, resembling a wild animal more than a man.

Marcy smoothed her fingers over Teo’s brow then through his dark strands. “What happens if I let you?”

“I will bite you and gift you the Dragon’s Brand. It symbolizes my vow to give myself to you, and once done, it means we are bonded. I become forever yours as much as you become mine.”

His promise kicked Marcy’s heart rhythm into overdrive. She swallowed the dry lump in her throat and considered the tender way he had treated the animals in the sanctuary. The way he tended his personal garden. The kindness he had shown to Kekoa by rescuing an orphaned boy. Teo’s gruff attitude and overbearing arrogance were a result of upbringing, not a true reflection of the kind spirit beneath.

“Is it irreversible? It’s not like marriage, is it? Once we’re bonded, there’s no going back?”

“You have seen Chloe’s. If you were a dragon, you would bite me in return, sealing our souls as one. But you are not a dragon. If you come to loathe me, I can set you free,” he said quietly, “but I would hope you remained alongside me. Be my mate, Marceline.”

Faced with the biggest decision of her entire life, Marcy gazed up at his solemn features. Her fingers traced through his dark hair and smoothed it back from his shoulder. “I want you, Teo. I’ll be your mate.”

They moved at the same time, hands greedily reaching for each other. The straps of her dress snapped beneath Teo’s impatient touch. He dragged the material down her body and ripped away her panties as if they were made from tissue.

Fuck that’s hot.

Teo swept Marcy from her feet. Moments later, she hit the bed face down, sprawled on her belly. The path to his home and bedroom had been a blur.

“Teo?”

The man behind her growled, no longer the cool and sophisticated dragon she’d tenderly made love to in the cabana or teased in this same bed. Foil ripped then strong hands dragged Marcy onto her hands and knees. He touched her, testing, fondling her pussy, and gliding his fingers over her wet slit. She’d never been more prepared for him — and he knew it. In a thrust, he seated his cock to full depth within her waiting channel.

From anyone else, Marcy would have discouraged the dominating position. From Teo, it felt as natural as breathing. She groaned his name and fell onto her elbows with her bottom raised to the air. Teo dragged out until the tip remained then snapped his hips forward again. He became an animal, frenzied and lost to the sensation of burying his dick in her folds. Nothing else mattered but the primal joining of their bodies.

Teo’s palm molded to one weighty breast and squeezed. “Perfection,” he growled, deep in his chest. “Every inch of you is perfection.”

The sheets bunched beneath her grasping hands and one corner pulled free from the mattress. Another hard thrust inched her forward and threatened to lift her knees from the bed. The headboard slammed. Unconcerned, Marcy surrendered to her own needs and moved wildly to the feverish rhythm he set.

“Be mine, Marcy. Tell me you are mine.”

“I’m yours, Teo,” Marcy choked out. “And you’re
mine
.”

Delighted with the affirmation of their union, her dragon speared her again, hilting at complete depth. As her walls spasmed, contracting in the throes of orgasm, Teo’s teeth closed around her shoulder and introduced her to a sharp, blinding pain that threatened to consume her. The intensity was only matched by the climax mercilessly throbbing in her core.

“Teo!”

Her mate’s feral roar blended with her scream. Pushed to the brink of oblivion, Marcy’s body could no longer differentiate pain from her pleasure. Every nerve ending was aflame, threatening to consume her in a blaze of ecstasy. Another orgasm rocketed through her like fireworks on a cloudless night, then her world spiraled out of control.

“Teo!”

“Accept it,” he growled. “Accept me as yours.”

“I do, I do, I love you!” Marcy wailed. Hungering to taste his lips, she turned her head to the right and found her intuitive lover waiting for her. Their lips met with urgency, and despite the latex sheath, she knew he’d climaxed. She longed to feel the hot pulse of his seed and the bloom of warmth it would bring.

The orgasm didn’t stop, a relentless and steady series of contractions. “Teo?”

His arm curled around her waist, securing her against him. Each back stroke, every thrust, renewed the chain of molten sensation pooling in her core. Marcy thought for certain she’d be the first woman to ever die from absolute rapture.

“I will always treasure you, Marceline,” were the last words to caress her ears before she screamed in pure lust at the tail end of his last ardent stroke. Her walls shuddered around him, a merciless and explosive bliss on repeat that reduced her to a writhing pile below her mate.

Eventually, Marcy moaned from the bed where she lay face down amidst the cushions and silky comforters. Their cool touch felt good against her naked skin. Despite his views toward nudity, Teo had covered her. The sweet gesture and acceptance of her rules brought a smile to her face.

Did I pass out? What the hell?
She raised her head and sighed, reluctant to move from her nest. “That was amazing,” Marcy murmured. “No wonder Chloe never stays away from Saul for longer than a couple weeks.” She pushed up on her elbows and scanned the room for Teo, finding him by the window. Her bronzed god watched her with a relaxed smile on his face.

Once her weak, trembling legs cooperated with her decision to leave the bed, Marcy crossed to her mate and joined him at the window seat. He curled his arm protectively around her waist to secure her on his lap, then she pressed her ear against his chest and listened to the slow drumming beat.

“This is the happiest I have felt in all my life,” Teo murmured against her hair. “Thank you.”

“You don’t have to thank me for making you happy, silly.”

“But I do. You have changed my life, Marcy, and there’s something I’d like to show you.”

“What is it?” She drew on her silk robe.

“What is mine is now yours, Marceline. I would show you all of it.”

Teo led her outside into the balmy evening air and shifted. Marcy never tired of watching the transformation, loving admiration shining in her eyes. She took her time, moving around him, and trailed her fingers over his soft skin. His feathers ruffled beneath her touch.

“Sometimes I wonder if the past five years have all been some crazy dream,” she mused. “I worry I’ll wake up and Chloe will still be living with me and dating that douchebag ex of hers, and I’ll still be stressing at work.”

The dragon’s rumbling chuckle raised goosebumps on her arms and stirred the sand beneath her toes. “No, it is not a dream. I am quite real, and completely yours. As is Saul’s devotion to Chloe.”

“I know.” She kissed his long snout. “I am incredibly blessed to have you.”

Marcy moved around to his side and claimed her place on his back. Only after he was certain she was secure, Teo flapped his powerful wings and lifted them into the air.

They flew, circling twice around his island before Teo turned toward the rocky peak dominating the skyline. Up close it was larger than Marcy had anticipated, a sheer wall of rock she doubted even Chloe could climb with her best gear. Trailing wisps of fog clung to the thick foliage.

A backstroke of his wings slowed their descent onto a small ledge, where large green ferns covered the entrance into his lair. Marcy was forced to dismount and follow inside on foot, the crevice was so narrow. She watched, amazed, as Teo’s bulky form twisted inside with ease.

“Doesn’t it hurt scraping against the rock?”

Teo’s rumbling chuckle echoed against the walls. “No. It feels nice against my hide.” To emphasize his point, he rubbed against the smooth worn stone.

“Like a bear against a tree.”

“More or less.” The black dragon shrunk down, becoming a man once more. He offered out his hand, which Marcy readily took. “Come.”

Stories spoke of dragon hoards, but even their close description couldn’t match the beauty of seeing one in person.

Saul’s treasure room was organized chaos, his hoard separated into distinctive piles. Teo, on the other hand, preferred a single large collection. Coins of all sizes glittered amidst scattered jewels and ancient relics.

“Dios mío
,
” she breathed, taking it all in. “Do you swim in that pile?”

A wide grin split Teo’s face. “No, but I do often use it as my bed.”

“Meaning you’d be sleeping here if I wasn’t on the island.”

Teo’s enigmatic smile gave her the answer he wouldn’t speak aloud. “Do you like it?”

“It’s amazing, Teo. A mess, but amazing all the same.”

He snorted. “What use are neat stacks when they only fall over at the brush of my tail or wings? This is for my enjoyment. Not for mere admiration.”

Marcy still couldn’t shake the image of him swimming through his massive wealth, no matter how much he denied it. She easily pictured him rolling through the mess and playing with rubies and diamonds the way a child would play with marbles.

“Seriously?” She bent down and snagged a handful of coppers from the floor. “You hoard pennies?”

“You might be amazed, Marceline, at how swiftly such paltry sums add up.”

“I’ll be sure to raid my couch when I get back home,” she mumbled, her attention caught by a feathered headdress. “Is this Aztec?”

“It belonged to my father.”

“It’s beautiful. May I?”

“Touch whatever you wish.”

With great care, Marcy lifted the beautiful accessory from the stalagmite where it had been resting. The feathers retained their bold shades of blue and green. She carried it over to Teo and gestured for him to lean down a bit, then she settled the crown on his head.

“Just as I first imagined you,” she sighed, breathless at the sight of him. “You made me think of an Aztec warrior from the first moment I saw you crossing Saul’s lawn.”

“I did not live up to that honor.”

“No, you didn’t,” she agreed, smiling. “But you’ve made up for it.”

Teo leaned down and kissed her, claiming her mouth in a slow and sensual kiss, with a tenderness their bonding had lacked. Marcy’s knees wobbled and her toes curled, his kiss felt in every fiber of her being. Her face remained tilted upward toward his after their lips parted and her lashes fluttered open.

“I’d like to sleep with you. Here. In your true shape.” She placed her hands over his muscled chest and looked deep into his eyes. “I want to sleep with my dragon.”

“Whatever you desire.”

M
oney, Marcy determined, did not make a comfortable bed, but a dragon as her pillow had more than made up for any discomfort. They awoke to the sound of bird calls outside and the soft, distant rush of waves crashing against the shore. After urging her to pick something for herself from his collection, Teo carried her down in a lazy, spiraling glide. They landed seconds before a gentle rain began to fall. The warm kiss of misty rainfall felt incredible, an improvement over the persistent dry heat of Texas.

With overcast weather trumping any plans for outdoor activities, Marcy suggested an afternoon of cinema. Teo’s personal movie room made any film a thrilling experience, especially the ones from Drakenstone Studios. The panoramic screen and interactive seats made her feel like she was in the scene.

Together they watched Saul’s newest release, which hadn’t even hit the theatres yet. With a bowl of popcorn between them and a fruit platter, they enjoyed the fantasy adventure.

“Would you like to watch another?”

“Actually,” she said, a saucy grin turning up her lips. “I’d like to see one of your educational films.”

“Er... what?”

Marcy laughed and crawled over the armrest into his lap. “Your pornos, Teo. Let’s watch one together.”

He blinked owlishly up at her, but his nostrils flared and his cock twitched beneath her bottom. “I did not think such was done.”

“Oh, it’s done.” She leaned down and kissed him sweetly. “Consider this a human biology lesson.”

A lesson which took the rest of the afternoon and evening. During which, Teo’s eagerness to take the submissive role in the bedroom became apparent. She challenged him in bed, teased him with a downy feather from his own wing, and pushed her new lover’s sexual limits during their exploration. Through it all, he was her eager student, only accustomed to intimacy in his natural form. As a human, he craved her every touch.