Blood Bought: Cruentus Dragons Book Two (5 page)

Lethargically, she kissed his neck, inhaling his musky, almost smoky, post-sex scent. Was that a Dragon thing? She liked it, the smoke. She took another breath of him. It was almost like the smell of a wood fire in winter.

He turned his head and kissed her, his tongue making lazy dives into her mouth.

“We should go inside,” he said finally.

She nodded and gave him a small smile, hiding her regret. The sex had been awesome. It had taken away the edge that had tormented her these six months and extinguished the powerful need his bite had filled her with earlier. And now she had to get the hell out of here.

He got up and knocked his head on the trunk again as he exited. This time, he winced and rubbed at the offended spot. “Trunks should be bigger,” he laughed.

She grinned. “I don’t think sex is their intended purpose.”

“No? Hmm. I’m going to go unlock the front door and turn on some lights.” He seemed to stop and look around. His narrowed eyes told her he was sensing more than seeing their surroundings. “It’s safe here,” he confirmed. “Wait right there a sec, and I’ll be right back for you.”

Not likely.
“Okay,” she lied. As he walked away, she sat up and watched his head toward the cabin. They seemed to be in the middle of a clearing, surrounded by thick trees. Occasional shadowy clouds dotted the otherwise clear sky where bright stars and a full moon shone with stunning glory.

Okay, no light pollution. That mean there wasn’t a city nearby. Difficult but not undoable.

As soon as Jonah went inside the cabin, she leapt from the car and straightened her pants while she tried to steady her wobbly legs. In moments, she seemed to regain equilibrium. She took a final regretful glance to the house. This was a life she just couldn’t accept.

Goodbye, Jonah.

Gathering her wits about her, she took off for the trees as fast as her feet could carry her. If she was lucky, she’d be able to secret herself within the thick growth before Jonah came back outside.

Jonah exited the house just in time to see Athena break the tree line. Anger threaded through him. So she still thought she’d run.

His arms crossed his chest as he stared at where she’d disappeared. Slowly, he shook his head. She had no clue who or what she was dealing with. She was about to find out.

Then he’d make very certain she stayed by his side forever after.

Athena ran until a stitch cramped her side. She paused for a moment, leaning against a tree and wondering at what strange bug or frog was making the odd whistling sound she heard as she traveled. After a few moments, she started off again. Thankfully, her jeans protected her skin legs from cuts as brush and low branches pummeled her. Still, she’d have nasty bruises when she eventually stopped. Her torso and arms weren’t so lucky. Her arms would be a maze of abrasions. She had little hope that her stomach and chest would be much better. Her T-shirt offered almost no protection.

She cried out as she missed her footing and tripped over a thick root hidden by the darkness. The fall jarred her, but she was determined to continue. She scrambled to her feet just as something crashed through the trees overhead. The moon was blocked out, then thick, iron-like arms wrapped around her. A solid body curved around her as she was lifted free of the trees and into the air overhead.

“Enough,” Jonah rumbled, his voice slightly garbled and more gravelly in his Dragon form. Behind him, his wings flapped sedately, creating the sound she’d wondered at. Now she recognized it, having heard it before. It was far more of a whir than a
whistle,
but either way, it unsettled her because now she was in his captivity again.

Her face pressed into his blackish-green scales on his neck. She clung to him, though she knew he’d never drop her—at least she hoped not. Even without him saying so, she knew she’d angered him.

His powerful arms tightened then his head tilted over hers almost tenderly, and she wondered if he understood why she’d run.

“Did you think I wouldn’t find you?” he asked. “In this form, I can see you even though the trees. If I didn’t have sight, I could hear you even if you were miles ahead of me—your stumbling, your footsteps, your breathing. And even if I didn’t have that,” he opened his mouth and drew in a breath, “I could scent you. I can smell our sex. I can smell your natural fragrance. I can smell your…blood. You are my mate, and now that I’ve tasted you, you will never be far from my arms. Never, Athena.”

He landed in front of the cabin with a thump and set her on her feet beside the car. With fascination, she watched she watched his scales slide away like dominoes falling into invisibility. Once again, he stood before her as a man, fully clothed and staring down at her solemnly. With one hand, he slammed shut the trunk. With the other, he took hold of her wrist, still within the cuff he’d put on her earlier, and pulled her toward the front door.

“Don’t I have a say in this?” she demanded as he pulled her through the house. Pride demanded that she put up some fight. This was her life. She should have a choice.

“No,” he replied. “Fate has ordained this. You were born with the blood marker that destined you to be a Dragon mate.”

She didn’t understand, but was sure it had something to do with what the Djinni had told her about on the bus. The Dragons had infused some of the followers with their blood, and now that Dragon tainted blood flowed in her. That blood made her his
mate?

“No. That’s ridiculous. What about dating? Attraction? Choice?”

He paused and raised an eyebrow at her. “I’ll date you.”

“Right,” she replied in disbelief. What part of ‘you are my mate’ gave way to dating?

“Do you deny the attraction between us?” he asked, dragging her flush to his body. She drew a breath at the feel of his hard, muscular ridges against her softer body. He head leaned toward her.

“Don’t you bite me!” she exclaimed, remembering what had happened the last time.

He drew back and smiled at her. “I don’t need to bite for you to want me.”

“I don’t want you.” It was a lie and they both knew it.

Jonah shook his head, still smiling faintly, and leaned forward again. She tensed in anticipation of his teeth penetrating her skin.

“Liar,” he murmured. His incisors scraped lightly over her neck. She trembled at the sensation, the need starting again. He was right. He didn’t need to bite her. She was ready to fall into his bed with little more than a look from him. It had never been that way with another, even before he’d “claimed” her. “You want me. Admit it,” he urged.

She moaned, unable to say what she really felt and unwilling to betray herself.

His smile widened, but it didn’t convey mirth. It gleamed with danger. She shuddered, caught in his snare.

“And choice?” he continued. “Neither of us has a choice.”

Without ceremony, he scooped her into his arms and rushed her through the cabin. She knew they were on their way to a bed, and if she was forced by fate to be with him, that was exactly where she wanted to be. No matter what, she
did
want him. She might as well enjoy the ride until she found a way to make the escape he claimed was impossible.

In the bedroom, Jonah set Athena on the braided rag rug beside the bed, steadying her when her legs wobbled. Confident she wouldn’t run—at least, not right this moment—he pulled back the gingham comforter. He’d known all along that this would be where he’d bring her once they were together again. The sheets were clean; the room dust-free. He smiled, thinking of the other preparations Athena would soon discover. Hopefully, she was as adventurous as he suspected.

His anticipation growing despite their recent activity in the trunk—in the trunk for God’s sake! What had he been thinking?—he reached for her shirt. The fabric hissed as he ripped it from collar to hem and laid her bare. Her small breasts peaked, the nipples hard pebbles.

“Animal,” she whispered.

He lifted a brow. Wordlessly, he shoved off the shirt-cum-rag. Her pants were shoved to her feet before the cloth hit the floor. Grasping first one then the other a tiny ankle, he helped her step free of jeans. It didn’t escape his notice that she was completely compliant with the proceeding. In fact, the scent of her growing arousal quickly filled his senses. As he knelt, he edged her feet further apart with one of his knees then leaned forward and parted her folds with his thumbs. Athena moaned as he grazed her clit. She was so wet. His cock hardened as her slick moisture coated his questing fingers.

He had to taste her. He had to fill her. He had to make her come again. His needs rushed through his brain in quick succession, all urgent, all necessary, all clamoring for his instant action. Determined to take his time with her and woo her into mindless pleasure, he continued to stroke over her clit while two fingers slid back to penetrate her soft channel.

“Yes, Jonah… Oh, God, yes…” she keened as he bent forward and lapped at her gathering cream. Sweet nirvana. This was the proverbial nectar of the gods.

Her hand landed on the back of his head, urging him on as he slowly licked and sucked. His fingers continued their constant fucking. Moving his thumb aside, he captured her clit between his lips and sucked.

He needed her, but his name now spilled like a mantra from her lips, and he was more than willing to continue these ministrations until she screamed and collapsed. Suddenly, her pussy convulsed around his strokes, and she started to fall. Jonah quickly caught her into his arms and immediately took her down to the bed, covering her with his body. While she arched beneath him, he fastened her cuffs to the rings he’d attached to the headboard a few months earlier.

Her eyes widened as she came down from the orgasm and realized what he’d done. She yanked at the restraints. “Let me go!” she demanded. Even as she fumed, excitement flickered in her eyes. His little cat liked bondage. Perfect.

Jonah shook his head, denying her order. Instead, he set about exploring her exposed body. Straddling her hips, he kissed her shoulder and nipped at the straining muscles of her shoulders.

“Relax,” he coaxed. “I won’t hurt you.” He suckled the pulsing vein on her throat. “I won’t even bite you. Even if you beg me.”

“Jerk.”

“You want me to bite?”

She scowled. “Why does it feel…”

“So good?” he asked. “It’s a sort of blood-venom exchange. Harmless, I assure you. At least, it’s harmless if you,” he leaned to her ear, “fuck.”

Her intake of breath seemed to wrap around his cock, caressing the length then pulling tight. He needed her. Bad. To distract himself and keep from falling on her like the ravening beast he was, he kissed a path over her shoulder and down to her breast. Slowly, he explored the ridges in the puckered peak.

Athena writhed beneath him, whimpering as he lingered. Her pelvis pressed to his in her fervor. He thought he might die.
Take your time, Jonah,
he reminded himself.

“Please…” she begged.

Pretending to ignore her plea, he lackadaisically licked a path to her other nipple and repeated the treatment. Her skin tasted of roses and smelled just as good. The supple firmness of her nipple against his tongue was like no other sensation. He could spend hours exploring the texture while he tasted her. The pounding of her blood so close to his lips tempted him, but he denied his desire.

She yanked at her cuffs again, but he knew this time it wasn’t to get free of the restraints. “At least take off your clothes,” she implored.

Yes. His clothes were coming off. Sitting up, but keeping his weight from her by balancing on his knees, he slowly unfastened his shirt. Her hungry eyes watched him as he released one button at a time, staring down at her the whole time. Her teeth sank into her bottom lip and her fingers flexed. Pleasure surged through him straight to his cock. She wanted him. If her hands were free, she’d be all over him. This was how it should be between them.

He yanked his arms from the sleeves and tossed the garment to the side. His hands went to the button of his dark pants as did her eyes. Her nostrils flared when he released it.

“Let me go so I can touch you.”

“Uh-uh. Tonight, you’re my prisoner,
Velree,
and I intend to plunder you.”

“Oh God…”

He shook his head. “Oh Jonah,” he corrected. “No one’s going to save you tonight.”

She took a shuddering breath, her chest heaving. “Good. I mean…” A gleam entered her eyes. “I mean…oh no! Please let me go. Please, please don’t fuck me really hard and really long.”

“You’re awfully naughty.”

“Just figuring that out? I have a secret for you… I like sex. A lot.” She yanked her hands. “I like being tied up. A lot. I even…” She looked away and sighed. “I even kinda like the, um, other stuff.”

“What other stuff?” he asked, encouraged by the direction of her revelation. He inched down his zipper. She stared when the head of his cock emerged. He paused, blocking her view with his hand. “What other stuff, Athena?”

“Um…you know. Spanking. Things like that.”

“Like what? Toys?”

She nodded.

“Maybe a cream to heighten your arousal and drive you wild.”