Captive Dragon (5 page)

He was a large, scaly creature. The one she’d seen in the tank. He’d called himself a…

Seadragon
.

Lightheaded, she didn’t quite register the solid grip around her waist until he shifted colors. All she could do was take it all in. Absolute wonder took her speech away.

His body was long. His size was the same but instead of a man, he had a curved neck, long snout, translucent fins, and a twining tail linked around her middle. She’d been against Reef’s body moments ago—long enough to memorize his warmth—but the seadragon tail was as temperate as the water.

His form quivered. The muted brown changed to iridescent greens and blues, alternating back and forth. With his tail firmly around her, he twisted and pirouetted, bowing and dancing as she tread water.

The marine biologist inside her recognized this behavior.

It was a mating dance.

Glory be
.

The woman inside her couldn’t help the erratic pounding of her heart. A wild laugh escaped her.

Indescribable joy and peace settled over Reef. He wanted to stay here all day and dance for his mate, but she couldn’t stay in the water. She’d suffered enough exposure. And the she-dragon would be back as soon as she’d holed up long enough to heal, which wouldn’t take long with the saltwater speeding the process.

Unfortunately, his first mating dance was clouded by his need to confront the she-dragon who threatened his mate. Chloe had to be kept safe. At all costs. The bruising on her ankle, which had to hurt, was a reminder of how close he’d come to losing her and of how he’d failed in his duty.

With difficulty, he stilled the primordial impulses, but he had to claim her, now. In a way she would understand. No more capable of stilling the passion as to stop a tsunami, he eased back into his human form, surrounded her waist with his arms, and kicked up to the surface.

He wiped the drops of moisture from his face, raked his hair back, and stared at her wide, startled, deep brown eyes that scorched him to the bone. Her lush, warm curves were soft against him. Their bodies came together like two entwined tails. Perfect.

“Wow,” she whispered.

“Exactly.” He slid his hands lower to cup her ass covered by the thin material of her panties. Propelling them back toward shore with a forceful kick of his legs, he touched down when he was close enough to reach bottom. His heavy erection pressed against her warm and pliant belly. Glimpses of her sumptuous curves had whet his appetite and he wanted to binge.

“That’s not what I meant.” She gave a slight smile but her eyes sparkled as if she bit back a grin.

“I think it should be. I see you practically naked, I feel you in my arms, and all I can think, is
Wow!
”

He didn’t give her time to respond but leaned down to taste her lips, crushing her ample breasts into his chest and groaning at the contact with all that silk flesh pushing over the top of her bra. Feet planted wide on the sandy bottom, he wrapped Chloe’s legs around his waist and lavished her with kisses while soft waves lapped against them. Lips tasting her sweet bow of a mouth, the corner of that delectable treat, the tip of her nose, and both eyelids, he memorized her flavor. Her earthy scent engulfed him as it mixed with the salty breezes.

Her feet hooked behind his back and pressed him closer. Fondling her rounded twin cheeks while devouring her kisses, he admired the way she filled his hands as he slowly walked to shore. Little grunts of pleasure, moans of delight, and occasional small words of encouragement were music to his ears. Her excitement brought him more.

Chloe pulled back and laughed against his lips. “I thought you said you’d be a good boy.”

“Oh, I’ll be good. Very, very good.”

She snorted, endearing and all Chloe. Despite her doubtful exclamation, she rubbed her breasts against him. Her pebbled nipples branded his chest through her thin bra. He so wanted to rip it from her and discover the color of her areolas. And their taste.

“We shouldn’t do this. I shouldn’t do this. You’re a dangerous man.” Her throaty whisper made him more eager to sink inside her and never come out.

“Not to you. Never to you.” He licked her lips and she opened to him. She tasted of desire and wanton sweetness.

Walking toward the dune, he flashed through a roller deck of potential sexual positions in his mind. Sand would dampen Chloe’s enthusiasm when it found its way into small nooks and crannies. Though they’d been at odds for the past year, he knew they’d share a strong emotional connection, and he wanted their first time to shine and be a welcome memory in her mind. A mind blowing memory.

Perhaps not the most romantic of ways to christen the bond they’d share, he’d have to take her standing, or on their hands and knees. Hands and knees. Her ankle was hurt. Nearly forgotten, he grew angry and remorseful. She made him a rutting animal too enamored to remember her injury.

Pictures of what he’d do to her stamped into his mind, and his urgency heightened. “Please, say yes.”

“Oh, I want you. I want to say yes, but you’re so not right for me. We need to talk about this.” She whimpered.

Despite her words, she wrapped her arms around his head and lifted a taut peak over the top of her bra and to his mouth. He swallowed as much as he could. Her softness surrounded him and blotted out everything but her. He drew hard on her cherry red nipple then sucked and circled with his tongue. Loud groans from them both mingled together as her thighs gripped him so hard he thought she might crush his ribs.

Almost to the breaking point, he envisioned those strong legs clamping him as he delved between them. No more waiting. Regretfully he turned away from the tempting points of her breasts, but he’d taste those morsels again.

“I heard a yes in there somewhere.” He held her closer against his body and slid her down his body. Her skin stroked along his hardened shaft until her feet touched the ground and she cradled his erection against her.

With one last kiss, he hugged her tightly. “This is just a taste. Then I’ll take you home and show you how much I want you.”

Leaning back, he looked down into her glazed eyes and the color high on her cheekbones when she answered, “Just this once.”

Foolish woman. He’d never let her go.

Both in the heady grip of lust and passion, they panted as he slowly turned Chloe in his arms, planting kisses along her pebbling skin. She tasted salty from the sea, but it added to the allure and called to his most fundamental nature.

When she faced away from him, he nuzzled her neck before nipping her lightly. She rolled her head to the side, giving him better access and brushed her hair to the side. The thick vein of blue-green stood out with the tendons of her neck, her pulse pounding, visibly vulnerable. He licked her there, long and slow, while his hands settled on her hips to bring her back against his cock.

All the while, Chloe muttered under her breath, exhorting him to hurry, castigating him for being the bastard who threatened her job, cursing his existence, begging him to take her. Now.

While he deftly removed her bra, he nibbled his way down her spine. She arced her back, adding to the sensuous torture. Trembling, her legs gave, but he caught her. He lowered her softly to the ground and onto her knees. Maneuvering her panties down, he ripped the scrap of fabric at the seams. His mouth in the crook of her neck, he sucked hard enough to leave a mark. He wanted to brand her.

Kneeling behind Chloe, Reef cradled a heavy breast in one hand, fingers teasing a taut nipple while he stroked her belly as he moved lower in lazy circles. She drew in her breath, tightening her belly when he brushed the top of her dark curls. Withdrawing his hand, he chuckled at her exasperated grunt. Frustration was evident in the tension of her body. Releasing her breast, he gently pushed between her shoulder blades and guided her down on all fours. He held her hips with his hand, stroking, always stroking her soft skin.

Now that he had her where he wanted her, he couldn’t resist a look, to take in those feminine treasures that called to him, but one glance at her perfect white ass, bared to the sun and breeze, and it was over. He bent over her chest to back, reached around to slide his finger between her folds, and rocked his hips against her. Grinding his teeth, nearly losing his sanity with the effort, he held back from plunging into her with wild abandon. He needed to give her pleasure first.

With his touch, he delved into Chloe’s arousal and spread her slickness. She bucked against him and ground into his groin. Skin on skin, softness to hardness, heat and slick arousal.

“You’re safe with me,” he murmured in her ear.

She panted. “I’m on the pill. We’re safe in that way.”

He surged. His erection stroked the outside of her folds.

“Reef, now.” She groaned her pleasure when he applied the slighted pressure to her sensitive clit. “If you don’t get inside me in about two seconds, you’re going to miss the fireworks.”

“Enough said,” he panted in her ear. He slid into her willing heat in one long, exquisite movement. Continuing to tease her with his finger, he thrust hard, unable to control his bucking hips when she tightened around him.

The tingling along his shaft signaled his urgency. White heat ran up his legs and into his torso. The tightness in his groin drove him further into her core, grabbing him with each trust, holding him in her depths. Never had he wanted inside a woman’s body and heart so much.

When the spasms overtook her she drew in a sharp breath, her entire body tensed, and she let go in a whoosh of breath. Her sheath tightened around him in a fist.

He came. Sparks of white blinded him, and he released inside her, shouting his claim in an inarticulate growl.

“Wow,” she mumbled and collapsed on the ground.

Unable to speak, still blinded by the pleasure, he fell beside her. Sweat covered him. The sand clung to him while the wind rushing over the water cooled him. His lungs heaved from exertion, but next to his woman, he was languid and content under the sun’s rays. His woman. Everything he’d learned over the past year, her kindness, her passion, her knowledge of the ocean, all in one package. No wonder she was his.

A shadow fell across the sky as a cloud passed. He sighed and squeezed her tightly one last time.

“Much as I’d like to stay here, on a deserted isle with my paradise dream woman, I’m afraid there are no coconut bras or grass skirts, much less a piña colada with a tiny umbrella.”

“What are you talking about?” She laughed.

Thrilled to see the teasing in her eyes, he grinned at her. “Well, me being the last man on earth, you being woman. Deserted isle and all that.”

Wanting to stay with every fiber of his being but unable to leave behind his role as seadragon protector, he got to his feet, grasped her hand and pulled her after him.

A harsh reality blindsided him. If she stayed with him, the she-dragon would come after Chloe until she’d rid herself of her rival, and he’d devoted himself to being a protector. There was no way to bring Chloe into that world. The truth shattered through him. He should let Chloe go. His world would never accept a seadragon mated to a human.

He hadn’t been thinking.

It took all he had to say with a neural, calm voice, “Let’s go get you that drink.”

She looked at him like he was crazy, but she kept smiling. That was enough for now. Maybe she was driving him a little daft. Slightly crazy.

This was all a bit mind numbing and he couldn’t think straight.

He shook his head hard and blinked. He really was befuddled. Momentary doubts or not, there was no way he could overlook the truth. She was his.

It didn’t matter what this she-dragon wanted. It didn’t matter what his mother might think—and he hadn’t spoken to her in over eight years anyway.

But his father. Reef drew a breath into his tightened chest. He’d like his father to meet Chloe one day.

He grabbed her hand.

They waded out with the sun still high in the sky. Didn’t say much for his staying power, but he didn’t think they’d spent much time frolicking in the sand. Once he had her home—and he’d have to leave her until he banished the she-dragon—he’d make it up to her, make love to her for days.

No matter how long it took, he had to keep away from Chloe until he caught the huntress. The she-dragon. The female stalked him from out there. He glanced around, looking for signs in the water. Damn, but Chloe threw him off track. Another cloud passed overhead, and dread prickled his spine.

“You definitely distracted me back there.” Chloe’s voice had that edge he’d heard before. She was intrigued and interested. That scientific curiosity had been the first thing he’d noticed about her, after he’d gotten past the beauty of her form and features.

“But you have some explaining to do. That’s pretty incredible, that you can change. Are you human? What does it feel like? Does it hurt? Is it magic? I mean, I don’t believe in magic, but I also don’t believe in shape-shifters.”

“Whoa.”

The memory of their first meeting was so similar. He’d been run over by a freight train, flat on his back, bowled over by her passion and her love of the animals she studied. He’d fallen for her then. Fallen hard. At the time, he’d turned his back on his attraction. He’d never wanted a mate, and he’d left the depths years ago to avoid being taken as one.

It’s why he ran. It’s why he helped others run. And it’s why he helped other creatures trapped in aquariums.

But Chloe’s simple belief in her job had made him take a look at his actions. Perhaps he’d been too rash and an aquarium did have a good purpose. Since he’d left the deep, running from the old Etruscan matriarchy where males had little status, he’d been stubborn, wearing blinders when it came to rescuing those weaker than himself. He’d braved the human world to learn, train, and help other runaways.

But now Deena had come to take him back. The she-dragon had her work cut out for her. He’d fight to the death instead of going back.

“Come, we must go.” He gripped her waist and guided her over his floating body. In a symphony of motion, they kicked together. Their bodies floated prone in the water. When they were in deeper enough, he kissed her lightly on the nose and halted and tread water while hugging her tightly.

“I want you to climb on my back and put your arms around my neck. When I change, you can straddle me and ride the dragon.”

With a dumfounded expression, she stared at him. He kissed her deeply, hoping she could accept him, seadragon and all, before looping her arms loosely around his shoulders and turning his back to her.

Sinking below the surface, he changed. Her grip tightened around his arched neck, and she straddled the sweeping curve of his back. Unable to resist, he curled his tail to wrap her good ankle, the instinctive impulse to coil and twine with her an intoxicating rush.

To accommodate his rider, he remained near the surface. She petted his head where he was spiny and knobs of rough flesh formed a protective crest.

“This is intense.” She stroked over his neck and his throat vibrated with a purr. “Makes a southern farm girl want to swoon.”