Desired by Dragons: BBW Paranormal Romance (Dragons of New York Book 2) (10 page)

“You’re not a wyvern,” Tim snapped. “And you promised when I gave you the location of the dragons, it would be me.”

“Too bad,” the man said. “We don’t have a lot of time before the dragons show up. This will be easier if she isn’t resisting. Seems like she’s willing to trade up to a stronger partner.” He stroked her cheek, and she felt vaguely ill. She had the feeling he didn’t mind at all having an excuse to take her for himself. He seemed as hungry for the power she might give him as he was for her body.

“Someone bring me blood,” he said, putting out a hand.

She kept her eyes on Tim, waiting for what she knew was going to happen. He’d never let anyone mate her but him, and soon, they’d be fighting amongst themselves, giving her an opening, hopefully.

“She’s mine!” Tim shouted, running forward as Tara had hoped. She rolled backward as her captor was forced to turn and face a half-reptilian Tim, seemingly transformed by his own rage. Her captor shifted into a wolf, and the two rolled across the ground, locked in a battle to the death. She tried to run for a side door, but her way was blocked, and the two men fighting stopped and stood as they realized their quarry was escaping.

Tim knocked the wolf out of his way with a sweep of his tail and stalked toward her, growling ferociously. But just as he was about to reach her while she was pinned back against a group of wyverns holding her, she felt a whoosh of air as the large window across from them shattered.

In the shimmering air in front of her, she could feel her dragons had come.

Q
uill materialized first
, with Drake right behind him. The room went silent and then became filled with murmurs as everyone in the room watched them.

Drake’s eyes flicked immediately to Tara, still held by the group of wyverns, and he let out a roar as he rushed forward.

“Ah, ah, ah,” a voice said as a wolf shifted into a dark-haired man who got to her first and held her against him.

The sight of anyone’s hands on his mate made Drake’s blood burn inside him. He was a protector, and every cell in his body screamed she was his to protect.

“Don’t come closer or I’ll let the wyverns bite her,” he said.

Drake stopped. Wyvern poison was devastating to dragons. It was probably why the wolves had been so insistent on creating them. And they’d done a good job of it, it seemed, unfortunately.

But he didn’t know what it would do to humans.

Quill. Get Tara.

I know.

In a minute, I’ll distract him. And then you get her out of here, do the blood exchange, and I’ll let you know when you can come back.

You can’t do this alone,
Quill argued.

I can’t do it if I don’t know she’s safe. That you’re safe,
he replied.
Besides, I’m the red dragon. I can take it, right?

You know, I never realized how much I appreciated that before. It’s kind of nice knowing you’re a ball of steel.

Thanks
, Drake retorted.
And Quill?
Make sure she’s safe. If I don’t…

You will.

If I don’t…

Okay.

All right. On three. One… two…

Drake let out a roar as he stomped hard on the ground in front of him, watching the concrete shatter in a line as the warehouse shook. The shock of the strength of it caught everyone off guard, including the wolf in front of him and the wyverns holding Tara. In that instant, Quill ducked in, grabbing her around the waist and running for the window.

As they ran, their enemies became aware of what was going on and roars broke out as they took chase.

Drake got between them and his mates and caught a wolf and a wyvern in each hand, whirling and tossing them into the wall. He caught anything that tried to stop Quill from getting Tara out, and in a few seconds, he saw them jump out through the hole in the window. With a screech from Quill’s dragon, he knew they were safe.

Now he just had to keep them that way.

“There are more in the basement,” the wolf in front of him snarled. He made a hand gesture to a wyvern who made as if to run, and Drake looked at the ground beneath him.

Then he stomped once again, thinking of his mate and summoning all his strength as he forced his foot through the concrete. The building creaked and groaned and little shattering noises sounded all around them before the ground gave out in one huge cracking sound.

He had a second to see the shocked looks on his adversaries’ faces before he had to brace himself for a fall. He put his hands over his head as he heard the shrieks of wyverns that had been crushed under the ceiling. The walls were still up, but they were on the ground floor surrounded by piles of rubble, no available exit. And he’d keep it that way. Give Quill time to get Tara away.

You okay?
he asked Quill as the wolf leader screamed an order and the wyverns came on him at once. He transformed into his dragon, having space now in the warehouse, and they swarmed over him in huge numbers. As long as he could keep them from biting him.

He snarled and fought, shaking them off and spinning to throw them into walls.

We’re okay, thanks to you. Doing the exchange now. You?

Fine
, he lied. The wolf hadn’t been lying. There were so many of them. Too many maybe. But he’d die if it meant giving his mates a better chance.

Don’t be a hero
, Quill said.

Drake laughed. He finally understood how Quill must have felt when he was trying to fulfill his purpose and Drake, in his selfish worry for him, was trying to stop him.

Quill cared for people in general, and Drake should have understood that. Instead, he only just comprehended. He shrieked as sharp fangs sank into his back, and he whirled, shaking off the wyvern who had bit him, smashing him into the wall and killing him; they were fragile after all.

Drake could feel the poison moving through him.

You’re hurt. Let us in.

No, not until the wyverns are gone. You can’t. Did she get a power?

We don’t know yet,
Quill replied.
You’re hurt.

Just let me finish them,
Drake said.
Then it’ll be safe
. He shut off the mind connection then. He had to finish these jackasses, and he couldn’t do it if Quill was in his mind, hearing him die.

He roared as he blew fire over the mass of them. He didn’t often use fire because it sapped his strength, but it didn’t matter anymore. If he didn’t finish them, when he fell, they’d take his mates.

He blew as hard as he could, bathing the room in flames. When he finished, not a single creature was standing. He felt the poison reach his heart as it thumped hard for what felt like the last time.

He fell forward, trying to use his mind to tell Quill he was sorry.

Q
uill bent forward
in pain as Drake broke the connection. Damn him for going off and being a hero on his own.

Even if Quill himself had done it so many times, he hadn’t realized just how it would feel to have someone you cared about putting themselves in danger without you there.

So many times he’d misunderstood Drake’s rage and controlling nature. And now when he finally grasped it, they could lose him.

But he couldn’t take Tara in, not with the wyverns. He’d promised to protect their mate. He had to let Drake make the sacrifice play.

But it was the most painful thing he’d ever experienced, and he felt soul-deep guilt for every time he’d let Drake feel this because of his own stupidity. From here on, they only went out together.

He heard the roar of dragon fire, and he and Tara looked up at the building. Quill was holding her in his arms as his heart pounded and he silently prayed Drake would be all right.

After all those times when the roles had been reversed, it was what he deserved—to be the one on the outside, worrying,.

He’d wanted Drake to need him, but not like this.

When the roar of the fire died down, he looked at Tara. “Are you ready to try going in? He was bitten.”

Her eyes widened. “What happens then?”

“If we don’t get to him, he dies,” Quill said, realizing for the first time just how valuable his ability was now that wyverns were a larger part of the world.

“Then let’s go,” she said.

“Do you have a power?” he asked.

“I don’t feel any different. I mean, I feel good, happy that it’s complete. But tired from what’s happened. But I don’t… I don’t think I have a power. What would it feel like?”

Quill sighed. “I don’t even know. All right, stay behind me. I think the fight is over. And I… I have to see him.”

She nodded and followed him as he ran to the building and found a side door he could yank open. He ran into the room and gasped at the sight in front of him. Charred bodies in uncountable numbers littered the floor. And in the middle of them was Drake, facedown in a pool of dragon blood.

Wyvern poison stopped dragons from restoring themselves, stopped their blood from clotting. It would take all of Quill’s focus to save his partner. Luckily, there didn’t seem to be anyone around. He darted to his partner and Tara followed.

She knelt by Drake, brushing back his blond hair and kissing his forehead, calling his name.

Quill felt for a pulse. Nothing. The poison had stopped his heart. He listened to Drake’s chest, trying to sense the dragon within him. It was there but weak, his dragon flame nearly extinguished.

Quill wrapped his arms around him and pulled him against him, hating the vulnerable state of his normally impervious partner.

He blew dragon flame over him, making sure it touched every wound, went into every pore. He breathed over Drake’s mouth, filling him with blue fire.

He’d taken his partner’s invincibility for granted too much. It had always made him seem like the wrong partner for him because he couldn’t heal an invincible dragon. But now he knew Drake had always been perfectly right for him. Because in not having to constantly worry about Drake being okay, Quill had been able to stay calm and enjoy his existence. He’d taken it all for granted, and now it was slipping out of his fingers.

“Is he going to be okay?” Tara asked.

“I don’t know,” Quill said. But then he felt something come to life in Drake, felt his dragon fire burn brighter. A second later, he heard and felt the deep pulse of a heart coming to life. “He will. I think. But I need more time, and it’s going to take all my fire.”

“Time you won’t have,” a deep voice interrupted. “Because I’m going to finish you once and for all.”

The wyvern who’d been fighting the wolf upstairs was standing in front of them, looking barely scathed except for being covered in dust, with a few bloody scratches. He must have hid during the fight or been behind a door during the dragon fire Drake had unleashed. Coward.

Drake’s eyes fluttered open, but he was still so weak. He tried to sit up, as if, even half conscious, his need to fight for his mates was stronger than his will to live. Quill pushed him back down, not knowing what they’d do.

“Tim,” Tara said. “Just give up. You can’t win.”

“Oh, yes, I can. The wolf is out of the way. Your dragon is down for the count, and after I bite that one, you’re all mine.”

Quill heard a low growl emanating from Tara but didn’t have time to think about it before Tim launched at them, transforming into a wyvern as he jumped, his skin going scaly. Quill pushed Tara out of Tim’s path and covered Drake’s body with his own, wincing in anticipation of the sting of the wyvern’s bite on his back, but it never came.

Instead, he heard an unladylike scream as something caught Tim midair and hurled him away from them. He flew twenty feet into the brick wall, breaking it, and Quill blinked in shock and looked up to see Tara standing in front of him, dark curls in all directions as she breathed heavily.

She looked at him as if she were just as shocked as he was.

“Dragon strength,” Drake murmured. “Damn, she got my power.”

Quill shook his head. “So now I have two of you to deal with.”

He focused on blowing dragon fire over Drake again, now fairly sure he would survive, and saw Tara running out of the corner of his eye. Once again, Drake struggled to get free, but Quill restrained him, forcing him to stay in the fire as they turned to watch their mate take on the wyvern that tried running toward them one more time.

She drew back and hit Tim with an uppercut that made a cracking noise as he was flung into the air, looking nearly unconscious. Then she watched him, timing his fall, and kicked him squarely in the middle before he could land, sending him into the wall again.

This time, he didn’t move.

Quill didn’t think he would move ever again.

“I’m okay,” Drake said. “I don’t know how, but I am. Let’s get home before anything else can happen.”

“Can you fly?” Quill asked.

Drake shook his head, tense. “No. I don’t think I can shift, actually. Never mind.”

Quill laughed. “I guess I’ll just have to carry your big ass out of here.” He transformed into his dragon and beat the air a couple of times with his wings. Tara ran over to him after delivering a final kick to the man who was responsible for all of this, and Quill picked up her and Drake and lifted into the air.

The two people he cared for most in the world were really no burden at all. And once he had them safely back home again, he would never do something selfish to put all of them in jeopardy again.

He’d found his purpose, and it wasn’t healing the world, though that was nice. It wasn’t about being needed, though he now knew he was. It was about working together with the people who meant the most to him and making sure they all made it home safe together, every day.

That they were all happy.

That was the goal worth working for.

D
rake slipped
in and out of consciousness for a couple of days, and by his side, Quill watched closely to monitor his recovery. Even though Drake was going to be okay, the effects of the wyvern poison took time to wear off, and his body needed time to heal.

Never during their entire partnership had Drake been so mortally wounded before. Usually, he got away with no more than a few scuffs or cuts, no matter how difficult the mission. And Quill had always taken that for granted.

Quill hoped to never have to see him like this again.

Finally, Drake woke up in the afternoon, while Quill was lying next to him on the bed, reading. Tara was in the other room, finishing up handing off her business to a grateful friend, explaining she no longer needed the hustle and bustle in her life.

That had made Quill smile. It was going to be just them.

Drake groaned a little, then shot up to a seated position on the bed.

“Where…? What? Is Tara safe?” Drake asked, his speech slurred, his face groggy.

“Yes, yes, she’s safe. You just lie back down, partner,” Quill said, gently pushing Drake back. He obeyed and ran a hand through his hair as he shook off the sleepiness.

“Hell, how long have I been out?” Drake asked.

“Couple days,” Quill replied, putting away his book.

“Damn,” Drake replied, shaking his head. “So was I just imagining things, or did Tara save your ass back in that warehouse?”

Quill laughed. “She saved
our
asses while I was in the middle of saving
your
ass,” he corrected.

Drake laughed heartily, and the sound warmed Quill. He was already getting back to his regular self.

“Well, yeah, but not until after I got to be the hero, for once,” Drake said.

A silence fell over the room as Drake looked up at Quill, his eyes warm and blue.

“I’m sorry, Drake,” Quill said. That past couple of days had given him a lot of time to think about things, to realize how many times he’d put Drake in the position of feeling helpless. He was ready to move on.

“Sorry for what?” Drake asked, sounding better by the minute.

“For all the times I ran out on you. For all the times you had to save me from myself,” Quill said apologetically.

“No, I’m sorry for being so bossy about it. For being so controlling. All that time, you were just doing the thing you loved, the thing you felt you were born to do. Your calling.”

“Well, now I realize my calling is to be by your and Tara’s side. No matter what.”

“I’m sure we’ll work out some sort of compromise. Having two bricks for mates living under one roof can only be so fulfilling, I imagine. So when things settle down, we’ll see about coming with you so you can do your thing,” Drake said, finishing with a smile.

“Deal,” Quill replied.

“So what about our mate? How is she?” Drake asked, sounding excited and sitting up.

“Tara’s doing great. Worried about you, obviously. But now that she’s officially mated to us, she’s just been taking care of handing over her business and affairs to a friend since she won’t need it anymore. She said it was good to keep her mind busy while you recovered, but after that, she’d like to focus on missions with us.”

“Well, damn. That does sound nice. Having our mate around all the time,” Drake said to himself.

“Did someone say my name?” Tara stood in the doorway, leaning to one side and watching the two men. Her curly hair was back in a pony, a few curls escaping on either side of her face. Her dark eyes sparkled with happiness that Drake was awake and alert.

“How long have you been there?” Quill asked.

“Long enough to know someone should have told me Drake was up,” she said, coming over to the bed and jumping on it next to Drake. The two exchanged a firm embrace and a quick kiss. “I’m so glad you’re doing better,” she said, running her hand through his wild, short hair.

“Yeah, well, I’ll be doing a lot better once I have a chance to get these clothes off,” Drake said, perusing Tara’s curvy body with his eyes, making her blush. “Just as soon as I get some breakfast. Or lunch. Whatever mealtime it happens to be.”

Tara moved over Drake and sat between the two men. It felt so right having her between the two of them. A complete triad, together, ready to face whatever the future held.

“How about we meet back here in fifteen minutes?”

“I don’t know. Drake just woke up,” Quill said hesitantly, not wanting to rush despite his body’s instant response to Tara.

“Oh, so you’d rather wait?” She raised an eyebrow at Quill and then looked down at Drake.

“I’ll be done in five,” Drake responded, grinning and giving her thigh a squeeze, then hopping out of bed and heading to the kitchen.

Quill leaned over and gave Tara a kiss. “Be right back.”

W
hile Quill helped
Drake get food, she looked for something sexy to put on from the collection of clothes the dragons had bought her earlier in the week. Now that she was sure Drake was going to be all right, all she could think about was getting her two men in bed again. The last time they’d been together was so amazing, even though it was her first time truly experiencing how wonderful sex could be.

She wanted to have both of them tonight.

Tara decided on a pair of purple lace panties and
a
short, purple chiffon nightdress
that accentuated her curves. She knew both men didn’t care what she wore, but she wanted to surprise them just the same. After looking herself over in the mirror and feeling satisfied, she tiptoed over to the master bedroom, hoping to avoid her mates seeing her in the hallway.

Quill had been there for her while Drake had been recovering, comforting her and reassuring her that everything would be all right. Both of them had risked everything to come rescue her. She was just thankful she’d been able to return the favor. It hadn’t hurt that the favor involved kicking her ex’s ass into next week. But even still, she would always be grateful that her two strong dragons were still there to protect her. And always would be.

She opened the door to the master bedroom and closed it behind her, trying to not make a sound, since dragons had heightened senses. She walked toward the bed and was ready to crawl on when she was startled by a familiar voice.

“Thinking about surprising us?” Drake’s voice said behind her. She whirled around to see her two men next to the door. They’d been waiting for her. Or did they know she was planning this?

“We could hear your thoughts long before you came into the bedroom,” Quill responded, coming up to her and pulling her into his arms. She wrapped her legs around him while his hands cupped her ass. Every touch felt like fire, hotter than a dragon’s breath.

Quill’s tongue slipped inside her mouth while he held her up in his arms. He stroked inside and claimed her, making her wetter by the second.

Drake was pressed to her back, a wall of muscle and strength. He ran his hands along her soft curves and kissed the back of her neck, increasing the sensation of Quill’s tongue inside her.

After a minute, where Quill plundered her mouth wholly and made her think of many other things she wanted to do, he brought her to the bed and laid her down. She turned, sitting up on her knees, and looked at her two men.

You know what I want now,
she thought, hoping it was loud enough for them to hear.

Both of them smiled and stripped for her while she took in the sumptuous view of their ripped bodies. Drake’s hulking, bulging musculature. Quill’s corded, lithe definition. A pair of ravenous blue-green eyes and a set of deeper, purple-hued blue ones. From top to bottom, they were both perfect. Both ideal.

Her mates. Forever.

And as their eyes roved hungrily over her, it was very obvious just what they wanted right now.

Drake came down to her first, moving his hands deliciously up her body as he kissed her breasts, making her entire body writhe with pleasure and anticipation. Quill followed up, kissing the center of her thighs and pulling off the panties and dress she’d so carefully chosen.

Her entire body was burning by the time they finished undressing her, and there was something else building inside her. Something that had been increasing ever since she’d completed the mating with Quill and Drake both a couple days prior. It was near to bursting with excitement.

She wrestled Quill over and came on top of him, wanting to do to him what she and Drake had done the other night. Quill didn’t resist her, even though she knew he was probably just as strong as her, given that he was a full-blooded dragon, even if not as strong as Drake.

Quill’s eyes went wide with pleasure as she came on top of him and her hands ran down his chest, feeling every indentation and ridge of muscle, then through his soft, dark hair with its blue accents. She could scent him even better now, the smell of a cool mountain breeze through a field of budding wildflowers.

And as she did, Quill ran his hands along her body, feeling up her soft belly, her full breasts. Touching her everywhere he could grasp.

“You’re next,” she said, turning and looking at Drake. Drake just responded with a wicked smile as he came onto the bed behind her. Tara could see just how ready Quill was for her, and she was going to enjoy it.

She hovered above Quill and then slowly came down over him, reveling in the erotic feeling of his cock inside her.

A gasp was pulled involuntarily from Tara’s lips, and she saw Quill smile.

“Don’t expect me to go easy on you,” he said with a grin.

“You better not,” she replied, leaning down to kiss him on the lips again as she pulled away from his hips and then pushed down again.

Quill was amazing. Even as she started to move into a slow rhythm with him, she could feel his powers more acutely now that she was mated to him. Could sense his calming influence keeping her own burning desire from pushing her too quickly.

Each stroke was heaven, and as she enjoyed the incredible feeling of every inch of his hard length, Drake cupped her breasts from behind, lightly tweaking her nipples and squeezing them gently. So much sensation, so much pleasure…

Before Tara could process another thought, Quill pressed his hips into her, making her orgasm. It was incredible. She felt lightheaded as sensation and all-consuming pleasure washed over her, filling her completely.

Even as it slowly abated, she could still feel the intense arousal from having Quill inside her. His eyes lit up as he watched her, flickering bright blue momentarily. The color of his dragon’s eyes.

“My turn,” he said with a heated gaze, gripping her hips and picking her up with deft strength before pushing back into her. The feeling was even better when he did it. She could feel everything, could feel the pressure building inside her even more quickly this time.

Drake didn’t let up either in single-mindedly seeking her pleasure. One hand held her breast while there other stroked her belly button, which felt surprisingly good. Even his ravenous kisses across her neck and back she could feel with incredible intensity as Quill moved inside her, all the way to the hilt.

Tara could see Quill’s eyes going wider, his breathing getting more intense, and she wanted to see him come just as badly as she anticipated the orgasm building lightning fast inside her.

She started moving quickly with Quill, pushing hard onto him as he thrust into her over and over. Her breathing was so quick, the pleasure so intense, she couldn’t hold on for long.

With one final stroke, her body came apart over Quill’s as she saw stars blur her vision. A split second later, she felt Quill jerk and become even harder inside her, his entire body tensing as he held her hips as close to him as she could be.

Everything was ablaze inside, every inch of her skin, every sensitive area Quill and Drake had lavished with love. Wave after wave of pleasure coursed through her body as she came with Quill. She held on to him for dear life and screamed his name as he held her, and she could feel Drake holding her from behind as well.

The three of them together. A perfect triad.

When her body finally calmed enough for her to see clearly again, she found Quill’s eyes smiling warmly with relief and satisfaction. “So amazing, Tara. I love you,” he said sincerely.

She smiled at his expression of love, feeling the same. “And I love you too. Now, one more thing.” She carefully came off of Quill, feeling pleasantly stretched and warm all over. Her body was happy and pleasured but definitely not finished.

She turned to Drake, whose hungry gaze wandered over her body. Clearly, watching and feeling her go with Quill had been erotic for him too, and he looked more than ready to claim her as well.

“So fucking hot,” he said as he knelt in front of her, running his hands once more over her body, his eyes looking more and more heated.

Behind her, Quill sat up and came behind, running a stream of kisses down her back that made her spine tingle with pleasure.

With one powerful motion, Drake picked her up by her thighs and held her body over him, without going inside. His towering size made her feel small, protected. She wasn’t a small girl, but he held her up like she weighed nothing. But she knew he would never do anything to harm her.

He teased Tara at her entrance for a moment, a wry grin on his mouth as her breathing quickened with anticipation of having him inside again. She felt so ready for him. Quill came behind her, allowing her to prop her back against him, a wall of corded steel, as she faced Drake’s hard, bulging body.

“This is for the other night,” he said, still teasing her playfully. She could almost taste it; he was so close to being inside her. She wanted his hard, thick cock now.

Using her own dragon strength, she grasped Drake’s shoulders and pulled herself onto him. She knew it was far from the kind of strength Drake had, but if it got her what she knew they both wanted, she didn’t think he’d have any complaints.

Drake gasped lightly, a deep, powerful sound, as she pressed onto him, then gave a small laugh as his gaze locked with hers.

“You really are something, Tara. I guess this is what we get for having such a fiery woman for a mate,” he said.