Mated To The Alpha Dragon (A BBW Paranormal Romance) (6 page)

            But suddenly, to my extreme dismay, he removed his hands and stepped back from me, his breathing ragged. "No. We have to stop, right now. We can't make love."

C
HAPTER SIX

    "We can't make love, Kate. I'm sorry."

            I looked at Victor in the candlelight, unable to even respond for a moment. "But... why?"

            Wincing, he went over to the dresser, got some clothes out, and headed over to the door. "Let's get changed and ready for bed. You can take the master bathroom, and I'll take the other. Then we'll talk."

            I nodded, absolutely baffled. "Okay."

            Without saying anything else, he left. Moving mechanically, I went over to the dresser, located drawers containing my own clothes, and got pajamas out. Staff members had unpacked all my things earlier that day.

            In the master bathroom, I took the diamond pins out of my hair, used the restroom, dressed, brushed my teeth, and washed my face. All the while wondering if I'd done something wrong. I left the bathroom, blew out the candles on the dresser, and climbed into Victor's large comfortable bed, alone, because he wasn't there yet. But within a minute or so, he climbed in next to me in the dark. He didn't speak right away.

            "I'm so sorry for cutting things off so... abruptly like that. I'm sorrier than you can imagine."

            "But why did you? Did I do something wrong?"

            "No. No. Not at all. Not even remotely. You could never."

            "Then, why?"

            He took a deep breath. "I just think we shouldn't rush things. I think we should just take our time. Continue to get to know each other better. After all, why should we have to rush? We're married; we have all the time in the world. And this way, I think it'll be even better once things...." He cleared his throat. "Progress."

            I supposed he was right. Everything he'd said did make sense.

            "Okay. We can take our time. And you're right; it'll probably be even better this way. But... just swear to me. Swear to me that this has nothing to do with anything I might have done wrong."

            "You did nothing wrong. Nothing. And in fact... exactly the opposite. I swear that on my life."

            Satisfied, I said okay. And then I stifled a yawn. It had been a long day.

            Victor rolled over and gave me a quick kiss. "Goodnight."

            "Goodnight."

            To my disappointment, he rolled over again, away from me. I'd kind of been hoping he might throw an arm around me and hold me while we slept. But I figured maybe he was just as exhausted as I was starting to feel, and maybe he was the type of person who slept better not curled up with anyone. But just for the future, just for the next hundred-something years I was now going to spend with him as his wife, I really hoped this wasn't the case.

            Resolving to stop thinking about everything until morning, I shut my eyes and soon fell asleep. But it wasn't a deep sleep. And I awoke several times during the night. Each time, I listened to Victor's breathing, having a feeling he was awake, too, and wanting to snuggle up against him. But each time, I decided not to, just on the chance that he wasn't actually awake and the movement would wake him up.

            When I woke up for the final time, it was a little past seven. And Victor was gone. But after I'd rolled out of bed and turned on the light, I saw that near my pillow lay a cluster of pink flowers tied with a white ribbon. A note, folded in half, sat propped up against them. I picked it up and read it, smiling.

           
Kate,

                    
I hope you have a day even a fraction as beautiful as you are.

                                                                 
Love, Victor

           
He wrote with bold, heavy script. It was very masculine handwriting. It reminded me of him. I kissed the note and tucked it under my pillow. And then I got back into bed for a little while and dozed, curled up with the part of the blanket that still held Victor's scent.

            I didn't see him at all that day. Julia showed me around to all the different parts of Stonebrook that we hadn't had time to tour the day I'd arrived. People greeted me as Lady Kate. While having lunch with Julia and Elizabeth in Julia and Sam's rooms, they both teased me, asking things like did I happen to be unusually tired. I laughed a little and said yes, because I actually kind of was, though not because of the reason they were thinking of. I didn't feel like sharing that I was tired because I'd slept poorly after not making love with my husband on our wedding night.

            But later, when it was just Julia and I in the hot springs, I came clean. Mostly because she'd noticed that I'd been somewhat quiet that day, and she kept asking me if anything was wrong. And honestly, I also felt a little need to unburden myself to a friend.

            After I'd spilled the previous night's events to her, she looked thoughtful for a short while before speaking. "I guess that all makes sense. And maybe Victor's on to something. When Sam and I got married, even though I loved him from the moment we took our vows, things did happen really quickly physically, and... I don't know. Even though everything physically was good from the beginning... really, really good, actually, maybe it
was
slightly... I don't know. Overwhelming? Maybe. And not that I have any big regrets at all, really, but I guess if I could change one tiny thing, maybe I would have waited an extra day or two. Just a little extra time getting to know each other first. Just a little extra time to let the anticipation build. And that's probably just what Victor's thinking."

            I sank a little deeper into the warm water, realizing she was right. No harm in letting a little anticipation build. No harm in getting to know each other a little better first. A weight seemed to lift from my heart. I felt happier than I had all day.

            And that happiness only grew when Julia and I ran into Sam on our way back from the hot springs and he said that he and Victor had just returned from a scouting trip a few miles north of the mountains. A few Oppressors had been spotted by Keeper scouts the day before; two had been spotted in a wooded area and one had been seen in the clouds. Oppressor sorcerers had the ability to fly.

            Sam grinned. "Nothing we can't handle, though. They all but ran from us today. Didn't even try any spells."

            Soon, after making plans to meet up with Julia again the next day, I dashed down the hallway to my rooms, eager to see Victor and spend time with him. And judging by the smile he gave me when I walked in the door, he was eager to spend time with me, too.

            I cooked dinner for us in our spacious kitchen, wanting to impress him with my cooking skills. After we'd sat down at the dining room table, he took a bite of the chicken dish I'd made and declared it phenomenal. And he looked like he genuinely meant it. My heart soared.

            During the meal, I asked him different things about the Oppressors, and he told me a little about the scouting expedition that day, and what he and his men had to do on a regular basis to ensure that Oppressor scouts never reached the mountains.

            "I want to keep Stonebrook a place of absolute safety. Especially now that you're here."

            We lingered over dinner, talking more and even having a few laughs about different things later on. Afterward, Victor insisted on cleaning up the table and doing the dishes.

            I frowned. "Well, thank you but... that doesn't seem exactly right. You're a lord. I'll just do them."

            He came over to me and took me in his arms, his charcoal eyes twinkling. "You're forgetting something. I may be a lord, but you're a lady. And you should be treated like one every minute of every day. No doing dishes for you. Ever. And I mean that."

            I fought a smile. "And if you come home one day to find I've washed a plate, you'll do what?"

            The corners of his mouth twitched with amusement.

            "Feed you to the Oppressors, of course. One sweet...." He bent his head and gave me a kiss. "Luscious...." He gave me another kiss. "Morsel at a time."

            I giggled, and he kissed me again, this one becoming a little deeper. I wrapped my arms around his strong shoulders and pressed the front of my body against his. With a growl rumbling in his chest, he parted my lips and began kissing me even more intensely.

            But then he broke the kiss abruptly, and released me. "Why don't you take a nice long bubble bath. I'll clean up."

            Disappointed once again, I did take a long bubble bath, even though I'd been in the hot springs for at least an hour that day. I tried to read a book while I soaked, but I couldn't really get into it.

            Once I'd toweled off and dressed in pajamas, I got into bed with the lights off, waiting for Victor. I ended up waiting a long time. I started thinking that maybe he wanted me to fall asleep before he came in. And if that was his plan, I played right into it. Because I did fall asleep. Alone.

            In the morning, he was gone when I awoke, and again, I didn't see him all day. He wasn't even home in time for dinner. But then again, neither were Sam and several others of Victor's right-hand men. The Oppressors were causing more trouble.

            Julia and I ate dinner at her place. I got into bed around ten that night, crabby. I'd nearly fallen asleep when Victor finally came home and quietly got into bed beside me, his back turned. I opened my eyes in the dark and stared out at nothing for quite a while before finally beginning to drift off again.

            The next couple of days went by very similarly. Victor had a cavern converted into an art studio for me, like he'd said he would, but I didn't feel very much like painting. Julia, Elizabeth, and I began having long daily picnics outside, always with a Keeper nearby who constantly surveyed the sky, watching for Oppressors, but I really didn't enjoy the outings much, even though it was spring, and the weather was lovely.

            Every day, Julia assured me that Victor probably still just wanted to take things really slow and that things would heat up and get better very soon. I tried to make myself believe her, but it was starting to seem less like Victor wanted to take things slow with me, and more like he was wanting to straight up avoid me. Even if he and his men
were
busy keeping the Oppressors under control.

            A couple more days went by. Julia's reassurances became weaker and weaker, and finally she admitted she really couldn't figure out what could possibly be going on with Victor.

            And by the first day of the second week since the wedding, I was feeling very frustrated, and in more ways than one. I made a decision. When Victor returned to our rooms that evening, I was waiting for him in the living room. I didn't even say hello.

            "I'm going back to Haverbrook. And you can get this sham of a marriage annulled if you like, or not; I really don't care either way. But I'm going home. And you can't stop me."

C
HAPTER SEVEN

   Victor came over to me in the living room, frowning. "Kate, please. I'm very sorry. Let's talk."

            I folded my arms across my chest. "Nothing to talk about. I've been thinking about this whole situation all day, and think I get it now. I think I understand everything crystal clear. You were hoping for a more sexually experienced woman. And when I told you that I wasn't, you were disappointed, even though you hid it. And now you just don't know what to do with me. Now, you don't want anything to do with me."

            "Kate, I-"

            "Oh, and I have another theory. And maybe the first one's still true, but this is just another part of it. I think you saw me on our wedding night, when I was wearing nothing but a bra and underwear, and I think you...." I paused, my voice suddenly getting wobbly. "I think you just didn't find my body attractive. I think it just didn't do it for you."

            I blinked back a little moisture in my eyes.

            Victor put his hands on my shoulders, his expression one of misery. "Please. Let's talk. I'm begging you."

            I didn't respond, folding my arms across my chest even tighter, and he gently guided me to sit on the couch, taking a seat next to me.

            "Please. Will you let me ask you a question?"

            I sniffed, my eyes still watery. "I guess."

            "All right, then. The question is this. Did anything you just said really ring true to you? Do you really believe in your heart that your theories are correct?"

            I didn't answer. Because honestly, I
didn't
believe in my heart that my theories were correct. But I couldn't think of any other reason why Victor had been avoiding me.

            He lifted my chin to make me look at him. "Do you really believe that your theories are true? Do they feel true?"

            Suddenly angry again, I pulled my chin away. "Well, I'm not sure. But if you're so certain that they're
not
true, why don't you tell me the real reason that you...." My voice began cracking again. "That you won't... make love to me."

            Victor cringed. "You're a thousand percent right. I do owe you an explanation, and I'm so sorry and ashamed that I've hurt you."

            "Then tell it. Tell me your explanation."

            "All right. When I told you on our wedding night that your sexual inexperience didn't bother me, I meant it. And in fact, it... it actually rather excites me. It excites me to think how I might...." He paused, his face reddening just slightly. "Introduce you to some things. It excites me...." He swallowed, clenching his strong jaw. "Tremendously. And you couldn't be any more wrong in your thinking that I don't find your body attractive. You're just... you're galaxies beyond wrong. I can't even look at your body from across the room without becoming...." He swallowed again. "Incredibly aroused. Just from looking at you."

            I was slowly starting to become convinced. Or at least slowly starting to entertain the idea of becoming convinced.

            "So why won't you make love to me, then? Why have you been avoiding me?"

            Victor took a deep breath. "Well... I'm not sure exactly what you may or may not have heard about this, but... shifter dragons possess greatly increased appetites. Appetites for... for relations."

            I thought how that made it even weirder that he hadn't made love to me yet. But I didn't say it, eager to hear what he had to say next.

            "These appetites can be satisfied, of course, but it's not long before the appetite returns. It returns in much shorter length of time than for a human man. And as all the women in Stonebrook are married, and as I've obviously taken many, many years in my choosing of a wife, because I was waiting for a girl I knew I could love with all my heart for the rest of my life, because I was waiting for
you
, well... I'm sure you can imagine the level of sexual frustration I've had to live with for a very, very, very long time. But actually, I take that back, and I'm unrepentant about this. You
can't
imagine the level of sexual frustration I've had to live with. I'm sorry, but you can't. All I can say is... my level of sexual frustration has been profound. And that's not nearly even a strong enough word. But unfortunately, no word strong enough exists. Kate, the reason I haven't made love to you is because I'm afraid. And this is me, who has a reputation for not being afraid of anything. But it's true. I'm afraid. When you told me on our wedding night that you're inexperienced, I began to worry about the...." He paused, swallowing. "The intensity of my passion. I began to worry that this intensity would overwhelm you, and even trouble you or frighten you, and push you away. I became afraid that I could lose you. And I still am. And I know I should have come out with this sooner, but... I guess I've been somewhat embarrassed. I pride myself on being strong and in control at all times, and here I am, afraid that I may lose control to the extent that I might scare my own wife and drive her away."

            I sat, considering his words, my heart softening. And actually softening a great deal. But then I remembered something.

            "Hey. Even if this is all true, this is so unfair. You say you didn't tell me all this because you were kind of embarrassed, but on our wedding night, I told
you
about my inexperience and about my fears about not pleasing you, even though
I
was embarrassed. That would have been a great time for you to share all this with me. We could have been embarrassed together."

            Victor winced. "You're absolutely right. I made my first blunder as a husband then, and it was a big one. Please believe me... I'm so sorry."

            Fuming, I stood up from the couch and began pacing across the cream-colored rugs in the living room. "I actually don't know what to believe anymore. I actually don't know what to believe anymore, because you couldn't even be honest with me on our wedding night. I don't even know whether or not to believe if all that you just told me is the truth."

            "Kate, it is; I swear it. The reason I haven't made love to you is because I'm extremely in love with you; your body drives me literally half-mad; and I'm terrified of pushing you away with the intensity of my passion once it's finally released."

            I stopped pacing and looked him directly in the eyes, my hands on my hips. "Oh, is that a fact?"

            "It is a fact. A very, very... intensely frustrating fact."

            "Oh, yeah? Well, then, prove it."

            "I-"

            "Prove it!"

            "All right, then. I will. But I've warned you."

            "Good!"

            I fully realized my retort didn't make a whole lot of sense. But I didn't care.

            "Good! Prove to me how turned on I make you, because I don't believe you!"

            Suddenly, Victor rose from the couch, crossed the distance between us in three long strides, and then took me by the face and kissed me. With an intensity that left me nearly breathless when he pulled away several seconds later.

            I looked up at him, head spinning a little. "Still not convinced. Try harder."

            He kissed me again, moving his hands to my bottom, pulling me against his already-rock-hard manhood. When he pulled away this time, his voice was a husky growl. "Convinced yet?"

            I shook my head, his woodsy, masculine scent filling my nostrils. "No. Again."

            He kissed me a third time, parting my lips and exploring my mouth with his tongue. I moaned into his mouth, pressing myself against his hardness. He slid his hands down the back of my jeans and underwear and began caressing my bare bottom, his hands perceptibly shaking.

            This time, I broke the kiss, an ache developing low in my belly. "Please. Bedroom. Now. Still not quite convinced."

            He scooped me up as if I were as light as a paper doll and carried me into the bedroom, kissing me the entire time. After setting me down on the bed, he began hurriedly lighting the candles on the dresser, filling the room with soft, golden light. The task didn't take him long at all, but by the time he turned around, I was already missing my shirt, jeans, and socks. I'd ripped everything off and threw it all on the floor, desperate to feel his strong hands all over my skin. He took one look and me and began ripping his own clothes off, taking his gaze off me for only the briefest fractions of seconds. But when he got down to his boxer briefs, I sprang up and took his hands to stop him.

            "Can I?"

            He grunted his permission, his eyes glassy and his breathing heavy. I crawled off the bed, stood before him, and took the sides of his underwear in my hands. With my gaze locked on his front, I pulled them down slowly, my own breathing becoming a little heavy. I sucked in my breath when I saw his fully erect manhood. Thick and long, it pointed skyward, straight as a steel rod. Before I even fully realized what I was doing, I wrapped my hand around it, making him throw back his head, groaning. I moved my hand up and down the length of it a few times, eliciting an even louder groan. His hands trembling even more than they had been before, Victor pulled down my underwear, and I stepped out of them while he did the same with his own before unfastening my bra, taking it off, and letting it drop to the floor.

            We now both stood completely naked, our breathing becoming increasingly fast and ragged. Victor surveyed my full breasts and hardened nipples with a growl. I continued stroking his manhood while watching the action of my hand, the ache low in my belly intensifying. The bud at the center of my womanhood began throbbing. Victor moved his hands to my breasts and began circling my nipples with his thumbs, the sensation making me whimper with pleasure.

            "Now touch me lower. Please."

            He moved a hand to the swollen feminine folds between my thighs and began probing my slickness with his long, strong fingers. When he located my aching sensitive bud and began slowly stroking it, I released his hardness, throwing my head back and crying out. After probably not even half a minute, I could hardly take it anymore, the ache low in my belly becoming nearly unbearable.

            "Please. I need you inside me now." The next words out of my mouth kind of tumbled out before I could even think about them, shocking me with their boldness. "I want you to take me from behind. I want to be on my hands and knees."

            Sometimes late at night, in bed by myself, I had fantasized about being taken in this position.

            His breathing now coming out more as a series of fast, low growls, Victor guided me onto the bed and climbed up behind me. Too desperate to feel him inside me to even be the slightest bit self-conscious, I raised myself on all fours, arching my back, presenting him with the parted lips of my womanhood. Needing no further invitation, he positioned the head of his shaft at my slick opening and then slid in with one long, powerful thrust, groaning. I cried out, reveling in the sensation of being so completely and intimately filled. After pausing for a few moments to let me get used to his size and hardness, Victor gripped my hips and began thrusting with long, slow, powerful strokes, nearly pulling himself out all the way before plunging into my slickness once again.

            But before long, his thrusts became shorter and faster. I moaned with pleasure, my breasts bouncing. The candlelight created a shadow of our joined bodies on one of the stone walls, and I watched the erotic image for a little while before lowering my face and elbows to the bed, panting, raising my bottom even higher in the air. Several minutes later, I felt myself approaching climax, and at the same time, Victor slowed his pace, grunting, his movements becoming a little less smooth. But he didn't stop. And with coordination I never even dreamed was possible, he reached around and began stroking my sensitive bud while he continued thrusting. The sensation of being stroked and filled at once almost immediately sent me over the edge, and I cried out, my most intimate muscles clenching and releasing around his rock-hard shaft. With a long, loud growl, he thrust into me one final time, deep, shuddering with his own climax.

            After several seconds resting with his body draped over my back, Victor rolled off me and pulled me into his arms.

            "Convinced yet?"

            I didn't answer right away, still panting, trying to catch my breath. "For now. But ask me again in ten minutes."

            We made love several more times that night, each time in a different position. Before the final time, Victor guided me to lie on my back, then spread my legs, and positioned his face right above my feminine mound. When he gently parted my outer lips and began flicking his tongue across my most sensitive spot, I moaned probably longer and louder than I ever had in my life, clutching and twisting the bedsheets. Later, he and I agreed that this was probably an activity that we should engage in at least once daily, to help in my convincing.

            We didn't fall asleep until nearly five in the morning. The last thing I said to Victor was that the intensity of his passion hadn't pushed me away at all, and that in fact, I thought I could get very, very used to it. He tightened his strong arms around me, twining his long fingers with mine.