Fireblood Dragon: Fire In His Blood Part 26

We are home.

We are? With a doctor?

I stole her.

I try to picture Kael leaving the human city with my bleeding body in tow, along with a terrified Amy and captive doctor.

It was not easy, he chides, amused. They screamed a lot and made a lot of noise. But I wanted to make you well.

You know you'll have to return her, right?

She does not smell as bad as other humans. She will make an acceptable mate for someone.

I hold tighter to Kael's hand. Someone else, right?

Claws touch my cheek tenderly. I will give my fire to no one but you, my Claudia.

I know that. I just like hearing it.

It takes a week before I'm able to get out of bed and move around inside our apartment. In the meantime, I'm hovered over by three very different people.

Amy, who's ecstatic to see me and even more ecstatic that I didn't die.

Kael, who's determined to hover over me and growl menacingly, just in case anyone might cause me distress.

And the medic, Melina, who hovers because I'm pretty sure she's terrified that Kael will eat her if he thinks I'm not being cared for properly.

It would all be pretty amusing if it wasn't so d.a.m.n annoying and I didn't hurt so much. The shot I took was a clean one, straight in and out, and the wound had been cauterized to prevent infection. Luckily, I hadn't been awake for that part, just the painful aftermath of it healing. But it still means that I'm weak and not able to do much on my own.

"Quit touching me," I tell Amy crabbily as she holds my arm, helping me back from the bathroom. "I'm fine." I'm not, but I'm also a terrible patient, and all I've done is snap at Amy all day and then feel guilty about it.

"You're not fine until that big dragon looks like he thinks you're fine, and I'd rather p.i.s.s you off than him."

"Kael?" I snort. "He's a big softy."

"To you, maybe," Amy says, helping me get back into bed despite my efforts to push her away. "You should have seen him freaking out when you got hurt."

I roll my eyes, wincing as I slide under the covers. I've been regaled with whispered stories from both Melina and Amy about how a very naked Kael had been acting like a madman, tearing through the city with me bleeding in his arms, bellowing "DAWK-TERRR" in that rolling voice of his. Melina had pa.s.sed out in fright, so he'd simply grabbed her and Amy both and flown back.

I can't help but grin-just a teeny, tiny bit-at that mental image. My big dragon thought it wasn't necessary to learn the human tongue because mind-speak was so much better, but maybe now he'll see the wisdom in talking to others. I reach out mentally to caress him, but he's too distant to talk to, and I feel a little twinge of loss. I keep my voice chipper, though, so Amy doesn't know how needy I'm turning. "Speaking of, where is the big lug?"

"I...I think he went off hunting. He kept pantomiming something about eating." Amy shudders delicately as she sits on the edge of my bed. "You should have seen what he did to a wild pig-"

I wave a hand, cutting her off. "Yeah, I've seen it. Trust me. After a while you start to get used to it."

Amy gives me a horrified look. "You do?"

"He's killing it before he cooks it, right?"

Her eyes go wide in horror.

"Then yes, it's better than it was before," I finish. When she makes a gagging face, I shrug. "Come on. It's more food and better than what we had in the city. And fresh."

"But...he's a monster. He's the enemy." She looks over her shoulder as if expecting a dragon to appear and flambe her simply for airing her thoughts.

I say nothing. I've had this conversation with Amy a dozen times since regaining consciousness, and every time, she makes me feel guilty. I love my sister, but right now, she's being kind of irritating and small-minded. Yes, he's a dragon. Yes, he's different than humans. Yes, he used to be crazy. But that doesn't mean he's bad. I curl my toes, thinking about Kael and how thoughtful and sweet he is. Amy just doesn't get it...yet. She will eventually. "He's a dragon, but that doesn't make him a bad guy. He's been really good to me."

"But he's claimed you, you said. Like you belong to him."

Well, there is that. But is it bad that I like being claimed? Maybe I shouldn't like it as much as I do.

"You know, Melina and I have been talking..." Amy twists her hands and averts her gaze. "The next time he leaves, we can get away, you know. We could try going back to Fort Dallas."

I sit up in bed, wincing as it pulls on my wound. "Are you f.u.c.king serious?"

"Maybe things would be better with a new mayor? Or we could always go to a different fort." She reaches out and grips my hand. "I don't want you to feel like you have to suffer for my sake. I know none of this is fair and isn't what you wanted."

I stare at my sister, our fingers laced. Here's my out. I don't have to be a dragon's mate. I don't have to endure the shocked, horrified looks that my sister and Melina give me on a regular basis. I can just get up and leave the next time Kael goes hunting, and we can sneak away, maybe to Fort Orleans instead of Fort Dallas. Be an anonymous human again. No one in particular, nothing to do with dragons.

Kael would try to find me, of course. He'd cover the ends of the earth looking for me, but there's always a chance to hide, especially amongst a city full of other dirty, smelly humans. The psychic bond would be tricky, but with distance, he wouldn't be able to locate me, I think. I could escape, really escape this time, now that I have my sister.

I...just don't want to. In fact, I find the idea appalling.

I love my dragon. My big, bossy, domineering, half-feral dragon. I don't care that he's the enemy. I don't care if it means I'm exiled from humanity for the rest of my life.

He's mine and I'm his.

A little surprised at the ferocity of my thoughts, I squeeze Amy's hand. My sister doesn't approve of Kael, and...I kind of don't care what she thinks.

So he's a bit overbearing. He's got a good heart.

So he sorta transforms into a bus-sized dragon and tends to flame goats alive as a show of his affection. His heart is in the right place.

He's also incredibly tender with me, loving, wickedly sharp with his humor, and endlessly fascinating. He protects me, and in turn, he gives me control and he listens to me. I've never felt so bada.s.s as I do when I'm on his back.

Kael is also really, really good at s.e.x. It makes me hot and squirmy just thinking about how good.

But Amy's gazing at me with intent, worried eyes, and I need to rea.s.sure her. "I don't want to go anywhere," I tell her, giving her hand a sympathetic little pat, because I know she won't understand. Not in the slightest. "I love Kael, and he loves me. I have a better life with him than if I went back to the city."

Amy gasps, her nails digging into my hand. "You can't mean that."

"I do. I mean all of it. In the city, I was just another mouth to feed, and probably a week away from whoring myself for something to eat." Like Sasha, I think unpleasantly but don't say it aloud. I still need to talk to Kael, find out how Sasha is. If she needs rescuing from Dakh. "But it's not like that with Kael. Here, I'm fed, pampered, and adored. I'm his entire world, Amy...and he's becoming mine." I give my sister an apologetic smile. "I hope you understand."

"He's not human."

Yeah, I noticed that part," I say drily.

She blushes bright red. "I just...I just don't understand."

"I know. Maybe you will in time."

She nods quietly and gives my hand another squeeze. "I just...you know. Wanted to make sure you were happy."

"Of course," I say, still smiling. I know my sister doesn't get it. It's okay. As long as I do, it doesn't matter.

"I'm going to, um, check on the tea." Amy gets up from her chair and limps over to the fireplace, and I feel a twinge of guilt. Amy would never be so selfish as to ask what about me, but I know the thought has to be going through her mind. This is the first decision I've ever made that didn't put Amy before me.

It's...odd.

I know things aren't perfect for her. I know both she and Melina have to wear my dirty clothing to cover the smell of them, because Kael's worried other dragons will pick up their scent on the air and come looking for mates. I know they have to be extra careful with everything they do, and wash several times a day with my prized shampoos. But they're safe here. They just need to realize that.

I snuggle deeper into the blankets, wincing when my side twinges again. I think about Kael and how it's been a few days since he's held me while I sleep. I miss it. Well, among other things. I can feel myself blus.h.i.+ng, and I press my thighs tighter together.

As if my thoughts have summoned him, the shadow of my dragon circles lazily overhead, even as I feel his thoughts brush against mine. I sit up straighter in bed, resisting the urge to fix my hair. I probably look like h.e.l.l from a week of being an invalid. I don't want him to look at me and see a weak, fragile human. I want him to see his mate, to be happy when he looks at me.

Because I'm going to tell him that I love him and I'm staying, and it feels like an important moment. But it also needs to be an intimate one. I glance over at Amy, who's pouring two cups of tea over by the fire.

Kael settles high on the roof above, his shadow falling over the open cooking area that we still haven't figured out how to cover yet. To my surprise, he drops his kill, and the dead deer thumps to the ground next to Amy, who drops the tea kettle and stumbles backward. I wait for him to switch to his human form, but instead, he swoops low, claws extended, and grabs Amy.

My sister shrieks in alarm.

32.

CLAUDIA.

Oh my G.o.d. Kael? What are you doing? I struggle to sit up in bed, alarmed as my dragon flies off with my sister.

I heard your thoughts. I saw your mental images. His mind is a naughty purr in my own. I am going to claim my mate, and I do not wish for onlookers to be nearby as I make you scream with pleasure.

Eek. I suppress a horrified-and pleased-giggle. A little warning next time? Amy's probably frightened out of her wits. And where is Melina?

I am taking your sister to her. They are in a safe place. There is a building nearby that has a heavy stink to it that will disguise their scents. I will retrieve them when I have pleasured you.

Poor Amy. Poor Melina. But...I can't be all that sorry. My mind is flas.h.i.+ng full of l.u.s.tful thoughts that filter in through our connection, of his clawed hand curling in my hair as he pulls my head back and drives into me from behind. Of my b.r.e.a.s.t.s bouncing with each thrust, and my wild screams as he makes me come.

Okay, yeah, it's probably a good thing he's making Amy and Melina leave. If it's safe, we need to set them up with a home of their own, I suggest. So I have more time with my mate. I hear he misses me.

My c.o.c.k misses his home between your legs, he tells me from far away, and it's so strongly projected into my mind it's like he's here instead of flying away with Amy.

The visuals he sends make me giggle with embarra.s.sment. His home?

It is where I belong, Kael sends, amused. Where he belongs, too. Do you disagree?

Not at all. But I don't know how much I'm going to be able to partic.i.p.ate with my side hurting. I'm still weak, too, but I feel like a wimp in admitting that. Maybe we should wait.

We are not waiting, my dragon says imperiously. And I shall do everything. It would give me great pleasure to put my head between your thighs and make you cry out.

What about you?

All you need to do is lie back and let me touch you. That will be my pleasure.

Well, how can I resist such a compelling argument? I've been bedridden for the last week and aching, so I haven't felt all that s.e.xy. But hearing his thoughts and his desire is making mine return in a rush. Hurry, I tell him. Or I'm going to start without you. I put my hands on my b.r.e.a.s.t.s and lazily tease the tips with slow circling motions, mentally projecting the image back to him.

A low, draconic groan ripples through my mind. Cruel, sweet mate.

Cruel, am I? I avoid my throbbing side and slide a hand down my belly, pus.h.i.+ng into the waistband of my panties. He finds my undergarments ridiculous, viewing them as useless bits of clothing, but I like them. Any kind of clothing is a luxury not to be wasted, so I wear them. I let my fingers brush against the curls of my p.u.s.s.y and then slip a finger between my folds. Not wet enough yet. I think of Kael kneeling between my legs, my fingers teasing his hair as he pushes his face into my p.u.s.s.y and begins to ravenously lick me.

That does the trick. Thinking of that makes me wet in moments. I moan and flick a finger over my c.l.i.t, my other hand on my breast, squeezing it. How much longer are you going to be?

Too long.

I chuckle at the tortured sound of his thoughts. Please don't drop my sister in your haste.

You are the cruelest of mates, he teases.

Am I? I tease back. And here I thought I was just feeling so much better. I continue to stroke myself, biting my lip and wis.h.i.+ng desperately that Kael was here to do it for me.

When the shadow of a dragon pa.s.ses overhead, my entire body quivers with excitement. Finally. I keep touching myself, even as Kael lands in his usual spot and transforms to his human form, thumping to the ground. I keep touching, because I want him to see me stroking my p.u.s.s.y at the thought of him.

He stands slowly, stretching to his full height, and I gasp to see he's already magnificently erect, his eyes dark with l.u.s.t. "Claudia," he murmurs, stalking toward me, and for the barest of moments, I feel like prey.

s.e.xy, s.e.xy prey. It only makes me wetter. I slide my fingers over my c.l.i.t even faster, breathing hard as he moves to the side of the bed and jerks the blankets off of me. He gazes down at my sprawled legs. I'm wearing nothing but a T-s.h.i.+rt and panties, and my T-s.h.i.+rt's hiked up so I can play with my b.r.e.a.s.t.s, my hand in my panties. It's not my most dignified moment. Don't care.

His eyes blaze with need. Your wound?

Who cares? I tell him, still rubbing my c.l.i.t fiercely.

His jaw clenches. I care. He moves onto the bed carefully, his large form dwarfing my own.

In the next moment, my mind fills with images of him grabbing my knees and pus.h.i.+ng them apart, then dragging his mouth over my core. I moan at those vivid images, but he doesn't do any of that. In fact, he's not even touching me yet. It's just mental foreplay, and it's a unique kind of torture all its own. Kael leans in and examines my bandaged wound, ignoring my feverish masturbation and his own erection. Does this pain you? His gaze flicks to mine.

Not as much as this does, I tell him, dragging a slick finger through my folds. My movements make a wet sound, and I could swear he visibly tenses at the sound. Good. So he's not immune to my display.

I must be gentle with you today, he tells me, leaning in and nuzzling at my neck. Though every scale on my hide demands that I throw you down and shove into you so I can fill you with my release.

His rough words are at odds with the gentleness of his touch, and I whimper. "You don't have to be that gentle."