Her Dragon Temptation (Alpha Protectors Book 7) Read online

  “Think very carefully about what you’re going to say next, Mr.,” she cautioned, giving me her equivalent of a tough look, but barely rating above a kitten.

  A chuckle broke free, low and soft. “I love it that you’re full of life, sassing me back, not taking my bullshit.” I dragged her a little closer, the lump inside my chest thawing at the confusion in her eyes. “And it’s hot as fuck,” I added on a growl.

  She tilted her head back to look up at me. “Don’t try and sweet talk me.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because it’s confusing. Only say it if you mean it.”

  “You should walk away.”

  “Why? I like it here.” She laughed at the way my mouth dropped open, adding, “I like the scenery.”

  I cocked my head, considering her. My fingers spread around her waist, dragging her a little closer, until our hips almost bumped. “Do you, now?”

  “Yep. It’s pretty.”

  “Minx.” Our hips touched, or rather my hips bumped against her soft stomach. The damn woman was tiny.

  “Jaded asshole,” she shot back, but it lacked any real heat. Or rather, any heat that wasn’t of the sinful kind.

  “What am I going to do about you?” I mused, resisting the urge to stroke my chin for effect because it would mean letting go of her. “What can I do to convince you that this isn’t a choice you want to make?”

  “So, I have a choice then?”

  “That depends. Do you like me?”

  She pulled a face. “Really? You want me to say it?”

  “Okay. Let me do one better: do you love me?” I held my breath, waiting for her answer. She was my true mate, we were made for one another, but it didn’t mean we had to fall in love. She was human. This might be a passing fancy for her, an infatuation, a way to scratch a particular itch.

  “You really went for it, didn’t you?”

  “I need you to answer me, Faye.”

  “Why? So you can laugh at the poor, silly human woman who’s fallen for the big, powerful shifter?”

  “You’ve got it all wrong. I’m not a big, powerful shifter. Without my dragon, I’m as human as you.”

  She snorted, telling me exactly what she thought of that. “Hardly. You’ve still got the super strength, sonic hearing, x-ray vision, and a metabolism that means you can eat anything you want and not gain an ounce.”

  “Something tells me it’s the metabolism that you’re the most jealous of?”

  “Of course! What woman wouldn’t dream of being able to eat all the carbs she wanted without worrying.”

  This time my curses were directed at her idiot of an ex-husband. How could she possibly think of herself as anything but perfect? “But, sweetheart, you don’t have to worry about a thing. You are the most delectable and exquisite woman I’ve ever laid eyes on. You have an amazing figure; what I wouldn’t give to kiss and lick every inch of your curves, to fill my hands and feast on you. I won’t have you lying about yourself like this,” I growled.

  “But—”

  “I have x-ray vision, remember?” I added with a wink. “And I’ve been watching you for days, believe me when I say I have memorized every inch of creamy skin you’ve exposed, and every dip and sway of your body that you’ve ruthlessly hidden away under your jeans and sexy skirts and blouses.”

  “I think I have. I might.” Her words tumbled out. Her face turned a funny shade of red, her eyes squinting as if she wasn’t sure whether to keep them open, or close them tight.

  It was my turn to look confused. “Have what?”

  “Love,” she squeaked out past lips glued into a straight line.

  “You…?” Holding her at arms length, I examined her face.

  She squirmed under my assessment, chewing away at that damned lip again. “Yep. I didn’t mean to. I didn’t even think I had.”

  “Then … how?” Wonder colored my words. How could she?

  “Do I know?” At my mute nod, she continued, “I know you don’t want me to, you’ve made that pretty damn clear, and I definitely didn’t want to. Nope. No more men for me, not after my lousy, waste of a space ex-husband. But … there you were. You needed me, but you didn’t want me. You lied, but you didn’t do it to hurt me. You showed me you cared, while pushing me away with your words. So, I closed my ears and listened to what you were really saying. I—I can’t help my heart, Bastian.” Her voice, so strong through her speech, trembled at the last hurdle, giving away the utter terror she must be feeling bearing her soul like this.

  Not knowing if I felt the same.

  Not knowing if I would reject her, or ravage her.

  Not even knowing that she was my true mate.

  She accepted me for what I was—half the man I used to be. She didn’t expect anything more than for me to be the best version of myself that I possibly could be. Fuck that, she demanded it from me.

  And it was enough for her.

  Could it be enough for me?

  Faye

  I didn’t know what the hell had possessed me to blurt everything out, but it had felt right. Something deep down inside had calmly informed me that I had to trust my instincts, that if I didn’t take this leap of faith, I’d regret it forever. But it was the kind of blind faith that had my stomach churning and pulse racing as I hovered on the ledge I’d neatly deposited myself on, waiting for him to either drag me back to safety, or push me over to fall into an oblivion of loneliness and heartbreak.

  I’d given him all the power. He had the power to break me with one single word.

  But I’d needed him to know: that he was deserving of love, that he could be loved.

  That he wasn’t lost and alone anymore, unless he wanted to be.

  Words stuck in my throat, clinging to my tongue. I’d said enough, it was his turn, but he wasn’t saying anything either. He was just looking at me with a face wiped clean of any hint at what he was feeling. His fingers tightened around my shoulders, his mouth parted and his lips went soft. Silver flickered in his eyes, swirling and shining in the dark, glowing with an otherworldly light that mesmerized me.

  The night air clung to me, the almost blindness it provided cushioning me from the real world around me.

  The silence dragged on, taunting me.

  Foolish! I lowered my eyes, unwilling to watch his face soften as he searched for the words to let me down gently. Because he would be gentle. Considerate. That was the kind of man he was, not this facade he showed the world.

  “I shouldn’t—”

  “Then don’t,” I forced out past the lump in my throat.

  “Because you deserve so much more. But I do.”

  My head jerked up. “You do?” It came out a whisper, a hope floating through the air.

  “I tried not to. I was never meant for love, sweetheart.”

  What was he saying? My pulse sped up, skipping erratically.

  “I lost the gamble, and you’re the one that’s going to have to live with the consequences.”

  “I don’t care about what you did before, don’t you see—”

  He cut me off with a wry smile, “Not that gamble.”

  “Oh.” My head spun, trying to keep up.

  “I gambled with my heart, even though I didn’t know the stakes, didn’t even know I was playing, and you won, sweetheart.” He searched my face, intensity burning in his eyes. “It’s not too late for you to reset the game, if you really want to.”

  I leaned forward, pulled by the flicker of vulnerability. “Why would I want to do that?”

  “Like I said, there are consequences.” He lifted one shoulder in a half shrug, his dark hair falling down into his eyes.

  “And those are?”

  “Me. As your mate. Forever.”

  A shiver ran down my spine at the thought of spending my days with this man. At being able to touch and kiss him whenever I wanted to, him touching and kissing me, taking me to bed and exploring together. “Mate? I thought shifters only mated their…”

  “
True mates? Yep.”

  My mouth fell open, lips flapping in the wind. “Me? Us?”

  “You. I suspected the moment I saw you, and I knew for certain the second our lips met. You’re mine and I’m yours.”

  “You didn’t say anything!” And that hurt, like a punch to the stomach. He’d removed me from the decision making process entirely.

  “I was trying to save you from me.” He spoke slowly, as though explaining the laws of quantum physics to a kindergartener.

  “I don’t need saving! Asshole,” I added under my breath.

  “Correct answer.” His mouth crashed down on mine, his one hand sliding around my waist and yanking me up against his hard chest, and his other hand smoothing across my cheek and trailing down along my jaw. His warm breath heated my skin, firm lips nibbling and smoothing across mine, coaxing and entreating, daring me to answer. His skin was rough with days old stubble that prickled my lips and chin. His strong arms held me, surrounding me and anchoring me to the here and now. Air crashed in and out of my lungs, sensations trickling out through my limbs, dancing across my skin, and tingling with every stifled groan and sharp intake of breath. His or mine, I didn’t know. I began where he ended, and he in turn.

  Lust bubbled up in my stomach, sweet and hot and oh so tempting. A gentle press against his chest and he pulled away, but not too far, enough that I could speak, but not miss him. This close his features blurred, his eyes the only thing still clear and sharp. “What does this mean?” I asked, tempering the urge to drag him back down and finish what he’d started.

  “You only have to say yes.”

  “Then what?”

  His voice dropped to a low, throaty growl, “Then … we mate.”

  Chapter Eight

  Bastian

  I was flying higher than I’d ever flown as a dragon, soaring through the clouds, high on joy and love.

  Yes.

  She’d said yes!

  Now I was running with Faye tucked against my chest, her hands wrapped around me and mouth nibbling distractingly at my throat, her soft little sighs heating my blood to a rapid boil. I’d refused to take her there and then on the dusty lane, nor would I carry her into the forest and press her up against a tree. Though I’d filed away the idea for later.

  The first time we came together it would be special. It would be an event goddamn worthy of the woman who’d agreed to become my mate. I would show her with my body how much she meant to me, even if it killed me.

  “Bash?”

  “Do you have to call me that?” I grunted, slamming through the front door and taking the steps two at a time.

  Her hand caressed my cheek, her nails dragging across the rough stubble.

  I should shave. I could hurt her.

  “Bastian!”

  I was already on my way to the bathroom, having deposited her on the bed. I eyed the room critically, trying to see it through her eyes. A large wooden four poster bed, dark navy blue linen, solid oak dresser, and not much else, since I’d sold everything. It was lacking refinement and warmth, something I hadn’t even cared about until right now, having only considered it a room to pass out in after a late night. She was staring at me as if waiting for something. “Yes?” Even I could hear I sounded distracted. But if this was really all I could offer her, she—

  “Bash! Look at me.”

  Demanding little thing. I dragged my eyes away from cataloguing my home’s many faults, back to the woman kneeled up on the bed. “You deserve so much more than this. I’m virtually bankrupt, a shifter whose beast has deserted him, and I’m a drunk.”

  “You’re not really a drunk, and haven’t we covered all this? Wait a minute, are you getting cold feet?” She slumped back onto her heels, her eyes widening in a way that would have been comical, if not for her obvious distress.

  “No. I’m not. I…” I tried to put it into words, finally throwing my hands in the air on a growl. “It wasn’t meant to be like this.”

  She gestured me over, giving me a glower when I didn’t move fast enough. “It never is. My first marriage was meant to be forever, do you think I went into it thinking that I’d be emotionally abused and divorced within a couple of years? I wanted kids, a family, the whole nine yards. I learned from my mistakes and grew a backbone. I ended up alone … until I met you.”

  “You want kids?”

  “I do. With you,” she added, as if I might deliberately misunderstand. Her face dropped, her hands tugging at the comforter. “You do want children, don’t you?”

  “I’ve always wanted kids, it’s why I—” I stopped myself at the last minute, cursing silently, but it was too late, her eyebrows were already knitting together.

  “Why you what?”

  “Joined a dating site. That’s where I thought you’d come from.” Shit.

  “A dating site that I presume you will be canceling just as soon as you get near a computer?” Her prim words might have sounded like a question, but there was no mistaking the steel underlying her words. She was deadly serious. Staking her claim.

  Damn. It was hot. “What dating site?” I replied, earning a small smile.

  “And I’m an accountant, among other things, so the whole woe-is-me-I’m-bankrupt crap isn’t really a viable excuse.”

  “Who the fuck are you and what did you do with my shy and timid Faye?” Before she could answer, I lowered myself down onto the bed in front of her, nudging her back until she was laying beneath me. “You, my love, are a bundle of surprises. And I’m pretty sure I’ve met my match.” My head lowered, lips hovering as I watched her eyes darken with desire, and scented her sweet, sweet arousal that perfumed the air.

  “Oh, you definitely have,” she whispered, sliding a hand around my neck and closing the gap.

  Faye

  He’d calmed down, the spooked look fading from his eyes, but for a second there I’d thought he was going to revert back to square one of self-inflicted punishment. But the way he was moving over me, his hands plucking at my clothes and peeling them away until my breasts were bare for his touch, his mouth hot and demanding against mine, banished the doubt from my mind. Banished everything from my mind, actually, except him.

  I groaned against his mouth as his hand reached inside my jeans, easing the zipper down and burrowing beneath my panties. Desire curled in my stomach, fogging my mind as he sank a finger deep inside me, a low hum of satisfaction vibrating up through his chest.

  My bare chest brushed against cotton as my hips arched up into his hand, chasing the elusive high, head thrown back and lips parted on a silent moan.

  Work roughened fingers cupped my breast, thumb sliding over sensitive nipples back and forth, circling around and around in mimicry of his finger inside me.

  “Bastian…” I gasped, bucking against him as he plunged harder inside me, stroking and teasing, his mouth lowering to tongue my distended peak, biting down and flicking with his tongue, his hot, moist breath heating my skin.

  “You sound so sweet now,” he growled, moving to my neglected breast and lavishing it with attention. “Tell me what you want.”

  “I—I…” I couldn’t. My head thrashed, heat flooding my cheeks.

  “Do you want slower?” His hand slowed, until it was barely moving.

  “No!” I gasped out, grinding my teeth.

  “Harder?” he murmured, sounding cool and calm.

  My eyes flashed to his, ready to tell him exactly what I thought of his little game, but I stopped short, the snappy retort dying on my tongue. His face was flushed, skin tight with tension, his jaw clenched and lips parted. This was killing him as much as it was killing me.

  “Harder,” I forced out, and was rewarded with a satisfied grunt, another finger working its way inside me to duel with the first.

  Fuck! My eyes fluttered shut against the strain, my breath whooshing in and out of me in ragged gasps.

  “If you tell me what you want, I promise to make sure I always give it to you.”

  “You.”<
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  “Me?”

  “Inside.” Even though my eyes were still shut—a blessing, as I was pretty damn sure I wouldn’t be able to say that while looking him in the eye—I could feel his eyebrows shoot up, his hand jerking in hesitation as his breath caught in his throat.

  “Whatever the lady wants.”

  A pathetic noise left my mouth as he pulled his hand away, his weight lifting off me and taking the delicious heat with it. I cracked an eyelid. It was worth the effort.

  His shirt came first, tugged over his head and discarded in seconds. Then his jeans, the fly ripping open and then they were off.

  “Wow…” It was barely a breath as I fought to choke air in and out, the sight of him stripped down, ready and waiting—and I mean ready and waiting—derailed all natural responses but one. Want. Need. Now. I was reduced to a cavewoman level of intelligence, the sight of my future mate standing tall and strong in front of me igniting primal urges I didn’t even know I possessed. Muscles carved a path through his tanned skin, creating shadows and valleys I longed to explore. Ridge after ridge adorned his stomach, curving into narrow hips wherein nestled the prize. Or should I say, pointed to the prize. His cock jutted out, thick and long, and pointing straight at me.

  “Do you approve of your mate?”

  I gulped. Yeah, I actually did that. But the thought of him sliding that mammoth instrument inside me had my thighs clenching and insides dissolving into mush.

  “I’ll take that as a yes.” His hands grabbed my ankles, dragging the denim and my panties down and off in one smooth slide. “Now you are what I’d call the ultimate prize, sweetheart.”

  His frank appreciation had my skin flushing and pulse jumping as his eyes roamed my body. My hands crept to my sides, sliding up and over my chest.

  “No. Don’t cover yourself.” His knee hit the bed, dragging my attention back to his thick shaft as it bobbed between us.

  My hands fell away.

  “You’re beautiful.”

  “I know I’m a curvy girl.” And it had never bothered me, not until my ex-husband had taken it upon himself to ridicule and belittle my attempts at seducing him.