Page 9

9

Elle

I breathed a small sigh of relief. Dress approved.

“Get anything else you want from here.” Az’s voice rumbled through me.

Anything else? I’d realized, outside, that this was foreplay for Az, that he wanted a little kinky fun. The realization had sent a bolt of lust through me. I’d been dripping with anticipation ever since our date. The decision to meet him early was an easy one, marred only by the fact that I had to give myself enough time to get ready after clocking out of my lunch shift.

But he’d frozen up sometime between getting inside the store and trying on dresses.

If I’d done something wrong, why was he extending our little shopping venture? With another peek at Az, who leaned forward in his chair, eyes growing hot, I perused the offerings under Marissa’s critical eye.

Jeans, tops, skirts, dresses, shoes. With each item I touched, I checked over my shoulder. Every time I selected something new, he seemed to relax. So I kept selecting.

Fully relaxed now, Az lounged back in his chair, looking like an ancient warlord, legs spread, wings flared out behind him. Except that his eyes bored holes into me, getting sharper and more intent every time I added something to the pile, until it felt almost like a caress.

It was hot.

The rational part of my brain knew that was fucked-up, but the part of me that had scrimped and saved and agonized over every rip and tear, the part that had worn clothes with “just one or two holes” and assured myself no one would notice, grew hot and liquid under his gaze.

So I grabbed a few more things, no longer looking at the tag but inspecting the cut, the color, the soft, silky fabric. Knowing what would look best on my body. Thinking about how I’d like to thank him for this shopping spree and feeling my heartbeat ratchet up with each new idea.

The bulge in Az’zael’s pants grew. When I glanced over and realized how large my pile had grown, I figured I should try something else on.

The dressing room was spacious. Biting my lip in a mix of anticipation and nerves, I motioned for Az’zael to join me, and he practically teleported himself inside, wearing the toothy grin I recognized as delight.

The shop assistant shut the door behind us, no expression on her face. I couldn’t help but wonder if things like this happened often, or if fancy boutiques just let rich people get away with murder.

Inside, Az leaned forward in the chair. “Show me.”

I obliged, stripping slowly out of my clothes, revealing the lacy red matching set I’d bought while imagining undressing for him.

His eyes blazed a fiery trail over every inch of newly exposed flesh. I pulled on the first dress my fingers found, my eyes locked with his.

A sundress. I turned around so he could zip it up, his scales rasping against my back and sending shivers up my spine. His hands wandered, lingering over the playful cutouts under the breasts before returning to his seat.

I twirled around. “You like this one?” I asked, already confident in the answer.

He swallowed audibly. “Very much.”

I stripped out of it and pulled on a second one, watching the way his hands flexed at his sides. “What about this one?” Its skirt hit mid-thigh. The bulge in his pants bordered on obscene.

“Take all of them.” His eyes fastened on my face, as if he could will me closer by sheer force of desire. His dicks strained against the front of his pants.

I licked my lips as I took him in. Az’zael’s dicks pulsed against his zipper, as if sensing the direction of my thoughts.

I sauntered over. “So generous,” I purred, stroking him through his pants. My fingers caressed a ridge, the slight pressure of my hand pushing him into the backless chair.

“Anything you want,” he choked out. Evidently, those ridges were sensitive.

The hitch in his breath, his eyes fastened to my hands, his own hands clenching and unclenching at his sides—I could ask him for anything right now, and he’d give it to me. It seemed a little unfair, especially since that wasn’t my goal.

No, I wanted to thank him.

I knelt between his thighs, unzipped his pants, and pulled out his cocks. The size of them, the number , was still a little overwhelming, but this would let me get familiar with them. The desire tugging low in my belly, making my pussy ache and clench, agreed.

My panties grew damp as I ran my gaze over the golden-hued dicks. Tentatively, I touched one. It jumped as if begging for more. His scaled skin was softer here, more delicate .

I fisted one cock in each hand. I couldn’t wrap my fingers all the way around them, and I stared for a moment before shaking myself. He would be a delightful challenge.

Those tapered tips would help. I flicked out my tongue and tasted one. Salty and musky, accompanied by the gentle rasp of scales against my tongue.

He hissed in a breath. “Oh, fuck, are you—you don’t have to—”

“Oh, but I want to.” Endless possibilities rushed through my mind, and I dipped my head for another taste.

“I’ve never—dragons don’t—”

I pulled back. “Dragons don’t give head?” Shock cleared some of the gossamer threads of desire from my brain.

“I would happily eat your sweet pussy until you pass out, but”—he bared his sharp teeth—“the other way around doesn’t work. Too many teeth.”

My pussy pulsed at his promise, but this wasn’t about me. This was about him, and the heady realization that he’d never received a blow job in his life.

“Do you want me to show you how humans do it?” I asked, searching his face.

“Only if you desire.” His scales went a deep ruby, his golden eyes locked on where my hand touched his thigh.

I answered him by stretching my lips around the head of one massive cock, flicking my tongue over the tip.

A low groan rent the air. One large hand sank into my hair, guiding me down. I swirled my tongue around a tip, tasting salty pre-come. His soft pants filled my ears.

I’d need to be careful. His dicks were huge, and I had more enthusiasm than skill when it came to blow jobs. Luckily, he had nothing to compare any of my shortcomings to .

I sank down farther so I could tongue the sensitive ridges running down the underside of each cock.

His hips shot up to meet me, pumping twice before he forced them to still.

“You should—” He moaned as I sucked the shaft deep into my mouth, my tongue playing with one of the ridges. “Stop,” he panted.

That breathy “stop” sounded a lot like something he thought he should say, this dragon who bought my time yet never once pressured me.

I popped off and glanced up at him, finding a hungry look in his eyes and all of his attention fixed on me. “Oh?”

He froze, his eyes darting between my lips and his dicks, seeming unable to answer.

I sank back down onto the other cock, trying to fit more of him in my mouth while wrapping one hand around each base.

His hips rose to meet me, and he made another gratifying moan as his fingers dug deeper into my hair, his claws grazing my scalp and sending shivers through me. I couldn’t tell if he wanted to pull me off or urge me on. I’m not sure he could, either.

“I’m not”—more panting as I sucked him deep—“going to last.” He looked down at me with heavy-lidded eyes. Both cocks jerked in my hands.

I hummed agreement, my mouth too full to talk.

He thrust gently into my mouth. “Is that what you want, Arum ?”

I pulled off his cock so I could switch again, licking up and down the ridges of the other one before sucking him deep.

He grunted a broken curse.

One huge hand cupped my jaw, forcing me to still. He nudged my face up so I could look at him. His eyes were wide, and curls of smoke streamed out of his nose. “You want me to come in your pretty little mouth?”

I hummed and sucked him harder, too embarrassed by the rush of heat to my core to respond any other way. Seemingly satisfied, his hand moved from my face to my hair, and I got back to work with enthusiasm.

It wasn’t long before his hips bucked up. “Gonna come.” His hand tightened on my hair, tugging on my scalp.

I kept sucking. He didn’t try to muffle his groan of pleasure as he came down my throat.

His other dick seeped pre-come all over my hand as it pulsed and jerked against my palm, but it didn’t erupt as I expected. I latched on to the head with my lips, pumping with one fist as I tongued the ridges.

Seconds later, he flooded my mouth with a growl.

I licked him clean, savoring the aftershocks that ran through his big body. Then, when I was certain I wouldn’t blush to death, I glanced up at him. He sprawled back against the wall of the changing room, panting, his eyes fixed on me.

“Come here.”

Helpless to disobey, I rose and stood in the vee of his thighs. He grabbed me around my waist, pulled me onto his lap, and shoved my skirt up. Belatedly, I realized I was still wearing one of the shop’s dresses.

A slice of his claws destroyed my panties, then a quick motion of his wrist and his claws somehow retracted. His wings came up to envelop us, blocking out the light, so it felt like we were the only two people left on earth.

He buried two thick fingers in my pussy, pumping them while his thumb searched for my clit. I shivered in his arms and sank into his wide chest, my hips moving restlessly against his hand .

“So slick and soft for me, Arum .” His breath caressed my ear.

I moaned, my pussy clenching around the thick intrusion. Far thicker than human fingers.

“They’ll know you were in here sucking my dicks.” Something dark and possessive gleamed down at me from his heavy-lidded gaze.

I buried my face in his neck. The quick, insistent thrusting of his hand between my legs pushed out my embarrassment and let in the heat and pleasure sparking through me.

“Is that what you want, Arum ? You want everyone to know you’re mine?”

“Yes,” I moaned. If he kept up those maddening circles on my clit, I’d agree to anything .

The two thick fingers inside me curled until they found my G-spot, rubbing that sensitive tissue. I nuzzled closer to his neck to stifle a moan, but his other hand pried me back.

“Make all the noise you need to. I’ve got you.” Another twist of his fingers inside me, another rub of his thumb, and I was flying, breaking apart, shuddering in Az’zael’s arms.

His lips came down on my neck, that forked tongue flicking out and tickling me, then I felt small pinpricks in the delicate skin. Gentle, but after the intensity of my orgasm, I shivered and shook with sensation overload.

When I gathered the wits to look at him, he grinned down at me, unabashedly pleased. “Bold little human.”

I didn’t know how to respond to that, so I smiled and let him put us both back together.

Heat flooded my face as soon as we left the dressing room. Marissa stood a few feet away, not making eye contact.

I wanted to sink into the floor. What had possessed me ?

Az’zael just grinned and motioned for Marissa to ring up my purchases. She was either too embarrassed or too well-trained to acknowledge what she must have heard us doing.

Marissa glanced at Az, who was distracted by a pair of cuff links. “He’s in here all the time with some lady dragon, you know,” she whispered.

I blinked. “That’s his sister.” I hoped it was, anyway. He’d mentioned she liked this place, and he’d promised he wasn’t seeing anyone else, and oddly, I believed him. Az didn’t exactly keep his emotions close to the chest.

Marissa sniffed. “If you say so, but I’d be careful if I were you.” In a louder voice, she said, “We can get the green dress tailored in time for tomorrow night if you let us know where to drop it off.”

I’d explained about the event when I’d tracked her down earlier. She’d looked me up and down, then promptly brought me a dozen gowns in my exact size, all while giving me severe side-eye.

I wrote down my address, my face hot. How many times in twenty-four hours could my apartment embarrass me? I’d panicked when Az had offered to pick me up, knowing that he’d see it. Then he’d offered to move me to a new one, like he knew without being told that my apartment was a dump. Now whoever dropped off that magnificent dress would know, too. Marissa would probably tell them I was Az’s side-piece. Or, worse, that I was too dumb to realize I was his side-piece.

Just an idiot mistress Az picked up, so out of place the shopgirl thought I was stealing . I shouldn’t have jumped at the chance to see Az’zael early. I should have known shopping would be a minefield, but I’d wanted to spend a little extra time with him.

“Let’s go, Arum .” Az’zael wrapped one hand around my waist. The tips of his claws pressed into my skin, tiny pinpricks anchoring me as he led me out of the uncomfortably fancy store.

By the time we were in the parking lot and next to Az’zael’s town car, some of my embarrassment had dissipated under the force of his open delight. He hummed as he handed me into the car. I settled into his side, my limbs still tense.

I should have been equally delighted that I’d pleased him, but my stomach tightened. I’d blown a dragon in a dressing room because I was turned on and wanted to. I’d forgotten I was being paid. But Marissa had made damn sure I remembered, even if she’d thought she was doing me a solid by warning me that he was with someone else.

I had to figure out how to keep my feet on the ground around Az. I’d thought it would be so easy to have an emotionless arrangement, but he was so much . So openly into me, so willing to be vulnerable about his feelings, so willing to reciprocate the energy I put in.

Oblivious, Az tucked me against him, running his hands over my arms, around my waist. Always touching me, while wearing his most delighted smile. How was I supposed to resist that?

When we entered his building, instead of taking me up to his penthouse apartment, we stopped one floor below.

“Where are we going?” I asked.

“I got you something.” Nothing but sunshine and rainbows in his voice.

“Something else ?” I rubbed my forehead.

“Of course.” Az squeezed me against his chest, one wing wrapping securely around me.

I let him lead me to one of the handful of apartment doors on this floor. He keyed in a code and opened it, revealing a clean, bright apartment, easily four times the size of mine .

“I’ll have one of my staff move in your things tonight,” he said, ushering me inside.

“What?” I took in the minimal, modern furniture and bare walls. “Move in my things?” The driver was already bringing in my bags.

“This is your new apartment,” Az’zael said, like that explained fucking anything.

“No. Sorry, but no. This is too much.” I stepped away from him. Panic screeched through me. Shopping was fine. Shopping was fun . New clothes, shoes, purses. What we’d done in the dressing room. My face grew warm all over again.

His forehead wrinkled. “I thought you’d like it. You agreed to go to my party on your off day.”

“What does that have to do with giving me an apartment?” But my stomach sank, and I feared I already knew.

“I don’t know why you didn’t negotiate, but I’d planned to offer you this apartment in exchange anyway, so here it is.” He frowned, head cocked to one side. “I told you, I’d never disrespect your time.”

I flinched at his blunt words. I was so goddamn stupid, agreeing to see him because I wanted to when he saw me as nothing more than an employee.

Knees trembling, I grasped the nearest sturdy surface. The kitchen island. With the lease agreement on top. I couldn’t stop myself from looking at it.

Four months. At zero rent. I crumpled the paper in one hand and tried to draw in a full breath.

Four months. Nice to know my expiration date. It was longer than I’d expected this “relationship” to last, so why did my stomach feel like it was dropping out of my body?

I grabbed my purse. “I’m sorry. I can’t. I’ll see you tomorrow night. ”

“Wait!” he called, but I was already halfway to the elevator.

The whole way back to my shitty apartment, my phone buzzed. The rideshare driver pretended not to hear it while we made awkward small talk, all while I tried to process the stunned look on Az’zael’s face when I’d bolted.

When I made it back to my apartment, I unlocked the door and glanced around, seeing all the disrepair, the outdated appliances, the chipped paint and water stains.

The apartment Az wanted to give me was clean and bright and new, not to mention massive. All I needed to do was rearrange my entire life around him, on his terms and at his say-so, just like a good sugar baby.

My stomach clenched. I would have done it in a second if this was a real relationship and he wanted to move in together. But that was my problem, wasn’t it? Leaping into shit and damn the consequences.

Fuck, one of those dings had probably been him dumping me.

That was a good thing, right? But when I imagined it, my breaths became short and sharp and my eyes swam.

Fuck, this whole situation had me so messed up.

I took a breath and steeled myself to look at my phone. I had a dozen messages from Az’zael.

Do you not like the apartment?

I’ll find you a better one.

Do you need one with a bigger library ?

Christ. I’d rejected an enormous gift, and he thought it was because it was inadequate ? Gut tightening with guilt, I plopped onto my couch.

Why did he care so much? He’d made it painfully clear I was nothing but an employee to him, someone to be bought. I didn’t blame him for it. How could I when I’d named my price? But employees were replaceable.

Just tell me what you want.

Followed by a list of apartment links.

I took a deep breath. He wasn’t my boyfriend, which should have made it easier to not kowtow to his demands. And however casually he phrased it, however much he gilded his demands, he’d just demanded I move into an apartment of his choosing, after I’d told him I didn’t want the damn thing.

I told you I didn’t want the apartment

I don’t understand. I thought you had fun today.

I did.

Fun was right there, tangled up in all the other feelings.

Then why won’t you take it?

I can’t stand to think of you spending another night in that place.

My skin flushed. That place. My apartment. The one I’d scrimped and saved and worked my ass off to afford. And his first words upon seeing it were to question why I’d even want to live here .

So he was embarrassed of me, at least a little bit. I inhaled, blew out the breath, then did it again. Of course he was. He likely had just as little experience with run-down apartments as I had with luxury ones.

This was on me. I should have insisted on meeting him elsewhere. Then he’d never have known what a dump my place was in comparison to his.

That wasn’t fair. Az hadn’t actually insulted my place. Hell, even if he had, I said way worse about my apartment than anyone else would.

Given that the new apartment was right below his, he probably wanted nothing more complicated than a more convenient fuck. Every night, like he’d asked for in the first place.

Images from the dressing room flashed before my eyes. He’d never had a blow job before because dragon women, with their sharp dragon teeth, couldn’t give them. Had he gone after me because he thought I, as a human, would do things a dragon wouldn’t?

Shame squirmed through my gut and turned my mouth dry as dust. Why hadn’t I asked more questions during our first meeting?

If I accepted that apartment, I’d have nowhere to go to readjust, to remember who I was when I wasn’t servicing Az.

It’s mine, and I’m staying here

He could end our agreement over my refusal, but after seeing our end date written out in black and white…I didn’t care. The knowledge that it would be over soon, no matter what, was the only thing pounding through my head.

You own that awful building?

I’ll see you tomorrow.

If he hadn’t replaced me by then.

I’ll send your purchases over.