Page 10 of Brutal Dragon King (Nayara Dragon Kings #1)
My heart’s rapid beat drums in my ears, blurring my vision but keeping it clear enough to see Althea, my eyesight focused on her while everything around us blurs.
It’s such a strange thing to experience, but I have no reason to question it where I would have questioned my motive for wanting the human so desperately.
It just feels… natural. As natural as breathing, I don’t even need to think about the fact that she’s just a measly human.
All I can see now is her ethereal beauty, how she naturally exudes a palpable aura of brilliant, radiant gold that matches my dragon when it is out in full form. As my heart pounds with fervent speed, I almost lose the ability to breathe until I’m able to hear her breathing, thanks to my silence.
Her subtle breaths turn to heavy breathing, and she’s almost panting now. My inner dragon’s razor-sharp vision, heightened by the bonding of our energies through the mating ritual, is stronger than ever now, and I pick up every little movement she makes.
Like the shift of her foot against the dirt, and the whisper of her robe when a gentle wind passes.
That damned robe… I think disparagingly when I recall what I felt when I saw her enter the clearing with two guards gripping her arms. The rage was the most primal I ever felt, and it was all because of a foolish tradition I created to distinguish a human slave from the others during the night of the mating ritual.
Right now, I’m brave enough to admit to myself that I felt the bitterness of jealousy coursing through my veins like a lethal poison when I saw two other men holding her, touching her when no one should be anywhere near her. Not while she’s dressed like that in a sheer robe, which leaves very little to the imagination
The unfiltered bout of possessiveness was consuming enough to send a mind link to my men, warning them to stop releasing her at once or face the implications of taking too long to let go. It was before the ritual had even begun, yet it was alarming how intense that jealousy was.
Now that our energies are bound by the ritual conducted by Mother, in The Spine’s sacred site, I feel that very same electrifying possessiveness coursing through my veins, and we’re alone now.
We’re alone so that we can complete the mating ritual—the consummation that will certainly sow my seed for the growth of an heir to The Spine monarch. Even then, the outcome seems futile while I’m feeling this way, crazed, like the lunatic who showed up the night before, giving me a taste of what was to come when the ritual was complete.
I feel it now, a manic sensation fueling my bones and racing through my bloodstream, having me see nothing else except the unyielding need to feel Althea within my palms and meet her lips like I did the other day.
Only this time, it will be different when I rip that sorry excuse for a robe off her body.
I have to have her. I need to have her.
I’ve never wanted anything as much as I want to devour the human, strip her of the robe, and make her mine in the most primal, carnal way that exists. I’ve wanted many things in my life, like kingdoms and power, but the greed for the human is overwhelming now.
There’s no need to make sense of it, not when I smell her pheromones wafting through the air, strong despite the wind that blows out. As a rapid flow of blood pools in my core, firming my cock and filling my scrotum, I know I have to act now, or I’ll go insane.
As I take a crucial step forward, I notice the way Althea’s breath hitches in her throat, lodged there as she remains frozen by the penetration of my eyes. My mind races with the possibilities of tonight’s quest, but I can’t break eye contact with her, the focal point of her hypnotizing me.
In those warm depths of honey, I see my own reflection and see the manic state I’m in, my chest heaving uncontrollably as power surges through my body.
When I round the lowered stone that bears Mother’s crystal, I immediately swipe my crown off and toss it to the side as if it’s not valuable. With my sights set on Althea like a predator making the most important, life-changing hunt of its life, my prey seems to surrender, her eyes widening as they’re fixed on mine.
I don’t even feel the need to remind her to bow. Something changed tonight, and the ritual we performed to power up my dragon for the mating to ensure that a child is conceived tonight works its magical claws that reel me toward Althea without caring about the logistics. Unlike the other dragon shifters in the kingdom who acquired human child breeders through previous mating draws, I had to go through a special process to ensure that the oracle’s advice was enacted carefully.
Though I couldn’t care for the ritual, I felt its power coursing through my veins, turning desire into a seemingly insatiable hunger as I closed in on Althea.
She must have felt it too because her eyelids flutter closed, her lips parting gently on an exhale when she breathes out the cocktail of our bodily scents that mingles in the air all around us. When I grab a fistful of her hair from the back of her head and tug her forward, she shrieks, eyelids flying open with horror written in the depths of those gold swirls I keep getting lost in.
“Keep your eyes on me…” I drawl huskily, leaning in until our noses almost touch.
Althea makes a slight, squeamish sound, the first sound she's uttered since she arrived in the meadow of the sacred site, but one that implies that she's not about to defy like other times. This time, the sound is her surrender, her acceptance that I am her king, and, right now, her mate.
The sound calls to me, beckons my inner dragon like a mating cry that echoes in my eardrums. A force greater than my will to be a benevolent leader compels me to move in and taste the human, coasting my parted lips across hers as I drink in her exhaled breath. As the heady, sweet air from her lungs enters my airways, I become inebriated, drunk, and high as if I've just consumed a lethal dose of dragonclaw.
Every fiber in my being screams to bury my face in her bosom, every nerve-ending tingling with the need to touch her. As much as I want to sink my cock between her walls, I want to savor this moment, the build-up of the past few days maddening.
I'm a mad dragon right now, but I will take my sweet time, stifling the urge to get to the crucial part of tonight's mating ritual.
Charged by the power I soaked from the crystal ball, I rip a sleeve off Althea's shoulder, watching the way it slips off to reveal one voluptuous breast. When the passing wind whispers across her exposed flesh, I notice how her fine hairs prickle and goosebumps erupt across her skin. The light sensation pools on one blushed nipple, erecting the bud, and I'm made aware of just how sensitive the human is.
She doesn't have the tough skin of a dragon shifter, but the fragile flesh of a frail human. Somehow, the trait of a weak being is what drives my hunger for her. Right now, she's not an insignificant being from whom I demand respect and fear, but she's a vulnerable creature from whom I intend to unleash my power and relish in watching her squirm beneath my every touch.
“Turn over…” I rasp against her lips, delighting in the way her bottom lip quivers with response before she moves and does what she's told. Her throat works as she gulps, compelling me to grab her neck and spin her over when she takes too long to heed my demand.
I know I have her right where I want her, sensing her compliance in the single kiss we shared yesterday. She may throw verbal defenses at me, but her body betrays her insolence. Using it to my advantage, I decided to fight the need to kiss her just yet. I press a hand on the small of her back, coercing her to lean over the stone before peeling off the rest of the robe.
Glorious… I lament internally when her supple mounds reveal themselves from behind the sheer robe when they pool at her feet. Althea shudders on a shiver, bracing her palms on the stone in front of her. Her luscious, full curves from behind are a sight to behold, and I take a moment to let it sink in that the beauty I was hypnotized by is truly in the flesh now that she's exposed before me.
Dragging one finger down the length of her spine with force, I mold her to my will, her back arching perfectly as her rear juts out. My cock twitches in the confines of my boxers, no longer having enough room as my erection is at its ripest, twitching with the need to push myself between the crack of her ass and enter the cavity of her womanhood.
Holding myself back, I instead give in to the urge to punish her for her previous defiance. That's why I haven't rewarded her with the one thing I know will make her pliant—a kiss. I'm punishing myself, but this part is rewarding for me.
Since I'm a greedy dragon king, I indulge in the sight of her flesh turning a bright shade of pink when I slap one mound with a powerful thrust of my hand. She shrieks in surprise, bucking forward from the impact, and I notice the way she clamps her thighs shut in response to the slap.
Becoming insanely manic by her reaction as she breathes slowly and purposefully now, I grab her by the shoulder and spin her over to face me. My breath is stolen now when I come face to face with the extent of Althea's beauty in all its glory, realizing I wasn't wrong for being mesmerized by her allure from the moment I laid eyes on her.
When I inhale again, the air that fills my lungs carries with it a predatorial groan almost as primal as the ones that were drumming my chest during the ceremony of fire. I take a step back, drinking in the sight of Althea's overflowing curves, my fingers tingling all over again.
This time, I can't hold myself back, and grab the back of her neck, crushing my lips to hers in an explosive, feverish kiss that makes my cock ache with the craving I have for her body. The delicious swells of her curves are soft and pliant against my strong, firm form, molding to me like a second skin.
She moans on the kiss, letting whatever resistance she might have had dissipate as she arches into me. Hungrier than ever for her, I hastily remove my mantle and everything obstructing my path into zenith while keeping our lips locked in a ravenous kiss.
Drinking in her moans, my cock is finally freed when I tear my shorts off, flinging them somewhere behind me and freeing my hands to explore her ample, supple curves. She feels heavenly between my hands, and I grab the mounds of her ass, pulling her into me while I devour the sweetness of her tongue.
My rigid cock is buried in the softness of her belly, enticing me into plunging into the depths of her being and filling her with all I have to give in my full, hanging scrotum. The heaviness of my seed is what spurs my hastiness, but it’s the indulgence of every other sense that has me kissing her deeply, passionately, carding my fingers through her hair, and pulling her even closer.
I just can’t seem to get enough of the human… my human, who writhes her tongue against the dominance mine as I explore the cavity of her mouth, swishing and swirling and amalgamating the boldness of my saliva and the sweetness of hers. It’s intoxicating, and I crave more like I’m addicted to the taste of her.
But there’s something else I must taste. For a moment, while our tongues are twisted and dance on pleasure, I have a passing thought that this will be our first and last time together. We despise each other, and we’re both riding the wave of the mating ritual in which our energies collided, and now we cannot resist the passion that we’re caught in.
It won’t last forever, and for the consummation of the mating ritual, I must ensure that I’ve done everything I’ve been fantasizing about since the day I laid eyes on her.
The taste of her mouth is addicting, but I simply crave more. I’ve already determined that I’m a greedy beast, and that monstrous need comes out tonight. While I clamp my teeth on her bottom lip and graze it to the symphony of her unsteady groan, I slip a hand between our bodies, my middle finger meeting the honey pot between her thighs.
A shaky breath leaves my lips when I pull from the kiss, focused on the copious amount of slick that drips on my finger when I touch her slit. Soaking wet and ready for me, I scoop up a considerable amount of her arousal on my finger, then lift my hand between our faces.
Her eyes swell with wonder, her cheeks tainting with a bright shade of pink, resembling the way her ass cheek turned crimson from my palm. Again, I’m moved by the richness of her beauty, unable to stop myself from taking a moment to admire her face, staring into her eyes that pull me in and turn my inner dragon wild.
As she bites her bottom lip, the movement is faint but noticeable when her eyes flit to my drenched finger. I hold her gaze and slip the digit between my lips.
I’ve never tasted anything like it. There’s no trace of bitterness or saltiness in her slick, only tooth-aching sweetness that stirs my inner dragon as it purrs inside my head, licking its lips as I lick mine and become more ravenous than ever. My cock twitches against her belly as if signaling for me to dive in. With the taste of her on my tongue, I’m driven into madness as I grab her neck in the vice-grip of passion and push her back until she’s up against the stone table.
She gasps sweetly, eyes bewildered by my forcefulness, but there’s no fear evident there. I’ve never seen fear in her eyes before, and right now, it’s thrilling that I can push her limits, just as she’d pushed my buttons ever since she arrived.
It’s not fear, but innocence in her eyes that draws me toward her, pulling me in like a magnet to my dragon. It’s that innocence I saw when I first stumbled upon her in the village before the day of the reaping, and I’ve been restless over those doe eyes ever since, not forgetting that she’s just a human.
Her innocence stems from the humans not being able to stand up against the dragon shifters, yet, somehow, Althea has always managed to stand up against me.
Will she do it now, too?
“Tell me you want this…” I order in a husky tone as I lean in, my hot breath fanning her face and igniting her cheeks into a soft flush while my hand smothers her neck.
Controlling her breathing with the palm of my hand, I feel her throat working as she gulps, her doe, golden eyes focused on mine. She hesitates to respond, a squeak leaving her trembling lips. I notice the pendant dangling from her neck, and for a split second, I want to ask her about its significance. I retract that thought, bringing my eyes back to hers.
Curiosity about the human might be another weakness, and already, her being here, under my command, is enough to drive me wild without any form of better judgment.
It’s not that I want or need any. I just need her.
“Tell me…” I rasp, staring ferociously into her eyes so that she knows I’m deadly serious, and won’t accept any insolence from her. Gripping her neck even tighter now, I lean in until our noses almost touch.
“Speak, human,” I persist, and finally, she lets out a long exhale.
Her voice is timid when she stammers, “Y-yes…”, and that’s all I needed for my inner dragon to turn rapid, sensing her acceptance for the first time since all she’s been doing is defying me.
The single word is all I need to settle between her thighs, taking my rigid cock in one hand and lifting the gleaming tip to her moist folds. Swirling the copious precum with her warm slick, I tease her folds, delighting in the way she squirms in the palm of my hand.
“Beautiful…” I appreciate in a whisper, peeling my gaze from her eyes and looking down at my skillful hands while I work magic over her folds and rub a tight circle over her clit with the bulbous crown. The rolls of her belly wave as she breathes and writhes against my ministrations, appearing so beautiful that I release her neck and move my hand to her tummy.
“Beautiful…” I praise again. There’s something sensational about placing my hand there as if I can feel the energy of her womb calling out to my inner dragon and tingling the inside of my palm. I squeeze and knead her soft belly, murmuring praises for the beauty I can not only see but feel right now.
It's extraordinary and empowering. Just as thunder cracks in the sky, it slices through my being, the power surging in my veins that leads me to swiftly push Althea down. She's lying on the stone, spread out there, when lightning crests the sky and flashes through the mirrors of her eyes, making her appear like the source of my innate power.
Aligning the tip of my cock with her entrance, I stare into her eyes as I push the tip inside, wrestling with the tightness of her walls that threaten to push me back out. A long, drawn-out moan escaped her lips while her eyes glittered like cosmic gateways. The slow, steady insertion is only to allow her tightness to welcome the girth of my cock, and once I've buried my length in her, I keel over, palms resting on either side of her head while keeping enough distance to stare into her soul.
Her face contorts with the discomfort of capturing the essence of her virtue, but when her brows unfurrow, I pull out to the tip, then slam back into her with a force that pushes her body against the stone.
“Ah!” she cries out, the sounds she makes spurring me on to thrust back and forth with the power coursing in my veins. I pound into her, slamming her clit with every stroke and filling her to the brim. Her walls pulse against my length, the beat matching my thrusts, and she involuntarily grabs my arms, nails biting into my flesh.
Thunder cracks in the sky again, this time sending a flood of rain pattering on her skin. The raging sky's roars match my powerful thrusts, fueling my greed, my hunger, and my need for this woman as if my power is drawn from there. I roll with it, rolling my hips to match the beats of the sky, Althea's body glistening beautifully with the rain that's oddly similar to that which fell on the palace the night she arrived.
A grunt turns into a growl as I grab her wrists and pin her hands over her head, continuing the pounding as the lewd sounds of skin on skin mix with her moans and my grunts. As her moans escalate into soulful cries, her walls tighten, milking my cock through the final rounds of thrusts until I can't hold back any longer. My strokes become shallower, my inner dragon screeching in my eardrums as my vision turns sharper than ever. I witness the shift of my perspective of Althea right before I'm about to explode my seed into her.
When I do, she climaxes too, her walls washing over when the floodgates break, and she throws her head back on a lengthy moan. I grab her neck, spilling into her and filling her with my seed, instinctively placing a hand on her belly to relish in the energy of her womb that drinks in the hot ropes of semen I feed it.
My inner dragon is sated, retreating to the far corner of my mind. The powerful, electrifying moment is over, the ritual complete, and my sense of awareness returns to have me realize how profound this experience was.
I feel like a changed man, my inner dragon too quiet for my comfort. The shock has me reeling, pulling out of Althea as I stare at her face, unable to accept that this was the most life-changing experience of my life.
It was with a human. Not just any human, but Althea Waters.
I can't accept this overwhelming feeling. My body tingling and sensations heightened even in the aftermath of that passionately hot tryst. My heart pounds in my chest, and I shake my head slowly, refusing to accept or acknowledge whatever this is.
I don't bother to make sense of it or find a reasonable explanation for how I feel right now. Walking backward out from between Althea's thighs, I see the look of horror in her eyes as she props herself onto her elbows and stares at me bewilderedly.
Without a word, I reach down and sweep my mantle off the ground from where I'd flung it before. I throw it over my shoulders, tearing my eyes from Althea and spinning on my heel. Shifting into dragon form, I hastily lift myself into the air and fly away, leaving Althea behind in The Spine’s sacred site on the mountain to fend for herself.
I have to get away from her. What needed to be done is done now, and I'm suddenly compelled to leave the rainfall and fly high above the clouds. It reminds me of the first time she defied me and refused to bow, the first time I witnessed a spark of bravery in a human that should never have been accepted in the Kingdom of The Spine.
I'd kept her alive only because of my fixation, and my fantasies, and now I've experienced what I needed to. There should be no reason that I'm feeling this way, fleeing the scene of what feels like a crime.
How can it be a crime when I am the king? I am the one who makes the verdicts around here.
Then why do I feel like I've done something terribly wrong? Feeding into my fantasies isn't a crime, but the aftermath is going to haunt me for the rest of my immortal life.
I don't want this.
I don’t want the human. I can’t want her.