Page 7 of Destined By Dragonblood (Blood Born #2)

“Are you sure you’re all right?” Vanni checked in with me again, handing me a second bottle of water, careful not to touch my hand in the exchange.

“No one has ever taken my full strength, and the fact you’re standing and lucid.

..” Lips pressing together, he shook his head as I guzzled his offering.

“You’re one hell of a man, Dolyn Kemmerly. ”

I had endured and stood strong so quickly after the beating because I was Blood Born, but this human didn’t need to know that.

“It would take a lot to drop me to my knees,” I informed him while re-capping the empty container.

Lust flared in his steady gaze, and I cursed that nothing about this human’s body suggested dragonblood flowed in his veins. He would be a prime candidate?—

I cut the thought off. This man, while smelling of delicious musk, was a dominant and, like me, would never submit himself to another even if he had been a fated beta mate.

He gestured toward the bottle, and I handed it over, escaping temptation to simply brush my fingertips over his.

“Will I see you again, Dolyn?” A hint of insecurity inflected in his tone, and I allowed myself a single fantasy of grabbing hold of his black leather harness and riding his ass from behind.

My cock didn’t so much as twitch but not surprising considering the release Vanni had gifted me through pain.

“I have no intentions of returning,” I stated firmly, retrieving the robe I’d been given for walking through the lounge. My clothes were in a locker room off the entryway to Vanni’s club. Showers were also available, but I preferred complete privacy for bathing.

“Thank you for gifting me what I requested.” I shoved my arms through the sleeves and settled the satin material over my shoulders.

The hem hung beneath my ass but only barely.

The cane marks on my lower thighs would be visible to anyone who cared to look, and while I hated to have other patrons know I had submitted my body to anyone , I would avoid their gazes and stride with purpose toward my destination.

Turning away, I lifted my chin and let myself out of the private room, shutting the door firmly behind me.

My dragon whimpered, but I ignored him as I did the club members and employees.

One last night, I had told myself, and it’d been so good, better even than any pain Elijah had inflicted. Although days had passed, it seemed mere hours earlier I’d been heartbroken over the loss of my lover.

Thanks to Vanni, I now felt confident in taking the next step toward my destiny.

Wanting to stretch my wings, I camouflaged once out of sight from other night owls in Manhattan, shifted on a quiet corner, not bothering to save any clothing. The shredded material and boots lay below as I escaped like a rocket into the night sky.

I allowed my inner beast a little more freedom than usual, his heightened sense of smell drinking in the cold air, tasting every subtle hint of the city far beneath us on our tongue.

Wanted to scent him.

I ignored the voice radiating through my head. My serpentine body moved through pockets of air, every flex of muscle in my lower half a sweet, achy reminder of Vanni’s heavy hand.

Submit.

Master Vanni.

I told the beast to shut up, but he persisted in complaining that I hadn’t allowed him a taste of the dominant who’d given my human half pleasure. After a solid ten minutes of manipulative whispers trying to convince me that submission would have been sweet and rewarding, I had enough.

We are alpha , I reminded the beast while muzzling him.

I flew eastward in peaceful silence, banking and dipping in the cooling Atlantic before bursting back up through its surface, salt water snorting from my nostrils. Talons skimming the surface, I took the time to reflect on all of the emotions that had been roused in the previous couple of days.

Anger and hurt over Elijah claiming someone other than me.

Elation at his female’s vision of the two mates destined for me and locating one.

Relief for never having submitted fully to my ex-lover whom I had considered settling for.

Excitement and absolute joy when stalking my own female to and from work the past couple of days, longing while watching her move beyond her curtains while hidden in the shadows outside her condo at night.

Absolute pleasure in the release of a lifetime.

Confidence that my fate lay within my grasp.

By the time I hovered near the balcony off my penthouse’s bedroom, my dragonblood had healed the delicious pain in my backside and thighs.

I grabbed hold of the railing with one clawed foot and started to shift. Once bone and muscle shrank enough I would fit, I leapt onto the sturdy platform off my suite’s bedroom to finish the transformation.

Stretching my neck side to side, I assessed my human form as it solidified into completeness.

All traces of the torture I’d allowed to my body had dissipated.

A glance over my shoulder revealed the markings were gone from what I could see of my thighs.

At least I’d gotten a good look at them before changing in the locker room.

I held a deep appreciation for the club’s owner, respect as well, for his precise hits.

My inner beast moaned his misery, a mere whisper of tone in the back of my head, but I wouldn’t be swayed into letting him have further say.

Two steps took me to the glass slider. Having my suite on the top floor of the building across from Tolzman Industries, I never bothered with the lock, which made for easy reentry into my Manhattan domain.

Silence clung to my bedroom, and for the first time, I missed the comforting noises of having a companion.

“Soon,” I murmured to myself.

My inner dragon hummed his agreement, which was rare and always tended to loosen my rigid hold over him.

“Argue with me, and I’ll silence you,” I warned him, deciding on leniency while removing my restraint on his voice.

He didn’t offer further sound, so I allowed him his quiet freedom to reflect verbally if he so desired. The beating and flight had eased him thoroughly, and he curled up inside, content. But not for long. Eventually, he would attempt to coerce me into doing his wishes.

A long, hot shower eased the tension in my shoulders, but sleep eluded me once I rested upon my king-sized mattress. Exhaustion clung to my bones regardless of my active mind considering how I would reveal myself to Ashley now that I was ready.

Steal.

The beast took advantage as he always did once my human side experienced tiredness, however, he stated what was my right as an alpha.

Force .

I rolled to my stomach, planning to ignore him since he didn’t argue our status for once.

Ours . Take .

Ashley did belong to us—was destined to stand by my side, exactly as he insisted.

“I thought I’d wanted that with Elijah too, though,” I grumbled into my pillow and punched the fluff that wilted quickly beneath the weight of my head.

She is a fragile thing, isn’t she?

I growled at the beast’s sudden eloquence but didn’t silence him since he spoke the truth I didn’t mind hearing.

Knowing him, he would push things too far in attempts to get what he wanted, same as he always did when I offered his voice freedom.

But until then, I would allow his waxing poetic.

Perhaps his soothing tone would ready me for sleep.

Like a spring flower rising out of the frozen depths of the earth in desperate need of sustenance and care.

“I won’t be swayed by pretty words,” I warned, my words muttered into the pillow.

As beautiful and glorious as the rising sun.

“I will not be manipulated into doing as the Blood Born of old did,” I told him what I’d said countless times already.

Soft, supple…she will be as refreshing as the finest wine, the sweetest honeysuckle on our tongue.

My cock swelled again as I imagined my face between Ashley’s thighs, lapping at the arousal her body wouldn’t be able to help but produce from her alpha’s touch and scent once the beginnings of our bond bloomed.

Addictive nectar. A wet, clutching pussy to ease our ache.

My balls drew up, my shaft throbbing over my beast’s whispered suggestions, and I rolled once more, unable to help myself. Giving in to my body’s need, I wrapped my hand around my swollen length, knowing any release I found wouldn’t be nearly as satisfying as my last beneath Vanni’s cane.

Brow furrowing, I focused on what my inner dragon whispered about our female rather than how my backside’s desire to be filled wakened.

Imagine the clutch of her inner walls around us, drawing us deeper against her womb, the contractions of her body begging for our seed.

Erotic imaginations of sinking into her, again and again, flooded my mind, enticing pre-cum to well at my slit.

Flood her. Breed her.

A tight grip while working myself ensured a climax within a few strokes.

Growls rumbled in my chest, and I bit my tongue to keep from roaring as disappointing shots of white laced over my lower abs.

Grunts accompanied every pitiful spurt, and my body contorted, muscles flexing with my unsatisfying release.

Soon, my human half?

I gasped a ragged breath as the last of my hot seed dribbled over my knuckles instead of against the opening of Ashley’s womb where it belonged.

“Yes,” I managed while struggling to fill my lungs. “Soon.”