Page 6 of Dragon Blood (Dragon Island #3)

R egret sat heavily in Astred’s throat as she stared at Kai’s naked body, bathed in moonlight.

Desire curled through her at the sight of his response to her attention. Electricity shot through her and she was instantly ready to take him.

Kai always did that to her.

Her fingers tightened around the bottle in her fist.

You can’t have him, and he deserves more than just a casual fuck for the rest of his life.

As much as she loved Kymri and was wildly happy for her, she equally hated every second on this fucking beautiful island that pounded her with all the bittersweet memories of her past with Kai. She’d been staring at her ship, telling herself she could just sail away. Leave all the political shit to the others.

Leave Kai to his life.

Just me and my sea crew and our beautiful ship.

And then the winds changed, delivering Kai’s scent to her little boulder sanctuary before a very large, magnificent white tiger prowled out of the shadows, disrupting all of that, and she could think of nothing but him.

She’d never seen him in his animal form before. There’d never been an opportunity.

Breathtaking.

On all fours, he stood taller than her human form, silky coat gleaming under the cool titanium moon. Despite that magnificence, all Astred wanted to see was Kai. Just Kai.

Once more?

Could he forgive me for just a few hours and pretend nothing had changed? That he hadn’t asked her to give herself to him and she hadn’t left things the way she had. Falling in love with him was never supposed to happen.

It couldn’t. It can’t.

But it did, and she’d locked it away and threw it overboard until she laid her eyes on him again. And just like that, she was right back in that moment she never wanted to relive. Her castaway heart had somehow got a tenterhook into some unseen crevice, dragging along behind her.

She’d expected him to walk away, not accept her offering.

Resisting the urge to chug the rest of the bottle, she shared it with him, while her eyes devoured the sight of him just a little longer.

Goddess, she wanted the feel of him inside her again. Their bodies gripping and slamming.

All she could think about was the memory of his arms around her. He’d never whispered words of adoration, but she felt it in the way he touched her. The way he claimed her. She was his and always would be—from that very first moment. They met and her soul wanted for no one else.

At least in her heart.

Though she’d never tell him.

I can’t.

There’d always been others. Bodies, male and female, good times. Never anything more.

Not like with Kai, which had begun to scare her in a way that nothing else ever did.

As much as Astred lived her life with the freedom of a centuries old pirate, sailing and brawling and partying as she did, her heart was another matter.

It wasn’t hers to give. It belonged to Aeleftheria, whether she wanted it to or not.

He threatened that. Confused her.

She was on her feet, talking—words having no business escaping her mouth. His response felt like claws sinking into her heart, and then his lips were on hers and there were no more words or thoughts.

Just one more time.

Bottle gripped in one hand, the other found his erection, working the hard length.

Kai’s hand slid between the folds of Astred’s dress, smoothing along her thigh and hip.

She deepened the kiss, opening, her body bending to his, arched over her.

As his fingers slid into her moist heat, his cock jerked in her hand.

His mouth left hers, trailing down her chin and jaw to her throat, teeth and tongue grazing the delicate skin as he worked her with his hand, thumb over her nub.

With his free hand, he pushed aside the fabric, giving his roaming mouth access to her nipple.

The building haze took Astred over, she released him and dropped the bottle to the sand, giving her hands the chance to grip his shoulders.

“Kai…” she whispered, wanting his hard length inside of her but also not wanting his magical fingers to stop what they were doing as she ascended.

He alternately sucked and grazed her nipple with his teeth while his fingers drove in and out of her.

Rising, she panted, nails digging into his shoulders, heart twisting.

Goddess, how she missed him. She wanted him to sink into her, filling her depths, their arms around each other, as they used to do. So easy. So right. Some distant part of her knew that wasn’t going to happen. Not here, not now. But it didn’t stop her from wanting it.

She inhaled deeply, recalling his unique scent and slipped, forgetting, just a little, and her dragon rose to the surface as she reached her climax.

No!

But it was too late. It was too much. The pressure to claim her responsibilities to her beloved home, warring with the heartache of missing Kai so very deeply.

Astred lost the tight control as her dragon struggled for dominance, desperate to sink her teeth into Kai’s shoulder as she peaked with a long moan.

‘Claim him!’

Tears sprang to her eyes with the force of it, her arms wrapped around his shoulders, forehead against his collarbone.

Her body shook with the power of the climax and the strength it took to override her dragon’s assertion.

Eyes closed, her hands slid down his muscular arms as she swayed on her feet.

He eased back, his body still taut with need between them. Lifting her chin with a forefinger, he kissed her lips in his gentle way, and whispered, “Goodbye, Red.”

Without another word, he turned and disappeared back into the darkness of the dense tropical forest.