Page 17

“I f I buy you things , I get the final say on some of them. Just some. Say ten of them?”

Angela squints at me. “That’s controlling red flag number one. I’m dressing how I want.”

“No, no.” I turn the truck into a parking spot and look at the bustling mall entrance, currently filled with high schoolers who just got out of school. “I mean, since I’m buying, I get to pick out ten things I want you to wear, in addition to the things you want.”

“I... I just need some jeans, shorts, and shirts. Okay, and underwear. And pajamas. Shoes.”

“Don’t need pajamas,” I mutter. “Okay, five things.”

“Three.”

“Only you would talk me out of getting you more gifts.” I roll my eyes and fight down my urges to pull her into the backseat of this double cab monstrosity and ravish her. “Stubbornness is very attractive in a dragon,” I finally confess as Angela looks at me, one dark brow arched and lips pursed.

“Oh, then honey... You’re going to want to invest in another cup of coffee because I can stubborn all night long,” Angela teases.

Suddenly I have the vision of me teasing my curvy mate, keeping her on the edge of peaking, giving her pleasure, then stopping cold—to see how long her stubbornness lasts. And maybe when she sees the three things I have in mind for her, that will be the plan for the night. Maybe every night for a week. Or a month...

***

S HOES. SNEAKERS AND flats. Leggings and jeans. Plain cotton shirts. I keep a running tab in my head. I have to pay him back someday. I could use the cash in my wallet, but I have a feeling Graham will growl and maybe even blow smoke out of his nose if I try.

He follows behind me. “This is pretty.” A black cocktail dress. “I like this!” A cute blue sundress. “You didn’t get a purse. Don’t women need handbags to match dresses?” Graham follows me like a puppy with a shopping fetish, tripling the cost with everything he picks up, and I can’t even tell him to leave because he’s technically my bodyguard. Speaking of which...

“Anything from Ardy Walsh?”

“Nope. But he says that’s a good thing. It means no big showdowns have occurred or anything like that. No one has spotted any unusual newcomers in town. The Country Pines Motel is vacant—and that’s normal, apparently.”

I nod and get lost in my own thoughts as I let Graham tug me where he wants to go in the small mall that looks like a holdover from the early 1990s. Just as I’m wondering if the greater Pine Ridge area has pockets of time warp, Graham’s voice breaks into my thoughts.

“Which one would you pick?”

“Which what would I—oh. Oh!” My eyes focus on rows and rows of glittering jewels. Rings. “I don’t want a ring,” I stammer.

“It’s one of my three things. I want you to have a ring.”

“Graham! No.”

Graham comes behind me, his arms full of shopping bags, and whispers in my ear. “You promised. I’m paying.”

“I don’t want a ring,” I repeat.

“Because you don’t want me? Or you don’t want it now? Or something else?” he hisses.

“I’m not ready. I... I don’t deserve this.” The words spring out and catch me unawares. I want love! I want a man who supports my dreams—as I try to figure out what the hell they look like in reality. “I shouldn’t act like some spoiled little rich girl. I played along for my mom’s sake, got to the point where I kind of believed, and then it all blew up in my face. Princesses don’t seem to actually be very happy people, do they? Not in the real world.”

Graham accepts that with a sad inclination of his head.

“Look, I love the idea. I do. But good things don’t just fall into my lap like this. If they do, they come with bad things, too,” I explain more gently.

Graham nods slowly and moves me along the display cases until he stops in front of one bright amethyst in an opal shape. It doesn’t scream engagement ring, but we both stare at it.

“It matches you,” I say, voice quivering. I suddenly want that thing on my finger more than I want my next breath.

“If I give this to you—I will take all the bad that comes wi’ it. I promise ye,” Graham hisses, voice low and accent thick.

“Graham...”

“At least let me see if I can convince you to wear it after tonight?” he wheedles, and I cave. How could I not? I’ve never had anyone share so much of himself with me, had someone literally and figuratively take me under their wings like he has. “All right.”

“Good. Now, we just have one more stop to make.”

***

I HAVE NO PROBLEM WITH items two and three that Graham wants me to wear—a pair of pink high-heeled slippers with the fancy fluff above the peep-hole toes, and a satin babydoll nightgown in a matching shade. The ring sits in a box next to my bed—and a purple beast with horns and fangs lies on top of it.

Graham strokes both cocks as he watches me enter the room, his devilish smile widening. “My treasure in her pretty wrapping. Will you take what’s in this pretty box?” He sets the dark plum-colored velvet box in the middle of his rippling abs, still pumping, massive hand wrapped around his thicker, fuller cock and the smaller one as well. For a moment, I imagine what it would be like to have both of them inside of me, to feel the friction of them pulsing inside of me while rubbing against each other. Stuffed so full... feeling both loads bursting in my pussy.

With a snap, the box opens, and Graham entreats, “My angel. My princess. My sweet little mate. Put this on your finger and say you’ll be mine.”

“Baby, don’t rush me. I want to make sure some crazy thing doesn’t rip us apart,” I say, sashaying over to him. I love the way he looks me up and down, eyes starving and lips parted as he takes in the sight of me.

“A crazy thing brought us together. I’m sorry I fell in love so hard, so fast.”

Oooh, direct hit to my heart. “Never be sorry for that. Just know I’m going to take a little longer to get to where you are.”

He puts the ring off to the side. “You won’t mind if I try to convince you to reach that point a little sooner, will ye?”

“No, I won’t,” I say with an indulgent smile. I lean down to kiss him and find myself suddenly crushed against his chest, muscular arms and wings making a purple prison as his tongue dances with mine. “Can we do this every night? The sex, not the shopping?”

He laughs, a sweet, smoky sound in my ear. “Almost every night but Friday. That is when I’m supposed to go to the Night Market and run the stall for Ian.”

“You have a whole brick-and-mortar store and a thriving business. Why do you need to run a stall at a flea market? Admittedly, the nicest flea market with the coolest stuff I’ve ever seen, but still?”

“It’s more of a service, pet,” Graham says as he strokes his talons lightly over my skin, setting my spine to tingling. “Some people in Pine Ridge can’t move safely by day. They need the moonlight or the darkness to let them do their shopping. My brother has an entire section of night-blooming plants. Jasmine, cereus, hellebore, phlox, jasmine, and more. I’ve got to run the stall on Friday nights until late. You want to come with me or stay home? I can ask one of the neighbors to stay with you.”

“Alban Wymark, the badass warlock?” I query.

“How did—”

“People in this town know each other’s business way too much—but they don’t seem nasty about it. I’d rather go with you than stay home.” I nuzzle my cheek against his chest. “We can have a quick dinner of leftover lasagna.”

“You’re the best cook in the world,” Graham says, nibbling my ear. His fingers reach beneath the fluttering hem of my nightgown, and he uses his talons to lightly stroke my puffy nether lips. One tip scrapes gently over my clit and makes me gasp, a rush of wetness flooding me. Graham dips his finger easily inside and starts to stroke in and out while his mouth dances over my throat.

“Oh. Oh, that’s nice,” I sigh.

And then he stops. “You know, there’s not much Italian food in this town? That was a rare treat tonight. The chef over at the River House used to keep a few Italian specials on rotation, some pasta dishes, but nothing like that lasagna. Mm. My mother couldn’t make such a thing unless it came out of a box in the freezer section. Mind you, my father was never much for pasta to begin with.”

“That’s the way it is in some families, I guess,” I say with a puzzled shrug. “But we weren’t talking about food, were we?”

“Mm, you’re right. Although I seem to have neglected my dessert.”

Graham picks me up and stands me on the bed as he scoots down, his wings open against the pillows propped on the headboard. “Glorious sight,” he sighs, looking up my dress and guiding me to stand over his mouth. “Built-in handles, love.” He taps his horns, and I cling to them as he pulls me down to sit on his mouth.

I’ve never done face-sitting before, and all I can say is that all women should have partners with built-in handles. The first strokes of his tongue make my toes curl and my knees buckle. I fall off my fancy slipper-heels, and Graham’s hands catch me, digging into my ass as he moans.

He switches from sucking, to licking, to running his fingers around my clit and then plunging inside of me, keeping me on a tilt-a-whirl of almost-climax.

“Would you like to keep the slippers off and put the ring on?” he asks.

“Honey,” I whine as his tongue leaves me.

It doesn’t return. Soft little pecks and nibbles replace the thorough tongue fucking I was getting.

“I just thought I’d check,” he says innocently and eases me back onto the bed. “Such a needy wet puss,” he croons.

“Your fault.”

“Proudly.” Graham settles over top of me, and his smaller cock nudges its way inside, the thick, heavy upper cock rubbing my clit on every stroke.

“More. I want more of you,” I beg, reaching for his cock, only to have his hand snatch mine back.

“Patient. We’ll enjoy it more if we wait.”

But that’s a one-sided opinion.

For the next ten minutes, Graham teases me with his smaller cock, letting it do most of the work, then briefly dipping the larger one in, surprising me by pushing it all in on one stroke, sending my pussy muscles into ecstacy, and then returning to languid cuddles where he barely penetrates me.

It’s nice. It’s loving. Tender.

It isn’t what I was expecting. “Are you feeling okay?” I ask.

“Mmhm. Are you?”

“I was hoping for a little more time with the extra special package,” I admit.

“Ohhh, I can oblige my mate.” Graham nods and switches gears, taking me on a roller coaster ride.

First, his thicker, longer cock splits me wide, and I feel like my pussy is swallowing him whole—all the pressure builds and sends me racing to the edge. And then the smaller cock takes its turn, still a decent size, but confusing my muscles. If only he would pick one and stick with it, but no, he’s on some quest to please me with both. If he does it long enough, he’ll succeed.

But in the meantime, I’m going crazy. I want him in. I want both. “I want both cocks. Let’s try both,” I pant, fingers tangling in his hair.

I hear his excited intake of breath, feel his muscles tensing. Then he stops and settles for kissing me hard. “Later, love,” he says. “I want to take my time.”

“But you’re so hard. I can feel how bad you want me.” I tug him by the horns, keeping him pressed against me. “And can’t you feel how badly I want you?”

Fingers slide in me, followed by a tail. This dragon owns every inch of me and wants to remind me—but then he stops short of delivering. “Want me to beg, is that it?” I laugh. “Well, I will. Please give me your cocks.”

“Please wear my ring,” he counters.

“Graham!”

“Where do you want them?” he asks. “In your pussy? One in each? Your tight little bum? I don’t think they’ll fit, love.”

“My pussy,” I moan as he rubs both against me, sliding through my soaking folds and over my clit. “Both, please.”

Graham’s hand grips both of his cocks, compressing them. With a grunt, he lines them up at my entrance and feeds them in, slowly, pushing past the limits of what I’ve ever experienced, making me wince in pain and then lose myself in pleasure as I feel my pussy throbbing around them.

They pulse, too, trapped in my heat. “That’s so incredible,” I gasp. “So full.”

“Like it?”

“Mmmm, yes.”

“I was hoping to deprive you of such pleasure. Keep you on the edge all night, little mate,” Graham whispers.

“Huh? You were?”

“But I can’t resist you. I wanted to see if I could torture and tease my way into your heart—and get my ring onto your finger.” Graham’s shoulders drop, and he pushes inside of me, burrowing in deeper and beginning the steady rocking motion that builds and builds like nothing else. “But I could never do that to you. Even in fun, I can’t stand to leave you needing anything—especially not me.”

He always wants me to have him.

He wants me to want him. He wants to be the only one. I would get three incredible beings in one, and all he would get is me... and that’s all he wants? “The way you love me? Is why I love you back.” I stare steadily at him, hands stroking down the sides of his surprised face. “And that’s why I want to wear that beautiful ring—because it is from your beautiful heart.”

“Oh, my Angela! My treasure!” Graham grabs for the box, misses, and falls off the edge of the bed, taking me with him. I land on top, his cocks popping free and both of us making noises of discomfort. “Oh my wings.”

“My butt,” I gasp, moving gingerly.

“Worth it,” Graham grunts, grabbing the box successfully this time. He slides the ring over my finger and holds my hand to his chest. “My mate. My wife.”

“I can’t believe it. I turn down a proposal from a stranger this week only to end up accepting one from a dragon,” I giggle.

“I won’t even tell you what my week was like,” Graham snorts.

“Can we go back to the delicious double-stuffing now? Please?” I flutter my fingers under his nose, showing off my ring.

“Abso-bloody-lutely.” Graham pounces on me and turns me onto my knees.

With a little screech of pleasure, I feel his tongue slide across my clit and through my soaking entrance as he holds my thighs apart with his talons, and then he sheaths himself inside.

In this position, all of his dragon strength and size come into play. One hand grips my hip and the others shove his cocks inside my entrance, the girth making me cry out. My knees spread as my mind spirals, and the only thing registering is the buzz of pleasure that comes every time he moves.

“Such a perfect pussy, made to wrap around me in both forms,” Graham crows.

I sneak a look back at him as he throws his head back, hair streaming back between his horns, forked tongue lolling. “What about your third?” I tempt, panting as I push back against him, because yes, I am a glutton for punishment.

“Oh, I doubt there’s any way that you could accommodate me as a full dragon, love. But if my treasure would ever sleep naked against me, I’d keep you warm, tucked under my wing, and my heart would be full.”

Such a beautiful speech, and It’s all I can do not to be crude and say, “Not as full as my pussy.” By a sheer miracle, I don’t. I don’t even know if I could make words at this point. Graham slams into me harder and faster as I loosen around him, and I feel a mixture of our essences leaking from me, coating my inner thighs. “We’re ruining the carpet,” I say. Or at least, I try to say. It comes out as jumbled mush and moaning.

“I’ll have it professionally cleaned. I’ll have the place covered in grass seed and make an Eden for you, treasure of mine,” Graham cries and plugs me, locked in deep.

I almost collapse under him, thighs and knees giving out as the spiraling, buzzing pleasure seems to suddenly pop. I spasm and feel an echoing twitch from Graham before I’m absolutely flooded.

“Wow,” I whisper, sinking down, stretched out like a yawning cat.

“How soon can I add a gold wedding band to your finger?” Graham asks.

“Impatient wing-a-ling,” I giggle.

“You like my wings. They can take us on a honeymoon anywhere this side of the Atlantic, after all.”

“We can’t get married until I know where my mom is going to be. Or Ronnie. Or your brother and sister-in-law. Oh, God, what if they hate me? I just ruined their carpet!”

“ We ruined the carpet. I guess from now on I can only claim you in our own bed. In our house.”

“Which will be... where?” I ask.

“Oh, Pine Ridge, I imagine. Picture it, Angela...”

Graham paints a picture, but I’m drifting away as he picks me up and carries me back to bed.

He’ll partner with his brother again, who always wanted him to come back to the family business, and back to the family, period. We’ll have little ones to play with baby Murdo Graham Lewis Kane. We’ll have a home of our own... Not so very grand.

My castle will be smaller, but I’ll always be his princess, he says.

“You’ll always be my dragon,” I promise, then fall asleep with my hand curled through his.