Page 12 of Red Fury (The Dragon Tributes #8)

S hadow

I close my eyes and reach for my dragon. For a moment, nothing happens. She’s so deep inside me, buried under weeks of suppression, that I have to dig to find her.

Once she realizes that I am actually trying to shift, she surges forward with a vengeance.

Despite the surge, the shift starts slowly. It’s normal after such a long wait. It’s like my body has forgotten what to do.

My bones begin to lengthen, and instead of the usual sharp pain, there’s a deep, rolling pleasure that starts in my core and spreads outward. Every nerve ending comes alive as my muscles stretch and expand.

Good.

So good.

I groan as scales begin pushing through my skin, and it feels like pure ecstasy. Each one that emerges sends waves of sensation through my body that have me gasping. My spine elongates with delicious pressure, and when my wings finally unfurl, the feeling is so intense I nearly collapse.

It’s from suppressing my beast for so long. This time, though, the pleasure is even more intense, and I think I know the reason. He’s standing, watching me; his black scales seem to shine like ink. His eyes fix on me with an intensity that sends shivers through me.

My entire body tingles as the transformation completes. My scales are gray with an iridescent sheen. My wings easily span the entire clearing.

I expect to feel the usual feral hunger, the desperate need to fly and hunt and destroy. Instead, I feel something else entirely. Something that makes me want to crawl out of my own scales in embarrassment.

My dragon is focused on Fury, drawn to his huge form like a magnet. Before I can stop myself, I’m moving toward him, a deep rumbling purr emanating from my chest. I press my side against his, rubbing against him like a cat in heat.

What the hell!?

I need to stop this, only I can’t since I don’t have any say in the matter. She is in charge, and she wants him.

Noooooo!

He’s the enemy.

You can’t!

No! What the hell are you doing? Down, girl! Down!

It doesn’t work. She rubs up against him again, a deep rumble leaving her throat. This has never happened to me before. Ever. My dragon has always been wild when she’s free. She likes to fly and hunt. Not…whatever the hell this is.

Fury rumbles back, a sound that’s gentle but filled with a hint of surprise. He moves away, putting distance between us, but I follow him.

Of course I do.

I can’t stop myself from nuzzling against his neck. From purring like a love-sick kitten.

I’m mortified.

It’s been too long since I’ve been with a male. Far too long. I’ve been so focused on my career, on being the perfect academy leader, that I’ve neglected this part of myself completely. And now my dragon is making it clear what she thinks about that decision.

My arousal takes a renewed hold of me. It starts as a low throb but quickly builds to something that has my entire dragon form trembling with need. My beast wants him. Wants to mate with him right here, right now, in the most primal way possible.

I crouch down onto all fours.

Stop!

Noooooo!

She refuses to listen to reason.

All I want is for the ground to swallow me whole. We don’t mate in our dragon forms.

I fight for control, but she’s stronger than I am right now. She’s been contained for too long, and now that she’s free, she’s not listening to reason. Not at all.

Typical.

Fury tries to step back again, but I follow him across the clearing, my movements becoming more and more desperate. I’m practically writhing against him now, and the humiliation is almost as intense as the arousal.

Stop! I scream at my dragon. Stop this right now!

But she doesn’t listen. If anything, she becomes more insistent, more desperate.

Fury rumbles again, this time in what sounds like gentle amusement mixed with concern. He nuzzles my neck briefly – a gesture meant to comfort, not inflame – then pulls back and turns his giant head to look directly into my eyes.

His rumble takes on a commanding tone, and I feel my dragon finally pause in her shameless display.

Shift back; he’s telling me to shift back and to do it now.

I try, but my dragon resists. She doesn’t want to give up this freedom, doesn’t want to return to being caged inside my human form. The arousal is still coursing through me, making it impossible to think clearly.

She wants him to rut her first.

My beast stays on all fours, putting her hind in the air, her tail to the side. There is nothing suggestive about this pose. Nothing at all.

Yeah, right.

Fury rumbles again, more insistently this time. His dragon approaches mine, pressing his forehead against mine in a gesture that’s both dominant and protective. Then he pulls back and snarls at us, baring his teeth.

My dragon stands, dropping her tail.

Thank Scale!

He snarls at her again, his tail whipping from side to side in an agitated fashion. He’s demanding I shift.

It takes everything I have to finally wrestle my dragon back under control. The shift back to human form is almost as intense as the transformation itself, every nerve ending on fire as I shrink back to my normal size.

But the arousal doesn’t disappear with my scales as I hoped it would.

If anything, it’s worse now. My skin is hypersensitive, my nipples tight and aching, and there’s a throbbing between my legs that makes me want to whimper. I’m so wet I can feel it on my thighs.

I’m desperate.

Why?

What is this?

I hear Fury shift back behind me, but I can’t bring myself to turn around. I’m too embarrassed, too aroused, too confused by what just happened.

“Shadow.” His voice is rough; his vocal cords still remember his dragon form.

I turn around, and the sight of him nearly brings me to my knees. He’s magnificent in the moonlight, all hard muscle and masculine perfection. And he’s aroused too, his cock standing proud and thick between his legs.

“It’s okay,” he starts to say. “I understand that your dragon—”

Something snaps inside me.

I launch myself at him with desperate hunger, slamming him back against the nearest tree. The bark scrapes against his shoulders, but he doesn’t seem to care. My mouth crashes against his in a kiss that’s all teeth and tongue and raw need.

I feel her just below the surface. I still feel my scales even though they have pulled back. I feel like an animal.

He responds just as wildly, his hands fisting in my hair as he devours my mouth. I can feel his hard cock pressing against my stomach, and I grind against him shamelessly, seeking friction. I rub my pussy against him and groan deeply into his mouth.

“Fuck,” he growls against my lips, his voice rough and animalistic. “I can smell how wet you are. I can feel it.”

I bite his lower lip hard enough to make him hiss, tasting copper. “Then do something about it,” I pant against his mouth. “Now!”

His hands slide down to grip my ass, lifting me up so I can wrap my legs around his waist. The rough bark of the tree scrapes against my back, but the slight pain only adds to the desperation coursing through me.

“What do you want?”

“Touch me,” I gasp, grinding my pussy against his cock.

“We probably shouldn’t.” His voice is a rough rasp.

“Probably not, but I need you to touch me. I need—”

One of his hands slides between us, his fingers finding my clit and stroking in firm circles that make me throw my head back and cry out. The sound echoes through the trees, wild and primal.

“Yes!”

“Christ, you’re soaked,” he groans, sliding two fingers deep inside my pussy. I’m so wet they slide in easily, and the stretch makes me moan.

“More,” I demand, my nails digging into his shoulders hard enough to leave marks. “I need more.”

He pumps his fingers in and out of me, his thumb working my clit with devastating precision. But it’s not enough.

“Need more,” I grind out. “Make me come.”

“I want to taste you,” he says in a rough voice. “Can I put my mouth on you?”

Twenty fucking questions.

“Yes. Do it!” Suddenly, the thought of his mouth on me is exactly what I need. I can’t wait.

He groans, lowering me until my feet touch the ground. Before I can lose my nerve, I spin around and brace my hands against the tree, arching my back and presenting myself to him in the same way my dragon did not so long ago. I should be just as mortified, but I’m not.

I need this.

I need him. First his mouth and then his cock.

“So fucking beautiful,” he growls, dropping to his knees behind me.

The first stroke of his tongue against my pussy has me crying out, my fingers clawing at the bark. He groans against me, the vibration making my entire body shudder.

“You taste incredible,” he murmurs, his breath hot against me.

Then he sets to work in earnest, his tongue working over my clit with mind-blowing skill. He alternates between gentle circles and firm pressure that has me writhing against him.

“Fury,” I gasp, my legs shaking as he slides his tongue deep inside me, fucking me with it. I gasp and groan deep.

He slides two fingers into my pussy, curling them in a way that makes my eyes roll back, while his tongue focuses on my clit. The combination is overwhelming, and I can feel my orgasm building fast and hard.

By now, I am mewling and panting, my whole body vibrating with my pending orgasm. My eyes are wide, my mouth, too. It’s like I can’t get enough air.

“Come for me,” he commands against my nub. “Let me hear you scream.” He suckles on my clit. His fingers move faster, in and out. My body is making these wet noises that somehow turn me on even more.

He growls against my flesh as he suckles me some more. My breasts are bouncing as I rock against his face.

Yes!

Yes!

Fuck, yes!

I shatter completely, my orgasm ripping through me with an intensity that leaves me shaking and gasping for breath. I do scream, the sound echoing through the trees as my pussy clenches around his fingers. A few scales pop out, the sensation taking me up a few more notches.

I grip the tree as spasms rock through me.

Fury doesn’t stop until the last aftershock fades, then he stands and spins me around, pressing me back against the tree. When his mouth finds mine again, I can taste myself on his lips, and it only inflames me further.

I pull him down for a deeper kiss, my hands exploring the hard planes of his chest, feeling the rapid beat of his heart under my palms.

His cock is hard against me.

“Do you want me to fuck you?” he asks.

Yes!

One simple word, and it’s on the tip of my tongue. Right there.

But as the post-orgasmic haze starts to clear, reality creeps back in.

What the hell am I doing?

I push against his chest, and he immediately pulls back, his eyes searching my face.

“We can’t,” I whisper, my voice shaking. “We can’t do this. Shit! I shouldn’t have… We…we shouldn’t have. Crap!” I scrub a hand over my face.

Even as I say the words, my body is screaming in protest. My clit is throbbing like my orgasm never happened. I want more. I want him inside me…deep inside. But I can’t let myself have it or him. Not him.

He rocks back on his heels, his breathing as ragged as mine. “You’re probably right.” He drags a hand through his hair. “Sex would complicate things.”

“I am right. We may have a tentative truce thing going on, but we’re still…we’re on opposite sides,” I continue, more to convince myself than him. “Our people are in danger, and here we are…” I gesture helplessly between us.

“Screwing around,” he finishes, his voice dry.

“Yes.” I take a step away from him, suddenly very aware of my nakedness. “That was a mistake. One that can’t happen again.”

When he doesn’t say anything, I add, “For the record, that wasn’t me. That was my dragon. I lost my mind there for a second. Her arousal became my arousal… It… I…”

Heat floods my cheeks.

His smile widens, and he licks his lips. The same lips that were on me moments earlier.

Oh, my word! I threw myself at him.

“Your dragon is part of you, Shadow. You can’t separate the two. You shouldn’t lay all the blame on her. It isn’t fair.”

“Draig dragons are feral,” I snap, reaching for my clothes.

“We’re far less in sync than Mistveil dragons.

Don’t flatter yourself. That was all her.

You must know how the beast can linger for a while after the transformation back to human.

For whatever bizarre reason, my dragon likes your dragon. That’s all.”

“If you say so.”

“I do.” I start pulling on my clothes with jerky movements, trying not to look at his still-very-erect cock. “I’m not shifting like this again. I go home in less than a week.”

“You’ll go home for what…? A weekend? A couple of days, at best?

You might not have a choice in the matter in a few weeks’ time,” he says conversationally, making no move to get dressed.

“We’re clearly attracted to each other. Maybe a quick fuck would be good for both of us.

A way to get each other out of our systems, so that we can concentrate on the job at hand. ”

I glare at him as I pull my shirt over my head. Then I choke out a laugh. “You’re serious?”

“Yes, I am.”

“Well, you can get that idea right out of your head. It’s not going to happen. We can’t. Surely you know that?”

“You’re overthinking things.”

“I am not. We can’t fuck; we’re enemies.”

“I hear that hate-sex is the best kind. We’ll leave our emotions at the door.”

That damned smile again, the one that makes anger rise in my chest and my clit throb with renewed need.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

Why did he have to come along and ruin everything? I was doing just fine on my own. Now my dragon is betraying me, as is my body.

I shove my feet into my shoes and start walking back toward the car. Just before I reach the tree line, I turn back to him and thank Scale, he is finally getting dressed.

“No way! I need you to forget this ever happened, Red.”

“No can do, Draiger. I can still taste you. I can still hear those sounds you made when you came hard on my mouth.”

“That was a mistake.”

“Tell your pussy that.”

I gasp. “You’re rude and arrogant.”

“And you love it.”

“You wish!” I groan in frustration and stomp away, his low chuckle following me through the trees.

This is a disaster. A complete and utter disaster.

And the worst part? Even now, with anger and embarrassment warring in my chest, all I can think about is going back there.

I hate that he wants it just as much as I do. All I have to do is say the word, and he’d finish what he started. I think I might like it altogether too much. It’s why it can never happen.