Page 39 of Scales and Seduction (Monster Match #1)

T he forest around the cottage is alive, the air crisp and cool as I run through the trees. Laughter spills from my lips as Gideon’s quickening pace thuds behind me. Each step closer makes my heart race, but not from fear—from the thrill of being caught.

“Catch me if you can!” I call over my shoulder, laughing, seeing my handsome naga mate behind me.

His low growl rumbles through the air, making my pulse flutter. “I will, and when I catch you, I’m going to tear your pretty dress off with my teeth.”

The promise sends a shiver down my spine, but I don’t stop. I dart around a tree, ducking beneath a lower branch. There’s detritus all over the ground, fallen logs and crunching leaves beneath my feet. I can hear nothing but the sound of my thundering footsteps and heartbeat.

“You can’t run forever, pretty morsel…” His voice is low and teasing.

I laugh, pushing myself faster, leaping over a fallen log. “Maybe I don’t want to!”

The forest is alive as if it’s part of our game. The fireflies swirl around me, their golden light warm, while the breeze carries through it pine and earth. I can feel the magic inside me humming wildly as it buzzes through the two of us. It’s part of tonight too; it’s part of our bond. Something that before my magic, I could hardly feel. Now it’s ever-present, and it drives my body wild to be near Gideon. I feed off his energy. I can feel everything he does and more.

A sudden chill runs down my spine as I sense his presence, closer than ever before. The moment he lashes out, my heart hammers against my ribs as his hands close around me, his rough touch sending shivers down my spine, pulling me into his embrace. My feet are off the ground, and I giggle as he spins me around. The world blurs before he pins me to the ground.

Cool earth presses against my back, and his warm scales surround me as his weight pins me in place. My breath is gone as his golden eyes light up with triumph and something sultrier and devious. It makes my body ache in the most delicious way.

“I told you,” he mutters against my throat, “you can’t out run me.”

My chest heaves with exertion, a smirk playing on my lips as I savor his touch. “I wasn’t trying that hard.”

Gideon chuckles, mischievously leaning closer. His breath gusting against the edges of my throat makes my hair stand on end. “Admit it, you wanted this…”

There are no words to describe how much I want him between my legs. The thought of his fangs in my throat, his venom flooding my veins, causes a sharp, agonizing pain to spread through me.

Reaching up to him, I cup the side of his face, pulling him down into a rough, urgent kiss. His soft lips meet mine insistently and passionately, stealing my breath away. His forked tongue dances around mine, and I can taste the flavor of his venom on my tongue. It’s like cloves, spicy and bitter but pleasant as it numbs the places it touches. My body throbs, aching for him as I hook my legs around his torso, pulling him flush to my warm bare skin.

“I wanted it; I want you,” I breathlessly whisper around his lips.

Gideon chuckles, playfully nibbling at my bottom lip. His hands rove over my body, slowly inching along the silk nightgown I’m wearing, and I know what’s coming next. Every touch leaves my skin on fire, and the thrill of him ripping my clothes off makes my pussy burn for him.

His claws hook at the top of the bodice, stretching it wide until I hear the fabric give away. The fabric rips slowly, the shredding noise like music to my ears. The chilly night air nips at my skin, leaving pebbles of gooseflesh along my arms and legs. Gideon’s eyes are boring holes in mine, and a devilish smirk dances across his lips as my breasts and body lay bare to him.

“You’re incredible,” he says, glancing down adoringly at me. His eyes rove over every inch of my skin, forcing heat to rise to my cheeks even though he’s seen me naked a hundred times. I’ll never get over the hungry way he looks at me, as if I’m the most desirable woman he’s ever had the pleasure of knowing.

As if a switch flips, his eyes grow dark and hungry. He grabs hold of both of my wrists, forcing them above my head. “You look so delicious.”

My entire body is on fire as his golden eyes look at me, ready to devour me. “Are you planning to eat me?”

Gideon leans down toward my left breast, flicking the nipple with his tongue. The sensation sends a shock through my body, pooling heat right between my legs. I’m so horny, I can’t stand myself.

“Bite me there...” The thought of his venom coursing through my body, the exquisite pain and pleasure of his bite on my breast would be so fucking good.

“I intend to take my time licking your pretty cunt and filling you with my cum,” he mutters against my skin. “And then I’m going to knot you.”

My mind drifts to the knots at the base of each of his cocks. Fuck it, I don’t care. I want everything he can give me. “Please…”

A low growl emanates from his throat as he takes my nipple into his mouth to suck on it.

“Fuck,” I mewl, grinding my body against his already extruded cocks. I can feel his leaking pre-cum against my thigh.

Gideon gives me no time to brace for the pain; his sucking changes into him clamping his fangs down directly onto my nipple. The venom releases into my bloodstream in a searing explosion of pain. My mouth flies open to scream, but once the venom hits my heart, which takes only seconds, the agony becomes voracious hunger.

I love the way his venom feels inside me. It wakes every nerve, sending everything into a tailspin of arousal. The moment it hits is a rush like nothing else. My pussy throbs, and I moan, arching into him greedily. My vision becomes hazy, seeing everything through a cloud of lust.

Gideon’s fangs retract, along with his lips, in a satisfying pop. The air around it tingles, licking at my skin like thousands of tongues, amping up the arousal I feel. “That’s my good girl. You take it so well now.” His praise alone envelops me in a pink cloud, the sound of his voice the most erotic thing I’ve ever heard.

“Mhm...thank you,” I mewl, but my voice feels oh so far away.

He smirks, pleased at my reply, and once he’s sure that I’m dosed appropriately for our fun, he leaves one hand holding mine pinned above my head. The other wrenches my body up so it’s bent unnaturally toward his. Gideon leans down, planting his lips against my pussy, and takes a slow drag of his tongue down the center.

“Oh god, yes…” I relish the sensation as he eagerly drinks in the sweet flood of juices his venom creates. His tongue flicks briefly over my clit, and stars dot my vision, the stimulation already too intense. But I want more.

Gideon doesn’t stop; his tongue flattens, rubbing circles against my clit until I feel the tantalizing building of my orgasm. My breathing is so quick that I hardly hear it over the blood rushing in my ears. I’m so close; the precipice of my orgasm is right there, and he knows it. His eyes peer down at me, and all at once, he removes his tongue, grinning madly. “You can’t come, not until I’m in your tight little ass.”

“Yes, sir…” But the whine of disappointment is louder than my agreement to the terms. Gideon drops my body roughly to the mossy ground, causing me to grunt, though there’s no pain involved.

A hand goes under my hips, and he rolls me to my stomach with ease. The globes of my ass are in the air, the cold air licking at my skin, and without so much as a sound, his hand collides roughly with the left cheek. “This is for running,” he says, playing the part we’d agreed on.

Another rough slap and another until my nails are digging into my palms. Each one forces the air out of my mouth, but the sensation blossoms from pain to tantalizing need.

“Please fuck me, sir,” I mewl as his hand stays upon the burning skin, cooling it with his scales.

Gideon growls, tilting my hips just enough that the tips of both cocks are at each entrance. The hand around my waist moves down between my legs, and I hear him gasp. “Did you do this for me?” he asks, his tone filled with astonishment.

I know what he sees. It’s the plug I put in just for him tonight. The man has toys of all kinds, and I knew what I wanted. It’s a metal plug with a gem on the top, the color of my namesake.

“Ye—” I can’t finish as his finger presses down on the gem, shoving the plug in deeper. My body arches forward as the sensation amps up my growing desire.

“Ruby, you are the perfect woman,” he whispers, slowly pulling the plug from my ass. I hear him toss it to the side. The little thud of metal makes a noise against the moss, but he gives me no time to acclimate to the lack of fullness.

Gideon’s cocks press into each hole, immediately forcing a moan tumbling from my lips. It feels so good to have him inside me; the cool softness of his scales feels unbelievable. Once he’s fully seated, he pushes my back down to the ground, pressing me against the moss and dirt. “I’m going to fuck you so hard, baby.”

His words send a delightful tingle of promise over my skin that makes a whimper eke from my lips. “Please.” I manage the word only once as Gideon begins his brutal pace.

The rhythm is disorganized and messy. I can’t move or grind my hips with him; all I can do is take. My teeth clack together with the ferocity of his thrusts, and I have to tilt my chin up, so I don’t eat the dirt below me.

I can’t breathe; my moans turn to screams as the building thread inside my stomach begs to be released. “Please, I’m gonna…”

“Come now,” he says, and the thread of my orgasm snaps. My entire body tenses, my back arches, and my pussy tightens as stars dot my vision. Then I feel it, the thickest part of his cocks at its base goes inside my throbbing pussy. It doesn’t hurt—no, everything feels so unbelievably tight and full. I love it, being this close to him, feeling so close to him.

Gideon’s cocks throb with his own release close behind mine. He grunts, jerking his hips upward into me as his cum coats my insides with a roar. His nails dig into my skin as he whispers over and over in my ear, “Fuck! Ruby, fuck, you’re so good.”

In the moments afterward, curled against his chest, naked beneath the stars, I’m completely content. I can hear his heart beating beneath me. It’s slower, and the steady rhythm could lull me to sleep. Gideon’s claws lazily thread through my hair, scratching at my scalp absentmindedly as we lie in silence.

“Ruby?” His voice is steady, though soft, as if sleep has started pulling at him. “There’s something I want to say. Can you sit up to look at me?”

Blinking, I sit up slightly, so I can turn my body enough to face him. Gideon’s eyes are soft, but there’s a hesitancy that lurks there too, something almost like fear.

His fingers begin to glow light gold, and a small opening forms in the air. The gold magic has a dark hole in its center. It’s not large enough for anything but a tiny mouse to fit through, but he pulls from it a small object. The opening vortex slowly disappears, leaving behind a wooden box in his palm.

“I’ve faced so many things in life,” he begins sincerely. “Before you came here, I was living life with such a weight on my shoulders, duty before my own happiness. I was depressed and felt like there was nothing left for me to do but be a pawn. But nothing has scared me more than the thought of losing you.”

Tears prick my eyes as he continues, his piercing eyes never leaving mine.

“You’ve changed me, Ruby. You brought light and laughter back into my life. I love you more than I ever thought possible.” He opens the small wooden box, and inside is a delicate silver band that looks like woven vines. In its center is a ruby, my namesake set within the band. It’s gorgeous.

My god, is he proposing to me? My heart skips several beats as my breathing hitches in waiting. He loves me… He wants to be with me.

Gideon holds out the ring, his hands steady despite the intensity in his eyes. “You’re my mate, my partner and everything I’ve wanted. And if you’ll have me, I want you as my bride. My queen and my forever.”

For a moment, all I can do is stare at him. Tears spill down my cheeks, and I finally inhale a deep, stuttering breath to find the words I want to say.

“Yes,” I whisper, my voice breaking while I sniffle. “I love you too.”

Gideon’s smile is blinding as he slips the ring onto my finger. The ruby catches the light of the moon, flickering like its own flame. His lips capture mine in a kiss that encapsulates his promise, his vow of forever.

Swiping right has never felt so perfect before. Gideon is mine, and I am his, always and forever.