Page 37 of The Dragon King’s Claw (The Dragons of Serai #17)

“The clue is in the case,” I muttered.

I was with the King in his carriage. Again. And he was trying to talk to me. Again. This time I heard him.

“What did he mean?” the King asked.

“That's what I'm trying to work out.”

“Not the message about the clue.” He grabbed my hand. “The 'you're welcome.' What was that about? He's said it to you twice now.”

“I don't know.”

“Tekhan!”

“I don't know! It has me baffled, and I don't like this feeling.”

The King narrowed his eyes at me.

“I need to go home. I have to look over Kun-lo's case again. Lay it all out and search it for whatever I've missed.”

“The last time you went home, you were abducted.”

“Well, that's not a risk anymore.”

“I'm not so sure. There's still Hallaxgral to contend with.”

“He's not going to abduct me. He wants me to play with him.”

“Like children.” He shook his head.

“No, not like children.”

“Yes, I know. I was just . . .” The King sighed. “You're coming home with me. We have the case files here.” He waved at the leather satchel containing the files. It was right beside the sack with our bloody clothes in it. “You can look them over after you've had your dinner.”

“Now, you're treating me like a child.”

“It seems that I must.” He nodded toward the window. “It's late. The sun has fallen. Would you have remembered to eat if I let you go home?”

“If you let me?” I cocked my head at him.

“Yes, if I let you.” The King narrowed his stare at me. “What did I say, Tekhan?”

“When?”

“You know when. Right before I slid my cock into you.”

I flinched at the crudeness of his words.

“Oh, look at that. That got through, did it?” He leaned in. “Maybe I should use that kind of language with you all the time.” His hand slid over my leg and then in between. Nudging at first, and then he squeezed me. There.

I sucked in a breath.

“You agreed to this. But maybe I wasn't clear enough. You are mine. That means if I want you to stay at the castle, you will. If I want you to eat dinner, you will. If I want to bend you over and fuck you, wherever we are, you will allow it. Is that clear enough?”

A blush rose even as blood pooled somewhere else in my body. Somewhere much lower. Which he knew. Since his hand was on me.

“Yes, you do understand,” he whispered in my ear. “And you like it too, don't you, Tekhan?” He bit my earlobe. “Say it.”

“I'm not saying it.”

The King chuckled softly. “Either you say what we both know is true or you do something else with your mouth. Something else to satisfy me.”

“Are you demanding oral sex?”

“No. I gave you a choice. What will it be?”

I glanced at the open window.

The King reached past me and jerked the curtain closed. Then he did the same for the window next to him.

I was already moving to the carriage floor when he looked back at me. He grinned, knowing I was taking the easy way out, but I ignored it. I was too eager to open his pants.

One thing I will admit is that I love performing oral sex. The feel of a cock in my hand. In my mouth. The taste. The smell. The look on my lover's face. I was about to bring a King to heel without saying a damn thing.

Yeah, he probably thought it was an act of submission.

And he'd be wrong. From the first time I had performed oral sex, I knew it was the giver who had all the control.

The receiver only sat there, hoping for pleasure.

The giver controlled that pleasure. And if they did it right, they could make their lover beg for more.

Or leave them wanting.

On top of that, I got to experience the royal shaft up close.

Yes, I know. We had sex. I had experienced it.

But I didn't have the opportunity to look my fill and touch him there.

Now, I would touch, look, smell, and taste.

I intended to put as much effort and examination into this as I would for a crime scene.

The King's cock was a crime scene. Oh, that made me grin.

“Smiling already?” The King opened his pants and folded down his undershorts. His cock popped up, thick and ready. The scent of clean, aroused, Dragon male filled my nose.

I saw no point in lying about it. “Yes. I like doing this. And I didn't get to the first time.”

His eyebrows went up. “I'll remember that.”

I shoved his knees apart and got between them.

Inhaling, I rubbed my face upward, along his length.

That smell! Fuck, it was addictive. I ventured a lick.

The King's hands went to my shoulders as he groaned.

Very promising. Another lick, and then I wrapped a few fingers around his base.

He was long enough that I'd have to employ them along with my mouth, even though I could take him down my throat.

The tip blushed for me. I ringed it with my tongue and then moved down.

The King growled, his lower body tensing.

Rolling my eyes up, I watched him as I moved up and down on his shaft.

His girth stretched my lips but not too much.

I wasn't uncomfortable. His size was perfect. Everything about him was perfect.

I got into my task, licking and sucking, and then slipping off Tor'rien's cock to suck at his balls.

The sounds of the city filtered past the curtains, making me feel naughty.

We were technically in public. My cock seemed to like that.

It strained against my pants. I squeezed my thighs together to ease my arousal.

And then, as if he sensed my need, the King slid his leg between my thighs and stretched it until my erection pushed against his shin.

The sensation sent me soaring past decorum, and I found myself riding his leg like a common hound.

With every bob of my head, I ground against him.

Usually, I was focused on my lover when I performed oral sex, intent on taking him to the point where he would beg me for release.

But with Tor'rien, we rose together. There was no begging.

I gave without thinking, needing him to crest with me.

And when he came, he held my head down so that I would drink him and pressed his leg up so I soaked his pants.

Only when Tor'rien felt the heat of my release did he cry out, but it was against bared and clenched teeth so he wouldn't draw attention to us.

With my mouth full, I couldn't make a lot of noise either, but I did groan around him even as I swallowed. And when we were both spent, I drew off his flesh and looked up at Tor'rien. He was panting hard, his chest rising and falling, but the look he gave me was tender.

Stroking back my hair, he said, “Nothing about us will ever be normal.”

“What?” I sat back.

The King slipped himself back into his pants. “Don't look so scared. I can read your face, not your mind. You were surprised by what just happened. I concluded that this was unusual for you. Tell me, what part about it didn't conform to your expectations?”

I glanced at the stain on my crotch before I pushed myself up on the bench across from him. It was enough of an answer.

A black brow lifted.“You've never come while giving head?”

“I like to keep the act about my lover.”

The King snorted.

“Why is that amusing?”

“Because no sexual act should be solely about one person.

Sex is a union. It should be pleasurable for both of us.

It shouldn't matter who is receiving and who is giving.” He paused, looking me over, then said, “If there is ever a time when we are having sex and you aren't enjoying it, I need you to tell me immediately. In fact, I demand it.”

I leaned back and stared at him. How interesting.

A generous lover. Many men believed they were generous, but true, giving lovers who placed the needs of their partner as high as their own were hard to find.

That the King of Rushao should be one such man seemed impossible.

His very status should have worked against that.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Tor'rien asked.

“Have you given that command before?”

“Leave it to you to see it as a command.” He rolled his eyes.

“I see things clearly. More clearly than others. It was a command. You said that you demanded it.”

The King blinked. “Yes, you're correct. I . . . no, I've never issued such a command. I've never felt the need.”

“But you do with me?”

“Most men are selfish, Tekhan. But you, although you often seem selfish or dismissive, are neither.

You act in ways a lot of people don't understand. But I understand you. Nearly everything you do is selfless. You have a tendency to see to the needs of others first. It is admirable and precious to me, but it has no place in the bedroom.”

“We are not in a bedroom.”

He laughed. “No, we've yet to get to one, haven't we? But that's about to be amended.” He pulled the curtain aside to reveal that we had arrived at the royal castle.

I looked from the castle to him. “You distracted me so I wouldn't argue with you about coming here for the night.”

The King shrugged and then got out of the carriage. Pausing outside, he said over his shoulder, “Don't forget your files, Claw Shinkai.”

I grabbed the satchel but left the bags of bloody clothes.

I had too much to deal with already. Then I climbed out of the royal carriage and stared upward.

This time, I'd be going inside the castle.

Before I did, I appreciated the view. At night, with lights shining from many windows, the towering structure seemed impossible.

It was humbling that people had built it.

Not just formidable, the royal castle was also beautiful, with stone carvings and statues of trennor birds enhancing the awe-inspiring architecture.

And it was the home of one man. I brought my gaze back to the King. Well, one man and his minions.

I shouldn't call them that. Mainly because I was one of them.

And I don't mean as his lover. I was a claw in his Talon force.

Definitely His Majesty's minion. As beautiful as this noble edifice was, I didn't want to enter it.

But, as I said, I was the King's minion.

And as he said, I belonged to him. So, clutching Kun-lo's case files to my chest like a shield, I followed the King—my lover and liege—into his castle.