Page 3 of Wild for the Wyvern (Mated to the Monster: Season 3)

Two

Kori

T he beautiful man stands up and every perfect inch of him is hard and muscled. And, I mean every inch. His thick cock stands out perpendicular to his chiseled abs and thighs that I couldn’t wrap both hands around and have my fingers touch. He’s enormous.

My cheeks are on fire but I meet his stare. “I’m sorry.”

His smile is criminally gorgeous.

My entire body clenches and a little swirl happens in my stomach.

“What could you have to be sorry for?” he asks, completely unbothered by his nudity.

I, on the other hand, am bothered in the most base way possible. “For looking, I guess.”

His laugh is round and full and makes his cock bounce and my mouth water. “I’d be sorry if you didn’t.” He turns and walks away a few steps before stopping and looking back at me. “What is your name?”

The sight of his round tan ass has me speechless for several beats. I take a deep breath. “Kori. Kori Devers.”

“Kori.” He repeats it softly, as if to himself. “Relax. You’ve had a fright. I’ll let you know when your bath is ready.”

I manage a nod before he turns and strides across the room and down a hall.

Immediately, I sit up. The house is rustic, with tall ceilings, rough-hewn beams, and exposed rafters. Skylights let in the afternoon sun. A stone fireplace sits in the center and faces the living room and seems to open to the outside as well. Behind a wall of windows is a flagstone patio that overlooks the Catskill Mountains. It’s a stunning vista with every shade of brown and green on display.

Taking it slow, I rise to my feet. Once certain that I’m stable and not at all dizzy, I walk to those windows and stare out before giving a full turn to look at the great room belonging to the strangely familiar Drayce Webb.

Maybe it was Drayce who found me in the woods and I had some weird fantasy dream about a dragon. His eyes are the same, though not slitted at the center or red. There’s something strange about the man, but I like his voice. I wanted to touch him. Not once in all my twenty-seven years have I met someone and longed to feel their skin the way I did when he was in front of me.

On the other side of the room, spanning right from the front door, is a kitchen with black cabinets and a huge island. The countertops look like white marble with black veining. It’s stunning. The fixtures are brushed gold. It’s a touch of modern in the rustic house and it works better than I would have thought.

I make my way to the place where I feel most comfortable and admire his forty-eight-inch cooktop and double oven with its red knobs. I would kill to have one of these of my own. It would never fit in my apartment. I have plenty of burners at the restaurant where I work. This is a luxury I can’t afford and would rarely have time to enjoy. I might never leave the house if I had this stove.

“Do you like to cook?”

His sudden question startles me, and I spin around. He’s clothed in cargo shorts and a white tee shirt.

I’m at once relieved and sorry. I almost giggle at my stupidity. “I’m a chef. You have a beautiful home.”

“Thank you. A chef. That’s wonderful. Where do you work?” He rounds the island.

One step at a time, I back away from his approach. He’s so big and male, and my body longs for him in a way that isn’t normal for someone I just met. I don’t even have time to date a man who lives in the city, let alone one nearly three hours upstate. “At No Reservations downtown. This is my first vacation in two years.” I keep backing up as he steadily closes the gap. “So, of course, I get lost in the woods and have a mental breakdown.”

He stops, and I do too. Scanning me from head to toe, he takes a deep breath.

I probably smell like a warthog. My cheeks are on fire. As I back up, my hip hits the corner of the island, and I stumble. Before I can brace for the impact of hitting the floor, Drayce’s arms wrap around me and steady me.

Breathless, I look into his golden eyes. “Sorry.”

“You have nothing to apologize for. I’m happy to keep rescuing you all day and night if you’ll let me.” He takes a deep breath and groans. His voice is rough. “Your bath is ready.”

“Thank you.”

He takes my hand and leads me down a hallway to a bedroom.

I stop at the door and my heart pounds. I’m an idiot. Now I’m going to be raped and killed by the most stunning man on the face of the earth and no one will ever hear from me again.

He releases me. “The bath is in my en suite. I won’t touch you. I promise.” He crosses to the wooden barn door and pushes it aside to reveal the steaming tub. “There’s a latch inside if that makes you feel better. But I promise not to enter unless invited.”

Drawn to the scent of roses and the giant claw foot tub, I step inside the room and turn to close the door.

Watching me, he shifts from foot to foot. “Put your clothes outside the door. I’ll take care of them. I left a robe inside for you.”

I nod.

Before I get the door closed, he stops it with one hand. His eyes shine with intensity like nothing I’ve ever seen. “You’re not crazy, Kori. You did see something. But dragons have four legs. You saw a wyvern.” He closes the barn door.

I back up and stare at the spot where he was. Nothing makes any sense. A wyvern? I pull my phone out of my pocket. It had no service in the woods but I have three bars here. I type in wyvern and a two-legged dragon pops up.

“Idiot.” I swipe away the internet and dial Dean’s number. The phone goes dead. I try again, but the battery is dead.

With a sigh, I strip out of my clothes and put them outside the door with my useless phone on top of the pile. Once I latch the door, which I’m certain Drayce could push open without much effort if he wanted to, I get in the rose-scented water and sink all the way down. This is heaven. My aching muscles all seem to sigh at once.

Before he told me I wasn’t crazy, he said he wouldn’t come in unless invited. Does that mean he’s as attracted to me as I am to him? No. He’s so far out of my league, he's in a different stratosphere. Men who look like him don’t date struggling chefs. Men who live in houses like this on the tops of mountains don’t rescue lost city girls either. This may all still be a dream. I’ll wake up and none of it will have happened.

Closing my eyes, I wish the dream would never end.

B efore I get too pruney, I wash and get out of the tub. There is a stack of fluffy white towels on a chair and I wrap myself in one before securing a second around my head. On the vanity, which is made of the same white-and-black marble as in the kitchen, is a brush, toothbrush, toothpaste, and a hair dryer.

This guy might be the best host in the world, besides being the best-looking human ever. Rather than dry my hair, I give it a good brushing. I put on the robe and hang the towels on the brushed-gold hooks that match all the lovely fixtures.

Mustering my courage, I step out of the bathroom. I’m on the fence as to whether I’m relieved or disappointed that the bedroom is empty. I pad down the hall and find Drayce in the kitchen, stirring a pot of sauce. “That smells great.”

He turns and smiles. There’s no surprise in his reaction. He knew I was here. “I’m no chef, but I can make sauce, which I can myself, and I thought I’d wait for you to tell me if you like meat or only basil in your sauce with penne.”

“I’m in favor of both. Can I help you?”

He shakes his head and his long brown hair shifts from side to side.

I can still feel the texture of those strands.

“You should let someone cook for you once in a while.”

I sit on one of four stools and watch the muscles of his broad back flexing under his shirt. “Should I?”

“Yes.”

“Why did you say there are dragons?”

“Wyvern, but there are dragons too. There are many monsters in these woods. This is our home.” He stiffens his back.

“Our?” I know what I heard, but my brain is not processing the information. “What do you mean? Are you a monster?” I don’t even believe in monsters, so it’s a stupid question.

With a heavy sigh, he turns to face me. He switches off the fire under his pot, then crosses so only the island separates us. His eyes are full of need and passion. “Maybe we should eat dinner first. I think if I tell you everything now, you’ll grab your phone and call someone to get you out of here. I’d really like for you to stay for dinner.”

“My phone?”

He points to it sitting on a small table near the front door. It’s plugged into a charger.

“Thank you for charging it.” If I was smart, I would grab that phone and call for a ride immediately. No one has ever accused me of being smart. “I will stay for dinner, Drayce, but I don’t believe in monsters.”

His smile is panty-melting. “You say that now, but you know what you saw in the woods, Kori Devers.”

What did I see? I saw a dragon or a wyvern. “What’s the difference?”

Cocking his head, his beautiful full lips purse. I can’t take my eyes off them when he finally asks, “Difference?”

“Between a dragon and a wyvern?”

Then he smiles. Oh god, that smile has my pussy aching with molten desire. I have got to get a grip on myself. However, I continue to stare at his mouth as he answers.

“To the naked eye, a dragon has four legs and a wyvern has two. However, each has its own attributes and they’re different species.”

The thing I saw in the woods had the most beautiful iridescent wings, but no front legs. It was terrifying and magnificent. I shake myself. I probably hit my head and imagined the entire thing. “I see.” Time to get real. “I’m going to call my friends at the resort so they don’t worry and send out a search party.”

“Of course.”

I feel his gaze on me with every step I make to my phone. Picking it up off the small entry table, I call Dean. “Hi.”

“Oh my god, are you hurt?” Always dramatic, his voice rises in both volume and tone.

“No. I’m fine. I made a new friend and we’re having dinner.”

“Is that a code for, you’ve been kidnapped and I should send help?” Oh, the drama.

I laugh nervously, since not long ago I was thinking the same thing. “No. I’m glad you didn’t already call out a search party.”

“We figured you got a little turned around and would find your way back. Now it’s getting dark and we were worried.” In the background, Meg and Lori are asking rapid-fire questions.

“I did get lost, but I met Drayce Webb and he’s cooking me dinner. He’ll bring me back to the resort later.” I figure if I don’t turn up at least Dean knows whose house I was last at. I scan over to the kitchen and Drayce is browning beef in a pan.

He smiles and nods to confirm he’ll do as I told my friends. There’s something about him that makes it hard to look away. My heart speeds up and my stomach tightens every time I glance at his broad back, long legs, and perfectly shaped ass. I will never forget how he looked naked. It was like looking at the flesh and blood version of a Michelangelo statue with every muscle perfectly defined. The image is burned into my brain.

I might be ruined for life.

“Drayce,” Dean says with a teasing lilt. “I never get rescued by good-looking men.”

I want to ask him how he knows Drayce is good-looking, but since the subject is still keeping me in his sight, I hold back. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow or later tonight if you’re still awake.”

“We’ll be waiting up for this story.” All three of them laugh as I hang up.

I leave my phone plugged in on the little table and return to the island. “My friends are silly but fun. I hope you couldn’t hear all of that.”

“Every word, but they just sound nice to me.” He adds the drained beef to the sauce. “Do you drink wine?” He sets the burner on a low simmer and puts the lid on.

The sauce may be at a slow bubble, but I’m about to boil over just from looking at him.