Page 15 of Wings of Frost and Fury (Merciless Dragons #4)

“It’s rude to ask a woman’s age,” I say breathlessly as he dips his face to the corner of my jaw, brushing his mouth along my skin. “But I don’t mind telling you… I’m thirty-five.”

“So young,” he whispers, clasping my body closer. He licks my cheek with an eager relish that makes me shiver.

He’d fuck me right now if I let him. And I want to let him, but I need to be sure his lust isn’t simply born from the overstimulation of his new body. I won’t take advantage of his inexperience with this form.

I push him back, more playful than purposeful. “Naughty pet. You really should try to control yourself.”

He’s obscenely beautiful, standing there in all his naked need, with his cock boldly erect. It curves slightly upward, leaking arousal from the swollen head.

“I should take you inside and get you some clothes,” I manage to say. “Walk behind me, with your hand on my shoulder. Don’t touch me with any other part of your body, do you understand?”

“I understand.” There’s an aching reverence in his eyes, a sweetness in his attitude as he obeys. My shoulder burns where his hand touches me, but I refuse to let him know how deeply I’m affected.

Once we’re in the cottage, I shake off his hand and point to a chair. “Sit, dragon.”

He sits clumsily, looking around the room. The cottage is small, so this front room serves as both the kitchen and the main living space. There’s also a tiny bedroom, a privy, and an attic. Definitely not palatial by any means, and a far cry from the luxury in which I was raised.

“Stay in that chair until I come back,” I tell Ashvelon. “I don’t want you falling over and hurting yourself. ”

He nods, though judging by the way he stretches out his legs, he’s adapting to them more quickly than I imagined. I toss my bag onto a bench and pull down the ladder from the ceiling, opening the way to the attic.

When I began renting this cottage, I discovered a few things in the attic, including a chest of old clothes belonging to the owners.

I’ve added my own possessions to the little hoard in the space above the rafters, including some clothes left behind by the assortment of men I’ve allowed into my bed over the course of my residence near Devil’s Kiss—Arnett’s valet among them.

Among the clothing, I find a pair of black pants that should fit Ashvelon, along with a blue vest that will give him a little more coverage while still permitting me a view of his cobblestone abs and his strong arms.

“I found you some clothes,” I say as I climb down the ladder to the front room. “I can help you put them on.”

Ashvelon doesn’t reply, and when I turn around, I see him running his fingers along his cock. In the few minutes I was gone, he’s been experimenting, and he’s learning quickly.

“Stop,” I say.

He snatches his hand away and looks at me guiltily, like a pet caught misbehaving. His naughty expression gives me a subtle thrill.

I love power. I always have, even during the long years when I would barely let myself use or acknowledge mine. As my confidence in my magic has grown, so has my love for other kinds of power—specifically power over men.

A man who will let me dominate him, who truly adores being ruled, is surprisingly difficult to find.

The best kind of submissive is someone who is strong in many areas, yet has felt obligated to hide his few weaknesses, forced to endure shame and guilt over his secret desires.

When a man like that finally gets to yield control and relinquish his strength, it’s a relief so exquisite that it’s erotic for him .

Ashvelon is exactly the right type. I know he’s a trusted member of his clan because the dragon prince assigned him the task of capturing or recruiting me. He’s also a subordinate, so he’s used to following commands. Rather than unsettling his core sense of self, obedience gives him security.

When he’s following the Prince’s orders, he still has to meet expectations, make decisions, and adhere to the laws of his kind.

But with me, he doesn’t have to maintain any pretense of control over the situation.

He’s far away from his clan, their expectations, and their judgment.

He has just one decision left to make—whether or not to obey me.

I pace slowly forward. “What were you doing?”

“I was…” He swallows and glances away.

“Look at me.” I step in front of him, lightly lifting his chin with my fingertips. “Tell me what you were doing.”

“Touching my cock. It felt good.”

“You want to pursue those good feelings and see where they lead, don’t you?”

“Yes,” he mutters. “But I shouldn’t.”

“Shouldn’t.” I view him with hooded eyes. “What if someone gave you permission, darling? Would you feel less guilty?”

He’s struggling, warring within himself. “What are we doing, enchantress? Shouldn’t we be discussing my prince’s request, that you return with me to Ouroskelle?”

I let purple sparks of magic dance over my fingers, against his skin.

He flinches at the sting, but he doesn’t try to pull away.

“We’re building trust between us, pet. We’re learning about each other.

Only then can we forge a truly beneficial alliance.

I need to understand what you dragons are like and explore what we share.

Our common experience. Our mutual desires. ”

“I desire you,” he says bluntly. “This body you made—it craves union with yours. Is that because of your magic? ”

“No!” I exclaim. “I would never force you to feel something that wasn’t already there. My spell simply gave you human flesh. It didn’t change who you are inside.” I hold out the clothes. “You should put these on, otherwise I will be tempted to do things with you that I shouldn’t.”

“Shouldn’t?” A cunning light enters his eyes, and he smirks a little. “What if someone gave you permission?”

“Naughty dragon, using my own words against me.” I bite my lip to keep from smiling at him. “I shouldn’t because you’re new to this form. Inexperienced. Practically a virgin.”

He gets to his feet with the help of the nearby table and faces me. “I’m not inexperienced. Like I told you, I’ve been through a mating season before. I’ve spilled my seed inside many females.”

“As a dragon, not a man.” I shove the clothes at his chest. When he grasps them, I walk swiftly away, toward the kitchen area. There’s a cup on the sideboard that I covered with a small plate to keep out any stray flies. I remove the plate and lift the cup to my lips.

“What is that?” he asks.

“Wine.”

“Ah. You mentioned that you enjoy wine.”

“I do. It helps.”

“Helps with what?”

“Whatever I’m feeling.”

“Is that what it’s for? To keep you from feeling difficult things?”

My lips tighten, and I stare into the cup. Then I set it down and grip the edge of the sideboard with both hands.

I can hear Ashvelon moving clumsily toward me. My skin prickles with the aura of his nearness as he comes to stand behind me. He clasps the right side of my waist.

“Would you like to hear about the mating frenzy?” His voice is low, suggestive, alluring.

“How every male is overtaken with a passion wilder than the sea? How each female aches to be filled? How we couple in the open fields and sometimes in the sky, twisting and writhing together? Would you like to know how I dipped into one female, then another, and then a third in the space of an hour? Would that allay your fears about my inexperience?”

When I don’t answer, he leans closer, his mouth brushing my hair. He pauses for a moment, then trails his fingers through the locks with an admiring hum.

“Mating season was unfulfilling for me,” he continues. “I was not able to successfully breed any of the females. They were all bred by others, so I have no offspring.”

“If it’s an orgy, how do you know that?”

“When a male has bred a female, the urgency to mate eases somewhat. He can still fuck, but it’s no longer a violent need.

I suffered the full power of the mating frenzy for the entire week, and it ebbed slowly afterward.

Even when all the females were bred or finished with their heat, I was plagued by desire.

Perhaps that’s why I became so obsessed with alethia.

It gave me brief satisfaction. Even after the heat was long over, I kept taking it because I wanted to feel sexual delight again. ”

He’s touching me, caressing the curve of my ass through the purple silk I’m wearing. My skin tingles with every pass of his fingers, and my panties are drenched. I can feel the slippery wetness of the fabric sliding between my thighs.

“You’ve proved your point,” I say faintly. “You’re experienced. And you want to fuck me just because I’m here, and I’m female?”

“What better way to understand each other, as you said?”

“Cunning dragon. You like turning my words against me. But you don’t know how humans have sex. You have no idea how to please me.”

“I will learn.” His deep voice rumbles against my ear. “Teach me what you crave. ”

“That’s a dangerous offer, pet,” I gasp.

His hand slides over my shoulder, wrapping lightly around my throat. “Fear of consequences has rarely prevented me from pursuing what I want.”

“Very well, then.” I turn to face him, my heartbeat thrown into chaos when I realize how close his mouth is to mine. “First lesson. Do you feel the pressure, the tension here?” I touch his lips, then my own. “The pull between us… our mouths?”

“I feel it,” he murmurs.

“Then kiss me. Touch me with your mouth.”

He leans in, tentative, the softness of his lips whispering against mine. I reach for him, sliding my arm around his neck, pulling him closer. His mouth is plush and warm, and my eyes drift shut at the blissful magic of the kiss.

His lips open slightly, and I part mine as well, letting my tongue nudge into the space, teasing and taunting him until his tongue emerges, too. He makes a pleased sound of surprise and urges his body closer, pinning me against the sideboard.

I break the kiss to say, “Lift me so I can sit on this.”

He pulls back, frowning slightly and looking first at his arms, then at me.

“Grab my waist, right here, and pick me up.” I guide his hands to where I want them. His muscles contract, and he lifts me, delight blooming in his eyes. He sets me on the sideboard, and I part my legs so he can stand between them.

“I’m not as weak as I thought.” He flexes his arms, watching his biceps jump. “This body is pathetically small and vulnerable compared to my dragon form, but at least I have some strength.”

“You’re more physically powerful than I am.” I watch his reaction, curious to see what he’ll do with that information.

He laughs softly, taking my wrist with careful fingers and pulling my hand to the center of his chest. “Your magic makes you more powerful. You could stop my heart if you wanted to. I’m well aware that you don’t have to accompany me anywhere, enchantress.

My life has been in your hands from the moment I landed in that meadow.

The interaction between us is either your kindness and mercy, or a cruel game. ”

“Which do you think it is?”

His cocks his head, his lashes lowering. “I don’t care.”

I lunge forward and kiss him, more deeply this time. He lets me invade his mouth, and he sweeps his tongue through mine with an excited caution that awakens a warm, vibrant glee in my heart. I’m not laughing aloud, but the laughter is alight in my chest, a joy I haven’t felt in ages.

He’s so enthralled with kissing me that I have to physically push him back. He lets me do it, but the fierce glow in his eyes tells me he’s not done with my lips yet.

“You’ve learned to kiss,” I say. “Now it’s time for an education in female bodies.”

I slide away from him and hop down from my perch.

I’m wearing one of my favorite outfits for a hot day—a cropped silk shirt that supports my breasts but leaves my midriff bare, and a pair of silk panties attached to a wrap skirt that opens in the front.

I shimmy the skirt and panties off, then pull the shirt over my head.

Ashvelon watches me undress, shocked and entranced.

“Humans without armor always looked so small to me,” he admits. “They looked squishy, like mushrooms. But today, when I saw you on the bench, you didn’t look like that. You looked… alone.”

I force a laugh and grab the cup of wine, taking a swallow.

“Then in the stable,” he continues, “you were graceful, powerful. Strong.”

“And now?” I move closer to him.

“Exquisite. Desirable. Irresistible.” He licks his lips, and his cock bobs a little. “May I touch you? ”

“You may—with one hand.” I run my fingers through the blond waves that brush his broad shoulders. “Put the other hand around your cock. Don’t stroke it until I say you can. Just hold it.”

Ashvelon’s fingers curl around his length, and he groans at the contact.

“Does it feel good, pet?”

“I think I might die from how good it feels,” he confesses.

“I’m glad. But your task here is to please me,” I tell him. “Your pleasure is secondary.”

“Yes,” he agrees fervently. “Where would you like to be touched?”

The question is a surprise. I expected him to choose where to begin. The fact that he asked is one more sign that he’s just the kind of man I’ve been wanting to play with.

Who could have predicted I would find him in a dragon?