Текст книги "The Dragon's Favorite Strays"

Автор книги: Ruby Dixon

сообщить о нарушении

Текущая страница: 14 (всего у книги 26 страниц)

OceanofPDF.com

CHAPTER 58

DAKOTA

I’m not going to cry with relief that Murr wants to stay.

I’m not.

If he wanted to go to a fort and meet more dragons, I’d wish him the best. I’d understand it. I wouldn’t follow, but I’d understand it. He’d be choosing his people over our motley little crew. It would make total sense…but I’m still overjoyed that he picks us.

I bite the inside of my cheek, trying to keep from grinning like a loon as Murr lets Thess know the bad news. “Murr home…here.” He gestures at the sad parking lot that we call ours. A cat takes that moment to butt its head up against his leg and he scoops it up. “Murr family here.”

“That’s right!” Rabbit moves to Murr’s side and flings her arms around his neck, hugging him from behind. She kisses his cheek. “We’re your family.”

Thess isn’t offended at his answer. There’s a little smile playing on her lips. “I thought this might be the case. We are all making new families where we can.”

Murr smiles and glances over at me, and I feel a warmth in my belly.

“Well, I’m not going to hug anyone,” Dottie says. “Just pretend I did.”

“I’ll hug him,” Aggie says, and starts to get up from her chair.

Dottie grabs her arm before she can. “Sit down, you old coot. Let him hug Dakota instead.”

Oh. A wave of shyness sweeps over me as everyone turns to look in my direction. Good lord, why am I feeling shy? I’m a grown-ass woman. Yet it doesn’t feel like it’s just a hug. It feels like something…more? I get up and press myself against Rabbit, making her the “meat” of a hug sandwich. She laughs with delight, and my arms barely go around Murr’s neck. “How’s that?”

“You can give him the good stuff later,” Aggie says with a wink.

Maybe that’s why I’m embarrassed. Because there is a horny old goat of a woman that’s going to make a big deal out of everything we do. I ease off of the hug pile. “And that’s enough of that.”

Murr chuckles and reaches for my hand, caressing it as I move back to my seat. “Later, yes.”

I smile to myself as I sit down again, picking up my blanket once more.

“Well, the offer stands. You’re all more than welcome at the fort, and I promise we’re friendly.” Thess gets to her feet, sliding the blanket off her shoulders and folding it neatly. “Can I bring you anything from the fort? Are you in need of anything specific? Medicine? Clothing?”

We all go quiet. Forts might have supplies, but they usually come with strings attached. Thess seems nice enough, but we also just met her. “I think we’re good,” I say, deciding to speak for our group. “But if it changes, we know where to look.”

She gives Murr a fanged smile. “Then I will leave. May I come back to visit, Murtades?”

He gets to his feet, setting the cat down, and moves toward the female dragon. “Yes.”

He leans in and I stiffen, because it looks as if they’re going to kiss. Instead of kissing, however, they press their foreheads together and close their eyes. They remain like that for a long moment, and then Thess sighs. “Nothing?”

“Nothing,” he agrees.

She pats his arm. “So it is. Be well until I see you again, Murtades.” She walks away a short distance, then does the strange hunch that Murr always does just before he launches himself into the air. A moment later her brick-red body shadows us, her wings beating hard to propel herself away. She trumpets as she goes, and I’m no judge of dragons, but it sounds friendly enough. Even the cats don’t panic. One lifts a paw and begins to daintily clean itself right next to Murr’s feet.

He watches the sky as she leaves, but he stays in his human form, and it makes me wonder what he’s thinking. Is he sad? Regretting his choice to stay with us? Glad she’s gone?

Rabbit nudges me with her elbow. I glance over at her, startled, and she widens her eyes at me. What does she want?

Dottie gets to her feet, her chair creaking. “I’m going to check on Stella and her puppies. You should come with me, Aggie. You too, Rabbit. Maybe we should see if the cats were scared by all the company we’ve had. I’m sure they could use petting if nothing else.”

“That’s a great idea,” Rabbit says. She shoots me another meaningful look and then goes to Aggie’s side, holding a hand out to help her up. “Come on, Aggie.”

“Oh, fine.” She gives me an obvious wink before heading off with the other two. They go inside the bookstore.

Then it’s just me sitting by the fire, and Murr gazing thoughtfully at the sky. A cat rubs against my legs and chirps for attention, and I rub its ears, giving myself a silent pep talk. Is it easier to say nothing and not pry? Yes. Is it better? No. Am I scared as hell that I’m going to get hurt if Murr turns me down and decides to go after Thess? Yes.

Should I talk to him anyhow? Also yes.

With a deep breath, I get my courage up and stand.

“You want to go for a walk, Murr?” I say.

OceanofPDF.com

OceanofPDF.com

CHAPTER 59

DAKOTA

“Where walk?” Murr asks me. “Where go?”

“No place in particular,” I say. I move to his side and take his hand in mine. “Just to walk around and talk and think.”

Murr nods slowly. “Think…good.”

“Thinking is good,” I correct. Thess spoke so well that I wonder if I’m doing a disservice to Murr as his teacher to not constantly correct his English. It’s just…I understand what he’s conveying when he speaks, so I don’t feel the need to push him to speak properly. I don’t want the other drakoni thinking he’s less intelligent because his language is a bit more broken. If anything, the blame falls on me. “I’ll try to be better at teaching you our words.”

He smiles at me, but it’s a vague sort of smile, and I realize he’s a million miles away. That’s all right, too. A lot just changed for all of us with Thess’s visit, but I imagine seeing her again made his world tilt on its end. He’s going to need to work through it all. So I stroll around the parking lot with him, not speaking. I want to give him the space he needs and just be at his side in case he wants to talk to me.

We circle around the parking lot maybe three times in a row, a few of the cats trotting at our sides as we head in for another lap. Murr lifts our joined hands and studies them, then looks at me. “Dakota cold?”

“No, I’m fine. Are you cold? You’re not wearing much.” He never does.

He just lifts our joined hands again and pats my fingers. Oh, they’re cold. “That’s just me. I guess I have cold hands. You don’t have to keep holding it.”

I try to pull my hand from his, and he shakes his head, continuing to hold onto my hand and petting it like it’s a kitten. “Murr like Dakota hand.” He pauses. “Murtades. Not Murr.”

“How does it feel to have your full name back?” I ask. I wonder how he could forget it, but I also don’t know what he’s gone through. Thess said the Rift made the dragons crazy through their psychic links. Maybe now that it’s closed it took a lot of the memories with it.

He thinks for a moment and then pauses in his walking. I stop with him and gaze up at him as cats twine around our legs. His mouth works for a moment, and then he shakes his head. “No words.”

I nod. “Strange feeling? Too much feeling?”

Murr stops petting my hand and indicates his brow. “Murtades here…big. Many.” He puts his hand to his mouth and mimes speaking. “Here…small.”

“It’s not the same when it’s spoken as when it’s thought?”

He nods at me and manages a little smile. “Here, I Murr. Feels good.”

“Whatever you want to be called, just let us know.” I give the hand I’m still holding a squeeze. “I can call you Murtades or Murr or something else entirely.”

Lifting my hand to his mouth, he smiles and nips on my fingertip, surprising me. “Murr happy. Not broken.”

Now I’m the one that’s confused. It takes me a moment to remember what he’s talking about. The conversation with Thess about how he thought he was broken because he couldn’t communicate, and it turns out all the drakoni are cut off. “Did you really think you were broken?”

“Long time, yes. Quiet, quiet, all quiet.” He shakes his head. “Bad quiet. Murr broken, hide from other drakoni. No belong anymore.”

“Of course you belong,” I say softly, my heart hurting for him. To think he’s been carrying all this fear and doubt and I had no idea. I hate that. I feel like such a bad friend—and a worse girlfriend. “Just because something changed with how you talk doesn’t mean you’re no longer drakoni. It just means they have to listen a little harder.”

He kisses my fingertips again. “Dakota listens. Always, Dakota listens.”

A heated flush curls through my body. I can’t stop staring at his lips as he nibbles on my fingers. “Of course I listen. We’re friends.”

That makes him pause. Murr’s expression changes, and then he tugs on my wrist, dragging me closer to him. His eyes are swirling with a dark, rich gold, and he pulls me in close enough to wrap his arm around my waist. My breasts press up against his bare chest, and I stare at his clavicle before looking up into his face again.

“No friends,” he says. “Murr want Dakota wife.”

And then he kisses me. His mouth is on mine, hot and claiming, and his tongue sweeps against mine so boldly that it makes my toes curl in my worn shoes. I gasp when he pulls away, dazed at the ferocious, brief kiss. “W-what has Rabbit been telling you?” I ask, because I certainly haven’t taught him the word “wife.” “You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do.”

“Murr not wife. Broken. Now not broken.” His hand slides to my buttock and grips it tight. “Now wife.”

Oh, sweet lord have mercy. “You don’t want a dragon woman?”

“Want Dakota.” He leans in, his nose brushing against mine in the lightest of caresses. “What Dakota want?”

OceanofPDF.com

OceanofPDF.com

CHAPTER 60

MURR

Thess’s arrival has cleared my mind of all its shadows. For so long, I have feared that there was something truly broken inside of me, something to be ashamed of. That all the drakoni are struggling with the loss of our mind-touch is a strange relief. It is not something because of me, or something I did.

This means there is no reason why I would not be a good mate for Dakota. No reason to hold myself back from giving her the claiming bite, no reason I would not make her mine in every way. Just thinking about it makes my heart surge with yearning. More than the physical release, I want the partnership. I want to know that I’m no longer alone in the world, because my mate is here. Even if we cannot have a mental bond, we will have this to tie us to one another.

I slide my hand to the back of her neck and hold her as I kiss her again. Each time my mouth lands on hers, I am reminded how wonderful kisses are. How did I not know what they were before I met her? Impossible. How can anyone overlook just how erotic it is to touch lips, to taste one another? To tangle tongues together? I end the kiss as slowly as possible, taking my time to pull my mouth away from hers, because I love the dazed expression on her face when I do.

“Murr wife Dakota?” I ask.

“You want to be with me…forever?” She looks emotional, her eyes shining. “Keep in mind I’m a package deal—I have a daughter already.”

I have always known that mating Dakota would mean that Rabbit would be part of our family. It is not a problem to me, but something to be overjoyed in. “Rabbit daughter.”

Dakota laughs, sinking her hands into my mane. “Okay, then. Let’s do it. Marriage. Yes!”

Elated, I pull her in for another kiss. My fangs burn with the venom that fills them, my teeth aching with heat. She moans against me, her nails lightly digging into my skin and sending pricks of arousal all through my already heated body. I kiss her again, and again, reluctant to leave the heated well of her mouth, but she needs to know what a drakoni mating looks like. I will not assume it is the same as a human mating. “Dakota…”

“Mmm?” Her eyes are glazed, and just the sight of that heavy-lidded gaze makes me want to kiss her all over again.

“Drakoni…wife…bite.”

The soft look in her eyes goes away. “Beg pardon?”

“We…wife. Bite. Bite make…together.” I use a hand gesture to show her what I mean. I lace my fingers, ignoring the throb of my fangs. “Is drakoni way.”

“One bite?” she asks. When I nod, her gaze goes to my mouth. “Will it hurt?”

“Is good bite,” I reassure. “Big pleasure. Murr never hurt Dakota.”

Her eyes go soft again. “I know you wouldn’t. Where do you need to bite me?”

I reach out and stroke her throat. “Neck. Here.” I tap the spot with my thumb-claw, and just talking about this makes my fangs drip heat onto my tongue. “Good bite.”

She leans into my touch, her eyes closing. Her tongue darts over her lips, wetting them, and our kissing has made her mouth flushed and pink and swollen. The sight just makes me want to kiss her all over again. Everything makes me want to kiss Dakota. She could ask me to build a fire and I would want to plant my mouth on hers, simply because now it is possible.

Now everything is possible, and I do not have to fight my need for her any longer.

“Ready?” I ask.

Her scent changes from aroused to nervous. She pulls away and glances around. “Where do you want me? Should we get somewhere more comfortable?”

Do we need to? I want her to feel good, though, and if she wants a more comfortable spot, we will find one. I glance around and see nothing but heaps of the square piles of metal. Cars. They look like a good height, at least. I pick Dakota up by her hips—enjoying her gasp of surprise—and she flings her arms around my neck. Carrying her, I find a car that seems to be a good height and set her on the front of it. “This good?”

“I can make this work,” she says, hooking her heel into my back and tugging me toward her with her foot. “Can we kiss some more?”

I chuckle, because kissing is my favorite thing to do. “Many, many kisses.”

And now I need to kiss her enough to turn her scent from nervous back to excitement again.

OceanofPDF.com

OceanofPDF.com

CHAPTER 61

MURR

The thought of my bite makes her nervous. It’s evident from the way her scent has changed from sweet arousal to an acrid tang. My teeth are much sharper than hers, and perhaps it is that which unnerves her. Should I tell her the bite is not to take a chunk of her flesh but to inject her with venom instead?

Perhaps it is just best to kiss her until she cannot get enough of me.

I do not mind this at all.

Kissing Dakota has become one of my favorite things. I look forward to sunset each day because it means that it will be dark soon, and darkness means kisses. If I can kiss her in broad daylight, even better. So I kiss her all over her lovely, strange face. I kiss the pale skin that has no scales, and the mouth that closes over blunt, square teeth. I kiss her small nose and the brow that has no horns, and the creases around her mouth that appear when she worries too much. She worries because she cares, and I love that about her. I want to kiss all her worries away. I kiss every bit of exposed skin, curling my claws in her soft mane and holding her as I nip and tease the column of her neck.

And I want to kiss more.

In the last month—how humans measure the time it takes for the moon to become full and disappear again—I have lived at Dakota’s side. I have watched her bathe herself many times, swiping a wet, soapy cloth over her limbs with quick, brisk motions. In all this time, I have not seen all of her. She is careful to keep herself concealed from me, and I have often wondered what it would be like to touch her without all the layers she piles atop her body. I never ask, because I have always considered myself unworthy of her. Broken.

But I am not broken, and I am going to ask now.

“Touch here?” I ask, stroking a knuckle along her delicate collarbone. “Good?”

Dakota nods, her eyes soft as she watches me. Her hands drift over my arms and my upper chest, as if she wants to touch me but is worried as to how much I will allow.

I take her hand and gently press her palm on my chest, over my heart. “Dakota touch good. Touch Murr all body.” I pull her hand downward. “All good.”

She shivers, her gaze flicking to mine. Her hand goes to the loin wrap I wear and she pauses at the waist, holding it there. That is fine. Let her get used to the idea of touching me. She can take as long as she needs. I nuzzle at her throat, kissing and licking the skin there before I drag my knuckle down to the slope of one breast.

“Touch here?” I ask.

Her voice goes husky. “Yes.”

Now we are getting somewhere. I tug on the layer that covers her torso, wanting to expose her to my gaze. I pull it up and up, and she lifts her arms so I can pull it over her head…only to reveal another smaller layer underneath covering her breasts.

What is it with humans and their layers?!

The moment the shirt is pulled off, she clutches it to her chest. “Maybe we shouldn’t do this out in the open,” she says. “Anyone could see.”

I do not want her to be uncomfortable, but bodies are not things to be hidden or ashamed of. “Murr see. Dakota no want?”

“It’s not that,” she says, and peeks over my shoulder. “What if someone sneaks up on us? Rabbit? Or Aggie?”

“Murr smell,” I reassure her, tapping my nose. “No sneak.”

She points at the sky. “What if someone flies overhead?”

“See Murr back.” I touch each of my shoulders as if to demonstrate what any drakoni would see if they looked down. I lean in closer to her, drinking in her heady scent. I move closer, as if to kiss her again, and whisper. “See Murr kiss wife.”

Dakota whimpers. “Okay, I’m sold.”

She sets the shirt aside and puts her palms on my chest again, her breathing speeding up.

“I haven’t done this in ages,” she says. “I’m so nervous.”

“No ner-vus,” I tell her, lifting her wrist and kissing the soft inside of it. “Murr here. Murr protect.”

“I know.” Her voice is a mere breath. Her hand slides back down my stomach, towards the loin wrap again. “You always take care of me.”

I always will, too. I kiss her again, my fangs pulsing with the delicious, aching heat. The need to bite her urges again, but I want to savor this moment. I finally have my mate in my arms, and this time she is truly going to be my mate. Each moment needs to last forever, so I can fill my mind with the memories of this to plug the empty spots. I stroke my hand down her side, then back to her breasts.

And tug on the stretchy pink material that covers her. “What this?”

“It’s a bra. A sports bra.”

The material feels almost rubbery and bounces back when I pull on it. “Explain.”

“It holds my breasts in place.”

That sounds like a mate’s job. “Murr want hold. Yes?”

She laughs…but her laughter dies when I boldly cup one of her breasts, running my thumb over the tip. It stiffens against my touch, and Dakota’s breathing speeds up.

OceanofPDF.com

OceanofPDF.com

CHAPTER 62

MURR

The sounds Dakota makes when I touch her breasts are incredible. Her scent is everywhere, full of arousal and need, but still smelling uniquely like her—human. My fangs throb again, instinct reminding me that when I give her my bite, our scents will mix.

She will smell like she belongs to me.

The thought makes me growl with need. I bury my face in her breasts, pushing aside the strange band she calls a “sports bra” and reveling in her flesh. Her breasts are perfect, small handfuls with tight tips, and her skin is so soft that I rub my face against them, fascinated. I need these loose and free every day so I can touch her constantly.

Dakota moans, dragging my head towards the tip of one breast and arching her back to offer it to me. I mouth her nipple, waiting for her reaction. She makes another one of those delightful sounds, and I cup one breast in my hand as I nibble on the other.

Definitely need more of this.

Her hands move over me, frantic to share in the pleasure. She tugs aside the kilt and reaches for my cock, then immediately draws back with a hiss.

The pleasure bubble bursts. I watch as she blows on her hand as if to cool it.

“God, you’re hot,” she says, a confused look on her face. “Why is your pre-cum boiling hot?”

I’d forgotten that our temperatures are so different. Her skin feels cool to me at all times, but I didn’t think mine would be unpleasantly warm for her. It’s another reason to give her the bite. I will share my fires and her temperature will change to match mine, to make her able to accept my body and my seed. How to tell her that without the touch of my mind to hers, though? “Bite…make good.”

She bites her lip, eyeing me. “You’re sure?”

I nod. “Bite…join us together. Murr blood, your blood. All good.”

Dakota thinks for a moment longer, then nods agreement. “I trust you.” She licks the now-cooling wetness from her hand and a strange expression crosses her face. “Why do you taste like cinnamon candy?”

I shrug, not knowing the words. “Bad?”

“The opposite of bad.” Her hand returns to my skin, playing at my thighs and hovering near my cock. She wants to touch me but holds back for fear of getting burned. She trails her hand back up my chest, then to my jaw. Dakota studies my face, stroking her thumb over my mouth. A moment later, she pushes her finger into my mouth, feeling my fangs. “When do I get your bite?”

Greedy. I like this. I lean in to kiss her again, and when I do, I reach for her waist, where the clothes are tightest, and tug on them. Dakota loosens the layers for me, and I sink my hand between her thighs, touching her where she’s hot and slick. My claws skim over her skin carefully, and this is another thing that must be modified. If I am to have a delicate, fragile human mate, my claws must go, because I need to touch her.

Need.

Dakota gasps and rocks against my hand. She wraps her arms around my neck and pulls me in, angling my mouth toward her throat in a silent invitation. She wants my bite, and she wants it now.

I stroke her slick folds with utmost care, making sure to use the pads of my fingers as I touch her. My lips brush over her cool neck and I pick out the perfect spot to bite her. Not too high up, somewhere lower, where my bite will be constantly exposed. I graze her skin with my fangs and she holds me tighter. “You’re sure no one’s going to come out and see us?”

If they did, I would growl at them until they retreated. I understand her anxiety, however. “No scent,” I promise. “No scent but Dakota.”

“Then give me your bite,” she pants. “I want this. I want you.”

With that, I sink my teeth into her neck.

She stiffens under me, gasping. I’m dimly aware of her body clenching against my hand, everything tightening. It’s too late for me to draw back. My mouth floods with venom, and I push my teeth deeper, her blood adding to the heated copper tang. The sheer relief of claiming her boils over, and I erupt, spilling my seed against the leg of her clothing. Dakota gives another sharp intake of breath, but she never lets go of me. She continues to hold onto me as I inject the bond-creating venom into her bloodstream.

Because she trusts me. Because I assured her that the bite was good.

She will be a fierce, strong mate, even if we do not have a mental link, and I could not be more proud.

When the last droplet has been wrung from my fangs, my head is foggy with the aftermath. My teeth slide free from her damaged skin and I lick the bite to seal it so it can heal. As I lick her, she no longer feels as cool, and her scent is changing.

“Was…was that everything?” Dakota asks, dazed. Her hand continues to play with my mane.

I lift my head and touch her flushed cheek. My thoughts stab at hers anyhow, desperate to make the connection. Nothing. It’s not as disappointing as it could be, because her scent is all around me, morphing into something even more delightful than before.

“Wife,” I say, pleased. I smile at her…

…and then everything goes dark.

DAKOTA

The last thing I expected after getting a bite from a dragon was for him to topple over and pass out.

But he does. Murr goes down like a light, his eyes rolling back. He collapses onto the pavement, and I’m left with a wet, throbbing pussy, a wet, bloody neck, wet, spooged-on jeans…and a hundred questions.

Questions like: what the fuck just happened?

I get to my feet…and immediately stumble. My legs are weak, and my throat burns where he bit me. I feel feverish and dizzy. This isn’t good. I need to get to Rabbit, to tell her what happened⁠—

I don’t make it a step. I collapse and pass out directly atop Murr’s unconscious body.

OceanofPDF.com