Gabriel Wilde is a reluctant dragon leader and now, a reluctant dad. Since he doesn’t know what the hell he’s doing, he enlists the aid of his trustworthy (and admittedly hot) PR manager, Talia Tatsuya. Which is all fine and dandy until his dragon decides she’s their fated mate. Damn it, Gabe doesn't want one of those, either.
~ EXCERPT ~
Son of a bitch, he couldn’t do it. Couldn’t, didn’t want to—there wasn’t even a difference anymore.
When he left the house, Gabe convinced himself he just needed to find some nameless, faceless woman and screw her, quick and dirty. Against the side of a building, in the back seat of a car, in a fucking bathroom stall. Didn’t even matter at this point. He just needed to take the edge off and appease his damn dragon, who was more determined to hook up with Talia than he’d ever been about anything in Gabe’s entire life.
Except sex with a random woman wasn’t what his dragon wanted. Hell, it wasn’t what he wanted, not anymore. Apparently he and his dragon were of the same mind in this respect. For once.
Which wasn’t helpful. Because sex with Talia was off the table. Not happening. Not possible.
After a frustrating hour of sitting at the bar in his favorite hookup joint, drinking beers and not finding any damn woman in the place interesting enough to even strike up a conversation, Gabe called it a night and headed back home.
His dragon had taken control at the top of the stairs, had led him straight to Talia’s door.
Or maybe it was him. He couldn’t tell anymore.
He stood outside her door, his hand pressed to the wood. But surely she was asleep, and if he snuck into her room, she’d probably shift into a dragon and burn him to a crisp before he could open his mouth to explain.
So he slunk back to his own bedroom.
Now he lay in bed, naked, both his eyes and his hardened shaft staring at the ceiling.
She’s down the hall doing the same damn thing you’re thinking about right now, his dragon whispered, the bastard.
Gabe grabbed his shaft, used the precum gathered at the tip as lubricant, and stroked a couple times, easing the pressure. A bit.
It’d be more fun if you were down the hall.
“For the love of the gods, shut up,” he muttered while trying to get himself off. But it wasn’t working. It was like his damn dragon took control of his dick and was refusing to allow him release.
Go to her.
He’d heard of dragon shifters going insane. In the history books, there were tales of dragons who couldn’t shift back to their human forms, who were forced to live out their lives as the giant, scaly beasts. Which meant they were cut off from society, since they had to go live in places that weren’t inhabited by actual humans.
Was that what Gabe’s dragon was trying to do to him?
I’m trying to give you pleasure. To give us both pleasure. To give her pleasure.
With a huff that pushed a stream of smoke from his nostrils, Gabe released his member and climbed out of bed, stalking out of the room and throwing open her door before he could give himself time to think about his actions and maybe talk himself out of it again.
His damn dragon cheered him on the entire way.
A nightlight was plugged into a socket in the hall, in case Ruby needed to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night. The weak light spilled into Talia’s bedroom, illuminating the floor, the rug, and part of the bed. Enough for him to watch as she jerked her hand out of her shorts and scrambled into a seated position on the sheets.
Her chest rose and fell in rapid succession with her heavy breathing. He could smell her arousal. He sucked in air, unabashedly savoring the scent. His cock swelled, bobbing against his abdomen and reminding him that he’d walked in here naked.
Oops. Well, couldn’t hide his intent now.
“Um, what are you doing here?” she asked, her voice cracking, her gaze dropping to his groin. Her nipples were like erasers under her thin top, stabbing at it, almost begging him to tug it over her head so he could get his mouth on them.
Maybe this could work after all. Maybe they could find a happy medium. His dragon, of course, wanted him to leap into that bed, to charm her into having sex with him. And since the scaly beast believed she was his fated mate, Gabe worried it might actually be true.
If they didn’t have sex, that wouldn’t happen. Sex was what sealed the deal, what made the inevitable true. It was like a human wedding ceremony, except way more satisfying.
If one wanted to be mated. Which Gabe didn’t.
But mutual pleasure? Definitely wasn’t opposed to that. If she was interested, at any rate.
He waved at his member. “I’m having a hard time sleeping.”
Her lips quirked, and he responded with a sheepish grin.
“Did you, um, get lucky tonight?” She was having a difficult time pulling her gaze above waist level.
That was good.
“Not yet.” He stepped into the room. “Nobody interesting at the bar.” Go for honesty. “Because I couldn’t stop thinking about you.”
“Oh.” The word was a gasp, her eyes widening, her hand lifting, squeezing into a fist and pressing against her chest, between her breasts.
He took another step toward the bed. “Maybe, you know, maybe we can…” He’d never had a difficult time with words before, but then again, he’d never proposed not-quite-sex with a woman who may or may not be his fated mate, either.
“Do you think it’s wise?” she asked. “Sleeping together, I mean.”
He shook his head. “No sex. Just…everything else. Anything you want. Other than sex.”
She stared at him, her breathing coming in short pants, the scent of her arousal strengthening. His offer was tempting her. Thank the gods.
“Why?”
“Because I’m so fucking attracted to you I can’t even think about anyone else. And I think you feel the same.”
“No, I mean, why no sex?”
“I…” What the hell did he say? She didn’t seem to be aware of the fact that they may be fated mates, and he sure as hell didn’t want to bring it to her attention.
Clearing his throat, he said, “No, uh, condoms.” Female dragons couldn’t take human birth control. The hormones or whatever screwed with their heads, made them a little crazy, and half the time didn’t work anyway. So the only way to prevent baby dragons was condoms. Or not actually penetrating.
Brilliant.
“But all the other stuff, that’s the fun part anyway.” He quirked a brow. “I assure you, my tongue is an expert at pleasuring females.”
“Oh.” She squeezed her thighs together, probably imagining his head down there between them, his tongue lapping at her juices. Or at least he hoped that was what she was thinking. It was definitely part of his game plan for this evening.
All she had to do was say yes.
Her gaze darted to the open door behind him. “What about Ruby?”
He took another step closer. “She’s asleep.”
“I mean, what about her as far as…us.”
Not what he wanted to think about. He just wanted to ease the ache in his balls. Give her a handful of orgasms. That was it.
“Maybe we keep this between us. Not tell her. Or anyone.”
She frowned. “That’s for the best.”
Did that mean yes? He took another tentative step. He was so close his shadow fell across her legs and he could reach out and touch her bare shoulder. As soon as she said yes.
“Let me show you what it’s like, Talia.” His voice was gravelly, low, needy. “I have a few ideas. I promise you’ll be pleased. And exhausted. Sated.”
She didn’t say anything. For long moments, there was only the sound of their individual breathing while the anticipation in the air grew until it was damn near suffocating.
“Do you…do you have a couple of silk ties?”
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