A deep, feral growl rumbled through the studio. It bounced off the walls, echoed in the high places. Shane wasn’t certain where it came from, but he knew who it was.
It seemed that, for some unknown reason, Akane was seriously pissed at him.
“A ghrá?”
A low rumbling sound was his only answer.
“If you tell me what I’ve done wrong I’ll endeavor to fix it.” He tipped back the silly cowboy hat he’d stolen from Robin and stared up into the rafters. Was she there, perched, staring down at him?
“Shane.”
He whipped around, stunned by the pain in her voice. “Akane.”
She stood behind him, panting, arms crossed over her chest. Her horns peeked out of her hair. Her pupils were dilated, the hazel star in her left eye almost obscured. She was trembling hard enough that he feared for her bones.
Shane fought the rage that exploded at the sight. “Who hurt you?”
She took a step toward him and froze. She sniffed deeply. Her head fell back, a look of sheer bliss crossing her face. “Oh yes.” A predatory smile lit her face, her gaze focusing on his body. The trembling stopped. Her arms fell to her sides as she tilted her head, watching him, waiting for him to do…something. He could sense the tension in his mate as she inched closer to him. “I need.”
Only then did he understand what must have happened. Once he’d realized his mate would be a dragon he’d learned as much as he could about them. “That fucker fed you gold, didn’t he?”
Akane nodded, the movement more of a promise than an answer. She crooked her finger at him. The golden star in her left eye glittered dangerously.
“Why, Grandma, what big eyes you have.” Shane stepped back a pace. “If you do this, you’ll hate me in the morning.”
Akane ran her palms across her breasts, and really? That was so not fair. Shane had been dreaming about what color her nipples might be from the moment he met her. She licked her lips, her fingers inching toward the hem of her shirt.
“Oh, now. Hold on there.” Shane held up his hands. “There’s got to be another way. Maybe if we put you to sleep we can ride it out until the gold is out of your system.”
She shook her head. “Want you.” The shirt went flying, and Shane got his first glimpse of her underwear.
White. She’d worn white, sheer lace to a date with another man. Shane could clearly see her nipples now, like warm chocolate kisses had melted on the tips of her breasts. He’d always been a sucker for white lace. “Oh fuck me.”
“Good idea.” Akane pounced.
“Whoa!” Shane caught her before they both hit the floor. “Okay, a stór.” Her legs wrapped around his waist, and damn it, those full lips attached themselves to his neck and proceeded to shut down his forebrain. “Um. Yes. Sleeping it off would be…” He shuddered as her talented lips worked themselves down his neck. His cock beat an insistent tattoo against his zipper, eager to get the party started. “Later.”
Shane turned and started to carry her to the bedroom, his only thought to see if her panties matched her bra. If they did, he was a dead man. His dragon would devour him, and he’d go happily into that good night, thank you.
Shane almost dropped them both to the floor when Akane began dry humping him. Purr-like sounds poured from her throat as she ground against him. Sheer lust killed what little was left of his thoughts. Need rode him hard, the knowledge that his mate was willing in his arms overriding everything else.
Shane dumped her ass on the edge of his work table, the one he used to conjure raw materials. It was clean and bare, and thank the gods he’d done that earlier or she’d have splinters in her ass when he was through with her. He ripped her skirt off, groaning at the sight of the sheer lace, white panties. He gripped her inner thighs and pushed her legs as wide as they would go. He leaned down and licked her through those sheer panties, groaning at the warm taste of his mate. Her flavor burst across his tongue even through the lace.
Akane leaned back and propped her heels on the edge of the table, holding herself spread open. Her toes curled. “Mmm.”
Shane could feel his magic flexing, the sparks dancing along his skin. There was no way he could stop himself from completing the Claiming, not if he made love to her. Green and gold sparks lit the room, the light strong enough to dance across Akane’s skin. If she was going to object, now had to be the time, while he could still force himself away from her.
When her hips thrust up into his face he took that as consent.
Shane proceeded to lick his mate’s pussy with all the fervor of a starving man determined to get every last crumb on his plate. The panties were soon toast, Akane’s claws ripping them away so he could get to her unhindered. He spared a single, mourning thought for the pretty lace before he dove back in.
He planned on seeing her in white lace again, the sooner the better.
Akane leaned back and let Shane have his wicked way with her body. His mouth was so good on her, his lips and tongue playing her pussy like a virtuoso. Shane seemed to be one of those men who truly enjoyed eating out his partner, and Akane was the lucky, lucky recipient of his talent.
She purred in pleasure as he took her clit between his lips, stroking it over and over with his tongue until she exploded for him. “More.” She sat up and grabbed his head, pulling that talented mouth to her breast. Her core throbbed, wet and needy.
She didn’t know if she was going to kill Tristan or kiss him for this.
Shane suckled her through the thin lace bra, turning the lace transparent. He pulled away and traced the wet material with his finger, and damn if he didn’t have the most reverent look on his face. “You are so beautiful.” His eyes had darkened to near black, his face filled with need.
“Let me see you.” If they were going to do this, she wanted all of him. She had no idea what he’d look like, but hybrids like herself and Shane often had an unusual appearance that could freak others out.
Akane had no intention of being freaked, no matter how odd Shane’s true appearance was. After all, she was also a hybrid and understood what could happen, the strange way their unique abilities could etch themselves into their skin and bones.
His brows rose, but Shane did what she wanted. He dropped his human Seeming, and she got a look at her man without the filter of his fake humanity. Akane almost swallowed her tongue at her first sight of Shane without his Seeming.
He was gorgeous. The vibrant red-gold hair of his human Seeming seemed dull as dishwater compared to the almost metallic shine of his true appearance, rich as Black Hills gold mixed with copper. His hair grew to just below his shoulders, emphasizing his strong jaw. Those blazing sapphire eyes glittered like dark jewels, the whorls of his leprechaun heritage emphasizing them like pale tribal markings. Light danced around him, gold and green, in a hypnotic pattern, sometimes random, sometimes making figures or places she could almost see. Before she could make sense of them they were gone, lost in the dancing fireworks display around her man. His skin sparkled like it was coated in golden glitter, reflecting the light of his magic back into the room, creating a halo like effect around his body. Even his fingernails glittered with green and gold, as if he’d been carved from the very earth itself and adorned with its finest gems.