“My god,” she breathed, taking his face between her palms.
His slow smile took him from gorgeous to breathtaking. It was like he’d been made from her dreams, carved from her deepest desires. There was no way Akane could turn away from him now.
“Now you.”
Akane closed her eyes. In her human form, she was cute. Her true appearance, however, left much to be desired. She was nowhere near Shane in looks when she let her inner hybrid out.
“Akane.” A kiss brushed across her cheek, scented with her essence. “Let me see you, a ghrá.”
Akane took a deep breath and dropped her Seeming.
Shane bit back a moan as Akane’s hair rose from her neck in an unseen breeze. Most thought dragons were fire or water elementals, but they were wrong. Only those borne of air could fly, and Akane was surrounded by her element. Deep golden horns glittered atop her head. The iris of her eyes widened, ate up the whites until they could barely be seen. The dark brown eye darkened to black, the hazel star in its center lightening to purest, scintillating gold. Her other, more draconic eye matched the golden star in color if not in impact. It was as if that star was truly glowing in the center of her Seer’s eye. The gift of her mother’s heritage shone with a light of its own, more fascinating than any star Shane had ever seen.
Akane’s skin went from lightly tanned to deep gold. Her hands turned black halfway up her forearms, the deadly claws she’d unsheathed blending in seamlessly. Her fangs poked her full bottom lip, enticing Shane to lick them until she begged for mercy. But best of all those glorious golden wings of hers rose above them both, stretching until they almost touched the ceiling of his studio before settling around his mate like a golden cloak for a dragon queen.
Akane’s head tilted, the star in her eye glowing fiercely. “You think I’m beautiful.”
Her voice echoed with power, part her mother’s heritage, part her father’s. Thanks to her powers she could see exactly how he saw her, her golden breasts barely held back by white lace, her deadly claws carefully stroking his back.
Or not. Shredded, his shirt fell from his back, his skin barely marked.
“Want you naked.”
Shane covered his privates before she could shred his jeans. “Leave me something to go back to the house in, a ghrá.”
“What does that mean?” Her gaze was glued to his cock as he stripped off his jeans.
He palmed himself, grinning mischievously. “It means I want you.” She growled at him, and he laughed. “It means my love.”
She jerked. “And a stor?”
“My darling.”
He held still as her wings extended behind him. He could almost taste the panic in her. “It’s too soon for love.”
He let that pain slide through him. For her, perhaps, it was too soon. He’d been lost the moment he’d seen his own future in metal and glass. He’d have to make her believe it, because Shane Joloun Dunne wasn’t going anywhere without Akane Russo, even if he had to stuff her in an adult-sized baby papoose and cart her around on his back kicking and screaming. He cupped her cheek despite knowing she could easily gut him in this position. “You are a ghrá mo chroí.”
“Shane.”
“Do you want to know what that means?” He kissed her, the tips of her fangs tickling his tongue. “It means my heart’s beloved.”
She shuddered. The aphrodisiac was still in her system. Soon it would compel her forward to take him. To Claim him, whether she liked it or not. “You don’t know me.”
His brows rose. For just an instant his lights created Akane, the piece he’d named after her.
Her hand reached out to touch the sparks but they dispersed, Akane lost once more to the dance. She whimpered. He wasn’t sure if it was because she hadn’t been able to touch Akane or if the desire had begun to ride her once more. Her wings enfolded him, drawing him closer, and Shane decided it must the aphrodisiac.
He pulled her close, determined to wring every last drop of pleasure he could from her body. If all he could count on to hold her was pleasure, then he’d make sure to deliver it to her in spades.
Akane shivered as Shane’s feelings ran through him and into her. The warmth of his love washed over her, settled the jitters Tristan’s little present had left her with. She took his hands and placed them on her skin, hoping he’d get the hint.
She was ready for more. Ready to be loved, even if she wasn’t quite ready for love herself. She’d greedily gobble up every drop he fed her until they were both sated.
Those artist’s fingers traced her skin, kneaded her shoulders, dipped down her waist and caressed her thighs until she was once more trembling and ready to scream. And all the while his mouth devoured hers, his tongue dueling with her own in an age-old dance neither could hope to win. The tip of his tongue caressed her fangs, enticing her to bite. Akane scraped her claws as gently as she could up his sides, smiling into the kiss when he shivered.
Soon her legs were once more wrapped around his waist, but this time they were both gloriously naked. She needed him inside her, dousing the golden flames that danced within her. She tried to pull him toward her, to lure him inside, but Shane resisted. That stubborn strength of his was more than a match for her.
“No. Not here.” He lifted her easily and carried her toward the small bedroom. He laid her, careful of her wings, on her back. “How would you like me, a ghrá?”
She grinned. It was time to give a little back, to see if the gold sparkling on his skin was as tasty as it looked. Akane sat up and pushed him back until he sat on his heels, his erect cock bobbing up from between his thighs like a tasty treat. She licked her lips and lowered her head.
“You don’t have to.”
She shot him a disbelieving look.
His cock bobbed against her chin. “But if you want to, I’m totally fine with it.”
Akane slowly licked him from the bottom of his cock to top, moaning as his flavor burst across her tongue. Shane tasted divine, all rich salty goodness. She needed more of him, more of his flavor, and she couldn’t wait to get it.
She sucked him into her mouth, making sure to use her tongue to lap at him. Her head bobbed up and down his length, her tongue working overtime to bring her mate pleasure.
“Oh. A ghrá. Yes, please.” He buried his hands in her curls, his fingers brushing her horns. Akane groaned, the sensation of her mate touching her there rocketing through her. Only her mate was allowed that intimate touch.
“You like that, a ghrá?” His fingers stroked over her horns again. Akane hummed happily, increasing the suction on Shane’s cock so he’d know just how much she liked it.
Shane began to thrust in and out of her mouth, tiny little movements that let her get used to him before he increased his strokes. She let him know when he’d pushed it too far by wrapping her hand around the base of his cock to keep him from choking her. He backed off immediately, giving her horns another stroke in apology.
Akane let him fuck her mouth for a few more moments, debating whether or not she wanted him to come. She was leaning toward yes when strong hands gripped her horns and gently pulled her off his mouth.
Akane whimpered. How the hell did he know the ways dragons mated? He was using her horns in just the right way, stroking them, using them to control her movements.
He was right. They were mates. It was the only explanation for the way he instinctively drove her insane.
“I want inside you, Akane. Let me come in.”
Akane shuddered with need. His taste had driven her wild, his touches igniting her inner fire until she was ready to burst into flames. But still, this first mating wasn’t quite right. Thank the gods she knew how to fix it. She nearly whacked him with her wings as she rolled over and got to her knees, her ass raised in the air.