Raven rolled her eyes. “Such dramatics,” she grumbled.
“Am I clear?”
“Yes,” Raven answered in an exasperated voice.
“Then take him and get the hell out of here!” Daniel snapped again.
Shaking her hair back from her face, Raven stepped out of Noah’s arms. She turned around to face him and shifted forms. Black scraps of satin fluttered to the ground from her ruined dress.
Noah looked up at the massive, black dragon in awe. Her scales glittered as the light from the chateau reflected off her hide. She bent at the knee and lowered her head so Noah could climb on to her back. A hand landed on Noah’s shoulder, pulling his attention back to Daniel.
“I will come if I don’t hear from you by noon,” he warned. “I just pray that it’s not too late.”
Noah swallowed hard as fear raced through him. He’d never seen Daniel so worried about sending one of his men on a mission before. Are fertile females that scary? He paused for a moment, reconsidering his decision.
Raven turned her head to look at him out of one glistening eye. She gurgled at him.
Confirming his choice, Noah stepped away from his boss and climbed onto the back of the dragon. He had flown with dragons many times, but they usually carried him in their claws. This was the first time he had ridden on the back of one. Supposedly, it was a great honor to be allowed on a dragon’s back. What did that say about the woman taking him or the choice he had made? He wasn’t sure, but the moment she spread her wings and kicked into the air, he wished that she had clutched him in her claws. He held on to her neck for dear life as she beat the air into submission. It was the most harrowing experience he had ever had. If this is just the start of the week, what is the rest of it going to be like?
2
The soft rustle of material pulled Noah from the depths of his dream. His mind worked on the noise while his body clung to sleep. The material moved again, but this time, the edge of the bed he was on dipped down under someone’s weight.
“Wake up, lover,” Raven’s soft voice called to him. Her hand pushed into his hair before stroking down his cheek to his exposed shoulder.
He moaned and shifted under her soft caress. Opening his eyes, he found his beautiful, dark-eyed captor staring at him.
“Good morning,” she said before leaning over and claiming his lips for a soft kiss.
Reaching up, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her more deeply into the embrace. For the last three days, from the time he woke until he passed out from sheer exhaustion, he had worshipped at this goddess’s body. His only waking rest had been the few minutes around noon when he was allowed to call and reassure Daniel that he was still alive. Even mealtimes had been laced with lust and desire.
Pulling from his kiss, Raven nipped at his lip before putting some space between their bodies. “Enough of this for now, my lover,” she said, reaching down and fondling his morning arousal. “I hate to leave you wanting, but I have other pressing matters this day.” Letting out a forlorn sigh, she squeezed him firmly before releasing him and sitting up. “We will get back to this later.”
Noah chuckled as he sat up. “As you like.”
An angry growl echoed from her chest as she reached over and shoved him back down. Her long, flowing dress pulled painfully tight over his waist as she straddled him, pinning him to the mattress. Grabbing his wrists, she stretched his hands up above his head and crushed his mouth with hers. After a moment, she relented and pulled back but held him pinned to the bed.
“What I would like is to take you to the skies and teach you things that would blow your mind.” Her dark eyes shifted back and forth between his. “If only you were dragon.” She let out a heavy breath and climbed off him. “But Daniel would have my hide if he lost another man to my guiles.”
Standing up, she turned towards the door leading out of her bedchambers. “I’ve left clothing in the bathroom. Wash and dress. My guests will be here shortly.” She paused in the door and looked back at him. “But have no doubt, lover. As soon as they are gone, you are mine once more.” With that, she slipped from the room, closing the door behind her.
Dropping his head back to the bed, Noah lay where Raven had left him for several long moments, processing what had just happened. Her words played in his head. This whole thing was supposed to be about satisfying her needs during her fertile period. Nothing more. She had made it very clear that sex was all she wanted from him—even to the point that she refused to call him by his name. But, here she was, wishing he were dragon so she could take him for aerial sex. That statement confused the hell out of him.
Having worked with a bunch of macho guys, the topic of sex and kinks often came up, usually while they were waiting for something to happen or to take the edge off a serious situation. On one occasion, the dragons had gotten into a heated conversation about intercourse in dragon form. There had been lots of opinions, but they all agreed on one thing. You only took to the skies with someone you trusted completely. The few who had tried it admitted it was a thrill like nothing else, but it was insane to do. Losing one’s self in passion as you plummeted at thirty-two feet per second was sure to get your blood pumping, but doing it with someone that didn’t personally care about your safety was insane. More than one dragon had met a very messy end that way. Most refused to even attempt the feat with anyone less than a bonded mate. It made Noah think two things—either Raven was an insane thrill seeker, or her feelings for him ran much deeper than he cared to think about.
Shaking his thoughts away, Noah pulled himself from the bed and went to wash. Now he knew why Daniel had been concerned with letting him go with Raven. The intensity of their time together was enough to entice anyone away from their normal life. A brooding dragon wouldn’t stand a chance. He wasn’t a dragon, but if she started showing him even the slightest bit of emotional attachment, he would be lost to her charms as well. At least he wasn’t being driven insane by instincts that he couldn’t control. Well, not completely insane.
Noah stood at the sink and stared at the outfit Raven had left for him. The pants, if you could call them that, were two pieces of dark material sewn together at the crotch. The top of the garment was hemmed with two drawstrings that would wrap around the waist to hold it in place. It would allow him to be decent in front of guests, but a simple tug on either of the ties would have him exposed in a heartbeat. That he could handle. It was what else she had left for him that gave him a moment of pause. Cuffs.
Four heavy leather cuffs sat on the counter, waiting for his wrists and ankles. Picking up one of the cuffs, Noah considered it. The stiff leather was textured with hand-stamped dragon scales and waxed to a high shine. Two small silver buckles held the cuff in place, while a single D-ring would allow it to be secured to something else. He inspected the straps and found there was no wear on the leather at all. Brand new.
A smile turned the corner of Noah’s mouth as he slipped the first band in place. It was cut to his size, but he buckled it as loose as he could so he could slip free if he wanted to. Raven would probably fix it later, but there was no harm in trying. Lashing the rest of the cuffs into place, he picked up the pants to complete the ensemble. A loud clunk echoed through the bathroom. Looking down, Noah found something he hadn’t seen. A collar. It was made of the same black leather as the cuffs, but it was different. There was no heavy ring attached to it. Picking it up, Noah looked at the design tooled into its surface—a dragon with its wings spread. His heart jumped as he studied the piece.