I writhe against his mouth as he begins to give my clit long, slow strokes with his rough tongue, lapping at it slow and steady. My moaning turns to panting, and he increases the movements of his tongue, faster and faster. When he begins to rumble low in his chest again, I can’t help but gasp because it makes things feel even better—the vibrations moving through his mouth seem to transfer directly to my clit. My hands go to his head, and despite myself, I’m clinging to his hair as he works my pussy with his mouth. I savor every long stroke of his tongue, every flick, every swirl, every rasp against that most sensitive of spots. He begins to increase the intensity and pressure of his licking, as if sensing that I need more.

Of course he senses it, I realize breathlessly. He’s connected to me in our minds. I send him what I want, frantic with need, and a moment later, he sucks on my clit.

I come with a rush, crying out his name. My muscles clench tight, and I give a small scream of pleasure even as he continues to lick and suck at my clit, dragging out my orgasm. The world explodes in a haze where only Kael’s mouth exists and I’m oblivious to everything else.

Slowly, I come down from my orgasm, panting. My body gradually feels as if it’s uncurling from the tension, and I lie on the sand, panting and trying to catch my breath. That had been wickedly intense. I glance down and see Kael is still between my thighs, gazing up at me with an expression I’ve come to think of as pure possessive male.

I enjoyed that, Kael tells me. Very much.

“What about you?” I tense a little in asking, but I need to know.

I receive my pleasure from the touch of your mind against mine. His claws idly stroke my inner thighs, possessive. The touch of your body against my own. I will give you my seed at another time, when you are less frightened of me. Until then, I am content to taste of your body. He leans in and gives me a wicked look, mouth hovering close to my pussy. Shall we do it again?

A weak laugh escapes me. “You’re going to kill me.”

He frowns, all playfulness disappearing. You are that fragile?

“Figure of speech. It wouldn’t really kill me. It’s just a saying.”

Your speech is…charming. He slowly licks the ticklish skin of my inner thigh. We do not use physical speech as often as your kind. It is not convenient.

I shiver at his touch, nerves jolting in response. “Am I…very different than your women?” I brush my fingers through his wet hair. I feel extremely touchy-feely at the moment. Who wouldn’t be after the kind of attention I’d just received?

The rumble of his amusement vibrates through my legs. In many ways.

“How?” I’m genuinely curious…and a little miffed. Is it bad that I’m different? “I’ve never seen one.”

You have. Have you not seen the red dragons in the skies?

I go still. “The reds? The reds are female?” I knew they were smaller, more plentiful…and extremely aggressive. Most of the dragon attacks that decimated the cities were done by hordes of red dragons. I never thought they were the females, though. The idea is staggering with its implications.

They are. Red is a mating color for the drakoni. They turn red when they wish to attack a male. Aggression is a sign of mating.

If that’s the case, there are a lot of dragons looking for a mate. “They always attack in patterns. They wait a few days… Do you know why?”

The madness is worst when the mating heat is upon you. This world makes them constantly aggressive.

“I don’t understand… Why not take one of them as a mate? They’re your kind. You didn’t have to steal me.”

The females are…changed by this world. They will not let a male close enough to fight for dominance. If they are not conquered, they cannot change to their two-legged form to mate. We do not mate in our battle-form, and females do not carry young in their battle-form.

“Battle-form?”

He shifts his weight suddenly, and the sun is blotted out as the massive dragon-form moves over me, dwarfing my body. This is my battle-form.

“Your dragon form,” I say, understanding now. I’m relieved when he shifts back, returning to his—mostly—human form. “Why such a difference in sizes between your two-legged form and your battle-form?”

He shrugs, the movement fluid and graceful. I knew once. I do not know it any longer. It has been lost to the madness. I have lost much of my mind to this world.

Such a terrible thing. And yet…I can’t help but ask. “Did you have family back on the other side of the Rift?”

I do not remember. He watches my face. This troubles you?

I flick a few grains of sand off my belly and try to pretend confidence. “And a mate? Did you have a mate?” It shouldn’t matter to me, but for some reason, it really, really does.

Never. You are the only mate for me. I do not remember much, but I remember this. My venom will only produce for one female. You are her for me.

I hate that I’m absurdly pleased. I hate that I’m also pleased that our minds are connected and I know he’s telling the truth. Still, I worry that he might not be better with a drakoni female. If he only gets one mate, it kind of sucks for him that he’s stuck with me. “I don’t understand why you picked me to be your mate. You should have found a drakoni female.”

I will take no one but you, Claudia. His grip tightens around my hips, and he leans his mouth against the vee of my pussy. Shall I convince you that you are the one for me once more?

I protest…but only a little. And after a moment’s persuasion, I don’t protest a bit.

24

CLAUDIA

Cooking’s definitely easier with a dragon around, I decide that evening.

I yawn as I turn the spitted chunk of cow haunch over my campfire area. I’m burning some old papers I found in the office, and Kael makes it easy to get a fire. It’s not a great fire because I don’t have real fuel, but it’s a fire. I toss another technical manual onto the fire itself, and the flames flicker low, so I gesture for Kael to fix it. He immediately changes to dragon form, tilts his head low, and blows flame on the fire, and then switches back to human form and puts his arms around my waist, pulling me into his lap. We’re getting better at cooking as a team, I think. Kael’s learning not to char my food while it’s still running away (bonus!), and I’m learning not to freak out at his hunting methods. Earlier today, he listened when I told him not to kill the cow messily, and he let me butcher my chunk before he ate his portion.