Tamed: A Curvy Girl and Dragon Shifter Romance (Black Dragon Brotherhood Book 1), Page 6

  “Oh. You’re the owner of Gnome Sweet Home?” Kady touched the logo with a fair bit of awe. “I looked at buying one of your tiny houses earlier this year.”

  Kur harrumphed. “Yeah, we’re garden gnomes, aren’t we? Do you know any other garden gnomes who build tiny houses? And why didn’t you buy from me?”

  Umm. Garden gnomes. Okay. If that was their preferred moniker, who was she to question it.

  “Well, to be honest, you were a bit out of my price range.” By about fifty grand.

  “You could have asked for the magical people discount, dear.” Inanna waved her hands in front of the entryway and the door popped open.

  Cool, motion sensors. “Uh, I didn’t know that was a thing. I’m not really into magic.”

  The gnomes and Neo stared at her. Neo was clearly confused, and the gnomes were on the verge of laughter.

  “What? Do I have something on my face? Are there branches in my hair?” She wiped at her cheeks and patted her head. Had her towel slipped?

  She yanked on the terry cloth and made sure it was still in place. The only magical thing around here was how this towel had kept her booty and her boobs covered this whole time.

  Inanna and Neo exchanged a look. The kind that people who know something you don’t give each other. The familiar, empty ache in her stomach stretched inside.

  Neo shook his head and frowned at her, all confused.

  “You haven't told her?” Inanna asked.

  “Told me what?” This was why she didn’t like to be around people. Even with an alien and two people who resembled garden gnomes, she still felt like an outsider.

  “I don’t think she knows about...” Neo finished his reply with a vague wave toward himself.

  “I’m right here.” Kady flapped her arms like a crazed octopus. “What don’t I know?”

  Kur snorted and walked inside the house. Everyone else followed him and no one said a word.

  Kady could feel the heat rising up her neck and chest. They were all staring at her and she wanted to find a hole to climb into. Preferably one with a box of chocolates she could binge eat.

  Kur crossed his arms. “But she broke our wards and created that cloud you floated in on. She’s already powerful. How can she not know?”

  Kady swallowed, twice. She wanted to say something biting, a retort that would cut them all down for making her feel weird and awkward. What came out was a pleading whisper. “Please tell me what you think I don’t know.”

  Inanna smiled in the way a grandmother who is about to give out presents did. “My dear, a powerful magic lives inside of you. You used it to enter our garden which is protected so non-magical folk can’t find it. You’re traveling with a dragon in human form, a familiar, and a broom.”

  None of this made any sense. Aliens she could buy into. But magic, like the kind out of Hogwarts? No way. That was true fantasy, kind of like love and happy ever afters for geeky, chubby girls who wore glasses and grew up in foster care.

  Some people believed in both. Kady wasn’t one of them.

  She shook her head.

  Inanna, Kur, and Neo all nodded theirs.

  She looked at her alien man, searching his face. He wasn’t laughing at her, none of them were. In fact, his gaze had both heat and honesty there.

  He reached out, taking her shoulders, and pulled her into his arms. “Kady,” he brushed his lips across hers and cupped her cheek in his hand.” My sweet fire, you are a powerful magic-wielding witch.”

  Sweet Fire

  Neo’s luscious mate was not taking the news that she was more than an ordinary human very well. He wasn’t sure what he expected her reaction to be, but the stark stillness that enveloped her body was not it.

  “We’ll go make some food and drink, and let you two be, then, shall we?” Inanna grabbed her husband and dragged him out the door.

  Good. He needed time to tend to his mate and then his own wounds. Once he was sure she was all right, he would shift and try to heal the remaining injuries. Perhaps the gnomes would know of some healing remedies. They seemed so familiar to him, but he was sure he'd never met anyone like them before.

  By the look on Kady’s face, anything but comforting her wouldn’t be happening for a while. She needed time to process and a safe space to do it in. One he could give, the other they had precious little of.

  He lifted her into his arms and headed for the back of the strange, small abode. There had to be a bed where she could rest.

  “Whoa.” She kicked her legs, like that would do anything. “You can’t pick me up and carry me around. I’m too heavy, you’ll drop me on my ass.”

  Ah, there was his Kady. “I assure you, sweet fire, you are the perfect size and I will never drop you.” Her ass was his to savor and protect.

  “Where do you think you’re taking me, and why do you keep calling me these pet names?” She squirmed some more, and definitely had no idea how her body rubbing across his was turning him on.

  “I am taking you to bed.” He wished it was to mark and claim her and make her his, but she had a lot to adjust to.

  She poked him in the chest, that fire inside her sparking to life again. “No, you are not. Stop right there, man, alien, lizard, whatever. Put me down.”

  He should heed her wishes, but he didn’t. If he had to spark her ire to continue to bring her back from shock, he’d do everything he could to piss her off.

  The flush that made her so tempting spread across her face and neck. He was beginning to recognize the different emotions based on the shades of her skin. The anger was pretty, but he wanted to again see the blush of sexual excitement.

  He kicked open the door to the bedroom and laid her on the bed. How he wanted to crawl in next to her, pleasure her, make her forget ninety-nine percent of this day had ever happened. All except for the part when they’d kissed.

  She’d been through more than enough for today. She needed food, drink, and a good sleep. He would take care of her, protect her, defend her, comfort her, and when she was ready, pleasure her, claim her, mate her.

  He reached for his shard and even though he'd only had it in his life for a short time, he felt its absence keenly.

  A proper dragon gave his soul to his mate, and he had nothing to give her but his protection. Fantasizing about having her under him, lying here in this bed, was the opposite of protection. Neo moved a step away from her and all her deliciousness.

  Kady sat upright and poked a finger at him. “Hey, where are you going?”

  He wanted badly to stay. He wished for her to ask him to stay. But that's not what she was doing nor what she needed. “You’ve have been a fierce warrior today, pulling me from the wreckage of my crash landing, hiding me from the human asshole in your bath, using your metal dragons to make them think they were under attack so we could escape, and finding a refuge. It is my turn to take care of you. Rest, while I make food.”

  Of course, she didn’t rest. She flipped her legs over the side of the bed and moved to get up. He growled and tackled her, pushing her back onto the bed and under him. As it should be. His soul cried out to claim her now, make her his forever.

  Mark her.

  Claim her.

  Fuck her.

  Make her mine.

  He pinned her arms above her head and pressed his hips to hers, letting her feel how hard and ready his body was and had been all evening for her.

  “Don’t move from this bed, sweet fire. I will never hurt you, but you are mine to take care of, especially when you won’t take care of yourself.” His dragon inside growled and pushed him to mark her now. Her throat was so soft and exposed to him and it made him drool like a fool.

  Her mouth popped open into a surprised oh, and he couldn’t help but lick her round, luscious lips. “You have had enough for one day. Rest, or I will make you rest.”

  She pushed against him, but without using her magic, couldn’t move him even a smidge. He watched her struggle, waited for her to wear herself out.

>   “I’ll…” She squirmed and tried to free her hands. “I’ll use a magic spell on you.”

  She was pretty when she was mad. “You don’t know any spells.”

  She wrinkled up her nose, wiggled it and her lips back and forth. A tiny storm cloud formed over their heads.

  Uh-oh, maybe her magic instincts were planning to rise up in a revolt. He hoped she planned to make it rain on his head, and not strike him with lightning.

  Three giant fluffy snowflakes drifted out of the cloud, one sticking in his hair, one landing on the pillow, and another on her eyelashes.

  The fire in her eyes banked and she stopped fighting against him. Her lack of powers defeated her. He would do his best to help remedy that as soon as they were safe in New York. “Good girl.”

  She stuck her tongue out at him.

  He was sure it was meant as a slight, but all he wanted to do was tangle his own with hers. “Sometime soon I’ll ask you to do that again. For now, rest while I make us some food.”

  She stuck out her bottom lip and Neo had a hard time not giving it a quick nip and a longer kiss. “I’m not hungry.”

  There was so much fire in her and he loved it. He'd never quench that fire as long as he lived. “But you are stubborn. If I get up will you stay?”

  She rolled her eyes at him. “Fine.”

  Neo released her arms and she didn’t move. He couldn’t resist one quick kiss. He stole the kiss from her, pressing his tongue inside to say hello to hers and make promises for more later, then got up before he couldn’t resist and stayed.

  He stood over her for a moment, ready to push her down should she get up again, but she turned on her side and cuddled into the pillow. Neo had never been jealous of an inanimate object before. He was now.

  “I’ll be right back.”

  He hurried to the door to check with the gnomes about food and if they had a communications device. When he opened the door, he found a tray with food, glass jars of water, a small container, and a note.

  We’ve reinforced the wards, so you two will be safe to rest until morning. We’ve coaxed the big broom into another container for the night. The small jar has some healing salve for your wounds.

  Sleep well,

  Kur & Inanna

  Neo took the food and salve to the bedroom, where he found Kady asleep. Make that talking in her sleep.

  “George Lucas…you can’t do that to Captain Picard.”

  Hmm. Sounded like Kady had many other men in her life. He would have to work hard to make her forget all of them. Starting now.

  He should eat, shift, and let his dragon work on healing his wounds, but he was too damn tired, and curling up with his mate was too tempting. He stripped off his clothes and crawled into the bed, gently pulling Kady into his arms.

  “Help me, Obi Dragon Kenobi, you’re my only hope.”

  He drifted off listening to her have a conversation with a robot of some sort named R2-D2 who needed a good shaking up of his parts for all its shenanigans.

  His dreams were filled with shadow warriors, stealing the souls of everyone around him. He offered his own soul in trade for leaving Kady’s alone.

  “Neo? Neo, are you awake?” Kady was wrapped tight in his arms and whispered against his chest.

  “What is it, sweet fire?” He ran his hands over her arms and back, needing to reassure himself she was safe and secure.

  She didn’t pull away but grasped his arm. “You’re bleeding again.”

  Sure enough, one of the wounds from the shadow weapons was seeping blood down his arm. He'd never seen scales show through his human skin and his dragon not be able to heal pretty much anything. His mate didn't need to know that. “It’s okay, my body is trying to heal.”

  She was quiet in the dark of the night, like she’d been awake thinking for a long time. “We need to get you some medical care.”

  Neo didn’t want her to move, even for a second. It might break the spell they were in, the one where he got to hold her and touch her and, hopefully, where she wanted to be held and touched.

  She hadn’t tried to get away from him when she awoke. She’d spooned into him and seemed comfortable in his arms. “No, I’ll be fine once I shift. My dragon can heal me faster than anything else, unless you want to try your magic.”

  She looked up into his eyes, and was so close, so soft, he needed to kiss her.

  She placed her fingers on his chest, playing with the skin where his soul ember should be hanging. Did she sense its importance to their relationship too?

  He could see her mind working, she was deciding on something. “You should do that, change into the, uh, dragon.”

  She was avoiding saying what was truly on her mind. This might be the only time they had in the foreseeable future. It was the perfect opportunity to draw her out, to woo her. The battles ahead were not exactly the best time to start a relationship.

  “I’d rather lie here with you in my arms, sweet fire. That’s harder to do with scales and claws.”

  She didn’t look up, avoiding his eyes. “Why do you keep calling me that?”

  He hadn't fully realized he had. It just seemed to fit her. She was as sweet as a ripe strawberry and yet fiery like a red witch. Not that he knew many red witches. Just the one and she was a handful. “I mean it as something like sweetheart, and lover, and soul mate all rolled into one.”

  She frowned and tried to pull away from him. “Why would you call me that? I mean, I like you, more than seems normal, but you’re like a thousand percent hotter than me. I’m not the kind of girl someone like you calls something like that.”

  The dragon inside roared at the outrage of her words. It rose to the surface, close to the shift, pouring its energy through him, trying to heal the last of his wounds, ready to defend his mate.

  His Kady had been hurt, more than once, if he had to guess. He wanted nothing more than to eat the faces off anyone who had ever made her doubt herself in this way.

  So sweet, so vulnerable. He contained the dragon and breathed her in. “I’m sorry you feel that way. Let me show you how wrong you are.”

  He lifted her chin and brushed his lips across hers, asking for more. At first, she stiffened, but when he skimmed his fingers along her neck, and gently took her bottom lip between his teeth, her eyes fluttered shut and she responded with a soft sigh.

  She wanted to be touched, to be pleasured, she needed it. He would be the one to give her everything she needed.

  He rolled so she was under him and he could caress and touch her whole body. He wasn’t wearing anything, but she was in the towel. “Use your magic, pretty witch, make your clothes disappear so I can touch every bit of your luscious body.”

  She bit her lip and glanced down at the towel. “I don’t know how.”

  He kissed the soft skin behind her ear, licking, learning how to turn her on. Searching for the right spot to mark her. “You do. Use your spell, ask the universe for help.”

  “Oh, mmm, do that again.” She clasped her hands into his hair and pulled his mouth back down.

  He obliged, sucking and nibbling from her ear down to her chest. “I could lick you in many more places if you were naked.”

  “I feel strange asking the universe to help me get some sexy times. Let’s just take my towel off.” She reached for it, but the top fold of it wriggled all on its own. Neo hoped her powers were manifesting. Instead a small creature stuck out its head.

  He froze, instantly forming a plan to rid them of the creature and not break the sexual tension they were building. “Do not be alarmed. There is a spiky rodent sticking out of your clothing. Stay as still as you can, and I will dispose of it.”

  She blinked, and alertness came into her eyes. “Don’t you touch Percy.”

  Percy?

  She wiggled her nose like she’d done before and her towel and the creature disappeared and manifested on the table next to the bed.

  “Ha ha. I did it.” She giggled, and a smile lit up her face.


  “Yes, you did.” And she should be rewarded for her skill. Neo lowered his head and sucked her now-exposed nipple into his mouth. Fucking hell, she was so sweet.

  “Oh, my god. Ooh, Neo.” Kady’s hands pushed back into his hair, holding him to her breast.

  He’d work to make sure her hands were occupied all night. He licked and sucked and nibbled, making her moan. Her other breast needed attention too. He cupped it, loving the way it filled his hand. Her nipple pressed hard against his palm.

  “More, Neo. Please.” Her voice was breathy and needy and he fucking loved it.

  “Your undergarment, Kady, I’ll give you more when you make it disappear too.”

  The flush of her skin crept across her chest, neck, and breasts. She closed her eyes, wiggled her nose, and her bra and panties joined the towel on the table.

  The parts of his brain that controlled talking, breathing, and heart beating all misfired at the sight of his mate naked for him and him alone. His heart recovered first, pounding out those skipped beats. His breath caught in his throat and gave a smack to his vocal cords so he would say something smooth and savvy to let her know exactly how he felt about her. “Hellfire, you are fucking gorgeous.”

  There was nothing between him and Kady anymore, until she pulled the sheet across her legs and belly. “You don’t need to see those jiggly bits.”

  He couldn't wait another second to taste every bit of her. Neo growled low in his throat. “Oh, yes, I do.”

  He ripped the sheet from her body and threw all the bed coverings onto the floor. Now he had Kady in all her naked glory, her body ready to explore.

  “Eep.” She crossed her legs and thrust her arms over her sex.

  “Don’t try to hide from me, luscious Kady. Don’t deny me your beauty.” He grabbed her hands and pushed them over her head. She bit her lip and turned her face away from him.

  Once he claimed her and showed her over and over again how desirable she was, she would never have to be ashamed of her body…ever.