Kade by Tasha Black
Kade
Kade willed himself to stay calm as the dragon clawed its way to the surface of his conscious mind.
He could feel the fire of its eyes peering through his, the furnace of its lust filling his belly with fire.
Claim her.
The command was uncompromising. It filled his cells and it took all he had to hold his man-form together.
I will not claim her without her desire,he told his other self.
Can you not see that she desires you, boy? Use your feeble senses.
He was using his senses, that was the trouble. He could see Aurora’s lips parting slightly, her pink tongue darting out to wet them, as if readying for his kiss.
He could hear the pounding of her heart, scent the musky-sweet wanting of her whole body preparing for claiming.
But in his heart, he knew she was not expecting any of this, even as her body anticipated it.
Claim her, the dragon repeated.
She will never forgive me.
The only thing she won’t forgive is if you don’t claim her. Even now she mourns the thing she lacks, an absence she cannot explain. You can’t explain it either. Make her understand with your body. Make her understand, or I will.
Kade looked into Aurora’s eyes.
There was naked longing in her azure gaze.
She needed him, and he was her mate, even if she didn’t know it yet.
“Aurora,” he heard himself murmur.
She gazed back at him hungrily, her eyes slightly out of focus as if her need had hypnotized her.
Then he was up out of his chair, lifting her in one arm and grabbing the cradle with the sleeping baby in the other.
She buried her face in his chest.
He took the stairs two at a time, placing the baby’s cradle in the nursery and opening the door opposite to reveal the cottage’s main bedroom.
They had hardly spent any time up here this morning, just enough to be sure the raccoon-monkeys hadn’t done any damage.
In the haze of his lust, he took in only the basics, a big enough bed to claim her, but not so big that they could sleep without touching, a soft rug on the plank floor, a window revealing glittering stars against the velvet sky.
He placed her on her feet, loving the way she let her hands slide down his chest, slowly, like she didn’t want to let go.
He closed his eyes, fighting the sensations. “Aurora, is this what you want?”
“Yes,” the word was a sigh, an invitation.
The dragon coiled inside him, ready to strike.
“There is much I must share with you,” he told her through a clenched jaw.
He heard the silent whimper of her exhale. As if she couldn’t bear to pause for a conversation.
The scent of her was intoxicating. The dragon tasted it, peeling back the layers for him.
“But not tonight,” he told her.
He pulled her close, claiming her mouth with his.
She kissed him back as if she were trying to conquer him, pressing herself so close that he could feel the crush of her breasts against his chest.
His whole body was throbbing now, need coursing through him.
Not until she understands,the last of his conscience whispered.
He bit back a groan as the dragon roared with fury in his chest.
“Come, darling,” he murmured, pulling back slightly from Aurora.
She followed him to the bed, crawling in on all fours, driving him mad with the movements of her curves, and then flipped over to face him, her eyes pulling him in.
He crawled after her, pinning her down with his hips.
This is what it would feel like. This is how easy it would be,the dragon whispered.
But the man had already decided he would not take his satisfaction with her tonight.
He leaned down and brushed her collarbone with his lips as he released the fastenings of her shift.