Part 8 (1/2)

Rubberneckers.

Another twenty minutes went by and Eden became sleepy lying in the sun in her dragon form. She loved the freedom of her fangs, claws, scales, and wings, but she preferred being in human form. She figured the whole opposable thumbs thing made the choice easy for most s.h.i.+fters. In a technology-based world, giving up manual dexterity for sheer brute force seemed like sheer lunacy.

The garage door squealed. Eden's big black head turned toward the sound. She couldn't see the garage from where she lay on the patio, her tail trailing down toward the beach, but her acute hearing told her it was Colin's garage door, and Colin's car racing up the drive. She lifted her head, her lips curling in a smile that looked like a snarl to someone unfamiliar with dragons.

The car door slammed and the garage door squeaked as it closed. Eden watched the side of the house, waiting eagerly for Colin. He came running from the front of the house as if in a panic. He skidded to a stop when he saw her.

Unable to speak in this form, Eden finally let him in her head.

I'm sorry. Do I scare you?

Colin walked up to her, his expression enigmatic. I was scared s.h.i.+tless when I couldn't find you, Eden.

Vampirelike, he kept to the shadows cast by the house, his face turned up to her. Your dragon form does not scare me. It's pretty cool actually. But it's not every day my neighbor calls to tell me I have a dragon in my yard.

Eden sighed and another big cloud of smoke emerged from her nostrils. Yeah, well, my planning apparently sucks. I forgot that I didn't have a key.

Which left you out here either in dragon form or naked, right?

She bobbed her head. Colin grinned.

You realize that all the neighbors are either scared or excited. Jon next door wants to have a barbeque to welcome you to the neighborhood. He wanted to know if you gave dragon rides.

Eden stood up, her black scales glittering with a faint gold sheen in the setting sun. I'm too old for dragon rides, but there is something really dragonish I want to do.

Colin's mouth quirked into that wry amused smile he'd turned on her the night she'd met him at Carpe Noctem.

”Does it involve s.e.x and fire?” he asked out loud.

I can't surprise you at all, can I? Do you think mating is vanilla? Cause I'm all about the vanilla s.e.x now.

I think mating is the most exotic and erotic thing any couple could ever do s.e.xually.

Well, in that case... can you unlock the door so I can make a mad naked dash for it?

Colin unlocked the door and Eden concentrated on the s.h.i.+ft. She knew that he could see her dragon form s.h.i.+mmering like golden confetti in the air. The instant her human form completed the s.h.i.+ft, she darted past Colin into the kitchen. She heard his amused thoughts as he focused with lewd interest on how her naked a.s.s filled his field of vision.

Ignoring the s.e.xual innuendo of his thoughts, she headed straight for her suitcase. She had things to do before they mated tonight.

”You're not going to get dressed, are you?” he complained, as she dug in her suitcase.

”I gotta get my car,” she muttered as the top of the suitcase came down on her head. ”Ow!”

”No worries, love. I saw the car on my way here. I had my a.s.sistant Corey call a tow truck. They'll pick it up and drop it on the drive.”

Eden turned to find a naked Colin, his c.o.c.k fully erect. She blinked at him. ”You do that really fast, you know.”

”What? Get hard?” he laughed. ”All I gotta do is look at you. It only takes a few seconds. You turn me on more than any woman ever has.”

”You hit my brother.”

Her abrupt change of subject had him shaking his head dazedly at her. ”Uh, yeah.” Eden walked over to him and took his c.o.c.k in her hand. ”You did it for me.”

He nodded, his face turning into a mask of l.u.s.t as she stroked him. ”I told him that if he ever lies about you again, I'd break every bone in his body.”

She grinned. No man had ever stood up to Sean for her. ”I punched him in the eye. I told him you were my family now, not him.”

Colin's eyes went wide with shock. ”You didn't.”

She nodded, still grinning. ”I did. And I meant it. The words more than the punch.” She slid her arms around his waist, pressing her naked body to his. ”I want to mate you in the pool tonight. I want to make the water boil when I tie myself to you forever.”

”Cooked vampire?” Colin said, c.o.c.king up one eyebrow.

She shook her head. ”The heat will never bother you again once you've been bathed in my dragonfire. And my clan mark...” She slipped her hand between their bodies to touch it. ”It will become two entwined dragons instead of one.

You will bear the same mark in the same place on your body.”

He nodded. ”Like my sister does for Declan. It's a physical sign that I am mated to a dragon.”

”Yes.” She leaned forward and kissed him. ”We need to eat. Mating is serious business and I want you in the pool the instant the sun goes down.”

He smiled slyly. ”Not gonna let me get away are you?”

”No, never. You will be a part of me. If I get in hot water, you will too.”

”Promise?” he murmured, his head lowering to hers.

She rubbed the clan mark, her hand pressing against his skin as he licked at her lips. ”Dragon swear.”

The instant the sun dipped below the horizon, Eden dragged him out to the pool. They swam naked, pus.h.i.+ng and pulling at each other, s.n.a.t.c.hing kisses and stroking flesh made silky by the water. Colin was beyond eager to be inside her. The day had been a rollercoaster of emotion and he knew in his gut that he needed to belong to her.

When Eden dragged him to the side of the pool and wrapped her legs around his hips, Colin rocked against her, letting his c.o.c.k glide along her swollen female flesh. The Alpha in him screamed to take her, but he wanted this time to be special. He licked her neck and when she s.h.i.+vered, he let his fangs tease her sensitive skin. The hot spicy Sangria scent of her made him mindless with l.u.s.t, but he hung on to his sanity by his fangs, letting his mouth and his hands tease her.

He held her in the water, her long dark hair floating free as he kissed and licked his way along her throat. Her golden skin p.r.i.c.kled with gooseb.u.mps, but he knew she wasn't cold. He heard the rus.h.i.+ng of her blood in her veins and as his bloodmate, he knew every beat of her heart even if she wasn't nearby.

When Eden rubbed her p.u.s.s.y against his c.o.c.k again, he bent to her throat, his fangs dragging along her wet skin to the vein that throbbed near her collarbone. With a swiftness known only to vampires, he bit her, his fangs sinking deep.

As he pulled, her warm blood splashed on his tongue, tasting of Sangria and heady spices. He grew lightheaded and pulled away, licking the wounds so that they healed instantly, fading from sight in a matter of seconds.

Eden moaned, her fingers digging into his flesh. He pressed her toward the shallow end of the pool, onto the low steps. She kissed him, but he broke the kiss right away so that he could turn her and position her on her knees. Colin kissed his way up her spine and her body undulated like a serpent's, reminding him briefly of the ancient link between dragons and serpents. Rubbing his c.o.c.k along the crease between her firm b.u.t.tocks, she pushed back against it, lowering her head and raising her a.s.s in the air, begging him to take it.

Colin could have f.u.c.ked her in the a.s.s, except that he wanted something else from her this night. He wanted to belong to her, and that meant sinking himself b.a.l.l.s deep into her p.u.s.s.y and f.u.c.king her until she turned her dragonfire loose. He pressed his c.o.c.k down, the thick head rubbing her swollen l.a.b.i.a. She panted loudly, her body rocking back against his. His hips flexed, sending his c.o.c.k deep into her.

She cried out, tossing her head. ”Oh, G.o.ds, Colin! More, more!”

He f.u.c.ked her hard, the water around them churning and slapping the sides of the pool. Focused solely on making her come again and again, his long fingers teased her c.l.i.t. Nibbling at her shoulders, he pounded into her from behind.