DragonMaster (7 page)

A tug brought his mate to her feet and with
it the scent of another man on her clothing. Even suspecting the kimono
belonged to the kitsune didn’t diminish his urge to rip if from her body, or
better yet, eradicate it with a stream of dragon fire.

He covered her mouth with his, gave her
that same fire in a series of scorching kisses until both of them burned with
the need to feel naked skin against naked skin.

“Enough,” he said, somehow managing to find
the strength to pull away from her, to retrieve the
hoshi no tama
from
his pocket and place it in her hand.

The expression on her face swelled his
chest to near bursting. He might spend a lifetime showering her with gifts but
none of them would mean as much to her as this one.

She opened the locket and placed the orb in
it. All traces of magic disappeared when she closed it and the last of his
aggravation fell away with understanding. She would soon be rid of the necklace
that looked far too much like a collar, and in its place she’d wear the symbol
of his ownership.

“We leave now, beloved.”

He brushed his lips across hers, growling a
soft warning when her sly tongue darted out to coax him into deeper contact. He
didn’t dare, not with mating very much on his mind and yet still an inevitable
delay before it could be accomplished.

Nisien had managed to rid himself of the
humans and get to the car first, rightly assuming he would once again serve as
driver.

Jubal opened the door for Summer though he
pulled her onto his lap as soon as he joined her on the backseat. In the close
confines of the car, the kitsune’s scent on her had dragon instinct screaming
for him to stake his claim so every male in the vicinity knew of it. He parted
the material, tugging her panties downward and exposing her smooth, bare cunt.

Desire roared through him as he cupped her,
rubbed his palm against the clit jewelry, stimulating her so her hips lifted in
jerking motions and her breath came fast and shallow.

“Master, let me come. I beg you.”

And because she pleased him so much, he
centered his attention on her clit, stroking the underside and rubbing his
fingers over the tiny exposed head as his mouth claimed hers, only lifting to
say, “Now,” as he thrust into her channel to feel the violent clamp of her
sheath and the wash of arousal that came with orgasm.

She clung to him afterward, as if he was
the only solid thing in her existence, and he purred with satisfaction at the
rightness of it. Nuzzled her cheek and said, “I believe my cousin needs a
destination.”

“The Treasure Chest. It’s—”

“I know where it is,” Nisien said.

Jubal smiled. “Excellent.”

“Thank you, Master,” his beloved said.

Their eyes met and held, both of them
powerless to break the contact.

“Until I tell you otherwise, you may
address me by name.”

“Jubal,” she said on a whisper, and he
might as well have been the one wearing a collar.

He touched his lips to hers in a kiss that
merged one into another, only ending when Nisien parked the car.

* * * * *

Excited happiness pulsed through Summer as
she led Jubal and Nisien to the back stairs, taking a key from an inside pocket
of the kimono when they reached the top.

“Kei,” she called as she stepped into the
apartment. Repeating it several times with no result until finally entering the
bedroom and saying, “Kei, I know they’re dragons, but they’re safe. They helped
me get your star ball back.”

She strained to hear movement at the bed,
caught what sounded like the scrape of claws to material, as though Kei had
taken refuge in the box springs.

The noise grew louder, ceasing an instant
before a pointed nose pushed out from beneath the fall of sheets. Twitched,
drawing in scent.

She knelt, removing the locket and opening
it, placing it on the floor. The rest of Kei emerged, a beautiful red fox with
luxurious tail.

He crept forward rather than rush, as
though burdened by animal instinct despite the desperate need to get the star
ball back. When he reached her, he took the glowing orb in his mouth but didn’t
change form.

Jubal crouched behind her, thighs open and
arms enfolding her, offering no threat and making their relationship clear,
though she imagined Kei’s nose had already defined it for him.

“You’ll need a dragon guard from now on,”
Jubal said, directing the comment at Kei. “It is fortunate for you that your
hoshi
no tama
didn’t fall into the hands of the fey. They are the ones who set
its theft in motion.”

Summer turned her head, brushing her lips
against Jubal’s cheek. “Why?”

“To extract a promise from him in exchange
for the return of the orb, a promise that assuredly would have led to his death
as well as the death of his kin. Dragon fertility is tied by a sorcerer’s curse
to a chalice. For centuries, the cup was in the possession of the fey, who used
it as a flagon of orgy. They lost it in the mortal realm and it has only
recently resurfaced. It’s in dragon possession now and I am not the only male
desirous of a mate. Has your friend told you what the kitsune are capable of?”

“Illusion.”

“Yes. That is one aspect of their nature.
They can take the form of a beautiful woman and their magic is such that they
are not easily identifiable as anything other than human. Imagine such a woman
tempting a dragon male to take her to Drake’s Lair and offer her the cup, then
creating the illusion the chalice had been returned to its pedestal before
escaping with it, or perhaps disappearing altogether. Some of the kitsune are
said to be able to bend time and space as well as reality. Imagine the
retribution that would follow should a kitsune steal the promise of offspring
and the hopes of a race.”

Summer shivered, fear and relief swamping
her for a moment. If she’d failed… If she hadn’t trusted Jubal…

His arms tightened on her. His lips found
her neck to brush against the mark in an offer of comfort and praise.

Kei shifted form, changing from fox to
beautifully naked man with a glorious tail. “I am indebted to you,” he said,
the three of them standing. A delicate blush rose to Kei’s cheeks as his cock
reacted to Nisien’s appreciative perusal and his tail canted sideways.

Nisien reached out, grasping the luxurious
appendage. “Careful, I might think this is an invitation.”

Behind her, Jubal laughed, his hands moving
from Summer’s waist to her breasts in a possessive claiming. “I believe we can
leave now. You’ll stay as guard, Nisien?”

“I’ll stay, and contact Malik so he can
send others.”

“Perfect.”

* * * * *

Summer didn’t care about either the size of
Jubal’s estate or the luxury of it as he hurried her to his bedroom.
Anticipation was a fire in her bloodstream and a hot pool in her nipples and
cunt.

The door closed and the lock engaged with a
click that reverberated loudly.

“There’s no escape for you now, beloved,”
Jubal said, hands making quick work of opening the kimono and tossing it onto a
chair.

She moaned as liquid flame struck,
caressing her skin as it burned away panties and bra, baring her completely.

“I don’t want to escape,” she said,
breathless at having proof he was what she’d known he had to be, a dragon. Need
quivered through her belly at the prospect of finally having her master, her
lover, her mate inside her.

She sighed with pleasure as he turned her
so her back touched his chest, adding to the eroticism, the message of
dominance that came at feeling his clothed body against her naked one.

“Agree to wear my collar, Summer.”

Fingers captured and tightened on her
nipples so her back arched, baring more of her throat in a show of submission
and surrender though she couldn’t give either of them to him completely without
asking, “My job?”

A soft growl met her question. “I am not a
harsh or unfair master, nor am I an unreasonable one. If working is important
to you, then you will do so, but not without guards. I won’t risk losing you.
Wear my collar, Summer.”

“Yes.”

He used the nipple rings, applied just
enough pain to have her channel spasming.

“Yes, Master.”

He stroked a hand over her abdomen and
cupped her mound, tormented with the rub of his palm over her clit and the
tease of his fingers in her slit.

“I won’t be able to prevent myself from
piercing you with my mating spurs when I finally couple with you,” he said,
mouth capturing an earlobe, sucking as his fingers fucked her in time to the
pull of his lips.

“I’m yours to do with as you please,” she
whispered, hips thrusting as she dared to reach behind her and capture Jubal’s
hair in her hands.

He tightened his grip on her as if he could
eradicate all distance between them, merging their hearts and bodies and souls
into one being. “I never thought to find such a perfect female. You will be
rendered unconscious at the climax of our mating and when you wake again,
you’ll be in the lair I claim in the dragon realm. When we return to this
world, we will drink from the cup. I do not fear its disappearance, nor am I in
any rush to share you with offspring.”

Her heart sped up, but not with fear. She
flashed back to those erotic drawings she’d seen at the fantasy convention, and
her earlier imaginings because of them.

“Will you mount me in your other form?” she
asked, channel clamping on his fingers as she imagined him taking her that way.

The hard shudder that went through him was
answer enough.

“Repeatedly,” he said, turning her to face
him and pulling a thin jewelry case from his pocket.

He opened it, revealing a breathtaking
sapphire necklace.

“My apologies, beloved,” he said, removing
the necklace and tossing the case aside before leaning in to touch his forehead
to hers. “I won’t have you hurt by learning that I foolishly offered this
collar to your sister as a bribe so I might be allowed the chance to know her
better. She turned me down, gently, and said I would come to regret giving it
to her. I knew seconds later, at seeing your picture, that she spoke the
absolute truth. If you prefer it, I will have a different collar fashioned for
you.”

Her heart swelled at his demonstration of
caring. Another woman might refuse, labeling both the collar and the man as her
sister’s discards, but she viewed them both as a sister’s gift. She knew Lyra
would have seen it only as a necklace, and not what it would symbolize between
the two of them.

“Just tell me it has never been worn by
another of your lovers.”

“Only you. Always and forever, you.”

“Then put it on me, Master, I beg you.”

She shivered as he placed the collar on her
neck. Reveled in the cool, snug feel of it there.

“Mine,” he growled, and she found it easy
to imagine him in dragon form.

“Yes.” Her hands went to his chest and
trailed downward as she knelt. “Let your mate, your slave, see to your care
now.”

He rumbled his permission though she caught
the hitch of his breath and stifled pant as she nuzzled his cock through the
material of his trousers, pressing kisses to it as she removed his shoes and
socks.

His hands gripped her hair, tightening on
the roots, tugging, sending little streaks of welcome pain to her cunt along
with his silent demand to free him from the confines of his clothing. They both
moaned softly when his pants no longer separated his cock from her mouth.

“You’re bigger than you were at the club,”
she said, grasping him, guiding his tip to her lips and discovering the hard
rings circling beneath the head.

She tongued them and his suit jacket hit
the floor with a soft thump. His shirt followed, caressing her back as it
floated downward.

His hands returned to her hair, but not
before she felt the soft warning scrape of his mating spurs across her
shoulders and along the nape of her neck. She trembled, turned on by the
differences between Jubal and a human male.

He widened his stance, and she hastened to
obey the command it implied, her hand going instantly to cup large, heavy
testicles, her mouth following, paying homage with the laving of her tongue and
moaned, heated sucks. Pleasuring him as she made it known how pleased she was
to be claimed by him.

Fingers tightening in her hair drew her
back to his cock. Liquid arousal coated her tongue as she licked the head
before once again sucking him into her mouth.

She took him deep, the desperate craving
for his release as well as her own growing with each pull until she was
panting, shivering, her hand between her thighs, fingers plunging into her
slit.

“No,” Jubal growled over the opposing
scream of his cock to the contrary, using what was left of his control to pull
from Summer’s mouth.

She turned her head instantly, nuzzled the
mating spur visible at his wrist.

His hips jerked in reaction. His breath
left in a rush as searing need scorched through him.

“Get on the bed, Summer. Kneel at its
foot.”

She hastened to obey, but with a
provocative display of wet pussy framed by thighs as she crawled onto the
mattress in a perfect position for mounting.

He brought his hand down quickly on
buttocks that were still reddened from previous disciplining. And she hesitated
that extra second, inviting a second blow before kneeling, heels pressed to her
ass.

By the Great Shared Ancestor, had any male
ever felt as lucky as he did?

He sprawled on his back, arms lifted above
his head in a casual pose though there was nothing casual about the intensity
of his feelings. He’d be lucky if he didn’t break the headboard when he gripped
it to prevent himself from touching her because he didn’t dare let the spurs
come in contact with her skin, not until the very end.