Chapter Thirteen
The next morning, Aaron completed his hundredth push-up and jumped to his feet. He’d hoped that the exercise would wake him up, but the long history lesson the night before was still taking its toll. Colm and Teagan had talked for hours, and in the end, Aaron had gone home to his own place to nab what sleep he could.
Slapping his cheeks, he headed toward his small kitchen. It was time for coffee.
Mentally poking his dragon, Aaron said, Wake up.
No. Too early.
Aaron prepared the coffee machine. Stop being grumpy.
We were supposed to have a night with Teagan. Instead, we listened to that male drone on about a long-forgotten quest. Of course I’m grumpy.
I was skeptical at first, but I think it’s a good idea. Nothing like giving the other leaders a good challenge.
His beast yawned. I’m sure they’ll think of a way to use it against her.
Since Grant McFarland is one of the judges, he won’t put up with the gender bias bullshit. His mate is proof of his belief in giving females a chance to do anything.
Grant’s mate, Faye MacKenzie, had once been head Protector of Lochguard until an injury had taken it from her. However, she now shared the responsibility with her mate.
His dragon grunted. I suppose. I’m going back to sleep.
As his beast curled up and ignored him, Aaron flicked on the coffee machine and leaned against the counter.
Before he could think of how to handle his next assignment mentoring some young dragon-shifter named Revelin Collins, someone knocked on the back door to his cottage. Frowning, he made his way to it and yanked it open.
Teagan stood there, dressed in a long, flowing dress that dipped to a low V, giving him a glimpse of the tops of her round breasts.
His dragon also took notice. Bring her inside and strip her.
Teagan’s voice prevented him from replying. “Can I come in or are you just going to stare at my breasts all day?”
Aaron cleared his throat and stepped aside. “What did you want?”
She entered. “Someone’s a bit tetchy.”
Aaron closed the door and ran a hand through his hair. “I haven’t had my coffee yet. Don’t push me.”
She tilted her head. “This isn’t my cottage, you know. There are no exceptions here about ignoring my authority.”
“I don’t care,” he muttered and turned back toward the kitchen.
His dragon growled. What are you doing?
I’m not ready to deal with her teasing right now.
And what about charm? She used the back door for a reason.
He stared at the coffee machine and willed it to finish brewing. Teagan leaned on the counter next to him. “What’s wrong with you? You’re quite grumpy this morning. Should I call the doctor?”
“I’m fine, bloody woman. I was up half the night listening to old stories. I don’t have the energy for you right now.”
She paused and he mentally cursed. He’d never been charming in the early morning hours, but Teagan didn’t deserve his anger. “Look—”
She put up a hand. “Don’t worry about it. You’re nothing compared to my brother when he misses a meal. He’s grumpier than anyone I’ve ever met then, although don’t tell him I told you that.”
He turned to face her. “Why are you here, Teagan?”
Running a finger down his bare bicep, she murmured, “You’re a little sweaty.”
He captured her hand. “Don’t change the subject.” He leaned closer to her face. “Why are you here?”
Her pupils flashed and Aaron’s beast roared. Kiss her. Don’t wait.
Teagan’s voice was barely a whisper when she replied, “I haven’t been able to concentrate all morning.”
They may not be in her cottage, but fuck it. There was no way he could be alone with her and not touch her. He traced her jaw with a finger. “And why is that, love?”
Her eyes moved to his chest. As she caressed him with her eyes, blood shot straight to his cock. “I had looked forward all day to last night.” She met his gaze again. “To say I was disappointed I had to work would be an understatement.”
Aaron released her hand on his arm and placed a hand possessively on her hip. Rubbing in slow circles, he murmured, “And here I thought you had found a safer bloke to find your release with.”
She frowned. “Colm? No, he’s just an old friend and ally. Kissing him would be like kissing a brother.”
Smiling slowly, Aaron pulled Teagan against his body. “Good answer.”
She opened her mouth, but Aaron cut her off with a kiss. As she melted against him, he stroked the inside of her mouth and relished in the sweet taste that was Teagan.
If he wasn’t careful, he might become addicted.
Not wanting to think on that, he moved his hands to her waist, took hold, and raised her to sit on the counter. After sucking on her bottom lip, he stepped a foot away from her. Teagan blinked. “What’s going on? My time is short, Caruso. I don’t have time for games.”
“Aaron,” he growled out.
“Fine, Aaron. Same question.”
He took the hem of her long dress and slowly slid it up her thigh. “I need to make sure you’re ready.”
She watched the material as he inched it up her leg. Her husky voice asked, “Ready for what?”
Moving his hands further, he reached her inner thigh. Her skin was softer than anything he’d touched in a while.
Teagan’s voice was weaker when she repeated, “Ready for what?”
“To take you on the counter.”
Her cheeks flushed pink. “On the counter.”
“Since most people don’t use the back door, no one will know you’re here, let alone can they watch unless they sit on top of the garden wall.” He bunched her skirt around her waist and glanced down. With her legs spread, her beautiful, pink pussy was on display. “You’re not wearing underwear. Is this a daily thing? Because if so, I’m constantly going to wish I was your clothes since they’ll always be touching the most tender part of you.”
He lightly ran a finger through her folds, and Teagan sucked in a breath before saying, “I thought it might speed up the process.” She glanced down to his cock straining against his tracksuit bottoms. “I think it’s time you show me yours.”
As her hands moved to the top of his tracksuit pants, the last vestiges of Aaron’s tiredness slipped away. It seemed Teagan was as good as coffee for waking him up in the morning.
Hell, for waking him up in all ways.
His dragon spoke up. Another reason to see her every day. It’ll be better for your heart.
Stop thinking of my bloody heart. We have more important things to worry about.
Teagan’s fingers dipped under his waistband and brushed the tip of his dick. Aaron clenched his fingers to keep from reaching out to her. Teagan deserved a chance to do what she wished with him, and he was anxious to see what the clever woman came up with, especially since she always seemed to blush when sex was concerned.
~~~
Teagan’s previous sexual experiences had been secreted in a bedroom or maybe an isolated bit of forest.
Yet as she had her legs spread wide, exposing her center to the world with Aaron standing in front of her in the kitchen, she decided she liked taking her time and doing things differently. First on a chair and now on a counter. Maybe Aaron would even be open to sex in a lake. She’d always wondered what it’d feel like to do it while being surrounded by water.
Her dragon growled. Think about that later. Get him naked. I want his cock inside us.
Teagan ran her finger back and forth across the tip of Aaron’s penis. Whenever she lightly used her nail, his pupils flashed. She decided to see if she could read him as well as he’d read her two days before and use his cues to drive him wild.
Teagan slid her fingers down his hard length and encircled him. Aaron sucked in a breath and she smiled. “How about this?”
She squeezed him at the base and Aaron groaned. “Fuck, yes.”
Not releasing the pressure of her grip, she pulled up and then down. Aaron placed his hands on the counter to either side of her hips as she repeated the motion, but he never severed eye contact.
She heard his thundering heartbeat and saw his flashing eyes. Strong, contrary Aaron Caruso was weak at the knees from her touch.
For all the control she had over her clan, Teagan had never felt as powerful as she did in that moment.
She increased her pace, but Aaron cursed and took her wrist to still her movements. His voice was low and gentle as he said, “As much as I’d love to come all over your hand, I want to be inside you, love.”
As they stared into one another’s eyes, Teagan wished she had more time to spend with the dragonman in front of her. He was turning out to be the opposite of what she’d thought. Strong, stubborn, and irritating, yes, but also gentle, caring, and willing to respect her position.
Her dragon whispered, He would be a good fit.
Teagan couldn’t afford to think of the future beyond the next two weeks. That thought brought her crashing back to reality and she released Aaron’s cock and withdrew her hand. “So what now?”
“Time to get naked.” He guided her arm to his shoulder. She dug in her nails as he quickly took something out of his pocket and shucked his tracksuit pants.
Her eyes zeroed in at his long, hard penis curved against his belly.
She itched to touch him again and find exactly what drove him to moan.
Aaron ripped open a package and slowly slid a condom over his hard length. Teagan smiled. “Someone was prepared.”
Once done, Aaron slid his fingers into her hair. “Let’s just say I was thinking of ways to hunt you down before my balls turned even bluer.”
She took a condom packet from her bra and held it up. “And here I thought I was doing the hunting.”
Snorting, Aaron took the package and tossed it on the counter. “It just means I can have you again later.”
Her heart skipped a beat at seeing him naked once more. “Later?”
He moved closer. “Once isn’t going to be enough.” He took hold of his cock and lightly ran it through her folds. Teagan gasped and barely caught his next words, “And I remember a deal for an entire night’s worth of sex. It just means we’ll have to space it out to fit your schedule.” The bastard brushed her clit and Teagan lost her train of thought. Aaron chuckled and said, “We can discuss scheduling later.”
“Do I get a say in this?”
Positioning his cock at her entrance, he murmured, “Tell me no now. It’s your last chance to back out because once I start, I’m not going to want to stop.”
If she were a perfect clan leader, Teagan would push him away and resist temptation.
Her dragon growled. No one is bloody perfect. And if you never take a break, it will hurt everyone in the long run.
She made her decision and dug in her nails. “Don’t keep a lady waiting, Aaron.”
With a growl, he kissed her and inched his cock inside her. She clenched her jaw at his fullness, but he kissed her and she opened her mouth. His tongue caressing hers soon made her forget about everything but how deep he reached. Maybe there was something about half-Italian dragon-shifters.
Once he was to the hilt, he broke the kiss. “Fuck, you’re tight. I love how you hold onto me as if you won’t ever let go.”
A yearning she’d long buried deep, to have a partner at her side to help with the clan and eventually raising a family, broke free.
But she didn’t want to ruin the moment. Aaron was only there for sex, nothing more. She would have to take what she could get.
Teagan wiggled her hips. “Move, Aaron. Make sitting on this hard, cold counter worth it.”
He took her lips again before moving his hips. Each long, languid stroke made her cry out. Yet Aaron swallowed her cries, never breaking their kiss.
Not liking the distance between the rest of their bodies, she pulled him closer until she could wrap her legs around his waist. Aaron kept one hand in her hair and moved the other to the small of her back. He pulled her closer to the edge of the counter and increased the motion of his lower body.
The tension built, but it wasn’t enough. She was about to end the kiss and let him know when Aaron ran his hand from her back to her belly and then lower. When a rough finger brushed her clit, she cried out. Aaron finally released her mouth and whispered, “Don’t hold back on me, Teagan. Never hold back with me.”
The words barely cleared her lust haze. However, when Aaron started a steady rhythm on her sensitive bundle of nerves, rubbing back and forth before circling the hard bud, she lost all train of thought. She was so close.
“Harder,” she whispered.
Aaron pressed his thumb against her clit and pleasure shot through her body as lights danced in front of her eyes. Combined with Aaron’s movements as she orgasmed, Teagan cried out louder than she ever had before with a male.
She’d barely come down from her high when Aaron stilled and growled as spasms racked his body. She knew the condom was necessary for many reasons, but she secretly wanted to feel him come inside her.
Quickly pushing aside that thought, Aaron finally slumped his shoulders, as if exhausted. Teagan leaned her head on Aaron’s collarbone and wrapped her arms around his back. She still had her legs around his waist, and when Aaron engulfed her in his strong arms, she sighed.
In this moment, she didn’t have to be strong, clever, and concerned with everyone else’s well-being. She was merely a female in the embrace of a male, listening to his heartbeat and reveling in his spicy masculine scent.
The yearning that had been overpowered by lust returned in full force. What she wouldn’t give for such closeness every day.
But she knew Aaron belonged with Stonefire, not with her.
For the first time, she wished he would stay.
His lovely deep voice interrupted her thoughts. “What are you thinking, love?”
~~~
Aaron should’ve stepped away as soon as he found his release. After all, he and Teagan weren’t a couple and probably never could be.
But as he stood with Teagan in his arms and her wrapped around his body in more ways than one, he couldn’t bring himself to do so.
His dragon spoke up. And why is that?
Don’t.
Why? She is not her. Give Teagan a chance.
A part of him wanted to. But what about our responsibilities back home?
Teagan tightened her arms around him and Aaron focused back on her. He’d never seen her so quiet. “What are you thinking, love?”
She sighed. “Just that I want more of this.”
“Sex on a counter?”
She glanced at him with narrowed eyes. “I’m trying to be serious, Aaron.”
Lightly rubbing circles on her back, he answered, “Then tell me in detail what you mean by ‘more of this.’ I can keep a secret, you know.”
She searched his gaze and he held his breath. Why he wanted her to confide in him, he had no idea.
Teagan finally let out a long sigh. “If I say sex with you, will you start cracking on about having a magical penis?”
He grinned. “Well, you did seem to enjoy it.”
She rolled her eyes. “That’s not the point.”
“So you did like it.” He roamed a hand up her back to fist her hair. “Maybe one of these times we can both be naked at the same time. Then I can really work my magic.”
“I’m not sure when that’ll be, though.”
His dragon hummed. See? She thinks of being with us again. It should be every night. Then we can take care of her always.
Stop planning my bloody future.
He kissed the corner of her mouth. “Then surprise me. Even if I have to wake up early and go without coffee again, it’ll be worth it if it means I get you naked in either of our beds.”
She shook her head and her hair tickled his chest. “You say that now, but it could be this evening or days from now. I don’t have the most predictable schedule right now.”
Gently tugging her hair, he moved to kiss her jaw. “Anticipation is a heady thing, Teagan O’Shea. Maybe one day I can convince you of that.”
As soon as the words were out, he wanted to curse. Aaron was only on Glenlough for a short amount of time. He had no right hinting of a future.
Especially when Teagan could lose everything if the clan found out about them.
He took her lips in one final, rough kiss before he stepped away and pulled out of her.
His dragon huffed. Don’t let her go.
What the hell are you talking about? I can’t walk around the clan with Teagan attached to my dick.
That’s not what I mean.
He paused and simply said, I know.
Aaron took Teagan’s waist and lifted her off the counter and back to the floor. She stumbled a second and crashed into his chest.
He held her tightly, more than aware he should push her away.
After a minute, Teagan’s whispered, “I should go, Aaron. There’s a lot to do.”
He gave her one last squeeze before he released her. “Find me whenever you need me, Teagan.”
He expected a snarky reply, but Teagan merely nodded. “I need to go.”
She adjusted her dress and exited the back door.
Standing in silence, Aaron clenched his fingers and forced himself to turn away from the door. Teagan’s wasn’t his to go after.
Besides, he had assignments to do. Bram and all of Stonefire were counting on him. He wasn’t letting anyone down because of a female ever again.