Chapter Seven
The following morning, as the early rays of sun broke through the clouds, Teagan stood at the edge of a clearing nestled between the hills, with the lake to her right. She hated sharing the location of one of her secret spots with Aaron, but the fewer clan members who knew about her practice with the Stonefire male, the better.
Who knew what her grandmother would do if she found out? Aaron had managed to charm Orla, which was no easy feat. Just remembering her gran trying to dance with him the night before made her want to simultaneously smile and groan. If he kept it up, Orla would try to find ways for the Stonefire male to stay. Orla liked to be entertained, and Aaron was her latest diversion.
Her dragon spoke up. So? He will be our diversion soon enough.
Speaking of the devil, Aaron’s large green dragon form came into view. As his powerful wing muscles moved and flapped, she had to admit he was a fine specimen.
Her beast huffed. We are better.
So now you’re on my side?
I’m on my own side.
Aaron maneuvered his dragon down and gently landed about ten feet away. As his body began to shrink, her heart rate kicked up. She was finally going to see his nude body.
Not that she should care. All males, especially when it came to Protectors, had the same parts—muscled chests, broad shoulders, toned abs, and powerful thighs. Yet as Aaron’s human form took shape, she studied his nice but not a rug amount of chest hair, chiseled abs, and the defined V of his hip bones that made all females drool. When she finally reached his groin, her dragon hummed. He’ll do nicely.
Teagan tried her best not to flush, but knowing her traitorous pale skin, it would still show.
Aaron strode toward her with a smile. “Glad that you like what you see, darling.”
She raised an eyebrow. “My name isn’t ‘darling.’ And I was merely assessing my opponent. Isn’t that what you said you were doing last night?”
He grinned wide. “Tell yourself that’s all it is, if it helps.” He reached where she stood and the faint breezed ruffled his hair. Teagan nearly reached out to put a stray lock back into place, but Aaron’s voice prevented her from doing so. He continued, “But I know your time is valuable, so state the rules and let’s begin.”
She paused a second at his words, somewhat surprised he realized her time was short, and finally replied, “The rules are simple. There will be two rounds in dragon form. You’ll be the first to hide. I’ll then have to find you and, in order to win, I have to get you to admit defeat. You can also win the round by making me cede. For the second round, I’ll hide, and again the winner has to get the other to admit to losing. If we each win one round, then we’ll have a final tussle in human form. The only restriction to any of the rounds is not killing or permanently maiming each other. Questions?”
“Tussle, aye? Since I didn’t bring any clothes, I’ll have to be careful. Although it almost seems an advantage to be wearing your loose dress to protect all your lady bits.”
Teagan resisted the urge to smooth the purple and blue patterned material. “If it comes to a tie-breaker, then I’ll take off my dress. After all, it would only hinder my movement, and I want to pin you as soon as possible.”
“If you can at all.”
“Well, cocky lad, it’s your turn to hide first. I’m counting to a hundred and going after you.”
She began her countdown and Aaron dashed far enough away to shift. She watched his body grow into a large dragon.
Her beast spoke up. I want to feel his hide. I see at least one scar running down his side. There’s a story there. Maybe even a brave one.
Or a stupid one. The point of this morning isn’t to feel his skin in either form. Focus, dragon, so we can win. Then he’ll be over every evening. That should please you.
Her beast snorted. I knew you wanted more than cooked meals. With him over, then we can kiss him whenever we like without the clan knowing. If anyone asks, all we’ll have to do is mention he lost a bet, so that’s why he’s at our cottage.
I’m more interested in having a chef. You can ogle him and get the Stonefire male out of your system.
You’ll see it my way soon enough. Him being around will give me time to convince you. I already know you like spending time with him.
Her earlier confidence about Aaron not being her true mate slipped a fraction. Are you hiding something from me?
No. But sometimes a true mate isn’t the best option for all involved.
Her beast fell silent. Rather than think about her dragon’s cryptic message, Teagan continued to count as Aaron flew into the distance.
Most of the hills in Glenveagh National Park, which was where Clan Glenlough was located, weren’t high enough to hide a dragon unless they crouched down. And a dragon hunched with their wings folded against their back had little room to jump into the air on short notice. All she had to do was eliminate the hills shorter than Aaron’s dragon form, and it would narrow her list of possible hiding spots.
When she finally counted to one hundred, Teagan tugged the dress over her head and imagined her arms and legs growing, her nose elongating into a snout, and wings sprouting from her back. The second she stood in her gold dragon form, she leaped into the air and quickly surveyed the land.
Aaron wasn’t behind any of the hills in her immediate area. Neither could she scent him, which meant he was either positioned downwind or far enough away that she couldn’t pinpoint his location. Combining her knowledge of the area and the wind’s current direction, Teagan took off toward the south.
As she scanned the land below, she wanted to laugh at fate making Aaron a green dragon. Ireland in summer was bright green, especially this year with the amount of rain they’d had, which made him harder to spot.
Teagan approached one of her favorite hiding spots as a child, nestled between two hills. One of the bushes moved in the opposite direction of the wind, signaling that something alive was there. She folded her wings against her back and dove down.
The next instant Aaron jumped into the air and used the combination of the wind and his powerful muscles to fly away. Male dragons had slightly larger wingspans than most females, but females were lighter. Teagan embraced her beast and beat her wings as hard as she could.
Aaron dove toward the lake, but rather than pull up, he went into the water. Teagan hovered in the air above and waited for him to surface. As long as she was in the air, she had the advantage.
When Aaron didn’t come up for air, she wondered if he’d hit his head on one of the large rocky outcroppings beneath the water’s surface. Many parts of the lake were deep, but the shallower areas had caused more than a few injuries to young dragon-shifters in the past who had acted before assessing anything.
Her beast spoke up. Give him another minute. Otherwise, he might be playing on our concern for others.
She wanted to argue that concern shouldn’t be seen as a negative trait, but her dragon was right. When it came to a challenge, a good Protector would use whatever tools they had at their disposal.
A green dragon head popped out of the lake close to the shore, followed by the rest of his upper body as he stood upright in the shallow water. Snapping his wings, water droplets danced in the air before Aaron jumped into the sky once more.
Teagan swooped toward him and managed to collide with his large green body. Opening her wings to slow their descent, they hit the ground softly enough to not do any damage. As they rolled on the ground, Teagan noticed Aaron had a harder time gaining control from the left side. So she changed her movements to keep forcing him to move to the left. She nearly had him pinned, but Aaron finally managed to use his heavier weight to flip them over. Before he could pin her shoulders, she smacked her tail against his testicles. Aaron roared, and Teagan rolled out from under him and jumped onto his back. Wrapping her forelimb around his throat, she applied enough pressure to make his breathing ragged, but not enough to suffocate him.
Aaron tried to knock her off with his tail, but Teagan ignored the sharp stings with each slap. She growled in question—Would he cede?
For good measure, she placed the talons of her free hand at the major artery running down Aaron’s neck and pressed gently.
Aaron’s entire body went limp, and he gave a low roar.
Teagan had won.
Jumping back, she waited for Aaron to shift. His wings melded into his back, his stature shrunk, and his green hide faded into the olive complexion of his human form. Once the shift was complete, he glared at her. “What the fuck was that? You slapping me in the balls is against every rule I’ve ever seen in a dragon competition.”
Teagan shrugged a golden shoulder. In her experience, major challenges like those for a clan leadership never followed all the rules. She also had stated earlier the only restrictions were to not kill or permanently maim. Stinging balls was certainly within that purview.
Not that she was going to shift and explain it to Aaron. Teagan crouched down and jumped into the air. It was her turn to hide.
As she flew away from Aaron, she just made out his “Bloody hell.” Smiling as much as a dragon could smile, she flapped her wings harder. One round down, another to go.
~~~
Aaron watched Teagan’s golden form disappear into the horizon. He’d lost and rather easily, too.
His pride might be hurt, but his defeat only fueled him to defeat her. There literally didn’t seem to be any rules beyond don’t kill. He wasn’t going to hold back any longer.
His dragon growled. I told you not to go easy on her just because she’s female.
Believe me, I’m not going to do so any longer. She wants a challenge, and I’m going to try to give it to her.
He envisioned his body changing shape again and once complete, he jumped into the air.
Since Teagan was a gold dragon, she would need to be more creative with her hiding spot. There wasn’t much gold or brown to hide her in the summertime.
Aaron might not know the area, but that didn’t mean much to a Protector. Enemies often didn’t show up in one’s neighborhood, but they still needed to be defeated. With her limited options, she either had to hide in a lake or in a big enough copse of trees.
His dragon chimed in. Or in a cave, or even a large hole.
I know, dragon.
His beast huffed. Just making sure. If you don’t give her a decent showing, then I may have to take control. Otherwise, we’re not really helping her prepare for any possible challengers.
Until this round ends, she’s the enemy and nothing more.
You just want to impress her.
No, I just want to win.
Losing wouldn’t be so bad, his dragon said. After all, we can see her every night.
Aaron was careful to keep his thoughts focused on the task and not what could happen if he saw her every evening. If she sees us as weak, then she might send us home. Italy made us softer than I realized.
We’re not soft. Now stop chatting and let’s win this round.
Aaron would usually point out his dragon had started the conversation, but instead, he embraced his dragon’s senses. There was no sweet female scent in the air and no gold hide glinting in the weak sunlight. While the densest woods were near the former human castle, Aaron didn’t think Teagan would go near them just in case any humans were around; two dragons fighting, even near a dragon clan’s lands, would probably earn a reprimand or even a punishment from the Irish DDA.
And considering Aaron was in Ireland without an official visitation pass, he might end up in jail.
Looking farther afield, he also spotted a small island in the middle of the lake covered in trees, but that would severely limit her escape options.
However, there was a denser field of trees a mile or so ahead, away from the castle grounds.
Careful to remain downwind as much as possible, he made his way toward them. Teagan may have shifted back to her human form despite her rules, but Aaron was going to remain a dragon. That would give him the advantage, even if he had to crash through the trees and possibly break a bone or two to capture her.
His dragon grunted. No breaking bones. We’ll be no good to her then.
If it means we win one round, then it’ll be worth it.
Why do you care so much about her approval?
Can we talk about this later? I have a female to find.
His beast fell silent, and Aaron looked for any broken trees or unusual movement beneath him.
On closer inspection, many of the trees were too short to hide a full-grown dragon. But some of the ones slanted on a hill could be deceiving. The curve of their trunks could possibly create a big enough space for Teagan to lay in wait.
He hovered above a large hill, using the wind currents when possible to conserve his energy. The scent of female hit his nose and he moved a fraction lower to the treetops. The smell intensified from the area directly below him.
The scent marking could be a trap, but as it continued to invade Aaron’s senses, she had to be below him or the scent would have dissipated already. It wasn’t as if she were carrying around a sack of worn clothing to mislead him.
Spying his best opening, Aaron folded his wings and dropped down between the trees. One crashed into his right side, but he paid it no attention. His eyes adjusted to the dimmer light, but he didn’t spot any sign of golden hide. Fuck. Just as he looked up to find his best way out, Teagan’s naked human form jumped out. She caught his neck with her arms and slid around to his back. In a split second, she had a talon extended and against his artery once more, but fuck if he’d lose again.
He imagined his form shrinking down to a human. As his form changed shape, Teagan landed with an oomph next to him, facedown; she’d probably had the wind knocked out of her.
He didn’t waste any time, and the second he stood in his human form again, he lunged to cover her body with his. With adrenaline pumping through his body, he didn’t pay attention to her naked back and arse against him.
Wrapping an elbow around her neck and grabbing a fistful of hair, he gently tugged her head back. “You lose. Cede to me.”
With a growl, she rocked her head back and hit his chin. He loosened his grip at the quick, sharp pain and Teagan managed to roll them both over. She quickly moved to straddle his neck between her thighs and reached back to grab his thumbs. As she pulled his thumbs farther back in the wrong direction, he grunted. She was going to fucking break his fingers.
Yet between her flashing pupils and her heaving chest above him, Aaron almost wanted to lose if it meant he could stare at Teagan’s supple body a minute longer.
Then his beast roared inside his head. No. We win this time.
The words snapped Aaron back to reality. He swung his legs up and around Teagan’s neck before pulling her down. She released her grip and Aaron flipped until he had her belly to the ground. He tugged her wrists behind her and dug his knee into her back. For good measure, he tugged her arms a little more until she grunted. He growled, “I win this round. Cede.”
For a few beats, only the sound of their labored breathing filled the air. Then Aaron leaned a bit more of his weight into Teagan’s back. She cried out, and his every instinct wanted to release her and examine her to ensure she wasn’t hurt.
But giving up wouldn’t help her prepare for a possible challenge. The other Irish clan leaders sure as hell wouldn’t stop to check for injuries.
He gripped her wrists tighter and yanked a little more. “Admit defeat and we go to the tie-breaker round. Me observing you in action will only help you in the long run.”
Teagan relaxed under his body. “Fine, then you win this one.”
Aaron released her and stood. As she rolled over, he offered a hand, and she took it.
Pulling her up, she tripped and stumbled against his body. Aaron held her close to keep her from falling, but her nipples were hard points against his chest, and his cock took notice.
If he leaned down to take one of the tempting points into his mouth, he wondered if Teagan would tell him to stop or thread her fingers through his hair and beg for more.
He moved a hand down her spine, but before he could reach the indent of her lower back, Teagan raised her head to meet his eyes. Her pupils were slitted. Maybe her dragon wanted the same thing.
Or she might tell him to stop.
No, his dragon purred. You can smell her arousal as much as me.
Her husky voice interrupted his thoughts. “I think you’re happy to see me, Caruso.”
She leaned her body back a fraction. Before he could growl and pull her back, she lightly ran her hand down his chest. The movements of her fingers made his skin burn and yearn for the light scratch of her nails.
As she inched downward, Aaron held his breath. His cock was hard and heavy against his belly, and it pulsed for Teagan’s light touch.
She brushed his sensitive tip and lightly teased his swollen flesh with her nails. He groaned, and she moved her finger from his tip to the side of his shaft.
Without thinking, he whispered, “Fuck, don’t stop.”
Teagan chuckled and wrapped her fingers around his cock. She squeezed gently, and Aaron dared to move a hand to her breast. If he was going to lose his mind, then so was she.
He tweaked her nipple, and Teagan hissed between her teeth. As he continued to pinch and roll the hard bud, she increased the pressure of her grip on his cock. Between her touch, her feminine scent invading his nose, and the heat of her body so close to his, Aaron said screw it. One kiss couldn’t hurt. They could both use a little post-battle release.
He leaned down, but when he was a fraction away from making contact with her lips, something sharp poked against his balls.
Teagan’s husky voice filled his ears. “I win this round and thus overall.”
He blinked. “So all of this was a ruse?”
“Oh, I enjoyed making you moan. But this is a contest, and I’ll do whatever it takes to win.”
The sharp pressure against his balls, which had to be her fucking talons, increased. He growled. “You wouldn’t.”
“Oh, believe me, I would. The choice of becoming a eunuch or not is yours. Do you cede?”
He pushed aside the sting of falling for her trap. Blasted females always seemed to use him for something. “I think you’re bluffing,” he bit out.
She raised her brows. “You obviously haven’t experienced a true clan leader challenge. Beyond not killing or permanently maiming an opponent, there are no rules.” She pushed her talon harder against him. “Although sometimes the no maiming requirement gets a bit fuzzy.”
“In other words, you cheat.”
She shrugged. “Do you always play by the rules when it comes to missions or protecting the clan?”
He grudgingly muttered, “Fair point.”
She tilted her head as she tapped one of her talons against his bollocks. “Now, admit defeat and maybe I’ll suggest another competition in the future. Then you can give me an actual challenge.”
It was on the tip of his tongue to make a pithy retort, but his dragon spoke up. Just do it. Not only will we see her every evening and can better assess her weaknesses, but we can propose another bet and win next time. Maybe then we can claim more than knowing her thoughts or how she hisses when we play with her nipples. I want to explore her body with our tongue.
For all we know, she faked everything to trap us.
She did it to win a competition. It has nothing to do with toying with your heart.
Fuck, dragon, you make me sound like a sentimental fool.
His beast sniffed. Sometimes you are. Give Teagan a real chance.
As Teagan stared at him, waiting for an answer, he wondered if he’d feel the same way if a male had cheated to best him. Granted, a dragonman wouldn’t turn him on with delicate fingers and pert breasts, but there were always other ways to startle and/or disarm an opponent. Teagan had merely used the tools available to her.
In other words, she was clever.
On top of that, while Aaron should feel used, after his brief encounter with Teagan’s fingers on his cock and his hands on her breasts, he wanted more. He had no desire to form a long-term attachment, but taking her to bed a time or two would do.
He cleared his throat. “I will admit defeat on one condition—that we have a rematch soon. Now that I know there aren’t any rules, I plan to do whatever it takes to win, no holds barred.”
Teagan raised her brows. “In real life, there aren’t always second chances. But since I’m curious to see what Aaron Caruso looks like without holding back, I’ll consider it. However, I want to have a personal chef for a few nights at least before I risk giving it up.”
He searched her gaze. “So you think I can win?”
She shrugged. “A leader who thinks they’re invincible is bound to fail sooner rather than later.”
Aaron’s opinion of Teagan went up a notch. “All right, then I cede and look forward to our next rematch.”
The pressure of talons against Aaron’s balls disappeared and she patted him twice, sending a jolt up through his body. “Good. I’d rather not damage your goods.” She glanced down and back up. “They are fairly impressive.”
His beast spoke up. She wants us.
As they stared into one another’s eyes, Aaron waited for Teagan to move away, but she didn’t budge. She merely tilted her head once more. “Like what you see, Caruso? Or has being bested by a female turned you sour?”
The curiosity in her green eyes was genuine.
There were a hundred reasons why Aaron should make a crack and walk away. The disaster with Nerina being the biggest one. He also knew that battles always made him hard and ready for sex. But as her hot breath tickled his chin, he didn’t think of the alliance, his past, or why he needed to get back to Stonefire. He itched to fist Teagan’s hair and taste her sweet lips. Something about the female called to his baser urges.
His dragon growled. Just kiss her before she changes her mind.
He placed a hand on her bare hip and lightly brushed her skin. Some males might be intimidated by the toned flesh under his fingers, but Aaron only saw strength and dedication. Teagan did what was necessary to protect her clan.
Her flashing pupils gave him the courage to murmur, “I’m the opposite of sour. I’m impressed. And I’m going to prove it to you.”
Leaning down, Aaron kissed her.
~~~
Being surrounded by trees in an isolated area had emboldened Teagan. First with nearly giving Aaron a hand job and then prodding him with words.
Her plan to distract him had nearly backfired, though. Just the light brush of his fingers had almost made her knees give out. His skin was rough, yet warm. Aaron was a male who wasn’t afraid to work with his hands. She’d always had a weakness for strong, rough hands.
Her dragon hummed. Yes, yes, I want to feel them everywhere.
She ignored her beast and studied Aaron’s eyes. As soon as he admitted defeat, she could’ve easily walked away and gone back to Glenlough. The sting to Aaron’s pride would’ve sent him packing and given her one less distraction to worry about.
But as her heart thumped in her chest and the flesh between her thighs pulsed, she admitted that she wanted at least one taste of his lips. She couldn’t even remember the last time she’d kissed a male.
Her dragon huffed. That is your own fault.
And risk another incident like with Bard? I don’t need a male boasting to the entire clan of kissing me and then saying how mediocre I am.
Pshaw. He was the sloppy kisser. I feel sorry for whatever female ends up with him.
Aaron lowered his head toward hers and Teagan decided she had a few minutes to spare for herself, without thinking of the clan. Anything to ease tension would help in her quest to fend off challengers to her role, so it wasn’t completely selfish.
Aaron’s warm lips brushed hers before taking the bottom lip between his teeth. As he worried the tender flesh, Teagan wrapped her arms around his neck and opened her mouth to welcome his tongue. There was no mate-claim frenzy spreading through her body, driving her to fuck Aaron until she carried his child, but as his tongue stroked hers, she groaned and leaned against him.
He was no sloppy kisser.
As he tangled his tongue with hers, she met him stroke for stroke. Teagan wasn’t the type of female to give up easily, and it was best Aaron understood that now.
Her dragon hummed. And why is that?
She ignored her beast to rub her nipples against Aaron’s chest. The light dusting of chest hair rubbed against her own tender skin, and she increased the strokes of her tongue.
She had a feeling Aaron was the type of male to meet her head-on in bed.
Aaron moved a hand to cup one arse cheek and lightly squeezed. Each whisper of his fingers caused heat to flare and shoot straight between her thighs.
Her dragon growled. Yes, yes. Maybe he’ll take us right here. I like sex in the open.
As if reading her dragon’s mind, Aaron swung her around until her back pressed against a tree. She broke the kiss at the swift movement, but Aaron beat her to speaking first. His flashing eyes told her his dragon was close to the surface. “Tell me what you want, Teagan,” he whispered. “I don’t want to disappoint Glenlough’s leader.”
At the mention of “leader,” it was as if ice doused her body.
Aaron was just like all the other males who’d pursued her since becoming clan leader and saw her role first and the individual second. She was just a notch to add to his belt. Once he returned home, he could brag about fucking her.
She pushed hard against his chest, and Aaron stepped back with a puzzled expression. “What?”
She shook her head. “This never should’ve happened.” Teagan took a deep breath and added, “Killian will be expecting you. And don’t forget, you’re cooking me dinner. Make sure you’re fully clothed when you show up, or I’ll have a special set of clothes waiting for you. Ones that will make you think twice about disobeying my orders.”
“Teagan—”
She ignored him and strode toward the edge of the trees. She needed to put distance between them.
Her beast growled. Why did you stop?
If you have to ask that question, then you don’t know me at all.
Her beast sighed. He doesn’t want us simply because we’re leader.
And you know this how?
I sense it.
Too bad. I allowed a hot body and my own desire to cloud my judgment before. Any male who kisses me and wants another one does so because he wants me for me. My position shouldn’t be the first factor.
But—
No. I’ve let you convince me with too many males in the past, and they all saw me as something to be conquered. And then I had to quell the questions about my judgment and ability to lead. Never again, especially when I have challenges coming from other clans. I can’t afford a challenge from within Glenlough itself.
Not wanting to argue with her dragon on the subject, Teagan tossed her beast into a mental prison.
Smoothing her hair, Teagan picked up her pace but kept to the trees. She had several secret clothing stashes around the national park. With humans often visiting, she wasn’t going to risk being stranded.
As the underbrush and lower branches tickled her skin, Teagan took a deep breath and clenched her fingers into fists at her sides. If she were male, things would be easier. She could sleep with whomever she wished, and the clan would joke about trying out the clan to find the right partner.
However, she was female. And despite Glenlough’s rare tradition of mostly female leaders, the old views on sex and mates still prevailed. She was expected to have one male and only one; sleeping around marked her as indecisive. Bloody hell, in her grandmother’s time, they often had expected the females to remain virgins until they mated, but not the males. And some of the elder clan members probably expected the same of Teagan.
During her first year as leader, she’d given those beliefs the finger and slept with whomever took her fancy. It hadn’t taken long for it to bite her in the arse. She’d come dangerously close to a leadership challenge because of rumors spread by a disgruntled former lover.
Well, fuck that. Raising her head high, reason returned to her brain. She’d just have to swear off all males until either she found a partner who’d help her challenge tradition or Teagan eventually gave up her role as leader to have a family.
Regardless, she wouldn’t be used as another male’s power play. And most certainly not by an English dragonman. She’d just have to show him his place and not waver from it.