LIAM

Heat courses through my blood.

I stare at the male with a wild grin on my face, a challenge in my eyes. I’m daring him to try and take Andrea from me, to try to get between us, to threaten her. Just give me an excuse to tear his throat out and I’ll do it.

It’s clear the male wants my female. He watches Andrea closely and casts her admiring looks when he thinks I’m not paying attention. Well, let him just try and take her from me. He’ll figure out soon enough that she’s my mate—

But no.

The realization is like a slap in the face.

Andrea cannot be my mate. I cannot claim her. Ever.

It would be far wiser for me to back away and let him pursue her. She deserves to be happy with a strong male at her side…but I cannot do that. I can’t back away. I can’t let her go to another man because everything I am, everything in my spirit roars in agony at the thought of my female being touched by another man.

This thing between us is no good. It’s only going to cause pain for both of us…but I can’t walk away from her, any more than I can give her over to the human Gabe.

So I do my best to ignore him as I walk inside the abandoned encampment with Andrea. It’s full of old scents, many of them tinged with a strange flavor that I don’t recognize. I don’t care about that right now, though. I only care about getting her to safety before the red female that pushes so oppressively at my mental walls appears and attacks this settlement.

“Shelter,” I tell Andrea. “Pick a place, as long as it is safe.”

She nods and rushes inside the walls of the fort, and I am glad that she’s so levelheaded. There are no protests or silliness in her, no dawdling. She is a survivor and knows what must be done to survive. Her steps are quick and to my surprise, she immediately heads for the cow. “We have to make sure their animals are safe,” she tells me. It’s not a soft heart that declares this, but a practical one. A cow can feed many mouths and provides milk and butter and all the things a settlement needs. It’s incredibly valuable.

I’m proud of how sensible she is. “I’ll take care of it,” I tell her. “You round up the chickens.”

“Got it!”

We split up and I move to the cow’s pen, ushering her inside and shutting the door of the strange dwelling so the dragon can’t get to her. The animal smells like hot blood and good meat, and I hesitate for a moment, my drakoni side warring to dominance. My skin itches and I gaze down at the thing, imagining how good the warm gush of blood would taste in my mouth…

No.

I must be human. I must be Liam. I must.

I make sure the damn thing is enclosed and then hastily retreat, just in time to see Andrea disappear into one of the open dwellings, a clucking chicken tucked under her arm. I jog over to her, just as the heavy scent of the female dragon seems to pour in from the skies. The female screams out a warning overhead, and I fling myself into the shelter and shut the door a split second before the first rush of fire pours down atop us.

“Are you okay?” Andrea asks, panting. It’s dark inside without the sunlight pouring in, and my eyes take a moment to adjust. I smell chickens, and their pwuck pwuck noises bounce off the walls. I smell my mate….

And I smell Gabe and his animal. Damn it all. He couldn’t find another shelter?

“I’m fine,” I say quickly, my voice curt.

“I’ll get my candle,” Andrea says, and I can hear her rummaging in her bag. I smell the moment she pulls it out, and then a second later, she flicks a flame up through her lighter and a small, orange light illuminates the darkness. The stink of the chickens—and Gabe—fills my nostrils and makes my stomach turn.

I look over at the human male, irritated that he’s here. “Why is that red stalking you?”

He looks shocked. “What do you mean, she’s stalking me?”

“It’s the same female that attacked your encampment. She obviously has your scent in her muzzle. What did you do to get her attention?”

“I didn’t do anything.” His gaze narrows, suspicious. “Why do you think I did?”

I ignore his surliness. “She’s insane, but somehow through all of this, she remembers you. What did you do?” Part of me just likes pricking at him, but part of me also really, really wants to know. He’s somehow managed to make himself unforgettable to the female dragon and I need to know what he did so perhaps Andrea won’t forget me when I turn…

“Both of you, stop it,” Andrea murmurs, but she sets the candle down and moves to my side, sliding her arms around my waist.

I pull her close and kiss her hard, this time not for Gabe’s benefit but for my own. I need to fill my senses with her. I want her scent all over my skin and in my nose, I want her taste in my mouth, driving out all the other things that are slowly itching at my skin and making the day that I turn wild and crazy inevitable.

Because I’m not going to make it like this forever. I’m going to snap at some point, my need for Andrea chasing away all common sense. I’m going to need to claim her, to make her mine.

And to do so, I’m going to have to risk everything.

She returns my kiss, breathless, and then casts a shy look over at Gabe.

I don’t care about him. I grab Andrea by the hand and pull her after me. “We’ll find you when it’s time to leave in the morning,” I tell Gabe. “For now, we need privacy.” I lift my head, trying to cut through the scents, to find open air instead of this choking stuffiness. At the back of the room, the air clears a bit. There’s a doorway cut into the metal wall to join two of the storage units and make one big dwelling. I drag Andrea behind me into the new area. I can smell better air over there, fresher air, and I bring her in that direction.

“Liam,” Andrea whispers, and I can hear embarrassment in her tone, even as she follows me. “He’s going to think we’re needing to be alone because…you know.”

“Because what?” I shut the door behind us and then it’s dark once more, the candle left behind with Gabe. I can smell bedding, though, and I tug her in that direction and pull her down with me. “Because he’s going to think we’re mating? We are, because I need the taste of your cunt.”

She gasps. “What? But you—you said—”

Oh, I know what I said. I live with it every moment I am awake. I dream of sinking deep inside her and feeling her cunt clench tight around my cock. I dream of my teeth in her throat, filling her with my fire, and then her delicious scent changing to mine. I dream of a life with her. Of never having to let her go.

And tonight, I decide, I want to risk it. As the humans say, fuck waiting. Fuck everything, except for Andrea. I’m taking control of the situation.

I pull her forward, and she clings to me as the backs of her knees hit the mattress. She tumbles backward with a sound of surprise, and then I am on her, my hands furious with need as I pull at her pants. I waste no time, undoing the snaps and then shoving them down her hips.

Andrea gasps, and I can tell she's shocked at the hunger in my touch…and turned on, too. She realizes just how much I need her and it's making her cunt fill with her perfumed scent. I groan, deep, and push her jeans down her legs until they catch at her ankles, stuck at her boots. That doesn't matter, she's bare enough as far as I'm concerned. With one hand, I grasp the thin material of her panties and rip them off.

"Hey!" she protests. "I need those—"

"You don't," I rasp. "I want the scent of your cunt everywhere. All over me. I want to wear it so others know I've claimed you."

She sucks in a breath. "Jesus, Liam. Atalim."

I groan as she says my name. There's no greater pleasure for me than to hear my name, my true name, on her beautiful lips. I push her thighs apart, breathing in the hot scent of her, and then drag my tongue over her cunt. I take in her taste, and the flavor of her explodes on my tongue, hot, sweet, and so full of need that my cock surges in my pants, fully engorged and aching.

"Ah, my Andrea," I manage, though it's taking everything I have not to go wild with my own need. There's a violence building in my veins—not against her, never that—but the need that rages inside me needs an outlet. It has to go somewhere. So I pull her closer and move up her belly, pushing her shirt out of the way and kissing up her stomach, then make my way to her mouth. I claim it, enjoying the startled sound she makes, and then loving the way she moans when my hand moves back between her thighs, caressing her slick folds. There is one good side to pretending to be human—my claws are blunted to mere stubs, and that means I can touch her freely, explore the soft petals of her skin here and not have to worry that I'm hurting her.

"Liam," she pants against my mouth, her hips arching up against my seeking fingers. "But…maybe we shouldn't…he's going to hear us…"

I snag her lower lip between my teeth and nip at it, then soothe away the bite with a flick of my tongue. "You don't want him to hear? Because I do."

She gives a soft little moan, and my fingers dance over her cunt, seeking out the little nub nestled between her folds. I find it and she whimpers, getting louder, and then her mouth seals shut, as if she doesn't trust herself not to lose all sense of control and start screaming.

She doesn't realize that's exactly what I want—I want my female, my mate, letting the other male in my territory know she's being claimed by me. I want him to hear me pounding into her, giving her pleasure, claiming her body as mine. His nearness, the thought of him even daring to harbor a claim on her is making me crazed, and I'm going to take it out on Andrea's sweet pussy.

"You want that?" She gasps as I drag my thumb over her clit, teasing her. "Oh god, Atalim…why?"

"Because he needs to hear it," I say, claiming her mouth as mine again with another deep, intense kiss. When I lift my lips from hers, I add, "He needs to hear me taking you, so he knows there's no chance he can have you."

"I don't want him," Andrea pants, holding onto me. Her hands flutter over my shoulders, my chest, as if she can't decide where to touch me first. "I don't want anyone but you, Atalim. I just don't want you to lose yourself—"

I kiss her again to silence her. I know she's worried, but the beast raging inside me won't be silenced any longer. I need her and I'm going to risk this, because I can control myself for a while longer. I won't be able to if he keeps looking at her, though. I'll murder him with my shorn claws if I have to, just for daring to dream that he could touch my Andrea.

So I coax her pleasure higher, moving my thumb against her clit and sliding my fingers deeper between her thighs, to the well of her core that's so slippery and hot and good. She moans against my mouth when I sink a finger deep inside her, thrusting. Her cunt is impossibly tight, and I love that she seems to suck at my finger when I push into her.

That's how she's going to hold my cock inside her, I think with deep, aching satisfaction. She's going to grip me so tight with her wet sheath that nothing will ever be the same after that. A harsh growl breaks from my throat, and I nip at her mouth, then press quick, demanding kisses against her jaw as she arches up against my hand. "Your cunt is ready for me," I murmur to her. "Look at how good my finger feels inside you. You're so wet that you're more than ready for more. You want more, my Andrea?"

She whimpers against me, the sound sweet, and then nods. Her nose brushes against mine as she does, and then she gives a sharp cry, her fingers digging into my shirt when I pair a second finger with the first and pump into her again.

"My cock's bigger than that," I warn her. "Much bigger. But you'll be able to take me, won't you? You're so wet and juicy that I'll just slide right into you."

"You can't," she moans.

That just makes my hackles rise. "Can't I? Can't I claim my mate?" I thrust into her again with my fingers, pushing into her as if it's my cock, and she moans, the sound loud and needy.

"I won't hurt you, sweet Andrea," I murmur, and when my hand slides away from her cunt, she makes a whimper of protest, as if she already misses the feel of me there. "But I am going to claim you."

And with that, I sit up and flip her over, then pull at her hips until they're thrust in the air, perfect for mounting. She moans and in the darkness, her fingers dig into the blankets, but she spreads her knees a little wider, readying for me.

I kick my boots off, then shove my pants down and strip off my shirt. When I'm naked, the air feels good against my skin. It feels right. Like I'm becoming what I need to be again. And right in front of me? Her sweet ass in the air as if she's just lost a challenge and needs me to cover her? My beautiful Andrea. I move forward, drawn to her, and rub my face against one of her bare flanks, nipping and biting at the rounded flesh.

She whimpers again, and there's another hot rush of her arousal scent, flooding her cunt. "Atalim," she whispers, and I love the sound of my name on her lips.

"You're going to say that when I'm inside you," I tell her, unable to resist the lure of her slick cunt. I dip my tongue into her folds, teasing at the entrance to her core, and she cries out. "I love when you say my name," I tell her, practically growling the human words that feel more foreign by the minute. "But I'm going to love it best when I'm deep inside you."

"If you're sure," she pants, and her words die when I thrust into the hot well of her core with my tongue, thrusting into her with it like I want to with my cock. "Oh god. Oh, fuck me, that's good."

I love the sounds she makes. It feeds the hungry, angry beast inside me, and I lap at her cunt until she's squirming against me, her hips shuddering in my grip, her taste on my tongue and my lips. I can't drink all of it, I remind myself. She has to be wet and slick for my cock, because she's small and tight and I'm big and throbbing. So I force myself to ease back, to toy with her cunt with fingers instead of tongue, brushing over her clit and then tracing the entrance to her core with one fingertip until she's soaking once more. It makes my mouth water to feel how wet she gets, but she needs to coat my cock with her sweetness, not just my mouth.

"Tell me you want me inside you, Andrea," I demand. The drakoni in me wants her to acknowledge my mastery of her, that she's lost some sort of challenge and has to bend to the victor that will conquer her. "Tell me I've won you."

"I'm yours," she breathes. "If you think you can take me without losing control, I'm all yours."

Control doesn’t matter any longer.

Nothing else matters other than claiming her, marking her as mine.

Mine alone.

I run a hand over my cock and find the head slick with pre-cum. I can't have that—it'll burn her. I wipe it away and force myself to wait until I've calmed a bit, my hand on her rounded ass. I manage to get a bit more control, and when I wipe the head of my cock and it comes away clean, I know I can take her…for now. I settle my hips against hers, my cock sliding along the slick folds of her pussy and wetting with her essence. She moans, arching back against me.

"Oh, god, Liam—Atalim—you feel so good." She lets out another little cry when I rock against her, and it tears at me.

I can't wait any longer. I fit the head of my cock to the entrance of her core, and she's so wet and ready that I thrust into her. No waiting, no teasing, just one swift motion and I'm in her to the hilt.

She gasps, her back arching, and cries out with pleasure.

Heat floods my brain. Heat, and primal need. The walls I've built for so long, maintained so meticulously, never let relax for a moment? My mind shudders, and I can feel them weakening. Hot, wild need overwhelms me, and for a moment, I'm nothing but a mindless beast, rutting into her with quick, hard thrusts. Take. Take. Take. Take her as your mate.

Take her, and then…destroy.

Kill the male. Kill him for looking at her. Violence shoves through me, hard and thick and startling in the viciousness of it.

In that moment, Atalim is lost. For a brief span, I don’t exist as a drakoni or a person. I’m nothing but anger. There is no self, only the hot madness and violence that this world breeds in the minds of my people.

It's gone in the next moment, and I stumble backwards, my cock sliding free of her cunt's perfect grip.

She sits upright, turning over to look at me as I put a hand to my head. "Li—Atalim? Are…are you okay?"

I shake my head to clear it, because the lingering ferocity in my thoughts is terrible and overwhelming. It takes everything I have not to give in to its call.

"Are you…is that smoke I smell?" she asks when I don't answer her.

That explains the tickle in my nostrils. I'm losing control…and I nearly hurt her. If I'd let any of my seed inside her, she'd have burned from within.

Or worse. I could have let the drakoni side of me take over and torn out her throat. I think of the violent anger I felt toward Gabe, and I'm not altogether certain I wouldn't have turned it on her. I drop to my knees in a crouch, hating this.

"I can't touch you again," I tell her. "This was a mistake."

Because if I touch her again, I'm not going to be able to stop. And I don't know what the consequences will be.