Octavia finished her day of shopping, feeling slightly guilty that she now had big bags of clothing while her friends back at the refugee camp were starving.

The other girls were still living on the ships, so Octavia made her way back to Earth alone. When her transport vessel landed behind the Draconian compound, she felt her heart jump up into her chest. This was not where she wanted to be right now. She wanted to be back with her friends in the camp or on the mating armada with the other brides.

Joss had disappointed her one too many times and no matter how much she knew she was supposed to feel for him, it just wasn’t happening. She hated how stubborn he was and how disrespectful he was of her as a human. The transport ship stopped and the door slid open, allowing her to step out into the cold afternoon air.

She’d have to just suck it up and deal with him. The pilot helped her carry her bags up to her apartment and set them inside the front door.

She was dying for a shower and remembered that she still had Joss’s jizz all over her body. Yuck. Joss was nowhere to be found in the apartment, so she went to the bathroom to fill the big bathtub with water. She was also exhausted; it was already dark outside. The trip to the ship had made her forget the time.

She climbed into the warm water and rinsed her body, enjoying the soothing feeling of the warm embrace. The oil that Joss had claimed was an aphrodisiac was the only thing she had to use as soap. The idea of getting randy with Joss around disturbed her, but she didn’t think it was going to make a difference. There was no way she would let him touch her tonight.

When Octavia grew tired of the bath, she climbed out and dried herself with the forced air dryer. It blew warm air so hard over her body that it brushed away all the water in just a few seconds.

She stepped away and pulled a silky nightgown out of the bags of clothes she’d brought from the ship. Being clean and dry in comfortable clothes made her feel like a whole new woman. It was the most comfortable she’d been in a long time.

With a sigh, she went to the bedroom and climbed into the bed. A few moments later, she drifted off to sleep with the covers tucked under her chin. Her dreams were fitful, but her sleep held her deep under its spell.

She woke to the feeling of a hand caressing up her leg, dipping under the hem of her nightgown. Octavia groaned involuntary as the feeling of Joss’s hand sent a tingle through her body.

“Don’t touch me,” she muttered, still angry from his unkind words earlier that day.

“I thought we were past that,” he grumbled, coming closer to breathe in her ear.

“Why would we be?”

“Did you not enjoy your trip to the mating armada?”

“Those men understand what their brides need. Unlike you,” Octavia said, her eyes still closed.

“I know what you need,” he whispered. His hot breath blew over her neck.

“I don’t,” she said, but his hand dipped between her thighs and she knew it was a lie. The musky scent of his skin and the smooth tips of his fingers on her body made her core grip with need.

“You do. I can smell your arousal.” His voice was a low growl. His fingers slid up her slit and dipped through, feeling her slick wetness. “You are wet for me.”

“I’m not. It’s just. The soap,” she whispered. She was still barely awake, but her resistance was futile. She did want him. Even if he was a big prick… with a big prick. Her body betrayed her, spilling its juices over his fingertips.

“You are my mate. You will open to me. Your body now knows mine. It longs for me.”

She knew he was right. Each moment they spent together she felt more connected to him. Even though he repelled her intellectually, her body and soul wanted to reach out and touch his. She moaned, leaning her face toward his, parting her lips in the darkness. His lips caught hers and pressed hard against them. She sucked in a breath and whimpered as his tongue slid deep into her mouth.

Octavia reciprocated his kiss, her tongue dancing with his. Her pussy grew wetter as he pushed further inside her. His thumb pressed her clit and his fingers plumbed her channel.

“Why are you doing this to me?” she asked. She meant it. She didn’t want to mate with him. He was a jerk. But at the same time, she couldn’t help it.

“I am only mating with my bride. It is what is correct and good.”

“But you’re mean to me,” she whimpered.

He thrust his fingers deep into her pussy and she arched her back, gasping.

“Was that mean?” he asked.

She didn’t respond with words. Opening her legs further, she tilted her hips forward to take him deeper. He pulled back and thrust again, moving in and out of her in long, slow movements.

“No. That’s good,” she moaned. “So good.”

The pleasure coursed through her core, and she felt herself growing more excited with each caress. He was going to make her come any second, and she hadn’t made her point yet. Bringing her mind back from the haze of desire, she turned her face to whisper in his ear. If she was going to receive this pleasure from him, he had to hear her.

“You don’t listen to me,” she said with panting breaths.

His fingers filled her, touching her g-spot as he pressed his thumb over her clit in a tight little circle.

“I listen to your body,” he growled. “You will climax soon. I am listening to what you need.”

She clenched her teeth and pressed her eyes closed. Damn him. She was going to come any second, and he still hadn’t heard her out about a damn thing. She couldn’t let him win. But stopping herself from coming went against every instinct in her body.

“Screw you,” she groaned as her body orgasmed on his command. The tight clenching forced her entire body to contract painfully. She arched forward, groaning.

When the sensation began to dissipate, she pushed him away and rolled over, still throbbing. No matter how much she wanted to believe that he really was her mate and that he would someday treat her like the other girls’ mates, she couldn’t let him steamroll her like this.

“I can’t believe I let you touch me,” she said.

“Why do you remain angry?” he said, sitting up over her.

Angry as hell, she turned over and sat up. “Are you kidding?”

“Kidding? I do not jest.”

“Jesus. Don’t be so literal.”

“You wanted me to reconsider the plans for the city. Is that correct?”

“Yes. I do.” She stared into his eyes in the darkness. “I am an expert in urban planning. I have an advanced degree. I know what I’m talking about.”

“I am aware of your expertise,” he said.

“Then why don’t you listen to me?”

He sighed and looked away. “Draconians have a way of doing things. I have a way of doing things. It is difficult for me to change course when I am in the middle of a plan.”

“Don’t blame that on being a Draconian. I think that’s a Joss thing. I’ve heard from the other brides. Their guys had no problem changing their minds about things.”

“Draconians do tend to be extremely focused. But perhaps you are right. What is it that you would like me to do?”

“I’d like you to work with me on the plans for the city,” she said, hearing a hint of whining in her tone. She hated herself for sounding like that. This guy had reduced her to a child, and it made her stomach turn.

“I told you I would consider it. Why don’t you draw up your plans in the morning, and I’ll take a look at them.”

“Really?”

“Yes. I told you I would consider it before.”

She laid back down smiling. “Okay.”

“Now, let us continue.”

He pushed the sheet away and began to tug up her nightgown, revealing her still wet pussy underneath. He growled and pushed the gown over her breasts before yanking her legs wide and dipping his face between them. She sucked a gasp and her eyes went wide.

“Joss. God. What are you doing?”

“Licking your juices,” he said, growling. The vibration of his voice over her core sent a jolt of electricity deep inside her. “You taste so good.”

She was still sensitive from her last orgasm, and she bit her lip, her legs shaking. His hands grasped her breasts, rolling her nipples between his fingers. He licked her at a leisurely pace, running his tongue over her pussy again and again. Why? She groaned to herself. He could take her over with the flick of his tongue. She had to believe what Lexi had said. He would change, and then they could really be together.

Octavia gripped the bed and threw her head back. The sensations he gave her made her mind go blank with pleasure. Hands gripped her thighs, his fingertips pressing hard into her flesh as he licked her with his slick tongue. He flicked over her clit, and his tongue vibrated on her swollen mound.

“Fuck,” she gasped, gritting her teeth as she came. The second orgasm was like a well of hot water rising from deep within and spilling around her lower half. Her nipples hardened, and her head swam in a torrent of pleasure.

“My turn,” he growled, turning her over on her hands and knees.

“Oh…” she breathed.

His hands gripped her hips and his massive, stiff shaft pushed into the wet cleft of her pussy and ass. She trembled, leaning down on the bed. Her breasts brushed the soft mattress and she pressed her cheek to the fabric. He didn’t attempt to enter her. Instead, he slid his cock over her hot wetness.

She couldn’t believe how erotic it felt to have him using her body like that. Her pussy still clenched and throbbed from excitement. Octavia hid her face in her arms and just let go of everything—the aliens, the invasion, the devastation, the rebuilding. She let it all go and relented to the pleasure of his cock sliding up and down her slit.

In that moment, they weren’t Draconian and human. They weren’t rivals who disagreed over city planning. They were just two bodies feeding each other’s need. Two souls connecting in a blaze of passion. Part of her reached out to him, and she wanted to know him more deeply. She wanted to understand what made him tick, what made him the stubborn man he showed her.

He squeezed the globes of her ass tight around his cock, thrusting hard between them. The sound of his flesh slapping against her skin mixed with the sound of his heavy breaths. He growled behind her, and she could feel his cock grow wider.

Octavia gasped and glanced behind her. The look on Joss’s hyper-masculine face in the dim light of the bedroom made her pussy contract again. He clenched his teeth and his eyes rolled back. Hot come throbbed out of his cock, sending spurts of white seed spilling over her back. Octavia came right then. The friction of his stiff shaft rubbing over her, coupled with the look on his face when he came, made her explode.

She couldn’t believe that had made her orgasm. Maybe there was something to this semen thing after all. When he came, he didn’t let go of her. He didn’t let her move. His big hand rubbed the come all over her back and ass. When he moved his cock away, he rubbed come over her asshole and pussy, dipping two come-soaked fingers into her womb.

“Your cunt still throbs for me,” he growled.

Octavia shuddered and fell forward onto the bed, writhing with pleasure. The buzz of sex still burned her brain as she looked up at her mate. Joss had a sly smile on his face, as if he had some kind of secret only he understood.

“My dragon is sated. For now,” he said, crawling beside her on the bed.

She let out a long breath and rested her head on his chest. His heart bashed against her cheek in a frantic rhythm, and she ran her fingertips down his damp pecs. Joss put his arm around her and held her to him. It was the first time since they’d been together that Octavia felt he really cared for her.

The animal sex dazed her mind and made her need him. But having him hold her made her feel more attached to him than all the sex in the world.