Chapter Eight
The day before New Year’s Eve, Seph found himself outside the frosted glass doors to Wings of Love. He had never believed in resolutions; he had always found them ridiculous and fruitless. But as December drew to a close, he found himself overcome with the need to make a change in his life – one that could not wait for the calendar year to end.
Taking a deep breath, he made his way inside, just in time to see Asha’s receptionist, Lindy, turn off her computer monitor. The young woman looked up in surprise. “Good evening, Mr. Vovin,” she said. “I’m afraid we’re closed for the day. I was just about to lock up.”
Seph’s nostrils flared slightly and he cocked his head. He could smell Asha’s perfume, but he could also hear her heartbeat and the sound of her nails clicking on a keyboard. “That’s all right,” he told Lindy. “I have an urgent matter to discuss with Ms. Hamilton and it can’t wait until tomorrow.”
“Oh,” Lindy said, still seemingly perplexed. She reached for her phone. “Hang on, I’ll let her know you’re here.”
“Thank you.”
Lindy lifted the receiver to her ear. “Ms. Hamilton? Sorry to bother you, ma’am, but Mr. Vovin just arrived. He says it’s urgent. All right, I will. Thank you, you have a good evening, too.” She hung up and gave Seph a smile. “She says you can go on back.”
“Thank you,” Seph said again. As he made his way down the darkened hall to Asha’s office, he could hear Lindy gather up her purse and coat, the click of the reception area’s lights being switched off, and the pneumatic sigh of the door opening and closing. The sound of a key turning in the lock made him nod in satisfaction. Good. We won’t be disturbed.
He stopped in the doorway of Asha’s office. She sat behind her desk, fingers dancing over her keyboard, a stack of files beside her. She had on a button-down blouse of deep red satin. Her usual tight cornrow braids had been replaced with thick, gleaming, rope-like twists that cascaded down the right side of her head onto her shoulder. “One second,” she said, without looking up. “I’m just doing my end-of-day reports.” She finished typing and saved her work, closed the topmost folder and set it aside. “So.” She pivoted in her chair, smiling up at Seph. “What brings you here, so late? Wait…” She held up a hand before he could answer. “Don’t tell me – your last date didn’t work out.”
Seph grimaced. “A disastrous failure,” he admitted.
Asha slumped back with a look of disbelief. “Really? Oh, Seph – not again. I really thought you and Elizabeth were going to be perfect; that she was the one! You went on several dates with her!” She shook her head. “What happened?”
“It was a combination of things,” he replied. He slipped out of his long wool overcoat, leaving him in a light blue pullover and dark jeans. Pacing over to one of the armchairs, he draped his coat over the back and stood there a moment. “Everything was fine, until I took her home with me for Christmas last week.” He looked down at his hands. “And that’s when everything went to Hell. I found out Elizabeth had been intimate with not one, but two of my brothers – one of them more recently. I was willing to overlook that, but I could tell it was going to be a problem for her.” He raised his head, sucking in a deep breath. “But the worst part was how Father treated her. He called her a whore, said she wasn’t good enough to marry any of his sons.” Seph let out a bitter laugh. “He orders us to find mates but he’s not happy with our choices…and I know it’s because he’s jealous.”
“How so?” Asha asked.
“Because he doesn’t want us to have what he lost.” Seph turned around to face Asha. “He tells us he wants us to marry and produce heirs, but he doesn’t want us to be happy. He wants us to be as cold and miserable as he is.” He shook his head. “But I’m not going to do that. I don’t care if he disowns me – I’ll find another family. I will find a woman with whom I will start a new clan and share my life; a woman who I feel is right for me.”
Asha sighed. “Well,” she said, “I will definitely continue to help you look for that woman.” She pulled her keyboard over and tapped on it. “Let me check your file against any new clients who have registered with us since you first tested. There might be someone for you, there.”
“What if I already found her?” Seph asked.
Asha raised an eyebrow at him. “Oh? Is she someone from Wings of Love?”
“Oh, most assuredly,” he replied. Slowly, he began to move toward the desk, circling around it to stand over her. He reached out and lightly stroked her cheek with the backs of his knuckles. “It’s you, Asha.”
She blinked up at him, startled. “What? Me?”
“Yes,” he said. Dropping to his knees in front of her, he looked up into her eyes, searching. “You said it yourself: none of the women your computer has found for me have worked out – either I’ve counseled them into realizing they could do better, or there’s been some other reason that has made the match fail. But the one constant in the whole time I’ve been coming here? Is you. We understand each other, Asha. We both want to help people find love. You’re determined to find me a mate, right?” He jerked his head. “Then let’s go out together – you and me, on a real date.”
Asha appeared to be speechless. Her mouth opened and closed a few times but she could not immediately form words. Finally, she shook her head and waved her hands. “No,” she said firmly. She pushed back her chair and stood, smoothing her hands down her cream-colored pencil skirt. “We can’t. I can’t.”
“Why not?” Seph demanded.
“Because I make it a rule not to date my clients,” she replied curtly.
Seph stared at her for a moment. “All right,” he said. Rising, he turned to her computer, closed out his own file, and dragged the folder to the trash bin. “There,” he said with satisfaction, straightening. “Deleted, no longer in the system.” He looked at Asha again. “Which means I’m no longer a client. Now, I’m nothing more than a single man in his mid-thirties, asking a beautiful woman to give me a chance and go out on a date with me.” He held out his hand, palm up, and gazed at her pleadingly. “Asha. I think you’re incredible. You’re intelligent, funny, strong, compassionate… You’re everything I could want in a mate.” He shook his head. “I don’t care what my father thinks. He can disown me, cut me off from the family fortune and denounce me as a member of the Vovin Clan – it doesn’t matter. When I marry, it will be to someone who means the world to me, someone I’ve had a chance to get to know, realizing that she’s everything I could possibly want or need.” He smiled again. “And what I need…is you.”
Asha swallowed. “We don’t even know if we’re compatible,” she said at last, her voice suddenly thick and raspy. Seph could hear her pulse quicken, and could see the way her pupils dilated. He did not smell fear or anxiety on her, though. No, he smelled something else, something good.
Desire.
“Well,” Seph said, “there’s only one way to find out.” He took another step toward her, carefully closing the distance between them. “You know, when I first walked through those doors, you made me a promise – remember? You said you would help me to find happiness and harmony.” He lifted his hand to cup her jaw, his thumb stroking across the crest of her cheekbone. “It was right here the whole time, right in front of me.” His other hand skimmed low around her waist, drifting over the swell of her round hip to the small of her back. “The only time I’ve been happy in the last few months has been when I’m with you. That’s how I know you’re the one.” He lifted his eyebrows hopefully. “Haven’t you felt it, too?”
Asha nodded fractionally, her breath coming in short, eager gasps. “Yes,” she whispered. She placed her hands on his chest, sliding up around his shoulders. “I have. Several times.” She licked her lips. “I just had to keep telling myself to keep it professional.”
He smiled. “And now?”
“Now?” She smiled. “It’s about to get personal.”
She felt so soft and warm, just as he had imagined she would. Angling his head, Seph leaned down to capture her lush lips in a brief kiss to test the waters. They touched and clung together for a moment before he pulled back enough to look into her eyes again. If he detected the slightest hint that she did not want this, he would respect her and back off.
Asha buried her fingers in the short hair at the back of his head and dragged him back down. Their mouths reconnected, opening to allow their tongues to meet. Once they locked into that kiss, Seph could almost feel something inside him click, like the tumblers of a lock falling into place. Seph threw that door open wide. His arms shifted to gather Asha up and lift her easily, turning and pressing her up against the nearest wall. The pictures hanging on it jumped with the impact; one fell to the floor when Asha flung out an arm, blindly trying to grab for nonexistent purchase on the smooth, vertical surface. Seph wasted no time in tugging her skirt up, stroking her thigh as he made his way between her legs. He found her mons and rubbed his finger back and forth along the outer lip of her vulva, the silky material of her panties immediately growing damp under his ministrations. Asha trembled, her hips jerking against his hand. Encouraged, Seph brought his other palm up to knead her breasts through her blouse.
Abruptly, Asha caught his shoulders and pushed him back, breaking the kiss with a loud snap. Panting, she gazed at him for a moment, and then reached to unbutton her shirt. She let the sides fall open to reveal a black and red lace bra with a front closure. Seph licked his lips, delighted, his eyes focused on her fingers as she unhooked the clasp. The whole time, he continued to stroke her through her underwear, moving lower, pressing his hand against her and feeling the wet heat of her womanhood throbbing with arousal.
Asha released her breasts, allowing them to tumble free. Small dark nipples capped large areola the color of rich cocoa. Seph could not resist. With a groan, he swooped down and buried his face between those soft mounds of flesh, inhaling the fragrance of Asha’s skin. He mouthed over one breast, tongue curling around the peak, drawing it in and suckling. Asha gasped and grabbed at his blond hair, digging her nails into his scalp. She arched her back, lifting one knee against Seph’s thigh. With a slight twist of his hand, Seph moved her panties aside and plunged his fingers past the slick petals of her labia in search of the entrance to her body. He found it, and pressed in.
“Oh, sweet Jesus!” Asha cried out, when Seph’s fingers curled upward and strummed her G-spot.
Seph lifted his head from her breast and grinned. He loved seeing her writhe, riding against his hand, her eyes closed and her mouth slack in ecstasy. “You like that?” he asked, his voice rough with his own growing need. He could feel his cock filling inside his pants. He leaned in, kissing along her neck to her ear. Tugging at the lobe with his teeth, he let out a soft rumble. “You’re always playing matchmaker for Dragons…but have you ever had one inside you?”
She swallowed and shook her head slightly. “No,” she said. Her eyes opened and she looked at him. “But I know it’s different.” She dropped a hand down and grasped him through his jeans, even as he continued to finger her. “I’ve seen pictures.”
He chuckled. “Darling,” he purred, “pictures do not do it justice. And I’m not bragging when I say that.” He leered, leaning his forehead against hers. “There’s a reason why Dragon dildos are so popular…”
“I know,” Asha murmured. She caught his lower lip with her teeth and sucked at it gently before releasing it again. She smiled coyly. “I have one.”
That made Seph arch his eyebrows in surprise; he laughed. “Well,” he said, “I think you’ll find nothing compares to the real thing.”
“Hm,” she said. “Maybe you need to show me.”
“I’ll do more than that.” Kissing her hard on the mouth, Seph pulled his hand from between her legs. He opened his fly and hauled his cock out into the open. Asha did not hesitate to touch it, tracing the three rigid rings that formed under the conical tip. She stroked down the length where it flared at the base, her fingers barely able to encompass the girth. She clasped and tugged on it, dragging her palm over the rippling veins that spiraled around the length. All the women Seph had ever been with had praised these features, saying they enhanced pleasure during intercourse. One even said the natural upward curve of it added to the stimulation and caused her to experience multiple orgasms.
Seph wanted to make Asha feel all those things and more. Stooping slightly, he hooked her under her upraised leg and hoisted her, still bracing her against the wall.
Asha laughed. “Aren’t you getting tired of holding me up like this?” she asked. “I’m a big girl.”
“Mm, yes, you are.” Grinning, he shook his head. “But you’re light as a feather, to me.”
“That’s right,” she said, “I forget about that Dragon strength.” She slid a hand down between their bodies. “Well, at least let me take care of this.” Grasping his dick, she helped to maneuver him into position, guiding it to her entrance. She looked up into Seph’s eyes and gave a slight nod, a wordless way of telling him she was ready.
With a slow, hard thrust, Seph buried himself inside her. They both groaned as their bodies fit together. Seph held her in place as he started to pump his hips. He kissed Asha fiercely before drawing back to watch her face change, cycling through expressions of surprise, lust, determination, and total enjoyment. She wrapped her arms around his neck and lifted her other leg, her heels digging into his ass. Seph delighted in Asha’s breathy whimpers and occasional sharp cries. He covered her mouth in kisses, feeling her breasts bounce against his chest. He wanted to feel those hard nipples pressing into his bare skin. I want to be totally free with her, he thought.
Without warning, Seph pulled Asha away from the wall and, still locked together, carried her over to the sofa. Once there, he pulled out of her completely. He smiled down at her as he proceeded to strip off his shirt.
To his surprise, Asha took advantage of the fact that she now sat at eye level with his cock. She took it in her hand again, wet with her own juices, and closed her fist around the head. Leaning forward, she opened her mouth and, looking up at Seph, extended her tongue to lick the tip and press into the opening. Seph felt his knees tremble. For Dragons, the urethra was particularly sensitive. It could expand to pass the seed sac that would fix inside a mate’s womb, absorbing her ovum and forming a shell that would grow and harden to form a leathery egg. Seph always liked it when his partners would touch him there, slip a fingertip inside or – like Asha – a tongue. It drove him wild and if he wasn’t careful, it could make him transform into full Dragon form. He managed to control it, however. Dropping to the floor on his knees, he grabbed the waistband of her panties and worked them down her legs. “Bye-bye,” he said, tossing the wad of material over his shoulder. He slid his palms down the insides of her thighs, licking his lips as he spread her open and beheld the glistening pink nub of her swollen clit. Seph shook his head. “Oh…I want that.”
Her blouse and bra still hanging open, bosom rising and falling with her excited breathing, Asha leaned back. Her gaze locked with Seph’s as she reached down and placed her fingers against her vaginal lips, stroking them lightly with her bejeweled nails. “Take it, baby,” she said with an inviting smile. “Come on. I want that big Dragon dick back inside me.”
Her bold use of profanity made Seph shudder. “Oh, yes,” he said, all too eager to comply. Hoisting her legs over his shoulders, he tugged her plump bottom to the edge of the cushion and drove back into her. He fucked into her hard and deep, watching the way her heavy breasts rolled around. Reaching up, he covered them with his hands, nipples poking at his palms as he squeezed them. He bent forward and she leaned up to meet him for another sloppy kiss.
Pulling out again, Seph urged Asha up on her knees, facing away from him. She took that opportunity to peel off her shirt and bra, leaving her bare from the waist up. Her skirt remained hitched around her waist. She braced herself on both hands against the sofa’s back cushions. “Aw, yeah,” she grunted, when Seph entered her again from behind. “That’s it, baby. Do me good! Fuck me – make me come!”
Seph hooked his fingers in the waistband of her skirt and used it for leverage as he jerked her back onto his cock. He wanted this woman physically, but he also wanted her to be his mate, to be the mother of his children. He did not need any computer tests to tell him what he knew by instinct as he pounded into her. Her inner muscles quivered around his thick shaft, her body eager and willing and ready for him. I could seed her, he thought wildly. My eggs could grow inside her. She’s the one – I know it; I feel it in my soul. Leaning up, Seph kissed her shoulder and then pressed his lips behind her ear. “It’s you, Asha,” he panted against her cheek. “It’s always been you. That’s why none of the others worked. You are my mate.”
“Yes!” she sobbed, the joy in her voice pure. She reached back and grabbed a handful of his hair, holding onto his head. “I’m yours, I’m all yours!”
Something inside Seph began to sing. Closing his eyes, he pressed into her one last time and held on as his cock throbbed and pulsed. He could feel each seed ball as it traveled the length of his shaft. He felt Asha tighten around him, every contraction of her own release milking him for his full load and taking it into her body.
The seeding seemed to go on forever; finally, completely spent, Seph pulled out. He dropped onto the sofa, propped up in the corner with arms and legs splayed. His now-limp cock hung between his legs. He felt dazed, but in the best way possible. He looked over at Asha, a deliriously happy grin stretched across his sweaty face. “That…was incredible.”
“That,” Asha said, still catching her breath, “is what happens between a compatible Dragon-Human couple, according to all reports.” She dragged herself up and crawled over to flop against his side, snuggling in under his arm. “You seeded me, too. Do you know what that means?”
He nodded. “I just impregnated you.” His smile faltered in confusion when she shook her head. “But…I thought you said we were compatible?”
“We are.” She rested her chin against his chest and peered up at him, a glint of mischief in her eyes. “I was referring to the fact that this was another success on the Wings of Love books.”
Seph let out a laugh. “Yeah,” he admitted, “but not by your usual standards. None of the prospects your computers chose for me panned out. Still…” He tucked a hand behind his head and shrugged. “I came here to look for a mate, and I found one.” He wrapped his other arm around Asha’s shoulders and hugged her close. “I’m glad it was you.”
“So am I,” Asha murmured. “When I started this business, I never thought I would find my match.” She reached up to stroke his cheek with her fingertips. “I was so busy trying to help other people hook up, I didn’t think I could ever meet someone. Does that sound crazy?”
“You’re asking someone who helps couples stay together,” Seph reminded her. He let out a deep sigh. “We’ve spent years putting other people’s happiness before our own.” He caught her hand and pulled it around, depositing a kiss in her palm. “I guess that makes us both crazy.”
A smile stretched across her beautiful face. “Then that makes us even more perfectly suited for each other.”
“I guess so.” Drawing her in for another kiss, Seph stretched out the full length of the sofa; he maneuvered Asha to lie on top, covering him with her soft, warm, voluptuous body. I have my mate, he thought, amazed. My perfect match, in every way.