He was hard between her legs. She could feel him straining against his trunks and a heady rush filled her. This had been something she had been considering ever since that day when her parents refused to ransom her back – or, if she was being honest with herself, even longer than that. This was one delicious hunk of the dragon and she wanted a taste.

She moaned as she teased his mouth open, her eyes fluttering shut. His mouth tasted of smoke – of fire and passion. Her body seemed to move with a mind of its own, grinding softly against him. Her core came to life, burning in a way she hadn’t known was possible. The heat of the pool was nothing to the heat inside of her, begging – no, demanding – more.

Was this Stockholm Syndrome? She couldn’t think of what that really meant besides kidnapping victims falling in love with their captors. But this wasn’t love. This was lust, pure and simple. And, she realized, she wasn’t doing this because she was hoping for anything in return. For the first time in her life, she was able to actually act on her impulses. To do what she wanted without thinking about consequences or how others would judge her. She rocked her hips harder, panting now.

“You claimed me,” she whispered. “You own me.”

“Not really,” he started, but she cut him off with another kiss.

She wasn’t sure what was taking possession inside of her, but she knew that she wanted this. “You own me. But right now, I’m your master, understood? You belong to me.” She kissed him again, grasping his hands. She pulled them to her breasts as she continued to rock. “You will do everything I say.”

Asa grinned at her. “And if I don’t?”

“Then you’ll be punished.” She scraped her teeth on his collarbone and nipped at his throat. It earned her a surprisingly throaty moan, and her desires kicked up another notch. “I own you,” she growled.

Asa moaned, rolling his hips up to maximize contact as she came down on him. “You own me.”

His submission surprised her. It did not, however, lessen her need for him. As she pulled back and stared at his flushed face, droplets of water clinging to his lashes, he had never seemed more attractive. Her nostrils flared as she took in the scent of him. His woodsy, musky scent mixed with the smell of the hot springs had her head spinning. She increased her tempo, biting her lip against the arousal that strengthened with her increased speed.

She moved away suddenly, panting for breath, and smiled at him. “Take off your trunks.”

She made sure to keep her voice low and sexy. Her lover smiled back at her and obeyed, stripping off the trunks at once. He put them on the edge of the springs and reached for her again. Instead of letting him touch her, she slipped through his grasp and shook her head. Her eyes twinkled as she moved to the side of the hot springs. There, she lifted the top of her tankini over her head, then removed the skimpy bottoms. She loved the way his heated gaze roamed over her.

“Do you know what I want?” she whispered as she moved to drape her legs over his shoulders. “I want you to worship me.”

Asa grinned, his pupils wide. He kissed her thigh and she gasped in anticipation. Her head fell back and her eyes drifted shut as he made his way to her core. From the first touch, bolts of pleasure moved up and down her body. Her fingers grasped at the stone beneath her as she held herself in place. Her legs shivered, her core tightened and the heat inside of her flared to new heights.

“Do you like that?” Asa whispered into her.

Willow clamped her teeth down on her lip, rocking against him to increase the friction. She understood now why he had been ‘submissive’ to her before. He knew that as soon as he started to touch her, this tenuous control she had would be shaken. Her whole body felt like it was going to explode, everything too tight inside of her. Leaning on one hand, she grasped his hair with her other. She wanted to press him deeper inside her but held herself back, instead merely holding him in place as he did his work. Both of his hands grasped her hips, keeping her from writhing away from him.

“Don’t stop,” she begged as he began to move away.

Asa chuckled. He slid a finger into her while his thumb focused in on its target, moving in soft circles. Willow’s body hunched inwards as a cry was torn from her. Asa moved up, taking the hand wound into his hair and wrapping it around him. Willow marveled at the size of him, then began to move her hand. She was rewarded by her lover’s soft gasp as his hips came forward. Together, they stroked one another, the heat from the pool and each other pushing everything to a breaking point.

“Kiss my breasts,” Willow blurted, desperate for some sort of control.

Her dragon instantly obeyed. His head dropped to her chest, and with his free hand, he massaged one breast while kissing the other. Her nipples were already hard little points when he sucked on one and then the other. Her head fell back again and she rocked herself against his hand, unable to stop panting cries from coming out of her. She would have finished right then with nothing more if she hadn’t suddenly seized his hand, stopping him.

Asa kissed her gently. She rested her head on his shoulder while his hands moved down her damp back, bringing her closer to him. She reveled in their closeness as she centered herself again. His smell was even more intense, and when she licked his pectoral for a taste, he shivered. She liked that, so she licked again, moving down until she got to his own hard nipples. He moaned, thrusting towards her when she took one into her mouth. The reaction surprised her – she had never thought men might like that, too. She sucked gently and both of his hands wrapped in her hair.

“Let’s put that mouth to other uses,” he growled.

Willow laughed as she slipped out of his grasp. She wagged her finger in his face. “Nope. I’m your master, remember.”

Asa’s eyes were so focused and intense it was almost frightening. “I remember.”

“You will obey me.”

“I obey you, master.”

She tugged on his arms. “Come lie down on your back.”

He emerged from the tub, hard, erect, so beautiful that it took her breath away. Staring into her eyes, he laid down on his back as though he was a lamb, not the fierce dragon warrior she knew him to be. She straddled him. Part of her wanted to continue to tease him as she had before, but her own need was too intense. She took him in her hand and eased him into her as she came down. The sensations were enough to take her breath away, and once he was fully inside, all she could do was sit there for a moment, her eyes half-closed.

Willow put her hands on his chest, his huge broad chest, bracing herself as she began to move. All the tightness and heat from before came back on her tenfold and she cried out. Asa’s hands gripped her hips, his heated gaze locked on her face. Soon, it was him moving her, his firm grip unyielding as he rocked her back and forth over him. Willow gasped and panted, all thought fleeing before the flood of intense pleasure.

Everything came undone. Her head dropped back and she let out a howl. Asa jerked beneath her and then yanked her down. His hips thrust upwards madly as he pinned her close to his body. Somewhere in her own pleasure, she felt him release and then lay still.

After several minutes wherein they panted and fought to catch their breath, they eased off each other. Their skin suctioned to one another but released long enough for them to slip back into the hot water. Her muscles were so loose that the buoyancy granted by the springs was the only thing keeping her head up. Willow smiled as she stroked her dragon’s chest and arms.

“I’ve never met a man who would give up control like that,” she told him.

Asa laughed. “What makes you think that I gave up anything?”

She hummed. “Next time we’ll see.”

“Next time?” Asa buried his face in her hair. “Yes. Next time. Next time, you’ll call me master and beg me for mercy.”

“Unlikely.” She giggled, pressing her face into his chest. She was tempted to take him again right there, but she could feel a slight ache between her legs and knew she needed rest.

Her mind suddenly turned to what Sherwood had told her. That women stayed for the dragon children they had given birth to. More likely they stayed for the children and their fathers, she thought. If I had a child binding me to Asa, I would never leave . . . I don’t think I ever want to leave regardless . . .