Chapter Thirteen
Petruchio wrapped his arms around the woman in the massive, overly ornate dress and declared, “Come, Kate, we’ll to bed. We three are married, but you two are sped.” He turned to Lucentio. “‘Twas I won the wager, though you hit the white; And, being a winner, God give you good night!” He led Katharina off the stage leaving the last two characters staring out at the audience.
Hortensio spoke first, “Now, go thy ways; thou hast tamed a curst shrew.”
Lucentio finished the story, “‘Tis a wonder, by your leave, she will be tamed so.”
The curtain closed, and the audience started applauding. Niko had to bite his lip to keep the laugh in, but applauded with the rest of the audience. Betsy applauded as well, but looked very confused.
The curtain call took longer than expected, but they waited until the theater had mostly cleared out to start making their way to the exits.
Looking around at the theater, Betsy cleared her throat and kept her voice low. “Was it me, or did that really suck?”
Niko snorted. “The Shakespeare ones always suck. Always. There’s no one here at the university who is a real Shakespeare dramatist. Everyone kind of fakes it. They still sell out and I think the theater students enjoy it.”
“Is that the reason they run Shakespeare on Tuesday night?”
“Probably. It used to be on Friday, but the quality went down, so they moved it.”
They walked through the same grand hall they had walked through on Saturday after their last play. This time, though, Niko used a little magic to keep people from noticing them. Saturday had been a wash because one of his old professors that was not Max spotted him and invited him to the after-party for the show. That had run until nearly two am, and Betsy had been miserable.
He had been, too, honestly. Since she started working at Krieg’s, she hadn’t had as much free time and they hadn’t had sex since the second night on the rocks. His dragon was getting pissed off.
They made it to the parking lot without anyone noticing them and climbed into the car. Closing the doors, they both let out a sigh of relief.
“You used magic.” Betsy smiled at him.
“Yeah, a little,” he admitted. “I have done way too much socializing in the past few days. My dragon is getting pissed off. He wants some alone time. I’m probably going to have to go out to Darkwater Pond one of these days.”
Looking straight ahead, she cleared her throat. “Can I go with you?”
“What?”
Lolling her head to his side, Betsy answered, “I want to go with you.”
“Why?”
“Because I think your dragon is amazing. He’s powerful and gorgeous. And when you shift back, you can’t keep your hands off me.”
“Oh, you just want the sex.”
She blinked a few times. “I miss it. Is that the whole reason we’re going out? I know it was only twice—”
“Betsy. I was raised a gentleman. That I took you out on those rocks still doesn’t sit right with me, even if we both wanted it and both loved it. It’s why I’ve been taking you out on dates and not stuffing you in the backseat for a quick fuck. Just having sex with you goes against my upbringing.” He laid a hand on her cheek and stared into her sweet chocolate eyes. “I mean to do right by you. I promise we will get to the quickie in the backseat soon enough. But please, give me a chance to show you I’m actually a gentleman.”
Her eyes filled with tears. “I don’t deserve a gentleman.”
“Yes, you do. Every woman does.” He brushed a tear off her cheek. “And believe me, I want the sex too.” He gave her a mischievous grin. “Part of why I used magic to get us out here. I don’t want to go hang out with anyone tonight. Come to my place. We’ll sit in the solarium, have some wine, and pretend we know what star is which. Whatever happens, happens.”
Trying to blink away the tears, she gave him a smile. “I like it. I mean… I don’t want to come off like I’m only here for the sex. But don’t get me wrong, it’s spectacular…”
Laughing, Niko sat back in his seat and started the car. “I don’t disagree. But you’re also fun to sit and talk with, or watch bad Shakespeare with, or enjoy a bad cup of coffee with at three in the morning…”
“How about that spectacular fail of a cake I brought you?”
Trying not to laugh and grimace at the same time, Niko turned down the road toward old town. “That was… interesting.”
“Didn’t tell you I suck at baking?”
“Hmm, how do I put this nicely? That wasn’t just suck. That was defcon five awful.”
“Well, I really didn’t know baking soda and powder were different. And everyone on Pinterest raves about using pumpkin.”
“Yes, but just pumpkin. Not all the ingredients and the pumpkin. That’s why you had a double tall ass-tastical cake. What the hell was that icing?”
“Cream cheese.”
Cocking his head, he glanced at her as he checked traffic to turn. “That’s not that hard to make. I don’t... wait. Cream cheese frosting?”
Betsy coughed. “I frosted it with cream cheese.”
“Just a block of cream cheese?”
“Two, actually. It was a big cake.”
The chuckle started in his throat and burst out a moment later as a full-blown laugh. “Oh, Betsy! Did no one ever teach you to cook or bake?”
“We ate takeout five out of every seven nights. The other two were microwave dinners.”
“Okay. I have an idea. When we get to my house, we’re going to have a baking lesson. No one should go through life not knowing how to at least make chocolate chip cookies.”
“I’ll show you my magic powers.” Her tone was teasing.
“What’s that?”
“The ability to cock up any kind of food—cooking, baking, take-out. I’m amazing. Poof!”
Niko couldn’t stop laughing all the way back to the house.
* * *
The egg exploded and ran all over Betsy’s hands, down the outside of the bowl and onto the counter, not bit of it getting into the bowl.
“Holy shit!” Niko tossed his head back and laughed, hard. “It’s an egg not a softball! Careful, gentle.” He handed her some paper towels.
“I told you I can screw up anything.” Betsy wiped up the spill and wrapped the gooey shell up for the trash. “I can’t even crack an egg. How do you think I’m going to be able to put this together?”
“Eggs are one of the most difficult things to handle.” Niko took one out of the carton. He put it on the counter and spun it. “They are designed to be as strong as possible with as little material as was necessary. You have to have the mother be able to sit on them without breaking, but don’t want them so thick the little hatching can’t get out.”
Snatching the egg up, he tapped firmly on the edge of the bowl. A clear crack appeared and with the thumbs of each hand, he prized it open. Grabbing another one, he handed it to Betsy.
“No way, you saw what I just did.”
“And you just watched me do it the right way. Come on. You can’t learn if you don’t try.”
“No.”
Niko walked behind her and wrapped himself around. He grabbed each of her hands and laid his over them. He made her pick up the egg and tap it against the edge of the bowl, the crack appearing around the center. He guided her hands and thumbs as she pulled the shell apart, and the yolk fell into the bowl.
“Not hard.” Niko leaned down and inhaled her scent. “Practice makes perfect.”
She pressed back against him. “I’m going to need more practice.”
He groaned quietly. “Responsible gentleman, responsible gentleman, responsible gentleman.”
Her bemused laugh filled the kitchen and she grabbed another egg. “Two, right? Practice makes perfect.”
“You’re killing me, Bets.” He slipped his hands over hers again and helped her crack the egg into the bowl.
She turned around in his arms and leaned up for a soft, teasing kiss. “Responsible gentleman. They don’t leave messes in the kitchen?”
“They don’t leave cracked eggs out because a bad egg makes chocolate chip cookies inedible.”
“Ooh, good point.” Her floured hand reached down and patted the front of his pants, for the third time since they started baking. He was so painfully hard for her, but she was so adorably befuddled in the kitchen it made him try to stave off the urge to press her against the wall and bury himself deep in her wet pussy.
Only just able to stop himself this time, he ground out, “Responsible gentleman.” His mantra to remind himself he was in control.
Barely.
Giggling, knowing exactly what was going on, Betsy turned back and put the mixing bowl back on the stand mixer. She flipped the switch forward to ‘3,’ and let the machine do its job. Niko leaned over and kicked up the speed to 5, smiling at her.
“Okay, now we want the flour,” he said and pointed to the canister on the counter. “Grab that and I’ll wash the cup measure.”
Betsy had the bag out and on the counter where the mix was still merrily spinning. Niko handed over the cup measure and looked at the recipe again. “Let’s see. Three cups.”
Betsy dipped the cup into the bag and pulled out a heaping scoop of flour. Before Niko could even open his mouth to explain what needed to happen, Betsy flopped the whole heaping thing into the mixer bowl with gusto.
It made the most hilarious ‘poof’ sound, send up a cloud of flour, and covered Betsy’s shoulders, face, and hair.
“What the shit!” she exclaimed as she burst out laughing.
Niko turned off the mixer to minimize the damage. “You didn’t give me a chance to explain!” He put a hand over his mouth to try to stop the laugh that was getting out of control. Quickly, he turned to the sink and grabbed a washrag for her to wipe the flour off.
She scrubbed her face with the wet towel and grimaced. “Niko, this isn’t going to do it. I have to get it out of my hair. This is why I don’t bake. Look at me!”
“You have to be patient, Betsy. You tossed in too much, and too much at once. Take your time, consider what you’re doing before you do it. Read the directions or let someone show you how to do it. You don’t have to race ahead, balls to the wall.” He took the washrag and wiped most of the flour off her face. Studying her hair, he tutted. “You are going to have to get that out of the hair, aren’t you?”
“Unless you think floured hair is sexy?”
“Well, maybe if we were talking like a powdered wig type thing.”
She batted his arm, indignant and not really all that upset. “Stop it. I have to go home and wash my hair.”
Stopping to consider her, Niko raised an eyebrow. “Wow.”
“Wow what?”
“I’ve never been on a date when a woman pulled out that line.”
“Niko! I’m covered in ill-conceived confections here!”
That gave Niko his wicked idea. He reached into the cabinet behind them and removed something. “No, you’re not. If you were, I’d lick you clean myself.” He took her hand and held out her arm, palm up.
“What are you doing?”
He held up the bottle of chocolate syrup for her to see. “Making you a lickable confection.” Before she had a chance to protest his move, Niko drizzle just a little bit of the syrup on her wrist and up her arm. But not much. He slammed the cap back on, dropping the bottle on the table.
With feather-light lips, he licked up the chocolate he had dropped there. Softly, barely touching the sensitive skin, he traced patterns with his tongue and sucked on the soft, forgiving skin. Combined with her own taste, he was overwhelmed by her tastes in his mouth.
By the light hiss of breath, Niko had the feeling that he was on the right track with her and the chocolate. He made work of the syrup there, checking and rechecking that he got each bit of it off her skin.
“I don’t think you need to go home to shower.” Niko managed to find his voice. “I have three you can choose from. But remember that whatever one you choose, I fully plan on joining you in there.”
Betsy watched as he continued to lick at her wrist softly. “Niko, it’s water…”
“I’m fine. Need me to prove it?” He nipped at the sensitive skin.
She let out a breathy sigh. “Yes. I do.”
Taking just a second to toss the bowl in the fridge, Niko turned back to Betsy and swept her up into his arms and marched up the stairs with her. She squealed when he lifted her and then laughed all the way up, into his bedroom. Habit made him kick the door closed as he strode into the bath with her.
He placed her on the counter and took an honest assessment of the flour situation, then grabbed a horsehair hairbrush from the cabinet. “We have to get as much of that out as possible before you go anywhere near the water. Otherwise, you’re going to have cement in your hair.”
“Damn it, Niko. I want—”
“I know what you want, Betsy. I want it too.” He grabbed her hand and placed it on his throbbing cock, still trapped by his pants. “I know exactly what I want. But for fuck’s sake, let me seduce you. Let me take care of you.”
“Why?”
“Because that’s what real men like to do.” With two gentle fingers, he pulled her close. “It’s not a show of masculinity. It’s not a chest-beating alpha thing. It’s simply that a real man likes to see his woman smile. You have flour in your hair, because we were having fun. Now, it’s time for me to take care of you by getting it out, without making it more of a mess. Please. I want you, but I want to pamper you first. Let me.”
Studying his face, it was hard to read her for just a moment, when she leaned forward and kissed him. Her kiss was demanding and strong, and he met it with his own force, conquering her a moment later. Demands danced between the soft, caressing tongues and Niko really didn’t think his dick could get any harder.
Pulling back, he took a moment to rein himself in and grabbed the brush. All he wanted to do was throw her on the bed and fuck her hard. But, he wasn’t going to do it. There wasn’t a chance that he was going to bang her up against the wall like a troglodyte.
Yet.
Carefully, Niko ran the brush through the longer strands of her hair at the back, trying to direct the flour into the sink there. There wouldn’t be much of it. It was just a powder-full puff of the stuff and wasn’t the kind of mess that would turn to flour cement when they got in the water.
It was mostly a ploy to brush her hair.
Betsy had the most gorgeous soft brown locks he’d ever seen. They were soft and full and yet totally tamable. The brush flowed through it. She definitely took care of it by the way it was soft and full. His brush caught most of the flour and removed it. Tapping it on the sink, he turned her head and kept brushing, making sure the flour was mostly brushed out.
But the best part, better than her gorgeous hair, better than the silky sensations, was the way she closed her eyes and let out little moans of delight. The way she sighed with each pass of the brush. He remembered how much his mother had loved this, how she would not let her young son brush her hair because it was far too personal, and how she promised him one day he’d find someone who wanted him to brush her hair.
“Christ,” she breathed. “I’ve never had anyone do this before. It feels so…”
“Intimate,” he whispered.
“This is the best foreplay ever. Shit.”
Niko smiled, and this time as he pulled the brush through, he slid his hand slowly and gently down her shoulder, down her arm. Betsy moaned, and he was starting to lose control.
“Niko…”
Pulling the brush through again, he hmm’ed a response.
“I’m so ready for a shower right now.” She opened her eyes and they were lust-bright, threatening to consume him—or set him ablaze.
He dropped the brush on the counter and fused his mouth to hers. It felt like they were trying to conquer each other, but in the most delicious way.
Niko found his hand on her breast, caressing the plump skin and peaked nipple while Betsy’s hand stroked the raging erection in his pants. A moment later he felt her unbuckling his pants, dropping his fly. He put a hand on hers to pause her motions.
“Undress,” he said. “We can each get naked faster if we do it ourselves.”
“I like the way you think.” Betsy reached for her shirt as he lifted her off the counter, placing her on her feet on the floor.
Niko stripped as fast as he could, watching Betsy as she did the same. The moment her breasts were free, he thought he was going to come in his pants. Her breasts were amazing, and he found himself reaching out to touch.
Before he could reach them, Betsy’s hand grabbed his, and she brought his hand to her mouth. “Naked, Niko. Quickly.” She lifted his finger to her lips and sucked it, savoring it, licking it, and making the filthiest promises with her tongue.
Niko leaned back and slammed on the shower, setting the temperature as best as he could. Each finger of his hand receiving the same filthy promise and it was getting hard to concentrate. He stripped as fast as he could this time and noticed Betsy didn’t waste any time either.
As soon as her panties hit the floor, he grabbed her and pulled her against him, his erection throbbing between them. He stared at her, tracing the contours of her face for a moment, then swooped down and took her mouth, pressing in as she opened to welcome him.
Not letting her go, he reached back to make sure the temperature in the shower was not going to scald or freeze them, and satisfied, he spun them around and walked them into the enclosure. The water, just perfect with a little heat in it, cascaded over them, soaking their hair and skin in a moment. His mouth fused to hers, tasting, petting, stroking her tongue. He’d wanted her in his house for days, and now she was finally here.
Moving her hands over the planes and curves of his body, her fingers were hot and demanding. He grinned against her kiss, and she pulled back a little.
“What’s funny?”
“I’m not good at holding back all this lust. Disadvantage virgin dragon.”
Betsy laughed. “I don’t think it’s a disadvantage. I don’t want you to hold back.”
Running a hand down her arm and finding her breast, he strummed her nipple. “Oh, but I do. Because I want you screaming my name all night, and I can’t do that if you unman me in the first ten minutes.”
“I have faith in your cock,” she said, stroking his erection. “I don’t think you’ll have a problem with comeback.”
“Yeah, but there’s so much more I want to do with you than just fuck…”
Quirking an eyebrow, he could see she was interested. “Like what?”
“I want to feel every inch of your skin. I want to memorize your curves while I clean you from head to toe.” He moved his hand slowly down her body as he explained and found the apex of her sex. “I want to learn what makes you squirm and what makes you scream. I want to taste you and explore you.” The pad of his finger brushed over her clit and she inhaled sharply. “So, not being able to stop my desire to sink deep inside your pussy is a distinct disadvantage to me. I like being hard because of you.”
“Shit,” she breathed.
* * *
He was incredible, and his ideas of seduction and sex went way beyond anything she ever thought she wanted. Betsy was sure he really didn’t know how sexy he was, how much his ideas turned her on. She wasn’t sure she could play along, though—all she wanted was him.
Niko was persistent, though. He wanted to try this. He had the most grand ideas of seduction. The truth was, though, just by his wanting to try to seduce her, she was wet and wanting.
No one had ever treated her like this.
She didn’t deserve this man. This dragon.
But damn if she wasn’t going to give into him.
Her hand wrapped around his hard shaft and moved, up, down. Over and over. She didn’t know if she wanted to suck him down or impale herself on this. His mouth caught hers again as his hands played at her breasts. Her nipples ached, and in the next second, his mouth was gone from hers, seeking the beaded peak there.
It was exactly what her ache needed: attention from his amazing, liquid lips. He was there just a moment before he dipped her back under the spray of the shower, wetting her hair. Straightening, he ran his finger through her locks and grabbed the shampoo.
Niko’s fingers massaged her hair and her scalp, kneading carefully and thoroughly, and Betsy couldn’t stop the little moans of delight he created in her. She closed her eyes and just enjoyed his magical fingers in her hair. He was so gentle and each little touch made her whole body tingle.
Tipping her back again, he let the hot water sluice over her hair, rinsing the soap out. While the water did its job, his lips found the column of her throat and kissed their way down. His tongue traced circles and his teeth took small nips at her skin. Between him and the hot water, her body was hot, relaxed ragdoll, ready to climax on his command.
“You are so beautiful.” His words were quiet, but they filled her heart.
His fingers found the tips of her beaded breast and with a nip, she came—hissing and gasping, “Nikomedes!” as the gentle rolling climax claimed her.
‘Hmm’ing’ against her skin, she could feel his smile. “Well, I’m going to have to remember that one. I liked it. And I still have to wash you.”
“Holy shit.” She was barely able to stand or get the words out. And before she really could get her mind together, his hand moved from her breast to the apex of her thighs, slipping between and seeking out her entrance.
His two fingers slipped inside and Betsy couldn’t stop the lustful gasp from escaping. How did this man know her body so well? His touch was incredible, making her sing and beg. Niko’s palm pressed against her mons as he explored her.
She couldn’t last this out. There was no way to survive this without shattering against him like the waves of ocean. He was the rock she surged around, begging and worshipping at his shores.
“Niko, please.” Dragging her hands down his body, she found his cock and wrapped her hand around him. “Please. No more without you inside me. Please.” This was something she had never felt before in her life—the feeling of trust, the feeling that she wanted to let him do what he would with her body because she knew, absolutely, he would make her scream his name as she came.
His hand trailed out of her, over her clit, teasing there for a moment. With almost no effort on his part, he slipped her up the tile of the shower. Instinctively, she threw her legs around him and as she adjusted to this new position, his cock found her entrance.
Slowly, he lowered her down onto him. His thick shaft buried inside, he wrapped one arm around her waist and leaned against the wall with his other. Betsy could only cling to him as he started to thrust inside her.
At barely a whisper, his words were almost lost to the fall of water. “Your pussy is so sweet, Betsy. So tight. Like a glove, squeezing my cock, stroking it.”
The water cascaded down his naked chest, catching and dripping of his taught nipples. Betsy dropped her head to one and bit softly—and to her surprise, she threw off Niko’s rhythm. Smiling, she bit again.
“Shit.” It was a sharp word, full of pleasure. So, to oblige his own pleasure, Betsy feasted there, sucking, nibbling, biting. He managed to keep his rhythm after the first nibble, but after that it had become a tasty game. His pecs were delightful and toned and his skin was soft—opposite of what she thought it ought to feel like given the dragon hiding inside.
His movements were smooth and deep and his pelvis hit just the right spot on her sex. She felt the rising tide of climax again, and when he shifted his stance just ever so slightly, he found the magic spot deep inside her. With a gasp, she raked her fingers down his back.
“Niko, yes, yes!”
“I’m coming, agapité.”
“Please, shit yes. Yes! Come!”
“Come with me…”
She tried to gain a little control and leaned into him. “Come inside me, and I will.”
“Fuck.”
There was no question that he wanted to take her hard. Niko was trying to control himself, and she felt the strain in his muscles as she clung to him.
“No, Niko. Hard. Don’t hold back. Please. I want it hard.”
With her permission, he changed his thrusts. They were long, relentless, slamming her hard against the wall, bottoming out inside her, his cock seeming to expand even more.
Betsy wanted to come with him, and she was so dangerously close to the threshold. She leaned in and bit his nipple. Just like her before, it was the perfect move.
He exploded inside her with a great roar, and his heat released deep in her pussy. She felt his cum and followed him over the edge, climaxing almost painfully.
“Nikomedes!”
The pleasure almost blinded her—it was all she could feel for very long minutes, trembling against him, the hot water still trickling over their skin.
She didn’t remember them walking to the bed. She did remember the four more times he made her come that night.