Ice packed with cool efficiency. She’d got over her mini-breakdown and now wanted to punch herself in the face for crying like some stupid child over her hurt feelings at not belonging. God, when did she become such a sap? She took life’s hits and kept going. It was her way, and now after only a few days here, she’d gone all emo. She’d have put up with it to see if she could fit in, and maybe have a second home here. Somewhere she could visit sometimes, but the fierce row she’d overheard the previous night, after she and Dom started to get it on put paid to the idea.
Clearly, Dom and Nathan were more than just bonded men and close platonic friends, whether they admitted it or not. Not about to be a third and get in their way, she wanted gone. She wouldn’t be the reason the two men split.
Not that she’d mind sharing. A small grin tugged at her mouth as she imagined the hotness of the three of them together. She thought of Sian’s sizzling threesome. Problem being, this situation didn’t compare at all to one night. This situation contained nasty, messy things, such as emotions. She wanted Dom and Nathan physically, but also on a deeper level. They drew her to them. Whatever they did, whether swooping in the air or watching a movie, she’d loved it. If this went any further, her heart would be involved eventually.
“Keep it simple,” Ice muttered to herself, head shoved deep in her case as she placed her underwear in a neat pile. “Never get in over your head, always leave yourself an escape plan. No man is worth it. You let yourself get involved emotionally, and you know it ends in tears.”
“You’re better off alone, baby,” she told herself.
“What are you doing?”
“Jesus!” She jumped and turned around to find Nathan in the doorway, arms folded over his bare chest, pajama bottoms hanging low on his lean hips.
He strode into the room and closed the door. “Why are you packing?”
She jutted her chin and turned to square up to him. “I’m outta here.”
“No, you’re not.”
“Excuse me?” God, but he was a bossy bastard.
“You said you’d give this a chance.” A muscle ticked along his jawline.
“You said, anytime I wanted, I could go.”
“You loved it up there with us your first night. I sensed it because I tuned into your emotions the whole time we were flying. It’s something that happens between matched dragons. So why the change of heart? It is only a few days—a vacation if you will—to see how you find life with us. Your people, may I remind you.”
“I heard the little ding-dong between you and lover boy last night. I’m not willing to get in the middle of it.”
Nathan flinched. Actually flinched, as if she’d hit him. “Ah, okay. I get it. You’d not want to be with us if Dom and I were in a physical relationship?”
“No. Of course not.”
He blew out a breath and crossed the room. “The possibility of you considering us together abhorrent didn’t occur to me. For dragon females it isn’t an issue if their bonded males are physical, but I forget, you’ve been raised human.”
The meaning behind his words hit her so she tried to explain. “It’s not because I have anything against two guys together, or two guys and a woman together, or two women. Whatever, so long as it is consenting adults, I don’t care. Rather, it’s because you two have a hell of a lot of shit to work through. Clearly emotions are involved, and I don’t want to get in the way and make things worse.”
Frowning, he stalked toward her, and she automatically stepped back. Christ, but he towered over her.
“You don’t get it, Ice. You won’t be in the way. As a match to us, if you joined us, you’d never be in the way. You’d be part of us. We’d all fit together. If Dom and I went in that direction, which, right now, isn’t certain.”
“I don’t see how. You know the old saying about three being a crowd. One of us will get left out, get hurt. Anyway…it’s not the real issue.” She blew out a breath and prayed for patience. “The problem is, I said I’d stay for a while, get to know my people. This whole mated thing, the fact you two have serious shit you need to sort out, it’s all a bit too heavy. So, as I say, I’m outta here.”
“Fine.” He bit off the word. “Run away, but I didn’t have you marked as a coward.”
“I am not a coward.” She poked him in the chest to emphasize her words, and he grabbed her wrist.
The next second she found herself pulled up flush against his hard, warm body.
“Yes, you are,” he whispered into her ear. His lips brushed against the ultra-sensitive skin behind her lobe as he spoke. “Running away is what cowards do. Reneging on deals is what cowards do.”
“Fuck you,” she ground out.
“You’d like to, I can tell, but you’re probably too scared to do that, too. What’s your deal? Terrified to experience anything? You have your whole persona wrapped in this ultra-cool shell. A woman who drifts through life unattached. I don’t buy it though. You do have emotions. Fear. Loneliness. They are your constant friends. Wouldn’t you relish the chance to experience something else for once?” His voice dropped.
Ice found it hard to breathe in the spotlight of his attention. His power and charisma washed over her in waves, and she half wanted to run fast and far, and half wanted to climb him like a tree.
“Desire, for example.” He cupped the back of her neck and pulled her closer.
“I’ve felt desire.” She didn’t add the only time she’d experienced being truly turned on featured him. “I’ve had lovers you know.”
Nathan laughed. “Right. Bet they made the earth move for you.”
She pushed at his chest, wanting free of his embrace before it overwhelmed her. “You are so unbelievably arrogant.”
“Maybe so, but I bet no man has ever shown you a properly good time in bed. Made you forget your own name!”
“You can’t make me forget my name. Sex can never be that good.” She let out a laugh and tried to move out of his arms again.
“Are you giving me a challenge?” He let her go and she looked up into his dark gaze. “Because I love a challenge.” He grinned at her, his smile blinding.
Then his lips brushed against hers. Whisper soft, a flicker of skin on skin, but she made the mistake of letting out a sigh at the way his warm, firm lips moved against hers. He took advantage as her mouth parted and ran his tongue along her lower lip before he touched the tip to hers. Her stomach flipped and her heart rate picked up.
Oh, Lord! Her legs wobbled. The taste of him made her yearn for more. He was heady like a good wine, or a rich cognac, and she moaned her approval.
He walked them backwards until she hit the wall, Nathan plastered to her front. One hand snaked into his hair, and she pulled him in closer, her other arm wound around his back, low on his hipbone. He felt like coming home. Exciting, but also comforting and…right.
The kiss was like no other she’d ever experienced. Desire pooled between her legs as his mouth plundered hers. His mouth left hers, and her low whimper of loss turned into a gasp of approval when he found her neck and licked and nibbled along the column of her throat.
His fingers left her face to tangle once more in her hair, angling her head farther back, giving him access to the base of her throat. His dominance turned her the hell on. He took charge and she loved it.
The hand he’d placed high on her hip traveled up her torso, pulling the soft cotton of her top as it went, exposing her skin to his touch. His fingers were heaven against her sensitive flesh, and she pressed in closer to him, squirming against him, wanting more.
“Let go,” he murmured against her hair. “You don’t have to be Ice here. You can let go, and let yourself feel. Be Claire.”
“I can’t control the burning thing I did. I’m scared if I get carried away I might hurt you.”
Nathan’s face went soft at her words. In the dim light, his dark eyes glittered. “No, beautiful, let that fear go, too. You didn’t hurt us at the hotel. No matter what, you can’t hurt me. My magic is much stronger than yours.”
He smiled. “And if you wish, tomorrow I’ll start teaching you to control your magic. Once you have control, you can stay with us, or you can go back to your life out there, knowing you won’t accidentally hurt anyone again.”
“We start tomorrow?” she whispered. He’d mentioned learning about her magic, but the thought of beginning made her giddy.
“Of course. You need control of your gifts. Wherever you decide to make your life, you shouldn’t be on the outside looking in. You deserve it all, the full experience.”
Holy hell! His words curled around her heart, opening secret, closed off places she’d kept locked. Ice always found herself on the outside looking in. Never a full participant.
“You need to let your guard down while you’re here.” Nathan’s deep voice rumbled. “Otherwise you won’t experience all our people and way of life have to offer. You did it when we flew. Do it now in this room, and do it in everything else. Whether it’s coffee with Teresa, or flying with a dragon, let yourself revel in it.”
Oh, God. He wanted her to let go, here and now, in this room…with him.
Ice didn’t need a man to make her physically safe; she’d the tools to take care of herself. Most of her boyfriends weren’t fighters, or the guys at the gym, as she preferred to keep her love life away from work. So being wrapped in a pair of big arms and held close to a hard, broad chest ticked a new experience box.
His warmth seeped into her, and she pressed farther into it. His hand at her hip started its slow slide up once more, taking the thin cotton of her tank top with it and leaving a trail of fire wherever his fingers brushed. He slid her top from her arms and threw it to one side.
Rough callouses on the tips of his fingers added to the sensations bombarding her. On the underside of her breast, his thumb swiped across the sensitive skin there, once, then again, before trailing down her ribs again. Nathan repeated this a few times, as again, his mouth found hers. With their bodies pressed tight, his hardness told her he wanted this as much as she did.
“I want to learn every inch of you.” Nathan’s deep voice murmured in her ear, where he nibbled at the shell as he spoke.
Ice wanted him to. Just his voice at her ear had moisture pooling between her legs. The whole situation bordered on insanity. He’d spent no time on foreplay and already her body answered his, primed and ready. Normally, a guy needed to spend some time to get her in anything approaching the mood for sex. It seemed all Nathan needed to do was throw her a few kisses and a brief touch of his warm hands, and she became unabashedly lustful.
“Need to taste.” He tugged her jeans down her legs, and she stepped out of them, heart speeding up.
Nathan picked her up and carried her to the bed, the sudden movement a surprise. She hit the mattress with a giggle, which died when he crawled over her, only to stop at her hips and part her legs. Then he blew warm air over her thin cotton panties. Ice froze as he gripped either side of the material and pulled it down. With a groan, he pushed her legs wider, then used his hands to part her, opening her to his gaze.
“Beautiful,” he rasped, his voice gone thick and gravelly.
Nathan touched his mouth to her, and Ice swore she saw stars. He licked at her expertly, and found her sweet spot straight away. It didn’t take long before her hips were bucking off the bed, her hands entangled in the sheets.
Something built deep within, and it wasn’t the usual orgasm she’d experienced. Not the normal scratch-an-itch, sneeze of relief. It threatened to eclipse her fun-times in the hotel room. The impending pleasure scared her so she drew away from Nathan’s sinful mouth, but he grunted and guided her back to his lips and tongue. When he pushed his thick middle finger into her, she arched her back off the bed and lost her battle to retain control. With a cry, she let go of the sheets and gripped his head as she came. It throbbed through her. Intense, scary, and overwhelming, it lasted a long time. It eventually ended, and she lay back, wrung out, but opened her eyes as Nathan shucked off his pajamas.
He clambered up and over her. He lifted her leg and wound it around his back then positioned himself at her entrance. Gorgeous little aftershocks ran through her at the slight pressure of his thick cock nudging against her.
“Tell me you want me,” he purred.
Unable to do or say anything else, desperate to have him inside her, filling all her empty spaces, she nodded.
“No. Say it. I made you a promise and I intend to keep it.” He slid his length against her, teasing, and making her want him more. “Tell me you want me or this ends now.”
“I want you, Nathan. I want you right now.”
She hitched her hips so his tip slid inside. Nathan stilled and stared at her, a smile playing over his sinful mouth. He thrust forward, slow and deliberate.
God, so big. At first, she struggled to take him, but he withdrew, and then pushed in again more slowly as she relaxed around him. Each gentle thrust caused a burst of pleasure as those aftershocks returned.
“Let me in.” Nathan claimed her mouth as he once more pushed forward.
She moaned at the taste of him. Then he really moved. Each time he thrust inside, Ice let out a small moan. She couldn’t help herself, the sensations too delicious to do anything but give in. Heat built along her spine, deep in her stomach, and at her core. It intensified sending zaps of electric-sharp pleasure zooming around her body.
“Shit!” She tore her mouth away from his. “What’s happening?”
“Dragon sex, beautiful. Let yourself feel it.”
He placed one hand in her hair, pulling with enough tension to send pleasurable pain along her scalp. Insane sensations rippled along her neck, where he set his teeth; so crazy good, she never wanted him to stop.
When his other hand slipped between them to rub at her sweet spot, Ice lost it a second time. She cried out as an electric fire swamped her in a wave of intense pleasure.
“Fucking hell.” Nathan swore as he pushed into her and held deep, emptying himself in her.
Ice continued to throb around him as he let his weight fall on her for a moment. He withdrew, and she missed him immediately.
He rolled to the side and spooned her, with one big arm around her middle, pulling her back into his warmth, a heavy thigh draped over her hip.
“What the hell?” She couldn’t form the words properly to ask what happened. Yes, it had been great sex, but so much more. A lot more. She frowned and turned to look over her shoulder at Nathan.
“Did you use your magic on me?”
“Of course not, why?”
“I didn’t mean in the sense you controlled me…only, I experienced some…odd things. Like a burning, but so good, then all this electricity stuff happened in my body. Again, all good. When I came, I didn’t know if I’d have an orgasm or burst into flames. But in a good way.”
He laughed then. “Burst into flames in a good way?”
“Yeah.”
He chuckled. “Told you, beautiful, Dragon sex. When we have sex with those we’re closely matched to, it is said to be incendiary. Apparently, more than I ever let myself believe.”
“And did it prove incendiary for you?” A moment of doubt hit her. What if he’d not found it as amazing? Shit, perhaps it hadn’t been so good for him.
“Beautiful, it was perfect.” He kissed the top of her head.
Okay. So he enjoyed it, too.
“So will it be the same for me with Dom? You say it’s because we match, and I match Dom too, right? So…” She trailed off; suddenly worried she’d offended him by talking about another man when they’d been so intimate.
Nathan’s arm tightened around her middle as he tugged her in closer. “Yeah, it should be the same with Dom. I mean not exactly the same, but you two will light fires when you get to it.”
He’d said when, not if, and there went the tug of panic again, but he wasn’t finished.
“When it’s the three of us…words like incendiary won’t do it justice.”
Oh, wow.
“Can I come in?” Speak of the devil. Dom pushed open the door and poked his head around.
Ice hoped he wouldn’t be hurt to discover what they’d done. And right there sat the reason she needed to finish packing and run the hell away. Three’s didn’t work. Someone always got left out.
“Sure.” Nathan motioned Dom over, and the other man strolled across to the room to stand and look at them.
Dom laughed. “Look at you.” He trailed fingers through her mussed hair. “I like this look on you. I’m gonna call it your ‘fucked out’ look. I hope to see it a lot.”
Okay, so not jealous then. Definitely not jealous, and a little crude if she were honest. But at least he wasn’t hurt.
“Move up. I want a cuddle.” Dom started to pull his T-shirt and jogging bottoms off, and he wore nothing underneath.
Nathan shuffled back in the big bed, bringing her with him, and making room for Dom, who climbed in beside them. He put his arm around Ice and gave her a soft kiss on the lips, before rubbing his nose on her neck and breathing in.
“Nice. I’m hooked on the scent of the two of you together.” Dom lifted his eyes and looked beyond her.
Nathan gave a grunt, and she wondered if they were still pissed at one another.
Nathan’s long arm reached past her to give Dom’s bicep a squeeze. “We’ve got some busy days ahead of us.”
“Why?” Dom asked.
“Because we need to teach Ice how to use her magic,” Nathan replied.
Ice gave a happy sigh and let her eyes drift closed, too exhausted by the weird, electrical orgasm she’d experienced to do anything else.
Dom chuckled. “Yeah. Fucked out suits you, sweetheart.”
She clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth and slapped his arm lightly, but he only chuckled again.
She let sleep steal over her.