Hoarded by the Dragon (Monstrous Matches, #4)(10)

I hum. “Well thank you for letting me take a nap.”

He snorts. “I didn’t let you sleep. There was no keeping you awake. If I didn’t want to take you in your sleep, I had to wake you first.”

My lips curve. “Waking up with you inside me wouldn’t be terrible.”

I feel rather than see Kalos rolling his eyes. “You truly have no self-preservation.”

I sigh sleepily. “I have other skills.”

“No doubt.” His body gets heavier on me, his cocks hard, but not as unforgivingly stiff as they were hours earlier. I shift my hips, and he kisses me. It’s so gentle and soft that I want to crack my chest open to let the golden feeling it inspires to illuminate the darkest parts of me.

“Once more, little queen, so you can walk out of here without being bow-legged.”

I swallow my dismay at his words of me leaving and spread my thighs wider to communicate my assent. He slips inside me, and we both sigh. This doesn’t have the same frenetic energy as the other couplings. I’m so wet from our night together that there’s no resistance to taking him or the ribbings on his cock. It’s almost as if I’ve changed to perfectly fit him. That being under him is where I belong.

As someone who has been alone for a long time… it feels too good.

I could almost be fooled into believing that he may want to keep me past one night. I tilt my head back, and Kalos kisses my neck. His movements into my body are soft and slow, luxurious. Each rolling stroke sparks the coiling tension of release, and it doesn’t take long for my breath to shudder.

The climax is a gentle thing. The release of a fluttering butterfly instead of the flash of searing lightning. Kalos groans, and the heat inside me stings for a moment before the rawness fades.

I exhale. Why does it feel like I’m on the precipice of crying?

He doesn’t dwell in my body any longer than necessary, and too soon, he’s pulling himself away from me. My throat is tight, but I blink my eyes open and realize that the light in the room has increased. It’s dawn.

Kalos leaves the pillows and strides over to his robe. My body is slow to respond, but I bring my legs together, curling in as if to offer my bare body protection. I sit up.

It’s done now. I’m going to leave here, and all this is going to be is a golden memory. Something bittersweet to make me smile the next time I feel lonely.

But maybe I’m not the only one who feels this way. Kalos doesn’t look back at me as he puts his robe on. I’m many things, but I’m not a coward.

“You bit me,” I say, my hand coming to my neck. There were quite a few paranormal beings that bite their partners to seal a mating. That can’t be what he intended, can it?

“It means nothing.” His voice is the type of cutting cold that reaches my bones.

Yep, yet another intricacy of our world that I don’t understand. I try to let go of my hope that he is harboring some tender feelings for me, but it’s hard.

I swallow. “I guess that’s not how your kind mates.”

He looks at me then, and if I thought his words were cutting, it’s nothing compared to the sneer on his face. The seductive dragon of the night is truly gone, and in his place is Kalos. Influential, wealthy, and powerful immortal.

“Why would I mate myself to a woman who would sell herself for a bauble?”

His words are a sharp slap, but he’s not done.

“Someone foolish with no self-preservation. Being mated to you would be a lower circle of hell. You’ve served your purpose. Now leave.”

It’s a mercy that he storms away without looking back. That way the tears in my eyes can remain a secret between me and my heart.





4





KATARINA





BUZZ BUZZ.

I groan and smack at the alarm clock, knocking it from my nightstand, but that doesn’t stop the buzzing. I open my eyes groggily and gasp at the ache of my muscles. The familiarity of my surroundings doesn’t help the jarring sensation of displacement. I’d been numb this morning when I’d pulled my clothes back on and taken the figurine from the dragon’s mansion.

I focused on getting the job done, not letting any emotions bubble up to distract me. After I left the figurine in a public locker and sent a text to let Nemo know it was ready for pick up, the imp had responded with one word:

Finally.

Frustration and annoyance had broken through the numbness then, and I’d let those emotions stay. Teaches me for helping him.

My cell phone starts buzzing again.

I check the time on my fallen alarm clock and curse. It’s late in the afternoon. I slept through most of the day. I’d fallen on top of my covers the moment I’d made it home and passed out.

My muscles ache in the worst sort of way. I whimper and ignore my phone for a moment more. Nothing good can come from anyone calling me right now.

I pull myself out of bed and stumble to the bathroom, peeling off my clothes while I fill the tub with the hottest water I can stand. The steam in the air has me wrinkling my nose at the musky smell of sex with a lingering tang of campfire. Smears of dried cum decorate my body.

I hiss when lowering myself into the water but moan at the instant relief of it. I’m lucky to have a tub in this apartment. My place isn’t bad, just tiny. I spend most of my time at the studio I rent down the block anyway.