Page 48 of Collected By the Crow

“Yes!” She pressed backward, flattening her ass against him. He growled in approval and eased his lower right hand between her knees, situating his leg between hers to allow him access. He pressed his cock against the liquid heat of her sex, driving through her slit only once before plunging inside of her with a groan.

He would never tire of this. If that meant he would always come in the first few minutes, so be it. As long as she was there to accept his seed in her pliant body, he didn’t care.

His dewdrop wasted no time. She worked the skillful muscles inside her magical cunt to drain him swiftly inside of her. He gritted his teeth against the powerful orgasm. After he’d emptied himself in her, she paused, letting him signal when to move again. Nine fucking rings, this woman! She was beyond perfect.

He strummed her clit to let her know it was time. She took what she needed from him, and he let her have it all. She rolled her hips as he met her thrust for thrust until she went limp. He tilted her forward and rose to swallow her stilted cries, pumping into her with enhanced speed until her orgasm waned.

Cassandra broke their kiss and, too quickly, rolled from the bed. Qadaire’s warbles petered out in his chest.

“Are you ready?” asked Cassandra excitedly. “I’m so ready! Finally, a reason for you to stop forcing me to rest all freaking day!”

Her wide eyes flickered like candlelight. Today, they traveled to the dragon realm to assist Cassandra’s new author friend. The details were murky, but Cassandra was undoubtedly the best candidate for the job. As always. She was a gifted pathologist and an empathetic veterinarian. And, admittedly, Qadaire was ready to get to work as well.

“I just hope we can actually help.” Lips pursed, she smacked her bare thighs in that nervous fashion. Qadaire couldn’t help but track every sweet, sweet jiggle, even though he hated seeing her doubt herself. “Aquatic animals can be difficult, since I don’t primarily work with them.”

Qadaire was at her side in milliseconds. “Little dewdrop, you will do all you can.”

“We. I’m going to need your help.”

“You’ve never needed that, dewdrop.”

“Maybe not. But I like to have it.”

For a moment, they stared at each other, and it was like that first night. Twinkling stars through a telescope, an invisible magnetic field driving them into orbit around each other.

Only now, Qadaire felt no hesitancy, no doubt, no shame, and no insecurity when he dipped his head to steal another kiss.

“How do we get there, anyway?” Cass asked as she packed up her tools and notepads.

“The dragon kingdom is an adjoining realm to this one. One we pierce the veil, it should be a short flight, according to what your author said. It’ll be the first use of my portal device in a long, long time.”

“Seriously?” At her incredulous tone, Qadaire glanced up. “You have a device that can portal to other realms, and you’ve stayed here?”

“Well, that’s an oversimplification. But,” he met her teasing smile and shrugged. “I guess I needed a better reason.”

The hue of her cheeks darkened. Qadaire listened to the pitter-patter of her heart and hummed contentedly.

“The poor creatures aren’t meant to live in this dry heat,” Dana, the author, was saying. She led them through a crowded downtown full of shops and bustling creatures of all kinds.

Qadaire’s skin was crawling. He’d not been outside of his castle in centuries, and before that he’d still been a lone wolf. Yes, he’d told Cassandra he would come out of hiding, but that didn’t mean it would suddenly be easy. She’d asked if he was truly up to the task at hand and he’d agreed, but now, he missed his bloody mansion. The streets were huge and wide enough for full-sized dragons, yet he still felt crowded. His arms hung awkwardly at his sides, his brain buzzing like a hornet’s nest. Cassandra kept glancing at him sideways, concern clouding her features. It was all he could do to send her some reassuring grimaces every now and then. He couldn’t even fully appreciate how enticing her curves were in that rings-damned sundress.

“Why are they here?” Cassandra asked their host.

“It’s a sad story. The näcken, a water and land species, were driven out of their home waters by a nuclear waste spill. It pierced the veil between their realm and ours—humans’, I mean—and ruined their homes. They scattered, some of them coming to GFK for refuge until their leaders can find somewhere more suitable.” Finally, Dana led them out of the crowd and onto a less populated street. Qadaire took a breath and flexed his hands from the tight fists he’d been clenching. Dana sent him a sympathetic look before continuing. “Lioti are their pets. Think, like, underwater cats, feisty and independent. Except they’re fiercely loyal when it counts.”

“Aww, they sound cute.” Cassandra cooed while subtly casting another glance his way. “So they’re reacting to the new environment poorly, I take it.”

“The staff here tried recreating their natural habitat in tanks. Apparently, they successfully got the water to match. I’m not a scientist, if you can’t tell. Whatever they did, it’s good enough for the näckens, but the lioti are still getting sick. Some people are starting to think it’s just homesickness.”

“Let’s hope not. If it’s anything else, we might have a chance at helping them.”

They reached a facility at the end of the street, which, like everything else, was huge. Dana pressed a buzzer and the massive door beeped open. Qadaire eyed the threshold warily. Once he was inside, the door would close.

A small hand slipped into his lower right. He met Cassandra’s concerned expression and gave a tight-lipped smile. He knew her look was asking, are you sure? To which he nodded once, and stepped inside, clutching her hand like a buoy.

Bright lights shone down from every angle. He was keenly aware of Cassandra and Dana both not-so-subtly watching him now, but he focused ahead.

“I’ll take you to Ryuu in the back. I’ve got to get back to the newspaper, but I’ll meet you here later. If you’re interested, I would love to have you guys over for drinks. I’ll introduce you to some friends of mine. They’re staying with us until their one-room house is finished.”

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