Page 12 of Bitten in the Wild

“I’ll keep that in mind,” I said, raking my eyes over his body.

“Do you want to see the nest before we exchange brains?” he asked.

That wasn’t the way most folks described the claiming vows but I let it go.

“Weren’t we just in your nest, mate?”

“That’s a top nest. If I were a wild it would be my only one, but I have one down here too. Another on a cliff not too far from here. A few others in secret spots in case I want a nap. The one inhere will be for our eggs, though. I hatched in a cliffside cave. It was nice to come out into the dark away from the blazing ball of fire in the sky.”

“Are we in a cave now?” I asked him.

“Not really. Well, sort of. It’s hard to explain. These walls are caves,” he pointed around the entryway wall behind the slide. Some of the others are too. Sort of. They belong to the side of the mountain anyway, but I built up around them to have more rooms. It’s still a work in progress. Unless I’m trying to knock down a mountain or something, the councils all leave me alone. I have a birthright to be out here with my wild brethren. You do too now. Well, you have the mate rights, not the birthrights. Our kids will have the birthrights, though. You should also know that my mother always lays at least two eggs. Sometimes as many as six.”

“Six?” I asked.

“What? Wild dragons don’t do that on Earthside?”

“Most wild dragons back home wouldn’t let anyone into their nests to count their eggs,” I chuckled.

“Well, I wouldn’t advise you to try that here either. I know them. I’m their neighbor and related to a lot of them, but they don’t know you yet.”

“Yet. I like the sound of it every time you say that word.”

“What? Do I say it weird or something?” He arched a brow and ran a hand through his hair.

“No,” I shook my head. “Yet – means something will happen.”

“Oh, that,” he laughed. “We have a lot of yets then. Come on! We can eat more apples later! You should see the nest before the magic comes back.”

“Comes back? I don’t think it’s left,” I laughed and let him pull me up to my feet.

“It comes in waves. Magic always comes in waves. We set off the crystals in here too. Didn’t you notice or were you too busy eating me?”

I blushed. I didn’t think I was capable of blushing after everything I saw, witnessed, and corrected as a doctor back on Earthside, but apparently, I was.

Chapter Four

Nycto

“I like it when you’re all flustered, but did you see the crystals flicker?” I asked Izora as we headed down the hallway.

“I did,” he nodded.

“That was us. They absorb extra magic to keep everything going. Our mating response magic almost murdered them. They drew some of it into themselves, but it’ll build back up again. All magic always does and when we finally mate I don’t want to rub my knee scales off on the stones. So, the nest it is. Plus, you should know I build excellent nests. I don’t even need one of those stupid packs to do it.”

“Are they stupid if they cover a skill gap?” Izora asked. “Would you rather have broken eggs everywhere? I wouldn’t.”

I rolled my eyes. He was such a townie. It was sorta cute. Okay, it was sexy on him, but that was only because it was my eggs he’d guard in the future. We could’ve talked about the townies’ lack of nest building skills all day and night, but I let it go. There were more important things on the horizon. I sniffed the air to double-check that my mate didn’t take personal offense. He hadn’t, but my head swam with his scent and Istumbled over a step. Izora took my hand in his, entwined our fingers, and kissed the back of it.

The warmth of his lips spread down my hand and arm and then over my whole body. My dragon roared inside of me and the magic was again tugging at me from right behind my navel. I pushed Izora back against the wall and he grunted as I claimed his lips in a hard kiss. This time I plunged my tongue into his waiting mouth, licking and twirling. I leaned my body against his so that he couldn’t get away even if he wanted to. He kissed back, hard. His teeth scraped against my lower lip, and I tasted blood. Everything inside me stood on edge. Despite cumming not so long ago, I was hard and slick and needed him all over again. We might never make it to the nest at this rate. Then again, being lost in a romping labyrinth with my newly met mate didn’t sound like the worst certain doom a dragon could encounter.

“You’re hot to the touch,” Izora whispered.

“You did that. You jump started the magic,” I said and kissed him again.

I spotted the raised, taut skin covering his claiming gland out of the corner of my eye and almost claimed him right then and there – romping or no romping – to satisfy my dragon’s need.

“Nest?” Izora asked, his voice laced with husky need.

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