Page 52 of Phoenix Falling
“Okay. How do you keep from being seen by humans or picked up on radar?”
“Smart question, actually.” He started washing the dishes while I retrieved our glasses. “I tend to fly lower than most radar targets. But also, my dragon’s belly is camouflaged. Humans looking up see a blur in the night sky, not a complete shift of color.”
“So the underside of his wings and his stomach are blue.”
“A deep midnight,” he agreed. “During the day it becomes lighter, matching its surroundings. It’s not often we fly during sunlight, though.”
“I can’t believe you have a reflective body.”
“Camouflage.” He chuckled. “And only parts of it.”
When the dishes were finished, I took the lead, pulling Demetri to the couch. I waited for him to settle into one corner, then sat beside him and snuggled into his side. The lair always felt a bit chilly to me, being underground. Demetri’s body heat warmed me almost as much as his nearness comforted me.
“Can your dragon see me?”
Demetri shifted back a little so I could look into his eyes. “He can. He’s eager to come forward and spend time with you.” I watched as his eyes took on a silver-blue glow, casting shadows around the room as the shine grew brighter and brighter.
I gulped in air. “Oh my God. Is that him?”
“It is.” Demetri’s voice was rougher than before, gravelly. He brought a hand up to cup my cheek. “He’s resting just beneath my skin, devouring the sight of our mate. You fill us both with so much joy, Imogen.”
Goose bumps rose across my body. “He’s amazing.” I reached up, daring to caress the rough stubble that peppered Demetri’s face. “You both are.”
He blinked, hiding the light, but when his eyes opened, it was still shining down on me. “You’ll meet him officially someday soon, I hope. If you’re comfortable with that.”
“I’d love to.”
Demetri’s hand dropped from my face to my hip. “I want to kiss you, Imogen.” His other hand gripped the opposite side, and the next thing I knew, I was facing him, in his lap, my legs parted over his thick thighs. One thing I was learning: Demetri was a highly physical being. His strength, his self-confidence, his drive all combined into a male who had no qualms about showing me what he wanted, and zero hesitation in going after it. It was incredibly sexy on the one hand, but also intimidating. This man had so many years of experience, and here I was, practically a virgin in comparison. I’d been with one man, my high school boyfriend, and I didn’t think sex with an eighteen-year-old could come anywhere close to the mature desires of someone like Demetri.
I found myself gripping the shoulders of his shirt in my fists, my disquiet rising alongside my need. And yet when his big hands spanned the width of my back, their heat soaking into my skin as they eased up, up, up, then down, down, down, I arched instinctively, seeking more, wanting Demetri to soak into me as easily as that heat did.
“You’re tense,”he said in my mind.
“Uncertain, not tense.”
“Why?”He pulled me forward, his strength inexorable, until my breasts met his pecs and a moan choked off in my throat.
“Demetri…”Instinctively I raised my chin as he pushed closer, allowing him access to my throat. The scrape of his teeth along the sensitive skin had me squirming in his lap.
Those big hands gripped my hips once again, moving me exactly where he wanted me. Demetri was big all over, and there was no closing my legs as I found myself centered over his thick erection, the valley between my thighs the perfect fit for the hardness that nestled within it. “Oh God.”
He held me firm, the prick of his teeth sharper as a sound almost like a purr escaped against my throat.“I haven’t fed, Imogen. I can’t. Anytime I try, all I see is you, all I want is you. The thought of taking from anyone else is abhorrent.”
My swallow was a dry click in my throat. This was what I instinctively feared—it wasn’t simply that my mate was strong; it was that he had power and needs that were beyond anything I could comprehend. The amount of trust it took to sit here, knowing he could overpower me if he so desired…the knowledge that, if he wanted, he could take me and there would be nothing I could do to stop him…it was a distinctly feminine fear I didn’t know what to do with. I didn’t fear him—or at least, I didn’t think I feared him—but there was an instinctive hesitation that rose anytime I considered giving myself to him. Allowing him to take.
“Demetri…”
“I won’t hurt you,” he whispered roughly against my throat. “I promise, Imogen. I won’t. But God, I need…”
That one word, so desperate, so hoarse, was my undoing. Without thought I tipped my head, allowing him in. Allowing him access. The tips of his fangs pressed harder.
“Are you sure?”
The laugh that rose inside me felt slightly hysterical.“No. But I’ve never done this before either.”Not voluntarily, though I didn’t remember my attack, a fact for which I was grateful.
“It can feel so good. Like kissing.”Scrape. Scrape.“Like sex.”
“I barely have any experience at that, so you’re not helping.”He was pushing, but I got the sense that he was as helpless as I was, caught in the throes of desire rather than intentionally trying to overcome my boundaries. And maybe that was what I needed, anyway. It wasn’t lack of desire that was holding me back, but lack of confidence.
