Page 13 of Bronze Dragon

"What? I… sure. Why?" The view had distracted her enough that she couldn’t quite follow his train of thought.

She could hear the smile in his voice. "I was thinking of buying you flowers, sending clues to our next date with each."

For a handsome tech CEO who looked like he could live large if he wanted, that was a very romantic suggestion, almost taking her breath away. "I was thinking maybe I’d plan something for Memorial Day weekend, unless you already have plans," she replied, not fully conscious of the thought until she’d spoken it aloud.

She felt his eyes on her then, and when she turned to look, his gold-flecked brown eyes were intense. His smile was slow to form, but he looked very happy with her suggestion. "I was thinking we could get away for the weekend somewhere. I’ll happily take you anywhere you want, Ashley. Wouldn’t have to be local, or even North America." The calmly stated words held a resonance that matched the way his eyes fervently captured hers.

Ashley swallowed. He was offering her anything she wanted, and seemed to feel strongly about giving it to her. When he suggested worldly travel, her mind went to Paris, but she wasn’t sure she was ready for that. "I’ll have to think about it," she admitted. "I’m not used to having the freedom to just fly off somewhere." He didn’t need to respond; she could see the intention to give her just that in his eyes. Instead she squeezed his arm again. "It’s getting a little chilly with the breeze. Can we walk back to the car?"

He rose and offered his hand; her palm tingled when she set it in his. "Do you need to go back for your car, or can I take you home?" The innocent question had such an undertone of desire for the latter that she had to wonder if she wanted to take him home with her.

Reality intruded for a moment; she was pregnant, and she hadn’t told him yet. That might be something she ought to do before taking him home with her, but at the same time, that conversation could easily ruin their evening. It might be selfish of her, but she wanted to enjoy him while she could. That was all she needed to know the answer. "Come home with me."

They were approaching the car, but her words made him stop and turn to pull her against him, his arms sliding around her waist. "Are you sure?" The heat in his eyes said he agreed, but it was sweet of him to make certain. This guy checked so many boxes on her ideal man list, or he would have if she had such a thing. If she believed in true love or soul mates, she might be tempted to believe he was The One for her.

She tilted her head up, rising to the balls of her feet to move her lips to his. The instant they touched a jolt raced straight through her. He didn’t waste a moment, roughly claiming her mouth and pressing her body to his with a large hand at her back. The noise of several people’s voices intruded, breaking the couple apart as a group of bikers cycled by, but Raf didn’t let her move far, almost cradling her to him. She blinked at him, her brain taking a moment to even focus her eyes properly after that consuming kiss.

His eyes were on hers. "I’d love to," he rumbled at last; a lump in her stomach unknotted with his agreement. Raf didn’t seem inclined to let her go, but after a moment he took a step back and slid an arm around her waist, pulling her into his side for the last few feet. As soon as they entered the car, he did the same. She sank into him, forcing away any remaining doubts about their relationship—she would deal with that later. Tonight was for her to enjoy.

The ride to her apartment passed in a blur, as did getting inside. The click of the lock was like the shot at the start of a race; they each reached for the other at the same time, shedding outer layers as their lips pressed together again. Her purse and heels hit the floor, and she went to her tiptoes to drink him in. As soon as her arms slid around his neck, a rumbling groan burst from him and he swept her up in his arms, moving easily toward the hall and her bedroom. She was panting for breath as he broke their kiss to look at the first doorway, but she could manage a few words. "Last door on right."

He turned sideways to get them both through the door, gently setting her on the edge of her bed. "Ashley," he murmured, a note of something in his voice that made her eyes leap to his. "You deserve a romantic evening, but I’m not sure I can take it slow with you." The gruffness in his voice sounded like he was admitting something he would have rather not; the sentiment flushed her entire body with heat that began to pool between her legs.

Ashley rose quickly, her hands going to his chest to start undoing buttons on the satiny shirt he wore. It was an odd metallic brown tone she wouldn’t have normally thought would look good, but on Raf it did. "You’ve been so sweet, Rafael," she murmured, stretching up to brush her lips against his before going back to removing his clothing. In return, his hands slid around her, seeking the zipper of her dress. "I want you too much to worry about slow."

Her dress loosened and then fell with a speed that would’ve shocked her if she couldn’t see the ardent way he was staring, almost as though he needed to see every part of her as much as he wanted to take her to bed. Her lacy black lingerie drew his hands and a groan from him. He cupped her breast, flicking his thumb against her nipple, which pebbled instantly. A low growl was all the warning she had before he scooped her up, his lips wrapping around her nipple through the lace—he moved quickly to lay her in bed, following her down without ever removing his mouth from her breast. His tongue flicked back and forth against her nipple; he sucked and every nerve in her body lit up like the fourth of July. Writhing under him, she gripped his shoulders in hopes of anchoring herself somehow before she lost all connection to reality.

When his hand slid between her legs, revealing how wet she was, she cried out and climaxed on the spot. Her swift reaction startled him enough that he released her nipple, staring at her with such heat she felt like her body was aflame. "You’re so responsive," he murmured. "The things you do to me, Ashley…"

"You’re wearing too many clothes," she begged, panting to regain her breath after the surprisingly swift orgasm.

For a moment it almost looked like the flecks of gold in his eyes spun to turn his brown eyes golden. He hesitated a moment, but rose and quickly shucked his shirt, trapped momentarily by the cufflinks he quickly undid and slid into his pocket. The rest of his suit and underwear fell to the floor in one smooth movement. Her eyes were immediately drawn when his cock bounced free of his boxers, the darkened purple head already weeping, a drop of precum sliding down his shaft as she stared at it. He bent and retrieved a condom from his wallet, and she almost told him he didn’t need it; then she realized he’d only think she lied to him when she told him she was pregnant later on. She shoved all thoughts of that conversation from her mind, sliding a hand between her legs to finger herself in order to shut down her overactive brain.

With a groan, he was at her side in an instant, hands roughly pulling her underwear from her body. He flung her hand away from her slick folds, dropping to replace it with his mouth. She cried out at the way his tongue sent bolts of pleasure racing through her body. "Raf, please! I need you!"

He licked her once, the flat of his tongue rasping over her pleasure center, but he rose and covered her body with his. She could taste herself on his lips when he roughly took her mouth in a searing kiss; that might have bothered her once, but with Raf it only drove her internal temperature through the roof. Ashley barely had time to register the nudge between her legs before Raf drove into her balls deep in one stroke. She arched, crying out wordlessly and clutching at his shoulders—he froze, his eyes searching her face. One hand rose to her cheek, making her look at him. "I didn’t hurt you, did I?"

She reached up to press her lips to his. "No, you feel so perfect." There really wasn’t any other word for the way he stretched her, filled her full without hurting her. "God, Raf…" She wriggled under him, trying to get more skin contact; everywhere they touched turned up the heat of her desire for the man looking at her with mingled concern and need.

He grunted at her movement, eyelids falling shut for a moment. It thrilled her that he was as affected as she was; knowing she could drive this male to wordlessness warmed her heart as much as her body. A deeper groan that vibrated through her was all the warning she had before he captured her lips with his, plundering her mouth mercilessly. A swift movement brought their hips crashing together again, his withdrawal and return just as fast.

Ashley’s hips met each thrust, her body responding to the needy pace he set. The only time their lips parted was when one of them moaned and tried to pant for breath. His hands slid around her, anchoring at her shoulders so he could pull her into him. She held Raf to her, cradling his head to hers with one hand as his increasing pace threatened to break their kiss. His tongue thrust into her mouth in a parody of his cock, all of the places they rubbed skin against skin driving her crazy. Her heart was going to burst any second now, their driving need ratcheting up her pleasure as well as a surprising swell of emotions she didn’t want to identify.

Raf broke their kiss to hold her eyes. "Come for me, Ashley," he rasped.

It was as though the floodgates were merely waiting on his command. With a strangled whimper, she exploded, never once breaking eye contact with his surprisingly golden eyes, which widened as her muscles clenched him, pulling him further into her body. A stuttered groan left him, his cock swelling within her and one last thrust coinciding with his body losing control. The world shattered into tiny points of light, only his gold-brown eyes remaining, fixed on hers. Her heart tried to leap from her chest to find his, and a split second’s ray of awareness hit her; despite her doubts, she was falling head over heels for the father of her child.

Chapter 11 - Rafael

Rafael was floating for a few days after his wildly successful first date with Ashley. Nothing could drag down his mood after the way she had felt in his arms. He might have been turning into a hopeless romantic, but he dreamed about the way they connected on a deeper level when they had had sex—okay, maybe he could even consider it making love with her. Involved dreams that all featured lengthy interludes in bed. He had never felt this way about a woman before, in or out of bed. He could almost believe the stories about fated attraction, true mates, whatever the different breed of shifters called it. There was nothing so fated about him and Ashley, however, it was just amazing chemistry, and passion the likes of which he would love to have around for longer than a human lifespan.

His friends’ continued teasing didn’t even register as irritating, though he had not seen as much of them once Ashley had agreed to his date, he’d been too focused on her. He was inclined to try and draw her out somehow, because while she’d been eager enough while she was with him, it was always Rafael reaching out to her, never the other way around. Her hesitation didn’t sit well with him.

"Raf?"

The voice brought him out of his train of thought and he returned his attention to the programmer he had a meeting with in… damn. His meeting should have started five minutes ago. "Sorry, Adam. I totally lost track of the time." The man was hovering in Raf’s office doorway, essentially just poking his head in as though the CEO might bite. Rafael recognized the uncertainty and debated the best way to ease the man’s obvious fears. "Would you like to come in, or shall we go down to the conference room I should’ve met you in five minutes ago?" A self-deprecating smile earned him a weak chuckle. It was a start.

"I suppose I’m here now, sir."

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