Page 22 of Witch's Bells and Mistletoe

Turning my back to the window and the grim reminder of the mistletoe, I lightly fan the air with my leathery wings in an instinctual gesture that I know is flirtatious and might have earned a smile from my mate if she were looking my way. Part of me is fully aware that seducing my mate is probably inappropriate given the circumstances, but the rest of me is wholly on board wanting nothing more than to take comfort in her and give her pleasure and comfort in turn. A desire to grasp something good while everything else in this vacation is going to shit.

The window howls outside, causing the power to flicker once more, and I’m reminded of times past when the winters were dark and cold and long. When humans huddled in their homes around their hearths to keep warm, when the spirit of the season and merrymaking was to chase away the shadows of dread as death lingered and touched upon everything. Merrymaking was to spit in the face of every fear that the ravages of winter brought humanity, to celebrate the hopes of the year to come. Even a dragon who wandered among them could appreciate that spirit. For the first time, however, I find that I truly understand it as I’m drawn over to where my mate sits.

Reaching over, I gently pull the phone from Katherine’s hand, and she looks up at me in surprise.

“Adeon? What—”

I brush my thumb over her lips and lean in. “Shh. Allow me to be what you need—what we both need—while we wait.”

Her lip trembles faintly beneath my touch and I can smell the first stir of her arousal as her magic slowly begins to unfurl and open for me. The bloom of her magic waiting to be fertilized by dragon fire is new. It tells me that her body is ready to accept more from me—that she’s ready for my fire even if she hasn’t gotten there mentally yet. As much as I have to respect that, it is seductive, and my cocks harden eagerly in response.

Her eyes warm as my thumb slides across her mouth and then up her cheek. She is so soft that I rumble with pleasure, my eyes hooding as dragon fire curls within me, rising with the heat of my need. This is my mate, my perfect treasure. Although I’ve been hunting for my clan’s jewel, it is Katherine who is my jewel, and like the rarest and most beautiful of rubies I want to embed her essence deeply between my chest scales, holding her forever close to my heart.

“I love you, Katherine,” I whisper as I lean down and brush my lips at the corner of her mouth.

Her lips part on a gasp, and I lift my head to smile down at her. Her eyes are wide as they search my face, and I lean in once more to affectionately brush my nose along hers. I don’t need the words from her. Not yet. I’m just content to voice my feelings.

When I kiss her, it brings me back to our first night together in this room, and the taste of her lips beneath the mistletoe. She is just as sweet now, days later, and the magic flowing stronger than ever. I brush my lips back and forth across hers, caressing and tugging at her bottom lip until she sighs, and her breath mingles with mine. My tongue slides against her bottom lip and she opens for me. She is a snow flower opening for the sun, and I feel blessed as I drag her up against my chest and deepen the kiss.

As my tongue plunges into her mouth to tangle with hers, my tail slides eagerly up her thighs. Her inner thighs have an incredible concentration of heat, and I moan against her mouth when the tip of my tail slides between them. Now I am the one trembling with desire, my fire burning through me to such a degree that I’m sure she must feel my temperature increase through my scales.

I pet her everywhere I can comfortably touch along her sides, back, and bottom with my hands while my tail wriggles higher between her soft thighs as I try to calm the dragon fire burning through me. It doesn’t really help my control, but I can’t resist touching my mate. The muscles along my stomach ripple, however, when her small hands sweep over them, exploring the contours of my body as they slip lower to the band of my sleep pants. My skin jumps with pleasure when her fingertips skim along the small, sensitive scales that extend above my groin before slipping beneath the fabric.

My entire body vibrates with the low growl that quakes through me at her touch. My ears fill with the crackle of the rising dragon fire, and I’m aware that I am panting as my kisses grow hungrier and more frenzied. She wiggles her hips so that my fingers instinctively lock over them to pin her in place, but the movement makes her thighs rub enticingly along my tail, encouraging it to slip higher until it slicks against the dewy entrance of her sex. We both gasp at the contact, and my Katherine whimpers as my tail slides along her labia and curls to stroke against her clit. Her fingers wrap around my cock and give it a stroke that tingles straight down to my tail. Another moan rumbles through me, and the tip of my tail dips just enough to graze her entrance for only a moment before pressing inward.

I marvel at the tight grip of her cunt around my tail as I press in. For all my courting, this is a new experience for both of us. I feel her cunt tighten, and then suddenly she’s spasming and squeezing my tail deliciously as a fresh flood of moisture floods over my tail. Its musky sweet smell crawls through me, and I can taste the crackle of flames on the back of my teeth. I keep my mouth clamped tightly as I shudder with the sensation, though it is difficult when she trembles and cries out with her release as she rocks on my tail, spearing herself repeatedly.

I close my eyes and whisper a prayer as the dragon fire curls through me in a hot plume, and taken completely by surprise when I feel her push firmly against my chest with one hand until I sink down onto the couch she vacated. I stare up at her through a red haze as she leans over me, and I twist my tail lightly within her cunt since she hasn’t yet pulled it out. Her eyes close for a moment, and my attention is drawn to the sway of her full breasts as she rocks on my tail. I hiss as the sensitive scales along my tail’s underside become increasingly stimulated with every clasp of her cunt and every stroke within that silken sheath.

Katherine’s eyes are hooded with pleasure, but she’s not looking at me—or rather not at my face. I follow the direction of her gaze to my cocks, and my hips jerk when she grasps the other in her other hand and her fingers tighten around them. She gives my cocks a firm pump, and I nearly explode right then. She’s touched my cocks before since our first night. Not like this, however. Usually it’s nothing more than the few fleeting caresses I’ve allowed before taking myself in hand to spill over her plush belly and breasts. Her grip is firm, and I can’t seem to focus enough to push her hand away to bring myself a quick, brutal culmination before the dragon fire consumes me.

In truth, removing her hands and stopping their firm strokes along the length of my pricks feels near impossible at this moment. With my tail inside of her, the smattering of tiny scute-like scales running down the top of my knobby cock feel even more sensitive, as does the pulse running along the ridge head. I gasp and shiver where I lie on the couch as she conquers, unable to do more than wriggle my tail within her and lift my hips with her every tug on my cock. Her breasts sway faster as she picks up the pace, panting until we are nearly both swaying against each other. I gnash my teeth as I feel my climax rolling higher through me, and I feel the breath of the dragon fire stir along my tongue. There is a spark of heat along the back of my fangs as my tongue curls in my mouth. I try to bite back against it, and I’m certain that my teeth are about to crack with the pressure of it.

The stroke of her slick little tongue undoes me. She begins to lick my left cock and continues to pump the other one. She explores every knob and scale, trailing her tongue along the head and exploring dual slits before sucking it into her hot mouth.

Her lips around my cock pulling me deeper snaps what’s left of my control. My back arches and I bellow toward the ceiling, dragon fire spewing from my mouth in a rush of flaming magic as my hips pump against my mate’s mouth. She strokes faster and sucks harder as my seed boils up and releases into her mouth and the other over her chest. She takes it a lot as my orgasm rolls over with such intensity that I come close to blacking out as she releases my cock, allowing the rest of my seed to pump over her as she reaches her own pinnacle and comes all over my tail. We writhe together as our ecstasy sweeps over us until the room plummets into darkness with an audible crack.

Katherine sinks against me, her belly against mine with my hot seed coating both of us as she gasps for breath with me. I crane my head slowly, my eyes sharpening as the orgasm recedes, bringing the room into sharp detail despite the darkness. I cock my head curiously and then look down at my mate’s sweaty face.

“Was that us, or…?”

“It was the ‘or,’ I’m afraid,” she sighs as she pillows her head against my chest.

That’s what I was afraid of.

Chapter 17

KATHERINE

Wiping off with a damp cloth doesn’t do much good against the strong scent of sex clinging to us when we leave our room a short time later, but I try not to dwell on the fact. It certainly doesn’t bother Adeon, but I suspect he likes the fact that we smell like each other.

Truth be told, I rather like it as well, as much as I love the way he is always so close to me. As much as it frustrated me before because it made it harder to ignore what was growing between us, now I savor it. He overcame my reluctance to become my companion, my friend, and now he’s my lover and beloved, and the rock upon which I can lean that I never had before. Even now, his presence is a source of comfort as we make our way down the hall. If only I had recognized it sooner. We could be spending a cozy holiday at home right now instead of walking through a dark hallway of a fairy-cursed hotel, barely able to see.

Well, I’m barely able to see. I suspect his vision is nearly as good in the dark from the way he holds securely on my arm and guides me. I doubt it’s the pitiful flashlight on my cellphone doing the job. It’s weak, but it’s enough that we aren’t in complete darkness as we make our way down the hall.

We are soon joined by other guests as an uncertain murmur moves among them and they cast questioning glances around, no doubt looking for an employee to question. I keep silent as we all make our way collectively to the staircase and down the main floor. There is a soft glow cast below that gives it all an eerie feeling as if we are descending into some unknown world.

Someone must have lit the large hearth.

---