Page 15 of Wild Fire

Warrick laughed but let the matter drop. She could hear him humming some ancient song that she’d never heard before but seemed to understand. Dani felt the tension of the last eighteen months begin to fade away. The fact that she was practically naked with a practically naked dragon-shifter drifted away as a kind of resonant peace settled over her and sleep came forward to claim her. Her last conscious thought was that she hoped her dreams would not involve sex with said practically-naked dragon.

Sometime later, she woke to the smell of bacon—the amazing thick-cut, apple-smoked bacon kind—wafting through the air. She opened her eyes to see Warrick staring at her.

“Wake up, Dani. Even if you want to go back to sleep, you need to eat something.”

She realized she was quite refreshed. “I think I slept better than I have since I started running down this cult and realized I was onto something much more. Do I have time to take a quick shower?”

“Absolutely. In fact, the time should just be about perfect.”

“Thanks.”

Dani keyed off the interior alarm, but let the exterior remain on. It wouldn’t be tripped unless someone stepped onto the deck that surrounded the yurt. Removing her bra and panties in the bath, she opened the door from the bath to the outside shower and hissed at the cold. Fortunately, the shower water was heated almost instantaneously because of its design and the wood fire that warmed it.

She stepped under the showerhead and sighed as the hot water cascaded over her body. The frigid air had done little to eradicate the growing arousal that had reared its ugly head. She thought about turning the water to cold and immediately dismissed the idea as a bad one. She had a choice—spend the rest of the day aroused with no way to soothe that particular ache or take care of the problem herself.

Closing her eyes, she ran her hand down the front of her body, imagining that it was Warrick’s. His hands had been rough and calloused—not like the manicured hands of the metrosexuals she’d long ago given up on dating. They were either repulsed by the fact that she was a cop or were far too interested.

Dani brought her hands up to cup her breasts, flicking her thumbs across her nipples, pinching and squeezing them as she arched her back, allowing her greater access. She could almost feel his stubbled beard as it brushed against her delicate skin before his sensual lips sucked one nipple between them as he continued to play with the other.

One hand slid down from her breast to her clit. It was swollen and needy, and she could feel her pussy was soft and ripe. Dani hated that she was out here in the shower alone while the object of her fantasy was inside cooking breakfast. What might it be like to have him handling her instead of having to do it herself?

That he was an alpha male wasn’t even a question. If she were his woman, would he even ask if he could fuck her, or would he just take what he thought to be his and pleasure them both? She worked her clit up and down, harder and faster as her breathing sped up and she stifled the little whimpers that threatened to become moans or, worse yet, cries of ecstasy as she bucked her hips and came on her hand, her pussy spasming as she imagined it clamping down on his hard cock before he thrust into her a final time and filled her with his cum.

Dani leaned against the shower wall, panting and allowing her body to savor the endorphins that seemed to wash over her like the hot water streaming down. She grabbed the natural sea sponge, soaping and rinsing her body. Stepping out, she felt clean and that she should be able to cope with Warrick’s presence without making a complete fool of herself.

Stepping into the bath, she screamed as he leaned against the counter, holding the towel out to her with a knowing smile.

“That would have been a lot better for both of us had we done it together. But no matter. One thing dragons learn is patience. Get dried off. Breakfast is ready.”

CHAPTER 7

WARRICK

So, his savior had been having a moment. Warrick knew he should have turned away and left her in privacy, but he couldn’t seem to do so any more than he could strip and step into that shower with her. Instead, he’d watched her with rapt attention, imagining what it would have felt like to have his hands doing the exploring. Although, he’d have used more than his hands; he’d have used his mouth on her, suckling her nipples before nipping them and moving lower to suck, lick, and nibble on her clit as well as the petals of her sex. He’d have much preferred making a meal of her.

He wondered if it was him Dani had imagined pleasuring her. If it wasn’t he’d make sure that was the last time she imagined anyone but him. God, he’d ached for her last night. At first when he’d shifted, he’d chalked up his massive hard-on to being released from his dragon form with a shapely wench close by. But as the night had gone on, his erection had shown no signs of letting up. These were the times when he longed for the ‘good ole days,’ when a member of the Phantom Fire could have his pick of nubile beauties. They had kept pleasure girls within their camp, finding them mates after a year or so of service to the warriors. The girls were treated well, and the rich dowry provided for them by the brotherhood increased their chances for a happy bonding and future.

Normally when he was attracted to a female, Warrick had no problem imagining her walking around the Phantom Fire encampment naked and being used by his brothers as they saw fit. However, the idea of anyone even looking at Dani naked, much less making use of her bountiful charms, was enough to enrage him. No, she was his, and he would do whatever was necessary to make it so.

Falkor had taken a mate—taken a mate who was now heavy with his child. He had no plans to leave the brotherhood, and Warrick had been among those leading the charge to keep Falkor as alpha of the Phantom Fire. Not only was Falkor the last remaining member of the original twelve, but he was also an exceptional leader, and his loss would have been felt keenly. What now occurred to Warrick was if an exception could be made for their leader, might not it be made for all? Wouldn’t the brotherhood be stronger if the Phantom Fire became more like other clans—banded together and raising families and new members within the brotherhood?

Wasn’t that all being just a little self-serving, though? He knew his new enlightened attitude had more to do with his current predicament than it had to do with some altruistic notion for the good of the order. Warrick didn’t mind giving up his immortality—there were times it was more of a curse and a burden than it was a boon or a blessing—but he also knew he would not give up his firstborn son. He knew what that could do to a young man; to be given no choice in his destiny and to be taught that his only value was to uphold the family’s honor by giving up everything. Warrick didn’t blame his father, not really. His mother had been his eternal flame, and Warrick’s father had held to the old code, taken his mother to mate, and then given the Phantom Fire his replacement—his firstborn son.

Any child he sired on Dani would not share his destiny. His son would make his own choices and choose his own fate. Life among the brotherhood was not easy and aside from his brethren, it was lonely. The idea that the Phantom Fire was beginning to evolve into something Warrick believed could benefit them all was the only thing worth the price he had paid to remain with his brethren.

He’d convinced himself that fate had no eternal flame in store for him. He liked women and he loved to fuck. He’d led more than one drunken revelry of warriors finding accommodating maidens with whom to spend time. There were times Falkor made Warrick feel that he alone was responsible for the ban on having pleasure wenches in camp. Perhaps he was. More than once he’d been rousted from his bed, having shared it with more than one female, to fly into battle. But he had always proven to be the bravest and most capable of the brotherhood’s warriors.

Dani, however, was different. From the moment he’d caught her scent, her beauty, the sound of her voice, the touch of her hand had thundered around in his brain. Thoughts of her had crowded out everything—the pain, the impending sense of doom, the belief that he would find a way out. Dani was not just his salvation, not just the woman who had removed the chains of his captivity, but she was his eternal flame. She burned bright in his heart, mind, body, and soul.

“Do you always sneak up on people when they’re in the shower?” she asked, walking out of the bath.

“Not generally, but I wanted to let you know breakfast was almost ready. Besides had you not been preoccupied with your own pleasure you probably would have heard me approaching.”

“Oh god! I can’t believe you said that.”

“Why? It’s true. Let’s make a pact, you and I, shall we? I propose we never speak anything but the truth between us. We may lie to others, but between us there will be only truth.”

She eyed him up and down, slowly nodding her head. “Next time, I’ll close the door between the bath and the shower room, and next time, you knock.”

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