His head in his hands, Tanner shook, frighteningly bewildered about what had just occurred. One minute he'd been washing and caring for Matthias, and the next he'd been masturbating as he pleasured the prince. As if that weren't bad enough, he'd had an orgasm so hard and powerful that he'd sucked the cum off a man's dick. And he'd
liked
it. Christ, what the hell was happening to him?
Not a homophobe, by any means, Tanner had never been sexually attracted to men. He loved women, and still did. Hell, he'd even fucked two women at once, and in one harrowing evening of maddening lust, hit his peak with three. But a man?
He wasn't sure how to feel. Many of his kind liked sex with both genders, and even the human populace had its share of homosexual and bisexual men. But Tanner didn't understand this sudden craving for Matthias. Even now he wanted to taste the prince again, to feel Matthias squeeze around his cock as Tanner sank deeper into Matthias's virgin hole... Tanner froze.
Where had that thought come from?
Matthias, maybe? Tanner returned to the bedroom only to see the prince still out like a light. Tanner hurriedly shut the door, as much to ensure he didn't wake the prince as to hide that sensual body from his sight.
He sat at the table and pondered his future, the minutes ticking into hours.
A mate and children, the chance for a better life than Tanner had been given might well float away as if it had never been. If Tanner suddenly had a thing for men, he'd never find himself the family he craved, would he? And if Lucas found out what he'd done, hell, if Matthias knew he'd been handled and masturbated while asleep and vulnerable, the royals would cut off Tanner's balls and feed them to the hounds for breakfast.
Shit.
What a fucking, confusing mess. Tanner stood to pace the room, wanting nothing more than to rewind his acceptance of this assignment. Hell, he'd even undo his decision to join the Dracon clan in Asheville. He'd lived most of his life unloved and alone. Why had he thought joining the clan in Dracon Mount would be any different? His mother was right. He was a royal fuck-up. A half-breed son of a whore and a dickless wonder of a Dracon who shouldn't even exist. How many half-breeds Dracon were there in the world anyway? Two dozen, if that?
Scenes from Tanner's past resurfaced, ugly insecurities that he'd done his best to bury throughout the years. Clutching his head, he didn't hear the noise until it bumped on the porch steps. Whirling behind the front door so fast it made his head spin, Tanner watched as the doorknob slowly turned. All thoughts save protecting Matthias disappeared, and he waited in anticipation as purpose cut like a sharp knife through his mind.
Ava Tailstack grumbled under her breath as she fiddled with the doorknob. Where the hell had she put that list? She'd spent an hour poring over the debate on the sorry life she now led. Love totally sucked.
Still at odds with her family over her decision to leave Dracon Mount, she'd come to the conclusion that the Tailstacks of the world had no place among the Dracon. Several months ago her cousin Emmaline had tried to poison the new Draka, the Dracon queen. If Emmaline's story was to be believed, she'd been aided in her quest to become the new queen by her own father, Ava's beloved uncle. The honorable and venerated Shino Tailstack, protector of the royal family, a traitor? If that weren't bad enough, Ava was still helplessly in love with Matthias Dekker, as she had been from the first moment she'd laid eyes on him.
For seven long years she'd loved him from afar, thinking that maybe, some day, he'd notice her as more than Shino's visiting niece. Time went on, and still Matthias ignored her. She'd finally decided to take matters into her own hands, to see how he felt, as audacious as she knew her course to be. And then her cousin had betrayed the royal family. Her uncle had taken part in the ruse, though no one seemed to hold him accountable for it. And Matthias, damn his sorry Dracon hide, had fallen for the Draka's human sister.
Bad enough Ava had been linked with the Tailstack's lack of honor, but to lose out to a woman Matthias had only just met? The damned sister of the Draka, a kind, pleasant woman totally beyond reproach. Ava's eyes burned as she fiddled with the stuck doorknob of the small cabin she now considered her home. She'd done her best to steer clear of her uncle for the past few months. Apparently, he felt the need for family now that his daughter was long gone, and since Ava's father, his brother, had passed as well.
Anger made her vision brighten. For all that she'd already suffered, she wanted no more to do with royals and intrigue and...Dracon. She planned to live out the rest of her life on this isolated mountain, no matter how lonely she might feel. She could hunt for food as Dracon easily enough, and the stipend her father had left her upon his death would make sure she never wanted for anything else.
Finally opening the door, she stomped into the house and slammed the door behind her. She wasn't aware of the presence behind her until it was too late. Ava screamed as a battering ram knocked her to the floor, smothering her as a heavy weight settled over her chest and legs, effectively pinning her beneath him.
She struggled but couldn't break free, and a large palm over her mouth stopped short her screams.
"A female?" The man leaned close and sniffed, and her eyes widened as she sensed another Dracon this far from any clan holding. "Easy now. I'm going to let you up. One wrong move and you'll find yourself flat on your back beneath me."
And loving it
, the growing humor in his eyes seemed to add.
When she looked up and saw his face, she had to agree with her internal assessment. The man sitting up over her was huge, a giant with pale hair and dark black eyes shimmering with Dracon. The hard planes of his face hinted at a ruthless bearing, yet the gentleness in his grip as he helped her to her feet showed compassion.
She couldn't speak as she stared. For the first time since seeing Matthias, she felt a spark of attraction for a member of the opposite sex. And the spark was slowly fanning to flame as the stranger stared back at her, his attention keen.
"Sorry, but I have need of your home for a while."
She nodded, too fascinated with the odd feelings he stirred to protest his breaking and entering. She stared at his hard mouth, at the broad expanse of his chest and the size of his hands. Good lord, they were
huge.
Licking her lips, she sat with him when he gestured her to the kitchen table. "Who are you?"
He sighed and sat, his large frame making her chairs look small. Most Dracon were big, but she'd been born on the small side at just five foot five. This male, however, also struck her as dangerous. Though most of her kind were, of course, this one's bearing spoke of structured discipline. Military, law enforcement, maybe? The last time she'd even spoken to a Dracon had been months ago in Chicago. She hadn't thought there were any other of her kind so far north. Apparently, she'd been wrong.
"My name is Tanner Flay. And you are?"
"Ava Tailstack." She had no reason to lie. If her uncle had sent him, he had no doubt given the man a picture or description to go by. And if not, well, the intruder was Dracon. If he'd wanted to hurt her, he would have done it by now. So she let her last name dangle, waiting for his response. For as much as she hated to admit it, she missed her people something fierce, and at this point, any conversation with Tanner was welcome.
His gaze intensified as he studied her, but he made no overt moves as he sat there. "You're much prettier than your cousin."
Ava flushed. She'd always been told that. Another reason why Emmaline hated her. Then again, Emmaline hated everyone. Thoughts of her cousin ruined her pleasure at his compliment. She waited for the familiar look of sympathy, or worse, disgust, to cross his face.
When neither did, she gave him a tentative smile. He returned it wholeheartedly and ran a finger over her cheek.
"Your skin is the smoothest cream, your hair so gold it makes the sun pale by comparison." He stared at the rest of her, his eyes lingering over her breasts that peaked under his regard. But instead of continuing with flattery, he sighed again and dropped his gaze. "Where's your mate?"
She snorted. "What mate? I'm Ava
Tailstack.
"
He frowned. "So?"
"So I'm 'soiled goods.' My cousin is a witch and would-be murderess, my uncle a traitor." She sighed. "You're much better off not knowing me."
His frown grew darker and she hated what was to come.
"Shino Tailstack is no traitor." She wanted to groan. "Why should I not want to know you? Did you have something to do with the assassination attempt on Lea Dekker?"
"Hell no." She blinked in stunned surprise, not anticipating that he would actually ask before condemning her. "I would never harm the royals. Lea Dekker made possible our ability to have young. And she's so beautiful, so clever. The first human to turn Dracon in centuries, and she's already carrying firebreathers in her belly. The king's true mate. And she--" Ava stopped as she realized she sounded like a blathering idiot.
"Part of her fan club, eh?" Tanner suddenly smiled and leaned back in the chair.
"I respect her." She felt her face flaming again. "Now, Tanner Flay, as much as I enjoy seeing a Dracon again, would you mind explaining what you're doing here in my home?"
Tanner's gaze rested on her mouth and his grin widened. "You really are lovely."
She frowned. He seemed a little too delighted by that fact. "Um, thanks. Now about why you're here?"
"And no mate, hmm?"
The look he gave her made her jittery. Raw lust settled over his face, and his hands tensed on top of the table. Her libido roared to life, startling her.
"Tanner?"
"I had a problem I had to take care of earlier." His voice sounded distracted as he focused on her nipples poking through the thin cotton overshirt she wore. "I had no choice but to settle here. My...friend is resting up in your bed. He'll be fine by tomorrow, I'm sure."
She started. "There's someone else here?" She hadn't sensed anyone else, then again, she hadn't felt Tanner in the house either. Dracon had enhanced senses, but as much as she wished it, those senses weren't much good in human form, at least, not for her. And though some Dracon were rumored to have psychic talents, she was far from telepathic. A shared image here and there, like when the king had taken a mate and joy had spread throughout the Dracon world. But other than that, Ava had to work hard to interact with others of her own kind. She was no hunter, no protector, and certainly no lover gifted with extraordinary skills. Bottom line, unless in Dracon form, she was as helpless as any other human.
"Yes, my friend's resting in your bedroom. But don't worry. He's recovering well and we'll be gone by tomorrow. I promise."
"He's hurt?" She stood, her nature to care for and heal a part of her make up. "I have a first aid kit in the bathroom. And I'm a trained EMT. I can help."
He rose and stopped her before she could move past him toward the closed bedroom door. His hands settled over her shoulders. "Don't worry, Ava. I've already used your kit. He's healing as we speak. Just needs a bit of rest to recuperate." His voice thickened as he looked into her eyes, and the sparkle of emotion made her loins quicken with want. "I'm sorry to say, he's taken your bed. Perhaps you'd rather rest...on me?"
Tanner felt like a starving man as he stared down at the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen. The minute he'd scented her he'd gotten hard, and thank God for that. He was still attracted to women, could still feel the driving need to fuck, and more, to mate. Something in him eased. That aberration with Matthias must have been a delayed reaction to the stress of almost losing a royal. Sexual needs mixed with worry.
Sure, whatever.
So long as his body still had a need to procreate, Tanner could handle anything.
The fact that Ava was physically pleasing and that she reminded him of himself made wanting her a no-brainer. The hurt swimming in her dark eyes when she'd blurted out her last name made him want to soothe her pain. And the pleasure she'd tried to hide when looking him over had him harder than steel.
He could smell her desire, like a heady perfume he wanted to wear...everywhere. She blinked up at him, her eyes wide and her lips parted in surprise. Without waiting to hear her answer, Tanner kissed her.
Groaning, he drank down her breath like a thirsting man. She was sweet, and so fucking hot he wanted to explode. His lust built as if he hadn't just come with Matthias, and unable to push thoughts of the prince out of his mind, he found to his surprise that remembrances of his orgasm with Matthias only enhanced his pleasure.
For her part, Ava had gone from stiff to slack to tense again, but this time in the throes of carnal need. Tanner could taste her arousal, and he growled low in his throat as he settled them both on the bear rug in front of her fireplace.
"Sweet, I need you," he admitted as he kissed his way over her cheeks to the column of her thin, pale throat. "I want to fuck you, right now."
"Tanner, I--"
He sucked on the spot just below her ear, whispering all the tantalizing, seductive ways he planned to pleasure her. "...and when my cum shoots into you, I'll swallow your screams before I flip you over and fuck you all over again. Hard and fast, 'til you're begging me to end it."
Her body arched in supplication as he palmed her breasts. He could feel how much she wanted to regain control, but she offered herself so beautifully. "Yes," she whispered, her eyes shut.
Damn, she was perfect. Tanner couldn't quell his urgency. He ripped her shirt off, then shifted his hand into sharp talons to slice through her bra. The minute the silk fell from her body to the floor he latched his mouth to her nipple.
She cried out and grasped his head, her fingers winding through his hair with soft strokes. Her petting only made him harder, and he ground against her thigh as he nipped and blew on her nipple. Switching his attention to her other breast, he laved and sucked, while skimming his free hand down her soft belly.