Page 9 of Desired By the Dragon

Then, to make matters worse after my slip of control, she’d rejected me — scrambling out of that cubicle so fast anyone would have thought it was on fire.

Admittedly, it had been a close call.

I fisted my cock through my cotton pajama pants before slowly sliding them down. The head of me was thick, swollen, already leaking at the tip and I bit my lip as I began a rough stroke up and down.

I tried not to think of her, but my body had other ideas, producing the phantom taste of her pussy on my tongue and the feel of her fluttering around my fingers as I squeezed my cock. The orgasm seared through me, faster than I expected, and I scowled down at the mess on my stomach.

Maybe I would have stayed in bed all day, locked away from further temptation, but I couldn’t miss the clan gathering today. It was a celebration to mark the beginning of the mating season, and also a way for eager mothers to dangle their eligible children in front of other dragons hoping to make a connection.

I kicked off my pajama bottoms and stepped into the shower, enjoying the warmth for a moment until thoughts of the redhead from last night snuck into my head again and I turned the water to a blistering cold.

It didn’t help.

It was possible she would be there today. Though, that didn’t mean she’d be happy to see me, I hadn’t got so much as her name last night.

Why couldn’t I get her out of my head? The heat, it had to be causing this. I kept replaying every second of our encounter over and over again, including the way she’d shut me down.

“If you need a friend for the heat…”

“I don’t.”

I winced, the cold water turning to steam as my body heated up despite my gritted teeth. My control was tenuous, but I refused to let this be like the year before last.

Some people enjoyed letting go during the heat, they saw it as all part of it, but I prided myself on my self-control and the heat just proved to be a hindrance, a distraction from my work that I didn’t need. I was fine on my own. I would mate when the time was right, and if it was never right then so be it.

My mind drifted, remembering the family dinner I’d missed, and I frowned. That had been a one off. Everyone was forgetful sometimes.

Sighing, I stepped out of the shower and ruffled the towel over my hair. At least my hangover wasn’t too bad. It could have been worse, anyway. That was the only other way to repress the urges of the heat somewhat — to be horrifically, catastrophically drunk. So instead of following my mysterious dragon, I’d gone back to the bar and indulged in enough moonshine to kill a small kraken.

My eyes were a little bloodshot, my pale skin pasty, but I hadn’t yakked — plus if I looked a bit worse for wear, it could help keep prospective dragons at arm’s length.

I was expected to mate at some point, given I was the last descendant of my line. It was just my mother and I left after Dad went into the long sleep. Most dragons didn’t wake up from it, except in rare circumstances or times of great strife — or so the legends said. In the modern day, there was so much we didn’t know about our own history, too much of it lost to time or miscommunicated. Plus, dragons were a dying breed. It was why mating season was so thoroughly celebrated and every new hatchling was treated like family, cared for by all.

Mom had recently taken on a ward, Perry, and it was nice having some approximation of a little brother. I’d always wanted a sibling, but dragon birth rates were declining as fated matches became less common.

It wasn’t all doom and gloom though, the community still thrived and interspecies relations were better than ever.

I was pulled from my thoughts by my phone vibrating before I could muse more on dragon history. Almost as if she’d sensed my desire to blow the whole thing off and lock myself up in my office, my mom had texted.

Mom: We’re downstairs.

Of course, they were. As if she’d leave my attendance to chance.

Smiling ruefully, I slipped on my ankle-length black coat on top of my jeans and light sweater. Along with mating season, Fall had arrived in full force and the chill in the air would earn me a second glance from the tourists if I didn’t have on a coat. Dragons didn’t much feel the cold, but obviously humans wouldn’t know that and I preferred to avoid scrutiny where possible. The town wards hadn’t failed us yet, but there was always a first time for everything and I didn’t want to get bitten in the ass if I could help it.

I locked the door behind me, not that anyone would dare steal from a dragon, and headed out to meet my mom and Perry.

They were waiting for me just outside of the faculty building, Perry looking sullen as he leaned against the aged brick wall and my mom plucked fallen leaves out of his brown hair.

“Hey,” I called and smiled when she looked up. I ruffled Perry’s curls, ignoring my mom’s fussing as she smoothed the strands back down again, and kissed Mom on the cheek. “Sorry, I hope you weren’t waiting long.”

“Nonsense, we just got here.”

Perry looked up at her, bottom lip protruding as he frowned. “No we didn’t, it’s been ages. And she won’t let me roll in the leaves.”

Smothering a laugh, I plucked a twig from his smart collar and straightened his polka dot bow tie. “Seems like you managed anyway, kid.”

He huffed but couldn’t resist a little smirk. Flame save us from ten-year-old shifters with too much energy and a lot of attitude.