Snowflake Unbound, page 5
She stroked his cheek. “I think our time came and went.”
His hands flexed on her arms, and he slowly let her go. “I would like to try.”
She quirked her lips. “Why? You have a son; he’s right over there. I am sure you can make another breeding partner if you try. You are surrounded by eligible young ladies all the time. I am sure you can find someone else. Someone more suited. Someone without my past.”
“You are suited. We are suited. I caused your past. I own that. I am going to want to punch Rickart in the face when I see him, and I want to scorch the elite into ash, but I don’t want to leave you alone while I go to prison.”
She chuckled. “That is an option I hadn’t considered. The elite are rather sturdy, and the trio I hang out with are cheerful and friendly.”
She glanced at him. “Erik, you might want to walk out of earshot for the rest of this.”
He grinned. She was back. Her storm had passed. It would be back, but hopefully, it wouldn’t be as strong.
Chapter Five
Luna felt like the weight was gone again. She breathed easily, and her mood lifted. She felt positively giddy.
The doorbell rang, and Erik went to get it. She checked the phone, and it was too early for delivery.
Erik was frowning when he came back. “Mom, there are some people at the door for you.”
She blinked and walked over to the door, where she saw three familiar forms. “Oh.”
They smiled at her, and Loki looked her over. “So, this is what you look like when you are not seducing hardworking elite?”
She nodded. “More or less.”
He reached out and ran his thumb over the snowflake made of diamonds and the earrings that cost more than her car. “You are wearing our gifts.”
She blushed. “Yeah, I had them with me, and I needed a boost after a rough night. So, I put them to use today. I can give them back.”
Loki pulled her forward and kissed her. He exhaled, and she pulled the energy in. Instead of it roiling in her, her body tucked it away. That was surprising. She should have been full, but the kiss was getting wild. There was a snarl, and Loki was torn from her, and she whimpered at the loss.
Loki was lying on the grass, and Jack was standing there with his chest heaving and white fire radiating from his body. His wings were flaring as his third form prepared to go to war.
Fenris walked up to him. “Calm down, dragon. She’s our lover, and we have just come to visit. We can share. We are very good at sharing.”
She felt Tim’s arms come around her, and he ran his hand down her back.
He looked at her, and he smiled in surprise. “You smell like cookies.”
He was struck with a bolt of fire, and she looked at him, but Tim was sitting up, and the light of battle was in his eyes.
“Jack. Stop.” She walked to Jack and put herself between him and the elite. “Just stop.”
She walked up to him and gripped his head, pulling him down for a kiss. Fire started to tumble into her, and she felt his arms come around her. He lifted her high, and she pressed against him, feeling a trickle of heated moisture slowly making its way down her thigh. The elite growled. They were scent-sensitive.
Jack’s eyes got wide, and he smiled. “You want me.”
She opened her mouth but stifled a squeak as he spread his wings and flew upward, with her still in his arms.
The elite didn’t fire at him, which was a relief and probably because she would end up as roadkill.
She whispered to Jack, “You need to land somewhere to put me down.”
He didn’t look at her as he said, “No. You are coming with me.” He looked at her with his ice-pale eyes. “You want me.”
She looked at him and growled. “Not if you keep flying me over the city. Someone is going to notice.”
She caught his scent and breathed deeply of oranges and cream. “Why do you smell like an orangesicle? I didn’t remember that from the first time.”
“You smell like vanilla shortbread.”
She blinked. “Tim said I smelled like a cookie.”
“Why did they come for you?”
“Um, because I am still in town and they wanted to get laid? That is the usual reason. They have my phone tracked, and I am pretty sure that if there is magic, they are tracking me with it.”
He growled. “That is going to stop.”
She sighed. “They are nice guys and haven’t made any strange moves on me aside from the foursome we formed. They were a more reliable point of energy than Rickart. He travels a lot.”
They approached a rooftop, and she recognized it from a photo in Alexi’s office. “You are staying at Niko’s apartment?”
“He lets me use it now that he is a family man. I never thought I would see the day he held a child in his arms before I did.”
She opened her mouth, but he said, “Yes, I heard it as soon as it came out of my mouth.”
Luna said, “The elite may have felt the change in my body. I know they are fixated on trying to breed another little white-haired pointy-eared elite. I keep telling them that the pigment loss came with the block and I used to be a brunette, but they aren’t budging. If my body comes back online and I am suddenly open for business again, they may become more persistent.”
He landed on a balcony and opened the sliding door with his elbow. He carried her in and set her on her feet next to the bed, pulling her dress up and over her head. She jumped in surprise. “An hour ago, I was furious with you.”
“And I deserve your fury, but for now, I would like your heat.” He kissed her, his tongue tangling with hers as he removed her underwear, discarding her panties and sending them sliding to the floor.
She kissed him, holding tight to him as she was naked. “Sorry, my sandals are a bitch to get off.”
“Keep them on. Your feet are not my current interest.” He slid a hand between her thighs, and his fingers glided up until they were skating around in her slick welcome.
He thrust two fingers into her, and her legs wobbled. She clung to him as he used just enough contact to make sure he could get inside, and then, he tossed her to the bed and came down on top of her.
He began a slow seduction, which was maddening. She twisted and whimpered.
“Ask for it. I am not going to take you again without your permission. If you want me, ask, and I am yours.”
His tongue was fire and ice and pleasure. He licked at her neck, collarbone, the top of her breasts, leaned up to flick the forked tongue against her earlobe.
While his fingers stroked into her and circled her clit, his chest rubbed against the soft skin of her belly, and she arched and rolled under him, speechless. She hadn’t felt anything in such a very long time. With the other lovers, it was pressure on her skin, and she went through the motions. It was the energy she took that lit her up from the inside. Pleasure had come from the inside out, and this was from the outside in. It was different.
She clenched on his fingers when she was caught by her orgasm and whirled as her body throbbed in response. His stroking hand slowed, and he kissed her lips. She gasped, and a trickle of fire left his lips and snaked into her. She moaned, and her legs shifted, trapping his hand. He continued to stroke her softly, but it wasn’t enough.
He pulled his hand from her, his eyes blazing. He licked at the shining substance on his fingers, and he chuckled. “Looks like slick, tastes like Luna. My dragon wants to lie between your thighs with his tongue in you and just stay there.”
She shivered. Her voice was throaty as she said, “If I asked you to be inside me right now, how long would it take?”
He smiled. “The shirt is stuck on the wings, but the slacks could be open in seconds.”
“Can you get rid of the wings?” She started to undo his buttons, and he quivered.
“No, this lets us balance control. Ostensibly it is a mentor form for teaching our young to fly and shift. So both of us can help.”
She nodded. “How freaked out were you when it showed up?” Her fingers moved from button to button.
He smiled. “I didn’t use it until the other night. I reached for it when I realized Erik was my son as a final confirmation.”
She unbuttoned his slacks and slowly opened the zipper. She reached into the opening and eased his underwear out of her way. He was very still as she ran her hand up and down his length. “In case you wondered, this is me asking. I have always been a show-don’t-tell kind of gal.”
His head was back, his neck flexed, and he was shaking. “I can tell. Oh, god, your hand feels so good.”
She circled the pointed head with her thumb before taking his lubrication and sliding it down the shaft. “There we go. Now we are both slick, but I am pinned down, and you are waiting.”
He shuddered, moved over her, and she guided him in. She fitted him to her, and he surged in. She screamed and arched as he slid in all the way, and then, he paused while she returned to herself.
He paused and said, “I can’t make it up to you, but I can help you make the next eighteen years amazing.”
She arched and lifted her legs to lock around him. She paused. “Is that a tail?”
He nodded. “It is necessary to balance in the air. Why?”
She paused as he thrust into her and retreated. “I have known a few dragons and have always appreciated their tails.”
“Oh, I see.” He chuckled, and his eyes glowed. The tail looped across her breasts, slithered over her belly, thrashed around where they were joined, and then eased into her rear entrance when she shrieked and came, and kept coming as he pumped into her with thudding thrusts until he groaned, kissed her, and gave her more fire. She screamed, and her senses spun. Her body throbbed, and she felt warm and happy and liquid in his arms. She hummed and pressed her forehead to his.
She inhaled his orange and cream scent and smiled. He smelled lickable. Luna was cuddled under him, squashed flat, and very happy about it. She might only remember part of his scent, but she liked this part. She slid her leg along his and hummed happily.
He stroked her cheek. “You look happy.”
Luna smiled. “I can smell you. I haven’t smelled anyone for nearly twenty years. I had forgotten that there were more senses than just touch and temperature awareness. Poor Erik had to tell me when my cooking smelled bad because my sense of taste was all that I had, and it was at quarter strength.”
“I am sorry. He’s sorry. He just wanted to keep you so another dragon couldn’t snatch you before I broke up with Lily.”
“Well, that was accomplished.” She sighed. “I am going to kick him in his scaly ass with a boot at some point.”
“He’ll take it. He’s really upset that he stopped your cycles.”
“Well, time will tell if they come back, though the elite might get in there before you.”
He frowned. “What?”
“The three elite that you saw at Niko’s place. They are my lovers. They have literally kept me alive for the last seven years. Rickart travels more, but I have gotten hungrier. The elite have filled the gap, so to speak. Of course, they have been using me to get through their ruts, so it has been a fair trade.”
He frowned. “But, we are together.”
She stroked his cheek. “We had sex. By dragon-alpha rules, there has been no courtship, no offer of a home, a nest, nothing. You have given me a dick, and Jack, I can find it if I need it. Now, I need to get back to Alita and the baby. They need me. You have had me; you don’t need me anymore.”
His knot decreased, and he slipped out on a wave of cum. His tail pulled out of her, and he looked confused.
She patted his cheek. “In terms you will understand. I am a beta, as have been all of the women you have dated since I met you. You have not been celibate for the last eighteen years, and I have not either. We are adults, I am not a starry-eyed twit anymore, and I don’t need to suck you off to improve my career. I have a few of them. I don’t even need you to start a family. Mine is already started and done.”
He frowned. “You make it sound like you can’t have any more children.”
She stroked his cheek again as she sat up. “I probably can’t more than probably. I was necrotic by the time Rickart got to me after the birth, so they had to cut out large chunks of tissue. Rickart couldn’t help me heal it, so I have a lot of scarring where a womb should be.”
He was stunned.
She looked at him and said, “Hey, we have a son. He’s fine. And I wasn’t kidding about you finding another mate. I am damaged. I don’t work anymore. It is why I am so free with the elite. They are desperate to breed me but know that they can’t. Now that I don’t need them, they will probably find someone new to play with.”
He didn’t move, so she got up and went and cleaned up.
She picked up the phone and gave the car service the address. It would be out front when she was.
“Um. It was nice catching up. Don’t forget to get a present for Nikolai’s baby.” She kissed him softly. “It isn’t great that it turned out this way, but maybe you can get Sylvie back.”
His eyes went steely. “I don’t want her back. I want you.”
“You don’t benefit. I am not a good choice for a dragon. I am not future, only past.”
He smiled. “I am willing to alter my plans for the future if you are.”
She stroked his face again and breathed him in. “I am heading back.”
“I can bring you.”
“Better that I arrive clothed in a car. Rickart set up a car service for me.”
She straightened her hair and earrings and smiled. “Oh, they tagged the jewellery. Of course. Right, it is going into storage with the others when I get back.”
He cleaned up and tidied up. His wings and tail disappeared. “Can I share your car?”
“Sure. Come on. It will be downstairs momentarily.”
“So, Rickart. How did you get connected with him?”
“He recognized the remains of fire on my body in the hospital where he was visiting a friend. That was after I had been beaten. He helped me heal, and we talked, and he explained what he liked in a relationship, and I told him I didn’t want a relationship, and he said that was great. He became my sugar daddy, and when I was close to delivering, he legally adopted Erik and me. On paper, I am his daughter, which connected into his weird little fantasies.”
He recoiled. “That is pretty twisted.”
“He just likes for me to cuddle up to him and call him Daddy. I have heard weirder in the last two decades.” They left the apartment and got into the elevator. “I have been shackled to things and people, and I did it to live. And after each time, I got to go home to my son, so I gave them what they needed so I could get what I needed.”
They got out of the elevator, and the car service driver was out and waiting next to his car. He held the door for her, and she smiled. “Thank you, Edgar. Been waiting long?”
“Not long, Miss Tesso.”
She smiled brightly. “Good. He had to put his face on.”
Edgar nodded. “Of course, miss.” He nodded, and they got in the car. She gave him the address and was on their way back to Nikolai’s home in minutes. One more check to make sure the baby was fine and she could head home.
They were down at the kitchen table and still eating when Luna walked in. Alita’s eyes lit up. “You’re back.”
“Yeah, and now that I can smell them, I am going to be steering clear of alphas.” She smiled.
Erik got up, and he hugged her. “I was worried.”
“I know, baby. But he wouldn’t hurt me on purpose. I am fine, and we had a nice chat. How’s dinner?”
He chuckled. “You know your way around a takeout restaurant. What did you and Jack decide?”
Luna looked toward Jack, who looked nervous for a massive alpha built like a god. “He can either start courtship or drop dead in a ditch. I am not straddling half-in and half-out of a relationship. Oh, and the block is off. Did the elite just poof away?”
Nikolai frowned. “They didn’t poof. They are waiting in the back yard.”
Luna sighed. She looked at Jack. “Do you want to start courtship? Knowing that Erik is probably the only one you will ever have?”
Jack didn’t hesitate. “Yes. Absolutely.”
“Come with me. We need to talk to the elite.” She looked at Erik. “Save me some garlic bread. We will be back in a moment.”
Erik grinned, and Luna stroked the baby’s cheek on her way past. She grabbed Jack’s hand and walked him out into the back yard where the elite were waiting.
They were easy to spot and conversing quietly on the lounge furniture. She stalked up to them and introduced her suitor. “Jack, this is Loki, Fenris, and Tim.”
Jack paused. “Tim?”
Tim smiled. “Tymothic. Snowflake thinks it’s cute, and I like the sparkle in her eyes when she says it.”
“Anyway, these three gentlemen have been my lovers for the last seven years for an interesting reason.”
Fenris grinned. “We are blackmailing her.”
Jack paused. “What?”
He shrugged. “One of her friends is a beta who escaped from the stronghold, and we are keeping that information and her offspring hidden from the world.”
Loki chuckled. “In return for depriving one of our brothers of his offspring, she provides us with sex when and where we request it.”
Tim smiled. “Pretty much.”
Jack blinked. “So, you haven’t always been involved?”
She snorted. “Um, no. They came sniffing after that friend of mine, and I successfully distracted them for a few days, and after that, we made the arrangement. It has worked out, but if you are vying to be my mate, that means I will be trapped between you and my obligation.”
Loki snorted. “So, if we let you go, we take Estelle and little Tobin.”
She paled and looked at Jack. “Can you freeze the stronghold?”
He grimaced. “Not if they know I am coming. Can I have a word with your collection?”
