Chapter 8

8

R acing to Abbie’s house at the far corner of the Res with his Mate in his arms, all he could think about was being alone with the love of his life. They'd talked about the house his Aunt and Uncle wanted to build for the couple at the Ranch and decided hers was fine for a while–at least until they started a family.

Through the back sliding glass door, down the hall, and he was finally alone with Abbie. There hadn’t been a time since he first laid eyes on her in the middle of that grotesque bubble of Black Sorcery that he hadn’t wanted to have her all to himself.

Letting her body slide down his, he held her tight, loving the feel of their bodies together. Running his fingers through her silken curls, he loosened her braid until the long, red tresses fell across his hands. The seductive smile curving her tempting lips was everything and only encouraged him to rub and knead down her neck and onto her shoulders.

Pushing the lace off her shoulder, he kissed across her shoulder to her neck. Paying special attention to the spot he knew would soon wear his Mating mark, he waited until his Mate was breathless before he whispered, “Tha mo chridhe taobh a-staigh thu a-nis agus gu bràth,” into her mind.

Allowing the canines of his Dragon king to extend and pierce her delicate skin, he held Abbie up when her knees threatened to buckle. Inhaling deeply, he reveled when, at the same moment, the identical spot on his neck stung. Saying the words that had been written on his heart from the moment of his birth, Cass felt the missing piece of his soul click into place. “Bho a-nis gu deireadh an ama bheir mi gràdh dhut le mo chridhe uile.”

It felt as if his heart had grown wings when Abbie repeated the words in English, her voice breathy and heavy with adoration. “From now until the end of time, I will love you with all my heart, Cass.”

Pulling his teeth from her skin, Cass reached around her back as he continued to kiss and taste her neck and shoulders. Needing to feel her body pressed to his, he made quick work of the fifty or so tiny pearl button-snappy things lining her spine.

Capturing her lips as he pushed the soft fabric off her shoulders and down her arms, he smiled into their kiss as her gown floated to the ground. Sliding his hands up her ribs, tracing the band of her bra, his nimble fingers unclasped the hooks, swiftly removing the troublesome garment and throwing it behind him.

Breaking their kiss, loving that Abbie moaned at the loss before opening her lust-soaked eyes and giving him a lazy smile, he chuckled when she asked, “Am I marked as yours, Dragon Man?”

“Yes, ma’am.” He looked at the magnificent glowing glyph, the three overlapping arcs–the Triqueta with the wings of his Dragon King on either side decorating the lovely column of her neck. “You are mine now and forever, Mo chridhe .”

“Good,” she sighed. “I do love it when we get it right. It makes everything so much better."

Abbie’s mind was only one of the million things he already loved about her. She was not only intelligent, but quick-witted with an amazing heart and body with all the curves in just the right place. She was strong and loving and just everything he’d ever wanted in a Mate, a true partner, and so very much more.

Lifting her into his arms, he kissed his Mate until she was breathless, loving the feel of her body in his arms. Reaching for the last scrap of material covering her body, her silky white panties, Cass rubbed the soft fabric, massaging her heated flesh as Blár growled with satisfaction, pushing him to finish claiming their Mate.

But he would wait–no matter how much his body, mind, heart, and soul demanded that he finish what he started. Their first time together needed to be as special as it could be– in every way possible.

“Even if it kills us?” Blár snarled.

“Even if it kills us, Old Man. At least we’ll die happy.”

Sassy as ever, just the way he loved her, Abbie put her hand on her hip and, with the other hand, extended her index finger, outlined his frame in the air between them, and teased, “Now, it’s your turn, Mr. MacAllen.”

Standing completely still as she sighed and made a show of rolling her eyes and tsking, he breathed a sigh of relief when she closed the distance between them. He didn’t dare move when his amazing Mate slipped her hands underneath the soft cotton of the black turtleneck he wore under his surcoat. Lifting both garments over his head and dropping them to the floor, she ran her hands over his shoulders and across his chest.

Currents of pure white-hot electricity raced through his veins. It filled every fiber of his being and set both man and Dragon alight with the need to be one with their Mate. Slowly shaking her head, Abbie whispered, “Slow down, Dragon man.” Then she ran the tips of her fingers along each ridge of his six-pack before laying her hand on the waistband of his pants.

Unbuttoning the brass button, she demurely looked up at him through her thick, dark lashes before winking. “Do you know how very much I love you, and want you, Caspian Thomas MacAllen?”

As if her words had somehow released her succulent scent into the room, Cass inhaled deeply, wishing he could roll in the aroma of the desert, the flowers, McKitterick Creek–of home. Not only was it intoxicating, but it was the perfect complement to his Mate, the woman he loved with everything in him. Shivering at the sensation as the backs of her fingers moved closer to his erection as she pushed his zipper down, Cass held his breath in an effort to not pick Abbie up and ravish her right where they stood.

There was no hiding anything from one another. She wore his mark, and he hers. He'd heard her thoughts and knew that she wanted to take the lead, so no matter how hard it was for him, he would give her what she wanted – always and forever.

Sliding his pants over his hips, her hand bumped his throbbing erection, thrusting Cass over the edge of reason straight into the fiery passion of their combined desire. Unable to hold back, all the resolutions he'd just made fading in the fire of his need, he slid his hands under her arms and held her to his chest .

Using the speed given to him by the Universe, Cass spun around and, within a single heartbeat, had Abbie on her back in the middle of her bed– their bed . One more quick move and her legs were over his shoulders, and her center was right in front of his face. Smiling as he rubbed his nose against the wet silk of her panties, he inhaled his Mate’s intoxicating scent. Sure he would lose his mind if he didn’t make love to her right then and right now.

Slipping his fingers under the silk at her hip, he tore the offending material from her body and threw it over his head, growling as the scent of warm, sexy Abigail filled his senses even stronger than just moments before. No longer able to stand the torture of not being joined with her in every way possible, the tip of his tongue slowly licked up the glistening seam of her pussy.

Groaning low in his throat, his Dragon roaring in his head as Abbie’s taste burst upon his tongue, Cass knew he'd found Heaven. Placing his hands under the wonderfully round globes of her behind, he lifted her pussy closer to his face, feasting for the first time. It was as if he’d been in the Desert, hungering and searching for her– only her –for his entire life. Driving his tongue into her excited body as far as he could go, licking every inch of his Mate, he curled the end of his tongue to tease the sensitive bundle of nerves at the top of her channel.

Abbie’s hands dove into his hair, fisting the strands and pulling with such force Cass was sure he’d be bald as she moaned his name over and over. Smiling against her silken skin, loving the way she reacted to his touch, he used the flat of his tongue to lick her outer lips from bottom to top, teasing her aroused clit on every pass.

Tightening her legs around his head, her heels digging into his back, Abbie’s screams of surrender rattled the windows as he sucked her swollen nub between his lips. Flicking it up and down with his tongue, teasing and taunting, his heart filled to nearly bursting as Abbie shouted her release to the Heavens above.

Lapping at her essence as it flowed from her body, Cass nuzzled and nipped her puffy lips until she released his hair, and her breathing slowed to nearly normal. Slowly sliding her legs from his shoulders, massaging the tired muscles of her thighs, he looked up at Abbie, his body shaking with the love he felt for this very special woman. There had never been a more glorious sight than his very own True and Natural N?nn?’h? Warrior, the one the Universe had made for him, completely satisfied, looking like a Queen laid out before him.

Kissing her hip, then her belly button, where he paid extra attention with the tip of his tongue until Abbie giggled under her breath. Then, he nipped his way up her stomach, kissing the sweet spot between her breasts, loving the feel of her heart beating in sync with his. Palming both her breasts, he gently kneaded, the already raised peaks growing harder against his palms. Kissing up her neck, he smiled against her heated skin as she let her head fall to the side, allowing him all the access he wanted.

True to all he knew of her, his sassy, fiery Mate grabbed his head, pulled his lips to hers and kissed him with the same wild abandon she did everything. Opening immediately, Cass made it clear with his actions that she owned him completely…body, heart, and soul. Just as passionate in bed as she was about everything else, her love fueled him, nourished his soul and made his heart sing–Abbie was absolute perfection.

With her hands in his hair and her tongue sliding in and out of his mouth, dancing alongside his, Cass held back his climax by the thinnest of unraveling threads. Losing the battle, he shifted his hips and thrust his cock into the haven of his Abbie. Pushing until he could go no farther, Abbie pulled her lips from his and screamed, “Cass! Yes! Oh, my Goddess, yes! I love you!”

Wanting to go slow the first time in his Mate's body, he was unable to keep control as the feel of her muscles contracted around him. Massaging, tempting, teasing, she made it absolutely impossible for him to hold still. Pulling out until only the tip of his rock-hard cock rested within her body, his control shattering with every heartbeat, Cass growled through gritted teeth, “ Look at me, Mo ghràdh . See the man who loves you more than life itself. You are my everything, Abigail Annabella MacAllen–absolutely the best part of who I am.”

Her eyes snapped to his, and the love he saw overflowing from Abbie’s heart and soul was nothing short of humbling. Thrusting into her and then pulling right back out, he started a rhythm that she met stroke for stroke with an explosive passion that fed his own. Together in all things, always, that was the gift he'd been given from the Great Creator and the Universe.

Staring into one another’s eyes, their hearts beating as one, everything Abbie was reached for everything Cass was a split-second before their passion exploded, rocking both of them to the very bottom of their souls. Still hard and needing his Mate again, he pushed her knees toward her chest, lifted her ass, and went deeper, filling his true love completely.

Rolling his hips, the head of his cock caressed the sensitive bundle of nerves that made the walls of her vagina close tighter and tighter around him. Wanting to shout to the Heavens when her eyes rolled back in her head from the pleasure only he could give her, Cass’s chest puffed with pride as Abbie struggled to catch her breath.

Reaching between their bodies, his fingers had barely closed around her clit when her orgasm propelled them both over the edge of ecstasy. Her mouth opened in a silent scream, and her bright eyes held the miraculous promise of all the love in her heart. What was he to do but follow her into the blissful cloud of adoration only they, as one, could create? There was no doubt, and would never be, that Cass would follow Abbie absolutely anywhere, even to the ends of the Earth.

Hours later, they lay together, completely satiated, her head on his chest, their legs intertwined, and their bodies cooling from several incredible hours of lovemaking. Smiling like a giddy little kid from the love he shared with his Mate, Cass reached down and retrieved his pants.

Pulling a small light blue velvet box into the light, he turned to Abbie and laid it in her open hand. Looking up with a shocked look in her eyes, she asked, “What’s this? We said we were doing presents after Christmas ‘cause we were a little busy.”

"No, to be exact, I said you could wait until after Christmas. I was careful not to include myself in that statement, so you couldn't beat me up when I gave you this." His eyes shifted to the box for a half-second, then returned to hers. "Besides, it’s not just Christmas, it’s your birthday. Open the box, my love.”

Opening the lid, Abbie gasped as the ring his momma left to him centuries ago shined in the light of moon streaming through the window. “This is stunning.” Her words were little more than the tiniest puff of air. “This is gorgeous.” She looked up at him, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. “But it’s too much...too beautiful. It was your momma’s, wasn’t it?”

“Yes, ma’am, it was Mom's, and she left explicit instructions that I was to give it to my Mate.” Kissing the tip of her nose, he leaned back and took the ring from the box.

Sliding it onto her finger, he explained, “This is one of the very rare light blue diamonds in the world. My dad had this ring made the very day he met my mom.”

“It is gorgeous. I just…”

Laying his index finger to her lips, cutting off her next rebuttal, Cass looked her right in the eye and adamantly asked, “I’m only doin’ what my momma told me to do, so don’t sass me.”

Raising a single eyebrow but quickly losing her stern facade, Abbie laughed out loud as she wrapped her arms around his neck and purred, “Thank you, Cass. Thank you so very much for everything.”

Pretending to tip the imaginary hat on his head and putting even more southern in his voice than was already there, he winked. “My pleasure, Ma’am. I aim to please.” Laying his lips to hers, he added telepathically, “And plan to please you every day of our lives together, Mrs. MacAllen, every single day.”

“Hot damn, Dragon Man. Merry Christmas, my love, and here’s to a very happy new year.”

Until we meet again…

May the joy and love of the holidays be with you every day in every way the whole year through.