Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6

MEGAN

T here was a moment of stunned silence as he lifted his head and looked down at her. Megan half-expected the ground to open and swallow them, or at least her; whole. Instead, they both stood there, chests heaving, breathing heavily, as each waited for some reaction or recognition that everything was teetering on change.

"Oh, Hell To The No," she whispered, trying to back away.

Drake blinked, his features flickering from confusion to rage so quickly she almost didn't catch the shift. Megan's heart hammered against her ribs, bracing for the storm she was almost sure would be forthcoming on his part. His hands, which were still wrapped around her arms, tightened.

"Oh, Hell To The Yes," he rumbled, the sound skittering along her skin and seeping into the marrow of her bones.

His lips crashed against hers, an act so startling, Megan's mind blanked of everything but the here and now. Gone was the concern about professionalism. Gone was the focus on her job and figuring out what was going on and who was involved. Gone was the idea that he was some predator—she assumed—alpha, male shifter. Instead, as her snow leopard purred, Megan was quite sure the tongue tangling with hers was that of her fated mate.

Shock jolted through her, a sharp electric buzz that left her senses reeling. All she could feel was Drake kissing her with an intense hunger that scorched all rational thought. This was no mere kiss; this was a declaration of possession and domination. Her body betrayed her mind's rejection. It responded of its own accord, melting into his embrace like ice on a hot stove.

The taste of him, the feel of his arms, firm and demanding around her, sparked a fire she had never anticipated could exist between herself and anyone—much less a former SEAL commander and the alpha of his clan. But what kind of clan? It didn't matter. She kissed him back, driven by a fervor born of a strange curiosity for the forbidden—the bonding between different shifters was frowned upon. Allowing him to claim her would mean the loss of her snow leopard, who didn't seem to mind at all. Megan's arms wrapped around his neck as she pressed her body tighter to his.

With a low, rumbling growl, Drake spun her around, pressing her front against the cool surface of the closed door. Drake grabbed the waist of her leggings and stripped her bare, including her mukluks. He pulled the hem of her sweater over her head, removing her bra at the same time. Moaning in surrender, a primal sound that seemed to come from someone else entirely.

Drake's rough hands fondled her breasts as he pressed his lips against the nape of her neck. His tongue flicked out, tracing a line along her neck until he began to kiss his way down her spine, his body trailing down hers so that he had maximum contact with her body.

"I shouldn't be doing this," she murmured in vague protest as she pushed her hands against the door.

The words came out as a protest, but Drake didn't stop. To her shame, Megan didn't want him to stop, either. His hands spanned her hips for a moment as he kissed her left buttock before his fingers moved to the front of her body, slipping between her thighs, toying with her entrance, increasing the wet heat he found there that began to leak from her core. She wanted to speak, to tell him to stop, but deep down, she knew this was right, that it was meant to be.

"Shh, my mate," he whispered against her skin. "You are mine. Did you know you have been haunting my dreams ever since I returned from the Navy? In my dreams, you tempt me, taunting me with your snarky mouth and challenging eyes. . A woman who needs to be claimed and possessed by her fated mate."

"No. Just no. If you want to fuck, fine, let's do it, but that's all it is. For fucks sake, Drake, just do it and shut up."

Her response was laced with the frustration that was building inside her. The moment she spoke, his fingers sank into her, hard and long; better, but not what she had in mind. He pistoned his fingers inside her until her hips began to undulate, moving in time with his fingers, her body giving into what her mind didn't want. Or did it?

"I will claim you as mine. Once we fuck, there's no going back. Once you bear my mark, no one will be able to deny me what is mine."

"No. Don't."

"Yes, you know this is meant to be."

Desperate for any reason that might allow her to get this situation under control, she said, "You are not a snow leopard…"

Drake chuckled. "So that's the purring I've been hearing. It matters not that I am a snow leopard; my kind has always claimed whoever and whatever we want."

"What are you?" she asked, terrified she knew the answer.

"I am dragon. My clan can trace its ancestry back to some of the oldest dragon clans that ever existed. We predate the Vikings and traveled with them from the old world to the new, but we ruled the skies long before the Earth had cooled."

Dragon? Fuck. The last thing she needed was a dragon-shifter mate. Dragons were arrogant and powerful. They didn't take no for an answer.

"You are my mate. We both know it," he rumbled. "Say it, Megan." His fingers worked her, stroking deep inside her to hit just the right spot. Her nipples were stiffening, and her back seemed to arch towards him of its own accord. Her snow leopard was prowling back and forth in her mind's eye, restlessly purring and then yowling as if she was some kind of alley cat in heat.

The last thing Megan wanted to do was admit how much she wanted him. She knew her resistance to him would be negligible, but she didn't want to admit he was right or how much she wanted him. She wanted at least the pretense of his having simply taken what he wanted as opposed to her having given in to his commands. If she did so, even this once, it would mean he had won, and she would have no way of saying her response hadn't been forced from her.

His fingers continued to stroke her, driving her need to frenzied levels, but she wanted so much more than just his fingers. She could feel his cock throbbing against her backside as he pressed into her. In an attempt to soothe her hot, dry lips, Megan's tongue darted out to lick them. She had to remind herself to breathe. Her face was still pressed into the wall, unable to get away, to put distance between them; she moaned a helpless sound of pure need.

"What do you want, Megan?"

She bit her lower lip, trying to hold out but ultimately losing the battle. "I want you, Drake," she gasped, fingers flexing against the door. "I want you."

"What was that? I didn't hear you?" Drake asked, his breath moving down her neck as his fingers continued to torment her.

She hesitated, so determined to hold herself aloof, but she was so close to coming on his fingers that she didn't want him to stop. She needed that orgasm more than she'd ever needed anything.

"I want you, you bastard."

"And who am I?" he growled.

Megan gasped as her orgasm exploded deep inside her, sending pleasure throughout her body and turning her brain to mush as she shook in his arms. It was as if admitting she wanted him had released the energy building inside her, and she shamed herself by gasping his name, begging for more.

Drake waited, but she heard the satisfied groans he made. She felt the way he pressed his cock into her ass as he pulled his fingers from her core. Megan closed her eyes as he pulled his hips back just enough so that she could feel him unzipping his trousers. She couldn't bring herself to protest when he pulled her hips back just enough to place his hard tip against her opening.

The moment he thrust into her, her world narrowed to the primitive intensity between them. It was madness; this need to match his desperation with her own, to take whatever he offered and give back just as fiercely. Megan pushed back against him, seeking more, each movement igniting sparks that danced beneath her skin. The lines between wanting to maintain her own need to remain separate, her need to be one with him, and just pure, raw lust blurred until she couldn't tell where one ended and the others began, only that she craved the collision of all three.

"You're too beautiful for your own good," he growled, his breath hot against her neck. His hands were unyielding on her hips, keeping her pinned to the wall.

His groans punctuated his thrusts, and Megan could feel the vibrations of those sounds echoing through her.

"Mine," he rumbled again.

"Never," she said, half-breathless, pushing hard against the door.

But her voice was lost under the sound of his movements and her heartbeat thundering through her ears. She was ready to snap back with more venom when she felt his hand slip between her legs and over her clit. The sensation was unexpected and intense, sending a jolt through her and lighting a wildfire in her blood. Every touch was amplified by his taking command of the situation or her. She was aroused in a way she'd never been before. Each stroke teased her closer to the edge.

Megan wanted to beg, but his hand made it impossible, so instead, she moaned and leaned into the door instead of trying to move away—her body language and erotic response told him everything he needed to know. She writhed against him, her face pressing into the cool, impersonal door, feeling its sleek, highly-polished texture against her cheek.

Drake seemed to understand her silent pleas and rumbled seductively to her. He pulled her hips back, strengthening his grip and angling his thrusting deeper. Megan nearly collapsed from the pleasure of it. She could hear his breathing, ragged and heavy in her ear; each exhale like a whisper of the storm raging within them both.

And then it happened. Drake gripped the top of her shoulder with his teeth and bit down. Megan's knees threatened to buckle, but Drake held her tight. As the bite became more savage, it was as if a dam burst within her. Her entire body exploded with pleasure. Her pussy clamped down as her body tensed, quivering in his arms. She stifled her cry as he finally released his claiming bite—for she knew that's what it was. And for a few blinding moments, there was nothing else in the world but Drake and the overwhelming sensations crashing over her.

Drake's grip on her waist was iron, relentless as he pushed her harder against the door. The cool surface was a stark contrast to the heat of their bodies. His movements grew more urgent, more desperate as if he were trying to prove something or perhaps lose himself completely.

"Megan," he growled low in her ear—the strain from holding back evident in his voice.

She could feel him shaking as the tremors that had run through her body were now echoed by his. Then, with a final thrust, he groaned into her hair, his breath hot and ragged, his release pulsing deep inside her.

As he pulled away, there was a primal energy that arced between them, something that went beyond physical satisfaction.

"What the hell, Drake," she snarled.

He nipped her ear lobe. "This isn't over, my beautiful mate. You have been claimed," he growled.

Megan growled back instinctively, a defense mechanism against the vulnerability that churned inside her. She had no desire to be drakaina. From what she'd heard, the transition process was horrific—sealed inside a cocoon—all alone—your body morphing until you were no longer the person you'd always been.

"In your dreams. I won't be forced to endure what you dragons put your non-drakaina mates through."

He stepped back, slipping from her body as he whirled her around to face him. There was a flash of something in his eyes—anger, desire, maybe both—as he looked at her. For a moment, she wondered about the thin line between hate and something dangerously close to passion.

"There is nothing to fear, my mate…"

"Says the guy who won't be sealed up in some black tubular coffin. You might want to know I am slightly claustrophobic. I can't even begin to imagine the hell that you'll be putting me through—without my consent, I might add."

Had he truly wanted this, or was it just another power play? As for her, had she wanted this and was now denying it to make herself feel better?

Drake pulled her into his arms. "Only lesser dragons put their human mates through that horror. My people have always embraced bringing new blood into the clan. There will be no cocoon. With a human the transition is rougher, but not the kind of torturous process you imagine. For another kind of shifter, you might have some discomfort, but nothing that can't be managed. The added bonus is that your snow leopard will remain. You will have the advantage of being able to shift to either a drakaina or a snow leopard."

Megan searched his face and saw nothing but compassion and truth. Enemies, lovers, or whatever this game was, they seemed to be playing; in that charged silence, she felt something settle within her. Even though she was uncertain, and her heart was still racing, Megan knew one thing for certain: this dance between them and whoever threatened what was now her distillery was far from over.