34. Ogden

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

OGDEN

M y world was a ball of tingling heat and pleasure I never wanted to end. I couldn't let go of the blanket or make a single sound. The minute I did, I'd explode, and this would be over.

Jay wasn't here to play. She sucked my cock again, this time bobbing up and down so fast I wasn't going to make it. With a grunt, I exploded into her mouth. Every muscle in my body contorted as a load of cum spurted out of me. I yelped, the pleasure so intense it physically hurt.

No woman had ever touched me like that.

She licked my dick like a popsicle, and I groaned in pleasure. My foggy brain wanted to shut down as every muscle in my body turned to liquid. I languished in the feeling, casting out my right hand to pull her into my side. I wanted to run my tongue along her neck, taste her essence, and mark her so she'd be mine forever.

Mate. The single word filled my mind, and my dragon tried to rise to the surface.

Clarity dissipated the fog between one heartbeat and the next. She wasn't my mate but my prisoner. I hadn't gotten her consent. What if she thought she needed to do this to get free? Rehan, my friend, was her mate, and I'd just forced her.

I sat up and pushed her off my lap. My dragon dick, which I could never transform into a human one, stared me in the face. Shame burned my cheeks.

Most dragons could shift at will, every part of themselves. I'd been born different because of my heritage or my magic; I didn't know. I'd come out of my human mom with a third scaley appendage that would never be human. Unfortunately, it was too large for a human and a micro dick for a dragon. I couldn't win.

Only a few people knew about my problem. The one dragon shifter I tried to bed as a teen was unimpressed. My pants had gone back on, and my life of shame had begun.

Jay licked her lips and turned her palms up toward the ceiling. Her face scrunched up, and her arms shook, but nothing happened. She scowled and cracked her neck.

Was she asking her god for help? Was this what women did after sex?

I had no idea what to do.

Jay opened her mouth to speak, and a squeak came out. She balled her hands into fists and dramatically fell back against the bed, scratching at the dirt on her chest. "Squeak."

Rage boiled up in my stomach, erasing my shame and giving me purpose.

This woman, my potential mate , was cursed and trapped on an island full of shifters. To make things worse, now I'd taken advantage of her.

Dragons weren't like this.

I wasn't like this.

I stood and hauled her to her feet. Although I wasn't the strongest dragon by far, I was still a dragon, and I used my strength to sling her over my shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Fuck the consequences. She wasn't staying in my dirty lair for another moment.

Tearing out of my space, I reached down to my thighs and traced a set of runes inked onto my skin. Warm power infused my muscles, increasing even my dragon speed to a blur. In moments, we stood in my cave. I set her down in my bathroom, and she blinked at me, still dizzy from my run.

"What's mine is yours." I pressed her heart. "Shower. Only if you want. I'll be back as soon as I can, I promise. I'm so sorry."

I didn't wait for her to respond, but moments later, the sound of my shower running eased my guilt. Food, wine, flowers, I didn't know what else women needed. Why did it have to be the middle of the night? With the sound of running water feeling like a countdown timer, I ran around and filled my little kitchen with embarrassingly little. I eyed my meager spread of leftovers and the porcelain flower I'd grabbed off my wall. Shit.

My phone rang. That had to be my handler calling.

Taking Jay out of my lair meant her mates knew she was in water territory. However, they wouldn't be able to cross the border without evidence or probable cause. Only I knew Jay's location. For now, I planned to keep it that way.

I let my phone go to voicemail, but the stupid device rang again. If I didn't answer, they'd send someone in person, and that would be very messy.

I took a calming breath and hit the green button. "Ogden's phone."

"How many times do I have to tell you? You don't need to answer the phone like that?" Opal said. I pictured my bubbly handler, probably chewing her watermelon gum and pampering her birch horns.

I did my best to sound normal. "Every time, probably? Did you need something?"

Opal sighed. "You know that human who has fire and water all flustered?"

"Ah, yeah." I prayed she couldn't hear the shake in my voice.

"Apparently, water just felt her pop up in our territory," Opal said.

I frowned. Only water felt it. So either Tyson's mark wasn't working, or Tyson hadn't admitted to marking her. "And you're calling me because…"

Opal laughed. "You're one of the council's advisors, Oggy. I know you skip most meetings, but you must stay informed about goings-on."

I wrinkled my nose at the nickname, but I'd let her call me that so many times I couldn't do anything about it now. "Does water want something from me?"

"Not yet." Opal popped her gum. "We can't have water dragons just going wherever they want. We're sending out a few scouts to see if there's evidence other than Rehan's mate mark." She sighed again. "It's a good opportunity for magic students to try out their tracking skills, but if it doesn't work out, they'll probably give you a call. Worse case, Rehan might get access to look himself."

"Right." I rubbed the back of my neck. "Well, thank you for keeping me updated. I'm happy to help when needed."

"Did you get the email about the EM?" She asked before I hung up.

I glanced at my phone and noticed quite a few missed notifications. "I did not, yet, but it was expected."

"Look at it," Opal said brightly. "It's why the council made me your handler! I'll force you tomorrow if you don't respond."

I wrinkled my nose and opened my emails. "Just stay on the line." The shower turned off, and my heart fluttered. I needed to end this call. "Elemental Meeting in a week," I said, skimming the email. "Nothing happens fast on this island, does it?"

"A week is fast." Opal popped her lips.

I sighed. "Not fast enough. The Ley Lines are not right, not to mention a sudden volcanic eruption."

"I know you and the water dragons think that, Oggy," Opal said as if I were a small child. "But the fire dragons want to check in with their outside contacts, and air needs time to prepare to host. Even our council disagrees on the source of the problem."

I ground my teeth together and bit my tongue. "Fine, thanks, Opal." I hung up the phone before she said any more and sat heavily at the table in my kitchen. The single porcelain flower laughed at me.

My bathroom door opened, and Jay emerged with one of my green towels wrapped around her figure. Her honey skin glowed, and her long black hair plastered to her head. I fought my urge to wrap her in my arms.

"Squeak," she said, pointing at my clothing.

I slapped my palm to my forehead. She needed something to wear. With my fast runes still activated, I collided hard with my dresser, almost knocking down one of my priceless collectibles, before returning with a set of black pajamas covered in cherry blossoms.

A quick change later, and we were seated at my table. My little chair groaned as she shifted her weight a few times.

"Is the clothing uncomfortable?" I asked. "Or maybe it's the chair?"

She held out her hand and mimicked writing, and I grabbed another pad of paper from across the room.

‘No, they're fine. This is a beautiful table. The flower is a nice touch, but I'm not even wearing undergarments. It just feels a bit much.'

No undergarments. Blood rushed to my dick. I closed my eyes, controlling my need and my dragon.

"You look better than everything on the table combined." My stomach sank. That was probably one of the dumbest things I'd ever said. Where had my clever tongue gone?

She rolled her eyes, but a bit of color reddened her cheeks. She helped herself to the food which gave me a moment to collect my thoughts.

I cleared my throat. "Right, so. Ah. Although I appreciated what you did in the cave, ah, um, the well, you know."

She stopped chewing, her eyes sparkling as she watched me flounder.

I considered using my earth magic to let the ground swallow me. Although it would help now, I wasn't sure it was a good long-term solution. I just spit it out. "I by no means wanted to force you to do that." I swallowed. "I would have let you go once I trusted you and brought you more food?—"

Jay shook, and I cut off as one of her squeaks punctuated the motion.

My heart broke. Was she in pain?

She clasped her hand against her chest and started squeaking harder, a tear running out of her eye.

Was she laughing at me?

I sat back, unsure if I should be offended or worried.

Once she controlled herself, she reached for the pad of paper. ‘Ogden, you didn't force me. I instigated all of that of my free will.'

"I am your captor. You wear Rehan and Tyson's marks." I leaned forward. "I must have pressured you, done something to your mind, especially after seeing my ah..." I didn't know my face could get hotter, but it did.

She sighed and bit her lower lip. I shut up, suddenly unsure who was in control. Once again, she looked at me, studying my every motion as if badly needing to trust me but unsure if she could.

I stood and knelt at her side so we were eye to eye. "I'm thirty-two and a Leo." I gestured around me. "I live here alone because my first love is magic. For a long time, my only love was magic, but I suspect that might not be true anymore." I squeezed her, unsure how she would respond if I admitted how drawn to her I was. My dragon wanted her to be his, and after just a day, I wanted her just as much. On some level, I'd known since the Social over a week ago. I hadn't let myself admit it.

What had the other two already told her about their marks? I decided not to risk contradicting them. "I sit on the earth dragon council as their magic advisor. I'm probably the most magically gifted dragon on the island. Though I don't usually say it like that."

Her gaze lit up with understanding.

I swallowed hard. I needed to admit to what had just happened. Good communication was everything. "And you just gave me my first blow job."

I stood tugging her to her feet, wanting her to know everything about me. To see me. "My heritage is some mix of black and Asian… don't ask me how." I grinned. "I suspect my dad is the only black dragon on our council. Kinda hard to guess that one wrong." I laced her fingers with mine and tugged her toward the side of my cave with my favorite display. "And I do all my tattoo work as I need to draw to channel Ley Line magic. It works perfectly." I pointed out the little section of my cave covered in my sketches and a leather-covered tattoo chair.

She cocked her head to the side and wrote on the pad. ‘No katana collection?'

"No swords." I grinned and splayed my fingers, shifting them into claws. "I don't need to collect what I already have."

She wrinkled her nose and nodded a few times.

My heart stopped. What if I scared her? I forgot that claws were scary. I shifted back into my human hands, but she didn't seem fazed. Or even that interested. "But I mean, if you want me to collect swords, I could do that."

Jay took a deep breath and pulled out the pad of paper. ‘Look, stop.'

I bit my lips together. "Stop what?"

Jay sighed. ‘Being nice to me. I gave you a BJ because, when I gave Rehan one, it unlocked some of the curse trapping my magic.'

She used me. I wasn't sure how I felt about that, but it was a thousand times better than my fear of forcing her. I took a few deep breaths, unsure where to go from here.

"Our, um, actions didn't help you though?" I asked, clinging to the part of this I understood… trial and error to discover new magic. "Has anyone else's?"

Her eyes bugged. ‘I'm not blowing every dragon I see!'

I waved my hands over the paper. "No, I didn't mean it like that!"

She was already writing. ‘Even if I was, there's nothing wrong with that.'

"I completely agree." I patted my chest. "If my magic were trapped, I would also suck as many dicks as it took to get it back."

Jay bit her lower lip and raised an eyebrow.

"I am making it worse, aren't I?" I traced the runes to bury myself alive on my wrist, ready to power them just in case.

‘Yes. You've already dug in deep. If you want to power your runes to cover the hole, by all means.'

Her eyes sparkled, watching me read her comment, and I relaxed a little. She bumped me with her shoulder and wrote. ‘I know we got a weird start, but I respect your loyalty to your people. Water under the bridge, I'm too old to dwell in the past. I want to be upfront. I feel a similar connection to you as I do Rehan and Tyson, and I believe it's the curse.'

Mate. The word filled my mind, directly conflicting with her conclusion.

‘Are you upset?' she wrote, not bothering to flip the paper around for me.

I shook my head. "I don't believe anything can manipulate a mate bond." I cocked my head to the side, willing her to see what I was just realizing. We were connected deeply. "I'm not upset about the situation. You having other mates doesn't bother me or my dragon." Heat kissed my cheeks. "It's the opposite, really." I rubbed my stubble-covered chin. "Do you know why my, ah essence, didn't help you when Rehan's did?"

She shook her head. ‘I think it has to do with the mate mark.'

My stomach danced, and my dick twitched. I licked my lips—two mate marks. Despite everything, just the idea of adding mine as a third made my dragon roar happily. I'd spent my life alone, dedicating myself to my magic, always looking for the next spell. Maybe it wasn't just spells I wanted.

Jay grabbed my hand this time and tugged me toward my tattooing area. My leather table sat upright in a corner, surrounded by framed drawings and shelves of reference materials. I hadn't given myself a new tattoo in a while. But a black and white striped loveseat and footrest sat in the middle. A very complicated, new design sat halfway finished on the table next to it.

Jay pushed me into the loveseat. I tried to pull her with me, but when she pulled back, I let her go.

She perched on my footstool. ‘I'm cursed to attract dragons.' She wrote on the pad. ‘I don't want to fuck up your life any more than I need to, but I need your help.'

I leaned forward. "I want to help you."

She put her fingers over my lips to stop me from talking, but I spoke around her finger. "You can't mess up my life."

Shaking her head, she wrote on the pad. ‘It will. It will bind you for life if I can't reverse it.' She turned the pad back around and took a deep breath before writing, ‘I need you to mark me, but it will destroy your chances of finding a real mate.'

As soon as I read it, she turned the paper back around and furiously wrote. ‘I gave up my uterus for power. I can't have your children.'

I raised my eyebrows, a million questions bouncing around in my brain. "Is that even possible? How? Can I do that? Wait, that was stupid. I don't have a uterus. Give me a moment."

Jay bit her bottom lip, her eyes twinkling as she tried not to laugh.

I held out my hands and shut my eyes, prioritizing the rush of questions and emotions her words filled me with. She didn't believe her feelings were real. But she felt something for me. Otherwise, she wouldn't have asked. Based on her actions so far, it was safe to assume she wanted to be intimate with me, despite my weird dick. This woman was sexy, intelligent, and painfully candid. It would be hard for any man to turn her away.

After taking a few deep breaths, I met her green gaze. "I do want to hear more about how you increased your magic." I pointed at her stomach. "But more importantly. I don't need you to ‘have my kids.' This isn't feudal Japan. You're worth has nothing to do with your fertility."

A smile split Jay's face, and she let out a victorious squeak.

"Also." I tapped my finger against my leg. "So we're upfront. I donate sperm regularly. It might be weird to a human, but I have at least two, probably more like six kids running around here, biologically mine. The community raises them, just like they did me." I studied her face. "And I never even thought about taking a mate until you stumbled into my life."

She waved no and wrote on her pad. ‘It's a curse. You don't like me. I'm a barren thousand-year-old hag.'

Anger rose in my gut for the first time since I met her. I surged to my feet. "Don't you ever say that again."

My daughter Olive's lost eyes flashed in front of my face. Everyone had value. The fact we lived in a world that took that away from anyone was wrong.

In one smooth motion, I pushed Jay off her perch and onto the ground, trapping her hips between my thighs. "You're not a hag. You are exquisite. And at the point that someone reaches a thousand, I don't think conventional rules apply anymore." I brushed my fingers down her face. "I've spent my life working with magic; what I feel is not a curse."

I sat up and held out my hand to help her up. "If you don't want me, then say so. Either way, stop putting yourself down." She blinked at me before sliding her palm into mine. "You're incredible, and if Tyson and Rehan didn't see that, then both of them can rot." I pulled her up. "I can be your friend, lover, or just some dragon trying to help you get home. I'm fine with any of those roles." My heart pinched, knowing how false that rang, but I didn't have a choice. I might be able to hold her here physically, but her heart was something I could never control.

Jay's chest rose and fell. Her wide eyes were full of skepticism. Something almost like hope flicked across her vision.

My heart thumped. "What's it going to be, Princess?"

My nickname made her roll her eyes, and she wrote. ‘Friends, for now. I won't let you lose your future to me.'

I frowned, my heart falling, but nodded. "Friends."