Chapter 16

SIXTEEN

Evander

I rub my hand against my bare chest, then pound my fist against it. No matter what I do, my chest aches. There's this longing inside of me that burns and hurts, and the only thing that makes it better is Sam. Sam, the red-headed woman who stole my heart. The woman I want in my dragon form and human form. The woman that feels made for me.

And the person who wants someone else.

All I fucking had over Aydan was that I was a dragon, and now he's one too. When I realized what he was, I wanted to kill him. To rip his fucking throat out and claim Sam for my own. The only thing that stopped me was realizing that she would probably never forgive me if I did that, and I'd lose her anyway.

So now, I'm being a coward. I'm hiding from all of them, because I'm terrified that I will kill Aydan if I see him with my woman. Yet, the feeling in my chest won't stop, won't go away. I need her. I need to go to her.

I pace to the door and stop, pressing my head against the cool metal. If I go to her room, and he's there, I'll lose my mind. She'll hate me forever. And I'll lose her anyway. But I need her. I need to be with her. What the fuck should I do?

There's a knock at the door that sends me jumping back, heart racing. I slam the button beside the door, ready to lose it on whoever was foolish enough to bother me… when I see Sam.

Everything inside of me calms. She's in her pajamas. Her hair has been left loose around her shoulders. Her big green eyes are filled with uncertainty.

"Evander–"

I grab ahold of her wrist and pull her against me, groaning as her scent washes over me. She smells like that Granger fellow, but also fucking Aydan. Always fucking Aydan. Their scents on her make anger rise inside of me, and I swear fire burns at the back of my throat. But I ignore the possessiveness that threatens to make me lose control, and I sweep her into my arms.

Her eyes are wide as I carry her to the bed and lay her down, but then I'm wrapping myself around her. Breathing in her scent. I love the way she feels against my body. I know that she's still angry with me, that I lost her trust, that I fucked things up between us.

But she doesn't protest me holding her, so I keep her tightly against me. My cock stirs. Hardens. But I command the damn thing to stay in control. The last thing I want to do is push her away by being too eager.

Yet, I can't help myself. "Do I have any chance now?" My words sound edged with desperation, and I hate it.

"Any chance at what?" she asks, her voice so soft and feminine that I have to choke back another groan of desire.

"Any chance against him now that he's a dragon?"

She's quiet for a moment, and her silence rips out my heart. It leaves me dizzy and gasping for breath. I have to have a chance. If I don't, there's no reason to keep going. There's no reason to get up in the morning. I'll wither away and die without her beside me.

"You do."

I start to breathe again. Grasping her face, I turn her so she can look at me. Her mouth is inches from my own. Her beautiful face is soft against my hand. "I can't be without you, so what do I need to do to fix this?"

Her heartbeat is faster. I want to say it's because we're close, but maybe it's because she's so angry with me. My woman is all fire and heat, and as much as I love that, I need something calmer right now before I break.

She licks her lips, and her gaze holds mine. "I need the truth. I need all of it. One minute, you're some kind of military guy, and the next you own this company. It doesn't make sense, and I need you to make it make sense."

I nod slowly. Being honest and open is not something I'm accustomed to. I've been alone most of my life, at least inwardly. I can't remember the last time I just had someone to be open and honest with. But if I don't want to lose her, I need to figure this out. And quickly.

Taking a deep breath, I remind myself just to be honest. That's all she wants. "I grew up with my mom and dad, but I always felt different. Out of place. They loved me, but we just didn't connect. I didn't connect with most people. One day, my parents died in a car accident, and I was bounced from foster care to foster care, where I felt even more lost. When I was able to enlist, I did, and I got the hell out of there. When my time was up in the military, I was notified that my grandparents had died… I hadn't even known I had grandparents. They left their billion dollar company to me, Specter Inc. Running a company wasn't really my thing, so I let the board handle most of it, but they invested in a lot of science related things. One of those was this branch, which studied the possibility of dragons. I took an interest in it and got involved, which is what I've been doing for the past three years. And the rest, you've probably figured out."

I may only be twenty-five, but I feel like I've already lived a lifetime.

She stares at me. I stare back. Is there something I left out?

"Why didn't you tell me?"

I hope I'm not making a mistake. "We barely knew each other. It seemed simpler to continue playing the role of employee over employer. I figured I'd explain when everything got calmer and safer."

"Okay."

" Okay ?" I repeated, unsure of what that one simple word really meant.

"I get it," she says, "but I don't want any more secrets, any more lies by omission. I don't want to discover more things by accident."

Some of the pressure leaves my chest. "You won't."

There's more silence. "I'm sorry about your parents."

The words hurt for reasons I don't understand. "Me too. I never thought about them being gone until… they just were."

"That must have been painful."

I swallow around the lump in my throat. "I loved them. I didn't understand them, but I did." I run a hand through my hair. "One thing I'll never know is why my grandparents didn't come forward when they died. I would've much rather gotten to know them than gotten this company."

She runs a hand over my stomach, the movement stirring my blood. "I can understand that. I'd give anything to have my dad back. To have just one more day with him."

"How old were you when you lost him?"

"Just graduating high school."

"It must have been a hard time at such a vulnerable age."

She sounds upset. "It was, but at least I had my mom, Aydan, and Granger. You had no one."

And there is that name again. The man who haunts me. The one who threatens to take my woman from me with his very existence. He seems to be weaved into every part of her life in a way I wish I was.

I put my hand on top of hers. "They really have been there your whole life, haven't they?"

"They're my best friends," she says with ease.

Maybe one day I'll be her best friend too.

"I wish I had people like that in my life."

She looks up at me and smiles. "Well, you have me now."

My heart aches. "I do?"

She nods, her expression unguarded. "And, maybe, with enough time, you'll become friends with Aydan and Granger too."

I snort. "I don't see that happening."

"Give it time," she tells me, like time is really all I need to fix things between me and the two possessive men. Because, mark my words, that Granger is just as possessive as Aydan, he just hides it better.

"Sam, I'm not an easy man to love…"

She raises a brow. "Is this love?"

"It could be." I hesitate. "I know a lot of this is dragon biology, but it's also more than that. I like you. I like being with you, dragon or human, fucking or not."

She laughs, her cheeks heating. "Good to know."

I kiss her, unable to help myself. "I can't lose you." I'd said it before, and I meant it.

Those brilliant green eyes of hers hold mine. "I'm not thinking of choosing Aydan over you."

It's hard to breathe.

"But I'm not thinking of choosing you over him either. You need to know that. Both of you are too important to me to lose."

I sigh. Frustrated but also relieved. "I guess as long as I'm equally important to you, we can figure the rest out."

She kisses me lightly. "You are. I don't want to be away from you either."

I kiss her again. And again.

Fuck.

Hot desire comes burning through me, and I can't get enough of her. My tongue sweeps into her mouth, and she moans, which makes my hard cock jerk. I slide my hand into her pants and underwear and start teasing her opening. She rubs herself against me, making me smell like her desire. I slip my finger in to find her wet and ready for me.

She's breathing hard against my lips. I tease her folds, gently, slowly, the smell of her desire filling the air. I stroke and play, overwhelmed by the fact that I'm getting to touch her. That I'm making her this wet.

My finger slips in, and I slide it back out. Slow. Gentle. Building a rhythm. She bucks against me, and I use my free hand to pull up her shirt. Her breasts are free of any bra, so I seek out her nipple, sucking as I fuck her with my hand.

The evidence of her desire coats her thighs. I add a second finger and continue sucking on her other breast. I could stay here all day, sucking and touching my woman. Making her hot and wild just by being with me.

Time passes, and I don't stop. I can't stop. She's aching for more, bucking against me, trying to rub herself faster against my hand, but I'm in heaven.

Finally, she shouts, "Fucking hell, Evander!"

I love the sound of my name on her lips. I pull away from her perfect breasts and her ready body, and undress her and then myself. She reaches for my cock, but I push her hand away. Kneeling between her knees on the bed, I pull her legs onto my shoulders and press my face into her pussy.

She cries out. I don't slow. I devour her with my tongue, covering myself in her scent, covering her in mine. I lick and suck as she struggles, but I keep her pinned in place. I'm tasting my fucking woman, and no matter how much she wants my cock, I'm not going to stop.

"Evander! Evander!" She's chanting my name. It's a frustrated curse on her lips, and I love it. I want every drop of her desire on my tongue, and I'm not going to stop until I'm done.

Her fingers dig into my hair. She pulls and yanks, breathless and horny, but I stay put, enjoying my feast. I'm not going fast enough to get her off, but also not going slow enough to give her any reprieve.

Finally, she collapses back, her legs spread wide, and I go nuts. Her body arches and shifts. Her fingers tangle in the sheets, but she keeps getting wetter. Keeps giving me more to taste.

Suddenly, she jerks back from me, sitting against the headboard. "Enough, you asshole."

"Yeah?" I ask.

She nods, sitting in front of me, nipples painfully hard, hair a mess, trying to hide her soaking, swollen pussy from me. This is just the way I want her, always. If I could keep her tied to my bed in this state, I would. Fuck. I'm getting ties for my bed as soon as this is done.

"You ready for my cock?"

She nods.

"Baby girl, you're a horny little thing, aren't you?"

She nods again.

I reach out and grab her by the thighs, dragging her to me. She makes a little cry of surprise, and then I press her legs further and further until her ankles are on each side of her head.

"Be a good little girl and take my whole cock," I murmur, pressing my tip to her entrance and slowly pushing myself in.

From this angle, she's spread wide for me, and I can take her deeply. So fucking deeply that she's going to taste my cock. But I go slowly, unwilling to hurt her. I inch further and further until I come to my hilt.

"Good girl," I whisper into her ear.

And then? Then I start to fuck her. I start to fuck her harder than any man has ever fucked her in his life. She's screaming my name, and I just keep giving it to her. Deep into her pussy. So far that I'm going to spread my cum through every part of her.

"You're going to take my cum," I moan. "You're going to take it and give me a baby. You're going to get so pregnant, so round, and you're going to have my baby."

She keeps shouting my name. Her insides clenching around my dick so hard that I have to grit my teeth not to come, and then she's orgasming, her inner muscles a vice around me as she screams my name. I start coming too. The release is on a level that only she can bring me.

I pump in and out harder and harder, riding the waves of our desire. It takes several long minutes before I slow, letting her legs fall and wrapping myself around her.

As we start to catch our breath, I whisper, "How was that?"

She smacks my back. "You're a bastard!"

I chuckle low in the back of my throat. "I'm greedy. I want every part of you."

She's quiet for a moment. "All that baby stuff…"

I pull back and meet her gaze. "I want you to know with absolute certainty that I mean it. It's a human thing, but a dragon thing too. There's nothing more we want than to fill you with our seed and get you pregnant."

She shivers.

Reaching down, I grab her breasts and pluck her nipples. "And I want my goddamn name tattooed around these breasts and that cunt. I want every fucking person who looks at you to know you belong to me."

"Evander…" She looks properly scandalized, but also turned on, which is exactly what I want.

I lean down and suck one of her nipples while she groans and twists. But she's not going anywhere. My knot is hard and swollen inside of her. We're not going finishing any time soon.

Breaking my lips from her nipple, I say, "Why don't you just lean back and enjoy what I'm going to do to you, over and over again, and then we can talk about tattoos and babies."

She's having trouble getting her words out, and I know it's because she's aroused. "There will be no tattoos or babies."

"We'll see, baby girl. We'll see."

I bit around her nipple, leaving a clear mark. I might have to share her with Aydan, but I'll be damned if I don't remind him that I was here.