Chapter Twenty-Two

Madison

“T his ride cannot be stopped once started!” he called back through laughter, his wings shooting down and away, propelling us farther and faster with each beat.

“Let me off, let me off, let me off!” I moaned, clutching at his neck wildly, squeezing the ropes so tight it was cutting off circulation to my lower arms.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” Callum said as the steady pounding of his wings through the air slowed. “Just open your eyes and look.”

“No, thank you.”

“ Maddie. Grow up.”

The sharp admonishment lit a new fire, and I opened my eyes and mouth together to flay a verbal strip from his hide.

“Oh, wow ,” I whispered instead as I gazed in awe at the panoramic landscape stretching out in every direction beneath us.

Callum showed he could be wise and stayed silent while I took it all in. The only break was when his wings would beat once to keep us moving, catching the air as we soared high through the sky together.

Green and yellow grasses rippled under the wind, interspersed with thicker bunches of color where wildflowers grew in vast patches at random intervals. Rocks and trees added depth to the scene, and I knew any artist would kill to be able to paint.

On we went, over rocky hillsides and mountain streams, even a little inland lake that looked like it was carved from a meteorite impact. In the distance, all around us, water lapped at the shores of the Dragon Isles. I couldn’t make out the farthest coastlines, but I could see the deep blue expanse of open ocean beyond.

Giant fluffy clouds whipped past us, and occasionally, we found ourselves diving through one. I tried to catch it in my fingers, but despite the appearance, they were nowhere near dense enough for that to work. I still laughed as I tried.

“Thank you,” Callum said at last, breaking the silence that had descended over us while I enjoyed the flight.

“For what?” I asked, confused. Why would he be thanking me? I hadn’t done anything.

“Trusting me. It means a lot that you did that. I wasn’t sure if you would.” He craned his snout around at the end of the long neck to look at me as he spoke.

“You didn’t give me much of a choice.” I smiled as I said it. “But for what it’s worth, thank you for being worthy of that trust. I’m glad I let you kidnap me a second time.”

“Kidnap you?” his snout opened in a fair imitation of human shock. “All I did was bring you to the roof. You could’ve gone inside. You came up here because secretly you wanted to.”

“ Oorrrr ,” I said, not acknowledging his point, “I’m here because I was coerced into it, given no opportunity to say no.”

“So, that’s how it’s going to be, is it?” he said, laughing hard enough his dragon shook under me.

“Maybe.”

“You’re acting so tough now,” he teased, “but you weren’t when we took off.”

“Excuse me?”

The dragon's eyes narrowed, and his entire snout tilted to the side, sort of like a dog. “Sorry, what was that? I’m not sure my hearing has recovered from the shrieking you were doing. I couldn’t hear you. Could you repeat yourself?”

I gasped and smacked a fist against the side of his neck. “I was not screaming that loud!”

Callum laughed as I rubbed my fist where I’d hit him, the scale harder than it had any right to be.

“Now who’s being the tough one?” I shot back. “All big and macho because you can shift into a dragon ten times the size of me. Shift back and laugh at me. See what happens then, mister!”

“Okay.”

Without warning, we dove for the nearest meadow. I kept my composure the entire way, riding calmly and completely collected as the wind tugged at my hair and sent it flying behind me.

What I did not do was scream bloody murder all over again, holding tight with one hand while slapping at him with the other.

Definitely not. Nor did I accuse Callum of all sorts of nasty things.

Or tell him I hated him.

Not at all. Not even once.

“Are you done screaming?” Callum asked as we touched down so lightly I barely felt the landing.

Glaring at him for ruining my mental illusion about myself, I very carefully climbed down from his neck and waited for Cal to shift back.

As he started, I ran at him. By the time he’d shrunk to his human form, I was only a couple of feet away with a full head of steam.

Lowering my shoulder, I tackled him at midsection. He grunted in what I hoped was surprise, and we fell backward into the grass, both of us laughing hysterically as I rolled over him and slid down the hill a few feet.

“Did you just try to sucker-tackle me?” Cal shouted as he scrambled down the slope after me.

“Never!” I cried, trying to get up.

Then he was on top of me, spinning me around and pinning my hands to the ground before I could push him free.

“I think you did,” he chuckled, bringing his head down to my level.

Our eyes locked. The world went still. Blades of grass slowed their waving until they didn’t move. The birds in the sky no longer wheeled and dove. Instead, they were stuck in place, frozen. Cal and I stared into one another, seeing past the walls that were momentarily down, everything caught unawares by the intensity of the moment.

I saw his pupils dilate wide. His nose flared ever so slightly as he drew in a breath, lips parting.

Oh, shit.

There was no time to resist, to build up my guard.

Cal lowered his head to mine, and I instinctively tilted mine up to meet him. Our lips touched, and it was as if the dam burst.

A mad scramble followed as we kissed fast and frantic while tossing off our clothes. I didn’t know when the last semblance of sanity left me, but by the time Cal had laid my naked body down into the grass, it was long gone. I was practically panting in heat from the kisses to my mouth, my neck, and my nipples.

The sun beat down warmly on us, but its heat was a candle next to the furnace of Cal, his body warming me from the outside while his touch heated my insides, preparing me for what was to come next.

He casually licked his hand and spread the saliva on the underside of his cock. I watched, enthralled, as he gripped the base of it, fingers wrapping around the thick shaft. I expected him to guide it to my opening, but instead, he teased me, rubbing it against my clit.

I hissed, arching further as a wave of intense pleasure swept through me and lifted me. I was buoyed high by the wonderous feeling of his shaft sliding against me. He growled delightfully, approving my reaction, calling me a good girl, telling me I was the sexiest thing he’d ever seen.

My animal brain ate it up, legs spread wide for him the entire time, my body exposed to his eyes and hands. He drank it in, touching my inner thighs even as he rubbed himself against me, moving from side to side to change it up. I shook, my legs twitching tight against him at the sudden change.

“I’m going to fuck you now,” he announced.

“Yes, please,” I moaned, eager to finally have him inside me, to feel his—

All thoughts stopped as he penetrated me at last, finally taking that last step. My eyes rolled somewhere, and I was lost. The pent-up desires I’d so firmly shoved aside every time they reared their head had won at last and were intent on showing me why I should never have tried to resist.

“ Oh my god !” I cried as he thrust deep inside me, taking me completely, his face buried in my neck, kissing and biting gently and even sucking on the ultra-sensitive skin.

His hands grabbed mine, pushing them down into the grass by my head, holding me still while he moved only his hips against me. Back … and forth … back … and forth. The only sensation that changed was between my legs. All my body and mind attention was focused there, building and building until …

“I’m gonna come,” I whimpered, muscles already locking down, starting from my core and spreading out across my entire body.

Back … and forth … back … and forth.

His cock thrust slow and perfect. I was at the edge.

Then I came. My spine arched upward, and my walls clamped down around his cock, spasming wildly as I cried out, my arms struggling against his grip to move, to do something while I was lashed with the explosive bursts of ecstasy again and again and again …

Cal rode that wave—and me—without missing a beat. He didn’t speed up. Didn’t slow down. He held me still and fucked right through it, allowing me to ride the edge of the wave of my orgasm on and on until I was shaking.

And then my body tightened. Again.

I cried out, locking eyes with him, staring deep into his soul as my face contorted, my second climax exploding out of me like a bullet, leaving me gasping for breath and trembling.

The instant I sagged back into the grass, Cal grabbed my left leg, clamping it under his arm, and rolled onto his back. I was pulled with him and abruptly found myself on top, his cock pushing deep into my soaking pussy.

“Fucking hell,” I hissed, my fingers digging into his chest as I struggled to support myself.

Massive hands clamped around my waist, holding me upright.

Then Cal thrust into me from below. My entire body shook as his hips slapped into mine and then again as he withdrew.

All I could do was hang on for dear life. I was on top, but I wasn’t riding him. He was fucking me hard. My body shook, my breasts bouncing wildly. At one point, he relaxed to let me ride, only to slide his thumb between our hips and against my clit.

I came again and again.

Each time, Cal growled a little louder, announcing his enjoyment of my orgasms. Finally, finally , he sank back into the grass and let me have my way. I ground my hips into him, forward and back, watching his eyes grow lidded and close. He groaned loudly.

“Fuck, that feels so good,” he added. “Watching you on top is the sexiest thing, damn. Look at you.”

His cock swelled even further.

“Do you like watching me?” I asked, running my hands down my body, cupping my breasts, enjoying the way his eyes nearly popped out of his skull.

“Uh-huh,” he managed to get out.

“Good,” I murmured, losing myself in the moment, pinching my nipples, grabbing my breasts, and dragging a finger down my stomach and back up.

“Oh, fuck,” Cal hissed, his body tensing.

“Yes,” I whispered, pumping my hips a few times before hopping off hurriedly and taking his shaft in my hand, sucking frantically on the tip.

Warm, hot cum spilled into my mouth while I jerked him feverishly, swallowing as fast as I could until there was no more, and we both fell back, panting and giggling.

Time passed, and the clouds moved overhead, neither of us speaking. Not wanting to ruin the moment—or perhaps not wanting to acknowledge what had happened.

My brain was already screaming at me, ordering me to freak out about it. I was supposed to be keeping things distant between Cal and me.

Callum. Not Cal.

Instead, I’d just gotten absolutely railed by him in a mountain field, and now, my mouth tasted like his salty cum.

Bad. This is really, really bad.

“By the way,” Cal muttered from where he still lay on his back, staring at the sky. “Tomorrow. Barbecue at my parents’ place with the family. You can come if you want.”

“Callum?”

“Yeah?” he said warmly.

“You have shit timing.”

“So, you’re coming?”

I don’t know. I shouldn’t. It will be so awkward. They’ll all think I’m his new girl, trying to be the other one, but also, I’m a human. It’s not worth it. I should stay home.

“Sure, why the hell not,” I heard myself say instead.

Oh, this was going to be bad.