Chapter Thirty-Two

NASH

As impatient as I was to talk — and do more than talk — I paused on the way over to Erin’s cabin.

“It’s so beautiful here,” I murmured, taking it all in. The ranch. The rocks. The peace…

Erin laughed. “You only figured that out now?”

“No. Well, yes. I mean, everything looks clearer now. Like a dirty window wiped clean.”

The same applied to my hearing, my nose… Every single sense had been cleansed.

Erin tugged my hand, and we continued down the path. Other than our shoes crunching over the ground, the world was at peace.

Then we got to the talking part, though we danced around the big topics for a while. We discussed meeting Edwards the next day, then work. Apparently, Henry had called off all flights for a few days. Desert Skies had to repair the damaged balloon and regroup after all the media attention, so Erin and I had more free time than usual.

And boy, did I intend to use it well.

“And after that?” I ventured.

Erin stopped on the first step of her porch and looked at me, her eyes brimming with hope.

“I guess it depends. On how long you plan to stick around, I mean.”

Forever, my dragon said immediately. Tell her, forever.

I shrugged, trying to play it cool. “I’m in no rush to leave. Especially with some new job prospects opening up.” When she tilted her head, I went on. “Henry’s going to need a new ground crew chief now that you’ll be piloting more.”

I could see her excitement, though she kept it in check.

“Not too boring a job for you?” she asked, moving up another step. “I mean, after being an agent and all…”

I shook my head. “Nah. Low-key is fine with me. Although I will need to add a side gig. Maybe work on a ranch somewhere… You got any ideas where I might start?”

Her eyes sparkled. “Oh, I definitely have ideas.”

So did I, but just in case…

“Such as…?” I prompted, waiting breathlessly. A little like Roscoe did around the dinner table, wagging his tail hopefully.

“Well, we could use a hand around here.” Her throat bobbed. “We can’t afford to pay, but we could offer room and board.”

I pointed to the barn. “There’s space in the loft, right?”

She gestured toward her cabin. “I was thinking of another loft.”

I inched a little closer, and my voice went all scratchy. “You got enough space there for two? For more than one night, I mean?”

She shrugged, but her eyes danced. “I’m sure you’d fit perfectly.”

And, whoosh! The innuendo sent heat rushing through my veins.

I stepped closer. Right into her arms, in fact. Or maybe she stepped into mine.

“Oops.” I stopped when we crushed Hopper. “We still have the bunny.”

Erin plucked him out of my hands and set him on a porch chair. “He can keep watch out here.”

With that, she slid her arms around my neck.

“Good idea,” I mumbled, leaning into a kiss.

Erin slid her hands into my rear pockets and pressed me closer, making my dragon groan.

So good…

“Hang on.” She broke off long enough to open the cabin door and pull me inside.

Seconds later, we were at the foot of the steep stairs, leaving the floor littered with clothes. Mostly Erin’s, but she did peel my jumpsuit down to my waist. The dangling sleeves would probably be a liability on the loft stairs, but hell. We’d braved greater dangers together.

Erin shed her jacket, vest, and boots, then worked down the buttons on the oversized flannel shirt she wore as a sweater. I tried making myself helpful by coming up from the bottom but got sidetracked by her breasts. An arrangement that suited both of us, though it slowed progress on those buttons.

“Oh, screw it,” she muttered, yanking the flannel over her head.

The shirt underneath went with it, and the motion funneled her hair, then let it cascade around her shoulders.

I dipped, eager to taste what I’d touched. The angle wasn’t quite right, but Erin fixed that by rising to the first step.

Perfect, my dragon rumbled.

With one quick move, Erin popped her bra and tossed it aside. It fluttered past my head, though my eyes were on a different prize.

“Oh!” she exclaimed when I closed my lips around a tight bead.

She tipped her head back and rocked against me, then tapped my shoulders. “Up. Up.” One-syllable orders my dazed mind could easily follow.

“Watch the—” she started.

I thumped my head on a roof beam. Ouch. It did, however, provide a cheap excuse to flop back on the bed.

“Poor baby,” Erin murmured, crawling over my body to kiss me.

So, really, things could have been worse.

“You okay?” she asked a moment later.

I nodded, looking up at her. And oh, what a sight, with her straddling me in nothing but a pair of panties.

“I might have to lie down for a little longer. Just in case.”

She went back to kissing me, murmuring “Poor baby” a few more times.

By then, it wasn’t my head that ached. More like my groin. All the more as Erin slid down my body, trailing kisses over my chest. By the time she got to the waist of the jumpsuit, I was bulging inside.

“Poor baby,” she purred in a totally different tone.

I raised my hips, letting her shove the jumpsuit away. She got it as far as my knees and left it there.

“So, you’re trapping me? Is that how this works?” I teased.

“In the best possible way. Now, hush,” she ordered, leaning down.

I closed my eyes just before her lips made contact, praying it wasn’t all a dream. Then she slid down, sucking me in.

For the past weeks, thoughts and worries had crowded my mind. Now, that space went blissfully blank except for the sensation of her lips and tongue.

Best dream ever. Especially since it was real.

“Hang on,” Erin panted a moment later, nudging me toward the center of the bed. “More headroom here.” Then she laughed. “Get it? Head room?”

I groaned at the pun, then hissed as she went back to where she’d left off.

Her lips were firm, but her hands were gentle. Her panties rubbed on my thigh as she fell into a rhythm that drove me wild. I twisted my hands in the sheets, ordering myself not to explode — yet. Peeking only got my dragon further riled up, so I shut my eyes, imprinting that brief glimpse on to my memory.

Each time Erin came up for air, she panted harder. Each time she dove back down, I groaned in ecstasy. But shared pleasure was double the pleasure, so…

I tapped her shoulders, and she popped her head up.

“Had enough?” Her hair was a mess, and her eyes were bright.

“I will never have enough of you. But right now…”

Breaking into a huge smile, she crawled back up my body and sat up, straddling my hips. “Right now, you were thinking something like this, right?”

“Not exactly,” I admitted, jerking my hips. “But it’s a good start.”

She huffed. “I’ll show you a good start, buster…”

She pressed down over me, dragging her hips in slow, sensual circles. Her panties were soaked, and the soft cloth provided just enough friction to turn me on more. Not that I needed much more stimulus in that department.

She teased me a while longer, then broke away to strip those panties off.

“Dammit,” she grumbled as they rolled, getting stuck. “Are you even helping here?”

“Sorry,” I said, kicking the jumpsuit off. “I just need one second…”

She made exasperated sounds until we were both naked. “Now, where were we?”

She climbed back into position, teasing me with the barest contact where I need her most. Then she locked eyes with me and sank down, carrying us both into bliss.

For a while, I lay still, relishing the moment. Then I grasped her hips and echoed her movements with short, upward thrusts of my own.

“Nash…” she whispered, telling me how good she felt.

I rubbed a thumb over her skin, telling myself I could hold on through three more hits of that drug. But Erin only made it through two before rolling to one side.

“More. I need more…”

It was half plea, half order, and I was happy to comply.

We rolled without losing contact and picked up where we’d left off — which was very, very close to exploding. Being on top gave me the leverage I needed to take us to the next level. Erin clamped her inner muscles, milking me for all she was worth.

“Watch…your…head…” she murmured between short, hard breaths.

If I hadn’t been that close to exploding, I might have laughed. I followed her back to the center of the bed, then I hammered down again.

Mate, my dragon cried as we rocked wildly.

I’d stopped denying it a while ago, but never had the notion been as crystal-clear as it was to me now.

Every other thought and sensation, however, blurred together. The rocking motion…the hot, hard glide…the sounds Erin made…the heady scent of desire…

I thrust deeper than ever, then howled and released.

“Yes…” Erin cried out, shuddering as she came.

For the next few seconds, the only sound was our heaving breaths. I sank down slowly, panting over her shoulder for a long time.

“Oh!” Erin cried out with an aftershock.

If I’d had it in me to punctuate it with a few more thrusts, I would have. A damn shame, really, until I thought of something else.

Something better, my dragon growled eagerly.

My chest heated, and my throat burned. I found Erin’s mouth and smothered her in another searing kiss. Then, after a deep breath, I sealed my lips around hers and let my dragon rip.

Erin’s eyes went wide, and her body jerked. For an instant, her nails dug into my shoulders in panic. Her eyes blazed, telling me she was on fire.

My fire, I willed her to understand.

Her expression went from shock to bliss. Her legs, wrapped around my waist, clamped me even closer, and she shuddered, surrendering to wave after wave of fiery pleasure.

For a few precious moments, we soared in ecstasy. Then we slowly keeled over and went limp. At some point, we cleaned up with a corner of the sheet and lay face-to-face. The curve of Erin’s hips made the perfect notch for my arm to loop over, and I held her close.

“Wow,” Erin finally managed, her chest still rising and falling in time with mine. “What was that?”

Apparently, she’d never had a mother-daughter talk about intimate dragon stuff. Why was I not surprised?

“Dragon kiss,” I explained, smoothing her hair over her shoulder, then twirling a strand around a finger. A tiny pleasure, but still incredibly satisfying. Just like the tickle of her breath on my chest.

She smacked her lips a few times. “Dragon kiss or dragon fire?”

“Same thing.” I cupped her cheek, suddenly worried. “No good?”

A sly smile spread over her face. “Very good. Can I get another?”

I laughed, then kissed her, sending a smaller lick of fire across this time.

Erin’s fingernails dug in, and she wiggled, pressing her hips against mine. When we came up for air, she gulped and stared at me. “And another?”

I laughed. “I’ve created a monster.”

She flopped to her back, laughing. “Maybe. But wow. Dragon kiss, huh?”

I nodded as my dragon danced in delight and relief.

She likes it! She likes it!

“Lots more where that came from,” I promised, holding her close.

“I hope so,” she whispered, then became more serious. “I don’t know much about shifters, but I hear a lot about mating bites…”

My breath caught, and I nodded eagerly.

“Obviously, my parents aren’t the world’s best example.” She frowned a little. “And I never thought I’d want to know. But now, with you…” She bit her lip, gazing deep into my eyes. “I guess I’d like to…uh, consider our options.”

My grin was so wide, it hurt. Oh, we had options, all right. A lifetime of them.

“Mating is forever, you know,” I warned.

“The opposite of my parents? Perfect.” She kissed me.

And, oops. The kiss, like so many others, quickly slipped out of control. But, hey. We could work out the details later. Now was the time to indulge ourselves in an equally important task — getting to know each other in the very best way.

“Just watch your head,” Erin murmured as I rolled, taking the top.

I chuckled into the soft skin of her neck but didn’t reply. Not with words anyway.