Her eyes were liquid with desire. I put a knee on the bed and laid her down. A second later I loomed over her. Her mouth was parted in surprise as I nudged myself inside. She moaned as I sank deep within her.
"Oh my god," she whispered. I sank to the hilt and wanted to scream to the fucking heavens. She was so tight and wet and perfect.
I began to move, short and shallow thrusts. Ella's breasts bounced, and I had to think about fucking baseball before my performance suffered. She moaned and little gasps came from her throat, and when her cheeks flushed pink and her cries became hoarse, I changed the rhythm to deep strokes.
She cried my name, and I watched as she came undone.
Seconds later, stars burst behind my eyes as I spilled everything I was inside of her.
"What's that light?" she murmured sleepily from the cocoon of my arms.
I opened my eyes and squinted through the fall of her hair. "What light?" I asked, but a second later I knew what she was talking about.
A golden light pooled around us, and it was telling that she could see it. "Ella?"
"Mmm?" Her tone was merely curious right now.
"Do you know both of your parents?"
Ella stiffened in my arms. "What the fuck is that supposed to mean?"
"The light. You can see it?"
She sat up and scooted away from me. Her eyes were wide as she stared down at her arms and then at me. "What the fuck is this?" Her gaze sparked blue fire. "What did you do to me?"
I held a placating hand up. "Nothing. I didn't do anything."
"Then why am I glowing like some goddamn teenage vampire?" she wailed.
A surprised laugh burst from me. "It's ..." I sighed. "It's a mating bond."
"A ... what?!" She stared at me like I was nuts. "What the hell is a mating bond?"
"It means you and I were meant to be together. The gods have decreed it."
She scrambled off the bed and I couldn't help but notice how incredible her ass was. "Okay, psycho. One date and suddenly you're talking like Charles Manson. Are you about to induct me into your cult?" she demanded. "Because I don't like Kool-Aid. It's too full of sugar and I try to eat healthy." She rambled like a madwoman, but there was something fearful in her eyes.
I didn't move from my spot on the bed. I knew what it was like to feel like prey. "It's the light," I explained. "It's the sign of a dragon mating bond."
She burst into hysterical laughter. "A dragon? You think I'm going to believe that I just fucked a dragon?"
Hurt filled me. "I like to think that was a little bit more meaningful than fucking," I said flatly.
She pointed to the door. "Get out, Tanner. I don't know what this is, but I don't want your special effects or your babbling doomsday prophecies. I have enough shit on my plate right now to have to deal with a hot crazy person."
I slowly slid out of her bed and pulled my underwear and pants on. "This isn't what it is. If you look deep enough inside of yourself, you'll realize it."
"Oh, and what's this bullshit about my parents?" she demanded. Ella yanked on a short, floral robe. Her hair was wild around her head and she shook. I longed to comfort her but knew she wouldn't welcome it.
I decided to just say it. "You aren't completely human. I don't know what you are, but I can try to find out."
Her lips flattened. "I have no idea how you appeared so normal to me for so long, but you've just shown your crazy." She pointed again to the door. "Get out."
I was afraid I'd awakened something within her blood. I couldn't sense her heritage before now, but now that our mating bond was solidified, I could taste what she was. I still couldn't place it, but she beat with inhumanity. She had some human blood, yes, but whatever she was had taken up most of her DNA. "If you feel ... weird or anything else, please call me."
She clutched the robe around her. "Weird? Did you poison me? Oh God," she moaned. "What the fuck did I do?"
I blinked, sighed, and brushed past her, but before I stepped out of the room, I stopped. "We're meant to be together, Ella. You'll realize it. I'll wait. You will come to me. I'm sure of it."
A high heel sailed past my forehead.
"You will," I said once again and showed myself out.
11
Ella
I'd just had the best sex of my life with a stark raving mad man. My fingers shook as I stirred the cream into my decaf making the fork clang against the ceramic in a cacophony of noise. I inhaled, exhaled, and tried to steer my brain away from the sheer fucking craziness of the last two hours, but instead I laughed hysterically.
Then I cried.
How had I gotten him so wrong? Why in the world was I so terrible at picking good men? Was I destined to repeat the same mistakes over and over again? Greg wasn't crazy. He was just an asshole.
Tanner wasn't an asshole. He was just crazy.
I picked up my mug, my hands still shaking, and padded over to the couch. The silk of the robe rubbed against me, and I winced at how sensitive my skin was. I didn't feel disgusted by him. I just felt ... raw. Used a little. Disturbed. Maybe a little betrayed. But every time I thought about the way he touched me, I felt like I needed to fan myself.
However, there was something ... off about me. Ever since he left, I felt an odd threat between us. I knew where he was. I knew his emotions were high. I could feel it. The thought didn't sit right with me. I shouldn't be able to know those things. The memory of the warm golden light suffusing us made me squeeze my eyes shut. It was warm and lovely and lying in the circle of Tanner's arms made me feel safe in a way I never had before.
Could I live with a crazy person to keep that feeling? A chuckle burst from me, but it was partly hysterical.
I sipped my decaf and stared at the wall, my mind whirring with thoughts. His words rolled through my mind.
I would come to him. I snorted. Fat chance of that.
And yet ... I already felt like I wanted to go to him. I squeezed my eyes shut. If I stopped thinking about it, it was like it never happened right? Also, what was with his dragon thing? The tiny sleeping clay dragon I'd given him was gone. Was he one of those ravers who showed up at a club after hours and begged people to bite him? Wait. That was vampires. How were dragons made, anyway?"
"Fuck," I muttered. "Fuck, fuck, fuccccccck," I screamed.
Someone banged on the wall. "Shut the fuck up in there!"
Harvey. That guy was an asshole. "Fuck off, Harvey!"
"I would if I could!" the voice through the wall answered.
At least some things were reliable. My life certainly wasn't.
I woke up the next morning with my face buried in my pillow and my robe half open. I blinked bleary eyed up at the ceiling and frowned. I'd never made it back to bed last night. Instead, I drank a whole lot of decaf and stayed up watching happy movies until I passed out. I stretched my neck only to wince when it pulled tight. Rolling over made my hip and lower back hurt. I was in my mid-twenties, but this morning I felt a hundred.
I sat up and re-tied my robe. Just as I was about to get up and get some coffee, someone knocked on my door. I had no idea what time it was, but based on the dim light coming through the windows, it was still pretty early. Cursing under my breath, I slid on my slippers and went to open the door.