“I would like to be a teacher, but not the way you suggest. You have the heart of a dragon, April. And I think you’re even more than that. I’m prepared to give up that job. Instead I’d rather explore your power with you, show you what you’re capable of, help you master it.”
He was standing so close his heat embraced me like before, but this time I wasn’t relaxing in its comforting cocoon. I was tense, every nerve awakened by his proximity, and I hadn’t even tasted the coffee yet.
I swallowed and forced myself to meet his gaze. “You mean like how I managed to grab hold of that hot glass bare-handed? I can channel that magic somehow?”
“That, and other things.”
“Like what?” I breathed, intoxicated by the scent of him surrounding me. I should have smelled the coffee brewing right behind me, but my entire universe was filled with nothing but this unexpected man.
He crowded closer, leaning past me to flip the dial on the coffee maker to the off position. “Like the fact that you don’t need coffee to regain your energy if you’re as much like me as I think you are.”
“Oh?” I leaned back, meeting his gaze, but holding my ground. He pressed closer, propping his hands on the counter behind me and caging me in. “What do I need?”
He was so close his breath brushed against my lips, and the soft flow made my eyelids flutter closed. Then his lips grazed mine with his answer: “Nirvana.”
6
April
I had no idea what he meant, but I was pretty sure he wasn’t talking about the nineties grunge band. If he meant the abstract concept of enlightenment, I wasn’t sure how it applied to actually finding energy to channel into my work, but the way his lips felt on mine made me more than willing to allow him to elaborate.
But despite my mental question, he didn’t even offer a verbal reply, mental or out loud. All he did was kiss me, and this time the heat of his mouth against mine dissolved every sense of caution I’d managed to exert earlier in the day.
Heat exploded within me, and I moaned into the kiss, sliding my tongue against his in response to the seeking, velvet wetness he plunged into my mouth. He dropped his hands to my hips and squeezed, pulling me tighter. Awareness of his arousal blasted through me. He was big. All over.
Desperate and more than a little curious, I dropped one hand between us, seeking out the front of his pants. The enormous bulge I found pulsed through the fabric, the sheer size reminding me starkly that this man in my arms wasn’t human. The urge to see him naked overwhelmed my enjoyment of the kiss, and I pulled back to begin frantically tugging at his clothing. He’d removed the fleece hours ago but still wore a snug cotton T-shirt, which I yanked up over his head. His eyes flashed with humor at my enthusiastic undressing of him. When I went for his belt buckle, his abs flexed with a low laugh.
“I promise it all looks pretty normal.”
“Are you kidding? Nothing about you is normal. I want to see the real you.” I had his belt open and his fly unzipped, but he grasped my hand before I could pull down his boxers.
“Only if you promise to share yourself with me.” I met his eyes and smiled, releasing his pants to tug at the tied tails of my shirt.
“Do you have a condom or three?” I asked with one arched eyebrow.
He eased close again and took my hands. “Let me. We can undress each other, that’s part of the fun. Lesson one: drawing out the pleasure makes it even better for our kind, so it’s best not to rush. And lesson two: dragons can only get you pregnant if both parties are on board with having a child together. We have to explicitly desire an offspring for it to happen. You would also need my mark.”
“That might be the sexiest thing a man has ever said to me. Do what you will.” I parked my hands on the edge of the counter and let him take control of the undressing, but before going for the hem of my shirt, he touched my chin. “Open your eyes, April. Really open them. Watch my aura when you touch me.”
I concentrated my focus on the invisible field of power that encompassed me whenever I was near him, and with the barest exertion of mental will, I felt a switch flip. The world around me faded into monotone except for Gray, his silvery aura pulsing visibly now, but it wasn’t just silver. Threaded among the membranous aura were threads of deep red.
He smiled. “That’s it. Now continue what you were doing.”
He released my hands, and I resumed undressing him, but this time I went slower, watching the red magic flare when my knuckles brushed across the tops of his hips. He hummed a low sound and tugged my shirt open, pushing the flannel off my shoulders and leaning in to brush his lips over my throat.
“That’s right. Slow like that.”
With his nearness, his aura became a cloud around me, the red and silver crackling almost audibly. I slid my hands around his hips, dipping them beneath his pants and cupping his ass. I squeezed, and the red flared brighter, accompanied by Gray’s rumble of encouragement against my neck.
His fingers slipped beneath the bottom of my tank top, palms splaying across my belly and sliding up. My stomach tightened, and I inhaled as he grazed the bottoms of my breasts. The red in his aura brightened yet again.
“No bra?” he whispered, hands venturing up even higher.
My attention wavered as his fingertips brushed across my nipples, and it took every effort to reply. “Don’t like underwear.”
“Mmm,” was his only answer as he covered my breasts with his hands and nipped at my neck.
I released his ass and slid my hands back around. Two could play at this distraction game, and if he wanted slow, he’d get it. Reaching the front of his boxers, my fingertips encountered the tip of his erect cock, trapped tight within the elastic of his waistband. I enjoyed the light flinch then relax of his belly when I accidentally grazed hot skin, but if his goal was teasing for the sake of this lesson, I’d happily prove what a conscientious student I could be.
Instead of touching him directly again, I concentrated on the undressing part. I grabbed the top of his pants and tugged down, leaving his boxers put. When I dropped lower, it forced him to release my breasts and stand straight again. I smiled up at him as I slid his pants down his long legs, over thick, muscular thighs and calves, stopping at the sturdy hiking boots on his feet. My face was inches from his groin, and I indulged in a slow perusal of the impressive shape that filled out the stretchy black fabric.
My heart thudded hard, but I managed to school my features to avoid looking too awe-struck. Jesus Christ, he was enormous. So huge I should be scared, but for some reason, my core grew even hotter at the prospect of having him inside me. I had to force my attention back to the task at hand. Before untying his boots, I hazarded a look at his aura, pleased at the deeper infusion of red that had appeared since I’d dropped to my knees in front of him.
“You like this, don’t you?” I asked, glancing up his sleek torso while I unraveled the laces of his boots. “Me on my knees for you.”
“I like anything you do that leads us closer to making love.” He reached down and cupped my face, caressed my cheek, then tugged my bandana off my head. Reaching up, he looped it over his own dark head and smiled as he tugged it down to wrap around his forehead the way I’d been wearing it.