Wicked Dark Dragon (Dragon Heat) Read online

  That second dose of lust root will make him ravenous, girl. If the potion doesn’t kill him, I will. My Knights were promised a show. They’ve never witnessed the mating rituals of the dragons. Give them a taste tonight—and I’ll let your Beast see another sunrise.

  Ivy glanced back at the guards standing in a semicircle around them. Eyes shining lecherously, they stared on with obvious excitement. Painfully aware of her nakedness, she gulped anxiously and bit her lower lip to keep it from wobbling pitifully. Crouching closer to Mad, she tried to hide as much of her body as possible from the guards watching them. She thought of the warning her mother had given her about getting into sticky situations. She had read enough chilling news stories about young women outnumbered by men to know how this would end if she didn’t do as ordered. Recalling Mad’s description of his friend going on a rampage when overdosed with the root, she feared what might happen if she didn’t take the pressure off, so to speak.

  A trickle of blood leaked from Mad’s nose. Green fluid the color of antifreeze dripped from his ears. His laborious breaths scared her. This wonderfully fantastic mythical man-beast hybrid was so very strong, but she didn’t know how much more of this he could take. The Seer might be bluffing—but Ivy couldn’t take that chance, not with the man who made her body thrum and her blood sing. Not with my mate.

  Making up her mind to do whatever the Seer wanted in order to save Mad, she picked up one of the towels from the stack that had been left for them and gently wiped away the blood and fluid trickling along his skin. Leaning over him, she peered into his glazed eyes and prayed he would let her inside…

  Second by second, their physical surroundings collapsed like dominoes. An image from Mad’s memories—the locker room of the gym he owned with his cousin—appeared before her. She replicated the details with his help, creating a familiar environment that would set him at ease and block out the Knights and chains. Using her ability to connect to Mad while they were both asleep was one thing, but this was totally new territory. She hoped she wouldn’t fail.

  In this strange wake-dream world she had crafted, Mad roused with a sharp inhale and bolted upright. He snatched her close and rolled to his knees, shoving her behind him in one move. His head whipped side to side as he searched for their guards, but they weren’t visible to him. He whirled back on her, grasping her upper arms and hauling her upright. “Ivy? What’s going on?”

  She put both hands on his broad chest and petted him. His once cold and clammy skin was blazing hot now. Even in this dream world, he smelled more delicious, the woodsy scent of him curling around her and making the very tips of her toes tingle. “Calm down, Mad. This is our place. It’s our world. We’re safe here.”

  “No, we’re not. They gave me more of the lust potion.” He sniffed her mouth and grimaced. “Shit. Not you, too!” He tried to shove her away from him. “You have to get away from me. I could hurt you.”

  “You won’t hurt me, and I’m not going anywhere. We’re staying here, in my world. I’m going to help you.”

  He clasped her face in his big, rough palms. “What have you done?”

  Running her fingers along his, she gripped them and dragged them away from her cheeks. “I’m saving your life. She’ll kill you if we don’t—”

  “Don’t what, Ivy?” His eyes widened as the penny dropped. “No.” His emphatic rejection surprised her. “I’m not doing that to you. Not like this. Not here.”

  “It’s just sex, Mad.” She said it carelessly but her stomach pitched with fear and embarrassment.

  “It’s not just anything, Ivy. Not when it comes to you,” he said tenderly. “We aren’t doing this.”

  “Yes, we are.” If the Seer could control Mad’s body, why couldn’t she? “I’m sorry.” She pushed hard against his chest and shoved him against the wall. “It’s the only way to save you.”

  “Ivy.” His gaze turned frantic when he realized he couldn’t move his legs or arms. He was locked in tight and stuck in that standing position. “Don’t even think about it!”

  Blocking out the men who were watching and the Seer who was threatening to kill him, Ivy committed herself completely to the fantasy. “It’s just you and me, Mad.” She peppered playful kisses all over his sculpted chest. “A girl and her dragon.”

  “This is a dangerous game, Ivy.” He breathed heavily. His voice had taken on a deeper, huskier tone.

  “Yes, it is. It’s life or death.” She rose on tiptoes but was far too short to reach his lips. “Kiss me, Mad. Kiss me the way you did in our dream.”

  The furious set to his mouth relaxed. He capitulated faster than she had expected. Clearly the potion was working. With a low and needful groan, he lowered his face and nuzzled their noses together. His lips finally made contact with hers. A flutter of something wild and wicked rocked her core. Closing her eyes, she surrendered to his seeking kiss, the first they had shared in the real, physical world.

  A burst of fiery passion blistered between them. Sliding her hands along his strong arms, she rejoiced in his commanding kiss. Even bound with chains and her mind, he proved to be as dominating as ever. She might be the one with the freedom to move, but he was the one with all the control.

  When he backed off the kiss, she issued a whimper of protest, but he wasn’t about to give in to her. He nipped at her lower lip, tugging her sensitive flesh between his teeth and biting down gently. “Let me move, Ivy.”

  She found the strength to refuse him. “No.”

  “Ivy.” His mouth brushed hers but didn’t linger. “I can give you pleasure.”

  “That’s why I can’t let you free.”

  He frowned down at her. “Don’t you want me to make you feel good?”

  “Oh, you have no idea.” A delicious ripple burned through her core and settled between her thighs. If she let him loose, he would break her concentration and shatter the dream. Once fully awake, there was no telling what Mad would do in his drugged state.

  Running her hand down his abdomen, she inched closer and closer to the rigid shaft that she had been sneaking peeks at during their shower. His breath hitched when her fingertips sifted through the thatch of curls guarding his cock. She hadn’t ever been this close to a naked man but she wasn’t naïve or totally innocent. She didn’t know exactly what she was doing, but she was going to fake the hell out of some confidence.

  “Tell me it’s okay to touch you, Mad.” She was willing to do whatever was necessary to save him, but she wasn’t going to cross that line.

  He growled, the sound so low and rumbling it made her clitoris pulse. “Touch my cock, Ivy. Make me come.”

  His command made her throb in all the right places. Breasts aching and pussy clenching with desire, she clasped his erection and stroked from the wide base to the blunt tip. His searing flesh branded her skin, and his girth was so great her fingers didn’t even come close to touching. Could she even take him when the time came?

  “Tighter,” Mad urged and captured her mouth with a possessive kiss. “Both hands, Ivy.”

  She melted against his solid body and did as instructed. He thrust against her palms and grew more insistent with his kisses. His mint-flavored tongue traced the seam of her lips before flicking inside and touching her tongue.

  An arc of pure and unadulterated lust raced through her chest and settled in her belly. She noticed he smelled different again, now muskier and spicier. She rubbed the tip of her nose against his skin and inhaled his scent. Drugged by the aphrodisiac, Ivy grew hotter and more aroused. Her feminine center pulsed almost painfully and she squeezed her thighs together to lessen the ache. A slick wetness seeped from her core and stained her thighs.

  His seed. Take his seed.

  The need to taste him overwhelmed her. Though she had never performed oral sex, she knew the mechanics and basics of the act from reading racy novels and satisfying her curiosity with a glossy skin flick or two. Slowly, she knelt at Mad’s feet and gazed up at him with utter adoration. She licked her li
ps to wet them and then dotted quick kisses along his shaft.

  “Ivy, you really shouldn’t.” The warning edge to his voice did little to dissuade her. When she circled her tongue around the head of his cock, he groaned and fisted his hands at his sides. “My seed isn’t safe.”

  His words gave her pause. “You’re sick?”

  “It will change you.” His voice had dropped half an octave and grown rougher. “There’s no going back once we go down this road.”

  Taste him.

  “I’m not turning back now.” She wrapped her lips around the thick ruddy crown. The taste and feel of him in her mouth, the velvety heat over hard steel, was unlike anything she had expected. There was no way she could do any of those wickedly arousing tricks she had seen in the online clips she’d giggled over with her best friend Eris, but she had a feeling Mad didn’t really care. His cock was gliding in and out of the willing mouth of his woman.

  She experimented with different techniques, taking him with long, slow down strokes or bobbing fast and shallow and holding just the tip of him between her lips. Judging by the sounds he made, Mad enjoyed all of it. Some of her girlfriends had complained about giving head, likening it to a transaction that was simply part of maintaining a relationship, but she found it rather exhilarating. It made her feel powerful to see Mad quivering and trembling before her.

  Humming enthusiastically around his cock, Ivy sucked him harder and faster. She remembered all the pointers she had picked up from friends telling their naughty tales and used them to make Mad lose control. His hips pumped subtly and his fingers flexed at his sides. His staccato breaths deepened and grew forceful. “Ivy.”

  Emboldened by his groan, she added her hands to the mix. That was all it took to shove him over the edge. He pulled back but she followed his movement and captured his cock. He tried to hold back but biology won the battle. The first splash of semen hit her tongue, and a surprised whimper escaped her throat. The sweet taste of him set off a craving she couldn’t control. She took him deeper and swallowed down the delicious essence that spilled onto her tongue.

  Revitalized by the swap of sexual energy, she licked him clean, refusing to waste even one drop of Mad’s seed. The wild thing inside her wanted all of him. Dropping back against the wall, he tried to regain his breathing. She kissed his upper thighs and the spot just beneath his navel. It was a sweet and tender moment that was abruptly and rudely ruined.

  The jeering Knights shattered her dreamscape, hurtling them both back into their cold, stark reality. The world she had created crumbled. Now they were bound in chains and providing a spectacle for the men who held them captive. Shame swept through her. Had she really just done that in front of a crowd?

  Enraged by the humiliation she had suffered, Mad stunned her by gripping the chains in his massive hands and tearing them apart. Metal links clattered to the floor. In the blink of an eye, he shoved her into the nearest corner and launched himself at the closest Knight. Without the shock collar around her throat, the Knights couldn’t hurt her from afar anymore, and he was taking advantage of it.

  Ivy watched with shocked horror and the strangest sensation of pride as Mad attacked the men who were tormenting them. He made quick work of snapping the necks of three of them, breaking their bones as if they were as brittle as dried sticks, and knocked another three halfway across the room with brutally hard punches. They didn’t move when they hit the ground. She couldn’t tell if they were dead or simply knocked out cold. She ought to have been horrified at the brutality he displayed but she wasn’t. His vicious behavior and his desire to protect her inspired only the greatest affection.

  The leader of the Knights, the one with the cattle prod, tried to pop Mad but her Beast snatched it away and turned the weapon on him. The Knight jerked and gasped as the painful jolt of electricity ripped through him. Mad smacked the man across the side of the head with the tool and dropped him.

  Her brief hope that they might finally escape was dashed by a rush of shouting and armed men running into the locker room. Mad used his body to totally shield her. A standoff began and she feared this might truly be her last night on earth. She peeked around Mad and saw a dozen Knights blocking the exit and flanking an older man.

  “You’ve made your point, dragon.” The spokesman of the group growled. “Take your mate back to the cell and put the chains back on her cuffs. You may have started the process with her, but you should remember that there are other ways, much more painful ways, to get what we need out of you.”

  The Knight’s threat struck her cold. Remembering the way Mad had said his seed would change her, Ivy wondered what that meant exactly. She considered the strong emotions coursing through her at the moment. Was this the start of that change? She thought of all the ways the Knights might extract Mad’s essence. Would they really do something so gruesome?

  Yes. Without a doubt.

  Desperate to keep him safe, she touched his arm and leaned forward to kiss his back. It was a silent plea for him to do whatever they asked. As long as they were together, there was a chance they could get out of here alive. As long as he was with her, she could face anything.

  Mad pivoted toward her and scooped her up without warning. He tossed her over his shoulder, clamping his arm along her upper thighs, and strode out of the locker room as if he had won her in a prize fight. With the Knights surrounding them, he carried her back to their cell and carefully lowered her to the ground. She glanced around their space and noticed some new additions. There was a chair in one corner and a pallet against the opposite wall. A stack of clean scrub uniforms, the type worn by nurses and doctors, sat atop the chair. There were toothbrushes and toiletries in a small box near the sink.

  The cell door slammed shut behind them. Tired of feeling exposed and vulnerable, Ivy scurried to the stack of clothing and found the smallest pants and top. Mad tugged them from her hands. “Let me.”

  She held still, lifting her arms and legs when necessary as he dressed her. When he was finished, he swept her up again and carried her to the pallet where he gently placed her. Mad picked up the free end of the chains attached to the wall. “I’m sorry, Ivy. I have to chain you.”

  She thrust out her wrists and allowed him to do what was necessary. “It’s okay.”

  “It’s not.” He didn’t bother with the clothes that had been left for him. Sliding down next to her on the pallet, he pressed on her shoulder until she was flat on her back before throwing one of his powerful legs over her thighs to pin her in place. His rough fingertips grazed her cheek. There was only the barest sliver of moonlight spilling into their cell but it was enough to allow her to see that his eyes were still totally dragon. “How do you feel?”

  “Fine,” she lied.

  His eyes narrowed to slits. “Don’t, Ivy. You’re hurting, aren’t you? Your skin is burning. You’re feeling hot all over.”

  She didn’t deny it. “Why are you asking all these strange questions?”

  “I told you that taking my seed would change you.” He brushed her damp hair from her eyes. “When my friend Stig finally gave in to his love for a mortal woman, their lovemaking awakened a side of her that she never knew existed. Cora has extremely diluted dragon blood, but all it took was a few days of mating and she will never be the same again.”

  Ivy swallowed hard. “What about you? How do you feel?”

  “I’m burning up for you.” He touched his scorching hot forehead to hers. “I can smell you and all I can think about is tasting you.” His thunder rumbled out of his throat. “I won’t hurt you.”

  She frowned at him. “I know you won’t hurt me.”

  “I won’t take advantage of you either.”

  “Like I did you?”

  With a sharp intake of breath, Mad lowered his face until their noses were almost touching. “You didn’t take advantage of me. I wanted it. I needed it.”

  Hearing the guilt in his voice made her feel bad. “Honestly, Mad, I wanted to…”

&nbs
p; “Put your mouth on me?” He filled in the words she couldn’t bring herself to say yet.

  “Yes.”

  He ran his thumb along her lower lip. “Did you enjoy it?”

  “Yes.” Nervously, she asked, “Did you?”

  “Hell yes!” He seemed surprised she would even ask the question. “I nearly came the moment your tongue touched my cock.”

  Her face flamed at the frank description. Still, she had to know. “So I was okay at it?”

  He seemed to sense that she needed reassurance. She didn’t have the courage to ask what she really wanted to know. Had he been comparing her to the hundreds of beautiful, skilled women he had shared his bed with during his many years of life? Was he thinking of how very lacking she was in any useful bedroom knowledge? Was he having second thoughts about all the patience required with a virgin mate?

  “You were perfect.” He must have been able to feel her uncertainty. He kissed her deeply, branding her lips with his own. His hand settled on her lower belly and rubbed slowly side to side. That enticing scent still clung to him.

  “You smell so good, Mad.”

  “It’s mating pheromones. You’re driving me crazy.” He nestled his nose in the curve of her throat. “I can smell how aroused you are.”

  She shivered as his gruff voice rumbled through her. His hand slipped under her top and caressed her bare skin. When he cupped her breast, she nearly passed out. “Madoc.”

  His hand went still. “Should I stop?”

  “I…” She didn’t know what to say.

  “Let me give you some pleasure, Ivy. You’ve been through hell the last few weeks. Let me make you feel better, even if only for a few minutes.”

  “Will it help you?”

  “It will, but don’t say yes for me. Say yes because it’s your choice.” His hand slid along the V between her thighs, and he cupped her through the stiff fabric of her pants. “Say yes because you want to know what it feels like to have my tongue here.”