Taming: A Reverse Harem Series (To Tame A Shifter Book 1) Page 7

  The day slips away.

  We make our way down the little dirt path that leads up to my shack. I’m going to miss this shack when everything’s all said and done. After I collect my money, or once these three find out I’m the mage they’ve been looking for, I’m going to miss this place.

  Grim stalks toward us, his bushy tail wagging as he strides toward me. He gives a low growl of a greeting to Chaos before planting his paws on my shoulders and swiping his tongue across my cheek. He’s so much larger than I am in this stance. He shadows over my body.

  “Did you miss me?” My fingers push through his hair, singeing my fingertips just lightly but not enough for me to not show him some attention.

  At least he isn’t trying to rip my new lovely shifter friends to pieces today.

  Chaos raises his hand as if he might pat the hellhound as well, but Grim snips at him, baring his teeth like Chaos just tried to take away his favorite bone.

  “Good to see you too.” He shakes his head at the beast before pushing open the front door. Chaos walks through the front door of my house like he’s lived here his entire life.

  I pat Grim’s head once more before trailing after the shifter.

  My shoulders sag slightly as I look up to the sun that’s attempting to fade down into the evening sky, casting pale light across the horizon. Exhaustion hits hard the moment I close the door behind me.

  And I run right into a solid chest.

  Chaos’s fingers grip my hips, tensing into the flesh of my lower back as my palms settle on his shoulders. Why am I always in this man’s arms?

  “I was going to make some dinner.” My voice is husky when I speak, and his gaze follows every syllable that skims over my lips.

  “That sounds good.” The sweet demeanor he always holds isn’t there anymore. A dark look that I can’t quite place is in his eyes.

  A beat passes and it takes too much effort for my fingers to release him, my palms trailing down the curve of his biceps before finally falling away.

  Logically, I know how awful it would be for me to become too attached to any of them. The more time I spend with Chaos, the more I forget that logic entirely.

  I keep my mind busy as I stuff already baked bread into a pan and begin to press cheese and herbs into the center. The heat of the fire is barely warm as I place the food over the embers. I stay there, seated near the flames, and keep my attention safely held on the fiery coals.

  “What the hell is this?” He pokes Bobbles head and the fat little fish submerges below the water, deflating the moment the water covers his white body.

  “That’s Bobble.”

  “Bubble?”

  “No, Bobble. He’s a tumid fish. The air seems to make him swell up to a life-threatening size.”

  His dark brow arches as watches the fish bob right back to the top, his scales stretching as he blows up so much his face presses against the glass, his beady eyes pleading for help.

  Another push of Chaos’ finger sends the fish back into the safety of his bowl. “He’s … not very bright, is he?”

  I shake my head.

  “He’s sweet though. He just needs a little help in life.”

  Chaos passes the fish a worried look as he walks across the small room.

  “What will you do with all this money?”

  He leans against the small counter near the kitchen window, his gaze fixed on me, his features shadowed in the dim lighting.

  “I guess I’ll travel.” Run away is more like it. I’ll run away for a final time. Far away where my demons will never find me.

  “Not going to visit family? A boyfriend maybe?” His hinting words are serious. It seems to be the first completely serious thing I’ve ever heard him say.

  “No boyfriend. My family—” I think about my mother and father who live on the other side of the country. They’re safer there. My mother is older and it’s easy for her to hide her magic. She’s content to let it disappear entirely.

  I’m not.

  “They live along the coast.” My lips part as I realize how honest that statement was. I’m telling him too much.

  His brows rise. Coastal life is more luxurious, and everyone knows it. The coast is lined with towering tropical houses, beautifully painted and nicely kept up. The imports there and the seafood are sold at a fair and impressive price to the in-landers. My father made a name for himself selling ships.

  I miss him. I miss my parents.

  “It’s beautiful there.” His response is quiet and surprises me slightly. It’s a safe thing to say. Instead of prying, he chose to make a statement that everyone can agree with.

  “It’s amazing there.” It’s like this place that I haven’t seen in years where the water and the heavens meet, tangling together into this beautiful and untouchable horizon.

  I pull my knees to my chest, locking my hands around my shins as I wait for the cheese to melt into the bread.

  “That smells really good.” The boards creak as he comes closer. Slowly, he lowers himself down beside me. The smell of warm smoke and timber and something completely Chaos washes over me.

  “Thanks.”

  “I think deep down you like taking care of us fucktiles.” His arm brushes mine as I turn to glare up at him, a smile trying to pull at the thin line consuming my lips.

  “Hardly. You three are more work than you’re worth.”

  To be fair, they’re worth over a million parchels, so that’s definitely the biggest lie I’ve ever told in my entire life.

  “You’ll miss us when we’re gone. Admit it.” His shoulder bumps against mine, teetering my balance just slightly.

  I hum for a moment and the sound of it seems to draw him closer. When I look up again, his head is tilted toward mine, his mouth just an inch from the smile upon my lips.

  “Yes, I’ll definitely miss my pain in the ass dragons when I’m out living a luxurious life.”

  His lips pull into that half smile, and as he leans closer, a mixture of want and terror rips through me. Goddess, do I want him.

  But at the same time, I want nothing to do with that reckless want.

  I look away from him. My gaze holds hard on the flickering flames kissing against the metal of the bread pan. The rapid beat of my heart thunders through me as I try to catch my breath, busying myself with removing the food from the fire.

  When I stand with the food, Chaos has already set out two plates, and the moment I sit the pan down at the center of the table, he starts cutting into it. The blade sinks into the soft, cheesy bread and it takes me a moment to realize my sweet dragon is serving me.

  “Sit down.” His command is a whisper against his lips.

  And I obey.

  I sink into the small wooden chair and he slices a large hunk of bread off for me. Strings of cheese make a line between my plate and the pan, wafting a strong and delicious scent all around us.

  “Shit, this smells fantastic.” His compliments shower around me, flooding me with more emotion than I’ve felt in years.

  His appreciation always seems to catch me off guard, making me forget my breath and voice. He isn’t nearly as fierce and intimidating as he looks.

  “Thanks.” The quiet word disappears right off my tongue in a whisper that I can barely hear.

  What the fuck is wrong with me? Why are all these feelings drowning me right now?

  I tear a small piece of bread off, and the moment it touches my tongue, I hum as the flavors fill my mouth. I don’t cook much. There isn’t much food to cook usually. Even this isn’t too fancy. But it’s good.

  “It’s good, right? My girl’s a good cook.” His arm bumps mine in a playful way and it takes me a moment to realize he just called me his girl.

  Chaos is confusing. Alluring and charming and confusing.

  In a weird, very strange way, I think he’s just overly friendly. All the small teasing brushes of his arm against mine, the compliments, the new possessive nickname, it must just be how he was raised. I bet his mothe
r is proud of him.

  She should be.

  His Adam’s apple works as he swallows a big bite of food before devouring the rest like the animal that he is.

  Yes, he’s a total gentleman.

  I have got to stop appraising him. He needs to stop complimenting me, and above all else, I need to remember that he and his friends are basically hunting me.

  “I think I’ll go to bed early.” I stand and quickly deposit my plate in the sink. My behavior is off the wall, I know, but my heart’s pounding a mile a minute while fear of being caught starts to twist my stomach. It’s all very hard to think through.

  He doesn’t have time to reply as I quickly move away from him before I lie down. My arms hug my pillow beneath my head as I bury my face into the soft material, attempting to block out the bright evening skyline.

  It’s too early for bed, but it’s the only thing I can do to avoid the man seated at my kitchen table.

  I just have to make it a little longer. I just have to keep my eye on the prize. I just have to keep a wall between me and these three shifters for another day or two.

  A suffocating feeling of anxiety starts to push within my chest.

  The bed dips, dropping my stomach right along with it. A strong body wraps around mine, his palms pushing low against my abdomen with a trail of heat.

  “Chaos can you please. I can’t—I can’t think, and I just want to sleep, and I’m tired, and I hate how good you feel.” My mouth snaps shut but it doesn’t stop the words I’ve already spoken.

  I tense beneath him. Seconds tick by as we both process what I just said.

  Why did I say that?

  “You feel good too.” His words tingle into me in a delicious way. “My mind is always split. There’s this rational human side of me, and then there’s this primal dragon side of my thoughts.” His low tone drifts right through me, and I can’t look at him. I force my face deeper into my fluffy pillow to avoid the confessions that are growing in the air. “My dragon side is demanding.”

  The words he said earlier swarm my mind. He said his dragon loved me …

  That thought both terrifies me and warms me all at once. His fingers tense against my stomach before slipping lower. His touch burns over my skin, making energy course all through me with every slow move of his fingertips. My lashes flutter as he cups my sex from over the thin material of my skirt, and a heavy sigh falls from my lips.

  The tingling feeling in my core tightens. My hips skim against his palms, my ass rocking hard against him until he finally shifts higher to meet me just right. The pillow sinks and his hand plants near my head just as his cock grinds against my ass.

  A repressed sound leaves him and fans against the back of my neck. It takes a second before I start to meet him. Our hips rock hard together but only in a way that truly benefits one of us. His lips press to my messy hair, and I keep my face tilted away from him as his mouth skims against the curve of my neck. His beard brands my skin in a tingling delicious way.

  The warmth of his palm sears across the back of my thigh as he pushes my skirt higher and higher. The thin material teases my skin and my legs part wide for him as he settles in; his chest brushes against my back with every move he makes.

  He feels good. I love the way his hands feel against my skin. I want his mouth on my body. I want to feel every inch of him. For a fleeting instant, I consider turning to him. I consider kissing him deeply just to know how he’d taste.

  But I don’t want that connection. I want the building release to come crashing down. I want him to fuck me hard. But I don’t ever want to feel that soul-crushing emotional attachment to anyone like I’ve felt in the past.

  My palm pushes at the hard length of his cock behind me and he thrusts against my touch. I shove blindly at the waist of his jeans until smooth skin meets my fingers.

  I shift my hips for him as he pulls my underwear down. When his palm pushes over my center, a whimpering gasp slips from my lips and the sound is silenced against the soft pillow beneath me. Slow and deliberate strokes guide his fingers up and down my slickness. He rubs hard against my clit, and a shaking breath fans across my hair, my eyes slipping closed. One finger sinks in and then another, and he groans against my neck before kissing me there tenderly.

  Shamelessly, I grind myself against the firm movements of his palm until I’m moaning from the feel of his hand working my body.

  “Relax, Low. I’ll take care of you, I promise.”

  I don’t have time to realize how quickly he intends to fulfill that promise.

  His palm slips away, and with my chest heaving, I look back at him with a needy look that makes him smile. The evening light strikes across the dark stubble of his jaw, making his smile appear more dangerous than I’ve ever seen it.

  Big palms grasp my hips and he pulls me against him until every hard inch of him is slamming into me at once.

  He uses me as he strokes himself hard, stretching the deepest parts of my body until I’m crying out from the rough feel of it. My orgasm builds and tightens within me as he thrusts deeper and deeper. I’m spread beneath him, his nails digging into my skin as he fills me completely from behind. The dominance of his body over mine sends a rush of energy right to my sex, and I rock forcefully against his every thrust.

  It’s like nothing I’ve ever felt before. Chaos is this surprising combination of aggression and care that I never expected.

  The warmth of his palm skims up my spine in a gentle caress. His fingers grip the base of my hair and he pulls hard until I’m bowed beneath him. His grip tightens with every hard thrust. My gasps and moans fill the silence, and every sound I make seems to fuel him on. It’s this delicious mixture of pain and pleasure. His dominance excites every part of me, but I also want him to know he doesn’t own the control between us.

  I arch against him, settling against his thighs as his chest melds against my back. My spine bows until my hands push through his hair. My hands are above my head, gripping his locks tightly as he rocks his hips harder.

  “Fuck, Low.” He releases my hair and I release him, both of us relenting to one another. The cool mattress meets my fingertips once again as I settle my chest against the blanket. My palms fist the sheets. He groans, his thrusts becoming jarring and hard, but he doesn’t stop for even a second.

  Heat sears over my skin as his palm skims across my hip before drifting lower. His fingers push down my sex, slipping against the base of his cock before sliding back up. Fast and hard circles press against my clit in the most demanding way. The energy within me coils tighter, and I bury my face in the pillow as I scream his name.

  My release shivers all through me. It draws him in deeper and he slams in one more time, his nails raking across my hip as he stills behind me.

  His heavy breaths shake through the silence, and the pulsing of his dick makes me tremble beneath him.

  Neither of us speak for a long moment. Finally, I turn, letting him slip from me to face him. He’s the first person I’ve slept with in five years.

  Goddess, that was the best decision I’ve made in five years, I guarantee it. I’m mentally applauding my good choices in life.

  I think I might even miss him, and his cock, when I sell him off to the Prince.

  Hesitantly, his fingers push over mine before he holds my hand lightly above my head. He holds himself above me, studying me. We stay like that for several quiet moments.

  “I –I haven’t had sex in a while.” His quiet words make me smirk. His eyes close slowly before he smiles. It’s an awkward statement that makes my heart stumble. “I just meant … I didn’t mean for it to be rough. I—”

  It was so perfectly rough.

  “Shut up.” A smirk hesitates against my lips. I’ve never seen him so adorably awkward before. “Do you want to try again?” I cut him off before he can say sorry because that’s literally the last thing I want to hear in bed.

  “Fuck yeah, I want to try again.” His gaze trails over my features and he leans
into me, his attention held on my mouth.

  At the last moment, I turn away. Confusion crosses his features and my heart starts to pound unsteadily. Instead of letting him kiss me, I lean into him and push my lips against his warm neck. His salty taste meets my lips, and I rake my teeth slowly across his skin until he settles his hips against mine.

  The tip of his dick sinks slowly and gently into me, and I gasp from the feel of it. Long and slow thrusts fuel his movements. He takes his time drawing out my every shaking breath even as his fingers tightens against my wrist.

  It’s meticulous, and careful, and gentle, and so fucking slow I feel like I might come all over again from the tormenting pace.

  He’s very much not dickless. I guess I just had to find out firsthand.

  “Fuck.” I can’t form a real sentence to save my life, but my gasping words keep coming from my mouth with every thrust he gives me.

  At the sound of my approving words, he drags his length slowly across my sex before sinking deep over and over and over again.

  Our breaths and my moans echo around the small room.

  My climax rises, and just before I come hard against his cock, a hesitant but firm knock shakes against my front door.

  He stills above me, his shoulders tensing beneath my touch, and I almost cry out from the sudden halt.

  “Don’t stop, please.” It’s a gasping plea as I rock my hips against him, desperate for that feeling to return to me.

  But it’s gone.

  And he isn’t moving.

  And whoever the fuck is at my door had better be important.

  I shove out from beneath him, pushing my skirt down as I trail over on unsteady legs. My chest is still heaving as I open the door.

  The cool night air meets my sweaty skin, and, to my unfortunate luck, it is someone important.

  It’s the Prince, here for our date.

  Fuck.