Rover
I quickly dress, then pause. “You’re not going to dangle me with your claws right?”
He snorts. “You’ve been good. You can ride my back.”
“Oh, I’ll ride you alright.”
Damn if it’s not a pleasure, seeing color on his cheeks. Muddy shifts and I take a step back to give him space. Wings first, they sprout from his shoulder blades. Then he expands, growing bigger in mass. Scales cover skin, then his graceful, but deadly spiked tail. Before he took me captive, I was afraid of him. Now, I’m certain the last thing he will do is hurt me. Muddy turns to regard me, then lowers himself so I can climb on his back.
Mounting a dragon, no pun intended, isn’t as easy as you think. Cursing, I stumble and nearly fall a few times. Muddy lets out a brassy snarl, and I realize the bastard’s laughing. After several tries, I vault on his back with a triumphant growl.
Then he begins flapping his great leathery wings, stirring dust and wind. Yelping, I wrap my arms around his neck. Without warning, Muddy backs away a few steps, gaining momentum, then starts for the mouth of the cave. Icy air whips at us. Werewolves generally have thick skin, even in human form, but this winter is a different kind of bitch. I cling to Muddy, to my dear life, because folks, riding a fucking dragon isn’t as grand as it seems.
It’s not like riding a bucking horse, but I flop on Muddy left and right. I wonder if Muddy will be open to me putting a saddle on him. I know Drakon won’t entertain a thing, but maybe Muddy will. A few wing strokes later, we reach the mystical mountain home that’s the topic of gossip in the pack. The inside of the cavern opening is warm. Thank God, they must have a heating system. The landing is made of smooth rock, and swept clean.
“Muddy, thank God. Did you get me those cupcakes I adore?” An annoyingly familiar voice asks. Not answering, Muddy lowers himself so I can hop down.
“What the—fuck. Rover?” Lorenzo blurts out, not hiding his shock.
Drakon’s mate Lorenzo and I are not exactly the best of friends. When Lorenzo went after Brick, the pack Alpha and my good friend, I reacted in defense of Brick, Brick’s mate, and the pack’s interest. Lorenzo looks kind of odd, in a pink fluffy robe, matching furry slippers, and a mug of something hot in his hand.
“What is this...bedraggled and dirty mutt doing here?” Lorenzo doesn’t bother hiding the indignation in his voice.
Muddy shifts, and I meet Lorenzo’s glare with an even gaze. “I’m here as Muddy’s guest.”
“That’s true,” Muddy comes by my shoulder, and I can’t help but notice his cock brushing against my jeans. I grow still, not wanting to give anything away in front of Lorenzo, but the other wolf catches on quickly.
“A guest?” Lorenzo asks, raising one perfect eyebrow.
Muddy clasps my shoulder. “Yes.”
Lorenzo’s hand flies to his mouth. I don’t know why this pup reacts to everything in such a dramatic fashion. I cull my temper. Snapping at Lorenzo in the domain of his mate, the dragon king, is unwise, even with Muddy on my side.
“No fucking way. Muddy, this arrogant asshole is the guy you’ve been mooning over?”
I’m beginning to dislike the casual way Lorenzo addresses Muddy. Are they friends? Hard to believe a former traitor, supposedly turned over a new leaf, vain werewolf like Lorenzo has friends. Muddy’s just a pushover, I assume. I lean close to Muddy, hand moving up his spine, closing on the back of his neck, not sure why I’m acting so possessive.
Lorenzo narrows his eyes, about to say something snarky no doubt, but he’s cut short by a rumbling growl that literally makes the floor and walls vibrate. My spine tingles. I know what or who is coming. Drakon, the dragon king, walks in, automatically goes to Lorenzo’s side and pulls him close. Lorenzo looses all his temper, nuzzling at Drakon’s neck, grinding against him.
“What’s the commotion?” Drakon demanded. When Lorenzo didn’t answer, he glances at Muddy expectantly, and then his gaze hovers on me. I can’t read the emotions flickering across his face quickly like cards—although I do manage to catch the anger and disgust there.
“Christ, what did I do to you people?” I can’t help but ask.
“Brother, will you let me deal with this?” Muddy asks. Lorenzo stops, glances at Drakon’s unreadable face, then to Muddy. Thank God, he’s wise enough to keep his mouth shut.
“Whatever you do, the cycle will only begin anew. Are you sure you’re ready to do this again, brother?” Drakon asks. It’s the first time I hear genuine concern in the dragon king’s voice.
“Hello, can someone fill me in?” Lorenzo mutters.
“Same,” I say sourly.
“Loren, we will go,” Drakon says.
Lorenzo frowns, but something in his voice makes the werewolf obey. Drakon strips, shifts and Lorenzo mounts his back—with more ease than me, I note, but that’s probably due to practice. Once they leave, I glance back at Muddy. He’s dragging something from one corner, an old chest I recognize. It’s the box of treasure Drakon made a fuss over, and a misunderstanding occurred. To summarize, the pack thought Drakon wanted to burn down the town, but in the end, the brothers only wanted their buried chest back.
Muddy kneels and I walk to him, joining him. He looks at me, then with fumbling fingers, opens the top. I don’t know what to expect—gold coins and gems maybe, but not junk. On second thought, they’re not meaningless objects. Muddy runs his hand over them, gently and with care. At his nod, I pluck one rotting wooden frame from the box. My breath catches in my throat. Staring at me from a black-and-white photo with yellowing edges is a man, my doppelganger, in Victorian clothes.
Recovering from my shock, or trying to, I take another. And another. Different eras, but the same faces, and there are other things in the box too—an old baseball, signed by a dead legend, a dueling sword, a civil war uniform. They’re mementos, not just belonging to Muddy, but to me.
“I wish you were crazy,” I whisper. Better insane than finding out Muddy’s insanity holds plenty of truth.
“Do you really? If this is painful, then it’s fine. We never need to discuss it again. Consider it forgotten.” Muddy says this in a neutral tone, but I know him—or at least my previous reincarnations do. Underneath, Muddy’s hurting, maybe he’s been carrying this burden for a long time, and I refuse to see him suffer any more.
“Tell me more,” I urge, putting the items back in the box.
“Better to show you instead,” Muddy says. He stands, and offers me a hand up. Accepting it, Muddy hauls me to my feet.
“How?”
“Through dreams. Come on in.” Muddy leads me inside, not letting go. I can sense hope in him. Dread settles in the pit of my stomach, but I need to get to the bottom of this. Besides, I can’t easily throw in the towel and dismiss what happened between us in that cave. That kind of heat can’t be faked or replicated. It burns once in a lifetime, and it burns true. My wolf knows Muddy is my mate, but it’s not as simple as that.
We walk past a contemporary and minimalist designed living room, dining room, enter a corridor and what must be Muddy’s bedroom. “Shower first, then bed,” Muddy says.
I raise a brow at him. “Are you sure this isn’t a ploy to get me in bed again?”
“Again? To my knowledge, you fucked me senseless on the dusty floor of a cave,” Muddy says off-hand.
I shake my head. “I promise it will be better next time.”
Frowning, Muddy regards me. “Why? I’m not complaining.”
I can’t help but smile at that. I recall, with vivid clarity, the way Muddy offered himself to me, yielded to me like it was the most natural thing in the world. Fuck, but what a rush.
“I have spare towels and I think some of Drakon’s clothes will fit you,” Muddy offers, interrupting my thoughts.
“I have a better idea. Why don’t you join me in the shower?” I head into the bathroom, grinning at the sound of his footsteps.
Stripping down, I enter the enclosure, and hit the taps. I sigh as the hot water cascades down my head and body, and glimpse Muddy watching me. I hold out a hand, and he hesitantly joins. To eliminate any awkwardness between us, I use the language that worked so well between us. I push Muddy against the wall, pinning his hands above his head, and trapping him with my body. Eyes wide, Muddy’s breaths quicken. His dick presses up against my belly, thick and beautiful.
“All of this is confusing as hell, but I’m done running,” I tell Muddy.
Not waiting for his response, I take his lips because I can, because it feels like the most natural thing in the world. So is the way he grinds his body against mine. Our tongues and lips tangle, but Muddy eventually lets me deepen the kiss. Releasing his lips and wrists, I pant, my need growing worse the moment Muddy falls to his knees. He looks up at me, sexy as hell.
“May I?”
I let out a shaky laugh. “You don’t need to ask permission to suck my cock, baby.”
The nickname slips out, unbidden, Muddy blinks, but pretends it doesn’t mean a thing. He’s wrong. I’m beginning to understand what exists between us isn’t simple attraction. It’s something deeper. Profound. Complex.
Muddy takes my aching shaft to his mouth, the feel and heat of him amazing. I let him work his talented lips and tongue for a moment. He applies careful suction with every inch, occasionally looking up at me to gauge my reaction. Muddy’s attention to detail, his hunger to serve, is addictively erotic. Gripping his wet hair, I groan, and understanding my wants, Muddy lets me fuck his mouth. With each thrust, I let Muddy know how I enjoy every second of his submission. I finish in his mouth with a cry, my head reeling as waves of pleasure assault my body.
Beneath me, Muddy looks smug. The fiend swipes the strings of cum that managed to land on his chest and puts them to his lips, and watching him suck my seed off his fingers sends another wave of possessiveness in me. Hard to believe I spent so much time dodging Muddy, when I can be on the receiving end of his amazing blowjobs. He blinks when I offer him a hand. I put his fingers to my lips, kissing them.
“Thank you,” I tell him.
An unsettling look passes over his face when I kneel, returning the favor.
“Rover, you don’t need to,” he protests, but I silence him by nudging his thighs further apart with my hands.
“I don’t need to,” I agree, showing him how much I want him. “But I want to.”
Reluctantly, he relents, but Muddy soon forgets about anything else once I take his thickening dick into my mouth.
“God, your mouth feels damn amazing,” he murmurs, moaning.
I admit I’m a little out of practice because I’m usually on the receiving, not giving end. Still, I do my best. Never before did I want to please another man before Muddy. Knowing his size, I took him inch-by-inch, drawing in until his tip hits the back of my throat, before pulling out for air. Rinse and repeat, except each appreciative hum and groan from Muddy makes me aware of my own shaft thickening again. I draw my mouth out of his member.
“Come for me, Muddy,” I command, knowing he’s close by his shuddering breaths. With a sigh of relief Muddy explodes, his load coating my chest. I rise to my feet, smiling, pulling Muddy close, and holding him until he recovers.
“Let’s clean up,” I tell Muddy. To my appreciation, he licks his cum off my chest, before turning up the shower. After that, we obediently keep our hands to ourselves, knowing what will happen.
Muddy finds some spare clothes for me. He’s right, Drakon’s clothes fit nicely on me.
“Lorenzo’s not going to be happy if he smells me on his dragon king’s clothes,” I remark. We retreat to the bedroom.
“You don’t sound all that sorry,” Muddy comments, making me laugh.
“You good friends with Lorenzo?” I ask, curious. To my shame, my stomach grumbles. I can’t remember the last time I ate, but Muddy only smiles.
“I’ll get you something to eat. We have plenty of food.”
I examine his room with interest, occasionally reaching out to touch paintings and furniture. Here, he doesn’t keep mementos of the past, but I suspect it’s because it’s painful.
“Immortality must be a painful thing,” I murmur, not aware I say the words out loud.
“It is, sometimes,” Muddy answers.
I turn to see him carrying a platter of meats and a different kind of hunger strikes me—the physical kind. Piled on top of the plate are generous slices of ham, roast beef, a turkey leg, and I groan, grabbing the plate. I’m aware my appetite is daunting to some. Pups in the pack always ask how I keep fit, but I just burn calories easily after an intensive workout. Not bothering with the utensils Muddy holds out, I dig in, only noticing I’m the only one eating after half of the plate is decimated.
“Not hungry?” I ask, mouth full of ham.
Muddy shakes his head. “Watching you makes me happy. Means I’m a good host.”
“Damn right,” I agree, finishing off the plate. After, I give Muddy a sheepish look. “Sorry, I know I don’t look all that attractive like this.”
“You’re sexy to me, all the time.” Muddy beams, about to take my plate, but I shake my head. After some arguing, he shows me their impressive island-style contemporary kitchen. I let out a whistle. “You cook?”
“Lorenzo does,” he glances around. “Before he came, we had a fairy housekeeper who makes our daily meals. By the time we wake, she’s gone.”
“Fairy housekeeper, huh? You dragons have a pretty nice set-up.”
Muddy shrugs. “The fae owe my brother a huge favor. Me, they tolerate.”
I growl, making him frown. “Who wants Drakon anyway? He’s cocky and demanding. Only a vain twink like Lorenzo can handle him.”
He finally smiles at that, and leads me back to the bedroom. After I borrow a spare toothbrush and toothpaste, I join Muddy in bed. I grumble about the size, because I’m not exactly a small guy. We barely fit on the single-sized bed, and I need to pull Muddy close. Well, that part is not a real inconvenience. Muddy’s lean frame fits perfectly against my bulky body.
“Are you going to do your magic now?” I ask.
“It’s not magic,” Muddy protests, turning, so he’s facing me. He swallows when I grind my dick against his belly. “Stop that.”
For once, I do, since he looks so serious.
“Sleep is going to clear your mind. Unlock some memories. That’s all.”
“That’s all?” I raise a brow. “Why do I feel you don’t take things slow, and that this will be one hell of a rollercoaster ride?”
“Easy things aren’t meant having,” Muddy says.
“That I agree with.”
“Relax. There’s nothing to worry about.” Muddy’s soothing tones lull me to sleep and with his help, we yank open doors in my mind, locked for so long, and for a good reason.