The Dragon's Bidder (Tahoe Dragon Mates Book 3) Read online

  Ashley was far from a virgin, but never had a man nearly come from a mere touch of her fingers. She wondered how else she could work him up, as he'd done her.

  She moved her hand to the base and gripped. Hard.

  Wes's hand went to her head and pushed forward. "I've never begged before, but I'm about to do it if you don't hurry up."

  She smiled. "No begging necessary."

  Opening her mouth, she licked the tip once, twice, three times, loving how Wes thrust his hips slightly with each tease.

  And while she'd think of ways to torture him longer, her core pulsed, eager to suck and taste him. He'd said she tasted better than anything he'd ever had, and she was curious if it was the same with him.

  Not wanting her dragonman to wait any longer, she took him into her mouth and sucked lightly. Wes swore and gripped her hair in his hand. "Fuck, yes. Take me deeper, love. I want to feel more of you."

  Even though she could never probably take all of him, she built up a rhythm, swallowing him a little deeper each time she moved her head back and forth.

  Under her free hand against his thigh, she felt his muscles tremble, much like hers had. Except she wanted to push it further, so she reached below and cupped his balls.

  Wes roared and thrust into her mouth. Soon the pair of them had a rhythm, and Ashley figured out how he liked his balls squeezed or how to twirl her tongue to make him moan.

  There was something heady about having so much power over a man.

  No, a dragonman. And she would make sure that no other woman would ever have this power over Wes again.

  He was hers.

  Unwilling to dwell on that realization, she moved faster, until Wes grunted out, "I'm going to come, love."

  If he expected her to pull away, he would be sadly disappointed. The traces of his male musk had made her crave even more.

  So when he finally stilled and exploded, Ashley swallowed every last drop.

  Eventually, Wes pushed against her head, and she let him go, lingering a few beats to lick the tip one last time. He gently tugged her hair to make her look up, and she did. And for a second, she saw a mixture of the normal emotions a man had after an orgasm—lust, bliss, and contentment.

  However, there was also a tenderness that made her want to stand up and hold him close.

  So she stood and cupped his cheeks. Wes wrapped his arms around her and placed a possessive hand on her ass. He murmured, "That was better than any fucking fantasy, Ash. You are my dream made real."

  Brushing her fingers against his jaw, she almost wished he had some stubble. "I think your dick is still doing the talking."

  His pupils flashed, and he held her tighter against him. "No, I mean it. You are my perfect match in every way—from your fire to your stubbornness to your silly list and, most especially, your perfect little mouth. We may not have had our ceremony or made anything official, but to me, you're already my mate, Ashley Swift. No other female will ever compare."

  The statement should scare her, or maybe irritate her a little at having no say, but for some reason, his words just felt right.

  She wasn't sure if she could go back to her rainbow-filled apartment and try to carve out a life of solitude again. She yearned to be a part of something, to have a partner, to love and be loved.

  And all of that she wanted to do with Wes.

  Not just wanted—she would do it with him.

  She finally replied, "I don't mind if you say things like that when we're alone, but not in public yet, okay? There's still the little matter of me staying here and finding a way to stay with ADDA so I can help dragon-shifters."

  He stroked her back in slow circles, which made her lean even more against his hard chest. His voice rumbled, and the vibrations against her nipples made her want to sigh with longing. "That just means we have to work hard to find a solution soon. Because I don't want any other male to think he has a chance with you."

  The corner of her mouth ticked up. "With me, the ADDA lady who barks orders and sets the rules? I don't think you'll have to worry about that."

  "It attracted the hell out of me, so don't discount it so easily."

  She sighed, kissed where his throat met his chest, and murmured, "I think I need to soothe your dragon ego again before I leave for training, to make sure you don't start growling at any man I come into contact with."

  He tilted her head upward with his fingers. "There is a way you can do that and enjoy the process, I think."

  "Oh?"

  His pupils flashed a few times before he growled, "Let me make you scream two more times in the next twenty minutes. It'll make man, beast, and my female happy."

  Just the thought of Wes licking her pussy or teasing her clit made wetness rush between her legs again. "I want to say yes, but maybe we should try to get some actual work done?"

  He lifted her against him until she had to wrap her legs around his waist. His cock was still hard and currently nestled against her clit.

  So close, and yet so far.

  After moving to her ear, he whispered, "Challenge accepted, then. I'll make you scream twice in ten minutes, and then we can have a little time to discuss work and the future."

  Before she could say yes or no, Wes moved into the living room, set her on the back of the couch, and knelt between her thighs.

  Ashley quickly forgot about anything but Wes's tongue, fingers, and even a little bit of teasing with one of his talons.

  Her dragonman knew how to distract her, that was for sure. That just meant Ashley would have to find a way to resist him.

  But not quite yet. No, she wanted to be thoroughly distracted until she screamed his name twice more.

  Chapter Nine

  Two hours later, Ashley leaned over, bracing her arms against her thighs, breathing heavily and trying not to think about how much she'd hurt the next morning. "How in the hell do you do that almost every day?"

  Ryan Ford flashed a grin. "You just have to build up some stamina."

  A woman's voice she recognized filled the air. "Which comes in handy for more than just training, by the way."

  Standing fully upright, Ashley turned toward the dragonwoman named Gaby Santos-Ford and snorted. "I swear dragons only think about sex."

  "Not only. But it definitely makes life a lot more fun." Gaby walked—or, more appropriately waddled as she was eight months pregnant—to her mate and leaned against Ryan. "Just don't kill her by mistake, okay, Ryan? I think Wes likes her."

  It took every bit of Ashley's training not to show her emotions. While she rarely succeeded in hiding them anymore with Wes, her cheeks didn't color for Gaby or Ryan. "The pair of you should like me, too, considering how I coordinated the dragon lotteries and ultimately selected both of you to participate. Otherwise, you wouldn't be mated with a baby on the way, now, would you?"

  Gaby chuckled. "No. But I'll admit I cursed you for a few years because of never picking my name for the lottery. However, in all seriousness, I don't think I've ever really thanked you. Because I never would've found Ryan otherwise."

  As the pair stared at each other lovingly, each of them resting a hand over Gaby's protruding belly, a thread of jealousy shot through Ashley's body.

  It shouldn't matter as she all but had Wes as her own. But Ryan and Gaby could be affectionate or hold each other, or tease without being scrutinized.

  Unlike Ashley and Wes.

  The sight of the loving couple only made Ashley more determined to find a loophole where she could keep her job to help the dragon-shifters as well as claim her man. And fast.

  Speaking of which, she checked the time before heading toward her belongings off to the side of the large training room. "I'm supposed to meet Wes and then visit Tori, so I should be going."

  Ryan replied, "So you'll be back tomorrow for more training?"

  She picked up her purse, water bottle, and towel. "I'll try, but I won't know until tonight if I'll have the time. I'll let you know either way by text."

  Ashl
ey waved goodbye as she exited the room. However, after taking a few steps into the hall, someone grabbed her wrist. Looking up, she met the determined brown-eyed gaze of PineRock's head of security, Cris Juarez. Ashley frowned. "I didn't think I had a meeting with you."

  "You didn't, but you do now. Stay quiet until we reach my office."

  From her time working with the dragonwoman, Ashley knew better than to try and ask for more details until they did as she said.

  Cris's brusque manner might seem disrespectful to some, but Ashley knew the dragonwoman had to keep up appearances for the sake of her clan. There weren't many female head Protectors in the US—at least that Ashley knew about—which meant Cris had to be extra careful about how she acted, or she'd be challenged by her male colleagues.

  Maybe not from within the clan itself since they were loyal to Cris, but it wasn't completely unheard of for a nearby clan to try and apply for the head Protector position in the greater Tahoe area. There were four clans, and at one point, they'd changed hands repeatedly through constant challenges until an agreement had been reached a number of years ago.

  Now, only extremely dire situations or a provable lack in abilities meant a challenge could be issued.

  As Ashley thought of how she and Cris both had to put on acts to fit in with their male colleagues, they soon reached the main Protector building.

  She barely paid attention to the tall, concrete building, having seen it hundreds of times before. As soon as Cris shut the door to her office on the second floor, the dragonwoman dropped Ashley's hand and said without preamble, "One of my Protectors noticed some unusual activity on the main road leading to PineRock. The short version is that some League assholes were snooping around a few of the trails nearby, almost as if they were trying to find a way to get here on foot."

  So it seemed the confrontation the night before—had it only been then?—had already come back to bite her in the ass. "They'll be looking for me, no doubt."

  Cris nodded. "My guy Andre overheard some of their conversation. The League guys were determined to find a less-obvious way to PineRock so they could rescue the humans here and make sure you didn't let any others come to stay."

  Ashley raised her brows. "Well, considering how they didn't think you'd have sentries, or even try to monitor for threats, they seem low-risk to me, right?"

  "Perhaps. But it's the first time League dumbasses have come within ten miles of PineRock in over a decade. Since you're our ADDA contact, not to mention you have a vested interest in this place since you're friendly with Wes, I figured you needed to know ASAP. That way, you can work some of your magic and help the problem go away."

  Considering Cris was excellent at keeping PineRock safe, it had to kill her to admit she needed Ashley's help. But it was true—ADDA dealt with the human enemy side of things. It was bureaucracy at its worst, considering how the dragons should be able to protect themselves.

  But now wasn't the time to challenge the idea and rock the boat. Not if she wanted to mate Wes and still work with ADDA.

  Ashley replied, "I need to talk with Wes first before I make any sort of call."

  Crossing her arms in front of her, Cris pinned Ashley with a hard stare. "Tell me you aren't yanking him around, Swift. Only Troy and I know the full extent—that you're true mates—but Wes is more than my leader, he's my friend. And I won't let him be hurt, not even by the likes of someone I don't usually hate."

  Anger flared in her chest. "Have I ever given you reason to think I'd hurt Wes, even before things changed? No. So I'll keep on trying to protect your clan, just as I've been doing for years."

  After a beat, Cris smiled. "Good. I had to test you. I'm glad someone doesn't cower under the patented Juarez stare down."

  Her mood lightened, and the corner of her mouth kicked up. "You only have to deal with one clan leader—I've dealt with more than a half a dozen. A backbone is sort of required."

  Cris laughed. "Good." She gestured toward the door. "Wes is in his office down the hall. Just make sure you talk first and do all the touchy-feely stuff later."

  Unable to help herself, Ashley flipped off Cris. "I'll somehow manage."

  The two shared one last smile—Ashley liked the head Protector even more now—before she left and headed toward Wes's office. She rang the doorbell and waited for him to unlock the door to more than just his room. No, they were going to get serious about planning their future, which included dealing with the League idiots.

  Wes did his best to focus on his computer, but he kept glancing at the door, hoping Ashley would show up.

  If he weren't clan leader and didn't have over a thousand sets of eyes on him, he might've gone to her training session and brought her back to his office straightaway.

  But that would be unusual behavior for a clan leader when it came to an ADDA employee, especially when only a few knew where he'd been last night and with whom.

  Clan leaders usually didn't go running after ADDA employees if they could help it.

  His dragon yawned. It's just a few humans wandering in the woods. I wouldn't exactly call them huge threats.

  They represent a much bigger problem, though. If a movement rises, calling for the League to "liberate" all humans from the dragon clans, it could spell out war.

  His beast didn't answer. Probably because they both knew that lately, anti-dragon sentiment had been on the rise again.

  A few strategic ad campaigns and accompanying actions could stoke that fire to unbearable levels.

  Just as he tried to focus back on the new agreement in front of him between a new human farm partner and PineRock, a patterned chime echoed inside the room.

  He crossed to the door in seconds and checked the peephole.

  The sight of Ashley staring at him only made Wes crave her presence more. Not just for the physical, but her mental might, as well.

  So he opened the door, and as soon as Ashley was inside, he slammed it and pulled her close. Her comfortable heat, curves, and scent helped ease his anxiety a fraction.

  She murmured, "Are things worse than what Cris told me?"

  He nuzzled her cheek a few seconds before replying, "No, but I like knowing you're safe with me."

  Ashley sighed. "I've been surrounded by Protectors ever since this morning. If you keep worrying about me walking a quarter of a mile, you're going to turn into a shitty leader real quick."

  His human, blunt as ever.

  With a chuckle, he met her gaze again. "I know. But until we're officially mated, I'm going to be a little on edge. I'd blame it on my dragon, but we're both just as eager to claim you with a ceremony in front of everyone."

  She touched his cheek. Her soft fingers made his dragon hum in contentment. "Wes, it'll happen soon. But first, we need to deal with these idiots thinking to liberate, whatever the fuck that's supposed to mean, the humans here. Call me crazy, but I don't think Jose or Gaby are going to like the idea of their mates being carted away."

  The sibling pair of Jose and Gaby were devoted to their human mates and more than a little possessive of them.

  He gestured toward the loveseat off to the side. Only once they were both seated—Ashley close enough his thigh touched hers—did he elaborate on the situation. "Basically, there's little I can do myself. Under normal circumstances, you'd put in a call to the ADDA office, their police team would come to enforce the laws, and we could mostly ignore them. However, if the ADDA police show up and find the League guys, the human bastards could share our secret about last night. You'd be fired, and then half of the future you want would vanish." He took her hand in his. "So what other options are there? I'm open to any and all ideas."

  Ashley tapped her chin. And while it was one of her habits to help her think—Wes had picked up on most of them over the years—he was impatient. Each tap only made him more so.

  His dragon spoke up. Stop acting so fucking irrational. You're better than this.

  Normally, yes. But this is our mate we're talking about. I don't unders
tand how you're so calm.

  Because Ashley is smart and doesn't put up with bullshit. Just give her a few minutes. It won't kill you.

  Ashley's voice prevented him from replying to his beast. "I say keep an eye on them for a few days, long enough for us to investigate the possible loopholes your mother mentioned." Ashley explained what his mother had said the day before and added, "There's one I've been thinking about, too. Something to do with clan leaders in good standing. However, it might be quicker to reach out to any allies and see what they say. Surely you get along with at least one of the nearby clans? I know it's technically illegal to make formal alliances, but I'm sure there's plenty of things ADDA doesn't know about."

  Wes didn't hesitate to nod. Ashley wouldn't betray them. "I sometimes talk with the leaders of StoneRiver and SkyTree. Unfortunately, StrongFalls keeps to themselves."

  "Then you talk with their leaders, and I'm going to talk with your mother again to see if she can give me more details. That way, I'll have a better idea of what we should be looking for in the dense text of the ADDA handbooks and rules."

  Despite the enormity of what they needed to do, Wes traced Ashley's cheek and murmured, "You're so damn amazing. With you at my side, PineRock is going to become stronger than ever."

  Her cheeks colored, and he wished he could kiss her cheek, over to her mouth, and tell her with action how he admired her.

  But all he could do without risking everything was bring her hand to his mouth, kiss the back of it, drop it, and say, "Then let's get to work."

  Chapter Ten

  Ashley finished her rather long-winded conversation with Wes's mother and retreated to the bedroom she was currently using as her base on PineRock.

  Even though Cynthia had tried to casually drop questions about Wes into the conversation, Ashley had managed to keep it on track.

  For the most part.

  When Cynthia had dangled a story about Wes escaping the house at age two and how he'd run around the clan in his underwear until someone could catch him, she hadn't been able to pass it up.