Total pages in book: 125
Estimated words: 120974 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 605(@200wpm)___ 484(@250wpm)___ 403(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 120974 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 605(@200wpm)___ 484(@250wpm)___ 403(@300wpm)
“Come here,” I say softly, holding out my arms.
With a joyful chuff, he bounds toward me, twining around my legs like an enormous cat before rearing up on his hind legs and placing his massive front paws on my shoulders. I laugh and wrap my arms around him, hugging him tight.
He’s hot—his scales radiate warmth like a sun-heated stone—and he smells like fire and spice. His long forked tail whips back and forth in delight as he nuzzles against me.
Beside me, the Sorceress chuckles.
“My goodness, my dear—he really seems to like you.”
I start to laugh again, but then I follow her gaze and gasp, “Oh my!”
The pouch between the Drake’s hind legs has opened, and something long and thick is… emerging.
My mind stutters, trying to process what I’m seeing, to fit it into any frame of reference I possess. It’s not like a man’s—not even close. The shaft is immense, a broad, tapered club of dark, scaled flesh that pushes out from the protective sheath with a slow, inexorable force.
As more of it is revealed, I see it’s ridged with pronounced, circular bands of a slightly darker, almost black scale, each one looking as solid and unyielding as carved onyx. The shaft itself is a deep, burnished crimson-gold, the same hue as the dragon’s underbelly, and it glistens with a natural, pearlescent lubricant that catches the golden light of the banquet hall.
It continues to unsheathe, and I realize with a dawning, dizzying shock that it’s still coming. It’s easily twice the length and girth of Valen’s cock in human form, and it’s not fully erect yet. The head is not a smooth cap—it’s a flared crown, like the head of a mace, textured with smaller, intricate scales and a slit-like opening at the tip. And at the base of the enormous shaft, a thicker, more pronounced ridge of scales forms a distinct knot-like bulge.
The sheer, primal otherness of it should terrify me. The implicit power in that member, designed for a creature of myth and flame, is staggering. Its girth and length are nothing short of monstrous.
But the Drake isn’t threatening me with it. He’s simply…presenting it. His great head is lowered, those intelligent, molten-gold eyes watching me with a curiosity that feels unnervingly like Valen’s. A low, rumbling purr vibrates through the floor beneath my feet—a sound of pleasure, of welcome. A puff of warm smoke washes over me from his nostrils, and the massive cock gives a slight, throbbing pulse as more of that slick fluid beads at the tip.
This is the truth of Valen, I realize. He’s not just a warrior…not just a man with clever hands and a dirty mouth, but also this ancient, powerful beast beneath his skin. And the beast, seeing its mate, is offering the most primal part of itself. Not in aggression, but in a display of breathtaking, terrifying possession.
“Yes…mate,” the Drake sends and I feel a rush of desire coming from him.
I bite my lip as I feel my body react. The heat that coils in my belly isn’t just fear—it’s recognition—a deep and instinctual understanding of a claim being laid in a language far older than words.
My cheeks burn. Heat rushes to my face and down between my thighs. I feel my embarrassment and arousal spike in response to the Drake’s longing. And he must feel my emotions because he answers them.
Sorry, he murmurs through the mental link. Didn’t mean to. You’re just… so beautiful.
Stop that, I hear Valen say sternly. I told you not to get too excited! She doesn’t think of you that way—her people think you’re a beast!
Guilt stabs through me. He’s right. I was raised to think of dragons as monsters.
But in this moment, looking into those golden eyes, I don’t see a beast—I see another thinking being who wants to be near me. Who longs for me. And how can I be upset about that?
“I was just surprised,” I say quickly, feeling my cheeks get hot. “It’s… it’s all right if you get, um, excited. I guess.”
The Drake lets out a low whuff, curling his tail around his feet.
Forgive me…so beautiful, he sends.
Stand back, Valen says. I’m going to Shift back.
“Wait,” I say.
I stroke the Drake’s head one last time, cupping his long muzzle in my hands.
“It was very nice to meet you,” I whisper.
He leans forward and nuzzles my cheek gently, then steps back.
“Do I need to cancel the spell?” I ask the Sorceress.
“No, my dear—it will dissipate on its own when he returns to his human form.”
Even as she speaks, it happens.
The dragon shimmers… ripples… and Shifts so rapidly it almost looks like a magic trick.
Then Valen is standing there tall and naked and—
Oh Goddess—he’s fully hard.
And every inch of him is glorious.
54
VALEN
I can’t believe what I just witnessed.
I thought for certain my Drake form would scare her. That she’d flinch and shrink away—maybe even scream. But Irena…accepted me. All of me. Not just the man I am around her, but the beast I feared she would reject.