To Mate A Dragon (Venys Needs Men) Read online

  A huge beastly male, I correct.

  Sitting up slowly, I lean over him and my sex clenches. Frustration guts me. I shouldn’t feel desire, not now, not like this, but my body has its own way of handling the stress of the situation. My sex clamps again, harder this time.

  I nearly died several times over. I curse.

  But then again, I nearly die every day while out hunting. The fact that I haven’t proves my prowess to the tribe, my ability to provide, take care of others, and lead.

  Staring at the dragon male, I remember his prowess and strength on the beach, his glowing, knowledgeable gaze and that enormous body that filled the sky… It all returns to mind at once, exciting me. My body startles. He was so strong. Still is. I take in his dangerous-looking horns.

  Horns, yes. Sharp, long, and pointy, they’re jutting from above and behind his ears. The same color as his scales were.

  Are, I correct myself. He still has scales.

  His shaft has teardrop scales that look like velvet.

  A deeper heat grows inside me. Aida, you pervert. I shake my head.

  He has long white-blonde hair with pale blue streaks throughout, but it’s hard to be sure with how wet it is, the way it’s damp against his skin.

  Then there’s his body, long and toned with muscles only the strongest hunters have, but bigger still. Because he’s long—taller than anyone I have ever known. Taller than me by a head or so, taller still if I include his horns.

  Gaze traveling down to his tail, I barely comprehend it. Mermaids along the coast have brightly colored fishtails, and the dangerous jungle nagas have snake tails, but this male is no mermaid or naga. He has legs. Legs with thighs and calves that beg me to run my hands over them because they are sculpted to perfection.

  And though I try hard not to look at his cock, I can’t help but see it out of the corner of my eye. My strange internal heat bursts when I finally allow myself another glimpse of it.

  A blush rises on my cheeks. Oh, waters, is he endowed.

  I know he is because the elder males and females of my tribe—those who are or once mated—talk about rutting often, often with giggles and jokes, telling stories of when they were young and there were more partners to be had.

  I’ve heard them all, even the fake ones of phantom men coming from the Forbidden Jungle to ravish our women late at night, or those of male merfolk who loved to slide their tongues between our female’s legs—because mermaids only have a cold hole, they complained…

  Or some of the tales the grandmothers would relish telling: the dumb, burly giants, lugging heavy clubs between their thighs, that their mothers and grandmothers had once encountered in the wastes and played with.

  The dragon male’s velvety scaled cock could be considered a club too. A club that’s smooth and rigid like the rest of him, partially blue, partially silver, with veins pulsing and a tip that’s twice the girth of his shaft. And his girth…

  My hands twitch. I don’t know if I could grip him, not with how bulbous his shaft is… though I’m curious to try.

  My sex flutters again, unwittingly, feeling emptier and needier than ever before. I grump and run my hands over my face. I need this dragon man now. Right now. My chest tightens as something primal threatens to take me over.

  Another streak of guilt hits me. I force my gaze from his cock and steady myself. Again. What is wrong with me?

  Pressing my thighs together, I rub my face harder, only looking again at him when I know I’ve gathered control—I won’t jump him while he’s unconscious. Untoward sexual encounters are a sinful act among all the tribes and are harshly punished.

  His tail twitches, catching my attention.

  It couldn’t have been comfortable having it dragged through the sand. Biting my bottom lip, I check his wounds again, peeling back the makeshift bandages.

  They’re still raw and deep, but like the shallower gashes, they’re practically healing before my eyes. I notice nowhere on his body—which is nearly silvery white—is there a slight bruise or tiny scratch, not even a rash from being hauled through sand and over small rocks. I’m thankful for this.

  Glancing at myself, I know I’m bruised before even seeing them form on my dusky skin.

  “Aida! You’re safe—oh my…” I hear Milaye’s voice from down the cave passage before I see her. She comes to a sudden stop several feet away, eyes widening on my dragon male. “Oh my…” She mutters some more in shock.

  “Help me,” I groan, sitting up straighter, jealously covering him from her gaze. I hate the idea of her seeing him. He’s mine. I sense it deep inside where the heat in my chest has yet to leave. “He’s hurt. He needs help.”

  He’s mine.

  She nods and runs back into the cave. Shielding his nudity with my body, the strange possession continues to build. I wrench my eyes closed and rest my brow against the male’s, praying to the waters that he doesn’t try to kill me when he wakes.

  7

  Dragon Desires

  I get the male settled on a cot near one of the cave streams inside, upon a natural platform by the cave wall.

  A bend in the stream ensures our privacy behind a rocky wall, enough to stop most of the curious gazes of others—and they are curious, anxious even, some frenzied. This spot is ideal for the sickly and hurt, with the shallow pool next to us and the trickle of a spring deep behind the rocks for fresh, clean water. It’s a good spot overall.

  Luckily, most of the tribe has bedded down for the night. No one else is hurt from the storm.

  But those who remain awake and watchful are staring at me and mumbling with others, presumably about me and the new male. Within minutes, their curiosity drives me to find a couple spare hides and erect a makeshift wall to keep their roaming eyes at bay. The beach cave is big, long, and goes on for multiple sections, which spreads us all out. I’m thankful for that because I need privacy more than anything else right now…

  I look around, seeking security in this new location, and see there are some ledges higher up crowded with emergency supplies.

  When we lost a portion of our village to a hurricane shortly after my birth, Sand’s Hunters lived here until they rebuilt the village. Since then, this place has been maintained, a place of safety if ever an event like that falls upon us again.

  Torchlight is flickering, lighting up the cave. The sounds of thunder are distant now. I peer down at the male resting before me.

  Or a dragon… I swallow, staring at him. His eyelids flicker but they don’t open.

  Pulling my tangled, wet hair back and tying it in a knot with some rope, I settle next to him.

  “Aida,” Milaye says softly from beside me, peeking over the hide. “You should get looked at by your mother, she wants to see you. Let me take over or allow one of the healers to tend him.”

  The male groans. But it sounds more like a growl to me.

  I won’t leave you. I don’t think I could even if I tried. My body loses its warmth whenever I step away from him.

  Using a wet cloth and clay bowl, I begin cleaning the male’s skin. “I’m fine.”

  “You could’ve died. When I realized you weren’t behind me… and saw that monster down the coast…”

  Glimpsing Milaye’s face, I see guilt and sadness. I give her a reassuring smile. “You didn’t leave me. I stayed.”

  She frowns. “Why?”

  Shaking my head, I force the smile into my voice. “I had too. I needed… I wanted to make sure that whatever came wouldn’t follow me to the cave. The tribe, you, Leith, Delina, are my responsibility.”

  “I would never forgive you for dying on my behalf,” Milaye says indignantly. She studies me, the male. “You wanted to see if the monster behind the rain was a dragon,” she accused. “Guess he was.”

  “Yes, that too. I stayed for several reasons,” I answer honestly with a shrug. “Regardless, even if it had been a disturbed kraken or a giant serpent, I wanted to make sure it followed me, away from the cave, and not you. Luck g
ave me a dragon.” I turn to the male, whose brow is furrowed now. I reach up and smooth it out with my cloth.

  A hush settles over us, and I know Milaye is staring at me.

  My sister’s voice breaks the silence. “So the messenger was speaking the truth? Dragons can be turned into humans?”

  Looking back up, Delina’s face is now peeking over the hide next to Milaye’s and both their faces are exactly the same, eyeing the male. Annoyance fills me even though I can’t blame them, knowing I probably have the same look when I stare at him. Good thing he’s draped in hides from his waist down.

  Though there’s a tent where his erection is…

  “Is he…” Milaye pauses. “Is he the beast from down the coast? Is he a—a dragon, Aida?”

  The male groan-growls again, and my eyes snap back to him. I begin unwrapping the bandages from around his neck, hating the half-dried blood and dampness keeping them stuck to his skin. “Yes,” I say, wondering at the question myself. Though I know it has to be. The silver-blue water dragon vanished and in its place, he turned up. With a tail, horns, and sapphire scales. “I think so, yes,” I mutter, throwing the strips of my old shirt aside.

  “Oh my waters,” Milaye gasps. “I knew it.”

  Delina jumps. “I knew it!”

  “You got yourself a dragon, a male. Aida, it’s a miracle!” Milaye’s words flood my ears with excitement and dread. They didn’t see him, didn’t see his violence, his might. I don’t know if he’ll kill me when he wakes up or try to leave… or both.

  What if he leaves without killing me first?

  Delina scoffs. “Just because Aida brought him in doesn’t mean he’s hers. The elders decide who is the best fit for a mate. The best female will be mated with the best male.”

  My heart sinks. She’s right.

  “Even if that’s true, you’re already mated, Delina,” Milaye snaps. “You won’t be considered.”

  “I’m the chosen female!”

  I urge them to lower their voices but they ignore me.

  “And what about Leith?” Milaye gripes.

  “It wouldn’t be my choice,” Delina says with a whine. “It’ll be the elders’ choice.”

  “Stop!” I nearly yell. “Both of you,” I continue, lowering my voice. “He’s hurt and needs rest and proper bandages. Your squabbling isn’t helping. We don’t even know who or what he really is, or if he’ll even stay. Maybe he already has a mate.”

  “I can stay and take care of him. You should rest,” my sister says, beginning to move around the hide barrier.

  Milaye grabs her and pulls her back. “Oh no you don’t.” Delina whimpers, grasping at Milaye’s hand. “We all know you’re terrible at healing. Let’s go tell the others still awake and worrying. I’m sure Leith is looking for you, and there’s plenty of food left to be passed out.”

  I catch Milaye’s eye and mouth thank you. She smiles and drags my whining sister away. But a moment later, Milaye returns with a bone dagger in her hand, offering it to me.

  “What’s this for?”

  “Protection,” she says almost too softly for me to hear, her eyes going to the male. “He may be a male, but you are a sister to me. Be diligent.”

  Overwhelmed again, I take the dagger from her and hook it into the ties of my skirt. “Thank you,” I mumble.

  “Hollar and the tribe will be here in a flash,” she says.

  I nod, having not given a single thought to finding a new weapon. My mind has been on many other things. Milaye stares at me for a moment before turning and vanishing behind the makeshift walls.

  Peering back at the male, my mind reels. Finally, we’re alone.

  But what if he does harm someone here besides me? I won’t let that happen, I admonish, touching the dagger once with my fingers before dropping my hand.

  I notice his face is turned slightly toward me now when it had been facing the cave ceiling before. I frown. His eyes flicker once behind his eyelids.

  “Are you awake?” I whisper.

  No response.

  Hmmm.

  “Are you faking it?” I ask next.

  Still no response. Squinting in curiosity, I soak the cloth with water and focus on cleaning his wounds. His neck appears under the blood and grime, and I discover his once deep cuts nearly gone. Feeling for a pulse, finding it strong and hardy, I lean back to take him in.

  He hasn’t twitched a muscle, I note.

  I keep cleaning his body, moving down to the gashes on his shoulders and chest. They’re all red and tender but closed. Swiping the blood away that’s gathered, I go to rinse my cloth again. When I check back, I swear the tent where his cock’s heaviness is springing up stands higher.

  Gulping, clenching, I dart my gaze back to his face and chest.

  He’s a gorgeous male, beautiful but robust at the same time. Every part of him is honed and sculpted, from the tips of his spiraling horns down to the glittering hard scales and the claws on his toes. I want to grasp his horns and squeeze them—rub my fingers and palms up and down their lengths. I want to taste the sharp slash of his lips.

  He’s almost too deadly for a human, any human, even while sleeping. But something pulls me to him despite knowing he could hurt me, break me in two. That he could wake at any moment and throw me to the ground.

  He radiates virility, rawness, and strength. Everything that is prized in the tribes. That I prize.

  Whoever—if anyone—gets to be his, they will be the safest, luckiest, most envied woman on the Mermaid Coast. My hands shake a little as I scoop out healing ointment to slather and massage onto and around his wounds, my thoughts trailing to the dagger Milaye handed me.

  I hope I don’t need it.

  The male groans, deep and guttural.

  My blush returns in full force and I swallow thickly, already frightened he’ll be taken away at any moment.

  I could handle him.

  I could try.

  I want to try. I’m excited to try. My body tenses, and my core flutters at the prospect. I’ve waited years to mate, suffered countless nights of longing…

  And that right there, I realize, is why I’m feeling so lost.

  Delina is right. It’s the elder’s choice. Mating has always been the elder’s choice since the comet’s curse.

  She is the chosen female… Why do my thoughts go there? They only emphasize how confused I feel, feeding the toxic mixture of fear and envy running in my veins. My fingers and palms rub the male’s skin almost worshipfully. This may be the only time I’ll ever touch him.

  I can touch him while cleaning him…

  His lips part and a quiet moan escapes him. I nearly moan in response, wanting to so badly lie down next to him, curl into his side, forget all these thoughts, and for once, in years, feel at peace.

  I imagine it, as if all my training, all the responsibilities the tribe has put on my shoulders since childhood, pretending it could all be pushed away—even for a few minutes—imagining that I won’t have to live to see the gradual extinction of my people.

  That I’ll have someone strong beside me when things get too hard to bear…

  “I know you may be sleeping,” I say quietly so no one else would hear. He spoke my language before I knocked him out, but that doesn’t mean he’ll fully understand me. “I know you may not get my words, but if you are the dragon on the beach, I want you to know—I want you to know that I was going to search for one of your kind and see if the rumors of dragons turning to men were true.

  “I wanted to believe, you see, needed to believe. But I didn’t think it would actually happen, and if it did—I doubted that I would even have the chance to touch you, never mind that you would even transform. But now that you’re here and I can’t deny it, all I feel is guilt. I’m confused. So confused. I hate these gashes on your flesh, and I can’t help but think it’s my fault. I’m sorry. If you want to hurt me for what I’ve done, I understand. If you want to leave, I will make sure no one stops you. I’m sorry.”
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br />   With my mind going back to the dagger hooked in my skirt again, I continue, “It’s my fault you’re here, not the tribe’s. If you want to hurt someone, hurt me, not them.”

  Desire builds within me at my words to prove myself to this male. Prove to him that I’m not a bad person, that I will honor my words and him. That I will take the blame and not hide. That I will fight for my tribe, and I will fight for him.

  Because as I’m watching his wounds close shut, and while I’m spreading his hair out on the hide untangling his knots, I can’t help but know that my touch upon his wing changed my life forever.

  And his too.

  8

  Zaeyr in Heat

  Aida. The human’s name is Aida.

  The other humans call her that. It is nearly all I can think of since I heard it. What a strange and simple name. Though as I test it in my mind, I find I’m liking it too much—fury should be the only emotion brewing within me.

  “Please forgive me,” Aida says again. I hear every word she utters.

  She asks for forgiveness. My thoughts will not go there.

  She acknowledges her selfish act for touching me too, I note. I am almost awed by her honesty. She is sorry for the hurts on my flesh…

  Does the human female not realize she isn’t responsible for these gashes? That the femdragon did it in her frenzy?

  The rends to my skin are nothing, not even fatal. A battle wound well taken.

  This human could never hurt me in such a way, it is almost laughable to think of.

  But when she falls silent, I quickly realize how much I was enjoying her voice.

  Aida. My mind tastes her name again. Waiting for her to speak, I am annoyed that only her soft breaths, trickling water, and the distant talking of other humans greet my ears.

  I have been awake for a while, pretending, listening in on my new surroundings, deciding whether or not these humans are a danger to me.

  Waiting. Waiting and figuring them out, waiting for my strength to return. My new form is as strange to me as Aida’s name, and I need to get a sense of it before a battle ensues. If one ensues.