“You’re a really good singer,” he said.
“Thanks,” she muttered, growing quiet.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, sensing she was upset about something.
“Oh, nothing. I’m just sensitive about my singing voice.”
Dax could tell there was more to it than that. But he didn’t want to press her. She had a beautiful voice. And the moment she began to sing, he’d felt something flutter inside him. She stopped singing, and he didn’t understand why. He hoped he hadn’t hurt her feelings or said something wrong.
They made it to the beach a few hours later. They found a spot in the sun just as the heat of the day was rolling over the waves. Everly held Ember and Kian set up a big beach umbrella. The air was calm and warm.
“It's a perfect day for surfing,” he said, looking out at the waves rolling into the shore.
“I haven't been surfing since high school,” she said. “I hope I remember how.”
“They say it’s like riding a bike. Although, I haven’t tried riding a bike yet.”
Aria giggled at Dax. They pulled the wetsuits out of the back of the truck, and they slipped into them in the parking lot. He grabbed a longboard for her and a short board for himself and carried them both down the beach. When they got to the shore, they attached their leashes. Her wetsuit hugged her voluptuous curves so enticingly, he almost wanted to forget about surfing completely, and go claim her in the dunes.
“Are you ready?” he asked.
“Absolutely,” she said, giving him a thumbs up.
They took off into the water, jumping onto the waves as they paddled out beyond the breakers. When they made it deeper into the ocean, they rested, waiting for the next wave to come.
“How are you feeling?” he asked. “Are you cold?”
“You were right about this wetsuit. It's keeping me warm.”
“You take the first good wave,” he said.
The next wave rolled in and she battled hard to catch it. It lifted her up, and she paddled harder. At just the right moment, she bounced up on her knees and then onto her feet, thrusting out her arms to balance as the wave barreled her toward the shore.
She shrieked with glee as she rode the wave all the way to the beach. She made it to the shore and began to paddle back out. Dax caught the wave behind her. On his short board he could do all kinds of tricks.
He zigzagged and bounced up and down on the water and even did a flip. Aria squealed with excitement and cheered for him. His heart burst when he saw her smile.
She paddled back out, ready to catch the next wave. They took turns, one after the other, riding the waves toward the beach as the rest of the crew sat on the shore. Cato read a book under the umbrella. Aiden listened to his music while Kian and Everly built a castle with baby Ember in the sand. After an hour of surfing, Aria said her arms were getting tired. They headed to the shore and pulled their boards out of the water.
After drying off and pulling out of their wetsuits, they sat on the big blanket under the umbrella and ate sandwiches, chips and soda for lunch.
“I’m so happy,” Aria whispered into his ear, as they sat close together, drinking in the sun.
“We should do this more often,” Cato said.
“We can't spend our whole lives cooped up in the mansion, afraid of the vampires,” Aiden said.
“I wish that things were different,” Kian said. “That we didn't have this threat looming over our heads.”
“The vampires can't touch us,” Dax said, pushing his sunglasses up the bridge of his nose.
He looked around the beach at the humans digging clams and searching for seashells, the other surfers out on the waves, and the families with their dogs.
“We don't have anything to worry about here,” Kian said. “It's under the cover of night and in secluded areas that we need to worry.”
“They took me right out of the parking lot in front of the nursing home where I worked,” Aria said. “I don't know if I'll ever feel safe again.”
“I hope that today will help you start to feel safe again,” Dax said. “I don't want you to live your whole life feeling afraid.”
“This has been a great day. We should do it again soon,” Everly said.
“We will find a permanent solution to the vampire problem,” Kian said.
“I won’t let them touch you ever again,” said Dax.
“I know you will try, Dax. And I appreciate that more than I can say,” Aria said.
“Screw the vampires,” Aiden said, pulling his headphones off. “I'm tired of talking about them. Can't we just have one day where we relax and forget about them?”
“I agree. No more vampire talk for the rest of the day.” Everly said.
Aria sighed and leaned back on a beach towel under the sun. Dax lay beside her, soaking up the rays.
They leaned over and faced each other, he was pleasantly worn out from the surfing, and he knew that she was also tired. He brushed sand off her cheek and gazed into her eyes. Her face was growing tan from the sunshine.
“This really was a wonderful day,” she said. “I am beginning to feel safe again.”
“I will always keep you safe. And I will always protect you. We can have many more days like this. Any time you want to go somewhere, just let me know, and I'll take you.”
He felt terrible that she would have to be cooped up in the mansion to keep her safe from the vampires. It was no life for a human. He vowed to himself he would find a way to give her the freedom she deserved.
Chapter 14
As the sun started to dip towards the horizon, the crew decided it was time to head home.
“That was so much fun,” Everly said. “Ember loved playing in the sand.”
They all climbed into the cars and started the long trek back to the mansion. Once they arrived at home, Kian started dinner and everyone went off to their separate rooms to take showers. Aria dressed in her fuzzy flannel pajamas and met the rest of the family down in the kitchen, where they gathered around the table to share Kian's dinner. He'd made baked potatoes and fried chicken. It was a delicious meal after a long day at the beach. When they were done, Cato and Aiden cleaned up the kitchen and Everly and Kian took Ember to bed.
Dax had changed into a pair of loose fitting gray sweatpants and a surfing T-shirt. He asked Aria if she wanted to hang out in his bedroom.
“I have a new Xbox,” he said.
They went up to his room, in the opposite wing from hers. He had a modern king size bed and a comfy couch facing a video game system and a widescreen TV. She sat, and he pulled a few beers out of his mini fridge, handing one to her.
“Thanks,” she said, accepting the drink.
She took a long swig and sat beside her. Dax handed her a game controller and turned on the TV.
“I have a racing game,” he said. “We could play against each other.”
“That sounds fun.” Aria liked video games almost as much as she liked swimming.
The game started, and she tried to her best to keep up with Dax. His reflexes were so fast that he was able to push his car at maximum speed around the track, leaving her in the dust and lapping her, not once, but twice. He won the game easily and glanced over at her with a sheepish grin.
“I'm sorry,” he said. “I sometimes forget that humans don't have the same physical abilities as dragons.”
“It's okay,” she said. “I think it was fun anyway.”
“Let's play a different game that doesn't require reflexes. How about this adventure game?” He showed her the box with an elf on the cover.
“Sure.”
He put in an adventure game, and they played on the same team, helping each other through each level. When they’d beaten the third level, she put down her controller and asked him where the restroom was.
“It's right through there,” he said, pointing to the far door.
She stood and went into his bathroom. Dax’s room was slightly messy, but it's not as nearly as disgu
sting as a lot of bachelor pads she’d witnessed in her life.
She went inside and used the bathroom and washed her hands, looking at herself in the mirror. She hadn’t put on any makeup or done her hair after her shower. Dax didn't seem to mind. She walked back into his bedroom, and he offered her another beer.
“Okay, but this is my limit,” she said with a giggle.
She drank her beer and they continued playing the adventure game until the levels started getting harder and they weren't able to beat a boss after three tries. She groaned and dropped her controller on the couch.
“We'll get it next time,” he said.
“It's getting late,” she said, feeling a little sleepy from the long day at the beach and the two beers. “I should probably go to bed.”
She was about to stand when he grasped her hand.
“Wait,” he said.
She turned to him and all at once, he leaned in and claimed her mouth, kissing her deeply and sensually. She moaned, his touch sending a jolt of desire through her. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders.
The kiss grew deeper, more passionate, his tongue slipped between her lips and their bodies grew closer. Their tongues lashed against each other, in a sensuous dance that she never wanted to end. Dax held her tight, pulling her up on his lap to straddle him. She broke their kiss and stared down at him, taking a gasping breath.
“Oh my God,” she said.
“I know,” he said. “It’s so good.”
She giggled.
“Why is this so hot?”
“Because we’re mates,” he said.
“I don't know anything about being somebody's mate. This whole dragon/vampire thing is still blowing my mind.”
“Don’t think about it like that. We're just two people who met each other during a tough time. And now we have this chance to be together. To kiss each other.”
He leaned up and kissed her again. She melted in his arms. She couldn't believe how good it felt, how right. She felt him rise under her core, long, hard, and throbbing. She slid over his cock as he nibbled at her lower lip. She broke away, gasping again. The sensation of pleasure was just too much. She didn't understand what it meant to be mates, but she had never felt so much pleasure in any man's arms ever before. Not even close. It was new and exciting and too good to be true. He held onto her hips and thrust up under her, pushing his cock against her hungry core.
“I can smell your excitement,” he said.
She giggled, her cheeks growing hot.
“I just took a shower.”
“It's the most delicious scent I've ever smelled,” he growled. “I need more.”
He picked her up and turned her over, laying her on the couch as he sank between her knees. She gasped as she looked at him. His shaggy blond hair fell around his face and his green eyes beamed up at her. He slid his fingers into the waistband of her pajamas.
“I've got to get rid of these,” he said, pulling them down to her feet.
It happened so quickly she didn't have time to think. She just gasped as the air touched her naked skin. He leaned between her thighs, taking a deep inhale of her scent. He growled, the light of his dragon glowing in his eyes. He reached up and began to unbutton her shirt, revealing she wasn't wearing a bra underneath.
He grasped her breasts, running his tongue over her tight nipples. She slid her fingers through his hair, wordlessly accepting the pleasure he was giving her. He sucked her nipples into his mouth as he kneaded her breasts.
Dax leaned up to kiss lips her before licking between her breasts, over her belly, and around the mound of her sex. He licked up each thigh and then over the slit between her legs, sending a tingling jolt of sensation through her entire body.
She gasped and arched her back, throwing her head back against the couch. Her breasts heaved as he slid his tongue deeper into her core. He purred against her pussy, the vibration sending sparks of desire through her. He pressed his tongue to her clit, and she shuddered.
“Oh my God,” she said, sitting upright, taking a deep gasp through her clenched teeth.
He placed his hand against her chest and slowly pushed her down, holding her there as his tongue vibrated on her clit. She groaned loudly, and he thrust his finger into her mouth. She sucked greedily as he stroked her pussy with his velvety hot tongue.
Desire rose as she grew accustomed to the deep pleasure of his mouth on her sex. She sucked his finger, moaning while he devoured her. He circled his tongue around her core and then dipped it into her channel. Over and over, focusing on her clit and then pressing inside her, lapping up her juices, and making her sopping wet.
He ran his tongue up to her tight bud, circling around and around as he pressed his wet finger against her channel. She growled, biting his finger gently as he slid another finger inside her.
His tongue lashed against her clit as he slid his finger deeper, stroking her inner pleasure as a flood of release gripped her body and made her go tense. Her pussy clenched and her nipples went iron stiff. She sucked hard on his finger as she groaned, the pleasure almost too intense to bear.
As it subsided, she let go of his finger, falling back limply against the couch. Gripping her hips, he stared up at her. She gazed into his fiery green eyes, almost not knowing what to think. It was too intense. Her pussy still throbbed, begging for more. Her mind was unable to comprehend the extent of the intense pleasure.
“What are you doing to me?” she giggled.
“Just trying to make you feel good.”
“Oh, that felt good, all right,” she said.
He handed her a throw blanket and sat beside her, pulling her into his embrace. She could see the hard outline of his shaft under his sweatpants. As she leaned against his muscled chest, she ran her hand up his thigh and stroked his length.
“You don't have to do that,” he said, holding her hand.
“Oh, I want to,” she said, stroking him again.
He growled and leaned back. She kissed his chin and slid her hand under his sweatpants and inside his boxer shorts. She found his shaft and pulled it out, stroking up and down on his magnificent length. He was so big, it almost scared her.
“Oh yes,” he said. “You are my good girl.”
He purred in her ear. She shuddered at his words. She sank between his knees. Stroking his cock, she slid her tongue over the slit. He was way too big to take in her mouth. But as she stroked him with both hands, she sank her mouth over the head of his cock, flicking her tongue back and forth as she tasted her his pre-come in her mouth.
He tasted divine. It was so erotic and exciting. She could feel herself growing more excited with each stroke of her hands. He growled and gripped the back of her head. He didn't push her down. He seemed to be holding himself back instead. She continued to stroke him with both her hands, sucking on the tip of his dick as his length grew wider and stiffer from her touch.
She groaned against him, tasting more pre-come seep from his slit. She gazed up at him, stroking him faster and more vigorously. He had his head rested against the back of the couch, his eyes rolled back in his head. His gorgeous body sprawled out for her. She felt so powerful, having this massive man at her mercy. She stroked him harder and faster, sucking his cock into her mouth as deep as it would go.
He erupted inside her. She took him with one gulp. His delicious semen shot into her throat. With a groan, she backed away and gently let go of his length. He looked down at her, his eyes glazed over.
“Come here,” he said, pulling her up beside him on the couch. They snuggled under the throw blanket, and he held her close, stroking her hair and kissing her gently.
“I've never felt anything like that,” he said. “You are a goddess.”
She giggled and bit her lip. She had done that more than once. It had never been her favorite thing, but with Dax, it was different. It felt really hot.
“I better go,” she said, knowing that if she stayed, she would want to take it further. Maybe all the way. And she
just wasn’t ready for that.
Dax pulled her back and kissed her gently on the mouth and forehead.
“Good night then,” he said. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
Chapter 15
It was late morning when her eyes fluttered open. Bright sunlight streamed through her bay window and crept up over her bed. She sat up and stretched, a smile spreading on her lips. She was flooded with the memory of being with Dax last night. He’d opened her body like a flower. She shuddered at the thought of it, letting out a deep, wistful sigh.
Pleasure that immense was something no one could ignore. For a moment, she imagined what it would be like to be with him all the time. To truly be his mate. To sleep in his bed, to make love to him.
She bit her lip, remembering his body. His cock was so big. It was hard to imagine it could fit inside her. Her face grew hot with the idea of it as she slung her feet over the side of her bed. She stood and stretched again. Walking across the room, she checked on Charlie, bending down to inspect his water and seed bowl. He chirped at the bottom of the cage and flapped his wings. She could tell he was growing stronger every day.
“How are you this morning, my little friend?" she asked.
Charlie peeped, flapping his wings. She opened the birdcage and scooped him into her palms. She drew him to her, holding him against her heart. He had become quite attached to her as she’d healed him. There was no wild fear in him.
She opened her mouth and began to sing, pulling the energy of life from the air and the world around her. She directed it through her heart, down her arms, and into her hands where it heated and radiated into Charlie. The energy of her healing song fills the room and swirled around her.
Each time she healed someone, it gave her something too. It made her hair lustrous, her eyes bright, and her body strong. The side effects were a bonus. But she would have done it, even if it had made her weak and ugly. Helping others was all that had ever mattered. It was the only way that she could connect to anyone or anything else.