Two of the other men decided to move in on her at the same time. Ariel twisted raising one leg striking one of the men in his nose before hitting him across the face with the broken stick. She punched out with her fists and legs at the other. Once the one man she hit with the stick dropped down to the floor, she swung around in a flying leap nailing the other man across the temple sending him across a table. He landed on the other side rolling. When he sat up, she nailed him between the eyes with a bottle she grabbed off a nearby table. Adalard watched as the male’s eyes crossed before he collapsed backwards to the floor again. The last man came up behind her while she was focused on throwing the bottle and wrapped his four arms around her, locking her arms to her sides.
Mandra’s harsh snarl of rage filled the air. He felt the change try to come over him at the same time as his mate used her head to smack the male holding her in the nose and mouth. The male stumbled backwards into a table which collapsed under his weight. Mandra didn’t wait to see what his mate would do next. He had seen enough. He moved forward to grip the two males struggling back to their feet by the neck and tossed them into the crowd.
“Zebulon!” Mandra roared in rage as he moved to the last one who was trying to untangle himself from the broken table. “You were supposed to protect her!”
“I’m trying to!” Zebulon snarled back. “Do you have any idea how many males have been following her? And, you forgot to mention how stubborn and protective your mate is of small creatures!”
A series of rasping snorts filled the air from the Tridactylum Zebulon was holding. Zebulon made a series of snorts back before he released the creature with a disgusted look on his face. The front of his uniform was coated in slime. He now needed a bath and more than a couple of drinks.
The Tridactylum who had originally sold Ariel the Tasiers decided it wanted to not only keep the tasty creatures but it wanted to buy Ariel after seeing the crowd of males attracted to her. When Zebulon informed it that Ariel was not for sale and the purchase for the Tasiers was completed and would not be undone, it decided it would just take her. Zebulon found himself in a wrestling match with the slimy species who was trying to get to Ariel. That was when the other four males decided to take advantage of his distraction to capture Ariel who was busy looking over her newest purchase. Personally, Zebulon was ready to hand Ariel and all her purchases over to Mandra to deal with for a while.
Well, maybe not all, Zebulon thought as he remembered the dark sapphire dress with the plunging neckline.
..*
Ariel stood still looking around as the crowd slowly began to disperse. She turned and walked over to Zebulon. Ignoring the slime covering the front of him, she gripped his cheeks between her hands and gave him a big kiss right on the lips with a whispered word of thanks. She then walked over to Precious and did the same thing.
Adalard considered the dark look on Mandra’s face as it flushed and wondered if he should place a bet on how long Zebulon was going to live. Only when the female stood up and walked up to Mandra did he release his breath in a chuckle that turned into a deep laugh.
“Hi honey, guess what I bought,” Ariel said sweetly wrapping her arms around his neck.
“No, Ariel. Absolutely not! You cannot have them,” Mandra gritted out as he wound his arms protectively around Ariel’s curvy figure and drew her close.
Ariel raised a delicate eyebrow and waited. “Ariel, please understand. I am commander of a warship. Animals do not belong on it,” Mandra said determinedly.
Ariel just kept looking at him without saying a word. “Ariel, Tasiers are a tasty food,” Mandra continued trying not to look into Ariel’s big brown eyes which were wide with a slight pleading look. “They are nocturnal and make a lot of noise when you try to sleep,” Mandra added desperately not liking the dogged look creeping into her eyes.
Mandra glanced down at his mate’s unyielding face and knew it was a losing battle. “I will have Zebulon transport them to the warship,” he muttered in resignation.
Ariel smiled tenderly as she reached up and kissed Mandra’s pouty lips. “Thank you,” she whispered. “They aren’t the only things I bought,” she added huskily.
Mandra groaned as he felt Ariel teasingly rub her body up against his before pulling away to watch Zebulon order some of the men to take the cages to the warship. He ignored Adalard’s speculative look as he ushered his mate through the crowd and out of the pub. He wondered what new surprises awaited him. He forgot to mention that Tasiers also reproduced at an alarming rate. He could only hope the creatures in the cages were separated by gender or he was going to have a bigger problem on his hands.
None of the men noticed the narrow eyes greedily following Ariel as they left. The cloaked figure enjoyed the view of the soft curves and long white hair of the female. He also liked the fact that she could fight. The idea of tangling with her sent waves of desire rushing through his body. It was obvious the Valdier male had laid claim to the unusual female. Perhaps it was time for the male to be challenged.
It had been a long, long time since he found something interesting enough for him to fight for, Bahadur thought, a long, long time.
Chapter 18
“Where are we going now?” Ariel asked later that evening as she carefully dried the last of the six Tasiers.
She picked up a brush and began brushing the soft fur while Mandra, who had already showered, sat across from her on the bed with an unhappy frown on his face. She was working on the last two when he came into their living quarters a short while ago and wanted to get her little ones clean before she got her shower. It had taken her a little longer than she expected because they didn’t care at first for their bath.
“We have one more stop before we arrive in the Curizan home world of Pax. You probably will not be able to leave the warship. It will be too dangerous. Besides, there is nothing there except desert. I am looking for someone who might be able to help us locate Raffvin,” he said picking up one of the Tasiers who was trying to dig under his pillow.
He set it back down on the floor. It hopped over to Ariel who pulled it up next to her where it snuggled between her and the side of the chair. He was more interested in Ariel modeling some of the new things she bought. Zebulon told him he owed him big time for the torture he endured taking Ariel shopping. At first, Mandra thought he was talking about having to fight the Tridactylum. Zebulon quickly corrected him with a detailed description of some of the items Ariel modeled and told him of the things she didn’t. He had never seen his head of security and close friend so flustered before.
“Ariel,” Mandra called out in a low, husky tone.
Ariel’s head jerked up at the deeper sound in her mate’s voice. Ariel’s dragon stirred at the sound, recognizing her mate as well. Her eyes widened when she saw the dark gold flames burning bright with desire.
“I need you,” he whispered roughly. “I wish to see some of the items you purchased. Will you model them for me?”
Ariel’s eyes glittered with excitement and her lips curved with a knowing grin. Somebody was horny and wanted to be teased. She thought back to some of the items she purchased and knew just the one to start with. She leaned down placing the two Tasiers on the floor and stood up.
“Darling, you get comfortable and I’ll give you a Victoria’s Secret modeling session you won’t forget,” Ariel said with a seductive curve to her lips.
Ariel quickly bundled up her purchases and moved into the bathroom. She took a quick shower and pulled out some of the silky lingerie she purchased. For once, Ariel was glad she was on the curvy side. Mandra seemed to like her curves from the way he was always running his hands over them. She pulled out the sapphire blue dress with the plunging front and back. She couldn’t wear a bra with this dress and the dressmaker had never heard of double-sided tape so she would have to be careful about bending over in it. The color reminded her of Mandra’s scales which was why she chose it. The dress hugged her curves without making her feel like she was poure
d into it which was another plus. She slipped on the three-inch heels that matched the dress. Pulling her hair up into a twisted knot, she found that elegant but sexy look she was trying for. She didn’t have any makeup. Looking in the mirror, she decided she didn’t need any. Her cheeks were flushed with excitement and her eyes were glowing with dark golden-brown flames adding enough color, she thought.
Taking a deep breath, she moved out of the room. Ariel stood frozen by the door when she saw Mandra. He was lying on top of the covers of their bed naked and hard. She swallowed over the lump in her throat and decided hands-down he won the fashion show by not wearing a thing.
“Holy shit, you’re beautiful!” Ariel whispered hoarsely. Her eyes were glued to Mandra’s huge cock which was bobbing up and down as she watched.
Mandra’s own groan filled the air as his eyes took in the plunging neckline and the way the silky dark blue dress clung to his mate’s curves. He was going to have to kill Zebulon. He liked his friend but the thought of Zebulon seeing his mate in that dress was enough to send his own blood to a high boil. Mandra’s dragon release a long, low rumble of pleasure.
You take mate with you. I want my mate. Been too long, his dragon rumbled out looking at the glowing, golden-brown flames.
His eyes darkened further as he watched Ariel's tongue dart out to lick her lips. He followed the tiny pink tip as it moved slowly from the center of her top lip all the way around until she let it move back and forth along the bottom. Each swipe of her tongue caused him to grow harder until he could feel the pre-cum bead on the tip of his cock. He turned from where he was leaning against the headboard and sat up. If she wouldn’t come to him, he was going to go to her. Before he could move any further she took a step toward him followed by another and another until she was standing next to the bed.
Ariel’s eyes followed the dew forming on the thick, rounded end in fascination. She moved forward without thinking sinking slowly down next to the bed on her knees between his. She lifted her hands to run them up his thickly muscled thighs, scraping them lightly with her nails as she moved higher and higher.
Ariel released a soft sigh as she leaned forward unaware that the front of her dress opened to tease him as he looked down on her. A harsh groan filled the air and she paused to look up at Mandra’s face. Her breath caught at the intense desire in the taut lines as he fought to hold himself still under her exploration. She smiled as she slid her hands up. She wrapped one hand as far as she could around his cock while she moved the other one up over his flat, muscled stomach. Looking down again, she leaned a little further and ran the tip of his moist cock around her lips lightly before she opened her mouth and let his hard length caress her tongue.
“Gods, Ariel! You are going to kill me,” Mandra bit out harshly. “I have never seen such a beautiful sight before.”
Ariel’s gaze flickered up where it collided with Mandra’s burning one. Her eyes glowed with delight as she began a systematic assault on him. She wanted to see him lose his tight self-control. She wanted to see him mindless with passion and need. She wanted to hear him as she took him to places only she could. She pumped his cock at the same time as she swallowed more and more of his length until she could feel it touch the back of her throat at times. Determined to make this an experience he would never forget, she tilted her head and took him at different angles. When she felt his orgasm building she pulled back slightly before bringing him to the edge again. She heard the sound of tearing but ignored it as she felt her own body responding to his. Her panties were soaked as her own juices built in response to his heavy pants and mutter words. Moving up and down, she felt the moment when he lost control, his body shook intensely before she felt his hands in her hair holding her head still while he roared out.
Mandra could not believe how incredible Ariel looked and felt as she knelt between his legs. He did not know what he did to deserve her but he thanked the gods and goddesses for bringing her into his life. The shimmering sapphire dress she wore was the exact color of his scales. Seeing her in it knocked the breath out of him as it brushed against her pale skin. Seeing her kneeling in front of him with the front gapping just enough to give him a tantalizing glimpse of her full breasts was enough to make him lose his mind. As she moved back and forth, he could see his cock disappearing inside her mouth while teasing views of her rosy nipples taunted him to take them, fuck them, claim them. His hands fisted in the covers of their bed in a desperate attempt to not thread them through her hair and hold her while he pumped her rosy lips. When she brought him to the precipice then stopped only to bring him there again and again it was more than he could take. The delicate fabric covering their bed shredded as he shifted enough to dig his claws into the bedding so he wouldn’t hurt her. He felt the pressure building deep inside him. He fought for control as his balls drew tighter and his body began to shake as he lost his battle to remain in control. The explosion of fire as his orgasm burst through his body ripped a harsh roar from him as he came deep inside his mate’s hot, moist mouth. The feel of her throat closing around his shaft as she swallowed caused him to continue to release until he felt like she was pulling his very soul from his body. His grip loosened and he fell backwards across the bed, throwing one arm over his eyes as he gasped for air.
“By the gods, I’ve died and been reborn,” Mandra whispered as he drew in huge gulps of air.
“You like that, uh?” Ariel asked smugly as she climbed up off the floor and made her way up her mate’s heated body. She licked her lips as Mandra slowly moved his arm until it lay above his head. “I liked it, too,” she whispered as she leaned down over him and pressed a light kiss against the corner of his mouth before pulling back to look down at him again.
Mandra smiled up at the flushed face of his mate. She thought he was done. This was just the beginning. His dragon was determined to take his mate one way or another. Mandra felt the dragon’s fire building to an explosive level inside him as his dragon fought for control. His mate was about to learn what it meant to ‘play with fire’… dragon’s fire, that is. He raised one arm up slowly to brush a strand of silky white-blonde hair that had come undone from the twisted knot she had put it up in. Gripping her neck, he pulled her down to him in a slow, deliberate move.
“I did not like it,” Mandra whispered against Ariel’s lips, “I loved it. Now, it is my turn.”
Ariel gasped as Mandra shifted his head to run his lips down along her jaw. As soon as he reached her neck, he tightened his grip on her and struck. He sank his teeth deep into her and he began breathing the dragon’s fire. It scorched them both as it raced through them, passing from one to the other in a flaming wave of heat and fire.
“Mandra!” Ariel cried out as her body stiffened in shock at the fierceness of his possession and the physical demand of her body.
Mandra continued breathing the dragon’s fire as his fingers found the plunging neckline of her dress. He pushed the material aside so that it hung on the outside of her breasts. He felt the taunt tips brushing against his chest grow harder as the combination of rubbing against the coarse hair on his chest and the fire burning through her exploded against her sensitive flesh. Her wild cries filled the air of their living quarters as she fought the waves of dragon fire flooding her.
Mandra held her ruthlessly to him. When she fought to pull away from the intense desire trying to overwhelm her, he rolled her over pinning her under his hard length. Mandra slid his hands up Ariel's thrashing arms and grasped her wrists over her head in order to hold her still when she clawed at him. He slowly released her neck, licking the wound closed as she strained under him.
Pulling back, he gazed down at his mate as she stared with unfocused eyes up at him. Her hair was a wild tangle of silk framing her flushed face. Her lips were swollen from sucking on his cock and her eyes were wild with the heat of the dragon’s fire coursing through her. His eyes lowered to look at the rosy tips of her breasts as she panted causing them to brush along his chest in tight peaks.
Her legs moved restlessly as she sought release from the growing, burning need building to an unbearable level inside her. The fabric of the dark sapphire dress against her pale skin caused his cock to swell again until he ached to bury his hard shaft deep inside her slick vaginal walls.
“You are mine, mi elila. For now and always, I will do everything in my power to keep you safe and happy,” Mandra vowed.
Ariel’s eyes glittered with tears. “I hurt, Mandra. I need you,” she whispered brokenly as wave after wave of fire burst through her.
Mandra let one of his hands roamed down Ariel’s withering form until he could pull the hem of her dress up enough to snap the panties she was wearing. “Then you shall have me,” he promised, “again and again and again.”
..*
Mandra rolled out of the bed the next morning and looked at his exhausted mate. He grinned as she snored softly. He had not lied when he said he would take her again and again and again. They finally fell asleep about an hour before. He was used to not sleeping much but he had learned the hard way his mate did not react quite so nicely if she did not get enough sleep. More than once over the past four weeks he had tried to wake her early only to find himself on the wrong side of her flailing arms. He learned it was much safer to keep hold of her when he tried to wake her. She usually punched first then woke...sometimes.