Defender Dragon (Protection, Inc 2)

The taped-on bandages stood out stark white against Lucas’s ivory skin and golden dragonmarks. They moved with each breath he took, just as the lean muscle of his chest and belly moved, and the dragonmarks glittered in the light. His shoulders and arms were more muscular than she’d realized when he’d had his tunic on. His hands were as beautiful as ever, but now she was close enough to see the corded tendons at his wrists and a few small scars across his knuckles.

In the ballroom, clothed and dancing, Lucas was every inch a prince, a sensual but unattainable fantasy. Half-naked and sitting in front of her, his skin still wet from the sponge she’d rubbed over his body, he seemed less elegant. More primal. She could feel the heat of his bare skin and smell a spicy scent that might be cologne or might just be him.

Slowly, she lifted her gaze to meet his eyes. They gleamed hot and bright, closer to gold than to topaz. He had looked at her like that at the ball, from across a crowded room. She hadn’t understood what it meant, back then. She did now. He wanted her, as much as she wanted him.

“Lucas...” she whispered.

His voice was low and husky, unlike his usual polished tones. “I have wanted you since the moment I first laid eyes on you. When we danced at the ball, it was all I could do to not rip your clothes off and have you then and there, on the dance floor with everyone watching.”

Journey swallowed, imagining it as vividly as if he really had done that. She could almost feel his strong hands lowering her to the ground, her clothes ripping like paper, the marble floor cold against her back, and Lucas kneeling over her, driving into her until she forgot about the onlookers and lost herself in him.

“Take me now,” she said. “I’m yours.”

He moved faster than she expected, sweeping her into his arms. She started to gasp with surprise, but it was cut off as his mouth came down on hers. His lips were soft and hot, and the inside of his mouth was like a furnace.

Of course, Journey thought dizzily. He’s a dragon. He can breathe fire.

But the heat of his mouth was no more than the heat she felt building inside of her. She kissed him passionately, reveling in sheer sensation, in the touch of his tongue and the pressure of his fingers on her shoulders. But it wasn’t just his touch that made her dizzy, it was him. He’d saved her life. He’d been wounded defending her. And he wanted her.

She could have kept kissing him forever, but Lucas stood up, lifting her as easily as if she was the tiny glass bottle of heartsease.

“You’re so strong,” she said, amazed. No one had ever lifted her before.

“I like the wa

y you feel in my arms,” he replied, pulling her tighter in to his chest.

In a few strides, he reached the huge bed and laid her down on the velvet cover. Journey stretched luxuriously, enjoying the softness of the velvet and the sight of Lucas, bare-chested, his dragonmarks gleaming, looking down at her with hunger in his golden eyes.

“What do you want?” he asked.

Journey hesitated. Even now, she found it hard to believe that a man— a prince— a dragon— would do what she asked, simply because she asked for it.

“Nothing?” Lucas inquired, with a teasing lilt in his voice. “There’s absolutely nothing you want from me?”

Her doubts vanished. “There’s a lot that I want from you. But you could start by taking off your clothes and letting me get a look at you.”

“Your wish is my command,” Lucas replied. Then his voice lowered, teasing gone, as he added, “I like that you want to see my body. I have been longing to see yours.”

Journey swallowed. She’d never heard such naked, sincere lust in a man’s voice before— never seen it in a man’s eyes.

She lay back and watched as he removed his sword and hung it on the bedpost, then bent to take off his boots and breeches. The movement of his muscles beneath his skin and the glittering dragonmarks was almost unbearably sensual, as was the knowledge that this magnificent man was stripping for her pleasure. He pulled off his underwear, revealing a rampant erection pressing against his taut belly. Then he stood, letting her drink him in.

He hadn’t taken off his jewelry. A heavy gold chain was clasped around the ivory column of his throat. More gold chains spiraled around his wrists and forearms. His long-fingered hands sparkled with gold and diamond rings. Journey wondered what all that gold would feel like against her skin, if it would be cool or warmed by the heat of his body.

Lucas turned slowly, letting her see every inch of him. The rippling muscles of his back. His fine ass. His long, lean legs, like a runner’s. The glittering dragonmarks on his left shoulder extended a little way on to his back.

And then he turned to face her again. His eyes were like pools of molten gold. A pulse beat visibly at the fine skin of his throat. She could sense that he was barely holding himself in check.

“Do you like what you see?” Lucas asked.

“I do.”

“Have you seen enough?”

“Lucas, I could look at you forever. But come touch me now.” Journey beckoned him down.

He moved in a flash, kneeling over her before she could so much as blink. Now that he was closer, she could feel the heat of his body and smell his spicy scent. Before he did anything else, he leaned down and kissed her. The second kiss was just as thrilling as the first. Journey never wanted it to end.