Susannah Scott - Luck of the Dragon

The brush of his lips against hers coaxed her mouth open. Her nipples tightened with desire that spread hot fire through her limbs.

Lucy’s legs fell open and Alec slid a finger into her heat, leaving no distance between them. Rightness fused through Lucy. Magic, like the jewels draped over her, swelled in her chest and fanned through her body as if she were an ember coaxed to flame.

Alec increased the pressure of his fingers, rubbing her center with her own wetness. He moved his mouth to her breast, circling her nipple with his tongue. Pressure built inside Lucy, and she jerked against him, pushing her lower body flush to his, feeling the hard ridge of him at the juncture of her things.

Lucy’s breathing came shallow and gasping, until it seemed she would flare out without more of his touch. “Come for me now.” He stared into her eyes, the barriers between them gone.

Lucy held her breath and closed her eyes, easily tumbling into oblivion. Her body shook so hard that Alec wrapped his arms around her hips to hold her on the ledge.

“Mine in this life and beyond,” Alec whispered. The words sounded ritualistic, and he wound the sash around their fingers so that they were bound. “Look at me.”

Lucy opened her eyes as he plunged his body into hers. The feel of him inside her, stretching her, made her cry out in pleasure. Slowly he picked up speed, and her body tensed with heightened arousal. The build up from before was a small aftershock compared to this. She wrapped her arms and legs around him. “What’s happening?”

“I don’t know.” Alec rested his forehead on hers in a gesture that clinched her heart. It was vulnerable, saying that they were together—overcome by the magic they had created—one not more so than the other.

Alec thrust hard into her, stretching her open under him again and again. His normally graceful movements became jerky and out of control. Heat sizzled Lucy’s core. She rose to meet his hips, only wishing to take him deeper into her being.

Her every fiber melded to connect with him. Her back bowed with her shattering release. Her mind floated away from the rock ledge like a million pieces of sand blown over the desert floor.

Lucy balanced on the ledge of the roof patio. Instead of fear, the drop from the top of the casino to the ground was heady, empowering. She wanted to fly one more time, to leap into the air like a dragon, race through the sky of her own accord. Let the rush of the wind shear her skin and sting her senses.

“You do know that you don’t have wings?” Alec stepped beside her but didn’t try to curtail her precarious posturing.

“I know.” Lucy lifted one bare foot in the air, and the sari whipped around her leg in the wind. Her heart sped in her chest, beating so fast that her vision blurred. She absorbed the swell of raw energy and wanted more. She set her foot down and lifted the other. What had happened to careful, plodding Luciana De Luca? The Lucy De Luca who was afraid of heights?

She was gone.

She wasn’t afraid of anything—except losing Alec.

“Your dragon form is regenerated, then?”

“Yes.”

“That is good.”

“That is more than good .” Alec’s dark blue eyes watched her, and his words were sincere. “Thank you.”

“My pleasure—my more-than pleasure. ” Lucy loved the playful banter between them, no longer stymied by conflicting agendas.

The setting moon slid under the horizon, giving way to a bright, impatient sun. It was a new day, and the ceremony was over. Behind them, only a handful of the dragons still mingled on the rooftop. Though Alec had said it was too late for them to find their mates, they still stumbled about like bereft barflies at last call.

“Come sit with me.” Alec led her to one of the leather couches that circled a lit fireplace.

Lucy sat on the end and tucked her legs under her. The good kind of tired held her body to the ground when her heart felt like it could fly. Alec stretched out his long body on the couch and put his head in her lap. Lucy stroked her hand through his hair, letting her fingernails scrape his scalp. She didn’t have to wonder how to touch him now, she just knew. He liked long, slow strokes, from his crown to his nape and back again.

Across from them, a couple slept, entwined and half-dressed on another leather couch. Anyone stepping onto the casino roof for the first time would think there had been some sort of massive party—they would be right.

At a distance, the musicians played on, but with a quieter, consoling melody. Lil stood next to one of the drum players whom Lucy recognized as the woman who had brought Lil her sword outside the exhibit.

The edges of the black dragon mark on her hand were gray now and seemed to dissipate with her every stroke. “My dragon mark is fading.” Lucy remembered how she had tried to scrub the mark off. Now, she was sad to see it go.

“Our bond is complete for this cycle.” Alec said, completely relaxed and languid. “It’ll appear again when another ceremony is upon us.”

“How long will it be until another ceremony?” Lucy asked.

“Only the Fates know.” Alec’s voice was slumberous, and his breathing deepened.

Lucy kept her strokes long and gentle, her fingers loving him.

Near the lit fireplace, a set of large potted palm trees shook. The plants parted and Joey’s face poked through the spiky green foliage. Lucy glanced at the Alec to see if he noticed, but he slept deeply, his face turned into her lap.

“Luce!” Joey mouthed the words across the short space.

Lucy shook her head at him, more amused than alarmed. Con man rule number five: never use potted plants to hide in. Joey’s pot scooted around the fireplace and settled next to the arm of her couch.

“Hello, Joey,” Lucy whispered. “Did you have a good night?”

Joey sat on the edge of one of the pots and leaned forward, examining Alec’s face. “Is he asleep?”

“Yes.” Lucy stroked her fingers protectively through the tensile softness of Alec’s hair. “How did you get out of the cage?” But she knew it had to be the brunette. All women seemed to be suckers for Joey’s cocky charm.

Instead of answering with a witty comeback, Joey scanned the rooftop as if searching for something. “Hell of a party.” His voice was gruff. “Like the Super Bowl halftime show collided with a cotillion.”

Lucy laughed and then muffled the sound. Alec slept on, oblivious to Joey’s presence. “What do you know about debutantes?”

“Enough to know these freaky dragons aren’t ones.” Joey put his hand on her forearm, getting her full attention. “We’ve got to get out of here while everyone is sleeping it off.”

Lucy should have known he had a plan, only this time she wouldn’t be going along. “What are you planning?”

“We need to get off this roof, but all the exits are guarded.” Again, Joey searched the crowd, a frown on his face. “I don’t suppose you got wings out of this little soirée?”

“Nope.” Lucy smiled. “No wings.”

Joey shook his head, appearing frustrated.

“I’m going to stay with Alec.” Lucy’s hands continued to move over Alec’s head, cherishing him.

“Are you serious?” Joey’s voice rose then lowered. “Sis, these are dragons. Dragons eat shit, especially humans.”

“I’m safe with Alec. But you need to go.”

“Your brain is muddled with endorphins.” Joey gave her a disappointed glare. “Being on the bottom of the food chain is a bad idea.”

“I’m going to stay anyway.” Lucy smiled, at ease with her decision, pleasantly impervious to his opinion.

“What?”

“I’m not leaving.”