She turned toward Tristan. It took everything she had to look at his eyes and not his lips.
His brown eyes were unreadable. While she wished they were full of heat in anticipation of her kiss, the sight was far better than disgust or contempt. As she waited for him to speak, her heart pounded in her chest. Would it be a mere peck or the full-on, tongue-twirling variety?
He opened his mouth to speak and she stopped breathing.
~~~
As Tristan waited for Bram to say all the necessary formalities, his inner dragon urged him to pull Melanie flush up against his body and kiss her already. The kiss did more than physically show his claim in front of the clan; it also covered the sacrifice in his scent, which would help to keep the other males away.
But Tristan was stronger than his dragon, and he maintained the distance between their bodies. If he was going to survive tasting Melanie for the first time, without taking her right there on the stage, he needed to prepare himself.
He took slow, controlled breaths and imagined scratching his dragon’s nose, and then behind his ear. Before long, his inner dragon was crooning in contentment. Inside his mind, Tristan said, You and I can have her soon. Until then, let the human part of us take care of her.
His dragon seemed to settle, trusting Tristan at his word.
And just in time, too. Bram asked, “Tristan MacLeod, is there something you’d like to ask our guest?”
Tristan kept his features expressionless as Melanie turned toward him, her cheeks flushed. He could hear her heart racing, but the question was whether it was because she was nervous or because she was aroused at the idea of kissing him.
Rather than think on it, he said in a loud, clear voice, “Ms. Melanie Hall, will you do me the honor of allowing me to show my promise to protect you with a First Kiss?”
She swallowed, but then quickly nodded.
He took a step toward her and raised his hands to her cheeks. Melanie sucked in a breath at his touch, and he simultaneously felt a little thrill from the heat of her soft skin. Right here, right now, she looked innocent and vulnerable; nothing like the fiery woman who’d stood up to him a few hours ago.
If she were a dragon-shifter female, he’d probably kiss her and never let go.
But she was human, and he needed to be careful. He’d give her a quick peck and then somehow survive the rest of the celebration and the following day.
He gave his inner beast one last soothing sound before he stroked her cheek and lowered his head to meet her lips.
Her lips were soft, warm, and tasted of woman. The contact shot straight to his cock, and suddenly, the quick peck wasn’t enough. He needed to feel the moist warmth of her mouth. His inner dragon roared that he wanted, no needed, to discover her taste.
He could’ve fought his beast, but with Melanie’s scent surrounding him and the softness of her skin under his fingers, he couldn’t make himself pull away.
Instead, Tristan traced the seam of her lips with his tongue, but she didn’t open. With a growl, he moved one of his hands from her face to her waist and hauled her lush body up against his.
Melanie gasped the instant her softness came up against his hard body and he took advantage, thrusting his tongue into her mouth. Her taste was a mixture of woman and something sweet, a biscuit perhaps, and he was desperate for more. He gave one stroke, then another, learning the contours and feel of her mouth.
But as desperate as he was to taste her, she stood still, as if she was just waiting for him to hurry up and finish.
His dragon didn’t like that one bit. More. Taste. Take more.
To please his dragon, he just needed to give her a little encouragement.
He nipped and sucked her bottom lip before moving to the top one. He pressed her soft belly harder against his aching cock and she let out a little noise of surprise. He invaded her mouth again, but as he stroked her tongue, her hand went to his shoulder and she started to meet his strokes, shyly at first, before gaining confidence.
While her belly was pressed against his cock and her taste was filling his mouth, he desperately wanted to fill his hands with some of her curves. He could think of nothing but what it would feel like to hold and caress the heavy weight of her breast in his hand. Then he could tug and roll her hard little nipple with his fingers, and eventually take the tight bud into his mouth and start his torture all over again.
His inner dragon chimed in. Yes, we need to tease our female and ready her for our pleasure.