His eyes flitted to her chest as he closed the final inch between them. His hands caressed her arms, and sparks raced over her skin at his touch. Her eyes drifted to his mouth, and she hoped he wouldn’t let go.
“Are you scared of me?” he asked softly, his warm breath sending a shiver down her spine as he leaned in close and whispered into her ear.
She shook her head. “Should I be?”
“No.” He cradled her head in one hand, lifting her lips to his with one deft motion. When they connected, her entire body warmed. A soothing tingle raced over her skin, and she leaned into him with a newfound hunger. “You never have to fear me.”
His cock hardened, and she gasped in surprise. He nudged her cheek with his nose and possessively nipped her jaw. “Sorry. You bring out the beast in me.”
“Oh, you are so corny,” she said breathlessly.
“You love it.”
“Maybe.”
“Just maybe?” His hands wandered to her waist as he kissed her again, hands roaming over her body and drawing a gasp of pleasure from her. “Well, then maybe I need to work harder.”
17
Draven
Draven stood in front of Tina’s closed bedroom door, one hand in his pockets as he waited for her to answer his knock. Technically it was five minutes before ten in the morning, but he didn’t want to wait a moment longer to have his first official moments with a goddess to himself. In his free hand, he carried a folded red cloak made from soft cotton and lined with white fur. With the day he had in store, she would need it, even in the Indonesian heat.
He grinned, wondering what she would think of his surprise.
The door opened, and her bright red lips curved slightly as she offered him a small smile in welcome. Her addictive floral scent wafted into the corridor, and his inner beast stirred with need.
Most of the time, his dragon called the shots with his romantic conquests. It demanded he deliver whatever it wanted, and it always got its way. Standing this close to her, Draven had to actively resist the impulse to pull her close without a word and steal a deep kiss from her. Such a brash move had worked on women in the past, but Tina was a goddess. She deserved finesse.
Tina eyed him warily, her gaze flickering over his chest and broad shoulders before they returned to his face.
Something shifted as soon as their eyes locked. It was a subtle change, almost imperceptible, but she relaxed ever so slightly. Her scent changed, a subtle hint of arousal swirling in the air as she leaned against the door. Her chin lowered, those beautiful hazel eyes narrowing as she watched him with a veiled expression. It was one with which he was quite familiar.
Desire.
Damara was a powerful being with deeply physical needs, attracted to passion and pleasure. He had no doubt that the goddess could tell what he was and what he could do, both as a dragon and as an experienced sexual partner. Tina would, of course, have emotional needs he would do his best to satisfy, but he could already tell words wouldn’t have as much impact on their connection as physical contact.
He liked it that way.
Draven flashed Tina one of his dazzling smiles, the kind that had made more than one woman fall to her knees back home. “It’s a pleasure to see you, boss.”
She chuckled and opened the door a little bit more. “‘Boss,’ I like that. What did you have in mind for our day together? More training?”
His eyes flitted briefly to the canopy bed in the middle of the room, but he quickly reined in the demands of his dragon to sweep her off her feet and use his tongue to explore the space between her thighs. “I have some ideas, but you’re in charge. I want to make sure you’re comfortable regardless of what we do. Here, I brought you a gift.”
She lifted the thick cloak from his outstretched hand and laughed. “You bought me a coat? In Bali? It’s eighty degrees outside.”
“I know,” he said. “This was surprisingly hard to find.”
She laughed at his dumb joke and shook her head, her smile broadening with each second. Good. He wanted to make sure she was at ease, comfortable around him and willing to let down her guard.
If he wanted to earn her companionship, he first had to earn her trust. All of this was certainly stressful for her, and she was likely a little anxious about spending time alone with a relative stranger.
It was his responsibility to make her happy, and he would not fail.
“Have you ever seen a dragon before?” he asked, tilting his head.
Her eyes widened, and a mischievous little smirk appeared on her face. “Are you offering?”
“I am if you’re interested.”
She nodded. “But what’s the coat for?”
He smiled and offered her his arm. “I’d like you to see what your temple looks like from above. You’re not scared of heights, are you?”
18
Tina
Barely fifteen minutes later, Tina wiped a trail of sweat from her brow as she stood once more in the field beyond the temple walls wearing the most stunning red cloak she had ever seen. Beautiful, but friggin’ hot. Sweat pooled beneath her eyes, and she wondered if she should tug it off. He had promised not to keep her waiting, but her dress was already clinging to her skin.
“You didn’t ask to leave the temple, Draven,” she said with an annoyed huff.
“Sorry, boss,” he said with a stunning and unapologetic smile. She knew him well enough at this point to figure he had probably either forgotten the rules entirely or willfully broke them every opportunity he had.
She was about to tell him off when Draven tugged off his shirt in one slow, sensuous motion that revealed the hard lines of his abdomen. Without thinking, she took a step toward him, one hand already moving to touch him, to feel the hard muscle of his body.
He pulled the shirt up over his head, the movement drawing her eyes up to his pecs and she sucked in a sharp breath. He was perfect. Absolutely, one hundred percent perfect. What’s more, as he dropped the shirt to the ground, the smirk on his face let her know he knew it.
And the crazy thing was? She didn’t care. In this moment the only thing she wanted was to run her hands over every inch of his half naked body.
Everything about him screamed carnal pleasure, and from the first moment they had come close to each other, both she and the goddess were in agreement. Draven was pure sex. The wild sensation of his hand on hers, the confident way he had offered the cloak to her, the unhurried swagger in his every step: every movement made promises about what those thick fingers of his could do, and she wondered if he could deliver.
“Don’t worry,” he said, nodding to her. “The show is just getting started.”
“Is that so?” she said, swallowing the lump in her throat as his hands went to his pants, drawing her eyes along with them.
As he unzipped his pants, Tina tried not to look. Really, she tried, but in the end she did anyway. And wow, was she glad she had.
“What, humans don’t get naked on the first date?” Draven chuckled, and the sound of his voice brought her gaze back up to his face.
“Well, sometimes, but not usually at the start,” she said, allowing herself one last look at him before trying her best to look at his face. She failed. But only twice.
“You have but to say the word, and the pants will go back on.” He lifted his hand as though he were taking an oath, but that devilish smile of his melted her defenses.
When she didn’t protest, Draven shook out his hands and rolled his shoulders. “Are you ready for me to shift? I don’t want to scare you. Dragons are, well, big.”
“Yeah, I sort of figured.” Her eyes flitted down his body before moving back to his face. “Go ahead.”
“Whatever you say, boss.” Draven smiled and closed his eyes.