Page 20 of Dragon Eternal (Dragon Kings 4)
CHAPTEREIGHT
Nia knew pleasure. She had studied it, learned it. Mastered it. She knew how to bring someone to the brink of orgasm with a single touch. She was an expert on how to take someone’s desire and use it to her advantage. Her arsenal of tricks was wide and varied.
And not once in all her years as a courtesan had anyone ever made her feel budding excitement or the blossom of desire.
Never.
Shaw had her on the precipice, teetering precariously as she anticipated his kiss. She couldn’t drag enough breath into her lungs. His arm held her firmly against his hard body, his heat surrounding her, lulling her. His long fingers caressed her throat before wrapping around to her neck. Shivers of exhilaration moved through her.
She stared into his fern green eyes. He didn’t hide his longing. Not now, and not when they first met. It transfixed her, electrified her. Her body shook with nervousness—and need. No matter what part she played in the sex game, she was always in control—because she hadn’t known what it meant to feel desire.
Not until Shaw.
Her fingers tightened on his waist. She didn’t remember lifting her hands, but now that she had a hold of him, she didn’t want to let go. His stomach jumped when she caressed upward. Her heart skipped a beat at the knowledge that he might be just as affected as she.
You’re a courtesan. You know how to make others crave you.
This was different. She didn’t know how it had happened or when, but she couldn’t deny it. It frightened her enough that she debated running back to the city. Then she remembered the Divine’s promise of freedom if she delivered a Dragon King. After all the pleasure she had given others, wasn’t it time for her to experience some of her own?
Her thoughts scattered when Shaw’s fingers lightly brushed the back of her neck. Her knees became weak. She grasped his broad shoulders for support as his head lowered. Nia had only a heartbeat to prepare herself. Shaw’s mouth was soft and tender as it brushed hers. That barely registered before he returned. This time, his lips covered hers. His kiss was, in turns, coaxing and demanding. He molded her against his body, besieging her mouth as if she were a war to be won.
He took his time learning her. The kiss deepened by degrees that she wasn’t even aware of until they clung to each other, desperate to get closer.
Suddenly, he ended the kiss and stared down at her. She blinked in confusion. Her heart rate sped up, and her breathing turned ragged as if she had just run a race. No one had ever consumed her mind and body as he did. It was as frightening as it was exciting. Several ideas of seduction ran through her head to get him back to kissing her, but she found she didn’t want to use them. Not on Shaw.
“We can no’ stay here.” His voice was deep and rough, raw from desire. “I want to focus all of my attention on you. No’ the animals that could attack.”
She tried to speak, but no words formed. Instead, she nodded in agreement.
Shaw said nothing as he took her hand and led her back through the forest. His strides were so long, she almost had to jog to keep up with him, but she didn’t mind. She wanted to get somewhere private, someplace it was just the two of them.
They reached the city quickly. The soldiers saw them and opened the gates so they didn’t have to pause. Those on the streets who saw Shaw’s face hastily got out of his way. His grip on her hand was strong. She almost wished one of the priest soldiers would step into their path. She would love to see what Shaw would do. Then again, that would delay their alone time.
Shaw took the stairs between levels. Twice, he put his body between her and the crowd so she wouldn’t get jostled. No one had ever treated her with such care before. She stared at his face, but he was too focused on their destination to look her way. The judgments and fear she had formed about Shaw because he was a Dragon King were called into question at every turn. She’d thought she knew him, but she realized—belatedly—that she didn’t know anything.
Shaw paused to let two older women pass, yanking her out of her thoughts. Nia looked around and realized that they were on the third level. She had been so lost in her head that she hadn’t paid any attention to their journey. Her lips parted to tell him that they could go to her villa when he pulled her into a pub.
Nia followed him through the building to the stairs and down the hall to what she assumed was his room. He tugged her inside before shutting and locking the door. Then he looked at her. Her stomach felt as if a dozen butterflies flapped their wings at once. So many others had looked at her with need, desire, and possessiveness. But no one had ever gazed at her with such raw hunger before.
“I spent the night thinking of all the ways I wanted to pleasure you,” Shaw said as he slowly walked to her. “I could think of nothing else. You’ve no idea how difficult it was for me to let you go last night.”
She swallowed. “I have an idea.”
Was that her voice? She sounded…breathless, needy. Her blood ran hotly through her veins, converging between her thighs. Her sex clenched.
His face tightened as he fisted his hands at his sides. “I want to see all of you, but if I touch you now, I’ll likely rip something.”
Nia had no doubt he would do just that. She should fear the power he held, but she was too wrapped up in the promise of pleasure. She kicked off her sandals. Her hands shook when she unfastened her skirt and let it puddle around her feet. She had to pull the tunic over her head before she tossed it away. Then she stood in only the thin material of her short, wide-legged undergarment. Shaw’s gaze locked on the pale blue item. Nia slipped her fingers into the waist and slowly pushed them over her hips and down her legs.
