To Love a Dragon - Tiffany Roberts Page 0,61

core.

His throbbing stem brushed the blanket as he shifted his hips, creating a torturous burst of pleasure that stole his breath.

My mate. My claim. Must have her.

He clenched his jaw, biting back an involuntary groan. Yes, it had been several days since they’d mated, and he’d hungered for her throughout, but this need was far too great to be explained by that.

She is exhausted and requires rest. That is more important.

Leyloni and Serek had ridden on Arysteon’s back through the evening, leaving their prior camp far behind as they chased the setting sun. She had barely been able to hold herself upright by the time darkness had neared. They’d chosen this place to camp, and he’d shifted back into his human form to tend her. The transformation had almost felt like a natural thing.

Leyloni and Serek had been asleep before Arysteon could get the fire going.

Arysteon slid his hand down his abdomen and clamped his fingers around his shaft. It was slick with secretions and his already spilling seed. He hissed softly through his teeth—his hold brought a flare of pleasure, a blast of pain, but not even a modicum of relief.

Having Leyloni here with him, having her soft skin against his scales and her fragrance filling his nostrils… He knew he could not long restrain himself. Why now, when he’d done so well up to this point?

Panting against the desire blazing in his veins, Arysteon opened his eyes again. He blinked repeatedly to clear that crimson haze, but it faded little.

His heart froze when he realized the lingering haze was not a problem with his eyes.

The dark night sky and clouds spotting it were tinted crimson, just as in his dream—and so was the moon. It hung like a bloated orb of blood ready to burst at any moment. Everything it shone upon had taken on that red stain—the trees and bushes, moss and vines, stones and earth, and undoubtedly Arysteon and his clanmates.

Just visible through the tangled, leafy boughs overhead was the thing he dreaded most in that instant.

The Crimson Comet—the Star of Madness to his clan, Dragonsbane to other dragons—had returned. How could it possibly have been a hundred years already?

Arysteon’s muscles tensed, and his stem twitched, already filled with unbearable pressure. What he’d felt at the river earlier had been the first whispers of the comet’s return. What he’d felt as he’d carried Leyloni and Serek through the woods had not merely been sensations sparked by his mate’s touch and feel. What was happening in his body now was not merely the result of eroding self-control.

He tightened his hold on his stem, struggling to remain otherwise still lest he disturb his mate, but it only heightened his need for release.

Arysteon drew her a little closer, barely keeping his claws from pricking her skin as his fingers curled on her shoulder.

He’d only resisted the comet’s influence in the past because the females around him had been close kin—or because he’d been alone. He needed to resist now, to allow Leyloni time to recover from her ordeals…

But he needed more than anything to fill her with the molten seed smoldering in his loins.

Arysteon could not hold back a rumbling growl that had him squeezing his shaft harder still and slightly arching his back, as though to mate with his own hand.

Leyloni stirred with a soft hum. She stretched her limbs, pressing her body more fully against his side, and smoothed her palm across his chest. Her hand came to rest over his heart. “Arysteon?”

Frustration lent a hard edge to his arousal. He’d disturbed her slumber, had woken her because he lacked the willpower to simply go back to sleep, to resist the comet’s insidious influence. And yet he could not ignore the feel of her body flush against his. He could not ignore the feel of her hand on his chest. He could not stop himself from imagining how it would feel if she shifted that hand lower, if she were holding his stem instead of him.

“I am sorry,” he grated through his teeth.

She raised her head and looked down at him with worried, unfocused eyes. Her tangled mass of curls was swept to one side, baring her pale, delicate throat to his gaze. She frowned, blinking the sleep from her eyes as her brows creased. “What is wrong? Your heart is racing.”

The comet’s Heat coursed through his veins, threatening to overtake his thoughts. He clenched his jaw, released a slow breath through his nose, and fought for