Highland Dragon (The Treasure of Paragon #6) - Genevieve Jack Page 0,61

her slowly and gently, crouching to reach her lips as she sat on the stool, she met him halfway. Their lips collided with an intensity she wasn’t expecting, and he absorbed the momentum. His arms wrapped around her waist, lifting her.

Last night’s kiss had been good, but this one rocked her world. There was something raw and feral about it, as if he couldn’t help himself. Neither could she. She knew now that whatever this was between them was short-lived. This kiss was a flirt with heartache and she didn’t care. She just wanted more.

A crack of thunder rattled the walls, and Avery heard the rain fall against the roof. Petrichor and the scent of green grass filled her nose. It was impossible to separate what was the storm and what was him. A shiver of intense feminine desire tingled through her veins. She wanted him, and it had been a long time since she’d wanted any man. More importantly, she wanted. After years of everything feeling gray, he was like a roaring storm of color and light. He was just so good—loyal, strong, honorable, worthy. She’d come here to find herself, and this kiss felt like waking up.

She pressed against him and tangled her fingers in his hair. His lips were soft but demanding. His tongue dipped inside her mouth, and she opened for him, welcoming the invasion. The stroking rhythm ignited a long-dormant passion. He swept her off her feet, turned her around, and pressed her back against the stable wall. A husky moan escaped her and she kissed him harder. Oh God, with his body pressed against her, she could feel him, long and hard against her lower belly.

She reached down and stroked him through his kilt. Stars above, he was massive, but then wasn’t that fitting given his general size? Even with her being above average height, she’d have to strain her neck to kiss him if he weren’t holding her up. She drove the kiss deeper. Aggressive on her part, but she was enjoying this too much to not equally participate.

The sound he made seemed to rumble through the walls. It was like a purr but richer, much bigger than his physical body. That was new. He hadn’t purred like that last night. It reminded her that she was holding a dragon in her arms, as did the fact that the temperature in the barn had risen several degrees. If they continued, would it set the hay on fire?

His hand worked at her thigh, gathering her skirt up around her hips. She helped him and moaned when his fingers connected with her bare thigh. She hooked one leg over his hip. That steel length pressed against her most sensitive flesh, throbbing with need through his kilt. She was almost certain it was only the tails of his shirt beneath the tartan and if she tugged both up, there would be nothing between them.

How long had it been since she’d had a lover? There weren’t many in her past, and none of the boys or men she’d dated years ago in New Orleans had been serious. None had been as worthy or as magnificent as this dragon with his brave and loyal heart. She slowly worked the tartan higher in her hand.

“Mmm, I like that sound you make when you’re excited,” she murmured into his mouth.

He pulled back a fraction of an inch. Was that a blush staining his cheek? “’Tis my mating trill. ’Tis instinct.”

“I like it,” she said, surprised her own words came out throaty and seductive. She lowered her lids, tugged the tartan higher. “Wait… Mating trill? Do you want to mate with me?”

His eyes widened and searched hers. “Aye. I confess ma dragon has wanted ye from the beginning. Will ye be mine, Avery Tanglewood?”

Her mouth found his neck, and she worked her way from collarbone to jawline. She wanted to say yes—whatever it took to have him buried in her as soon as possible—or at least after a moment to shed their clothes now that it was at least ninety degrees in the small barn.

She brought her lips to his ear to whisper the word, but it caught in her throat. Wasn’t there something about dragons and mating? What had her sisters told her about their bonds with their mates? She stiffened in his arms.

“Are we talking about sex here or something more?”

He gently set her down on her own two feet and straightened her skirts before caressing the side of