He watched the heat come into her face. Damn, she really was pretty, even if she took pains not to be. He had the feeling Kett would bite the head off anyone who dared her to be pretty.
He sat up and pulled his sweater off. Outside it was freezing, but since he’d only gotten dressed just outside the door, he hadn’t bothered to put a lot on.
“How did you get here?” Kett asked as he stood and toed off his boots.
“Same way you did.”
“Dragon?”
If only she knew. Bael just smiled at her and unfastened his fly. Kett’s gaze flickered down to it and she swallowed, which made him smile even more. Pretty much the instant she’d whispered in his ear he’d gotten hard as a rock and his erection hadn’t gone down since. Just the thought of those lips wrapped around it was making him cross-eyed.
She folded her arms across her chest, but not before he’d seen the way her nipples had gone hard.
“Aren’t you cold?” she asked as he stripped off his shirt.
“Nope. Right now I’m very hot,” he said. He glanced at the fire, which had been smoldering away quietly, and it suddenly flared into life.
Bael paused. That had never happened before.
But right now he had other things on his mind. “Aren’t you hot?”
“No,” she said.
“You look pretty hot to me.”
Kett swallowed again. “Look, Bael, we need to talk about the-”
“Not backing out, are you?” He kicked away the last of his clothes and looked her up and down. In the subdued light cast by the fire and the single low-burning gas lamp, her skin gleamed and her eyes shone, glittering like starlight. Her brows were drawn down, her jaw was stiff and she wore her usual look of tight, barely controlled anger.
Maybe it was the mate in him talking, but Bael had never seen a more desirable woman.
“I never back out,” she said. Then, as if it had just occurred to her, “But do you really want me to suck your cock just because I made a promise?”
“I don’t care why you suck my cock,” Bael said. “Why doesn’t interest me at all.” He took a step forward. She backed against the door and seemed surprised to find it there. “I’m all about the sucking. The licking. The thrusting. I can’t wait to feel your lips swallow me down,” he said, and she licked said lips, her eyes darting down again to where his cock bobbed, hard and swollen for her.
“I-”
He closed the distance between them and ran his hands lightly over her shoulders. “You really ought to get out of these wet things,” he said, the back of his hand brushing her breast. She shivered, but he didn’t think it was because of the temperature.
“I’m fine,” she said, her voice tight, her eyes mutinous.
“You know,” he leaned closer just to breathe in her scent, which right now contained a lot of smoke, “you really shouldn’t make promises you don’t intend to keep.”
“I don’t. Didn’t,” she amended, lifting her chin.
The leather over her thigh brushed the desperately sensitive skin of his cock and he exhaled sharply.
So did she.
Her eyes were glittering, challenging him to force her to go through with it. Her chest was heaving ever so subtly. She was breathing fast and practically quivering. She was wound up like a spring, he realized. And she was being incredibly defiant. Being Kett, if she really didn’t want to suck his cock then she’d most likely have just kneed him in the groin and thrown him out the window.
She wouldn’t have wasted time arguing about it.
A smile threatened Bael’s mouth. She wanted to suck his cock. She just didn’t want to admit she wanted to. To herself or to him.
“Fine,” he said abruptly. “It’s okay. I don’t expect you to. Wouldn’t make you do something you didn’t want to.”
There was a moment of silence while Kett regarded him warily. Then relief came over her face, but she was a rotten actress and he caught the definite undertone of disappointment.
“You sure?” she asked doubtfully.
“Yep,” he said, stepping back as if he didn’t care. “No fun if your heart’s not in it. Ah well.” He ruffled her hair and watched her scowl instantly return.
“Right then,” Kett said, her voice faltering a little. “Well, good. I’m…glad we’ve sorted that out.” She tugged on her shirt as if to straighten it, then realized it was damp and filthy and sighed irritably. “Right,” she said again.
Bael turned away so she wouldn’t see him smiling. He pulled back the wonderfully soft, clean-scented covers from the bed, leaving them turned down as he stretched out. Damn, this was a comfortable bed. Way more comfortable than that lumpy mattress he’d slept on last night. Not that he’d minded much at the time, what with Kett there, naked in his arms.
His cock throbbed at the thought and he slid one hand down his stomach toward it.
“Are you going to stay there?” Kett asked suddenly, and Bael stilled his hand, pausing a beat before he looked up at her.
“Did you want me to sleep on the floor?” He looked dolefully at the bare boards, then back at her.
“There are dozens of other rooms,” Kett said, her eyes lingering on his body. On his cock, to be precise. Bael couldn’t really blame her; as dark and hard as it was, it did rather draw the attention. “I’ll just go and find-”
“No no,” Bael sat up, “I’ll do it.”
He moved toward the door and had his hand on the knob before she rushed to stop him.
“Ain’t you gonna get dressed?” she hissed.
He shrugged. “I’m not sure my clothes would even fit over this,” he said, pointing at his enormous erection.
He watched the panic flit over her face at the thought of him wandering her stepmother’s house completely naked with a huge hard-on, and almost laughed. He’d do it too. Nasc didn’t have the same issues about nudity that humans did.
Plus, it was hella fun annoying her.
Her eyes narrowed. “You bloody would, as well,” she said, stepping back, relenting. “Okay, you can stay here.”
Bael smiled. He knew as well as she did that they’d be unable to share a bed without touching.
“But you sleep there.” She pointed to the studded leather chesterfield.
It looked uncomfortable.
Well, he didn’t actually have any intentions of sleeping there, so it didn’t matter all that much. Bael smiled and sauntered over to stretch out on it. It was, however, too short to stretch, so he lay with his knees bent and open, and reached down to adjust his cock.
“Right,” Kett said, standing frozen by the door as if totally unable to move.
“Night then,” Bael said, smiling encouragingly.
She swallowed, then nodded as if shaking herself out of it and moved mechanically toward the bed. She pulled her clothes off with jerky, defiant movements and Bael watched unashamedly as each new bit of fascinating flesh was revealed.
His cock throbbed when she turned her back and presented her fantastic ass to him. He patted his uncomfortable member soothingly, and when she turned around again, stroked it with deliberate movements.
“Do you mind?” Kett asked, her voice taut.
“Not at all,” Bael replied, moving his fingers up his shaft. Her eyes flashed at him. “I can’t sleep like this,” he said-fairly, he thought.
Her nostrils flared and she grabbed a blanket from the bed, throwing it at him. “Here.”
“Thanks,” he caught it with his free hand, “but I’m really too hot for that.” He rolled his head back and arched his spine, thrusting gently into his hand. He wasn’t really working it, but then the point of the exercise was not to get off. Not by himself.
Kett growled and threw herself into bed. Her breasts jiggled wonderfully as she moved, and Bael’s cock twitched and jerked in response. He couldn’t help a little gasp of pleasure. Damn, what he wouldn’t give to have those breasts in his hands instead of his own flesh. To suck a tight little nipple into his mouth. To rub that firm flesh all over his cock.
He closed his eyes, trying to block that image. It’d have him coming in seconds if he thought about it much more.
He heard the mattress move as Kett shifted in bed. What if she was touching herself? His breath quickened. What if she was even now sliding her own hands over her breasts, pinching at her own nipples, skimming her flat stomach, dipping her fingers between her legs?
Bael realized he was panting and opened his eyes, because closing them clearly hadn’t worked.
Then he sucked in a hard breath again because Kett was standing over him, gloriously naked, her hands on her hips and her breasts, her wonderful breasts, rising and falling.
“You know, I did promise,” she said, as if she was convincing herself.
“It’s okay,” Bael assured her. “I won’t think any less of you.” He smoothed away a drop of pre-cum. Kett licked her lips and he’d swear she wasn’t aware of it.
“I mean,” she said a little breathlessly, her eyes locked on his cock, “you can’t, you know, just whack yourself off like this. Not when there’s someone else in the room. It’s just…just…”
She licked her lips again. Bael tried very hard not to smile.
“I mean, I could help you out,” she said. “Return the favor.”
“Right,” Bael said. He cupped his own balls. “Very kind of you.”
“I’m not kind,” Kett snapped, but without any force whatsoever. Her silvery eyes were glittering. She leaned closer and closer, falling to her knees and reaching for his hips. Her breath feathered his cock. Her breasts brushed his thigh.
“Of course you’re not, sweetheart,” he said breathlessly.
“Call me sweetheart again and I’ll bite it off,” Kett said mildly, and then she finally, finally lowered her head and brushed her lips over his cock.
“Oh gods,” Bael said.
“Damn right,” Kett mumbled, before opening her mouth and taking him inside.
Bael lost track of what happened after that. All he was aware of was pure sensation, pleasure slamming through him, her hot, wet mouth doing amazing, wonderful, incredible things to his aching penis.
When he came he cried out her name, and she swallowed it all down.
“Okay,” she said, her voice a little thick. “Better?”
She stood up, a little wobbly, then her leg gave way and she fell onto him. Bael didn’t mind one bit and gathered her closer, fitting her body against his.
“Much better,” he agreed. “Any time you need me to insult someone, you just let me know. More than happy.”
“I’ll bet,” Kett said, wriggling. “Let me go.”
“And ruin my afterglow? Tell you what,” he let her sit up and was delighted to feel her pussy sopping wet against his stomach, “you go back to bed…” She started to get off him and he let her. “And I’ll come with you and then we’ll both be happy.”
Kett paused, on her knees astride him.
“I promise I’ll be good,” he said, grinning and slipping one hand between her legs. She was so wet, puffy and swollen for him. Her eyelids fluttered as he stroked her.
“You better be,” she said, and Bael followed her happily to that big, soft bed.
One day, Kett, he thought as she stretched out, all naked and incredibly desirable, one day you’ll stop fighting yourself on this.
But I hope to all the gods you’ll never stop fighting me.
Kett woke in the morning with Bael’s arms around her and his warm chest pillowing her cheek.
It was a damn pleasant way to wake up, and something Kett was getting cozily used to. Which made her scowl, because getting used to anything with Bael was not a good idea.
She mulled idly over the previous day’s events, absently stroking his shoulder as she did. Striker irritating the dragon. The hideous duke and duchess. Giving head to Bael.
Mmm.
But hard on the heels of that thought was the one that said, You introduced him to your family as your boyfriend. And it’s Yule. There is absolutely no way you can tell them you were just joking around, not today. And anyway, after that huge snog yesterday in the dining room in front of them, they’d never believe it.
She sighed. Looked like she was going to have to carry on pretending while she was here. Pretend Bael really was her boyfriend. Eat dinner with him. Share a room with him. Have lots of scorching sex with him.
Well, it had its upside.
And then after Yule she could leave, tell her family she and Bael had broken up, and go back to normal. Go back to the cabin in the mountains with Jarven and the dragons, and avoid human contact for the rest of her-
Oh piss. Except for that damn cave. She really had to talk to Bael about that.
Bael stirred beneath her, his green eyes opening and smiling at her. “Morning,” he said, sleepy and unshaven and disheveled, and Kett’s brain switched off completely for a moment.
“Hi,” she breathed. Then, still trying to connect her brain to the rest of her body, she added, “Happy Yule.”
He frowned. “That’s today?”
“Yep.” Kett pushed her hair out of her eyes. “Same day every year.”
“Oh. I saw the signs in the shops and stuff on my way in. I figured it was soon. Uh, happy Yule.”
Kett frowned. “Nasc don’t celebrate Yule?”
“No, not really. It’s a human thing.”
Kett supposed it was. Still, it was strange-Yule was a huge winter festival in Peneggan and Angeland, and in large parts of Euskara too. Surely he must be aware of what went on?
“What do you, er, do?” Bael asked. “To celebrate?”
“Uh,” Kett said. Usually she went down to the pub for a few beers and tried to persuade Jarven to join her for a proper meal. After that, she went home and did what she did every other day. But then, Kett was aware she wasn’t exactly normal. Her family had proper Yule traditions that she didn’t usually join in with.
“We, er, exchange presents,” she said, realizing she should have brought some. “And cook a…feast. And, er…I think people go to temple.”
“Isn’t Yule some winter solstice celebration?” Bael asked.
“Probably. Oh, and there’s the Yule Ball,” Kett added, on safer ground now. “It’s the triplets’ birthday, so there’s always this big party for it.”
“Here?”
“Yep.”
“Are you going?”
“Probably,” Kett said morosely. Usually she liked to think she was in charge of her own life, but there was no way in the Realm Nuala was ever going to let her escape the party now that she was here.
“You don’t like it?”
“It’s full of people like those from yesterday,” Kett said. Nuala always ended up inviting people for diplomatic purposes whom no one else could stand. The good news was that it was a big party, so they were usually avoidable. The bad news was the really irritating ones were everywhere.
“Oh. Well, cheer up. I’ll come with you and we can insult all the really hideous ones, and for every one that leaves you can give me another blowjob. In fact,” Bael was running his hands down her back, “let’s make a game of it. For every one I run out of the party, you go down on me, and for every one you run out of the party, I’ll go down on you. Deal?”
In spite of herself, Kett smiled. Yesterday notwithstanding, she was pretty sure she could be way more unbearable than Bael. After all, she’d spent her whole life practicing.
“Deal,” she said.
“Excellent.” Bael kissed her and she relaxed into his body, warm and sleepy but becoming less so by the second. Especially when his fingers started tracing patterns farther down her back to her buttocks, and slipping in between.
“In fact,” Bael said against her mouth, “theoretically I got rid of two of them last night. So don’t you owe me?”
Kett rolled her eyes, privately thinking the same thing. Going down on Bael was no hardship. Not at all. His thick, heavy cock had felt so damn good in her mouth. It had been ages since anyone had come down her throat-ages since she’d let anyone-but he’d tasted delicious.
However. “Not until you shower, mate,” she said, sitting up. She was feeling pretty grubby herself, and now that she looked at the bed she could see dirt all over it. Whoops. Well, it was a good thing Nuala’s staff was so diligent.
“Mmm,” Bael said, sitting up with her and nuzzling her throat. “You’re all dirty too. What were you doing, cleaning chimneys yesterday?”
“Dragons,” Kett said, her voice squeaking a little as he found a sensitive spot on her throat. “Occupational hazard.”
“Mmm,” Bael said again. “Well, in that case, maybe we should both shower. I’ll clean you if you clean me.”
Kett thought for a second about Bael all naked and wet and found herself nodding vigorously. But she’d no sooner pushed back the covers than someone hammered on the door and two identical voices yelled, “Happy Yule, Kett!”
She winced. Her sisters, who didn’t seem to have grown up at all since they were old enough to talk.
“Wake up,” cried one of them.
“Or we’ll come in and wake you up!”
“I’m awake,” Kett called grumpily.
“Good, ’cos we didn’t really want to come in and see what you’re doing with Bael.”
One of them giggled. “Daddy’d probably disown us.”
“Yeah, ’cos we don’t know what any of that stuff is.”
“I mean, honestly, how old does he think we are?”
“He was younger than us when you were born!”
“He so can’t lecture us about this.”
Sighing, Kett reached for her shirt, tugged it down over her thighs and wriggled away from Bael to open the door.
“Was there a point to this?”
Beyla and Eithne beamed up at her, blonde and ringletted in their perfectly tailored, full-length, structured and petticoated dressing gowns. They looked like cake decorations.
“Happy Yule!” they chorused.
“Happy Yule. And happy birthday.”
“Happy Yule, Bael!”
Kett glanced back. He had the covers pooled around his waist and was looking delightfully sleepy, scruffy and sexy.
“Yeah,” he said, rubbing his eyes. “Right back atcha.”
They giggled in tandem.
“Come on and get dressed,” Beyla said.
“We’re having breakfast in Mama’s suite.”
Kett looked at their bright, eager faces, then back at Bael again. The bedcovers were tented over his lap.
“Guys, I was kind of busy,” she said.
“Kett!” Eithne’s eyes widened with mock surprise.
“We’re not supposed to know about things like that,” Beyla admonished.
“Well, you’re not,” Eithne said, a touch smugly.
“I could know!” Beyla cried.
“Girls,” Kett interrupted before they went any further.
“Come and have breakfast,” Eithne said.
“Mama won’t let us start until everyone’s there, and I’m starving.” Beyla turned pleading eyes on Kett.
“No, you just want to open your presents,” Eithne said.
“Yes, and Daddy won’t let us do that until we’ve had breakfast!”
They looked so woeful, Kett nearly laughed.
“All right,” she said, and they both cheered and hugged her. She backed away, making a face. “Look, just give me five minutes for a shower, okay?”
“Oh, like that’s what you’re going to use it for,” Eithne giggled.
“I’m dirty,” Kett protested, grabbing a handful of her filthy hair.
“You certainly are,” Bael interjected, which made the girls giggle again.
“Five minutes,” Beyla said. “And then we’re coming back!”
“And this time, we won’t knock!” Eithne warned.
They retreated and Kett closed the door, leaning against it, her eyes closed. When she opened them, Bael was grinning at her.
“A shower, huh?”
“Yes,” she said, pushing off from the door. “Which I shall be taking alone.”
“Oh,” he pouted. “No fair.”
“Yes fair,” she said. “I need to get clean. I ain’t having breakfast with my family covered in soot and smelling of sex.”
He grabbed her as she passed him and nuzzled her neck. “I think you smell good,” he said.
“Then you’re weird.” Kett broke away and made for the bathroom. She paused. “I think the room next door is empty if you want to use the bathroom.”
“Are you sure I can’t share yours?”
For a second, Kett allowed herself the fantasy of Bael in the shower, wet and soapy, steam rising from his skin as he pushed her back against the wall and kissed her hard as he slid his cock against her. Moisture dampened her thighs.
They could go on for hours…
“Sure,” she said firmly, and shut the bathroom door.