Their Runaway Mate (13 page)

Dillon brushed his hand over her cheek and she turned to face his partner. "Kylan was warning me not to mark you."

She tensed. "Mark me? As in bite me? Why on earth would you do that?"

Kylan chuckled. "You might like a nip here and there."

She frowned at him. "There is something you aren't telling me."

She was right. His flippant answer wasn't the right answer, not for their mate. "Marking is part of the mating ritual."

Her cute, swollen and pink lips formed a little 'O.'

"I wouldn't have done it." Dillon propped himself on his arm and looked into her eyes. "I wouldn't do that to you without your consent."

"But it's possible? You could mate me without my agreement?"

"Yes, but we won't." Kylan said. "Believe me."

She nodded slowly, but before she could form another question, there was a rap at the door.

"What?" Kylan spoke loud enough for the interloper to hear from the hall.

The door didn't open. No one in his household would enter his private rooms without a clear invitation to do so, but Jasmine yanked the sheet over her luscious curves anyway.

"Do you wish to have dinner downstairs?" His dad's voice was smooth and calm as ever, though he had to know he'd just interrupted Kylan's plans. At least the old man waited until they'd had the chance to give Jasmine a handful of orgasms. "The clan is gathering."

What Kylan wanted was for him and Dillon to spend the night making Jasmine shatter in their arms over and over again, but that wasn't going to happen. His people needed to see him healed and to meet their future first lady.

Dillon groaned and sat up.

"We'll be down shortly," Kylan said.

A rosy hue stained Jasmine's cheeks. "Oh, God, they'll all know what we've been doing."

"That's a good thing," Dillon said, squeezing her hand. "It isn't the same as a mating, but it'll help to protect you."

Jasmine nodded and slipped from the bed. She bent over to retrieve her shirt from the floor, giving him a splendid view. He wanted to take her, right like that. Right now. He could spread the plump mounds of her ass, and slide right in until his balls were cushioned against her. He'd drive deep into her tight body…

Dillon cleared his throat, drawing Kylan's attention. He raised an eyebrow and glanced down first at Kylan's erection, and then at Jasmine.

"We are the leaders of the clan…" Dillon grinned. "Shouldn't we have a few perks? Like maybe skipping a clan dinner?"

"No." Kylan shook his head. "This is important."

Dillon shrugged. "It was worth a try."

Jasmine spun around. "Were you just taking about sex again?"

"Of course." He grinned as he pulled her close. "When you are around, we can't keep our thoughts off it."

Dillon brushed his lips over Jasmine's, sweeping his tongue into her mouth as she gave herself over to his kisses.

Kylan watched the exchange, which did nothing to stop his growing arousal.

Jasmine broke the kiss and glanced at Kylan. A blush broke over her cheeks, and the pale pink stained down her chest to the top of her breasts. She averted her eyes.

"You aren't feeling guilty, are you?" Kylan said softly. "I am not jealous. And I never will be when you are with Dillon. We aren't like that. Besides, it is sexy as hell to see you getting turned on. Just look, if you don't believe me." He waved to his erection.

Her eyes followed his motion. The gleam that lit her eyes revealed a burgeoning temptress lived inside her. She licked her lips.

"I would love to give you a taste, little one, but if we get started again, I'm not sure I'll stop until dawn."

"That sounds like a promise," she said. "I'll hold you to that."

"You can hold me against anything you want," he said. "But it'll have to be later."

Kylan went into the bathroom to have a quick shower. He was sorely tempted to invite the others, but he refrained. The sooner they got this meet and greet out of the way, the sooner they could be back up here and know there wouldn't be any more distractions.

When he returned a few minutes later, he wasn't surprised to find Dillon dressed, but Jasmine still naked. She was sprawled across the bed with Dillon's hand pumping between her legs. The slick sound of his fingers stroking over her wet sex mingled with her erotic whimpers. Her arousal infused the air, sweeter than anything she could concoct in the kitchen. Her auburn hair was spread across his sheets. Her back was arched, her toes were curled tight… she was close. So close.

"Come for me," Dillon commanded. "Think about how our hard cocks thrust inside you. How we filled you. How we rubbed against you. How we—"

His words were cut off by her shriek as she found another release. Damn, she was beautiful.

Kylan grabbed the first thing in his closet and dressed before he joined them.

"Let's go." Kylan adjusted his collar.

Dillon grinned at him. "I couldn't help it."

A dazed smile spread over Jasmine's face. Her clothing was still clutched in her hands. "Are you guys always like this?"

"No," Kylan said. They were never like this. Sex was something they enjoyed from time to time, but this continual compulsion to be seated between a woman's thighs was new. Their dragon sides were bonding to her.

Dillon pulled his hand away from her sex and licked her nectar from his skin. Lucky bastard.

Jasmine sat up and stared down at her clothes as if she wasn't sure what to do with them. Then she frowned. "Oh, I can't wear these. They are covered in flour from when I was baking earlier."

Dillon smiled. "I bought you something while I was out. You might consider wearing it…"

Jasmine glanced at Kylan again, as if to gauge his reaction to her receiving a gift from Dillon. They would need to spend some time reassuring her how their relationship was going to work. She'd obviously never seen a successful triad relationship.

She waited, looking at him, until he nodded.

Dillon grabbed a shopping bag that Kylan hadn't noticed earlier from a nearby chair. It was next to her backpack, which Dillon must have retrieved from the cabin. Kylan clenched his fist. He should have been there with Dillon. He'd let his partner down and left Jasmine vulnerable when he'd allowed himself to become so injured. He shook his head. He couldn't get so careless again.

At least neither Dillon nor Jasmine noticed his mood change. Jasmine peered inside the bag and her face lit up. She extracted the garment, letting her fingers caress the silky blue fabric.

"It's beautiful," she said. Then two other smaller objects dropped from the folds of the garment. She stared down at them and a bright flush dotted her cheeks. "Underwear? Um, I might need to wear my own. My size is—"

"Try them on," Dillon said, "before you dismiss them."

She looked at him skeptically, but grabbed them off the floor. She set the dress on the chair and eyed the panties. Slowly, she lifted her foot to slip one leg into the underwear. He'd expected her to scurry off to the bathroom to get dressed, but it looked as if she was willing to have them watch her. He'd known a lot of women who were fine to get naked in the heat of the moment, but after that moment had passed they suddenly got self-conscious about their bodies. Jasmine wasn't one of them. Kylan grinned.

She pulled the panties up her calves, then her thighs and over her rounded hips. He envied the material its snug place against her pussy.

"Oh, it does fit." She grabbed the bra with more zeal than she had the underwear. A moment later the cups cradled her spectacular tits in a loving embrace. She grinned as she adjusted her breasts. When she finished, the valley of her cleavage was deeper and more enticing than when she'd dressed in her own clothing.

Last was her dress. She drew the flowing garment over her head, concealing her curves from his view, like a present to be unwrapped all over again. He couldn't wait.

She kissed Dillon quickly. "Thank you. This is perfect."

"You are perfect," Kylan said.

She blushed but looked pleased with his compliment. She slipped on a pair of sandals from her bag. After a quick twirl that had her giggling, she smiled at them. "Okay, let's go see some dragons."

Chapter 14

T
he din of the gathering clan members met them as soon as they stepped out of the bedroom. Jasmine rubbed her hands on her skirt and walked down the hallway with her two dragons following behind her. Were they watching her walk? She put a more pronounced swing in her hips just in case. She couldn't help it.

She was rewarded with a murmur of appreciation.

When they reached the bottom of the steps, instead of turning right toward the ostentatious dining room she'd discovered earlier, Kylan guided her to the left. They continued down a wide corridor, and Jasmine was reminded again that this building was a boutique hotel in its former life. A wall of windows lined one wall, giving a view into a small courtyard beyond. Plush claret-colored carpet stretched out in front of her, like a red carpet at some celebrity event. Except she was just plain old Jasmine, baker.

The clamor of voices and laughter grew as they neared two wide French doors at the end of the hallway. The vibe in the air was full of promise and hope. Was it just a product of the place? After all, when humans visited to this resort years ago, before dragons were known about, countless people had probably celebrated their wedding reception there.

The late afternoon sun cast long shadows across the courtyard. The shrubs surrounding the intimate seating area were a riot of orange, red and yellow. Soon everything would be coated with snow… and she would be safely ensconced in her old life, in what was left of her old house. She shuddered. No, she didn't want to think about that tonight.

One of their steps quickened behind her, and then a hand came to rest on her lower back.

"What's the matter?" Dillon whispered.

"Nothing." Her denial came a little too fast to be convincing. But how had he known her thoughts had taken a dark turn? What did her emotions taste or smell like to them?

He looked as if he wanted to press her for more information, but instead he simply nodded. Then his eyes gleamed and he grinned. "I love watching you walk."

She smiled, remembering the extra oomph she'd inserted into her gait. "Yeah?"

"I want to see you strut down this hall with nothing on."

"Scandalous." She laughed.

He winked at her.

"We're here,” Kylan said.

As they pivoted toward the door, he rested his hand on her back, beside Dillon's. The entrance to the banquet hall was guarded by two sombre-faced men. They nodded sharply to Kylan. She half expected them to salute, but they didn't. Butterflies fluttered through her stomach as they neared the threshold. When their trio entered the room side by side, conversation hushed and all eyes turned to them.

What was she doing here?

She should have stayed upstairs and snuck down to the kitchen later, when the others were sleeping. Jasmine swallowed and pasted a false smile on her face. They strolled through the tables to the end of the room at a leisurely pace. Kylan and Dillon nodded to people as they passed. Jasmine tried to keep her eyes forward, but she couldn't.

Crossing through the room was like stepping through a time warp to some medieval time. Everyone was seated at long narrow tables, so it was easy to direct her eyes over the crowd. Thankfully there weren't bread trenchers positioned in front of each person. A low fire burned in the impressive rust-and-gray-colored limestone fireplace that lined one wall. The flame looked too small for the size of the gigantic hearth.

A woman's laughter broke out over the deep rumble of male voices.

Jasmine stumbled at the surprising sound. They had told her there weren't women here. Wasn't that the whole reason they needed
volunteers
? Dillon caught her by the elbow and steadied her. They climbed the step up to the dais and Kylan pulled out the center chair for her. As she sat, the long tablecloth brushed against her bare legs. At least no one would be able to see her fat thighs as they bulged over the edges of the dining chair.

From here, she could see everything and everyone.

Women sat at every table. Not just any women either. These ones were sexy and beautiful with long flowing hair and flawless skin. What the hell?

Dillon sat to her left. He slipped his hand down to her thigh and squeezed. "You're doing great."

Ha! He assumed she was tense over the mob of dragon shifters. He had no clue.

Kylan took the seat on her other side. "Everything okay?"

No, it wasn't. She was fuming. They had deceived her, deceived the entire human delegation that had arranged the agreement. She clenched her hands into fists.

"There are women here," she said through clenched teeth.

Kylan looked around, confused. Then realization lit his eyes. "It's not what you think."

"Then what is it?"

Before he could answer, hundreds of chairs scraped the hardwood floor as the clan members stood from their tables. The muscular men queued in front of the dais in pairs. The men at the head of the line bowed in front of her. Then they returned to their seats and the next men came forward and did the same thing. No words were spoken, but the look in their eyes shone with welcome and promise.

They eyed her with the same look little old homeless Jacques gave her when she brought him a bag of day-old croissants.

What was going on here?

Her gaze wandered over to the females who'd remained in their seats. More than a few of them scowled at her with unconcealed bitterness, but a couple waved at her in a friendly way.

Where was a Dragons 101 help manual when she needed it? Hmm. A package like that would probably be a good thing to give to future volunteers.

She shook her head. No, the whole
volunteer
process was going to be scrapped by the time the councillor and his sidekick finished their investigation. She turned her attention back to the men and swallowed her questions for the moment. But when she got her men alone again, they were going to have a good long chat.