Breath of Memory Page 2

  “Touch your nipples, Jill,” he whispered. “Goddamn you look beautiful when you’re about to come.”

  She lifted shaking hands and clutched both breasts, squeezing and tugging at her nipples until twin little spikes of pain shot through her. The hand between her thighs worked her in a steady rhythm. The fingers plunging into her from behind shifted, sweeping a slick stripe of her juices back between her ass cheeks and teasing at the tight opening.

  “Oh, God yes,” she murmured. She gasped and leaned harder against him when he pushed beyond the barrier, his finger fucking into her ass and sending jolts of pleasure through her. Her clit was a tingling mass of sweet sensation that seemed to increase in potency with every stroke of his fingers. When the rush of her climax broke through, she released her breasts and turned her head. He read her pleading look and claimed her mouth in hungry kiss she used to ride out the waves and to muffle her own harsh gasps.

  He held her in his arms afterward, waiting out the aftershocks that even the slightest touch seemed to incite. She pressed her face against his chest, reveling in the scent of him. A new scent was mingled with his familiar musk, however, and she abruptly pulled away when it registered what it was. She’d had a good breath full of Racha’s lovely scent when they had kissed. It wasn’t a perfume so much as a natural, verdant aroma that evoked memories of summer for her. It was all over him, too.

  He didn’t belong to Jill anymore. She didn’t belong to anyone now, and that fact had never been quite so apparent as it was at that moment, with Corey standing on the other side of the elevator with his hands in his pockets. He was only a few feet away but may as well have been on another planet. He watched her reflection silently while she straightened her clothes. Why hadn’t he fucked her? He’d always been keener on her pleasure first, but always took his own. And his erection was very apparent still, its thick ridge visible behind the front of his trousers.

  The buzz of a phone sounded and he pulled his hand out of his pocket to look at the screen. A small smile curled the corners of his mouth and he glanced up at the corner of the elevator. He made a casual salute to whatever it was. A camera? Had someone been watching the entire time?

  “You’ve got to me fucking kidding me,” she muttered. She disengaged the STOP button with a rough gesture and the elevator car lurched back into motion.

  He gave her a perplexed look. “What is it?”

  “This was all a fucking game to you, wasn’t it? You and her.”

  “I don’t play games, Jill. Neither does she.”

  “But she was watching us, wasn’t she? The entire time. How many women have you gotten off in this elevator while she watched? I know you always enjoyed watching, too… I guess you finally found your true match, huh?”

  The doors opened on her floor and she was out like a shot, heading down the hallway to the sanctity of her office.

  “Jill!” Corey called after her. He didn’t run to catch up, though. She supposed letting the employees see their CTO running after her would have been a little conspicuous, but he did speed up when she reached her office. He slammed a hand against her door to prevent her from closing and locking it.

  “Jill, we need to talk.”

  She gave up trying to keep him out and turned away, taking refuge behind her desk.

  “You couldn’t have tried that before your tongue was buried in my snatch again? Jesus Christ, Corey. Don’t you get that I still love you? I never stopped, even when I was with him. I wanted him to bring you in, too, but didn’t think you’d be too keen on sharing.”

  “You’d have been right.” He shut the door gently behind him and lingered, facing away from her for a second before turning and looking at her.

  “So what the fuck was that?” She pointed in the direction of the elevator. “You get to share me with her now, in some twisted voyeuristic game you two play?”

  “It isn’t a game. Christ, Jill, you’re the only other woman I’d ever consider going down that road with. I was on the verge of going nuts standing in that elevator with you and not touching you. I’d never have done it without her knowing about it.”

  Jill dug her nails into the blotter on her desk. The meeting should have been simple. She’d gone in expecting to complete the formality of having Aris’s daughter accept Jill as her inheritance from her father. Corey’s presence had thrown her, however, and she’d never managed to actually broach the topic. Her mind still spun from the last hour or so. Seeing him again was the least of it.

  She struggled to keep the tears at bay and turned to face the window behind her desk. Corey made no sound, but a moment later she could feel his warm presence close behind her.

  “I missed you,” he said.

  She clenched her eyes shut tightly. “I’m sorry,” she said.

  “Was he good to you, at least?”

  She nodded, staring blankly out at the view of the harbor beyond her window. “I loved him like crazy. But the day he died I dreamed about you.”

  “You broke my heart.”

  “You left the country before I could explain. Then took your sweet time coming back.”

  “What was there to say? You told me you loved me one day and the next you were with him.”

  The day in question was still vivid in her mind. Making love with Corey the morning before beginning her new job. They’d begun making plans, excited about their future. He’d invited her to meet his mother that weekend.

  In the span of twenty-four hours everything had changed, but any words she gave him now would fall flat.

  Max Aris had happened. He’d had an inexorable pull on her the moment she’d shaken his hand and gazed into eyes the most impossible shade of dark blue. It wasn’t that Corey meant any less to her, but the sheer presence of Aris had overwhelmed her to the point that he became the sole focus of every single thought, whether it was about her work for him, or the lightest touch of his fingertips at her waist when they exited the elevator together. He’d taken her to dinner that night to celebrate her first day, then had seduced her so thoroughly she’d never left.

  “He didn’t give you a choice, did he?” Corey asked, bringing her back to the moment.

  “It wasn’t his breath, if that’s what you’re wondering. He showed me what he could do a few times, after I found out what he was, but he never used it on me. I made the choice because I think deep down you needed me too much. I was willing to compromise in our relationship because I loved you. He offered me a relationship that never required a compromise. He gave me almost everything I wanted.”

  “You’re delusional if you think you didn’t compromise.”

  “You found your match, Corey. If I had stayed with you, that never would have happened. I can see that she’s good for you. When I’m gone, you’ll have her.” She let out a long breath. “I want you to be happy.”

  His hand gripped her shoulder and spun her around. “What the fuck are you talking about? I’m not a fucking fool, Jill. So why the hell does it sound like you’re about to die or something?”

  “Because I am.” Tears rose to her eyes again and she let them spill over unchecked. “I should have died with him, you know that, right? Or at least soon after. That’s how it works with their kind. When she goes, you will, too, and you won’t even object.”

  He stared at her in horror.

  “Corey, don’t tell me she hasn’t told you.”

  “She has, but she also told me we had centuries before we had to worry about it. Now you’re telling me it’s happening to you?”

  “I would be dead now, except he did something at the end. The last time we…” Her breath caught in her throat and came out as a sob. “Last time we made love, I knew it would be the last time. I was ready to die with him. But at the last moment it was like every ounce of his power filled me. He said he’d given me a gift and made me promise I would be happy, but he died in my arms before he could tell me what it was. I— I think what he gave me was time to find you again. Except I can’t have you, and wi
thout Racha’s acceptance of me as her inheritance it’s all over.”

  “The hell it’s over. She’ll accept you.”

  “But will you?”

  Chapter 3

  Corey met Jill’s pleading gaze and felt his heart breaking all over again. He’d let her go finally a year earlier. Moved on, but now here she was, begging for his acceptance. For the life of him, he couldn’t bring himself to give it to her yet, even though he wanted nothing more than to hold her in his arms and tell her it would all be okay.

  “You can’t even answer me, can you?” Jill asked.

  “There’s got to be an alternative,” he said. There was always an alternative where dragons were concerned. “Trust me, I’ll find it.”

  He was walking to the door when she called out. “Corey, I meant it when I said I still love you. I’m not trying to get between the two of you, but you need to know.”

  He suppressed an urge to turn and look back at her again.

  “I still love you, too. That’s the problem,” he said to the door, then opened it and walked out.

  ~~~

  He went back to his own office to clean up and get ready to leave for the day. The sunset was reflecting off the sides of the buildings outside his window, casting the space in an orange glow. He stood gazing out at the waning light, trying to get his thoughts in order. He didn’t turn when he heard his door open and close behind him.

  Racha’s lovely, delicate scent washed around him before her hand rested on his arm. He could just make out her reflection in the glass and caught her concerned expression. He closed his eyes and inhaled. After just a moment in her presence, his body relaxed and his thoughts seemed to clear.

  “Do you do that on purpose?” he asked. “Breathe when you think I’m stressed.”

  “I don’t like seeing you distressed. Why didn’t you tell me you had a history with her?”

  “Because it was just that… history.”

  “She is my inheritance. At least part of it. The most valuable part of it. But if she distresses you, I will reject her.”

  “But she’ll die if you don’t accept her. Is there something else we can do?”

  Racha’s hand slipped into his, cool and soft and so delicate. He closed his fingers tightly around hers, knowing she could handle it. His insides were a tangle of emotional knots over seeing Jill, tasting her, enjoying giving her pleasure again, then learning how dire her circumstances were. He’d have behaved differently in the elevator had he known.

  “Corey, you know our bond lets me feel some of what you feel. Are you sure you want to give her up?”

  “I can’t be around her when I’m bound to you. It’s torture. Knowing she was with your father instead of me.”

  “Very well. The Second Shadow lives in Kol’s region. He’s been resistant to finding a mate. I spoke to Kol a few weeks ago and he suggested this dragon might need a temporary change of locale, too.”

  He felt dirty, bargaining for Jill’s life like this, for her ownership, essentially. If he were man enough he’d have forgiven her, accepted her. But at what cost? Would he be compromising his relationship with Racha for this old lover who had left him?

  It was better this way. Jill would live, and she’d already exhibited a penchant for dragons, so perhaps this Shadow would make her as happy as Racha’s father had.

  “I want to meet him first before we decide.”

  She squeezed his hand. “I’ll make the call tonight, but you’ll have to handle the rest as my proxy. I have to meet with my brother and the Council in two days. I’m leaving tomorrow.”

  Right. After Jill’s appearance he’d nearly forgotten about dragon politics. The Queen had to appear in person to petition the Council to assemble the Verdanith that would refocus the Council’s magic and improve the race’s fertility.

  “I’ll take care of it. Let’s go home.”

  ~~~

  Making love to Racha always felt like a walk through summer rain. She quenched his heat with steady, unrelenting attention until he succumbed and let her inundate him entirely with her touch. While he was amorous and urgent during the day in her office, she repaid him with gentle and thorough attention at night in their bed. They were languid and unhurried. When they climaxed, the glow of power spreading between them nearly blinded him and washed their bedroom in pulsing light for several moments until it subsided. Only the faint pulsing green of his mark was still visible.

  She didn’t say it, but he knew she thought it. Maybe this time. They both knew better. Until the Verdanith was assembled, they wouldn’t conceive. Jill’s situation was a much more immediate concern. While Racha was gone dealing with politics, he’d be here preparing to send his old lover into the arms of another dragon.

  “You’re thinking about Jill, aren’t you?”

  “You’re smarter than you are pretty, which makes you a fucking off-the-charts genius.”

  Her tousled black head rose up into his line of vision, silhouetted in the glow of moonlight that came through the window of their penthouse apartment. The side of her face caught the moonlight and seemed to shimmer slightly, the faint outlines of her usually invisible scales catching the light.

  “Please be sure about this, Corey. The transfer of the bond is a tricky one. I won’t be able to complete it since I’ll be away, so you’ll have to do it for me. Your mark gives you the authority and the power to do it. But if you’re not completely committed to the transaction it could backfire.”

  “Shhh. I’m committed.”

  She looked skeptical. “You haven’t even asked what you have to do to complete it.”

  “Some dragon ritual, I guess…” He started to shrug when it hit him what the last dragon ritual he’d encountered had involved. He took a deep breath. “Alright, let me guess… Dragon number two… Second Shadow or whatever he is… has to fuck me in the ass to take possession of Jill.”

  Racha snickered softly and slid atop him, laying prone on his chest with her chin resting on her hands. “No. Well, not unless you want him to. But the three of you do have to make love together.”

  His traitorous cock twitched at that comment and she raised an eyebrow. “You felt that?” he asked uncertainly.

  “Maybe.” She shifted her hips until her thigh brushed against his cock. The soft warmth of her skin aroused him enough that there could be no mistaking how much he wanted her again. She shifted again, pressed her hands into his chest and rose up. The tip of his cock was still pressed just in the right place and she sighed when the hard length of him pushed into her with just a little rise of his hips. Her eyelids fluttered in that way they did when she was enjoying herself. He sat up and embraced her, lowering his mouth to her breast and teasing his tongue and lips around one nipple until it perked up in response.

  She continued talking in between the fucking. “If you enjoy it, all the better, but you will have to relinquish control to the other dragon after you find your Nirvana. When he releases his magic into her, she’ll be primed for his mark. After he marks her, my father’s mark will disappear, and the exchange is complete.”

  “And if you were here, you’d complete this exchange…with the other dragon.” It was a struggle for him to maintain the thread of their conversation amid the tight clenching pull of her muscles around his cock, but he managed.

  “It would be business.” Her words came out in a purr. “Nothing like this.”

  “Am I enough for you?” he asked. He trailed his fingertips down the length of her spine, marveling at her texture. The velveteen feel of her scales was always present, even if he couldn’t see them. She relaxed and released her magic for a second, letting her skin go all dragon. Even the tight sheathe of her core seemed to tighten and change texture, though not in an unpleasant way. He fucked her harder, enjoying the friction. She’d expressed a need to be scratched in that form, and he’d done it many times. She’d have crushed him if she changed completely, but still seemed to get the same pleasure out of having his hands on her tru
e skin, even if the rest of her was still human-shaped.

  He raked his short fingernails down her back and back up, and continued along every inch of skin he could reach until she vibrated with satisfaction. Her skin went back to its pale human sheen and he gripped her hips, urging her up and down on his shaft.

  “As long as you do that, yes.” She grinned at him, but her smile faded quickly and she paused in her motions. She wrapped herself around him, arms and legs both embracing his torso while her head rested on his shoulder. “It’s just that she was Father’s. I believed when I was young that I’d never want anything from him. That I’d reject it the way he always seemed to keep rejecting my mother. But here I am, taking his place. And he’s left me one of the most amazing treasures, but I have to give her away.”

  “She made the choice. She can’t stand to be around me, anyway.” And he couldn’t stand to not have this. Racha’s lovemaking had become a drug to him. He feared losing it. Losing her love. And would do anything in his power to preserve what they had.

  “Am I enough for you, my love?” she asked.

  “More than enough.”

  “I can tell you still love her, yet you’re insisting on this. Why?”

  He let his hands pause in their caresses. He rested them at her waist and lay back again, pressing his head back into the pillow. He’d asked himself the same question all day, and there was only one answer.

  “I can’t love you both. And I can’t lose you.”

  “You admit that you love her,” Racha whispered.

  “I want you. Every fucking moment.”

  Racha’s face pinched as though she were irritated by his response. “And I want you, but giving her away isn’t easy for me, either. I could feel your draw to her today—the pull was strong enough that it only took a nudge from me for you to have your way with her in the elevator.” She rose up along the length of his cock and sank back down. The sensation left him giddy. She did it again until he held her still, his fingertips sinking into the flesh of her thighs.