Page 18 of Desired By the Dragon

“Right, Tazmin, that I teach history but I specialize in dragons. Our lore, traditions… physiology.” The glance he sent at me was full of mirth, like he enjoyed torturing me, and his brows furrowed with mock concern. “You know, it’s interesting how much the humans get right about us. Just the other day, I found an adult store that sold dragon lookalike toys that were surprisingly realistic.”

Flame take me. A light sweat broke out on my skin and I gulped my coffee to avoid looking at him. I could vaguely hear Taz’s interested response, but all I could see was that bright red double dragon cock dildo, suctioned to the floor.

A creaking sound managed to distract me and I looked down to see hairline fractures forming in the mug I still held. I set it down immediately, glancing around guiltily and hated the small smirk on Max’s face when our eyes caught.

“What an interesting search history you must have,” I managed to choke out and Taz laughed.

“I need a link,” she teased as Taylor finally made his way over from the counter with their drinks. It was probably too much to hope for that they might take them to-go.

We said our hellos to Taylor and he seemed friendly enough. Similar in height to Max but a little stockier, with white freckled skin, short brown hair and kind eyes that occasionally glowed amber when they caught the light.

Max continued to make not-so-subtle comments to rile me up and I did my best to ignore him until Taylor, who’d been watching us closely, chipped in. “So this is who’s responsible for this good mood you’ve been in, Max? Honestly, I can’t usually drag him away from his desk for love nor money, but we’ve been here for lunch every day for the past week.”

I turned slowly to look at Max, brows raised high, and caught the tinge of pink on his cheeks as he shot his friend a thanks for that look that made me fully laugh. “Oh really? Got good memories of this place or something? Meet someone perhaps?” He’d had his fun teasing me about the box of toys and not remembering who he was after we’d made out in the bar, but I could give as good as I got so now it was his turn to feel hot under the collar. “Or maybe your office isn’t feeling as safe from the outside world now?” Now that I busted in, tried to apologize and instead mostly insulted you, and then heard you come all over yourself after I left. I grinned, wondering if his office still smelled like me and he was trying to avoid it — or even better, preserve it by not disturbing the space like the greedy dragon I knew he was.

Max cleared his throat. “Well as fun as this has been…”

I laughed again and he went soft, shoulders relaxing and the lines of his body looking smoother before he seemed to shake himself. I hated to admit it, but teasing Max was probably the most fun I’d had in a long time, and the most like myself I’d felt for a while too.

“Our lunch break is almost over,” Taylor affirmed, only a beat too slow, and I caught him watching Taz out of the corner of my eye.

“But hey, if you find yourself getting a little…” Max smirked, letting me fill in the gap. “You really should give flying a go. The woods on the far side is one of my favorite places to stretch my wings.”

Face blank, I nodded. “Cool. Enjoy.”

He laughed, short and hard, and his dimple threatened to make another full appearance. “See you around, Kier.”

Kier. Ugh, I had Taz to thank for that one, now he thought he knew me or something.

“Bye, Max,” I said, nonchalant. “Have a good day, Taylor,” I added, beaming a smile at the other professor, just to fuck with Max a little more. He chuckled and I narrowed my eyes as they walked away, somehow getting the feeling that he had seen right through my attempt to ruffle his scales.

Taz sighed as she watched their retreat and then turned back to me and patted my knee. “Babe, you are so screwed.”

Didn’t I know it.

* * *

Something about the nighttime made the dragon’s heat so much worse to deal with, and I couldn’t work out why. Max would probably know, what with all his physiology expertise, but I certainly wasn’t going to ask him about it.

But as soon as the sun had gone down, it was like my senses went into overdrive. Dragons weren’t necessarily night-dwelling predators, so maybe it was some kind of atmospheric change, or simply that my body associated the night with bed and sleeping and also not-sleeping. Either way, I was back to pacing my floor like a tiger in a cage as shivers wracked my frame. It felt a little like having a fever, and your mind starts to go a little loopy, rationalizing piling on another blanket despite knowing you had a temperature, or eating when you knew it would feed the bug.

I wanted to eat, to feast. Even though I knew it was probably a terrible idea.

But then again, it was possible I’d just been looking at this all wrong. I stopped in place, my heart racing as my muscles twitched. Maybe the heat wasn’t an impossible temptation bound to doom me to further ruin. Maybe it could be my chance at a fresh start, a reset. A wild spree of pleasure to make all the questionable choices my heart desired and blame it all on the heat when I was done.

No, no.

I resumed my pacing, a line forming in the carpet in front of my bed. It would be a mistake to give in, almost certainly.

I cast my mind about, trying to focus on something, anything, else, and flashed back to the cafe earlier that day.

Flying. That was what Max had recommended.

Nothing sounded better in that moment than the thought of the wind in my wings and clouds on my tongue.

Except maybe fucking in it.

Fuck. No. Bad Kiernan.