Bringing Heat Read online

  It was a lazy way to keep herself entertained, and she rocked against him until she gasped and shuddered. She waited ten minutes and then slowly started to work herself against him.

  “Be careful, little rose. You will rub it off and that would be a pity.”

  Idalia froze, and she shivered. “You aren’t really talking to me, are you?”

  His head turned toward her, and his molten eye stared at her. “Of course I am, little rose. This form would be unwieldy if I could not speak.”

  “That isn’t possible.”

  “I have walked your mind in the dreamscape and learned your body and dreams there. You think this is less likely? Interesting. Hang on.”

  He dove, and they spiralled downward.

  She shrieked and held onto his neck ridge as the ground rushed upward.

  Idalia felt the breath rush out of her as he checked their momentum and flew skyward again. Her heart was pounding, fear throbbed through her, and she went quiet on his back.

  She felt him touch her mind, and there was some jostling, but she kept herself very still so that nothing she did would make him react.

  “Rose? What is wrong, my rose?”

  He touched her mind, and she reacted with terror. He didn’t speak again but flew directly to the next outpost at a high rate of speed.

  He landed in the snow, she dismounted, and walked blankly toward the crowd of excited Losians. Los came up behind her and picked her up, holding her close. He murmured, “I am sorry. I thought you would laugh.”

  She swallowed and whispered, “I am afraid of large drops.”

  “So, I see.” He cuddled her close and pressed kisses to temple and cheeks. The locals were ignored as he took them to their quarters and removed her pack and her clothing before he lay her on the bed and pressed his mouth to her sex.

  He tried to get her to respond, and she did feel herself getting slightly slick, but her soul was cold. Life and death fear did not leave her; it locked in with claws.

  He lifted his head and pulled her up as he knelt on the bed. He held her as his cock worked itself into her, and then, his arms wrapped around her, and he held her, his wings balancing them while his masculine appendage slowly started to swirl inside her.

  “I am sorry. I am so sorry.”

  She looked at him. “Are you having sex with me to stop me from being scared?”

  He nodded slowly. “It was all I could think of. It makes you happy.”

  She hiccoughed a laugh. “That isn’t what makes me happy, but interesting problem solving.”

  He caressed her back slowly. “What is it that makes you happy when we come together?”

  She looked at him with a smile and stroked his face. “You. You give pleasure, you get pleasure, and then, you get so insufferably smug about it. That makes me laugh.”

  He blinked. “So simple?”

  “It isn’t simple at all, but it is the simplest thing in the world. Any world.”

  “You are cold. I did not think you would get cold.”

  She looked up at him. “Will we still thaw the ice and snow?”

  “How smug will I look if I say I can manage to heat you and thaw the surrounding area?” His smile was slow, and the banked heat in his eyes flared to life.

  “Uh, pretty smug, but don’t you need to talk to the people in charge or something?”

  He smiled slowly. “I can bring them in.”

  “No, no. That’s okay.

  “Oh, but I want to.” He whispered it against her ear as his cock started to writhe and buck inside her while his body remained still.

  She felt the summons that he sent out to the leader, and as the door opened, he wrapped his wings around her to conceal her. She pressed her hands against his chest in the safety of the cave he had created. She was warm, protected, and safe. Idalia smiled and bit at his chest as the first shiver of an orgasm swept through her, but he continued the lazy motion of his cock, and the first one hadn’t subsided when the second started to build.

  He was talking population centres, projected growth. Yield of the breeding fruit, and the entire time he continued his weird motionless fucking of her.

  The headwoman cleared her throat. “I had hoped to speak with your consort, Master Los.”

  He chuckled. “You will see her in the morning, right now, she is busy.”

  “Busy, Master?”

  “Consorting or rather mating. She is mine before she is yours, so wait until the world lives again, and then, you can speak all you like.” He rumbled. “I need her now.”

  She was digging her nails into his skin as she heard him say that, and she shuddered as the second wave ran through her. She was certainly warmer.

  He paused and shuddered. She felt the heat inside her, and her own heat ratcheted up several dozen degrees.

  “Shall we send food up for her, Master Los?”

  “Yes. Warn anyone delivering it that they may see what cannot be unseen.”

  There was an amused chuckled. “Yes, Master Los.”

  The door closed, air rushed in, and Idalia’s skin caught fire with the added oxygen. She looked up at him and chuckled. “Oops.”

  “Ah, little rose, did we get you too hot?”

  She slowly stretched up and started to rock her hips against his. “Define too hot.” She slid her hands up and down his chest.

  “Ah, my dearest mate, you are tempting me to exhaust you again.”

  “Isn’t that the purpose of the trip? To spread heat?”

  He leaned in and tipped her to her back. “That it is but not at your expense.”

  “I have more to give.”

  He sighed happily. “I know it, and when you have given it all, I will fill you up again, and we will become one.”

  She blinked. “I have to give all of myself?”

  He nodded slowly. “Eventually, but when you have, I will catch you up and treasure what you have left behind.”

  She frowned. It sounded odd, but he tipped her to her back and thrust into her, and she surrendered herself to what he needed, what his world needed, what she had agreed to when she agreed to the reset.

  There had been nothing left for her, so she had been offered a new start. If she had to leave all of herself behind, well, she had done it once already.

  Chapter Nine

  The tour of the world was exhausting, but Los was alive and bright. Insects and animals had been released from cryo storage. The world was coming back in a rush.

  Idalia stumbled when she got off Los’s back for the final time. She had been chronically ill for the last ten days of the journey. He had taken care of her, but she was still tired. Forty days flying on a dragon and getting screwed to exhaustion every night was a trying situation.

  The breeding fruit had already begun its cycle. There would be a harvest in another six weeks. They had manually pollenated the trees, but the fruit was maturing.

  Los picked her up, and he whispered, “We’re home, little rose.”

  She nodded, her head lolling on his shoulder. “Yay. So, we don’t have to leave in the morning?”

  “No, Idalia. We can stay until you want to see some of the world you have woken.”

  “Okay. I just want to sleep for a bit. Can we do that?”

  “Yes, we can do that.” He pressed a kiss to her cheek.

  The excited people of Los rushed toward them and were talking excitedly about the lands that had been opened. Lands that had previously been inaccessible due to the permanent freeze.

  One woman’s voice came to Idalia. “Master Los, your mate... is she carrying? She looks exhausted.”

  Idalia wondered, carrying what?

  “She is, but I need to converse with others of my kind to determine what is to be done.”

  She blinked and then passed out again.

  A large hand smoothed her hair from her face, and she opened her eyes. “Did we wake the world?”

  He smiled. �
�We did.”

  “Good. I am glad I did something useful for once in my life, but even if I did go through the change for this, I am glad that Los is up and running.”

  He stared at her. “Oh, rose, do you think you are going to die?”

  “It feels like it.”

  “You are with child, but my child will take a lot out of you, so it is necessary that I share Los with you, or rather, he has been eager to get inside you in one more way.”

  She scowled. “That sounds invasive.”

  “Oh, it is, and it must be done in the great hall.” He stroked her cheek. “I want witnesses.”

  “Oh, well, as long as it’s what you want... jackass.” Her voice was weak, even to her own ears. “It won’t be the first time you have tricked someone into watching. Pervert.”

  “I am very proud of our union.” There it was. Smugness. He was happy, and he was very smug about it.

  “Uh-huh. What am I wearing, Los?”

  He chuckled. “Me.”

  “And where are we?”

  “The great hall.”

  “Uh-huh.” She moved her hips, and he wasn’t inside her. “That’s a change. Are you feeling all right?”

  He laughed, and there was an echoing laugh from the crowd gathered round.

  She sighed, “And they are already here.”

  He nodded and kissed her gently. “That they are. Live feeds are globally active as well.”

  Idalia touched the side of his face. “So, why is it necessary?”

  “Because I just found you after eons of searching, and I am not going to lose you because you are shy.”

  She snorted. “I meant the public nudity.”

  “Ah, that is just for the archives; plus, I have a nice ass, as you have commented on a few occasions.”

  “Good lord. Does your ego know no bounds?” Her breathing was getting difficult.

  He rubbed noses with her. “No. Not when you are in my arms. Are you ready?”

  “For what? Oh, right. I thought you were going to have sex with me again.”

  Los sighed. “When this is over, then you will know all of me and I all of you. I will come when you crook your little finger.”

  “That will be awkward at parties.” She could feel her body getting weaker rapidly. “Los?”

  “Yes, Idalia?”

  “Whatever you are going to do, do it soon.” Her breath rattled out, and she felt herself going cold.

  * * * *

  Los held his mate as the breath left her body, and the moment it was gone, he pressed his mouth over hers and breathed in the soul of the planet. His soul, his power, his life.

  The only flicker of life left inside her was her womb, so he left that and filled everything else. The power would grow over that portion of her body in time. Nothing traumatic for their brood.

  Her body fought his energy, but he simply waited, and the resistance broke, and she absorbed it in a rush. She gasped for air and took in more power instead.

  Her eyes widened. Her hands gripped his shoulders, and she came back to full strength in his arms. A pulse of relief ran through him.

  Their minds touched, meshed, and he read her every joy and fear while she did the same with him.

  She was shocked at the link, and he was overjoyed. Final proof that she was his mate.

  He wanted to show her a thousand moments at once, but she was carefully going in search of his other name. When she found it, she circled it and smiled, “Keydo.”

  “The name has been lost for a very long time, Idalia-Los.”

  “Keydo-Los. It’s a good name. It’s your name. Now I know what was missing. You were missing.”

  She breathed more easily, and her body was glowing under him. He felt her arms and legs twining around his, and he considered her attitudes on public sex.

  How mad would she be if he took her up on her invitation? He had hundreds of lifetimes to make it up to her. How long would she be angry with him?

  A whisper formed in his mind. “Hundreds of lifetimes Keydo-Los. You will have me in privacy or not at all. I am done being on display in that manner.”

  “That sounds like a statement from a mate.”

  “Well, you didn’t go through all of this as a replacement for your right hand.”

  He laughed and stood, pulling her to her feet next to him. His wings flexed, and he carried her upward, through the twisting staircase, and back to their chamber. If his mate wanted privacy, he didn’t care, as long as she wanted him.

  Now, he needed to finish designing that rose.

  * * * *

  Idalia held onto Los as they flew through the corridor, his wings more decorative than useful indoors as Los’s energy lifted and carried them. She could feel the difference now; she could feel it all.

  Her mind had been opened, and it was a strange situation. She could not only feel Los’s mind like a bonfire next to hers, but every single sentient on the surface flicked like a candleflame in her thoughts.

  She murmured as he set her on her feet. “I can feel them. Can they feel me?”

  “They will. It will come in time, but I will have the land and you the people.”

  She blinked. “I didn’t sign up for that.”

  He chuckled. “You did when you accepted the reset. You accepted it when you rested on the bridge and I created the connections I just used. You accepted our connection, and you could not remain as you were when I needed a mate instead of the endless consorts and handmaidens.”

  “Did you ever consider a male? He could have been a companion.”

  “I want children. There are few enough Drai in the universe. We need to build up our population. Don’t you agree?”

  “I don’t have wings.”

  “Drai females don’t have wings.”

  She made a face. “I will think up some other objection.”

  He stroked her cheek and then wrapped a hand around her neck. “Go ahead, little rose. We have time.”

  She was going to ask him if she should lie down and take a nap after absorbing a tiny fraction of the energy of the planet, but his kiss blotted out her question, and she slid her hands around his neck, hanging from him as she pulled herself up for a better angle.

  His hands held her as her mouth moved across his, her tongue teasing, hands stroking his hair, and she wrapped her legs around him, teasing the head of his erection with the slick heat of the rose that he so enjoyed. To her embarrassment, she had learned that it was the one part of her skin that was still dark pink. And her clit was a pearly white. She guessed that that little addition was so that he wouldn’t miss it.

  The kiss locked them together, and his hands moved her to join their bodies.

  She groaned when he slid into her. Until today, he hadn’t spent more than fourteen hours without being inside her, and she had gotten addicted. There was something delightful about the closeness, knowing that it would happen again and again. The insecurity of the first time was forgotten. He was well and truly fixated on her. She didn’t think that he had anyone else in mind on the entire planet. In fact, she knew it. Los had chosen her for Keydo and for himself. She was well and truly wanted.

  She broke the kiss and tongued her way up and down his neck as he lifted and lowered her on him. She flexed her legs, riding him slowly with deliberate undulations.

  “Ah, my rose. You are truly generous in your affections.” He groaned as she rocked her hips.

  She chuckled. “Only with you, Keydo-Los. I have no time for anyone else.”

  He grinned. “Excellent. You do me great honour.”

  “Aw, don’t flatter yourself. I would burn a Losian to cinders if I took them into me.”

  He wrinkled his nose. “I hadn’t considered that. Perhaps I am the only one for you.”

  She snorted. “Jackass.”

  He lay her down on the platform and pinned her hands above her head while he moved inside her. “Now having seen the creat
ure in your mind, I am beginning to believe it is a term of endearment.”

  “Sure. We will go with that.” She laughed and then moaned as he thrust deep.

  Further conversation was tabled as Los got to have sex with itself via male and female avatars.

  Exhausted and limp, she threaded her fingers through her lover’s hair. “Did we have to go on that long?”

  “Are you sated?”

  She thought about it. “No.”

  He grinned. “That is why. I swore to honour you and make sure you want for nothing. You have deep needs, so I am willing to use all the skills and talents that I have to keep you sated.”

  “Can’t Los just turn it off?”

  He looked scandalized. “He would never. What we want, what we feel, it is all that we have left that is ours alone.”

  “I was never this needy when I was human.”

  He chuckled. “Lucky me.”

  She smacked his arm then leaned in to kiss it better.

  She sighed with her mouth against him. “I think it might be the heat. It gets me halfway to really aroused.”

  He smiled. “If you keep looking at me like that, Los will burn the world to keep you aroused.”

  She paused and exhaled. “I think that’s enough. I don’t want that particular train of thought to be continued. There isn’t a huge population here, let’s keep it alive.”

  He nodded. “You are very merciful.”

  “I am just not genocidal.”

  “So intelligent, too.”

  She gave him a narrow-eyed look. “You are flattering. Did you need another round?”

  He grinned. “Always.”

  “Fine. On your back. I need to stretch a bit.”

  He flipped over, cushioned on his wings. She climbed astride him and ran her hands over him and herself until she was aroused, and then, she took him inside her. She rode her dragon until she had cum twice and his body was limp underneath her. She lay on him, their bodies still connected.

  He ran his fingers through her hair. “So, are you going into the city today?”