Fired by my Grumpy Dragon (Grumpy Monster Bosses #3)

THIRTY TWO

Kivrayn

Her body stills and she settles against me, her breathing turning soft, her scent sweet.

She needs gentleness now. Care.

She was so beautiful when she finally let go.

I felt the moment she released control to me fully. The moment the fight in her eyes turned to submission. To trust.

Against her luscious ass, my cocks twitch, reminding me I haven’t come either.

I won’t.

Not until she does.

Right now, that’s not the point. I still don’t know how I held back, though. Not with both cocks buried right where they need to be. Right inside her sweet pussy. Longing to fill her with hot seed. To tie her to me forever.

I groan, shifting my hips away to ease the pressure. In her sleep, Loren nestles back against me, and I breathe through the ache.

I can do this.

It will be worth it to bring her out the other side with me. It was worth it to feel the squeeze of her around both cocks at once.

But how will I keep myself from having her?

She doesn’t even know she’s my mate .

I can’t keep her. And obviously I can’t tell her.

So I need to make sure I don’t. But it’s going to take all the willpower I’ve got.

Sliding from the bed softly, so as not to wake her, I fetch water and have a light snack delivered to the room. Nothing heavy. Some fruit to make sure she keeps her blood sugar up if she’s crashing.

She still doesn’t stir. So, despite my reservations, I tuck myself back into my spot against her and hold her. I don’t feel the cold, but the way she presses back against me in her sleep suggests she has in my absence. The room must have grown cold.

I tuck another blanket over her just to make sure she is warm. I must drift into sleep like that. The next thing I know, pale morning light is creeping in from the open door and Loren is restless.

I release her, and she turns toward me and her eyes blink open.

She looks at me. “I feel strange.”

I frown. “Does your head hurt? Here, have some water.” I sit and reach for it, putting the glass into her hands when she sits as well.

She sips it thoughtfully. “No. My head just feels... floaty.”

“Mmm. It will pass. Eat.” I hand her the fruit next.

She tips her head to the side as if she’s studying me. Then she laughs. “Have you always been this thoughtful, or do I just like you more now I know how well you can fuck me?”

I shake my head. Despite everything that happened last night, she still makes me laugh. I certainly like her more now I’ve seen this lighter side of her .

“We shouldn’t argue anymore.”

She pops a strawberry into her mouth and grins at me. “Yes we should. Just a bit. It’s hot when we argue. But you’re right. I’m sure we can resolve our differences. In fact, I don’t mind if you take Jenny’s collection. Once I found out you wanted it, it was mostly about getting revenge. I don’t need it.”

My eyes widen. “So you admit it?”

She shrugs. “Yeah. What can I say? You really pissed me off. I wanted to get my own back. Only I can see it really matters to you, and I hadn’t really thought about you like that.”

“Like what?”

“Like a person. With feelings. I just thought you hated me.”

Rather than deal with her too knowing smile, I lean against the headboard and pull her between my legs. I lift another berry to her mouth.

“I might have hated you. A little.”

She laughs. “A lot.”

“I just didn’t understand you.”

She sucks the next berry from my fingers and it’s becoming harder to hide the thick arousal of my members. Perhaps this was a mistake. I had intended for us to wait a little longer.

“If it’s any consolation, I certainly didn’t understand you. I think I’m starting to.”

I stiffen. “What do you mean?”

“I mean I think I know how you work. You were mostly just being protective. In your funny dragon way. ”

I relax a little. So she hasn’t understood the whole of it. She’s still far too close to the truth. But reality is getting intertwined with the ridiculous fantasies in my head. The ones where I claim and keep her.

I should end things. Only not quite yet. I can’t bear to let her go just yet.

“You don’t have to give me the whole collection. I only want the diamond necklace.”

There’s a pause. “Did it belong to her? To your mother?”

I’m glad she can’t see the confounded look of surprise on my face. All I can do is stammer, “Yes.”

“Hmmm. I see why you were so set on having it. I’m sorry. This must have been very hard for you.”

Her apology is sweet and unexpected. Without conscious thought, I lift a hand to trail a knuckle down her arm.

She shivers.

“It wasn’t so bad. There were some parts I’ve enjoyed.”

Loren laughs. God I’m becoming addicted to that sound. It makes everything seem lighter.

“Me too. I particularly enjoyed having both your parts inside me at once. I’ve never done that before.”

I almost choke on my next breath. “Y-you’ve never—” I let my clenched fist relax again. “Of course you’ve never done that before.” I want to tell her she’ll never do it again, not with anyone but me. Somehow I keep my mouth shut on that thought.

“Not two at once. ”

When she twists to look up at me, I know what she’s asking for. I set aside the fruit, wrap my hand lightly about her neck and draw her in for a kiss, but I do nothing more.

Eventually she sighs. “So mean. I won’t be able to take it much longer. I’ll warn you now, I will be insufferable if you make me wait all day.”

“So no different than normal?”

“Jerk.”

“Brat.” I kiss her nose, but I hold her still when she tries to turn. She makes one of her adorable little growling noises, so I push her onto the bed but roll on top of her, biting at her neck. “Later. First I wish to shower.”

“What? You can’t do that! What’s to stop me playing with myself while you’re gone?”

Laughing, I use my wings to lift myself quickly, landing lightly on the floor and striding toward the bathroom. “Be a good girl,” I call back to her over my shoulder.

She doesn’t follow me instantly, which makes me laugh. Is she debating whether she’s mad enough to follow and demand what she wants? Or is she too mad to bother?

I wonder how much of a spanking I should give her when I’m done teasing.

Feigning disinterest, I swipe my phone from the kitchen counter and check to see if I have any important messages. Of course there are about a hundred emails, but they’ll keep. I’m trying to give myself a little break this trip.

I open my news app instead. The headline at the top of my feed makes me stop immediately.

Wacky Billionaire Dies Leaving Nothing To Her Children

No. It couldn’t be .

I already know it is when I open the article, though. I scan the first sentence, spot Jenny’s name, and my fire stutters.

“I thought you wanted to shower.”

Loren’s voice from right behind me makes me jump. I turn and my expression must give something away.

She frowns. “What is it?”

Without answering, I hold my phone out to her. She takes it, the frown deepening on her face. “No.”

Her scent changes. The extra sweetness of her arousal is lost. Instead, it’s less vibrant, muted. Instinctively I step toward her.

“No! She had time left. We had time to help them see.”

I place my hands softly on her shoulders. She brushes me off. “This is bullshit. She wasn’t supposed to die yet.” A fat tear trickles down her cheek. I can’t stand it. I snatch her against my chest and wrap my wings around her. I expect her to fight.

Instead she crumples into me, and soon she’s sobbing into my scales.

I let her cry for a while. When the first wave of tears subsides, I stroke her hair softly. “Call them.”

“What?” She looks up, her face scrunched into a scowl of anger. “No!”

“Yes. At least if you try, you don’t have to live with the regret.”

I can see her battling with herself behind her eyes. Eventually she sighs. “I’ll call.”