STORY EXCERPT

Zack didn’t like dragon fights. He thought they were too brutal and savage and worthless.

Why bother with fighting like this when things could be settled properly?

And yet, despite believing that, Zack found himself more and more excited about the prospect of being fought over.

Not just that. He found it exciting that he might be able to give one of these men enough of a boost in power that they could really kick ass. What would it feel like? Other humans had talked about what it felt like to give their dragon lovers that power boost that came when they were part of the fight. Some humans snidely referred to it as a form of Pokémon, at least for the humans who slept around with multiple dragons at the same time, participating in their battles.

Gotta catch all the dragons.

Zack had never been interested, but now more than ever he wanted to go to this man. He wanted to be on Tory’s side and help him win the fight. He wanted to cheer him on and give his energy and power to the male.

Not that he knew how to do that, but he would figure it out pretty fast. For a face like that, Zack was willing to do just about anything.

But then Boris gripped Zack’s shoulders even tighter, forcing him to look up into those crazy eyes. “All right, baby, give me something I can use.”

Without warning, Boris kissed him hard on the mouth. Zach inhaled a deep breath, which was kind of bad because then he ended up breathing in a lot of the man’s smell, eating it, tasting it, smelling it, and he didn’t like it. Not that he smelled anything like the cowardly woman who was now probably hiding behind the dumpster behind them, but there was something especially off-putting about it.

Not just because he didn’t want to be kissed either.

Boris pulled back quickly, frowning down at Zack as though he had done something wrong. “That all you’re going to give me?”

Zach just about lost his damn mind. “What the fuck do you mean is that all I’m going to give you? Get the fuck off of me!”

“Fine.”

He didn’t expect to be shoved away so roughly, which was why he told himself that he didn’t catch himself and ended up scraping his palms on the dirty cement beneath him.

Ow. Fuck that really hurt.

But then nothing else mattered as the two dragons flew at each other. Not literally, but it sure seemed like it in that moment.

Most interestingly, the fight was over quickly—as quickly as Tory launched his nuclear fist into the other man’s cheek.

Zack swore he saw an intense orange glow around the other man as he sent Boris flying backwards. It was like watching an anime character get his ass handed to him as he crashed into the dumpster, and the woman who had lured Zack back here squeaked and scuttled away, abandoning her partners.

The only thing that was missing was the track marks made out of fire.

Holy shit that was intense. Zack’s entire body trembled from the adrenaline rush of it. Then, the shadow of Tory stood above him. Zach looked up at the man as he offered his hand.

“Are you all right?”

Zack blanked out. His brain felt a little bit slow, and he was pretty sure his mouth was gaping open. Not that the handsome devil above him seemed to notice or care. The smile Tori gave to him could melt icebergs.

He slowly came back to reality and was able to reach up and grab at the other man’s hand.

Mostly he just wanted to see if it was real, or if he was dreaming this.

The way his hand was gripped and his body pulled upwards until he was on his feet, as though there was no effort required at all to do that, proved that he was very much awake, and this man was real. And this very real man put his hands on Zack’s shoulders as though to study him.

The best part about it? The grip wasn’t tight enough to make him wish for pain medication.

“Are you hurt? Can I bring you anything?”

He could bring Zack a tall glass of water to go with this heat stroke he was having. And if he did it while he was naked, all the better.

“Uh, who are you? I mean, I know who you are, that other guy said your name, but… What I mean is…”

Why was it so damn hard to get the words out of his mouth when Tory smiled at him like that? Not even just the way he smiled at him, but there was something familiar about all this that made Zack want to get started on that body licking.

“I was able to defeat him so easily because of you.”

Zach didn’t understand that. He also didn’t understand how his hand ended up being held gently by both the hands of this dragon.

Not even just that, but he also noted the way the scales were gone, as though they had sunk back into the other man’s skin.

Zack felt so hot that he struggled to breathe through it.

Touching this man was almost too much, but to stop touching him seemed like it would be the worst thing in the world to happen to him. Like he wouldn’t be able to handle it if he never got the chance to be in this man’s arms ever again.

As tired as he was, he never felt more alive.

So conflicting.

The dragon male looked down at him, those green eyes like emeralds—if emeralds had shooting stars in them.

“I think you might belong to me,” Tory said.

Zack was in no mood to fight him on that one, even though he’d just fought off another dragon with all the strength in his body.

“Yeah. Sure.”

ADULT EXCERPT

“I can’t read your mind, as in that little voice you have inside your head. I don’t have access to that,” Tory said, popping the cap open and pouring some of the clear slick into his palm. “You can’t hear my little voice either, but if you try hard enough, we can figure out what the other is thinking. It happens with a true mate. I know you’re mine even before I’ve stretched you wide on my cock.”

Zack shivered. “Well, that’s comforting.” And it explained just a bit why he couldn’t read Tory’s mind but he seemed to be a natural at figuring out what was going through Zack’s head. “Anyway, you don’t have to do that too much. A little mystery to the romance never hurt anything.”

Tory leaned in, kissing the back of Zack’s neck and his back. “I’ll try my best, but we’re new to each other, and your thoughts are shockingly loud.”

“They are?” Zack was a little horrified by that, but then he wasn’t embarrassed by anything as he felt a thick, blunt finger pushing inside his hole, stretching him wide. He gasped, jumped a little, then softened, sighing. “Oh God.”

“Tight. Is this your first time?”

He sounded hopeful, and Zack was a little sad to disappoint him. “No. I just… don’t get around much. You’re the first dragon though,” he added, hoping that would be enough to make the other man happy.

It made him happy, for some reason. Maybe it was the idea that he was going to be able to give him some form of first.

It felt like a first. The trust he had to have, the nerves, the fear that he might not do well enough or that he was being too obviously nervous. That was all there.

“You don’t have to be my first for this to be perfect,” Tory said, wiggling his finger around before inserting another one. “To be honest, I know it makes no sense, but I am glad I get to be the first dragon who takes you. I’ll be the last, too.”

Zack could hardly speak over the clenching of his teeth. “Contradicting much?”

“Yeah, I know. Sorry,” Tory said, not sounding very sorry at all as he pushed a third finger inside him, and Zack swore he damn near burst. He couldn’t possibly take anymore. He was at capacity, and these were just his fingers. The stretch and burn was definitely as intense as it had been the first time he’d taken something inside him. Maybe even more so.

That was fine. He was fine. He could do this and he wanted to do this.

There was pain, but it melted away in time. Tory seemed to really be able to read Zack’s mind in that respect.

“Maybe, when it comes to the sex, reading my mind might be all right,” he said.

“I’m not reading your mind for that. I can see it every time your shoulders clench up and when you release them.”

Zack was silent for a few long seconds. “Oh.” He heard a light snorting sound behind him, and he glared back over his shoulder. “You’re trying not to laugh at me.”

There was a twitching at the corner of Tory’s eye that made that obvious enough, but then it didn’t matter as Tory pulled his fingers free from him, pressing the head of his dick to Zack’s stretched hole instead. “Will you forgive me?”

Zack gasped for breath. His body shivered, and Tory wasn’t even inside him yet. It was just the tip of his cock touching the ring of his asshole.

This was insane! How the hell was his body reacting like this to something that shouldn’t have been a big deal in the first place?

“Tell me,” Tory commanded, pushing just the head forward, not even enough to breach him, but the threat of being breached was enough to make him lose his mind a little.

“I want it,” he groaned. “Fuck me, hurry up! You take forever.”

He glanced back just to see the way Tory paused and blinked at him, and Zack was happy to realize he’d struck a nerve, because in that next instant, he was being fucked.

But in the good way.

Deep and firm. One hard, forward plunge was what it took and he was lit up like a firecracker.