"So perfect." He pushed into her tight hole with his lubricated finger, and she clenched down, compressing her flesh around him. "Relax, Carly." Vasile nibbled on her bare shoulder while twisting his finger, coating her channel with lube and slowly spiraling into her, the sensation sending tremors over her a.s.s cheeks. She loosened, trusting him to love her right, rea.s.sured by his cautious invasion.

"That's it." He pumped her a.s.s, adding more and more lubricant until he moved easily inside of her. "f.u.c.k, you feel good, Carly." He stretched her with first one finger, then two, and then three, and she panted, pressing back into his hand, slapping her flesh against his palm.

She shivered as he deftly sliced through the corset ties with his free hand, his claws grazing her delicate skin. The structured silk fell, liberating her b.r.e.a.s.t.s.

"Beautiful," he murmured his appreciation of her curves, sprinkling kisses on her spine, as he finger-f.u.c.ked her a.s.s.

"I... need... your... c.o.c.k." She reached back and plucked at his pants, his zipper frustratingly out of reach.

Vasile's laughter rolled over her, the low and deep sound vibrating through her body. "Always so impatient." He swirled his tongue on her shoulder blade. "We have an eternity, love."

She did love him. When he'd fought for her and almost died for her, she knew she couldn't live without him. He was the only man she trusted, believed in, loved.

"No... eternity." She panted, holding back her o.r.g.a.s.m, waiting for him to join her. "Need... now." He crooked his fingers inside her, and she gasped. "Beloved," she pleaded.

He withdrew and her body felt empty, so very empty. A zipper rasped. "Say it again, Carly." He pressed his broad c.o.c.khead against her a.s.s.

"Beloved," she called out as he eased into her.

"Yes. I'm your beloved." He continued to push, and Carly whimpered. He was so large, so thick and long, his c.o.c.k stretching her, a sweet burn rippling out from her hole. She gripped the carved rail of the pool table, her knuckles aching, and she repeated the endearment, coaxing him deeper and deeper until his hips pressed against her a.s.s cheeks, and she was stuffed with his ma.s.sive vampire shaft.

He stilled, his form bent over hers, his cheek resting against hers. "We are one."

"Yes." The pool table flattened her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, the surface unyielding under her torso. Carly closed her eyes, savoring the weight of his hard muscle and his ownership of her body, mind, and soul.

Vasile straightened, dropping his hands to her hips, and he pulled back, the sensual slide teasingly slow. "One." He slammed into her, rocking her thighs against the rail. "One." He thrust, his b.a.l.l.s bouncing against her skin, and she bucked back, meeting him.

As they found their rhythm, she added her voice to his monosyllabic chant, affirming their bond, their connection, her temporary pa.s.sion heightened by the promise of an eternity together.

Vasile, the man she loved, cupped her bouncing b.r.e.a.s.t.s, capturing her nipples between his fingers, tweaking, twisting and pulling them, until she squeaked with delight, aroused by his rough usage.

As though encouraged by her wanton response, he pistoned in and out, harder and faster, the smack of his flesh against hers amplifying and intensifying, warming her a.s.s cheeks and causing her entire body to throb.

"Come for me, Carly," he murmured the command in her ear, his chest sliding along her spine.

"Bite me." She squeezed her a.s.s, constricting around his shaft, and he growled -- the sound deep and s.e.xy. "Bite me," she demanded and clenched down upon him again.

He jerked his hips forward. "f.u.c.k!" he roared. As he came, filling her channel with hot c.u.m, he bit down on her neck, the sharp pain freeing Carly's o.r.g.a.s.m.

She screamed, clawing at the felt and bucking backward into him, heavy waves of desire sweeping upward from her a.s.s to her b.r.e.a.s.t.s to her brain, the pa.s.sionate pulses synchronizing with his sucking. He rode her writhing body, gripping her b.r.e.a.s.t.s mercilessly tight and feeding upon her, extending her fulfillment.

"Vasile." She quieted, her breathing leveling, and he licked the puncture wounds closed, his tongue warm and comforting. "I love you."

"I love you." He reached his hands out to cover hers, his unique scent of leather and earth settling upon her like a comforting blanket.

She loved him. She trusted him. She believed in him.

Carly gazed at his pale hand on top of her tanned skin set against the green felt. "Oh, G.o.d. I destroyed your beautiful table." She released the felt she had ripped up from the surface, horrified at what she'd done.

Vasile chuckled, entwining his fingers with hers. "I'll have new felt laid." He kissed the sensitive skin below her right ear. "I promise this table will see a lot of hard use." He flicked her earlobe with his tongue. "And that, my beloved, is a promise I am guaranteed to keep."

Uptown Dragon.

Cynthia Sax.

Gold makes this Manhattan dragon hot.

Some women age well. Hailey doesn't age at all. She knows she must be some type of paranormal yet she's never met another being like her... until she meets Oro. This arrogant, handsome dragon shifter claims she is his mate, and insists they bond immediately.

Oro is a golden dragon shifter. He is handsome and strong and a dragon so he doesn't understand why Hailey refuses to bond with him. He covers her with molten gold and sets her body ablaze, yet she continues to refuse his advances. What more can a female dragon want... than him?.

Chapter One.

Hailey crossed over the threshold of Oro's, the high-end Manhattan jewelry store, took one deep breath of the citrus-scented air, smelling the underlying aroma of smoke and fire, and smiled, a feeling of belonging settling upon her.

"We're taking this position," she announced to the tiny brunette standing by her side.

"Retail, Hailey?" Ember adjusted Killer's tote-style doggy carrier, the Chihuahua yipping his displeasure at being imprisoned. "Don't you remember our last stint in retail?"

"That was over thirty years ago." Hailey waved her hand, dismissing that disaster. "And this is a management support role, not retail." She strode over to the snotty-looking employee standing guard over a display of diamond rings. "Excuse me, Miss... Vanna." She read the woman's gold-plated nametag.

The tall, raven-haired beauty slowly raised her gaze, perusing her closely, a cold, dead expression plastered on her pale, aristocratic face. Hailey lifted one finely plucked eyebrow, knowing Vanna wouldn't find anything wrong with her cla.s.sic green designer skirt suit or her more modern, flashy gold heels.

"Can I help you?" Vanna's tone conveyed she didn't want to help anyone.

"I wish to speak to your boss, Oro." Hailey returned her glacial smile. Having spent three months as a dental hygienist catering to the paranormal crowd, she could out vamp any vampire wannabe. "Tell him Hailey is here to see him."

The woman's blood-red lips twitched. "Mr. Oro is a very busy man."

"He'll make time for me. Thank you, Vanna." Hailey turned her back on the employee, cutting off any reb.u.t.tal she might have. "Oh, gold." She drifted toward the collection of 24-karat pieces, drawn to the glitter. Every spare dollar she'd obtained over the past five decades had been spent building her impressive h.o.a.rd of gold.

"The entire store is filled with gold." Her friend perused the diamond-covered dog collars. All her extra cash was spent on her tiny pooch. "I a.s.sume I'm to ask about employee discounts?" The more socially adept Ember handled all the negotiations.

"An employee discount would be absolutely wonderful." She could add to her h.o.a.rd while learning more about her elusive dragon-shifting boss. Hailey bent over the display case gla.s.s. "Look at this piece." She pointed at a dragon pendant. The detail was so fine, each scale was visible.

"That is Mr. Oro's design." Vanna was back. The haughty woman slid the tray of black velvet out and laid it upon the case. Hailey touched the pendant with wonder. The workmanship was exquisite, the best she'd seen in years.

"It is very exclusive," Vanna informed her.

The tiny hairs on the back of Hailey's neck stood up, and the smell of smoke intensified. She didn't need to see the woman's widening eyes to know her future boss had arrived. "I am very exclusive." Her voice deepened, a wave of unexplainable l.u.s.t sweeping over her. "I'd like to try it on."

"Allow me." Large, tanned fingers tipped with immaculately kept nails picked up the pendant. Hailey's hands trembled as she lifted her hair, allowing this stranger, her prospective boss, access to her neck. Warm skin brushed hers, his touch light and lingering, caressing her nape and enticing her senses.

"Beautiful," he rumbled, the hard ridge in his dress pants pressing against her a.s.s, heat radiating from his body. "Like it was made for you." He rested his hands on her shoulders as though he owned her.

No one owned her. She stiffened, mentally bracing herself against his alluring a.s.sault. And although the pendant was a tiny work of art, Hailey wasn't that easy to buy. "Beautiful but not made for me." She touched the tiny dragon, the gold resting at the base of her neck. "The chain is too short."

"Ahhh... yes," he murmured, his voice seductively low, his breath wafting against her earlobe. "It should dangle between your b.r.e.a.s.t.s, drawing all gazes downward." He unfastened the clasp and lowered the pendant, the cool gold sliding between her curves. Her nipples tightened, and her body quivered with awareness. "Like so."

The saleswoman silently moved the mirror, and Hailey gazed down. Her breath caught. He was blond perfection, his chiseled, tanned face and strong chin movie star handsome. The skin at the corners of his golden eyes crinkled, and his teeth flashed white in his divine face, his smile smug.

Oro was good-looking, and he knew it. She wrinkled her nose, finding his arrogance both appealing and challenging.

"Yes, like so," Hailey quipped, ducking under his arm, escaping his embrace. "Clearly, you need our a.s.sistance." She took a step back from him, tilting her head upward. G.o.d. He was tall... and strong, his muscles rippling under his black suit jacket.

"Our a.s.sistance?" Oro raised an eyebrow.

"Ember and I work together." Hailey nodded toward her forgotten friend. "You'll hire us both as your a.s.sistants... which is a prudent move, seeing as your last a.s.sistant went insane, getting himself killed while fighting a suicidal battle against a very old and very powerful vampire."

Oro narrowed his eyes, his nostrils flaring. "You're very well informed, mate."

Hailey took another step away from him, the possessive gleam in his eyes warning her to proceed with caution. "I am well informed." She supplemented her lack of any real paranormal powers with knowledge. "But I'm not your mate." Tiny green scales covered her fingers. Wow. She stared. That was new.

"You will be." Oro sauntered forward, casually closing the gap between them. "You feel the connection as deeply as I do." She did. A throw-caution-to-the-wind s.e.xual attraction surged through her body. "And I've been waiting for a mate for over a century. I'm not about to let an unattached female dragon enter my territory without claiming her."

An unattached female dragon. Hailey's hands shook. She'd known when she didn't age that she wasn't normal, but she hadn't known what she was, not until now. She flexed her fingers, her scales shimmering. Holy s.h.i.t. She was a dragon shifter.

And Oro wanted her because female dragon shifters were rare, not because he cared for her, or wanted her. Hailey had heard how he had recently fought for and lost a potential mate to a rival male. She was no sloppy seconds. h.e.l.l, no. She'd be her mate's first choice or have no mate at all.

"You'll have to wait a bit longer." Hailey raised her chin, indignation dampening her raging desire. "Because I'm interested in a job, not a mate." She held his gaze.

Flames danced in his golden eyes and smoke curled around his nostrils. His looks might be that of a male model, but his spirit was all dragon -- big and strong and dominant.

"A job working by my side." Oro followed the slope of her cheek with his index finger, releasing tremors along her skin. "Close by my side." He swept his fingertip over her lips back and forth, back and forth, teasing her senses.

Unable to resist tasting him, Hailey flicked his finger with her tongue, transferring the delicious flavor of charcoal and salt into her mouth. So good. A rumble of appreciation rolled up her throat.

Oro groaned, his intense gaze fixed on her mouth, and he leaned into her, pressing her back against the display case. His head lowered, and Hailey's lips parted, desire overwhelming her caution.

"Darling." A soft, Texan tw.a.n.g rolled over them. "I'm interested in what she's buying."

Oh, s.h.i.t. Hailey twisted away from Oro and his dragon wiles. An elderly matron, her lips rimmed with a liner three shades darker than her lipstick, stared at them, her blue eyes bright with curiosity.

She'd almost lost control in public, in a store with customers and her friend Ember and that haughty paranormal poser Vanna watching. Hailey's face heated. "Sorry."

"Oh, don't be sorry, darling." The woman brandished her gloved hand. "Be grateful. In fifty years, you could be paying for a man like that."

"He's my boss," Hailey boldly declared. She met Oro's gaze, and he nodded curtly, not disputing her claim.

"Even better. He pays you." The matron beamed.

"Vanna will be happy to a.s.sist you, ma'am." Oro sliced the chitchat short. The saleswoman hustled over to the woman's side, no trace of happiness on her perfect face. "If you'll excuse us, we have things to discuss." He put his arm around Hailey. "Come this way, mate." Oro steered her toward the back of the store.

"a.s.sistant," Hailey corrected, gesturing to Ember to join them. "One of your a.s.sistants." She smiled at her friend. "Ember, this is Oro, our new boss. Oro, this is Ember, your new a.s.sistant."

"Pleased to meet you, Mr. Oro, sir," Ember chirped, playing the role of obedient employee.

"The same," Oro murmured the civilized reply, the frustration lines around his perfect mouth smoothing.

Hailey gazed at her friend with awe as they walked through the maze of corridors. That was why Ember did all the negotiations. She charmed even the grumpiest of dragons.

Killer yipped as Ember shifted the doggy carrier on her shoulder. Oro glanced down, and the small dog whimpered, backing into the depths of the tote.

"We have a no pet policy in the office," Oro informed them with a scowl.

"That policy has changed." Hailey reached into the tote and patted the frightened Chihuahua on his tiny head. "Hasn't it, Killer? Yes, it has." She bent down. "Yes, it has."

"He really isn't any bother, Mr. Oro." Ember tried to placate their fuming boss.

Hailey grinned, feeling no need to tiptoe around Oro's feelings. Dragon mates were rarer than a.s.sistant jobs. She had the upper hand.

"You won't even know he's there," Ember a.s.sured him.

"Because he won't be there," Oro mumbled under his breath. "One snap of my jaws and..."

Ember glared at him and transferred the doggy tote to her other shoulder, placing Killer out of harm's way. Hailey's grin spread. Wolf shifters had even better hearing than dragon shifters, and Ember's temper rivaled her own. Oro had better watch his big mouth.

"Ember and I will require a sizable salary," she cheerfully informed him. "The cost of living in Manhattan and all that."

"Hailey," her friend cautioned.

"No, I've got this," she a.s.sured her. "Or I guess we could live in the Bronx." Hailey named the rival dragon's territory.

Oro's handsome face darkened ominously, and the curious employees shadowing them scattered. "You'll stay in the building, in the penthouse suite with me."

He wanted her in his lair. Hailey's toes curled.

"Did you hear that, Ember?" She laughed. "We're staying in the penthouse suite with Oro."

Ember mumbled something unintelligible and hugged her little dog closer to her body.

"I only require one a.s.sistant." He held his office door open.

Hailey swept by him, breathing in his smoke and man scent. As she pa.s.sed, she trailed her fingers along his stomach and smiled as he shuddered.

"Ember and I are a package deal." After years of temping in the paranormal world, they knew there was safety in numbers. "If you want to hire one of us, you have to also hire the other." She turned, surveying the large s.p.a.ce, the walls painted a dark burgundy, the furniture gilded. It was a cave befitting a dragon. "I like it." Hailey beamed.

"I'm glad you approve." His lips twisted. "I do try."