Pavo Page 4

  "Why do you send us such weak women?" Quin's question startled her.

  "What d-do you m-mean?" Ava stammered.

  "I saw the human whom Cane has claimed. She is voluptuous, with wide hips and heavy breasts. The women you usually bring are too thin, weak even, and you can see their bones through their skin."

  Ava opened her mouth to speak, closed it, and then opened it once again. "Are you saying that you prefer women more like Zoe?"

  Quin scoffed, "As if there is any question. Dragons are large men with lusty appetites. We need hearty women."

  Ava was dumbfounded. She had scoured her town for the most beautiful women she could find. Only the thinnest, most model-like were even given a chance to participate in the program. Ava looked down at her own curvy body. Never would she have imagined that she was actually more preferable than the model thin girls she had been bringing to the dragons.

  At first, it had been something of a struggle to get women to want to participate. But once someone went and was able to come back and tell others about the program, she had a list a mile long of women clamoring to get in.

  The idea that girls like Zoe and herself were desirable and even preferred had her muscles tightening and her pussy clenching. For the millionth time, she glanced at Titus, wondering why he couldn't see her for who she was. There was nothing that she wouldn't do for him, and still, it was as if she were invisible.

  "This meeting is adjourned," Adar said with finality. "Cane, I look forward to seeing this human of yours."

  Cane was still eyeing Ava. She seemed truly upset and he wondered if it really would cause harm to allow the woman to speak with Zoe.

  Her shoulders were slumped and there were tears in her eyes.

  Never one to be affected by such things, Cane still felt the compulsion to watch and see what Ava did next.

  When her eyes followed his brother Titus' form until he left the cavern, Cane raised a brow in surprise. It would seem that their procurer wanted to claim a Dragon King of her own.

  Chapter 8

  The moment Zoe heard her Master entering the chamber, she scrambled over to the middle of the floor to present herself. She had to stop the flood of guilt that raced over her knowing that he could never possibly know she had been looking through his things.

  Kneeling with her arms behind her back and spreading her thighs wide, Zoe tilted her head back and opened her mouth just as she had been taught. But her eyes closed of their own accord when Cane walked into the room.

  He froze on the entryway—Zoe literally took his breath away. Never had he seen a more glorious sight than that of her open and waiting for him. And then he noticed that something was different. Her scent was scattered all over the room. He went over to his closet and smelled her among his things. Dragons were notorious for their selfishness. What belonged to a dragon was his or hers alone.

  Cane wasn't so much angry as he was curious as to why she had been snooping. But he did need to address the act and hoped that she answered him honestly. "Zoe, what did you do when I was away?"

  Her eyes sprang open and looked everywhere but at him.

  "I went with the female dragons, and the eunuchs bathed and prepared me."

  "Is that all?" his voice was deceptively calm.

  Cane wanted to give his human every chance to come clean, even though his hand was itching to smack her glorious bottom again.

  She nodded hesitantly.

  Cane tsked, "Not the answer I was looking for, little human. Come here."

  She went to rise, but he barked out a command, "Crawl, human. You have not earned the right to walk."

  Zoe fell back on her hands and knees and moved toward him.

  Cane picked her up and carried her over to the bed. Zoe couldn't help but be amazed by his strength. Every time he picked her up, he did so effortlessly, and she wasn't a small girl.

  He laid her over his lap. "Do you know why you are getting his punishment?"

  Her conscience pricked at her. "No, Master."

  He growled low in his throat, "Perhaps this will help to remedy that."

  His broad hand came down against her ass with a resounding crack. Zoe squirmed trying to get free, but then another followed the first and another one. She felt the stinging heat of her skin began to seep into her. Suddenly, she began to feel her pussy throbbing with every smack. It was different than the first time; she could tell he was being particularly careful, but she needed more impact where she was aching.

  Zoe pushed her legs apart the slightest bit and angled her bottom up in the air.

  Cane froze at the beautiful way she was opening herself to him and taking her punishment. There were no tears or sobs, no, she seemed to be enjoying it. He could smell her arousal and he moved her legs wider to see the pink, glistening folds of her pussy.

  He smacked again, this time right in the center so that she would feel the stinging blow in her core.

  She moaned long and loud. He wanted so badly to fuck her.

  "Zoe, why did you get a punishment?"

  She looked over her shoulder at him. Her bottom was gloriously red, and she was equally flushed in her face. "I was looking through your things, Master. I am sorry."

  "Did you take anything?" He knew she hadn't but wanted to see if she would be honest.

  "No, Master, I wanted to, but I didn't."

  "What did you wish to take, Zoe?"

  She blushed deeper. "I wanted to take one of your shirts from the closet so that I could wrap myself in your scent until you returned. I was lonely."

  Cane felt a pain in his chest; no, it wasn't pain, more of a squeeze. He had thought his heart had turned to stone ages ago.

  "You may take a shirt, Zoe," he said in a gravelly tone. "But when I come, I need you to present yourself. Is that amenable to you?"

  She gave him the most brilliant smile. "Thank you, Master. That makes me so very happy! Thank you!"

  He turned her in his arms. "I mean to fuck you now. I will try to be careful, because I know this isn't something you are used to."

  Her gaze dropped to his lips and she subconsciously licked her own. He knew that he shouldn't kiss her again. But all reason seemed to fly out the window when Zoe was involved. He pulled her to him and ravaged her mouth. Kissing her deeply, he commanded that she submit to him in every way. Her hands went to his thick shoulders and her nails dug into his skin.

  His beast roared within him.

  Mate.

  Our mate.

  Cane was utterly surprised at his dragon. Humans and dragons didn't mate. Their offspring couldn't shift; everyone knew that. At least, it had been the belief before Ava had arrived on the scene. There was much to be cautious about and too many things he did not wish to dwell on with a hot, naked woman in his arms.

  He broke the kiss and carried her over to the bed. Turning her body so that she was bent over the soft blankets face down, he began to stroke her pussy. Her ass was still a delightful pink. He loved that he had marked her and wanted to see his dragon's mark on her.

  Again, Cane reared back. He could not mark the human, no matter how much she aroused him; it wasn't done. Her delectable body all spread out for him was too much to turn away from. He wrenched his leather pants off and stroked his massive cock.

  Then bringing it to her tender pink folds, he brushed the broad tip against her slick heat. She thrust her bottom further back, trying to get him to enter her. Her breasts felt heavy and swollen smashed against the coverlet. Her legs shook with anticipation, and she balled her hands in the soft fabric of the bedding.

  "Fuck, Zoe, you are soaked for me. You are a good girl, aren't you?"

  She mewled as he pushed the tip inside of her, stretching her wide. His already warm skin seemed to be fueled by the fire of his passion.

  He pressed a little more and then further still.

  "You are so fucking tight; I swear that I am cross-eyed. Hold on, little human; this will be pleasurable for you."

  But it already was.
Zoe loved the feeling of him entering her, impaling her. It was primal, animalistic, and hot as fuck.

  He roared and shoved in all the way. Zoe gasped, trying to gather her breath. He was in so deep, the heat of his cock searing her from the inside out. His heavy balls smacked against her skin, and she felt the crisp hairs on his thighs against the back of hers.

  Never had she been this turned on, felt this alive. Her pussy clenched around him involuntarily, and the sound he made was close to a whimper, if dragons made such a noise.

  "Hold on, little human, you are about to become mine."

  Chapter 9

  Cane tried to force his dragon back as the urges became stronger—mark her, mate her. Soon, it was all he could hear or even think about as he rammed into her tight little pussy over and over again.

  She was so beautiful splayed out before him. Her curvy body felt so right—she felt right. Cane didn't like being at war with his dragon. But dragons didn't mate humans; they just didn't.

  His dragon warred with him on this decision, not giving a fuck about politics or repercussions.

  "You are mine," he growled low in her ear. "Do you hear me?"

  Zoe whimpered, and he smacked her ass cheek to remind her that he needed an answer.

  "I am yours," she cried out. "Your claimed mate."

  And then the words slipped out before he could even blink, "My mate, you are my mate."

  Zoe's heart swelled. She loved that her Master was struggling with control, that she brought him to this state. She felt loved and cherished, something that had been sadly missing in her life.

  "Your mate," she repeated, not even knowing the implications of her words. "I am your mate, and you are mine."

  Her back felt intense heat and she cried out. It wasn't burning so much as on the edge of pain. Her pussy clenched, sending her into an orgasm that washed away any thoughts of her back. All she could do was hold on and ride out the best release of her life.

  Cane watched in horror as his mark began to appear on her back. He could feel the intense connection growing thicker between them. It was the only thing that could have possibly kept him from coming. His dick throbbed hot and heavy inside of her.

  What had he done? The other Dragon Kings were going to have his hide for this.

  Her pussy was squeezing him impossibly tight. He couldn't think, couldn't find a way out of this.

  Suddenly, he needed to see her face. Pulling out of her wet heat, he flipped Zoe onto her back and shoved her thighs wide. Then he was inside of her again, his dragon blazing inside of him. Yes, this is how it was meant to be.

  "Your eyes," she said with a sense of wonder.

  Cane knew that this was yet again another witness that there was nothing normal about his reaction to this woman.

  He gazed down at Zoe's face and saw that her eyes had taken on a violet shade. It startled him so much that he paused for a moment, mid-thrust.

  "What?" she panted, her channel clenching him hard. "What's wrong?"

  Cane shook his head and responded through gritted teeth, "Nothing!"

  He watched as his massive cock slid in and out of her wet heat, covered with her desire and the sexiest thing he had ever seen.

  He lifted her thighs, palming her ass so that her back arched and he could control the depth of his thrusts. He rammed into her with enough force that she was dangling off the precipice of another release.

  "You are mine, Zoe."

  Zoe saw flames in his eyes; he was feral at this point and the most vulnerable that she had ever seen him.

  "I am yours," she repeated on a gasp.

  His speed increased, and she found herself helpless to control the orgasm that splintered around her. Her body was shaking, undulating, floating away in perfect bliss. He came hard, shooting his hot seed deep inside of her.

  Cane felt the intense connection start to bloom into something else. And then he saw that Zoe's skin was shimmering. Her eyes were still violet, and her hair seemed to be growing right in front of his eyes.

  Zoe had come down from her high and started to notice the changes in her body.

  "What's happening to me?" she cried out as sparks began to emit from her fingertips.

  "It can't be," Cane murmured more to himself than to her. He moved her hair back and noticed that her ears were no longer round but curved up at the top.

  Zoe clutched at her ears, wondering what he was seeing to put that expression on his face. When she felt the points on her ears, she screamed, "Help me, Cane!"

  But the blood in Cane's ears was rushing too loudly for him to even chastise her for using his name instead of Master. It couldn't be. No matter how many times he looked at Zoe, he couldn't believe that she could be one of the fae.

  They had died out hundreds of years ago.

  A niggling of doubt pricked his mind. There had been rumors about a lost princess, but surely, it wasn't true. The dragons and fae had lived together in his lands for thousands of years during his mother's reign. But there had been a terrible plague that had wiped them all out.

  Cane wasn't old enough to remember the details as it was before his time. And that was saying a lot, considering he was already nearly six-hundred-years-old.

  But if Zoe really was fae, how did she get to the human world? Who had been hiding her all these years? And how did they remove her memory?

  Suddenly, Ava's intense agitation came to mind. She knew something; Cane could feel it in his toes. The half-breed had been holding out on her kings. No wonder she was so afraid.

  Zoe's brilliant violet eyes were filled with fear and tears. Cane pulled himself from her body and gathered her close. Then he walked out of his rooms, uncaring that they were both completely nude. When he got to the bathing chambers, he demanded that everyone leave.

  The other dragons could see that there was something going on with Cane's human. But Elaine caught his mark on Zoe's back and hissed loudly.

  "Stop!" Cane barked out, and she froze in her tracks. "Did you just show disrespect to your queen?"

  There were more murmurs, followed by silence as they looked at Elaine.

  "A human will never be my queen," Elaine spat.

  Cane's eyes blazed and then, in front of everyone, his head transitioned into his dragon and he shot a wall of flames at her.

  When the smoke cleared, there was nothing left but ash.

  "Is there anyone else who wants to say anything?"

  Some of the sentries fell to their knees. "Our queen!"

  More followed until there wasn't an individual in the bathing rooms who hadn't bent the knee.

  "You will leave us now, as I already requested," Cane barked out. "And let that be a lesson to you all. I will not tolerate any disrespect for Queen Zoe."

  He hardly remembered that she was in his arms until Zoe reached up and touched his face. Immediately, he felt calmer and it was easier to reason. His dragon wanted to curl up like a damn dog at her feet.

  "What is it?" he asked tersely.

  "Queen?"

  Chapter 10

  Zoe sat uncomfortably in her nearly see-through gown on the throne that had been erected for her. Cane was beside her and in his element as the members of his horde all paid tribute to their new queen.

  The dragons weren't happy about her appointment, and the fact that she looked to be fae didn't help matters. Dragons didn't trust what they didn't understand. And a woman who had their king wrapped around her little finger posed a threat to the horde.

  They didn't know Zoe well enough to appreciate her quick wit or kind heart. All they knew was that in a matter of days, she had managed to get their king to not only mate her, but to destroy one of their own in her defense.

  Elaine had been over the claimed humans for more than fifty years. It was only natural that she would be leery of a human rising to such an elevated station. Zoe had tried to talk to him about it, but Cane wouldn't discuss Elaine. His edict was clear; she was his mate and they would respect her.

  When J
o and Sabrina came to bow before her, Zoe felt a rush of hatred prick over her skin. She shrank back and hated the look that came into their eyes. It was predatory, fierce, and even menacing. But the moment Cane looked at them, they were everything that was amicable.

  Zoe reached out and took Cane's hand. It was more for protection than anything else. But it had been the first time she reached out to him in public.

  Cane felt that burning in his chest, the one that indicated his little mate was burrowing herself deep inside of his heart.

  "What is it?" he murmured.

  Zoe bit her lip; she didn't want to tattle on the women and yet she didn't want a punishment, either.

  "I would like to speak with Jo and Sabrina in private, if I might?"

  Cane looked from Zoe to the women who were moving away from the dais.

  "Jo and Sabrina, you will approach the throne."

  The look the two women gave him reeked of raw fear. The last thing they wanted was to become ash like Elaine had. The fact that they blamed Zoe for Elaine's curt words and demise was abundantly clear.

  They moved with slow steps until they stood below Cane's throne.

  "Yes, my king?" Sabrina's voice was low with deference.

  "It is your queen who wishes to speak with you."

  Sabrina's eyes darted up in surprise. "I beg pardon, yes, my queen?"

  Zoe noticed that Jo still hadn't said anything nor met her eye.

  "Do you enjoy your work with the humans?"

  Sabrina gave her a look of surprise. "Indeed, I volunteered to work with the human girls."

  "And you, Jo, do you enjoy working with the human girls?"

  "The human women participating in the claimed program are always treated well."

  Zoe narrowed her eyes. "That wasn't what I asked. When I was there, you mentioned something about killing this one and being done with it. How often is that practice called upon?"