Taking What You Want

HARRY

I stared at the recently finished lobby, complete with slot machines, craps tables, and everything else one might need.

The casino was actually coming along quite nicely. And with only a few things left to do, it wasn’t too far away from being complete.

Of course, there were dozens of behind-the-scenes tasks that needed to be done. There was always something else that needed my attention.

I sighed as I began to count the things still on my plate…

~I need to meet with the designers one last time about the kitchen layout.~

~Then there’s uncertainty about the size of the aquariums we’ll use for the VIP lounge.~

~And that brings up issues with the overall atmosphere and theme…~

~Do dragons even own aquariums?~

~Hell, do dragons even eat fish?~

Some of the issues felt so stupid, but I wanted to do my job to the best of my ability. And if I was asking these questions, wouldn’t everyone else be too?

Maddie should’ve been at the casino to help with all of this, but she’d been away for the past few days. She was usually on her own timetable and couldn’t be bothered unless she wanted to be.

But with the casino being ahead of schedule, it should have made my job easier.

Instead, I felt even more pressure to make sure everything was perfect. Especially if Ash Onyx was going to be around.

His immaculate sensibilities carried over into his work ethic, which meant he kept a stern, watchful eye over ~everything~. And that included me…

“The kitchen appliance manufacturer called again,” Onyx said.

I hadn’t heard him enter the room that overlooked the lower lobby. For someone so large, he was surprisingly stealthy.

“Great,” I sighed. “What do they want now?”

“Will we need help setting up the appliances once they’re delivered?”

I looked at Onyx quizzically.

“What did Thea and Darshan say?”

“They’re interviewing for kitchen staff and can’t be bothered at the moment,” he replied.

~Can’t be fucking bothered?~

I tried to hide my annoyance, but I could hear the tension in my voice.

“Do you know how to set up a dozen industrial ovens?” I asked. “Because I don’t have the time or the energy to fucking learn.”

Onyx would be annoyed with my demeanor, but I didn’t care whether he was annoyed or not. I’d been hired to help with the planning of the casino—not to put the entire thing together by myself.

“You’re much too tense to be making decisions,” Onyx said with a hint of judgment. “It’s time I taught you a thing or two about taking control.”

Onyx placed his large hand on my shoulder and squeezed hard. Even if I’d wanted to break away from his touch, it would have been damn near impossible.

Without another word, Ash led me to a boardroom that was only halfway finished.

Even without any furniture, the room was absolutely astonishing. Large floor-to-ceiling windows provided an unhindered, panoramic view of the city.

“What do you think?” he asked.

I shrugged, trying to find the right words.

“It’s beautiful,” I admitted. “But what does it have to do with—”

Ash interrupted my words with an aggressive kiss on the lips.

At first, I wanted to pull away. The physicality and surprise that Onyx used had caught me off guard.

But as I stood there feeling his lips against mine, I realized that I didn’t want the moment to end.

I kissed him back, my senses overwhelmed by the taste of his tongue. It was sweet like candy but warm like the air on a summer’s day.

His hands greedily searched my body, and I pushed my hips against his. My cock grew hard as we continued to kiss.

And then, before anything else could happen, it was over.

Onyx pulled away and looked at me, his eyes dancing hungrily with lust.

Before I knew what was happening, his hand was on my head, pushing me down to my knees.

At first, I tried to resist, but his strength was too much to overcome. Once I was entirely on my knees, Onyx unzipped his pants and freed the massive cock within.

Its girth swung before my eyes, and I could feel my mouth begin to water.

Onyx stood over me, looking down into my eyes. He didn’t have to do or say anything else…

I grabbed his meaty cock and licked the length of his shaft.

When my lips reached the tip, I sucked him inside, mesmerized by the salty taste of his pre-cum.

Onyx groaned with pleasure, and I felt his muscles tense.

I worked his shaft with my hand, surprised that I could still jack him off while so much of him was inside me.

Then again, the man was absolutely ~huge~.

My tongue teased the massive head of his dick as I worked it in and out of my mouth.

Onyx tensed again, and this time he cried out in pleasure. I felt his cock muscles contract, and soon my mouth was filled with warm, sticky cum.

I looked into his eyes as I swallowed every…last…drop.

“This is how you take something you want,” he said.

ZAYDA

I watched as my blood ran through the tube and dripped into the vial.

It had only been a few days since I last used blood magic on Xythor. He’d been responsive and reasonably active since the transfusion.

But earlier in the day, his entire body just stopped, as if he’d turned off.

“Almost done, sweetie,” I mumbled to Xythor.

I replaced the vial in his chest and closed the compartment, happy to see life return to his empty eyes.

“Zayda,” he said with a smile. “I must have fallen asleep.”

I nodded as I wiped the tears from my eyes.

“Yeah, baby,” I replied in my sweetest voice. “But I’m glad that you’re awake.”

As I leaned over to kiss Xythor, a fresh cramp ripped through my lower body, causing me to double over.

Xythor helped me to the table as I struggled to keep a smile and pretend everything was all right.

“Let me get you a glass of water,” he said.

I watched Xythor leave the room before letting my guard down. My body convulsed as I grunted in pain.

Fresh blood began to blossom on the front of my jeans, and I knew what had caused it.

As the contractions became more and more violent, so did the reaction from my body.

I would already have been in pain without using my blood magic…but conjuring up such dark spells left me vulnerable to excessive bleeding.

If I had to continue using blood magic to keep Xythor alive, it would be the death of me.

But what other choice did I have?

MADDIE

It had been awhile since I’d visited my old haunts in the Skeleton Quarter, but luckily Dane and Aneurin had agreed to accompany me.

“That’s the alley we first met you in,” Dane said with a smile.

It seemed so long ago that they’d saved me from a drug deal gone wrong. Without their intervention, there was no telling what would have happened.

“Is this the place?” I asked.

The Skeleton Quarter was inhabited by countless scumbags looking for a quick thrill…and every one of them was giving us the eye.

“This is what our source said,” Aneurin replied. “But the dragon slayers won’t be hanging out in plain sight. We’re gonna have to do some searching.”

My mates weren’t worried about the possible threat from slayers, but luckily, I could count on Dane and Aneurin to have my back.

I cracked my knuckles.

“Let’s get to work.”

The three of us stalked through the alleys, looking for any signs that might tip us off to the slayers’ whereabouts.

After nearly an hour of searching from one street to the next, I was about to give up.

“Maybe this is pointless,” I said, defeated. “They could be anywhere, dressed as anyone. And we would never know.”

“What about this?” Aneurin asked.

He was standing next to a dumpster, looking at something behind it. As I walked over, he pushed the dumpster out of the way.

I stopped mid-step, transfixed by the sight.

On the brick wall behind the dumpster was a red-and-black spray-painted symbol.

It depicted a large rock with several swords stabbed into the top—and it was surrounded by a pool of blood.

Dane pointed at a decrepit building across the street. After squinting for a few seconds, I saw another symbol of Freesia’s Rock.

“Still think this is pointless?” Dane asked with a smile.

“We’ve found evidence,” I said. “But there’s got to be more than a few tagged buildings.”

The symbols were enough to give me hope that we were on the right path. If we could only find a slayer or two…

“Let’s split up.”

Dane and Aneurin looked at me as if I’d called them a dragon slur. They were usually all smiles, but my suggestion caused them to appear uncertain.

“Are you sure you don’t want us to stick together?” Aneurin asked.

“We’ll cover more ground separately,” I replied. “After all, this place is our old neighborhood. We’re bound to find ~something~.”

The twins shrugged but said nothing else.

Soon, I found myself alone in the heart of the Skeleton Quarter. Every person I passed turned away from me, unwilling to get involved.

I couldn’t even get a question out before a few men spit at my feet, urging me to continue on to someplace else.

I looked at my watch and realized we’d been searching for nearly two hours, with only a few symbols for our efforts.

My body was growing tired of covering so much ground, so I leaned against a wall and thought about Loch and Hael.

Even though they didn’t believe in the threat, I would still be happy to find myself in their arms later…

A swift-moving shadow suddenly caught my attention. I looked up just in time to see a shock of blue hair disappear around a corner of the alley.

~Nautica.~

Without a moment of hesitation, I took off after the shadowy figure. With each step, my body felt more and more alive.

I refused to let Nautica escape. Not after all the hell he and the other slayers had put me through.

I rounded the corner and found myself alone in the alley, enclosed on all sides by tall brick walls.

There was no one else there—not even a mouse was scurrying from dumpster to dumpster.

~We should split up.~ I recalled my words. ~Yeah. Good fucking idea.~

My stomach tightened as I heard movement from behind and realized something big was standing behind me.

A hand clamped around my mouth before I could turn around.

I tried to scream, but my mouth was covered so tightly I couldn’t even breathe.

The only thing I could do was watch in horror as I was dragged down a side alley and taken further into the shadows of the Skeleton Quarter.