Page 16 of The Naga Princess's Soldier Mate

He kissed me again, our mouths mating the way I wanted him to mate with the rest of me. Tasting himwasgood, though; I loved the way his scent filled my senses and his taste flooded my mouth. It felt like we were becoming one that way—a claiming, just like he’d said. I was beginning to get the hang of this, and, of course, that’s when Reid changed the rules.

The world shifted around me when he raised me higher, my back sliding along the wall until he could cup my breasts and suck a nipple into his mouth. Pleasure spiked through me at that touch, so good that it felt like I saw stars. I knew better what to expect now; when that crest began to rise, I didn’t fight it. He was so confident as he ran his hand down my front and located my slit. That was all it took: a brush of his finger through my folds, pressing against the sensitive bundle of nerves at the top. I splintered to pieces for him, a moan loudly echoing through our prison.

“That’s it, angel. Come for me,” Reid told me, both an encouragement and a demand. He sank a finger into me, and this time it didn’t feel like too much; it felt good. As my inner muscles contracted around his invasion, it only drew out the pleasure I felt. I didn’t like it when he began to lower me, his mouth slipping from my breast, but his finger kept pushing into me, so I moaned rather than protested. Why did he know my body this well? Was that a thing of mates? Or was it all Reid?

We were not in a soft nest this time, but that didn’t seem to matter to my body. Even the cool roughness of the wall against my back felt good while Reid was stoking the flames with his fingers. He’d added a second, and I felt full but not full enough. “You can take me, can’t you, pretty angel?” he husked, and I mewled pathetically when he withdrew his hand.

“Reid, more, please…” I begged him, my arms around his neck, clinging to his wide shoulders. That made him laugh: a husky chuckle full of satisfaction, his dark eyes gleaming. I felt how he slid his hands around my hips, his grip firm as he held me exactly as he wanted, yet not touching me where I needed him most. That part of me felt painfully empty now.

“You’ll get what you need, Sazzie. I promise,” he told me, but I did not believe that, especially when he seemed to be pulling away. “Ah, so impatient. I just need to get my belt.” I heard the sound of his buckle then, and through my needy haze, I realized that he’d never gotten around to taking off his leg coverings. I tilted my head, glancing down between our bodies, and for the first time caught sight of his cock. He was freeing it from the dark fabric with his fist, and the tip was round, singular—like a thick, blunt club rather than the agile, bifurcated tip of a Naga male.

He smirked at me as he let me look my fill, then he took my hand and curled it around that thick bar. It was very warm and smooth, covered by silky-soft skin over stone. Veins ran along the length, throbbing with his passion. The unusually shaped head was round and blunt, the edge that defined the shape pronounced. He smelled good there too—salty and warm, both comfortable and arousing at the same time.

“I’m going to take you just like this,” Reid said, his mouth still tilted in that satisfied smirk. I felt heat curl through me again, reminding me sharply that he’d given me pleasure, yet left me oddly unfulfilled at the same time. When I nodded, his expression morphed—his jaw firming as he clenched it. His hands grew much more urgent on my body as he pressed us close again, his exposed cock brushing against my slit. I shiveredat that first brush, then shook, my tail going weak when the second brush was right across the nub at the top.

“Ah, I love it when you shout my name,” Reid drawled, his mouth right against my ear. “Do that again, Sazzie.” I hadn’t even realized that I’d shouted, let alone his name. But when he used his hand to guide his cock inside of me, I did shout—again. That push was too much. It was a lot; his cockhead was so thick and blunt. It did not slide in easily, stretching me around his invasion so it burned and ached, yet I craved more of it.

He kept pushing firmly and confidently, as if he knew it would work, even though my body seemed determined to resist him at every step. It was his mouth that distracted me from the sensation of his invasion, and then, everything just worked. I melted when he kissed me—my muscles relaxed—and, with a final shove, he was inside me, filling me. We were one now.

“Ready?” Reid asked. Confused, I opened my eyes. Our mouths were still so close we were almost kissing. Ready for what? Wasn’t this it? I blinked at him, and that made him smile. Slowly pulling back his hips, I felt the ridge of his cockhead—the blunt thickness—as it dragged along my walls until only the tip remained. My breath froze in my lungs as I looked between us, seeing how that looked. Then he slammed his hips forward, tunneling back inside forcefully. I jolted, pleasure sparking. I definitely screamed his name that time. Then he did it again, and again.

Every drag and pull, every push, felt amazing. I never expected it to feel like this—so close to another being, so entwined. Even when my trembling tail felt too limp to hold on to him, when a crest caught me in its clutches, it was all-consuming, powerful. Itswept me away, and this time, it was beautiful because I was not alone. Reid’s cock swelled inside of me, kicking firmly as warm seed jetted from the round tip. He groaned—a deep, guttural sound that made me feel proud. I’d made him make that sound; my body had given him that pleasure. We were good together, and we’d made each other feel good.

With my arms snug around his shoulders, I clung tightly, unwilling to let him part our bodies after that climax, unable to find any words to tell him how good that was and how badly I wanted to do it all over again. His hands were petting me, sliding along my sides, my hips, stroking my arms. The stone wall had warmed against my scales, and he kept me pinned to it with his chest, his hips, his still-hard cock deep inside of me. I wanted to stay there forever.

“How was that for a mating?” Reid whispered in the dark. “Think we need a little more practice?” I heard the hint of laughter in his tone but still blinked in confusion at him. Then he kissed me, his hands going from gentle patting to inciting as he tweaked my nipples. Ah, my mate wanted more; I was not alone in my desire to prolong this moment, this pleasure. Good. I was all too happy to surrender to more of his expert touches, to the rhythm he set with his cock.

Chapter 12

Reid

Sazzie lay curled up against my chest, the dark blue strands of her hair caught in my five o’clock shadow. She wasn’t asleep, but something close to a peaceful slumber—drifting, but not quite. The stone and sand were cold against my back, but it was worth it to see her dressed in my shirt. The expression on her face when I’d offered it to her after we’d made love? Also worth it. Full of wonder, like she’d never considered wearing something that belonged to someone else before. I had to admit, the delicate sniff at the collar once she’d pulled it over her head, followed by her delighted smile—a total boost to the ego.

Despite the idyllic afterglow and the cuddling, my mind was already processing all the sounds outside our prison. They had not died down but had gotten louder instead. A raucous crowd cheering and chanting had provided some cover for what we’d been up to in here; Sazzie had not been quiet. Though I was certain the guard had gotten an earful, no doubt he’d already sent a messenger to his boss to inform him that Sazzie and I were a little too close and that she could understand me.

That meant they had leverage, which meant I could not let them get their hands on me—or her. We had to get out of here before Aser and that Thunder Rock female came back to deal with Sazzie. The other one, Khawla’s mate, had seemed reasonable. Too bad it wasn’t she who survived, but this viper instead. I had not forgotten that it was she who had clawed up Sazzie’s back a few days ago.

The guard was moving restlessly, his scales whispering against the rock; that was a change from before. “Stay here. I’m going to get a look,” I said to my girl, and I gently shifted her off my chest. She made a grumpy noise but clutched more tightly at my dogtags and tucked her chest around the pouch of precious capsules I’d shown her earlier. It seemed she did not like rousing from slumber regardless of the time, and I couldn’t help but grin at that.

When she finally fluttered her eyes open, her brow was scrunched up tight but smoothed out as soon as she saw me. Then, she started to give back the pouch almost immediately, her eyes wide as if embarrassed to be caught holding it so tightly. “No, you keep it. I have a feeling they’re less inclined to search you for contraband than me.” Though they hadn’t bothered to check me for weapons in the usual places when they captured me, I still had a small knife sheathed at my ankle. Perhaps that was simply due to their inexperience with dealing with an opponent who had legs.

I opened the pouch and swallowed a capsule before making my way to the door—just a precaution. My body could only store so much fuel for the nanobots before it stopped making sense, and I didn’t want to waste what we had. Still, it couldn’t hurt to be a little prepared in case I saw our chance the moment I looked outside. The loud noise of a roaring crowd filtered into our prison just then, and the feeling of unease in the pit of my stomach bloomed. It told me that Bitter Storm might have dwindled in size recently, but it was still a very impressive crowd.

Sazzie was alert now, no longer rosy and groggy. I wished I could give her more warm cuddles and lazy slumbering than thisand vowed to myself that I’d make sure she got to sleep in all she wanted when this was over. She rose and followed me as I padded to the wooden door, both of us moving as silently as possible. Near the door, the toe of my boot nudged up a broken piece of wood, possibly part of a crate at one point. I ducked down to pick it up and discovered most of it was rotten, but a sharp metal nail stuck to one end. Perfect—that might come in handy. I pried it out and tucked it into one of the pockets in my cargo pants.

At the door, I searched the panel for any sign of weakness. It was an old door, made of vertical planks held together by two horizontal planks—a very simple design that had allowed the door to warp, creating a gap on the left side big enough to fit my hand. Through that gap, I could see the guard moving, his red scales gleaming like blood in the dark at the edge of the cavern. He had his back to the door and was edging further away, drawn by the noises coming from the center of the massive cave—a cave that, to my eye, had a few too many straight edges and precisely placed pillars to be natural.

The town, packed beneath the domed shape of the stone roof, was entirely made of wood. Some of the houses were little more than shacks, while others were much sturdier and decorated with carvings and serpentine designs.

Enhancing my vision a little, I squinted at the area where most of the light was concentrated. Bonfires and torches surrounded what appeared to be a circular pit, and if I wasn’t mistaken, everyone inside the cave had gathered there. When the crowd quieted, I could hear the clash of weapons and the grunts of males fighting—an arena, and either practice fights or... My blood went cold as I realized they might have taken Khawlathere. It wasn’t like we were friends, but the thought that they’d thrown him in there for fight after fight until he died seemed particularly cruel.

It was, however, the perfect distraction to get away. Even our guard was so occupied with what was happening at the arena that he wasn’t doing his job, straying further away from our prison door—a door that was hardly a barrier to me; it had rope hinges my knife would make short work of. “We’re breaking out, Sazzie,” I said to my angel, casting her a look over my shoulder. Excitement thrummed through my veins almost immediately, and, in response, the shapes the dormant nanobots formed beneath my skin started to shift.

“Okay,” she said so quietly that it was barely a breath of air against the back of my neck. My girl was feeling hesitant; I could sense that in the way she placed her hand on my back and sidled closer. It only made me more determined to get us out of here. I did not want her to be scared. If only I could get her to Haven—I knew she’d be safe there, and I knew it would be the perfect place for her to discover her true self. The girls at Haven wouldn’t judge her for who she was, and I’d make sure—with my fists if necessary—that the Naga males wouldn’t either.

One thing at a time. Getting out of here was going to be rough, and I hated that we’d have to abandon the Thunder Rock male. He did not deserve this fate, but Sazzie’s safety was my priority. I would not risk it for him. I did not tell my angel that, though; I was not sure if she would like my plan if I did. We made quick preparations instead, checking our meager supplies. Sazzie returned my shirt to me, insisting that it was better that way.

With my knife, I cut through the top hinge first, then held on to the door as I cut the bottom one. Timing my breakout with the roaring of the crowd, I threw the door at our guard before racing after it and leaping onto his shoulders. He never saw me coming, too focused on the sounds in the distance. My nano-enhanced muscles had too much strength and speed for his reflexes, and I snapped his neck with a quick, merciful twist. It was over in seconds, and I’d barely broken a sweat doing it.

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