Dragon Discovering Page 6

  In an effort to take his mind off of how attractive Claire was, he decided to attempt a conversation with her. Nothing much was happening on the screen right now, anyway, and Seth doubted anything would. The employees themselves at the Bureau of Magical Artifacts probably didn’t know with one hundred percent certainty what was in that room, which meant it was unlikely the Dark Warriors would know that there was something in there worth stealing.

  Seth turned to look at Claire, doing his best to keep a neutral expression on his face. He was still worried that his eyes were giving away how much he wanted her, but he did his best to maintain a professional aura.

  “Have you heard anything about when the Torch Lake Today building will be rebuilt?” he asked.

  Claire frowned and shook her head. “No. I haven’t heard much of anything, actually. I think everyone is avoiding talking to me because they’re afraid they’re going to stress me out too much and I’ll go back into a coma or something. It’s seriously so annoying. I’m fine. I would love to just go back to work and act like I never spent time in the hospital. I don’t like being treated like some fragile little porcelain doll.”

  Seth couldn’t help but laugh. “You’re tougher than you look, you know? And I mean that as a compliment. You know how to act all sweet and innocent, but if someone pushes you too far you know exactly how to put them in their place.”

  Claire grinned. “Are you referring to how I finally forced you to sit still and get your makeup done?”

  “Maybe.”

  “You were such a belligerent client.”

  “Sorry. Sort of.”

  “Sort of? Only sort of sorry?”

  Seth threw his hands up in the air. “Well, seriously. Can you blame a dragon shifter for not wanting to cover his face in frou-frou makeup?”

  Claire rolled her eyes. “It’s not that big of a deal. I don’t know why men freak out so much. Just think of it like a little bit of face paint, if that helps.”

  “It doesn’t.”

  “Well, anyway, I won’t have to deal with belligerent clients for at least two more weeks, since they’re not allowing me to come back before then. My boss decided he wants to make sure I’m fully recovered before I start working again.”

  “That’s nice of him.”

  “Yeah, I guess. I just hope no one tries to win him over and steal my job while I’m gone.”

  “Don’t worry about that. Councilor Morgan is looking out for you.”

  Claire gave him a suspicious glance. “Councilor Morgan? The one who doesn’t want to listen to me when I tell him I saw a Dark Warrior in the Torch Lake Today building?”

  “I think he feels guilty about that. And when he feels guilty, he goes overboard to be nice. He’ll make sure your job is safe. Besides, he likes you. He might not be as belligerent as I am, but he still doesn’t enjoy having makeup done for TV, and he’s on TV a lot. He wouldn’t be happy if he had to switch to a new makeup artist, now that he’s comfortable with you.”

  “Humph.”

  “I’m serious. I know you’re mad at him for not listening to you, but I promise you that he’s looking out for you.”

  Claire didn’t seem willing to give Councilor Morgan any benefit of the doubt, and she changed the subject. “Well, anyway, when I do go back to work it will still be at the temporary building. They’re saying the Torch Lake Today building will need at least six months to be rebuilt. Possibly more. The damage was extensive, and they’re thinking that the whole thing will have to be demolished to start over.”

  “That sucks.”

  “Yeah. I was thinking I should go over and see the building before they tear it down. I don’t know why, but I’m curious to see what the wreckage looks like in person. I guess it bothers me that I was unconscious the last time I was in that building, and I don’t know how I got out or what the damage looked like or anything. I’ve only seen news footage. It just feels weird to have been there but not remember it.”

  “Makes sense,” Seth said, shifting uncomfortably in his seat. Claire had no idea that he was the one who rescued her, and he felt awkward telling her. He would have been fine with her never knowing that little detail, but she seemed to be growing more curious about her rescue every day. He was going to have to tell her at some point, and the longer he waited to do so the more awkward things became. Still, he wasn’t keen to talk about it. He searched his mind for some way to change the subject, but he couldn’t think of anything before Claire started talking again.

  “I guess one of the firefighters must have carried me out. I wish there was a way to find out which one, so I could thank him. Do you have any idea who it was? You were on the scene at the time, right? Did you see me being carried out?”

  Seth shifted in his seat again, and kept his eyes trained on the video footage playing on his computer screen. “Yes, I saw.” Which was true. He had seen, obviously, since it had been he himself carrying her.

  In his peripheral vision, he saw Claire sitting up straighter in her seat. “Really? You actually saw? Do you remember anything at all about who it was? Or what he looked like? I guess it was probably hard to tell if he was in full firefighter gear, but you must have noticed something?”

  Seth took a deep breath. It was time to tell her the truth. He didn’t know why he was so worried about doing this. He supposed he didn’t want to throw off the dynamic between them. He wanted Claire to like him for who he was on a normal, everyday basis—not because she thought he was some sort of hero. But it was going to get harder and harder to avoid the truth without telling an outright lie, and lying just wasn’t something dragons did. It wasn’t in their blood.

  “Claire, it was me.”

  There was a long moment of silence. Seth could hear the ticking of the clock on his office wall as it marked the seconds passing by. Finally, Claire spoke, her voice filled with confusion.

  “It was you? You mean you…” she let the sentence trail off, so Seth finished it for her.

  “I rescued you.” He finally turned to look at her. He needed to look her in the eye, and show her that this was serious. He wasn’t joking or trying to pull her leg. It had really been him. “I found you in the stairwell by the elevators, and I carried you out.”

  Her eyes were brimming with tears now. “I don’t understand. What were you doing on the stairwell? Weren’t you in the first floor studio with everyone else when the explosion went off?”

  “I was. And I evacuated with them. But I couldn’t find you in the crowds outside. I was worried you were still inside, so I went back in to find you.”

  “You were looking for me? But why? You’d only just met me.”

  Seth reached over and pulled one of Claire’s hands into his. “I know. And I know it sounds kind of crazy to risk your life for someone you’ve just met. But from the first moment I laid eyes on you, I couldn’t stop thinking about you. You’re beautiful, talented, and just the right amount of spunky. When you were missing, everyone said you’d probably just gone home. They said the building was empty. But I had a gut feeling you were inside. How could I have lived with myself if I’d let you burn in the rubble?”

  The tears in Claire’s eyes had pushed their way past her eyelids and were running down her cheeks now. “You saved my life,” she whispered. “If you hadn’t come for me, no one would have.”

  Seth shrugged and looked away. He’d never been comfortable with being labeled a hero, even though, as a dragon shifter, that label was often thrust on him. “I just did what any good citizen would do.”

  He heard Claire letting out a long sigh next to him. “Well, then, there was a shortage of good citizens outside of the Torch Lake Today building that day, because you’re the only one who came for me.”

  Seth shrugged again, staring intently at the video footage.

  “Are there security cameras in your office?” Claire asked.

  The sudden, random change of subject startled Seth so much that he forgot to avoid Claire’s gaze. He turned to look
at her with a confused frown on his face. “No. Why?”

  “Good,” was all she said. Then she grabbed his face in her hands, leaned in, and put her lips on his.

  And in that moment, Seth had never been so happy to be treated like a hero.

  Chapter Nine

  Claire didn’t know what had come over her. She wasn’t the type to act first and think later, and she definitely hadn’t been thinking when she leaned in to kiss Seth. But who could blame her, really? He was handsome, sexy, and kind. He was a dragon shifter, which automatically made him one of the most sought after bachelors in the shifter-wizard world. On top of all that, he was helping her search for the Dark Warrior who had invaded the Torch Lake Today building, even though the High Council itself had blown off her testimony. He liked her, too. He’d liked her from the very beginning. He’d asked for her number the first day they met, and when she hadn’t given it to him he’d made sure that she had his. Oh, yeah, and then there was the tiny little detail that he’d saved her life the first day they met. No biggie.

  Yes, if Claire had stopped to think about it, she still would have kissed Seth. But she was already well past thinking. The moment her lips touched his, a searing, delicious fire had flooded her body. She felt like fireworks were going off inside her, and her breathing quickly became ragged as she tried to take it all in.

  Seth seemed to be enjoying it just as much. He closed his eyes and let out a low, satisfied growl. Then he took control, wrapping his arms around Claire and pulling her from her chair onto his lap. She straddled him, never breaking their kiss. The desk chair creaked under their combined weight, and for a moment Claire wondered if it would break. The chair was a cheap one—one of those polyester covered versions that doesn’t even have arms on the side. Seth had been a gentleman and let Claire use his much nicer leather desk chair—with arms. But now, they were both tangled up together on the cheap chair, and Claire could hardly believe how amazing she felt.

  She could feel his erection beneath her, poking hard and stiff against the fabric of her jeans. She herself was growing wet with desire. As soon as she had given in to her desire to kiss him, every feeling she’d been holding back came rushing to the surface. She wanted this man, every part of him. She wanted him for his kind, sweet soul. She wanted him for his strong, sexy body. And, yes, she wanted him for his fierce dragon side. She could not get enough.

  His hands massaged little circles into the small of her back while he leaned back in the chair and pushed his hips forward against her hips. Their lips were locked together, their tongues dancing in each other’s mouths. Claire felt like she was living out some sort of amazing dream. She was making out with a sexy dragon shifter. A literal hero of a man. This was the kind of thing that happened in movies, and yet, somehow, it was happening to her.

  The security footage continued to play behind them, but Seth never bothered to reach and turn it off. They’d probably have to rewatch this video to be on the safe side, even though nothing seemed to have been happening in it. But that was a small price to pay for experiencing the sheer bliss that Claire felt right now.

  Seth didn’t seem worried about the footage they were missing at all. He reached behind Claire’s head and fumbled at the base of the loose bun she had pulled her hair into this morning. He found the ponytail holder and tugged it off, letting Claire’s hair fall in a canopy around her cheeks. He broke off their kiss so he could tilt his head back and look at her.

  “You’re stunning,” he said, his voice a husky whisper. Claire felt a fresh thrill of excitement rush through her body. She could feel herself trembling, and she felt a little embarrassed by it, but Seth didn’t seem to notice. He reached his hands up and brushed his fingers through her thick, honey-brown locks. His eyes wandered over her face and her hair, and finally down to her body. Her breathing grew rapid as he let his hands fall to her breasts. He covered each one with his palms, and started massaging them gently. Claire closed her eyes, unable to speak. Even if she had been able to talk, she had no idea what she would have said.

  Seth knew exactly what he wanted to say, however.

  “There’s way too much clothing between us.”

  With that he lifted her up off his lap and set her back in the other desk chair. Then, in one giant swoop, he wiped all of the paper and other knickknacks off of his desk and onto the floor. He had enough sense not to knock his computer screen over, but he pushed it away to the far edge, so that the vast majority of his giant desk was now just open, empty space.

  And then, he started stripping down. He tore his own clothes off first, getting rid of his navy polo shirt and relaxed fit jeans in a matter of seconds. His shoes had already been kicked off, although Claire had no idea when. He was wearing tight, black briefs, and when he pulled those off his erection sprang completely free. Claire gasped, then covered her mouth to try to hide her somewhat embarrassing reaction. Seth had no plans to make fun of her for how much she liked his dick, though. He turned to look at her with those intense eyes, standing tall and proud even as his erection proudly jutted out toward her.

  “Claire,” he said. One word. Her name. That was all he said. And then he pulled her up and reached for her. Reached for her shirt and pulled it over her head. Reached to tear off her bra, and unbutton her pants. Reached to drag her soaking wet panties off her body. And when she was naked and trembling in front of him, he did not slow down. He lifted her up and sat her down on his desk. The wood was cool and hard. It felt strange against Claire’s bare skin. Then again, everything felt a little strange right now. It’s like she was experiencing life while high, with all of her senses heightened. This natural high was the most amazing feeling she’d ever had. She closed her eyes and drank it in as Seth reached once again for her breasts. This time, there was no fabric between his hands and her nipples, and the sensations she felt filled her with an incredible warmth.

  He rubbed his thumb across each nipple, then leaned his head down to nibble each one as well. Tingling fireworks once again exploded through Claire’s body. She moaned, and felt herself growing wetter between her legs with every passing second. For a brief moment, she worried that Seth’s desk would be ruined, but then she decided she didn’t care. He didn’t seem anxious about it, so she shrugged it off.

  She focused on the feeling of Seth’s hands against her skin. He held her hips in each palm as he continued to kiss her breasts. She trembled and moaned and let the warmth of him wash over her, until she felt like she might explode just from his touch. Just when she thought it couldn’t possibly get better, it did.

  He pushed her backward onto the desk so that she lay sprawled out on her back. Then he climbed up after her, straddling her body and positioning himself so that his thick, stiff erection was right above her dripping wet entrance. Claire could hardly believe this was happening. Everything felt like a blur, and yet, she had never been so sure in her life that she wanted someone.

  “Claire,” he growled out her name.

  She only moaned in response. Words would not come. Not when her whole body had been taken over by this intoxicating desire for him.

  He growled again, and then roared. It was a hungry, primal sound, and it sent delightful shivers up and down Claire’s spine. And then with one swift, authoritative thrust, he was inside her. He filled her so completely that she gasped once again. His thick shaft pushed against her inner walls, demanding that her body make room for him. A thousand tingling sensations shot through her body at once, and she felt weak from the intensity of it all. It was a wonderful weakness, though. A weakness that told her that this dragon of a man was claiming her, owning her, taking care of her.

  She could feel the hunger in his movements. His thrusts were hard and deep, and filled with desire. She arched her back, lifting her hips to meet his. The only thing she could think was that she never wanted him to stop. She wanted him to stay inside of her, driving her crazy like this, forever.

  The tingling that had filled her gradually grew, as did the h
eat. It all seemed to center in her core and then radiate out to her entire body. Claire tried to hold it in as long as she could, but finally it was too much. She let out a long, loud scream—completely forgetting that they were in an office building in the middle of a workday—and let her release wash over her. Tremors of sheer ecstasy rippled across her body, and the heat that she had been feeling intensified until she felt as though there was literally a fire in her stomach. It was a glorious kind of burn, though—not painful at all. She let the heat fill her and carry her as she rode the waves of pleasure.

  Seth was not far behind her. He also seemed to forget that they were in an office building. Either that, or he just didn’t care who heard him. He let out the loudest roar that Claire had ever heard, and then found his release as well. He stiffened as he came into her, pulsing even as her own inner muscles spasmed and clenched around him. For several long, wonderful moments, they experienced this ultimate pleasure together.

  When things finally calmed, Seth slowly pulled out of her and shimmied his way off the desk. Then he looked back at her, grinning like a naughty schoolboy.

  “I don’t think coming in to the office is supposed to be this fun,” he quipped.

  Claire groaned and pushed herself up into a sitting position. “I think half the building must have heard us.”

  “Nah. These walls are soundproofed pretty well. Besides, this side of the building is pretty empty. The other dragons are the only ones who have offices this way, and they wouldn’t tell on me for taking a little, um, break.”

  Claire felt her face heating up. “Oh my god, the other dragons are out this way? I’m never going to be able to show my face on a dragon television segment job again.”

  Seth laughed, and leaned in to plant a kiss on her lips. “Relax. They probably didn’t hear.”

  “Ugh.” That was all Claire could say.