Hello class! Today we will be discussing a new term. The term is DRAGON STAIN.
Dragons for the most part look identical to humans while in their human form with one glaring exception. The dragon stain. It looks almost like a snake or lizard skin tattoo and it is found on their back usually along the spine. Most often the color of the stain matches the hide of the dragon. Think of it like a dragon birthmark. Both air and sea dragons carry this mark.
Thank you again to all of you who sent reviews. Oh! And I just found out that LadyMaybel apparently nominated A Dragon's Heart into the fantasy category of the GA reader's choice '09. Thank you so much, that was very sweet of you.
Lastly, now that I have upped the rating to 'M' the content will be more risqué so beware! If you are not up for it, DO NOT READ IT! I don't want to scar anyone's mind. Also this chapter is almost twice as long as most of the other chapters I wrote so brace yourself.
A Dragon's Heart – Chapter 11
What the hell was with that jerk?
The guy comes in a pretty enough package, but the contents suck.
Mikan didn't know what to make of him with all of his scowling and brooding. Not to mention he behaved like a complete jerk!
But even when she thinks that, she can somehow tell that there is more to him. For some reason that she has yet to figure out, she can pick up other impressions from him. There were times when she could pick up thoughts and feelings that completely contradict what was happening on the outside.
She had no idea what made her jump into the middle of that fight between Natsume and the scientists. Most sea dragons would have felt the commotion in the water and would have given it a wide berth and swum around it. Her non-flying relatives might have attacked the boat, but they probably would have done so in a passive-aggressive manner that didn't reveal themselves to the other dragons. They probably would have capsized the boat from a distance and made it look like a natural occurrence. Why oh why did she just swim out in to the middle of a fight like an idiot, when she is not much of a fighter?
Maybe Tsubasa and Sumire were right. Maybe she was too reckless. She came to Japan for a very important reason and she can't allow herself to get distracted. She supposed she could try and lie to herself and say she was just following up a possible lead in her search, but even she wouldn't believe that lie.
The truth was she was extremely curious. When she saw the red fighting in the sky she was almost compelled to get a closer look at him. He was so beautiful in his dragon form. She had seen dozens of air dragons and they were always impressive, but they had never sparked such a reaction in her. She felt his pull on her instantly. What made him so special?
Just because he can kiss like a demon doesn't make him that great. She told herself, trying hard not to think about their kiss. If she started thinking about their kiss she'd get mad. Not at him, she would get mad at herself. Why didn't she move? Why didn't she yell, or smack him or something? Why, of all things did she let herself get overwhelmed by her body's intense reaction to him? She didn't have time to be infatuated or distracted. Right now she had more important things to think about. She made and irritated sound and looked at the jerk's much sweeter sister. "Looks like I'm stuck here for tonight." She relented.
Aoi gave a big sigh and was clearly relieved. "I know we probably should have said something right away, but we didn't want to scare you off. You are the first sea dragon we have ever met."
"I noticed." She said sardonically. "Is there anywhere I can get changed and rest? I still feel a bit woozy." It wasn't something she wanted to admit to strangers, but it was pretty much true. If she needed to, she could go for a couple of days without sleep, but right now she was so tired, she could sleep standing up.
"You might still have some of that drug in your system. Maybe we should take you to see Dr. Imai again?" Aoi suggested and Mikan cringed inwardly. The healer seemed nice enough, but he asked too many questions. Questions that her kind would rather she did not answer. She still couldn't believe she told them about sea dragon fertility during dinner. It was like the filter between her brain and body was being bypassed whenever that jerk was around.
"No thank you. I'll be fine. I just need some sleep."
Aoi gave her an awkward look. "Is there anything special you need? Other than the water thing I mean?"
Water thing? She wondered where the other young woman was going with that question and then it hit her. Oh she means special sea dragon needs. "No I just need some rest right now. I'll know when I have been out of the water too long. It's a bit like hunger or thirst; you can only ignore it for so long." Mikan reached down to retrieve her bag from where she left it by the door and gave Aoi and expectant look, hoping the other woman would take the hint to end the conversation and show her where she could change.
"You can get changed in the bathroom straight down at the end of the hall." She said pointing in the direction of the bathroom. "The guest room is just to the right of it." She told her, and Mikan trudged down the hall thankfully.
Lord did she feel worn out. It was almost all she could do to wash her face, brush her teeth and change. Tsubasa was always teasing her about her endless hyperactive energy but right now she felt like road-kill. Maybe she should have gone back to see the doctor. Ugh, I don' wanna go. I wanna sleep. She whined quietly in her head. Pushing all thoughts about attractive jerks, nosy doctors, and being held against her will out of her head, she changed into a tank top and boxers for sleeping. I will need to visit the ocean when I wake up. If I still feel like crap after that I'll go see the doctor.
She shuffled sleepily out the door and turned to the room on her right. It was a lovely spacious room that she would take time to admire later. Right now her only interest was the large inviting looking bed. Without much thought she dropped her backpack by the door and flopped face first onto the bed.
She was out in less than a minute.
Natsume's blood was in a fine boil. Talking with Persona and arguing with Mikan had put him in a foul mood. Not to mention that he was extremely sexually frustrated. If his bastard uncle had not interrupted that kiss, he would probably be having the most exquisite sexual experience of his life right now.
He was frustrated enough that he decided not have a shower right after he stormed away from Mikan. Instead, he changed into a tee-shirt and sweats and bullied Luka to accompany him to the dojo where they spent a good hour thumping on each other until his brother told him he'd had enough of being his punching bag. After that, he went to the adjacent gym and worked out like a man possessed. He would much rather have gone flying, but his grandfather the dragon king would surely spot him either coming or going. He continued to work out until he had pretty much purged the lust from his system before finally returning to shower. He was still mad, but at least he wasn't acting like a hormonal teenager anymore.
The young red headed to his room still wearing his sweaty workout clothes with every intention of a shower. He entered the room blindly because his top was halfway through the process of being pulled over his head. His bare feet padded silently across the floor towards his private bathroom. He relied on memory to maneuver about until his head was pulled free of the shirt which he carelessly tossed into the laundry. He was pulling the drawstring on his pants when he spotted the figure lying in his bed.
At first, he thought it was one of the clan concubines and he was about to tell her to get lost when Mikan's unique scent hit him like a sucker punch in the gut and killed the efforts of the last few hours in seconds.
She was stretched out; face down, on top of the covers, wearing what appeared to be one of those weird sleep sets that women wear that are designed to look like men's undershirts and boxers, but come in girly colors or patterns. Not that he cared about pink and blue plaid boxers, but rather how well those boxers clung to her bottom and were topped with a rather deliciously snug pink top.
The growing shadows of the evening stretched across her long, lightly tanned limbs and he wanted nothing more than to run his hands and mouth up and down them. Her top had ridden up her ribcage a bit giving him a peek at a blue-green dragon stain that ran down her spine and disappeared underneath the waistband of her boxers.
Rather predictably, her presence gripped a hold of his senses and his body reacted like a compass pointing to her north.
His brain was getting more lust-fogged by the millisecond, but it managed to register a few questions. Why is she here? Did she change her mind? Truthfully he didn't really care about the answers, he was just glad that she was there. For a while he was convinced he was going to have to go to bed alone, and he had no idea how he was going to do that knowing she was just across the hall. This was so much better. If he could just get her to where they were before, he had no doubt that they would be having the hot, steamy, sex that he talked about earlier.
In the hours that he had been working out, he had been trying to think of what went wrong before, so he could avoid it when the next opportunity came. Of course, he never would have guessed that opportunity would come so soon, but there was no way he would complain. The problem wasn't just his uncle. Sure, he interrupted them, but if she were another girl, she would not have minded picking up where they had been interrupted. He knew she was just as turned on as he was when they were kissing, he could feel it in her. But then his uncle showed up and she just somehow blocked it or shut it off like wasn't there anymore.
The problem, the red deduced quite simply, was her brain. That annoying blob of useless grey matter between her ears was more trouble than it was worth. If she had the chance to start thinking –which she was obviously not good at- she would probably come up with a whole bunch of stupid reasons why letting him bed her was a bad idea. Then she would go on blathering about how much she didn't want it –which he was certain she did- therefore letting her think too much would be a big problem.
But how to approach her in a way that didn't let her think too much, but also didn't look like he was forcing her? More than anything, he didn't want her to think he was a male overcome with dragon lust or worse, just like his grandfather. He definitely did not want to give her a reason to hate him. A kiss worked the last time. He thought to himself. She might not like being woken up with a kiss, but if he could just get her past that 'thinking too much' stage, he could have her naked and under him in minutes.
His sweat pants made barely a whisper of sound as they slid down his legs leaving him in nothing but a pair of briefs. It was probably another overly bold and aggressive move of his to approach her in only his underwear, but it also never hurt to be prepared. Besides, one less obstacle meant one less opportunity for her to do that horrible thinking thing she was so bad at. Okay, so maybe he was hoping she would be enticed by the sight of his body as well.
Natsume stealthily placed one knee and then the other on the foot of the bed, waiting a moment to see if the jostling awoke his prey. Once he confirmed that all he could hear was her deep level breathing, he crawled ever so carefully up the bed until he was almost level with her. When he was sure that she was still asleep he came to the conclusion that either she was extremely tired, or she was a heavy sleeper. Either one worked in his favor.
Feeling far more confident now, he stretched out alongside of her and propped himself up on one elbow to look at her. What is it about her? He wondered to himself not for the first time. He had never been so eager for a woman in his life, so what was so special about her? It was a question he was definitely going to have to find an answer for. Later though, for now he was enjoying himself immensely.
Her long brown hair was fanned out messily around her head and he was tempted as hell to push it away from her face, but he figured that would surely wake her so he kept away from the soft strands for now. Since she was facedown he had to be content with ogling the slight arch of her back with its dragon stain peeking out, her long smooth arms and legs, and the swell of her well shaped butt. Obviously her bottom was risky territory, but damn him if he didn't want to give it a good squeeze. Perhaps the legs?
Gently, with a touch as light as a butterfly wing, he reached out and ran his fingertips along one thigh, bracing himself against its effects on him. The surge of lust washed over him as he watched for any clue of a response from her. Mikan let out a long sighing sound and shifted her limbs languidly. Once she was done moving, he moved in for another caress, moving up higher and closer to what he really wanted to touch. This time her movement was more sensual and less sleepy and it was accompanied with a little moan.
Oh she was so going to be his tonight.
Feeling bold (and a little desperate to hurry up) he moved his hand to cup one plaid covered cheek and got the best response yet when her movement moved into his hand instead of away along with another moan. The action rolled her a little on to her side so that an entirely different swell was exposed in sharp profile against her tight fitting top. That sent his already strained hormones to the breaking point. He reluctantly gave her bottom a gentle squeeze then let go so he could move her hair away and nuzzle her neck.
And that was when everything turned to crap.
Mikan awoke with a startled gasp, registered someone was above her and instinctively rolled away from them with a startled yelp. It was a rather fluid and impressive move that ended up with her landing on the floor with a hard thump. As soon as she reached the floor though, she did not stop; instead, she scrambled across the floor in a crab-like fashion until her back was against the nearest wall. Only then did she stop to get her bearings and see who it was in the room with her.
"What? Where? Who?" she asked in slow succession as she looked around the room sleepy-eyed.
Natsume watched her more annoyed than amused. In any other situation this would seem quite funny, but right now it was interrupting his seduction. Finally, she focused on him and he watched the expression on her face change as a few of her sleepy brain cells kicked into gear.
"You? What the hell are you doing here? Get out!" she ordered.
Natsume gave her a bland look while trying to figure out a way to salvage his chances of having sex tonight. "This is my room. The more important question is what are you doing here? Were you planning on taking advantage of me while I was asleep?"
"What? But your sister said it was the room to the right of the bathroom. And get over yourself!" she said, answering both questions.
"This is would be the room on the left, and wouldn't it be better if I was over you?" he asked with blatant innuendo while moving off the bed towards her. She immediately started to slide along the wall away from him.
"What? How is that…? I was in the bathroom… and then… you stay right where you are!" She told him, her arm extended and pointing accusingly at him. At the same time she kept moving away from him, trying to keep some distance between them.
"Are you sure you want me to?" He asked, still moving slowly towards her. He didn't want to crowd or spook her, so he didn't use his dragon speed to corner her.
"Yes, now stay back." She told him in a shaky unstable voice.
"You keep saying that and yet every time I have my hands on you, I can tell you like it. A lot." He added casually with just a hint of smugness. He continued to slowly stalk her about the room, but very quickly she managed to get herself cornered.
She looked around and realized that she had nowhere to escape to and he saw something change in her eyes. "Alright, fine, I give up, you caught me. I admit it. You are attractive. The personality is a major turn off, but I can't deny that you are something to look at. So what now, am I supposed to flop onto my back with my legs in the air thanking my lucky stars?" she asked in a tone that was dripping with acidic sarcasm. No part of what she said was supposed to be an invitation, but he deliberately ignored the tone and answered as if it was.
He gave her a thoughtful look then nodded "I'm okay with that." He told her bluntly, and started moving close to her again.
She shot him a dirty look that that was both disgusted and disappointed. "Just because you have an itch and I happen to be close enough to scratch doesn't automatically mean you get relief. Now either back off and let me out of here or so help me I'll call the ocean to pull you out of my way and dump your useless arse in Antarctica."
Well that pretty much sealed his chances for tonight but he still wasn't through with her. "Why are you fighting what is clearly between us? You are a dragon. Are sea dragons so different from their flying cousins that they can just ignore their sensual nature?" He watched as her expressive eyes widened in surprise and he felt the odd mix of feelings inside of her. Her lust was there alright. It was an undeniable truth that she wanted him, but with it were other sensations that he couldn't pick out as clearly. Lust, pride, determination, fear, and a few others were like a boiling churning mass just below the surface. For the first time since meeting her, he acknowledged that there was no way he was going to get anywhere with her without putting forth some effort to remove a few obstacles. Having never had to work to get a woman before, the idea annoyed him. Still, he backed away enough to let her pass him.
Mikan slipped past him quickly and snatched up her backpack as she left the room. He was about to leave her with some kind of pithy, comment when he noticed that she did not enter the room across the hall. Instead, she went straight down the hall to the other wing of the house.
"Whoa, wait, just where do you think you are going to now?" he asked while chasing after her.
"There is no way I am sleeping across the hall from you." She hissed back.
"Don't you trust me?"
"Not a bit."
Ouch that hurt. "Look I'm not so depraved that I have to attack someone in their sleep."
"So says the guy who was molesting me in my sleep."
Well, maybe she had a point with that one. "I was just about to wake you up."
"Uh huh." She answered in a dubious tone and strode away from him. "Now where was that door?" she muttered to herself, and moved to open the door closest to her.
"No wait! Not that…" too late, she opened the door and they were both treated to the rather shocking view of his brother wearing only a pair of pants while holding his sister with his hands under her butt. His sister, in turn had her arms and legs wrapped tightly around Luka's neck and waist. The pair was in a deep and hungry kiss, and it took a moment for them to realize they were not alone.
Mikan made a strangled yelping sound and her eyes looked ready to pop from her head. "S-s-sorry. P-p-p-pl-please continue." She told them in the same strangled tone before shutting the door on them. "I thought they were your brother and sister!" she hissed at him while storming away from the door.
"They are my brother and sister." He told her in an irritated tone. "Luka and I have the same father. Aoi and I have the same mother. Aoi's father is my step father and raised me as his son." He gave a cold shudder. "Ugh, you know I could have lived a long and happy life having never seen that." Natsume hissed at her. He wasn't a fool, he was fairly sure the pair was already intimate, but that didn't mean he wanted to see it firsthand. Watching your brother and sister trying to eat each other's faces off was a bit mentally scarring.
"You're blaming me?"
Who else would he blame? He wasn't the idiot who just barged into a room without knocking. He was about to tell her that when the door opened again and Luka came out. "Natsume? Is everything okay?" Luka asked, his brother's face was an alarming shade of red.
Natsume waived his hand in a placating gesture but didn't want to look him in the eye. "Everything is fine Luka. Go back to Aoi; I know the two of you don't get to find that much time together."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. Now go."
"Alright, but Natsume?"
"Yeah?"
Luka threw a button down shirt at him "For fire and air's sake put something on! You are going to give the house staff a heart attack walking about like that." He said he said with a grin, reminding Natsume that he was in nothing but his underwear and that said underwear was barely restraining a throbbing erection.
"Right, thanks." He said and quickly donned the shirt before he chased after Mikan.
He caught up to her and found her timidly knocking Hotaru Imai's door. Oh Gods of fire and air don't go barging in that door he thought to himself, and then he realized he was worrying for nothing. Imai rarely answered her door and she normally kept it magically sealed so she could work in privacy. Mikan looked over her shoulder and spotted him following her. In an impulsive attempt to get away from him, she reached for the door knob and miraculously opened the door.
This time it was Natsume who made the strangled sound as he tried his best not to laugh his ass off.
There stood Hotaru Imai in all her glory wearing a black lingerie with a leather corset and thigh high fetish boots no less. In one hand she held a rider's crop and in the other hand she held a silver chain that was attached to a studded collar. Her mate, Hayate was on all fours like a dog wearing a black g-string, along with the collar, and nothing else.
Wow. He knew the inventor was big on making people suffer, but he never would have guessed she was in to something like this.
Hotaru gave them both a cold look. "That door is supposed to be sealed." She said blandly.
Since Mikan was standing there frozen in shock, he grabbed the door knob from her "Sorry to intrude, carry on as you were." He told them with a smug look on his face as he closed the door. Oh he was going to love using that in his next negotiation with her.
Mikan was still frozen staring at the door. "Come on, we better get you out of here. The next door you open may blind us both." After what he had seen tonight, he was almost surprised he wasn't blind already.
Natsume quietly escorted her back to his room and sat her on the bed. She went along with him walking in a daze until she made contact with the bed. "What did you bring me back here for? I am not sleeping anywhere near you!" she told him firmly.
"After all of the trouble you caused today, I'm not letting you out of my sight." The woman was a menace. Besides, why should he be the only one who has trouble sleeping tonight?
She tried to get up, but he just grabbed her and pulled her back down. She started to thrash and yell so he covered her mouth with one hand and held her wrists above her head with the other. "Look if I promise not to remove any your clothing or my clothing and just sleep, will you calm down?" he asked her and she gave him a skeptical look.
After a few minutes, he removed his hand and she remained quiet. He was beginning to wonder if the feelings and sensations he could pick up from her worked both ways because somehow she could tell he meant what he promised.
"Just stick to your side of the bed okay? I like my space when I sleep." She grumbled, and then she saw him take off the shirt he was wearing. "Hey, you said you were going to keep your clothes on!"
"No I said I wouldn't take my clothes off. That shirt belongs to Luka not me."
She scrunched up her face at him and muttered "Jerk." before lying down, facing away from him.
He in turn, slid into bed and pulled her against him so he was spooning tightly against her. She made a protesting sound, but she was clearly too tired to argue with him over it. Come to think of it, now that he was lying down, the events of the last forty-eight hours caught up to him rather quickly and they were both out in less than fifteen minutes.
tbc
AN: You know Natsume never did get that shower. He is going to smell mighty nasty in the morning.
I apologize to anyone who was offended or upset by this chapter. It was definitely more risqué than any of the others. Especially the Hotaru part. I admit I have been dying to make Hotaru into a dominatrix for ages. She just seems to enjoy making Mikan and Luka suffer so much, I wanted to take her sadist tendencies to the next level. And what better masochist to partner her up with than Hayate? I had far too much fun writing it.
So for those of you who might have missed how Mikan ended up in the wrong room allow me to clear it up. Aoi said the guest room is on the right of the bathroom, but when you are in the bathroom looking out it would be on the left. Mikan's tired mind had right on the brain and went to the right, which is actually the room on the left. See? Easy mistake, I do stuff like that all the time.
Thanks again for reading! ^^