Ember

"Well, I like being slightly poisoned," I told her. "We'll get you virgin drinks." She enjoyed those, and dancing with her was... well, something out of fantasy.

She was, as she had said, extremely athletic, she caught on to steps like she'd been dancing all her life and she smelled and felt delicious in my arms. She was swarmed with guys, and even a couple of women, who asked her to dance. She was taken aback by the first guy who asked her.

"What?" She seemed like she took it as an insult. "No, of course not. I dance only with Rawlins."

The dude went away crushed. "You okay?" I asked.

"How dare he?" she asked. "I am The Dragon. I choose my companions."

"Ease up, dragon," I smiled at her. "He wasn't trying to insult you. It's complimentary. You are the most gorgeous thing anyone here tonight has ever seen. They just want to get close to you, hoping something will rub off on them. I don't mind if you dance with them, but if you don't want to, just tell them no, okay?"

"Yes. I was surprised. I apologize for being rude. I wish to dance only with you, though."

I didn't mind that a bit, and she let the rest of the horde down gently. She told me she was ready to "return to the lair," and we walked out with me chuckling inside.

Ember had her own suite on the second floor, and I heard her shower running as I made breakfast for us the next morning. She was back to the usual appearance, and she kissed me good morning.

"Rawlins, I must go away for a while today," she said.

"Okay, is there something I can help you with?" I asked.

"No, I must travel to my old lair," she said. "There are items I must retrieve because I need them here."

"I see. Do you mind me asking where your old lair is?"

"No, I don't mind," she said.

I waited, but she just kept eating. I laughed. "Okay, where is it?"

"It is in the place humans call Chile," she said. "They have named it Ojos del Salado. Rawlins knows of it?"

"I know about Chile, but not the 'tears of the salty,' I said. "Sounds like the ocean."

"No, it is a mountain," she said. "We dragons tend to live in high places, remote from humans."

"Sounds like this 'going away' is going to take a while," I said. "How long will it take you to fly there?"

She chuckled. "It would take long to fly. I mentioned that I am able to move out of time and space, right?"

"Yes, but I really didn't understand that," I said.

"I can move in the spaces between. I do not really know how to explain it. I will fly to a great height, then move between. No time will elapse except for the climb and descent once I get to Ojos del Salado. I will be back before dark."

"I see. Well, I guess I can just say be safe out there."

"Yes, I will." She shot me a brilliant smile. "Rawlins, are you able to supply transport from some remote area near here?"

"I can pick you up anywhere," I said.

"No, I mean are you able to transport bulky items?"

"How bulky?" I asked.

"What measurements do you use?" she asked.

"Well, pounds? Tons?"

"Yes." She thought for a minute. "Our current lair does not have room for everything, so I estimate a ton."

"Good God, Ember. No, I can't transport a ton. Hey, I can borrow the neighbor's trailer, though. How's that?"

"Perfect," she said.

We arranged a time and place to meet and she said she was ready to go. We walked down to the park and found an isolated place. She began to shimmer in those waves and I expected to see the dragon. Instead, what I saw was nothing.

"Umm... Ember?"

I heard her laugh in my head. "I am undetectable," she said. "You should walk away. I am going to take off and the wind might be... too much."

I walked away a hundred feet or so, and I heard the sound and saw the wind effects.

"I will return to this place anon, and call to you. Oh, bring a tarp, please," she said in my mind.

"Yes, until anon," I thought back at her, chuckling to myself. Knowing a dragon was turning into quite the experience.

I went home and arranged to borrow the trailer, mowed the lawn, weeded the flowerbeds, had a beer and was watching a basketball game when I became aware that she was calling me. I went next door and hooked up the trailer.

When I got there, I saw her standing near a skateboarding place, and she waved excitedly at me. I parked and she led me back into a little forested area. There was a huge bag there, looking like it was made out of some thick canvas, and she told me we needed to load it onto the trailer.

I realized I was woefully unprepared. "Ember, we can't move this bag. I would need a machine, a fork-lift or something."

"I shall move it," she said.

"How?"

"I am a dragon," she said.

I laughed. "Yes, I know. THE dragon."

"I am."

She grabbed the bag and started dragging it toward the trailer. "Do you want me to help?" I asked. "Jesus, Ember, how strong are you?"

"I do not require assistance," she said. "It is heavy, but not beyond my ability. Rawlins need not help."

She dragged it onto the trailer and we drove back to the house. She had me back the trailer inside the garage, and we got out.

She stood there for a minute, apparently thinking. "Where shall we put this?" she finally asked."

There's a room in the basement I just put things in I'm not using right now," I said. "Remember, I showed it to you."

She flashed me a smile. "That will be perfect," she said.

There was a stairway leading down in the garage and she dragged the back down and into the room.

"What's in there," I asked.

"Treasures," she said. "A portion of my hoard. We spent a great deal getting my things. Rawlins may replenish his hoard from it. The clutch may have need of money for things they need. It is my responsibility to provide for them. Come and see."

She untied the rope holding the top of the bag, and I peered inside. "Oh, my fucking God," I exclaimed. She smiled.

"You approve?"

"Yes... What... I mean... Jesus, Ember. Where did you get all this?"

"I have been collecting it for ages," she said. "It is not enough?"

"Enough? I imagine some of these things are priceless! I mean, just the sheer weight in precious metals and gems would be staggering."

I could hardly believe the sight that met my eyes. It was staggering, and I couldn't get my mind around it.

"Would you like to take things from it?" she asked. "Rawlins should be repaid for the wealth he used when we went shopping."

I laughed. "No, that was a gift to you, Ember. I don't want to be 'repaid.'"

The look she gave me nearly melted me. She came to me and embraced me. "Thank you for my gift," she said. "Should you need more wealth, I share freely with you. If the clutch is in need, we will supply treasure to them."

"You're very generous, Ember."

She laughed. "You would not have thought so when I was a hatchling and building my hoard. I was very greedy. I still am about some things. What shall we do today, Rawlins?"

"What would you like to do?" I asked.

"Hmm..." she thought for a minute. "Can you teach me about modern things? Cell phones, computers, how to work the... television?"

I chuckled. "Okay then. Move Ember into the 21st century. We can do that."

We started with my phone, and her intelligence and memory were astounding. If I showed her something once, she could duplicate it perfectly. There were going to be gaps in what she knew that only experience could fill in, but she had the basics.

She was fascinated with the internet, and she scrolled through pages at lightning speed. I left her sitting with my laptop and cooked dinner. She came in after a bit and helped me. I noticed that she was standing very close to me, tossing a salad as I was making spaghetti. She bumped her hip against me, we were shoulder to shoulder and she felt... warm, like she was radiating heat. Mysterious dragon heat, I thought.

I looked at her and she smiled at me, white teeth flashing, her dusky complexion a contrast. She took my breath away and I suspected that would never change. "What?" she asked.

"Nothing, I was just thinking how gorgeous you are," I said.

Her eyes dropped and a peachy blush stole over her features. "Thank you," she whispered. I couldn't believe she was actually shy at being complimented. It just made her more charming.

We decided to watch a movie. I made popcorn and poured wine while she went away and showered. When she came back, I noticed that she was normal... human. The shimmering scaled look was gone and she was all brown smoothness. She had on a long t-shirt with a cartoon character on it, a mile of gorgeous legs showing underneath. She scrolled through what we could stream and picked a movie. It was forgettable, some star-crossed lovers, but she sat completely enthralled. I guess it was her first movie.

She curled her legs up under her in a way that would have left me paralyzed and snuggled up against me. I put my arm around her and gave her a squeeze. That got me a glance and a smile, and she wiggled a little closer.

She liked popcorn and devoured most of it, and declared the wine a superior vintage. When the movie ended, she never moved and we talked until three in the morning. She wanted to know all about my life, and she told me about hers. I don't know if she felt my life was as strange, dramatic and interesting as I thought hers was, but she hung on every word I said.

Our replies came further and further between, and we both fell asleep. I came to an awareness of sorts. It was still dark; I was lying on the sofa with Ember in my arms. There was a blanket over us, and I assumed she had pulled one off the back of the sofa where I always had a couple and pulled it over us.

She was my little spoon, and I could feel the warmth of her against me. One curl had fallen over her face and it moved with her breathing. I tucked it behind her little pointed ear and she stirred in her sleep, gave a little sigh of contentment and wiggled closer to me, if that was possible. Her profile nearly brought me to tears as I thought about her, almost drowsing. What an amazing creature she was: the last of her kind, beautiful and alone in the universe, yet here she was and she was becoming precious to me. Experiencing Ember was unique. She had an innocence about her, along with the maturity and wisdom of ages spent living. I was determined to keep her in my life, I discovered.

I drifted off and the next time I was conscious, the sun was beginning to rise and I couldn't feel my left arm. Ember's head rested on it and I needed to move. I tried to extract it without waking her, but her eyes opened as I was moving away.

"No, stay," she whispered.

"My arm is dead," I whispered back. "I have an idea."

"What?" she asked.

I got up, and kneeling beside her, I slid my arms under here and picked her up, carrying her like a baby. She was heavy! I managed it, and carried her into my bedroom, laying her down and pulling the covers over her. I climbed in, and she snuggled back into her position. I put my arm under her pillow and she murmured, "Rawlins has wonderful ideas."

I chuckled and she giggled. We slept again, and it was noon before either of us stirred. I was lying on my back when I woke, and her head was on my chest, heavy waves of her hair covered us like a curtain and she had one arm and leg over me.

She must have sensed that I was awake, because her head tilted back so that she could look up at me. Her eyes were a light grey, spectacular, sleepy, and they gazed at me with what looked like love. I thought about what those eyes had seen, thousands of years of history, yet here she was, in my bed.

"Good morning, beautiful," I whispered, wrapping my arms around her.

She smiled, showing she had an adorable little dimple. I knew I adored her, anyway. "Good morning, Rawlins, although I sense it is no longer morning."

I chuckled. "No, I suspect it isn't. Do you have plans for today?"

"I do," she said. "I intend to remain here."

"Right here? In this bed?"

"Yes. I am far too comfortable and content to ever move again." She wiggled, finding her most comfortable spot. "I belong here, Rawlins. May I?"

"May you what?" I was confused.

"Stay here," she said.

"Well, I am going to need to get up and pee in a minute," I said. "I was also starting to think about something to eat and drink."

She frowned. "And then we come back here?"

I laughed. "Yes, if that's what you want, that's what we'll do."

I extracted myself from her and went to the bathroom. I showered and wandered off to the kitchen. I scrambled eggs and made bacon, and I hear the shower running. I got a tray, made toast and carried it into the bedroom. She was there, wearing my robe, fluffing all that hair with a towel.

"Breakfast in bed," I told her.

"Oohh! Yes, that will be perfect," she said.

She climbed back in bed and I handed her the tray while I started to get in. Then I remembered. "Be right back," I told her. I went and got orange juice.

She was eating when I got back. "Hey, piggy," I said. "You started without me."

She laughed. "It smelled so good, and I didn't realize how hungry I was."

We devoured the breakfast and I carried the tray back to the kitchen. When I got back, she patted the bed beside her and I got in. She rolled me onto my back and took up her position half lying on me. Something was on the edge of my mind, and as I held her, it came to me. I was holding a naked Ember!

I reached down and tilted her chin up with one finger. Those grey eyes had flecks of green in them when she raised them to meet mine.

"Ember..." I was nearly unable to speak. "You're... what..."

"Do you find me desirable, Rawlins?" she said, her words barely audible.

"God, yes. You're a complete smoke show, but... What are you thinking?"

"I love you," she said. "I know you, feel you with my heart. I want you to be mine, for me to be yours. Can we?"

"You told me you had never... mated in your human form. Can you?"

"I have all the necessary... things," she said.

"Can you have children?" I asked.

"It has happened," she said. "Not to me, but others."

"Are they human, or dragon?" I asked.

"A bit of both, I believe," she said. "They would be unable to fully assume dragon form or the third option, but they would be a drake, if male, and a wyvern, if female."

"I had no idea," I said.

She giggled, which made... things happen.

I wrapped her in my arms, moving my hands up and down her muscular back, feeling the softness, silky smooth and exciting. I let my hands roam, and she moved fully on top of me as my hands settled on that spectacular ass. She flexed it and giggled again as I caressed, kneaded, sinking my fingers into the roundness of that pliable flesh. I needed to see her, but she was kissing me, hands on my head, fingers tangled in my hair.

That kiss was incandescent, melting me as her little squirmy tongue probed. My head was swimming at the thought of what we were doing, and I stroked all her body I could reach. She broke the kiss, pushing up off me a little so she could look in my eyes.

"Ember, I need to see you, look at you," I said. "God, you're so beautiful." I rolled, taking her with me, moving on top of her and pushing up on my hands.

I took in the sight, and I had never seen anything so visually stunning. Every inch of her was perfection, beauty, wildly feminine and enchanting. She was a painters dream in cream and brown.

Her breasts... God, those incredible breasts. They stood proudly, high and with a firmness that only some surgery could perform on women over 30, but it was completely natural for her. I had to tase them.

I kissed her, her hot juicy lips, little squirmy tongue dueling with mine, and although she seemed a little... inexperienced, she quickly mastered that little game. I could have kissed those puffy lips forever, but I wanted more of her.

My lips moved over her cheek to the delicate little pointed ear, teasing her, finding that little sensitive spot behind her earlobe, moving down, finding another little spot at the hollow of her collar bone. She made little gasping sounds, little squeaks when I found one of those spots, and her entire body was doing a slow writhe beneath me.

Down, nibbling across her upper chest, I felt the swelling of her breast. I bathed it with my tongue, all around that plush mountain, feeling the little peak formed by her areola, avoiding the puffy nipple for the moment. Her areola were a milk chocolate shade, the nipples a shade darker, and I moved to the other breast, lavishing it with my attention.

She squirmed, trying to get me to take the nipple, but I continued to avoid it. She made a little frustrated sound and her hands seized my head, holding it in place as she moved to feed me one fat little nipple. She groaned and shuddered as I sucked it in.

"Oh, my God, Rawlins. Something... what you are doing..." She shook and made a husky, hoarse little scream, thrusting herself against my thigh between her legs. I realized that she was having an orgasm, and I switched to that other little brown nub. I wondered if she'd ever experienced one before.

She'd mentioned never "mating" as a human before. I was completely ignorant of the mating rituals of dragons, but I was familiar with human sex, and I was going to make this special for Ember, or die trying.

When she came down from her climax, I stoked the fires again, working my way down over her muscular abs, descending, sticking my tongue into the declivity of her cute little navel, making her gasp and giggle. She was completely smooth, not a trace of body hair, and I wondered if that was natural.

As I neared the V between her legs, I could smell her arousal, clean, excited woman with a hint of muskiness, heady and intoxicating. I lay between her wide-spread thighs and there it was, the most perfect sight I'd ever seen. Her lips were dusky, the same milk chocolate as her nipples, forming a perfectly sealed line up to the little brown nub above, becoming more pink on the inside.

I started at her feet. She had very small feet for her height, and the cutest little toes with a toe-ring on one. I kissed each of them, nibbled, and found a sensitive spot in the little hollow between her Achilles tendon and her ankle bone. There was another behind her knee, as I moved my way up. Her inner thighs were another, and I marveled at the shape of her legs, muscular thighs and calves, but perfection. God, she had beautiful legs. I reached the juncture, and she jolted as I gave her pussy a swipe with my tongue.

She raised her head and looked at me, green fire in her eyes. "Rawlins... that... are you sure?"

I didn't answer, parting her sealed lips with my tongue and plunging into her molten core. She was slippery inside, her juices flowing, and I devoured her like the candy she was. She was moving so much I slipped my hands under her ass, holding her in place, working on that sweet pussy with my lips, my tongue.

She was moaning continuously, the sound of her passion driving me. I took her button between my lips, pulling on it, feeling it grow firm, and she exploded, crying words I couldn't understand, pumping her hips, tossing her head from side to side, all that hair flying.

She began to come down and I slipped a finger in, curling it up, searching for that nerve bundle inside. I knew when I found it, because she reacted like she'd been shocked. Her legs began to tremble, she bridged up and that little hoarse scream sounded as she gave tongue to her extasy. I kept her coming as long as I could, using everything I'd learned in my life, everything I'd heard, seen or read to give my lover something she would never forget.

As her climax passed, her movements became more about escape than about seeking. "Please, Rawlins... I can't... Please..." She pulled at my hair, twisting her hips to escape my mouth.