Her Dragon's Fire (10 page)

Aidan carefully sat Grace on the bed and dried her hair, then wrapped the towel around her, securing it in the front. “I’m going to find you something warm to wear. You sit right here.”

She nodded. He remembered the big flannel shirt Lance called his “Paul Bunyan Special” hanging in the closet, and knew it was warm and big enough to cover her three times over, but the best part was that he wouldn’t have to search for it. He ran to the closet, stripping out of his wet clothes on the way. He grabbed the flannel, flinging the hanger against the wall and was back in a matter of seconds, wearing only a pair of grey sweatpants. Grace hadn’t moved at all. He put first one arm and then the other into the sleeves of his shirt and buttoned the buttons. Then he lifted her so that she stood in front of him while he grabbed the bottom of the wet towel and slid it out from under his shirt, dropping it next to the bed. He pulled the covers back and once again sat Grace on the side of the bed.

Kneeling in front of her, he was again amazed at her beauty, even in her present condition. No matter that her hair was mussed from the towel drying or that bruises, cuts and scrapes abraded her tender skin, he couldn’t stop staring. He knew she was processing all that had happened, but little by little, the spark that was purely Grace was returning to her eyes. His mate was a fighter, she had spirit, and she would survive this ordeal, stronger than before. He felt it deep in his soul. Grabbing Kyndel’s ointment, he unscrewed the lid, scooped out a handful and rubbed his hands together, warming the ointment, preparing it for Grace’s skin.

He carefully covered both knees and the stray abrasions covering her legs with a thin layer of the ointment, then rubbed a thin layer over the palms of her hands. Next, he reached for her face and as gently as possible, with just his fingertips, spread the ointment across her injured cheek. She closed her eyes and leaned into his touch. When he was sure he had gotten every single mark, he grabbed a cloth and wiped his hands clean. Grace opened her eyes and stared into his. The weight of her stare hit him square in the center of his chest. A warmth like no other spread slowly, but the longer they held their gaze, the faster it spread. He knew if he didn’t look away soon, the wildfire gaining momentum would overtake and annihilate all his good intentions. He blinked, effectively breaking the spell, and stood to help her into bed. Grace grabbed both his hands and pulled him down to look into his eyes again, “Please stay with me. I don’t think I can be alone tonight.”

He looked at the one the Universe had made just for him, and the shadows in her eyes broke his heart. But as he continued to stare, he saw more than hurt and fear; if he was not mistaken, he also saw the spark of something else, something he was almost afraid to hope for. He didn’t know who he was trying to fool; he would deny his mate nothing, in this life or the next. He smiled and nodded. Lifting Grace, he gently laid her in the middle of the bed, turned off the bedside lamp, and crawled into the bed next to her. She had turned on her side facing him, so he did the same. They lay face to face. Slowly she moved closer, until he could feel her breath against his cheek. “Would you mind holding me, just until I get to sleep?” she whispered so softly, he wouldn’t have heard her without his enhanced hearing.

He couldn’t speak past the lump in his throat, so he opened his arms and let her cuddle closer. When she stopped moving and breathed a sigh of relief against his chest, he closed his arms around her, careful of her wounds. He stared at the ceiling, thanking the Universe that he had gotten to her in time and that she was safe in his arms. He laid his cheek on the top of her head and just enjoyed the feel of Grace in his arms.

CHAPTER FOUR

Aidan spent the first several hours of the night holding his mate as she slept and conversing with his brethren through mind speak as they disposed of the bodies in the garage. The men that had attacked Grace were humans, definitely not hunters, and not wizards themselves, but apparently working with the bastards from the traces of black magic on the duffle bag they had stashed before going after his mate. Royce found a large file with information concerning an ongoing abduction case, along with masks, rope, duct tape, hunting knifes, another gun, and a key that they finally figured out operated an elevator at the back of the prosecutor’s office; all dirty with the stench of wizards’ magic.

Lance found both security guards unconscious and tied up in a small storage room under the stairs, incredibly embarrassed that someone had gotten the jump on them. After a lot of fast talking, his brethren assured the guards that nothing had happened in the building and the men in question had been sent packing. Well, dead and sent packing were kind of the same thing. While Lance was finishing up with the guards, Royce had scented the office the file belonged in and returned it, hoping no one would know it had been taken.

They gathered up Grace’s dropped belongings, removed any traces of a fight, and headed back to the apartment. Lance bitched nonstop about leaving his bike in Grace’s parking spot. Aidan couldn’t stand it anymore so he cut their connection. A little while later, he heard him park the car, and not long after, heard Royce securing his bike in the backyard. He had told Lance to leave Grace’s keys in the huge terracotta flower pot next to the back door. He waited another fifteen or twenty minutes, until the sound of their footsteps had all but faded, before he returned to the puzzle of Grace’s attack. From all his brethren had gathered, he was ninety percent sure she had not been the target, only a victim of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Not that that made Aidan any less furious, but it was a small consolation, and now he had somewhere to point all his pent up rage. He decided to contact Max again to see if his spies had information about the connection between the wizards and the prosecutor’s office.

Grace had not moved a muscle during his conversations with the others of his Force, her breathing deep and even. She had already been tired from her crazy work schedule, and that along with the adrenalin crash, left her completely exhausted. He was glad she was resting and incredibly happy to just hold her in his arms. Willing all thoughts of criminals, hunters, and wizards from his head, he relaxed, thinking of the amazing woman in his arms. She had to be the strongest, sexiest, most amazing, intelligent, and beautiful woman in the world, and she was all his. He breathed deeply, drawing her scent deep inside. He never wanted to be apart from her again. He was willing to do whatever it took to make that happen. He turned a little more on his side, wrapped his arms more securely around her, and stared over her head out the window. Completely lost in his thoughts, he almost missed Grace’s tiny whimper. He began rubbing little circles over her back, trying to calm her, but instead, she started squirming and mumbling in her sleep. He leaned back, looking at her face drawn in fear, her eyes scrunched tight; her restful sleep had changed into a full blown nightmare. He pulled her back into his arms and cooed comforting words, hoping she would calm. No matter what he tried, her struggles escalated, turning into thrashing, and before he could get them into a sitting position, she was screaming, “No!... No!... Stop!...Please stop…”

Aidan pulled her into his lap and placed his hands on either side of her face, “Grace, baby, open your eyes!” he practically yelled into her face, trying to get her attention over her terror. She continued to scream, with tears running down her face. She punched at his chest and shoulders, fighting for all she was worth.

He put his nose right against hers, applied just a light bit of pressure to her face, using the same tone of authority he used when instructing new Dragon Guard recruits, “Grace,
mo ghra’
, wake up, come back to me.”

His own panic rose as he continued to attempt to break the spell the nightmare had over her. Finally, completely frustrated, he pulled her face the last few inches to his and slammed his mouth onto hers, pouring everything he was into that kiss; all of his fear, anger, and pain, combined with all the love he already felt and the incredible pride that swelled within him that she was his. She continued to pound away at him as he kissed her with a single-minded determination, hoping to make her wake from the terrible nightmare that was tearing her apart from the inside out. Her thrashing slowed. He felt her lips relax and she started kissing him back, still sobbing and shaking. Aidan started to pull away but Grace shoved her hands into his hair, and with a strength he didn’t know she possessed, secured her mouth tighter to his, deepening the kiss. He let her guide their passion as she ate at his lips and thrust her tongue into his mouth, drawing his essence into her being.

He knew she had come awake during their kiss, not knowing what was happening, but completely lost as she continued to make love to his mouth. The moisture still coursed down her cheeks and he wondered if she had any idea how lost to the nightmare she had truly been. His conscience knew that he should stop their kiss, but it felt too good and too right to him and his dragon. She had been attacked just a few hours earlier. They both needed the closeness to restore some semblance of sanity and security. He could not get enough of her. She made him feel more alive than he ever dreamed possible. Her complete trust in him after having suffered such a trauma, turned him inside out and made his blood catch fire. He needed this woman more than his next breath. Nothing had ever felt as right as this woman in his arms, right now. She shifted her legs, straddling his lap, never losing contact with his lips. A feeling that their kiss was the only thing keeping her from shattering into a million pieces floated through his consciousness. He knew immediately it had come from her, and who was he to deny his mate what she so desperately needed?

He ran his fingers through her hair, gripped her silky strands lightly, and took control of the kiss that was turning his blood to molten lava. He had let her have her way, let her lead them to where they were now, but he and his dragon could stand it no longer. He plundered her mouth, thrusting his tongue in and out, mimicking what his extremely hard cock wept to do to her pussy. He tilted her head more to the side for deeper penetration, careful of her wounded cheek. Grace moaned low in her throat. Aidan broke the kiss, holding her head steady as she tried to latch onto his mouth again. He leaned his forehead against hers, trying to slow his breathing and his raging libido. “M
o chroi,
I have dreamed of kissing you too many times to count, but I have to know that you are ok,” he whispered.

She worried her already swollen bottom lip with her teeth. “Aidan, I need this. I need to feel alive, not this fear that is eating away at me,” she paused and drew in a shuttering breath. “And I have no clue why, but I know deep in my heart,” she placed her hand over her heart, “that I need to feel it with you,” and she laid her other hand over his heart, raising the spattering of hairs covering his chest on end. Sky blues eyes glowed through a thick fringe of dark lashes and left him punch drunk. All thoughts of anything but this woman fled his mind.

With his hands in her hair holding both sides of her head, he laid his lips lightly on first one closed eyelid and then the other. He kissed the apple of one cheek, the tip of her nose, and then the apple of the other cheek, careful to not touch the cuts and scrapes, a glaring reminder of tonight’s trauma. Each kiss was a little more than a touch of his lips to her skin. He was marking her as his, making a promise that he would care for her now and forever, see to all her needs, body and soul, and always be there for her. He wanted to say with his body what his mouth had yet to articulate; she was his
everything
. He would move heaven and earth and fight hell to protect her. His world now and forever, revolved around her.

He continued laying kisses on either side of her mouth and caught her sigh of satisfaction as he lightly bit her bottom lip and pulled. He continued across her jaw, nipping and tasting until her reached her ear, sucking her earlobe between his teeth and biting down lightly. Grace groaned, arching her back, pushing her breasts into his bare chest and ground her already weeping center against the erection tenting his sweatpants. Aidan continued his sensual torture, holding his dragon and himself at bay. They were primed, ready to take their mate in a way befitting their connection, but this was about Grace and her needs, not his or that of his dragon. He was bringing her back from the trauma she had suffered. He would hold out as long as he could, take things as slow as possible, giving her the most pleasure imaginable.

While his lips and tongue tormented the sweet spot behind her ear and the side of her neck, his fingers flowed through the ebony silkiness of her hair and reached between their bodies, slowly unbuttoning his flannel shirt. He liked her in his clothes, it felt right, but that old plaid flannel was keeping them from the skin to skin contact he desperately needed. His patience wearing thin, he could wait no longer. He would take it slow, but he needed to feel every part of his beautiful mate, imprinting every possible inch of her alabaster skin with his body. He wanted to savor every erotic curve and dip of her luscious body. He wanted his scent, hell, his very being infused with hers. When he was finished, there would be no doubt that she belonged to him. He reached her collar bone and pushed the offending article of clothing off her shoulder. With only one button still closed, it slid all the way down her arm, baring not only her shoulder, but the most perfectly beautiful breast ever created, tipped with a tightly pebbled nipple the color of a ripe berry. His mouth watered as he drew that delectable tip into his mouth, holding it lightly between his teeth while lavishing it with his tongue.