Her Dragon's Fire (5 page)

He almost lost his cool when she insinuated that she needed to watch what she ate. He knew he would have not been able to hold back if she said she needed to lose weight. What was it with women? For some reason they thought curves were bad. Well, he was here to tell her that she was perfect, just the way she was. There was nothing about her that needed to change. Some of her curves had curves and they were all in the right places. The way that skirt hugged the full, round globes of her ass nearly made Aidan fall to his knees to worship the very ground she walked on. Her ample bosom pushed against the confines of her cream silk blouse and highlighted the outline of the lace on her bra. His blood boiled, at least what had not already made the trip south. He was captivated by everything about her. Hell, even the bright pink polish decorating the tips of her cute little toes made his mouth water.

As if all of that wasn’t enough, when she had blushed, it had nearly broken his control. The light pink flush enhanced her high cheek bones and gave her an ethereal glow. Bless the Universe, his mate was amazing. The way her pouty lips formed a perfect little bow made him want to lean across the table for just a taste. A comparison of dreams versus reality rushed through his mind. Reality was better, so much better. His dragon chuffed in full agreement and growled at the man for holding back. He assured his beast they would be with their mate soon, very soon.

In an effort to get his desire under control, he finished loading the dishwasher, put the leftovers in the refrigerator, and headed back to the living room, to the woman that had become his obsession the moment she walked through the front door. As he rounded the corner, he heard the sound of her deep, even breathing. She had fallen asleep. Not surprising, as he had seen how tired she was while he watched her during dinner. He had wanted nothing more than to take her into his arms, massage her shoulders, and hold her as the bottled up tension left her body. What he would not give to have his hands on her gorgeous porcelain skin. When he had touched her shoulder earlier, the spark of recognition nearly brought him to his knees. He wanted,
no
, he needed to claim her, kiss her, touch her, and look into her beautiful sky blue eyes as they both reached the climax their bodies were begging for. He smiled as he thought about how they were acting like two teenagers; she was trying hard to not look at him and he was trying not to get caught looking at her.

He stood, looking at the most exquisite creature in all the universe, marveling that they were meant to be together for all time, in this life and the next. She may not know it yet, but he and his dragon knew. The ever growing scent of her arousal, that drove him mad with desire, let him know that her body was already onboard. That succulent scent of vanilla and honey, floating on a spring breeze, warmed by the sun, filled the room on more than one occasion during their meal. She had been more than a little aroused. Like had recognized like, two halves of the same whole, as foretold by the ancestors. He had listened to so many stories about the incredible feelings that finding one’s mate evoked, he had been sure he knew what would happen when he actually met her, but nothing in his wildest imagination had prepared him for the real thing. All his thoughts centered on her, his beautiful mate. He needed to touch her; to plunder her mouth and body until neither could think or breathe without the other. He wanted to watch her pupils dilate and nipples pebble as he touched every inch of her body with his lips, teeth, and tongue.

She reminded him of a china doll come to life, lying there perfectly relaxed, not a care in the world, for just those few minutes. Her raven hair fanned across the arm of the couch, her hands pressed together under her chin like she had fallen asleep saying her prayers. The thick fringe of her bangs kissed the arch of her manicured brows. With her eyes closed, her long lashes curled against her cheeks in dark little crescents. A light rose hue highlighted the flawless porcelain complexion of her cheeks and he thought of fairies playing in the garden. Her lips were full and pink and formed a perfect pout, reminding him of a rose bud about to bloom. She was the picture of everything right and wonderful in the world and she was his. He wondered if she would think he was crazy if he just stood right there watching her sleep all night.
Yea, stalker boy, she will think you are worse than crazy.

She stirred in her sleep, waking him from his Grace-induced stupor. She had mentioned staying there for the night and said something crazy about sleeping on the couch so as not to be a bother. Like that was going to happen; his mate would sleep in the bed,
period
. She deserved the best and although the monstrosity of a couch that she was sleeping on was one of the most comfortable he had ever known, there was no way in hell he was going to sleep in a bed while she was on a couch in the living room. If he had it his way, they would both be in the bed, wrapped around one another, spent from making love. He reined in his wild thoughts, assuring both himself and his dragon that their time would come...very soon.

With his mind made up, he carefully moved her hair until it hung over her left shoulder, slid one arm under her head and the other under her knees. She immediately curled into his chest and sighed. Her body recognized his in her sleep. She unconsciously trusted him to care for her. The smile that broke across his face was so big it made his cheeks ache. His chest puffed up as he overflowed with pride when her hand landed right over his heart. Walking like a man that owned the world, he took Grace into the master bedroom, tucking her in for the night.

Once again he found himself just standing and staring. He closed his eyes and thanked the Universe for the amazing gift of his mate. When he opened his eyes, she was snuggled under the comforter with a look of absolute peace on her beautiful face. His control broke. He leaned forward and gently touched his lips to hers; together they sighed with complete contentment. He pulled back quickly, knowing if he stayed one second longer they would both be naked, him buried deep inside her, claiming her as his for all time. He used the excuse of checking to make sure she was comfortable to touch her silken skin one last time. He turned off the bedside lamp and headed towards the door. Unable to resist one more look over his shoulder, he paused. His smile grew even bigger; she really was the most beautiful woman in the world. Wondering how long it would take to get the raging hard on in his jeans under control enough to rest at all, and not really giving a shit, he headed out of the room. She was here and she was his. With that thought and the taste of his mate on his lips, he closed the bedroom door.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Andrew had spent the night watching his brother and a woman. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to realize that she was his mate and they were both trying really hard to avoid their obvious attraction. It made him sick to his stomach. What right did his cowardly brother have to find his mate? NONE! He had no right to be happy, no right to find love, no right to live happily ever after. The only thing befitting the man he had spent the first ninety years of his life idolizing, before Aidan’s life-altering betrayal, was pain and suffering. At first, he had lain in that dungeon, day after day, month after month, waiting for his brother and the others of the Dragon Guard to rescue him. He had called out in their mind speak until his head pounded and his ears bled. Then after waiting, hoping and praying, he realized it was useless, no one was coming for him. On the heels of his feelings of hopelessness came anger and hate that grew and festered. It was then that he planned his revenge to destroy everyone that had betrayed, tortured, and tormented him.

He had waited patiently and played the game, gaining the wizards’ trust, making them think they had beaten him. When he saw an opening, he took it and killed them all. He knew there were other covens out there. He planned to annihilate them also, but it was those first vengeful deaths, the blood of the ones that had captured, tortured, and subjected him to their black magic rituals, that had strengthened his resolve for retribution. After the wizards, the hunters had been easy pickings. They were so filled with hate from the fanatical propaganda they had been spoon fed their entire lives against the dragon shifters, that when he had shown up on their door step with irrefutable information about the very few weaknesses of their sworn enemies, they had at least listened to him. Then, once he assured them he could help them defeat one of the strongest Forces within the Dragon Guard, that of the Golden Fire Clan of the Dragon Shifters, they had welcomed him into their pack. The next step in his grand plan was underway. He had repaid them by using them and leading them to their deaths as well. His plan included annihilating the rest of the hunters, but first he was focused on his brother, Aidan; the one he had trusted above all others, the one that had left him to rot and die with those hateful wizards all those years ago.

At first, his plan had been to capture him. He wanted his older brother to feel the same pain and hopelessness that he himself had endured, trapped for all those months in that horrible dungeon. Then after the debacle on the hillside, Andrew decided killing Aidan outright would be the best option, as would killing all the others of his Force, including his other brother, Aaron. With them out of the way he would move on to all the others responsible for the pain and humiliation he had suffered. But his plan had changed again. Aidan’s mate was in the picture
again,
and this time Andrew knew who she was. He knew hurting her would be far worse than any physical pain he could inflict on his brother. Oh yes, the little raven haired beauty that had ultimately been the reason Andrew had been captured in the first place, would pay for the sins of his brother. Then Aidan would live the rest of his life knowing there was nothing he could do to save the woman the Universe made just for him. He would live alone and broken, in a prison he could never escape, created by the brother he had betrayed.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Grace awoke from the best dream she could remember ever having. She had dreamt of a tall, sexy man with eyes the color of single malt whiskey and skin kissed by the sun, doing incredibly wicked things to her body. Yawning, she stretched and her eyes flew open as reality hit her like a bucket of cold water. She was at Kyndel’s and the man from her dreams was real… and in the other room. Jumping out of bed, she realized she was still dressed in her clothes from last night and didn’t remember getting into bed. As she glanced around the room, she saw her dry cleaning hanging on the closet door, not in the car where she was sure she had left them. She thought back to last night and the sexiest man alive, that she knew almost nothing about, who turned her brain to complete mush. An ever-continuing loop of visions that detailed her licking and tasting every delectable inch of his perfect body made rational thought almost impossible. The last thing she remembered from the night before was watching a rerun on television and the object of her sexual torment making noise in the kitchen.

She closed her eyes and remembered dreaming that she was being carried to bed; a dream so real that she could feel the heat radiating from the hard planes of his chest under her cheek. Her eyes flew open.
Holy hell,
that hadn’t been a dream! He had carried her to bed. She had been in his arms and she had been so tired she had slept through the whole damn thing. She felt her body warming at the thought of his powerful arms wrapped around her body. She longed to feel his skin against hers.
Good grief!
She really needed to get laid; it obviously had been
too
damn long.
No time now though
, she thought. She glanced at the clock on the bedside table, 5:30am, time to get this show on the road. There were witnesses to find and dirt bags to convict. She grabbed a pair of panties and a bra from the drawer Kyndel had given her when her friend had first moved in and headed to the shower. Surely scalding hot water and then some caffeine would clear her head.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Aidan had not gotten a wink of sleep all night. Every time he closed his eyes he saw sky blue eyes, drunk with passion, shining up at him through a fringe of thick black lashes and an amazing expanse of silken porcelain skin. He imagined kissing every sexy swell, caressing every sensual dip, and tasting every erotic curve. He had spent the night so excited, he had finally relented and eased his arousal with his own hand. The images of her hand and mouth on his hard cock had driven him to come harder than he thought possible. The mating call was working hard and fast. The timing was all wrong. He needed to catch Andrew and end the threat to all he held dear before allowing their relationship to progress, but being with Grace just felt too good to deny. He had teased Rayne about his inability to keep his hands off Kyndel, but now he understood Rayne's smile and chuckled answer, that some day he would understand. Well, he damn sure understood now. Paybacks were a bitch, and from his always half erect cock whenever his blue-eyed beauty was around, he knew he was being paid back double for the teasing he had given his Commander.

It had been his plan to go to Grace after he had captured and taken his brother to the Elders. He had thought about all the ways he would woo her, taking his time getting to know her and letting her get to know him. He wanted to share everything with her. He wanted to know that she at least cared for him before he explained his existence, the dragon within and that of his clan’s. But now that he had met her and spent time with her, there was no way he could walk away from her, even for a short time. He had to figure out a way to spend time with her and let her get to know him while chasing down his brother. He was not a master strategist of the most regarded Force in all the Dragon Guard for no reason. He knew he had to be careful how he approached his mate. Grace was spirited and stubborn. He knew from Kyndel, and now from spending an evening with her, she was intelligent and depended on the facts to make decisions. She was an attorney, after all. He knew from talking to Rayne that Kyndel had not explained anything to her friend other than that she and Rayne had met, it had been love at first sight, they were now married, and he had a large family. Aidan was not sure how she would react to the news that they were made for each other by the Universe. He was even more concerned about how she would react to his dragon side, but he knew for his sanity, he had to make sure she understood they were meant to be together for all time.