Her Dragon's Fire (9 page)

Royce sped past, heading for the end of the row to come up behind the one holding Grace. If Aidan had his way, the asshole would not be alive by the time Royce got there, but the oldest of the Force always thought ahead, always had a plan B. He felt Lance jump off his bike, catapulting himself to the spot behind the man at Grace’s back a mere second behind him. Aidan made contact with the man holding Grace, knocking him into the SUV parked to his right. The dirt bag let go of his mate and he went in for the kill. The startled abductor straightened, thinking he was going to fight the man that had just ruined his fun, but Aidan charged forward, kicking the man in the stomach with enough force to break ribs, the would-be killer bent over in pain. He threw his arm around the criminal’s neck and with one quick twist; the only sound that registered was the snap of his neck. He turned just in time to see Lance finish off the second man in the same fashion. Royce grabbed the falling corpse and hauled it between the two parked cars, keeping her from seeing the dead body. Aidan flew to Grace, knelt down and pulled her into his arms in one motion. She wrapped her arms around his neck and placed her head in the crook of his neck. He feared she would injure herself, she was shaking so hard. He felt her fear and the strength she used to keep from breaking down. He laid his lips to her forehead, breathed in her scent, and took a minute to calm his chaotic emotions.

He had almost lost her after
finally
meeting her. There was no way he could ever let anything happen to her again, even if it meant locking her away from everyone and everything. She shuddered in his arms, breaking his train of thought. He had to act fast. The fear that she was going into shock, feeding his already rattled nerves, pushed his need to get her out of this garage and home where he could care for her. With his thoughts still wide open to his brothers, Royce already had his beaten and scratched bike propped up on the kickstand and his huge leather duster ready to wrap around Grace to keep her warm on the ride home. His bike was a mess, but it would get them there, and that was all that mattered.

“I’m going to take you to Kyndel’s on my bike. Can you stand so we can get my jacket on you? It’s too cold to ride in just your blouse and skirt.” He spoke with a tenderness he didn’t know he possessed.

She held his neck tighter and whimpered, any tighter and he was sure they would be sharing the same skin. He looked up at Royce; his big brethren nodded and wrapped the long coat around her the best he could, tucking it around her in between their bodies. He then followed them to Aidan’s bike, holding it steady while Aidan straddled the seat, while Grace clung to him with all her might. He settled her legs across his lap and noticed she’d lost her shoes in the fight. Reaching down, he wrapped the long flap of his coat around her feet. The movement caused her to grip his neck even tighter. He was sure he would wear imprints of her tiny fingers on his neck. He reached up, pried the keys she still held from her fingers, and threw them to Lance. A flood of emotions ran through him; anger so strong he wanted to resurrect the two assholes that had dared to lay a hand on his mate just so he could kill them again, but even more than that, he felt a warmth envelope his heart. Grace had reached for him, and thank the Universe he was there for her, as he always would be. She was clutching his neck, using him like her lifeline, a job he took very seriously. Those criminals had almost taken her from him. His rage threatened to overtake him. Only thoughts of all the things he would do to keep her safe, and the pressing issue of getting her home as quickly as possible, kept him from losing his mind. He started his bike and roared out of the garage, leaving the others to clean up the mess. Grace was all that mattered.

They slowed as he turned into the path beside Kyndel’s. He cut the engine, pushed the kickstand down, and as the bike leaned to the side, lifted them both off the bike and headed straight to the front door. Without missing a beat, he unlocked the door and walked through, kicking it shut as he continued towards the master bedroom. He walked straight through to the bathroom and stopped, taking the few precious moments he needed to just hold Grace, reveling in the fact that she was safe and alive. He pulled her tighter to his chest and pushed his nose into her hair, inhaling, drawing her essence into him. She tensed and he knew she was contemplating getting down, breaking their connection. His mate was a strong, independent woman, and he was sure she was trying to regain some of her composure. Every few seconds, he would pick up a stray thought of hers. She thought she should let go of his neck, but no matter how hard she tried, she could not. He could feel her conflict that she was depending on him, she loved it and hated it at the same time, but it was something she was going to have to get used to; she was
not
going anywhere without him. The incident in the parking garage had solidified his belief that they needed to be together for all time, starting
immediately
. Nothing would happen to her while he could still draw a breath.

“Grace…
mo ghra’
, can you stand? You need to get a hot shower and we need to get you tucked into bed before the adrenalin wears off. I don’t want you going into shock, and from the way you’re shaking, I’m afraid you’re close.”

Aidan loosened his grip on her legs, letting them slide to the floor, while he wrapped both arms around her shoulders to hold her steady. When he was sure she could stand on her own, he loosened his hold and took a step back, keeping his hands on her shoulders for support. He looked into her eyes, still wide with fear. The scrapes that decorated her cheek brought his rage roaring to the forefront once again. His dragon puffed smoke, begging to be let out to seek revenge for their mate’s suffering. As his eyes traveled down her body, he saw the tears in her clothes. When his eyes landed on her knees, he could not believe she was even standing. Both knees were scraped raw, with dirt and grime from the floor of the parking garage embedded in the wounds. It took all of his considerable control not to lose his temper. He wanted to punch whatever he could find, he needed to inflict pain as retribution for his mate, but he had to think of Grace and what she needed. She was the only thing that mattered; she came first.

He looked back at her beautiful face and cringed at the fear he saw. “Grace,
mo chroi
, you break my heart looking at me like that,” he cupped her unblemished cheek. “I promise on all that I hold sacred, I will never let anything happen to you again.”

She held her hands up to signal for him to stop talking and he saw that her hands had received the same treatment as her knees, “I know I’m safe with you. I have no idea how I know but I do. I just can’t stop replaying the whole thing over and over in my head.”

She tried to turn away from him but his hold on her shoulders was too strong. One lone tear rolled down her cheek. He pulled her back to his chest, “
Mo chroi
, do not hide from me. I’m here for you, let me help you.” His words shook with emotions he thought had died long ago. He knew in that moment that he would give his very life if it meant the wonderful creature in his arms never had to suffer another second of pain.

Grace burrowed farther into his chest and rubbed her face against his shirt. She cried out as the cuts and bruises on her cheek made contact. Aidan jerked her back, “We have to get those scratches cleaned out.”

He lifted her onto the counter, gently removing one arm and then the other from the sleeves of his jacket. He threw the garment into the corner, “Do you know if there is a first aid kit or something I can use to clean these up?”

“Kyndel has a kit under the sink, with a jar of the ointment her granny taught her to make.”

Aidan knelt down and opened the cabinet, retrieving the box holding the first aid supplies, and grabbed the jar of “Granny’s Special Recipe”, as they had started calling it around the lair. There was also a bottle of Kyndel’s special bath oil, which was definitely needed. He smiled up at his mate, “Yes, I’m very familiar with Kyndel’s ointment. She has made many jars of it in the months since she married Rayne. We’re all wondering how we ever lived without it.”

Grace chuckled and some of the pressure around his heart lifted. If he could keep her focused on something other than what she had just experienced, at least for a little while, it would be easier for her. He remembered Kyndel had shown them all how to mix her healing herb infused bath oil with warm water to get debris from the wounds and help with the swelling. He filled the basin he found in the cabinet, and the sink with warm water and bath oil. He grabbed a handful of the soft cloths and a few towels from the linen closet, and once again knelt down in front of Grace.

She jumped when he touched her foot, pulling her from the memories of her attack. His heart broke at the ‘deer caught in the headlights’ look she gave him and his anger burned hotter. “Grace, I need you to turn just a little and put your hands in the sink. It’ll help get the muck out of those scrapes.” He laid his hand on the outside of her thigh, turning her legs to the side, making it easier for her to submerge her hands in the healing mixture he had prepared. He dunked a soft cloth in the basin on the floor by his leg, and bit by bit, washed the wounds on both knees, changing the water several times until all the rocks, dirt, and grime were gone. He stood and took her hands out of the water in the sink, which had become lukewarm. Taking another soft cloth, he turned on the water, adjusted the temperature, and made sure none of the offending dirt remained on her delicate skin. He tossed the last cloth into the pile he had created and looked at the most beautiful face he had ever seen. From the first swipe of the cloth on her knees, she had closed her eyes, and they had remained closed the entire time, even when she gasped as he touched an especially deep laceration.

Now she was sitting there still as a statue, eyes closed, head to the side, leaning just a bit forward. Her adrenalin rush was wearing off. He treated her poor abused face with the same care and attention as he had the rest of her wounds. If he didn’t hurry and get her in the shower, she was going to fall asleep right there. As much as he wanted to see her luscious body, now was definitely not the time. “Grace, you need to get a shower so I can put the ointment on all these cuts and bruises. I’m going to go into the bedroom to give you some privacy, but I’ll be right outside that door,” he cocked his head towards the bedroom. “You holler if you need anything and I’ll come running,” he smiled at her.

He leaned forward and kissed her forehead, inhaling the calming scent of vanilla and honey, reminding him once again that she was here and only a little worse for wear. He leaned back, looked her in the eyes to make sure she was not in shock, and gave her shoulders a little squeeze. Her lips curled into a tiny smile that didn’t quite reach her baby blues and she nodded. He let his hands fall to his sides and backed out of the bathroom, keeping eye contact with the most important person in his world, right up to the second he closed the door. Even though she was only a few feet away, on the other side of the door, he knew it was going to be the longest wait of his life.

With his exceptional hearing, he tuned out everything except the woman that held his heart. He listened to her sharp intakes of breath when her clothes brushed a particularly sensitive area. Even though they had just met a few days ago, the mating call, coupled with the intense situation they had just experienced and the fact that he’d opened his senses wide to her, made it possible for him to pick up some of what she was feeling. His fists clenched at his sides and he felt the chaos of her emotions from all that had happened. He focused on making sure she was still conscious and not in too much pain. The physical pain was only a very small part of what his Grace would suffer, but that was what he would focus on right now. When she’d had a good night’s sleep and felt a little more like herself, they would start to deal with everything else.

He heard the water start and the door to the shower slide shut as he sat completely still on the end of the bed, unable to do anything but listen. His dragon was chuffing and pushing at him to go to their mate. He pushed back, trying to make him understand that she needed space. They were locked in an internal debate when a tiny sob broke in. He walked to the door, laid his ear against the wood and listened. The sound he heard had him ripping open the door and sliding the shower door with such force it bounced off the opposite wall. What he saw stopped him dead in his tracks. There, huddled in the far corner of the shower, with water raining down on her, was his mate. The strong, spirited, beautiful, fiery woman that would be his for all time, was curled into a ball, sobbing so hard her body shook, while she bit a washcloth to keep him from hearing her sorrow. He walked under the spray completely dressed, picked her up, and held her to his chest while she cried. He had no idea how long he stood there holding her, when it dawned on him that he had better get her clean before the water turned cold. Grabbing the soap from the holder and the wash cloth from her hand, he sat down on the floor of the shower and washed every inch of her amazing skin, reveling in the fact that she was letting him take care of her in such an intimate fashion. Every minute or so Grace would glance at him through her lashes, sigh, and close her eyes again. She had a distant, haunted look in her eyes that he would move heaven and earth to never see again. When she was as clean as he could get her without moving her off his lap, he got the shampoo and conditioner and washed her lovely mane. She closed her eyes and moaned as he massaged first one and then the other into her scalp. Several times he had to remind himself, his dragon, and his wayward cock, that she was injured. This was about caring for her, nothing else. When he was satisfied that she was clean, he stood, turned off the water, and stepped out of the shower with Grace in his arms. He grabbed the big fluffy towel and jar of ointment from the counter as he carried her to the bed.