Putting the seeds from the leather pouch in the ground, Bea was excited to see them take root quickly and start to sprout. It wasn’t her magic that did this, but that of the earth. And when she dug up the next row, careful of the plants already in the rich magical soil, Bea thought of her only son.
Austin had really been a good man—very confident in his abilities, and a great warlock. Teaching his only child, Austin had told her that Bryce was going to be the strongest witch ever born. He’d not only been correct about that, but also about the fact that he was going to die long before she became all that she could. It was why, two days before he’d been sentenced to death, he’d given his magic, all of it, to his daughter.
When Bryce met Noah, Bea remembered what Austin had told her about the magic. He said that she’d have to have a strong and powerful mate, someone that would be able to center her magic and her heart. There hadn’t been anyone around that had touched that part of her granddaughter, only her and Laura. Now it seemed she had a mate to help.
Noah was exactly what Austin had predicted in a mate for Bryce. Not only was he very strong, an old and powerful dragon, but he had magic, more than enough to keep them all safe should it come to that. But when the magic of the faeries had gone to him as well, Bea had felt it, and knew that together the two of them, Bryce and Noah, would be enough to keep Bryce happy as well. Something that Bea didn’t think Bryce had been a great deal of since Austin had been killed.
Now, she’d heard her granddaughter whistling the other morning. And she noticed that she looked for the dragon, seeking him out just to make him angry. She hadn’t been able to do that yet; the man seemed to have the temperament to be calm no matter what was going on around him. He too looked happy. Bea decided to talk to Devon about his friend, to find out what he might know of him.
Bea saw Bryce before she did her. Stomping through the grass, she was also talking to herself—never a good sign. Putting the trowel away, Bea decided that she had better meet her halfway or Bryce might harm the little seedlings without realizing it. Almost as soon as she was close enough to her, she saw the mark on her face.
“What happened to you?” She tried to pull away. “Bryce, I demand that you tell me what has happened to you that would make such a mark on your face.”
“It’s nothing like you’re thinking.” Bea asked her what she might be thinking. “I have no idea, but this is from trying to hang a sheet of drywall by myself. I had it in my head that I could help out, and now I’ve not only dropped the piece I was holding on to, but two more sheets that were leaning against the wall have been damaged as well. I want the house finished now. I cannot wait one minute more.”
The roar of magic soared over the ground. It not only knocked Bea off her feet, but it did Bryce as well. Whatever had happened, they both watched as the ground moved and rose up slightly as it headed for the house. She heard another sound, this one closer than before. And when the large dragon landed in front of them both, Bea laid her head down and waited to die.
When nothing moved, the ground around them still, Bea looked up to see the dragon staring at Bryce. She couldn’t hear what she was saying to him, but whatever it was, she wasn’t happy. The dragon, whom she could only assume was Noah, laid down on the ground, his large head at the feet of Bryce.
It was a sight to behold, the dragon being tamed by the witch. Bea was getting her hearing back, the loud sounds having temporarily blocking her from hearing for a moment or two. Bryce was taming the beast before her, telling him how much he’d frightened her and scared her grandmother. Not moving, not wanting to have any attention brought to her, Bea watched as the two of them come to terms with each other.
“You could have killed us both, you moronic fuck. And don’t you dare tell me again how you’d not. But you’d been protecting us. Did it look like we might need protecting from the earth when you came down here and blew your fire all over the place? I swear to you, Noah Farley, if one blade of herb is damaged on my grandmother’s garden, I will put a fire to you that will make what you’ve done here look like a small campfire. Of all the stupid things you could have done.” He must have said something to Bryce, because she smacked him on the nose as she continued. “I do not want to hear how you heard the roar and came to see what had happened. Most, anyone that I know, would have walked to us. Asked very politely what had happened. No, you had to come blowing your nasty breath all over everything until there is nothing left even for the animals to have.”
“Bryce?” She looked in her direction, and Bea wasn’t surprised when she came running over to her. She missed it then, her mate going from beast to man. That too was a beautiful thing, a man with so much magic letting his very small witch of a mate berate him when she was upset. “I’m all right, child. Leave the poor boy alone. Had you been in real trouble, would you have been happy to see him or not?”
“I was terrified that he was going to be hurt.” Well, that wasn’t what she had expected. “The way the magic came from the mountain top, I thought for sure someone had murdered him. Then he burnt the trees.”
“They look fine to me.”
Bryce fought with tears and finally gave in to them. Not reaching for her to comfort Bryce, she walked away when Noah took her granddaughter into his arms and held her.
The trees were fine for the most part. They were still healing, their bark coming green again, the leaves that had been singed greening up, like leaves in the spring. Walking to the house, she saw Laura sitting on the deck. Wondering how she’d gotten there, she sat beside her and asked her.
“Noah told me that he’s able to heal me because I’m his mate’s mother. And he said that I’d never have to worry about it again, cancer or anything else that a human might get. He told me that while I’m not dragon or witch, I will be just like the two of them in that I’ll enjoy a long and healthy life with the rest of you.” Laura looked at her then. “When the magic—he told me what it was—gathered on the hill, he told me where to go to hide. And to head to the house when I saw it. There is a tunnel, Bea, from the top of the mountain to the house, that he told me was there for me to use when I needed time to myself. He’s even put me a little place up there, just for me to go and watch the animals.”
“He’s a good man. I thought him like our Austin, but I believe him to be so much more. If I were to have to choose someone to watch over Bryce, I could not have picked a better man than that one.” Laura agreed. “Bryce was afraid for him. She yelled at him like a harpy for more than a few minutes, and he allowed it. I hate to keep comparing him to Austin, but he would have allowed you to do so for so long before he told you to leave him be. Noah, he just took it. Then when she cried, he held her like she was the most precious thing in the world to him.”
“I believe that she is.” Bea nodded. “I still have to tell her about the cancer. Noah said that it was only right that I did. And he’ll be with me, as he had healed me without talking to her. Noah told me that I hadn’t had time to live—that by this time tomorrow, the cancer would have taken my mind and body, and it would have been too late.”
~*~
Bryce didn’t want to cry in front of anyone, but she’d been so afraid that not only had Noah been hurt, but that it had been because of her. When she was as finished as she could be, babbling to him about how she was mad at him, he lifted her chin up so that she could see his face.
“I’m a dragon.” She rolled her eyes. “Yes, I know that you’re aware of that, my dear. But I have a great many faeries, all of them in good standing, that will answer to you as well as me. Sometimes, I’m sure that they’ll override me to do whatever it is you wish. But they heard your demand and were thrilled to have something they could do for you.”
“I don’t understand.” He nodded, and she tried to pull away from him. “Noah, what are you talking about? And I know that faeries and dragons have a relationship. But what does that have to do with me?”
“They finished the house. And in order to fulfil your
needs in the way you wanted, they all went there and finished every part of it.” She thought about what she’d said. Bryce had wanted not just the house finished, but right now. Asking him what they’d done, he took her hand into his and they made their way back to the house. “I would imagine that they’ve seen what it is you want by searching your thoughts on how you expected it to look. And by doing so, and the time limit that you gave them, it took them all, all the forest of faeries, to do just as you wished.”
“I was just aggravated by all the unfinished things going on in the house and things being in the way. I left the house in a huff because one of the sheets of drywall dropped and cut me. And two more were ruined too. I had forgotten how heavy drywall could be when it hits your head like that.” Bryce put her fingers to her forehead and knew that the wound had healed. “Noah, I’m sorry that I yelled at you.”
“I scared you. I can understand that.” She told him that she didn’t want him to understand, she wanted him to.... She didn’t know what she wanted and told him that. “I understand that as well. There are many things that I want from you. Most of them have to do with laying you out on the bed upstairs and having my way with you. But there are a few things that have to do with you trusting me. Oh, and lots of sex. That will stop a lot of my thoughts too.”
“I’m not sure that sex is the answer to everything.” He said it was worth a shot. “No, it’s not. Now, I need for you to explain a couple of things to me before we go inside. First of all, there was a call from the bank today. Why did you put me on your accounts?”
“You’re my mate.” She glared at him. “That’s a good answer. You’re my mate, and what I have is yours. What you have is yours as well. Though I have to tell you, what I have isn’t all that much. An old plane that might be repossessed anytime now, and a crown that I don’t even know where it is anymore.”
“That’s not even reasonably fair, is it?” Noah just smiled at her. “You keep doing that. Smiling and acting all charming when you think it’ll get you whatever it is you want. Well, I have news for you, buddy—”
When he stiffened, she did as well. The change from man to dragon was quick, but she didn’t have time to admire the way he’d done it. Something was coming. Something that, while not large, was powerful. Reaching into the earth and everything around them, she put a barrier between whatever it was and the two of them. The faerie queen, Dawn, rising up from the earth had her bowing at the waist and waiting for her to demand why the faeries, her faeries, had come to them.
“My lady, Lord Noah. I have never seen as much of you as I have in the past two days. All is well now?” Noah laughed and told her what had happened. “Yes, well, having one’s home finished is something that I would want as well. Very good. I have been told that it is safe, and that with your own faeries, some have decided to stay with you within your walls.”
“Thank you, my lady. But should you need them, I’ll explain why they cannot stay.” She said that it was up to them, but she was happy that they were there. “You have met my mate, Bryce. She is a powerful witch on her own. If you should wish to talk to her about something, I’m sure that she’d be happy to speak with you.”
“I would.” Embarrassed at how loudly she’d spoken, Bryce tried again. “I would love to talk to you, my lady. I have been in awe of the faeries, not only in my hometown but here as well. The gardens and the flowers about are the prettiest that I’ve ever seen.”
“Thank you, my lady. That is high praise coming from you. I have seen your gardens, those that you used at home. They are as rich and as plentiful as the ones you and your family are guarding here.” Bryce thanked her again. “I have only come to ask that if the faeries become too much that you send them back. They all know that they are here only by the grace of your hospitality. Thank you again for taking so many into your household. They will serve you well, I think.”
Bryce looked at Noah when he laughed after the queen left them. “Don’t think that you’re off the hook. You have yet to give me an answer that I believe. Why would a man such as yourself put my name, someone that he barely knows, on his accounts?”
“I told you, you’re my mate.” This time when he pulled her to his body, she felt his need, like a warm blanket that wrapped her snuggly up inside. And when his erection, hard and long, touched her at her pussy, she could no more have stopped the moan from spilling forth than she could have stopped her own beating heart. “I need you, Bryce. I want to taste you to see if the aromas that you have taste as amazing as they smell. I wish to nip you in places, only to sooth them with my tongue. To give you more than just a little pleasure, but to feel it, to have you come hard enough that my entire being feels it. My dragon smells you too, wants us to make love so that you belong to us and no other. Erase the others from your body, men that came before us.”
The kiss wasn’t anything but a claiming. He possessed her with his mouth, molded her body to fit tightly with his. And when he lifted her, her legs wrapped around him as if they had done this a million times, letting Noah have her as if she truly did belong to him.
“Noah.” He kissed her again, savagely this time, his mouth searing a mark from her lips to her throat. And when he bit down, tearing into her heated flesh, she cried out with a release that instead of satisfying even a small part of her, made her crave and need more.
Bryce didn’t remember why she’d said his name. Or even, for that matter, if she’d been about to ask him a question, like why didn’t he take her now, or if she was going to ask him to stop. Nothing in the world could have prepared her for the man holding her. And no amount of magic could make her walk away from him.
Noah backed from her, and Bryce wanted to beg him. But when he turned into his dragon again, lifting her up with him as he took to the skies, she clung to his beast as the house grew smaller, the trees looking like tiny sticks. Then they landed on the mountain top. He was man again, and this time he wasn’t pulling away but shredding her clothing from her body.
Touching his body was all she could think about. His skin was hot—his muscles rippled under her fingers like he was a running river, warmed by the sun. She needed him. Bryce hadn’t ever needed anything in all her life, not food or water, like she did this man. And she knew that she would never again need anything but him.
He took her hard, his cock already filling her even before they were on the ground. He spoke to her, his words in a language that she’d not heard before. Not that it mattered. For some reason she knew that he was telling her that he loved her, and Bryce knew that she loved him.
“Say it.” His thick cock was making her needier while he stilled deep inside of her. Bryce looked at him, wondering what he’d said. “Tell me. Tell me that you love me, Bryce. Please. I want to hear you say the words.”
“I love you. But I’m not going to be easy.”
His grin made her want to smack him, but when he kissed her then moved inside of her, she screamed out how much she loved him even as he bit down on her shoulder.
Bryce had heard the term “My eyes rolled to the back of my head,” but she had never experienced it until now. Her body spun around, and she was sure her head came off, only to be set back on upside-down. None of this really happened, of course, but it made her feel as if she’d been turned inside out, run over, and her fingers stuck into a life socket all at once. And she had never felt better in her entire life.
Then she released. Her hair came, her nose, as well as her toes. Every part of her body, even parts that she was sure had been stuck on just for the thrill of the release, hit her. Screaming, a mundane term for how she had said Noah’s name, wrenched from her mouth, tearing at her throat so harshly that she was sure that she’d never speak again. And when he came too, his body emptying into her, Bryce came again. Her body bowed up from the ground and her nails dug deeply into his back, holding on so that she’d not scatter to the winds. Bryce fell back to the earth and simple died, she was sure of it.
Waking, Bryce found herself i
n their bed. Moving to see if she was alone, she moaned loudly when she realized how sore she was. She supposed it was better than she’d thought. If she’d died, then they could never have that kind of sex again. And she so wanted to do that over and over.
Finding herself alone in the room, she went to the bathroom thinking that a nice hot shower would make some of the kinks go away. As soon as she turned the water on, she heard her name called from the bedroom. It was Noah.
“Devon called while you were out. He wants us to come over for dinner. He said that he has a couple of things that he’d like to talk over with you.” She said that she could do that and asked if he knew what it might be. “No, he only said that he needed to get a couple of things cleared up, and he was happy that we’ve gotten the house taken care of. I’m not sure how he figured it out, but I told him that it looked great.”
“Does it?” Noah laughed and said that it looked fantastic. “Grandma will be happy too, then. As well as my mom. I think she’s been itching to make something in her new domain since she found out that there was a big kitchen. Are you going to live here with me?”
“Yes. If you would allow it.” She nodded. “What’s the matter? Besides being very sore. Has something happened that has upset you?”
“Not that I’m aware of. But I’m not sure where that wanton woman came from on the mountain. That wasn’t me.” He laughed. “I’m serious. I have never had sex that…I guess you could call it violently before. It was fantastic, but never have I ever had my head spin around.”
“I’m glad that I could help you out with that.”
She held his hand as they made their way down the stairs. Her grandmother and mom were waiting for them. And with one look, she knew that something had happened.
Chapter 4
Noah: House of Wilkshire ― Erotic Paranormal Dragon Shifter Romance Page 4
