by S. E. Smith
Yeah, Paul said with a small smile, looking back to adjust their dinner in the coals of the fire. It’s been a long day. She was with Carmen first thing this morning, then the attack, then what that asshole did to her. She just needs some extra rest. “I haven’t exactly let her get much sleep either,” he added in a rueful whisper as guilt washed over him.
He started when he felt a light hand on his shoulder. “I haven’t complained,” Morian said quietly before sitting next to him on the log he had pulled up near the fire.
Paul looked at his mate carefully. She looked…. breathtaking. Her hair hung down around her waist, tousled from her sleep. Her eyes still held a hint of drowsiness but the dark shadows were gone. Her cheeks and lips were rosy and clear of the bruising and cuts from earlier.
He leaned over and wrapped his hand in her hair, pulling her forward. He paused to look deeply into her eyes for a moment before he tenderly captured her lips. He drank long and deep from her. He needed her. He needed to touch her, taste her, hold her and never let her go. He had come so close to losing her today and it had scared the shit out of him.
“I love you, Morian,” he said fiercely, pulling back to look back down at her in the soft glow of the firelight. “I don’t ever want to come close to losing you again,” he murmured. “I can’t live without you. I don’t want to.”
Morian smiled and touched his lips tenderly with the tips of her fingers before looking back up into his eyes. “I love you too,” she breathed out. “What happened? I saw you. I saw what Raffvin….” Her voice faded as the dark memory came back. “There was no way you could have survived such a wound.”
Paul reluctantly pulled away and stood up. “Let me dish up dinner and I’ll tell you about the weirdest damn dream I’ve ever had and maybe you can help me understand everything that happened.”
Morian nodded and watched as Paul pulled out two thin sheets of slate that he had found. He had lined each with large leaves. He carefully used a long stick to pull the two leaf-wrapped bundles out from the coals of the fire. She watched in fascination as he unwrapped first one then the other and placed a large section of fish on each leaf-lined slate. He opened up another leaf filled with different fruits that he had harvested from the forest above the river. He added it as a side.
“Bon appétit,” Paul said with a grin as he handed one of the thin slates to Morian before sitting on the ground next to her with his own.
Morian settled the thin stone on her lap and pulled a piece of the hot meat off with her fingers. She was amazed at how tender and delicate it tasted. She was also surprised to find she was starving. She eagerly pulled more off, moaning as it practically melted on her tongue.
“This is good,” she said with a surprised grin.
Paul chuckled as he popped a piece of fruit into his mouth. “I’m a much better open fire cook than I am a kitchen cook. Trisha used to beg me to take her camping just so she could have some ‘real’ home cooked food,” he laughed as he leaned back against the log.
“Tell me what happened?” Morian asked softly as she picked up a piece of her fruit and nibbled on it.
Paul looked toward the entrance of the cave. He didn’t want to sink into the comfort of staring into the fire. That was a mistake that many rookie soldiers did. Not only did it lure them into becoming comfortable, it took away their night vision. He knew the symbiot was positioned near the entrance of the cave right now but he still didn’t want to take a chance with the enemy still out there and them being outnumbered.
“I could still kick myself for not expecting Raffvin’s attack but that would be useless,” Paul said quietly as he reflected on the afternoon. “Instead, I’ll learn from it. I didn’t feel any pain at first,” he admitted looking over at her for a moment before turning to gaze back out into the darkness. “My only focus was on you – getting you away from him.”
Morian listened as Paul described what happened after the attack on him. A shiver of awe swept through her as she listened to him describe how the goddesses, Arosa and Arilla, came to him. He laughed quietly when he told her how he thought he was either in some Valdier version of heaven or hell.
“When I woke, I was in the form of a golden dragon,” he added as he finished his tale. “I had been feeling like something was moving inside me for weeks. Now, I know what it was. I have to tell you, it is a pretty awesome feeling,” Paul said looking at Morian with a twinkle in his eye. “He is one horny son-of-a-bitch. All I’ve heard since he woke up inside me was he wanted you.”
Morian set her empty slate on the ground next to the fire and stood up. “Really?” She asked with a curious tilt to her head. “Show him to me,” she demanded.
Paul set his slate aside as well and stood up. “Are you sure?” He asked in a gruff voice. “I’m not sure if I’ll be able to hold him back,” he admitted in a rough voice.
“Who said anything about wanting you to?” Morian whispered as she slowly undid the ties holding her torn shirt on.
With a shrug of her shoulders, the soft cloth floated to the floor. Paul’s swift intake of breath sounded loud in the cave. His eyes drifted down over her shoulders to her breasts that were lit by the dancing light from the fire. The rosy tips were hard and swollen. They seemed to harden further as he stared at them with unashamed desire. Her hands moved down to the fastening on her pants. A dark rumble echoed through the cave as they joined her discarded shirt. She proudly stood nude in front of him.
“You see me,” she whispered. “Now, show me you.”
Paul moved away from the fire and closed his eyes briefly, calling for his dragon. Within seconds, a huge golden dragon stared at Morian with undisguised desire. His rich dark gold eyes followed every move she made from the flow of her hair swinging around her buttocks to the movement of her hands as she reached out to touch him.
His eyelids drooped as she ran a delicate hand over one of his nostrils. He reached around with his tail. Very gently, he ran the tip of it over her shoulder and down her back. At the last minute he flicked it, slapping her sharply on her ass.
“Oh!” She gasped at the sting before she felt the soothing touch of his tail rubbing it. “You are a very bad dragon,” she moaned out as she felt the tip caress the dark line between her buttocks. “Very bad,” she said hoarsely as the tail continued to move along the inside of her thigh. “I want to explore you as well,” she admitted even as she leaned closer to the sharp teeth revealed by the dark smile.
Paul blew a light wave of heated breath over Morian’s body. He wanted to taste her so bad it was almost like an unbearable craving for something sweet - forbidden. He flicked his tongue out and let the tip of it touch the side of her neck as she wrapped her arms around his head. The slightly salty-sweet taste just made the craving worse. His chest rumbled with heavy purrs as she traced the ridges above his eyes down the length of his jaw and back again.
“Grrr,” he growled as her breast came up against his lips as she stood on the tips of her toes to reach the top of his ear. He ran his tongue up and over the swollen mound, letting the rough texture of his tongue lap her distended nipple.
“Paul,” she shuddered. “My dragon needs you.”
The answering rumble was the only warning she got before her dragon pushed forward in answer to her mate’s demand. Paul’s tail and front claws wrapped around the white dragon suddenly standing in front of him. Her long neck was bent backwards exposing the tender flesh. The huge male struck quickly with only one thing on his mind…. claiming his mate.
The hoarse cry echoed as the smaller female was held immobile as the larger male breathed his dragon’s fire into her. Waves of fiery heat scorched her as he flooded her with a need…. a desire…. a love so fierce that the threads binding them together melded them as one being. The smaller female struggled as the heat built to a point that she wasn’t sure she could survive it but the male refused to release his hold on her, pulling her closer to his body instead.
I can’t, Morian groaned as an
intense hot wave broke over her leaving her trembling.
You can, Paul murmured in response as he continued to alternate between drinking the sweet tangy taste of her blood and exchanging it with his essence.
After several long minutes, he released her neck. Brushing his tongue along the thick puncture wounds out of instinct, he lovingly traced the mark he had left. It was the first but wouldn’t be the last. He pulled back as she raised her head. Her long tongue came out and brushed against the curve of his lips. A deep growl escaped him as he released her with his front claws and used his tail to suddenly twist her around.
Her snarl faded to a startled squeal as he pushed her down until she was bent over. His tail slid down from her waist and wrapped around her tail as he jerked her up and mounted her swiftly. His only focus at this point was filling the smaller dragon under him with his essence. He would mark her again so there was no mistaking who she belonged to. Pushing down with his broad chest against her back, he pulled her up by her tail and began moving – driving deeper and deeper into her.
Mine! His dragon snarled as he heard the whimper of his mate. So good, my mate, he groaned.
Yes, Morian’s dragon whimpered as she tilted her hips so he could go even deeper. Waited too long, she cried out as she felt the first wave of heat washing through her pulling her closer to her orgasm. More! She begged as she tried to rock back into the driving shaft buried deep inside her.
The huge dragon grunted as he gripped her tail tighter and he leaned a little further forward, his front claws on each side of the smaller dragon’s shoulders. His hips moved like a piston, moving with a speed and ferocity that pulled along the sensitive lining of the female’s slick channel. His muffled roar shattered the heavy echo of pants in the dark cavern. He pulsed deep as the female clutched him, pulling him deeper and locking him to her as she came with him. He turned his head clamping down on her shoulder at the curve above her wings. Her shudder pulled another orgasm out of them as her body reacted to the pleasure/pain of his bite.
The huge dragon reluctantly released his hold on the female, shuddering as the last of his seed pulsed into her. He would be locked to her for several long minutes before he could pull out of her. When he was able, he would take her again and again. His golden eyes turned toward the symbiot who was staring out at the night.
The image of a clear starry sky was returned to his silent question. Our mates, the symbiot sent. We protect our mates, it sighed.
Paul’s dragon nodded his head once in agreement. We protect our mates, he responded.
Chapter 16
“Where is she!” Raffvin roared as he flipped the table scattering left over food everywhere in the center tent. “She was bound! She was in the middle of a camp filled with warriors! There is no way she can just have vanished,” he snarled as he turned to look at the three men who were in charge of the warriors.
“Tracks were found leading from the outer rim of the forest into the camp,” the large Sarafin male said staring with shuttered eyes at Raffvin.
Raffvin turned to look coldly at the warrior. A scar ran down the left side of his face from the corner of his eye to the corner of his mouth. “What kind of tracks?” Raffvin asked in a frigid tone.
“Dragon tracks,” the male responded with a shrug. “No one saw a thing. It was as if the dragon was invisible. The tracks lead to where a table of food was knocked over and one of the warriors swore something tripped him but he didn’t see a thing.”
“The body of a Marastin Dow was found in one of the supply tents. His neck broken. Puncture wounds from a dragon’s claws in his throat,” the Valdier warrior added dispassionately. “It was only feet from where a large group of warriors were.”
Raffvin’s eyes narrowed as he listened to the information. He cursed as he tried to think how a full grown dragon could sneak through their defenses. How did Morian escape the symbiot bindings? He had ordered it to slice her hands from her body if she tried to escape. He had absolute control over his symbiot. He reached up and grabbed his head with one hand as it began to pound. His dragon snarled at the loss of the female. It was fighting him more and more. He fought to hold onto the little bit of sanity he had but it was becoming harder and harder. He needed to find the Hive. He needed more of the God’s blood. It would heal him. He and his dragon could not survive much longer without it. An evil grin curved his lips as a new plan began to form in his fractured mind.
“Fine,” he growled out in a dark voice. Turning, he looked at the men standing in front of him. “There is another way to get what I want,” he said as a malevolent smile curled his lips. “If the Priestess won’t guide me to the Hive then her oldest son will.”
The huge Marastin Dow warrior looked skeptical. “How do you propose that? By asking him?” He asked with a cynical look.
Raffvin’s grin turned so ugly that all three men took a step back and looked at him warily. “Once I have his infant son, he will do whatever I tell him to do. It will give me great joy to crush his son’s head between my hands,” Raffvin laughed out insanely. “It will give me even more pleasure watching Zoran’s face as I do it.”
The Valdier warrior and Marastin Dow chuckled darkly while the Sarafin Warrior stared at the dark face before him coldly. He had no problem fighting a warrior who could defend himself but even he had to draw a line when it came to using children. He wisely kept that thought to himself.
*.*.*
Paul stared out the entrance of the cavern. His body felt totally sated. He no longer had the aching feeling of emptiness he had when he was back on Earth. He felt – complete, whole. It was the first time in his life that he could remember feeling that way. He had been happy – even content with Evelyn but there had still been a restlessness in him. He thought it was because he had been young and ambitious to provide for his family but he realized now it was more than that. Even after her death and as he grew older, the restlessness and emptiness continued to plague him.
He rubbed his chin against the dark hair of his mate. She lay tucked safely in his arms. He had loved her hard and fast and slowly and tenderly throughout the night. It was as if he couldn’t get enough of her. His hand moved lovingly over her side, his fingers brushing over one of the many marks he had left on her. This one was on her right hip. They had made love in both forms so many times he had lost count. It often depended on which form was more demanding at the time.
“I think I have a matching mark on my other hip,” Morian murmured as she rolled over to lay on his chest. “I think I have about a dozen or so of them in fact,” she added with a twitch of her lips.
Paul rose up far enough to give her a quick peck on the lips. “I wouldn’t complain if I were you,” he whispered with a fierce look. “I bet I could count that many on my own body.”
Morian blushed as a husky laugh escaped her. “I bet you could,” she retorted with a quick kiss of her own. “I need a bath,” she said as she rolled off him and sat up on the golden bed.
Paul’s eyes darkened as he thought about how he had used the symbiot to hold Morian down last night. He was going to have to remember that for future use. Right now, the thin cover it had created over them dissolved back into the bed leaving her body bare to his gaze.
“My body isn’t the only one bare,” she whispered before she quickly rose off the golden bed with a chuckle when he reached for her again. “Bath and food,” she teased before her smile dissolved like the cover. “Then, we need to return to the palace. I want to let my sons know I am safe and I need to make sure they are as well.”
Paul released a disgruntled sigh as he rose off the bed. As soon as he did, the symbiot shifted into a Were Cat again and shook. Waves of gold shimmered and rolled before it trotted over to the entrance of the cavern. Paul stretched his arms above his head and rolled his shoulders laughing as Morian’s eyes remained glued to his body as he did.
“Bath, then food,” he reminded her as he reached over and pulled her against his body. “When this is ov
er, I want to bring you back here,” he said as he ran his hands under her hair and along her back.
Morian rested her head against his chest as he hugged her. “I want to take you to my hidden home,” she murmured. “Not even Raffvin has been there. It belonged to my family long before I knew Jalo and Raffvin. Only my sons know about it.”
Paul let her go, threading his fingers with hers as he pulled her toward the back of the cave. “I look forward to going there with you,” Paul said as he guided her toward the shallow pool of water. “There is a small area back here where the water flows through a crack. We can bathe there. I’ll warm it for us,” he said before he released her hand and shifted into his dragon.
The huge golden dragon bent over the small pool of water and breathed a steady flow of blue flame at the water until it bubbled and steam rose from it. Once he was confident it was warm, he turned and raised his eyebrows up and down at Morian before sticking his tail in the water and swirling it around to mix the hot and cold water. He turned and blew a little more blue flame before he was satisfied. With a wink, he shifted back and swept a giggling Morian up into his arms.
“Madam,” Paul said formerly, stepping down into the shallow pool. “Your bath awaits you.”
Morian fluttered her eyelashes up at him, trying to hide the smile pulling at the corner of her mouth. “Are you always so chivalrous?” She asked as the warm water swirled around her.
“Only with you,” he said quietly. “You fill me up, Morian. I feel whole when I touch you. I’ve felt so empty for so long,” he told her in a low voice. “I don’t ever want to be empty again.”
Morian gazed at him with love shining through her dark golden eyes. “Neither do I.”
*.*.*
After their bath, they ate a quick meal of fresh fruit before they departed. Paul shifted as soon as he was outside of the cave and scanned the area thoroughly before he sent a message to Morian’s symbiot. Morian had balked at first about riding in the skimmer her symbiot formed but finally gave in when she realized it was too dangerous for both of them if they were caught. Inside the skimmer, her symbiot could vanish the same way as Paul did. He would fly alongside them so he could survey the area more closely as they went.
