Demons & Dragons

by Gina Kincade

  “Sorry, we are out of time. We have to go. If Lucifer had his way, the world of man would be his playground until it fell to ash. I can’t let you be part of that.”

  With that, he turned away from her, lifting off to soar to the sky as he did so, but a warm, pulsing energy that lit and sparkled behind his retreating form, wrapped around her as well. She calmed, that false calm that she knew came from him. She watched, relaxed and placid as he turned back toward her, flapping his massive wings to hover above her as he scooped her up in his large paw, palming her, cradling her within the sharp daggers of his claws. He turned his palm to the protection of his midsection of alabaster scales, had her in a pocket of sorts, one she couldn’t escape from or risk death by talon. He began to lift them into the air. At some point, even with his calming effect on her, as they reached the treetops, she lost consciousness.

  Chapter Three

  When she opened her eyes again blackness surrounded her, filled with what she first guessed were shining stars. Though they changed in size, brightness and color, what had to be a hallucinated kaleidoscope like swirl didn’t actually move. As she turned, well, rolled actually, finding nothing below her but these same objects, she began to flail her arms and feet. Still, she found nothing to hit against let alone grab onto or land on. Despite her attempts, a solitary red glow cradled in the black mass became her focal point, proof that she remained stationary. Little comfort.

  “Hey. Hey, Anna. It’s okay. I’ve got you,” came Grael’s voice as she felt his body, his human one, float against hers.

  He seemed to appear from nowhere, the darkness having parted to let him through. She calmed instantly, that forced peace he gave as thoughts of where she was, why she wasn’t falling, all circled her head without the proper reaction. Suddenly, those things didn’t matter with the pale skin of his chest catching the lights, absorbed her focus. Her palm against him, she marveled at the heat he cast from his body, warming her.. For a snow dragon shifter, his skin burned against hers.

  “Where are we?” she wheezed out. “Why are we not falling?”

  She squirmed a little, out of sorts, still, despite the calm, her surroundings that unfamiliar.

  “We are in my part of the dragon realm. Things work differently here. No gravity, more a suspension of space, like your outer space. Though, we don’t float away either. I’m naturally tethered to the space, as are you when with me. You are safe. No one can hurt you here. Just breathe, give into the calm, so I can release you to your own emotions.”

  “None of this makes any sense. I feel suspended in a dream; some fantasy that even when I wake up I am still in. I don’t know. I can’t reconcile what I am seeing any more than I can what I am feeling.”

  “I know, and for that I am so sorry. I would have preferred to ease you into my world, but tonight I wasn’t given that option anymore. If you can try to just appreciate the scenery, it is beautiful here–simple, sparkly. Look around you. Find some calm in the beauty as I get you cleaned up.”

  “What are all of the lights? Stars?”

  “No, actually, they are crystals, gems, some geodes, some stones, unimaginable riches, really. Our kind have guarded them for centuries. That part of the lore is true, and I guess you could call this my cave in another realm. The treasures merely hang around us, and can be used for what we need. In fact, this one,” he said, grabbing a large greenish-blue rock from out of nowhere, almost as if it materialized for him to grab, “it will heal you.”

  “Heal me?”

  “Yes, all the scratches you received when the roof fell around you.”

  “You have one to get rid of my ugly scars,” she said, a bite to her voice she was unsure of how she managed with his calming influences. Apparently that anger still lingered, was so ingrained in her now that it could present itself despite how she felt. More an unconscious reaction than true emotion.

  “No, but I don’t need to. You are beautiful regardless. They are you. A map to the story of your life. One sad and brutal, yes, but your story. It is one I hope I can help you to heal from. I will work to make you love yourself again as well. I’m your mate, and you are perfection to me just the way you are. It is my mission to make you see that.”

  “So this mate thing is something magical that makes the ugly beautiful to those they are fated to be with?” she asked, the edge still in her voice. She knew she should be uncomfortable, but couldn’t put her finger on the elusive emotion forced into submission before it even got a chance to present itself.

  “My beautiful Anna, there is nothing magic that makes me love you. You were just meant for me to love. I know you feel it, though humans tend to deny it when it comes upon them at first. Not all accept the existence of love at first sight, when true mates find each other. I see you, Anna, really see you, and I love every inch of you. You will just have to learn to accept that, to accept my love, to accept yourself.”

  “And, I have no choice in the matter?”

  “I hope that at some point you will give into it, and not want the choice,” he mumbled, his voice suddenly rough, though low, vibrating through her, making her shiver despite an absence of any extremes of temperature.

  He made a larger rock appear, one that seemed translucent, bowl like, though large. The clear water in it moved in small waves. The beauty of the sight mesmerized her, especially seeing all the other lights around them reflected in the water. It took her breath away, made her disjointed thoughts give into the calm, however it came. She finally began to feel her muscles relax as well.

  “I need to get you cleaned up, but we will have to get these clothes off of you first. I can make the lights lower, dim, so your shape will only be a shadow to me to let you maintain some privacy. I know it is a lot to ask. I will turn my head away, but I know you have to trust me to do that. I will not take advantage of you, nor will I lie to you about how much I want you. But, I will wait until you have adjusted, until you are sure of things on your own terms, without my aid.”

  “I…I don’t know what to say, or think…or do, honestly. But, what choices do I have? Not like I can open a door and walk home from here, right? I can’t, right?”

  “No, only I can get you out of here, and I am sorry if this in any way seems that you have been kidnapped. I am protecting you, and once you come to see that, once you see I would never harm you, maybe you can come to look into your feelings for me, accept them for what they are.”

  “And, what are they? They are not created by you, like this calm thing?”

  “No, they are not. Do you believe in fate?”

  “I guess, but I’ve only seen it bring bad this past year. It is my fate to be scarred and alone.”

  “No, it is not. It is your fate to have a dragon love you, to bring you back to life, on earth or this realm, beyond anything you have dreamed of. I will prove myself to you. I promise. And, we have nothing but time. Now, I will turn, and you will wash. Here, this water is all you need. It will begin to heal you, too, after I drop this stone into it. I am going to let you go now. You will remain where you are. You are safe. You can’t fall. Trust me,” he said, doing just as he told her he would, true to his word.

  So far, he’d only proven himself a man of integrity, never taking advantage even when he obviously could. So, when he turned from her, the brightness of the gems and stuff around her dimming, she tried to let the thought that she would fall at any moment go. It wasn’t like his calm let her feel the actual fear anyway, she just overly thought about it. Releasing the whirl of maniacal rumination, it became easier to grasp onto the fact she remained suspended in the black air. The idea of being naked in front of him wasn’t so much a modesty thing, rather more a not trusting herself thing. Wishing to deny it or not, she had an undeniable desire for him. Not just to be in his presence, to want to talk to him, learn of him, understand all of this, but to be with him, physically. Lust vibrated through her, a low sizzle of heat just below her skin that caused a hot ache only his touch could incite and then po
ssibly heal.

  Her nipples already pebbled under her filthy shirt just at the thought of being so close to this naked man. The shadow of his body, the way he held his rounded ass tight, even in shadows, was beyond anything she had seen of the male form. She wanted to press her body against it. Kiss it. Bite it. Even in her thoughts, a part of her that had once been reckless in love, thought what the hell? She had no means of escape and was trapped with a gorgeous man who claimed to not only think she was beautiful, but to be her mate. What idiot would pass up that sort of chance?

  If one could have sex here, why not, was the way her thoughts went. She supposed what happened in the dragon realm stayed in the dragon realm. Who would believe her anyway? And, if this was some sort of hallucination or dream, who would ever know or even fault her. She couldn’t even fault herself with that sort of rational. She could decide it all a dream later. With shaking hands, she began to remove her clothes, noticing her body did a sexy little shimmy as she pushed off her jeans. Her inner core clenched around the desire that built, tightening every muscle the more clothing she shed. She could so easily go for this grab for life, this chance with this man. The extenuating circumstances she didn’t even yet comprehend.

  “Oh,” he said, not turning, “there will appear a robe for you when you are done. Just let me know when it is safe to turn around again.”

  “Okay.” She breathed out on a heavy sigh. His voice seemed to caress her body, her needy flesh. She lusted for him to turn around, to take her. The sudden desperation shocked her, defied his calm.

  “I am allowing you more of your own true emotions as you calm yourself, come to accept the unacceptable, or perhaps unbelievable, I suppose. I don’t want you numb to your feelings. Selfishly, I don’t want that at all. I long for you to accept me, on your own terms, though. I won’t push. Still, I do feel you giving in, at least to some degree.”

  “So,” she began, dipping her hands into the water, and splashing it on herself, unsure where it went after that exactly. How it just dissipated from her, yet still managed to wash away not only the filth but the pain as well. “What you are saying is that you can feel me wanting you.”

  “Yes. I do. I don’t mean it to be an invasion of privacy, but yes, I do feel what you do. In time, you will come to feel me, too. It will be part of our connection once we bond, physically that is, as mates.”

  “As good enough as any an excuse to have sex with you, to even the playing field,” she remarked, shocking herself at hearing the words come from her mouth. “Oh, I’m sorry, I should have kept that thought to myself, unless you can read my mind as well.”

  “No,” he said with a laugh, one deep and full, seductive, shaking her to her very core. “I can only feel what you do. The ability to feel you lets me help you, but I can not read your mind. I hope that brings you comfort. And, as to what you said, that brings me some comfort, not only to hear you joke, but to know you are thinking such thoughts, in jest or not, is a start.”

  “Right. I do want you. Somehow, you calm the bad feelings, but that gets through. I assume you already knew that, but what to do with it, the feelings so fast and new, especially given the usual fears of it are silenced. That is the debate in my head. Fate or not, it isn’t something I have experienced before, this love at first sight thing. I feel that, and yet can’t buy into it either. I would blame that on fear, naturally, normally, but again I can’t really feel it enough yet to know. Add to that, the constant tangle of what I see and what I can believe. I do want to be honest with you, the more you release me to my own feelings. I feel the calm lifting, the twitter of my own emotions inside, and honestly, them reconciling with my thoughts is easier to handle. I think I’ve become immune to being afraid to some degree, as much as I can. I haven’t fallen from the sky. You have only saved me, been kind. And, I have a gut reaction that I can trust you. Easier when you are in human form, though your dragon…Wow, can’t believe I said that. Well…anyway when your dragon had me, he obviously didn’t hurt me either. So sorry to ramble. It helps me sort through all of this.”

  “You ramble all you want. I love the sound of your voice. It is like music to my ears. Watching you, I was deprived of it. Do you realize, given the life you have chosen, one that shelters you so much from people, how little you say in a day?”

  “So, this watching me…you were always watching?”

  “I gave you your privacy. Trust me. I only watched to ensure you were safe. So you have no doubts, in brutal honestly, I still hunger to know what you look like without clothes,” he said, his voice growing hoarse, or more animalistic.

  “More scars, I’m afraid.” The words came out with a passion that burnt her throat as a strong wave of emotion hit her.

  Fear aside, anger seeped in. She wished she could offer him a body even remotely comparable to the perfection that his was, rather than one mutilated by life. She found it strange how easily she’d moved past the fear on her own, coming to some acceptance of him, of her feelings toward him. The reality around her was undeniable. He wasn’t a threat. That she felt in her very bones. He calmed her, not by whatever magic he possessed, but with his very presence. That was not only wonderful but addictive, something she didn’t want to lose, thus creating another sort of fear, one irrational, based in insecurity. Seemed it didn’t matter how much he let her feel. Insanity prevailed. Only constant was her hunger for this man with the solid build, as if an Adonis etched from stone.

  “It doesn’t matter,” he growled, the sound jarring her as it seemed to flood around her naked body, almost clean and healed now from the flood of water from the stone she’d held over her head. He continued after a deep breath, “I want you. You are going to have to learn to accept that. Do not insult me by insulting yourself. I could hear it in your voice, feel the self-loathing coming off of you in hot waves. That I won’t have. You will know just how beautiful I think you are once I get my hands on you. I can promise you that. After, never again will you utter a word otherwise.”

  Her body trembled with a good type of fear, one that promised love and passion. She hung there, her body in some sort of fluid sitting position, cradled by air she couldn’t feel. Yet, his words had awakened something inside of her. That fierce passion she used to have for life–to recklessly seize hold of each and every day rather than merely spinning her wheels to get through one. She wanted him, and after the day that she’d had–hell the year she’d had–whatever parts of this reality she was coming to accept or not, she deserved these moments of being loved, wanted as she hadn’t been in so long.

  She fingered the white robe suddenly hanging beside her, feeling what was like cashmere to her touch, as if he knew her tastes. He probably did, would know from his observations that sweaters were a favorite just after cotton, but that silk was something she never wore. A little thing, but more the straw that broke the camel’s back in her need to have him touch her, look at her, really see her and still want her. She hadn’t had that in so long, she couldn’t deny herself another minute. Whatever bonds held her back suddenly snapped.

  Leaving the robe hanging, she whispered, “Okay. You can turn around now.”

  “Listen, Anna,” he began as he turned around. Yet, seeing her, his words fell off, though his chest moved up and down with his deep, fast breaths, as she watched the marvel of it. “Anna,” he began again. “You have to know what you are doing to me.”

  “Touch me,” she said, a few tears clouding over her vision, seeing his face, knowing how a man looked at a woman he desired.

  “Are you sure? I have to be sure. The mate thing is tricky. You want, and you want fast, but I need to know that you are ready for me to claim you, as that is what sex would be between us. You would be mine then. You would belong to me.”

  “Claim me,” she said without hesitation, wanting to belong to someone again. A boldness built inside her, making her feel like some volcano about to explode is she were unable to have his hands on her. “I can imagine a worse fate, as I have lived
one for so long. No one has looked at me like you are now in such a long time. Not that I have given any human the chance, but with you, it is all so different. Being with you is healing. Not just the water, but the way you look at me, the words you say. Even if in some funky realm I can’t begin to understand, or even accept, yet can’t escape, I want you. I won’t deny that. It’s a miracle to me at this moment. Touch me. Please.”

  He seemed to glide toward her, the lights around them moving and trembling as he did so. They created a beautiful light show around them. His brought his hands immediately to her cheeks, cupping them, as her body unfurled, allowed his to bump against it. Little sparks ignited between them, felt but not seen, each place where skin met skin. Balance against each other a precarious situation, his arms wrapping around her back, squeezing her to him as if he needed her to take his next breath, she struggled for air herself. She’d never felt more stable in her life.

  Then his lips touched hers, rocking her world as his erection pressed against her stomach. He saw her. He wanted her. It was as simple as that. After all of this time being cut off from being a real human, it was more than enough. A flutter of mixed emotions went through her, making her want to wrap her body around his. Soon, his tongue swept across her lips, begging for entrance that she easily allowed. She gave herself over to the passion literally swirling around them, as if it alone held them up, in place.

  He pulled away soon after, as if he’d changed his mind, pushing away from her. Her body tightened, waiting, expecting rejection until she saw the look in his eyes that devoured her.

  “I need to explore every inch of you. May I?”

  She managed to nod her head, words lodged in her throat, making it a struggle to get air. He reached out to caress her locks of hair at first, swirling his fingers in them, rubbing the strands between his digits. Her body ached to be touched. As if he had read her mind, he kissed her forehead, several times, soft and quick, before his lips connected with the scar across her eyebrows.