What the hell. Dragons. They were real.
She blinked. Dragons weren’t real. Maddie stood, her hands still on the chains. Slowly she took a step, mesmerized by the beast. Releasing the cold metal of the chain, Maddie started walking, tripping over uneven ground.
Amazing.
The dragon started to approach her, and she tried to scurry back. What the hell?
Her body started to burn hot again, but her fear kept the focus on surviving. How in the hell was a dragon… she stopped, the panic slipping away as he came closer.
Those eyes.
Maddie sucked in air, quieting her panic.
“Kal?”
The dragon snuffed, yes or no, she wasn’t sure. When he didn’t attack, she figured it was a yes.
“Okay. So, is that a yes?”
A nervous laugh escaped. “A dragon. How many dragons could there be? Of course it’s you.” Recalling the morning, she tried to remember another guy with Kal. Okay, so maybe there were two. But still, those eyes.
“I know it’s you.”
Standing and dusting her butt off, Maddie took a deep breath. Sliding one foot forward, she reached out her hand, hesitation pulling her back. Glancing around, she questioned her sanity. What if she’d just made Kal up and now this, a dragon? Was her mind so desperate to feel something, it could make any of this up?
Heat swirled around her, a trickle of sweat tickling her temple.
Not now.
Maddie could live her entire life without any more damn hot flashes. This needed to wait until she could understand him, Kal. The dragon shifted and made an impatient huff.
“Oh, just shut it. Excuse me for being a little skeptical. Have you seen your teeth?”
The stupid shit spread his lips and gave her a better view.
“I’m not a dentist. I don’t need to see them.” Rolling her eyes, she walked up to him. At least Maddie was sure it was Kal now.
Breathing past the burning starting behind her eyes, she pushed forward. What would he feel like?
This was real.
This was all insane. Then again, was it? Witches, vampires, shifters, ghosts, Fae, shit she hadn’t ever heard of, all existed. Why was a dragon so hard to wrap her head around?
“Maddie sweetheart, just pet the man.”
She jumped and looked up. “Great timing, Mom.”
Even Kal’s dragon stretched his neck and shrunk back in confusion.
“This is my mother, Kal. Mom, this is uh, Kal.”
Her mother floated closer, inspecting the dragon. “I see. Interesting. I mean, I saw him. But, this. Well, he’s just wonderful, isn’t he? Sort of like an extra large scaly dog.”
The dragon growled.
“I don’t think Kal appreciates that.” Maddie stepped closer, and the burning increased. She shook her hands, praying the fire raging through her veins would stop. It needed to stop long enough for her to talk to her mother. Maddie tried to magic up some ice. Holy hell. This fire thing needed to stop.
“Oh, hush sweet-pea. Kal here knows as well as I do that he’s as harmless as a housepet around you.”
Maddie reached her hand out instinctually, laying it against him, her mother's words stopping her train of thought.
“I think that’s rude to a shifter. Whatever. You weren’t normal when you were alive, like you’re going to change now that you're a ghost.”
Her mother laughed, the sound pulling at old memories, the memories where she realized just how much she missed her mom, and how running wouldn’t have changed that.
“All right, Mom. Why did you call me back here?”
Maddie wanted the answer - but as she said it, her vision blurred. Fanning herself, she licked her lips, and fought the need to lie down.
Breathing in cool air did nothing to cool her. The world seemed to shift for a moment. Her legs grew weak with each passing second. Swallowing against the exhaustion washing over her, she blinked and leaned on Kal for support.
“Isn’t it obvious? They finally arrived, my dear. Maddie, all this time I wanted you to realize your fate simply wasn’t here, yet.”
Maddie blinked away the blurriness in her eyes.
“You're kidding me. You called me back here because of him?”
Her mother floated closer and made a half-hearted attempt at brushing Maddie’s hair back.
“I called you back because I’m worried about you. You don’t come to visit much. You’re unhappy.”
Screaming sounded good right now. Maddie wanted to shake her mother, if you could shake something without a body.
“Mother! I’m unhappy because you died, and you didn’t even try to stop it. I’m unhappy because all my life you’ve told me what my destiny wasn’t and then you didn’t even try to save yourself.”
Maddie leaned into Kal, instinct driving her to find him, a solid force, a force that wouldn’t leave her.
She glanced back. Was that the truth? Was that how she actually felt? Or was she just trying to find a reason for her need?
Maddie focused on standing as a wave of heat raged through her.
“I understand, sweetheart. I do. But something you’ve never understood is that you can’t always change the future. You always thought I hadn’t tried to see all options, and in the end, this was the easiest for you. My soul survived, I’m still here for you.”
Maddie fought the pressure behind her eyes. Son of a bitch, she would not cry. It had been two years. She wouldn’t cry.
“I don’t need a ghost. I need you. A ghost can leave me again. I can’t lose you again, and again. The one thing I know is ghosts.”
Kal circled his head around, encasing Maddie in the crook. Strength. A flash of heat had her head swimming again.
No. Not now.
“Love, he’s the reason I’ve hung around. He’s my unfinished business. I couldn’t leave until my baby had finally found the right one. But, you’re right. Someday I’d like to rest. But not until you’re safe.”
Resting her free hand on her chest, Maddie focused on the beating of her heart and not the heat coursing through her like a wildfire at the height of a drought. She focused on the rock of a- well hell, the dragon holding her safely near him.
“Kal, dear. Please shift back. You found her, now put the dragon away for a while. You can’t get through this town looking like that, anyway.”
Maddie stepped away as his body shifted and moved away. The surrounding air boiled. Even in his absence, she couldn’t cool. Maddie pulled at the neck of her shirt. She had the thought that his retreat left her a few degrees hotter.
Her powers were useless against this magic. Focusing on Kal, the dragon, she could feel them, they were there. Close. Focus on that.
No. Too hot. Maddie called the cool breezes again, praying that this time the spell would be enough.
Just as quickly as the dragon had moved away, a strong body pressed against her.
Slowly she turned, battling the pain spiking within her body.
If moving had been a mistake, seeing Kal in all his glory had been the best decision she’d ever make for the rest of her life. Maddie’s eyes widened. Yeah, okay. He had muscles in places she didn’t know had muscles.
Oh God.
Was it possible for it to be hotter? Quickly she cast her eyes to the sky. But, then she peeked again. Damn it.
Her eyes followed down his body, one inch at a time. Hot. So hot. Her, him. Who the hell knew at that exact moment.
There was one muscle that Maddie couldn’t unsee. She didn’t want to unsee it.
Shit. Wait.
Oh God. Nope. Burned into her brain forever.
Maddie looked again.
“Don’t worry, dear. I don’t think he has any scruples over you looking.” Her mother floated around Maddie and Kal. “My, my, my. Fate really likes you, my dear. He was worth waiting for, don’t you agree?”
“Mother!” Maddie squeaked.
The ghost sauntered a few feet away. “Good Lord, Maddie.
I’m dead, not nonexistent. Even I can enjoy a good male specimen. Tell him to stay clear of cemeteries though. Good Lord, he could bring new life to some of those corpses.”
Her face heated, or maybe it was the stupid fire raging in her body rather than her mother’s embarrassing words. This was one of those high school moments where you just wanted the floor to suck you up.
“Mother. Stop.”
Maybe her demon father could swallow her up right now.
“Think of it as research, sweetheart. I can’t leave my daughter with someone, well, someone like your ex. He would not please you, ever.”
Yup. Swallow her right now. “Mother. Please stop. I can’t. No mother should see their future son-in-law’s junk.”
Kal stopped in front of her. Maddie tried to look away. She tried to look over his shoulder. She tried not to stare at him, but for crap’s sake. She wanted to jump him.
“I understand the word future. Son-in-law though?” Kal asked.
Her eyes met his. “I uh. No. It was just a figure of speech. You don’t worry about it.”
Shit. Shit. Shit. She’d really just implied that maybe he had a future with her. And, maybe he did. Maybe she should listen to her damn mom this time. Then again.
A wave of dizziness hit her. The fire growing.
So hot. Boiling.
Kal’s arms jetted out towards her, catching Maddie before she fell.
Her arms had started to shake as she reached out to him. Kal’s form came in and out of focus. The only comfort was the strong grip he placed around her. At least she wouldn’t fall if her legs gave out.
“You’re all right, mate?”
“I. Maybe? Just give me a second.”
Kal placed a hand over her head and closed his eyes. She took a deep breath for the first time in forever. The searing pain behind her eyes subsided to a dull roar.
“Better?” Kal asked.
She blinked. “Yes. A little. I can stand now.”
“Maddie dear, accept your fate so I can rest. Accept him, because seriously, if you don’t someone else will. I mean… I think I can feel my heart beating.”
“Mother.”
Her mom’s ghost chuckled.
“You don’t have to sell me on him. If he wants me, then he will figure out how to win me.”
His arm slipped around her, pulling her tight. Her body relaxed, and tingles of something she couldn’t identify followed. Hell, he didn’t have to work that hard.
“Well love, sometimes I feel like you failed to see that I knew best. I want you to make the right choice, just for once.”
Maddie went to put her mother in her place, but all that came out was a puff of air as her body cranked up the heat and took her back a step. Head to toe the fire burned. Maybe she looked cool, glowing, but right now all she could think of was the pain.
“Mom?” She tried to call out. The blaze burning a destructive trail through her veins intensified. Everything faded around them.
A reprieve from the pain came along her arm where Kal touched her.
“Maddie?”
Kal’s voice broke through her agony. He kissed her earlier and made it all better, or well, slightly better.
Blindly she reached for his face.
“Kiss me.”
6
Hesitation wasn’t something he knew, and now was not the time to feel a new and human emotion. Doubt. What if he couldn’t save her? No, there was no room for this.
Kal pressed his lips to hers, wrapping his arms around her soft curves. The dragon quieted for a moment as they dragged in the heat, a high from magic coursing through his veins. He didn’t have to look to know that his tattoos were burning brighter like a fire being stoked. His dragon grew within him, stretching with energy.
Through the haze of the power, he realized something was still wrong. He breathed her in. Her scent changed. Singed. It was then that Kal felt the blaze of Maddie’s skin. This wasn’t right. His soul pulled in the power burning within her, stronger, faster.
In one motion he tightened his grip around her as she went limp. Pulling his lips from hers, he called out. “Maddie?” Her body was near lifeless.
The heat singed even through her clothes as he lifted her.
What the hell was going on? No one had warned them, him, that humans could be affected by their power. None of the humans in all the years of warriors finding mates had ever done this. They were supposed to find their mate, and their mate was supposed to be able to handle the power once the ritual had been completed.
Words. All just words. His dragon would know her the second he saw her. She would be able to survive his fire. She would wear his markings. All the rules and yet she followed almost none of them. The markings dancing over her skin would have blinded him had he not been what he was. This wasn’t right. It was as if she were the sun, and that wasn’t possible. No one could survive that.
“Shit.”
He kissed her again, but this time Maddie didn’t respond. He breathed in, pulling the magic from her again and again, trying to rid her of his cursed power.
“Kal, although I appreciate your concern for my daughter, this isn’t working. Come with me, dear boy.”
He looked over his shoulder and saw the ghost.
His heart beat faster than the flapping of his wings against a hurricane solar storm.
“Maddie? Answer me.” He couldn’t lose her. Not now, not ever. He’d just found her. His nightmares crashed in around him, his greatest fears manifesting. Failure to save his mate. He wasn’t dreaming though, this was real.
Kal moved quickly , careful to keep Maddie supported.
This ghost thing made no sense, but Maddie loved her. He would trust her too.
“Help me save her. I will do anything. I’m meant to protect her, my mate. I can’t lose her. Please.”
Kal stood there, waiting for instructions. Helpless. He had no idea where to go. The ship was too far and his brothers wouldn’t have known what to do, anyway.
“She’ll be fine. Don’t take too long though. My daughter, she’s special. Far different from anything you were expecting, I would think.”
Maddie started to sweat in his arms, the glowing of the tattoos too bright.
“Maddie’s Mom, take me wherever I need to go. I will do anything.”
The ghost floated a few feet in front of him. “Follow me. Quickly. ”
He did as told, his bare feet pulling in the cold of the ground as they ran. Kal hated the cold, but he needed to cool her down. He needed to cool his Maddie, even if the cold caused him to ache.
“Please. Can we go faster?”
Without looking up, Kal followed the shift in magic in the air as the ghost moved.
“Only another block.”
Kal, a god-like creature, and yet right now he felt helpless as Maddie burned up in his arms.
“Here. This is the house. I’ve kept it knowing she’d return soon enough.”
Kal took the steps two by two before he hit the porch.
“Stop, young man,” the ghost yelled.
He paused. “What?”
She floated to the right, to a small swing.
“The key is under here, please do not break down that door.”
He glanced over, confused. What key? Didn’t they have some kind of recognition software? God, what kind of planet was this? He couldn’t wait to go home to technology.
“How does one use this key?”
She rolled her eyes at him. No one was afraid of him either. He hated this planet right now. “Kal, I can see the future. Now, stop wasting time and get the key.”
He supported Maddie the best he could as he bent to grab the key. She mumbled something as her feet touched the porch, her weight almost completely on him.
“Kal, before you take my daughter in, know something. You will need to take her away from here. And soon. Our planet has its own problems. Its own villains and unfortunately I can see them coming. Please protect her. She doesn’t ha
ve any real reason to stay here, anyway. Make that clear to her. She has nothing to stay for.”
Kal nodded as he scooped her up once again. Holding up the key, he took the porch in two long strides only to end up glaring at the door.
“You put it in that hole right there. I hope you are better at this mating thing than you are at locks.”
Kal growled.
“Calm down. It was a joke. Put the key there and turn.”
He fumbled with the tiny key as he tried to get it into the keyhole.
Finally, the knob turned, and he burst through the entrance.
“This is my cue. I’ll come back to say goodbye later. Protect her.”
“With my life,” he responded and kicked at the primitive piece of wood.
The door slammed shut, leaving them in a deafening silence. Alone. Now what?
The house smelled clean, old, and empty. No threats, just his Maddie. What did he do? Where was he supposed to take her? The darkness didn’t hurt his sight. He could make out shadows, doorways.
The words from Maddie’s mom haunted him as he looked down the hall. The thought that perhaps she wouldn’t want to leave had never entered his mind. He hadn’t been prepared for that response.
Maddie moaned, pulling him to the present.
His dragon paced, his soul suddenly felt cramped and this body no longer big enough for either.
Kal pulled her in tighter and tried to call the heat from her. The lick of fire flowed through his bloodstream, a welcome and familiar searing running its natural course. It wasn’t enough though.
Maddie opened her eyes as he glanced down at her.
“Where are you taking me?” her voice weak.
“A bed.”
He shivered as her fingers ran over the skin of his chest. He could feel her heartbeat as the heat thrummed from her fingers to him. This wasn’t fast enough. He wasn’t helping enough. Something had to give. She’d be dead if he didn’t figure out this dark magic.
“Do you understand why you are so hot?” He met her weak gaze. “Do you know why your magic has you damn near incinerating?”
Must Love Dragonsl (Space Dragons Seek Mates Book 1) Page 5
