Cimmerian Shade: A Limited Edition Paranormal Romance & Urban Fantasy Collection

by Kiki Howell

  “Really?” She licked her lips and pulled her eyes off his chest to meet his gaze. Her stomach fluttered at the thought of being his first in this room.

  “You’re staring.” A little grin found its way to his mouth.

  “I know.” She cleared her throat. “Go on, show me what you got, dragon.”

  Torren closed his eyes and hummed. It was a low melody, enchanting, mesmerizing, and beautiful to hear. How did dragons make that kind of sound? Light danced around the room, swirling and moving to the notes in his chant, flowing from plants, through Torren, and into the book. The colors shimmered from yellow to red, in blues and greens. A buzz filled the room and the hair on her arms stood on end. Her body flooded with desire. She couldn’t help herself, the pull was so damn strong. She crawled over to him. She just needed to feel him. . . Her hand reached out so slowly it was painful. She couldn’t pull it back, couldn’t make herself stop. Didn’t want to make herself stop,

  The humming stopped abruptly and his hand sprung out to capture hers. Her body flooded with ecstasy. Her back arched and his hot mouth was over her nipple through her shirt. He tugged on the sensitive peak and Dovie cried out as waves of orgasms blindsided her. Then she fell to the floor. He’d let go and she panted as she rode out the energy flowing through her.

  “Damn the stars, Duv. Why did you do that?” His voice was husky, laced with want.

  Dovie managed to open her eyes as she caught her breath. “I had to. I can’t explain it.”

  Torren stood above her, his hard-on at attention through his shorts, begging for her to touch it. Her hand reached up, but he stepped back.

  “You are pure torture, Duv. Pure torture..." He slipped down his shorts, and they pooled at his ankles. He fisted himself and grunted. It was so hot. She lost herself in his slitted gaze. He stared down at her, pumping faster and harder. She watched him swell, the tip reddening. Her mouth watered. She’d give nearly anything to touch him right now, but something kept her back, perhaps the dark need to watch him release as he had watched her so many times. His breath came out in gasps as he pounded himself harder. She encouraged him on by pulling up her shirt, exposing her taut nipples wanting to be what he pictured everytime he released.

  Torren groaned and cupped his balls. They tightened and he flung his head back. A low growl escaped his lips as his seed sprang forth, landing on her breasts. Dovie spasmed... a white-hot orgasm raged over her body before Torren wiped her clean with his shorts. But she needed more... so much more. The moment over far too fast for her liking.

  “I wanted to show you something wonderful.” Torren’s voice broke into her euphoria.

  “You did,” she whispered. She wanted to reach for him but he seemed so far away already with his member slowly softening. He stepped back, farther away, almost out the door.

  “I want you and I don’t want you at the same time. Do you know how fucking hard it is to look at you writhing below me, begging for my touch with your body, and refuse myself?” Torren didn’t give her a chance to answer before he left the room. She heard the rustle of clothes and the front door slam shut. Why was he always running away?

  Dovie didn’t know if it was the orgasms making her so tired or just the emotional stress of the situation. She rolled to her side and closed her eyes. After a fitfull catnap or two, she finally sat up, night had descended, but she hadn’t heard Torren come back in. Her stomach grumbled and Dovie fled his magic room making her way to the kitchen, turning on lights as she went.

  She pulled some bread out of the drawer and rummaged through the cabinets until she found peanut butter. She thought she’d seen some jelly somewhere... She pulled the fridge open and smiled. Grape jelly right in the door holder.

  It didn’t take long for her to scarf down the sandwich. She listened for Torren. Was he still wandering about outside? He couldn’t be too far away because she didn’t feel any discomfort, other than her ache from sleeping on the floor. Dovie licked her fingers off. He needed space, and she did too. A cold shower, that’s what she needed. Dovie headed for the bathroom.

  She didn’t know if she wanted him or hated him more as she stripped off her clothes. She closed the bathroom door and turned the water on lukewarm. She didn’t understand his need to not be with her. Why couldn’t he be what he wanted, an Ancient or whatever, and still enjoy his time with her? She stepped into the brisk water and let it rain down on her head. The cool drops instantly doused the heat he’d spread everywhere. She let her face fall back into the water and his seed from her body. Once she started to shiver, she turned the water off and stepped out.

  She faced herself in the mirror. Her darkened wet hair coiled over her shoulder, her nipples taut from the chill. She was curvy, not ugly. She liked her body. She didn’t have a thigh gap, but then she’d never thought that was attractive either. Dovie grabbed a towel, dried her hair, and wrapped it around her body. She had no idea what time it was, but she was exhausted regardless. Her shoulders slumped as she walked back to the bedroom. How was she going to live like this? Could she change his mind? Did she want to? She barely knew him, and what she did know wasn’t exactly great. So what if he could cook. So what if he had ambition. So what if his lips tasted like sin. He had wanted her and then left her. Just gone like her parents.

  Dovie closed the bedroom door and let the towel fall at her feet. She slipped into a pair of comfy pants and a tank top, deciding against her bra. As she flicked off the light, a huge dark shadow crossed the window. She stilled.

  She heard a rush of air and then the shadow passed by again. Dovie didn’t dare blink as she tiptoed to the window and pulled back the curtain. Her heart hammered away in her chest. She covered her mouth as she watched a big dark dragon, completely shifted, glide past the window again. She had no words for the beauty of such a creature as its scales glistened in the moonlight, the light of the house reflecting off the dragon’s body. Bright red eyes found her and she screamed. She couldn’t help it. Those eyes weren’t Torren’s, and that look said the beast had found what it was looking for. It flapped up into the air, turned, and dove straight for the window. Dovie ran, not wanting to turn her back on what was coming, but not ready to be eaten by a dragon either. She knew she shouldn’t have come here. Did Torren dislike her so much he’d have one of his kin eat her just to be free of her? She pulled at the knob, trying to get the door to open, but her palms were clammy and slipped off the metal. She tried again as the window shattered, splintering wood creaking behind her.

  Oh fuck! Oh fuck! She needed to get out, now!

  The door flew open and Torren stood in front of her, the light of the hall cascading over him like a halo. Was he going to let the beast take her? She reached out to him, but he didn’t reach for her. Claws dug into her flesh and she screeched as white-hot pain seared her calf. Rational thought left as she kicked at the beast, tears falling down her cheeks. It roared, spittle flying everywhere, and the smell of rotten eggs penetrated her nose. The world tilted, her stomach lurched, and she threw up. Half-digested sandwich colored the floor as she was dragged back toward the window by the horrible pain in her leg. She scratched at the carpet, hoping to find a grip despite everything, not ready yet to die. Her hand found the base of the bed and she held to it for dear life.

  A sense of peace swept over the room and a yellow flash blinded her for a moment. Torren came back into view, but instead of a man, he had taken the shape of a golden yellow dragon, its wings spread out, knocking holes in the walls, debris flying everywhere. The black dragon let go of her legs and roared at Torren. Torren roared back, the sound so fierce she thought her eardrums might pop.

  And then there was just silence and pain. Dizziness invaded her head and the light receded.

  Torren kneeled beside her legs, a man again. What had he done? He was talking to her, but she couldn’t make out his words. He looked up, meeting her gaze, his eyes slitted, his mouth a thin line, and concern looming in his gaze. Then there were two of him before they found thei
r way back to each other. She closed her eyes and held her head, wanting to curl up, but the moment she moved her leg, hot pain slammed into her with such ferocity she nearly vomited again.

  “Come on, Duv. Damn the stars, open your eyes.” Torren’s voice was so soft, so warm. Dovie really wanted to open her eyes, but they didn’t want to. A warmth enveloped her, a blanket, and blissfully, her leg stopped thrumming with fire. “You can do it, just open them up.” His voice cooed from a distance.

  Finally, her eyes fluttered open and Torren held her against him. She had something wrapped snuggly around her. It felt so soft and her head lulled back. “I just want to go to sleep. Let me go to sleep.”

  “I will, little Duv, but I need to see your eyes first.” He said other things but Dovie was having a hard time concentrating on his voice. Her eyes fluttered open. "Good." His voice hummed to her, encouraging her to close her eyes this time, and she couldn’t help but comply.

  Chapter Thirteen

  TORREN PACED IN front of Brooks’ guest bedroom. “Where are they? They should be here by now.” His hands shook as he looked down at the dried blood on his shirt. Her blood.

  “Walk me through what happened again.” Brooks put a hand on Torren’s shoulder.

  “It was a moonstruck. Right in my house. The beast barreled through my window after her, taking most of the side wall with it.” He ran his hands through his hair. “Why would it be so close to the house?”

  “The Draconic Challenge pulls at many dragons. The moonstruck are no different; they are just broken. They were once just like you and I.” Brooks gave him a sympathetic look.

  “But she doesn’t even have scales. She’s human. Why go after a human?” Torren ran his hands through his hair.

  “To get to you. I see your scales are coming in sooner. Stress?” Brooks asked.

  “Something like that.” Torren wasn’t going to tell him that he wanted the human, that when he’d seen her in his room, reaching out, scrambling, trying to get away, his anger had burst its seams at the thought of not having her there. She’d nearly died, and all the crap, the want, the need, the credence, was so small compared to her death, her pain, and the real fear he’d witnessed in her eyes. He’d have nightmares about that look for weeks to come.

  “They can sniff out shifting kin. The early onset of your shift must have triggered the moonstruck to seek out what it covets. How’d you two get away?”

  “I pulled energy in from the surrounding plants, mostly from my meditation room, and then I shifted. A dire shift. I couldn’t believe it. I know emotions can take over and we can shift into a dire shift outside of the new moon, but I never thought I would. I’m pretty sure I left my mark on the creature when I threw magic at it as well. A blood trail, not human, leads away from the house before disappearing. Presumably it flew off. I can’t take her back there. She’s going to be scared for life where dragons are concerned. I doubt she will be able to handle the change during the new moon.” Torren glanced at the scales on his wrist. She might not be able to look at him for a while.

  “I’ll send some people out to look for the moonstruck. Don’t assume, Torren. This will affect her in many ways, but you won’t know until she wakes up and has healed more. I can set you two up in the guest house out back. Do you need anything from your house? Since a search party is already heading there in the morning, I can have them bring stuff back.”

  “Anything not covered in blood of hers, in the trashed room, and I’ll go back for my credence and clothes after I know she will pull through this. I don’t know what the moonstruck had on it, but she’s loopy. Do you think it’s poison?” Fear assailed his gut. How long could she last with poison in her? Where were the fucking healers?

  “We won’t know until the healers get here. Be patient. I know it’s hard. Go be with her.”

  Torren turned toward the stairs as footsteps approached. “It’s about damn time. What took you so long?” A tall blond male hit the top of the stairs first, followed by a petite blond female. They looked like siblings

  “She in there?” the male asked.

  Torren moved out of the way so the healers could get into the room. He followed after them, staying at a safer distance. He didn’t want her to see him. She moaned on the bed, blood soaking the blankets he’d wrapped her in. The bleeding had mostly stopped though, after he did some first aid. He had created a bandage to help until true healers could fix her. She reached out, her eyes closed, and said his name, fear laced her voice.

  “He’s here,” the female healer said. She looked back at Torren. “What’s her name?”

  “Dovie.” Torren took a small step forward before he caught a glimpse of his shirt. Her blood. He ripped the material off and tossed it aside. Cool air cascaded across his bare chest, but at least if she saw him, she wouldn’t be seeing her blood.

  “Dovie, he’s here. Don’t worry. My brother and I will take good care of you.” The female’s voice soothed, but Torren didn’t feel calm. His gut tightened.

  “I think she was poisoned.” Torren pointed at her leg.

  The male unwrapped the leg and bent down. He took a big whiff and coughed. “It isn’t poison. It’s sliver, the drug humans make from our scales. Shit!”

  “How did a moonstruck get sliver on him?” the female asked, turning back to Torren again.

  “How should I know? Can you help her?” She’d been drugged. Given all the pain she had to be in, it wouldn’t be so bad except dragon scales were highly addictive. Just one use and the addiction could set in or kill a human.

  “Someone had to have put it on the moonstruck’s claws. Or maybe he got into it chasing humans?” The female looked at her brother.

  “Does it fucking matter? Can you help her?” Torren nearly screamed the words.

  “You can step out if you can’t control your temper. We will do our best.” The male glared over the top of his sister’s head. He glanced back down and began pulling equipment out of his leather bag, including scissors, needles, thread, tape, gauze, and a few other things blocked from Torren’s view. Dovie cried as they moved her right leg. It had a huge gaping hole where they pulled his pulpy bandage out. Dark blood seeped from the wound. Torren had to look away. It didn’t make him sick; no, it pissed him off. How dare a moonstruck come into his home and attack Dovie. She moaned again and Torren stepped toward the bed.

  “Let us do our job and then you can come to her. Go out, get something to drink, and update Brooks. We’ll come down when you can see her,” the male said, staring at Torren.

  Torren glared at the male, but in truth, he was no help here. “Fine.” He walked out of the room, shutting the door behind him. Brooks’ low voice drifted from downstairs. Maybe a cup of coffee would do him some good.

  “Torren, how is she?” Brooks looked up, clicking end on his cell phone.

  “The beast’s claw was laced in sliver. They are going to do what they can and update us once they have her stable. Coffee?”

  “Just made a fresh pot.” He pulled a cup out of the cabinet and handed it to Torren.

  “She isn’t going to want to see me. Not while my scales. . .” His voice trailed off as he poured the hot liquid.

  “Torren. Don’t do this to yourself. She might surprise you.” Brooks looked him in the eyes.

  “You didn’t see her face.”

  “We can execute a special-circumstance detachment if we need to.” Brooks gave him a questioning look.

  She wouldn’t ever want him after this. It should please him; they could be detached because of the attack. So why didn’t that make him happy?

  .

  Chapter Fourteen

  DOVIE COUGHED AND struggled to open her eyes. The heavy lids barely moved the first few times she tried. When they finally fluttered open she had no idea where she was. A blond female counted as she looked down at her watch, her fingers on Dovie’s wrist.

  The blond glanced up and smiled. “You’re awake. That’s a real good sign. I’m Lila, a heale
r.” She looked into Dovie’s eyes and then uncovered her leg. “The wrap is still holding pretty good and it’s not due for a change until later today. How you feeling?”

  “Thirsty.” Dovie smacked her lips. Her mouth was so dry she was sure they had filled it with cotton while she’d slept. Shivers zipped through her body every few seconds. Her head throbbed, but not as badly as her leg. Though the pain was tolerable, she didn’t dare move it. The image of the black dragon coming for her made her chest tighten. Then there was Torren. He’d saved her. “Where’s Torren?” Dovie scanned the room as if she might find him sitting in the corner, waiting for her to wake up. But all she saw were the white walls, clean blue bedding, a wooden nightstand, a chair by the door, and her healer beside her. No sign of the man who’d saved her life.

  Lila handed Dovie a small glass of water. “Just sip for now. You’ve been out for a while, yesterday and today. Though that’s to be expected after what happened to you. Torren is out. I’ll let him know you were asking for him when I see him again.”

  Dovie took a small sip. The water felt good going down her dry throat, cool, but not cold. “Where am I?”

  “You are currently Brooks’ guest. Are you in any pain?”

  “Just some throbbing.” She took another sip, thankful for the wet substance. Her stomach clenched and the water started to come back up. She covered her mouth, waving at Lila. The woman pulled a small trash can from below the bed and handed it to Dovie.

  “That’s why I suggested sipping. Anything you put in will likely come back up. It’s a side effect of the drug that doused your system when the moonstruck attacked you.” She handed Dovie a wet towel.

  “Thanks.” Dovie wiped her mouth and tried to lean down to set the trash can on the floor before she threw up again from the smell. Pain shot up her leg. “Fuck!”