Stars burst behind her eyes, and she wondered if that was what he meant when he said he would take her there .
Wave after wave of ecstasy broke through her as he simply held still, letting her body ripple around him. When she looked into his eyes, they were calm but heated, and she could tell he was already ready for more .
“Mine,” he said in a hoarse growl, and she simply threw her hands around his shoulders and held on for dear life, trying to get her breath back .
“Yours,” she gasped out in response. “Dammit, whatever you want .”
“Good,” he said. “Now hang on. I’m not done .”
And as his hands gripped her curves and he began moving again, she smiled up at the sparkling sky, and a snowflake fell lightly on her nose .
He leaned forward to lick it off gently and smiled, which only made him look that much more feral. “Delicious,” he said, thrusting into her, making her already sensitive body warmer with every move. “But not as delicious as you .”
His lips fell to her neck, licking and biting, tasting her as if he couldn’t ever get enough, and as he continued to stroke, she felt herself ready to explode .
“What the hell are you?” she asked in wonder, totally overwhelmed .
“I told you,” he said. “I’m from the stars. And now we’ll go there together.” Then he increased his speed, his mouth voracious as it took hers, kissing her deeply, swiping with his tongue as his dick stroked deep, taking her over the edge .
As she fell, she could swear she saw stars again. She forced herself to open her eyes and look out at the sky and the falling snow as release overcame her, making it hard to even breathe .
She felt him jerk and go with her and loved the feel of his rhythmic pulses contrasting to the tensing of her wet heat .
They were so hot, with the cold world all around them and the sparkling stars overhead .
“You’re so incredible, Casey. I can’t live without you,” he murmured, resting his lips against her neck, tickling her with his breath .
She was still sensitive and could feel exhaustion overwhelming her, but she felt a deep sense of wonder at what he’d said .
Was he just saying that because sex between them had been so wonderful, or was he really saying he needed her in that way ?
How was something like that even possible ?
Her heart was pounding, and she could still feel where they were joined together, so warm, so right .
His arms wrapped around her, holding her tight, shielding her from the world, the snow, the night that was watching, and she felt utterly safe and content .
I can’t live without you. His words kept coming back to her. What could that possibly mean? She rested her head against him and told herself to calm down, that they were both caught up in the heat of the moment .
But somehow, it felt it was more than that. And with her leaving the mansion tomorrow, she didn’t really want to think about it .
For now, she just wanted to treasure the man in her arms .
Chapter 11
L ate that night, Cadmium’s dreams were filled worry. Worry about Zinc. Worry about Casey. Worry about the fact that she was his mate and he could lose her if she went back to her world .
But his sleep was interrupted by the sound of an electric hum in the air. Instantly, he popped up in bed, every sense on the highest alert .
Casey was still asleep, lying next to him in bed. Right, they’d had sex on the roof, then come back down to sleep. His heart didn’t have time to beam with pride over his sexy mate as the thrumming intensified and static electricity built around him, making his hairs stand on end .
Then there was a faint blue glow, small at first, then quickly building out into door-sized portal, through which he could see a tall figure on the other side .
It was the evil she-dragon who’d taken Brittany, Lead’s mate! He was sure of it .
Immediately, Cadmium sprang from the bed, summoning his sword and standing between Casey and the portal. He heard unintelligible murmuring and turned to see Casey only barely starting to wake up, looking bleary and confused .
He’d be damned before he let anyone take his mate .
Cadmium raised his blade, ready to eviscerate anyone who came through. Then suddenly, he saw a head pop through, blue eyes gleaming in the low light, long, blond hair in a loose braid over one shoulder .
It was Marina, the sea dragon who’d mated Mercury and sometimes visited the mansion .
“Oh, Cadmium! It’s you!” Marina said, upper torso now showing through the portal as if she’d been peeking through a window. She was wearing a blue negligee that Cadmium imagined was for a very different bedroom .
“What are you doing here?” he asked, incredulous, hands still clutching his blade, heart racing from the recent thought that they were under attack .
“Sorry, I guess I have the wrong room,” Marina said cheerily, completely unabashed. “I was looking for my husband. Portals are funny like that .”
“What’s going on?” Cadmium heard Casey say from behind him, and he looked to see his mate, sitting up in bed, eyes wide in astonishment .
“I was trying to surprise Mercury. Oh, you must be Casey!” Marina said, looking down at her and waving, “Nice to meet you .”
Cadmium realized everything had just been a false alarm, but he was even more stressed at the fact there was a lot of explaining to do .
Maybe he could convince Casey it had all been a dream .
“Don’t worry. Everything’s okay,” Cadmium said, letting his sword dissipate into thin air. The last thing she needed to worry about was him waving around a giant, ancient-looking blade .
“How does she know my name?” Casey said, pointing to Marina and the blue glow surrounding her .
“Whoops… I, um… So sorry for interrupting. I’ll leave you two alone,” Marina said, and as swiftly as she’d arrived, she disappeared through the portal, and it shut behind her in an instant .
Leaving Cadmium and Casey all alone in the dark room .
“Wha—where’d she go?” Casey asked, voice starting rise slightly. Cadmium quickly came back to the bed, taking her hands in his. Her pulse was throbbing, and he wished he could calm her worry .
“Um… how do I explain this?” Cadmium said, searching for words .
The past two days had been so perfect. Too perfect. And now everything was blown .
But Casey had to know sooner or later .
“What is this? This isn’t some kind of TV show or something, is it? I’m not being tricked? What’s with the crazy special effects?” Casey blurted out .
“It’s okay. Everything’s fine. No, this isn’t a trick or a prank,” Cadmium said as soothingly as possible .
Thankfully, over the years, he’d trained his innate ability to calm and placate. It was a necessary skill if Zinc or any of the other dragons started to lose control of their powers, like Zinc almost had when fighting Mercury back on Drakkaris .
Cadmium’s powers started to work almost immediately, and despite her worry, Casey’s panic began to gradually subside .
“I’ll just explain everything to you up front, no secrets, okay?” Cadmium said .
If this pushed Casey away, it would break him. But he couldn’t hide it any longer. Lies would only be more hurtful (and far-fetched) than truth at this point .
“Up front would be good .”
Cadmium took a deep breath .
“I’m a dragon. All the people living here are dragons,” he said. “The woman you just saw, Marina, is also a dragon. Each of us has unique powers. We live here in this mansion in seclusion so people won’t find out about us,” Cadmium said, trying to cram as much info into as few words as possible .
“Wait, dragons? As in giant, winged, fire-breathing monsters?” Casey asked, her grip tightening in his hands, but thankfully not breaking contact .
“Only sometimes. Most of the time, we take human form. It allows us to blend in, live among humans li
ke regular people. But even still, with our size and strength, we’re usually better off keeping our distance from the rest of society .”
So far, so good .
Casey just took several breaths, giving him a very puzzled look as she appraised him from head to toe .
“So you’re telling me you’re a dragon?” she asked, as if needing to hear it from herself to believe it .
“Yes. I can show you my dragon form sometime if you’d like .”
She shook her head. “No. I mean, I want to. It’s just a lot to take in. I guess I shouldn’t feel this calm about it, but I do.” She took a deep breath. “It makes sense in a weird kind of way. Giant mansion, huge men living out here by themselves. None of you look like regular dudes I’ve ever met. Wait, so is Brittany a dragon, too?” she asked, cocking her head to the side .
“No. She’s Lead’s mate, which is basically the same thing as married for us. Lead is our captain,” he replied .
“Are there a lot of you around? Dragons I mean .”
“There’s an entire secret world full of wolves and bears and dragons that can shift around us. But dragons are the rarest on Earth. Though, we’re technically not from Earth like the rest are,” Cadmium said, tripping over his own words. He wanted to tell her everything and tell her nothing. The more he spoke, the more he was afraid it would be too much for her to comprehend and she’d run out on him .
But to his surprise, she just listened .
“Not from Earth? Is that what you were talking about when you mentioned being from the stars?” she asked .
He was surprised she remembered. Cadmium would have regretted saying something that a normal human would have found absurd, if not for the fact that Casey was taking it all surprisingly well .
“Me and the others are from a planet populated with dragons and other creatures. It’s a lot like Earth. But it’s… missing something for us. So we came here in the hopes of fulfilling our destiny,” he said, dodging the fact that they were here to mate human women. The last thing he wanted her to think was he was after her just because he was just some strange, horny space dragon hoping to get laid .
Nothing could be further from the truth .
“So you’re a space dragon?” she said, mouth quirking slightly .
“Yes, I guess that’s one way of putting it,” Cadmium said. Though, back on Drakkaris, they were just dragons . Only now, having come to Earth, were they suddenly somehow “dragons from space .”
“Wow,” she said, looking at him blankly. “That’s a lot to take in .”
Cadmium scooted closer to her on the bed. Her warmth was still so tantalizing. And aside from the panic shooting through him like razors, there was a slight relief at being able to air some of the secrets he was hiding from her out in the open .
Granted, he still had to explain the whole mate thing, but to Cadmium that seemed like a minor detail in comparison to the whole magical dragon thing .
“I know that what I’m saying is probably pretty fantastical. But it doesn’t change how I feel about you, Casey. I still like you, a lot,” he said. Cadmium wished he could say he loved her, but he knew humans had strange reservations about saying “I love you” too early in any relationship. At least, the people on TV seemed to feel that way .
But if he could, he’d say he loved her a thousand times and still feel just as strongly about Casey as he did now .
His mate .
He cupped her cheek with his hand, and she nestled into it, eyes finally closing as she relaxed a little .
“This. This is real, Casey. What we have,” he said, loving the way she melted into his hands .
“I guess you’re right. The past couple of days have been amazing, thanks to you,” she said .
“How about we let you get some sleep? And if you have any questions tomorrow, I’m more than happy to answer them,” he said .
At this point, rest was probably the best idea for Casey. Her entire world was going to change with this new knowledge. And she’d only learned about the most basic details .
Still, he was proud of his human mate, taking such drastic information in stride. And as he helped her nestle back into the sheets, staying awake as she quickly fell back asleep, thoughts of the future filled his mind .
But even though she’d handled tonight well, he still couldn’t shake the fear that if pushed further, she might leave him. And with her intention of going back to work and resuming her daily human life—without him—Cadmium’s mind raced with a thousand possible things he could say or do to possibly make her stay a single day longer .
But as it was when he’d found her, truck broken down and needing his help, Cadmium just had to hope that fate would continue to pave the way for them both .
Chapter 12
T he next morning, Casey awoke in a haze, her dreams still echoing with images of wings and fire .
What had happened? One moment she’d be on the roof, making sweet love to Cadmium, looking at the stars …
The next, he’d been saying he was from them, sitting across from her on the bed, telling her he was a… dragon ?
For some reason, the image of Chromium’s snow dragon, sparkling and tall and dignified on the snow, came back to her. Suddenly, that part made sense .
But at the same time, did the men here think they were dragons, or were they really? Were they delusional or crazy? And had she really seen a beautiful blond woman come through a glowing purple portal, smiling and introducing herself? A woman who had known Casey’s name .
Casey put a hand to her mouth, trying to calm her heart as she tried to figure out what was going on, and Cadmium stirred beside her. His beautiful body was shirtless, and he looked like a fallen angel with his smooth skin and golden hair splayed over the white pillow and sheets .
But last night, holding a sword in his hand, he’d looked anything but angelic. If anything, he looked like an ancient warrior ready to go to battle with something insane .
Or was she just imagining that part? And maybe that Marina person had stopped by but just looked in a window, and her sleepy brain had substituted a portal .
She’d always loved reading fantasy books and watching fantasy shows, so maybe it was just her imagination filling in the blanks .
She looked down at Cadmium’s peaceful, sleeping face again. He couldn’t really be a dragon, could he? It wasn’t possible .
She reached over and pushed a thick lock of golden hair off of his face .
Or was it ?
Warmth emanated from him, and she placed a hand to his chest, feeling a fierce heat there. But it wasn’t the same kind of heat that came from humans. It was coming from his center, feeling dangerous and hot. She couldn’t really describe it .
She removed her hand and sat up with the sheets rumpled around her, thinking more about her past couple days with the “dragons .”
They did act as if they were from another world, though she hadn’t thought to take that literally .
They couldn’t drive. They used funny words and didn’t know what snow was, almost treating it like it was a dangerous creature .
Maybe to them, it was .
She sighed and looked out the window at the snowy landscape, where trees heavy with freshly fallen snow huddled together along the edges of the huge property .
It was strange that she’d escaped her life with Benny, only to find a world like this, a world with space dragons (or men who believed they were space dragons), and been totally cut off from normal existence .
But if Cadmium was what he said he was, then what was his place in her life ?
He’d offered to show her his dragon form. Should she take him up on that? Would her heart be able to take it? Humans simply weren’t supposed to know about this world .
Yet she couldn’t deny she’d been so happy here. That being with Cadmium had made her want to be braver than ever before. If he and his friends were weird, then so be it. If Benny and the people who had betrayed her were normal, then nor
mal was something she didn’t want .
But what now? She still needed to call a tow truck. There was still another world out there that she was part of .
She sighed and then jumped when Cadmium stirred beside her, rubbing his eyes as he lifted his large body to a sitting position in the bed .
He stretched, marvelous muscles flexing, and then looked over at her. For a second, she could swear his pupils flashed to slits, gold all around them, but then they were back to a warm brown, shadowed by long lashes .
“Are you okay?” he asked, looking nervous. “I know a lot happened last night .”
She frowned. “I mean, I suppose so. I’m still not sure I understand any of it. I just …”
He leaned forward and gave her a kiss, and the confusion in her stopped swirling for a suspended moment. She almost felt she was floating with him, somewhere where all the other facts didn’t matter. She just wanted him and liked him— a lot .
When he pulled back, a slight smile curved his lips. She was really coming to like that smile. Love it, even, if she allowed herself .
“Why don’t I go down and get us some coffee? And when I get back, we can talk,” he said, getting up and pulling on a shirt, then pulling his hair back in a casual ponytail to keep it out of his face .
“Um, did I really see someone come through a portal last night ?”
He turned to her with an uncharacteristically serious look on his face. “Yes. And there are so many more things about my world that I have to tell you. A part of me is glad Marina showed up last night, because I didn’t know how to bring it up .”
“That you’re another creature and not even from this planet ?”
“Yes.” His eyes flashed, and she saw vulnerability there. She felt a little bad for making him feel that way. But he had to understand this was a huge thing to comprehend. She was usually good at going with the flow, but this was different. This was world-changing .
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