by Lolita Lopez
Of course, he wasn’t totally blameless in this complicated mess. He’d been cold with her that first day. Hadn’t he said that he wasn’t looking for a mate? His jaw tightened with the realization that what he wanted and what he needed weren’t always the same thing.
His chest vibrated with warm frissons of excitement as Avani drew near. She swept into the living area of her underground lair in a flutter of vibrant purple silk. He enjoyed the sight of her in only that robe, especially the way the thin fabric parted to reveal her naked thighs. She looked beautiful with her hair twisted up in that elegant arrangement, but he liked her just as much when the long black strands fell around her shoulders.
“Are you all right?” She rubbed her hand across his bare back and down his arm. “You look worried.”
“It’s Mad. He hasn’t called me today.” He slid the steaming mug of hot tea toward her. “Two scoops of sugar and no milk, right?”
Her eyes brightened and she nodded. “Thank you.”
He tried not to feel such pride in making her happy. Fixing a cup of tea was such a simple thing—except when it wasn’t.
She took a slow sip. “Mmm. Very good.” Her hand swept up and down his arm. “Do you think he’s busy?”
His thoughts turned back to Mad and away from the wonderful sensation of her fingertips moving across his skin. “No. He’s always been nearby when I’ve gone into heat, just as I’ve always been there for him.” Griff hesitated but then decided he could trust her. “He’s been having dreams.”
She placed her mug back on the table. “Dreams? You mean prophetic dreams or nightmares?”
“A little of both,” he said. “Mad’s never been very open to the shared-dream experience. Even though the two of us have occupied the same living space for hundreds of years, we’ve shared a dream only on a handful of occasions.”
“He must have incredible control on his psyche. I understood that dragons in close quarters have always hopped between one another’s dreams.”
“That’s definitely been my experience.” He glanced at her. “I wouldn’t be surprised if we start dreaming together soon.”
She shook her head. “We probably won’t.”
Her reply surprised him. “Why wouldn’t we?”
“My parents weren’t very hands-on with me, but they did teach me to meditate. I’ve had incredible control over my thoughts and my sleeping mind since a very young age. After the Knight’s seer tried to get into my head—”
“What?” Griff cut her off midsentence. Fear punched him in the gut. “When was this?”
“I was a teenager and it scared me to death. Her mind was strong, but I got the sense she was dying.” Avani visibly shivered. “Her presence felt so cold and black in my mind. I didn’t sleep for days after that experience. That’ was when my parents decided it was time for me to truly focus on meditation and fasting as a means of controlling my mind.”
“And suppressing your dragon,” he said a bit testily. “You may have gained control over your thoughts and your dreams, but you sacrificed the greater knowledge of your inner beast, Avani. Can’t you see how dangerous that is? How vulnerable it’s made you?”
“Well I can’t exactly change it, can I?” She snapped back at him in frustration. “For better or worse, I am who I am, Griffin. I’m not like you. I don’t know what it’s like to unleash my dragon and surrender to the primal side of my brain. It…frightens me.”
“To be out of control,” he guessed.
“Yes.”
“You wouldn’t be,” he assured her. “You’re so headstrong. I suspect, once unleashed, your Naga form would be totally under your control.”
She narrowed her eyes at his description of her as headstrong. Then, a little curiously, she asked, “Is it like that for you?”
“Yes. When I let my inner beast free, my human thoughts and logic are totally clear. It wasn’t always like that in my very early days, but you learn to be more confident in trusting when it’s time to rely on your beast’s instincts and when it’s time to think as a human.”
He wondered about the time the Knight’s seer had touched Avani’s mind. “What do you think she wanted?”
Avani shrugged. “I don’t know. Information, I think. She steered my dream toward my childhood. It was all very strange. She populated the dream with people I’d never met but had seen in photographs. Estranged family,” she clarified. “The dream got weird after that. I was in a dark hole but I wasn’t me. I was a serpent. I slithered out along a dark corridor. I came upon a man—and I struck him in the neck.”
Griffin sensed the chill coursing through her. He grasped her hand so she wouldn’t feel afraid. “It was just a dream. It wasn’t real.”
“It felt real. It felt…vile.” She stretched her neck in that snakelike way and licked her lips. He wondered if she even realized how much of her Naga bled through when she was upset. With a heavy sigh, she said, “It was a long time ago. I haven’t had a dream so vivid since, and I don’t plan to ever again.”
Avani tried to move away from him, but he caught her around the waist and prevented her from escaping. He craved her heat and closeness. Nuzzling her neck, he inhaled her freshly showered scent. The lotion she’d put on her face smelled different from what she’d used yesterday, and he liked it. “What is that? Vetiver? Sandalwood?”
She turned to better see his face. “You recognize those scents?”
He shrugged. “You pick up a lot of skills in a thousand years.”‘
Looking a bit wistful, she asked, “What’s that like?”
He tugged her down onto his lap and enjoyed the feel of her in his arms. He sighed as he tried to find the right words to describe it. Finally, he said, “It can be tedious. There are stretches of years where life was unimaginably difficult. Mad and I survived famine and plague all while hiding from the Knights. It was different then. There were more of them and more of us, and the fighting was brutal and bloody. Barbaric,” he added as long-buried memories resurfaced. “What you know of the war today is almost child’s play compared to what we endured back then.”
She seemed to sense he didn’t want to talk about those ugly times. Sliding her arms around his shoulders, she leaned her head against him and kissed his neck. The searing burn of her lips against his skin made his blood boil with desire. Three nights with her and Griff’s arousal had yet to cool. He wanted her even more now than when he’d first laid eyes upon her.
Cupping her face, he captured her mouth. Slight sweetness and the biting snap of mint tantalized his taste buds. He kissed her more insistently and nuzzled their noses together. “A thousand years seems like the blink of an eye when I consider how long I’ve waited to feel this.”
Her dark eyes widened. He expected her to protest and slam down that icy wall she used to protect herself, but he was pleasantly surprised. Instead, she pressed her forehead to his. With such vulnerability in her expression, she whispered, “Griffin, I want you to stay.”
Happiness blossomed in his chest. The bright warmth of it made him smile. “I want to stay, too.”
“Really?” She looked frightened to even think it true.
“Yes.” He caressed her back through the silky fabric. “I know what I said when you came to me at the gym, but I’m rethinking all of that. You make me want different things in my life.”
She relaxed against him. “You make me want all kinds of things I never imagined desiring, too.”
“Like?” He had to know.
“A family,” she confessed finally. “You make me want to know what it’s like to belong to one person.”
Knowing her history, he could only imagine how difficult it had been for her to admit that to him. Cradling her close, Griffin kissed her with such loving tenderness. “I think we already belong to one another. We may have blundered into this relationship, but I don’t want it to end. You’ve awakened such intense feelings within me.”
“I feel the same way.” She chewed her lip and glanced up
at him with such apprehension. “You’re not angry with me for putting you in this position, are you?” He started to protest but she put a finger to his lips. “Look, I basically blackmailed you into this whole thing. I came to you knowing you were in heat and knowing your honor would never let you turn me away even though my request was insane. You told me you didn’t want a mate and now look at us.”
Griff nibbled her fingertip and brought a smile to her worried face. “Yes, look at us. Look at how good things are between us. That’s not an accident, Avani.”
She looked happier and calmer than he’d ever seen her. “So what happens now?”
“Right now?” He gave the belt of her robe a tug and watched the long swaths of fabric part to reveal her gorgeous body. His hand slipped under the whisper-soft panels to touch her hot skin. “Well right now I’m going to make love to you. After that, I’m going to indulge your need to plan everything down to the tiniest detail by letting you tell me how this relationship of ours is going to work.”
Avani laughed but still playfully pinched him. “I’m not that controlling.”
Now he was the one laughing. “Woman, you iron your kitchen towels!”
“And they look very nice,” she replied hotly. Even though she pretended to be annoyed, Avani failed to keep the amusement from glinting in her dark eyes.
Brushing his mouth against hers, he agreed. “Yes, they do.”
The rush of desire that accompanied their mating mouths left Griffin dizzy. His cock throbbed to life and pushed against the front of his loose-fitting pajama bottoms. With his help, Avani shifted on his lap and straddled him. Her soft hands slid between their bodies to grasp him through the cotton of his pants. He growled against her mouth, the rumbling and thunderous sound making her gasp.
Griff tangled his fingers in her hair and plundered her mouth. The sleek chignon she wore stood no chance against him. In seconds, pins were flying and long tendrils of her coal-black hair were tumbling around her shoulders. Lips swollen from his kisses, she gazed at him with such adoration and need. He wanted to memorize that moment and imprint the vision of her mussed hair and heavy-lidded eyes forever in his mind.
She pushed down the waistband of his bottoms and clasped his erection. Stroking him, she teased her tongue against his lips. He groaned and pumped his hips, shoving his aching dick against her hot palm. His own hands moved to her luscious breasts. He pinched her dark nipples and cupped her supple flesh while kissing her.
The spicy musk of her arousal filled the air. He abandoned her breast and let his hand ride the gentle slope of her belly to the vee between her thighs. He encountered her slick wetness and carefully separated the petals of her sex. He swirled his fingertip around the pink pearl hidden there and coaxed a desperate moan from her throat.
Wanting to feel his cock sheathed in her slick-wet depths, Griff grasped her bottom and lifted her into position. She clutched at his shoulders as he lowered her onto his rock-hard shaft. Inch by inch, she accepted him inside of her. The snug fit left him groaning and struggling to maintain control. She rocked on his lap and wiggled her tight ass until she found just the right angle and sighed with pleasure.
Grasping her backside, he guided her movements. His mouth outlined the curve of her throat while she rode his cock. He sucked hard on her flushed skin and nipped the area he’d turned bright red. She hissed at the love bite but didn’t try to stop him from marking her a second time.
Although he loved having Avani bouncing on his lap, his long legs and the chair’s height made it almost impossible for her to move without a great deal of effort. Wanting her to experience more pleasure, he wrapped an arm around her waist and stood up with her cradled tight to his chest. He placed her flat on her back atop the table and drove into her. She gasped and arched her back, rising up to meet his powerful thrusts.
With her hair fanning around her face and the purple robe twisted around her arms and waist, she looked like an erotic tableau. He gripped the table and pounded into her welcoming heat. Head thrown back, she cried out and scratched at his sides. Her pussy grew wetter and wetter as he pushed her closer to the climax.
Licking the rough pad of his thumb, he lowered it to her clitoris and began to massage the little bundle of nerves. She moaned his name and slid her legs around his waist, drawing him in tighter. Their bodies slapped together noisily as the table shook beneath her. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted her mug of tea jumping toward the table’s edge. There was no stopping its rattling movements.
Just as Avani found her release, the mug fell. Like her, it shattered loudly. Her pussy clenched and released him in rhythmic bursts that wrung out his own orgasm. He shoved balls deep and grunted her name as his seed spilled inside her.
Legs like jelly now, he fell backward into the chair and dragged her along with him. As he went soft still buried inside her snug passage, she ran her hands up and down his back and along his shoulders. Even though he couldn’t hear her thoughts, he sensed she was thinking about something serious. Finally, she spoke.
“We should go check on Mad.”
He drew back to look into her eyes. Of all the things he’d expected her to say, that hadn’t been among them. “We can’t.”
“We can. We probably shouldn’t,” she corrected. “But he’s your family. I can tell this is eating you up with worry.”
“It is, but he’s probably tied up with something at the gym.”
She eyed him with suspicion. “You don’t believe that. You’re trying to convince yourself he’s okay. Why?”
“I won’t put you at risk.” His protective instincts flared and he embraced her. “The mating scent is strong on both of us. I’m not sure even sunlight can burn this amount off. If we leave the bunker, we’ll be inviting trouble.”
“We have at least four hours of daylight left. The Knights wouldn’t dare attack in broad daylight, not in a busy place like Houston where they would be easily seen.”
Griffin felt so torn. On one hand, he was desperately worried about Mad. It wasn’t like him to be incommunicado. On the other hand, he needed to protect Avani and keep her safe. He considered leaving her in the underground lair where he could be reasonably assured of her security, but the idea of being parted from her for even a few hours made him sick. He’d never be able to concentrate on finding Mad if he was separated from her.
With a slow exhale, he said, “We’ll leave but we’re going to be fast about it. We go to his house and then we’re coming right back. I’ll put in a call to Stig. He’s the closest Brother. If we can’t find Mad, he’ll have to gather the others and head out after him.”
Avani caressed his jaw and kissed him. “It’ll be all right, Griffin. I’m sure it’s something silly that’s kept him away from his phone.”
Griffin hoped with every fiber of his being that was true.
Chapter Six
Avani’s core trembled with uneasiness as they approached Ian Madoc’s front door. It wasn’t her own discomfort but Griffin’s that she experienced so strongly. Since they’d revealed their need for one another in her bunker’s kitchen, the mate bond seemed to be growing between them. Even though the prospect of being mated to this hulking giant of a dragon had petrified her only a few days ago, she now found it the most calming idea in the world. She belonged with Griffin. Period. Full stop.
When Mad didn’t answer the loud knocks or the incessant ringing of his doorbell, Griffin fished a key ring from the pocket of his jeans. He unlocked the front door but motioned for her to stay back. She remained on the porch while Griffin entered the house.
She could feel him moving around inside the modest home. It sat on a large lot on the outskirts of one of the smaller towns just outside the Houston city limits. The closest neighbors were hundreds of yards away. Their homes were blocked by the thick walls of trees Mad had running the perimeter of his home. Clearly, the guy liked his privacy.
Griffin appeared in the open doorway and reached for her hand. His gaze jumped t
o the skyline and his jaw tightened with wariness. They’d been caught in heavy traffic after a nasty wreck, so the drive to Mad’s place had taken much longer than expected. “We need to hurry.”
She squeezed his hand and hoped to reassure him. “We have plenty of time.” She caressed his chest and felt some of the tension leave him. “We’re fine.”
His jaw visibly relaxed. He raised her fingertips to his lips and kissed them. “I’m glad you came with me. You’re bolstering my control.”
She’d suspected as much. Already on edge from the rush of hormones accompanying the mating heat, Griffin’s concern for his best friend threatened his usual coolness. She’d noticed the white-knuckled grip on his steering wheel and the way he’d nervously worked that cinnamon-flavored gum between his teeth during the drive. A few times, his irises had even taken on that deep crimson shade of his dragon.
“Come.” Still holding her hand, he tugged her along behind him. Being inside another man’s home without his consent made her nervous. She’d never had very heightened senses like other dragons, but today she had no problem picking out Madoc’s scent. She shuddered as the awful scent of him filled her nose. It stunned her. When she’d been close to him at the gym, she’d found his smell rather pleasant. Now it made her sick.
“What’s wrong?” Griffin glanced back at her as he led her upstairs. “You’re wrinkling your nose.”
She put a hand to her face. Mad’s smell grew stronger as they neared his bedroom. “His smell is bad.”
Griffin laughed. “I keep telling him to lay off the body spray.”
She rolled her eyes and thumped his big arm. “I don’t mean like that. I mean, it makes me feel weird when I breathe it into my lungs.”
“It’s probably our mate bond. I suspect we’ve totally imprinted on one another. One whiff of Stig’s Cora and I bet I’ll be making a beeline for the door.”
Glad to learn her reaction to another male dragon’s scent was normal even if bizarre, Avani glanced around Mad’s bedroom. Griffin dropped her hand to search the place. Her gaze lingered on the dream catchers and crystals dangling above his bed and in all of his bedroom windows. She found a pen on the bedside table and guessed a dream journal had sat next to it at some point. Obviously the man was trying to decipher his dreams.
