by Zelda Knight
She ground against his throbbing dick, humping him. It took all he could to push her back. “No, Sonya. You’re so close. The heat is on you. Stop.”
“I don’t want to stop. I want you.” She lunged for him and they fell to the ground. In the dark, they tussled.
Zihao rolled on top of her in the dark and, securing her hands, pressed her to the ground. With her hips, she rolled her need up to his cock and pressed against him. Immense pleasure shot through him, and for a second Zihao thought if she felt this nice with their clothes on, once mated, he and Sonya would explode.
Her panting finally subsided after what seemed like forever. He dropped her down and kissed her lips, softly and quickly. “I’m sorry.”
Sonya returned his kiss, the hint of fire behind it—restrained.
“So, you want to walk to the park? We can find the name of the park and then you can call the twins to come and get us from there.”
He climbed off her. “I hear a helicopter.”
“Where are they going to land the helicopter? On the dog run?” Sonya sounded annoyed.
He didn’t blame her. Unsatisfied and sexually frustrated, they made an annoyed pair. Still, he’d rather have her irritated than dead. Somehow, this thought made him grin. Sonya flipped on her flashlight, cocked her hip, and put her hands on those luscious curves. Even dusty from head to toe, she still pushed at his hard parts. Once she touched him, all those parts crumbled. He couldn’t stop thinking about the way she felt in his arms, like he’d been crafted just to cradle her. “Walk with me into the light and away from this darkness Zihao held his hand out to her. She had her cell phone in her hand. The LCD screen illuminated her face temporarily before falling dark again. In that splash of light, he saw her face brighten, but not just from the light. She made her way to him and took his hand.
Chapter Three
“I’m not going down for this one,” Pax growled. Apparently his inner dragon had awoken in annoyance. It wrenched Sonya from her musings. The helicopter had landed and the twins had already gotten out. The two men stalked across the short field toward her and Zihao. Their body language communicated loud and clear their displeasure at having to wait for her or search for her.
Sonya’s arms crossed over her chest and her face carried pure annoyance, too. She didn’t like them approaching her in this manner. None of what had happened tonight had been her fault or Zihao’s. Sure, her dragon protected her and they could’ve
just left when things got ugly…
Okay, so it was their fault, but Hax and Pax didn’t know that. As an adult, she should’ve been able to do what she wanted without reproach from anyone, especially Hax and Pax who hadn’t even reached mating age yet.
Not that the twins had much time to wait. Tall, just over six feet, with short, straight ebony hair and lithe bodies, the mirror images of each other gave everyone a hard time discerning who was who. Ryuu could tell, but he would never reveal how he knew which was Hax and which one was Pax. The pair struck an image and often caused women to whisper furiously when they walked through the dining cave. Sonya shook her head. No doubt some of the females from the European tribes would seek the pair to mate. Not to mention the other women in the keep. Several tribes intermarried. Tonight, the twins wore dual-blend jackets, dark jeans, and black combat boots. Inky turtlenecks could be seen flashing above their jackets’ collars, and she smirked. One wore blue, the other black, but the colors were so dark, anyone could mistake one for the other—just like the twins.
“You picked a great place to land,” Hax shouted, his hands on his hips. Zihao quirked an eyebrow. This could get interesting.
Sonya glared at him. Don’t you start, Z.
“Pax. Hax. Thank you for getting here so fast.” Sonya said out loud, turning to face the two shifters. It hadn’t been their fault she had taken a detour to the outskirts of Anchorage. She didn’t need to force her angst off on them, though it seemed like that was exactly what they were going to do.
“Twins.” Zihao waved, standing directly behind her. She felt his warm breath on her ear.
The older twin—Hax—waved him off before rounding on Sonya.
“We’ve been scouring the area for you for hours. The Elder demands we bring you back, like now.”
“He is not pleased and you can guess your parents aren’t either,” Hax added in nearly the same tone of voice as his twin. “We won’t be taking the blame for you missing your curfew.”
Maybe it was their attitude, or the way they acted like it had been all her fault, but the twins’ words struck her wrong. Her dragon roused, growling in displeasure. Her vision flushed as her beast rose up in defense. Hell. No. “And yet no one bothered to call my cell phone. Or text. How about that?” Sonya remarked and put one hand on her curvaceous hip, fighting back the flush of scarlet rimming the perimeter of her version—shifting now wouldn’t do. “You were so worried about me. I see. No one even sent me a telepathic message. Or Zihao. Great. You’re both so damn worried. You two weren’t searching for me hours. You two were clothes shopping or sunbathing, but you weren’t searching.”
Silence.
Zihao walked around to stand beside her. Sonya didn’t release a breath, but held it. She’d guessed at what the twins had actually been doing, but she knew for certain they hadn’t been worried or searching for her, no matter what they told her family. Both men crossed their arms and stared at the ground, but neither would meet her eyes. “Have some honor.” She spat, forcing her dragon to settle down. Judging by the
men’s faces, they knew she’d been right about their lack of effort. Still, tension spread
between them, a heavy blanket of silence. She refused to break it first, for she’d had the last say. No. She wouldn’t back down.
Zihao acted like a statue, the way he behaved when her parents or someone else came around. She did enjoy it when he became so focused, super still, because it meant he was focused on protecting her. He took it seriously, and for that, she would always be thankful.
Hax started to laugh, but it didn’t contain any humor. “Right. I guess we’ll stand before the Elder’s fire after all. Know this, Sonya—we won’t be flying you any more after this little stunt. We could’ve called, I give you that, but you could’ve done the same.”
“It won’t just be the fire, but her mother’s ocean,” Pax added, shaking his head, his mouth a slash of fury. “We won’t be flying you out again. You hear?”
“Let’s be real, boys. You will do whatever my mother and uncle tell you to do.” Sonya strutted to the helicopter without a look back at the two of them. “I’m ready to go.”
She tossed the last back over her shoulder. To be true, the twins weren’t servants, but if the Elder told them to do a task, they had to comply. Nevertheless, she knew the fear the twins spoke of was real. Her parents could be plenty scary, but her uncle, the Elder Gou, was legendary. They wrote stories about his fury and powers to tell younglings to make them behave. She knew she’d pushed it too far tonight, but she hadn’t expected the bigotry parade to kick off at that little club. Still, the effect on everyone ended up the same—resentment and anger.
Both emotions stained the twins’ faces. Zihao touched her shoulder as he started for the helicopter. She’d stopped abruptly, thinking about the anger and fury that waited at the keep. Most dragons found solace in the keep, huddled into piles of bodies sleeping together for warmth and comfort. Gathered together each found empathy and understanding in their clan and their mates. Not so for Sonya. Her family’s status kept her outside of people’s trust. Much like the twins, they saw her as only a non-descript person—Elder Gou’s niece, Beline Gou’s daughter, but not as an entity to herself.
Once she’d climbed inside the helicopter, she heard Pax say to Zihao with his face flushed, “I don’t envy you being her bodyguard. You unlucky bastard.”
“It’s my pleasure to be by Sonya’s side,” Zihao replied. “Yeah. Sure it is.” Hax shook his head. “Sure. It. Is.”
Sonya caught Pax’s eyes as he got into the front co-pilot seat. He dropped the gaze quickly—perhaps he knew she’d heard him. They didn’t know Zihao meant his words. The twins didn’t know much of anything about her, except she came from a powerful lineage. She didn’t expect them to understand the role Zihao played in her life. They only saw the outside of the roles earth dragons played in the clan and draconian society. Both the twin dragons had been born with the abilities the clan treasured—wings. Flight hadn’t originally been a part of their clan. The great Azure Chinese dragon had been a wingless but powerful dragon. For many millennia, they could not fly. Forever grounded, they could take to the sea with great regularity or infiltrate the earth, but the sky remained out of their reach. The ability to fly had only come after they mated with those from the European clans, and it still didn’t happen frequently.
Hax climbed into the helicopter and the twins readied the cockpit to get underway. Pax searched Zihao’s face before shrugging and turning back. Hax got out and closed the doors while Pax set about starting the helicopter. The roar of the blades drowned out any further attempts to talk aloud. In moments, they lifted off the ground and into the velvety night sky.
Sonya put on her noise-canceling headphones and sat behind Pax. She had a microphone so she could talk to them if she wanted. But she didn’t really want to do so. Her mind shifted to the trouble that waited back at the keep. What would they have in store for her tonight? A lecture wouldn’t send the message they wanted to promote— you don’t disobey the elder or the council.
Judging by your tight-lipped expression, you’re not in the mood to talk. Zihao’s words whispered into her mind.
She glanced over to him, but he stared straight ahead. Aware of the twins’ ever- listening ears, Zihao pretend not to be engaging her in conversation. They could block out other telepathy and mental eavesdropping but it took control and a lot of effort.
You know how Mom is when she’s angry. She won’t be pleased and moreover, she will probably blame you. I’m sure the police reports have reached the keep too.
Do not worry, Son. I will not let anything happen to you.
I know, but I grow wearier of her tight hold. Tomorrow, I’m to meet with the others to look at finding a mate. Even in telepathy, Sonya’s despair must have rung through because he winced. He rubbed his face and folded his arms over his chest.
I had fun tonight, and despite the dirt and grass stains, you’re still beautiful. Zihao shifted in his seat beside her. She could make out the outline of his cock against his sweats—a partial hard-on. It made her cheek warm, but she put her gaze back on the seat in front of her as the copter buoyed over the Alaskan landscape. Dark sections stretched out in front of them, and she had no idea how the twins navigated, but it looked as bleak as she felt about going to her mother’s wrath.
Do not laugh. You caused this—again. Zihao cleared his throat, but the drone of the helicopter drowned it out.
Just like the old days, huh? She smiled at him as the rush of memories flooded through her. How close had she just come to mating with him? The heated session, kissing and rubbing their bodies together, reminded her of the old days. He always ended up with a severe case of blue balls and she always returned home with wet, sopping panties. Her mother complained about the need to keep buying new ones.
Sonya laughed.
“Yes,” he said out loud, his voice cracking.
Pax turned around, and removed his headphone from his ear. “What’s that?” “Nothing.” Zihao waved him off and adjusted his position in the seat in an
attempt to ease the pressure.
Pax shook his head and with a role of his eyes turned back around, ignoring them again. He said something to his brother, and Hax shook his head too. They wore matching grim expressions.
Sonya burst out laughing again at the look of Pax’s furious face and at Zihao’s attempt to make sure he didn’t give away his partial hard-on. Somehow, he always managed to make her laugh, make her smile and relax. She could not see her life without him in it. He’d always been with her—or so it had seemed. Sobering at the idea that tomorrow her family planned to mate her to Malcolm Chee, Sonya settled back into her seat, all the merriment spilled out of her once more.
Do not worry. I am with you.
What will you do when I am mated to another? You can’t be with me then.
Zihao didn’t reply and she saw him close himself off. Folded arms, eyes closed, and his lips pressed tightly together. He did that when he shut out the world. She couldn’t help the sharp edge of her words, but truth wasn’t always warm and fuzzy.
Sonya looked out her window and sighed.
Chapter Four
Down through winding tunnels to his den, Zihao walked slowly behind Sonya, who was flanked on either side by her parents and her uncle, the great Elder Gou. Now, after he’d come so close to mating with her, he felt more tethered to her than before. Ahead, each tunnel split and fed into other sections of the keep. The corridors held thick aromas of food and sex as matings and feasting unraveled. The Gathering had begun, and they’d missed important events tonight. Ahead their den lay in partial darkness, though somewhere in the deep bowels of the keep, babies cried and the thud, thud, thud of a bedframe ricocheted off the smooth earthen walls.
When they reached the base of the upper section of the keep, scores of cavernous den entrances towered above them. The Gous’ den had several entryways. Winged dragons kept the higher dens, and non-winged dragons had dens closer to the ground. The Gous held a larger den than most, and it had multiple levels.
They entered, pushing the thick curtains aside. They entered the cave at the lower level, but the manner in which the rooms had been carved provided a spiral path to the upper levels. Of course, the top floor—Sonya’s bedroom—could also be reached by flying directly into the upper entrance. One would need wings for that, and neither Sonya nor Zihao had those. Nor did her father, a seadragon like her mother. Sonya too had been born a seadragon. At the bottom floor, the main room’s rug stretched outward through the center section of the ground. Someone had lit the candles and oil lanterns. A warm glow filtered through the living space, but Sonya still appeared cold. She hugged herself.
No one spoke aloud, but Zihao knew Sonya might have been bombarded by a telepathic lecture and reprimand from her parents. Sonya’s shoulders hunched as she became more and more oppressed by her parents’ expectations.
Zihao sighed. Powerless. He wanted to interrupt, to push them aside and take her away from the keep, from the pressure, from…everything. His dragon agreed.
“Sit, Sonya,” her father ordered. The same height as his wife, Cateo made up in presence what he lacked in stature. Her father still carried lean muscle on his body. He seemed unaffected by age, despite his eighty-plus years. He wore an ebony sweater and matching slacks. Like most of their kind, his feet were bare inside the cave.
“Father…” Sonya started.
“Sit!” her father commanded with an added nod to the space opposite his own. Sonya did so. “Let me explain…”
“No, no, not a word.” Cateo sat on the floor beside his wife.
Zihao took his place behind Sonya. He would not let any harm come to her— even from them. Zihao bit the inside of his jaw to keep from lashing out at how her father’s smug and arrogant tone made her flinch. He watched Sonya clutch her hands into fists in an attempt to reel in her rising anger. Elder Gou remained standing, regal and seemingly filling the entire copious space. He stroked his long, ivory goatee. Bushy eyebrows hung like fat caterpillars above dark, intense eyes.
“The twins said they did not know your whereabouts. That you had stopped replying to their telepathic message,” Elder Gou said.
“That’s not true. They never sent me any message, telepathic or otherwise!” The hurt inside her seemed to have tumbled out with the words, because he could hear her anguish. Zihao felt his own hands close in anger. “Zihao was with me. I was safe.”
“You are of mating age, but not mated,” Beline said with a shrug. “By our standards, a child, regardless of your age.”
Elder Gou raised his hand calmly and fixed Beline with a look. “Sonya, we need to discuss your future.”
“Good, because I have a few ideas for my future.” Sonya stood and pushed her hair out of her face. With her expression set on stern, she set her jaw. While the cavern’s ceilings were large enough for a dragon to shift, he didn’t think Sonya wanted to battle it out with her family in any form.
“You cannot go anywhere. Assassins await to end your life.” Elder Gou gestured to the entrance.
Sonya growled from deep in her throat. “I don’t believe you. Besides, the council doesn’t own me. They don’t question any of the other members of this clan who scatter out into the human populated world. We don’t wear tracking beacons. What? Are we truly going to behave like animals now?”
“Silence!” Cateo shot off the ground, but before he could strike Sonya, Zihao moved so swiftly her father’s blow landed squarely on his chest—and bounced off. For all his power, Cateo failed to dislodge Zihao from his now protective stance in front of Sonya. Her father stumbled backward several times before regaining his footing.
Zihao’s own dragon rose, his vision painted scarlet with his rage. He didn’t even have to speak as the cold prickle of the change flashed across his body. Damn it. He hadn’t wanted to shift, but his beast overrode his logic nonetheless.
