by S. E. Smith
How are we supposed to impress her with you thumping like a Grombot with an itch? Jaguin muttered.
It feel good, his dragon retorted, thumping harder and emitting a deep purr of joy.
You are going to mess everything up! Jaguin started to say before he stopped when Sara began speaking again.
“I used to have an old hound dog that did the same thing when I scratched him there,” Sara whispered in his ear. Her warm breath made his ear twitch and he held himself still when she continued to talk. “He was my best friend when I was ten. I grew up in the lower mountain area of the Appalachian Mountains.”
Jaguin turned his head, his gaze following Sara as she pulled slightly away. He was pleased that she kept her hand on him. He could feel her fingers absently tracing the patterns of his scales as she spoke. It took a moment for him to comprehend that she was no longer talking about the dog she was comparing his dragon too, but about her life back on her world.
While she spoke in a calm, even tone, he could hear the sadness in her words. Her life had not been an easy one, but she still found humor in it. It wasn’t until her voice dropped a notch that the true grief was evident. By the time the first tear slid down her cheek, he knew he needed to go to her.
Shifting, he reached for her. His heart squeezed with an unfamiliar emotion when he saw her eyes shimmer with tears. He pulled her close to his body and held her.
“How old was your friend?” He asked in a quiet voice.
“Ten,” Sara whispered with a sniff and raised a shaky hand to wipe away the tear coursing down her cheek. “She was so young.”
Jaguin listened to the tremble in her voice and lifted his hand to catch the tear. In the back of his mind, he raged that his mate had lived through so much sorrow and heartache. His own childhood had been happy and carefree in comparison. The only grief he ever dealt with was during the war. He lost several good friends during the various battles and could understand Sara’s sorrow at the senseless deaths.
He tried to think of something to say when she stunned him again. Her words registered with his dragon before they did with him. A self-satisfied grunt resonated through him as his dragon settled down.
I tell you she like me, his dragon purred as all thoughts flew from Jaguin’s mind and his body took over.
He deepened the kiss when Sara’s lips parted. A shudder ran through him at the brief touch of her tongue against his. He wanted – needed – more. This is what he had been waiting centuries for, the touch of his mate.
Their tongues danced around each other, exploring the pleasure of their connection. He could feel her pulse quickening, yet he did not sense that it was from fear, but from desire. The feel of her hands sliding up his chest to his shoulders confirmed that she wanted this as much as he did.
His body hardened with desire. He had been with other women, but it was to slake his lust. This was different. He could feel Sara’s essence connecting with his symbiot and his dragon. Both of the other halves of him shimmered as the threadlike strands wove around them, making them one.
He moaned softly and tightened his arms around Sara’s soft form, lifting her up against his body. His left hand slid down, cupping her buttocks as he did. Her legs instinctively opened to wrap around his waist. The position raised her until she was even with his lips. He pushed his hips forward when she started sliding down. He broke the kiss, breathing heavily as he gazed into her eyes.
“I need you, Sara,” he admitted.
Sara gazed back at him, her face flushed with desire. At first, she didn’t respond to his quietly spoken need. He didn’t want to push her, she had been through so much, but he was also concerned about his own control. Being this close to her had been both pleasure and pain since she first woke. Each time he left her, it became more difficult to walk away.
“Jaguin…,” Sara started to say when her head turned at the angry hiss from the symbiot. “What’s wrong?”
Jaguin heard the tremor in her voice and saw the flash of fear. His arms tightened around her and he sent a command to his symbiot to identify who entered the room. Within seconds, he heard the familiar voices of Cree and Calo.
“It is the Twin Dragons and their mate,” Jaguin murmured. “They are no threat.”
“You’d better put me down before they see us,” Sara whispered, blushing when she realized that she was still wrapped around him.
Jaguin scowled for a moment before he reluctantly lowered her to the floor, muttering a curse about killing the two warriors the next time they were alone. His lips twitched when he heard Sara’s giggle at his frustrated remark.
“I really want you,” he muttered with a lopsided grin.
“I can tell,” Sara retorted, flushing when she felt his hard length pressed against her.
“Jaguin, our apologies,” Calo called in greeting as he stepped onto the path. “Our mate wished to let her dragon out and the other rooms have a training exercise in progress.”
*.*.*
Sara’s eyes widened at the small green dragon that peeked over Calo’s shoulder. Beside the tiny dragon, she saw Cree standing with a protective hand along her neck. She was the most beautiful creature Sara had ever seen – next to Jaguin.
“Who is that?” Sara asked, staring in awe at the dragon that was gazing back at her.
Calo’s gaze softened and he turned toward the beautiful dragon. Raising his hand, he ran it tenderly along her jaw. Sara was amazed at how much love was in that simple gesture. She knew who the two warriors were; she saw them multiple times silently following Carmen. This was the first time she saw both men together. If it wasn’t for the scar that Carmen told her about and the way one of the men always had his hand on the knife by his side, she wouldn’t have known there were two separate men watching Carmen.
“This is our mate, Melina,” Calo introduced with a proud smile.
Sara’s eyes widened further and she took a step back in surprise when the image shimmered for a moment before a young woman stood where the dragon was just seconds earlier. Cree immediately wrapped his arms around the woman when she swayed.
“Hi,” Melina greeted, blushing and looking at Sara with curious, green eyes. “I’m sorry. My dragon wanted out and I’m still learning to do all this.”
“You do not need to apologize,” Cree growled, glancing at Sara and Jaguin with a sharp glance, warning them not to disagree.
Sara fought a grin when the woman rolled her eyes and mouthed to her not to listen to the big oaf. Sara gave a brief nod of understanding. She hesitantly pulled away from Jaguin and moved toward the woman. Her lips parted and she looked back and forth between Melina and the two huge men shadowing her.
“You’re human?” Sara asked in a soft voice, gazing back at Melina.
“Yes,” Melina replied with a shy smile. She raised a hand and pushed a strand of shoulder length dark brown hair behind her ear.
Sara frowned. “Carmen is human as well. How can you transform into a dragon then?” She asked with a puzzled expression.
Sara felt Jaguin tense behind her. She laid her hand over his when his hand tightened on her hip. She knew that Carmen could transform. It came up during their conversations, but for some reason it never really sank in. Seeing Melina as a dragon finally seemed to connect the dots.
“I’m not sure,” Melina admitted. “I believe it has something to do with the Dragon’s Fire that happens when….”
Sara saw Melina’s face flame and her eyes sparkle as she looked back and forth between her mates. Understanding dawned quickly – something happened when the Valdier mated with a human to change the chemical composition of their bodies. If that happened, there would be no going back. Sara understood the dynamics of biology enough to know that once a species evolved, it rarely, if ever, returned to its previous state.
“Oh,” Sara whispered.
“I’m sorry we interrupted you,” Melina started to say, stopping when Sara gave her a brief smile.
“That’s okay, we were ju
st leaving,” Sara replied. “Perhaps we can meet up later. Carmen and I were planning on meeting in the dining hall. She was going to show me more of the ship.”
“That would be lovely,” Melina replied, ignoring the soft growl from both her mates. “I think some girl time out would be wonderful.”
Sara laughed when she saw the look of displeasure on Cree and Calo’s faces and the soft grunt Jaguin emitted. It was obvious these guys had a lot to learn if they thought Earth girls were going to just sit around and wait to be escorted everywhere.
“I agree,” Sara retorted, elbowing Jaguin when his hand tightened on her hip. “I’ll see you in a few hours.”
“Okay,” Melina replied with a happy grin.
Sara pulled away from Jaguin and stepped around Melina, Cree, and Calo. She could feel Jaguin right behind her as she headed toward the door. A wave of warmth flooded her when she heard Melina’s soft comment to the two men standing protectively near her.
“It is so nice to have other women close to my age here. I missed that when I was in the mining asteroid,” Melina murmured.
She didn’t hear the men’s response. She would have to ask Melina what she meant about the mining asteroid. It was a clear reminder that when she thought she and Emma had experienced a horrible episode in their life, there were others who had lived through things that were just as bad or worse. Carmen almost died, something happened to the other young woman, and she knew Audrey had a story behind her presence here as well.
She and Emma were so wrapped up in what happened to them, that it was easy to forget to focus on the good that came from their rescue. Unlike Emma, though, Sara was not a captive as long, did not witness as much of the cruelty, and did not have a family she cared for back home. Her family had not spoken to her since she left over ten years ago.
“Sara,” Jaguin’s voice drew her out of her own thoughts.
“Oh,” she muttered, startled. “Sorry.”
Jaguin gave her that lopsided grin she found endearing. She turned toward him, realizing they were already standing in front of the lift. At that moment, he looked like a little boy who was about to be told he wasn’t going to get his favorite toy.
“I was hoping when you pressed your lips to mine…,” he started to say before his voice died.
Sara tried to hide her smile, but failed. Her gaze softened when she saw his crestfallen expression. The humor of the situation wasn’t lost on her, or the fact that if they hadn’t been interrupted, their time together would have ended much differently. Raising her hand, she laid it on his chest.
“I enjoyed it,” Sara said, not making any excuses. “I’m attracted to you, but I need to take this slowly. So much has happened….” For a moment, her gaze lowered to his chest where her hand rested as she thought about that fact. “Now, finding out what could happen if we… I’m not ready for this yet.”
Jaguin raised his hand and covered hers, pressing it against his chest. She lifted her gaze and locked with his. His eyes had lost their twinkle of amusement and he stared back at her with an intense, serious expression.
“The change can only happen if I share my Dragon Fire with you. It would be very difficult to come together with you and not do so, but it is possible as long as I do not lose control of my dragon. The human male… Did he….?” Jaguin pressed his lips together.
Sara knew what he was asking and shook her head. “No, Cuello wasn’t sexually interested in us. He wanted to hurt us in a different way…” Sara’s voice broke and she looked away. “I’d better get back to my room and check on Emma.”
Jaguin released a deep sigh and nodded. “I will escort you,” he said, reaching around her to wave his hand in front of the lift control. “But, I warn you, my dragon and I will not give up.”
Sara giggled when she saw his symbiot trotting down the corridor toward them in the shape of the jaguar. It was holding another stuffed sloth in its mouth. Shaking her head, she stepped into the lift.
“Neither will Honey,” she chuckled.
“Honey?” Jaguin asked with a confused frown, turning to look at where she was staring. “You have named my symbiot Honey?”
“Unless you have a better name for it,” she said.
Sara watched as Jaguin gave his symbiot a skeptical look. It stared up at him with a sharp-tooth grin, the sloth hanging by one foot from its mouth. The combination of the two, powerful creatures staring at each other with a mixture of confusion, resignation, and flat-out goofy expressions was too much for Sara. She burst into a fit of giggles that soon had them all laughing.
Chapter 9
Jaguin scowled at Carmen. His gaze flickered between her face and what she was holding in her hand. Reaching out, he took the small box from her.
“How will this make her like me more?” He asked in confusion, staring down at the brightly wrapped package.
“It’s chocolate. Sara mentioned earlier that one of the things she missed from Earth was the chocolate. I happen to have a lifetime supply thanks to Creon. I was having a major chocolate attack before we left. I don’t know how he did it, but Creon had a ton of it delivered to Paul’s ranch before we departed,” Carmen explained.
“But… This was a gift from your mate,” Jaguin said, frowning at Carmen. “You should keep this.”
Carmen shook her head and pushed Jaguin’s hand away. “Trust me, I have more than enough,” she said with a smile. “Besides, I think Sara could use it more right now.”
Jaguin looked skeptically at the package. “You are sure this will make her happy?” He asked, looking up at her face again.
Carmen chuckled and nodded. “Yes, trust me,” she promised.
“Thank you,” Jaguin responded, his expression clearing when he saw Creon walking toward them.
“Jaguin,” Creon greeted. “How is your female doing?” He asked before he grunted when Carmen elbowed him in the stomach. “What?!”
“I’m not even going to tell you how condescending that sounds,” Carmen retorted with a roll of her eyes. “That female has a name and it is Sara.”
Creon grinned. “I know what her name is. I also knew I would get a reaction out of you,” he teased, bending forward to brush his lips across hers before he wrapped his arms protectively around her waist. “I feel the girls moving. They are anxious to see the world.”
“Not as much as I am to see them,” Carmen murmured, turning in his arms and wrapping her own around Creon’s neck.
Jaguin shook his head and turned to leave Carmen and Creon alone. It was obvious they had already forgotten his presence. He glanced down at the small package in his hand, turning it over thoughtfully as he walked toward the room that he now thought of as his and Sara’s.
Just as he stepped off the lift, Carmen had stopped him to hand him the delicious treats. He wasn’t sure how they were supposed to break down the fragile barrier that Sara tried to erect between them earlier. At this point, he was willing to try just about anything for another kiss.
He stepped into the room, frowning when he saw it was empty. Disappointment washed through him and he instinctively reached for the symbiot wrapped around his arm. He knew waited, staring out the window and turning the box over in his hands. He felt as nervous as a youngling waiting to sneak a quick peek at the girls in the village for their first dragon races. He ran a hand through his hair.
So much for the fierce warrior, he thought in disgust. I’m more like the….
All thoughts deserted him when Sara suddenly appeared in the doorway. She gave him a nervous smile before stepping into the room. Jaguin swallowed and ran a damp palm along his pants leg.
“You look tired,” he stated, wincing at his thoughtless words.
Sara released a self-conscious sigh and pushed her hair back from her face. She was wearing the blue cloth pants that she liked and a red blouse that hung loose around her. His brow furrowed when he noticed that she was wearing only socks.
“You have lost your shoes?” He asked, puzzled.
&n
bsp; Sara chuckled. “No, I didn’t lose my shoes; and yes, I’m tired. I’m still having difficulty sleeping,” she admitted in a husky voice. “The memories… I can’t seem to control them.”
Jaguin’s eyes darkened with concern. He opened his arms. Sara didn’t hesitate. She stepped into his arms and hugged him in return. Her face turned into his broad chest. He felt the shudder go through her before she relaxed.
“Every time I think I have them under control, they hit me from out of nowhere,” she whispered, rubbing her cheek against his shirt.
His arms tightened around her and he held her close. Closing his eyes, he ordered his symbiot to show him. This time, it must have understood he would not accept its refusal. Faint images, almost like shadows, danced in his mind before they solidified. He was seeing her thoughts, feeling her suffocating fear as the sound of footsteps echoed along the stone floor. The sound of metal on metal resonated through his mind before the first slash of pain tore through him. Almost as suddenly as it started, it stopped.
“Sara…,” Jaguin whispered in a husky voice.
“Don’t, Jaguin,” Sara murmured, breathing heavily and holding him tight. “I don’t want you to see it… to feel what it was like.”
Jaguin pulled back and carefully lifted his hand to touch her chin. “Look at me, Sara,” Jaguin ordered in a soft voice. “Look at me.”
Sara reluctantly lifted her gaze to his. Her lips parted and she drew in a trembling breath as she stared up at him. He wanted her to see that she was not alone. He would never let her be alone again in the dark nightmares that held her captive.
“Trust me,” he whispered, sliding his hand up along her cheek to cup it. “I have seen many things in my life. I have lived far longer than you, fought and watched those I care about die in a senseless war caused by those who crave power. You are no longer alone. Trust me to protect you.”
Sara’s eyes glistened with unshed tears. “I’ve never had anyone before,” she admitted.
