by Leela Ash
Max’s thoughts returned back to the Mersha. He would destroy the man and get rid of his body in the portal. That way nobody would be able to trace it back to Max and Andrea. Still, it was likely he had already alerted his kind of the Loni population on Earth. This man would have to go. And he would go out painfully.
Max bared his teeth and let out a dark cloud of smoke as he readied himself for a fierce, finishing blow.
16.
Andrea’s eyes grew wide as she watched the beautiful dragon in the sky. He was the same golden color as Max’s eyes. He was Max.
The strange reality began to set in and she stared as he climbed higher and higher into the sky until he was no longer in sight. Andrea couldn’t see the hidden enemy, but it was clear that Max could, and he was injured.
Her chest tightened as she waited for something to happen, and a small cry was forced out of her when she felt the constraints Max had freed her from tighten around her legs once again.
“Max!”
Her eyes focused suddenly on a golden blur that was pummeling through the sky and Andrea’s heart skipped a beat. Max. His reptilian eyes were narrowed and focused on something above her that she couldn’t see. But judging by the position of her confines, it was safe to assume the enemy was above her and ready to take her away. Max had been serious. He wasn’t lying about her being in danger. He wasn’t even lying about being a dragon shifter.
Not that she had thought he was lying. She had simply thought he was delusional. Deluding them both. She had wanted to believe it. In a way, she had believed it and it was one of the strangest conflicts she had ever experienced. And now she knew why.
Because it was true.
Everything he had said was true.
That meant…
Andrea’s eyes widened as Max sunk his teeth deep into something and a sharp, strangled cry filled the air. The dragon’s eyes were somewhere far away now; they were focused on the task at hand and seemed to have completely forgotten Andrea.
She was his fated one. He hadn’t been lying about any of it and that meant that this man – this powerful creature that she had been giving the cold shoulder to all this time – had been telling the truth. He loved her. The trust she felt toward him was there because their love was destined to be. Because it was real. She wasn’t just being overzealous. She was being honest with herself now, finally.
But Max was fighting hard and she had no idea if he was winning or losing. He was struggling; his scales were glittering with blood and his face was pained. What would happen if he was killed trying to protect her? She would have spent all that time with him treating him like hell because she hadn’t believed her own truth. How would she ever be able to forgive herself for it? She felt like the biggest asshole on Earth right now.
Her thoughts were quickly brought back to the fight when the odd sensation gripping her legs slackened and then faded entirely. She was able to move freely and ran backwards, out of range of any further attempts at restraining her. But Andrea’s eyes remained focused on the sky. The fight was incredibly stressful to watch, but she was beginning to realize that Max was deeply powerful. He had the upper hand. He wasn’t going to let anything happen to her. And he was going to be okay. He would have to be.
She collapsed suddenly onto the ground, an abrupt, overpowering weakness consuming her and making it nearly impossible to stay on her feet. A strange, tingling sensation surged through Andrea’s body and her eyes began to flutter closed just as she heard a hard, heavy thumping sound nearby where she had been standing previously.
Soon, the powerful dragon was descending, gleaming a beautiful shining gold as he lowered himself to the ground nearby. Suddenly, Andrea was in the strong arms of the man she loved, her body weak but slowly beginning to regain its strength.
“Come on,” he said softly. “Let’s get you back home.”
Andrea nodded groggily and soon, she was weightless in the air and being clutched tenderly against Max’s broad, bare chest. It took her a minute to realize that the man was completely nude, but when she did, a hot flame shot through her entire body.
Max’s golden eyes found hers immediately, as if somehow, he could sense exactly what she was feeling. He raised his brow at her and Andrea smiled sheepishly. He grinned back at her and continued on his way down the path.
“I will have to take care of him later,” Max said, more to himself than to Andrea. “I have to take care of you first.”
Andrea was quiet as Max carried her down the small path they had made during their walk, and they came upon the cabin a little bit sooner than she would have liked. It felt so nice to be in his strong arms. She felt safe. Surrounded. Protected. It was a feeling she hadn’t experienced in a very long time.
“Are you okay?” Max asked, setting Andrea gently in her bed when they finally went inside the cabin.
“Are you okay?” Andrea countered, staring at the wound that was beginning to close on Max’s shoulder. There was another one over his ribs, and he smiled wearily.
“I am thanks to you,” he said. “You healed me.”
“What?”
Andrea blinked hard. She had healed him? But how? She hadn’t done anything intentionally. Not really.
“You are a Loni. We don’t really ask how when it comes to your kind. You are generally miracle workers. That’s why that man was after you. Your kind are very special.”
Andrea gazed at Max, the information slowly processing in her brain. Loni. She tested the word out on her lips. “Loni.”
“Yes,” Max said, a handsome smile lighting his face.
She once again became painfully aware that he was naked, his body agonizingly close to her own. She scooted over subtly and patted the bed.
“You should rest. That looked rough out there. And you aren’t fully healed. I don’t really know what I’m doing…”
Max offered her another sexy smile and did as she asked, wincing subtly as he lowered himself onto the bed.
“You will learn in time. The first part, the most difficult part, is accepting and understanding your identity is one outside the typical understandings of those born on Earth. And you are getting there.”
“What happened out there?” Andrea suddenly asked. “That was terrifying.”
“I’m sorry you were afraid. But I will always protect you. Try not to worry about that.” Max hesitated for a moment and looked away before continuing. “That man was a Mersha. They are very powerful, very greedy men. They wish to acquire all Lonis and utilize your magic. Treat your kind like batteries. It is despicable. They are imprisoned on my planet. Humanely disposed of. It is rare for them to meet a violent end.”
“But you didn’t let him live,” Andrea pointed out. She could tell, somehow, that Max was deeply disturbed by the violence of the act that had just taken place.
“I had to protect you. And besides, he isn’t dead. But he isn’t here anymore either. I created a portal that teleported his consciousness to a very dark place. It is a fate worse than death, really. I never thought I would resort to such a thing.”
“None of this makes sense,” Andrea said with a little laugh as she tried to digest what Max was saying to her. And yet she trusted it. Trusted him. She knew that he wasn’t just speaking to speak or to get a rise out of her. He was being his genuine self. And it was one of the most beautiful things she had ever seen.
“It doesn’t all have to make sense. What matters at this point is whether or not you believe it. So you can begin to rein in your powers. So you can make sure you are safe and that nobody is going to harm you. If I am not there to protect you, you will have to do it for yourself.”
“I will,” Andrea promised. She had always taken care of herself before and she would again. Her eyes wandered unintentionally over Max’s body again, and her breath hitched in her throat. He was so ridiculously handsome. She tried to look away, but there was a deep flush on her face that betrayed her interest in him. And she already knew he could sense her arousal a
s if it were his own somehow.
“Look at me,” Max said gently, his deep voice rumbling sensually beside Andrea’s ear. It sent a hot shiver through her body and Andrea dubiously cast her gaze to Max’s golden eyes.
“Hi,” she managed to say. She wished she wasn’t so transparent to him. And yet, there was something thrilling about it. He knew how she felt without her having to express it. They were connected.
“Hi,” Max said, his handsome face breaking out into a broad smile. He gripped Andrea by the waist and lifted her gently on top of himself. She gasped, the flush on her cheeks deepening when she felt the powerful muscle against her middle. He gripped her chin and tugged her face gently forward, placing a kiss on her lips that nearly made her lose her mind.
It was the single most electrifying experience of Andrea’s life. She was breathless by the time they broke apart, and she searched Max’s beautiful golden eyes as she tried to compose herself.
“You know,” he said casually, running his strong fingers through Andrea’s hair. “If we were to have children together, it would mean that my home planet would be safe, finally, from the entropy that has begun to take hold. We are running out of Loni heirs. It takes a special child - two parts dragon shifter and one part Loni – to contribute to the magic in our atmosphere. It keeps us alive. It keeps everything growing. Thriving. We could create just such a child.”
“A child?” Andrea asked, her mind spinning. She had always loved children. Had always envisioned a future full of them. Children who would love her and need her to guide them. It was part of the reason she had always wanted to be a teacher. But hearing Max speak so candidly about having children with her should have been alarming. What was strange was that she wasn’t alarmed. In fact, she was touched by the thought of having a child with this incredible man. He was so unlike anyone she had ever met before.
“Yes. My planet is dying. If my planet dies, my people die. Our people, technically. You are a hybrid. A descendant of one of the most powerful races of people to exist in my dimension. I know you understand. If you didn’t, you wouldn’t be here with me right now.”
Andrea considered whether this was actually true. If he had slipped her psychotropic drugs, maybe she really was hallucinating and buying into a strange delusion. It would explain why she still couldn’t see the body of the man that Max had been fighting.
But she was tired of fighting away what she knew was true. Max was telling her the truth. And everything he was saying was something she wanted more than anything to be true for her. She wanted to embrace her destiny. Embrace the love of her life. Even have a child with him. No matter how strange and sudden it might seem to the outside world.
She answered him not with words but with a kiss. It was slow and tender, and Max’s hands gripped tightly around her waist. Andrea’s heart pounded wildly as her body became alive with a deep desire unlike anything she had ever experienced before. She hadn’t even known her body was capable of these feelings. But, somehow, Max coaxed them out of her like it was the most natural thing in the world.
He slowly began to slip the clothes off Andrea’s body, and she shuddered in a combination of desire and anxiety. It was strange to suddenly accept and acknowledge the power of her feelings. The enormous lust that this man had inspired in her from the moment they met came bubbling to the surface and she surrendered to his touch. He knew exactly what he was doing, and she was going to let him do exactly as he wished. Even if that meant they would conceive a child together. A special child. A world-saving child. A child that the Mersha man hadn’t wanted to exist.
“I love you,” Max said, suddenly breaking into her thoughts. Andrea’s heart swelled at the words and she smiled at him.
“I love you too,” she said. “I’m sorry about everything.”
Max’s forehead creased, and he looked at her seriously. “You have nothing to apologize for. I should apologize to you. I know it couldn’t have been easy for you to stay stuck with me all this time, even if you had a small understanding of the truth. I should have found another way. Perhaps made it optional. But time is running out.”
Andrea nodded grimly. Now that she had begun to embrace her identity, she could tell Max’s words were painfully true. There was something deeply wrong, somewhere she would probably never even get to see.
“But there is hope,” Max said, his golden eyes suddenly light. “In our union, we bring endless possibilities to our people. Especially if…”
Max touched Andrea’s stomach tenderly and a deep heat seared through her abdomen. Max’s eyes darted to hers quickly; he could always seem to tell when she wanted him the most. The heat deepened when she felt his body respond to her arousal; the muscle against her thigh was hard and urgent and he pressed his hips up subtly against her, his broad jaw clenching as he did his best to hold himself back.
But she didn’t want him to. Not even a little bit. Soon, their bodies were rocking together in a deep, sensual motion. He kissed her tenderly, roaming his hands up and down her back and sending trails of fire in their wake. Andera’s body responded immediately with a passionate tremor, and Max shot her a sly grin that brought the fire within her bursting into a raging inferno.
Her hips bucked involuntarily, revealing the heightened state of arousal that Max’s body had brought upon her. He seized upon it immediately. Andrea’s breath hitched in her throat when Max began to slowly slide himself between her thighs, his hands gripping her firmly as he completed his deed. When she felt the contact of his member against her middle, she nearly lost her mind. She wanted him. She wanted him more than she had ever wanted anybody in her life.
He slowly spread her legs apart with his broad hands and she felt the sudden pressure of his hard muscle against her opening. Andrea’s heart fluttered, a deep flush coloring her cheeks as suddenly and assertively, Max entered her.
She cried out in rapture as a jolt of electricity traveled throughout her body, reaching all the way to the tips of her fingers. There was something so good about this man. Everything he did felt good. And now that he was inside her, she realized just how long she had been waiting for this moment..
A soft gasp escaped her lips as Max continued to push into her, sending a deep thrill through the whole of Andrea’s body. She gripped his shoulders to brace herself against the sensation, letting out a soft groan of pleasure as he filled her. She shuddered against him and Max held her firmly in his arms, swiftly flipping her onto her back. She gasped at his strength as ecstasy roiled through her body, and Max replied with a low grunt. There was fire in his gaze and she could tell he was holding himself back. Somehow, that only served to excite her more. He pressed himself against her and she felt the strength of his hips as he began to press the whole of himself into her depths.
Andrea arched her back, gripping Max’s broad, muscular arms as he slowly began to roll his hips against her body. The delicious friction his steady movements created made Andrea writhe against the sheets. She wanted more. Needed more. Max grinned at her, sensing her desire, and began to gradually pick up the pace of his thrusting until her breath began to come in quick, short bursts. The pleasure was almost too much. It made her hot from the inside out.
Max’s body was powerful and unyielding. She gazed up into his golden eyes, and they flashed deeply, revealing, for a brief moment, the same raw power that had separated Max’s human form from the impressive dragon that had appeared just in time to save her. It sent another surge of longing through Andrea’s body and she sighed deeply as Max began to lose his control, turning his steady, careful thrusts into passionate movements. He let out a low growl; he was clearly losing himself in his pleasure, and it only served to make Andrea’s more intense.
Max ran his hands up and down Andrea’s body, dropping his mouth over the sensitive mound of her nipple. He ran his tongue along it, sending a hot wave of ecstasy traveling straight down to her loins. She bucked her hips against Max, inviting him in even further. He took the invitation gladly, and Andre
a’s entire body trembled as he used himself to pleasure her, the comfort of his presence bringing her close to her peak.
He seemed able to sense this just as he seemed able to sense every time she was deeply affected by him in this way. He pressed a deep kiss against her lips just as he began to fill her mercilessly, his body causing her to nearly forget anything else as the overwhelming pleasure of his nearness consumed her. They were connected now. Unified. One. Whole.
Andrea’s body began to quake as the power of her orgasm overwhelmed her. Max closed his eyes as he felt her body begin to contract around his muscle and let out a low exhale of appreciation.
“You feel so good,” he growled, his deep voice rumbling in Drea’s ear. His voice only served to enhance her pleasure and Andrea let out a deep gasp as Max’s body pushed her to the edge of her own desires. She was coming. Hard.
She thought it couldn’t feel any better than that, and then Max started to surrender to his own incredible orgasm. His eyes flashed darkly as he pressed himself inside her until he was hilted, and she felt everything there was to feel as Max’s hot, explosive orgasm erupted inside her. They both groaned in mutual ecstasy, gripping each other tightly as their bodies bonded in a way that Drea hadn’t even known was possible. Her body melted against Max’s, and she felt, for the first time in her life, that she truly knew where she belonged.
And then a surge of warmth spread throughout her body; a sense of peace and serenity. She looked at Max, startled by the sudden drastic change in feeling, and he looked at her with the same expression of surprise. They had both felt it.
Max looked down at Andrea’s abdomen and grinned, pressing his hand firmly against it. She knew then exactly what it had meant. They had created life together. She was going to be a mother.
Tears of overwhelmed joy sprang into Andrea’s eyes, and she held Max close, her mind wandering to the one person she had always wanted to share a moment like this with. Her own mother.
