“But I know you are not.”
“How can you know that?”
He looked deep into her eyes. “Because I know you, I know your heart.”
“I could be fooling you.”
“No. That would be impossible, I can hear your heart beat. I know when it quickens.”
“Do you?”
“Yes, Serena. When I touch you, when I make love to you. I know what you feel. And I know what you fear.”
“So do I, Connor.”
He stopped, the people around them taking no notice as he pulled her into his arms, and whispered, “We will get through this, Serena. I swear to you.”
She side, and pulled away from him. “Then let’s get there and see if we can find a way of ending this mess without anyone getting hurt.” Connor pulled her back to him. “Serena. That is not going to happen. I am going to make sure this Samuel can never hurt you or our family again. Do you understand that? He is not going to walk out of there alive.”
“I know. I just don’t want to think about it. The thought of you killing someone for me...”
“For us, for our child.”
“I know, but still ... I wish I’d never brought it on you.”
“You didn’t. Samuel did. He made you do this.”
“The thing that eats me up inside though, is that if he hadn’t made me come to you. I would have never known you existed.”
“Perhaps, or perhaps we would have found each other anyway. Fate works in strange ways, and I for one believe our fates are twisted around so tightly together, we would have met and shared our lives anyway.”
She shoved her body against him, when he looked at her, she smiled. “I never would have guessed that a big bad dragon could be such a romantic.”
He grinned back at her, his heart skittering as he took in the woman who was his mate. “Only with you, Serena, only with you.”
She couldn’t know how true his words were, because the other part of him, the dark brooding dragon, thirsted for the blood of those behind the walls of the church that lay before them.
Chapter Seven - Serena
“So this is it,” she said, looking up at the church. “There’s no one here, what if Samuel’s moved elsewhere?”
“I don’t know. How long has he been here?”
“Since as long as I can remember, my mom brought me here about ten years ago, maybe more.”
“Then he will still be here. It’s his lair, and if he thinks controlling me will make him a god then there is no reason he will move now. He is confident you will be able to deliver what he wants.”
“How? He knows I’m a coward, if I wasn't I’d have taken Charlotte and left months ago.”
“Why didn’t you?”
She shook her head. “Because I’m stupid. He told me he would always know where I was, that he would track us down no matter where we were and then he would hurt Charlotte while he made me watch.”
“Then you had no choice. It’s only natural to want to spare your sister pain.”
“There worst thing is that I actually planned it. I bought tickets for the train, squirrelled some money away. Then the night before we were due to leave, he came to the apartment, and went straight to the place I was hiding everything.”
“The witch would have told him.”
“You mean she really can see the future?”
“From what you have said, yes.” He was quiet for some time. “It makes this so much harder.” He looked up to the top of the buildings all around them.
“What?” she asked, knowing she was missing something.
“If she is a seer, I’m surprised they are not here waiting for us. She would have seen us coming.”
“Perhaps because the five days are not up?”
“Maybe. It could mean that she knows you haven’t conceived yet. But they could capture us and make us mate until you do.”
“Make us mate?” she asked, shocked.
“Yes. They control you through your sister, and they control me through you. With or without the potion.”
“That’s twisted,” Serena answered, feeling sick to her stomach. The thought that they would be forced to do things in the church, maybe even in front of Samuel, he certainly was depraved enough.
Connor stared at the church, unseeing. She waited patiently while he shifted through his thoughts. Occasionally he almost stopped breathing, concentrating his will on the ornate building, so outwardly a picture of sanctity, while inside it hid the sordid will of a monster.
“We have no element of surprise if he has a seer,” Connor said at last, shaking his head.
“I know. Is there no way of tricking the witch?”
“I’ll have to give it some thought. Come, I don't want to risk staying here any longer. It was a fruitless journey. I had hoped that when I saw the place for real I would have some idea of what we should do. But if the seer is as powerful as she appears, there is little we can do but use brute force.”
“But they’ll be waiting ... with guns.”
“That might be the chance we take, unless of course we risk the potion.”
“No. What if it’s real?”
“Then I will be placing myself in your hands. It might be the only way.”
“I won’t accept that.”
“You may have to, Serena. You may have to accept that there will indeed be a choice to be made.”
“You mean between you and Charlotte?”
“Yes.”
“I can’t think about that right now. Something will come up, it has to. I have spent the whole of my life under that bastard’s control. I want my freedom, and I want to be happy with you, without having to think of what might have been.”
“We don’t always get what we want Serena.”
“I know. I know that only too well.” She looked straight ahead as they walked. “I think I get it now. I understand how you could want someone dead to get rid of the threat to your family.”
“Serena,” he said, placing his hand on her arm. “Promise me one thing?”
“I don’t know if I can.” She knew what he was about to ask her, and she knew she couldn’t promise what he wanted.
“That you don’t do anything stupid. Leave Samuel to me. Killing someone, even someone as evil as Samuel will change you.”
“You can’t ask me to promise that.”
“Yes. I can.”
“Are you telling me that you want me to promise that if I have to choose between saving you or Charlotte, and killing Samuel, that I should let you die?”
He winced at the anger in her voice. “Serena. If you cannot promise me, then I will take you to the cellar now and lock you there until Zoah and I have dealt with Samuel.”
“You wouldn’t dare.”
They had reached the gates of the big house where he lived. And for a moment he didn’t answer. Then when they were safely inside the grounds, and hidden from view to anyone beyond the walls, he grabbed her arm harshly and said, “You forget who I am, Serena.”
“Are you threatening me?”
“Yes. I think I am.”
She tried to pull away from him, but he held her fast. “Let me go, you’re hurting me.”
He squeezed her arm a little tighter, making her cry out in pain. “This pain is nothing compared to that you will feel for the rest of your life if you kill a man.”
“And it is nothing like the pain I will feel if I allow Samuel or his men to hurt you or Charlotte. I have lived with pain, I have lived with torment. And just like you I will do what it takes to keep those I love safe.”
He released her. “I wonder where the woman is that came to me only days ago, scared of her own shadow.”
She reached up and stroked his face, his fingers relaxing on her arms, but the pain from the bruises his grip would leave was still there. “She learned to hope. She saw a future so beautiful she couldn’t let anything stop her from trying to achieve it.” She stood on tip toe and kissed his mouth, Connor did not yield.
“She learned to love a dragon.”
He turned to her then, and kissed her fiercely. Picking her up he took her to the front door of the house, practically kicking it down in his haste. Once inside he slammed her against the wall, dragging her clothes from her body. Then he undid his pants, ripping his shirt from his chest before lifting a breathless Serena up and spreading her thighs apart to make room for his body to nestle between them.
“I wish we could have met centuries ago when the threats were different. We could have made a formidable team.”
She brushed her hand through his hair, her excitement almost too much to bear. “We could be formidable now. Connor, you have to let me be who I am, the woman I was is slowly disappearing, you have taught me that I am not some whore to be bartered. Samuel has no right to hurt me, to force me to do his bidding. The only man I belong to is right here in front of me.”
He guided himself towards her heated sex. His fingers brushing her clit lightly as he pushed forward, entering her with a grunt. His mouth found hers, and he kissed her hard while he thrust inside her further. She wrapped her arms around his neck, holding on tightly while he pulled out of her and then thrust hard and fast to bury himself in her completely.
“I will do what it takes to keep you from having to kill a man.” He pulled out and then entered her again, hard and deep.
“And I will do what it takes to keep you safe.”
He laughed, his deep chest rumbling as his cock filled her. She pulled his head back, making him face her. “What is so funny, don’t you think I can change, that I can become strong like you?”
“Oh, no I don’t doubt you at all.” He looked at her, humour dancing in his eyes. “I only hope if you do need to protect me, Zoah never finds out. I will never live it down if he knows I had to be saved by a woman.”
And then the smile disappeared from his lips, to be replaced by a snarl as he came hard and fast inside her, while around his cock, her sex pulsed and throbbed with it’s own release.
When he was totally spent, he carried her back to her room and lay her on the bed. “You need to rest. Tonight we will spend the last night of the ritual together, and then tomorrow we must face the day.”
“Do you know what I think we need to do to beat Samuel?” she asked, curling up on her side.
“No?”
“We need to lure out that witch, and then break her neck.”
Chapter Eight - Zoah
“Hello, Dragon.”
Zoah swung around to face the voice. It was a long time since someone had crept up on him and not instantly lost his head, but a woman, that was different. Endless possibilities. “How do you know what I am?”
The woman pushed her hood off, showing her face to Zoah. “Come now, I don't need to tell you who I am. But if you're that stupid reptile, the question you should be asking is, how did I know you would be here.”
“Ahh, the witch. I didn't recognise you, perhaps because I expected you to be more ... impressive.”
She laughed, low and musical, mesmerising, for any other creature but a dragon. “That's why I picked you, so much more entertaining than that love sick brother of yours.”
“I'm sorry, I don't think we've been introduced. It seems so unfair that you know so much about us when we have no idea of your name.”
She laughed. “Don't take me for fool.”
“Why? I mean if you are being controlled by a mad man, then you must be a fool?”
“Dragon, know one thing, I will not be goaded into revealing more than I want you to know.” She took a step towards him. “And understand that I am under no one's control but my own.”
“Oh, I'm sorry, I was under the impression that you jumped to a mad man's tune.”
“And so he thinks. But if that was true, I would not be here alone would I? No. Instead I would have brought men with guns, and nets to capture your scaly ass.”
He moved so quickly, always the thing that outsmarted his opponents, except her. She sidestepped to the left and slapped him across the ass as he stumbled forward onto the ground.
“Naughty boy,” she said, turning back to him and offering him her hand.
He shoved it out of his way and hauled himself back up onto his feet. “What do you want, Witch, my patience is wearing thin.”
“Now, now, no pouting, it isn't a good look for an ancient being like you. But then you've never really grown up have you Dragon.”
“If we're just going to trade insults, I'll be going.” He summoned the air around him, feeling the power course through his body.
“No!” she shouted and stepped closer to him.
“Ahh, have I found something out of your control?”
“I cannot control you, but I know you will want to hear what I have to say.”
“Really? The only thing I want to hear you say is you're leaving that scum you've been helping.”
“I can't.”
“No. But I thought you said he didn't control you.”
“He doesn't. But I've seen the future, your future.”
“My future. I have lived many lifetimes Witch, it's hard enough to fill the time as it is, without knowing what is to come. Life would be even more boring if I actually knew what was about to happen.”
“What if I told you your soul mate depends on you listening to me? That if you walk away now she will be killed by Samuel.”
“Is that your threat? That if I walk away I won't meet the woman who will tether me to this world I have grown to hate.” He laughed, a hollow noise. “Good bye for now, Witch, I will see you around. Soon.”
“What about your son?”
“I don't have son. And I do not want a son.”
She waved her hands, conjuring up a mist, the waxing moon illuminating it. From deep with in movement caught his eye, a young dragon whirling in the clear blue sky, an older, bigger dragon chasing it.
“Don't try to tempt me with your lies.”
“This is no lie. You recognise yourself, I know you do.”
“But the child does not exist, so I do not feel the loss of what will never be.”
“It is as I thought, you are a coward.”
“Your words do not tempt me. The thing you offer is neither my need or desire. If that is all you have to offer then you are wasting both of our time.”
“Look once more, if your path is set.”
He shouldn't have looked. But the temptation was too great. There, in the shimmering mist lay the broken body of a dragon. If it were his body, it would not have hurt so much. But it wasn't, it was Connor, and across him lay a woman, weeping. Serena.
“What is this, more trickery?”
“No Dragon,” the witch said, her voice quiet now, full of sorrow. “This is what will come to pass if you leave now without hearing what I have to say.”
Chapter Nine - Serena
His fingers travelled up her spine, and she turned in his arms to face him. The sun had broken the horizon, but it was still early, and she didn't want to get up, didn't want to start this day.
Instead, she pressed her body against his, the warmth of his skin a reminder of how alive, how vital her dragon was. She only hoped she would be able to say the same about him when the sun rose tomorrow.
“We should get up. I need to find Zoah and see if he plans to join us. I only hope he hasn't had a night of fighting and drinking. He needs to be on form if we are going to get through this.”
“Just one hour more, Connor. Please.”
“And what do you intend to do in that one hour?” he asked, his eye ablaze with lust for her, his hands already roaming her body bringing it to life.
“Anything. Everything. I wish we could stretch it out to eternity, that we could freeze time and never have to deal with Samuel and his men.”
“I might be made of fire and magic, but that is beyond even me.”
“You mean I have found a desire that you cannot fulfil, Mighty Dragon.”
He laughed, a low rumble that vibrated t
hrough him. “There must be some other desire I can satisfy instead.” His fingers tugged at her nipple, and she gasped. “I think I am working it out for myself.”
“And what about you? What are your desires?”
“My desires. I am a simple beast, so they are simple desires. The first is that I make love to you, and that I feel your pleasure through my own.”
“Show me,” she whispered into his ear, her breath tickling his neck, and she felt him shiver along the length of his body.
“Kneel for me, Serena. Let me mount you as I would have on the altar, but this time you will show no fear of your dragon.”
Serena had no wish to deny him, and when she cast her thoughts back to that night, it was hard to believe she could ever have been afraid of him. But they had been strangers, and she had been a frightened virgin.
Throwing the covers off, she pulled together all her courage to do as he asked, feeling so very self conscious. His arousal was so obvious, it spurred her on, and she knelt on all fours, turning to watch him as he moved towards her.
His hand went to her hip, he held her firmly while he knelt behind her, finding the right position before he guided himself towards her.
She closed her eyes, preparing for him to enter her, but he didn't. Not yet. First he brushed the rounded head of his cock up and down her slit, pressing a little way inside her, but not entering her while he continued to tease her.
Her sex dripped in readiness, aching to be filled by him, yet still he didn't penetrate her. She pressed back against him, but he simply leaned back away from her, before continuing his teasing.
“Please, Connor.”
“Please what?” he asked, his voice thick with need.
Why was he treating her like this? But she swallowed her pride, if he wanted her to beg she would. “Please make love to me.”
He leaned over her back and kissed her spine, his lips pressing against each vertebra as he inched forward. And in this slow careful movement he finally entered her. Agonisingly slowly.
She squirmed, panting in frustration as he inched into her. However, the hand on her hip kept her in place, while slowly his cock stretched her inner muscles.
Blood of the Dragon: BBW Paranormal Romance (Her Dragon's Bane Series Book 2) Page 3
