by Dara Tulen
“So how's this going to work?” He asked.
“Seems pretty straightforward,” I tore my eyes away from Judah's exquisite body and walked over to the chains. “Malane enchanted these to change. All I have to do is watch the shift and they'll adapt to what I see you need.” He held out his hands and I snapped the manacles around his wrists. “Too tight?”
He shook his head and then looked up as if at the sky though the building had no windows. “It's happening.” His eyes dropped to me and I saw that they'd started to glow. “Step back.”
I did as he said. When a wave of pain washed over his body, I winced but didn't look away. He was never going to go through this alone again. If this didn't work, I would stay with him every time he changed. Tears streamed down my face as Judah's body shook. His lips were pressed together, his muscles rigid as he fought to hold back the scream that I knew was building inside of him.
“I love you,” my voice was steady despite the way my insides were churning. Every ripple of pain that went through him was a knife in my heart. “Hold on to that, Judah. I love you.”
The heat that had been building suddenly exploded in a rush that nearly knocked me over. A scream ripped from Judah's throat as he doubled over and I went to my knees to stop myself from running to him. All I wanted was to hold him, to make the pain go away, and it was agony knowing that the only thing I could do was watch. Scales and claws ripped through his skin as the creature inside burst forth. The entire process had taken only a couple of minutes and a dragon stood where the man I loved had been.
It let out a roar and a puff of fire went out over my head. Its eyes found me then and focused. I hadn't realized that I was still talking until that moment. “I love you. I love you.”
A shadow passed through the dragon's eyes and I saw a glimmer of something human. The dragon took a step back and lowered itself to the ground. As I watched, it curled itself into a ball and rested its head on the floor, never taking its eyes off of me.
With the exception of me retrieving my pants and putting them back on, the dragon and I sat, watching each other as the hours slipped past. Sometimes I talked, telling the dragon – telling Judah – different stories. I told him about the first time my sister Baethan had taken me hunting, how our parents had been so angry but so proud because I'd taken out a kitsune by myself. I talked about how excited my little brother Liam had been to start hunting, how Baethan had fallen in love with an accounting major who was planning to give it all up to join the family business. I didn't know if there was enough of Judah in the dragon for him to understand what I was saying or if Judah would remember when he shifted back, but I continued with the stories anyway.
I wasn't sure when I fell asleep, only that the clanging of metal falling to the ground woke me. My eyes flew open, sure that something had happened to the chains because I hadn't been awake to see how they needed to change. In a way, I was right. Judah was curled on the floor, the chains around him because they were now too large to hold him. I scrambled to his side.
“Judah?”
His eyes were closed.
“Judah?” I placed my palm on the side of his face. “Come on, wake up.”
“Siobhan,” he murmured my name as he stirred.
A wave of relief washed through me. As Judah's eyes opened, I brushed my lips across his and felt his mouth curve into a smile.
Judah pushed himself into a sitting position. “Sunrise.” He reached for my hand. “Thank you for staying with me.”
I nodded. “How do you feel?” I desperately wanted to know if it had worked.
Judah hesitated, as if taking inventory. “Fine, but not any different than I normally do.” He sighed and stood. “I guess we'll just have to wait three days and see if it happens again. Or Malane might be able to tell.”
As he pulled me to my feet, my eyes travelled up over his body and an idea came to me. “Or we could test you to see if we can bring out the beast.”
Judah looked down at me, puzzled.
I grinned and pulled my shirt over my head. His eyes widened slightly. I wrapped my hand around his soft cock and he moaned. “Those chains could be useful in a whole different way.”
“I like that idea.” Judah's voice was strained.
“Then we better get started,” I raised myself on my toes and pressed my mouth against Judah's for a brief moment. “I am very much in demand in my field. A lot of people want me.”
“I want you,” Judah nearly growled as he wrapped his arms around me. “And you're mine.”
“Yours,” I agreed before his mouth crushed against mine. Heat spread through me as his tongue slid into my mouth. I groaned. This was what I'd been missing, and now that I'd found it, I was never letting it go. Judging by how tightly Judah was holding me, he wasn't letting me go either. And that was more than fine with me. ###
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