by Tasha Black
Not one of them had given him the breathless feeling he had when Liberty was near.
Focus, soldier. She’s not your girl.
He bit his lip and marched on a little faster so that they were at the edge of the woods in a few breaths.
“Everything okay?” Liberty asked him.
“Sure,” he told her. “I just want to get this over with. Stay close to me and do exactly as I say.”
“Of course,” she said immediately.
His dragon roared with pride. It was sure she knew of their bond in her heart, even if Odin hadn’t told her about it in words. This quick obedience was absolute proof in its eyes.
Easy, Odin told it inwardly, knowing it was going to love what he said next.
“I’m going to let the dragon come close to the surface,” he warned Liberty. “Don’t be frightened.”
“I’m not,” she assured him.
He had to close his eyes and count to five slowly under his breath to keep the dragon from pushing him over the edge.
She’s not frightened, it whispered teasingly in his ear. She likes your wild side. Let’s show it to her.
“Odin?” she whispered.
“Fine,” he replied, not sure which of them he was answering.
When he opened his eyes again, he could see every detail in the moss on the bark of the trees and hear the heartbeats of the little crustaceans that called the forest home.
He could also scent the exquisite aroma of his mate as clearly as if he had buried his face in her sex. He wasn’t the only one aroused.
“Odin,” she murmured, gazing into his eyes.
They glowed red as coals now, that was what happened when he let the beast nose its way to the front. But true to her word, she didn’t look frightened. Her pupils were dilated and her breathing was slightly faster than before.
Take her, boy, the dragon told him firmly.
But Odin would never do that.
He turned away from her and headed into the trees, though it felt like he was ripping his organs right out of his body.
Somewhere in the darkness, another predator awaited. Something that threatened his mate and child and their livelihood. Surely that would distract the dragon from his thoughts.
But the dragon only laughed.
You cannot deny your fated mate forever, it laughed.
Odin put one hand on the hilt of his laser sword and stalked into the trees, Liberty’s footsteps in rhythm with his own.
17
Liberty
Liberty followed Odin into the depths of the forest. She was beginning to wonder if she wouldn’t just blithely follow him to the ends of the moon.
She should be scared. His eyes glowed-ruby red and she knew his temper, even in man-form, was barely contained. She was searching for one predator, while in the company of another.
But she wasn’t scared at all. She felt… safe.
This feeling for him was beyond attraction. It was a magnetic pull, as if every cell of her body was at his beck and call.
Odin seemed unaware of her longing. He stalked through the forest silently, his focus on the darkness ahead.
With her screen activated in night-vison mode, she could see the forest was more alive than she could have possibly imagined. To the naked eye, the forest seemed to be asleep. But on her display, glowing infrared dots lit the trees as if they were decorated for the Terran holidays.
But she was a long way from one of her family’s holiday parties. Even the smells of this forest were different from the woods back home. There was a deep, loamy scent and a crispness to the air that could only come in a climate as rich with water as Lachesis was.
She tried her best to move silently, but she obviously didn’t have Odin’s espionage skills. At first, she thought her ineptitude might trigger his temper. But he was so laser focused on what was ahead that he seemed unaware of her failings.
She wondered if he could already smell or hear something with his superior senses. But she didn’t dare ask him. It was bad enough to keep snapping branches and snagging her cloak. She didn’t have to start whispering too.
Without warning, he stopped in his tracks. She barely managed not to crash into him.
Together, they crept very slowly to the right until the screen on her hand flashed red.
She realized they were looking at the mouth of a cave. Because they had come at it from an angle, her infrared hadn’t been able to pick up anything inside until they reached the entry point.
But there was no mistaking it - something big was in there, along with something long and low.
They stepped a little closer and Odin ignited his laser sword, bathing the area in its cool blue light.
A deep rumble echoed through the cave.
Her eyes quickly adjusted to the new light source, and Liberty barely suppressed a scream.
Odin had mentioned big cats, but this creature was massive. Its smoky gray body took up nearly the entire cave. It stood over something protectively, its eight powerful legs obscuring whatever it hid. Huge ridges of muscle bristled under a pelt of velvety fur. Snarling lips revealed a mouthful of dagger-sharp teeth.
The snarl turned into an ear-splitting roar and an iridescent frill extended around its head, making it look even larger than before.
Behind them on the path, Keerah began her own low, throaty growl. Liberty held up a hand to stay her. The big, energetic tree-hound was no match for the creature in the cave.
She honestly wasn’t sure if any of them was, or even all of them together. She suddenly felt very silly about insisting on coming along without so much as a stick to shake at the thing. She was a liability. No wonder Odin was angry.
“Wh-what is that?” she managed.
“A jaguarootte,” Odin said, lifting his sword to a striking position. “Stay perfectly still.”
“But something is behind him,” Liberty whispered. “You don’t want to hurt the sheep.”
“It’s not a sheep,” Odin said.
“What is it?” she asked, lowering her screen and relying on the light from Odin’s sword. “Oh.”
On her display, the blob of infrared had made it look like something was lying behind the creature, but now that she could see it for herself, Liberty could tell that it wasn’t something long and low like she’d thought.
It was three very small somethings, sitting next to each other. The terrifying creature at the front of the cave wasn’t a he, it was a she. And she was a mother.
“She has babies,” Liberty whispered. “She didn’t hurt the sheep.”
“It’s a predator,” Odin said. “A predator whose hunting territory includes the farm. It’s going to be hungry soon, and need extra food to provide for these young. This creature is a threat, and it needs to be eliminated.”
“No,” Liberty said firmly, stepping between Odin and the big cat.
The jaguarootte let out a bloodcurdling yowl and hissed, her ears down flat and her frill popping up so fast it quivered.
Liberty fought back another scream, but stood her ground.
“You have to be kidding me,” Odin said. “Was there a chapter on befriending farm predators in your stupid book?”
“I don’t need a book to tell me the difference between right and wrong,” she said, turning and taking a step closer to the cat so as to block him completely from striking. “Put down the sword.”
“Liberty, you’re too close to her,” he whispered, his eyes wide.
But the cat didn’t yowl this time. Liberty’s back was to the creature, but she hoped it might understand that she was trying to protect it.
“If you don’t like it, then back off,” she hissed. “You’re the one she’s scared of, not me.”
He deactivated the laser and sheathed the sword, then lifted his hands in surrender as he backed up.
“Liberty, please,” he whispered, his eyes begging her.
Now that the cat was safe, the adrenaline was fading, and real fear clenched her heart.
>
Instinct told her not to try to walk away with her back to the creature. She closed her eyes and turned very slowly to face it.
The mother cat fixed her with its golden eyes. Her frill was down, and her expression was stern but not overly threatening.
“I’m sorry we disturbed you,” Liberty whispered.
The cat kept staring her down, then finally gave her a long, slow blink that felt almost like a nod.
Liberty blinked back and then backed away slowly until Odin’s big arms wrapped around her.
Before she could speak, she was being lifted into the air and carried away like a child.
“What the hell were you thinking?” Odin growled in time with his stalking footsteps. “You could have been killed. You have a child of your own to consider. You have… other people who care about you.”
18
Odin
Odin’s pulse was pounding, and his heart was stretched with emotions he couldn’t separate. Relief battled with a burning fury that he couldn’t seem to untangle from the wild lust he felt with his mate’s soft body in his arms.
He was dimly aware that he was yelling at her.
And he could feel the press of her emotions through their bond. Her own anger and indignation were causing her not to notice that her mate was wrapped around her.
But her body noticed what her mind had not. He could feel her heartbeat quickening.
“How dare you judge me?” she yelled back at him. “This is my farm, my rules. These are my mistakes to make. You’re here to look after the baby.”
“You said we were friends,” he roared. “You said I deserved more than to be a guard. You said you needed my help, and you were right.”
“Put. Me. Down,” she hollered at the top of her lungs, pummeling him with her small fists.
He let her drop unceremoniously to the forest floor.
She had to crouch to steady herself and he sneered at her, even as his body screamed to hold her again.
The screen on her bangle faded and went out. She smacked it with her fist, but he suspected its energy cell was depleted.
“Is that better?” he asked. “Do you like being alone in the darkness, with no one to keep you safe? Do you think Colton would be better off with his mother in the stomach of a jaguarootte?”
“I’m not in her stomach and I’m not helpless either,” she shot back. “I did just fine alone for the last two years, and I’ll do just fine again if you walk away.”
As if to punctuate her fury, a forked bolt of lightning slashed the air and within seconds, heavy rain began to pound down on them.
Odin was instantly drenched, his hair hanging down around his face, clothing sticking to his frame.
Keerah at least had enough sense to disappear into the underbrush to avoid the worst of it. But he and Liberty were soaked to the bone.
Fury threatened to explode in his chest.
Then a sweet sound tinkled above the rush of the storm.
Liberty was laughing. She was laughing.
“What’s so funny?” he demanded. But it came out sounding churlish instead of angry.
She kept right on laughing, rivulets of rain sliding down her face.
Something was bubbling up in his chest. It came out of his mouth as a peal of helpless laughter.
“I’m sorry,” she told him, gasping with giggles. “I’m so sorry. I know what I did was crazy.”
“Why would you do that?” he asked, coming closer so he could hear her answer.
She rested a hand on his chest and leaned in confidingly to say something he couldn’t hear.
“What?” he yelled.
“I don’t know why I did it,” she yelled back. “I guess I was just thinking about how I would feel if something threatened Colton.”
He had leaned in so close to hear her that their mouths were inches away. He could feel her heartbeat reverberating in his own chest, taste the desire that flowed between them.
He reached out his hand, so slowly, to brush a wet tendril of hair from her cheek. Liberty closed her eyes and leaned into his hand, tilting her chin up slightly.
He took her invitation instantly, angling his lips against hers with raw need and none of the gentleness he knew she deserved.
She moaned slightly and allowed him to thumb open her jaw.
He groaned at the sensation. She tasted like rain and honey.
She flowed into his arms, plastering their wet bodies together, their combined warmth flowing pleasantly along with the hotter pleasure she stoked in him with her every touch.
He wanted to touch her everywhere all at once, to shred her clothing and take her on the forest floor.
She whimpered slightly and pressed herself against him, as if she wanted the same.
The shock of pleasure he felt roused him.
This was his mate. He would not take her in the muddy forest like an animal. He would pleasure her until she screamed in the comfort of her own bed.
“Liberty,” he murmured against her mouth. “Liberty, let’s go home. I want to do this properly.”
“No,” she moaned petulantly.
But she allowed him to sweep her back into his arms and carry her toward the farmhouse.
“When we get there, you’ll go straight to your room,” he instructed her. “Remove your clothing and start a hot bath. I’ll deal with the babysitter.”
She nodded, but it was only an excuse to nuzzle his neck and inhale his scent.
Deep in his chest the dragon preened, chest filled with pride.
Mine, mine, mine…
Odin willed himself not to fight it. With Liberty’s soft, needy body trembling in his arms, he was unable to deny her and himself.
Surely there was another way to atone for the wrongs he had done…
19
Liberty
Liberty sank into the tub, the hot water enveloping her.
The sensation of it was almost enough to distract her from the other, deeper pleasure whose rhythm still pounded in her blood.
“Is she okay?” the babysitter was asking Odin from the hallway.
“She just caught a chill,” he replied patiently. “I need to check on her though. Here is your payment for this evening. Thank you for your service.”
“We didn’t get to finish our conversation about diapers,” Cora reminded him.
“I’ll touch base with you tomorrow,” he said.
His voice was calm, but Liberty knew him well enough to taste the frustration just underneath. She smiled to herself at the thought that this time his impatience was for her. He needed to get to her.
She dunked her head under the water, eager to finish her bath before he came in. Colton was fast asleep in his own room after a big meal, so once Cora left, she and Odin would effectively be all alone.
What has gotten into you?
But she refused to listen to her inner critic tonight. She had done what she was supposed to do, fulfilled almost every item on that stupid list. And Wyn had never parted the clouds to show her the sunlight.
I’m on my own now. I can do what makes me happy.
The door burst open, as if he had been waiting for her to make that decision.
For a moment, he was frozen in the threshold.
His chest heaved, dark hair hanging around his shoulders so that he looked like a restless god.
Liberty had never seen anything so beautiful. She was breathless.
“If you don’t want this, tell me now,” he growled.
For a moment she was terrified that she had forgotten how to speak.
“Please,” she managed to whisper. “Please, I want it.”
He was at her feet in two steps, offering her his hand.
She stood, feeling a little self-conscious. It was an odd sensation. Liberty had never really worried much about her body. She was healthy and content in her own skin, not hung up over her shape.
But the dragon warrior in front of her was physical perfection personified. A supermodel woul
d have felt outclassed, and Liberty was no supermodel.
As the bubbles slid down her curves, revealing her to him, any lingering doubt she might have felt disappeared.
Odin gazed at her as if she were a work of art, wonder and lust softening his usual ferocious expression.
She took his hand and he helped her out of the tub.
He grabbed a towel and wrapped it around her.
“I have to talk to you,” he growled, his jaw tight. “I have to talk to you first.”
“Okay,” she replied, trying to keep up.
He led her to the bedroom and gestured for her to climb in.
She crawled into bed and lay against the pillows, hoping that whatever he had to say he would say it quickly. Now that he was near, her heart was pounding harder than ever. The absence of his touch was almost excruciating.
“How much do you know about dragons?” he asked.
She blinked at him, not expecting the question.
“Do you know anything about how dragons mate?” he asked more gently.
Her eyes widened and her breath caught in her throat. It hadn’t occurred to her that their mating would be any different from making love with a Terran.
But something about it sounded familiar - like maybe she had read about this a long time ago.
“Let me explain,” he told her gently. His voice was softer now. He took her hand and laid it in his palm.
For a moment they both looked down at their hands touching. She felt a wave of longing, and something deeper.
“Dragons mate for life,” he said softly. “We can couple for pleasure before then, but once a dragon finds his mate, it’s forever.”
She looked up at his face, trying to understand.
But he was still studying her hand. It looked so small in his larger, scarlet one.
Somehow, she knew what he was going to say before he said it.
“You are my mate, Liberty,” he told her.
“I was married,” she said automatically.
