by Sarah Marsh
When Mari peeked around the corner and came out, he was admittedly disappointed that she hadn’t followed his lead and washed her clothing. He was so curious to see all her glorious curves without that shapeless cloth draped over her. Luca hoped the blush on her cheeks meant she was enjoying her view of him, but when he heard her stomach growl, he silently cursed himself for being so selfish.
“Here, Mari, sit and I’ll get your meal.” He took the meat off of the fire and shifted his nail to portion off some of the fully cooked side for her, then presented it to her on a flat stone he’d found near the back of the cave. “I fed your cub while you were bathing. He was rather insistent.”
“Yes, I’d wondered why he was so quiet.” She smiled when she saw the little bundle of fur curled up beside Luca, purring in his sleep once again.
He watched her carefully take a tiny bite, as though she was expecting it to be awful, from the corner of the piece he’d given her. The look of first relief, and then happiness, that crossed her expressive face had his dragon well pleased that they’d managed to satisfy her.
“Oh my God, this is so good.” She moaned as she took a huge bite. “It tastes like chicken.”
“I’m glad you like it, whatever this ‘chicken’ is.”
“It’s a bird from Earth, only it doesn’t fly. It’s a very popular protein choice,” Mari answered around another mouthful. “So, Luca, what kind of a man takes a dangerous job like this? Do you run around rescuing damsels about to be decapitated often?”
“Not as often as you would think.” He chuckled at her description of herself. “Most of our jobs are much more sedate than your rescue has been. Otherwise, I’m not certain Bae would let me out of the house very often.”
“Your partner?”
“My mate, as well.” He was testing the waters by giving her the extra information. He wanted to know if her human taboos about nudity extended to same-sex mating, as he’d heard it was not as common on her planet.
“Oh.” She seemed surprised at first, and if he wasn’t wrong, Luca thought he’d seen a sliver of disappointment. “That’s nice that you guys get to work together.”
“Yes, but if we find a female to complete our mating and begin a family, I imagine our days of roaming the universe for the council will be over.”
“Oh.” She couldn’t hide her interest from him. Although her face held a lovely blush, the smell of her arousal was beginning to bloom in the air, and his dragon relished in it.
Luca just smiled and leaned back against the cave wall. He was enjoying himself, watching her react to what he’d told her. He moved the rest of their dinner off the spit. He needed to attempt to preserve some of it so they could travel with it tomorrow.
“I’m going to take the rest of this meat outside to see if I can’t dry it out for us,” he told her as he picked up his now clean shorts and put them on. “Stay put. I’ll return shortly.”
He left the cave and made sure to close the gate behind him before he climbed to the top of the ledge above the entrance. It was a large, flat open space—large enough for even his dragon to let loose. He carefully used his half-shifted nails to slice the meat into thinner strips, which he laid out on the smooth stone. Then Luca shifted, and with four or five hearty exhales without igniting his flame, he could smell that the meat was dried enough to keep for the next day. Satisfied, he shifted back to his two-legged form and gathered the meat all up in a large leaf, folding over the edges and finally tying it with a vine before climbing back down toward the cave entrance. He hadn’t scented any animals near them, but for some reason, he felt as though he was being watched.
Of course, the Coalition Council had briefed them on the enhanced predators they’d encounter on Draxis, but both Luca and Baelion had hunted all manner of beasts in both of their forms. While some were more intelligent than others, they were still just prey. He was beginning to think that the scientists who’d created this planet hadn’t been one hundred percent honest when they disclosed the listing of animals they’d propagated to seed this resort. Luca would have sworn he was being watched by something that was more than just a mere animal.
By the time he’d stepped inside, the air had cleared of any remaining scents from their dinner, and the only other thing he could smell was the sweet, heady scent of the female waiting for him.
“Oh wow, that was fast.” Both Mari and the cub jumped up at his arrival. The little beastie tried to investigate the package he was holding, and Luca shooed him away.
He’d have to keep an eye on the little one tonight. The last thing he needed was that damned gula eating their breakfast while they were sleeping. Goddess, he’d already fed it twice its weight. Where was the tiny animal putting all that food?
“We’d best get some rest now. We should head out as soon as the sun comes up and it’s safe to leave.”
“Do you think your partner will find us tomorrow?” she asked, watching him add fuel to the fire.
“When I went hunting earlier, I made certain to leave a few markers. I’m hoping that Baelion will see them and know where to find us,” he answered. “The journey would be much safer with both of us here to watch over you.”
“Well, I hope you’re right.”
Mari huddled closer to the fire, trying to settle on the hard ground. Luca wanted to offer for her to rest against him, but he didn’t know how she would react to that. Perhaps he would wait until she fell asleep. Then he could pick her up so that she wasn’t sleeping on the hard ground. A dragon female would accept any offered comfort, but how would a human woman perceive such an offer? He wouldn’t forget her earlier words. She’d said that she “didn’t like to be touched”—as a shifter, touching and being touched was just normal instinct. It provided comfort and reassurance and was as natural as breathing to their kind, so he’d been shocked that she’d said that. He wondered if this was an issue that all humans had, although he could not imagine his brother, Grae, taking on a human female as a mate if that was indeed normal.
Perhaps there was some other issue that had happened in Marisol’s past to make her cautious of another’s touch? He needed to find out if that was the case. Now that his beast’s curiosity was piqued, there would be no stopping it until an answer was forthcoming.
The sweet smell of her began to stir something else entirely, and he shifted where he sat. Clearly, he was going to have to deal with his body’s reaction to her or he’d get no sleep at all, and exhaustion was the quickest way to get them both killed.
Chapter Fifteen
Marisol closed her eyes and tried to find a comfortable spot on the ground. Thank God that Luca lit a fire; otherwise, she’d be freezing. It sure did cool down fast here at night. She heard some rustling coming from Luca’s direction and opened one eye to see what he was up to. She wasn’t quite prepared, however, when she saw him pushing down the shorts he was wearing.
“What are you doing?” she squeaked, her eyes now wide open and staring directly at the part of him that continued to get larger and larger.
“Your smell is…affecting me,” Luca answered in a low growl as he ran his hand down to grasp his now throbbing shaft. “I need to ease myself so I can sleep.”
Marisol’s brain had been completely derailed by the sight of Luca’s straining naked body. His cock was a thing of beauty, long, thick and hard, the tip shining in the firelight already wet with his arousal. Was she affecting him this way? Good God, she could feel the moisture seeping out of her at the thought of him stroking himself in front of her. But did she have the nerve to watch him do it?
“You’re really going to do that while I’m right here, watching?” she whispered, her voice giving away more desire than she intended.
“Are you going to watch me, then?” he asked, raising one eyebrow in a challenge, his hand stroking slowly up and down his thickness.
She couldn’t even form another word, watching him work his cock like that, the muscles in his forearm straining as he leaned back on his heels
before the fire. His golden-brown skin beaded with sweat. His eyes never left hers as he increased his pace. Marisol couldn’t believe this was happening, but for the life of her, she couldn’t look away. He was the most beautiful display of masculinity she’d ever seen, and if she were braver, she’d slip her own hand under her clothing and join him. She was so turned on it would probably only take one firm pass over her clit to have her coming hard.
“Oh yes.” He growled low. “I can smell how wet you are now, little one. You smell good enough to eat.”
Mari couldn’t stop the picture that instantly formed in her head of Luca’s tongue buried deep in her pussy—she also couldn’t stop the moan that escaped her lips. The sound must have been the last straw for Luca and he roared, thick ropes of cum streaming from his shaft as he continued to stroke hard. Damn, the thought of what all that power would feel like inside of her, pumping into her body, was intoxicating. Just like that, without him even touching her, she was coming.
She would have been mortified if he hadn’t looked at her and given her the most devastating smile she’d ever seen.
“Sweet Goddess, you are so responsive,” he said quietly, almost as if in awe of her. “Your intended mate is a blessed male indeed.”
The comment surprised her at first. It was one of the sexiest compliments any man had ever given her. Then when she realized what he’d said about her intended, Mari couldn’t stop the tiny snort of laughter that escaped her.
“Yeah, well, my intended mate can go screw himself. His men were the ones who gave me to those pirates instead of having the balls to fight them.” That realization only made her then think of how disappointing Jordan had been in their marriage, as well. “And my first husband didn’t feel very blessed to have me, I can tell you that.”
She could tell she’d surprised him with her outspoken words. He just blinked at her for a moment, and then his expression turned to pity and she instantly regretted telling him anything. But his words ended up surprising her.
“You were mated before.” His eyes held sympathy. “I did not read that in your file. I’m sorry that you were taken from your mate. You must miss him very much. Trust me when I say any male would be blessed to have a female such as yourself. I know your planet’s technology would not have enabled him to come for you, but that does not mean that he did not want to.”
Oh. Wow. Luca had totally misunderstood what she’d meant when she said that Jordan hadn’t felt blessed to have her. That’s what the look of pity had been for—good thing she hadn’t unleashed her divorce fury on him then. Disaster averted. Her therapist had warned her that she was becoming too cynical, that there were still reasons to trust in others. But that was also a lesson easier said than done.
“No.” She cleared her throat, wanting to get this out as quickly as possible. “I was divorced before I was abducted. My husband was a lying bastard who stole years of my life and the one dream I’d always had, all because he was an insecure little boy who wanted more attention for himself.”
“Did he hurt you?” The growled words shocked her. “What did he take from you?”
“My chance to have a family, to have children of my own.” She couldn’t meet his eyes just then. She still felt foolish for not seeing Jordan for who he was years ago. “He had a procedure without telling me that made sure he couldn’t get me pregnant, when he knew I always wanted a large family.”
“What?” Luca almost yelled. “Why would a male do something so absurd?”
“Like I said, he didn’t want anything else in my life taking attention away from him.”
“Well, then you’re better off without this male.” He shook his head as if in disbelief. “And those Dolovians aren’t capable of protecting a female. The Guild Master should have known better and not let you sign that contract. I will be speaking to him about it when we return you to Sirus.”
Luca seemed so adamant about taking Arkenon down a peg for the whole Dolovian debacle. She had to smile when she imagined his face when he found out that it had indeed been Sally who helped her with the contract and not her husband—Luca would probably pop a blood vessel or something.
Mari had to admit, it felt kind of nice having him care at all about who may be an appropriate mate for her.
“And it’s not too late, Mari,” he added quietly. “There are many ways for you to have a family. With our advanced technology, you don’t even need a mate to create offspring.”
“I know,” she said with a sigh, “but that’s never the way a woman dreams about starting a family, you know? I guess you must think I’m silly.”
“Never,” he answered earnestly. “Trust me, Baelion and I know too well what it is to be denied a family.”
“Oh, you mean—because you’re together?” She almost felt stupid for saying it. “Don’t they have surrogates for same-sex couples out here if they want to have children?”
“It’s not quite that simple. Dragons often mate in triads.” He hesitated for a moment. “But Bae and I have a history, and I am considered damaged to my people. A dragon female would not consider us proper mate material. That’s why we left Dali and decided to work for the Coalition Council instead.”
Good grief! Was he considered damaged goods? Sure, he had a few scars here and there, and a barely noticeable limp, but there was nothing about Luca that wasn’t amazing. If anything, his damage just made him more real to Marisol. Otherwise, he’d be too stunning to even look at. What a bunch of world-class assholes his people must be, to make him feel as if he didn’t deserve a family just like everyone else.
“You know what, Luca?” She looked him right in his beautiful golden-amber eyes. “We all have scars. Some are just easier to see than others. The only thing they tell me is that you are strong and that you’re a survivor. Those females should want you more, not less. But it’s their loss if they can’t see that.”
Chapter Sixteen
Luca just stared at Marisol for a moment. She’d stunned him with her words, and even more so with the realization that he’d been so rejected by his own people, that he himself had begun to believe he was unworthy of a mate. Baelion was more than he could ever have hoped for, and Luca had always secretly harbored guilt that being with him kept Bae from his own people. His scarring was nowhere near as extensive as Luca’s, and it was very likely that he could have found a dragon female that would accept him, if only he didn’t have Luca tagging along.
This female was playing with fire now—he wondered if perhaps they shouldn’t be taking her back to Sirus at all. Maybe they should just keep her for themselves.
“Thank you, Mari.” He looked into her eyes and loved the slight blush that crept into her face at the prolonged eye contact. “It means a great deal to me to hear you say that.”
“It’s just the truth.” She seemed embarrassed now that she’d said her piece. “I guess we’d better get some sleep.”
He watched her as she curled up in front of the fire and closed her eyes. Eventually, Luca fell asleep himself, but the need to comfort Mari rode him hard, and he didn’t sleep as well as he had hoped after his release. The first noises of the jungle coming to life the next morning had him awake and preparing for their journey ahead. He left Marisol sleeping as long as he could, and she finally woke as he was dousing the coals from the fire.
“So, do we need to get moving now?” she asked, yawning as the gula cub tried to ignore her and continue its lazing in her arms.
“Yes, the suns are up. We need to make the most of our day since we’ll need to find new shelter tonight. Oh, I almost forgot.” He walked over to where he’d left the pieces of animal skin from their meal last night. “I have something for your feet. You’ll be able to walk on your own today. A pouch for the cub, as well because—you’ll want your arms free. Just make certain that you stick right behind me and don’t touch anything but me.”
Her face lit up when she looked at the long pieces of outer protective skin he’d peeled off of the belly of his
prey after the battle. It was soft enough to turn into makeshift boots for her, but it would protect her from anything poisonous. He just hoped she followed his instructions so that his offering her a little independence wouldn’t come back to bite them both in the ass.
“Come and let me see if this works.” He kneeled and motioned her closer so he could fit them around each foot and tie them with the vines he’d also found. “There. That seems snug enough. What do you think?”
“I think they’ll do just fine,” she answered. The look on her face was unclear to Luca. It was almost as if she was confused at his consideration. “Thank you for this, Luca.”
“You may not be thanking me after a couple of hours of trekking through the jungle, but if you get tired, I can carry you. All you have to do is let me know.”
Luca could tell from the curt nod that she would not be asking him for a ride until she was at her very limit, so stubborn this one was. She was fierce in her independence. When she’d been explaining her failed marriage earlier, he’d gotten the impression that she was used to taking blame for her previous mate’s shortcomings. But where he was from, if a male couldn’t keep up with his female, then that was his problem, not hers. A strong female was a glorious thing to behold, and he was getting the feeling that they’d only seen a glimpse of what Marisol was truly capable of.
While she was making use of the lavatory, he snatched up the cub from where he was licking up any leftovers from their previous meal, and when she rejoined him, he quickly tied a cross-body satchel with the mewling bundle over one of Mari’s shoulders. Then they gathered what remained of their dried meat and the few leftover pieces of fruit and created a small pack from the rest of the skin he’d saved. Luca was cautious when he undid the gate to the cave entrance, but he didn’t scent anything near. So down they went, following the winding path, the early morning calls of various daytime creatures echoing in the early dawn.
