Lauren was only vaguely aware of Tait’s deep-chested growl of approval before he was over her and between her thighs. Not his mouth this time but something else altogether. His breathing was harsh and his eyes a little wild as he watched her…as he waited.
Even in her state of pure euphoria, she knew he was waiting for her approval. He would not make another move if she did not want him to. If she’d had enough. And she had to wonder…could she take much more of this? Was her body capable? Her mind? Because what she was experiencing overwhelmed both her mind and body so thoroughly. Yet he had given her so much. Something she had been long denied. A feeling of bliss. Power. And he had given it selflessly. Only thinking of her. To pleasure her. To open her eyes. And now they were wide open.
“Please,” she whispered, her voice shaky as her eyes met his.
He swiped his finger across her cheek then brought it to his lips. “You cry yet you are happy.”
“Yes,” she whispered, wanting him to continue, convinced the pleasure couldn’t possibly get more intense but eager to find out. “Please do not stop.”
He kissed her again. Gentle like before until she needed more. Much more. And she barely understood what until he pressed forward and a painful pressure started between her thighs. She gasped and bit her lower lip as she realized what was happening. Sex with Charles had been rare enough, yet she knew the feeling. The unique pain.
Only the pain was different this time. Tolerable but at the same time frustrating because it wasn’t enough. Not nearly enough.
“More,” she growled before she could stop herself.
That same small dragon smile came to his lips as his eyes found hers and he pressed deeper and deeper. The more he moved, the more she realized the pain she felt didn’t have to be suffered through but enjoyed.
And she wanted more.
As much as she could get.
Right now.
Tait did not make her wait as he thrust deep and started moving before she had a chance to second guess herself. After that, sex took on a whole new meaning. It had feeling and texture and sweat. There were sounds as well. Grunts and groans. Long moans, fevered cries. Passion she never would have believed existed.
Red shrouded her vision as they rolled. Once, twice, three times, then they were on cold hard rock, but she didn’t care. Nothing mattered but taking and being taken. The feel of his thrusts became everything.
They struggled to get closer.
To feel more.
“Tait,” she growled into his mind.
“Lauren,” he growled back.
Her back slammed against the wall as the pleasure grew, and he moved faster. Yet she wanted more. Control. The next thing she knew they were on the ground again. Whatever was happening inside her was aggressive…taking over.
And it seemed he was feeling it too.
Her pleasure grew, but that’s not all.
So did her anger.
Unexplainable rage made of heartache and disbelief. All of a sudden, she was back in another time. With him. Their lovemaking was fierce. Untouchable. Just like it was now.
They struggled to get closer.
They struggled to merge.
Then she sensed something else.
He had sacrificed for her. He had sacrificed something so great that it filled her with unexplainable rage. Something she did not understand but consumed her with heart wrenching disbelief and anger.
An anger that she didn’t hesitate to unleash.
“No,” she roared.
Then everything changed. The extreme pleasure turned to fury as the world grew smaller, she roared again and attacked him.
That’s when she knew.
Gone was the untouchable feeling of desire and lovemaking.
No, she had shifted into a dragon and was attacking Tait for all she was worth.
Chapter Eleven
“HOLY SHIT, WHAT’S going on?” Sam cried as she and everyone else flew into his cave, weapons at the ready until they realized the roars they heard were Lauren.
“It’s all right,” he said into their minds. “Lauren is just working through some unexpected anger.”
They were done being intimate, and he had shifted into a dragon when she did. Now he was doing his best to keep her back without hurting her. Lauren might be less than half his size, but she was without a shred of doubt the fiercest little dragon he had ever come across.
“What did you do, Son?” his father asked, concerned but also slightly amused. “She is determined to cause you harm, is she not?”
“I would say so,” he confirmed, sidestepping the pretty little green dragon when she lunged at him. Oh, but look at those silvery white blazing eyes. “I believe she is fighting demons from the past.”
Samantha crossed her arms over her chest and tilted her head. “Wow, she’s even smaller than me isn’t she?” She grinned “Tiny little thing.” Pride flashed in her eyes. “Quite the scrapper, though, eh?”
That, it seemed, got through to her.
“Excuse me?” Lauren’s dragon stopped short and swung her head in Sam’s direction. “What did you call me?”
Sam chuckled and didn’t hold back. “You heard me, Sis.”
When Lauren shifted and strode in Sam’s direction, Tait scowled and slammed a wing down in front of her to shield her naked body from everyone. Mainly Matthew. But his cousin had seen more than enough and interest flashed in his eyes.
“Excuse me?” Lauren repeated. This time her words were said aloud and meant for him as she turned and glowered. “Let me by.”
He murmured a chant that clothed her then lifted his wing. “My pleasure.”
Lauren didn’t bother thanking him but kept heading for Samantha. In the meantime, Tait shifted back and clothed himself. What had just happened? One second he had been enjoying the best, if not the most rambunctious sex of his life, the next, pure Hel.
Yet he had followed some of it.
How hurt and angry she had become.
What he still couldn’t figure out was why.
“What did you call me, Samantha?” Lauren repeated in challenge as she sort of half strode, half wobbled toward her sister.
Everyone narrowed their eyes both confused and concerned by her crooked gait. This was the first time she had knowingly shifted and had been a vicious little thing on top of it. Was that affecting her ability to walk?
Evidently, his mother and Sam figured out something because they quickly shoo’d everyone out. When they tried to make Tait go, he shook his head. “Don’t forget how I become when we’re separated.” His eyes went to Lauren. “Even if I didn’t become moody and difficult, I would not leave.”
How could he? She was the most unbelievable woman and dragon he had ever come across. She had opened up not only to him but his dragon. She had trusted him with her vulnerabilities. And both the man and dragon liked it immensely. Both wanted more. Far more. Did that mean he was ready to commit to one woman? He had no idea, could not imagine it. Yet he couldn’t imagine the thought of her with another either.
“Stay then, Son,” his mother said. “But give her space.”
Lauren looked from him to them, her eyes a little wild. “I do not need space. I need answers.”
“About what?” Sam said as she urged her to sit on the bed, handed her a skin of mead, crouched in front of her and cocked a grin. “What’s got you so riled up besides Tait and me?”
Tait understood that Samantha was trying to draw Lauren out. Like them all, she was eager to understand where her sister was coming from.
“Why was Lauren walking that way?” he said into his mother’s mind. “Is she well?”
“Men,” Sam muttered into his mind and rolled her eyes at him. “Do you seriously not know?”
“Why I walked like I did?” Lauren said aloud, shifting uncomfortably as she took a sip from the skin. “I thought I walked just fine.”
“And you did,” his mother assured. She shot him a look that told him he better
keep quiet as she sat beside Lauren and brushed her hair back from her face. “Tait is just concerned because you shifted so quickly and you have little experience.”
“You are lying, Amber,” Lauren replied. Her voice took on a prim edge. A means to take back control. “Please tell me the truth.”
Sam sat on Lauren’s other side and took her hand. “She’s lying because the truth would embarrass you, Sis. You still want it?”
Lauren’s brows edged together as she looked at Samantha. “Why do I get the sense you are eager to give it to me?”
“Because I am,” Sam said with tempered compassion in her eyes. “Like Cybil implied, I think the time for any type of sugar-coating or flat out denial in your life is over.”
Lauren inhaled deeply and kept her eyes on Sam. “And?”
“And the truth is you walked that way because you finally had great sex.”
Tait stopped pacing—something he had picked up since this curse started—and glanced uncomfortably at his mother. He suddenly wished she wasn’t here. In turn, she smirked and shrugged, apparently just fine with being where she was. But then his parents were more amorous than most, and it had become legend in their tribe.
Lauren cleared her throat, evidently as uncomfortable as him, before she refocused. “I think my bigger concern was the rage I felt…and why I shifted during…”
When she trailed off, nobody interrupted right away because it was a truly baffling thing. As far as he knew, it had never happened before.
Finally, his mother spoke. “Well, I for one, was very impressed by your dragon. You are exceptionally fierce and beautiful.” Her gentle eyes met Lauren’s. “Can you remember why you embraced your dragon? What set off your rage?”
Lauren took another small sip from her skin and shook her head, her gaze suddenly a little lost. “I was…he was…” her eyes went to Tait and hovered on him as her voice dropped to a whisper. “I went from loving him to hating him because he sacrificed so much…”
“Loving him?” Sam started, but his mother shook her head sharply and continued speaking. “What did he sacrifice?”
Lauren blinked several times and shook her head at Sam—perhaps because of the love comment—before she turned eyes Amber’s way.
“I do not exactly know,” she whispered. “I did, I knew, then I did not.” She shook her head again. “It all happened so quickly.”
His mother seemed to sense something. Whatever it was made her eyes grow troubled. “My son died, didn’t he?”
Tait started to deny it though he had no clue either way but his mother shook her head and stopped him.
“I think maybe yes,” Lauren said softly, her gaze still a bit unfocused as she saw something none of them did. Her eyes filled as they met Amber’s. “Because I killed him.”
“Yet he’s standing right here,” Sam reminded. “So you didn’t.”
Lauren’s eyes drifted then focused on him. The rage and anger were completely gone. All that was left now was sadness and regret as she whispered, “At least not in this life.”
She proceeded to share the dream she had before she woke his dragon on the shore. How she had battled Bard to defend her sister. How Eluf had made sure Maeva escaped.
“I killed him. I killed Bard,” Lauren said with conviction then shook her head, a spark of anger flaring again. “But he tricked me. It was never him.” Her eyes went to Tait. “It was you. I killed you.” She closed her eyes and released a ragged breath. “And it was brutal. I was brutal.”
“Well, he’s not dead now,” Sam said firmly and squeezed her hand. “And you have no desire to kill him, right?”
“No, of course not.” Lauren frowned, her eyes on his, her voice softening even more, her tone strained and emotional. “I would never.”
His mother’s eyes went between them, and she was about to speak when another voice cut her off.
“Well, well, well, as I live and breathe, has my favorite pet found a mate?”
Tait tensed at the voice.
Vigdis.
Sam groaned, and he suspected his mother wanted to do the same as Vigdis sauntered into his lair. Though he now regretted it, he had long tried to get this miscreant, demented but remarkably beautiful seer into his bed.
Beautiful but not as beautiful as Lauren.
As if she sensed his thoughts, because she likely did, Lauren’s eyes narrowed on Vigdis. Instead of standing and confronting someone she clearly saw as a threat, she crossed her legs, folded her hands on her lap and sat up straight. Between her somewhat stiff posture and calm and collected straightforward gaze, Tait had no idea if Lauren was embracing her old self or new self.
Maybe a bit of both.
“I am Lauren.” His woman’s voice was pleasant enough if you didn’t have the ears of a dragon. “And you are?”
His woman. There he was with that again.
Yet somehow it rang even truer now.
Vigdis stopped short, tilted her head slightly, and peered closer at Lauren. Her lip curled up on one side then slowly made its way to the other before she flat out grinned. “Very good then. I am not needed, am I, fierce little sister dragon?” She bowed her head, spun on her heel and sauntered out, her last words flung over her shoulder. “My work here is done.”
Sam’s jaw dropped. “Seriously?”
Lauren cocked a brow at her. “Seriously, what?”
Samantha’s eyes widened. “Do you have any idea how much grief that seer gave Bjorn and I when we got together? How difficult she made things?”
“She seemed perfectly fine to me.” Lauren shrugged. “Though a bit rude for not introducing herself.”
“Unreal,” Sam muttered and stood. “But good I suppose because nobody needs to deal with Vigdis when they’re hooking up.”
“Hooking up,” Lauren murmured, clearly having more to say about that before Sam scooped up the paperwork on the bedside table and interrupted.
“Yup, hooking up.” Sam’s grin blossomed into a smile as she flipped through it. “So says every last I’m-done-with-you-Charles signature.”
When Lauren’s eyes flickered to Tait, he sensed how uncomfortable she was. How she worried about all the monumental changes happening in her life. And he didn’t blame her. She had been through an awful lot in a very short time. What she said next confirmed that and caused alarm to spike through him.
“I would like to go home, Samantha,” Lauren said softly. “Back to the twenty-first century.” She couldn’t quite meet Tait’s eyes after that. “Until I figure all this out.”
He wasn’t sure what to make of how her words made him feel. Uncomfortable. Maybe even desperate to stop her. And that alarmed him even more because these were things he had never felt for a woman. A gut-clenching sensation that almost made him deny her, to stop her by any means necessary. As if they sensed it as well, not only his mother’s but Sam’s eyes went to him. They knew. How could anybody not? He felt as if he wore his emotions on his sleeve they were so raw…so vulnerable.
What was this?
“I can bring you home, Lauren,” Samantha said. “But how safe do you think you’ll be all things considered?”
“How safe have I been here?” Lauren’s voice remained soft, eerily calm. “Do not get me wrong, you have protected me at every turn, but what is the difference between here and there?”
“I’ll tell you the difference,” Sam said. “I can’t stay there, but I can stick close to you here. I can keep you one step ahead of the enemy.”
Lauren unclenched her fist, Emily’s globe at the ready as she squeezed Samantha’s hand. “So can this, Sister.”
Sam’s eyes fell to the globe, and she slumped.
The carving of a wolf was gone. In its place the chalet in Winter Harbor. Snow fell lazily, and the ash tree swayed in the breeze. If he wasn’t mistaken, it didn’t appear as healthy as it had before.
“But look,” Samantha groaned as she narrowed her eyes and pointed at the globe. “The Nidstang is still there ne
xt to the ash.”
“Something Cybil thinks might not be a curse after all,” Lauren reminded.
“What does Cybil know?” Sam complained. “I mean c’mon, it’s a horse head impaled on a pole. That’s terrible.” Her eyes widened on Lauren. “Not long ago, you told me that yourself!”
“I did,” Lauren confirmed, her voice steady. “But that was before all this happened.” She sat up straighter, her stance and tone stronger by the moment. “Before I realized there were far scarier things out there than a Nidstang.”
Their eyes held as Samantha warred with what to say next to convince her sister that leaving was the wrong decision.
“I need to go home.” Lauren’s eyes went from the globe to Sam. “Please take me back.”
“But you don’t even know why you need to go,” Sam said. “Or if you’ll still be trapped inside the chalet.”
“No,” Lauren agreed. “But I trust Emily’s keychain.” She squeezed Sam’s hand again. “Please take or send me back. I will be all right.”
“She will,” Matthew said as he appeared at the door. “Because I will defend her.”
“As will I,” Sven added as he appeared next to Matthew.
“And she goes nowhere without me,” Tait added, narrowing his eyes on Matthew. What was his cousin up to? Because if nothing else was still obvious, Matthew wasn’t quite normal. Something was off about him and—Tait narrowed his eyes even more—was his cousin’s hair getting darker? He frowned. It was. Why?
“Leave it be,” his mother said into his mind. “Matthew is not your concern right now, and you’d be wise to remember that.”
“He is my blood. My kin. So he will always be my concern.” His eyes met hers. “What is the matter with him?”
His mother shook her head and gave no response.
“Please.” Lauren stood and smoothed her hands down her front as though she still wore her old clothes. As if she were back in the same mental bonds she had been in before. “Help me get back, Samantha.”
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