“Yes,” he confirmed. “I have heard there is a way to temper all that and I even found a spot for us just to be safe.”
When she looked at him curiously, he shrugged. “Just in case you said yes that is.”
Before she could respond, he launched into the air and urged her to follow. When they finally landed, her breath caught. They had arrived at what would become Tait’s dragon lair.
“It is told if a dragon lies halfway in the water when they sleep,” Tait announced. “They become cooled enough that there can be no roars and ahhs and the ground doesn’t shake.”
She nodded. “That sounds perfectly reasonable.”
He flopped down on the shore and looked at her. “So will you become my mate then?”
“So I can always find you?”
“So you can always find me,” he confirmed. “And maybe the other way around.”
Her heart did that funny little leap again. “So you would want to find me?”
He considered that for a moment before he nodded emphatically. “Yes.” He patted the ground beside him with his wing. “Now come be my mate, and we will rest.”
She didn’t have to consider long.
“I will be your mate then,” she announced and flopped down beside him.
“Whoever lied to me about cold water preventing lust knew exactly what they were doing,” he whispered in her ear. “Didn’t they, Lauren?”
“Tait?” Her heart didn’t just flutter but started thundering as the dream ripped away and her eyes flew open. Where seconds before a small dragon lay beside her, now a massive one was curled around her.
“Yes, it’s me,” he murmured as he rubbed his cheek again hers. “It’s good to see you again, mate.”
“Is it really you?” she whispered, almost afraid she might still be dreaming as she shifted back to her human form.
A breath later, he shifted and pulled her into his arms. “It’s me, Lauren. I’m back.”
“Thank you, Mother Mary,” she gasped, trembling as she wrapped her arms around him.
“No, thank you.” He cupped her cheeks. “For saving my life…my kin. Because though I still don’t understand all the dynamics, you did. You helped save my people with your sacrifice.”
“You saved me first,” she whispered, so grateful to see him again. “Not once but twice.”
The truth was they could go in circles about how much they did for each other but what mattered most was that they had…and that they were standing here now because of it.
“I missed you,” she managed to get out before his lips were on hers.
Then it was pure passion. They never made it to the bed, but a few scant steps later, they were on the ground proving that an icy shore did nothing to stop dragon lust. If anything, it made it overly steamy as the water heated quickly and they came together. The water sizzled, and the heavens quaked as she took him just as violently as he did her. As they accepted and remembered well that they were mates.
That they always had been and always would be.
“Lauren,” he roared when he finally pressed deep and locked up. She was right there with him and roared her own release, meeting him not only as his best friend, and dragon mate but as his fellow warrior…his equal.
Later, sated, they lay in bed, stroking each other, loving each other, catching up on everything. Then he told her what had happened after she died in their previous life.
“I still don’t entirely understand why you decided it was better for me to live than you,” he said as he held her. “It would have taken time, but you might have been able to survive your wound.”
“Don’t you remember what we were told?” She rested her chin on his chest. “My family was going to be destroyed by Bard because of his rage over Maeva getting away. I could have stayed and tried to fight him, destroy him, but the way I saw it, you and yours stood a better chance.”
Tait mulled that over before his eyes met hers. “So you saved me for the greater good?”
No. She had done it because she couldn’t imagine Tait dying. He was too full of life. So full of a life that she wanted him to live even if she wasn’t there. “Yes, for the greater good.”
“I don’t believe you,” he murmured.
“You should.”
“But I do not.”
“Even so, because of the decisions we made we are able to be here now,” she said softly as she trailed her finger along his stubbled jaw.
“Where is the blade?” he murmured, trailing his finger along her hip and renewing her arousal as quickly as she was his. “And your keychain?”
“I still have the blade but intend to make sure it gets to Matthew. I don’t think it’s part of our story anymore,” she said, murmuring a chant before Emily’s globe materialized in her hand. “And this is nothing anymore. Just a simple keychain with a little version of Winter Harbor inside.”
He eyed the globe before his eyes met hers. “It almost seems too perfect an ending, doesn’t it?”
“Almost,” she agreed as she set aside the keychain. “And based on my own experience, there’s no such thing as a happy ending. Not without some help.” She brushed her finger across his lower lip, eager for another kiss. “So I thought once we got a good night’s rest, it might not be a bad idea to head back to the future and keep a close eye on Emily.”
“Emily?”
“Definitely,” Lauren murmured. “I have a feeling her world is about to be turned upside down and it’s the least we can do for a little dragon who helped us so much. One we both know is interconnected with the fate of Matthew and Håkon…and Shannon.”
“Yes,” he agreed softly and pulled her closer.
They wouldn’t leave right away but soon. They had been through a lot and traveled through time so needed to rest. Nevertheless, after a few hours of sleep curled up as dragons on the shore, their shore, he said goodbye to his family then they took flight and did what they did best.
They flew toward an uncertain future.
They found strength in each other.
Tait and Lauren had found one another again and were happy to discover nothing had really changed from life to life. Their love and faith in each other was unquestionably strong. Their need to protect their family just as intense as it had ever been. She was no longer confined by her mind. He was no longer free when it came to the opposite sex but blissfully happy being confined.
In a way, they had freed each other so they could be who they needed to be. Dragon’s who were better equipped to defeat an enemy they still barely understood. Yet everyone knew more than they had before. The dragon lineages were becoming more defined. Better understood.
There would be no declaring love as they flew into the sunset.
There was no need.
Unlike most, they had the benefit of knowing how strongly they felt.
How far they would go.
What they would sacrifice.
What their souls were made of.
How much they meant to one another.
Now, exactly like Cybil’s picture had shown, they were two dragons flying alongside each other into the golden glow of a sun. They weren’t at peace with what was on the horizon but had certainly found peace with one another.
What they had.
What they would always have.
And that, as far as they were concerned, was exactly what happily ever after’s were made of.
The End
Confused, furious and coming out of a haze the enemy cast on him, Matthew returns home to tenth-century Scandinavia only to discover his son gone. Though all assure him Håkon’s safe with Kjar he doesn’t believe it and sets off to find them. What he doesn’t expect is a twenty-first century little girl and her beautiful dragon-shifter mother to join him on his quest. Nor does he expect Loki’s daughter, Hel, Goddess of Helheim, the underworld where the dead dwell, to become a crucial part of his wayward adventure against evil. Find out how everything unfolds in Fury of a Viking, coming April 17th, 2
017. Available now for pre-order.
The MacLomain Series
Viking Ancestors’ Kin
Rise of Viking (Heidrek’s story)
Vengeance of a Viking (Bjorn’s story)
A Viking Holiday (Svala’s story)
Soul of a Viking (Tait’s story)
Fury of a Viking (Matthew’s story)
Pride of a Viking (Kodran’s story)
Previous Releases
~The MacLomain Series- Early Years~
Highland Defiance- Book One
Highland Persuasion- Book Two
Highland Mystic- Book Three
~The MacLomain Series~
The King’s Druidess- Prelude
Fate’s Monolith- Book One
Destiny’s Denial- Book Two
Sylvan Mist- Book Three
~The MacLomain Series- Next Generation~
Mark of the Highlander- Book One
Vow of the Highlander- Book Two
Wrath of the Highlander- Book Three
Faith of the Highlander- Book Four
Plight of the Highlander- Book Five
~The MacLomain Series- Later Years~
Quest of a Scottish Warrior- Book One
Honor of a Scottish Warrior- Book Two
Oath of a Scottish Warrior- Book Three
Passion of a Scottish Warrior- Book Four
~The MacLomain Series- Viking Ancestors~
Viking King- Book One
Viking Claim- Book Two
Viking Heart- Book Three
~The MacLomain Series- Viking Ancestors’ Kin~
Rise of a Viking- Book One
Vengeance of a Viking- Book Two
Soul of a Viking- Book Three
Fury of a Viking- Book Four
Pride of a Viking- Book Five
~Calum’s Curse Series~
The Victorian Lure- Book One
The Georgian Embrace- Book Two
The Tudor Revival- Book Three
~Holiday Tales~
Yule’s Fallen Angel
+ Bonus Novelette, Christmas Miracle
A Viking Holiday
~Forsaken Brethren Series~
Darkest Memory- Book One
Heart of Vesuvius- Book Two
~Song of the Muses Series~
Highland Muse
About the Author
Sky Purington is the bestselling author of over twenty-five novels and several novellas. A New Englander born and bred, Sky was raised hearing stories of folklore, myth, and legend. When combined with a love for nature, romance, and time-travel, elements from the stories of her youth found release in her books.
Purington loves to hear from readers and can be contacted at [email protected]. Interested in keeping up with Sky’s latest news and releases? Visit Sky’s website, http://www.skypurington.com to download her free App on iTunes and Android or sign up for her quarterly newsletter. Love social networking? Find Sky on Facebook and Twitter.
Want a few more options? “Follow“ Sky Purington on Amazon to receive New Release Kindle Updates and “Follow” Sky on BookBub to be notified of amazing upcoming deals.
Soul of a Viking (The MacLomain Series: Viking Ancestors' Kin Book 3) Page 27
