She must have washed herself really quickly because just as I am walking to the door she emerges from behind the partition.
Her hair is wet and she is wearing the same clothes. But I can smell the fragrance of the cleansing gel on her skin. Some of my men concocted this cleansing gel using those green flowers growing in abundance on Svaata.
“Where are you going?” Cassie asks, seeing my hand on the door.
“I'm removing myself from temptation.”
She laughs and looks me up and down. “You're looking pretty tempting yourself.”
The bath seems to have relaxed her and put her in a good mood. She is more chatty, confident and flirty. She runs her fingers through her wet hair and watches me through lowered lashes.
We are both acutely aware that we are alone in my bed chamber. Cassie's unique, feminine scent fills the air, and I have the strongest urge to grab her, touch her and taste her.
I take a deep breath and I scent something else in the air. My entire body jerks and hardens at the sweet, heady undertones of her arousal.
Her body is inviting me to mate with her.
Cassie's eyes widen in confusion as I move towards her. There is a trace of fear in her eyes but I realize that she isn't afraid of me. She is afraid of her body's instinctive response to me.
“Cassie.” My voice is low, hoarse with need and hunger. I need to touch her, feel her small, soft body against mine.
Cassie gasps when I pull her into my arms. She whimpers but doesn't push me away.
I hold her waist, and just breathe in her amazing scent. I want to touch her all over, but I don't want to frighten her. Cassie is an incredibly courageous, strong woman. But she is human, not dragon.
It doesn't matter what she is.
She is mine.
I want her, with a fierce, feral hunger like no other.
My heart and body seem to recognize that Cassie is mine, but my mind needs to know for sure if Cassie is my true mate, the one and only female meant for me.
Cassie's beautiful hazel eyes hold my gaze for a long while. It is as if she is trying to read me.
If she is truly mine, she will be able to read all my thoughts, memories, dreams and nightmares once we exchange blood.
My fangs lengthen.
Cassie's eyes slowly trail down my face and lands on my mouth. She blinks repeatedly at the sight of my elongated fangs.
Her breathing quickens, but still she doesn't pull away.
When her tongue darts out to lick her lips, I let out a low growl and grip her tighter.
I can hear our heartbeats pounding together in the torturous silence. My body temperature is spiking as the mating heat burns through me.
I can feel my eyes blaze silver as my hunger for her becomes almost unbearable.
Cassie presses her hands to my chest and stares into my glowing eyes. I know she can see the lightning in my eyes and feel the storm raging within me.
She can feel how hard I am when I pull her flush against me. She knows I want her.
My nostrils flare.
I can scent the wetness between her legs.
“Cassie...”
Her breath catches as she whispers my name.
“Say my name again,” I growl.
She presses a hand over my thundering heart and the scent of her fierce arousal drives me almost out of my mind. “Vorik...” she whispers, tilting her face up.
Her pink, plump lips are parted as she offers her mouth up to me.
I need to taste her. I need to take her mouth, her blood and know that she is mine.
I press my fang into my lower lip and slice it open. With a snarl, I grab Cassie and crush my mouth over hers.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Cassie
I cling to Vorik, holding on for dear life as he kisses me with a passion, a hunger so fierce and powerful I can hardly breathe. I can feel myself trembling, melting in his arms.
For an explosive instant, I register everything at once. Confusion, shock, lust, guilt and giddy pleasure slam through my senses. Can a kiss feel so good? Is it wrong for me to want him this much? I don't know what to think, but I am feeling so much, so strongly and intensely.
I taste Vorik's blood on his lips, and gasp at the rich, dark taste of him. Desire courses through me, and I dig my nails into his biceps.
I want more. I want more of him.
Vorik moves his mouth hungrily over mine, kissing me deeply, thoroughly. I wrap my arms around his neck and surrender to his searing, drugging kiss.
Abandoning my doubts and inhibitions, I kiss him back with equal fervor and ardor.
Why should I hold back? I want him, and my body craves him. Wantonly, mindlessly, I rub myself against him, needing more contact and friction between our bodies.
The ache between my legs is growing more insistent, and I moan into his mouth. This kiss is driving me out of my mind, igniting every nerve in my body and making me want more, so much more.
I slide my tongue between his lips and Vorik groans in pleasure and agony. He moves his hips, grinding his rock hard erection against me.
Desperately, I claw at the metal plates covering his body, trying to get them off. I want to feel his hot, bare skin and have him naked against me.
Our kiss grows more fervent and frenzied. We lick and nip at each other, teasing and tormenting each other with our tongue and teeth. A low, dangerous growl rumbles from Vorik's throat when I tap the tip of his fang with my tongue.
I'm playing with fire.
But it feels so damn good.
I don't want this kiss to end. I want this fire between us to keep on burning and consuming us.
I'm not thinking straight any more. Desire rages through my body, spiraling out of control. I know I need to stop this, stop this mad, fiery, scorching kiss before we are burned to cinders.
With a tortured cry, I finally pull away from Vorik.
We stare at each other, our eyes burning with lust and unsated hunger. We are both breathing hard, unable to speak and not trusting ourselves to move.
If either of us makes a move towards the other, there will be nothing left of our fraying restraint.
We will end up tearing all our clothes off each other, and my guess is that we won't even make it to the bed.
We will simply end up fucking right here, on the floor, against the wall.
I gasp and blink away the searing image of our naked bodies joined, my legs wrapped around his waist as I impale myself on his cock. I am not sure if I telegraphed my decadent thoughts to Vorik, but his eyes suddenly flare silver and his muscles and veins bulge with tension.
“Cassie,” he snarls, his fangs elongating.
I back away, shaking my head slowly.
I shouldn't have played with fire. This isn't a game.
What is happening between us right now, is all too real and powerful. I have never felt such raw, consuming desire for anyone before. It scares me, but at the same time it excites and thrills me.
I have never, ever felt so alive.
Vorik stares at me, his massive chest rising and falling with his harsh, ragged breathing. I see silvery scales rippling across his skin, and I know that the dragon within him is rising to the surface. I back away, not sure if the beast or the man is in control right now.
My back hits the wall and Vorik looms over me. He doesn't touch me. His palms press against the wall on either side of my head, caging me in.
His eyes move to my lips and I know he wants to kiss me again. I whimper at the maddening ache in my core. I have never been kissed like that before.
No man has ever kissed me with such powerful, profound hunger and need before. Vorik's hunger for me is fierce and tormenting, but he doesn't force himself on me. He isn't an animal, a monster. He is Vorik, the man I trust and want.
My mind is trying to tell my body to stop before it's too late. But my body refuses to listen. My body needs and craves Vorik's touch. And my heart...my heart wants what it wants.
; One kiss isn't enough.
Before I can stop myself, I reach for Vorik and pull him to me. I press my mouth to his and drown myself in his sizzling, addictive, passionate kiss.
I shiver when I feel the tip of his fang graze my lips. Only our lips are touching, but it feels as if my whole body is on fire.
I cry out suddenly when Vorik pierces my lower lip with his fang. I jerk away but Vorik doesn't let me go. Biting down on his own lip, he deepens the cut and draws more blood.
His lips press hard against mine, and I taste our mingled blood in my mouth.
Vorik licks my lips, taking my blood on his tongue. His eyes flare as he crushes his mouth possessively over mine.
My blood merges with his, and my throat moves instinctively, swallowing our mixed blood.
It is like the most potent, heady wine I have ever drunk.
My eyelids flutter as I struggle to keep my eyes open. I focus on Vorik's face and I realize that he is speaking to me.
But his voice sounds too far away. I can't make out his words.
Smiling faintly, I sigh and let myself sink into a comforting, velvety blackness.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Cassie
I know I am in a dream, but the dream isn't mine. I struggle to wake, but the dream sucks me in, refusing to let me go.
The scene becomes more and more vivid, until I become a part of it.
A part of the whole bloody, terrifying scene.
I see and feel everything. The sense of horror and impending doom is overwhelming as I look up at the blackened sky.
They swarm across the sky, blocking out the twin suns. Their roars are deafening, and the ground shakes when they swoop down and land.
There is smoke and fire everywhere. The red dragons spit fire at the dwellings and buildings, setting everything ablaze. Women and children run out from the houses and try to get to safety. But they don't make it.
The large, red dragons fly in, cutting off their escape. The young, elderly and wounded are snatched up in deadly jaws and talons. Anyone who moves too slowly and isn't strong enough to fight back is devoured alive.
A red dragon grabs a screaming child from her mother and toss the child into the air. Another red dragon flies across, hurling a ball of fire at the helpless child. The mother screams as she watches her baby being roasted alive and eaten whole.
The two red dragons turn their attention to the distraught mother. Her eyes blaze with raw rage and pain as she shifts into a slender silver dragon. Lightning flashes as the female dragon roars and attacks the red dragons. Those monsters killed her baby, and she will give her life to avenge her baby.
Another red dragon joins the fray, seeing the smaller female dragon as easy prey. The three red dragons circle her, taunting her and toying with her.
She fights them with everything she's got. Her anguish and wrath fuels her, giving her a final burst of strength and speed. Wrapping her jaws around a red dragon's neck, she flies high into the sky with him, twisting viciously to snap his neck.
As the dragons wrestle in the air, storm clouds roll in and swirl angrily above them. The booming thunder drowns out the roars of the warring dragons.
The female dragon is still fighting. She isn't fighting for her life. She knows there is no escape for her. She is outnumbered. They all are.
The storm dragons are smaller in size and number, and even though the storm dragons are fighting bravely, desperately to defend their home and their people, it is clear they are fighting a losing battle.
They have no hope of winning this war.
The skies open up and the rain pours forth. But the rain is deep red. Red with the blood of the storm dragons.
The storm dragons are being surrounded and torn apart by the red dragons. Their torso is ripped open and their beating hearts torn from their chests. Greedy for blood and power, the red dragons devour them alive.
The female dragon is still holding on. She and many others like her are unafraid as they fight to the death for their land, their families, their king.
As she tears into the throat of her enemy, the other two red dragons attack her together. She drops to the ground, her skin flayed and her belly ripped open.
Her enemy falls with her. She dies, only after killing the monster who took her baby from her.
The sky churns with battling dragons and billowing storm clouds. The storm dragons are summoning a storm, to provide some cover for their more vulnerable members but their efforts are in vain. The weaker among them are all dead. But their bodies are not recognizable. They have been torn to shreds, their innards eaten even as they are breathing their last.
The acrid scent of blood and burning fills the air. Broken, dismembered bodies are strewn all around the land.
A horde of red dragons surround a fallen storm dragon. They sink their teeth into his twitching torso and consume his living flesh.
The red, slitted eyes of the red dragons change shade as they devour the flesh and organs of their enemies.
The red in their eyes become infused with silver, and when one of the red dragons lifts his head and screeches, a bolt of lightning slams into the ground.
The red dragons are not attacking the storm dragons for their land. They want their power, their ability to control storms. The red dragons absorb the power and abilities of those they kill and devour. And they grow stronger with each kill.
Vorik and his soldiers keep fighting to protect what is left of their home and their people.
Their king is fighting alongside his soldiers. King Svaata is a majestic, magnificent silver dragon and he is a fearless warrior. But he is outnumbered, and the red dragons work to separate the king from his soldiers and guards.
The storm grows in power and intensity. The red dragons roar their victory as they circle King Svaata.
Vorik bellows to his squadron, ordering his solders to protect their king.
But the red dragons hurl fire and lightning at them, keeping them away from their king.
The red dragons are even more deadly now that they have absorbed the power of the storm dragons. With their new powers, they are even harder to kill.
Vorik and his soldiers battle on furiously, fighting to reach their king.
But King Svaata turns and looks right at Vorik. His mind connects with Vorik's and Vorik hears the command loud and clear.
Go! You have been my trusted Commander for a long time, Vorik. You have led my army well, and now I am entrusting you with one final mission. Take the surviving storm dragons and leave now. I die today, so our race will not die out. Go now! Do not fail me.
Vorik tries to reach his king, but King Svaata roars his last command. Go! Live, and remember this day!
It is the last order from his king. Vorik bellows in fury and pain as the red dragons close in on King Svaata. Every red dragon wants a piece of the oldest and most powerful storm dragon.
The scent of his king's royal blood is thick in the air, choking him, blinding him.
He will avenge his king and his people. To do that, he has to live. Live, and remember.
Vorik gathers all his surviving soldiers, and they make it to the military dock. The ship takes off from their ravaged planet, and they don't look back.
There is nothing left of their planet. Vorik's squadron consists of the best fighters and fliers, and they are all that is left of the storm dragons.
Do not fail me.
King Svaata's words echo in Vorik's mind as he pilots the ship to a small, unknown, uninhabited planet.
The red dragons are too busy fighting over King Svaata's body to give chase.
Vorik knows that he is responsible for the safety of his soldiers. His duty is to his king and his men. But...he should have protected his king, died for him...
Even as they land on this new planet, guilt continues to gnaw at him.
But he cannot afford to fail. He will not fail his king.
They will survive, for their king and their people.
The twenty
storm dragons disembark and set foot on the new planet. At Vorik's command, they drop to one knee and place their fists over their hearts.
“King Svaata!”
This new planet, is now their refuge, their home. And they named it Svaata, in memory and in honor of their last king.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Vorik
I take Cassie's clammy hand in mine as she cries out in her sleep. I have been sitting at her bedside, watching her, monitoring her temperature and her breathing.
Her body temperature is rising, and her forehead is feverishly hot. Her skin is covered with a sheen of sweat, and her eyelids are fluttering as those harrowing, grisly scenes play in her mind.
She is dreaming my dreams, seeing my past and my memories.
I exchanged blood with her when I kissed her. If she is not my mate, my blood will have no effect on her. But if she is truly mine, with just a drop of my blood in her body, she will be able to read my thoughts and memories once I open my mind to her.
Her blood is reacting strongly to mine, absorbing all my pain and making them hers. I don't want to hide anything from Cassie, but it pains me to see her suffer.
“Cassie...” I hold her shoulder and try to rouse her.
Letting out a small sob, she thrashes in her sleep and murmurs, “Remember.”
A tear trickles down her face. I wipe her tear away and gather her in my arms.
I rock her gently and whisper into her hair, “I'm so sorry to put you through my nightmare, Cassie...”
Her body jerks violently and her eyes fly open.
Cassie stares uncomprehendingly at me for a while. Then she bursts into tears.
“Oh Vorik, I saw…I saw...” she sobs. “Tell me that didn't happen...all those women and children...”
“You saw my memories, Cassie,” I say softly. “Everything you saw...happened.”
She takes a shaky breath. “When?”
“It happened about ten Earth years ago.”
Vorik: A Scifi Storm Dragon Romance Page 4
