by Guida, ML
“Wake up!”
He landed on warm wood and curled into a ball.
“William?” She brushed his hair out of his eyes. “You foolish, brave dragon.”
He gaze up at her worried face. “Mariah, kill me.” His voice croaked.
She stopped rubbing his forehead. “Kill you? Why?”
“Poison…inside me.” He swallowed back the corrosive burning his throat. “About to pass out. When I wake, I’ll be her slave. Ordered to kill you.” He shook his head, trying to stay awake. “Can’t…fight it. Kill me. Before ’tis too late.”
“Look!” someone yelled.
William opened his eyes. Past the Phoenix’s flapping sails, a long, thin, black mist snaked through white fluffy clouds, and a pair of red eyes stared at him. The demon. She’d come for him. He’d failed again. Darkness over-took his soul, and he fell into an abyss of despair.
* * *
“Take him below,” Kane ordered.
Hands gripped his wrists and ankles and lifted him. Pain throbbed between William’s temples. His head tilted back, and he closed his eyes. He hurt everywhere. Why was he in pain? He tried to remember and winced. His eyes fluttered open. He couldn’t feel the wind on his face, but his teeth chattered and he was cold, colder than he’d ever been on a winter’s day in London. Rather than lying on the deck, he lay on a mattress. Kane’s cabin?
He tried to remember how he’d gotten there. Fog clogged his brain. His stomach spasmed and he stiffened. He opened his mouth to say something, but the words died on his parched lips.
Agony churned in his gut. He curled into a tight ball and clutched his abdomen. Was he human or beast?
“The…black…magic…wants my heart. Only our mate can save us. You must take her.”
“William, can you hear me?” Someone dabbed a damp cloth on his forehead.
He knew that voice. He knew that scent. Lavender. Female. “Mariah?” His tongue felt thick. Too thick to speak coherently. “Where’s Natasa? She was…in the mist…In the sky.”
“Shh, I know. She’s gone.” Mariah brushed his hair off his hot face. “But she’ll be back. I’m afraid she’s waiting for the poison to change you.”
Booms hurt his ears then cannons slammed into the ship. The ship jostled. Cries and shouts rang through the corridor outside Kane’s cabin. The faint scent of sulfur filtered inside. The battle raged outside, and he should be part of it. He tried to move, but his arms and legs failed to obey. He couldn’t open his eyes, no matter how he tried. “Change me?” His heart pounded, and with every beat, pain surged through his veins and spasms cinched his back.
“No, William, lay still. Moving only makes the poison stronger.”
William did as he was told and relaxed, but every time he took a breath, the pain seemed to grow stronger—his chest ached, his stomach burned, and his arms and legs throbbed.
“William, I done gonna turn you on your side.”
He knew that voice, too. A friend. Doc.
Someone gripped William’s shoulder and pushed him onto his side to put pressure on his back, and he grimaced.
“I donna understand. I can’t stop da bleedin’.” Doc’s worried voice was like a cold slap.
Each time his heart took a beat, agony pulsed through William. “Kane,” he gasped. “I’ve got to help.”
“Cap’n’s topside. Gave orders for you to remain here. Here you’ll remain.”
“Why…can’t I…move?”
“’Tis black magic,” Mariah said. “Poison’s seeping through him and will change his magic from white to black. Human medicine will not save him. Only white magic can save him.”
“Yes. Finally. She’ll…stop…the…poison.”
William gripped the sheets. The voices seemed so far away, distant as if they were down in the belly of the ship.
“How can we help him? He’s gray. So damn gray.” Panic rippled through Doc’s voice.
“You cannot. I can. You must leave. Now.”
“No,” Doc said. “You need me.”
“I have my tools. The longer you all stay, the more opportunity you give Natasa to steal his soul. When he grows dark, he will be her slave and dangerous. Le capitaine will be forced to kill him.”
“What?”
“Natasa wants us all dead. What better way to kill us than a dragon? To save le capitaine’s brother, you must leave. If you stay, you will condemn him. The choice is yours.”
“Mariah, he’s dyin’. You need my help,” Doc insisted.
Fear shook in his words. William’s heart pounded. Dying. I’m dying? Shite. He didn’t want to die.
He wanted to tell Doc to trust Mariah. He opened his mouth to argue, but another guttural moan escaped his lips. Why couldn’t he speak?
“The poison will spread, overshadowing this honorable man, taking his soul, and leaving an empty husk for Natasa to control.” Mariah’s hard voice chilled his bones..
Hurried footsteps pounded down the companionway outside. Men hollered for more ammunition.
William groaned. He wanted to wake, wanted to fight. Why couldn’t he open his blasted eyes?
“Go, Doc,” Mariah urged. “Natasa is coming for William and Drakon. If he wakes before I can help him, he will be changed forever. An evil spirit.”
“You can save him?”
“Oui,” she said. “I need time. Go fight.”
The ship bucked and men screamed.
“There are wounded up on deck,” Mariah said. “They need you.”
“I hope I’m not done makin’ a mistake trustin’ to a witch,” Doc grumbled.
’Twas so frustrating. He couldn’t speak or open his eyes, but his hearing was keen.
A door opened and closed.
Clothing rustled. What was happening? There wasn’t a place on his sweating body that wasn’t aware of her, aware of wanting—no needing—Mariah. He needed to see her, touch her skin, but all he could do was lie on Kane’s bed, soaked in his own sweat. Only she could ease the pain, heal him.
“Trust in me, William,” Mariah urged. “Isis, Goddess of nature and magic. Hear me. Open his eyes.”
Pain exploded in his head as if someone had slugged him with a mallet.
She chanted the same statement over and over.
“Open your eyes,” she ordered.
William arched his back, and his eyes flew open. He panted, trying to push back the pain. Clicking her tongue, Mariah stood naked next to the side of the bed, her hands moving inches above his body. Air swirled around him.
Her full breasts tempted him, and he wanted to suckle them, but he couldn’t move. His body stuck to the sheet as if he had been nailed to the mattress. He tried to speak, but the words refused to form.
In her hand, she clutched a rose stone. She peered at the ceiling. “Isis, I call upon the powers to help William. Repel the poison.”
She placed the stone in the middle of his chest and cold iced his body. He couldn’t breathe. Each time he inhaled, he fought to take in air.
In her other hand, she held an orange and red-striped stone. “Take this, I beg you, Goddess, and help heal him.”
This stone on his stomach generated heat, and warmth thawed the chill. Venom curdled in his stomach. He arched his back and bit back a scream.
Mariah reached into her red satchel and pulled out her wand. She tapped his toe with it. “By the powers of Mother Sun and Father Moon, I dispel thee.”
He jerked violently and rose off the bed. He thrashed his head back and forth as he hovered in the air. Mariah removed the wand from his toe and touched the wound on his back. Pain jolted through him as if a sword sliced into his flesh. She said something, but his shriek muffled her voice.
She caressed his back. “Come back to me, William.”
Her voice penetrated his brain and dulled the pain. Nausea gripped him, and bile rose up his throat, but he swallowed hard. He floated down onto the mattress, the stones remaining on his chest and his stomach.
Mariah placed t
he wand back into the satchel. She clasped his foot, massaging it, her thumbs rubbing hard on his soles. He felt like she’d placed a warm blanket on his foot. He couldn’t take his eyes off her nor focus on her soft ministrations. Her hands left his foot, and he groaned. She clasped his other foot, gently stroking it.
His cock hardened, and he licked his lips. He wanted her. “Mariah,” he whispered.
She smiled. “Hello, my dragon.”
A sharp pain exploded in his back where Natasa had stabbed him. His body stiffened. Red eyes formed on the ceiling and glared down at him. The hate in them chilled him.
Mariah glanced up. “No, Natasa, you cannot have him. He is mine.”
The red eyes tapered into angry slits.
William trembled. He had to protect Mariah and struggled to lift off the bed, but his limbs refused to move.
Mariah climbed up onto the bed, her long hair tickling his legs, and he trembled. His eyes widened, not believing what she was doing. She licked his leg, her velvety tongue worshiping him, and he sucked in his breath. Mariah slowly moved up his legs until she came to his cock, her mischievous eyes enticing him. She licked his cock, and he groaned.
“Trust me.” Her soft voice lifted the misery gripping him.
He nodded, unable to speak. So hot. A fiery urgency seized his cock, spreading to every inch of his body. A primitive lust to consume her, a need that he wouldn’t—couldn’t—stop. Heat, hunger, fervor, passion, and arousal all melded together. She straddled him, slowly lowering herself onto his slick cock, then sheathing him in her velvety channel. Her muscles clamped around him, slick walls caressed him until he was struggling somewhere between pleasure and pain.
“Let me ride you,” she murmured.
She’d been a virgin. How did she know what to do? She moved up and down on his flesh, and the sight of her body taking him drove him mad. Her tight core robbed his ability to think, to feel, except to pump into her.
He gathered all of his strength and tried to move his hips. Jaaysus!
A white light shone around Mariah, and her skin glowed. He’d never seen a woman so beautiful. The light slid around him, bathing him in tenderness. His faculties returned, and he was able to move. He gripped her hips, holding her to him and arched his hips and plunged into her. He glanced up at the ceiling, and he blinked.
Panic flickered in Natasa’s red eyes and then vanished.
Boom Boom Boom
A cannon fired outside. Every muscle in William tensed. His heart whipped up his throat, cutting off his air, and sweat slipped into his eyes, blurring Mariah’s beautiful face. He released Mariah’s hips, starting to lift her. They still were under attack.
“William, no.” Mariah rode him faster. She grasped his hands and put them on her breasts. “We must finish,” she panted. “Only then can you be free and save your crew.”
Chapter 20
Guns boomed outside, matching Mariah’s thumping heart. Tingles brushed over her hot skin and her breath caught in her throat.
Kane’s men were in agony, but she refused to end hers and William’s magical union.
She held William’s calloused hands to her breasts. She wanted to feel him. Wanted to fuel his desire. To heal him. She wouldn’t allow him to stop. They were so close to ending Natasa’s infection.
The ship jolted again. Natasa was throwing everything in her arsenal to keep Mariah and William from coupling.
Black rings formed around William’s emerald eyes, and his pupils grew larger and larger until all the green vanished. The darkness widened, consuming all the white. Mariah shuddered. William possessed the eyes of a demon.
She fought back the urge to climb off him and run and hide in her cabin. But she knew Natasa was counting on her giving into fear. The demon better get used to bitter disappointment—William was hers.
William’s skin burned as hot as hers. Time was slipping away. Soon the poison would consume him. A raw and intense need consumed her. Something built inside her, making her heart flutter against her ribs. She rode William harder and harder, hoping to destroy the poison. William’s fingers tugged at her sensitive nipples, pulling them, and she whimpered. Their pulsing hips stirred a passion, pumping blood that drove her to new heights.
He rocked his hips hard, and she worried he would buck her off and run to Natasa. She pressed the healing rocks against his chest and navel, not allowing him to disregard their power. He gripped her hips and sat up against the headboard and thrust deeper. She widened her thighs and gasped at all that flesh impaling and filling her. He captured one breast with his lips, and his silky tongue, licked, swirled and laved her nipple, stirring a desperate hunger.
Something vibrated against her thighs—the charged stones. She clasped them and placed them on William’s shoulder, holding them. “Mother Isis, heal him,” she whispered.
His hot mouth suckled her, and she arched her back, allowing him to take more of her. He draped his arm around her waist, holding her to him.
Chills brushed down her spine, and her heart soared, threatening to fly out of her mouth. She chanted, “Release the dragon fire. Burn the black magic.”
Power surged through her, and she pushed it toward William, willing the poison to exit his body. She didn’t know what she was doing, but trusted in the magic, allowing it to guide her. She’d thought she had indulged in the sweetest experience on the floor in her cabin when William first took her maidenhood. But that paled to the white magic pumping through her and William melding them—body and mind. Shattering orgasms splintered inside her, flooding her with ecstasy.
He lifted his head and roared, spilling inside her. Her own spasms matched the shudder of his body. He clasped her hand and leaned his cheek into her palm. His eyes flickered with turbulence that made her heart leap. The black irises changed back to deep glowing emeralds, flooding her with relief. The white light around them brightened. He pulled her close to his chest, cradling her. Tears pricked her eyes. He was back. Her dragon.
The cannons stopped thundering, and cheers sang in her ears. A high pitched scream emitted from outside. William leaned against her chest, and she stroked his head.
“’Tis over,” she panted. “The black magic is gone.”
William clasped her thighs and flipped her over onto the bed. He stretched out on top of her, his cock filling her again. “Aye, ’tis gone, but my need for you, little witch, has just begun.”
Before she could answer, his mouth covered hers, and his teeth tugged at her lip, nipped and tormented and commanded. She slid her hands up his back, and his muscles twitched beneath her palms. Heat flared within her again, driving away the nightmare of almost losing him. She caressed his leg with hers as he moved his hand down her body, outlining her breast, slinking past her hip, igniting flames of desire, and leaving her yearning for more.
The intensity increased until pleasure gripped them both again. Mariah did not know where she left off and he began; they were one. Together. He collapsed on top of her. “My lord, I’ve never…” he panted.
She smiled. “I know. ’Tis the magic.”
“Magic. What bloody magic?”
His sharp voice stole her joy. “William, you were becoming possessed.”
“So you used another piece of magic to possess me?”
“What?” She swallowed, not understanding his anger. “Only together were we able to break the spell.”
“Meaning?”
“William, we were destined to be together.” She stroked his frowning face. “Do you not see? Natasa can’t defeat us.”
He leaned on his forearms and stared at her. “You’re dancing around my question. Answer me.”
“We’re mated.”
“Mated?”
“White magic binds the two souls, making them one. I thought you wanted—”
“I like being given the choice. You stole that from me.”
Heavy footsteps thumped outside. “William.” Kane pounded on the door. “Are you all right?”
&nb
sp; “I’m fine,” William answered.
“We need you up on deck.”
“I’ll be there.” He lowered his head and rolled off Mariah. “Get dressed.”
Cold chilled her skin, and it wasn’t from the air. With his glowering stance, William stole the warm glow that had been part of their lovemaking. She covered herself with her hands, and heat stained her cheeks. The most wonderful magical experience had been delectable and joyous, only to end in sadness and shame. Had some of the poison remained in William? Was that why he pushed her away?
He turned his back to her and sat up straight. She reached for him.
“Don’t touch me.” He glanced over his shoulder, his eyes hard.
His voice shook, and the iciness stole her breath. He stormed around the cabin, whipping open Kane’s chest drawers, grabbing clothes, then slamming the drawers shut. He wouldn’t even look at her as he threw on a pair of blue trousers. She blinked back tears and quickly darted out of the bed and donned her dress, not looking at William. She slid a glance toward him. The dragon tattoo on his chest seemed to peer at her with pleading eyes as if to apologize for William’s behavior.
She grabbed her satchel and headed for the door. William came up behind her. His warm breath brushed the back of her neck. He had wanted her and loved her like his life depended upon it, but now, he made her feel dirty. Ugly.
She flung open the door to Doc, Hannah, and Kane. Kane studied both of them. “Is he healed?”
William nodded. “Aye, I am. Even my back.”
“Bloody hell.” Kane’s eyes brightened, and he clapped William’s shoulders. “Good brother.”
Doc looked William over in disbelief. “Are you sure, lad?”
Only Hannah glanced between Mariah and William. Her face was pale, and bits of blood seeped out of her nose. “Mariah, are you well?”
“Oui, je vais bien.” Mariah’s voice was sharper than she intended.
William edged away from her as if he could not bear to touch her. A few minutes ago, his mouth and hands had been all over her. Now, he turned into the ice dragon.
