by Julia Milla
Man and beast needed to connect with the woman who'd driven the darkness away, the true light of their soul. With no other thought but feeling the warmth of her body wrapped around his painfully hard length, Kyran slid his hand between their bodies and quickly removed the rest of her clothing, leaving her gloriously naked beneath him. Need won out over logic and his pants immediately followed.
The feel of her body against his, the scent of her arousal filling the cave, his name on her lips, and her feelings of unconditional love and acceptance flowing through their mating bond was an amazingly heady combination. Kyran wanted nothing more than to sink into the warmth that was his mate, but he had to be sure. He had to know that Caitlin had absolutely no doubts.
Pushing his arousal and that of his dragon aside, the Phantom stopped all movement. Pulling back from his mate and laying his fingers upon her lips as she cried out at the loss, he looked into her mind. The connection was strong and awe-inspiring as he used his mind’s eyes to look at her as she looked at him. He had to make sure, had to know his banshee could see as well as feel the honesty of his words as he asked, “Caitlin, mo maite, mo chroí, are ye sur? Ah cannae give ye all th' flowery romance most men kin, bit Ah kin promise wit all that Ah am tae love ye 'n' protect ye wi' eevry fiber o' mah bein'.”
Sucking his index finger into her mouth and taunting the tip with her tongue, she answered directly into his mind, “Love me, mo Dragon. Make me yours, now and forever.”
Needing no more encouragement, his lips met hers in an all-encompassing embrace of passion and desire that made it impossible for Kyran to do anything but what his mate, his dragon, and his body demanded. Still forcing himself to go slow, he pulled his lips from hers, kissed along her jaw and down her neck then across the soft sweet skin of her décolletage to her breasts. Sucking her now bare nipple into his mouth, he smiled against Caitlin’s flesh as her fingers were once again in his hair and her body rocked against his.
Only after paying her other breast the same attention and leaving his precious Caitlin panting and breathless, unable to form a coherent word, did Kyran taste the silken skin of her stomach, sure to leave little love bites to satisfy his dragon’s need to mark their mate.
Reaching the glistening dark curls that covered her pussy, the heavenly scent of daffodils and sunshine took his breath away. Spreading her legs as she sought to keep them together while lost to her excitement, Kyran laid first one and then the other over his shoulders. Needing to taste her more than all the stars in the sky, but driven to make her first time special, Kyran whispered into her mind as he slowly pushed his middle finger through her curls and into the warm, wet haven of her body, “Aye Caitlin, Ye test this pooor auld dragon. A'm waantin' nothin’ moore than tae join wi' ye, but Ah must mak' sure yer ready 'n' Ah'm needin' tae hae yer taste upon mah tongue more than Ah kin say.”
Her only answer was the thrashing of her head and her legs tightening around his shoulders as he pushed farther into her tight, throbbing pussy. Pushing a second finger alongside the first, Kyran made a come-hither motion with his middle finger, tickling the sensitive bundle of nerves at the top of her channel that begged to be fondled. He reveled in her receptiveness to his touch and then grinned from ear-to-ear as Caitlin climaxed from simply his fingers alone, screaming his name, her juices wetting his hand.
Pulling his fingers from her, Kyran immediately replaced them with his tongue, licking and tasting, pushing her higher, feeling another orgasm building within her before the first had totally ebbed. She called his name, pulled at his hair, and her thighs wrapped so tightly around his head that the black dragon could barely breathe, but none of that mattered; he was pleasing his mate as no other ever had or ever would. She was his…now and forever.
Wanting…needing her to orgasm again, he rubbed her swollen, throbbing clit between his thumb and forefinger as he thrust his tongue in and out of her, touching the proof of her virginity. Her back bowed off his pallet, her heels dug into his back, and she pulled at his tresses with such force he knew he would be bald. But he couldn’t care as she came over and over into his mouth, her screams so loud he was sure the entire valley knew of his banshee’s pleasure.
Eating at her, needing to have every drop of her essence within him as her contractions slowed, her breathing returned to normal, and her body relaxed, Kyran ran his tongue along her outer lips and kissed the inside of both of her thighs before raising his head and looking at the one woman in all the world with the ability to restore his sanity.
Caitlin took his breath away. Lying there like his own fallen angel, with her head thrown back, her lips seductively curved in a lazy smile, and the gentle rise and fall of her full breasts, she was absolutely the most magnificent creature he’d ever seen. Raising to his knees, he kissed his way up her body, nipped along her neck to her ear, and whispered, “'N' noo we become oone.”
Inch by mind-blowing inch, he slowly slid into her, stopping every little bit to let her body adjust to his size. A feeling unlike any other filled the black dragon. Nothing had ever felt so right…so perfect. Finally reaching her maidenhead, Kyran stopped, laid his lips to hers, and while pouring all the love and adoration he already felt for her into that one single kiss, he murmured into her mind, “Ah love ye, mo mBean, ye hae truly saved this oold dragon.”
Pushing through, he continued their kiss, once again blown away by Caitlin’s strength as she barely winced at the intrusion. Holding both he and his mate completely still, rejoicing in the feel of her inner walls welcoming him, Kyran’s chest swelled with pride as she sighed in pleasure right along with him. He felt her arousal building, her body needing more of what only he could give her, and before he could move, Caitlin began rolling her hips, her inner muscles massaging him, pushing him, forcing him to move with her.
Her fingers on his back ran up and down his spine. Her legs wound tightly around his waist. He could feel her everywhere. They were one as they were born to be. Kyran's mind was blown at the sheer perfection of the moment. His dragon roared. The mighty Guardsman was gutted, completely and irrevocably under Caitlin’s spell. Her free hand touched his face as she continued her erotic dance. The black dragon's hips matched her rhythm. Their hearts beat as one and to his complete surprise, his little banshee whispered, "Teach me how to fly, my big, strong dragon man.”
Helpless but to do anything but please his mate, Kyran pulled back, held still for a mere fraction of a heartbeat, and then thrust back into his Caitlin until their hips met and she wailed his name. Unable to control his passion any longer, spurred on by his mate’s need flooding through their mating bond, the black dragon thrust in and out of his banshee, creating a furious tempo that she met thrust for glorious thrust.
Higher and higher their hunger grew, the need to be one so intense, so demanding, that for the first time in his very long life Kyran gave up all control. He held nothing back. All that he had ever been, all that he was, and all that he would ever be burst open for his Caitlin, and only her, from that moment forward, for all eternity. They were one. No one and nothing, not even the devil himself, could tear them apart.
Reaching between their bodies, his need for them to climax together overpowering, Kyran gently pinched her clit between his thumb and forefinger at the same time that he gave one final mighty thrust and together they roared their completion to the Heavens. Moving together, loving one another as Fate and the Universe had always intended. Finally, when their bodies were spent, they floated back to earth, each more fulfilled than either thought possible.
Rolling to his side, Kyran carefully laid Caitlin across his chest, unwilling to be without the feel of her skin upon his. Propping her chin on her hand, she smiled at him and cooed, “I love you, Kyran O’Connor.
Opening his mouth to answer, the black dragon’s words were stolen away as fire burst through his chest, his muscles contracted, and he felt his back bow up off the blankets.
“Kyran! Kyran, what’s wrong? What’s happening?” Her panicked scr
eams cut through his agony. He could feel her fear adding to his own as his body failed to respond. His dragon pushed white healing magic in every direction to ward off whatever was invading his body, but nothing worked. It was as if his body was attacking itself.
Trying to speak to calm his worried mate, Kyran could barely breathe. He felt Caitlin move, heard her call to Duke, “Get my bag boy! Hurry!”
Fighting to stay awake, the darkness closing in all around him, the last thing the black dragon heard before losing consciousness was Caitlin’s command, “Don’t you dare die on me, damn you, Kyran. I just found you.”
Chapter Six
Pulling her father’s grimoire from the bag Duke had dropped into her lap, Caitlin’s fingers flew over the braille print covering the pages, looking for the spell that would remove the evil glyphs from her dragon’s chest. Thankfully, she’d seen in his memories that the old wizard who’d bespelled Kyran hadn’t completed the process. If her suspicions were correct, that single fact would make the removal easier and far less detrimental to both the man and his beast.
It, however, did not alleviate any of the guilt eating away at Caitlin’s conscience. “Why didn’t I do this first. What the hell is wrong with me? How could I have let making love to him come before making sure he was safe? What a loser mate I’m turning out to be,” she scolded herself while Duke whined and licked her cheek for reassurance.
“Thank you, boy, but I screwed this up in a big way. If anything happens to Kyran or his dragon, it’s all on me.” She gritted her teeth and concentrated even harder.
“N-n-nae your fault,” came Kyran’s low whisper.
“Oh my God, Kyran, I’m so sorry,” she cried, following the sound of his voice and reaching for him.
She felt him slowly shake his head and then try to speak again. Quickly laying her fingers on his lips, she shushed him. “Save your energy. Don’t try to speak. I’ll get these damn things off you if it’s the last thing I do.”
Leaning over, she quickly kissed his feverish lips before sitting back, tightening the blanket she’d wrapped around herself, and again running her fingers over the pages of her book. Finally, after what seemed like forever, she found the spell she was looking for. The one as a little girl she’d watched her father use to help a gypsy friend of his who had been marked.
Taking the supplies she needed from her bag before placing one hand on Kyran’s chest, she followed the taint of black magic until the heat of the glyphs singed her fingertips. Fighting the pain, she forced her hand to remain on the fiery runes as Kyran’s breathing became more labored and his skin more heated. The effects of her white magic combining with his dragon magic were already fighting the dark mysticism within the glyphs, but she had to move fast, before the black magic reached her dragon’s heart.
“Hold on. Please, Kyran, hold on,” she reassured him, breathing a sigh of relief when his hand touched hers and remained there as she began to speak the olde words in the language of her father’s clan.
“The Universe to whom we owe all that we are and all that we will ever be, show mercy. Help me force this evil from the body of your mighty warrior, Kyran O’Connor. Let this holy water cleanse what has been thrust upon him.” Opening the vial of water from the blessed spring of her ancestors, Caitlin poured the holy liquid over her hands, listening to the sizzle as it touched the dark markings, the acrid scent of burning flesh filling her senses.
Quickly grabbing the leather pouch from her lap, she dumped the soil from the Carpathian Mountains in the same place she’d poured the water and recited, “Take this earth from your blessed mounds. Use the bodies of my ancestors to bury the evil haunting this man.”
Leaning forward, she whispered, “Arde.” Calling her gypsy fire then continuing, “Use your fire to turn this evil to ashes.” She immediately tried to blow out the flame she could see burning with her mind’s eye, but the harder she blew, the brighter and hotter the fire burned, until Kyran was howling in pain and together they were trying to pull her hand from his burning flesh as the blaze sought to consume them both.
“What the hell? How can this be? Oh my God!” Screaming as her fingers retraced the words, Caitlin pushed so hard she could feel her blood staining the page as she tried to make sure she hadn’t said something wrong.
Just as her digit touched the word, bunătate, Kyran stuttered, “G-g-goodness…not…”
“EVIL!” Caitlin shrieked. “What the hell? Who…” But the answer was right there in her mind, making the banshee add another name to her list of people who would pay for harming those she loved.
“That little bitch!” she growled before repeating the spell, this time inserting rău, or evil, in place of goodness before blowing at the gypsy fire until she became light-headed before finally, extinguishing the flame.
Breathing a sigh of relief, she hurried on, ignoring the searing pain the fire had left in its wake, needing to make sure the glyphs were removed before she could attend to the newest disaster. “Carry the ashes of what remains on your cool breeze, never to return, never to harm this great man again.”
Placing her left hand over Kyran’s that still lay across her right one, flinching at the searing pain but shoving it aside, she finished, “Thank you, oh great Universe, for the blessings you bestow upon us every day and for saving your great warrior from the darkness that threatened both man and dragon. In your honor and always to your glory, your humble servant in life and always. Amen.”
Holding her breath, she felt the magic in the cavern increase. Bright sparks of light burst in her mind’s eye and Kyran’s. She watched intently as those flashes of light came together to form the regal head of a great black dragon. The piercing grey of his eyes swirled around his elliptical pupil, drawing her in, looking into her soul, devouring all that she was.
Mesmerized by the majestic creature she knew was also her mate, Caitlin could only smile. She’d been told by so many that without her sight her other senses would become stronger and over the years, she’d found that to be true. But now, in this place with her mate, she knew everything she’d endured, suffered, and lost had been building to this moment; the time when she would realize that although her eyes had been taken from her, she, Caitlin Brookes, had been given the blessing of her man and her dragon to see more than any sighted person could ever imagine.
As if the beast had heard her words, he gave a single nod of his head, providing her with a splendid view the many daunting horns upon his head. His small puff of smoke reminded her that he too had the power of fire just before he blinked out of sight. Whirling from what she’d just seen, Caitlin squeaked with surprise when Kyran’s hand tightened against hers and he sat up.
“Kyran, what are you doing? You should be resting….” The words were barely out of her mouth before he was kissing her burnt hand.
His words floated through her mind, “A’m kissin’ yer booboo.” His masculine chuckle rumbled through her, making it hard to concentrate.
Pulling her hands from his, she felt one and then the other, surprised to find the skin smooth and blemish-free. “What…?”
“Did ye nae see mah dragon?”
She could tell he was smiling as she quickly answered, “Well, yes, but…?”
“But noothing. He was thankin’ ye fur removing th' dark magic 'n' healed yer wounds.”
“Oh, thank you both so much.” The words felt wrong even as she was saying them. Hanging her head, she mumbled, “But I almost killed you both in the process.” The guilt of what had happened overwhelmed and scared the banshee. “How could I have made such a rookie mistake? You must think I’m such an idiot.” Turning away, her progress was halted by Kyran’s hands on her face.
“Noo, noo, Ah will hae none o' that.” He kissed the tip of her nose. “That wasn’t yer fault.” His thumbs rubbed her cheeks as he added, “But Ah hae a feeling ye knoow who’s tae blame.”
Nodding, she took his hands in hers and lowered them to her lap. Her anger once again rose at the betra
yal she’d suffered from the only other human she’d called friend during all the years of her seclusion. “Yes, I do,” she spat, standing and holding tight to the blanket wrapped around her as she added, “And she will pay.”
Reaching for Duke, she stepped to the side and said, “Hey boy, where are my clothes?” a second before Kyran threaded his fingers through the fingers of her free hand and gave a little tug.
“Yer noo longer alone.” His hand squeezed hers. “Let me hulp ye. Let me bee yer eyes.”
She chuckled at Duke’s growl as her furry companion pressed against her side. “I think Duke may have something to say about that.”
She went willingly as Kyran pulled her to him, hearing the smile in his voice as he snickered. “Aye, weel, he’ll juist hae tae git ower it,” before kissing her soundly then pulling back and asking, “Noo, whoose arse ar we aff tae kick?”
Shaking off the effects of Kyran’s kiss, she blew out a breath and spat, “Marcie…my nurse.” Pausing to get her thoughts in order, Caitlin continued, “She’s been with me for more than ten years…always been so sweet and kind. Then I found out she was an earth witch and I was thrilled. Dad taught me a lot about gypsy magic but there was still so much I needed to learn. It was all in his grimoire but with no way to see it, well…I’d kinda given up. As it happened, one day, about five years ago, Marcie found the book and said she could have it translated into braille. It was the best news I’d had in a long time. When she brought it back to me, I spent every day learning the spells, reading my father’s instructions, mastering my legacy so that one day I could avenge my family. I never guessed she’d messed with my father’s rituals.” She shook her head, rage and betrayal swirling through her like an impending cyclone. “Why would she do that? What did she have to gain?”
