Their Runaway Mate

by Lori Whyte

  Kylan swept his lips over her forehead as he rose from the bed. She closed her eyes, savoring the feeling of his mouth against her skin. When she opened them again, he was looking at her. A bright blue glow flashed over his eyes, just as it had last night. The look on his face was intense. It made her want to tug him back onto the bed.

  What the hell was the matter with her?

  She averted her eyes downward… Oh lord, he was naked. She snapped her gaze away from the bountiful, enticing sight of his wonderland of a body. Want for him struck her like a pick-up truck.

  Oh, God, was that the sound of both of them smelling the air? Smelling her arousal?

  Could this moment be any more embarrassing?

  They didn't say anything, but simply left the room in silence and shut the door behind them.

  Chapter 7

  Dillon sat in the leather chair by the potbellied stove and tapped his foot. That was the only indication of the restlessness eating at him. He had questions, but he could wait until she was ready. They were at the precipice of something important. As much as he wanted to, he wouldn't force it. Jasmine was every bit as wonderful in his brief glimpse of her this morning as she had been yesterday morning.

  They needed to approach this conversation carefully.

  Kylan dressed in silence, then went to stand by the window. Dillon had never seen his chief so tender with anyone before. It was an obvious sign that his dragon senses were opening to the woman in the next room.

  He silently outlined the risks. That was his job. But the benefits of exploring the opportunity to mate her far outweighed the challenges.

  Which probably meant he was too close to the situation already.

  When the bedroom door swung open, both he and Kylan stilled and waited.

  Jasmine licked her plump bottom lip as she entered the room. Her gaze darted over him and then Kylan. She'd pulled her red hair back into a ponytail, revealing an enticing expanse of creamy white skin from her jaw line to her collarbone. He always liked kissing a woman's neck, feeling her pulse jump under his lips.

  He leaned toward her. He wanted to get closer still, but it wasn't time yet.

  Kylan stepped forward and motioned Jasmine to the couch. "Why don't you sit?"

  She nodded and moved slowly toward them. She winced as she stepped. Kylan and Dillon lunged toward her. She froze. Her eyes were wide with surprise.

  "Are you okay?" he asked.

  She relaxed at his question and waved them away. "I'm fine. The blisters on my heels are stretching out, that's all."

  Dillon scowled at his chief as he settled in the chair again. Kylan could have made Jasmine's cuts disappear with a drop of his blood. "You didn't—"

  "No," Kylan said, cutting off Dillon's words.

  Dillon reined in his annoyance. Of course Kylan was right. If Jasmine had dragon blood mixed with hers, she wouldn't be able to mate another dragon pair. He should have thought of that.

  Shit, if he was already thinking with his emotions, they were doomed. Dillon gripped the edge of the chair. Kylan shot him a sharp look, and Dillon tried to school his face. The last thing he wanted to do was scare her. Hell, his eyes were probably glowing already. That was hardly a human characteristic.

  After she had perched herself on the sofa, Kylan sat at the other end, leaving a lot of space between them. Jasmine let out a deep breath.

  "Are you a dragon too?" Her green eyes narrowed as she studied Dillon.

  She liked to cut to the chase. He liked that. "Yes, I am. Just like Kylan. He is our clan's chief and I am his primary."

  Jasmine frowned. "Why were you at my house yesterday?"

  He frowned. "Kylan asked me to make sure proper protocols were followed. I was too late to keep things on track."

  She tilted her head to the side as she evaluated his answer. "What protocols?"

  Kylan met her gaze. "Before I entered isolation, I was involved in the negotiations with the human delegation. We had agreed that the only women to be considered would be volunteers by their own choice, and that they would live with the clan of their choosing."

  "Why should I believe that? I had a letter announcing my nomination ages ago." She shook her head at Kylan. "I certainly didn't put my own name forward. And there was at least one dragon, but I think there were more, who didn't seem to want to give me a choice."

  "I know." Dillon nodded. Kylan had told Dillon about Jasmine's version of the events. Her assessment matched what he'd seen and heard. "Maryk's clan has been without a woman the longest. He almost went rogue when he saw you."

  "What's so special about having a female human, anyway?"

  "If you bonded with us," Kylan said quietly.

  He paused and let his gaze link with hers. Dillon knew he wanted to make sure she'd caught the you and the us. The darkening flush on her cheeks suggested she had.

  "Our entire lives," he continued, "would be devoted to making sure you are safe and have everything you want and need."

  "And what do you get out of it? Sex? A dragon baby?" She shrugged. "I realize I should have taken the time to learn more about dragon culture when I was first short-listed, but we were convinced it would never happen. So humor me."

  Her gaze flitted from one to the other of them, waiting for their answer. Her interest had to be a good thing. At least she wasn't saying no at the moment.

  "Females are critical for the health of any clan. Even the dragons who aren't mated to you will benefit from your presence," Kylan said. "Your feminine energy balances ours."

  She flinched. "You would share me sexually with your whole clan?"

  Dillon jolted at the image she painted. "God, no. You are ours. Ours alone. We would never share our mate like that."

  "As mates," his chief said, "we would bond to you with our blood as well as our bodies."

  "Blood?" Jasmine squirmed.

  "It is mutually beneficial," Kylan said. "Our mingled blood keeps Dillon and me healthy, and your life span will be lengthened to match ours. But as a clan female, there would be an expectation that you would assist with healing other dragons if needed. That is done through blood transfusions."

  She nodded, but Dillon wasn't sure what the nod meant. They had laid it all out for her and she hadn't run screaming from the room. That had to be a good sign.

  Still, it had to be overwhelming for her.

  They waited.

  Both he and Kylan already considered her a potential mate. The best way to confirm that was to get closer. A lot closer. Everything that he'd learned about her suggested she wasn't someone who jumped into bed with strangers, which to most humans was what they were suggesting. But dragons sensed their mates quickly. They didn't need to go through a courtship to be certain. What he wasn't clear about was if a mate would sense the same thing.

  A shift in the energy teased him. Her strength was already reaching for his. That would only happen if there was hope for a mating. He inhaled. The intoxicating fragrance of her flourishing sexual interest permeated the air.

  Kylan must have sensed it too.

  She rose and walked to the minuscule kitchen.

  "What are you doing?" Kylan asked, as he shot a confused look in Dillon's direction.

  "I'm not done with this conversation. I just need to do something while we talk."

  "Bake?" Dillon said hopefully.

  "How did you know—" She stopped her question before she finished it. She sighed. "Right. I guess you probably know a lot about me. Yes, I want to bake. What ingredients do you have?" Her tone suggested her expectations were pretty low.

  "I bought some groceries."

  Her face relaxed into a tentative smile and a little dimple creased her cheek. "Did you?"

  Dillon nodded toward the bags on the counter. "I wasn't sure what you'd need, so I just bought one of everything in the bakery section at Deford's."

  Jasmine eyed the three bags. "That is one of everything?"

  Dillon smiled and shrugged. "It's a corner store."


  "Well, thank you," she said. "That was very thoughtful of you."

  When she touched his hand lightly, he felt something tug in his chest. He'd had women in his bed plenty of times, but he'd never obsessed about seeing a woman's smile the way he did with her. After witnessing the pure fear in her eyes just twenty-four hours earlier, he'd been determined to give her a little happiness. Kylan would probably tease him, saying that he was just impressed by her pyrotechnic display at her bakery. Or maybe not. He glanced at his chief. Kylan looked as taken with their guest as he was.

  Jasmine unloaded the supplies. Then she explored the contents of the cupboards and the small refrigerator. She waved them to the wobbly bar stools at the rustic kitchen island. "Okay, you two sit there. We have a lot more to talk about."

  She pulled out a bowl and a spoon, then looked at them. She waited until they were seated. Not many people could get away with telling Kylan what to do, but Jasmine didn't even seem to realize the novelty of her request.

  As she measured out the first of a series of ingredients, she twisted her mouth this way and that, as if considering what questions she should ask.

  "What happened this morning?" Kylan asked.

  Her hand trembled. She set the spoon on the counter and looked at him. "I had a nightmare." She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "I've had the same one since I was a little girl. I dream that I'm being chased by a dragon through the woods." She opened her eyes and shrugged. "My doctor gave me some medication to deal with my fears and to help me sleep, but lately the pills haven't worked."

  Kylan grew very still beside him.

  "You are afraid of dragons," Dillon said.

  Jasmine laughed as she fiddled with the controls on the oven. "Kind of crazy that I'm the first one whose name gets selected, hey?"

  "Do you fear us?" Kylan's question hung in the air for a minute and Dillon hated that she couldn't answer immediately.

  "No."

  The word came like an elixir to his nerves.

  "I suppose I should be. But I'm not." She picked up a box of another ingredient and measured it out. She stared at them over the heaping spoonful of white powder. "Wait, should I be?"

  "Not of us," Kylan said carefully. "But I'm not going to lie. Some dragons don't have the control…"

  "Is that what going rogue means? A lack of control?"

  Dillon shifted in his seat. "Something like that."

  She dumped the powder in the bowl and reached for something else. Then she paused. A pink blush stole over her cheeks. "Control over what?"

  Dillon smiled. "A lot of things… Including showing our interest in you."

  "That's a mild way to put it," Kylan muttered.

  "Your interest?" Her eyes were wide with surprise. When they didn't answer, the flush on her cheeks deepened. She knew what they meant. "You said our. Do you mean both of you?"

  Dillon stared into her eyes, which had darkened considerably since they'd started this conversation. "You like the idea of us wanting you."

  Her face was a pretty sort of crimson color now. She plucked up another box. He recognized this one as salt. She stirred a bit into the powdery mixture.

  "You've said you are in isolation," she said to Kylan. "What does that mean? Is this a punishment? Like jail?"

  Kylan looked surprised. "No, nothing like that."

  "Well, then?"

  "Two of Kylan's parents died recently," Dillon said when Kylan didn't answer right away. "This is how dragons mourn. But I guess, traditionally, it also has to do with how some dragons deal with grief."

  Jasmine eyed Kylan. "You mean…"

  "Grief can lead to dragons going rogue," his chief said quietly. They both watched Jasmine for her reaction. "So they put this band on my wrist and it keeps me from shifting. It is a two-week mandatory isolation."

  "That isn't what I was going to ask you, but thank you for being honest with me." She put her spoon down and rounded the end of the island. She pulled Kylan into a hug. "I'm so sorry for your loss."

  He sat awkwardly within her embrace. Dragons didn't console one another with hugs and tender words. "Um, thanks."

  She loosened her arms and peered into his eyes. "I lost my parents when I was a little girl. I don't remember my dad, but I miss my mom," she said. "I know what it's like."

  Dillon's own chest warmed with emotion and he wasn't even involved with the moment. Kylan simply nodded.

  Jasmine circled back to the kitchen again and grabbed some milk and eggs out of the fridge. She wiped a tear from her cheek, leaving a streak of flour in its place. Then they watched in silence as she finished mixing up her batter and poured it into a pan. After she placed the pan in the oven, Dillon offered to do the dishes. They talked about the cabin and the weather, anything but what was probably weighing most on each of their minds, as they waited for the loaf to bake. Still, the conversation was strangely easy and comfortable.

  When Jasmine pulled the loaf from the oven, Dillon stole a glance at Kylan. His chief's face was easy to read because it matched his own thoughts exactly.

  This little, curvy redhead, who believed she was afraid of dragons, was perfect for them and their clan.

  Chapter 8

  Jasmine used the faded dish towel to pop the cooling loaf out of the pan. She had wondered if the tiny oven, which likely didn't see much use in the cabin, would function properly, but the crust was perfect. Now if only her life was as easy to put together as her aunt's favorite spice loaf.

  She should be angry with these men—these dragons. Kylan had been one of the orchestrators of this whole Dragon Agreement fiasco and Dillon had been at her home when the other dragons destroyed it. But anger wasn't there.

  "Can you believe that, Kylan?" Dillon rubbed his hands together. "She baked something, just like that." He snapped his fingers. "No recipe or anything."

  The men both hummed in appreciation as the sweet mouth-watering aroma floated through the air. She cut thick slices of the warm, moist bread. She pushed the pieces toward them, then licked the crumbs from her fingers. Dillon's eyes locked onto her mouth, and he moved his own lips together as if imagining her taste. She glanced at Kylan. His attention was zeroed in on her too. Slowly, his heated gaze rose to her eyes, and his mouth opened slightly. If they'd been closer, she could imagine him leaning in for a kiss. Heat rushed to her cheeks, and she dragged her hand away, breaking the tension. She hadn't meant her action to be erotic.

  But in that one moment, desire stirred within her and she was roused to new sexual possibilities.

  Kylan broke a corner off his slice with his long fingers. Now it was her turn to track his motion as he lifted the piece and placed it between his lips and slipped it inside. She shivered as his mouth closed around the food. What would it be like to sample those lips? To feel them on her skin?

  He nodded after his first taste. "This is amazing."

  She swallowed. How could watching a man eat excite her? As someone in the food industry, she'd watched plenty of people eat and she'd never been affected before. Not like this. She'd never experienced this thrill. And man, did she enjoy the smiles on their faces as they savored the first few bites.

  No, it was more than that. Or less complicated, perhaps. She quite simply liked them.

  Even though they were dragons.

  She couldn't reconcile the malevolent beast in her dream to the two thoughtful men in front of her, but the evil ones did exist—like that Maryk one. She bit her lip, shocking herself at where her mind was going.

  She braced her shoulders. She could do this. She was independent. An entrepreneur. She made decisions fast and responded to new challenges all the time. God, now she sounded like an infomercial for an online college.

  Besides, starting her own business was a far cry from trusting two of the very beasts she'd been running from. Two sexy, tempting beasts.

  Her pulse raced as she turned to Dillon. His gaze was pinned to her. His strong jaw moved in a slow and sensual rhythm as he chewed. She could only
imagine what else he could do with his mouth… and it was all X-rated. The glint in his eyes suggested he knew exactly what wicked thoughts were filling her mind.

  She tried to shove them aside, because regardless of the sexual energy whirling over them her decision couldn't be postponed. Everything depended on one question: Did she trust them? She almost couldn't believe it, but she did. She breathed in deeply to steady her nerves. "Okay, I'll stay with you until you have an opportunity to talk to the Dragon Council."

  Kylan eyed her. "Was there a possibility you wouldn't have stayed?"

  She smiled at them. "Of course."

  "So we have two weeks." Dillon crossed the kitchen to her. He closed the distance between them, until his broad muscular body was only a few inches from hers.

  Wow, he was even more handsome at this proximity. His dark hair fell over his forehead as he tilted his head toward her. She wanted to touch the stray hair, confirm if it was as silky as it appeared.

  "During that time," Dillon continued, "will you let us try to persuade you to…?" He let the suggestive implication dangle in front of her.

  "Persuade me to do what?" Was he really proposing what she thought he was?

  While she'd been focused on Dillon, his partner had approached her from behind. Although Kylan didn't touch her, he stood close enough that heat cascaded off him and warmed her back. The two men were so tall, big… powerful. No one had made her feel petite before, but these men did. And safe. She'd never felt this safe with anyone before. She'd always had to protect herself.

  "What he means is," Kylan whispered in her ear, "will you allow the possibility of mating with us? We want to get to know you better."

  Her skin tingled at his seductive tone. "As in sex?"

  Dillon's eyes twinkled. "Or you could call it mind-blowing bliss."

  Her body throbbed at the promise. She'd only be here for two weeks and then she could leave at the end—no, not could, she would leave at the end. Her life was waiting for her, but that didn't mean she couldn't enjoy herself for a bit. A little holiday with two smoking hot men sounded pretty damn awesome.

  "Kylan is still going to approach the Dragon Council about reversing what's happened, right?"