“Fine,” she said.
“Your bags are in the closet.”
“I’ll just go change.” She grabbed her bag and went into the bathroom. She was so irritated and confused; she almost didn’t want to spend the night in the same room with him.
After splashing some cold water on her face and dressing in her silky pajamas, she walked back into the bedroom. Hanish had changed into a pair of sleeping shorts and a V-neck T-shirt. He’d turned down the bed, and they climbed under the covers together. He reached for her, and she let him wrap her in his arms. She sighed when he kissed her forehead, and quickly drifted into a deep sleep.
Chapter 12
Everything was different on the way home from the wine-tasting tour. Hanish had told her he loved her, and she had to admit, she felt the same. If only his secret wasn’t still between them, she could give in to the budding romance that was getting under her skin.
As they turned off the highway and headed toward the Flame house, she saw a shadow flicker in the corner of her eye. JoJo gasped with recognition at the sight.
They were back. They had found her.
Ever since JoJo was a young girl, she had known of the shadow men. They had stalked her and followed her throughout her life and were a constant reminder of the power she held inside—a power she had kept to herself. She prayed they would pass them by, but the shadow men took shape in the middle of the road. Hanish stomped on the brakes. The wheels of the SUV skidded across the blacktop. JoJo screamed.
“Are you all right?” Hanish asked, his arm blocking her chest as they came to a complete stop.
“I’m okay,” she said, catching her breath.
“I’m sorry that you have to see this. I wanted to keep this away from you as long as I could, but it looks like that won’t be possible now.”
“You know about the shadow men?” JoJo asked.
His eyebrows rose. “You know about them?”
“I’ve been seeing them since I was a child.”
“Stay here. I’m going to get rid of them.”
She was going to say something, but he was up and out of the car before she could stop him. The shadow men had stalked her life for as long as she could remember. She had a way of pushing them back into the darkness, and she feared Hanish did not.
The shadow men were dressed in old-fashioned clothing. One wore a suit and held a silver-handled cane. The others were dressed in skinny jeans and hoodies. She didn’t recognize any of them, but she assumed there were different shadow men in America than there were in England.
She could hear muffled words coming from outside, and she struggled to comprehend what was going on. Hanish waved his arms in motions that suggested he was telling them to go away. The man with the cane threw his head back and laughed mockingly at him. They charged at Hanish, opening their mouths and showing their teeth.
Then something incredible happened. The man she had come to have such strong feelings for changed into a massive electric-pink dragon. She launched herself out of the car as the shadow men piled onto him.
Was this what he wanted to tell me about?
“Get away from him!” JoJo screamed, raising her palms toward them.
They all stopped and stared at her with amused expressions. “What are you going to do to us, Dragon Soul?” one of then asked.
“Don’t touch him!” she yelled.
The one with the cane laughed mockingly. “Look. The captain of the House of Storms needs his mate to protect him. Isn’t that cute?”
She took a step closer. “I said—”
Hanish blew a bolt of lightning at the leader, and it burnt his suit to a crisp. He screeched and disappeared in a puff of smoke. JoJo let her power burst through her palms, knocking back the other shadow men. They all fell on their behinds, and Hanish the dragon spewed another bolt of lightning at them. They disappeared like their leader and did not return.
Panting, JoJo turned to dragon Hanish, her mind racing and her heart pounding. He shifted back into the shape of the man she knew. She was so surprised, she had trouble forming words. “What’s… what’s going on?”
“I’ll try to explain, but I think you have some explaining to do yourself.”
They got back in the car and drove the rest of the way to the Flame house in silence, stealing suspicious glances at each other all the way. After they picked up baby Tor and buckled him in, they continued back home.
“How long have you been able to move things without touching them?” Hanish finally asked.
“As long as I can remember. How long have you been a dragon?” She laughed nervously.
“As long as I can remember.”
When they made it to the home, Hanish carried in the bags, while JoJo carried Tor in his car seat. They put him down for a nap, and Hanish made them both a glass of iced coffee.
“Let’s go sit out on the patio,” he said.
They made their way outside and got comfortable at the shaded picnic table in a private corner of the backyard.
“I’m sure you have a lot of questions,” he said.
“That’s putting it mildly.”
“I want to commend you for not fainting,” he said.
“It was a surprise to see a dragon.”
“I was also surprised. But I suppose I shouldn’t be. Aria has powers too. Her song can heal, and it gives us extra speed to our attacks. It’s lucky that she sang to us recently, or I may not have been able to defend us from the vampires.”
“Is that why they plan to return from the tour? I thought you all had some major codependency issues.” She giggled anxiously, almost on the edge of cracking up.
“Ha. I can see why you’d think that. Do you have any questions about my origins?” He reached out and took her hand, trying to help her calm down.
“Where do you come from?”
“Straight to the point then.” He laughed. “Well, it all started over a million years ago.”
“Wait. What? A million years?”
“I come from a planet across the galaxy in a distant solar system called the Dragonia system. On my home planet, our sun began to die, and the dying sun caused the female birth rate to diminish over thousands of years until there were none left.”
“What about Tor? Where did he come from? Is he a dragon?”
“Tor is a dragon. He’s one of the last of his kind. He was birthed by the last female, a Dragoness Prime. She was able to have viable young with dragons who were not her fated mate. In her last gesture of loyalty and love for our species, she took seed from the leaders of each House and gave birth to one final clutch of dragonkin. Tor is her son, and Ember is her daughter.”
“Do most dragons only have one mate?”
Hanish looked at her solemnly and folded his hands around hers. JoJo had the oddest sensation in her chest. She felt as though she knew what was coming, even though it was completely inconceivable.
“The vast majority of dragons only have one mate. I will get to that soon. When the end of the world came, we escaped our dying star as it collapsed in on itself. The survivors searched throughout the galaxy for a new home, coming in and out of stasis for many years until we finally found Earth. It was a habitable planet full of life and possibility. There was a primitive bipedal species inhabiting the planet at that time. They never would have been suitable for mates, but they had a great deal of promise. In an effort to save our race, we scattered the souls of our ancestors—the genetics of Dragonians—across the planet, seeding it with our DNA. We hoped that perhaps somehow it would take root, and that eventually Dragon Souls would be born on this planet.
“And they were. When we awakened just a few months ago, we found the Dragon Souls were here and we’d succeeded in our mission. Humans who have the residue of our DNA can be the fated mates of dragons and give birth to full-dragon young. The men of the House of Flames have all already found their mates, and three of my crew have also found theirs.”
“So you’re saying that all of the Fla
me men and all the Storm men are also dragons?”
“Yes.”
“And you slept in stasis for a million years?”
“Give or take.”
“And what about the shadow men?”
“The vampires were our ancient enemies back on Dragonia. After we left, they most likely devoured all of the other species in that sector and had to find a new home themselves. We estimate the vampires have been on Earth for approximately ten thousand years, weaving their web of control throughout the human population. The dragons have sworn to defend and protect the people of Earth from the vampires. It is our duty.”
“Am I a Dragon Soul?”
“Yes, you are.”
“And I’m your mate?”
“Yes, JoJo. This is what I wanted to tell you last night.”
“How do you know?”
“My inner dragon was quite sure the moment we met. But we dragons use what is called a mating analysis to ensure that the fated mate pair is accurate. When our females began to disappear, it became more and more necessary to know beyond all doubt when a couple was indeed fated. But dragons have always had the intuitive ability to identify their own mates.”
“What does it mean that I’m your mate?”
“It means that you are the only one for me in all of the universe. Aside from the Dragoness Prime, I cannot mate with any other woman. Being a fated mate means we are perfect for each other in every way—not just genetically, but physically, emotionally, and spiritually. At first, we seemed so wrong for each other. But now, I know that it couldn’t be more right.”
JoJo sat in silence, taking in the information. She wasn’t quite sure how to absorb it all. It was just too much. But part of her had always known she was different, especially with the power she hid inside her. Now that she had this explanation of not only her own power but of the dragons and the vampires, everything in her life began to make sense. She sat back in her chair and took a long drink of iced coffee as she gazed across the table at the handsome, charming man whom she’d come to learn was not only a dragon but also her soul mate.
Chapter 13
Hanish ordered takeout for the family, and they all sat around the dining room table with cartons of Chinese food. He heaped a serving of kung pao chicken onto his plate and smiled across the table at JoJo. Now that everything was out in the open between them, he felt a deep sense of contentment and satisfaction.
“Is there any more sweet-and-sour pork?” Raiden asked.
“You already ate two cartons,” Hanish said.
JoJo used her chopsticks to plop a piece of walnut shrimp into her mouth. He could tell she thought the interaction between him and his men was funny. He’d explained that they weren’t actually brothers but were rather all the same subspecies of dragon. She slipped a spoonful of applesauce into Tor’s mouth and wiped his chin when he spit it back out.
After checking her watch, she stood and picked up the child. “I’ll be getting baby Tor to bed now.”
“Is it that time already?” Hanish asked.
“It is.”
He watched her walk out of the dining room with his son, and his heart warmed at the sight.
“I saw you two talking on the patio this afternoon,” Zephyr said. “What was that all about?”
“We were attacked by vampires on the road. JoJo has special Dragon Soul powers like Aria. But I didn’t know that until after I’d shifted. When we got home, I told her everything.”
“What will you do now?” Zephyr asked.
“We need to teach those vampires a lesson,” Raiden said. “They can’t go around attacking us while we’re driving around with our mates.”
“We can’t do anything about the vampires now,” Hanish said. “Aria’s song is barely maintaining our strength. We have to wait until she returns.”
“That is a wise observation, Captain,” Zephyr said in agreement.
“I’m going to help JoJo put Tor to bed.”
“Good night,” Raiden said before shoving a spring roll into his mouth.
Hanish hurried upstairs to the nursery and tiptoed through the door. He found JoJo dressing Tor after his bath. She picked him up and gently laid him in his crib.
Hanish walked over and gave his son a little squeeze. “Good night, sweet child.”
Tor gurgled, and JoJo smiled down at the baby. “He’s had a long day. He’s ready to sleep.”
They turned off the lights in the nursery except for the teddy bear night-light and crept out of the door. They stood in the hallway outside the nursery staring at each other like two awkward teenagers.
“Come with me,” Hanish finally said.
“What is it?” she asked as he led her into his bedroom and closed the door behind them.
“Only that I need to kiss you.” He took her in his arms and pressed his lips against hers.
She groaned in agreement and wrapped her arms around his neck. He kissed her deeply and ravenously before picking her up and carrying her to his bed. As soon as he placed her on the sheets, he began to pull her out of the prim and proper nanny uniform. She gasped at his abrupt behavior but didn’t stop him.
Soon, he had her down to her lacy black underthings, and her glasses were folded on the nightstand. Her dark hair tumbling on the white sheets was a sharp contrast to the tweed suit and tight bun she usually wore. She looked so beautiful like that, he could barely contain himself. He yanked off his shirt and threw it on the floor then stepped out of his boots, kicked them across the room, and pulled off his pants. He climbed over his shapely mate and tugged her panties down her hips.
“Oh, Hanish.” She ran her fingers through his hair.
He spread her legs and found her sex glistening with need. He took a deep draw of her scent, his eyes rolling back in his head at the delicious smell of her. He licked up her slit, tasting her sweet nectar. Nothing had ever tasted so delicious, not even the ambrosia of the cloud wineries of Dragonia. He licked her sex, holding her hips wide as she threaded her fingers through his hair.
His tongue slid deeper between her folds, focusing on the tight bundle of nerves that gave human women so much pleasure. She was the first female he had ever made love to, and licking her sex gave him immense pleasure, perhaps as much as it gave her. He loved the feeling of her wet flesh under his tongue, the sweet tang of her scent, and the way she groaned and bucked her hips against him. It was absolute ecstasy in every sense of the word.
He needed this woman. He needed to make her his. But first, he wanted to see her frantic with release. He wanted to hear her scream his name with complete abandon and enraptured pleasure. Hanish wagged his tongue on her clit and slid his fingers inside her.
She threw back her head as her body throbbed on his tongue, calling out her orgasm in deep-throated moans. “Yes, yes,” she groaned, gripping his hair more tightly. “Oh my God.”
He growled at the feeling of her body releasing and at the sound of her voice as she climaxed. So much beauty and so much pleasure all contained within one prim and proper English nanny. He climbed over her and unfastened her bra then licked her tight, swollen nipples one after the other.
She wrapped her hands around his neck and stared into his eyes. Her eyes were full of lust and desire. She wrapped her legs around his waist and pulled him closer. “I want you. I won’t take no for an answer.”
He growled and reached for the nightstand drawer beside his bed. “Who am I to deny you?” he asked, ripping open the condom and slipping it over his hard cock.
She smiled at him and bit her lip. “Thank you for not making me have to ask.”
“I can’t hold back anymore.”
He slid his cock over her entrance and pressed it against her clit, sliding up and down over her core. He claimed her mouth deeply with his thrusting tongue. Angling his hips back, he pushed into her channel and sighed with deep pleasure.
“JoJo,” he growled into her ear as he pulled back and thrust again.
She gasped, her pussy clen
ching around his cock. Being inside her was almost too much to bear, and he feared he wouldn’t be able to contain himself. But he drew back again and thrust harder and faster as she came beautifully on his cock. His sharp teeth descended in his mouth. He brushed her hair back to lick her neck. As his orgasm barreled forward, he saw something that stopped him dead in his tracks. There was a mark on her neck. He hadn’t seen it the night before, but now it was all he could see.
“What is this?” he growled.
“It’s nothing. An old scar.”
“It’s not nothing,” he said.
“Please don’t stop,” she begged.
He held her tight and felt the deep need erupting inside him. He spilled his seed as her pussy throbbed around him. They held each other tight as the aftershocks of pleasure filled them both. He pulled away, drawing her into his arms. She moaned as he held her, but Hanish couldn’t help thinking about the mark on her neck. It looked so similar to the mark of a mate, it had stopped him from claiming her. He couldn’t get it out of his head.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“It’s nothing,” he lied. He would have to ask her about it tomorrow. Worrying about it right then made him feel like a fool. But he couldn’t forget what he had seen. His prim and proper nanny had been marked by another. Hanish was devastated, and he no longer knew where he stood. He would have to get to the bottom of it, or everything would be ruined. As he held her in his arms, he vowed not to let his fear destroy the life they could have. He had just found her, and he wasn’t about to let her go.
Chapter 14
JoJo woke up beside Hanish the second morning in a row and stroked his stubbled cheek. The realization that they were together continued to sink in. The night before had been so lovely… until he’d seen the mark on her neck.
She would never forget how it happened. A boy she had been dating in her freshman year of college had bitten her, and the wound had never healed quite right. From Hanish’s reaction, she had a feeling the bite was something worse than she’d ever believed. JoJo had never put the pieces together before. The shadow men were vampires. She placed her fingertips on the mark as she slid out of bed. Was the boy who bit me a vampire?
Hanish: House of Storms (Dragon Guardians Book 6) Page 7
