Tianna replied, “If you’re the Kai of legend, you would be over 1000 years old. Draaks can’t live that long.”
He replied with pride in his voice, “They can if they are strong in dark powers like I am. I found a way to live forever. Join me and I can make you immortal too.”
Tianna wanted to ask him additional questions about his history, but she wanted out of this room more. “Please let me go,” she pleaded. “You can have any female you want. Pick someone that doesn‘t despise you.” She gave him a look of pure hate.
He smiled. “I want no other. I’ve searched for hundreds of years for my mate. Now that I’ve found you, no one else will do.”
She shook her head in defiance. “For the hundredth time, I’m not your mate!”
Kai chuckled at her stubbornness. “You are my mate. That isn’t a question but a fact. The sooner you accept it, the easier this will be.” He began to crawl onto the bed and continued. “And when we’re physically mated, you’ll lose all of those silly feelings you think you have for the Draaks you travel with. Together, we’ll give birth to a new Wizard Sett and our family will rule all the land.”
Tianna‘s face was full of disgust. “You’re mad.”
Kai shrugged his shoulders. “Not mad, just determined. I’m committed to a goal and willing to do whatever it takes to achieve it.” He smiled at her, knowing that she was his current obsession and added, “It will be as I’ve said, and you WILL be by my side. I’ve already seen it.”
He stayed on his hands and knees, crouching low as he slinked slowly toward her. His body gave out a low growl as he moved. It was like watching a panther hunt. Much to her displeasure, her breath quickened as her body responded to the sounds he made and knowing that she was his prey.
When he gazed at her with eyes of pure desire, she couldn’t help but lick her lips and she wondered where these feelings within her were coming from. She feared this man, so why does she suddenly want nothing more than to have his hands touching her body? Concentrating hard, she forced back her urges.
When he reached her side, he sat up with his knees tucked under him. He gazed at her body, starting at her head and slowly moving toward her feet. While admiring her legs, he commented, “Sorry about the chains but you have a tendency to run. I wanted you to stay for a while.” He continued his eye journey back up to her face. “Mate, you’re a lovely little thing.”
In a voice as sweet as she could make it under the circumstances, she pleaded, “Please let me go. I’m not the one you want. I’m not even pure Draak. We could never mate.”
He smiled at her. “You are Draak, and I’ve seen our future together.” He raised his hand to touch the side of her cheek. Using speed she didn’t realized she could wield, she grabbed his wrist before it could reach its destination.
He stared at her fingers wrapped around his wrist and said, “See, you are Draak.” He pulled his hand up to his face and gave a gentle kiss to her knuckles. He leaned in a little closer to her face while hugging her hand to his chest. “I love your spirit mate, but this is my night.”
The scene quickly changed. In speed so fast Tianna didn’t even see him move, he yanked his hand out of her grasp, grabbed both of her wrists, and pushed her down flat on the bed. He yanked her arms up so they were above her head, pressing his body down on top of hers. As he moved, she heard him chanting. When he released his grip, she found silver fur covered chains had appeared around her wrists.
“Now that’s better,” Kai said with a satisfied smile. He settled in lazily on top of her and said, “Let’s talk.”
Tianna struggled for a moment, realizing quickly that she couldn’t overpower the chains or the Draak on top of her. She responded with a sarcastic tone. “Fine. What do you want to talk about? The weather?”
He chuckled and shifted positions so he was lying next to her, resting on his elbow. He left his leg draped over her thighs and let his fingers do a lazy trip up and down the center of her body. “Let’s talk about you and me of course, and our future together.” His eyes jumped quickly back to her face. He interrupted her before she could respond. “You can’t fight fate. We ARE destined to be together.”
He continued to inspect her body, making swirling motions with his fingers on her upper chest’s exposed skin. “Even now I can feel your pulse race when I touch you. You want me as much as I want you. I can taste the need in you.”
Tianna knew he was right. A part of her body needed him, craving to be touched. Her mind was still willing to fight, however, she was going to fight with everything she had inside her.
He bent down to give her a kiss. “Let me prove it to you.” She moved her head away, but he grabbed her chin, holding her in place. He gave her a gentle kiss on her lips and, the moment their lips touched, a fire erupted inside her. Her inner Black Dragon stirred, very pleased and wanting more.
Feeling the change, he said, “Just let yourself go and kiss me back, mate.” He gently licked along her bottom lip and then between her lips trying to entice her to open her mouth to him. When she wouldn‘t comply, he grabbed some of her hair that was brushing against his hand and pulled hard. When she opened her mouth to yell, he pressed his mouth tightly over hers and began to explore her mouth not so gently with his tongue. She could hear and feel him purr.
Her Black Dragon was screaming at her to give in just as loud as Kai’s dragon was demanding to be released.
When he had explored her mouth thoroughly, he backed away from her face and said, “Ahhh, you taste even sweeter than I expected.”
Tianna was now panting hard and fighting the need building within her.
He scanned her body and said, “Let’s continue my little experiment.” He began to kiss a line to her chin and then down to her neck. Once at her pulse point, he gave her a little nibble.
Tianna couldn’t hold back and a soft moan escaped.
He rubbed his body against hers and purred. “That’s more like it. Don’t fight it, mate. It’s right for you to want my affections.” He continued his kissing path off her neck and down into the deep V of her nightgown.
Tianna’s pulse was racing and she forced back a scream.
He gazed up at her and said, “Let’s see what other kinds of sounds I can make come out of you,” and he pulled the nightgown back to expose one of her breasts.
As Tianna gasped and tried to struggle, her inner dragon screamed “Yes!” in her mind.
He cupped her breast and gently squeezed. He bent down and began to kiss and lick a circular path around her nipple, which was now hard and begging for his attention. Between licks, he spoke with a devilish smile on his face, “I saw your talents in Eden so I know you like to bite, but do you like to be bitten? I wonder…”
Tianna struggled to maintain control. How could he have seen what happened in Eden? What else had he heard and seen? She tried to think of anything else in an attempt to calm her reaction to his touch.
He gently lifted her breast to his open mouth and drew in her nipple. She could feel his tongue playing with her and her dragon let out a low growl in approval. He took in more of her breast, causing Tianna to let out a moan. This sound motivated Kai and, with her breast still in his mouth, he bit her.
Tianna’s back arched as she let out a cry of pleasure.
Kai was instantly assaulted by a Black Dragon mating scent. He breathed in deep as he released her from his mouth. He watched as drops of blood slowly dripped down the sides of her breast and, like a cat, he licked long slow strokes to catch the lines of blood as they formed. His body stiffened as he was overwhelmed by the burn down his throat and his dragon’s desires burst into flames.
Kai purred loudly. To Tianna’s displeasure, her body responded with her own purr. Hearing this sound made Kai's body tremble involuntarily. “See, you can’t deny that we’re perrrrfectly matched, Kitten. You have my panther within you.” He continued to lick her wounds like she was the best dessert he had ever tasted. Tianna was breathing hard and trying to reac
quire the ability to speak.
When her wounds finally stopped bleeding, Kai sat up just enough so that he could look into her eyes. “You taste like an exquisite wine.” He licked off a drop of blood that was resting on his lower lip. “The taste of your blood proves to me that we’re a perfect match. I want no other.”
She fought with all of her might to calm her pulse and her inner dragon. She glared at Kai without showing any fear. “But, I don’t want you. I care for another.”
Kai knew exactly who she was referring to and felt how strong her feelings were for her protector. Thoughts of Tianna with the Healer Draak made his dragon growl within his mind. He commanded, “She’s mine!” His dragon’s reactions to her confirmed that she was the one and must become his. He needed to find a way to get Nathaniel out of the way and quick. His dragon offered a suggestion and Kai’s smile grew in excitement as a plan formed in his mind.
Returning his attention to Tianna, he rolled his eyes. “You’re speaking of that Draak Nathaniel. Your feelings are misplaced in him. He’s just playing with you and your affections, a challenge to be won. He doesn’t want a mate. He wants a playmate. He loves his freedom and won’t give it up easily. When he tires of you, he’ll betray you, and when he does, I’ll be waiting with open arms.”
“He would never hurt me. He loves me.”
He chuckled and said, “We shall see.”
Between her mating scent and the taste of her blood, his head was spinning. His dragon stirred restlessly, and he could feel himself losing control. He was overwhelmed and unprepared for the extent of his body’s reaction to the tiny creature now pinned beneath him. He adjusted himself again so that he was lying directly on top of her with his mouth positioned at the top of her breast, which now carried a perfect imprint of his rather sharp teeth.
Tianna felt his arousal pressed tightly against her leg and watched as black scales began to appear on his chest. Panic filled her as she watched him starting to shift.
It took all of his inner strength to hold back his building desire. He licked a long line up her chest, letting out another deep growl. “Alas, as you can now tell, your body is taking me to the edge of my control. When I take you to my bed as my mate, I want to do it with real flesh on flesh, not in a dream.” He paused for a moment and gave her a smoldering smile. “Also, when I take you, it will be because you’re begging me for it.”
Tianna’s anger gave her strength. She pushed back her inner dragon and yelled, “Never! I’ll never let you take me. I’ll fight you.”
Kai chuckled his response, saying, “We’ll see.”
He rubbed his cheek on her breast and purred. “I do want to give you something to remind you and your Draaks who your rightful mate is.” He gave her breast the gentlest of kisses and blew dragon fire on a spot over her rapidly beating heart. He dropped his body down onto hers as she let out a scream. He kept her pinned flat as she tried to arch back away from the agonizing pain shooting through her body. Her chest felt like it was on fire.
The last thing she heard was Kai whispering in her ear, “Next time we meet, I’ll take all of you, for you, and this lovely body of yours, are now mine. And nothing will come between us… any who try, will die.”
*~*~*~*
Tianna woke to her screams and shot up in bed with a sharp stabbing pain in her chest. In a panic, she ripped off her nightshirt. Staring down at her breast, she saw a mark where there had previously been only soft flesh.
Gabriel shot to his feet. Knowing that Tianna again had been attacked by Kai, he grabbed his sword and went on alert, scanning the trees around them.
Seth was instantly beside him and said, “I don’t smell them.”
Instead of tears, Tianna became angry. She was furious. She hated Kai for what he did to her and hated herself even more for the way he had made her feel. With pure rage, she glared over at Nathaniel who was now sitting up and staring at her new mark as well as the spots of blood that formed the shape of a bite. “Get this thing off me!” she screamed. She started to dig her fingers into the mark until blood started to flow.
Nathaniel grabbed her hands, trying to stop her. She scanned her protectors and begged, “Can someone get this thing off of me? Please!” Tianna continued to plead but, based on the look in their eyes, she knew that they couldn’t remove it any more than she could.
She snapped her attention over to Gabriel and yelled, “Give me your dagger. NOW!”
Gabriel knew what she was thinking of doing and refused. “I won’t allow you to mutilate yourself in an attempt to remove the mark.”
“But I have to get it off!” Tianna started to struggle even harder. Nathaniel had to pin her arms behind her back in an attempt to subdue her.
Marcus bent down to take a closer look. His eyes opened wide in horror, but he kept his voice soft. “It’s a partial mark of the Black Dragon.”
Tianna knew what the mark was before he said it, but hearing it said out loud made her stomach churn. She started to gag and looked over her shoulder at Nathaniel, begging “Let me go. I’m going to be sick.”
He instantly released her and she ran for the nearest bush, throwing up violently. Nathaniel was right by her side. When he attempted to rub her back, she flinched away from him. In a defeated voice, she whispered, “Please don’t touch me. I don’t deserve to be touched since I let him do this to me. I should’ve fought harder.” She slumped forward with her head hanging low, feeling ashamed.
Touching her lightly on her shoulder, Nathaniel pleaded, “Please come back to the bed so we can talk.”
She gazed up into Nathaniel’s eyes and couldn’t argue. She wasn’t angry with him. When he held out his hand, she took it and let him lead her back to their bed. Using his blue fire, he healed the bite and took away the pain from the marking. He then helped her put on his shirt.
They all sat down quietly around her as she sat back up straight. The first one to speak was, to everyone surprise, Tianna. She said, “Kai is right about something. I know now that I do have a part of him inside me. I can‘t deny it any longer. I feel him draw me to him, and part of me didn’t want to fight it.” She looked directly at Nathaniel. “You know the part of me that gives me the ability to move through the woods without a sound, like a cat? That comes from him. He has panther inside him and so do I.”
Nathaniel gave her a sad smile. He loved it when she purred but now that sound was going to have a whole new meaning.
She looked over at Marcus, “He told me that he is the Kai of legend. He said that he’s found a way to make himself immortal.” She added in a defeated voice, “This will never end until he has me.”
Nathaniel drew her to him and hugged her tight.
Marcus leaned over and put his hand on her leg. “We’ll never let that happen.”
Seth added his touch saying, “You’re not alone and we’ll always be by your side.”
Gabriel joined in and said, “We’ll protect you until our last dying breath.”
Tianna snapped up straight, causing the Draaks to pull back their hands abruptly. She shook her head. “That’s exactly the point. I don’t want any of you to die for me. I’d give up my life to keep you all safe. You’re my family.” Her voice broke as she surveyed her protectors with love in her eyes.
Her expression quickly changed again as she came to a decision. With a look full of determination, she said, “If he’ll kill to get me and he’ll use me to kill untold numbers once he has me, then we must take me out of the equation.”
They all were puzzled, except Nathaniel. He knew exactly what she meant and yelled, “No! That’s NOT an option.”
She turned to look at him and said, “It’s the only way. Maybe if I’m gone, a full out war can be avoided. I won’t allow him to kill any of you to get to me, and I can’t allow him to use me as a weapon. ”
It finally dawned on everyone else what Tianna was suggesting. Seth gasped and asked, “You want us to kill you?” He spoke with complete disgust in his voice. “
I’d gladly give up my own life rather than take a sword to your body. I won’t do it!”
Tianna knew in her heart that her suggestion was in vain since they could never hurt her. “What other options do we have? If Kai is now able to enter my dreams and mark me physically, it won’t be long before he’ll take me away. I know that can’t be allowed to happen. And, I fear if he comes for me, I’ll go willingly. I can feel the Black within me fighting to get out. She wants him and is willing to fight to get to him.”
Seth got something for Tianna to drink. They spent the next hour consoling her, trying to come up with a solution to their problem other than killing her. Kai wasn’t going to be easy to fight since he was attacking her in dreams.
With no clear resolution, the Draak finally convinced Tianna to continue toward Haven with them. Perhaps other magical villages have a way to protect her, and once they reached Haven, she would be completely safe. Marcus reminded them of the late hour and asked everyone to try to get some sleep.
Unquiet Slumber Page 29
