“Human blood,” she murmured. “The one in the alley—was he going to…?”
“Consume yours?” Aegis shook his head. “Probably not. Not yet, at least. He wanted something from you first.”
“Maybe.” Ashlyn recalled the word the Forsaken had used. Relic. She trusted Aegis, but they'd only known each other for a short span of time, and she was still digesting the fact that he could turn into a damn Dragon. It probably wouldn't be a good idea to let him in on that bit of information. “So if the Forsaken are half-vampire, they can't go out in the daytime, I assume?” She managed a half-smirk as she asked the question, though the Dragon shifter could tell that she was feeling uneasy.
“Heh. That part's a bit of a myth about the blood seekers. They also don't turn into bats—at least most of them don't. But they do prefer the cover that night provides them. Which is one reason you shouldn't be wandering alone after dark.”
Aegis watched Ashlyn's hands intertwine again in reaction to his words. He could feel her tension, the fear rising in her throat. “That man—the Forsaken who attacked me—he knew my name,” she said softly. “My full name. He called me Ashlyn Raleigh.”
The shifter couldn't help himself; he leaned forward in his seat and reached for her, gently pulling her hands apart and taking one in each of his.
“Look at me,” he said, and she obeyed. The whites of her beautiful eyes had gone pink. He could see for the first time that she was truly frightened, and he hated that reality with every fibre of his being. “Tell me Ashlyn, where are you staying? Is it near here?”
She nodded, her blond hair falling over her features in ribbons. “Just down the street…near the alley where that man…the Forsaken…”
Aegis ground his molars together. His Dragon was growing angry, protectively dictating his next move, and for once he chose not to fight its demands. He wasn't the smoothest guy in the universe, but he had no choice but to say what he was thinking. “You can't stay there tonight. If he found you and he knows your name, you won't be safe at your place. There will be others looking for you as well, and they might not come alone. I still don't know what the Forsaken could possibly want with you, but I can't in good conscience leave you alone tonight.”
“But where the hell am I going to go? It's not like I'm rich. Hotels are expensive.”
“Yes, but my place is very cheap,” Aegis said, offering a smile. “Free, even.” This wasn't exactly how he'd hoped to get her to come home with him, but it was a start.
“Pfft,” she said, letting out a timid laugh. “Let me get this straight: you saw me in a bar, followed me down a dark street and you're now apparently trying to use the worst pick-up line I've ever heard to get me to come home with you?”
“Pick-up line? Me?” He replied, feigning total innocence. "If I were going for a pick-up line, I'd use something like You must get a lot of speeding tickets, because you've got fine written all over you."
Ashlyn put on her best low man-voice. “Instead you use the ol' 'Some crazy half-vampires want to kill you, baby, so why don't you come spend the night at my place? You can sleep under me. You know—for protection.' Very gallant.”
“Right, you've nailed your impression of me. So, is my extraordinary charm working?”
Ashlyn let out a genuine laugh and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. “A little. I guess I don't have a choice; I can't wander the streets all night, obviously, and I can't check into the Ritz. But I don't want to be an inconvenience to you.”
“Not at all,” Aegis said, trying his best to conceal his joy. An inconvenience? You, coming into my home? Your scent on my towels, my chairs…my…bed? Try the best night ever. “You may be surprised to learn that I have a rather large…house.”
Ashlyn shot him a chastising glance and ignored the innuendo. “Really? I thought real estate in London was really expensive. I expected you to tell me you lived in a four-by-four bachelor pad.”
“Not exactly. And real estate in London is really expensive, but most of my Guild of shifters manages to live here in spite of that inconvenient fact.”
“Sorry, I don't mean to be nosy, but how can they afford it?”
“Dragons stockpile gold,” he said, his tone dead serious.
“Really?”
“No, American woman, they don't. But I've invested well, let's say. I'm not lacking in funds, and the same could be said for my friends.” He deliberately neglected to mention that he was well over a hundred years old, and had had plenty of years to accumulate substantial riches.
“Well, if you're sure I won't be any trouble, I suppose…”
Oh, you'll be trouble. At least I hope so. “It's no problem whatsoever.”
“Right. I'll stay tonight,” she told him, pulling a mobile phone from her pocket. “But I'm going to email your name and address to someone I know so that if they find me in a dumpster tomorrow, they know who put me there. What's your full name and address?”
“Aegis Dunkirk. 51 Cathcart Street, Oxford.”
Ashlyn's fingers typed furiously before stopping abruptly. “Wait,” she said, narrowing her eyes at him. “I thought you lived in London. Oxford is hours away, isn't it?”
“My house is in Oxford. But it's not far, not as the crow or the Dragon flies,” he told her. “It'll only take us a few minutes.”
“So you have a car?”
“No. I wasn't joking about the Dragon bit.”
“You...I mean your Dragon form...can fly?”
He nodded. “Otherwise the huge wings would be rather useless.”
The look on Ashlyn's face was one of utter wonderment and delight. “But…how will I…?”
“You'll ride me,” he said, restraining himself from saying the rest out loud. The thought of those thighs of hers straddling any part of him, shifted or not, was the most arousing thing in the world. Please ride me. Straddle me with those sexy gams of yours. Preferably when we get to my place, and preferably naked.
“Well, I used to ride ponies when I was little,” she said, her words a lovely and innocent contrast to his salacious thoughts. “How different could your Dragon possibly be? I mean other than the fact that I assume there won't be a saddle.”
He shook his head. “No saddle,” he said. "So bareback it is."
Flight
When Ashlyn had swigged the last of her beer she set the glass down, threw her satchel’s strap over her neck and stood up. “I’m ready to go,” she said, stretching her arms. “Though I should probably pop by my flat and grab a toothbrush.”
Aegis shook his head. “I’d advise against going back there; it’s not safe. Besides, I have an extra that’s never been opened, and anything else you could possibly need.”
A pang of jealousy hit Ashlyn square in the chest at the thought that perhaps the shifter kept toiletries around in case a woman popped by to stay the night. Was this a regular occurrence? Yes, of course it was. You couldn’t look like Aegis and not have a constant stream of women showing up on your doorstep.
“All right,” she replied. “Whatever you say.” She followed him out to the courtyard again, trying her best to conceal her envy. When they’d stepped outside she hugged her arms around her shoulders, a cool breeze blasting her skin into a series of goosebumps running in tidy rows along her flesh.
“Everything all right?” Aegis asked.
She dared a look into his eyes. Those strangely bright, deep pools that would change in a moment into those of a great beast. Beautiful windows into his mind, a mix of kindness and vigilance, alert yet gentle. She’d seen desire in them more than once since they’d first stared at one another at the other pub.But now she wondered if he still wanted her or if she was simply a project; someone for his Dragon to look after and protect from some mysterious foe.
She nodded her head. “Everything’s fine. I’m ready when you are.”
A moment later the sound of brittle, crackling wood met her ears again, and then he was there. The midnight blue creature of scale and smoke, huffing as he flatt
ened his chin to the ground as if to say, “Climb on.”
She slipped onto his neck, which was as wide as any horse’s back, and squeezed her thighs around his smooth sides. Would he feel slippery? No, it seemed that her seat was solid, her grip firm between her knees. The Dragon was meant to be ridden, even if his human counterpart wasn't.
Holding onto a sort of vertical mane of scales at his neck, Ashlyn gasped when Aegis took off, arching first his neck and then the rest of him into the sky as his wings unfurled like enormous blue-black sails. And within seconds they were soaring over the city of London, its multitude of lights reflecting in the winding Thames below.
Ashlyn’s heart rammed a mile a minute in her chest at the knowledge that there was no seatbelt holding her in place, but as her mount ascended her stress level decreased. She belonged here, in this odd place on a Dragon’s back. Even the air felt warmer up here, comforting in its distance from the threats on the ground far below. She let up on her grip, allowing a hand to slip down to his neck, her fingertips stroking his scales as his body shot through the sky.
“I wonder if you can understand me,” she said. “When I speak, I mean.”
The Dragon didn’t reply—no, of course he didn’t. Why would he? The beast was essentially an animal, no doubt focused on little more than hunting down enemies and going from point A to point B.
“Good," she added. "Well, if you can't register what I'm saying, I suppose I can tell you that you—I mean, your human form—he’s the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen in my life. Like seriously, crazy sexy. I don’t know what I’m doing, heading to your place with you—with him, I mean. I don’t know what’s going to happen. But I do know that I’m suddenly very sad to know that I’ll be leaving this place. For some insane reason it breaks my heart to know that I’ll have to say good-bye to you very soon.”
The Dragon didn't react. Ashlyn stopped talking, relieved all the same to have let the words out. Something about Aegis was more than attractive. He made her feel as though he was the answer to every question she'd ever had. Perhaps he was even the reason she'd come to England, though the thought of it seemed ridiculous. But maybe her journey had less to do with her parents and the item in her bag than with this amazing man and what he’d only begun to teach her about his world. Maybe he was her destiny.
How on earth could she ever return to the life she’d known, now that she’d met him? How could she walk away? Easy. She had no choice. This place wasn’t her home.
So why the hell did she feel like it was?
* * *
Silently Aegis took in the words that Ashlyn spoke to his Dragon. They flowed through his blood, a blissful elixir offered up by her sensual lips. He wanted desperately to reply, to unleash his Dragon’s tacit voice into her mind. To tell her what he was feeling.
Full. That was it. Full of desire, lust, warmth. Everything good in the world was inside of her. He wanted to take possession of her body, to link himself to her mind. She’d walked into his life on this night and filled a hole that had so long ago settled in the centre of his chest. With each second that he’d spent near her, the gulf at his core had closed up a little more. The long-lasting emptiness was disappearing because of her. She was the most incredible creature he’d ever met.
It seemed mad to think it so soon, but he never wanted her to be anywhere again but in his life, by his side. He would spend his life devoting himself to her happiness, her safety and well, to fulfilling her every sexual need.
But of course he didn’t respond to her sweet, beautiful words. She’d already had too profound an effect on him; to open himself up further would have been to render things overly complicated. The closer they grew, the harder it would be to send her away from himself. She was going to leave soon, she was to be torn away from him before they’d ever kissed.
But it was better this way. Because if he got a taste of her he might never be able to let her go.
Damn it, why the hell did he have to let her go?
After fifteen minutes or so of silent flight he began his descent into the outskirts of Oxford. He could feel Ashlyn leaning forward, her palms flat on either side of his neck as his wings beat the air then spread wide, gliding them towards his property.
Below them was his house, a slate-roofed Victorian mansion of grey-brown limestone. It was among the oldest houses in Oxford, once owned by the family of some Earl or other. Of course, that was before his ancestors had taken possession of the land.
When Aegis had touched down in his vast back garden, Ashlyn eased off and slid down his body, her mouth slightly open as she studied the back of the house. “Who the hell are you, the King or something?” she asked.
Aegis shifted and stepped towards the front door, taking care to keep his distance from her. “Something like that,” he said. “Though I don’t have a throne. And I don’t have a boatload of servants; only a pile of witty Dragon shifters at my disposal.”
“Well, your house is amazing, and I haven’t even seen the inside. I was worried that you wouldn’t have room for me, but I suppose I don’t need to lose any sleep over imposing or crowding you.”
“Nope. You can see that there's plenty of space,” Aegis said, pressing his thumb to a glowing pad to the right of the door.
“What’s that?” Ashlyn asked, leaning forward.
“Fingerprint recognition,” he said. “I prefer it to keys. I’m very good at losing things, but fortunately my fingers generally stay where they’re meant to be.”
Ashlyn chuckled. “I see. So you’re saying that I can't leave in the middle of the night and expect to get back in?”
He pushed the door open and ushered her into an enormous kitchen. “If you end up staying for a while, we’ll program it to recognize your prints as well.”
“If I stay,” she replied, her neck craning as Aegis led her down a long hallway towards a front foyer. As they moved, lights along the walls illuminated around them, casting a warm glow on the dark wooden floor. When they reached the front of the house a giant crystal chandelier revealed itself in a burst of light from above, displaying an ornate ceiling that must have been fifty feet away from the floor. A broad marble staircase led up to the second storey, twisting away from the mansion's front door.
“So you really are rich,” Ashlyn breathed, turning to face Aegis as he stopped next to her. “Not that I care about that sort of thing.”
Aegis smiled. “Not that you care. But since you mentioned it, I do have money. Though it doesn’t mean much to me. It’s not as though I have anything—or anyone—to spend it on.”
“Well, as a modern woman I have no desire for a sugar daddy. But I’m sure you could find plenty of ladies who would love to take that cash off your hands,” she joked.
“I’m sure you’re right,” said Aegis, his face dead serious. “But I’m not a plenty-of-ladies sort of fellow.”
“No?” Ashlyn asked, strolling about the foyer, her hands locked behind her back. She looked so beautiful, so at home in his house. Natural, inquisitive, playful. And her mood had shifted. Perhaps it was something of a relief to discover that he didn’t have a harem of women awaiting him.
“No. I’m a one lady sort,” he replied, taking a step towards her before stopping himself. Down, Aegis. She’s leaving soon. Stupid Dragon wants her, but he’s confused and doesn’t get that this is a temporary situation. Our job is only to protect her.
“Well, lucky lady, whoever she is,” Ashlyn said, turning back to face him.
“There is no lady, lucky or otherwise. But I would surrender this house and all of its contents to be with the mate of my choosing,” Aegis replied. “So I’m not sure how lucky she really is; she might end up with a penniless bloke, living in a cardboard box by the Thames.”
“She’s definitely lucky, in that case.” This time it was Ashlyn who took a step closer. For a moment she looked as though she was going to touch him again, her hand poised in the air, contemplating contact. And he wanted it. He wondered if her desire
could possibly be as powerful as his own. Well, one thing was certain: his damned hard-on was back with a vengeance. God, how this woman tortures my body.
But Ashlyn set her hand down at her side, fighting off whatever had compelled her to approach.
“Drink?” Aegis shot out to diffuse the tension in the air, his voice higher than he would have liked. It seemed that his testosterone had deserted his vocal cords to move in with his balls.
“Sure. After tonight’s series of insane events, I could use another one. And then possibly another.”
“Me too. Come, then.” He guided her into a large living area with comfortable looking couches, where a side board housed several crystal decanters containing rich coloured liquor.
“I hope you like scotch,” he said, grabbing a glass as Ashlyn pulled off her boots and took a seat on the longer of the couches.
“I love it,” she replied. “Always have.”
“There’s definitely a little of the old country in you, then.” He poured her a glass before doing the same for himself, then joined her on the couch, handing her drink over.
“No doubt,” she said, clinking her glass against his. “By the way, we’re supposed to make eye contact when we toast. Otherwise it’s seven years of bad sex for us both.”
“Seven years, you say? I’ll take it, if it’s with you,” Aegis said, daring to allow himself some forwardness. “And if we do make eye contact?”
“Then seven years great sex, apparently.”
“Even better.” He stared into her eyes as he tasted the scotch. Any excuse to look at her was a welcome one.
Ashlyn smiled as she took her first sip. “Wow. This is the good stuff,” she said. “Warms the cockles of my heart.”
“Good. That’s the point. Your cockles are very important to me.”
I’m sure you have very nice cockles yourself, Aegis." Ashlyn looked around the room, admiring the furnishings, the tall windows and their long, rich curtains, before her eyes settled on the massive fireplace opposite the couch.
Dragon's Lover: Part One Page 6
