“I’m sorry, little guy,” Zach said. He looked at Erin. “I was stupid.”
“Don’t you dare ever leave me again,” she said, pulling his face to look at her with both hands. His dark eyes were wary, as if he still didn’t know how mad she was.
Flaming mad. Burning mad.
Mad enough to love him for the rest of her life.
She yanked him in hard for a kiss, and he groaned and put his arm up around her. His tongue dove in her mouth, and she met it with hers in a hot, twisted embrace that said how much she’d missed him.
Bo was between them and let out a little mew, and they sat back, breathless.
“Like I said, don’t you ever think of doing that again,” she said.
“I couldn’t if I tried,” he replied, putting a hand over hers.
She looked at his neck. “Your collar is gone. How did that happen?”
“The oracle felt since I was willing to sacrifice my own happiness for what I believed was the safety of a human, it should come off. I was terrified, but it worked out.”
“What do you want to do with this guy?” asked Ran, who was poking Aegis in the forehead.
“We’ll call the oracle. She’ll decide what to do with him,” Zach said.
Then there was a tremendous cracking sound, and the black cocoon split into shards as a green shape took form, bolting into the sky.
Aegis, once again in dragon form, though weak, cackled down at them. “Not this time, Isaac.”
Then he was gone, disappearing in a green puff of smoke through the clouds.
They all gaped in his direction.
Zach shook his head and stood. “Good riddance.” He helped Erin to her feet.
“What if he comes back?”
“He will, for sure,” Zach said. “But it’ll only be a matter of time before he’s collared. And as you can see, he’s no match for me. Drives him crazy.”
Erin blinked. “So you’ve fought him before?”
“All the time. I guess you could say we were rivals.”
She shook her head. “You’re nothing like him.”
“I’m more worried about whoever woke him,” Zach said. “Whoever is doing this and what other dragons they have access to. After this, our lab will be locked down, and I don’t think anyone else will be able to break in to wake up one of the dragons I knew. But there could have been others on other continents.”
She gaped.
He put his arm around her. “Are you regretting this? Hooking up with a dragon when the world is about to be complicated?”
She took Bo from Zach and hugged him to her, listening to him purr. Then she looked over at Ran, who was walking toward Draven and Melissa and Rin, hugging them close.
“No,” she said. “Because it’s not complicated at all.”
“No?” he asked, slipping his arm around her waist and giving her a playful squeeze.
“No,” she said. “It’s the simplest thing in the world. I love you. You love me. We’ll get through it all together.” She grinned at the others. “With some help.”
He nodded, touched by her statement.
“Plus, we’ll have that lady who collared you on our side, right?”
“Yes,” Zach said. “You’ll probably have to meet her at some point. Probably soon.” He ran a hand through his rich, dark hair. How she’d missed seeing that hair in the short time he’d been gone.
“I’m fine with that,” she said. “I’m fine with all of that.”
When they reached Melissa and the others, Melissa ran forward to hug Erin. Then she lightly slapped Zach across the face, making all the men flinch.
Zach scowled down at her. “What was that for?”
“For leaving us,” Melissa said. Then she gave him a quick hug. “And that’s for coming back.” She stepped back against her big dragons, both of whom were looking possessive. “You better take good care of her.”
“I will,” Zach said. “She’s the greatest treasure I’ve ever found.”
“Speaking of which,” Erin said. “You should have access to your treasure again, right?”
Zach cocked his head. “Oh yeah. You want to go see it?”
She shook her head. “Right now, I just want to go home. Rest.” Her eyes wandered over him suggestively. “See how well you can grovel.”
“Oh, I can grovel extremely well. On my knees if necessary,” he said, one side of his mouth tilting up in a grin.
“Think of the children!” Ran said, covering Rin’s ears.
“Yeah, get a room,” Draven said, smirking.
Melissa looked at them apologetically. “You’d think these two weren’t the biggest pervs on the planet.”
“I guess it’s a dragon thing,” Erin said. And they all laughed. “All right,” she said, turning to Zach, who had just borrowed car keys from Ran. “Let’s head out.”
17
When they were back in their apartment, Bo sleeping safely in his room, Zach still couldn’t believe how quickly Erin had forgiven him.
He knew she was the kind type, one who was nice to others and gave them lots of chances, but he also had an idea of how badly he’d hurt her.
As she set down her things and walked into her bedroom to change, he followed her quietly.
As she turned on the shower and waited for the water to get hot, he sat on the bed, watching.
He just wanted to sink into the moment, watching her change, feeling the steam fill the room, but he couldn’t. Not until he figured things out. Knew they were really good for sure.
He didn’t want her to just bottle it up and explode on him.
“Erin,” he said, and she looked over at him, mahogany hair already dampening from the steam. Pale, curvy body wrapped only in a towel.
Breathtakingly beautiful to him.
“Yes?”
“Why did you forgive me so fast?” he asked.
“I guess because as mad as I was that you left me, I was just that much happier to see you again. Plus, I had a talk with Melissa that helped. She sort of made me see your side of things. Or at least gave me hope that you’d be back. That the oracle wouldn’t accept your request to go back to sleep.”
“She’s smarter than I am; that’s for sure,” he said.
She twisted her hair over her shoulder, gathering it all together. “Is it weird? Having your collar off?”
He shrugged. “Not as weird as I thought. I was worried about what was inside me. Now I know I couldn’t hurt you after all. Even my dragon can only think of protecting you.”
“You seem to be capable of doing a good job of it,” she said, leaning on the counter, exposing more glorious, curvy leg.
“I try.”
“So onyx?” she asked.
He nodded. “Some call me black diamond because of the gems I can produce that are so hard.”
“Your dragon fire is so beautiful. So is your dragon. How did you get so lucky? Compared to poison guy, I mean.”
“Aegis wasn’t always a bad guy,” Zach said. “It all has to do with a woman. One I didn’t want. But that’s a long story, and since he has basically picked the side of evil, that’s neither here nor there.”
She nodded. “And who cares who else is out there? You’re here with me.”
He stood, pulling off his shirt. “So you really do forgive me?”
She nodded, gulping as she looked down at his chest, which was still sweaty from the fight.
He unzipped his pants. “Still want to see me grovel?”
She nodded. “Oh, definitely. It’s payback time.”
He dropped his pants and underwear and whipped her towel off, leaving them both naked. “Come here, you.” He swept her up in his arms and stepped into her shower. It was pretty big for her small apartment.
“I’ll buy you the biggest tub and shower in the world,” he said.
She laughed. “Stop reading my thoughts.”
“I can’t,” he said. “Not when we’re together like this. But I did want to make
sure we were okay first. I know I hurt you.”
He set her legs around his waist, and she twisted her hands in his hair as she looked into his eyes.
“Yes, you did,” she said. “It wasn’t fair of you to do that. Come into my life, make me fall for you, and then whip out of it again.” She looked down at her ring. “But I think one thing that helped was when that dragon attacked and I realized you’d still left a part of you with me. At first, I thought you were just being a coward and leaving, but when I saw what you’d done to protect me, I realized you really were just putting me before yourself. Otherwise, you’d never have left behind something so precious, because it wouldn’t have mattered.”
“It makes you immune to other dragon powers,” he said. “That’s why I had to be careful to ward off his poison in the air. I’d given you my protection.” He touched the ring. “We pass it down through families. It’s very precious.” He looked her over. “As are you.”
He loved the feel of her soft thighs wrapped around his hard waist. He couldn’t wait to be closer to her. Inside her.
She leaned her face against his chest. “I want you. I’m fine with no groveling. I just want you.”
He set her on her feet and knelt in front of her. “Oh no, there will be groveling. Groveling for the rest of my life.” He looked up at her wickedly. “Plus, I’ve already got a few surprises planned for you, as soon as I get to my treasure.”
“Hm, what could that be?” she asked but then gasped as his mouth moved over her curls gently.
His tongue searched down, finding her center, tasting her delicious essence. She arched and shoved her hands into his hair again.
He thrust into her, licking and sucking as her knees threatened to buckle. His arms came up, supporting her. He’d never let her fall. She was his to protect now. His to pleasure. The greatest, brightest jewel he had ever found.
As she came, gasping his name and twisting her hands harder into his hair, he stood, crushing their hot, slick bodies together so he couldn’t tell where he ended and she began. That feeling of oneness, pleasure, safety. That’s what he wanted to seek all his life.
And with his ring on her finger, she would be safe. He didn’t know much about how to be mated to a human, but he knew whatever it meant, he would accept it.
He’d known in some part of him that she was his from the moment he’d seen her.
He wrapped his hands over her hips and kissed her deeply, entwining their lips, savoring the perfect fit of her curves against his hardness.
He could have kissed her forever, enjoying the way her moans became more frenzied, how she kept sinking as if her knees were giving way under her.
He picked her up again and put her against the shower wall, loving her wet, perky breasts thrust out toward him, her soft waist, her hips in his hands. He found her entrance and slowly guided himself in, feeling her writhe, her legs wrap around him, urging him deeper.
When they were fully together, he let out a sigh of relief. Sheathed deep inside her, he felt whole, complete. Her nails scratched his shoulders as she adjusted, and he bent his head to kiss her neck.
His body pinned her against the shower, holding her up, freeing one of his hands to rove over her breast, tweaking a nipple as his lips caught her cry of pleasure with another deep, satisfying kiss.
Then his hands were back on her hips, and he began to move. Out and then in and against her, savoring every gasp, every sign of building tension inside her. The tight grip she had on him, the way every bit of him seemed molded to her.
The little gasps of air, the slight pain of her fingertips as they dug into his skin.
The way pleasure rose in him, winding tighter and tighter like a cord twisting around and around. He held his breath, trying not to move for a second so he could just look at her, her blue eyes rapt with pleasure, her soft body accepting his.
He would give her everything. Forever. He would never let her down.
He would be not just a dragon, but the man she needed. Someone who would never leave her side.
He began moving again, and her legs squeezed against him, urging him faster. She began to thrust with him, holding on to his shoulders, and he took her lips again, enjoying the thrust of their tongues as it mirrored the way their bodies came together. Hot, wet, sensitive.
Building to an unbelievable climax. There was nothing between them now. Nothing holding them back. No collar on his neck, no doubts in her heart.
So when she came, rippling against him as she whispered his name, he felt himself go rigid in shock at just how good it felt to go with her. Their bodies were as close as possible, and he kissed her all over, her neck, her shoulders, in a frenzy to show her just how much he loved her as his pleasure came over him.
When she finally leaned back, sated and exhausted, he could feel his own body trembling from the strength of what they’d just done.
Still, he came out of her, picked her up in his arms, and carried her back to the bed, laying her on a soft towel there so he could just look at her.
She was still breathing hard, her cheeks pink with afterglow, her body soft and pearlescent in the light. She pulled the towel around her as she sat up, looking him over. He let her look for a moment and then grabbed a towel for himself, wrapping it around his waist and ignoring her look of disappointment.
“I’ve got no more energy to ravish you,” he said, pulling her down on the bed with him for a cuddle. “Too much dragon fighting. Too much worry.”
She turned toward him. “You were worried?”
“Of course,” he said.
“Did you know what was happening?”
He sighed. “I did.”
Her eyes widened slightly. “Would you have come back either way?”
“Of course,” he said. “I left my heart here. I couldn’t have lived without it.”
“Me?” she asked.
He nodded. “The dragon coming after you simply gave me no time to think about how I would apologize and make things up to you. I was terrified you would hate me. But that was nothing compared to the fear of something happening to you.”
She nodded and rested against him. “Then I forgive you. I really do.”
“Can I read your mind and see?” he teased.
“No!” She swatted at him. “No mind reading. Not unless I say so or it’s an accident.”
“Fine,” he said. “But it’s going to make birthdays hard. And Christmases.”
“Look at you,” she said, stroking his face. “Sounding so human.”
“I’ll be human for you, baby,” he said cheesily. He was just so happy they were finally together.
She was quiet as she snuggled contentedly on his chest, and he put an arm around her, keeping her safe.
“What are you thinking?” he asked when he noticed she was touching his ring thoughtfully.
“I guess I’m thinking about what happens from here. What it means now that you’re a dragon and I’m a human and a whole bunch of things are going to happen in the world.”
“It’s like you said,” he told her. “It’s simple. We love each other, and the rest will work out. I’ll always protect you.”
She nodded. “And I’ll always protect you.”
“I’m a dragon.” He scoffed. “I don’t need protection.”
“You may be a dragon, but your heart is as squishy as any human’s. I’ll make sure it never hurts.”
He just sat there, frozen in shock. He still didn’t think he needed to be protected, but it was sweet and unexpected. “You, my dear, are a treasure.”
She sat up on one arm. “Speaking of that, when do you want to go get it?”
“Right,” he said. “I totally forgot about that. I guess next to you, gems don’t seem so bright anymore.”
She blushed. “Flatterer.”
“Nope,” he said. “But yes, I’ll be able to give you anything. Where do you want to live? Penthouse? Mansion? Castle?”
“No,” she said, shaking her head.
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“Island?” he teased. “You want me to buy you an island? So demanding.”
“No,” she said, laughing. “I don’t care where we live as long as it’s together.”
“Cave, then?” he asked hopefully.
She glared at him.
“Okay, no cave.” He cocked his head. “I think I have an idea. I’ll have to surprise you, though.” She frowned, and he just curled her against him. “Trust me, okay?”
“Sneaky dragon,” she muttered, wrapping her arms around him.
He traced a hand over her back, enjoying the smooth skin there. She slowly fell asleep, making little snores, and he smiled to himself.
Sneaky dragon, onyx dragon, awakened dragon? None of that compared to being her man.
Epilogue
Zach and Erin were still unpacking inside the giant new house Zach had bought them when the doorbell rang unexpectedly.
Erin looked over at Zach curiously, and he turned toward the door in consternation.
“Were you expecting anyone?” Erin asked, setting aside the box she’d been working on and wiping her forehead. The large house they’d bought was beautiful and filled with exquisite finishing touches, but it would be some time before it felt homey. They would need to find places for their things and fill it with new furniture. She’d loved picking it out with Zach though and it had been so fun imagining a life there.
There were beautiful grounds as well, big enough for Zach’s dragon to explore, as long as he was invisible.
Zach was getting called already to help with important missions with his diamond powers, and she was trying to keep busy at work while he did so. But they’d both taken a few days off to get settled in.
Even at work things were different. Zach had bought the salon from the prior owner and given it to Erin, but not before outfitting it with crazy amounts of security and cameras and a few finishing touches of his own added by shifter friends with access to awesome tech.
All so she would be safe there without him while he was gone.
But he was never gone long, and when he was back, they had joyful moments of reuniting and making love.
Onyx Dragon (Awakened Dragons Book 1) Page 13
