by Lizzy Ford
The hallway smelled medicinal and was lined with doors, most of which were closed. She peered into the first one she passed with an embedded window. Her gaze swept around a lab of some sort. It was quiet, with two men in white coats working diligently over equipment she didn’t recognize.
She continued onward, passed an intersection with a plaque indicating there was a medical clinic, and continued towards the rehab center. Another man in a lab coat passed her without stopping, and she relaxed, suspecting they saw a steady stream of different faces throughout the compound.
She engaged her senses, trying to track the dragon shifter.
His elusive essence was behind her. It was stronger this time than the last when she’d tried to hunt him. With a glance in the direction where Mason would come from, Skylar backtracked then headed towards the medical clinic.
She listened to the instincts this time, not expecting them to guide her to the dragon when they’d thus far just confused her. Stopping in front of a door, she paused to orient herself towards a possible route of escape, in case she needed to make a run for it.
Skylar opened the door where she’d sensed the dragon shifter and stepped into a narrow hallway lined by thick, metal doors identified only by numbers. The shifter’s essence was scrambled here and she placed a hand on the first door.
Reminds me of the bar. All the doors seemed to emit some sort of shifter magic. She moved to the next, rested her hand to try to tap into the magic behind the door, and then moved on. She’d made it halfway down the hallway when she almost caught his essence again.
Skylar pressed both hands to the door to double check before she slid one over to the wall and rested her palm on the scanner.
The lock clicked open softly. She pushed the door open and entered the small exam room. Counters and cabinets lined each side, and it smelled of disinfectant.
Her attention was immediately caught by the form of Chace. He was strapped to a bed and unconscious, two IVs running to his arms. He seemed pale beneath the golden skin and his veins were an unnatural dark purple against his skin. Though the power of his muscular frame was far from diminished, his uneven, shallow breathing warned her that he was growing weaker.
We are the dragons’ protectors. Her mother’s voice was louder this time, and an instinct unlike any Skylar had every experienced roared to life within her.
She had to protect him. Whatever was going on here, it was wrong, even if she wasn’t entirely certain what it was.
Skylar approached him, not understanding why he was on IVs when he’d been perfectly healthy the last time she saw him. Was this part of the rehab program? Why were her hands shaking and the warning bells in her mind screaming?
She crossed to him and looked at the contents of the first IV bag.
“Saline. Okay. Nothing weird there.”
The second, however, had a biohazard sign on it and bore the name of a solution with more letters than she cared to count.
“Chace?” she ventured.
His eyes fluttered open. He didn’t seem able to focus and his breathing grew more ragged. He looked from her to the second IV, the one with the biohazard sign. He tried to lift his left arm.
“You um, don’t like that one, huh?” she asked.
Shifter magic permeated the air around her in a sudden surge as if he was trying to shift. His eyes closed again, and his body went limp.
I have to get him out of here. The urge to protect him was almost too strong for her to think logically. It was as powerful as the chemistry between them; it managed to overwhelm years of training the first night they met and did so again now. Skylar tugged the IV tube free of the splint in his arm. She leaned forward and tapped his cheeks until he woke once more.
“It’s out,” she said, concerned. “What is it?”
“Good.” His voice was almost too quiet to hear. “Need ad … ren … lin.”
“Adrenaline,” she repeated. “Where would I find that?”
His eyes went to one cabinet.
Skylar crossed to it and opened the door, observing the syringes in plastic.
“Looks like adrenaline,” she said. “You want one or two?”
“One.”
She tore the package open and returned to his bedside, resting it on his chest while she reached for the releases to the straps holding him to the bed.
“No,” he said. “Ad … renalin.”
“All right.” She pushed up his sleeve to get at the meaty bicep.
“Heart.”
“What?”
“Shot in … heart.”
“Um, seriously?”
“Heart.”
Skylar swallowed hard then picked up the syringe. She freed the needle at one end then rested her hand over his heart. His eyes closed again, and she sensed whatever was wrong, it was getting worse.
She set one hand on his chest and practiced hitting his heart a few times.
“Okay. Just … don’t freak out on me, okay?” she said.
He was unconscious.
She drew a deep breath then plunged the needle into his heart. With a grimace, she pressed the plunger until it was empty then yanked the syringe free.
Nothing happened.
“Chace?”
His breathing slowed and then stopped.
Skylar crossed to the cabinet and snatched another of the syringes. She tore it open with her teeth, braced a hand against his chest and plunged the second into his heart. She emptied it out then tossed it aside, waiting.
About to grab a third, she just opened the cabinet when he gasped.
Skylar whirled and froze.
Chace’s face was red, his muscles bulging. He strained against the straps. They snapped open, and Chace rolled, landing on the floor on his stomach.
“You okay?” she asked uncertainly.
“What … did you do?” he managed in a strained voice.
“One didn’t work, so I used two.” She backed away as she spoke.
He uttered a string of curses. His skin rippled, the muscles bulging and changing beneath his skin. Shifter magic filled the air.
“Shit!” She glanced around. There was no room for a dragon, let alone her and a dragon. Spinning, she went to the door and tried to open it. It didn’t budge. There was no palm scanner inside. “Bad news, Chace.”
She faced him again and pressed her back against the door. Wings were budding from Chace’s back, his body convulsing.
Dear god … just calm down, Chace! She pleaded silently.
“Come … here,” he rasped.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“If I turn … will probably kill you.”
“Maybe there’s something to calm you down in here.” She went to the cabinet again and wrenched it open, starting to pull out the bottles it contained.
Chace’s arms wrapped around her from behind, and he leaned his body weight into her, pinning her between him and the counter. His breathing was harsh in her ears, his body shaking. She seemed to be the only thing keeping him up. He radiated heat, and she quelled her impulse to pull away at the strange sensations at her back. He held her against him tight enough for her to feel the muscles and bones of his body moving.
His breathing started to grow steadier, though the unnerving movements continued.
“You can control my magic,” he said in a voice that sounded more human. “How?”
“I don’t know,” she replied. “I didn’t know I was doing it.”
“I need more of it,” he said. He shuddered. “Whatever it is, if I don’t get more of it, I’m going to shift.”
“What the hell do we do?” She racked her mind, trying to figure out how to help or at least to prevent him from crushing her if he transformed into a dragon in the small space.
“Kiss me.”
“Right now?” she asked with a startled laugh.
“It’s worked before.”
Skylar twisted in his arms. She didn’t wait for him to ask again but took
his face in her hands and kissed him. Chace wrapped her in a bear hug, his lips hungry and mouth demanding. She wrapped her arms around his neck, submitting quickly to his intensity.
He kissed her long and hard, until she was breathless and her body burning with desire. Heat built in her lower belly then raced through her while the signs of his shifting slowed and stopped, replaced by the erection pressed against her.
Breaking away, he leaned into her and rested his hands against the counter, his head on her shoulder.
“I need more,” he said, the strain clear in his voice.
Skylar saw one tiny wing start to free itself from his shoulder. Chace’s body shook with effort. The last thing she wanted was to be turned into a pancake.
“More than one way to fry a chicken, right?” she said. She pushed him away to give herself room to move then stripped off her shirt.
That caught Chace’s attention. His head lifted, his eyes starting to focus. One of his hands went to her bare abdomen while the other continued to support him against the counter.
She unsnapped her bra, and the large palm drifted upward to cup one breast, his thumb lightly grazing her coral nipple until it was hard.
Skylar stroked his erection through his pants.
His body began to absorb the wayward wing.
“Good, dragon,” she whispered.
Chace kissed her once more, his hand sliding into her pants. Any thought she had of teasing him until he was no longer in danger of shifting fled at his hunger and the tickle of his shirt against her sensitive breasts.
“I need to be inside you,” Chace said. “It calms me.”
Skylar fumbled with the fasteners on his jeans, finally pushing them down. Chace finished the process but staggered, not yet well enough to hold himself up fully, and he fell, dragging her with him. Her knee hit the concrete floor, but the pain was distant, her attention on him. He broke her fall, his muscular body between her and the floor.
“You okay?” she asked with a small laugh.
“Only a concussion,” he muttered. “Fuck me, Sky, before I kill us both.”
She kissed him hard then shifted to shimmy out of her pants and straddle him. Chace’s dick pressed against her wet opening, and she leaned forward to kiss him.
Adrenaline and knowing they were surrounded by people like Caleb, who might just walk in at any minute, thrilled her, made what could only be a quickie an incredibly erotic experience.
Chace lifted her hips to position her body and lowered her onto his erection.
Closing her eyes, Skylar groaned as he filled her sacred space, fitting inside her in a way that sent pleasure swirling through her already.
“God you feel so good!” she murmured in awe, not understanding what made even a quickie with him so much better than any other sexual escapade she’d ever had.
“So do you.” Chace’s hands went up her sides to her breasts once more, and he twisted her nipples gently then slid one hand to her face. He pushed his thumb into her mouth.
She opened her eyes and looked into his eyes, swirling her tongue around his thumb and sucking hard while holding his gaze. His baby blues were dark with need, his pupils dilated and displaying the tiny flames of his dragon magic.
“You are the sexiest, most beautiful woman I’ve ever known,” he said. “I have to warn you – my stamina is not what it should be right now. But I’ll make it up to you.”
She continued to suck on his thumb and began rocking her hips against his, alternating between undulating her lower body and tightening her sheathe around his thick dick, doing her best to milk and massage him.
His hand left her mouth. He took her hips, pressing her onto him with more force, and sending a ripple of new sensation within her. Skylar shuddered, loving the way he felt inside her, and let his hands guide her hips. The friction between their bodies was intense, the tension within her growing, but not as fast as Chace’s. His body went rigid beneath her.
Wanting to see his face when he came, Skylar focused on him. The muscles of his chest and arms were bulging, his breathing hard and fast. His eyes were closed, his jaw clenching and body arching ever so slightly a second before he climaxed.
True to his word, Chace’s muffled cry of release was quick this time, and he held her in place while his erection convulsed within her.
His body went from tense enough to snap to utterly relaxed within seconds, his grip on her hips falling away, and even his features losing some of the signs of illness from the drugs in his system. Pink bloomed in his cheeks once more. All signs of strain were gone, and his magic was calm. Hidden, leaving him in some level of peace while he rode the waves of his orgasm.
Skylar watched the changes in his body, amazed that she was the one causing them. It touched her at a deeper level than she expected, in the part of her where her newfound instincts to protect him were growing stronger.
His eyes flickered open, and she smiled. She was panting and beyond aroused from their lovemaking, her body aching for the release she’d just given him.
“Sorry,” he muttered.
“Why?” she asked. “My plan worked didn’t it?”
He chuckled. “Something like that. You aren’t satisfied though.”
I’ve never felt so satisfied. She didn’t know what to say or if telling him that watching him come was as incredible as her own orgasm would sound stupid. But it was.
“We need to get out of here,” she said with some regret, wanting to stay with their bodies connected, even if they were lying on the cold, uncomfortable floor of an exam room.
She moved off of him and stretched for her bra, putting it on. A glance at Chace renewed her concern. He was still having problems, though not as bad.
He pushed himself up drew her to him with one hand, kissing her deeply. His taste and scent were invading her senses again, a dangerous invasion.
His fingers slid between her legs to dip inside her core then make their way to her clit.
“Chace,” she objected.
He kissed her harder, robbing her of breath and words while his fingers worked their magic with her clit, swirling and stroking, with pressure that was sometimes light enough to tickle and sometimes hard enough that she groaned. Unable to bear the tease, she moved against his hand, trying to hurry the orgasm that was building once more. Chace’s fingers slid inside her to stroke her G-spot while she rubbed the swollen clit against his palm.
“Oh, god, Chace,” she murmured, breaking off the kiss to lean into his body.
“It’s only fair,” he whispered, nipping her ear. “I get off seeing you come. It’s so sexy.”
She buried her face into the nape of his neck, intoxicated by his scent. His thumb slid to her clit, intensifying the sensations, and her world exploded. She collapsed against him, shuddering and breathless.
He held her against his chest, the warmth of his skin and strength of his frame a welcome barrier between them and whatever awaited them on the other side of the exam room door.
Skylar struggled to catch her breath and rein in her senses, overwhelmed by Chace’s passion. His body was solid and unchanging once more, though he still shook from the strain and drugs in his system. She took his face in her hands, running her fingers along his roughened jaw and warm skin. Under the harsh fluorescent lighting, he appeared haggard, with dark circles beneath his eyes and a chalky hue to his features.
The heartbeat that hadn’t been present when he was hooked up to the IV was back, his pulse rapid and throbbing in the side of his neck.
“One shot next time,” he said huskily. “Let’s get cleaned up and get out of here.”
She rose with effort, her legs shaky. The two of them made use of wet wipes they dug out of one drawer then dressed hurriedly. As her blood calmed, she began to realize what she’d done, not in making love to him, but in freeing him. Her gaze slid to him, and she watched the effortless – if still strained – movement of his body.
This time, it almost scared her how attracted t
o her he was. How she was able to forget about the threat to his life – and possibly hers – and lose herself in his body.
Skylar, you can’t go down this path without realizing there might not be a way back. Mason’s words returned to her. Looking at Chace, she found herself doubting she was ready for that one-way trip, no matter how much she loved being in his arms and how off-balance she felt not knowing the truth about her own history.
It wasn’t the right time to start down this path. Not yet. Not until she found out all she could from Caleb, Chace and anyone else who held the secrets to her past.
Skylar crossed to the door.
“We’re locked in,” she said.
“Not for long.” He brushed his lips across her cheek before pushing away from the counter and walking to the door.
As she watched, he placed his palms on the door. The metal beneath his hands grew red and hot, until she was able to feel the heat he channeled across the room. Abruptly, the door popped and caved.
Chace shoved it open and strode into the hallway.
“Which way?” he asked brusquely.
This is a mistake. She stared at him, heart beating hard.
“Skylar.”
“Right,” she managed. “Just head down the hallway, left at the intersection and – ”
His gaze sharpened and fell to her. “You’re going with me.”
“You need to get out of here fast. I might slow you down,” she lied. “Go ahead.”
He walked into the room and took her arm, pulling her with him into the hallway.
“Why does this always end with you kidnapping me?” she complained.
“Now is not a good time to piss me off.”
She glanced up at him, sensing his tension and the tightly held magic that was close to snapping. Skylar held her tongue and let him take her with him down the hallway. She pointed the direction they needed to go and within five minutes, they were in a courtyard at the center of the compound.
At once, she felt the rush of magic as he started to shift. He released her.
“We’re good, right?” she asked, stepping back quickly. “You’re free, I’m not totally complicit, we can just part ways once and for all.”
His response was a bellow, a half-human, half-dragon sound that rang in the confined space. He morphed and changed before her eyes, terrifying her the way he had before.
