by Riley Storm
Without warning Braz lifted one leg, bending it in half and turned her up on her side. This allowed him to slide in closer at a right-angle, and all at once he was hitting every good position.
Her eyes flew open and she struggled to breathe as Braz thrust into her harder and harder.
“Right there,” she managed to get out. “Don’t stop. Don’t change anything.”
“I can’t ho—”
“Just keep going!” she all but screamed.
The shakes started in her fingers, working their way up her arms and down through her legs.
The wild yell that ripped from her lungs was so loud Braz clamped a hand over her mouth. His eyes were wide and she could see him tensing as well, trying to hold out, to keep control.
With every last remaining fiber of control that she possessed, Grace clamped down her muscles around him.
Braz’s face flew open in surprise and he let a long, low groan fill the room. He wasn’t going to hold back any longer.
Grace convulsed as the first burst of warmth filled her insides. It was the last straw, and she screamed into Braz’s palm as her own orgasm shattered her mind and filled her body with golden ecstatic bliss, a cloud of pleasure so strong it should have been palpable.
Her mate, her mate, was still thrusting away through his own climax, filling her with the signs of their copulation. It was perfect and beautiful and holy-crap did it feel good!
Once Braz finally slowed, giving Grace a chance to recover, she sank down into the bed, melting into it like the puddle she was.
“Um. Wow,” she managed to gasp after several minutes of doing and saying absolutely nothing.
“Uh huh,” Braz said from where he had sank back onto his haunches, slumped over and unmoving.
“That was something.”
“Uh huh.”
“I love you,” she said.
“Uh huh.”
Grace chuckled at the brain-fried response she was getting on repeat from Braz.
“You can put it in my ass.”
Braz’s head rocketed up, mouth open, eyes wide. “What?”
“Kidding!” she shrieked, doubling over with laughter. “I just wanted to bring you back to the real world. I’m sorry. I just…oh gosh that was hilarious.”
Braz stuck out a tongue at her. “Very funny.”
She pulled him down onto her, wanting to feel that closeness, that connection.
After all, she was going to have to let him go. Not then. Not until the morning. But the danger wasn’t fully over, not yet. Braz still had to finish his mission before he could be hers.
And Grace intended to make use of every distraction she could between now and then, so that she didn’t have to think about it.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Grace
The alarm went off and she rolled over to silence it.
Normally Grace was anything but a morning person. She needed her sleep, and lots of coffee before she was really awake.
Not today.
Leaping out of bed, she threw back the curtains to reveal the still mostly-dark sky beyond.
“Perfect,” she whispered, returning to the bed and giving Braz a gentle shake.
He stirred briefly, then dropped back into sleep.
Frowning, Grace slid her hand down his stomach, over his hips and gently stroked between his legs.
Nothing.
“Oh for the love of…”
She shook him harder.
“I preferred the other wakeup call,” he mumbled, opening his eyes. “I was hoping you would just keep doing that.”
“Tough luck,” she said. “Come on, time to get up.”
“For what?” Braz rolled over, noting the open curtains and dark sky. “What time is it?”
“Four-thirty,” she said.
Braz lifted a suspicious eyebrow in her direction. “You’re far too chipper for that time. So either you’re lying, or you’re up to something. Which is it?”
“Come on, get up, get up,” she said, giving him another shake.
“I am up!”
“Nope, you’re still laying in bed. Get out. You don’t need to get dressed.”
“If you want me that badly, then you can darn well get in top and ride me,” Braz said, yawning and kicking back the covers to reveal his naked body.
“That’s exactly what I plan on doing,” she told him.
Braz frowned, then shrugged. “Okay, sweet,” he said, tucking his hands behind his head and waiting. He even waggled his hips at her.
“Not that,” Grace said.
“I don’t get it. What else?” Braz freed one hand, rubbing sleep from his eyes. “Can you just explain?”
Grace bit her lip. “I want you to take me flying.”
“You…what? Am I still dreaming?” Braz asked, looking around, then pinching the underside of his forearm. “Nope, I’m awake. You want to do what?”
“Flying. I want to go flying,” she said, bobbing her head once, as if she’d just talked herself into it.
Truthfully she’d thought about it the night before during a more fatalistic moment. The ‘what-if’s’ had caught up to her, and she’d been unable to stop herself from thinking of all the things she would miss if something bad happened to Braz.
So now here she was, fronting one of her fears in a bid to assuage another. Her fear of flying chosen over her fear of never getting the chance to do this again.
“You’re serious,” Braz said, sitting up in bed with an easy flex of his abs.
“Very.”
“Okey-dokey,” he said suddenly, his face splitting wide in that goofy grin she found so infectious. “Let’s do this!”
Braz took her hand and led her through the house, and then up several flights of stairs. She hadn’t been this way just yet, which wasn’t surprising. The house was huge, multi-floored above and below-ground. For the small amount of people living there, it was massively oversized.
They emerged onto the roof, Braz pausing to ensure nobody else was nearby, coming in for a landing or takeoff. With most of the other Aterna dragons having left throughout the night to get into position for Logan’s plan, they had the place to themselves.
“Stand back,” Braz said and ran to the center of the roof, changing before he even arrived there.
Grace smiled, happy to see that Braz was as excited by this as she was. Of course, he didn’t harbor the nervousness that she did, but it didn’t matter.
In moments a massive, crimson-gold dragon was settling into place on the roof, one yellow eye and its black pupil turned in her direction as Braz extended a wing toward her.
She climbed the surprisingly solid membrane with care, seating herself across his neck, wedged between several curved horns that would provide hand-grips and keep her in place.
“Ready back there?” Braz asked.
Grace nodded. She was as prepared as she would ever be. Warm pants, warm shirt, multiple layers. The only thing she didn’t have were any goggles, but hopefully Braz wouldn’t go fast enough for her to need them.
“Ready!” she called, belatedly remembering that he couldn’t see her unless he was looking, which he wasn’t. Right then he was scanning their launch area and keeping aware of their surroundings.
Grace yelped and clung to the horns as Braz launched without any fanfare or countdown, flinging himself up and out over the edge of the cliff-side building. They dropped fifty feet in a second before his wings caught the air and they soared forward.
A few beats of those powerful muscles and the dragon rose into the sky with casual ease.
This was far different than the first time she’d gone for a flight with Braz. Then he’d needed to stick to the treetops, barely skimming over the branches, desperate to avoid being seen.
Now, high up in the mountains, in the dark of night, he could soar high and free. Which is exactly what he did. With Grace attached to his back.
She found herself alternating between watching the landscape around her,
and Braz. Grace had done her best the previous day to keep Braz distracted. It was obvious that he longed to be out there, settling the mystery and doing his part to bring down the imposter. Anyone with half a brain could see that.
Yet he’d done as Logan asked, remaining as visible as possible around the Aterna compound for most of the day, acting like not much was wrong. It chafed at him, and she could tell. Even now she was sure he was looking forward to executing Logan’s plan at long last.
The house was practically empty except for the mates and children, and that noticeable lack of other dragons had left Braz feeling like he was shirking his duty.
So she’d given him a different duty to attend to. Her. It had mostly worked, but not entirely.
“Thank you,” she shouted against the wind. “This is much less terrifying than the first time.”
“We’re a hundred or more times higher up,” Braz called back. “How is this less terrifying?”
“Because I trust you this time. And I’ve had a few more days to digest what’s going on. Plus, I’m missing work to do this. How do you complain about that?”
Braz’s neck twisted as his head bobbed side to side in what she took as agreement.
On the horizon the first bit of light appeared.
“About time we start heading back,” Braz said, jerking his head in the direction of the light.
“You’re the boss,” she called. “Whatever you say is best.”
Although she was disappointed that the flight hadn’t been very long, Grace was glad they’d done it. Not just for her sake, but for Braz’s. It must be tough not to be able to get out and soar through the sky. She doubted he did it as often as he’d like. It was too risky.
They banked lazily through the air on their return to the compound. Feeling the wind through her hair and the freedom of being so high, Grace found herself spreading her arms, embracing the moment. It was exactly the sort of peaceful, bonding wakeup call that she’d wanted to give to Braz.
“Oh look,” she said, pointing at the compound as they approached. “Company!”
A black pickup truck was approaching the front gates at a leisurely pace.
“Who do you think it is?” she asked. “Logan?”
“No, Logan’s truck is an ugly blue,” Braz joked. “Not sure. Guess we’ll find out!”
Grace watched the truck with one eye while she rested her head on her hands, using one of the curved horns to prop her up. Company would be good for Braz. It would distract him.
As she watched, the truck suddenly leapt forward, slammed into the gates and exploded in a massive fireball.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Braz
It happened so swiftly it took him a second to register that he was indeed seeing what his eyes were telling him.
The peaceful morning had just gone up in flames. Literally.
Clan Aterna had been attacked. Braz banked hard and then dove toward the compound. He needed to see what was going on, and determine just what, or who, was behind the attack. No other dragons from the clan were around, everyone else off enacting Logan’s plan. The building was practically defenseless.
“Braz!” a voice yelped as he dropped a thousand feet in a second.
Oh shit. Grace.
He spread his wings and came out of the speed dive gently. In the moment he’d forgotten that she was on his back. Braz would have to be careful. He couldn’t do too much in the way of fancy flying.
Assess the situation. Get Grace to safety. Kick some ass.
In that order. He came in lower, intending to try and snuff out the flames, to prevent them from spreading, by the simple expedient of calling out to them and quenching their thirst. It was a simple dragon trick, though its power decreased with range and size of the flames. If they spread much more, he would have to get right down among them to stop it.
They came in low, his wings spread, aiming to cross the flames and put them out. Braz reached out and called to the flames. He could feel their heat, their fury as they sought to consume everything in their way. All he would have to do was take control of them, make them obey his commands.
Another dragon’s will inserted itself first, and the flames rising high from the truck took on a life of their own.
“Hang on!” he bellowed and banked away at nearly a ninety-degree angle as the flames reached out for him. Several scales on his belly cackled and melted as the flames splashed across him but then he was out of their range and righting himself.
“What the hell was that?” Grace shrieked as she finally seated herself again.
“That was someone else joining the party,” Braz snarled. “There’s another dragon down there. They attacked us as I tried to put the flames out.”
The smoke was billowing high into the sky now as the fire burned. The mountain winds were dormant today, doing little more than causing the smoke to spread. Braz knew he was going to run out of time. He had to try and land. This fight was going to happen on the ground, where his hidden foe had an advantage.
Normally Braz wouldn’t give up the high-ground, but he had to get the noncombatants to safety, and that meant delaying the fire. Which he couldn’t do from high up. Certainly not with Grace attached to him.
A blast of fire sizzled up from the truck. Braz shifted left with a flick of a wingtip, and the ball shot past them, disappearing into the night sky.
Two more came at them in quick succession.
“Braz,” Grace said nervously. “What are we going to do?”
“I need to land, and get you to safety on the far side of the house,” he said. “That way I can take them on in a slightly more, ah, violent, manner.”
“You better take them on and win,” she growled. “Now, how do we do this?”
His lizard mouth opened in a silent snarl of approval at her attitude. Braz was going to win. Whoever it was, they had attacked his home.
Nobody did that and walked away from it.
“Hold on tight,” he growled, sweeping away from the house, wings beating hard. “It’s going to be a bit of a rough landing.”
He had to get in fast, before his hidden enemy could launch a damaging strike on him. Whoever they were, they were well concealed by the smoke and burning flames. Braz had yet to get a glimpse of the attacker.
Approaching the compound from straight on, Braz dropped below the line of sight of the house. He was now flying straight at the mountainside itself. The mighty wings of his dragon form beat powerfully, keeping him aloft and upping his speed.
Easy. Easssyyy.
At the last moment he angled himself upward, sweeping the wings down as hard and fast as he could, rapidly gaining air. For a brief moment he crested the top of the house.
A fireball came right at him.
Braz snapped his wings in and the pair fell heavily to the ground two stories below while the searing ball of flame whizzed by overhead. The impact jolted him hard as he did his best to protect Grace.
She didn’t complain one bit. He stretched out his wing and looked back while she clambered to get off, noting that she was breathing hard and wincing when she put weight on her left foot. She was still moving quickly though, so hopefully it was only a twist, nothing more serious.
“Go!” she shouted, sliding onto the concrete decking on the ground floor and shouting at him. “I’m safe.”
“Get under cover,” he growled.
“I’ll take care of her,” another voice said as Addy shuffled out of the corner of the house. “Go, do what you need to do.”
Braz nodded his respects at the elderly matron of Clan Aterna and then he started awkwardly climbing up to the next level of the house. Even as he climbed, his body changed and shrank, making it seem like he was actually losing progress while he moved forward.
By the time his feet landed on the balcony, Braz was standing approximately seven feet tall on two legs, wings jutting from his back and scales covering his entire body.
“Now you pay,” he growled and with a
flap of his wings, launched himself up onto the top floor.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Braz
A shield of fire appeared in front of him as he charged across the roof toward the burning truck. It blazed with bright orange-red intensity, ready to protect him from any attacks. Now that Grace was safe, Braz could properly take on his enemy.
From the left side a stream of fire reached out at him, but Braz ignored it, deflecting it with his own fire. His first goal was the truck. There were others in the house. By now they should be into the safety bunkers, but he wasn’t going to take a chance. The other dragons had left their mates and children in his care, and he was going to prevent them from coming to harm.
He smothered the flames around the truck. Wherever his enemy was, he was no longer fanning them himself. They went out in an eruption of smoke that covered the entire front yard, preventing Braz from seeing much of anything.
“Come out, come out, wherever you are,” he called, stalking through the smoke.
A chunk of rock whizzed past his head, missing him by less than a foot. Braz froze. Where had that come from? A second later an orange glow appeared hazily through the smoke off to his left.
Braz lashed out with his own fire and was rewarded with a surprised hiss as his quarry ducked out of the way, disappearing into the smoke.
They continued to hunt one another, using the ever-increasing smoke to hide, launching fire and objects at one another when they could. Braz thought about using his wings to try and disperse the smoke, but it was helping him as much as it was hindering him.
Overhead he heard the swoop of wings. Had his enemy brought in reinforcements? Just how many of them were there? Braz had been assuming he was up against a sole dragon shifter, likely sent here by their mysterious mastermind to wreak havoc among Clan Aterna.
Which means he must have found out about our plan somehow…
Wilson. Braz cursed the criminal, though he had no proof. It was just as feasible that there had been security systems in place at the vault that had caught him and Logan breaking in, cluing their enemy in to what was about to happen.
Right then it didn’t matter how. Braz had to deal with the invader before he could handle any other questions. The safety of those inside came first.
