by Leela Ash
“Life… mess… what’s the difference?” She slipped an arm around his waist and felt his hand twine around her in return. “So it’s not magic. It can still be something good, can’t it?”
Privately, she doubted that. Darian, however, smiled.
“Do you Claim each other?” Thunder rumbled so quietly it was almost a murmur.
Darian winced. “Could you ever love that?” He tossed his head toward the Dragon.
“Sure.” She prodded the pile of ice with her foot. “If you think you could love a freezer accident.”
Above them, two forms appeared: a shadowy Dragon soaring high in the sky and a ghostly woman, an echo of the Ice Queen. Confusion filled the queen’s face, but the Dragon roared with delight. “Then take what is yours,” it cried.
A large golden cup appeared in her hands, just as a dagger materialized in Darian’s.
Tess stared at the goblet, dumbfounded. This was officially the weirdest dream she’d ever had. What was she supposed to do with an empty cup?
Darian had no such questions. He slipped out of her embrace and turned to face her. Gently, he lifted her hand until she held the chalice out between them. Then he raised his knife and somberly said, “Tess Everlyn, I Claim you as my Mate. I pledge you my life and my heart. Forever, we shall be Dragon and… and… whatever you are.”
It made no sense – but it was probably the nicest thing anyone had ever said to her.
He dipped his dagger into the chalice. Cup and dagger immediately vanished. One last roar drifted down from high overhead, then the dim figures in the heavens faded away too.
Leaving the two of them standing, awkwardly, in the middle of a ruined garden.
“So…”
“Yeah.”
What now? The silence ate at Tess. She should make a joke… jump Darian’s bones… wake up. Do something, anything to distract herself. She couldn’t bear to stand here, stewing over how messed up her life was.
Sure. Run away. Like you always do.
A touch broke through that flash of self-loathing.
Darian stroked her cheek. His hand was rough but warm. At his caress, her heart ached. Not from desire, though he was still gorgeous. From… love? Could she say that? Probably not. She hardly knew him, after all. Yet the tenderness in that gesture brought her to the edge of tears.
“You look so sad.”
She swallowed, hard. “Hey. Could I ask you to do something stupid?”
“Sure.”
Tess waved at the romantic bed behind them. “Would you just hold me for a bit?”
A kiss on the forehead was her answer. Linking hands, they mounted the arbor steps and slid into the bed’s soft folds. Once more, strong arms wrapped around her, surrounding her with warmth and strength.
The urge to joke welled up again. Tess squelched it, irritated with herself. Why couldn’t she just lie here, enjoying the embrace of the man she… she lo… she felt something for?
Rolling onto her side, she buried her face against his chest. Darian curled around her, pressing his lips to her hair.
Then she simply cuddled, twined around him. Letting the warmth, the tenderness of his touch soak into her soul. How long had it been since someone held her like this? Had she ever curled against a man who actually… actually…
…loved her?
There. The word was out. Mad as it seemed, Tess knew he loved her.
Tears stung her eyes. She winced, forcing them back. Tears would only ruin this moment.
Gradually, like ice melting in the spring sun, the knot in her heart faded. Bliss crept in, a sense of safety she’d never felt before. Here was a man who would protect her. From enemies. From herself if needed.
And I’m going to free him, she promised herself. From whatever he did to bind his Dragon like that.
Chapter 5
Could you fall asleep in a dream?
Time blurred into a pleasant daze as Tess lay in Darian’s embrace, safe and protected. How much time passed, she couldn’t say. What did that even mean, really, in a dream?
But, slowly, the pain in her heart grew faint, melted by his tenderness. By the aching hunger she could feel in him. He needed her, as much as she needed him. As her spirit lightened, one fact become clear. Growing plainer with every passing moment.
The guy holding her in his arms? He was damned hot.
The chest pressed against her cheek was lean and hard. Her hand, draped along his hips, brushed against muscled thighs. Lightly, she stroked them, then traced a finger up along the tight plain of his buttocks. To her delight, he stiffened and she felt the first stirring of his manhood, nestled between them.
“Mmm.” Darian raised his head to peer at her. Hair deliciously tousled, blinking as if he’d just awoken… she loved him like that. Let other women keep their perfectly groomed, flawless men. Tess wanted one who looked like he lived his life, not modeled his way through it. Her desire must have reflected in her eyes, because his smile widened.
Oh yeah, she wanted him.
Well, it was her dream. She was in control, right? Silently, she willed him to kiss her. Her dreams were not going to involve a lot of talk.
Nothing happened.
Weird. A dull, distant unease nagged at her. This was a dream, yes? Freakishly real, intense, and strange. But fake. A dream. It had to be.
Right?
“Why the frown?” Darian’s hand slipped from around her shoulders to trace the worried pout of her lips.
Tess let her lips part and his touch grew firmer, more teasing. “This is just the strangest dream I’ve ever had.”
He chuckled, rising onto an elbow and kissing her shoulder. “I admit I’ve never had anyone complain about appearing in my dream.”
His dream? This was her dream, wasn’t it? People couldn’t share… oh.
His hand abandoned her lips, sliding lower, brushing her breast as he began to explore her. As he shifted, the silken sheet whispered across her bare skin, waking her body with its soft promise of pleasure.
Suddenly, Tess didn’t care whose dream this ‘was.’ All that mattered was that she was in it.
With a wordless purr of delight, she gave herself to his exploration. Hands traced along her stomach, the curve of her buttocks. Kisses, now on her lips, now shifting lower along her throat and shoulders, kindled a fire within her. Each caress, each new touch, roused the flames higher. Through half-closed eyes she watched the play of his muscles, the way they made the coils of his Dragon tattoo ripple.
Oh, she could lie here forever, reveling in the adoration of his hands and mouth. But – delightful as the thought was – she couldn’t be that selfish.
Tess slipped her leg across his flank and wrapped it around Darian’s taut ass, pulling their bodies closer. She felt him – aroused, growing harder – press between her thighs. Then she rolled him onto his back and straddled his hips.
Again, the dance of their bodies sent silk swirling around them. The cover slipped down over her back, like a lover’s breath. She let Darian drink in the sight of her above him, aroused, nipples hard. And as the sheets whispered down around his thighs, she felt his manhood swell fiercely against her.
He reached up, cupping her breasts with his strong hands. Her hands joined his, urging him onward as his thumbs began to circle and tease her nipples. Desire flared as he stroked her, and she felt herself grow damp, ready. Tess rocked gently, reveling in the feel of his hot, lean body sliding between her legs. In the touch of his manhood, hungry, insistent, pressed against her buttocks.
With a shiver, she rose to her knees and bent down to kiss him. Now it was his turn to twine around her and roll her gently onto her back. Their lips joined as the silken covers whispered about them.
When mouths and tongues parted, Tess moaned at the loss of that touch.
The sound of her need, raw and primal, pushed Darian over the edge. With a guttural cry of his own, he thrust between her legs, claiming her.
Tess gasped as ecstasy flooded her. Each stroke sen
t a wave of pleasure washing through her body. She wrapped her legs about his hips, moaning, unable to hold herself back as her fingers clawed at his forearms. Silken sheets, twisted now into satiny bonds, joined them together. Stroke after stroke of his hard cock maddened her, inflamed her, until, with a cry of pure ecstasy, time dissolved into bliss. Her cry drove him past his limit. Darian moaned, thrust once more, and she felt him explode within her.
Panting, he collapsed beside her. Tess lay, gasping, savoring the last ripples of desire that echoed through her body. Gently, she rolled on her side and kissed him. Wordless gratitude for his kindness, and the pleasure he had brought her.
High above them, the sky rumbled. “Dragon and Mate,” it growled. “Now and forever.”
Chapter 6
Cold and dusty, the cabin’s chill air dragged Darian from the delirious pleasure of that dream. He groaned, burying his face in his musty pillows, so different from the silken cushions of that elfin garden. Just a few more moments, he begged silently. Let me savor that joy a few seconds longer before I have to face reality.
He knew what the day brought him. A leaky roof. An empty kitchen. A small boy bored witless, too young to understand why his father had dragged him into the middle of the woods. And somewhere, beyond all those petty problems, lurked a greater threat. An evil, powerful organization that would kill him and his helpless child the moment they found them.
No. He pushed those thoughts away. The dangers and annoyances of the ‘real’ world could wait. Eyes closed, he clung to the memories of her. Tess. Arms wrapped about him, wild with desire. Her softness, her fierceness.
Despite his best effort, those images faded. If only they could truly be…
Dragon and Mate. Now and forever.
Instead of comforting him, those words sent a sharp pang of fear through Darian. He sat bolt upright as he realized where those words came from.
The Rite of Claiming. A ceremony out of myth and legend.
Once, when there was still magic in the world, Dragons bound themselves to their soul-mates with this oath. It forged an unbreakable bond, a union of love and destiny that no power could destroy. They joined a Dragon to the one person who completed their soul. Someone who called to the greatness within them.
But the Wellsprings faded, and magic vanished with them. Leaving Dragons without true Mates, abandoned in a world that grew every more tawdry and dull.
I dreamed about a fairy tale love, the type of blessed union my Kind used to enjoy – or so the stories say. What of it? Who doesn’t dream of impossible things?
Yet, even as he thought that, he knew it was a lie. A year ago, yes, the Rite of Claiming was a myth. Now, however, there was a living Wellspring. The Alpha of his Flight, Brandon Lorde, had Claimed a Mate. They even had a child, a little girl.
Whom I abandoned.
Darian hung his head in shame. I couldn’t answer Lorde’s summons, he told himself, as he’d done a thousand times before. I can’t put Ethan in such risk.
A thousand repetitions didn’t make those words any less hollow. He couldn’t quite make himself believe them. He wondered if he ever would, or if this shadow would dog him for the rest of his life.
With a sigh, he stood and searched for clean clothes. Praying that the going through the motions of life would drive away his shame and worries for a time.
And Tess?
For a second, the memory of her beauty, riding him, flickered through his mind. What would it be like to have a woman like that at his side? A true Mate. Beautiful, strong, fearless. Someone who could face the power and majesty of his Dragon soul without flinching, like the fabled eagle that stared at the sun itself.
Then that moment passed and the gloom of his life closed around him again. Tess wasn’t his Mate. Maybe the Rite of Claiming had returned to the world. But that sacred ritual was for Dragons. True Dragons. Ones that didn’t abandon their Flights and duties. Ones that didn’t let the innocent die, as he had. Hell, he was halfway to being a Worm. If he unbound his Dragon soul, it would probably tear itself to shreds with shame.
No. No matter how real that nocturnal tryst seemed, it was nothing more than a dream. Dragons like Brandon Lorde took part in the Rite of Claiming. Deserters like him merely dreamed of such blessings and such Mates.
Though…
Darian paused in the bedroom doorway, unnerved by a sudden thought. That might explain why a Lost Shifter would mysteriously appear out here in the woods. If they truly were soul-mates, Fate would draw them together against all odds.
Immediately, he spotted the flaw in that theory: in the dream, he hadn’t seen Tess’ soul.
The souls of all Shifters were tied to animals and mythic beasts. Some were fierce warriors, like Dragons, Bears, and Wolves. Others reflected gentler souls, like the magically-gifted Witch Hares and the Rats, who were tenacious survivors at their best, treacherous spies at their worst. No Shifter soul appeared human, however.
That was that. If this had truly been the Rite of Claiming, he would have seen Tess’ Shifter soul. What did the Rites’ words say? No Claim without Truth.
The certainty of that fact settled on his soul like a wet blanket, extinguishing the last spark of hope that his passionate, wild dream had birthed.
He was alone. No Mate. No helper.
Before that gloom could darken into despair, however, a quiet cough reminded him that no, he was not alone.
“Hey Ethan, buddy,” he called. “You all right?”
“Yeah.” Rubbing his eyes, his son shuffled out in his Star Wars pajamas. “This place is so dusty. And it stinks.”
The sight of the boy, so innocent, so sweet, dispelled his growing melancholy. Yes, he’d made mistakes. Yes, he’d abandoned the duties that his Alpha assigned him. But that was his choice, not an act of cowardice.
I chose to defend my son rather than the Wellspring I was ordered to guard.
His Dragon didn’t agree with that choice? So be it. He could live with its disapproval. A bittersweet calm accompanied that realization.
“You ready for breakfast?”
Ethan stuck out his tongue. “Is it cereal again? I hate cereal.”
“You love cereal,” Darian chuckled.
“I used to love cereal,” his son grumbled. “But it’s all we eat now so I hate it.”
“Okay, okay, Mr. Grumpy.” The boy scowled at that nickname. “What about waffles with strawberry syrup, and bacon, and eggs?”
Ethan’s eyes lit up at that offer. “Do you got them?”
“‘Do you have them’,” his father corrected.
“Do you have them? Did you get groceries last night?”
“Nope.” As Ethan’s face fell, he hurried to explain. “But the Black Bear Diner has them. And I think I owe you a meal, don’t I?”
“Yes! Yes, yes, yes!” The boy squealed with delight and darted over to hug his father, dust and stinky rooms forgotten. Darian smiled, trying to remember how long it had been since he himself had been so excited about waffles.
“Well, get dressed. Unless you think they’ll serve you in your pjs.”
As the giggling youngster ran back to his room, Darian stepped outside. The fall air was cold, but crisp and lightly touched with the scent of pine needles. A wonderful change from the stale cabin.
Somewhere down the road, an engine roared to life.
His eyes narrowed. Tess? Probably. It sounded like a motorcycle. Still, better safe than sorry. Quietly, Darian slipped down the driveway. As he passed the trees at the edge of his property, the engine died down.
Sure enough, it was his neighbor. Hands on her hips, Tess beamed at the beat-up Harley Davidson in front of her shack.
His movement drew her gaze. Their eyes met…
…and for one moment, he saw joy there. The delight of a woman who sees her lover’s return.
His heart beat faster. Had she… could she have shared his dream?
But no. That phantom happiness disappeared at once. Hell, he’d probably
imagined it in the first place. Tess waved and offered him a smile. It was the cool, polite smile of a stranger, not a Mate’s joy.
“Sorry about the noise,” she called out.
“It’s fine.”
They stood there. He on his side of the road, she on hers. Darian frowned at a pothole – one of many that marred their one route to town. When he glanced up, he found Tess watching him. Or, well, eyeing him speculatively. If he hadn’t been so rude to her yesterday, he’d think she was checking him out.
At once, she dropped her eyes to the road, as if that pothole was the most interesting thing on the planet. “So, uh…”
Dammit. Even though he knew it was an idiotic impulse, he wanted – no, longed – to ask her straight out ‘Did you dream about me last night?’
Thankfully, he squelched that urge. If she did dream about me, it would be a nightmare. After all, yesterday, I pretty much accused her of trying to kidnap my son. And I told her to get lost and never set foot on my property again. Not exactly the stuff that good dreams are made from.
The silence was killing him, however, so he blurted out, “Ethan and I are going to grab breakfast at the Black Bear Diner.”
Now why had he said that? Idiotic! It almost sounded like an invitation to join them – which it definitely wasn’t! No dream, no matter how passionate, changed the fact that she was a strange Shifter who didn’t belong here.
Fortunately, Tess didn’t read anything into his words. Her delicate lips pinched and that fine-bone face of hers clouded. “So, in the interest of transparency here, let me say that I’m heading down to Bangor myself. Give me a minute and I’ll get going. Ahead of you, so you’re sure I’m not following you or anything.”
Why would she think that? Oh. Darian winced. Because of his accusations yesterday. Still, it was a good suggestion and he scolded himself for the embarrassment it stirred in him. She could be an enemy. She could be a pawn of the Fangs of Apophis. How could he forget that risk? It was disconcerting how much one foolish dream could lull him into a false sense of security.
“That’s… thank you. That’s a kind offer,” was all he said in the end.
