She leaned down, pressing her breasts into him as a twist of blond hair tumbled over her left eye. “Does this feel good, gorgeous Dragon god?” she asked, dragging herself upright before lifting her body, slipping up his shaft and down again, her pelvis shifting forward to grind her into his taut body.
He nodded, his skin flushed. “As if you don’t know,” he growled out in a strained voice that came from somewhere deep in his chest. “As if you don’t know everything, goddess.”
“I don’t know everything. But I do know what you want,” she told him, “because it’s the same thing that I want.”
“Is it, now?” he asked, a wicked smile spreading across those sensual lips of his. “Because what I want in this moment involves a slight change of position.”
Ashlyn let out a surprised yelp as he grabbed her upper arms and threw her sideways, then spun her onto her back. In a flash he was in control, driving deep inside her, those incredible abdominal muscles of his rippling with each thrust.
“This is what I want,” he snarled in a voice too feral to be entirely human, “to take you hard. I want to pound you, Ashlyn, like there’s no tomorrow.” Because there might not be one, not for us.
“Then take me, Dragon. Consume me, own me, possess me,” she rasped, dragging her fingernails over his upper arms, marking him with a series of vicious red lines. “Give me everything you have.”
He slammed into her again and again, his hips driving hard, muscles ebbing like liquid stone. It should have hurt, but it didn’t. Ashlyn felt complete, whole, for the first time in her life. So often she’d wondered where she came from, where she belonged. Now she finally knew.
She belonged with this man.
This man, who would soon leave her alone, and break them both.
No. I won’t let that happen, she snarled internally as she welcomed his assault, crying out for more. She wanted the sweet ache of his deep penetration, just as badly as he wanted to inflict it. Wanted to hold onto the agony of this moment, just as she knew he’d do forever.
She let out a yell, then another, the rippling water above them casting the most beautiful, preternatural light from some glowing light source above the lake.
“Ashlyn, I’m going to…” Aegis strained out, and then he bit his lower lip and winced in beautiful agony, exploding inside her.
Ashlyn’s nails dug into his back as she pulled him to her, dragging along his flesh and leaving more red marks in their wake as she closed her eyes, taking in the sensation of his heat flooding in a torrent through her body. He was hers now, if only for a few minutes. He was all hers.
He collapsed, burying his face in her neck, and lay a gentle kiss on her skin. “I’m sorry. And yet I’m not sorry at all,” he said softly, his voice vibrating her flesh. “I shouldn’t have done that.”
“Yes you should have,” she whispered, stroking his hair as their bodies pressed together. “It’s what I wanted more than anything. Think of it as a gift to me.”
“I would give you that gift six times a day for the rest of our lives.”
“Only six?”
“I forgot the teen. I meant sixteen.”
“That’s better. But still not enough.”
When he pulled away Ashlyn wanted to cry. It was too soon to lose their connection. She wasn’t sated yet; she needed more, and more, and more.
Aegis, perhaps sensing her need, rolled onto his side and propped his face up on his fist, keeping his other hand on her hip. Good. Don’t stop touching me. Not yet. “You’re too beautiful,” he said. “Too beautiful for me to give up.”
“So don’t give me up,” she murmured, her eyes fixing on the ebbing ceiling. “Do the opposite.”
“I wish I could. I wish I had some claim to you,” he said, a finger slipping up her belly and landing between her breasts.
Ashlyn turned to face him and smiled. “So just adore me. For now. Then you can go back to a world where I don’t exist, and I can return to whatever world I’m meant to inhabit.”
“I don’t even want to think about such a thing,” he replied, kissing her forehead and slipping a hand between her legs. “A world where this pussy doesn’t exist would be a travesty.”
“Would it now?” She lifted her hips, encouraging his touch. “A world where your hand didn’t exist would be pretty awful, too.”
“You like my hand, then?” he asked, slipping his middle finger over her bud and letting it slide inside her.
She nodded and spoke in a strained voice, pleasure overtaking her. “Yes. It’s very nice.”
“And these?” More fingers slipped inside her and pulled out again, the heel of his hand pressing against her.
She nodded again. “Yes. Nice, perfect fingers. Keep doing that.”
“Will you come for me if I do?”
Another nod.
“Will you do something else?”
“Of course,” she said through strained vocal cords. “No fair asking me for a favour while you’re massaging me like that, for the record.”
“I know, but I’m going to do it anyhow. Please, Ashlyn, would you touch your nipples for me? Show me what makes you feel good.”
Ashlyn let out a slightly self-conscious laugh before slipping her fingers over her breasts. She stroked them over the tips of her nipples, turning them hard and red. She pinched them gently, pulled them, teasing his eyes and heating his blood. It didn’t feel nearly as strange as she might have expected to put herself on display like this. Not for him. She would have done anything to arouse her Dragon shifter.
“Oh, good lord, that looks so good,” Aegis said, driving his fingers inside her, pressing his palm into her clit.
“You know what else looks good?” Ashlyn asked.
“Every inch of you?”
“I was thinking about our friend down there,” she replied, her eyes guiding him to the renewed erection between his legs.
“Oh, that old thing.”
“That old thing is amazing,” she said, then inhaled deep as her walls tightened around his fingers. “You’re going to make me come, you know,” she said. “You and your exquisite hard-ons and perfect hands and gorgeous face and…”
“That was sort of the point.” He slipped down her body and tucked his face between her legs, giving her bud the gentlest lick. She could feel his fingers drilling so deep inside her, pulling apart to enhance the pleasure as he sucked on her clit, tongue flicking slowly. Over and over again, drawing out her bliss.
Oh, God.
Her eyes slammed shut as she bucked under him, her hips driving into his hand, taking him in deep as she convulsed around his fingers in the most incredible moment of ecstasy she’d ever experienced. Aegis…my Aegis…don’t stop…
And he didn’t. No, of course he didn’t. He would have eaten her for days, years, even, and she knew it.
When the last throb had subsided the sadness that hit her was all but unbearable. He was hers for this night, but it would be their last.
Unless she found a way to keep him.
Her only mission in life was now to succeed at that task.
When she’d settled on her back, Aegis pulled his hand out and licked each finger from tip to base, tasting her greedily for the second time. Something about the gesture was so damned intimate, so sensual. Ashlyn lay a palm on his cheek and looked into his eyes.
“I’m going to find the Relic, Aegis,” she told him, her voice turned to silk. “On my own. And then you and I will be together.”
“Ashlyn, we can’t…”
“Right. Guild rules.”
“It’s not only Guild rules. It’s simply how things work. Call them the rules of the universe. You won’t be able to find the Relic until you’ve bonded with the shifter you’re meant to be with. Unfortunately, the rules of that son of a bitch universe dictate that he isn’t me.”
Ashlyn reached over and grabbed his hand, drawing it to her lips. “You are a beautiful man,” she said, “but right now I want to punch you.”
“Yes, that’s right. Even after giving me a stunning fucking orgasm you pissed me off. Because of it, don’t you see? You make me love being alive. You make me love everything. You make me love…” She stopped herself short of saying you. “You make me crazy, Dragon.”
“Same to you, my beautiful blond bombshell,” he said, climbing over her, dragging her thighs apart with a powerful hand. His hard-on rested on her belly, eager to work its way inside her again. “This night is far from over. And I’m about to make you even crazier.”
The Heath
“Do you really have to go?” Ashlyn’s arm was draped over Aegis’s bare chest, her chin resting on his shoulder as she lay on her stomach next to him. The faint, quiet light of a rising morning sun eased through the glass ceiling, casting nebulous rays about the room. Reminding them both that a new day had dawned.
Which meant saying good-bye one last time.
Aegis’s fingertips were stroking a slow line up and down her back as he marvelled at her silken smoothness. “I really do, I’m afraid,” he said. “Lumen says this meeting’s important, and I have information to present to the Guild that could be helpful.”
“Information about me,” she said, pulling back to look him in the eye.
Aegis nodded. “Among other things, yes.”
“About how I’m not supposed to be with you. They’ll tell you, no doubt, that we’re not supposed to care about each other. Your Guild will tell you to stay away from me.”
Aegis ground his jaw in silence. Hearing the words from her lips was like a knife in his heart, twisting slowly and relentlessly. “You’re right. They will have plans for you that don’t involve me. But the Guild isn’t malicious. No one is out to hurt us, Ashlyn.”
She rolled over to turn her back on him. “You’re the only one that I want. You’re the only man I’ve ever really wanted in my life. You can tell them that if you like. Tell them that nothing they say or do will change it.”
Aegis fought off the smile that was trying to make its way to his lips. “I want you too,” he said. “And they already know it all too well. I suspect that Lumen is well aware of what went on in this room last night, and if it makes you feel any better, he’s probably none too happy about it.”
“Well, he should be. You’re friends; he should be happy for you.”
“He should, but he’s also my boss, in a manner of speaking. I won’t be surprised if I get a good hard punch in the throat when I leave here.”
“Tell him that if he hurts you, he’s got to deal with me, would you?” said Ashlyn, rolling onto her back and managing a smirk.
“That should strike fear into his heart. I’ve seen you in action. I know what you’re capable of.”
“Damn right.”
Aegis leaned over and kissed her lips gently. “I’ll be back in a few hours, okay? I’ll see you then and let you know what’s happened. Just do me a favour and get some rest. The fever may be gone, but there’s no guarantee that it’ll stay away.”
With those words he swept his legs over the edge of the bed and rose to his feet, keeping his back to Ashlyn as he pulled his clothes on. Looking at her again would have hurt too much. Without saying it, he knew that he’d just fed her a lie. This was the last time he’d see her before she was paired with Kabal. The others would see to that.
“I’ll rest,” she muttered, stretching her arms over her head. “But you can’t ask me to like it.”
“I won’t.”
Without another word, Aegis left the room and closed the door behind him.
* * *
An hour later, Aegis moved his gaze around the immense wooden table that was the focal point of the Guild’s meeting place under Hampstead Heath. The long chamber flanked by rich windows of stained glass had been the gathering place for many Dragon shifters over the years, and today was no exception. Lumen sat at the head, surrounded by the twin brothers Lumen and Minach, Kabal, Kliev, Tryst, and the Scottish shifters Aramis and Domnal.
The only human present was Trix, Lyre’s mate, who sat next to him, intent on hearing the latest news.
Lumen hadn’t brought up the fact that he knew where Aegis had spent the night, and it was just as well. They needed to get down to business and a spat wouldn’t be a great way to start the meeting. Lumen knew as well as Aegis did that a night of passion would have little consequence in the face of what was coming.
It was the Alpha who spoke to the Guild first, getting straight to the point. “By now you’re all aware of the attacks that occurred in London two nights ago,” he said. “Domnal and Aramis were on patrol and managed to take down two Forsaken, but it seems that many more of the enemy were making their move as those attacks took place. It’s time to step up our efforts and with that in mind, we will need to proceed as soon as possible with the finding of the remaining Relics.”
“Lyre and I told you there was no verse to lead us to the third,” said Trix. “So I’m confused. How are we supposed to proceed without such vital information?”
“I can answer that,” said Aegis, looking around the table as he rose to his feet. “I met someone that same night—an American woman, one with amazing abilities. It’s a fairly long story, but Lumen, Neko and I have determined that she must be the Seeker of Fire. She’s in possession of a verse that will lead us to the third Relic.”
“What?” Minach shot out, a rumbling laugh escaping his chest. “The blond beauty is one of ours? Well, isn’t this a surprise?”
“Yes, it is,” Aegis replied, “and it isn’t. She’s English originally, adopted by a British couple and raised in the United States. I suppose fate stole her away for a time, but she was always meant to find the Dragon Guild. It would seem that she was always meant to be a Seeker.”
“But a Seeker needs a mate,” said Minach, turning his gaze to look at Kabal, the copper-haired shifter who sat quietly on the opposite side of the table. “There is only one Dragon of Fire here.”
Kabal’s face appeared stunned, as though someone had leapt out at him from behind a door. “She’s to be my mate?” he said, his lips downturned in a hard grimace. “But I haven’t even bloody met her.”
“Doesn’t matter. If she’s the Seeker of Fire, then it stands to reason that you’re to be her man,” Minach said. “Lumen and Lyre recently found their mates, and they’re quite happy with their choices. Aren’t you, lads?” He scanned the faces of the two men he’d mentioned. Lyre’s face, identical to Minach’s, erupted into an enormous smile as he reached for Trix. But Lumen frowned. It should have been clear to anyone with an ounce of empathy that Aegis was hurting. Typical Minach, being an insensitive assgoblin.
“Yes, we’re bloody happy,” he said, “but that’s not the point. This is a matter of duty. We’re going to have to introduce Kabal to Ashlyn as soon as possible. It’s the only logical pairing to guide us to the next Relic.” He glanced over at Aegis, a look of apology taking over his face.
“Well, of course I’ll perform my duty,” Kabal said, though he didn’t look like a man who was excited about the prospect of love, or even sex. “For the Guild, I mean.”
“Good. Then it’s settled. Now as for the attacks, Aegis has more news for us.”
“Right,” said Aegis, attempting to conceal the pain in his chest as he addressed the room. He wished he’d never heard of the damned Relics, let alone gotten involved in their discovery.
This was torture; all he wanted to do was reach over and throttle poor Kabal, who was blameless in the living hell that had become Aegis’s life. His only sodding crime was being born into a desirable bloodline.
“I can help,” Aegis said, looking around the table, palms flattened on its dark surface. “Ashlyn was also attacked two nights ago, also by a Forsaken. But hers was not a random assault.”
“No?” said Minach, “what was it?”
“The man knew her name. He knew where she was staying. And, perhaps ev
en more disturbing, he was half-Dragon shifter.” Gasps erupted from every corner of the room.
“That can’t be,” said Kliev, who’d been silent until that moment.
“I assure you that it is. Which means that another Dragon shifter has betrayed his or her kind by bonding with a Blood-seeker.”
“Good lord. I’d heard rumours, but I never thought they could be true,” Kliev said. “I couldn’t fathom it.”
Lumen turned to the Guild’s only female shifter, who had the gift of Sight. “What are your thoughts on this, Tryst? Does any of it come as a surprise?”
She clamped her lips shut, a distant look invading her face. “Not entirely,” she said. “As Kliev said, there have been rumours. I know of a shifter, a very old one, who has spoken of such things. Genetic enhancements, as it were. I’ve heard others speak of his obsessions. But like Kliev, I thought the rumours might be nothing more than idle talk. I haven’t seen anything in my mind’s eye to alert me. Perhaps my Sight is weak these days.” Tryst looked tired, as though an enormous weight were sitting on her shoulders.
“The shifter, is he someone you know?”
She shook her head. “Not well. I’m only vaguely acquainted with him, and I can tell you that I wouldn’t want to know him well. He is cruel and callous, and has been responsible for more than one murder of our kind over the years.”
When Tryst had finished speaking, Lyre’s deep internal voice came at everyone in the room, silently echoing through their minds. The hearing-impaired shifter rarely spoke out loud, but with his fellow Guild members and his mate, his inability to hear or to speak was seldom an issue. “Do you think he’s the one they spoke of under Glastonbury Tor? The leader of this recent uprising of Forsaken?”
“Anything is possible, unfortunately,” Lumen replied out loud, facing Lyre. “But there is some good news, as well. Aegis was clever when he encountered the Dragon hybrid. I’ll let him tell you about it.”
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