by Mary Auclair
Her words seemed to penetrate Aldric’s remotely aware mind. His face regained some normalcy but his pupils remained vertical. He turned his head and scanned the crowd in a silent assessment. Dalgo nodded, the subtle movement barely visible.
Aldric locked gazes with Endora again. Slowly, his hold on her softened, then he withdrew. He took a step back, putting distance between them, winning an obvious battle against his instincts.
In a flash, Aldric turned and climbed Rhyl’s body with fluid, agile strength. Powerful wings flapped, creating wind strong enough to send the glasses on the tables to shatter on the floor. The man and his dragon took to the sky.
They were gone.
The crowd erupted in cheers and applause and Endora turned to face them, stunned and trembling. She swallowed repeatedly, trying to wrap her head around what had just happened. Did Aldric really just almost make love to her in front of the guests, then leave her alone?
Dalgo walked toward her, fast, with a serious expression on his face.
“Come with me, Lady Endora,” he said in a low whisper as soon as he was close enough. “Let’s get you to the chamber before Aldric returns.”
“He just left me here,” Endora said, still stunned. “Where did he go?”
“The Aldric you met is not there anymore.” Dalgo stared at her, and she saw by the look on his face that he was worried. “What you saw is the beast inside him. He was able to leave to collect himself, but he won’t be able to stay away for long. When he comes back, you need to be careful.”
“You think he can hurt me.” It wasn’t a question, just a stating of a sobering, terrifying fact.
“Aldric is consumed by the dragon’s hunger.” Dalgo shook his head, his face twisted with worry. “He’s always been so in control. I wasn’t sure before now, but I’ve seen the beast within him at your contact. You are his Draekarra, he won’t hurt you. Not if he finds you waiting for him.”
The last words seemed to put some sense of urgency in him, and Dalgo gently held Endora’s elbow as he led her through the crowd of clapping and smiling guests. They finally walked outside of the feast hall and into the deserted hallways of Whispering Castle.
“So this Draekar thing,” Endora asked when they were alone, “it changes him, right? I mean, his eyes… his face.”
“That is only on the surface,” Dalgo answered, not stopping. “The link is much deeper. His impulse to seal your union will force him back. He must not find you gone when that happens.”
“Then why did he leave like that?” Endora was at a loss. Everything she thought she understood about Aldric and the Draekons turned out to be false, and she was confused and scared.
“He must have been aware of his loss of control.” Dalgo finally stopped in front of a large wooden door. “These are Aldric’s personal quarters. You must wait for him here.”
Endora put her palm on the door, then turned to look at Dalgo. His serious face lit up with a warm smile, and he nodded.
“Aldric might not know what is good for him, but Rhyl does. He needs you more than he knows, and so much more than he wants to admit to himself. Don’t push him out before giving him a chance.”
With that, Dalgo turned around and left. Endora was alone. After a few moments, she pushed open the door and walked inside Aldric’s rooms.
Chapter 7
Endora was jolted awake by the sound of feet on the stone floor. She realized she had fallen asleep in the large chair by the bed as she was waiting for Aldric to come back to his rooms. Her pulse ran a crazy beat as she struggled to see through the darkness. A dark outline slowly moved in the back of the room and a cold wind caressed her arms, covering her flesh in goosebumps. The wispy form of curtains moving in the wind told her the window was open. Whoever was inside had come from there. The temperature in Aldric’s bedroom was colder than in her own, and the piles of heating crystal were smaller, casting the room in a subdued darkness. Fear coursed through her veins as she remembered Dalgo’s warning words.
This was the night of the mating, and she knew what that meant. Anticipation traveled through her body, filling each one of her cells.
“Aldric?” Her voice rang hollow in the air, choked and small.
She sat up straighter in the chair, afraid to move. Her eyes adjusted to the low light from the small piles of heating crystals, and she scrutinized the moving shadows with wild, wide open eyes. The outline, which she could now see was definitely male, paced back and forth across the back wall, not answering.
Slowly, she stood, taking a tentative step away from the chair.
“You’re scaring me,” she whispered, afraid to speak louder. “If it’s you, please say something.”
The form stopped, then one of the orbs lit up slightly, illuminating the features of the person standing in the room. Aldric’s face made her heart jolt and her pulse pound. His eyes shone, the pale, mirror-like irises reflecting the low light, his vertical pupils two thin black lines in the middle. His mouth was tight, and his entire body radiated strength and virile hunger. Instead of his usual Lord’s leather tunic, he wore a simple white cotton shirt which lay open on his glorious, well-muscled chest. His hair fell wild and untamed on each side of his face.
He was as terrifying as he was entrancing.
Aldric’s dragon stare latched onto her face, then slid down her body in a slow assessment. His compressed lips relaxed and he swallowed, hard, the movement clearly visible even in the low light. She felt her flesh respond to the obvious approval in his eyes.
“I have been waiting for you,” Endora said, unnerved by his long silence.
Aldric’s eyes flashed and she had the distinct feeling he was fighting to control himself from doing something that would frighten her.
“I had to stay away for a while.” Aldric spoke, but his voice wasn’t his own. It was raspy and low, like a growl. Like a dragon’s growl. “I can’t stay away any longer.”
The words skittered across Endora’s skin like a light caress, and she felt her nipples harden under the silk of her dress. Her entire body seemed to respond to his, even though he hadn’t touched her yet.
“I’m glad,” she whispered.
Aldric’s head shot up and he took a few steps in her direction, stopping at arm’s length from her. This close, she could see the subtle changes in his features as the beast within him fought to surface. His eyes were the most obvious, but his cheekbones were also more prominent, and his skin shone with an almost scale-like texture.
The beast was there, just under the surface. Ready to leap out and burn everything in its wake.
“Don’t you know you can get burned by playing with fire?” Aldric’s teeth showed as he spoke, revealing two elongated canines.
A violent electric shock burst through Endora’s mind at the sight. Dalgo had been right. Aldric wasn’t himself, he was possessed by the beast’s desire to make her his mate. A current of fear invaded her as she asked herself how he would take her. He had never showed violence before, but would he do so now?
She chose to stay silent but she lifted her chin, showing him she wasn’t about to be cowed. She was no match for his strength, but that didn’t mean she was going to take abuse.
Aldric’s stare slid to her shoulders, which were almost bare except for the two strands of lace holding up her gown. He extended his arm and a jolt of pure energy shot through her from the contact of his fingers on her skin. His touch was hot, much hotter than a normal man’s body, and it filled her with an erotic kind of awe. Slowly, he pushed the lace strand down the curve of her shoulder, baring the top of her breast as it fell. His hungry eyes took in the curve of her neck, and his thumb caressed the pulsating softness at the base of her throat.
A growl, low and rolling deep in the throat, escaped his mouth. It wasn’t the sound of a man, it was the sound of a beast, laying claim to its mate.
His other hand reached and yanked the second lace strand on her other shoulder, baring her breasts to his view. Endora yelped, an
d her breathing became erratic, but she stayed still.
Aldric’s stare turned feral as he locked it on her bared chest. She was entranced by the silent madness of his features, the intensity of his violent impulses. Yet he restrained his violence, the darkness of his lust only showing in his eyes, burning with wicked things and untold pleasures.
His hand cupped her left breast while he lightly pinched her right nipple with two fingers, and she bit her lip to stifle a cry of delight. Aldric took his time, rolling her erect flesh between his fingers until it was marble hard.
A slight moan escaped her lips, and Endora shut her eyes at the intensity of the pleasure.
This seemed to increase Aldric’s lust and he quickly grabbed the front of her gown, then, in one powerful, quick motion, he ripped the fabric in half, revealing her full body to his view.
Endora gasped and her hands—inactive until now—grasped the sides of her beautiful, ruined dress, trying to close it.
“No.” His words rose in a raspy, animalistic snarl. “Do not cover yourself.”
She let go of the panels of her dress and the fabric opened on each side of her body, revealing her front to his view. Aldric’s eyes traveled down her body, from her breasts, to the soft, supple skin of her stomach before stopping at the short cover of curls between her legs. His face went slack, and his eyes shone with a renewed hunger, more than she had ever seen in a man.
“Take it off,” he ordered. “I want to see you. I want to see all of you.”
She lowered her arms and, in one movement, the remains of the gown fell to the floor at her feet. The sound of the silk and lace was smooth and strangely melodious, as if even the way it traveled through the air held grace. As Aldric’s expression turned dangerous, a jangle of excitement twisted in her belly and she felt heat and moisture spread between her legs.
Almost too fast for the eye to see, Aldric covered the distance between them, one hand locking against her spine, crushing her body into his. She could feel his heartbeat against her own, the heat of his body enclosing her in a hurricane of want and need.
His hand on her back slid down to grab her ass, pushing her against his erection, while his other hand closed around her neck, his strong fingers curving around it. Her hands flattened against his hard chest, moving without her being aware of it until one reached inside his shirt, touching his hot, smooth skin. Aldric groaned under the touch, and his hand on her ass squeezed harder.
His hot lips closed on the hollow at the base of her throat, and Endora felt passion rise inside her. Without thinking, she moved closer, rubbing herself against him, her free hand gliding through his hair. This seemed to increase Aldric’s already burning lust, and he growled, low and deep, then swept her up into his arms. In a few seconds, they were at the bed.
Gently, with a tenderness and care that surprised her, he laid her down on the soft surface. He straightened and, in a few quick, efficient moves, sent his shirt flying over his head, exposing the perfect expanse of his muscled torso. His stare never left her as he opened the waist of his pants, then bared the rest of his body.
Endora’s pulse quickened as she stared at the magnificence of him. His torso was lean and muscled, to the flat planes of his stomach, and the bulging musculature of his thighs. His erection stood straight at attention. Wet heat rose between her legs and her belly quivered with fearful excitement. His manhood was long and thick, way more so than her only other previous lover. It had been almost eleven years since she’d had sex, and she was filled with anticipation, but also with a not so small amount of fear.
Without talking, Aldric climbed on the bed on top of her, holding his weight on his arms. She was a prisoner of her growing lust, unable to move or resist the magnetic pull of his perfect, virile face. As he lowered himself to her side, his eyes traveled down her offered body with slow possessiveness.
“Mine.” His hand closed on her ankle, then traveled slowly up her calf, pausing behind her knee.
The word was a statement of possession, but it was also said with tenderness, and didn’t rattle her anger like it should have. There was a world of promises in that simple word, for if she was his, he was also hers. She could feel the truth of it coursing through her veins, as real as blood.
Aldric’s hand traveled up her thigh, following the curve of her hip. His breathing became deeper, faster as he paused, his thumb tracing dangerously close to the inside of her leg, where the soft curls of her sex began. A swarm of melting softness rose up her flesh, making her damp with the need of him. She wanted him on her, around her, inside her. She wanted him so hard it hurt.
“Mine.”
Aldric moved his hand up the small of her back, leaving a wasteland of pure ecstasy in his wake. It finally closed around one of her breasts, pinching the nipple between his index finger and his thumb. Endora moved, ready to ask him for more, but she lost her voice along with her mind as his hot lips closed around her other nipple, sucking it hard. She arched her back instinctively, her body begging for more. She couldn’t stay silent anymore, she moaned and twisted under Aldric’s touch.
Her moans turned to small yelps of surrender as his hand slid between her thighs, cupping her sex. His long, thick finger parted her, and found her wet and begging for his touch. He slid his finger up and down her slit, then two fingers pinched her clit, rubbing it lightly. Shots of pleasure ran all the way to Endora’s brain.
Just like that, she shattered.
She screamed under the intensity of the orgasm, riding wave upon wave of violent, pure rapture. Finally, her body relaxed and her mind shed the fog of pleasure. Endora opened her eyes to stare directly into her mate’s alien eyes. Aldric’s face was overs hers, and their gazes locked together as he lifted his body and settled between her legs, pushing her thighs apart with his knees. She could feel his hot, throbbing length at her entrance.
“You’re mine, Endora Papineau,” he said, and the open intensity of his statement resonated within a hidden, secret place, deep in her bones. “Now and forever. I want to hear you say it.”
“I’m yours.” Her throat was a knot of reeling emotions, but her voice was crystal clear. “And you’re mine, too.”
Their eyes locked and their breathing came in unison as he lowered his hips. Endora’s breath caught as Aldric breached her body. He moved inside her with a single long motion, filling her completely, sending sensations deep inside her. He paused, allowing her body time to adjust, his eyes never leaving hers.
Following blind instincts, she started to move under him, pushing and rubbing against him. Aldric closed his hands on her hips, immobilizing her. He withdrew almost completely before pushing inside her again, sending hot flashes of sensation deep inside her body. He repeated the motion again, and again, with a formidable amount of control, always staring into her eyes. Pleasure began to build anew, and she struggled to move under Aldric’s absolute control.
As she tried to move, he withdrew and pushed harder and faster, reaching deeper inside her with every thrust. His hold on her hips turned to steel and his mouth tightened to a slim line. He was losing himself in his own pleasure, and it only made her own more explosive.
Suddenly, his face clouded and he lifted his head, roaring. His movements became harsh, the thrusts almost punitive as he pounded inside her as deep as he could.
The second wave of rapture blindsided Endora and she arched her back, shutting her eyes. She screamed her pleasure, losing herself in the sensation of him under the total power of the orgasm. Then Aldric pushed one final time, joining her in ecstasy as he allowed his own release to spill.
A masculine roar accompanied his pleasure; strong and wild.
Afterward, he rested his face in the crook of her neck and his hot breath caressed her sensitive skin. Her hands flattened against his large back, and she could feel every shudder traveling down his spine.
“What have you done to me?” Aldric whispered into her hair. “You put a spell on me, little Dora.”
The word
s made Endora turn her head, and Aldric lifted his own to come right over her face. She couldn’t look away from him, the way his face was framed by the heavy curtain of his almost white hair, his features an aesthetic beauty, masculine and perfect, like a piece of art.
His eyes glowed like mirrors alight from the other side, pure expanses of precious silver, vertical pupils slashing them in the middle. Alien eyes, eyes of untold power. She could see the beast there, just under the surface, in the sheen of his skin and the sharp angle of his bones. There was something in his gaze, something that made her stomach twist in a series of violent flutters, her throat closing and her heart beating a fast, unsteady rhythm.
It was the way he looked at her, as though the world began and ended in her arms.
It would be so easy to get lost in eyes like that, allow the formidable power of the High Lord to take control. Endora swallowed, then looked away. She couldn’t allow herself to fall for him—not now, not ever.
A second later, he lifted himself off her, and the moment was broken. As his skin deserted hers, she felt the loss of him inside her bones, and the cold of the night settled on her body like the embrace of a lover.
Aldric got up from the bed, and walked to the corner of the room. She was certain he would ask her to leave his rooms and go back to her own, but a few seconds later, darkness invaded the chamber. She blinked, her eyes unable to adapt to the sudden loss of light. She heard movement and steps, then a hot, warm body joined her in the bed.
As Aldric cradled her in his warmth, she allowed the blistering heat from his body to soothe her. Exhaustion and the release of accumulated tension washed over her, and she found she couldn’t fight the comforting feeling of his arm around her. Sleep washed over her like a tidal wave, and she was under in less than a minute.
The sound of faint voices whispering reached her consciousness and Endora blinked her eyelids a few times before her mind shed the fog of sleep. Her head felt heavy and her body screamed for more sleep, but she refused to hear their pleas. She had slept enough. She extended her arm to the other side of the bed and found it empty and cold. Aldric was gone.
