After a few moments of us staring back silently at each other, I saw Damien slowly opening his mouth, preparing to speak. His voice was husky, almost strangled…like he was struggling to hold back his desire and need. “You know, if you wanted to kiss me, you could’ve just asked…”
“W-what…?!” I spluttered, looking at him incredulously. “T-that was c-clearly an accident…” I replied, feeling completely flustered as I stood up, closing the book in my hands, and trying to look busy as I gathered my wits, deciding to make a run for it.
“Are you sure about that…? I got the feeling you didn’t exactly…mind it,” Damien remarked, the corner of his lips twitching, his face looking smug.
Pressing my lips into a thin, hard line, I shot him a scathing look. “Don’t you think you’re being obnoxious and rather presumptuous?” I retorted, starting to get fired up as I felt him pushing my buttons.
“Not at all…just calling it like I see it,” he flashed me a irritatingly brilliant white smile, the gruffness now gone from his voice with the return of his confidence, and he slowly rose to his full height, towering over me.
“Why y-you arrogant…mmmphh…mmmphh… mmmphh…” he stopped my tirade by covering my mouth with his hand.
“You’re pretty cute when you’re angry,” he chuckled, bending his head down and inching closer to me, while I tried to ward him off by glaring back…it didn’t work.
Shit. Fuck. Shit.
I automatically tried to back away, but was stopped when the back of my legs hit the wooden chair behind me. Turning my head to the side, I cast my eyes wildly around the room, searching for a way to escape this embarrassing situation.
Unexpectedly, I felt Damien start to pull the hand covering my mouth away, and for a brief moment I thought he was going to release me…instead, his hand stopped moving part-way and I felt his thumb graze my bottom lip in a gentle caress.
My body went into shock, my mind imploding as my brain seemed to short-circuit, going haywire from instant overload… Butterflies fluttered up against my chest and my heart began to thump wildly about, singing its white-hot, burning need.
Instinctively, a shiver ran down my spine…in this moment I knew my body wanted nothing more than to collapse into Damien’s strong chest, and be embraced by his powerful arms.
So…I panicked…
Shoving Damien away, his eyes widened, my reaction taking him by surprise, and he stumbled back, falling to the ground.
“Crap – I’m so s-sorry…” I squeaked, panicking, about to take a step forward to help him up, but at the last moment I heard the sound of someone’s footsteps approaching, and my eyes shot up towards the door to see Drake standing stiffly by the threshold.
His eyes seemed to harden as he took in the scene before him…his gaze darting between Damien, then me, then back to Damien. It wasn’t hard for me to imagine what he was thinking...
What with me standing there, and Damien pushing himself up by his arms as he tried to get up from the floor, a smudge of pink lip gloss on the corner of his mouth, a fallen chair knocked over beside us, and my frantic, flustered appearance, along with my flushed cheeks...
No…it definitely did not take a genius to read Drake’s current thoughts…
Pulling in a hard breath, I watched as Drake’s shoulders started to shake…I could almost hear the lurid thoughts swirling inside his head…
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing!” Drake roared, his face contorting into an expression of complete outrage – his words and the intensity of his tone startling me, and making me jump. I seemed to watch in horror as he stormed over to us, stopping beside Damien to glare at him, before coming over to my side and grabbing me by the arm.
“Come with me. Now!” He ordered, his jaw clenched tight as he pulled me away and towards the door, with an iron grasp. The scowl on his face was so fierce I didn’t dare to argue with him.
As he dragged me out of the study, I quickly chanced a glance back over my shoulder, and saw Damien rising up slowly from the floor. I was out the room before I had time to see anything more.
Drake was walking down the hallway in quick, long successive strides. I managed to keep up with him until we turned the second corner. Stumbling, I let out a sharp cry of pain. “Slow down!” I huffed out. “You’re walking way too fast!”
Drake came to an abrupt halt, turning around to look at me. I jerked my arm free, feeling slightly pissed at being dragged across the house like this. Yes, he’d saved me from an uncomfortable situation; but that didn’t give him permission to manhandle me in this way…
“Is it too much to ask for you to be more gentle?” I grimaced, rubbing the sore flesh of my forearm. Drake responded by planting his feet down firmly in front of me, shoulder width apart, his arms crossed tight over the barrel of his chest, biceps bulging out like large bowling balls, looking like a demon risen from hell about to raze the ground, as his irises burned with fire.
“What the hell did you think you were doing?!” He barked, lowering his head to my eye-level and getting right up into my face. “Are you dumb, or just fucking blind?”
My nostrils flared, eyes widening in anger. “What the fuck are you even talking about? Why the hell are you having a go at me?”
Drake let out a dry laugh, throwing back his head, the sound completely devoid of any humor. “You must be really, really stupid…either that, or you’re a cunning little snake…” he muttered with a dark look on his face, as he shook his head and buried his face in the cup of his hands.
I stared back at him indignantly, feeling angry, frustrated and confused. “I have no freaking idea what you’re talking about,” I hissed, repeating my earlier response.
“Of course you don’t,” Drake scoffed, snapping his hands away from his face, as he stared daggers at me. “Why the hell did Ethan bring you here, and insist that you live with us?” he asked bitterly, his voice coming across deep and rough.
“Can you stop talking in riddles, and just tell me what the hell you want?” I snapped, losing my patience.
Drake answered by taking a step toward me, his face looking furious, and I automatically retreated, moving a step back. “What are you do – ” I gasped. Next thing I knew, he was grabbing my arms and pushing me up against the wall.
“This…” he breathed hoarsely, his deep voice full of heat and intensity, and his lips suddenly came crashing down onto mine, forceful and demanding.
For a moment I froze, unable to react as my brain tried to process what was happening. Was Drake actually kissing me? Yes, he fucking was...
His lips were soft, despite their urgency, and I felt his tongue flicking against my mouth as it pushed against my lips, demanding entry. I lost my mind…a moan erupted from my throat and I started to kiss him back.
What the fuck am I doing? I screamed inside my head; but another part of me didn’t want to stop. It wanted this…and more.
Our tongues tangled together, each one urgently trying to plunder the lips and mouth of the other…and I found myself ravenous as I tasted Drake…both sweet and salty at the same time.
His body pressed up against me, and I whimpered as I felt my resolve crumble, and began to submit to him. My hands went to his chest, running down the front of his body, enjoying the feel of the solid muscles of his pecs and abs underneath...
Without thinking, I began to desperately claw at his shirt, wanting to rip it off. At this point, I was completely acting on emotion – desire and lust pumping through me…my brain no longer capable of thinking through things logically. All I knew was the animal inside me was wild with need…and it wanted Drake, and wouldn’t be satisfied until it had him…
Just as I reached up to undo the top buttons of Drake’s shirt, Drake stopped me by pulling away suddenly.
“Fuck…” he swore, panting and out of breath. He jerked back a step, shaking his head. Meanwhile, my heart was pounding loudly inside my chest, and I tried to control my erratic breathing, also feeling short of
oxygen.
“Drake…” I started, reaching my hand out, feeling the need to comfort him. He looked so guilt-ridden and torn…
Drake pulled himself back further, stepping out of my reach. “T-that…that wasn’t supposed to happen…” he said roughly, his voice sounding anguished.
My blood ran cold. Why did it sound like he regretted kissing me?
“This was a mistake,” he said bluntly, fisting his hands at his sides. Dread settled in my gut as his words sunk in, confirming my suspicions. I felt like I had been punched in the gut.
Yes, this was a mistake… The kiss had been a surprise, and not an unwelcome one, my mind taunted. And for a moment there, I’d felt something strange spark inside me…
You’re attracted to him… No! There was simply no way that I could like this cold and distant, not to mention arrogant asshole…absolutely no way!
Slowly, I began to peel my back away from the wall.
“You need to stay away from Damien. Don’t let yourself be alone with him,” Drake warned me – again, telling me what to do. Meanwhile, completely unaware of the storm of emotions and thoughts cycling through my mind and body…
“You can’t tell me what to do,” I retorted crossly, folding my arms while my lips took on a stubborn line. Fuck the bastard. He did not get to do this!
Drake eyes narrowed into thin slits, his jaw going hard as he clenched it. “This isn’t a game, Little Fox…” he said in a low, threatening voice that sent shivers down my back and arms. “Listen to me and don’t be stupid. Damien’s more dangerous than he seems, he’s no good for you. Stay away from him.”
Pinning me down with a piercing stare, he eyed me one final time, drumming in his point. Then without waiting to hear my response, Drake turned away and stalked off. Leaving me just…hanging there… Feeling confused and sexually frustrated.
“Forget about him!” I snapped at myself, trying to ignore the desire pumping through my blood, and the protest from my body as the yearning between my legs went unsatisfied.
Drake was a class-A jerk.
I ran a hand over my face. It was better off that our kiss had been cut short, before something more could happen. This wasn’t the time to get emotionally tied up, I reminded myself.
Remember, you’re not here to fraternize. There’s a blood contract hanging over your head, and don’t forget about your mother…
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Jasmine
For more than two days, Drake and I ignored each other…until finally, we couldn’t.
The night of the ball came, and I found myself standing outside in the large garden behind the house, shuffling from foot to foot on the lush green grass, peering up at the twilit sky as I waited several feet away, waiting for Drake to get himself ready to take us to his great grand-uncle’s house.
“Have you got everything?” Drake asked, as I stood there pulling my long, heavy cloak tighter around me, making sure it would be secure against the wind.
“Yes,” I said, lifting up the light calico, drawstring bag in my hand to show him. Inside it was his black tux, a white shirt, leather shoes, and a pair of pants – clothes he was going to change into once we arrived at Lupin’s house – and a spare set of clothes.
He nodded, seeming satisfied, and turned around, presenting his back to me.
Suddenly, a memory of our kiss flashed inside my mind and I shuddered, closing my eyelids as I recalled the sweet, yet bitter memory. A treacherous thought flitted through my mind…I wonder what he’ll think of my dress… I pushed the useless thought away, eyes snapping open.
Not far from me, Drake was hunkering down, getting ready to shift.
“Wait!” I called out abruptly, my hand reaching out to him. Straightening, he turned to look back over his shoulder at me, and I stepped forward nervously.
“Is this…ummm…going to be safe?” I asked, my voice sounding anxious and tense.
Drake caught my gaze, and he stared silently back at me for a moment. Then, the corners of his lips slowly started pulling up into a wicked smirk. “Probably…” he answered, with a nonchalant shrug of his shoulders.
I shot him a dirty look. “So what is it? Are you going to keep me safe, or you going to throw me off mid-flight?” I scowled.
“Depends…are you going to behave?” he replied his eyes glimmering with an unfathomable look before straying down to my lips, making me blush. Feeling slightly flustered, I looked away, avoiding his heated gaze.
I cleared my throat. “If you drop me, Ethan will be pissed,” I countered, surprised at being able to muster a response, and even more impressed with myself for sounding so normal.
Drake snorted harshly, a look of disdain curling his lips, and leaned in towards me, his head inches from my face. “I think you overestimate how much influence Ethan has over me. He’d hardly be able to convince me to let you ride on my back…unless, I also wanted it too…” His beautiful green eyes glimmered with a million unsaid words as he looked at me, and for a moment I led myself to believe there was maybe some hidden meaning behind them – allowed myself to be caught thinking that Drake…might actually care.
But I dashed the notion to bits as soon as Drake straightened up, and the moment was broken. With his thick long lashes hooding his eyes, and a guarded expression on his face, Drake spoke again. “Don’t worry. I promise to keep you safe. Afterall, what sort of dragon would I be if I couldn’t even manage that…”
Against reason, my heart skipped a beat, and I huddled deeper into my thick, dark cloak, trying to hide myself, finding comfort in the softness of the gray fur lining.
“Stand back,” Drake instructed, getting back to business. “I’m going to shift now. Then we’ll go.”
I nodded dumbly, taking a few steps back as I watched Drake preparing himself, hunching his shoulders over, his elbows bent out.
The wind seemed to pick up suddenly, and it concentrated its force around Drake’s feet. I could see some yellow sparks as a whirlwind seemed to surround him, with Drake’s body in the middle of its vortex.
In a matter of seconds, Drake’s body erupted into some giant, massive reptilian beast with wings, shredding his clothes to bits. His set of golden-red scales shone with some iridescent glow, shimmering as Drake stretched out his draconian body.
I gasped, blinking several times, hardly believing my eyes. He was monstrous…yet beautiful at the same time. And even from this distance I could feel the heat emanating from his body.
Drake turned his snouty head towards me, steam hissing from his nostrils.
“Get on,” his deep voice rumbled, and it took me a second to unfreeze. I staggered forwards, towards him, and he swished out his tail until its tip was lying on the ground just a few feet in front of me.
I got the message and climbed onto it, grabbing a hold of one of the black spikes jutting out from his skin.
I felt myself wobble, almost losing my balance as he effortlessly lifted me up into the air, and then onto his back.
Stumbling off his tail, I was in complete awe. I couldn’t believe I was standing on the back of a dragon! A mother-freaking, mythical fire-breathing dragon!
Still feeling amazed, I made my way cautiously down his back, to an area just behind his neck where I hoped would be out of the wind, and after hitching up my dress, sat down, trying to get myself into a comfortable position.
The bag I placed down against my front, beneath my coat, slipping its ropey straps over my arms to ensure I didn’t lose it mid-flight.
“Hold on,” Drake warned, and I felt his body coil up tight, belly pressing hard against the ground.
The next second, he took off into the air with a whoosh.
“Awaaahh!” I shrieked, crying out in alarm, almost losing my grip on his soft, coppery gold mane as he soared into the air. His wings beat powerfully as we flew through the open sky. The wind rushed past my ears, and I looked down to see the houses on the ground shrinking, until all I could make out was tiny lights dotting the dark
landscape below.
The clouds brushed past us, light and misty, as we cut through them with great speed, and I tucked myself deeper into my coat, protecting myself against the chilly, evening air.
“Tell me again – why aren’t we taking the car like normal people?” I shouted above the roar of the wind.
Drake chuckled, and I felt the gentle rumble underneath me, as the vibration of the sound radiated along his body.
“Uncle Lupin lives in an enchanted space…to keep unwanted people out,” he explained wryly. “You can’t get there by normal modes of transport. Only by magic.”
“I see…” I mumbled. But really, I didn’t. Uncle Lupin sounded like some eccentric, paranoid, old man. Maybe he is… I thought, imagining some bald dude, with a few wisps of white hair remaining on his head, dressed in suspenders and slacks, his pouched belly sticking out…
Oh well, we’ll soon find out…
I sat back, thinking I might as well enjoy the ride. Drake had told me the flight would probably take about an hour.
Settling myself down, I closed my eyes, feeling the cool rush of air around me, tousling the silky threads of Drake’s mane beneath my fingers. His scales were solid and warm beneath my legs, and I suddenly felt a rush of exhilaration.
Three quarters of the way there, Drake looked back to check on me. “We’re almost there,” he said, reassured to see I was alright. “The last leg of the journey is going to be a little strange,” he warned. “We’re going to have to pass through a magical portal to get to the boundary of Uncle Lupin’s house.”
“Okay,” I replied back, nodding.
Drake inclined his head, acknowledging my response. Then turning back to face the front, he swooped smoothly to the left.
What happened next took me completely by surprise!
Drake, opening his great, big mouth, blasted out a thick column of fire into the empty sky. It was red and white, and hot, coming forth in a powerful, uninterrupted beam. At the spot where it landed, it seemed to rip open the very fabric of time and space, and a black vortex appeared in the place soon after. It opened wider, and through it I could see another, different evening sky, glittering with white stars and two blue moons.
Dragon Lords Blood Contract Page 17
