by Alicia Banks
Antoine agreed that he wouldn’t make her wait long at all. He was worried about how everything was going to turn out. At the same time, Antoine knew that he had to have faith in the plan. He didn't have it yet, it was still forming in his head, but one last person to take out wasn’t that bad. Then, he would have peace and he could be mated properly, ceremonies could be done. There was a lot to do and Antoine was ready to get on the other side of the civil war he was in the middle of. Once Gill was gone, Nathan could continue with his transition and everything would be as it was supposed to be.
***
It was just as Antoine had suspected. He had immediately gone to get Nathan and told Nathan about Cassandra’s dream. Nathan had been a little skeptical, but when he realized how sure Antoine was about it, he got dressed and the two of them went out. They probably should have gotten more people, but Antoine was in the mood to do some damage. He wanted to get back to his life, and the only way that was going to happen was to squash out any rebellion that was left.
When they got there, Fire Islands was literally on fire. They could easily see Gill up in the sky, going back and forth, spraying everything with fire. The heat was intense, and they silently shifted into their true forms. It would not only keep them safe from the intensity of the heat, but it would give them the upper hand. It would be two on one and Antoine was hopeful that those odds would be what was needed. All they had to do was take him down.
Before, they would have worried about collateral damage. Of course, they didn't want to make more trouble than there already was. Obviously, though, half of the village was burning and there was already so much collateral damage. The only worry was to take Gill out of the sky as quickly as possible. Only then would they be able to put the rest of it back together and find out what kind of damage had really been done.
Antoine moved to the east of Gill and Nathan started up to the west. He didn’t have flying capabilities, but the idea was that Antoine was going to fire- breathe him down to the ground, and then Nathan would be able to take over. There was strength in both of the forms, the differences complementing each other. They had done several attacks together recently and had gotten rather good at it.
Gill did not stand a chance. He was taken down rather quickly, and Antoine did not make the mistake of allowing him to live. He was always going to wonder what would have happened if he would have just chased him down the day before. Then, a lot of bad stuff could have been avoided.
On the flip side, Antoine knew that even though he lost his house and Cassandra had taken a little bit of time to get used to the idea, he knew that it was the push that he had to have to do what was needed. It had been nearly impossible to get up the courage to tell her he was a dragon. But then when it came down to it, when he needed to be the one to save her life, he hadn't even thought about it. That was the silver lining in the whole situation.
Once Gill was taken care of and they had helped put out some of the fires, Antoine and Nathan made their way back. They were both tired and Antoine asked his friend something that had been on his mind for a while.
“Do you regret it?”
“Regret what?”
“Do you regret finding out who you are and becoming king? I mean, I know that it's a cool title and everything, but it has caused a whole lot of problems. Would you have rather just stayed the way it was and not known?”
“No, it is always better to know, Antoine, even if it's hard to deal with.”
Antoine agreed, and he knew that Cassandra did as well. He was well aware of how she must be feeling. He had crashed into her, and it changed everything for her. Antoine didn't regret it, but he wondered if Cassandra would. Would she wish that they had never met? Now, not only did she know about supernatural beings and a whole other side of the world that she didn't know existed, but she was soon going to give birth to a hybrid version of one. Not to mention, she’d almost been killed several times. There was a lot that Antoine had done to change her life, despite coming into it by accident. What would happen if she regretted it and wanted to leave?
He crawled into bed next to her and pulled her in close.
“Mmm. You smell nice.”
“I just got out of the shower.”
Cassandra pulled him in to her sleeping form and told him that she needed attention. Antoine, as always, was more than happy to oblige.
“I must say, Cassandra, not that it's a bad thing, but you get turned on by the strangest things.”
“Shut up and kiss me.”
Chapter 15
Cassandra
She knew that he had just done something bad. He smelled of cologne, but also of fire and soot. When she kissed him, she could smell it in his hair.
“Do we have anything to worry about now?”
He looked at her. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, did you take care of Gill?”
He agreed, and Cassandra wanted to know if he was really sure of it that time.
“I know that I said I would before, but I do hate to kill. It damages a part of your soul every time you do it.”
“I know, but I just want to know if we’re safe.”
“We are. We will have to stay at a hotel for a while until my house is built, but yes, we’re safe.”
“Why would we do that?”
“Do what?”
“Stay at a hotel?”
He looked at her confused, waiting for clarification. He couldn’t see another way.
“I have a place, Antoine, remember? Last I checked, it hasn’t been fire-bombed, so you can come stay with me.”
“Ah, with your knick-knacks.”
“Aww, you remembered.”
He didn’t answer her back but kissed her. They had a destination and even though he was going to be out of his comfort zone there, he was going to be with Cassandra, so that was all that mattered.
“Do you want to leave now?”
“Not right now, but soon.”
They kissed and neither one of them came up for air for a while.
***
Antoine looked around and Cassandra was waiting for his reaction. She knew that they had very different styles and she wanted him to feel at home there. She had felt at home with him and Cassandra wanted to return the favor.
“It’s nice, small, but nice. Won’t do for long, a few months. I can get a lot done in a few months.”
Cassandra sighed. “I think it will work for a time. The baby won’t be here for a while.”
“Well, take whatever time you think you have in mind and half it.”
“Half it?”
“Yeah, it’s about half the time, even for humans.”
Cassandra shook her head. She had so much to learn and now she had even less time. “You don’t think you could have told me that a while ago?”
“We had a lot going on.”
She smiled and agreed. They’d been running ragged for weeks now and she hoped that it was finally time to settle down. It’s what she needed.
“Yeah, we did. Is it always going to be like that? It seems like shifters move a little faster than normal people.”
He scoffed. “That may be true for a lot of them, but I am not bothered by any of it. The only thing I want to do is live peacefully. I’ve found my mate, kids are on the way, this is what I’m looking forward to. I don’t like all of the excitement. I can truly do without it.”
She smiled and showed him where they’d be sleeping. “I’d like something slow for a while. I think I’ve had enough excitement to last me for a while.”
Antoine liked the sound of that and told her so. Cassandra was still trying to get over how strange it was to have him there. She wanted to believe that everything was going to work out, but he wasn’t human.
“So, what other secrets do you have?”
He laughed. “You don’t forget anything, do you?”
“When it comes to things like that, no, I guess I don’t.”
“There isn’t much else. I am sure
that there are going to be incidences that I don’t even think about, until I see them or they happen.”
“So, that’s all of it?”
“Yeah, dragon, you’re pregnant, I love you. That’s about the gist of it.”
“The last one wasn’t a secret.”
“No? I never said anything about it.”
“You didn’t have to. I think I have always known, just like I always knew that I wanted to be with you.”
“Fate?”
Cassandra shrugged. He said it so casually, but it was a pretty big deal. The worst part of it all was the fact that there was no other explanation.
“Maybe.”
“Do you know how much I look forward to all of the mating ceremonies?”
“I hate to break it to you, Antoine, but the best has already happened.”
He grinned. “It has all been just warm-ups.”
She giggled. “Is that right?”
He agreed. “We have a lot of work yet to do.”
“You don’t say.”
“I do. We haven’t tried out your bed yet.”
“In my experience, you hardly ever stay on the bed.”
He picked her up and walked her over, kissing her along the way. He settled her down and she held onto his neck, not letting go of him. Cassandra didn’t want to. She wanted to cling to him forever.
He kissed her and felt her up, finally reaching the apex between her legs and moaning when he pressed against her. She fell to the bed and finally released his neck.
Cassandra looked up at Antoine, taking his shirt off and her eyes took in the hard chest, sprinkled with dark hair. She sat up, running her fingers through it and whining when he got off the bed to get the rest of his clothes off.
“So, are you going to do that eye-glowy thing like you did last time?”
“Eye glowy thing? What are you talking about?”
“You know, the first time we were together and you lost control, your eyes glowed.”
Antoine grinned. “Ah, my dragon coming out. It chose you, you know. I would have eventually. I knew that I wanted you from the start, but it was my dragon that claimed you as its own.”
“You talk about it like it’s not a part of you, but something added.”
“It is a part of me, but it is separate from me as well, if that makes sense. When it comes out, it doesn’t do it often, and it’s for something very important. The first time saved my life against bullies that threw me off of a bridge. It came out then and I flew for the first time. It came out with you, because I needed you that badly in my life. It was a desperate situation.”
“Oh.”
She felt disappointed with his answer, but when he asked her what was wrong, she didn’t respond right away. Cassandra didn’t know how to describe how she was feeling, not right then.
“Not good enough?”
Cassandra smiled and waved him off, telling him that it was nothing like that.
“No?”
She shook her head. “No, I was just hoping that your dragon could come out and play.”
Antoine’s eyes widened for a moment and he told her again how surprising she was.
“Is it really that surprising that I’d want a big, strong man like you? I like when you lose control and take me with you.”
Cassandra was unbuttoning her shirt and letting her skirt rise up on her legs. She wanted him to see her, really see her, and then give her what she needed. Cassandra didn’t realize how quickly her plan would work and how strong Antoine’s reaction would be.
It was almost immediate. He was looking at her, and then his eyes glowed, and she gasped. “This is what you wanted, no?”
She agreed, but it was still a sight to see. He was back on the bed, eyes leading the way and she stopped taking off what was left. She was transfixed by the way he looked at her and the expression on his face. It was like he was gone and something else was in its place.
Cassandra tried to joke with him, but he was too serious. He yanked her down the bed by her ankles, until she was hanging off of the bed rather unceremoniously. She whimpered as he ripped her clothes off the rest of the way and then pressed his hand against her.
“Antoine, wait.”
Antoine didn’t wait, though. He instead slammed forward, sending her toward the headboard. He just yanked her back and held her in place, so no matter how much force was put into a thrust, she no longer moved away from him.
Cassandra came repeatedly, calling for more, less, everything. She was to her limit, past it most likely, but Antoine wasn’t even slowing down. She finally had to beg him to come. It had worked before, when he was lost in the moment, and that time was no different.
His lips pressed down on hers, while his hips went forward. He held her there as he grew inside of her, filling her to the brink of collapse and then letting her go, moving out of her and relieving her. She sighed and closed her eyes. Cassandra laid like that for several minutes, until her vision wasn’t so blurry.
“Wow.”
He chuckled. “Did it feel good?”
She agreed, smiling widely. “Yes, it felt so good. It was like you were someone else, but still you. It was so weird, but so hot.”
Cassandra didn’t know what else to say. She was trying to see it all rationally, but she couldn’t. It was like he was a completely different person. How could she rectify that in her head?
“It was different for me as well, like being in the passenger seat.”
She looked over at him and then crawled into his arms when he outstretched them.
“Passenger seat?”
“Yeah, weird huh? I’ve never had that happen before, though I’ve never had a woman request the dragon before. That was a first.”
Cassandra blushed and was thankful that he couldn’t see the embarrassment on her face. It was burning red and she didn’t want to admit how shy she still was. She could request his beast side to come out to play, but talking about it was somehow worse than what they had just done.
He started to rub on her, and Cassandra pretended to sleep. He growled at her, nipping at her neck and shoulders.
“I know you’re not asleep, Cassandra. I want you.”
“You just had me.”
He sighed. “No, you let my dragon have you. Now, I want you.”
Cassandra looked up skeptically. “I think you’re trying to take advantage of the situation.”
“Absolutely.”
Cassandra thought about it for a minute, or at least pretended to.
“I guess I should say yes…”
She was sent to her side and slid inside of before she could finish the sentence. She called out loudly, saying something about how big he was. Antoine wasn’t listening. He was pushing in and out quickly. She called out as she orgasmed and Cassandra closed her eyes. Why did he seem bigger? Every inch of her was being stretched and she couldn’t help but clench him hard. She was rewarded with a groan and a growl, quickly becoming music to her ears. It just resulted in Antoine moving faster, taking her breath away and all true reason in her mind. It was all gone, and Cassandra was overwhelmed with Antoine. He was hard to deal with and she was failing miserably.
If Cassandra had looked behind her, she would have seen familiar eyes, glowing in the darkness.
THE END
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Books In This Series
Elite Shifters of Colorado
Dragon's Mate (Elite Shifters of Colorado Book 1)
#Elite Dragon Shifters: Strongest and fiercest of the shifter clans.
#He is a rebel, stubborn, powerful and son of a King, bound to keep his bloodline pure.
My mate comes from an ancient and powerful line of dragon shifters.
I should feel honored and pr
ivileged, but I want that human florist.
She is innocent and beautiful as those flower arrangements she makes.
I couldn’t resist warmth of her touch and heat of her body when she asks for help in the gym.
My mate deserves love, but my heart pulls me in another direction.
When her intoxicating smell enters my nostrils, I am out of control…
And now she carries my baby.
I will turn the world upside down to protect her, save her.
I am ready to fight; I am ready to kill, even if it is my own Dad.
It is time to break the boundaries and the years old hollow traditions.
But… she just got to know I am engaged, and she is not even ready see my face.
She just knows the half of it, what will happen if she gets to know I am a dragon shifter?
Dragon's Second Chance (Elite Shifters of Colorado Book 2)
#Betrayal, Bitter Memories, and a Broken Dragon.
He was the son of the Elite Dragon King and the strongest and fiercest among all the shifter clans.
He was the only heir but he didn’t want his throne back.
He had been betrayed by his own blood.
He had his one true mate and there was no replacement for her.
But life had different plans…
Going back to Colorado was the last thing he wanted until he saw her.
He had peered into the depths of her striking and beautiful eyes.
There was something vibrant about that woman, who seemed to deliberately slam herself into him.
He knew he was betraying his mate, but he had no control.
And the cat shifter, she was with made his blood boil every time.
He was a danger and he needed to protect her.
He tried to douse the flames of anger, jealousy, and desire.
She was a human and he didn’t intend to stake a claim on her.