Highland Dragon

by Genevieve Jack

  He scratched his chin, studying her. “Nay. I think I may be seein’ ye clearly fur the very first time.”

  She flashed him a demure smile. “Oh?”

  “You told me our first day here that ye were the only one who could touch yer sister’s egg aside from her.”

  “True.” She tilted her head.

  “And ye walked away from the brownie the first time he tried ta lead ye here.”

  “I was in a hurry. I needed to find you.”

  “Aye. Only, most humans can’t resist such an invitation, or even see a brownie in order to feed him as ye did.”

  Her expression became thoughtful as she eased back in her chair. “I think I’d know if I had any supernatural powers. Believe me, I’d have used them many times over.”

  “Aye, but ye did. Ye lied to Lachlan’s face while holding his hand.”

  “It wasn’t hard. The man made my skin crawl.” She shivered. “I’d rather eat dirt than give him anything he wanted.”

  “He’s a fairy, Avery. Detecting a lie is one of his most notable powers. You were immune to it.”

  Her expression turned wary.

  “And ye opened ma cell, although it was sealed shut with ma own enchantment.”

  Her fingers pressed into her lips. “Okay, that was odd.”

  “And ye resisted the siren’s call at the MacEacherns.”

  A deep furrow appeared in her forehead and her eyes started to mist. “Xavier? What does it mean?”

  “You did all these things, Avery, because ye have a very powerful and sophisticated magic, and I only now recognize it fur what it is.” He laughed. “I felt it when I kissed you in the barn. Ye practically buzz with power, ye ken.”

  “Please, I don’t understand.”

  He was upsetting her, but she had to know the truth.

  “The egg canna hurt you because ye are immune to its defenses. Lachlan’s mind control won’t ever work on ye. Even my magic fizzles in yer hands, which is why ye could open ma cell door. You, Avery, are immune to magic.”

  She blinked at him, then laughed deeply. “That can’t be true. I’ve had magic used on me before. I was part of a very strong spell to rebind me to my sisters.”

  “Rebind you. You were separated. No power. Isn’t that what you told me?”

  “Exactly, and still I could hold little Charlie… the egg.”

  He nodded slowly as his own understanding dawned. “Because yer ability to soothe is inherent in you, in your human body. I bet ye’ve always been good at calming people.”

  “Well, yes.”

  “Because ye were born with the innate ability to neutralize negative energy. You told me ye were exceptionally gifted at calming rowdy patrons at the Three Sisters.”

  “Anyone who works in the service industry develops that talent.” She shook her head.

  So defiant. He traced the firm set of her lips with his gaze. “I was wrong. You weren’t immune to the egg’s magic. Your very human self soothed it into trusting ye. And then ye came here, and yer magic woke and grew stronger still when ye encountered the brownie, and Lachlan, and opened ma cell.”

  She was shaking her head, denying it.

  “Why can’t ye believe that ye’re special? There has never been anyone like ye, Avery. I have lived over five hundred years, two hundred in Paragon and another three hundred in this realm. I’ve met thousands of supernatural creatures and even more humans. I’ve communed with witches and fairies alike. But you, ye are a treasure.”

  He watched her carefully for her reaction and was disappointed when none came. She held perfectly still, not even a flutter of her eyelid giving away what she thought of his ode of devotion.

  Finally her blue gaze met his. “I don’t think I can leave you.”

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Nothing could have prepared Avery for this moment. Nathaniel had tried to warn her the night he’d read her tarot cards when she’d flipped over the moon card, but she hadn’t really understood what he’d meant. At the time, he’d told her it represented her transformation and a possible romance. She’d just never allowed herself to believe either of those things could actually happen.

  But now here she was, changed. Her first instinct was to deny the magic Xavier had pointed out to her, to protest that she was as normal and human as she’d ever been. Only, what he said made too much sense for her to deny it. She’d never been able to explain to herself how Xavier’s cell door had opened for her or why she’d been immune to the siren’s call when Mr. MacEachern had practically drowned himself. Something else, she’d felt it, a strange unraveling inside her since she’d come here, since she’d been with him.

  He wanted her to go. Wanted to keep her safe. But the thought of leaving him now, it made her feel nauseous.

  “Say something.” His expression grew demanding. “Tell me ye believe what ye are.”

  “I-I believe you.” The sweet warmth of his breath grazed her cheek when he exhaled. “It makes sense. I know this sounds crazy, but I could feel it, earlier, when you were kissing me. It felt like a seed was growing in me. Spreading. I feel different. Stronger somehow.”

  Across the table, Xavier sat back and rubbed his fingers against his thumb in quiet contemplation. “Dragons give off magic. ’Tis what draws the oreads to us, what feeds them.” The intensity building in his gaze was mesmerizing. “If ye have magic in ye, bein’ near a dragon will strengthen it.”

  “But I’ve spent the past two months before coming here with most of your siblings and I didn’t feel like this.”

  He gave a slow, decidedly masculine smile. “Maybe ye were wi’ the wrong dragon.”

  Despite herself, she giggled and felt her cheeks heat. He was just so damn alluring. She recalled their passion inside the barn again, the feel of him in her hand. Her skin grew hotter and she covered her face with her hands.

  “Donna hide from me, lassie. You’re a work of art when ye blush.” His voice was gritty and deep—the voice of his dragon. “I love it.”

  “It’s embarrassing. I’m a grown woman.” She sucked her bottom lip between her teeth. “It’s just… what you do to me. I’ve never felt this kind of attraction to anyone.”

  She heard his chair slide back from the table, but his movement was faster than her eye could track. He was in front of her in a blink, extending his bear paw of a hand toward her.

  “Xavier…” It would only make things harder if they acted on their feelings.

  “Dance with me, lass.” His voice dropped. “Ye needna do more than let me hold ye.”

  “There isn’t any music.”

  “You can sing us a tune.”

  She snorted a small laugh. “No, I can’t. I couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket.”

  “All right, then mine will have ta do.” He flexed his fingers in an inviting gesture.

  Slipping her hand into his, she gasped as he tugged her out of her chair and against him easily, as if she weighed nothing. His chest was broad and hard, a veritable wall of flesh that made her feel tiny in comparison. She hadn’t noticed in the barn, so distracted was she by other parts of his anatomy.

  “Do ye know this one?” He started humming a tune with a familiar cadence and turning her about the room.

  She wasn’t familiar with the tune itself, but there was no mistaking the dance. “Where did you learn how to waltz?”

  “Is that what it’s called? I saw it done once when I was travelin’, before I settled here.”

  She laughed. “Well, it became quite popular for hundreds of years throughout Europe.”

  He paused his humming and gave her a dashing smile. “Really? ’Twas considered scandalous when I witnessed it.” His hand pressed into the small of her back as they circled past the fire in the small space.

  Feigning outrage, she fluttered her lashes. “Mr. Campbell, are you saying you deliberately chose to lead me through a dance you thought was scandalous? Are you trying to ruin my reputation?”

  “Considering I am the o
nly one around to witness any scandalous activity, I reckon I’m attempting to learn what reputation ye deserve.”

  The laugh that tore through her caused her to miss a step, but he lifted her easily by the waist until his guidance had her back on track. “Where I come from, it’s not so bad a thing to admit when you want someone. It takes more than a waltz to scandalize the modern world.”

  “What does it take?” he whispered, his breath caressing the shell of her ear.

  That voice was like warm honey, the voice of a man who had no business teasing her so mercilessly. It was an invitation to sin, and she was too weak to deny the temptation. He was taller than her, the top of her head level with his nose, and she raised her chin in small increments until they were face-to-face, only a matter of inches between their lips.

  The rain poured harder now, battering the walls of the cottage. Wind howled in the darkening sky. The noise of the burgeoning storm was nothing compared to the low purr that started in his chest again, vibrating against her. What had he called it in the stables? His mating trill.

  His lips were parted and near, but he didn’t close the distance between his mouth and hers. What was he waiting for? The answer came to her in her next heartbeat. He offered. He wants you to say yes.

  “I can’t bond with you. It would be a promise I couldn’t keep,” she murmured, their breath mingling between them.

  “I heard ye the first time.” He didn’t move. He didn’t pull away. “We have only this moment, Avery. Nothing else is guaranteed. If ye knew this would be the last time ye saw me, how would ye like to say goodbye?”

  The fire flickered. Somewhere a tree branch slapped the wall, scraping like claws against the stone. “Don’t talk like that. You promised me you’d come to Mistwood to meet with Nathaniel and the others.”

  His arms tightened marginally. “I’ll do ma best.”

  His best. He had no idea if he’d be successful. Lachlan was terrifying. Who knew what tricks he’d have up his sleeve tomorrow, and the entire village—people Xavier had known and loved—would be turned against him.

  “Then, in answer to your question, I’d like to say goodbye in a way that will motivate you to succeed tomorrow. A way that shows you I fully expect you to keep your promise.”

  “Oh?”

  She rose up on her toes and brushed her lips, featherlight, against his. His arms tightened around her, and his mouth became one with hers. He was so big she felt like he’d wrapped completely around her. She reveled in his embrace. The warm cocoon of his body felt like a shelter from the storm. The kiss grew in intensity, his mouth claiming hers. His fingers explored the contours of her face in a way that belied the size and strength of his hands.

  “This will only make things harder for both of us.” A storm was brewing in her, one far more tumultuous than the one beating the roof outside.

  “I know.”

  She reached for his belt and started unlatching it. It rattled to the floor and his kilt dropped, leaving him in nothing but his long white shirt. She, on the other hand, was already stripped down to her shift. He traced her nipples with his thumbs through the thin fabric, and they swelled beneath his touch.

  “Avery.”

  Her name on his lips filled her with pleasure. She ran her hands along his neck and over the outside of his arms.

  “Take this off,” she demanded, tugging on his shirt.

  He did as she asked, and the effect was glorious. His arms, corded with thick muscle, bunched and stretched as he grabbed the back of the collar and pulled it over his head. Her gaze raked down his sculpted body, every part of him hard and toned, powerful.

  “Do I please you?” Laser focused on her reaction, his knowing smile deepened.

  She forced her eyes back into her head and gave him a nonchalant shrug. “It’ll do.”

  Under her palms, his chest rumbled with laughter. He reached for her shift.

  “What are you doing?” She backed up a step.

  “Evening the score.”

  “Ah, but you took your own shirt off. To be fair, I should do the unveiling.” Slowly, she allowed her fingers to drift toward her hem and lifted it in quarter-inch increments. It was half a minute before he could see her upper thigh.

  Xavier growled and murmured, “I’m immortal, but the room may fall down around us.”

  At last, she put him out of his misery and pulled it over her head, casting it aside.

  He swallowed hard and his trill grew louder. He cleared thickness from his throat before saying, “By the Mountain, ye’re a bonny lass. Come here and prove ye’re real and not a fairy trick.”

  Legs trembling with nerves, she moved to meet him. It had been a long time since she’d made love. Years. Could a woman ever prepare herself for sex with a dragon?

  As their mouths met again in a passionate kiss, his hands skimmed along her spine and then her waist, her breasts. He mounded one in his palm and leaned down to draw her nipple between his teeth. There was an edge to this pleasure, the sharp nip livening the gentle pressure of suction and tongue. Avery moaned and dug her fingers into his auburn hair.

  “The sounds you make,” he rumbled. “Let’s see if I can play a tune.”

  He swept her off her feet and whirled her around until she felt weightless and disoriented, then settled her gently on the furs and blankets that had served as his bed in front of the fire.

  “What sound will ye make if I kiss ye here?” He pressed his lips to the inside of her elbow, his tongue tracing the vein there.

  She moaned at the heavenly feeling and basked in the glow of his self-satisfied smile. Dragging her nails down his chest and the hard planes of his stomach, she wrapped her hand around his shaft. “Let’s make it a duet.”

  He didn’t disappoint. His trill rumbled and his wings unfurled above her, filling the small room. She stared at the webbed wonders, awed she could inspect them up close. She trailed her fingers along the edge that extended beyond his shoulder. The scales were coppery with a blue undertone that came from fine, almost invisible feathers between the scales. They blended down into a fleshy web similar to a bat’s wings. At the apex of the arc, at the front of each wing, a talon as large as a bear claw extended toward her.

  She hooked her hand in one. “These are intimidating.”

  He stretched and flapped the wing gently against her hold. “They should be. We use them to fight.”

  “Each other?” The thought of Xavier using the massive claws to fight another dragon made her stomach clench.

  “Aye.”

  “Donna be afraid. I won’t hurt ye.” Xavier had seen darkness in Avery’s expression when he’d mentioned using his talons to fight. He hadn’t meant to frighten her, merely to answer her question. Stretched out on the floor, he rolled off her and propped himself on his elbow beside her.

  “I’m not afraid,” she said quickly.

  “These talons”—he flexed his wings—“have a purpose. You hook them into yer opponent’s to hold him fast so he canna get away, and then ye pummel him bloody with yer fists.”

  “Sounds unpleasant.” She stroked a finger along the shell of his ear. “Especially considering what you told me before.”

  Memories of the pit filled his brain and distracted him from their intimate moment. The earthy stench of spilled dragon’s blood filled his nose, and the pain of his father, Killian, resetting his bones so that he’d heal faster filled his memory.

  “We did it because we had to, not because we wanted to.”

  “What I don’t understand is the why of it?” She frowned. “Was it to make a soldier out of you? To protect Paragon in case of war?”

  “That’s what they told us, but our kingdom hadn’t seen war in over a thousand years. I believe it was for sport. Entertainment for the Highborn Court and those who wanted to be seen with them. They would often bet on our matches.” He sighed heavily.

  “Brutal.”

  “Aye.”

  She examined his face, and understanding sp
arked in her eyes. “Was that why you created this place? To avoid unnecessary violence?”

  It had been a long time since he’d thought about why he’d created the builgean. “As a dragon, I could have annihilated the Jacobites or changed the destiny of their cause.”

  “You chose door number three.”

  “Aye. I’m not above fighting, ye ken, but it wasna ma war.”

  “It wasn’t your war, and you refused to be used as a weapon.”

  “Aye.”

  “Last night… you said what was happening in Paragon wasn’t your war either. Is that why? Do you feel like if you join your siblings to battle Eleanor, you’re just being used again? Only Gabriel can sit on the throne, and you’ve already spilled enough blood in the pits?”

  He gazed at her, his heart swelling with affection. “It’s as if ye know ma very soul, Avery.”

  She blinked. “I… I think I get it. You and I are so much alike.” She shook her head. “I came here because I was sick of living my life for someone else. And you built this place for the same reason.”

  He rubbed a lock of her silky hair between his fingers. “Aye.”

  “Only, if I hadn’t made myself vulnerable and stayed here to help you, I would never have understood my own power or fallen in love with you.”

  His heart skipped in his chest as his eyes bored into hers, seeking the truth. “You love me?”

  “Yes, I do.”

  Xavier’s heart pounded anew when she raised a hand to tease the talon of his right wing, then scraped her nails along the inside webbing. He shivered and closed his eyes. “Ye canna imagine how good that feels or how much I love ye in return.”

  “It must be incredible to be able to fly.”

  He opened his eyes and smiled wide. “I can take ye for a ride if ye wish.”

  She seemed to roll the offer over in her mind. “Okay. After.”

  Her fingers dug into his hair, and she drew him on top of her. He was more than happy to lose himself again in her sweet lips. It was the most natural thing in the world to lower his weight between her thighs. Propped on his elbows above her, he’d never experienced anything like her. She was a goddess, a formidable fortress, a fellow warrior. She wrapped her legs easily around his hips. All he had to do was reposition himself and he’d be inside her. His dragon surged beneath his skin, desperate to have her.