by D T Dyllin
“Great,” I heard Jeremy mutter under his breath. I glared at him, wondering if he was spoiling for a fight. If he kept up with the little jibes, there would be no doubt that a battle between him and Bryn would erupt eventually.
I directed my attention back to Macon, choosing to ignore Jeremy and his annoying comments. “Is there anything else we should know about being new Dragon mates—I mean, Anam Caras?”
Macon’s face turned pensive. “I’ll have to think about it.”
“Why can’t there be some kind of introductory manual or something? You know, like for expecting mothers—So you’re going to be a newly bonded Anam Cara, what to expect the first few decades.”
“I’ll see what I can find,” Macon said as his attention turned to Jenna. “I was looking for you.”
She reached out to touch his arm while biting her bottom lip. “Reeeally?” She practically purred. “And why is that?”
He drew her to him, and she molded her body to his, wrapping her arms around his waist. “I think you know,” he said with a lascivious smile.
She giggled. “Oh, you Dragons are so naughty.”
“You know it,” he growled low in his throat as they disappeared.
“Hey, get your asses back here!” I called with annoyance. “I wanted to talk to Jenna!” But I got no response except for another snarky remark from Jeremy.
“Could have fooled me. There seemed to be only one thing on your mind that you wanted to do, and it wasn’t talking, and it definitely wasn’t with Jenna.”
“All right. That’s about enough out of you,” I snapped as I dropped Bryn’s hand and stalked towards Jeremy. “I told you from the beginning that we were never going to be anything more than friends.” I narrowed my eyes at him. “I told you I loved Bryn.”
Jeremy narrowed his deep brown eyes back at me. “But the chemistry we both felt when we kissed—you can’t deny that was there.”
“He kissed you?” Bryn growled from behind me. Damn, I was hoping to get the chance to tell him myself before Jeremy blew me out of the water. This was exactly what I’d hoped wouldn’t happen.
I gulped nervously as I turned around to meet Bryn’s angry face. His eyes were lit up like two flashlights. “I wanted to tell you—I was going to tell you. I didn’t want you to find out like this.”
Bryn’s chest heaved with barely controlled rage. “Get out of here. Now. Get out of my sight.”
“Me?” I asked as my body started to tremble. I knew it: bonded or not, he was pissed.
“No. Him.”
“I’m not leaving you here with him like this.” Jeremy crossed his arms over his chest stubbornly.
“Now!” Bryn bellowed, causing me to grimace.
“I said I wasn’t—”
“Please, Jeremy. Just leave us to sort this out ourselves. He won’t hurt me if that’s what you’re implying. He would die before he ever hurt me.” Jeremy met my eyes with uncertainty. I could see he was ready to throw down with Bryn over this, and that was the last thing I wanted. “Please,” I begged.
“Yeah, okay.” Jeremy stalked off with tension emanating from every muscle in his body.
Bryn watched him go, not uttering a word, not moving until he was completely out of sight, and then he grabbed me and pulled me into him. “Tell me.”
“There’s not much to tell. He wouldn’t take no for an answer, and he kissed me. End of story.” I bit my lip as I studied him, hoping he wouldn’t push the issue any farther.
“And?” Crap. Bryn knew me too well, he knew there was more to the story.
“And what?”
“And did you like it? And how many times did he kiss you? And did you kiss anybody else while I was gone?” Bryn’s voice broke an octave lower than normal.
I flicked my gaze away from him, unable to meet his angry glare anymore. How would I feel if he had kissed other girls while he was away? My gut clenched. What if he had? “I couldn’t help but like it. He used his Gatekeeper power on me. He can manipulate energies . . .” I let my voice trail off, hoping I wouldn’t have to say any more.
Bryn’s fingers bit into my lower back and shoulder. “What does that mean exactly?”
“I . . . umm . . . you know . . . when he kissed me the first time. Okay? Is that what you wanna hear?”
I could feel Bryn’s body begin to tremble, and his voice came out as a low whisper. If I hadn’t been so close to him, I wasn’t sure I would have heard it. “Did you do anything else with him?”
“No,” I squeaked.
He tipped my chin up with his fingers so I could look him in the eyes. He did it so slowly and so carefully that a wave of fear shot up my spine. “Who else?”
My eyes widened as I stared into Bryn’s face. He was so different, he had changed so much, and I could feel his Dragon side was riding him hard at the moment, pushing to have complete control. I forced myself to remember that despite all that, he was still my Bryn, still the same Bryn that I’d known practically all of my life, and now he was my Anam Cara. I had no reason to actually fear him. “Khol,” I finally muttered.
“That’s it? Anyone else?”
I started to get angry. “No. I didn’t go around kissing everybody while you were gone, Bryn. I love you. I’m bonded with you. I tried to kill myself for you.” I knew the last thing was a low blow and still so fresh, but it was the truth.
He released me and backed up a few steps. “God damn it, Peej. These feelings, I know they’re not right, I’m trying to fight them, but—I just wanna throw you down on the ground right here and right now, and I wanna just—just—” He looked away from me, as if ashamed of what he was about to say.
“Just what?” I asked softly.
“I wanna take you so long and hard that you won’t ever remember anybody else ever touching you other than me. Because there won’t be any again.” He growled the last part.
A thrill ran up my spine at his words. Sick, I know. I have issues. Or maybe I should say my Dragon side has issues. “Then do it,” I whispered.
Bryn met my eyes with heat. “It won’t be like it’s been between us before.”
I swallowed in anticipation. “I know. I want you to.” And I did, I wanted him to do whatever he needed to do to me to make things right between us.
“You can’t mean that,” Bryn said the words with an undercurrent of hope. He wanted me to mean them, but didn’t quite believe that I did.
I tugged my robe from my body and let it drop to the ground to pool around my feet. “I do.” I trembled slightly in the cool night air as I waited for him to react. “Take me any way you want. I’m yours.”
I realized Bryn’s powers had gotten a major boost because he came to me almost as fast as Khol could move. He pushed me to the ground and flipped me over so I was flat on my stomach. I lay where he had pushed me, my breathing erratic, as I listened to him pull off his pants. Then he reached down and pulled my lower half up into the air, sliding into me as he held my neck down with one hand. He took me fast and hard, setting a blistering pace, and honestly, if it had been anyone else, it might have been degrading to let someone dominate me so much, but it was Bryn—everything with him is different. Always had been and always would be, and maybe that was the one good thing that had come out of being with Khol; I now had a way to compare exactly how different. “Mine,” Bryn grunted from behind me.
“Yes,” I managed to rasp. I wanted to belong to him completely and in every single way possible. Bryn branded me brutally, and I know most sane people would never label what we were doing as making love, but somehow, to me, it still was. My heart swelled that he loved me so much, that he wanted me so much he felt the need to take me in such a manner. And maybe I wasn’t a sane person at all but a sane Dragon instead.
When we were finally both spent comp
letely and I was almost hoarse from letting him know just how much I approved of this particular manner of lovemaking—not to mention what we’d done before—Bryn pulled me onto his chest and held me there tightly. I didn’t protest, and merely fell asleep, content with the knowledge that I was exactly where I was always meant to be.
19
The next morning, Bryn and I walked happily back to Khol’s castle hand in hand. It seemed like he was satisfied in the solidity of our relationship after marking his claim on me again and again late into the night. I wished we could have stayed in that garden for days, if not months, just enjoying each other’s company, a step removed from all the problems that existed in our real lives. But I knew that was unrealistic, plus I really needed a shower, and I told Bryn there would be no more naked time until I got one. He begrudgingly agreed, and was mollified when I invited him to join me.
I glanced over at him and felt my heart speed up at the sight. Bryn was the most beautiful guy I’d ever laid eyes on in my life. The more he touched me, the more I craved him, and not just when we were being intimate; that was still a relatively new addition to our relationship. When I really thought about it, it had always been that way between us, since we were kids. There was a comfort in feeling his skin against mine, almost like a security blanket, and until it had been ripped away for awhile, I’d never realized just how important it was to me.
I hung back a few steps while our hands remained intertwined, trying to catch a glimpse of my Anam Cara mark on the back of his neck. Every time I saw it, a thrill shot through my veins. He was mine—well and truly mine.
“Are you trying to look at it again?” Bryn studied me with amusement in his dark blue eyes.
I smiled sheepishly at him. “I can’t help it. Will you let me see it again, please?” I batted my eyelashes at him and bit my lip.
He groaned. “Alright, but this is the last time.” He hunched over and bent his head forward as I released his hand and came to stand behind him.
I reached my right index finger up to trace it. My Anam Cara mark on him appeared nothing like his on me. It was a deep crimson red, shaped like a lopsided star. “This means you’re mine,” I whispered in awe.
Bryn spun me up in his arms, and I laughed. “We never needed those marks to know we belong to each other.”
“And to think you once tried to resist me. Remember back when I first figured out my feelings for you, and you tried to shut me down?”
Bryn chuckled. “I was young and stupid. I thought you were too good for me.”
I scrunched my face up at him. “Bryn, it wasn’t that long ago. And what do you think now?”
“It seems like a lifetime ago though, doesn’t it?” He kissed the tip of my nose before grabbing my hand and starting to walk again. “I still think you’re too good for me, but I’m smart enough now to not look a gift horse in the mouth. If you wanna be with me, I’m not going to fight you.”
“Yeah, whatever.” Bryn was so out of my league in so many ways it wasn’t even funny. I still couldn’t figure out what he saw in me.
“You just don’t see yourself very clearly.”
“I see myself fine,” I muttered, not wanting to talk about it anymore.
“Come on, seriously, Peej. We were born to be together, can’t you see that? What were the chances of us both being half-blooded Dragons and meeting the way we did? It was meant to be, and that’s all there is to it. Plus we’re bonded now; it puts a whole new meaning to the words till death do us part.” I didn’t say anything else because I couldn’t disagree with him. The oddities surrounding us were too much to not believe that fate had brought us together.
I sighed, thinking about all the problems we were going to have to face in the real world—and soon. “What are we going to do about our families? School? Those alien things? Everything is such a mess, Bryn.”
“It could be worse. You could be bonded to Khol, or . . .” His words trailed off and his face tensed, obviously thinking about my suicide attempt. “Have you had any more visions? About those things?”
“No. Don’t you think I would’ve said something? That’s not exactly info I would keep to myself.”
“Huh,” Bryn grunted.
“What? It’s not like I get visions on a regular basis . . .” I trailed off as I studied Bryn’s face. “Tell me what you’re thinking.”
“It’s probably nothing, but ever since I got here, I’ve been feeling more . . . Dragon and less Guardian. And now you tell me you haven’t had any more visions with all that’s going on, factor in your much more Dragon tendencies and . . .” He looked at me as if I should know where he was going with his current train of thought; I didn’t.
“And?” I prodded.
“Alright, it might sound stupid, but I feel like this place is stifling our Seer and Guardian sides for some reason.”
“That just doesn’t make any sense though, I mean, it’s not like . . .” I got a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach “Maybe we should talk to Khol.”
Bryn grunted his disapproval. “I don’t trust him.”
“You have no reason not to. He’s never lied, and he’s been totally upfront about himself and his motivations since I first met him. Besides, if he wanted to keep me from bonding with you, he could have.” Bryn didn’t say anything in response but instead chose to glare at me. I, in turn, chose to glare right back at him for being utterly ridiculous. “Well, I’m going to talk to him whether you like it or not.”
“I’m not going to let you talk to him alone.”
“Fine. Whatever.” I wasn’t about to have this argument with Bryn right now. He had nothing to worry about with Khol. Bryn and I were bonded, and Khol had saved my life; what was the big deal? Okay, so maybe the fact that I’d slept with Khol was kind of a big deal, especially because it sort of wasn’t my choice, not rape exactly, but not one hundred percent my call either, but with everything that happened after . . . Well, I was willing to try and forget about it at least. But it wasn’t like it would hurt to have Bryn present for the conversation. Besides, the thought of being separated from him for even a couple minutes at the moment seemed like torture. “Khol,” I called. “Hey, Khol, we need to talk to you, please.” Being polite never hurt anyone.
Instead of Khol, Drake appeared. “Yes, what can I do for you?” he asked with an undertone of sarcasm. Boy, he really didn’t like me. So why hadn’t Khol come?
“Where’s Khol? I need to talk to him. No offense,” I added, trying to be nice, not that I cared all that much. I knew there was little hope of changing Drake’s opinion of me now.
“He is . . . indisposed at the moment. Unless it’s an emergency—”
“No, no emergency. I was just hoping to talk to him about some stuff. When’s he going to be un-indisposed?” I asked.
Drake smiled at me condescendingly. “It could be some time. He is currently occupied with a guest—of the female persuasion.”
“Oh.” My cheeks heated. “But I thought—well, I thought . . .” I knew our bond was broken, but I thought it might take Khol more than five minutes to get over being in love with me. Hello . . . blow to the ego.
“Oh, yes, that.” Drake met my eyes knowingly. “He will love you and desire you until the end of time, but he knows you are out of his reach now. So he will try to forget you the best way he can. Pointless, really, but he has little choice.”
“I don’t understand.” Or maybe I didn’t want to.
“Oh, come on, Peej, he’s trying to forget you by burying himself in some other female Dragon,” Bryn said with disgust.
I shook my head in dismay. “Yeah, okay, but won’t he bond with her then? And if he bonds with her—nevermind, I don’t wanna know anymore.” I obviously didn’t understand the Dragon mating process as much as I had thought.
Drake’s eyes lit up
as he looked at me with unmasked hostility. “But maybe you should know. Maybe you should know what he sacrificed for your . . . happiness.” He raked his disapproving gaze over Bryn before meeting my eyes again. “He’ll never be able to bond, never be able to love another, and he’ll never father a child. He’ll be able to desire other women, have intimate relations with them, but it won’t be the same. It’ll be sex, and sex only, for the rest of his very long life. Yes, the Anam Cara bond is broken, but a male Dragon loves forever. If only he hadn’t fallen in love with you, and merely wished to claim you for your power, then he would have lost nothing. Or if you would have stayed dead. But we all know that isn’t the case.” My heart clenched in my chest as I thought about what it would really mean for Khol, but what could I do? Both Khol and Bryn would have been completely free if my suicide attempt had been successful. I thought that since my attempt had broken the Anam Cara bond, it had broken everything else. Apparently I had been wrong.
Bryn growled beside me. “It’s not her fault Khol fell in love with someone that didn’t belong to him. She’s been mine since way before he came into the picture.”
Drake growled back, his body tensing as he stared down Bryn. “You don’t deserve her. You are no match for my Lord. It shouldn’t matter that she is part human. He won her fair and square by the way of the Dragon, and he should not have let you have her.”
“Hey!” I said as my blood began to boil with anger. “Stop talking about me like I’m some property to be claimed or inherited and fought over. I chose Bryn. Besides, you don’t even like me. I would think you’d be ecstatic that Khol didn’t get stuck with me.”
“It makes no difference if I care for you or not, only that my Lord does. I would have served you regardless. What you did—we would have all been better off if he hadn’t saved you.”
“Don’t talk to her that way,” Bryn said through clenched teeth.