She was learning her lessons now, though. And thanks to Stan, who had once again fought for her and put his own reputation on the line for her sake, she was about to have the opportunity to prove to Torch Lake’s High Council that she was smart on more than just paper. She could handle the real world, too.
She had trained for years for moments like this. She knew she could do it.
“I’ll be nice to you,” she promised Stan. It wasn’t easy to admit that she’d been wrong to push him away, but Abby couldn’t deny that he was turning out to be a pretty great mission partner. To her surprise, though, he didn’t rub in the fact that she’d been wrong. Instead, he smiled at her and shrugged.
“You don’t have to be anything other than who you are,” he said. “I fought for you because, despite the fact that you have a bit of an attitude sometimes, I really do think you’re the best wizard for this job. You know your stuff, and it’s going to take someone who knows their stuff to track down these Dark Warriors.”
Abby felt her face heating up as she blushed at his praise. “Well, thank you. I’ll try to be nice, regardless.”
He winked at her, and the slightly flirtatious gesture sent a little shiver of delight up her spine. She was relieved that he turned away from her at that moment to get his hiking pack. She was sure that if he’d kept looking in her eyes, she wouldn’t have been able to hide the swirling emotions of desire that were starting to fill her.
As she turned to get her own hiking pack, she told herself that she only felt attracted to him because they were alone in the forest together. He was undeniably handsome—any woman with two eyes could see that—and he had proven himself to be funny, strong, and kind. Of course her heart was going to do little flip-flops when he winked at her. But it didn’t mean anything. It was just a natural, instinctive reaction. Any woman would have reacted the same way.
Right?
Abby wasn’t so sure that she could write off the way she felt so easily, but she didn’t have time to worry about it now. She had a job to do, an important one. And Stan had staked his own reputation on her doing that job correctly. She couldn’t let him down.
“Come on,” she said. “The trail goes this way.”
He nodded, and followed her into the forest, which suddenly felt dark and foreboding now that she knew there was an evil dragon somewhere in there.
But the safety of Torch Lake, and of the missing students, depended on her and Stan’s being successful. She was going to prove that she had what it took to make a difference.
Even if she had needed a little help from Stan along the way.
* * *
Abby’s dreams of success and glory quickly died in the depths of Black Pines Forest. The Dark Warriors had done a good job of hiding their trail, and Abby kept losing track of it. She often had to double back, or pause for a long time to perform magic detecting spells over and over before she could determine which way their enemies had gone. Stan never complained or made fun of her. He waited patiently each time they stopped, and followed her deeper and deeper into the forest without questioning whether she really knew what she was doing. But still, Abby grew more frustrated. She had hoped to catch up with the Dark Warriors today. She’d thought that a group that large, hauling prisoners no less, couldn’t move very quickly. She and Stan, on the other hand, were just two people and could cover a lot of ground in a day.
But the going had been unbearably slow, due to the difficult-to-follow trail. Finally, when darkness had fallen and the clouds in the sky looked like they might dump rain down at any moment, Stan stepped in and said they should make camp for the night. Abby wanted to protest. If it was up to her, she would have kept tracking all through the night. But Stan believed in the importance of rest, and she knew deep down that he was right. The more tired Abby became, the harder it was to follow the Dark Warriors’ trail. She would get a good night’s sleep and try again in the morning.
They set up their lone tent, and ate granola mixed with cold milk for dinner. Stan didn’t even bother setting up a fire to cook. They were both too exhausted right then to care much about whether they ate hot food or cold mush. Abby just wanted sleep.
They ate quickly, without saying much. There wasn’t much to say. The day had been long and not much progress had been made. It was a good thing they ate quickly, anyway, because no sooner had they packed up their dishes that the sky let loose the rain it had been holding back. A few sprinkles turned suddenly into a heavy downpour, and Stan and Abby took shelter in the tent. Through the thick canvas of the tent, Abby could see the occasional flash of lightning pierce the darkness, followed moments later by deep rumbles of thunder.
“What a storm,” she said as she burrowed into her sleeping bag. “I’m so tired, but I don’t know how I’m going to be able to sleep with this racket going on outside.”
Stan was already in his sleeping bag, but he turned and sat up on his elbow to look at her. His forehead had creased up with worry. “Is all this rain going to make the trail harder to find?”
Abby shook her head. “Not really. Rain doesn’t wash away magical residue. Only time makes it fade. Which is why I want to push forward as quickly as we can. Every day that passes is going to make it more and more difficult to catch up with them.”
Stan nodded. “We’ll get up early tomorrow and keep going. But it’s important that you sleep, too. If you’re too exhausted you’re not going to be as good at tracking. And when we do meet up with this group of Dark Warriors, you’re going to want to be rested enough to fight well. I have a feeling they aren’t going to willingly turn over the kidnapped students. It’s not going to be an easy fight, especially if they have an evil dragon on their side.”
Abby shuddered. She didn’t even want to think about the fact that she might be facing down an evil dragon soon. She knew this dragon wouldn’t be as strong yet as the evil dragon Saul had been at the end of the Great Dark War. But still…an angry dragon using dark magic was no joke. She felt a sudden rush of gratitude that Stan was here with her, along with another pang of guilt at how poorly she had treated him at the beginning.
“I’m really sorry again for being such a jerk to you,” she said. “I know it wasn’t your fault that the High Council wanted to send someone along to watch me, so I shouldn’t have acted so rudely. Besides, as much as it pains me to admit it, it looks like maybe the High Council was right. Having a partner on this mission has turned out to be a really good thing.”
Stan smiled at her, his face crinkling up adorably as he did. “I’m glad you feel that way, but you don’t have to keep apologizing. I get it. I know what it’s like to want to do everything on your own, and not have to rely on anyone else for anything. I felt that way after the war for a while. I joined that other clan that turned out to be horrible, and I started to think that maybe I was better off just going off on my own. But I learned after moving to Torch Lake that having people on your side to help you out can be a very good thing. You just have to have the right people.”
Abby nodded slowly. She had rolled onto her side to face him, and she felt her heart do another unexpected flip-flop at the sight of him. She could only see him when lightning lit up the sky, and therefore the tent. But the lightning was flashing incessantly right now, and there was something intoxicating about the sight of him in the stormy night. His handsome, chiseled face seemed to glow with confidence, and his tall muscular body left no doubt that he could take care of any threat that came their way. For the first time in a long, long time, Abby realized that she didn’t feel alone. She didn’t feel like it was just her against the world. She had a partner. A friend. He was right: everything was better when you had the right people on your side.
“I hope you consider me part of the ‘right people,’” she said, feeling suddenly nervous. What must he think of her? She’d acted like such a brat. Her face heated up with shame at the thought of some of the things she’d done and said over the last few days. But his smile only deepened at her words. Her
heart started pounding when he reached over to brush a strand of hair out of her face.
“I definitely consider you one of the right people,” he replied. His voice was husky and his eyes were intense, and for a moment Abby wondered if he was fighting the same strange, intoxicating feelings of desire that she felt. But she quickly pushed away the thought. That was ridiculous, wasn’t it? She hadn’t done much to make herself seem desirable to him. In fact, she’d pushed him away in just about every way possible. But when she forced herself to look up and meet his eyes, there was no denying the hunger there.
“Stan?” she asked, her voice barely more than a whisper. She wasn’t sure what, exactly, she was trying to ask him. All she knew in that moment was that everything except him seemed to fade away. The troubles and worries of the last few days seemed like a distant memory. She was suddenly happier than ever that the High Council had sent him on this mission with her. What had she been thinking, pushing him away? Most women would have killed for an opportunity to work so closely with such a sexy dragon.
Get a hold of yourself, she thought. He’s your mission partner. Your coworker, for all intents and purposes. It’s totally inappropriate to think about him in this way.
But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t stop the feelings of desire. She wanted him. She’d been so busy being angry about having a “babysitter” that she hadn’t realized how much she wanted him to kiss her. Was that why she had pushed him away so vehemently? Had she been trying to hide from her feelings, feelings that she could no longer deny? All she knew right now was that the air between them felt like it was crackling. His eyes blazed as they looked at her. She saw them every few seconds when the lightning lit them up. The rain pounded against the tent, and the wind howled. The thunder rumbled, adding to the drama of the moment. Abby hardly heard it, though. The storm outside was nothing compared to the storm that was building inside of her.
“Stan?” she asked again.
He let out a low growl in response. It was a hungry, primal sound, and it sent shivers of delight up and down her spine.
“You aren’t perfect, Abby, but no one is. I like your spunk, anyway. It’s refreshing to find a woman who speaks up for herself. It’s actually quite a turn on.”
Abby gulped. Her heart was pounding, and every nerve ending in her body felt like it was tingling. Lightning flashed, and lit up Stan’s stubble-covered face. He looked like a god to her, glowing and perfect in the middle of the storm.
“I promised myself after the war that I’d always stick up for myself. I guess I took that a little too far, though. You’re right; sometimes having a partner is a good thing.”
“Sometimes it is,” Stan said, his voice even lower and hungrier than before. “Like when you’re stuck alone in the middle of the Black Pines Forest on a stormy night.”
Abby’s heart was going crazy in her chest. Stan’s eyes had grown so intense that they almost didn’t look human. When he reached over and stroked her cheek with one of his hands, she thought she might explode from the sheer, carnal passion that filled her.
“Yup,” she managed to squeak out breathlessly. “Good to have a partner in the storm.”
And then, in one swift movement, his mouth was on hers. It was as though they both knew in that moment that this was inevitable. They both wanted each other, and it didn’t matter how inappropriate it might be, or what kind of strange history there was between them thanks to the tensions of the last few days. They needed this. Perhaps something in the air had changed. The storm did seem almost otherworldly. Perhaps something in each of them had changed.
Or perhaps, this had always been their destiny, and they had just stopped fighting it. As the struggles and disagreements of their mission fell away, they were left with only each other. And that was all they wanted, anyway. Each other.
Stan’s tongue plunged deep into her mouth, sending shockwaves of pleasure through her body. She felt warm and wanted, a feeling only magnified by the way his strong hands began moving across her body. He had reached to unzip her sleeping bag in one skillful move, and must have done the same with his sleeping bag even though she hadn’t felt him doing it. All she knew was that suddenly his body was up against hers, his strong chest pressing against her breasts as he deepened their kiss. His arms went around her, pushing on her back to keep her body as close to his as possible. And now she could feel his erection pushing against her as well, huge and stiff.
This is crazy. What am I doing? She was pretty sure if this kept going that she was going to regret it in the morning. They had only just become friends, after a shaky start. And now she was going to sleep with him? That was clearly where this was going. Things were moving fast, much faster than she normally would have let them.
But she was powerless to stop this. The desire that filled her was overwhelming. It pulled her under, never letting her up for air. His body felt like it was radiating heat, and she gladly gave in to his fire. There in the middle of Black Pines Forest, with a storm raging around them, she and Stan both gave in.
He tugged at the hem of her shirt, and she did not resist. She let him pull it off, and gladly gave in as he reached to pull off her pants as well. She tugged at his shirt, too, wanting to see his bare chest. Needing to feel his skin against hers. Their panting breaths filled the tent as they undressed each other, layer after layer of clothing coming off until there was nothing between them. Abby moaned as he reached his fingers up to tease her naked breasts. Her nipples stood hard and alert under his careful touch, and she squeezed her eyes shut as the pulsing heat of her own desire grew more intense.
He dipped his face to taste her nipples with his mouth. His tongue swirled around them, and his teeth nibbled them, gently at first, then hard enough to make her cry out. It wasn’t painful though. Just intoxicating. She could feel herself dripping wet between her legs, her body begging for more of him.
She realized in that moment that she had wanted him since the moment they’d met. She’d pushed him away so firmly in part because she’d realized deep down how much she desired him. And desire had always been a dangerous thing in her mind. When you gave in to a craving like this, you were giving that other person power over you, in a sense. By allowing Stan to make love to her, she was giving him a piece of her heart. She was giving him the ability to hurt her, or let her down. She had tried her best to guard against being let down ever since the war. But now, she let go of her fears.
Whatever happened between Stan and her after this, she would deal with it. She was strong enough to handle whatever life could throw at her. But she had a feeling, as he gently pushed her over onto her back, that she wasn’t going to be let down. Stan was a dragon after all. A good one. He was strong, and had a strong moral center. If she gave herself to him, as she was about to, he would take care of her. He wasn’t one of those men who took what he could and then left her all alone. She sensed this, deep down in her bones.
And so, she did not protest or try to stop him as he hovered over her, his long thick shaft right above her dripping wet entrance. She closed her eyes tightly, and drank in the wonder of the moment as he slid into her.
He was huge, and filled her completely. He pushed against her inner walls, making space for himself and driving her crazy all at the same time. Her body was on fire as his flames swept through her. The pressure and tingling that had been building in her since he first looked at her with those intense eye was now growing to an almost unbearable level. She moaned as she felt herself getting closer and closer to losing control completely.
But losing control was exactly what she wanted. She had spent the last several years of her life trying to keep everything perfectly under her control, but now she was finding so much joy in letting go. And as Stan began moving within her, thrusting back and forth, she let go. She let the ecstasy of the moment wash over her, and gave in to the release her body craved.
She cried out as her body pulsed and squeezed tightly around Stan’s shaft that was deep insid
e of her. She had never come this violently, but it was the most wonderful experience she’d ever had. She was embracing every second of it, as her inner muscles pulsed and sent wave after wave of tingling warmth through every part of her body.
Stan followed not far behind her. He let out a long, loud roar that seemed to cover over even the sound of the thunder. And then he stiffened as he thrust even deeper into her and let himself come. Abby felt a fresh wave of heat as he held her tightly, their bodies pulsing together, their primal hunger satisfied.
Afterward, she felt completely spent. She shuddered with happiness as he slid out of her and lay beside her, his arm draped over her naked body. Neither of them bothered to get dressed again, but he pulled her into his sleeping bag and zipped it up around them both. It was a tight fit, but both of them were happy about that.
Abby couldn’t think of anything that would have made her happier in that moment than to be pressed up against Stan, warmed by the heat of his body. The storm raged on outside, but now the sound of the thunder and rain soothed her. She vaguely thought about the fact that it was going to be somewhat awkward to wake up naked next to her mission partner, but in that perfect, peaceful moment, she didn’t care.
Life was just as it needed to be.
Chapter Ten
Stan woke with a start as a sharp elbow jabbed into his ribs.
“Shit, shit, shit!” Abby said, scrambling to get out of the sleeping bag as though it were full of spiders.
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