by Eden Ashe
She stared at him for so long he actually began to twitch, before she let out an indignant snort. “No.”
He cocked his head, certain he’d misunderstood her. “Pardon?”
“No,” she repeated. “I don’t accept your goodbye. Sorry.” Her grin went impish as she licked her way down his throat. “But we can have sex again.”
His head exploded. It simply exploded until he was sure he could feel it bounce off the edges of his skull. Any willpower he thought he had, vanished. His mouth was ravaging hers in the next heartbeat.
18
Daniel was fucked. There was no other word for it, and no other way to describe it. He was well, truly and completely, utterly and royally fucked. He knew it.
He just couldn’t give a shit.
His head dropped back on a hiss, and as Shelby slowly climbed on top of him, her mouth dragging slowly over the muscles in his abdomen, he decided it would be hard for anyone in his position to care about how royally they’d fucked everything up.
He had Shelby, his mate, the woman of his dreams. And she didn’t want him to let her go.
She brought her mouth back to his, shifting her hips to take him inside again. He wrapped his arm around her perfect ass when she reared up, loving the way her tiny, tight body felt as she wrapped herself around him.
Her beautiful eyes locked on his as he drove them relentlessly up and up, and ever further up, until there was no choice but for them to shatter completely. Together.
He was cross-eyed and half dead as Shelby’s trembling body went limp. She collapsed against him, her after-shock whimpers tickling his chest.
Yeah. The beast inside of him let out a satisfied purr as his hand possessively cupped her ass. He was fucked.
“Seriously,” he rasped, his voice hoarse. Raw. “I’m glad you can’t get enough of me, princess, but we have to stop. One more orgasm like that and I’m going to blow out my vocal chords.” He yawned, too sleepy and sedate to be stern. “You don’t want to see a dragon without his roar, woman.”
“Somehow,” she murmured, her eyes dancing as she peeked up at him, “I think you’d still find a way to intimidate all the other dragons on the playground.”
His face went blank as he stared at her, confused. She seemed to expect some kind of response from him, but no one had ever teased him before. He had no idea what to do. He didn’t have time to think about it, either. She giggled and bounded naked off the bed, running for the kitchen, her laugh trailing behind her.
He didn’t question the urge to run after her, he just did. She was his mate. Where she went, he followed. She was laughing as he caught up with her in the kitchen. He was so distracted by her smile he didn’t realize until too late she had a weapon in her hands.
19
It took everything Shelby had not to laugh at the stunned look on Daniel’s face as he stared at the water dripping off his body. As he swiped his hand over his chest and scowled down at it, a giggle escaped. She couldn’t help it. When his stunned gaze snapped up to hers, she slapped both hands over her mouth in a useless effort to keep the laugh bubbling out.
He growled at her, putting enough force into the sound, she could actually feel it reverberate in her chest. “What are you laughing at, woman?” he demanded as he took a slow, predatory step toward her.
She giggled again. “You.” She tilted her head back and grinned up at him. “Did you know you’re all wet?”
“I’m aware, yes,” he drawled. He hooked his arm around her waist and lifted her in one fluid motion, setting her on the countertop. When he braced his hands on either side of her, Shelby couldn’t help it. The way heat flashed in his eyes mixed with confusion, sent shivers of pure need and emotion rushing through her.
“Here, let me help.” She brought her hands up to his chest, humming with sheer appreciation as she touched rock-solid skin. She took her time, sliding her fingers over damp skin, enjoying every second of touching him like this. His head dipped, a low, possessive sound rumbling through him as his mouth found the curve of her throat. God. She loved when he kissed her there. Her hands came up to tangle in his hair. She sighed as pure pleasure, pure need shivered through her as she dragged her mouth up to his, every ounce of humor vanishing.
Until he turned the handheld nozzle on and held it directly over her head, drenching her from head to foot.
“You–you!” She gaped at him as water dripped down onto the ceramic tile, but the damn man only took a step back, crossing his arms over his chest. When he raised one golden brow at her, waiting for her temper, she laughed in pure joy instead. Hopping off the counter, she threw herself at him. Instantly, her chilled skin heated against his. “Daniel, you’re playing!”
One corner of his permanently scowling mouth lifted, and Shelby’s heart took a tumble in reaction. He was smiling. Daniel was smiling.
He kissed her gently, a soft brush of his lips, before he pulled back just enough to rest his forehead against hers.
“Did I do it right?” he murmured, vulnerability in the depths of his eyes as they searched hers. “I’ve never played before.”
Oh yeah, she thought, her heart slamming against her chest so hard it hurt. She was a goner. It was impossible for her not to love him. Going up on her toes, she wound her arms around his neck. She nodded her head against his, her voice soft. “It was perfect, Daniel.”
With a grunt, he hooked his arm under her butt, hitching her up until they were at eye level as he headed toward the bedroom. “You’re wet, princess.”
She grinned at him, her eyes wide as she bobbed her head in a slow nod. “I am. You tend to do that to me.”
A low chuckle rumbled in his chest as she ducked her head against it. “You’re blushing.”
“And you’re laughing.” She peeked up at him. Because she was certain their bodies would give out if they tried to have sex again, she decided to change the subject. “Are you hungry? You haven’t eaten anything today.” When his eyes turned black with lust, she made a face and poked him in the shoulder. “Food,” she said in her best stern voice. “I was talking about real food, Ashborne, so get your head out of the gutter.”
“You’re the one who started it,” he reminded her. “I’m just playing along.”
She beamed at him, but the second he put her down in the bedroom, her whole body started to shiver in convulsions. He grabbed a black hooded sweatshirt off the functional dresser and pulled it down over her head. She shoved her arms through the holes and grabbed her yoga pants, pulling them on. She pushed the sleeves up enough so she could see her hands, smiling as she realized she was more comfortable than she’d been in…well, forever. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d gotten dressed in under three hours, or gone an entire day without make-up. While she couldn’t possibly look as good as she felt, it was heaven.
She canted her head as she watched him pull on his track pants. Though her blood started to heat, she was too exhausted to do anything other than let out a soft, appreciative sound. Damn, did she appreciate, too. He couldn’t have been more perfect if he’d been carved out of marble or photoshopped. For as massive as he was, with his bulging, rippling muscles and hardness everywhere, he moved with a kind of fluid grace that mesmerized her. The man was all predatory beast, every movement of his body precise and calculated.
As if aware of her thoughts, he snorted and reached out, wrapping his hand around hers as he headed for the kitchen. “You need to quit looking at me like that, princess, or we’re never going to get around to eating.”
“But you’re so yummy.” She grinned at him as she followed him back to the kitchen. “And that’s Queen to you now, dragon boy.”
He bent down to kiss her. “That’s not funny. What do you want to eat?”
“Which part?” Shelby grinned up at him, before she wrinkled her nose at his warning growl. “I wasn’t kidding.” There was something in his eyes that warned her to stay off the topic, let it go. But it was the absolute confusion in him that worried
her. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed it or not, Daniel,” she murmured as she went up on her toes to kiss him, before turning and opening the refrigerator, “but I really like looking at you.” She stuck her head into the fridge so he couldn’t see her blush. “And touching you.”
* * * *
“I’ve noticed.” Which he was grateful for. He didn’t fit the image of the men in her world. He wasn’t the lean, muscled pretty boys in touch with their emotions who she fell in love with in her movies. He would never be able to fit in with that crowd, especially when he was eight inches bigger than most of them.
It didn’t mean he wouldn’t try. She’d already proven the kind of bad emotional decisions she made–falling for him and hiring her bastard, fucked-up father as her manager. He was starting to worry about the kind of hell she’d get herself in if he found a way to break the mating bond without killing her in the process. Ryuu. One of the other dragons would have to move in with her, permanently.
“I’m thinking pasta.” She’d moved over to the pantry when he’d been lost in thought, and was eyeing up the boxes of pasta noodles. She handed him a box, then hesitated before picking out another ten boxes. “We should probably make the other dragons some food, too. Carbo-loading can’t be a bad thing as huge as you all are, and it has to take energy to shift, right?” She studied the boxes in her and his arms for a long moment, before nodding once. “That should be enough. We can make a salad and garlic bread, too.”
“They can feed themselves.”
“Of course they can.” She grinned up at him. “But they stopped whatever they were doing in their own lives to be here because we need them. Feeding them is the least we can do.”
It never failed. Whenever he expected the spoiled brat to rear her head, she’d pull the ground out from beneath his feet. He set his boxes on the island, then turned to face her, one of his eyebrows winging up. “Do you know how to cook this?”
She stuck her tongue out at him, grinning when he let out a soft chuckle. She was happy, he realized. She was drowning in his sweatshirt, her hair hung to her shoulders in a mess of curls, but she looked genuinely happy.
“I have no idea.” Her nose wrinkled as she set her boxes down next to his. She turned one around. “There’s directions, right? There has to be directions.”
He snorted at her, amused. “You’re asking me, princess? I don’t cook.”
“We might need to take cooking lessons.” She wrinkled her nose. “Or hire a cook.”
Daniel tripped over his feet when he realized she was talking about their future together. She said it so casually, without thought. As if she already had her mind made up they were going to find a way to make it work.
He could see it, too. Could see himself waking up every morning for the rest of eternity with her beautiful face the first thing he saw when he opened his eyes. Could see himself loving her for the rest of time, and tearing the world apart to make sure she was always happy.
He cleared his throat as emotion clogged it. Ryuu. He never got sentimental. “Let’s get this food made.”
She grinned up at him, and handed him a large stockpot so they could get to work.
* * * *
Shelby shoved a forkful of spaghetti into her mouth as she settled next to Daniel on the couch. He shifted to watch her chew, a grin tugging at his mouth when she let out a huge sigh of relief.
“Well?” he asked, his voice a slow drawl.
She ate another bite before she grinned back at him. “Not the worst pasta I’ve ever ate.” She nudged his arm with her shoulder before she snuggled up against his side. “I’m pretty sure we won’t starve as long as we can make spaghetti.”
He laughed as he shoveled in half the food on his plate. “That’s a good thing, princess.”
“That’s Queen, remember?” she asked. She poked him in the stomach. “Don’t forget it.”
The impishness dancing in her eyes enchanted him. “Queen doesn’t have the same ring to it.” He leaned down to kiss her nose, before finishing his food. “We’ve got a little time before the others will bother us. Want to watch a movie?”
“How to Train Your Dragon?”
She was radiant as his laugh reverberated through the cave. He hauled her into his lap and kissed her soundly, then kissed her again, deeper, just for the hell of it. Just because she made him happy.
They were both breathless as he set her back on the couch so she could finish her dinner and he could find a movie. While he was sure she’d picked that one because of its title, he looked for it anyway, and when he found it on the massive storage drive attached to the television, he hit play.
They were an hour into it when Daniel’s body jerked to attention, the feeling of danger creeping along his spine. He jerked around to find the other dragons stepping through the enchanted boulder. They headed straight for the hidden arsenal.
“Hunter,” Luca said.
Feeling Shelby’s eyes on him as he got to his feet, he reached behind him. Her hand slid into his as she stood. The urge to keep her safe was roaring in his blood. “It’s only one, but it’s close.”
None of them were stupid enough to question him. Luca nodded once. “How close?”
Daniel pulled Shelby with him toward the bedroom. “Close.” He crossed his arms over his chest and glared down at her. “Stay here. Do not move from this bedroom unless it’s one of us come to get you.”
He didn’t wait to see if she’d listen. He pulled on his shit-kicker boots and a T-shirt, before he strapped on his guns and knives. The gun wouldn’t stop a Hunter any more than it would stop a dragon, but it sure as fuck would slow it down.
“Whoa.” Shelby caught his hand before he could stalk out of the room. “Daniel–”
The dragon inside of him growled at the fear in her pretty eyes, and without thinking of what he was doing, he leaned down to kiss her hard. “I’ll be back, princess. I’ll charm the cave when we leave. No one will be able to get past it.”
She crossed her arms over her chest, daring him to argue with her. “You will be back.”
He winked at her, before he headed toward the cave entrance where the other dragons had spread out, blocking his path.
“What the hell?” he snapped. “Get the fuck out of my way.”
“You’re not going.”
Daniel lifted a brow at Broderick’s command, his body tense as he prepared to go through them if he had to. “Are you going to stop me?”
“Yes,” Dallas said, planting his feet and crossing his arms over his chest. “They’re after you and your mate. The last thing you need to be fucking doing is going out there and making yourself a big ass target.”
Daniel nodded once before his hand flashed out. He grabbed Dallas by the throat, yanking him forward until they were face to face. “Don’t push me, and don’t forget who is king. Now, get the fuck out of my way, before I go through you.”
Dallas sneered, but jerked his head in a quick nod. “After you, my Lord.”
They turned at once to head through the enchanted boulder. Daniel tucked his gun in the waistband at his lower back, his preferred daggers in each hand. “I want this bastard alive so I can make his death as painful as fucking possible.”
Dallas nodded. “Understood.”
They didn’t speak again as they split up into pairs, except for Dallas, who would maintain watch at the cave entrance. As Broderick and Bain headed down the mountain, blending into the darkness, Daniel and Luca headed up.
While they could all sense when a Hunter was near, Daniel seemed to have a different connection with them. Not only could he feel their presence, he felt their motivation and weaknesses. Occasionally, he heard them inside his head.
Luca cleared his throat as they scaled the side of the mountain. “Well?”
“It’s determined.” His senses reached out. “Deadly and stronger than any other…” His body went rigid as he cursed low. “It’s Cage. He’s hunting us.”
20
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�This isn’t fucking good.” Daniel snarled as he spun, heading through the forest after Cage. “Dallas.”
Luca was at a dead run behind him. “He’ll kill him.”
Daniel cursed. Fuck yeah, he would. Dallas’ hatred of Hunters went beyond the natural animosity between the two species. It was personal, a bone-deep cold rage fueling every second of the dragon’s life. They had killed everyone he’d ever loved, and no matter how many Hunters he killed in retaliation, it was never enough.
Several times a year a murderous rage tore through Dallas. None of them had ever thought twice about tempering it.
Until now.
They needed Cage. They needed him alive. He had answers about who was trying to have Shelby killed, and how to find him. But just as worrying was Luca’s devotion to his sister’s happiness. For the first time, Daniel had no idea if it came down to it, which side Luca’s loyalty would play.
No. Ryuu. Daniel did know the answer. If it came down to it, Dallas was dead. Good or bad, Hunter or not, Cage was the father of Luca’s unborn niece, and Seren’s happiness would always come first with her brothers. Always. The proof was in the very loss of their oldest brother Micah’s soul to protect her. He’d given up everything, and walked into the proverbial pit of hell to keep her out of their psycho father’s hands.
So the answer was simple. They had to get to Cage first.
Unlike Hunters, who could move undetected and unheard through any terrain, dragons were at home in the sky. Real physical and psychological problems took root in their heads if something prevented them from flying for too long, resulting in a madness that never went away. Like in cities, they were never fully comfortable in forests or dense woods. It was too close, too crowded, and they weren’t equipped to adapt.