by Julia Mills
Saved By Her Dragon
Dragon Guard Series #5
By
Julia Mills
There Are No Coincidences.
The Universe Does Not Make Mistakes.
Fate Will Not Be Denied.
Copyright © 2014 Julia Mills
All Rights Reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or used in a fictional manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
NOTICE: This is an adult erotic paranormal romance with love scenes and mature situations. It is only intended for adult readers over the age of 18.
Smashwords Edition, License Notes
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be resold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
Edited by Lisa Miller, Angel Editing Services
Proofread by Rose Holub
Cover Designed by Linda Boulanger with Tell Tale Book Covers http://telltalebookcovers.weebly.com/
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
THANK YOU TO EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU!!! Without you none of this would be possible. I am humbled and incredibly blessed. YOU ROCK!!!!
A BIG HUGE THANK YOU goes to my beta readers, Tonya Allen, Cindy Barton, Charlene Bauer, Stacey Bradley, Charlene Cain, Tammy Hall, Rosemary Hendry, Rose Holub, Danielle James, Laurie Johnson, Rebecca Larsen, Audi Lewis, Karen Mikhael, Lisa Miller, Susan Newman, Anna Salamatin, Jacklynn Sizemore, Robin Smith, Bridget Thomas-Parker, Mystipul Stacy Rakkastaja, Carol Ray, Patti Kalosky-Snyder, Lisa Crosby Taylor, Cindy Turner, Sandy Elens Vogel, Janna Ward, Melanie Williams, Annmarie Amy Young - YOU ARE THE BEST!
Thanks to Lisa Miller, who wades through my lack of commas and the insane way I say things to get a finished product I am proud to say is mine.
Thank you to Linda Boulanger, who from my crazy character descriptions creates the most breathtaking covers I could ever imagine. She is magical!
THANK YOU COVER MASTER!
Also by Julia Mills
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Her Dragon to Slay, Dragon Guard Series #1
Her Dragon’s Fire, Dragon Guard Series #2
Haunted by Her Dragon, Dragon Guard Series #3
For the Love of Her Dragon, Dragon Guard Series #4
DEDICATION
You can do anything you put your mind to…All you have to do is BELIEVE!
Thank you, God.
To my girls, Liz and Em, I Love You. Every day, every way, always.
To Emma Edwards, the absolute best writing partner in the world. You are BEAUTIFULLY BRILLIANT in every way. Is it Wine Day yet?
To Charlene Bauer, absolutely the best right hand anyone could ever have. She is my friend, my sounding board and cracks a mean whip. Thank you from the bottom of my heart! I couldn’t do it without you.
HER DRAGON TO SLAY
Index of the Words of Love of Original the Dragon Kin
Drakes Male Dragons
Vibrias Female Dragons
Dragonettes Young Dragons, either male or female
Mo chroi My Heart
Mo ghra’ My Love
Evgren Sunshine
Ta’mo chroi istigh ionat My Heart Is Within You
A Thaisce My Treasure
M’Anamchara Soul Mate
A Chumann Sweetheart
M’Fhioghara’ Mate
Fi’orghra’ True Love
Mo’ ghra’ ru’nda You Are My Everything
Beag amha’in Little One
Is breá liom tú anois agus go deo Love to His Heart
E’adromar a anam Light to His Soul
Ta’ su’il a anseo Hope to His Future
Leanbh Baby
Mianach Ini’on Daughter Mine
Oiche mhaith a mhuirnl’n. Good night, my treasure
CHAPTER ONE
“I hope you can hear what I’m saying. If not, I’ve been sitting here for the last ten days talking to myself. It would be a real shame if they carted me off to a padded room before I even knew your name.” Devon chuckled as he brushed his mate’s long, dark hair, wishing with all his heart that she would open her eyes, move, talk…anything.
The nurses were letting him handle more of her daily care. It made him feel useful and like he was helping her. The connection they already shared was deeper than any he had ever heard of, defying the history of his kin. That they could actually mind speak before the official mating ceremony and marking was unfathomable among his kin, and it made him long to know all the ways their union would be unique.
His mate was special; he felt it in the depths of his soul. Devon smiled as he remembered all the times over the years he had heard the exact same words from his brethren. It was just their way; every dragon shifter thought his mate was the most extraordinary creature ever created– how could he not? The Universe made one astonishing woman for each dragon shifter…and only him. She completed him and the dragon within in every way possible. A dragon’s mate brought light to their soul and love to their life. But she was so much more. It was reflected in every person…dragon, mate, or human…that came into contact with her. They were drawn to her, as she was the light that would fill their darkness.
At first he thought it was because of her condition, combined with a desire to help. But the longer he cared for her the more it became clear that she was the reason. They wanted to be near her; almost like being in her orbit would somehow make them better people. At least that’s how he thought of it, because if he didn’t, his jealousy and that of his beast would become unbearable.
Even the physicians that were very clinical in their dealings with his mate had a difficult time giving up hope. Each gave him a daily report that was logical, clinical, and detached, but he could feel there was more they wanted to say. Their comments consisted of things like, “the longer the coma lasts, the less likely she is to wake, but nothing is impossible” or “she shows no sign of deteriorating or improving, she is just existing, but she is strong so there is hope”. But then they would give her another long look and he could see them wishing her well. It only further proved that she was exceptional.
Devon marveled at the way her long, dark lashes curled lightly atop the curve of her high cheek bones. Her soft, olive skin glowed, and even under the harsh fluorescent hospital lighting still held a slight blush. His fingers slid from her hair to the slope of her neck and tingled at the connection. His mate, soft and warm to the touch, was absolutely captivating. His mouth watered to taste the very spot his fingers caressed. He willed the strong emotions he already felt for her through their growing mating bond and he prayed she could feel how important she was to him. For just a moment, he closed his eyes and let dreams of their future follow the feelings he shared. He grew impatient for some change in her condition and was willing to try damn near anything to get her out of that bed and into his arms.
He quickly squashed his maudlin thoughts, instead letting them drift to her daily sponge baths. He had been pleasantly surprised when the nurses had asked him to help, but turned away when they uncovered her breasts or pubic area, no matter how much he wanted to look. Not that looking away did anything to stop his imagination. Those brief
moments had fueled some of his best erotic dreams. The nurses chuckled at his modesty, but he’d explained that it was a matter of respect and trust to the one that already held his heart. The women had ooh’d and aww’d and told him what a great guy he was, making him regret his decision to share. What her caregivers didn’t understand and he couldn’t explain, was that although she was to be his for all time, they hadn’t really met yet, and when she did wake, he wanted her to know that her needs always came first…in every way.
He knew in his heart that everything would work out. There was no way the Universe, in Her infinite wisdom, would bring them together only to rip her from his grasp before he had the chance to do anything other than watch her motionless form in a hospital bed. She would wake up. She had to wake up.
Unwilling to think of any other alternative, he thought of her voice and the way it caressed him from the inside out when she spoke directly into his mind. It completed him in a way he had only imagined, and miraculously, his dragon was content for the first time in years. Unfortunately, it was also exasperating and confusing, because no matter how hard he tried, it was always the same…beautiful but incomplete. She would call out and he would answer; there would be a pause and then she would call out again. He was sure that she heard his voice by the way she would ask if he was still there, but for some reason she never answered his questions or responded to anything he said. It made him wonder if she heard the sound of his voice but not the words, making true communication with his mate just out of reach. Devon’s most earnest prayer was to have her in his arms. However, the longer her condition remained unchanged, the harder he searched for ‘unconventional’ ways to bring her back to the land of the living.
Stopping the dark thoughts that threatened his optimism, he instead continued his one-sided conversation with his mate. “You’ve been quiet the last few days. I even took a nap to see if maybe you would talk to me then. Sam says you’re probably saving up your strength for when you wake. I’m sure that’s the case but…I miss you.” The last three words were whispered for her ears only.
Devon sank into the recliner he kept beside her bed, wrapped his hand around hers, and brought it to his lips. He gently kissed the back of her hand and continued to stare at her face, imaging the first glimpse of her smile or the utter joy of witnessing passion reflected in her eyes. He knew from the hundreds of times the doctors and nurses had checked her pupils that they were the palest green, with just a touch of blue, reminding him of the sea as it met the coastline where he had played as a child. His heart ached to see them sparkle as she giggled or light with fire when she gave him hell for one of the many things he was sure she would get after him about; anything but the dullness that came from her coma.
He brushed an errant hair from her forehead and almost fell from his chair when a voice from across the room said, “No change?”
Devon had been so wrapped up in his mate he completely missed Aaron’s approach; something that hadn’t happened to the experienced Guardsmen since right after his transformation. Praying it would go unnoticed, he had to smile when Aaron laughed, “Sorry, Bro, didn’t mean to sneak up on ya’.”
Devon let go of his mate’s hand and scratched the scruff covering his jaw, realizing he couldn’t remember the last time he’d shaved. “No change at all,” he sighed his answer, his eyes never leaving his mate.
“What’s Sam say?” Aaron asked, his usually joking tone replaced by concern.
“She said there is another specialist coming today.” He shook his head and added, “I finally gave in and called Mom. It’d be an understatement to say she was pissed. After she finished yelling at me, she had me call Lance to bring her down here.”
Feeling incomplete without contact, Devon reached out and once again wrapped his much larger hand around his mate’s. He and his dragon needed the connection more with every day she stayed just out of their reach. His thumb rubbed circles on the back of her hand and wrist. Her long, elegant fingers naturally wrapped around his hands and he thanked the Heavens that she was not as petite as Royce’s mate, Kyra. At five foot two inches, Devon always feared one of them would somehow hurt the little witch, even with her immense magical power.
Devon had breathed a sigh of relief that his mate was at least five foot eight inches tall. He was even more pleased that after what the doctors were saying had to be almost four weeks in a coma and with her only nourishment from bags and tubes, she still had ample breasts and curves that made his palms itch to explore. She was everything a woman should be. She was perfect. But he would still be careful; she was considerably smaller than his six foot three inch frame and delicate in comparison to his muscular physique.
“Your mom yelled?” Aaron asked, jarring Devon from his daydreams.
He nodded. It had been one of only three times he could remember his mother raising her voice in all of his hundred and twenty years. Siobhan Walsh was the epitome of patience and tranquility. As one of the most talented healers in all of dragon kin and an Elder of their clan, she embodied calm, cool, and collected. However, that had all gone to hell in a handbasket when her only son had called from the hospital–and had gotten worse when he told her that he had not been avoiding her for the last ten days but had been at his mate’s bedside. But the cherry on the sundae was when he told her that said mate was unconscious and unresponsive. Her bellow (that’s the only way he could think to describe it) had been just as loud as when she’d caught him and some of the other young drakes peeking under the tent of the older, more ‘physically developed’ vibrias when he was not yet a teen.
“Yeah, she yelled. Then told me she loved me before slamming the phone in my ear.” Devon tried to laugh, but it came out more like a cough.
Aaron walked the rest of the way into the room, grabbing a chair on his way. “Don’t worry, Dev, you know she’s just shocked and even more worried. Hell, you never keep anything from her.” He straddled the chair backwards, laying his arms across the back, looking equal parts comfortable and bored.
“Yeah I know, and I know I should’ve called her earlier, but I really thought the coma was from a bump on the head or something simple and might last a day or two. I was so sure my mate would wake up and everything would be fine, I just didn’t want to bother Mom. Well, as you can see,” he paused, letting his head fall forward, “I was wrong…really wrong. It’s just that Mom has enough on her plate with Grace having twins. Heaven knows the entire clan is celebrating the first set of twins in almost a hundred years and the happy couple, or at least your brother, is losing their minds. I was sure we could handle this without bothering her. Again…I was mistaken.”
“Isn’t that some shit? My brother’s gonna have twins! Well, Grace is going to have them, but you get what I mean,” Aaron chuckled. “‘A’s in hog heaven when he’s not worrying about Grace and I think she’s going to banish him from the house if he doesn’t stop trying to coddle her.” He quickly added, “I’m telling you right now, he’s not staying with me.”
Aaron stopped, looked around the room and then said, “Did I tell you, they’ve completely moved back to the lair? Siobhan wants them close and Kyndel demanded, enlisting Rayne for backup. I’m just thankful Aidan is carrying on the family tradition. I can’t imagine a mate, much less a baby…and two? No fucking way!”
His brethren was laughing, but Devon could hear the longing in his voice. It was hard enough that the twin Guardsmen had lost their parents, but then their younger brother had betrayed dragon kin and was lost to his own hatred and insanity. Insult to injury was that Devon had found his mate, leaving Aaron the only bachelor on their Force–a situation that just had to suck.
Deciding they both needed a break, Devon let go of his mate’s hand and stood, gripping Aaron’s shoulder. “Let’s get a cup of coffee before Mom gets here. Ya know there won’t be time later.”
Aaron nodded as he stood, returning the chair to its place against the wall as he headed towards the door. He glanced towards Devon’s mate and t
hen back to his friend. “You sure you want to leave her?”
“Yeah, even I have to get away every once in a while to keep my sanity, just not for long. I’ll stop by the nurse’s station; someone will come and stay with her while I’m gone. Sam put ‘round the clock care in her official orders so my girl is never alone.” He stood staring, unable to stop his fingertips from caressing her cheek.
Devon leaned as close as he could get to her ear and whispered, “I’m going with Aaron to grab a cup of coffee, a chumann. Be right back.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead, lingering an extra heartbeat to inhale the scent of sand and sea. One simple whiff calmed his soul and the dragon within, who was not dealing well with their mate’s condition.
When he stood, he saw that Aaron had silently moved to just outside the door, protecting their tender moment from prying eyes in his own way. His quick-to-temper and always-a-smart -ass brother was not usually so considerate, and Devon had to wonder if there was more to his friend’s newfound manners than just courtesy.
Turning as he approached, Aaron spoke before Devon could thank him, “You ready to go?”
Taking the hint, Devon nodded. “Lead the way.”
After a quick stop at the nurse’s station, the Guardsmen headed towards the elevators. One more glance down the hall reassured Devon all would be well in his absence. Melanie, one of his favorite nurses, was heading into his mate’s room. Once inside the lift he asked about another of their brethren, “Has anyone heard from Kyra and Royce?”
Aaron nodded, “I talked to the old man this morning. They’re no closer to finding Calysta than when they left.” Aaron chuckled, “Royce is definitely ready to put some distance between him and his brothers. He grumbled about them always ‘being under foot’ before Kyra wrestled the phone from him and said everything was good. She sounded more tired than I thought possible, but said she has some strong leads and gave me a long list of her witchy stuff that she needs sent. I asked if she was worried about her mom and she said ‘not really’, but it was just a cover. There’s definitely something up.” He shrugged. “I gave the list to Jace and told him how important it was that it go out today. All in all, grumpy grandpa and his mate sounded good…just beat.” Aaron finished just as the doors opened and the scent of fresh coffee and food invaded Devon’s senses, making his stomach growl.