Amethyst Bound

by L Shannon

  Ben spun me around and drew us both onto the cleared half of the bed. His weight pressed deliciously down on me, our chests brushing, and my thighs cradled his naked erection.

  His kiss was what shattered reality. I’d kissed and been kissed enough to know who deserved gold medals, and Ben was of the highest caliber. Every kiss became a piece of art. His hands and body stilled as if he could focus on only his kissing, and the man had a talent for focusing his whole being on one task.

  I wanted to drown in his kiss, to let him devour me in the sensual torment. But I also wanted more. I shifted, gliding one leg up around his thigh. I gasped as his body connected with my core. And when he did no more than continue to kiss me, I took control and slid against him, letting my folds ride his length, reveling in pleasure as the head of his erection hit my clit.

  He moaned into my mouth and then he shifted his weight and drove into me with a single hard thrust that left me gasping. Wave after wave of pleasure rode through my body.

  And in the joy of the moment I wanted to be sure Amethyst could share this with us. I opened my mind and welcomed her to feel everything. And thank God I did. With each sensation I felt the rush, then the echo as the pleasure rebounded through Amethyst.

  The third echo washed over me in a flash fire of sharp, resonating pleasure. Ben’s mouth gasped into mine as he hammered into my core and I thrust my hips, meeting him. It was his pleasure I felt along with Amethyst’s.

  Then I was burning. The world roared, or maybe Ben did. I was beyond thought and leaped over the crest of my pleasure, riding the orgasm on and on.

  Slowly the world came into focus as we both struggled to breathe. I rasped out a short chuckle. “I think that counts as a quickie.”

  Ben drew back and I gasped at the amethyst sparkles that clung to his skin. “I think you burned a few years off my life.”

  He did have a bit of a pink glow, like I got if I stayed in the sun too long, but what worried me more was how he rubbed at his right arm. “Are you okay?”

  “Hell, yeah. I’ve never felt…so much, so deeply before. I don’t think I’ve ever considered what dragon fire might feel like during sex.” He grinned at me. “You may have spoiled me for anyone else.”

  I sat up. “What’s wrong with your arm?” With a gentle tug I pulled his hand away to reveal a coating of the amethyst flakes clustered loosely.

  He scratched at them with a puzzled frown. “Are those scales? No, they can’t be. You didn’t change form.”

  “I wasn’t all that aware, but I’m sure you would’ve noticed making love to Barney.” I picked up one of the sparkles on the end of my fingertip. “But it does look like scales.” Which was pretty freaky. “Amethyst? Are those scales, and will they hurt Ben?”

  “They are scales.”

  Before Amethyst could confirm or deny how safe they were, Ben brushed at where they clustered on his arm. “I think I’d better get these off. They burn some.”

  I nodded to Ben as he left me for the bathroom. “Will the scales hurt him, Amethyst?”

  “They will do no permanent harm.”

  “What the hell?” Ben swore.

  I leaped up and rushed to the door. Ben stood naked before the mirror. A damp washcloth lay on his left foot. And a tattoo of an amethyst dragon now covered the upper part of his right arm, with the serpent’s tail curling possessively around his limb.

  “He is ours now.”

  “What the hell does that mean? What have you done to him, Amethyst?” A long pause filled the air as Ben held my gaze and Amethyst refused to answer. My heart pounded while I waited. “Answer me, damn it.”

  “I thought you would be pleased.”

  “What. Did. You. Do?”

  “I claimed Dr. Davis as our minion. The mark matches the one that covers your back. I wanted him. As do you. Why is this wrong?”

  Now that I had a mirror handy, I wanted to take a better look at my newborn tattoo, but instead focused on answering Ben’s question. He deserved to know what the cost of having sex with me would be. “I don’t know exactly what it means yet, but Amethyst says you’re now my minion.”

  His jaw fell open and then snapped shut with an audible click. “Minion, as in some mindless servant? Oh, hell no, I am not a minion.”

  “Please, Ben. Wait until she tells us more.”

  He grabbed my upper arms. “You don’t get it, do you? All I have is my intelligence. I’ve sacrificed everything to prove I had it right, that dragons exist. Amethyst is that proof. But even if being her minion doesn’t suck my brains out or steal my willpower, I’m damn sure it will keep me from exposing her existence to the world.” His voice dropped lower. “I’m not sure I can give up my vindication for her. Or even for you.”

  Chapter Seven

  I tried to calm Ben. “Don’t panic yet. We don’t even know what that means. Minion might just be another word for lover or something. She’s not being very upfront.”

  He grabbed the washcloth and continued scrubbing at the tattoo, trying to rub it off.

  “My kind claims minions to do for us what we can’t do. What’s wrong with claiming Dr. Davis? This way he will stay with us. You want that too. I can feel it within you.”

  “So he won’t have any control? You’ve stolen his life just like you stole mine? Is that what you do, Amethyst? Do you just go around and destroy lives until there is nothing left in the world?” My thoughts ran wild, fueled by anger and fear. Somehow seeing Ben’s life changed with a word brought home my own terrors. I’d never be the same. Even if I somehow could get rid of Amethyst, she’d changed me.

  “Please, Ben, help me sort it out. Together we can find the answers in one of these books or somewhere else.”

  “Minion…” He choked on the word as he threw the washcloth into the sink.

  “It’s just some old name stuck in the head of an old dragon. Last time she probably used it, there might have been knights and such or, for all we know, cavemen. Just give me a chance to find out more.”

  “Maybe I don’t want to know more.” His expression softened ever so slightly. “Look, Toni, it’s not personal. I like you, and being here with Amethyst is a dream come true, but this changes everything. I need time to think it through.”

  I certainly understood that. “This wasn’t exactly what I signed up for either.” I tried hard but couldn’t keep the grumble from my voice. I thought we’d had something special, and now that Ben was splitting, the betrayal hurt that much more. I didn’t let many people into my emotions but he’d found his way in anyhow. “So, are you walking away?”

  If he’d stay we could maybe figure it out together, but I was done begging. If he wanted to split, I wasn’t going to stop him. I didn’t need an unwilling minion.

  I paused beside the bed as he dug through his many books, sorting out the few that would fit into the green backpack. Some small part of me was desperate to see more reaction from him. His hands didn’t shake. His motions were swift and steady. He moved like a man without doubts.

  “Maybe splitting up is right,” I said as pulled on the shirt I’d worn before. People always left, and it was always for the best.

  “He cannot leave us.”

  “Apparently he can. Are you not seeing him pack even as we watch? I can’t see how this tattoo formed nor how it has any significance. Maybe you can shed some light on those questions before our minion makes it to the door?”

  Amethyst hesitated and I kept our gaze on Davis. When she finally answered me, there was a strange edge to her tone. “I wanted to mark him. The mark will allow us to link to him so that we can better protect him and he can aid us. And I wanted him marked.” The thought rolling through my mind was possessive.

  “If he can’t handle it and wants to leave us, we cannot keep him.” Although I had to wonder what Amethyst would do if Davis left. Would she let him go? Part of me hoped she wouldn’t. The rest wanted to sit back and watch, waiting to see how all the pieces would land.

  I lock
ed away my pain and longing. If he left, I would be fine and go on without him. I’d learned a long time ago that if I pretended it didn’t matter for long enough, sometimes, in the end, it really didn’t matter. I was hoping for that kind of pain-free break from Davis.

  “I’m sorry, Toni.” He stood in front of me, dropping his packed bag at his side. One strong hand tipped my chin up and made me look him in the eye. “I wish…I just want you to understand. It’s my body that suddenly is covered in a spooky tattoo, and my future that could be at risk. I—”

  “Don’t sweat it.” My voice was low and calm. My emotions were tucked safely away and out of reach from any fallout. “Who knows…maybe if I could walk away, I would too.” All he had to cope with was a pretty tattoo and a demeaning title. I had that and a shitload more. After all, I was now bound to a dragon, sharing my body and my mind with a whole other being.

  “Don’t give up on me yet. Just give me a little time to think this through.” Davis looked like he wanted to say more but after a couple minutes passed with him just swallowing and shaking his head, his hands dropped away and he stepped back.

  If he just needed time, why had he packed a bag? I turned away, unable to watch him leave me. I was sure he scooped up his bags and moved across the room. I imagined him hesitating at the door, looking back and seeing me motionless beside the bed. Then soft as a sigh, I heard the door draw open and whisper closed.

  “He’s leaving the hotel.”

  “Yes.” I paced across the room. Nervous energy boiled up, begging for release. I was good at action, but not so good at dealing with emotional garbage. So how in the hell am I going to cope this time?

  I started to sink down on the edge of the bed but was overwhelmed by how everything reminded me of Ben. The subtle scent of old books and dust mingled with his more manly musk. That combination was the scent that was closest to Ben in my mind. But hard on the heels of his scent was that of our sex. I knew it was sex, not lovemaking, because people don’t walk out after making love.

  My chest tightened. I picked up the nearest book from the nightstand and threw it as hard as I could against the far wall.

  “He hurt you.” Amethyst growled and I couldn’t help but appreciate her defensive tone.

  Maybe it could be nice having a dragon. Maybe later I would be able to think of Davis and that adage about folks being crunchy and tasting good with ketchup. Yeah, that would be an amusing thought at a later time.

  But for now, I had to get a better grip on my emotions. As it was, I could feel both my anger and Amethyst’s boiling up. Was it my imagination or was the temperature of the room rising as well? “No, he didn’t hurt me, Amethyst. I hurt myself. I should have known better than to trust him. All men take what they want and walk away. All people do. It’s my fault for thinking he’d be different.”

  “He is different.”

  “He‘s like every other person out there. He sees only his own needs and his own fears.”

  “You trust no one.”

  I didn’t bother to agree or argue. Amethyst was right, but in the end it didn’t matter. I could only see my own needs and my own fears just like every other person. I couldn’t blame Davis for an action I might have taken in his place.

  “I will calm his fears and bring him back. I will not let you hurt like this. If he will not listen then we can hunt him down and tear him limb from limb.”

  What? Could she do that? My heart raced at the thought of anything bringing Davis back, but then I realized how wrong that would be. “Like hell we will, Amethyst! We are not hunting him down.”

  “We shall see. Perhaps he will return when I speak with him.”

  I stood and paced back across the room, and when the simple act of being in motion relaxed me some, I repeated it. I’d pace the damn floor as long as it took to calm myself and keep Amethyst from harming Ben. “We’re not going after him, so you can’t speak with him.”

  “I can, and I am. The mark allows him to hear my voice just as you do.”

  Damn. I kicked the dresser hard enough to shatter the front. Apparently I was stronger now than before. Lot of good that would do me now. Amethyst was going to muck around in his head and he’d probably blame me for it.

  “I do not muck. Besides, he is standing right outside the hotel and is wishing he were brave enough to come back to you.”

  “Really?” The image of Davis’s hesitation filled me with a twisted longing. I wanted to go out and beg him to stay. I bolted for the door.

  “You are not the begging type. He knows that fact just as well as you do. Listen, and I will talk to him so you can hear.”

  Her words froze me before I turned the doorknob. “You can do that?” Instead of rushing out and acting like a fool, I leaned against the door and listened.

  “I can, but I believe Dr. Davis would prefer to think you are not eavesdropping.”

  “Keep my mouth shut. Gotcha.”

  A flash of amethyst blinded me and then I was looking out through another’s eyes and seeing the courtyard to the side of the hotel entrance. The angle changed as Davis sank onto a bench and stared at his hands. I was filled with his writhing emotions. And in that moment I knew he wasn’t leaving. Even before Amethyst had her talk with him, he was planning to come back to me.

  His mind flicked between thoughts of me and Amethyst. The thoughts of me left me panting and wishing he would pick his ass up and get back inside so we could act out some of them. The ones of Amethyst were confused. He wanted to study her, but he was also in awe of the concept and afraid of how her magic affected him.

  “Dr. Davis?”

  The perspective twisted as if he’d leaped up and was searching the area for the source of the voice.

  “I don’t wish to interrupt but wanted to offer you what knowledge I can. It may put you at ease with the situation.”

  “Amethyst?” he whispered.

  “Yes, Doctor. Do you have any questions for me? You can think the words and I will hear them without observers thinking you unbalanced.”

  “Oh.” Another sweeping view of the garden revealed no other occupants.

  “Do you have questions about the minion mark?”

  “Damn right I have questions. How did you think I would react to you branding me and turning me into a lousy minion? Never mind what you were or weren’t thinking. Let me explain it without any doubt whatsoever. I will not now nor will I ever be turned into a mindless zombie slave. Not even by you, Amethyst.”

  I approved of the angry determination that filled his mind since I felt much the same way.

  “You have my apologies, Doctor. You will not be a slave. You will always have free will.”

  “Then why can’t I leave? I made it this far, but now…I just can’t leave.”

  I could feel triumph in Amethyst’s mind, though I considered her happy dance a little premature.

  “Perhaps you don’t truly wish to leave. I know that Antonia does not wish for you to leave her and neither do I. You have prepared for my coming for many years. Your knowledge will help Antonia do as she must.”

  “I won’t help her destroy the world.”

  “Even though the world has not been kind to Antonia, she will not desire that destruction either.”

  “Will she have a choice? You’ve already proven you can hijack her body any time you want. Now I’m starting to understand what that feels like.” Ben’s gaze moved slowly around the garden, but his attention was firmly rooted on the mental conversation. As was mine, since his questions were ones I should have thought to ask.

  “There is always a choice. Just as you now must choose to either help her or walk away. She will need you more than you can know at this moment. You will be her counterweight to keep her balanced in all the trials that will come.”

  His emotions softened to resignation. “I can’t leave her.”

  “I know you cannot. She awaits your return. I don’t believe she has damaged much of your room at this point.”

  �
��I can imagine.” There was no anger in Ben over my temper. If anything he seemed to find my personality attractive, which I found quite a surprise. “Will you tell Toni I’m not leaving?”

  “Of course I will, Doctor.”

  “Amethyst? How are we able to talk like this?”

  “The mark binds you to us. Through it I can speak to you. The connection offers benefits to both you and to us, though it may take time to discover all the magic offers.”

  That was an interesting thought. I wondered just what else we’d be able to do with Amethyst’s magic.

  “So I wouldn’t have been able to escape…”

  “The farther you are from us, the weaker the mark becomes. If you left and stayed away, the mark would fade and might even disappear completely. The minion mark will not burn you again. I apologize for the sensation. I did not control it as I should have.”

  “So when I come back, what will happen? You won’t be sneaky and minion my brain later, will you?”

  “No, Doctor. The bond that is now will not change without your permission. I was wrong to mark you without discussing it with you and Antonia first. I am sorry for my rash actions.”

  “It’s okay. I guess we’re all kind of new at this. Even you.”

  “If you have other questions, I’d be glad to answer them.”

  “For the moment what I have is more a demand than a question. Don’t call me minion. Not you or Toni. The word is too close to slave, and if we’re going to stay together, our relationship needs to be partners right from the beginning.”

  “Time has changed much. If you find minion unacceptable, we shall find a better title for you.”

  “Thank you, Amethyst. Tell Toni I’ll be back inside in a minute or two.”

  I felt Amethyst withdraw from Davis and relaxed. He was coming back to me. Ben wanted to be with me. The surprise of his warm thoughts left me giddy in an unexpected way. Like a child seeing Santa after being told he didn’t exist. He was offering me his friendship but so much more than that. His return offered hope that perhaps there was a way to connect with another human being. Hope that I would not be alone in the world.