Stryker's Desire

by Meg Ripley

"Yes," Aurora replied.

  "Do you know why you dreamed of me, Aurora?"

  "No," she answered, flattening both of her hands on his back and stroking them down so she could feel his rippling muscles.

  "You were born for me."

  Aurora curled around him so that she could look into his face.

  "What?" she asked.

  Arach reached behind him and looped an arm around her. He lifted her off the bed and brought her around so that she sat in his lap, her legs straddling his hips. Aurora moaned softly and nestled her pelvis closer to him.

  "You were born for me," he repeated, "Made for me. Your father has been investigating the existence of my clan since before you were born as part of a top-secret security program for the government."

  "I don't understand."

  Arach kissed her softly, drawing her bottom lip into his mouth briefly.

  "Very few people know of our existence. We like to stay private and are fairly certain the rest of you humans would probably not take too kindly to knowing there were dragons wandering in your midst. The government apparently agrees because their secret operative has been trying to get us under their control for decades. Some, like your father, want to maintain peace and keep our worlds apart. There are others, however, who don't share those same sentiments."

  "What do you mean?"

  "There are members of the operative who have gone rogue. Their goal is to either eradicate us completely, or enslave and essentially weaponize us. Your father worked very hard to build his relationship with the clan, and when you were born my father marked you as my future mate."

  "Your mate?" she asked, "So I'm part of a breeding program? My father pimped me out to try to make, what, an army of tiny dragon hybrids?"

  She was trying to climb off his lap, but Arach held her firmly.

  "No. It's not like that," she wriggled again and Arach pulled her tightly up against his chest so she couldn’t move, "Listen to me. It's not like that. You were made for me. My father just recognized that and made the agreement with your father that we would be the link that would maintain peace between our worlds. Unfortunately, one of the rogue groups found out about it and threatened a war if you weren't given instead to their efforts."

  "Oh my god, Greyson," Aurora said, realization dawning on her painfully.

  "Yes."

  "So, you're telling me that I've been a pawn since birth. My own father essentially sold my ass to Greyson to keep peace that I promise you would not last anyway. He lied to me and he tried to take away my future because he got himself in the middle of –what? Dragons and dragon slayers?"

  Her mind was spinning. She was confused, furious, and deeply saddened all at the same time.

  "Yes, but he changed his mind."

  "What?"

  "Your father. He changed his mind about the arrangement. My father had a meeting with him just a few weeks before—"

  "That's why he was murdered," Aurora said quietly.

  Arach nodded, releasing some of the tension on his grip so he could stroke her cheek.

  "The hunters heard of his change of heart before we could properly protect him."

  "Did Greyson…" she trailed off, unable to even ask the question that burned in her throat.

  "Yes," Arach replied carefully.

  A botched break-in, the police had called it. Aurora and her mother had come home to Lee in a pool of his own blood in the living room, the cards for the speech he was working on spread on the marble floor around him. Aurora remembered dropping to her knees beside him and dragging her father's head into her lap. He looked up at her with terror in his eyes, his face streaked with blood, and took her face in his hand. Greyson, he had whispered. Aurora had reaffirmed her promise to him then, committing herself unknowingly to her father's murderer.

  "Arach?" a voice from the doorway broke through the tense moment between them.

  "Yes?" Arach said to the young man standing just outside the doorway.

  "They are coming."

  Arach nodded and the man ran away. He lifted her off his lap and placed her on the bed beside him, immediately starting to button his shirt again.

  "Who's coming?" Aurora asked.

  Arach didn't answer, but stood and started toward the door. Aurora chased after him, following him out of the room and into a cold stone hallway.

  "Aurora, go back in there," he demanded, not stopping, but glancing briefly over at her.

  "Who's coming?" Aurora repeated.

  She had to run to keep up with his long strides and the stone floor felt rough beneath her feet.

  "Go back."

  Aurora reached out and grabbed onto Arach, yanking him to a stop and shoving him back against the wall to the hallway. She was nearly a foot shorter than him, but she looked up at him without intimidation.

  "I have had enough of men telling me what to do in the last few months. Today has truly been the wedding day from hell. At least, I think it is still today. I honestly have completely lost track. I'm still standing here in my fucking wedding dress after finding out that the man I very nearly married murdered my father. So, stop telling me to go back and instead try telling me what the hell is going on."

  Arach looked startled and took her carefully by the shoulders to guide her a few steps back from him.

  "My clan took your father's murder as an act of war. That is why I connected with you when I did. I needed to bring you to me before the fighting began."

  "You connected with me on purpose?"

  "Of course. When a dragon has a human mate, he has the ability to connect with her in her dreams so he can spend time with her without being near other humans."

  "So, those dreams were real?"

  "They were both dreams and real."

  Aurora decided it was futile to try to understand any further.

  "Who's coming, Arach?"

  "The rogues did not take my removing you from your wedding well. They have made it known that they take it as a sign of aggression and are coming to take you back."

  Arach started walking again and Aurora chased him.

  "Greyson?"

  "Yes."

  "How did he explain you to the guests?"

  Arach led her through a massive wooden door into a room filled with weapons. He reached up and pulled a heavy-looking sword from the wall.

  "People only see what they think they should. By tomorrow it will have all been explained away and only those who already knew about us will have any idea that they saw dragons."

  Suddenly Aurora heard screams from outside. Arach muttered an obscenity and pushed past her through another door. Without a second thought, Aurora wrapped her hand around a crossbow and followed him.

  ****

  Outside, a brilliant sunset was dying behind the horizon, sending tendrils of deep purple across the sky. Aurora looked around and saw dragons at every side. She heard another scream and took off running in the direction of the sound. As she ran, the terrain became more familiar. Soon she found herself in the forest where she had walked in her first dream.

  She ran until she came to the edge of the woods and saw a group of men slashing with knives at a dragon far smaller than Arach. The dragon made another of the screaming sounds and sent a weak stream of fire toward the men. Aurora didn't understand why the other dragons hadn't come. She started running again and as she approached the group she saw Arach rise out of the water and knock several of the men to the ground with his claw.

  To his side a man pulled a long sword from a sheath at his hip and raised it above his head. She immediately recognized him.

  "Greyson!" she called, stopping a few yards away.

  Greyson turned sharply and before he could say anything, Aurora lifted the crossbow and let the arrow fly. The sharp metal tip burrowed through his throat, tattering the skin as he collapsed to the ground. Everything went silent around her. The other men fell to the ground one by one, torn and burned. Within seconds, the battle was over. She dropped the crossbow to her feet
and walked toward Greyson's body.

  Blood poured from the wound in his throat and he stared with blank eyes up at the sky. Sickness rolled through her as she looked at him, not because of the blood or even because he had died at her hand, but because of the trust he had so horrifically betrayed.

  No longer in dragon form, Arach walked toward her and gathered her in his arms. She hugged him back, burying her face in his chest.

  "Are you real?" she asked into his shirt.

  Arach pushed her back gently.

  "Yes," he said.

  "Was I really made for you?"

  "Yes," Arach repeated.

  "Prove it to me."

  Before she knew what was happening, Arach had shifted and she was on his back, riding him over the trees back toward the house. The dragons that had swarmed the area when she first emerged were gone. She would later learn about their rules of battle and why they had stayed behind while Arach and the other dragon fought. For now, all she cared about was him.

  Arach landed just outside the massive stone house and waited until she slid from his back to shift back into human form. He took her hand and led her along another stone hallway back to the bedroom. She noticed that the walls of the hallway featured swathes of purple velvet, a sign of royalty.

  When they reached the bedroom, Arach swept Aurora into his arms so he cradled her against his chest as he walked toward the bed. He set her on her feet at the edge of the bed and she felt his hands come to the back of her gown. The corseting strings released and he peeled the dress away from her body, letting it fall to the floor at her feet. She wore only white satin panties beneath and he lowered himself to his knees in front of her so that he could draw the damp cloth down her thighs and guide them off her feet.

  Taking her hips in his hands, Arach dipped his head forward and used his tongue to mimic the skilled movements of his hand the first time she had seen him in human form. The tip focused intensely on the swollen pearl of flesh at her peak and Aurora tossed her head back to let out a cry of pleasure. Stopping just short of her completion, Arach climbed back to his feet and undressed, tossing his clothes aside. Aurora drank in the beauty of his naked body in front of her. She reached for his erection and wrapped her hand eagerly around it.

  Arach drew in a sharp breath and Aurora took the sound as encouragement to continue. Still stroking him, she knelt in front of him and let her tongue slip past her lips so that the tip of his penis stroked across it with each long glide of her hand. He let her continue this way for a few strokes, then took her by her shoulders and brought her to her feet.

  Aurora complied willingly with his hands as he led her onto the bed and turned her body so her head rested on the pillows. He climbed up toward her and she could see the dragon in the power of his movements. Bringing his lips to hers, Arach stretched his body over hers so they touched from their chests to their toes. Aurora put everything into her kiss, letting him coax her further and further into her overpowering desire for him.

  She drew her thighs apart beneath his, causing him to settle between them and the tip of his erection to touch her opening. The sensation made her gasp and she looked into his eyes, holding his gaze as he pushed slowly forward, sinking deeply into her until his hipbones rested against her and her body felt full and fulfilled. She pulled the leather strap from his hair, releasing the silken strands so they fell around his face and onto his shoulder blades.

  Aurora buried her fingers in his hair and brought his mouth back down to hers. She flicked the tip of her tongue against the inside of his bottom lip, encouraging him. His hips rolled against her and she whimpered, relaxing against the feeling to let her hips open further to him. Each long, deep stroke massaged her and she used her hands on his lower back to guide him into a faster rhythm. As he thrust into her she could hear growls of pleasure in his throat.

  Sweat beaded on his skin and Aurora lifted her head to lick the drops off his shoulder before bringing her mouth close to his ear.

  "Let go," she whispered.

  Arach released the sounds from his throat and started moving at a faster pace, each stroke hard enough to elicit a cry. Aurora felt herself spiraling out of control and just as her body contracted around him, Arach gave a final, intense thrust and groaned loudly. She could feel him pulsing within her, spilling hot stream into her body as her tremors milked him.

  Aurora kissed along his shoulder as he dropped down onto her and tucked his head in the curve of her neck. War was coming. She knew it. All that mattered to her in that moment, though, was his heartbeat against hers and knowing that when sleep overtook her, she would remain in his arms, just where she was made to be.

  Part Two

  Dragon’s Burning Desire

  The ground beneath her was damp and cold, and Vivian shifted against it uncomfortably before opening her eyes. Above her, stars so vivid they were like shattered glass sparkled against a deep, velvety sky. Her body felt heavy, pulled down toward the ground as if she didn't have control over it yet, as if she was still dreaming.

  "Vivian?" a familiar voice called from somewhere in the area around her.

  The ability to move seemed to flow back through her body along with the words and she pulled herself up into a sitting position to look for the source of the voice. A strange, foggy cool rushed against her back as she sat up and she felt a shiver ripple across her skin. In the distance, she could see a figure step into the milky silver moonlight that pooled across the ground.

  "Aurora?" she asked, meaning to yell but realizing her voice had only come out as a soft, powdery sound.

  The figure started jogging toward her and when it came within a few yards she could see Aurora's face glow in the moonlight, the pale beams creating a shimmer in the coppery hair tumbling down her shoulders that made her look almost ethereal in the light. She wore a long dark dress that concealed her feet, making her seem to glide as she came closer. In her confusion, Vivian struggled with grasping what was happening and began to fear that Aurora had, in fact, died and that somehow, she was visiting the plane where her best friend now existed.

  Vivian climbed to her feet and took a cautious step toward Aurora. A moment later Aurora swept her into her arms in a tight hug and the solidness of her body told Vivian that she was still alive and that this moment, as distant as it still felt from her grasp, was reality.

  "I'm so glad you're here," Aurora said into Vivian's hair.

  Vivian gripped her more tightly, afraid that when she let her go she would disappear again.

  "I am, too," she said, then paused, "But where exactly is 'here'?"

  Aurora laughed. The sound was clear and honest, the most genuine laugh she had heard come from her best friend in months, possibly a year. She finally sounded relaxed and calm again after so long of being tense, uncomfortable, and grieving. Though she had rarely said anything to her, Vivian had seen the pain and devastation in Aurora's eyes and watched as the girl she had known since they were in elementary school faded away into the artificial image her father and Greyson had created for her.

  "This is Killington," Aurora said, stepping back from their embrace and taking her hand so she could lead her toward the path through the forest where she had first appeared.

  "Vermont?" Vivian asked, feeling even more confused with each step.

  Aurora laughed again and squeezed Vivian's hand.

  "Not quite."

  They stepped into the forest and Vivian was immediately taken by the intensity of the space around her. Plants gleamed with a glaze of new-fallen rain and she filled her lungs with the pure, earthy scent. Beneath the smell of the rain and the leaves was a light floral note that seemed to dance around her, sometimes stronger, sometimes fainter, luring her as they followed along the path.

  Vivian suddenly stopped and turned to Aurora, holding her by her shoulders and looking directly into her wide blue eyes.

  "Everyone thinks you're dead, Aurora," she said sternly, enunciating each word to ensure the other woman understood exac
tly what she said.

  The smile on Aurora's face faltered slightly and she lifted her hands to hold onto Vivian's arms so that they gripped each other tightly.

  "What do you mean?" she asked.

  "What happened at the wedding?" Vivian asked, skirting Aurora's question.

  She knew that she would have to tell her everything soon enough, but for now she needed as much information as she could gather. Aurora glanced up the path and then back at her.

  "What do you remember from the wedding?" she asked.

  "I remember standing up at the altar and Greyson saying his vows. Then everything went completely chaotic. Three men in black suits ran down the aisle and grabbed you, and then Greyson chased after you."

  Aurora nodded slightly and looked deeply into Vivian's eyes as if trying to connect with her on a level beyond the existence where they now stood.

  "I need you to think about it again," she said softly, "Think about the wedding again and remember what you actually saw. Those weren't men that came in the middle of the ceremony."

  Vivian narrowed her eyes at Aurora, confused by her words, but her best friend kept nodding at her as if guiding her into her thoughts. Continuing to stare at Aurora, Vivian forced herself to think back to the wedding two days before. In her mind, she could see the pristine ceremony location, the long white aisle runner, and Greyson standing at the end. She saw Aurora walking down the aisle and taking Greyson's hands in hers. Somewhere in her thoughts he said his vows, but the words didn't come through, just the muted sound of his voice overtaken by a steady, deep rhythm in the sky.

  "Think about it, Vivian," Aurora whispered to her as if she could see what Vivian was seeing in her memories.

  Vivian saw the three men running toward the aisle, and then the strange sound in the sky got louder and louder until it was all she could focus on, all she could perceive. When the image in her mind clarified again, the men were gone. In their place were three massive creatures. The one in the middle straightened and spread powerful wings, tilting its face to the sky and releasing a stream of fire that darkened the clouds and the smell of smoke and singed earth.