Her Dragon's Fire

by Julia Mills

  He stood, looking at the most exquisite creature in all the universe, marveling that they were meant to be together for all time, in this life and the next. She may not know it yet, but he and his dragon knew. The ever growing scent of her arousal, that drove him mad with desire, let him know that her body was already onboard. That succulent scent of vanilla and honey, floating on a spring breeze, warmed by the sun, filled the room on more than one occasion during their meal. She had been more than a little aroused. Like had recognized like, two halves of the same whole, as foretold by the ancestors. He had listened to so many stories about the incredible feelings that finding one’s mate evoked, he had been sure he knew what would happen when he actually met her, but nothing in his wildest imagination had prepared him for the real thing. All his thoughts centered on her, his beautiful mate. He needed to touch her; to plunder her mouth and body until neither could think or breathe without the other. He wanted to watch her pupils dilate and nipples pebble as he touched every inch of her body with his lips, teeth, and tongue.

  She reminded him of a china doll come to life, lying there perfectly relaxed, not a care in the world, for just those few minutes. Her raven hair fanned across the arm of the couch, her hands pressed together under her chin like she had fallen asleep saying her prayers. The thick fringe of her bangs kissed the arch of her manicured brows. With her eyes closed, her long lashes curled against her cheeks in dark little crescents. A light rose hue highlighted the flawless porcelain complexion of her cheeks and he thought of fairies playing in the garden. Her lips were full and pink and formed a perfect pout, reminding him of a rose bud about to bloom. She was the picture of everything right and wonderful in the world and she was his. He wondered if she would think he was crazy if he just stood right there watching her sleep all night. Yea, stalker boy, she will think you are worse than crazy.

  She stirred in her sleep, waking him from his Grace-induced stupor. She had mentioned staying there for the night and said something crazy about sleeping on the couch so as not to be a bother. Like that was going to happen; his mate would sleep in the bed, period. She deserved the best and although the monstrosity of a couch that she was sleeping on was one of the most comfortable he had ever known, there was no way in hell he was going to sleep in a bed while she was on a couch in the living room. If he had it his way, they would both be in the bed, wrapped around one another, spent from making love. He reined in his wild thoughts, assuring both himself and his dragon that their time would come...very soon.

  With his mind made up, he carefully moved her hair until it hung over her left shoulder, slid one arm under her head and the other under her knees. She immediately curled into his chest and sighed. Her body recognized his in her sleep. She unconsciously trusted him to care for her. The smile that broke across his face was so big it made his cheeks ache. His chest puffed up as he overflowed with pride when her hand landed right over his heart. Walking like a man that owned the world, he took Grace into the master bedroom, tucking her in for the night.

  Once again he found himself just standing and staring. He closed his eyes and thanked the Universe for the amazing gift of his mate. When he opened his eyes, she was snuggled under the comforter with a look of absolute peace on her beautiful face. His control broke. He leaned forward and gently touched his lips to hers; together they sighed with complete contentment. He pulled back quickly, knowing if he stayed one second longer they would both be naked, him buried deep inside her, claiming her as his for all time. He used the excuse of checking to make sure she was comfortable to touch her silken skin one last time. He turned off the bedside lamp and headed towards the door. Unable to resist one more look over his shoulder, he paused. His smile grew even bigger; she really was the most beautiful woman in the world. Wondering how long it would take to get the raging hard on in his jeans under control enough to rest at all, and not really giving a shit, he headed out of the room. She was here and she was his. With that thought and the taste of his mate on his lips, he closed the bedroom door.

  *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

  Andrew had spent the night watching his brother and a woman. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to realize that she was his mate and they were both trying really hard to avoid their obvious attraction. It made him sick to his stomach. What right did his cowardly brother have to find his mate? NONE! He had no right to be happy, no right to find love, no right to live happily ever after. The only thing befitting the man he had spent the first ninety years of his life idolizing, before Aidan’s life-altering betrayal, was pain and suffering. At first, he had lain in that dungeon, day after day, month after month, waiting for his brother and the others of the Dragon Guard to rescue him. He had called out in their mind speak until his head pounded and his ears bled. Then after waiting, hoping and praying, he realized it was useless, no one was coming for him. On the heels of his feelings of hopelessness came anger and hate that grew and festered. It was then that he planned his revenge to destroy everyone that had betrayed, tortured, and tormented him.

  He had waited patiently and played the game, gaining the wizards’ trust, making them think they had beaten him. When he saw an opening, he took it and killed them all. He knew there were other covens out there. He planned to annihilate them also, but it was those first vengeful deaths, the blood of the ones that had captured, tortured, and subjected him to their black magic rituals, that had strengthened his resolve for retribution. After the wizards, the hunters had been easy pickings. They were so filled with hate from the fanatical propaganda they had been spoon fed their entire lives against the dragon shifters, that when he had shown up on their door step with irrefutable information about the very few weaknesses of their sworn enemies, they had at least listened to him. Then, once he assured them he could help them defeat one of the strongest Forces within the Dragon Guard, that of the Golden Fire Clan of the Dragon Shifters, they had welcomed him into their pack. The next step in his grand plan was underway. He had repaid them by using them and leading them to their deaths as well. His plan included annihilating the rest of the hunters, but first he was focused on his brother, Aidan; the one he had trusted above all others, the one that had left him to rot and die with those hateful wizards all those years ago.

  At first, his plan had been to capture him. He wanted his older brother to feel the same pain and hopelessness that he himself had endured, trapped for all those months in that horrible dungeon. Then after the debacle on the hillside, Andrew decided killing Aidan outright would be the best option, as would killing all the others of his Force, including his other brother, Aaron. With them out of the way he would move on to all the others responsible for the pain and humiliation he had suffered. But his plan had changed again. Aidan’s mate was in the picture again, and this time Andrew knew who she was. He knew hurting her would be far worse than any physical pain he could inflict on his brother. Oh yes, the little raven haired beauty that had ultimately been the reason Andrew had been captured in the first place, would pay for the sins of his brother. Then Aidan would live the rest of his life knowing there was nothing he could do to save the woman the Universe made just for him. He would live alone and broken, in a prison he could never escape, created by the brother he had betrayed.

  *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

  Grace awoke from the best dream she could remember ever having. She had dreamt of a tall, sexy man with eyes the color of single malt whiskey and skin kissed by the sun, doing incredibly wicked things to her body. Yawning, she stretched and her eyes flew open as reality hit her like a bucket of cold water. She was at Kyndel’s and the man from her dreams was real… and in the other room. Jumping out of bed, she realized she was still dressed in her clothes from last night and didn’t remember getting into bed. As she glanced around the room, she saw her dry cleaning hanging on the closet door, not in the car where she was sure she had left them. She thought back to last night and the sexiest man alive, that she knew almost nothing about, who turned her brain to complete mush. An ever-continuing loop of v
isions that detailed her licking and tasting every delectable inch of his perfect body made rational thought almost impossible. The last thing she remembered from the night before was watching a rerun on television and the object of her sexual torment making noise in the kitchen.

  She closed her eyes and remembered dreaming that she was being carried to bed; a dream so real that she could feel the heat radiating from the hard planes of his chest under her cheek. Her eyes flew open. Holy hell, that hadn’t been a dream! He had carried her to bed. She had been in his arms and she had been so tired she had slept through the whole damn thing. She felt her body warming at the thought of his powerful arms wrapped around her body. She longed to feel his skin against hers. Good grief! She really needed to get laid; it obviously had been too damn long. No time now though, she thought. She glanced at the clock on the bedside table, 5:30am, time to get this show on the road. There were witnesses to find and dirt bags to convict. She grabbed a pair of panties and a bra from the drawer Kyndel had given her when her friend had first moved in and headed to the shower. Surely scalding hot water and then some caffeine would clear her head.

  *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

  Aidan had not gotten a wink of sleep all night. Every time he closed his eyes he saw sky blue eyes, drunk with passion, shining up at him through a fringe of thick black lashes and an amazing expanse of silken porcelain skin. He imagined kissing every sexy swell, caressing every sensual dip, and tasting every erotic curve. He had spent the night so excited, he had finally relented and eased his arousal with his own hand. The images of her hand and mouth on his hard cock had driven him to come harder than he thought possible. The mating call was working hard and fast. The timing was all wrong. He needed to catch Andrew and end the threat to all he held dear before allowing their relationship to progress, but being with Grace just felt too good to deny. He had teased Rayne about his inability to keep his hands off Kyndel, but now he understood Rayne's smile and chuckled answer, that some day he would understand. Well, he damn sure understood now. Paybacks were a bitch, and from his always half erect cock whenever his blue-eyed beauty was around, he knew he was being paid back double for the teasing he had given his Commander.

  It had been his plan to go to Grace after he had captured and taken his brother to the Elders. He had thought about all the ways he would woo her, taking his time getting to know her and letting her get to know him. He wanted to share everything with her. He wanted to know that she at least cared for him before he explained his existence, the dragon within and that of his clan’s. But now that he had met her and spent time with her, there was no way he could walk away from her, even for a short time. He had to figure out a way to spend time with her and let her get to know him while chasing down his brother. He was not a master strategist of the most regarded Force in all the Dragon Guard for no reason. He knew he had to be careful how he approached his mate. Grace was spirited and stubborn. He knew from Kyndel, and now from spending an evening with her, she was intelligent and depended on the facts to make decisions. She was an attorney, after all. He knew from talking to Rayne that Kyndel had not explained anything to her friend other than that she and Rayne had met, it had been love at first sight, they were now married, and he had a large family. Aidan was not sure how she would react to the news that they were made for each other by the Universe. He was even more concerned about how she would react to his dragon side, but he knew for his sanity, he had to make sure she understood they were meant to be together for all time.

  Decision made, he headed to the kitchen to make coffee and see if there was anything to make for breakfast. Lance, Royce, Aaron, and Devon stopped in almost every day to grab a shower, a nap, and something to eat. He had no clue what was left in the refrigerator, if anything. The shower in the master bedroom turned on. Grace was awake and about to be in that shower, naked and wet, just a few feet from him. As he was checking the contents of the fridge, he found himself leaning his head against the freezer door, trying to catch his breath. With his eyes closed, all he could imagine was water caressing her generous curves. His hand was turning the knob on the bedroom door before he realized he had moved. What would she do if he joined her? Let him in to satiate the need he knew was making them both insane or hit him over the head with a shampoo bottle? Probably choice number two.

  Aidan turned to head back to the kitchen when he heard a moan coming from the direction of his mate. With his enhanced hearing, he stood and listened as her breathing became more labored, her gasps more frequent, and then she moaned just as he caught the unmistakable scent of honey and vanilla floating on a spring breeze, warmed by the sun. Her arousal nearly brought him to his knees. Just a few feet from where he was standing, dick pressing against the zipper of his jeans so hard he was sure the design would be pressed into his skin, Grace, his beautiful mate, was pleasuring herself. He grabbed the doorknob again, determined to quench the fire raging through their bodies, when his phone rang from the other room. Dammit! He was going to kill whoever was on the other end of that call. He spun around with the scent of his mate’s arousal still in the air, to answer a phone he really wanted to throw in the nearest river.

  *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

  Dressed in her charcoal grey pin-striped suit and red silk blouse, her hair piled up on her head with a little fringe framing her face, Grace headed out to the kitchen to grab a cup of coffee and a piece of toast before heading out to the office. She stopped short in the doorway, all of the air from her lungs vanishing and her mouth watering like a dog that had just seen a bone in the butcher’s window. There, standing in front of the stove, frying bacon from the smell of it, was the man that drove her libido to heights she didn’t know existed and made it impossible for her to go on without relieving at least a little of the pressure that had been building from the first scent of smoky woods covered in fresh fallen snow. The fire she had reduced to a smolder by pleasuring herself in the shower came roaring back to life with just one look. This man was pure sex in a pair of faded jeans and he was bare from the waist up. Good God his muscles had muscles.

  Nothing her very active imagination had conjured up compared to the reality of being in the same room with a half naked Aidan. He was a work of art, standing in front of her with the most magnificent tattoo across his back that wrapped around both sides of his waist. Her panties were instantly wet, her nipples hard peaks pushing against the silk of her bra, and the little hairs all over her body stood on end. Her breathing came harder and faster. This man needed a warning label. He was definitely hazardous to her sanity. She had to get away from him before she did something stupid, like fall at his feet and beg him to take her right there. Grace Kensington did not beg and she did not get turned on by men she knew nothing about, she said to herself for the umpteenth time that morning. She had a career and a best friend that was going to need her when the new baby came; she did not have time for this craziness. She had a running mantra in her head, but no matter how many times she repeated it, she could not stop her pulse from beating double time while her mind knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that the bottom half looked as good as the top.

  She decided against spending another minute in the little apartment with the incredibly lethal man, when he looked over his shoulder and hit her with a smile that could have sold toothpaste, braces, and damn near anything else, to any woman in the world. “Hope you’re hungry, I made enough for an army,” he snorted at his own joke. “It’s the most important meal of the day, ya know?” And if watching the play of the muscles in his back was not enough to blow her mind, he winked at her like they shared a secret no one else would ever know. Oh shit! She was in serious trouble with this one, but for the life of her could not worry about it in that moment.

  *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

  Aidan felt her eyes on him like a caress. He and his dragon loved every single minute of being thoroughly inspected by their mate. He could feel the tattoo that signified the beast within, rising on his skin. He knew by the flutters he felt kissing his skin, the mar
king he had received all those years ago was taking shape, the colors becoming more apparent. He knew the change was gradual. People that witnessed it often thought they just had not ‘seen’ the intricate design at first glance, but his mate would be able to see the beautiful marking in all its glory from beginning to end, for she was as much a part of him as the dragon within and intricately more important. He kept his back to Grace, letting her take it all in. It was the first step towards her recognizing him for what he was and more importantly, what she was to him.

  His dragon was breathtaking, and the tattoo on his back an almost perfect replica of the beast he was honored with which to share his existence. The marking portrayed his beast in flight, accentuating his long lean lines, outstanding musculature, and the incredible expanse of his wings. Those amazing wings, unfurled in flight, spread from the nape of Aidan’s neck and flowed into its massive silver scaled body, embellished with thick rows of black scales running the entire length of both sides. A wing came from the other side and wrapped around the man’s waist, as if molding itself to him. His majestic head lay over Aidan’s left shoulder blade with a determined look on his aristocratic face. His long, spiked tail disappeared into the waistband of his jeans where unseen to Grace, it continued to wrap around with the large spade at the end lying in that highly sensitive area next to Aidan’s groin.

  When he had heard her open the door and head down the hall, he had realized he was sans t-shirt, but didn’t want the bacon to burn or the eggs to get too hard; at least that was the excuse he gave himself. In all honesty, he wanted Grace to see him. He wanted her to see his dragon and prayed it would drive her arousal higher. Their mutual attraction was a living presence. He had taken care of his never ending needs last night and knew she had pleasured herself in the shower just a short while ago. He now wanted to ensure she thought of him while they were apart. He knew he was not the most handsome man in the world, but had been told by more than one maiden that he was a ‘hunk’, whatever the hell that meant. He wanted Grace to think of no one but him; the heavens knew he would think of no one but her, ever again. Flashing a little skin to entice his mate was not a hardship for Aidan or his dragon. Now, if he could just get her to reciprocate, but he knew that was not happening this morning. She was put together from head to toe, dressed to impress and put away the bad guys. Her hair piled on top of her head brought attention to the long luscious column of her neck. His mouth watered and his lips tingled at the thought of tasting that delectable stretch of porcelain skin. His thoughts drifted to the image of his lips at her neck while his fingers pulled the pins holding her stylish coif, causing her beautiful, black waterfall of tresses to cascade down her back. He forced himself to behave, he needed to feed his mate, get her out the door for work, and follow up on the lead one of the other clans had just called into him.