‘Zarin stop being—’
Ilias’ voice cut out, and Zarin rushed through the house. “Aris, we have to go. Now!” He had no idea if what hurt Andrea was also hurting his little brother. He growled and shoved open the door. He was about to make up for his ego. He didn’t bother waiting for Aris. He could handle the problem himself. Ilias needed him now.
***
Ilias held Andrea and shivered. He felt weak, as if he’d lost every bit of himself. He called for Zarin; that was all he could do. He didn’t realize how much self-doubt his friend held within him, and he wondered if Zarin was the right one to ask for help.
He hoped that he made it in time. The scent that had surrounded Andrea clouded around him, smothering him. It smelled of rotten eggs and sewage. His throat tightened, and he gagged right before he fell to the ground, taking his mate with him…
CHAPTER 9
Ilias was aware even before he opened his eyes. He needed to know exactly what he was up against. Only what he saw wasn’t what he expected. Zarin stood over him with that worried look he got when things weren’t good. His brows were knitted tightly together, and his hands were clenched at his sides. The tension radiated off of him in waves. The stress he felt coming off his brother was unbelievable.
“Finally,” he said, and his hands unclenched, his brows relaxed, and his lips lifted into a small smile
“We weren’t kidnapped?” It was the first thought that came to his mind. Ilias would have bet his life that the stench was a way to knock him out.
“No, but your mate found the unsavory type. Knocking you out so he could rob you was his gift.”
Ilias wasn’t ready to hear the truth. He knew other creatures existed, but he actually felt sorry for this one. “So, it wasn’t the Golden Dragon then.”
“No.”
“Andrea?”
“Out like a light, but she’s breathing if that’s what you’re worried about.”
Ilias sat up and groaned. He was getting really sick of being knocked out. His head still ached from the last time he found himself on the ground. “This is getting ridiculous.”
“That’s about right. I’ve been standing here for hours. I wasn’t sure if I should move you or not. And dude, you fuckin’ stink.”
He glared at Zarin and held out his hand. “Help me up.”
Zarin wrinkled his nose, but held out his hand when Ilias glared at him. He let out a sigh as Ilias gripped his hand. He let Zarin pull him to his feet and gripped his arms to steady himself. He didn’t want to end up on the ground again.
“Thanks for coming.”
“Anytime brother,” Zarin said, and squeezed him arm. “And look I’m sorry about how I’ve been acting—”
Ilias cut him off. He didn’t want an apology; he wanted things to go back to how they were before. “Don’t even worry about it. Just stop being an ass to her, and we’re good.”
Andrea lay on the ground. She looked peaceful and at ease, but he knew better. She had yet to wake up. He knelt by her side and cupped her chin. He rotated her head, paying special attention to the bruises. Whatever it was that attacked them had landed several blows to her face. He wanted to find it and rip it apart. “What did you get yourself into?”
Andrea whined in her sleep, so he let go of her face but stayed close. “Wake up.”
She didn’t, and he sighed. He was exhausted, and all he wanted to do was sleep. It was a long night, and now as the sun rose in the distance, he realized he hadn’t slept, not really – being knocked out didn’t count. He took a minute to thank the gods he was still alive and took in the pink and purple of the horizon. Stratham was beautiful at this time of day. He couldn’t help but think about watching the sunrise with his mate one day. He wanted to appreciate the little things in life.
He lifted her into his arm and wrinkled his nose. She was worse than him. It wasn’t easy to carry her, but he didn’t want Zarin to do it. She was his mate, and after thinking the worst, he didn’t want anyone else touching her. “Let’s go home,” he said to Zarin. Ilias was glad he healed so fast. The aches and pains left his body after each step. The movement helped the healing process. They went through the same alley, and luckily for him, Zarin parked the SUV so he could get Andrea in the car without anyone seeing her. There were too many questions he wouldn’t be able to answer.
Zarin opened the back and moved aside so Ilias could lay her on the blankets. Instead of going to the front of the SUV, he climbed in the back with her.
“I need to be close to her right now. Get us home.”
Zarin nodded and shut the door, but Ilias didn’t miss the look of longing etched on his face. Fate needed to stop messing around and send him a sign as to where his mate was. If anyone deserved happiness, it was Zarin, no matter what secrets his past held.
He was the one who went out of his way to coexist with humans. He volunteered at the old folk’s home and worked at the soup kitchen. It was his way of giving back. He was the only one out of them that did anything for the community, and now Ilias thought he should take a page from his brother’s book and give back.
Ilias lay next to Andrea and ignored the scent that lingered on them. The fact that she was right there next to him was all that mattered. Now if she would wake up, it would be better. He pulled her body against his and buried his face into her neck. Now that he’d hit his growth spurt, holding her felt even better. He rubbed his hand back and forth over her hip.
***
Andrea was warm. She felt a hard wall against her back and wondered how she got to wherever she was. She couldn’t remember anything past the stench. Everything ached as she came out of whatever that thing did to her. She felt an arm around her, and it felt familiar. Her eyes shot open, and she looked at the hand that lay against her stomach.
She squirmed and rolled, facing the man who held her and gasped. He changed. Why did he look so different? His eyes were closed, so it gave her time to study him. He looked the same, yet not. He was bigger. That was what she focused on. When she met him, he was shorter than her, but now he was huge. It had only been a few days. She wondered if that meant he was going to be okay.
Ilias’ eyes opened and gazed into hers. He didn’t move, but he smiled. His eyes shifted, and this time they didn’t appear like smoke. Instead, they burned like fire. Andrea leaned in closer and brought her hand to his cheek. He turned his face into her palm, and she felt his tongue trace the skin. But then he looked at her again, and she saw something different. This was the dragon – the one that was hers. Everything inside of her told her that. Within Ilias’ mind, she saw the two dragons – one red and the other silver – at odds with each other, yet not. They were bonded, and she could see how they shared the same colors, connecting them. The Silver Dragon – his – was silver with red on its wings. The Red one – hers – was blood red with silver on its wings. It was amazing to see them next to each other. She couldn’t deny the truth, especially not after what she saw in the alley. Ilias could have warned her that other creatures were out there.
Her hand slid to his chest, and he pulled her closer. It was then she realized they were moving. “Where are we?” she whispered.
“Going home.”
“Your home?”
Ilias smiled. “Our home.”
Even after it all, Andrea wasn’t sure she was ready for this. She couldn’t deny the dragon, the one that was begging her, begging her for help, to give her the home she needed. Andrea was that home. Her stomach clenched, and she gasped. Ilias rubbed her back.
“It’ll be okay once you accept him.” The voice was Ilias’, but the words were not.
“I can’t.”
“Why not? He is ours. We are meant to be. You accept him, and I can come home.”
“How can you be so sure I’m meant to be your home?”
The dragon laughed. “Silly human. I know. You are perfect and stronger than you give yourself credit for. You need me so you can fight against the bad things in life.”
>
“What if he can’t accept me?” This was crazy; she was speaking to the Red Dragon as if he wasn’t there. The dragon had somehow taken over him.
“Oh, Andi, he already has. Can’t you see he’d do anything for us?”
It was true; he’d gone out of his way to find her. She sighed. “I’m scared.”
“Let me help you then.” The dragon leaned in and kissed her cheek, but it was different. She froze as she realized that the dragon’s kiss left a heavy feeling on her heart. Andrea lifted her hand to cover the spot it kissed and felt its warmth – its desire to come home and its need to be accepted. She wasn’t the only one who needed that acknowledgment. The dragon did, too.
Ilias looked at her strangely. “Are you okay?”
“I…” she scooted closer to him. “I don’t know. The red dragon—”
“She’s a beauty, isn’t she?”
That wasn’t what she was going to say. “She talked to me.”
“When?”
“Just now.”
Ilias stared at her as if she’d lost her mind.
“I’m serious. She told me to accept you so she can come home. It was so weird, and I swear I feel like I’m losing my damn mind. First, you tell me you’re a dragon and I’m your mate. Then you nearly die, and I end up coming face to face with a stinky troll, and now this Red Dragon has me convinced I’m meant to embrace her, meant to be her home.”
Ilias slid the hair from her face. “You’re not losing your mind. I’m guessing that’s why I don’t remember the last several minutes.” He wrinkled his nose. “It was a troll that attacked us?”
“Yes, that’s what it said it was.” She slapped his chest, and her eyes widened at how strong he felt. “Thanks for the warning, by the way.”
“I didn’t know,” Ilias said. “We also don’t know what to expect when it comes to our dragons. No one ever taught us anything. If you remember, we’re Halflings, and our kind pretty much hates us. None of us know what to expect.”
“So, this is all speculation?”
“Some of it, other stuff not so much. Like, I know you’re my mate, and I know that Red is anxious to become a part of you.”
“Red?”
“That’s what I named her. You can sense her now. And she’s found a way to communicate with you. That has to mean something.”
Andrea didn’t say anything. She couldn’t. The vehicle they were in stopped, and the door was pulled open to none other than Zarin. She bit her lip, waiting for him to say something rude, but instead, he gave her a tight nod.
“Let’s get you guys out of here and in the fuckin’ shower.” He sniffed his own shirt. “Shit, now I stink. Thanks a lot,” he muttered and stalked toward the house, leaving them alone.
“Is he always like this?”
“Mostly. But once he finds his mate, I think he’ll finally forgive himself and maybe clam down.”
She wasn’t going to touch that. Zarin’s personal problems weren’t her business. She planned to keep it that way. “I need a shower.”
“We have a spare room. It’s where Sophie stayed when she first came to us. It’s got a bathroom and some clothes.”
“I doubt they’ll fit.”
“Don’t be so sure. When she first came to us, well, we didn’t know anything about her. So, there are lots of clothes since Zarin did the shopping only knowing she was petite.”
Andrea really needed to talk to Sophie. She’s the only one who knew what Andrea was going through. But she was nervous. The woman went from human to powerful dragon just by mating with Aris. It couldn’t have all been good. She was afraid to really know what it was like. It would affect her decision.
She followed Ilias out of the car and into the house. First thing’s first – get cleaned up. Second, find out if Ilias was hers for real.
CHAPTER 10
Ilias sensed the tiny change. Andrea hadn’t really believed him about a second beast – her beast – but the moment Red took over, she changed her tune, and now she was in the guest room. He wondered what she was thinking about, but he refrained from eavesdropping. Each day, he learned how to control his new power. Thank the gods. He needed to know what she was doing when she got attacked and how he could get through to her. She wasn’t as much of a hard ass as she portrayed, just as he wasn’t as calm and collected as he let on. Both of them were pretending to be something they weren’t. The question was why, and would the new changes stick?
He had scrubbed the scent of the disgusting smell of troll from every part of him, but it still lingered. He shook his head, wondering how he’d managed not to know of their existence. He’d come to love Stratham, and it was home.
Downstairs, the house was silent. Everyone had made themselves scarce as soon as he and Andrea had come in. It looked like it was just the two of them in the house. That was a nice change. Maybe he’d be able to get through to her. His body heated, thinking of another way they could spend their time, but no. He couldn’t be sexual with her until she accepted everything. He padded down the hall and stopped outside of the guest room. He leaned against the door to see if Andrea was in there.
“I’m right here,” she said, standing in the doorway of the den. He jumped and gulped when he saw her. She wore a white dress that contrasted against her mocha-colored skin. It flowed right above her knees, and the top was tight on her chest. His eyes lingered on the bit of cleavage. He blinked and pulled his attention away from her body to face. Her long hair was in a braid out of her eyes.
“I’d like to talk.”
She shrugged. “I figured as much. Seems to be all you want to do.”
He wanted to say, “But we never do.” Instead, he closed his eyes. Was this what Aris felt like when he’d first met Sophie? If so, he could understand why the man was always wound up tight.
Ilias planned to lead her to the den, but then she stepped into his space right in front of the door. His breath caught when the fresh scent of her skin flowed around him. His body tensed, and his sleeping dragon woke and pranced in his mind. He inhaled and closed his eyes, doing his best to ignore the growing ache in his body. Since she kissed him, all he could think about was things he shouldn’t be. He always wondered what it would be like to be a normal man, and if this was any indication, he wasn’t shocked by a human male’s actions anymore. He’d witnessed a lot of them staring at women with their tongue out, begging for a tiny sliver of attention. He never got it. For a long time, Ilias never felt arousal. But now that’s all he felt. He constantly had to calm his body down. She leaned up on her tiptoes, and her lips met his ear. “Can we be alone?”
He shuddered when her breath tickled his neck, and he nodded, opening the door to the guest room even though he knew the house was empty. He wasn’t sure how long that would last. She grabbed his hand and tugged, forcing him to follow.
“Close the door.”
Ilias did as he was told. He didn’t know what to expect, but she seemed to know what she wanted. When he turned around, she sat on the bed and patted the mattress.
“You’re okay?” He sat across from her, leaving some distance between them. “You disappeared.”
“I was freaked. I found someone who could get me what I needed, and that’s all I really remember, other than the nasty smell.”
“So, you found a dealer?” He was trying to understand.
“Yes,” she hissed, and narrowed her eyes.
Ilias reached for her clenched hand, and when she would have pulled it away, he gripped it in his. “I wasn’t asking to offend you. I was just trying to figure out what happened.” He rubbed her hand to soothe her. “I would never intentionally hurt you.”
She sighed and relaxed her hand in his. “It’s hard to read you. I know what I’m doing is stupid. But I just—”
“It’s okay. We don’t have to talk about your addiction. Right now, I want to talk about you. I know nothing about you.”
***
Andrea didn’t want to talk, even though she knew
she really should get to know the man who claimed her as his soul mate. That didn’t happen every day. But she knew that if she really was his mate, they’d have plenty of time to talk and get to know each other later. Right now, she wanted to ease the ache that’d been building since she met him. All she could think about was touching him, kissing his skin, and him sliding in her and mating. Fucking, hell; she’d call it like it was: making love. She wanted it. She wanted to feel his body over her, in her, under her. Andrea shuddered and blushed when she realized that Ilias’ eyes had shifted to grey.
“What are you thinking about?” He’d sat up straighter, and his hand clamped around hers.
She hadn’t realized how strong he was – or, rather, had gotten. It was strange to see the changes. He went from teenager to yummy man. “You mean, you don’t know?” He had read her thoughts before.
Ilias licked his lips and shook his head. His fingers gripped her hand like a life line. “Tell me.”
She loved how he reacted to her. What woman wouldn’t want a man to want her the way he obviously did. “What I want you to do to me.” Her voice was low, and her need for him grew. She felt a trickle of her arousal on her thighs and squeezed them together. Just the thought of being with him was nearly enough. She wasn’t a virgin, but she wasn’t used to being aroused easily.
He choked. “Wha…what do you want?”
Enough talk. She scooted back against the headboard and opened her legs. Showing was better than telling. His eyes followed her movements, and she laughed the moment he realized she wore no panties. His nostrils flared and heat filled her. “Come here.”
Instead of listening, he surprised her by yanking her legs, pulling her down on the bed until she lay in front of him. Her breath came out in pants, the rise and fall of her chest pushing her breasts out of the dress. His large hands slid up her legs slowly. Each finger gliding along her leg, tickling her skin, made her heart race a little faster. She squirmed when he pushed her knees apart, but she let him lead. Something changed in him. At first, all she could sense was his nerves, but mating was instinctual, and the more he touched her, the more relaxed he became. The tension left his body when he slid his hand between her thighs and brushed his fingers over her wet heat, and she bit her lip, trying not to moan. When he pressed his finger against her clit, her legs fell to the side, and her body opened for him.
Ilias: A Paranormal Shifter Romance (Stratham Dragons Book 2) Page 5