Inception

by Laxmi Hariharan

  When he didn't acknowledge her presence, she walked across to him and asked, "Which cabin should I take?"

  "Suit yourself," he said without turning around. "We cast off in five." He busied himself again.

  Her heart twisted at his lack of acknowledgement of her presence. But what else had she expected after last night's performance? She should apologize and tell him she was sorry. Then, what? She was never going to allow her dragon to mate with this immortal. No matter how much both woman and dragon wanted it.

  Even angry and upset as he was, she was still turned on by just being in his presence.

  Best keep away from him. Let him hate her. Yeah, that's what she'd do.

  She turned to leave.

  "You smell of him." His voice vibrated across the distance between them, making her nerve endings scream with tension.

  She halted halfway to the exit.

  Gulping down a lungful of air to steady herself, she thrust out her chin. "And why not? I do belong to him."

  The next second, he gripped her arm, and yanked her around.

  34

  Aaron

  Her words had crashed into him with the force of a massive wave, and the breath hissed out of him.

  He'd seen Hope get engaged, had seen her agree to give herself to another man, and yet, he was still alive. How was it possible he was still here breathing when his heart was being slowly twisted and trampled underfoot?

  He'd faced enemies in battle, had fought off fierce shifters and immortals, even survived the loss of his twin.

  None of it had prepared him for the sheer despair that weighed him down.

  Letting go of the wheel, he'd marched up to her and pulled her around.

  He brushed his hand over her lips, again and again, not caring that she'd see the emotion in his eyes and know how much he wanted her. She'd hurt him, and he couldn't hide his frustration at having reached this impasse. He wanted her. He'd die for her rather than live a life without her.

  Couldn't she see that?

  When he stopped and let her go, her lips were throbbing.

  "Damn." He ran his fingers through his hair and turned his back on her. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you. Seeing him with you again… I don't know what came over me."

  A touch on his shoulder had him flinching.

  "Don't." He gritted out the word through clenched teeth. If she touched him, he wouldn't be responsible for his actions. The last thing he wanted was to lose control.

  "I shouldn't have said that. I didn't mean it." Her voice was soft.

  "Sure you did." He stalked away, making sure to put distance between them. Reaching the wheel, he gripped it. "You knew exactly what you were doing when you got engaged to him last night, what it would do to me to see you kiss him."

  "Aaron, I—"

  Unable to stop himself, he turned, slashing the air with his hand, cutting off whatever she was going to say next.

  He let her have the full force of his glare. "You knew we'd have to spend the next few days together, that I would have to keep you at a distance when all I want to do is hold you, kiss you, make love to you."

  She went pale, blotches of red standing out on her cheeks. Her chest rose-fell with every breath. Her eyes were large, and fixed on his lips. He could smell that vanilla and spice of her scent, laced with a muskiness that told him she was aroused.

  The knowledge turned him on.

  All the frustration boiled up and burst through him in a rush of liquid heat that had him hard and throbbing.

  He moved in closer, knowing he was crowding her, enough for her to take a step back, and another.

  Her knees hit a chair, and she sank into it.

  He followed her down, dropping to his knees in front of her. Slapping his hands on the arms of the chair, he leaned forward until his nose almost touched her. "You knew that I wanted you, that you belonged to me. And yet I can’t have you, for you are pledged to someone else."

  She swallowed, and when he moved in close enough for his breath to flutter the fine hair on her forehead.

  Her eyes dilated and she blinked.

  In the next moment, he saw the vertical slits of her dragon kick in.

  There she was. His dragoness. She belonged to him. Only him.

  Possessiveness a hot thrum in his blood, he gripped her thighs and wrenched them apart, then slid into the V between her thighs.

  "Aaron."

  Hearing his name on her lips sent lust shooting through his veins, straight to his belly. Desire zinged across his nerve endings.

  This close, he could see the gold flecks in those green eyes swirl and catch fire.

  When her tongue flicked out to touch her lips, he couldn't look away from the glistening flesh. Those lips had teased him, had melted against his; he knew how she tasted.

  So did someone else.

  "Why?" He cupped her face, looking into her eyes. "Answer me."

  "You know why. I can't let my dragon mate with you. I will not take the chance of the mating bond hurting you. I can't let it kill you. Can't you see?" She placed her hands over his. "I didn't want to hurt you."

  "So you'll trap yourself in a relationship that does not mean anything?"

  "At least you will be alive." She set her jaw in that familiar stubborn set.

  "Will I?" He wasn't sure what pushed him over the edge.

  Perhaps it was because her scent wrapped around him when they were this close, sinking into his skin, maddening him to the point he knew he'd have to taste or go insane.

  Or perhaps that very male part of him just wanted to show her what she would be missing.

  He closed his mouth over hers.

  He wasn't going to be gentle. He told himself he wanted to punish her. He wanted to show her exactly how good it was between them, that she was going to regret turning away from him. He wanted to plunder her mouth, to take, to hurt…

  As soon as his lips touched hers, he found himself softening.

  Coaxing her to open her mouth, he slid his tongue over hers, pouring everything he felt into that kiss. He let her taste his need for her to fill that empty gnawing space inside him, as only she could.

  Aaron didn't hold anything back.

  He let her feel his emotions, his hurt, his sheer want to feel her skin over his. He felt the very essence of himself bleed into that kiss.

  Just when it felt like he would lose himself in her, he wrenched his mouth away.

  It felt very much like goodbye.

  It was over, over, he told himself.

  35

  Hope

  That kiss had stolen her breath. His touch arrowed straight to her core, making her toes curl until it felt like Aaron was taking the very essence from her.

  He'd opened himself up fully to her, mind, body, and soul, and his touch had brushed past her senses.

  Her dragon had stirred for the first time since the engagement ceremony, and that had sent a ripple of joy down her spine.

  That, and the fact that for one glorious moment, she had let herself sink into him. Let her dragon wallow in his presence, in his scent, his touch.

  Just for a few seconds, she'd shut out the world and her responsibilities, had pushed aside the crushing guilt that letting Aaron close would only put his life in danger. Only for that moment in time, Hope had let herself… feel.

  She'd loved it, cherished it, and regretted it all in the same breath. For her dragon gloried in the feeling of oneness that came with letting Aaron so close, even as the woman in her sank into him. Before rational thought rushed in, he'd torn his lips from hers and left her wanting more.

  Much more.

  For the first time, Hope acknowledged how much the woman in her wanted him, all of him.

  She wanted to be with him, to take him as her mate. To let her dragon bond with his warrior spirit and ride the wave of emotions he had shown her.

  Getting to his feet, he walked back to the wheel, shoulders bowed. "Go to your cabin… please." Starting the cruiser, he co
ncentrated on readying the boat.

  She'd felt the finality of that kiss and knew he was choosing to put an end to whatever was between them.

  It's what she wanted too, didn't she?

  Then why did it feel like her heart was shattering inside. She should tell him that she had broken it off with Jason, that she'd never intended to go through with the mating, and that the ceremony had been an elaborate ruse on her part to make him leave her.

  A goal she'd just accomplished.

  She felt like she'd lost something precious.

  The silence stretched.

  Perhaps it was for the best that he wanted her to keep her distance. It would keep her dragon out of temptation's way.

  He finally turned to her.

  For the first time since she'd met him, she saw all expression wiped off his features. Those eyes, his piercing cobalt-blue eyes, were blank. He'd made sure to hide himself from her.

  Hurt welled up inside.

  She wanted to walk up to him and demand he look at her like he still cared for her.

  He did still want her. He did care for her, she reminded herself. He must still love her. He must. She tried to convince herself.

  He turned back to the task of getting the cruiser underway. "We are only allies of convenience. Once we complete this mission, we'll go back to being in different political camps."

  She knew a brush off when she heard it.

  Gathering what pride she had left, Hope turned and left without another word.

  Besides, if she stayed… she only risked dropping all her barriers. She'd give in to the temptation of letting her soul mingle with his.

  His boat; he could steer it, she told herself as she made her way down to one of the cabins.

  Except for a few words exchanged when she took over the next shift from him, they kept out of each other's way.

  By the time Bombay was in sight, her nerves were stretched to a screaming point, enough for her to make for the pier as soon as they had docked.

  She was halfway up the road leading away from the pier, when a woman came barreling down, rushing past her without a second look.

  Hope couldn't resist a look over her shoulder.

  Then she wished she hadn’t.

  36

  Hope

  The woman had her hands around his neck, legs around his waist. She was kissing him as if she would devour him whole.

  And Aaron?

  The annoying man seemed to be enjoying it. He put his arms around the woman's waist, holding her steady before lowering her to her feet, taking care to let her slide down the length of his body.

  She heard a growl, unaware it was coming from her throat.

  Heat boiled in her belly, threatening to pour through her veins.

  Jealousy was a living, writhing thing inside her, the taste of hate acrid on her tongue. She came very close to walking right up to the still entwined couple and snatching her from Aaron's arms.

  More worryingly, her dragon should have reacted to seeing another woman wound around her mate. But there was nothing, not even a whiff of a reaction from her animal.

  Worry twisted her gut. Her dragon was very upset with her.

  Digging her nails into her palms, Hope turned. She kept her eyes forward and kept walking until she reached the small terminal where another woman was waiting.

  Her dark hair curled around her face and fell to mid-waist; golden-brown eyes twinkled up at her. She was… stunning.

  The woman sauntered over, taking her own time as if she was royalty. "Hope?" Her voice was melodious, her grip warm.

  "And you are?"

  "Serena." The woman smiled, lips curving up in a smile that reached her eyes,

  The animal in Hope sized her up and recognized the beast in the other. "You're a lion shifter."

  Serena drew herself to her full five feet four inches and placed a hand over one curved hip. "Welcome, dragoness." She inclined her head, acknowledging the hunter in Hope. "I see you met darling Charmaine already." She nodded toward the other woman clinging to Aaron.

  "Darling Charmaine was very… energetic in her welcome." Hope bit down on all the other adjectives that were on the tip of her tongue.

  Serena threw that mass of hair back and laughed.

  The sun caught the glints of gold and brown in her eyes. "Don't mind Charm. She can be quite… needy."

  "Is that what they're calling it these days?" Hope smirked.

  She knew the woman was still holding onto Aaron. The immortal had made no move to disentangle himself from her.

  Fine, so he was getting back at her for what she had done, for having pledged herself to another man and for having kissed someone else.

  If only it didn't hurt so much.

  Rubbing a hand over her heart where it throbbed like she'd taken a physical blow, she followed Serena to a truck. Getting in, she noticed the other couple had veered off in the opposite direction. "Ah, so they're not coming with us?"

  "Charm brought Aaron's truck, so he'll drive them both back. You'll see them this evening at the naming ceremony to welcome our mayor's new daughter."

  "Naming ceremony? You sure I’m invited? It sounds… private."

  "Oh, it is private, but Leana, our mayor, is nothing if not political. She knows she needs every opportunity to bring the species together. Her marriage and this naming ceremony is a means to invite the citizens to celebrate with her." Selena flicked a look at Hope before glancing back at the road. "Leana believes by sharing her joys and sorrows she forms better connection with the citizens. Occasions like this are the one time species forget about differences and come together."

  "Your mayor is wise." Hope propped her feet on the dash, very much comfortable with this woman she'd just met. "But it seems wrong to attend a celebration when I should be out looking for Freya."

  "You have to eat, don't you?" Serena countered. "So, have dinner, meet the rest of the Guardians, and get debriefed on the plan for how we are going to approach the Elysians."

  "You sure you're not a politician?"

  She quickly realized this operation was no longer in her control. She was in the Council's territory as their guest. She'd have to fall in with their plans.

  "You sound like my brother." Serena laughed. "Besides, Aaron will be there and so will Charm, and every other eligible woman out to get his eye."

  "Hmm." Hope knew when she'd been outwitted.

  Serena chuckled. "Why don't you ask the question you are dying to."

  "Am I?'

  "Yep." Serena grinned. "The answer is no. I've never slept with Aaron. He's too much like a brother. And no, I don't think Charm slept with him either, but not for lack of trying on her part. Aaron is selective."

  Relief coursed through her veins. Hope hoped it didn’t show on her face. "Selective?" If she said anything more, she'd be likely giving away too much.

  Serena saved her from saying anything more. "Charm has a thing for him. He's one of those who hasn't given in to her charms… pardon the bad pun." She chuckled, not looking in the least like she was sorry. "It makes Aaron irresistible to her, especially since word reached us that he's coming back with a dragon shifter in tow. The same dragon shifter who saved us from the Elysian attack on the bar."

  "So, she came to check me out for herself and stake her claim." Hope completed Serena's sentence. "Not that Aaron seemed resistant to the idea."

  "Perhaps he's just playing it to get your attention."

  "Perhaps…"

  "Don't give much away, do you?" Serena glanced at her.

  "Not if I can help it." Hope leaned back in her seat, enjoying the feel of the warm breeze on her face. "But I do like you, Serena. I could use a friend."

  Golden-brown eyes gleamed as Serena canted her head. It reminded her of the lion shifter she'd met at Alex's bar.

  "You are Cain's sister?" Hope guessed as the pieces fell into place.

  "Guilty." Serena shook back her hair. "The family resemblance is both a blessing and a curse."r />
  "A curse? From where I am, it seems you have nothing to worry about, except a lot of attention."

  "Wait until those men see the family resemblance to Cain. The thought of an alpha lion shifter going after them for noticing his sister is enough to put most of them off."

  "Well, then, when a man wants you enough to face up to Cain, you'll know you are onto something." Hope held out her hand through the open window, letting her palm ride the warm sea air.

  "Perhaps." Serena sounded doubtful. "Guess it's like Aaron deciding he was going to face your dragon fire to come after you, huh?"

  Hope shot Serena a glance, wondering if she'd guessed at the connection between her and Aaron already. No. More likely she'd sensed something of the tension between them.

  "So you going to tell me what happened between the two of you?"

  "It's complicated." Hope turned her head toward the breeze.

  "It always is when it concerns a macho immortal warrior who's met his match, with a strong dragon shifter no less."

  "There are other reasons why this can’t work." Hope played with the pendant around her neck. "Just me being who I am and he being who he is…" She couldn't bring herself to complete the sentence and share the real reason why.

  Her dragon stayed quiet, not pushing her to tell the truth either.

  Dragon 1. Woman 3.

  At this rate, she was going to end up taming her dragon.

  Besides, her animal was still not responding to her. Her dragon was angry with the woman at having pushed away her mate. She was fearful and hurt and having a good sulk.

  Hope wished she, too, could curl up in a corner of her bed, crawl under the covers and sleep until all this was over.

  If her dragon kept this up, she was going to end up a nice, boring female who accepted the rules of her clan, married a dragon shifter, and had little dragonlings running around.

  It should have made her feel proud and happy and all grown up. All it did was send a rush of such horrible despair through her. Tears pricked the back of her eyes, and Hope had to blink them away.