by ML Guida
She gazed at him with wonder. “You found this while I was back in the jungle?”
“Yes.”
She ran her hand through her messed up hair. “I still can’t get over it. You didn’t seem you were gone that long.”
“I told you. I’m dragon fast. Faster than most of the dragons on my planet.”
“Apparently. You’re faster than the Flash.”
He frowned. “Who is the Flash?”
“He’s a comic hero and can run faster than the speed of light, but you make him look like he’s standing still.”
Did she imagine it, or did a red flush rush over his face?
He lowered his head and cleared his throat. “Thank you, I think.”
“Don’t worry. It was a compliment.” She raised up her arms. “What do we do now?”
“We rest and come up with a plan. I’ve tasted the water, so it’s safe to drink.”
She trembled again.
“Are you cold?”
She rubbed her hands over her arms covered with goosebumps. “Yes, I’m freezing. This place is beautiful, but it’s colder than the North Pole.”
“I’ll build you a fire. Stay here.”
“You’re going to leave me?” Her voice squeaked.
“I’ll be back soon.” He ran the back of his knuckles down her cheek, then he bent down.
He brushed his lips over hers and she immediately tensed. She thought of the horrible night at the Romantic Love Convention–the powerlessness, the humiliation, the betrayal. She put her hands on his wide chest and pushed.
He stopped. His warm breath washed over her. “I’m sorry. I should have asked before I kissed you.”
She nodded. “I just can’t. I’m sorry.”
“I’ll be back soon. I promise.” He stepped back and dropped his hands, then in a blink of an eye he was gone, leaving her alone in the damp, cold cavern.
8
Drake raced out of the cave, cursing himself for kissing his mate so suddenly. He should have tried seducing her. The images of her lying naked flashed in his mind again and the cords on his neck hardened. His pulse elevated and adrenaline swelled inside him. His speed increased and he gathered up dried wood and sticks.
Pain seared in his hip and he cried out, collapsing onto one knee spilling all of the firewood. He panted hard and sweat dripped down his face. He had to get back to Chloe. He slowly picked up the scattered wood and twigs, hoping the Kamtrinians hadn’t heard his scream.
He remained perfectly still, drawing on his breath. The winged creatures had stopped flapping their wings and had gone silent. His heart beat so loud he barely heard the faint footsteps. The Kamtrinians were coming.
He limped back toward the cave slowly, erasing his tracks with another branch. He hissed loudly. Agony throbbed in his hip. He’d been able to draw on his dragon speed and he’d been moving so fast that he hadn’t noticed the pain until it was too late.
When he reached the cave, he walked and ran back to Chloe, praying that he wasn’t leaving a trail right to her.
His lungs squeezed tight. He detected splashing and hurried as fast as he could, ignoring the pulsing pain in his hip. He cursed the Seps for not allowing him to transform into a dragon. What if the Kamtrinians had found the cave and were now drowning his mate?
He slowed, determined to fight to the death to defend his mate. The dim light shimmered onto the fluorescent pool and his cock immediately hardened. His sexy mate was swimming naked. Her blue-black hair flared around her like a shimmering cloak.
She dipped her head back and her breasts peeked out of the water, her rosy nipples budded. His mouth watered and his fingers tingled with an ache to brush them over her flesh. He limped into the shadows, never taking his eyes off her. She was a nymph, tempting his very honor.
She gasped. “Drake!” She swam over to where she’d shed what little clothes she had. “I was filthy and needed to rinse off. I didn’t hear you.”
He emerged from the shadows and threw the wood onto the hard ground. “I can see that.” The images of her flaunting herself kept rolling over and over in his mind, but she had rejected his kiss as if he were taking something no one else had ever tasted.
She dipped lower into the pool and her eyes were wide. “I didn’t mean to make you mad.”
He clenched his fists and blurted. “Then, you shouldn’t have stripped naked and gotten into the pool unless you wanted me to join you.”
She glowered. “How dare you! I wasn’t trying to seduce you! I was trying to get the filth of this planet off me and sooth the cuts all over me!”
“Seems to me you like being naked for the whole world to see,” he grumbled. The minute he said it, he regretted it.
Her face turned seven kinds of gray and then she hung her head. “You know, don’t you?” Her voice was so tiny that he felt he’d just shattered her spunk with a hammer.
He bit his lip and sat on a rock. He put his elbows on his knees and rubbed his hot forehead “Yes, I saw.”
Water splashed around and he looked through his fingers. Chloe quickly got out of the pool and put on her suit. Her hair clung to her shivering body. She wrapped the blouse tight around her.
He sighed and straightened. “Tell me what happened.”
She wiped a tear off her cheek. “Why? You’ve obviously made a judgment on what happened.”
Blood pumped between his ears. He rubbed his forehead with his fingertips. “Chloe, I’m sorry. I can’t get those images out of my head.”
“And you think I can? Do you what it’s like for everyone to think you’re a slut?” Her voice shattered, and she stared up at the stalagmites. “I’ve had to retreat down in Mexico and…pray…just pray, that no one would recognize me.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “But even down here…I can’t hide…I can’t escape.” She plopped down onto the ground as if she were a puppet and all of her strings had been cut. Her lower lip quivered and tears streamed down her red cheeks.
He rose. “Chloe…”
Her eyes shot lasers at him. “No, don’t touch me. Just leave me alone.”
He put his hands up. “I promise I won’t touch you.” He walked toward as if she were a frightened gurry. “I’m just going to sit by you.”
She scooted away but was still within arm’s length. She put her knees in front of her chest and crossed her arms around them as if they were a shield.
“I just want to hear your side.”
She rolled her eyes and laid her head on the top of her knees.
“Can you please tell me why you did it?” He was trying desperately to sound understanding and burying the judgment deep inside his heart.
“That’s the problem.”
“What’s the problem?”
She lifted her face, her eyes drowning in tears. “I didn’t do it. Tom Burrows drugged me, because he wanted a curvy girl.”
Drake’s mouth dropped.
“Then, the next thing I knew, I woke up naked at the pool. At the most famous romance convention in the world. No one, not the organizers, not my best friend. My life’s over. Leave me alone.” She scooted around, her back to him.
Drake stared at her stiff back. He scratched his jaw since he couldn’t think of what to say. Was she really telling the truth? He thought about the photos. Chloe had looked drunk in every single one of them. He’d just assumed she’d been drunk when she threw herself at Burrows. But maybe she hadn’t been drunk. Maybe she’d been drugged.
“Did he really drug you?”
“Just go away.” Chloe’s pain sunk into his thick skull. Everything he thought about her was wrong. She wasn’t a manipulator or a tease or a slut. She was a victim. Tom Burrows had hurt his mate and stolen her dream.
Something he would deeply regret.
“I guess that’s why you were doubly upset with me, since I drugged you just like he did.”
She sniffed but didn’t answer.
“I wouldn’t do anything to hurt you.”
She in
ched further away from him as if he were a disease. Could he blame her? She curled into a little ball, her hair hiding her face, but he knew she was crying. He wanted to cradle her in his arms and promise he’d never hurt her again, but she’d never believe him.
All he could do was guard her.
He leaned his head back on the rock, trying to think of a way to kill the Kamtrinians. Chloe had fallen asleep and her snores lured him to sleep. Then the nightmare came…
Drake gazed up into the bright blue sky. Not a single cloud only the bright burning suns. He hiked up the rocky mountain trail that he’d been up a million times. It was steep and kept going up and up and up. The flowers were in full bloom on the mountain and the sirks were singing. He inhaled the scent of the fragrant flowers and the woody trees.
He reached for his water bottle and took a big swig.
Delias lugged behind him. She had the same jet-black color hair as he did, but she wore it in a ponytail. Her face was flushed from hiking, but her green eyes sparkled with excitement.
“I can’t believe I’m going to finally make it,” she panted.
“Finally,” he laughed. “This is only your third attempt.” He offered her a drink.
She punched him in the arm, but she took the bottle. “Shut up. I’m not a trained officer on the Orion.”
“I know.” He gave her a quick hug.
She was five inches shorter than him, but she was muscular. Being outdoors wasn’t her thing. She preferred to be indoors working on painting and sculpting. She was a gifted artist and had painted their family portrait that hung in their living room.
“Thanks.” She handed him back the bottle. “How much farther?”
“About half a mile. Are you sure you want to keep going?”
“I’ve made it…this far.” She wiped the sweat off her forehead. “I want to keep going.” She flicked her hand. “Lead on.”
“Let me know if you need to rest some more.”
She laughed. “Will you just move?”
A loud boom made them both stop in their tracks. Something shot through the sky and then exploded. White specks of dust descended toward the ground.
Delias stopped smiling and put her hand on her forehead. “Drake, I feel weird.”
“What do you mean? I told you we could have taken a longer rest break.”
“No, it’s not that.” Her face turned pale and her rosy lips cracked. “I’m tingling.” She swayed then fell to the ground on her hands and knees.
“Delias!” He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and turned her around. “Are you okay?”
Her eyes were huge. “No. I’m cold. My heart is thumping super-fast as if to keep me warm. But I’m getting colder.” Her lips turned blue and her eyes went from green to icy white. She grabbed his arms. “What’s happening to me?”
“I don’t know.” He transformed into a dragon and breathed fire on some nearby twigs. He changed back and moved her closer to the burning blaze.
“Drake, it’s not helping.” Her hair slowly changed from jet-black to snow-white.
He ran his hands over her, trying to keep her warm, but it was as if he were running his hands over ice.
She cried out and shook. “Fates, the pain. I can’t breathe. I can’t move. Drake, help me. Get me to a hospital.” Cracks broke out on her face and hands.
“Don’t die on me, sis. I’ll save you. I promise.” He gently lay her down on the ground.
She nodded wordlessly, trusting him like she always did. Ever since they were kids they’d been close, reading each other thoughts, finishing each other sentences, having their own language. She was his other half, his best friend.
He transformed back into a dragon.
Chips of ice broke off from her thick hair. Her cracked skin went from icy blue to pure white, but then she faded, turning transparent. “I don’t want to die.” She reached out to him and her arms snapped. “Do something.”
Her eyes turned vacant. She flicked her head back, screamed one more time, then exploded into zillion pieces of ice.
“Noooo!” He wailed, his heart hardening into pure hate. He picked up the shards of ice frantically, as if he could put her back together again. He was too stunned, too shocked, too numbed by her death to realize the futility.
A mountain breeze blew all of her pieces back down the rugged trail.
He screamed. “Delias!”
“Drake, Drake wake up. You’re dreaming.”
A strong but gently hand shook him. His eyes fluttered open. He jerked up off the ground, frowning at the stalagmites and pond. He blinked.
Chloe knelt next to him. “Are you okay? You were crying.”
“What?” He frowned and wiped wetness off his cheeks. “Sorry. I was having a nightmare.” He maneuvered over to the pond and splashed water on his face.
She rubbed his back. “I know.”
He liked her soft touch and he took a deep breath. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”
She clasped his hand. “Do you want to talk about it?”
Normally, he wouldn’t, but he felt drawn in telling her about Delias. There was something earnest in her eyes that she really wanted to know, wanted to help.
Chloe covered her mouth. “All of your women died? Even the children? The babies?”
“And the old. Everyone who was female died that the day.” He hung his head. The same pain banged on his heart. It was a wound that would never heal. “The Kamtrinians spared no female.”
“How awful. I’m so sorry. They killed your mother?”
He shook his head. “My mother had died a year earlier.”
She furrowed her brows. “What was it that killed your sister and everyone else?”
“A dioxide torpedo. The Kamtrinians not only like to murder, but they like to create despair and agony.” He gritted his teeth. “They believe killing all the females is the worst thing they can do, so we can die slowly as a race.” He took a deep breath, trying to fight off the rage brewing inside him, holding her hand was helping. “It’s why we come to Earth. We need mates in order to survive.”
She tilted her head to the side and pursed her lips together. “But why did you choose me?”
“I didn’t. The Fates did.”
She frowned. “Who?”
“The Fates are our goddesses. They see who our mate is and give us the Mating Stone. We can’t mate with anyone. It must be ordained.”
She rubbed her forehead. “Oh, God, this is so weird. What makes Earth women so special?”
“You’re the closest to us in make-up.”
“You’ve never mated with any other aliens?”
He shrugged. “I had a distant ancestor who did. He mated with a Mulean.”
“What’s a Mulean?”
“Muleans are lion shape-shifters from the planet Mulea. They’re extremely fast. My sister and I were the only ones who possessed this ability.”
“Okay,” she said, stretching out her voice. She widened her eyes and cocked her head to the side. “So, there’s a planet inhabited with lion-shape shifters?”
“Why do you find that so strange? I’m a dragon.” His voice hardened.
She put up her hands. “Sorry. I’m just having a difficult time believing all this. My world has been turned upside down, and I’m trying to make sense of it.”
He crossed his arms over his chest. “Well, you’d better find a way. You’re right in the middle of it.”
She rubbed her forehead. “True. So, the lion planet and your planet are allies?”
“Yes. Zalara and Mulea are all part of the United Planet Confederation. Our orders are to protect planets who do not possess sophisticated space travel, but we are not to interfere with their development. Earth follows under our jurisdiction. The Kamtrinians invade planets and deplete their resources after they kill the native inhabitants.”
“Really? Wow. Um, so is Earth in danger?”
“Yes. We developed a shield to protect Earth from the Kamtrinians, but they st
ruck down our women while we were protecting Earth.” He picked up a stone and threw it into the water. “We weren’t prepared. The soulless bastards are always one step of us.” He lowered his head and took a quivering breath.
“You’re wrong,” she said softly.
He jerked his head hard. “What?”
She swallowed. “About them being soulless. They do have souls.”
He growled. “How the hell would you know?”
She looked down at her twisting hands. “I…uh…was inside him.”
He fixed his stare on her. “You were what?”
“I can scry, Drake.” Her voice was really small and her cheeks burned as if she was embarrassed. “I have the ability to descend into other people’s bodies. I can see, hear, taste, and feel what they experience.”
“So, what? You just popped out of your body and landed in a Kamtrinian just to see what it would feel like?” His voice came out harsher and faster than he expected.
Her red cheeks turned even darker, and she sat taller. “No, it’s not like that. I can’t control this ability. It has a mind of its own.”
He ran his hand through his hair. “Figures you have an ability. As far as I can tell, all of the designated mates had some kind of psychic talent.”
“I can’t help it. I never wanted this dumb ability.” She wiped her hand over her wet cheek.
He clasped her shaking hand and caressed it with his thumb.
She immediately pulled on her hand. “Let go.”
“I’m sorry. It’s just the Kamtrinians took my sister,” he said. “I just can’t believe something so evil could have a soul.”
“Just because your evil, doesn’t mean you don’t have a soul. Tom Burrows had a soul, and he’s definitely evil.”
“I know.” He edged closer.
She watched him warily as if she were afraid he’d do something to hurt her.
“Your ability isn’t dumb.”
She rolled her eyes and turned her head.
“It might even help us defeat the Kamtrinians.”
She jerked her head around. “What?”
He kissed her trembling hand and smiled when she didn’t try and pull away. He traced his fingers along her firm forearm. His heartbeat quickened as he caressed her silky flesh. This wasn’t a weak woman. Working as a paddle board instructor had made her muscles strong. He couldn’t help but wonder about her legs, and what it would feel like to have her wrap them around his hips as he pulsed inside her. “Don’t you see? You’d be able to see what they were thinking, what they were doing. It would give us an advantage.”