by Mills, Julia
A twinge on the left side of her neck made her flinch. Lance left her lips, taking a moment to look into her eyes before trailing kisses across her sensitive skin until he reached the tender spot. He licked and sucked until all thoughts of anything but their bodies loving one another were banished from her mind. She wound her fingers through his hair as he continued to lavish her neck and shoulders until she was sure she would catch fire. She pulled his mouth up to hers, and just as she would have kissed the lips of her mate, he pulled back slightly, and winked. She furrowed her brow in mock anger, “Are you trying to kill me, Lancelot?” Unable to stop herself, she laughed out loud. Her mate looked puzzled at her outburst as she hurried to explain. “While you were recovering, every night when I gave you your bath, I spoke to the dragon on your chest. I nicknamed him Lancelot. Today when Carrick said your given name was Lancelot it was hard not to laugh. Just now when I said out loud, it reminded me,” she shrugged, and hoped he understood.
Lance threw back his head, and she saw the mark on his neck as he laughed his marvelous booming laugh that made her tingle all over. “That’s priceless, mo ghra’, absolutely priceless.”
She reached up, touching the brand that looked like a flame with a flaming arrow through it. As she touched, Lance moaned low in his throat, almost a growl, and touched the spot on her neck where she had felt a twinge during their mating ceremony. She was sure her eyes would roll back into her head at the intense feelings and heightened arousal she felt as he tenderly rubbed with just his fingertips. As she looked into his eyes, he nodded, “Yes, Doc, they match, and if we don’t stop touching them soon, there will be no stopping us.” He wiggled his eyebrows, and the dimple in his cheek winked at her as she removed her hand from his neck.
He guided her to a blanket laid on the grass she hadn’t seen earlier. Once they were seated, he produced a small golden box and a set of papers rolled with a golden ribbon tied around it. “What’s this? You’ve done enough.” She smiled while looking at the beautiful decorations and thinking of the magnificent ceremony he’d just given her.
“Awwww, Doc, I’d give you the world just to see that smile,” he said with love and honesty she could feel. He leaned forward and kissed the tip of her nose. “You are all that matters,” he whispered, and the depth of his emotions brought tears to her eyes.
Unable to speak, she nodded and then gasped as she opened the box. There lying against the gold velvet were the beautiful earrings she’d admired at Emma’s jewelry shop. Two delicate golden bells, fashioned from golden dragon scales, hanging on petite golden chains from emerald cut aquamarine jewels, nearly identical to the one she wore on her finger. “They are so beautiful.” She laid her hand on his cheek and sweetly kissed his lips.
When she would have deepened the kiss he pulled back, grinning from ear to ear, “Put them on, mo chroi’. I want to see them hanging from your pretty little ears.”
As quick as she could, she removed the tiny gold hoops she had worn for her mating ceremony and put them on. Shaking her head slightly, she smiled slyly as the bells from her ears rang. “You know what happens when a bell rings,” she giggled.
He pulled her onto his lap and kissed her with an assurance of their love filled tomorrows. The kiss was slow and passionate and so complete she simply melted, but then she was mated to Lancelot Kavanaugh. What else was she to do? Their kiss continued until both were panting, fighting to keep their clothes on. Using his enhanced speed, he set her back on the blanket and pointed to the papers she still held. “Have a look at those, please, Doc. I might explode if I’m not making love to you as soon as possible.”
Dispensing with formalities, she ripped the ribbon off the papers and sat speechless as she saw the bold type at the top of the first page, ‘FINAL DISPOSITION OF LEGAL GUARDIANSHIP’. She read on to see that she and Lance had been named as Sydney’s permanent and legal guardians, her parents. She launched herself at Lance, crushing her mouth to his. She had to be the luckiest woman in the world to have him and now the little beauty in her life. “I love you with all my heart,” she thought to herself while still kissing her miraculous mate.
“But I love you more, Doc,” she heard in her mind and pulled back, shocked.
“What did you say,” she asked out loud.
“I said, I love you more,” he repeated directly into her mind. “And now we share everything.”
She sighed as he kissed her again, giving him all that she was and all that she hoped they would be. For the first night of their very long lives, she loved her mate…her husband… as it was always meant to be; two souls joined forever, blessed by the Universe. She had a family, she had love, they had it all.
EPILOGUE
FOUR MONTHS LATER
The Universe had given them all a beautiful day for the first birthday of their Commander’s son. Birthdays had never been anything they celebrated. They were warriors that lived hundreds of years. What use did they have for such things? But now that three of his brethren had found their human mates, birthday parties seemed to be on the horizon. He truly hoped they didn’t want to celebrate his. He had never told anyone the date, but he was sure that the other Guardsmen knew how and where to find it. He just prayed that they didn’t go looking for it.
When Lance and Sam had arrived with Sydney, he’d made sure to give his closest friend as much shit as possible. For almost a hundred years, he’d put up with everything from snakes in his bedroll to Vaseline on the doorknobs to being called grandpa at every turn. Now that the jokester was mated, Royce took every opportunity to remind him of all the things he’d said about mates and his reluctance to have one of his own prior to meeting Samantha Malone. In all truth, he was so incredibly proud of Lance for not only claiming his mate but also officially adopting Sydney. Their little family was a true miracle, and he was sure it would grow one day as well.
Walking into the kitchen, he ran right into the bane of his existence, Kyra St. Croix. She had been staying with Rayne and Kyndel since they found her on that mountainside all those months ago. The moment he had scented patchouli and rose petals, he knew she was to be his mate. From the moment of his birth he was taught that the Universe does not make mistakes, and he had waited for the day that he would find the one made especially for him. But a witch? Was it a sick joke? Did the Universe have a sense of humor? Yes, she was a white witch, but he’d learned the hard way that any magic but dragon magic was unreliable, and could be bastardized and twisted to the practitioner’s own whims.
It was a fact that she had been helping them with their search for Andrew, and he had heard her praying to her goddess on several occasions begging forgiveness for the part she had played in what had happened to Grace, Sydney, and Lance. He had felt the pain in her voice when she knelt before each of them, asking for their forgiveness. It had been one of four times in his one hundred and fifty-six years that he actually cried. Thank the Heavens none of his brethren had seen, but the moment had been heart wrenching, and the pride he felt was immeasurable. But the fact remained…she was a witch.
He had sought out the Elders, specifically Malachi, for answers about what he considered a travesty. The older dragon had been on this earth almost as long as Zachary, and even though no one knew how long that actually was, everyone knew it was longer than they could imagine. The Elders had been picked by the Universe Herself to guide and counsel their clan, each given a specific area of their community to oversee. Malachi’s area of expertise was anything spiritual, and mates definitely fell under spiritual.
The Elder answered with a knowing look on his face. “You know, my son, that the Universe does not make mistakes. She creates the one that will complete you and your dragon. Your mate will bring the light to your souls, and you two will meet when the time is right.”
“Yes, I understand all that, but a witch…a magic practitioner? How can that be?”
“Every time a dragon shifter finds his mate a transformation not unlike the one you experienced when you accepted yo
ur dragon occurs. It is unique for each coupling. Yours will be no different.” Malachi smiled. “And I am sure it will be enlightening for both of you.”
“But she is a witch. I always understood that our mates were to be human.”
“Yes, you are correct, but I am sure you have been told that each mate has a special quality, one that has been in their heritage for generations. It is that trait that the Universe makes our ‘beautiful ones’ unique enough to be the mate of a dragon. Yours is no different. She is half-human. Her mother was a witch and her father a police officer.”
“She is only half witch? That is remarkable with all the power I feel inside her.”
“Yes, she is indeed powerful, and has lived many years on the fringe of her kind, sought after by many that would taint her magic. She has resisted all forms of temptation to remain in the light. She is a gift, Royce. Find a way to accept her.”
Royce had exited the Cave of the Elders with more questions than when he had entered, more frustrated than he could ever remember. He walked for hours, thinking and looking for answers to the questions that plagued him. His walk took him to the Garden of Peace. One of the most blessed and spiritual places in the lair, it had always given him comfort, but on that day, there was none to be found. No matter how long he prayed or how many ways he tried to reason out his fate, he got no answers, and even now had no clue how to proceed.
“Excuse me,” the little witch whispered.
He shifted to the side and went to the refrigerator as she all but ran from the room. He stood with the door open, staring at nothing, until Devon’s voice broke the silence. “She’s a really cool lady. Nothing like any other witch we’ve encountered. You really need to give her a chance and stop scaring the hell out of her, old man.”
He spun around, “Scaring her? I scare her?”
“Hell yeah, you scare her. You’re a foot and a half taller and weigh about a hundred and seventy pounds more than she does but I figure it’s the perma-scowl you’ve been sporting since we brought Lance back from that fucking mountain that makes her afraid you’ll run her through with your blade.” Devon reprimanded. Royce knew he must be acting badly for the most laid back, quiet member of their Force to call him out.
“I’m not trying to scare her. I’m just…I…I’m…”
Devon laughed, “I hear ya, man, but you better get your shit together. You know Andrew is coming for her, and if all that Max’s men found out is true, he has more help than ever before. We have to take the little fucker down, and to do that you have to have your head in the game.”
They stood staring at one another until Sydney ran in the room asking for juice boxes. He knew his friend was right. The battle brewing was one they had to win. They had been pussy-footing around long enough. The traitor had to be brought to justice for the good of all dragon kin. All he had to do was get his head out of his ass long enough to put a hundred and twenty years of hate and bias aside and keep his mate safe until he could claim her. Oh yea, and talk to her without gritting his teeth. Easy…riiiiiiiight…
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Better accommodations and unlimited resources were definitely a plus. It had taken some serious dancing to get Master Eaton and Mr. A to believe that all the wizards in his employ had either been killed or abandoned him, but he had done it. His plan had also cut off the information John was able to collect from all his sources. After all, the rogue was supposed to be dead, or in hiding, so they had let them dry up. John had come up with another plan, which so far, was working spectacularly. He had ‘purchased’ microscopic spy cams for Andrew to place all over the mansion. These little black dots transmitted back to John where he recorded, watched, and reported everything he saw.
The newest of Mr. A’s endeavors was an oldie but a goodie, with a few changes. His hired thugs were rounding up homeless bums to use for the blood ritual planned for the end of the month. It was sooner than Andrew would have liked, but he planned to work day and night to be ready. He was absorbing all the black magic he could from the little rituals Master Eaton preformed damn near daily, using whatever animals they could procure. Then there were the ones he and John and their band of merry wizards performed weekly that provided a boost. Getting to them without being followed was always a little bit of a hat trick, but so far so good.
He was also trying to recreate Kyra’s amulets, and playing around with white magic, which naturally adhered to his returning dragon magic. There were times he felt as if he had a one stop occult shop running through his veins. All he had to do was recreate the blast from the night he had escaped the wizards, and he would have everything he needed to kill those that had wronged him, and those in his way. He had been taught that blood magic would kill his soul, and had shied away from it as much as possible. But then it had occurred to him, who needed a soul when he was about to have everything he wanted and more than he had imagined.
His phone vibrated on the desk. The text from John that appeared was just what he had been waiting for, ‘The ancient text has been located.’ He walked to the bar, poured two fingers of Bushmills, and looked at the full moon hanging low in the sky and thought, “Twenty-nine days…just twenty- nine days.
About The Author
I am a sarcastic, sometimes foul-mouthed, not afraid to drink a beer, always southern woman with 2 of the most amazing teenage daughters, a menagerie of animals and a voracious appetite for reading who recently decided to write the stories running through her brain. I read my first book, Dr Suess' Cat in The Hat by myself at four and was hooked.
I believe a good book along with shoes, makeup and purses will never let a girl down and that all heroes of all the books I have ever read or will ever write pale in comparison to my daddy! I am a sucker for a happy ending and love some hot sweaty sex with a healthy dose of romance.
I am still working on my story but believe it will contain all of the above with as much SPICE as I can work into it. CHEERS!
Follow Your Dreams! Believe in Magic! And Look For Dragons! You Deserve It All!
Thank you so much for reading about my dragons. I hope you enjoyed them as much as I do. I love to hear from readers, so holler at me anytime on Facebook at Julia Mills, Author or Twitter at @juliamills623.