She opened her trunk and pulled out her first aid kit. She unwrapped her sweater from around Brock’s leg and the car was filled with the noxious, foul smell of his wound. She resisted the urge to gag as she found a pair of scissors and cut his jeans up to the knee. She tore the blood-soaked material off him and threw it to the side.
The wound had stopped bleeding, but she could see the indentations from each of the dragon’s teeth. A yellow-green bile was pooling in the teeth marks and dangerous looking black streaks of poison were traveling up and down his leg.
She swabbed the wound with alcohol and Brock lifted his head up and let out an anguished scream.
“I know, I know,” Michelle said. “I know it hurts, but you have to try and be quiet.” He clenched his teeth and took gasping, painful breaths. Michelle grabbed a roll of gauze and wrapped it around his leg. It cut the smell and when she was done, Brock’s head fell back on the seat and he let out a haggard cry.
He looked awful. His face was pale and sweaty and he could barely keep his eyes open. She didn’t have much time. He had only been bitten a few minutes ago and already the poison was taking hold. A hospital would never help him. This wasn’t normal poison, it was magic.
The problem was, she had no idea how to deal with a dragon bite. She had never even heard of a Dragon Shifter. She knew there were people who could transform into wolves and bears, but she had never heard of a man turning into a dragon.
Cain, it was Cain. The dragon was Cain. He would be the only person who could save Brock.
Michelle grabbed a paper map out of her glove box and spread it out on the hood of her car. There was a crystal dangling from her rear-view mirror and she grabbed that as well. She held the crystal over the map and focused on Cain. She ignored the sirens and people and thought only of Cain. She remembered his long blond hair, his cocky smile. She could see him clearly in her mind.
The crystal spun above the map. It moved in slow circles as the image of Cain became clearer in her mind. Suddenly, the string holding the crystal jerked twice and she opened her eyes to see that it had stopped on the edge of Lake Michigan. She took a pen and circled the spot. Taking the map, she hopped in the driver’s seat and headed around the lake.
Brock moaned quietly behind her and Michelle forced herself to focus on the road. The only thing she could do for him was bring him to Cain. Cain would have to know how to cure the dragon’s bite. After a while there was no noise from the back and then she couldn’t help but constantly check on him. She kept glancing at Brock in the rearview mirror, making sure he was breathing.
It took twenty minutes to find the house on the lake. It was a rustic cabin tucked away in the woods at the end of a long, dirt drive. Cain’s truck was sitting in the driveway. She had the right place. It was dark out here, they were far from the city and the only sounds were the chirping of crickets.
The house was dark. Michelle left her headlights on, letting them illuminate the driveway. She stumbled towards the door in her high heels.
“Cain?” She called out. “Cain, are you here?”
There was no answer. She took the steps to the porch and looked around. It was a small, one-story hunting cabin, simple and rustic. Not like Cain’s normal style at all. She knocked on the door and to her surprise, it creaked open.
Inside, the house was dusty and dark. There was a faded green couch over a bearskin rug, a cold fireplace along one wall and a small kitchen. She could see a bedroom through an open door, but it didn’t look like anyone was here.
“Michelle?”
She screamed and jumped straight up in the air. She spun around and saw a haggard looking Cain.
“Did I kill him?” he asked, his voice thick and slurring. “Did I kill my best friend?”
“No,” Michelle said, shaking her head. She put her hands on his arms and felt that he was shaking. “He’s alive. He’s in the car, but there’s some sort of poison-”
Cain spun around, breaking free of her grip and stumbling towards the car. He opened the back door to reveal Brock, unconscious and splayed out in the back seat. He was covered in sweat and shaking.
Cain pulled his best friend out of the car and hefted him over his shoulder. As gently as possible, Cain carried Brock inside, depositing him on the bed in the bedroom.
“How did you find me?” he asked.
“I’m a witch,” she said looking into his blue eyes. “I always knew there was something magical about you, but I didn’t know what it was. Why did you attack us?”
He hung his head and said. “I lost control. I had been fighting it ever since I heard that you agreed to go out with Brock. I was so angry. I tried to contain the dragon. I came out here to find some peace and quiet and try to control myself. But I couldn’t...” He shook his head. “I lost control. It’s been years since this happened and now I’ve killed my best friend.”
“There has to be some cure for the poison,” Michelle said. “What’s the cure?”
“There is a way, but there’s not enough time. He won’t survive.”
“Please,” Michelle said, reaching across Brock’s prone form. “I have power. Tell me what the cure is and we’ll find a way to do it.”
“He has to complete his transformation. He has to become a Shifter like me. If he can survive it,” Cain shook his head.
“How does he complete the transformation?” Michelle asked.
“There has to be a third. Someone needs to be a conduit. The magic has to pass from me to the conduit and then to the infected,” he looked up at her sadly. “It’s rare that it works. There aren’t that many of us, most don’t survive the change.”
“I’ll be the conduit,” Michelle said. “Let me help you save him.”
“No,” he said. “I won’t ask that of you.”
“I’m not asking for your permission.”
Chapter Ten
Michelle frantically searched through the cabinets. Sage, myrrh, wine, candles. Thankfully, as a fellow Magical, Cain had all of these things within arm's reach. That was the end of his helpfulness. He stood over Brock watching as his friend shivered and writhed in pain. Brock was moaning quietly, sweat beaded on his forehead.
“Pull the bed out away from the wall,” Michelle ordered and thankfully, Cain was able to follow simple instructions. Michelle poured a circle of salt around the bed and then stepped over the barrier. She wasn’t sure what being a conduit included, but she needed to be able to protect herself if it put her in a vulnerable state.
She put a cast iron pot on the floor within the circle and threw in a few ripped out pages from a paperback and lit them on fire.
“Sit,” she ordered Cain and he obliged.
She threw in the sage and myrrh, filling the air around them with a sweet and smoky smell. “I don’t know what to do, you have to guide me.”
“I’ve never...I’ve never done this before,” he said kneeling on the bed.
“Trusts your instincts, they’ll guide you,” Michelle said. She poured a glass of deep red wine and staring Cain in the eye she took a sip, she handed him the cup and he took a sip, after that they lifted Brock’s head and he sipped the wine down as well.
The smoke and herbs were swimming in the air around them. Even though it had only been one glass of wine, she felt a little tipsy. It was a strong wine, but even stronger was the magic she put into it.
She stared at Cain and his aura erupted around him as he squeezed her hand. Below them, Brock’s aura was an undulating white and green, both colors mixing together, but not blending. The green was slowly overtaking the white.
She took Brock’s hand in hers and kissed his knuckles, looking down at his shivering form. Still holding Brock’s hand with her right hand, she took Cain’s hand with her left hand next, and repeated the action, laying a series of kisses along his knuckles.
“Show us the way,” she whispered. “Save him. You know how to do it.”
He leaned forward and kissed her, his hands holding her by the neck a
nd pulling her closer and closer. The herbs and smoke and wine were mingling and she felt that strange weightlessness that came from magic. Spells were otherworldly, they were something else. They didn’t follow the normal rules of the physical world.
She kissed him back as the smoke blossomed and grew. It was more smoke than her small fire could have made. The smoke was thick and swirling, but it wasn’t burning her lungs or her eyes. The smoke was like a hurricane. It was swirling all around them, obscuring everything else in the room. But they were in the eye, the small bed with the three of them was free of smoke, the air was clear.
Everything was clear. Everything was standing out in harsh light. The sensation of Cain’s hands on her body was intense. It was like electricity coursing through her veins, lighting along her skin. She felt charged. She gasped as Cain moved down to her neck, kissing and licking the sensitive skin there. She leaned into him, desperate for more. Her hands were tangling in his hair.
She looked up at him and saw not his crystal blue eyes, but the dark, yellow eyes of the dragon. She was not afraid. She reached up and caressed the skin of his cheek. He leaned into her touch as his hand moved down her neck and to her breasts.
She felt someone behind her. He touched her skin and his touch was fire. She cried out in pleasure, as he traced fire over her shoulders and neck. It was Brock. He was breathing deeply. It was the harsh ragged breath of the dragon. He pulled her back against him. She could feel his erection pushing against her back as his hands came up and captured her breasts.
Brock was laying kisses along the back of her neck and then Cain was in front of her, kissing her mouth, his tongue dancing with hers. The sensations were too much, she couldn’t tell who was touching what, but she wanted none of it to stop.
“Yes,” she cried out, throwing her head back. Cain took the opportunity to lean down and kiss her chest while Brock unzipped her dress. He traced kisses down her back as the zipper went lower and lower. Goosebumps erupted on her arms when Cain pulled the front of her dress down until she was in nothing but her bra and panties.
Brock unsnapped her bra and Cain pulled it off. He took her breast in his mouth. Cain licked her nipple and then bit down gently, making her shudder. She tried to pull away, but that only pushed her back into Brock. They were both so powerful and strong, all of their attention focused on her. Their hands and lips and tongues were moving over every inch of her skin teasing her and driving her wild.
She brought Cain’s head up from her breast and kissed him. The she looked behind her and kissed Brock. She looked between the two men and finally they looked at each other and then they were leaning in and kissing each other while their hands explored her.
It was the hottest thing she had ever seen. These two huge strong men in bed with her. Brocks’ hands pushed her down on the bed and her panties slid off of her.
“Undress each other,” she said quietly. She wanted to watch. She laid on her back and as Cain slipped Brock’s shirt over his head, Brock unbuttoned Cain’s pants. She was so turned on, her body physically ached from wanting them. She couldn't stand to just watch. She reached up to their strong shoulders and pulled both of them down onto bed with her.
They were a tangle of lips and hands and arms and legs. She didn’t know who was who or where they were. There was nothing but the inescapable pleasure of the three of them moving in bed together. She felt someone slip their fingers into her and she arched her back, clinging to someone’s hard shoulders as fingers spun within her. Strong fingers were gentle and teasing, caressing her most sensitive places.
Another set of hands massaged her breasts as a mouth came down to kiss her lips. She was awash in sensations, straining for their touch. Someone’s tongue circled the tip of her breast and she buried her hands in his hair urging him for more. She was writhing on the bed, unsure of where she was and what was happening. Michelle was overwhelmed with the dedicated attentions these two men were paying to her body. She never wanted it to stop.
Cain and Brock were on the bed kissing and touching each other and her. She didn’t know where she ended and they begin. Her orgasm was building up inside of her, growing more powerful with every lick and touch. She arched her back and cried out the word YES! when Cain entered her. Her body strained to contain him. Fire coursed through her veins as he slid into her and began to move in and out in a heady rhythm that matched her heartbeat.
There was something else. She could feel the magic enter her and course through her veins. It was red and green and yellow and it was taking over her body as it moved into her. It felt wonderful and amazing, driving her wild from the inside out. She could do nothing but writhe underneath him and beg for more, her breath catching in her throat. Brock leaned over her and kissed her as Cain continued to thrust.
She slipped her tongue over Brock’s lip and felt the magic pass through her to him. He breathed in the scent of it and kissed her harder, desperate for more. His hands were on her shoulders and then her breasts. She was holding onto him as her orgasm built up inside of her.
A wave of pleasure was passing between them, growing with every second. Every touch and every movement sparking the shared fire within them. They were nothing but pleasure and sex and love and friendship and sweat, all moving together in a perfect rhythm. It was too much, too big for one person to contain. Her body tensed as the last of the dragon’s magic passed through her lips into Brocks’ and the wave of pleasure crested and crashed down on all three of them.
She was awash in pleasure, reaching out to hold onto both of them as her body moved out of control. The smoke around them swirled to a fever pitch. With a dragon’s scream, Cain finished and the spell was broken.
They flopped down in bed, a heap of tangled limbs as the smoke around them slowly dissipated. Brock was to her left, leaning on her bare shoulder and she saw that his fever had broken. He had stopped shaking and his skin was back to its healthy color. He looked normal again.
His aura was different. The bright, innocent human light was gone. Now it matched Cain’s. It was burning with yellows and angry reds that flickered and licked the air around him. They had saved him. Brock was no longer a normal human man. He was a Dragon Shifter now.
*****
THE END
Cowboy Romance Collection
The Cowboy's Virgin
Description
He asked if he could kiss me. Who does that?
After her dad died, curvy 19-year-old Lauren Jones is ready for a change. Taking up her best friend Jane’s offer, she moves from Atlanta to a small village in Colorado to live with Jane and her boyfriend. They seem very happy, but Lauren’s decided that love just isn’t for her.
Too bad that Jane’s a notorious matchmaker.
Cole Harmon is a cowboy who looks exactly like Lauren’s favorite actor, Dermot Mulroney. He always hangs around Jane and Adam’s house so he’s hard to avoid. His lean muscles, tight abs and the V that disappears into those worn jeans are sending hot flashes through Lauren’s body, even though she’s determined she’s not on the market.
But when Lauren gets to know Cole better and hears about what happened to him, she realizes that she could develop feelings for this cowboy with a wounded heart.
There’s just something about a cowboy, isn’t there?
Slowly but surely, Lauren finds herself falling in love with the village and the cowboy. Is it too soon to want him? What will he say when he finds out she’s still a virgin and doesn’t know what she’s doing? Can she find room in her heart as she makes a new start for herself?
Chapter One
Lauren Jones pulled her backpack from under the seat in front of her as she waited for everyone else to exit the plane. She was young, just nineteen, and starting over after her father died six months ago. Her best friend Jane Reynolds had asked her to come live with her. Jane had recently moved to a little town in Colorado that revolved around farming and the outdoors and Lauren had never seen her happier. Not seeing any reason to refuse Jane
’s offer, Lauren had packed up her belongings and left her home in Georgia.
Lauren brushed her soft red hair back and walked towards the door of the plane. She was ready to start her new life and thrilled to see her friend, but there was one thing she was not looking forward to too much. Jane was a notorious matchmaker and had mentioned a certain cowboy in town to her several times. She’d allowed it and didn’t protest too much, but she’d have to somehow make clear to Jane that she wasn’t interested in a relationship right now. Lauren was bigger than most girls and men hadn’t always been nice about that. Right now, she wanted to focus only on herself and on positivity.
Lauren walked into the airport and to the escalator taking her to the baggage claim. She thought fondly about Georgia and what she’d left behind. Once her father was gone, Jane had jumped right in with her invitation, but Lauren had taken some time to make a final decision. It wasn’t easy to leave everything she knew behind. But here she was, ready to start her new life.
Lauren looked over the crowd of people and saw her pixie-like friend waving. Her blue eyes lit up. She smiled and rushed forward to hug Jane.
They’d been friends for years, ever since elementary school. Jane had moved with her family from Georgia to Colorado and now lived on her own with her boyfriend, Adam. He was a cowboy who worked with cattle as well as riding them on the rodeo circuit. Jane still had the same black hair cut into the cute bob around her face and she was glowing today. “Hi! I am so glad that you’re finally here! It took you long enough,” Jane teased Lauren as she looked her over. “Come, give me your bag and let’s head back to the cottage. I can’t wait for you to see it!”
“Are you sure that Adam doesn’t mind me taking up the guest room?” Lauren asked as they made their way through the airport.
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