Mate's Call

by Lola Gabriel

  Storm’s guards had shifted into their dragon forms to carry them home. Storm’s wing was still torn, so he also had to be flown home by his men.

  The rumors didn’t do the house justice. Storm’s residence was built entirely from stone and resembled a Gothic Cathedral with large pointed arches and flying buttresses.

  “How can you possibly need that much space?” asked Lilith as they approached his home.

  “I rule a kingdom of dragons, Lilith. I’ve spent thousands of years building this.”

  He led her through the castle and up to a luxurious wing that looked like it had been designed for her. The hallways were lined with impressionist paintings from Claude Monet and Edgar Degas. They couldn’t be originals though, could they?

  As if Storm heard her thoughts, he answered. “They’re originals. I knew you loved these artists.”

  “How?”

  “I told you. I had dreams about you. I knew you’d be coming.”

  Storm stopped at a large set of French doors. “Your quarters, my lady,” Storm said as he motioned for her to go inside the room.

  Stunning wasn’t the right word. Magnificent? It didn’t matter. The room was perfect.

  A beautiful stone fireplace lined one wall, and a large, four-poster bed looked like it was calling her name. The room was decorated in a dark green, which had been her favorite color since she was child. A large window overlooked a beautiful, snow-capped mountain range. She felt like she was finally in a place where she belonged.

  Storm walked over to a teak dresser ornately carved with roses and dragons. He motioned for Lilith to come near the dresser as he opened the top drawer. Lilith peeked inside and found a drawer full of shoe socks, size small.

  “You really do know me better than I thought,” she said with a smile.

  “I want you to be happy here if you choose to stay. You will have your own space as we get to know each other, so you don’t feel any pressure.”

  Lilith leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

  Storm placed his hand over the area where she had kissed as if he wanted to hold onto the moment forever.

  “I am going to leave and give you some space. A healer will be here in just a few minutes to check on your injuries.” He pointed to the far side of the room, “There’s a bathroom over there. You will find everything you need.” Then he pointed to the opposite side of the room to the open door of a walk-in closet that looked like it was bigger than her whole apartment. “You can find clothes, pajamas, and everything else you need in there.”

  The healer was able to give Lilith a balm to heal her wounds and wrapped a bandage around her ribs, which seemed to heal them. It wasn’t instantaneous, but the pain subsided substantially.

  The shower was exactly what she needed, and she almost felt like herself again. She wrapped herself in the plush terrycloth towels and made her way out of the bathroom to find some pajamas in her bigger-than-life closet.

  As she walked back into the bedroom, she saw Storm sitting on the edge of her bed. He had evidently showered and wore a black track suit.

  As soon as he laid eyes on her, he bit down on his lower lip. “Wow. You look stunning.”

  “Thanks,” she answered, feeling self-conscious that she was only wearing a towel.

  “Do you want to meet me downstairs? Or I can come back when you’re dressed?”

  Lilith thought for a moment, but she definitely wanted him to stay. She dropped the towel and it slid down her body before landing on the floor, leaving her naked before his lustful eyes.

  In a flash, Storm rushed over to her, picked her up, and laid her on the bed before kissing her with such intensity she could hardy catch her breath.

  Immediately, a burst of sensation traveled down to her core, making the area between Lilith’s legs glisten with her nectar.

  He pulled away and stared at her with eyes that were gentle and full of kindness, yet had an animalistic passion behind them. She grabbed his face between the palms of her hands and pulled his lips to hers once again.

  Not wanting clothes to get in her way, she peeled off his hoodie and lifted his t-shirt up and over his head. His skin felt warm against hers, and the fire between them had been ignited. There was no turning back.

  Storm kissed her neck, then slowly trailed kisses down to her chest. Taking an erect nipple in his mouth, his tongue swirled around the pink bud making Lilith moan out loud. Storm kissed lower and lower until his teeth grazed her inner thigh.

  Grabbing the sheets in both hands, she inhaled deeply as Storm grabbed both hips and moved her center of femininity closer to his eager mouth. The shockwaves of ecstasy pulsed through her body as she writhed beneath his touch.

  She felt the pressure building and building as he expertly applied pressure to her most sensitive spot, until with one quick movement, Storm ripped off his pants and thrust into her, letting out a primal growl.

  His huge erection moved in and out of her over and over as their bodies rocked back and forth in a primal dance.

  She couldn’t take it anymore as she felt herself let go and shudder around him. Storm’s hot juices shot into her as he released simultaneously.

  He rolled off her, and she placed her head on his chest while nuzzling closer to him.

  “That was amazing,” she confided, stroking his ego. She meant it.

  “It was even better than my dream,” he said as he kissed the top of her head.

  Lilith never believed in fate or love at first sight. She did however believe that she never wanted to be with another man—or beast—ever again. Storm was hers, and she liked the feeling that she was his.

  “I know that you said we’d be together for eternity, but you have to realize, I will grow old. Will you still want me when my skin sags and I start losing my memory?”

  “I’ll always want to be with you,” he said, stroking her cheek. “But if you decide to stay and start a family with me, that’s when you’ll become immortal.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “If we choose to have a baby, your body will take on a dragon form so you can carry my child. That’s when you will take on your immortal form.”

  The thought scared her, frightened her, and excited her at the same time. The Slayer tattoo between her should blades stopped tingling, and Lilith knew that the charmed ink had disappeared, releasing her of all ties to the Slayer world.

  “I think you should stay here in my room,” Lilith said.

  “I would love to stay with you tonight,” Storm said.

  “Not tonight,” answered Lilith. “Forever.”

  THE END

  Part III

  Unexpected Mate

  1

  “Thank you, thank you.” A man of average height stood behind a mahogany podium in a closely tailored navy suit. “It’s an honor.” He held up his sizable clear trophy and smiled.

  The banquet hall was cramped, but the small audience seated too close together was enthusiastic. Glittering in their off-brand evening wear, this humanitarian award presentation was the highlight of their year.

  The man of the hour continued, “And if I could borrow the stage for a moment…”

  The crowd quieted.

  Sasha shifted in her seat. These stuffy events weren’t really her style, although, she thought to herself, it was something she would have to get used to if she was going to continue to date someone like Grant Cutler. Maybe even more than date.

  It was true they’d only known each other for a short time, but the sparks were undeniable. Even though the sex was only average, Sasha thought they had a future together because of how similar their interests were. They enjoyed the same books, the same movies, and they both disliked chocolate.

  Sasha was sure Grant had felt the same way when they first hooked up just after a networking event. She’d taken a chance on what she assumed was a one-night stand, only to come out a winner.

  “I’d like to share my spotlight.” Grant looked down for a moment to gain h
is composure. “There’s someone I’d like to thank, publicly, for her support. Without her, none of this would have been possible.” He turned to look in Sasha’s direction, and she felt her chest swell with joy. After wiping a tear from his eyes, Grant continued. “You’ve been my biggest fan, and if you’ll have me—”

  Gasps were heard throughout the crowd as Grant pulled out a small black box from his pocket and popped it open, revealing a ring that Sasha couldn’t see from such a distance.

  “I’d like you to do me the honor of being my wife,” Grant said. “Come on up here, honey.”

  Sasha was ecstatic. As the crowd broke into thunderous applause, she rose from her chair and started to make her way to the stage when she noticed another woman at the front-most table step up onto the Lucite stairs.

  Sasha froze, and before she could stop herself, her voice boomed over the happy applause. “Who the hell is that?”

  The crowd instantly quieted. The woman on stage grabbed the mic. Pointing it toward her mouth, she smiled and said, “His fiancée.”

  Six months later, Sasha still regretted it. She regretted moving to that small city, hooking up with Grant, letting him use her for her connections, and most importantly, not gracefully taking her leave that night when things didn’t go her way. Grant had mentioned that it was best if he went alone to the ceremony, but Sasha had wanted to surprise him. Now she knew why he hadn’t wanted her to be there.

  After yelling at the couple on the stage, she had stayed around long enough to demand answers. Of course, she should have already known what he would say: the same bumbling excuses all men use when they get caught cheating, but some part of Sasha had hoped the other woman would be on her side. That they could both be mad at him together. She hadn’t thought it would be too much to ask for a slap and a storm off—to leave him up there, alone and humiliated. Instead, she’d ended up looking like a fool, but she’d be damned if she was going to be alone.

  After the big blow to her twenty-three-year-old self-esteem, she wanted to prove that men wanted her, that she was desirable to them.

  Sasha’s intent focus on finding the perfect man paid off when she hit it off with a lawyer who lived in Laredo, Texas. From his pictures, she could see he was really hot, and after many hours on the phone together, he invited her to come out to spend Christmas with him.

  At first, Sasha was skeptical. Christmas was a holiday you spent with a significant other, family, or close friends. Sure, she kind of liked this guy, but they hadn’t even met in person. Spending Christmas together was too intense for a first date.

  She declined, but then found out her parents had forgotten to mention that they were spending the holiday in London rather than at home, like they usually did. Knowing that she was going to be alone on Christmas, she reluctantly agreed to meet the mysterious lawyer, Alejandro, for the special day.

  Laredo was six hours away by car, and Sasha was looking forward to the drive. It would give her time to clear her head. Wide, flat, and colored in a hundred different shades of brown, the dry landscape stretched out forever. Sasha felt like she had been sucked into one of those spaghetti westerns, except without all the hot cowboys.

  Flying probably would have been a better idea, but last-minute plane tickets cost a fortune, especially for the holidays. She had already gone through half of her favorite playlists on her phone before she lost the signal. For a few miles, Sasha drove with one hand, holding her phone with the other hand out the window, trying to get her music back. It was fruitless. She tossed it onto the seat next to her.

  Next time, Sasha thought, I’ll get the phone with more storage.

  The radio reception on her car was spotty, too. After a few minutes of scanning, she gave up. Only a few hours and she would be there, so she’d just have to ride in silence until her signal came back. Except, there wasn’t any real silence because of a faint rattling noise. Sasha turned off the heating for a minute to listen more closely. The sound got louder.

  “No, no, no…” Her car started to slow down even though she was pressing the gas pedal to the floor. Steam started to billow from the hood, and she had no choice but to pull over to the side of the road. Sasha grabbed her phone and jumped out of the car. She hadn’t seen any other vehicles in miles, and she panicked when she realized she didn’t know who to call for help.

  Sasha looked at her phone. Nothing. No signal.

  Well, I guess I will walk until I get the phone signal back or until someone stops to help, she reluctantly decided. “Nervous” didn’t even begin to describe how she felt about leaving the relative safety of her car and venturing down an unknown road in the middle of nowhere.

  About fifteen minutes later, and a mile down the road, she finally got a signal. She searched for the closest towing service and called the number listed on the website. The man on the other end promised to send a wrecker for her within three hours’ time.

  Deciding to make the best of the situation, Sasha walked back to her car to wait. Staring at the unchanging scenery got old quickly, so soon enough Sasha began to yawn, and the heavier her eyelids got, the more inviting the backseat became. Even though she knew it was dangerous to fall asleep in the middle of nowhere, with no cars around and without anyone knowing where she was, her fight against her overcoming sleep was soon lost.

  2

  The grumble of an oversized diesel engine startled Sasha awake. She rubbed her eyes and looked around. The sun had already gone down, so a couple of hours must have passed. Flashing lights and beeping noises let her know that the tow truck had finally arrived. She glanced over at her dying phone. It was seven o’ clock.

  “Finally!” Sasha jumped out of her car, charging toward the truck’s driver. “What took you so long?”

  The man was working to hook up her car and not paying attention to her, which just upset Sasha even more. She tapped him on the shoulder. When he turned around to face her, she was met with a pair of green eyes that caught her off guard.

  “Sorry.” He wasn’t smiling, but his voice still sounded kind.

  “It’s just…” Sasha tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I was in a rush and…” She couldn’t stop stumbling over her words. This man, whoever he was, was entirely too distracting.

  He was dressed in the standard ugly gray jumpsuit with reflective stripes, but the poor-fitting garment didn’t hide the outline of taut muscles on his arms and back. Even his hands seemed brawny compared to the chain he held.

  “This won’t take long,” he said.

  “What?” Sasha had been too busy staring at him that she hadn’t heard him.

  He pulled a lever and the car started to move. “See?”

  “Oh.”

  The driver walked back to the truck then opened the passenger side door. “Jump in.”

  Sasha looked at him, then at her car, and finally hopped in. It wasn’t like she had any other choice.

  “Where to?”

  “Um…” She was still struggling to speak because now she was close enough to smell the man sitting beside her. It was like dirt after a sudden downpour, mixed with sandalwood, and of course, a little sweat.

  “You were in a rush to get somewhere, right?” he reminded her.

  “Yeah… I’m going to Laredo.”

  The man laughed. “You won’t make it there tonight.”

  “Right…” Sasha looked at her phone. She had three percent battery and was debating whether a call or text to Alejandro would be better. Thinking about him at all in that moment was difficult. It was getting late, she was tired, and this other guy was close enough to touch.

  “I’m sorry, what did you say your name was?” Sasha ran her fingers through her hair to get it out of her face.

  The man’s nose twitched. “Diesel.”

  “Nice to meet you, Diesel. I’m Sasha,” she introduced herself, holding out her hand.

  Diesel glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. Then he shook her hand with his. “Likewise.”

  Sasha
tossed her hair to one side and sat back in her seat. “Well, Diesel, since there’s no way to make it to Laredo tonight, what am I supposed to do?”

  “I can tow you to my shop in Pine Bend.”

  “Pine Bend?” Sasha over-enunciated the name of the town in disbelief. She’d never heard of the place.

  “Yeah,” Diesel said. “There’s not much there, but there’s nothing else around for close to ninety miles.”

  “Ninety miles?”

  “Not sure why you didn’t take the highway to Laredo,” he added. “When you break down on a country road, a country town is all you get.”

  “So what,” Sasha said, “I’m supposed to sleep in a cow pasture tonight?”

  Diesel took his eyes off the road for a moment to look at her. “You’ll be fine. We will find you somewhere to stay.”

  Less than an hour later, the pair arrived at Diesel’s shop in Pine Bend. Diesel hopped out first and went to open the door for Sasha.

  “The door to the front office is open,” he told her. “You can head inside. I’m going to get your car into a bay so I can lock it up for the night.”

  “Then what?” Sasha asked.

  “Then…” The corners of his mouth perked up in a faint smile. “I’ll take you wherever you want to go.”

  The shop’s office was tiny, but well kept. Considering how dirty Diesel had been, she assumed the place would be a wreck. Three chairs lined the wall next to a counter where a really old computer monitor was perched in the corner. She took a seat and started looking for a plug to charge her phone.

  Sasha was down on her knees, about to plug in her charger, when she heard a rustling sound and what she thought were nails clicking across the tile floor. She looked around the corner of the desk. Staring back at her were a pair of pretty brown eyes and a wrinkled face. A dog. A pit bull, to be more precise. The dog wasn’t wagging its tail, but it didn’t growl at her either. Sasha wasn’t sure what to do, so she kept still.