Gilbert’s heart felt lighter than air, but he still laughed. “How are we meant to serve and protect each other, huh? Aren’t the two mutually exclusive?”
“No.” Polly’s voice was firm. “They most certainly are not.”
She didn’t allow him to argue the point further. Her mouth caught his, hungry and demanding, and he was more than happy to give her all he was. Their hands moved frantically across each other’s bodies. Gilbert took her thigh and hoisted it up over his hip, and used one hand to steady her while the other slipped between their bodies. Polly moaned as she leaned on him, breaking the kiss to bury her face in his neck. Her tongue flicked over his collarbone while his fingers worked.
With a gasp, her knee buckled. Gilbert caught her and gently lowered her to the ground. The bed of leaves and moss below them was so soft, but not as soft as her round body. Her hands found him, stroking lightly as he continued to pleasure her. Gilbert gasped out her name and kissed her again. They both rocked their hips into the other’s touch, bodies on fire as they moved together. He wasn’t sure if the heat was coming from his roaring fires or from her body.
Her breasts seemed to swell as she took deep breaths, and he couldn’t stop himself from tasting them. First one, sucking the nipple into his mouth, then the other. They became pearls under his tongue and Polly gasped again. A shudder ran through her body as one of her hands left him to tangle into his hair.
“Gilbert,” she sighed, her voice piquing with sheer rapture. “Gilbert, never let me go.”
He returned to her mouth. “Never.”
He sealed the promise with a kiss, sliding two of his fingers inside of her at the same time. She accepted him greedily, slick and ready. He moaned at the thought of being inside of her. So near. Every inch of his body burned with need as he adjusted his position to be kneeling between her legs.
Needing to look into her eyes, he broke the kiss. Polly panted, her lips parted slightly, her beautiful brown eyes alight with desire and excitement. Gilbert couldn’t stop himself from smiling at her.
“God, you’re so beautiful.”
“You are, too.” Her hands trailed down his chest, leaving fire in their wake. “All sculpted muscle and toned skin. I always thought it was cliché when the romance heroines talked about their lovers as Greek Gods. But you’re like… you’re like Eros. Pure passion, pure beauty. Your lips. Your eyes. I wish I could write a song about them.”
He hummed as he brushed his mouth to hers, then held himself against her entrance. “Let’s write that song together.”
Polly burst into giggles, but it turned into a sharp gasp and moan as he inched into her. He panted, fighting the urge to enter fully right away. “Did I hurt you?”
“No.” She had a hand pressed to his chest, but the other wrapped around his neck and pulled him closer. “It feels so good.”
And it did. Gilbert inched himself inside of her, forcing himself to go slowly to give her time to adjust. She clenched around him, making his fires burn ever hotter, and he let out a throaty moan. When he kissed her, he tasted her smoke and his intermingled. Both of her hands clenched around his hips now, fingers digging in, loosening, and digging in again. She put her feet on the ground and thrust her hips up, and he found his full entrance. Both panted, kissing and clinging to each other, for several long seconds before he started to move.
He wouldn’t have been startled if lightning had struck through the sky, or if the heavens were ripped away to reveal stars singing and dancing. Pleasure blurred his vision as he continued to thrust, his efforts to be gentle sabotaged by the way Polly pushed her hips upwards, meeting him with an increasing rhythm that he struggled to keep up with.
“Gil,” she grunted, then made a mewling noise that startled him so much that his rhythm faltered. She clutched at him and mewled again. “Don’t stop.”
That command was almost too hard to obey. He clenched his jaw, staring down at her as he continued to move, feeling a heady rush of heat creeping up his spine. Everything threatened to explode, so he reached between their bodies and gave her clit a flick with his thumb. Twice more and she arched, letting out a cry that made everything inside of him loosen. Black waves of pleasure rushed through him, and he couldn’t feel his own body. He was a cloud in the sky, floating in pure bliss.
When he finally returned to himself, he twisted off her. Sweat coated their bodies, but their internal fires kept them from growing chilled in the mountain air. Gilbert turned to look at her to see her beaming at him. There was such tenderness, so much love in her gaze, that it took his breath away. If he hadn’t still felt half-out of his body, he’d have rolled over her and taken her again right then and there.
“That was amazing.” Her voice had a deeper, husky quality that was unusual.
“Yeah,” he agreed. His hand found hers and their fingers twined together. “I hadn’t realized that it could feel that good.”
Polly shook her head. “Me, neither. But I guess we know now.”
Gilbert nodded, lost in merely looking at her.
“This whole experience is so exhilarating. I never realized that I felt like something was missing until I could be in my second skin, flying through the air. And that wasn’t what I expected, either.” She rolled to her side and laid her free hand on his chest, fingers splayed over his pecs. “I thought that it would take some learning. But no. It was like I’d been flying my whole life.”
“It’s instinct for dragons.”
She bit her lip and glanced down, then back up at him. There was a sparkle in her eyes, but also a little bit of embarrassment, too. “Am I… pretty?”
“Beautiful.”
“I mean as a dragon.”
“I know.” He grinned at her. “You are the most beautiful dragon I’ve ever seen. You’ve got this delicate snowflake pattern on your wings. I’ve never seen anything like it before. Your scales look like silver. Beautiful.”
Her smile widened, then disappeared. A look of shock crossed her face and she shot bolt upright. “My dad!”
Gilbert had to admit that he had forgotten all about the king in his excitement to see Polly whole—healed. He sat and pulled her into his arms. “If you have had the curse lifted from you, we can only hope it rings true for your father as well. And if it hasn’t, we know how to cure him now.”
The worry in her face melted away, replaced by sheer determination. Her shoulders straightened, and she scrambled to her feet. She winced as she did so, and Gilbert hurried to stand. He had meant to help her, but his legs were a bit wobbly and she ended up supporting him.
“I want to go to him. Now.”
Gilbert nodded. He took her hand, kissed it, and pointed them in the right direction. “We’ll have to stop back to return the rental and get our passports, but we’ll be on our way soon enough. It’ll be dark soon… I suppose that’s good. We don’t know if Claire’s clan is still after you.”
Polly scowled. Smoke curled from her nostrils and she bent at the knees, a growl rumbling in her chest. “They better not be! Or I’ll show them what’s it like to deal with Dragon Polly. She’s not nice like Human Polly.”
Gilbert laughed. “I don’t think you’ve ever been one to back down from a fight.”
“Maybe not. Let’s go, we don’t have any time to lose.”
He nodded. The two of them shifted and sprang into the sky. He had been worried that it would be harder to fly after all their exertion, but they had a tailwind and were able to make good time back to the car. They dropped down and shifted back to their human form. As they were dressing, though, there was a sudden burst of fire in the sky. Two huge, blood-red dragons dropped down over them.
Gilbert shouted and sprang up to shift, but before he could a tail whipped him hard in the stomach. It flung him into a tree, which cracked on impact. The air was driven from his lungs. He heard Polly’s scream turn into a roar, and her beautiful silver form burst into view.
He jumped to his feet and ran to help her. His fires ro
ared to life as his dragon burst out of his human form; with a roar echoing Polly’s, he charged at the nearest dragon. He leapt on its back and tore at its wings, slicing the thin membrane open in a clean split. The dragon howled in pain and threw him off. Another came at him. This one locked its jaws around his throat. He raked his claws over its belly, sending scales flying every which way.
Polly roared in pain. His heart jumped to his throat. He tore away from the dragon attacking him and dove to protect her, but he was too late. Her roar turned to a scream and he saw her silver form melt back into her human form. One dragon held her by the neck and growled at him.
The warning was clear. Gilbert shifted back to human form, knelt, and put his hands on his head.
“No,” Polly whimpered.
Then something hard whacked the back of his head and everything went black.
Chapter Fifteen
The manacles around her throat and wrists chafed, but when she asked their captors to loosen them, they only laughed. Her fires roared inside of her, but she was certain that she’d hurt herself badly if she tried to shift while locked up like this. Still, she considered doing it anyway and trying to roast all these guys, until Gilbert woke up.
Then, seeing him alive and well, the worst of her anger died away. She was still furious for being kidnapped like this, but there was a good sliver of fear as well. She had only just gotten her dragon; what was going to happen now? Her hands clenched and she breathed evenly, forcing herself to stay calm. There was no point in panicking.
She was going to find a way out of this. She had a good idea who was responsible for this, and she knew what he wanted—to live. To be given his dragon back. If he hadn’t kidnapped her, she would have felt sorry for the king when they were brought before him.
His hair was dark, his back straight, but there was a deep weariness in his face that made him look utterly ancient. He sat on a throne, draped in brightly colored cloth. Despite the age in his face, his body was heavily muscled, and Polly could see that he was a very handsome man. Intelligent eyes peered at her and he smiled.
“Welcome, young Patil.”
Patil. It was the name that her father had called her. Her hands clenched tighter. Not only had her mother stolen her away from her family and her heritage, she’d changed her name as well. She pushed the thought away—she could understand why her mother had done what she had, and now wasn’t the time to dwell on it.
She nodded at him. “Hello. I assume you’re Claire’s mate who was recently cursed.”
The king inclined his head. “I am Eztli. My scouts say that you are now able to shift… I wonder, did you somehow transfer your curse to me?”
“No.” Polly’s brows rose. “I—”
She couldn’t tell him about Thunder. She shut her mouth and glanced at Gilbert for help. His eyes burned as he glowered at Eztli. He opened his mouth, but before he could speak, Eztli waved a hand. With just that gesture, one of his men slapped a hand on Gilbert’s shoulder. Warning him not to speak.
“You are not royalty; you cannot address me,” the king said lazily. He glanced back at Polly. “As for you… I am glad that you have broken your curse. I hope this means my curse will be broken, too, when I drink your blood.”
A tremor ran through her limbs and she drew back instinctively.
Eztli cocked his head to one side, studying her, then shook his head. “I don’t want to kill you. If this works, then you will be free to go. If not… Well, that’s what he is for. We know that your king sent you to study human medicines to try to remove this curse. Perhaps it will do some good…”
Polly lifted her chin. There was a dangerous glint in the king’s eyes, but she wasn’t about to allow herself to be intimidated into silence. “You are aware that your mate was captured, right?”
The half-smile on Eztli’s face disappeared. His hands clenched at the arms of his chair. “Claire?”
“She was captured,” Polly repeated. “You had better take that into consideration when you are thinking about what to do with us. Because I’m pretty sure that she’ll rot in prison if we are harmed in any way.”
Eztli’s eyes narrowed. His teeth bared. One hand slammed to the arm of his throne. “Take them out of here!”
Polly yelped as they were bustled out. Her heart beat hard in her chest, but she was certain of one thing; she’d found a chink in his armor. One that, hopefully, would allow them to get out of this in one piece.
***
The room that the king put them in was surprisingly comfortable. Polly stood at a window, staring out at the Belize jungle. Thoughts that this should have been the home she grew up in, with her own kind, kept crowding her mind, even though she tried to shove them away. There was no changing the past and it wasn’t like her mother hadn’t suffered for what she did.
She glanced at Gilbert, who was looking over a bunch of papers that they had been given. A frown creased his brow and a rush of heat filled her. What would it be like to be separated from him for even a year, let alone all the ones that her mother had lived without her mate? She had never dated, never so much as went for coffee with a man. Faithful to her father all these years.
With a sigh, she shook that thought from her head, too. She moved to Gilbert’s side, putting her hand in his.
“Anything interesting?”
“Yeah. For one thing, this curse? Has nothing to do with Eztli being related to you. Look at this.” He showed her a page covered with writing she didn’t understand. “These are old tales talking about your family’s curse; you were cursed because your distant ancestor betrayed the Emperor.”
Polly’s eyes widened. “That’s what he meant… when Thunder healed me. He said that the debt was forgiven. So Eztli is cursed because—”
“Because he and Claire tried to kill Thunder and his mother when she was pregnant with him. There were others, too… look, they’ve got reports here stating that every one of their allies in the attempt to prevent the Emperor from being born have not been seen shifting.”
Polly let out a shaky breath. “How much you want to bet that he already knows that, and also knows that drinking my blood will do nothing?” She glanced at her arm. The small pinprick that had indicated where the needle was inserted in her arm to draw out blood had all but vanished by this time. “Gil, if he already knows this, then—”
“I won’t let him hurt you.” Gilbert’s voice was full of anger and fire. “I’ve made huge strides in my research. I will give it all to him. I won’t let him hurt you.”
She nodded. Before she could fling her arms around him and cling to him, though, the door opened. The guards that had brought them here came in. One of them clamped a hand around her upper arm while the other grabbed Gilbert. They were dragged from the room, and all too soon found themselves standing before Eztli again. His expression bordered on murderous.
“I have spoken with the fools who think they can keep me from my Claire.”
Polly swallowed. That didn’t sound good.
“They are refusing to return her to me, unless I hand over the two of you.” He paused, then shook his head. “This, I cannot do. Drinking your blood didn’t work; I can’t let you go until I am healed.”
“But Claire—” Gilbert started.
“Claire is pregnant!” The huge dragon rumbled. “She carries my child. And that child carries this curse. I will not give up the chance to cure my bloodline. Even if it means I will never see my mate again; my child is far more important than my happiness.”
“But you know why you’re cursed!” Gilbert shouted. “You know it’s because you betrayed the Emperor. Polly was cured because he released her. You’re not going to get anywhere by—”
“Cutting her heart out and eating it?”
Polly’s blood ran cold.
Eztli leaned forward, hands clasped over his knees. “There is the possibility that it will work, we’ve seen plenty of research on the matter. But, as I said before, I have no wish to harm her… I will
do what is necessary, though. So. Gilbert West,” he said the name like an insult, “will you continue your research as my servant, or will I have to find other treatments?”
Polly snarled, her fires roaring, but Gilbert remained calm.
“You don’t have to threaten her. I will give you all of my research and—”
“And continue until you have found a cure. Otherwise, she dies. Everything you have will belong to me. You will hand all research to me alone and not give it to anybody else.”
Gilbert’s jaw twitched, but he nodded slowly. Polly could see how much it hurt; everything he did, he did it for the betterment of others. It was never just about his clan. She could see how much it meant to him when he told her about all the lives he improved. Her rage built to a fevered pitch and Polly couldn’t bear to stand here and watch as his dreams were crushed.
As she lunged forward, the stone walls around them shattered. A startled cry burst from her as half a dozen dragons raced in; she stumbled, until she recognized one. Shane. A grin crossed her face, and she picked herself back up and charged at the king. He didn’t see her blow until it was too late; her knuckles collided with his face, causing pain to lance up her arm, but she didn’t care. He stumbled backwards, falling back into his throne.
Polly snarled as she grasped the king by the throat and started to shake him. “You will never get your hands on my mate’s research!”
He punched her in the stomach, causing all breath to whoosh from her lungs. The king shoved her away, and suddenly Gilbert was there. He gave the king no mercy, driving his fist into him over and over again. Polly sprang to her feet and grabbed his arm; he’d never forgive himself if he did permanent damage.
All around them, the few guards that had risen to their king’s defense were taken down by her guards. A green dragon shifted, taking the form of Thunder’s father. With a single shout, his dragons brought the guards to their knees. Soon they were all in their human form again, panting and defeated. Polly dragged Gilbert off the king; he immediately turned to her, cupping her face in his hands.
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