by Sarah Marsh
“So I’m okay to touch the rock wall, just nothing organic?” Mari asked from behind him.
“Better safe than sorry. There may be insects or small reptiles that are capable of blending in with the rock.” He gave her a look over his shoulder. “If you need to brace on something, just use me.”
He almost shivered at the thought of her soft hands on his skin once again, and by the look on her face, she was thinking about it, as well.
“Good point.”
They had just reached the bottom of the path when a strong breeze brought an unfamiliar scent to his nose. He reached back and stopped Mari with his hand.
“Be still,” he whispered. “There’s something near.”
Almost too late, he saw the movement to the left of them, and a huge scaled tail came swinging at them as he jumped back, pushing Mari against the rock surface. She screamed as they fell, and the creature that had ambushed them let out an ear-piercing shriek that had them both trying to cover their ears.
He got to his feet, crowding Mari behind his legs as the beast finally came back around to face him. It had to be at least three times his height and had massive wings pumping to keep it balanced as it stalked toward them on its hind legs. It was reptilian in origin and could almost have passed for one of the dragons of his home planet, except he could tell this was no shifter. The calculating look in its large slitted eye was all about the kill. It was intending on making them breakfast, and the fact that Luca couldn’t shift into his own dragon form to protect them both had him at a great disadvantage.
“Jesus Christ, Luca. It’s a goddamned dinosaur!” Mari was grasping at his legs as she looked around him. “Oh God, what are we going to do?”
He let his dragon out just a little. If he shifted here, he would no doubt crush Mari, so he had to keep rein over his instinct to let loose and fight this thing. The black scales of his dragon covered him and he took a deep breath. The beast screeched and took a few steps back as he let his flame loose. He could smell the burning flesh and hoped that would be enough to deter the attack, but that seemed to almost anger the beast more as it threw its enormous head back and roared in pain.
They were completely cornered at this point. There was nowhere to run. The creature’s arms were shorter, and it didn’t have the reach to slice at them with the razor-sharp claws he could see, but it would use its feet and tail to attack. Luca had seen the way large raptors went at their prey. Just as the beast moved in once more, he heard the most glorious sound from above them.
It was the familiar call of a dragon, and the dragon was pissed.
Chapter Seventeen
Baelion had never been so scared in all his life. When he heard his mate’s roar and then the answering screech of a predator attacking, he was terrified that he wouldn’t make it to them in time. He’d just reached the mountain range as the suns rose. He was exhausted, he was hungry, and he was fucking pissed at whatever was trying to kill his mate.
There was a small clearing at the base of the mountain, and as he grew closer, he could see the large reptile that had Luca and the female cornered against the rock behind them. He dove low and roared out a warning before he targeted the back end of the beast with his venom. The noise it made as its skin was instantly frozen was painful to his sensitive hearing, but his venom did the job as the creature spun around to face him instead. He was surprised that the scales on its back were thick enough to stop his venom from killing it. That was a rare thing indeed.
Bae hovered in the air, roaring once again as the beast screeched and tried to shake off the effects of his attack. He shot another stream and managed to catch it in its leg before the thing finally ceded defeat. In a great leap, it was in the air, flying away from them. Relieved, Baelion softly landed and turned toward where Luca and Marisol were huddled against the rock.
“You have good timing, Bae.” Luca exhaled a sigh of relief as he turned to check that their charge was unharmed. But she simply stood there, staring back at Baelion with her mouth hanging open, and when he shifted back into his human skin, she gasped.
“Holy fuck,” she stammered. “You’re an actual dragon.”
He looked at her with confusion and then looked back toward Luca. “Did you not tell her we were dragon shifters, Luca?”
“Don’t look at me like that. Of course I told her.” Turning back toward Mari, Luca said, “I told you I was a dragon shifter.”
“Well, yeah, you told me,” she snapped back, “but for crying out loud, where I come from dragons aren’t real things, Luca! I thought you were some kind of lizard man or something. How was I supposed to know you were talking about a full-blown dragon?”
“Because I told you.” Luca just shrugged. Clearly, his mate didn’t understand why she was so upset about this.
Sometimes Luca was just too adorable in his obliviousness. Trying not to smile, Baelion silently thanked the gods that his shorts hadn’t been wrecked when he’d put his wrist through the leg hole before he shifted to his dragon form. Perhaps they’d finally found a material that could take the damage and still keep its shape to wear again. He had known that Mari wouldn’t be comfortable with Luca and him walking around naked the entire rescue mission. The Courtesan Guild Matron had made that very clear to them. Such strange notions these humans had in regards to nudity.
The small pack strapped across Mari’s chest began to move, and suddenly a small furry head popped out and hissed at him.
“What’s this now?” He reached out and a small paw took a swipe at his hand. “Did you bring a snack?”
Mari’s gasp as she protectively turned her body away from him let Bae know that she didn’t realize he was joking.
“He’s just jesting, Marisol. We will not eat your pet.” Luca came back over and gave Bae a stern look that he knew well.
“What?” Baelion laughed. “I’m sorry, Marisol. I was just surprised to see the cub. I promise he is perfectly safe.”
“He’d better be.” She looked back at him, trying to quiet the cub, who was still hissing and growling at Baelion. “Shush, kitty.”
“He’s quite defensive of you already.” Luca seemed amused at the display. “He should make a fine protector once he gets a little bit bigger. Now that you’re here, Bae, we can safely fly instead of walking.” Luca passed him some of their saved rations from what must have been their dinner last night. “Especially with that beast attacking during the day. I could have sworn I felt something watching me last night when I was atop the mountain. I know it sounds absurd, but I think she actually waited for us to leave the cave. I know the dossier on Draxis stated that the large predators were nocturnal, but I think they have evolved past even what the creators feared they would.”
“I agree. There was an intelligence in her eyes that should not have been there.” Baelion quickly ate. “If we get far enough up the coast, we should be able to find one of the treetop shelters they built throughout the basin. The main resort was supposed to be on the northern coast of the largest land mass, which we definitely are on. It should take us no more than two or three days if we fly.”
“What do you mean fly?” Mari seemed to have gotten her composure back. “Like one of you would carry me while you’re a—umm, dragon?”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Marisol.” Baelion couldn’t resist teasing her just a little. She really was surprised about their second form. “You will ride one of us in our shifted form.”
* * * *
Ride? Is this guy for real? Mari was still trying to convince herself that she hadn’t just been hallucinating that these two were really honest-to-God dragon shapeshifters, but now she was just supposed to hop aboard and go for a ride?
“Is that even safe?” she asked, trying not to notice how striking Baelion and Luca looked standing next to each other. Luca, with his wild black hair, his dark golden eyes, and his deeply tanned skin, was such a contrast with the blond hair, pale blue eyes, and pale cream skin tone of his partner. The only things they did seem
to have in common were the chiseled physique and the fact that they were both covered in beautiful black tattoos. “Do your people travel that way often?”
“My people do if they have a mate or companion that is not a dragon,” Baelion answered, “but Luca’s do not.”
“Oh.” Mari was confused at his answer. “But you’re both dragons—I thought you had the same people?”
“Baelion is an ice dragon from the northern land mass on our planet,” Luca said as he began to remove his shorts. “I am from the south.”
“So, is it a cultural thing then?” Mari tried not to stare at Luca as he got naked once again, but it was almost impossible not to remember what he’d done last night by the fire, and God help her if she didn’t feel her body heating up at the memory. It seemed she wasn’t the only one thinking about it, since Luca was looking directly at her with a smoldering gaze as he disrobed. So much so that she caught Baelion looking between the two of them with a curious expression.
“Not exactly—show her, Luca.”
Mari watched Luca walk to the middle of the small clearing before turning to look at them, and then suddenly, there was a huge freaking dragon standing exactly where he had been. Admittedly, she did squeal a little, and the poor kitty yowled in commiseration. But wow, when Mari got her heart back under control, she took a closer look at Luca’s other side. He was just as massive as Baelion had been in shifted form, but he was much more muscular, whereas the ice dragon had been long and sleek. His black scales were an iridescent gold when they caught the sun, his large wings stretched out behind him, and all along the ridge of his spine were short spikes that looked rather sharp.
Ouch. Definitely no riding on the black dragon. Got it.
“That’s why you will be riding with me.” Baelion gave her a smoldering look of his own as he too took off his shorts, very slowly.
She couldn’t help the blush that rose up her face. Truth be told, Mari hadn’t even flirted with a man in over a year, but the way these two were suddenly looking at her did all sorts of interesting things to her body.
“Just make sure you don’t drop me, hotshot.” She tried not to let her gaze wander too far south, but damn, it was impossible not to notice that he was indeed just as well equipped as Luca. Mari felt herself grow wet once more when she remembered what had happened between her and Luca, but now, her imagination suddenly had Baelion in the picture, as well. Who knew she had such a kinky side to her?
She noticed Bae’s nostrils flare as she got closer to him, and a low growl rumbled through his chest, but it wasn’t a scary growl. This one seemed to resonate right through her entire body, finally settling low in her belly.
“Make sure you hold on tight with your thighs.” He reached out and ran a finger gently along her jaw, the unexpected contact causing her breath to catch in her chest. “I won’t let you fall, little one.”
Chapter Eighteen
Luca watched the interaction between Baelion and Mari with avid interest. His acute sense of smell had caught her arousal when he’d disrobed before shifting, and her delicious scent had only increased when Bae had taken his shorts off, as well. She was still interested in them as males, even after she’d seen them shift, which was a relief to him.
After he and Bae had been rescued, Luca had been taught to fear that his scarred appearance would be the largest hurdle to finding a female to complete their family. He just hadn’t counted on wanting a female who knew nothing about shifters in general—especially one who thought that dragons were imaginary beasts. It was so difficult to know how she was going to react to anything really. Marisol was a complete mystery to him, though human females seemed to be rather an intriguing bunch in general. So strong and independent in so many ways, but in others, he could see how vulnerable she was, and it made him ache with the need to protect and provide for her.
When Bae finally stepped away from her and then shifted, she wasn’t afraid this time. She walked right in between the two dragons, studying their differences, and when she reached out toward Luca’s snout, he met her halfway and rubbed his jaw along her palm.
“Oh,” she said in surprise, “you’re warmer than I thought you’d be.”
He chuffed in agreement and then nodded toward Baelion’s pale white-and-blue body. She shrugged and walked over to his partner. Bae stretched his wing back, giving her access to hop aboard his long smooth neck, and when she looked as though she had settled and found a grip, Luca took to the sky to continue their journey to find a way off of this planet.
She squealed behind him as Baelion took flight, as well, and Luca fell back to watch her closely, making certain she was all right. His dragon rumbled in laughter as she tucked her head against Bae’s neck, her eyes tightly shut.
Luca could only imagine what her impression of flying with them this way might be. Truly there was no other experience you could compare it to. He’d flown every kind of shuttle and craft in the Coalition fleet, but there was nothing as freeing and exhilarating as riding the currents in his shifted form. He studied her body language as they traveled, and muscle by muscle she relaxed, her eyes eventually opening up to wonder at the view laid out before them. Draxis was a beautiful and untamed world. Up here, among the clouds, he could almost forget how deadly it could be on the surface.
After several hours of flying, he signaled Bae and cruised lower to find a secure landing spot along the river they’d been following. He landed first and scented for predators. When he didn’t find any, he shifted back to his other form and waited for the rest of his party.
“Oh, I may need some help,” Mari said as she wiggled atop his partner, causing a low rumble from Bae that told Luca his mate was enjoying having her skin against his. “This little guy needs a bathroom break, I think.”
She handed the mewling cub over to Luca, and as soon as he put the creature down, it ran off and squatted in the grass.
“Sheesh, lucky for me he’s housebroken.” She awkwardly tried to slide off Bae’s neck, and Luca grabbed her and set her down on shaking legs. “Oh my God, I feel like I’m bowlegged. I have a feeling this is going to hurt tomorrow morning.”
“It probably will, as your body is not used to it.” Luca held on to her to make certain she was stable on her own. “Baelion is quite skilled at therapeutic muscle massage. I’m sure he would tend to it for you.”
Bae had now shifted back as well and stretched his arms high, easing his back muscles after so many hours of flying. Luca couldn’t help but notice that her eyes were drawn directly to his mate’s straining erection, which was now getting even harder under her perusal.
“Of course, I would be happy to see to any muscle complaints you may have, Marisol,” Bae answered with a smile as he donned his shorts once more.
Before she could answer, they were interrupted by her stomach protesting loudly.
“You’re hungry. I’ll fetch us some lunch. Eat the leftover fruit to tide you over. I’ll gather more once I find some fresh game.” Luca turned and headed out into the denser jungle, a determined gait to his walk. “Bae, look after her. I shall return shortly.”
* * * *
Baelion watched his mate stride off with a curious tilt of his head. Of course, Luca was always attentive to his needs—he was an excellent mate—but there was an eagerness to him that Bae wasn’t quite sure he’d ever seen in Luca before. They had met under the gravest of circumstances, and their courtship had been overshadowed by the need for survival in that hellhole prison they’d been in. Once they’d been rescued, there had been many hours of therapy, both physical and emotional, but in the end, the carefree youths they had been before their capture were gone for good.
To add insult to injury, the way their own species had all but rejected Luca’s physical scarring had segregated them from their former friends and family, leaving them to carve out a new life for just the two of them alone. Baelion was still determined to find a female for them to settle down and begin a family with, even if she wasn’t a dragon.
It mattered not to him—but Luca had seemed to give up on the idea entirely. It broke Baelion’s heart to see what captivity had done to his brave and beautiful Luca.
So when Luca’s instinct to provide for this small female became apparent, Bae was intrigued even more by her. His mate wasn’t only attracted to Marisol—he liked her, it was becoming obvious. Which was excellent news, given how taken Baelion was with her himself. All he had to do now to complete their family was seduce one tiny little Earther female into staying with them forever. Surely that couldn’t be so hard?
Chapter Nineteen
“I will watch over your beastie if you’d like to refresh yourself in the water, Marisol.”
“Thank you. I think I will.” Mari smiled at Baelion’s offer. The small stream looked rather inviting, and the humid heat of the jungle seemed to coat every inch of her skin. “There isn’t anything weird in the water I should be concerned with, is there?”
She peered suspiciously into the crystal-blue liquid, almost expecting a prehistoric fish with fangs to leer back at her.
“I haven’t seen anything worrisome in any of the waters so far. Just stick close to the edge and I’ll keep an eye out,” he answered, picking up her pet before it wandered off into the bushes.
“So”—she waded in up to her knees, sighing at how good the cool water felt on her abused muscles—“how is it even possible for you guys to shift from huge dragons back into men? I mean, obviously, you have way more mass in your dragon form. Where does it go when you’re as you are now?”
Mari could tell she’d surprised him with the nature of her question, but the science of it all was fascinating to her, and she wasn’t the type of person who could not know and be all ‘woo-woo, it must be magic.’
“You’re the first person to ask me that particular question.” He grinned at her. “Give me your hand and I will show you.”