Bound in Ashes

by Milly Taiden

  Well, shit. She hadn't given the stresses of the day a single thought when his tongue had been busy making her rub herself on him like a wild animal.

  Tomorrow would be better. She'd get her shit together and maybe not have sex constantly on her mind. Maybe, with luck, she might get to know more about him and not picture him naked. Good luck with that one.

  “What room are you staying in?”

  She felt her face heat as he glanced at her. “Um, I was just checking out your room and put my bag down in there,” she stuttered. Man, if that didn't scream stalker, she didn't know what did.

  The grin on his face did nothing to pacify her nerves. “You can stay in my room if you want to.”

  “Well, um, uh, no,” she growled in a huff. “I mean, I'd be happy to stay in any of the other rooms as long as I can get my stuff.”

  He nodded and headed down the hall, away from her bedroom. “I think you'll like this room.”

  She rushed to his bedroom to get her bag. Fuck! She'd forgotten the T-shirt on the bed. She shoved it in her overnight duffle in a panic and ran out to meet him inside the room four doors down.

  That night, she barely slept, her body begging for relief and more of Ker's touch. She dreamed of cute dragon babies and lots of hate and fear. She'd grown up having nightmares, but none this real. None this scary.

  EIGHT

  Nana glanced at Tor and shook her head. “Something's wrong.”

  Tor wasn't sure why the older woman had woken him up in the middle of the night, but her cryptic talk wasn't telling him much. “What do you mean?”

  “Someone is coming.”

  He yawned. “It's kind of late for anyone to be showing up here.”

  “They're coming from Karthasias Elo. More of our people are coming. They've been dying over there.” She met his gaze, her older wiser one filled with sadness. “They need to mate. Though that planet is a lot more advanced when it comes to technology, there are no mates.”

  Tor had no idea what to think. This was good. More of their people meant they would be able to flourish and thrive as a species. No longer would the Drachen be the only ones on earth from his home planet.

  “This is good. More is better for all.”

  She gave a soft shake of her head. “It will mean a big war. One that nobody is ready for. Especially not him.”

  “Who?”

  “Ker.”

  Tor's heart stopped. He remembered clearly how Nana had told them last conversation that someone might have to sacrifice themselves. His heart argued that his brother wasn't going anywhere, but he still curled his hands into fists. “I will protect him.”

  She smiled weakly. “You can't. More than you know is at work here, Tor. Decisions will need to be made by those affected.”

  “He's my brother.”

  “You can't save everyone.”

  He'd damn well try. That was his baby brother. And though Ker had been the one joking when Tor first mated Morgan, he'd seen the change in him the past few years. Ker had grown to care for the schoolteacher Morgan told him about. That brought out his alpha side, something natural when a Drachen fell in love.

  “He can't die. He's found a woman he loves.”

  Nana's eyes filled with tears. “That won't matter.”

  Tor wanted to break something. He paced his office and then squatted in front of the elder. “Tell me how I can help him.”

  She brushed his long hair away from his face like she'd done when he was a child. Like she did with his children. “He has to give up everything.”

  “What does this have to do with our people showing up?”

  “Ker will have to choose.”

  He bit back a growl. This was going nowhere. “Will he find his mate?”

  She nodded, the tears finally falling down her wrinkled cheeks. “Yes. And it will be the end of him as we know him.”

  * * *

  Tor hated to wake his wife, but there was no sleeping after that conversation. When he got to his bedroom, he found Morgan sitting up in bed with a book.

  “I left you sleeping,” he admonished. “Why are you up?”

  She grinned and pointed at her belly. “Someone had to push on my bladder. So now I'm hungry and tired. Plus, I could sense you needed me. What's up?”

  “I'll make you something to eat,” he told her.

  She started to get up from the bed but he rushed over and picked her up. “What are you doing?”

  She laughed and slapped him on the shoulder. “I want to come with you to the kitchen. This way I can eat the minute you're done.”

  “I'll carry you,” he said. When she let him, he raised his brows at her. “Not going to argue that you can walk?”

  She yawned and dropped her head into the curve of his neck. “Nah. I'm sleepy and tired. Knock yourself out, He-Man.”

  Once they were in the kitchen, he sat her on one of the chairs. With this pregnancy, Morgan wanted to eat pancakes and French toast all day long. There was already pancake batter in the fridge ready to be used. He'd come to learn that his gorgeous mate had strange craving with each of their children. Thankfully, this time there was no ice cream covered pickles. That one was hard for him to look at.

  “What's going on?” she asked, shoving her hand into the cookie jar at the center of the table.

  “Nana says Ker is in danger.”

  Morgan chewed the cookie quietly before nodding. “I thought I got that feeling too. I was hoping he'd find his mate by now.”

  “What about this teacher?”

  She shook her head. “I don't see her at all in my mind. I do know he's going to get the mark.”

  Tor frowned. “I thought your mom or you only got visuals of female mates getting their mark?”

  She shrugged. “This is new. We aren't experts here and we don't have a guidebook. We're going based on visions and feelings, Tor. And my feelings about what's going on with Ker are scary at best. I want him to be mated ASAP so he's protected but I don't see that happening.”

  “So how do we protect him?”

  She rose to her feet and walked to the stove, curling an arm around his side. “We can't.”

  Nana stepped into the kitchen. “There you are, Morgan. Do you have a minute?”

  She pulled away from him. “Sure, Nana. What’s wrong.” She took a chair at the table again. Tor immediately picked up on the worry coming off Nana.

  “Seems to be the night for bad dreams,” Nana said.

  He glanced at Morgan. “Besides Ker,” he said, “what else are seeing?”

  “How old is your first born?” Nana asked.

  He felt and smelled the fear overflowing his mate. Morgan answered, “Noah is three.”

  Nana nodded. “What are the ages of the others?”

  Morgan’s hands shook. Tor covered hers with his. “Nana, why are you asking about the babies?” he asked.

  “It’s nothing to be too concerned about. Yet,” Nana said. “It’s just dreams and they don’t always warn; sometimes they just remind.”

  “Well, what did your dream remind you of concerning Noah?” Morgan asked, fear making her tongue sharp.

  Nana sighed. “On our home planet, Xilos Vardis, toddlers usually had their first shift around two years.”

  Morgan jumped up from her chair, terror in her eyes. “Our son’s three. What does that mean? Is something wrong with him?”

  Nana glanced at Tor with a grimace. “You’re not comforting your mate too well, big shot.”

  Tor frowned back at her. “Our mates aren’t like they used to be, Nana. Morgan is a strong woman and doesn’t like to be coddled.” He quickly added, “Too much.” He remembered the hot baths, foot rubs, and breakfasts in bed when she was ready to pop with the babies.

  “Sorry,” Morgan said as she returned to sitting, “please continue.”

  “How old are the others?” Nana asked again.

  Morgan sighed. “Our Emma is two. Callie and Cole, Clacher’s children, are just over two and one. A
nd Avery and Jae’s Rylee is close to one.”

  Nana furrowed her brows for a moment, then said, “As your mates are different, as Tor says, perhaps the children are different also. Maybe they will shifter at a later age.”

  “Maybe seeing that Morgan isn’t a dragon, the shift will be at a later time than children of two dragons,” Tor said.

  “That very well could be. Sounds logical,” Nana agreed.

  “Is there a chance Noah won’t be able to shift at all?” Morgan’s hands began shaking again.

  “There is a chance, but it’s not likely,” Nana assured her. “The Drachen dragons are very powerful, very strong. All offspring have been shifters for centuries.”

  Morgan finally relaxed in her chair. “So, everything could be just fine?”

  Nana patted her hand. “I’m sure it is. As long as he doesn’t shift without me here.”

  NINE

  Tiana woke up exhausted. The nightmares had gone on all night. Dark dreams of fire, pain, and hate. She woke several times, but each time she went back to sleep they were there again, taunting her. As if to let her know they weren't going away.

  She showered and dressed once it hit ten. The last thing she wanted was for Ker to wonder what the hell was going on with her.

  The scent of bacon reached her at the top of the stairs.

  “Dear god,” she moaned and rushed down the rest of the steps and headed for the kitchen without missing a beat.

  Ker was dressed in casual clothing, placing mini croissants on the table. “Good morning.”

  If she hadn't been drooling for the bacon, the way he smiled at her would have done it. There was definite flirtation in his eyes and the way his lip curled in a wicked grin.

  “Good morning. It smells delicious,” she said and walked over to the kitchen table, ogling the food and him.

  “I hope you're hungry. I didn't know what you might be in the mood for, so I made everything.”

  She laughed and sat, going for the pot of coffee on the table and the mug in front of her. “I am definitely hungry. One of the things Roberta used to say when I was a kid was that I was always eating.” She raised her brows and shrugged. “You know, because I'm a big girl.”

  He sat across from her and gave her a confused look. “I don't understand. What does your size have to do with food?”

  “Hello?” She raised her hands to get him to see her shape. “I'm really curvy. A big girl. Or as one of my exes called me fat with a cute face.”

  The look on his face stopped the laugh that usually accompanied her words. His eyes were glowing a bright blue and changing back and forth between blue and green.

  “You're absolutely beautiful, Tiana.”

  She gulped and glanced down at the coffee, remembering she hadn't put any sugar or cream in it. She almost brought it up to her mouth to drink as it was. What a fucking nightmare that would've been. To drink straight black coffee. Yuck.

  “Oh, I know,” she said with a smile. “I'm also not blind. I know I'm big.”

  He shrugged. “I don't know what your size has to do with anything. In my experience, I've seen society love women who had large curves because it showed wealth. Then it wanted slimmer women. Now it's a fucking mess and all it does is make the female population question everything about themselves.”

  “That's true. Women have it tough. If it's not one thing, it's another. For me, it's two things. My skin color and my weight.” At his frown, she added. “I don't have a problem having dark skin. But a lot of people do. Then when you add to that my size, they make assumptions. Mean and hurtful ones.”

  “I can imagine.”

  “Which,” she cleared her throat and put a piece of bacon on her plate, “made me wonder why you were interested in me.”

  “What do you mean?” He leaned forward. “You have a great personality, a sexy voice, a sweet disposition and I find you irresistible.” He popped a blueberry in his mouth, chewed it slowly, not once taking his gaze away from her lips and then glanced at her eyes. “And those same curves you worry about? They make me want to strip you down to nothing and claim every inch as my own.”

  She squeezed her legs tightly and inhaled hard. Fuck, this man was good.

  “Ker, I'm not sure what to say.”

  He took a deep inhale, his eyes glowing brighter and gave her a wolfish grin. “You don't have to say anything, beautiful. Your scent says it all.”

  She frowned. “What does that mean?”

  “You know I'm a Drachen. A dragon shifter.”

  “Yeah.”

  “Shifters have unique abilities. Like scenting another's emotional reactions.”

  She licked her bottom lip and watched his gaze zero in on her lip. “Uh, reactions?”

  He nodded slowly. “Happiness. Sadness...arousal.”

  Fucking hell. He knew what he was doing to her. This was not the way she envisioned having a meal with him.

  “I...”

  He picked up his coffee and took a sip. “Eat your food, Tiana. I want to show you this great spot I love.”

  She nodded and started eating. Even though she couldn't taste anything. That delicious bacon from before was a distant memory. She had other parts of her mind busy, tasting a visual image of him.

  “How long have you had this cabin?” she asked and picked up a mini croissant and took a bite.

  “I built it a while ago. I was bored and going through a phase. I wanted to do more with my hands. At first, I used to come here and write.”

  She raised her brows as she ate. “You write? What do you write?”

  He shrugged. “I had a phase where I swore I was going to write the best novel in the world. I mean, I have lots of history I could share.”

  She nodded and frowned. “I don't know that I've seen your name in any books.”

  “That's because you haven't. I realized writing wasn't for me. I wrote an outline after several months of trying, I finally quit. When video games became popular, I found one of my callings. I came up here and turned the barn into a massive gaming area.”

  “Right! I remember you mentioning people come here to game.”

  “My corporation gives out a few scholarships. Several to technology students, some to trade school students. And a big one that's part of the gaming industry.”

  She gaped at him. “You have a gaming scholarship?”

  “I love video games. I have been competing for years and have made many friends through the online gaming community. I wanted to encourage more kids to design great games.”

  “That's so nice of you.”

  “Not every kid out there is meant to go to a traditional school and go into an office. A lot of them are hands on people.”

  Tiana had a lot of students who were hands on kids. One of them in particular required extra help from her. He forgot all things and lived in his mind. But the boy had great memory for the things he liked. Like his video games. It was so nice to know that because of Ker children like him would be able to get extra help to get a non-traditional education.

  The more she found out about him, the more she realized he was even nicer than she could have expected.

  After breakfast, he told her to put on comfortable shoes. She met him at the front door wearing a pair of trainers.

  “I'm ready,” she yelled into the cabin.

  He came from a room in the back with an empty duffel bag and a jacket. “Here,” he handed her the jacket. “Put this on.”

  She did as he said but frowned the entire time. “It's pretty warm outside.”

  He grinned, took her hand and once they were outside, handed her the duffel. “Hold this for a few minutes.”

  She took the bag and watched in awe as he walked several yards away from her, stripped quickly and shifted into the most beautiful dragon she'd ever seen. Hell, she'd never seen a dragon in real life, but his was amazing.

  She gasped and walked slowly forward, picking up the clothes he’d taken off moments before, shoving them in the empty
duffel bag. “Oh, my god. Ker. Your dragon is beautiful.”

  And big as hell. She approached him without an ounce of fear. Though, he was massive and intimidating, she wasn't scared.

  He lowered down to the ground, and pinned her with his gaze.

  “I'm guessing you want me to climb on you, huh?”

  “You're guessing right, love.”

  TEN

  “Holy crap!” Tiana continued to gaze at the dragon. She raised a hand and brushed the tips of her fingers over his scales. They were thick but smooth. His skin felt like the most expensive leather in the world. “You can talk to me in my head.”

  “Yeah. I didn't know you'd be able to hear me, but you must be sensitive to my kind. Climb on, babe. There's a great place I want to show you.”

  Tiana climbed on the dragon's paw and then up to his back. She gripped the horns curling backward at the top of its head.

  “Okay. I'm ready.”

  Soon they were high in the sky. He didn't fly fast. Probably because he was worried about her falling off. She should be scared about falling, but she wasn't. Strangely enough, being up in the sky felt...right. Like she belonged there. It was weird, but exhilarating.

  The sensation of doing something she was meant to be doing was unusual.

  They flew for a long while, but she didn't mind. She loved seeing the landscape from the air. They were not too high so the jacket worked great to ward off the chill. Ker flew closer to a mountain area she was familiar with.

  She'd gone there a few times when she was in college. Camping. A silly ex-boyfriend tried to convince her to give him her virginity there. That it would be memorable for her. Right. Like her dream was to have sex for the first time with rocks poking at her back and bugs crawling on her legs. So damned romantic.

  Up ahead, they went farther up the mountain, past the small town she'd once visited and continued climbing. He circled and lowered until she thought he might hit the trees. Then he dove for an opening among them, and in seconds, they were landing on a patch of grass near a waterfall. She slid down and got on her feet taking several steps away.