“Come to me, Kira,” he whispered as he reclined onto the pallet.
She moved slowly, wondering if his eyes held a spark of anything other than lust. The fire played tricks on her mind, not allowing her to see his eyes as they actually were without a hint of shadow play in them.
He moved to the side as she approached, leaving room for her to lie next to him. His chest was bare and he had taken his boots off. The expanse of bare skin made her want nothing more than to run her hands along his taut muscles, feel the strength he held in them, tease his body with wild abandon. Instead, she lay next to him, willing her hands not to reach out and touch him.
“You are beautiful.” He reached out to stroke her cheek, rendering her defenseless with his words and actions.
“Don’t.” She tried to pull away from him but was held spellbound by his magnificent eyes.
“Don’t what? Touch you?”
“Don’t be nice to me. You don’t have to. You can just take me if you want. I won’t fight you.”
His hand moved and the look that colored his face made her almost wish she hadn’t spoken. The dragon’s face seemed to be twisted in surprise and pain. “Is that what you think? That I will simply take you for the purpose of taking?”
“No. You will take me for the purpose of survival.” She held her chin high, but she wished she could look away from him. Her words only seemed to hurt him more, causing the eyes that had smoldered with desire to now mask themselves from her.
“Yes, survival. I had forgotten.” His voice was low and his hand lay between them now. She would much rather have it on her face, her body. He rolled onto his back. “Sleep now.”
Sleep? Her heart pounded wildly. How could he not take her? She swallowed hard, wanting to reach out to him, demand that he make love to her. When he turned his back to her, her heart sank and the pain she only thought she knew earlier magnified. She would die now, right here in this cave with the man she loved refusing to touch her, refusing to allay any of the pain she felt.
Sobs threatened to ravage her body. She held them at bay, refusing to give in, refusing to take his pity, which she knew he would give to her. The only thing she could do was turn and focus on the fire, not the man who had built it. Listening for his breathing to steady, she lay awake, wondering what to do now. He had refused her tonight, and surely this refusal would weaken him. Worse, it weakened her in a way she couldn’t begin to explain.
Chapter Eight
“I need to know more about you, more about where you came from. More about home. I dream about you at night, about us. Last night, I…we…we were together in some cave. I can’t remember it all, Damon, and I need those memories. I need to know what happened.”
Kira lay in Damon’s arms, her breath washing over his chest. He had been at her home for a week, and they planned to meet Tambourne at a place called Denver in two more days. Somehow, going home did not have the same appeal today as it had when this journey began. His amulet once more rested against his chest, having been returned to him by Tambourne, who was becoming an ally rather than a foe.
He swallowed hard. Part of her, he knew, refused to believe she was connected to him.
“What would you like to know?” They had gone over this a hundred times, so it seemed to him. Each time revealed nothing new that he had not already told her, nothing she did not already know deep down inside. Still, he took a deep breath, wondering what he could tell her to make her understand where he was from and why he needed to go back. And why he needed her.
“Please, Damon. You have to tell me about your brother.”
Mace. This was one subject he always wished to avoid. He and Mace were brothers in blood but no other way were they kin. Barely civil to one another, their lives had been one long battle, each vying for his own recognition. Mace knew he was not the oldest son, yet he longed for the title, while Damon knew his illegitimacy afforded him his father’s curse but not his name. The battle was one that could not be won by either of them.
Until now. The legends in his land spoke of a woman who could bring peace. Deep inside his soul, he knew Kira was that woman. This was part of the reason why he had taken her from her home so long ago, stealing her in the night like a common thief rather than a bridegroom. It was the reason why he sought her out all these years, why he vowed vengeance on Mace. Her tie to his land was far beyond mere fancy or coincidence, as she claimed. She was part of his soul. The only problem was, if she ever returned with him to Tyr, Mace had a claim to her.
Even now as she lay in his arms, both of them fresh from making love, the dragon still threatened to overpower him.
“Mace is a dangerous man.”
“So you say, but I want to know why you fight.”
He had already told her in the past. Long nights of lovemaking and soul-searching had revealed to her almost everything about his family and his past. “You know about Mace.”
“Why do you think he tossed the amulet into the vortex? How do you think he found the vortex in the first place?”
“As I said before, the moons had eclipsed.”
“And?” she prodded as her fingernails traced a circle around his nipple, causing it to tighten beneath her whisper of a touch.
“And I can’t think while you’re doing that.” He gritted his teeth.
“Sorry.” Her hand stilled against his chest. He took it into his and placed a kiss on her knuckles. She rewarded him with a lazy smile.
“You did not have to stop.”
“I want you to be able to think.”
“As I said, there was an eclipse, and…”
“What happens under the eclipse?”
“The sky darkens. And a vortex appears. I think this is how you got here. I believe Mace forced you somehow. Somehow he convinced you or made you come to Earth without me. I had to find you. There were so many reasons, are so many reasons. Don’t you see? Life without you was killing me.”
Tears streaked down her face at his confession. She sat up as his hand reached out to graze against her cheek, pushing the covers from her body, and then slid from the comforting position he’d held her in. “I can almost see it, Damon. I can see myself standing before it. The sky does darken, and the vortex does appear. And I loved you so much.”
His hand shook at her confession. Was she finally remembering? “Do you remember?”
“Yes… Sort of. I can see it like it’s a movie.”
“That it took place twice in six years is not incredible. No one knows how often the vortex appears. Sometimes, an eclipse takes place and there is no change. Other times, the air seems to part and blackness takes its place.”
“And no one knows what causes this?”
“There are no records, only legends.”
“Not a very civilized people then, are you?” she teased.
“I suppose not.”
“And this vortex was created where?”
“Outside the village of Waydon, the place where we get our human mates.”
“Shit.”
“What is it?”
“I don’t know. I just can’t take all of this at once. You searched for me? I mean, you really searched. You needed me that badly?”
“Yes. I still need you.”
“We have to find our way home. I’m going to help you get back home, and I’m going to go with you. Damon, I know there are things in our past that I haven’t figured out yet, things I can’t explain. But if you trust me, if you need me as you say you do, let me try.”
Tears glittered in her eyes as she spoke, making his chest ache. It hurt her to face the past, this he could clearly see. There was so much pain, so much betrayal in their past. Now, it was time to start anew. Time to start with confessions and forgiveness.
“No, Kira, don’t cry. I am sorry. I took you from your home. I stole you in the night. You were there at your father’s house on Tyr and I took you, bringing you in to this madness.”
“Why, Damon? Why did you take me? Who am I to y
ou?”
“You are Kira, daughter of Rudolf, King of Karn, Tyr’s closest and most powerful neighbor. Whoever marries you will rule Tyr.”
“So you took me to secure your throne?”
“Yes. But there is so much more. I saw you once at your father’s palace. You probably don’t remember. Our eyes connected for a second, and I swore I was looking into my own soul. I knew then that I must protect you from Mace. Mace wanted the throne, too. He still wishes to have it. If he found you first, if he married you… Do you understand? I couldn’t allow that to happen. I knew that I needed you, and that I had to have you for my own.”
“So you took me to protect me.”
“In a manner of speaking. I also took you because I could not live without you.”
“So betrayal runs deep for you, too.”
“Yes, I suppose it does.”
“But why did you take me? I remember in my dreams. I remember you telling me that you and I were bound to each other. Were we to be wed?”
“Yes. I took you because I needed to know you. And I wanted you to come to love me without being forced to.”
“You did a fine job with that.”
“I was wrong. And I need your forgiveness.”
“It’s coming back to me now. Slowly. I know your brother. I can see him standing before me, his wicked smile. He has red hair, right? Fiery hair.”
“Yes.”
“Mace convinced me that you would not remain faithful to me. He told me of your betrayal and told me you wished for a woman with dragon’s blood. That’s the reason I let him bite me.”
“The bite marked you as his.”
“I was not Mace’s lover. I know it deep down in my soul. I remember the pact he and I made. His bite would infect me with the balm, but I never knew it would mark me as his.”
“But are you mine? If we return, will you be mine?”
“I have always been yours.”
“You do not recall about the dragons, about our bodies, our blood, our laws?”
“Damon, it’s all still so foggy. Some of it is clear as yesterday, but other parts, I can only guess at.”
“The dragon’s tail holds an aphrodisiac, one that is powerful enough to make you forget your inhibitions. But the dragon’s bite causes his spirit, his essence to mingle with yours and you become one with him.”
“Would your bite counteract Mace’s?”
“I do not know. It isn’t allowed.”
“Well, we aren’t on Tyr. We’re here, on Earth. On a place where the laws of Tyr don’t seem to apply. Why don’t you try it and see?”
“Tambourne says you are in danger, that your body is changing due to the bite.”
“Why would it change so many years later?”
“My guess is that I changed it. When I came through the portal, it caused your body to react to energy from home.”
“Then you can change it again. Do it, Damon. Make me yours.”
“You are mine.”
“Then prove it to me.”
He pulled her flush against him, his head and heart locked in a fierce battle. Turning her neck to him, she waited for his bite, waited for his poison. If he bit her, his blood and Mace’s blood would mix, causing both essences to reside inside her. He knew that he must bite her. If they returned to Tyr, he would need proof of his claim to her.
Slowly, he brought his lips to her flesh, then sank his dragon fangs into her body. She clung to him and for a second he could read her thoughts as her blood spilled into his mouth and his body drank in her essence. She was afraid of him, but she loved him. Her fear tugged at his heart. She was afraid to lose him again. And he was terrified of losing her.
Licking at her wound, he closed it as soon as he was sure his spirit entered her body. They were one now. They lay wordlessly in one another’s arms, not thinking. And Damon was afraid to contemplate the consequences of his actions.
* * * * *
She was not a woman without a past. She was a woman who had a past, a colorful past, and a past with this man. Staring at him, not sure if she should believe him or not, she sat on her bed, memorizing every line of his face.
There was no denying that she had fallen in love with Damon, but was it real love? Was it the kind that could make a man remain faithful and be hers forever? Did that kind even exist? In spite of her wonderful hot fling that hadn’t ended yet, she wondered if what they had could be more than that.
“Tell me what you did after I left. After I found my way here?” She needed to know. Did he search for her? Did he curse her name?
“I searched for you once my anger subsided.”
“Yet you did not marry. I have sisters. Surely one of them…”
“Karina. She wished to fulfill your obligation to me.”
“And you refused her?”
“Yes. I did not wish to marry another.”
“Even in your anger?”
“I loved you, Kira. I love you now. No one else could take your place in my heart.”
“When we return, we must go to Karn, to set things right. You shall have your army.”
“I no longer need an army. All I need is you.”
“But if you wish for the throne…”
“I wish to have you, Kira. Now, I wish to have your heart.”
“I give it willingly.”
“Come to me, Kira, and love me. I don’t wish to be without you again. I have fallen in love with you. I want you to know that. I have forgiven who you were and what you may have done. All I know is you, and I want you to know me.”
“I love you, too, Damon. And I won’t let anything stand in our way.”
Chapter Nine
Denver wasn’t exactly what Damon thought it would be. The bustling city their airplane landed in was quickly replaced by a mountainous countryside and snow-covered hills. Leland drove in silence, as he had been since he picked them up at the airport. He hadn’t yet told Damon what was on his mind but he had a feeling it had to do with the trip back to Tyr.
Kira lay asleep on his lap in the backseat and Damon couldn’t help but the feeling of fear that crept into his heart. Everything inside him knew he was placing them all in danger by opening up their world like this. Giving Leland the map to his part of the universe could be a deadly thing if he used it incorrectly.
“Are you ready for this?” Leland glanced up in the rearview mirror.
“Yes. I have been gone too long.”
“I have made a decision. I don’t think I’ll return with you.”
“Oh? Why the sudden change?”
“We’ve been studying this world of yours the past few days. You say it is a land riddled with warfare. Perhaps I should take my chances on familiar grounds and remain on Earth.”
“What about your need to be with others like yourself?”
“It turns out that there are more like me out there. My friends and I…we had not met face-to-face before. Meeting them opened up whole new possibilities to me. Many of them are changelings, too. They change with the moon, with the tides, with various natural occurrences. It leads me to think I should stay and find out what I am before I inflict myself upon another planet.”
“I respect your decision.”
“I would ask you something, though. Your amulet. I know it belongs to your family. I know it is your connection to your world. But…”
“But you have found need of it as well?” Damon could see his smile in the mirror.
“Yes.”
“It belonged to my father and his before him. It is necessary to control the change, to fight down the demons. I cannot part with it.”
“You owe me for sending you home.”
“That I do, but the amulet is not up for discussion.”
They sat in silence again.
“What will you do about Kira?”
“What do you mean?” The man’s question caught him off-guard.
“I mean when you get back home, do you plan to marry her?”
�
�What does it matter to you?”
“I am not your enemy, Damon. I have acted badly in the past, but I am here to make amends. I am helping you get home. But I want to know that she’ll be safe.”
“I need her.”
But his heart ached at the possibility. Up until now, all he wanted was to return her and marry her, make her his forever. Now, he wasn’t sure if he should pursue that line of thinking or if he should allow her to reacquaint herself with her world first.
“She is a strong-willed woman. She often mentioned your name in her dreams.”
“Did she?”
“Yes. You are the reason for her games, the reason she became so obsessed with that world. I think her mind is made up. She will marry you if you ask.”
“But I wonder if asking will be too much.”
“Only you know that.”
True. He was the only one who could decide.
“We’re here.”
The car came to a stop. Damon nudged Kira awake. She lazily sat up and smiled at him. “We’ve made it.”
“Home?”
“No. To the mountains.”
“Oh.”
Leland stepped out of the car first and then led them to a cave cut in the side of the mountain. There was no technology, nothing Damon expected.
“This is our portal home?”
“Yes. Legends say this cave holds the key. You should step inside with your hands joined. It is a portal, and it will take you where you need to go.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Research. There was a time when our worlds were linked. Almost every civilization has dragons in its mythology. This isn’t a coincidence. There was a time when your kind roamed our world freely, but it has been forgotten and passed off as legend.” Leland shrugged, “Besides, if it doesn’t work, you just come back out.”
Damon squeezed Kira’s hand before releasing it and moving to stand before Leland. “Thank you for bringing us here. I owe you. If you have need of me, if this portal works, you know you will be able to find us.”
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