Sugar, Spice, and Shifters: A Touch of Holiday Magic

by Élianne Adams

  “Go,” he said in dragon-tongue, the only language they spoke when they were in dragon-form. “Get help. Protect Holly.”

  “She's safer where she is at the moment. And I'm not leaving yet.” He scanned the desolate bit of forest surrounding them. His eyes flashed white, a sign that he was hot with emotion. He was expecting the humans to come too.

  At least she wasn't here.

  Ryder dropped his head to the ground again and willed himself to transform again. If he transitioned, then his partner could haul his ass home. Calling out a recovery team to a potentially hostile situation in a storm like this was out of the question. This could be a trap. During the conflicts following the revelation that his kind existed, human hunters had regularly employed similar guerilla warfare tactics. A truce was in place now, but things were tense after the recent problems with the Dragon Agreement. Neither he nor Garryck would risk bringing others in until they knew what they were facing.

  Nope, they would be stuck here until he could change. He tried again.

  Nothing.

  “No. Go,” he said. Snow was pelting down now. A storm might keep the hunter away. He didn't need a babysitter. “Go to Holly.”

  “I'll make a fire.” Garryck rubbed his hands together. He was probably freezing. Dragons didn't feel cold the way humans did, but they were more susceptible to it while in human form.

  He should tell his partner to leave again, but he knew it wouldn't make any difference. If the situation were reversed, he wouldn't go either. There was a real possibility that his body would slip into hibernation mode to heal. Then he'd be vulnerable to anyone or anything that might stumble upon him.

  The only hope of him getting out of here soon was to transition. He needed to think about something other than his ripped up body.

  Holly.

  He'd seen her today. He wished she hadn't been targeted by the vicious attacks, but he couldn't help but feel happy about having held her in his arms. She'd accepted what comfort he could give her. That was something. Even if he had to spend a cold night in the woods after being shot up, it had been worth it. And his best guess was that whoever was tormenting her was also the one who'd gunned him down. If they were searching for him, then at least they would leave her alone.

  When they'd asked her to spend Christmas with them, he'd seen a spark of life in her eyes. She'd even said yes. They'd been so close to getting her home… where she belonged.

  Thank God he hadn't been carrying her. The thought of her being shot at and falling through the air tore at him. He shuddered. If that had happened, the bastard with the gun wouldn't have been alive to see Christmas morning. He and Garryck would have made sure of that… injured wing or not.

  A snowmobile's engine rumbled through the forest. Shit, shit, shit. The damned hunter was coming.

  Ryder forced his legs beneath him. White-hot pain scorched along his wounds, but he wasn't about to let his partner stand alone. Garryck crouched behind a tree and faced the sound. His body was poised to pounce, but he hadn't turned yet. The last thing they needed was another dragon in the dense trees.

  Ryder summoned his fire, which was his best defense at the moment.

  The machine was getting closer. One stark white headlight broke through the shadows. How had the bastards zeroed in on their location so quickly?

  Honed by years of fighting and battles, he let instinct take over. His muscles tightened. His gaping flesh pulled. He smothered the groan that crawled up his throat.

  The intruder was close. Ryder inhaled. Over the poisonous exhaust fumes, he recognized a familiar scent. Holly?

  He tilted his head and tasted the air a second time. There was no mistake. He relaxed slightly, leaning against a clump of aspen trees for support. Garryck stood as the machine's light shone over them. Holly turned off the ignition, leaving the headlight on. In the next moment, she was running through the snowdrifts toward them.

  “What the hell are you doing out here?” Garryck demanded.

  She darted around him and approached Ryder. “He needs me.”

  Her gaze drifted down his body. He knew the exact moment she found his gunshot wounds. She gasped and covered her mouth with her hand.

  “Oh, God, your injuries…” Her voice faded away as she inched closer to him. She reached out, but didn't touch him.

  His partner stomped up behind her. “Seriously, what are you doing out here? It's dangerous.”

  She spun toward him. “I needed to know if he was okay. And clearly he isn't. I can help.”

  He shook his head and looked at Ryder. Frustration contorted his face.

  “Take her back,” Ryder said. That was the only choice. They both knew it. Their mate—for that was exactly who she was—would always come first.

  “What did he say?” She glanced between the two of them. He'd expected her to be surprised at hearing him speak such a different language, but she wasn't. Not their Holly. Their dragon sides never scared her.

  “We're going back to your place,” Garryck said.

  “Can he be moved like that?” Her forehead furrowed as she eyed Ryder's body again.

  “Not him,” his partner said. “You and me.”

  She put her hands on her hips. “We are not leaving him.”

  “I'll come back for him, but first—”

  “Oh, no, you don't.” She waggled her finger at him. “I can take care of myself. I don't need you to escort me home and leave him out here like this.”

  Of course she wouldn't simply accept their plan. Ryder growled, but it was a weak, pansy-ass sound. His energy was fading. He wouldn't be able to stand much longer, but he couldn't let her see how damaged he was either.

  “Besides,” she said, ignoring his protest, “I can help.”

  “Holly…” Garryck's voice held a warning. “Whatever you are planning…”

  “Don't worry. I won't do anything drastic.” She moved to Ryder's side. He twisted his head to see what she was doing, but the angle didn't work. An instant later, a sharp coppery tang pierced the air, then she pressed her hand to his wound.

  “No,” he shouted at her.

  Garryck pulled her away but the damage was done. She clutched a knife in one of her hands and her other hand was dripping with blood—his and hers. Exchanging blood was one of the steps to mating. Dragons could accept transfusions from multiple humans, but the human system wasn't as robust. They could only receive donations from two dragons, ever, without doing irreparable damage to their systems.

  That meant now no other pair could ever claim her.

  Not that she planned to mate them or any other dragon, but she didn't even understand what she'd given up. Garryck grabbed her hand, revealing a deep cut across her palm. Her dark red blood shone in the light cast by the snowmobile.

  “Little Holly, what have you done?”

  “I've helped him. That's why the dragon clans need humans, isn't it? For blood,” she said and tugged on her hand.

  Garryck held it tight. His eyes flared white. “There is more to it than that.”

  Ryder shuddered as the warm magic of her healing energy and essence seeped through him.

  At this point, she was ruined for anyone else, so he wasn't surprised to see his partner's talon slice through his fingertip. He squeezed a few drops of his own blood on her laceration. She moaned and closed her eyes as her cut sealed. The exchange of life's energy was intimate, erotic even, when a dragon shared blood with his mate. The knife she held in her other hand dropped. When she opened her eyes again, she licked her bottom lip. Her eyes sparkled.

  “That was… unusual,” she said.

  Unusual was not the word he'd dreamed of her saying when they took this step to mating, but at least she didn't say it was unpleasant.

  “Why isn't he healing the way I did?”

  “His wounds are already closing over but they are more severe. It will take longer for him to heal completely,” Garryck said quietly. “Can I take you back now?”

  She frowned.
“We can't leave him here.”

  Ryder grunted. He hated not being able to speak to her. To reassure her.

  She put her hands on her hips and eyed him. “I don't care how disgruntled you are about this, I'm not leaving without you.”

  “Can you change now?” Garryck asked him.

  If that was what it took to get his mate to safety, he would have to do more than try. He would have to succeed.

  Garryck guided her to Ryder's head. “Touch him. Talk to him. He needs to be in human form if we are all leaving here together.”

  Her fingers brushed over his cheek as she stared into his eyes. Her gentle energy spiraled over him, teasing him to do her bidding. She leaned in until her lips grazed his ear. “I need you to do this. I need to see you are okay.”

  Her words drifted over his skin. Any pain he'd experienced earlier evaporated under her touch. Her soft command was his to obey. If anyone could make his body listen, it was their Holly, their mate.

  The transition flowed over his body in agonizingly slow stops and starts, but through it all her encouraging murmurs urged him to continue. Finally it was done and he was sprawled on the snowy ground with his head cradled in her lap.

  “Let's get the hell out of here,” his partner said as soon as Ryder took his first rough breath through his human nose. Garryck helped him to his feet, and they shuffled toward the snowmobile.

  “Be careful. My gun is back there,” she said as she crawled into place first and started the engine. Ryder climbed behind her, shaking his head at the shotgun she'd strapped to the back of her seat. They were going to have to chat about the risks she took, but not now. Fatigue was dogging him. Could he stay awake long enough to see her home?

  Garryck nodded at them. “I'll follow overhead.”

  She clutched his partner's hand. “Be careful. Whoever shot at us might be out there still.”

  “My thoughts exactly,” he said as his eyes flashed hot again.

  Ryder wrapped his arms around her. Even through the thick parkas they each wore, the curvy shape of her body teased him. Under different circumstances, he would try to take advantage of having her under his hands. It was a pitiful thing that his body was too exhausted to act.

  He had never been so weak before. He hated it. Their combined strength was what made them a valuable team for their clan, the Mannix clan. They were enforcers, which meant they weren't usually on the losing end of fights.

  Damn humans and their guns. They'd taken him out like a damned clay pigeon. But no one was sweeping in for the kill. It was possible the gunman was acting alone in some whacked out kind of vigilantism. They hadn't seen much of that for the last ten years or so. The last thing they needed was for that to come back.

  Garryck waited to transform until she revved her engine and started back through the forest. Her tracks from earlier were starting to cover over with snow, but the rough imprint was still visible. In another hour or so, evidence of their passing should be covered. At least that was one blessing. It might delay the hunters from following them to her place.

  The machine exhaust choked Ryder’s heightened senses. He pressed his face into her neck. Her knitted scarf smelled of her, sweet like cherry tree blossoms. She shifted against him, and his body found an unexpected reserve of untapped strength. He moved closer. Her luscious bottom was now wedged tightly between his thighs.

  He shouldn't do this, but he couldn't resist. He had dreamed of having her in his arms for too long. He opened his mouth and drew her scent into his body. Absorbing it. Savoring it. He burrowed his face against her neck until his nose hit her velvety skin. Her breaths quickened and she leaned against him, seemingly giving herself to him in that moment as they traveled through the storm.

  Did she like that rumbling vibration of the machine between her legs as he held her?

  He had to taste her, sample the flush on her skin.

  When he licked her, she moaned. The erotic response vibrated against his lips. He wanted to slip his hands down to the bottom of her jacket and sneak under to touch her precious body beneath those thick layers of goose down. But he didn't.

  She was driving and he wouldn't risk her getting in an accident because he couldn't keep his hands to himself. Once they arrived though…

  THREE

  Holly forced herself to stare at the trail she was following through the woods, but what she wanted to do was close her eyes and abandon herself to the wicked sensations her passenger was teasing out of her. She'd never in her life thought riding a snowmobile could be a sexy experience, but she'd been wrong. Very wrong.

  Between his strong arms wrapped around her, his muscular legs snugly pressed to hers, the hint of his hot breath against her neck… She was throbbing with an all too erotic ache. And that was made all the worse by the steady vibration of the snowmobile.

  They had to be almost home, didn't they?

  She couldn't wait to…

  To what? Drag them to the double bed she'd slept in since she was a little girl? Would they even fit on it? And what if Garryck wasn't interested? What if neither of them were? Ryder could just be delirious from his injuries. The lick he'd given her could have been unintentional.

  She straightened, pulling away from him. He followed, but he kept his tongue to himself. That didn't mean her body wasn't still revving. She gripped the handlebars tighter.

  Maybe if she recited produce codes she would take her mind off sex.

  Bananas… 0426

  Of course, her mind would go to the phallic-shaped fruit first.

  Lettuce…

  Well, crap, she couldn't even remember the code for lettuce with Ryder this close. Her brain was officially mush. She started over again.

  Bananas… 0426

  Lettuce…

  Nope, still not there. She'd come back to that one.

  Apples… 0428

  A pale yellow glow shone through the woods, then the snowmobile broke into the clearing. Her darkened store, little log cabin and empty parking lot lay before her. The snow blasted down now, giving the single area-light a golden halo.

  Garryck landed beside her as she guided the machine to the small shed. He transformed quickly and rushed to open the doors for her. After she pulled in, she turned off the ignition. Ryder shifted behind her. Cold air swirled over her as he pulled away and stood up.

  She was at home, alone, with the two men who'd haunted her dreams for years. She remained seated, frozen in place, suddenly aware of the importance of this moment.

  “We can stay out here,” Garryck said.

  That made her jump to action. “Of course not.”

  “We'll be fine. We're dragons,” Ryder said.

  She knew his grin was meant to put her at ease, but it only made her more determined to make them feel at home. Inside.

  “Don't be ridiculous,” she said as she retrieved her gun. They marched to the cabin. She'd left the lights on when she'd gathered her supplies earlier. To anyone passing by, it would look like someone was home. She hoped the ass hat pranksters hadn't tried anything while she'd been away. She picked up her bag of clothing from where she'd dropped it. It had nearly been lost in a new drift. The accumulating snow had also hidden the broken eggshells on her front step, but there was still frozen yolk on her wooden door.

  The three of them shuffled inside. She set the gun beside the closet first. Then they pulled off their winter gear and left it on hooks at the front door. With two big muscular men jostling in her mudroom, her little cabin seemed that much smaller and unwelcoming. She'd been oblivious to it earlier, but now that she was back… She shuddered. The dark, close atmosphere was oppressive.

  “Come in.” She wasn't adept at entertaining. Her parents had never invited people in, saying they saw enough people and heard enough gossip at the store. So she wasn't sure what to do. She blew hot breath on her hands. “Brr… It's cold in here. I wonder if the pilot light went out.” But they wouldn't care about that. Why was this so awkward? “Um, should we go to the liv
ing room?”

  Garryck assisted Ryder through to the front room. He lowered his partner to the couch.

  “Please, sit,” she said, when Garryck remained standing.

  His smile eased her awkwardness. It was familiar and had a soothing effect on her. These guys weren't strangers. Not really. “Why don't we check on that pilot light?” he said.

  She nodded. “I guess we can see our breath in here, can't we?”

  She led him to the small furnace room at the back of the house. A minute later, they were on their knees staring at the spot where the little flame should have been.

  “Yep, it's out,” she said. “I don't know why it's not lighting. The propane tank was filled last week.”

  He looked up when she shivered.

  “You must be frozen,” he said.

  He reached for her hands. His heat sank into her as soon as he touched her chilled skin and she shivered again. She stared at the way his fingers slid over hers. Then his touch changed. His movements became slower, gentler, almost like a caress.

  Her gaze traveled up his muscular arms, over his wide shoulders, along his strong neck and lingered a little longer than it should have on his mouth. When she finally reached his eyes, she found him watching her. A faint white glow ringed his irises.

  She leaned forward, drawn by his warmth and strength. What would he taste like? What would his kisses feel like now? It'd been so long since his lips had touched hers. The silver in his eyes grew brighter.

  A thud from the other room made Holly jump. No, not now. Those pranksters were getting on her nerves. She scrambled to her feet. He took a sharp breath, then followed her.

  They found Ryder on the floor. He was asleep.

  “He must have fallen off the couch,” she said.

  “He'll sleep now until he is fully healed.” He studied his partner. “It shouldn't take more than an hour or two, considering the extent of his injuries. Your blood will help too. Might make him heal faster. But he won't appreciate being left on the floor.”

  Garryck picked up his partner. He was going to return him to the couch, but that didn't make a lot of sense. It was too small for a dragon shifter. He'd end up falling off again.