Touched by A Dragon: The Exalted Dragons (Book 2)

by K. T. Stryker

  As people from Aldain’s clan all stood in line to meet their Clan Lord’s new wife, Tori thought she saw someone at the edge of the tree line, standing where he could barely be seen. When she blinked, and looked again, he was gone. She must be getting paranoid or something. Maybe it was having so many people taking up so much space in her little glen; she loved the glen. It was the one place Dain and her would go to spend time together. Whether to sit under a tree and talk, fish, swim or make love. It was their secret gem and she wasn’t used to seeing it full of other people. It almost felt sacrilegious to her but she knew it was only for today.

  The line seemed unending to Tori. Her feet were killing her and she was getting hot standing in one place. Aldain noticed his brides discomfort and to her surprise carried over her favorite recliner, the one she always liked to sit on in the castle.

  She raised an eyebrow. He looked at her with a sheepish grin. “Well I knew eventually you were going to get tired standing on your feet for so long so I had some of my men hide it away out here for when you needed it.

  Tori gave him a hug and pulled his head down to hers. “You are something you know that, I so owe you one for this.” She gave him one of her smiles that sent the blood rushing from his heart to his manhood. He felt it start to stiffen and engorge. The entire day he had been fighting with his body to behave. Tori looked so appealing all he wanted to do was take her with him to the place he was taking her for their honeymoon and devour that luscious body of hers. For most of the day he kept it under control, but it seemed as time went on he was starting to lose the battle.

  Cade and Becca remained in the castle while the sun was high, using the excuse that they had to keep the food going for the hungry people outside of the castle. Becca had told Tori earlier about her being turned into a vampire by Cade. Tori wasn’t sure how she felt about her sister being a vampire, she worried about the fear of her having lost her soul. Cade assured her that this wasn’t the case. The only way a vampire lost its soul was if it preyed on humans and became totally evil, having lost the last of its humanity over time. Cade might have spent a couple of hundred years killing the descendants of the judges that put his first wife to death, but he didn’t feed off them. He just killed them because the thought of their blood in his body turned his stomach.

  Becca had told her that they lived off animal blood or occasionally got blood from the blood banks from the hospital. They had a fellow vampire that worked there and he could sneak out blood when they would get a surplus of it in from the occasional blood drives the hospital would have. Considering her sister would have died if Cade hadn’t turned her softened the blow for Tori. She was grateful her sister was still alive, in a manner of speaking, so was glad that Cade had saved her. She didn’t particularly care how as long as it didn’t turn her sister into some kind of soulless blood sucking monster. Finding all this out made her feel safe enough that her nightmares were almost non-existent now, not to forget that she was also the mate of a dragon. What human could even come close to winning a fight against them?

  As the sun started to set and the light of the sun started to turn a soft yellow, Cade and Becca were finally able to join in the party. The rest of the food was being kept warm in warming pans; Becca had finally fixed the last of it. She was tired but had a pleased expression on her face when she saw most of what she had fixed had been eaten. It seemed there wasn’t going to be as much left over as she had thought. It gave her a feeling of accomplishment to see that everyone there seemed to enjoy the food she had prepared, Cade was just as proud of her. He sometimes wondered if a vampire could get fat from eating too much food. He could also eat human food but blood was the life force that kept a vampire alive. Eating human food, was just something that was enjoyable and helped them keep in touch with some of their human qualities.

  Tori was glad to see them both, they walked over to her and hugged both her and Aldain. Tori’s dad thought it a little strange that his daughter Becca wanted to stay inside during the wedding service but he recorded the ceremony so Becca and Cade could watch it on DVD.

  Chapter Fourteen

  As the last rays of the sun disappeared and the stars lit the night sky, the lights set up at the glen lit up. They weren’t exceptionally bright, they were light enough to illuminate the surroundings in a soft glow.

  Some people were starting to leave and some were dancing to the lovely Scottish tunes played on the bagpipes and portable organ. The haunting melodies traveled throughout the glen. Tori and Aldian sought the solace of each other’s embrace, both needing to feel the closeness that they shared together. It was getting harder for them to keep their hands off each other. It wouldn’t be long until they said their goodnights to their guests. They both refused to tell anyone where they were going to go on their honeymoon. They were only going to be gone two days but they were keeping their whereabouts a closely guarded secret. Tori would never admit that Aldain refused to even tell her where they were going; he wanted her to be surprised.

  Aldain had turned the cave not too far away from the castle into a honeymoon suite. He got the idea when Cade lived in his cave in Yellowstone and he worked on it for days to crate the perfect hideaway. He had help when the regiment of his clan came early to see if they could do something that he might need help with, they were a godsend. In no time, he was able to put up false walls around the cave using redwood paneling. He put battery powered lights on the wall sconces and had a huge oversized king bed put inside. He used the softest mattresses he could find, because Tori loved to sink into her mattress at night. He had red silk sheets put on them with red silk pillowcases. The comforter was down filled and was also red, with a huge gold Tree of Life in the middle. He had blue lights installed in the slow meandering stream that went through the cave giving the water a beautiful soft blue glow. He put mirrors at the mouth of the cave and had them positioned in such a way that the reflection from them reflected off the mirror above their bed. Making it look like they were outside under the millions of stars shining in the obsidian night.

  He had coolers that looked like a glass full of various kinds of fresh fruits; champagne with numerous other edibles and drinks in the glowing blue stream to keep them cold. The cave had another worldly look to it, he hoped Tori liked it. He did everything with her in mind wanting the time they spent there to be magical.

  The guests finally dwindled down to a handful of people and Aldain was ready to take his bride, his beloved wife, to the place he had lovingly transformed for her. She hugged her family, and said good bye to the rest of the guests as Aldain took her hand and she followed him into the castle. Aldain told her to go upstairs and change her clothes.

  He told her to dress casually, because they would be travelling for quite some time and wanted her to be comfortable. She had loaded up the car with her suitcase the night before. Aldain had taken it to the cave before she woke up, everything she needed was already there and put away.

  She finished changing in record time, she was curious to know where they were going. He took her to the car, strapped her in, then went to the other side and got inside. He started to drive away in a direction going up the mountainside, away from any town or city that she was aware of. She turned her head and with a raised brow said, “Where are we going? I didn’t know there were any major roads in this direction?”

  Aldain smiled, “There aren’t. You will just have to trust me.”

  Tory scrutinized him. “I will always trust you.” As she reached over and squeezed his hand.

  It didn’t take long before he came to a huge clearing by the side of the forest. He stopped the car, got out and went to the other side and unbuckled Tori. He kissed her softly on the lip, “We will have to fly to the place we are going. Do you mind?”

  Tori’s eyes widened. “You mean you will have to shift into a dragon and I will have to ride you? Oh yes, I so want to see you in dragon form. I want to see the other part of you that belongs to me too.”

  Aldain ran hi
s hand down her face. He loved her so much that words couldn’t do justice to how deeply he felt about her. He slowly undressed and put his clothes in a back pack. Tori stood quietly enjoying the sight of his naked body, he looked like a God in the starlight.

  He moved away from her and she saw him shimmer. Where a man once stood was a beautiful, huge, red dragon. Tory was looking at beautiful yellow eyes peering down at her. She slowly walked towards him. “Oh, my god Dain you are so beautiful.” As he lowered his head she slowly ran her hand down his face. She was surprised to feel that even though most of his body had beautiful vibrant red scales his face was soft to the touch. “Do you retain all your human memories while you are in this form?” she whispered. He slowly shook his head up and down. She realized she loved the dragon as much as the man.

  He was huge and powerful, he was beautiful and frightening at the same time. He loved her and she could feel his love encompass her heart. The power of it made her knees weak. How lucky she was to have the love of both these creatures, the man and his dragon. Two halves that made a whole, both powerful in their own way. She had never felt more loved as she did at this moment. The dragon felt her love for him coursing through his body to his soul. She was his as much as much as she belonged to the man form. He bellowed his victory to the skies. She loved the dragon; she accepted him. His life was finally complete, for she completed them both.

  Without hesitation, he knelt down so Tori could climb on his back. He nuzzled the back pack with his nose and Tori looked inside. Besides Aldain’s clothes there was a rope in there. Aldain lowered his head and Tori was able to take the rope and tie an end to one of his massive horns that went half way down his back. When he lifted his head up, she just hung on the rope until she could swing her body over and sit on his back. She tied the loose end of the rope to her waist. It might not be the ideal way to travel on dragon back but if she fell off, she would still be attached to him.

  She wiggled around and tightened the rope to help keep her balance. When Aldain felt she was ready, he took off at a run and was shortly in the air. When he lifted off he heard Tori give a ‘whoohoo’as his huge wings waved through the air. It took only minutes for him to get to the cave he had fixed for them.

  When they arrived at the cave Aldain knelt so she could get off his back. She gave a curious look towards the cave but she was going to wait for Aldain before she took another step. She backed away from him and watched him shimmer back into a man. He grabbed the back pack and put on some casual clothes. He didn’t change at the castle like he had Tori do, he knew he was going to be taking his clothes off shortly anyway.

  He had her close her eyes as he scooped her off her feet. She put her arms around his neck, as he carried her across the mouth of the cave before setting her down. Tori could hear water and smell the fresh smell of earth. She opened her eyes and gasped at the sight before her.

  She looked around not being able to believe what she was seeing. The cave had been transformed into the most beautiful room she had ever seen. She walked around and noticed the beautiful walls, the gorgeous blue water in the stream. She saw the huge bed and couldn’t help herself, she ran and threw her body on it. She immediately sunk deep into the mattress, it felt like pure bliss. She lay there with her eyes closed for a minute. When she opened them she gulped as she realized she was staring into the most beautiful night sky she had ever seen. She studied it, realizing it was a mirror that was showing the sky outside. The millions of stars twinkling in the night was making the darkness come alive. She was lost in the beauty of it until she felt Dain sit on the bed. He had a look on his face she had never seen before. He looked anxious for her approval.

  “Well do you like it? I tried to think of everything you would need while we are here.” He gave her a questioning look.

  She reached up and pulled his head to her face so she could look into his eyes. “I think this is the most beautiful place I have ever seen, I want to keep it like this forever. I see everything I could ever need here, but the most important thing I need and want is you. Where ever you are; I will have everything I need. You went the extra mile making this for me. Words fail me at how beautiful and special to me this place is. I want this to be our retreat forever.”

  She kissed him with such ardor that Aldain groaned as she intensified it. All thoughts left his mind as he was just experiencing the moment. They spent the night making love to each other, exploring each other’s bodies and finding unknown erogenous zones. By the time they were done there wasn’t an inch of each other’s bodies they hadn’t explored. They fell into an exhausted sleep, one of extreme satisfaction and a feeling of comfort encompassing them, each dreaming of the other.

  It was much later in the day and well after noon, when they both woke up. They lay there for a brief time just gently caressing each other. Neither spoke, they just stared into each other’s eyes and felt the love they shared embrace their bodies. It seemed as if their bond had grown overnight. Their bodies could convey their love for each other simply by physical contact. It was a new wonderful experience for both of them and they just wanted to enjoy the moment.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Aldain suddenly jerked straight up, his eyes had a faraway look to them. Tori knew he was getting a mental message from his friend Malcolm because she could hear it too, but it sounded garbled. Tori knew in time she would have the same ability but it was still too new for any kind of mental message to be clear to her yet.

  He was frowning. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

  He had a thunderous look on his face; it scared her. “Nothing for you to worry about my love. There is someone sneaking around at the glen, a trespasser. I must leave for a very brief time but you must stay here where you will be safe. I promise you I won’t be long.” He wasn’t sure who the trespasser was but he was sure he would be found and taken care of shortly.

  Normally someone unknown on the glen wouldn’t have been a cause for concern. All anyone had to do was ask permission and he would have gladly allowed them to enjoy the glen. But this individual never stopped to ask permission, he was seen sneaking in and out of the small forest surrounding it. That worried him.

  He grabbed Tori and kissed her and told her he wouldn’t be long. He shifted and flew down into the open part of the glen. He knew that Tori’s parents and Carrie were inside the castle. Malcolm had insisted they go inside to make sure they remained safe and he put a guard to every doorway.

  Malcolm walked quickly over to Aldain as he handed him some clothes. “He was seen several times just on the outskirts of the forest and he was recognized by one of the men so we know who it is.” Aldain stiffened as he was told who was trespassing on his property. “It is Alec Russell.”

  Aldain’s body froze, his heart started pounding in his chest. “My god, he is a shifter and I left Tori alone. I must get back to her! If you find him, keep him here, I want to take care of that bastard myself.” He immediately shimmered into his dragon and took off for the cave, praying Tori was still safe and out of harm’s way.

  Several minutes after Aldain left, Tori heard footsteps at the entrance to the cave. She smiled thinking, that didn’t take long. She turned her head to welcome him back and when she saw who was standing there the smile left her face. She blinked several times in disbelief when she saw Alec Russell standing there. He had a malicious look in his eyes.

  All her repressed memories started rushing back with him trying to rape her at the clan gathering and she was running away from him. She now remembered all of it, even running in front of the horses. Her body shook with terror and rage because she was alone with him. She looked around for something to use as a weapon. If she could keep him away for a short time, she knew Aldain would feel her fear and be there shortly.

  Alec started to walk slowly towards her. “Well well, how lucky am I? Here I am thinking I would have to fight your mate for you and you are here alone. Unprotected.” He said as his smile widened at what he alleged as his good luck. Tori
slowly backed away from him. She remembered seeing a small dagger in Aldain’s back pack and she managed to grab it. It was at the end of the bed under the covers; she was able to retrieve it without Alec noticing.

  She had it hid in her hand when she got up from the bed. She opened her mouth to say something to him but when she started to speak she noticed a tremor in her voice. She took a deep breath before she said anything else. There was no way she was going to show this asshole she was afraid of him. “If I were you I would leave while you have the chance. You know Aldain will kill you if he finds you here.” Alec moved so quickly he was like a blur.

  Before she knew it, he was standing directly in front of her. He moved with lightning speed. “Ah but my bonnie lass I won’t be here and neither will you. We will be gone before he can get here.” To Tori’s horror he shifted and grabbed her in his huge claw, running towards the cave opening.

  There was no way she was going to let him take her away if she could help it. She screamed, “Let go of me you fucking overgrown lizard!” as she shoved the dagger deeply into his claw. He roared as he dropped her.

  Tori was scrabbling backwards like a crab when she heard a powerful roar outside. Aldain had felt her terror and knew she was in trouble. She needed him now more than any other time. His dragon was set on killing Alec and Tori made sure she was out of the way when Aldain landed on the ledge to the cave.