“If you think that is best.” Ivar again turned to the growing mob on the lawn. The sound of construction stopped as more dragons joined them. “Staying on Earth is not an option.”
“We do not wish to harm you. But you’re not leaving us with many options.” Drake stepped forward and angled his body in front of his wife to shield her.
“Var and Draig men will have access to the portal. All will be given a chance to find a bride. We had to make sure the portal stops were safe for our people. Already I have spoken to Prince Finn about establishing a celebration where men who are worthy are allowed to go through the portals to see if the gods will bless them. And, if they return with a bride, we will have a mass ceremony that will last throughout the entire night. We will build an embassy in the valley where both cats and dragons can gather.”
“Who decides who’s worthy or not?” a blond dragon in the back asked.
“There will be a system put into place. Those who have completed Earth training, and who have proven themselves honorable and able to care for a wife.” Ivar stayed on the steps, looking as if he stood at a podium. There was a regal air about him, an arrogance that came with confidence. “Earth women are delicate. We all know—”
“No, they are strong and capable,” one of the dragons interrupted. “Right Lori?”
“Yes, Pete,” Lori answered, though she sounded distracted. “Now why don’t you boys get back to work? We want to be ready if more show up, don’t we?”
Most of the dragons went to resume their construction project. Galen and another man stayed behind with Drake.
“There will not be more,” Ivar said. “The portals are under heavier guard now.”
“Your guards cannot control the will of the gods,” Galen said before turning to his friend for confirmation. “Gerard?”
“Those with the courage to leave will find a way through,” Gerard agreed. His words were less accented than the others and easier to understand. “You can’t stop us.”
Beth held up her hands to stop what sounded like a debate. “So what happens now? Can we agree to disagree and be on our way?”
“We can drive them far from here,” Galen said.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Gerard said. “He knows about this place. They’ll come looking for us.”
“Drake?” Lori eyed Ivar in worry.
“They will be our guests,” Drake said.
“You can’t keep us here against our will.” Beth leaned closer to Ivar and held his arm.
“You are free to walk out of here, but I wouldn’t recommend it. We’re deep in the swamps and,” Drake held up his arm and let it shift with the hard armor of the dragon, “cat fur and human flesh is no match for an alligator’s mouth if he gets ahold of you.”
“Come on, Beth,” Lori said. “You can stay in the main house.”
Ivar placed his hand on Beth’s shoulder. “She will remain with me.”
Beth glanced up at him. Intuition told her to stay with him. She nodded. “I’ll remain with Ivar.”
“As my lady wishes,” Drake said. “Rest if you like. Tonight we barbeque, and will speak more on this matter.”
Ivar kept his hand on her shoulder as the others departed. She took a deep breath, and whispered, “Can they hear us?”
He glanced around, waited a few seconds, and then shook his head in denial.
“What now? Do we run? Steal the truck? We can’t stay here.” Beth stayed close to him.
“They have offered us food and shelter. For now, we stay. Perhaps we can convince them to go home.” Ivar’s fingers caressed her arm.
“We?”
“Yes. Lori appears to listen to you. Perhaps you can get through to her about her husband.” Ivar gestured that she should go back to the shack with him. “For now, let’s rest. You are swaying on your feet.”
“What about you?” Beth did feel tired.
“My head is not the clearest,” he admitted.
Ivar held open the door. The shack was slightly cooler than outside, but at least the temperatures weren’t too bad for this time of year. She went to the small fridge and was glad to find water bottles inside. She took one out and drank deeply, quenching the ache in her dry throat.
“You take the couch.” Ivar pulled his shirt from over his head. “I will sleep on the floor.”
Before she could answer, he was down on all fours and shifting into tiger form.
Beth eyed him as she lay on the couch. He paced the floor before settling next to her on a rug. His green eyes looked up at her.
“Sweet dreams,” she whispered, not knowing what else to say to him. The things she felt swam inside her head, confusing her. There was just too much to process.
His answer was a soft growl and slight lift of his head. Beth closed her eyes, not resisting the pull of sleep.
11
Ivar did not let himself rest too deeply. His eyes closed, but he kept an ear on Beth’s breathing. He was annoyed, but he wasn’t angry at the dragon-shifters for taking him the way they did. He wasn’t sure what they used here on Earth, but on his home world they would have knocked him out with a little of the yellow, a plant that grew in the Draig forest near the borderlands. To inhale it was to pass out. It was a common tactic, not used on princes necessarily, but used.
What did make him angry was the fact they took Beth in such a way. He could still see the stunned look on her face in the alleyway. She’d been so confused, so scared. She didn’t deserve that. She’d only been trying to help him. The idea that he’d failed to protect her did not settle well in his stomach.
He felt a hand on his head and opened his eyes. She’d turned over on the small couch-bed in her sleep, and her hand had found his head. Her fingers twitched to stroke his fur as if in a dream. Every time she touched him, it was like a shock of electricity through his veins, and he wanted nothing more than to be worthy of her. At least shifted he didn’t feel the burning desire to claim her. It was becoming harder and harder to resist. He stared at her face. She had lips that were meant to kiss him, and eyes that he could drown in.
Drowning eyes. He’d never understood that human phrase until he looked into hers.
The signs were clear. The gods were giving him a chance to prove himself. They showed him Beth and the dragons on the same night. There had to be a reason. To be worthy of Beth, he needed to convince the dragon-shifters to return home where they belonged. He needed to keep the portals open and save his people. If the dragons returned unharmed, that would help. It would prove the lost dragons did not die on Earth and that they chose to come home.
Ivar was not frightened by the shadowed marshes, or swamps as the locals called them, nor was he scared of these alligators that the Cajun tribe dragon leader warned him about. He had hunted yorkins. How bad could an alligator be?
Beth’s fingers continued to stroke him, and he inhaled a deep breath, mesmerized by the contact. Her touch became more deliberate. Ivar’s body tingled with awareness. He focused on that hand.
He hadn’t realized just how lonely he had been on Earth. There had been no one to talk to, no physical contact aside from a couple handshakes and a fist fight. The sound of Beth’s breathing, so soft and gentle, filled him as he listened to the rhythm of it. Her fingers touched flesh, and his shaft hardened in response. At some point, as he had lulled under the spell of her touch, he’d transformed back to man.
Ivar opened his eyes. He knelt on the floor, naked. When he looked up at her, sleepy eyes met his. Her fingers slipped onto his cheek, and she smiled. He was powerless. Everything about her invited him in, and he leaned forward to accept the invitation.
There was so much he wanted to say, but he couldn’t form words. Their lips touched, and he felt his insides were about to explode. His heart beat hard and fast. He couldn’t stop himself. The kiss deepened. Beth moaned, the sound an encouragement he could not deny.
His hand slipped onto her neck, and the delicate threads of her pulse thumped against
his fingers. He could feel her excitement in the rapid beat. Her tongue slipped between his lips, and the kiss deepened even more. Her hands found their way into his hair. She pulled him close, urging him up from the floor.
Ivar was hers to command. He found his hands circling her waist as they dipped beneath her clothing to touch flesh. Time became meaningless. One moment she was looking at him with sleepy eyes. The next, he was pulling the shirt over her head. After that, her pants were gone, and he was touching her thighs. Everything he had been through was for this moment. This is where he was meant to be—in her arms.
He knelt before her. She sat up on the couch. Her naked legs parted, opening for him as she turned to face him. They brushed along both sides of his body. She wore lace over her chest, but instead of hiding her breasts from view, the material teased him with a peek at her nipples. They were hard, pressing forward to be free. He ran a thumb over the delicate peaks.
If the gods were tempting him with this as a test, he was going to fail. He could not deny her. Beth was his mate. He had no doubts. She was his. And he was hers to command. Anything she wanted he would give to her.
“I don’t understand what’s happening,” Beth whispered as she gazed into his eyes. He saw her confusion, but more than that he understood her desire. It was as raw and hungry as his. She was not going to stop. “All I know is that I need it to happen. I feel you, Ivar. How can I feel you like this? For the life of me, I have no idea why I let you back into my apartment. I don’t know why I tried to save you. I had to save you. When I woke up in the cabin, I should have run. Sane people would’ve run for their lives to get help. Logic didn’t win. I could not leave you behind. I couldn’t leave you now even if I wanted to. What is happening to me? Why do I feel like this? Who are you?”
“Do you not remember? My name is Prince Ivar of the Var. Humans have been calling me Ivar Othevar.” He pulled back to study her face. Had she forgotten him already? He didn’t understand. She seemed so clear in her intentions.
“I remember all of that. I meant why do I feel this way for you? All of my life I have never felt like this. And I’ve dated some really nice men before. Not that I want to talk about other people right now while I’m naked, and you’re naked, and we’re kidnapped by dragons. But what I’m trying to say, why you? Why am I feeling this for you? I don’t really know you. I just met you. Everything you say is insanity. This place is insanity. Dragon-shifters? Aliens? Princes? Cat-shifters? If you would’ve told me these things a week ago, I would’ve checked myself into a hospital.” Beth took a deep breath. “Yet here I am. I’m staring into your eyes, and I want nothing more than to finish what we started. I was not looking for a relationship. Logic is telling me this is not supposed to be happening. But I want to kiss you. I want to keep kissing you. I want to understand what this feeling is. I want to know why I feel like I could fall in love with you.”
“Beth, I—” Ivar started to say he loved her too, but she didn’t let him speak.
“Is it a pheromone of some sort? Do you emit some kind of smell that makes women attracted to you? I hear animals can do that to other animals. It would make sense. Am I under some sort of pheromone spell? Is that it?”
“I do not have magical powers.” Ivar didn’t understand. She admitted to feeling so much for him, but at the same time doubted their connection.
“Oh, dammit, I’m so…” She panted for breath. Her skin was flushed.
Confused? Angry? Regretful? Ivar waited with held breath for her to end her sentence.
“Turned on,” she finally finished.
Beth slipped off the couch and straddled his waist. She pushed back his shoulders. His arousal was thick with need, and she slid herself onto him. His shaft glided into her tight opening, and he gasped at the suddenness of her claim. She sat on him, pushing him inside. Her trembling breath caught, and she made the most alluringly delicate noise.
He pressed his forehead next to hers as she moved over him. Their eyes locked. The tension built and there was no fighting the climax as it rocked over them. He exploded inside of her.
“Wow.” She almost looked stunned as she stared at him. “I’m not sure what came over me.”
“We should not have done this. It was too soon. I was supposed to resist you.” Ivar held her hips, keeping her on top of his lap as he sat back on his legs. It was not the most comfortable of positions, but he didn’t care. He didn’t want to have to let go.
“Is that your way of saying you regret what just happened?” Beth pushed at his shoulders, and he was forced to release her. She sat on the couch and began tugging on her clothes. Her eyes did not meet his.
Ivar wanted to pull her into his arms and hold her. He had not meant to upset her. But everything he said was true. He was not worthy of her yet. He was not strong enough to resist her. He was not strong enough to protect her. He had not accomplished the task the gods put before him.
“I regret…” He couldn’t find the words.
“I see.” She nodded, but the movement was strange and jerky. “I’m, ah, sorry I did what I did. No, that’s not right. I’m not sorry I did what I did because I have no regrets. But I’m sorry that you’re sorry about what we did. I have no excuse for my behavior. And I… I’m going to go see if the barbecue is ready.”
“Yes, of course, you should go if you wish to help the other female cook.” Ivar stood and moved out of her way. He didn’t care that he was naked. There was so much that he wanted to say to her, but he could not form the right words.
“I’m going to pretend that you did not mean that comment to be as misogynistic as it came out.” Beth shoved open the door and stormed out of the shack. When he tried to go after her, she made a low noise of anger and marched faster.
Ivar scratched the back of his head as he stood on the stairs and watched her move across the lawn to the bigger house. A few of the dragons were on the grass watching him. One of them began to laugh. Ivar glanced down and realized that he was still naked.
“No need to be jealous, dragon,” Ivar called, unashamed. He placed his hands on his hips and leaned his shoulders back. “It is not your fault you were not born with the manliness of a cat.”
The dragon’s eyes flashed, and his laughter died. Ivar sauntered back into the small building. His verbal victory was short-lived as his eyes went to the couch. He was not sure why Beth was so angry with him. He could only assume it was because she knew he was right. He had not proven himself worthy of her yet. But he would.
12
Beth looked anywhere but at her cat-shifter lover. He turned what should’ve been the most amazing, mind blowing, Earth shattering moment of her life into some regretful tawdry act. What man regretted having sex? That made absolutely no sense to her. They were both adults. They both wanted it. They both finished. What the hell was his problem?
Lori and her husband, along with her seventeen dragon-shifter “brothers,” filled the long line of picnic tables that had been set up on the side lawn. Beth wasn’t sure what she expected for the barbecue. However, seeing a bunch of alien shifters lining up for coleslaw, potato salad, and hamburgers off the grill was a little surreal. She held a hand over her mouth and tried not to laugh.
“What is so amusing?” Galen asked. The man sat across from her. He had been studying her as if he was searching for a secret.
“I was just thinking of an art critique I received the other day. A woman told me that I needed to go out into the world and find something to inspire my art. Now here I am in the swamps with aliens eating potato salad. I’m not sure this is what she meant.” Beth lifted her fork and took a bite. Potato salad was not her favorite, but she felt obliged to eat it.
“You are an artist?” Galen prompted.
“I am.” Beth nodded. She glanced at her favorite painting subject. Ivar held a hamburger and was sniffing it. Seeing her eyes on him, he set it down and returned her look.
“Beth is very talented,” Ivar stated. His tone left no room for argum
ent.
If the barbecue was an excuse to discuss the future of dragon-shifters on Earth, they weren’t doing a very good job of getting the conversation started. No one seemed to be talking. Several of them stared at her in curiosity or observed Ivar with suspicion. There was tension. Flashes of gold flickered in the men’s eyes. She saw peaks of dark armor shading the dragon-shifter’s skin as if threatening to shift fully at the slightest provocation. Beth swore that she heard the threat of a growl in the back of Ivar’s throat when he breathed. If someone didn’t say something soon, Beth was worried that the gathering would erupt into a fight. And if that happened Ivar would be completely outnumbered.
“Who is this Ursa everyone keeps talking about?” Beth asked, in an attempt to break the silence.
“She is a powerful earth goddess,” Galen said.
“She can transform us from Draig into Cajun with her swamp magic,” Drake said.
“Swamp magic?” Beth looked at Lori, hoping she could translate. Instead, Lori kept her eyes on her plate and bit her lip to keep from laughing.
“She has performed the ceremony for all of us. We are Cajun now,” Gerard said. Glancing down at the table, he mumbled, “Well, most of us. The rest of us will be soon.”
“There’s a magic ceremony to become Cajun?” Beth set her fork down interested in finding out more.
“Yes,” Jerry nodded. “It is very sacred.”
“Would you like to be Cajun?” Gerard asked.
“Can Ursa perform the ceremony on a woman?” Pete inquired.
“Ask them how Ursa does it,” Lori advised Beth before shoving her fork into her mouth. She proceeded to chew to hide her amusement.
Beth glanced around the table. All the dragon men looked so earnest. “How does she perform the ceremony?”
“First, you must drink from the special bottle,” Pete said.
“The special bottle,” Beth repeated, nodding.
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