White Hot (Rulers of the Sky Book 3)

by Paula Quinn

  River’s return pulled their attention to her. Jacob was glad for the distraction she provided, but he should run.

  “I brought something I wrote a few months ago.” She handed her sheets and new guitar to him. “You’ve already heard it.”

  The music she’d hummed to him. The music that scattered his willpower to the wind and beckoned him to fly. “I’m not sure I—”

  “Oh, can’t you?” she asked, frowning. “I was hoping I could hear you play it.”

  He took the guitar and smiled, though his sister’s voice came through asking him if he was okay. No, no he wasn’t. What if he started playing and busted out of his clothes? He’d bring the ceiling down, not to mention what it would do to River’s poor father seeing a Drakkon in his sitting room.

  River left him with the music and the instrument to play it and sat down in the chair close by to listen and watch. Was he really going to take the chance of not only hearing her music, but playing it? His will wasn’t that strong.

  He blew out a heavy breath and read the music first. He could hear it in his head. He remembered the sound of her humming it to him. He began to play. His fingers had mastered the strings years ago. He’d played thousands of songs—his and other’s. This melody went beyond anything he’d heard before. It was textured with emotion, both dark and light, a mix of harmonic and staccato notes that restored and stimulated him.

  He fought to steady his breath, to control the desire to take to the sky. It was too difficult. Looking at her while her sound saturated every fiber of him nearly made his fingers pause twice. He felt Drakkon rise up within as tears streamed down River’s face at the sound he produced. He understood its effect and why it was so profound. It was his heart through her eyes. His Drakkon heart.

  He wanted to respond. He wanted to snatch her away from the world, guard her as his treasure, and take her to places she’d never been before, to heights only he could take her.

  He felt the fire expand within, heating his gaze, tightening his muscles.

  Garion stood up before he did, a warning glinting in his gold eyes. Control it, Jake.

  Jacob rose and set down the guitar. He took a second to exhale then looked at his sister.

  “It was remarkable. One of the most beautiful pieces I’ve heard in years,” she said, a bit breathless. But as far as drawing Drakkon, she continued in his head, it would seem to be only you, Brother.

  “I may know some people interested in your kind of sound,” she told River out loud.

  But that doesn’t mean she’s your life mate, Garion’s voice returned. It will be the stars’ song that sings to you, not hers.

  But hers meant something, Jacob told himself. It made him want to be Drakkon. In the last forty-eight hours, it was the only thing that did.

  He didn’t want to control it, not after today. Another Drakkon had tried to take her from him today. Jacob’s wrath went unsatisfied. Tonight, he wanted to rule the sky.

  “Excuse me,” he murmured and moved past them to the door.

  The moment his feet touched the dirt, he took off running. He leaped over rocky declines and swerved sharply to avoid nesting gulls that didn’t see him coming.

  Jacob? Her voice going through him pulled him back. Where are you?

  The part of his heart that was man wanted to rush back to her, take her in his arms, kiss her, make love to her. How could he let this happen to him? If he stopped wanting to be Drakkon, he’d never fly again. Was he willing to truly give it up for her?

  Why did you leave?

  Drakkon faded and Jacob’s heart broke a little at its submission.

  Because, he told her, this is what I’ve always wanted.

  Chapter Sixteen

  River kept her eyes toward the sky as she made her way to the cliffs. She didn’t know why she was searching for him. He was doing what he’d always wanted. That wasn’t what bothered her. She’d never told him not to, but he said it as if she had. He was the one who had tried to charm her. She’d never asked him for any promise of devotion. Go be a dragon. Have fun!

  It was his sister and brother-in-law who’d expressed concern over him turning, not her. They worried the dragon hunters would discover him. River figured if they hadn’t found the Red, they wouldn’t find Jacob.

  She would though. She’d stay here all night until he returned. She wanted to tell him she didn’t care about him flying…about him. But she’d be lying about one of those things. She was a fool. This was her fault. She knew he’d leave. They always left.

  “I didn’t leave, River.”

  She startled at the feel of him behind her, sinking his face into her hair. He inhaled her, slowly, deeply, drawing her in as if her scent made him whole and there was much to put back together. She couldn’t think enough to stop herself from shaking. She angled her face, drawn by his breath along the column of her throat but she lost him in her line of vision as he drifted back behind her with the subtlest nuance of movement, catching her breath, making her body quake. He swept his nose down the other side of her throat with the barest trace of his lips in pursuit.

  She felt lightheaded with desire. Her blood burned in her veins. The heat was almost painful. She wanted release.

  He swayed around to stand in front of her, keeping his face close to her skin, his eyes aflame on hers. He took her face in his hands and tilted her head slightly upward, moving over her, driving her mad with the closeness of his mouth. “You are my desire,” he whispered, leaning in and closing his eyes. “You’re what I’ve always wanted.”

  River was sure he could feel her heart slamming against him. Her bones disintegrated when his lips brushed the corner of her mouth. He caught her in the crook of his arm and pressed her against him.

  Molten flames engulfed her as he spread his tongue over the pulse at her throat. His deep groan echoed through her and shook her in his arms. He kissed his way back to her mouth and covered it, devouring her. She closed her arms around his neck for support but it only made him feel harder, tighter. His lips molded and teased her. His tongue stroked the deepest corners of her aching mouth in a masterful dance of seduction that set fire to her blood.

  He stopped kissing her suddenly and looked into her eyes. “Do you hear that?”

  She listened, too eager for more of him to hear anything at first. And then, like bells sounding in the distance, a melody took form in her head and made her want to fly.

  “Music,” she whispered close to his mouth, afraid that if she spoke any louder, the music would fade.

  His smile washed over her like sunshine after a hurricane. “Music from the stars, River. You’re my life mate.”

  “Oh,” she breathed. “I am? Is it like someone you’re supposed to marry?”

  He grew serious suddenly and turned a little pale. “Married or not, life mates will always be drawn to each other, belong with each other and no one else—forever.”

  He said the last word so low that River almost didn’t hear him.

  “You’re afraid of having that with me,” she said in an equally quiet voice.

  He traced her lower lip with the pad of his thumb. “No, I’m not.”

  He moved closer, his breath still as he pressed his face to her cheek then dipped his mouth to her neck. She leaned her head back, offering him all.

  He withdrew slightly. “River, do you trust me?”

  “Yes,” she said without hesitation.

  His smile singed her nerve endings. She watched him step back and pull off his shirt. Her eyes drank him in. She ached to go to him and run her teeth over his chiseled torso, the long, lean muscles in his arms.

  Her gaze fell to his abdomen where his fingers worked his jeans loose. He was taking everything off to alter. Her mouth went dry. Her hands, her bones, shook as he pulled his shapely legs free of his jeans. He stood before her in his snug boxer briefs, glorious to her starving eyes.

  “Remember, trust me.” He smiled and backed away. “I won’t hurt you.”

  She n
odded, marveling at what was about to happen. When nothing did, she quirked her brow at him.

  Sing to me, he suggested, closing his eyes.

  She began to hum the song he’d played on the guitar. She watched his eyes open on her, blazing blue-gold furnaces. Drakkon’s eyes. She understood now why he’d left the house in such a hurry. Her music made him turn. She kept humming in his head. She swore she saw the moonlight glint off the beginnings of a fang when he curled his mouth at her. He changed so quickly that, for an instant, he became a giant blur. But when the dirt settled, her vision was clear enough.

  She would never get used to the size of him, the power in every nuance of movement, the radiance of a star come to life. He snatched the breath from her lungs, exposed all her vulnerabilities, and made her want to weep at the privilege of winning the heart of a Drakkon.

  Still, when he dipped his mighty head to her, she fought not to run away. Who wouldn’t be afraid standing at the tip of a dragon’s snout? He breathed in her scent and she reached out her hand, trusting him not to bite off her fingers.

  Climb up my neck, River.

  What? No—

  Your family’s safe with Garion and Helena. Come away with me for a few hours. We won’t go far. I promise.

  Come away with him? How many human beings would ever receive such an invitation? She wasn’t going to let this chance to do something magical and terrifying slip away. She turned back to get his clothes.

  Leave them.

  A thread of heat slipped down her spine and made her face go warm. He was taking her away from here. When he landed, he wasn’t going to need his clothes.

  She left them and lifted her foot to his neck. His scales clinked like ivory on metal, giving her pause to press her weight.

  I barely feel you. Keep going, he urged.

  She made her way cautiously up his neck then down to the small niche between his shoulders. She stepped on his spikes for leverage and gripped others for support. Every part of him was too big to straddle. She had to rest with her legs stretched out behind her.

  Was this really happening? She thought to herself as she looked out over Maraig and the loch from high above.

  Jacob, there’s only your spikes to hold on to. I’ll fall.

  I’ll catch you.

  Her belly flipped and they hadn’t even taken flight.

  He flapped his great wings and his body lifted off the ground. River squealed and pressed her body close to his. She closed her eyes but opened them again. She didn’t want to miss the spectacular view.

  He rose on a slight incline, keeping her steady and balanced. The wind snatched her breath, but she hunkered into the small nook of muscle and bone and found herself protected from the worst of the wind by his scales. The power in his wings swinging high then low, bringing them higher and farther set her heart to racing. She was riding a dragon, falling madly in love with the man whose heart the dragon possessed.

  The man and I are one, River, she heard the smoky cadence of his voice in her head. When you speak to Jacob, you are speaking to me. When I kiss you, touch you, I—oh, shit…

  River lifted her head. What did he just say? His body rumbled and tightened beneath her. Something was happening. He was fighting something. She could feel it.

  Jacob, what is it?

  Don’t be…afraid.

  His scales grew soft beneath her fingers. Oh, shit was right. He was turning into a man! In the air!

  He moved as fast as the wind tearing at their hair as they plummeted toward the mountain range below. He swung her around in his arms and held her close. I’ve got you, he whispered in her head. I took skydiving. I know what to do.

  She wanted to laugh at the ridiculous idea of Drakkon skydiving. She also wanted to cry at how safe and adored she felt on the way to her death. At how insane she’d actually become. She didn’t have time. He pulled back, and with a smile that heated her blood—even now, he became Drakkon once again.

  He snatched her from the air with his talons and rose sharply toward the clouds, holding her close to his heart. She could feel its mighty thumps against her, hear them in her ears when she pressed her cheek to his chest.

  I’m sorry, River.

  Why did that happen?

  You make me want to be a man.

  But hadn’t he told her that he’d always longed to fly? That his dreams had come true? Was she keeping him from them?

  And that’s all it takes? she asked. She closed her eyes to keep them from leaking. She didn’t know how to stop making him want to be a man because she wanted him to be one, too.

  That’s all it takes.

  Should I sing then?

  For now.

  He flew them to the Isle of Skye, past Portree to a remote bay called Camasunary. He landed at the edge of the sandy alcove and set her down.

  The moon hung low in the sky, casting dancing light over the water and covering the snow-tipped mountains in a pearly glow.

  But it was the sight of Jacob’s naked body in the moonlight that made her heart skip. His sculpted physique and long, shapely legs made her want to stare at him for eternity. His long, heavy cock dangling between his thighs made her want to do a host of other, more primal things to him.

  He came close, stopping when he had to tilt his head to look at her.

  She lifted her hand and stroked a strand of his silky hair falling over his shoulder. There were many things she wanted to ask him about life mates, and flying, and their future. But it could all wait. There was Drakkon fire in his eyes, desire that burned through her flesh and bones and turned her heart to cinders.

  Would he be able to control it? Hadn’t he said just this morning that he didn’t know how dangerous he was or the extent of his desire? Too late to worry about it now. She’d known what she was doing when she climbed on his back.

  “I don’t use protection,” she told him. “There was no need.”

  He turned his face into her hand and kissed her palm, never taking his eyes off hers. “I took care of it permanently in Fiji. We can’t have little Drakkons running around.”

  He leaned in and kissed her jaw, moving lower to her neck. He was hungry, but so far patient and restrained—and more irresistible because of it.

  He slipped his warm hands under her sweater and lifted it, running his fingers up her sides as he undressed her. He withdrew from kissing her throat and pulled the sweater over her head, watching her hair spill around her shoulders.

  “Do you know how beautiful you are to me, River?” he asked softly, finding her gaze in the moonlight.

  She nodded. He made her feel beautiful every time he set his eyes on her.

  He coiled his arm around her back and hauled her against him. With one fluid movement, he hefted her up over his hips. He captured her breath with his mouth and coiled her legs around him. He carried her closer to the water’s edge and dropped to his knees in the sand.

  She was really going to do this. She had no doubts that it was right with him. She’d never wanted anything as much as this. She wanted him with every part of her body and soul.

  His mouth curled into a ruthlessly sexy grin. I heard that.

  He cupped her neck in his palm and kissed her mouth, breathing with her, tasting her. When she groaned, wanton and wild for him, he teased her with a flick of his tongue over her lips. He bit her chin and raked his teeth down her throat to her breasts. His hair swept over her like whispers. Her nipples pushed against the satiny fabric of her bra, eager to be in his hands, his mouth.

  He took them in both, rolling them in his fingers, biting them with his teeth. He made a sound like a starving animal and proved that his patience and restraint had run out when he tore her bra away with his hands.

  She lay exposed to the fiery depths of his gaze, burning her wherever it fell. He scooped her breasts in his hands and dipped his mouth to each, sucking her, growing more wild for her. He kissed his way down to her belly and flicked open her jeans. He rose up between her knees to pull them off
her, dragging her panties away, as well. He stared at her spread before him and kissed the inside of her knee.

  River still wasn’t sure this was all really happening. Was this beautiful, magical man about to make love to her? He was ready for her. His cock was big and hard and jutting upward.

  He moved over her on all fours, dipping his nose and his lips over every inch of her. She quivered, wanting him to devour her. When he reached her mouth, he paused to look into her eyes and whispered, “I wonder what the stars will do.”

  She felt a warm droplet fall from him onto her. Her body clenched, aching for more. She spread herself wider, inviting him in. “Let’s find out.”

  “Yeah,” he agreed in his sinfully sensual voice, and a smile to go with it.

  He kissed her and dragged his mouth over her tight nipples while he sank halfway into her. He paused when she cried out and returned to gaze deep into her eyes. Do you want me to stop?

  She shook her head and clamped her thighs around him. His eyes darkened and, for a moment, all mercy fled the fire. He lifted his hips, bringing hers with him, and cupped her ass in one of his hands. He coiled her hair around his other hand and tugged back her head, exposing her throat to his hungry mouth. He ran his tongue over her like a flame and buried himself deep inside her.

  She grasped his shoulders but he continued to move, undulating slowly, moving to music as ancient as time itself. He swayed against her like the waves rolling in a few feet away.

  He let go of her hair and traced her parted lips with his fingers. “River,” he whispered and kissed where he’d just touched. “You’re the first woman I’ve ever loved and you will be the last.”

  His words were like music blending with the stars’ song. She loved him and trusted him completely.

  “You are the first man I’ve ever loved,” she told him, “and you, too, will be the last.”

  He covered her mouth with his and thrust his body inside her. Holding her, he pulled her over on top of him. When she straddled him, he drew himself up, his belly tense and tight. He cupped her rump in his hands and moved her over the full length of him—and there was a lot of him, up and down, harder, faster, until the friction between their bodies became explosive.