CHAPTER 9
Darkness pulsed around him like a living thing. It seared like fire and burned like ice. It thickened and closed in on him, and then thinned and swept away, growing transparent in places, granting him a glimpse of Heaven from the blackest pits of Hell.
His little Amazon.
She danced into view and then disappeared again, twirling out of existence.
Loke reached for her, stretching towards his elusive female, desperate to grasp hold of her slender wrist and pull her close to him.
Where she would be safe.
She appeared again. A brief smile. A flash of warmth in her eyes. A laugh that echoed around them. His fingers brushed hers and he tried to curl them around to lock her to him, but she faded away, leaving only emptiness behind, a cold that swept over him and numbed him to his soul.
The darkness closed in again. Cloying. Choking. He shoved at it and fought like a wild thing, swatting at it and pushing his palms into it, trying to drive it away from him so he could catch another glimpse of Anais.
When it faded this time, he saw her standing in the middle of the village and his heart stopped dead before rocketing into action, thundering against his chest. Ren struck her hard, sending her staggering backwards across the black ground, and a cheer went up around Loke.
He growled and tried to run towards her, driven by a fierce need to pull her into his arms and shield her from the male’s blows, but his feet refused to move. He grabbed his bare legs and tugged at them, desperate to pull them free of the dark earth that covered his feet.
Ren struck again, dealing a blow that sent her crashing to the ground, and Loke’s heart lurched into his throat.
He reached for her, calling her name even though no sound left his lips.
Anais rolled onto her front and struggled onto her hands and knees. She shook her head, causing her long blonde hair to sway and brush the ground, and then pushed herself up onto her feet. She swayed on the spot as she turned to face Ren and something flashed silver in her hand. Loke’s eyes darted down to it and widened.
His knife.
She roared a battle cry and launched herself at Ren.
Ren’s golden eyes flashed like fire.
Loke bellowed a cry of his own, trying to call her back and stop her.
Too late.
The dragon male lashed out at her with long talons, cutting her across her chest. She stumbled a few steps, her hand coming up to her chest as her face tilted downwards towards it, and then wavered and collapsed in a heap.
Loke snarled and pulled on his legs again, filled with a need to reach her.
The village swirled into darkness, drifting away from him as he flew backwards through the air, still reaching for Anais.
The abyss swallowed him. It crashed over him and then receded, revealing his cave.
Anais stood on the ledge with her back to him, her golden hair streaming behind her in the breeze and her arms wrapped around herself. Her hands clutched the sides of her black top, tightly gripping the soft material. The wind buffeted her, whipping her hair around, but she didn’t move away from the edge.
He called her name and she turned as if she had heard him. The sorrowful look in her eyes faded and a smile curled her lips, filling her face with warmth that he felt deep in the pit of his soul.
Loke held his hand out to her and she mirrored him, stretching her right hand out to him, her lips moving silently.
He took a step towards her, forever drawn to her by her beauty and grace, and all that was kind and good in her.
His little Amazon.
Her smile widened and she opened her arms to him as he approached.
A great dark shadow loomed behind her.
Gusts of wind sent Anais staggering forwards and drove Loke backwards, away from her. He leaned into them, fighting them as his heart set off at a pace again and the shadow took form.
A dragon.
It landed behind Anais and she turned towards it, her hands coming up to press against her chest as her eyes landed on it. It transformed into the black shape of a male and Loke roared as he kicked off. Anais shook her head and turned back towards him, her hands stretching for him.
The immense male seized her by the back of her neck.
A sharp sense of dread pierced Loke’s heart.
He tried to call her name again.
“Anais!” Loke screamed at the top of his lungs, not stopping even when they burned and his head spun from the lack of air.
He saw the cave and the fire. Felt the breeze on his bare damp skin. Scented Anais.
His heart beat hard against his chest as he shoved the furs off him, flipped onto his front and collapsed. He growled and forced himself to move. His arms and legs shook beneath him, trembling with the fear that ruled him as he crawled towards the mouth of the cave.
His little Amazon stood there with the wretched male’s hand around her throat.
He had to reach her.
Arms clamped around his waist and he snarled as he fought his enemy, driving his elbow into their side and battling their hold as they tried to pull him backwards, away from Anais. No. He needed to reach her. The male was shoving her backwards now, towards the cave wall, and fear tainted her beautiful face.
The male was going to kill her.
He roared and tried to shift, but the arms holding him tightened like bands of steel, inhibiting him and stopping him from moving.
He needed to reach her before the male killed her.
“Loke.”
He paid no attention to that voice as it breathed a sweet melody against his ear. He had to reach Anais. She needed him. She was going to die if he didn’t tear the male away from her.
“Loke… please.”
The voice came again, edged with desperation and a touch of fear.
Fear that tainted the owner’s soft scent.
A scent that curled around him and comforted him.
Warm hands pressed against his chest and a body pressed against his back. The satin caress of a cheek on his shoulder made him still for a heartbeat of time.
“Please, Loke. Stop.”
He blinked and the Anais on the ledge flickered and disappeared, leaving only ragged black mountains and dark grey sky behind.
And the female clinging to him, her soft body pressing against his, her breath warm on his skin.
“Stop,” she whispered, stirring the hair at the back of his neck and sending a shiver through him.
He did as she asked as he realised he was dragging her towards the ledge.
“You screamed my name. Was it another vision?” She slowly released him and he sat back on his heels.
A powerful need to see her and see that she was all right consumed him and he looked to his right, towards where she knelt. Her blue gaze was resolutely locked on her knees and a trace of rose coloured her cheeks. He looked down at himself, saw that he was naked, and covered himself with his hands so she would no longer feel embarrassed to be around him and would look at him.
As predicted, her eyes lifted to meet his and relief swept through him, chasing away his fears. She was with him. Safe. Well. Unharmed.
But also partially undressed.
Her top was gone, leaving her in only the black garment over her breasts and her trousers.
He looked back down at himself as he recalled seeing black on him and frowned at the bandage around his waist. She had tended to him and had sacrificed her top for his sake, using it to bind his deepest wound.
It touched him. So did the fact that she had taken care of him and she hadn’t left him.
“Was it a vision?” she said again.
He nodded.
“Of me?” she whispered, the warmth in her eyes faltering and a trickle of fear showing in them.
He didn’t respond to that question. He couldn’t bring himself to tell her about them because he didn’t want to frighten her. He had thought the visions would end after he had removed her from the battlefield, but they had only c
hanged. He still kept seeing her dying, but he couldn’t make out who killed her. The visions were always fuzzy and disjointed and they tormented him.
The sequence of events between Ren and Anais in the village had been nothing more than a nightmare, but it had paved the way for the vision that had come afterwards.
A vision that had her dying in his own cave.
Who was destined to kill her? It was a dragon. He knew that much now. Perhaps she would be safer away from this place, but he couldn’t bring himself to part from her and he would have to if she returned to her world.
“You screamed my name, Loke.”
He looked away from her and drew in a deep breath, seeking a sense of calm even when he felt sure he would never feel that way again, not until he had figured out what the visions meant and put an end to them.
Not until Anais was safe.
“Loke?” she murmured softly.
He closed his eyes, heaved a sigh, and then lifted his gaze to meet hers. Her blue eyes challenged him, demanding he tell her what he had seen in his vision. He didn’t want to hurt her, so he held his tongue and stared at her instead, giving himself a moment to absorb that she was safe and with him. It wasn’t enough.
He needed to feel her. Only then would he be able to believe that she was with him and she was safe again.
That need was a force he couldn’t fight. It was too powerful to deny.
He reached out and snagged her wrist, and she gasped as he pulled her into his arms and banded them around her. She tilted her head back and looked up at him, her hands pressing against his bare chest. Her eyes widened and her lips parted, and a different need filled him.
A fiercer one that ruled him.
He needed to kiss her, and he didn’t care if she struck him for it.
He just needed her.
CHAPTER 10
Anais wasn’t sure how to respond when Loke slid his hand around the back of her neck and dragged her up to him, claiming her lips with his in a kiss that drove every thought out of her mind and left only feeling behind.
His mouth fused with hers, the hard press of his lips as they swept over hers enticing her into opening for him. She did it without hesitation, her lips parting to welcome his invasion and a kiss that rocked her right down to her soul.
It had been too long since she had been kissed like this.
Thoroughly. Passionately.
It burned away every shred of reservation and shattered her inhibitions. It destroyed every thread of resistance.
She melted into him, her palms pressing harder against his bare chest. His heart thundered against them, the wild beat matching the one in her ears and against her breast. His arm tightened around her and his groan made her shake inside, trembling with a need for more.
She shoved her hands up his chest and broke free of the confines of the small gap between their bodies. His hold on her tightened further, squashing her breasts against his chest, and she moaned as she clutched his shoulders, drowning in the heat and passion of his kiss.
Fire burned through her, as if he breathed it into her with each sweep of his lips across hers. His fingers tangled in her hair and tugged at it, forcing her head back and making her open further for him. He plundered her mouth and all she could do was cling to him and ride the storm of his passion, as lost in her own need and desire as he was.
Loke moaned against her lips and the fire blazing in her veins burned hotter, stirred into an inferno by the sound of the pleasure he took from their kiss. She responded by pressing her fingertips into his shoulders and unleashing a soft gasp of pleasure. Need swirled within her, growing more intense and powerful by the second, with every brush of their mouths and every touch of their tongues.
That need consumed her. It owned her. She could do nothing but surrender to it.
Anais pressed against his shoulders and rose onto her knees, bringing her face up level with his and seizing control of the kiss.
He groaned and grabbed her backside, hauling her closer to him, and grunted as he fell backwards. She landed on top of him and immediately pushed herself up, speared by awareness of his injuries and how her weight would hurt him. He didn’t seem to give a damn. He growled, a sound born of pure frustration, and pulled her back down on top of him.
She tried to edge her weight away from his left hip at least, but he refused to let her move. He wrapped both arms around her, settling one hand between her shoulders and the other on her backside, and pinned her to him. His mouth claimed hers again and pleasure blasted through her, obliterating her concerns for a heartbeat of time before they came rushing back.
“Loke,” she breathed against his lips and he kissed her again, as if he could silence her that way.
Hell, she wished that he could, but the concerned voice in the back of her head wasn’t going anywhere and it was ruining her mood.
“Let me move,” she whispered and he snarled this time, the feral sound shocking her and making her heart skip a beat. She pressed against his shoulders and fought his hold. “Loke, let me move!”
His answering growl made her go still but she braced her hands against his chest, stopping him from pulling her back down to him.
“Loke.” She softened her tone and he finally gave up trying to tug her back down to him and loosened his hold on her.
Displeasure etched darkness onto his handsome face as she raised herself off him and his aquamarine eyes were as stormy as a violent ocean. She hadn’t meant to upset him, or make him feel she was going to run away from him and what was happening between them. She wanted—needed—him to know that.
Anais lifted one hand to his face and swept her fingers across his brow first, feeling his temperature without alerting him to what she was doing. She traced those two fingers downwards, over the sculpted curve of his cheek and then down the straight strong line of his jaw. Dark blue whiskers dusted it, scraping against the sensitive tips of her fingers. She smiled as she stroked his lower lip and his mouth opened, revealing a hint of white teeth. His gaze bore into her but she refused to look at him as she explored his face, feeling as if she was looking at him with clear eyes at last and seeing him properly for the first time.
He was more than handsome.
He was beautiful.
She had never liked it when men dyed their hair outrageous colours, but the bright cerulean of his suited him and she couldn’t imagine him with dull brown, black or blond instead. It was a trace of his dragon showing through, a reminder that he had another form, a majestic and incredible one that still seemed more fantasy than reality.
Anais ploughed her fingers through his hair, enjoying the contrast of the rich colour against her milky skin. It was damp from his fever. A fever that seemed to have finally broken. He’d had her worried. She wasn’t sure how many hours had passed since he had lost consciousness, but it felt like more than a day’s worth. She had been startled when she had gone to fetch a fresh pail of cold water to bathe him and had heard him yelling her name.
She had been afraid when she had seen him crawling towards the ledge and had reacted on instinct to stop him, fearing he would fall over the edge again and she wouldn’t be able to save him this time.
“Anais?” he murmured and she pulled her eyes away from his short wild hair and dropped them to his.
They were soft and calm again, bright with flecks of gold fire that seemed to shimmer and swirl.
They sought an answer to his unspoken question from hers and she sighed as she feathered her fingers down his cheek.
“I’m crushing your wound.” She decided to say it straight and not dance around the truth. She had wanted things to continue, but not when it had been in danger of hurting him.
He loosened his hold further and she slid off his right side. His eyes rolled back in his head and he groaned, and she realised with dismay that she had forgotten something else in the heat of passion too.
He was naked.
Anais glanced down and fire flashed through her. His cock jut
ted proudly from a nest of deep blue curls, thick and long, and Heavens she wanted to run her hand down it and hear him moan again.
She dragged her eyes away instead and avoided Loke’s fierce gaze. He breathed hard, his chest pressing against hers, tempting her gaze down to it. She couldn’t let it lure her eyes there to roam over his muscles as they strained, because those same eyes would want to drift down the hard ridges of his stomach and from there it was barely a leap to his cock.
“Come back,” he murmured and tried to pull her back on top of him, but gave up when she resisted. “You felt good pressed against me.”
Hell, he had felt good pressed beneath her too but she had been putting weight on his wound. She drew in a deep breath, steadied herself, and then focused on the bandage around his waist. She needed to check the wound and make sure she hadn’t reopened it.
Anais reluctantly pulled herself away from him and kneeled beside him. He huffed and propped himself up onto his elbows, his gaze on his left hip. She focused there too, refusing to let the way his entire torso had tensed, revealing every muscle, sway her into looking at his body. He didn’t flinch as she untied the strip of black material and unwound it, revealing the wound.
The ragged line where she had cauterised the wound was still pink and raw, but there was no blood.
Loke prodded it. Hard.
“What did you do?” His deep voice echoed around the cave, a touch of irritation in it.
“I cauterised it.” When he frowned at her, she realised he didn’t understand and put it in terms he would. “I heated your knife on the fire and used it to seal the wound shut.”
Loke looked less than pleased and she folded her arms across her chest.
“Would you rather have bled to death?” she snapped and his frown eased.
He shook his head. “No. Dragons heal quickly, Little Amazon. There is a chance I would not have bled out.”
“A chance? You’d rather bank on a chance over being certain?” She frowned now. He made no sense at all. He prodded the scar again and she grabbed his hand. “Stop that. You’ll open it again.”
“No, I will not. It is healed… and now I am left with this scar.”
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