by Eden Robins
Eric buried his face in Sabrina’s soft raven tresses. Breathing deeply, he savored her scent. Rainbows and summer days. She shifted slightly, sighing in a way that told him she liked his touch. And he liked touching her. Just as he always had. The chemistry between them had never been an issue. He had wanted Sabrina the first time he’d seen her and that had never gone away.
Sabrina shifted again, this time pressing more tightly against him. His body came to life, responding the way it always did to her touch. He hardened to the point of pain, groaning low in his throat.
Sabrina pulled slightly away and stared up into his eyes, searching them with her beautiful emerald gaze. Reaching up, she caressed his face, running her fingers down the wicked scar running from his eye to his jaw. His first instinct was to pull away, as he always did when someone touched that part of his face, but he stopped himself. Sabrina was different. She knew him. She knew who and what he was. Yet she still wanted to touch him.
He held himself still while she explored. Her fingers burned him, making him think of other places he’d like her to touch. When she lightly skimmed his lips, his body practically roared his need. She played her thumb against his top then bottom lip then surprised him by dipping into his mouth. He wrapped his mouth around it, running his tongue up and down its length as he stared deeply into her eyes. He knew his stare was not gentle by the way her eyes widened and her lips parted in a silent gasp. Then her eyes dropped to his mouth, where he caressed her. She watched him intently, as if she couldn’t get enough.
He saw awareness hit her like a truck. First her eyes darkened with desire and her cheeks flushed pink and then she released a soft moan between her parted lips—all the while watching his mouth take her into him again and again.
Eric wanted to roar his satisfaction to the world.
She was his.
She wanted him. Sabrina told him in her touch and her gaze just exactly how much. He couldn’t hold back any longer. Pulling her thumb slowly out of his mouth, he trailed it down and slowly around to the back of his neck. Leaving it there, he reached behind her head, plunged his fingers into her hair and pulled her to him.
His mouth worshipped hers. Slowly sipping her lips, he sucked and nibbled until Sabrina’s moans grew louder and she used her hand at the back of his neck to pull him closer. She wanted more. She wanted him.
Eric was only too glad to oblige. Placing his thumb on her bottom lip, he applied slight pressure so her mouth opened to him then pressed his lips to hers. Her mouth was warm, soft, wet and welcoming. He plunged his tongue inside, exploring her sweetness. Sabrina’s tongue met his, engaging him, pulling back, then engaging again.
Then she did something she had never done before. His little cat caught his tongue between her teeth and sucked lightly. The feel of her pulling him into her wetness blew his mind. The thought of what other part of him could be worshipped in exactly the same way shook his control.
Groaning, Eric grasped Sabrina’s shoulders, laid her back on the couch and deepened his kisses while pressing himself against her. She responded in a way that told him she was as lost in the moment as he was. Alternately arching her back to press her breasts against him and tilting her hips up to catch each slide of him against her body, Eric had no doubt that she desired him also.
Sabrina wanted Eric.
There was no other way to put it. She wanted him with a strength that was overwhelming. She needed to feel him skin to skin against her. She needed to feel his hands on her body. She needed to feel her hands on his body. She needed to feel him inside her…need, need, need. Sabrina cried out with need.
She didn’t mean to. She couldn’t help herself. The feel of Eric pressed against her, of her sliding against his hardness, left a trail of fire along her body. And she knew only one thing that would put out that fire.
Eric.
Her mate.
Her dragon slayer.
She tried to remember who and what he was. Tried to gain some sense of ground in the sea of desire she was drowning in, but it was no use. She wanted Eric. She loved Eric. She needed him.
Now.
As if sensing her urgency, Eric stood up abruptly then lifted her into his arms. She remained quiet as he carried her up the staircase. They stared into each other’s eyes, communicating so many things. Things that were as old as time. Messages that only the two of them could give. The connection between them was strong and powerful in its intensity.
Once he reached the top of the stairs, Eric walked down a hallway, stopped in front of large double wooden doors and set her on her feet slowly, letting her slide down his body in the process. She gasped. Shards of desire shot through her body as each sensitive part of her slid over him.
How could she handle this? How could she want him this much? Would she survive it?
Eric placed a finger under her chin and tilted her face up. She met his eyes and they stared at each other silently for a moment before he spoke.
“I want you, gatita. I want you so much my body is screaming for you. Every part of me. But you have to decide if this is something you want also, if I’m what you want,” Eric said, a sad, gentle look in his eyes. “If you don’t want this, or me, tell me now, because once I have you in my bed I don’t think I’ll be able to stop.”
Sabrina nodded her head silently. She wanted him. So much that she was shaking.
Eric shook his head.
“That’s not good enough, Sabrina. I need to hear the words. I need you to tell me what you want, because I don’t want just part of you. Not again. If you enter my bedroom, if you lay in my bed, if you let me touch you, I want it all, holding nothing back. I want all of you this time and I’ll take nothing less. Do you understand?”
Sabrina swallowed hard. Eric’s stare was deep and probing. And she knew he meant what he said. He wouldn’t take halfway with her. Not this time. He wanted all of her. But could she give him that? Could she give all of herself without summoning the dragon and endangering both of them? Could she let herself be that vulnerable to him?
She hesitated.
He saw it in her eyes and his expression changed. Sadness filled his gaze but he tightened his jaw and stood ramrod straight as he looked down at her.
“I understand,” he said with a curt nod. “I would never force myself on any woman, let alone you, Sabrina. I respect any decision you make.”
And with that, Eric turned from her and walked away.
Sabrina panicked. She knew he was only walking down the hall, but as she watched him turn his back to her she understood it was so much more. Eric had asked her to trust him and she had hesitated. She had told him without speaking that she didn’t trust him. And now, as he turned away, she knew at a very basic level that he wouldn’t ask her again. He had opened himself up to her, told her his feelings and made himself vulnerable to her, but he wouldn’t repeat it. Not if he thought she wouldn’t do the same for him.
She couldn’t live with that. She couldn’t live without him. She still loved him.
She loved him.
It was true, it had always been true. No matter what had happened, no matter how long they had been separated, no matter what each of them had said and done, the truth was the truth.
She loved Eric.
And she wanted him in a way that couldn’t be described. It was time to let go of all of the fears and doubts. Time to trust what was in her heart. Time to trust her instincts. Time to trust Eric.
It was time to take a chance.
“Eric, wait.”
He stopped immediately at her words but didn’t turn around.
“What is it, Sabrina?”
“Don’t go, don’t walk away. Not from this, not from us. Not again.”
He swung around then, so fast she almost jumped. His golden eyes were narrow, dangerous and practically glowing. This was the predator, the slayer, the bodyguard. This was a part of Eric she rarely saw.
“What are you saying? Think hard before you speak again,” he warn
ed, stalking back to her. His walk was assured, aggressive and angry. “I won’t play games with you, dragon. Know that now. Choose your words carefully.”
Sabrina glared and raised her chin at his choice of wording.
“I don’t play games, slayer,” she said, standing her ground and looking up to meet his gaze as he stopped mere inches from her. “This is not a game to me.”
Sabrina felt tears form in her eyes. She couldn’t help herself. She was so scared and confused. Confused about how to handle this the right way. Scared of losing Eric forever. The thought of it was too miserable to contemplate.
Eric’s eyes gentled. He caught the first tear that fell from her eyes with his tongue. He kissed away the second one. Pulling her into his arms, he let her soak his shirt with her quiet sniffling.
“I won’t lose you again, Eric. I won’t,” she said in a voice wobbly from tears. “You came back to me for whatever reason and I don’t want to let you go. I won’t survive it a second time. Do you understand that?”
“More than you know,” he assured her, running his fingers gently down her cheek. “And I’m not going anywhere. I’m right here with you.”
“Yes, but for how long? For how long this time?” Sabrina whispered the fears that ran deep inside her heart.
Eric kissed the top of her head. “For as long as you’ll have me. How about forever? Is that long enough for you?”
Sabrina gave one last sniffle before raising her head and looking up into Eric’s golden gaze.
“I think that will do. For now,” she teased with a smile as she reached up and touched Eric’s cheek.
Sabrina grew serious again as she touched his scar and gently ran her fingers up and down the length of it. Had he gotten it while slaying one of her kind? If so, what had happened?
“Tell me how you became a slayer.” The words left her lips before she could stop them. She needed to know. She needed to understand.
Eric’s face grew grim. “I don’t think you want to know, Sabrina. I don’t think now is the time to discuss this.”
“I need to know, Eric. I have to come to terms with who and what you are, just like you’re coming to terms with who I am.”
Eric still looked doubtful.
“Please, Eric, this is so important to me. It’s important to us,” she said, looking deeply into his eyes.
“Okay,” Eric said grimly, slowly nodding his head and taking her hand. “Come with me.”
He led her down the hallway and entered what Sabrina assumed was his private library. The wall on the left side of the room was filled with shelves and shelves of books, straight in front of her a desk and chair sat facing a large window, and a brown over stuffed leather sofa and wing chair stood near the right side of the room with a small round coffee table centered between.
Leading her to the couch, Eric motioned for her to sit, and dropped down beside her, keeping his fingers intertwined with hers. His eyes became slightly glazed and he stared out the window as he retold the story of his beginning as a slayer. Sabrina listened in horror to what had happened to his family and about the little boy, half-dead, he had spoken to. On one level Sabrina knew the sometimes-vicious history of her ancestors, but those rogue dragons, those going on a rampage, were not the norm, they were the exception. And oftentimes they had their own tales of death and woe that prompted them to react violently.
But Sabrina knew now was not the time to defend her kind. That would come later. For now she just wanted to hear Eric’s words and understand how his life had become what it had.
“From that point forward I was on a mission. A mission to find and kill all dragons, especially those who destroyed the lives of humans, just as mine had been destroyed.”
“When did you meet Magnus?”
“Not too long after my village was destroyed. He helped me perfect my slayer skills, but even back then the religious fanaticism he and his followers had was too much for me. We soon parted ways, and I kept on with my personal mission of revenge, violence and death,” he explained. “And somewhere along the way God or whatever higher power there is decided to make me immortal. I’m not sure why it happened, but as time went by and I didn’t age, I realized that things had changed, and I knew my life was irrevocably altered.”
“So you just kept on searching the world for wayward dragons and killing them?” Sabrina asked.
Eric nodded his head.
“Once I found out I was immortal, I realized that I was meant to do what I was doing. That the choice had been taken out of my hands. I felt it was my duty to avenge my family and friends, as well as all humans who suffered a terrible fate at the hands of dragons.”
“I see,” Sabrina said, understanding Eric’s motivation.
“Do you, Sabrina. Do you really?” Eric’s expression was doubtful.
She met his eyes and nodded her head. “Yes. I understand why you thought you should be doing what you were doing. I don’t like it, but I can comprehend your thought process,” she explained.
Her gaze dropped to his scar and she ran her finger down it again. Eric closed his eyes and pressed his hand over hers. He held her hand there, almost as if her touch would heal him.
“How did you get this scar?”
Eric released her hand, and she let it slide from his face.
“I got this scar from the first dragon I ever killed. I discovered it not too long after I left my own village and began my journey as a self-proclaimed slayer. I think the only reason I managed to track it was because it was on a killing rampage and didn’t go into hiding in between kills, as some dragons do. It just went from village to village, wreaking death and destruction in its wake,” he recalled. “I followed it and eventually caught up with it right before it was going to attack another town. It was the first time I engaged a dragon in battle, and it was messy. And this particular dragon was nasty. It spewed its hatred for humans with each swipe at me. It claimed to want to crush, maim, devour and burn every last one of us, and told me it would be only too glad to send me to hell. My warrior skills were limited and I wasn’t sure how to kill it, but after getting clawed a couple of times by the beast I realized that my own life was at stake. It was survival instinct more than anything else that kept me alive through that battle. After a couple of near misses I finally killed the animal. Slaying it gave me great satisfaction, like I had done something that mattered, something that helped mankind.”
Sabrina didn’t speak. She could tell Eric had more to say.
“From that point forward I was a true slayer. I began a quest to protect and help mankind against dragons. I felt as if I were doing the right thing, yet with each kill my satisfaction diminished. After a while my mission became a duty, almost like a prison of my own making. I felt I had to continue or I would be letting man and God down. So I continued and remain a slayer to this day, Sabrina. And I won’t apologize for what I do. It’s part of who I am.”
Eric met her gaze with his, unwavering and asking for nothing
Sabrina listened quietly to this man of hers. He had gone through so much pain and violence in his life. Saddened by the thought of what his existence must have been like, she met his gaze and smiled gently.
“Thank you, Eric. I needed to hear the words from you. I needed to know more about why you do what you do.”
“I understand, Sabrina,” he said, staring at her with a questioning look in his eyes. “Now what?”
His face was tense. She could tell that Eric wasn’t sure what she would do now that she knew the truth. Didn’t he realize that she loved him? That her need to hear him tell his tale was just to help her understand him, not judge or condemn him?
She placed her hand on his cheek again.
“I love you. You do know that, don’t you?” she asked.
As those three magic words left her lips, she felt free. They had lived alone and desperate in her heart for too long, locked away, imprisoned inside her. Now, as they finally flowed out of her, it was like a giant burden ha
d been lifted. She felt lighter.
Eric frowned. He searched her gaze deeply, as if trying to determine what her words meant to her. After a minute his face cleared and he smiled in a way that told her how much he liked hearing her words.
“I do now,” he said.
Sabrina smiled back. She had stepped partially over the edge. Now it was time to make that final leap.
“Good,” she said with a nod. “And I want you also. So bad my body aches with it. You know that too, right?”
Eric’s expression grew serious again. He gently placed his hands on each side of her face.
“I know.” Eric’s eyes were intense and probing and as he lowered his mouth to hers she let herself drown in his incredible golden irises. If this was what lay over the edge, she was more than ready to dive in.
The moment their lips touched, Sabrina was lost. There would be no stopping now. This was it.
She was ready.
More than ready.
And whatever happened she would handle it.
No.
They would handle it together.
Chapter Eighteen
Eric got lost in Sabrina’s soft, warm lips. They welcomed him, clung to him, and he couldn’t get enough. His tongue explored her mouth and joined with hers again and again. Tearing his mouth from her lips, he rained kisses down her neck. Sabrina was breathing heavy, just like him. They were practically panting from each other’s touch.
Reaching behind her, he opened his bedroom door and slowly backed her up, into the room. After switching on the light, he led Sabrina back to his bed. When the back of her knees hit the edge he broke the kiss, lifted her by the waist and laid her back. Following close behind, he lay beside her on the bed.
She turned to him, but he placed his fingers over her lips. “Sabrina, I need to know something before we continue.”
Sabrina nodded her head, a solemn look suddenly appearing in her eyes. “Okay, ask me.”
“I want you to stay with me, here, tonight. I want to make love to you, sleep with you and wake up with you in the morning. Do you understand?”