by Zoe Chant
“It would make sense, wouldn’t it? I was driving all over, asking people about it. If it’s like you, a person who can become a dragon, then it could have heard about me. And if it wanted to keep its secret, like you wanted to keep yours...”
“Enough to kill you to keep you quiet.” Gabriel’s hands clenched into fists, and blue fury burned in his eyes. “If I’d known when I was fighting it...”
“Gabriel, you couldn’t possibly have fought harder than you did,” Emily assured him. “Anyway, if that’s what it wants, maybe if it comes back, all we need to do is tell it that I have no intention of writing anything about dragons or shapeshifters. I really don’t. I’d look like a lunatic. And it comes a little too close to spilling the beans on you.”
“We can try. But I’m not sure it’ll be convinced that easily.” Then his tone and expression lightened as he glanced toward the kitchen. “But let’s not worry about that now. We can cross that bridge when we get to it. Ready for pie?”
“I can tell you’re ready,” Emily said with a laugh.
They went to the kitchen and fetched the pies. Gabriel served her a slice of Lazy Sunday Pie with vanilla ice cream and another of berry pie with whipped cream before serving himself the same pies with the toppings reversed.
“Heathen,” remarked Emily. “Everyone knows Lazy Sunday needs ice cream. It cuts the richness. And the pie is tart, so it needs something sweet.”
“Maybe you can convert me,” Gabriel said, stealing a bite of hers. She enjoyed watching his ecstatic expression as he tasted it. “Wow. This is the best pie I’ve ever had.”
Emily grinned. She loved watching people enjoy her cooking, and that went double when it was the man she loved. “Try the berry, then decide.”
She took a bite of Lazy Sunday, enjoying the salty-sweet flavor of the caramel filling, its buttery richness and warmth cut by the ice cream. Then she took a bite of berry pie, tasting the tangy complexity of its mix of berries, set off by the flaky pastry crust.
“I vote for Lazy Sunday,” Emily said. “Though the berry has sentimental value.”
“I can’t decide,” said Gabriel. “They’re both perfect.”
Emily plucked a huckleberry from her slice and placed it between his lips.
“Okay, I choose the berry,” Gabriel said.
She laughed. He had a second helping of both while Emily was still finishing hers, making her glad she’d made two big pies. Maybe they could have more with breakfast. She already knew that Lazy Sunday went well with coffee.
When they were done, they took the dishes into the kitchen and washed up. Once they were finished and had dried their hands, Emily moved to leave the kitchen. But Gabriel caught her by the shoulders, spinning her around to face him. Startled, she gazed up at him.
He gave her a long, sensual kiss that sent ripples of excited heat through her body. She pressed herself against him, and felt his steely hardness against her dampening pussy. He drew in a deep breath, then reached for the cord she’d used to belt her shirt dress.
She wanted nothing more than to let him undress her and make love to her, but she forced herself to catch his hands. “Your shoulder—your arm—”
He released her shoulder and lifted both his arms, then laid his hands on her cheeks and slowly stroked down her neck, her shoulders, her chest, and finally came to rest cupping her breasts. She swallowed, squirming with arousal as he played with her nipples. There definitely didn’t seem to be anything wrong with his fingers...
His voice dropped to a rumble that made shivers thrill up and down her spine. “Don’t worry about me.” Punctuating each word with a lingering kiss, he said, “I’m. All. Better. Now.”
Chapter Eight
Gabriel
Emily’s lips were hot against his. He kissed her again, tasting the lingering tartness of berries and richness of caramel, and a wild sweet flavor that was his mate alone. Her scent, too, was nothing but her, an intoxicating aroma that went straight to his most primal instincts and set him ablaze with desire.
It almost killed him to take his hands off the soft warmth of her breasts, but he began unbuttoning the shirt she was wearing. His wounded arm was stiff and sore, but the way he was feeling right now, he barely even noticed. There was no room for anything in his mind but Emily, and no room for any sensation in his body but pleasure and desire.
“I love seeing you in my clothes,” he said. “It makes me feel like you’re really mine.”
Emily’s beautiful smile lit up her face. “I am yours, Gabriel. And you’re mine.”
Hearing those words made his heart lift. After all those years of loneliness, he finally had a companion—a lover—a mate.
Forever, said his griffin. Mates are forever.
But Gabriel didn’t need his griffin to tell him that. He could feel it in his heart and soul, his blood and bones. He and Emily were meant for each other. Theirs was a love that would never end.
“We’ll always belong to each other,” he vowed. As he untied her belt, he added, “I’m not wearing your clothes to prove it, though.”
Emily giggled. “I can just see you trying to squeeze into one of my blouses. Buttons would fly everywhere—oh!”
Her words ended in a gasp as he pushed the shirt dress off her shoulders. It slid to the floor, leaving her standing nude before him.
The sight of her made his mouth go dry. All the blood in his body seemed to rush to his cock, leaving him dizzy and it rock-hard. His pants were so tight, they almost hurt. He was desperate to pull them off and bury himself in her wet heat, but he made himself hold back and enjoy the sight of her for a moment longer.
She was made of luscious curves, from her breasts to her belly to her thighs, every bit of her enticing and sexy. Her skin was like brown silk, her lips—both sets of them—like rose petals. She was breathing hard, her breasts moving up and down, her fine skin seeming to glow from within. Her dark eyes were filled with love and desire, warmth and a wildness to match his own.
Emily reached for his jeans, making him start. Her touch was almost too much to bear, even through the taut denim.
“I want to see you naked,” she purred.
Her unashamed desire for him made his burn even hotter. He barely managed to get out the words, “Your wish is my command.”
He pulled off his shirt and dropped it on the floor. Emily immediately began kissing his chest and caressing his sides. The wet flicks of her tongue and the little nibbles of her teeth sent delicious shivers up and down his spine. He was so aroused, his hands were shaking. He could barely get his belt unbuckled and his jeans unbuttoned. She clearly noticed his difficulties and teased him with them, taking his nipple into her mouth just as he was about to get an especially stubborn button through the hole. It slipped through his fingers as he shuddered and gasped.
She lifted her mouth just long enough to say, “Naked. Now,” then bent her head to his chest and slid her tongue teasingly around his nipple.
“You’re not making this easy,” he gasped.
“I could stop,” she offered.
“Absolutely not.”
Gabriel finally managed to get his jeans undone. He pulled them off, along with his boxers. They puddled at his feet. His throbbing cock, freed at last, rubbed against Emily’s soft skin. He longed to bury it inside her, but forced himself to stay in control. If she wanted to look at him, he’d let her look to her heart’s content.
Or until he completely lost his mind.
He stayed still, his head reeling, while she looked him up and down. Her gaze was as hot and hungry as he felt.
“Satisfied?” Gabriel said at last. His voice came out rough and low.
“Oh, no,” murmured Emily in a tone so sensual that it was almost impossible to keep still. “Not satisfied at all. But I’ve looked enough.”
“Then I’ll show you satisfied.”
Gabriel went down on his knees before her. Emily’s scent and heat enveloped him, dizzying and arousing. He parted her th
ighs, then bent to taste her.
“Oh!” Emily gave a startled gasp at the first touch of his tongue.
She was just as delicious as he’d expected, her wet folds tangy as wild berries. He explored every inch of her, caressing and licking and sucking, relishing the way that every flick of his tongue drew forth a quiver or gasp or a tensing of her grip on his shoulders. She was so sensitive, and he loved giving her pleasure.
The pearl of her clitoris swelled under his tongue. He lapped at it until Emily cried out his name and came. Gabriel quickly looked up at her. His mate’s head was thrown back, her eyes closed and long lashes fluttering, her plump lips parted. She had never been more beautiful than when she climaxed.
Finally, she opened her eyes and gave him a wicked smile. “Your turn.”
“Do you mean...?”
She answered by sinking to her knees, then gave him a nudge. “Stand up.”
Gabriel staggered to his feet. The view of her luscious cleavage from above was a pleasure all by itself. He stroked Emily’s hair and shoulders as she put her hands on his hips and took him into her mouth. The wet heat and the sight of her lips closed around him was almost more than he could take. He leaned back against the wall, breathing hard, as she circled her tongue around his cock, licking and sucking as if it was a delicious candy.
His eyes fluttered shut as wave after wave of pleasure built within him. He’d never felt anything like it before. Not only was the physical bliss more intense than any he’d ever experienced, but he was carried away by a love greater than he’d ever known.
Gabriel felt himself trembling, every muscle taut and every nerve on fire, his entire being focused on his inexorable drive toward his climax.
“I love you,” he gasped. “Emily—my mate.”
An explosion of ecstasy broke over him. His hands clenched on her shoulders as he came. His body seemed to become a flame, a feather, light as air and hot as fire, as his spirit soared on wings of bliss.
He sank down to kneel with his mate. They held each other, hot and sweating and utterly satisfied. Gabriel laid his head on Emily’s shoulder. He supposed they should get up and take a shower, but he felt like he’d be happy to just stay where they were forever, locked tight in each other’s arms.
Emily finally broke the silence. “So, we’ve done it in the kitchen and the bedroom. How many rooms have we got left?”
“Living room, bathroom, and dining room. And porch, when it gets warmer.”
“Or we could pile a lot of blankets on it,” Emily suggested.
Gabriel laughed. “I’m up for it if you are.”
She gave him that wicked smile again. “And if any room is disappointing, we’ll just have to practice in it till we get perfect.”
“I’m up for that, too,” Gabriel replied. “But no matter where we are, making love with you is always going to be perfect, because you’re perfect.”
Emily nudged him in the ribs. “Hey. Don’t put me on a pedestal. I’m a person with flaws, just like you.”
He didn’t see any flaws in her, but he got her point. “Let’s just say we’re perfect for each other.”
Emily ruffled his hair. “No arguments there.”
Chapter Nine
Emily
Emily tossed a snowball from hand to hand. “Ready or not, here it comes!”
“I think you’ve got the wrong game,” Gabriel called back, laughing.
She grinned at him. They’d hiked all day through beautiful snowy woods, and had a picnic by a frozen waterfall. Then Gabriel had picked up a fallen branch, hefted it like a baseball bat, and suggested that she pitch.
Emily took a moment to enjoy the sight of him, his face flushed from running around and his hair startlingly black against the snowy landscape. Her man. It was still hard to believe.
She wound up and threw the snowball as hard as she could. Gabriel swung the branch. The ball exploded like a starburst, sending flecks of white to speckle him all over.
He dropped the branch and ran in a wide circle around her, slapping trees and shouting “first base!” “second base!” “third base!” as he went. Finally, he made a dramatic slide, ending up on his back in the snow. “Home run!”
Laughing, Emily ran up to him and sat down on his hips before he could get up. “Shall I call you Babe Gabe from now on?”
“You can call me anything you—” Gabriel broke off, his eyes widening as he stared past her and into the sky. “Look out!”
Emily scrambled off him. Even as she twisted to look upward, fear squeezed her chest, and she was sure she knew what she’d see: a dragon.
She was wrong.
Two dragons were in the sky.
One was the black dragon Gabriel had fought earlier. The other was red as blood. Both were flying down toward Emily and Gabriel, slicing the air with their vast wings. The red one let out a burst of flame, followed shortly by the black one, blazing orange against the pale blue sky.
Emily only had a split second to take in the terrifying sight. Then Gabriel snatched her up in his arms and bolted with her, running all-out across the snowy plain until he plunged into the forest that grew beside it.
Her heart pounding, she glanced upward. The dense foliage hid the sky, which she hoped also meant it would hide them from the dragons. But she had a feeling that would only be a temporary reprieve.
Gabriel came to a halt by a huge oak with a hollow space in its trunk, big enough for her to stand inside and be hidden from view. He set her down.
“Hide here,” he said. “I’ll fight them.”
Emily grabbed his arm. His muscles were hard as steel beneath her fingers, tense with readiness. “Wait. We need a plan.”
“That is our plan.”
She tightened her grip. “I hide, you fight? You fight two dragons? Just one of them almost killed us both! And they breathe fire. What if they decide to burn down the forest?”
Gabriel’s handsome features hardened with protective fury as he glanced upward. If looks could kill, both dragons would have dropped out of the sky. “I won’t let them.”
“Can you stop them? Seriously, Gabriel, think about it. While you’re fighting one of them, the other could do anything it wanted. All it would take is one low dive and one breath.”
The blood drained from his face as she spoke, until he looked like a statue carved from ice. “Do you have a better idea?” He spoke seriously, not sarcastically. She could hear in his voice how much he trusted her.
“I could throw rocks again, I guess. But I don’t think that would work if they expected it, and they’ll expect it now.” Emily ground her teeth, angry and frustrated. She hated feeling helpless. “I wish I could turn into a griffin too! Then we’d at least have a chance.”
“I wish you could, too,” Gabriel said in a heartfelt murmur. Then he took on the inward-looking gaze that she now knew meant that his griffin was speaking to him. His eyes widened in startled hope. “My griffin says you could!”
“What?” Emily asked, baffled.
“He says I could turn you, so you could shapeshift too.”
She could barely take it in. “Why didn’t he say anything before?”
Gabriel again paused, his gaze drifting out of focus, then gave a shrug. “He says he didn’t know until you mentioned it, and then he instinctively knew he could.” He cupped her cheeks in his hands, his touch warm and comforting. “Do you want to? You can say no. I don’t want to rush you into anything. And I’m happy to protect you.”
“I know,” Emily replied, laying her hands over his.
She thought quickly, trying to add up the pros and cons. Being able to turn into a griffin had isolated Gabriel and made him think he was a monster. But that wouldn’t apply to her. Hard as she tried to seriously consider the down side, like that she’d be risking her life if she fought a dragon, all she could think of was that it would give her a chance to protect and fight for Gabriel like he’d protected and fought for her. There was nothing she wanted more, even if
it killed her.
“I want this,” she said. “It might save both our lives. And I want to fly by your side.”
“Are you sure?” Gabriel asked, and all the old doubt was in his eyes. “You’ll be a monst—no, you could never be a monster. But you’ll be different from other people. Forever.”
“I know. I’ll be different like you. And then you’ll never be alone again.” She smiled at him, trying to convey with her eyes how much she meant what she said.
He swallowed, his expression solemn and filled with love. “All right. If it’s really what you want. I have to bite you, he says—as a griffin. It’ll hurt.”
“I’m not afraid,” Emily said, and knew it for the truth. “Do it now, Gabriel. We might not have much time.”
He pulled her in and held her tight, bruising her lips with a hurried, desperate kiss. Then he stepped back. A moment later, he vanished in a whirlwind of golden sparks. For the first time, Emily wondered what it felt like to change. She’d never asked Gabriel. Now she’d find out for herself.
Gabriel’s magnificent griffin appeared as the sparks vanished, standing tall and proud and golden against the snow. Before he could move toward her, Emily stepped forward, her left arm outstretched. Her heart was pounding at the thought of being bitten by the immense eagle’s beak, but she held her head high. She knew Gabriel hated to hurt her, even to do something that she wanted and that might save both of their lives. At the very least, she didn’t want him to think she might be having second thoughts.
“Go on,” Emily said firmly. “Do it.”
The griffin bent his head, took her forearm in the very tip of his beak, and nipped her. There was a sharp pain, but no more than if she’d accidentally cut herself while cooking. Then he released her.
A drop of blood fell to the ground, brilliant red against the white.
An immense crackle resounded through the air, along with a burst of heat. The dimness of the shadowed forest was replaced by a flickering orange light. Emily stared upward. The treetops were on fire.