Taste of Darkness

by Katie Reus

  His eyes had turned a shimmery silver. As he came to stand directly next to her, towering over her despite her taller height, he spoke. “I made it for you. I made the blade a while ago but the designs took longer and…” He trailed off, gesturing to it with his hand. “I hope you like it.”

  She swallowed, aware of how hard her heart was pounding. “I love it. It’s unexpected and beyond beautiful.” And the dragon and the wolf in the middle pretty much made her heart beat out of control. She was honored that he’d made something so beautiful for her. And if she was honest, she was a little terrified by it. “How did you make this?”

  “I…I just used my fire to form it. Sort of like the way a spider makes a web.” He seemed almost confused by that. “The blade wasn’t difficult but it took a while to imprint the design with my fire.”

  As supernatural beings they all had magic in them so maybe his ability to create it had something to do with him being a dragon or where he was from or…something. The significance of the gift wasn’t lost on her either. She was a healer and he was clearly a warrior so he’d given her something that she could protect herself with, something that represented him. “I’ll treasure this. Thank you again.”

  He shifted almost uncomfortably and just nodded in that way of his when he didn’t want to talk.

  Though she wanted to push more about the blade, he seemed too on edge so she decided to ask something else. “So how was the fight?”

  “We came to a draw.”

  She narrowed her gaze. “And?”

  “And, Gabriel invited me out for a beer afterward.”

  He couldn’t have surprised her more if he’d been trying. Gabriel must have accepted Drake then. Not that it ultimately mattered. She wanted her friend to accept Drake, but her wolf already had and she knew Drake was a truly good male on the most basic level. She wasn’t sure if it was her healer’s nature or what, but she never doubted her instinct. “That’s good.”

  “Is it?”

  Smiling, she nodded.

  “I wasn’t sure if he was lying to me when he said males beat the crap out of each other then have drinks together afterward.” Drake’s posture was stiff and his expression still unsure.

  Laughing, she nodded again. “That sounds about right. I’m just glad you two worked out whatever it was you needed to. I wish you hadn’t fought him at all though.”

  “When you left I wanted to go after you, but Gabriel attacked.”

  That eased some of her tension, but… “I was looking forward to kissing you.” She felt her face heat up at the words, but wanted them out there so he understood exactly where she stood. His gift made his intentions clear so she wanted him to know she was on board. She wasn’t certain she wanted to mate in the next five minutes or anything, but this wasn’t short-term for her.

  He swallowed hard, his eyes turning even brighter before he reached out and ran a hand down her side and settled on her hip. When he flexed his fingers around her she shuddered, her nipples beading into tight points. A rush of heat flooded between her legs as she finally allowed herself to be vulnerable with him. Now that she knew the way he was holding her was intentionally possessive, she couldn’t stop her body’s reaction.

  “I…can’t kiss you yet,” he whispered, his voice filled with regret.

  The words were like ice water slapping her in the face, sharp and stinging. She was primed and ready for way more than a kiss. “Why not?”

  “I’m not ready for you yet.”

  What? Victoria had just assumed all shifters were the same. When it came to sex they weren’t any different than vamps or humans. Well, except shifters and vamps tended to bite during sex, but she’d heard some humans did too. She placed a hand on his chest, slightly digging her fingers into the hard muscles. Now that he’d admitted his feelings for her she felt more at ease touching him the way she’d been fantasizing about. “Not ready?” Disappointment speared through her.

  He nodded. “You deserve a male who has more to offer you.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “I don’t have a job, I’m still learning to drive and I depend on this pack for shelter. And I know so little about this new world. I’m not ready yet.”

  She’d take him without all of that. “Drake.” She tugged him so that he was sitting on the edge of her bed and she did the same, carefully sliding the blade out of their way. Taking his hands in hers, she tried to find the right words. “Did someone put this crap in your head?” Because if someone had, she was going to rip them a new one.

  “It’s not crap,” he growled. “And no one has told me this. These are things I understand as a male. You deserve more than what I am and what I have.” He tried to pull his hands back from her, but she held tight.

  If he’d truly wanted to pull free he could have, but she knew he wouldn’t want to risk hurting her in any way so she held on, linking her fingers through his. Her heart ached at his words. “You don’t need to do anything to be with me. I care for you, Drake. A lot.” Okay, she more than cared for him. “And I want you just as you are. There’s no reason we shouldn’t be kissing right now.”

  His jaw clenched in response.

  She could see the indecision in his eyes so she pounced on it. “Haven’t you wondered what I’d taste like?” She kept her voice low, the question coming out huskier than she’d intended. She couldn’t count how many times she’d fantasized about him running his big hands all over her bare body and following up with his tongue. And she wanted to do the same to him, exploring every inch of him.

  Swallowing hard, he simply nodded, his eyes like a supernova for a brief moment.

  “Good because I’ve wondered about you too. Just kissing won’t change anything.” Liar, it would change everything. And she couldn’t wait.

  She could see the finality in his eyes before he said, “I will not be swayed.”

  Sighing, she dropped his hands. “Are you sure that’s the only reason you don’t want to kiss? Is there…someone or something else?” She really doubted it considering the gift he’d just given her but she needed to know.

  “There will never be anyone else.” Again with the finality in his deep voice.

  Those words went straight to her core. Right then all she wanted to do was wrap her arms around him and tease his lips with hers, nipping and kissing him everywhere he’d let her. She wouldn’t rush him though, she just wanted to taste him, to lay claim to him the way he’d done at the fight.

  “You’ve never looked at me like this before.” His words drew her gaze from his mouth to his eyes.

  “Like what?”

  “Like you want me.” There was a mix of awe and disbelief in his voice. As if he didn’t quite believe her feelings.

  She wondered if that was more the root of his issue about why he wouldn’t kiss her. “I didn’t want to take advantage of you.”

  He laughed, the sound reverberating through the room. “You are so small. You could never take advantage of me.”

  Well, she wasn’t exactly small. Slender yes, but she was tall for a female. Maybe not compared to him though. “I don’t mean physically, I mean, you know, emotionally. You were in Hell for a long time and we became friends so fast I’ve been worried that maybe…” It felt strange to just blurt everything out.

  His lips pulled into a thin line. “Maybe what?”

  “Maybe, you latched onto me because I’m safe.”

  “I don’t understand. I don’t need you to keep me safe.” There was a touch of arrogance in his voice she liked, as if he was very secure in his ability to protect her. Considering the way he had in the past, he should be secure in that.

  She bit her bottom lip. She couldn’t very well say she was worried that he viewed her as a security blanket. “There are plenty of females you haven’t met.”

  That frown deepened, making him look even sexier. Which should be a crime. “I don’t understand that either. I don’t want any female but you.”

  His words thri
lled her, but…”You haven’t let yourself be open to meeting others.” Lord, why was she pushing this? She didn’t want him hooking up with other females but she still couldn’t stomach the thought of taking advantage of him when there was so much of the world he didn’t understand yet.

  He sighed. “Fine. I will meet other females if it makes you happy but I only want to kiss you. I only want to be with you. I just need time to be worthy for you.”

  Her heart squeezed. “Drake, that’s ridiculous. You’re—”

  The door flew open. Finn stood in the doorframe, her Alpha’s ice blue eyes pure wolf. “We think we’ve had a dragon sighting over the mansion. I want everyone to stay locked down in the mansion. Drake, you need to come with me.”

  Chapter Five

  Drake stood protectively close to Victoria on the roof. Of course the stubborn female hadn’t listened to her Alpha and had instead insisted on coming with them. To Drake’s annoyance Finn hadn’t ordered her to remain in her room after that initial command.

  Drake had quickly come to learn the dynamics of the pack and even though Victoria wasn’t a warrior or very alpha in nature, at least not in the physical sense, she did what she wanted. He was pretty certain it was because she was a healer and seemed to have a different standing altogether among the pack. Everyone adored and respected her. He just wished Finn would have made her stay put. Because there was no way Drake was trying to order the female to do anything, even if he did want her safe. He didn’t want to push her away.

  Keeping his gaze on the night sky, he scanned for any dragon sightings. “Who saw the dragon?”

  “Rhea saw something,” Finn corrected. “She isn’t sure what it was but when she mentioned you flying, Solon told her you were already in for the night so she alerted me.”

  “What was the ‘something’ she spotted?” He didn’t look at Finn, not wanting to miss a potential attack, though he wasn’t sure anything was out there.

  “A shimmer of light then a brief flash of something that looked a lot like fire.” Finn’s voice was grim. “Could have been something from the Air Force base, but…”

  “We would have heard a jet,” Lyra finished when her mate trailed off.

  Wordlessly Drake started stripping. If there was another dragon nearby he wanted to know about it. It was almost too much to hope that there were more of his kind. Maybe even family. But if he had family, why hadn’t they come for him? Why had they let him suffer in Hell for fifteen hundred years?

  Next to him Victoria let out a soft sound and he turned to find her watching him with wide eyes. That crisp mountain spring scent of hers was intensified tenfold as she stared at his chest. Her gaze snapped to his and he started to ask her if everything was okay, but it took two seconds for his brain to compute that she liked what she saw. That was hunger in her green eyes.

  For him.

  He swallowed hard. Now that she’d let down whatever wall she’d previously erected between them, his reality had shifted and he felt like he was catching up to this new, better world where he could have a future with Victoria. “I don’t know what’s up there. Keep your blade out. It will protect you,” he said softly. Drake didn’t remember the particulars, but the blade he’d made her was powerful and could kill anything. It had something to do with being forged in dragon fire. There was more to it, but the knowledge was buried deep in his earliest memories. He hated that he couldn’t get to that memory and so many others. But he would. He was determined to.

  “You just take care of yourself.” Her words were barely a whisper and her eyes glinted with worry, making him feel too many emotions. His chest squeezed tight at the knowledge that she was actually concerned for him.

  Drake nodded once then finished stripping after turning away from everyone. He couldn’t be around Victoria without being physically affected and he didn’t want anyone to see that.

  Racing to the end of the flat area of the roof, he jumped into the air, calling on his inner beast and letting the change flow through him instantaneously. At the same time he used his camouflage to conceal his body. Every time he shifted he felt stronger, more in control. As if nothing could stop him. Even in Hell it had been like that.

  It was very difficult to kill a dragon. He was certain he must have more weaknesses but if so he hadn’t discovered them yet. When he’d been shot in New Orleans he’d been weak but he’d also just come from Hell, the transition to this new plane already weakening him. He was pretty sure if someone had decided to cut off his head he would have died. Inhaling the salt-tinged air, he ascended higher, savoring the way the air rushed over his body and wings.

  The higher he flew, it became clear that he wasn’t alone in the air. He could faintly hear the flap of wings that weren’t his own. But he couldn’t see anything tangible. If there were more dragons in the world, and he had to assume there were because he’d come from somewhere, they must have the same camouflage ability as him.

  On a burst of speed he pushed himself and darted even higher before letting himself descend in a slow freefall, using his wings to slow his descent. He wanted to pinpoint the sound of the wings he’d heard without his own getting in the way.

  As he sloped downward, he slammed into a hard body, the impact jarring him and making his camouflage disappear as he flapped his wings and rolled out of the way of whatever he’d hit. He was beyond stunned there was something in the sky with him, even if he’d come up here looking for it.

  Moments later a brilliant cobalt dragon with white-gold wings appeared before him, flapping its wings and watching Drake through glittering blue eyes the same shade as its body. Drake wasn’t sure how he knew, but the dragon was male.

  The sharpest sense of wonder flowed through him even as it battled with his protective instincts. Fire tingled at the back of his throat, but he reined it in, waiting to see what the other beast did. He’d known, or hoped, that others like him existed but seeing a dragon in the flesh stunned him bone deep.

  The other dragon didn’t make any offensive gestures, just flapped his wings, watching. Possibly waiting. Maybe for backup.

  Battle instincts borne out of living fifteen hundred years in Hell settled into his bones. He knew absolutely nothing about this male other than he was a dragon. He had to assume the male wasn’t friendly. Drake suddenly swerved away, heading for the ocean. He couldn’t stay there staring at this dragon like an idiot and put Victoria and the Stavros pack in danger. A sharp sense of relief punched through him when the animal followed. Maybe he wasn’t a danger, but only time would tell.

  Flying as if hell hounds were after him, he raced toward the ocean, dipping and flying around the other dragon at a speed humans couldn’t see with the naked eye. It was exhilarating and freeing.

  Once they were out over the open water, he slowed, the other animal doing the same. He didn’t know anything about this animal and while he was so curious about his own kind he ached with the questions burning inside him, he didn’t want this beast anywhere near Victoria. Or his friends. Half the Stavros pack might fear him but he didn’t care. They were wolf shifters and had taken him in when they could have left him to die. Or tried to kill him anyway.

  Turning his head upward, he let out a long stream of fire, the brilliant orange flames lighting up the sky like the fourth of July. A phrase he’d learned from Victoria.

  The other dragon screeched and did the same, shooting flames toward the water instead of the sky.

  Drake stopped flapping and dove toward the water, sending himself into a freefall before quickly snapping his wings out over the water as he made his way back to land. When he looked over his shoulder he saw the other dragon heading in the opposite direction, the blue of his body appearing almost liquid as he moved.

  At least he wasn’t following Drake. That was all he cared about. Even more than his burning desire to know about where he came from, he needed to keep those he cared about safe.

  Not taking a chance, he kept a tight camouflage on himself and looped up a
nd down the coastline and over the city, keeping as close as possible to the mansion for the next couple hours as he ascertained any other threats. Once he was certain the other dragon hadn’t decided to double back, he eventually returned to the mansion, surprised that Finn, Lyra, Gabriel and Victoria were still there.

  Maybe he shouldn’t have been though. They would want to ensure the safety of their pack. An unknown supernatural being in Finn’s territory was not good.

  They moved back as he landed and quickly shifted to his human form. Crouched on all fours, he hadn’t pushed up to his feet before Victoria crouched in front of him, her delicate fingers cupping one side of his face.

  “Are you okay? Did that dragon hurt you?”

  Blinking, he shook his head, loving the feel of her touching him. “You saw him?” he rasped out.

  She nodded, then flicked a quick glance at Gabriel before she looked back at Drake. Something had passed between her and the Guardian. Drake was sure of it.

  “What is it?” he demanded as he stood, taking a step back from Victoria. Hurt flickered in her gaze but he ignored it as he readied himself for what was to come. He looked at Finn. “Do you wish me to leave?”

  The Alpha blinked, as if Drake had truly surprised him. “No. Why would I?”

  Unsure if the Alpha was being truthful, he looked at Gabriel who also seemed surprised, then at Victoria who just looked sad. “Do you want to leave now?” she asked, her voice seeming small.

  His chest ached at the painful thread buried in her words. Seeing her in pain made him want to gather her in his arms but he had to resist if he was going to be kicked out. He didn’t care that Finn had said he wasn’t going to. Perhaps he was trying to shield him from embarrassment in front of the others. He looked back at Finn. “It is likely I brought this unknown dragon to your doorstep. I don’t know his intentions but he didn’t seem aggressive. If you wish me to leave… I will.” Though the thought pierced him soul deep, he couldn’t stay if he was unwanted or if he put the others at risk. He refused to meet Victoria’s gaze.