by Julia Mills
She was so intent on administering care to the powerful man under her hands, focused on the immerging picture on his back that she almost missed the slight stirring her warrior was making in his sleep. She leaned closer to see if his eyes were still closed. She paused. ‘Did he just growl?’ She asked herself. Well, not really growl, more like a purr, a sound of contentment. As she was leaned over, looking at a face surely sculpted by a God, she couldn’t stop herself from drawing his scent into her lungs. A scent that reminded her of a warm breeze right after a rain mixed with the manliest musk she had ever smelled. Without thought she drew another breath, pulling more of his intoxicating scent into her lungs and just held it there. His tantalizing aroma aroused thoughts of dark sweaty nights, bodies wrapped around each other, driving each to their mutual release. She exhaled slowly and inhaled again almost immediately, not able to get enough of this man as her eyes slid shut. Her breasts became heavy and her juices began to flow. She squeezed her legs together in an attempt to stem the ache burning her from the inside out.
There was that purr again. No matter what happened after this moment, she would always associate that sound with this man. His back vibrated against her chest and her nipples peaked even harder. She leaned closer; the heat from his body soaking into hers, stoking the fire burning within that was begging to be quenched. If she leaned just a fraction closer, she could place her lips on the tantalizing spot where his neck met his shoulder. The image of her parted lips tasting his flesh with just the tip of her tongue entered her mind. A certainty grew within her; one taste would never be enough. The little voice spurring her on gave assurance that he would taste even better than he smelled. She knew she should not be having erotic thoughts about a man she knew basically nothing about but no amount of reason would calm her curiosity, her need. She prayed he didn’t wake up. There was no way she was prepared for him to know about the things he made her feel. She looked again. He seemed pretty out of it. The longer she stayed where she was the harder it became to resist the pull of this man. Rayne was harder to resist than Ben and Jerry’s Cherry Garcia and that was saying something. The will to resist the attraction this man stirred within her was nonexistent.
She relaxed, lowering herself those last few inches. Her lips touched his skin. The spark only he could generate, flooded her system, spreading all the way to the tips of her fingers and toes, touching everywhere in between. It was the most phenomenal feeling she’d ever experienced. Something she never wanted to end. A sigh slipped from her lips, the remaining tension rolling out of her body.
An unwavering certainty became apparent. She could live forever cocooned in the delicious heat of this man’s body. They fit perfectly together, two pieces of a puzzle designed to be connected. Her eyes closed. The image of this man’s body on top of hers, skin to skin; his kissable lips on hers took residence in her lust soaked mind. The feel of him sucking her aching breasts into the wet warmth of his mouth, his hardness sliding into the wetness he had drawn from her core, thrusting between her thighs made all thoughts of anything but this man and the pleasure she would find in his arms vanish. She moved her lips farther up his neck, butterfly kissing the sweet spot right behind his ear. She had the strongest urge to pull his ear lobe between her lips and bite ever so softly.
Her undependable conscience chose that moment to rear her ugly head, again questioning Kyndel’s sanity. ‘Catty Kyndel’ reminded her that she was supposed to be caring for Rayne’s injuries instead of careening towards the point of no return. There was no simple pressing of her lips to his flesh with this man. She gently raised her herself back on her knees and scooted a little farther down the bed until she was positioned beside his hips. She glanced back at the amazing male specimen sprawled across her bed, dumbstruck by the masculine beauty he exuded, even laying there wounded and sound asleep. He was absolutely stunning. For some unknown reason she felt peace, like them being together made things right, not just for this time but for all time.
As her eyes continued to roam over his body, her jaw dropped. The picture that had eluded her sight came into view. A dragon! On his back! The most intricate and beautiful marking she had ever seen. What she believed to be a simple mass of scar, now visible proved not to be scarring at all. They formed a magnificent red and golden dragon that covered the better part of his back and wrapped around his waist. She couldn’t believe her eyes. It had not been there twenty minutes before and if she was not completely losing her mind or maybe because she was, she would swear it was looking right at her.
CHAPTER FOUR
He slowly came out of his healing sleep with a sense of contentment so deep it was like nothing he’d felt in all his years. It sank into his core and made its home inside his soul. The pieces of a puzzle he hadn’t known were missing had suddenly fallen into place, all was right in his world. He had found his mate. The feeling of utter fulfillment coming from his dragon further infused Rayne with a true sense of satisfaction. In his mind’s eye, he could see the 1000 pound beast rolling around on his back, making chuffing sounds while little puffs of smoke rose from his nostrils, like a kitten that had just tasted the best catnip in town.
Rayne inhaled deeply, smelling the beautiful scent of flowers in the meadow after a rainfall that from now to eternity, he would always associate with her. He also smelled herbs and felt a warm sensation all over his back. The realization that the feel of her hands on him hadn’t been a dream made him smile. He concentrated and realized she’d rubbed some sort of ointment on his back, something to ease his pain. She had taken care of him while he was in his healing sleep. She was coming to care for him in the most elemental of ways. It was part of the mating call but that didn’t lessen the thrill of knowing she had seen to his needs for him. He knew she didn’t yet realize they were destined to be together. She had seen him in pain and had done whatever she could to make him more comfortable, to care for him.
He inhaled deeply again, smiling as he exhaled. Just the thought of her, his mate, his Kyndel, brought a smile to his face and sent blood rushing to his groin. Even her name was beautiful. It described her to a tee; from her fiery mane of red hair to her beautiful emerald eyes that spit fire when she was angry or frustrated. He could drown in those beautiful pools of deep crystalline green. His smile broadened as he thought of the cute little freckles that were dusted across her face. He planned to spend an incredible amount of time kissing each and every one of the ‘angel kisses’ covering her cute little nose and high rounded cheeks. He prayed she had those tempting little spots all over her body. His cock hardened at the thought of searching her beautiful curves.
He had spent most of the walk to her house just looking at her, taking in everything that made her who she was, made her special, made her Kyndel. He was pleased to see he was a whole head taller than her. Not that it would have truly mattered one way or another, but it made all kinds of erotic images of how she would fit perfectly against him in a variety of positions spring to mind. He pictured all the evenings they would spend with her head resting on his chest as they relaxed in bed, exhausted from hours of making love. He wanted to experience everything with her, not just everything naked. He would be lying if he said that those thoughts didn’t dominate his thoughts but he wanted so much more for their lives together. He truly wanted to experience all that life had to offer with his wonderful new mate.
His mouth watered at the thought of tasting every inch of her full, curvy body. He wanted to spend hours between her soft shapely thighs. He was sure she hadn’t noticed how high her skirt hiked up as she knelt beside him on the sidewalk. He thought his heart would leap from his chest as she leaned over to place her sweatshirt under his head. The combination of her skirt giving him a peek at her creamy thighs and the threat of her beautiful breasts spilling from the neckline of her blouse made rational thought almost impossible. His heart kicked into overdrive, even the pain he was feeling could not stop his reaction to her. He knew the only thing that held him back from taking her right
then and there had been his injuries coupled with his need to make sure she understood exactly who they were to each other. He would not enter into the most important relationship of his life with any doubts or unanswered questions on the part of his mate. Then he had scented the hunters and all thoughts of anything but her safety had flown from his mind.
He had to smile as he thought of the look on her incredibly expressive face clearly stating that she thought he was an escaped mental patient. The way her eyes narrowed and her brow furrowed made him want to take her into his arms and kiss all her worries away. It was all he could do not to laugh as she continued to eye him suspiciously while trying to convince him to go to the hospital. What she didn’t know and he wasn’t able to explain at the time was that human doctors couldn’t help him in any way and probably would’ve thrown him in a padded room for observation or dissection. But none of that negated the fact that her worry and concern had touched something deep in his heart, something he’d never imagined existed inside of him until Kyndel.
Although he couldn’t wait to watch the expressions of surprise flit across her gorgeous face and in the depths of her emerald eyes, he knew that he had to be careful how he explained who he was and what they would soon be to each other. She would be suspicious; it was her nature, but he was hoping the favorable reactions she’d already had to him and the pull of the mating call would help to convince her that he was indeed telling the truth. If not, he would use whatever means necessary to keep her safe, even if that meant tying her up to keep her from running away. They were mates, made for one another by the Universe, and the Universe did not make mistakes. Surely, she could understand that.
He not only wanted to experience every erotic fantasy he’d ever had with her, he also wanted to show her his clan, share his life with her and introduce her to all the people held close to his heart. More importantly, he wanted to know everything there was to know about her. Her likes and dislikes, her family, absolutely everything about her intrigued him. He couldn’t wait to experience the break of every day and the close of every evening with her. He knew she was incredibly intelligent, highly spirited, loyal to a fault and almost fearless. He couldn’t have hoped for a more perfect mate. He was the first of his Force to find his mate, a truly extraordinary event in the life of a dragon shifter. There would be days of celebration and feasting for every member of the clan. The mating ceremony would bring hope of a fruitful future to the entire clan.
He continued to simply lie in her bed, drinking in the fragrance that was uniquely her, content to bask in the warmth of her home, definitely in no hurry to be anywhere else. His internal clock told him the three hours she’d promised him had passed some time ago but she hadn’t awakened him and he just couldn’t make himself move in that moment. Soon enough he would have to rise and begin a series of difficult conversations with his beautiful mate.
His magic stores replenished from his healing sleep, he opened his senses and located her in the living room. From the sound of her breathing she was deep asleep. His poor mo ghra’, what a night she’d had. One that could’ve ended in terror and pain had the scum bag following her gotten to her before Rayne had stopped him, not to mention the hunters that were skulking through the park only yards away from his Kyndel. They would have beheaded her and disposed of her body without a thought of the beauty and spirit they’d extinguished from the earth. A shiver ran down his spine from the mere thought. He calmed, knowing he had made it in time. He had kept her safe. Something he would be doing for the rest of their very long lives.
He called out to his brethren through their unique mind speak. He needed to make sure they had cleared the bodies from the park. They would have smelled his blood so he also had to let them know he had healed and was with the woman he had saved. Aidan and Lance answered immediately. They had all been friends since they were young, playing in the meadow and scaring little vibrias. Even though he had risen to the rank of Commander quicker than any other, they were still his best friends, the three of them along with Devon, Royce and Aaron made up the most elite fighting Force in the Dragon Guard. They were envied by all other clans and often called upon to help. More than being brothers in arms, they were real brothers, not that they had the same parents but they were brothers of the heart and by the blood. They shared a bond only death could break and even then they were sure to meet in the heavens. One of the best features of their incredibly strong bonds was the ability to mentally communicate over long distances and sense when one of them was in danger.
They were just finishing up when Rayne contacted them. Aidan and Lance assured him they had disposed of the hunters’ bodies and that of Kyndel’s would be attacker. Lance, the class clown of the bunch, who was never one for tact or decorum, almost immediately asked about the beautiful woman Rayne had inadvertently shown him with his thoughts. The less than gentlemanly thoughts roaming around his brethren’s head were enough to cause Rayne’s dragon to puff up in anger. Both man and beast were immediately engulfed with jealousy. He knew his brethren would do nothing to dishonor their bond but that didn’t stop the territorial feelings he already had for Kyndel to burn. He could feel Lance laughing at his reaction and realized his pain in the ass brethren had let those images float through their connection to get a rise out of him. Jealousy and the need to punch Lance in the face was yet another effect of the mating call and one he would have to work hard to control. They’d been together so long that keeping a secret was almost impossible. It was an everyday occurrence for one or all of them be teased and taunted relentlessly no matter the subject.
As their bond grew stronger the territorial feelings would diminish but would never completely disappear, even after they were officially mated. He calmed at the thought of Kyndel wearing his mark for all to see. He would have to control the intense feelings of jealousy driving him to lash out when any other man even glanced in her direction. The little he knew of his mate assured him she would not appreciate his brand of protectiveness, at all. He would always be overprotective of her and have the need to be near her whenever possible even after they were mated. Her safety, needs, wants and desires would always be the most important things to him. She was the center of his universe and he would protect her at all cost.
Rayne took a few deep breaths to get his emotions under control then told his friends about his mate. He could not hide nor did he want to, the depth of emotion in his voice as he shared her name and told them that she was the most beautiful, perfect creature ever created by the Universe. He told them with pride, how she had not backed down when he refused to go the human hospital and chuckled as he relayed how long it had taken him to convince her to let him come to her home to fall into his healing sleep. They laughed long and hard when he relayed how she had threatened to kill him if he died while he rested. Their envy was evident when he told them how she’d cared for him while he slept and understood it only came from their desire to also find their mate. He heard the smiles in their voices and felt their happiness for their future together.
His brethren’s happiness further fed his until he had to shut down all visual images of Kyndel for fear that he wouldn’t be able to control his mind from remembering how absolutely perfect she was from head to toe. He didn’t want his friends to catch the thoughts of her creamy thighs or her perfect pert breasts that he knew would more than fill his hands as he massaged and caressed them. Nope, there was no way he wanted them to see that and there was no way he could keep the visuals from streaking across his mind. He could think of nothing else but how he wanted her naked body laid out in front of him like a feast for his eyes, hands and mouth. His mind immediately wondered to her nipples, that he knew without a doubt, were rosy and would darken as he worked them with his hands and mouth. He inhaled deeply as he imagined the beautiful blush that would cover every inch of her delectable peaches and cream skin the more excited she became. He realized he’d gotten lost in his thoughts and forced himself to pay attention to his brethren. They were both laugh
ing, forcing him to smile despite himself. They knew he’d missed almost everything they’d said and were well aware that he was day dreaming about his lovely mate. He chuckled right along with them. There was no use fighting it, he was already falling for his Kyndel.
“You are a goner, dude,” Lance said still chuckling. “Have you explained about us to your beautiful bride?”
“No, but that is the next order of business.” And he cut their connection.
Satisfied that his brethren had the situation well in hand, Rayne decided it was time to see about his beautiful mate. He climbed off her bed and stretched, surprised at the lack of soreness in his muscles. Whatever Kyndel had rubbed on his back had reduced the stiffness that usually came from accelerated healing. He spotted the drinks she must have left on the bedside table while tending to his wounds and even though they were watered down from the ice melting, he drank both straight down. At least that took the feel of a mouth full of cotton away.