by Maia Starr
And then, years down the road, they would have children. Oh, beautiful children, children that would grow up with Ethan’s casual, confident smile and Eliza’s natural curiosity for the world around her.
Grunting, Eliza nodded at the dress she wore now and checked her watch. “Crap!” she was late, or would have been if she had kept on planning her imaginary life out. It was fun to dream, though she knew those dreams of hers were ideal. Things might work out the way she wanted, or maybe they wouldn’t. She’d just have to see how she felt after tonight, right?
Collecting her purse and sliding her phone into her hidden skirt pocket, Eliza burst out the door to her apartment, rushing back to lock the door and then running out onto the street, her smile never fading.
“Now, where did he say it was…?”
Arriving at the outskirts of town with minutes to spare before Ethan would arrive, Eliza stepped closer to the edge of the road. She looked up and down, assuming Ethan had meant this side of the road, and not, say, the side of the road down another mile. It was odd that he’d wanted to meet near the edge of town, just outside of the forest, but Eliza didn’t mind all that much.
The snap of a twig echoed from the forest beyond, and she spun to peer into the general area of where she had thought she’d heard the snap. A rustle of leaves, and the padding of what sounded like paws, alerted Eliza to a hulking form waiting just beyond the tree line. Eliza gulped, her eyes widening, and stepped back onto the street. What is that? A wolf? It’s looking right at me!
Eliza was so consumed in staring the wolf down as it growled and strode out from the shadows that her ears didn’t pick up the distant flapping of oversized wings. She didn’t hear the flapping until the wind whistled as something massive dropped to hang in the air above her and the wolf, the resulting gusts nearly knocking her from her feet. She looked up, and her eyes widened even further, and she screamed in momentary fright as the thing hovering above reached down with its claws and snatched her up. The wolf, howling in fury, charged, but slid to a halt when the creature that now carried Eliza lifted up until they were above the tree line.
The sudden force upwards left Eliza momentarily dazed as she peered down. Recognizing how far up she was, she screamed again, unable to comprehend what was happening.
Now she heard the flap of the massive wings and slowly looked up to regard the creature, whose chestnut colored eyes were regarding her just as critically. There was apprehension in the reptilian eyes that seemed to glare at her. A huff, and then the thing took off through the air, Eliza more like a ragdoll in its arms.
In the dragon’s arms. I’m being kidnapped...by a dragon.
Chapter Eleven
Ethan
He’d done it. Ethan had kidnapped Eliza. And what a rush it had been.
It had taken him all of a few minutes to decide on kidnapping her, on taking her from the public stage of downtown Salem to his more reserved, less intrusive home in the Cave Dragon’s territory.
In my territory. Sometimes the notion that the Cave Dragons were under his leadership was blurred and fickle, even though Ethan had been alpha for over a month now.
No other shifters would even get the opportunity to eye Eliza like a slab of meat while she stayed in his domain. Her safety had been what drove Ethan. The caves, virtually hidden beneath the overgrowth, and forbidden entry to all other shifters save the Cave Dragon clan members and those Ethan permitted himself to enter, were the perfect place to lay low. Even if that bear shifter, Jesse, hadn’t been much of a threat, there were others, like Seth.
Seth, who tried to steal Eliza from me at the exact moment I wanted to steal her myself. Had the wolf shifter guessed Ethan’s game? Or was convergence just blind luck on Seth’s part. He nearly had her too: if I had shown up any later... Not that any of it mattered anymore. Sure, Ethan would find time to have another, more brutal, talk with the sneaky shifter, but not even Seth would dare try to enter his territory. Not for Eliza. And Even if the bastard did, Ethan would tear him to shreds.
Despite the almost pitch-black sky that night, Ethan glided easily along the treetops, staying low enough to make sure it would be harder for strangers to detect him. His left claw, which held onto Eliza tightly, finally stopped moving around. To her credit, Eliza had tried to push her way of out his grasp the entire ride so far, not that he blamed her. Screaming was the typical response to having a dragon snatch you up. He could rebuild her trust in him, no matter how long it took. As long as he came out sane, and she came out his mate, everything would be fine.
Right, Arthur? Was that how you saw things? How about you, Maia?
Snorting, Ethan spotted his landing zone, near his home cave, a single lantern fire illuminating the small clearing, and gently descended. He placed Eliza deftly on the ground so as not to hurt her. He strained to shift back quickly, in case she tried to run away into the darkness, but it was evident from the moment she’d touched the ground that vertigo still gripped her mind, and she struggled to right herself as she stood.
Wobbling, she nearly fell, and Ethan rushed over to catch her. She fell back into the crook in his elbow, his other arm wrapped tightly around her midriff. Still dazed, she looked up at him, her lips quivering and pupils opening to adjust to the dark. After a few moments, she looked around.
“The dragon!” she hissed. “Wh-where did it go? There was a dragon, wasn’t there? There was—”
She stopped, suddenly, as her face twisted, her beautiful brows furrowing, her dainty fingers gripping hard against his chest. All Ethan could do was watch in wonder at the woman in his arms. Like an angel, blond hair billowing below her, eyes bright and heart pounding beneath her ribs. Compelled by her fruity smell, Ethan leaned down with his lips puckered, intent on starting their physical relationship right there and then, but found the pale palm leaving his cheek hot and stinging. Reeling back, Ethan let her go by accident, and she dropped to the ground and scrambled to her feet, remaining hunched as she pointed a shaky finger at him. “You’re...you’re the dragon, aren’t you, Ethan? You can turn into a dragon.” She paused, her words only just sinking in. “You can turn into a dragon!”
Rubbing his cheek, with salty tears watering in his left eye, he grinned. Damn, can she hit! “Yes, now you know, Eliza. I’m not just anybody.”
“You lied to me!”
“I don’t remember saying I was human…”
“But you pretended to be!” she said, her voice shrill in his ears, edged so much she needed to breathe in between each sentence that tumbled from her mouth. “You walked around, entered that restaurant to meet us for lunch, pretending to be human! What are you? Some sort of shapeshifter? This is insane!” Turning, she stumbled and held out a hand to stop Ethan from coming forward to catch her again. He let her continue to speak out, hoping she would lose energy and allow him to come forward and wrap his arms around her. But she whirled on him as he did, and she glared daggers at him. “Those rumors...the ones about people shapeshifting into animals. Is that what you are? Answer me, Ethan!”
“Eliza, you need to calm down.”
“And why are you naked? What do you intend to do with me? Rape me? Why did you kidnap me? I thought you were nice, perfect almost. Everything was going great! Everything made sense, so what is this?”
In the next second, Ethan looked away with a grimace, knowing it would be hard for her to get over the kidnapping. If there had been another way…
He looked back to see her bolting into the woods and swore as he leaped after her. It took only a matter of seconds to catch her, wrapping his massive arms around her and lifting her into the chilled air. His breath, hot and steaming, rolled over her as she screamed and kicked at the air, her arms trapped beneath his own. He turned and sauntered back the way they had come, ignoring Eliza’s attempts to berate him. He had to admit, the attempts poked at his sense of pride, and the very act of kidnapping was much easier on his mind that he thought it would be. Maybe because of how dangerous Salem had suddenly
become for her, the act of kidnapping hadn’t soured his stomach just yet.
“Dammit, put me down, Ethan! Let me go home!” she began to weep. “I just wanted a date, that’s all. Not a damn kidnapping.”
Ethan rolled his head back in nausea at her words, the queasiness about his situation finally hitting him. She just wanted a fun night...and I stole that from her, didn’t I? But she can have a hundred more fun nights out, thanks to me. Right?
Dropping her down once again, he expected her to run, but instead, she quickly backed away from him, her gaze lingering on him, her fright etched into her hunched being as she hugged herself.
“You’ll understand, Eliza. Soon, you’ll understand.”
“Tell me now!”
“No. You’re too emotional about all this.”
“Who the hell wouldn’t be emotional?”
“I’m doing this for you, Eliza. You have to believe me.”
She stared hard at him, her eyes going bloodshot as she sniffled. A cold breeze rushed through. She doesn’t believe me. Not yet, anyway.
“Are you sure?” she asked, the question searing into his mind. “How does kidnapping from my new home help me?”
Growling, Ethan’s eyes flickered to the lantern light just beyond her. “Come on; let’s go inside.”
“Where?”
“Just follow me, okay?”
Chapter Twelve
Eliza
“What is this place?” Eliza said as she stumbled into the cave mouth, feet skittering as she came to a stop to peer further inside. The cave was dark, even darker than the outside, and she struggled to adjust.
“My home,” Ethan said with a grunt. He stopped alongside her, glancing at the odd look she threw him. “Yes, I know. I’m living in a cave. Isn’t it wonderful?”
“Why the hell would you live in a cave?” she asked, starting to edge away from him to the side. The lantern from just outside the cave mouth leaked its light into the entrance, stretching out both their shadows before them. Ethan’s was longer, and larger, and the more she stared at it, the harder it became to keep herself from shaking. “It’s insane.”
“It’s what I prefer,” he said, striding forward, causing Eliza’s eye to drift to his behind. Even if she didn’t trust him now, it was still hard to keep her gaze off his gorgeous body. “Caves are nice and moist, cool when the breezes come by, warm to the touch during the summer. But it’s never too extreme. There’s natural lighting in some areas, small chance of robbers trying to break in. It’s cozy, too. There’s even a little stream that trickles through one of the cracks in the back.” He turned to grin at her as if he hadn’t just lifted her from the ground and threw her around in midair. She snorted at his attempt to smile, and turned away, though her chest thumped in answer. His looks are deadly.
Seeing her pretended disinterest, Ethan reached into the darkness and blew on something, and suddenly a small fire roared to life inside an iron caged lantern. Hung from the wall, Ethan walked to the other side to blow on two more candles and kept going, breathing and somehow creating crackling fire from his fingertips.
“You can breathe fire, can’t you?” Eliza asked as her body followed along, her arms tautly crossed across her ample chest. She felt the heat of his gaze linger on her chest, and then look up to meet hers.
“What does it look like I’m doing?”
“Breathing fire.”
“Then I’m breathing fire. Is that so hard to understand.”
“No, it’s just—”
“Just what?”
She frowned, contemplated shutting her mouth and not answering, but sighed. “It’s just odd. Half an hour ago I was simply waiting for a wonderful night with you. But you came as a dragon, snatched me away, and now you’re breathing fire. How am I supposed to react to that?”
A flicker of a strange expression twisted across his face and then vanished, and instead, Ethan continued without looking back. “I don’t know. I don’t normally show my true form to regular humans, so I don’t know what the popular way to react is. I’m guessing shocked, which you nailed perfectly.”
His voice was smooth again, like the spice of gin, except Eliza found herself drawn in again, wanting to hear him speak more. She could listen to him talk all night...if he didn’t turn out to be a dragon kidnapper.
Stopping suddenly, her shoes accidentally kicking some rocks she nearly stumbled upon, she peered back at the entrance to the cave, wondering if she could sneak away while Ethan had his back turned. Turning back around, she found Ethan staring at her, a heavy sigh escaping his lips. “Don’t try to leave again. I need you here, Eliza.”
“Why?”
“Because I want you.”
“For what? What could you possibly want me for?”
He was silent, his eyes darkening amidst the flicker of fire in the lanterns surrounding them. Their shadows were stretched in multiple directions now, and considerably shorter.
“Do you want me just for yourself? Romantically? Sexually? I was prepared to give both tonight!” she squealed, her voice cracking. She breathed sharply and looked away. “What else could have possibly driven you to bring me here?”
“I said I’d tell you when you calmed down,” he said, resuming his work of lighting the lanterns. Only a few remained unlighted, and when he had finished, he gestured for her to follow him into a connecting passage. The passage was narrower, more angular, like a hallway, and at the end was a bedroom. A single bed was against one wall, at its foot was a desk. A tall mirror, like the one Eliza owned in her Salem apartment, stood off to one side. Next to the mirror stood a tall, wooden wardrobe. There were more things inside, but the darkness prevented her from seeing the rest, or even caring. “This is my room, where I sleep and the like. For the moment, you can take my bed while I go find another one.”
Eliza scoffed. “What, you don’t want to sleep in the same bed now? I thought you were interested in me.”
Something fearsome and intoxicating flashed in Ethan’s eyes, and for the first time since being dropped in the forest, Eliza’s blood grew hot and heavy. She licked her lips as he watched her. She expected him to come towards her, to pick her up and throw her on the bed and lay into her. But he didn’t, leaving her tense and tapping her finger along her arm. Ethan simply stood and held her gaze, wrinkling his nose at the thought. “Maybe when you’re seeing things clearly. But not yet, Eliza.”
“So then what now?” she asked, walking forward. “You want me here. I’m assuming you don’t want me to leave the cave, right?” he nodded. “What am I supposed to do in here, then? I have classes, you know. With Professor Allard. And there’s Jesse. When they find out I’m missing, they’ll track me down, probably to here, and then the jig will be up, Ethan.” She watched the outline of his muscular body as it strode toward her, gulping when something huge between his legs swung about. She’d forgotten that Ethan had been naked this entire time, the darkness hiding most of his lower body, but now that realization had hit her, and her cheeks burned like she was about to breathe fire too.
When he was close enough to breathe his hot breath on her, he nearly whispered, “What do you want to do? It’s just the two of us here now.” Suddenly his hand grasped her shoulder, and she flinched, eyes glaring up at him despite how heart pounded and her body opened up. Leaning away, he looked down at her. “Despite what you may believe, you’re safe here. I won’t force you to do anything you don’t want to. You want to know why I took you? Then here’s why: because I want you. You’re so perfect, and I can’t hold back any longer.”
“You want to sleep with me?”
“It’s the best stress reliever…”
Eliza wanted to recoil, to slap him across the face. What in the hell was this guy talking about? Sleep with him? In his dreams! But she had to admit...his invitation was intoxicating. Her body had already been reacting, creating fantasies in her mind, even if there was a nagging part of her that told her it was a bad idea.
Taking he
r hand, he led her to the bed, and she made no move to stop him.
Chapter Thirteen
Ethan
Before she could even get within arm's length of the bed, though, Ethan turned and grabbed her cheeks, pulling her close enough for their lips to press into each other. Shocked, she held back initially, but then her head buzzed with a strange pleasure, and she relaxed.
His lips, hot to the touch, felt like they would burn hers if they remained too close for too long, so she pulled back every couple of seconds, taking a breath, and then dove back in.
Her mind swam as his body pressed to hers, all his hard, statuesque muscles, rippling against her stomach, his lower body grinding on hers. Responding in kind almost automatically, Eliza touched and prodded him, her lust fighting off the hesitation for the most part. He moaned as she reached to his waistline, and a small smile spread across her lips.
And then his hands were tearing into her clothes, pulling and wrenching them above and off her body. Some of the seams tore as he worked, causing Eliza to frown, allowing her hesitation to come back into the fray. She stopped midway trying to help him take off her clothes, the nagging returning to overwhelm her thoughts. Typically Eliza wasn’t a one-night stand type of girl, especially not with a man who had just kidnapped her by turning into a dragon.
But Ethan wasn’t having any part of her partial reluctance, and soon he picked her up and tossed her on the bed, lifting her legs to remove her panties and heels. His head ducked below her legs, and instantly Eliza’s eyes rolled back, the nagging vanishing from her thoughts as pure pleasure blasted into her veins. Ethan was beyond good...she wouldn’t have doubted that other women would be all over him, drooling at the chance to have him rip at their clothes just like he did to her.