The Vampire's Spell: Alone with The Night (Book 6)

by Lucy Lyons

  You must stop, said Tem’s mind. You don’t know what you are getting yourself into.

  Stop. How could she? There was only one purpose, here, now, and that was to touch this man, this dragon, this gorgeous male, and resonate with his essence.

  You don’t sound like you want to stop.

  Damn me. Wanting and needing are two different things.

  And what do you want? What do you need?

  I want your hands on me. I need you not to do that.

  Astrid smiled the kind of smile that only an inexperienced woman could, one of innocence and mischief. She was on the edge of discovery, of treading a new and foreign country, and she did not care if she had the visa to do it.

  Her breathing sped as she untied the string of Tem’s sweats. He pulled against his bonds in protest.

  Do not act as if you don’t want this, she told him with her mind.

  God help me, yes, I do.

  All I’m going to do is touch you, she sent innocently.

  All? All? You have me begging against my better nature with a sponge bath, woman.

  She chuckled and pulled down his pants to reveal the magnificent piece of him that pointed straight and proud toward her. Astrid closed her eyes as she stroked it tentatively and was surprised at how soft the skin felt, almost like velvet, yet held what seemed like a steel rod within. Pre-cum leaked at the tip and she palmed it. The heat from his head filled the palm of her hand and she cooed as she twisted her hand this way and that, spreading around his natural lubrication.

  His scent, rich and musky, rose off him and she could not resist the urge to bend her head and touch her tongue to his flesh.

  Oh, good Lord, groaned Tem.

  She had never done this and the taste, slightly salty but laden with undertones that declared “male”, intrigued her.

  I need more.

  You are playing with fire.

  Yes, but you are a dragon.

  That should be your warning.

  Of what? How delicious you are?

  Tem made a throaty noise that teetered between approval and disapproval of her intended action.

  You have me at your mercy, he replied.

  I think you enjoy that.

  I think you do not know the depths of a dragon’s appetites, and how far we will go to fulfill them.

  Oh? Is that meant to scare me?

  Yes.

  Too bad. You don’t.

  I should.

  With a shrug of her shoulders, she smiled and brought both of her hands up the length of his shaft. He shuddered.

  Your hands are soft.

  You are not.

  Pre-cum leaked on her hands and he made a throaty purr as she wrapped her hands around his shaft and stroked again.

  Is this your idea of torture?

  Are you in pain?

  Flames.

  She inched her hands down his shaft and cupped his balls.

  Does that help?

  No, he growled.

  She massaged them with her fingers, enjoying how they felt against her fingers. Her breathing sped up as she imagined Tem’s thick cock inside her. A curious burn and tingles raced through her body and pooled between her legs. The sensations rushed through her, like a tiny flame consuming dried moss and tiny branches. They built from insistent pulses to a searing flame that raced through the dry kindling of her incipient desire.

  She let one hand reach between her legs and she bent her head to Tem’s shaft. As her tongue flicked against the flame red head, her fingers touched the raw flesh beneath her panties.

  Tem drew in a deep breath and she licked and nibbled the velvety head of his cock. The taste of his precum was exquisite and she lapped at it eagerly.

  Good Lord. I need my hands in your hair.

  Astrid reached for the keypad in the shackles and pressed the code that released his hands. Without waiting, Tem ripped the stupid lenses off her eyes, and dropped them to the ground and fisted his hands on either side of her head. He urged her lower, to take him more fully, and she opened her lips wide and sunk down on his delicious rod.

  His cock filled her mouth, stealing all her senses except for her awareness of how very much she wanted him. Her hand explored her own flesh more forcibly and she found the center where she sunk her fingers.

  Oh fuck.

  Raw images of what she was doing flooded her mind from Tem’s perspective. There were no words, just his rising passion at the carnal pleasures she performed and his desire to take her fully, to sink himself into her sweet heat.

  His passions nearly overwhelmed hers with their intensity, but she rose, higher and higher, both loving and insensate to his shaft filling her mouth. Want drove her further than she had ever been, though she wasn’t sure just where that need would take her.

  Tem thrashed as her tongue lashed his cock and low noises came from his throat. His shaft grew thicker and throbbed and then he cried out as pulses of cum shot into her mouth.

  She had never tasted anything so delicious and she eagerly swallowed everything he gave her. She suckled every drop and the thought of having that part of him inside her spurred a final flurry of her fingers on her desire wracked flesh.

  Astrid shuddered as a wave of fire crashed on her, exploding every nerve ending in her body. The walls of her core pulsed on her questing fingers and sent more delicious shocks through her body.

  Oh, God.

  Was that Tem, or her, or both of them? She pulled off Tem and he pulled up upright to hold her against his chest.

  They stood there lost in each other, listening to each other’s breathing.

  Astrid?

  Yes, Tem?

  Are you okay?

  Of course. Why do you doubt it?

  You released my shackles.

  Only your hands. You needed them.

  Yes. I did.

  Astrid raised her head and pressed her lips to his, enjoying the feeling of his body against hers. But his muscles grew hard and bunched as if he was trying to defend himself.

  Tem?

  I shouldn’t have done this. Lord, what have I done?

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Tem

  The shock of what Tem had allowed jettisoned him from the sexual haze that had snared the dragon when Astrid walked into his cell. Astrid gazed at him with hurt and trepidation and he hated it. He was old enough, damn it, not to be drawn into mating on instinct alone.

  Tem?

  He couldn’t bear the look in her eyes. Every piercing shard of doubt and fear revealed in those beautiful green globes shredded his heart like little knives.

  What did you do, old man? What possessed you to let her touch you like that?

  Ah, what didn’t possess him. Common sense. Decency.

  There were other dragons that had no compunction about using their wiles on human women. Dragons, at any time, were a powerful draw to a human woman.

  He wanted to reassure her, but he had no good words. Confusion washed over her face and he sensed her rising panic that she had done something to displease him.

  It’s not your fault.

  Four little words. They were so useless, so inadequate. She blinked and he felt her disbelief.

  I- she started.

  I— broke in Tem— knew. I knew as soon as you walked into my cell that you should turn around and leave and never come back.

  She shook her head stubbornly.

  We don’t have time for this.

  She bent and released the shackles on his ankles and finally the collar on his neck.

  What are you doing, human?

  Getting you out of here.

  You can’t do this. Danger. Danger to you!

  You can argue or you can help me get Calvin. I’ll release Evan.

  And then what are we supposed to do?

  “You’re the dragon,” she said aloud. “I’m sure you have dragon tricks up your sleeve. But we don’t have much time. The technician will return to his station eventually.” She smirked at that and rude
images of what the technician was probably doing in the bathroom filled his head.

  Please. No visuals.

  Sorry.

  Astrid tossed his shirt at him and he pulled it on while she went to Evan’s cell. Evan gave a whoop and ran out of his cell, looking extremely pleased.

  “How about my girl?” he said.

  Tem pursed his lips. This was not the time to explain what had happened between him and Astrid.

  “No time for chit chat,” said Astrid. She entered Calvin’s cell and released his shackles. His limp body fell into Tem’s arms.

  Harsh klaxons rang and Astrid sprinted to the outer door. She swiped her key card but the door refused to budge.

  “Oh, hell!”

  Astrid’s alarm sent shock waves through Tem and the urge to shift gripped him. He needed his dragon form and strength, but not here in this tight place. Tem handed off the unconscious Calvin to Evan and rushed to Astrid.

  “What are we going to do?”

  “Stand back.”

  It was a matter of whether his human form was strong enough to do what he planned. He couldn’t fully shift here, but he could pull what strength he needed from his dragon form, or at least try.

  Otherwise, not just him, but Astrid, Calvin and Evan would be dead meat.

  The klaxon continued its raucous noise as he raised his leg and kicked.

  Astrid’s eyes grew very wide and she gasped as he flung his foot into the metal door. If he were a mere man he would have shattered his foot or ankle, possibly both. Drawing from his dragon form, the strength of dragon sinew and bone wrapped around his human form and flung a massive force into the steel. It shrieked and crumbled, until the metal hung at on odd angle from the frame.

  “Go!” he yelled as he took Calvin from Evan. “Run.”

  At once the lights in the hallway shut down, leaving them in darkness.

  “I can’t see,” said Astrid.

  “I can,” said Evan. “Take my hand.”

  Tem’s dragon eyes allowed him to watch Astrid and Evan flee down the hallway, but his dragon sense of smell told him that there were humans standing at the end. The acrid odor of gun oil told him they held rifles.

  “Stop!” yelled Tem.

  Their footfalls faltered in the dark and then were silent.

  “I need,” said Tem, “to know where this hallway is positioned in relation to the outside. Where is the closest outside wall?”

  “This is the basement,” said Astrid. “The outside walls are up.”

  “Then the hard way. Evan, take Calvin, Astrid stay behind them.”

  Evan took Calvin and hefted him over his shoulder.

  “Who’d have thought he’d be heavy,” the younger man groused.

  But Tem didn’t have time for conversation. Humans were stunningly good at gathering forces and he could imagine a good size one was forming up now. Calling on his dragon body for strength, he also formed an energetic shield that he hoped would protect all of them from flying bullets.

  It had been a long time since he had summoned what humans called magic. The electric force of the shield danced around his body, making his skin itch and crawl.

  He flung his body down the hall to face the human soldiers that jammed the doorway with their bodies. It was a choke point, meant to head off the dragon’s escape. But it was the point of their defeat as well.

  Tem did not have time to be subtle or gentle. He flung the force field at the armed guards and they fell backward into each other and to the floor.

  “Come,” he said urgently. This was surely just the first wave of defenses; there would be others.

  “Wow,” said Astrid, as he helped her over the pile of humans. He lifted her with one hand and easily swung her over. “Are they—?”

  “Unconscious. Where to?”

  “The lift?”

  “Lead on.”

  Their feet slapped against the cement floors of the basement hallways as they twisted and turned through different corridors. They made the entrance of the lift but found the doors were shut. Again, the humans must have thought this would be a barrier.

  “It won’t open,” said Astrid in distress when her key card failed.

  “No worries, sweetheart,” said Tem. “Back away”

  Tem rammed his foot into the door of the elevator several times and at the last good shove of his foot it crumbled under the force of the blow.

  “You’re terribly good at that,” Astrid said. She peered inside. “But what now?”

  Tem looked over her shoulder and noted that the elevator car had settled at the sub-floor below. He cast his glance skyward and followed the cable. It would have to do.

  “As you said, I’m the dragon.”

  Tem put his hands-on Astrid’s arms, pushed her gently aside and kicked off his slippers.

  “What are you going to do?” said Evan. “And are you doing it soon? No disrespect, but Calvin here—” He shifted the man on his shoulder and huffed for emphasis.

  Tem checked the elevator shaft one more time, and then pushed off, launching his body at the thick cables. And as he did so he shifted.

  Behind him Astrid gasped as his human body stretched then twisted into wings, tail and claws. It was a fearsome sight at any time and he worried what Astrid would think.

  It was one thing to be attracted to a dragon and another to face the reality of his form.

  With a metallic ring Tem’s claws clutched the cable. He glanced over his shoulder. Both Astrid’s and Evan’s eyes were wide at the sight of him.

  He extended a forepaw to Astrid.

  Come.

  And all hell broke loose.

  CHAPTER NINE

  Astrid

  Astrid stared at Tem in his true form and gasped. He wasn’t just beautiful; he was gorgeous. Usually dragons came in different colors, from a dusty gold to rusty brown or occasionally green, but the coloring of Tem’s scales sparkled in an iridescent deep amethyst.

  His wings and forepaws deepened to ebony at their tips, while his claws glittered in the emergency lighting like onyx knifes. His gold eyes blinked at her, reptilian in shape but sparkling with intelligence.

  It was the first time she had seen a dragon up close and she was awed.

  The dragon extended his forepaw.

  Come.

  It was Tem’s voice in her head and this comforted her, but still the sight of Tem as a dragon froze her feet in place. It wasn’t that she didn’t understand what he wanted. She got that she was supposed to climb on his back and help the others there too. He meant to break jail by hauling all of them onto his form and she couldn’t for the life of her see how it could be done any other way.

  But when she reached for him, a gunshot whizzed past her hand, and then another. She jerked her hand back.

  Ping. Ping. Ping.

  The shots grew more frequent, peppering the air with whizzing hot pieces of metal meant to harm.

  Tem raised his beautiful triangular head and roared. It was a sound so loud and deep that the walls shook around them. The shots stopped briefly, but when Tem began the climb on the lift cable, they started again. But then whatever he had used to stop the bullets at the first rally point of the guards, he started using again. The shots glanced off him and clinked against the walls of the lift.

  Evan pulled Astrid’s arm and jerked her away from the opening, which was entirely sensible even if she wanted to watch Tem. It was an unreasonable desire to keep an eye on the dragon, because logically Tem was far better equipped to deal with the threat to their lives than she was.

  But she was finding that when it came to Tem, unreasonable desire was the order of the realm.

  Human screams rent the air and bodies fell to the roof of the car below with a horrible thud. Tem roared again, a challenge and warning to whoever would stop them, and the walls shook with the force of thunder.

  Beside her, Calvin twitched and he groaned. Astrid didn’t know what to make of this, but it seemed that each time Tem roared it
drew a response from the unconscious man.

  Evan slung the man off his shoulder and held him against the wall.

  “Calvin!” he called. “Calvin! Wake-up!”

  The older dragon opened his eyes slowly and blinked.

  “Tem?” he rasped.

  “I’m Evan. Evan Waters. Tem is trying to get us out.”

  “Tem,” the man said as a heavy sigh. He closed his eyes again as if utterly exhausted and Astrid gripped his hands.

  “Please,” she said. “Stay with us.”

  Tem boomed again and rattled the cable, daring the humans to come after him.

  Calvin’s eyes flew open again. “It’s not a dream?”

  “No. Tem is fighting for us,” said Astrid.

  “Good. At least I won’t die here.”

  You aren’t dying anywhere, old man.

  In a day of surprises, Astrid was shocked again. Tem spoke not just to her, but through her to Calvin.

  “What?” he said, just as surprised as Astrid.

  Can you shift? asked Tem.

  Calvin groaned and even Astrid could see the dragon was too weak to be helpful.

  That’s okay, old man. Save your strength. Get ready. I’m coming.

  Tem’s claws clinked on the cable and soon his dragon head poked through the lift opening. He shook his head, like a puppy shaking off water from its fur and gave a throaty purr. Astrid could almost swear that he was grinning.

  Now.

  He pushed through his forepaw and shoulder, extending them into a bridge to his broad shoulders. Astrid navigated Tem’s limb first, and was astonished to find his skin, though it looked like hard scales, was smooth, silky and elastic.

  Of course, darling. Hard scales would provide too much wind resistance.

  After scrambling up his leg, Astrid settled on his neck where she could sit astride, and helped pull Calvin up while Evan pushed. With Calvin seated, Evan followed.

  Hang on, declared Tem. Clutch my hide.

  Astrid dug her hands into Tem’s skin.