“Do you ever—”
Gregor cut her off. “Shush. What triggered the new response?”
“Certain thoughts.”
“I’d gathered that,” he answered dryly.
“Give me a second and let me try something.”
Gregor sighed but motioned with his hand for her to carry on. She wondered if she were the first person to get so far under his skin. To be honest, it was rather fun.
At the thought of having fun with Gregor, the clawing inside her brain started again. Closing her eyes, she bit her lip to keep from screaming and focused. Thoughts of Gregor seemed to trigger the responses, so she imagined swimming with him in the lake and dunking his head under the water. Then laughing as he came up with bits of plants in his hair.
As she imagined plucking away a twig, the pain increased tenfold.
The response made her think Gregor’s theory might be correct. If she were his true mate and her dragon was trapped, the beast would do anything to get out and fulfill the mate-claim frenzy.
She fixed the image of kissing Gregor in her mind and the pain remained the same as before. Images didn’t have the same effect as the action.
As if reading her thoughts, Gregor’s warm lips touched hers and the pain morphed into pleasure. She sighed into his mouth and simply enjoyed the warm strokes of his tongue.
~~~
Gregor had clenched his fingers so hard he’d nearly broken them as he’d watched Cassidy’s body tense and her heart rate increase. Thankfully he hadn’t removed her EEG sensors and he could see that her brainwave activity was also unlike anything he’d ever seen.
Yet as her face grew paler, Gregor forgot about the science and results and kissed his doctor. As she relaxed, both man and beast mentally breathed a sigh of relief.
His dragon was still inside the maze, but as Gregor took the kiss with Cassidy deeper, lustful thoughts seeped through the walls and coursed through him, straight to his cock.
Easing Cassidy back on the bed, he half covered her body with his. The second her hard nipples pressed against his chest, he growled and took a possessive grip on her waist.
He half expected his doctor to push him away, but she drew him closer until he was almost laying on top of her. The feel of her breasts and smaller frame beneath him turned his cock to stone.
His dragon’s lust increased and with a growl, Gregor moved a hand up to one of Cassidy’s breasts and cupped her. She fit perfectly into his palm. He bet her nipple would fit perfectly in his mouth.
At the thought of sucking her nipple deep, a flash of reason returned to Gregor’s brain. With Herculean effort, he drew back and let go. The distance should’ve cooled his thoughts and lust, but the sight of her kiss-bruised lips and flushed cheeks only made him want to strip her and explore every inch of her soft skin.
Taking a few more steps back, he cleared his throat. He would never have Cassidy for his mate, let alone explore her naked body. The end result was too dangerous.
His dragon finally broke free. I want her. She seems to want us. Let her decide.
No. I’m her doctor and it’s my job to protect her.
His beast hissed. We are more than her doctor. She is our true mate. Why do you brush aside a future you want as much as I?
It took everything he had not to think about Cassidy round with his child. Because it’s more important to help Cassidy heal. Or, do you want her to live in pain forever?
Of course not.
Then control yourself and let me help her.
“Gregor?”
Cassidy’s husky voice interrupted his conversation. He studied her face for signs of pain, but he didn’t see any. “Are you all right?”
“Am I all right? From what? Too much kissing?” She leaned forward. “What happened to you? Is your dragon close to breaking free?”
He tilted his head. “Between me fondling you and laying on top of you with a hard cock, I think you know the answer to that.”
“Gregor, stop with the vague comments and just answer my question straightforwardly.”
His beast growled, but Gregor ignored it. “My dragon and I have different priorities.” She merely raised her brows, and he added, “Yes, he wants you, okay? Considering how bonny and clever you are, it shouldn’t be surprising.”
She smiled. “I am clever.” Her expression turned more serious. “But if he’s getting difficult to control, then you’d better leave. Once you’ve studied the results and have something to share, you can come back.”
“Do I need a secret password to enter?”
She rolled her eyes. “Be serious for a second. You don’t want the mate-claim frenzy, and neither do I. I’m just trying to think of the best compromise. Of course, if it’s too much for you, then go back to Lochguard and I can sort out my own problems.”
The thought of leaving his doctor behind caused a bad taste to fill his mouth. “I’m not bloody leaving. Just try not to tempt my dragon so much and we’ll do fine.”
Something flashed in her eyes but was gone before he could blink. “If you want to better control your beast, then talk to Bram. He held his in line for quite a while until he finally gave in to Evie’s charms.”
“I’m not asking Bram for any fucking advice,” he muttered.
Cassidy shrugged. “Your loss.”
“Are you always this infuriating, woman?”
She smiled slowly. “Only with you.”
He couldn’t help but smile back. “Good.”
She widened her eyes in surprise, and he wondered what it would be like to surprise Cassidy Jackson every day of her life.
No. He wouldn’t give his dragon any fodder to use.
His beast chuckled. Too late. We share a mind and you’re horrible at keeping secrets.
Gregor picked up his clipboard and moved to the door. “I’ll go over your readings and see if I find anything. In the meantime, you need to rest. If the pain returns, hit the panic button and I’ll come running.”
“So, it’s more like a ‘kiss emergency’ button,” she answered.
Gregor’s dragon flashed a video-like image of them kissing Cassidy’s neck, her breasts, and even between her thighs.
Gritting his teeth, he banished the image. “Something like that. I’ll be back later.”
Without another word, Gregor walked as quickly as possible away from the female who tempted him like no other.
Hell, if he weren’t careful, he might even give in to his dragon and claim her, which would only sign her death sentence.
Chapter Five
Sid lay in her bed several hours later and studied the patterns on the ceiling.
No matter what she did, her thoughts kept returning to Gregor Innes. More specifically, to the feel of his body and how he made her forget she wasn’t a complete dragonwoman.
To be honest, she was merely a woman; she didn’t deserve the title of dragonwoman.
Of course, if Gregor had his way, he might be able to make her whole again.
Sighing, she looked back to the patterns above her. As a child, she’d always made up stories from the shapes she saw, to distract from thinking about Wyatt’s death. Maybe she could do the same to forget about Gregor and the prospect of having a dragon again. Hope could break her if it turned out her mental anomaly was a rare disease or form of mental illness and not her dragon after all.
Just as she made out an old man with a beard she thought could be a wizard, the voice of the male she was trying to forget about drifted through the door. “Cassidy? Are you awake?”
The unknown presence in her mind perked up and Sid braced herself for pain. “If you have something to report, come in. Otherwise, you’d best stay away and not tempt your dragon.”
The door opened. “I can control my bloody dragon.”
She smiled at his petulant tone. “Do you want to bet on it?”
Gregor’s pupils flashed, but soon became round again and stayed that way. “Do you want to waste time betting or do you want to d
iscuss what I found?”
Sid sat up. “Tell me what you discovered.”
The corner of his mouth ticked up. “I like it when you’re eager.” For a brief second, she expected him to make a joke about being eager when naked, but he merely cleared his throat and continued, “My first question is how much do you know about the science concerning the dual personalities of dragon-shifters?”
“The basics. The human and dragon halves tend to use slightly different areas of the brain for certain tasks, but I’m not an expert. Not only is surgery my specialty, but not much in-depth study has been done on our dual personalities due to lack of funds and resources.”
Gregor pulled up a chair next to her bed. “Well, I’ve been dabbling for years, whenever I have the chance. While my focus has been on children and emerging dragon personalities, since our dragon halves are silent for the first six or seven years, most of the brain activity patterns seem to follow the same areas into adults. At least, for those few I’ve monitored.”
“And?”
Gregor opened his tablet and brought up a chart. He pointed to an intense spike in the middle. “This is when you experienced the greatest amount of pain.” He brought up another chart. “The pattern almost exactly matches a female fighting the mate-claim frenzy here.” And another one. “And this is a child arguing with their dragon for the first time and the dragon tried to take control.”
Sid flipped between the three images. The spikes were almost identical.
Yet she wasn’t about to get her hopes up just yet. “It could just be similar brain activity. It doesn’t mean I have a dragon.”
“Ah, but I knew you’d say that. I’ve gone through every record I can find, and the pattern matches strong emotions between the human and dragon halves.”
“Even if that’s true, it doesn’t give us a solution.”
“But it means we can try to bring out your dragon.”
“Gee, why didn’t I think of that,” Sid answered.
“Stop it, Cassidy. This means your dragon is probably still a part of you, albeit separate. I think all of the dragon-slumber shots given to you as a teenager had an adverse side effect.”
She had thought that as well until she’d dug further into the research. “That’s great and all, but no other cases have been documented.”
Gregor raised his brows. “Do you think it would be? After all, what doctor wants to admit their mistake? Unlike the humans, dragon-shifter doctors don’t have to report to an overarching authority or abide by any set of common practices.”
“Which is bloody dangerous, in my opinion.”
“Aye, I agree with you. But that’s not important right now. What’s important is that you still have your dragon, Cassidy, and I plan to find a way to bring her out.”
~~~
Gregor nearly missed the brief flicker of hope in Cassidy’s eyes before it vanished. His doctor was more than a wee bit skeptical.
His beast spoke up. I still say we should participate in the mate-claim frenzy. That will bring out her dragon.
No, I’m not about to return her lost half only to take her life in nine months’ time.
His dragon huffed. She will be fine.
That’s what you said about Bridget and the bairn.
Cassidy’s voice brought Gregor out of his head. “Let’s say you succeed in bringing out my dragon, then what? Being trapped for over two decades would make the beast insane. I’m not sure I can fix that.”
“You can and you will.”
As they stared into each other’s eyes, Gregor silently vowed to bring hope and happiness back to Cassidy’s eyes.
Looking away, Cassidy asked, “And how do you propose you do that?”
“So, you’re going to let me try?”
She met his gaze again. “Maybe. If you can find someone else who has experienced the same problem as me and returned to health, then we’ll talk about this again. Until then, I just want to be cleared for work and get back to my life.”
Clearing Cassidy would mean Gregor had to return to Lochguard.
His dragon chimed in. Convince Bram we should stay and help her. Finn will probably say yes, too. Layla can handle things.
His beast was correct about Layla and that gave Gregor an idea. “It’s still too early to clear you for work. However, I may be persuaded to clear you tomorrow, provided nothing goes wrong.”
She raised her brows. “And what must I do? I’m sure there’s a catch.”
He smiled. “Oh, aye, there is. Agree that I can stay with you in your cottage to continue to monitor your progress, provided Bram allows me to stay, and you’ll be cleared as soon as possible.”
“You staying in my house isn’t such a good idea.”
“Why not? If you have an episode, you have easy access to my lips. I can also keep track of any changes in brain activity. It’s a win-win for both of us.”
She studied him a second before asking, “And what about your dragon? I imagine it’s getting harder and harder to control the frenzy. Can you really sleep under the same roof and keep your hands to yourself?”
No, his dragon roared.
Gregor ignored him. “Of course. The second I can’t control my beast, I’ll leave. The last thing I want to do is have you die in childbirth.”
Cassidy opened her mouth but promptly closed it. Gregor leaned forward and waited to see what she would say.
His silence paid off and she spoke up again. “Convince Bram and clear me as soon as possible, and I’ll allow you to sleep in the surgery.” He was about to protest, but she shook her head. “I usually sleep here. There’s nothing to argue about on that point.”
“Stonefire is lucky to have you,” he murmured.
Cassidy shrugged. “Of course they are.”
“I love when your confidence shines. You should allow it out all of the time.”
“More importantly, you need to talk to Bram.” She smiled. “Maybe you should invite him here so I can watch.”
“You really do revel in my discomfort, don’t you?”
She shrugged. “How often do I get to see the big, bad alpha doctor squirm? Besides, it might make me heal faster. After all, laughter is a powerful medicine.”
“Aye, is that so?” In the next second, Gregor reached out and tickled Cassidy’s side. As she laughed and tried to lean away, he only stood to keep at it.
When she was finally out of breath, he stopped and put his hands on the mattress to either side of her body. “There’s your dose of laughter for now. I expect to see a much speedier recovery because of it.”
He winked and Cassidy grinned. The happiness in her eyes, which were free of pain, made both man and beast content.
It would be easy to wake up to her face every day and find new ways to make her laugh.
His beast spoke up. Not just laugh. I would like to take her wrists and pin them above her head as we thrust into her.
He focused on Cassidy’s lips. It would be simple to take her wrists, cover her with his body, and kiss her until she was breathless.
“Gregor.” At her husky voice, he met her eyes again. She continued, “The pounding is starting up again. I need you to kiss me.”
The lack of tightness of her jaw or pain in her eyes made him suspicious. Did Cassidy want to kiss him for herself?
Of course she does. We are her true mate.
His dragon’s words were a warning, but he didn’t heed them. “As my lady wishes.”
And he kissed her.
~~~
Sid wasn’t sure what had compelled her to lie, but at the feel of Gregor’s warm lips, she forgot about everything else but his heat, scent, and touch.
As he nibbled and sucked her bottom lip, he maneuvered to her side and laid down. Turning toward him, Sid grabbed his shoulders and pulled him close.
The humming started in her head and faint bursts of lust soon followed. While there was no dragon egging her on to fuck Gregor, the wetness between her thighs and the tightness of her ni
pples made her ache to be filled in a way she’d never wanted before.
Moving a hand to his arse, she hitched her leg over his hip and shimmied closer. The feel of his hard cock against her lower belly increased the humming and her lust tenfold.
Just as she started rubbing against the Scot, he pulled away and murmured, “Stop it, love. My restraint is starting to slip.”
In a voice almost not her own, she answered, “No. I need you. Now.”
Gregor froze. “That’s not you, Dr. Jackson.”
The use of her title cleared the lust haze a fraction. Pulling away, she put a few inches between them. Intense pain exploded into her head and she screamed.
Stop, stop, STOP. Please, just stop.
If anything, the pain increased to the point a sledgehammer against her skull would be relief.
Something pinched in her upper arm. Opening her eyes, she saw Gregor pulling out a needle. She should be furious, but peace returned to her mind bit by bit until she slumped back on the bed.
Gregor’s Scottish burr rumbled in her ear. “Every time I see you in pain, it breaks my heart. Working together, we can find a solution quicker, I know we can. I’ll talk to Bram straightaway.”
He moved to leave and she reached out to grab his hand. “Not yet. Stay, Gregor, and tell me something I don’t know to distract me. The sedative is working, but my mind is raw. I need something to forget the pain.”
“I’m not sure talking about myself will do that.”
“Then tell me why you’re so afraid of childbirth.”
His pupils flashed and Sid wondered if his dragon would convince Gregor to talk. It might be a bit selfish using her own pain to draw out the truth from Gregor, but she had a feeling he might not talk about it otherwise.
Besides, she couldn’t help him heal if she didn’t have all the facts.
With a curse, he removed his hand and pulled up a chair. “I’m not sure I like my bloody dragon always taking your side.”
Cured by the Dragon (Stonefire British Dragons Book 8) Page 5