The Snow Leopard's Christmas Surprise

by Emilia Hartley

  He worried that he knew exactly what was wrong. If he learned anything from her fear it was that she did not feel the same way about him. The moment that she had learned what he really was he had smelled her spike of fear. She practically scrambled away from him. In a flash, that fear turned into anger that he did not understand. She directed it at him and it stabbed him through the heart.

  Using what little control, he had left, he forced himself out of the room. He couldn’t bear to feel his mate’s wrath.

  Mate.

  That was the only explanation for the emotions that he was feeling. A growl rumbled through him. His mate had nearly been raped and he hadn’t killed the man responsible. It was tempting to give her space and go back into the city to hunt the man down. He shook his head.

  Inside of him, his beast agreed. His beast wanted blood or sex.

  Not right now. We need to convince her to trust us.

  Wes went outside to his work space. The pieces of the bed frame he had been working on the day before lay in a pile. It was a project that he didn’t foresee truly needing when he worked on it. The project had only been a way to busy his hands while his mind went off on its own path. Now, he looked down at it and he yearned to see Dakota laying beneath the branches.

  Which, he may never actually be able to do. She likely hated him for whatever reason she felt she couldn’t share. It was likely that she would only come down from his room to ask him to take her back. And he would. He would do whatever she asked. He only wanted her happiness, even if that meant a life without him.

  He gripped a piece of metal. The beast inside of him lashed his tail at the idea of giving up their mate. Behind him a shelf of tools clattered to the floor. He heard the crack of the wall breaking. Beneath his hand, the metal started to melt. He was about to turn and throw it when a small voice startled him.

  He spun to find Dakota standing in the doorway to his workspace. She was barefoot and her hair was mussed as she leaned in the doorway. Inside, his beast growled appreciatively. The urge to take her into his arms was overwhelming. The beast pushed him forward, but he tried to hold his ground.

  “I may have over reacted earlier,” she said, looking at the ground. “You have to understand why I was so angry. I wasn’t mad that you saved me from a dangerous situation. In fact, I’m forever in your debt.”

  “It was no problem,” he choked out.

  She raised a hand for him to stop. “I am a student at the University. Their policy for students from abroad states that if any foreign student is so much as sighted by a dragon, they are to be sent back home. They take dragons very seriously. The fact that I’m here…”

  Her voice trailed off, the fiery emotion from earlier dying with barely a fizzle. He hadn’t known. He had no idea that he was risking something that she seemed to hold so dear. He knew someone that could help, should it come down to that. He wasn’t about to admit to anyone that he left the territory last night. Not if there was any other way to help her.

  Dakota looked up at him finally. “I guess, since I didn’t know what you were at the bar last night, people aren’t likely to recognize you if you take me back. I should be… I should be okay.”

  Wes let go of the breath he hadn’t realized that he was holding.

  Never let her go. The beast whispered demands into his mind. Wes swallowed hard.

  “Would you like breakfast first?”

  She looked up at him, his heart stopping for a brief moment, and nodded. She would stay just a little while longer. Maybe he could earn her trust over pancakes and bacon. The least he could do was learn more about her. Just because his beast had laid claim to the woman didn’t mean that mates were always compatible. His great uncle had loved an evil woman and when her evil deeds got her killed, it had driven him mad.

  If this woman wasn’t the love of his life, then maybe letting her go was best for both of them. Inside of his head, his beast thrashed with an intensity that made his skull throb. It was almost unbearable. The beast urged him toward Dakota, urged him to take the woman in his arms and press her against the wall.

  “Are you alright?” she asked, her hands touching his arms.

  He looked up and gave her a lopsided smile and watched her face falter. His pants grew tight when he realized what kind of effect he had on her. “Just a splitting headache is all.”

  “I thought that your kind were damn near impervious to everything.”

  “Not to silly girls who can’t make up their minds on how they feel,” he teased.

  Her lips curved into a frown and she slapped his arm, but he could see the spark that was in her eye. This close, he wanted to lean forward and take a deep breath of her. The smell of irises was driving him mad. Instead, he reached out and ran his fingers through a knot in her hair, detangling the strands. They felt like silk over his skin.

  She froze for a second and the air between them was charged. His heart thumped inside his chest. It would take little effort to capture her chin in his hands and press his lips to hers. Would they feel soft and pliant? Or would she be filled with fire?

  Before he could decide, she ducked away from him. She wrapped her arms around herself and turned back toward his tower. Inside his head, his beast thrashed once more. The metal pieces of the bed rattled beside him.

  Before his beast could do any more damage to his work space, he followed Dakota back to the tower. Inside, she stood in the center of the room, her arms still wrapped around her body. She looked around nervously. Wes realized that she was still wearing the meager dress from the night before. While it wasn’t too cold outside, the stone of the tower made his home chill.

  “I’ll start a fire then grab you some clothes. I don’t think anything I own will fit you properly, but it will cover you much better than that little slip of nothing does.”

  She turned slowly. “I appreciate it.”

  Wes didn’t tell her that the idea of her wearing his clothes made him hard. Instead, he quickly turned away from her to hide his growing cock and set about getting a fire going in the hearth. He didn’t know how she was going to feel about it, but using his breath was the quickest way possible to get a reliable fire going. He hunched over and felt the fire stirring inside of him. How it didn’t burn his human body from the inside out was beyond him. He didn’t look at things too closely. He tended to try to enjoy what life had to offer.

  Like the woman standing behind him. He would enjoy every inch of her. The fire in his stomach bubbled up through his throat and blasted into the stack of kindling and logs. Behind him, Dakota let out a small gasp. Slowly, he turned around so as to not scare her. She was standing, staring with wide eyes at him. The look on her face was one that was more wonder than anything else.

  “Well, that is a nifty trick,” she said to cover her awe.

  Wes couldn’t help but laugh. He twisted, grabbing an ottoman and pulling it in front of the flames. “Sit. I’ll bring you back some clothing.”

  She brushed past him to sit on the threadbare ottoman. The beast inside of him lurched, pushing him closer to her. He stumbled. She turned, attempting to catch him by putting her hands on his chest. His body collided with hers.

  “Still trying to throw yourself at me?” she asked and let out a small, nervous laugh.

  “It’s a bit hard to explain,” he said as he looked down at the woman. His arm moved to hold her almost reflexively. She was small in the circle of his body. His mouth moved while he tried to find the right words to give her an explanation to what she’d fallen into, but came up with nothing. “I’ll be right back.”

  Wes pushed himself away from her despite the roar of the beast inside of him. It roared and thrashed for their mate, but Wes had to remind the beast that she didn’t trust them. They had to win her over, little by little, in order to have a real bond. He didn’t want this sudden claiming to drive a wedge of resentment between them.

  In his room, the smell of her skin had touched everything. It sank into the sheets thrown across h
is bed. He would sleep in his own room for the first time in months if only to smell her each night. It drove him mad, knowing that it would fade with time. Quickly, he snatched a tee shirt and a pair of sweats from his dresser. He almost didn’t want to cover her beautiful legs, but he knew she would be cold if he brought down shorts.

  ***

  Dakota let herself fall onto the ottoman that he’d pulled out for her. Her heart was racing inside her chest. She’d pulled all the snark she had to keep him from knowing just how he affected her. More than once she’d thought about touching the planes of his chest and letting her hands run lower. She told herself that she was losing it. Was it the remnants of the drug in her system that was making her act so unlike herself?

  Distantly, she heard his heavy footfalls coming down the stone stairs. His soft, blue eyes fell on her and lit up with joy. Probably because she hadn’t tried running away. He handed her a lump of fabric that she assumed was clothing and directed her to the door to her left, telling her that it was a bathroom.

  Keeping her eyes lowered, she took the offered clothing and ducked into the bathroom. A clawfoot tub that could have easily fit two people, or maybe just Wesley, sat before a stained-glass window that depicted a dragon flying over a castle. The light coming in through the window cast dazzling colors about the room. It was beautiful and serene.

  Dakota set aside her borrowed clothing and reached to pull the zipper on the back of her dress. Her shoulders barked in protest. No matter how she reached, the zipper remained out of her grasp. Her muscles throbbed with the effort. She fell onto the toilet lid and felt her eyes burn with tears of frustration.

  No, she would not cry. She swallowed and looked to the door. There was another option, she told herself. She could be an adult and ask for help. There was nothing wrong with that.

  Chapter Ten

  She shoved herself up and opened the door. Wesley was no longer in the living area. The fire burned and crackled without him. Watching him create the fire had been a breathtaking experience. It had defied all forms of science. It should have terrified her, but instead, she was awed.

  Distantly, she heard noise coming from around the curve of the hearth. She followed the sound and found herself in a small kitchen. Wesley stood with his back to her. She watched the muscles of his back flex and dance as he carefully chopped potatoes. She could have done it all day, mesmerized by muscles she hadn’t even known existed.

  His head shot up and he turned around. Dakota squirmed, wondering how he’d known that she was there. Could he smell her? Did she smell awful? She resisted the urge to lift her arm and sniff. She could do that in the bathroom later.

  “You didn’t change,” he said. His voice sounded strained, like his throat was tight.

  “I, uh, can’t seem to reach the zipper.” She pointed redundantly at the back of her dress. “Do you mind helping me?”

  Wesley shook his head. His long legs closed the space between them in a few steps. She turned, her heart thumping inside of her rib cage. She swore that it was only moments from spreading wings and flying around the first floor of the tower. She felt the soft tug of his fingers when he found the zipper pull. Her breath caught in her throat.

  The dress loosened around her body as he pulled the zipper lower. It dropped all the way down to the top of her ass. She heard him swallow hard behind her. It warmed her between her legs to hear what her body was doing to him.

  She jumped when his fingers touched her bare back where she knew a small black, bird tattoo sat. They traced lines down her spine and the warmth between her legs doubled. Then, his light touch disappeared. Brazen, she turned to face him.

  “Why did you stop?”

  She wasn’t prepared for the heat in his eyes when she looked up at him. Those gray eyes flamed with a heat that she thought might burn her up. She raised her hand to touch the tension that made his jaw tight. His body rumbled when her skin touched his.

  His hands snatched her and pulled her close. She let her head fall back as his lips met hers. They moved with urgency and need. His tongue pushed its way into her mouth. She nibbled at it teasingly, threateningly. The rumble of his growl filled her mouth and sent tremors down her spine.

  His hands crushed her to his body. He was warm and hard beneath her. She could feel the presence of his cock growing full against her thighs. She rocked her hips to grind against it.

  What was she doing? Dakota stumbled away from him, breaking the hot kiss. She’d woken up in a strange man’s bedroom that morning and now she was kissing him in his kitchen? Something in her logical brain had snapped. That had to be it. She mumbled an apology before running back to the bathroom and locking the door behind her.

  She felt the wet warmth damp between her legs. She had wanted him. He set her alive with just a look. The touch of his lips against her had done darker things. She’d been ready to pull up the hem of the stupid dress right there in the kitchen.

  Was it something about dragons, she wondered? Did they have some kind of pheromone meant to make human women mad for them? Dakota had never felt like this about anyone in her life before. Sure, she’d had fun with guys before, but none of them held a candle to the things that Wesley did to her body.

  The look in his eyes when she turned around stayed with her. She did the same thing to him. It was her own desire mirrored in his gaze. He lusted after her just as much as she wanted him. She knew it.

  Why was she denying herself? He was attractive and he wanted her. She was a grown woman with needs and if she wanted him, too, then there was nothing wrong with that. She slipped from the uncomfortable red dress and let it fall to the floor. She reached for his soft tee shirt and let it slide over her head. It was so large that it hung to the top of her thighs. It was shorter than the skirt of the dress, showing another tattoo that was on the outside of her thigh.

  She glanced at the sweatpants still sitting on the floor. Feeling confident, she picked them up, folded them, and gently sat them on the counter before unlocking the door. When she came out of the bathroom Wes was standing between the living area and the kitchen. He was leaning against the stone wall, legs crossed at the ankle. It would have been the picture of casual if it weren’t for the heat still burning in his eyes.

  Those eyes trailed down her body, pausing when he realized that she wasn’t wearing any pants.

  “Are you trying to kill me? There already isn’t enough blood in my brain to make breakfast. I had to give up. Or, were you thinking of offering me a different breakfast?”

  Dakota felt her face warm at his words, but she didn’t shy away. “I thought that was obvious.”

  He closed the space between them inhumanly fast. His arms circled her, hands cupping her ass as he pulled her from the floor. She wrapped her legs around his body, grinding herself against the hardness of him.

  ***

  He threw her down onto the mattress. She bounced and laughter bubbled up out of her. Her hair splayed all around her like a dark halo. Her legs came together and he fought the urge to touch her knees to pull them apart again. She was wearing nothing but his shirt, wrapping her in his scent. He felt his pants tighten as something else stirred within him. His beast growled with pleasure, happy that they had finally won their mate.

  She isn’t ours just because she wants to share her body. We don’t have her heart.

  “What is it?” she asked as she sat up. The laughter was gone from her eyes, replaced with concern.

  He felt something stir inside of him once more. He looked down into her eyes, studying the flecks of emerald that swirled inside the honey brown. They barely knew one another, but the concern that she showed him made his chest tight.

  That was until her hand snaked forward, fingers wrapping around the waistband of his jeans. She jerked him closer to her. It earned her a growl that rumbled through his chest. He had to bite his tongue as her hands worked at the button on his jeans. In no time at all, he fell free from the denim and filled her hands.

  “Oh
,” she said with surprise. “Well, then.”

  “What?” he could barely croak out. He could smell her desire and it was driving him into a frenzy. He wanted to throw her back down and tear the shirt from her body. But, he would not force her if she was not ready. No matter his own need.

  “I don’t know if I can, um, fit all of that…”

  “I think you’ll surprise yourself,” Wes told her, his voice husky with need.

  Her laughter became uncomfortable and his desire banked. He looked down at the woman who sat on the edge of the bed. She fought to look anywhere else but him and it drove him mad. It killed him to see her look so out of place, like she might bolt any second.

  Against his own desire, he tucked the length of himself back into his jeans. He didn’t zip them back up in the hopes that the morning would still end with him inside of her. He leaned down, scooped her up and tossed her further onto the bed. She landed among the stack of pillows and the small giggle that escaped her made him smile.

  He loved it when she laughed for him. He needed to hear more of it. So, he pounced onto the bed much like he had pounced around the field when he first saw her. The smell of her desire still filled the air. He prowled closer, running his hands up her bare thighs. He watched from below as her breath caught in her throat.

  Good, he thought.

  His fingers touched the hem of the shirt and he paused. He needed her permission to go further. When she didn’t crawl away or slap him, he edged his fingertips beneath the fabric. His hands moved to cup her ass beneath the shirt, surprised to touch bare flesh. Wes was always amazed by the sheer seduction that women’s underwear could pull off. He pulled her toward him so that his face met the warm mound of her. Her moan met his ears.

  He nuzzled her with his nose though the fabric of her thong. She moaned in pleasure, sounding surprised by herself. He looked up at her. Her eyes were lidded, but the green in them gleamed like the scales of a sea serpent.

  His fingers tugged at the sides of her underwear and he felt them snap beneath his grip. She made a small sound of protest that she swallowed when he dragged his teeth lightly over her folds.