by Julia Mills
“Savannah,” he warned with a growl.
“Yes, Hayes?” Came her lusty chuckle. “Something wrong?”
Unable to answer, his want and need riding him like the waves of a tsunami, Hayes quickly shook his head, not willing to look away, the love he had for the one the Universe made for him multiplying with every heartbeat. Holding onto the armrests for dear life, the dragon lost all control when Savannah turned her back to him, pushed the soft denim over her beautifully rounded hips and with slow, maddening precision, leaned forward and with a tiny wiggle of her ass shed the offending material.
Flying out of the chair as if shot from a cannon, Hayes shed his remaining clothing with the speed given to him by the Universe as he closed the distance between them. Digging his fingers into Savannah’s hips, he pressed the tip of his cock against the silk crotch of her panties wet with her arousal, mercilessly teasing her pussy as she had taunted him. Growling through gritted teeth, the dragon grumbled, “Enough is enough, mo Bhanríon.”
Sliding his hand under the fabric covering her hip, he ripped the panties from her body, entering the heaven that was his mate in one smooth motion. His groans of satisfaction joined her carnal moans of fulfillment as he held perfectly still, afraid even the slightest movement would cause him to explode like a randy teenager on prom night.
Throwing her long dark mane to the side, Savannah looked over her shoulder, her eyes now that of her lioness and demanded in a low, husky growl, “No more teasing, mo Dragon. Take me now. Make me yours.”
The look in her eyes, the heat of her body and the way she spoke in the language of his kin shattered the last shred of Hayes’ control. Pulling back until only the head of his cock remained within her, the dragon answered through gritted teeth, “Your wish is my command, mo ghrá.”
Thrusting into her hard and fast, the Guardsman repeated the motion again and again his heart soaring as his Queen met him stroke for stroke. Leaning forward, he placed his hands over hers, where she held tightly to the intricately carved footboard of his king-size sleigh bed.
Caging her in, his chest against her back, his dragon reaching for her lioness, Hayes reveled in the feel of their bodies together as one, just as Fate and Destiny demanded. Over and over, faster and faster, they raced towards ecstasy.
“Oh, my Goddess…yes, Hayes…yes. I need…I need…”
Knowing what she desired, feeling it in the depths of his soul, Hayes rolled his hips, changing the angle, tormenting the sensitive bundle of nerves buried deep inside her center. Savannah roared his name, her head falling forward, baring her neck to him as her pussy squeezed tight around his cock.
Kissing and nipping the spot where her pounding jugular beat just under her tender flesh, Hayes held back his climax, needing to reach that perfect moment of harmony with his mate. His hand skimmed the silky-smooth skin of Savannah’s ribs, slid across her stomach until he could run his fingers through her wet curls. Teasing her swollen clit with his thumb and forefinger, the dragon lavished his mate’s neck with his tongue and teeth until she was frantic with desire, the claws and fur of her lioness pushing through her skin.
“You are the sun, the moon and the stars…everything that is perfect in this world, mo Bhanríon, and you are mine,” he growled just before pushing the long, sharp canines of his dragon into the smooth skin of her neck.
Roaring their release in unison to the Heavens, their hearts beating as one, that final missing piece of Hayes’ soul, the one containing he and Savannah’s combined Destiny, slid into place. Releasing his bite, the Guardsman licked the mark that would show the world she was his, already looking forward to their formal mating ceremony when the Universe would mark them both with matching mating marks.
Continuing to slowly move in and out of his mate as she floated back to earth, Hayes wrapped his arms around her waist, holding tight as her legs nearly gave out. Reluctantly pulling his cock from her body, immediately regretting the loss of their connection, the dragon lifted his lioness into his arms, walked to the side of the bed and after pulling down the covers, gently laid her onto the mattress, following her onto the light blue cotton sheets.
His arm around her waist, his fingers intertwined with hers, Hayes spooned Savannah, simply enjoying the feel of his mate in his arms. Kissing the tender skin behind her ear, his eyes growing heavy, the Guardsman whispered, “Tá tú ag an stór mo chroí.”
Rolling in his arms and placing her hand on his cheek, Savannah smiled, “And to think, I didn’t want a dragon for a mate.”
Opening his mouth to speak, Hayes’ words were cut off by the crash of shattering glass. Jumping out of bed and pulling on his boxers, he ordered, “Stay there. I’ll go see what it is.”
Out of bed before he’d finished his command, Savannah grabbed his robe from the end of the bed and wrapped it around her body as she followed him out the door, grumbling, “Fat chance, dragon man.”
Refusing to fight with her after what they’d just shared, Hayes groused, “Then at least stay behind me.”
Reaching the living room side-by-side, the couple inhaled sharply, taking in the shards of glass hanging from the metal frame of his sliding glass door, along with the huge rock surrounded by broken glass in the middle of the tile floor. Pointing towards the stone as he turned to Savannah, Hayes implored, “Please stay there. I don’t want you to get hurt.” He pointed. “It looks like a piece of paper is attached to the rock.”
Nodding in agreement, Savannah irritably snorted, “Helluva way to send you a message.”
“No shit.”
Sliding his feet into his tennis shoes by the front door, Hayes carefully made his way to the rock. “But it’s not for me.”
“Who then?”
Removing the folded paper from the stone, he returned to Savannah, handing her the note. “You, baby.”
He watched as she took the message, unfolded the paper and immediately gasped, tears filling her eyes before she growled menacingly, “I’ll rip that son of a whore limb from limb.”
Grabbing the note from her hand, as his mate spun on her toes and headed down the hall, Hayes read the words written in blood aloud, “An eye for an eye. A sister for a sister.”
Chapter Seven
Putting on the T-shirt Hayes had given her since her shirt was a casualty of their voracious lovemaking, Savannah reached for her jeans at the same time her mate’s hand wrapped around hers, “Wait just a second. Tell me what’s going on. Let me help.”
Snatching her hand from his grasp, the Queen snarled, “It’s my family, my business, my problem.” Getting louder with every word, she added, “It’s none of your concern.”
No sooner had the words crossed her lips than she wished them back. Looking up, opening her mouth to apologize and explain, the breath was stolen from her lungs by the fury burning in his eyes and the pain she felt rolling through his heart and soul. The bite, his mark, on the side of her neck stung as his eyes flashed from crystal blue to the deep gold of his dragon.
“None of my business?” He raged. “None of my fucking business?” He bellowed. Grabbing her upper arms and pulling her close, their chests touching with his every ragged inhale. “How the hell can you say that after what we just shared? After what we pledged to one another?” He leaned closer, the tip of his nose nearly touching hers and added through gritted teeth, “You are my mate. You wear my mark. Your fight is my fight. I go where you go.”
Pushing forward, bumping his chest with hers, Savannah challenged, “Wanna bet?”
Spinning towards the door with plans of making a dramatic exit, the Queen was instead hoisted off the ground and thrown over Haye’s’s shoulder. Kicking his stomach and punching his backside, she ordered, “Put me down you stupid, arrogant dragon.” Kicking harder, refusing to give up despite the pain shooting through her toes from striking his rock-hard abs, Savannah continued to yell, “I demand you put me down! NOW!” Giving her feet a rest, she switched to beating on his ass with her fists, adding, “I comman
d you to put me down.”
A slap to the butt, followed by a cool breeze had Savannah pushing her palms against the small of Hayes’ back and raising her head a split-second before shrieking, “What the hell are we doing outside? I’m nearly naked!”
“Going to your house.” The chuckle in his voice irritated her as much, if not more, than being manhandled, but when he added, “And that, dom leómhan beag, is your fault,” was the final straw.
“Why you… you…” She stammered before resuming her assault and screaming, “You beast! I am not your little lion!”
“You most assuredly are, just as I am your arrogant dragon.” Quickly sitting her on the seat of his Harley, Hayes plopped the helmet on her head, took the seat in front of her and added, And there is not a damn thing you can do about it.” He revved the engine then added directly into her mind, “So hush up and hold on.”
Before Savannah could think of a snappy comeback, they were roaring through the Blue Dragon’s Lair, heading towards the back entrance they had arrived through a few hours before. Holding on as Hayes took the corners of the narrow, winding backroads leading to her home like his motorcycle was on rails, the lioness gave up being mad and focused on trying to reach Makayla.
“Mack, honey, you there?”
Savannah counted to ten, each second of deafening silence feeling like days, before calling out again, “Mack? Dammit, answer me.”
“Savannah?” Came a groggy reply. “I-is th-that you?” Her sister’s voice sounded tiny and hollow.
“Yes, sweetheart, it’s me. Are you okay? Did they hurt you?”
“I-I d-don’t know. My head hurts and my mouth is so dry. My hands and feet are shackled with silver,” her voice cracked. “It really burns.”
Savannah could hear the tears in Makayla’s voice as the younger lioness added, “What is going on? Who is doing this? Why me?”
“It’s the jaguars,” the Queen growled. “More to the point, Simon, their Prince, you know, the biggest asshole of them all. I’m guessing he wants to use you as a pawn to force me into giving him access to our Pride Lands and to make me pay for the death of his sister.”
Rage flowed through the bond Savannah shared with her sister as Makayla, suddenly wide awake, snarled, “You had nothing to do with that fire. Hell, none of us did. We weren’t even in the country. I swear, I’m gonna kill that mother…”
“Stand in line,” the Queen interrupted. Hurrying on, vowing revenge on the bastard who’d dared to lay a hand on her little sister, she asked, “Can you see where you are? Smell anything that would give a clue where to start?”
“No, not at all. It’s so dark not even my lioness’ enhanced vision can see the hands in front of my face and whatever they used to knock me out is still burning the inside of my nose and throat. I can’t smell anything but chemicals.”
“I am so sorry, Mack,” the Queen apologized. “This is all my fault. If I had just…”
“Stop that shit! This is not your fault. This is Simon and his fucking merry band of misfits’ fault. You did what you thought was right, protected our family, our Pride and the memory of our parents to the best of your ability.”
“Thanks, Sis, but he has you and…”
“And, nothing! I know you’ll save me, just like you have for my whole life.”
Feeling humbled by her sister’s words, Savannah focused on their bond and the sound of her sister’s voice, praying to the Goddess she could pick up on Mack’s location or find a clue that would tell her where those fucking jaguars were holding her little sister. “You are such a brat. Leave it to you to take care of me when I should be doing the same for you.”
“We make a good team.”
“Always have, sweetcakes, always have. Hey Mack, hold on, we’re here at the Hall.”
“Okay, but…” Her sister’s words were cut off as anger and fear flooded the bond between sisters.
“Mack! Mack, where did you go?” She waited a second before mentally screaming, “ANSWER ME, MAKAYLA! PLEASE, ANSWER ME!”
Trying to control her fear, Savannah mentally cried out to Hayes, “Something’s happened. Mack just stopped talking. She won’t answer. It’s like someone severed our connection.”
“Hold on, mo ghrá,” was the only warning she got as the Guardsman revved the engine and together, they flew down the road as fast as the wheels would turn.
Pulling off the helmet Hayes had stuck on her head and waving to the guards to open the gates, the Queen used the magical trail left in the wake of her sister’s voice like a beacon as the couple roared straight towards Royal Hall.
Stopping right outside the huge doors with the royal crest of the Leonidas Pride etched into the six feet panes of glass, Hayes jumped off the bike before immediately helping her down. Throwing her jeans over her shoulder, Savannah reached for the lion’s head door handle when Jacques burst on to the scene, screaming, “Oh, thank the Goddess, you’re here.” Shoving the phone into her outstretched hand, he screeched, “It’s Simon! He has Makayla!”
With a single nod, Savannah put the device to her ear and sneered, “Simon.”
“Savannah, darling, how are you?” The Prince of the Jaguar’s nasally, sniffling voice grated on the lioness’ every nerve as he went on, “Anything you’d like to ask me?”
“Where. Is. My. Sister?” She ground out, her nails lengthening, drawing blood as the stabbed the flesh of her palm, her clenched fists pounding against the side of her leg. It surprised her that Jacques’ cell phone didn’t crack from the grip of her other hand.
“Your sister? Which one?” Simon asked, his smug tone making it hard for the Queen to think.
“Cut the shit, you, stupid bastard!” Savannah bellowed, so furious she could feel her canines lengthening and the fur of her lioness pushing through the skin on her arms and the backs of her hands. “You or one of your fucking henchmen took Makayla, and I want her back, NOW!” She roared.
Knowing what she needed, before she did, Hayes laid his warm, strong hands upon her shoulders and placed his chest against her back, siphoning off some of her red-hot rage, allowing her to think. “He wants you pissed. He wants you angry so that you make mistakes. Give all that shit to me,” he whispered as Simon prattled on about all the injustices he had suffered at the hands of the lions.
When the bastard finally took a breath, Savannah, now able to think after her mate had taken nearly all her rage, calmly asked, “What do you want, Simon? What will it take to get Makayla back?”
She could hear the surprise in his voice at her serene demeanor and had to smile as he stuttered, “W-we… that is to say, I-I want… I want…”
“Yes?” She challenged, throwing as much sarcasm as she could into her tone. “What is it that you want?”
“You… dead.” The Prince spat back.
Before she could answer, Hayes, snatched the phone threatening in a low, gravelly tone full of wrath and contempt, “You first, asshole.”
Chapter Eight
“What the hell was that?!” Savannah shrieked as soon as Hayes disconnected the call, throwing the phone to Jacques. Grabbing his arm before he could mentally call to his brethren, his mate shook the appendage like a dog with a bone, adding, “You said to keep calm. Not to get angry. Then you go and hang up on the rat bastard.” For the second time in as many hours, his feisty lioness pushed up on her toes, challenging him on every level as she growled, “If he hurts my sister because of what you’ve done, I’ll…”
“Do you really think I’m that much of an asshole?” Hayes tore his arm from her grasp, leaning down until they were eye-to-eye. “Do you think I would put Makayla in danger?” He scowled. “Your sister?” Lightly tapping the tip of his index finger against her temple, he continued, “Stop and think, Savannah. Use your brain.”
Moving his hand to her chest, he murmured, “Listen to your heart.” Taking her hand with his free one, he placed it over his heart. “Let yourself feel what is happening between us.” Letting his forehead
touch hers and lowering his voice, he added, “For better or worse, we are in this together, forever.”
Holding his breath, waiting for his head-strong mate to come to terms with his words, Hayes breathed a sigh of relief when she slowly nodded, “Okay, dragon man, I’ll trust you, but this is the Savannah Show. We do it my way, or I do it by myself.”
Stealing a quick but passionate kiss, the Guardsman grinned, “Lead on, my Queen, I am yours to command.”
“Oh, brother.” Shaking her head and grabbing his hand, Savannah turned and walked into Royal Hall, asking, “Can you call the other dragons? Will they come?”
“Absolutely. That’s what I was trying to do when you tried to rip my arm off back there,” he chuckled, trying to relieve some of the tension. “And I’m guessing it’s a secret since we’re talking this way?”
“Give that dragon a gold star,” Savannah snickered, entering the office with the large, carved, wooden door at the end of the hall before quickly shutting and locking it behind them. Hurrying across the room, she first slid on her jeans, sat behind the mahogany desk and instantly began typing on the laptop.
Turning the computer towards him, she pointed at a location with a day and time beside it– West Delivery Gate, Saturday, 01:25 AM. “That’s the only entrance on that side of the Pride and it also happens to be the closest one to Mack’s house.”
“Holy shit that was just a few hours ago. About forty-five minutes before the rock went through my window.”
Looking at him, her eyes filled with unadulterated wrath, Savannah slowly nodded. “And the dragon gets another gold star.” Then with a steely tone, she asked, “You know anybody who delivers plants at one in the morning…on a Saturday?”
“Nope and I’m guessing you don’t either.”
“Not a chance.”
“So, you think this was an inside job, or at the very least there’s a rat amongst the lions?”