Jax stopped and pulled her against his chest. “Shh, that’s not your fault.”
Tierney held on. “I love when you hold me.”
He leaned down and kissed her. “Your compassion is one of the many things I love about you.”
Tierney laughed, embarrassed, and twined her fingers with his as they continued up the trail. “Anyway, I told Thaniel he could sleep in my room. I offered him the couch, or to sleep on the bed since it’s so big. It felt weird, but I didn’t want to be alone, and after everything he’s been through—I can’t believe I never asked if he was okay by himself. I told him I wouldn’t touch him.”
She laughed weakly and tried not to start bawling as she thought of all the hurt and broken people living with them. “At first, he curled up on the floor by the bed, but after we got you home he climbed onto the end of the bed and slept there until you woke up. Last night Sami said he slept outside Dad’s room. I hope you don’t mind, but, I hate to think of him being alone and scared.”
“No, of course I don’t.” Jax shuddered, understanding all too well.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to stir up bad memories.” She let go of his hand and wrapped her arm around his waist.
“What happened to me when I was a kid, still isn’t easy to think, or talk about, but, now that you know … it’s not as bad, if that makes sense.”
“Because you’re no longer scared of what I’ll think,” she said softly.
“Yeah, well, you mean too much to me. I’ll always worry about what you think.” He glanced away as she squeezed him.
After a few seconds, he cleared his throat. “When those men—that time—I wanted to die.” He paused. “But this time, with the Ilyium, it was my decision to go. And, no matter how badly they hurt me, I could handle it, as long as I knew you were safe.”
“Well, I can’t handle you being held captive, so enough is enough, got it? No more. I don’t care who you plan to save,” she admonished, heart clenched at the thought of losing him.
Jax grinned. “I’ll try.”
“You better do more than try.” She glowered.
Jax’s grin grew wider. “Yes, boss.”
Tierney loved seeing him happy. It warmed her heart. Then she told him about Thaniel guarding Zander, and how he had changed into his leopard and killed the two guards when they came out of the mine.
“Shit, I like Kitty.” Pride shone in his eyes as if he had anything to do with it, but she understood and chuckled.
“Me too.”
They looked out over the valley below, marveling at the millions of little lights reflecting off the lake and serenity swept over her. “You can do this, love.” She squeezed his hand and released him, moving back to sit on their rock.
She studied the contours of his handsome face, silhouetted by the light of the moon and sighed. I love him so much. Jax’s hungry gaze raked her and the love shining back at her, made her want to grab him, hold on tight and never let go.
She waited patiently as he concentrated on changing into his dragon. But after a while he started to become frustrated.
“You’re trying too hard,” she said, and sliding off the rock, walked over and wrapped her arms around him. Jax ducked his head, embarrassed.
“Let it go, love. Stop worrying and get out of your head, let yourself be free.”
Jax sighed and her heart sped up as his lips lowered to hers in a sweet kiss, setting her blood on fire. “How did I ever survive without you?” he asked.
She sent her desire through their link.
“Tierney,” he groaned, and their passion combined to flow like an electrical current through them. His hands roamed over her body. “Tiern, I want you.”
She ran her fingers through his hair and around to the base of his neck and whispered. “Soon, I promise.” She grinned as the weight of the vow settled on her. This was a promise she’d actually enjoy keeping.
Jax shivered with excitement and a moment later, he pulled away and gazed into her eyes. “Tierney—” Her name came out on a ragged breath.
“Yeah, babe.” With a smile, she lowered her lips to trail kisses across his chest, while running her hands over his hard, muscled body, making him shiver with desire.
“I want to see your dragon,” she said and glancing back up, let all her love and desire shine through her eyes. Sudden power rippled over her like a caress. Then his eyes darkened.
“That’s it, my love.” She grinned as electricity crackled in the air. Her skin tingled as his power grew, building and swirling around her and her heart thumped in anticipation. She went back to lean against the rock, giving him space and his dragon took over.
Golden flakes, charged with dragon magic, swirled around him in a vortex, furious for release. Jax went from human to a magnificent midnight blue dragon in about one second.
Tierney, heart pattering, marveled at the sight. Pale, fluorescent blue light shone from under each midnight scale, from the tip of his nose to the end of his tail. Large eyes glowed brilliant blue, while his irises, vertical slits, blazed blood red.
Jax’s dragon stared at her with a promise of a life filled with wonder and delight, and she could feel him calling to the dragon deep inside of her. Tierney’s dragon purred back in response. She approached him, watching his dragon eyes fill with the fire of desire. “You are magnificent,” she whispered.
Unable to keep from touching, she trailed her fingers lightly over his shoulder and down his large chest, sensing the magic in each and every scale. Craving more, she made her way up to the strong, but delicate wing closest to her, touching the soft, velvety skin in wonder. She explored back up and along the scales of his neck, pausing as one of his long, wickedly sharp spikes pierced the tip of her finger, drawing a drop of blood.
“Tiern!”
She chuckled at the fierce growl.
Jax’s voice, yet deeper, huskier, as she seductively sucked her finger into her mouth. Eyes gleaming with the promise of later, she pulled her finger out and continued on to his head. Jax rumbled at her touch, and she clenched her thighs as his pleasure filled her, making her ache with her own need.
“Jax.” Her eyes welled with tears. “You are Dracones!” she whispered, looking into his eyes, the she took his head in both hands and kissed him.
Jax’s amazement, along with pride and overwhelming happiness, screamed through their bond. Grinning, she ran her hands over his head once more and stepped back. “So, what are you waiting for? Go on, fly!”
Jumping out of the way of his tail, Tierney watched as Jax gathered his powerful wings and leaped off the ledge. Her heart soared as her love took wing and flew. The sound of magnificent wings snapping in the air brought back painful, but good memories, and soon she lost sight of him. He was the first of them to sail on the wind and become one with the sky, something they’d dreamed of all their lives.
A few minutes later, she sensed him as he descended from above, gliding into view. He slowed to a hover before dropping silently onto the ledge in front of her. He folded his impressive wings into his sides with a quiet snap, sweeping the ground as his long tail curled around him.
“Will you join me?” He tried to hide the hope in his voice.
Tierney moved up to him. “I’d love to,” she said, humbled by his request. Massive clawed arms gently wrapped around her, holding her firmly against him.
“Are you comfortable?” he asked.
“Yeah.” Butterflies filled her stomach in anticipation.
Powerful wings thrust out, and Jax’s tail flicked behind him as he dived off the ledge. Tierney whooped with laughter. With another powerful thrust of his wings, they shot out into the starry sky.
“You okay?” he asked as they soared under the stars.
“Oh yeah, my love!” she yelled aloud. They glided on the thermal air currents with spread wings, and Tierney closed her eyes, savoring the wind rushing by.
She opened their connection even wider, as her heart sang with wonder at the thrill o
f flying with her soulmate. The only thing better, would be when she got to fly beside him—when she became Dracones as well.
“I guess you could’ve ridden on my back,” Jax said later as they walked down to the house.
Still breathless after their flight, Tierney grinned. “Maybe next time,” she teased. “I rather enjoyed the position I was in.”
Jax chuckled and squeezed her hand. “I can think of other positions for you to be in.” Then his lips claimed hers, scorching her with the heat of his passion. “You’re all mine.”
“Yes, and you’re mine,” she said, voice fierce, meeting his tongue thrust for thrust.
“I am.”
Together, they hurried to the house, eager to get to bed.
“When do I get a ride on that mean bike of yours?” he teased.
“Anytime, babe. I’d love to have you wrapped around me as we fly down the road,” she teased back. Jax groaned as she wiggled her butt at him.
The End
DRACONES
Revelations
Book Two
By
Sheri-Lynn Marean
Tartaria
THE GUARDIAN stealthily stalked his prey through the magenta and foil forest. He was close. About to raise his bow and take aim, he stopped. All of his senses were suddenly on high alert, sending little stinging prickles throughout his body. She’s back! Was his first thought, but then he knew it wasn’t her. With a last wistful glance at his prey, the Guardian turned and began to run. His large frame thundered through the forest as he no longer cared how much noise he made.
Heart pounding, he rushed into the clearing and pulled up at the sight of three people, still silhouetted by the lightning zipping around the portal out of which they had just stepped. “Who…?”
As the portal began to snap and close, their images became clearer and a shiver rushed through him making him drop to his knees. “You’re all…how is this possible?”
The three glanced at each other then back at him, and grinned.
Chapter One
Memories
IT WAS NOT POSSIBLE. Fate was far too much of a bitch to allow it to be true. Besides, he saw her die a fiery death. She couldn’t possibly still be alive, could she?
With his heart pounding and emotions in turmoil, Sami walked into his room and closed the door, the dark anguish within threatening to overwhelm him. All consuming, his feelings born of guilt, shame, and helplessness had been growing steadily worse the last few months. Since he was ten, he’d kept his feelings locked tightly away, not letting any of his family know what was inside of him, but lately it had become unbearable.
Nothing in his life ever worked to his advantage, so why should this be any different? His desire to believe Brimstone warred with the knowledge that he couldn’t be so lucky. Yet, Brimstone was her twin. A phoenix, as he’d just shown them all amid a swirl of flames. So yes, it was possible. She could still be alive. Sami didn’t know how to deal with the emotions that thought left him.
Sami had dreamed of the woman for weeks until one devastating day. It was a moment in time he’d never forget. Exactly one week after his twenty-first birthday their enemy, the Ilyium—a clandestine group of mortal druid who hate and hunt all supernatural beings, tossed her like a pile of annoying garbage into a fiery pit of flames. He had tried to get to her in time but as his dream-vision had foretold, he’d been unable. The horror and guilt of that, added to everything else he kept hidden, left him in a deep funk struggling to find something to live for.
Now, fearing that it wouldn’t be true after all, he killed the tingle of hope trying to take hold inside him. He surveyed his wall of computers and running programs. The live video feed showed differing views of their property outside on the mountain. Their new allies, the Okami wolves were stealthy shadows in the forest as they guarded Sami’s home, going unnoticed unless you knew they were out there.
Grateful for the wolves and the protection they offered, he noted that nothing out of the ordinary seemed to be happening outside, at least not at the moment. However, with their enemies hunting them that could easily change.
Sami grimaced at his reflection in the mirror over his dresser. His green eyes were bloodshot and he looked like shit. Then again, it was no wonder since he hadn’t been sleeping lately. Running a hand through his messy blond hair, he sat down on the edge of his bed. Weary, he reached over and opened the drawer of his nightstand. The handle of his twelve-inch dagger beckoned him, while its deadly blade nestled in its leather sheath. Ignoring the dagger for a moment, he glanced at the bottle of pills. He found the blood thinners and package of large hypodermic needles a few days ago while rescuing his brother Jax, from the Ilyium.
Jax, only ten months older than Sami, had teetered on the verge of death once again. They’d found him hooked up to a machine used to drain and collect his blood. Disgusted and outraged, Sami had carefully removed the needle and tubing out of his brother’s arm, and dropped it all on the floor. A sense of déjà vu had swept over him as he wiped tears from his eyes. When Sami turned away and spotted the items on a cart, and without understanding what compelled him to do so, he quickly slid them into his pocket.
Now, the horror of everything they’d all been through the last week was catching up to him and filling him with despair. Twice in seven days, Jax had almost died. Well, the second time he did die, but thankfully Tierney was able to resurrect him. As far back as he could remember Jax was always trying to protect him and Tierney. Jax had taken the brunt of their father, Marcius’s abuse when he was only a boy of ten, almost dying then too. And it had been Sami’s fault that time. Sami shivered at the thought of how many times Jax had cheated death. This latest incident made it three times now that he had almost lost his brother. This shit needs to stop! I can’t take it anymore.
Memories swamped him, immediately followed by his old friend—guilt. In reaction, power that came from being an immortal with a dragon inside of him mixed with his dark anguish. It crawled through him. Feeling as if he was suffocating, Sami struggled to draw in a breath. Black spots formed before his eyes and pain… excruciating agony filled every inch of his body. No! A cry escaped his lips as an image popped into his mind. Not an image of his brother suffering, or the woman he recently saw die. No, neither of those. This was an image that he kept buried deep inside him. One he refused to look at. But now that image rose up, and he was helpless to stop it from taking over his mind. It was the image of a pretty, blonde-haired, green-eyed little girl. No-no-no! Pain stabbed straight to his heart. Sami grabbed his dagger and yanked the sheath off, revealing a deadly sharp blade.
Sami detested what he was about to do but as his vision dimmed even more, the pain consumed him. He needed to act. With a deep breath, he drew the blade across his forearm, cutting deep. Blood welled up instantly bringing with it a cool soothing relief. I’m so sorry …
The apology was a whisper in his brain as all the bad emotions flowed away. Sami leaned back on his bed, feeling light and without a care. It was just an illusion. Two days ago, despairing over ever finding his brother, Sami accidentally discovered that cutting himself helped. He knew it wasn’t a fix or an end-all, and sooner or later, it might even stop working. But for the moment, it let him get a handle on things and keep functioning. If what he was doing could be called functioning.
As a Dracones, he’d always been able to feel his dragon deep within him. Sometime within this, his twenty-first year, he’d go through his Awakening. The thought made him shudder knowing how brutal the Awakening was on his kind. Not everyone survived the change. Only a week ago, before the Ilyium captured and tortured him, Jax went through his Awakening. Thankfully, his brother’s soul mate Tierney was able to help him. The best way to survive the Awakening was with the help of another Dracones, or a Fallen but of course, the greatest assistance came from a soul mate. Once they emerged alive on the other side, they could then shift into their dragon whenever they wanted. Unfortunately, as Sami’s time drew clo
ser, the power inside him grew as well and wanted out. With his power and the anguish both battling to be free, cutting himself was the only way he found to control it these days.
Sami closed his eyes. All he really wanted was for all this to go away. He was unable to remember a time when these dark feelings hadn’t filled him. He used to think that when either he or Jax killed their father, the man responsible for so much of their anguish—that he’d feel better. Now, even though Marcius was finally dead, nothing had changed.
When he opened his eyes a few seconds later, Sami could feel everything seeping back in. He glanced at his already healed arm and his thoughts spiraled back to what really had him out of sorts. Could she really be alive? According to the man Sami rescued two days ago while looking for Jax, she was. Brimstone claimed she was. Try as he might to stop it, hope continued to bloom in his chest. The connection he’d felt to her in his dream had been so intense.
Standing, he made his way to the bathroom to wash the blood from his arm. After cleaning his knife, he secured it in its sheath on his hip. Drawing on a little of his power, he made sure all his weapons were concealed. Back in his room, he grabbed his truck keys and wallet, patting his pocket for his cell, when Tierney’s voice filled his head.
“Sami, the big bad wolf is going with you. Can you drop him off at Club Purgatori?” She spoke to him telepathically.
Sami snorted at her humor. “I guess. I’m leaving now though.”
“He’s waiting at your truck with Bird Boy,” Tierney said.
“Oh-kay,” he said.
“Oh, and I know things have been insane, but we need to talk about what to get Thaniel for Christmas.”
Sami groaned. With all that had been going on lately, he hadn’t even given Christmas a second thought. “Yeah, sure.” Shit!
Sami glanced out his window, looked down at where he’d parked his Chevy pickup, and chuckled. Bird Boy! What an appropriate name for the Phoenix. While freeing and rescuing a bunch of prisoners from the Ilyium, Sami had spotted Brimstone in one of the torture chambers. The guy was the spitting image of the woman Sami had watched being thrown into the fire mere days before. Sami freed him, wanting to question him but as they were making their escape from the mine, Brimstone quickly passed out from his injuries. So, Sami just brought him home with them instead.
Dracones Boxset Books 1-5 Page 36