“Are you listening to me?” Toni asked, getting right up in his grill.
“I’m sorry,” Dylan apologized. “What did you say?”
Toni’s eyes changed right in front of him. The yellow iris got bigger and the pupils narrowed to vertical slits. She was irritated. No sooner than the thought occurred to him, her eyes went back to normal. Fascinating. “I asked you what you meant by not exactly when you said you didn’t grow scales.”
“Oh that,” he said, feeling a bit of relief to talk about anything but being her mate. “I can turn into sea creatures.”
“Dylan means sea creature,” Toni repeated from their first conversation.
“See? I didn’t lie.”
“No you didn’t,” she said thoughtfully. “So what’s the downside here? So far, you have been kind– not just to me but to the wildlife as well– thoughtful, you look like walking sex… there has to be a downside. There is always a downside.”
Dylan’s lips spread into a shit eating grin. “Walking sex, huh?”
“Oh don’t act like you don’t already know that,” Toni snapped. “You’re a freaking god, for crying out loud. No wonder people flock to you. It’s all they can do not to drop to their knees and lick you from toe to head.”
And didn’t that open up a whole new thought train for him. Images of Toni on her knees, licking various parts of his body plagued Dylan’s brain. His cock thought it was a mighty good idea, too, and stood tall in preparation. He would wrap her hair around his hand and guide her to just the right place…
“Oh my God, you’re such a guy.” Toni laughed.
“What?” Dylan asked with a strained smile.
“Like we both don't know what you were just thinking,” she snorted.
“Maybe that’s my downside?” he suggested.
“Nope. Not at all. Try again,” she said.
Dylan got serious. “I really like you, Toni. I want to see you. Again and again. The problem is, Poseidon isn’t much on family. He’s more into control of what is his.”
“And you are his,” Toni finished for him.
Dylan nodded. “I was supposed to come find you and erase myself from your memory,” he admitted. “I’m not so sure I can do that.”
“Why would you do that?” she asked.
“Because my father told me to,” he answered. “It was either I do it, or he was going to do it himself. He sees you as a threat and he won’t permit a threat to remain unchecked.”
“But he can’t leave the ocean,” she said. “How could he get to me if he’s stuck there?”
Dylan took her hand. “Do not mistake his exile for weakness,” he said. “He can get to anyone or anything he wants. It’s just a matter of how. He would kill us both and never bat an eye.”
Toni bit her bottom lip again. She was doing it to drive him crazy, Dylan was sure of it.
“So you have to,” she said softly. A part of her wanted to argue that he couldn't erase her memory because he was her mate, the other part was inclined to let him do it just to keep him safe. If his father would kill his own son, who was she to even stand a chance? But could she live without her mate? Did it really matter in the grand scheme of things? Either she would die to be with him or die without him. No matter how it played out in her head, she died. But at least if he erased her memory, he would live.
“Yeah,” he agreed.
She didn’t say anything more, instead, she leaned forward and pressed her lips against his. Dylan thought he remembered the explosive reaction he had to her, but he was wrong. As soon as their lips touched, electricity spread throughout his body, jolting from his lips down his chest and straight into his groin.
Neither of them knew who moved first, but suddenly, Toni was backed up against a palm tree and Dylan was trying to touch her everywhere at once. His hands roamed over her body, pushing her clothing out of his way as he went. His mouth was hot on her neck and Toni was helpless to do anything but hold on. He surrounded her, filled her senses with his masculine scent. His breath tickled her skin as he moved across her collar bone, searing her flesh with fiery, open mouth kisses.
Toni breathed out a moan as Dylan pushed her bra up, exposing her breast to the crisp air. Her nipple pebbled immediately into a diamond hard point. “Beautiful,” Dylan whispered just before taking that nipple into his mouth. He sucked at it gently, then rolled it with his tongue. The sensation made Toni gasp, all logical thought leaving her. She pushed her hands into his hair and held him tight to her body, unwilling to let the delicious torture stop.
As he worked at her breast, Dylan reached down to push her panties to her knees. “Shouldn’t we get somewhere I am less likely to fall on my face?” she asked, sobering slightly.
A wicked grin spread across his face. “Of course,” he grinned as he stood and picked her up into his arms. He lay Toni gently on a patch of grass, her panties still around her knees. “But you’re not moving.”
“How is this gonna work then?” She laughed, knowing her legs were trapped together.
Dylan leaned over her and got very close. His breath caressed her ear as he whispered, “I am going to make you come. On my tongue. Repeatedly. I’m going to suck on your clit until you can’t scream anymore. Then, I’m gonna make you forget your own damn name.”
His words were whispered, but raspy and masculine, causing all sorts of electrical shorts to go off in Toni’s body. Instantly, she craved what he promised her. She wanted his mouth on her; wanted him inside her any way she could get it. “Hurry,” she urged him, pushing his head down her body.
Dylan laughed silently as he followed her command. He centered himself over her legs, trapping her even further, and lowered his head. He used one hand to spread her lips apart, then darted out his tongue. He lapped at her clit in slow, torturous movements, never quite hitting it on center, but on either side of the tender bundle of nerves.
Toni squirmed under him, trying to get her hips in a position that would grant better contact, but Dylan held her in place. He toyed with her, teased her, and tortured her, until she couldn’t take it anymore. “Dylan!” she cried out. “Please!”
That was when he latched on to her clit with his mouth and sucked hard. Lights exploded behind her eyes and Toni’s back arched on its own as the orgasm he had promised her took over her body.
Before her body had ceased quaking and trembling, Dylan had climbed his way up her torso and was kissing her mouth with passion. His tongue was in her mouth, bossing her tongue around and exploring every inch of it. Toni was powerless to stop him and she didn’t want to. He reached between their bodies, placing his hand under the back of her knees to draw them up, and a soft ripping noise filled her ears. Toni knew her panties were toast, but she didn’t care. She pushed her legs apart, allowing Dylan to settle his hips between her thighs. All she cared about was getting him inside her.
“I want to make this special,” he breathed in her ear, kissing the soft skin behind it. “But I have to… now…”
“Now,” Toni agreed and tilted her hips up to meet him. The tip of his cock teased her entrance and Toni wanted to scream in frustration. She used both hands to grab his ass cheeks and dug her nails into his flesh. Dylan groaned and pushed forward, entering her in one swift motion.
There were no words spoken after that. Only the sounds of their bodies coming together filled the night air and the sounds of their heavy breathing and moaning. Dylan had lowered himself so that he was touching Toni with his body from mouth to hips and down to their toes. He wrapped his arms around her, shoving one under her back and held her close to his body as he moved inside her. Toni could feel the emotion swelling in her chest. Dylan wasn’t just having sex with her, he was holding her as if he cared for her. She felt protected. Wanted. Loved. All the things in life she had never known she wanted until Dylan made her feel them.
She turned her head so that she could kiss the side of his neck and when he groaned, she nipped at his skin. He tasted like musk and the sea,
reminding her of margaritas at sunset. She scraped her teeth along the artery that ran down his neck and then sucked at his skin. For the briefest of seconds she thought she tasted a new flavor, something rich and coppery that begged her to have more. No sooner than the flavor appeared, it was gone and Toni instantly missed it. He pushed into her harder, forcing their bodies to move along the sandy beach and Toni forgot about that wonderful taste.
Suddenly, Dylan’s weight was gone from her and Toni felt the chill of the night air. But it was short lived. Dylan used his powerful arms to flip her entire body over and pulled her hips up so that she was on her knees. Without saying a word, Dylan entered her from behind. He pushed himself into her over and over again, using her hips as leverage. Toni was fairly certain that if he thrust any harder, he would touch her brain, but she was loving the feeling that bordered between pleasure and pain. He was too big and just big enough at the same time. He filled her, body and soul.
When she felt the cold metal of his necklace on her back, the sensation sent her over the edge. Her body convulsed and tightened around him, holding him within her as she spiraled into ecstasy.
***
“This is nice,” Toni said, popping another bite of mango into her mouth.
Dylan watched her eat as he drew lazy circles on the bare skin of her belly. “It’s almost time,” he told her. The sun was threatening to peek out from the horizon. Already, the sky was turning lighter and the water was getting bluer.
“I wish we could just stay here,” she said, sitting up and grabbing her dress. She slipped it over her head and stood up.
“Thank you,” Dylan told her.
“For what?” she asked.
Toni had made no other mention of mates and he thought maybe he imagined it. He hoped he imagined it. “For giving me the best night I could imagine.”
“Me too,” she said. “I’m gonna dragon up now.”
“I’ll ride back with you,” he said.
“You don’t have to,” Toni said.
“What kind of date would I be if I didn’t see you back to your home?” Dylan asked. “Besides, I want to spend as much time with you as I can before…”
Toni nodded. There was no need for Dylan to finish the sentence. “Okay then, watch out.”
She shifted into her dragon and waited for Dylan to climb on. The flight back to shore was long, but too short at the same time. When Toni landed gracefully in front of the Knight Estate, she shifted back.
“Will this hurt?” she asked.
“I would never hurt you,” Dylan told her. He pulled the necklace from around his neck. “I want you to have this,” he said.
“I couldn’t,” Toni began to argue but Dylan interrupted her.
“I want you to have it. It will keep you safe.”
“Will I see you again?”
Dylan shook his head. “I’ll see you,” he told her.
That meant no. She knew it. A part of her heart broke as he put his hands on her face. He leaned in and kissed her gently on her lips. Toni fought the tears that were threatening to escape her. Dylan had told her that he wouldn’t hurt her, but he had lied. This hurt like hell.
“Goodbye, Toni,” Dylan whispered. And then, he was gone.
10
“So we are all in agreement, then?” Angel asked. He looked to each member of his family for confirmation.
Jade and Michael were sitting side by side on the sofa, looking chagrined as her father spoke. “Yes, Dad,” Jade agreed. She had come home long before Toni, who still had not made it yet.
Sebastian, his second in command and his wife, Jessica, also sat on the sofa. They both nodded in agreement. Gage and his wife Serena also nodded. Jacque and Frankie were there as well. Jacque was the family chemist and doctor. Frankie was a witch. She introduced the family to the Earth Goddess Azerial, who sat on Sam's, her mate, lap.
And then there was Rebel and Leigh. They also nodded in agreement. “This is my daughter,” Rebel said, “I don’t want to screw this up. I want her to feel like she can share with us.”
“We don’t know how the vampire and dragon mix will affect her with a mate,” Gage said.
“I have found no reason to think there will be problems,” Jacque said in his light French accent.
“Good,” Angel said, placing his hand on Brea’s shoulder. “When she arrives, we will sit her down and talk this out. We need to know more about this man. Jade, are you sure you couldn’t read him?”
“Of course I’m sure,” she answered her father. “It’s like trying to read Azerial, only harder.”
The conversation was interrupted by a call from one of the guards. “What is it?” Angel asked.
“Sir, I think something is wrong with Toni,” the guard replied. “She’s standing in front of the gates and crying.”
“Mother fucker!” Rebel barked out. “I’ll kill him.”
Leigh stayed him with a hand on his leg. “Why don’t we find out what happened first,” she suggested. It was odd, how calm she was. In the past, Rebel had always been the easy going, happy go lucky, roll with it kind of guy and Leigh had been the big bad nasty dragon who wouldn’t have thought twice about eating someone she didn’t like. The feeling of calm was foreign to her, and yet she knew on a primal level that if she didn’t keep her head, no one would.
“Bring her in,” Angel told the guard.
In a matter of minutes, Toni was brought in by the guard and led to a chair. Her hair was mussed up and there were streaks down her cheeks where her makeup had run. “Oh baby, what did he do?” Rebel asked, coming to kneel in front of her. He took both of her hands in his and held them tight.
Toni wanted to tell him what was wrong, but she didn’t have a clue. The last thing she remembered was getting ready to go out with Jade. And then, nothing. She found herself standing in front of her home, sobbing like a baby, for no apparent reason.
Her family, bless them, had all gathered around her to try to comfort her or to kill whatever evil had befallen her, but she just didn’t know what it was. “Guys, really,” she said, forcing herself to breathe and wiping her eyes. “I’m fine.”
“You don’t look fine,” Frankie told her.
“Yeah, you kind of look like shit,” Gage said.
“Thanks, Uncle Gage,” Toni said sarcastically. She fingered the pendant around her neck. She wasn’t sure where she had gotten it, but it was important to her. It warmed her skin where it touched her and gave her some small measure of peace when everything else felt like it was falling apart.
“What’s that?” Gage asked.
Toni raised a brow at her uncle. “I wish I knew,” she answered. “I must have bought it somewhere.”
“What happened?” Leigh demanded. All of that calm she had been feeling before was teetering on the edge of furious. Who had hurt her daughter? Her dragon was ready to make the unknown foe pay with their lives.
Toni sniffled and cleared her throat. “I really have no idea,” she finally said. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me. Maybe I just need to sleep.”
“What do you mean, you don’t know?” Rebel demanded. “It’s obvious something has happened. Was it that man? I’ll kill him.”
“What man?” Toni asked.
“The man from the party,” Rebel answered. “Did he do something to you?”
Toni scrunched her eyebrows together. What on earth was her father talking about? “Dad, I really don’t know who you’re talking about.”
"How in the holy fuck can you not remember?" Leigh shouted.
"Leigh," Brea said softly, "Getting upset isn't going to help her right now."
Leigh crossed her arms over her chest and pressed her lips together tight. Brea was right, and Leigh was just as pissed about that.
“Oh this smacks of a spell,” Frankie said. “Come on guys, give me some room.”
The family cleared away so that Frankie could get closer to Toni. “I think someone put a spell on you,” she said. “Mind if I check?
”
Toni had a feeling that wasn’t the case, but would she know if someone had spelled her? Probably not. She nodded and let Frankie do her thing.
The witch chanted softly while touching Toni on the head, the shoulders, the chest, and the hands. “I’m not getting anything,” she finally answered.
“Let me,” Jacques said. He took his wife’s place and began physically inspecting Toni. He checked her pulse, looked over her skin, and then felt along her skull for anything out of the ordinary. “I don’t feel any bumps or bruises,” he said.
“Jade?” Angel asked, knowing that she knew what he wanted. Jade was one of the most powerful psychics in the world and if anyone could get in Toni’s head and figure out what was wrong, it was her.
Jade got down to Toni’s level. “Mind if I have a look?” she asked.
Toni shrugged. Everyone else had taken their turn poking and prodding at her. Why not?
Jade looked into her eyes and Toni looked back. The amethyst color of Jade’s eyes seemed to change and move as she dug around in Toni’s head. It was mesmerizing. Toni momentarily forgot her strange despair as she watched her cousin.
Jade sifted through a mess of jumbled thoughts and emotions, looking for the reason for Toni’s distress. What she found was a gaping hole, a huge chunk of something that was there before, but was gone now. All that was left behind was a residual bond. To Jade, it looked like a golden string; something that tied two things together. It was very similar to the bond she imagined between herself and her mate. All the string attached to though was a black hole of pain and emptiness. She could feel Toni’s pain. It was a physical thing to Jade now, pulling her heart and threatening to break it completely. She felt the hot tears form in her eyes and Jade did nothing to stop them from spilling over. She let Toni’s pain become her pain, giving her an outlet that she desperately needed but couldn’t access. What had gone on? And where was Dylan in all this.
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