by Vella Day
“Yes. I need to pay attention to Madison though.”
He loved talking to her, but right now it would take all of his concentration to avoid death.
“Okay, don’t you die on me!”
“I’m doing my best, love.”
Madison must have not liked how the fight was going because a moment later he shot upward, smashing his way between the tree branches. Kyle debated following him, but he believed that was what the man wanted. Kyle lifted off the ground a few feet and moved closer to the line of trees, preventing Madison from diving at him.
There had to be something Kyle could do that Madison wouldn’t expect. He couldn’t remember if his opponent could see him if he cloaked himself, but it was worth a try. Concentrating on becoming invisible, his body disappeared from view. Knowing it took more energy to stay in this form, he had to make the attack quick and decisive.
Kyle spotted a long stick that he believed he could grasp in his claw. When he picked it up, it too disappeared. It was time to see just what he was capable of. He figured he had one shot at this, and he wanted to make it a good one. Nessa and Greer needed him, and he refused to let them down.
Focusing all of his energy on flying, Kyle rose straight up. His wings bashed against the branches, but he managed to power through the limbs. With his claw outstretched, he aimed the sharp stick at Madison’s chest. He expected his foe to move to the side as he drew near, but it seemed as if he couldn’t detect him. Yes! Retracting the sharp stick in order to give it more power, Kyle moved closer, but not too close for their wings to touch and give away his position.
Madison looked around and then beat his wings hard. It was as if he sensed something, but he didn’t know what.
Now, his dragon commanded.
With as much force as Kyle could muster, he drove the stick forward and hit the mark—or so he hoped. He then flew toward his foe to prevent Madison from dislodging the stick.
Kyle’s energy waned, and he reappeared, but Madison didn’t react. His eyes glazed over, and his wings fluttered spasmodically. His mouth opened and a spit of fire shot out, but it wasn’t enough to make Kyle lean to the side.
A second later, Madison’s body turned limp, and he fell toward the ground, chest up. Kyle let go of the wooden spear and watched the horrid man spiral toward the terra firma. Once he crashed, Madison transformed into his human form, his body a tangled mess. When he didn’t move, Kyle guessed he was dead. He sucked in much needed air.
As much as he wanted to rush to Nessa, he had to be positive this wasn’t some trick on Madison’s part. Kyle landed next to his prey. Madison’s chest didn’t move, and his eyes had turned black. Guess this was no trick.
“Goodbye Tom, you piece of shit, or should I call you Landry Madison?”
As if reality finally sunk it, Kyle refocused his attention on Nessa. Even though she had hiked in, Kyle couldn’t afford not to believe Madison when he said he’d set charges at ground level to kill him. While Kyle was somewhat of an expert on explosives, he didn’t want to chance that he’d miss one.
Remaining in his dragon form, Kyle flew eastward, hoping to spot the rock face with the cliffs below. He’d just have to figure out some way to save the woman he loved.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Despite Nessa’s slow progress and mounting irritation, a sudden wave of exhilaration swamped her. It came from Kyle.
“Are you all right?” she telepathed. Nessa stood, taking a rest from the back-breaking task of moving the big boulder.
“Yes, Landry Madison is dead. We are finally safe.”
While Nessa was overjoyed at the outcome, her current worry over Greer didn’t provide her with a lot of joy. “Thank the Fates, but I really need your help.”
“I’m almost there.”
A loud squawking sounded overhead, and she looked up. It was hard to recognize Kyle since his green scales blended in with the trees, but she could sense it was him.
Scrub brush bordered the rock face, but the top was bare. Wings fluttered and nails scraped against the granite as Kyle slid down the rock face. Losing purchase, he plummeted to the ground fifty feet from her. His animal lay limp on the ground, and she raced over to him.
“Kyle!” she yelled. The fall wouldn’t have killed him, but he might be seriously injured.
Before she reached him, he’d shifted into his human form then pushed up on his elbows and grinned. “Hey.”
She had to chuckle. Her mate was silly. “Hey, yourself. That was a stupid—albeit brilliant—stunt to pull.” If she’d known exactly where Greer was, she would have flown there too. Kyle stood and brushed himself off. “You up for a little grunt work?” she asked.
“Absolutely.” His hands and face were scratched, but those slight injuries would disappear shortly. The pride radiating off him from a moment ago disappeared and was replaced with high concern. He quickly hugged her. “How’s Greer?”
“She’s hanging in there, but her leg is pinned under the rocks. The space is too small for her to shift. Come on.”
They both ran over to where Nessa had managed to move the boulder on the outside, but she’d yet to free Greer. They both squeezed into the cave.
“Dragon arms are stronger than human ones,” Nessa said. “You will need to partially shift. We have to make sure we have a firm grasp on the rock before we move it, or it could crush her. Can you do that?”
“I hope so.”
They changed their arms into dragon claws and wrapped them around the first rock. Greer grunted, spurring Nessa on to be careful. She’d always considered herself strong, but Kyle’s abilities were far superior.
He tugged on one rock, but it didn’t budge. “Let’s both push,” he said.
When they combined their power, the rock tumbled out of the way. Once they figured out the best way to free Greer, it went faster.
“The last one will be the hardest,” she said, since it was sitting on top of her sister.
“Wait a minute,” Kyle said. “Didn’t you tell me that when you escaped from the cave-in that you heated the rocks to break them apart?”
“I did.”
“How about if I try that?”
Holy crap. Nessa wanted to kiss him. She’d been so upset that she hadn’t been thinking straight. “That’s brilliant.”
Kyle tossed her a brief smile. “In case my aim isn’t perfect, why don’t you wrap yourself around Greer to protect her?”
“Another great idea.” Focusing on her inner dragon, she partially shifted to bring her scales to the surface. She then knelt next to Greer and used her body to block any projectiles. “Okay, we’re ready. Concentrate on pinpoint precision. Your fire will be extremely hot. With it, you should be able to cut the rock.”
“Got it.”
Fire shot out of Kyle’s hands. Rock fragments shot everywhere, but the few that hit her, bounced off her body. “You’re doing great, Kyle.”
The large rock took a lot of work to cut through. If she’d been doing it, she would have tired a while ago.
“A little bit more,” he said, his voice deep and raspy.
A moment later, the rock cracked and rolled off Greer.
Her sister was finally free. Nessa returned fully to her human form and cupped her sister’s face. “Greer?”
Her eyes fluttered, and then her head dropped to the side. Without a word, Kyle stepped close and scooped her up into his arms. “Let’s get her some air.”
Once they exited the cave, he set Greer down. “Now that your ex is dead, Lily is safe, so I’ll call Birk and ask him to find a few men to clear the path back to the cabin.”
“What do you mean?” she asked.
“I thought I told you that your evil ex claimed he’d set charges along the path, hoping to blow me up when I came after you?”
“That fuck. We’ll have to fly out of here.”
He looked upward. “There are a lot of trees in the way. Let’s see what Birk says first.”
Putting his cell on speaker, Kyle c
alled her brother who asked a ton of questions. In the end, Birk promised to come with a couple of experts to disarm the area. The bad news was that it would probably take a couple of hours to search the entire path.
“Thanks, Birk,” Kyle said. “Given Greer’s weak condition, we’ll find another way out.”
“We’ll still need to clear the path. We don’t want some unsuspecting person killed,” Birk said.
“I agree. And thank you.”
Because that might take hours, after some discussion, she and Kyle decided the best method of extraction was to scale the rock in their human form until they were above the tree line and then fly from there.
Kyle and Nessa each wrapped an arm around Greer’s waist. They partially shifted their free hand and legs into claws to give them a better grip. Despite that added advantage, it was slow going up the seventy-foot cliff. Once clear of the trees, Kyle shifted first, cradling Greer in his claws. Nessa followed. While it wasn’t far, it seemed to take forever to reach the SinCas mining compound.
It was time to call Declan and have him heal her sister.
It had been two weeks since Landry Madison’s death. Between Declan’s extensive healing talents and Greer’s own magic, she had healed nicely. The whole experience still shook Nessa though. To think she’d almost lost her sister. A knock sounded on her condo door. Yay! It was Greer.
Nessa rushed to answer the door. “Hey, good to see you out and about.”
“I’m feeling back to normal.” She placed a hand on Nessa’s arm. “It’s you I’m worried about.”
“Me? Why?”
“When you stopped by the store yesterday, I could tell something was bothering you. Is it Kyle?”
Why would she think that? “No. He’s wonderful, though he works too hard.”
Greer chuckled. “Most men work too hard. I take it he hasn’t found a new assistant yet?”
Nessa shook her head. “It bothers me that he blames himself for making the decision to hire Tom in the first place.” Nessa rolled her eyes. “We both have that in common, I guess. I fell for Landry’s charm too.”
“I’m getting us a drink.” Greer stepped into Nessa’s kitchen. Cabinets opened and then shut. A minute later, she returned with two glasses of wine. “Here. Drink this. So how are you and Lily getting along?” She slipped onto one of the counter stools.
Nessa was finally able to give her a real smile. Greer was back to her usual helpful self. “Great. I think she’s softening toward dragons.”
“I’m happy to hear that. I’ve asked Birk about her, but as soon as I bring up her name, he shuts down.”
Nessa sat next to her and sipped on her wine. “Like we said before, I’m more and more convinced that Fate has paired those two. Maybe he’s being cautious and wants to give Lily time to heal.”
Greer nodded and then waved her glass at Nessa. “The mine is back in full swing now, so why aren’t you happier?”
“I am happy.”
“Nessa.”
“Fine. It’s just that I miss the closeness Kyle and I shared when we were searching for Landry. It seems of late, we’ve both been preoccupied with our jobs.”
“That happens, but you have to work at finding time for yourselves.” Her sister took a long draw on her wine. “You know, he’d make a fine Guardian.”
Nessa’s heart jacked up a notch. “I’ve been debating asking Dad and Uncle Jamison about it, but I fear they’d say no because he’s an outsider.”
“They brought Kaleena’s new mate, Finn, into the fold. And he was a real outsider.”
“Being from Earth would qualify him as that. Here’s the thing; I’m not sure Kyle wants to do what we do.”
Greer leaned on the counter. “Have you asked him?”
She’d been afraid of what he might say. “No.”
Almost as if he’d been standing outside the door listening to their conversation, the door unlocked and Kyle walked in. She hadn’t expected him this early since he’d been working long hours. Her traitorous body turned hot, and her purple scales glowed.
Greer set down her glass and cleared her throat. “Well sweet sister, your scales say it all. I’ll let you two enjoy each other.”
Nessa jumped up and hugged her. “Thank you.”
“Be happy.” With that, her sister headed toward the door.
Kyle hugged Greer and exchanged a few words before tossing his keys on the kitchen counter. “What was that about?” he asked once Greer left.
“Nothing.”
“Really? You two seemed so serious.”
Nessa smiled. “I’m good.”
“If that’s really the case, I’m going to take a shower. We had a small incident at Wilson Snar’s mine, and I am covered in dust.”
“Was anyone hurt?”
“Nothing serious,” he said. “It was human error.”
Greer had made her question her own motivations for why she’d been out of sorts. She wanted Kyle to be part of her family in more than just mating with her. “Mind if I join you?”
His eyes that had been dark blue in his human form, morphed into what she liked to call light sea blue. It was a combination of his old eye color mixed with that of teal—the color all male dragons possessed when stimulated.
“I was hoping I could convince you to get naked.” He cupped her cheek.
“You never have to convince me.” Right in the living room, Nessa stripped, and Kyle did the same.
He drew her near. “I’ve missed you these last two weeks. What with dealing with Tom’s death and looking for his replacement, we haven’t had a lot of time to ourselves.”
“I was thinking the same thing.” Nessa kissed him and every cell in her body exploded. She leaned back. “It’s partially my fault. I’ve been preoccupied with the mine reopening. It has taken up a lot of my time. Thankfully, that is behind me.”
“That’s wonderful. How about we take the weekend off and go someplace special? Just the two of us?”
Her pussy dampened. “I’d love that.” Nessa dragged a nail down his chest. “I have another idea too.”
Kyle’s eyes widened. “What is it?”
“While I haven’t asked my father or my uncle, I bet they’d be thrilled to have you become a Guardian.”
His mouth opened. “They’d take me?”
She laughed. “I’m positive. They’d be thrilled if you said yes.”
He hugged her tight and swung her around. “I’d love that!”
She couldn’t believe it. Kyle would be a Guardian. Happiness swamped her. “Did someone say something about taking a shower and rubbing his hands all over my body?” She so loved this man.
“I wasn’t specific, but I like the way you think.” Kyle grabbed her hand and quickly led her into the bathroom. “If I start kissing you before I shower, I think you’ll be sorry.”
She grinned. “As much as I want you right now, I’m willing to forgo a bit of foreplay for the sake of cleanliness.”
“Smart woman.”
Nessa nodded at his big cock. “How come you’re always in a state of arousal?”
He grabbed his cock and pumped his hand a few times. “I’m only like this when I’m around you.”
They stepped into the shower, and he pressed the button to turn on the pre-set water temperature. Watching the liquid sluice over his sleek body had her dragon clawing for release.
Kyle was everything she wanted in a man. He was kind, protective, smart, and above all, honorable. Nessa grabbed the bar of soap and dragged it over his chest.
He immediately palmed her nipples, hardening them into peaks. “I’ve missed you so much.”
“I’ve missed you too.” Nessa stabbed a finger at his thigh. “Did I ever tell you how much I love your green scales? They’re so…” She couldn’t think of a description.
“Forest like?”
She smiled. “Like a forest—my favorite place to explore.”
He rinsed his head and then plastered his chest against hers.
The water bounced off his face and splashed her, but she didn’t care. Having their bodies together like this was beyond joyous.
Kyle leaned down and kissed her. The moment their tongues touched, heat swamped her, and she slipped her hand between them and grabbed his cock.
He broke the kiss. “You’re asking for it.”
Nessa dropped her head back and laughed. “I can’t get enough of you when you go all macho dragon on me.”
“You haven’t seen anything yet.”
He pressed her back against the far wall and dropped to his knees. With a great deal of confidence, he spread her legs wide, and her pussy screamed for his tongue. The first lick had her standing on her toes and palming the back wall. Ever since they’d mated, her need for him had grown to epic proportions, which was probably why she was a little out of sorts. Needing someone that much was not in her nature.
But it was now.
Kyle reached up and cupped a breast. Her scales glowed, and heat rushed through her. Kyle changed tactics and slipped three fingers into her pussy. He then curled his fingers to touch her sweet spot. When he pressed inward, Nessa couldn’t take it any longer and let out a yell.
Kyle smiled, stood, and moved in closer. She raised a hand. “Give me a sec to catch my breath. I have to taste you too.”
“I don’t think that would be wise.”
Before he could talk her out of it, she scooted to the side and leaned over. With her right hand, she grabbed his cock, and with her left hand, she cupped his balls. His groans turned to grunts, and his scales pulsed that glorious forest green she so loved. Needing to taste him now, she drew him deep into her mouth, licking and swirling her tongue.
He clutched a handful of her hair as a shot of cum tinged her mouth. Wanting to experience all of him, she let go. Kyle reached behind her and shut off the water. A moment later, they were outside of the shower drying off as quickly as possible. Their gazes met, and he pressed her against the bathroom door. Not breaking eye contact, Kyle ripped the towel from her body. “I need to be inside you.”
“Yes,” was all she managed to say.
Kyle kissed her hard. He then spun her around and pressed on her back to bend her over. As soon as she palmed the door for support, he aimed his cock at her entrance and drove into her. Her inner pussy walls clamped down on him, needing to keep him inside her forever.