by Eva Chase
Well, if he’d put it that way to begin with, maybe I wouldn’t have spent so much of the last two days pissed off at him. “Okay,” I said. “That makes sense. I can respect that.”
He shot me a look I could only describe as startled. “What?” I said, setting my hands on my hips. “You didn’t think I was capable of basic human empathy?”
The corners of his mouth twitched. “To be fair, you aren’t actually human.”
“Basic shifter empathy, then. I’ve gotten the impression we have that too.”
“Some of the time, anyway.” He kept his gaze on me. The energy between us had shifted somehow, with an electric prickling over my skin. His hand rose. I half expected him to reach for me, to pull me closer—
He made a dismissive gesture and stepped farther away. “I have a few more people to talk with while we’re here in town,” he said. “Try not to get into any more trouble, all right, Sparks?”
“I’ll do my best,” I muttered. Was I imagining things, or had that nickname sounded just slightly affectionate for the first time? It was hard to tell when he put on that gruff, no-nonsense voice.
West stalked off down the street. He must have said something to the people lingering in the common, because the group that had been watching me scattered. I rubbed my arms, feeling restless in the rising summer heat. And the heat that had started to rise inside me, standing next to him.
“It’s good,” a weathered voice said from behind me. As I turned, an elderly woman with a puff of frizzy white hair came up beside me. She patted my hand. “Matilda. Pleased to meet you, dragon shifter.”
Her demeanor was so matter-of-fact after the awe I’d gotten from the other villagers that I immediately relaxed. “Pleased to meet you too, Matilda.”
She turned her pale hazel eyes the way West had gone. “I’m glad Westley has finally found you,” she said. “I can tell you’ll be good for him.”
Westley, huh? I let out a short laugh. “I’m not so sure he’d agree with you there.”
“Aw, don’t let his temper put you off. He’s a good boy, even if he’s slow to trust sometimes.”
How long had she known him? Since he was a kid—or, what, a pup? And now he was running the whole kin-group. “You all seem to have a lot of respect for him,” I said.
“He’s earned it,” Matilda said, and hummed softly as if to agree with herself. “That boy has always put his kin above everything else, even the folks he cared about the most.”
That sounded like a story I needed to hear. But before I could push for details, Nate walked over. He gave the elder shifter a respectful bob of his head and turned to me.
“After last night, we’re thinking giving you some self defense training might be a good idea, Ren. If you’re up for it.”
Anything if it meant I wasn’t standing around like a hopeless damsel next time we got into a fight, as much as I hoped there wasn’t a next time.
“Sure,” I said. “Hit me.”
Chapter 15
Marco
My Princess of Flames wasn’t going to be demolishing vampires by the end of the day, but it wasn’t going to be long before she could hold her own either. She mimicked the motion of the punches Aaron demonstrated while Nate held up his broad hands as targets.
The bear shifter swept his leg toward her, and she nimbly leapt out of the way. Aaron caught her around the shoulders. She snapped his hold the way he’d taught her, grinning. The physical exertion had brought an incredibly appealing flush into her cheeks. I’d bet that whole lithe body of hers would be hot to the touch.
Kylie, West, and myself formed an audience at the edge of the clearing on the outskirts of the village. Ren’s human friend whistled and cheered. Wolf boy looked as if he’d eaten something sour, but that was pretty much his standard expression, so it was hard to read anything into it.
Ren had a ways to go yet, though. The guys were still being careful with her. I wasn’t sure that was the best tack. Didn’t they see what a firecracker that girl was? All that power in her just waiting to explode.
And when she got there, I’d be right at her side.
Aaron exchanged a couple of testing blows with Ren. She blocked and jabbed out with her fist, catching him in the ribs. “Good,” he said. “Can you feel that fighting energy calling to your dragon? See if you can catch hold of the feeling and shift that form to the surface.”
Ren nodded, her expression tightening with determination. Oh, princess, as if a shift was something you should have to force. She needed to make friends with her inner dragon, not battle it.
Nate stepped in, weaving back and forth with surprising speed for a guy that big. The bear wasn’t all bulk. He pushed Ren backward until she ducked under one of his swings and darted around him. A fierce gleam lit in her eyes. Then she faltered. Her shoulders sagged, and she swiped her hand across her mouth.
“I’m trying,” she said to Aaron. “I can feel it in there. I don’t know why I’m so stuck still.”
I ambled forward. “Maybe you need a different kind of provocation,” I suggested.
She straightened up, the fire in her eyes coming back. “What did you have in mind?”
I rolled my shoulders, testing the limits of my shirt. The fabric had enough flexibility to stay comfortable. “Spar with me a bit, and you’ll see.”
Aaron gestured for me to go ahead and take over. “If you think you have a better idea, Marco...”
“Even if I don’t, a little variety never hurt anyone.” I shot him a grin and then turned it on Ren. “Let’s go, princess.”
We circled each other, Ren watching me warily. Waiting for me to make the first move so she could decide how to respond. Fine, I could play along. I feinted and took a controlled jab at her stomach. She dodged, smacking my arm to the side with a well-executed block. Then she dove at me, swinging her elbow at my ribs. I just barely leapt out of the way. Damn, the girl was fast when she wanted to be.
I moved closer, speeding up my own movements. A tap to the shoulder, a strike at her neck. And smaller gestures I gave enough concentration to that I could be sure they landed. A caress of her hip. A fleeting stroke of her side. I blocked her flying fist—and let my knuckles graze the peak of her breast.
Her breath caught, her cheeks flushing darker. She narrowed her eyes at me, as if to say she saw what I was doing. That was fine. I wanted her to feel it. To feel the desire that sparked hotter between us every time we touched.
If aggression didn’t bring out her dragon, maybe passion would. And if it didn’t, I was sure as hell enjoying trying.
It was probably obvious to our audience what I was doing by now, but I didn’t care. She was my mate as much as any of the other alphas. They’d better get used to seeing her with me.
As she ducked low to block a kick, I took the opportunity to tease my fingertips over her cheek. She jerked up, throwing a punch. I bobbed out of the way and gave her ass a quick squeeze.
With a heated noise of frustration, she came at me swinging. I wove back and forth and then threw myself right back at her when she least expected it. She yelped as I tackled her to the ground. I pinned her on the grass, my body pressed against hers, my dick getting harder with each heave of her breath that shoved her breasts into my chest.
“Marco,” she growled, glaring at me, but at the same time her hips canting welcomingly toward mine. There was as much lust as frustration in her eyes.
“Yes, princess?” I said sweetly. Before she could answer, I caught her mouth with a kiss.
Ren
Marco’s kiss was as hot as the look he’d been giving me a second before. A shiver of pleasure rippled through me. God, did I want this man. I couldn’t do anything except kiss him back just as hard.
He let go of my arm to trail his fingers down my side to my hip, and my hand leapt up to tangle in his hair. I yanked his mouth even tighter against mine. Marco hummed approvingly, nudging my lips apart with his demanding tongue. Mine slicked over his, tasting his mouth.
I could feel his pulse thumping in his chest, smell the spicy coffee scent of him, feel every shift and flex of his muscles as if I were all around him. The claws in my chest spread wide, reaching. The flavor of ash tainted the back of my mouth, but somehow that made the kiss even sweeter.
I nipped his lower lip—and tasted blood. My heartbeat raced faster. I wasn’t just some girl for him to make out with. I was a dragon, and we were here to fight. I couldn’t let him make me forget that.
With a strength I hadn’t known I had in me, I shoved Marco off. He stumbled right onto his feet. A laugh jolted out of him, startled and impressed. Then I was springing after him, my feet barely seeming to touch the ground.
Marco’s eyebrows rose as I lashed my arm out at him. The wind whistled strangely through my fingers.
Or rather, my talons. Scales had formed over my fingertips and sprouted dagger-like claws. Yes. A smile stretched across my face. I dashed faster, feeling the sinewy energy snaking through me, ready to break free.
Shouts carried across the field. “All right, Ren! You’re amazing!” “Beautiful. Just give yourself over to the shift.” “You’ve got this, Ren!”
The voices rattled my thoughts. I didn’t have it, not yet. I needed more—I needed to be that dragon—
Even as I groped after the serpentine sensation inside me, it whipped away from me. I stumbled on the grass. My hands hit the ground, fully human again. I stared at them, those weak pale digits. My vision blurred. I blinked hard.
No. I was not going to cry. Not in front of the guys. Even if I’d just proven myself an even bigger screw-up than before.
I’d been so fucking close.
I dug my fingers into the earth, clawing my disappointment into it the only way I could. A large form hunkered down beside me.
“It’s fine,” Nate said. “You’re getting there. That was progress.”
“He’s right, princess,” Marco said, standing a short distance away. “It’ll take time to get full control over your powers, just like it’ll take time for us to become full mates. And I promise I’m more impatient about the latter.” He chuckled.
Nate shot him a frown and reached to rub my shoulder. “You should be proud of yourself.”
Proud of myself? When I couldn’t even manage to get halfway to what they all did so effortlessly?
I pulled away from him, scrambling to my feet. “I don’t need coddling,” I said. “I need to figure this out.”
Aaron ambled over to join us. West and Kylie had hung back, my friend looking concerned but uncertain. This was one challenge she couldn’t meet with me.
“I think you’re pushing yourself too hard,” Aaron said in his mild voice. The evenness of it, paired with that faint rasp, seemed to file down the sharp edges of my emotions. “I know some mental exercises that might help with that for the next time you try. You could take a break, and then—”
“No break,” I interrupted. “If you’ve got something to teach me that might help, let’s do it now.”
He paused, but then he nodded. “All right.” He glanced around at the others. “We’ll need to be undisturbed for this.”
Marco saluted him. “Enjoy your mind games, eagle boy.”
Nate drew back, his expression worried. I didn’t know what to say to him to make him feel better. My sense of failure jabbed deeper into my chest. I turned to Aaron. “Let’s go.”
He motioned for me to follow him. At the edge of the clearing, close to the village’s nearest buildings, a circle of beech trees formed a small, sheltered glade. We squeezed between them. Aaron sat down cross-legged in their midst, so I copied him, sitting across from him.
“Is this some kind of mediation you want me to do?” I asked.
“Something like that. To begin with, you could focus on your breathing. Feel it traveling into and out of your lungs. Let it fill your chest fully before you expel it. Get a sense of control over it, and of how by moderating it, you can moderate your emotions.”
Apparently he could tell that my emotions were in severe need of moderation. I sucked in a breath, shaky with frustration. My hands balled at my sides. No, that definitely didn’t fit the exercise. I had to give this a real try.
Maybe there wasn’t some artificial block inside me that was keeping me from my dragon. Maybe I was the one holding it in, holding myself too tight and tense around it.
I inhaled more slowly, letting the air flow into my lungs. My ribs expanded. The breath shuddered on the way out, and I gritted my teeth. Why couldn’t I get even this right?
“Hey,” Aaron said gently. “Come here?”
He beckoned me over. I swiveled and scooted backward so I could lean against his folded legs. He set his hands on my upper arms, his thumbs tracing light arcs over my biceps. The warmth of his presence soaked into my back, even though there was at least a foot between our bodies. That bond, that tug. The tie that marked us as mates. I wet my lips, trying to push aside the swell of desire.
“This isn’t something anyone masters on their first try,” Aaron said. “Relaxing is one of the hardest things someone like us has to do. Try again? In and out, slow and easy. Focus on the feeling of my hands, and try to let any other thoughts wisp right by you.”
His thumbs continued their careful arc back and forth over my skin. The thoughts they were provoking were a totally different kind of frustration from before. But I followed his instructions, closing my eyes. In and out. Like the to and fro of his caress. Slow and even. Nothing else needed to matter except for that and the heat of his touch.
Another breath slipped from my lungs, and I realized I was doing it. The tension had seeped out of me. Disappointment no longer ached behind my sternum. I didn’t know if this was going to help me bring forth my dragon, but it definitely hadn’t hurt anything.
“Thanks,” I said. “I guess I needed that.”
I heard Aaron’s smile in the shape of his voice. “Sometimes we shifters can get too caught up in the animal side of our natures. I think it’s important to remember we’re so much more than that. Our minds matter too. As enjoyable as certain animalistic impulses might be.”
A little mischief crept into his tone with that last sentence. I shot him a glance over my shoulder, and the slightly wicked smile he gave me then sent a wash of heat over me. So my Disney prince had a bit of an edge to him, did he?
The attraction burning between us loosened a memory—one from not that long ago. “Marco said something... He said in time we’d become ‘full mates.’ I thought we were already mates. Is there something else we need to do...?”
Aaron’s smile turned wry. “There’s no hurry,” he said. “You shouldn’t take that step until you’re fully comfortable with the idea, with each of us. The mate-bond isn’t confirmed until it’s consummated—that is, until the mates—”
“—have sex,” I filled in for him. “Ah.” My cheeks flared. “Yeah, I’m not sure how long it’s going to take before I’m ready for that. I... never have before.”
Because that wrenching, clawing feeling had always gotten in the way before. But I didn’t feel that with any of the alphas. I wanted to open myself up to them. At least, I thought I did. There’d been so many upheavals and revelations in the last couple days—how could I really be sure what I wanted? What was best for me?
What was best for them?
“You knew you were bonded without even understanding it,” Aaron said. His hands smoothed over my shirt to lightly massage my back. “It’s possible to be intimate with someone you’re not bonded too, but part of you is always going to balk. I won’t pretend I haven’t had desires and pursued them, to some extent, but the same feeling always held me back. Being that close with anyone else just didn’t feel right.”
So it wasn’t just me. The guys felt it too? I glanced back at him again, with a fluttering in my chest. I’d waited for them without knowing what I was doing. And he’d waited for me too.
“There really isn’t any rush to make that co
mmitment,” he said, gazing back at me with those clear blue eyes. “We’ve only just found you. We can give you whatever time you need.”
Not everyone felt that way. My thoughts darted to West’s words earlier this morning. It must be the same for all of the kin-groups, including Aaron’s. The longer I held out, leaving him without a mate, the longer the rest of his kin had to go barren.
“Are you sure?” I asked before I knew I was going to. “I mean, that waiting for me is the right decision? What if...”
My voice faltered. My doubts jumbled awkwardly inside me.
Aaron leaned forward and wrapped his arms around me, tipping his face next to mine. “I’ve never been more sure of anything, Serenity. You’re everything I could have wanted in a mate.”
My back tensed against his chest. He drew back a few inches. “You don’t like people using your full name, do you?”
I grimaced. “It’s not so much that as—I just got so used to pretending it wasn’t my name. To feeling like saying it would be a dangerous thing.”
“Just one more thing you need to reclaim,” he murmured. “You are Serenity Drake. You are the last in the dragon shifter line. That heritage belongs to you and no one else. No one can take it from you.”
He pressed a kiss to the sensitive spot just behind my ear. A bolt of desire shot through me, right to my sex. I pushed myself toward him, and he eased me onto his lap. When I raised my head, his lips were right there to meet mine.
We kissed until I started to lose my breath. Aaron edged his thumb under the hem of my tee. I mumbled encouragingly, and he slid his hand right up under, over my bare skin. He teased his knuckles over my breast, making my nipple pebble. I moaned, kissing him harder. A tight ball of need formed between my legs.
Carefully, he eased the strap of my bra over my shoulder to loosen it. Then he dipped his fingers inside the cup to fondle me skin to skin. I gasped as he rolled my nipple under his thumb, drawing it to an even sharper peak. He bent his head and nibbled his way down my neck.