She touched him; he liked it, and he'd let her play with more if she'd just agree to get the fucking antidote they needed.
"You make no sense. What don't you understand? I need an antidote for my brother's mate and I would do anything to ensure he gets what he needs."
Her hands dropped, and he glanced over his shoulder.
Lilly's eyes rested on the ground. It was then he noticed how she worried her hands.
"No. I understand that. Or, well, I understand your meaning. I understand I am merely a small problem. But..." and she died off as she studied her hands again.
Eadric nearly came undone waiting. "What? What don't you get?"
She seemed to shrink back as he turned to her. "Your skin. It's not burned."
He shrugged. "Burned from what?"
He was a dragon. Not much could hurt them in their dragon form. Hell, he'd nearly touched a star once and had only regretted staring at it a little longer than he should have.
Finally, she answered. "Me."
Odd thing for her to say.
"You? Why exactly would you be able to burn me?" Did he reach for her? Hold her? Her pale skin looked fragile. He sniffed the air and noticed her scent was coming back to a fiery burn, but the sick stench of that poison still lingered.
The silence grated on his nerves; he hated the absence of her voice. She still said nothing, so this time he knelt down, taking a hand within his own.
She flinched and tried to pull away, but he wouldn't let her win. No. He wanted answers. Her eyes grew wider with each moment she lost her battle.
"You have to let me go. I'm dangerous. You can't touch me."
He frowned.
"But I am touching you."
She started to breathe heavily.
"Calm down, mate."
That stopped her from fighting.
"Why would you call me that? Don't call me that," she said.
He frowned. "Why can't I say it? Do you prefer Lilly?"
A moment passed before she answered. "You need me to get an antidote. You told me that you'd do anything. Don't tell me you're willing to marry me to get me to do this. It won't work. I won't do it."
Eadric cocked his head.
"I never said I would marry you. That is a human tradition, correct? I do not offer this. I've offered you my soul, Lillyanna. The very essence of who I am."
She sucked in a breath.
"What? Why? Why would you offer that to get an antidote? It's not for you. Why would you do it?"
Wasn't it obvious? Humans didn't seem very advanced in thought, he was realizing.
"I would do anything for my brother's happiness. Including giving up my own. But for now, that is not what I offer. I want you to make the right choice, knowing I will keep you safe, because you are mine."
She yanked her hand once and didn't try again, but her eyes stayed on him. Studying him. Water welled up. Blinking didn't seem to help as it seeped out.
He didn't understand why, though. He'd offered himself. Offered to protect her. He'd made it obvious that he would be there for her. What was wrong? It wasn't like he'd done what Kal had.
"Why are you crying?" he asked.
She swiped at the tear. "I'm not. Something got in my eyes."
Eadric nodded as if that made sense. Who was he to question her? At least she wasn't trying to run away.
"I can't go back there. How do I know you'd be there?" she said.
Her eyes studied his hand, the one that wouldn't let her go.
"Why won't you look up at me, Lilly?" he asked.
He loosened his grip, and she pulled her hand free.
"I don't understand how you are touching me. No one touches me."
Eadric liked the idea that no one touched his mate. What he didn't like was that she implied it wasn't because of her own choice.
"What do you mean no one touches you?"
She shrugged. "No one had ever been able to touch me. I was a science experiment gone wrong. Or that's what my father said."
Now, he was getting somewhere useful.
"And who is your father?" Eadric asked.
More silence, this was going to be a very long few hours.
"You met him. Dr. Rollings is my father. The one who had set a trap for your friend-"
"Brother," he interjected.
"Okay. Brother. The trap he'd set for him and his," she paused and he nearly shook her. Lord, this is taking forever. "His mate."
Blood thundered in his ears. Her own father had chained her up and left her to be attacked? What kind of father would put his young in harm's way? No wonder this female reacted, well, frightened.
"And the chip?" he asked.
She nodded. "My father's way of keeping me under control. It's hard to control someone that sets fire to you or your men."
A quick nod was all he managed, trying to figure this puzzle that was now his life, apparently.
"Are you part dragon? I've never seen flames such as yours," he asked.
She shifted. "No. I don't believe so. My father is mostly into aliens, but my sister told me about you. Or your type. Your kind is one that he's read about in myths but has never actually seen. So no, I don't see how I could be."
Well, hell. How does one follow up that story? Eadric left the silence between them. He liked the warmth of her skin in his hand. Too bad she was guarded, locking away her feelings. The fire that burned through her, the heat from her was different and he wanted to feel it again. He'd do anything to touch her again.
With little effort he turned one of his hands palm up and tried to call her fire. It didn't come to him like he'd expected. Her flames didn't bow to him. Odd.
She broke the silence. "I think I was a product of his demon obsession. The first of his experiments that landed him the position at the lab here. Or..." she looked around. "Where are we? Are we still near New Mexico?"
Eadric shrugged. "I suppose. I went to the mountains. There were no markings to tell me if we were nearby or not. My brothers can find me all the same."
She gave a nod as if it made sense, so he didn't give more detail. Best to let her relax for now.
"Okay. Well. That lab. There were others there. And not all of them seemed bad. I hope they got out."
Heat filled the space between them the longer she sat.
"My brother and his mate did not destroy it. Most of the destruction was you, in the house above the ground."
Absently, he pulled one of her hands back into his. She didn't seem to notice as he started to draw small circles on her delicate skin.
"I was so angry," she said, turning away from him he released her hand as it slid from his grasp.
He watched as a blue fire appeared to seep from her exposed skin the more she talked.
"He put me out there, telling me to stop the aliens. When I asked about my safety. About what would happen to me? You know what he did? He laughed as if I didn't matter. He told me that better a live alien than a failed project."
An ache he'd never experienced shot through him as the desperate need to make her feel wanted, needed, and safe ran through him.
His dragon took the opposite feeling, letting the anger burn brighter and brighter until the shift nearly swallowed Eadric.
He must have made a sound, perhaps a growl escaped him, because she turned to look at him and gasped. "Your eyes."
He blinked back the instinct to protect. To fly off and attack that awful place.
"Is that the dragon?" she asked.
A quick nod was all he managed as he fought back the raw need to pull her to him.
Eadric's hands itched to hold her and he nearly gave into the soul crushing desire to comfort.
But scarier was the painful yearning to bind her to him.
He needed to protect.
He needed to comfort.
He wanted her.
Reaching out for her, he clenched his teeth, swallowing back the need to mate- to mark her.
5
Lilly gulped in air as she caug
ht the look in his eyes. The anger or maybe sadness within her chased away into the chill of the cave.
No one had ever looked at her the way he did right now. It was almost as if... As if what? As if he was hungry. Oh God. Did dragons eat humans? Mustering all the strength she could, Lilly pushed herself up and backed away.
Before she could blink, he was up in front of her. Blocking her exit.
She paused, or rather her body froze in place. Scared? Not entirely, there was just something different. Something more animal than man. A chill chased along her nerve endings and she didn't hate it, but it confused her.
"Please," she said. Please, what though? If he had wanted to hurt her, he'd had plenty of chances.
His eyes shifted between the human orange-gold to the dragon red slits. Was he fighting him back? What was going on?
"Please what, Lilly?" he asked. Slowly, Eadric came toward her.
She mirrored each step. He approached her slowly, and she retreated even slower until something hard and sharp stopped her. The cave walls.
She held her breath as Eadric continued his approach.
It felt like a game of cat and mouse, only this mouse couldn't decide if she wanted to be caught or not.
God. The way he looked at her. Was it meant to scare her?
She couldn't turn away from all those rippling muscles. Her hands itched as they imagined running them down his abs, feeling each and every ridge.
Her eyes had a mind of their own as they caught sight of a very large bulge not at all hidden. The same bulge she'd nearly begged for him to cover with pants. That backfired from the looks of it.
What would it look like now? Different, she thought, much, much bigger.
Oh no.
No. This was what her sister had said was a sign of a man wanting sex.
No. She didn't want that. She didn't want to be used. She wanted to be loved. Like in those Jane Austen books her sister snuck into her.
Her bottom lip betrayed her as he finally stopped a mere inch from her.
"Please what, Lilly?" he asked again.
She shuddered at his voice, but this time not from fear. What was this odd feeling? He reached a hand out, bracing himself against the wall behind her.
Breathing in the air, his scent blinded her senses. Her heart pounded away, but why? A tingling twisted and turned within her, making its way like a river cutting a new path landing right between her legs and she nearly moaned at the sensation.
Good grief. What was wrong with her?
With his free hand his fingers traced the side of her face, his thumb stopping to run across her bottom lip.
Her breath shuddered, and she closed her eyes. No one had ever touched her, and certainly it would never have been like this. Like what?
Like she mattered. He looked at her like she was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen.
"Lilly, what is it that you want?" he asked once more, his voice husky.
Want? What did she want? Safety. She wanted safety. She wanted love. But none of that existed. Before he could touch her again, she let her anger surface.
"Nothing. I don't want anything from you. I won't get that antidote."
She hadn't noticed his tattoos burning until now. What? They just turned on and off like a nightlight? Odd.
"We will see who wins this game."
His hand dropped. Her lips tingled where his thumb had brushed.
Crap. No. Wait. Game? What game? Were they playing a game?
She wanted that feeling again. But he backed up. His eyes never leaving her, the tattoos going dim and yet, the massive tent in his pants was another story. She swallowed. This image of him would be burned into her brain for eternity.
No matter where she ran, where she escaped to and hid. That image would probably get her through the loneliness of the rest of her life.
He turned away from her and headed back to the bag. It was huge, like maybe a body could be stuffed inside and buried. Odd, thought really. She wasn't that kind of person, and she doubted Eadric was. Her father on the other hand, he'd be one to bury a body. Many, many bodies. Her childhood was filled with the site of men and women killed in front of her and her sister. Guards that failed to keep her from escaping among the most unlucky.
It was her fault a few of them were killed, and why she'd finally stopped trying. The panic she'd tried to ignore since being kidnapped pushed through, the distraction of Eadric no longer enough, and the need to find a way out.
Her sister. She needed to save her sister.
Then again, her sister had a hand in a lot of the horrible things done there. Her sister walked a fine line of emotions mixed between survival and what was right. She didn't have any known powers. Well, anything that ever came in handy. But still, maybe if Lilly could get back to her, she could get the antidote for Mr. Sexy and save her sister.
No. No. No. She wasn't going back. She was escaping from the dragon now. But her sister. What was she supposed to do?
Eadric turned around.
"Are you going to come here or do I need to carry you back?"
She blinked, clearing away thoughts of her past.
"I, well? Why?"
He held out a small container.
"Food. I assume you eat? It's nothing exciting. It was Deo's turn to cook. He's trying out human recipes. I think this one is called stew? Anyway, would you like some?"
Her stomach rumbled. Would she like some? Her stomach had a mind of its own, and she nearly ran to him.
"Do you want to warm it or should I?" he asked, as she approached.
"What?"
He held it up. "It's not warm anymore. Do you want to warm it or should I?"
She looked at him again, and finally he rolled his eyes at her.
Holding the tin flat in his hand, she swore nothing happened. Or, well, maybe something did. The tin started to glow a faint red.
"Here. If it's too hot, blow on it. Sorry. Hard to control the temperature like that."
She giggled. "That's a neat trick."
He smiled back and something in her warmed a little to the dragon man. There was something in his smile that she'd never seen before. Great teeth that looked a little pointy, sure, but that wasn't it. Soft lips that, well, okay, she'd love to kiss them. But still no, not that.
Kindness. Something that she knew only from memories of her mother, and some of her sister. But it had never looked like this. Free.
"Thank you," she said.
He nodded and handed her a fork.
"Sure."
Looking around the cold stone floor, it wasn't inviting.
"You can sit on the mat. It's the best I've got. That or I can shift, and you can sit on my paw. Whatever you wish."
"Oh. I'll just use the mat. It's fine."
His eyes shifted again to the dragon and back to human.
"You don't need to fear him. He likes you."
The look she gave him wasn't convinced, and he chuckled.
She settled down on the mat, wondering what it was about Eadric that didn't have her running. Her stomach growled again. Oh, right. Food. But then again, her father had her fed, and she'd never felt the need to stay. Definitely not.
Instead though, now, she found herself asking the dragon man a question.
"Do they? Or does he? Well, how does that whole thing work? You and the dragon?"
Grabbing another tin of food, he pulled the lid off and sat next to her.
"We are one. He is my soul, although sometimes he can be a real prick as you humans say."
She laughed. "What do you mean?"
He shoved a bit of food in and chewed. Lilly found herself mesmerized by his Adam's apple. The way it bobbed while he ate and the scruff of hair that dotted his chin. A flash of him pressing his face against hers and instantly she wanted to know what that stubble would feel like as he kissed her. A tingling swelled within her lips, a storm deep down that she had no idea how to escape.
His head lifted, and his nostrils flare
d.
That was a little odd.
He hesitated for a moment and then swallowed his bite.
"I. The dragon. What do you mean?" he asked.
Eadric's eyes were mostly dragon at the moment and she wasn't sure that maybe the dragon wasn't coming to give a show. But no. Eadric spoke, his voice strained, but present.
"So, he's in there? Right now?" she asked.
"Yes. And sometimes he wants to be in control," was all Eadric said.
"Oh. I could see that being a pain. At least my father would leave me alone, sometimes. He, well. He liked control."
A growl rumbled deep in his chest.
The sound reminded her of the dragon attack. The fear that had encased her as she'd been powerless. Her flames hadn't stopped them. Hadn't even slowed them down. The flash of a great orange dragon charging flashed through her memory. He'd distracted her from the red one that came for her, Eadric.
Lilly hadn't even been able to scream as the thing halted within a few inches of her. His large muzzle pressed into her, sniffing her. His eyes had focused on the chain that rattled as she tried to move. It had all been to get away from him, and it had failed. He didn't even notice her flames licking at him back then. It was as if they liked him.
The dragon had crushed the chain, made of a foreign metal. It had taken her father years to find and create the perfect element that wouldn't listen to her. Something she couldn't melt. Something he could ensure would keep his precious weapon in place. Not that the nasty chip installed in her head wouldn't do that.
Picking at the stew, she let out a sigh. In those last few moments at the lab, she'd been terrified. She'd seen a lot of weird creatures, but never anything immune to her fire. As he'd taken her, she'd also felt a sense of numbness. What did she really have to lose if the creature killed her?
"Why do you sigh, my Lilly?"
She looked up. "Oh. Sorry. I didn't mean to."
It took her a moment to bring herself back to the present. He reached a hand out, brushing back a string of hair blocking her view of him.
The brush of his fingers, the heat they brought, the feeling of being touched, had her leaning into him.
Why had she sighed? Where did she start?
"You know how when you're in danger you look at everything in your life and you have a moment to regret, or be thankful, or find things you'd miss? It's like fear exposes the holes within you?"
Single Red Dragon: A Dragon Shifter Fated Mates Novel (Space Dragons Seek Mates Book 2) Page 4