by Jill Haven
I took it and we shook. “That would be a hell of a thing. Him just gone.”
“Yes, indeed.”
“Uh… where—”
“Evan’s in the rose room at the end of the hall,” Haiden said softly. I hadn’t even heard the door crack, but he grinned at me and pushed his glasses up his nose.
“Thank you.”
“No problem.”
Pushing the door open to the rose room, I felt even more like a thief in the night than I did when I went into the stronghold. Carefully, I closed the door behind myself. After the way I acted earlier, not giving him what he wanted, not bringing him into the party at my side the way he’d really deserved, he had every right to be upset with me, even if I had my reasons.
The lamp beside the bed was still lit, but it was the smell in the air that struck me before Evan’s beauty. He was curled up on his side, back to the door, obviously expecting this to be a safe place. That made me happy, in some ways, that he trusted the Blood Dragons.
Sitting down on the bed, I leaned over to brush his hair off his face. My fingertips quivered with energy and my stomach trembled. He frowned in his sleep and his eyes fluttered open. He shifted around and when his gaze landed on me a small smile tugged at his lips, and a wave of adoration swelled up from deep in my chest. I reached out and brushed my fingertips along the back of his hand.
“Please, don’t let them take me back. I want to get to know this new world, and you.”
“I know. I didn’t free you to take you right back home.”
He sat up slowly and cupped a hand to my cheek. I sat stock-still as he brushed a finger along my face and over the scar there, all the way across my forehead and eyebrow, over the bridge of my nose, and down to the other side. I wanted him, wanted more of that smell of his, wanted more of the soft touch of his hand, but it was him that leaned forward and pressed his lush lips to mine. I couldn’t stand how good he felt touching me. I brushed my fingers through his hair and down to clasp the back of his neck, holding him steady. The last time I was with someone it was another alpha, and it was rough, nothing like this sweet meeting of bodies. I slid my tongue into his mouth, and he sighed and opened for me. I leaned back and he groaned when I parted us.
“Don’t take me back. Please, I’ll—”
“No, don’t offer things in exchange for your freedom. I’m not taking you back anyway. That’s not part of anything between us.”
He smiled. “You’re sure?”
“I am.”
“I might have liked to offer a few things,” he said. His eyes sparkled with amusement and I couldn’t help dipping in to taste him again. In the past, when I’d been with someone, it was always passion boiling over, and I felt that way now too, but there was also something sweet in being with Evan. He didn’t immediately go for my belt, but instead carefully rested his hands on my chest. His kisses were searching, and it was obvious he hadn’t done much, if any, before, but the way he leaned into me and opened so readily for me when I brushed the tip of my tongue into the seam between his lips, made this better somehow. He obviously wanted what we were doing, and the way he would open his eyes, almost as if he were checking to make sure it was still me with him, made me think not just any other hard body would do. That warmed me and had me kissing him harder, fiercer.
Eventually, he grew bolder and slid his hand down my stomach to rest above my belt. So far, I’d been avoiding anything that would lead me too far down the path of temptation but having him so close to my cock punched a fiery heat into my core. My chest had an odd ache, like I was missing a part of myself. I grasped Evan’s hand when he began to journey farther south and leaned back.
“I want to,” he said. His cheeks were flushed, and his sweet scent danced through the room, a bright cloud to my nose.
“I do too,” I admitted, and he made a small triumphant sound and grinned. “I’m not sure we should, though.”
He grasped my shoulders and swung his leg around to seat himself on my lap. His hair was a cloud around him, messy and brilliant and beautiful, and a few strands tickled over my arms.
“I don’t care for any of the reasons that you’ve used to talk yourself out of this. We’re both adults, and I know… you wanted me that first night, didn’t you? When you came with Seth and Carlisle and Mason to my home.”
“You know I did.”
“But you acted like you didn’t, really.”
“Vince would have cut off my head. I asked him, and you heard how he responded. He was out of his mind at the idea.”
“Why?” he asked, but he pressed himself close to rub his excited groin against me, and I sucked in a deep breath. His weight on my lap was perfect, and his ass was round and firm and just what I wanted to rut again. I grasped his hips and carefully ground up against him. He scrabbled at my shoulders as if he couldn’t get a good grip. His sighs and moans were so pretty, and I wanted to hear more, to see his face when he was in the grip of his pleasure.
“Do you want to come?”
“What?” he asked, voice a breathy, delicious gust against my ear.
“Do you want to feel good?”
He nodded and rocked against me. I found the pulse point on his neck and sucked on it, moving down to open his pants.
“I want to do everything with you. Please. Let’s… I want…” Evan let out a noise of discontent and I sucked harder on his pale skin. He wasn’t a full dragon, so I might have left a mark, but I found that idea appealing. He moaned and I worked him free of his pants.
“There’s no way that I’m going to be able to hold back with you,” I said against his skin. “And you’re not ready for that.”
“I am.”
I kissed up his jaw and gently stroked him. He whined and sighed and squirmed in my lap, and then finally threw his arms around my shoulders, holding on for dear life. His face flushed and sweat gathered at his temples, and soon he was rocking his dick into my fist.
So hard I could barely stand it, I wanted this, wanted to take him, but it would be a bad idea here, in Carlisle’s house, and besides, I really wasn’t certain I wouldn’t hurt him. I moved until I could kiss him. I fucked his mouth the way I wanted to have his ass, and he stiffened in my arms with a small moan. His cock pulsed in my fist and hot cum spurted onto my fingers in several waves, coating me. Even this smelled sweet and good. I ate at his mouth and couldn’t get enough of him.
“You too. Please,” Evan whispered between our lips. He slid off of my lap beside me on the bed and I held my breath and stayed impossibly still as he opened my pants. He reached in and pulled me out and the little sigh that left his lips almost had me giving in. He reached for me, but I shook my head. If he touched me, I would do things I might regret later.
I smeared his cum onto my aching erection and used it to jerk myself off. My moment rushed up on me. I shoved Evan back onto the bed, harder than I meant to, confirming my original worry, and he bounced there on his back, blinking rapidly as if I’d surprised him. I moved until I was over him and brought myself closer to my edge with firm, fast pumps of my fist. I seized as a vicious pleasure swamped me and painted his face with my seed. His eyes flew wide, but rather than being scared or upset, he opened his mouth. That finished me fast.
Some of my spend landed on his cheeks and collarbones , and I carefully scooped it up to rub it into his neck like it was a fine perfume oil.
“That was different,” Evan said, but his cheeks were still pink and he had the languid, well-used look of the freshly fucked. If he was happy with only my hand, what would he be like after I had him screaming on my cock? I leaned down and sniffed at him and he giggled again. “That’s a bit blunt, don’t you think?”
“I don’t want anyone to get confused and think you’re looking for an alpha.”
He wrinkled his nose and slowly shook his head. “You’re really something.”
“Good or bad something?”
He smiled and looked away from me. “I’m not sure yet. Help me up.�
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I sat up and grasped his hand, hauling him to sitting and then climbed off the bed and dragged him along with me. He stumbled and laughed, grabbing at his pants as he went. When we were both hidden away again, we awkwardly stared for a few seconds before he shocked me by opening his arms and sinking against my chest.
“What’s this for?”
“Shut up.”
For a minute I stood there holding him, but then I started toward the door and forced him to let go.
“What are we doing?”
“We can’t stay here. We have to be away before morning.”
“Because Uncle Vince was here?”
“Yes. We don’t want to put Carlisle in a bad spot as Princeps Draco. If Vince doesn’t trust him it could destabilize the whole region. Other clans might think there’s a reason not to trust the Blood Dragons.”
“Seriously? All because I wanted to leave home?’
“You’re a Divine Omega. You’re important.”
He grumbled under his breath and followed me out to the Jeep. We passed Mason on the way out and he merely waved, apparently not concerned that we were sneaking out together in the middle of the night.
“Where are we going?” Evan asked when we were back in my Jeep and on the road again.
“Ace has an apartment here in Charleston.”
“Like yours?” he asked and then sent me a long look. “I mean, your home is lovely.”
His rosy red cheeks and wary eyes set something off in me. Like a hiccup, a chuckle slipped out of me, and then another, until I was laughing outright for the first time in a long while.
8
Evan
“Ugh, what time is it again?” I asked, trying to shake the fogginess out of my brain. False dawn had just begun. Bishop and I had made it to Ace’s apartment last night, and I’d barely been through the front door before I sat down on the couch and fell asleep right there. It seemed like no time at all later, and Bishop was shaking me awake, saying we needed to go.
“Don’t dragons need to sleep?” I asked grumpily as I slumped into the back seat of the van.
“We’re just used to early mornings and sleep deprivation,” Ten said, and turned to smile at me for a few seconds from his place in the front passenger seat.
“So, what’s this man’s name again?” Ace asked. He sat beside Tennyson. I ignored the head of Bishop’s leg where it occasionally brushed against mine. There was enough room that it didn’t need to happen, but it did, and my stomach squirmed happily.
“Beau Moore,” Bishop said, flipping through a stack of papers held together by three silver rings along the side.
“That’s an odd book,” I said.
Bishop glanced at me. “This? Oh. It’s a copy of a much older book, something to keep the original safe. An old dragoness, the one who does the funeral rights, gave this one to us. She recorded the names of… well, suspected Divine Omegas. I think she hoped one day we would all pull our heads out of our asses.”
“Charming,” I grumbled.
He smiled at me and my breath stopped. He was handsome, instead of scary, when he did that, so maybe there was a reason he kept the smiling to a minimum.
“Yes, well, she was right. She was uniquely positioned to meet a lot of dragons since she gets invited everywhere to do the death ceremonies. She’s a smart one, that’s for sure.”
I leaned closer to him. “Am I in it?”
“No. You’re not. Vince did a good job of keeping you hidden.”
I wasn’t sure if I should feel irritated or smug at that. “So, we’re what? Going to find another Divine Omega? Why?”
“Because we’re dying. As a species,” Ace said. I startled and looked at him as he flashed his gaze back at me in the rear vision mirror. “Not fast, for sure, because dragons live a long time, but most of the clans aren’t having live hatchlings. There’s something about the Divine Omegas that leads to successful births. Maybe the new blood? Maybe some magic? Who knows.” He shrugged.
“The Redcaps have had a few hatchlings in the last fifty years.”
“That’s true, and there have been some in the other clans as well,” Bishop said. “We think there may be a link with shifting. The dragons stopped shifting frequently, so they aren’t as strong as they used to be.”
“That doesn’t make sense. You can still do all the other things a dragon can do,” I murmured.
He glanced at me. “You’ve not heard of this problem, but you think our reasons aren’t sound?”
I shrugged. “Dragons are magic. The world has things like electricity. It’s a wonder unto itself. Maybe there’s less magic than there used to be. Maybe that’s why dragons aren’t keeping their babies. Maybe… I don’t know. Maybe Divine Omegas, just to live, have kept more of their magic because they’re not supposed to happen in the first place.”
“Our magic is draining away?” Ace asked. He pursed his lips. “I think that’s one of the more horrible theories I’ve heard.”
“When’s the last time any of you were your largest forms? Uncle Vince goes to Alaska to do it once a year.”
An uncomfortable silence filled the car.
“This is all too philosophical for my taste,” Ace said, his good mood suddenly bouncing back. “What kind of dragon is this man we’re looking for?”
“Silver Dragon. They are deeply connected to the earth. This one lives in Georgia, which makes sense. There aren’t many Silver Dragons, but that was their last known territory.”
“All of that was in your book?” I asked.
“No. Seth… works with computers. Machines. They helped him search through many records. Beau Moore is the son of two deceased Silver Dragons, and he stayed with his Grandparents. They died and left him their farm. He still lives and works there, as far as Seth could tell.”
“Farming is no easy life,” Ten said, looking back at us with his chin resting on the back of his seat.
“No, it’s not. There are good years and bad years, and the bad years can be treacherous.”
“There’s little danger of actually starving these days.”
I stared at Bishop. “But without a good harvest…” He glanced at me and shook his head. “This is one of those things, isn’t it? People don’t starve anymore, do they.”
“No, they can,” Ace said, “but it’s not because of one bad season.”
“How did the old woman know about him?”
“She performed the funeral rights for the mother who died, of course.”
“Why was he with his grandparents?”
“We’re not sure. It appears his father was alive and well, and even remarried. That would likely be a question for Beau.”
“It’s creepy that we’re talking about him and he doesn’t know we’re coming. What… what are you hoping to convince him to do?”
Bishop cleared his throat, and Ace shot Ten a look that I didn’t miss. “Why do you suppose Vince kept you hidden?”
“I don’t know. I smell good. He loved his sister, my mom.” I shrugged.
“Babies. We’re looking to repopulate the Blood Dragons.”
“Uh… that’s…” I swallowed hard. “That’s still creepy.”
“We’re hoping to talk him into meeting some of our clan alphas,” Bishop explained.
Ten grunted in agreement. “We’re not going to force him into anything. It seems some of the old mating myths are true, though. Carlisle and Mason both found true mates. Without that bond, it may not even be safe for a Divine Omega to attempt to carry a dragon child. A mating bond allows the dragons to give their life and health to the Divine Omega.”
“Mating bond…” The words felt round and soft in my mouth. “Is that…Um, do all dragons bond that way?”
“Who knows,” Ace said. Bishop said nothing, merely stared at his book. I sighed, more confused than ever.
“So Uncle Vince kept me hidden because he was worried someone would want me to… repopulate their clan?” That was the closest I could get to s
aying the truth of things out loud. My stomach twisted.
“Right as rain,” Ace said from his spot behind the driver’s wheel.
Bishop let out a sound that was close to a quiet growl, and we all looked to him. “Someone should have looked into this before now. The matriarch of the Silver Dragon clan chose to allow Beau to stay with his father’s parents, rather than bring the family more grief by taking the baby to be raised by the Silver Dragons. They guarded him from a distance, checking in on him, but their matriarch came to an abrupt end. The death was unresolved. The rumors were, it might have been one of the other clans looking to take some prime territory the Silver Dragons had claimed, out in the country with enough space for a full transformation, but no battle followed. It was all very odd.”
“Or maybe someone knew about Beau,” Ace said.
“That checks out to me,” Ten added.
Bishop glanced at me and his jaw hardened. “Maybe, or perhaps it’s dragon hunters.”
“We’ve never seen any in the US,” Ten said quickly.
“Yes, but what happened to the former matriarch of the Cloud Dragons? What happened to Carlisle’s grandparents? We’ve all had family disappear and we tell each other maybe they’ve gone somewhere more remote to retire and didn’t want to be bothered, or maybe they sensed their end and went to the forest to die… but we don’t know, do we?”
“You don’t think you’re jumping the gun?” Ace asked.
“I don’t know, is my point. We should be careful.”
“Don’t borrow trouble,” Ace said with a wink.
Another tense silence moved through the van, but I was getting more comfortable in them now. I gazed out the window at the passing environment, and spotted forests of oaks draped in Spanish Moss where there had been open plains just hours ago. “Where are we going?”
“Helen, Georgia. Well, near it, anyway. There’s not much where we’re going, and we’re going to be near the mountains. It’s out in the middle of nowhere.”
“Great. How long will it take?”