Page 3

Keres strolled into the large chamber. He scanned the area. Where could she have gone? That alluring scent still wrapped around him. She had to be here somewhere.

Rimi. Where are you hiding? I know you’re here.

Silence filled the cavern. A flicker of light caught his attention.

Keres glanced to the left. Just like a malfunctioning lamp, some of her scales sparkled before morphing back to blend into cave wall.

Inside, his dragon did a happy dance. Look how special his mate was.

Just her scent had pushed the darkness from his mind.

He craved her with every fiber of his being.

Rimi, you’re out of energy. I know where you are. I won’t hurt you.

The mossy, craggy cave wall disappeared. Keres stared at the vision in front of him. A crystal dragon sparkled in the glow of the torches illuminating the cavern. She struggled to raise her head to meet his gaze. Her eyes blazed with hatred.

Go away! I will never submit to you.

Her dragon shimmered as she shifted into her human form. Rimi grabbed a large butcher knife and pressed the tip to her chest .

Wait! He shifted faster than he’d ever changed in his thousand plus years. Speeding toward her as soon as his feet landed on the ground, Keres listened to that voice inside him urging him to do anything to save her.

He could smell the coppery essence of her blood when his hand wrapped around hers. Rimi screamed as pain lanced through Keres. He ignored the burning sensation on his hand. It wasn’t important. Had he stopped her in time?

Controlling the knife she still held, Keres jerked both of their hands to the side roughly, and the blade clattered to the ground. He wrapped one arm around Rimi, securing her tightly against him as he ripped the shirt from her body to check the wound. Blood oozed from a cut between her breasts.

Oozed. Keres fixated on the word. If the blade had successfully reached her heart, the flow would be unstoppable. He pressed his palm to her chest and concentrated. His hand glowed red for several seconds. His prey burst into action, flailing her arms and legs to escape.

“Ouch!” Keres glared at the petite shifter struggling in his arms. “You kicked me.”

“Get your hand off my boobs!”

“I’m sealing your wound, Rimi.”

“I don’t care if you’re raising me from the dead. Get off me!” She grabbed his shoulders and pushed.

Keres didn’t budge. He did lift his hand from her skin, enjoying the view of her pink tipped nipples as he checked out his handiwork. The wound no longer bled. “I think you’ll live.”

“Get off me, I said,” Rimi said, shoving him away.

This time, Keres allowed her to scramble away from him.

After moving a scant distance away from him, she paused to sweep her long, white hair over her exposed breasts as she glared at him.

She was glorious. Her fierce bravery thrilled him.

Rimi swayed as she stood, and Keres reached an arm out to steady her.

“You need something to eat,” Keres admonished.

“No kidding. I can’t go out there. The world is madder than ever. A guy shot at me with an Uzi the last time I went out. This stupid town had already slaughtered all the livestock. And now you’re here to force me to defend myself and zap the last of my energy.”

Keres kept himself from smiling at her fury. He’d discovered with his first mate that females did not welcome amusement at the wrong time. “Would you like me to go grab carry out for dinner, honey?”

“Why don’t you go do that, stud muffin?” she growled at him. Rimi took her eyes off him to glance down at the hand she rubbed furiously against her jeans. “What did you do to my hand?”

“Stud muffin? Thanks,” Keres answered cheerfully. He felt better than he had in months. The darkness had eliminated all joy and playfulness. This crystal dragon illuminated the shadows inside him. “What’s wrong with your hand?”

When he reached for her wrist, she snatched her arm away. Of course, he had to reclaim it. This time, she gave up after a few seconds of struggle. He really was going to have to get her some food.

Her palm was unhurt. Keres turned her hand over and stared. There, on the back of her hand, as plain as day, lay an outline of a dragon. The sign of a mate bond. He’d felt the jolt as well when they’d touched. Keres looked at his hand. The skin was red but free of any distinguishable mark.

“We’re mated,” he said, incredulous.

“You have lost your mind. Dragons mate with humans—not other dragons. Well, that’s how it goes for male dragons. Females are just screwed. Literally and figuratively. ”

“How many female dragons have you met?”

“My mother, obviously.”

“What happened to her? Oldrik never said.”

“She’s gone now. I felt her pass from this life several centuries ago. We had a close connection.”

“Why didn’t you stay together?” Keres studied her beautiful face, unable to tear his gaze from her.

“As soon as Oldrik and I could survive, she left. Supposedly, we were safer without her. Dragons would soon search for her again. You know, the ones losing their grip on reality like you. Most would simply eliminate those competing for a mother’s attention.”

“Do you remember? Did she have a mark on her hand?” He brushed his fingers over the raised shape on her hand. A rush of arousal flooded through him. Keres stiffened his spine to keep from drawing her close.

“Stop touching me. It’s making me crazy.”

Keres stared at her before demanding, “How?”

“None of your business. Let go.” Rimi tugged at her hand before giving up and glaring at him. “Fine. Hold my hand.” She muttered, “Big bully” under her breath.

To Keres’ surprise, he wanted her to like him. Mentally, he shook himself. He never felt bad about doing what he wanted. Well, at least when he was mateless. He’d cared about a lot of things in the past when he’d had someone who needed his care.

“Me too,” burst from his lips. “It makes me crazy too.”

Rimi stared at him. “It turns you on when you touch my hand?”

“Yes.”

Keres moved closer, holding her gaze. He backed her up against the rocky wall and lowered his lips to hers. Instant heat flared between them—hot and erotic. His shaft hardened and pressed against the suddenly too tight fabric .

The enticing scent that had drawn him in wrapped around him as her body flooded with arousal. Keres wrapped his hand around the back of her neck, holding her close as he devoured her lips. He couldn’t get close enough. Under his fingertips, he could detect her pulse racing as fast as his own.

Her lips softened, and she returned his kiss eagerly. Rimi wrapped her arms around his neck, clinging to Keres. She hummed with excitement and arousal.

Yet underneath all the passion, her body’s dangerous status reverberated inside him as well. Keres ripped his mouth from hers and fought to regain control. Each of his senses screamed at him to ignore his concern and bask in the treasure he had discovered.

Unfortunately, they also told him she was dangerously weak. Her muscles trembled against him. Under her potent scent lay the hint of low blood sugar from lack of food. He needed to feed her before taxing her system anymore.

“Let’s go hunt together. You need nourishment,” he told her.

“I can’t. I’m too weak,” she admitted.

“I won’t be able to leave you here. The mate bond won’t allow it.” Keres stepped a few feet away from her to test it, and she cried out in distress.

“Keres!” she cried and rushed forward to press herself into his arms.

“You’ll have to ride me in human form. Can you hold on?”

“You’re really going to take me for food?”

“Yes. If you die from hunger, you’ll do me no good.”

Shaking her head, Rimi snarled, “Of course. And here I thought you might be a nice guy. I should have known better. I’ll hold on, because I have to.”

Keres stifled a laugh at the thought that he, the black dragon, was Mr. Nice Guy. “Stay close as I change. Then you can climb on my back.”

In a few moments, Keres launched himself into the air.

Rimi slipped to the left and then regained her balance.

He suspected pure determination kept her in place.

She was dangerously close to being too weak to ride.

He could carry her in his claws, but that would diminish his ability to fend off an attack.

Keres sent her energy through their fledgling bond.

The channel between them wouldn’t snap fully into effect until they mated.

Is this what it’s like to be a male dragon? Having the ability to fly in any direction without fear?

Her question wasn’t designed to make him ashamed of his sex, but it did. He could sense her joy at the sensation of the wind on her face and the smell of fresh flowers and nature. And this was in human form. How had her dragon survived without this freedom?

He flew back the way he had come, picturing an enormous field with animals he’d passed earlier. It was farther than he remembered it. Rimi rested her head on his neck and fell asleep. Her arms relaxed around his neck. Keres carefully balanced his precious cargo.

When the field came into view, he called her. Rimi. Rimi, you have to wake up. Hold on, Mate.

Her arms tightened around his neck, to his relief. Keres swooped and collected two cows, dispatching them quickly with a snap of his claws. He retreated to the edge of the pasture to drop them away from the herd before landing.

Rimi. You must change to eat.

I don’t think I can, Keres.

Change now, Rimi. Otherwise, I will roast steaks here and force feed them to you. You must eat.

He supported her with the tip of one wing as she slid to the ground. Sending her strength, Keres pushed her shift. It was excruciating to watch as her shifter side battled for control. Finally, the crystal dragon stood next to him, shivering with exhaustion.

Keres ripped off a portion of the cow and held it to her snout. Eat, Mate. He almost lost a claw. Grinning, he pulled the rest of the carcass toward her. The crunching enthusiasm of her hunger reassured Keres she’d be okay.