Page 5

Finally, silence filled the interior space. The rampaging dragons had battered the entrance throughout the night before finally giving up. Rimi had slept through all but the very beginning of it.

Keres suspected that after they hadn’t found a way inside easily, they had created as much destruction and havoc as possible.

It made sense to him that someone so desperate to get to a female dragon would respond with spite when finding themselves blocked by another.

Had they worked together to entomb Keres and Rimi inside the mountain?

He planned to wait until Rimi awoke and then search for a way out.

At the moment, there was plenty of oxygen.

His mate had eaten. They had water from the nearby spring-fed pool.

And he held her in his arms. Keres pressed a kiss to her temple and loved how she squirmed closer with a slight smile as she slept.

He’d given up on having this again. Keres vowed to treasure every moment.

Suspecting Rimi had not contacted Oldrik, he reached out. Oldrik. I found her. She’s not in the best shape but has now eaten and is sleeping. Rimi will contact you when she wakes up. The distance would delay the message, but he’d hear back soon.

Not in the best shape? Blasted into his mind a short time later. What’s wrong with her?

She’s been trapped inside her refuge without food for too long. I’ll keep her safe now.

You’ll keep her safe?

Keres could hear the incredulity in Oldrik’s message. Yes. I’ll keep her safe.

How’s your mind, Keres? That message was blunt.

Don’t worry, Oldrik. I won’t harm your sister. Keres had decided to wait until the mate bond had locked fully into place to reveal their connection. Oldrik would worry that Keres had invented that in his previous mental state.

You’ll have her message me?

Absolutely.

Keres disconnected the link and closed his eyes. He would rest now with his mate. He also had missed sleep in recent weeks.

Rimi’s arm crashed into his chin. Keres caught the next flailing strike and pinned her arms to her torso as she shook. She wasn’t doing this deliberately. Something was seriously wrong. Adrenaline flooded through his body.

“Rimi! Wake up!”

She didn’t respond, but continued to jerk. Unsure what to do, Keres pulled her away from the cavern wall to prevent her from striking it. After wadding up his shirt to put under her head, he forced himself to talk quietly and calmly. “Rimi? Are you hurt? What’s happening?”

Her eyes opened to meet his. Keres’s heart lurched at the fear glistening in her gaze. He would do anything to keep her from being frightened like this. When her beautiful green eyes rolled back into her head, he smoothed her hair away from her face and reassured her.

“You’re okay, Snowflake. I’m here with you.

This will pass soon.” He rested his hand on her forehead and felt himself yanked into the chaos inside her brain.

Immediately, he started looking around for some way to help her.

Instead of threads of light zipping through the darkness, the connections in her brain were clumped together like massive traffic jams.

There! Keres approached a tangle of crystal white strands of light. Placing his fingers on one thread, he winced and pulled away as an electric charge burst through him like he’d touched live wires. Buck up, black dragon. You’ve got extra fire protection for a reason.

Concentrating, Keres forced the thin scales that formed his human-like skin to thicken slightly. He couldn’t interfere with his dexterity. That snarl of strands would take finessing. But he’d have to hold on to the lines to untangle them.

Taking a deep breath, he filled his mind with reassurances as he worked to straighten out the threads of crystal light. Keres wasn’t sure who he tried to encourage most with the mental messages—himself or Rimi. He just hoped unraveling the clusters worked.

He couldn’t rush. Snapping one of these lines would have disastrous effects. This reminded him of a bunch of necklaces he’d found in a treasure chest eons ago. The pirate must have tossed the mass of gold chains in with a curse, unwilling to take the time to separate them.

Keres had taken it as a challenge and had worked on it for several years, freeing one after another. He did the same delicate work, but on a faster time frame. As each strand of sparkling white light slipped away from the others, Rimi relaxed infinitesimally.

Sorry, Mate. I’m a bit fumble-fingered here. Breathe slowly, Rimi. We can figure this out.

His eyesight was blurry as the last two slid away from each other.

Keres forced himself to scan despite the fog clouding his tired eyes to make sure he didn’t spot another problem in the darkness of her mind.

Threads of all colors zipped past him in energetic, unobstructed lines.

The beauty of her thoughts mesmerized him.

Her hand wrapped around his on her forehead. Keres pulled himself away and looked down at her gorgeous face. “Rimi? How do you feel?”

“Like I ran a marathon through electric eel infested water,” she answered wearily.

He chuckled at that visual image. “Understandable. Close your eyes, Rimi. You should sleep easier now.”

Rimi nodded and closed her eyes. She was asleep in seconds. Keres listened to her breathing as he settled back down beside her and drew her back to his chest. To his delight, Rimi sighed happily and patted his stomach.

When he heard her slight snore, Keres allowed himself to press a kiss to her temple and inhaled her scent. Keres would never get enough of the essence that had first drawn him close. Closing his bleary eyes, he relaxed for the first time in months. Rimi would be okay now.

Soft lips nibbled a tantalizing line down the cord of his neck. Keres lifted a hand to thread his fingers through her silky white hair. He hummed his enjoyment of her attention. “Snowflake,” he whispered.

“Can we forget who we are? And just…? ”

Growling, Keres rolled her onto her back.

When the loose stones poked into his arm, he changed directions, hauling her on top of his naked body.

His hand tangled in Rimi’s hair to guide her mouth to his.

Instant fire erupted between them as he tasted her delicious flavor.

He’d never get enough of her. The knowledge that Rimi had saved him from the brink of a horrendous fate blended with the desire that burned inside him.

She would always mean more than everything to him.

He ripped his mouth away from hers, forcing himself to slow down. “Rimi, are you ready for this?”

“I don’t have a clue,” she whispered before adding, “but I ache for you. No one else.”

A rumble escaped from his throat at the thought of anyone else ever touching her.

She tugged at his hair, bringing his attention back to the present as she slid her tongue into his mouth to meet his.

Her kisses were eager but unpracticed. Keres loved the slight awkwardness of the exchange as she bumped noses with him.

She lifted her lips slightly from his and snapped, “Stop projecting conquering thoughts. We both know I’ve never done this for obvious reasons. How about replacing those with ‘don’t screw this up’ worries?”

He smirked and then felt the concern she tried to hide under bravado. She was worried she’d disappoint him. That could never happen. “I’ll do my best, Mate.”

“Good,” she muttered, and when he cupped her breast and flicked his thumb across her erect nipple, she moaned.

Keres loved watching her reaction to his caresses. He grabbed the front of her shirt and ripped it off, pressing a kiss to that almost healed spot over her heart. He could have lost this. Lost her.

She arched her back, pushing her sweet tits toward him. Keres rewarded her by curling up to capture one impudent peak and pulled it deep into his mouth to tease with his tongue. Her moan of delight went straight to his cock.

Her denim-covered legs eased to the side of his hips, allowing her to rub her mound against his shaft. Those jeans needed to go. Keres wrapped his hands around her waist and lifted her torso to sit her up, allowing him to access the front of her jeans.

Rimi stared at his chest before reaching forward to trace the muscles as he unfastened her waistband and drew the zipper down.

Each inch of her delicious form he revealed pushed his arousal higher.

This was taking too long. Keres shifted a fingertip into a talon on each hand and sliced through the heavy material.

When she rose onto her knees in surprise, he whisked the material away.

“Commando. I love it.” He growled at the sight of the silky curls between her legs.

“It’s not like I can go lingerie shopping.”

“You don’t need lace, Snowflake, to capture my attention,” he assured her while noting the need to lavish his mate with beautiful underthings. All girls liked to play dress up, didn’t they?

She looked at him as if she could follow his thoughts. Keres quickly distracted her. He ran his once-again fingertip over her hipbone to trace the cleft of her lower lips. Her pussy was slick with arousal, coating his skin.

He held her gaze as he lifted his hand to his lips and licked her juice from his finger. Her eyes widened as she watched his reaction. “Mmm.” He hummed his enjoyment. “I think I need another taste.”

Before she could react, he helped her settle back onto his clothes that formed that makeshift mattress. Keres pressed his lips to hers, exploring her mouth until they were both panting with need. He loved how she challenged his control, meeting every exchange with heat.

He kissed a path down her throat, memorizing every sensitive spot he discovered. Pausing, Keres propped himself up on one forearm to stare down at the desire written on her face. She wanted him as much as he craved her beautiful body.

“You take my breath away, Snowflake.”