For the Love of Her Dragon (14 page)

Heading
to the kitchen she filled the kettle and placed it on the stove. After the cups
and tea were on the counter, she stood gazing at the beauty of the garden
behind the little cottage she inhabited.
Kyndel
had
said she had a knack for nature, but nothing could have prepared Kyra for the
amazing picture she saw as she waited for the water to boil. Her gaze landed on
every blossom and vine, marveling at the infinite wisdom of the Earth and Her
ability to provide everything anyone ever needed. She continued her perusal
when she saw movement under the huge oak tree at the far corner. Concentrating
her power on the spot that had drawn her attention, she gasped as the image
came into view. There, leaned against the tree, looking like he had lost his
last friend was Royce. Long muscular legs stretched out before him, crossed at
the ankle, with his hands loosely folded in his lap. His chest rising and
falling against the faded gray t-shirt that stretched tight across his bunched
muscles reminded her that he was completely at rest in that moment. His head
was thrown back against the bark of the tree, the contrast only accentuating
the fiery color of his hair. His perfect lips were barely moving in what she
could only assume was a prayer and his deep brown eyes that always held so much
emotion were closed in reverence.

Her
body and soul longed to go to him, but her head reminded her of the horrible
things he had said and that he truly believed she was evil incarnate. The pain
of his words kept her from throwing open the door and running to him, but the damned
hope that still dwelled in her heart made her watch and wish. The sound of the
whistle on the kettle made her look away, but nothing could stop the pain she
felt knowing what the future held.

Luckily
when she returned to the dining room, Max and Juan Carlos had found something
they believed to be useful. Together, they spent the rest of the day and well
into the night preparing amulets, keeping her from obsessing over what would
never be.

When
the
werepanthers
finally left, Kyra fell into bed
completely exhausted, but happily satisfied with what they had accomplished and
the plan they had come up with for stopping whatever Andrew had planned. She
was excited to tell Rayne what they had come up with and too see if she could
get any more information from her Goldstone now that Max had cleansed it.

For
the first time since learning of Andrew’s deception and the part she
unwittingly played in it, she fell into a peaceful sleep. She seemed to float
on clouds, looking over some of the happiest times in her life. First was her
sixteenth birthday when she was literally Queen for a day, another, later in
life spent learning spells and practicing with her aunties, and then she landed
on the day of her fiftieth birthday celebration. For the last twenty-five years
it had been one of her most cherished memories. Now it held a pinch of
bittersweet melancholy, but as it played out, her recent pain was forgotten and
she was transported back in time to the exact moment the dragon marking
appeared on her right hip and the recognition of all that it meant for her
future.

She
had dreamed of a faceless man that night who was all she imagined the ancient
warriors blessed by the Universe to be. Now she had firsthand knowledge of the
Dragon Guard and as her dream continued, that knowledge, along with twenty-five
years of life experience out from behind the walls of her coven, blended into
the past and evolved into a whole new picture.

She
was dancing with an incredibly tall, well-muscled man that held her loosely
against his body as they moved to the music and filled the younger woman she
imagined she used to be with such nervous excitement she almost vibrated with
it. The man leading her through the dance was confident and had a strength she
could feel where their hands and bodies touched. He had a low baritone voice
that calmed her nerves and a laugh that made her happy just to hear it. Every
so often his large hand would graze up her spine and slowly slide back down to
the small of her back, leaving a trail of sparkling energy in its wake.

He
leaned down and whispered in her ear, raising
goosebumps
all over the real life sleeping Kyra and making her wish she knew what was
said. In her dream she giggled and a slight blush touched her cheeks. The dance
continued even when a much slower, sensual song was played. Her escort pulled
her even closer and as she laid her head against his chest, he placed a chaste
kiss upon her crown. The scene continued for several moments and ended with
Kyra telling her Aunt Della how much fun she’d had and how much she liked
him
.

Kyra
continued to dream and relive moments from her life, some exactly as they had
occurred and others changed as only can happen in fantasies. When she happened
upon the memory of her vision in which Royce was standing in the aftermath of
an explosion, she thanked the Goddess that they had been able to stop that from
happening.

In
her dream, she felt the caress of the sea air on her skin and saw the waves
crashing against the rocks just as they had the day Royce had taken her to the
ridge. Not wanting to live through that ordeal again, she tried to change the
direction of her thoughts, but they would not be deterred. She was destined to
watch her most humiliating experience unfold before her eyes.

The
feel of his hands at her waist warmed her throughout, sending an electric
current directly to her womb. As he spun her around and their lips met, she was
lost to the image running though her mind, waiting for the moment her fate was
sealed and the one man that was to love her forever would run away like the
coward he was; but it never came.

Instead,
as soon as she had reached the first climax of her already long life, she
watched as Royce pulled the Kyra of her dream towards him until they looked
into one another’s eyes. Slower than she thought possible, his lips touched the
corner of her mouth and gently nipped and tasted from one side to other, taking
special care in the middle to let the tip of his tongue just barely slide
across her lips and ever so lightly touch the tip of hers, igniting her senses
and causing a series of tiny contractions in her womb. With her legs still
locked around his waist, she moved against his erection seeking to give him
pleasure like he had shown her, but he would have none of it. He exerted his
considerable control by placing his hands on her hips, essentially trapping her
right where he wanted her.

She
sighed her resignation as he worked his way across her jaw and down the column
of her neck, the rough stubble of his beard tickling and exciting. He lavished
special attention to the spot where her neck and shoulder met, causing her to
strain against his hold. She felt him smile against her skin just before he bit
down on the tendon lying just below the skin. The slight pinch made her jump
and he took the opportunity to position his cock right against her opening. All
that separated them was their clothing, and if she could’ve had one coherent
thought, she would’ve worked a spell to remove the offending material from both
their bodies, but as it was, Royce was relentless. He kissed and sucked the
spot he had bitten until she was a mass of want and need.

As
if that was not enough, he wrapped one arm under her bottom further trapping
her body against his. He then used his other to take one of her straining
nipples between his thumb and forefinger and torment the hardened peak until
she was certain she would lose her mind. He definitely knew how to use the
difference in their sizes to his advantage, and as the real life Kyra
experienced the dream as if it was really happening, she panted for more.

The
sound of his excitement roughened voice in her ear drew her farther into her
dream, “I want you, Kyra, and with all that I am I swear I have to have you.”

His
words became actions as she watched him use his enhanced speed to move them
from the ridge overlooking the ocean to the cave he had been living in.
Although she had never seen it in the real world, her imagination took over and
it was a mere matter of seconds before her mate had her lying on a pallet of sleeping
bags and blankets beside a roaring fire. She closed her eyes just as his
fingers touched the buttons on her blouse, but Royce was having none of it. His
fingers stilled and he spoke with an authority she’d heard on several
occasions. Her eyes snapped to his as he spoke, “Look at me, Kyra. This is
about us, together, always as one. From this day forward you hold my heart, you
are my home, and you are my reason for living. Never shut me out, I want us to
share every second of our very long lives together.”

Minutes
ticked by as they simply stared into one another’s eyes. She watched as the
firelight magnified the plethora of emotion Royce felt and she sighed in relief
that she was not alone in the depth of her feelings. Slowly, he began working
to open her buttons once again, kissing the spot right above each new opening
and then returning to gaze into her eyes.

Her
hands moved of their own volition, exploring every inch she could reach of his
massive body. When they slid under the material of his shirt, the electric
shock resulting from their skin to skin contact caused her to gasp. Royce’s
lips found hers and the fire that had been smoldering was set ablaze.

His
tongue slid alongside hers as his hands covered her breasts and his calloused
roughed palms rubbed against her raised nipples. She arched into his touch and
he groaned into her mouth as her nails dug into his back. He rolled until she
was seated atop his lap and ripped her open blouse from her shoulders. A moment
of embarrassment was quickly erased by the look of complete adoration and
undeniable lust in his deep brown eyes. His hands slid up her sides, and as he
spread his fingers wide, she was engulfed in his touch. Fingers from each hand
made their way under her bra and the sensation they ignited had her fighting to
keep her eyes open; it was like nothing she had ever experienced. In the next
breath, cool air caressed her breasts. She shivered at the sensation, “
Are
you cold,
a
sta’rin
’
?

Speech
escaped her, so she shook her head right before he leaned forward and licked
the very tip of her breast. Lost to the sensation, her head fell back and her
fingers tangled in his hair, pulling him as close as possible. Royce seemed to
know what she needed even when she didn’t as he sucked as much of her breast
into his mouth as would fit and continued torturing her nipple with his teeth
and tongue. Her hips moved against his considerable length, the friction of her
clothing pushing her towards another release.

Royce
moved to her other breast, showing it the same attention, while his hands
landed on her waist. He ripped open the button and unzipped her jeans, sliding
his hand inside her panties and teasing the curls seated at the top of her
mound. Once again their eyes met and the undeniable want and need he showed her
was humbling. Never had anyone looked at her with such reverence and
heat
.
Lost in his gaze, the slight movement of his hand did not register until the
tip of his finger grazed her clit. Her world tilted both figuratively and
literally as he rolled them until she was once again on her back and he was
lying beside her, his finger tracing the outer lips of her pussy.

She
lifted her hips in an attempt to drive his attentions back to the tiny nub of
nerves that she knew would bring on her release, but her mate would not have
it. The look in his eyes and the grin on his lips said he was enjoying
torturing her.

He
leaned forward, kissed between her breasts, and nuzzled both of the tender
globes, placing kisses on the underside before moving down her stomach. His
kisses became deeper and he nipped her skin under her belly button as he worked
her jeans farther down her body. Her hips lifted and in the next instant she
was completely bare. Any other time in her life she would have been mortified.
No one had ever seen her completely naked, not even the very few lovers she had
taken over the years. She knew her breasts were smaller than most, her hips too
wide, and her belly too rounded, but none of those insecurities came to life.
Both dream Kyra and the one living out her fantasy through her dreams were
amazed. Royce looked at her like she was a goddess, and for the first time in
her life, she felt like one.

Very
gently he lifted first one leg and then the other over his shoulders, lowering
his body, keeping eye contact, and running his hands up and down her legs the
entire time. When he spoke, she could hear what the effort to go slow cost him
and she adored him all the more for it. “I have to taste you,
m’a
mhuirnin
’.
The
scent of your arousal is driving me mad.”

As
he lowered his head, Kyra knew she should feel self-conscious. She had never
shared anything this intimate with anyone, but with Royce and in her dream, it
seemed perfectly natural to give all that she was to her mate. The first swipe
of his tongue against her aroused flesh had her clawing at the blankets and
screaming to the Heavens in an unknown language. Her pussy contracted around
his fingers as his tongue continued to lick at her like she was the best thing
he had ever tasted.

She
felt her arousal building as he inserted another finger, stretching her walls
at the same time his thumb found her clit. He bent the fingers moving inside
her upward and touched the bundle of nerves she had previously thought a myth.
Her orgasm hit her like a storm, her pussy clamped tight around his fingers,
her legs tightened around his head, and she rode the waves of the most powerful
force she had ever felt. He continued to pet and taste until she was lying
boneless beneath him, her fingers lazily running through his hair.