Authors: Dahlia Rose
“That
was fueled by anger. I choose not to be mad at you anymore,” Raven said with a
casualness that she certainly didn’t feel. The thought of him kissing her again
already made her moist between her legs.
Before
Raul could say another word, she pressed her lips against his. Raven, again, had
to stand on her tiptoes to reach him, but that didn’t last long because he
wrapped his arms around her, pulling her up, and took the kiss deeper.
Uh-oh
, she thought as fire roared
through her veins,
forget chemistry. This
is a full-on nuclear meltdown
. She’d been with only two men in her life,
never sexually, but dated long term. Their touch and kiss never felt like this.
She could never give herself to them because she believed in something,
something pure in sharing herself with only one man. Yet this man elicited
feelings in her that could not be denied. She didn’t want to stop.
But I have to. I have to
, she thought
wildly. His lips were firm and supple while his body felt like granite against
hers. “Open up for me. Let me taste you again,” he said huskily and Raven
complied. His tongue furrowed into her mouth and she marveled at his taste. The
kiss seemed to last for minutes until she pushed away. Raven raised her hand
for him to back off when he took a step towards her to pull her back into his
arms.
“That
was…” Raven searched for a word.
Explosive.
Amazing. Throw-me-down-and-take-my-clothes-off good.
Nope, she didn’t want
to use any of those. “That was something.”
“It
could be more than that. I want to make love to you,” Raul said huskily.
She
shook her head. “That was a bad idea and it wouldn’t be love, would it, Raul?
It would be you using my body for sexual gratification, but what would I get
out of it? I want something you don’t want: commitment. That was the last kiss.
I can’t be that person to share myself without love in return.”
He
looked at her for a long time and then nodded. “I have to go on patrol, so you
will be here alone. Do not worry. You will be safe here.”
“Are
you healed enough to do that? I mean
,
it was just a
few days ago you had a bite and a dislocated shoulder.” Raven bit her lip
worriedly.
“Don’t
worry about me. I’m one hundred percent healed,” Raul replied.
“May
I…” Raven hesitated. “Can I see you change? If it won’t make you uncomfortable,
that is.”
This
time he grinned. “Having a beautiful woman watch me get naked… Why would I be
embarrassed about that?”
Raven
rolled her eyes. “Do you take anything seriously?”
The
grin left his lips. “I take many things seriously—your safety being
foremost. But, yes, you can watch my transformation. We are friends after all,
correct?”
“Yes,
and nothing more,” Raven said firmly. She wondered who she was trying to
convince more, him or herself.
“Then
come.”
Raven
followed him through the kitchen. He disappeared through a door she didn’t
notice was there before. A few moments later, he came out in a terrycloth bathrobe
and was barefoot. She trailed behind him as he made his way out the kitchen
door, which led to a large backyard. The lawn was lush and green. Raven could
see water droplets clinging to the blades of grass from the recent rain and could
feel how fresh and clean the air was. She looked out across the yard, seeing
the tips of the pine trees where the back yard ended at the jagged cliff. Her
attention came back to Raul when he slipped the bathrobe from his shoulders.
She licked her lips in desire. He was
that damn hot. Seeing him when he was injured and naked was one thing, but
looking now at the tight and sculpted lines of his muscles, ripped six pack abs,
she could see how women would throw themselves at him and maybe that was why he
was so cocksure, believing any woman would jump right into bed with him. He
turned to put the bathrobe in what looked like a tall but thin shed that was
against the wall of the house. She tried to keep her eyes off the length of him,
but was having trouble. Raven bit her lip to quiet her moan of delight. You
could bounce a whole roll of quarters off his tight ass.
“See
anything you like?” he asked when he caught her staring.
“Same
ol
’, same
ol
’. The view
from here is quite picturesque, though,” Raven replied.
“If
you say so, darling,” he murmured. “Now, when you go inside, I want you to man
the security alarm. The code is
seven-five-four-nine-eight
.
I will be back in a few hours.”
“How
do you patrol?” she asked
“There
is a grid pattern we each follow. Each night we patrol a new section of the
grid. Being that I was attacked so close to home makes us wonder if the
Shen
are forming a cell here or if this is where the king
is hiding.”
“Wouldn’t
it be much easier if you catch one alive to interrogate it?” Raven questioned.
“We
have tried that, but they will kill themselves before we can imprison one of
them,” Raul explained. “They have a poisonous sack of venom beneath their
tongue. It’s incased in a thick membrane and, like a snake, it can be released
in a bite if they choose. Their venom is also deadly to themselves even though
it’s in their body. The membrane holding the venom protects them, but we’ve seen
some of them puncture it and flood their bodies with poison rather than have to
be questioned by us.”
“What
will you do if you find evidence of a cell here?” Raven asked. Everything he
was telling her was so fascinating she wished she could journal it all, though
she knew she would probably be laughed out of her field for such ridiculous findings.
She would have to silently take pleasure in knowing such a race lived alongside
humans.
“My
brother dragons will come in and we’ll kill them all.” He said it so mildly,
with no emotion, like he was ordering a cup of coffee, but the look in his eyes
was deadly.
Without
another word, he lowered his head and she held her breath as his body began to
shimmer. In seconds his body seemed to be swaying so fast her eyes could not
keep up with the movement. A glowing, shimmery mist began at his feet and moved
upwards until he was completely surrounded. She gasped as this was like
watching magic, something that wasn’t really supposed to exist. His skin slowly
turned into emerald scales and his body widened in height and width. The scales
that ran the length of his neck to his lower stomach were a bright golden color.
Raven put her hand over her mouth in awe and moved hesitantly forward to touch
him after his transformation was complete. His scales were smooth and heat
seemed to radiate off his body. He bent his massive head towards her and she
touched his snout. “You’re magnificent. Simply beautiful,” she whispered. He
gave a snort and she smiled. “Go do your thing, dragon. I’ll be waiting for your
return.”
He
bent his head to acknowledge her statement before turning towards the cliff.
Raven gasped as he spread his wings and took off into the sky. Against the sun
that was now almost completely set, the sight of him taking flight was
breathtaking. She watched until she could barely make him out in the distance
and then turned and went back into the house. She set the alarm and got her ice
cream before going back to the living room. Instead of curling up with her book,
she found herself watching the darkness crawl across the sky, searching for that
glimmer of Raul coming back. There was more to him than just a cocky playboy
and she wanted to peel back the layers to his true self. Raven worried her lips
with her teeth, knowing that if she delved into that realm with him she would
be in danger of losing herself completely.
Chapter
Five
Raven
. Her name wafted through his head while Raul flew through
the air on dragon wings. The look on her face when he had shifted to his dragon
form was one that made him forget to breath. There was no fear, just awe, in
her eyes, and they reflected that she saw him as beautiful. Her strength
reminded him of his brothers’ wives—Valencia,
Ginna
and
Daisye
. Three women he had the honor of knowing
and now there was Raven. How easily she could capture his hand in her much
smaller one and hold on tight. But then he would be in the position that Orin,
Kalv
and Hawke were in, the same as his father. The love
would be amazing, but loss would cripple them all. How could he set himself up
for that kind of pain, and if he could avoid it why shouldn’t he? His father left
him, and had wandered away and died in the barrens somewhere. His bones were never
found and he was not given an honorable burial. Raul put all his thought on the
back burner and focused on his task. More than anything right now the
Shen
was the priority. If they had a cell in Wisconsin, he
wanted to find it and would relish their destruction.
He
trained his eyes on the darkness, looking for anything unusual or out of place.
The
Shen
were attracted to heat and damp. Wisconsin
had big sewage systems, but they would not have enough heat to sustain the king,
which made Raul think the king serpent was not in the city. But something was
still not right in his sector. The abominations were up to something. He caught
movement in the sky ahead of him, so far away that no one would be able to see
it. He was able to because his dragon eyes could see some of the most miniscule
details. He lifted his snout to the wind and turned to follow the figure in the
sky. He snorted in disgust as he caught the scent of a
Shen
.
One a few days ago and one now, in the same area, was no coincidence. This time
he would get some answers.
One
in every five
Shen
had the ability to fly. They were
mostly ground dwellers and that was good for the Paladin dragons. Even though
they all had wings, they were paltry flyers. Raul soon caught up with the
figure and confirmed it was a
Shen
. With a low growl
he picked up his flying speed and barreled into the
Shen
serpent and used his body weight to pull it out of the sky. Its serpentine body
coiled and twisted, trying to snap at him with its filthy teeth. Like the Komodo
dragon, all kinds of germs infested a
Shen’s
mouth
and the bite was deadly to humans. When he was bitten, his body threw off the
infection while he healed. That didn’t mean he wanted to add another to the
list though.
The
Shen
abomination
spit its venom at Raul’s eyes. He dodged the stream of yellowish-green liquid
and kept his hold. He used the serpent’s body as a barrier as they crashed into
the ground, breaking tree branches and causing night creatures to scatter in
fear. The landing stunned Raul’s opponent and caused him to shift to his human
form, so Raul shifted as well. He looked down at the man with disgust. Even in
human form, they had the scales of their serpent form. They covered his torso
and parts of his legs. The abominations could not even take a pure human form.
Raul caught sight of a medallion around the
Shen’s
neck, one that made his heart jump. Raul shifted into human form and used the
chain of the medallion to yank the man up to his feet.
“Where
did you get this?” Raul snarled. “What are you doing in Wisconsin?”
The
Shen
abomination laughed weakly. “Which question do
you want me to answer first, dragon?”
Raul
kicked the man in the
knee cap
and heard it shatter. The
Shen
screamed in pain and Raul waited for the noise
to fade into a whimper.
“Answer
them both, serpent. You have many bones I can shatter before I kill you, and,
yes, I do plan to kill you.” Raul’s voice was deadly. “It’s only a matter of whether
it will be quickly or slowly and with as much pain as I can cause you.”
“What
makes you think I will tell you anything?” the man whimpered.
“My
people believe a man should face his death with honor. You will answer my
questions, or I’ll take my time and break you into bits.”
Raul
grasped his hand to snap the bones, and the serpent shifter screamed. “No, wait,
I’ll talk.”
Raul
nodded. “Good idea. What is going on in Wisconsin?”
“We
have a nest here,” the serpent said. “We are holding a dragon hostage and plan
to use him as leverage.”
“None
of our court is missing; I know this for a fact. You lie,” Raul snapped.
“He
is not a Paladin warrior—not anymore. He was found in the barrens and
held for years by the king. He was sent to us to use in a trap to bait the
dragon in the house on the cliff,” the
Shen
explained.
“The
dragon who owned this medallion has been dead for over fifty years,” Raul
roared. “Are you telling me that he was not killed in the barrens?”
The
Shen’s
eyes widened in fear and he stammered, “I am
barely twenty in human years. The older
Shen
speak of
the first king’s death and how the warriors who fled found this dragon wasting
away in the barrens of Paladin. They tortured him, but he did not scream in
pain. They say he was a broken man and pain made no difference to him. He was
lost in his own mind. So they kept him and nourished him some so he would not
die, and then the new king rose and saw his value. He ordered this dragon to be
kept—not killed—and he has been kept as a prisoner all these
years.”