Chosen Destiny (16 page)

“No, nothing like that,” he growled.

“Well, you’re not telling me what happened. I can only make guesses at why you

won’t let yourself really enjoy anything. If you didn’t badly hurt her or keep going

when she said no, what happened? Did the woman get scared when you were making

love to her and partially changed?” She turned to face him, but couldn’t stay still. When

she spotted her dusty shirt on the floor, she picked it up and folded it, needing to keep

her hands busy otherwise she might just try shaking him regardless of whether or not it

would really work.

His eyes narrowed. “It happened.”

She knew then that she’d guessed right. Some witch had gotten scared and turned

on him viciously. She just didn’t know how to get through to him. He wasn’t going to

hurt her and she wasn’t going to walk in fear of him because some other woman had

panicked.

74

Chosen Destiny

“I don’t know what happened. I hope you’ll tell me about it some time. I already

told you that I won’t accept the little that you gave me the first time. I’m not going to

run from you no matter how scary you think you are. Let that settle into your head.”

She smiled tiredly at him a little depressed. If he didn’t see that she could take his

lovemaking after what had just happened, she didn’t know what would do it.

“You say that now, but…”

“You were half man, half dragon when you came to me earlier. You growled, you

barely said a word. If I was going to run, I’d be running right now.” She glared at him.

Did he really think that a day or so from now she was going to get so scared of him that

she couldn’t even stay in the same village with him?

“Your doubts about yourself and your dragon, I can’t do anything about that. Your

doubts about me, I can do something there.” She turned to the cave entrance.

“What are you going to do?” Samiel asked. She heard the tension rising in his voice.

“Prove that I’m not going anywhere. Dealing with you until you decide to trust me

will probably make me want to scream, but I’ll handle it.” Meagan put her shirt on one

of the couches. She was a little surprised. She actually hadn’t known what she was

going to say until it had come out of her mouth. When it had, she’d known that it was

right. The only way to convince him that she wasn’t afraid of him was to be with him.

“How are you going to do that?” He walked over to her and put his hands on her

shoulders.

“I’m going to move in here with you. You wanted it and I held back from saying

yes to it.” She shrugged, but she felt far from relaxed or uninterested.

“Is it safe to come in?” Jaeson asked from the doorway.

Meagan turned her head and scowled at him. Did he buy into the dragon’s beliefs

too? He should know better than anyone else that in any form the dragon would only

protect them.

“Of course, it’s safe. I’m just trying to get through to him. It’s going to take some

time.” She glared at Samiel. The fact that she hadn’t been able to put even a doubt in his

mind frustrated her.

“He’s stubborn and doesn’t listen. Are you all right?” He strolled over and hooked

an arm around her waist.

“Of course, I’m all right. Samiel wouldn’t hurt me and you should know that.” She

was tempted to drive her elbow into his ribs.

“I knew he wouldn’t physically hurt you, but I thought that you might have been a

little shocked. He doesn’t exactly offer explanations.” Jaeson smiled. “Don’t get angry.”

“Oh, it was shocking, but I soon realized that as angry as he was, he was also

focused on me. So it was kind of impossible to be really scared.” She leaned into him.

She looked from Jaeson to Samiel. She felt at ease with them and she hadn’t expected

that. She’d thought it would be strange to be with both of them. It was different, but she

75

Rebecca Airies

didn’t feel as awkward as she expected. There was something right about being with

them.

“Is everything settled?”

“As settled as it’s going to be until he realizes I’m not the witch who panicked on

him. But if he keeps as much control when he has sex with me as he did the first time, I

might just have to do something intentionally to make the dragon come out again.” She

put a hand on Samiel’s chest and met his eyes.

“You already know about that? He didn’t tell me anything for months.” Jaeson’s

voice held clear astonishment.

“Not the details, but I learned enough.” She kept her eyes on Samiel. She expected

some kind of reaction to her ultimatum.

“No provoking the dragon. Rule number one.” Samiel raised a brow but a small

smile curved his lips.

“I want you to have fun when you’re with me. Whether I’m tied down and at your

mercy or you’re making slow love to me, I want you to enjoy every moment. You barely

even let go of your control to come that first time. I won’t be afraid of anything you do.”

She wanted to move closer to him and snuggle against him, but knew that she couldn’t

soften her position.

He had to know she was serious about this. Her temper was near the breaking

point. She’d faced him at what he probably considered his worst and that hadn’t shown

him she didn’t need him to control himself at all times. She wondered just what would

finally show him that she wouldn’t ever run in fear and that he wouldn’t hurt her.

“So what are you going to do? Any plan to make him see that you’ll be safe with

him?” Jaeson asked.

“I’ll be staying the night here or wherever you two are. That’s the first plan. After

that, I’ll have to reconsider. I’ll stick with it for awhile.” She glanced at Jaeson. She had

no idea what she’d do if it didn’t show some kind of results. She couldn’t force him to

have faith in her.

Samiel’s hand covered hers. “Give it time. We’ll come to some accord.”

“Like you have with Jaeson. It’s not going to work with me. Maybe I’m greedy, but

I want everything including laughter and play as we make love. Get used to it. I like

having my way as much as you do.” She turned her hand in his loose hold.

Samiel laughed. “You’re moving your clothes in here as well as staying here, aren’t

you?”

“Yes, I should go get that as well as a few things I don’t want to leave.” She

reluctantly stepped back. Even for what might be a temporary stay, there were a few

small things that had belonged to her parents that she wouldn’t be leaving in the sect

house.

76

Chosen Destiny

Meagan leaned a hip against the table in the witches’ council room and looked at

the missive. Considering it had been delivered by one of the high witches from the

coven in Dicsin, the neighboring town, she’d known before Elder Sarash had invited

her to look at it that it was important. She read the letter, hardly believing what it said.

They had a generator. Well, part of it. It had been part of a tool used to protect the

village nearly a thousand years ago. Meagan had no idea what had happened to the

other parts of the generator, why it had been broken apart or if the witches even knew

where they were. That would have to be discovered later. They had to keep the Dark

Sorcerer from getting it. Any part of it. After she had a moment to think, she started to

wonder why the witches hadn’t contacted the dragons and vampires helping to defend

Dicsin. Then again, they’d been isolated for a while and probably wouldn’t trust

outsiders.

“We can’t just move it and hide it. It has to be hidden and it’s obvious someone

knows about it,” Elder Sarash said. “We have to make sure no one can get to it. Do you

understand? Then we have to get the other pieces.”

“I understand.” Meagan nodded.

No one from the coven could know where the piece of the generator was put. And

finding those other pieces was a priority. First, she’d need help. She hadn’t been outside

this area in years. Well, aside from claiming the blades. Having that generator in the

area was too much of a risk. She didn’t have the first idea where to hide it or where it

would be safe. The only people she knew of who would know that were the dragons

and vampires.

“I’ll do this immediately. The Dark Sorcerer seems to want this very badly. When I

get back, we need to discuss how to get this coven’s piece and find the other pieces

before they fall into the wrong hands.” Meagan put the parchment back onto the table

and straightened.

Elder Sarash held the missive up between two fingers. A moment later it burst into

blue flames. She let it fall. The flame consumed the missive before it reached the table.

Not even a fine ash remained of the paper.

Meagan turned and left the room. Now she had to find some dragons and vampires

and go to get that piece of the generator. She’d need more than Samiel and Jaeson. If the

Dark Sorcerer had somehow learned of its possible move then just getting to the sect

house might not be easy. She just hoped the Dicsin sect been as careful as it seemed.

Even if they had, a group of dragons and vampires arriving in the village would draw

attention. If she was more certain of the precautions she’d go alone, but losing that

generator wasn’t a chance she was willing to take.

77

Rebecca Airies

She left the coven house and looked up and down the street. She sighed. It figured.

Just when she really needed to find a dragon or vampire, not one was anywhere in

sight. She began walking looking for them. She was really hoping to see Samiel or

Jaeson, but any dragon or vampire would do. They’d planned on checking the walls

again. They were concerned about the village’s defenses. She didn’t see any near the

wall at first, but she climbed the steps to the walk along its length. She saw a dragon in

human form walking outside the wall apparently making sure it was intact. The green

streak in his black hair made it easy to identify him. Not wanting to yell her request, she

formed a tunnel and came out in front of the man. She took two quick steps forward as

the momentum of the tunnel carried her.

“You really shouldn’t be outside the wall. Samiel won’t like it.” The dragon’s head

tilted and he frowned at her. His dark brown eyes questioned her.

It took her a moment to remember his name from the brief introductions that had

been made during the battle. Maxim. His name was Maxim. The green crystal dangling

from his ear caught the light as he studied her.

“Being outside the town’s wall isn’t going to hurt me and Samiel should know it.”

She shook her head. Lecturing this man wasn’t going to make any difference. She

needed to get this discussion under control. “I need to find him or Jaeson. Do you know

where they are or how to contact one of them?”

“I can get Samiel here. It’s important?” Maxim asked.

“Very important.” She tapped her foot. She could already be at the village and

getting the generator piece, but she knew this had to be done with care.

“All right. You might want to cover your ears.” He gave her a very serious look and

then stepped away from her.

She put her hands up to her ears not quite sure if he was playing a joke at her

expense or not. She knew how loud a dragon could be so she wasn’t going to take any

chances. Maxim’s head tipped back and a booming roar came out. Even with her hands

covering her ears, the sound seemed to echo and bounce around her head. She felt the

sound all through her body. When he finally stopped, she pulled her hands away from

her ears. Her ears rang and her head pounded. She waited a moment until the worst of

it had passed. Lady, her hands hadn’t helped. She should have used a spell and moved

to the opposite end of the wall before Maxim called.

“Is that supposed to be Samiel’s name in dragon?” she asked, hoping that she

wasn’t speaking too loudly. Everything sounded as if it was muffled by something. She

just hoped her hearing eventually returned to normal.

“Yes, that’s a call specifically for Samiel.” Maxim turned to look at her. “He should

be here shortly. He was supposed to be somewhere in the village. Are you in some kind

of trouble?”

“Other than wondering if my hearing will ever be the same, not really. I just need

some help with something. If it was possible I’d try to handle this myself, but there’s

78

Chosen Destiny

too much at stake.” She shrugged. That was as much as she was going to say about it

here. Someone could be listening.

Arms came around her and pulled her back against a hard body. She looked down

and saw the rich, golden brown skin. She relaxed. Samiel. She knew it wasn’t Jaeson, his

skin was lighter.

“What did you need?” Samiel asked.

“How do you know I need something?” Meagan asked.

“Maxim wouldn’t have called me if you just wanted to talk and you don’t look as if

you’re in trouble.” Samiel’s teeth grazed the shell of her ear.

His tongue played with the four studs along the upper curve of her ear. She had a

feeling that he liked the jewelry there. Maybe later she’d put in a few of her hoops and

give him something a little different to appreciate.

“We need to talk privately and then you’re going to have to talk with your friends.”

She took a deep breath. With each moment that passed she became a little more