Dragon Wish (3 page)

Shame followed, chasing away the sudden rise of passion.

She jerked the edges of the coat over herself. Her body

heated in embarrassment.

He turned his back to her, took several deep breaths

before moving with slow steps to the windows. “Go to sleep.

The night is yet young, but I am tired. Crawl under the

covers. I’ll not have you sickened because you are wet and

might catch a chill.”

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Dragon Wish

Each step echoed in the quiet room. For the first time,

Seren saw the true length of his hair. The light strands

streamed down his back and were tied just below his

shoulders with a black band. Thick and straight, the pointed

tips ended at his hips.

Cold numbness swept over her mind and body, mingling

with the heaviness in the air. She struggled to scoot up in the

bed to tug the covers back. Breathless, she slid under them.

Once settled, she noticed the coat where she’d left it,

crumpled and spread on the edge of the bed. She reached out

and touched the satiny material, wondering if she could read

something about him through the cloth. Seren rubbed the

softness between her fingers. Nothing came to her. She

recalled his comment concerning a wish. Had he wished for

her? No, not her in particular, but any woman? But she’d

brought him bad luck by being the answer for his wish. She

stifled an insane need to giggle. He came out the loser on his

wish. She was useless to a man.

The smooth fabric calmed her tremulous thoughts some.

She stared at the cloth. Why did she notice such a mundane

thing like the soft material? Instead, she should figure out a

way to escape. A means to return home.

Anger pulled at her. She considered slipping the coat on

and making a run for the door. She glanced at where he

stood before the window, staring into the night sky. He’d

stop her, even just to retrieve his coat.

Her anger melted into consternation. She didn’t even

know where she was.

He’d never answered her. She

considered asking him again, but something inside her

warned that he wouldn’t respond. She jerked the coat up and

tossed it over the end of the bed. Refusing to lie down, she

sat, keeping her focus on him.

Silently, Seren waited for him to move. Her mind raced

with a menagerie of scenes from earlier. She tried to find an

explanation for what had happened tonight but failed. She

narrowed her gaze at his profile. He’d saved her life. If the

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radio had hit the water in the tub, she’d be dead. She

released a shaky breath. Minutes slipped by. The weeks of

sleeplessness crashed over her, making her sag, no longer

able to fight the exhaustion.

* * * *

Paladin studied her, hoping the shadows concealed his

features so she wouldn’t notice his stare. He had never

expected to find a woman on the other side of the doorway.

Over a thousand years ago, the connection between

Avaris and all other worlds he’d learned about during the

history lessons of his youth had been destroyed. Time had

brought about the realization that the worlds beyond were

found to be unsuitable for magic and deadly to dragons—that

was incomprehensible. But all this knowledge had not

prepared him for her. A chill touched his back. He stiffened

under the frigid tingles moving up his spine. From the

moment her haunted glance met his, he had experienced a

flood of desire. Something he hadn’t expected or yearned for

since his dead wife’s betrayal.

He glanced out at the dark sky with the multitude of

twinkling stars while his mind whipped through all that had

occurred on this night. Had the dragons reacted to his wish?

The magical blood in his veins would have responded to his

desire. The great clan leaders, each a mighty and terrible

creature, would have felt his need. He gritted his teeth but

kept his body relaxed. Why his wish and none other? There

had been others, wizards along with their apprentices, who

had tried to invoke the dragons to open the portal, but their

efforts had always failed. Yet his had not only opened a

doorway but brought him this woman.

His gaze strayed back to her. She held no answer to his

wish. His body reacted to her, but he still maintained control

over his baser needs. The dragons must have a purpose for

her presence on Avaris. His desire for a son had nothing to

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do with their manipulations. Or did it?

Her question came to him.
Are you the dragon?
Coming

from a different world, how had she known of his

relationship to the dragons? In particular, a white one.

Time would reveal why this had happened. He would

keep her close until he departed in the morning. Afterward,

he intended to put her from his mind. Let the dragons find

her since they had brought her here.

Mind still dulled by the liquor he’d consumed earlier and

no longer able think clearly, he gave up trying to figure out

the meaning for what had occurred for the moment.

* * * *

The click of his heels forced Seren’s drooping lids open.

He moved to a chair on the side of a small round table in the

center of the room. There, he started to undress.

She narrowed her eyes, trying to see clearer in the room’s

dimness. He slid the long and short swords free before

unclasping his belt. He laid them on the table. Next came his

shirt. He draped it over the back of the chair. Seren’s breath

caught in her throat. The outrage from moments ago

vanished with the slow slide of material over bare skin. As

the moonbeams highlighted his back, revealing valleys and

peaks of muscle, she was enthralled by the beauty of his

body. Dark smudges marked his left arm from wrist to

shoulder. Puzzled, she just managed to make out a design on

the mark—a raised tattoo with frills and sharp angles. He sat

and pulled off one boot then the other before he stood to

remove his pants.

Seren, more awake now, stared at the man before her. At

twenty-eight and living in New Orleans, she had seen a lot,

but she’d never viewed such a fine specimen of the male

body. Flawless, his long legs rose to meet his tapered waist

which accented the width of his shoulders and joined to his

muscled chest. And his…

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Dragon Wish

Heat crept into her cheeks. As hard as it was, she forced

herself to look away. She enjoyed the view, but she would not

be caught staring at him!

He extinguished the candles. On silent feet, he returned

to the bed. Keeping her face averted, she whispered. “How

can you be so perfect?”

His low answer reached her. “I am not perfect. Now

sleep.”

“You’re not sleeping here.”

He grunted at her comment and sat on the side of the

mattress a moment before he snuffed out the lamp on the

table next to the bed. He lay with his back to her. The

mattress shifted. After she sat there for a couple of minutes,

the reality that he did intend to sleep next to her struck. She

glanced toward the foot of the bed, trying to decide what to

do. Emotionally tired, her body sluggish, she sighed. She had

nowhere to go. Several quiet seconds passed. She scooted

down and curled into a ball.

Turbulent thoughts about the events of the night, what

happened, and how she’d ended up in bed with him rifled

through her mind. Had the radio fallen into the water? Had

she died? She’d seen the light mentioned by people after near

death experiences, but she didn’t feel dead. Maybe she was

insane. Had the vision gripping her mind these last few

weeks forced her to slip away from the real world and to this

place?

Too upset to voice her thoughts, she clasped a hand over

her mouth, cutting off a cry of denial. Tremors racked her

body. She was so cold, empty. Alone.

At her muffled sound, he released a low sigh. The bed

sank under his weight as he turned. He wrapped his arms

around her, pulling her against his chest. She stiffened.

“Easy, my sweet. I mean you no harm,” he murmured against

her hair. Soon, his warmth seeped into her frozen flesh. She

relaxed, the tension oozing out.

After a soft sigh, she swiped her tongue over her lips to

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Dragon Wish

wet the dryness there. Unable to stop, she scrubbed her

cheek against his muscled chest and drifted off to sleep, his

wonderful smell surrounding her.

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Dragon Wish

Chapter Two

Seren dreamed of a glorious angel.

She inhaled the sandalwood scent which had a slight

citrus flare that had followed her into sleep. Her angel held

her clasped against him. She pressed her lips against the

pulsing vein in his neck. From the back of his throat, a needy

groan rumbled.

He lowered his head, grasped her jaw and kissed her. She

opened her mouth wider to allow his entrance, wanting him

to stop her terrorizing visions of the dragon. Only he had the

power to erase the nightmare she’d lived in over the last few

weeks. She wanted to feel alive, no longer heavy with worry.

She didn’t want to be alone any more. She needed someone

to love, to desire her without conditions.

Her hands smoothed down his chest to his abdomen.

Slick skin over hard muscles tensed beneath her palms. He

rolled over, his hands under her hips, lifting them. One

heartbeat later, he thrust deep inside her, sliding with ease

into her slick entrance.

A moan escaped her. Yes, she needed this, no one but he

would do. Her angel. Freeing her lips, she begged, “Please,

please.”

“Always,” he groaned, capturing her mouth with his once

more.

Seren slid her fingertips over the sleek muscles of his

back to the curve of his buttocks. She grasped them, pulling

him harder, faster into her. She wanted him to...

White streaks flared behind her eyelids. Her entire body

jerked with her climax, followed by warm lassitude, numbing

her limbs. He stiffened and emptied himself into her womb.

She cried out, unable to hold the sound in. Gasping, she

kissed his shoulder, his neck, her tongue tasting the saltiness

she found there. He lifted her chin, claiming her lips again.

“Sweet,” she whispered. He shifted off her and pulled her

close to him. Wrapping a leg over his hip, she dozed.

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Dragon Wish

Twice more before sunrise, she dreamed of her angel.

Each time, he brought her pleasure the likes of which she’d

never before experienced. No foreplay, no sex toys, all she

needed was his kiss, his heavenly touch, and the hard length

of him buried inside her. Each climax burned her like a

Roman candle exploding on the fourth of July.

He remained silent during their lovemaking. She liked

that. She’d tried to discuss the dragon with friends and

associates, but their responses failed to solve the puzzle of

the vision. Helpful advice and assumed suggestions hadn’t

worked to eliminate the problem. The vision continued. So

she’d had enough of talk.

Right now, she wanted someone to give her peace, and

for a short time, allow her to rest. He succeeded.

* * * *

Warmth and the orange glow of light beat against her

closed eyelids. He shifted away. She groaned. Her body felt

weighed down, yet nothing but the covers were on top of her.

She cracked open her eyes. Across the room, past where he

sat on the edge of the mattress, angled sunbeams came

through the windows. The golden light struck him in a

framed picture, branding it into her memory for life. For a

moment, broad shoulders slumped as his chin rested against

his chest. He inhaled deep, and then pushed up off the bed.

Her breath caught in her throat. She hadn’t imagined it.

He was beautiful. Every muscled curve, each firm line

rippled with perfection.

Her thoughts whirled with memories of last night. She’d

dreamed of him. She straightened to a more comfortable

position. Soreness pulled between her legs. Her gaze,

widened. Shocked, she stared at the back of his head.

Oh, God, what had she done? She’d let him make love to

her during the night. She tried to remember if he’d worn any