Chapter Twelve
“You are mine.”
Fleeing from the insistent voice, Dana raced across the mist-dampened grass. She sensed the piercing blue reptilian eyes tracking her from above and quickened her pace. The strong beat of wings disturbed the stillness of the night and she resisted the temptation to scan the ink-dark sky for her pursuer.
Not that she needed to. He was there.
She felt him in the marrow of her bones. Felt him in the hot rush of blood roaring through her veins. Felt him in every pounding contraction of her heart.
Ahead, she spied the safety of her house, the porch light glowing like a beacon in the night. Wheezing from the unbearable pressure on her lungs, she sprinted down the driveway. A vaporous cloud materialized, blocking her path. Navigating through its cloying density proved impossible. Desperate, she flailed at the imprisoning cloud, cursing it to hell and back. A plume of smoke billowed around her, enveloping her within a seductive cocoon of heat.
“Give in to me.”
“Never.”
“You can’t resist me.”
“Wanna bet?”
A talon curled around her shoulder, its lethally tipped claw slicing through her flimsy nightgown. The useless scrap of fabric dissolved into the ether. She spun, her indignant retort poised and ready. Before she gave it voice, firm lips slanted over hers. She moaned, inadvertently granting access to the wet, invading thrust of her pursuer’s tongue.
His kisses were incomparable. Masterful. She shook with her need for him—this consuming need to be taken and claimed. Her palm coasted along iridescent green scales until she encountered hot male flesh. Mmm, yes, this was the part of him she craved most.
He clutched her waist, easily lifting her. A second later she found herself impaled on the delicious thickness of his cock. He swallowed her cry, his talons tangling in her hair, holding her hostage to his possession of her mouth. Her body. Her soul. She hooked her legs around him and he growled in approval.
“Mine.”
Her pussy tingled in response and he rocked into her.
“Mine.” Gripping her buttocks, he slammed her down onto him. A gasp escaped her and he gyrated his hips, pressing his pubic bone against her clit. “Mine.”
Third time was a charm. She broke, climaxing hard in endless racking spasms. Harsh breaths pummeled her neck. “What did I tell you about challenging a dragon?”
The alarm clock’s shrill ring jostled Dana from the dream. Stretching out an arm, she flopped her hand on the snooze button, silencing the godawful racket. “Couldn’t you have waited five more minutes?” She rolled onto her back and winced at the ache between her thighs. Evidently her body didn’t know the difference between a dream and reality. “On second thought, an extra five minutes might have killed me.”
She rolled out of bed and staggered into the kitchen. It wasn’t until she was scooping coffee grounds into the machine that she remembered the break-in at the gallery, and the fact that she’d decided not to reopen until the walls were slapped with a fresh coat of paint. Not to mention she needed to replenish the damaged merchandise. “So much for listening to that damn alarm.”
Shoving the filter basket in place, she flipped on the machine and wandered into the living room. Through the bay window she could see Aiden pacing in front of the tent, his naked chest gleaming in the early morning light. Shivers of awareness skittered across her skin.
Mine.
She pushed away the taunting echo of her dragon’s assertion and stormed to the door, wrenching it open with the full force of her bottled frustration. “Stay out of my damn head, do you hear me?”
Aiden halted dead in his tracks and stared at her. And just like that, he silently answered the question that’d been burning inside her brain all night and half the morning. He didn’t dream about her, and he didn’t have a freakin’ clue what she was talking about.
Okay then. I’ve officially lost it.
Pivoting, she slammed the door shut. She managed two steps toward the hallway before a heavy knock on the door stalled her short. God, she really didn’t want to deal with this right now. “Go away.”
“Not on your life, sweetheart. Might as well let me in.”
“What are you going to do if I don’t? Huff and puff and blow my house on fire?”
Absolute silence from Aiden made her more than a little worried. “Oh, fuck it.” Squaring her shoulders, she stalked back to the door and swung it open.
He calmly disregarded her glare. “Mind explaining your outburst a second ago?”
“It’s nothing. I haven’t had my first cup of coffee yet. This early in the morning without caffeine, I tend to be cranky. Speaking of which, what are you doing up at the butt crack of dawn, sloshing through a pile of leaves? Without socks or shoes, no less.”
Running his fingers through his sleep-rumpled hair, he dropped his scrutiny to his feet. “I didn’t notice. Must have been preoccupied.”
“Apparently. I’m getting coffee. Want some?” She turned and walked away, leaving it up to him whether to follow or not. Behind her, the steady tread of his feet scrunched on the carpet.
Inside the kitchen, she grabbed two mugs from the cupboard and placed them side by side on the counter. “Cream or sugar?”
“Black is fine.”
“For some people. And the occasional dragon. Definitely not for me.” Crossing to the fridge, she pulled out her supply of cinnamon-hazelnut-flavored creamer. She splashed a healthy dose into her cup and topped it off with coffee before pouring a serving into Aiden’s mug. “So what are you doing up?”
“I’ve been thinking about the break-in. About the possible danger you’re in, and when the next strike might happen. I don’t like not knowing what the hell is going on.” He took a cautious sip of the coffee.
“That makes two of us,” she said grumpily.
Maybe too grumpily. Aiden’s electric blue gaze met hers over the mug’s rim. “Dana, I promise I’ve been straightforward with you. At this point, you know pretty much everything I do.”
Sincerity softened his expression. She believed him, and really, would it make any difference if she didn’t? At the moment, her true gripe—and concern—centered on factors that had nothing to do with the break-in or the fact that a posse of dragons was out to get her.
Okay, the dragon posse was definitely scary. But they didn’t freak her out nearly as much as the solitary dragon standing half naked in her kitchen, and all the unwanted, disturbing emotions he brought roiling to the surface.
She blew at the fragrant steam wafting from her coffee, praying he didn’t see the way her fingers trembled around the cup’s ceramic handle. Come on, Dana, get a grip.
“I need to leave for a while this morning, but I’ll wait until Jace wakes up.”
All other concerns vanished from her head as she frowned at Aiden. “If there’s something you need to do, don’t let me hold you up. I’m perfectly capable of fending for myself.”
“No, I’ll wait for Jace.”
Irritation festered inside her.
She wasn’t stupid. The dangers lurking in dark corners, waiting to spring at her with all the glee of a boogeyman, weren’t lost on her. But for God’s sake, Jace was sleeping less than two hundred feet away. What could possibly happen?
“You’re getting that stubborn look on your face again. The one that always precedes an argument.” Aiden rubbed his forehead wearily.
“Insisting that you or Jace be attached to my hip twenty-four hours a day is ridiculous and impractical.”
He freed the cup clenched in her hand and settled it on the counter before running his palms along her shoulders. If he’d intended the gesture to soothe her, he’d missed the mark. A colony of goose bumps cropped up instead. She attempted to hide her body’s reaction to him by scowling. “You know, I wasn’t done with my coffee yet.”