Bad Boy Romance: Nick (Romantic Suspense Alpha Male Romance) (New Adult Rock Star Contemporary Short Stories) (Hard Rock Star Series Book 2) (47 page)

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The feeling of Cade landing on the ground jostled Vivian awake
and she sat up, nearly losing her balance and sliding from his back as she
briefly forgot where she was. A pastel sunrise was coming over the horizon,
pouring light over the dew-tipped grass around them. Vivian swept one leg over
his back to join the other and jumped down with as much grace as she could
muster, staring around them at the still, empty country club lawn.

"Why are we here?" she asked.

She turned back to him and was startled to see Cade had
shifted. He stood close enough that she could see the streaks of color across
the honeyed background of his eyes and her breath caught slightly in her
throat.

"You were sleeping and couldn't tell me anywhere else
to go. This is the only place I know outside of Killington."

"You never leave?" she asked, her voice softer
than she had expected it to be.

Cade shook his head slowly.

"I was born there. Most of us stay there our entire
lives. We aren't exactly…trusting of humans."

"Why? You seem to be the ones that would be more
dangerous."

A slight, sarcastic smile curved his full lips.

"We might have claws and fire, but at least we dragons
don't offer up our young as peace offerings."

Vivian gave him a quizzical look.

"Isn't that exactly why Arach and Aurora are together?
She told me that their fathers promised them to each other before she was even
born."

"She was born to be his. You saw them. Did they look
like they were oppressed and forced to be together?"

Vivian remembered the look on Aurora's face as she led Arach
out of the room, and shook her head.

"No."

"No, they didn’t. They looked like they couldn't wait
to get each other's clothes off." Cade stepped up slightly closer to her
and Vivian felt a tremble through her belly. "They are exactly as they
should be; insatiable when it comes to each other."

"Are there women who are like you?" Vivian asked,
her voice sounding faintly shaky as she said the words.

"You mean dragons?" Cade asked, stepping back and
relieving the tension that Vivian could feel building in the space between
them. "Yes. There aren't many that have actually stayed with the clan.
Dragon births are rare enough, and female births are rarer still. Of the girls
that are born into the clan, most of them stop shifting when they are teenagers
and come to live in your world."

The statement startled Vivian and she felt her mouth fall
open.

"They just live out here? With us?"

Cade laughed.

"Yeah, not even in captivity."

"I'm sorry. That's not what I meant. It's just shocking
to think about interacting with people and not knowing something like that about
them."

"Do you think you know everything about everyone that
you talk to every day?"

"No, but –"

"How do you think Aurora's father knew about the
dragons?"

"I don't know."

"Humans and dragons have been trying to build
cooperative relations for generations. With as few dragons born as there are,
there clan has been at risk of completely dying out. Part of the goals of the
operative was to encourage marriages between humans and dragons so that the
clan could continue. Not everyone is the biggest proponent of that,
particularly the female dragons of the clan. I can almost guarantee you that
you have encountered more than one of them in your life."

Images of people she knew flashed through her mind as if
Vivian was trying to sort out the ones who could be dragons.

"How would I know?" she asked.

Cade adjusted the leather satchel over his shoulder and
shrugged at her.

"Would you know looking at me?"

"Your eyes," she answered immediately, and then
felt the burn of embarrassment across her cheeks.

A strange expression flittered across those very eyes and
Vivian glanced away.

"We probably shouldn't stay here too much longer. I'm
sure there are people who wouldn't be thrilled to find us walking across the
grass at dawn."

His voice had changed, but Vivian couldn't place exactly
what was different about it. She nodded and started toward the main building
where she knew she could call for a car to bring them to her house.

They didn’t speak as they waited for the car or when they
climbed into the backseat. She sat as close to the door as she could get and
stared out the window, fighting the sudden urge to look at him. Her mind
wandered to the feeling of him beneath her and the sound of his wings pressing
through the air. She could still feel his powerful muscles shifting between her
thighs and the smooth, strong feeling of his skin against her palms.

When they finally got to her house, Vivian led him inside
and showed him to the guest room at the end of the hall opposite her bedroom.

"We should get a few hours of sleep," she said,
watching him lower his satchel to the floor.

Vivian watched Cade gaze around the room as if evaluating
every surface from the polished wood bureau in one corner to the antique vanity
on the front wall, and finally to the white bed in the center.

"Is something wrong?" she asked.

"I'm just used to stone and tapestries. It's very
different."

Vivian offered a teasing smile.

"I guess we humans aren't all bad, are we? At least we
know how to make our bedrooms welcoming."

Cade's eyes slid over to her as Vivian realized what she had
just said. Without saying anything else, she closed the door and rushed down
the hall to her room. Flinging herself down on her bed, she tucked her head
under one of the pillows and let out a loud sound of exasperation and
embarrassment.

Flipping over onto her back, she stared up at the ceiling.
Twenty-four hours ago she was told her best friend was dead. Now she not only
knew she was not dead, but that she was marrying a dragon and had entrusted her
into the care of another dragon who wanted nothing to do with the arrangement
but was sexy enough that all Vivian could think about was how much more
welcoming she would have liked to make her guest bedroom. Finally she let her
eyes close and tried to will herself to sleep. These were not the Maid of Honor
duties she had originally signed up for.

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Neither could sleep for long and it was barely afternoon
when Vivian and Cade walked into the bridal boutique. This was far different
from the shopping trip for Aurora's first dress, which involved the bridal
party, both mothers, and the wedding coordinator. Now it was just her and Cade
standing in the cold, starkly white surroundings of the boutique hoping she
could find a dress that would fit Aurora and also appeal to her somewhat
exacting standards.

"Hello!" a thin, bright voice that seemed to
perfectly match the surroundings of the boutique startled her and Vivian spun
around.

A tall, wiry woman came toward her with a smile so intense
it made Vivian take a step back.

"Hi," she said.

"I'm Kathryn. Are you looking for a gown today?"

"Vivian," she said, shaking the hand Kathryn
extended to her, "Yes. I actually need something that I can buy today and
take with me if that's possible."

Kathryn looked from Vivian to Cade and smiled even bigger.

"So the wedding is soon?" she asked in a tone that
said she felt like she was being let in on a secret.

Her flowery perfume was so strong Vivian felt like she was
standing in a cloud of it as Kathryn leaned closer to hear her response. Vivian
opened her mouth to try to explain the situation in the simplest terms possible
when she felt Cade's muscular arm envelope her waist and pull her up against
his side.

"It's this weekend," he said in a silky voice.

"That's wonderful!" Kathryn said and reached down
to take Vivian's hand.

Vivian glanced over her shoulder at Cade as Kathryn pulled
her toward the dressing area in the back, her birdlike voice a stream of
fabrics, silhouettes, and accessories. Before she realized what was happening,
Kathryn had her in a mirror-lined dressing room and she was stepping into an
elaborate gown. The bodice hugged at her body, drawing in her waist and
creating lush cleavage from the deep sweetheart neckline.

Layers of tulle and satin felt heavy on her legs but she
loved the way the skirt draped and pooled on the floor around her. She stepped
out onto the small raised platform in the center of the fitting area and turned
to Cade where he sat on a low white sofa. His eyes grazed across her, lingering
on the neckline and the tight curve of her waist.

"I don't think that looks like…you," he said, but
his voice lacked the criticism she would have expected.

"You're right," she said, suppressing a smile at
his charade, "I think I would like something a little simpler."

Kathryn immediately jumped into action, corralling her back
into the fitting room and handing her another gown.

Three more gowns hung discarded on the back of the door by
the time Vivian stepped into a sleek satin sheath that draped across her
breasts and hung low on her back. The color was soft like champagne and the
delicate straps over her shoulders were narrow braids of tiny satin strands.
She knew Aurora's slightly fuller body would fill it out perfectly and that she
would appreciate the more muted color.

Vivian stepped out onto the platform and noticed that
Kathryn was no longer standing sentinel beside a rack of gowns. She could hear
her voice in the front of the store talking to another bride, and exhaled,
relieved that the pressure of her watching every movement was gone at least for
the moment.

"What do you think?" she asked Cade, turning
slowly so that he could see the entire dress.

In the mirrors that surrounded the platform she could see
Cade stand from the sofa and approach her. Without saying anything, he took her
by her hips and led her backwards through the open door of her dressing room.
Vivian gasped as he pushed her back against the wall. Keeping his hands pressed
to her hips, holding her in place, he lowered his mouth to the swell of one
breast and ran it along her skin. His lips were parted just enough that she
could feel the heat of his breath roll between her breasts and down the front
of the dress to her belly.

Cade pressed into her hips slightly harder as he moved his
mouth to her other breast, turning his thumbs so they massaged into the soft
valley between her hipbones. Vivian whimpered at the slow, deliciously
torturous touch and tried to push her hips forward, wanting to will his hands
lower. Maintaining complete control over her, Cade lifted his mouth from her
breast, only to rest it in between them and draw his tongue gradually up the
center of her chest and along her neck.

His lips hovered just above hers as he met her gaze
intensely.

"What color are my eyes?" he asked in a direct,
serious whisper.

The smell of sage was stronger now, its earthiness somehow
building on the desire tightening in her belly. Her breath was coming in ragged
pants and she couldn't bring the words forward. Cade dipped his head down to
nip his teeth into her neck.

"What color?" he asked again.

"They look like honey," she murmured, bringing her
hands up to his shoulders and kneading her fingers into the strong muscles
there, "but with streaks of other colors."

A sound like a low growl rumbled in Cade's throat and he
caught Vivian's mouth with his, urging it open with his tongue. Vivian
complied, welcoming his tongue against hers and lifting her arms to wrap around
his neck. He kissed her feverishly, and when he finally pulled his head back
she felt breathless.

"Only women meant to be a part of the clan can see the
colors in a dragon's eyes," he whispered to her through his own rough
breaths.

Before she could reply, Kathryn's voice came to them through
the dressing room door.

"Is everything alright in there?"

"Everything's fine," Vivian answered, forcing a
high, casual note into her voice, "My zipper was just stuck so Cade was
helping me."

"Did you find something that you like?"

Vivian felt Cade's mouth return to her neck and his fingers
gathering her skirt so that it rose up over her knees and was slowly inching up
her thighs.

"I did," he whispered against her skin and Vivian
laughed, trying to push his hand away from her skirt.

"Yes. I think I found the perfect one. Thank you for
your help."

"I'll just be in front when you're ready," Kathryn
said and Vivian heard her footsteps scurry away from the fitting room.

Cade started inching her skirt up again and Vivian playfully
batted his hand away.

"We have a lot more to do today."

His tongue flicked across her bottom lip and Vivian felt her
knees weaken. Suddenly his hand swept her skirt out of the way and she felt his
fingers trace up the inside of her thigh and slip beneath the elastic at the
leg of her panties. She drew in a breath as they touched her, gathering the hot
slickness already there and swirling it into her. Her hands gripped his shirt
and she rose onto her toes in response to the touch, biting her lip to avoid
crying out.

"It seems we do," he murmured before sucking her
bottom lip into his mouth.

She surrendered to his kiss and tilted her hips forward to
offer herself completely into his hand. Muffling her sounds with his mouth,
Cade continued the masterful movement of his fingers until suddenly Vivian felt
her control shatter and her body release in a climax that left her sagging
against him and sobbing for air. Cade trailed gentle kisses across her face and
down her neck as he carefully withdrew his hand and let her skirt fall back
into place.

"I'll wait outside while you get dressed," he
said, reaching behind him to open the door, "I don't think Kathryn would
like what would happen if I saw you naked right now."

Still trembling from his touch, Vivian quickly removed the
dress, hung it back on its hanger, and got dressed. Cade took it from her hands
as she stepped off of the platform, brushing another kiss across her lips. They
went to the front of the store to buy the gown and Vivian noticed the
incredible quiet of the boutique now that Kathryn was doing everything she
could not to make eye contact with them.