Haunted By Her Dragon (The Dragon Guard Series) (36 page)

He
chuckled and nodded, “Yes,
mo
chroi
we’ll live
almost a thousand years together in this life, and then for eternity in the
next.”

Her
brow furrowed, and she asked, “What did you just call me? And what is the
language I hear all your brethren and Siobhan speak occasionally?’

“It’s
the language of our kin. Not many use it anymore. Most of us mind speak because
it’s a
helluva
lot quicker, but the
older
of our clan still use it all the time. As for what I
called you, I said, ‘my heart’ because Samantha Malone, that is exactly what
you
are
.”

He
watched while she digested what he had just said, and added, “
Ta’ mo
chroi
istigh
ionat
,
mo
ghra
’ which means my heart is within you, my
love.”

Placing
his hands on either side of her face, he looked into the depth of her dark
brown eyes and spoke with more sincerity than he thought he could ever possess,
“I love you. With everything that I am, I know that you are the one person in
the universe that completes not only me but the beast within. I
cannot
and
will not
live a moment of my life without you.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Love?
He loved her?
Really?
Could it be true? She damn sure
had learned to not discount what she doubted. Hell, men that could shift into
dragons was real, it was probably not out of the realm of possibilities that he
at least
thought
he loved her. She looked deep inside herself, even the
parts she kept locked away, while he continued to gaze at her with his
hypnotic, crystal blue eyes.

She
took his hands from her face, and held them in her lap, “I have some incredible
feelings for you that I can’t explain, and I’m pretty sure I don’t want to, but
I have to be as honest with you as I want you to be with me…” she paused, and
watched as he held his breath but never once lost eye contact. Unable to speak
above a whisper, she said, “I am
terrified
. I don’t think I’ll survive
another loss.”

It
was the single hardest thing she’d ever admitted to anyone in her life. She was
prepared for him to tell her that she was weak or silly or any other wide
variety of insults that were swimming around in her mind, but he didn’t. He
completely surprised her by smiling and rubbing her up and down her arms. When
he spoke, she could feel strength pouring from him, filling her, and calming
her fears.  “I completely understand
mo
ghra
’
.
We have a lot more in common than either of us knew, and it’s time to share my
past with you.”

He
told her about his father who was killed in battle when he was a child and
about his mother and sisters who sounded like wonderful, beautiful,
strong-willed women. He talked about how he had traveled for days to reach the
clan with the Dragon Guard that Rayne’s father had commanded and how he had
trained for three long months.

She
felt like her heart would shatter into a million pieces as he told her how they
had come to find all the people of his clan dead from an attack by black magic
wizards. She felt her tears fall as she pictured him finding his mother and
sisters killed by the people that he’d been training to protect them from. The
only thing she could think to do as he relived the most traumatic event of his
life was to wrap her arms around him, and lend him her quiet support. She cried
for all he had lost, and the longer he spoke, the more it became undeniable
that they
were
meant to be together. They were meant to share the good
times and the bad times, but most of all, they were meant to heal each other
and to be exactly what the other needed.

She
had no idea how long they sat in silence, and didn’t care because being wrapped
in his arms was the safest, most peaceful place in the world. Reveling in the
strong, steady beat of his heart in her ear and the deep, even rise and fall of
his chest, reaffirmed her belief in the sanctity of life, and gave her hope
that she really could love and be loved without drastic consequences. He woke
her from her musings when she heard the sensual rumbling of his low
voice.
“You okay down there, Doc?”

“Yeah,
I’m good.” She sat up and looked at the man that had stolen her heart without
her even knowing it. “I’m so sorry that you lost your family. I know it was a
long time ago, but I can tell how much they meant to you and how much you loved
them.”

Feeling
tears come to her eyes again, she took a deep breath, but it was Lance that
spoke. “You are right,
evgren
.  I did
love them very much, and I still carry that love to this day, but it is
you
that
makes
my heart beat. It is you that I love more
than I ever thought possible.” He placed his hand over her heart, and she knew
he could feel how hard and fast it was beating, but she didn’t care. It was
time to be honest with him.

She
looked down at his hand on her chest, and marveled that she found even his
hands sexy. Knowing how those incredibly talented fingers made her body sing
made it difficult for her to think. It was now or never. She had to tell him
how she felt. Raising her head, she found him looking at her. She felt him deep
inside, burning brighter and filling her with so much love and acceptance that
she thought she might burst. Instead, she blurted out
all
that
she was feeling, “I love you, too. I didn’t think it was possible
for me to love anyone ever again. In fact, I’ve worked really hard for all
these years to keep people at arm’s length, but there is no way I can deny what
I feel, and what you’ve come to mean to me. I love you. There is no other way
to say it. I do. But I swear if you ever put me through what I went through the
last three weeks, I will kick your ass.”

The
last word was still on her lips when he slammed his mouth to hers, and kissed
her with a fiery passion. He stole the breath from her lungs and all thought
from her mind. When they came up for air, all she could think about was getting
her amazing man naked, and by the look in his eyes, he thought the same
thing.  But…there were still a few questions she needed answered.

She
laughed out loud as he groaned when her hands touched his chest to keep him
from continuing their kiss. “What gives, Doc? I’m dying here.” As he spoke he
raised his hips, letting her feel exactly how happy he was to be kissing her,
and it was her turn to groan.

He
laughed, and tried to close the distance between them again, but she kept her
arms firm. “I have just a few more questions.”

He
groaned even louder, flopped back against the couch and let his head fall to
the side, “You really are trying to kill me. I just know it.”

She
play punched him in the stomach. He grunted, picking up his head and winking at
her. But it was the shit-eating grin and damn dimple that made her giggle like
a schoolgirl. Breathing deeply to regain control, she asked, “Did you fly past
my window in dragon form the first night we officially met?”

His
grin grew wider as he nodded. “Sure did.” He placed his index finger on his
lips, making the ‘
Shhhh
’ sound, “But keep that
between us, I’m not really supposed to be flying that close to town unless it’s
an emergency.”

Another
giggle bubbled out of her, and she chalked it up to a side effect of being in
love. “I promise, and I want to see him again for real when I know for sure I’m
awake.” When he tipped his head in agreement, she went on, “Is everyone’s dragon
the same color as yours?”

“No,
our dragons are all originally from different clans, and therefore, we are all
different colors except for Aidan and Aaron. They are the same because they are
blood relatives and twins. Integration happened as time passed. We don’t adhere
to the color sects any longer. We live with the Force with whom we trained or
pledged our fealty. He stopped talking, and she thought about what he’d said,
wondering if, or when she would get to see the color of the other dragons. Then
she remembered something she really needed to ask so she powered on.

 “Now,
Sydney said that she told you that she can tell when you and your brothers were
talking into each others’ minds, and she said that you told her to keep that
little tidbit from me. Is that true?” She gave him her most intimidating look,
the one she reserved for children, and seniors that refused to take their meds.

“Yes,
I did,” he said and didn’t even have the decency to look ashamed. “But in my
defense, I didn’t know how the hell she could tell, and I didn’t want you
freaking out and leaving me.”

He
pretend pouted and when that didn’t work he tickled her until she surrendered.
When she was able to speak again, she said, “No more secrets. Got it, dragon
man? And since we’re on that subject, why is it that she can do that?”

He
furrowed his brow and pursed his lips. “No one is sure, but Siobhan has a
theory…” She tried to butt in, but he shook his head and gave her a look then continued.
“But we need to talk to the Elders of our clan and have Sydney talk to them to
be sure.”

She
frowned at him. He quickly grinned, and said, “There’s nothing to worry about,
at
all
. I promise. Whatever it may be is a blessing, something really cool. We
just need to be sure.”

Knowing
he was telling the truth from their bond, she let the subject go, but gave him
one last look to let him know she wanted answers as soon as possible. He had to
be the most patient man in the world as he sat there waiting for her next
question, like he had all the time in the world. W
ell he
kinda
does
. Smiling at her own funny she asked, “Who the hell is Andrew? What all
has he done? Every time his name or one of the names you guys
call
him came up while you were healing, everyone spoke in
your language. I’m guessing they were waiting for you to give me the scoop.”

“Well,
Doc, there’s a long answer to that but I’m
gonna
Reader’s Digest it for you the best I can. Over seven years ago, Aidan and his
younger brother, Andrew, were out on patrol. Aidan had gotten a whiff of
something a few days prior, and couldn’t shake the feeling that he needed to
follow up. So they went out to see what it was. The scent Aidan was tracking
had taken all his focus and he was careless, something completely
uncharacteristic for any of us, but especially ‘A’. He’s one of the best
trackers any clan has ever seen. Anyway, he hadn’t continually scanned the area
like we’re all trained to do, and his pansy-assed, little brother, who always
depended on one of us to take care of him, wasn’t scanning either. Andrew was
the youngest in our Force and the younger brother to two of the best Dragon
Guardsmen this world has ever known. And to top it off, he was and I imagine
still is, a lazy little shit.

He
paused to take a breath, and she quickly asked, “’A’ is Aidan, right?”

 “Yep,
sorry about that, force of habit. Anyway, the guys were flying over a wooded
area when they were both
literally
pulled from the sky by what we now
know was black magic. The force from the dark spell pushed their dragons back,
and left the men falling to the ground. Apparently, a coven of wizards had seen
‘A’ earlier in the week and set a trap for him. However, they hadn’t counted on
two
dragons. From what we now know, they didn’t have enough magic to
hold them both.  In a quick plan B move, the sadistic bastards used their
dirty magic to disorient ‘A’ while they held Andrew and made it look like they
sacrificed him. ‘A’ was sure he’d seen Andrew’s severed head thrown into their
huge ritual fire, and before he could do anything about it, the assholes hit
him with another blast of their tainted shit, and left him there for dead.

“Later,
‘A’ woke up, and made his way back to the clan for help, but by the time we got
back there, the cowards had run, and hidden their tracks. The search went on for
hours, but there were no clues to be found. Now, you have to understand. We
have some serious
mojo
of our own. Dragon magic is
ancient, and nothing to be scoffed at, but those sons of bitches were packing
some kind of hyped up, seriously nasty power that night.

 “We
all mourned Andrew’s death. You know we live a long time, and to lose one of us
so early in our lifespan because of the scum of the earth is a horrible loss
for all of us, but it hit ‘A’ the hardest. He felt responsible for Andrew’s
death, and spent every waking minute punishing
himself
for what had happened. For six years, we all watched our friend and brethren in
pain and constant turmoil, with no way to help him. No matter what we tried,
nothing helped. Not even Aaron, his twin could reach him. Then almost two years
ago, everything changed.

“We
were on our way back to the lair. Trying to get Spitfire, I mean
Kyndel
, back to the lair,” he smiled, and she took the
opportunity to butt in, “
Kyndel
lets you call her
‘Spitfire’?”

“She
damn sure does, and Grace let’s me call her ‘Hellcat’. It was our way of
letting them both know that they were accepted into the clan. I can’t believe
you didn’t hear it while I was out.”