“Lucan!” Janos chided. “Haven’t you told her
anything
?”
“We’ve been busy,” Lucan retorted.
Janos grinned. “I remember Scarlett and me.” He nodded at her. “We’ll talk soon.”
“What was that about?” she asked Lucan as Janos stepped into a side corridor.
He sighed. “Damn siblings.”
“You hated being an only child before.”
“Yeah, well, now I’m finding brothers somewhat inconvenient.” He led her toward a small grouping of chairs and a loveseat then pulled her to sit beside him. Idly, he played with her fingers, tracing the place where his ring had once been. “You and I are mates,” he explained. “Destined mates. There’s something in your blood that matches mine. Because of it, our systems will force us to be together. Until we’re fully united, you’ll be physically repulsed by any other man who touches you, even if it’s just on your hand.”
She stared at him. Her lips moved, but no sound emerged.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” she finally managed.
“Because it’s not important. Because you’ve always been mine and I have no intention of ever being apart from you again. I’ve been telling you that. I need you to believe it. I love you, Meda. You’re my life. Whether there’s some biological drive bringing us together or just our emotions, it doesn’t matter. The Dragon mating is just a side thing. You’re mine.”
His declaration shook her, even though she knew he was downplaying the physical change in her body. She sensed it, but it was his fervent avowal that resonated.
“I can’t have children anymore. Surely, you want kids.”
“It’s irrelevant to how I feel. If we’d been together all this time and something had happened to you—infertility, an accident, paralysis, a sickness—it wouldn’t change what’s inside me for you. Neither does this.”
Her lip trembled, and she bit it. Lucan drew it free with his thumb then stroked the pad of his finger over the abused flesh. She leaned toward him.
Suddenly, the heavy swoosh of large, flapping wings drew their attention to the open area on the other side of the banister lining one side of this floor. A Dragon alighted a few yards from them and changed shape to a man. Meda watched with wide eyes as he nodded in their direction then headed into one of the rooms down the passage.
“Look,” Lucan said quietly and tipped his head toward the main gallery. Other Dragons shifted and flew, changing back when they landed. Some fully became other creatures while others just formed wings to make their ascents easier.
“This is…astounding,” she breathed. It was a whole new world. This was where he’d woken after the accident, she realized with vague understanding. It must have been like Alice falling down the rabbit hole.
“There’s more,” he told her. Without warning, he grabbed her from the seat, took three giant bounds toward the rail then vaulted up and over it, plummeting toward the gallery.
Meda screamed into his chest in pure terror as air whistled past them. Even the sound of powerful wings failed to pierce her horror. She was shaking, her heart slamming against her ribs, as they landed lightly rather than spattering on the gallery’s white marble. Still, her body jarred from the shock of their impromptu flight.
She shoved him away then stumbled as her knees buckled. Lucan caught her in his muscular arms, his wings disappearing as she watched.
“That was a bad idea,” he muttered.
“You think? If you ever do that—”
“I won’t. Sorry.”
She took a few deep breaths and struggled to get her body under control. “You said there was more to see?”
“This way.”
During the earlier part of his tour, she’d seen numerous corridors branching off each level, but he hadn’t taken her down any of them. Now, he pulled her toward one of the halls then down a stairway. All the warrens reminded her of a castle, and she was as captivated as a child exploring a new play land. Everywhere she looked, strange sights met the eye—mystical creatures, otherworldly lights, odd contraptions she couldn’t come close to identifying.
“I’m so lost,” she admitted minutes later as he led her through a fourth passage that curved and forked, the walls getting more and more cave-like.
“You’re with me. Don’t worry,” he assured her. He made a sharp turn and started down yet another set of stairs. These were rough and uneven as if crudely cut into rock. Lucan steadied Meda as they went, catching her when she wobbled on one narrow foothold. She leaned into his strong embrace.
“This is a lot of work for sex,” she grumbled.
His laugh echoed on the stone walls. “We’re almost there. And we’ll be totally alone. No one comes down here.”
Muted lighting glowed from below, and as they approached the landing, she heard the soft lapping of water against a shore. “Is that…”
“An underground lake? Yes.”
Excitement filled her, and she rushed ahead. Her gasp sounded around the cavern as she burst into the chamber. Multi-colored lights illuminated stalactites throughout the space, making them appear like icicle chandeliers over a smooth, clear lake. Beneath the surface, green and white lights shone from the depths. Water trickled down the walls and into the lake from several locations around it.
“It’s beautiful,” she exclaimed. Her voice bounced off the walls as she turned back to him.
He reached for his buttons. “And this is the place. I want to hear your cries all around us as I make you come.”
His shirt dropped to the dry slate floor. Crossing to a row of cabinets that had blended into the wall so well she hadn’t noticed them, he pressed his palm to one and opened it. He pulled out a blanket then came back to her. “Sometimes I sleep down here or just stay down here for hours,” he told her. “So I keep some of my things nearby,” he explained.
“Lone wolf,” she murmured.
“Well, when I was randomly bursting into flame, it was handy to be here. Nothing flammable unless I got out a blanket.”
Meda frowned, envisioning Lucan here alone, unsure when he’d burn again and thinking of her. She believed him when he said he’d wanted to be with her, even though she didn’t understand why he’d waited so long to come back after the molt had ended.
“I wish I could have been here for you,” she said.
“It wasn’t safe—”
“I know.” She glanced toward the entry then reached for the hem of her shirt. “Let’s do something a little unsafe now.” The garment was tossed aside and she slid her hand along her slim midriff and belly. “Everything’s so tight and needy in here, I think I might die if you don’t do something about this soon.”
A light seemed to kindle in his eyes as they homed in on her. He stepped forward. His hands clasped her hips and dragged her to his hard groin. She felt his erection, and her pussy clenched.
“I’ve got something dangerous for you right here.”
She rolled her eyes, laughing at him. “That is so cliché. But I’m thinking…” She hooked her fingers in his belt loops. “I’d really like to ride on the wild side of that.”
He snorted half-laugh. “Now, who’s being clichéd?”
She chortled. “Maybe we should stop talking.”
He caught her bottom lip between his teeth. His tongue flicked over the flesh before he let go. “Like this?” he asked then kissed her, ending all conversation.
Her fingers curled into his biceps as he guided her down to the blanket. His lips never left hers as they moved. She groaned as trembles cascaded through her. His mouth was like…an addiction. She couldn’t get enough of his taste. She linked one arm behind his neck as she arched into him, kissing him with as much fervor as he did her.
As if a switch had been flipped, the simmering arousal they’d both held in check flooded forward. It overwhelmed Meda in a deluge of need, overcoming any thought or reservation she might have had. The past didn’t matter. The location didn’t matter. Only his mouth on her, his hands on her skin and his body moving as one with hers was of any importance.
His lips traveled down over her shoulder as he unhooked her bra. Immediately, he cupped her breast, thumbing her nipple in the way he knew she liked. A comfortable heat joined her urgency. It was safe with him, this man who remembered so much about her. He knew her likes and dislikes. He knew what set her off and when she was getting overwrought. He knew how to drag her deep into the abyss of mindless sensation.
“Lucan,” she breathed as he twisted a taut peak. He sucked the other tip deep into his mouth. Flutters took her belly as the muscles there repeatedly tightened and released, stoking the fire already flaring to life. Her thighs parted as heated moisture filled her pussy. Had any other man come close to the desire Lucan inspired in her?
He opened and pushed off her pants then dispatched his with the same, almost painful urgency she felt. She needed him skin to skin, deep inside her once more.
“Touch me,” she begged though his mouth had never left its treasure.
“I’ll never let you go,” he promised. His fingers trailed over her, lifting goose bumps across her skin. She shivered at the sensation, moaning her pleasure. The sound reverberated around them, filling the space with the noise of not one pair of lovers but many. The echoing cries caused her channel to clench, a fresh torrent of cream filling her needy cunt.
At last, he cupped her pussy. Deftly, he parted her folds and one, long digit slipped inside. He stroked over her, tracing her opening and sliding through her arousal with just enough friction to have her arching from the blanket. She needed him inside, yet he teased her.
Lightly, he flicked over her clit. Her sharp cry flooded the air, ping-ponging around them. Her hips thrust upward as she wordlessly urged him to give her more. She needed fierce, intense, hard… This feather-soft torment might drive her mad.
Her fingers fisted in his hair. “More, Lucan. I need
more
.”
He lifted his mouth from her breast but paused to gently trail his tongue over the over-sensitized flesh. His intense gaze met hers, and slowly, he pushed two long fingers inside her, and she moaned in approval.
“Like this?” he asked. As if to taunt her further, he began an unhurried, even piston. His thumb alternately circled and scraped over her clit.
“You’re a jerk,” she growled. Her nails bit into his shoulders
He jabbed a bit harder, drawing a guttural cry. “Better?” he asked.
She would
so
pay him back for the teasing. But not now. She reveled in the sensation of him finally giving her what she’d begged for. His mouth returned to her breasts, where he left little bites along the slope, inflicted in unison with each thrust.
Meda smoothed her hands down his back to his hips, but when she reached around for his cock, he pushed her fingers away.
“None of that.”
“But I want to touch you, too.”
He brushed his mouth over hers. “Nope.”
“Lucan,” she groaned as he shifted between her thighs. The needy sound of her breathy cry still echoed as he shoved deep, filling her with his long, wide cock in one rapid drive. A frenzy shot through her. Anxiously, she worked against him. Every ion of her being reached for him and the soul-searing climax he’d bring.
His teeth scraped her shoulder, near her neck, and he moaned deep in his throat as if in pain. His hips thrust faster. “I need to taste you,” he muttered.
“Yes,” she replied.
His hands fisted in the blanket on either side of her shoulders. “God, don’t say that.”
Meda wondered at his vehemence but was soon lost in his passion. The exchange seemed to have deepened his drive for release. Together, they climbed, bodies undulating as one. Meda wrapped her legs around his powerful thighs, opening herself to receive him deeper.
Her orgasm built like a storm, sending lightning strands to her extremities until finally, it exploded. She froze, arched against him, as pleasure whirled through her veins in a blast of perfect energy. Above her, he groaned, and she felt his seed filling her.
Together, they collapsed to the blanket. Lucan turned to his side, pulling her into the curve of his arms. She rested her head on his biceps as they each struggled for breath.
“Don’t ever leave me,” he whispered, pushing strands of damp hair from her face.
Her consciousness gasped though outwardly she made no sound. “There’s so much to learn,” she murmured. “You’ve changed. You’re not the same person you were; I’m not the same, either.”
“Where it matters we’re both the same,” he refuted. “Meda, I’m asking for forever.” Lucan sighed. “Just think about it, okay. Right now, I guess we should get back to the main part of the compound. Janos is expecting us for dinner. The family wants to meet and welcome you.” He reached out a hand and helped her to her feet.
A menacing laugh came from the darkness. Meda flinched and Lucan immediately stepped in front of her.
“Look what we have here,” came the voice. “A Dragon all alone with his mate.”
Terror screeched through Meda as five sets of glowing blue eyes shone from the dark shadows. Lucan growled. In a split second, dark green, almost black, scales slide over him, cascading like a waterfall. His body grew taller and wider, his legs becoming as thick as tree trunks and his wings unfurling around her as she stood close to his back. Spinning, he drew her into his arms and rushed for the stairs.