SEVEN
Ker had no idea how he could keep his dragon in check the entire flight to the sheriff’s office. All he knew was that Tiana was in trouble and she needed him. Taking the chopper had been an internal debate.
He could have flown faster as his dragon, but he didn't want to frighten her any more than necessary—he needed to tell her what he was. Plus, he didn’t have a heliport at the cabin, so he had to land in town and come out with one of the sheriff’s men.
As he sat in the passenger’s seat, the deputy sped down the empty roads, taking him closer to Tiana. His Tiana. Fuck! He'd been wanting her from the first conversation. Her voice had stirred life inside him. He'd been on his own, alone, for so long, that he'd forgotten what it was like to want a woman.
She'd woken that part of him again. A new desire for more had lit. A thirst for a taste of the sweet teacher. One he wouldn't deny.
They were fewer than ten minutes away when something landed on their car with such force, it made the SUV skid over the road. The deputy fought to maintain control, but they were going too fast. Ker braced as they swerved repeatedly.
Reaching dry asphalt, the vehicle screeched to a stop. Another hit on the roof dented it in the middle. Ker jumped out, coming face to face with a small black dragon. One of Sayeh’s dragons. What was it doing here?
Before Ker could shift, the dragon squawked and flew away as fast as it could. Ker looked around for the others. He’d never seen just a single black one. They came in thunders. He waited, but no others rose from the trees or circled above. He sucked in a deep breath and only got the wilderness around him. No enemy.
The shifter deputy stepped out and took a deep inhale. “Is that a black dragon I smell?”
“I’m pretty sure,” Ker said.
The shifter searched the area with his eyes. “Where are the rest of them?”
“My thought, too,” Ker replied. After a few more moments, they climbed back in and continued to the cabin. “Did you smell anything else?”
The deputy replied, “I thought I smelled fresh blood. Not dragon, but human.”
“Yeah,” Ker said, “I did, too.”
* * *
Tiana sat on the porch, watching as more vehicles came and went. It was like being home all over again. She wondered if her bad luck had followed her here. Or...were these the same people who had tried to break into her house? But the detective doing the investigation assured her that someone had lost a lot of blood. Just like tonight. Her stomach flipped and a sour taste filled the back of her throat.
Tires crunched as a new vehicle showed up. She saw a man get out and march toward her. She knew him. At first, his features had been hidden by the darkness, but the closer he got, the more she could make out who he was. Ker.
Her chest compressed. Dear god. He was fucking gorgeous. She licked her lips because she had no idea what else to do. He kept coming, until he was right in front of her. He pulled her up to her feet and hugged her hard. Her world stopped at that moment. A light tremble shook her to the core. This man, he felt right. It was unbelievable, but it was perfectly natural to be in his arms.
He smelled so good. The outdoors. Coffee. Whiskey. And something else. Something she couldn't put a finger on. It was wild and untamed. Not like any man in her past.
“Ker?”
He moved back from hugging her tightly and glanced at her face. Then, to melt all resistance from her, he cupped her cheek with one hand and rubbed his thumb over her jaw. “Are you okay?”
Now that he was here? Yes. She gave a quick nod. “They haven't found anyone.”
He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “They might have been thieves at the wrong place and wrong time.”
She frowned. “What do you mean?”
“I'll tell you soon, but you have to give me a few minutes. Let them finish their search and we can go inside and talk.”
She realized he was still holding her to him with his other arm. God. He felt so great. She wanted to ask him how he was able to do that. To make her feel like they'd known each other forever. Seeing him in real life was like an electrical shock to the heart. She'd felt so many things in those moments. Desire, hope, and a desperate sense of urgency to keep him that she'd never felt. It was scary.
“You're so much taller than I realized,” she whispered, glancing up into his blue eyes. Lord, those eyes. He had some gorgeous peeps and lips. She shouldn't focus on his lips, but she couldn't help it.
They were right in front of her. They were calling out to her. She was trying to ignore his lips and his scent and all the clearly defined muscles under his T-shirt. But she wasn't doing a good job.
“You're so much more beautiful than I could have imagined.”
Those words. She tried to tamp down the surge of happiness they caused, but she couldn't. His words were exactly what she'd needed. They'd never exchanged photos and she was sure, with a quick paid search, he could have her whole life story and photos to match. But the desire she saw in his eyes, the hunger there, she knew this was his first time seeing her face. And he liked it. He liked her.
She smiled and brushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear. “You're a flatterer, Mr. Drachen.”
His brows rose and that short beard of his caught her attention when he smiled. The guy was growing a beard. Good god. The tingles happening in her body were so not normal.
“Mister?” He leaned closer and for a second her heart stopped when she thought he was going to kiss her. “Never mister, love. But feel free to get creative.”
She cleared her throat and wished there was water nearby. She wanted to douse herself with a fire hose and calm the hormonal craze she was going through. You'd think she was a damn cat in heat. Every word out of his mouth made her slick between the legs. She might be a virgin but she wasn't without knowledge. She had toys. She had seen lots of videos. Hell, she had fantasies. But she'd never thought a man would make her body react like this. So violently needy.
It was a while before the sheriff and his men left. By then, Ker had taken his bag inside and they were finally able to sit and talk.
He kept giving her those hungry glances. It heated her blood and made her hot and bothered.
“Maybe I should go,” she stammered, wishing this weird need would calm the fuck down.
“Why? I won't disturb your time off,” he promised. A slow grin spread over his lips. Dear lord, the beard. She wanted his face between her legs. How fucking sick was she? In her twenty-six years of life, she'd been worried she was too cold when it came to sex. She hadn't wanted to go that far with any man before. Now she met Ker in person and she was ready to toss her virginity to the wind. It was crazy.
“I know,” she breathed out. “I just...I had to get away because someone broke into my house. It was scary and I--”
He came closer on the sofa, grabbing her hand in his. His grip was warm and he rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand, making her dizzy with need. “I'm sorry. Tonight should not have happened. But from what they can tell, that car isn't from town, so they were clearly looking for a place to rob. Don't get me wrong, there have been robberies up here before, but I think those guys got more than they bargained for.”
She frowned and met his gaze. “Why do you say that?”
“Do you know about shifters?”
She nodded. She knew all about shifters. Her godmother told her about them. They were a known secret. People kept a distance, but shifters made up so much of the population and were so powerful, having built fortunes with their long lives. They were in the highest positions of the government and even royalty. She'd been well educated. “Why?”
“I'm part of the Drachen dragon family.”
She gasped. Her world tilted and quickly righted itself so fast, it gave her vertigo. “You're a dragon shifter.”
He continued to stare at her. “Yes. I and my brothers are. We're part of one dragon clan on this planet. There is another, but let's just say we are the good guys.”
She inhaled as he came closer. There it was. That scent of something wild again. She couldn't be sure what it was, but it was making her crazy to rip his clothes off and get a taste of him. “I should've known.”
“Why?”
She shrugged. “All your photos show such a young man. For everything you've built, it was starting to make me wonder how you are still so young.”
He lifted her hand to his lips. “I'm not so young, love. I'm hundreds of years old.”
She opened her eyes wide. “That's insane.”
He gave a chuckle. “Oh, I know. I've spent all my years alone, but now there's you.”
She gave a quick shake of the head. “Wait. Wait. I know shifters have mates.”
He sighed and sat back. “Not always. All of my brothers have met their mates, but it seems it can be almost lifetimes before that happens.”
“But you don't choose mates. It's a natural thing, Ker. I know that much.”
“Yes, but I don't want to wait for whatever nature wants to give me,” he told her with a determined tone. “I know who I want.”
Oh, good god. “Ker, I didn't come all the way over here to make emotional commitments. My life is kind of complicated right now.”
Bullshit. She so wanted to make a commitment when it came to him, but the growing desire was leaving her breathless and scaring her. She didn't know what to think. She had to take time to breathe. See if they had more than just this crazy lust between them.
“I don't plan on making your life any more complicated,” he said, leaning forward and cupping her face. His blue eyes sucked her into their depths, heating her to the core. His lips came closer and closer. Oh god. He was going to kiss her. Should she stop him? Hell no! Then he was brushing them lightly over hers. “I needed this,” he sighed, running his tongue over her bottom lip. “I had to taste you.”
That admission, made with so much raw desire, did more to her than any man of her past telling her he loved her. She could trust this. Ker. And their insane attraction.
His lips pressed harder over hers. She scooted closer to him, opening for his invasion. The kiss got deep, fast. He pulled her over his lap. She groaned into their locked lips when she felt his erection under her. Lord have mercy! The man was gifted. She wiggled on him and he tightened his hold of her waist, pushing her down on his stiffness. Their tongues rubbed over each other, dancing in an erotic waltz that pulled her into a hazy sensual state. Her nipples tightened and ached. She wanted more than a kiss. More than his hand slowly grazing up and down her back.
Trailing her fingers over his pecs, she raked her nails over his hard abs, down to the edge of his T-shirt and immediately under to feel his naked flesh. It was pure bliss. He was hot and hard, smooth and strong. She couldn't figure out why feeling his body under her fingertips was making her so thirsty for him to take her body and make her his, but it was.
This was not like her.
She pulled back, panting and looking in his eyes. Liquid heat seeped from between her legs. She knew she was more turned on by that kiss than she'd been by anything in her life. Her body led her. It told her what it wanted and that was him.
“Come on,” he said, not waiting for her to order him to get naked. He lifted her and put her on her feet before grabbing her by the hand and guiding her up the stairs. “You've had too much happen in one day. I won't be responsible for you making any hasty decisions when it comes to us.”
“What?”
He glanced down at her with a wicked glint in his eyes. “It means, that when we get naked, it will be because you want it more than anything else. Not because you're searching for something to help you cope with the stress of the day.”
Well, shit. She hadn't given the stresses of the day a single thought when his tongue had been busy making her rub herself on him like a wild animal.
Tomorrow would be better. She'd get her shit together and maybe not have sex constantly on her mind. Maybe, with luck, she might get to know more about him and not picture him naked. Good luck with that one.
“What room are you staying in?”
She felt her face heat as he glanced at her. “Um, I was just checking out your room and put my bag down in there,” she stuttered. Man, if that didn't scream stalker, she didn't know what did.
The grin on his face did nothing to pacify her nerves. “You can stay in my room if you want to.”
“Well, um, uh, no,” she growled in a huff. “I mean, I'd be happy to stay in any of the other rooms as long as I can get my stuff.”
He nodded and headed down the hall, away from her bedroom. “I think you'll like this room.”
She rushed to his bedroom to get her bag. Fuck! She'd forgotten the T-shirt on the bed. She shoved it in her overnight duffle in a panic and ran out to meet him inside the room four doors down.
That night, she barely slept, her body begging for relief and more of Ker's touch. She dreamed of cute dragon babies and lots of hate and fear. She'd grown up having nightmares, but none this real. None this scary.