“Best laid plans of dragons and men…” Banning took liberties with the Robert Burns quote as he held the woman he now knew as Mimi close to his chest. Scaring her not once, but twice, had never been part of his plan. Neither had been being seen, but he’d achieved both in a matter of minutes.
What a cockup, Banning, my boy…
Lifting her into his arms and following the intoxicatingly soft aroma of warm vanilla and fresh picked peaches, the Guardsman was drawn to her room like a moth to a flame. Her scent calmed both man and beast, restoring not only their faith in the power of the Universe, but also their belief in Fate and Destiny. Gently laying her in the center of the bed and carefully taking off her shoes, the dragon made his mate as comfortable as possible before covering her with a fluffy, flowered coverlet.
Sure, his father and the Elders had told him how life-altering finding his mate would be, but Banning had been young, impetuous, and quite frankly, a right foul git. His giant ego, fed by his own aspirations of glory, had not only led to his downfall, but that of his Clan. He had failed those who meant the most to him, but he wouldn’t fail Myanna.
“I may not be able to spend eternity by your side, but I will do everything in my power, use every drop of magic I possess, give my very life, to save your mother and make sure you find happiness, bualadh mo chroí.”
“Banning?” Myanna’s whisper, his name on her lips, reached right into his chest, wrapped lovingly around his heart, and marked both man and dragon as her own.
Following the brilliant white glow of the mating bond anchoring his soul to hers, the Guardsman let his mind join with his mate’s, feeling the missing part of his very being slip into place like two perfectly cut pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. Keeping to the shadows, watching her dreams unfold, Banning was pleasantly surprised to find Myanna fantasizing about him, the setting almost identical to a ball thrown in the dragon’s honor by his parents mere days before the battle with the witches.
Giving in to the need to be more than a spectator, the Guardsman joined with Mimi’s vision of him, his heart beating so loudly it nearly drowned out the music of the stringed quartet…
Looking into her hazel eyes, so full of adoration and trust, Banning was lost to the visions of a future he would only ever experience in a fantasy world of their own making. Following the progression of her dream, one he could tell she’d relived time and time again, the Guardsman rejoiced in the sound of their hearts beating as one. His dragon roared in his head, plumes of smoke and flames of excitement filling his mind’s eye.
“Aye, Gerallt, mo Dragon. Our mate is even more spectacular in person.” The Guardsman’s words drifted to the Dragon King with whom he shared his soul. “Enjoy her company while it lasts, for you know we cannot claim her. Our Myanna deserves all the happiness in the world and we shall not stop her from having it.”
Shoving all thoughts of anything but his mate in his arms and making the most of the time that he had with her, Banning danced his lovely mate onto the terrace and lifted her into his arms.
“Where are you taking me, mo ghrá?” She chuckled, looking up at him through her long, dark lashes, the flush of excitement coloring the apples of her cheeks as she spoke the language of his kin.
“Somewhere away from prying eyes, mo stór,” he quickly answered, using his preternatural speed to whisk his Beloved to the farthest corner of the garden where the violet bougainvillea grew tall upon their trellises.
The second he knew they were hidden, Banning slipped his arm from under Myanna’s legs, her body sliding against his as he memorized the seductive curves of her oh-so feminine form. Pulling her tightly to his chest, the Guardsman’s lips immediately found hers, the molten desire he’d just barely kept at bay bursting forth, fueling the fire of their embrace.
Demanding entrance, Banning growled, his hands sliding down the tight bodice of her evergreen gown as Myanna opened not only her lips, but her heart and soul to him. Fisting the thick silk of her skirt and the mass of petticoats, the Guardsman sought to touch all of his mate, mark her with his scent, make her his for evermore.
Pulling his lips from hers, he smiled as she moaned at the loss, the need to taste every inch of exposed skin driving his every thought and action. His lips danced down the gloriously soft column of her neck and his teeth nipped at the top of her shoulder, every caress moving him closer to his true destination.
Following the glittering jewels adorning her neckline with his teeth and tongue, Banning growled low in his throat, his knees nearly buckling and his cock straining against the brass buttons of his fly as his lips landed upon the bounty of her breasts being offered up so perfectly by her form-fitting corset and revealing cut of her dress. Her fingers dove into his hair, fisting the long, wild curls and pulling tighter the more attention he paid to her décolletage.
“Oh, yes, my love,” she moaned, her body, although hidden underneath her clothing, rocking against his, coming together with him, the sensation so heady Banning felt as if he was flying without his wings.
Stepping back, mesmerized by Myanna’s kiss-swollen lips and the love shining in the depths of her heavily-lidded eyes, Banning wasted no time stripping out of his long waistcoat, throwing it onto the ground, and placing his Beloved tenderly upon the jacket. Following her, unable to be anywhere but by her side, the Guardsman’s lips immediately found hers, picking up where they’d left off.
Arousal thickened his blood, growing by leaps and bounds every time their tongues met in a dance of fire and fury promising the ecstasy only true mates can ever experience. Myanna whimpered, her nails biting into his shoulders as he delved farther into her, fanning the flames of desire.
The perfume of the flowers all around them paled in comparison to the scent of his mate’s arousal. Grabbing the hem of her skirts, Banning’s hand skimmed the creamy flesh of her legs, the lace of her knickers tickling the palm of his hand as he teased the trembling flesh of her thighs.
Slipping through the open fabric at her center, the tips of his fingers touched her tight curls, wet with her arousal. No longer able to contain himself, Banning’s thumb and forefinger massaged her throbbing clit as Myanna’s hips pushed against his hand, trying to force him where she needed him most.
Tearing her lips from his, she gasped, “Please, Banning…please. Love me, make me yours forever more.”
Unable to resist her pleas, wanting to watch Myanna’s beautiful face as she reached her climax, Banning thrust his two middle fingers into her. The feel of her body stretching to accommodate his digits, the walls of her body massaging and flexing was deliciously maddening, the Guardsman’s desire to make love to his mate overwhelming.
Pulling his fingers back until they almost fell from the haven of her body, Banning pushed back into her body, repeating the movement over and over as Myanna met his every drugging move with a passion he’d only before imagined. Bending the tip of his fingers in a come-hither motion, taunting the tender bundle of muscles he knew would drive her wild, the dragon smiled as his mate wailed his name, her nails raking down his back, ripping the woven cotton of his shirt.
Pushing her higher, the tide of her orgasm rising like the waves of a tsunami, Banning’s attention was pulled from his mate as a sharp, continuous alarm refused to be silenced. A sense of dread filled his being a split-second before the bubble of Myanna’s dream exploded.
Using his magic to conceal himself, Banning took a hasty step backward as Mimi shot up from bed, grabbed her phone from the bedside table, and screamed, “Oh my God, no!”
Racing out the door and down the hall, the invisible Guardsman followed his mate, her voice rising with every hurried step.
“LILLIAN!” she shrieked, crossing the threshold into her mother’s room then yelling into the phone, “Emergency services! My mother’s stopped breathing. We’re at 1016 Woodward Ave. Come now!”
Banning watched his mate climb onto the bed, preforming chest compressions on her mother as a gray-haired woman with kind eyes came running into the room, demanding, “What happened to the ventilator? Why is it off?”
“I don’t fucking know!” Mimi swore at the top of her lungs. “Just get it back on! She’s fucking dying!”
Pushing buttons on the machine the Guardsman had just figured out was breathing for Myanna’s mother, the woman now known as Lillian worked with a professional swiftness he had no doubt came from years of experience. Over and over his mate pushed her clenched hands against her mother’s chest, yelling, pleading, crying, and finally, begging that Robin breathe once again.
The sound of the front door flying open, presumably unlocked by Lillian, had Banning moving farther into the corner, shrouding himself in the shadows just before lowering his magic and redirecting it through the bond he shared with his mate into her mother. A man’s voice boomed, “Fayette Country EMTs.” The sounds of footsteps following his announcement like the beat of native drums.
Three large men burst onto the scene, one looking him right in the eye, his voice flowing through Banning’s mind, “Hello, Guardsman. Is the woman in the bed your mate? Why are you not healing her?”
The image of a large, brown grizzly bear filled Banning’s mind as the fresh scent of pine filled his senses, overpowering the lingering odor of illness and death. “No, she is my mate’s mother and although I am here to help, neither my mate nor her family can know of my existence.”
The smooth slide of the bear moving past the shields in Banning’s mind felt comforting, reassuring, nothing like the intrusion the dragon expected. Watching as the shifter took over for Myanna, the Guardsman listened to the man’s words.
“Name’s Beau. I can see the dark stain on your soul and the pain in your heart. The memories of your years of torment hang around your neck like a stone. I think our Healer can help you. She has helped others. We will come to you at the next Blood Moon.”
And with that, Banning felt his connection to Beau sever as the Guardsman continued to push all the healing magic within himself and his dragon into Robin. Looking across the room, he found Mimi standing just behind another of the EMTs, tears streaming down her face as she watched them try to revive her mother.
Pain slashed at the Guardsman’s heart. His dragon roared in agony. Just as he learned so very many years ago, Banning was once again reminded of how life can change in the blink of an eye. Mere minutes ago, he and his Beloved were together in a dream world of their own making, so full of love, life, and hope. Now, there was only despair and sadness.
Movement to his left drew Banning’s gaze. Turning toward the adjacent corner of the room, he saw the spirit of Robin Havers floating above the mayhem, smiling down at her daughter, love and pride filling her expression.
“I see you there, Banning MacCallion,” her voiced sounded in his mind. “I have been waiting for you for a very long time.”
“How do you know me? Or of me?”
“The Goddess spoke to me when I was struck by the Virus. She said that my time was limited, but not to fear. She assured me that you would come for my Mimi, to be there when I could not and save her from the curse that was laid upon the women of our family many generations ago.”
“I am sure ye are mistaken, milady,” Banning contradicted, the accent of his homeland coming back with his rising trepidation. “I…”
“Trust an old lady in her last moments on earth,” Robin interrupted. “The Goddess was very specific. She spoke of your curse, of the answer you would receive from an unlikely source, and the future my daughter would have as the one created for you by the Universe.”
“But…”
“Noooooooo!” Myanna’s desperate wail cut through Banning’s words as she fell to her knees, crying out to the Heavens at the death of her mother. Never in all his years had the Guardsman felt the depth of anguish he experienced in that moment. Not only was his mate suffering, but he was powerless to do anything but stand idly by and watch.
“My time has come, Banning. Take care of my Mimi, for she is my greatest treasure.”
Unable to speak, he watched as Robin’s spirit wrapped around her daughter one last time, giving Myanna the love and support that can only come from one’s mother. He heard the words of an old Irish lullaby his ma used to sing float through the air…
Angels are guarding and they watch o’er thee…
Tears wet his cheeks as the soul of Robin Havers silently ascended into the Heavens.