Chapter 13
As the first rays of sunlight fell upon Ava’s eyelids, a lazy smile came to her lips. A brawny arm anchored her body to the bed, the close contact a sensual wake-up call.
Turning to face Duncan, she touched and tousled his hair. He looked carefree and peaceful, far from the warrior she knew him to be—in, and out of, the bed.
She brushed the hair from his eyes and moved closer, running her tongue along his lips. His eyes flew open. His sensual smile warmed her inside. With her nullified sexual hiatus, she planned to eclipse her lonely memories with some worth remembering.
“Did you wake me up for round two?” His light-hearted tease made her smile.
“After last night, I don’t know if I’m capable.”
“Let’s find out.” Duncan kissed her, a slow and sweet sensation that she couldn’t resist. She giggled at the tickle of his stubble against her skin.
“Ummm . . . feel free to keep that up forever,” she said.
“I don’t know about forever. I may need to eat sometime.” Rising up on an elbow, he looked at her as though he would devour her whole. “And guess who’s on the menu.”
The sudden sensation of something slivering up her leg caused her to shriek and jump out of bed. A tattooed dragon curled around her thigh. With one quick glance at Duncan’s biceps, it became obvious where it came from. Where two dragons had been before, now only one remained.
“Get this off of me!” she screamed.
“Oh . . . hell no.” Duncan stood and wrapped a sheet around his waist, tying it loosely. “That may not be possible.”
“What do you mean it’s not possible? Get. It. Off!”
Ava swatted and scratched until her skin was red with the effort. The dragon remained firmly in place, taunting her with its continued presence.
“Take it back, Duncan.” She felt the blood in her face heat and knew her skin must be as red as a stop sign.
“Calm down, Ava, you’re only going to aggravate the beast.”
“I don’t give a crap if it’s aggravated. I’m aggravated, and I have a right to be. Explain to me how the hell this thing got on my body.” She struggled to catch her breath. Blood pounded in her ears. Fury burned in the pit of her stomach.
Duncan averted his gaze from hers and stared at a spot on the wall. Expelling a deep breath, he walked to the window and looked out as if reluctant to meet her gaze.
“It means that you are my one true mate.”
“What?” Her heart pounded double time. He couldn’t have just said what she’d thought she heard.
“Mated. Bonded. Bound together for eternity.” His guilty expression and refusal to meet her gaze spoke volumes.
“Like hell we are. I didn’t agree to this.” She wanted to rip the dragon from her skin.
Duncan reached for her, but she backed away, still trying to process the situation.
“Did you know this would happen?” She loved Duncan, but she had just gained her independence. Conflicting emotions battled inside her brain, causing her to wonder if it was possible for one’s head to explode.
“No. The last females of our species were killed during the War of the Realms. After a millennium without a mate, I’d given up hope.” The color of his face was several shades lighter than his usually burnished complexion. Rapid blinking, his wide eyes gave him away. He was as freaked out as she was.
“I love you, Ava. I know this is a shock, but this just shows we are meant to be together.” He moved closer and caressed her cheek with his large hand.
“You don’t understand,” she said. “I had no choice in this. I finally gained my independence, and now it’s been ripped away.”
“Being bonded isn’t a prison sentence. This will all work out.”
He gazed at her with hope in his eyes, and her heart softened. The bonding hadn’t been intentional on his part. Overwhelmed, confused, and a little scared, she needed to get away and sort things out.
“This is too much to handle right now. I need some time to process this on my own.”
Without a word, Duncan created a portal to the Goddess House and bowed his head. She walked in without looking back, hearing the words ‘I love you’ as the mist swirled around her.
~ ~ ~
“You mated yourself to a Celestial? Are you fucking insane?” Continuing his rant, Llion pulled a Guinness from the refrigerator and popped the cap with his teeth.
“You can’t trust Celestials. To them we’re wild animals—barely worth their consideration.” Llion shook his head, plopped down on the leather couch, and rubbed his tired eyes. “Friend, you’re in it deep this time.”
“Ava has done nothing wrong. I’m the one who fucked up.” How the hell he would go about this, he had no idea. Frustration welled inside him, threatening to bring his dragon to the surface. “I need to regain her trust.”
“You have a major problem there, my friend.” Llion downed his second Guinness in one gulp and slammed it on the table. “And as far as I’m concerned, you should leave her alone.”
“She’ll come around. She has no choice. We’re bound to each other.”
“Yeah, a fucking match made in heaven,” Llion retorted.
Tired of the conversation, Duncan turned away from his friend and walked to the balcony, gazing outside. He’d messed up big time, and he didn’t need Llion to rub it in his face.
He should have seen the signs: burning desire, a constant craving to be near her, and protective of her to the point of obsession. They were drawn to each other. He loved her and although confused with the situation, he was certain she loved him, too.
He wouldn’t be able to stay away from her for long. He had never been more in tune with another being. They were made to be together, but Ava needed some time to come to that conclusion on her own.
“I’ll give her some time and space. She’ll come to her to her senses,” he said.
“I wish you luck with that, my friend,” Llion grumbled.
“While you’re waiting, let’s find some demons and mess them up bad.”
“Not so fast. Let’s just injure one and see if we can track it to a portal. We need to go to the Dark Realm if we want answers. Once we know who we’re dealing with, we can form a plan of attack.”
~ ~ ~
“Nice tat.” Carman ran her hand along Ava’s arm, where the serpent now wrapped around her right bicep. “Real quality. Where did you get it?” With admiration in her eyes Carman continued to examine the dragon, much to Ava’s irritation.
“It’s not a tattoo.” She snapped, wrenching her arm away from Carman’s grasp.
“Aren’t we touchy today? If it’s not a tattoo, what the hell is it?”
“A real serpent. Apparently I’m bonded to Duncan—forever.”
“Holy shit.” Carman’s eyes grew wide as her hand flew to her mouth.
“Tell me about it.” Ava yanked out a chair and sat at the kitchen table, burying her hands in her hair. The serpent became restless and curled around her neck.
Duncan’s scent still clung to her skin. One whiff caused her heart to flutter, and the memory of their steamy lovemaking replayed in her mind.
“Unbelievable.” Her friend stared at her neck in amazement. “What are you going to do?”
“There’s nothing I can do. Duncan says it’s permanent.”
“No. I mean Duncan. What are you going to do about Duncan?”
“I don’t know. I love him, but being bound to someone for eternity is pretty damn scary.” Even as she spoke the words, Ava knew she couldn’t stay away from him for long. Her heart sank to her stomach, and guilt crept over her as she remembered the hurt in his eyes when she asked to leave.
“At least he’s hot. Is he good in bed?”
“Incredible.” Ava’s blood instantly warmed, and a river of heat swept over her skin.
“Okay, then. Bonding has some fringe benefits.” Carman shook her head. “What I’d give to be getting some on a regular basis.”
“I just got my independence. I don’t want to be bonded to anyone. I want to live as I choose.”
“Give it time, Ava. I’m sure everything will work out.”
Carman wrapped her arms around her shoulders. Comforted by her friend’s actions, Ava realized that for the first time in ages, she had friends who cared for her.
Between being mated to Duncan, trying to regain her powers, and Trayan’s interference, her nerves were a jumbled mess. Overwhelmed, tears formed in her eyes. She wiped them away before Carman noticed.
“Let’s go to the Hawg, grab a beer and a bite to eat.”
Carman took her by the hand, pulled her out of the chair, and flashed a knowing grin. “It’s always easier to solve the world’s problems from a barstool with an icy cold one in your hand.”
“Sounds like a good plan, but this time we take your car instead of walking.” She followed her friend out the door, determined to forget about her problems for a little while.
~ ~ ~
Duncan winced as razor-sharp scales pierced through his skin. Determined to end this confrontation right now, he allowed the dragon to take control.
The gargons and blood wraiths had caught him by surprise—a fact that infuriated him. Preoccupied with thoughts of Ava, he had let his guard down and allowed himself to be attacked.
While his non-human form was invisible to mankind, the demons could see him. Fire flared in his belly and seared the insides of his throat. Only one thing could relieve the agony.
Flames streamed from his mouth. White, orange, and red fire shot at the two gargons rushing toward him. Their sharp claws extended as they aimed for his eyes and throat. One claw punctured his eyelid, and he roared with pain, easily shaking the beast off his head and neck. It landed with a thud on the ground. Aiming another blast at the creature, he unfurled a steady stream of searing flames, incinerating it on the spot.
Within a matter of seconds, jagged claws swiped at the back of his neck. Unable to penetrate the scales, the other beast went for his eyes. With a flick of his long, powerful neck, he sent the other gargon sailing through air. He incinerated it with one blast. Ashes rained down on his head as he turned his attention toward the blood wraiths.
Wailing and shrieking, the two creatures retreated into the darkness with Duncan following in hot pursuit. He took flight, soaring above the darkened buildings, using his preternatural vision to track them. The wraiths launched over a six-foot fence, laced with barbed wire at the top, and landed in a junkyard.
Two enormous guard dogs charged them, snarling and snapping viciously. When they got within ten feet of the wraiths, they stopped as if hitting an invisible wall. They whimpered and bolted in the opposite direction. Duncan hovered above the spindly wraiths as they flew, inches from the ground, dodging rusted-out cars, old appliances, and mountains of tires. The creatures dove beneath a beat-up semi-truck and never reappeared. A multi-colored mist of swirling dust lit up the concrete, vanishing in a large whoosh as if being sucked into oblivion by a giant vacuum.
Bingo.
This was the break that he’d been waiting for. A passage that he hoped would take him to the Dark Realm. He landed next to the semi, using his dragon strength to shove the truck aside. Returning to his human form, he inhaled deeply as the razor-sharp scales retreated into his skin. The rush of power the dragon brought with it still surged in his muscles.
Certain that he’d found a portal to the Dark Realm, Duncan summoned Llion, and the massive were-lion appeared within seconds.
As he relayed the details, Llion knelt down on one knee and examined the blackened circle that had once been hidden by the massive truck.
“Can we reopen it?” The other guardian asked.
“Yes, it’s a risk, but if we act quickly before the magic holding the portal together dissipates, we should be able to enter it.”
“I’m willing to take that risk. When I find the bastard responsible for this invasion, I’ll run my blade up his ass and skewer him like a demon shish-kabob,” Llion said.
“Not if I get to him first.” Duncan drew his sword and pointed at the fresh ashes on the ground. Llion did the same.
When their blades crossed, blue bolts of energy shot from the metal and into the charred earth. Within seconds, the circular area sunk into the ground and the dirt swirled, forming a vortex of color.
Llion frowned, shot a questioning look at Duncan, and jumped in. Duncan followed, wondering what fate awaited them at the other end.