Chapter Nine

 

 

“You could’ve told me he can drink like Captain Jack Sparrow and dance like he’s got rocket fuel in his boots.” Elle drank down her umpteenth shot of tequila and sucked the juice from the lime wedge Junior put in her hand before adding, “At this rate, I’m gonna be really, seriously drunk, have blisters on my feet, and lose a bet… and ya’ know how bad I hate to lose a bet.”

“Girl, I hear ya’,” Junior yelled over the music. “Somethin’ about bein’ the Universe’s Chosen Warriors makes ‘em bigger and badder with the tolerance of an entire clan of Irishmen. Dragons are the damned Energizer Bunnies of the Supernatural world – they keep goin’ and goin’ and goin…”

Junior’s words trailed off as Elle downed an entire glass of water while watching Gage lead a line of swooning women in the Cotton-Eyed Joe. Forcing herself to stay put, holding her snarling green-eyed monster at bay, she was utterly captivated by his grace and fluidity. It was beguiling that someone of his size and stature could float on air.

Mesmerized by a single bead of sweat that trailed down the side of his amazingly handsome face, danced across his razor-sharp jawline, and dipped under his chin, her heart skipped a beat when it disappeared down the open collar of his shirt. Erotically enticing images filled her mind. Her body shook with need. Her Rain Bird’s demanding caw shook the confines of her mind.

Unable to stand still, her body and soul demanding she go to him, the heel of her boot struck the slick, polished wood of the dancefloor at the precise moment that the upbeat tempo of Cotton Eye Joe changed to the slow sweeping rhythm of George Strait’s The Man In Love With You.

Gage’s eyes snapped to hers. Fire flashed in their fathomless, cerulean depths as he moved towards her. Walking straight into his arms, the feel of his corded muscles wrapping her in a warm cocoon of feelings and emotions she dared not dissect, Elle let out the breath she hadn’t known she was holding and laid her head upon his chest.

Low and steady, the powerfully reassuring beat of his heart sped and then slowed, falling in sync with hers as their bodies swayed to the ebb and flow of the music. The slow burn of their connection simmered and sizzled, setting her body alight.

Unwilling to leave the haven of his arms even as the song changed and the crowd around them dwindled, Elle reveled in the undeniable feeling that she was exactly where she was meant to be. Raising her head, she looked up to find Gage gazing down at her.

Shivering as his right hand moved from the small of her back, across her ribs, and over her shoulder, the breath froze in her lungs when the tip of his index finger skimmed her cheek, teasing the sensitive skin on the side of her neck. Goosebumps danced up her spine and down her arms as he kissed the tip of her nose and murmured, “Wanna get outta here?”

Unable to speak, hardly able to breathe, she nodded with wide eyes before being rewarded with a tender kiss on her cheek as he whispered, “Thank the Heavens.”

With his left arm just about her waist, Gage’s fingers slid just under the waistband of her jeans as he turned her around and pulled her close to his side. Arm-in-arm with the man who despite her reservations and fears was weaving his way into her heart, her cheeks heated when Junior raised a single eyebrow and teased, “Let me guess, y’all are outta here?”

Instantly feeling like a jerk for deserting her old friend, Elle reluctantly pulled away from Gage and laid her hands atop Junior’s. “No way. Well… yes, we were, but… I mean...” Suddenly tongue-tied, feeling like she’d been caught with her hands in the cookie jar, she stuttered and stammered, “It’s just that… No, we’re gonna… I don’t wanna…”

“Stop. Oh, my Lordy, please stop. I haven’t seen you this twisted up since two boys asked you to the Homecoming Dance and you said yes to both and I had to get you out of it.” Placing his free hand atop both of hers, he glanced up at Gage, grinned and winked, before continuing, “Now, as much as I like to watch you tryin’ to dig out of a hole of your own makin’, I’m gonna give you a break and tell ya’ to get the hell outta here.”

Leaning forward, he kissed her on the cheek and whispered, “Did ya’ really think I didn’t know?”

Snapping her head away from his, Elle looked him right in the eye, shocked to see the truth of his words shining like a beacon on a dark stormy night. “How did you…? Did you set this up because…?” Doing a one-eighty so fast the room was little more than a blur, she stepped up to Gage, laid her clenched fists on his chest and glared, “This was your doing, wasn’t it?” 

With a satisfied smile and a twinkle in his eye, he nodded, “Yup, and I’d do it again.” Wrapping his arm around her waist at the same time that he looked over his shoulder, Gage announced, “Thanks, Jun. Catch ya’ tomorrow.”

“Yeah, I’ll wait for the smoke signals.”

Opening her mouth to respond to her friend’s snickered response, Elle found her feet lifted off the floor, Gage’s arm under her knees and the other across her back as she was whisked out of the Cadillac and into the cool evening breeze. Snapping out of her surprised stupor as soon as the sole of her boots hit the asphalt, she immediately launched into a tirade.

“What the hell’s wrong with you? Are you some kind of Neanderthal? Are Dragons always this rude? You had no right to…”

Cut off without a warning, Elle’s lips caught fire and her body melted into Gage’s as he kissed her as if she was the single most precious thing in the world. Softly caressing, tasting and touching from one corner to the other, she felt him holding back, going slow, making their first intimate contact meaningful…memorable.

Opening to the one she knew in the depths of her heart and soul the Great Creator had fashioned and breathed life into for her and only her, Elle felt as if she was transported to a higher plane, to a place where only she and her Dragon existed. The roar of the MacAllen Dragon, the elated serenade of the Burntwing Rain Bird’s song, and the soulful bay of the Thorntree Wolf joined in a life-affirming serenade of the possibilities and hopes that lay before she and Gage.

A clap of thunder and a bolt of lightning shook her to her very core as the fusion of their souls became a beautiful, unbreakable bond. His thoughts flowed through her mind as hers sought his. She felt what he felt, saw his memories playing on a continuous loop in the back of his mind, and more importantly, witnessed the intertwining of the mystical silver strands of her soul and the bronze threads of his irrevocably becoming one. Opening completely to her mate, Elle lost all control as his tongue slid along hers.

Climbing his body, wanting, needing to be one with him in body as they had just become in soul, her fingers dove into his thick, dark curls, holding him close as she deepened their kiss. The thick, corded muscles of his forearm slid under the cheeks of her ass and pulled her close.

Gasping into their kiss as the steel length of his denim-covered hard-on made contact with her center, the earth moved as Gage stalked farther into the darkness, his every movement driving her closer and closer to losing complete control. The feel of cool metal touched the heated skin of her back as he pulled the keys from his pocket and the distant beep of his truck sounded somewhere beyond her lust-soaked brain.

Groaning as he pulled his lips from hers and opened the vehicle door, Elle couldn’t look away from the sheer force of passion burning in the cerulean depths of his gorgeous eyes. From one heartbeat to the next, his round, black pupil stretched to the long elliptical shape of his Dragon then flashed the brilliant golden of his Wolf.

Finding herself on the cool leather of the passenger seat of his truck, she reached for Gage only to have her hands enveloped by his and pulled to rest against his chest. Leaning his forehead to hers, he smiled so sweetly Elle wondered if he was also part Angel as he sighed, “Lady, I want you more than the desert misses the rain, but this here,” he motioned between them with their joined hands, “this is forever and I gotta know we’re in it together all the way.”

“We are…I…”

Smile widening, he lifted their hands, raised his index finger, and laid it upon her lips. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m not lettin’ ya’ go. I’m just suggestin’ we slow down a tad and head back to my house for some late-night breakfast.” Winking, he added, “Trust me. You’re gonna need it and besides, we can get to know each other better.”

Wondering how she’d been blessed with the only man in the entire universe with a heart and a conscience, Elle bit the corner of her lip as she contemplated taking complete and unabashed advantage of him. Chuckling as the twinkle in his eye grew to a shiny gleam, Gage kissed the tip of her nose and snickered, “Darlin’, there’s nothin’ I’d like better.”

Laying his lips to hers, once again kissing her as if she were precious, Gage’s voice floated through her mind, “We’ve got a lifetime and then some and I’m damn sure gonna make every second count.” 

And he’s romantic, too. Heavens help me, I’m falling in love with a Dragon…