Chapter Twenty-Two
Sam heard someone calling to her from a great distance. She was cold all the way to her soul. Was she dead? If she was dead, why was she so cold? Heaven would be like a lovely balmy day, wouldn’t it? And hell would be hot.
While she pondered these questions, the voice grew more insistent. She wished whoever it was would be quiet so she could think.
There was something wrong. Something she had to do.
“Knights—Sam—drink.” The conversation was broken up, and she only caught the occasional word. She recognized the voice. It made her feel warm inside and drove back some of the chill.
She needed to get closer to the voice.
Something was running down her face. Tears? No, that wasn’t right. It was around her mouth. She managed to part her lips the slightest bit and something trickled in. It wasn’t salty like tears or the sea. This was rich, like chocolate and red wine. It was also warm.
It was difficult to swallow, but she managed a small one. That tiny action exhausted her. She felt as though she were encased in a block of ice that muffled all sound and made it almost impossible to think.
Where was she? What had happened?
“Sam—”
There was something about the voice that made her heart ache. The organ fluttered in her chest before resuming a slow, ponderous beat.
There was something she needed to do, wasn’t there? She’d been doing…something.
“—fucking drink.” The voice was more insistent now, but beneath it she heard a tinge of fear. “The Knights—”
More of the delicious liquid slipped down her throat. Whatever it was, it was the best thing she’d ever tasted. She parted her lips and tried to get more of it. Maybe this was heaven, this floating feeling coupled with whatever it was she was drinking. Could be worse.
The liquid settled in her belly, and a slow warmth began to expand outward, seeping into her blood and flowing toward her extremities. If she could bottle this stuff, she’d make a fortune, but she wasn’t sure she would ever want to share. Maybe with Ezra.
Ezra! Panic shot through her, and adrenaline surged through her veins. Aaron had found her, chased her, caught her. Where was he? And where was Ezra?
Sam bolted upright, gasping for breath, choking on whatever she was swallowing. The source was quickly cut off.
“I’ve got you, Sam.”
The deep male voice made every cell in her body sing. She knew it as well as she knew her own. “Ezra.” It was hard to speak, but she forced the word past her lips.
His lips grazed her temple. “You’re safe.”
She licked her lips and fought through the numbness and fatigue that permeated her. “Aaron?”
Ezra stilled, and his grip on her tightened significantly. “He’s no longer a problem.”
Which meant he was dead and they had an even larger problem. “Knights?”
He ran his hands up and down her arms, sharing his warmth with her. “Don’t you worry about that. There’s plenty of time to deal with the Knights.”
She wasn’t sure she liked the sound of that. She had to make Ezra see reason. Before she could form her next thought, the heat of a thousand suns blasted through her. Her entire body jerked, no longer under her control. Her back arched, and she cried out.
Ezra swore. “Stay with me. It won’t last long.”
Any longer than one second was too long. Sweat seeped from her pores. Pure agony shot through her limbs. Her organs felt as though they were being roasted over an open flame.
She had died and was in hell. There was no other explanation.
“Go,” she urged Ezra. She didn’t want him here with her, didn’t want him hurt. Every inch of her skin hurt. “Save—” She cried as the pain became unbearable. “Save yourself.”
Maybe Ezra wasn’t even here. Maybe he was nothing more than a figment of her imagination, brought on by the pain and longing enveloping her.
“You’re safe,” he crooned. “We both are.”
She didn’t believe him, not with her entire body being tortured. As quickly as it began, it subsided, leaving a rush of coolness in its wake.
Panting hard and fast, almost hyperventilating, she forced herself to take slow, deep breaths.
“I’m so sorry.” Ezra lifted her onto his lap and rocked her. “I’m so damn sorry. I should have been here. It’s my fault Dexter hurt you.”
She was confused, her thoughts jumbled. It was her fault Aaron had found her. “Not your fault.” Sam didn’t want Ezra taking the blame on himself. “Went down to the dock to watch for you.”
She licked her lips and tasted salt from the sea and the amazing drink Ezra had given her. Energy zinged through her veins. She was getting stronger with each passing second.
“I should have warned you to stay inside.” Ezra seemed determined to take this on himself. She wasn’t having it.
“I’m a grown woman, and I should have known better.” She’d known the Knights would have someone searching for her or her body. If not Aaron, then someone else. “When I saw the boat, I thought it might be you.”
Ezra heaved a huge sigh and buried his face against her hair. The curls were wild, damp, and stiff from the salt. She patted his chest, wanting to reassure him. She shifted position slightly, and something rolled along the top of the comforter covering her. She saw the flash of blue and grabbed whatever it was before it fell onto the floor.
It felt warm in her hand. She uncurled her fingers to see what it was and was shocked. It was the size of a dime, the blue impossibly deep. “Is this…is this a sapphire?” She turned her head to look up at Ezra. He rubbed his hand over his face and his cheeks grew red. Was he blushing?
“Ah, that’s a drakon tear.”
“A drakon tear,” she repeated, not quite sure she was hearing him correctly. “Like the ones in the necklace.”
“Those were rubies from a fire drakon.”
“You’re a water drakon,” she pointed out, still not quite able to wrap her head around what she was seeing.
He began to pick more of them off the comforter. She was shocked to see there were so many. Ezra held them all in his hand. He had a fortune in gems sitting there. When she started to add the one she held to the pile, he shook his head. “They’re yours.”
“I don’t understand.” How could she understand anything with everything that had happened? “And what exactly is a drakon tear?” She thought she knew but wanted to be sure.
“Put your hands together.” When she did as he asked, he poured the mound of perfect gems into her palms. “Drakons rarely ever shed a tear.” He closed her hands over the stash of valuable stones. “They only do so in times of great sorrow.”
She turned her hands over, letting the gems fall onto her lap. She didn’t like the idea of Ezra hurting in such a deep and profound way. “I’m sorry you were hurt.”
He shook his head and cupped her face between his big hands. “I was hurt because I thought you were drying. You can never do that again.” His big body shuddered. “Promise me that will never happen again.”
She wanted to. But the fact of the matter was she was human with a limited lifespan. “I’ll live as long as I can.” It was the best she could promise him. “But I’m human, and you’re not.” That was putting it mildly. Ezra was practically immortal.
He pressed his lips against hers, driving out the last echo of the cold and pain she’d endured, replacing it with pure pleasure. They were both alive, both safe. It was more than she’d hoped for.
He slipped his tongue into her mouth and stole her breath away. Not that she minded. He was warm and gentle and made her toes curl. As much as she wanted to continue, there were things that needed to be dealt with.
She reluctantly sat back, and her gaze fell onto the perfect sapphires glittering on her lap. They were a tangible sign Ezra had deep feelings for her. He might not have said it directly, but if drakon tears were rare, then maybe he loved her. She knew she loved him and had told him so. Maybe this was his way of telling her he felt the same. And maybe she was grasping at straws.
“What happened with Aaron?” She had to know.
Ezra’s gaze grew shuttered and remote. “I took care of it.”
“Where’s his body?” The world she now lived in was a violent one. If she hoped to have a relationship with Ezra, she had to accept that. The Knights and the drakons were at war.
“On the beach.”
“We need to get rid of it. And all the evidence.” She’d never thought she’d hear herself utter such words, had always been a law-abiding citizen. The normal world had no idea there were creatures like Ezra, or that there was a powerful, secret society hunting him and his kind. The rules of human civilization didn’t apply to this situation.
“The dagger.” She’d forgotten all about it.
“What dagger?” Ezra trailed his fingertips over her bare shoulder and down her arms, leaving goose bumps on her skin in his wake.
“The one from your desk. The Spanish one. I couldn’t find the rifle. I stabbed Aaron with it. It has to be on the beach. It might be lost.”
“I don’t care about the dagger, only that you’re safe.” He kissed her forehead, cheekbones, and lips.
And that was something else that didn’t make sense. She stared down at her palm, the one she’d caught herself with when she’d fallen, the one that had been scraped and bleeding. There was nothing but smooth skin.
She raised her hand. “How is this possible?” She wasn’t imagining things. She’d hurt her hand and her knees and twisted her ankle. She’d been bruised where Aaron had struck her jaw. Now, she didn’t feel any pain at all. Just the opposite. She felt amazingly good. “What did you do?”
Ezra’s brows lowered and his lips thinned. “I did what I had to do.”
There was nothing that could heal wounds this quickly, no miracle drug to not only heal her injuries but energize her as well. She remembered the taste of the delicious liquid in her mouth. Her fingers flew to her lips. She’d thought it medicine, and in a way, she supposed it was. Just not the kind you could get a prescription for or buy from the drugstore.
“Drakon blood,” she whispered. That had to be the source of the heat that had roasted her from the inside out before healing her. It was the reason the Knights hunted his kind. What had he done?
…
Ezra gave a single nod, not willing to lie to Sam. He’d done what he’d thought best and wouldn’t change his decision if he had it to do again. “The hypothermia was making your heartbeat erratic.”
Sam nodded. He wished he knew what she was thinking, if she was angry with him or okay with what he’d done. “I see.”
“I’m not sorry.” How could he be when he had Sam alive and well in his arms. “It was the best way to save your life. I couldn’t take you to a hospital, could I? Not with the Knights running around on the mainland.”
She continued to stare at him with her vibrant green eyes. When she licked her lips, his cock stirred. Now that she was out of danger, he was very aware of both of them being naked in his bed. They were both alive, and it was natural to want to celebrate that fact in the most natural way. He wasn’t sure she’d be amenable to his suggestion right now. Best to keep it to himself.
“Thank you for taking care of me.”
He waited for the “but” he was sure would follow. When she said nothing else, he prompted her, “But?”
“I’m sorry you had to go to such extreme measures. That’s my fault for allowing Aaron to see me.”
“Bullshit.” He lifted her so she was facing him. Sapphires spilled everywhere, some of them falling to the floor. He didn’t care. All he cared about was Sam. “Dexter would have checked out the island even if he hadn’t seen you. At least you saw him coming and he didn’t take you unaware.” He shuddered to think of what might have happened if she hadn’t been able to run, to buy enough time for him to get here.
His cock was throbbing now, wanting inside her warmth. All he had to do was lean forward and his chest would be brushing her breasts. With her straddling him, he could easily lift her and slide his shaft inside her.
She placed her hand on his chest, looking sad and hurt. Some of his arousal died. “I’m sorry you had to give me your blood.”
Didn’t that just make him feel like crap. Did the idea of having his blood inside her upset her that much? “You needed it.” He couldn’t be sorry he’d done it. He was just sorry about her reaction.
“I don’t want to be like them.” Her whispered confession confused him.
“Like who?”
“The Knights.” She slid her hands up his biceps and over his shoulders. “They want you for your blood, the healing ability. They want you for wealth and power.” She picked up one of the sapphires and held it between them. “I don’t want you to think I’m like them. I don’t want anything from you. I just want you safe and happy.”
He palmed her shoulders and lightly shook her. “You make me happy. Your safety makes me happy.” He released her and closed her palm around the sapphire she held. “These belong to you. I belong to you.”
She flung herself against his chest, clung to his neck, and whispered the words he’d wanted to hear again since she’d first said them, mostly to make sure he hadn’t hallucinated them. “I love you.”
“You are mine.” He tunneled his fingers into her curls. “Mine to protect and keep.” A drakon always protected what was his. “You are my treasure.” He stared into her eyes, wanting her to understand how much she meant to him.
“Oh, Ezra.” She sighed and then kissed him.
Elation washed over him in waves. Sam was safe, she was healthy, and she wasn’t mad at him for feeding her his blood. Drakon blood was powerful, and not everyone reacted well to it. There was always pain, always a price to be paid for accelerated healing. Sometimes it was too much for a human body to bear, and the person died. But the benefits outweighed the risks, especially in this case where Sam’s life had been in danger.
There were many things that needed to be done, the least of which was getting rid of Dexter’s body and the boat he’d arrived in. He also had to check in with his brothers and the crew of the Easton. The Knights were still out there. That hadn’t changed.
But it could all wait while he kissed Sam and strengthened the physical and emotional bonds between them. He took his time to map every crevice of her mouth. She’d almost died, could have been lost to him.
Inside him, his dragon roared. No one would take Sam from him. He’d lay waste to the world if he had to.
He suddenly understood his brothers a lot better, especially Tarrant, who after centuries of hiding and staying out of the Knight’s way, was now taking the fight to the Knights. The group had gotten bloated on its own power as the drakons kept to themselves and tried to evade the greedy bastards. That time was at an end.
He held the world in his arms. Sam was the sweetness he’d been missing for so many years. She filled a void inside him, one he hadn’t realized was there until she’d come into his life. She was passion and love and friendship all rolled into one sexy package.
Since her safety came before all else, even his need for her, he eased her away. It pained him to do so, but it was necessary. “I have to take care of things.” There was a dead body in the small cove and a strange boat tied up at his dock.
“I can help.” She started to climb off his lap, but he clamped his hands around her waist and held her in place.
“Absolutely not.” He was putting his foot down about this. She didn’t need to deal with Dexter’s body. It was better if she wasn’t reminded how easily he could take a life. If the man had been an innocent, his death would prey on Ezra’s conscience, but he’d been a Knight. Ezra wouldn’t give him another thought once he’d gotten rid of the body.
Sam frowned. “I am going with you. Either I’m part of your life, or I’m not. I’m not part of your collection. You can’t just put me on a shelf and tell me to stay there.”
He’d known she was going to be trouble. She was a strong, independent woman. And while he admired those qualities, at times he wished she was a little less so.
“You don’t have any clothes to wear.” Her jeans were soaking wet in a pile on the floor.
“That’s okay.” She climbed out of bed and hurried to his closet. He watched, totally bemused and charmed as she pulled out a thick cotton sweater and dragged it over her head. He hated that she covered her delectable body, but it was probably for the best.
He shoved aside the comforter and stood. Sam’s gaze widened as her eyes focused on his arousal.
“You’re going to need more than a sweater,” he informed her.
“There are sweatpants in the dryer.” She took a step toward him and pointed a finger at his erection. “Is that going to be a problem?”
He growled at her playful teasing. “I can manage until you can take care of it later.”
Sam started toward the door but turned back and stepped into his arms. “Thank you.”
He banded his arms around her and lifted her right off her feet so he could hold her against his chest. “You’re everything to me.”
She stroked his jaw and kissed his cheek. “I’m starting to understand that.” He hoped she was, because neither of their lives would ever be the same again. She patted his chest. “Put me down.”
He didn’t want to. He wanted to carry her around with him for the next century or so until he recovered from seeing her near lifeless body on the beach with Dexter standing over her. If there was any way he thought he could convince her to let him keep her glued to his side, he’d try.
He forced himself to set her back on her feet. Sam was going to complicate his life, change how he lived, how he did everything. He was looking forward to the challenge.
She darted toward the door. “I’ll be back. Get dressed. We have things to do.” She paused and gave his erection a pointed look. “Sooner we get them dealt with, the sooner I can take care of that.”
Her laughter trailed behind her. In spite of being aroused to the point of pain, Ezra was happy.