Kallore
Flexing his wings, he looked longingly to the sky.
Maybe someday soon he’d be able to take to the air once more, gliding through the clouds and past mountain peaks. He hadn’t realized how much he’d missed it, or just how confined he felt in the mostly underground base. Now though, being outside and in his dragon form it was an acute need that would have to be satisfied relatively shortly.
Maybe he could take Elin up with him. Dragon riders were not an unusual concept to him. In fact, they had been quite popular for a time, even when dragons were not a mystery from the past. Now, being the only dragon—Kyen didn’t count—awake, he couldn’t think of a better possible way to impress Elin.
For now though, it was time to face her wrath over the way he’d left things when she stormed out of his quarters. He couldn’t stall any longer. Concentrating with his mind, he made the push that sent him rocketing back into his human body. Moments later he’d shrunk in size and all the carmine-red scales had disappeared into his body, leaving him with nothing but human flesh and muscle.
Elin looked well, for what had just occurred. She was wearing an army-issue sweatshirt and pants, clumped oddly because of the equipment harness she’d donned at one point to help bring up more weapons to fight off the Outsider. Reaching up without thinking, he pushed back a few strands of butterscotch hair, tucking it just behind her ear. The smell of gunpowder and spent brass casings tickled his nose, but it didn’t bother him. She was alive and vibrant, as beautiful as he’d ever remembered her.
Her little upturned nose wrinkled slightly as his fingers touched her, but she didn’t shy away, her soft, round face barely even tightening. Either she had her emotions locked down, or she wasn’t furious with him.
“I’m sorry.”
She frowned, her gently curved eyebrows coming together as she looked up at him. “Sorry? Sorry for what? Saving our lives? Saving my life?”
He looked away, at the bodies of the guards. “I couldn’t save everyone.” And there it was again. His inability to keep everyone safe, rearing its ugly head. “It was only luck that I was able to save you.”
“Luck?” Elin pushed away from where she’d been starting to lean into his side. “Luck? You think it was luck? Wow, I knew you were shortsighted, but this is taking it to a whole new level!”
It was Kal’s turn to look around in confusion. “Um, what?”
“I heard you. What you said to the Outsider. The power you summoned, the way you kept coming back. I know what spurred it. You made that clear to everyone when you declared that I was yours, and that it couldn’t have me.”
Kallore turned away. He hadn’t been sure where that had come from, though it was certainly the truth. It wasn’t like him to proclaim it in the middle of a fight, however, but that’s just what he’d done.
“I…”
“You saved us, Kal. All of us. There was nothing you could have done for them. But you put yourself between everyone else and harm’s way. You had part of your lifeforce sucked out of you. Twice. And yet you still got back up and kicked some major ass.” She winked. “Mega-sexy, by the way.”
He shook his head. “How can you be like this right now?”
She stared at him. “Kallore, you idiot, you just proclaimed your love for me to everyone. I’m basking in that for a bit before I have to go deal with the sad parts and grieve for my men who are lost. It’s this moment that’s going to help get me through all of it.”
“Oh.”
“Exactly. ‘Oh.’ Sometimes, for such a smart guy, you’re a bit of a dope.”
“True.”
Linny came up to them, saluting smartly. “Ma’am, just wanted to let you know that we’ve got this under control now. The base is alert, and reinforcements are on their way, arriving within the hour. Apparently, according to General Knefferson himself, this base is about to see a growth spurt.”
“Thank you, Linny.”
He carefully stood apart while his mate talked to her aide, giving out some specific orders to ensure things were handled the way she wanted.
“Very good, Colonel. I’ll see it done.”
“I know you will, Linny. If anything happens, sound the alarm. Kal will be there.”
An elbow in the side from Elin belatedly clued him in that the two women were waiting for a response from him.
“Yeah. What she said.”
Elin rolled her eyes while Linny tried not to laugh. She mostly succeeded, but Elin took pity on her and dismissed her to make things easier.
“And where was your mind just then?” she teased.
“You said I saved you.”
“Uh, yes, I did say that. Because you did.” Elin looked up at him. “Why do I get the feeling that this is more important to you than I think it is?”
He looked around. There were a handful of people within earshot. Tugging on her arm, he pulled Elin after him, heading for the door that led back down into the base itself.
“I never told you why I put myself into the deep sleep, did I?”
She shook her head. “No. I didn’t realize there was a reason.”
He nodded, steeling himself, preparing to tell the story of Prill to someone other than his parents for the first time ever. He was uncomfortable. The idea of revisiting those feelings made him feel sick, but the idea that his mate might reject him when she found out what had happened scared him more than he would ever admit to anyone. Even her.
“I took my sister to the beach one day,” he said, starting off the story. There was no turning back now. He was as committed to telling it as he was to Elin.
Completely.
***
“Kal, that’s so terrible. I’m so sorry!” she threw her arms around him, pinning him between her and the wall outside her quarters. “I had no idea.”
His arms came up slowly, but they wrapped around her in the end, holding her tight. Dazed, he realize that she wasn’t getting rid of him. That instead of being mad, or scared that he wasn’t going to be able to do a good job of protecting her, Elin was trying to comfort him. To make him feel better. Wasn’t he supposed to be doing that to her? Reassuring her that he could be a good mate, that he could keep her safe? He told her as much.
“Wow, you are incredibly dense sometimes,” she said, eyes closed, head shaking back and forth. “Have you already forgotten what you just did? The demonstration of how far you will go to protect me, in front of everyone, including our enemy?”
He felt his cheeks warm, hoping they weren’t turning pink at all. “No, I haven’t forgotten. I just don’t know if it’s enough.”
“Kal. Oh my mighty Kal.” Elin took his hand and lifted it to her face, nuzzling it gently with her cheek. “I’m not scared that you won’t protect me. I never was. Ever since you tossed the drunk guy out on his ass with one hand, I’ve felt perfectly safe around you.”
“You have?”
She nodded. “You can’t protect me from this fight though. I’m not going to stay home and let everyone else do the heavy lifting. If it comes to it, I’ll be there on the front lines with you.” She paused. “Okay, maybe not quite with you—I don’t want to get squished by a dragon paw accidentally. But metaphorically I’ll be right there in the same image if you picture it in your mind.”
“Yeah. I got that,” he said dryly, earning him a smile. “I’m sorry I didn’t say anything earlier. That I didn’t fight harder to keep you from leaving. And for almost turning you into a hot dog.” He looked away.
“It’s okay, Kal. These things happen. We hit a roadblock, that’s all. I think it’s safe to say you smashed right through it though.”
She was forgiving him. Just like that, as if nothing had ever gone sour between them just an hour or so earlier. It was amazing. He didn’t deserve this woman. “I don’t think I’m worthy of you.”
Her face went slack with surprise. “Are you serious? You just went beast mode on that thing back there all in my name. That was the most impressive display of devotion I’ve ever seen!”
Kal started to deny it, but she reached up and clamped her hand over his mouth, silencing him. “That wasn’t an invitation to deny what I said, okay?”
He nodded, starting to feel like they were dancing around something, saying it without completely saying it. He hated that feeling, hated not addressing something straightforward. So he decided to just put it out there.
“I love you.” The words were slightly muffled by her hand, but there was no doubt she understood him completely.
Elin’s mouth parted and she sucked in a stunned breath. “Kal…”
“That was too abrupt, wasn’t it?” He started to backtrack. “I just thought that we…after the…” he pointed toward the surface. “And then how I…with the fire, and the thing, you said…” He trailed off eventually, not sure what else to say. Had he even said anything there?
“You know. Not every time a girl gasps is a bad thing.” Elin grinned. “Have a little more patience with me. You caught me off guard. I didn’t actually expect you to say that.”
“Oh. Surprise?” He smiled weakly.
“I love surprises.”
Without warning Elin launched herself at him. His reflexes snapped into action and he grabbed her out of midair, spinning around to help kill her momentum.
“I love you too,” she told him, speaking with pure confidence.
Then he was buried under the onslaught of her kisses, too preoccupied with her mouth’s hungry, seeking touch to worry about anything else. His hand fumbled for the door but eventually he got it open, ducking under the archway so that he didn’t slam her head as they moved inside.
Clothes went everywhere in a blizzard of materials as they alternated stripping each other, fumbling for clasps, buttons, and zippers in a dizzying frenzy. Elin was still struggling with her socks when he picked her up and casually tossed her onto the bed. He followed up, pushing between her legs and pinning her down with his body, covering her neck and chest with his lips.
The pace slowed as they sank into each other’s embrace, exploring one another completely. By the time he finally pushed inside her, they were both on the edge, gasping from the excitement brought simply from touches of fingers and mouths. It was an intense, electric experience, and he had to breathe deeply for several minutes to recover his composure before he could move inside her, otherwise he would have lost all control right away.
Her body shifted and molded to his, and Kallore delighted in the press of her curves and flesh, running his hands up and down her body every chance he could, exploring her skin, inhaling her scent, and listening to her soft cries as they rocked back and forth together.
“Oh Kal,” she whispered as he dragged a single nail across her ribcage, making her gasp.
“I love you.”