Chapter 18
Wynn woke from a light slumber to discover she was still tightly wrapped in strong male arms. A sizzling heat danced over her skin as Azh cocooned them in his flames.
“You broke the bed.” Azh’s voice rumbled in her ear, his fingers brushing through the loose strands of her hair.
Wynn tilted back her head to study her companion.
Her heart slammed against her ribs as she absorbed his impossible beauty.
At the moment, his eyes were a soft smoky gray, but during their hours of intense lovemaking they’d flashed with dazzling strikes of lightning.
As if a storm were raging through him as he brought her to the peaks of pleasure over and over.
That might explain why she’d barely noticed when the bed had splintered and buckled during their last intense bout of sex. Nothing mattered but the sensation of becoming one with the male who’d stormed his way into her heart.
“Me?” She smacked her open hand against his bare chest. It was as hard as steel. “You’re twice my size. How can it be my fault?”
“You were on top when it broke.”
She had been. And it had given her a whole new appreciation for riding a dragon. Glorious.
“It was your magic that lifted it off the floor,” she reminded him.
“Only because you had me tied to the mattress.”
“That’s your fault. I wanted you to stay still so I could have my fun.”
Strikes of lightning returned to his eyes. “You got me too excited. It’s a miracle the hotel didn’t collapse on our heads.”
She rubbed her palm over the silky-smooth skin, enjoying the blue-and-silver hints of his scales.
“I like when you’re too excited.”
He bent forward to brush his lips over her brow. “The feeling is entirely mutual.”
She snuggled closer. There was a comfort in being pressed close to his hard body.
It wasn’t lust. Or at least, it went beyond lust, she amended as his lips continued to nuzzle soft kisses over her face.
It was the absolute confidence that she’d found a safe harbor in a world that had always been filled with unpredictable chaos.
It was peace. As if being in Azh’s arms was fulfilling a glorious destiny she didn’t know was waiting for her.
“Tell me about being a dragon,” she murmured.
He pressed a lingering kiss against her lips before at last lifting his head to study her with a hint of amusement.
“What do you want to know?”
She studied his stunning features, abruptly acknowledging that she wanted to know everything.
Every moment of his long life until this moment.
His every thought and feeling. What made him happy, what made him sad, and his most cherished dreams. As if she could delve deep into his heart to discover his secrets.
Like a mate. A soul mate.
Dangerous, dangerous thoughts...
“Are you bored during your forced hibernation?”
He arched a brow, easily sensing she’d cowardly retreated from asking the questions that hovered on her lips. Questions that were treacherously intimate.
“Not really,” he finally said. “Dragons routinely choose to retreat from the world. Sometimes because we’ve been injured and need to heal and other times because we prefer a few centuries of peace.
Even when we lived in our homeland the histories reveal that we had personal lairs where we could disappear when we wanted time alone. ”
Wynn released a soft sigh. “A few centuries of peace in an isolated lair sounds perfect right now.”
“Agreed.” His gaze swept over her face, a hint of his beast flaring through the misty gray of his eyes. “As long as we’re together.”
An intoxicating heat brushed over her. Was the dragon reaching out to physically touch her? Wynn shivered, tempted to become lost in the sensuous pleasure that sizzled over her bare skin and warmed the blood flowing through her veins. Instead she distracted herself with more questions.
“What do you do with your time?”
“Personally or dragons in general?”
“Personally.”
His fingers trailed up and down the curve of her spine in a gentle caress.
“I spend most days in the library or keeping a watch on the humans and their evolving technology. Occasionally I spar with other dragons, although not enough to please my mother. She believes brute strength is the only measure of importance in a leader.”
She studied him intently, genuinely curious.
Despite the power of his dragon that thundered just below the surface, she’d discovered that Azh preferred to use his clever wits to overcome obstacles.
Any bully could push around a weaker adversary, but you couldn’t always depend on being the strongest creature in every fight.
It took brains to avoid the conflict in the first place.
“And you?” she asked.
“I believe that knowledge is power. I also believe that the future will belong to those who understand that trust and respect are mightier than fear. Dragons who are united in a common cause can’t be divided or broken.
The only ones who can defeat us are ourselves.
Something we have forgotten over the eons. ”
She smoothed her hands over his chest, relishing the hard muscles beneath her palms. She admired his preference for brain over brawn, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t appreciate his raw male power.
“Very lofty goals.”
“Dream big, right?” He paused, studying her with a steady intensity. “What are your dreams?”
“I just want my life to go back to normal.”
“And then?”
She pasted a stiff smile onto her lips. This wasn’t a conversation she wanted to have. Not when she was still melty from her cataclysmic climax.
“I don’t know. I’ve always been a live-in-the-moment kind of gal.”
“There must be something you hope for the future,” he insisted.
“To know who I am.” She tried to divert him. “Or I suppose, who I was before I woke on the banks of the Thames. I’m not sure I can ever be that person again, but it would be nice to know if I ever had any family or someone who was worried after I ended up in the hands of the murderous witches.”
“We’re going to figure that out, Wynn. And then—”
“No,” she interrupted.
He stilled, belatedly sensing her burst of unease. “Excuse me?”
“No talk of what happens after that,” she insisted.
“Because you’re a live-in-the-moment kind of gal?”
“Because once we destroy the evil magic, you’ll return to your hibernation and I’ll be returning to my normally scheduled program in this world.”
“Wynn.”
“No.” She sent him a warning glare. This was what she’d been trying to avoid. “We have to concentrate on the now, not the later.”
His nostrils flared and Wynn half expected to see smoke coming out as the dragon glared at her. It wasn’t used to being denied what it desired. But at last, Azh released a low growl of frustration.
“You’re right. First we defeat the corruption. And then we discuss the future.”
She rolled her eyes. That was as close as she could get him to conceding their futures were in two different places.
“First things first.” She wiggled out of his arms. “A shower, clean clothes, and dinner. In that order.”
“This shower...” He gazed down at her with sudden anticipation. “Is it together?”
“Together.”
With a laugh, Wynn was scrambling off the bed and running into the bathroom.
She reached the shower first, but only because Azh allowed her to win.
He stalked behind her like a predator, the lightning already dancing in his eyes.
Wynn trembled with excitement as she hastily turned on the cold water at full blast. A second later Azh stepped into the small cubicle, his heat creating a thick steam that billowed around their entwined bodies.
Wrapping her arms around the dragon’s neck, Wynn felt herself lifted off the ground and pressed against the slick tiled wall.
A second later she was groaning in bliss as Azh entered her with one smooth thrust. Squeezing shut her eyes, Wynn allowed herself to become lost in the tidal wave of pleasure, surrounded by the steam and intoxicating blast of pure dragon magic.
Two hours later they returned to the bedroom to polish off a mound of takeout curry that was delivered by unobtrusive servants, and pulled on the clothes that had been in the bag with the food.
Wynn was in the bathroom braiding her damp hair when Azh appeared in the doorway, his expression one of annoyed disbelief.
“Seriously?” He spread his arms. “You expect me to be seen in public in this?”
Turning around, Wynn’s lips twitched at the thin silk shirt that clung to his torso and the leather pants that revealed every delicious bulge. He looked like a fake pirate in a burlesque show. Or maybe a ma?tre d’ about to offer her a table at a trendy restaurant.
“I just gave your size. They must have assumed you were a male escort. Do you want me to order you something less...” She waved a hand over his too-tight outfit.
With a low growl, Azh created a narrow portal, disappearing into what she assumed was his private lair. A few seconds later he was back, wearing a pair of faded jeans and a plain gray sweatshirt.
The clothing did nothing to lessen the impact of his explosive sensuality.
This male could be covered in a shroud and he would still be a sex magnet.
It was annoyingly unfair, she acknowledged, glancing down at the cutoff jean shorts and scooped tee that emphasized her resemblance to a young boy, not a spicy vixen.
She clicked her tongue. Who cared? She was on the hunt for a toxic green sludge. Comfort was more important than glamour, right? Truthfully, as far as Wynn was concerned, comfort was always more important than glamour.
Thankfully unaware of her rambling thoughts, Azh pointed toward the center of the bedroom, creating yet another portal.
“Let’s go,” he commanded.
Wynn arched a brow as she pulled on her magically shielded coat. Better safe than sorry. “Are you going to feed me to your mother? I told you I didn’t pick out those clothes.”
“Tempting, but no,” he assured her. “This is a shortcut to our destination.”