22. Chapter 22
Daxton’s bronze eyes scorched her as she sat across from him in the library. From the link, impressions of dominance flared against her skin. That’s what Keiran warned me about. He’s fighting his instinct to protect me.
She turned her attention back to the journal before her as he sat rigidly, trying to control his reaction. It had been a long couple of days filled with reading about Centurions and trying to keep Daxton out of her thoughts and failing.
What had he been up to? Why hadn’t he visited her? Did the same fear of getting closer keep him away? But sitting so close to him now, her mind eased. None of those questions mattered. All she wanted was to spend time with him, even when she knew she shouldn’t.
He peered at the book in her grasp, and she moved so he could read the title. It was another Centurion journal, from the time Columbus had sailed to the New World.
“What have you learned about the link?” he asked.
“I have a theory.” Her sigh did nothing to settle herself.
“Dragons refer to their mating ritual as the Dance. In the animal kingdom, there are similar dances where a male will present what he has to offer. Whether that be plumage, protection, or house-building skills. I think when you Marked me, it was part of a mating ritual. A presentation of what you can offer me as a Fallen. The Mark helped us gain access into each other’s emotions, maybe to help us see what kind of people we are for each other? ”
“It makes sense.”
“The why and what the outcome will be are still up in the air. But I’ve read of more traditions becoming lost after the dragons left the Garden.”
“Ah, yes, the Tribunal of six dragons that took on human form first. They hid our original traditions in codices and spread them around the globe.” He rubbed his chin.
He looks attractive with thick stubble. Her fingers twitched to feel whether the hair was like sandpaper or soft.
She scowled and placed her hand under the table in a tight fist. “I asked Mrs. Renly for information about the codices, and I’ve located one that promises answers to our linking problem. ”
His eyebrows rose. “It took our scholars years to find them.”
“So, you know their locations? Why haven’t you collected them?”
“It’s not just a matter of picking a journal off the floor,” he teased. “Ellnia, one of the Tribunal, was an Illusion dragon handy at fail-safes and impenetrable entrances.”
“That’s why I called my Fallen friend Thea to help. She’s currently on a dig in Kenya, but acquiring hard-to-reach antiquities is her specialty.”
“Do you think that’s the only source to find a way to break—” Daxton rubbed his chest. “—find more information about our link?”
“It’s the most promising so far.”
“What else are you researching?”
Dragon immortality. She’d found Centurions who referenced their dragon blood as being the key to long life, leading her to push Simon to test everything about Daxton’s blood. But that wasn’t something she wanted to share with Daxton yet.
“Do you have any information to share about the Garden?” She believed they referenced the biblical garden—as in the Garden of Eden. Though it was a tangent she didn’t have time to fully research—what truths could she find there?
“You have the wrong dragon. The Keepers know that information. As far as I’m aware, it’s a place for dragons to retire, but we must shed our humanity to do so.”
“Who are the Keepers? I’ve read a few passages about them, but it’s usually a Centurion being annoyed with them.”
He sat back in his chair. “No surprise there. Think of them as a Greek-letter organization. Full of their own secrets that only they understand. They collect the Tattered Ones after we petrify them.”
“Petrify?”
“Our fire is like Medusa to our enemies.”
A shiver racked her spine at the idea of a collection of Archfiend statues. “That’s an image.”
“Yeah. Anyway, they talk in circles. Even with your intellectual prowess, they’d probably get on your nerves.”
“So, I shouldn’t contact them unless I feel up to the challenge. Good to know.” She tilted up her book. “Can I return to my reading?” At the thought of his calming presence leaving, she added, “Feel free to stay if you want.”
He rested his finger against the top of the book, pulling it down so she had no choice but to look at him directly. “Let me say something first.” His bronze eyes shimmered in the light. “I wanted to apologize for my phone call the other day when we arrived here.”
She crinkled her brows. “I don’t understand.”
“It couldn’t have been easy being raised by Darcy Andrews. I didn’t mean to leave you in unfamiliar territory to answer a business call.”
She willed the sadness welling up to go back under lock and key, but her fingers subconsciously folded the corner of her page.
“It’s funny how people try to convince themselves that neglect and unpleasant situations don’t bother them.
But it’s hard being a child with parents that act the same each time I’m reincarnated.
” She glared at the dreaded dog-ear she’d created.
Folding it out flat again, she smoothed her palm along the crease.
Daxton’s warm hand on hers stopped her in place. “As someone who never felt like he’s had a place or people who care, I understand. But I’m not like that. The people I let into my life take priority over my business.”
“You wouldn’t have taken the time to bring me food if it were the other way around.” The reality of it kicked her heart into overdrive. She retrieved her hand. “That’s why your apology isn’t needed. It was silly of me to judge you.”
“It’s understandable. Now, continue reading.” He waved, giving her the go-ahead, but stayed beside her.
His presence was like the tune of crashing waves.
After she read a few pages, Daxton moved.
She glanced over as he presented her with a strawberry.
His need to protect her health thudded along the link.
She didn’t mind. Hunger beat at her. It was intimate, but convincing herself to say no was a dying battle.
She leaned forward and bit into it while he held the leaves.
Sugary juice exploded on her tongue. Did they always taste this amazing?
He flicked the leaves onto the plate and grabbed a pineapple piece.
She bit into his offering and tried to catch the fruity liquid.
Daxton ate the rest before his gaze fell to her mouth.
As her lips tingled, she started to lick a drop of juice away, but the rough pad of his thumb brushed it away slowly and steadily.
Her mouth parted, and she exhaled as a familiar warmth scorched her body.
When he met her stare, the inferno in his bronze eyes drew her.
She should have pulled away. Should have ignored the pulsing heat inside her.
But as he leaned forward, he enraptured her in a way no other man had.
She could neither breathe nor move as he replaced his finger with his lips.
After only a gentle press that tugged at her heart, he pulled back, as if allowing her a moment to sigh. Unable to think through the haze in her mind, she felt him slip in another soft kiss.
“Does this make you uncomfortable?” he whispered.
I shouldn’t do this…but I’m too curious…and it feels so good.
She shook her head and leaned into him. He cupped her face, and she opened her mouth for his claiming.
A tremor shook through her. She pressed into him, accepting his kiss and returning it.
His dragon tugged on the link, causing tingles from her nipples to her groin.
She moaned. When his tongue touched hers, neurons fired like crazy in her brain, leaving her hot and on edge.
Drowning in his touch, something within her broke free.
The book fell onto the table.
Her hands circled his neck, and the rough, tactile sensation from his unshaven face left her breathless.
Timidly brushing her tongue against his incited ecstatic pulses in her body.
She repeated the action. His growl vibrated through her chest. He slid his large hands under her thighs and hauled her onto his lap.
The strength of the movement fluttered in her stomach.
Straddling him, she pressed herself against the hard masculine flesh beneath her. Her core danced, muscles tightening.
His touch traveled up from thighs to hips. Her skin tingled under the caress of his calloused hands, and their warmth slipped farther under her shirt to the top of her loose-fitting pants. Her nipples, sensitive and needy, shifted against his chest.
I need more.
As if obeying her unspoken request, his rough hands moved up to her bra.
He pushed the cotton against her breasts.
She didn’t know what she craved, and her lack of experience with sexual urges made the experience terrifying, yet thrilling.
Daxton must have understood, for he shoved the bra up.
His flesh against her bare breast felt euphoric, and his finger brushing against the tip sent a streak of desire straight to the bundle of nerves between her thighs.
Izzy relinquished the kiss to moan. Daxton pressed open-mouthed kisses to her neck. Her body shifted against him, rubbing her pelvis against the bulge straining beneath the confines of his jeans. Stroking against him sent pure flames through her. His warm gasp tickled her ear.
He grabbed her neck to draw her head down for a kiss that was all tongue. His other hand on her lower back pushed lightly to guide her against him. With each grind, more pressure built inside her. She clung to him, seeking an anchor in the storm.
His nails raked into her skin, and his dragon claws dug into her spirit.