Chosen Destiny (7 page)

stopped pressing the mate thing. She was grateful for that.

“I’ve been touching you for almost the entire time we’ve been in the room. We’ve

been talking and I haven’t hauled you into my lap. Can’t say it’s not a tempting idea

though.” Samiel’s thumb swept down in a slow deliberate stroke.

“You were keeping me where you wanted me.” She wasn’t going to buy that

argument. The man had wanted to make sure she didn’t walk out on him, nothing

more. “It’s not the kind of touching I meant.”

“You did have a tendency to want to get up and leave. Since you don’t believe that

we’re mates, what questions do you have?” Samiel leaned close. His breath brushed

over her cheek.

“It’s just so improbable.” She shook her head.

“It’s the truth. Now give both of us a kiss and we’ll let you get back to work.”

Jaeson whispered against her.

She tensed. Her entire focus had been on Samiel. She felt a hand at her lower back.

The fingers pressed and rubbed at the tense muscles. She bit her lip. There shouldn’t be

any problem in a simple kiss, or rather two. She knew it wouldn’t be that simple. The

attraction was too strong.

“One kiss each. Then I leave and you don’t stop me.” She didn’t want there to be

any mistake about her intentions and she planned to hold them to their word if they

gave it.

“One kiss now and later we’ll find you. We’re not going to just walk away from you

now that we’ve found you.” Jaeson’s gold eyes burned with intensity.

“We’ll talk about that later.” She smiled. It felt good to use the words. They had to

know that she was in no hurry to move the attraction between them to the next level.

Even if they had been telling the truth, she didn’t intend to jump into a relationship

with the two of them.

“You can plan on it,” Samiel growled.

His fingers threaded into her hair. She tipped her head back. She expected an

aggressive kiss, a claiming. His lips brushed over hers softly. She blinked surprised at

the gentle, almost questioning touch. Her mouth opened beneath his giving him access.

His tongue traced her full lips, before sweeping into her mouth. She sighed and relaxed

into the embrace. Her tongue stroked against his. She sucked at his tongue. His hand

slid up her side and cupped her breast. When his thumb flicked across her nipple, she

realized the kiss had grown into so much more. She pushed against his chest. Turning

her head, she tore her lips away from his. She wanted to just let the kiss continue, to

savor the feel and taste, but knew the delicious sensation would only be harder to deny

later.

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Samiel chuckled. The sound rolled from him. She felt the rumble against her

fingertips. He leaned back and a satisfied smirk curved his lips. He winked. His fingers

trailed over her cheek as they slipped from her hair.

“I said a kiss, not a full-on embrace. I still don’t know you.” She shrugged away

from his lingering touch. Opportunistic dragon.

“You will. It’s my turn now.” Jaeson’s hand on her shoulder turned her to face him.

She sighed and nodded. She’d keep her word. She couldn’t hold them to the

bargain if she didn’t deliver on her promise. Leaning toward him, she lifted her hands

to his broad shoulders. His mouth lowered and his teeth closed on her lip. The sharp

edge of his teeth scraped over the full lower lip. She gasped. Hot tingles exploded from

that light pressure. His tongue slid over the sensitive flesh just once before sweeping

into her mouth. There was nothing tentative about his touch. His hand cupped the back

of her head, holding her steady beneath the firm press of his lips. His tongue drove into

her mouth. The aggressive move sparked an answering arousal. She moaned and slid

one of her arms around his neck. Her tongue stroked against his and she sucked on it,

trying to draw it deeper. Her action drew a groan from him.

Meagan didn’t know what had come over her. Every breath she took seemed to

increase her arousal. His hand slid down her body to her waist. He lifted her, settled her

across his lap. She barely noticed the change in position. His hand slid underneath her

shirt. It was the feel of his warm hand on her skin that jerked her out of the haze of hot

pleasure. She pulled back.

A kiss wasn’t supposed to cause an ache of hunger to pulse through her body.

Except for a mere caress on her breast neither of the men had touched her intimately.

Yet she could feel the slick juices gathering between her thighs and her breasts felt

heavy. The hardened tips ached for a firm touch. She’d known kissing them wouldn’t

be simple, but she hadn’t expected to nearly be shaking with desire after two kisses.

Those men were dangerous.

She slipped off his lap and stood. Combing her fingers through her hair, she

studied the two men through her lashes. What was she going to do with those two

men? Well, other than try to avoid them. They weren’t going away. Not only were they

here to fight the Dark Sorcerer, they considered her their mate.

She shook her head and exhaled slowly. On top of the search for possible legends or

old artifacts, she had to find information on dragons and vampires and
Tirias
. She

didn’t pretend to know much about it. It had just been her heritage. She’d never

expected to have to take them.

“We’ll see you later. Be sure to find the information about dragons and vampires.”

Samiel reached out and let his palm roam over the full curve of her buttocks.

She stepped out of reach.
What do I say to men who claim to be my mates?
Especially

since she didn’t believe them. She looked at them. There wasn’t anything she could do

to change their mind.

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“Maybe I’ll see you later. If I find anything solid, I’ll be going to check on it.” She

shrugged.

“You’d better send for us before you go search for anything. You are and will be a

target for the Dark Sorcerer.” Samiel stood, his hand slashing through the air at waist

level. His eyes were narrowed and he looked as if he was a breath away from doing that

growling thing again.

Meagan raised an eyebrow. Who did he think he was to tell her what to do? Even if

he was her mate, he wouldn’t be telling her what to do in battle. She knew how to

handle herself and didn’t need guards or escorts. The man better realize that fact fast or

they were going to have some trouble just getting along with each other when they met

on the street.

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Meagan stared at the book in front of her. She could hardly believe what she’d read

and she still felt a little numb. At least the shock had faded a little. Even though they’d

told her, she hadn’t really thought it was true. Two mates. What woman needed two

men? One man was hard enough to understand and cope with. Two would be

impossible. The two mates thing was going to take time. The reasons given in the book

had been simple and straight forward. The men were to be the
Tiria’s
protectors. They’d

also help balance the power she’d gained with the weapons. The help part she could

understand, but she couldn’t understand why the men had to be her mates. She wasn’t

sure about any long-term relationship with them. Right now a future with them was the

least of her worries. There were too many other things that were more important.

But it wasn’t just what she’d learned about the weapons that had gotten her

attention, it was the information about vampires. She’d known enough about dragons

to know that playing with them was a bad idea. Vampires on the other hand hadn’t

seemed to pose so much of a threat. She would never have guessed that their scent

could alternately soothe or arouse depending on the vampire’s intent. She’d found out a

lot, but she hadn’t found any promising legends in the books. Still, she was optimistic

that she’d find something.

“You’re not finished with that for the night yet? I bet you haven’t even stopped to

eat.” A deep voice came from behind her.

She turned in her seat. Jaeson leaned against one of the tall, polished
asa-
wood

bookshelves. His silver hair hung in a straight fall down his back. He looked very

relaxed as he waited. In a way, she couldn’t believe that a man like him was focusing all

that attention on her.

“If you’re offering to go get all of us something to eat we’d appreciate it.” She

smiled at him. She’d known that he hadn’t meant that, but she took the opportunity his

words gave.

He laughed. “I’ll arrange for something for them, but I think you’ve done enough

for today. We’ll get something to eat and talk.”

“I’ve already had a break remember? There’s still so much to do.”

“And it will wait until tomorrow. I assume you learned the truth about what we

told you. We take our role very seriously.” Jaeson came away from the book shelf. He

turned and left the room. “Get ready to leave. We’ll be going when I get back.”

She raised a brow as she watched him go. He definitely had no problem with giving

orders. She looked back at the book in front of her. There was so much to go through, so

many things the Dark Sorcerer could want.

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Rebecca Airies

“Don’t tell me you’re seriously thinking about staying here and sending that man

away. You’d have to be insane. Lady, if I had the attention of a man who looked like

that, I’d drag him away before someone else grabbed him.” Merilyn Satae’s voice

sounded cheerful and almost laughing.

Meagan looked up and met her friend’s blue eyes. She was considering it very

seriously. The man was gorgeous, but he had some very arrogant tendencies. She didn’t

want to give him the idea that she’d jump to do his bidding.

“What I don’t plan to do is let him think that I’ll be following every order he cares

to toss at me.” Meagan looked over at Merilyn.

Merilyn’s smile faded and she nodded. “Ah, good point. That is a good idea. You

don’t want him to think that. Still after you’ve made your point drag him into a closet

before some other witch does.”

Meagan wasn’t worried about him suddenly becoming interested in other women.

The man considered her his mate. From what she’d read, they didn’t stray once they

found their mate. He wouldn’t be looking for sex from any other woman.

Jaeson appeared from between the book shelves. She stiffened when she saw him.

She hadn’t heard him even walking on the wooden floors.

“You’re not ready yet.” He looked pointedly at the books in front of her.

“Because I’m not finished. Work has to come before play, I’m afraid.” She smiled

and ran her finger down the page trying to find the spot where she’d stopped.

“This is the kind of work that can be delayed. Did you find anything interesting

yet?” He strode over to the table and closed the book. “This isn’t a battle.”

“Nothing about the local legends or any old temple in the area.” She shrugged. She

did find out a lot of interesting things about dragons and vampires but she wasn’t

going to get into it here.

“It will wait. We aren’t going to be able to finish this in one battle or even two. It’s

going to take a while to find out who’s behind this and locate them.” Jaeson gripped her

elbow and tugged her out of her seat.

“That’s easy for you to say. It’s not your home that’s being attacked.” She pulled

back, trying to free her arm. “Where’s your dragon friend?”

“He’s with another of the dragons flying over the area to see what else had been

done. While he’s out there he’ll probably scout for a temporary lair in the mountains.”

Jaeson stared down at her. “Are you finished trying to distract me?”

She rolled her eyes. “We do need to talk. I can always come back later and get some

work done.”

He looked amused by that comment. “Then let’s go talk. I’m interested to hear what

you have to say now that you’ve had time to learn the truth.”

She shook her head. If he thought just reading about the dragon and vampire was

going to change everything, he was wrong. She needed time to know them before she

made a decision. Not to mention the fact that she wasn’t sure she needed them. It

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wasn’t as if battles were that common. Once the Dark Sorcerer was defeated, there

might not be another in the area in her lifetime.

She walked out of the coven house beside him. He led the way through the streets

to the inn. They detoured into the common room and he arranged for a meal to be

brought up to the room. Once they were inside, she climbed the stairs to the room

ahead of him. She noticed the snick of the bolt just as his scent hit her. She stepped

away from him going around the bed to put some distance between them. She didn’t

want to be distracted by the arousal caused by his scent. That was just one of the things

they needed to discuss. He looked across the bed at her and cocked his head to one side.

“What‘s the problem?” he asked.

“I want to talk. I don’t want to be drugged by your scent while we’re doing it.” She