Dark and Damaged: Eight Tortured Heroes of Paranormal Romance: Paranormal Romance Boxed Set (114 page)

Not that it would do any good. For he wanted her just as badly, too. It would make for several nights of erotic pleasure. But his natural caution reined in lust.

What
was
Aurora and why did he sense that she wanted more than her freedom, something that could destroy his people for good?

She had never felt this longing before.

At first when she saw Robert without his shirt, Aurora told herself staring at him was to confirm the presence of the silver dragon tattoo. It was a beautiful marking, covering his entire right shoulder, snaking down his strong bicep. She’d only caught a brief glimpse of it previously when he’d shifted from his wolf form.

And then she kept staring at his half-naked body, the triangle of dark hair stretching from one brown nipple to the other, the ripple of muscles on his flat abdomen, and the line of hair marching down to the waistband of his jeans…

It vanished past his silver belt buckle, down into the bulge of his crotch. She stared at that as well, wondering if the rumors were true about alpha Lupines and their penises.

So much for objective analysis of the dragon tattoo.

Robert turned her on, as if he’d yanked at the rusty tap of her desire and now it flooded out, wet and gushing, preparing her body for sex.

All she could think about lately was sex.

For all her adult years, she’d tempered her body’s natural drive as the Mages had taught her to do as a child. Discipline and focus. Even when she entered puberty, and the hormonal rush had been so intense she cried at times, she had tamped down lust.

No longer.

Aurora had never wanted a man as badly as she wanted Robert. The space between her legs felt empty and wet. Last night she’d dreamed of Robert making love to her, his warm mouth covering every inch of her skin with kisses, and then he’d mounted her.

It had not been gentle, nor sweet.

It had been everything her sexually suppressed body had wanted all these adult years, since puberty had opened a floodgate of female hormones.

She did not fear him.

She feared her own desires, and trusting him. Because sex was one thing. She could have sex with him, but fall in love, shuttling aside her quest?

Emily’s childish voice screamed through her brain. “Aurora, please, I want to stay with you!”

Emily had been so sweet, innocent. Her life came first. A promise was a promise.

But she wanted Robert, and the sharp longing stabbed her with erotic awareness. Especially now, the way he stared at her as if he wanted to rip off her clothing and take her here and now. Cover her with his strong, muscled body, and thrust deep inside…

Robert trailed a finger down her cheek and she shivered with arousal. “Cadeyrn gave you to me as a slave. I want you as a woman.”

“When? I agreed. You can do with me what you wish,” she whispered.

Robert studied her, his gaze darkening. “Soon.”

Two lines dented the space between his brows as he pondered her. “You’re an enigma, Aurora Seville. You’re not afraid of the wolf. We Lupines are very aggressive when it comes to sex. And I don’t make love. I fuck, plain and simple.” He drew in a deep breath. “A lot. Especially because I’m alpha… I need sex and I’ve denied myself this past year, focusing on my pack’s needs.”

She liked his aggression. The dormant part of her had thrilled to the domineering alpha, for she could envision him in the bedroom, taking charge and fulfilling her wildest sexual fantasies.

“I’m not afraid,” Aurora told him. The wolf had turned her on with his raging need, his sexual aggression. Deep inside, she knew this was bad, for it meant she could reveal her true nature to him, but for too long she’d been suppressed and frustrated.

“You should be.”

His expression tightened as he looked down, rubbing his thumb along the seam of her lip. The gesture spoke of need, not affection. Couldn’t he hear the rapid pounding of her heart, sense the quickening of her blood? Some inexplicable force had drawn them together, the sexual chemistry scorching the air between them until every cell of her body sang with awareness.

Staring at his mouth, she leaned up and parted her lips.

He kissed her, his lips moving gently over hers, and then he increased the pressure. It felt wonderful, and she wrapped her arms around his neck, leaning into his strong body.

The ground beneath them rumbled and shook slightly. Robert tore his mouth away and muttered.

Desire turned into a fluttering, cautious hope. “What was that? Florida doesn’t have earthquakes.”

“If there’s a violent quake off the coast of Cuba, we can feel the ground move.” Robert smoothed back her hair. “It’s nothing for you to worry about. You ok?”

He meant the kiss. Aurora watched him, seeing the passion that had flared in his eyes turn to a shuttered look. He was hiding something.

“It was wonderful.” No lie, kissing Robert made her long for more. She felt wickedly alive and free.

What a joke. She would never truly be free, no matter how many blood oaths Robert signed.

Power stirred in the air, a subtle flutter of electrical current. Hairs stood on her nape. Perhaps this was why the earth had moved. The Shadow Wizard approached. She wanted to believe it was something else, but didn’t dare raise her hopes.

Robert tensed and placed a hand on her arm. “Steady. He’s coming. I can feel the change in the air.”

She could as well, but letting him know that meant compromising her true identity. So Aurora waited.

Droplets of gray mist descended from the sky, only this mist was charged with crackling electrical energy. The Shadow Wizard materialized before them.

Dressed in black leather pants, the wizard was bare-chested. Two leather straps crossed his muscled chest and were held together with a brass ring. Twin swords were sheathed in leather scabbards upon his back. His eyes, seemed dark as pitch, flickering with gray shadows like mist. Long, dark blond hair was tipped with dark strands. An intricate tattoo of ancient Celtic runes covered his right shoulder and right bicep.

He barely glanced at her as she bowed her head. Robert did not bow his head. He bristled, as if resenting the interruption. She liked his bravery, and his refusal to compromise.

She didn’t have that luxury.

“What are you doing here? I don’t recall issuing any invitations.” Robert spread his legs and his arms wide, as if blocking her from a possible attack.

Cadeyrn ignored the alpha. The Shadow Wizard stepped aside and stared at her with his cold, dark eyes as she finally lifted her gaze. And for the first time since knowing him and making his devil’s bargain, she was afraid.

“I will talk with you, Aurora. Alone.”

“No.” Robert stepped protectively before her, but Cadeyrn flicked a finger and sent the Lupine hurling backward.

Aurora cried out as Robert hit the ground sprawling and then gasped and rubbed his throat. But the wizard gestured to her and she followed. They walked among some rows of palm saplings. When Robert was no longer in sight, Cadeyrn stopped and regarded her.

“Have you found the dragon yet?”

“No. Do you know where it is?”

The wizard whirled around, his gaze turning gray and unfathomable. “You must rely upon your instincts. You are a dragon seeker, one of the last of your kind. I will not help you, but if you bring me the dragon’s beating heart as a gift, I will set you free.”

His voice dropped into a deep whisper that raked over her raw nerves. “Think of it, Aurora. Free at last forever. I will destroy the collar so no one can use it against you, not even myself. Free to choose, to care for your sister.”

“Forget my freedom! What of Emily’s?”

Cadeyrn wrapped a hand around her neck, and squeezed lightly. Air fled her throat and she gasped, feeling his immense power dwarf her. Lungs that had functioned fine began to compress. Aurora grew lightheaded. But she refused to drop her gaze. She could not allow this wizard to have the upper hand in this. “You promised…”

“That I did.” He released her and she dropped to the ground, gasping, dragging in blessed lungful’s of air. “Emily shall be free from any blood bond to me if you bring me the silver dragon’s heart.”

Rubbing her throat, she looked up. “Why is it so important to you?”

He scowled and for a moment she feared he’d squeeze her throat again, only this time never let go. But instead the wizard turned around and gazed at the distant trees. “The dragon is important to me. That is all you need to know. You are a dragon seeker. Now seek. When the full moon turns ripe and round, you are free to lie with Robert, and let him fill your belly with his seed. But unless you bring me the dragon’s beating heart, Emily remains a prisoner of her fate. She will be enslaved to me.”

He glanced at the sky. “Two days following the next full moon, when she turns twenty-one.”

And she will die. Em can’t handle the stress of slavery, not with her disability.Two days after I’m to mate with Robert. I’m running out of time
. Aurora’s stomach clenched.

With the wave of his hand, Cadeyrn vanished, but not before showering the nearby plants - and Aurora - with fat droplets of gray mist.

“Thanks,” she muttered, brushing the water from her eyes.

She heard a distant laugh and resisted the impulse to give the sky her middle finger.

Robert would be looking for her, perhaps worried the Shadow Wizard had eaten her or destroyed her or turned her into a pile of ashes.

She had to do everything in her power to please Robert, so he would not send her away. Not until she found the dragon. But how?

You’re a dragon seeker. So seek
.

All those abilities had not been used in many years. Aurora stretched out her hands like a divining rod.

She chanted a few words from her rusty memory, but nothing happened. Terrific. The wizard had changed her into a slave and turned off her dragon seeking powers. She still could use the weaker Mage magick and the spells she’d been taught, but would have to find the dragon the old-fashioned way - through using her wits.

A cooling breeze rustled through the sun-dappled trees. Aurora shivered, rubbing her still-damp arms.

She heard nearby voices, including the deep, smoky timbre of the pack alpha. Aurora walked toward them. Robert stood on the path with Susan.

“You ok?” He touched her cheek, his gaze filled with concern. “What happened? Why are you all wet?”

“Just Cadeyrn doing his usual service. Pissing all over his subjects.” She bit her lip, regretting the outburst, but he smiled.

His smile dropped. “What did he want with you?”

She quickly thought of a white lie. “To remind me of my duty, and why he gave me to you as a gift. He likes to remind his subjects of how helpless they are.”

Robert growled, “He’s an ass.”

Two lines dented Susan’s brow. “I know you’re probably shaken by your experience with the wizard, but I’ve been searching for you. I need help in the café with inventory before we open to the public tomorrow.”

The café. Her heart sank. Far from the back fields where she needed to explore.

“I, um.” Aurora rubbed her wet arms again. “I am pretty much shaken. The Shadow Wizard is pretty scary.”

Disbelief touched the other woman’s face, along with the faintest scorn. “Not as intimidating as the Silver Wizard. Then again, you are a Mage with weak magick.”

And just like that, all the respect she’d earned from Susan, all the praise, was erased by the Lupine’s contempt.

Robert held up a hand. “Get Melanie to do it. It’s about time she learned the café end of the business. Aurora’s off duty this afternoon.”

Susan stared at him. “But Robert…”

“Do it!”

Shaking her head, Susan left. Robert guided Aurora through the trees toward the back of the property. In a small clearing sat a wooden cottage. A hot spring, ringed by rock, bubbled to the home’s left side. Aurora glanced into the distance and her excitement grew. The ground sloped gently upward, rising about fifteen feet.

“I didn’t know Florida had any hills,” she remarked, keeping her voice neutral.
Or hot springs, like the type caused by a fire-breathing dragon living underground…

Robert glanced in the direction of her pointing finger. His expression shuttered. “It’s artificial. Built many years ago.”

“Oh? Why? For agricultural purposes?”

“You might say. That area is off limits.”

Aurora kept her expression innocent. “Swampland or poisonous animals?”

“Something that could hurt you badly.” He picked up a strand of her wet hair and wrapped it around his finger. “I forbid it. That’s all you need to know.”

Two wood tables and stacks of crates sat off to the cottage’s side. This looked like a place for packing and storing fruit. A bricked walkway led to the cottage and two stately coconut palms flanked the walkway.

He stopped and bent down to pick up an injured bird, a blue jay. “Ah, shit.”

She looked at the small bird flopping about in his large hands. It struggled to fly.

“His wing’s broken.” Robert gently cradled the creature.

“Can you fix it?”

“Perhaps. But I need to find a box to keep him safe until I can bring him back to the lodge. Fetch one of those fruit crates for me.”

She hurried back with the crate, the sweet scent of oranges teasing her nostrils, and set it on the ground. Robert lined the box with grass and leaves. Torment flickered in his gaze as he gently set the bird inside and then carried it to the table.

“This has never happened before. All the wildlife on this land is… healthy. Come on inside. I’ll find him fresh water.”

He unlocked the cottage and went inside. She followed.

It was more of a guest house, with a sofa, table and chairs, a kitchen the size of a postage stamp with a narrow stove and range, and a small mini fridge.

Robert headed for the kitchen and hunted through the cabinets. “There’s a bathroom inside the bedroom, if you need it.”

“Oh I need it.” She touched her wet hair. “I need to rinse away the Shadow Wizard’s funk.”

He found a small container and filled it with water, bringing it outside for the bird. When he returned, she stared out the back window.