Eternal Mates 7 - Taken by a Dragon (21 page)

Loke grasped her hip with his left hand and her hair with his right and began thrusting deep and hard, frantic plunges that had her rocking forwards with each meeting of their bodies. She moaned and arched into him, and he groaned as she welcomed his dominance and surrendered to him. The knowledge that she enjoyed being at his mercy only increased the ferocity of his need to master her and show her that she was his now.

He grunted and quickened his pace, filling the cave with the sound of their lovemaking. He devoured each gasp and moan she offered up to him, his hunger for her feeding off them and demanding he elicit more. He pressed deeper, each swift stroke of his cock sending a hot thrill chasing through him and ripping another moan from her. He groaned and then growled as he lost himself in the feel of being inside her.

She responded so sweetly to each thrust of his cock, shuddering and moaning, whispering his name, and then she did something that threatened to tip him over the edge.

“Loke, please. More. God, I need more.” She pressed back against him, forcing his cock into her.

He growled through sharpening teeth and tightened his grip on her hip and her hair, a deep need flooding him, a hunger he couldn’t master.

It mastered him.

It owned him.

He snarled and thrust deeper and faster, possessing her and claiming her body. Her gasps of pleasure only drove him deeper into his instincts, allowing them to possess and claim him.

His gaze zeroed in on her neck and he bared his sharp teeth, hungry with a need to sink them into her soft warm flesh and mark her as his mate.

He would do just that.

He released her hip and reached for her arm, intending to pull her up to him so he could reach her neck and complete their bond.

She cried out in that moment, the sudden flexing of her body around his cock shattering the hold his instincts had on him and he grunted in shock as her climax ripped one from him. He screwed his eyes shut and breathed hard as waves of heat tore through him, shivers following in their wake, and he pulsed inside her, seeing stars in the darkness of his closed eyes as he struggled to cope with the sudden onslaught of bliss.

Anais sagged against the wall, her own breathing ragged and fast, her ecstasy washing over him as his slowly waned, allowing his scattered senses to fall back into place.

He opened his eyes and stared at his hand where it still reached for her with the intent of bringing her up to him so he could bite her.

So he could claim her against her will.

Loke closed his eyes and lowered his hand and his head, shame engulfing him as he thought about what he had been about to do. He stepped back, slipping free of her, and schooled his features when she straightened and turned to look at him. Her smile was stunning, brightening her blue eyes and enchanting him.

When that smile wobbled and her eyes gained a curious edge that warned she could see through him and knew something was wrong, he managed a smile of his own and opened his arms to her. She stepped into them and nestled close to his chest, her cheek pressing against it.

“Your heart is racing,” she whispered, a smile in her voice.

“You have that effect on me.” He lowered his head and pressed a kiss to her golden hair.

He closed his eyes again and breathed her in, afraid of the other effect she had on him. He wouldn’t claim her against her will but he wouldn’t let her go either.

He would find a way to make her see that they belonged together.

He would find a way to explain that she was his fated female and that he couldn’t live without her now.

He would find a way to tell her that he was in love with her and that heart she spoke of was hers forever if she wanted it.

L
oke stared across the rippling dark water to the far end of the cavern, not seeing the black stalagmites that rose around the bathing pool. He had turned his focus inwards the second he had eased into the hot water and had lost track of time after that.

The past few days had been a strange yet pleasant experience, blissful in a way but terrifying in others.

They had been together the whole time, growing closer to each other every day. It felt nice. He had never lived with anyone before, not in all his six thousand years. He had easily fallen into it though, settling into a routine of bathing with her, feeding her and learning about her, and then taking her scouting for her friends. They were yet to find any of them and he suspected the dragons who had taken them were the older generation that lived in the mountains beyond the village. He would take her there tomorrow.

Today, he needed to do something else.

He sighed and tipped his head back, staring at the black ceiling of the cave.

He was enjoying her company and how well they were getting along. It reassured him, chasing away his fears about her leaving him and filling him with the belief that he could have the forever he wanted with her.

She had shown interest in his life, culture and his species too. They had passed every evening sitting in each other’s arms near the fire and exchanging tales. She told him of the battles she had fought and the various creatures who had come close to taking her life, which, if her accounts were anything to go by, happened too often. He had told her about the wars he had fought in and the way Hell had changed over the millennia.

Change happened more slowly in Hell, but it still happened. The elves had started it by bringing light into their new realm and technology from the mortal realm, harnessing the winds of Hell to grind seeds and their light to grow food. The demons had followed their lead, and he had seen technology in the Third Realm that had astounded him.

Anais called them wind farms.

Huge turbines that generated what she had termed electricity.

He had pushed her to her limit asking her about electricity. It seemed he needed a better source of information if he wanted his deepest questions about it answered. She had faltered and had admitted that she was no scientist and she couldn’t explain how it worked or where it came from.

He wanted the information though and then he would somehow procure himself one of these turbines. The winds were strong in the valleys and could easily generate enough electricity to power items in his cave.

He could make it more comfortable.

For her.

Loke grimaced at his thoughts. He was treating her as a nesting female, desiring to give her all the comforts she craved. He wanted her to view him as a good potential mate. One who could provide for her and take care of her.

Gods, if she would have him, she would want for nothing.

But acquiring everything he wanted to give to her to convince her that his cave was more than basic and she could happily live there required him to work with the demons or those in the free realm who could use the portals to reach the mortal world.

He couldn’t venture there himself.

The demons of the Seventh Realm were the most amiable of the kingdoms. They had procured things from the mortal realm for the dragons in the past. Perhaps he could seek out a few different demons of that realm and form a working relationship with them.

Although all he had to offer was gold.

Anais had been astounded when he had finally shown her his hoard. Her eyes had lit up, reflecting the bright gold that had surrounded her in the torch lit room. The diamonds had drawn her the strongest and she had zeroed in on a beautiful necklace made of white gold and teardrop diamonds. She had lovingly stroked it as she had told him that the stone was her birth one. He’d had no idea what that meant until she had explained it, telling him that in the mortal world, diamond was considered the stone for those born in April, but that she had never owned a diamond.

He had responded to that by placing the necklace on her, gifting her with it. She hadn’t taken it off since then. Not even to bathe.

It got in his way whenever he wanted to kiss her neck.

Loke closed his eyes and tipped his head back, trying to shut out the sudden surge of thoughts of kissing her neck and more wicked things.

It was getting more difficult.

More dangerous.

Every time they made love, the urge to claim her as his mate grew stronger. He wasn’t sure how much longer he could resist the deep need that rose within him whenever they were being intimate. The last time it had been so strong that he had almost lost control. He had barely managed to hold back.

He feared what might happen next time.

He sighed out his breath and sank lower into the water, so it lapped over his shoulders and against his chin. He needed to speak with Anais about it, because he was constantly losing himself in his thoughts and he had been avoiding touching her since yesterday evening. The concerned looks she gave to him, an edge of confusion and hurt in her blue eyes, haunted him. He didn’t want to be distant from her or for her to feel she had done something wrong.

He needed to tell her that she was his fated female.

She had feelings for him that went beyond simple attraction and desire. He was confident of that. He would speak to her about it today, when she woke, because he was sure that together they could work something out.

He leaned the back of his head on the smooth side of the pool and tried to relax, preparing himself to talk with her about something that was liable to confuse, upset and place pressure on her. She was strong. He felt certain that she would find a way to handle what he had to tell her.

His little Amazon.

A sharp spear pierced his mind at the same time as unfamiliar scents reached him.

People were in his cave.

He snarled and shot out of the water, using his magic to cover his legs with his leather trousers as he sprinted towards the cave entrance. His senses located two intruders.

Close to Anais.

He roared and ran harder, eating up the distance between him and his female. The second he burst into the cave, he took in everything with one swift assessing glance. A huge demon male blocked his path to Anais, charging at him, his dusky horns curling from behind his pointed ears as he flashed fangs at Loke.

The Third King.

Anais turned fearful blue eyes on Loke and he snarled as he set his sights on her, determined to reach her and pull her away from the black-haired female standing in front of her.

The one called Sable.

They had come to take his little Amazon from him.

His dragon instincts burst to the fore, screaming that the two before him meant to take his most precious possession from him—his fated female.

A red veil descended and his focus sharpened, narrowing on his enemies, and his claws extended.

He roared and diverted course, launching himself at the broader demon male. They clashed hard, the demon king stumbling back a step before he found solid footing and drove forwards. The male grappled with him, his strength matching Loke’s, and almost managed to pin him.

Loke twisted out of his grip, using his natural agility to escape the demon’s hold, and came around behind him.

The cave was too small for him to shift in it near the tunnels, but if he could reach Anais, he could grab her and transform as he sprinted towards the mouth of the cave, changing in time to take flight with her before the end of the ledge.

The demon growled, turned on the spot and grabbed Loke’s arm before he could start towards Anais and the huntress. He dragged Loke back and wrapped his other arm across the front of Loke’s throat, cutting off his air supply.

It wouldn’t stop him.

Loke sank sharp teeth into the male’s arm and blood flooded his mouth at the same time as the male cursed him in the demon tongue. He bit harder, cutting flesh and severing tendons, and the male released him, shoving him in the back for good measure. Loke slammed face first into the black wall of the cave and grunted as his head struck it hard. Pain spider-webbed across his skull and his eyes stung as he struggled to regain his senses.

The demon king didn’t give him the chance.

He grabbed Loke’s wrist and Loke twisted to face him, throwing a hard right hook at the same time. It connected with the demon’s jaw, snapping his head to one side and sending him back a step. The demon flashed his fangs on a snarl and his red eyes glowed like the fires of Hell as his dusky horns curled from behind his pointed ears, twisting around themselves to flare forwards like twin daggers beside his temples.

He stepped into Loke and his fist slammed into Loke’s stomach, striking on the left side and hitting the healing scar there.

Agony tore through him, hot and fierce, a rush of blinding pain. He doubled over and breathed hard, fighting for air as his head swam and the cave turned around him. Voices rang in his ears, a mashed up cacophony of sounds that he couldn’t pull apart and understand. Perhaps he hadn’t been as healed as he had said to Anais or as he had thought.

It didn’t matter.

His gaze slid to Anais where she stood beyond the huntress, her blue eyes wide and filled with fear.

He needed to keep fighting for her sake.

He needed to reach her and take her far away from here.

He sucked down a hard breath and began to straighten, determined to overcome the pain and protect Anais. He would take her fear away and make her feel safe again. He would never let anything happen to her.

He would keep his promise to protect her.

The Third King slammed his fist into the side of Loke’s head.

Cold black ground struck his right side.

Oblivion swallowed him.

A
nais woke alone. It unsettled her. She stared at the fire for a moment, taking in the fact that Loke had risen before her and hadn’t bothered to wake her with a kiss as he had the last few days they had been together.

Cold tried to fill her and she rejected it, not allowing the whispered poisonous voice at the back of her mind to get the better of her.

He had been acting strangely for the past day, but that didn’t mean she had anything to worry about. She really didn’t.

It was amazing that telling herself that on repeat every five minutes hadn’t done a thing to change her outlook.