Falling Dragons (#3 Moon Shadows) (16 page)

“Opie calm down, and step back.” Simon’s hand touched her neck. Startled, she swung, accidently knocking him back. Horror filled her as he fell right into several advancing Gullu demons. They wasted no time in pouncing on him.

Her lungs stopped working as she stared in horror.
Oh my goddess! I’ve just killed my mate!

Simon steadied himself, but it was too late. Burning pain radiated down his arm as one of the Gullu sank his teeth into his flesh. Fucking Odin’s balls! With a flick of his wrist his dagger twirled, facing downward in his palm. He plunged it onto the demon’s head. With a high pitched squeal it fell back. Not hesitating, he swung his blade, detaching its head. Instinct told Simon to duck. Just as he did, he watched other demons get swept away and thrown against the chamber wall by the huge blue dragon’s tail. Simon nodded his thanks and the blue dragon went back into the fight.

Simon glanced at his wound, saw the black around the puncture holes, and knew the poison was now working its way through his body. His immortality would slow the infection down, but it would not stop it. No one knew of a cure to a Gullu bite other than beheading. Guess his time was up after all. He glanced to where Opie fought in her dragon from, so fierce and beautiful. Pain gripped his chest, not from a physical wound, but the thought of leaving her tore at him. It wasn’t her fault for knocking him back. He wanted to calm the panicked look in her gleaming jewel eyes. At the appearance of more dragons, she was in a right state.

Sensing Opie’s panic, he quickly projected into her head. ‘I’m okay, love, no harm done. Calm down, it’s going to be alright.’

Her eyes were full of guilt and worry. She huffed out a little dragon breath.
‘I’m sorry, I saw the dragons and I...’

‘Sweetheart, they’re friends, not here to take you anywhere. You’re with me, remember?’

His eyes glowed with the depth of his emotions. Adoring love. It hit him—all his knowledge and experiences through the ages of his long life—he’d never really known the soul searing love he felt for her. His past lusts led him only to heartbreak and betrayal. This beautiful dragon woman would stand loyal to the end.

Great realisation, now I’m about to die.
Another Gullu rushed at him from the side. He ducked the swipe of its claws and swiftly took off its head, jerking his thoughts back to the battle at hand. Even with three dragons breathing fire on every demon they could, hundreds more creatures flowed out from the broken seal. Slazzamar’s grin was one of pure malevolent pleasure as he battled it out with four demons at once.

‘There are too many. Neman had better hurry with the amulet!’
Opie projected into Simon’s mind.

Simon couldn’t agree more. ‘
I know, but stay back. I don’t want you getting hurt.’

‘As long as I stay in dragon form their poison can’t penetrate my scales, but you, I smell something’
Sniffing him over with her dragon snout, her keen eyes spotted the bite wound.
‘Simon, you’ve been bitten!’

Crap, he was hoping she wouldn’t notice, but no way he’d let her feel guilty over anything. “Hey, I’m immortal, remember? A little bite won’t stop me.”
For now anyway.
He kept that thought to himself.

Red scales sparkled and vanished as she turned back into a woman. “Don’t treat me like I’m stupid! I know enough about demons to know...” The panic was back. “Gods, Simon, y...you’ll turn into one of them, I...I can’t lose you!”

“Damn it, Opie! Change back into a dragon. This is no time to argue semantics!”

“Losing my one true mate is not semantics, you stupid head!”

“One true mate?” This was news. He grabbed Opie, shoving her towards the entrance, away from the fighting.

“It’s what I’ve been trying to tell you all this time. Dragons rarely get the chance to meet their one true, destined mate—the other half of their soul. You are mine. If you die or change...then it’ll be like my own soul being ripped out. I will be nothing but a hollow shell of who I once was.”

The revelation floored him, at the same time he founded it hard to believe—love yes, but soul mates? Destined by some unknown fate?

“Opie, now is not the time for this. The others need me, now stay here.” He glanced at the other warriors battling with sword, claw and flame.

“I need you.”

Neman suddenly flashed in beside them, his face much paler than it had been before. In his hand he clutched the blood stained amulet. Neman scowled, glancing between Simon and Opie. His sharp gaze zeroed in on the bite wound on Simon’s arm.

“I told you not to get bitten.”

“It was my fault.” Opie hung her head.

“We’ll sort it out later. Right now I need a clear path to the centre of the pit.” He held up the stained and dripping amulet. “Let’s plug up this leak shall we?”

“On it.” With a flip of his swords, Simon charged forward, pushing all other thoughts from his mind other than killing the Gullu. Saving the world and not his life was what mattered right now. Not his crumbling relationship or the possible mate thing with his dragon princess.

“Clear a path to the pit!” Simon yelled above the roar of battle. “Time to take these fuckers down!” He let the fury of all his past mistakes, anger, and centuries of being lost and lonely pour into each blow, each slice.

S
he’s mine, we belong together. I can’t let her heart be torn apart.

Whoosh! Kick
! More blood splattered. More demons fell into bubbling heaps of acid, adding to the layer already coating his leather boots. Blood pounded in his ears.

Neman was close behind him, pushing past to slam the amulet down on the same stone Jones had used to open the prison. “With the blood of six gods, Gullu be bound forever more!”

The skull splitting shrieks of outraged Gullu demons made everyone cover their ears as an invisible force dragged them backwards from their battling prey. Simon also felt the pull with the poison spreading in his system. Neman gripped his arm to stop him from being sucked in.

“It’s that or cut off my head.”

Neman shook his head, a sly smile on his face as the last of the Gullu vanished into the hole. “Dragon slayer, you really don’t know anything about dragons, do you?”

Opie raced forward, but she hesitated a step away from him, fear in her eyes. Of him—because he was about to become a monster.

The other dragons morphed back into their human forms.

“I take it
that one
is your mate, princess?” The one called Brimstone asked in a deep rough voice.

“Yes. Simon is my one true mate and I’m not, never, no way in any hell, ever going back to the dragon realm.”

“But he’s been bitten and will transform. Best to cut off his head now.” Slade nodded proudly, as if he’d come up with a brilliant plan.

“Are you stupid, Slade? You don’t have a true mate, you don’t understand.” Brimstone slapped the back of Slade’s golden head.

Neman sighed. “Simon, if you want to live, you need to bind your life force with your mate’s.”

“How?”

“Lots of hot sex.” Slade waggled his eyebrows. “Mind you, this place is a real mood killer.” He got another slap from Brimstone.

“It’s a wonder you have any sway with women, other than ones who want to kill themselves.” Slazzamar sidled up to them, wiping his blades clean of Gullu blood.

Slade frowned at the elf-demon. “What do you mean?”

“Because all they need to do is climb up your ego and jump down to your I.Q. level.”

Everyone except Slade rolled their eyes. “It’s not ego, its confidence, don’t get the two mixed up. Women love me!”

“What would a gay elf know about women? I’ll have you know...”

Simon tuned them out as Neman gripped his shoulders. “This is serious, Simon, only your dragon can save you now. If not, I will have to cut off your head. It’s something I’d rather not have to do to you, my friend. You know what to do, don’t you, Ophelia?”

She nodded, taking a half step closer. Neman glanced at his watch. “Hurry. From my count you’ve got about twenty minutes before you turn.”

“I’ll take care of him.” He placed his hand over her trembling fingers as she laid them over his arm. Neman stepped back, smiling down at Opie.

“I’m glad he’s in good hands, princess.”

Simon nodded his consent and she teleported them out.

* * * *

Simon glanced at his bathroom walls. Opie, already naked, turned on the taps, adjusting the water to almost scalding hot. His gaze slid down the wonderful curve of her body as the water poured down her skin.

“Neman didn’t tell you everything about the bonding.” She turned, her green eyes watery and filled with guilt.

“Stop right there, sweetheart. Don’t you dare go blaming yourself for anything, got it? Gullu poison in me or not, I’ll turn this pretty arse over my knee and turn it red.” He backed her up against the wall and ran his hand over the curve of her arse. “Are we clear?”

She nodded, her eyes brightening.

“Good, now tell me everything.” He stepped back to strip, tossing his sodding wet clothing out of his large shower space.

“While we have sex, just before our peak, I’ll bite you and take a sip of your blood and you’ll do the same with mine. It bonds us and joins our life force. At the same time it will neutralize the Gullu bite, but, it also means you may no longer be immortal. But you will have the same life span as I will.”

“So I’ll grow old and die?”

“If you bond with me, we’ll grow old at the same rate, only it’ll take a few hundred years as I haven’t even reached a hundred yet.”

Simon felt better by the second. “What about children, we can have those?”

“Yes, we’re mates, and if we continue to have sex at our current rate...”

Awe filled him. He picked her up and swung her around. She giggled.

“I’ve always been denied a family. I want one... with you. A big, loud, happy family. Being true mates and bonded assures fidelity, right?” She nodded, but frowned in offence. “I’ve suffered the betrayal of a cheating woman. I know you could never do that to me. You’re not a weak human, and have a golden heart I will treasure until the end of our days. You’ll be mine, now and always. Give me this life, my beautiful dragon princess. Give me a lifetime adventure with you, for I know not even death will do us part. You’re not just saving my life, but giving me a life I’ve have only ever dreamed about.”

Her grin wide and loving, she gazed at him. “When you put it that way, how can I refuse?” He set her down and finished stripping off his clothes. “But hurry, we don’t have much time, remember?”

* * * *

Opie gasped as her naked mate spun her around again and, pressing her against the shower wall, the hot spray just touching them both, he nestled his hard cock deep between her legs. Simon’s firm tip was pressed against her pussy lips and she was dripping with need and desires. She moaned under her breath, her fingers pressed against the tiled shower wall.

“Gods, sweetheart, you’re always so wet for me,” he breathed near her ear. She felt his cock slide up and down her soaked crease as he slowly, steadily worked his tip between her swollen folds.

“I’ll always want and need you, Simon.”

She quivered under his touch. Now was the time to make her dreams come true, to bond with her one true mate. She shifted her hips and his massive cock lingered just beyond her opening. She gently pressed back against him. He groaned behind her as the head of his cock breached her, slipping beyond her entrance. Goddess she loved how big and thick he was, feeling him stretch her open as he continued to push deeper.

A thrill shot through her entire body. His hands slipped from her breast to her hips, pulling her towards him as he slowly thrust his thick, long shaft through her tight channel. Opie moaned uncontrollably as her warm pussy slid down on Simon’s huge cock until he was all the way inside of her. She loved the feeling of his ridged member swelling against the walls of her pussy as he split her open. Greedily, she wanted more, and rocked over him, lifting her arse to take him even deeper. She started a slow bounce, pulling away steadily as she allowed herself to feel the thickness of his shaft pressed against her opening. Then, when she was nice and wet from the feel of him massaging her tight hole, she pressed back again, sliding effortlessly along his slick flesh.

“Oh, fucking Odin’s balls,” he breathed again. “Sweetheart, I don’t know how much more I can take. You always feel amazing, but we need to come together, isn’t that how it works.”

“Oh, yes.” She reached between her legs and found her swollen clit, and rubbed.

“Damn it, woman, that’s going to make me come even faster.” He knocked her hand aside and resumed the job.

Opie giggled softly under her breath, slowly sliding back down over him, feeling his cock thicken and harden inside her. He rubbed her hard and furiously. Yanking out of her body, he turned her around roughly, his eyes ablaze with primal passion. It inflamed her body without even needing to be touched.

“Yes, take me, Simon. Make me yours. I will make you mine.” He gripped her lower legs, lifted her and thrust back into her. The crack of tile walls reverberated as she smacked her head in the fit of pleasure coursing through her body. The air tingled with magic.

“Gods I feel it, I feel it.” She nuzzled his neck. He tilted her head to the side, granting him better access to her tender neck. Her tongue slid across his skin as his hips thrust wildly into her. She squeezed her eyes closed, her gums tingling as his body trembled, and she struck, her dragon fangs sinking deep into his flesh. The special bonding saliva mingling with his blood overrode both the Gullu poison, and his immortality.

He cried out, but kept thrusting, pushing her towards her own peak. She pulled out her teeth, licking at the wound. It was done. In one bite she’d saved him, and doomed him to an eventual death. No, they would be together forever.

Still breathing hard against her neck, he raised it slightly, licking at her skin. She knew what he needed.

“Now, Simon, bite me now!”