Haunted By Her Dragon (The Dragon Guard Series) (7 page)

“Now
is not the time,”
was all he said as they reached the
truck, and the sons of bitches that had failed to keep their mouths shut. The
laughter in his head was almost deafening. Paybacks were a bitch, and the
banter they were throwing was only the beginning for all the shit he’d given
them during their years together. Oh well, what the
hell
was family for
if not to mess with you every chance they got?

“Hi,
Dr. Malone,” Royce extended his hand to Sam, smiling and winking. Lance
considered smacking him, no matter how much bigger and older he was.

“Hi…Royce.
Just call me Sam,” she smiled at his brethren, and he could see that her
exhaustion was just about to take over.

“Hey,
Sam,” Devon waved. He was leaning against the tailgate of his Silverado,
wearing a
shit
-eating grin that was completely
unusual for the most reserved of his brethren, but confirming what he already
knew; he was in for years of teasing. Something else he would have to prepare
Sam for
when the time was right.

“Hey...ah…Devon,”
She shook her head, and once again her fatigue was evident. “Sorry ‘bout that.
I’m usually good with names but I’ve been at work on and off for about
thirty-six hours, and I’m
runnin
’ on fumes.”

She
chuckled, and he felt jealousy for the first time in his life. He knew it was
completely unjustified. His brethren would never do anything but help, protect,
and love his mate as a sister, but it was all part of the mating call. It
didn’t help that his need to care for her exhaustion and the close proximity of
the wizards added to the dragon’s need to protect. It was time to get the show
on the road. Get her home and tucked into bed and make the nagging dragon
within shut the hell up. “Thanks for bringing the truck. I think
Sam
here is too tired for a bike ride.” He accentuated her nickname and was
rewarded with another eye roll.
Damn
, she was cute when she was sassy.

“I’m
not too tired, but I will admit the thought of leaning back against the comfy
seats of that big truck sounds like a plan.” She leaned slightly towards him,
and he used the opportunity to pull her against his side. Once again her
exhaustion worked in his favor; she didn’t even flinch, but cuddled into him.
He smiled and then realized Royce and Devon both grinned at him like a couple
of loons. Dev even winked.
Oh yeah, this was just getting better and
better….
he thought.

He
cleared his throat and glared at both men, but refused to lose the contact he
had with Sam. If they wanted to laugh at him, they could just laugh away; he’d
earned it. It felt too good and too right to have her at his side to give a
damn. Of course, he would have to come up with a really good reason why he was
not claiming her right away, but he had time to come up with something before
he saw them again. It was time to get his mate to her own bed before she fell
asleep standing in a damn parking lot.

He
started moving them to the passenger side of his truck. “Thanks again. I’m
gonna
get the doc here home, and then I’ll meet up with you
later,” he said in passing.

His
brethren took the hint. “No problem, Bro,” Devon answered as he and Royce
headed towards Sam’s parking spot. It was only then that he realized they had
brought Royce’s bike with them. In all the excitement of the wizards’ arrival,
he had forgotten that most bikes were too small for the largest of his
brethren, and the big guy
hated
riding bitch.

“Brought
your own wheels, huh, Grandpa?”
He couldn’t resist
messing with Royce. It was just too damn fun.

“You
better watch your mouth, Pain in the Ass; I might just embarrass you in front
of your girl there.”
He could hear all his brethren
chuckling.

“Yeah,
yeah, yeah, whatever.”

“Paybacks
are a bitch.”
Royce loved to remind Lance what he
already knew; the big guy
would
get even.

“Whatever,
Gramps.
You’ve missed me.”

“Right!
Like I’ve missed woolen breeches,”
and with Royce’s
comeback, all the Guardsmen were roaring with laughter.

He
lifted Sam into the truck and made sure she fastened her seatbelt before
shutting the door.
“You guys be careful and kick some ass for me.”

“We
sure will, Bro. Just get your lady
outta
here. The
more I wind around this hospital, the more I’m sure you’re right. They were
coming for Dr. Malone. Their true trail follows her almost step for step.”
Aidan
confirmed what he had feared. They were coming back to collect the women they
had kidnapped earlier in the year. He was glad the other two women that had
stayed in the area were out of state at the moment. That would allow them to
keep all the focus on Sam’s safety and catching the bastards responsible.

“Thanks
again for everything. I’ll be in touch.”
They all answered as
he climbed into his truck, and then he cut the connection. He needed to think
and focus all his attention on scanning for trouble as they made their way to
her little cottage in the woods. There was no way he was going to let those
assholes follow them. He backed out of the parking spot and headed to the exit.
“You hungry?”
He asked, knowing she hadn’t eaten
anything the entire time he had been with her, and sure she hadn’t eaten much
before that either.

The
only answer he got was her deep breathing. He glanced over, and his suspicions
were confirmed; she had already fallen asleep. While she slept, he was able to
wind around and avoid taking any obvious routes to her home without her
questioning his motives. There were no signs of wizards, Andrew, or any humans
that didn’t belong, but he maintained his vigilance. He would do everything
within his power to keep Sam safe. All of this bullshit proved to him once
again how justified he was in not claiming her, but there was no way he would
allow anyone the chance to harm the one the Universe had made for him. His
dragon chuffed in agreement about her safety, but was definitely NOT on board
with waiting to claim the light of their soul. The two mighty warriors would
continue this debate, of that he was sure.

Pulling
into her driveway with the headlights off, he once again scanned the area.
There was a slight disturbance about five hundred yards behind her house.
Pushing more of his considerable power into his mind’s eye, he focused on the
movement and realized it was coming from the treetops. He was then able to
locate three more such disturbances and was sure he knew who it was, but needed
confirmation; this was Sam’s safety he was talking about after all.
“Royce,
did you call Max?”
he sent directly into the mind of his brethren, not
hiding his annoyance.

“Aidan
called him when we were unable to locate the wizards. The bastards are gone,
and there’s no sign of the traitor.”

“How
the hell did the big cats know where Sam lives?”
His
relief that they were patrolling the woods was outweighing his annoyance, but
he was
not thrilled
that anyone knew where his mate lived.

“I
picked the location out of your mind. Sorry, Bro,”
Devon answered with sincere regret. His older brethren’s talents were growing
stronger with age. He would have to be careful what he kept out in the open
from now on.

“No
worries. Just would’ve been nice to know we had a welcoming committee.”
The Guardsmen all chuckled, and the last bit of irritation evaporated. He knew
they only had his mate’s best interests at heart. He was going to have to work
really hard to keep from making an ass out of himself until all this shit was
handled. Between the mating call and his dragon, it was going to be a
challenge, but he was sure he was up for it.

He
knew
Maximillain
Prentice, King of the
Werepanthers
, aka Max, was a powerful ally.
Hell
, he
liked the smartass Leo.  If not for Max and his pride, they wouldn’t have
over half of the
intel
they
had on Andrew, the wizards, and the human criminals. His
werepanthers
were able to get into places the dragons simply could not. That rankled some of
the Dragon Guard, but Lance really didn’t care who found what as long as they
eliminated the threat to his mate and caught that little asshole traitor. With
them in the woods, he could concentrate on getting Sam settled without having
to worry about anyone sneaking up on them.

Stepping
out of the truck, he nodded to the giant black cat that landed not twenty feet
in front of him. The big cat blinked its huge green eyes several times, dipped its
chin in recognition, and continued his patrol of the woods around Sam’s home.
Max was a force to be reckoned with as a man, but in animal form, he was
downright fierce. As Lance made his way to the passenger side of his truck, he
noticed a few more sets of eyes flashing in the darkness. What had irritated
him a few minutes ago now comforted him. Knowing they were out there and had
his back, allowing him the time he needed with his mate, damn sure made life
easier. Any other time, he would’ve taken the lead, run off after any and all
enemies, and not stopped until they were either captured or killed, without
regard for his own safety.  His brethren had all accused him of hot
dogging at least once a week for all of their very long lives together, but
with Sam in his life,
everything
had changed.

He
stopped dead, hand extended, not quite touching the door handle, realizing for
the first time that his world would
never
be the same. Whether he
claimed his mate now or after Andrew and all the others he was colluding with
was caught, it was all different, and he wasn’t sure how he felt about the
changes. He knew the Universe did not make mistakes, but was he really ready
for a mate? His dragon pushed hard, letting him know that the beast was most
definitely ready, but he couldn’t stop wondering if
he
was. Deciding it
was not something he had to think about at the moment, he went back to caring
for his mate.

As
soon as he opened the door, the beauty of the woman hit him square in the
chest. Samantha Malone was absolutely gorgeous and amazingly fierce when awake,
but sitting in his truck, completely relaxed, body curled to the side with her
head leaned against the headrest, breathing deeply, sleeping for the first time
in a very long time; she completely took his breath away. Her hair was wound in
her signature braid, signifying how exhausted she truly was. He’d never seen
her leave it bound any longer than the walk to her car after her shift. 
The temptation to taste the succulent skin on her scrumptious neck was hard to
resist and caused his body to lean forward of its own volition. Breathing deep,
in an effort to regain his control, he pulled the scent of jasmine and
honeysuckle,
her scent
, deep into his lungs. His eyes slid shut, and he
leaned the rest of the way forward until his lips touched her forehead. Laying
a simple kiss above her eyebrow, he took a moment to enjoy the thought of a
normal life with the one destined to be his.

He
quickly stood up, shaking his head.
Normal?
What the hell was that?
At one hundred and twelve years old, he couldn’t remember one time his life had
been normal. He shook his head one more time and reached across his mate,
unhooking the seatbelt. Sliding his arms under her knees and behind her back,
he lifted her from the seat, and she curled into his chest, laying her head on
his shoulder. He felt another piece of his soul click into place. It just felt
right to have her in his arms, depending on him, even in her sleep.
I’m
becoming as big a sap as the others. Doesn’t that just suck?
Kicking the
door shut, he heard the gravel of her driveway crunch under his boots as he
headed towards her front door, trying not to think inappropriate thoughts of
the amazing woman presently cuddled against his chest. As he stepped onto her
porch, he realized her door was most definitely locked. Had he had a free hand,
he would have smacked his forehead for not thinking of it sooner. Then it hit
him, she always carried her keys in the front pocket of her scrubs. Carefully
balancing his mate with one arm, he retrieved the keys, unlocked the door and
entered her home, not even taking the time to look around. He was quickly up
the stairs to the room he knew was hers from all the nights he had kept watch.

His
enhanced sight allowed him to take in his surroundings as he gently laid her
down. The colors were a palette of browns, beiges, and creams, perfectly
coinciding with what he already knew of his Sam, but he had to admit the lace
and frills surprised him a bit. His mate had a girlie side, and what once he would
have made him scoff now warmed his heart.
Damn!
This whole mating thing
was turning him into a ball of mush. The same shit he had been
ragging
on Rayne and Aidan about was happening to him, and
he was starting to not give a shit.

For
the first time since laying her down, Sam moved in her sleep, and without a
second thought, he jumped into action. His only thought was for her comfort. He
removed her shoes and covered her with the quilt he found neatly folded at the
end of the bed. As soon as the blanket touched her, she curled to the side with
her back facing him. He marveled at the outline of her perfect form. His palms
itched with the need to trace every seductive curve, his mouth watered with the
need to taste every erotic dip, and the sight of her magnificently rounded
behind nearly had him begging at the altar that was his Samantha. His eyes ate
up every inch of the amazing creature that was to be his.