Immortal Heat (The Guardians of Dacia Book 1) (21 page)

Marilyn shook her head. "I'm not following you."

"You know of our prophet, Zamolxis the Great. He is more than a prophet, he is our god. He was sent to us by the god of the sun and moon to mold us into a great people. He asked for the gods to create creatures to help the Dacia in battle against their neighboring foes. Those creatures were known as Zmei.

"Folklore made them into evil shape-shifting creatures that turned into flame to creep into women's bed chambers and seduce them as a mortal man in their sleep. They stole women to take them as their own. The stories became so elaborate that history told them as dragons stealing the damsel in distress…"

"…and the handsome prince slays the dragon and rescues the lovely maiden. Yes a typical fairy tale troupe. But that is not what a Zmeu is?" She looked to Draylon for more answers.

"No. They ar…were shape-shifters. Most held a distinguished character depending on their paternal DNA, but all had their true form and that of a human. Animal forms in both land and flight usually were their secondary characteristics.

"The only problem with the race was they were all males. There were no female Zmei to breed with. Every ten years an honored warrior's daughter was selected to be betrothed to one of the Zmei. She was taken away to be prepared for her wedding day by the other females and the goddess Zamora, who looked upon the Zmei as her coveted pets. The women considered it a great honor…until one day when one of the intended brides refused to wed because she was in love with another."

"What happened?" Tina asked, enthralled with the story.

Marilyn had heard this story before, somewhere. "The woman wed the Zmeu against her wishes. After awhile she began to fall in love with her mate, only to have her previous lover gather an army of men and storm their home, destroying the Zmei. All died, except one." Her monotone speech sounded recorded, even to her own ears.

Silence followed. Draylon stared at her, keeping her mesmerized within his gaze. For a moment she thought she could actually envision the horror of the poor Zmei as flames danced in his eyes and screams of terror both human and beast echoed in her head. Gasping, she snapped out of the trance.

"How sad." Tina sighed.

"Angered, Bendis, the moon goddess, asked all the gods to do something about the atrocity. The sun god, Derzelas took away the light of day from the clan who destroyed the Zmei. They had to live in the dark of night. Bendis demanded they suffer by not hunting her wild beasts. They would have to learn to live off the blood of their fellow man. Sanziana, goddess of fertility, took away their ability to breed by sexual procreation. The only way to create more of their kind was through changing humans—but they had to have permission.

"The story didn't stop there. The young Zmeu bride wept over the slaughter of her new family. But her former lover captured her and forced her to wed him. She despised him, seeing how he really was. He wasn't the one to love, and besides, he had even a darker side now. Full with child, she managed to run away one night to the sanctuary of her father's home village. But she wasn't welcomed. Her family and clansmen shunned her because of her part in her betrayal. So she took refuge in Zamolxis' home where she was cared for until her child was born, and Zamolxis took her and her child to the safety of a neighboring land."

"So where do the wolves fit in?" Marilyn asked.

"They were always there. They were Zamolxis' immortal warriors, the ones who'd shunned the young woman," Draylon continued and shook his head. "Unfortunately, Zamolxis was upset that they wouldn't give her a chance to redeem herself or explain how she'd accepted the Zmei as her family. It wasn't her fault…" Draylon didn't sound pleased, as if he didn't agree with the woman's innocence. "So he had his immortal warriors live the life as their battle mascot, the wolf. Clans fought for dominance. Alpha against alpha, they shifted into wolves when battles were necessary. It was these battles against clans that caused the rift in strength, making the Romans able to conquer."

Marilyn took it from there. "Many of the Dacia became Roman slaves. Women were used as concubines. The ways of the Dacian people was destroyed."

Nodding, Draylon continued, "Our numbers began to die out as some of our remaining clan left to find freedom. Those with life mates were lucky. The younger breed, not so much. Women were scarce. After awhile the clan had to share mates, but the interbreeding took its toll and produced weak pups or infertility among them. There are now less than a hundred males in the Delvante clan…the only remaining true Dacian clan left…and no females."

"…until now," Marilyn muttered.

"At first that is why I thought Rick wanted me to keep you safe. You would be in danger from the male population struggling to reproduce. It wouldn't be fun. You would be used as a breeding mare, nothing else. But it's more than that. Vamier wants you and is stopping at nothing to get to you. I had to send you back here to safety."

"Could he want her because she's the link to his enemy's survival?" Tina asked.

Draylon looked to Mike who shrugged casually.

"It's a possibility, Dray."

Rubbing his shadowy growth on his chin, Draylon appeared to ponder the thought. "It is probable, but no, I think there is something more they're after…I just don't know what. And Rick's not saying."

#

Marilyn couldn't sleep, her mind raced with everything that had happened tonight and with what she could remember from before. Tina and she had been given guest rooms in the massive underground retreat connected by a Jack and Jill bathroom. They'd discussed the situation they were in and decided perhaps it was best to stay safely hidden for awhile.

But that was mostly Tina's decision. Marilyn knew after what they'd encountered at the blood bank tonight Tina didn't trust being exposed. Marilyn didn't like confinement, but she would stay for her friend's sake, until they could figure out what else they could do. It wasn't that she didn't feel safe here…she did. But she struggled with what Mike and Draylon were capable of doing. A vampire and a shape-shifter wolf? Not a very secure scenario. She chuckled to herself. She was one to talk.

Frustrated to be wide awake, she got out of the comfy bed and tiptoed down the hall, wearing a men's button down dress shirt and a pair of boxers that Mike had let her borrow to sleep in. The pitch black didn't hinder her. Her vision was so much sharper than she remembered. But that wasn't all that was heightened. Breathing in the musky scent of dominant male, Marilyn followed her nose through the labyrinth halls and into the main room where they'd been most of the night. The signature spice pricked a memory. It hit her with the force of a solid punch to her chest. Catching her breath, she leaned up against the wall as the haze cleared from her mind, and she viewed the image of her…her and Draylon…on a desk…

Oh my God. She clasped her hand over her mouth to keep from gasping aloud. Had she…did she? No, that wasn't her. She shook her head. After her horrible failure with Daniel, there was no way she'd be bold enough. How could the image be her…doing
that
!

Needing to sit and clear her head of the disturbingly intimate thought, she made her way into the dark room and sat down heavily in the large over-stuffed leather chair. The musky scent enveloped her. She inhaled the aroma like a lovers embrace, curling up into a contented ball in the chair. Staring out into the night, mesmerized by the twinkling of lights making up the silhouette of Frederick fifteen minutes away, Marilyn jumped as a huge black shadow passed in front of the window.

Coming out of her seat she ran to the window, pressing her face against the glass to see what it was. All was calm. What she could see. The flat panel of window didn't give anymore view along the peripheral sides of the walls so whatever it was could be long gone or just on the other side of her vision. She waited to see if it might reappear. Minutes ticked by.

"You should be in bed."

Marilyn squealed at the deep, whispered tenor behind her. A figure moved forth from the dark shadows of the cavernous room, its eyes blazing with an unearthly glow, but it might have only been a trick of her mind, a reflection off of the glass—oh my…he was naked.

Draylon stood there in front of her in all of his natural glory. Her voice got stuck somewhere between her aching need and her salivating mouth. She stared at him as if she were enthralled in animated time.

"Are you typical of all Dacians?"

Draylon walked towards her, and her breath stopped in her lungs. All man and muscle mixed with a natural grace in his step and posturing. She looked up for fear of staring at…wow…yeah. Her thoughts went crazy as she involuntarily looked down. The word,
magnificent
came to mind. He smiled. A genuine smile. It was in the quirk of his lips, the relaxed line of his jaw, but more importantly, it was in his eyes.

"No, I'm not typical…and thank you."

The sexiness of his softly spoken words had her pressing her thighs together for fear she would make a puddle on the floor. She tried to figure out what he was replying to, forgetting he could probably read her mind. Mentally slapping a hand to her forehead, she cleared her throat. "You're welcome."

Only a few inches separated them. Heat and the familiar musk radiated from his body. A sheen of sweat covered him, and she craved the thought of washing his body as they both stood naked beneath a shower spray.

"What are you doing up?" He growled low in his throat as he moved even closer. His thigh brushed hers along with his erect cock.

Marilyn's gaze traveled quickly to take a peek at his rock hard length. She licked her lips nervously. "I could ask you the same thing."

Her brain couldn't think in terms other than sexual. The tension building in her set about a chain reaction of sensations throughout her body. Baser needs and animalistic mating rituals played out, some her own thoughts, some she swore were implanted images, along with the one of them on his desk. Her hands came up to flatten on his chest. Whether it was defensive or just her desire to touch him, she couldn't fathom.

"Did we actually do…that? Is that a true memory or something I dreamed?"

The heated look in his eyes, the way his manhood stood rigid and ready, bobbing against the thin material of her shirt, had her heart in a panic flight within her chest.

"I can neither confirm nor deny," he whispered against her ear, the sensitive skin of her throat.

"Would…would…it kill me, if I knew?" she stammered, hoping she could remain standing before oozing into a puddle of sexually frustrated goo on the floor.

"There is a good chance it could." His lips nipped her earlobe with such delicate force she nearly swooned. She'd never fainted from desperation before. The tip of Draylon's tongue ran a light trail along the corded tendon of her neck from the base of her ear to her collar bone. She mewed like a kitten.

His hands roamed up her hips clad in satin boxers and beneath the hem of the shirt, bunching the material as it rose, exposing her heated flesh to the coolness of the room. She shivered but definitely not from the cold.

Wide, strong hands encircled her torso, traveling from hip to rib, using his thumbs to skim over her abdomen and the skin just beneath the band of the boxers as his lips explored the curves and plains of her throat, collar bone, the racing throb of her pulse which matched the ache in her sex.

I can smell your heat…your want. It's driving me mad.

Her mind, fully opened, allowed his thoughts in.
You're driving me mad.

There was something to be said for being able to communicate like this. He didn't have to stop the ecstasy of his mouth on her skin. She gasped. His thumbs brushed over her erect nipples just light enough to possibly be accidental until she felt them again.

Oh, it's no accident, Marilyn. Trust me, I know exactly what I'm doing.

Tender pain shot straight to her pussy as Draylon pinched her nipples. Covering her mouth with his own, he swallowed her cries of pleasure. Shivers trailed along her nerves as masculine hands worked down her body to the band of the boxer shorts. Within seconds they were around her ankles.

Lost. She was lost in his heat, his scent, the overwhelming urge to take him and be taken by him, anywhere, anyway…anytime. Right now would be fantastic. Kicking off the satin boxers, she wrapped her leg up around his hips, pushing her mons directly against his rigid length. He lifted her up onto his hips, and she wrapped her other leg around him as she melted into his kiss.

Solid wall pressed against her back as the kiss deepened, became hotter. Marilyn thought she heard a low, menacing growl from deep in his throat and it only heightened her sexual tension. Her fingers dug into his scalp, clutching at him to be closer. She wanted him inside of her. She wanted him to fuck her into a mind-blowing orgasm until she felt his hot seed…

The growl deepened, and he held her in place with his hips alone as he rendered the shirt from her body. Buttons skittered like marbles hitting the floor. Chest to breast they meshed. Searing heat spread over her torso as Draylon's mouth captured a breast, suckling like a greedy babe. The muscles in her cunt spasmed at the intensity of the pleasure his mouth released on her.

Images of creatures fighting within her for dominance had her struggling against the wonderful torment of Draylon and her self-imposed demons. She opened her eyes to keep the images at bay, giving herself directly to the pleasure of his touch. Tossing her head to the side, she noticed she was up against the large panel of windows looking out over Frederick. A thrill of voyeurism scuttled along sensual nerves, thinking how erotic it would be if the world could see what she was experiencing. How exciting it would be for others to see how hot Draylon was making her. He bit her nipple. She cried out, nearly coming.