To Have & to Hold (3 page)

His moss-green eyes blazed intently. The pupils blanched then elongated to slits. The green color drained to amber, but only in one eye. The other stayed vibrant green. And, what a moment before had been hard, ripped muscle and taut human skin covered in white cotton, now became scales of amber, amethyst, sage, cobalt, and sienna. A snout elongated. Wings sprouted and filled the high-ceilinged space of the attic. The powerful tail with a razor-sharp protruding exoskeleton whipped forward, just missing her. She knew the brunt of that tail. It had been the source of her cuts and bruising and the broken arm. She smelled the brimstone a moment before the blast of fire exploded on the fire-resistant floor at her feet. The click of jagged talons against the floor reminded her of the scarring that graced her back.

Nothing had changed.

Shimmering.
Beautiful.
Spectacular.
Awesome.
Hideous in its splendor.
The monster grew in the space of the attic apartment.
Deadly and wholly uncontrollable.

Why had she ever hoped and believed he could learn to control the monster within? Even after a year, he couldn
’
t contain the beast.
Grayson Cooper had transformed into his darker alter ego, a dragon. Not a flea-bitten shag rug.
But a full-fledged fire-breathing dragon.

Patron saint, shit. Michael was wrong.
Cate
knew a lost cause when she saw it.

She spun on her heel and ran for her life.

Chapter Two

The moment Grayson Cooper let his anger take over, he knew he
’
d made a fatal error. For one God damned interminable year he
’
d
worked
to keep the simmering emotion and the
beast that came with it leashed
the best he could
.
But one look at
Cate
and
the
whiff of Michael James
’
s stink all over her had blown his best laid plans to hell. Didn
’
t she know the bastard had tried to kill him and
leave
him for dead on a sinkin
g boat in the Celtic Sea? And Michael had
embezzled millions from them. God damn it.
Grayson
wasn
’
t the bad guy here. James was a big
ger monster than Grayson. He’d
just
gotten
better at hiding it.

Grayson had changed. He
’
d trained the mons
ter inside him so it wouldn’t rage out of control
, so it wouldn
’
t hurt
Cate
. Or so he
’
d thought until he
’
d gone off half-cocked
at
the first hint of trouble. He
’
d let the dragon erupt, intent on fighting that bastard James for the right to reclaim his own wife.

No wonder she
’
d run. She
’
d thought the dragon would hurt her again as it had in the past.
H
e
’
d done nothing to prove to
Cate
that her experience with the rampant dragon over a year ago would be any different today.

God damn his bloody temper.

He
’
d show her. She couldn
’
t run away from him, not now, not when he
’
d fought so hard this past year for them, for her.

Grayson bowed his head. Unlocked the hoard inside his chest and pulled on the reservoir of strength deep within. His breathing calmed. Healing energy flowed around and through him. His body became his own again. He yanked on another pair of denims and raced after her.

By the time he pounded down the stairs,
Cate
was throwing a duffle in the back of her car. She slammed the boot shut. When she turned to see him standing at the foot of the porch stairs, she stilled.

He hated the wary look in her eyes. He didn
’
t want her to fear him. He only wanted her to love him.
To understand him.
To accept him.
Dragon and all.

“
Cate
, please don
’
t go.
”
His voice sound rusty to his own ears.
“
I promise you, I
’
ve changed. I love you. The dragon doesn
’
t control me. I control it.
”

Her wary gaze turned hard. Her beautiful
gray
eyes glittered
silver
.
“
And that
’
s why you shifted a few minutes ago?
Because you have so much mastery over that infernal beast?
No, Grayson. I think not. I don
’
t want to do this anymore. I
’
m done.
”

“
No. Don
’
t give up on us, please.
”
He moved toward her, one cautious step after another. He kept his movements slow, non-threatening, like he was gentling a skittish mare.
“
Baby, you know how good it can be between us. How good it
’
s always been.
”

She
bared
her teeth, ready to lay into him verbally. She looked fierce.
Sexy.
Even angry, she was the most beautiful woman he
’
d ever known. Shoulder-length copper hair fell in layers. He loved her eyes.
Her curvy
build.
Long legs.
Lush hips.
Full breasts.

Grayson, better than any man, understood
Cate
’
s
appeal.
She was irresistible.

However, he also knew the inner strength and beauty at her core.
The devotion and loyalty.
Sheer determination and grit drove her. She possessed the ability to hold it all together when everything else around her seemed to be falling to pieces. And that kind of strength
,
more than anything
,
made him long for her.
Cate
was his equal in every way--passion, ferocity, and power. He needed her fighting at his side.
With him.
Not against him. God it had been too long. She
embodied
a fresh pool of clear water for his parched soul.

The whipping wind snatched away her brittle laugh. The mirthless sound died quickly on her lips.
“
Pardon me if I
’
ve forgotten any of the good times. I
’
ve given you four years of my life, Grayson. And what have I gotten in return? Hell.
A pure living hell.
No
,
thanks.
There
’
s not enough magic in the world to change my mind today. So don
’
t even try.
”

That
’
s exactly what he
’d
hoped to do. Change her mind. No tricks. No magic. No manipulation. He wanted to
convince her to stay with him by using
his finesse as a man, not a mage
or
a dragon. Not that anyone could accuse him of possessing dragon finesse. Hell
,
he was a God damned
rookie
. He had a lot to learn. His mouth twitched. And his social skills as a man were rusty. But he knew
Cate
, so he
’
d go with his instincts.

She moved to open her car door.

He stepped between her and
escape
.

She didn
’
t back down, didn
’
t flinch. For that, at least, he was thankful.
Cate
had never backed down. Despite everything she
’
d been through, she wasn
’
t timid. She
’
d always been a fighter.

Some would see her steadfast devotion to him over the past
four
years as a weakness.

They were fools.

He marveled at her, the fiercest warrior he
’
d ever known. She
’
d battled for both her own life and that of her soul mate. He couldn
’
t let her give up now. Not when they were so close to winning this war.

“
Cate
, you love me. You can
’
t leave.
”
He brushed a strand of her silky hair from her cheek, tucking it behind her ear. Her skin felt so soft. She smelled of lilacs and vanilla. He breathed in and drew her scent deep within to tuck it into his hoard to savor and cherish forever.

“
Yes, call me a fool. Despite everything you
’
ve done to me, I do love you. I must be a blasted idiot.
”

“
No, you
’
re not.
”
He skimmed his fingers down her arm to caress her cold fingers. He lifted her hand to his bare chest, laid it over the strong steady beat of his heart.
“
I won
’
t hurt you again,
Cate
.
Ever.
I give you my word.
”

He covered her hand with his. He could feel the beat of his own heart through her skin.

She closed her eyes. Her body shuddered under his touch. Her full
,
dusky mouth pinched at the corners instead of growing soft like he
’
d hoped. She held herself stiff, tense.
Her eyes were squeezed tight
.

He had to convince her to stay with him.

He stepped close and before she could respond or push him away, he pressed his mouth against hers in a tender kiss. She sighed and opened for him instantly. The soft, silky heat of her mouth nearly undid him. A hunger so elemental and fierce gripped him hard and threatened to consume him whole.
Cate
was his woman.
His wife.
Nothing else had ever seemed so right or
so
integral to his survival as this connection.

Grayson deepened the kiss and wound his hand into her hair, pulling her close to him. Their bodies blazed where they touched. Her supple breasts brushed his bare chest. Her nipples hardened through the cotton fabric of her t-shirt. She wiggled closer,
then
her hands caressed his chest and circled his neck to draw him near.

The scent of her arousal snaked around him. A deep moan escaped his throat. All the blood left his head and rushed south. He
’
d always wanted this woman. Nothing had changed during his year of seclusion. He wanted her now more than ever.

Grayson slipped his hand beneath her shirt, spanned her taut abdomen and moved up. He wanted her fast and furious. Here and now. No holds barred. Hot. Honest. No complicating words.
They
’
d work out everything else later.

He set out to show
Cate
how much he loved her.

Grayson flicked open the front closure of her lacey bra and cupped her naked breast.
Cate
groaned, her head fell back.
He lifted her shirt and teased her rosy nipple with his mouth. Hot and wet. He sucked gently and rasped his teeth against her heated flesh. Then, he kissed her other breast.

Cate
gasped and sagged back against the car for support.
“
More. Need more,
”
she
begged,
her husky voice guttural and sexy as hell. She unbuttoned his denims, freeing his
erection. Her actions feverish and
desperate, she took him in hand. He thought he
’
d lose his mind.
Right there and then.

He untied her yoga pants and pushed them down her hips. His fingers found her heated center, slick and hot. He caressed her.
Cate
’
s
breathing hitched. Her body tightened with an altogether different tension than he
’
d
experienced
a few moments earlier. Her physical sensitivity to his touch aroused him, pushed him over the edge. She was wound so tight she was about to explode in his hands. He lifted her, her back still against the car. She wound her legs around his hips and he drove into her in one smooth thrust. She cried out and gripped his shoulders, her nails biting into his skin.

“
God,
Cate
. You feel so good.
”
He stroked her deep, his hips moving slowly at first. Each thrust fed something deep in his soul. Something starved and so needy it scared the hell out of him. He picked up his pace, driving hard. Power swirled around them, entwining itself around their hearts, binding their souls in a timeless reunion. Magic tingled on his skin. The stormy clouds thundered above them. A lightning bolt split the sky. Rain spilled from the heavens in a sudden torrential downpour.

Cate
’
s
eyes remained closed, her head lifted to the open sky. Rain slicked her hair, her breasts.
“
So good.
”
She moaned. She never looked more beautiful to him than she did in this moment.
Aroused.
Passionate.
Wild.
And wholly his.

He kissed her again, taking her one step closer to the point of no return. He licked a trail down her neck. Thrust hard, flicked his fingers between them over her clitoris, and bit down on the side of her neck below her ear, sucking gently.

A strand of elemental power shifted again. She shattered under him. Her orgasm drew him even deeper, if that
was possible. He thrust again and then
teetered on the edge, ready to tumble into the precipice. The beast stirred to life, trying to break free. He felt his teeth, still latched gently onto her neck, begin to elongate. No! The monster would not steal this from him. He clamped down hard on the dragon, forcing it to obey.