AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Thank you,” he said. “Thank you for beginning to trust me.”
She smiled. Trust? She wasn’t quite there yet, but something felt right. “You’re welcome. Very welcome.”
“Are you hungry?”
Kristen laughed. “You know, I am. I hadn’t thought about it until now, but I’m absolutely famished.”
Was it possible that telling Aidan about the fire had lightened her heart somehow? Or was it just being with him that fed her elation?
“Good.” He rang a small bell next to his wineglass.
Soon a waiter appeared with a plate of seared Ahi tuna.
Kristen had never eaten tuna prepared this way, but Aidan speared his fork into the soft fish and held it to her lips, coaxing. It was delicious. Almost creamy on her tongue, with a tangy heat from the green stuff he called wasabi.
“It’s wonderful,” she said, after swallowing.
“See?” he said. “I told you to trust me.”
She lifted her lips into a grin. “Are you going to open my eyes to a whole new world tonight?”
“I’d like that.” He winked at her.
A tremor shot through her, heating her skin and settling between her legs. Did he mean to take her to bed? God, she hoped so.
They feasted on mixed greens next and then braised beef tenderloin with baby vegetables. Dessert was chocolate fondue. They laughed together as they fed each other strawberries dipped in the bittersweet confection.
What could be better? Quite a few things, Kristen thought, her cheeks heating. Chocolate dipped Aidan, for one.
When Aidan walked her to her front door, Kristen assumed he would want to come in. She was ready to allow it. The wine, the chocolate, the fun conversation—she couldn’t think of a nicer way to end the date than some slow lovemaking with this amazing man.
He kissed her on her porch—a scalding, possessive kiss. She moaned as he bit at her lips, nibbled on her neck. And when he sank his tongue into her mouth, she sighed, imagining the hard thrusts of his cock in her wet and ready pussy.
But he pulled back and smiled. He took her key from her and opened the door.
“Aidan?”
He gazed at her, his green eyes full of smoke and desire, but he made no move to enter. Instead, he touched her cheek.
“Goodnight, love,” he said. “Dream of me.”
9
Leaving Kristen on her front porch had nearly killed Aidan. But she had to trust him. That was paramount. If she didn’t… Well, he didn’t want to go there.
His nemesis loomed closer each day. If Micah found him… Worse, if Micah found Kristen before Aidan could complete the bonding—
It couldn’t happen.
He could have taken her. How easy it would have been to stay with her, seduce her, make love to her all night. She’d been ready. The heady scent of her arousal still lingered in his nose, still flowed through his veins. Oh yeah, she would have let him in. Into her home, and into her body. His cock throbbed. This hunger intensified with every passing second. He’d heard the desire was great when a dragon found his mate, but he hadn’t imagined the savageness of it. The complete dominance of his body and soul.
Kristen owned him. Completely.
He’d bent his scruples once by going to her before she fully trusted him. He could not live with himself if he did it again. Relieving himself was always an option, but Kristen would climax if he did. The thought of that… Well, he’d just end up hard again.
Slowly he breathed. In. Out. In. Out. He drove home on his bike. Once home at his cabin in the foothills of the Rockies, he relaxed. Riding always relaxed him. He parked the bike and walked leisurely to his door.
Until an uninvited presence assaulted his mind. His body thrummed, but not with sexual anticipation this time. With fear. Terror. A dagger pierced his heart.
Micah.
“Hello, brother.”
Micah’s voice slithered over Aidan. Serpentine. Micah had always seemed serpentine rather than dragon. As a child, Aidan had imagined his brother as a snake in the grass.
He turned. His brother stood, his blondness a stark contrast to Aidan’s own darkness. Micah had the blondness of his father. Aidan, of course, had the darkness of their mother. He didn’t resemble Micah’s father at all, for of course, Micah’s father was not his father. Aidan hadn’t seen the man who’d been his da for the first five years of his life in nearly a century. Nor had he seen his brother. Yet he recognized him. His look, his scent. The evil in his eyes.
Micah hadn’t always been evil, though he’d been headed down a bad road when Aidan and his mother left all those years ago. Snake-like, though snakes weren’t inherently evil. Since their separation, Aidan had felt the evil taking over Micah. Though only half brothers, they still shared the fraternal dragon bond, and Aidan knew Micah had turned. His father had taught him to hate their mother, Anthea. Twice, before they’d left Scotland for good, Anthea had tried to take Micah from his father and escape with both boys to the states. But Declan had thwarted her plan and had eventually taken Micah into hiding. As a young man, Aidan had promised Anthea he would try to find Micah, but he’d given up after several years as the evil had taken his half brother. While Aidan could sense him, he couldn’t find him. Clearly, Micah hadn’t wanted to be found. Aidan hadn’t had the heart to tell Anthea of her other son.
