She nestled closer against him, threading her fingers into his silky hair.She slid her hands across the width of his back, the heat of his Dragon tingling on her fingertips.Like the night before, she followed the lines of his spine down to the dip of his lower back, over the curve of his ass.
He let out a soft groan, running his hands down her collarbone and squeezing her breasts.She moved into his hand, craving more of his touch.His slightly callused palms created delicious friction on her skin.She pressed her thighs closer to his, feeling the light sprinkling of coarse hairs against her legs.She clutched at him, pulling him fully against her.
Yes, yes, want—no need—to feel you.All of you.On me, in me.
He moved his hands around her and pulled her closer yet, as though he’d sensed her desire.His mouth left a wet trail down her neck, making its way slowly down to her nipple, which ached for his touch.She let out a small gasp as his tongue circled and tickled and flicked.And as he moved to lavish the other breast with the same attention, his hand cupped her mound and moved in lazy circles.
Warm satisfaction rolled over her.His fingers slid over and around every inch of her.Little mewling sounds she’d never uttered before came out of her mouth as his hand slid between her legs.And then he covered her mouth with his as she gasped.
She caught her breath, not easy as he continued kissing and caressing her.She wrapped her arms around him.
“Ruby,” he said on a groan, rubbing his mouth back and forth across hers.He took a shuddering breath and stepped back.“I can’t let this happen.”He released her, still shaking his head.“This isn’t right.”
She was dizzy at the flip of emotions, trying to gain her balance both physically and mentally.“It felt pretty right to me.”But then she remembered something he’d said earlier.“You said I was off-limits.”
“You are.”He grabbed up her clothes and shoved them at her.“I’m…” It was the first time she’d seen him truly thrown off.“I’m your sworn protector, and you’re in a vulnerable place right now.”
She tugged her shirt over her head.“Me, vulnerable?Did you see me kicking that demon’s ass?”Oh, no.What if he was just using that as an excuse?“No, don’t explain.It was obviously just Dragon lust.You made it clear that I was too young and not your type.”She hoped he would negate that and look at her the way he had when he’d said she was beautiful.
He kept his expression carefully masked, his voice even when he said, “You are too young.Definitely not my type.”
“So you agree that this”—she gestured to indicate the electricity between them—”is only because of our horny Dragons?”
“Yes.”
“Nothing to do with Ruby wanting Cyn.Or… Cyn wanting Ruby?”
“Nothing at all.Once we’re done with this, and we’re apart from each other, you’ll forget all about me.”
Which meant the opposite was true as well.He would forget about her.All righty then.Get that through your head, Ruby.He doesn’t want you.Even as he was doing everything in his power to keep her safe.“Why did you swear to become my protector?That’s some serious business if it means laying your life down for someone.”
The heat in his expression was gone, but his Dragon was flexing its talons and looking at her as if it might eat her.And not in the bad kind of way.Her own Dragon responded, aching to reach out to him.
Stop it.
“You were an orphan like me.”
“You’re an orphan?”
“You needed a Dragon to guide you, teach you.Since the organization I worked for made you an orphan, I accepted the duty to be that Dragon.”He obviously didn’t want to go into his own past, gliding right over it.
She remembered his expression when he’d told her about the massacre.“Your parents died during the Mundanes ambush, didn’t they?”
He hesitated before answering, “Yes.”
“Tell me.”When he hesitated, she added, “It’ll be a good diversion for…” Again, she indicated the electricity between them.
He released a breath, clearly buying her lie.“I was sleeping on my parents’ bedroom floor after having a bad dream.I woke to gunshots, and by the time I got up, the Mundanes were already running down the hall.My mother took her last breath as I gripped her hand.My father could only blink as blood poured from his head.The Mundanes ducked into each of our rooms, splattering the beds with gunshots, and then moved on to the next house.My brother was dead.I would have been too if I’d been in my own bed.They didn’t see me there on the floor, or I’m sure they would have killed me, too.”
“Because they obviously didn’t have the speck of humanity my parents’ killer did.”He had kept emotion from his voice, but she saw it in his eyes.“I’m sorry,” she said, knowing better than anyone that no words could ever soothe the past.
He walked to the cabinet to turn off the music.“Get a shower.We’re going to see another friend of mine.I’ll fill you in on the way.”
14
Purcell lit a cigar and settled at the desk in the lab to study the latest solar event alert from the Space Weather Prediction Center.The experts had been warning about the solar maximum for months now, the peak of storm activity that occurred every twelve years.Two smaller eruptions had already passed the Earth with negligible effect, but the one that had just erupted was supposed to be a three or four out of five on the NOAA Space Weather scale.It would affect the Earth’s magnetic field in two days when the coronal mass ejection hit.
That’s what he was counting on.
