Branches of Life

I jolted awake from my nightmare, and the pair of arms wrapped around me tightened. My head was buried against Koa's chest, and I inhaled his scent with each breath. His steady heartbeats and slow breaths grounded me as I tried matching my breathing to his, in an attempt at slowing my racing pulse.

My nightmare wasn't all too surprising. It made sense I would dream about creatures attacking, seeing as we were literally in their realm. That wasn't what had me waking up in a panic. No, it was the creatures killing Koa right in front of me. And there was nothing I could do to stop them. My hands gripped his shirt and clenched the material, irrationally afraid he would disappear.

Light circles were rubbed on my back and eventually between that and listening to his heartbeats, my body relaxed. Now that I was out of the nightmare's thrall, and rational thoughts began seeping in, I felt ridiculous about my reaction. Worry came next, afraid he would judge me for getting so freaked out from a nightmare.

Loosening my strangling grip on his shirt, I slowly pulled away, and at first, I wasn't sure if he would let me. His hands slid over my back as I pulled into a sitting position like he was reluctant to lose contact with me.

Koa was reclining on the plush bed on top of the covers—no longer looking old, dust-covered, and torn, but was now soft and thick. His heavy and probing stare remained on me as I glanced around the room, even though I knew what I'd see. Finding my bearings after a nightmare was already difficult enough, I didn't need to add my confusing mess of emotions regarding Koa to the mix.

Moonlight streamed in through the open balcony doors, allowing a cool breeze to blow through the room. Unlike before, I wasn't able to hear the sounds of the forest. Another major difference was the smell of the room. No longer was it musty, now it had a clean fresh scent. And like the other rooms, there was a once vibrant mural on the wall.

If I had to guess, I would say it was a map. One with almost no details or labels. Around the perimeter of the semi-square-shaped land, was a faded blue that I figured was a river, connecting four bodies of water. One at the top, the bottom, and the two sides. The land inside the river was separated into five sections. In the center was another small body of water, smaller than the other four, surrounded by a gray-colored section of land. The area sounding the gray section of land was separated into four more sections. Each was painted a different color; yellow, red, purple, and green.

I wasn't sure if this was an actual place, but I doubted whoever built this hotel had fictional maps painted on their walls. This land meant something to them and therefore was worth looking into. So, on the off chance this was real and could possibly help us in the future, I activated my crystal, and essentially took a picture of the wall.

"Are you going to continue watching me without saying anything?" I asked while shutting off my crystal, and continuing my perusal of the room. The door to the bathroom was cracked open. Not enough for me to see what state it was in. I hoped Wyatt cleaned it up as well.

"Well, that depends," Koa drawled, shifting around the bed, and what sounded like the fluffing of a pillow. "Are you going to continue pretending you're interested in the room, to avoid looking at me?"

I scoffed as I continued doing just that. Of course, I couldn't keep it up for much longer, not with the only other furniture in the room being a dresser and a plush chair.

Why the hell was I being such a coward? I was acting like a preteen girl around a guy she had a crush on. Koa was just a man. Granted he was the most gorgeous and intense man I ever met, and could have me soaked by just barely touching me. And he was my mate, most likely my bonded mate. But my point still stood, I needed to stop being a chickenshit.

Taking a deep breath, I turned back to Koa and found his hands now resting beneath his head, subtly flexing his biceps. Son of a fucking bitch. Everything about him was distracting. From the way his muscled body was stretched out across the bed. To the way his black shirt rode up his stomach, showing off his abs. Because of course this motherfucker had a six-pack. He knew what he was doing if that fucking smirk was anything to go by.

"How long was I out?" I asked stretching my arms over my head.

He pulled his left arm from behind his head and checked his already glowing wristband. "A little over three hours."

"And you stayed here with me, the whole time?"

"We're in an unfamiliar realm, I would never leave you alone while you were vulnerable." I opened my mouth ready to protest, but he held up his finger, telling me to let him finish. "Everyone is vulnerable when they sleep."

"Even you?" I pressed, crossing my arms.

A smile played on his lips as he held my gaze. "Even me."

I hadn't expected him to admit he was ever vulnerable. He seemed like the type to never admit any flaws. "I didn't think you had any weaknesses," I said, lying down on my side facing him, my head propped on my hand.

He chuckled, it was short, but long enough for my heart to feel as if it skipped a beat. How could something so simple enthrall me so much? "When I was younger, I thought I only had one weakness, but lately I realized that's not exactly true," he admitted, his gaze locked on my face watching every micro expression.

"Your family?" I guessed because it usually was for summoners. Our race was more family based. That wasn't to say the others didn't care about their families or were disloyal, but you were more likely to see familial betrayal happen in the other races rather than with summoners. Some exceptions were with the jaguars, those slimy fucks. Not all the jaguars sucked, but a great deal of them did. As did those sneaky foxes.

Koa pursed his lips and flicked his gaze up to the top of the canopy before bringing it back to me. "I wouldn't exactly call them a weakness, but yes. I would do almost anything to keep those I call family safe."

"What else could possibly be a dragon summoner's weakness?" I whispered, scooting closer to him almost on instinct. I couldn't help but be near him, like we were both magnets being pulled together.

A hint of a smile softened the harsh lines of his face. "An infuriating wolf summoner with blonde hair."

My lips lifted into a smile in response, as warmth spread through my chest in a thrumming beat. "Ari?" His admission made me feel all sorts of things I'd never experienced before, and I couldn't help but ease the charged tension with a joke.

Koa brushed back a loose strand of hair from my face, his hand lingering. "I wish. She's less of a pain in the ass. Although that's not really saying much." Humor laced his tone, the half smile still there, hinting at a true smile.

I snorted, dropping my head on the pillow. "Obviously you don't know Ari too well if you think she's less trouble."

He gave me a dubious look. "I've only known you for two days and I have yet to see you put any thought into your actions."

"Well that's just not true. I thought about how jumping from the car was a bad idea and how much it would hurt." I pressed my lips together to suppress my smile as he gave me an incredulous look. A smile I wasn't able to hide for long. His face softened, and his gaze dropped to my lips. Heat pooled low in my belly as the amusement I felt only moments ago, faded in favor of other emotions.

Koa's thumb traced along my cheekbone as his expression sobered. "I thought I knew what fear felt like. That I was above it. But last night when I came to and discovered you were trapped and alone, fighting that creature, I felt true fear for the first time in my life." His eyes took on a distant look as if he were lost in his thoughts. All the while his thumb kept stroking my cheek. "Some woman I barely knew, had me feeling helpless for the first time in my life, and I was terrified."

Koa's admission stunned me into complete silence. All words eluded me as I once again pictured his face above me, panic filling his expression. I knew he was worried when I was hurt, not just from my barely there memories, but from what Ari told me. It felt different hearing Koa admit this, like it made all of this real. He cared about me and felt something for me. This bonded mate shit was no joke. Maybe later, I would be afraid of how close I felt to him in such a short amount of time, but for now, all I felt was the growing warmth in my chest.

"I'm amazed Ander hasn't tried kicking your ass yet." Because apparently I now had no game and went with trying to lighten the electrified tension. I pointed at him before continuing. "That argument in the forest doesn't count. If he actually wanted to fight you, he wouldn't have wasted time talking first."

His lips twitched. "No, I imagine he wouldn't. He's got quite a short temper."

I snorted, nestling my head further into the pillow. "He usually is very cool and levelheaded. He just doesn't like you."

A wry smile appeared on his lips as his thumb traced along my jaw. "I had no idea, he hides it so well."

A mixture of a gasp and a chuckle spilled from my lips. "That's like the third time I've heard you use sarcasm."

"I do have a sense of humor." He gave a short laugh shaking his head. "This mission is important and all I want for us, is to get our information and make it through this alive—Ander included, even though I have considered kicking his ass several times."

"I think if you both pulled your heads out of your asses, you'd actually be friends." He snorted and I shoved his shoulder. "It's true. You guys have so much in common. At least I think you do. I don't know you well enough to be sure."

"Ask me anything, I make no promises that I'll answer." His thumbs traced my lips, leaving them tingling. It took me a few seconds for his words to register, my mind hyper-focused on the light touches of his thumbs, my lips parting of their own accord.

Several questions were on the tip of my tongue ready to ask. Important things I should know, both about him and this mission, but I asked none of them. "How old are you?" Was the question I managed to blurt out, the lush quality of my voice at odds with my seemingly random question. A question that wasn't really important in the grand scheme of things, but I couldn't stop myself from asking.

A surprised laugh escaped Koa as he shut his eyes and pressed his forehead against mine. There was no room for embarrassment, not when every fiber of my being was focused on the rich sounds of his laugh. The light and warm fluttering in my chest and stomach erupted once more.

"I'm forty-three," he finally answered once he stopped laughing, pressing a light kiss on my forehead. Such a simple act had my thoughts short-circuiting and every nerve ending in my body lighting up.

A sigh of relief nearly escaped, but I held it back at the last second. Age wasn't as big of a deal as it was for humans. What with us not physically aging past twenty-eight and being near immortal. It was frowned upon to be with a teenager when you were above twenty-eight, but other than that, there were no rules concerning age. It wouldn't have been the end of the world if Koa had been in the triple digits, but it would've been weird for me. Not because I thought it was gross, but what would I possibly have in common with someone that age?

I scrambled around my brain trying to pull up my list of questions that I had ignored, but with my frazzled thoughts, was unable to remember. "Do you live by yourself?"

What kind of dumbass question was that?

"Star and I live in a house together on clan lands," Koa answered as he continued tracing my face.

It took me longer than usual to come up with a response when all I wanted to do was close my eyes and lean into his touch. "I bet she just loves sharing a house with you."

"I'm her big brother, it's my job to make sure the unworthy men stay far away," he said shrugging a shoulder. Guessing the direction of my thoughts. Poor Starling.

Rolling my eyes, I remembered how Ander had been the same way when we first moved in together. It took a few months of that shit before Ari and finally put our foot down. He was more annoying and overprotective than our actual older brother.

"It doesn't always matter if they're good enough or not. Sometimes a girl just needs a good fuck."

Koa's hand stopped moving and his jaw clenched. My body stilled as I realized I shouldn't have alluded to fucking other men. Summoner men were extremely territorial, dragon summoners more so than others.

I fucked up.

The copper bled out of his eyes as his dragon's energy appeared. My wolf surged close to the surface at feeling his dragon's energy, a buzz of excitement lighting my chest. His hands cupped my face, their grip firm but not to the point of pain. Tilting my head back, he brought his face closer to mine until we were sharing breaths. "The thought of another man touching you, makes me want to murder them. It has taken every ounce of my self-control, not to rip off Ander's hands every time he touches you." His words rumbled in his chest as his voice took on a faint growl.

Instead of chaffing at his show of dominance and his words, I was practically panting. Desire coursed through my body, and I had little doubt he could smell my arousal pooling between my legs.

I don't know who moved first, but one moment we were locked in a stare-down, and the next our lips were crashing together in a frantic kiss. His fingers threaded through my crunchy hair, my scalp stinging as he did so. In response to the pain, I bit down on his bottom lip, earning a growl as he tilted my head back and deepened our kiss.

Koa pressed his thigh between my legs, up against my dampening core. Heat from his body melded with my desire, becoming almost too much. Ripping my lips away, I struggled trying to yank off my long-sleeved shirt. Koa pulled my fumbling hands away and pulled off all of the clothing on my torso. My nipples pebbled against the chill in the room.

His lips returned to mine in a bruising kiss as his hand cupped my breast, expertly kneading and pinching my nipple. Low moans fell from my lips and I began rubbing against his thigh, wishing I wasn't wearing jeans.

Pressure built low in my stomach, growing as he tugged on my nipple. Low whimpers slipped free without my permission when he pulled his legs away. Before I could verbalize my complaints, his hand trailed down my stomach, unbuttoned my jeans, and slid down into my panties, swiping a finger through the pooling wetness. Another whimper slipped free when he pressed down on my clit with his thumb, my hips jerking at the contact. A low and seductive chuckle came from him before he pinched my clit. Hard enough I gasped into his mouth as I came hard and fast.

Before I had a chance to recover from the mind shattering orgasm still zinging through my body, his thumb started rubbing a circular motion on my clit. Slow at first, but eventually gained in speed and pressure. My hips frantically moved against his hand, chasing the second orgasm quickly approaching. Faster than it's ever come before. Waves of pleasure crashed over me as Koa's hand continued moving, not stopping until my moans and screams ceased.

Silence descended over us as we stared at each other, our heavy breaths the only sounds. "From now on, whenever you need relief, you come to me. No one else." His voice was rough as his eyes tracked over my face. When I finally nodded, unable to say anything, he slowly pulled his hand from my pants and brought his fingers to his mouth. Maintaining eye contact as he sucked his fingers clean, a growl rumbling his chest. My core clenched with need, even though I just came twice in a row.

Koa cupped my face, pulling me in for a quick mind-blowing kiss before climbing out the bed. The door no longer creaked as he silently closed it behind him. I flopped onto my back and stared up at the canopy. I had been right before. No one else compared to Koa. I was fucked.