Claws and Kisses

“It’s just a little further, tiger.” Avel helped me over a log, his hand warm and steady in mine. The forest was wild and tangled around us. Stray vines and fallen branches tangled incessantly underneath my feet. If it weren’t for Avel, I would have tripped at least a dozen times over by now.

I harrumphed, brushing aside more leaves. “When you said . . . we were going for a short walk,” I paused, sucking in a breath. Gods, I’m so out of shape. “I thought you meant through a flowery meadow or maybe beside a babbling brook with cute little lily pads scattered across it.” I inhaled roughly, glaring at his back. "Not a woodland adventure with yours truly."

A half-smile appeared on his full lips as he gripped my waist, sliding me down the side of a boulder. I landed on both my feet, and beamed up at him. All teeth. He jumped down beside me, and tugged me to his chest to press a lingering kiss to my cheek. I giggled like a child before pushing him away, beginning to head forward once more.

It had been four days since we had gotten back home from Jara. The Inner Circle had disappeared, caught up in meetings, training, and other important matters that I was apparently not privy to knowing. A sneaking suspicion in my gut told me that it had something to do with the Drachen Trials, but it was only a hunch.

Rhett was a no-show as well. Ever since our fight, he avoided me like the plague, which was not so hard in the gigantic mountain we now called home. The only time I saw him was when he was at Jericho’s side, and while I loved Rhett, I wanted to talk to Jericho as much as I wanted to stab my eyes out with a toothpick.

As for Avel . . . after I had informed him of Bora’s advice for us, he had been taking the Mating Ritual to the next level. Every hour, every minute, every second of my day was Avel. He had been hand-feeding me foods, as if I was an infant. The first time he had tried, I had ripped the fork from his hand and told him that I did not need a man to show me how to eat properly. Somehow, he still got his way in the end. It was probably due to the showers of kisses and affection he liked to rain down on me from time to time.

We slept together, we ate together, we bathed together. The past few days was filled with him and love and warmth and safety. As amazing as he was to me, I could not help feeling nagged by our unsolved issues. The Drachen Trials. The public claiming. Every time I tried to bring it up, he would find a way to placate me for the moment or simply brush it off. It was infuriating, but I knew he was just trying to get us through the ritual. So I could be protected in the future.

Avel’s hand slipped once more into mine as we crested a hill, and were suddenly before a very familiar looking cave covered by vines, branches, and years' worth of moss. I slowed and turned to Avel, who could not hide the smile breaking through his stoic exterior.

“Avel,” I asked, my eyes both accusatory and curious. “What are we doing here?”

He pecked me on the forehead before tugging me toward the cave where we had first met, when we were no more than children. “Come, little tiger.” Avel’s eyes were twinkling with something child-like and dreamy as he looked back at me, lips tilted upwards. “You’ll find out soon enough.”

I followed him into the cave, memories faded and edged with time washing over me in gushing waves. This was the place I had found him, dying and bleeding from a poisoned arrow. This was where I had come every night for years so that I might speak of my day with a magical, midnight blue dragon. This was where I left him for eight years, running away to the south and living on the road with Rhett.

This was the only home I had ever really known.

Instead of darkness greeting us upon entrance, the stone caverns were lined with warm, orange-glowing lanterns. I laughed in surprise, turning around to where Avel walked with heavy steps behind me. “What did you do?”

With a dashing smile, he placed a finger over his lips, laying rest to the questions that waited readily upon my lips. I shut up with an eye-roll, but secretly felt butterflies flutter in my stomach. What has my arrogant, loving mate done now?

The main hollow of the cave was not a far walk, and we were soon upon it. As soon as we passed the natural rock threshold, I gasped.

The cave had been transformed from a cold, dark cavern into a paradise. Lush fur carpets lined the floors, matching beautifully with the crimson red drapes that cascaded from the high ceilings to the walls, and then down to the floors. Wooden shelves had been built and placed along the edges of the chamber, filled with potted plants, leather-bound books, jarred herbs and spices, and many more tiny trinkets. Loveseats and wide sofas bordered the room, accompanied by an array of feather pillows and fuzzy, woolen blankets. A roaring, caged fire billowed gustfully in one corner of the room, the smoke escaping through the hole in the cave’s ceiling. The pond was still in the center of the cave, but had been fashioned into a natural, much safer pool of water boarded by sculpted stones and engraved drawings of winged-dragons and mermaids’ tails.

“Oh, Avel.” I stumbled to the center of the room, completely awed by the transformed space. “It’s beautiful. How did you . . . why . . . ?”

He watched me as I surveyed the room, an amused gleam in his eyes. “Every dragon belonging to a horde lives in the mountain with the other Drachen, but dragon mates will often create a haven somewhere off base to go do . . . mate stuff.” He smiled wide, shrugging when I turned my wide eyes on him. “Besides, I kind of like you. Thought maybe you could use your own space away from the horde every now and then.”

There was a beat in which I just stared blankly at him. His violet, stormy eyes. His fair skin and midnight blue hair. His broad shoulders, his tall frame, his straight, roman nose. The little cleft in his chin. The wandering, black tattoos that wrapped around his body as tightly as vines.

Squealing in pure delight and awe, I launched myself at him. Like some kind of gymnast monkey, I sprang off my heels and entangled my arms around his neck while simultaneously twining my legs around his waist. He caught me with ease, smiling curiously down at me as I cupped his cheek, shaking my head back and forth wildly.

“Stop doing that!” I shouted hysterically, a smile so bright and beaming on my face, it made my cheeks hurt. “You crazy, stubborn, beautiful man. What is wrong with you! My heart wasn’t built for this much affection. And . . .”

The Dragon Lord cradled me close to his chest, looking so agonizingly hopeful and happy all at once, it made my heart skip a beat. He cupped my cheek in turn, searching my eyes for a truth of some kind. “Do you like it?”

“Do I . . .” I almost didn’t understand his question, for how ridiculous it seemed. Instead of replying, an idea sparked in my mind. One that would certainly answer his question, and, if I was lucky, infuriate him at the same time.

Avel was not able to evade me as I pressed my body tight against his and, in one reckless, passionate move, pressed my lips against his.

Electricity roared through my veins, alighting a fire within me that I didn’t know existed. His lips were hot and searing against my own, and I growled in approval at the soft, full lips that moved fervently along mine.

The dragon resisted at first, trying to pull away. Any other day, I would have conceded to his wishes at once, but not now. Not when I could feel that tingling, electric sensation down to the very marrow of my bones. Not when we were so close together, held within each other’s arm with an intensity and all-consuming need I had never known before.

Not now.

His resilience crumbled in the blink of an eye. Curling his arms impossibly tight around me, he crushed his lips against mine. Warmth pooled in my core as he gripped my backside and moved his scorching mouth against mine in a dance that felt both new and wonderful and entirely right. His hands, his lips, his entire body had mine quaking beneath his skilled touch, his loving, heated gaze.

Just as we broke apart to catch our breaths, I felt something snap in my chest. Sucking in a deep breath, I froze as I felt a heavy weight settle in my chest. The sensation was like that of a cord wrapping itself around my heart and squeezing ever so slightly. Avel held me as I breathed in and out carefully, growing accustomed to the new sensation.

“Is that—” I swallowed, rubbing my chest numbly. “Is that what I think it is?”

The Dragon Lord, with me still cradled in his arms, walked us over to one of the chaises and sat us down on the soft cushions. He scowled halfheartedly at me, his face a mixture of satisfaction and annoyance. “I was saving that kiss for our mating, little tiger.”

I pretended to feign guilt, while secretly hiding a clever smile. Throwing my arms around him, I traced one of the swirling tattoos on his throat and whispered, “I know. I’m sorry, Avel. I guess I just got caught up in the heat of the moment.”

He eyed me knowingly, but wisely changed the subject. “Yes, you are feeling our bond. The closer together we are, the more you will be able to feel it. The farther away, the less you will feel. For longer stretches of time, it can grow uncomfortable from the distance.”

Biting my lips, I flicked my thumb over his chin. “It feels more like a leash than anything else, to be honest.”

With a wicked gleam in his eye, he tackled me to the couch with a playful growl. My child-like laughter was cut off by his lips colliding harshly with mine. I gasped into the kiss as he hovered above me, his elbows holding up his body. My fingers immediately began sliding over his chest and torso, covered by that golden armor of his. He dug his hands into my hair as our bodies clashed with fevered delight. Our lips were entangled in a battle that we both had waited too long for.

We kissed for what felt like forever, and I wouldn’t have minded staying within the confines of his arms and his warmth for the rest of eternity. However, a few seconds or minutes or hours in, he froze above me. His lips and his hands grew still as his eyes glazed over, indicating that someone had just mind-linked him.

“Avel?” I asked in a daze, knowing he could not hear me.

In a flash, he was off the couch and striding toward the cave entrance. Grabbing his red cape from where it had fallen to the floor during our banter, he tied it securely around his neck as he spoke in a rushed shout to me. “Wendy, stay here. This cave is warded with Drachen Magic. Only you, me, and blood relatives can get in. Don’t step foot outside this cave until I get back, understand?”

He was walking toward the threshold, his steps heavy and determined. I almost tripped and crumpled to the floor in my rush to stand from the sofa. The very one he had been on not a minute ago. “Avel. where are you going? What’s happening? I want to come with you—”

“Stay.”

The command reverberated through the room, and was all that was left in the wake of his presence as he vanished out of our haven. I stared, shocked, at the spot where had had been. Now vacated and left for dust.

Cursing loudly, I kicked the edge of the couch, hating how he could just disappear out of nowhere without telling me what was going on, especially after the intimate moment we had just shared. Who does he think he is?

A part of me wanted to follow after him. To screw his orders and figure out what was going on back at the mountain. My home. The logical part of me was calmly explaining that the mountain was a day’s journey of walking. Without wings, it would take too long to get there, and Avel will have surely returned by then.

Dammit. Stupid mate. Stupid dragon with a stupid hero complex who acts stupidly every time there is a stupid problem—

“Lady Wendy?”

The unfamiliar voice stopped me in my tracks. My eyes darted to the entrance, where the sound had come from. That’s not any of the Inner Circle. Or Avel. Or Rhett. Looking wildly about the room, I saw no weapons or sharp objects that I could use to defend myself. Who the hell could be out there? And how did they know that I was here?

“Lady Wendy? Are you there?”

The voice was closer this time. I ran haphazardly about the room, looking for anything that could protect me. A sword. A shield. A magical, explosive potion I could throw into the intruder’s face. But there was nothing. When Avel had built this haven, he had obviously had other thoughts on his mind besides war and battle. It was all fur blankets, romance novels, and golden candles.

“Shit, fuck, dammit, shit.” The curses rolled off my tongue as I stopped in the middle of the room, trying to think. Then, in a rush of relief and gratitude, I remember what Avel had said about the haven.

This cave is warded with Drachen Magic. Only you, me, and blood relatives can get in.

“Oh, thank the gods.” I almost bent over with the pure burst of joy that rocked through my body. The stupid dragon had thought of everything.

However, my relief did not last long. Heavy, pounding footsteps echoed through the cavern walls, and a man was standing in the threshold. Maroon cape and silver armor adorning his broad figure. Whatever magic Avel had spoken of apparently had not worked on this being.

Both confused and a little bit frightened, I whispered, “Aamon?”

Oh my. What could that Warlock be up to?

*Smiles wickedly with a wink*

Hello, my loves! I hope you all are doing well. I had a mini panic attack because I realized all of the shit we still have to get through with this book. There are so many things planned and its going to take a million years to complete, but you guys voted on one Avel/Wendy book instead of two or three, so that is what I am going to try and stick to. (It's going to be a LONG ASS BOOK though lol).

Anyways, what did you guys think of this chapter? Avel and Wendy's first kiss! And then with Avel running off and Aamon suddenly showing up . . . pretty mysterious, huh?

And I almost forgot to mention the good news. We have reached 300 FOLLOWERS!!! Whoop whoop! Thank you from the bottom of my heart to all of you readers. It was only a month ago that we were at 200, and there is nothing better that could have happened than all of you guys showing your support. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Also, 100 reviews??? 800 something comments?? You guys are out of this world amazing! I cannot express my gratitude enough, so I will just have to surprise you guys with an early update ;) You all are the best!

Alright, that's enough affection for one A/N. I hoped you guys enjoyed, and are excited for the upcoming chapters!

~Elaine