Claws and Kisses

Unshed tears clogged my throat, and I had to turn away from him to keep them at bay. I squeezed my eyes shut and gave myself five seconds to pull myself together. By the time I had turned back around to face him, he was farther away and had a reserved look about him.

We were at an impasse. A part of me wanted to scream and shout until I was blue in the face. I wanted him to feel ashamed and hurt. I wanted him to know that I could make it on my own. I did not need him coddling me to be successful.

Yet, another part of me was softening by the second. Who spends eight years keeping someone safe, while at the same time respecting their wishes and staying away? Some of my anger might have been . . . misplaced. Over the years, I had sometimes wondered why he had not come to look for me. I thought that he no longer cared for me, and that I would be forever out of his life.

You can’t have it both ways, I thought. My eyes peered up at Avel, who was staring right back, and I internally sighed, deflating a bit. “I’m sorry,” I muttered quietly. “I get that you were just looking out for me. I guess I’m more angry that . . . that I wasn’t really on my own. I just—part of the reason I left was to be independent. To prove that I didn’t need anyone.”

His hooded eyes did not give anything away, but he consented a nod.

Suddenly, the tears started to flow. I hiccuped as I sunk onto the bed, clutching the soft coverlet in my hands. “I missed you so gods damn much,” I said through a sobbed laugh. Not able to look at him, I held my head in my hands. “Every day, I thought about just walking back here and throwing myself into your arms. Like some kind of damsel.”

There was a moment in which all was still. My words hung in the air, open and vulnerable. I started cursing myself for blurting them out. He probably thinks I’m some kind of desperate woman seeking attention.

Then—fingers were dipping under my chin, maneuvering my head so that I was suddenly captured in Avel's purple gaze. His fingers held onto my jaw, not relinquishing a centimeter of space. Not that I wanted to move away. I was immediately mesmerized by his attention, unable to look away. This close, I could see the flecks of blue and green on the edge of his irises, merging with the violet. The symphony of colors was both beautiful and magical. I could stay here forever, I thought.

Not blinking once, he leaned in close to whisper, “I would have taken you in, night or day.”

We remained as such for a minute or so more, before I pulled slightly back, only just barely escaping his warm, delicate touch. I looked directly into his eyes as I spoke. “Are you going to let me go? Leave the horde?”

He watched me carefully, and I could tell that he was trying to choose his next words wisely. Eventually, he drawled, “Yes.”

There was something more. “But?”

“But nothing,” he released my eyes and headed for the fire, picking up the poker and moving the bits and pieces of burning logs around. “There is an if, however.”

I rolled my eyes. “Of course there is an if.”

His gaze flickered briefly to me before returning to the fireplace. “I will let you go,” he said easily, twirling the iron poker in his hands. “If you tell me exactly where you are going, how you are going to get there, and how you are going to support yourself whilst living there.”

There was an obvious doubt in his words, but I ignored that in favor of smiling in contentment. “I will head to the Winter Lands. One horseback, I could make the trip in ten days. Three more to get to the human city of Chichi. I will work as a blacksmith, and make money molding weaponry.”

He didn’t bat an eye. “Won’t do. There are constants raids on the villages and the weather there can be fatal if you don’t have the right kind of shelter.”

“Fine,” I said, lifting an uncaring shoulder. “I will go the Southern Isles of Zephran. There I can spend my days bathing in the sun and swimming in the ocean. On horseback, I can make the trip in less than a fortnight. I will acquire wealth by serving as a bar wench.”

“Bar wench?” He threw me a disappointed glance, shaking his head. “You can do better than that.”

I shrugged, playing with the edge of my sleeve. “I only just started to read last year. Rhett was teaching me.”

The moment ended with the mention of my twin. Avel finished with the fire and stood up, the flames casting dark shadows across his face. His eyes met mine with a certain blankness. “Speak, little tiger.”

His nickname sparked a pang of nostalgia in my chest. I swallowed and kept my eyes locked on his. “You know I wish to have the humans back. They were wrongfully taken. Those children belong at home.”

He cocked his head. “Where is home, Wendy?”

It was obvious what he was playing at. Bakari’s village had been burned to cinders—there would be nowhere to take the stolen when we got out. I worked my jaw before saying, “Rhett and I will build them a new village. Somewhere better.”

Placing his hands on his hips, he began to slowly rock forward, talking as he went. “I know that you think those children shouldn’t be here. And they shouldn’t—the dragon who took them, Valentina, went against orders. She was making a power move; thought that if she targeted one of the villages I ordered to remain untouched, she would get away with it. Show the others in the horde that she was impenetrable.”

My brows furrowed. “Why was she able to get away with it?”

He leaned against the chaise a few feet from me, crossing his arms to highlight the wide span of his shoulders. “The nobility here, while annoying and selfish, provide ample resources to my horde. Whether they have a unique set of skills or come from old money, they are valued. I learned a long time ago that it is better to have them pleased than not.”

I bit my tongue. “Was she punished?”

“Hardly,” he scoffed. “A few lashings, some verbal abuse, but I couldn’t afford anything more than that. Any of the dragons, nobility or not, can choose to leave at any time. It is an effort to keep them all happy.”

Pushing off the bed, I veered around him and the chaise to head towards the fire, deep in thought. He watched curiously as I plopped myself onto the fur rugs before the open hearth, sitting cross-legged with my head propped onto my hands. “The people you sent to keep an eye on me,” I asked after a while. “Were they dragon or human?”

“Dragon.”

My head lolled to the side as I let my eyes rest on him. “Why did they not intervene when Valentina came? Couldn’t they have tried to stop her?”

The heat in his eyes intensified as he shook his head once, curtly. “They were under strict orders to keep you safe.”

The fire crackled loudly, and I stared deep into the fire as I heard his approach. Despite his large frame, his footsteps were as quiet as a mouse. A thought struck me then, causing a breath of disbelief to escape me. “You knew that I was here,” I whispered after a moment.

I twisted around to face him, and found his legs in front of me instead. I craned my neck to look up, meeting his amused gaze with an accusatory glare of my own. “The dragons who were tracking me told you I was coming. You knew I was headed to the horde. That I was here for the last week.”

His chin dipped in confirmation. I suddenly felt a mix of embarrassment and stupid; all that sneaking around had been for nothing. He had been in control the entire time. I turned away with hot cheeks, staring once more into the flames. The warmth from his legs sunk into my back, alerting me to his close presence. The urge to lean into him was almost too hard to resist, but I managed by some kind of force of will.

“Why . . . why did you not come find me?”

The words were somewhat strained, and a sudden vulnerability took ahold of me. He had known for a week that I was here and he had not tried at all to come seek me out. I knew we had not seen each other in a long time, but I thought our friendship—despite the way it had broken off—had been something special. Something to cherish and hold onto. Perhaps I was the only one who thought so.

“You were injured,” he said bluntly from behind me, either not noticing or simply ignoring the way my voice had trembled.

“So you were letting me heal, is that it?” I stood up, not quite turning around. I slanted my shoulder so that I could look at him from the side. “That’s mighty thoughtful of you. Bruce was a charm, by the way.”

His hand snaked out, wrapping around my wrist before yanking me towards him. I stumbled forward, only steadying when he grabbed my other wrist. In this position, we were nearly chest-to-chest. It became even harder to look up at him, as he was taller than most human men.

Lowering his lips so that they were level with my ear, he whispered, “Did you want me to come after you, little tiger?”

My eyes unwillingly fluttered close as his breath fanned across my jawline, rousing the skin there. Breaking loose from his hold, I tripped away, startled and . . . and confused. That warmth in my belly from earlier was once again flaring, causing unwanted feelings to spark along my body.

“N-No. No.” I fumbled with my hands, not sure where to look. He was watching my reaction with cruel, delighted eyes. The pinkness of my cheeks only heightened when he chuckled deeply, the sound skimming across every nerve in my body and sending them into a explosion of movement.

“In truth, Wendy, I think that if I had smelled the blood and hurt on you,” he started, but abruptly cut himself off with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “Well, let’s just say that I would not have greeted you with hugs and sweet words.”

His words entered my mind slowly, and I tried my best to process them whilst calming the racing of my heart. “Uh huh. Makes—makes sense.”

Another half-smile graced his mouth as he ran his eyes over my figure, noting the blush still staining my cheeks and the way my eyes bounced from wall to wall, straying to anywhere but him.

Extending his hand to me, he jerked his head in a clear order. I hesitated a moment, thinking of moving farther away. He must have seen the rebellion in my eyes; in the next moment, his purple gaze had narrowed into slits. I was surprised enough to tumble forward, catching his hand in mind.

He tugged me the rest of the way until we were linked at the arms, once again standing close. However, he soon let go of me to stare down his nose in a self righteous way. “You will stay here,” he commanded, confident and sure of his words. My eyes widened and I opened my mouth to resist but he only continued issuing his orders. “You will stay here. Until the Blood Moon. That will give you enough time to figure out where you and your brother are going.”

I blanched. “That’s in over three months’ time.”

He did not bother with a response, and only continued to stare down at me with a stern glint in his gaze.

“Fine,” I gritted out, turning from his powerful gaze. I made sure to keep my eyes on the floor as I said, “And what will I do in the meantime? Twiddle my thumbs and practice my prayers?”

Avel did not hide his amused half-smile as he turned away, heading for the door. “No, little tiger,” he crooned, a secret meaning in his words—as there always was. “There will be no prayers involved in what we do.”

I tilted my head as I watched him leave. “Would you care to fill me in?”

“All in good time, Wendy.” The devious dragon opened the door and glanced back once more at me before he left, a glimmer in his tyrian gaze. “I’m sure you won’t be disappointed.”

Oh boy. What in the heavens could Avel be talking about?

Ahhh! So there are more readers than ever reading this story and I wanted to say thank you to all the lovely folks who have given this book a chance! It warms my heart to know that so many people are enjoying Wendy and Avel's story - you guys are the best!

Also, I know this is a little late but new cover! I really really like it and I hope you all do too :)

Well, I think that is all for today folks. We are not looking at an update until around the end of the week (but maybe sooner, who knows?) Lots of new plot development, characters, and - shall I say it? - steamy scenes on the way.

Hope you enjoyed.

~Elaine