Sunshine

A dark shadow fell over them and everyone looked up, searching the clear sky. He appeared from over the canopy as he looped back around, his huge spiked tail swinging behind him. The clearing broke into chaos as he landed thirty yards from them, his dark scales absorbing the light reflecting off of the snow. He let out a gruff sound that had her weak in the knees. It was a dragon.

Her beast came alive in his presence, her heart racing, glowing embers sparking to life in her green eyes. She staggered forward a step in awe as if some unknown force was pulling her to him. Eris grabbed her arm and held her back.

Her guards immediately dismounted and drew their weapons, placing themselves between the dark creature and herself. He was solid black, not shiny like her own scales, but flat and absorbent as if his aura sucked all of the light from the air around him. Even his eyes were so dark that no white could be seen around the pupils, which were only thin lines of bright orange flame. He was huge; twice the size of her beast and he stood like a lethal shadow against the stark white snow, surveying them with impenetrable eyes.

Lianna took another step forward and watched as his head slowly swiveled in her direction. Her chest rose and fell with each breath and steam curled in the air around her. Eris’s grip tightened on her arm but she hissed at him and yanked away. Her beast had taken over and she moved toward the dark male without thought. His lip curled and he scented the air as she approached slowly but surely. He stood completely still for her as she reached out and laid a trembling hand on his snout. Heat seared through her and it was as if she had been struck by lightning. Twin puffs of steam curled from his nostrils and he closed his eyes at the contact. A blinding flash of light made her pull back and shield her face. When she looked again, Lord Sorea stood before her.

“You.” She breathed. A small twitch of the lips was his only response. Her eyes widened in disbelief and she took another step back. “It was you! In my head. That dream… It wasn’t a dream was it?”

He raised his eyebrows and pursed his lips. “No. It was not just a dream Sunshine.”

Dorius stepped forward, his face full of the same emotion that now held them all in thrall.

“Aeros.” Lianna barely heard the whispered name. “I thought you were dead old man.” His voice was raw and she could feel him wrestling to control it.

“Not yet,” Aeros growled, not trying to hide his answering grin. Lianna’s eyes darted from Dorius to Aeros and back.

“You know him?” She cried, raising her voice in barely subdued hysterics.

“How is it that I did not recognize you at the King’s castle?” Seth questioned through tight lips.

“It is simple enough to control the minds of weaker creatures. I was Lord Sorea of Lands’ End. I let people see what they wanted to see.” His tone was not condescending as he said the words, admitting to them all that he had tricked them for centuries into believing he was something he was not.

Lianna’s mind tried to grasp the kind of power it took to weave such an illusion into the minds of so many. Even the king had not known.

“After Lucien fell, I made myself scarce. Everyone just assumed that I had been killed in the fight as well. When it became clear that Errewyn would not stop until we were all dead, I decided that becoming Lord Sorea was a better option than announcing that I was still alive.” His eyes became hard at the memories that seemed to overcome him.

“Where were you when they took Ainslee? You left your own sister to be butchered by those fiends!” Seth roared in rage, taking a threatening step forward. Lianna growled a warning at him, startling herself as well as him, and he stopped his advance. But Aeros’s expression went blank.

“By the time I heard of her capture there was nothing I could do. I had sent her home. She begged me to come with her and I refused because I was done with this war. I watched too many of my friends turn on each other and die. I told her to go home to her mate and forget about the people who had betrayed us.

“When I heard what happened I would have gladly taken her place. Everything that I had fought and killed for disappeared with her.” Lianna’s aura flared around them, offering comfort as they all seemed to be lost in their memories of that dark time. Her mind seemed to be in a whirlwind of emotion as she tried to take in all of the information.

“It seems that the birth of our queen has brought more than one person back to life.” Nathaniel gave Seth a pointed look. He had the sense to look chagrined, even if his suspicion remained.

Eris still looked at them all as if he couldn’t quite believe who he was standing amongst as Lucas put in his piece.

“We have all been brought together for a reason it would seem. Errewyn is kidnapping people and enslaving them. He forces them to work in his mines to create a powder that will level these mountains. He plans to create a direct path between the human and fae realms.”

“Up until this very moment, the wolves were the only force strong enough to pose any kind of threat. That’s why he needed you Eris.” Seth finished.

They all stood there for a moment looking to Eris for his reaction.

“My people are weak right now and half-starved. The land is poisoned and there is not enough food, but we will fight. We cannot let him destroy our home. I will talk to my parents and we will meet in a week to discuss what should be done.”

“I do not think that they will accept us,” Lianna spoke her doubts aloud.

“The last time we met was not pleasant.” She remembered the accusations and insults Varise had hurled at her. Eris nodded his head as if he had the same suspicions, but the look on his face became a mask of granite.

“Long ago the wolves, dragons, and mountain lions lived here in peace. It will be so again.” His voice was strong and determined. “We must if we are to save our home.” He looked at them all in turn before he opened his mouth again. “I will send men and supplies to the Eastern dens and meet you at the Dragons Keep in a week.” He gave Lianna one last lingering look and turned to bound into the dark forest. She barely saw the flash of light through the trees as he shifted before disappearing entirely.

“Well, shall we?” Lianna murmured to no one in particular. The men began to round up the horses, who had scattered during the intense encounter in the glade. She had still not moved from where she stood mere feet from the only other dragon in existence.

“You are coming with us aren’t you?” She hated the weakness in her voice that was her doubt surfacing. He reached a hand up and brushed his knuckles down her cheek. The breath caught in her throat and she wondered what the hell was happening to her that made her body react this way when he touched her.

“You and I have unfinished business.” His eyes glittered and fell to her lips. He ran a calloused finger over her bottom lip, just as Eris had done earlier. Except for this time Lianna’s heart hesitated and then took up a faster rhythm. A small sound escaped her, and she gently bit down on his fingertip. His dark eyes began to glow, his aura jumping around them in a dark curtain that shielded them from the world.

She gasped in surprise, looking around her in awe. Seth’s bark of warning faded with the bright glen until nothing but darkness was surrounding them. It was as if they were floating through the night sky. Her questioning gaze met his tense one and all her questions disappeared. Nothing mattered except that he was here, standing within her reach.

She felt him holding back; hesitating, the insecurity he tried to hide had fire racing through her. Safe in his magical cocoon, she reached out to touch him.

“I saw you. The other night, flying beside me.” She dared him to lie with a single raised brow as her fingers grazed his bare chest. Thin black hairs that were barely visible tickled her fingertips.

“Yes.” He growled through gritted teeth. His eyes glittered with something Lianna could not yet fathom as he held himself immobile.

“Aeros.” The vicious undertone of her beast blending with her soft claim ripped a growl from him that made her knees buckle. She was totally unprepared for his onslaught as his hands yanked her against him. His mouth was rough and bruising as it crushed hers, his sharp teeth ripping her lip.

Lianna cried out at the pleasure/pain and he licked the blood from her lip. His eyes opened and the look on his face stole her breath. Possession. That’s what she saw on his face. Raw and greedy and it sent waves of heat pulsing through her. She watched his expression gentle and his voice was reverent as the darkness faded and the forest reappeared around them.

“Not here. Not like this.” His whispered command was ragged. Her eyes snapped in frustration and she wondered if he was talking to her or himself. Sparks flew from her fingertips and hair as she spun away from him. He let her go, watching the sway of her hips as she stomped away. His queen’s anger melted the snow and a trail of dark steaming footprints marked her path. A feeling he had never felt before swept through him as he stared at her back. She was real. He had touched her, and felt her lips beneath his, and knew that without a doubt she was real.

A rolling sound came from deep in his chest and his laughter echoed through the mountains in a merry roar at the feeling coursing through him. She turned back and gave him a menacing look before bolting into a run. His laughter died in his throat as he watched her shift into her beast. Her flaming hair melted into her back and wings before fading into tiny gold plates. She shrieked her fury through the mountains, flames shooting from her beautiful mouth, melting the snow atop the mountain peak closest to her. He stood there and watched, transfixed by the sight of her.

“She is as wild as these mountains,” Seth said from beside him. “Her temper is just as unpredictable and beautiful to behold.” Aeros heard the awe in the guard’s voice that so mirrored his own. He tore his gaze away from the creature that had stormed into his life and ripped the soul from his chest. He started walking towards the point where she had disappeared, Seth keeping pace beside him.

“Her mother left her in the woods when she was but a child and paid the village baker to feed her bread laced with iron. I found her the day her power finally surfaced. I was hunting near her valley when I came upon her in the pass. I could smell her dragons’ blood immediately, but she had no idea.

“When her dragon broke free, it was like a shockwave rolling through the mountains. She lived alone, raising herself in the forest, and protected her valley like the dragon she is. I watched her until the wolf pup found her.” Aeros watched as Seth shook his head at the memory.

“He is in love with her.”

Aeros turned to him, a snarl ripping through him. “She is mine.“ Seth’s hands came up in surrender as the ripple of possessive rage washed over him, Aeros’s dark aura sucking the light from everything it touched.

“I know. The moment I saw the way she looked at you. Everyone saw it. She is like a flame that has sprung to life and we are all drawn to her, like moths in the dark. We will defend her with our last breath if we must.” Aeros watched as the rest of the dragon’s guard caught up to them, in their mountain lion forms, he could feel their loyalty to her like it was a tangible thing. He said nothing, only nodded his head. He turned back toward where he had last seen her in the sky and leaped into the air to find her.

His mate. The word echoed through him with resounding clarity. After all of these years entombed in the cliffs at the northernmost edge of the continent, he had forgotten how it felt to feel anything but dark rage. He was almost afraid to let himself touch her. Almost. This thing that bound them together ate away at his control like a worm in an apple. The thought of her being snatched from him like all the others had his beast roaring in fury. He bit down on the rage that ripped through his gut. Reliving the events of centuries ago had opened raw wounds that had never really healed. Ainslee had been the light of his world, his little sister that he had failed to protect. She had been the only one who had accepted his dark presence without fear or disgust for the crimes he committed to keep her safe from Lucien’s cruel grasp.

A pair of moss green eyes burning with an intensity he had never dreamed existed floated into his mind. He could feel her wildness reach out to him with greedy claws. Remembering the way her burning hair had glowed like a beacon in the dark two nights past had his blood boiling in his veins. His beast had taken over and he had wanted to claim her right there on that rock. Aeros had never had his self-control tested so harshly in all his long life. But he would not take her like some wild beast, even though that is exactly what she made him feel like. He had to figure out what to do about his promise to Errewyn. He could not betray her like that. He pushed away from the troubling thoughts and surveyed the land before him.

He would wait until they reached the dragons’ keep and show her the true depths of pleasure that could be found in the invisible bond that brought them together he thought arrogantly. He would give her the time she needed to understand what it meant and how it would alter their lives. He had centuries of harnessing his ironclad control, and he would not let it slip now.

His nostrils flared as he caught her scent, his eyes scanning the skyline. He could feel her drawing closer and his eyes narrowed in confusion as her aura surrounded him but still he did not see her. Suddenly the air around him was glowing and a wall of flames appeared in front of him. He reared in surprise and heard the ripple of her laughter echo down their bond.

Her fire surrounded him, tickling his skin everywhere it touched. His beast tried to make sense of what was happening, but the stunned bewilderment only increased when the wall disappeared. A shiny arc of light glinted just in front of and below him making his eyes squint. He watched as the arc lengthened and curved until it became the golden outline of her powerfully lithe form.

Aeros almost dropped out of the sky as he watched the canopy of trees flicker in and out until suddenly, in a burst of sunshine, she was there. She rolled beneath him, her green eyes pierced him, and her playful mood was glorious to behold. All thoughts left his brain as she shot forward, flickering into nothing again.

His cry of alarm echoed through the mountains as he scanned for her. He threw out his aura and felt for her, his dark-senses coming alive in a challenge. In a pulse of midnight magic, he felt her beast flying directly under him. Her golden warmth radiated like the sun.

“Neat trick huh?” She sent to him down their bond.

“How?” He demanded.

“I... I don’t know. I just felt the urge to be one with the wind, and I just was.” She flickered into reality beneath him as if her sudden insecurity made her lose her grip on the power. Even knowing that she was there was not enough to stop her sudden appearance from thin air ripping another startled screech from him. He pulled up and hovered for a moment trying to wrap his brain around this new magic.

“Maybe I have heard of people being able to move between places within the blink of an eye, but never this.” He let out a puff of steam that froze instantly into snowflakes and drifted down toward the earth. She banked to the right and flew around him in a lazy circle. Watching her took his breath away. He felt the auras of the giant cats come within sight range and knew she was about to show off again.

Lianna was like a small child in her playfulness, full of pride at her new accomplishment. She was as untamed as Seth had claimed. Where he had had centuries of training and life experience to learn about himself and what he was capable of, this was all brand new to her and her excitement was amusing to behold.

He watched her begin to flicker again as she flew right over top of the four lions. He let out a barking laugh, the sound at odds with his dragon form as their screams bounced off the rocks and they scattered into the shelter of trees. His senses were ready this time and where she disappeared before his eyes, she reappeared in his ultraviolet vision.

With an evil grin, he swooped down and rolled around and under her in a smooth motion. She hissed at him and her body popped back into view. She shot forward and he chased her through the sky. Aeros felt something deep within him splinter as the icy wind filled his lungs and he soared through the low hanging clouds with her.

The sun had begun to set, and Lianna decided to fly back to where her guards were making camp, even though she could make it back to the dragons keep in just under an hour if she kept flying. She was becoming attached to her new family. Something she had never dreamed possible until now. She let her aura purr against Aeros as she switched directions. Spying the curl of smoke from the small fire, and the aroma of roasting venison, she went in for a landing.

Straightening her wings and angling them downward, she gently pulled up at the same time, so that her feet were reaching for the ground. She shifted too soon and dropped the remaining few feet to the frozen earth below. Her knees crunched and she stumbled forward slightly before she caught herself. She straightened quickly and glanced around for witnesses.

“Better than the last one,” Seth grunted from near the fire. Lianna felt the blush rise in her cheeks.

“Thank you.” She gave him a smooth curtsy, belying the clumsiness of her landing. She went immediately to the slab of meat roasting over the fire and pulled off a chunk of meat near its spine. She grabbed an apple and a loaf of bread from the bag and then made herself comfortable on the ground between the fire and her tent. She felt him before she saw him, walking through the darkness. He too went to the spit, pulling off a generous amount.

“That was a nice new trick we saw today.” Dorius drawled from the other side of the fire.

“I have never seen anything like it,” Lucas said in wonder. He was gnawing on a loaf of bread and had stopped to stare at her. She did not detect any fear in him and rewarded him with a radiant smile. His mouth went slack a bit and Nathaniel guffawed in amusement at the boy’s moon-eyed response.

Seth was the last to approach the fire, his expression guarded. Lianna watched him with a curious stare.

“He knows that we are mated but have yet to seal our bond,” Aeros answered her silent question in kind through the bond. She choked on a bit of an apple that stuck in her throat. This time she was unable to quell the violent blush that swept through her or the heat that immediately pooled into her gut at the images accompanying them. Her head jerked in his direction and he grinned like a cat full of cream.

“Mate?” Her eyes grew round in exclamation.

He chuckled out loud and Lianna looked to the others who were all suspiciously focused on stuffing their faces and she wondered if she had said the word out loud.

“They can smell it on us. We each have our own distinct scent. You will learn as you grow and be able to identify some people just on that alone. Right now, our scents are mingled together but not truly bonded. Once the bond is complete, our scents combine; a little bit of you will always smell of me, and a little bit of me will always smell like you.” Lianna’s eyebrows had drawn low over her green eyes as she thought about it for a moment.

“Do I have any choice in the matter?” She asked out loud with barely concealed outrage.

“Actually, no,” Seth answered for Aeros, somehow knowing what they were talking about. He gave her an apologetic smile. “No one has control over who their mate is. It is not something that is decided by anyone, except maybe the Mother herself. You can choose not to accept it, and walk away, but that bond between you will always be there. Once you… mate.. the bond will become stronger and you will forever be linked to that person until your last breath. Some even say beyond into the afterlife.”

“Oh.” She looked around at the group of males to see what they made of it.

“It makes sense Lianna, you are the last two dragons after all.” Dorius offered. “He has a reputation that was well-earned, but he is not a bad male.”

Aeros did not seem to be paying them any attention and instead, his focus homed in on her bottom lip where she had sucked it into her mouth. A sharp canine appeared, and a drop of blood dripped from the small wound before the hole closed back instantly.

His nostrils flared and all he could think of was licking that ruby red droplet from her chin. Her skin glowed in the golden firelight and his darkness wanted to possess her. The need hit him like a blow to his gut. Lions hissed and scattered, making for the trees as his aura flared out like a shockwave. Lianna turned back toward him in stunned disbelief. She had no time to react before he grabbed her.

He lunged for her and she let out a little squeak. He just needed to feel her in his arms he told himself. He pulled her into his lap and grabbed a fistful of her hair. He watched the beast leap into her eyes in response to his surprise attack. Her round pupils becoming slits of blazing fire. Aeros gently pulled her head back exposing her neck and jawline. A streak of dried blood had made it to the soft spot where her neck curved out into her beautiful chin. He leaned forward and ran his tongue firmly across her skin, sucking the intoxicating taste and feel of her into him. Lianna’s hands came up to grab his shirt in a tight grip. Her chin jerked down and she seized his lips with a desperate need that had Aeros drowning. She straddled him in a neat little movement that happened so quickly his brain barely registered it. Her thighs gripped his lower abdomen and she rubbed herself against him in a way that wrung a strangled noise from deep in his chest, turning the tables against him.

He wrapped his hands around her bottom and stood slowly, not letting their lips break contact. He did not need to see his way into the tent as he walked through the opening and then slowly lowered her to the ground beneath him. Lianna’s eyes were wild with need and he felt the urge to claim her shoot through his core. He felt her fingers spark against his chest and watched her eyes follow the movement of her own hands as they explored his chest beneath his shirt. Suddenly it went up in a flame and disappeared in an instant, and her eyes became worshipful as she saw her golden fingers, burning through centuries of control just like that. His mouth found hers again and her unchecked wild response was nearly his undoing.

She arched into him and realized her clothes were in the way. He had to stop this madness before she could regret where it led. The thought of her burning the one small barrier between them would be his breaking point. Aeros drank her in, his hands moving down her hips and yanking up her dress until he felt her soft skin beneath his fingers at last. The electric current that sang through his blood had him leaning back to take a breath, even as the beast inside him demanded that he claim her now. He commanded his body to slow down and his vision focused on her face. Her eyelids were only half-open, the glowing green orbs glazed over, her lips were parted and every breath she took was a ragged sigh that almost had him forgetting why he wanted to wait.

“I don’t want to do this here.” He gritted out, shoving his beast down into the dark depths of his soul.

“God Lianna, you don’t want to do this here.” He leaned back and moved off of her, panting for air.

“Don’t presume to know what I want.” She sat up and hissed at him. He chuckled in response and her lust turned to outrage instantly.

“Oh, what fun we shall have.” He whispered to her. “You are my mate and there will be a claiming. But not tonight.” He laid back down and pulled her stiff form down with him. His hand began to rub lazy circles into her lower back and she melted into his arms. Her breaths were moist against his chest and he knew she was asleep with her fingers curled in the hair there. And not for the first time this day was he awestruck that he had found her; that she was real and he was holding her in his arms. Part of him wanted to run and hide back in his caves near the ocean but the other part, the stronger part, refused to let her out of his sight for fear she might disappear.

Mate. The word echoed through his head as sleep finally claimed him.

The next day went by much the same as the last one until the jaws of the Dragon Keep came into view.

Lianna caught the updraft between her wings and felt it lift her until she was hovering in front of the mouth of the cave. She reached for the floor with her feet and shifted as soon as her claws touched the red rock. She smiled and did a little jig at her perfect landing.

Aerin was waiting for her in the back of the cave.

“Lianna that was amazing! Take me for a ride! Please, please, please?” He came forward bouncing like a baby lamb in his excitement. She reached down and ruffled his dark sandy curls.

“I will after I have had some food and rest Aerin. I have a new friend for you to meet.” She grabbed his small hand and tugged him forward just as Aeros landed gracefully on the ledge. The boy immediately pulled back, shying behind her gray skirts. “

“This is my special friend Aeros,” Lianna told the boy gently. Aerin’s eyes went wide and he leaned around her to peak at the dark lord. His curiosity overcame his shyness and he stepped around her.

“My mother has told me stories about you.” His solemn little face was endearing as he looked at Aeros who had come forward to take Lianna’s hand.

“She said you were killed by the bad king.” His voice was squeaky, eliciting a smile from Lianna.

“Not yet.” He laughed, patting the boy on his shoulder. When the trio entered the grand chamber, Sylva and Catrione appeared from the long hall that led from the kitchen. They smiled in welcome as they hurried forward. Their steps slowed when they noticed Aeros at her side.

Aerin ran to them, squealing.

“Mama, Lianna said that she will give me a ride after she rests, and she brought Aeros back! You told me he was dead but he’s not! And the guards are still climbing the path, but they are all coming back Mama, just like you said they would!” Catrione laughed at her son’s energy and enthusiasm.

“Yes Aerin, I see.” Catrione and Sylva both dipped down into deep curtsies before her.

“It seems as if you just keep bringing people back from the dead Majesty.” Sylva winked at her. Lianna moved forward and wrapped the startled woman in a hug.

“I am so glad to be home.” Lianna smiled. “I just want to get cleaned up and eat before I have to answer too many questions.” Sylva eyed her and the dark lord in a sweeping gesture. Her nose flared and her eyes went wide in sudden understanding.

“We can leave the questions for tomorrow dear. You run along to your chamber and get cleaned up. I will have a supper tray brought to your sitting room shortly.” Lianna wanted to kiss the woman as she turned away and ushered the boy back towards the entrance to meet the guards.

Lianna felt suddenly shy, glancing sideways at Aeros as they continued toward her chambers.

She squeezed her sweaty palms into the folds of her skirts. The door swung open before them and her beast seemed to disappear deep inside her somewhere. The familiar room with its bright colors and antique style welcomed her with peace. The door closed with a click behind her and she spun around to see Aeros watching her intently. She cleared her throat lightly, suddenly unsure of herself. Lianna glanced around for something to distract her until the wine cabinet caught her attention. She walked towards it and grabbed a bottle, not even glancing at the label. She poured two glasses and dared to look at his face.

Aeros watched as she suddenly became unsure of herself. The pressure that had been slowly building back up between them all day was drawn taut as a bowstring. Now that they were finally alone, he felt her courage desert her. His nostrils flared as he tried to remind himself that she was a virgin, even if her passion eclipsed that of the most skilled courtesans. He followed her to the cabinet and took the glass she offered him. His eyes never left her face as she swallowed its entire contents in one giant gulp.

He grinned at her when she poured another glass. He stopped her hand as she raised it to her lips a second time. Her eyes finally met his and he let his hunger for her flow through him and out to her. He did not try to stop it this time, wanted her to feel the strength of his desire. And the full force of it hit them like a wave on the sand. Her eyes widened and he reached his hand out to trace the delicate line of her jaw. He refused to rush this moment now that it had finally arrived.

Lianna felt the rush of desire for this male replace the panic as his finger traced her jawline in feather-light touches. She inhaled sharply at the sensation and had to stop herself from melting into it.

“If we.. ah.. continue.. what will happen? Afterward?” She managed to push the words through her lips. His touch stilled and she felt its a loss like an arrow through her heart. He took a deep breath before he answered as if steeling himself for her denial.

“We will be mated. Our lives will be linked to each other forever and beyond. Not just the physical.” He reached out to her again, his knuckles grazed her neck and lower, stopping just before he reached her nipple that had already hardened in anticipation. A small whimper escaped her and his eyes flared. A rough growl emanated from him as he turned to walk a few feet away, needing the distance between them for this conversation.

“And will you be in control then? How will things change?” She asked him. Lianna’s breath was still uneven and it took all of her will power to hold herself in check against this overwhelming need to let him continue with his possession of her.

Aeros turned around and faced her again, all emotion wiped from his face. Lianna flinched at the sudden change.

“I will be me and you will be you, and we will be together.” He insisted.

“But I do not even know you.” She flung back at him. “What if you decide you hate me and then we are stuck together for eternity? I think I have a valid point.” She argued. Even as she tried to deny the urgency of the bond to be sealed, she took a step towards him, as her inner beast snarled at her and the decision she was making.

Aeros closed the space between them in one long stride. His hands wrapped around her arms like steel cables.

“You belong to me Lianna, and I will have you.” His lips crushed hers and he barely registered her balled fists thumping against his chest as he forced her mouth open with his tongue. The taste of her had his beast on edge, brokering no refusal. He felt her beast submit and she melted into him, her clenched fists now pulling him closer instead of pushing him away. Her tongue cautiously slid against his in a way that made him remember just how innocent she was. He pulled away, but still held her tightly against him.

He fought for control of his raging libido, his breaths coming hard and fast. Her fingers were still entwined in his shirt, holding on for dear life. Her forehead leaned against his chest as they both tried to catch their breath. She lifted her head and found his eyes. What he saw in them, that wild desire mixed with a virgin’s trepidation, cooled his ardor as nothing else could. He was no animal to force her into this. Aeros stepped away from her.

“I will give you time.” He offered before he turned to leave. Lianna watched him quickly stalk from the room and she had to clamp an iron fist around the words to keep from calling him back to her.