“Help me with what?” She laughed.
“Everything. Help you grow as an artist and find your way in the world. I know I’ve only known you for a short time, but I can tell that you have so much to give. I want to see you shine.”
She let out a long sigh, her heart aching at his words. She felt a tear forming in the corner of her eye and she blinked it away, not understanding why she was feeling this way. Propping up on her elbow, she leaned toward him and pressed her lips over his. On contact, he groaned and threw his arms around her, pulling her against him.
Their bodies crushed together. Their mouths hungrily tasted each other. She gasped as the excitement built and exploded inside her so quickly she became light-headed. He ran his hands down her back, gripping her hips as he thrust his tongue into her mouth, wetting her lips, tongue and soaking her core. Pushing his leg between hers, his thigh met the warmth of her sex, sending a thrill up and down her spine. She moaned, breathless and mindless, feeling so close to the edge it scared her.
Aiden’s hands caressed her, palming her breast and kissing her neck. She felt him hard against her pelvis and it made her want him, want him to fill her, to know her, to discover the depths of her passion. But he drew away, clenching his teeth. He rested his forehead against hers and let out a long uneven breath.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, disappointed.
“We should stop,” he said.
“Why?” she asked, knowing her own answer.
It was too much. Too intense. If she let go, she didn’t know if she would ever find control again. She would fall head over heels, deep into the darkness that was him, perhaps never to be found again.
“It’s not right,” he said. “You deserve better.”
“That’s refreshing,” she said with a laugh. Resting her cheek in her palm, she smiled at him.
“It’s the truth. You deserve much more, and I intend to give it to you. When we get back, I would like to see you. To take you out and court you properly.”
“Oh, so fancy,” she said in a goofy voice.
“You deserve no less. No matter how much I want you right now.”
He picked up her hands and kissed her knuckles. Closing his eyes, he laid on his back and held her hand against his heart. She lay on her pillow beside him feeling his warmth radiate into her palm. She’d never had a man say anything like that to her before, and she didn’t know how to take it. She’d learned a long time ago to be always on the defensive with men, to guard her feelings lest they be used against her. But Aiden was so sincere and open, he didn’t seem to play any of those games.
She closed her eyes, hoping that this wasn’t all just a dream. She hoped he would feel the same in the morning, when they both sobered up, and the gray light of day made them remember reality.
Winnifred made a cup of tea and ventured outside into the rain-soaked dawn. The storm had subsided, and the ground was saturated. The sky hung pale and low overhead. She smelled the scent of the earth and the ocean as the breeze blew in from Puget Sound. It ruffled through her messy hair and over her cheeks. She sighed as she stood in the dunes overlooking the beach.
She had wanted to get away from it all, she thought to herself. Mission accomplished. Being here with Aiden, now that was another story. He was sweet and kind, with an air of mystery about him that made her want more. Not to mention his rock star good looks, dark eyes and hair, and that brooding intensity that seemed coiled and ready to strike at any moment. And that kiss. Holy fucking shit.
If she had to be stranded on an island, being stranded with Aiden definitely made it interesting. At first, he had come off a bit creepy, but those same qualities now seemed different. She felt safe and protected with him. He seemed to want the best for her and to help her with her life, even though he didn’t know her at all. Not many men were like that, especially such hot ones. He didn’t have even the slightest hint of being full of himself. He played guitar better than any musician she’d ever known and, being an art major who’d known a lot of groupies throughout her college years, that was a lot.
Her attraction to him made her uncomfortable. He said he worked in security and had been in the military before that, but he never elaborated. He had that bad boy rocker look about him that always drew her in but inevitably ended up being toxic. From what she had observed with Aiden, he was a good guy.
She sighed, taking a sip of tea. She had probably lost her job at the café by now and had finally made the decision to leave Seattle. She was going to move to Mount Rainier or south along the coast. Maybe she would find a place on one of the islands and the Sound. But she was definitely leaving. She was going to find a place where she could live off her art and finally be happy. She would probably never see Aiden again, unless he wanted to be her pen-pal. And everyone knew long-distance things didn’t work out.
Why was she thinking about the future of their relationship? Aiden treated her nicely, their kiss had curled her toes, and he said things that made her heart skip a beat. Sometimes she thought she saw something in his eyes, something burning with lust when he looked at her. But then he held back when they kissed. If that didn’t mean something, she didn’t know what did. But the last thing she wanted was to humiliate herself by presuming he was into her beyond momentary infatuation and lust. She had made that mistake before, and she had vowed to keep her guard up with men from then on.
With Aiden, she kind of wanted to break that vow. Maybe it would be worth it. He gave her that tingly feeling when he looked at her with those heavy-lidded eyes. There was something going on underneath his cool mask. She wanted to find out what it was. See if he was as deep and mysterious as he seemed. Winnie shook her head at herself. Aiden was out of her league. He could have pretty much anyone. And besides, she had more important things to think about. Like how to get off this island and then get her life together.
As she started back to the cabin, she heard a rustling in the bushes beside the trail. She peered into the dark forest. It was covered in shadows from the gray overcast sky. She couldn’t see a thing between the tree trunks and the underbrush. It was probably just a squirrel or a rabbit. She shrugged and continued walking.
Just as the forest cleared away and she had a clear view of the front door, shadows burst out from the forest and surrounded her. A group of half a dozen men materialized, surrounding her and leering maniacally. She screamed and dropped her cup. It shattered on the ground, splashing hot liquid on her pant leg.
Aiden burst out of the cabin, running toward her at an inhuman speed. Something happened to him. Suddenly, he transformed into something else, huge and monstrous. Wings sprouted from his back, claws appeared where his fingers had been. And two long, red laser swords extended from his hands. She screamed again upon seeing him. But he immediately attacked the men who had grabbed her. They let go to fight Aiden. But it wasn’t the Aiden she knew—he now looked demonic. She didn’t know which was more frightening, the shadow men or the guy she’d been bunking with for the last two days.
And to think, she would have done the deed with this guy. What the hell was he? He beat back the shadow men who revealed long, sharp canine teeth as they attacked demonic Aiden. What were they? Vampires??? If the shadow men were vampires, what did that make Aiden? She backed away, taking cover in the forest.
“Hiding another Dragon Soul from us?” one of the vampire said as he attacked.
“Not so powerful now, are you?” another said.
“Victor and Marco will be so pleased to hear this,” said a third.
Aiden continued to fight, but Winnie could see he was growing frustrated. His face was still mostly the same, his jaw had become more pronounced and scales had sprouted over his skin.
She was going to make a break for it and run for the cabin when Aiden grabbed her by the arm, gathered her up, and launched into the sky.
“The power of Aria’s song is gone,” he muttered.
“What the hell are you doing?” she yelled at him as he cradled her
in his powerful arms.
“I’m saving you from the vampires,” he said. “I don’t know how they found us.”
“What are you?” she demanded as his wings beat hard against the air, carrying them over the water and away from the island.
“I’m a dragon,” he said as if he was embarrassed at being defeated. “I came from another planet. Now I’m here on earth, looking for my mate. And that happens to be you.”
“Are you crazy?”
“You saw me shift with your own eyes,” he said making good time over the placid gray waters of the bay.
“Nope. I don’t believe this. Did you put mushrooms in my dinner last night?”
“I didn’t gather mushrooms yesterday. I went fishing.”
She growled and rolled her eyes. “This can’t be real. It’s just can’t be.”
“I’m afraid it is. Now that the vampires know of your existence, they will hunt you. They will not rest until they have taken your blood. I have to protect you. I shouldn’t have been so blind. But I wanted to get to know you.”
“Wait a minute,” she said as he hefted her in his arms. “We could’ve left this whole time. You can fly.”
“You are taking that fact quite well,” he said. “Many humans wouldn’t.”
“You left me stranded on an island because you were afraid of scaring me?”
“We are prohibited from revealing our true form to humans. I need to go into stealth mode, so we won’t be seen.”
Suddenly they disappeared. She screamed and started flailing about in his arms.
“Please relax. I don’t want to drop you.”
She took several deep breaths, trying to get used to the fact that she could neither see herself or Aiden.
“I want you to take me home right now,” she said.
“I’m afraid I can’t do that.”
“What do you mean you can’t do that?” she demanded.
“The vampires. They will suck out all of your blood. You are a Dragon Soul, meaning you have the DNA of ancient dragons mixed with your own human DNA. Dragon Soul blood gives vampires extra power. And now that they know you exist, they won’t leave you alone.”
“I’ll take my chances.” She snorted. “I don’t want to be any part of any of this. Whatever this is”
“I’m afraid I can’t leave you alone. You should come back to the mansion with me, so I can protect you.”
“Not a chance,” she said. “I don’t trust you anymore.”
“Winnifred,” he started.
“You can drop me off at my apartment and we never need to see each other again. If vampires bother me, I’ll call the cops,” she said.
“The human police can’t help you. You need to come with me.”
“Why would I go anywhere with you, you freak!” she yelled.
“Because I am your mate. It is fated.”
“What a bunch of baloney. If you wanted to get in my pants, you should have just asked. Maybe we could’ve worked something out. But now? Not a chance.”
“My darling,” he said.
“I’m not your darling. The sooner we get back to Seattle the better.”
“You must believe me. You’re in danger. Before the vampires saw us together, you could have continued to live your life peacefully. But now that they have your scent, I doubt they will leave you alone ever again.”
“You’re telling me that those vampires are going to hunt me for the rest of my life until they catch me and drink my blood for its power?”
“That about sums it up, yes,” he said.
She groaned loudly and threw her head back, looking up at the sky. Though she was invisible, she could still feel herself and look around. It was the oddest sensation. She couldn’t see Aiden or his expressions, but she could feel his strong, warm arms wrapped around her.
She was mad as hell. All she wanted was to go back home and resume her regular life. Winnifred had been on her own since she was a kid, defended herself from dirt bags, gotten herself into a prestigious art school, finished her degree, and started selling her paintings in one of the most competitive art scenes in the country. She was a survivor. She knew how to take care of herself. She wasn’t going to let Aiden swoop in and start telling her what to do.
“I don’t have any reason to believe that these vampires are going to come after me. It looked like they were after you.”
“They’ve seen us together, and they know you’re a Dragon Soul. They will hunt you relentlessly for the rest of your life.”
“So you say. But I don’t have any reason to believe you. Look, I can see Seattle from here. You can just set me down in front of my apartment.”
“Winnie,” he started. “I can’t let you go.”
“You can, and you will. It’s not your decision to make. It’s mine.”
“Very well,” he said, gliding over the city.
The streets flew below as he pumped his wings and sped through the town. Soon they were in the art district, and he slowly settled to the ground in an alley behind her building. All of a sudden, she was visible again. She gasped and looked at her arms and hands.
“Oh thank God,” she said. “I thought I might be invisible forever.”
“My stealth mode is easily activated and deactivated. It was never a problem. Leaving you alone however, is. I can’t let you do this.”
“You’re not taking me anywhere. If you want to protect me from the vampires then go wait on my roof like a gargoyle,” she said smirking as she charged down the alley and turned the corner onto the street.
She felt a little bad for telling him off, but she was really freaked out and about to have a nervous breakdown. She had a reason to be angry. At least, that’s what she told herself as she rang her neighbor and asked her to bring down her key.
Chapter 10
Aiden stood in the alley, watching Winnifred disappear around the corner. He had failed in every way. He hung his head in shame as his dragon roared inside his mind, telling him not to be a weakling. His dragon screamed for him to take his woman and claim her before she got away. He shook his head, he could never do that. He had to let her go. But she had given him an idea.
Aiden didn’t know what a gargoyle was, but he could watch over her from above like he had the first night he’d seen her. She may not want him to interfere, but there was no way he was going to leave her at the mercy of the vampires. First, he had something important to do. He found one of her tightly curled hairs hooked in the button on his shirt. He plucked it off and put it in his pocket.
Opening his mental link, he said, “Cato, I’m coming home. And I have a DNA sample for the mating analysis.”
“Finally,” Cato said. “We were going to send Dax to bring you back.”
“You think Dax could have persuaded me?”
“He has already found his mate and successfully claimed her,” Kian chimed in. “And you have yet to do that.”
Aiden gritted his teeth and fisted his hands, as he half-shifted in stealth and leapt to the roof of Winnifred’s building. He landed and went into a full-shift in a split second before leaping into the sky. The dragon mind took over and resisted leaving his mate behind. The dragon screamed and bellowed fire high above the city. The mind of the man had to exert the full power of his will to keep his dragon from turning around and making a fool of him.
Halfway back to the compound, Aiden finally got himself under control. It had been the mental battle of a lifetime. When he landed on the wide green lawn behind their mansion, he felt exhausted and beaten down.
Winnifred was right, he never should have kept the truth from her. He should have called Cato right away, but he couldn’t resist spending time with his lovely mate. Now the damage may be beyond repair.
He charged to the back door and found Kian waiting in the kitchen for him. Everly was feeding Ember applesauce with a spoon and the baby was slapping her bowl, making a mess and shrieking. Aria giggled at the child as Dax whispered in her ear and laughed. Aria look
ed up at Aiden and smirked, holding back her laughter. He narrowed his eyes at Dax, knowing that the big oaf was making fun of him.
“What’s so funny,” he demanded.
“You’re finally back, I see,” Kian said, stirring a pot on the stove.
The kitchen was full of the scent of chicken soup. Aiden’s stomach grumbled and twisted in a knot. He was sick and angry with himself. He’d made the biggest mistake of his life, and he would never forgive himself if he couldn’t make up with Winnifred.
“I have a DNA sample from my mate,” he growled as Cato walked through the kitchen door.
“Then let’s not waste any time,” Cato said.
“Here,” Aiden said, handing him the sample. “I have to go.”
“What do you mean? You just got back,” Kian said.
“What happened?” Dax said, mirth in his eyes.
“My mate and I were stranded on an island for several days.”
“Dragons can’t be stranded on islands,” Dax informed him.
Aiden growled. “Humans can be stranded on islands. I was being like a human. I needed to spend time with her.”
“How did you get back?” Kian asked.
“We were attacked by vampires. I had to get her out of there. The only way to do it was to half-shift and fly away. She became very angry and demanded I take her home. I left her at her apartment. But I can’t leave her for very long. The vampires will certainly track her down and kidnap her.”
“She’s mad at you.” Dax chortled. “You’ll never claim her now.”
“Shut up, Dax,” Aiden barked, fisting his hands and gritting his teeth. His inner dragon roared, and he felt his shift coming on involuntarily. His hands began to turn to talons and his teeth grew sharp.
“Settle down,” Kian demanded.
The command from his prince got through to his dragon and Aiden was able to breathe normally, his heart rate slowing. The anger in his blood began to thin.
“You’re right about protecting her,” Kian said. “You really should get back to the city and make sure she’s safe. Everything else can be worked out in the future. Cato will confirm that she is truly your mate, and then you can try to make things up with her. If she is your mate, there will be a way. There has to be. That is how fate works.”