Page 29 of The Virgin's Chosen Dragon

Fighting the waves of dizziness that threatened to take her under again, she began to shiver in his arms, unable to take her eyes off him, the memory of what he’d become emblazoned in her mind. Without a word, he headed for the shelter of the trees. The rain wasn’t as bad once they made it into the jungle, but she didn’t notice. Her mind was too busy trying to put the pieces together. When her head began to hurt, she stopped trying and closed her eyes, concentrating instead on the feel of Theo’s arms supporting her.

The confusion began to fade, her head stopped pounding, and she let out a long, slow breath, then looked up into Theo’s worried eyes. All at once, she realized that he was still the same man she’d fallen in love with, that he was right, nothing had changed because he was different. In fact, there was a part of her that was thrilled. A wave of desire rushed through her, taking her by surprise, and she gasped, then quickly looked away when she felt her cheeks growing hot.

They’d reached the shelter of a big tree. Theo gently set her down, then hesitated a second before sitting down next to her. “I don’t know what to say, Eden,” he said. “I’ll understand if you don’t want anything to do with me now, I know what I look like when I shift. I wouldn’t blame you for……well, being scared or repulsed or……”

She looked over at him, reached out, and put her fingers over his lips. “No more talking,” she said. “I think now is one of those times when you should just shut up and kiss me.”

A look of surprise appeared on his face. “You’re not scared?” he asked. “You don’t think I’m a monster, some kind of freak?”

“Didn’t I just tell you to shut up and kiss me? I’m not scared of you, Theo. You aren’t a monster, you’re amazing,”she said, then had to look away. “It’s kind of hot, if you want to know the truth.”

Theo’s eyes widened, and then he started laughing. “I guess you really are the woman for me,” he said before lowering his mouth to hers and making her forget about the storm, the villagers, and the whole world.

CHAPTER 17

***THEO***

Eden snuggled deeper in Theo’s arms, shivering just a little. He knew that he had to find them some shelter, but he wasn’t completely sure where they were. “We should try to get out of this rain, you’re freezing,” he said. “But I don’t want to go wandering around in the jungle in this storm. Hopefully it will stop raining soon.”

“I’m okay,” Eden said, looking up at him. “As long as we’re together, I can handle anything. Let’s just wait the storm out here. It can’t last much longer.”

As soon as the words were out of Eden’s mouth, it started to rain harder, and she groaned. “I guess I shouldn’t have said that,” she said. “I made it worse.”

He leaned down and kissed her. “That’s just the storm playing itself out,” he said. “You’ll see, it will stop soon.”

They sat in silence watching it rain, then Eden let out a little gasp and pointed down at the beach. “Theo, look, there’s Rose,” she said. “She shouldn’t be out in this storm. What’s that she’s carrying?”

He realized that Rose was calling out their names. “I thinkshe’s looking for us,” he said. “Stay here, and I’ll go find out what she wants.”

Eden shook her head. “I’m going with you,” she said. “She’s my friend, Theo.”

He got to his feet and held out his hand. “Okay, then come on,” he said. “But stay close to me and keep your eyes open. This could be a trick.”

“No way, Rose wouldn’t do that,” she said. “We can trust her.”

A look of relief appeared on Rose’s face when she saw them coming toward her. “We must hurry; I can’t be gone long,” she said, then shoved the basket she’d been carrying into his hands. “Take this and follow me.”

She started up the beach but after only a few minutes, took a trail that led away from the shore and into the jungle, glancing behind her to make sure they were following. The path climbed steeply, making it difficult to navigate the muddy trail, especially with the large basket in his hands. However, after only a short hike, they emerged at the top of a cliff. Pausing to catch his breath, he looked around, surprised to see the ocean spread out below him. The full power of the storm was now evident, and he hoped Rose was leading them to shelter.

When he turned around, Rose was gesturing at him impatiently, and he hurried after her only to see her disappear into a cave he hadn’t spotted before. It was dark inside, but a second later, Rose lit a torch, and the darkness faded, revealing a large chamber with a hard-packed dirt floor. They followed her to the middle of the cave, where there was a firepit filled with kindling. She used the torch to set the wood on fire, then stood back and looked at them as the flames began to dance.

“You are safe here. There’s food in the basket,” she said. “No one will come here. They think it’s haunted.”

“Oh, Rose, thank you,” Eden said, giving her a hug. “I knew you wouldn’t betray me.”

“We’re best friends,” Rose said, smiling at her. “I’m sorry about what my brother did.”

Eden stared at her for a second. “Sam is your brother?” she finally asked. “You never said anything, I mean…I guess I should have figured it out…”

“I am ashamed of him. I don’t like to admit he’s my brother,” she said. “I stay away from him if I can. He’s a terrible spoiled brat, has always been, but this time……”

“It’s not your fault,” he said, setting down the basket. “Thank you for helping us. I hope you don’t get into trouble.”

Rose shook her head. “Sam is disgraced. Father is losing control of the village,” she said. “They’re not worried about me right now, but I can’t stay much longer.”

“Are they going to come after us?” Eden asked, her face full of worry. “Theo was only trying to defend me.”

“Everyone saw Theo become a dragon,” she said, grinning at him. “They’re all afraid of him now. They won’t bother you.”

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