Page 6 of Storm Dragon
The soft waves of her hair, the color of perfectly roasted chestnuts highlighted with gold and red from the sun, hung past her shoulders, glistening and shining like the finest silk. He longed to slide his fingers through those long, soft tresses as he kissed each and every tiny freckle adorning the bridge of her nose and apple of her cheeks. Then she smiled, and his heart skipped a beat. Not only was the sound better than any composition by any great musician, but the accompanying smile made his nearly dead heart sing.
He simply couldn’t look away, didn’t want to see anything else. From the top of her head to the tip of her toes and every inch of her curvy figure that he longed to explore, the woman was nothing short of utter perfection.
Slowly letting his preternatural senses reach for hers, it took every ounce of control he had left not to rush. Inch by tenuous inch, he let the Magic that had been with him the day of his birth slide ever forward. Just over the threshold of the last of the beautiful woman’s mental blocks, a flash of warm, golden light exploded in his mind’s eye as the brush of soft, reddish-brown fur decorated with black spots and stripes rolled over and around everything, including the special place in his psyche where King Dorman slept.
Shocked when the Ancient Dragon didn’t so much as stir, Ruairí’s focus had just returned to the very special woman when everything became clear for the first time since his capture. His hands, shackled at his sides by silver chains, ached to touch her peaches and cream complexion while memorizing her every expression.
As his mind stayed connected to hers, he could see her insecurities, how she constantly worried over what she ate and how much she weighed. Shaking his head, ignoring the searing pain of the caustic metal holding him, he prayed the day would come when he could assure her that she was perfect in every way. “Tamsyn…” Her name appeared in his mind as if it had been written upon his soul. It was as if… “Mate…”
His next thought was infinitely louder and absolutely undeniable. Tamsyn Elizabeth Ryder was the one woman in all the world made for him by the Universe. She was the Light to his Darkness, the other half of his soul, the one being that completed him in every way possible. She was the only person in all the world who could bring him back from the brink of madness.
Lost in the plethora of sights, sounds, and memories, the Guardsman moved through her consciousness as if it were his own. He saw everything from the day she was born to that very moment with incredible clarity.
He saw her first Shift from human to Bobcat Shifter and shared in the joy and wonder when the Queen she shared her soul with, Bridgette, explained the Destiny that lay before them. He chuckled when she and her younger sister fought over toys, and his heart nearly overflowed when her dad took her into his arms and she told the older man she loved him.
Opening his mind even wider, he inhaled deeply, preparing to speak to his Mate. What should have been the happiest moment of his very long life ended in heartbreak as their connection was severed.
Cursing his waning strength, he cussed the last Circle of Mages, the ones who’d unceremoniously dumped him into a deep hole in the Earth when they realized there was no way to reach King Dorman. His fists shook with the need to reconnect with his Mate, but he knew he had to sleep. Had to rest. Had to regenerate as much strength as he could before doing so.
Forcing his eyes closed, he inhaled until his lungs were full, then exhaled slowly. Repeating the process, summoning the calm needed to meditate and rest, for the first time in centuries, he fell into a deep sleep with no visions of the past, only hope for the future and one name on his lips…
Tamsyn….
3
The Present
“No, I’m sure we haven’t,” Tamsyn responded, gently removing her hand from his. Chuckling to distract from her obvious unease, she added, “I remember every Dragon I’ve ever met.” She crinkled her nose and winked, yet another attempt to lower the tension in the room. “’Cause on account of, y’all don’t let yourselves get met very often.” Laughing at her overexaggerated southern accent with a side of self-deprecation, she kept right on going. “So, I can honestly say I would most definitely have not forgotten meeting one of the most renowned Guardsmen in history. Hell, I would’ve put a big gold star on my calendar.”
“Okay, Girlie,” Bridgette sarcastically snorted. “Pull back on the nervous chatter. Your mouth’s about to write a big fat check your cute little booty can’t cash.”
Trying with all her might to follow the advice of the Bobcat Queen, Tamsyn literally bit the tip of her tongue to keep from putting the other foot in her mouth. Unable to look away, she watched the pupil of the most wellknown Dragon Guardsman in her lifetime elongate, stop for a split second, then return to its normal circular shape.
“His Dragon King was testing your honesty,” Bridgette explained. “So, you don’t need…” “Testing my honesty?” Tamsyn mentally snapped.
“…lose your mind.”
But Bridgette’s words fell on deaf ears.
“Who the hell does he think…?
Thankfully, that was as far as Tamsyn got before Carrick completely took her off guard with a crooked, yet endearing smile. Sure, it was forced. Absolutely, the sentiment of the expression didn’t quite reach his eyes, but he’d tried, and something about that single, simple gesture threw a bucket of cold water on Tamsyn’s irritation.
But that didn’t mean she was going to back down.
It didn’t matter that the man, the Dragon, the Elder, one of the Universe’s Chosen Warriors, was an actual living legend. Nor did she give a good gosh darn that he could probably turn her into a greasy spot on the ceramic tile floor with little more than a thought. He was on her turf. This was her Pride.
And he had better never question her integrity again.
“Simmer down, Hot Stuff,” Bridgette half-heartedly chuckled. “This is the way of Dragons, especially the old ones.”
“Yeah, well, he'd better get with the times and remember who’s the head bitch in charge around here.”
“Oh, he knows I’m here.”
“Ha. Ha. Ha. You are so not funny.”
Eyes glued to the infamous Dragon, Tamsyn tuned out Bridgette’s running commentary as Carrick inhaled deeply, rubbed the salt and pepper stubble on his chin with the side of his index finger, and actually bowed his head. She felt his embarrassment, and more than a little of her own. He’d obviously picked up on her conversation with the Bobcat Queen and felt bad.
