Page 80 of Dragon Eye (Rise of the Dragon Master)

Josh sat beside me, draping an arm around me in a half hug. “Anything you need?”

“Just to try and get some rest.”

“I haven’t seen you in the last couple days. Are you doing better? From the bruises I mean.”

My hand absentmindedly went to my ribs, where the most gruesome of the bruises had been. “Yes. I’m not sure why but they disappeared yesterday.”

“Gone?” he asked dumbfounded, and I nodded.

“Okay. We’ll let you rest, but first, there is one more person who wants to see you,” Rebecca explained, glancing at her boyfriend.

“Who is it? I don’t—”

“Dude, it’ll just be five minutes. People want to be there for you. Stop being a diva,” Josh scolded, and I sighed, nodding.

“Fine.”

With a caring smile, Rebecca waved. “We’ll be downstairs.”

Josh took her hand and guided her outside, leaving the door ajar. My gaze remained on it for a few seconds, wondering who else was there. The moment the door opened my voice left me.

Silently, Evie walked in, her eyes brimming with a pain she knew too well. I watched her close the door and lock it, her simple black dress reminding me of something Rebecca would wear.

I was probably hallucinating, and she wasn’t there at all, but unlike the other strange fantasies capturing my mind lately, this one soothed me. My gaze followed her every move until she stopped barely a step away, not a single word escaping her lips.

Kneeling before me, she gently reached for my face, my neck, my arms and chest, as though she didn’t know how to ask if I was okay, and her hands were trying to get answers. I wasn’t, yet, I wasn’t sure what I was. I didn’t speak either. All I could do was look at her beautiful face, take in the sweet scent of her skin, engraving her in my mind until the fantasy ended.

Her hands stopped when she reached the white rose on my shirt pocket, and she glanced up at me in wonder.

“It was my mother’s favorite,” I whispered, finally breaking the silence.

The pain brimming in Evanna’s crystal blue eyes spilled, her tears reflecting the agony finally awaking inside me. Reaching for the flower, she placed a soft kiss on its petals, and lifted it to her hair.

As the white rose settled between her golden strands and she smiled at me through her sorrow, I knew. I knew she was really here, and my mother had sent her to me. Tears stung my eyes instantly, freely falling as I looked at her.

“She’s gone…”

Evie shook her head, eyes glistening with the shared hurt. “No. She’s here.” Her fingertip landed on my heart, and she caressed my chest, her eyes never leaving mine.

The image of Mom laughing returned to me, the joy we had shared the last time I saw her flooding my chest. More tears left my eyes, yet a part of me knew Mom was with Dad now, peaceful.

Cradling my face with care, Evie’s lips kissed the wetness off my cheeks, her mouth creating a trail along my skin to my temple and leaving another kiss there. I gripped her waist, feeling her slowly rain kisses all over me. Her mouth moved to the other side of my face, getting rid of every teardrop that escaped me, capturing me whole with every kiss.

When she stopped and looked into my eyes, I was suddenly truly lost… in her. Somehow, I had been given another golden grain of sand, and this time, I wasn’t letting it disappear.

“Evie…” I whispered a second before her mouth claimed mine.

My eyes fell closed with every brush of our lips, seeking to erase my loss. I gave in to her, taken aback by her presence, dazed, entranced by her. If anyone could heal my soul from this, it was her. Surrendering, I felt her every touch, letting her take control of my body while she kissed me deeply, hauntingly.

Our tongues caressed the other, igniting a need for her that I had never felt, yet I knew she felt it for me too. Something meaningful churned in our souls, taking hold of us, until only we could calm the ache inside each other. I needed her more than anything, only she could make this right.

Evie’s hands leisurely roamed my chest, undoing the buttons of my shirt and pushing it off my body. My belt was next, and she lowered my zipper, our mouths unwilling to let go of the other.

Lifting my hips from the bed, I let her tug my pants down, freeing me. Every inch of me throbbed for her, and the second she glanced at my body, she realized how much I needed her. I’d hardened for her in an instant. Her first touch had me rigid. Soft, yet demanding, her mouth moved over mine once again, and she guided my hands down her neck to her chest.

Fuck. I jerked against her belly as I fondled her soft, round breasts over the fabric, and tugged her zipper down, pulling off her dress.

The sound of our raspy breaths was all I heard when she stood, letting the dress fall to the floor and giving me a full view of her gorgeous body. My length jerked for her again and want captured her beautiful face as she admired me too.

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