Taste of Darkness (27 page)

She bit her bottom lip as she glanced back at the immaculately set table. Instead of meeting the Petronilla clan members on their land, they’d opted to meet here. The lodge had catered a large breakfast and the private cabin Conall had put them in was big enough for four families.

This was basically neutral ground. Made sense to Bran and he preferred it that way. He didn’t want to be deeper into their land than necessary. Even if he did want them as allies. He leaned against the sturdy chair at the end of the table. “So have you forgiven me?”

Fia sniffed and looked at him, her lips pursed. “Maybe. If you behave yourself this morning.”

He snorted. No other female in his clan talked to him like this. The truth was, even though she drove Bran crazy most of the time, she loved his brother. And she was like an annoying little sister. “Behave myself?”

“No surliness. This is important to…me. So please, I’m asking you to be civil.”

He frowned at the way she’d paused. There was something he was missing; had felt the strangeness for the past few months, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. “You do know I’m clan leader?” he asked mildly.

She sniffed again and turned on her heel before marching from the room. She hadn’t said but he could tell that he was forgiven. She wouldn’t have spoken to him at all otherwise. Freaking females.

Rubbing the back of his neck, he started to follow and find his brother when a soft knock at the glass door drew his attention.

A short female with a furry, hooded jacket pulled up around her face stood there. She smiled and half-waved, her silver eyes flickering under the bright morning sun. For a moment he couldn’t draw breath as he stared at her. Her smile was blinding, the type of smile females like her did
not
reserve for him. Unlike most male dragons, he didn’t look like them. He wasn’t what Fia called GQ attractive. He looked like a fucking thug and he couldn’t see out of one eye. Dragon females prized whole, beautiful males. At least in his experience. Yeah, she wasn’t looking at him.

He glanced over his shoulder. Nope. He was alone. Turning back, he found her now frowning at him. She pointed at the door and made an unlock motion with her hand. Like he was a fucking moron who couldn’t figure out how to open the door. He would be insulted except he was acting like one.

Gritting his teeth, he strode to the door and opened it.

“Hi. I’m Keelin,” she said, pushing the hood back from her face. The small wisps of blonde hair he’d seen peeking out tumbled around her face now. Behind her, her footprints indented the light dusting of snow on the wooden stairs that led to the ground below. The sunroom looked out over the mountain, the view stunning. But nothing compared to the female standing in front of him now. When she raised her eyebrows, he figured he should stop staring and formulate a response.

“Bran,” he rasped out.

“I know. I’ve seen your picture. Are you going to invite me in?”

As he stepped back, the petite female breezed past him, her scent making him think of raw, primal fucking under a moonlit sky. The abrupt thought made him draw up short. His dragon rippled beneath the surface, savagely curious about the female. What the fuck was wrong with him? He loved women. Loved everything about them. Their soft curves, the way they moaned when he made them come. That was just sex though. And his dragon never gave a shit about any of them. This was…odd. And unwelcome.

Rolling his shoulders, he shrugged off the strange sensation. He knew she’d recently come out of Protective Hibernation. Must be why her picture wasn’t in their files of the Petronilla clan. Why the hell hadn’t Fia told him about Keelin? “Where are your brothers?”

She shrugged and unzipped her jacket. “I came early. Figured Fia was freaking out over breakfast and could use the help.”

He snorted and felt his heart stutter when she gave him one of those blinding smiles again.

The female laughed once, the throaty sound a punch to his solar plexus. “So I was right to come early? Is she having a meltdown?”

Before he could respond, Fia appeared in the doorway and started squealing over the blonde female who just smiled and gave her friend a big hug. There was a whirlwind of high-pitched, excited shouting, all from Fia, before the two females hurried from the room.

Bran rubbed the back of his neck as he stared at the empty entryway.
Fuck him.
Keelin’s sweet scent lingered in the air, making his dragon angry, his talons raking against his insides demanding he go after her.

Right the fuck now.

Females were too complicated. He’d seen his brother become pussy whipped over one. Not something he wanted for himself. But…he rubbed his neck again. He wasn’t letting that female just walk away. Something intrinsic inside him flared bright, telling him he didn’t have a choice in the matter.

* * *

Victoria gave Drake her hand as she slid out of the back of the SUV. She didn’t need the help and he knew she didn’t, but she loved touching him. Unfortunately they weren’t touching enough. Last night she’d been so sure they’d take things to the next level, but Drake had been all about oral exploration only. Which was amazing but she wanted more.

So much more. She wanted all of him. To feel that thick length of him pushing deep inside her, to score her nails down his back as they both came, to experience his canines marking her skin again.

Ahead of them, Rhea, Gabriel, Conall, Lennox and Cody were all walking toward the huge cabin where the Devlin clan was staying. She wasn’t sure what she thought of the dragon Cody, but Keelin—who’d come an hour earlier—had told Victoria that he was a warrior and well-trained. And Conall had wanted him to come with them as part of their protection.

Victoria squeezed Drake’s hand and stopped walking. He instantly tensed, scanning their surroundings and looking for danger. “What is it?” he murmured.

“Nothing bad. I just want to talk to you in private. Will you tell the others we’ll be inside in a sec?”

He nodded and called out to his brother, who paused in concern, then continued along the stone walkway that wrapped around to the back of the cabin. They were using the back stairs as their entrance instead of the front door. She wasn’t sure why but didn’t really care.

Once everyone was out of sight, Drake’s big hands settled on her hips. He pulled her close, the feel of his thick length resting against her abdomen making her shudder. “Are you nervous?” he asked quietly.

“No. And this is may be terrible timing, but…why aren’t we taking things further in the bedroom?” Monday night in the pantry had been hot and last night had been more of the same, except in their bedroom instead of the kitchen. But he hadn’t wanted to take things further and she’d been too nervous to ask why when she’d been naked and vulnerable.

His gray eyes went silver as he swallowed hard. “Are you not pleased with what we’ve done?”

She blinked in surprise. He’d made her come three times last night with his hands and wicked tongue. “No, I mean, yes. I’m very pleased.” That being an understatement. Another shiver rolled through her, her nipples hardening against her bra as she thought of everything they’d done only hours ago. How he’d had her get on all fours then slid underneath her and had her sit on his face. It had been beyond erotic. “I just…something’s holding you back.” And she really hoped it wasn’t her.

Maybe now that they were surrounded by his dragon clan he realized the differences in their species and was having second thoughts about actual mating. That thought made her throat tighten, unwanted emotions bubbling up.

His fingers clenched harder around her hips and he was silent for a few long beats, making her think the worst. “I’ve never been with a female.” His words were so quiet she almost didn’t hear him.

“I haven’t either. With a male, I mean. With
anyone
. Not completely.” Sure she’d fooled around with that guy in college but that had been short-lived thanks to the obnoxious Guardian.

Drake’s head tilted to the side a fraction, his eyes going supernova as he watched her. “Really?”

She nodded, swallowing hard. “Really. I wasn’t waiting for any reason other than Gabriel and the rest of the pack made it impossible for me to, you know.” But now she was glad she hadn’t been with anyone. She and Drake could learn everything together. She just hoped that was the only reason he was holding back.

“I was worried I might hurt you during sex. I spoke to Conall this morning and he told me…he explained that…” To her surprise, his ears tinged crimson.

When it was clear that he was struggling for words, she smiled. “He basically told you dragons aren’t into weird shit and you have nothing to worry about?”

Breathing out a sigh of relief, he nodded. “Yes, but I will bite you.”

Something she already knew since his brother had told them in the cabin and Drake had nipped at her more than once. “You’ve already bitten me.” And it had been hot. Her nipples tightened even more and the soft glow Drake had been emitting went pure gold, the snow around them glistening under the effect.

“When we mate it will be deeper and will mark you for life.” His words were tentative.

But they were music to her ears. “Good.” She wanted to be marked by him, wanted the whole damn world to know she was his. And vice versa.

His gaze went molten as he watched her. “It’s only been two days. Barely.”

“It’s been more than that if you think about it. I’ve wanted you since pretty much the moment you went all growly and sexy in that graveyard.” Which was a little weird to think about but she didn’t care. Drake was an amazing male. And four months of waiting was long enough.

“I do not growl.”

She bit back a smile. “You just did.”

Leaning down, he brushed his lips over hers but pulled back way too quickly. “You
do
have terrible timing. We should just leave now.” His voice was low, sexy, his intent clear.

Laughing, she pushed against his chest and stepped back. “No way. And you might want to…” She motioned to the glow around them.

Because of the bright morning sun she didn’t think anyone could see the glow. The cabin was too far away from the rest of the lodge, one of the exclusive areas where those who paid a boat load could walk out of their cabin and pretty much ski right down the mountain. This high up and with so many trees blocking them she figured they were safe but still. They didn’t need to walk into the breakfast with him lit up like a Christmas tree. Then everyone would know what they’d been doing out here. Not that she was ashamed, but still.

“Terrible, terrible timing,” he muttered, wrapping his arm around her shoulders as they headed up the walk.

Slipping her arm around his waist, she held on tight. She wasn’t exactly nervous, but okay, maybe a little. This was a new world and now they were about to meet new dragons. The back part of the cabin had a huge upper room with all glass windows that glinted under the sunlight. A wide set of stairs led to a door where Conall was waiting, his body tense.

“Is everything okay?” she asked as they started up the stairs.

“Yeah.” His voice said otherwise. His tone also didn’t invite further questioning.

It had to be weird for him to be around his ex, so maybe that was why he was on edge. But she wasn’t going to say one word about it.

“Let’s get this over with,” he muttered, opening the door and heading in first. It was a sign of respect to go first, to enter a room before them to take on any potential danger in their stead.

As they stepped inside a bright room where a beautiful table was laid out, all conversation stopped and everyone turned to stare at them. Next to her Drake stiffened, his grip tightening. She knew this was hard for him, but he was doing it because it would be good for their clans to become allies.

“Drake, Victoria, this is…” Conall went on to introduce them to members of the Devlin clan. There were five in all. The leader, his brother, his brother’s mate and two warriors.

Victoria had seen a couple dragons with Devlin coloring in the sky earlier and asked Drake about it but he hadn’t been able to see them until he touched the blade she had strapped on underneath her long jacket. He’d been insistent she wear it today as extra protection. Apparently, according to Conall, blades forged with dragon fire had all sorts of magic associated with them. Including giving the owner of the blade the ability to see past dragon camouflage. Which was why they almost never made them.

Not even for themselves. It was too dangerous. Someone else might accidentally get a hold of it.

The blades could pretty much kill
anyone
. Of course, not all dragons could even make the things according to Conall. It took skill and very specific knowledge, most of which was only passed down through royal lines. He’d been shocked to see Victoria carrying one that first time they’d met in Bo’s club because of what it was and because Drake had actually made one. Neither he nor his sister had ever tried. That knowledge that the blade could kill anyone had freaked her out, but had made Drake even more insistent that she wear it today. In one of the ancient texts Conall had lent her—from his personal family library—there was a whole section about ancient weapons made from dragon fire and she’d just started reading it.

Right about now, with everyone staring at them, she wished she was back in his library reading it or anything else.