Page 58 of Driven By Dragonblood
I stilled, unmoving except for the beating of my heart. Beta and female—bonding.
Yessss, truth.
I swallowed, slamming every ounce of self-control I had into solidifying the vault containing that damn voice.
Emelia had said there were other dragonbloods. Perhaps this DiLoreto guy and his two partners would have the scientific answers my brain required to make sense of what owned my thoughts.
“Do you happen to have his number?” I asked, my voice ragged.
“I do.” Muffled noises sounded. “I’ll forward Vanni’s contact card to you,” he said, “but he doesn’t have service where he lives off-grid. I’m sure he’ll get back to you if you leave a message, though. Just tell him that I gave you his number.”
I glanced up at the clock to note the time and made my goodbyes.
Steven’s text came through seconds later, but before I had a chance to make a call to his friend, my next patient arrived.
Chapter 23
Primrose
Jaxon made love to me twice before rushing out the door for his first day at work. I’d told him that between the two of us, we had more than enough funds to see us through—for years—but he insisted on working. My sweet beta was driven to support his female, and I bid him goodbye with a lingering kiss that had heated our blood.
After he’d left, I’d retrieved my bag from the motel and checked out—on Jaxon’s insistence, I moved in with him. I returned to the apartment, breathing a sigh over being able to strip naked again, waiting impatiently for his six-hour shift to end. I’d spent almost four of my twenty-two years alone in the cavern beneath the Grand Teton and hadn’t once experienced loneliness like I did with every passing minute now.
The need for Jaxon’s closeness, to bask in his nearness and the warmth and scent of his body, filled me to distraction, and I turned off the TV I had been attempting to pass the time watching. While some shows proved to be interesting, the constant noise screaming from the box atop a small table drove me half-mad. Especially the commercials thattried every trick to capture and hold a watcher’s attention, prompting them with brilliant wording to buy now or miss out.
Regardless of the TV’s attempt to take my thoughts off my inner turmoil, my bare skin continued to crave Jaxon’s touch. My feet itched to move, my wings to burst free and carry us to his side where we belonged.
His lingering heartache earlier this morning over Patrick hurt me more than that of my own rejection from our alpha. I longed to be the healing bond between the two, the one who would link them for a long lifetime together.
Go.
I blinked, wondering if my inner dragon knew something I didn’t. Both Ashley and Vanni had suggested approaching my alpha, but the thought he might push me away again twisted my stomach into a knot.
Regardless of my misgivings, I gave in to my beast’s instincts. We would make things right, gift my beta with what he longed for.
Cloaked and chest fluttering, I stepped out onto the deck, not a stitch of clothing restricting my movements. Warm spring air wafted over me, the scent of warm soil and flowers filling my nose. Knowing I didn’t have room to leap and shift, I made my way down the stairs and into the cul-de-sac, my gait slow but steady. Determined to put Jaxon’s desires above my own fear of further rejection, I closed my eyes and gave my inner beast her wings.
Ripples of energy converted human skin and bone to that of a dragon, and we purred a heated breath at the freedom my beast half experienced. Three running steps down the road, one flap of wings, and we shot into the sky. The rush of fresh air, cleansed by the storms on the previous day, expanded our lungs.
A bank to the left took us northward for Lockwood.
Alpha.
The dragonblood in him called to us from below, our desire to bond speeding us toward the earth. The second we landed inside the compound’s fence and shifted to human form, I realized I’d forgotten to bring a bag with clothing to change into.
Perhaps nakedwouldbe better once I made myself visible. Patrick had been able to withstand the desire between us before, but maybe with his female’s body on full display, he would be more apt to cave to his beast’s drive to breed and claim as Jaxon had done when I’d stood upon his stoop in nothing but my skin.
Warmth flared to life between my thighs. Having been sexually awakened, I desired my alpha with a breath-stealing want that only he could satisfy. I loved Jaxon with a fierceness of one already bonded, but we would never be complete without our alpha.
Sure of my decision to approach Patrick, I strode toward the hospital on feet unaffected by the bite of pebbles and cement. I snuck through the front doors by following visitors up the main path and directly into the lobby, where his brimstone scent teased my nostrils.
Shoulders back and heartbeat thrumming, I made my way toward his office down the western wing, then the connected second building, sidestepping more than one person, the carpet hushing our footfalls. A lack of energy passing through the door bearing his name pulled me up short.
He wasn’t inside, even though a slight awareness of him being nearby made the hairs on my nape rise.
I glanced left and right, but no one traversed the hallway. The unlocked door pushed in with a quick turn of the knob, and I slipped over the threshold, shutting it quietly behind me. Lingering traces of Patrick’s cologne filled my lungs as I inhaled deeply.
My inner dragon purred, and arousal swelled the lips of my pussy, wetness growing to ready myself for my alpha. I swallowed down a moan and forced my mind on learning more about him, to find possible ways to entice him, without his presence distracting me.
