Page 15 of Dragon's Golden Mate
Her breaths were slow and controlled, mixing with the sound of the breeze through the fresh spring foliage around them. She was tapping into her inner beast, pulling it out of her. Kendrick felt his breath matching hers and forced himself to stop. She needed Kendrick the man right now and only the promise of Kendrick the dragon.
Maeve sucked in one long breath. As she let it out, she released her wolf. Her shoulders hunched and then rolled back as her spine elongated. A tail sprang into existence, and her hands and feet curled into paws. Thick, glorious fur that reminded him of sterling silver burst from her skin. That beautiful face he’d been admiring all day stretched forward into a muzzle. Her ears moved up the side of her head and turned into two tall triangles, and her transformation was complete.
Kendrick couldn’t remember ever seeing anything so beautiful. Her eyes were still the same color, that deep brown flecked with sand, earth, and grass. When she looked at him, it was with the same trust and friendship he saw in her human form. It wasn’t as though this was the first time Kendrick had been around a shifter who wasn’t a dragon. He’d metmany kinds of shifters over the years, yet watching her release her true form was an experience unlike anything he’d ever had before. He felt stunned, rooted to the spot by her raw beauty.
His dragon churned and whirled inside him. It wanted out! It could feel the change in her, and it wanted to join in. The tips of his scales poked at the underside of his skin, and his teeth sharpened. There was a hunger inside of him, but not for food. Kendrick curled his fists. He couldn’t let her down. She needed him right now.
“How does it feel?” he asked, his voice rough as he nodded toward her leg.
Maeve couldn’t answer him in English, but she could hear him. She got up gingerly and stepped forward. Her hind paw instantly went back up in the air for a moment as a small yip escaped her throat. Hesitantly, she lowered it to the ground once more. First just her toes, and then the pads. She shifted her weight, slowly adding more until she stood squarely on all four paws. To be certain, she walked a small circle in their little hideaway.
Kendrick watched carefully, but he saw no further signs of injury. Relief flooded through him.
Judging by the slight wag of Maeve’s tail, he guessed she was feeling quite relieved herself.Maeve put her back to the cedars and shook out her coat. She dipped her head forward and closed her eyes.
It was no less remarkable to watch the process in reverse. As much as he enjoyed her animal form, Kendrick couldn’t help but stare as her muscles and bones once again reconfigured themselves. Her legs and arms, her back, her hands, everything that had become so familiar just in the last few days returned. He rejoiced at seeing the long, intriguing length of her hair come flowing back, the silver strands reminding him of her wolf’s fur.
“All better?” he asked.
She was sitting on the ground, holding her knee in her hands and flexing it experimentally. Her lips curled into a smile of satisfaction. “At least that still works.”
“I’m not surprised. It seems we can rely on our inner beasts more than anything else sometimes.” Kendrick watched the curve of her calf as she stretched her foot, continuing to examine the previously injured knee.
“And then there’s you.” Maeve flicked her hair over her shoulder and looked up at him.
“Hm?”
“I can rely on you,” she clarified. “I’m sorry that I doubted you, but I was worried.”
“That’s all right. You had a right to be. Here. Let me help you.” He reached down for her hands and pulled her to her feet.
As she put her weight on them, she stumbled forward and into his arms. Kendrick caught her easily, holding her body against his. Her soft breasts pressed against him just below his chest, and he could feel the strength of her thighs through her dress. She’d grabbed his arms as she fell, each hand now curling around a fistful of his shirt.
“Apparently, I’ve had to rely on you a lot lately,” she laughed.
Her hair fell over his arms, which were still wrapped around her body. He could hold her like this forever, just gazing at her face. Kendrick wanted to memorize each of the little lines that arced out from the corners of her eyes. He wanted to trace the gentle waves of every strand of hair. The weight of her in his arms was far too pleasant.
His voice was gruff when he spoke. “I don’t mind.”
“Good.” She swallowed, and for just a fraction of a second, her eyes dipped to his mouth. “It’s nice to have someone to rely on. Someone I can trust.”
Maeve’s heartbeat thundered against him, or was that his own racing pulse? “It seems that we’re able to do quite a bit for each other.”
“Yes.” Her voice trembled slightly, and her breath was warm against his throat.
“Maeve.” Kendrick liked the way her name felt on his tongue. He liked everything about her, and it was all too much to hold back any longer. “May I kiss you?”
A short breath escaped her lips, and she blinked slowly at him. “You’re gentleman enough to ask first?”
His hand was on her lower back. He let it flow around and up her hip before he lifted it, running his thumb delicately just below her lower lip. “I don’t want it unless you want it as badly as I do.”
“I do,” she whispered.
He bent his head and pressed his lips against the delicate velvet of her mouth. He closed his eyes and luxuriated in the feel of her in his arms, her curves against his body. Kendrick splayed his hands over her lower back, holding her tightly.
Her kisses were delicate, exploring. Her breath increased, pressing her chest harder against him. Kendrick ran the tip of his tongue just along the parting of her lips, and his dragon shivered withpleasure when she opened up to him. Their tongues twined together, twisting and searching.
Maeve skimmed her palms against his upper arms, reaching back until they were behind his neck. She ran her fingers through his hair, sending a shiver of pleasure down his spine.
