Page 16 of Dragon's Golden Mate
When a small moan escaped her throat, he could hardly control himself any longer. Without breaking their liplock, Kendrick bent slightly and grabbed her waist. He hauled her up and leaned back so that her legs were wrapped around him, the skirt of her dress shifting up slightly. She was above him now, her fingers running the length of his jawline and along his collarbone. Her silvery hair cascaded down around him, enveloping him.
Kendrick held her tightly as he deepened the kiss, his tongue searching every part of her mouth. Her backside was firmly against his arms. She could undoubtedly feel his hardness through their clothes, but he didn’t care. He only knew that this was the first peace his dragon had felt for three days. It craved her, and it couldn’t get close enough. Neither could he.
The ground trembled.
Maeve pulled her head back. “Was that what I think it was?”
“Yes.” He knew the moment was gone, yet he held her tightly.
One side of her mouth tipped up a little. “You’re going to have to stop making the earth move under my feet like that.”
“At least you didn’t fall this time.” He squeezed her a little before putting her down, letting her body slide slowly against his until she could stand again.
“I’m not sure that’s true,” she murmured as she slowly let go of him. Maeve cleared her throat. “Is it crazy if I think these quakes are coming from that way?”
“No, I felt it, too.” His dragon could sense many things about the world, and Kendrick trusted them. Having just been in her wolf form only a few minutes ago, it didn’t surprise him that she was tapping into that as well.
“I, uh, I suppose we should go and check that out.” She slowly stepped toward the alleyway.
“Right.” He went with her, his body still alight from their kiss.
7
Maeve hurrieddown the aisle so she wouldn’t be tempted to turn around, throw her arms around Kendrick, and ignore anything else that might be going on in the world.
As good as it’d felt to be entwined with him, it was now almost painful to be apart. Those strong, muscular arms around her. His lips and tongue against hers. And oh! When he’d picked her up like that! That was like something out of a teen romance movie, not the chaste, shaking kiss that senior citizens shared on prescription commercials. Maeve had definitely taken notice of the hard bulge that pressed against her, letting her know that Kendrick was interested in more than just a kiss.
Her body was still aflame as she stepped onto thesidewalk. She could still feel the warmth of his hands through the fabric of her dress and the texture of his lips against hers. Even before that, when she’d shifted for the sake of her knee, Maeve had seen the pure desire in his eyes when he saw her wolf form.
All of this made it difficult to understand the chaos unfolding around them.
People ran out of nearby buildings. They turned and looked up, checking for destruction. While the first quake had broken a few small flower pots and probably damaged some china cabinets, the results now were a little more obvious. A garden shed had slipped off its slab foundation. At a house across the street, a brick chimney had crumbled. It’d fallen into the yard instead of on the roof, at least. Maeve spotted a thick crack in the sidewalk that she didn’t think had been there before.
“Oh, great!” A man stood outside on his lawn. He ran his hands through his hair and tugged it outward as he paced in front of a broken picture window. “I just replaced that last month!”
They hurried on. Maeve didn’t quite understand how she knew where the epicenter of the quake was, nor why it should need investigation, but her wolfwas on edge. It was strong after having just surfaced, and she let the beast guide her.
Kendrick was right next to her. “The church is up this way.” Both the cathedral and the source of the shaking seemed to lie in the same direction.
They rounded the corner, and Maeve saw the building they’d seen in photos back at Tina’s place. It was more impressive in real life, with its soaring steeple and numerous stained-glass windows. Weeds had pushed up through the parking lot, and the movable letters on the sign out front showed that the place hadn’t been used in years. Even so, it inspired more awe and wonder than it did desolation and abandonment.
“This is gorgeous,” she told him as they crossed the parking lot. “That old photo didn’t do it justice, especially with all the subtle colors in the stone.”
His head was lifted as his eyes carefully traced over the outside. “Unfortunately, that quake caused some damage. It already needed some minor repairs. I hadn’t yet had a good chance to evaluate it, but I don’t think this crack was here before.” Kendrick pointed to a gap between the stones that ran just above ground level, shot up a foot or two, and then continued on.
“Can that be repaired?”
“Possibly.” He moved along the outside of the building, scanning it with concern. “That window is cracked now. It’s probably only the age of the church that protected it, ironically enough. They used thicker, stronger materials back then instead of the fancy cardboard everything is built out of now.”
Maeve knew he truly cared about the building, so she hid her laugh behind her hand.
“What?” He glanced sideways at her.
“You just sound like every other man in the hardware store, that’s all,” she told him, smiling. “Nothing is like it used to be. Back in my day, they knew how to do things right. Kids these days don’t want to work.”
He grabbed her waist and pulled her close. “You didn’t seem to mind my age a few minutes ago.”
“No, I certainly didn’t.” She grinned at him, pleased that she could tease him like this and that he could take it.
