Page 9 of Tempt the Dragon
Chapter Three
There was no denying it, his beast still wanted her. And apparently, so did the man.
Wrapping his arms around her, pulling her so close he could feel the thumping of her heartbeat against his chest, and finally touching his lips to hers was the homecoming he hadn’t known he’d desperately needed. There was no preamble, his tongue simply slid into her mouth to tangle withhers. Yet it didn’t feel that simple. A complex flurry of emotions, new and old, swirled through his mind and sifted throughout his body. What was he doing? Why was she here? The beast within still needed her, craved her. Yet, the man knew the conflicts, the barriers they’d each erected in the last eighty years. How was it going to end this time?
She hadn’t embraced him in return, she couldn’tbecause of the way he’d grabbed her. Her arms were down at her side, but her head had tilted into the kiss, her body leaning into his in surrender. If there’d been any resistance, he would’ve immediately let her go. Forcing women was not in his repertoire. Hadn’t that been why he’d walked away so many years ago?
Enjoying every ounce of passion that was being poured into this kiss was exactlywhat he’d known would happen. It was the way it’d always been with Mel. His beast wanted more, pressing him to lean in closer to her, if that were possible. To push for more, move his hands, grip her ass, feel her breasts, remove her clothes.
That was the physical hunger that beat against his beast like an incessant drum. The stronger pull came when she pulled back slightly, as if she werechanging her mind. Aiken prayed she wouldn’t. A moment of indecision on her part quickly changed when she leaned her head in the opposite direction, but eagerly came back for more of the kiss. Was that a little moan he heard? Please let it be so. Please let her want this as much as he did. Let her need him the way he needed her.
Furious with the implication of weakness that thought solicited,Aiken pulled back, breaking the kiss and Mel immediately eased free of his hold. She walked away from him, going farther into his suite, adding much needed distance between them.
“We’re not doing this.” Could her ass look any better in those jeans? Her hair was longer. The last time he’d seen her she’d cut it so short, her natural curls hadn’t reached her ears. The struggle for balance inhis mind was clear and hard as hell to maintain.
“Why?” That wasn’t what he should’ve said.
“You know why.”
He’d known their bodies would fit perfectly together again, they always had. He also knew that his beast had missed her every day they’d been apart, while the man was still pissed at her for breaking his heart.
“You can’t run from it.” This conversation felt like a repeatof their last night together and a stark contradiction to his previous declaration of not expecting a happy ending between them. “That’s not how it works.”
She spun around to face him. “I don’t give a damn how it works. None of this matters to me, I told you that before.” Taking her jacket off while she talked only edged his beast closer to the surface. It pushed against everything Aiken wanted,thus adding to the conflict raging all around him.
What she wore beneath her jacket was a quick distraction. It was definitely a black sports bra and he clenched his teeth to keep from cursing. Why the hell had she come out on a job dressed that way? How was she supposed to catch a target dressed like that? Replaying the question and providing himself with the obvious answer only irritatedhim more, because if Duncan Sankano or any other target dared to touch her the way he was touching her... Aiken’s beast made the rumbling growl that didn’t reach the surface, but alerted him to its building anger.
“Denying who and what you are just because you’re pissed at your parents is no way to live.” He knew he was pushing a hot button with her, but that’s what they did to each other.The push and pull had always been present in the relationship, why should it be any different just because eight decades had passed?
“My parents were Drakon. They abandoned me, leaving me in a strange world to become an orphan. Don’t tell me how the hell I should deal with that, Aiken. You were born with a silver spoon in your mouth, so you have no idea what I’ve dealt with.”
She was partiallycorrect, he had been born to Noble parents on the Far Realm, a status that secured his spot working in high command of the emperor. It didn’t mean he hadn’t had any hard times, or that he couldn’t understand the blunt pain of being alone.
“I know all that crap happened an awfully long time ago. Maybe it’s time you got over it.” He knew instantly that wasn’t what he should’ve said. If anybodyknew about carrying burdens from the past, he did. That also made him an expert on how pointless it all was.
“Maybe it’s time you kiss my ass.” She turned away from him again for a few anxious seconds and Aiken took a deep, steadying breath.
“I’ll take that back, because it was a crappy way of saying, sometimes the best way to deal with our past is to move on with our future.” When shetossed him a bland look he knew that was the closest he would get to her accepting what he’d meant as an apology.
He shook his head, using every bit of his strength to still the beast inside, even if only temporarily. “It sucks because the Selection process is what it is, and there’s no getting around it. The beast will select one whose soul complements its own. As long as the two beasts areliving no other will be selected for it, so you can be with someone else, but you’ll always be at war with your beast, and thus with yourself.” He’d learned that the hard way.
“I’m not at war with anyone.” She sighed and picked up the duffel bag she’d dropped when she came in. A few seconds passed as she set the bag on his bed and paused before turning back to face him. It was obvious frustrationstill ruled her when she ran her hands through her hair and made a visible effort to steady her breathing. His gaze traveled down to watch her chest rise and fall with the effort. “I didn’t come to Burgess looking for you.”
“I know you didn’t.”
“Good. I’ll also add that I was doing just fine ignoring all that Drakon crap you choose to live by. I’m doing well on my own.”
No, she wasn’t.If her nights had been anything like his when he gave in and let his beast yearn for hers without fighting back, words likefineandwellweren’t accurate in defining how she was doing. It was grueling being apart from the mate his beast had chosen. From joint pain to headaches, to an overall feeling of malaise. Aiken hated it, which was why he did everything in his power to avoid it. In the beginning,sleeping with as many other women as possible to get his mind off what his beast really wanted had worked. But then, as he’d just explained to her, the war between man and beast had come to a head. His beast had grown tired of his obstinacy and fought back. Now, whenever he came back from being with another woman, he was violently ill with symptoms that mimicked a human stomach virus. Melhad been at odds with her beast for so long, when they were together, he’d noticed her inability to hold heat. The beast could be a cruel bastard when crossed, but Mel didn’t care, she’d held firm to her denial.
“You never were good at lying,” he said. “But have it your way.” He took his jacket off and crossed the room. Unlike the large area rugs Bleu had commissioned throughout most of theOffice, Aiken preferred the charcoal gray carpet that ran through every area of his suite except the bathroom and closets. The fortress that housed the Legion Drakon was built in the mouth of the largest mountain in the state of Pennsylvania and was surrounded by more than a hundred acres of private land owned by Theo.
Going straight to the walk-in closet, Aiken placed his jacket on a hanger.Then he stripped down to his boxers and left the closet, going to the bed to pull back the black satin comforter. A glance over his shoulder showed she’d removed the rest of her clothes and pulled on an oversized T-shirt.
“Bed or couch?” She made the offer as if she were the owner of this room.
Aiken chuckled. “Take the bed, Mel. I’ll sleep on the couch.”
If she gave the smallest hintthat she wanted him in that bed with her, Aiken would be there. He’d give up the hit-and-run routine he’d developed with women and lay with the one woman that had taken his heart and claimed his beast’s soul. But she didn’t and he’d never been the type to beg.
