Nodding in agreement, the men left and made their way over to the girls. Once they were out of earshot, Chloe turned to him. Jared tossed his bar towel onto the counter and cupped her elbow. “We need to talk.”
“Yeah, I kind of thought so.” She arched a knowing brow. “My place or yours?”
He tossed his coworker a glance. “I’ll be back.”
Silence fell over them as he slipped his arm around her waist and hustled her into the main resort and up to her suite. Once behind closed doors, he turned to her, and the minute their eyes locked, everything inside him softened.
Jared exhaled loudly. “You know you scared the shit out of me back there.”
Her grin was coy. “Really, how?”
He shook his head. “You know how.”
“Think of it as a little payback for not telling me what you were.”
“Chloe, I couldn’t—”
“And now you can, because you know your secret is safe with me. In fact, I just proved to you that I can help keep your identity protected.” She gestured for him to sit. “Now tell me everything.”
He let out a slow grateful breath, and conceded. “Where do I start?”
She slipped her hand in his and led him to the bed. “How about at the beginning?”
Chloe moved in close and the scent of her skin made it difficult to concentrate. Perhaps sitting on the bed wasn’t their best move. He scraped his hand over his chin and tried not to think about his expanding cock. Christ, he just couldn’t seem to get his fill of her.
“Well?” she prompted.
“Well, dragons existed long before man, and after man came along they quickly began to outnumber us. We’re not brutal and ferocious like the fairy tales make us out to be. But we are magical beings, Chloe. With a touch of our magic, we can provide a human with immortality. When man learned of our magic, and what we could do for them, they stopped hunting us, and we forged an alliance. Only problem was, there was no balance. They took too much from us, drained us of our magic, our very existence, for their own selfish needs.”
Chloe trailed her hand through his hair, and her touch rattled his insides. “So when you lose your magic you lose your life?” Her eyes narrowed and her brow furrowed as she tried to take it all in.
“Yes. Eons ago I fled to this island in search of sanctuary. Shortly after there was a shipwreck, and the survivors swam ashore. Some were dying, and I couldn’t sit back and watch that happen.”
“Not even after the way humans had treated your kind?” Chloe shimmied back until she was propped against the pillow. She patted the space beside her.
He crawled in next to her and shook his head. “No. Not even after that. We’re gentle beings, Chloe. We protect life.”
She leaned into him and flung one leg over his. He could feel the heat of her pussy through her thin dress and suspected she wasn’t wearing any panties. Her plump breasts pressed into his chest and he nearly lost his train of thought.
“When I ran into you last night, I wouldn’t have thought you were gentle. You seemed pretty damn ferocious to me. Then I realized you were just a big softy. A big, soft, beautiful, gentle being.”
He swallowed. “Beautiful?”
“Yeah, beauty and power.” She tapped his chest. “That’s you, Jared.”
As his cock throbbed, he smiled and lightly ran his fingers over her arms, thrilled that she wasn’t repulsed by his dragon. “At first I didn’t realize it was you and I’d planned to put a good fright into the person who dared to enter my lair and hunt me. So much so that they’d run away screaming like a raving lunatic, and people would be hard-pressed to believe anything they said.” He ran his thumb over her cheek and she leaned into his touch.
“Like the man who cut a piece of your wing away.”
“Yeah, like him.”
“Why is it taking so long to heal? Your arm healed quickly.”
“The cut on my arm was small. The hole in my wing is much bigger.” And with his magic dying it was becoming harder and harder to rejuvenate.
Her fingers marched over his skin and her sweet scent curled around him. “Chloe…” he breathed out heavily.
Despite the sexual energy building in the room, she pressed on. “So because of hunters, you’re forced to stay in hiding?”
“You see, humans are quick to hunt and kill anything perceived as different. But not you, Chloe. You wouldn’t hurt a fly.”
“How do you control the change?”
“It takes careful concentration and control to keep our human form.” He smiled at her. “Sweetheart, when we made love last night you just about did me in.”
As though understanding how much their lovemaking had affected him, she smiled back. “When you lose the concentration you morph?”
“Yes, when our bodies grow weak, it brings on the change. We must return to our dragon form and remain that way until we reenergize.”
“So tell me what happened after you saved the shipwreck victims?”
“I gave them immortality, and in return they protect me. Together, on this island, we’ve found a balance.”
“And now you consider these people your family.”
“Yes, but I’m still dragon, and even though I call them my family, there is still a distinction between us.”
“Are there any more of you alive?”
He nodded. “I’m beginning to think so.”
“Yeah? Where?”
He touched her cheek. “Right here. Beside me. You see, Chloe, my magic was growing old and dying, and then I met you.” He paused to give her a moment to digest his words. “After we made love, your sweet cream acted like a catalyst, reviving me and restoring my magic to its full strength.”
Eyes alive with intrigue, amazement and total acceptance at what he was telling her, she glanced at his chest and his healed wounds. “The mongoose, you healed it. And your wound—?”
“You’re my life mate, Chloe.”
She
