“You’ll understand more when you get to know me—and my Drake—better,” he said firmly.
I recoiled when he said that—I couldn’t help it.
“Get to know your Drake?” I asked faintly.
“He won’t harm you, Kaitlyn,” Ari assured me quickly. “He would never do such a thing. He wants only to protect you, just as I do.”
“Why?” I asked again. I shook my head. “I just don’t understand.”
“You will,” he said again, firmly. “For now, drink from me again. You haven’t had nearly enough yet.”
I shook my head, though I was already eyeing the vein pulsing in his neck. He seemed to heal immediately after I bit him which was a big plus. It would have been really awkward if he was bleeding all over the place—especially considering how I felt about blood now.
But the thought of taking his vein still made me shy. I licked my lips nervously.
“I…I’m fine. I had enough just now,” I lied, trying and failing to drag my eyes away from his vein.
Ari scowled at me.
“This is not a good way to start our relationship, Kaitlyn, with you lying to me.”
Relationship? I looked up at him, more confused than ever. Why did he want to do this for me? To feed me? Protect me?
The vein in his neck throbbed and the thirst tore at me. I had no answers—I had nothing but the thirst which seemed to have been only awakened by my first drink from him and now was much worse. Suddenly, I couldn’t stand it anymore. I had no idea why Ari Reyes was doing this for me, but at the moment, it didn’t matter. The only thing that mattered was easing the dry ache in my throat.
“Kaitlyn,” he said, more softly this time. “Tell me the truth now—are you thirsty?”
“Yes.” My voice was so low I could hardly hear it myself but it seemed to satisfy the big Drake.
“Good,” he murmured, nodding. “Then drink.”
And he pulled me close to his chest and bared his throat for my fangs.
I couldn’t dissemble any more—couldn’t lie to myself that this was exactly what I needed. I nuzzled against his strong throat, breathed in his spicy scent—and struck.
42
Ari
My little human—or as I must now call her, my little Nocturne—at last drank her fill.
I held her to me as she swallowed my blood, feeling my own strength and the strength of my Drake flowing into her as the intense emotion surged through both of us.
Dios! She felt so good in my arms—so right I can’t even describe it. It was like two pieces of a puzzle fitting together, like a key finding the right lock at last…
Like a Drake finding his mate.
Within me, my own Drake roared his agreement. He also wanted to know when he would be able to meet Kaitlyn in person. Saving her from the Guardian didn’t count—he hadn’t gotten to speak to her then. He was certain that she wouldn’t fear him anymore if only he could meet her face-to-face and they could look into each others’ eyes.
Privately, I doubted that. His eyes were bigger than her entire head and though my little Nocturne was brave enough in some ways, she certainly didn’t seem to like Drakes or for that matter, our distant cousin, the Guardian.
Thinking of that made me frown as I remembered what he had told my Drake. I would have to warn Kaitlyn to stay away from the bridge unless I was there to protect her, I decided. In fact, I didn’t want her going anywhere without me. I wished that we had every class together or better yet, that I could keep her here in my private den with me so no one else could hurt or touch or even see her…
I pulled myself up short, recognizing my Drake’s possessiveness and treasure-hoarding tendencies in my own thoughts. When humans talk about Drakes—or dragons as they call them—they always tell stories of giant, scaly lizards who looked not unlike the Guardian amassing golden piles of treasure which they guarded jealously from the rest of the world.
But the humans only get half the story right.
Yes, our Drakes are incredibly possessive and protective but the treasure we hoard and guard so jealously isn’t anything as useless and cold as gold or gems. No, our true treasures are the females who are chosen to be our fated-mates and we do, indeed, keep them close in order to keep them safe.
Doubtless this is where the ridiculous human fairy tales of the fair maiden being locked in a tower and guarded by a dragon come from. The valiant knight always comes riding on his steed, all ready to save her from the beast’s scaly grip, but did any one of the fairy tale tellers ever consider that the maiden might not want to be rescued? That she might belong to the dragon and be happy with him—happy to be protected by such a strong and relentless lover?
Of course not—humans think only of themselves. The idea of the maiden loving the Drake—excuse me, the dragon—would never have occurred to them. All they see is something they don’t understand—a beast so big it cannot possiblly care for one so small and delicate. They don’t understand that the love of a Drake is forever—that it never wanes or falters—that a Drake will kill or die to protect the one his heart has chosen as the only female for him.
I thought all these things—as well as I was able through the deep pleasure that ran through me—as my Kaitlyn drank from my vein. I wished I could tell my thoughts to her but when she pulled back from me at last, wiping her mouth on the back of her hand with an almost guilty expression, I knew she wasn’t ready.
Instead, I looked at her, trying to make certain she’d gotten her fill this time.
“Did you get enough?” I asked her and she nodded—a quick little jerk of her
