Love of A Dragon (Exalted Dragons Book 1) Page 18

  He had coolers that looked like a glass full of various kinds of fresh fruits; champagne with numerous other edibles and drinks in the glowing blue stream to keep them cold. The cave had another worldly look to it, he hoped Tori liked it. He did everything with her in mind wanting the time they spent there to be magical.

  The guests finally dwindled down to a handful of people and Aldain was ready to take his bride, his beloved wife, to the place he had lovingly transformed for her. She hugged her family, and said good bye to the rest of the guests as Aldain took her hand and she followed him into the castle. Aldain told her to go upstairs and change her clothes.

  He told her to dress casually, because they would be travelling for quite some time and wanted her to be comfortable. She had loaded up the car with her suitcase the night before. Aldain had taken it to the cave before she woke up, everything she needed was already there and put away.

  She finished changing in record time, she was curious to know where they were going. He took her to the car, strapped her in, then went to the other side and got inside. He started to drive away in a direction going up the mountainside, away from any town or city that she was aware of. She turned her head and with a raised brow said, “Where are we going? I didn’t know there were any major roads in this direction?”

  Aldain smiled, “There aren’t. You will just have to trust me.”

  Tory scrutinized him. “I will always trust you.” As she reached over and squeezed his hand.

  It didn’t take long before he came to a huge clearing by the side of the forest. He stopped the car, got out and went to the other side and unbuckled Tori. He kissed her softly on the lip, “We will have to fly to the place we are going. Do you mind?”

  Tori’s eyes widened. “You mean you will have to shift into a dragon and I will have to ride you? Oh yes, I so want to see you in dragon form. I want to see the other part of you that belongs to me too.”

  Aldain ran his hand down her face. He loved her so much that words couldn’t do justice to how deeply he felt about her. He slowly undressed and put his clothes in a back pack. Tori stood quietly enjoying the sight of his naked body, he looked like a God in the starlight.

  He moved away from her and she saw him shimmer. Where a man once stood was a beautiful, huge, red dragon. Tory was looking at beautiful yellow eyes peering down at her. She slowly walked towards him. “Oh, my god Dain you are so beautiful.” As he lowered his head she slowly ran her hand down his face. She was surprised to feel that even though most of his body had beautiful vibrant red scales his face was soft to the touch. “Do you retain all your human memories while you are in this form?” she whispered. He slowly shook his head up and down. She realized she loved the dragon as much as the man.

  He was huge and powerful, he was beautiful and frightening at the same time. He loved her and she could feel his love encompass her heart. The power of it made her knees weak. How lucky she was to have the love of both these creatures, the man and his dragon. Two halves that made a whole, both powerful in their own way. She had never felt more loved as she did at this moment. The dragon felt her love for him coursing through his body to his soul. She was his as much as much as she belonged to the man form. He bellowed his victory to the skies. She loved the dragon; she accepted him. His life was finally complete, for she completed them both.

  Without hesitation, he knelt down so Tori could climb on his back. He nuzzled the back pack with his nose and Tori looked inside. Besides Aldain’s clothes there was a rope in there. Aldain lowered his head and Tori was able to take the rope and tie an end to one of his massive horns that went half way down his back. When he lifted his head up, she just hung on the rope until she could swing her body over and sit on his back. She tied the loose end of the rope to her waist. It might not be the ideal way to travel on dragon back but if she fell off, she would still be attached to him.

  She wiggled around and tightened the rope to help keep her balance. When Aldain felt she was ready, he took off at a run and was shortly in the air. When he lifted off he heard Tori give a ‘whoohoo’as his huge wings waved through the air. It took only minutes for him to get to the cave he had fixed for them.

  When they arrived at the cave Aldain knelt so she could get off his back. She gave a curious look towards the cave but she was going to wait for Aldain before she took another step. She backed away from him and watched him shimmer back into a man. He grabbed the back pack and put on some casual clothes. He didn’t change at the castle like he had Tori do, he knew he was going to be taking his clothes off shortly anyway.

  He had her close her eyes as he scooped her off her feet. She put her arms around his neck, as he carried her across the mouth of the cave before setting her down. Tori could hear water and smell the fresh smell of earth. She opened her eyes and gasped at the sight before her.

  She looked around not being able to believe what she was seeing. The cave had been transformed into the most beautiful room she had ever seen. She walked around and noticed the beautiful walls, the gorgeous blue water in the stream. She saw the huge bed and couldn’t help herself, she ran and threw her body on it. She immediately sunk deep into the mattress, it felt like pure bliss. She lay there with her eyes closed for a minute. When she opened them she gulped as she realized she was staring into the most beautiful night sky she had ever seen. She studied it, realizing it was a mirror that was showing the sky outside. The millions of stars twinkling in the night was making the darkness come alive. She was lost in the beauty of it until she felt Dain sit on the bed. He had a look on his face she had never seen before. He looked anxious for her approval.

  “Well do you like it? I tried to think of everything you would need while we are here.” He gave her a questioning look.

  She reached up and pulled his head to her face so she could look into his eyes. “I think this is the most beautiful place I have ever seen, I want to keep it like this forever. I see everything I could ever need here, but the most important thing I need and want is you. Where ever you are; I will have everything I need. You went the extra mile making this for me. Words fail me at how beautiful and special to me this place is. I want this to be our retreat forever.”

  She kissed him with such ardor that Aldain groaned as she intensified it. All thoughts left his mind as he was just experiencing the moment. They spent the night making love to each other, exploring each other’s bodies and finding unknown erogenous zones. By the time they were done there wasn’t an inch of each other’s bodies they hadn’t explored. They fell into an exhausted sleep, one of extreme satisfaction and a feeling of comfort encompassing them, each dreaming of the other.

  It was much later in the day and well after noon, when they both woke up. They lay there for a brief time just gently caressing each other. Neither spoke, they just stared into each other’s eyes and felt the love they shared embrace their bodies. It seemed as if their bond had grown overnight. Their bodies could convey their love for each other simply by physical contact. It was a new wonderful experience for both of them and they just wanted to enjoy the moment.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Aldain suddenly jerked straight up, his eyes had a faraway look to them. Tori knew he was getting a mental message from his friend Malcolm because she could hear it too, but it sounded garbled. Tori knew in time she would have the same ability but it was still too new for any kind of mental message to be clear to her yet.

  He was frowning. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

  He had a thunderous look on his face; it scared her. “Nothing for you to worry about my love. There is someone sneaking around at the glen, a trespasser. I must leave for a very brief time but you must stay here where you will be safe. I promise you I won’t be long.” He wasn’t sure who the trespasser was but he was sure he would be found and taken care of shortly.

  Normally someone unknown on the glen wouldn’t have been a cause for concern. All anyone had to do was ask permission and he would have gladly allowed them to enjoy the glen.
But this individual never stopped to ask permission, he was seen sneaking in and out of the small forest surrounding it. That worried him.

  He grabbed Tori and kissed her and told her he wouldn’t be long. He shifted and flew down into the open part of the glen. He knew that Tori’s parents and Carrie were inside the castle. Malcolm had insisted they go inside to make sure they remained safe and he put a guard to every doorway.

  Malcolm walked quickly over to Aldain as he handed him some clothes. “He was seen several times just on the outskirts of the forest and he was recognized by one of the men so we know who it is.” Aldain stiffened as he was told who was trespassing on his property. “It is Alec Russell.”

  Aldain’s body froze, his heart started pounding in his chest. “My god, he is a shifter and I left Tori alone. I must get back to her! If you find him, keep him here, I want to take care of that bastard myself.” He immediately shimmered into his dragon and took off for the cave, praying Tori was still safe and out of harm’s way.

  Several minutes after Aldain left, Tori heard footsteps at the entrance to the cave. She smiled thinking, that didn’t take long. She turned her head to welcome him back and when she saw who was standing there the smile left her face. She blinked several times in disbelief when she saw Alec Russell standing there. He had a malicious look in his eyes.

  All her repressed memories started rushing back with him trying to rape her at the clan gathering and she was running away from him. She now remembered all of it, even running in front of the horses. Her body shook with terror and rage because she was alone with him. She looked around for something to use as a weapon. If she could keep him away for a short time, she knew Aldain would feel her fear and be there shortly.

  Alec started to walk slowly towards her. “Well well, how lucky am I? Here I am thinking I would have to fight your mate for you and you are here alone. Unprotected.” He said as his smile widened at what he alleged as his good luck. Tori slowly backed away from him. She remembered seeing a small dagger in Aldain’s back pack and she managed to grab it. It was at the end of the bed under the covers; she was able to retrieve it without Alec noticing.

  She had it hid in her hand when she got up from the bed. She opened her mouth to say something to him but when she started to speak she noticed a tremor in her voice. She took a deep breath before she said anything else. There was no way she was going to show this asshole she was afraid of him. “If I were you I would leave while you have the chance. You know Aldain will kill you if he finds you here.” Alec moved so quickly he was like a blur.

  Before she knew it, he was standing directly in front of her. He moved with lightning speed. “Ah but my bonnie lass I won’t be here and neither will you. We will be gone before he can get here.” To Tori’s horror he shifted and grabbed her in his huge claw, running towards the cave opening.

  There was no way she was going to let him take her away if she could help it. She screamed, “Let go of me you fucking overgrown lizard!” as she shoved the dagger deeply into his claw. He roared as he dropped her.

  Tori was scrabbling backwards like a crab when she heard a powerful roar outside. Aldain had felt her terror and knew she was in trouble. She needed him now more than any other time. His dragon was set on killing Alec and Tori made sure she was out of the way when Aldain landed on the ledge to the cave.

  Aldain didn’t waste any time charging for Alec. Alec had time to take a breath and spew fire at him. Aldain’s scales kept much of his body safe from the fire for they acted like armor. Aldain had no intentions of making this a long drawn out fight. He was going to find Alec’s weakest point and destroy him.

  Alec was trying to make Aldain circle him. He knew if he could get in front of the entrance he could turn and run but Aldain refused to give him that chance. He knew what Alec was trying to do, he would have to go through him to get to the entrance. He knew he was larger and stronger than Alec. He also knew Alec for the coward that he was.

  When Alec realized Aldain wasn’t going to give him a way out, he knew this was going to be a fight that was going to end in someone’s death. He was determined it wasn’t going to be his; he would do whatever it took to win this fight. Aldain leaped towards Alec with his teeth barely missing his head as Alec moved away. Alec sprang at Aldain’s stomach and he moved his body sideways just as he saw him coming.

  Tori was squatting on the floor watching these two dragons fighting in earnest. She knew one of them was going to die. She just kept sending all her love and strength from her body into Aldain, hoping he could feel them. She still held the dagger firmly in her grasp hoping to get a chance when she could use it. She wasn’t sure if there were many weak spots on a dragon but as she watched them fight she was looking to see if she could find one.

  She saw Alec bury his teeth into Aldain’s side and blood began to run freely down it. It didn’t seem to slow him down, Aldain roared as he swiped at Alecs stomach. He wasn’t fast enough and Alec roared in pain as Aldain’s talons ripped into him. Blood was running freely from both as the fighting continued.

  Aldain grabbed Alec’s neck with his teeth and bit down hard. Alec’s dragon roared in pain. He moved his neck back in an upward thrust and managed to extricate himself. He also noticed he was facing the opening to the cave. He was weakened but he had enough strength to make it to the ledge and take off. As Alec barreled towards it, he quickly grabbed Tori on the way. He couldn’t help but turn around to show Aldain he held his most precious possession. He had his talon wrapped around her and held her up close to his face. He wanted to make sure Aldain knew if he tried anything she was only inches from his mouth. He wouldn’t think twice of popping her in his mouth and crushing her.

  Aldain roared with rage because he knew Alec had the upper hand. He wouldn’t move as long as he held Tori in his grasp. Alec’s hold on Tori wasn’t as tight as it should have been; he wasn’t expecting what happened next.

  With lightning speed Tori reached up and buried her dagger deep into Alec’s eye. He roared in pain and dropped her as his talon reached up to remove it. This gave Aldain the opening he needed.

  Tori moved out of the way as Aldain moved with lightning speed towards Alec. He grabbed Alec’s neck with his mouth and moved his talon over his chest. Tori wasn’t sure exactly what he was doing as their bodies were close together. She saw Alec’s body jerk with each thrust of Aldain’s talon movement. Alec was screaming as she saw blood flowing like water from his chest. Finally, there was silence and Alec slumped to the floor, dead.

  She looked at Aldain, he was gasping for air, but in his talon, he was holding something. As she looked closer she realized he was holding Alec’s heart. The shock of everything was too much for Tori, she fainted in a heap at his feet.

  After she had fainted, Aldain shifted back to a man. He managed to pick her up and put her on the bed. In seconds, after the fight was over several of his regiment had shown up in their dragon forms. They got there just in time to watch Aldain throw Alec’s heart on the ground. Malcolm told his men to get rid of the offal stinking up the mouth of the cave. Alec’s body disappeared.

  Aldain was so worried about Tori that he didn’t notice Malcolm beside him. He had some wounds and even though he was a dragon, it always helped the healing process to take care of any major wounds. Aldain had several but he was unaware of them because his entire being was concentrating on Tori. He had to know if she had just fainted to ensure that there wasn’t something else wrong with her.

  Malcolm touched Aldain’s shoulder.” She is fine my friend. Listen to her heart for it beats steady and strong.” Aldain concentrated on her heart, he could hear it beat in his mind. It was as strong as Malcolm had said it was. He slumped his shoulders and leaned back on the bed. Now that he stopped worrying about Tori he could feel the after effects of his fight. His entire body ached and his side felt like it was on fire. He gingerly touched it and noticed he had lost more blood than he thought and he had a nasty looking gash in it. He nodded his head to
Malcolm to go and do what he could for him. He closed his eyes under his friends’ treatment because he needed to rest for just a little while.

  As Tori was coming back to consciousness she heard voices. At first, they sounded far away but the more alert she became the better she was able to hear them. She felt a hand on her forehead; someone’s thumb was rubbing around it in circles. She opened her eyes and blinked then noticed Aldain sitting on the bed beside her, he had bandages around his side.

  Aldain noticed she was stirring beside him. He stopped what he was saying and looked down at her. Relief washed over his face as he saw her eyes staring up at him. “Mo ghaol, how are you feeling?” In his relief that Tory was awake he had forgotten she didn’t know Gaelic.

  She gave him a questioning look. “I’m not sure, what did you just call me?”

  He smiled, “It is Gaelic for ‘My Love!’

  Tory smiled, she was going to have someone teach her his language. Not knowing it sure put her at a disadvantage.

  “I am fine Dain,” she said as she reached up and touched his face. “My knight in shining armor was there to save the day. I remember what happened at the clan gathering the day the horses ran over me. Alec appeared right after Robert left and he tried to rape me. I panicked so badly that I reverted back to my memory of Tom beating me and all I could think of was getting away from him. I wasn’t paying attention to where I was running. I just ran.”