NocC 029 - Kendra Leigh Castle - Taming the Dragon - Harlequin 2012-12 by Nocturne Read Free Book Online

magic it was hard to see.” He could hear the
bitterness in his voice, but there was nothing to be done for it. “They had
opened a doorway from my world into this one, where every human would find me
terrifying, a monster fit only to be killed. And in the confusion, I went right
where they wanted me to. I only heard the way slam shut.”
    “But—”
    “There are no more doorways,” Kaden said, answering her
question before she could ask it. “I have looked. Even the hunters here are pale
shadows of their ancestors, descendants of the ones who chased me through.
They’re bound here as much as I am.”
    “You could fight them, at least. Make them stop chasing
you.”
    He didn’t know what to say to that. How did a dragon admit that
the fight had gone out of him? He guarded his treasure. But he would fight no
more. Kaden leaned back and blew smoke at the ceiling. He had never spoken of
this. He would rather not be compelled to speak of it now. It was the witch’s
doing, all of this, Kaden thought with a frown.
    “We will go see the witch today,” he said. “If she’s still
there to be found.”
    When the bed sank a little beside him, he turned his head to
find Tess sliding onto the mattress. He dreaded the pity he’d see in her eyes,
but when he finally looked, he found none.
    It was impossible for a human to know what was within a dragon.
Yet even so, Kaden could swear he saw understanding.
    “Today,” she agreed, pulling her towel off and letting it drop
to the floor beside the bed. “But not yet.”
    Kaden was a dragon. He had never wanted or needed solace. But
that was exactly what he sought when he dragged Tess into his arms. He slid into
her in one swift, graceful movement, burying himself deep inside of her. When
she tightened around him, he groaned, burying his face in her neck. Her scent
enveloped him, so sweet, so female.
    Then he began to move, gentle nudges that quickly became hard
thrusts. Every gasp he drew from her was music, the tempo quickening until the
bed rocked beneath them. He could feel the prick of her nails in his shoulders
as she hung on, but this was no playful battle. Last night, he had seen the
dragoness in her.
    But this...this was all soft human, and it seemed to be exactly
what he needed. Kaden savored the feel of his skin against hers, losing himself,
just this once. He slid a hand down to grip her hip, lifting himself to change
the angle of his thrusts. Tess’s broken moan was all the encouragement he
needed.
    She tightened around him as they moved together, the only
sounds that of their harsh breathing and the creak of the bed in the early
morning silence. Then Tess arched beneath him, and Kaden watched her eyes turn
to blue fire before they closed.
    It was only then that he let himself go, thrusting wildly until
he came deep inside of her, forgetting everything but the pleasure for a little
while. When the tremors had subsided, he pulled the covers over the two of them
and fit himself against Tess’s back, into the curve of her body.
    Then, as he had done many times before, Kaden lost himself to
sleep. But this time, there were no jumbled, violent dreams of his past.
    Kaden knew what the difference was, even though he refused to
contemplate what it meant. He had sworn not to need anyone again. And yet here
in Tess’s arms, at least for a short time, he found peace.
     

EIGHT
    Tess wasn’t exactly sure how she’d gone from delivering
a necklace to living with a dragon in the space of twenty-four hours, but by the
second night with Kaden, it seemed like that was exactly what had happened.
    The day had been one of the strangest ones she’d ever
experienced. And considering some of the musicians she’d hung out with, that was
saying something.
    They hadn’t been able to find Wicked Little Things. Tess
remembered the street, where she’d been when she’d taken the turn that had
brought her to Morgan. But when she’d driven her battered old hatchback back to
the area,