Jaguin's Love: Dragon Lords of Valdier Book 8 (7 page)

She fell silent, lost in her memories. She thought of her best friend from kindergarten through fifth grade. Delilah Rosewater had been shy, but had a heart of gold. She didn’t make fun of Sara for wearing her cousins’ hand-me-downs. When the other kids called her Tom for wearing boy’s clothing, Delilah scolded them. She shared her lunch with Sara when one of her cousins stole her sandwich.

Delilah had been the daughter of the local librarian and a coal miner. She helped Sara learn to read and brought her books from the library. She even invited Sara to her birthday parties.

Towards the end of their fifth grade year, a deadly flu virus swept through the mountains. Sara had a minor case of it, but Delilah’s had worsened. Sara went with her aunt down to the nearest town. She sat on the front porch of Delilah’s house and listened to her aunt and the doctor, from the next town over, argue over what medicine to give Delilah. In the end, none of it worked. The infection weakened Delilah and an unknown heart defect took her friend’s life on a rainy May morning.

The town lost five children that year, but the one that Sara cared about the most was the smiling little girl who loved her for being her. She stood on the outskirts of the cemetery in a dress she found in an old trunk in the attic. It was the first and last time she ever wore one. After the service was over, Sara sat down on the grass at the end of the fresh grave and cried. She held a bouquet of sage, peppermint, and eucalyptus in her hands from the small garden that she had planted in the woods.

Sara lifted a hand and wiped her damp cheek. She bowed her head and sniffed. She didn’t know why she remembered Delilah now. It has been almost twenty years since her friend’s death.

“Delilah developed pneumonia,” Sara sniffed again and looked up at the sky overhead. She knew it wasn’t real, but it gave her a sense of peace to see the blue sky and white clouds drifting by. “Her parents didn’t know that she had a heart defect. By the time they realized it, it was too late. The doc from the next town over wouldn’t listen to my aunt. He said that all her potions would do was make Delilah worse, but I knew better. My aunt knew her plants and their healing powers.”

“How old was your friend?” Jaguin’s deep voice asked.

Sara looked down to see her hand pressed against Jaguin’s broad chest. Her fingers instinctively curled into the fabric of his shirt. She could feel the warmth of his skin through the material.

“Ten,” she whispered, reaching up to brush another tear away only to pause when she felt his hand against her cheek. “She was so young.”

“So were you to lose so much,” Jaguin murmured.

Sara slowly lifted her head toward him. She stared into his eyes for several long seconds before her lips parted. Her fingers uncurled and she carefully ran her hand up his chest to his shoulder.

“Jaguin,” she murmured, leaning closer to him. “I want to kiss you.”

Jaguin reached for her other hand and pulled it against his chest. Sara glanced down at their joined hands. Hers looked so much smaller in his, yet she didn’t feel afraid. Looking up at him again, she parted her lips and rose up onto her toes. She paused a brief second before sealing his lips with a tentative kiss that held a touch of hesitant wonder.

Jaguin studied Sara’s face as she gazed down at the leaf. He could see the dark circles under her eyes. She had another nightmare. He instructed his symbiot to share them with him, but the symbiot refused his request. At first, he was angry, but he quickly understood that it was loyal to Sara.

Still, if she continued to have them, he would have to insist that it comply with his wishes. If he was to help his mate, he needed to find the monsters in her dreams and slay them.

I wish we had just a few brief minutes with the bastard before Carmen killed him
, Jaguin murmured heavily.

Me, too,
his dragon agreed.
I go to her.

Wait…
Jaguin started to order before he released a frustrated groan.

I no wait. My mate need me,
his dragon snorted in response, already beginning the climb down from the thick platform that looked like a large tree.

One of these days…
Jaguin muttered.

That what Cree and Calo say to Carmen
, his dragon retorted.
She just laugh at them.

I know that is what they say
, Jaguin snapped before he strained to focus on what his dragon was gazing at.

Jaguin was a little perturbed at his dragon. Its continued resistance to his control concerned him. He never had this issue until recently. A part of him wanted to force his dragon to obey while another part was curious to see what it would do.

He silently lowered himself down to the floor and crept through the dense imagery of the holographic foliage. They both watched as Sara turned her face up toward the ceiling. Fascinated, he stepped out onto the path and took a step closer to her, mesmerized by the peaceful expression on her face.

He paused, one foot lifted to take another step, when she opened her eyes and turned her head to stare at him. He heard her swiftly inhaled breath and froze, unsure of what to do. His dragon trembled in anticipation of shifting should she appear scared.

I no hurt her
, his dragon whispered.

I know, my friend,
he replied in a soothing tone.
Give her time to get used to you.

His heart pounded when he saw Sara take a step away from them. He could see the fear in her eyes, but he also saw curiosity. She tilted her head and stared at him for a moment.

“Jaguin! At least, I think it is you unless you call your dragon something else,” she exclaimed with a hint of confusion in her voice that changed to amusement when his dragon suddenly sat down and sneezed.

What are you doing?
Jaguin asked in surprise at his dragon’s behavior.

I give her time,
his dragon stated, grinning at Sara with a goofy smile only a dragon could pull off.

A hiss escaped him when she stepped closer and raised her hand to touch his dragon. Her soft murmur teased his senses, washing through him and sending a wave of hope and excitement through him and his dragon. A moment later, he groaned in mortification when she started scratching him behind the ear and his dragon’s leg thumped in response.

How are we supposed to impress her with you thumping like a Grombot
with an itch?
Jaguin muttered.

It feel good,
his dragon retorted, thumping harder and emitting a deep purr of joy.

You are going to mess everything up!
Jaguin started to say before he stopped when Sara began speaking again.

“I used to have an old hound dog that did the same thing when I scratched him there,” Sara whispered in his ear. Her warm breath made his ear twitch and he held himself still when she continued to talk. “He was my best friend when I was ten. I grew up in the lower mountain area of the Appalachian Mountains.”

Jaguin turned his head, his gaze following Sara as she pulled slightly away. He was pleased that she kept her hand on him. He could feel her fingers absently tracing the patterns of his scales as she spoke. It took a moment for him to comprehend that she was no longer talking about the dog she was comparing his dragon too, but about her life back on her world.

While she spoke in a calm, even tone, he could hear the sadness in her words. Her life had not been an easy one, but she still found humor in it. It wasn’t until her voice dropped a notch that the true grief was evident. By the time the first tear slid down her cheek, he knew he needed to go to her.

Shifting, he reached for her. His heart squeezed with an unfamiliar emotion when he saw her eyes shimmer with tears. He pulled her close to his body and held her.

“How old was your friend?” He asked in a quiet voice.

“Ten,” Sara whispered with a sniff and raised a shaky hand to wipe away the tear coursing down her cheek. “She was so young.”

Jaguin listened to the tremble in her voice and lifted his hand to catch the tear. In the back of his mind, he raged that his mate had lived through so much sorrow and heartache. His own childhood had been happy and carefree in comparison. The only grief he ever dealt with was during the war. He lost several good friends during the various battles and could understand Sara’s sorrow at the senseless deaths.

He tried to think of something to say when she stunned him again. Her words registered with his dragon before they did with him. A self-satisfied grunt resonated through him as his dragon settled down.

I tell you she like me
, his dragon purred as all thoughts flew from Jaguin’s mind and his body took over.

He deepened the kiss when Sara’s lips parted. A shudder ran through him at the brief touch of her tongue against his. He wanted – needed – more. This is what he had been waiting centuries for, the touch of his mate.

Their tongues danced around each other, exploring the pleasure of their connection. He could feel her pulse quickening, yet he did not sense that it was from fear, but from desire. The feel of her hands sliding up his chest to his shoulders confirmed that she wanted this as much as he did.

His body hardened with desire. He had been with other women, but it was to slake his lust. This was different. He could feel Sara’s essence connecting with his symbiot and his dragon. Both of the other halves of him shimmered as the threadlike strands wove around them, making them one.

He moaned softly and tightened his arms around Sara’s soft form, lifting her up against his body. His left hand slid down, cupping her buttocks as he did. Her legs instinctively opened to wrap around his waist. The position raised her until she was even with his lips. He pushed his hips forward when she started sliding down. He broke the kiss, breathing heavily as he gazed into her eyes.

“I need you, Sara,” he admitted.

Sara gazed back at him, her face flushed with desire. At first, she didn’t respond to his quietly spoken need. He didn’t want to push her, she had been through so much, but he was also concerned about his own control. Being this close to her had been both pleasure and pain since she first woke. Each time he left her, it became more difficult to walk away.

“Jaguin…,” Sara started to say when her head turned at the angry hiss from the symbiot. “What’s wrong?”

Jaguin heard the tremor in her voice and saw the flash of fear. His arms tightened around her and he sent a command to his symbiot to identify who entered the room. Within seconds, he heard the familiar voices of Cree and Calo.

“It is the Twin Dragons and their mate,” Jaguin murmured. “They are no threat.”

“You’d better put me down before they see us,” Sara whispered, blushing when she realized that she was still wrapped around him.

Jaguin scowled for a moment before he reluctantly lowered her to the floor, muttering a curse about killing the two warriors the next time they were alone. His lips twitched when he heard Sara’s giggle at his frustrated remark.

“I really want you,” he muttered with a lopsided grin.

“I can tell,” Sara retorted, flushing when she felt his hard length pressed against her.

“Jaguin, our apologies,” Calo called in greeting as he stepped onto the path. “Our mate wished to let her dragon out and the other rooms have a training exercise in progress.”

*.*.*

Sara’s eyes widened at the small green dragon that peeked over Calo’s shoulder. Beside the tiny dragon, she saw Cree standing with a protective hand along her neck. She was the most beautiful creature Sara had ever seen – next to Jaguin.

“Who is that?” Sara asked, staring in awe at the dragon that was gazing back at her.

Calo’s gaze softened and he turned toward the beautiful dragon. Raising his hand, he ran it tenderly along her jaw. Sara was amazed at how much love was in that simple gesture. She knew who the two warriors were; she saw them multiple times silently following Carmen. This was the first time she saw both men together. If it wasn’t for the scar that Carmen told her about and the way one of the men always had his hand on the knife by his side, she wouldn’t have known there were two separate men watching Carmen.

“This is our mate, Melina,” Calo introduced with a proud smile.

Sara’s eyes widened further and she took a step back in surprise when the image shimmered for a moment before a young woman stood where the dragon was just seconds earlier. Cree immediately wrapped his arms around the woman when she swayed.

“Hi,” Melina greeted, blushing and looking at Sara with curious, green eyes. “I’m sorry. My dragon wanted out and I’m still learning to do all this.”

“You do not need to apologize,” Cree growled, glancing at Sara and Jaguin with a sharp glance, warning them not to disagree.

Sara fought a grin when the woman rolled her eyes and mouthed to her not to listen to the big oaf. Sara gave a brief nod of understanding. She hesitantly pulled away from Jaguin and moved toward the woman. Her lips parted and she looked back and forth between Melina and the two huge men shadowing her.

“You’re human?” Sara asked in a soft voice, gazing back at Melina.

“Yes,” Melina replied with a shy smile. She raised a hand and pushed a strand of shoulder length dark brown hair behind her ear.

Sara frowned. “Carmen is human as well. How can you transform into a dragon then?” She asked with a puzzled expression.

Sara felt Jaguin tense behind her. She laid her hand over his when his hand tightened on her hip. She knew that Carmen could transform. It came up during their conversations, but for some reason it never really sank in. Seeing Melina as a dragon finally seemed to connect the dots.

“I’m not sure,” Melina admitted. “I believe it has something to do with the Dragon’s Fire that happens when….”

Sara saw Melina’s face flame and her eyes sparkle as she looked back and forth between her mates. Understanding dawned quickly – something happened when the Valdier mated with a human to change the chemical composition of their bodies. If that happened, there would be no going back. Sara understood the dynamics of biology enough to know that once a species evolved, it rarely, if ever, returned to its previous state.

“Oh,” Sara whispered.

“I’m sorry we interrupted you,” Melina started to say, stopping when Sara gave her a brief smile.

“That’s okay, we were just leaving,” Sara replied. “Perhaps we can meet up later. Carmen and I were planning on meeting in the dining hall. She was going to show me more of the ship.”

“That would be lovely,” Melina replied, ignoring the soft growl from both her mates. “I think some girl time out would be wonderful.”

Sara laughed when she saw the look of displeasure on Cree and Calo’s faces and the soft grunt Jaguin emitted. It was obvious these guys had a lot to learn if they thought Earth girls were going to just sit around and wait to be escorted everywhere.

“I agree,” Sara retorted, elbowing Jaguin when his hand tightened on her hip. “I’ll see you in a few hours.”

“Okay,” Melina replied with a happy grin.

Sara pulled away from Jaguin and stepped around Melina, Cree, and Calo. She could feel Jaguin right behind her as she headed toward the door. A wave of warmth flooded her when she heard Melina’s soft comment to the two men standing protectively near her.

“It is so nice to have other women close to my age here. I missed that when I was in the mining asteroid,” Melina murmured.

She didn’t hear the men’s response. She would have to ask Melina what she meant about the mining asteroid. It was a clear reminder that when she thought she and Emma had experienced a horrible episode in their life, there were others who had lived through things that were just as bad or worse. Carmen almost died, something happened to the other young woman, and she knew Audrey had a story behind her presence here as well.

She and Emma were so wrapped up in what happened to them, that it was easy to forget to focus on the good that came from their rescue. Unlike Emma, though, Sara was not a captive as long, did not witness as much of the cruelty, and did not have a family she cared for back home. Her family had not spoken to her since she left over ten years ago.

“Sara,” Jaguin’s voice drew her out of her own thoughts.

“Oh,” she muttered, startled. “Sorry.”