The Dragon's Heart (Lochguard Highland Dragons #3) (12 page)

Ross placed his hands on her hips possessively. “That might have been true earlier, but you must have some special dragon-shifter recharging abilities because I might just break our record to date. Three orgasms in a row should do it.” He lowered his voice and huskiness sent shivers down her spine. “And one of them will come from my tongue.”

As she stared into Ross’s brown eyes, all she saw was love, heat, and a dash of playfulness. Even if Ross were eighty, she imagined he’d never stop looking at her like that.

Her dragon spoke up.
Of course not. Our heated looks will drive him mad for the rest of his days.

Lorna didn’t disagree with her beast.

Brushing a hand through his gray chest hair, she murmured, “I love you, cockiness and all.”

“It’s not cockiness if it’s the truth.” She shook her head, but Ross spoke again before she could. “And you’d better get used to it, Lorna MacKenzie, because I love you and am never letting you go.”

Lorna lifted her hips and Ross positioned his cock between them. As she sunk down, both dragon and woman felt complete in a way they hadn’t in nearly thirty years. Maybe if she’d been twenty years younger and of childbearing age, Ross might’ve stirred the mate-claim frenzy.

But true mate or not, Ross Anderson was hers to keep. The only trick would be in finding a way to mate the man she loved in front of the clan. Her human didn’t deserve anything less.

Then Ross guided her hips back and forth, and Lorna forgot about everything except the male inside her.

Epilogue

One month later

Lorna adjusted the dark blue shoulder strap of her traditional dress for the tenth time. The blasted thing kept slipping. “I should’ve brought some tape.”

Faye rolled her eyes. “Right, because that’s what every dragon-shifter brings to her mating ceremony.”

Lorna tsked. “I thought you agreed to be somewhat less sarcastic today.”

“Aye, I’m trying. It’s quite difficult, though.”

Fraser peeked his head inside the small room. “Aren’t you ready yet, Mum? The great hall still doesn’t have a roof and the tents only keep out so much of the drizzle.”

Lorna raised an eyebrow. “I don’t recall you having such trouble with rain when you snuck out as a young lad.”

“Aye, well, it’s Holly I’m worried about, not me. She shouldn’t be out in the chill,” Fraser answered.

Faye shook her head. “Holly is wearing at least three layers plus a jacket. She’ll be fine.”

“I still don’t like it,” Fraser muttered.

Lorna stood tall. “I’m just glad you haven’t decided to sabotage the ceremony. You and Ross were gone a long time last night. I wasn’t sure if you had tried to carry him back to Aberdeen or not.”

Fraser put on a look of mock shock. “You think so little of me, Mother.”

Despite herself, Lorna smiled. “Aye, with good reason.”

Faye moved to the door. “Come, Fraser. The longer you stand here chatting, the longer Holly is out in the cold. If you’re so determined to get your mate inside, then let’s go.”

Fergus’s head appeared next to Fraser’s. “Aye, let’s go. Holly sent me to retrieve you. She thought you might be trying to kidnap Mum.”

Fraser sighed. “Even my mate is against me. I’m not sure how I’ll keep on going now.”

Fergus placed a hand on Fraser’s shoulder. “You can wax on about your dire circumstances later. Come on.”

As Fergus guided Fraser away, Faye turned to face Lorna. “I was going to wait until later, but I have an early mating present for you.”

“Aye?”

“I’m getting my own cottage.”

Lorna closed the space between them and searched her daughter’s eyes. “Is this what you want? I don’t wish for you to move out just on my account.”

Faye smiled. “Mum, you’ve taken care of me long enough. You and Ross will want some privacy, and I need to focus on finding my new place in the clan.”

She touched Faye’s cheek. “Don’t give up on your dream, hen.”

Faye placed her hand over Lorna’s. “I won’t, Mum. But no amount of physical therapy will get me back to where I once was. I need to accept that.”

“Whatever you do, I’ll be there for you, Faye.”

Faye blinked, probably to keep back tears. “I know, Mum.” Her daughter cleared her throat. “But enough about me. Ross is probably starting to wonder where you are. And at his age, you don’t want to get his blood pressure up.”

“He’s not that old, Faye Cleopatra.” Faye grinned, and Lorna’s love for her daughter spread throughout her body. “I love you, hen.”

“Love you, too, Mum.” Faye walked to the door. “I’ll let them know you’re coming!”

With that, Faye left Lorna alone. The thought of an empty cottage would’ve crushed Lorna a few months ago, but now she had Ross. The sooner she mated him, the sooner she would have someone by her side for the rest of her life.

Her dragon grunted.
Why are we still standing here? Let’s go. The sooner we get your human celebrations out of the way, the sooner I can claim Ross tonight.

You just had him last night.

Aye, but I want more.

Pushing aside her beast’s lusty thoughts, Lorna exited the small room that hadn’t been damaged in the attack and walked down the hall. At the entrance to what had once been the great hall, she took a deep breath and entered the room.

Clan members filled the spaces between the former walls of the room. By the look of things, the entire clan had turned out for her mating ceremony.

However, after a cursory glance, Lorna met Ross’s gaze, and everyone else melted away at his wink. Even after all this time, one wink sent shivers down her spine.

Wanting to put a formal claim on him, Lorna picked up her pace. It was time to take Ross Anderson as her mate.

~~~

While Ross was grateful he and Lorna’s ceremony wasn’t being broadcasted, the front row of photographers from both media outlets and the Department of Dragon Affairs irritated him a wee bit more with each click and flash of the camera. At this rate, his vision would be full of spots, and he wouldn’t be able to appreciate Lorna’s beauty.

Then he finally saw her enter the room. The dark blue of the dress made her skin glow, but he barely noticed as he held her gaze. Every day he wondered how he was lucky enough to have Lorna MacKenzie at his side, let alone her love, too.

But for whatever reason, he did, and Ross was less than five minutes away from claiming Lorna as his mate for the rest of their lives.

At that thought, he realized he would gladly brave a hundred cameras and go permanently blind if it meant securing the DDA’s permission again to mate his woman.

Luckily, he already possessed the signed document in his sporran. His and Lorna’s mating was legal.

Lorna walked toward him, never taking her gaze from him. When she finally arrived at his side, he took her hands and squeezed. Not caring that every dragon-shifter in the room could hear him, he murmured, “You’re so lovely.”

“You clean up well yourself.”

There had been some debate, but ultimately, Ross had convinced Lorna to let him wear the human kilt with the Anderson tartan of blue, red, and yellow, paired with a black suit jacket and bowtie.

They probably would’ve gone on staring at each other for a while if Finn hadn’t cleared his throat from the front row. No doubt, he was worried about Arabella.

Sometimes, Ross wondered how female dragon-shifters kept from murdering their mates in their sleep.

Releasing Lorna’s hands, Ross picked up the silver arm cuff engraved with his name in the old language. “Lorna Stewart MacKenzie, before everyone here today, I claim you as my mate. I never thought I’d get a second chance in my lifetime, but you were the shining star in a sea of darkness. Through your sheer stubbornness, you kept me from dying. I fought cancer and won for you, love. Please tell me you’ll accept my mate claim.”

“Of course I will, despite your hyperbole.”

Grinning, Ross placed the cuff on Lorna’s upper arm. Seeing the silver glinting in the light and knowing it was his name on her arm satisfied a primal part of him.

Lorna picked up a silver ring engraved with her name in the old language. The clever dragonwoman had suggested incorporating both human and dragon-shifter traditions into the ceremony, to show the dragons were open to new ways of doing things, too.

If he could love her more, Ross would.

Lorna eased the ring on the fourth finger of his left hand. “I accept your claim, Ross Anderson. Everything about you makes my life more fulfilling. I never expected to laugh or love as hard as I once had. But then you showed up in my life, and my heart woke up. Not only do I shiver at your touch, but I also love how you care for others, including me. You will keep me on my toes for the rest of my life, and I look forward to the adventure. I love you, Ross, and claim you as mine in front of the entire clan.”

“Good, then come here.”

As the audience chuckled, Ross pulled Lorna flush against his body and kissed her. Each stroke of her tongue against his made him forget about everyone watching them. At that moment, all he could think about was the dragonwoman who had stolen his heart and given him a second chance at a happily ever after.

*~*~*

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The next story in the Lochguard Highland Dragons series will be Faye and Grant’s story,
The Dragon Warrior
, out in early 2017. (The next Stonefire Dragons book will be about Dr. Sid and will be out in October 2016.) In the meantime, you could check out the first book of my Asylums for Magical Threats series,
Blaze of Secrets
. Turn the page for an excerpt of
Blaze of Secrets
and for glimpses of my other works. Also, make sure
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Blaze of Secrets

(Asylums for Magical Threats #1)

After discovering she has elemental fire magic as a teenager, Kiarra Melini spends the next fifteen years inside a magical prison. While there, she undergoes a series of experiments that lead to a dangerous secret. If she lives, all magic will be destroyed. If she dies, magic has a chance to survive. Just as she makes her choice, a strange man breaks into cell, throws her over his shoulder, and carries her right out of the prison.

To rescue his brother, Jaxton Ward barters with his boss to rescue one other inmate--a woman he's never met before. His job is to get in, nab her and his brother, and get out. However, once he returns to his safe house, his boss has other ideas. Jaxton is ordered to train the woman and help her become part of the anti-magical prison organization he belongs to.

Working together, Kiarra and Jaxton discover a secret much bigger than their growing attraction to each other. Can they evade the prison retrieval team long enough to help save magic? Or, will they take Kiarra back to prison and end any chance of happiness for them both?
———————————

Blaze of Secrets
is now available on all major online retailers.

———————————

Excerpt:

Chapter One

First-born
Feiru
children are dangerous. At the age of magical maturity they will permanently move into compounds established for both their and the public’s protection. These compounds will be known as the Asylums for Magical Threats (hereafter abbreviated as “AMT”).

—Addendum, Article III of the
Feiru
Five Laws, July 1953

Present Day

Jaxton Ward kept his gaze focused on the nearing mountain ledge ahead of him. If he looked down at the chasm below his feet, he might feel sick, and since his current mission was quite possibly the most important one of his life, he needed to focus all of his energy on succeeding.

After all, if things went according to plan, Jaxton would finally see his brother again.

He and his team of three men were balanced on a sheet of rock five thousand feet in the air. To a human, it would look like they were flying. However, any
Feiru
would know they were traveling via elemental wind magic.

Darius, the elemental wind first-born on his team, guided them the final few feet to the mountain ledge. As soon as the sheet of rock touched solid ground, Jaxton and his team moved into position.

The mountain under their feet was actually one of the most secure AMT compounds in the world. Getting in was going to be difficult, but getting out was going to take a bloody miracle, especially since he’d had to barter with his boss for the location of his brother. In exchange, he had promised to rescue not just Garrett, but one other unknown first-born as well.
 

Taka, the elemental earth first-born of Jaxton’s team, signaled he was ready. He nodded for Taka to begin.

As Taka reached a hand to the north, the direction of elemental earth magic, the solid rock of the mountain moved. With each inch that cleared to form a tunnel, Jaxton’s heart rate kicked up. Jaxton was the reason his brother had been imprisoned inside the mountain for the last five years and he wasn’’t sure if his brother had ever forgiven him.

Even if they survived the insurmountable odds, located Garrett, and broke into his prison cell, his brother might not agree to go with them. Considering the rumors of hellish treatment inside the AMT compounds, his brother’s hatred would be justified.

Once the tunnel was big enough for them to enter, Jaxton pushed aside his doubts. No matter what his brother might think of him, Jaxton would rescue him, even it if took drugging Garrett unconscious to do so.

Taking out his Glock, he flicked off the safety. Jaxton was the only one on the team without elemental magic, but he could take care of himself.

He moved to the entrance of the tunnel, looked over his shoulder at his men, and nodded. After each man nodded, signaling they were ready, he took out his pocket flashlight, switched it on, and jogged down the smooth tunnel that would lead them to the inner corridors of the AMT compound.
 

If his information was correct, the AMT staff would be attending a site-wide meeting for the next hour. That gave Jaxton and his team a short window of opportunity to get in, nab the two inmates, and get back out again.