Julia Mills - Her Dragon's Heart (Dragon Guard Series Book 8) Read online

  “Want some company?” He waggled his eyebrows and winked.

  Swatting him on the shoulder, she retorted, “Yeah, right.”

  For once in his life, Jace didn’t think, he just acted. Slamming his mouth to hers, he demanded immediate entrance. Saying with his kiss what he’d been unable to communicate in any other way. It took only a moment for Melanie to relax against him, opening completely. Her sigh of surrender was music to his ears. Her moans of desire the only encouragement he needed to fall deeper into all that she was.

  Jace’s hands traveled Melanie’s body, loving the feel of her erotic curves and wishing they were somewhere more private where he could strip her naked and enjoy her sensual body with more than his touch. Her hands slid around his neck just as his hands found her ample behind and once again he lifted his mate until only their clothes kept them from becoming one.

  Her legs wound around his waist, drowning his denim covered erection in the heat of her desire. They immediately began to move in unison, every meeting of their hips more intense than the last. Melanie mewled into his mouth, her nails dug into the flesh at the base of his neck, and their pace increased until Jace was sure he would lose his mind. His dragon roared, pushing with all his might, driving the Guardsman to claim their mate in every way possible.

  Jace’s hands slipped under the soft cotton of her scrub top, finally making contact with her bare skin. Sparks flew between them, sending an electric current he was sure could light Times Square on New Year’s Eve through his body. The thought of using his enhanced speed entered his lust addled brain at the same time laughter from a passing group of hospital employees sounded to his right and Royce’s voice boomed in his mind, “Get your ass back to the lair. Rayne’s called a meeting.”

  The older Guardsman’s voice in his head was a bucket of water to his libido as he quickly answered, “Little busy here, old man.”

  “Yeah, I caught that. Learn to shield better and getting your rocks off is no excuse. Get. Here. Now.”

  “Be there as soon as I can,” was his quick response as he severed their connection and locked his shields down tight. There was no way he would share one second of his time with Melanie with anyone.

  Focusing on the beautiful woman that was scurrying to right her clothing and put as much distance between them as was possible, Jace wanted to scream to the Heavens, “Why me?!” Instead, he spun Melanie around for the second time and met her glare with one of his own, speaking before she had the chance.

  “Don’t you dare try to run and hide from me. I’ve spent the last four months dreaming of our first real kiss and although this may not have been the way I imagined it, it was absolutely perfect.”

  He grabbed her by the upper arms as she tried to turn away and forced her to once again meet his eyes. “Talk to me.”

  “No. Let go of me.”

  “I will as soon as you talk to me.”

  “What the hell do you want me to say, Jace? Thank you? It was fun? Let’s do it again sometime?”

  Jace couldn’t stop the bark of laughter that flew from his mouth. Melanie’s resulting look would have made a lesser man slink away to lick his wounds, but it only served to fuel his laughter. He watched through watery eyes as she tried to maintain her stance and laughed all the harder when she broke down and laughed along. It wasn’t long until they were leaning on one another, barely able to catch their breath.

  The first to recover, Jace chuckled, “Well, this night’s been a helluva a rollercoaster ride.”

  “Sure has.” She sighed. “I think a beer or four and a soak in a bubble bath is just what I need.”

  “Wish I could join you.” Jace again waggled his eyes, but this time Melanie was quick to cut him off at the pass.

  “Hold it right there, Romeo. I was speaking of a solo mission.”

  “Just as well, I have to get back to the la…home.” He quickly corrected, glad she had missed his almost faux pas. Then covered with, “But you can’t blame a guy for trying.”

  “Oh yeah? I’m thinking I’ve got quite a lot to blame you for.” She winked and pulled her keys from her bag.

  He loved that she felt comfortable enough to joke with him and hated the fact that he had to leave her, especially after the kiss they’d just shared. Unfortunately, he knew he had maybe two more minutes before Royce or Heavens forbid Rayne, their Commander, was again yelling in his head.

  The beep of her car doors unlocking gave him another sad reminder that he would have to let her go, at least for the time being. Ever the gentleman, Jace reached around his mate, opened the door, and motioned for her to slide into the driver’s seat. She gave him a cheeky little grin that he filed away as one of the cutest things he’d ever seen before taking the driver’s seat.

  Shutting the door, he motioned for her to open the window. Melanie acted as if she were thinking about it, and then chuckled as it slid down. “Yes?” She cooed, batting her eyes and making him once again bark with laughter.

  Life with Melanie will never be boring.

  “Drive safe. Call me if you need anything.”

  “I’ll be fine, Jace.”

  “Don’t argue with me, young lady.” He inserted as much authority into his voice as he could without pissing her off, even added a wink and a chuckle for good measure.

  “You got it. I’m too tired to argue.” She laughed.

  “Good. Now get outta here and I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

  “Aye, aye, Captain.” She mock saluted as she started her car.

  Jace stepped back and watched her back out and head towards the exit of the parking lot. He waited until the glow of her taillights disappeared into the darkness before heading to his Harley. The ride back to the lair was filled with thoughts of Melanie and the day he would not have to let her go, when she would be by his side always.

  The sound of Liam’s agitation pulled him back to the present. “Dammit, J, tell me what the hell is going on. This is complete and total bullshit.”

  Jace stopped, let his head fall forward, and blew out a long breath. It was time to come clean or risk losing the one person in the world who’d always been there for him.

  Unwilling to face Liam, he began to speak. “I found my mate. It’s Melanie…from the hospital.”

  “Well, duh, no shit.”

  Jace spun, not believing his ears. “You knew?”

  “J, dude, you’re not as sneaky as you think you are, never have been and your shielding…well, let’s just say you’ve really gotta work on that.”

  “Does everybody know?”

  “Nah, just me, Royce, Devon, and their mates. Everyone else has been so busy with the whole ‘Andrew’s a traitor, let’s kill him. No, he might be okay, let’s spare him’ thing that they’ve not been real observant. But what’s this impromptu trip to the ‘moors’ have to do with Nurse Whelan?”

  “She’s disappeared. Gone without a trace. I searched her condo and found the stench of black magic and followed it here.”

  “What about the whole mating bond thing I keep hearing about? Can’t you find her that way?”

  “I tried. I mean, our link’s been getting stronger. I’ve stayed constantly connected to her from the minute I realized she was my destiny, but something changed night before last. Something or someone broke our bond or at the very least interrupted it and is hiding Melanie from me. Her place was a mess, overturned furniture and broken glass everywhere like there’d been a fight. I found a few drops of her blood on the patio and followed the scent into the woods where it disappeared into thin air, just like she has.”

  His dragon chuffed and blew smoke, incredibly agitated that he had halted their search for even a moment. Jace ignore the beast as Liam answered.

  “I should kick your ass on principle alone. Why the hell did you keep that shit to yourself? We’ve got to get a hold of Rory. He flew back to their lair the other day with Kellan. They can help. Kell may be scary as hell, but he can track like no one I’ve ever seen.”


  Jace knew Liam was right. He should’ve told his friend what was going on but at the time…

  The important thing was that every minute Melanie was with her captors was a minute longer they could be hurting her. He could only imagine what she must be going through. Unimaginable retribution was promised to anyone that dared harm even a hair on her head.

  After explaining the call he’d overheard from Melanie’s grandfather, he added the little bit of information he’d been able to dig up concerning who he believed the man to be. Then Jace took Liam’s advice and reached out to Rory, the Commander of the Blue Thunder Force and younger brother to his mentor. “Rory, I need your help.”

  “What’s up, young’un? You know I’m back home, right?”

  “Yeah,” Jace chuckled. “Me too.”

  “Wait. What? You’re here? On the shore?”

  “Yeah, we’re here.”

  “We?”

  “Liam and I.”

  “Hey, Ror. How’s it going?” Liam chimed in.

  “Guess I should be asking you boys that.”

  “Yeah, well, we’re tracking someone that’s been kidnapped.”

  “Kidnapped? What the hell? I thought we were over all this shit. Andrew’s getting all rehabilitated and everything. We’re all one big happy family again. No more drama and all that good stuff. Who in all that’s holy has kidnapped who now and for what reason?”

  Jace stood silent while Liam filled Rory in on all the details. He pushed with the combined strength of man and beast to locate Melanie through their mating bond but came up empty handed…again. Rory’s words shocked him out of his quest.

  “Son of a bitch! You’re sure she called him Grand Draoi?”

  “Yep, that’s what she called him. He also gave a couple shows of his power, but Mel taunted him, said he was losing his strength.”

  “Wait a minute, she called him seanathair? They’re related?”

  “Yes, sir. I was shocked as you.”

  “But she’s been around us all. I’ve never felt her magic. I thought she was just an incredibly intelligent, intuitive human.”

  “No shit! Me too! And I’m her mate!” Jace knew his voice had raised to almost yelling, but the stress of not being able to locate his mate was pushing him past the limits of his control.

  “And now that we’ve all had our moment of shock and awe, we can worry about whether she’s magical or not and how she hid it from us later. What do you know about this guy, Rory?” Liam asked and Jace could tell that he too was nearing the end of his rope.

  “You remember that coven of black witches and wizards Kyra was talking about, the Dorcha? Well, their leader is known as the Grand Draoi, and he’s one seriously messed up bad guy. So if he’s who Melanie was talking to, even with waning powers he’d still be able to level cities. It’s been said that on his worst day he can literally reach through time and space to rip the soul out of his enemies. Legend states that even though the demon Balor watches over the Dorcha, it’s Caligrosto that they pray to. And that is one bad ass demon.

  “Caligrosto was spawned from Balor’s nightmares that had been marinating in the Dreaming Gulf of the Abyss for literally eons. Can you even imagine what gives a demon god nightmares? Got to be some scary shit. Anyway, ol’ Caligrosto demands his followers sacrifice those of their own blood in exchange for power. Which follows what you gathered from Melanie’s conversation with her gramps. Are you sure that’s who has her?” Jace could hear that Rory was hoping he was mistaken.

  “I’m sure. I’ve either been with this woman or been near her for four months. There have been no other threats, nothing unusual, nada, zip, zilch. Hell, I thought life was gonna be good and boring.”

  “As if!” Liam and Rory barked in unison.

  “Now get your asses over here. I’ll rally the troops and we’ll be ready to head out as soon as we see you.” Rory commanded and then quickly added, “And Jace…you better let my brother and the others know where you are before they come looking. I’ve never known that lot to just let bygones be bygones, especially if they can torture you.”

  Jace cringed at the reminder that he was basically AWOL. He answered the only way he could. “I’ll take care of it.”

  Closing their connection to the sound of Rory’s laughter, the young Guardsman looked at his friend. “Time to get my ass kicked.”

  CHAPTER TWO

  Melanie tested the ropes that held her hands behind her back, trying with all her might to break free. The black bag that had been shoved over her head remained, making it unbearably hot and impossible to see. Sweat covered her face as she fought to not lose her cool while figuring a way out of the fresh hell she found herself in.

  Counting to ten, she redirected her focus to her feet, happy to find they were tied together and not to the legs of the chair. She rotated her feet in opposite directions, letting the rope slide over her skin and was happy to find it was good old fashioned jute. Mr. Addison, her high school Chemistry teacher who doubled as the P.E. teacher, would be proud she recognized its texture and even happier that she remembered with enough friction and moisture it would stretch. Ignoring the burning sensation working its way up her legs, she rubbed her ankles against one another as she continued to rotate her feet.

  This is like the whole ‘rub your tummy and pat your head’ game only with my legs and feet. Damn, I’m talented. Now to put everything I’ve learned from Bruce Willis to work and get the hell outta dodge.

  Her muscles ached and threatened to cramp, which only made Melanie work harder. Sweat ran down her legs, soaking the ropes as she listened for the sounds of her captors. It wouldn’t do any good to work this hard only to have the rat bastards show up and redo her bindings.

  Distracting herself, she thought back to the men that abducted her. It was obvious they’d used black magic. They were from the very Guard she’d taunted her grandfather about. Of course, she full well planned on smacking herself in the back of the head for letting them get the jump on her and for giving the old wizard the idea. She’d like to blame her inattention on the conversation with the Grand Draoi and in all truth, it had thrown her for a loop, but it was the mind-blowing kiss from a certain tall, blue-eyed hunk that had scrambled her neurons and left her wishing for so much more. She’d been lost to her daydreaming, allowing the assholes to get the jump on her. Years and years of honing her skills of observation, always knowing everything that was going on around her, and hiding her magic from even the best mystical practitioners were skills that kept her safe for almost twenty years. Melanie had known it was the only shot she would have to live a normal life, far away from her jacked up family that put the fun in dysfunction.

  Best laid plans…

  The sound of boots striking concrete echoed through her prison. Stopping cold, Melanie hurried to hide her escape plans. Doing her best impression of a ragdoll, she let her body go completely limp and played opossum. The footsteps grew closer, louder, more pronounced until she realized that what she’d thought to be one person was actually two and that the second man had a slight hesitation every second step. She hoped it meant he had a limp, not because she wished ill on anyone but because maybe she could use it to her advantage.

  Doing her best to control her breathing and praying the approaching goons wouldn’t be able to hear the pounding of her heart, Melanie took one last deep breath, exhaled…and prayed. Metal scratched against concrete, followed by a slam, and then the rattle of a heavy chain. Tumblers of a lock opening completed the scary sonata. Six footsteps later, rough hands grabbed her upper arms, jerking her into a semi-standing position. It took all her concentration and control not to flinch or cry out as pain radiated throughout her arms and shoulders.

  Her efforts were rewarded when a low gravelly voice said, “I think you put too much power in your Stunning Spell. It’s been almost two days. She should be awake by now. The Draoi is gonna be pissed. His orders were explicit, she was not to be harmed in any way,” chastised Putz number one.


  “Not my fault she’s weak. I didn’t even go full strength. I can’t believe he has us dragging this useless null around the countryside. There’s no way she can be the one of legend.” Putz number two grumped.

  “Shut the hell up!” Putz one growled. “Do you want the Draoi to hear you? The last guy that questioned him ended up as a pile of goo.”

  Melanie pushed back the bile that had risen at the memory her captor’s words revived. She remembered looking on as one of her grandfather’s most trusted advisors spoke out against the old wizard’s plan du jour. The Draoi had simply raised an eyebrow and the once vital man she’d affectionately called Uncle Jacob for all of her life became a bubbling pea-green puddle of goop. The throne room was completely silent, not one sound from the Dorcha in attendance. She wondered for a moment if anyone was breathing.

  Never one to let a chance for drama be wasted, the man that had once upon a time set her upon his shoulders and pretended to be a great stallion began to clap. A slow, staccato slapping of hands that echoed through the round stone room, continually growing in intensity until Melanie, no more than eleven years old at the time, wanted to cower in the corner, covering her ears.

  Worse than the applause was the malevolent smile that darkened his face and the gleam of pure evil within his onyx eyes. He stood with all the pomp and circumstance of a true king and strode as if leading a parade to the wet patch that had once been a man. Reaching the edge, he stopped and stared. The bubbling of the goo continued as if chastising the wizard for its existence.

  The Grand Draoi turned to the crowd, raised his arms over his head, and proclaimed, “Let those that agree with our fallen comrade speak now without fear of recrimination. I am, after all, a benevolent ruler.”

  Seconds ticked by, it felt as if all the air had been sucked from the room. Melanie squeezed her mother’s hand and prayed to be anywhere but there. It seemed like hours had passed when her grandfather finally spoke. His words were something the little girl didn’t understood until many years later.

  “We each have a role to play. The Dorcha has not survived for millennia upon millennia without true commitment from each member to follow the path they have been given. Together, we will rule the Earth. Let us all spend the evening in quiet reflection, rededicating ourselves to our one true mission.”