Dragon Awakened(42)

Mine, her Dragon purred as Ruby soaked in the sight of him. Hunger rumbled through her the way it had during her Awakening. Hungry for Cyn. The memory of attacking him when she’d Awakened didn’t seem so shameful now. No, more like arousing. He had definitely been aroused, and she wondered if he was now.

She kept stroking his back, soaking in the sight of him. The heat tingling beneath her fingertips traveled to the vicinity of her chest…and lower. His olive-toned skin contrasted with the white of the sheets. He was so friggin’ strong and gorgeous that she could hardly blame herself for wanting him. For touching him when he was asleep. She wasn’t even a lustful person, too self-protective to let herself ache for something she couldn’t have. Definitely not the kind to be touching a guy in the throes of sleep.

What she should be doing is getting off the bed and putting on her clothes. That’s what a sane, logical Ruby would do. Except his hand moved up over her ribs, and his thumb grazed her nipple, which nearly made her gasp. She swallowed the sound because she did not want the moment to shatter. He let out a soft murmur, tracing circles that curled her toes.

His hand moved to cover her breast, squeezing softly as his thumb continued stroking her nipple. Which, it seemed, had a direct line to the place between her legs that now throbbed. Oh, boy. She was getting in deeper and deeper, and when he woke—

He slid his hand to her back and pulled her right up against his body, tilting himself up so that she was snuggled between him and the bed. Oh, yeah, he was definitely aroused. He nuzzled her neck and inhaled softly. “Ruby,” he said in a thick voice.

Now the way he said her name fit the situation. He was dreaming of her, of touching her and holding her like this. This was definitely a dream, even if she wasn’t exactly asleep. But she was lost in the fantasy of it, him wanting her. His whole body was wrapped around her, powerful and yet gentle.

When she pressed against his erection, his eyes opened. She saw the moment he realized this was reality, as he took in their intimate position. He disentangled and got to his feet, scrubbing his hand through his hair. “Sorry. Dreaming.”

Oddly, she didn’t feel embarrassed at her participation or desperate to pull the sheets over her body. She gave him a tremulous smile, unable to keep her gaze from flicking to his pelvis. “A very interesting dream obviously.”

He stretched, flattening one hand over his erection. “Clearly. Christ, I haven’t had a dream like that in ages.”

“You said my name.”

A small tremor shook him, though his expression remained passive. “You must have misheard me.” He pulled a pair of pants from a drawer in the dresser and slid into them.

No, she was quite sure he had murmured her name, but she wasn’t going to press the issue. He did not want to admit that at least some part of him wanted her, and he was probably right not to. Getting sexually involved would complicate their relationship. She definitely didn’t need a complication like Cyn.

She pulled the sheet around herself. “How long have we been asleep? It’s dark out.” Only the light on the nightstand illuminated the room. She sought out a clock and gasped. “Hours.”

“It’s been a busy day. I haven’t had two altercations in one day in decades.” He rolled his shoulders, his muscles flexing with the movement.

She reached up to her nose, gingerly touching it. “Still tender, but it feels like it’s in one piece again. Even the blood’s gone.”

“I cleaned you up after you fell asleep.” The image of him tenderly cleaning her while she slept stole away any response she might have. He looked at her over his shoulder. “You managed your Dragon well in there. But don’t get cocky. This time you got your face split. Next time could be worse.” He balled up his bloody shirt and tossed it into a small garbage can. “Speaking of things splitting, I keep extra clothes in the car, at the dojo, and here, in case I don’t have time to disrobe.” He nodded to her bloodied pile of clothes. “Or if you get injured.”

He opened a couple of other drawers and extracted a shirt and pants. “You’re roughly Glesenda’s size. When she came up and checked on you, she said you were welcome to use her clothes.”

Apparently Ruby was as deep a sleeper as Cyn could be. She caught the clothing he tossed to her. “What do we do next?”

“We go to Brom’s and find out what the hell is going on with him.”





Chapter 12



Cyn drove to Miami Beach, where Brom had lived all those years ago when he’d brought Ruby to him. He hoped that, like many Crescents, Brom had stayed in one place. He glanced over at Ruby in the passenger seat of his car, running her fingers along the dash.