Her Dragon To Slay(34)
CHAPTER SEVEN
“Good Lord! The dragon shifters were a hearty stock of men.” She thought as she stood among them. She’d never seen so much man candy in one place, not even the gym. Of course Rayne was more handsome than all of them but she knew more than a few ladies that would be reduced to excited little puddles of mush at the sight of these perfect specimens of manliness.
The minute they had walked into the clearing, a brawny blonde with blue eyes, she likened to lasers came right over, bear hugged Rayne, slapped him on the back so hard it sounded like thunder. Rayne introduced him as Lance, the one he had spoken to many times since she had met him, in his head!
Lance had a cocky grin, twinkle in his eye and one little dimple that seemed to wink at her. He was the troublemaker of the crew, absolutely no doubt about it. She could tell he was sizing her up with his thumbs hung in his front pockets, feet spread about shoulder width apart and a cocky grin spread across his face. “Well, Kyndel, if you ever get tired of the old man here, I’ll make sure you know where to find me,” he ended his little comment with a wink, then faster than she could follow, swooped her up in a hug.
Rayne removed her from his grasp and growled, “You will keep your suggestions and your hands to yourself, young man.”
Lance threw his head back and laughed so hard his whole body shook. The other members of Rayne’s Force came forward and introduced themselves to her, making sure to only shake hands. Rayne even scowled and grumbled about there being no need for them to touch her.
All of the men were polite, so old worldly in their mannerisms. Most laughed and carried on as Lance filled Rayne in on the hunters’ activity and they formulated a plan of action. It was still light out so Rayne had told her they would not risk being seen shifting to their dragons, which meant they would be hiking at least a little of the way to their destination. Kyndel hated to think about hiking very far, even though she had been working out religiously for a year. She had missed working out last night, unless her calisthenics with Rayne counted. She smiled to herself. Then realized she was grateful to have a little more time before witnessing the man that had turned her world upside down turn into a dragon.
While they’d walked to the meeting spot, Rayne had told her a little more about his dragon and since she was always honest with herself, she had to admit that she wasn’t sure she would ever be ready to come face to face with the 1000 pound beast. And the thought that she was standing with six of them was downright freaky.
She glanced around and realized the one with light brown hair and the clearest amber eyes she’d ever seen was sitting by himself on a rock, surveying their surroundings. Rayne had explained all about the dragon shifters enhanced senses. She found it amazing they could see, hear and smell so much better than she could let the alone the speed she had briefly witnessed. These boys were wicked fast. She was sure he was the one that had introduced himself as Aidan. She knew he was keeping watch in the direction they’d last seen the hunters, but there was something in the way he held himself that told her he was in pain. Not physical pain but some kind of emotional pain. If his body language wasn’t enough, it was written in his amber eyes as plain as day. She knew these men were warriors, but she couldn’t stand idly by when someone was in pain. It just wasn’t in her DNA to let someone suffer.
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Aidan could hear Rayne’s mate approaching. He would have known it was her even if he hadn’t been able to smell her feminine scent. The softness of her footsteps in the grass was a dead giveaway. All of his brethren stomped like a herd of cattle unless they were tracking prey. He had seen her scrutiny of him when he’d introduced himself. He hid his pain well from all the men in the Force because they just knew not to pry but this woman seemed to sense the sadness in his heart. He recognized the way she held his hand that extra second. He’d actually cracked his first smile in longer than he could remember when she swatted their very capable Commander on the arm for growling at him during their introduction. She was definitely a spitfire, a woman that could handle Rayne’s controlling and overbearing ways. This special gift from the Universe to his friend would bring out the softer side of Rayne. Aidan had seen the way the Commander always took the time to play ball with the young drakes and he had heard the giggles of the young vibrias as he swung them in the air. He was sure Rayne didn’t know he had witnessed him chop cord after cord of wood for all the vibrias who had lost their mates. It was his heart that made Rayne an incredible leader, one like Aidan himself aspired to be. Rayne tried to keep his softness from showing but it was shining brighter than ever now that his mate was by his side. Aidan couldn’t be happier for his friend.