Only For Her Dragon (Dragon Guard Series Book 6)(31)

A set of steps rolled out as Jace opened the door. Liam helped her into the carriage and asked if she was comfortable before securing the door. The seats were covered in plush cream velvet, softer than any silk Charlie had ever felt. A hand painted mural depicting dragons in flight covered all four walls. She counted twelve dragons in all and remembered the story Siobhan had told her of the Dragon Kings that became the original dragon shifters.

Looking around, she saw a bouquet of silver and lavender roses tied with a single white ribbon lying on the seat opposite her. While reaching across to pick them up and inhale their succulent aroma, she saw the small card attached. The message was simple but caused her eyes to fill with tears. All my love for eternity and beyond. Aaron.

The carriage slowed and then came to a complete stop. Looking out the window, she saw the meadow where she’d first discovered the existence of dragons. Butterflies danced in her stomach from the excitement of the day and the prospect of a lifetime with the man who held her heart. Lost in thought, she jumped when the carriage door opened and both she and Jace laughed.

“Sorry about that. Got my head in the clouds,” Charlie joked.

Her escorts helped her step down and it was then that she saw exactly what Aaron and Aidan had been up to the day before. The meadow was filled with every purple, white, and silver flower imaginable, including hundreds and hundreds of daisies. A raised circle sat in the middle, surrounded by four archways pointing to the North, South, East and West, also decorated with flowers and hundreds of ribbons.

Four chairs resembling thrones sat at the head of the circular platform. Liam and Jace once again placed her hands on their bent elbows and led her to an ornate white chair on the side of the circle. The young men let go of her hands and took two very large steps behind, standing at attention.

From behind a line of white wooden panels that had been painted to match the décor, came the four Elders she’d met the day before. They walked in single file, stepped onto the raised platform, and took their places on the thrones.

Charlie then watched as the five men she knew were part of Aaron’s Force appeared. They were all dressed in the same dress uniforms as her escorts, but with surcoats depicting what Sam had told her were the colors of their dragons. Rayne stood at the head of the line in flaming red. Royce was next, and his beautiful royal blue surcoat with green accents truly fit the gentle giant that gave her mate as much trouble as he could. Next was Aidan, her mate’s twin, dressed in the same silvery gray as Jace and Liam. He winked at her as she looked from man to man.

The next in line was Lance, who attempted to look regal and noble in his dress uniform of gold and black, but had given Charlie so much crap since they met she grinned the cheesiest grin she could, making him chuckle. Last in line was Devon, in his opalescent white surcoat with the serene smile she’d come to expect from him.

A movement to the right of the Elders caught her eye. There stood Aaron in all his magnificence making her heart skip a beat. His short brown hair was messy as usual, but it was his brilliant blue eyes that captivated her. His shimmering dress uniform accentuated the muscular body she knew lay beneath it. His tight black pants highlighted his muscular legs and made her think of all the ways she wanted to love him.

Carrick cleared his throat before his voice rang out across the meadow. “Long ago, when knights and dragons fought side by side for King and Country, it became apparent that dragon kin was no longer safe from those that would expose and destroy them. They sought to join with the knights that had fought so valiantly by their sides. Thus, through magic and the will of both dragon and knight, the Golden Fire Clan of the Dragon Shifters became a reality. It was through the joining of many different clans that we have become the strong and powerful Force we are today.

“We are here, in the place of importance to the couple, long blessed by our ancestors that have gone before us, to honor what the Universe put into place all those many years ago. To acknowledge and bless the mating of Aaron Michael O’Brien to the one the Universe made for him, Charlene Ailsa Gallagher. Will those seeking to witness this union   please step forward.”

The Guardsman stepped forward, then knelt in front of the Elders and bowed their heads. Rayne stood, addressing the Elders, “We, the five of the MacLendon Force, wish to witness and offer our blessing to the union   of these two souls, two halves of the same whole. May they live long, fight hard, love harder, and produce many young to flourish when their souls have gone to the heavens.” He returned to his brethren, knelt, and again bowed his head.

Carrick began again, “Your witness and blessing have been acknowledged and accepted, MacLendon Force. Aaron O’Brien, you may go to your mate and escort her to the center of the Blessed Circle.” No sooner had the words been spoken than Aaron was standing in front of Charlie.

He took her in his arms, and then gently picked her up and carried her.

“You do remember that I can walk, right?”

“Yeah, but this is so much more fun,” he winked.

When they reached their destination, he carefully placed her on her bare feet, never taking his hands from her waist.

“The silver dragons were forged from the very fiber of the universe, and because of this, are often referred to as the ‘Shield Dragons’,” Carrick spoke with authority.

“They are protective to a fault and will fight to the death to defend those they hold dear. They have quick and ambitious attitudes and use a combination of their minds and hearts to make all decisions. They love hard, strong, and endlessly. They never lose faith in whom or what they believe in. To mate a silver dragon means to accept all that they are and honor the power shared between mates.”

“Now is the time of the marking. May the Universe continue to bless you and yours all the days of your lives together.”

Charlie watched as the Elders left the meadow. The guard then positioned the wooden panels around them, giving them privacy before making their exit as well.

Staring at the man that held her heart, she felt his presence not only in her heart but also in her soul. He winked, letting her know he’d heard her thoughts and that he felt it too. The longer they stared at one another, the bluer his eyes became, until she realized they were glowing.

A heat caused by more than passion, combined with wisdom even greater than his hundred years, shone out at her. Aaron lowered his mouth to hers, stopping just as their lips touched, and whispered, “Ta’ mo chroi istigh ionat,” before capturing her lips with his.

It was as if Aaron was everywhere. Charlie was consumed with a heat that set her ablaze from the inside out. She was laid open…body, heart, and soul, to her mate.

There was a sting on the left side of her neck that made her try to pull back. Aaron left her lips, trailing kisses across her jaw and down her neck, reaching the tender spot that had stung only a moment before. He licked and sucked the offending spot until all thoughts of anything but their naked bodies loving one another were banished from her mind.

Her fingers wound through his hair as he continued to lavish her neck and shoulders. She pulled his mouth to hers, kissing him until they were both breathless. Aaron pulled back and it was then that she saw the glint of a little boy with a secret in his eyes. She cocked one eyebrow in mock anger and asked, “What exactly are you up to, Mr. O’Brien?”

“Oh, nothing,” he joked before picking her up and carrying her back to her chair. “There are two really quick things we need to take care of before they come looking for us. One, is I want you to meet my dragon…face to face. If that’s all right with you?”

“Of course it is.”

He smiled like a kid at Christmas and jogged across the meadow. Stopping well out of range of her and everything else, Aaron stripped to just his pants, looked her right in the eye, and said, “Watch this.”

Charlie’s skin tingled as if hundreds of butterflies were landing on her right before her mate turned into a huge silver dragon with a black underbelly. Aaron lay down and chuffed in her direction as she heard his voice in her head, “Come over. I don’t bite.”

“Now, I know that’s a lie.” She laughed aloud, making her way toward the dragon.

The front of his snout and nostrils were black and led to numerous peaks and valleys running from his nostrils to his eyes. Charlie had never imagined there could be so many variations of the color silver, not to mention all the different patterns his scales made, and she’d only made it as far as his face. It was mesmerizing.

The scales around his eyes were much lighter, almost translucent, and smaller than any other she could see. They were layered together in a protective manner that also accentuated the large blue crystalline orb looking down at her.

A row of imposing spikes started in the middle of his head, growing in length and width as they ran down the entire the length of his spine, and ending just before his tail. Glancing back to his head, she saw he also had two very lethal looking horns growing from his brow ridge and curling back over his cranium for at least six feet.

She walked closer, placing her hand on the side of his muzzle, rubbing as she moved towards his wings. His were nothing like hers. For one thing, they were gigantic, even folded into his sides, with thin cartilage resembling veins running throughout. The skin felt like a heavy raw silk to the touch.