The Bride Hunt: Lightning Dragon Part 9

"I figure I've pretty much slept as close as I can get to you the whole night, so why run away now? I need a minute or two to wake up properly. So if you don't mind ..."

He made a sound of affirmation. "Not at all." He began to play with her hair, threading his fingers through the strands. It felt so good. How could such a small thing feel so good? "Don't get any ideas," her voice sounded a bit on the husky side. Nah! She was still half asleep. "It's not personal or anything. It's just that I don't get much human contact, so this is nice."

"Non-human contact in this case."

"Same thing."

"Not really."

"Yeah, it is."

"Nope. Non-human contact is better every time," he sounded deadly serious.

"Oh my G.o.d, your ego might just be as big as your ... feet." She almost said c.o.c.k. What the h.e.l.l was wrong with her?

"This has nothing to do with ego," he chuckled, his chest vibrated, sparking interest from her nipples which were pushed up against said chest. "Non-humans have better senses."

"So?"

"We can pick up on subtle things like heartbeat, breathing. You probably didn't realize it but you actually let off a scent when you're happy, aroused, in pain."

"Wait a minute ..." She had to look him in the eyes. "You know when I'm aroused?"

He smiled and gave a nod. "Yes, I do."

That sucked. It sucked a whole d.a.m.n lot since she'd been aroused a ton of times in the last few days.

"Hey," he touched her cheek, which was feeling distinctly hot. "It's nothing to be embarra.s.sed about. Being aroused is normal. We are a male and a female sharing a small s.p.a.ce. You can deny it all you want but we are attracted to each other, so your body's reaction is normal."

She couldn't deny it. Tammy decided not to say anything more on the subject instead. She gave a small nod and tried to pretend it didn't bother her. Like it was nothing.

He continued to play with her hair. "We pick up on these changes and know if what we are doing is effective or not. We can feel it as well." He touched the side of her arm. "Even the tiniest of gooseb.u.mps or where a female is most sensitive. That way we can find the most pleasurable spots ..."

"Okay, I get it," she mumbled, trying not to let his words affect her body. It was time to change the subject. "How are you feeling?"

"Much better. I think I might be able to manage that walk on my own today."

"That's good news."

"I think I might even go and take a bath," he sniffed at himself. "I think I may have that BO you were talking about."

He still smelled really good to her. She lifted her head and sniffed at him. "I don't sm... what is it?"

His whole body had stiffened. His eyes had a strange look. "You shouldn't do that."

"What?"

"Sniff me. We discussed this yesterday, you may as well ask me openly to f.u.c.k you because it means the same thing in our dragon culture." He clenched his jaw.

Hearing him talk about f.u.c.king her made her c.l.i.t do that zing thing. Like a tiny electric current suddenly burst through her. She got this heavy, not unpleasant feeling in her lower belly. In short, she was h.o.r.n.y as h.e.l.l. "Oh!" A croak. "Sorry!" She moved away from him and he let her go.

"Just don't do it again." He gave her a pinched smile as he turned to face the other way and then moved onto his belly. "I might take you up on your offer next time."

She started to laugh. "As if!"

"I will, Tamara." His eyes bore into hers. "And if I start touching you, I can guarantee you that you won't ask me to stop."

No, she wouldn't. Yes, she most certainly would. No, no she wouldn't.

No sniffing him. No ogling him and no more getting aroused by him. He was not her type. Once they got back to dragon land she was headed home. Surely after all she and Thunder had suffered, they wouldn't make her stay her full two weeks? She sure as h.e.l.l hoped not. She couldn't take it anymore. She made her way to the fire and threw on a couple of logs, preparing to blow on the embers, when she heard him groan. Thunder was on his feet, his blanket tightly clutched around his waist.

"You okay?"

Thunder nodded. "Why? Want to come along?" He bobbed his eyebrows up and down.

She smiled and shook her head.

"Sure you don't want to hold my ..."

"No!"

"I was going to say hand, you pervert," he grinned.

"Sure you were," she shook her head and grinned back.

"Okay," he bobbed his brows again. "I was totally going to say c.o.c.k."

Flip! Her throat closed just hearing him say the word. c.o.c.k. He was right, they were attracted to each other. She was attracted to him because, well, you only had to look at the guy to understand why. He was attracted to her because she was the only woman there. Men were h.o.r.n.y b.a.s.t.a.r.ds. Thunder was no exception. His brow furrowed and he narrowed his eyes for a moment. "Are you okay? I was only joking. I'm more than capable of doing this on my own today and please do me a favor and throw me down a cliff if I can't hold my own c.o.c.k to p.i.s.s."

She managed a semblance of a smile.

"That's more like it, although not quite there. h.e.l.l, you can throw me down a cliff right now if it'll bring back that gorgeous smile of yours."

He was a really sweet guy. Even though he was just trying to get into her pants, she'd take it. Tammy couldn't help the grin that was unleashed.

Thunder grinned back. Man alive but he was a hottie. Blanket riding low on his narrow hips. His abs, chest ... he even had those muscles that ran along the sides of his ribs. Not to mention a face that was holy hotness on steroids. A face for TV, a voice for radio and a body for the bedroom. Yeah baby!

She caught herself licking her lips. Stop! She had allowed her brain to wander off again. Her eyes to wander. She cleared her throat. "Maybe killing yourself is a bit extreme."

He shrugged. "It would be worth it. Besides, I'd come back and rejuvenate unless I somehow managed to decapitate myself on the way down."

"Good to know, and for the record, I wouldn't smile if you threw yourself off of a cliff."

"Mmmm," a deep murmer. "So you like me after all."

"Like might be pushing it a bit."

He laughed, and then swayed a little on his feet but managed to catch himself. "I'd better get to it." He pointed in the direction of the exit.

She nodded, watching as he carefully made his way to the mouth of the cave. After a minute or two she couldn't see him anymore, could only hear his footfalls.

Tammy busied herself with getting the fire going properly. It was good to see Thunder back on his feet. Another day, two tops and he'd be able to change into his dragon form again, which meant that they'd be able to return to his lair. She looked forward to it even though she'd miss the big guy. As a friend. Someone to have a laugh with and to cuddle at night. Hey, it wouldn't take her long to get used to sleeping alone again.

"Penny for your thoughts."

Tammy jumped, she hadn't heard him sneak up behind her.

"Nothing important, just watching the flames. As a little girl, my dad would take me camping. He could only get leave once, maybe twice a year, if we were lucky. I loved those trips. We fished and slept in a tent. I loved watching the fire at night ... come to think of it, that's where I learned to make one even if I never did it myself. Anyway, it was great, we'd toast marshmallows." She had to smile as the memories came back. "We didn't have much money but we had each other." It sounded like a cliche but it was true.

"What about your mom?" Thunder leaned his big frame up against the wall.

She shook her head. "I don't have a mom."

"I hate to break this to you, but everyone has a mom."

"I don't." She was over her mom not being in her life. It was something she had made peace with. "She left when I was three. To be more precise, she left just before my third birthday, so no mom in my life. I don't even remember her. My dad has been amazing. The best." She missed him so much. "When I was six, he showed up to 'Mothers and Daughters Day', much to my delight and my teacher's horror. He even took me to buy my first bra. He's always been there for me."

"Sounds like a great guy." He folded his arms. G.o.d, even his forearms were hot. "Like he's a really nice person."

She lifted her eyes to his. Those purple-colored irises glinted in the firelight. His face was shadowed with stubble.

"Yeah," she nodded. "Really nice. He finally remarried three years ago and retired to Florida. I haven't seen him since but we talk often." She gave a laugh. "I told him I was going camping and that there'd be no signal." She gestured around the cave. "So maybe this is karma getting back at me."

"It could be worse."

She thought of Cloud and shivered. "Yes, it could have been."

"You are safe now."

"I know. I have my knife." She pulled the blade from its sheath in her pants.

Thunder shook his head, he looked solemn. "That won't save you. It's stainless steel. He'll heal too quickly. Don't worry though because he isn't coming."

She nodded. "You looked sad when we were talking about him the other day. You knew him, didn't you?"

Thunder gave a nod. "Yeah, he was once one of my best warriors."

"What happened to him?"

"His mate died. Part of him died that day. He hasn't been the same since."

"That's awful." She looked down at the ground for a moment.

"She was pregnant, already quite far along."

Tammy gave a sharp intake of breath. "Poor guy. No wonder he looks ... looked so lost, so haunted. He blames you. I don't know whether to refer to him in the past tense or not." She couldn't help but frown. "Why would he blame you for his loss? It doesn't make sense."

Thunder sighed. "In a way, it is my fault. I push all mated couples to procreate. It is my duty as the king of my people to see another generation born, moreover, to see female dragons born."

"Yeah, Roxy mentioned that humans only seem to be able to have boy children."

"And we are grateful and love our human mates." His eyes burned with such intensity that she could feel it. For just a moment it felt like he was referring to her but she wasn't his mate. She wasn't even dating the guy so it was crazy thinking. The way he looked at her still gave her a warm fuzzy feeling though, which she couldn't explain.

"Thing is," Thunder went on, "we need female dragons. It would be a shame if they died out completely."

"Terrible." She couldn't imagine it. What if all human women died out? As in gone forever. She wouldn't be there to see it since she was a woman but heck, it would be just terrible.

"We push mated couples to have whelps." He was frowning heavily. In that moment, his eyes looked just as haunted as Cloud's had been. "I even teased him about having weak seed. It was stupid since we both knew he wasn't the problem," he shook his head. "That's when he asked my advice about whether his mate should take the herb." For a long while Thunder didn't say anything.

"What herb?" It didn't sound good.

"Aside from very few females being born, many of the females we have do not go into heat and therefore cannot become pregnant. It is what forced us to seek fertile females elsewhere." He put up a hand and his eyes widened. "Do not misunderstand we ... we are greatly attracted to humans. We are highly compatible as a species. It is not a hardship but an honor to accept your kind into our fold."

Charmer.

"There is an herb that forces dragon females into heat. It works every time but only fifty percent of the females who take it actually give birth. The rest go into labor early ... they hemorrhage out before the baby can be born. It is the reason why so few females use the drug." He shook his head, his eyes hard, his jaw clenched. "We don't understand it. We don't normally die from such a thing. It's a slow death. An agonizing death. He asked my advice and I didn't dissuade them. I should have."

Tammy's eyes welled with tears. "I take it that you didn't encourage them either."

He shook his head. "I didn't tell him not to do it, so ..." he widened his eyes. "I may as well have encouraged them by default. I wish I could go back. I'd tell him not to do it. I have since banned the use of the herb."

Tammy already knew the answer. She needed to hear it anyway. "What about the baby?" A whisper. Her lip quivered.

Thunder shook his head. "Too young to survive."

"Cloud lost both his wife and his child?" A tear fell.

Thunder nodded. "Yeah. Six months ago. He's been in a bad way ever since. It's why I couldn't believe it when he asked to take part in the hunt. In the end, I couldn't deny him. I guess I did feel like I owed him something."

"You didn't." She wiped away the tear. At least he would be in a better place now. With his family.

"I have days where I feel like it's my fault, I should have told him ..."

"It wasn't your decision to make." She stood up and took a step towards him.

"Cloud blamed me, kept asking me why I didn't stop him. Asked me why I pushed so hard for whelps. Why I made childless couples feel inferior. I never realized I ..."

"That wasn't fair of him. You didn't force his mate to take that stuff. Don't do this to yourself. He's not all there. Wasn't all there," she pointed to her temple. "He told me that I was his mate, that you owed him so he was taking his payment in the form of me," she pointed at herself. "A human being. That's nuts. He thought he could rub my feet, give me a ma.s.sage and that I'd fall in love with him. I'm sad that he might be dead. He wasn't a bad guy at least I don't think he was but he also wasn't entirely sane. I can understand how the death of his family would do that to him, but you can't blame yourself."

Thunder stepped closer. He gave her a half smile before threading some loose hair behind her ear. "You're right. Thank you. I feel a bit better about the whole thing. I felt like I pushed him over the edge. I also felt responsible for his death as a result if he is dead that is."

"He almost killed you. He would have forced himself on me." She shivered again. "He had serious mental issues."

Thunder nodded. "I'm going to kiss you on the cheek now. Don't kick me in the b.a.l.l.s, okay?"

Before she could respond, he leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek, right next to her mouth. It was somehow better than a real kiss. It almost felt like he meant it. Why hadn't he tried to kiss her though? Why the chaste peck? Then she realized what he'd just said and that he'd said that to her before. "Why do you keep saying that? About kicking you in the b.a.l.l.s?"

"On the last hunt ..." Thunder's cheeky grin was back. "Blaze and I decided on which female we were each going to each take. I went for Roxy, unfortunately, she had decided that Blaze was her man right from the start. I guess I'm not used to a female saying no because I didn't even notice that she wasn't interested. I just leaned in for a kiss. Next thing, she kneed my b.a.l.l.s a shot. It was hands down, the most painful minute of my life. Not one I want to experience again."