Page 12 of 3013: Hellion

He wrapped his wings around them to protect them from the elements, then realized the rain and wind were no longer bothering him. A little concerned by the change, he broke the kiss and pulled back so he could make sure they weren’t in danger. The storm was still raging around them, but nothing was reaching them through the protection barrier that surrounded them like a magical bubble.

Relaxing a little, he stroked a gloved finger down her cheek, savoring that precious moment of quiet between them. He wanted to touch her, wanted to take off his gloves so he could feel her skin against his. He almost gave in to that urge but was distracted when she smiled at him.

His heart literally skipped a beat.

“Um, hi.” Fucking hell, he sounded like a brain-dead idiot. Staring at her beauty made him lose his ability to think straight. “My name is Xian Renn.”

“Greetings, mate. I am Jaya Tesera.”

When he retracted his wings, she cocked her head to the side. “Does that hurt when you do that? Put your wings away?”

“No.” When she seemed to wait for him to expound on that answer, he fought the urge to squirm. “It can be a little uncomfortable at first, but I’m used to it. Now, I barely notice it.”

“I wish I had wings in this form.” She pouted a little, then her expression brightened considerably. “Perhaps I can create a pairfor myself. I will wait until I can observe the process through you once we complete our bond, then I will see if I can replicate a pair for myself so we can fly together in both forms.”

The mention of mating with her had lust careening through his system, but the idea of her creating a pair of wings for herself left him feeling a little lightheaded.

“Both forms?”

“Aye. Since you are used to flying, you should have no problem doing it in your dragon form.”

Stars, he had completely forgotten that being a Dragon Warrior’s mate meant he would be converted into one. “Right. My dragon.”

That was going to be an experience.

She smiled. “Shall we bond now?”

For a moment, he thought his brain had simply short-circuited.

Was she asking to have sex with him right now there in the middle of a storm? Fuck yeah, was his first thought, then he belatedly realized how selfish that would be. He couldn’t put his own desire before the safety of everyone else on the island.

And he would never risk his mate.

“I, ah…would love to. Really. But I sort of have a pressing issue to deal with right now. There are two kids on this island that are in danger—”

“You mean them?”

His gaze tracked over to where she was pointing her thumb, and his eyes narrowed when he saw the two teens huddled together under the overpass. “Yeah, them.”

He grabbed hold of her hand and stalked toward the boys. He glanced over at her when she gave his arm a playful swing and was a little startled by how relaxed she seemed. She looked like she was taking a stroll through the park instead of maneuvering between a dozen spinning cyclones in the dark.

Her nonchalance made sense once he realized that the protection bubble she’d created was still surrounding them as they moved. The magic thing was going to take some getting used to, but he had to admit it definitely came in handy. He was a fan of anything that could protect them.

Even as he thought that, the tornados dissipated and the flood of rain changed into a light drizzle. Still, they had to get the fuck out of that section of the island before some other natural disaster occurred.

“Do you think they are mates?” came a loud whisper.

“After that lip lock, they must be,” Eddie answered. “Stars, that guy is huge…and he totally looks pissed. Fuck, let’s get out of here.”

“We can’t,” Cosmo reminded. “She trapped us under here.”

“I protected you,” Jaya corrected as she removed the barrier.

Cosmo quickly nodded. “That’s what I meant.”

Xian huffed out a breath and pointed a finger at the teens. “You two. Do you know how much fucking trouble you’ve caused?”

“What do you mean?” Eddie asked, trying to sound innocent.