Part 14 (1/2)

”I hope it has been for the good. I love you, my little warrior,” Mandra said tenderly brus.h.i.+ng a kiss along her lips.

”I love you too,” Ariel responded. ”Even if you drive me nuts sometimes.”

Mandra raised an eyebrow in question. ”You usually let me know when I do something that displeases you. I have a feeling I am going to be very good at that,” he muttered with a smile.

”Yes, you will be,” Ariel teased as she wound her arms around his neck and pressed a hard kiss to his lips in hunger. ”My dragon wants her mate.”

A rumble of a purr escaped Mandra surprising both of them as his dragon responded to her softly spoken words. Both of them chuckled at it. It would appear her dragon wasn't the only one impatient to go play.

”After we meet with Adalard's man we will go flying,” Mandra promised.

”Are you two love dragons ready to go or should I tell your uncle you were too busy to come after him yourself?” Adalard said leaning against the doorway leading to the front of the shuttle. ”I'm sure Zebulon, Bahadur, and I can handle this.”

Mandra shot a dark glare over his shoulder at the intrusion. ”Remind me to kick your a.s.s when this is finished,” he bit out.

Adalard laughed. ”As if you could, dragon prince. The Curizans are not easily defeated as you found out during the Great War.”

”You are lucky my brother thinks so highly of you, Curizan prince,” Mandra retorted with a slight curve of his lips to take the bit out of his words, ”I would hate to tell him I had to take a bite out of you to put you in your place.”

”All right, children,” Ariel said with a chuckle. ”Let's play nice. I want to stretch my wings.”

Adalard came up to stand next to Ariel. He took her hand in his ignoring her mate's dark growl at his touch. Lifting her hand to his lips, he turned it at the last minute and pressed a kiss to her wrist.

”Anything for you, my lady,” Adalard said with a chuckle as he moved quickly out of Mandra's reach.

Zebulon came up behind them, shaking his head. ”Adalard, are you irritating Mandra again? One of these days, he really is going to take a bite out of you.”

”Mayhap, but not today,” Adalard said as he pressed the release on the door to the shuttle. ”Today, we plan our attack on his uncle.”

Ariel watched as Adalard pulled a narrow board from his hip. With a flick of his wrist, the board expanded and he jumped on it with a cheeky grin. Her mouth dropped open as he leaned forward and took off across the sands at a rapid speed. It was some type of hover-board. It looked like a skateboard without the wheels.

”Curizans and their toys,” Zebulon muttered before jumping out of the shuttle changing into his dragon and speeding off after Adalard.

”You guys have the coolest stuff,” Ariel muttered as she moved toward the door.

”But it means nothing without you,” Mandra said pressing a kiss to her forehead with a sigh of pleasure. ”s.h.i.+ft and wait for me. I will make sure the shuttle is secure before I join you.”

Ariel nodded in pleasure as she let her dragon have her freedom. She was still a little hesitant about s.h.i.+fting but she was gaining more confidence. She felt the tingle and the movement along her skin before the world tilted slightly and she could see everything in sharp detail. She lifted up off the hot sand enjoying the feel of stretching her wings out. The heat of the moon felt good against her scales and she flew upward twirling as the joy of being free swept through her. Her dragon coughed out as she called out her happiness to her mate. Within moments, her coughs were answered by a deeper one as her mate joined her. Precious watched from the sand before changing to form armor over both of its mates. Heavy armor coated Mandra while a lighter suit of armor formed over Ariel's more delicate dragon. Ariel shook her head at the odd feeling of having something on her head but Precious would not budge. A wave of warmth flowed through her to let her know it was for her protection.

Come, little mate. The sooner we finish with our meeting the sooner I can have you to myself for a little while, Mandra whispered in dragon-speak.

Even the dryness of the planet is beautiful in its own way, Ariel said looking down on the desolate terrain.

It was true, Ariel thought. Through her dragon's eyes she could see the glitter of the different colors in the sand. It was as if tiny sparkles of light were captured in the grains. As they flew toward the rocky terrain, she saw the same glittering in the dark stone. They skimmed along the sands. At times, Mandra would let his claws dip down and make patterns in the soft grains. Ariel giggled as she watched him play. She knew he was flying slower than he normally would so she could have a little longer in her dragon form. It was the little things that he did that made her love him so much. Yes, he could be a pain in the a.s.s sometimes but he more than made up for it with his tenderness and thoughtfulness. She let her eyes roam of the brilliant sapphire and silver body of his dragon and couldn't help but feel the s.h.i.+ver course through her at the thought that he belonged to her and she to him. She didn't have the same feeling of unease as she did when she had been with Eric; the feeling of never being good enough or fear of doing something wrong. If she got mad at him, he wanted to know why and worked with her.

Mate is good for you, her dragon responded. You not think of other man. He bad.

Yes, he was bad for me, Ariel agreed.

Mate kill him for hurting you, her dragon said gleefully.

No! No, my mate not kill him. Eric is far away and can never hurt me again, Ariel said firmly.

No matter. Our mates have decided, her dragon said with a sigh. I like my mate tail. It big like the rest of him.

You are a h.o.r.n.y little thing, Ariel giggled as she found herself admiring the large tail swinging back and forth in front of her. You're right, though. He does have one good looking tail.

Mandra looked over his shoulder as he heard his mate purr. His dragon uttered a loud roar in response. He slowed enough for her to catch up with him. He loved how the light reflected off her rose and gold scales. It made both him and his dragon hard at the thought of taking her from behind. He wanted to grip her tightly under him as he pushed into her as far as he could go. His dragon emitted another loud roar as Mandra fought for enough control to wait until the meeting was finished.

Want to f.u.c.k now, his dragon snarled.

I want her as well but we must stay focused for a little longer. Then, I promise, then you can f.u.c.k your mate as long as you want, Mandra vowed as he watched his mate dip up and down over some of the rocks. Perhaps we can stay on the moon for the night.

Yes, stay! His dragon panted as it watched his mate swing her tail to one side so he caught a glimpse of her narrow slit.

Mandra laughed as his dragon drooled over his scrumptious mate. He knew exactly how it felt to want his mate so much it hurt. He would need to give his dragon time with his mate or he could become very dangerous.

Up ahead there is a cave. That is where we are meeting the others, Mandra called out to his mate as he surged ahead of her to make sure it was safe. Wait until I call to you before entering. I want to make sure it is safe.

Okay, Ariel called out not minding as it gave her more time before having to s.h.i.+ft back. She was still shaky during the transformation between her two-legged and four-legged self.

She watched as Mandra flew ahead of her and disappeared inside the narrow entrance. She was nervous about being able to fit. Shaking her head at her wayward thoughts, she chuckled. If Mandra could get his big old self through the opening she knew her smaller form would fit with no problem.

It is safe. Come to me, Mandra called out.

Ariel turned in a graceful swoop and leveled out. She pulled up at the last moment before folding her wings in and touching down on the uneven ledge of the cave. She wobbled before she found her footing and slowly moved into the cooler cavern. She lifted her head to look around her curiously as she entered. The cave was large and significantly cooler than the outside temperature. A s.h.i.+ver went through her delicate form as she moved toward Adalard and Zebulon who were standing further inside. The walls glimmered with the same sparkling lights that were reflected in the sands. Ariel felt a hand gently brush her side. Thinking it was Mandra, she turned her head toward it. She tilted her head in surprise when she saw it belonged to a man she had never seen before. His cool, deep violet eyes stared at her with an intensity that took her by surprise. She s.h.i.+fted back to her two-legged form and found herself in his strong arms.

”Let her go!” A fierce growl echoed through the cavern.

Ariel tried to straighten but found her legs were still shaky. ”Not yet,” came the husky response.

Her head swiveled back up to the face that was bent close to her. The man holding her leaned closer and breathed in deeply. She watched as his eyes darkened with desire.

”Beautiful,” he murmured.

Ariel raised her eyebrow in amus.e.m.e.nt. ”And painful if you don't let me go. If you don't believe me just ask Mandra.”

Bahadur let a husky laugh escape at the spirited response. ”I think I would find it worth the pain.”

Mandra pulled Ariel out of Bahadur's arms and into his with a dangerous snarl. ”She is mine!” He growled in a dark and deadly voice.

Bahadur let his eyes move slowly down Ariel's curvy form. He shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly as if he was not in the least concerned about p.i.s.sing the huge dragon prince off. He took a reluctant step back and bowed his head to Ariel.

”My apologies, beautiful lady,” Bahadur murmured before turning to Mandra who was glaring at him. ”I did not want her to fall and she seemed a little shaky for a moment,” Bahadur replied not sounding apologetic at all.