Dragon's Pride (Dragon Blaze Ops Book 3) Read online

  “I can still sneak up on you, it seems.” Her smile faded. “Why haven’t you turned me in again yet?”

  “Because I’m not going to.”

  Clementine blinked, startled.

  “I believe everything you say, Clementine. And I can’t trust that the Pack doesn’t have more people on the inside, waiting to hurt or kill you. I took that chance once, and I’m not taking it again. I just wish I knew what I was going to do.”

  “So… you believe me?”

  Eugene set the fishing rod aside and turned to her. He’d snuck to the farm to grab one of Modir’s old dresses for her to wear. It was a little big on her, shapeless from years of use, but with her hair in a rat’s nest on her head and her large eyes peering at him, he didn’t care. She could have been covered in horse shit and he still would have pulled her into his arms.

  “I believe you. Every word. I’m just sorry that it took me this long to get my head on straight.”

  Clementine dug her fingers into his shirt, her breathing slightly hoarse. Sniffling, she pressed her face into his shoulder. “Then it wasn’t a mistake?”

  “What wasn’t?”

  “Us. Being together.”

  “No,” Eugene replied at once. “No, that was never a mistake. Not fifteen years ago, not now. I’m sorry. I really messed up. I should never have left you like I did. You were right. The timing was wrong. I just didn’t want to admit it because you were the only goal I had in life.” He pulled back and cupped her face in his hands. “And that was a terrible burden to put on you. I’m sorry.”

  Clementine nodded. “And I’m sorry, too. I’m sorry for freezing you out, rather than telling you what I needed when you came back. I’m sorry for not going after you.”

  “Oh, Clementine… you should never have had to.”

  Clementine shrugged. “Be that as it may, the fact is that I could have gone after you and I didn’t. I made terrible assumptions and let them fester. Then, by the time I let myself figure out why you really left, I was too stubborn and proud to track you down.”

  “And I was too stubborn and proud to track you down.” Eugene’s heart ached sharply, but there was a relief to being able to say all this, too. “I’m sorry that I never apologized. I shouldn’t have pressed you to start a new relationship when I wasn’t taking any responsibility for how the old one ended.”

  Clementine smiled vaguely. “Thank you. I think I needed that apology.”

  “Me, too. And I need to tell you…” He brushed his lips over hers. “I love you.”

  “I love you, too. Even though with everything else going on I don’t really know how we can,” she laughed even as she held him tighter. “How are we not exploding from emotion right now?”

  “Because we’re mates,” Eugene replied, lettings his hands start to roam over her body.

  He wanted her so badly that he thought he might just explode. Even if there was so much else happening, even if he didn’t understand a damn thing in his life right now, he understood his need for her. He understood that they were bound in ways that nobody could break, in ways that maybe even they didn’t fully understand.

  “We’re mates,” he repeated. “And we have always been mates. We might have spent fifteen years apart, but that doesn’t change it. I love you. I will always love you. No matter what. Do you know that?”

  “I do. Because I love you, too.” Clementine leaned her curvy frame against him and wrapped her arms around his waist. “I love you more than I love anything else in this world.”

  Eugene kissed her gently. “I’d love you even if you were the traitor.”

  Clementine stiffened. Her eyes widened and she pulled back. “But I’m—”

  “I know you’re not. I’m just saying.” Eugene shrugged and grimaced. “That was the wrong thing to say. I’m sorry.”

  Clementine bit her lip. “That kind of blind love isn’t healthy, Eugene. We can’t just ignore what’s going on because we love each other.”

  “I never said we should. I just meant that it doesn’t matter what happens, it doesn’t matter what you do. I will always love you. Until the stars grow cold.” His fires burned hotter and the need for her lips overwhelmed him. He brought her in tight against his body, pulling her snug into his arms. They kissed madly, scrambling at each other’s clothes, unable to stop themselves. Their tongues battled for dominance. So desperate was Eugene to have this moment once again that he didn’t feel the lingering chill of night, only the heat of his fires as they spread throughout his body. His loins tightened as he ground himself against Clementine, and she let out a gasp of delight.

  The euphoria of having her in his arms was more powerful than it had been at the cabin. Here, he knew there were not going to be any interruptions. There were no Blaze Ops waiting to drop in. No Academy looking to bring Clementine up on charges. Nothing but her and him and the blazing morning sky.

  Clementine tasted like home. Every touch, every kiss, was so familiar. It was like they’d been doing this their entire lives. And at the same time, the sparks that burst beneath his skin were so fresh, so new, it was as though he’d never kissed her before. His hands roamed her form, greedily memorizing every curve, every plane, every perfect imperfection.

  He lifted the dress to her hips, cupping her ass with his hands as he brought her closer. She tried to get at his belt, but he was too tight against her. He was already hardening, already eager to find his way home again. Clementine giggled and tore open his shirt, buttons flying every which way. Eugene started to pick her up, but she shook her head.

  “No.”

  “If you’re going to say you’re too heavy—”

  “No, it’s not that.” Clementine stared at him with eyes darkened with lust and need. “I know what you’re thinking. Go back to camp. But that’s going to take too long. Here. Now. I don’t want any arguments.”

  It’d be more comfortable in the tent, on the sleeping bag. But the look on Clementine’s face didn’t allow for him to argue, even if she hadn’t already taken advantage of his split concentration to undo his belt. She pushed his pants to his knees and took him in her hand, stroking him even as he brought her closer again.

  Part of him wanted to tell her that they didn’t have to rush, that they had all the time they wanted. But that would take too long, too. He fell back to her mouth, panting as she continued to stroke him. He worked his fingers between her thighs, looking for her clit. A cry burst from her throat when he found it. Their touches became more frenzied, more impassioned.

  “I want to taste you,” he growled into her neck. He was getting so tight it was difficult to think, but he wanted this. “I want to bury my face between your thighs.”

  In response, Clementine lifted her dress up and off her head. She used it to cushion herself as she found a seat on the large rocks nearby, bracing herself as a wind blew over them, turning her nipples into hard little points.

  “Go ahead, then,” she said, her voice husky as she spread her legs.

  Eugene moaned in need, lust, and love as he took in the sight of her. She was so goddamn beautiful, he didn’t know what to think. Not that thinking was needed.

  He stripped off his clothes, using them to shield his knees from the rocks as he knelt before her. He kissed his way up her thigh, loving the taste of her, loving everything about her. She smelled of the forest, of pines and river water. Her fingers wound into his hair as he buried his face in her. Her clit was a hard little nub as he licked and sucked on it, grinning when her unique taste increased.

  As she started to tremble, he took himself into his hand, stroking until he was grunting. Looking up at his mate, he grinned.

  “Are you ready for me?”

  Clementine moaned as she held her arms out to him. He kissed the inside of her wrist, working up to her elbow before he moved to her stomach. Her skin was so soft and smooth, he wanted nothing more than to be here forever. With his hand, he kept playing with her, keeping her on the edge of bliss. She shivered under
his kisses, her hands once more moving into his hair. She guided him up, moving his mouth to her breast, where he lingered, suckling at her as her hips jerked forward, a steady rhythm against his hand.

  “I want you,” she growled. “I want you right now.”

  Her position on the rocks didn’t give him the right access, so he picked her up and turned her. Holding both her breasts in his hands, he whispered, “Bend over.”

  Clementine kissed him once and then obeyed. She braced herself against the rocks as Eugene spread her legs a little more, then pressed himself between her thighs. She was so hot and welcoming that he had to hold his breath as he entered her, lest he lose control right away. He kept one hand on her breast, kneading it gently while the other moved to her hip.

  The soft grunts and moans of pleasure as they started moving together filled the air around him. Eugene watched as Clementine’s hair fell about her face. So beautiful. More beautiful than a summer sunrise. More beautiful than anything else he had seen before. His hands moved along her smooth skin, lovingly running over the bruises she’d sustained from her month on the run. There was a particularly bad one and he bent over, kissing it as though that would make all the pain go away.

  As thought became more and more difficult, as the world narrowed ever more to just the two of them, Eugene knew. He was going to do whatever it took. His mate would be safe. No matter what.

  Chapter Thirteen

  All day they made love, stopping only long enough to get back to camp, eat, drink and start again. By the time they were done, every inch of Clementine’s body was sore and aching. It would go away soon enough, she thought—or rather, hoped. She hadn’t been healing as well as she ought to have been this past month. When Eugene asked her about it, she said she thought it was due to the blockers having a long-lasting effect.

  The truth was, it was more than likely due to her pregnancy. With so much energy being rerouted to the growing fetus, it meant her normal healing processes were slowed.

  Now, as she lay in her mate’s arms and thought about what it meant to be pregnant now, she was overwhelmed with gratitude for that talk they’d had when they were both going through their sexual awakening. Waiting had been the right call. If they hadn’t had that talk, they wouldn’t have waited. Not with how in love they were. And if she got pregnant after just one time? Well… when they were teens, they wouldn’t have been careful, and it was a sure bet she would have ended up pregnant.

  Being a teenage mother would have changed everything. Clementine couldn’t say that it would have turned out worse than being accused of being a traitor, but she had a feeling in the pit of her stomach that, mates or not, it would have been difficult to survive that with their relationship intact. They had still been getting to know who they were and didn’t have the life experiences to take care of a baby.

  Now… Now, she didn’t know how to tell Eugene. He believed her and that made her happier than anything, but still... If he knew she was pregnant, it would be one more added stress. One more uncertainty that they’d have to deal with. And that wasn’t something she wanted to do.

  Eugene rolled over, wrapping his arm around her waist as he nuzzled into her hair. “What are you thinking about?”

  “Oh… life.”

  “Yeah?”

  Clementine nodded and fell back on the idle thoughts that had not yet grown enough to occupy her mind. “I was just wondering what our lives would have been like if we’d stayed together. I mean, you wouldn’t have joined the military, for starters.”

  “That’s right. I wouldn’t have. I’d probably be trying to take over the farm and driving my parents batty with it.”

  “We’d be married by now,” she continued, softer. “I’m not sure I’d have been able to wait another six years to marry you. I’d have wanted to be twenty at the youngest, but I think I would have gotten impatient.”

  “Unless we made a pact,” Eugene replied. He tickled her hip and chuckled in her ear as she arched herself toward him. “If we’d have done that, then between the two of us we’d have had enough willpower to keep from getting married until you were twenty. We’d probably have married on your twentieth birthday, though.”

  Clementine had to laugh. “Probably, yeah.”

  “And you would have gone through med school and I would have been there for you when your grandmother died.”

  Clementine shivered this time. The loneliness of losing her grandmother had driven her to seek out the first sexual encounter she’d had. The guy had been nice. They’d been dating for a couple of months. Her parents liked him. She liked him. But after they’d made love and that sinking, dirty feeling washed over her, she knew it had been a mistake. She’d only been able to keep up the charade long enough to get past the funeral before she broke up with him.

  It was a disaster that she regretted deeply, but the past was past. “I don’t think I would have.”

  “I’d have been there for you,” Eugene insisted. “I wouldn’t have left you alone.”

  “Yes, I know. I didn’t mean—sorry.” Clementine sighed as she turned around, so they were facing each other. The sleeping bag laid over them kept Eugene’s heat in, warming her. “I meant, I don’t think I would have gone through med school. After Grandma died… I had a lot of doubts. I wanted to quit it all. The only reason I didn’t was because I didn’t have anything else.”

  Stress lined Eugene’s face. “I wouldn’t have let you give up on your dream.”

  “Maybe. But I wouldn’t have graduated as early as I did. I wouldn’t have worked through my residency or managed to become a chief physician at so young an age.” Clementine sighed as she rested her head on his arm. “Maybe it would have been better.”

  “Because then you wouldn’t be mixed up with the Academy?”

  Clementine shook her head. “No. Because then I’d have you. God, Eugene… when I think about all the time we missed… I would have given up every bit of success I had to have a closer life with you. I hate that we ended up separated.”

  Eugene kissed her gently. “Me, too. But I guess the only thing we can do now is try to make sure we don’t get separated again.”

  Yes, that was all they could do. Clementine nodded as she took a deep breath. “Alright, then. So. What’s the plan from here?”

  “That’s what we have to figure out.”

  Eugene stretched and rolled out of the bed, making Clementine shiver at his absence. She pulled the sleeping bag tighter around herself as he shoved his legs into his pants. A frown crossed his face, and it wasn’t hard to figure out why. The situation was impossible. How could they plan anything from here?

  “First, we should get some food in us,” Eugene said. “You especially. You’ve lost weight.”

  “I know. It’s from living off of rabbits and squirrels for a month.” Clementine grimaced. She was hungry, she realized. Maybe a bit too hungry. “Do you have any fruit?”

  “Just some dried apples.”

  Eugene retrieved the snack, then ducked out of the tent. Soon, the scent of a fire wafted into the tent to Clementine. Reluctantly, she left the sleeping bag, dressed and joined him. As she started mixing the soup mix with water in a pot, Eugene fed the fire, both with sticks and with puffs of flame from his mouth. Soon, a healthy fire was going, and Clementine stuck the cooking pot into it.

  “It’s a tricky situation,” Eugene mused. “Technically, I should have called the Academy already.”

  Clementine sighed. Especially after Adam’s death, the Blaze Ops weren’t going to be all that willing to listen to her.

  “If we can find proof that Mark is a shifter, then we’d have proof that you’re telling the truth. Can you find shifters with bloodwork?”

  “Not unless you’re specifically looking for it. There are certain proteins. Even then, though, there’s a margin of error. Non-shifters sometimes have those proteins and sometimes shifters don’t have them. I mean, it’s likely that Mark has them, but it’s not definitive proof.”
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  Eugene sighed. “It’d be proof enough to keep you safe. The problem is, I can’t tell anybody to look for that proof without telling them about you. And then they’d be more interested in bringing you in than checking Mark’s bloodwork. It’s not good, Clementine. The only thing I can think of is calling it in and then taking off. Using payphones or burners to check in every now and then but staying on the lam. Which isn’t going to help much either.”

  “I know. But let’s look at this logically, Eugene.” She hated saying it but there were no other options, really. “You have to tell your team at least. You have to bring them in on this.”

  “They’ll want to hand you over.”

  “They won’t if you make it a term of our cooperation. We can stay at a safe house with one or more of them guarding us if need be. But you know that your team won’t turn their backs on you.” Not me. But you.

  Eugene sighed again. “You’re right. I wish that there was another way but…”

  “But there isn’t.” Clementine shivered, but not from cold this time. “We have to get this taken care of. And there isn’t any point in waiting longer.”

  ***

  After Eugene made the call, Clementine had to keep telling herself that she couldn’t throw herself into his arms again. It was all too likely that they’d end up in the same situation as before. She didn’t want to be caught naked like that again. Not now, especially. She twisted her hands as they waited, wondering and uncertain about how this was going to go. The Blaze Ops had agreed to meet them at the lake, but whether or not they were going to immediately take them back to the Academy was something else.

  Soon enough, four dragons dropped from the sky and shifted—Clementine’s eyes widened. Not four at all. Five.

  Eugene surged to his feet. “Adam?!”

  Clementine stared at him as he grinned weakly. A horrid scar was over his throat, red and vivid like a burn mark. He also looked rather winded and quickly sat on the ground while Eugene and Clementine were both stunned into silence.

  “Surprise,” he rasped, his voice deeper and huskier than it used to be. “Guess who’s not dead?”