Aaron signaled to her that they should fan out then close in on the guards from either side.
She nodded, surprised at how in sync their thoughts were. This immortal would have her back in a fight.
He'd cover for her and match her every combat tactic.
Her dragon swiped at her, an admonishment to her human half for ever thinking otherwise.
Her breath hissed out in shock.
Her dragon and human had always been in tune with each other. This was the first time her dragon had pushed her human half so, indicating once again that soon would come a time when it could not be controlled. Soon she'd have to give in to the dragon's instincts to mate with this male.
No, she could never do that.
For it would mean certain death for Aaron. That, she could not allow. She'd kill herself first, and her dragon with her, if that's what it took to keep him safe.
20
Hope
Hope ran in the opposite direction of Aaron before circling around to charge into the clearing, right as Aaron burst in from the other side.
With a hit to the temple, she took out one of the guards she'd seen earlier.
Aaron's actions echoed hers as he hit the second guard on the neck, knocking him out cold.
They dragged the prone bodies into the tree line.
Ridding the guard of his clothes, she tied the man to a tree. Then used his handkerchief to gag him.
She wore the guard's shirt over her own.
As she struggled with the sleeves, Aaron walked up to her, helping her to fold them up.
When his fingers brushed her forearm, heat surged over her skin.
She jerked away from his hold, ignoring those blue eyes that flashed sparks at her. Finishing up the other sleeve on her own, she walked through the clearing and toward the buildings they could see in the distance.
"You okay?" He fell into step with her.
She expelled a breath. "Why wouldn't I be?" She'd braced herself to meet his gaze, and yet the impact of that expanse of blue did funny things to her heart.
"Look." She raised her hands before letting them drop. "We both know my dragon has this thing for you, and we both know it's impossible for there to be anything between us. I don't want to make this more awkward for either of us—"
"Then don't." Aaron enclosed her hands in his much larger ones and simply held them there.
The warmth of his flesh seeped into her fingers.
She so wanted to move in closer, to touch her lips to the strong cords of his throat. She wanted to simply rub up against that broad chest.
"We work well together as a team, don't you think?" His voice was soft enough so only they could hear them. "Let's focus on the mission at hand and rescue the dragon shifter who's been kidnapped. We'll work our way through the rest later."
A part of her wanted to protest that there was nothing to discuss, that if they continued down this path there would be only death for him. That she couldn't bear to have anything happen to him, not when the woman in her wanted him, too. Except the human side of her was more practical than the dragon, who simply wanted to take what was hers.
Yet she could not resist the plea in those deep-blue eyes. Not when he was stripping away the barriers around her heart by just being who he was.
"Deal?" He tilted his head.
"Deal." She nodded.
The sound of someone making their way through the undergrowth reached her.
Aaron heard it, too.
Dropping her hands, he took a step back, schooling his features into a placid, almost emotionless look.
But those cobalt-blue eyes were a giveaway. They betrayed who he was: a living, breathing, vital warrior who'd do anything to save the ones he loved.
Reaching into the pocket of her shirt, she handed over the mirrored shades she found in it.
Aaron slipped them on, and of course, while they served the purpose in covering his eyes, they only added an air of mystery to his already devastating looks.
Pulling out the cap she'd carried just for this purpose, she bunched her hair up under it, pulling it down low enough for it to shadow her own distinctive eyes.
When Aaron led the way, she fell in behind him without comment.
It felt good to have a partner on the mission.
For so long she had worked alone. For so long her dragon—the more social part of her—had craved camaraderie on past missions.
Little had she thought that when she found the one she'd wanted to be with, he would be the one she couldn't have.
Then they were entering the garden that gave way to the complex of buildings which housed the Elysians.
The scent of rose and lily, all shot through with that particular scent of fire that indicted a fellow dragon shifter, drifted past her.
"I scent Mira," she called out in a low voice. "She went this way. Perhaps she escaped her captors?"
Beckoning him to follow, she veered right, following the spoor, then as the scent grew stronger, she broke into a jog with Aaron close at her heels. Another fifteen minutes, and they reached a beach. Beyond it, a small bridge led to an island with a single building on it.
Stopping to catch her breath, she wiped off the sweat from her brow.
"Is she on that island?" Aaron pointed across the bay.
"Difficult to tell because the scent vanishes here, but I am almost certain that's where she headed."
"Let's go while the beach is deserted and there’s no one to stop us." Aaron broke into a run.
He'd once more assumed the natural role of a leader. It was the force of his personality as much as the simple need to protect her.
Would he have done it if it was anyone else in her place?
Yes, Hope knew that to be true.
Yet both woman and dragon knew it was also because he was a lethal male who hadn't yet made up his mind on what exactly she was to him.
Aaron would always be a Guardian. Just as she would never stop being a fighter.
It would never be simple between them.
When this was over, she had to let him go. But would she be able to do that? Could she live without this man in her life?
21
Aaron
Aaron had sprinted across the bridge and into the gates of the garden surrounding the only house on the island.
Hope was just behind.
She followed him as he clambered over the railing and dropped onto the balcony. Ahead, the sliding doors were open to show a man and woman facing each other in the middle of the room.
The moonlight picked out golden flecks in the woman's eyes which were frosted-blue and shattered from the iris outward. The rest of her face was in shade.
She had to be the dragon shifter.
Her white shirt was splattered with scarlet. Her jeans were muddied. She was bare feet.
Moving forward, without making any sound, he slid through the open doors to hear the man say, "I won't hurt you."
The man raised his hands. His stance wasn't threatening. If anything, he seemed to want to soothe the woman.
Past him, he could make out the dragon shifter who stared up at him. She shrank against the wall, her arms wrapped around her waist in a defensive gesture.
Then the man took a step forward, into a pool of moonlight. It lit his features, and Aaron recognized the features of Zach, the Elysian leader who had teleported into their conference room in Bombay.