His emotions twisted as he wondered what do next. He wanted to take care of her, if only she'd let him.
"Go after her, Aaron." The nurse patted his arm. "She's far away from home and must be feeling lost, poor thing."
He made to follow, when the nurse's voice stopped him.
"The dragon shifter needs you. She's just too proud to let you know. She'll want you with her, especially when her sister is in a coma."
Acknowledging her words, Aaron followed Hope into the waiting area outside the operating theatre where Vance was still with Eve.
Hope sat in the chair, facing the operating room. The wind from the sea blew in, lifting her hair and flinging it over her shoulder, but she didn't seem to notice. Her fingers were clasped together in front of her, the tips of her knuckles white.
When he walked up to her, Hope didn't look up, her gaze unwavering on the door as if she were willing it to open. Slipping into the seat next to her, he felt the tension coming off her in waves.
Aaron knew all he had to do was reach out through the mating bond to comfort her, yet he hesitated.
He could feel the mating bond throbbing through him. Could smell her scent of vanilla and spice that wrapped around his mind.
There had been no indication from her, that she acknowledged the bond.
Her dragon brushed up against his senses, trying to coax him into pouring his feelings toward her.
Reaching out, he placed his hand on hers.
Aaron couldn't trust himself to speak, couldn't have spoken the words if he wanted to. He let his emotions bleed through his fingers, trying to tell her how much he wanted to hold her, that he was there for her.
Hope's fingers gripped his. "I'm sorry." She swallowed. "I shouldn't have accepted the mating bond. But, right then, it was the most natural thing to reach out to you, to face the enemy together." She bit her lip. "My dragon just broke through my shield and completed the mating bond."
"Liar."
"What?" She turned to him, green eyes widening.
"You heard me, baby. You are lying to yourself if you lay all the blame on your dragon."
"What the—?" She tried to pull her hand out of his.
He held tight. He wasn't going to let her go, not yet.
It satisfied him to see color back in those cheeks, those eyes snapping with flecks of gold.
He'd meant to distract her. He'd succeeded.
He wasn't pretending his anger when he said, "Is it so difficult to tell me how you feel, when I can feel you in my heart, in my soul?" His heart hammered. "You are in me, Hope. Your dragon breathes fire in my blood."
48
Hope
He was killing her with his words. That look in his eyes echoed everything she was feeling.
He'd saved her life and helped her save her race.
She could tell him what she felt for him. That much she could do.
She swallowed, her stomach fluttering. "Since I saw you at Alex's bar, I knew it was you. My dragon accepted you at once…and I resisted it for so long." Her lips parted. "With Eve hurt and the Elysian overpowering both you and me, it was the most natural thing to accept the bond."
She leaned forward, breath quickening.
"I had to join with you to overcome the threat. I don't regret it, Aaron. But you must know, I never meant to hurt you. By accepting the bond with you, I put you in danger."
Her fingers tingled where they touched his.
And Aaron? Those beautiful cobalt-blue eyes of his darkened. He was looking at her as if she was the most precious thing in the world.
The dragon inside her stretched in sensuous pleasure, bathing in the attention of her mate.
Dragon 3. Woman 4.
No. No more games.
Hope didn't need to play games with herself, not when her dragon and the woman inside were in perfect harmony.
Both agreed on what was needed.
His fingers slid up her arm to rest against her cheek.
Heat from his touch bled into her, sending a pulse of such desire, such longing through her.
Molted need tugged her belly. "Aaron." She pressed her thighs together.
Her voice seemed to galvanize him into action.
His head swooped down, his lips slanting over hers.
Liquid pleasure pulsed straight to her core. She should protest and tell him he shouldn't be doing this, that this would only deepen the bond, that it would only hurt him.
The thought had her tearing her lips from his, even as her body swayed toward him. "It's only a matter of time before the impact of the psychic bond becomes too much to bear. I can't live with myself if something happens to you. Do you understand?"
He cupped her cheek. "I am not going to die."
The arrogance in his tone startled a smile out of her. "You stubborn man, you. You think you can fight the impact of the psychic bond? No other species has survived mating with a dragon."
"I am an Ascendant. An immortal." His eyes narrowed. "I am not going anywhere."
The tenderness in his eyes mixed with a glint of stubbornness.
"How can you be so sure?" she whispered.
"Just look inside yourself. Tell me what you see." He covered her eyes with his fingers, so her eyelids fluttered down.
As she sank into herself, her dragon drew her spirit to the psychic plane, and she gasped.
The cobalt blue that was Aaron had twined with her green to form a shimmering cord that bound them, and as she watched, a spark of gold zinged down the bond from her to Aaron.
Her dragon fire united both of them in a way that was so unique that her chest tightened. Her breathing grew shallow. They were so beautiful together.
He gripped the nape of her neck.
The gesture was so possessive, that her lips trembled in a smile.
They belonged together.
"How is it possible?" The surprise shimmered through her as she tried to make sense of what she'd seen. "It's as if our psychic energies are…"
"In sync?" The smug tone of his voice had a smile tugging at her lips again.
She nodded and found she could still speak. "We are beautiful together. My dragon was right all along. It's as if the force of the psychic energy was absorbed by the bond so it didn't harm you." Her pulse raced as hope bloomed inside.
"The excess energy from the mating simply flowed out of the bond and into the psychic web Aaron shares with the rest of us Ascendants."
The new voice had Hope turning.
"Kris," Aaron exclaimed, looking at the tall, muscular male, who'd just walked in. "I thought you were on your honeymoon."
"We arrived in time for the naming ceremony for Leana and Mikhail's child." The petite, curvy woman who held Kris’s arm smiled.
Hope cleared her throat. "Did we interrupt the festivities?"
"The mayor has postponed the ceremony until your sister is fully recovered." Kris' features softened.
"The overflow of energy that poured through the psychic web, it didn't hurt anyone, did it?" Hope rubbed her arms and darted a gaze at Kris.
"On the contrary," Kris chuckled, "it has given me a stamina boost." He pulled his giggling mate close to his side, leaving them in no doubt of exactly how he planned to work off that excess energy.