Stranded with the Cajun (Captured by a Dragon-Shifter Book 3) (3 page)

F
inally
. The gods had blessed him. Drake had found his mate. His one true wife.

They were meant to be together. Lori knew it as well. She’d said as much. She felt their connection.

Drake wanted to smile and shout to the cypress trees how happy he was to have finally found the woman destined to be his. It was just as the Draig elders had said it would be. When he’d opened his eyes that morning to find her tending him, he’d known. Something inside him had burst forth. However, with his somber responsibility to deliver the dead man to his family, Drake had to try very hard to remain calm.

There was not much he could do to prepare Big Daddy beyond wrapping him in a shroud. When he finished, he found Lori waiting for him near the house. She had just showered, and the mud was off her body. As she’d bathed, he had stripped off everything except for the arm bandage she’d made for him and rinsed off with a hose so he wouldn’t smell like the swamps. He slid on a pair of stiff jeans that had dried on the clothes line.

“Ursa will have a way to contact the authorities to bring the man home,” he said. “I radioed her to send help. Now we wait.”

“Why don’t you radio authorities yourself?” she asked. Her eyes were on his naked chest, and he glanced down wondering why she stared at him with such a strange expression.

“My radio only goes to Ursa,” he stated.

“This Ursa really keeps you under her thumb, doesn’t she?” Lori muttered.

“I do not—” He started to ask her to explain the comment, but she cut him off.

“I don’t see a vehicle. Do you have a way to drive out of here?” Her eyes finally lifted to meet his.

“No need. I swim or run when I need to go somewhere.”

“What about a phone?”

“No need. I have a radio.”

“That only goes to Ursa,” she clarified. “You are living off the grid, aren’t you?”

“Unfortunately, though this grid looks similar to home, I cannot survive solely off the land here.” He lifted the black device he’d found in the boat. “Does this flashing weapon belong to you?”

Lori chuckled and reached to take it. “I have never heard my camera referred to as a weapon before, but I suppose there is power in images.”

He enjoyed her smile. Their fingers touched, and he found himself unable to let go of the device. Instead, he used her hold on it to pull her closer. The magnetism of her body was unlike anything he’d experienced. His heart quickened like when on a hunt. His stomach tightened like in the lonely hours of the night. His mouth tingled for contact.

Drake had seen mating couples, knew what was to happen, but he’d never had the opportunity or inclination to touch a woman. Now the emotion was like a force of nature. He couldn’t help himself. Instinct took over, and he leaned his mouth to hers.

Heat infused him at the intimate contact, warming the full length of his body in a way the hot Louisiana sun could not. She made a soft sound. He broke the kiss to study her face.

Lori breathed heavily. Her eyes were closed, and she took several breaths before she opened them to look at him. “Why did you stop?”

“You protested,” he answered. “Honor dictates that I do not overstep. There are rules. No matter how badly I want to kiss you, if you protest, I—”

“That wasn’t a protest, Drake.” She wrapped her arms around his neck. “Not even close.”

L
ori wasn’t
sure what made her drop all inhibitions. She wasn’t foolish. Logically, she knew what she felt might be gratitude to her rescuer. Drake had saved her from the swamp.

But so what if she was grateful? He was also a handsome man who had enough kindness to help a stranger.

Plus, he had really strong lips.

Firm, strong lips.

Firm, strong, sexy lips.

What could one kiss hurt?

She pulled his mouth to hers, bringing him back into the kiss. He hesitated before touching her hips to draw her closer. The firm muscles of his body crashed into hers in full reality. The shock of complete contact made her forget everything but that moment. He slid his tongue across her lips, not dipping forward, but testing to see if she would resist.

Lori mimicked his movement before deepening the kiss. Every nerve sparked to awareness. One kiss turned into one touch, which turned into one grasp, one caress, and then another, and another…another.

Mindlessly, she continued kissing him. Her hands delved into his hair. She felt her body being lifted from the ground, but reason did not register.

Drake carried her inside the cabin. The window air-conditioning unit had dropped the temperature several degrees, but the heat from his body kept her warm. When her feet again touched the floor, she thought about pulling away, of doing the sensible thing. She knew she should stop what was happening.

Logic couldn’t override her need to be next to him. It was a primal emotion, an invisible pull that brought her gaze to his, her lips to his, her body to his. The light danced strangely in his eyes with an inner glow that entranced even as it fascinated.

“This doesn’t make sense,” she whispered.

“The will of the gods doesn’t have to.”

It was either the strangest or the sweetest thing a man had ever said to her.

Drake kissed her, cutting off any weak protest she might have tried to lay voice to. He walked her to the side of the bed. The mattress hit the back of her legs as he pressed her against it. His hands roamed over her sides and hips before cupping her ass.

“Condom?” Lori whispered as he lifted her onto the mattress.

“You are very beautiful.” Drake tugged at her clothing, easily pulling the athletic shorts off her hips. The shirt was soon to follow. His eyes pierced into hers, so intense she had to glance away. Heat radiated off him. His breathing deepened. The hypnotic pull of his naked chest drew her like nothing she’d ever experienced. With each touch, she fell deeper under his spell.

Lori didn’t believe in mindless desire or irrational decisions made in the heat of passion, but here she was stripping pants off a man she’d just met. She was careful not dislodge the bandage she’d made on his arm. Her hands trembled as she touched his hips. The tip of his naked arousal brushed against her.

“Condom?” she asked again. She was on birth control for pregnancy but prided herself on making good choices when it came to sex.

“You are very beautiful,” he answered hoarsely.

His kisses became aggressive as he pushed her back on the bed. The feel of his body over hers made it nearly impossible to concentrate. He touched everywhere he could reach, following his hands with an eager mouth as if he couldn’t explore her body fast enough, as if there were so many things to discover. She wanted him to slow, and yet there was something endearing in the enthusiasm he displayed.

“It’s not a race,” Lori said, chuckling as she tried to pull his mouth from her breast.

Drake lifted his head to look at her. “We will have festivities to celebrate our joining later. We may host a race if you wish. I will comply with all of your people’s customs. I know there must be flowers and cake.”

“You mean a date?” Lori couldn’t help laughing. Festivities?

“If you wish it to be formal we will set a date for the festivities. Whatever you desire, love, I will make happen.”

Love? She began to laugh again only stopped when she saw his serious expression. He looked as if he desperately wanted to start kissing her again but was waiting for permission to continue.

Trying not to sound critical, she probed, “How long have you been in this country? You speak English very well.”

“I came through the portal a few years ago. The gods sent me to New Orleans.” He gave a distasteful grimace. “I thought at first I was being punished for leaving home and had landed here to serve the penance of afterlife. The air smelled of human waste, and several of the people were diseased. The first night of my arrival, one woman warned of the LaLaurie spirits trapped in a large temple. They should leave the angry spirits offerings. Perhaps then the city would not be so cursed.”

“Diseased?” Lori took a deep breath. This was an odd conversation, to be sure, and definitely not the most romantic. She couldn’t help moving her legs restlessly against his thighs. He held himself very rigid.

“Yes, they were losing their meals in the cracked streets and dancing erratically. I do not know if the unbalance was a plague or the spell of the pipers as they played. Either way, I have never imaged diseased people to be so happy. Perhaps the musician doctors were doing what they could for them. The music medicine was strange to me, but the players were very talented. It was one thing I enjoyed of the city. The food smelled delightful, but I did not eat for I did not wish to join the locals in their torture.”

It took Lori a moment to process, especially since he was naked on top of her having this weird conversation. She breathed heavily, trying very hard to concentrate on his words. It was a little hard to follow his command of the English language. The ache inside her body intensified as he settled against her. “Oh, you mean you were in the French Quarter during the party hours.”

“Yes, I believe Ursa also said the people had the plague of the French Quarters. Apparently, people from your home world pilgrimage there to suffer. It makes no sense to me, but I cannot judge the humans’ rite of passage. My home world was cursed in its own way, but not to the depths of the French Quarters. For reasons unknown to my people—at least the common people, since the royals were never forthcoming about the problem—female children aren’t being conceived, and my generation has very little to choose from when it comes to finding a wife. It was one of the reasons I left. There was no future for me there.”

Lori was caught somewhere between laughter and confusion. Not that what he said was funny, so much as how he said it and his timing for the conversation. Musician doctors? Home world? She knew she should say something, but for the life of her all she wanted to do was kiss the crazy man and make him finish what they’d started.

He took a deep, unsteady breath. “Have you any other questions for me? I will answer them all dutifully, but I would very much like to continue what we were doing.”

“Oh,” Lori glanced down between their bodies. The ripple of his muscles hovered close to her stomach. Desire churned between them, and she couldn’t help lifting her hips. “I didn’t mean for you to stop and—”

“Then you are sure you want this?” he clarified.

Lori reached for his chest and rubbed her palms over his tight flesh. “I am here willingly, and thank you for being respectful enough to ask.”

A dam inside him appeared to break open, flooding out in a torrent of emotions. He kissed her passionately as if his very life depended on breathing her in. He stroked the curve of her hip and thigh, urging her legs to part for him. That first brush of intimate contact caused her to stiffen in anticipation.

This was really happening.

All thoughts escaped but the primitive drive of her body. Without realizing it, she had been starving her primal needs, and now they took over, bursting forth and demanding to be satiated. Ironically, she had told him to slow down. Now he did not go fast enough. She needed to feel more, needed him inside her.

Lori pushed Drake onto his back and straddled his waist. Grabbing his face, she kissed him, rubbing her tongue against his. Her hips worked over his, angling into the perfect position until she finally slid down on top of him. The fullness caused an involuntary jerk, and she gasped. Drake held her waist, keeping her body from retreating. He held her tightly to him, rocking deep. She gazed down at his passion-laden eyes.

Oh, fuck. This is really happening.

Nothing could have stopped her from moving on top of him. The need became desperate, demanding. She needed to feel him, needed to find that perfect moment of release.

Oh, fuck. Oh, fuck.

Lori met a hard climax and couldn’t move. For a second, tension seized hold only to roll away in glorious waves of pleasure. Drake cried out and gripped her tightly.

As the tremors lessened, reason flooded back. She looked down to their joined bodies. Lori pushed up, the logical fighting to take over the primal now that she’d found release. “Oh, no.”

His expression changed from one of pleasure to concern.

“We forgot protection. We shouldn’t have done that.” She stood and gave him a wary look.

“I don’t understand. Why would you need protection? Is someone out to harm you? The hunters…?”

“What?” She shook her head. “No, protection against STDs.”

He arched a brow, clearly still not understanding.

“Sexually transmitted diseases,” she clarified. “For what it’s worth, I shouldn’t get pregnant, and all my blood tests have come back fine.” She gave him an expectant look.

“You believe because I was in New Orleans I will disease you?” Drake slowly sat on the bed. “I assure you, I am honorable.”

“It’s nothing personal. You know how it is these days. The free-love movement is over. Now you have to—”

“You wish for me to secure a bride price for you?”

Lori laughed. How could she not? “Marriage? Oh God, no. I think what I’m saying is lost in translation. No, I’m not asking you to marry me. That would be ridiculous. I meant we shouldn’t have had sex without a condom.”

“I told you, you are very beautiful,” he stated. “Why do you keep asking for me to repeat this? Do you think my word will change?”

“I, um…what?”

“You keep ordering me to compliment you.”

“Condom?”

“Yes, you are beautiful. You smell nice. I like your skin. What is this ultimate compliment that you seek?”

“Condoms are what you wrap around your penis to prevent disease transmission and pregnancy.”

“I think you are mistaken. The sign with the smiling woman says,
Condoms: Pay her the Ultimate Compliment
.”

“That’s an advertisement,” Lori said. “It means wear a condom.”

Drake suddenly stood. He appeared angry. “You keep saying I’m diseased, and you do not wish to carry my son.”

“I am so confused right now.” Lori felt vulnerable standing naked before him. She reached for her borrowed shirt and shorts.

“What’s done is done, you cannot change it.” He apparently had no problem standing in nothing but an arm bandage.

Seeing his naked form made it hard to look directly at him. She wanted to forget this conversation, crawl back into his bed and start over. “I’m not saying I regret sleeping with you. I’m just saying that we should have thought about—”

“Are you, or are you not, my bride?”

That was the second time he’d mentioned marriage.

“We have fulfilled my people’s customs. We have stated our intention to be together and have mated. I believe you require a ceremony of flowers and cake. I have seen Ursa’s pictures.”

Lori really wanted to meet this Ursa, who apparently liked filling Drake’s head with half-explained nonsense.

“Oh, ah, we are not engaged to be married,” she stated. That much needed to be clear. Would she consider dating him? Yes. Would she consider sleeping with him again? Yes, as long as they got past this little bout of crazy. Would she agree to get pregnant with his love child without a serious commitment and careful planning? No. The logistics of a potential relationship were confusing—he didn’t have a phone or internet, and she didn’t live in the area.

“I see.” Drake grabbed a pair of jeans from a drawer and strode from the room. She watched his naked ass as he passed through the door. “I hear the sheriff’s car.”

Lori followed him but didn’t hear anything.

D
rake didn’t understand
what had happened. They were mated, weren’t they? At least according to his people’s custom. They’d both agreed and then shared a bed. That meant something. All right, so his cabin was no Draig marriage tent, and he hadn’t presented her to the dragon king and queen, but surely allowances could be made being as he was on an entirely new planet.

This was a test. It had to be a test.

But why? The facts were simple and unmistakable. Drake had found her. She’d agreed. They’d mated. The end. They were married according to the most fundamental of Draig traditions. Already he felt his body completely focused on her, each nerve reaching to join hers. Each thought ached to reach into her mind and communicate.

He’d seen her that first night on the boat, felt her familiarity even though he didn’t know why at the time, and he’d innately known. That was how it worked. One second was all he’d needed to feel their bond, and he had given her hours to decide—plenty of time. So then why was she acting like they were nothing?

Drake walked out onto his lawn. His shifter hearing had picked up the sheriff’s car about five miles down the road. As much as he wanted to present his mate to witnesses, a somewhat traditional gesture to finalize marriages, he maintained his distance. If she didn’t want to be with him, maybe he could undo the mating process. If he didn’t tell a witness that he’d slept with her…

Seeing her on his porch staring at him, he knew it was too late. He had found his woman, and she no longer wanted him. The warrior in him wanted to fight for her, to demand she love him, stay with him, mate with him. The dragon in him wanted to snatch her and hide her away until she realized what he already did. The man in him knew he was honor bound to respect her word and not force himself on her if she no longer wanted him.