Bloodlines: Dragon Rider Book 2

Chapter 15: The Igloo In The Field Is Your Answer

    The adrenaline rush ended hours ago and finally, I feel the effects of being slammed into the back of my dragon's neck. My head pounds, making me see red and black colors occasionally. As I walk to my dorm I massage the sides of my head, wishing for a skin healer to fix the concussion. The pain could easily be erased if I weren't too tired and lazy to find a garden and pick out the needed plants for a brew that would ease my aching muscles and this ridiculous headache.

    I roll out the kinks in my neck and turn the doorknob. No one knew that The Darkening could control dragons. But now that I'm thinking about it, it makes sense. The Darkening is able to take control and revive anything that once breathed. Dragons breathe. Sharks breathe. Deer and bears breathe... The possibilities of its control make my head spin. Either that or it's the concussion.

    The book I stole from the professor's room is on my desk, if I can get to it I can see if it has any more information about The Darkening and its abilities. My eyes strain, forcing me to take long blinks. Riveta told me to sleep and to let my battered brain recover, but that book could provide the answers I need. Answers that every faction could use and maybe defeat The Darkening.

When I open the door, I flinch at the person pacing back and forth in my room. Easton stops, hands dropping from under his chin as I kick the door shut with a confused frown. "I thought you'd be with your parents?" I say, but it's anything but a scolding.

    I remember them hauling him back to the Main Islands to ask questions or strategize or plan. They didn't tell me much, just that I, once again, have proved my worth as a dragon rider. 

    "I was," he breathes, wrapping his arms around me. He crushes me with strong arms, but I don't mind the pain and hug back. I inhale a lung full of his scent that's difficult to name. He smells like a sunny day mixed with being up in the sky for hours. It's a clean and refreshing smell and I breathe it all in, smiling to myself. 

    His chest expands and collapses steadily against mine and a wave of calm rolls over me in a steady wave. I breathe out a long sigh that carries away every worry to ever cross my mind. He feels good. Strong pecs, carved abs. It's everything a girl could ask for. But I fall for his brilliant mind and the long nights we spend talking about nothing.

    He's my person, I think.

    When he takes my cheeks and runs a hand through my freshly washed hair, I try to decipher if he's more relieved or worried. I don't get very long to ponder or to stare into those green eyes I love because he crashes his lips on mine.

    I stand on my toes, trying to compensate for our height difference. "Thank the gods, you're alright," his lips move down my cheek and to my neck. "With all the blood... I wasn't sure if anything happened to you."

    "Sorry." I tilt my neck, exposing more of my neck for him. My hands rub his side, wishing I could push away any worry or doubt he had just as he does with me. "I'm glad you're okay. Abraxis too."

    His lips find mine again with a hard passion, and he walks me back until my fingers brush against the door. "Me too."

    I gasp as he pushes me against it. His lips moving against mine in a hot fiery passion that demands for me to open my mouth. Oh. For all my flirting and teasing, I fail to pick up on the most obvious signs of what he wants. I work quickly to right that and with nimble fingers, lock the door.

    My hands slip beneath his shirt and our tongues roll over the other. I wrap one hand around him and take a fist full of blond hair in the other. "Norah," he whispers slowly, prolonging each letter as if to savor them.

     My name has never felt so wonderful on someone's tongue.

    My body heats, stomach swirling with a growing flame. I lean into him, wanting so much more than just his lips tonight. I feel my hands moving on their own, undoing his belt and tossing it somewhere in the room.