Mannix Dragon Shifters

Chapter 11

JASMINE

Holy s**t. Had she really just seen what she thought she"d seen? Had he really said her name?

Jasmine"s heart thundered and her body thrummed with desire.

How the hell was she supposed to go to sleep now?

She swallowed and edged away from the door. Her toe hit the bedpost, but she bit back a curse before she said it. She couldn"t let him know she was awake… that she"d seen…

It was so wrong. So awful and terrible that she"d spied on him. But it was so incredibly hot at the same time.

The pale moonlight flowing in the front room windows had been bright enough to give her wicked memories. After she crawled on the bed, she closed her eyes to remember everything. His strong muscled arm, which had picked her up so easily in the forest, had jerked up and down. His large hand was wrapped tight over his length. The way he punctuated her name with a moan and then a grunt… Wow.

She bit her lip. That was one of the sexiest things she"d ever experienced and she wasn"t even with him. She didn"t need to push her fingers down between her legs to know she was wet… soaking wet. It would be so easy to do what he did. A release would be welcome after the stress and panic of today…

No.

She shook her head. Dragons were reported to have an amazing sense of smell. He would know what she was doing. And just because she knew he"d jerked himself off, she wasn"t sure she wanted him to catch her doing the same thing. Heat scorched her cheeks at the very idea of him walking in on her and watching her touching herself and mumbling his name.

Deep breath in. Deep breath out. Forget it. Don"t think about it.

Deep breath in. Deep breath out. Forget it. Don"t think about it.Gah! How could she even consider fantasizing about a dragon? They had taken so much from her today. Everything she"d ever known, worked for or loved was gone. Just like that.

Lust for one dragon in one moment of weakness wasn"t enough to make that better.

She clenched her hands into fists and willed herself to remember her big picture. If Kylan couldn"t reverse her exile, then she needed to have another plan. There was no better time than now to start brainstorming.

Which was exactly what she"d do when her body quit tingling and humming with s****l anticipation…

JASMINE

Giant gray wings beat at the air above her. The dull thump vibrated through her. Jasmine ran away from the beast and its urine-colored eyes. She"d never imagined a dragon would be so massive… or so scary.

Giant gray wings beat at the air above her. The dull thump vibrated through her. Jasmine ran away from the beast and its urine-colored eyes. She"d never imagined a dragon would be so massive… or so scary.Twigs and stones bit into her bare feet.

Twigs and stones bit into her bare feet.Hide. Get away. Run.

Hide. Get away. Run."Help…"

"Help…"She flailed against the strong grip on her shoulders. He"d found her. He"d—

She flailed against the strong grip on her shoulders. He"d found her. He"d"Jasmine."

He"d never spoken before. How did he know her name?

He"d never spoken before. How did he know her name?"Wake up."

She twisted in the tight embrace that trapped her. Caged her.

"Help me," she screamed.

"Wake up, Jasmine," Kylan said. "You are safe."

She blinked. Sunlight streamed over her, as did the realization that she was fighting her nightmare in the arms of a dragon. She froze, but her fear was already subsiding. This dragon didn"t frighten her. Panting breaths shuddered out of her.

Kylan held her tightly. Like a parent soothing a child, he stroked her matted hair and sweaty back as he rocked her back and forth.

"Is she okay?"

Oh, God, who else was there? Jasmine tensed. Another dragon was in her room. She turned her face into Kylan"s naked chest, hiding from the intruder. Instinctively, she knew the dragon holding her would not put her at risk. He would protect her.

"Shh…" Kylan murmured against the top of her head. "Don"t worry about him, that"s just Dillon. He won"t hurt you."

He loosened his embrace and leaned back to peer into her eyes. His forehead was furrowed in worry. He brushed away the tears she"d shed at the height of her nightmare. He was so close to her. So intimate and tender.

His hair was ruffled, as if he"d just woken from sleep himself. And his earthy scent flowed over her. Damn, he was sexy.

She leaned toward him before she realized what her body was doing. No. She jerked away. Then everything came back to her. His seductive whispers in the night were so fresh and real. The same hand gripping her now had stroked his length last night while he called her name. Heat swam over her. All the latent arousal she"d tried to banish earlier sprang to life again. Her gaze dropped to his mouth. What would he taste like?

"What happened, sweetheart?" he asked softly. His gaze locked on her face. She"d always believed she was good at hiding her emotions, but the way he looked at her made her question that.

"Can you read my mind?"

Laughter broke over them, but neither she nor Kylan was smiling. Damn, she"d forgotten about the other man. He must have opened the drapes when they"d come in to check on her. He stood by the window with light cascading over him like a halo. It was the man from her house… the man who’d stepped in front of the dragon.

"You…" Jasmine"s mouth gaped open.

The man, Dillon, winked at her and bent at the waist in a mock bow. "Hello again."

Kylan cleared his throat and Jasmine looked back to him. "No, we can"t read minds. If I could read your mind, I wouldn"t have had to ask what had happened, right?"

"I… He…" Jasmine pointed at Dillon with her thumb. "He was at my house."

Kylan nodded. He brushed his finger over her cheek again, but this time she knew there weren"t any tears. It just seemed he was doing it because he liked touching her. The light touch sent ripples of awareness fluttering over her.

"If you are okay…" He paused until she nodded. "Why don"t you dress and then we can talk?"

She swallowed. "Um, okay."

Kylan swept his lips over her forehead as he rose from the bed. She closed her eyes, savoring the feeling of his mouth against her skin. When she opened them again, he was looking at her. A bright blue glow flashed over his eyes, just as it had last night. The look on his face was intense. It made her want to tug him back onto the bed.

What the hell was the matter with her?

She averted her eyes downward… Oh lord, he was naked. She snapped her gaze away from the bountiful, enticing sight of his wonderland of a body. Want for him struck her like a pick-up truck.

Oh, God, was that the sound of both of them smelling the air? Smelling her arousal?

Could this moment be any more embarrassing?

They didn"t say anything, but simply left the room in silence and shut the door behind them.