Her Druid Desire (The Amber Druid Series) (11 page)

           
He stopped speaking, and the muscles in his jaw tensed and rippled. He seemed
oddly upset about something that really was her fault. After all these weeks
she had had time to think, and it seemed to her that even though she was the
wronged party, she had caused all of this herself. She was to blame for her own
shame and humiliation.

           
First of all, she had basically allowed Donavan to date her simply so she could
keep her mind off of Drake. And even though she knew that she couldn’t have the
kind of relationship that he wanted them to have, it would have to be enough to
keep her mind and thoughts away from the dangerous man at her side.

           
“I knew what I was getting into when I started dating him,” she told Drake, as
he turned, giving her his full attention. His eyes were light in the dark
shadows on his side of the table. A warm rush filled Nadia. God, he was a
beautiful man. All hard ruggedness but with a soft, sensual mouth, that at the
moment, was firm and businesslike.

           
“Why would you do that to yourself? Isn’t that like aiding the enemy?” Those
eyes narrowed seriously before he spoke again, “And you can’t lie to me and
tell me that you actually wanted the man. Every time ya’ll were together it
seemed as if there was an icicle wedged between you two.”

           
Nadia gasped lightly but managed to still keep it quiet. The amazing insight
that Drake had was scary to her. How was he able to read her so easily? How
would she ever get away from the way he made her feel? Maybe she should make
plans to move away.

           
“Let’s just say it was something that was easily worked out between us.” She
licked her lips and didn’t go any further.

           
He scoffed from his side of the table. “I hate to see you wasting your time and
energy on someone like Donavan. You could have the pick of Texas society, yet you
settle on that trash.”

           
I could have you.

           
Nadia silently scolded herself, and tried to think of a way to change the
subject. The present one was upsetting her, causing her to think of things that
she shouldn’t.

           
Drake’s sudden movement out of his chair startled her. He walked directly in
front of her chair and held out his hand. “C’mon,
come
dance. You don’t need to be sitting here and moping around about some dick that
couldn’t do anything right.” His tall body was a huge shadow in front of her
and she couldn’t see anything except his outline from where she was sitting.

           
“Excuse me?” she questioned. He wanted them to dance. Them, both of their
bodies swaying closely while music played. Wouldn’t that be dangerous?

           
Yes, it’s very dangerous. Don’t do it Nadia!

           
“Yeah, you know, dance. We will move to the music and forget about this ugly
conversation we were having about your recent ex-bastard of a boyfriend.”

           
His words sent a warm thrill shooting through her body, but Nadia was still up
in the air about it. Apparently he could sense her hesitation.

           
“Nadia…come.” He gestured with his hand.

           
“Oh hell,” Nadia whispered, but didn’t question anything in her mind. She shut
off all cognitive function and stood up beside him, shaking in her boots the
entire time.

           
“That sounded extremely convincing,” he muttered to her, but when she glanced
up at him, he was smiling that crooked grin of his, and Nadia’s heart almost
exploded from pure excitement. How had he heard her whisper?

           
They neared the dance area where a huge parquet wood floor had been laid and
more than a few couples were dancing. The band was local and the song they were
playing was just ending when Nadia and Drake walked up. Immediately they
started a slow song. The strains of a recent Brad Paisley tune hit the air with
a sweet melody as Nadia stopped by Drake’s side.

           
She was eye-height with his breastbone when he turned. Almost instantly, he
grabbed one hand with his larger one, and the other settled at her hip, burning
her through the denim. Her mouth dried and her stomach caved. This was one
thing she had dreamed about since she’d been old enough to enjoy dancing. The
hard musculature of his body was inches, mere inches from her own, as he began
to move in time to the music.

           
Excitement was too dull a word; not even “enthusiasm” could cover how she felt
at this moment. Sheer pleasure bloomed deep inside her body. Every fingertip
tingled with anticipation while her booted steps kept in time with his. He
wasn’t holding her too close, but she was closer than most of the other women
were to their partners. The soft, sensual, woodsy smell of his cologne tickled
her nose whenever his big body moved. Her eyes caught on the neck of his tee
shirt. Even his neck was roped with muscle and tendons. She was sure if she
looked close enough, she would be able to see his pulse beating there too.

           
Shivering slightly at the thought of just how close she was to him, Nadia
immediately stopped as she realized her nipples were hard.

           
Shit.

           
“You okay?” His voice was deep, gravelly, and so damn sexy that she almost fainted
right there at his feet when he leaned down to whisper in her ear.

           
Oh, kill me now.
“I’m fine,” she said and continued to move, hoping like
hell he wouldn’t realize that her nipples were hard enough to cut glass, and
they were probably poking holes in his shirt right at this moment. Damn.

           
When seconds passed and he hadn’t made any jokes, Nadia relaxed a bit, until
his fingers tightened, bringing her even closer to that hard, hot body of his.
Now Nadia’s hips were moving daringly close to the front of his jeans. Hell,
she could practically feel the denim rubbing against her own. He maneuvered her
slightly, until their legs were opposite of each other, and every time she
moved her feet, her thigh rubbed the inside of his.

           
Her body erupted in heat. Never before had she felt this hot, this keyed up.
With every sway of his hips, and movement of their legs, her body was pulsing
in time to the music and their actions. Nadia couldn’t get enough of it, and it
was becoming harder to control her breathing when her body was zinging in all
the right places. Even the denim of her jeans was causing her sensitized skin
to quiver.

           
Oh, he feels so good. I knew he would. I have known it all along. All those
gorgeous muscles, moving like liquid fire against me, sliding those long
fingers over and around my hip with every sway. Dear God, let them play another
slow song.
However, Nadia doubted she would survive if that happened.

           
When the song ended, Nadia immediately stepped back. She was full of nervous
energy, and she knew better than to even glance at Drake. Thank goodness Renee
chose that moment to come charging in.

           
“Girl, my feet are about to fall off. Are you almost ready?” Renee gave her a
wrung out expression and looked towards Drake. “You don’t mind if I steal her
away do you?”

           
Nadia heard him say, “Not at all,” in his deep drawl, but she didn’t look back
towards him. Instead, she kept her gaze firmly on Renee as she started to propel
her towards the house. She saw Cole standing with some businessmen on the
patio, engaged in deep conversation, so she didn’t stop, but kept right on
walking until she stopped at her Land Rover. She could call him in the morning
and tell him her ‘Thank you’ then. Right now all she felt like doing was
getting home where she would be able to dissect every moment of that dance with
Drake.

           
Renee was a wonderful friend and Nadia was glad she had brought her along, even
if they hadn’t spent anytime together at the party. Nadia learned that Cole had
asked Renee on a date and it was unusual to see Renee so exuberant over a man,
but Nadia was happy that Cole was focusing his attentions on someone beside
her.

           
The drive was not that long, and Nadia pulled into her driveway around
midnight. She had almost made it to her back entrance, when a rustle in the
bushes beside her house made her jump.  Looking towards those bushes with
wide eyes, she grasped the small light on her keychain and shown it in that
direction. Small, yellow eyes stared back at her. The leaves rustled once more
and the small hawk flexed its wings and twitched its head directly at her.
Nadia had the distinct feeling that it would understand if she spoke to it.

           
Okay, those long hours are catching up with you honey. You need to get
inside and go to bed.

           
But she continued to stand there, transfixed with the small, regal looking
little hawk. Moments later it chirped out a little sound then took flight,
causing Nadia to jump and shake her head as she went inside, muttering to
herself about talking to animals when she knew they couldn’t talk back.

***

           
Drake hung up the phone after confirming with his pilot that he would indeed
fly out at 8:00 a.m. tomorrow morning. The trip to New York couldn’t be put
off. And since his mind and body were still in shock, he figured the event he
was flying out for would take his mind off of what he had just learned. But he
still had his doubts about that.

           
Sliding open his French doors that led out to his deck behind the large home,
he inhaled the early morning air, and let the soothing qualities sink into his
bones. The back of his home faced nothing but woods and Ridge Lake, something
that he was immensely fond of. This was the one spot where he could do or say
anything and no one would know about it. Since he was constantly catalogued in
the real world, by his every movement, it was nice to know that no one could
scale the large fence he had erected around his property and get in his private
domain.

           
The night air was humid, but still comforting as Drake stood there in his
jeans, barefoot, and let the sounds of wildlife cascade over him.

           
A small sound hit his ears. He turned towards the west and saw the little
nighthawk make her way into a graceful landing on the railing that surrounded
his deck. She preened for him, lifting her wings, spreading her feathers and
Drake smiled at her show. Her intelligent, yellow eyes looked directly at him
and she set her head into something that resembled a nod.

           
Ah, so Nadia
had
made it home okay.

           
“Thank you, honey. I appreciate the fine job you did.”

           
She gave a little trill of sound and then fluffed her wings before taking off
into the night sky. Drake watched her go until she disappeared from sight. Even
after all this time, it was still amazing to him that he could converse with
animals almost as easily as if they were human and holding a conversation with
each other.

           
Ever since his change at twenty-five, he had been gifted with a particular
specialty. That was one of his main abilities, among a few others that every
Amber Druid had. Each Druid had their own special skill, their calling card of
charms, so to speak.

           
Ramsey McMurray was a master of touch and could charm, sooth, and even kill
with that power alone. Brenan McKinnon was telekinetic, able to move objects
with his mind. Traven Campbell could spark electricity from his fingertips.
Little Liana, who was like a sister to Drake, could walk through walls. Kale
Morgan was one of the most powerful Druids that Drake had ever met. His
abilities were almost endless, mind reading, stopping blood flow, and his skill
at healing was absolute. The list of Druids and their powers went on and on.

           
Thinking of his powers caused him to rehash the scene from the barbeque
earlier.

           
The conversation that had popped up between him and Nadia had been interesting,
but what really caught his attention was what happened when they had started
dancing. He never would have guessed that touching her would have answered all
of his questions. He was used to assessing the situation without having to touch
anyone or anything. To say he had been surprised was an understatement. Now he
remembered the fire that arced from her and sent heat flaring inside his body.

           
Pure sexual desire had smashed into him the instant he had pulled her body
within inches of his. He hadn’t been expecting it and it had caught him off
guard, but just as immediately he stopped any reaction of his. The last thing
he had wanted was to send her running away from him, even when he knew that is
what he should have done at that moment. The hot trail of lust slipped under
his radar and slapped him into reality.

           
At first his mind couldn’t contain all the information she was sending him.
This
is what she felt every time he came into view. This burning, all consuming want
that radiated off of her in waves had left him pole axed, and he barely
continued dancing, knowing that at every moment, every time he was in her
sight, this is how she felt.

How
could she stand it?