Forever Rowan Read online

  She tried to push him away, but he only swung her up in his arms.

  “What the hell?” she screamed as she pounded against his rock-hard chest

  He growled and Erin gasped as silver reptilian eyes stared back at her. Those sculpted lips came slamming down on her mouth. He kissed the breath from her. Electricity skimmed across the surface of her skin, burning every organ, every muscle.

  When he pulled back, his mouth was wet and she wanted to kiss him again. “What the hell have you done to me?”

  The man laughed. “Kissed you.” He thought it was funny, the way she reacted to his kiss.

  “I am Remy Monroe, Dragon Prince and you are coming with me.” Excruciating pain shot down from the back of her neck and spread throughout every single nerve ending. She’d never known such agony and it was more than her body could withstand. The world went black.

  * * * *

  The truck sped down the highway toward Aidan’s lair. It wasn’t far from the densely wooded area surrounding the Stone compound. How would Stone react if he knew he resided less than fifteen miles from a Dragon?

  The doctor and the other vamps headed back to Nic’s building. Only he, Rowan, Erin, and Remy were speeding down the road in excess of one hundred miles an hour.

  It was imperative to get Rowan back to his home. They might have a chance to save her and the baby. He shut his eyes against the tears burning behind his lids. He was not letting her go. If she died he would most assuredly follow her. But dammit, he wanted her to live. Wanted to raise their child together. He wanted to know his sister and return to his clan. To his family.

  Please, baby, hold on he begged over and over again as he held her tight. He directed Remy where to turn and as they made a right down what looked like a foot path, the tree branches widened enough to allow the truck through.

  A dragon’s lair could be hidden behind a thin veil of magic. The road rose off to the left, and then a large stone opening appeared out of a seemingly solid wall of stone.

  Remy maneuvered the truck though the small opening, slamming the truck into Park.

  He hopped out and opened the door for Aidan before grabbing a shocked and terrified Erin from the front passenger seat and following Aidan.

  They ran through several caverns until the familiar sound of running water began to echo off the walls.

  Through a small alcove he walked into his sacred pool. It was as beautiful as he remembered. An accomplishment since he hadn’t stepped foot in it since setting it up over fifteen years ago.

  Each dragon clan had such sacred pools in their homes where the altars to the Great Father and Great Mother were set up. Healing magic infused the natural minerals that ran in such waters. It was a place for cleansing, a place for healing and the only place where Rowan might be saved.

  He quickly stripped Rowan of her clothing as Remy lit the sacred candles rimming the cavern. The Princeremoved a pouch from around his neck and opened it, sprinkling powder from the pouch over the water. At his feet was a bag he’d brought from the truck, carrying his most powerful healing talismans.

  The power that filled the chamber was stronger than anything he could have accomplished alone. He carefully laid Rowan down next to the water and ripped his shirt off. Jumping into the pool, he pulled her cold body in. His chest was snug to her back as he made his way to the side of the pool.

  Remy removed his shirt and painted the ancient healing runes on his chest before holding up a large silver dagger. “Where was she poisoned?”

  Aidan steadied her thigh, which was black around the puncture site and beyond. The poison was slowly spreading.

  “Hold her tight, Aidan. This is going to burn like acid when I open the wound. I’ll shield you as best I can but you’ll still feel the effects of the taint.”

  “I don’t give a damn how much it hurts. Just save her.”

  The other man nodded and pushed the tip of the knife in at the injection point, splitting the skin open.

  Black mist and blood seeped from the open wound, combining into a putrid odor that made it almost impossible to breathe.

  Aidan spared a glance at Erin who was plastered against a wall, her big eyes wide with fear and grief.

  Remy squeezed Rowan’s thigh hard, and black ooze gushed out. When each drop hit the cool water it sizzled and hissed. Aidan felt the pain around his stomach and down his legs. His dragon skin helped to stave off the worst of the pain. But unlike the King who was immune, he was not.

  He bit his lip and held onto Rowan even tighter. It seemed like hours before the blood in the wound ran red. When it did, Remy mixed another concoction with the water and placed it in Rowan’s wound before hopping out of the pool and leaving the cavern.

  Aidan hiked Rowan into his arms and walked up the steps leading out of the pool.

  Remy returned with a large blanket, which he laid out on the altar. Aidan laid Rowan down and wrapped the ends of the blanket around her.

  “She doesn’t look good, Remy. I don’t think she’s going to make it.” As his broken voice whispered his thoughts, Erin screamed and ran to her sister.

  Placing her head on Rowan’s still chest she cried, “Rowan no, you can’t die. You are the strong one. You have to live. Who’s gonna watch out for me and Jenna?” She was hysterical. “Please sis, please come back to me. To us.”

  *

  Remy gently removed Erin from her sister, though she fought him like hell, spitting and clawing his face, screaming at him to leave her alone.

  He held her tight. “Shh. Let Aidan attend to her. If these are her last minutes he needs to be there.”

  Big blue-grey eyes stared up at him and Remy’s heart melted. This fragile woman was not the same female Jenna had described to him. She was lost in mind, heart and spirit. After being raised by the most heinous man known, who wouldn’t walk out of there full of scars?

  He had no way of reassuring her that Rowan was going to be okay. Black dragon blood was a vile poison and it was apparent Stone had killed one in order to get the toxin. Another sin to be laid at his feet.

  Erin buried her face in his chest. Sobs wracked her thin frame and he tightened his hold, whispering to her in Gaelic as he smoothed her dark auburn hair down her back.

  “We must leave them alone, Erin,” he whispered.

  She drew back, placing her hands on his chest, trying to push him away. “I won’t leave... What the hell?”

  Remy frowned as he realized Erin’s hands were burning him. He held onto her as a bright silver smoke rose from deep within his skin, sliding up her hands and continuing up her body until they were both bathed in the light.

  She gasped and struggled to break the hold his aura had on her. “Don’t move, Erin. The Great Mother has spoken.” Her body stiffened as she watched a blue haze escape her mouth. Her panic became almost unstoppable as she pushed and pulled, but Remy knew it was a futile effort on her part. They were mated, the decision final. He would know no other woman in his bed or in his soul. Their auras combined and the spell was broken. He wrapped his arms around her and removed her from the room. Aidan needed this time alone with his woman.

  Chapter Eleven

  Aidan ignored the soft rumblings of Remy as he removed Erin. He closed in on Rowan, touching her face, her neck gently as though she were made of glass.

  His hand skimmed down to her belly. “Rowan, my wife. Come back to me. We have a child we need to raise.” His tears fell steadily as she lay there unmoving. Her skin was a pasty white, her lips had turned a terrible blue. He was going to lose her. He kissed her belly, soft kisses, running his hands gently up and down her arms, trying to warm her cold skin.

  “You must come back to me. Do not let your father win, woman.” His tears gave way to anger as he shook her shoulders. Water dripped down his body; he was chilled to the bone but didn’t care. “Dammit to hell, Rowan. Wake the fuck up. Do not give up on me.” The minutes ticked by at a crawl and Rowan’s still body gave him no response.

  He
was mentally unable to continue without the woman who held not only his child but part of his soul inside her. It was the way of his people; joining your mate in death was an oft-used and acceptable practice. He knew he could never go back to the life he’d led before. Not when he’d experienced the freedom of love, the beauty of having a part of another person’s soul residing in your body.

  He kissed her softly on her lips. Crawling away, he snatched the dagger Remy had left lying next to the pool.

  He laid his head on her chest, her heartbeat was slow and sluggish. He closed his eyes and sang an old Irish ballad of love and loss. His smooth tenor echoed throughout the cavern as he sang to his wife and unborn child.

  As her heart beat its last flutter, Aidan brought the knife to his neck. “I’m sorry Rowan. I failed us all.” The knife dug into the side of his neck, and he bent down, kissing her stomach, then her lips before he brought the knife across the front of his throat. He calmly closed his eyes and prepared to meet Rowan on the other side.

  * * * *

  Aidan’s world went black.

  When he woke he was no longer in the pool chamber.

  He sat up. Rowan! His eyes darted furiously in his surroundings. She wasn’t here. What the hell had happened? Remy better not have saved his sorry ass.

  “Hahaha, oh Aidan, you are funny.” The light, airy voice approached from behind. He turned sharply as he rose to his knees.

  The small delicate woman was dressed in, of all things, a bright red ball gown, her golden hair a halo falling in long spiral curls down her back.

  She looked at him. “Do you not recognize me unless I am draped in flowing white robes?”

  Her voice was full of humor as his eyes widened. “Great Mother...”

  She took a small bow. “At your service, Dragon child.”

  He was stunned into falling on his ass. The Great Mother. How in the hell?

  “I must ask you to refrain from cursing in my presence. I find it so distasteful.”

  “And we don’t want to upset our queen, now do we?” Another voice spoke from the left. Where the Great Mother’s voice was light and sweet, this one was definitely male and booming. He followed the voice and there was an older man, dressed like a lumberjack in worn jeans and a plaid shirt. Long bright red hair flowed freely around his shoulders.

  The man approached the woman, placing a comforting arm around her. She reached up to place a chaste kiss to his cheek.

  “My wife has very sensitive ears, youngling. You would be wise to hold your tongue.”

  He was on his knees again, this time his head was bowed. The Great Father and Mother approached him.

  The delicate hand of the Goddess touched his head. “So much pain, so much guilt for so long.”

  “I deserve it. I failed to protect my sister and my wife.”

  “Oh, come now, you were but a boy. Not yet through your change.”

  “It makes no difference, Great One. I have failed all those who I dared to love.”

  “This woman, this human who now carries your child. Is she one you love as well, Aidan?”

  He looked up into her twinkling emerald eyes. “I cannot live without her. I will trade my life for hers and that of my child,” he pleaded. Anything to bring Rowan back, to ensure his child came into this world.

  The Great Father stepped forward. He bent down and balanced himself on the balls of his feet. “It’s heaven and hell to love a mate, is it not Aidan?”

  “No, Great Father. I only began to live the moment I touched her. Hell was every day that I lived without her.”

  The God stood and joined his wife. “Look upon us, Aidan of the clan Ghallager.”

  Aidan stretched his neck up to gaze upon the couple. They were holding each other, gazing at him with smiles upon their perfect faces.

  “Aidan, you must go back now. It’s not time for you to leave.”

  Aidan cried out, “Please, don’t make me go back. I can’t live without her.”

  The great Mother reached out and touched Aidan’s head again. “Sleep now, child.”

  He screamed no over and over as his world was once again black.

  * * * *

  A rough hand was pushing at his chest. Aidan refused to open his eyes. He was no longer on the cave floor. A mattress supported his back and he was warm and dry. The hand pushed him harder this time. He wouldn’t acknowledge whoever was trying to wake him up. The pain in his heart was unbearable.

  “Remy, he won’t open his eyes.”

  Rowan! Aidan’s eyes shot open, and there she sat next to him. Relief was evident on her face. He grabbed her roughly, pulling her on top of his chest. His mouth clamped on hers as he kissed her thoroughly, tasting all of her. He let up, moving his mouth from her lips to her shoulder where he fitted his teeth to his mark.

  Just like the first time, both of them exploded into orgasm. He couldn’t let go of his hold on her, even when she was fighting him.

  “Aidan, let go of her before you squeeze the air out of her.” Remy’s smoky voice filtered into the room.

  He let go and Rowan sat up. She was alive, they were both alive.

  Reaching out to touch her with one trembling hand he simply asked. “How? You were dead. How?”

  She looked back to the other man in the room. Remy stepped forward.

  “Aidan, they gave you back to us. Both of you. The Great Father and Mother gave you life again.”

  “But why? I thought I...” he let the sentence trail off. There were no words for what had happened.

  “I think that is obvious.” Remy smiled, looking at Rowan and the hand she was resting against her belly.

  Remy backed out of the room, leaving Rowan and Aidan alone. He was still too stunned to say a word. Rowan brushed her finger along his neck.

  “I should hit you for doing this.” He took her finger away and sucked it into his mouth, making her eyes cloud with familiar longing.

  “I can’t live without you. I would do it again if I had to in order to be with you and our child.”

  She slowly bent her head. “I love you, Aidan, my husband.” She dropped a kiss to his forehead, his nose and finally his lips.

  He tangled his hand in her hair and forced her mouth open. He needed to taste the honeyed depths of her sweet mouth. Tattoo her taste on his tongue. He pulled her on top of him so she straddled his chest, his tongue darting in and out of her mouth until they were both breathing heavily.

  “Its not enough, baby. I need to taste more of you,” he rasped against her mouth. “Strip,” he ordered.

  She laughed and stood on the bed, pulling her pants and panties off, followed by her shirt.

  He grabbed her knees and forced her down; when she would have landed on his chest again he slid down so her core landed on his mouth.

  “Oh my God, Aidan.” She mewed as his tongue split her lips apart and speared her wet depths.

  “Down on my mouth, Luv,” he commanded, pulling her even closer so she fit directly over his mouth. Her head fell forward on the headboard as her hips moved in back and forth over his tongue.

  She felt his skin grow harder and his tongue grew longer, reaching deeper within her. Touching her womb before pulling out again,

  “Oh Aidan, that feels so damn good.” Her cries grew even louder as that long wicked tongue hit her clit, sucking it between his lips. His large hands squeezed her hips, setting her tempo.

  She threw her head back as her thighs clenched his face, her walls tightened as her orgasm rumbled through her body, Aidan licking every last drop of cum from her pussy.

  He gently pushed her from his face and back down his body, her juices covering his mouth, jaw and chin. He licked his lips.

  “Ride me, baby, before I explode.”

  He watched in wonder as she slid down his torso, grabbed his raging hard-on. Instead of impaling herself as he ordered she ran her thumb through the liquid on his thick crown. His hips bucked upward. “Rowan, fuck me now, baby. I need to be inside you.” He wa
s as close to begging as he’d ever been.

  She smiled a wicked, knowing grin and grasped the base of his dick, placing it at her entrance. He was impatient to feel his wife and pushed her hips down in one smooth motion.

  Her squeal of pleasure rocked him to his soul as she began the slow motion of taking him. Her hips made delicious circles as she rose and fell. His hands gripped her ass, he knew she would carry bruises in the morning, and he would make up for it. But right now was not a time to be gentle; it was a time to renew their life. To bask in the glory that each was alive and would be together forever.

  His balls tightened as she set a blistering rhythm of ebb and flow. He placed one finger on her clit and rubbed. Her nails caught on his chest and she dragged them along his body.

  When he knew he couldn’t take one more pleasurable touch, she surprised him by grasping his balls, rubbing the tight sac against her ass. The sensation sent them both over the edge as Rowan’s pussy grabbed Aidan's cock in an iron fist and he shot deep into her, releasing himself with a roar that shook the bed, before Rowan finally collapsed against him.

  *

  Aidan rolled Rowan to her side, wrapping her in his embrace. She sighed and closed her eyes in contentment. She couldn’t stop placing little kisses to his chest. He was alive and he was hers. When she’d awoken from the poison to find Aidan lying so still, she almost lost her mind.

  Remy had pulled the knife from his hand before it cut his artery, ensuring his death. He explained to Rowan that a mate often chose to be with their deceased spouses, but only after a ritual was performed.

  The thought of him committing suicide sickened her. Remy had explained that dragons mated only once. They had only one shot at a family. To die with your mate wasn’t looked upon as suicide, only a continuation of a husband and wife being together, if not in this world then in the next.

  “You will never again try to do anything so stupid as to kill yourself, Aidan Ghallager.” She slapped his chest. His deep laugh rumbled in his chest as he grabbed her hand and kissed it.