6. Female

Several days had passedsince Keldor stormed out of the chamber, leaving me aching and bewildered in the wake of our heated encounter. I had expected - hoped - that he would return shortly, ready to pick up where our passionate explorations had left off. Or at the very least, to offer some sort of explanation for his abrupt retreat and the sudden distance he insisted on putting between us.

But Keldor was nowhere to be found.

At first, I tried to convince myself that he needed a bit of time and space to process whatever inner conflicts were plaguing him. He had mentioned needing a respite to settle his turbulent emotions, after all. I could respect that, even if the sting of rejection still needled at my heart. I was no stranger to confusion and upheaval myself these days.

So I waited, passing the endless hours by exploring my new surroundings and committing every lavish detail of Keldor”s lair to memory. I marveled at the breathtaking vista visible through the immense windows, losing myself in the ethereal dance of Reazus Prime”s twin moons as they traced their celestial paths across the indigo sky.

Whenever exhaustion crept in, I would return to the sumptuous bed chamber and its plush, decadent comforts, thankful when no more nightmares plagued my sleep. More often than not, I would awaken from a deep slumber to find a fresh tray of food and drink awaiting me - delectable fruits and succulent proteins artfully arranged in a tempting display. The aromas alone were enough to make my mouth water with anticipation.

At first, I had been delighted by Keldor”s thoughtfulness, charmed by his subtle efforts to ensure I wanted for nothing despite his absence. As the days stretched on with no sign of the dragon himself, a nagging sense of unease began to take root. Why did he persist in avoiding me so determinedly? Surely he didn”t intend to provide for me like some kept pet while remaining an elusive ghost haunting the fringes of his own domain.

I had to know what was going through that complicated, enigmatic mind of his - what had him so shaken that he felt the need to shut me out entirely. He had been the one to initiate that searing intimacy between us, after all. The one to awaken desires in me I hadn”t even known existed until his scorching touch set my soul ablaze. Did he expect me to move on and accept his silent rejection, no questions asked?

The thought made me seethe with a slow-burning sense of feminine outrage. I was no fragile wallflower to be coddled and sheltered from the world. I had faced the unknown head-on, emerging from the ashes of my former life with a resilience and determination that even the most formidable of circumstances couldn”t shake. So I didn”t have my memories. So what? That didn”t make me incapable of making decisions for myself. I knew what I wanted.

If Keldor thought he could shut me out and move on from the undeniable connection that had ignited between us, he had another think coming.

With a resolute nod, I pushed away from the table holding yet another untouched meal and stalked toward the heavy chamber door. A woman on a mission. Enough was enough. If the dragon was too cowardly to face me himself, then I would have to track him down and drag the truth out of him by whatever means necessary.

I would not be so easily dismissed or discarded. Not by him, and certainly not by whatever demons still haunted the shadows of his past. Keldor Blazeclaw had awoken a fierce hunger in me, a yearning that went far deeper than base physical cravings. He had given me a tantalizing glimpse into the mysteries of his world, opened the door to wonders and revelations that my wildest dreams could scarcely comprehend.

And I would be damned if I let that door slam shut without first unraveling every last secret he sought to conceal.

With that defiant vow echoing through my mind, I flung open the door and strode into the dimly lit corridor, my bare feet whispering over the smooth stone with each determined step. Squaring my shoulders, I lifted my chin and forged ahead into the unknown depths of Keldor”s sanctuary, primed for battle.

That insufferable, maddening, ridiculously sexy dragon didn”t stand a chance against my own formidable will.

The dimly lit corridor stretched out before me like a beckoning path into the unknown depths of Keldor”s sanctuary. I followed the winding passage, my bare feet whispering over the smooth stone as I ventured deeper into the dragon”s domain. Finally, I emerged into a cavernous chamber dominated by sweeping arches and vaulted ceilings formed from the same dusky, iridescent stone as the passageways. This space, however, held an entirely different ambiance from the opulent luxury of the bedchamber.

It was a study of some sort, I realized, a place of quiet reflection and contemplation amidst an atmosphere of scholarly sophistication. Immense shelves lined the curved walls, their polished surfaces groaning beneath the weight of hundreds - perhaps thousands - of ancient tomes and scrolls. A large intricately carved desk occupied the center of the room, its dark wooden expanse littered with stacks of parchment, scattered quills, and several strange objects I couldn”t even begin to identify.

But it was the breathtaking array of technology that truly captured my attention and left me gaping in stunned awe. Shimmering, semi-translucent screens hovered in midair like ghostly mirages, their flickering surfaces awash with indecipherable runes and symbols that materialized and dissipated with each passing second. Keldor stood before one of the larger displays, his brow furrowed in intense concentration as his claws danced across an unseen control panel, causing the enigmatic text to shift and rearrange in kaleidoscopic bursts.

It was like something ripped straight from the pages of a science fiction novel, a scene of such technological transcendence that it made my mind reel. Nothing on Earth could have prepared me for the sheer, breathtaking immensity of the wonders surrounding me in that moment. I was quite literally an alien in an alien world, and the full weight of that realization slammed into me with staggering force.

Keldor”s deep, rumbling baritone shattered the weighted silence, his words laced with a grim undercurrent that sent a shiver rippling along my spine. ”You should not be here, female. These are matters that do not concern you.”

Slowly, I tore my gaze from the mesmerizing holographic displays to find Keldor watching me with an inscrutable expression, his piercing amber eyes glittering like molten gold in the muted lighting. My breath caught in my throat as I looked at him for the first time in days, struck by the haggard weariness etched in the sharp planes of his face and the shadows beneath his eyes. He looked utterly exhausted, as if he hadn”t slept a wink since storming out of my chamber in a swirl of roiling emotions.

My gaze drifted lower, taking in the half-empty crystal decanter and the tumbler filled with an amber liquid on the small side table beside him. Clearly, I wasn”t the only one who had been grappling with loneliness and inner turmoil during our self-imposed separation.

Squaring my shoulders, I lifted my chin in a show of defiant determination - though I couldn”t quite mask the tremor of vulnerability that crept into my tone. ”You”re wrong, Keldor. Whatever concerns you, it concerns me as well. We may have been strangers when you found me, but that”s no longer the case, is it?”

I took a hesitant step forward, then another, closing the distance between us as I struggled to put my swirling emotions into words. ”You can”t shut me out like this, not after everything we”ve...after how close we became.” Heat flooded my cheeks, but I pressed onward. ”I thought there was something more happening here, something deeper than just a rescuer and his charge. Wasn”t there?”

Keldor”s jaw flexed, his throat bobbing with a convulsive swallow as he warred with some internal conflict. At last, he exhaled a gust of heated breath laced with the smoky, woodsy scent of whatever liquor filled his glass. ”You are a perceptive female, I”ll grant you that. Dangerously so, for both our sakes.”

My brow furrowed at the cryptic words, that nagging sense of confusion rising anew. ”What”s that supposed to mean?”

Instead of answering, Keldor shook his head and turned away, bracing his palms on the desk as he slumped forward in a posture of utter defeat. ”I should have known better than to bring you here, to disrupt the solitary existence I had carved out for myself on this wretched planet. You”ve turned my entire world askew, female, and I find myself at a loss as to how I”m meant to proceed from here.”

My heart clenched at the weariness, the despondency saturating his words. Whatever had been weighing so heavily on him, it was clearly taking its toll in more ways than one. Carefully, I crossed the remaining distance between us and rested my hand atop his, relishing the scorching heat that radiated from his very being.

”Then we”ll figure it out together,” I murmured, giving his talons a gentle squeeze. ”Whatever paths lie ahead, we can walk them side by side from now on. You don”t have to shoulder these burdens alone anymore, Keldor. Not if you”ll let me in.”

My words seemed to pierce through the shroud of melancholy Keldor wore, his shoulders squaring as if bracing himself. When at last he turned to face me once more, his gaze burned with an intensity that stole my very breath. There was a simmering hunger in those molten depths, a banked inferno threatening to consume us both in its ravenous blaze.

Before I could so much as draw another breath, Keldor surged forward and captured my mouth in a scorching, all-consuming kiss. His claw cradled the back of my head, talons threading through my hair as he angled me for deeper exploration. I gasped at the sheer ferocity of his onslaught, my fingers clutching at the ridges of his shoulders for purchase as I was swept up in the maelstrom of pure, primal need.

Any lingering thoughts or questions I might have harbored scattered like leaves on the wind as Keldor”s questing tongue delved past my lips in a sensual duel of slick, velvet heat. A low, desperate keen vibrated in my throat as I surrendered to the dizzying onslaught of sensations bombarding me from every angle. The taste of him, the scent of smoldering embers and exotic spice, the searing caress of his calloused palms as they roamed with hungry possession - it was all so intoxicatingly overwhelming.

”Keldor,” I whimpered against the ravenous onslaught of his kiss, my nails scoring delicious trails along the flexing contours of his back. The hard planes of his body molded against me with exquisite precision, as if we had been crafted by the universe itself to fit together in perfect, divine union.

A low, rumbling growl reverberated through his broad chest as he wrenched his mouth from mine, both of us panting harshly. ”You test me, sweetling,” he rasped in a gravelly timbre laced with naked hunger. ”To temptation itself with that sinful mouth and those scorching caresses.”

With a powerful flex of his muscles, Keldor swept me up into his arms as if I weighed no more than a fallen feather. I clutched at him, my pulse thundering in my ears as he carried me toward the plush, oversized rug positioned before the immense hearth. The roaring flames cast a warm, flickering glow over the sumptuous furs and silken cushions strewn across the soft pelt, beckoning with the promise of sensual delights.

Keldor lowered us to the decadent mound of cushions in one sinuous motion, blanketing my body with his own as he settled between my parted thighs. The thick ridge of his arousal ground against my aching center through the thin barrier of our clothes, the delicious friction stoking the raging inferno coursing through my veins.

”Are you sure this is what you want, sweetling?” Keldor”s words were a scorching rasp against the throbbing pulse at my throat as he nuzzled along the sensitive column. ”There will be no turning back from the path we”re about to walk together. I need to hear the words, need to know you surrender yourself to me.”

I cupped his chiseled jaw, holding his searing gaze as I offered him the only truth that mattered in that endless moment. ”I”m yours, Keldor,” I whispered with a breathless conviction that resonated to my very core. ”Now and forever, through whatever destiny awaits us among the stars themselves. All I ask is that you never turn me away again, my dragon warrior. My heart and soul are yours to command.”

A muscle ticked rapidly in Keldor”s taut jaw as he absorbed the weight of my vow. Then, with a low, rumbling growl of pure masculine possession, he sealed his mouth over mine in a searing brand of dominance and need. There would be no more words, no more hesitation or doubts to hinder us. Only the joining of two souls destined to intertwine until the universe itself burned to cinders around us.

As Keldor”s sinuous length began a slow, torturous grind against my weeping core, I surrendered to the maelstrom with a shameless cry of rapture. If there were consequences to face for daring to love this magnificent creature, this fierce dragon warrior who had claimed my heart and set my very being ablaze, then I would face them without regret.