Free Shades Of Dragon (A BBW Dragon-Shifter Paranormal Romance) by Catherine Vale Page A

mean they don’t still hurt.” Abandoning the remains of her haunch – which, admittedly, weren’t much – Ciara crossed the space between them, and knelt before Tegan to take his face into her hands. “And it also doesn’t mean that I can’t feel compassion for you. You deserved so much more than you were given.”
          “That means more to me than you’ll ever know.” Tegan closed his eyes as her comforting words washed over him, soothing the ache in his heart. The feel of her soft, feminine hands against his cheeks was like heaven; it was the kindest, softest touch he’d ever known and it made him ache for things that he shouldn’t ask.
          And when he opened his eyes to look into hers, he saw so much compassion in them he had to blink back the tears that threatened to spill from his eyes.
          “We should pack the rest of this up and find shelter,” he told her gruffly, not quite ready to confront the intense feelings inside him, feelings that told him he might just be falling in love with her. Which was preposterous, really, because he’d known her for less than twenty-four hours. Putting aside the remains of his meat, he rose to go, and put out the fire. The carcass was nearly picked clean – he had a monstrous appetite, especially after all that shifting – but he’d left a few pieces to wrap up in leaves so that Ciara would have extra food.
          “Okay.” She looked around, obviously trying to imagine where they were going to bed down for the night. “Are we sleeping under the trees?”
          He shook his head. “No, it’s too dangerous for that. All kinds of interesting animals and beasts come out at night, and it’s best not to leave yourself unprepared and out in the open.”
          They packed up everything, and Tegan led Ciara north, deeper into the forest, and then up on a ridge that climbed steeply. Eventually they found what he was looking for – an opening to a cavern that was large enough for them to enter, but small enough that something huge like a Rhino-beast would not be able to reach them.
          “Oh, this is perfect,” Ciara exclaimed with relief, peering inside. “It’s large enough for both of us and our things.” She started to crawl inside, and then stopped when she noticed that Tegan wasn’t following behind her. “Aren’t you coming in?” she asked, her voice suddenly small.
          Tegan cursed himself for the prick of guilt he felt in his chest, and he looked away from her wide, beguiling eyes. “I’m going to leave you here to heal,” he told her. “I have to go report to Grey before Prophet gets to him first, which is likely considering that I’ve lost so many hours making sure you were safe and could heal.”
          A flush stole across Ciara’s cheeks. “I’m sorry that I’ve been such a burden,” she said.
          More guilt flooded Tegan’s chest. “No, no, don’t worry about that. That isn’t what I meant,” he said quickly, wanting to take her hand and reassure her, but he knew that if he touched her he would go down that raging path of lust and desire again, and he just couldn’t do it right now. “I just mean that time is of the essence, and I need to get to Grey as soon as possible.”
          “B-but you can’t leave me here,” Ciara said, her voice trembling. “You can’t leave me alone in the dark, where animals can find me. I’m defenseless, and I’m also still bleeding from this wound. Something could come and attack me while I’m sleeping.”
          Tegan cursed at the truth in Ciara’s words. It was true; something could absolutely come and attack her while he was gone. And yet… “I’m going to cover the entrance with a boulder,” he said. “So that way we don’t have to worry about anything getting in here with you.”
          “No!” Ciara launched herself at him, clutching his legs and practically prostrating herself to him. “Please,