Page 15 of Protecting His Treasure

“Any day now, vampire,” Rhen muttered.

Kaede closed his eyes and muttered his new mantra, one he’d come up with ever since Rhen came to the compound. I will not break the vampire’s neck. I will not rip his head from his body and toss it into the Lake of Tears. The anger slowly left him.

“Use your words, dragon.”

And… it was back.

“Shut up, Rhen.” This time it was Morgan who said.

“Not you too,” Rhen muttered. “Go on, dragon. Tell us. I don’t have much time. I have things to do.”

Here goes nothing. “I feel…” Rhen and Morgan stared at him intensely. “I feel… a lot.”

“This that bullshit I don’t have time for,” Rhen stated. “I’m out. I got shit to do.”

“When I’m away from her, I feel violent.” Kaede’s confession caused Rhen to stop striding toward the front door.

“Now we’re getting somewhere. What else do you feel?” Rhen turned around and headed back in Kaede’s direction.

“Like I said, when I’m with her, I feel violent. I feel like destroying anything, everything. But, when I’m with her, it’s a struggle to keep my hands off her.”

“As for that last part,” Morgan started. “All newly mated males go through that. You’re in your honeymoon phase. You’re supposed to want to love on your mate. That’s natural.”

“But that’s not what Kaede’s talking about,” Rhen said, eyeing him suspiciously. “Is it, dragon.”

Kaede sighed then shook his head. “If it was normal desire, I wouldn’t be worried. What I feel for Sinclair lately is something different. Something more. Something scary.”

“I know you’ve been silent for a long time,” Rhen told him. “But come on. You’ve got to know more words than that. What is it? How does what you’re feeling differ from normal desire?”

“Because what I feel is scary.”

Rhen threw his hands up in frustration. Morgan massaged his temple.

“Kaede,” Morgan said. “I know it feels scary. What else? Describe the scary feeling?”

“It’s like talking to a child,” Rhen said.

Kaede searched his mind for the words.

You know the words, his dragon told him. You just don’t want to say them. You don’t want to think about it. And you damn sure don’t want them to know about it.

His dragon was right. So far, the Elders hadn’t helped. Maybe Rhen and Morgan could offer some advice that would be helpful.

“When I’m with my mate, I want to do things to her. I want to please her of course. But, sometimes…”

Rhen and Morgan stared at him intently.

“Sometimes I….”

“Go on,” Rhen said. “Say it. You can do it.”

“Sometimes I want to hurt her. Not kill her,” Kaede rushed to say. “I want to, uh, mix pain with the pleasure.” There, he’d said it.

“So, you want to have rough sex?” Morgan said.

“Not quite. Not just rough. I want.. my beast wants… fuck. Forget it.”

“You feel this way when you’re awake,” Morgan said. “What about when you’re sleep? Does these thoughts enter your dreams also?”