Watn ignored the grumbles as he had for the past several days. His patience was wearing thin with these people, but he wasn’t going to cause trouble. Apparently, the people making threats toward Hazel had sent in some statements being very specific about what they wanted to do with her. Watn didn’t know what the details were, but he wasn’t about to risk alienating the people who did.
“Wait and see,” Bruce continued to grumble. “Just you wait and see. It’s only a matter of time before they start stealing our women. Locking them up in towers. Filthy animals.”
Watn flipped the sausages, biting his tongue. He couldn’t hold it in, though. “I can hear you, you know that right?” He glanced at the FBI agents to see the terror on their faces. “Apparently, you did not know that. And as for dragons kidnapping your women… Why would we kidnap anybody when they’re already throwing themselves at us?”
Bruce narrowed his eyes.
“But then, seeing the way that you Earth men treat your women, I can see why you’d be afraid of losing them… after all, why choose a snarling dog who thinks himself her master, when she could have a man who supports her as a partner?”
Bruce’s eyes flashed. He started forward, raising his fists, but all Watn had to do was spread his stance a little for the human to back down. It was almost laughable. He had a lot of talk for his buddies, but that talk couldn’t be backed up when he faced a real threat. Watn was only glad that Hazel didn’t have to sit here listening to all this on her own… he couldn’t imagine what these bastards might try with her.
“Well, guess we have a feminist here,” Bruce sneered, apparently deciding that his pride couldn’t stand to be silent.
Watn had heard that word before. Feminist. He wasn’t exactly certain what it meant, only that some people used it as a badge of honor and others like it was a dirty insult. Same with words like gay and queer. He didn’t quite understand all the minutiae of the politics behind it, but he didn’t really care. Bruce was trying to insult him, that was clear enough from his tone, but his attempts were laughable at best.
“If that means I’m not a rat-faced hypocrite, then sure, I’m a feminist.” Watn winked at the agent. “So, tell me, does your wife know about the prostitutes you hire?”
Bruce’s face paled. “What the hell are you trying to do?”
“Make conversation, I suppose. Please answer the question. You were calling Hazel things like ‘whore’ last night.” It had taken both Jord and Vindr to hold him back from attacking at the foul names. “And that for wanting the door shut while Hyrr watches over her as she sleeps. You were also complaining about your wife telling you that she’s been faking orgasms for years. So. Does she know that you’re a whore who pays women to have sex with him because he doesn’t know how to please her?”
“You bastard!” Bruce let out a shriek as he came at Watn swinging.
Watn almost grinned. He spread his stance and absorbed the impact of Bruce slamming into him. Then, using the other man’s weight, he twisted him around and threw him to the floor. Bruce snarled and lashed out again. This time Watn grabbed the fist, flipped him over, and pinned him face-down with a knee in his back.
“Let him go!” One of the others, Carl, drew his gun and pointed it at Watn’s head. “Right now, Dragon!”
Watn glared at the agent. “He’s the one that attacked me.”
The doors to outside and the bedroom opened. Jord, Hazel, Vindr, and Antonio all came in. At the sight, Hyrr seized Hazel’s shoulders and spun her, pushing her back into the bedroom. He slammed the door behind him. Through the bond, Watn could sense him letting the others know that he’d barricade the door and shelter Hazel if violence broke out.
“What the hell is going on here?” Jord snarled.
The gun was still leveled at Watn’s head. He hesitated for only a moment longer before he released Bruce so that Carl wouldn’t get trigger-happy. Bruce scrambled to his feet, red-faced and looking furious. Carl still didn’t lower his weapon.
“Watn!” Jord’s voice cracked through the air. “What is the meaning of this?”
Watn got to his feet and glowered back at Jord. “He was running off his mouth so I gave him back what he was giving. The boy couldn’t take it and came at me fists swinging. All I did was put him down. He’s not even going to bruise.”
“That’s not what happened,” Bruce interrupted. “Carl and I were minding our own business when this lizard starts talking smack about my wife. What was I supposed to do, just ignore him? It was a mistake to bring these reptiles in, Antonio. You know it as well as we do. Get rid of them already before they blow this mission and get the target killed.”
The target. Not even a name, just the target. Who did Bruce think he was kidding? He didn’t care about Hazel. He wouldn’t lift a single finger to help her if she was actually in danger. His teeth started to grind together, but a sharp shock through the bond kept him quiet. Jord was furious with him, and not without reason. He shouldn’t have let it escalate like that.
“Regardless of who said what,” Antonio cut in, “you were in the wrong, attacking him. And you, Carl. Drawing a weapon when Want was clearly restraining Bruce?”
Watn scowled. Did the human mispronounce his name on purpose? The ‘n’ is silent you dimwits. Why is that so difficult for you?
“And you.” Jord poked Watn in the chest. “What were you doing, antagonizing our allies? Your behavior is disgraceful. Apologize now.”
Watn let out a furious hiss. What did he have to apologize for? All he’d done was tell the truth!
“Do it!” Jord growled. “Or I’m taking you off—”
“Perhaps,” Vindr cut in, “we should take this outside?”
Both Jord and Watn glared at him, but neither of them protested. Jord turned on his heel and marched back outside, clearly expecting Watn to follow. He did reluctantly, and only because he didn’t want Jord to take him off their mission in front of the likes of Bruce and Carl. His hands clenched and his fires roared as they marched out several meters away from the house.
Jord turned on him. “You know how important this is, why can’t you just behave yourself for once in your life?”
“He’s the one who attacked me.”
“You ran your mouth off.”
Watn snorted. “You would have, too, if you’d heard what he was saying. He’s making all us dragons out to be lust-hungry rapists and I’m supposed to just be quiet and take it?”
“No.” Jord’s stance lost some of its aggression. He rocked back on his heels and ran a hand through his hair. “No, you’re not supposed to just take it. But you have to think about the bigger picture here, Watn. We can’t protect Hazel in the current atmosphere. You know that as well as I do. The people after her might find out where she is, and then what? We have to trust the humans to have our backs, and we have to have theirs.”
“We’d do better on our own.”
“Maybe,” Jord admitted with a half-smile. “But it’s political.”
“Politics,” Watn sneered.
“Which is why we have to be on our best behavior. We can’t change attitudes large-scale unless we are willing to work with individuals. Now I know it’s hard. I know that these humans like to bait us and there doesn’t seem like a single good reason to get along with them. Hell, I’d prefer to take Hazel and fly out far away from here, where we can be sure she’ll be safe. But the fact is that if we do that, then we’ve kidnapped her. The king is having enough difficulties as it is. We have to work smoothly with the FBI.”
Watn shoved his hands in his pockets, still scowling. He understood what Jord was saying, but he disagreed with one major part of it; he didn’t think these humans were going to change their minds about dragons, and therefore there was no reason to try. It was just a waste of time.
“Now,” Jord continued, his voice hardening again. “I know it sucks, but you are going to have to apologize.”
“I’ll say I’m sorry he’s a sack of shit but—”
“You are going to apologize.” Jord shook his head. “I don’t want to have to take you off this detail, Watn, but I will.”
He was serious and Watn knew he was. And it sucked. More than the apology, it sucked that Jord was forcing him to apologize. He shouldn’t have to! But… but if this was what it was going to take to make sure he could stick around and keep Hazel safe, then he didn’t have much choice. Even though Bruce deserved a kick in the teeth more than any sort of apology.
“Well?”
Watn rocked back, sucking his teeth. His fires flared hot, but he made himself nod. “Fine. I’ll apologize.”
Jord studied him before nodding. They went back into the cabin together. Antonio looked pissed off, almost as much as Bruce. Carl looked furious, and the fourth member of the FBI team, whose name escaped Watn for the moment, had a carefully blank expression.
Grinding out the apology was one of the hardest things Watn had to do. Bruce sneered at him when he was done, but it was Antonio who accepted the apology. Then, Watn retrieved the now-burned breakfast and loaded it all into one deep dish. He took it into the bedroom for Hazel, even though he had made enough for everybody.
“Is everything okay?” she asked him hesitantly when he sat down on the bed.
Hyrr silently headed for the door, sensing that he needed time alone.
“It’s fine.” Watn glared at the food. “I burnt your breakfast.”
“I don’t care about that.” Hazel put a hand on his shoulder, her gaze intense. “Tell me what happened.”
Part of him wanted to refuse, but the gentle insistence of her voice was too much for him to deny. He told her everything, including his frustrations with Jord. When he was done, she embraced him. She didn’t say anything, not that he would have wanted her to. She just held him. And slowly the knots in his stomach unwound. Jord was right—he knew that.
All the same, he was glad to have Hazel to hold. It was nice… nice to talk out his feelings, rather than have them automatically known. And it was nice that she would comfort him, without being asked. It was just… nice.
Chapter Five
Vindr
It was important that none of them get too distracted by Hazel. Vindr understood how difficult that was. Hazel was a beautiful woman. All curves, with that delightfully red hair that reminded him of fire when it sparkled with hints of gold and amber in the sunlight. Her eyes were like jewels, her smile like a rainbow after the storm. It was when he saw women like her that Vindr thanked whatever deities ruled his life that he was attracted to women.
But she was a distraction. More than ever, he wished he hadn’t been the one to bring up the possibility of her joining with them. If he hadn’t been the one to suggest it, then perhaps his words would have more weight if he suggested pulling back from the possibility now.
Of course, the fact that she was receptive to it… that made things rather difficult. Vindr wanted her. He wanted her as much as the others did. Whenever he thought of her, his fires burned a little hotter. Since being here, guarding her in such close quarters, there was more than once when he spent a little longer than he should have in the bathroom, relieving some of the pressure building from unprofessional thoughts.
If it wasn’t for the FBI agents hanging around all the time, Vindr was certain that this would have turned from a protective detail to sporting all day long. Well, at least as much as Hazel was willing to take.
It wasn’t just the physical desire that was bothering him, though.
After a week of being at the cabin, the FBI were all called away. Antonio glared at the dragons suspiciously, but he loaded up his men and took them off to answer their superior’s calls. Vindr was glad to see them go; Hyrr and Watn disappeared into the bedroom with Hazel and soon the sounds of kisses filled the air, but he knew it wasn’t going to go further than that before they were all part of it. In the meantime, he had a few things he needed to talk to Jord about.
“You remember our oath, right?” Vindr asked his leader, leaning against the wall while Jord stared at the bedroom door with desire and uncertainty warring on his face. “If anyone of us aren’t comfortable with an idea, we don’t pursue the woman.”
Jord turned toward him. “I have been sensing some hesitation from you. Do you want us to pull back?”
Vindr rolled his eyes. “I was reminding you for your sake.”
“So, you don’t want to step away from Hazel?”
A shocked cry from the bedroom turned into fits of giggles. Both Vindr and Jord stepped toward the door. The desire rippling through the bond between them was only strengthened by the desire and pleasures that Watn and Hyrr were experiencing. Vindr growled low in his throat, frustrated because he wanted to join them as much as he wanted to stop them.
“I’m asking what you want,” Vindr managed to say, turning back to Jord. “Are you uncomfortable with how this is progressing?”
Jord gave him a wry smile as he ran a hand through his hair. “The problem isn’t that I’m uncomfortable with it and you know it. The problem is that I’m far too comfortable with it. I don’t know what exactly I’m feeling, but it’s… deep. Deeper than maybe it should be. But I don’t want to get in the way of your guys’ fun, especially since Hazel is open to the idea. It’s been almost a decade since Anabel, and masturbation only goes so far.”
Vindr scowled at that. It was true enough. “You know what? This would be so much easier if we were just each other’s lovers.”
“A sentiment I’ve heard from you before.” Jord grinned at him. “It would be easier, wouldn’t it? But sex without the physical attraction isn’t much better than masturbation. I mean…”
“I know.” Vindr sighed. As much as he loved being attracted to women, with the situation the four of them were in, it would have been easier had he and the other four at least shared their attraction between men and women. “Alas, it’s not for us.”
Jord patted his back. “I’ll be fine. With the Hazel situation. I can keep emotional and physical desire separate. She’s hot. Can’t wait to see what she can do with that mouth of hers.”
Vindr groaned as desire washed over him, making him harden. “Me, too. I want to see if her breasts are really that big, or if she uses the Earth contractions to make them bigger. I’d kill to see her in a shift and corset.”
“Mmm,” Jord hummed in agreement, his eyes becoming slightly glazed. “Maybe once the threats have been dealt with.”
Vindr nodded. That would be good, indeed. In the meantime—Hazel giggled again and he longed to know what they were doing—he had to keep it in his pants.
“Shit,” Jord breathed.
“What?” Vindr turned to see an FBI car pulling up to the cabin. He frowned as Bruce and Carl stepped from the vehicle. “They’re not supposed to be back yet.”
His fires flickered higher and a prickling ran over his arms, the feeling of his scales preparing to burst through his skin. Something was off.
Jord gestured to Vindr to follow him, and a slight pulse through their bond had the kissing noises from the bedroom halting. The two dragons left the cabin, with Vindr staying near the door while Jord went to meet the two agents. It could be nothing, but with the suddenness of Antonio being called away, and now these two returned? Vindr had been in situations where he’d been stabbed in the back before.
This felt like one of those times.
Bruce strode toward Jord, a smirk on his face, while Carl hung back slightly. Vindr noticed that his hand was close to the weapon at his hip.
“Back already?” Jord asked in a carefully cool and casual voice. “Did you boys forget something?”
“Nope.” Bruce brushed aside his suit jacket and stuck his thumbs in his belt loops. His eyes glittered as the grin widened and distorted. There was something very menacing about him. Like he’d learned something that he was certain was going to give him a one-up on the dragons. “This is our detail. Hazel is under our protection. We don’t need you lizards around here. So why don’t you
take your friends and split out of here before you end up causing more problems than you have already?”
Antonio’s absence was doubly suspicious. Vindr watched carefully. When a nudge came through the bond from Jord, he nearly balked at the order. Nonetheless, he slipped back into the house. The nudge was enough that he knew what Jord wanted. After centuries of working with each other, of course he knew.
Hyrr and Watn were already coming out of the room, their expressions tense and focused. With Jord still out talking with Bruce and Carl, Vindr took command.
“Watn, I want you to take Hazel and get out of here. Hyrr, you’re with me. Hopefully, we can resolve this without violence but—”
“But if it does become violent,” Watn interrupted, “then I need to be here. I’m the best at fighting and—”
“And the most likely to accidentally kill someone.” Vindr gripped his friend’s shoulder. “If this was any other situation there’s nobody else I’d rather have at my back. But working with the humans is complicated and you know it. If we hurt them, they can easily turn that against us.”
Watn opened his mouth, clearly ready to argue, but flinched and nodded.
“Get Hazel out of here. Go to the alpha site.”
Watn nodded again and disappeared back into the bedroom. Vindr glanced at Hyrr, who nodded at him. Together, they exited the cabin again. The two FBI agents were standing nose-to-nose with Jord. The tension between their bond showed how strained he was. The tension kicked up another couple notches.
“Why don’t we just wait for Antonio to come back?” Jord said, not looking backward. “He’ll be able to clear everything up and—”
“I’m done waiting,” Carl snarled.
There was movement from inside the cabin, too slight for the humans to hear, as a window opened. Good. Watn was sneaking Hazel through the back and then would be getting away on foot before taking to the air. Vindr tensed his muscles, calling his fires forward in case they were needed.
But Jord sent a strong command through the bond. Stay put.
The Dragon Hunters' Temptation Page 3
