Dangerous Liaisons (Obsidian Flame Book 2)

by J. C. McKenzie

  Had Hank mentioned her involvement? Probably not. She sighed on the inside. She’d have to continue with this stupid charade.

  “Yes,” she said. Crap. What would a doting girlfriend say? “He had me so worried.”

  “Is that why you’re storming out of the house in military gear?”

  “Well, he had me angry, too. He could’ve been hurt.”

  Alex nodded. “You could’ve been, too.”

  She widened her eyes. “You think so?”

  Alex leaned in. “As long as you’re standing beside the most powerful dragon in North America, you’re in the public eye and therefore in danger.”

  Lara dropped her mouth open. If only she could make her lip tremble a little. That would be a nice touch.

  “I could protect you,” Alex said.

  “What?” she stammered.

  Alex handed her a business card. “It’s no secret Raf treats his women as disposable accessories. If you find yourself in need of protection, please call.”

  She took the card and read the contact information on the front and back. “At what price?”

  Alex shook his head. “No cost.”

  Lara nodded, but her mind scrambled. No cost? A lot could be said about the dragon leaders, but altruism was not usually one of them.

  Lara thanked the leader of the Topaz Dragon Clan and headed for her car. The keys were in the ignition and the toe-pinching heels sat on the passenger seat.

  As much as her brain told her no male dragon shifter could be trusted, she sensed nothing but truth and sincerity from Alex O’Reilly. Could he be trusted?

  Or was he a better actor than the rest of them?

  Rafael stood by the second floor window and looked down at the front entrance of his estate. Lara stalked past a slack-jawed Alex on the steps and threw herself in her car. His lips twitched and his body panged with awareness from the memory of their contact. He felt her presence growing more distant. This awareness defied logic, and whatever spell she cast on him a month ago to save him from Hilary was at the center of this new problem. She knew more than what she said.

  No matter.

  He’d find a way to shake the bond, eventually, and in the meantime, he found the presence of Lara’s essence in his mind oddly comforting and reassuring. He wasn’t alone in his kingdom anymore.

  Even if his companion didn’t want to be here.

  Acid gnawed at his stomach lining. Her accusations replayed in his memory. He had used his influence to corner her into this job. He should’ve stayed away. He should’ve accepted her silence. But the distance bit at his skin. When he finally saw her again, the relief that accompanied her proximity nearly overwhelmed him. Having her close would make this itching unease worth it.

  And he planned to keep her very close from now on.

  Rafael smiled as her car chugged down his driveway, pumping out a burst of black smoke.

  She might think she escaped his house, his questions…him, but she hadn’t. His focus remained set. She wanted him, he needed to figure out the real reason she held back. Then he’d make Lara his, for however long that entailed. He’d feel her hot mouth on his body, taste her soft skin and hear her moan his name.

  She just didn’t know it yet.

  Chapter Twelve

  Lara took a deep breath, ran her hands along the intricately carved dragon handles of Rafael’s office and pushed her way into the opulent room.

  Hank sprawled in one of the chairs, basking in the natural daylight streaming through the oversized windows, while Rafael’s desk remained ominously empty. A clock ticked boldly in the background.

  “Where’s his majesty?” She stalked over to the desk, the carpet muffling the clip-clap of her sandals, and threw herself into an empty seat near Hank.

  He raised a brow. “Meeting.”

  Admittedly, her jeans, t-shirt and flip-flops didn’t fit the corporate image of Rafael’s office, but she needed something more comfortable and practical than tight skirts and heels. After Alex’s shocked reaction to her borrowed fatigues, she couldn’t risk showing up at Rafael’s office fully garbed in fighting gear. This was the next best option. “Is Rafael with the other leaders again?”

  Hank shook his head. “Prison officials.”

  She flicked her finger between Hank and herself. “And we weren’t invited.”

  “Nope. They didn’t want to discuss the specifics in front of anyone other than the Astarot. If they won’t gab in front of me, his second, they certainly won’t open up in front of his airhead girlfriend.”

  Lara took a deep breath. “Good point.”

  He dipped his chin, but his expression remained stony.

  Oh, okay then. They were doing this now. “That airhead quip your opinion of me, or the effect I’m supposed to go for?”

  “Honestly?”

  “Spit it out, ginger.”

  Hank grunted. “Up until the other day, I wouldn’t have questioned your intelligence.”

  Lara threw up her arms. “I was doing my job. The one I’m paid to do. Protect his royal eminence. Nowhere does it say in the contract I should cower behind him, nor chance he’ll shift in time to save us. If neither of you were comfortable with a woman putting herself in front of you, you shouldn’t have hired me.”

  “Are you done?”

  “Not even close.”

  He raised his hand palm out for her to stop.

  “I want my gold star.”

  Hank leaned forward. “Well, Gingernut, you’re going to wait a while. The threat of four armed men on the other side of your magical barrier was minimal. Your actions not only risked exposing your cover—”

  “Ungrateful bastards. Knives can cut through shields and those men were most likely four ispolini.”

  “You exposed Raf’s feelings for you.”

  Lara snapped her mouth shut.

  Hank gave her a pointed look. “He might deny it. He might hide it, but it’s plain as day to me, and now, apparently, to our enemies.”

  Lara turned away from his intense, knowing gaze. She couldn’t argue against a valid point. If Rafael had waited before dropping out of the sky and icing an entire ispolini task force, they wouldn’t be in this mess. She couldn’t control the Astarot, but, apparently, she was responsible for his actions.

  “You also made yourself a target,” Hank said.

  He had another point there. A point she was well aware of and unhappy about. “Maybe, but you painted a bullseye on me when you brought me to a meeting with the Astarot. What were you thinking?”

  “We thought one of them might proposition you later or try to recruit you.”

  She’d thought of that possibility earlier, but her brain still fumbled with the idea. Could it be true? Could one of the dragon leaders or someone close to them work for the ispolini? The level of debasement and betrayal was nearly unfathomable. Yet…yet the timing and location of the ispolini attack was too precise. Her blood turned cold. “Our attackers knew the meeting location, when it ended and which exit we took.”

  Hank nodded. “One of the other clan leaders or someone close to them is working for our enemies. Now that you’ve actively defended Raf, I doubt they’ll approach you.”

  Well, Alex had spoken with her, but offering protection hardly counted as recruitment. “It would help if you guys wouldn’t keep important details from me.”

  “It was a last minute decision.”

  “And yet you blame me for messing up something I wasn’t aware of.”

  “There was no time.”

  Her blood heated. Her dragon stirred. She forced a deep breath in. “There was also no time to effectively remove both myself and Rafael from the alley.”

  Hank glared at her.

  She glared back.

  The clock ticked.

  “There’s also the poker game,” Hank said. “You and your associate were hired a week prior to the private poker match, but only a select number of people knew Raf had registered.”

  Lara tapped he
r chin. “I never understood why the bomber threw that delayed device. Why not blast us to smithereens right from the start?”

  “The inside man who confirmed Raf’s presence probably wanted to make it out alive.” Hank sneered.

  “Louis Granger?” He’d sent a text prior to the attack, but Lara hadn’t thought much of it. A lot of the players were on their phones before the game started.

  Hank nodded. “The first blast was most likely meant to incapacitate Raf and myself. They’d count on Raf shielding the whole group, resulting in a thinner protective bubble. The explosion would’ve stunned Raf at the very least. They also counted on you protecting Louis with a separate, additional shield. After the initial attack, the rat would escape, leaving Raf and myself vulnerable to the second blast wave.”

  A shudder passed through Lara. If Louis hadn’t hired Lara and someone else had been at the poker game… “They didn’t count on Raf merging his magic with mine to form a stronger shield.”

  “Who could possibly anticipate a mage laying a bonding claim on the Astarot, or that it would stick for this long?” Hank’s eyes narrowed.

  Well, this was awkward. Lara tapped her fingers. Something good had to come of this. Maybe they could use the current situation to their advantage. An idea clicked into place. “Now that they, whoever they are, think I’m important to Rafael, maybe we can use it to lure them out from whatever crevice they lurk in.”

  “Raf won’t like it.” Hank folded his arms. His suit bunched over his shoulders. “Maybe you should leave the thinking to the big boys.”

  Seriously? What fucking year was it? This was the reason she stayed away from dragons. Pigheaded, narrow-minded brutes, all of them. “Maybe I should stomp on your nuts and shut your chauvinistic ass up.”

  Hank smirked and uneasy silence settled over the office.

  “Alex mentioned something about a curse?” she asked.

  Hank grumbled.

  “None of the other clan leaders appeared satisfied with the regular ispolini explanation for events.”

  He shifted in his seat. “They’re essentially the same thing.”

  “I would really like it if you started explaining things to me.” She folded her arms over her chest, mirroring Hank’s posture.

  “How much do you know about dragon shifter history?”

  “Not much.” Not a lie, either. She knew the basics and then some, but admitting the additional stuff threatened to reveal her own identity. Maybe acting as Rafael’s airheaded girlfriend wasn’t far from the truth. Ugh. But Lara had more than ispolini and her potential ignorance to fear.

  Dragon shifters vying for power were dangerous, if not ruthless. Not to mention bullheaded males looking for mates. Those didn’t pose a death threat, and rape went against dragon nature, but they represented something else. Randy males were persistent on all accounts. Chauvinistic. Over-protective. Demanding. Arrogant. Controlling. And no. Just, no.

  Her dragon growled. Yes, just yes.

  Shut up. She pinched her nose.

  “Are you okay?” Hank asked.

  “A headache.” She crossed her arms. She should’ve brought a sweatshirt. The floor-to-ceiling windows and expensive furniture might look nice and impress Rafael’s business colleagues, but the windows couldn’t prevent a draft from the damp spring air outside.

  Yes for Raf! her dragon bellowed.

  Lara winced. Luckily, Hank was looking at his hands and too deep in thought to notice.

  “Many generations ago,” Hank started. “Too many to count, so many historians lost track, and enough to make current day dragons discount the tale as myth, there was a Dragoi Astarot who spurned his true mate.”

  Lara’s mouth gaped open. “But how? Why? You’re all possessive horn dogs when it comes to mates.”

  Hank frowned.

  “From what I’ve heard, anyway.” She forced her body to remain relaxed under Hank’s gaze. “What? Not sugar-coated enough for you?”

  Her dragon snorted. Good save.

  Hank shrugged. “You’re right. Most of us are. Our true mate is meant to be our perfect compliment.”

  “Yin to your wang, I mean, yang?”

  “You’re obnoxious.”

  “And accurate.”

  Hank sighed. “A true mate bond can’t be forced, nor can it take away a dragon’s free will or ability to choose. Legend has it, this Astarot was already married and deeply in love. He had children. He’d claimed his wife in every way. His true mate expected him to walk away from it all to be with her.”

  Lara groaned. “Please tell me this isn’t a spurned lover story.”

  Hank shook his head. “Sorry to disappoint. But from all accounts, they were never lovers. He refused her outright.”

  “And she went bat-shit crazy and laid a curse on him?”

  “Worse.”

  Like coked out squirrels clambering up a tree, unease swept along Lara’s spine

  “She went to the ispolini.”

  She sucked in a breath. “No.”

  “Yes.” Rafael’s deep voice cut into the room.

  Lara jumped and spun to see the door to his office open with the Astarot leaning casually against the frame with his arms crossed. Her heartbeat picked up its pace, and her skin warmed. He was so unbearably handsome it hurt. His magic wound around her. He’d used it to mask his entrance to observe her. No way he would’ve snuck up on her otherwise, no matter how engrossing the story.

  Rafael strode across the room, gaze smoldering and took his seat across the desk from Hank and Lara. His sandalwood scent circled around her in his wake.

  “She went to the ispolini, distraught, dejected and desperate. She sacrificed herself to those gargantuan heathens so they could use her magic, dragon blood, and her true mate link to the Astarot—though unaccepted and unconsummated—to lay a terrible curse on all Astarots to come.” Rafael spread his arms wide to emphasize his final theatre-worthy words.

  Lara held her breath,

  “Or so the legend says.” The bastard leaned forward and winked.

  Lara blew out a breath and sank back in her chair. “So it’s all bullshit?”

  “Well—” Hank started.

  “It’s sissy drivel made up by nursemaids to go along with all the other boogeyman stories. They’re designed to ensure hatchlings behave.”

  “What were the specifics of the actual curse?” she asked.

  “It doesn’t matter.” Rafael waved her question away. The face of his expensive watch flashed in the sunlight.

  “If it’s sissy drivel, what’s the big deal in telling me? It’s still relevant to our current situation.”

  Hank hesitated. A tense look passed between the two men. Hank’s mouth snapped shut.

  Tension knotted Lara’s shoulders. Hadn’t they already learned the dangers of withholding information from her? Why did the stubborn goats insist on keeping secrets, whether they felt they were important or not?

  “Pertinent information,” she reminded them. She’d get to the bottom of this legend, regardless of Rafael’s efforts to thwart her. Internet searches were gold these days.

  “You know everything you need to know,” Rafael’s said with a clipped tone.

  Somehow, she didn’t believe a word he said.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Lara stalked from Rafael’s office leaving the two stubborn mules to debate the finer points of their stupidity.

  “Penelope Reynolds,” a deep, slightly accented voice stopped her.

  She turned to find Sergei Bodrov scowling at her jeans.

  “Mr. Bodrov.” She dipped her head and fought the urge to bow or courtesy or show some other form of submission the Emerald Dragon Clan leader’s presence demanded.

  We do not cower, her dragon snarled. We’re not submissive.

  Agreed. She locked her knees and plastered on a fake smile.

  “You seem to be everywhere these days.” His dark green eyes flashed under the bright lights.

  She shrugged. �
��Can’t seem to stay away.”

  “It would be better for your health if you did.”

  Lara straightened. Did he just threaten her? His easy posture and relaxed expression suggested something else. No, he wouldn’t dare threaten her in Rafael’s office with the dragon leader in the next room. He must be warning her. If so, that made two leaders in a row who’d warned her of the dangers involved with dating the Astarot. Coincidence? Were they in on it together? Or concerned for the well-being of a seemingly defenseless and weak female?

  “Concerned for my safety?” she asked.

  Sergei’s chest puffed out. “Of course, and that of our leader.”

  Lara frowned. Rafael hardly painted the picture of a fragile, damsel in distress.

  “A human girlfriend makes him vulnerable. It makes us all vulnerable. He should be with someone strong. Another dragon who knows our ways and can keep up.”

  Lara stopped her eyes from rolling. Barely. Any moment now and the man might beat his expensively clad chest. Someone strong? Another dragon like Rafael’s ex? Was Sergei on Team Hilary?

  She opened her mouth to speak when Hank stepped from Rafael’s office. His gaze darted between her and Sergei. His eyebrows rose.

  “Raf is expecting you,” Hank said to Sergei.

  “Of course.” Sergei turned toward the other man slowly and smoothly with no indication Hank’s sudden appearance surprised or worried him. He wasn’t concerned the Astarot’s Secundo overheard his warning to Lara. “Good day, Miss Reynolds.”

  “Goodbye,” she said to Sergei. Good riddance.

  Sergei knocked on the office door once. He didn’t wait for a reply and promptly swung the heavy door open and disappeared into Rafael’s office. Deep voices rumbled as the door closed.

  Hank waited for the door to shut before turning to Lara. “What did he want?”

  “He explained how my pathetic human nature was detrimental to the Astarot.”

  “Not a surprise. He’s a purist at heart.” Hank scowled at her briefly, turned away and walked down the hall.

  Lara caught up to him before he disappeared to wherever Secundos go when not needed. Her flip-flops smacking the floor echoed down the quiet hallway. She reached out and grabbed his arm.