“The ocean in her eyes and death in her kiss,” he quoted.
“You, as a mortal, should be scared shitless right now,” she said sternly.
“But I trust you,” Kristofer replied. “And I don’t mind being yours forever. That’s what the firestorm means to me, after all.”
She studied him, as if she couldn’t believe her ears, and he remembered that Sigrdrifa had pledged to love only a warrior who was fearless. He lifted a finger and beckoned, holding her gaze, challenging her.
Time seemed to stop as they stared at each other. He glimpsed the ocean in her eyes even though she hadn’t shifted shape and felt keenly aware of all the majesty and power that was hers. She was ancient, yet young. She was wise, yet impulsive. She was powerful, yet had discovered vulnerability. His heart swelled with admiration. He doubted he would ever find another woman who could compete with Bree.
Let her claim him. Kristofer was already hers.
She swallowed and surveyed him, and he knew she shared his sense of the importance of this moment. She bent over him, hesitating for a moment, then kissed his cheek.
“I can’t do it,” she whispered. “I’ve already betrayed you once.”
That was all the admission that Kristofer needed to know that Bree did care.
And that, in his view, was something to celebrate.
Kris was fearless, a warrior to his marrow, and Bree found both his confidence and his trust humbling. When she confessed her weakness, he plunged his hands into her hair and rolled her to her back. His manner was triumphant, even though she’d denied his request, and Bree couldn’t make sense of it for a moment. He framed her face and held her captive to his kiss, claiming her heart just as the Valkyries claimed the souls of the condemned.
It was a magnificent kiss, the kiss of a conquering hero, the kiss of a dragon seizing his prize. It took everything within Bree to keep from kissing him back, but she hung on to his shoulders and savored. He teased her with his lips, his teeth and his tongue. He held her close, cradling her against himself, and she had never felt so adored.
She had never wanted so badly to give more.
“All of you,” she whispered and she didn’t have to ask twice. Kris lifted his head and rolled out of bed with purpose. She had a moment to be disappointed, then realized he was shutting the bedroom door. He peeled off his T-shirt and kicked off his jeans and briefs and strode back to the bed. Bree took a good look.
“Second thoughts?” he teased. “How’s your back?”
“Don’t give it another thought.” He scooped her up and caught her close, kissing her again as he tumbled to the mattress beside her.
She rolled him to his back once more.
“Why am I not surprised you like it on top?” he murmured.
“I knew the moment I saw you that I wanted to ride you,” she teased with a wicked smile.
His brows rose and he looked mysterious. “I have a little something for you first.”
Bree gave a whoop of surprise as Kris cast her to her back again and they wrestled together in a most satisfactory way. She thought at first that he meant to let her win, but that wasn’t his plan. He held her down and while she was considering how best to surprise him, he gave her a mischievous grin. She braced herself for a surprise, but he still astonished her. He lowered himself over her, spreading her thighs wide and bracing his hands against them. With those eyes twinkling, he closed his mouth over her and flicked his tongue against her clitoris.
Bree gasped, all the fight abandoning her as she surrendered to this pleasure. He ate her slowly and leisurely, making a celebration of it, holding her captive to his caress. He coaxed her passion to new heights, then pulled away, leaving her whispering his name.
Twice he took her almost to the summit and retreated, leaving her uncertain whether to seduce him or wring his neck. She clutched his head in her hands and gave him a shake. “That’s a kiss you need to finish this time,” she whispered and he chuckled, relentless.
He kissed her nipple instead, teasing it to a tight peak as his fingers slipped between her legs. Bree felt a burning need like that roused by the firestorm, but this one she knew had to be quenched and soon. She was writhing against Kris, surrounded by his warmth and strength, but she wanted more. She wanted all of him and she wanted him immediately. When he turned his attention to her other nipple, she pushed him to his back, straddled him and held him down, her hands braced on his shoulders. He smiled up at her, untroubled by his situation or her control of it.
“Mine,” she whispered.
He grinned. “Willingly so.”
Bree surveyed him, then lowered herself over him, taking him inside her in easy increments. He was enormous and hard and she knew there’d never been a man who fit her so perfectly. His eyes glittered as she eased lower, his intense expression making her think of the glorious dragon he could become. Their gazes locked and held, his hands on her waist, and she paused when he was fully inside her.
She felt possessive as she never had before. In the past, sex had been about pleasure and satisfaction, but this union was far more. She wanted to drive the memory of every other woman from Kris’s mind. She wanted him to shout her name at his release for every day and night going forward. She wanted to fill his thoughts and his fantasies, haunt his dreams, and be the best lover of his life. She didn’t want to share any of that territory with any other woman. Bree had never felt such possessiveness, nor had she felt so much for her partner.
For the moment, she didn’t care. Kris was hers and she was his, for the here and now, and that would have to suffice.
Forever.
Bree moved with deliberation, watching Kris grit his teeth as he tried to make their union last longer than it could. She wondered how long she could draw it out. She also wondered how quickly she could drive him over the edge. She wondered how once, twice, even three times would ever be enough. He was a fever in her blood, a need that filled her senses and she knew this wasn’t going to sate her desire.
It seemed likely to increase it.
Another new experience. Another change and another challenge. Kris was proving addictive in so many ways.
She ran her hands over him and grazed his nipples with her teeth, riding him with greater speed. He bucked his hips beneath her, adding to her pleasure, his gaze locked with hers. When she rolled her hips, grinding against his strength, he slipped one hand between them, caressing her with his thumb. Bree felt the heat rising within her again as she rocked atop him.
She heard her heart pounding, and the rasp of her breathing. The air heated between them and she couldn’t look away from his avid gaze. As the tumult grew within her, she thought she would explode into a thousand pieces. Her heart clenched and then Kris suddenly pinched her clitoris. Bree roared with her release, stretching for the sky, not caring who heard her. Kris shouted as he reached his climax right after her and the bed rocked hard, knocking against the wall. They clutched each other, then fell entangled to the mattress, their breathing heavy and their bodies slick.
She felt the pounding of his heart against her own and her eyes flew open when she realized that the beats had synchronized. It was a strange sensation, two hearts beating as one, as if they had truly merged more than their bodies.
Kris sighed with contentment, pulling her against his side. “Who needs a firestorm?” he murmured and Bree smiled.
“You have a one-track mind,” she accused with affection.
Kris didn’t answer. He just kissed her temple and held her close. He was warm and she liked having his arms wrapped around her. She dozed for a moment, listening to the rain and the sound of his body drifting into sleep.
When he spoke, Bree was startled, both by his voice and by his words.
“What if you’re waiting for something that’s never going to come?” he asked in a sleepy murmur.
Bree braced herself on one elbow to look down at him. His eyes were closed. “What do you mean?”
“The war horns of R
agnorak.” Kris opened his eyes slightly to study her. He looked wide awake. “What if the twilight of the gods has come and gone, without fanfare, and you’re the only one still waiting?”
The possibility awakened Bree as nothing else could have done. She pivoted to sit on the side of the bed, wondering, then got up. The idea shook her and she couldn’t pretend it didn’t. She certainly wasn’t going to sleep. Kris sighed and rolled into the hollow where she had been, his hand stretching across the sheet as if he would pull her back against his side. But he was exhausted and he slept, maybe against his will.
Bree stood and watched him, her thoughts spinning.
What if?
Back in Tomkins Park in New York, Alasdair hovered on the cusp of change, ready to defend his fellows against the man who had stepped out of the circus tent. The stranger must have been hiding inside, listening. Alasdair sensed that he was a cop or had military training. He also distrusted that he hadn’t sensed the man’s presence. How could that be?
“You’re the wolf shifter,” Kade said, his eyes narrowing with suspicion. “You were at Bones.”
Alasdair remembered him then.
“Caleb,” he said with a curt nod. He was clearly wary of them, but it looked like the feeling was mutual.
“Am I right that you can disguise your scent?” Alasdair asked.
Caleb smiled. “I wondered which of you would detect it.”
Drake held up the card wordlessly, verse up.
“We need to join forces,” Caleb said. “She plans to eliminate us all, species by species. There are many who would prefer to remain hidden and more who distrust the Pyr, but now she’s targeted your kind.”
“We take care of ourselves,” Kade began. “And we don’t fight mysterious people hinted at in rhymes.”
Alasdair was surprised by his attitude, but Caleb was more so. “Where did you get that stylus?” he asked, his voice hard.
“It’s not your business,” Kade said, taking a step back. Alasdair saw a blue shimmer appear around Kade’s perimeter and knew the other Pyr would fight over the stylus.
“I saw it in the bar. I saw you use it. Where did you get it?” Caleb demanded.
“Kristofer couldn’t have followed the light without it,” Alasdair said. “You have to see why it’s important that you had it.”
Kade looked unconvinced. “A woman gave it to me.”
“What woman?” Caleb barked the question, which Alasdair assumed was apt.
“I don’t know. She was pretty.”
Kade wasn’t telling all of the truth, so Alasdair figured whatever he was hiding was important. Was he hiding it from Caleb, or from all of them?
“When?” Drake asked tersely. “Where?”
Once again, Kade resembled an uncooperative teenager. “In Chicago, when we gathered at the end of the Dragon’s Tail Wars.”
“That was four years ago,” Drake said, showing some surprise. “I had my scale repaired there.”
“Immortals play a long game,” Caleb said, studying Kade.
“You’ve had it four years?” Alasdair asked. “Why didn’t you tell any of us?”
“It’s not a big deal,” Kade protested, although Alasdair was starting to think that it was. “I’ve used it before. It’s just kind of fun.”
“Fun how?” Caleb asked but Kade ignored him.
“Where does it take you?” Drake asked and Kade fidgeted.
“A party. A really good one. I have a great time.”
Caleb inhaled sharply and looked away.
Alasdair tried to hide his alarm. “And so you used it for Kristofer.”
Kade raised a hand, obviously trying to play down the importance of the stylus. “All for one and one for all,” he said with a grin.
No one else smiled.
Drake put out his hand and met Kade’s gaze unblinkingly.
“It’s mine!” Kade protested. He would have stepped back but Alasdair had moved behind him. “She gave it to me.”
“All for one and one for all,” Alasdair echoed.
Kade shimmered blue. He looked between the two Pyr, obviously assessing his chances. That he would even consider fighting them over it spoke volumes.
But he wasn’t the only one with something to lose.
“My cousin is missing,” Alasdair said with low menace. “If you think I won’t tear you apart to get that stylus and save him, you can think again.”
Kade eyed him, no doubt assessing their relative size. He then glanced at Drake who was shimmering blue on the cusp of change. That Pyr’s gaze was steady and lethal.
Kade sighed, then dug in his pocket and pulled out what might have been a pen. It was the same shape and size, but looked like it was made of ice. His fingers still curled around it, evidence that he was reluctant to surrender it. “It’s mine...” he began.
“Now,” Drake commanded in old-speak. “Give it to Alasdair, NOW.”
Alasdair saw how Kade’s hand shook. He was caught between his own desire and his need to do as commanded. Alasdair saw how intently Caleb watched, and wondered if the wolf-shifter could hear Drake’s old-speak. Maybe it was a low rumble to him, as it was to humans, like distant traffic or approaching thunder.
Alasdair knew he wasn’t the only one who breathed a sigh of relief when Kade put the stylus into his hand. He closed his hand over it before Kade could snatch it back, though the younger Pyr couldn’t completely hide his inclination.
Kade grimaced, then pivoted. “I’m out,” he said to Alasdair’s astonishment, then marched away from them.
“We should follow him,” Alasdair said but Drake shook his head.
“You have the stylus,” that Pyr said, watching Kade cross the park. “Let him go, for now.”
“He’s not out,” Caleb corrected quietly. “He’s trying to hide that he’s already hers.”
“Kade wouldn’t betray his own kind,” Alasdair protested.
“He already has,” Caleb noted. “This is her favorite trick. He thinks he’s special to her and an exception, but she’ll see him dead all the same. Once he’s no longer useful to her, she’ll finish him. That could be now.”
Alasdair shuddered at the wolf shifter’s conviction of that. He must be speaking from experience.
“She’s targeting all shifters?” Drake asked.
“All Others,” Caleb confirmed. “Shifters of all kinds, vampires, dwarves, djinns, all the variety of kinds who are neither mortal humans nor immortal Fae. She sees us as abominations, but you have to realize that there is only one end to this war.”
“She’ll turn on humans once the Others are gone,” Drake guessed.
“And it’s our sworn duty to defend the treasures of the earth,” Alasdair said. He and Drake exchanged a nod.
Drake held up the card. “How did you know this?” he asked and Caleb frowned.
“There was only one line on the card I left for you, a reminder of the meeting. I thought you might come here and I wasn’t sure when.”
“But the automaton?” Alasdair said.
Caleb smiled. “Has a motion sensor. Not magick.”
That didn’t explain the blue-green light Alasdair had seen.
Drake handed the card to Caleb and the wolf shifter frowned as he read the verse. “It looks as if we might need dragons to fight fire with fire.”
“Pyr are missing. We’ll do whatever is necessary to bring them home,” Drake said. “We’ll see you at Bones on Thursday night.”
And in the meantime, Alasdair knew, the Pyr would continue to hunt for their fellows.
Caleb hesitated before turning away. “You should know that something has changed. I’m not sure what, but her alter-ego in the human world is said to be missing.” He indicated the stylus. “Be careful when you use that. She must be in Fae, for some reason, and may anticipate your arrival.”
Alasdair looked down at the stylus. “Kade disappeared for a while this morning,” he reminded Drake and their gazes met.
“Then it’s
likely she knows you’re coming for your fellows,” Caleb said.
“She wouldn’t need a spy to tell her so,” Drake said grimly. “We always defend our own.”
Caleb nodded understanding, then indicated the card Alasdair still held. “Do you know what it means?”
“We’re going to find out,” Alasdair spoke with resolve.
“Tell me where to find you,” Drake said to Caleb.
“One more thing. What’s the book?” Alasdair asked after Drake added Caleb’s contact information to his phone.
“I can’t tell you where it is,” Caleb said. “I don’t even know. The vampires took custody of it after a fallen angel died stealing it from the Fae realm.”
“But what’s in it?” Alasdair asked.
“It’s an inventory,” Caleb said. “A list of all of us, including your son.” He turned to Drake who was visibly startled. “And she strokes names off as we die or are killed.” He frowned. “It’s troubling to have even a peek inside it. I doubt she missed any of us in her lists.”
Drake and Alasdair exchanged a glance.
“I want to see inside that book,” Drake said.
“I want to incinerate it,” Alasdair said.
“That’s what we’re going to talk about Thursday at Bones,” Caleb said. “What should we do with it? How can we defend it? And if we destroy it, will that make any difference at all? As you might imagine, consensus is elusive, which is exactly how she wants it to be.”
“We’ll be there,” Drake said and shook hands with Caleb.
Alone in the washroom, Bree braced herself for the worst. She told herself that she had to check her kit, but the truth was that she wanted to know exactly how bad her situation was. How much had Kara’s attack changed her? Bree stood in front of the full length mirror and summoned the change. She shifted quickly, then stared unflinchingly at her own reflection.
The sight of herself was discouraging, to say the least.
Dragon's Kiss (The DragonFate Novels Book 2) Page 22
