The Water Dragons Box Set: Books 1 - 4 (Complete)

by Charlene Hartnady

  “An unfortunate oversight.”

  “Oversight.” Paige couldn’t hold back. “That’s not an oversight…how would you feel if three men threatened to…each take turns fucking you against your will? How would that make you feel? Why is Tim even still on your payroll? Gus too?”

  That look of disdain was back. “I’m not stupid enough to allow myself to get into a situation like that.” A tiny shake of the head.

  “Excuse me?” Paige couldn’t believe what she was hearing. This woman was too much. “I didn’t get myself into a situation. I was kidnapped.”

  “You put yourself in a position to be taken in the first place. You’re lucky I arrived when I did.” Alex shrugged like it was no biggie. “The fact of the matter is that you are here. As my guest.” She put emphasis on the last word. “That can change in a heartbeat though. My staff were all hand-picked. They know how to follow orders. Mostly. None of them are squeamish. Not in the least. In fact, a couple of them revel in dishing out pain and heartache. That’s why Tim and Gus are still on the payroll. They were acting as expected. Speak with your shifter.”

  “He’s not mine and he’s still out of it.”

  “That’s why you’re so afraid of showering.” Alex rolled her eyes.

  “He might wake up.” Paige’s voice was shrill but she couldn’t seem to make herself calm down.

  “Sure, he’s badly injured. Quite frankly, I’m surprised he survived the silver bullet to the chest. From the accounts I received, he was dead for some time. The bullet lodged inside him. You obviously have some skills. He would have been well on the road to recovery when he stood up for you.”

  “No, he had barely even gained consciousness up until then.”

  “That’s nonsense. He came to your defense because the two of you had conversed. Developed a relationship.” She smiled.

  “No!” she said too quickly. “You’re wrong!” Calmer this time.

  “Thanks for confirming my suspicions.” She clapped her hands together. Looking like the cat who had got the cream.

  “You’re wrong,” Paige added, this time with no conviction. “He told me he doesn’t care what happens to us. He won’t talk to you.”

  Her smile turned to a frown in a second. “You’d better hope and pray that’s not true.” She leaned forward, clasping her hands on the desk in front of her. “I’m going to put him through untold pain.” Her face was completely deadpan. “Pull out his nails from the quick. Cut off his fingers, his ears, his lips.”

  Paige tasted bile, it was bitter on her tongue. Made her throat burn.

  “Hell,” Alex leaned back, folding her arms again, a smile playing with the corners of her mouth, “I’ll cut off his arms and legs. I’ll cut him to ribbons. You can nurse him back to health.” She smiled. “I know you’ll rise to the occasion. I have an order in for some medical supplies.” She said it like she was doing them a favor. “Before you leave, you should make a list, in case I forgot anything.”

  This chick was a fucking psycho.

  “I would suggest you work on him. Get him to tell us what we need to know. It’ll make it easier on all of us.”

  Paige swallowed thickly. She didn’t answer though.

  “Know that my patience will only last so long.” Her eyes hardened, turning an icy blue. “When I get bored of cutting up the dragon and watching it regenerate, I will turn to you. You won’t be as lucky. You’re a human after all. You won’t heal as quickly. Your limbs won’t regenerate. Your teeth won’t grow back. At least Tim won’t be tempted to rape you anymore once you’ve gone a few rounds with me. You’ll have that going for you.” She shook her head. “I don’t really want to do that to you. To any of you. Best you have a talk with your shifter.”

  “I told you. He’s not mine. I don’t know where you got that idea. He won’t listen to me. We’re not even friends.”

  “Best you change that. You’re a beautiful woman. Use what you have. Convince him! Once I have the information I need, namely the locations of the lairs as well as the mines, you can go. You have my word.”

  Not that her word was worth anything. Once these hunters had the information they needed they were all dead.

  Paige wanted to tell Alex that she was wasting her time but she refrained. Instead, she nodded. “I will see what I can do.”

  “Good. Don’t take too long. We are going to start on him in two days. I don’t want him reaching full strength. You have until then.”

  “Two days isn’t very long.” Paige shook her head.

  “It’s all you’ve got.”

  “I need more.” Paige pushed out a sigh, surprised at how real it sounded. “But I guess it will have to do. I doubt this will work, but I’ll give it my best shot.”

  “You can achieve anything you put your mind to.” With a wave of the hand, Alex dismissed her.

  Paige was unnerved when she returned. She told him everything the slayer had said. None of it shocked him. They were in deep shit. He was getting stronger but not quick enough. Not nearly quick enough.

  Two days.

  The slayer female was right. He wouldn’t be at full strength yet. Thanks to the allergy immunotherapy he’d been receiving, he wouldn’t be as weak as she expected either. The hunters would be armed to the teeth. He’d be shackled with silver-infused cuffs.

  “The good news is that we don’t have to hide that you’re awake. She gave me two days. You just need to come across as being very weak.”

  Flood snorted. “No need to pretend there. I feel like a helpless, day-old lamb.”

  Paige frowned. “Do you need to rest first?” she whispered. Although they didn’t have to be as sneaky about him being awake, they still didn’t want the hunters knowing too much about him. They might just change their minds about two days and make it one.

  “No.” Flood shook his head. “I was just thinking about what we spoke about when you came back.”

  She nodded, the look on her face grave. “You’re worried?”

  He nodded. “Yes.”

  “I am too. She’s crazy. Calling us guests. Recommending that I seduce you so that you’ll talk.” She rolled her eyes like the idea was absurd.

  Which it was, of course, since he wouldn’t fall for crap like that. “We have two days before all hell breaks loose.”

  “I’m sure we’ll come up with a plan. Maybe I can convince her to give me more time to work on you.”

  He shook his head. “I doubt she’ll change her mind. You have two days. You’d better start getting to it.” He made a pathetic joke.

  Paige didn’t smile. In fact, she chewed on her bottom lip. “I’d better take that shower. You won’t look?” Her blue eyes were wide.

  Flood shook his head. “I swear I won’t. I’ve seen naked females before—”

  “I’m sure you have, and I know you said that nakedness is normal for shifters, but it’s not normal for humans.” She shook her head. “I really want a shower. I do stink to high heavens.” Paige sniffed herself and crinkled her nose. “I wish there was a curtain or something,” she whispered

  “What I was going to say was, that I have no need to sneak a look at you. Females are mostly afraid of me but there have been enough who have shown interest, and I’m sure there will be more who do so in the future. I’m not desperate.” He knew, given the circumstances, that he shouldn’t feel offended but he couldn’t help it. Did she think him so terrible? So hopeless when it came to females that he would resort to spying on her?

  Her shoulders slumped and she pushed out a deep breath. “I know. I’m just being silly. I’m sorry.”

  Something eased in him. Flood nodded. “I will listen out for anyone approaching and will give you plenty of warning should someone come. You can shower in peace.” He knew the reason for his irritation was because a female like Paige would normally never have looked at a male like him. She was sweet and kind and rather timid and would have been put off by the way he looked. It was his own stupid hang-ups.

 
“I will help you sponge bath when I’m done.” She smiled, trying to be nice. As was her nature.

  Then he thought about what she had just said. “What is a sponge bath? There is no tub in this cell.” Flood frowned.

  “No, silly.” She giggled softly, holding a hand over her mouth to smother the sound. “I’ll wash you with soap and water, using the cloth and bucket. It won’t be perfect but I’ll do my best. I cleaned you up quite a bit after you were shot the second time.”

  “That’s when you checked me out.” Flood winked at her. Why was he flirting with the human? Why did the idea of her looking at him naked appeal to him in ways it shouldn’t? She was attractive but this was not the time nor the place. Not for any of this type of thinking.

  He watched as her cheeks turned pink, enhancing the pink of her lips and the blue of her eyes. “I really wasn’t checking you out.”

  “I know.” He smiled. “I’m only joking. I enjoy how flustered you get. I know you weren’t checking me out.”

  Her cheeks reddened up some more and she looked away.

  Flood decided to change the subject. He couldn’t be friends with the human but he didn’t want to alienate her either. “Go and shower. I will keep my eyes shut.”

  She nodded.

  He listened as she moved around, fetching the things that she needed. Then he listened as the water spattered to life. He could hear her undress even though the noise from the water hitting the tiles was loud.

  Flood bit back a smile when he realized she was rushing. As much as he would love to see Paige naked…water cascading down her body… Fuck, he was getting hard just thinking about it. He needed to think about something else because he wasn’t looking. No damn way! It also wasn’t like that between them. Maybe if they made it to safety…maybe…when they made it to safety. Maybe then. He wouldn’t hold his breath though. A timid thing like Paige would prefer a male who was less crude. He’d also been called brooding by human females. Brooding, scary and bad-tempered. Some females liked it. Most did not.

  He was reminded of the time that one female had wanted him to tie her up and hit her with a belt. It hadn’t worked for him in the least.

  Paige turned the shower off and Flood listened to her dry off. She dressed quickly. “You can look,” she said.

  When he did, she was just pulling on an oversized hoodie. The garment was past her arms and she was just pulling it over her head. Her breasts thrust forward. By the tight nubs against the light blue cotton, he could see she wasn’t wearing anything underneath.

  So much for losing his hard-on. Her breasts were full, her nubs tight and plump. He was no better than the humans who had lusted after her.

  “Is everything okay?” Her eyebrows drew together.

  “Fine.” His voice was deep and thick. Hopefully she wouldn’t notice how aroused he was.

  “Your turn,” she whispered.

  “You don’t have to…” he began, shaking his head.

  “It’s fine.’ She smiled. “I don’t mind.” This female was fucking clueless. There was no way he could handle her hands on him. Not a chance!

  There was no way she wouldn’t notice his throbbing cock. He’d scrunched the blanket over that part of his anatomy, trying to hide it, but there would be no hiding when she came closer. Moreover, the longer he stayed hard, the longer it would take for his dick to go down. “You can hand me the cloth and put the bucket close by and…” He tried to lift himself onto his elbows but couldn’t. “Fuck,” he cursed, as he fell back.

  It was a joke! A fucking joke. If he turned on his belly, he’d be able to do push-ups with his cock ‒ but he could barely lift his arm. He didn’t need his dick right now, dammit. The fucker wouldn’t go down though.

  Paige smiled as she brought over the steaming bucket of water. “Let me help you.” Her smile faltered as she kneeled down next to him. When she noticed his not so little problem.

  Shit!

  Bloody freaking hell! So this was why he didn’t want her anywhere near him.

  Flood squeezed his eyes shut. “I’m sorry,” he mumbled. “I tried to warn you. To tell you that—”

  “It’s okay,” she blurted. Even though her cheeks felt hot. “It’s fine,” she added. “I understand. We spoke about this. It’s normal for a dragon, right? In this situation, isn’t it?”

  Flood nodded. He opened his eyes. “I can’t seem to help it right now. If I could take care of things, I would.”

  “Oh!” She felt her cheeks heat even more. Felt like a teenage girl all over again, which was stupid. She was thirty-one. She’d had her share of boyfriends and had even been engaged before. You would never say so looking at her now. “I could leave you the bucket if you need to…take care of things…if…”

  “No!” he growled. His voice a rough rasp. He cleared his throat. “I’m not whacking off.”

  “Why not?” Why was she still talking? “I could stand over there.” She gestured to the furthest part of the room. “I would keep my eyes closed.”

  Flood sort of smiled. “I appreciate the sentiment, but it wouldn’t help.”

  “Why not, I mean surely—”

  “I need to fuck.” His voice was thick and heavy. His crude words made her suck in a breath. “I don’t mean to scare you.” He shrugged his massive shoulders. “It is what it is. No use in sugar-coating the fact. I will heal soon enough and then the worst of the urge will go away. Until then, this might happen often.” Then he groaned. “All this talk of sex isn’t helping the situation. You do not have to wash me. I will understand if it makes you uncomfortable, given the circumstances.”

  She smiled. “It’s fine. I’m not washing that part of your body though,” Paige joked.

  His eyes smoldered. Dark and intense. “I’m sure I can manage fine.”

  She wanted to tell him that it was a joke but decided against it. Instead, she got to work. Starting on his chest, careful around the puckered, pink scars. Then she washed those abs. She tried not to like it but how could she not? His skin was as soft as his body was hard. She’d never seen a man with a more toned, sculpted body. She washed his arms. Then refreshed the bucket and washed his legs and feet.

  “Is there any way you would be able to lie on your stomach,” Paige asked after toweling him dry.

  “I’ll try.”

  It took a couple of attempts where she pushed and he heaved before he turned over. Paige swallowed thickly. He had a broad, sculpted back and an amazing ass. Sheesh Louise, but she had to force herself to look away from those glutes.

  She washed his back down to those two dimples he had just above his ass. She tried really hard not to perve over said ass. Then she washed the backs of his legs, up his thighs, careful to avoid certain areas. His legs were squeezed tightly closed and he looked uncomfortable.

  “Let’s turn you back around,” she said, dropping the cloth into the bucket.

  “I think you might have missed a spot.” She could hear he was smiling.

  “You want me to wash your ass?”

  Flood laughed. It lasted all of three seconds. It sounded like he didn’t use those particular muscles very often. His laugh came out like a bit of a bark. “Hand me the cloth,” he said, all signs of the smile gone.

  She wrung it out and placed it in his hand. Flood grunted, making feeble attempts at cleaning himself. It was hard to believe that such a strong man was reduced to this. Then again, a couple of days ago he had been dead. So, it made sense.

  “Here.” She took the cloth, taking over. It’s just an ass. A gorgeous, perfectly sculpted ass but just an ass. As soon as she was done, she replaced the cloth near the towel and dried him off. “All done.”

  “Thank you.” He sounded exhausted. “I appreciate it.”

  It took a good minute to get him turned around. Flood cleaned the rest of himself while she turned to face the other way. Her cheeks felt like they were on fire. This was such a bizarre situation.

  “Can I turn around?” she asked. “Flood?”


  She heard a soft snore and realized he was asleep. The blanket barely covered him and he still clutched the cloth in his hand.

  The other women were talking up the hallway. She couldn’t make out what they were saying. Their voices sounded animated. All of them broke into fits of laughter. They were oblivious to what was coming. To who they were dealing with. Like Paige had thought earlier, they probably thought that things were going to work out now that Alex was there. Paige hadn’t told them everything. She hadn’t wanted to worry them unnecessarily just yet. They had no clue! She and Flood had two days to come up with a plan. It wasn’t enough time. There was more laughter. Not nearly enough time.

  Chapter 13

  There it was again. Something nudged her foot. Paige opened her eyes and squinted against the bright light. It felt too early for it to be this light. Her brain felt foggy with sleep.

  “Well isn’t this cozy.”

  She sat up, eyes wide, adrenaline pumping, trying to see into the darkness behind the blinding beam of the flashlight, even though she knew exactly who was there. “Get out or I’ll scream,” she whispered.

  There was the sound of a gun cocking. It was harsh in the silence. “Go right ahead,” Tim sneered. “I don’t give a shit!” he whispered. “I’ll blow his brains out. I’ll say that the shifter came at me and I had to defend myself. I’ll bet there’s no coming back from a silver bullet to the head.”

  She narrowed her eyes. “Don’t you dare! You’re supposed to leave us alone. Your boss needs the shifter alive. In fact, I doubt you’re allowed to be here.”

  “I’m not going to hurt you. Not tonight at any rate, so you can calm the fuck down.”

  She didn’t believe him. Not for a second. She held a hand up, trying to deflect the blinding light. Flood’s whole body had tensed up next to her. With a gun trained on them, there was nothing either of them could do. “What do you want? Why are you here then?” She didn’t bother to keep her voice down.

  “I came to let you know what I have in store for you.” She could hear that the bastard was smiling. Could picture the cruel grin that would be plastered on his face.