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

by Charlene Hartnady

  “Go!” Whoever was on top of her, crushing her, shouted. Then he slumped down…unconscious? Out of it? Judging from his extreme weight, he had to be one of the dragons she’d left behind. That couldn’t be right though, both had been incapacitated. Hadn’t they? Don’t leave any loose ends. She heard her father’s voice echo around in her brain as if he were right there. They both had very different ideas on what that meant. You’re soft! He’d say. Most women are, it’s not your fault. That’s normally when he’d give her that look. One of pity and disappointment. It was a look she knew well.

  With a sweep of the finger, she unclicked the safety on the gun and then tried to shove the big hunk of meat off of her. She had to take in tiny breaths since her lungs were being squashed. Her shoulder continued to throb. Not as bad as before. Definitely not broken. That was one good thing, at least.

  There was a cracking noise. It was a sound she’d never heard before. But it was a noise she had read descriptions about. The royal dragon was shifting. It had to be. The male groaned. It came out sounding deep and guttural. He shouldn’t be able to shift with the silver plated cuffs on his wrists. Why was he trying? There were more cracking noises and more groaning. It sounded like he was making progress which confused her. Alex fought harder to get the massive shifter off of her. They weren’t gone yet. Not yet. She still had time to salvage this. He was struggling to make the change with silver in his blood. Janet obviously hadn’t secured the cuffs well enough. There was no other explanation.

  She shoved with all her might and the male on top of her seemed to come to. He sucked in a deep breath, almost crushing her. Alex grit her teeth. He pulled back slightly, blinking his eyes. They were big, green and…slitted. Like a reptile’s eyes. There were scales on his chest. If it weren’t for the situation, she would have been captivated. She’d never been this close to a dragon shifter before while in semi-shift.

  Surprise caused her brow to crease. He was the one she’d injected with the silver concoction. He shouldn’t be there. Maybe she hadn’t depressed the whole syringe into him. His eyes were hazy and filled with confusion. Like he wasn’t sure where they were, or who he was. Alex raised her weapon, aiming at his belly.

  No loose ends.

  She’d try it her way first. “Get off me,” she managed to push out, through clenched teeth. He weighed a ton and a half, and his body still pinned her down.

  There was more groaning and cracking from somewhere behind them and then the chopper’s engines flared back to life, drowning out any sounds. The idiot pilot was going to leave her behind. “Move! Now!” she yelled. If she landed up in prison, her father would leave her to rot. He’d tell her she had brought it on herself.

  Instead of doing what he was told, the shifter reared up and lunged for the gun, which went off. The hole in his torso instantly gushed blood, and in shocking amounts. He fell to the side, clutching his torso. The upper left quadrant of his belly, just below the ribs. His liver. By the amount of blood, it had to be.

  Idiot!

  “Look what you made me do!” she yelled. Then she cursed under her breath when she noticed that the roof was clear. No royal couple. No dragon. Only a hovering chopper. “Wait!” she put her hand up, gesturing to the pilot who yelled something incoherent back. Alex didn’t have to know exactly what he was saying to understand him. Her time was almost up. The door to the chopper was still open. Alex didn’t want to leave empty-handed. But if she didn’t move now, she’d be left behind. “Up!” she shouted, gesturing with her gun. This shifter was better than nothing. He’d have to do. When he gave her the coordinates to their lair, her father would be impressed. She could fix this.

  Stupid girl!

  Typical!

  She grit her teeth as her father’s accusations filled her ears. He didn’t have to be there for her to know exactly what he would say if he was. Alex concentrated instead on the shifter’s face, which was pinched with pain. His brow was covered in a sheen of sweat. His mouth a tight line.

  “Get up or die!” she pointed the gun at him, almost yelling with relief when he pulled himself onto his feet. More blood oozed from between his fingers, which were congealed with wet blood. He was a shifter, he would be okay. “Get in.” She waved the gun at the chopper.

  His eyes hardened. Then he was bashing into her for a second time, in so many minutes. The gun went flying. Instead of going down, he grabbed her around the middle, picking her up off of her feet. He moved quickly for someone so badly injured.

  She realized with a start that they were about to go off the side of the building. He was injured. Badly injured. Had silver running through his system.

  Her panic redoubled as she tried to yank herself free.

  No such luck. His hold on her tightened as he flung them off the roof. Time seemed to stand still. Did he want to die? There was no way he was shifting in time. The dragon was committing suicide and taking her with him. That had to be it. It had to be!

  Her panic subsided. It was weird, but it completely evaporated. She stopped struggling. It was too late for that. A strange feeling of calm came over her. There would be no more planning, strategizing, no more crawling through hot coals. No more trying to do the near impossible…make that, the impossible, pleasing her father. It was over.

  Alex sighed, feeling the rush of the air against her face. Feeling the ground pulling…pulling…pulling as they fell…fell…fell. Her stomach lurched and she blacked out.

  Chapter 6

  Innocent.

  Serene.

  An angel.

  A lie.

  A terrible lie. This female may look like an angel. The very picture of virtue, but her tongue was forked. He was tempted to turn her over to check for a pointed tail. In the end, he didn’t. He didn’t have to. She was pure fucking evil. The thought was still hard for him to fathom since she looked so damned sweet when she was asleep. As fucking if!

  Beck continued his study of her. The female’s blonde hair was mussed, making her even more attractive than earlier. Her lashes were long. They fanned her cheeks. Her skin was porcelain, with the lightest smattering of freckles across the bridge of her nose. Her lips were full and rosy.

  The face of an angel and the body of a siren. Her skirt was halfway up her thighs. She had legs that would look good wrapped around a male. Toned and tanned, yet lush all the same. Her tits strained against the buttons of her white blouse, which was spattered with blood.

  His blood.

  Dragon slayer bitch. Beck groaned as he slumped back on the bed. He felt more blood leak from the wound on his back. Thank fuck the bullet had passed through him. Unfortunately, he still had a ton of silver in his system and he wasn’t going to heal overnight. It would probably take a couple of days—at best—before he would be able to shift. To actually fly again. It was a fucking miracle he’d managed earlier.

  For a moment there, hurtling towards the ground, he wasn’t sure he was going to be able to make the change. He hadn’t thought his plan through before jumping. The only thing on his mind was that he couldn’t be captured. He also figured that if she was going to kill him anyway, he may as well go out fighting. At least he would have taken her out as well. At the very last second, his transformation had happened and here they were. Alive.

  Despite the agony he felt, Beck smiled. He was going to heal up and then Beck was taking her back to the lair where she was going to sing like a bird. So far, they hadn’t been able to capture any of their tormentors.

  He lifted her hand, in an almost tender fashion, running his thumb over the ‘all-seeing eye’ symbol tattooed there. His smile widened. A real bonafide slayer. Not just one of their lackeys. The real deal. She was going to talk, or she was going to scream. It would be one or the other and he would see to it personally. They would soon know all there was to know about the slayers. If their enemies knew what was good for them, they’d run. Fast and hard.

  Right then though, it was time to get cozy. Beck put his arm around the female. He could
n’t have her wandering around, possibly falling to her death, now could he?

  It was black.

  Pitch black.

  Maybe she was dead?

  No. No way. She couldn’t be. Her shoulder throbbed. The pain was dull, but there. Her neck felt stiff. Her head pounded. She was warm. No, he was warm, pressed up against her side. She could hear him breathing. Something heavy…warm as well, was slung across her middle.

  His arm.

  It had to be. It was wrapped tightly around her waist.

  Where were they? Alex didn’t move. Not so much as a muscle. Gather all the facts. Never assume anything. How long had she been unconscious? It could not have been that long since they’d fallen from the building. It had to still be daytime. She couldn’t have been out for that long. Alex didn’t think she had been badly injured. Other than her head, her shoulder, and her neck, she felt fine. Thirsty but fine. Why was it so dark then? An unnatural darkness.

  There was a dripping noise and the air smelled…musky.

  Maybe she should try and free herself. Alex moved slowly and carefully, attempting to slip from his clutches. Not wanting to so much as breathe as she did it. He was injured. Maybe he wouldn’t feel her slip away. She paused when his breathing stopped. Then moved some more when it picked back up again. One millimeter at a time. She needed to…

  His arm tightened around her, pulling her back against him with a grunt. “Stay put!” His voice was a rasp.

  “Where are we?”

  “You don’t get to ask me anything. Shut up and lie still.” He used a rough, commanding tone.

  Bullshit. This shifter didn’t get to order her around. Alex pulled away. No one spoke to her like that. Well, very few people… His arm clamped tight, her back thudding against the mattress as he hoisted her back down. The pain in her shoulder flared and she bit back a moan. He put his leg over her thighs. She gasped at how heavy he was. Hot, hard and heavy.

  “Stay still or I’ll pin you under me. Trust me, you don’t want that.”

  No shit! “You’d kill me and I’m going to assume you want me alive, or I’d be dead by now.”

  “I haven’t decided yet. You don’t want to irritate me and sway my decision.”

  “How is it that you’re still alive?” That accidental bullet should have killed him, especially after the injection.

  “Be quiet, slayer!”

  Alex squirmed as her reason for waking up became apparent to her. Especially now that his leg was laying over her as well.

  “Stay still!” he growled.

  “I need to pee,” she blurted.

  “You will stay still.”

  “I’ll wet the bed. Is that what you want?”

  “Go ahead,” he said, his voice flat with indifference. “It won’t be very comfortable lying in your own waste.”

  “You’re an animal!” she yelled. Her voice echoed back.

  “Is that what you tell yourself? That we’re animals? Makes it easier to kill and torture us if you think of us in that way.” His voice was soft. He sounded tired.

  “It’s what I’m calling you!” Anger rose in her. “Only an animal would be comfortable leaving someone to lie in their own excrement.”

  “Only an animal would be comfortable leaving someone to lie in their own blood.” His voice held a sharp edge that told her it was useless arguing. She felt a pang of guilt but quickly pushed it aside.

  Guilt is for the weak.

  Within a few seconds he was breathing heavily once again. Fast asleep. Her head pounded, her lips felt dry. Her shoulder throbbed and her bladder pulled tight. The next few hours were difficult. Not impossible. Certainly not the worst of her life but difficult. Her bladder grew fuller with every drip…drip noise. She eventually groaned, putting a hand to her belly.

  Alex reached a point where she didn’t care what he did to her. She needed to pee. It needed to happen right then. “Wake up!” she squirmed. “Hey…shifter…wake up.”

  She could hear that he already was. His breathing had changed, and his hand had tightened around her hip.

  “I need to go to the bathroom. It can’t wait.”

  Nothing.

  “If I pee right now, I’m not going to be the only one lying in my excrement. I think I have several liters inside me.” She groaned through her teeth. “Please. I’m begging you.”

  “Took long enough,” he said.

  “For what?” by now she was panting, using all of her energy to keep her pee inside of her.

  “For you to ask nicely.” He removed his arm and his leg, the bed dipping. “Don’t move!” he growled low and deep as he stood up. The bed rocked as he fell back down.

  “Hey,” she said. “Are you okay? Shifter? Hey, shifter?”

  “You’d love it if I wasn’t,” he grumbled.

  No, she wouldn’t like that. Not because she cared. Alex had no clue where she was. Maybe she still needed him. Besides, he was worth more to her alive when she escaped. And she was escaping.

  The bed shook as he clambered back up. She heard him grunt, heard his breathing pick up. She heard him moving around. It was slow, shuffling. It sounded like gravel crunching under his feet. Gravel? Where the hell were they?

  “Don’t move an inch,” he repeated, in a low, gruff voice. Not human. Too deep and rough to be anything other than a shifter. She shivered. Then she thought on his words.

  Move.

  Huh? Now there was a concept. If she moved right then, she was going to pee. Nope! No moving for her and not because of his command. She needed to know where the bathroom was. Not just where it was but exactly where it was. When she next moved, she had all of six seconds before this sucker was coming. Once it came, there would be no stopping the waterfall.

  She heard him rummaging around some more and then, another noise. One she recognized. A clicking sound, followed by a spark. Then another. And another. He was trying to get a lighter to catch flame.

  Please.

  Please.

  Hurry.

  After trying a few more times, he cursed under his breath and the rummaging noises continued.

  She groaned.

  “Shut up!” he snarled. “Shut the fuck up!” a little softer but not by much. “I can’t think with all your moaning and groaning. It’s annoying.”

  There was another clicking sound and, this time, there was a flame.

  Yes!

  Thank god!

  “Hurry,” she moaned. “Please,” she quickly added. Not beyond begging.

  Then his face was suddenly illuminated in the dark. His features were pinched. His jaw tight. His brow covered in sweat. Pain. He was in a boatload of it. No wonder he hated her. At least, it was one of the reasons. And a good one. Another flare of guilt pierced her and again she pushed it away. No time for that nonsense. Guilt would get her nowhere.

  She watched as he lit several candles, followed by a lantern, which he turned up. She silently begged for him to hurry. Her entire focus was on holding in this pee.

  Finally, finally, he leaned back against the wall and folded his arms. His chest was heaving from the slight exertion.

  “Well,” she raised her brows. Her breathing came in ragged pants. Her belly felt huge. Her bladder was not going to hold for too much longer.

  “Well what?” he grunted, grimacing.

  “Where is it?”

  “Where is what?” he smirked through the pained look on his face.

  Asshole! She gritted her teeth for a second. “Where is the bathroom?” she spoke through clenched teeth.

  “You can go there.” He gestured to a large boulder.

  A boulder?

  Her brain wasn’t working properly at this stage. She wasn’t sure what a boulder was doing in the middle of the room. It wasn’t right but she couldn’t compute what she was seeing either. Her bladder was too stretched. “Where’s the bathroom?” she repeated. Her voice shrill. Her need all-consuming.

  “You can squat, slayer. If you want to go, you can go rig
ht there.” He pointed to the boulder a second time.

  Right then, she didn’t care anymore. The floor? Sure, she’d squat. No problem! Six seconds was all she had…at this point, maybe five. She leaped off the bed and ran to the boulder, sprinting around it in maybe two seconds flat.

  “No!” the shifter growled. “Where I can see you.”

  “What?” she yelled. Sure she had heard incorrectly.

  “Where I can see you,” he repeated, speaking like she was a child.

  “Come on!” she yelled. “You can’t be serious.” She bounced from foot to foot.

  “I am.” The room might be dimly lit but she could see that his eyes were hard.

  “It’s not like I can escape from behind there without you knowing!” She yelled, speaking quickly, her bladder was about to give out.

  “This isn’t a discussion.”

  He was doing it as a power play or something. “Whatever!” she yelled. Any second now and she was going to pee herself. If the asshole wanted to watch, he could knock himself out.

  Alex squatted, yanking her undies down her thighs as she did. She moaned loudly as her pee came in a giant flood.

  Bliss!

  Beck swallowed thickly as he watched the slayer peel her panties down her lush thighs. He almost caught a peek of her pussy. Almost. He could smell it though. Had to work to stop himself from sniffing the air.

  Fucking injury. Fucking silver. Fuck this bitch! At this moment, he hated her. Hated her almost as much as he wanted to fuck her.

  Not that he wanted to actually fuck her, mind you. No way! It didn’t matter how lush those thighs were. How delicious her pussy scented. How gorgeous her lips would look wrapped around his cock. The only thing that mattered was that she was the fucking devil.