Tianna Xander

by The Earth Dragon

  She watched as Damek moved in slow motion. He threw his napkin on the table and stood up. His chair tipped over behind him and he came to her. May giggled. He could have picked the chair up. He moved so slowly anyway. What was another five minutes for him to pick up his chair?

  “Don’t leave a mess, Mamek.” She felt her head drop back against the back of her seat. “Hey! That was my minner, Mamek.” She scowled as he took a small bite of her steak. “I midn’t think it was that bad,” she said, as he spit it back out into her napkin.

  May’s head fell back on Damek’s shoulder as he picked her up and hurried from the restaurant. She giggled when he slid into the backseat of his limo with her still in his arms. “Midn’t pay the check, Mamek,” she said, then suddenly, everything went black.

  Chapter Eight

  “Get us to the airport as fast as you can, Howard.” Damek barked at his driver as soon as Carter closed the door and hopped into the front seat. “Carter, call the plane’s crew and tell them to have it ready to go when we get there.”

  “Yes, sir,” Carter said as Howard put the car in gear and mashed the gas. “Can I assume that your dinner went well?”

  “No. You can assume that someone poisoned my mate with the nectar from a tanquila flower.”

  “Where have I heard of that before?”

  “You heard it last month when one of my people found a live specimen in the mountains in Alaska.” He placed a kiss on her forehead for the contact as much as to see what her temperature was. It was rising quickly. If he didn’t get her the antidote soon, he would lose her before he even had her.

  “I knew I’d heard of that somewhere.”

  “I wish I never had. I wish that the damned plant was as extinct as we thought was it for so many years.” If it had been, there was no way anyone could have poisoned May with it.

  “Call Anderson and tell him to send an agent over to the restaurant. I want to know who tampered with her meal.” He looked down at May. Her creamy complexion grew lighter by the moment. “Just get us to the airport as fast as you can. I have something on the plane that I can give her to help slow down her metabolism.”

  It wouldn’t just slow down her metabolism, it would almost stop it. Tetrodotoxin, made from the poison of a puffer fish, would slow her metabolism down so far, it would make her appear dead. He only hoped that the drug, mixed with the poison, didn’t kill her. Damek didn’t want to give it to her, but he didn’t have a choice.

  Carter managed to get them to the airport in record time. Damek didn’t wait for him to get out and open the door. He’d flung it open before the limo had even come to a complete stop.

  May babbled something incoherent when she fell against his side. Damek wrapped his arm around her, pulled her close, and kissed the top of her head. “It’s okay, little one. I’ll take care of you.”

  Taking May into his arms, he got out of the limo and headed to the boarding ladder. The crew had the plane warmed up and ready to go. Its engines rumbled as he crossed the tarmac and climbed up to the entry.

  “Sir.” The pilot stood ready when he entered the plane. “Where to, sir?”

  “Alaska. On the double. May has been poisoned and we need the antidote,” he said as the man secured the door.

  “You know you’ll have to sit with her until we’ve taken off. You won’t do her any good if you get injured during take-off because you’re too stubborn to stay seated. Surely, anything you need to do can wait a few minutes. Otherwise, we’ll have to wait to take off.”

  “I’ll stay here with her until you tell me I can get up. I don’t want to delay take-off.” He knew where everything he needed was stored, but that was it. It was all stored and it would take some time getting it together. He looked down at May and prayed she had that kind of time.

  While the nectar of the tanquila flower could kill, it usually killed slowly. It caused paralysis until eventually it reached the organs. May was still moving and trying to talk. It wouldn’t affect her organs for hours, even if he didn’t give her the tetrodotoxin.

  The crushed leaves of the tanquila made into a tea, could heal almost anything. It was an antidote for many poisons, including its own nectar. He only wished that he had already gotten the several leaves he’d asked for. They hadn’t arrived yet, most likely due to the nature of the shipment. Plants and animals had to go through rigorous testing and quarantines before one could carry them across state or country borders.

  Take-off took an eternity. Damek was out of his seat as soon as the pilot turned off the fasten seatbelt sign and headed for the storage area. His first-aid kit was easy to get to, so were the syringes. What took the longest was opening the safe that he had stupidly set up on a delay to help deter thieves.

  Almost twenty-five minutes after he left to get the supplies, Damek returned to see May sprawled across the two cream, leather seats. Her arm dangled over the side and rested on the floor palm up.

  Damek’s heart leapt in his chest as he saw her like that, appearing dead. Dropping the kit he put together, he rushed to her and gathered her in his arms. The poison never worked this fast—she couldn’t be dead.

  “Let me go, you meanie!” May fought him like a wildcat. She balled her hands into fists and pummeled his chest. “Leave me lone! I want my mommy!” She began to cry and it wrenched Damek’s heart. He couldn’t bear to watch her relive this traumatic moment from her past, yet knew he had no choice.

  He must stay with her until she calmed down enough so he could inject her. He couldn’t lose her. Not after all this time. Not after so many thousands of years of loneliness. He refused to lose her. Her screams of terror died down to little sobs as May cried on his shoulder for a few minutes, then stiffened in his arms.

  “Let me go, please.”

  She was coherent!

  When he didn’t immediately let her go, May pushed him away. “I asked you to let me go.” She moved to lean against the window, looked out and grew very still. “Why am I on a plane?”

  “You were poisoned.”

  “Oh. Well, that makes sense. Someone poisons me so you take me for a plane ride.” She stared at him, disbelief shining in her eyes. “My belly hurts.” She rubbed her stomach with a frown. “Take me home, Damek.”

  At least she wasn’t calling him Mamek anymore. That was a good sign. “I don’t believe I can. If someone will try to kill you once, they’ll do it again.”

  “Well, they only tried to kill me while I was with you. Are you sure it wasn’t you who arranged for my meal to make me sick?” She gave him a sideways glance.

  “Don’t be ridiculous. I wouldn’t have to drug you to kidnap you.”

  “But you did kidnap me.”

  “Only to save your life.” He didn’t add that he intended to do just that if she didn’t agree to go to Alaska with him. He not only wanted to spend as much time as he could alone with her, he knew there was a possibility she could help him find every undiscovered Dragon’s Desire plant in existence. If he showed her the one plant he had, she could cause every one of the plants in the vicinity to reveal itself if—and it was a big if—he could convince her to help him.

  He looked down into her deep brown eyes and willed her to kiss him, but knew she wouldn’t. She wasn’t ready, not yet. He wished he could force just one kiss on her, but it didn’t work that way. She must be willing, open, and susceptible to receiving the signals sent from his subconscious in order to see them.

  Damek stopped short of begging her to stay the course with him. He’d wanted to let her make the decision, but disagreeing with him at every turn, he had no other choice but to take her to Alaska whether she wished to go or not.

  “Forgive me, May.”

  She stared at him for a moment before he noticed a little crease between her brows. “For kidnapping me?” She shook her head. “Never.”

  “It is for your own good.” Could he never get the woman to see reason? “Look at it this way, May. The person or persons who made an attempt on your life n
o longer know where you are. At the most, they only know that you boarded this plane.”

  May glared at him for a moment, then turned to stare out the window. “Drake will kill you for taking me against my will, you know. He takes the idea of being our protector very seriously.” She turned to look at him, most likely to see his reaction to her threat.

  Damek examined his fingernails for a moment, just to get her riled, then he shrugged. “No matter. I am the stronger and he will lose. I will kill him and, unfortunately, your sister will die as well. They are mated and her life force is tied to his.”

  He pretended not to hear her gasp and purged all emotion from his expression. He couldn’t afford to let her know that she could sway him on the matter. There was no reason to give her ammunition, so-to-speak.

  “I am one of the oldest and most experienced dragons to walk this earth. If you think Drake is old…” he paused with a grin… “you’re going to think that I’m positively ancient. I grew up with his grandfather.” He stared deep into her eyes so she would know he spoke the truth. “I am probably the most experienced, battle-hardened dragon alive. Do not underestimate my powers, little one.”

  May rested her head on the glass and stared out the window. “Where are you taking me?”

  “To Alaska.”

  “What! You can’t take me to Alaska. It’s cold there.” She shivered as though she was already cold. “I have important body parts that could freeze off!”

  Damek leaned close, and whispered in her ear, “I will keep you warm, May. I promise.”

  Shivering again, May rubbed her ear and pushed him away. “Get away from me. I really don’t like you at the moment.”

  Damek stood and moved to the kit he’d dropped on the floor when he feared for her life just a few moments before. “Just so long as that feeling doesn’t last, little one.” Bending, he picked up the little bag and moved toward the back of the plane. “I’ll be right back. Don’t go anywhere.”

  “Yeah, right. He says don’t go anywhere. Where could I go? I sure can’t flush myself down the toilet.”

  Laughing, Damek made his way back to the still-open safe and replaced the kit. He didn’t think he’d ever been happier in his life.

  Chapter Nine

  May sat still and stared out the window. She probably shouldn’t give Damek such a hard time. He was trying to protect her, after all. At least that’s what he said, and if there was one thing she’d learned, it was that most dragons didn’t lie. They had no need to. They usually had a way to take whatever they wanted without having to lie to get it. Why should Damek be any different?

  She rubbed her stomach again, still feeling a little queasy. Moving to the edge of the seat, she grasped the cushion in front of her and pulled herself to her feet. Dizzy, May swayed a bit before the plane stopped spinning and she made her way to the back of the aircraft, looking for Damek and the bathroom. She’d already made up her mind that she would throw up when she found one of them. It didn’t really matter which one she found. Either way, she’d get some relief from the pain.

  “It figures,” she said a bit disappointed when she found the bathroom.

  Her eyes widened when she turned on the light and entered the room. It wasn’t like every other bathroom she’d seen on planes. This one had a tub and a shower. It took every ounce of willpower she had not to throw up on the plush cream-colored carpeting. Rushing to the sink, she bowed her head over the basin and let it go.

  Afterward, she rinsed the sink and used one of the unopened toothbrushes and the toothpaste to brush her teeth. She didn’t want rancid breath, although, maybe that would have been a good thing to keep Damek away.

  She wiped her mouth on the towel hanging next to the mirror and tried to convince herself that she wanted to keep Damek away.

  With the towel still covering the lower half of her face, May stared at herself in the mirror with a frown. She should want to keep him away. His size terrified her. She didn’t know why. All she knew was that she couldn’t, just couldn’t be his mate. Would fate really be so cruel as to mate her with someone so…so huge?

  Someone knocked on the door. May didn’t answer because she knew it had to be him. What should she do?

  “Are you okay in there, May?”

  “I’m coming.” The words were out of her mouth before she knew she was even going to say them.

  “Oh, don’t lie to me like that, little one. You aren’t even breathing hard. I can tell.”

  Her cheeks reddened at his teasing remark. May hung the hand towel back up on the holder beside the mirror and tried not to think about how big the man was. He was a nice man. He wouldn’t hurt her. If he intended to harm her, he wouldn’t have brought her here to try to save her.

  Frowning, she thought about that for a minute. Exactly how was taking her to Alaska supposed to save her? With her fears firmly back in place, May took a deep breath, pulled up her big-girl panties and prepared to face her dragon. Literally.

  What are you thinking, May? He is not your dragon.

  Flinging the door open, she stood and glared up at him, wishing there was a live plant up here—preferably one with vines so she could strangle him with it.

  “Why does that smile of yours make me nervous?” he asked when she tried to push past him.

  “I don’t have the slightest idea what you’re talking about.” She felt her cheeks heating as she tried to make her way back to the seating area.

  When she finally got there, she looked around with dismay. Wasn’t there even one place to sit off by itself where she wouldn’t have to put up with him being so close? She couldn’t breathe when he was so close.

  She moved through the area, praying that she would find that one lone chair, but didn’t find one. Turning, she glared up at him. “Stop following me around.”

  “I’m just seeing to your safety, May.”

  “No, dammit, you’re following me around and ticking me off.”

  “My name is Damek, little one.”

  What the heck was he talking about now? She didn’t even say his name. May thought over what she said and stomped her foot. “You know very well that I know what your name is.”

  He just grinned at her, his right cheek revealed that little dimple and she could swear she actually felt her knees go weak.

  I am not attracted to the muscle-bound jerk. I am not attracted to the muscle-bound jerk. She chanted the words a few more times while she walked away from him again.

  “Where are you going?”

  “I’m going to find a place where there is only one seat so I don’t have to put up with you being so close to me.”

  “Well, you’re headed in the right direction.”

  May brightened up. “Really?”

  “Yes,” he said with a nod, his expression unreadable. “Go a few more feet and turn right. You can’t miss it.”

  With a smile, May spun around, hurried in the direction he indicated, turned and stopped with a scowl. “This is the bathroom.” She rested her hands on her hips and turned to glare at him. “Do you expect me to sit in here for the entire flight?” If he did, he was going to be disappointed.

  “You’re the one who wanted the seat with no one around.”

  “No. I wanted to find a place where you wouldn’t be sitting next to me, breathing down my neck.”

  He raised a brow. “I haven’t breathed down your neck, May. Believe me when I say, had I done so, you would know it.”

  “Bah!” She threw her hands in the air and stomped to the nearest seat, lifted the armrest between the two and put her feet up on the other side.

  “When will you calm down, little one?”

  “When you take me home, giant one.”

  Damek crossed his arms and watched while she did her best to sit comfortably with the armrest digging into her back. With a sigh, he reached down and reclined his seat. “Sit up properly and do this.”

  “No way, buster. I am so not laying down here so you can sit next to me and breathe
on me.” She didn’t know if she could take it. Every word that came out of his mouth slid over her senses like warm butter. There was no way she would withstand an all-out assault if he decided to make one. She knew it.

  With a laugh, Damek sat up. “What is this fascination you have with my breathing on you?”

  “Nothing. Absolutely nothing.” May wriggled in place for another minute or two, then, with a sigh, she sat up properly and gave him a look that dared him to take the empty spot next to her.

  She couldn’t think when he sat so close. She kept telling herself that it was because he scared her. It had nothing to do with the fact that he made her feel all warm and tingly inside. It also had nothing to do with knowing the man had carried her here in his arms without breaking a sweat. May didn’t know how she knew that. She just did.

  After a few moments, May relaxed. Damek didn’t leave his seat and she began to feel tired. “I have a question.”

  “I shall strive to answer it to the best of my ability.”

  She smiled to herself when he didn’t add little one to the end of his sentence. Perhaps calling him, giant one worked—even if it had been a childish thing to do.

  “How did you know I was poisoned?”

  Chapter Ten

  “You were holding your stomach, then you started talking as though you were drunk. Since I knew you had no more than a few sips of wine, it couldn’t have been the alcohol.”

  Damek watched her reaction. He expected her disbelief, however, and wasn’t surprised when she gave him a look that said she didn’t believe a word he said. “After I smelled your dinner, I tasted it and the poison was easy to distinguish from the food.”

  “Uh, huh. For you, maybe.” May nodded. Leaning back a bit more, she crossed her feet at the ankles. “And you won’t take me back until you find out who poisoned me?”