Surrender Her Touch

by Kari Thomas

  “Just get this over with,” Slade bit out.

  Fine! What was the worst that could happen? They’d think she was some kind of freak of nature? It didn’t matter. After what Slade just did, nothing else mattered anymore. Not for anything would she ever let him see how much he hurt her with his deceptiveness and his callous threats.

  Summer slowly approached the big bed. Slade was close enough behind her to feel his body heat. She sent him an angry glare over her shoulder. “Back off. I don’t need you hovering.”

  “I’m not going anywhere.” He folded his arms across his chest. “Don’t think you can do anything to hurt him more. I won’t think twice about retaliation.”

  “I’ve had enough of your threats,” she told him, keeping the hurt out of her tone. “Just stop talking to me, Slade. Never talk to me again.”

  He cursed under his breath, and despite the foreign language he used, she knew what it meant. She ignored him as best she could, and then she resolutely pushed away the heartache and looked down at the man on the bed.

  At one time he must have been very handsome. There was a regal air about him, despite the way the strange illness had ravaged his body. His features, now grey tinged, were aristocratic. His sweat-drenched hair was snow white and long. She glanced over his body and could see he was very thin beneath the coverings.

  She touched his sweat covered forehead and could feel the high fever just below the surface. It felt like a torch. She yanked her hand back. What was wrong with him? Was it contagious? No, she reasoned, or Slade and any others would have it too. She hesitated in touching him again. Beside her, Slade growled softly in his throat. She glared at him. When she was done here, she was going to hit him so hard he would see stars! It was the least she owed him.

  Taking in a deep breath, she slowly exhaled. Resolved, she placed her hands on the man’s chest, and then jumped back with a choked scream. She lost her balance and fell at Slade’s feet. He reached down to help her up, but she scooted back away from him.

  “No! No, this can’t be! I refuse to believe it!”

  Her mind was flooded with horrific memories. Her heart raced out of control. The room swam around her. A scream of horror rose from the very depths of her soul and into her throat. She choked, holding it back. Slade moved toward her. Panic swamped her senses.

  “Don’t touch me! Stay away from me!” She scooted until her back hit into a wall.

  She wrapped her arms around her knees and buried her face. Tears of rage and of sheer undiluted terror fell down her cheeks. She heard Slade saying something to her, but she couldn’t concentrate on the words. Only the memories that rose in full color and detail in her mind once again.

  Dragons! God help her, but she was a prisoner in a house of dragons! And not just any dragon shifters, but Air Dragons! She’d felt the truth the moment she’d touched the man’s chest. His royal heritage shouted out with pride, his dragon rose instantly to meet her familiar healing touch. Air Dragons!

  I’m having a nightmare. That’s the only explanation.

  She must have said the words aloud. Slade was kneeling beside her, and he murmured, “I’m sorry, Summer. But it’s true.”

  She lifted her head, angrily wiping away the tears. “You could have told me. When you discovered I had healing powers, you could have spared me, but you didn’t. All you could think about was your selfish priority.”

  “You would have run screaming from me if I’d told you the truth.”

  He was right. Facing the nightmare of her life again wasn’t something she would have willingly done. Not even for a man she was starting to have deep feelings for. No. He killed that. I can’t ever trust him again. And he’s a dragon shapeshifter! “How did you figure it out? Aleta was unconscious when I healed her.” She was shocked she could ask the question so calmly.

  “I suspected but wasn’t sure. It wasn’t possible. We thought all the Healers were dead, but we finally caught up with your stalker and he exposed you.” Slade raised his hand to stall her next question. “I’ll tell you about it later. Right now I need you to heal our Ruler. He’s dying, Summer, and so is his son. You are our Bonded-Clan Healer; you have an obligation to help.”

  “Obligation!” She struck out at his raised hand. “You’ve got a lot of coldhearted nerve to say that word to me! How stupid are you, Slade? Do you think I would lift a finger to help the very enemy who slaughtered my entire clan and my family? Think again. I hate you. I hate all of you. And I have every right to do so!”

  “Damn it, Summer! Stop acting like a rebellious child. We weren’t the ones who murdered our Healers. It was a rogue band of Air Dragons. I know you have every right to be afraid and angry. I can’t blame you for that, but I’ll be damned if I will allow your refusal to help when I know you’re our only hope.” He bared his teeth, looking more predatory than any wolf could. “And don’t forget about your precious Leo.”

  She swore she saw red. Yet she kept her voice low and calm, and filled with conviction. “I really do hate you, Slade. More than I ever thought possible to hate someone.”

  “I’ll have to accept that, just as you are going to have to accept this situation. We’ll both deal with it.” He didn’t give her a chance to reply. He lunged to his feet and then reached down and grasped her by the waist. He pulled her straight up into his arms. “Heal them, and then I’ll let you go home. Simple as that.”

  She hit him as hard as she could, her fist aiming for the area over his heart. “No it isn’t. You are such a liar. You will never let me go now that you know who I am.”

  He didn’t answer. He pushed her back to the bed. Summer wrenched out of his arms. “Don’t ever touch me again.”

  She could have sworn she heard him mutter under his breath, “Not an option.” But she turned away from him and once again looked down at the ill man. There was no way out of this. Her soul cried out in anger.

  “What is his name?” She finally forced herself to be calm. She knew there was no other choice but to heal him. There was too much at stake, either way. “I was too young to remember the Ruler’s name before…”

  “Ruliard. And his son’s name is Ansel. They are the only two full Air Dragons left alive in our Clan. We thought they were the only ones, period.”

  She shook her head, her voice soft, barely above a whisper. “I never dreamed there were any dragon shifters left anywhere in the world. I thought I was safe.”

  “You are safe, damn it!” Slade paced a few feet away from her. “Despite what you now think about me, Summer, I would never hurt you and neither would anyone here. Don’t you realize how precious you are to my Clan?”

  She wanted to believe him, desperately wanted it with all of her heart and soul. But the relentless fear and the burning anger wouldn’t let her. “It doesn’t matter,” she told him. “I’ll do this because I have no choice. Nothing else matters.”

  She braced herself for the shock of recognition again when she placed her hands on Ruliard’s sunken chest. All the Fabrizio Healers had an internal recognition of their Bonded-Clan members. She didn’t understand why she hadn’t felt it when she’d healed Aleta. Maybe because she wasn’t full dragon or because she was adopted? She pushed the thought aside and focused on Ruliard.

  The moment her hands settled against his chest, she ignored the flashing memories and bonding familiarity, and she sent a strong, searching flow of power into his body. She needed to find the source of the illness. Knowing what she was dealing with was priority before she could heal him.

  It didn’t take long to locate the source. There, in the pit of his stomach and rushing through his blood, was an insidious poison blacker than the blackest night. She recognized it as poison, its unique pattern swirling in his bloodstream.

  “It’s poison,” she told Slade.

  He cursed, harsh and nasty. “Can you get rid of it?”

  She nodded. Her powers were preternaturally strong, with inherited strength that went beyond all comprehension. The Fabrizio Cla
n had been known as the most powerful of healers in the shapeshifter world at one time.

  She took a deep breath, exhaled slowly, and then pushed a supernaturally strong force of healing power from her hands straight into his body and bloodstream.

  Instantly, excruciating pain struck her. She screamed and fell backward. Slade caught her before she hit the floor. She struggled to breathe and tried to focus on clearing her vision as the pain slowly, agonizingly disappeared from her system. She’d never felt anything like it.

  “What the hell?” Slade pulled her upright and then grabbed her shoulders. “What just happened?”

  Summer ran a shaky hand over her eyes. “I don’t know. As soon as I tried to send in healing power, something strange and powerful hit me. The pain was like nothing I’ve ever felt before.”

  Slade’s grip on her shoulders tightened painfully. She glared at him. The look he was spearing her with caused her to lose her breath all over again.

  “I wouldn’t have believed you’d stoop this low, Summer.”

  “What?” She tried to pull away from him, but he wouldn’t release her. “Are you accusing me of lying? You bastard!”

  “Why the hell are you refusing to do this?” Slade shook her. She struggled but his grip tightened. “Gods damn it; just do it and get it over with!”

  “I can’t! That pain nearly knocked me unconscious!” Whatever it was, it didn’t take a genius to realize it was very dangerous, even deadly. She’d felt the strength of the odd power when it had attacked.

  Slade cursed. He shoved her away and pulled his cellphone from his pocket. Summer gasped. He wouldn’t! She grabbed for the phone but he held it out of reach.

  “Slade! Stop. Please.” She hated begging, but if it saved Leo, she was going to do it. She was never going to forgive him for this. Never. ”I’ll try again.” Whatever that pain was, she didn’t have a choice but to face it one more time. She prayed she had the strength.

  She placed her hands on Ruliard’s chest and immediately sent her healing power into him.

  When the pain hit this time, she felt it stun her entire body like an electrical shock wave. Before she could even scream, she fainted.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Slade cursed every foul word he could think of as he grabbed Summer and swung her up into his arms. She was out cold. Or she’s the best faker I’ve ever seen. He didn’t know what to believe. She’d refused to help and then had insisted something was stopping her from doing it. Was she telling the truth or lying so that she could stall? He looked down at her face as her head rested on his shoulder and felt a sting of guilt. She was pale, almost colorless. His gut clenched, protective instincts rising to the top.

  Boyce came into the room, and Slade brusquely stated, “Stay with him. I’m taking her to the guest room.”

  He stomped out, protectively holding his fragile burden tight as he fought with his conscience. He’d hated seeing that look in her eyes when he’d threatened to have Leo killed, but he’d had no choice. He knew she would refuse to help once she discovered the full truth, and he would need an ace up his sleeve. Never would he tell her he really wouldn’t have carried the order out. She loved that damn cat, and he couldn’t bring himself to hurt something she cared about.

  She was fast becoming a weakness he didn’t want to acknowledge, couldn’t afford to. Deep inside, his dragon rumbled in displeasure at his refusal to accept what he was beginning to feel about her.

  He kicked the door to the guest room closed behind him and carried her to the bed. He gently placed her on the bed and then had to force himself to release his hold. It was bad enough he’d already realized he loved holding her, but not being able to let go wasn’t a good thing.

  It didn’t help any that he now knew she wasn’t full human. The Fabrizio Clan wasn’t immortal, but they had extremely long life spans. Their healing powers allowed them to live more than one or two centuries. They aged like the dragons, slow and unnoticeable. There had even been a few mixed marriages between them and the Shamara Dragons.

  Hellfire! He couldn’t think about that right now. He had to figure out how to make Summer help Ruliard and Ansel without having to follow through on his threat over Leo.

  He stared down at her. She was such a fragile woman, but he’d already seen the hidden strength she carried within her. She could be fiery as well as adorable, and he had to admit he didn’t know which side of her he liked best.

  Every time he looked at her, her soft beauty struck him again. He could look at her forever and never get tired of it. She had the softest skin, and he constantly had to fight the battle to keep his hands off her. Wanting to touch her and doing it wouldn’t be the smartest action he’d ever done. Because as sure as hell, he wouldn’t stop at just touching her.

  She had a body that called to every primal male cell in him. Curves in all the right places. All that delectable skin. He ached to strip her bare and explore every tantalizing inch. She’d felt so good when he’d snagged her against him at the apartment, her warm softness pressed to his nakedness. It had taken every ounce of willpower he had to keep from making love to her then and there, damn the consequences.

  She stirred, a soft moan escaping her luscious mouth. He wanted to kiss her again. Her taste stayed in his mind constantly. Instead, he sat down beside her on the bed and waited for her to open her eyes.

  When she did, he wasn’t prepared for the stark fear radiating in the lovely violet depths. It hit him hard in the gut and his dragon rumbled in an overprotective growl.

  “Are you okay?”

  She blinked rapidly several times and finally nodded her head. “The pain is gone.”

  He wanted to believe her, needed to, but he couldn’t stop the question. “Are you sure there was some kind of pain? Maybe you were just reacting to the situation.”

  She surged up and pushed against his chest. “You’re right, Slade,” she stated angrily. “That’s all it was. Just a simple reaction to finding out that my entire life has changed forever, and I’m now a prisoner in a compound full of my enemy: dragon shapeshifters. What was I thinking, imagining a non-existent pain? I should have known you would see right through my deception.”

  Anger surged hot. Slade wanted to grab her by the shoulders and shake her. He didn’t like admitting he was wrong, but he knew it was the only thing that would salvage this situation between them.

  “Fine, Summer. I accept your explanation that there was a real pain.” He narrowed his eyes. “Explain it to me. What do you think it was?”

  She looked like she was going to remain stubbornly mute, but she ran a shaky hand over her eyes and then finally answered. “I’ve never felt anything like it before. I think it was mixed with the poison in Ruliard’s system. There was a foul, black aura all around the area it was affecting.” She paused. Then she gasped. “There is every possibility it was magic.”

  “What the hell?” Slade bit back curses. “How?” He remembered Chen mentioning he had sensed something about a magic user around Summer. What kind of enemy were they dealing with exactly? Another Shapeshifter? Another dragon, like Chen? Was Chen actually all he said? Damn it, the answers weren’t adding up.

  “Do you have enough magic to counter it, now that you know it’s there?” The Fabrizio Clan had been known to carry magic in their genes, though it was rarely used. He had magic, being half Air dragon, but what good would it do when he couldn’t use it to heal?

  Summer shook her head, lowering her gaze. “I never used any, my entire life. I have no idea if I even have it.”

  “Now is as good a time as any to find out,” he told her. She cringed at his brisk tone, and he mentally cringed too. Damn, but she had the most unusual affect on him, no matter what she did.

  “And if I try again, but it’s too strong and it kills me?”

  Slade growled. His dragon roared at the thought of any harm coming to her. The man refused to accept the chance either. “There has to be a way,” he muttered. “I can’t let them d
ie.” When he found out who or what was responsible for this, he’d kill them without a second thought.

  He needed to talk to Boyce before he put Summer in danger again. “Stay here and rest. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

  If there were a way he could help Summer boost her healing power by lending her some of his magic, Boyce would know what to do. He just didn’t relish the thought of what she’d do or how she’d react when she discovered he was part Air dragon.

  * * * *

  Summer waited until she could no longer hear his booted steps in the hall, and then she got off the bed and hurried to the door. She opened it slowly, grateful it wasn’t one of those creaking doors. Much to her relief, the hallway was empty. She stepped out of the room and closed the door behind her. She could tell she was in a bedroom wing and decided to follow it to the end where two corridors split. The right one led back to the entryway. She stopped and took off her high-heeled sandals. The last thing she wanted was for someone to hear her running across that hard wood floor. Checking once more to make sure no one was around, she took off at a fast sprint across the wide hallway, down the entryway, and to the front doors.

  She breathed a sigh of relief when she stepped out, still finding no one around and realized she’d made it this far without being spotted. Just as she was congratulating herself, she heard someone approaching from around the corner of the big house. She ran as fast as she could toward the other side of the house as she heard the voices of two men talking. Trying to catch her breath, she listened to make sure they weren’t following her.

  “We should have more shifts,” one man commented. “This wasn’t good, leaving the doors unprotected.”

  “Jenson didn’t have a choice but to leave it,” the other commented. “Aleta yelled for him to come help her with something. Don’t look so worried. He called us, and we got here quickly. Besides, there’s no threat to the Ruler right now.”