His attention was pulled away from his thoughts when Carissa moved. Horror filled him as she crumpled to the floor. He tried to cry out her name, but his voice didn’t work. She’d definitely stolen it to perform her trick. His heart squeezed when her form dissolved. Dragons only involuntarily shifted to their smaller forms in times of stress or need.
Voicelessly crying out her name again, he rushed to her side and dug the small, golden dragon from inside the body of the dress. He placed his hand on her side, feeling for a heartbeat. For a moment, he thought she was dead, and then she pulled in a raspy breath. His fingers finally located the staccato beat of her little heart—strong and steady. Michael let out a shaky breath as he cradled the limp dragon against his chest. If he’d had any questions about who she was, this cinched it. Only the royal family shifted into gold dragons. He stroked her head and tucked her wings in before turning to roll up her dress. She was going to need it as soon as she recovered.
Once everything was secure, Michael stood up and looked around. Getting her things together had been a quite a chore. He hadn’t wanted to put her down in case he needed to get out of there fast. With her dress, rolled inside the corset, secured to his belt, and her jewels in his pocket, he looked around for the exit. There were three doors leading out of this room. Tucking Carissa into the crook of his left arm, Michael pulled out his gun and headed for the door on the right. He was taking no more chances with her safety.
Michael was surprised at how small Carissa was in this form. The gold dragons were the largest of the great dragon families. They towered head and shoulders above any of the other colors when in their great form. He had seen Carissa in that form many times. She was magnificent. The way the light sparkled off her scales always stole his breath away. Hell, the light sparkling off any color of dragon was magnificent. There was something in their scales that broke the light and reflected it back, like the prismatic coating on interstate signs. He had always wanted to touch her scales. They were so beautiful. His thumb rubbed gently against the side of her head where it rested in his palm. He looked down at her to make sure she was still okay.
God, she was so small. He had seen dragons in their little forms that rivaled Great Danes. But Carissa… she was barely the size of a house cat, although she did have a little length to her. With her head resting in his hand, the tip of her tail hung to nearly his knee. A scalloped frill covered her neck, but she lacked the horns her brother sported in his grander size. The tip of her tail ended in a fanning of soft strands. Not hair, but not hard like quills. It patted softly against his leg as he walked. For a second, the thought of that tail thumping into his back popped into his head. A shot of desire raced through him again. Oh man, he had gone crazy! Now he was having erotic thoughts about her in dragon form. That was just not normal. He had always loved the look of her as a dragon, but it had never caused him to lust before. He shook the thought away, readjusted himself, and worked his way down the next corridor.
Michael had been able to determine they were in some kind of castle-like building. The windows, if there were any, were small and set high in the stone wall. Some didn’t even have glass in them. The halls all wound around oddly, like a maze. He had taken several wrong turns that came to dead ends, but he was able to avoid the people moving about. Carissa had rumbled a few times in her sleep but hadn’t woken. He rubbed his thumb gently over her neck, hoping she would wake soon. He could really use her help to find a way out of here.
The sound of pounding feet echoed up the hall. Michael slipped into one of the side rooms so they could pass. Someone must have discovered the unconscious men in the barracks. Oh great, his job just got harder. Michael considered finding someplace to hole up, but this group wouldn’t stop searching for them until they had turned over every stone, or found them. And with only one gun, he wanted to be away as quickly as he could. A few minutes later, a herd of feet thundered past, heading in the other direction. He had to get out of there. Now.
Tucking Carissa tighter to his body, Michael took off in a sprint down the hall away from where he’d come. There had to be an exit around here somewhere. Something thumped against his back, causing him to whip around to find his attacker. Another thump smacked him between the shoulder blades, this time accompanied by a gurgle. He looked down to find that he was squeezing Carissa hard against him. He tried to curse and apologize as he loosened his grip. She thumped him once more before climbing up his coat. Her needle-point claws bit into his jacket before she wrapped herself around his neck. Thank God for good leather.
“Can’t find the way out,” he mouthed to her as she settled on his shoulders. She rubbed the top of her head on his cheek soothingly before looking around at their options. Noise was coming from behind them, so Michael started off down the corridor again. When the hall dead-ended in the middle of another, he stopped. Carissa thumped him hard on the back with her tail and pointed her nose to the right. He turned right.
Every few steps, Carissa would swish her tail from the front of his body to the back. Movement to work out her nerves. God, he wished she would stop doing that. The soft thwap of the tufty bit at the end of her tail reminded him of that soft flogger his ex used to like. It really wasn’t helping with his earlier thoughts. God, if he got out of this, got her safely back to the king, survived the king’s wrath, then survived Daniel’s wrath for his initial fuckup; he was so heading over to that BDSM club downtown. A pretty girl with a soft flogger would probably go a long way to work the dragon hormones out of his system. Carissa’s tail thumped into his back again, and he caught the end when it came back around. She whipped her head around to look at him, but he just gave her a half smile and a shrug. It’s not like he would explain the issue to her even if he could. Her tail stilled, but he held on, rubbing the soft fringe at the end.
Finally, natural light filled the far end of their hallway. Michael didn’t care anymore; be it door or window, they were going to get out. Luck would have it that it was a door, a big, beautiful, wooden door being held open by a man. He was yelling something to someone outside, but that didn’t bother Michael. As soon as the man finished and went to shut the door, Michael smacked him in the back of the head with the butt of his gun. He dropped like a stone. A purr vibrated through his shoulder from Carissa. He shivered in response. Even while killing someone, just a sound from her made him hard.
What the hell was wrong with him? He had handled dragons before—heard their noises, felt their purrs, touched their scales—and none of them brought on any response even close to what she brought out in him. He wanted her. Right now. In this form. How was that even possible? He was going to need some serious counseling when the whole, sordid affair was over.
After a few deep breaths, Michael pulled himself together and opened the door. Two men turned to look at him. Two men. Michael could handle that. He pointed his gun at the first and pulled the trigger. The hammer fell on the round with an audible click, but nothing happened. A dud. He tried again, but the gun jammed up. Shit!
The men had frozen when the door had opened, but now they sprang into action. One raced away for help while the other came at them, fighting to get his gun out of wherever he had stuck it. Carissa launched herself at the man’s face. Five pounds of teeth, claws, and wings distracted him enough for Michael to shoulder-check him and smack them to the ground.
Carissa’s wings and tail trembled and thrashed as she hissed from where she landed. Michael snapped the man’s neck before turning to look at the little dragon. She didn’t look hurt, but he was afraid she had gone down hard. He reached for her, but she snapped at him and turned towards the woods just beyond the courtyard.
Snapping to his senses, Michael looked around for the other man, but he was already out of sight. Dropping the useless gun, Michael chased after the flash of gold scampering across the open ground. She was quick for her size. Pausing at the tree line, Carissa waited long enough for him to catch up before slipping off into the woods. Chaos exploded from the c
astle behind them.
Snatching her up from the ground, Michael tucked Carissa back under his arm and booked it for all he was worth. He wasn’t going to break any land-speed records, but he had trained for just this kind of thing. Sprinting short distances, he zigzagged his way through the trees, looking for a place to hide. Someplace to get away from the men he could hear following them. He shot for a break in the bush to his right. An unruly bramble caught his legs, and he slipped. Tumbling, he tucked Carissa in against his chest, protected by his arms. Who knew what kind of damage he could do to a small dragon if he fell on it. Panic filled him as he saw what they were falling towards. Nice, soft, green grass… at the bottom of a really long hill.
***
“Let me go, you stupid man!” Carissa hissed from where she was crushed to Michael’s chest. Unfortunately, he didn’t understand dragon. Didn’t he have a brain cell in that head of his? She could have told him those brambles hid the edge of a cliff. Hadn’t Daniel taught him anything? Didn’t he know to release a dragon in a fall? Now he was going to crush her as they rolled down the hill. Oh yes, he had tucked her up between his arms to protect her body, but what about her wings or tail? What would happen if she broke something? Now that they were outside, it wouldn’t take but a few moments for her to shift to a larger form and get them out of there, but he was too stupid to realize it. Just snatched her up and took off, willy-nilly, into the woods. God save her from men, no matter how they made her feel. And oh, how he had made her feel!
Waking up riding in his arms, even crushed to his chest while running, had been amazing. That was definitely an experience she would like to try again—in less hectic times, of course. Oh, and riding on his shoulder, breathing in his warm scent. Sure, he could definitely use a bath, but underneath, he had a rich spice that tickled her nose. And on top of all that, the wonderful musk of male dragon. Oh, she hadn’t expected that, at least not yet. The way he played with the end of her tail had given her shivers like you would not believe. How did he know that was one of her sensitive spots? She wanted him. Right now—in any form. Well, at least she had until the nutcase lost his marbles and took off like a deaf bat.
Carissa let out a puff of angry air before burying her head into Michael’s chest. If they were going to crash, she probably should do something to ensure she survived enough to get them out of this. Drawing in a deep breath, she pulled herself to human form. And just in time, too. Michael shifted his grip on her now-larger form and took the brunt of the initial impact. It would have been nice to stop there, but the incline of the hill decided they should probably continue to the bottom.
Brush, sticks, rocks, and a plethora of other poky things grabbed at them as they tumbled down to rest on the nice, cool grass. At least that was slightly soothing. That fall would have been hell on her wings. Surprisingly, they both survived unhurt. Well, if you want to consider being scraped up on every inch of exposed skin ‘unhurt’. And she had a lot of exposed skin. Carissa threw off Michael’s arms and launched herself to her feet. Their pursuers couldn’t be far behind them. Turning on her companion, Carissa grabbed the front of the man’s coat and pulled his face to hers.
“You stupid, stupid man!” she bellowed at him. “Never hold a dragon during a fall! Wings are fragile!” She slammed her lips into his, giving him back his voice. Throwing him back to the ground, she stormed into the open grass to change again. She was going to need a nap after this trip. And a steak… or two. Hell, she would probably eat a whole cow after this calamity of errors was through.
Carissa ignored Michael as she knelt down and shifted into her grand dragon form. She threw her head back in a silent roar as the power swirled through her. Now let’s see him snatch her up and tuck her under his arm. Snickering to herself, she turned to find Michael had finally picked himself up.
Yells from the top of the ridge drew her attention. The bark of automatic gunfire split the air, and she pounced on Michael, snatching him up like he had done her. Two wingbeats, coupled with a great leap, had them both in the air. The gunfire sounded again as she circled, gaining altitude. Pointing her head towards the ridge, she let out a great blast of fire, roasting the three men pointing weapons at her. A heavy downdraft of her wings quenched the flames before they could catch on the trees. Her attackers were dead or dying; there was no need to burn down the entire forest in her anger.
Pointing her nose to the sun, Carissa pumped her wings. Oh, the feel of the wind against her scales. It had been too long since her last foray into the wild blue. She could really enjoy herself, if it weren’t for the fool of a man screaming his damned head off. She should have kept his voice. Carissa glanced down to the prize in her front claws. So what if he hung upside down from pants that were starting to slip over his hips? There hadn’t been much time to aim her pounce before taking off under gunfire. Okay, maybe there was a reason to be a little upset, but he should realize she wouldn’t drop him. And so what if she did? She had plenty of altitude to catch him before he hit the ground. She was very agile on the wing.
Letting out a deep sigh, Carissa looked around for a safe place to land to adjust her hold on him. She could probably do it in flight, but she didn’t want to risk popping him with her talons. He should just be happy she hadn’t impaled him accidently while dodging bullets. Sure, they wouldn’t penetrate her thick scales, but they still hurt like hell when they hit. A large, grassy field to her right looked promising, so she banked towards it.
4
Michael’s throat was sore by the time they alighted in a large cow pasture. Carissa had grabbed him around the waist when they’d left, but he had shifted during the sudden takeoff. He’d ended up dangling in a few sharp claws by his pants. Pants that were now precariously slipping. Hell, his ass was almost hanging out. Just the way he wanted to die—dropped from a dragon without pants. Right now, he could really use an erection. It might just save his life by holding his pants on.
Tumbling to the grass, Michael waited for the gusts of air to settle before glaring at the dragon. Anger coursed through him as he turned from her, undid his belt, and readjusted things. At least his pants weren’t pressing into him uncomfortably anymore. He snickered to himself. This was one of the only times he had been completely soft around her. Safe on the ground, away from danger, and he was limp. Go figure.
Once properly dressed, he turned towards Carissa. She had stretched out on the grass with her front legs folded under her head, watching him. Damn, did she check out his ass while it was hanging out? He pushed that thought away and looked at her. Her magnificent wings were spread out, soaking up the warm rays of the sun. She was breathtaking. His heart skipped as desire reclaimed its hold on him. Now he knew he was really going insane. Desire for a reptile? Okay, so dragons weren’t your typical reptiles, but still. That was like getting a hard on for an iguana!
He had always loved dragons. Even before the king came out and announced their existence, he had been fascinated with them. The way their scales twinkled, their power, their ability to fly. But, never had he ever lusted after one.
Channeling that lust into his anger, he yelled at her. “What the hell do you think you were doing?” Michael shook his fist at her. “Trying to kill me?”
She snorted at him but did not answer.
“Oh, so now you’re the silent type.” He crossed his arms and turned his back to her. He took a deep breath and tried to calm down. At least they were both alive and free. Something had to be said for that. A soft growl came from behind him. “Look.” He turned to face her again. “I’m sorry I snapped. I’ve had a really stressful week.”
She snorted at him again.
“Okay, so we’ve both had a bad week. God!” He ran his fingers through his hair, trying to clear his mind. “All right.” He let out a solid sigh and held his hands out to her. “Let’s just leave it at ‘I’m sorry, thank you, and you’re welcome’. If we dwell on the details right now, we might start snapping at each other.” His heart lightened when she sni
ckered. “The real question now is—where are we?” He turned to look around. Maybe there was a town nearby. “I’m sure I can get Daniel to send a team to pick us up.”
Carissa rumbled behind him.
Michael turned to look at her. She had crept closer to him as he surveyed the area. Damn, she was quiet for something so large.
Rumbling again, Carissa swung her head towards him. It was more than half his size, but still, it was beautiful. Michael’s fingers ached to touch her. Giving in to his urges again, he closed the distance between them and ran his hand over her scales. Oh, they were so warm to the touch. His fingers tingled with pleasure. One large eye focused on him as he scratched his way down her cheek. It closed as he reached the edge of the boney frill at the back of her head. His finger slipped under the edge of the frill, exploring. When Carissa tilted her head to give him better access under the ridge, he took it. She purred as he scratched the skin up under it. His nail caught on a rough edge, and a single, gold scale skittered down her neck. Michael sucked in his breath. She was going to kill him for this. Michael picked up the fallen scale and held it up for her to see. “I’m sorry.”
Carissa’s eyes widened as they focused on the inch-and-a-half, shiny disk. She snorted and shook her head.
“Umm… How about I stick this in my pocket until we get to where we’re going. Then you can have it back.”
She eyed him warily before nodding her agreement.
Michael blew out a relieved breath as he slipped the scale into his pocket with her jewels. The loss of a single scale had turned Daniel into a paranoid freak for the months it took to grow back. Dragons were very protective of their hides; a single missing scale could leave a hole in a dragon’s defenses. At least this one came from a protected area.
On the Accidental Wings of Dragons (Dragons of Eternity Book 1) Page 3
