by Alisa Woods
She was holding up a finger, telling him to wait while pointing at her mouth, still full of food. He smiled at the awkwardness, then his smile faded as he realized… the clothes he had conjured… they were just like the ones Cora used to wear. How could he have done that without thinking? How thoroughly fucked up was he?
She swallowed and rose from the small breakfast table by the window. “Good morning,” she rushed out. “Hey, I don’t know what our plans are exactly, but I can’t find my phone. I need to, you know, tell someone I’m still alive? I have a friend I can call. Besides, I have appointments today.”
Of course—her business. Lucian welcomed the return to normalcy that this small bit of conversation evoked.
He stepped forward, snagged a phone from a drawer under the counter, and handed it to her. “I left yours with the demon last night. You can use mine.”
She looked at him oddly. “Somehow I didn’t expect this. From a dragon, I mean.” She gave him a slightly embarrassed look, then snatched the phone from his hand.
“Didn’t expect me to have a phone?” He was perplexed by that.
She gave a glance around the apartment. “I don’t know what I expected. Probably none of this.” She held up the phone. “This will just take a moment.”
He gave her a cool look. “I’ll be listening in. I’m assuming you know there can be no mention of where you are or why you’re here.”
She scowled. “I barely know why I’m here. And I certainly don’t know where here is.”
Guilt twisted inside him, just enough to let him know it was there. “Make it short. I have a few things to show you.”
That seem to intrigue her, but she stepped a several paces away and stood by the window, turning her back to him and placing her hand on the clear glass as she dialed. She held the phone to her ear. After a moment, she said, “Hey, Rachel, it’s me.”
Lucian’s hearing and vision were far better than human, even when he was in human form. Eavesdropping on a phone conversation, especially at this very short distance, was a simple matter of focus.
This Rachel person, apparently a friend of hers, replied, “Holy shit, Ari, where are you?”
Arabella glanced at him. He kept a cool gaze trained on her, waiting. This was her moment to try to get free. To break away or send some kind of coded message to her friend to come and rescue her from this mysterious trap in the mountains.
“I, uh... I’m not feeling so good. Taking the day off.” Arabella was back to staring out the window.
“Do you have the flu? And why does your caller ID say L Smoke? What the hell, Ari? If you went home with some hot guy, why are you sparing the details?”
“It’s nothing like that,” Arabella said, her voice clipped.
Only it was exactly like that. In a way.
“I told you, I’m sick. I lost my phone last night. I’m borrowing my next door neighbors’.”
“Old man Beady Eyes has a phone?” Rachel asked, skeptically. “I thought that guy was like some old drug addict. How does he have cash for a phone?”
Arabella’s hand turned into a fist and knocked against the pane of the window. “I’m not up for this, okay? Just cancel all my appointments for today. I’ll be back tomorrow or the next day at the latest. As soon as I don’t feel like I tried to outdrink you and then got bounced by the Russian mob.”
There was a moment of silence on the other end of the line. “Are you sure you’re okay? The police were by your apartment this morning.”
“What?” Arabella shot a look to him. “Why were the police at my apartment?”
Lucian frowned. They obviously traced Arabella’s phone when they found the demon’s body. Or rather, the human half that was left.
“I don’t know!” Rachel’s voice hiked up. “I hightailed it out of there! What do you expect—I’m going to stick around for the cops? Hey there, Officer Hottie, I’ve got a record a mile long, what do you say we go get a donut and talk about it? Come on, Ari.”
“Okay, okay,” Arabella said. “I must have just been passed out when they came by. I didn’t hear them knock. I’ll try to answer the door if they come again. Otherwise, I’m just going to sleep this thing off, okay? Can you hold down the fort for me?”
“Sure thing. Do you need some chicken soup or something? You know I’m not the mothering type. I don’t know how to do this shit. If you need something, you need to tell me straight out.” There were concern and annoyance in Rachel’s voice.
“All I need is some sleep.” Arabella glanced at Lucian again. “I’ll call you tomorrow.”
Lucian sighed. She was hedging her bets. Which was smart—and he couldn’t rightly blame her for it.
“Okay, girlfriend. Go kick some virus ass!”
Arabella gave a small, snorting kind of laugh. It made Lucian’s heart squeeze. He didn’t like that one bit—not the normalcy of it. Not the sweetness of the sound. He steeled himself as she said goodbye to her friend and hung up.
“Okay, I bought us a day or two,” she said to him. “What is it you wanted to show me?”
“I want you to know what a woman stands to gain by falling in love with me.” There was a lead weight on his chest as he said the words. What she stood to lose was so much more. He knew that. But it had to stay a dark secret for now.
“Fair enough. That should help with the sell job, I imagine.” One corner of her lips tipped up in a wry kind of smile.
“Come with me.” He turned his back and led her toward the spiral staircase in the great room. At the top, he strode past the closed door of his bedroom, forcing himself not to pause or linger his thoughts there. When they reached the second set of stairs that spiraled up to the roof, he glanced back to make sure she was still with him. Her bright eyes were unsuspecting, innocent and clear. He tore his gaze away from her face and led her up the stairs. When they reached the top, he held the door open. The wind was light, but it made the long strands of her hair whip around her face. The sun caused a cute squint to show up on her face. As they stood atop the keep, they could see the full expanse of it, an upside-down glass castle with a flat top and towers reaching down and anchoring it to the mountain, like a diamond had forced its way out of the dirt to shine in the sun.
“This place is huge.” She shaded her eyes and scanned the expanse.
“My lair is only a portion of the House of Smoke,” Lucian explained. “Each dragon has their own. Mine and my brothers are the most expansive, but every dragon who pledges fidelity to the House of Smoke is given permission to build his own within the protection of the keep.”
“How do you keep this place secret?” She peered curiously at the edge of his lair. It was truly perched atop the mountain, and the drop was a good thousand feet. He was unconcerned about her getting too close to the edge. If she fell, he would catch her before she dashed her life out on the rocks.
“The entire keep is cloaked,” he said. “Each dragon possesses the ability to cloak as part of their elemental magic. You will never see a dragon unless he wants to be seen.”
She nodded, looking impressed. “Make sense.”
“The keep itself is cloaked by magical wards conjured by the king and queen.”
“Your parents, right? You know this whole royalty thing is a pretty good selling point, I would think. Does it come with perks?”
He couldn’t help but smile at that. “A few. Dragons live a long time, and the treasure we amass, both through the normal human markets and through magic, is substantial. A mate of mine will want for nothing in the physical realm.”
“Good to know.” She had backed away from the edge, nodding thoughtfully. “What other advantages do you have to offer?”
She was treating this as a business transaction, which actually calmed him. Maybe her cool, analytical mind would see the benefits in the end. Maybe he wouldn’t have to resort to trickery and wonder and other things that would only twist the guilt deeper.
He took a step back from her inquiring expression and
shifted into his dragon form.
She startled a little, taking a half step back toward the edge. “You really need to warn me when you’re going to do that!” She shook a finger at him.
He laughed a little, which came out as wisps of blue dragon fire. He huffed harder to blow it away, then the wind took it. He bent down and dipped his head, waiting for her to figure out the unspoken invitation for her to climb aboard.
She hesitated, frozen in her spot. “Are you kidding me?”
He picked up his head and shook it, waiting for her to choose. He wouldn’t speak to her until she was aboard, to lessen the shock. One step at a time.
“I’m not sure that riding a dragon is exactly a selling point here.” She edged toward him, slowly. After a long stretch of agonizing seconds, she touched the edge of his wing—so lightly—then she slid her fingers up to his shoulder. The feel of her soft skin against his scales sent a shudder running through his entire body. She damn well better get on soon, or he was going to shift back to human form and touch her a little more strongly. And with the kind of intent that would end up with them back in his bedroom.
“I’m not sure how to…” She grabbed the edge of his wing with one hand and the smooth scales of his neck with the other. He ducked down closer to the ground. She managed to hoist herself aboard, grabbing hold of his shoulders, tucking her legs back and bracing her feet on the leading edges of his wings. He could feel every curve of her body with hypersensation. Her breasts crushing against the back of his neck. Her legs straddling him. The flaming heat of her sex against his back. Holy mother of magic, why did he think this was a good idea? The feel of her readying to ride him made him picture her riding him an entirely different way. In his bed, straddled over his cock.
Another shudder ran through him. He focused on reaching for her mind instead of being hyper-aware of her body. Hold on tight, my treasure.
“What the fuck?” she screeched, clinging harder to him. “Were you just… did you just… holy fuck!”
That made him laugh… and cooled his surging lust a little. The telepathy only works in dragon form. And I can’t read your thoughts, my treasure. I can only send you these words, planting them in your mind, sort of like a suggestion. Or a dream.
“Well, I really don’t like it—get the fuck out of my head!”
As you wish. Then he leaped into the air, and she screeched again, startled by the sudden movement. Her hold tightened, but the smoothness of his scales didn’t allow much purchase. He was careful to fly straight and level and not too fast, just gently soaring around the keep to give her a better view of the place. After he had circled twice, he glided a little further away, allowing her to see how the mountain fell from the glass castle down to jagged chunks of rock, which were mixed with the brilliant greenery of the forest. The wind was cool and crisp this morning, and after a minute or two, her death hold on him relaxed.
“It’s beautiful up here.” Her words sent an unexpected shiver of pleasure through him. Yes, his home was beautiful, everything that magic and money could buy, but the natural beauty of the mountains was what made it complete. He was a part of nature and nature was a part of him. It was the connection to humanity that caused all the trouble.
He climbed higher, braving a little of the tradewinds to allow her to see past the peaks and down into the valley by the coast.
“Is that Seattle?” she shouted to be heard above the breeze.
Yes. I wanted you to see we were not so far. She didn’t flinch this time when he communicated with her telepathically. And it was a risk to show her where the lair actually lay. But there would be many more risks before they were through.
He circled back, soaring on the gentle breeze and gliding into a bump free landing on the top of the keep. He dipped down and waited for her to dismount, then shifted back to human, conjuring his clothes quickly into place.
She kept her gaze averted from his momentary nakedness, although he caught her sneaking a peek—something that also flushed heat through him. But he was no longer touching her, so the worst of the lust heat stayed low in his belly.
“Did you like it?” he asked.
“I can certainly see how that might be fun. Once or twice.” She had a flush in her face and a small grin.
With any luck, she may actually have enjoyed the ride. More importantly, he scented no fear on her of his beast form any longer.
“But all this…” She flung her hands wide to encompass the keep. “This isn’t what women want.”
“A beautiful home. Untold riches. These aren’t the things women want?” he asked, knowing the answer, but restraining his smirk. “Then please do tell me.”
She scowled and crossed her arms like she wasn’t quite sure if he was baiting her or not. “They want someone to care about them the way they care about their men. Someone to listen to them. To make them laugh. I see it all the time in my practice. Women are desperate to have someone who actually cares. Who isn’t a selfish prick only interested in sex or who tries to manipulate her into satisfying all his needs, while providing nothing in return. Nothing of importance. It’s not the money she’s after. Money can’t buy you love. Surely even a reclusive billionaire golden dragon knows that song, right?”
He stepped toward her, so he could drop his voice and still be heard over the gentle breeze. “All too well.” He held her gaze, wondering if he were a fool to think this would work with a woman like her. “So tell me, where do I find True Love? Your friend Rachel, perhaps?”
She snorted. “Rachel? Uh… no. But how about WildLove?”
“Excuse me?” He frowned, truly confused. What was she talking about?
“The shifter app—haven’t you heard of it? It’s new, but it’s designed to hook up shifters and humans. It doesn’t actually specify wolves, and you are a shifter. You can explain later what kind. After the girl’s taken one look at you and fallen madly in love.”
He lifted his eyebrows, wondering if this unexpected twist would make it easier or more difficult for his plans to seduce her. “Intriguing.” He swept a hand back to the door that led to the stairs. “Lead the way.”
Arabella was still reeling from the flight on Lucian’s back.
A golden dragon. He really was one, something that terrified her at first but seemed more amazing the more she got used to it. Touching him in dragon form, sliding her fingers across his beautiful golden scales, was like touching the finest silk—spun and stretched tight over something as strong as steel. Stronger even. The night before was still a bit of a haze, but she remembered shooting a gun at the man and having it bounce off his skin like he was a superhero. And yet, where she expected cool metal against her fingertips, she found nothing but warmth and softness that begged for more of her touch.
And then there was the amazing hotness of the man himself, which she had ample time to admire from the back as he led her down the spiral steps to his lair. She didn’t know how he magically conjured his clothes, but the thin fabric of his black, ancient-styled hoodie outfit clung to every muscle. Whoever would be taking that body to bed was one lucky woman.
But lusting after a man who was essentially still holding her captive wasn’t exactly what she put in the healthy behaviors column. She needed to focus—to get Lucian Smoke a date, or maybe three, whatever it took—and let some other girl find out what it was like to take him to bed. Then she could get back to her life. How hard could it be, anyway, finding this guy a mate? Women would be falling head over heels in love with him—and dropping their panties—with one smoldering look from those long-lashed eyes.
It just wouldn’t be her.
She’d already learned her lesson about hot men and how they lied. Hotness was no guarantee of anything, least of all that a man was a decent person. The kind that wouldn’t hurt you. Her body might lust after him, but her body was the most stupid part about her. And every single time she’d given some good-looking hunk of masculine meat a chance with her heart, he’d simply torn it to shreds. And
the bruising hadn’t ended there.
Lucian stopped at the door on the second level of his apartment in the sky. “Is this shifter dating service on the phone? Or the computer?” he asked as he slid open the door.
Inside was a room with more of the high-end touches she’d seen below—understated elegant white decor, lush green plants in steel vases, and a wall-sized TV screen—but the centerpiece was a giant, circular bed with an equally large mirror on the ceiling above it.
She swallowed and stared at the bed. “WildLove is an app you can access on your phone. Or on a tablet.” This clearly was Lucian’s bedroom, although it was bigger than her dingy apartment on the down-on-your-luck side of Seattle. Which was all she could afford on her practically non-existent salary, doing the work that she did.
“I have a tablet in here.” He strode into the room, moving with a strong, masculine power that, when juxtaposed next to the bed, was making her a little weak in the knees. Weak in the knees? Jesus Christ. He was just a man. Well, not just a man—he was a dragon shifter man of unholy hotness—but merely being in a bedroom with him shouldn’t be sending her into convulsions of wanton desire. Of course, being near the bed wasn’t really required for that, either—she felt the same way anytime he was near.
Cursing her body’s reaction to him, but with a forced smile on her face, she managed to move out of the doorway and into the room. She hung back from the bed and watched him as he dug through a modern, steel-trimmed dresser and came up with a tablet. He motioned for her to come sit next to him. On that bed? Oh, for fuck’s sake.
She bit her lip and told her lady parts not to get excited about this. Nothing was happening here. In fact, the only women getting lucky with Lucian Smoke were going to be the ones they found on the WildLove app.
Arabella settled next to him, and for the love of God, he leaned into her. She froze for a moment, wondering what he was doing, but he had simply braced his hand against the bed behind her so he could lean over and hold the tablet in front of her. He wasn’t making a pass at her, not that she wanted him to. Okay, maybe she wanted him to, but that was just her hormones talking. Any woman would be affected by the overwhelming hotness of this man.
