Blood Moon Dragon (Dragon Investigators Book 2)

by Shelley Munro

Cassie took him into her mouth, sucking and licking. Tasting and savoring the amusement and rightness that bubbled through her. Therefore, it must be a cock. She snorted through her nose, and Hone jumped.

  “Hey, watch the teeth.”

  She pulled off him. “Sorry.”

  “Put on the condom,” he ordered.

  She puffed out her chest, noticed the way it distracted him and purposely did it again as she unwrapped the condom. She rolled the latex down his shaft.

  “On top. I want to watch you. Guide me into place.”

  Cassie didn’t like going on top. Kevin’s fault, because he’d criticized her body. Hone didn’t do that. His gaze roved her, but pure appreciation shone in his expression. She positioned herself and sank downward, savoring every instant of him impaling her. He filled her, made her happy, so happy.

  And that was all that counted.

  She rose and fell, her hand going between her legs to touch her clit. She went slow. She went fast. She varied the angle.

  Hone groaned, his gaze holding hers. A hint of red showed and his pupils did a weird slitting thing before reverting to normal. His taniwha. Wow.

  She squeezed her internal muscles, and Hone’s hands shaped her hips, guiding her motion. Up. Down. Fast. Slow. The slight prickle coalesced to a shining blast of pleasure. She groaned, her finger sliding across her slippery clit. It was too much, not enough. Another slide of her finger and she exploded, her world one of satisfaction and bliss. She was vaguely aware of Hone’s shout, the frenzy of movement before she sagged against him. Their lips met in a blast of passion. So much passion and pleasure, and in that moment, she thought maybe she loved Hone too.

  * * * * *

  The next morning

  Cassie slept later than normal, and the birds sang outside when she finally woke. She was alone in the bed and the faint murmur of voices came from the kitchen. She threw her legs over the edge of the bed, smiling until she remembered.

  Dragons.

  June had wanted to kill her because apparently, she’d cheated on Manu with Hone.

  Sober now, and still full of questions, she dressed quickly in a floral blouse with a fifties vibe and a pair of jean capris. Barefoot, she padded to the kitchen.

  Jack and Hone were sitting at the kitchen counter and the scent of coffee enticed Cassie to grab an empty mug.

  “How is Emma? Is she awake? Can I go and see her?”

  Hone stood and gave her his bar stool. Instead of moving away, he placed his arm on her shoulder, the heavy weight comforting and welcome. His touch suffused her with joy because Kevin would’ve stood over the other side of the room, even after a night of intimacy, and he’d be all business. He’d criticize her style of dress.

  Why don’t you wear something modern and trendy? You need to lose weight.

  Hone loved her curves. Jack loved Emma’s curves. Must be a dragon thing.

  “I gave Emma pills to make her sleep.”

  “Is that safe for the baby?” Cassie asked.

  “Yes, I spoke to our medic. She assures me the medication won’t harm the baby,” Jack said.

  “Emma’s burns?”

  “The salve helped control the pain. She’ll have scars on her arm and leg.” Jack growled, the vicious sound making Cassie squirm closer to Hone. “I wish I could kill June myself for hurting Emma. She knew Emma was more fragile than us and she didn’t care.”

  “Where is Manu?”

  “He’d gone when I got up to make coffee,” Jack said.

  He’d seemed broken last night. Heck, he’d chopped off his mother’s head with a big ass sword. He had to be hurting. “Will he be all right?”

  “I hope so,” Hone said. “His brothers understood there was no other choice, but Samuel will be a problem.”

  “Anyone want breakfast?” Cassie asked. “I’ll cook something once I check on Emma.” She wandered off, coffee in hand. She pushed open the bedroom door, expecting Emma to be asleep. Instead, she found her struggling to get dressed.

  Cassie rushed to the bed and set down her coffee on the nightstand. “You need help?”

  “I don’t have a sleeveless blouse,” Emma said in frustration.

  Cassie suck in a harsh breath on seeing the pink skin. “Is that sore?”

  “A little tender. I was lucky Jack applied the salve straightaway. It’s a dragon thing, I guess.”

  “I’ve got a tunic top. Be back in a sec.” She hurried away, rifled through her wardrobe and picked out two different sleeveless tops. “Here you go. I found two that should work. So, a baby, huh? I’m gonna be a sort-of auntie. That is so exciting.”

  Emma beamed. “Jack and I had just found out. We wanted to savor the secret for a few days.”

  “Are you feeling okay?”

  “I’m fine. The dragon medic said I’m in perfect health. Jack wants me to go back to see her today.”

  “You should,” Cassie said. “That’s not the only secret you’ve been keeping from me.”

  “Cass, I couldn’t tell you about dragons. I promised Jack. And you saw June. She is…was scary. No way I’d blab and have to face her wrath.”

  “I won’t tell. Pinky swear.”

  They grinned at each other.

  “Want breakfast?” Cassie asked. “I’m going to cook for us all, but first, do you need help to get dressed?”

  “No, I’m good.”

  “I’ll send Jack just in case,” Cassie promised.

  Jack appeared in the doorway. “We have company. Cops,” he said in a terse voice.

  “What now?” She scowled at the thump on the front door and stomped down the passage to answer it. “Yes, can I help you?”

  Another police officer stood with the community constable.

  “Have you seen your neighbor Mr. Jamieson?” the community constable asked.

  “No, not since the day before yesterday. He and his son were here for afternoon tea. What is this about?”

  “I’m sorry. We can’t say,” the second cop said. “Did they say they were going on a holiday?”

  “No, but nothing like that came up in our conversation. We talked about books and movies and the weather,” Cassie said. “We ate cookies. That’s it.”

  The constable exchanged a skeptical glance with the cop. He turned back to Cassie. “If you hear from Mr. Jamieson, please tell him we’d like to speak with him.”

  “Will do.” Cassie closed the door and returned to the kitchen where she found the others. “Did you hear? What do you suppose is happening?”

  “At a guess, I’d say custody problems,” Jack said. “Of course, he might have had something to do with the drugs. I don’t believe his denials about the crop.”

  “Agreed,” Hone said. “There’s no proof of the drugs belonging to him, but I noticed a newly planted area on his land. The seedlings hadn’t been in the ground for long.”

  “Huh,” Cassie said. “You got all that? Must be why I’m a singer rather than an investigator.”

  Her phone rang, and she snatched it off the counter. Excitement bubbled through her on seeing the identity of her caller. The manager at the top of her list. “I’ve got to take this. Won’t be a minute.”

  Hone saw her exhilaration, the brightening of her eyes as she skipped away to find privacy. “She’s going to leave.”

  “Have you told her how you feel?” Emma asked.

  “She knows, but I can’t hold her back. New Zealand doesn’t have the same opportunities. She loves to sing and she’s good at it. If I told her I wanted her to stay, she’d come to resent me.”

  “You can’t be sure—” Emma broke off when Cassie skipped back into the room.

  “I have a meeting with Henry Girven. He’s a top manager. I’m so excited. I’ll have to book a flight. He said he’d fit me in as soon as I can get to Los Angeles.”

  Hone fought to keep calm. He wanted to protest, beg her to stay, but he remained silent. He had no right to impose his wishes on her, to corral her dreams. Perhaps she would come bac
k to New Zealand.

  His taniwha whined. Whined. Hone suppressed him with ruthless intent. He couldn’t trample on her talent.

  * * * * *

  A week later

  Hone managed to hold it together until Cassie disappeared through the passenger-only zone at the airport. His taniwha writhed, and his skin strained to contain his form. He strode through the airport, intent on going home.

  Three-quarters of an hour later, he peeled into his driveway and skidded to a stop. Damn, he’d forgotten Manu would be here. Too bad. He needed a drink.

  His door slammed as he marched to his kitchen and his booze cabinet. He’d known this day would come, but it didn’t make it any bloody easier.

  Manu sat at the kitchen table, a drink before him. Pain squashed him, made him seem less while fatigue highlighted his bloodshot eyes. Hone bit back a frustrated snarl. He understood his cousin’s mood. Understood exactly the torment-ripping emotions, the helplessness, the unasked for thing called vulnerability.

  Hone plonked onto the opposite seat. He poured himself a drink. “What are you drinking? Whisky?”

  “Yeah.”

  Hone topped up Manu’s glass.

  “Dad challenged me to a fight,” Manu said.

  Hone lifted his head, met his cousin’s bloodshot gaze. “Cassie has gone home to the States.”

  “She left you?”

  Hone snorted. “Kind of ironic, huh?”

  They drank in broody silence, each mired in their own misery. Day turned to night. The level of the whisky bottle reduced steadily, but neither of them became drunk. Stupid dragon genes. Couldn’t even get a good alcoholic buzz.

  Finally, Hone got up and staggered to bed to sleep. He didn’t sleep, couldn’t sleep when all he wanted was Cassie.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  They wanted her to stay in the States, suggested a new album and setting up a tour. Cassie said she’d consider it. Initially excited about signing with a new manager who agreed to let her have a huge say in how her career ran in the future, now flatness filled her.

  She missed Hone.

  So much. An empty space throbbed inside her and not even a pasta meal and a chocolate dessert from one of her favorite restaurants sealed the gap.

  She thought about him in the morning when she was first awake. She turned to him a million times during the day to tell him something. But the nights…the nights were the worst. She ached to feel his arms wrapped around her, ached to feel his kiss. She plain ached, so she didn’t sleep. Not even makeup managed to hide the shadows on her face.

  Tonight was no different.

  She tossed and turned and finally gave up. With a glass of wine in hand, she wandered to her hotel balcony and stepped outside into the cool evening air.

  She’d changed.

  Cassie returned to the bedroom. She’d arrange a meeting with Henry tomorrow and would tell him her problem. Hopefully, if he didn’t tear up her newly signed contract, he might have a solution.

  The next day, Henry’s secretary fitted her into a five-minute gap between appointments.

  On the threshold, she hesitated, her chest heavy with dread. This could go so badly wrong. She twisted her hands together and stepped inside.

  The grizzled man in a navy-blue suit looked up from his paperwork, cocked his head. “Something wrong, Cassie?”

  “Henry, I appreciate everything you’ve done for me. So much. But I can’t stay here in Los Angeles. I feel smothered and I-I miss my friends. All night, I lay awake worrying about it. Singing and working with you is my dream, but I n-need to go home to New Zealand.” Her voice trembled, and she bit her lip, terrified that she might give in to the tears burning in her eyes. “Please.”

  “You still have several songs to write to fill your album. Correct?”

  “Yes.”

  “Go home to New Zealand. Write your songs and send my secretary a weekly report. Send videos of you singing so I have an idea of how you’re going and can advise you. With modern technology, there is no reason why you can’t work from New Zealand and commute back and forth as necessary. You might need to spend one or two months at a time back here while we’re recording in the studio. Depending on the type of promotion we decide to go for, you might have to tour, but I can’t have you unhappy here in Los Angeles. For now, base yourself in New Zealand, and we’ll try to make it work. Okay?”

  “Y-yes.” She gaped at him as she replayed his words. It was that easy? “Yes! Thank you. Thank you.”

  “Cassie, I’m not an ogre. If there is a problem, you need to let me know so we can fix it. We’re a team, and we need to work together.”

  Cassie peered at him for a frozen second. Did he mean that literally or figuratively? Because if dragons were real, maybe ogres…

  “Cassie?”

  She jolted back to her business head, tucking away thoughts of the supernatural. “Thank you, Henry. I won’t hesitate next time. The contract is so new, and Kevin—”

  “I’ve heard about the way your ex-manager operates.” Distaste coated his words. “Go home to your friends. You’ll do better work if you’re relaxed and happy.”

  Forty-eight hours later, she was on a plane. She landed at Auckland International airport at six in the morning and after formalities, took a cab to Hone’s house in Papakura. Hopefully, he was there. If not, she’d hunt him down.

  At seven thirty she pounded on the door, her heart thumping in concert. What if Hone had moved on? What if he’d found someone else?

  She swallowed as she heard footsteps and the door flew open. Manu.

  “Um, is Hone here?”

  “In his bedroom.” Manu blinked at her with tired, bloodshot eyes. He’d lost weight since she’d seen him last.

  “I-is he alone?”

  Manu snorted and stood aside. “He’s in his bedroom.”

  Apprehension bounced through the pit of her stomach, nerves transmitting to her hands and fingers. She wiped her clammy palms down her wrinkled dress. Maybe she should have taken the time to shower and change.

  Her footsteps slowed. What if he didn’t want her?

  She sucked in another breath and pushed open the door while bracing for the worst. The room was stuffy and dark and smelled of alcohol.

  “Hone?” She fumbled for the light, relieved—so relieved—when she found only Hone in the bed.

  He rubbed his face and blinked at her. “Cassie? Am I imagining things?”

  “I-I missed y-you.” She swallowed the hard lump in her throat that was making her stutter. “I can’t sleep.”

  “Oh, god, Cassie. Is that really you?” He bounded off the bed, and heedless of his naked state, wrapped her in his arms.

  Tears pricked at her eyes as she sank against his hard chest. Hone drew back and kissed her, and she felt as if she’d come home.

  “I can’t believe you’re here.” Hone kissed her nose, her chin and nuzzled her neck. “I missed you so much. How long are you here?”

  “My new manager says I can base myself here for most of the year. I’ll have to travel a bit, but I shouldn’t be away for longer than a month, maybe two, at a time.”

  A slow grin flourished on Hone’s face, highlighting his haggard appearance. But his irises glowed that reddish-brown, and she understood she was seeing his taniwha. “I love you, Cassie. I’ve been so miserable without you.”

  “Hone, I love you too.”

  He kissed her and drew her to the bed. Her clothes faded away, and she sighed as their naked bodies moved together in perfect synchronicity. His hands shaped her breasts, plucked her nipples even as she stroked his chest.

  He left her to get a condom, then they slid together again. He pushed into her, stretching and filling the empty spaces inside. They held each other, shattering into climax and lingering in the aftermath.

  “Cassie, will you marry me? I love you. My taniwha has already claimed you. We both want you more than anything.”

  “Yes,” she whispered. “Yes, I love you—both of you. Oh
, Hone. Yes.”

  Their next kiss contained passion and acceptance, commitment and joy.

  Best kiss ever.

  Best day ever.

  Forever.

  Epilogue

  Cassie’s house, Clevedon, two weeks later

  “I can’t thank you enough for letting us live here at the house,” Emma said. “Right, Jack?”

  “You don’t have to keep thanking me. This house is yours for as long as you want it. Hone and I are fine living at his place in Papakura. Besides, I’ll be away for a month here and there when I have studio and publicity commitments.”

  Hone wrapped his fingers around hers. It gave her a buzz, sent pleasure coursing through her veins every time. “We’re going to be away for a month here and there,” he amended.

  She shared a grin. “That’s true.” They’d set a date for their wedding. Something small and intimate with just Hone’s family and hers—although her mother was still doing her best to run Cassie’s life. Even though she hadn’t met Hone, she didn’t approve of her daughter getting married in such haste. Too bad. Cassie had no intention of changing her mind. “You haven’t had any trouble here?”

  “It’s quiet. Peaceful. Not a single clown or trespasser,” Emma said.

  Jack turned the steaks on the barbecue, and the scent of cooking meat made her stomach rumble. “The cops have been around a few times, asking about your neighbor. Evidently, he’s done a runner with his kid. The community constable didn’t say much, but we got the impression they have no idea of his whereabouts. There is no record of him or the kid leaving the country.”

  “Matthew loves his son.” Cassie picked up a piece of garlic bread and waved it in front of her as she spoke. “It was easy to see when they were here together. Dillion loves his father too.”

  “Oh, that reminds me. A letter came for you in the mail earlier in the week. It’s propped behind my recipe book.” Emma started to get up, but Cassie stayed her with a hand.

  “I’ll grab it. Want another soda? Hone, Jack, another beer?”

  The letter bore a Hawaii postmark, and she didn’t recognize the handwriting on the envelope. She tucked it under her arm and carried the drinks outside. “I’ve no idea who it’s from.” She squeezed in the gap between Hone and Emma and put the letter in her jacket pocket for later.