Luck of the Dragon

by Susannah Scott

  Alec’s thumb stroked the slight moisture, and he frowned. “This must all be so confusing for you.”

  “I’m fine.” She shrugged off his touch and blinked hard. “Thank you for a lovely evening.”

  “Lucy.” Alec put both hands on her shoulders. “The problem is not you.”

  “Um hum…” She nodded and forced a straight smile to her lips. God, this was exactly like her ill-fated prom date.

  The closed door at her back seemed an inconsequential barrier to escape.

  “I want you to stay. I want to touch you. I want to make love to you.” Alec dropped his hands and again moved his right palm through his hair. “But, you need to know that I am a dragon.”

  Lucy’s jaw dropped, and a feeling not unlike the elevator vertigo made her wobble on her heels. “A dragon…”

  “Yes.” Alec smiled, looking relieved. “I am a shape-shifting dragon. But, I have a human form.” He motioned to his body with both hands. “When we make love, it could be very intense.”

  Lucy stared at him with her mouth open. He seemed sane. Her brain tried to process the information logically.

  Alec Gerald thought he was a dragon…

  Seriously?

  Or was this some rich man’s way to push the envelope on sex?

  “You want to role play as a dragon?” Lucy stepped toward him. She could try that, she guessed. Intellectual curiosity squeezed her brow, and she thought through what she knew of dragon myths. “Am I the medieval maiden then? Or am I a dragon, too?”

  Alec laughed. The sound was low and mischievous, and it sent a fresh cascade of anticipation through her body. “Definitely the maiden.” He walked to her, untied the dress, and dropped it to the floor. “You are gorgeous.” His eyes traced her collarbones, burning a trail of shivers down her skin. He took her hand and led her to the couch.

  Lucy followed, trying to decide what a maiden would do next.

  Alec dropped her hand and shrugged off his suit jacket and shirt. His chest was just as spectacularly muscled as she remembered from the spa. Broad shoulders narrowed to his waistband. The valleys and ridges of exposed muscle were defined by shadows from the moonlight, thick and strong.

  “Your skin is so pale. I love that about you. I can see your veins, here and here.” Alec touched her temple and pulse at her neck, and Lucy felt her blood jump.

  Alec sat back on the couch, his knees wide, and looked at her appreciatively.

  “All the better for you to sink your dragon teeth into.” Lucy smiled, happy with the retort. She could do this. She could be a maiden for a night.

  She straddled his lap. Her high-heeled feet swung off the floor, nearly unbalancing her. Alec moved his hands up her hips and pulled her snug to his groin. His erection pushed against her, making her squirm to get closer.

  Lucy trailed kisses down his bare chest. His skin was salty and hot with the fresh taste of eucalyptus. “You still smell like the steam showers.”

  Alec inhaled and leaned his head back, closing his eyes.

  “I have other pale skin,” Lucy whispered against his ear.

  Alec’s eyes snapped open. “Show me.”

  Lucy unsnapped her bra and let it fall to the floor. In the moonlight, she knew she had to appear the palest version of herself.

  Alec reached a hand behind her and pulled her forward, easing her breast into his mouth, his tongue circling the sensitive skin.

  Hot spirals curled in her belly, and Lucy threw her head back. “Ahhh…yes.”

  Alec tugged at the corner of her panties, and the lace fabric broke and fell.

  “Those were my favorite,” she said, holding his head to her breast. “Part of my maiden’s trousseau. For my wedding…to the knight, who wants to kill you, fierce dragon… We should hurry before he catches us.” She panted out the story.

  “I’ll get you more.” Alec’s voice was husky and deep as he found the throbbing nub between her legs.

  “Ohhhh.” Lucy held onto his shoulders, riding the push of his clever fingers, the elemental beat in her body as loud as the music from the theater show that still echoed through her bloodstream.

  “No.” She bent his arms behind his head. “This maiden wants to take her dragon this time.”

  She worked shaky hands under his belt and opened his pants. His manhood sprang into her hands, engorged, the vein pulsing with need. Lucy ran her finger around the tip. Alec groaned, the muscles of his chest contracted, and his hands fisted behind him so that his biceps bulged.

  Lucy felt powerful. For this moment in time, he was hers. All hers. “Say that you want me.”

  “I want you. Forever.”

  Lucy kissed his mouth. He opened his lips, his mouth hot and his breaths coming in shaky draws.

  “I was wrong before.” He put his mouth to the top of her breast, drawing her to him. “You are more than beautiful.”

  She was helpless to think, helpless to do more than feel. Alec gently pushed her against the cushions. Desire pulled her under as his mouth found her center.

  “Oh, God…” Lucy started to shake, big, heaving, out-of-control shakes that quickly spun her over the edge. As she fell, Alec moved between her legs and entered her, stretching her tight. She closed her eyes at the consuming sensation.

  “Look at me,” Alec said.

  Lucy watched his face as passion rode through him. Her heart opened and reached for his, wanting to keep him forever. His muscular shoulders drove her into the cushions and started her spiraling again until they went over the edge together.

  Chapter Twelve

  The next morning, Alec watched Lucy sleep. He rubbed a piece of her hair between his fingers, and the crystals caught the morning light and cast prisms over pillows.

  A sleeping angel. Or maiden.

  He was okay with her misinterpretation about role-playing. It was a lot for a human to accept, that there were other intelligent creatures in the world. He needed time to woo her to him before she accepted the whole truth of his dual nature.

  There was no doubt Lucy was his destined mate. He had never felt so strongly about another. Each time they had made love during the night, he felt like he had joined with the other part of his missing soul. He didn’t want to be away from her. Even for the day.

  Hopefully, the compulsion would fade after the mating ceremony or they would never get out of bed. Alec smiled at the thought. That wouldn’t be all that bad, either.

  “Good morning.” Lucy opened her eyes. Asleep one minute, fully awake the next.

  Alec smiled. “It is, indeed.”

  Lucy sat up, rubbing her eyes. “I need to get going.”

  A bolt of alarm shot through his system. “Where?”

  “Home.” She ran a hand down his chest, causing sparks under his skin. “You do remember that I don’t live here?” Her tone was teasing. “This maiden has to go home to her own castle.”

  Frustration pounded through Alec with bestial intensity. Mine, his dragon screamed inside his head. Alec fought to control his breathing, but something must have shown on his face because Lucy dropped her hand and looked at him with concern.

  “I’d like you to stay here, with me, while you work on your appraisal.” Alec pushed the words over his tongue, trying to keep his tone light and easy.

  “Alec.” Her voice broke. “A hundred years ago, I would have stayed, pretended to be your little Casino Queen. But I’m not really a maiden, and you are not really a dragon. I need to get back to my real life.”

  Mine. Mine. Mine, his dragon demanded.

  “What do you need to stay with me?” Controlling his strength so that he didn’t hurt her, Alec rolled on top of Lucy, holding his weight off her with his forearms.

  Lucy gazed at him, sadness and resolve in her eyes. “I would if I could. Last night was amazing. But I have responsibilities.”

  It must be Joey. He saw it in the way she looked toward the bedroom door and wouldn’t meet his gaze. His predatory instincts flared red hot to the surface.
>
  “What responsibilities?” He tilted her head gently so that their eyes met.

  “Just some family problems.” She pulled her chin out of his hand.

  “Let me help you.”

  A rustle sounded in the living room. There were only a handful of people the guards would allow entry, and who would dare to disturb him in his apartment. This time, it was his personal assistant Jane.

  “Jer’ol,” Jane said with mindspeak. “We are in your living room. We need to talk with you.”

  “I’m busy.” Whatever it was, it could wait. “Leave. Do not interrupt me again.”

  “Alec,” Leo’s voice came through, censure in his tone, even in mindspeak. “It is urgent.”

  Alec frowned. It was serious indeed for Leo to get involved. “I hear someone in the living room. That means either Leo or Jane need to speak with me for a minute.”

  Lucy nodded her head, as if she wasn’t surprised.

  “Promise me you’ll wait to leave the casino until we’ve talked again.”

  Lucy shook her head stubbornly. “Alec, it’s no use. Eventually, I’ll have to leave—”

  “Just not right now.” He kissed her gently on the lips. “Promise you’ll wait.”

  Lucy heaved a sigh.

  “I’ll meet you for a late breakfast,” Alec said. “We can go to the gem exhibit together.” He stood and wrapped the white sheet around his naked lower half. He stopped at the bedroom door and looked back. “Promise you’ll wait for me?”

  “All right.”

  Alec smiled and closed the bedroom door behind him. Leo, Jane, and Darius stood in a semicircle near the living room window. As he approached, he could see that the trio was upset by the tense lines of their bodies. His dragon senses picked up on blood lust, too—they were spoiling for a fight. He stopped in front of them and crossed his arms, waiting.

  Aggression poured off Darius in waves. “You pick a poor time to romance your human.” The Russian lieutenant’s black glasses fogged near the nose band.

  Alec stepped forward until Darius was forced to step back. “Are you questioning me?”

  Darius took a deep breath. “No, Jer’ol.”

  “What I do is my concern.” He scanned the group. Only Leo met his stare with a level one of his own. “This had better be important.”

  “There’s trouble with the Siberians.” Leo spoke with a steady timbre.

  “What’s happened?”

  “They have a new leader. They claim he is the rightful king of the dragons. He will issue a blood challenge to you for control of the dragons and the casino.”

  This was why Darius was so upset. The Siberians would have been a part of Darius’s larger Russian fold. Although the dragons were united at the casino sanctuary, their ancient bloodlines and familial alliances still ran deep. There would be many dragons with mixed feelings over a challenge from the Siberians.

  Anger, intensified by Lucy wanting to leave him, shook his frame. His dragon form could barely be restrained in his human skin. He wanted to squash all aggravations, annihilate all threats, and get back to his mate. Alec closed his eyes and concentrated on being rational. Human logic would serve him better than a bloodbath. Too many dragons’ lives and futures were at stake.

  “Does this leader have a name?” Alec asked.

  “No, they want an in-person meeting for you two to talk face-to-face.” Darius’s tone was frustrated.

  “Did you already let them in?” Alec knew the answer by the way everyone but Leo dropped their gazes.

  “It seemed unwise to let twenty angry dragons run amok with the tourists,” Leo said.

  “Where did you put them?”

  “In the unfinished tower.”

  “All right, I’ll talk with them. Leo, you’ll serve as my second. Ask Tyren to be my third.”

  Darius puffed up his chest. “You doubt me?”

  “No, brother.” Alec clapped his lieutenant on the shoulder. “This will be difficult for you because of your family ties. Go back to the surveillance center. I need your eyes there.”

  Darius’s shoulders deflated, and he walked stiffly to the elevators. Jane followed.

  “What do you think?” Alec asked Leo.

  “You have tried to kill Ambrogino twice now and failed. It doesn’t matter if you’ve found your mate if you’re dead.”

  …

  In the mani pedi section of the spa, Lucy wiggled her gorgeous polished toes in her rhinestone flip-flops. She had chosen a shiny silver polish. The silver would go with everything, and everybody in town had red toes. Why not be different? The polish was likely to be with her until it grew out, anyway.

  Returning to the Cathedral Spa had seemed an acceptable time-killer until she could say goodbye to Alec and try to explain about backing out of her contract. It was bad business to break her contract, but considering the exhibit was going to be robbed thanks to her, charging for an appraisal hardly seemed fair.

  Lucy’s heart clenched. It would hurt to leave Alec, and judging by his reaction this morning, he would not take it well that she was running off to another hemisphere. She had wanted to enjoy her one night with Alec, but if Alec ever found out about her part in the scheme, it would make her betrayal twice—no, a hundred times worse. Leave it to her to find her Prince Charming when she was on the run. Tears threatened, but she pushed them back.

  Lucy glanced at Lilly Belle, who had continued to serve as her hulking casino hostess of sorts. She stood next to the exit to the spa, looking bored.

  Although Gino and Joey had Alec’s thumbprint for the inside of the exhibit, she would not get the new keycard for them. That alone might tank their plans, and then maybe Joey would leave with her. It was her only option, and considering how she felt about Alec, she couldn’t, wouldn’t, steal from him again.

  She had to hold out, no matter how much Joey whined.

  “Miss, your left hand, please.” The nail technician, like the other saints in the spa, wore light green medical scrubs.

  Lucy dutifully gave the woman her hand. “Can I get those white-tipped things on the end?”

  “Acrylics, miss?” At Lucy’s confused look, the woman elaborated. “You want fake nails?”

  “Oh no, not fakes.” Fakes would take maintenance. “Can you just polish them that way?”

  “Certainly.” The woman left to change out her supplies.

  Lucy took a deep breath and prepared to turn on her phone. She had not thought of Joey or her phone the whole evening. But now, she needed to know what was going on. The phone screen lit up and beeped. There were forty-three missed calls from Joey. Apprehension swelled in her chest. She pressed the text message screen. There were ten text messages from him. She opened one: BUY ICE, GETTING THIRSTY.

  The phone again beeped in her hand, making her jump. It was a new text message from Joey: CALL ME, NOW :)

  Lucy looked around. Lilly Belle didn’t seem to be paying attention, and she was otherwise alone. She dialed Joey’s number, and he picked up immediately.

  “Lucy, where have you been?” Joey sounded mad, not worried.

  “I had a date.”

  “A date!” Joey’s voice was tight with anger. “Whatever. The bag of ice you got us before melted. We need a new bag of ice for our party tonight.”

  “Tonight? Your party is tonight?”

  “You can bring it to our suite—”

  “No.” Lucy let her newfound resolve round out the word. “I’m not getting it. I’ve got tickets for us to Brazil.” She kept her voice low. “Let’s get out of here today, take a vacation. I’ll pay for everything.”

  “What’s the matter with you?” Joey inhaled with the drawn-in force of an infant preparing to scream. “I’ve got a party to throw!”

  “That is ridiculous. Listen to yourself.” Lucy felt his disapproval radiate from the phone. “I am not getting a new bag of ice.”

  “Fine.” Joey hung up in her ear.

  Lucy turned off her phone and dropped it into her bag.
Her hands trembled in her lap. The nail tech returned and picked up her left hand. It shook as the tech de-cuticled her nails.

  “You hungry, miss?” The tech asked, misreading her upset.

  “No. I’m fine.” Lucy flexed her fingers to stop the shaking. Everything would be fine. Joey would realize that the jewel exhibit score was impossible without a keycard, and then he would leave with her.

  The nail technician applied white polish to her nail tips with practiced strokes.

  What if Joey still wouldn’t leave with her? She couldn’t go to South America without him. How would she know if he was in trouble? The question snapped her eyes wide open. Her newly exfoliated skin stretched tight across her cheekbones.

  Damn. Damn. Damn.

  This was all a deep pile of crap, which was sure to smell nothing like eucalyptus steam. Lucy’s muscles tensed around her neck, and the tension spread malignantly down her spine to her lower back. She sat forward. The nail tech was finishing up her left hand with pink polish.

  “How much longer?” Lucy asked.

  “Almost done. But then you need to dry.”

  The woman picked up her right hand and looked at her with wide eyes. “Madre de Dios!” Her strong hand gripped Lucy’s fingers tight. Her face went pale, as if she had seen the Blessed Virgin Mary. “El marque del Jer’ol.”

  “What?” Lucy tried to pull her right hand free, but the tech held it fast.

  Lilly Belle jogged across the room and grabbed Lucy’s right hand from the tech. She said something in a foreign language, and the tiny woman fled. “When did you get this?”

  Again, Lucy tried to yank her hand free, but the Viking woman was too strong. “Can I have my hand back?”

  Lilly Belle released it and scanned the room like she expected an enemy cavalry.

  Lucy examined her hand. There was a dirt smudge in the corner of the “L” of her index finger and thumb. She rubbed it, surprised that anything had survived the scrub down yesterday. It didn’t budge. She brought it closer to her face. It was a colorful circular figure…a phoenix?