Dragon's Curse (Harlequin Nocturne)

by Lynn, Denise

  Braeden winked at the women before answering his brother. “We were just talking about you. Feel free to leave.”

  Before Cam could respond, a commotion broke out across the room. Ariel watched in shock as a plume of red smoke curled up toward the vaulted ceiling.

  Both brothers turned toward the ruckus at the same time. Braeden said, “It’s just a group of rowdy kids showing off. I’ll deal with it.”

  Cam hung back. He pulled a chair forward. “Alexia, here, get off your feet.”

  “No, but thank you.” She shook her head, sighing with apparent exasperation. “His lordship just ordered me to go take a nap, so if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be heading upstairs like a good wife.”

  Ariel had to smile at Alexia’s good-natured sarcasm. It seemed the brothers had at least one other thing in common besides their looks—they shared a commanding arrogance that wore rather thin at times.

  “I don’t have to be a mind reader to know exactly what you’re thinking.”

  “Oh, really?” She turned toward Cam. “And what might that be?”

  “You’re wondering how Braeden trained her so well.”

  The man was obtuse at times. She tapped his chest. “You really need to practice that mind-reading thing a little more.”

  He grasped her wrist before she could lower her arm. “I was just teasing you, Ariel.”

  “Isn’t such familiarity normally reserved for family and friends?” Easily pulling free, she added, “As your enemy I don’t fit either category. So, I would appreciate it if you would drop the bantering.”

  “Alexia complies because she knows that Braeden would never force her to do anything she really didn’t want to do.” Cam totally ignored anything she’d just said. His unblinking gaze never left hers, and Ariel found herself concentrating solely on the way his hair fell across his forehead as he looked down at her.

  “I would go so far as to say that Alexia most likely asked him to get her out of here because she really was tired.” His voice was so deep, so steady, yet it sent shivers down her spine.

  “That’s the way the two of them work together most of the time.”

  A cool, mist-laden breeze rushed against her neck. Ariel tore her attention away from Cam long enough to see that he’d somehow led her outside.

  “You did that on purpose.”

  “I wanted to show you something.”

  “And you couldn’t have done so inside?”

  The ends of his sash flapped behind him in the wind like some sapphire tail as he walked toward the workshop. The sight would have been comical had she not known the color of his scales.

  “Coming?”

  As much as she wanted to turn around and go back inside Mirabilus, her curiosity got the better of her. Ariel followed him into the shed.

  “We’re going to get filthy in there…”

  Before she could complete the sentence, a brief flash of cool air rushed against her suddenly naked limbs. “Cameron!”

  “Nice.” He touched the lace trimming her bra, his knuckles grazed the curve of her breast. “Lace bra and matching thong.” He moved closer. “Standard attire for funerals?”

  She had to tear her stare away from his heated gaze—otherwise the warmth already chasing away the chill from her arms would spread like wildfire. “Next time I’ll be sure to get your approval first.”

  Instantly, jeans and a sweatshirt—clothing more appropriate to rooting around in an ancient workshop, not to mention protect her from herself, covered her body. He, however, was still attired in his tux.

  Nervously, she asked, “Aren’t you coming in, too?”

  “You’ll be fine. Nobody will bother you.” In a much deeper, raspier tone he added, “Not even a dragon.” His eyes shimmered, his pupils elongated for a moment before settling back into a more human shape. “I’ll be standing guard.”

  She pitied anyone who decided to visit the workshop uninvited. “So, what am I supposed to see?”

  “I finished chipping away at your block. You guessed right, it was a hiding place. I thought you might want to retrieve what’s inside.”

  Could it be? Had he found the box, or another dragon pendant?

  He slid the panel open and pushed her into the corridor. “Go, Ariel.”

  “But, why—”

  “We can discuss why, what, and how, later. Go see what’s there first.”

  It was all she could do not to run the length of the corridor. But she didn’t want to risk a tumble on the uneven floor.

  Finally, her heart racing with renewed hope, she stepped into the chamber. The chandelier and half a dozen candelabras were lit, setting the room aglow.

  True to his word, the mortar around the block had been chipped away. But there wasn’t enough room for her fingers to simply pull the block free.

  A metal file tapped against wall alongside her head. Ariel silently thanked Cam, then used the tool to pry the block from the wall.

  After dropping the block and the file to the floor, she reached inside the opening and pulled out a small leather pouch.

  Ariel moved into the brighter light at the center of the chamber. Her fingers shook as she flicked the rotted tie from the pouch and emptied the contents into her palm.

  She gasped, clutching a dragon pendant to her chest. Surely he wasn’t going to let her give this to Renalde?

  This had to be a trick. He was torturing her by giving her hope that she really could save Carl’s life. In the end, he would just take the pendant from her and laugh.

  Ariel frowned. While that might be something she would expect Renalde to do, Cam wasn’t like that.

  She held the pendant up to study it in the light. Instead of emerald, it was sapphirelike. A shimmering, near-iridescent mix of blue, green and purple.

  Just like Cam’s beast.

  She stroked a finger gently over its head, down the back and traced the length of the curled tail before running the tip of a fingernail up the scaled belly.

  She would have expected the gemstone to be cold, but surprisingly, the pendant was warm beneath her touch—again, just like Cam’s beast.

  And when she held it up, the light twinkled off the eyes as if it looked back at her.

  Giving something this intricate to Renalde would hurt, but not as much as Carl’s death.

  Ariel slipped the pendant back into the pouch and turned to leave the chamber.

  She jumped in surprise at finding Cam in the doorway.

  “I thought you were going to stand guard.”

  He leaned against the doorway. “I sealed the door shut. Nobody is getting in.”

  She blinked at the deep huskiness of his voice. “Is something wrong?”

  Slowly he came toward her. “Wrong? What could possibly be wrong?”

  He stalked over to her. Steady, unwavering. Muscles clenched. Jaw tight. Nostrils flared. His piercing gaze riveted solely on her. Ariel suddenly felt like small helpless prey.

  “Cam?” She backed away until she slammed against the far wall.

  But he kept moving steadily forward until the hard plane of his chest pinned her to the solid wall. “You found the pendant.”

  “Yes, I did.” She swallowed, hoping to chase away the shakiness from her voice.

  He reached down and uncurled her fingers from around the pouch. “And you…inspected it?”

  “Of course.”

  Cam pulled the pendant from the bag and held it up
by the chain. The small dragon twirled in the air before her. “Touch it.”

  “What?”

  His breaths were a little more stable than they had been a moment ago. “I said, touch it.” He grasped her wrist to lift her hand and placed the pendant in her palm. “With a fingertip, touch it.”

  Confused, but oddly afraid not to do as he asked, she kept her stare on him as she once again gently stroked her finger along the gem.

  Cam shivered. He could physically feel the warmth of her touch as it trailed down his back. The same thing had happened while he had been standing guard. But he’d brushed it off as some strange fantasy.

  Until he’d felt one manicured fingernail trace slowly up his stomach, driving him wild with desire, leaving him near panting with lust. Then he’d realized that the sapphire dragon pendant he’d found last night was more like a spelled voodoo doll than a piece of jewelry.

  Ariel’s eyes widened. She curled her finger and grazed the tip of her nail along the belly. When he gasped, she asked, “Do you feel that?”

  He clamped his hand around hers, stopping her from tormenting him further. “Yes. And if you don’t want to be ravished right here, right now, I suggest you stop.”

  He leaned closer. With his lips brushing the soft skin beneath her ear, he invited, “Unless the idea turns you on as much as it does me.”

  Ariel wasn’t certain what possessed her—but something had. She couldn’t have stopped herself had she wanted to. She turned her head and lifted the pendant to her lips, whispering, “Tell me, do you feel this, too?”

  She exhaled on the pendant, then ever so slowly drew the tip of her tongue along the beast’s spine.

  Her touch drew a guttural roar from Cameron. In the back of her logical mind, Ariel knew it would be wiser to back down, to be afraid.

  But it wasn’t fear coursing through her veins. And it most certainly wasn’t anything logical that uncoiled deep in her belly.

  Even if she had decided to pull back, to change her mind, it was too late. Need, hunger, near-wild desire drove her body to find the fulfillment it required. Her mind had no say.

  Cam pulled her roughly into his arms and lifted her from the floor. Instantly the barrier of clothing fell away, flesh pressed against heated flesh. The hard plane of his chest in perfect opposition to the softness of her breasts.

  When he claimed her lips it wasn’t with the gentleness of passion. He was as hungry for her as she was for him, if not more so. She gladly met his demanding kiss with her own. Drowning in the need swirling around them, Ariel tightened her legs around him and curled her fingers in his hair.

  A throaty growl was her only warning before he pushed her against the wall of the workroom. She ignored the roughness against her back and clung to him moaning, begging for more than a kiss.

  Cam lowered his arms, hooking his hands beneath her as he caressed his way along the sensitive flesh until his teasing touch found her heat.

  She gasped, melting into his touch. Their kiss broken, he nuzzled the soft spot beneath her ear, drawing another moan from her lips.

  His touch, his lips were driving her toward the edge, but it wasn’t enough. Ariel drew in a ragged breath and grazed his scalp with her fingernails. She still wanted more.

  Ariel jumped at the jolt of wild desire within her as he sunk his teeth into the tender skin where her neck met her shoulder. She closed her eyes at the dizzying, near-frantic pace of her heartbeat while twisting hard against him, trying to get closer, needing him to end this torment.

  Suddenly, her mind filled with nothing but lust, she sensed the beast within him. The powerful strength of the dragon, his own great need, was laced with torment and longing. Her heart ached for what this beast thought he could never have.

  Tears stung behind her eyelids at her inability to comfort him. She couldn’t give him what he sought—regardless of what the dragon wanted, the man wanted no part of her heart.

  Not knowing what else to do, she forced herself to relax in his hold. Gently stroking the side of his face with a trembling hand, she whispered hoarsely, “Cam, please, I need you.”

  He released her shoulder and drew his lips back to hers as he entered her. The hard length of his erection filled her. She met his thrusts, knowing by the tensing of his shoulders and arms that he was as close to the edge as she.

  Ariel curled her arms tightly around his neck, tearing her mouth from his to cry out as their shared climax left her shuddering against his chest.

  Breathing hard, Cam tilted his head to rest his forehead against the wall. His arms trembled beneath her.

  Ariel reluctantly unhooked her feet and let her legs slide down the length of his body. But she kept her arms wrapped around his neck, fearing her legs wouldn’t yet be able to hold her upright.

  She wanted to ask him about his beast, but knew he wouldn’t talk to her. No matter what passed between them physically, in the end, they were still and always would be enemies.

  It didn’t matter that neither of them had other choices. She had to protect her brother. He had to protect his family.

  Cam leaned away and gently stroked a finger along her cheek. “We need to get back.”

  Once they were both dressed, and after placing a gentle kiss on her lips, he turned around. “He’s like a teenager in love for the first time, Ariel. Leave him be. He’ll be fine.”

  She blinked in shock at his rough dismissal of his beast’s feelings. How could he be so callous?

  “The subject is closed.”

  She knew by the tone of his voice that she would only be wasting her time and energy arguing with him. Ariel drew in a slow breath as she picked up the pendant and put it back inside the pouch.

  She frowned. If she could cause such physical havoc by simply touching the stone dragon, what damage could Renalde cause? Her heart skipped and her throat tightened at the thought of Cam’s death. “I can’t give this to Renalde.”

  Unsure if he was relieved or disappointed that she’d put the dragon away, he answered, “You don’t have a choice.”

  “What if he can do this, too? He could kill you without warning.”

  “True. But I don’t think it works that way.”

  The reason the Learneds wanted Alexia’s pendant, was because it turned into a living breathing dragon. What they didn’t realize was that it only transformed for her. He and Braeden had put that to the test numerous times—always with the same result.

  Considering his beast’s unquenchable lust for Ariel, he suspected that this extremely tactile magic worked only for Ariel, too. He would test that theory and if it proved true, he’d gladly suggest she hand the pendant over to the Learneds. At least then it’d be out of her hands—away from her exotically magical touch.

  “Is there anyone you could ask?”

  “No.”

  “Nobody?”

  “Look, Ariel, outside of Brightworthe, no one else knows about my ability to change into a dragon except you. I’d prefer to keep it that way.”

  “Your brothers and your aunt don’t know?”

  “Thankfully, no. It’s not like I was born like this. It just started happening one day.”

  He felt her body tense as she gasped. “It just happened? Without any warning?”

  “Other than some odd dreams, intuition, and a birthmark that started to burn, there wasn’t any warning.”

  He watched the color drain from her face. “Odd dreams?”

  Uncertain how to answer in a m
anner that wouldn’t frighten her, Cam only nodded in response.

  “Intuition?”

  He knew exactly what she was wondering without having to delve into her mind. Reaching out to offer a measure of his strength, he said, “Ariel, it will be all right.”

  She pushed his hand away and slid down the wall until she sat on the floor. “No. It isn’t possible. I can’t do this.”

  This wasn’t the time or the place to have this conversation. But who else, besides him, could help her understand what would eventually happen to her? Who else could explain that it was a gift, not a curse? “You can’t do what, Ariel?”

  “I can’t be like you. I’m a human. I’m not a…thing.”

  Unable, unwilling to believe what he was hearing, Cam grabbed the front of her sweatshirt and hauled her to her feet. “Thing? Is that what I am to you? A thing? A freak of nature?”

  “No, no.” She shook her head. “That’s not what I meant. This can’t be happening. It can’t be real. It’s just a dream, that’s all. It has to be. If not, I don’t know what to do, how to stop it.”

  “You can’t stop it.” He released her. “Don’t worry, you won’t be alone.

  “Won’t be alone?” Her bark of laughter bounced off the stone walls. “Yes, I will. Once this is all over with, I’m going home.”

  She’d be aghast to realize that he and his beast had just made a decision on that score. “How about if we worry about this when it becomes necessary?”

  “That will be easier said than done.”

  Since his mind had been spinning around all the possibilities, he agreed. “True. But right now, I need you to relax. There’s someplace else we need to be.”

  “Relax?” She stared up at the ceiling. The flickering light twinkled off her tears. “How?”

  Cam quickly pulled her against him and lowered his lips to hers. “Let me help.”

  Her tears were salty against his tongue, but her kiss was the sweetest thing he’d ever tasted. He wanted more than just her lips beneath his, but for now it would have to do.