by Victoria Zak
With confidence, she slowly took a few steps toward Stone. She placed her hand in front of his nose and he inhaled. “See, it’s me. I’d never hurt you, my love.” She ran her hand up his head and when she couldn’t reach further, he lowered his head allowing her to touch more. “That’s it.”
13
After a few soft scratches behind his horns, Stone had fallen under Cyn’s spell. He’d pushed deeper into her touch and made a sound he never thought he’d hear again. A purr? Yes, that soft vibration permeating up his throat was a purr.
“Cyn,” he moaned. “I know it’s you.” He spoke telepathically, but all he heard was static. “Hey, listen, you must get out of here. You’re in danger.”
Still nothing was getting through.
A twinge of panic coursed through his scales, vibrating the long line of spikes running down his back. Where was Cyn’s dragon?
He lifted his head.
“Hey, big guy. How about we work on those chains?” Her hand ran down his broad shoulder, and thoughts of danger escaped him. He allowed her to continue down his thick front leg to the metal cuff shackled to his hock. Next thing he heard was the damn thing popping open and clanking as it hit the floor.
“There.” Cynthia said. “That must feel better.”
Given by her edgy demeanor and the slight tremble in her hands, Stone detected his mate was terrified of him. Hell, he would be, too, after the shit he’d been through. As her hand left his body, the anxiety returned and brought him back to reality—he was rogue… untrusting…unpredictable and unstoppable.
Her hand was back on his scales again as she worked the cuff on his back leg. Instantly, he calmed. Every time she touched him, he turned into a purring kitten. What in the hell was going on?
Two more cuffs gone, and he was now a free dragon. A free dragon! His reptilian eyes widened in fear. No, he couldn’t be trusted. He staggered back, away from her.
“Shhh.” She rubbed his neck.
He lowered his head.
“That’s it. We need to get you out of here.”
He shook his head.
“Baby, you got this,” Cynthia said. “Trust me.”
He did trust her, but not himself.
A sweet scent, not his mates, lingered in the air as his attention turned to a petite girl walking up to Cyn. His nostrils flared as he recognized the Dragonkine female’s distinct fragrance. What was her kind doing here? They didn’t mingle in his world. And…He paused. Something else mixed with that scent. Stone inhaled deeply, searching the air for clues. Holy shit, she was with child.
How could this be?
“Um, I think we better go now.” The female pointed to the door. “They’re coming.”
They could only mean one thing, the Dragonslayers. Rage surfaced, a menacing growl escaped him. An intense burning sensation traveled up his throat unlike the norm when he was ready to spew liquid lava. Untamed power surged through his scales. A strong sense to protect his mate and the female and her young, surpassed all his uncertainties.
A team of five Dragonslayers charged through the door and met a wall of fire, courtesy of Stone.
He lowered his wing in front Cyn. The hesitation in her eyes said it all.
“Are you sure?” Cyn asked.
Stone nudged her closer to his wing.
“Okay.” She swallowed hard and helped the female climb up and onto his back. Quickly, she followed. As they settled, Stone searched for a way out. Let’s face it, he wasn’t fitting through the side door. At the far end of the hangar was an automatic roll up door. Needing only a couple steps, he reached the enormous garage door and took in a deep breath. He brought up that fiery lava and let it fly. Open sesame, mother fucker.
Flames engulfed the door, burning it to the ground within seconds. Stone shot through the flames like a rocket and launched into the air. With a couple pumps of his massive wings, the trio were in the sky.
The females were safe, but that didn’t satisfy him. Bryce and all his cock-sucking minions needed a large dose of hell-fire reality. Stone looped around and faced the direction of the hangar. From an aerial view, Stone got a better understanding of what was going down with the Slayers. Aircraft hangars five rows across and at least ten deep, out in the middle of nowhere. God only knew how many dragons they had held captive or had plans to capture.
“Stone,” his mate’s voice called to him. “Don’t do it. There could be innocent dragons inside. Besides, we’re outnumbered and don’t have the resources to rescue everyone.”
Stone fought the urge to lay waste to the compound. Cyn was right. If he went full on fire and brimstone, innocent lives would be lost. No matter how much he wanted to watch Bryce burn, he couldn’t allow his anger to override his good judgment. Besides, he wasn’t going into battle with Cyn and a pregnant Dragonkine female on his back.
Stone continued on route to Ember Brooke. The females would be safe there.
On his flight home, there had been a lot of time to think about how the mission had spiraled into a nosedive straight into a pile of shit. Dragonkine was under attack. The map to Drest’s heart was now in the hands of their enemy, and he was a fucking rogue. Yeah, this shit was beyond the DBI’s capabilities. He was ass-deep in king of dragon’s territory.
He’d be too big of a risk to keep around, he knew that. He just hoped the king would take his stellar resume in consideration and give him a warrior’s death. Unlike the name betrayer linked to his family name, he wanted to leave behind an honorable legacy, to be remembered as loyal to his kind. All his life he fought hard to change the MacMarus name, but with a father who betrayed Dragonkine centuries ago, it was hard to accomplish. Even after seven hundred years, the Kine still remembered the day Marcus Stewart brought the mad King Drest back to life.
And then there was Cyn. She’d be left without a mate, without young.
Fuck. This sucked.
After hanging a hard right, Stone landed on his helipad outside his mountain home. He lowered his wing, and the females climbed down. Cyn turned to him when he didn’t shift back into human form. Her brows creased. “Stone?”
He hung his head and closed his eyes. He wanted to shift and take her into his arms, tell her how much he loved her, perhaps spend the rest of his life making up for all the shitty things he’d done. But the cold, painful truth was he wasn’t worthy of his mate—not like this.
A soft, soothing hand touched his check. “Come inside and let’s talk.”
Taking in her sweet scent, he leaned into her hand, taking in her comfort.
“Please,” she sniffled. “Don’t go.”
Before he changed his mind, Stone took a step back. He pumped his wings and launched into the sky. Now, Cyn was safe.
14
Cynthia sat on a bench outside her king’s conference room inside the city hall building of Ember Brooke. She’d been here for hours, nervously waiting for Stone to come out.
A week had passed since they had left the compound and since she’d seen him last. She’d called his cell numerous times, until she heard his voice message repeating in her sleep. She’d paid a visit to Blacktalons only to be stopped by the receptionist informing her Mr. MacMarcus was in a meeting.
At first, she wanted to believe it, but after waiting two hours like a good little She-Dragon for the meeting to adjourn, she took the elevator to Stone’s office. The lights were off and no one was inside. Then there was the drive by that turned into an over-nighter outside Stone’s second home on the beach.
Yep, she was heading into crazy girlfriend stalker territory.
She crossed into crazy desperation when she called Jensen. He’d informed her the Blacktalons hearing in front of the king was today, but wasn’t sure Stone was even going to show up. However, this was her last resort. With her dragon slowly awakening each day, she sensed he was inside that room learning his fate. She could only pray the statement she’d given the king would help Stone out of this mess. Dragonkine needed a man like Stone now that
war was upon them.
The king’s door opened, and six elite Dragonkine Guardians filed out. Their facial expressions, dark and grim, chilled her to the bone. There was no doubt war was on their minds.
Thane, son of James and Stone’s best friend, was the last to walk out of the room. He spotted her and walked up. “Hey, Cynthia.” He pulled her into a hug. “It’s good to see you again.”
“Likewise.” She took a step back, searching Thane’s expression for some clue of what went down during Stone’s trial.
Thane shoved his hand through his cropped hair. “By the looks of Jensen’s satellite footage, it’s a miracle you all made it out of the compound alive.”
Cynthia nodded, for she couldn’t speak over the lump forming in her throat. Was he really getting sentimental on her?
Thane’s face grew grim.
Yep, he was going there.
“Listen, thank you for saving Stone’s life. He told us everything about the rescue. You have no idea what this means to me.”
“Thane,” she shook her head. “He’s my mate. As much as I was pissed at him, I couldn’t leave him.”
“You do know everything Stone’s been through was to protect you. He took that mission not only for Dragonkine but for you. He never stopped loving you, Cyn. Don’t be so hard on him, okay.” He winked.
“Is he in there?” Cynthia nodded toward the conference room.
Thane gave her a knowing smile. “Give him a minute. The king still has his ass.”
She nodded.
“Hey, I hope I’ll see you around. I would like to introduce you to my mate, Bex.”
“Your mated?” Cynthia asked in surprise.
“Happily in love.”
Cynthia watched his smile spread further across his face and a tinge of jealousy surfaced. She wanted to feel that way again.
“Wow, a lot has changed in a year. I’d love to meet her.”
“Good. I’ll be in touch.” Thane leaned in and gave her a hug, then left.
And here she was again, waiting, impatiently. Cynthia stared at the door. It had been left ajar. Nonchalantly, she walked by the door, minding her own business as she peeked in on her way back to the bench. She couldn’t see anything, but she knew he was in there. She wasn’t letting him give her the slip. Nope. There was one way in and one way out, so today there would be no avoiding her.
She sat down and rubbed her sweaty palms down her black slacks, then adjusted her blazer. Goddess, the anticipation was killing her. The fidgeting stopped as she heard the soles of Stone’s shoes squeak against the marble floor. He was leaving.
Cynthia stood, but it had felt like she rocketed off the damn bench. Her heart had never pounded like this before. What if he didn’t want to see her?
Stone walked out of the room, and instantly their eyes met. He walked up to her with his hands planted inside his tan, wool coat. He wasn’t dressed in his normal business attire. He wore khakis, which were like jeans for him, and a black V-neck cashmere sweater with a white undershirt. His demeanor was different from the Stone she knew. He was broken.
“So, how did it go?” she asked, but did she really want to know?
“As good as can be expected given the circumstances,” he said dryly. He walked past her, heading toward the exit sign.
That was it? This was all she got? This was exactly what she was afraid of. He was creating distance between them. And that could only mean one thing. The king issued a death warrant.
“Stone,” she called out and caught up with him. “Can we talk about this?”
Stone stopped abruptly. His jaw ticked as he stared ahead.
“Look at me.” She stood in front of him. “What went on in there? Be straight with me.”
“You really want to know?”
“Yes,” she exclaimed.
“Fine. My risk assessment report describes me as a ticking fucking time bomb ready to explode. I can’t be trusted. I must step down from my position at Blacktalons and from the Guardians. Effective immediately. So says the king.”
“What!”
“The king’s physician will perform a full assessment of my condition and from there, he’ll decide on a treatment plan.”
“Stone, this is good news. The king let you live. I know it’s hard to give up everything you’ve worked hard for, but right now, you don’t need stress. You need to focus on getting better and showing the king you can be trusted.”
“Can I, Cyn? Can I ever be truly trusted?” he said with doubt. “Because I don’t think there’s a cure for this.”
“So, what do we do? Give up?” Cynthia took his hands and hit back with some truth of her own. “I can tell you right now, Stone MacMarcus, I will not allow you to push me away. We’re in this together.”
Stone shook his head. “Cyn, I tried to kill you.” His voice shook as he said the last two words. Tears wet his eyes as he looked away from her.
Cynthia’s own tears threatened to surface. Her mate was giving up. The demons Stone would have to face would be unbearable. Keeping his anger in check would be impossible, especially since Bryce was still alive. However, she had hope. Back at the compound she’d felt Stone inside the beast trying to pull away from his rogue side. There was still a rational part of him.
“But you didn’t. Instead, you did the right thing and rescued us. I felt it. Things could have gone wrong, but you didn’t allow it. You can control it.”
“Even if I can, I can’t let you put your life on hold for me. My death certificate is still on the king’s desk. He can sign it at any time.”
“I don’t believe he’ll sign it,” Cynthia said with confidence.
“Why is that?”
“Because I gave him the thumb drive. He owes me.” Cynthia smiled up at Stone.
His brows pinched together. “But Bryce had it. He showed me.”
“I made a dummy copy. The real drive is in the hands of the king. Trust me Stone, I’ve saved your ass.”
Stone exhaled heavy. “Beautiful, you have no idea.” He dipped his head and claimed her lips in a soul-searing kiss.
“So,” she said breathlessly. “What are we going to do?”
Stone caressed her check as he processed the situation. “I have a deal for you.”
“Okay.” This was the wheeling and dealing Stone she loved.
“I’ll agree to be more accepting of my new condition and accept the help I need to heal. In return, I want you to come back home.”
Cynthia scratched her chin like she was thinking hard about the deal. “What classifies as home? Living anywhere in Ember Brooke or a particular place?”
Stone wrapped his arms around her and held tight. His smoldering glare shot straight through her. A new kind of power surged through him, something savage swirled deep inside his depths. It turned her on. She liked the new Stone 5.0 version.
“My house.” He purred, low and deep. “In my bed.” He kissed her neck. “At my breakfast table.” He threaded his hand through her hair. Taking a fistful, he tugged gently, enough to let her know he was serious. “Do you feel me?”
Did she ever. Her mate sure knew how to sweeten the deal. Little did he know, the movers were already at her apartment packing. “Can I have a roommate?”
Confusion washed over his face. She played with the collar of his jacket, looking cute as a puppy, so he wouldn’t say no. “I promised Charlotte I would take care of her.”
“She’s the female from the compound?” Stone asked.
“Dragonkine female. Yes. Her whole situation is odd. She doesn’t know who or what she is. She can’t remember how she ended up at the compound. If we can gain her trust, I think she could help us understand the Dragonslayers better.”
“Those fuckers are going to burn for what they did to you,” Stone growled, his eyes flashed reptilian.
Instantly, her hand moved to the back of his neck. “Easy there, Godzilla, Dragonkine will prevail. Bryce and his minions have a whole lot of ass kicking coming their way
. So, do we have a deal?”
“I’ll have my lawyers draw up the contract.” He smiled. “Welcome home, Cyn”
Warmth filled her heart with hope. Yes, their future was uncertain, but she refused to allow it to chain them to their fears. She loved this dragon with all her heart and now he was fully hers—forever. Together they’d weather any storm.
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About Victoria Zak
Victoria Zak is an internationally bestselling author of historical and contemporary romance. She weaves magic into her timeless tales, reminding readers anything is possible, especially with a dragon by your side. Raised in Dunedin, Florida, the sister city to Stirling, Scotland, no wonder she grew up fascinated with anything Scottish. Add the ocean into the mix, and it’s easy to see where Victoria found inspiration for her stories.
As a child, she read anything she could get her hands on, which developed into full-scale book addiction by adulthood. Curious by nature, Victoria doesn’t shy away from anything. She enjoys historical research and hanging out at the nearest coffee shop. Victoria currently resides in Maryland with her real-life heroes, her husband and two children.
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