“Shane Freeman.” Bryant shook his head. “Well, this is unexpected.”
Esther glanced over her shoulder. It was Shane. “What are you doing here?”
“I heard this young lady over here,” he nodded at Kayla, who was staring at him like she had never seen a man before, “screaming that you were being kidnapped. I’m not the kind of guy to let that slide.”
Bryant snorted, a puff of smoke bursting from his nostrils. “I didn’t kidnap them.”
“We were attacked,” Esther quickly added. “At least, we were sort of attacked. It all happened so fast…”
“Attacked?” Shane’s face twisted in worry and he strode forward. “By enemies of the Emperor? Is Thunder safe?”
Bryant made a strangled noise in his throat. He glanced at Kayla, who was still staring in shocked awe. “She didn’t know until you went and blabbed,” he spat at Shane. “Why don’t we just tell everybody, huh? It’s not like his parents want to protect him or anything. But now the human knows and she’s not authorized and I can’t just let her go. I have to kidnap her for real now. Are you happy?”
“Hey.” Esther put both her hands on Bryant’s chest. “Stop. Okay? We’re all tense and not happy right now, but we need to just calm down and breathe, okay? No more throwing accusations around and… what we need to do is just go somewhere where we can recover from flying and fighting and… nakedness…”
His chest was naked. As was the rest of him. It must have just been the adrenaline that caused her gaze to drop lower, to see what he had to offer. Heat flared in her cheeks and other parts of her body as she saw his full figure. Oh. My. God. She’d seen naked men before. There was a phase in college when she watched a lot of porn, to help ease her raging hormones (it hadn’t worked) and she hadn’t seen anything like him before. She had to step back to stop herself from letting her hands trail lower.
“Um… yeah. We need to go. And get dressed.”
Esther turned her eyes to the sky, aware of the uncomfortable heat in her body. If Kayla and Shane weren’t there, she didn’t know what she’d do!
“I have a place nearby,” Bryant said. “It’ll have clothes and food and shelter while we figure out what to do next.”
He shifted again and held out a clawed hand to Esther. She hesitated a moment before stepping into his embrace. Shane said something to Kayla, and when he shifted she climbed onto his back. Bryant took off and flew at a soft, gentle pace. Thank goodness, because Esther wasn’t sure if she’d be able to handle the breakneck speed that they had gone through before.
Soon enough they landed again. The building looked similar to a medieval English castle, which was odd considering that they were in the United States. It had a single turret and was smaller than any castle she’d imagined before, but it was still a romantic setting. Ivy grew up its walls and the encroaching forest pressed in around it. The stonework was crumbling in places but it seemed to be fairly intact nonetheless.
Shane set down beside them and allowed Kayla off his back before he shifted again. “So, what is this place?”
“An old family building.” Bryant headed in. “I come from a line of princes in a clan that was wiped out a couple hundred years ago.”
Esther’s jaw dropped. “You’re a prince?”
“No. The clan was wiped out. My great-great-grandfather… or great-great-great, I don’t know… anyway, he fought with his mate and the clan split because of it. The two sides fought until their children were all dead except for one, who joined a new clan and gave up his lands and titles in exchange for living peacefully.”
He led them inside and opened a metal chest, which held clothes. Both him and Shane dressed quickly and then Bryant looked at them with a lost expression. Esther touched his arm, trying to impart some small bit of comfort. If she thought about it, it was all over for him now. Robert Dunn was certainly going to tell Virdi that Bryant was married, which meant he lost his position in the Emperor’s Guard. Did he have anything else?
Dunn said that he failed to protect his first mate. Shaya. What did he mean by that?
“Right. I guess, does anybody have a cellphone? I should call and warn them…”
Esther patted her pockets. “Mine must have fallen from my pocket.”
“My battery is dead,” Kayla said.
“Okay. This way.”
Bryant was quiet as he led them through the stone corridors. The inside of the building was better cared for than the outside, but it seemed big, empty and cold. Like a haunted castle. Esther pushed the thoughts aside, not wanting to scare herself.
Eventually, they came to a room that looked almost dungeon cell-like. The door was just a grate of bars. Whoever decorated had a terrible sense of humor. A phone sat on the table across the room and she rushed in and grabbed it. No dial tone.
The door slammed shut.
Esther whirled to see Bryant stepping back, a conflicted expression on his face. Shane growled and threw himself at the door, but it held. It was only then that she realized there was no handle.
This was a prison cell.
“What are you doing?” Shane snarled at him through the bars.
“This is temporary,” Bryant replied. “It’s just until I’ve figured out where to go from here. I’ll bring blankets and stuff so you won’t get cold.”
That was hardly the point. Esther stared, her hand grasping the dead phone to her ear. Bryant disappeared as Shane spat curses at him and Kayla started crying. Esther, though, couldn’t get herself to feel anything. Except a cold, aching feeling in the pit of her stomach. What was he doing?
“Hey.” Shane wrapped his arms around the still-sobbing Kayla. “It’s okay. I’ll get us out of here. I promise.”
Esther put the phone back in its cradle and moved to the barred, glass window. She was glad that Shane was there to comfort Kayla. Her own mind continued to be blank and she wasn’t certain if she would have been able to comfort her…
Her eyes closed. Bryant, you’ve just made everything even worse.
Chapter Eight
Bryant
He had just made everything worse. What the hell was he thinking?
At the time, locking up Shane, Kayla and Esther just seemed like the logical choice. Get them locked up and out of the way so that he could think. So that he could go warn Virdi and Dominique about Dunn. But now that they were locked away and he had that opportunity, he couldn’t bring himself to leave. What if Dunn attacked him again on his way? What if he was injured and couldn’t come back to free them? They’d starve to death here.
Besides which, Dunn hadn’t made any threats towards Virdi, Dominique, and Thunder. Bryant wasn’t even sure that Dunn knew about Thunder. The whole situation was just messed up, and his impulsiveness was not fitting for a member of the Emperor’s Guard.
He spooned a portion of stew into a bowl as he shook his head. It was the second day of his stupidity and he’d made a thick stew of meat, potatoes, and carrots for his prisoners. It needed a little salt in it, but it wasn’t terrible. He’d also made a chocolate cake to serve them for a dessert. It was his way of apologizing for keeping them prisoner. But now that they were locked away, he couldn’t just release them, could he?
So, what the hell was he going to do?
He had to do something. His career was over, yeah, but Dunn had still attacked him and two humans. Or had Bryant been the one to attack? Had Dunn actually done anything that would be truly threatening? And then there was Kayla. She shouldn’t have found out about Thunder at all, but she did. They couldn’t keep her a prisoner forever–scratch that, he couldn’t keep her a prisoner forever. He couldn’t keep any of them prisoner.
But what if Shane was working with Dunn somehow? How did Dunn even find him? Find out about Esther? He said he’d seen them get married, but what was he doing hanging around like that, anyway? What difference did it make to him whether Bryant was married, unless he knew about the Emperor’s Guard?
And would Esther ever forgive him
for this?
Bryant sighed as he arranged the bowls on the tray and made sure he had enough silverware for all of them. He then stuck the cake in one corner of the tray and headed towards the dungeons. What was he going to do with Esther? They were married and now that he was going to be kicked out of the Guard it didn’t matter if that came to light or not. So, he might as well give her the annulment that she so desperately wanted…
Why did his heart ache at the thought? There was no reason for him to be this connected with her. His flames leaped a little higher and he tasted smoke in his mouth. Maybe it was because he had been so alone for so long, and he was tired of all these women on the side, one-night-stands that were filled with empty sex and nobody to hold onto in the early hours of morning. Esther was different from the women he was normally with. Not because she was a virgin, but because she demanded something more than he usually gave. In the pit of his stomach, he knew that she would give back that same devotion.
And he wanted it. He wanted her. He wanted a lifetime…
He already had had a mate, though. These feelings were a betrayal of Shaya’s memory.
Bryant was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he missed the tell-tale smell of ash when he rounded the corner to the dungeon where his prisoners were being held. A streak of fire burst towards him and he jumped to the side, stew slopping onto the cake. The sleeve of his shirt caught fire and he wiped it against the wall until it went out and glared at Shane.
“You idiot!” Esther shouted from behind the other dragon. “He’s a dragon, too, fire’s not going to do anything and you’re just going to ruin our food.”
“Don’t call him an idiot,” Kayla snapped. “At least he’s trying something.”
Shane growled in his throat as he stared down at Bryant. Just for that, he was tempted to dump the food, but he wasn’t going to starve the women because Shane was an idiot. “These dungeons were built by dragons to hold dragons. Maybe next time try not roasting your dinner.”
He approached again, more cautiously this time, and jerked his chin at Shane. “Get back to the cell. The women can take the food.”
Shane growled again. “I don’t know what you think you’re doing here,” he said, and flames and smoke billowed from his mouth. “But if you think you’re going to get away with it, I’d run away, Chandler. I am going to get out of here and once I do, I’m going to kill you.”
Esther pushed in front of him. “No, you’re not.”
“You’re seriously defending the man who has taken us prisoner?”
“He’s an idiot and acted like a real dummy, but seriously. Killing someone just because they’re stupid?”
Bryant wasn’t sure he liked the way she chose to defend him, but it warmed his heart that she was defending him. Behind her and Shane, Kayla began to inch forward, a torn expression on her face. She put a hand on Shane’s arm and the big dragon relaxed a smidgeon. He allowed Kayla to push him to the back of the cell. Bryant stepped in closer so that they could take the food from him.
“Are you trying to bribe us with a cake?” Esther asked under her breath as she took a bowl from the tray.
Kayla poked at a piece of meat with her spoon. “I can’t eat this.”
Bryant rolled his eyes.
“I’m vegan. I don’t eat meat or animal byproducts.”
“Vegan?”
Kayla’s lips tightened and her eyes flashed. Clearly, she was getting ready for an argument. Bryant shrugged. He didn’t understand veganism, but then there was a lot of things he didn’t understand. That didn’t mean he was going to go around ridiculing people who lived a different way than he did, or tell this woman he had kidnapped and imprisoned that she could either go against her principles or starve.
“I’ll make something else for you, then.”
Kayla’s eyes widened. “Oh. Really?”
“Yeah. I mean, I’m not a complete jerk.” He flashed her one of his smiles, and she blinked and smiled back hesitantly. As Esther handed a bowl of stew to Shane, she snorted a little.
Bryant glanced at her, remembering how she reacted to him and Shaya’s sister… who was going to be so pissed at him for not coming back. Worried and pissed. If he had a phone he’d be able to call her at least, but apparently, that wasn’t going to happen. Argh. Why did life have to be so difficult? He focused on Kayla again. He had to figure out what was going on with Esther one way or another…
“So, I heard you before,” he said leaning against the door to the cell. “You’re going to be Esther’s manager at her dig?”
“Well… that’s what we were discussing.”
Bryant let his smile widen. “And how did someone so young manage to get through school quick enough to get such a position?”
He added a layer of flirt to his voice. Esther shot him a glare as she set the cake on the table inside. She held her stew on her large breasts and started to eat.
“I’m not that young,” Kayla said with a blush. Amazing. Even as a captor he had the ability to get that reaction. “I’m actually close to thirty. I just went back to school recently because I… well, because I wanted to, I guess.”
Esther made a harrumphing noise.
“Bet it’s not easy,” Bryant said. “I mean, you’re so cute I bet you’ve got guys following you around all the time and that makes it hard to concentrate on your studies.”
Kayla’s eyes widened and her mouth formed an ‘O’. Her blush deepened. Esther took off her glasses, wiped them on her shirt, and stuck them back onto her face. The glower she was giving him would be enough to shame anybody, but he pressed on. Was it anger at him flirting with Kayla in the situation they were in, or was it jealousy?
“I’d bet that you get asked out a lot, too, right?”
“That’s enough!” Shane roared as he leapt forward. Bryant hastily backtracked until he was out of reach of the other dragon, but Shane only wrapped his arms protectively around Kayla and pulled her back. “We aren’t going to fall for your false charms. And I don’t care what else you might have going on, we are your prisoners.”
Kayla’s blush deepened even further and she leaned into Shane’s embrace. She chewed her lip. Esther continued to glare at him.
“Not to mention,” she said icily, “we’re married and you’ve been refusing to annul our marriage.” Both Shane and Kayla stared at her. Esther ducked her head. “We were drunk and we got married. And then, since members of the Emperor’s Guard can’t marry, he refused to get an annulment because it would bring more attention to us or some sort of nonsense like that.”
Bryant ignored the shocked looks that were directed at him now. “Well, I guess since that’s over, we might as well annul it when we get back.”
“Yeah, we might as well.” Esther’s voice contained less venom than he had anticipated. She ducked her head again and started to shovel the stew into her mouth.
His shoulders slumped. He knew that he couldn’t expect anything different, not with how things were between them and especially since he had, you know, kidnapped and imprisoned her. But he wanted something else in this mix. He shouldn’t. It was betraying Shaya’s memory. But he did.
“Um, do you have any allergies?” he asked, turning to Kayla again.
“No.”
Esther set her stew aside. “I know a really good recipe for a vegan chili. Let me out and I’ll make it so that Kayla knows you’re not trying to trick her.”
Bryant opened his mouth to say he wouldn’t trick her, but the chance to have Esther alone, to be able to talk to her and maybe get something sorted between them was too great a draw. Making sure that Shane wouldn’t attack while he did so, Bryant unlocked the door and let Esther out before shutting it again. The automatic lock clicked into place and he guided Esther to the kitchen.
“You know what?” she snapped at him as she started to go through the cupboards. “I don’t want an annulment anymore.’
His heart lifted.
“I want a divorce. That way I can take
half of your things.”
Bryant shook his head, grinding his teeth as he did so. “Why are you so mad at me?”
Esther turned to him with a shocked expression. “That isn’t a real question, is it? Please, explain to me why I wouldn’t be angry with you! You marry me and refuse to annul the marriage but you also are going to go off with other women and then you kidnap me and—”
Her bright eyes and red face were such a cute combination that he couldn’t stop himself. Even though he knew there would be hell to pay for it, he put his hands on her waist. She cut off at once. He leaned forward, moving slowly so as to give her plenty of time to pull away. She didn’t. And so, he kissed her, hard and deep.
With a groan, she threw her arms around his neck and pulled herself tighter against him.
Chapter Nine
Esther
His lips were hot, hungry, drawing her in. She wanted him to consume her. Wanted to consume him right back. She thrust her hips forward, grinding against him. When he teased open her mouth, she thrust her tongue into his. Heat pooled in her core and even though there was a small voice in the back of her mind telling her to stop, she didn’t want to. Every inch of her body screamed out for his, to be completed together as one.
Then she remembered the way he had been so shamelessly flirting with Kayla and she ripped herself out of his arms. Her hand flew, smacking him hard, and then both covered her mouth. What the hell was wrong with her?
“I’m sorry!” she gasped.
“Hey.” He rubbed his cheek. “What was with that?”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t think…”
“I gave you time to pull back. And you kissed me back. So right now, I need an answer. A yes or a no. None of this kissing and then hitting me.” He narrowed his eyes. “I get you’re mad and upset but that doesn’t mean that you get to just beat up on me.”
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