It bobbed on the water like a cork and its hatches opened. A sleek feline figure emerged and pranced – there was no other word for it – on the deck. It leapt into the water and followed the winding path of the single channel to the shore. It bounded up the rocks and transformed back into a human being. A dark-haired, broad-shouldered, naked man stood shaking water from his powerfully built limbs on San Michaela.
There was a blur of movement from the submarine and then the shifter was grabbing at something that resolved into a line down which the tiger’s equally brawny accomplice shot a series of boxes. The tiger methodically stacked them on the rocks. Lars spoke steadily into his mic even though he could expect no reply. The drawback of fighting in dragon was an inability to speak. The man on the submarine buckled his harness onto the line and trusting his comrade, launched himself toward the island. Soon he was standing beside the shifter.
The submarine disappeared beneath the waves and moved away. Could it hold yet more landing parties? Hard to tell. On the rocks, the tiger dressed himself in black which concealed his pale body. Both men assembled semi-automatic weapons from their boxes and holstered them on their backs.
They set off into the trees. By their postures, Lars assumed they were tracking. One carried a device on a pole. Metal detector? Microphone? Lars could do nothing but report their behavior to his silent comrades.
The radar began to beep. Two large flying objects were heading towards the island from the mainland. His headset began to crackle. He listened. The Eldest had sent further reinforcements. Lars began to give instructions. Outside, the sound of gunfire was almost drowned by a fresh wave of Maori battle cries.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
“I’m bored, Mom,” complained Matteo. He banged his legs against the side of the top bunk.
“You have a tablet with a load of games and a bunch of books. Our job is to wait here until it’s safe to come out.” Nicole tried to infuse her voice with patient reassurance even though she was twitching with anxiety.
Every scrap of intuition warned her that waiting here was disastrous. Yet she had nothing with which to construct a plan. Her restlessness did not incline her towards trying her luck in the Zodiac. She could not leave her son here alone while she took dragon and went into battle. But she could certainly arrange things so that if they were attacked their assailants would be swiftly dealt with.
“Stay in your bunk,” she admonished Matt. “I want to check something.”
“Can’t I come too?”
“It will be too dangerous.” Her experiments on the beach had taught her what a menace her talent was. “I want you out of harm’s way. Understood?”
“I guess.” Matt sighed and reluctantly picked up the tablet.
Nicole did a tour of the tunnel. It was a long walk from end to end, but as she became more familiar with the area, the distances and size seemed to shrink. The tunnel was dry and smelled faintly of the sea. The rocky walls separated her from contact with anyone above ground – friend or foe. She found another storage cupboard with additional food and water. And the narrow fresh air vents bored into the rock.
There was only one means of communication and Lars had warned her repeatedly that he would not use it until it was safe for her to leave. And until he gave her the correct password she was not to open the stairway. It was crazy to think that he worried that he might betray them under torture, but she thought that had been in his mind when he created a password. Theo had given her one too. A different one.
The staircase was locked – just as she had left it. She stood at the bottom and listened. Silence. She imagined that she could feel Lars’ comforting presence. But surely that was just her silly infatuation? How could she detect anyone through feet of solid rock, and six inches of steel? She couldn’t. No one could. She turned and hurried back to the room where Matteo was waiting.
He was still sitting on the bunk. Now he was absorbed in his game. He looked up at her and grinned. “I’ll be right back,” she told him. “Stay put.” He waved a careless hand.
She returned to the outer exit. She slid the false wall aside as Lars had shown her. The manhole that sealed the tunnel was bolted fast. Nicole put both hands against it to test its solidity. She jumped in surprise at the wave of malevolence she detected. Someone was beyond it in the tunnel that led to the cove. He was hunting her. She knew it as surely as she knew her name.
As if to confirm that she was not merely inventing terrors, the manhole vibrated as if someone was banging at it, or on the rock into which it was cemented. Nicole began to undress as swiftly as she could. She tossed her clothes well back of her position. She would probably need them again. The tunnel had been dug to accommodate dragons, but she was not maneuverable in its tight confines. She could go forward and backward, but she was too large to turn around. But equally, no one could get past her to her son.
She sat back on her haunches and braced herself, considering her options.
* * *
It was his nightmare all over again. Lars was stuck carrying out his assignment while his mate and fireling were in danger. The Eldest had put Theo in charge, and Lars had to follow his orders. If he left his post, the CCTV footage would go unwatched and his friends would likely die. But Nicole and Matteo needed his protection. How could he blindly continue to do his duty while they faced the threat of those villains from the submarine all alone?
How could Nicole, virtually untrained, know to take dragon and defend her child? Was he going to have to face the loss of another mate? He had been taught from youngest manhood to work in concert with his squadron. To accept the discipline of leadership. He owed Theo obedience and loyalty. But every nerve was stretched to breaking point as he sat monotonously checking the feed and prosaically relaying his findings to the others.
The others had responded to his reports. The Maoris flew in formation dive-bombing the few remaining inflatables. He could not tell one Maori from the other, so similar was their appearance. But Theo’s brilliant blue plumage was here, there and everywhere as he directed his squad from the air. It was beautiful to see. Their maneuvers were aerial ballet. But why weren’t the invaders trying to pick them off? The Maoris had not been silent. He could feel their deep-throated clarion melodies as a buzzing in his very bones.
The men from the sub were still moving. They had investigated the cove where they had landed as if they knew what was hidden there. They located the inflatable that was Nicole’s backup plan and hauled it to the shore. They had an argument about whether to destroy it or not. Eventually they left it inflated on the beach and returned to waving the detector around. At this rate, they would locate the manhole cover in no time. What they would do when they found it was anyone’s guess.
Lars continued calmly narrating events to his comrades even as his fears for Nicole and Matt grew. Now two black dragons swooped low, their enormous heads moving backwards and forwards as they hunted for the tiger and his companion. The attackers were fully concealed by foliage and rocks. The thick woods grew right down to the shore, and the rocks towered above their heads. Even though a dragon’s vision was many times more acute than a human’s, even they could not see through solid rock or dense vegetation. The Maoris bellowed a challenge and circled, seeking a glimpse of their prey.
The two men looked up apprehensively but then resumed their task. The metal detector must have beeped for they began to refine their search. The tiger moved vines from the tunnel exit and wriggled inside. His comrade kept guard while the shifter crept towards the manhole and Nicole.
It was obvious these invaders had come prepared to discover the tunnel. Someone had betrayed this closely guarded Lindorm secret. The House of Lindorm was harboring a traitor. Lars’ belly cramped as he imagined the tiger breaking through. Surely that solid manhole grate would withstand anything but explosives?
What a choice: whether to breach discipline and abandon his post, or trust the defense of his woman to others? He remembered how powerful a dragon his N
ikki was. How resolute the Maoris were. He had to believe that those bastards were the walking dead.
* * *
Something was pounding around the manhole cover. With every blow the metal rang. Nicole regarded it cautiously. It seemed undamaged by the violence directed against it. But around the circumference of the metal, where its frame had been cemented into the rock, puffs of dust emerged. Then chips of rock and concrete began to fall at her feet. The attackers were undermining the weakest point of the tunnel’s exit. The limestone was crumbling before her eyes.
Was she just going to wait for them to break through and attack? Theo had been very clear. “You are a formidable opponent. But you can be injured by bullets or knives. When in doubt, remove your enemy or disable his weaponry. Don’t wait for your opponent to make the first move. A human does not stand a chance in hand-to-hand combat with a dragon. Nor do most animals.”
Nicole set both her massive forepaws on the huge metal door. They almost covered it. She projected plasma at the metal. This was risky. She might wind up sealing this exit and locking her son inside his tomb. Beneath the pads of her forefeet, the metal began to heat, glowing first gold then red. Outside, she heard screams and the pounding ceased completely. The metal bolts were white hot and deformed when she removed her paws.
She heard Matt’s scuffling feet, behind her. She glanced over her shoulder. Her son was standing barefooted in the passageway, face alight with eagerness. “Did you melt the bad guys?” He bent down and picked up her tail in one hand. “Cool,” he said. “What makes it glow like that?”
He should have been instantly reduced to ash. But he was calmly holding her deadly dart with a trusting grin on his happy face. Did he have some natural immunity to her plasma?
* * *
“I thought I was going to faint when Matteo just picked up my tail and started interrogating me,” Nicole put her whirling head into her hands. “Why do you suppose he is immune to the effects of the plasma? I mean, I melted those heavy stainless steel bolts. He should have been cinders.”
Lars filled a bowl with the soup he had made. “I’d guess – and it is only a guess – he’s immune either because he is going to also be a plasma dragon, or because you love him.” He put the soup on the table in front of Nicole. “Do you want seconds too, Theo?”
Theo handed him his empty bowl. “Yes, please. I still have another ten minutes of down time.” He touched the screen of Lars’ computer. “The boys are mopping up. They have rounded up almost all of the shifters. And unlike the dragons, these cats and bears are only too happy to spit out their poisoned capsules. But I must say I was glad to pack them onto the helicopters and send them off this morning. Let the Council figure out what to do with those thugs. Maybe their interrogation will produce something useful.”
“I would never have guessed that Vladimir was actually a woman.” Lars handed Theo his soup and sat down.
“Evil is evil,” said Theo gruffly. “What possible difference could it make that the mafia was run by a female?”
“None, I suppose.” Lars picked up his spoon. “It’s just unexpected. But I guess even in Russia it was a tightly held secret.”
“I am more surprised at the idea that she was breeding dragons to be her air guard,” Nicole marveled. “I don’t know why I got to keep my son, when the other women had their children taken away.”
Lars shook his head. “I think you scared the hell out of Felipe. He reported that plasma action of yours, and the Countess decided that you were too hot to handle and best left alone. They could always arrange to snatch the boy when he was older. Which is what I’ll bet Landor was up to in Argentina. And why the Russians were in hot pursuit. It was Matt they were after all along.”
“That idiot Landor probably thought he could seduce you,” Theo said wryly. He stood up and placed his napkin neatly beside his empty bowl. “We think we’re still missing some of the attackers. George wants to organize a search party to quarter the jungle. Wish us luck.” He went briskly out of the kitchen. The door opened and closed behind him.
“I’m just going to check on Matteo,” Nicole said. “I don’t understand how he could just go to bed and go to sleep as if this whole day never happened.”
Lars grinned. “He is a brave lad. But most likely, at his age, he feels no real fear. He is still confident that he will be safe if he’s with mom.”
“And dad.” Nicole slipped down the hall.
Lars admired the bounce and sway of her retreating ass. He certainly hoped Matt felt safe in his care. He was glad that Theo had decided that he should continue to stand guard on his family, even though the attack force had been crushed, and Nicole and Matteo released from the tunnel.
The missing invaders could have crawled away to die, or they could be lurking around waiting for another chance. But further attack seemed unlikely. The submarine had vanished. It looked as if once the mission failed, as usual, those poor devils were on their own.
And in all events, Voros had marshaled the combined forces of the Guild to crush the Russian dragons – for which read the Countess Montenegro – once and for all. Not that Lars was assuming that things would be quite that easy. And of course Russia was full of hard asses just waiting for a chance to be top crime lord. All the Guild could do was make sure that it wasn’t dragons preying on people.
Nicole came back into the kitchen. “Fast asleep,” she reported. “I can’t quite believe it is all over.”
Lars caught her hand and pulled her onto his lap. He wrapped both arms around her and set his head on hers. Nicole felt tremors in his big body. His arms tightened. “I hope I never have another night like this one. I could see those villains creeping up on you possibly with explosives.” He shuddered again and stopped speaking.
“I heard them,” she patted his chest. “It was easy to repel them.”
“I told myself you could handle a couple of shifters. But...waiting incommunicado was the hardest thing I have ever done.”
“It’s over,” she said gently. “We’re all safe.”
“I’m going to take you to Sweden and lock you away,” he declared.
“In your dungeon?” she teased.
“If I only had one.”
“Tied up?” she asked pleasantly.
“If you like. You are a heartless woman,” he said, “Teasing an old man. I can see I will be living under the cat’s paw.”
She giggled. She couldn’t help it. “Under the dragoness’ paw, anyway.”
He stood up with her in his arms. “I can see that you and I will have to fight it out.”
“Now?” she asked astonished by the husky coyness of her voice.
“I think there is no time like the present,” he said and carried her off still giggling.
“I would think that the last thing that surviving an attack would do is make us horny,” complained Nicole as she went to work on Lars’ shirt.
He laughed. “It’s all part of the hormones that got us through the excitement and stress. In an hour, I can guarantee we will be fighting to keep our eyes open – or just fighting.”
“Then it isn’t real?” she asked. “You don’t love me?”
“I didn’t say that. And that’s not what I meant. But your interpretation is part of the adrenaline jag.” He hauled her T-shirt over her head and tossed it across the room.
“I can take my own clothes off,” she grumbled.
“Sure you can.” He stroked the delicate skin above her bra. “Your skin is so soft.” He ran his tongue along the line his fingers had traced. He buried his nose between the pillowy mounds and breathed in. “And you smell like a sex goddess.”
“I smell, all right,” she retorted. “I was sweating like a pig while I waited in the tunnel.”
Lars took a good look at his feisty little mate. Her whole attitude had become belligerent. She was on a tear. He stepped backward and began to strip off his clothes. “Do you want to fuck or fight?” he asked conversationally.
�
�What happened to making love?” she asked angrily.
Lars glanced down. He was naked and fully aroused. He took his stiff cock in one hand and waved it at her. “Fucking or fighting?” he repeated. “I love you, but that’s all that’s on tonight’s menu.”
She answered him by dropping to her knees and taking his cock into her own hands. Her mouth engulfed the tip and the whole thing jerked. Her tongue swirled around the sensitive glans and her teeth threatened his favorite part of his favorite organ. He spread his legs and braced himself. He was brave enough to face an enraged dragoness.
Her mouth softened. Her teeth released their pressure. Her tongue savored his glans and probed the opening. “I can’t last long,” he said through clenched teeth.
She answered him by sucking hard. His cock convulsed. She swallowed and let her tongue circle his oversensitized cock while her hands squeezed and tickled his balls. He swayed. She rose up gracefully and taunted him with her eyes. He lifted her to his lips and tasted himself on her mouth.
She was laughing when he raised his head, and her jean-clad legs were fastened around his waist. “I always wanted to do that,” she said. Her cheeks were rosy and her mood improved.
“I’ll have to remember that semen is a cure for bad temper,” he said.
Nicole patted his shoulder. “Hmm,” she said squirming so her crotch rubbed against his abs. “What now?”
“As soon as I get your pants off,” he said walking towards the shower, “We’re going to get clean and go to bed.”
“But I didn’t get mine,” she protested. Her voice was sultry.
“Naughty girls don’t get any,” he said. “You will have to wait.”
Her legs only tightened around his waist. Her curls tickled his chin. “I can’t wait.”
Her trust almost undid him, but he managed to get her into the bathroom and her clothes off without breaking down. They stood underneath the rain showerhead and let tepid water rinse the smell of terror from their entwined bodies. Lars soaped his hands and stroked Nicole’s breasts until they were covered with white suds. He pushed her gently under the spray while he suckled the rosy tips.
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