Fire In His Embrace: A Post-Apocalyptic Dragon Romance (Fireblood Dragon Book 3)

by Ruby Dixon

  I swallow hard and wait for my survival instinct to kick in. For self-preservation to make me pull the trigger and put this man down so he can’t threaten me and mine in the future. Jack would look at me in disgust for my hesitation right now.

  Jack took you and your brother in, did he not?

  Zohr’s gentle words are like a splash of cold water. He’s right. Jack might have talked a big game, but he had a soft spot, just like anyone else. That’s what makes us human. He couldn’t abandon two kids in need, and I can’t kill Old Jerry in cold blood. Doing so would make me no better than Azar.

  I lower my gun. “Get your bag and get out of here. Never come back.”

  He opens his eyes and stares at me in surprise. “You…you mean it?”

  “Go before I change my mind,” I warn him, and nod at the door.

  He scrambles to his feet and grabs a bag at the end of the bed. He stuffs a few things in there—including a titty mag—while glancing back at me and Zohr. “I don’t suppose you…”

  Zohr growls low in his throat, and it manages to sound just as menacing in human form as it does in dragon form.

  Old Jerry goes pale. “Right.” He shoves a pair of shoes onto his feet without bothering to lace them and grabs his bag, then rushes out the door.

  Not even a thank you, I muse to Zohr. Figures.

  His whirling eyes regard me. Do you regret your decision?

  In another year or so if he resurfaces, maybe. Right now? No. I shake my head and stare down at my gun in disgust. I talk a big game, but when it comes to doing the deed, I guess I’m not as bloodthirsty or ruthless as I’d like Claudia and Sasha to think.

  That is not a bad thing, my fires. He pulls me close against him and presses me against his chest.

  Yeah, well, it kind of fucks up our plan to come and take out the bad guy when I end up having a massive change of heart, doesn’t it? I lean in against his warmth, closing my eyes. I feel both good and bad about my decision. I’m glad I didn’t kill Old Jerry in cold blood. I just worry I won’t be able to do the deed when it comes to Azar, either…and that fucker really needs killing.

  Do you want to return to the others? Talk strategy and see what we decide? He strokes the hair back from my face with his claws. I am pleased with whatever choice you make.

  What if it’s the wrong one?

  Never wrong in my eyes. My mate is as fierce as she is beautiful, and that has not changed.

  I sigh. “I just don’t know—”

  A bell tinkles in the air.

  I freeze, my blood going cold. I know what that bell is. Azar’s in the dining room, waiting to be served. Or…just waiting for us.

  I pull away from Zohr. Our eyes meet, and he nods. Time to do this.

  There’s a dry knot in my throat as I grip my gun and head out of Old Jerry’s room and back into the main lobby of the hotel. I know this place. I know the kitchens like the back of my hand, thanks to the many hours I spent sweating in there to fix Azar his fucking pancakes three times a day. I’m a little worried, though. He has to know that we’re here.

  He does. He would be able to smell us.

  I suck in a breath. No time to waste, then. He knows where we are. We know he’s got no men left to hide behind. “Let’s get this done,” I whisper to my dragon.

  Zohr nods. Stay behind me.

  I sputter. “I’m the one with the gun, chacho!”

  Yes, but you are my mate. He steps in front of me, one arm aimed to ensure that I remain behind him. And he will not harm me. He wants me to fly to the Rift, remember?

  “Doesn’t make me feel better to think about that,” I mutter. I try not to think about how he took over Zohr’s mind while he slept, either. I don’t want to have to put a bullet into my dragon. The thought’s devastating.

  He will never turn me against you, Zohr says fiercely, his thoughts intense. He took my mind while I slept because my guard was down. I am aware of his tricks and will not fall for them this day, I promise.

  I trust him and I know he makes sense. I’m just so terrified of Azar stealing away my fragile happiness. Of ruining it and leaving me alone. I can’t go back to being solitary, not after knowing what it’s like to be loved by my dragon. My Zohr. I love you, I send to him fiercely. Please be safe with this.

  He sends me thoughts so full of love and affection that my throat aches. My sweet fires.

  I clench my hands around my gun. “All right, let’s get this taken care of so we can have a make-out party to celebrate our victory when we get home.”

  Zohr rumbles with amusement at the thought. Only you could make me laugh when I am about to rip out the throat of the enemy, my Emma.

  That’s me, always bringing laughter to a gunfight. But I follow behind my Zohr, because he’s not going in there without me. We cross through the lobby and down the hall into the enormous dining room.

  Azar’s waiting for us.

  39

  EMMA

  It’s no surprise to me that we open the doors and see the lean, creepy Salorian sitting at the lone dinner table set up in the dining room. He glances up at us as we enter, one hand near his bell. With the other hand, he flicks one of the pages of the magazine. It’s so quiet I can hear the clock tick.

  “Where is my dinner, Emma?” His voice is mild, unconcerned.

  I’m shocked. In fact, I’m so shocked I’m speechless. His dinner? He’s crazier than ever. I grip my gun tightly, resisting the urge to freak out and just spray the bastard with bullets. I know I should just run in, shoot the asshole, and get on with my life, but something in me wants to confront him. To get answers. To make him understand what he’s doing is so wrong. “I’m not here to make you dinner, you son of a bitch.”

  Azar arches an eyebrow at me. “Then why are you here?” His gaze flicks to Zohr, my big golden protective shield. “Unless you’ve brought me a present.”

  “No,” I manage. “We’re here to end you.”

  He gives me a small, mocking smile. “Charming. I’m sure you think you are.” He flicks another magazine page with a bored hand. “If that is the case, then why am I still talking? Why am I not dead?”

  “Because I want answers.”

  “Strange, my goal is the same. I want answers. And yet you seem to think I am wrong and you are right.” His voice is calm and slightly condescending.

  I sputter. “You’re killing people! You’re using them and discarding them.”

  “And you came here to chide me on what a naughty boy I am and then leave?” He gives my gun a scornful look. “Because that does not seem to be the case.”

  “Stop trying to make me sound like I’m you! I’m not the same!” I yell at him.

  Zohr puts a calming hand on my shoulder. Emma. Do not. This is how he works. He worms under the skin and makes you doubt who you are.

  I suck in several deep breaths, frustrated and a little bit frightened. What if he’s right, though? I didn’t come here just to talk. I came here to get rid of him. Am I just like him? Getting rid of those in my way?

  You are nothing like him, my fires. You are letting him get to you. He says this to make you question.

  I know Zohr is right…but I also know Azar is, too.

  The clock continues to tick in the silence. I struggle to think of something to say. Something that will refute his words. Zohr’s big hand is calming on my shoulder, and I speak. “I wouldn’t send people to their death, over and over again.”

  He tilts his head. “Is that what you think I’m doing? My. No wonder you are so very angry.”

  Now I’m confused.

  Shall I eat him and end this? Zohr asks, impatient.

  I shake my head. I want to hear this. I want to…understand him. I want to know how his mind works so I can make sure I never, ever end up like him. “Why would you kill those that trust you? Why would you keep sending dragons to the Rift if they all die? They’re all going to fail and yet you keep killing them!”

  “Ah, but are they failing because
they will all fail? Or because that one particular drakoni lacks the strength?” He gives me a challenging look and flips another page in his magazine, as if we’re having a nice friendly conversation. “How do I know that this one is not the one to succeed? That this one has the strength the others do not? Should I not test them?”

  I sputter again. “Not if it means their death!”

  “But are they not the walking dead already? Their minds are gone. They are nothing but rage and scales. They murder hundreds and hundreds of your people with a simple breath. One might think I am actually doing them a favor.” He smiles, showing his filed-down teeth. “Isn’t that what you want, after all? To have your world free of drakoni and their kind? We both have that goal. I want us to go home, as well.”

  My head hurts from trying to reason with him. From trying to make him see that he’s wrong, no matter how he justifies it. In my heart, I know he’s cruel and evil, but the more he talks, the more I doubt.

  That is what his kind do, Zohr tells me. That is why it is poison to listen to them. Do not let him change you.

  “They’re not the walking dead,” I tell him, my words slow and thoughtful. “If they were beyond saving, my Zohr would be gone. The others wouldn’t have their mates. Just because they’re not in their right minds right now doesn’t mean there’s nothing left. And you’re a monster to manipulate them as they are.” I raise my gun again. “Which is why we’re here. You’re destroying people that are helpless.”

  “Are they helpless? They nearly wiped out your own kind.” His expression is cool, dismissive. “One would think you would see my side in this.”

  I shake my head. “I’m nothing like you.”

  “Pity. So you’ve come to destroy me, then, because you think I’m wrong.” His mouth curls in a sardonic smile that manages to look insulting and creepy at the same time. “Do I have the right of it?”

  “I can’t let you keep doing what you’re doing to these dragons. They don’t deserve to die just because you won’t risk your own neck.”

  “See, that is where you are wrong, little human. I am quite willing to put my own neck on the line.” His eyes gleam brightly, and for a moment I think they’re going to go gray, but they remain that strange, flat gold. He’s…smirking.

  It’s like he knows something I don’t.

  I go cold. What’s going on?

  I do not know. I cannot tell what he is thinking.

  I lift my gun and study Azar down the barrel. He doesn’t look scared. He looks…smug. All the while, that stupid clock keeps tick tick ticking away.

  Clock. Clock. There’s something about it that bothers me, just like his smile. I’m not sure what…

  Wait. Where the hell did he get a clock? Why does he need one? “Where’s your clock?” I ask.

  He chuckles and flips another page in his magazine. “Oh, there’s no clock.”

  “Then what’s ticking?”

  He arches an eyebrow at me. “Can’t you guess? If you’ve come to say hello, the least I can do is bring a housewarming present.”

  Oh my god. It’s not a clock. It’s a bomb. This crazy bastard’s going to blow us all up.

  We leave, Zohr sends through my mind, his thoughts cutting like a hot knife. We leave now.

  Azar starts to laugh, a weird, inhuman little giggle that makes my skin crawl.

  I start to lower my gun…

  Fuck that. I came here to do something and I’m going to do it. I raise it back up again and put my finger on the trigger, shooting. Red splashes across his chest, and his eyes widen in surprise. He clutches at his blood-spattered robes in shock, as if astonished that I dared to shoot him.

  “Now we leave,” I whisper to my dragon, lowering my gun. I take one last look at Azar, who’s still clutching his bloody chest in shock. The ticking seems to grow louder and louder in my head.

  Zohr grabs me around the waist and hauls me against him, racing back out of the doors of the dining room. I hear what sounds like a crash behind us—probably Azar falling to the floor—but we don’t stop. I can feel the urgency in Zohr’s mind as he races back outside. Through the lobby and out into the open air, and still he does not stop.

  All the while, I keep thinking of that ticking. How much time do we have—

  Something explodes.

  I’m knocked forward to the ground, and the air leaves my lungs. My head bangs against the concrete of the pavement. A heavy form falls over me, and I realize dimly that it’s my dragon—Zohr’s changed back to battle-form, and his body shields me from the explosion. My ears ring and the world thunders all around us.

  What—

  Are you safe? His thoughts are a shout in my mind.

  My face feels like it’s been flattened, and I’m coughing, trying desperately to pull air back into my lungs, but I’m alive. I’m okay, I tell him faintly, though I’m barely clinging to consciousness. My head’s thundering and I want nothing more than to fall asleep. What…about you?

  It is fire. It cannot harm me. His thoughts are full of relief and affection. One big foreleg scoops me up gently, and he cradles me tight against his scales. Keep your head low. I will carry you away.

  Azar? I ask.

  He would not be able to survive such a blast in two-legged form.

  Good. It’s the last thought I have before I fall unconscious.

  40

  EMMA

  I rouse to the gentle nuzzle of an enormous nose against my chin.

  My mate. Wake, my Emma. We are safe.

  I open my eyes even though they feel heavy and all I want to do is sleep for a bit longer. My head throbs with a dull pain, and I feel as if I’ve been beaten all over. The scent in my nose is nothing but char, and I’m pretty sure my ears are going to be ringing for days.

  But there’s a beautiful sight when my eyes focus—a big, golden dragon head peering down at me. I reach up and stroke his nose, not entirely surprised to see my arm covered in scrapes and soot. Hey, babe. Are you okay?

  I am fine. He rubs his nose against my chin. You, however, need to rest.

  I can’t believe the fucker brought a bomb. Who does that? I still can’t get over it. He was willing to kill us along with him. I’m just…shocked.

  Zohr is less so. His kind do not accept defeat well. He realized we were coming after him and thought to destroy us. Luckily for him we are not as arrogant as he is and we did not wait for him to act.

  No kidding. I feel lucky to be alive, and when I sit up, I wrap my arms around Zohr’s big golden muzzle. Thank you for saving me.

  Do not thank me. You are my mate. I would never let you get hurt. To do so would mean my death, as well, because I will not live without you.

  To hear him say that with such fervent thought makes me a little scared…but at the same time, I know just what he means. I’d be lost without him, as well. I can’t imagine having to go on without my dragon. In such a short period of time, he’s come to mean everything to me. “Let’s not do that again, okay?”

  Zohr noses me again, his thoughts a mixture of protectiveness and relief. I would say that next time, I will take the lead, but there will be no next time. I will not allow you to put yourself in danger ever again. If I have to fill your belly with my young to get you to hide behind me instead of charging forward, that is what I will do. His eyes gleam gold with pleasure. In fact, I welcome the challenge of such a task.

  “Funny how it always comes back to sex with you, chacho,” I murmur, pressing my cheek against his scales. It feels good to just lean against his big dragon body and know that I’m safe.

  Always safe with me, my fires. His thoughts are like a warm balm. You are everything to me, my love.

  “So what now?”

  I thought I told you? I fill your belly with young. His thoughts are both teasing and achingly sweet.

  I chuckle and tap my fingers against his scales. “I meant right now right now. Not in the next few weeks. Do we go back and tell the others what we did? Do we run for the hill
s? What?”

  Wherever you want to go, I will follow you. Do you wish to abandon your human friends and their dragons?

  “It’s difficult,” I admit. “There’s a part of me that wants to run away and disappear with you. Old habit, I suppose. None of this would have happened if I had kept to myself, you know? But then I wouldn’t have you.” I caress his scales thoughtfully, gazing up into his fierce draconic eyes. I should be terrified of this monstrous, fierce creature, but all I can think about is the soul underneath. He’s not the enemy. He’s my other half. His life has been changed in the After as much as mine has.

  I used to think the After was the worst thing possible to ever happen to humanity. To me.

  Now, I think it might be the best. It gave me Zohr.

  “Let’s go home,” I tell him, getting to my feet.

  Home is where? he asks, nuzzling at my hair.

  “Wherever we’re together,” I tell him with a smile. “But for now, we should probably go tell Claudia and the others that Azar’s been taken care of. Unless you have other plans?”

  You know my plans. And he sends me a barrage of mental images of him and me entwined together that leaves no doubt in my mind what he wants to do.

  I giggle. “Always with you and the mating, chacho.” I pretend to be exasperated, but in all reality…I think it’s a great idea. A nice cozy bed, my drakoni mate at my side, and all the time in the world.

  It’s a very nice idea, after all.

  EPILOGUE

  RAST

  A female.

  Here, in this chaos.

  Like a rainstorm cutting through a haze of smoke, my mind clears as I focus in on the scent that calls to me. The madness falls away, leaving me confused as I soar through the air. My wings miss a beat. Two. I manage to catch myself, flapping hard before picking up a fresh air current.