Dragon's Promise (The Drake's Book 3) (Paranormal Nocturne Romance)

by Denise Lynn

  Caitlin gripped the arms of the chair, blinking. “I never left our suite. What are you saying?”

  “I’m saying that he thought he was coming to your aid and instead was captured by Nathan.”

  “No!” She jumped to her feet and slapped her hands flat on the desk near the cube. “No. Not Sean, too.”

  Cam rubbed his temples. “What was he thinking?”

  “That his mate needed to be saved immediately.”

  Caitlin stumbled back onto the chair. “This is my fault.”

  Braeden lowered the hand he’d been running down his face and stared at her. “How is this your fault?”

  “Are you working with Nathan?” Cam leaned forward to peer around Danielle at her.

  “No, I don’t work with Nathan. It’s my fault because it was my voice he heard.”

  “Did you supply that voice?”

  “No!”

  Braeden stretched his forearms on top of the desk and folded his hands together. “Then, again, how is this your fault?”

  “He was out there because we’d been arguing.”

  Cam leaned back into his chair. “Oh, yes, arguing with a partner is a rare thing, indeed. Especially when said partner is a dragon.”

  “Don’t tease the girl, Cameron.” Danielle chided her nephew.

  Caitlin wanted to know, “What are we going to do?” Her voice was barely above a whisper. It sounded as lifeless as she looked. “We can’t just leave him there.”

  Braeden opened his mouth, but Aelthed cut him off. “Nothing.”

  “What do you mean, nothing?” Her pitch rose with each word.

  “He’s on his way back.”

  Both Braeden and Cam checked their watches. Braeden said, “He was there about what—almost two hours?”

  Aelthed answered, “The best I can guess, yes.”

  Danielle fidgeted with her hands. “What do you think was done to him?”

  “If he’s on his way back, he’s alive.”

  “It appeared as if Nathan was casting a spell on him. So he’s probably dangerous,” warned Aelthed.

  Braeden spread his hands in agreement. “My thought, too.”

  Caitlin asked again, “So, what are we going to do?”

  “I hate to kill him outright.”

  Caitlin stared at Braeden, her eyes wide. “I wouldn’t suggest trying that.”

  Cam’s humorless laugh broke his brother’s stunned silence at being threatened by the succubus. “And why is that?”

  Caitlin raised her hand and before anyone in the room could so much as blink, her sword appeared in her grasp. “I will defend my son’s father. Against anyone.”

  “Enough!” Danielle rose to shoot a glare at each of them. She pointed at Ascalon. “Put that thing away. You won’t need it.”

  Caitlin shook it at Braeden. “Remember, it just takes a nick.”

  He nodded in acknowledgment, and she lowered the weapon. Turning to Danielle, she asked, “So what do you suggest?”

  “We give him a chance to explain.”

  Caitlin disagreed. “No. If he returns under Nathan’s control, he isn’t going to explain anything.”

  “I’m not about to let him waltz in here and threaten my family.” Cam was adamant. “I won’t give him that chance.”

  “Nor do I think you should. We need to keep an eye on him—at all times.” Caitlin frowned and then added, “I’m the best one to do that. However, if anything would happen, or if I’d need help, I can’t communicate with any of you if you aren’t within sight.”

  “Take me with you. I can call for help if need be,” Aelthed suggested.

  Caitlin and Danielle both stared at the cube. Caitlin grimaced. “Uhhh, I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”

  Aelthed laughed, then he explained, “The temptation won’t be too great since you can’t run off to the Learned’s with me. You can’t take me anywhere I don’t want to go. So there’s no fear on that score.”

  Braeden didn’t appear too happy with the idea, but he agreed. “I can go along with this for right now. But if we discover that he’s possessed...”

  Caitlin leaned on the desk. “Then we unpossess him.”

  Cam rose and stared her down. “I’ll agree on one condition. If he’s possessed, you get him the hell off this island immediately and I won’t kill him.”

  “And he doesn’t return until he’s completely free. Is that understood?” Braeden added.

  Caitlin nodded. “I have no problem with that, except for one thing.” She paused to look at each brother. “I want my son.”

  “Agreed.” Braeden shrugged. “But we’re going to have to rework our plan. I’m not going to battle Nathan with Sean at my back.”

  Danielle picked up Aelthed’s cube and handed it to Caitlin, ordering, “Keep him safe, or you’ll rue the day you set foot on Mirabilus.”

  Caitlin nodded then faced Braeden while she pointed up. “Could you...?”

  He waved a hand, and she found herself sitting in Sean’s office.

  Aelthed whispered, “Hide me somewhere. Anywhere.”

  She looked around the office then headed to the hallway with the box. “Linen closet?”

  “That’s fine. Just open the door and I’ll bury myself up top.”

  Caitlin pulled the door open and held out her hand. The box disappeared, and the door to the closet closed by itself.

  She went back to the office to put Ascalon away before Sean returned. To make certain she’d be heard, she thought...can you hear me?

  Of course I can. Aelthed’s reply came through loud and clear in her mind.

  Caitlin felt him enter the suite before she saw his misty form flow into the office. She rose, and the mist swirled around her. Desperation, fear and need seeped into her blood, making her shiver with cold dread at what Nathan had done to him.

  “Sean.” She raised an arm to gently run her fingers through the mist. “What’s wrong?”

  He enveloped her until she stood within the twirling form of the mist and smoke dragon. Yet she wasn’t afraid of the beast surrounding her, towering over her, thrashing his head back and forth while crying out in a pain so great it made her ache.

  What had the Learned done to him? What terrified him so?

  “Shh, Sean, I’m here. Come, let me help you.”

  She reached into her pocket to retrieve the amethyst pendant and held it tightly against her chest, over her heart, hoping that somehow her warmth and concern would flow through the gemstone beast into the one in such torment.

  A faint amethyst glow filled the air around them. It pulsed in time with her heartbeat and chased away the cold dread.

  The instant the dragon calmed, Sean shifted back to human and pulled her roughly into his arms.

  When she reached up to stroke his cheek, he turned his head away, but not before her fingertips felt the hot dampness of tears.

  She buried her face against his shoulder and held on to him as tight as she could, trying to force her heat into his shivering body. “What happened?”

  He shook his head, not answering.

  If he didn’t want to discuss it yet, that was fine. But she needed to find a way to warm him, to make him feel safe, and she knew of only one sure way.

  Caitlin lifted her head and rested her lips against his cheek, gently exhaling enough pheromones to call to him through whatever terrors were chasing him.

  He took them easily to the carpeted floor of his office and then tore the clothes from their bodies.

  There was nothing gentle about his lovemaking, no foreplay, no kissing, nothing that turned having sex into making love. That wasn’t what bothered her, since she could give as good as she could get. What concerned her was that he wouldn’t look at her, and she didn’t sense his dragon anywhere. There had to be a way to reach them both.

  She took the initiative and pushed him over onto his back, rolling with him. When he reached up to pull her down in order to reverse positions, she pushed his hands away, mimicking
the act of pinning his wrists to the floor. “No. Let me.”

  She stretched her spine, running her hands up her sides then over her head, relishing the feel of being the one in control, the one setting the pace. She shivered with pleasure and then reminded herself of the reason she was here.

  It wasn’t to take, it was to give.

  Caitlin cupped Sean’s cheek and leaned down to kiss him. Knowing she had plenty of energy to spare, she exhaled her life force and silently crooned to the beast, using what she hoped was the same tone, the same emotion he’d used on her in the work shed. She wanted to soothe him, to coax him out of hiding and to make his fears disappear.

  Oh, please hear me. Come to me. Be with me. We need you.

  Soon, to her relief, Sean’s arms came around her. He reached up over her shoulder to draw her hair back, and she felt his eyelashes flutter open. She broke her kiss to rise up slightly and look down at him.

  Caitlin stared down into the gold-rimmed emerald gaze of the dragon. She smiled and trailed her fingertips along his cheek. “Welcome back.”

  His return smile was seductive enough to curl her toes. But when she moved to rest atop his chest, he pushed her upright and held her thighs in place.

  Any teasing play she’d missed before, he more than made up for now. His touch was like liquid fire igniting not only her skin, but flowing into her blood, her heart and her soul, too. It filled her with an emotion so intense, so bright, that she feared giving it a name.

  Something was happening between them that she didn’t understand. Every time they came together it was as if he became more a part of her. Each time she accepted his energy, he didn’t just strengthen her life force, he added his own to it.

  Nothing like this had ever happened before. She couldn’t explain it, didn’t know if she wanted to. On one level it frightened her. Would he eventually replace her energy, her essence, with his? Or was the same thing happening to him? Were the two of them—or the three of them including the beast—becoming one?

  Her ragged breath hitched with the onslaught of fulfillment. She swore the dragon took her soaring. The earth fell away beneath them as they flew above the clouds and then spiraled toward the ground at a recklessly breakneck speed that left her heart pounding.

  She fell atop Sean’s chest gasping for breath and laughing. “Well, that was...just...well.”

  They lay there until their breathing evened out. Sean wrapped his arms around her and softly said, “We need to talk.”

  Caitlin groaned softly. “I know. I just don’t want to move yet.”

  His arm shifted slightly, then a warm quilt covered them. She sighed. “That’s nice.”

  “Nathan captured me.”

  She cleared her mind of the conversation with his brothers, aunt and Aelthed. She wanted Sean to tell her what had happened in his own words. “How?”

  “He tricked me into thinking he had somehow captured you and had you chained up in his stronghold.”

  That statement spun around in her mind for a moment. He cared so much about her that he’d risk his own life for hers? “And you went in to save me?”

  “Of course.”

  She propped her chin on his chest and gazed up at him. “Why?”

  “What do you mean, why?”

  In her mind she could see the dragon looking at her as if she’d lost the ability to think. “It’s not like we’re married, or we’ve declared anything for each other. So, yeah, why?”

  He lifted his head to peer down at her. “Are you hedging for a ring or something?”

  “Good grief, no. I’m just curious.”

  “You’re the mother of my child. Regardless of your thoughts on the topic, you are my beast’s mate. He would have gone in of his own accord whether I wanted to or not.”

  He would end up getting himself killed for her. The thought of him not being here made her ill.

  “I can’t decide if that makes me feel safer, or more fearful for you.” She drew a fingertip along his chin then asked, “What happened there?”

  Sean pulled away from her touch, slid her off his chest and sat up with his back to her. With his arms wrapped around his bent knees, he said, “It’s not clear. It’s as if he did something to make me not remember, but bits and pieces keep coming back.”

  Caitlin trailed her hand down his back, running her fingers along his spine and shoulder blades. “How do you feel?”

  “Like there’s something I’m supposed to do.”

  She got the impression he didn’t want to say the words, so she said them for him. “Kill your family? It’s something the Learned would want, isn’t it? Since you failed in that task before, it only makes sense that he do something to force your hand.”

  “What if I can’t stop myself this time?”

  “You aren’t some weak-minded fool unable to control yourself or the dragon.”

  “He scared the crap out of the beast. When we watched you die, I thought he was going to roll over and give up.” He glanced over his shoulder at her. “What will he do if that happens for real?”

  Sitting up, Caitlin rested her cheek against his back and wrapped her arms around him. “I didn’t die. It wasn’t me. He tricked you and the beast.”

  “At the time it didn’t feel like a trick.”

  His ragged voice drew a frown from her. “What do you fear the most? Losing me? Killing your brothers? Dying yourself?”

  He shook his head but remained silent.

  “Get him to talk.”

  Caitlin rolled her eyes at Aelthed’s intrusion. As if she needed the wizard or anyone else to tell her that.

  “Sean, everyone knows the Learned took you captive. You need to talk to me. You have to figure this all out before confronting the rest of your family.”

  “And if I can’t?”

  She bit her lower lip and bowed her head, resting her forehead against his back. “If I can’t get you away from here, they will kill you.”

  Chapter 13

  Sean reached up and patted her shoulder before he rose and headed for the office door. “I’m going to take a shower. Give me a few minutes then feel free to join me if you want.”

  He walked past the linen closet and shook his head. Did they think he was so dense that he wouldn’t eventually figure out he was being watched?

  He didn’t care. The moment he’d been fully aware of his surroundings, he’d pulled a secure curtain over his mind. The wizard wasn’t going to know what he was thinking.

  Actually, having the cube close at hand suited his purposes. Right now, however, a minute or two alone suited his purposes better. He needed to get a grip on the emotions playing havoc with his head—and heart.

  After adjusting the shower spray, he turned on the hot water and stepped in. His muscles relaxed. That was what he needed, a good pelting-hot shower. Something to wash away the stench of Nathan’s stronghold.

  His dragon stretched under the water and sighed with relief before curling down for a well-earned nap.

  He’d been confused when he’d first left the Learned’s. Confused and so terrified that his dragon had hidden away.

  But he’d come straight back to Caitlin. Instinct had driven him here. A certain knowledge that she above anyone else had the ability to touch his soul. And she had.

  He wasn’t certain how that made him feel. At times it seemed the two of them were getting far too close.

  While he wanted her to stay, because of their son—or so he told himself—he didn’t ever want to need her, or anyone, as desperately as he just had.

  He shook his head and wiped the water from his face. It had been a moment of weakness, brought on by the spells Nathan had cast. Surely he could set it aside.

  He forced his thoughts back to the Learned’s stronghold.

  The gypsy mage hadn’t been a dream; she was essentially his beast’s mother, its maker. The Learned may have waved his hands, combined the potions and performed the motions, but she had spoken the curse that had given him life. Nor
had she been wrong. St. George did have the power to set him free.

  Even from Nathan.

  That psychopath was in for a rude awakening.

  However, his first task was deciding what to do with Caitlin. He didn’t know if it was Caitlin herself who had freed his beast from the terror that had chased him into hiding, or if was her use of the amethyst pendant—or some combination of both.

  It didn’t matter. What did matter was that through her he was free. He had no driving need to kill his family. No fear of what Nathan might or might not do.

  But he didn’t want her or his family to know that.

  Not until he killed the Learned and brought his son home.

  He didn’t want his brothers or Caitlin to go into battle with him. It wasn’t their fight. It was his alone.

  The Learned had killed his creator and had sought to control him more than once now. He had taken his son, captured his dragon and would die by his hand.

  And it mattered little what happened to him. As long as his son was freed and the Learned was dead, Sean wasn’t afraid of perishing in the battle.

  What about Caitlin? He wanted his son raised by beings who would understand him, who could train him, teach him and see to his needs. And he wanted her safe and cared for, too.

  But she had no intention of staying, and he’d already decided he wasn’t going to force her. So how could he convince her that her best chance for a decent future was here with his family?

  She already knew it wasn’t with her family, not if she had their son in tow. He knew without a single worry that she’d never relinquish the child into their care.

  Aunt Dani seemed to get along with her. At least there wasn’t the strife that there had been between Danielle and Alexia or Ariel. For that he was grateful.

  He hadn’t yet talked to his brothers or their wives about her. They knew as little as possible, which was something he needed to change.

  She needed to feel safe here, or at the Lair, and needed to feel useful and wanted. While he wasn’t planning to die in this coming battle, he wanted everything seen to beforehand, just in case. Since he wasn’t putting off this war with the Learned, he needed to see to those things immediately.

  The door to the shower opened. “Want company?”