by Denise Lynn
Sean enveloped her in a wet embrace, laughing at her squeak and pulling her beneath the water with him. “Since you’re wet, you may as well stay now.”
“I needed a shower, anyways.” She drew circles on his chest. “Did you see our son?”
He heard the hesitation and fear in her voice. “Yes, I did, and he was fine. He was sleeping instead of screaming.”
“So, what now?”
He didn’t want to talk about it here. It would require more concentration than he was capable of maintaining right now. “It’s something we’ll discuss after our shower, okay?”
“Sure.”
She slowly ran her hands up and down his side, his stomach, his thighs, before he caught her hands. “What are you doing?”
“Playing?”
“No, you aren’t. You’re looking for injuries.”
The added flush on her cheeks wasn’t from the hot water. “Are there any?”
“I think there might be a bruise on my ankle.”
She eased her hands from his and started to bend over.
“Caitlin.”
Standing upright, she leaned against him, her cheek against his chest. “Are there any injuries?”
“No. I’m fine.”
She pressed her ear over his heart. “You’re sure?”
“Very.”
He felt her expression change against his skin. She stood up straight and looked at him. “You are fine.”
Sean nodded. “Yes. I said I was, and I am.”
“No, I mean fine-fine.”
“Ah.” If he had to guess, he’d bet that somehow his dragon let her know. Should he lie? Or should he tell her the truth and then figure out how to get her to keep her mouth shut? Finally, he said, “No, I’m terribly possessed. I’m planning on killing everyone around me.”
“Hmmm.” She walked her fingertips up his chest and tapped his chin. “And when do you plan on holding this slaughter?”
His stomach growled, so he used the obvious answer. “After I get something to eat. I’m famished.”
“Uh-huh. I would think this coming slaughter would provide you with plenty of food.”
He poured a glob of shampoo on her head and started running his fingers through the building foam. “I like my food fresh, but that’s a little too fresh.” He turned her around.
“Am I on the list of those to be slaughtered?”
After rinsing out the shampoo, he dumped on some conditioner and started working that through her hair. “I haven’t quite decided yet. If I kill you, I’m going to have to deal with our son alone. That might cramp my style with the ladies.”
“The ladies?”
“Well, yeah, I’d have to go find him another mother.”
She lifted her foot and stomped back on his toes.
“Or perhaps I could let you live. Then you could take care of him while I go do...my thing.”
“Your thing?”
“You know, my thing.”
“If I’m at home caring for little Sean, you aren’t going to be out taking care of any thing. Besides, you’re avoiding the conversation.”
After pouring bodywash on his hands, he washed her arms, shoulders and back before sliding down to run his hands along her legs. Then he turned her back around to face him.
Caitlin hiked one eyebrow. “Now you’re just trying to distract me.”
“Is it working?”
Her other eyebrow joined the first.
He sighed. “No, I’m not possessed, but I don’t want anyone to know.”
At least she had the decency to look guilty when she turned her face away. “Well, I’m afraid it’s too late for that.”
He ran his soapy hands around her breasts. “Oh, you mean Aelthed? He can’t hear us in here.”
“You knew.”
“That he was supposedly hiding in the linen closet? Yes, I knew. My power is a dragon, remember? He can sense an ant walking into the suite—by scent and sound. So, yes, we knew someone was here and since there was no scent, it had to be the wizard in the cube. This isn’t my first go round with otherworldly babysitters. Why do you think this shower’s been... Drake proofed? I needed somewhere to go where I could talk to my dragon without being overheard.”
“How?”
“Tell me what I’m thinking. You’re close enough.”
She looked at him and tipped her head. Then she frowned and put her hands to her ears.
Sean lowered her hands. “Just stop trying to read my mind. The buzzing will go away.”
She shook her head. “What was that?”
He tapped the shower wall. “It’s a special white noise system installed inside these shower walls. Whenever the water comes on, so does the sound. If you aren’t trying to focus on anything, you don’t notice it. But if you go silent and focus, you hear the buzz.”
She finished. “And that overrides what you’re trying to hear.”
“That’s it.”
“Do the rest of them know?”
“Oh, they know there’s something in here. They just don’t know what.”
“One day they’ll figure it out.”
“And the next day I’ll devise something else.” He rested his hands on her shoulders. “I don’t like having my space invaded any more than you do. And I’d appreciate keeping this between us.”
“Hadn’t planned on advertising it anywhere.” Caitlin shivered. “There’s one small problem with this system.”
He pulled her tight against him and rubbed his hands up and down her arms. “Just another bug to work out. Are you up for a little flying?”
“Flying?”
“Yeah. I’ll meet you on the beach and we’ll talk while we soar.”
Her eyes widened. “Oh. That would work.”
“Good. I’ll exit from the bedroom balcony. You get dressed and meet me on the beach.”
She pursed her lips then asked, “And how do I keep Aelthed or anyone else from mining for information?”
Sean laughed. “That’s easy. I’ll give you something to remember that will give them something to think about.”
Caitlin groaned. “This is going to give me nightmares, isn’t it?”
“It could.” He ran a finger across her lower lip, before giving her a quick kiss. “But if it does, I’ll be there to chase them away.”
“Fine.” She closed her eyes tightly. “I’m ready.”
He kissed her forehead then the tip of her nose before covering her lips with his. The false memory he gave her had nothing to do with nightmares—at least not for the two of them. But it would certainly make everyone else think twice before delving back into her mind, giving her time to make her escape.
She curled her fingernails into his shoulders, clinging to him, and it was all he could do not to take her down to the shower floor and savage each other like they were in this new memory.
The second his dragon started to wake up and take an interest, he broke their kiss. Caitlin leaned against him trembling.
“That was...interesting.” She looked up at him and batted her eyelashes. “You like my fangs that much, do you?”
He laughed. “Only as much as you like mine.”
She pushed him away. “Get out of here before we accidentally test your sick fantasy.”
“Just keep that on your mind and hurry up before it loses its edge.” He reached to turn off the water. “Ready?”
She took a deep breath and said, “Yeah. I’ll focus on fangs and blood and talk without thinking. Got it. Ready.”
He turned off the water and stepped out of the shower, pausing to hook a finger around her wrist, saying softly, “Wear something warm.”
She watched his long legs carry him away. He stopped at the glass sliding doors to the balcony long enough to smirk at her over his shoulder.
No doubt she’d been busted ogling him.
Sean flexed his already tight ass muscles and then dissolved into a plume of smoke.
Caitlin laughed. Really, that was
the only image she needed to focus on. He didn’t have to create some gross zombie-vampire-dragon sex scene that she’d never be able to wipe from her mind.
Hopefully, he didn’t actually think it would give her nightmares. It was so over-the-top that it made her want to laugh until she cried.
She dried off and pulled some sweats out of his dresser. They’d be a little big, but at least they’d be warm. She dressed quickly and left the bedroom, getting as far as the linen closet before Aelthed stopped her.
“What did you discover?”
“Nothing much. He isn’t very talkative yet. He’s obviously been through a lot and needs some air, so we’re going for a walk. I’ll let you know what he—”
Aelthed’s gasp cut off her sentence.
She felt him poking around inside her head. He’d happened upon the memory at the forefront of her mind, and she did nothing to hide it from him.
Aelthed cleared his throat and asked in a rush, “Are you all right?”
She responded with a weak wave. “I will be. Don’t worry, I heal quickly.”
“Uh...are you sure?”
When he started to prod for more memories, she held her focus tightly and headed down the hallway, answering, “Yes. Very.”
Caitlin managed to get out of the suite before sighing. Sean was right; the scene of gore and sex was enough to distract them long enough for her to make a clean escape.
However, she didn’t know how long she’d be able to hold this memory without laughing, so she hit the stairs at a faster pace.
Danielle Drake met her at the bottom of the stairs. She frowned while studying her then turned a pasty shade of white.
Caitlin shook her head, silently signaling that it was too much to talk about right now. She lightly touched Danielle’s shoulder in passing and mumbled, “Please, later.”
To her relief she made it out of the castle without seeing anyone else, but she could imagine the conversation that would soon be held in Braeden’s office. Eventually, she was going to owe Sean’s family one hell of an apology.
Once outside, she ran for the beach.
Out of seemingly nowhere, a huge claw, talons extended, reached for her, cupping her securely in its grasp and lifted her from the ground.
“You are terrible.” Caitlin burst into laughter. “Your family is horrified.”
“Maybe they’ll think twice before intruding next time.”
Caitlin’s laughter faded away at the tone of his voice. She had noticed before, but never quite as acutely, that when he was in dragon shape, the deep, husky, gravelly tone bordered on harsh.
Yet it didn’t frighten her. Quite the opposite, actually. It was so laced with sensual tension and emotion that it gave her shivers having nothing to do with the cold.
He flexed his foot, closing the talons more securely around her and bringing her nearer his body. “Is that better?”
“I wasn’t cold.”
He didn’t reply, so she let her explanation for shivering fall to the wayside; it wasn’t important.
Caitlin relaxed on her perch. She was comfortable, and with his body shielding her from most of the wind, plenty warm enough. “Yes, I’m fine. The view is spectacular.”
Turning her attention to the reason they were out here, she asked, “So, what do you have planned?”
“You’ve seen the pictures in the grimoire. I can’t let Braeden and Cameron go to the Learned’s.”
“But you can’t go alone.”
“I have no intention of going alone. But I also don’t intend to supply him with all three Drakes on a silver platter at once.”
“You don’t think showing up as a...pack would take him off guard?”
“No. The clan showing up at one time is what he wants.”
“So if you aren’t going to take a force large enough to defeat him, what will you do?”
“Give him what he wants.”
“What?” Shock brought her up to her knees. She tipped her head, trying to look up at him through the separation between his talons. “You aren’t serious. You can’t be.”
“Very.”
“You were the one who told me—more than once I might add—that giving him those items was a mistake. It would give him enough power to rule everything.”
“It would be a mistake for you to give him what he wants.”
“But not you?” How exactly had the Learned damaged Sean’s ability to think rationally?
“Not for me and my partner.”
“Partner? One other person? And somehow you believe that the two of you can hand over the items he wants then walk out of there with our son and all will be well with the world?”
“Not exactly.”
She sat back down and tried to read his mind. But he wouldn’t let her in far enough to make sense of his plan. All she could see was a mishmash of random thoughts.
Caitlin gave up. “You need to explain this to me, because I must be missing something.”
“I don’t have to explain anything to you. I just wanted you to know that you will have our son back soon.”
“And I’m supposed to be fine with getting little Sean back knowing you’ll most likely end up dead?”
“You’re going to leave as soon as he’s returned, so what difference will it make?”
Caitlin narrowed her eyes. While this had been her plan all along, she didn’t remember saying that to him. “I never told you that.”
“You didn’t need to tell me. We’ve exchanged enough life force the last few days that we’ve become bonded to each other. There isn’t much I don’t know. And what I don’t know for certain, I can sense.”
“So how does that work for you, but not for me?”
“You have the ability. You just don’t access it.”
What did that mean? “How are you going to walk back into the Learned’s castle without killing your family first?”
Sean’s laugh was far too evil for her comfort. “Simple. I’ll kill them.”
“What?” The longer she listened to him, the more worried she became about his mental health.
“Think, Caitlin. Mirabilus has a strong glamour spell over it. A spell that’s never been broken.”
“Wait.” She interrupted him to ask, “What about Hoffel?”
“He doesn’t count. Nathan captured one of the villagers while he was off the island doing business and forced him to bring Hoffel here.”
“But Nathan was born on Mirabilus.” She’d seen that in the grimoire. “So why doesn’t he just come here and do his dirty deeds on his own?”
“My grandfather added a boost to the glamour spell that gets reinforced yearly. It prevents Nathan from being able to perform magic on the island. Which means he can’t see what is or what isn’t going on over here. He has no choice but to believe what I tell him.”
“Right.” She swallowed her sarcasm. “And he’s not going to see through your lies?”
“By the time he figures it out, it’ll be too late.”
“Too late for who?” Her head was starting to ache from trying to make sense of his plans.
“For him. Once I give him the items he demands, he’ll be too busy, too engrossed with them to pay much attention to anything else. I only need a minute, if that long, to put an end to his madness.”
Now that did make sense. The Learned’s ego would be so overinflated with the items in his possession that he would think himself immediately invincible.
However, there were other concerns. “What about Aelthed? You can’t just hand him over to Nathan.”
“I don’t plan on it. Before leaving, I stole a potion from the Learned’s stash that’ll put Aelthed to sleep.”
“He left you alone long enough for you to steal things?”
Sean snickered. “He thought I was so far under his spell that he left the chamber without giving it a second thought.”
“Mighty full of himself, isn’t he?”
“Yes. To his own detriment.”
“O
nce you put Aelthed to sleep, how are you going to get him out of that cube?”
“The dragon figured it out. The pendants are keys. It’ll just take the right combination to unlock the puzzle.”
“Oh. So the picture in the grimoire of the two women opening the chest is the same way it’ll work for the cube?”
“The dragon seems certain of it.”
In her opinion, he was putting an awful lot of faith in the beast. “That’ll make your aunt happy.”
“Why?”
“Oh, please.” Hadn’t he figured it out? “She’s in love with the old wizard.”
“Well, I don’t know if she’ll be happy or not. I have no idea what’s going to happen to Aelthed once his spirit is released. He may just disappear.”
“Or be like my mother—dead, but still here.”
“I suppose that’s possible.”
“With Aelthed’s spirit removed from the box, won’t the Learned know that it’s empty?”
“I never said it’d be empty.”
“Who or what are you going to put in there?”
“Haven’t decided yet.”
The certainty in his tone didn’t sound undecided. It sounded more to her as if he just wasn’t going to tell her. Did she care? Not really, as long as she wasn’t stuffed inside.
“You aren’t going to try killing the Learned while little Sean is still there, are you?” Caitlin shivered. Her son could get fatally injured in the melee.
“No. I’m going to bring him back to Mirabilus first.”
“And then go back?”
“Something like that.”
Again, he was withholding information. And again, did she care?
No.
He had a plan to rescue their son, and he seemed confident he would succeed. While it was her place to worry, was it her responsibility to question or point out every flaw until he doubted himself? That would ensure nothing but possible failure.
Even though it went against her better judgment, she needed to trust him to do what he thought was right. So he could keep his secrets, as long as he came back with their son.
“When do you plan on putting this plan into action?”
“Soon. I need some time to put things into motion.”
“Anything I can do to help?”
“Don’t panic when you hear Braeden and Cameron are dead. I need to spread enough rumors just in case Nathan has someone here doing his bidding.”
