Still, he had conceded, had smiled and let her go when she suggested they meet later. Even though his eyes had held an intense look of something that may have been desire, he had let her slip away.
Then there was the damned necklace. The chain had managed to wind itself in her hair, and the clasp had gotten stuck. It was going to take an extra set of hands to get the thing unhooked unless she planned to cut a chunk out of her hair.
“Everything will be okay,” she whispered to herself as she squared her shoulders and prepared once more to go downstairs, into the world of fairies and elves, to try to pretend like she wasn’t looking over her shoulder for the man who very well could be the dragon in her video games.
She vowed to be on alert. Now that she knew Leland was in New Orleans she could work to avoid him. Pressing the elevator button, she steadied her nerves once more. Salvation was downstairs, she just knew it. All she had to do was find him.
Setting her shoulders into the most confident position she could manage, she turned sideways to go out her hotel room. The wings were cute, but they sure were in the way!
Gypsy music greeted her as she entered the ballroom. She almost expected to become lost among the ringing of tambourines. Instead, she saw a swirl of color and costumes wilder than any she had seen earlier in the day. Most of the revelers were masked, making it impossible to know who was who beneath the feathers, sequins and false noses.
Some of the partygoers wore elaborate, winged costumes while others wore vampire capes and witches’ robes. Still others were dressed in more traditional elfin costumes. Her fairy wings were smaller than some, thank God, and made it easy enough to weave through the crowd to the back wall where the temporary bar was set up.
She had never felt the need to consume so much alcohol in her whole life. Everything about tonight screamed the need to calm her nerves. Her entire body pulsed with the possibility that she was teetering on the edge of something she couldn’t quite define.
Her hand unconsciously went to the necklace still resting around her throat. She swore it was forcing her feet to move forward because they certainly weren’t moving of her own volition. The crowd became a dizzying frenzy around her as she all but collapsed into the back of a tall, masked reveler. When he turned and looked down at her, his lips turning up in a smile, her heart stopped in her throat.
Okay, so she couldn’t see his face beneath the leather mask, but she knew it was Damon. He had kept his bargain and was here tonight to finish what they had started earlier. Without a word, he held out his hands and waited as she stumbled into them, having been prodded forward by a dancing couple behind her.
As soon as he drew his arms around her, pulling her into his circle, she knew she would ask him up to her room. Every protest and warning she may have entertained earlier died. Nothing mattered outside of looking deep into his eyes and seeing her own reflection there. Okay, so maybe it wasn’t the smartest line of thinking, but she knew instinctively that she was safe with him.
A wave of courage and bravado washed over her as she looked up at him, unable to do anything other than smile and join him in the mad dance that was swirling around them, intoxicating them with the movement of three hundred dancers.
“Do you know who I am, Kira?” he whispered against her hair, barely loud enough for her to hear above the music.
“Mmm. No.” She snuggled against him, lost in the strange sensations assaulting her body. The necklace around her neck seemed to hum and pulse, feeding her images of another time and place, somewhere far away but so close she could almost touch.
“I am the one who will grant your wishes.”
“I’d like that.”
“No, I am here to give you the thing you need the most.”
“So you’re a djinn then?”
“No.”
“Then what kind of costume is that?”
“Costume?”
“Yeah. Who are you pretending to be?”
“There is no need to pretend. I am who I say, and I am here to do what I say will. So tell me what you need, what you wish, and I will give it to you.”
He was too serious. This was supposed to be a game, another of her little adventures into the world of the unreal. But Damon had stopped moving and his arms felt tight around her as he held on the dance floor, his eyes cutting into hers as if her answer could be his salvation.
“I need air.” Pulling away as quickly as possible, she fled into the crowd. This was all too much, too soon. There was no way she was going to bring him up to her room, even if everything inside her wanted it.
Pushing open the patio doors, she stepped out into the night where the overflow from the party had gathered to cool off or to enjoy the billions of stars gathered overhead.
She wasn’t the type to have a one-night stand. No matter how badly she wanted it, no matter how much she knew a night, or a weekend, with Damon could change her life. Closing her eyes tightly, she fought back tears and wished she were woman enough to take charge of her life and do something for a change. Take a chance. God, if ever there was a chance that needed taking, it was Damon.
She wasn’t looking where she was going, a danger considering how much of her past seemed to be lurking around at this convention. With Constance and Leland here, it seemed as if her secret could be revealed to anyone. And she would once again be a girl from nowhere, a freak with no identity save for the one she had created.
“Going somewhere?”
Shit. This night was just going from bad to worse. And speaking of worse, Leland looked as if he had seen better days. She had only seen him a few hours ago, but he looked as if he had been hitting the bottle hard, and maybe it was even hitting back.
“Leland.” She straightened her shoulders as he approached and tried not to cringe when his hand wrapped around her upper arm. He led her to the edge of the patio.
“I need to talk to you. You never called me.” His voice was edgy, to say the least. It was like there was something up with him that she couldn’t quite put her finger on.
“I’ve been busy.”
“I know. With that weirdo.”
“Who are you talking about?”
“It doesn’t matter.” He shook his head wildly, taking on the look of a mad wolf about to attack. “I need your blood.”
That was all it took for her to jerk her arm out of his hand. “You’re crazy. Look, I don’t know what’s going on with you, but…”
“Where did you get that necklace?” His bloodshot eyes glared at the charm around her neck. A shaky finger reached out to touch it and then recoiled as if it had been burned.
“At a pawn shop. What does it matter?”
“Does it always make that noise?”
God, he was losing it. She had never seen his eyes look so wild. His face was flushed red as if he had been running a marathon, and his hands shook as he reached for her again.
“Leave me alone.” She swiped at his hand to no avail. Before she could move it closed around her throat and pulled her flush against his chest.
“I need to talk to you, but I can’t do it while this thing is humming so loudly.” His voice was steady, like a madman who was slowly trying to prove his sanity.
“Let go of me,” she managed at the same time his hand moved from her neck. Just when she thought he was going to reclaim his sanity, he reached up and pulled the necklace from her neck, taking with it a wad of her hair. “Shit! What’d you do that for?” Damn, that hurt!
“I need your DNA. This should do.”
The pain at the base of her skull seemed to move forward to her temples and then radiate down to her throat and chest. Before she knew it, it was difficult to breathe. The fever, a fever she hadn’t known in a very long time, was back. She could feel it move through her body and stake its claim on her cells. Something inside her was changing. And it had nothing to do with having a few hairs yanked out. She’d done enough of that in the past with her hairbrush. No, this was something different. This was…<
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Laced with memories. They all started at the base of her skull and then throbbed when they reached her shoulder, where her wound once more felt open and raw. There was a man standing in front of her, his long dark hair falling forward, framing his glowing red eyes, eyes that were filled with anger. A growl erupted from his throat as he sprang forward. Someone else caught her and pushed her to the side. Her body collapsed against something she couldn’t define.
The two faces above her morphed into something else, into something that looked suspiciously like the dragons in her video game. She tried to grab something, anything, to help steady her body as she felt herself fall. She didn’t even have to look up to know he was behind her, and when his hands closed around the backs of her arms and he pulled her against him, there was no fear. She was safe with him.
Damon had come for her.
“I am looking for a pixie. Perhaps one I have offended. Do you know where I may locate one?” His smooth Transylvanian accent washed across her as he spoke.
“Help me,” she managed, knowing he was the only one who could help her.
“Kira, what’s wrong?” he turned her in his arms and placed a palm to her forehead. “The fever has you. It’s his bite. It infected you.”
“Nobody bit me.”
“Mace bit you. Six years ago. He bit you and then forced you into a dark abyss.” He pushed her hair out of her face.
“No. Damon. Take me to my room. I need…”
“You need me. Your body needs me, Kira. His DNA has mixed with yours and now you feel the change as it takes place on Tyr. Where is the necklace? It will help you.”
“Necklace?” Nothing he was saying made any sense. He was speaking as if he knew her, and she still wasn’t convinced this was anything more than a dream.
“The amulet you wear. My amulet. Where is it?”
“Leland.”
“Tambourne,” the word was said with clear disgust, but she didn’t have time to contemplate how Damon and Leland knew one another. “Come, Kira. I will help you. I know you feel this thing between us.”
The world was cloudy as her feet started moving again. “What thing?”
“The bond we share, you and I know one another.”
“No.” It wasn’t possible for her to know him. Sure, he looked familiar, but surely she would remember him if they shared a bond.
“You know me, Kira. Close your eyes and place your hand here.” He guided her hand to his chest as the world seemed to stop spinning. “Remember all those times I came to you in your dreams. Remember the time we spent together…” his voice broke with unspoken words, unspoken whispers she knew would be the death of her.
Fog filled her head. “They were only dreams.”
“No, Kira. They were not dreams. You know deep down that they were not. You feel it. Those are your memories.”
“No.”
“Yes. Let me prove it to you. Do you feel steady now?”
She nodded. Surprisingly, she did feel as if she could walk without leaning into him. But, just in case, she leaned on him as they moved.
“Good. Where is your room? I need to show you something. I need to show you why you need me.” His words echoed in her head even as he pulled her toward the elevator.
* * * * *
She wasn’t really doing this. Her teeth wrapped around her bottom lip as she bit into it hard, trying to wake herself up from this crazy fantasy. Just because the man looked like a god did not mean she had to take him up to her room. She couldn’t deny the way her pussy clenched and creamed just looking at him. When had a man ever had that kind of effect on her?
Catching a glimpse of his profile, trying not to stare too hard as the elevator climbed up the fourteen floors to her room, she watched as the muscles in his jaw clenched. He hadn’t said a word since they entered the elevator, hadn’t given any indication of the desire he had shown on the dance floor. Her heart sank a little as she wondered if he’d changed his mind. This wasn’t how wild affairs were supposed to begin.
She wanted to say something to break the silence. Instead, she stood there, her arms folded around her, waiting for him to acknowledge her. Her lips felt dry and the champagne had gone to her head by the time the doors opened and he turned to her and smiled. The sinking feeling in her gut warned her that she was about to get in over her head. She shook off the thoughts of rationale. Tonight was not a night for rational thinking. It was a night for hot sex. And the hotter, the better.
“This is it.”
“Your room?” He wrinkled his brow, as if confusion had set in.
“Yeah. My room.”
He stared out into the hallway, as if he wasn’t sure if he should follow her or not. She wouldn’t beg. If he stayed in the elevator she would go to her room alone and probably spend the rest of the night kicking herself for her stupidity. To her surprise, he stepped out behind her just as the doors began to close. They quickly reopened, allowing room for his broad shoulders to pass through the threshold. She finally let out the breath she had been holding.
“Just let me get my key.” She bent down to pull the key from her boot. When she did, his arms circled her waist, pulling her flush against him, pushing her wings aside with the motion, causing her backside to make contact with the hard muscles of his thighs. His penis pressed into the small of her back, warning her of his arousal. As his heated breath brushed against the back of her neck, his hand reached around to grasp her breasts. Her breath hung in her throat as his words grazed across her skin.
“I can feel your heat.” The words sent a shiver down her back as they caressed her delicate skin.
God, she could melt against him. The man could read a cereal box and sound sexy. She tried to still her shaking hand, tried to force the key card into the slot, but her fingers refused to move. His hand closed over hers, taking the key and sliding it into place. “Thanks,” she managed, though her voice had gotten lost somewhere between her throat and her lips.
“Come.” He pushed the door open and she followed behind him. He had clearly taken charge of things once more. Doubt trickled through her, but she swallowed it, reminding herself that this was exactly why she had come to New Orleans in the first place, to have an affair and to forget the past. That had seemed so simple just a few hours ago.
Damon dominated the room, dwarfing everything with his sheer size. God, how had she ever thought she could handle a man like this? And the awkward silence was back, as if his mind were ten million miles away instead of on the woman who would probably hand her soul over to him if he asked for it. It had been far too long since she had been touched.
“Your room,” he said. Hands on hips, he stood with his legs slightly parted, his crotch holding the most magnificent bulge she had ever seen.
“Yes.” She licked her lips. It was now or never. “Do you want a drink?” She had to do something with her hands or die from anticipation. Pulling the wings from her back and placing them across the table, she walked to the mini bar.
“No, Kira. I do not want a drink.” As his body began to move, she shrank against the wall, wondering if the pleasure from the heated look he shot would be enough to kill her or merely wound her. Either way, she knew she was about to find out.
“Well, what do you want, then?” Her voice shook as she tried again to still her pounding heart. He was standing inches away now, his hands clenched into fists at his sides. Those same warnings that had rung out earlier practically screamed to her now. He was a stranger and she had brought him to her room because he looked good.
No, that was not it exactly. She had brought him here because he looked like the man in her dreams, the one who had inspired her dragon video games where the princess holds the key to saving her man and his kingdom. Kira was no princess, though, and this man reeked of danger. Still, she couldn’t help the fierce drumming of her heart as it beat in time with her pulsing pussy as he took the final step toward her, pinning her against the wall with his commanding frame.
“I want the charm.” The words sounded as if they could barely push through his lips the second before he fell against her. “I need the charm, and you need it too, from the looks of you. We have to find Tambourne. But first, we have to end this ache, this fever, before it consumes us both.”
Placing her hands between them, bracing herself for what may come next, she never imagined how hot his skin would feel or how vacant his eyes suddenly looked. He stumbled forward as he tried to right himself. Her arms were no match for his strength as he pressed her into the wall, pushing the breath from her chest.
“I need you,” he whispered, his voice barely audible.
“I know you.” She reached out to touch his face, visions from her past swirling around her, closing in on her. “I mean, I remember your face, but there’s so much I don’t know, so much I can’t…”
“Shh. Don’t try too hard. It will all come back to you.”
“You said I was bitten. Someone named Mace?”
“You don’t remember Mace?”
“No. All I remember is your face. You, smiling down at me. Who are you?”
“Your destiny. Once. Now come to me.”
“No. My head is so foggy…”
“It will clear. You need me, as I need you.”
“Damon…”
“Touch me, Kira. Touch me and allow me to help you recall what we had before it was taken from us. Let me love you tonight.”
Chapter Four
There was no controlling the animal lust. He had had every intention of demanding she return the amulet and then leaving her be, but Tambourne had won this round, taking the amulet. Now they were both in danger of becoming consumed by the fire that raged inside them. Mace’s bite had infected her just as his blood affected him. And, tonight, when his hand brushed hers, it was as if it had moved of its own accord, without direction from his brain. That was when he had lost the little restraint he had left. The dragon had won the battle of wills and was now threatening to escape its hiding place. The fever had taken over his body and now he had no choice but to fall into her lips first and do that which nature intended.
Dragon's Law: Damon Page 6
