Dragon's Successor (BBW/Dragon Shifter Romance) (Lords of the Dragon Islands Book 2)

by Isadora Montrose

  “But trying to force that stern old dragon to divulge information before he is ready, is a non-starter. But now that I have a couple of names, I will put my investigators to work on your parentage.”

  “Thank you,” Kayla said stiffly. “What is all this rubbish about destined mates? You keep going on about it, but nothing could be less ordained than you seducing me after asking me to be your mistress!”

  Roland put his hands on his little mate’s round shoulders and pulled her close. He breathed into her face, hoping his spell would make her a little more amenable to accepting her fate, but her face remained stubbornly closed to him.

  “I was drawn to you, Kayla Cooper Voros, from the moment I first set eyes on you and drew your scent into my nostrils. But I failed to realize why you had the power to move me. My body recognized you as my fated mate, but my brain said it was impossible.” He kissed her brow and then both eyes.

  She finally relaxed into his arms and leaned trustingly against his chest. Roland clasped her tenderly against his body. Her trust felt like a gift.

  “Come, Beloved,” he said rubbing her back gently. “Let us dress and find our fireling. I have much time to make up with our son.”

  Roland remembered what that cunning old dragon lord Watatoni Te Kanewa had said. He must make his peace with his mate. He would find a gift for his beloved that would bind her to him forever.

  * * *

  Tane, Hehu and their prisoner arrived mid-afternoon. Roland left Kayla playing with Aidan and went directly to the room where his men had taken the bear. The Russian was lying in on a bed with his shattered leg propped up.

  Tane and Hehu were sitting watching him. When Roland entered the bear tried to sit up. Alarm was written on his broad features.

  “Calm yourself,” Roland told him in Russian. “You will not be harmed further if you are truthful.”

  “What happened to the dragon who tried to poison me?” growled the bear.

  “He killed himself, rather than be taken prisoner.”

  The bear swore fluently in Ukrainian. Roland interrupted his spate of profanity with a raised hand. “I wish to know who hired you?” he said.

  The bear shrugged. “A dragon. I do odd jobs for him occasionally. He said he needed a man for a snatch.”

  “His name,” demanded Roland his voice growing both colder and more persuasive.

  The bear shuddered as if he was chilled. “He is called Vladimir the Enforcer on the street,” he said. “But almost certainly that is not his name. It’s assumed he works for whoever is in charge of the Kiev Mafia.”

  Roland looked at his prisoner intently. In this he had been truthful. And possibly he had more to tell. “Has he had painkillers,” he asked his sword bearers.

  Tane and Hehu had been standing respectfully while the bear was questioned. They looked at each other. “We offered them, but he’s a suspicious bastard and he refused.”

  “He is used to treachery,” said Roland. “Bear,” he continued in Ukrainian, “I offer you safe passage to America, if you provide me with information.” He waited patiently for the Bear to weigh his options and reach a decision.

  “Vladimir already wants me dead,” he said at last, evidently deciding to cut his losses. “Where in America?”

  “Someplace safe,” Roland said curtly. “But your best guarantee of that is for me to eliminate both Vladimir the Enforcer and his boss.” He turned to Tane and in his sword bearer’s native language instructed him to bring a chair.

  “Now, Bear,” he said when he was at his ease. “You will begin with your name, so we can have identification made for you.”

  “Plastic surgery would be more to the point,” muttered the bear. “My name is Sergei Zhadanov.”

  “Well, Sergei, we shall have to see just what you know,” murmured Roland hypnotically.

  An hour later he left the still sleeping bear and beckoned Tane out into the hall.

  “Shall I have identification made for Sergei Zhadanov?” asked Tane.

  Roland shook his head. “He lied about his name. He’s no more Sergei Zhadanov than he is the Tzar of all the Russias. I will return later to continue the interrogation when I have more information from the Council. But I do not think this one knows enough to lead us to Vadim.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  Kayla woke beside Roland. By the time they had turned in, the ruined bedclothes had disappeared and been replaced with others just as lavish and finely woven. The mattress was comfortable. The pillow exactly the right firmness. The sex had been both tender and exciting. But now sleep eluded her. She was worried about Aidan.

  She would go back to sleep once she had peeked in on her son. When she opened the door to their suite she discovered two tall Maoris guarding it. When they saw her, their eyes rounded and they bowed wordlessly.

  But Aidan wasn’t in his bed. Amiria was gone too. Kayla’s search took her all over the house. She returned to the suite and asked the sentries, “Have you seen Aidan?”

  They shook their heads and exchanged glances.

  “What about Amiria?” she continued.

  One of them turned and beat on the door with a fist before entering. Kayla followed them in. Roland sprang out of bed looking as if he had just been to the salon. Every blond hair was in place and the towel he wrapped around his loins looked like some sort of designer statement. Whereas Kayla was all too aware that she was disheveled and suffering from bed-head.

  Roland said, “Don’t worry, we’ll find them.” He tugged her into his dressing room and led her through to his office. Massive TV screens on the wall lit up as he punched buttons on a remote control.

  Amiria and Rongo were in the gardens looking through the bushes and calling softly. There was no sign of their small charge.

  “He thinks it’s a game of hide and seek,” despaired Kayla.

  “Take six men and spread out. Turn on the search lights and find the boy,” directed Roland into his mic.

  “You’ll frighten him,” protested Kayla.

  “I think not, “Roland said dryly. “That boy is having the time of his life being both disobedient and adventurous.”

  “He’s only a little boy,” she defended him.

  “He is an imp of Satan,” corrected Roland impatiently. “A more obstinate, naughty and disobedient fireling never breathed. He needs a little discipline,” he announced haughtily.

  “Don’t you dare,” she snapped.

  “If it were not for my fear of abduction, this escapade would be amusing,” he said. “But he has put himself in danger. How often has he run off before?”

  Kayla thought.

  “The truth,” he snapped.

  “I’m thinking!”

  Roland groaned and clutched his hair with one big hand. For the first time he looked concerned. The intercom crackled. “We’ve found him, sir.”

  “Ruru?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Bring him to my quarters and inform the others. I want to see Rongo and Amiria.”

  Before long the Maoris were bringing Aidan who was riding on Rongo’s shoulders and telling them excitedly about the burrowing creature he had been observing. Roland acknowledged his sword bearers and dismissed all but Rongo and Amiria.

  “A squadron beetle, sir,” said Rongo.

  Roland looked at Kayla to be sure she understood how dangerous Aidan’s escape was. She looked a little white.

  “Did the bug bite you?” she asked her son quietly.

  “No. I tried to picked it up, but it ranned from me.” Rongo winced from the screeching at his ear.

  Roland plucked his son off of the Maori’s shoulders and set him on the ground and knelt to look him in the eye. “What were you doing outside?” he asked him quietly.

  “I needed something,” Aidan explained. “I seed a birdie.”

  “Didn’t I tell you that you were to stay indoors unless you had a grownup with you?” Roland asked sternly.

  Aidan pouted. “I needed that birdie,” h
e explained.

  Kayla choked off her laughter. She knew Aidan was being deliberately uncooperative. And he could keep up this kind of deliberate refusal to understand past the point of adult patience.

  “You disobeyed me, Aidan,” said Roland. “What happens when little boys do not do as they are told?”

  “They have to sit in the naughty corner,” said Aidan sulkily.

  Roland looked at Kayla.

  She pointed decisively to a niche in the bedroom wall. “Right there,” she said sternly. “That’s the naughty corner in this room.” She took her son’s hand and led him to the little hollow in the wall. “Sit down,” she said. “You went out without permission in the dark. You have to sit there for three minutes.”

  Aidan collapsed in a limp heap and began to kick and bawl. Roland stared at him in astonishment.

  “Bad daddy,” Aidan wept. “I don’t want a papa.”

  Roland looked at his lieutenant but Rongo Te Paka had turned his back on the crying child and he and Amiria were looking everywhere but at the hysterical child. Kayla was standing beside her son with her arms folded looking into the distance and ignoring his distress. She met Roland’s eyes and shrugged slightly.

  Aidan continued his sobbing cries, “I don’t need a papa,” he bawled.

  “Rongo,” Roland began.

  Rongo shook his head slightly and his broad shoulders twitched but he turned and faced his lord.

  “Sir,” he said through tight lips. The blue tattoos on his face were stiff with suppressed laughter.

  “Explain yourself,” Roland said softly.

  “My grandmother always cursed us when we were bad,” Rongo said quietly. “She would say, ‘May your son be half as wicked as you are,’“ he said to Roland in a stifled voice.

  Roland goggled. He swallowed and listened to Aidan’s hiccupping sobs grow fainter. Finally, the child ceased altogether.

  Kayla’s uninflected voice said, “You are to stay here for three minutes starting from when you sit on your bottom. You have been disobedient. And you put yourself in danger. I want you to think about your behavior.”

  The little boy plopped down on his bum and faced the wall. His shoulders were the picture of dejection. Kayla looked at Roland who seemed to be suffering from unaccustomed doubt at his decision. Her arrogant husband was in danger of losing his heart to their manipulative child. It would be funny if it weren’t likely to lead to Aidan playing them off against each other.

  When the three minutes were up, Kayla turned her son with gentle hands. “Are you ready to apologize?” she asked him.

  Aidan considered more defiance but Kayla kept her own face stern. The little boy gave in and hung his head.

  “I’m sorry, Mama,” he said.

  “Why are you sorry?” Kayla prompted.

  “Because I wented outside without a growned up. I disobeyeded the rule.”

  “Okay.” Kayla held out her arms and embraced her son. “Now come and apologize to your Papa. You broke his rule and mine.” She held his hand while Aidan walked across the room to stand before his father.

  The little face was thoughtful but not cowed. Not in the least.

  “Aidan,” prompted Kayla.

  “I’m sorry that I disobeyeded and went into the outside.” He paused. “But I needed to!”

  Roland crouched and held out his arms as Kayla had done, and the boy who five minutes before had been bleating that he didn’t want a father, climbed confidently into them and began to chatter about the bird in his dream.

  Roland stood up with his son. Kayla hurried over, unwilling that Aidan’s lesson should be lost. “It’s the middle of the night,” she said pleasantly. “Aidan, you owe both Amiria and Rongo an apology for running off. They would have been fast asleep for hours if you had not sneaked out of your room.”

  This time the calculation in the child’s eyes was plain for everyone to see. But a glance at his mother’s implacable face had Aidan sighing. “I’m sorry I ranned away, Ami. I’m sorry, Rongo.”

  “Bed,” said Kayla. She held out her hands and wordlessly Roland handed her the boy. She turned him so she could look straight into his eyes. “You’re to go to bed and stay there until Ami says you may get up.”

  “What if I need to go pee?”

  “You will go pee now. And in the morning, Ami will wake before you.” She handed the child off to Amiria. “Sleep well all of you.”

  The two Maori left with their small charge, leaving Roland facing his weary bride.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  Roland was astonished at how Aidan’s rejection had affected him. He no longer wanted to punish his son’s defiance. He no longer wanted to confine him forcibly. When the child had nestled in his arms he had felt such immediate relief to have his fireling accept him, that he would have granted him any freedom. Fortunately, Kayla was made of sterner stuff.

  “Does he do that sort of thing often?” Roland asked her as the doors closed behind Amiria and Rongo. He was totally astonished at how this episode had affected him. His every nerve had tingled and his belly had cramped first with fear and then with rejection. He had wanted to scoop up his child and console him. And it had only got worse when he heard what his son was screaming.

  It had been a shock to realize that the other adults were amused by Aidan’s behavior and that his son’s noisy distress was not distressing them. He had felt foolish. And then he had felt angry. Which was no way for a sensible parent to behave.

  He stood in his towel feeling somehow at a disadvantage. And suddenly he saw himself through Kayla’s eyes. For four years he had been holding on to his anger and blaming her for their estrangement. Like his toddler screaming that he didn’t want a father, he had been sulking and acting as if he didn’t want the mate that destiny had provided him.

  He had left Kayla and nursed his anger as if she were to blame for being frightened and unhappy with her fate. He had expected a young woman — and four years ago Kayla had been a very young and inexperienced woman — to accept his lordly explanation for the terrifying and unexpected transformation that had come upon her.

  He had offered her wealth and his name, as if she had no right to tenderness and love. And when she spurned his attempt to buy her he had grown angry and reacted with offense to her rejection. And worst of all he had abandoned this woman who had no one in her life to protect and love her. Was this the action of a dragon lord who prided himself on his self-control and nobility?

  It was not. He had been having a tantrum exactly like his little son’s. But what was excusable in an infant of three, was unforgiveable in an adult man and unpardonable in a dragon lord. In all the wide world there was nothing more valuable to a dragon than his bonded mate and firelings. Yet he had clung to anger and outrage like a child when he should have been offering his apologies and love.

  His intransigence had put both his mate and his son at risk. For four years he had been waiting for Kayla to mend the breach between them — as if she had wronged him, when in fact she had been the one who had been wronged. He swallowed hard. If he had not acted like a sulky brat she would not have been left exposed to Vadim’s malice and his son would not be a stranger. Kayla was looking at him puzzled by his silence.

  “It’s late,” she said softly. “I’m going back to bed.”

  “A moment please,” he said imploringly. He took her left hand and knelt before her contrite. “Forgive me,” he begged. “Won’t you give me another chance?”

  “Another chance for what?” she sounded totally confused.

  “Another chance to win your love.”

  “Is it my love you want?” she demanded. “Up to now you’ve been talking about heirs and your dynasty and conquest. Love hadn’t entered the equation. Sex maybe, but not love.”

  Roland swallowed hard, stricken by the truth of her words. “It’s your love I need.” He tightened his hand on his bride’s and brought it to his lips. “I have wasted four years,” he continued. “Will you let me woo you
again?”

  It was no pleasure to the abject dragon lord to see his mate’s eyes narrow suspiciously. She tried to tug her hand away and after a moment he let her go. “I thought you had decided what was best for Aidan and me,” she said mistrustfully.

  “The High Marshal is still my enemy,” he said. “And our marriage may only be a stopgap,” he admitted. But it is not Vadim’s fault that you are wary of me.” He gulped. “Forgive me, Kayla, for trying to bully you. Will you let me explain about dragon shifters?”

  “I guess.”

  Roland stayed on his knees. “Thank you,” he said humbly. “Let me put a robe on and we’ll talk.”

  “I guess.”

  This wasn’t going to be easy. Kayla hadn’t spent four years waiting for his apology. She had spent her time barricading her heart. Roland rose to his feet and waved a hand toward the cluster of couches and chairs. “Will you not sit, Beloved? I won’t be a moment.” He headed for his dressing room.

  Kayla made herself comfortable on an armchair. Roland came out to their sitting area tying the sash of his calf length embroidered silk robe. His long feet were bare. He noticed that his bride’s eyes were riveted on them and her plump lips were set in a stiff line. She wasn’t going to be easy to persuade.

  “Would you like some wine?” he asked.

  “At this hour?”

  “It’s only eleven o’clock,” he reminded her.

  “I’m fine,” she said. She pressed back against the armchair as if to remove herself from the situation.

  It was worse than he had feared. Kayla was not just angry, she was scared, for herself and for Aidan. He sat down on the couch at right angles to her.

  “Do you have everything you need here?” he began.

  “Sure, your house is luxurious enough for three women.” There was a question in her voice.

  “This house was built for you and only you. You are the Beloved of Voros,” he said. “You have only to ask and you may have whatever you wish.”

  “Except freedom,” she said bitterly.

  He sighed. “I am trying to take care of this threat,” he swore. “I have to keep you safe until I can neutralize Vadim of Montenegro.”