by Jory Strong
Aislinn’s description of the human male’s behavior sent uneasiness rippling through Kirill. His gaze swept over his unconscious mate and he told himself it was only worry for her that left him feeling unsettled and out of sorts.
He would make certain Jazzlyn had no further contact with Mark. It was too dangerous.
“Will the police involve themselves in this?” he asked.
“Not without probable cause. Carolyn isn’t officially missing and hasn’t filed any kind of complaint against Mark. The most the police could do is approach Mark and ask to be allowed on the boat, if that’s where he is. Without a warrant, if he says no, they can’t insist.”
“I am at Hakon’s estate. If Mark is located, I will ask for Hakon to help me handle this matter.”
“I’ll call again as soon as I know something more.”
“My thanks again for your aid.” He ended the call and placed the phone on the nightstand as he rejoined Jazzlyn in bed.
He slid his arms around her waist, pulling her back against his chest and kissing her shoulder. Despite the pleasure he felt at holding her, tension knotted his stomach at what the morning might bring.
Chapter Nine
Jazzlyn woke to dragons in flight, their beauty turning the white of the bedding into a kaleidoscope of color. The stained glass had been breathtaking in the moonlight, but with the sunlight streaming through it, every exquisite detail was revealed.
“You’re awake,” Kirill said, his arm tightening around her waist, his lips administering small kisses to the place he’d bitten her in the hot tub.
She could hear a wealth of satisfaction in his voice at having fucked her so thoroughly she passed out in the throes of orgasm.
Against her buttocks, his hard cock expressed its desire for an encore.
Her phone rang before they could act on it.
She scrambled to answer and ended up lying across Kirill in the process. It was Aislinn. “I’ve got an address for you.”
“Hold on a second.”
Kirill grunted when she left the bed to scrounge for pen and paper. “I’m ready.”
Aislinn recited an address before saying, “There’s no way to know if Mark has Carolyn there or not. The house belongs to an uncle. Trace wasn’t able to contact him though he did have a patrol car swing by first thing this morning and then a few minutes ago. According to them, none of Mark’s registered vehicles were there on either visit. Neither was your cousin’s. The boat wasn’t there on the initial visit, but it’s there now. No one answered the door and they can’t get close enough to the boat to look inside it.
“Trace thought it’d be better not to have the police approach from the water for fear it could spook Mark if he’s watching from inside the house. I’m at the shop now. I tried another reading and got even less than before, murky darkness and the feeling of subtle movement, like being on a boat. Trace is trying to find out if Mark might have rented another boat.”
Jazzlyn’s stomach cramped as she remembered Kirill returning from his search of Mark’s house and mentioning traces of a chemical substance along with the wineglasses. She’d jumped to the conclusion it was a party drug, but what if it wasn’t?
“Do you think Carolyn’s drugged with something that’s knocked her out to keep her quiet?”
“It’s possible.” There was a hesitation. “Did Kirill pass on the other information?”
Jazzlyn glanced at him. He was up and seemingly content to wait until the last moment before tugging on his clothes.
“Not yet. I’ll have him tell me while we’re in the car.”
“You’ll let me know what you find?”
“Yes. Of course.”
Jazzlyn nervously rolled her phone between her hands as she repeated what Aislinn told her. “I feel guilty for thinking the worst of Caro. I should have guessed he’d drugged her. He must have let her come out of it long enough to make the phone call, then dosed her again. That’s probably why he said it’d take a couple hours before I heard from her.”
Kirill closed the distance between them, pulling her flush against his chest and stroking her back. “It would have changed nothing. Even now we don’t know the full truth of your cousin’s circumstances.”
Jazzlyn slipped her arms around his waist. “I’m so glad I have you.”
His laugh was a satisfied purr. “You can demonstrate your gratitude later.”
He rubbed his cheek against hers. “If I could bear the thought of leaving you in another male’s care, I’d insist you remain here while I investigate the house and the boat.”
“As if I’d let you go by yourself.” She emphasized her point with a pinch to his very firm buttock.
“You dare to challenge me again after the events of last evening?”
Jazzlyn laughed. “Somehow being fucked so well that I passed out isn’t exactly a deterrent.” She turned her head and placed a kiss in the hollow of his neck. “Not to challenge your masculinity or anything, but I’d feel better if Hakon came with us.”
“If he accompanies us, you’ll stay in the car where I won’t have to worry for your safety?”
As much as she wished she could be a kick-ass heroine when the need arose, she knew she’d be more hindrance than help. “Yes.”
“Good.” His lips covered hers and his kiss was deep and long, praising and possessing and promising all at the same time.
They dressed quickly and sought out Hakon. He said, “I suggest you and Jazzlyn go by car while I approach on the water. If you desire, I can send one of my men with you so Jazzlyn will remain guarded while we investigate the house and the boat.”
Kirill suppressed a growl. He felt the phantom flaring of his neck crest though the amusement lurking in Hakon’s eyes belied the offer of protection for Jazzlyn.
A human was no match for one dragon, much less two. The only reason he’d agreed to Hakon’s presence at all was because it gained Jazzlyn’s compliance without an argument.
“Additional protection won’t be necessary,” Kirill said, hand curling possessively around Jazzlyn’s upper arm. “I’ll protect her from any threat found in the house.”
Hakon’s lips curved into a smile. “Shall we exchange phone numbers before we head out? I’ll get there faster by boat but will wait for you to arrive so we can coordinate our search.”
Jazzlyn recited her number then input Hakon’s before passing her phone to Kirill as they went to the door. In the daylight they could clearly see the huge alligators lying along the sandy banks and basking in the sun.
“Lazy cousins,” Hakon joked before jogging around the side of the house, disappearing in what Kirill assumed was the direction of his private dock.
Kirill’s hand slid down Jazzlyn’s arm. Their fingers entwined as they hurried through jungle foliage, their progress marked by bird calls.
Just as they reached her car, Kirill heard the sound of a powerful engine roar to life. “Hakon’s on his way.”
Jazzlyn’s hand tightened on his. “I hope this isn’t a dead end. If it is—”
“We will still find her.”
By the Great Shared Ancestor he wanted to be done with this.
They traveled in tense silence. And when they got to their destination, he directed Jazzlyn to drive past the house.
There were no obvious signs of occupancy. No vehicles or lights. The place looked dark and ill-kept, the landscaping untended.
Adobe walls served as a fence preventing trespass. A gate allowed a view of the waterway a short distance behind the house and the private dock extending into it.
“The boat’s there,” Jazzlyn said. “What about Hakon?”
“Nearby, I’m sure. I’ll call him in a moment.”
Kirill scanned the area. He didn’t like the idea of Jazzlyn being anywhere near the house, and yet he liked the thought of her being out of sight and further away even less.
“Park across the street from the gate,” he directed. A touch of his hand to the front door, accompanied
by the same incantation he’d used yesterday and he’d know if this house was empty of humans or not. The answer would determine whether he joined Hakon on the boat, or waited for Hakon to deal with the situation there while he dealt with the one in the house.
Jazzlyn parked the car and turned off the engine. He contacted Hakon.
“How do you wish to proceed?” Hakon asked, deferring to Kirill despite the fact he was a dragon prince and an inhabitant of this realm.
“Let me determine if there is anyone in the house first.”
“I’m at the mouth of the waterway. I can see the boat from here. I’ll wait on the line while you check the house.”
Kirill gave a low growl at the loss of privacy. But its loss didn’t stop him from touching his lips to Jazzlyn’s.
Her fingers tangled in his hair for a second, her mouth clinging to his after an all-too-brief kiss. “Please be careful, Kir.”
“Stay here, beloved. Stay safe.”
On the other end of the line, Kirill could have sworn he heard Hakon sing, “Another one bites the dust.”
He ignored the other male in favor of hurrying to get this task behind him so he could take Jazzlyn home.
At the door it took less than a minute to learn the house was exactly as it appeared to be, unoccupied. Kirill headed toward the gate, speaking into the phone as he did so. “I’ll meet you on the dock.”
In the distance there was the rev of a boat’s engine.
He slipped Jazzlyn’s phone into his pocket and used the same commonly known sigils accompanied by dragon will to unlock the gate. It was impossible to pass through it without a glance back at the car.
Jazzlyn’s worried expression was pain and pleasure both. He’d never guessed at the emotions having a mate would lay bare.
He forced himself to move forward, telling himself the sooner it was done, the sooner he’d return to her. Hakon’s boat was already gliding smoothly alongside the dock, one of his men at the wheel.
Hakon jumped to the dock, cautious despite the innate confidence of their kind. Kirill joined him, both of them watching for movement at the curtain-covered windows of the power yacht.
When there was none, Kirill edged forward, touching the boat’s hull. With Hakon crouched next to him, he spoke the spell words, using his left hand for adding the intricate, gestured patterns.
This time an electric thrill jolted through him. “There’s a female inside. No one else.”
“Nice trick,” Hakon said, both of them standing and climbing onto the boat’s deck. “Perhaps you’ll be willing to teach it to me.”
Kirill could do no less given Hakon’s hospitality and aid, as well as the generosity he and Malik and Severn demonstrated in sharing the Dragon’s Cup. “I intend to leave this realm as quickly as possible. Visit me in my lair and I will teach you the spell.”
Hakon chuckled. “Considering your newly mated status, I will allow some time to pass before approaching.”
The door to the cabin gave under Hakon’s will. They entered, their good spirits disappearing in a heartbeat at the sight greeting them.
Carolyn was gagged, her arms bound to her sides then tethered by locked cable to a metal loop set in the wall. She didn’t stir when the cabin filled with the sound of their curses at finding her held captive in such a manner. Her breathing remained deep and rhythmic as they freed her.
Movement in the side-view mirror made Jazzlyn glance away from the boat just long enough to see the rear end of a car disappear behind a row of shrubbery in a neighboring driveway. She had a brief worry that her presence and the open gate would elicit a call to the police, but dismissed it. They would be gone in a matter of minutes.
Hakon must have seen something from his position on the water. It was the only explanation she could come up with for Kirill abandoning his plan to enter the house.
Her fingernails dug into her palms as she waited for them to emerge from the cabin of the power yacht. “Please, please let her be there,” she whispered, terrified that if Caro wasn’t, then she was dead and at the bottom of the ocean somewhere.
She didn’t know how much longer she could stand waiting. Every second dragged yet her heart raced as though she were running. How long did it take to search such a small space?
Her breath caught in her throat when Kirill emerged, Caro in his arms. Without conscious thought Jazzlyn left the car and hurried to the gate.
Hakon followed Kirill onto the deck, then onto the dock, his smile reassuring Jazzlyn even as he called out, “She’s unconscious but appears unharmed otherwise.”
Jazzlyn rushed toward them, heart beating loudly in her ears, relief freeing her tears.
Through the blur of them she saw both Hakon’s and Kirill’s expression change to something deadly an instant before she was grabbed from behind, jerked to a painful halt by a hand in her hair.
There was no time for her to react as a forearm locked against her throat with a force that made breathing difficult. The cold metal barrel of a gun touched her temple.
Fear clawed through her. Terror for herself. For Carolyn and Kirill and Hakon.
Even before he spoke, she knew who stood behind her. “You’ve got something of mine,” Mark said. “And I’ve got something of yours. I see no reason why we can’t trade.”
Kirill silently handed Carolyn to Hakon, gauging the distance between himself and the man who dared to threaten his mate. There would be no negotiation.
By the laws of the Covenant, he was entitled to end this man’s life. The manner he intended was not strictly allowed, but this human left him little choice and he didn’t fear Hakon calling attention to the breach.
The only thing he did fear was Jazzlyn’s reaction, Jazzlyn’s horror or terror. But it couldn’t be helped. He approached slowly, waiting only long enough for Mark to turn the barrel of the gun toward him.
A deep breath. A sharp focused exhale and flame erupted from his mouth and nose.
It roared across the distance with such force and fury it struck almost instantaneously, rendering Mark into a fine ash and burning away Jazzlyn’s clothing, his fire recognizing his mate and incapable of harming her.
“Beautiful,” Hakon murmured, and Kirill acted instantly, possessively, dragon instinct ruling.
He surged forward, closing the distance to where Jazzlyn stood with a shell-shocked expression, unwilling to allow her time to back away in terror or try to flee from him, unwilling to let a male of his kind look upon her naked body. The talons at his wrists dropped from their hidden sheaths and filled with serum. There was the slightest flicker in her eyes, as if perhaps she’d noted them, and then he was there, arms around her, the sharp tips piercing her back, sending her into unconsciousness.
Kirill lifted and cradled Jazzlyn in his arms, positioning her so her breasts and mound wouldn’t be on display before turning. The dragon male Kirill had seen piloting the speedboat a short while earlier now stood at Hakon’s side.
“I’ll have Jazzlyn’s cousin taken to Inner Magick,” Hakon said, casually shifting the burden in his arms to the other male. “Aislinn is in the best position to come up with a plausible tale when Carolyn regains consciousness. I assume you intend to leave for the portal now and return to your lair with your mate.”
It had been his intention. Always. From the first moment he’d glimpsed Jazzlyn in the sorcerer’s mirror so many centuries ago, he’d planned on claiming her and keeping her guarded.
It was still his intention. And yet he couldn’t escape the similarities as he stood holding her in his arms, just as Hakon’s man held Carolyn, who’d been rendered unconscious and taken away against her will.
Kirill’s stomach knotted with the same uneasiness it had when Aislinn described the human’s possessive behavior. It was different with dragons, he wanted to argue. He loved Jazzlyn, had no thought but to cherish her. And yet hadn’t the human he’d turned into ash probably said the same to himself?
Every instinct screamed for Kirill to take Jazzlyn
to the dragon realm. But looking down at his mate, he knew he couldn’t do it. Not like this. Not without it being her choice.
She would choose him. He refused to believe otherwise now that the shock and fury at seeing her taken hostage had passed.
