They hadn’t even been gone half an hour. Where could she possibly be?
Drake looked around for a note or anything signifying she’d intentionally gone out, trying to hold back the rush of adrenaline that came with the worry that someone had taken her.
He’d already begun to think of her as their mate. Had worried about her, especially when she mentioned her asshole ex. Had wanted to protect her, maybe even forever if she’d let him.
“This is your fault,” Drake pointed at Quill, angry.
“No use getting too heated up over it. What’s done is done. We just need to find our mate now,” Quill said, checking through her business things and emails to see if there were any clues.
“This wouldn’t have happened if—” Drake was cut off by a ding and two buzzes coming from his pocket. It was his phone, a text from someone. Drake had only ten or so contacts on his phone, so texts were a very rare thing.
We have the lady. Come get her before she changes her mind about being with you.
It was from Gentry. Quill came over and Drake showed him the text.
“Well, at least we know she’s safe,” Quill said with a sigh of relief.
Drake scoffed. “Hardly. They may act like gentlemen, but I don’t trust either of them. Especially Sterling, conniving little bastard.” Drake gripped his phone tightly, and for a second, it felt like it might break in his hand.
“Let’s go get her, then,” Quill said, sounding urgent.
“Let’s,” Drake said under his breath. He was pissed, so very pissed that they would pull a stunt like that, taking his mate out from under his care. She was his to protect, not theirs. If she were hurt, there would be hell to pay.
They headed to the rooftop and flew off to where their boss and his partner lived.
* * *
Tara awoke to the smell of expensive fragrances wafting around her. She opened her eyes and realized she wasn’t at home. At least not her new home with Quill and Drake.
She suddenly remembered the two men that broke into their apartment and abducted her.
She bolted up, looking for the door. Then she felt her body freeze in place, held by invisible bonds.
“Now, now, no need to be so hasty. You have no clue where you even are. What good would going outside be?” She heard a voice, vaguely familiar.
Tara turned and saw the two men from before. Sterling and Gentry.
“If Sterling releases you, do you promise to stop trying to run?” the man with purple eyes, Gentry, said, raising an eyebrow.
Tara had forgotten the blue-eyed one could control her body like that. Sterling, that was his name. Fairly obvious, she guessed.
“Yes, very obvious,” Sterling said condescendingly.
Tara looked around the apartment. It was incredibly lavish, a lot more gold and purples and reds, the kind of colors you would expect in an emperor’s throne room or something.
These men were both dragons. She couldn’t escape even if she wanted to. She nodded her head yes and instantly felt the invisible clutches that held her release. She slumped back down onto the chaise she’d been seated on.
“That’s better,” said Gentry, pleased. “I’ve already sent a text to your… friends. We’ll see if they even show up. In the meantime, why don’t you let us get to know you better?” he added, crossing a leg and leaning back slightly on the couch across from her. Everything about him, his dress, his demeanor, bespoke charisma and class.
“Uh, I’m not sure where to start.”
“Start from when you met Drake and Quill,” Sterling said, more quiet than Gentry but still commanding.
Tara didn’t see the harm in it, so she quickly recounted how she’d jumped into the river to save the little boy. How Drake had apparently pulled her from the river and then how Quill had revived her and both had brought her back to their loft.
Gentry nodded and responded with a tepid amount of interest, until the end, when she mentioned what Drake and Quill had said about her being a dragon-heart. Then, almost in micro expressions, both men looked at each other like they knew something she didn’t, then turned back to her.
Sterling spoke first. “So how have things been with them?”
“Good. I mean, they seem to argue a lot, but they’ve both been really nice to me,” she replied, not sure what he was implying.
“Interesting. So the thought of being with two dragons, does that appeal to you?” Sterling asked, walking to where she was seated and joining her on the chaise. Something about his presence was ominous, despite his physical beauty and long, ripped body.
“Yeah, I guess so. More than I would have originally thought.” Her mind thought of Quill and Drake. About how caring they’d been toward her, how much restraint and love they had shown.
“If that’s the case, then we’d be more than happy to have you live here with us. You know, if the two of them can’t get their act together. Obviously, we’re still looking for a third member to complete our triad,” Sterling said, motioning to the room around them. It was definitely lavish, but not what she wanted. Her place with Drake and Quill already felt like home.
“We don’t even know if I am a dragon-heart, and besides, I don’t think we’d make a good match. I like Drake and Quill.”
Sterling was close now, and she could make out the intense blue halo of his irises at this distance and his soft, perfectly cut silver hair. There was a cold, calculating look in his eyes, like he was playing chess and was always ten moves ahead of his opponent.
“They left you unprotected,” he murmured, hitting her in a vulnerable spot. “We’re beautiful. We’re rich. We’re the top of dragon society. And I think you’ll find us to be exceptional lovers,” Sterling added, watching her intently, not breaking eye contact.
“No need to be so forward, Sterling. Clearly, Tara has her own preferences,” Gentry chimed in, standing and walking toward them. Sterling looked over his shoulder at his partner. “She doesn’t mind if they leave her from time to time.” He looked down at her, but behind the warmth in his purple gaze and the pleasant look of his smooth, handsome features, there was something steely. Something not to be messed with.
“Here’s the thing, Tara. As leader of the dragons, I have occasional… visions you could call them. And one of them involved a certain man from your past.”
Her heart went cold. She should have known no matter where she went, Tim would affect her.
“Here’s what’s complicating the situation. He seems to have found allies that are enemies to the dragons. And they’re dangerous, Tara. Dangerous to you, to Quill, to Drake. An unstable triad can’t take on what is coming, no matter how individually strong they are.”
She shook her head. She didn’t want Quill or Drake hurt. “What did you see?” she asked. “What do you know?”
Gentry rubbed his temples lightly as he closed his eyes. “Only if things go on the way they are, it doesn’t end well. And we can’t afford that, Tara. Dragons are rare. Valuable. As are dragon-hearts. That’s why the best thing might be to relocate you to another pair, see if that works.”
Her lips twisted in a sneer. “You can’t just pawn me off on someone else. I didn’t agree to just come into the dragon world. I agreed to try things with Quill and Drake.”
“Be that as it may, we might not be able to allow that,” he said gently but firmly.
Tara didn’t respond to that, but she could feel her heart ache momentarily. He was right, Drake and Quill were a mess. She’d seen it this morning. They couldn’t agree on anything to do with matters of work, and in the end, she’d been left alone. Was still alone, for all intents and purposes.
“They are good men,” Gentry said, responding to her thoughts. “Good dragons.” He knelt next to her, and she felt her hand slip between his. “But it’s not your job to make their troubled partnership work. They’ve never gotten along as dragons should.”
She flushed. She’d seen them work together as one; it just happened in the bedroom. If they
could get that kind of unity outside of it, maybe they’d have something.
“I know you’ve already started to bond with them, but perhaps you could consider us instead, as an option that might benefit everyone? It would take some time to get used to us, but you’d be safe with us. We’d treasure you, Tara.”
She raised an eyebrow, pulling back her hand. “You only want me because I might be a dragon-heart.”
“And Quill and Drake are different?” Sterling scoffed.
She thought so. Drake had been reluctant to even try with her before he’d gotten to know her. It was like both of them knew it was going to be complicated, but they’d been willing to try in order to be with her.
She couldn’t give up now. She stood. “I can’t. I need to go to them.”
Sterling glared at her. “And what could you do for them, human? You’d just be in the way.”
“I could maybe make them stop fighting. Or… I don’t know. But they need me. I can’t leave them now.”
Gentry raised an eyebrow. “Is it the sex?” He appraised her knowingly.
The sex had been amazing with them. She’d never felt more cared for, more alive, and she wanted to explore that with them. But that wasn’t the only reason for going back.
“Because we can please you as well, I’m certain,” Gentry said. He raised her hand to his lips and kissed it gently. Then his eyes met hers playfully as he sucked softly on the sensitive place between her knuckles.
It was sensual but unwelcome because she didn’t know him. Didn’t care for him like she did her two difficult dragons. She yanked her hand back, and when he reached for it again, she slapped him across the face.
Just lightly but to make it clear she didn’t want it.
Sterling went still with rage. “Don’t you touch him.” She felt her hands pinned over her head by invisible bonds, and fear threatened to choke her. It felt like Tim; it was too much like Tim.
“Stop it,” Gentry said urgently. “Let her go. You’re scaring her.”
She wanted it not to be true, but it was. Anyone being controlling reminded her of that. But Sterling stayed there, overprotective of his partner.
“She struck you,” he said. “It can’t be allowed.”
“Sterling, let her go,” Gentry said. “Now.”
Sterling sighed but seemed about to acquiesce when they heard a loud knocking sound that had them all turning to the front door.
Before either of the men could move to get it, a deafening thud resounded through the room, coupled by the cracking sound of hinges being torn off of the wall and, a second later, the loud thump of what had to be the front door slamming into the ground.
Tara turned and saw Drake and Quill standing in the doorway. Drake was in front, looking particularly out of control, his eyes blazing, his tanned body tensed with rage.
Warmth spread through her at the thought they’d come for her. And that they were safe.
“What the fuck is going on here?” Drake’s voice was loud, booming, his eyes burning as he took in the scene. Tara was suddenly aware she was surrounded by the two men and her arms were above her head, clearly restrained there by some force.
Not compromising-looking at all…
“No, Drake, you don’t understand,” she said, but before she could finish, he was already storming through the room toward them, overturning chairs and tables in his path, with Quill right behind him. Sterling stood in front of him, and Drake grabbed him by the neck and tossed him across the room, where he slammed into the wall but then got up immediately and raised a hand in Quill’s direction, lifting him into the air.
Drake froze, looking from her to Quill with a wild look in his eyes.
Her hands were released, so she pushed away from Gentry and ran between Sterling and Drake. “Stop it! Just stop it! No one needs to be hurting anyone.”
“Let my partner go,” Drake growled.
“Not until I know you won’t attack my partner,” Sterling growled back.
Quill was held up by the neck, holding whatever seized him with his hands as he struggled to get free. “You took our mate,” he choked out. “Cowards. Find your own.”
Gentry stood with a sigh, waving a hand at Sterling. “Sterling, you will put him down. Now.”
Sterling narrowed his eyes, looking like he didn’t want to do it, and then agreed, lowering him to the ground. Quill’s eyes burned with fury at the other dragon, but then he immediately strode straight to Tara, wrapping her in his strong, capable arms. She sank into him, finally feeling safe again.
She wrapped her arms around his waist and heard Drake let out a sigh of relief.
“It’s okay,” Quill said soothingly. “We’re here.”
“So you can work well together sometimes,” Gentry said sardonically, observing the scene. “When it involves your mate.”
“You should have known we’d have trouble when you paired us,” Drake said. “A blue dragon with a red? It just doesn’t happen. What did you think?”
“I thought you two would find a way to adjust so I could trust you. Instead, you became a liability and then managed to find and endanger a dragon-heart.”
Drake’s gaze snapped to Tara. “How did we endanger her?” he asked.
“You should ask her,” Gentry said, straightening his shirt and then sliding his hands in his pockets as he strode casually over to Drake.
Drake grabbed his collar and then thought better of it, releasing him as Sterling let out a hiss in warning. “What did you see?”
“I’ve talked to the woman,” he said. “Ask her. And then the three of you should decide if Tara staying with you is really the best thing for any of you.”
“We’re not letting her go,” Drake said. “And we’re not letting anything happen to her.”
“Well, then you’d better figure out how not to let something like today happen again. Because if we can take her, someone else can. There are wyverns involved, Drake.”
Drake’s eyes widened and he shared a look with Quill.
“What are wyverns?” Tara asked.
“We need to go,” Drake said. “And whatever your concerns, you shouldn’t have laid a hand on our mate. I know you’re the leader, and special, but next time you touch what is ours, you’ll pay.”
She blinked as she was whisked into Quill’s arms, feeling light as a feather as he strode back through the door Drake had broken through.
Gentry and Sterling made no effort to stop them, and she heard Drake making one last threat before he followed.
As they made their way along the building, Drake bolted in front of Quill and kicked open the door to the emergency stairway. They rushed up the stairs, and Tara was surprised at how easily Quill bounded up without skipping a beat. He really was strong. Once they reached the roof, Quill put her down, and both men transformed in an instant, becoming invisible to her eyes, though she could sense them both close.
“Put your arms up and hold on tight,” she heard Quill’s voice, powerful and caring.
She did so and felt an invisible hand, as large as her body, wrap around her from the chest down. Then she felt herself lifting off into the sky.
She wasn’t looking forward to the conversation they’d be having when they got home, but it would be fine as long as she was home with her dragons.
7
When they got home, Drake went straight to pacing, running his hands through his hair as usual, as Tara waited for him to calm down.
Quill was sitting stiffly by the window, staring out and staying distant from his partner.
Tara walked over to Quill and leaned down in his ear, gesturing to Drake. “Can you do something about him?” she asked. “Work your calm or whatever?”
Quill frowned bitterly and looked over at Drake. “He never wants it.”
Drake snapped his gaze to them. “Stop talking about me like I’m not here. Why don’t you get that I just want to keep you both safe?”
Quill stood. “I’m a man. And a dragon. I don
’t need you to keep me safe.”
Though Quill was tall and intimidating by Tara’s standards, he was still slight next to Drake’s bulk.
“Like hell you don’t,” Drake said, getting up in his face. “Look, I know I wasn’t your first choice. I’m a red dragon and you’re a blue. You wanted Ran, the black dragon, someone who needed you. You always want to be the fucking hero, Quill. But have you ever thought about what it does to me when you go out like that?” Drake looked pained as he ran his hands through his hair and then shook them loose. “Have you ever thought about how I’d feel if something happened to you? If you didn’t come back? You almost died.”
Quill was silent, his hands at his sides. He took a deep breath and then strode over to the window. “Better to be dead than not needed.”
She looked between them, holding her breath. This seemed to be the crux of the matter, and she hoped Drake would do what was needed at this moment.
Instead, he stood there like a constipated water buffalo, as if Quill’s words had shocked away his ability to speak.
Then, to her relief, he came back to sputtering life and stormed over to his partner, grabbing him by the shoulders and forcibly turning him to face him. “Don’t need you? What the hell are you saying? Of course I need you. You’re my partner.”
Quill’s face was stone as he looked up at Drake. He brushed his long hair back over his shoulder, and Tara enjoyed the way the dark locks shimmered in the sun streaming through the large window.
“You never need me to heal you. My power does nothing for you. I was meant to be with the black dragon. It was never that I didn’t want you for a partner, but I knew you didn’t need me. If not for me, you could have been with a dragon that could have helped you fight. All I can do is heal. And the enemies you fight, you don’t want me to heal them.”
Drake shook his head, lips in a tight line. “No, Quill. No, I don’t want another partner. You do help me. When you’re around, I’m calmer. The dragon in me is more peaceful. Without you, he rages. When you’re gone, I lose control.”
Desired by Dragons: BBW Paranormal Romance (Dragons of New York Book 2) Page 6
