Dragon Hunter Box Set: A Dragon Shifter Serial

by Carina Wilder

  “Yes.”

  “But why do they do this? Why would a—Controller—want me to kill you?”

  “I’m not entirely sure yet. Probably because he wants the Dragons—my kind—gone. As long as we live and breathe, he knows that he has no real power. But once we disappear he can move in, take control. And make no mistake; he and his kind will do just that.”

  “What do you mean, take control? There are armies…”

  “There are only armies led by humans. You should know as well as anyone that humans are nothing in the face of the power of our kind. We’re like dreams to them; they don’t see us as real, as you know.”

  “Shifters, you mean.”

  “Shifters, yes. And magic users. And your kind.”

  “My kind? I’m a human. Inferior, as you say.”

  “You are far from inferior. Have you never looked at yourself in a mirror?”

  Neko’s skin flushed with the compliment.

  “You are beautiful, of course,” Lumen said. “But you’re of the Old Blood as well. You’re not a dull and simple human. Do you recall when you told me about the first time you encountered a Lapsed?”

  How could she forget?

  “Of course.” Again she recalled the day in the Cotswolds, the murder that took place in front of her eyes. “I could see them when no one else could.”

  “Yes, you could,” he said. “And that was the day that on some level, you knew what you were.”

  “A Hunter.”

  “Yes. You know, I don’t remember the day I realized what I am. I simply knew. It was coursing through my very veins. You had no choice but to turn to Hunting. Even if you didn’t want to, it’s in your blood. But do you know why you’re so adept at finding souls like me?”

  “Why?” Neko asked the question, apprehensive to hear his response.

  “Because you desire a soul like me. For yourself. You know that you belong with one such as myself.”

  She scoffed. “You’re telling me that my alleged gift for sniffing out Dragons is a result of my desire for a fucking husband? How very thirteenth century of you.”

  Lumen grinned and lifted a hand. She watched as he reached for her, slipping a finger down her cheek. She fought off a shudder of pleasure, angry at herself for wishing that his touch would linger on her skin a little longer. “Not a husband,” he said. “You want power. And someone like me is your best power supply.”

  “If you’re offering to fuck some sort of power into me, I must turn you down. Just because I’m not wearing any trousers doesn’t mean that I’m interested in a romp.”

  “Of course it doesn’t.” Lumen moved about her kitchen, lithe and graceful as a cat, his fingers trailing on each surface that he passed, a taunt to her senses. Her sexuality took over, imagining those fingers on her flesh, their gentleness teasing her into submission. He could coax her to orgasm with them, her body writhing for him, wet with need. Yes—she was wet already, and he’d done this to her, the bastard.

  Lumen continued: “There is love involved as well. Feelings, real, profound emotion. You’ve been fighting your own feelings since you met me, just as I’ve done. But at some point we’ll need to stop denying what’s happened between us.”

  It was a truth that she wasn’t prepared to acknowledge, and she stiffened at his words. “Do you plan to hold me hostage here,” she asked, irritated, “Or what?”

  “Until morning, yes, if you feel the need to put it in such unappealing terms,” he said. “Then if you’re willing, I’ll take you to meet with my Guild. And you can decide if you still wish to kill Dragons.”

  “How about this: give me their address and I’ll come on my own.”

  Lumen turned to her, that smile revealing itself once again. God, he was beautiful. Perfect. His eyes were so kind, so inviting. Not filled with the coldness that lay inside a man like Umbra. She sought a trace of evil in him, of anything that deserved to have its throat cut, but found none. He was like her, she knew; a slave to his own bloodline. And his instinct told him to survive at any cost. Even if it meant imprisoning young women in their own homes.

  “I won’t leave you here alone,” he said. “I know that you consider it your duty to do as you’ve been contracted. But I can assure you that the man who hired you also hired others to do the same job. They will come after me, too, and they won’t hesitate to kill you if you get in the way. So for now, I will stay here and we will protect each other.”

  “Fine, then. I’ll be off to sleep.” She stepped quickly towards her bedroom.

  “I’m coming with you,” he said, thrusting himself between her and the doorway.

  “Excuse me?”

  “You’re an intelligent, clever young woman. There is no way in the universe that your bedroom is lacking in blades. I have little doubt that I could find one under your mattress, in your night stand, closet, chest of drawers. Not to mention that your jacket and a bandolier, which are full of them, are hanging on the back of a chair by your bed. So I will crawl into the bed next to you and hold onto you, and we will sleep. If I detect a hint of movement towards a blade, I will stop you however I need to. Do you understand me?”

  Neko nodded, her expression sullen as Lumen stepped aside. He watched her move towards the bed, pulling back the covers and sliding under them even as he slipped towards the opposite side of the mattress. It was only a double; nothing so luxurious as a queen or a king, and so his enormous form would have no choice but to wrap around hers.

  He slipped off his trousers, keeping a cotton shirt and boxer shorts on, and eased in behind her. Doing his best not to make her feel violated by his presence, he positioned himself against her back.

  But nothing could have prevented her feeling his muscular, hot torso pressing into her, his legs spooning hers. And somewhere at his centre, delicious movement. His cock pressing into the cleavage of her arse. Dear God. Resistance almost seemed futile.

  “Try anything and I will slit your throat,” she said, knowing full well that she didn’t mean a word of it.

  “I won’t try anything until you’re ready for it.” His mouth was next to her ear and the words came out soft again, his sweet voice orgasmic.

  “What does that mean?”

  “It means that you and I will be together at some point. It means that when you ask it of me, I will strip you naked, take your sweet nipples in my mouth and pleasure you like you’ve never known. But not until you tell me to do so, either with words or through gestures. Or, of course, you could just kill me.”

  “What a gentleman.” Her pussy ached with the images that he’d conjured, and for an instant she contemplated climbing atop him, slipping her sex along his to show him just how wet he’d made her. But then the fantasy vanished, anger overtaking it.

  “You will find that I am indeed a gentleman,” he said. “In the service of protection, as you are in the service of killing.”

  “I kill to protect.”

  “Then protect yourself by allowing me to stay by your side tonight. And allow me to protect myself and my fellow Kindred.”

  Kindred.

  The word sent goose bumps along her flesh. A legend was lying next to her in bed; a gorgeous, sexy legend who spoke of sex with her as though it were an inevitability. As though they were meant to be together.

  As she drifted off, she dreamed of his mouth on her, of how it would feel. The vision was lucid, her mind reeling from her invented orgasm. No blood, no killing in her mind’s eye. Only a bond, shared between two oddly matched fugitives.

  Even in her dreams, she hated him for making her want him so badly.

  Flight

  He lay still, his eyes open, assessing the dim light coming through the window. It was nearly dawn, and if another Hunter was on his trail, he—or she—might arrive soon.

  Lumen listened to the even, deep breaths of the woman next to him. He turned his head to watch her chest rise and fall. Those lovely breasts of hers, covered with a thin sheet and a thinner shirt.

&n
bsp; After a moment she let out a quiet moan. This time it wasn’t the result of a bad dream, but something else. He leaned in towards her, a sly smile on his lips as he allowed his scent to waft around her, tendrils of Dragon lingering in the air. And as she drew them in, she moaned again.

  A hand reached towards him, slipping over his hip. Lumen’s smile shifted to something else as he enjoyed the sensation, a sort of finger somnambulism as she rolled towards him, a second hand easing towards his boxer shorts.

  He contemplated stopping her, for her sake as well as for his. In a moment, he told himself.

  Her right hand slipped into the front of his boxers and he gasped when she grabbed him, slim fingers circling a hardening shaft.

  “It’s what I imagined,” she breathed, eyes still closed. “It’s gigantic.”

  And getting more gigantic by the second. Jesus.

  Lumen tried to read her, to see her mind. This was a ploy—it had to be. She wasn’t yet ready for him.

  But Neko slipped the sheets downward, and then slid her body down as well, tugging at his boxers. Then her mouth was on him—oh, God—on the head of his cock. Those lips, kissing the reddened roundness in deep, succulent movements. Over and over again. A fantasy come to life.

  He lay back, his eyes slamming shut in a hard wince as she sucked, a massive moral debate raging inside him. Did this woman always sleep-suck? Apparently Hunting wasn’t her only talent.

  “Don’t stop,” he breathed. “Neko, don’t stop.”

  And for a moment she didn’t, hand stroking him in long, lingering motions, her lips soft, her tongue licking the tip in delicate, expert strokes. If she kept it up, she was going to make him come in her mouth.

  No.

  He shot upright, pulling away. No, no.

  Grabbing her, he pulled her towards him, throwing her back onto the bed, his hands on her wrists as he straddled her.

  “Neko.”

  Her eyes were open now, looking up into his, and she smiled.

  “I want you, Dragon,” she said softly.

  A cunning scheme. That’s what it was; she was playing him.

  For a moment he considered moving away, letting her get up. She was toying with him; hoping to seduce him, to trick him. But then again, two could play at her game.

  Releasing her hands he slid down her body, fingers grasping the edges of her panties and pulling them down, his nose nuzzling at the soft V of hairs between her legs.

  Her knees bent, her body writhing gently under him.

  “Neko.” He said it again, softly. “I’ll never do anything you don’t want. So show me what you desire, and I’ll abide by your wishes.”

  Her legs spread open for him when he’d pulled her panties off completely, her sweet lips revealing themselves for the first time.

  “That’s it,” he said. “That’s it, my lovely.”

  And for a moment she let him have his way, his tongue slithering along her pink, glistening sex, dwelling for a moment on her hard, sensitive bud.

  “Oh—that feels good,” she said. “Yeah, keep doing that.”

  He dipped his tongue inside her then lashed her gently, her pelvis responding under his touch, her body writhing with pleasure.

  Lumen would have continued until he’d felt her come, pleasuring her for hours if that’s what it took. But he knew full well that she wouldn’t let herself go. He knew, in fact, that it was only a matter of seconds until the knife found its way into her hand. And then she’d press it into his skin, threatening his life.

  And so it happened; almost immediately the dagger’s tip was at his throat, even as his face remained buried between her legs.

  “Stop.” She dug the tip in, drawing a trickle of blood. But the threat was one that she probably wouldn’t—couldn’t—carry out. She was meant for him. She wouldn’t kill him. And by now, she knew it.

  Lumen raised his head slowly, his eyes fixing on hers as she stared down at him, attempting to muster hatred in her expression.

  “Enjoy that?” she asked, the knife’s pressure increasing. “You horny bastard?”

  He couldn’t help but smile. She was a sly one, to keep so, so many blades close at hand. Uncompromising and clever.

  “I’ll admit that I did enjoy it. Very much.” He licked his lips as he drew himself upwards.

  “Good. So perhaps in return for letting you have your way, you’ll leave my fucking house now.”

  He slipped out of the bed, pulling on the trousers that he’d tossed on the floor the previous night. Infuriatingly, he took his time, sniffing the air. “You enjoyed it too,” he said, leaning in, those eyes of his staring towards her chest; those hard nipples of hers still giving her away.

  “I don’t know what you’re doing to me. I don’t know how you make me lose my mind,” she growled, “but you need to go.”

  “Wait—you’re not intending to kill me anymore?”

  “You’re not worth it. You’re not worth my soul. Some other Hunter can have you. I’ll give the money back to my client.”

  “Are you quite certain that your soul is the issue?”

  Why wasn’t he leaving?

  “What does that mean?”

  His lips curved in a maddening smile, his eyes, bright and curious, staring her down. “Are you sure it’s not that you’re frightened of how much you want to be with me?”

  “You arrogant bastard,” she hissed. The truth of the question reddened her flesh as she threw her legs over the edge of the bed, pulling herself up to a standing position. “I wouldn’t want you if you were the last man—Dragon—whatever the fuck you are—on earth.”

  “Your body is telling me otherwise.”

  “My body is succumbing to your…witchcraft, or magic, or whatever it is. This isn’t real.”

  “It’s all too real,” he said. “And you will understand that soon enough. Now tell me, before I go—your lips on my cock—was that real?”

  “That was nothing more than a tactic.”

  “A tactic that made your pussy go wet.”

  Neko scowled. “If you insist on going there,” she said. “I got wet. Your mouth felt good.” Insanely good. “Are you satisfied now?”

  “Well, I was nearly satisfied a minute ago, but if you’ll recall, I stopped you before reaching my climax.”

  “I suppose you want a trophy for your gentlemanly conduct?”

  “I want you to know that I respect you, Neko. I respect you, and I find you the most beautiful creature I’ve ever seen, even now, as you hold a knife to me. And since I’ve demanded honesty from you it’s only right that I should tell you: I want you very, very badly. I have ever since I first set eyes on you.”

  Molten heat churned at her core. It would have been so easy to throw down the knife and to take him inside her then and there, to ride him until he gushed searing fluid inside her. She’d never wanted anything more in her life, and with every fibre of her being she fought the desire, forcing the next words to come.

  “You can’t have me,” she managed at last. The effort was like taking the final steps to Everest’s summit with no supply of oxygen. Her heart raced. Her head swam.

  “That’s unfortunate. But I’ll leave, since you wish it.” He turned to face the bedroom door, confident that the knife wouldn’t end up in his back.

  As she heard the door click shut she finally laid the knife down, pulling a dresser drawer open to slip on some clothing. Snatching the bandolier and her jacket from the back of the chair, she opened her closet door. The khopesh still hung in its sheath on the wall, and she strapped its harness around her waist before making her way to the bedroom door.

  No way was she going anywhere without her knives for some time.

  When she’d slipped the bandolier and jacket on, she stepped out into the kitchen, her eyes darting towards the hallway that led to the front door.

  Lumen stood staring back at her, his back to the door. Damn it. Why haven’t you left?

  Neko withdrew two blades from the bandoli
er and grasped them in her hands. “I thought you were going,” she snarled. “So go.”

  “I was about to. But you see, you and I have a problem.”

  The Heath

  “What the hell are you talking about?”

  “A Hash,” he said. “A killer. A friend of yours, I presume?”

  “What? Where?”

  “Coming this way, from the direction of the road. I scented him. A weaselly character, smells like cheap aftershave and loose women.”

  “Vail.” So the other person Umbra had hired was the most sadistic bastard ever to walk the earth. Well, fuck.

  “Is he here for me?” Lumen asked.

  Neko drew her jaw shut.

  The Dragon shifter strode towards her, grabbing her shoulders in spite of the knives still clenched in her hands. Tightening his grip so that his fingers dug deep into her muscular flesh, he asked again, “Is he?”

  “Yes.”

  “Well, then, he’ll kill you too. Sheath your blades. Now.”

  “What? No way. He’s a skilled assassin, and I’m not invincible against sharp projectiles. He’s probably got a bow with him, or worse.”

  “I know all of that. Put the knives away; we’re heading out the back.”

  Reluctantly Neko submitted, thrusting the knives back into their leather slots. “We won’t get far on foot,” she said as Lumen took her hand and led her to the back door.

  “That’s why we’re not going anywhere on foot,” he said, opening the door and stepping out into the small back garden. “Climb on when I’m ready to go.”

  “Climb on? What?”

  But he didn’t respond. In a flash he’d shifted, his body altering miraculously into the beautiful silver creature that Umbra had described, his scales reflecting the world around him, almost stealthy in their ability to camouflage his massive body into the atmosphere.

  A Dragon more magnificent than anything out of a book of legends, he shone like a shimmering lake under sunlight. His neck long, his scales luminescent. His wings were enormous, powerful and exquisite.