by Beverly Rae
Tuo was a persistent man-dragon. “Neither of these rooms have carpet.”
Little snit! “I said or something.”
Kaine held me closer. “She stays. I give you my word that you can trust my wife completely.”
Fitz’s expression morphed into genuine surprise. Confusion followed and she glanced from Kaine to me and back again as though trying to figure out if he meant what he’d said.
Mylan came to my rescue. Sort of. “Who cares what she heard? Let the woman listen. She is, after all, Delcaluca’s wife and the soon-to-be mother of his heir.”
Damn. Does everyone know Kaine’s out to knock me up? I slowly tilted my head up and arched my eyebrows to silently question him.
“Mylan is right. We have to discuss the scepter.” The one called Zulo waved, gesturing at them to take their seats. “I want to know what you’ve done about the missing scepter, Kaine. If it should fall into the wrong hands, the consequences to dragons everywhere could be devastating. Our enemies could destroy us.”
Kaine moved me and not-so-gently sat me in a chair off to the side. Although his actions raised my hackles, I knew when to keep my trap shut. I figured I was getting off easy with the added bonus of getting to listen in.
Mylan took her seat. “Zulo is correct. What do you intend to do, Delcaluca?”
Kaine glanced at me, then addressed the members. “I have information that we have more to fear from one of our own than from our enemies.” His announcement left them speechless, waiting for him to explain. “I believe one of our own has tried to possess the scepter in hopes of ruling the rest of us.”
“Who, Kaine?” Chaus was on his feet.
“You’re insane. What dragon would dare take the scepter out of hiding and risk our enemies getting their hands on it?” Mylan shook her head, yet fear masked her wrinkle-free face.
Kaine strode toward Tuo and pointed at him. “Tuo Chow hired the alien Sabrina Stellina to steal the Scepter of Fire.”
Alien? Are you frickin’ kidding me?
Reaction was swift and, frankly, very loud. I covered my ears at the roars echoing around the room. Tuo shouted something in a language I didn’t recognize and hurled his body at Kaine.
If I hadn’t seen it, I wouldn’t have believed it. Both men altered, their faces growing length-wise, scales covering their skin, and tongues whipping out of their mouths. When they opened their mouths wider, long, deadly fangs glistened with saliva. Claws replaced fingers and eyes changed color, both of their eyes glowing a brilliant amber. I jumped to my feet, but couldn’t make myself run. Am I really seeing this? For one of the first times since meeting Kaine, the answer came back a resounding and undeniable…yes! Holy crap, I am not crazy. Dragons really do exist.
The two half-men half-dragons slammed against each other, their chests bumping like two fraternity brothers in greeting. Slashing out, Tuo raked his claws across Kaine’s chest, ripping open his shirt and leaving an angry trail of blood from his pecs to his abdomen. They landed at the same time, but this time Kaine was the first to strike.
He opened his jaws wider than I thought possible and blew. A dark cloud of smoke billowed out from his mouth, aimed straight at Tuo. Suddenly, Fitz changed, morphing into a cross between the mythical creatures Cyclops and Medusa. Her skin melted together, gathering around one centrally-located eye while tentacles sprang from every part of her body not covered in clothing. Long, saliva-dripping fangs contorted her already homely face, transforming it into an even uglier version of the troll under the bridge. She roared a hideous sound and lashed out several of her tentacles at Tuo.
The other dragons (Dragons!) threw back their chairs and hastened out of the room. Mylan and Chaus paused a moment at the door, shouted at Kaine to kill that disgusting traitor, then dashed away.
“Chrissy-doll, run!
Kaine’s words mobilized me and I took off. Part of me wanted to stay and help him, but another part of me knew he’d fight better without me there. Besides, Fitz fought with him, putting her body in front of his and I’d learned early in life that when someone tells you to run, you’d better run. I slammed through the kitchen door and made tracks.
I prayed Kaine would soon follow me. With dragons—dragons!—fighting in my home, there was a high possibility of my home going up in flames. I hit the back door, banging it against the wall, and virtually flung my body over the patio, clearing the steps by a good two feet in the air.
Harrumph!
What the hell?
Whatever I’d hit broke my forward motion and I struck the ground butt first. At least this time my landing was padded—if you get my drift. Nonetheless, shockwaves rattled my body and head, making lights flash behind my eyelids. When my vision finally cleared and I looked up, I couldn’t believe my eyes. Sabrina lay in front of me, holding her head in much the same way as I was.
She glared at me. “Watch where you’re going, you animal.”
I’m an animal? I let the confusing dig pass. Sabrina was up and ready for action seconds after I pushed myself off the ground and wobbled onto my shaky feet. “What the hell are you doing here?” I gritted my jarred teeth and refrained from adding bitch to my question. Was she here to see Kaine? But if she’d stolen the scepter, why would she return to the scene of the crime?
“None of your damn business.” She stumbled a few feet away from me, craning her neck to peek through a window. “What’s going on in there? Is Tuo inside?”
“Are you seriously asking me to tell you anything? After you stole the scepter?”
I gloated at the surprised expression on her face. However, she quickly recovered. “So Kaine has told you about the Scepter of Fire?” Her eyes narrowed. “Or did you find out from someone else?”
Not wanting her to have the pleasure of knowing I’d found out by snooping instead of having my husband tell me, I shrugged off her question. “That’s for me to know and you to guess.”
She tilted her head at me. “Stupid woman. That’s not how the saying goes.”
I stuck out my chin. “Whatever. Now get your ass off my property before I call the cops.” I crossed my arms and struck a pose. “And that, stupid woman, is exactly how that saying goes.”
“Do not threaten me, human.”
Human? Does that mean she’s an alien and a dragon? I started to ask, but clammed up when she raised a pointed finger at me. Are you frickin’ kidding me? She’s giving me the finger. Although I’d been thinking of the manager at the boutique, the implication of what I’d thought made me giggle. “You’re giving me the finger.” I copied her gesture. “Get it? Finger.” I adopted a fairly good imitation of a gangster and spouted, “Are youse fingering me, Bugsy?”
She dropped her hand and gawked at me. “Why are you calling me Bugsy? Who’s Bugsy?”
“Sabrina!”
I whirled to find Tuo standing at the top of the steps. His clothes were in tatters and singed in several places. Black soot covered his cheeks and forehead. “What happened to you?”
He snarled at me. “Your husband happened to me.” Hurrying down the steps, he stomped over to Sabrina, his nose a couple of inches from hers. “Where is the scepter?”
“I don’t have it.” Her snarl matched his and she held her ground.
“Bullshit. You stole it and everyone knows. At this point I don’t even care why you didn’t hold up your end of our bargain. I just want the scepter.”
“I didn’t say I didn’t steal it.”
“Ah-ha! So you finally admit it.” I stuck my finger in the air again, this time in victory. But when Tuo and Sabrina both glowered at me, I dropped it quickly enough. Where is Kaine anyway?
The two brought their stares back to each other. Tuo lowered his tone, menacingly. “Take me to it and I’ll still honor our deal. You’ll have the prunes.”
Prunes? I glanced from one to the other. Sabrina wants prunes? Is she so constipated that she’d trade a valuable artifact for prunes? Or are prunes an alien delicacy? Eeww.
; “I admit I stole it.” She blinked several times and backed away from Tuo. “But I don’t have it any longer.” Clearing her throat, she lifted her head defiantly. “Someone else took it from me.”
“You lie! Give it to me.” Tuo grabbed her arm and she struggled to get away.
I wasn’t sure what to do so I let my instincts take over. I clutched both their arms and tugged, trying to break them apart.
“Hey, let her go!”
Thad rushed toward us. Although I wasn’t in any real danger—or at least I didn’t think so—Thad apparently thought I needed rescuing. He wasn’t the hero I would’ve liked to have shown up, but at least he was on my side. Speaking of heroes, where is mine?
Thad launched his body at our little group. I yelped and raised my hands, bracing for impact. Tuo froze, surprise written on his face and Sabrina scampered out of the line of fire. Thad landed on Tuo, knocking him to the ground. The two men wrestled with Thad managing to stay on top of the smaller man. “Chrissy, don’t let her get away!”
I chased after Sabrina but only made it a few feet. She whirled back at me and pointed her Fabulous Finger directly at my chest. “The scepter is mine and Kaine will never find it.” She twirled her finger in a circle. “Or me.”
In the instant an invisible something slammed into me, I heard a loud crack. I ended up lying next to Thad, both us of flat on our backs. Together, we lifted our heads to see Tuo grab Sabrina. They struggled, but before Thad and I could gather our wits and our feet, they both shifted, revealing a dragon (Tuo) and a two-headed creature (Sabrina).
“Omigod.”
Thad shook his head in wonder. “You can say that again.”
“Omigod.”
Saved By My Uterus
After what I’d seen, I could no longer deny the existence of dragons and other supernatural beings. The woman who had vowed to bring all the scary things that go bump in the night into the light of day was now a Grade-A believer in everything paranormal. I sat on the steps of my home, trying to let all that had happened, all that I’d discovered, seep in. I’d gone from not believing in anything except what the rational world told me existed to being married to a dragon and immersed in the theft of a powerful artifact, the Scepter of Fire. I’m not certain how much time passed before I determined what I needed to do. My eyes had told me the truth, but I still needed to hear it from my husband. My brain was set in stone and I needed that last little push.
I found Kaine in his office, slightly battered but definitely in better shape than Tuo had been. Unfortunately for me, he was not alone. “Kaine?” I recognized the two men with him as being members of the fun group who’d witnessed my earlier “fall”. Fitz, back to her icky human form, stood by his side. Does this bitch ever leave my man alone? You’d think she’s his bodyguard or protector. Wow, oh, wow. Realization of Fitz’s true role hit me. She is his bodyguard. She’s his mouse-eating, tentacle-waving bodyguard.
“Could I speak with you, Kaine? Privately?” I pulled my body straighter and gathered my nerve. “No, forget the asking part. We need to talk. Right now.”
The men’s—or should I say dragons’—amber eyes glowed with rage. I suddenly and desperately wanted to backpedal right out of the room. Hell, maybe even clear out of the house again.
The first man—Chaus?—was by my side and holding my arms behind my back even before I saw him move. “How can you allow this female to speak to you that way?”
Sheesh, the way he’d said female, you’d think it was a four-letter word. “Kaine, I know what you are. You’re a dragon.”
His soft smile met my own.
Chaus’s nails dug into my arm. “Ow!”
Kaine’s eyes flashed, the amber color intensifying until I had no choice but to look away. “Take your hands off her.”
The other man moved to join his friend on my other side. “He’s right, Delcaluca. She has crossed the line in many ways. First spying on our meeting and now disrespecting you. It’s bad enough that she has refused to give you an heir.”
I couldn’t believe my ears. Had Kaine spilled his guts about our baby discussions? What else had he told them? How I liked kinky sex? What next? Videos of us in bed on YouTube?
“Liam,” Kaine’s tone vibrated with power, “you gamble with your life.”
“She’s too much trouble, Delcaluca. It’s time to get rid of her and find another. After all, she’s nothing special.”
Of course my number-one fan had to chime in. “They’re right. She hasn’t fulfilled her purpose.” I couldn’t help but notice the gleam in Fitz’s eyes. “I will help you find a more suitable and willing mate.”
I scowled at them. It wasn’t the first time anyone had called me trouble or useless, but that didn’t make me feel any better. Plus, I was pretty sure that getting rid of me was more involved than simply dumping me as he’d dumped Sabrina.
Kaine’s gaze fell on me and his eyes sparkled with flecks of jade. “I’ve waited a long time for her. She is the one—the only one to bear my child.” He turned his attention back to Liam and his eyes grew solid gold again.
The only one to bear his child? He only wants a child with me? No one else? I melted under the warmth of his words. Sheesh. Could he have said anything more romantic?
Liam snarled at him. “Then force her if you have to, but you must produce an heir before it’s too late.”
“Mind you own business, asshole.”
Liam inhaled sharply and raised his hand to strike me. Kaine, however, had other ideas. He reached out, taking the man’s wrist and bent his arm in an impossible angle. I heard the snap of bone breaking and winced. Amazingly, the dragon didn’t cry out.
“Don’t ever raise your hand to my wife again.” He leaned closer to the cringing man. “If you do, I’ll break your neck instead of your arm.”
I hate like hell to admit it, but watching my man in action made me wet with desire. If I could’ve stripped naked and ridden him right then and there—with Fitz and the two dragons watching—I would have. Too bad I wasn’t free to act on my impulse.
“Be reasonable. If you do not produce an heir soon, our kind will slowly cease to exist. The other clans will take our property, our women, our lives. Our survival depends on you.”
I watched Kaine’s face, trying to gauge his reaction. He remained, however, stone-faced.
“What’s he talking about? Why will—” I glanced at Liam, hoping to get the words just right, “—your kind die out?”
At Kaine’s nod, Chaus finally let me go. I scurried to my husband, who pulled me to face him. “It’s true. I belong to the rarest of dragons, the Golden Dragons. In order to keep our breed alive, the leader must mate and produce an heir or the Time of Death will come.”
The Time of Death? What is this? A bad sci-fi movie? I couldn’t help it. I cocked my head at him and grinned. “You’re joking, right?”
The intense glow in his eyes faded, morphing back to their usual green color. “I would never joke about something this important. I need an heir and you can give me one.”
“I’m still not understanding. Golden Dragons. Heir. Time of Death.” I searched my hubby’s eyes, hoping to find meaning in their depths. “This is all so unbelievable.”
“Every dragon dynasty is led by one true leader. That leader must have an heir to carry on his clan. Since I am the leader of the Golden Dragons, that responsibility falls to me. But I only have a limited time to fulfill my duty. Once I reach a certain age, if I haven’t produced an heir, I will no longer be physically able to do so.”
I shook my head, trying to absorb all he’d told me. But his explanation seemed like a fantasy from a storybook. “Are you saying that if you don’t get me preggers soon, you’ll be too old to get the job done?”
“Essentially, yes.” Kaine straightened his shoulders. “I am, after all, not getting any younger.”
Could my virile young husband really think he was too old? “But, Kaine, you’re an adult man in your prime. After all, you’re o
nly thirty-six—”
“Actually, I’m one thousand, five hundred and twenty-two years old.”
My mouth gaped open like a fish hanging from a hook. “Say what? How in the world can you be that old?”
Kaine arched one eyebrow, sending me a telling look. “Dragons do not age the same as humans.”
“Wow. You really are old.” The words were out of my mouth before I knew it and I immediately regretted it. Kaine’s proud expression fell, transforming into a mixture of hurt and irritation. “Oh, my, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that. But seriously, over fifteen hundred years old is quite a lifespan.”
“The point—” Kaine regained his ruffled composure, “—is that I only have a few days before I lose the ability to impregnate you. And once that time has passed, my life will soon end, along with the future of the Golden Dragon clan.”
Kaine will die if I don’t give him an heir? Shock rattled through me while a slow burn started in my gut. Why hadn’t he told me the truth from the beginning? And if he had, would I have still married him?
I took a step away from him. “So that’s what all the baby talk is about? An heir to save your people?” I searched his face, afraid of what I might find. “Is that the only reason, the real reason you married me? So I can give you a child?” Granted, saving his people was a heck of a reason, but it wasn’t the one I needed to hear.
“Delcaluca, none of this matters. The Time of Death grows closer. You must mate and impregnate a female. If not her—” Liam threw me a sneer, “—then another.”
“Let us take care of her for you. You should start the hunt for a replacement now.” Claus moved menacingly toward me.
“Kaine?” I gaped at the man slowly advancing toward me, then at the man I loved. Realization of what I truly meant to him broke my heart and I tucked my face away to hide the tears in my eyes. Yet even though I was only a baby mamma for him, I still loved him. In fact, I loved him so much I wanted to give him the child he needed, especially now that I knew why he so desperately had to have one.
