by A. W. Exley
“Oh?” Her spirits perked at mention of her favourite guttersnipe.
“She said we should have a dog, because a dog would find you. It reminded me of the dragon’s bond with you.” This time a genuine smile touched his face. “And here we are.”
Cara drunk in the sight of him, her dark prince smiling from the shadows. “Told you she was clever.”
“She’s also been an invaluable aide-de-camp for your grandmother.”
Her heart ached; she had missed so much, the sole shaft of happiness hearing that Nate had brought Rachel into their world even during her absence.
“How are we going to hide him?” She returned to the issue purring on her knee and dribbling through the wool of her skirt. She couldn’t bear to see him captured and chained. Not to mention the risk to their health when Victoria found out there was a dragon after all. Cara swallowed down more tears. We could end up back in the Tower. Perhaps she will at least imprison us together?
Nate waved out the window. “Thanks to the success of the Frost Fair, there are all sorts of mechanical creatures wandering the streets. We shall pass him off as an automaton.”
The carriage stopped with a jolt, and Cara cast a quizzical look at Nate.
“Stay here, I have to arrange something,” he said, and then stepped out to the street.
Cara pulled aside the curtain and watched him rap on a polished door. A footman appeared holding a lantern and moments later, an older man joined Nate on the step. A hurried conversation took place, a handshake, and then the carriage dipped as Nate climbed back in.
“Who was that?” Mary Tudor made her depressed, but nothing could keep her curiosity down for long.
“David Urquhart, he owes me a favour. You will understand shortly.” He rapped on the roof, and the horses trotted on down the road.
idnight embraced the city as the carriage drove to the new Hammam at 76 Jermyn Street. The roads were practically deserted as only two types of people braved the cold outside; the most desperate doxies who needed to make a few coins for a place to sleep inside, or the most intoxicated drunks who thought they were impervious to it. The driver guided the mechanical horses around the side of the tall brick building. They halted in the shadows, hidden from the lone light under the shroud of darkness.
“Give me a moment to clear the way.” Nate slipped from the carriage and tapped on a door. An attendant cracked it open and a sliver of light spun out into the courtyard. Moments later, he waved to Cara.
“Come on, boy.” Cara stepped down and the dragon tumbled out behind her. He huffed and puffed as they crossed the courtyard, his nails rapping on the cobbles. Nate held the door open, and the dragon looked around before stepping inside. The servant had vanished and Nate led the way down the hall. He pushed open heavy double doors and they entered the most opulent Turkish baths ever built in London.
Cara gasped as she crossed over the threshold into another world. The wooden vaulted roof soared two storeys about her head. Electric bulbs were scattered over the timbers like fireflies and transformed the ceiling into a magical twilight of winking soft yellow lights. Elaborate wooden lattices segregated small private areas to each side of the central pool. The pool dominated the space and ran for over fifty feet. Tiles of the darkest blue lined the interior and at one end, a large fountain spilled heated water into the depths below. Palms in ceramic pots, the same inky darkness as the tiles, sat around the edges and added a touch of exotic greenery. Steam rose off the water and added to the humidity in the air.
Cara looked around, her skin itched and she longed to immerse herself and wash off the last traces of Mary Tudor. “I didn’t think this was open yet?”
“It’s not, but David has given us exclusive access tonight.” His fingers worked at her clothing. Nate slid her tunic down her arms and tossed it to the floor. Having undone her shirt he paused, his knuckles about to caress the dip between her breasts. A tremble took hold and he drew back an inch. Then he took a deep, steadying breath and dropped to his knees. He attacked laces and removed her boots.
“I blunted my pocketknife digging through the mortar,” she said to fill the silence.
He tossed the boot and the blade slid out from the heel and rattled to the tiles. “I’ll buy you a new one.” The second boot joined the first.
The dragon harrumphed and plonked himself down on the edge of the pool, his tail paddling back and forth. He rested his head on his front paws and closed his eyes. A deep purr rumbled through his frame.
Cara smiled at her rescuer. “What will we do with him?”
“Worry about him tomorrow. Right now, less talk, cara mia, and more divesting of clothing and washing off Mary Tudor’s sorrow.” He tugged her skirt over her hips.
By the time Cara stood naked before Nate, the tremble in his hands migrated through his body and he shook as though extreme cold ate at his bones.
“Ready?” she smiled.
“Do it,” he whispered, his hands curled into fists, nails biting into already tortured flesh. “Before I lose my last trace of control.”
She walked down the steps. Heat lapped at her feet and ankles and then crept up her calves. The steam twirled around her form and embraced her. She sighed in pleasure, finally warmth would sink into her bones. Then she curled her toes around the bottom step and dove in. Her body sliced through and disappeared into the inky depths. As she swam along the bottom, the water caressed her skin and sought out the remains of Mary’s tears. Her skin tickled as the ill-fated queen’s despair was pulled from her bones and dispersed on contact with the clean water. She held her breath for as long as possible, her lungs began to burn as her second lap turned into a third. Then a pulse shook through the pool, rippled across the surface and plunged into her body. The force of it smacked into her chest and rolled her sideways. She gasped and spluttered, rising to the surface to breathe. Like a broken dam, their connection burst free and two weeks of anguish speared though her limbs to be replaced by joy, love, and desire.
She gulped air as she glanced to where she last saw Nate and found him gone. The spot where he stood moments earlier, empty, apart from a pile of his clothing. She closed her eyes and relished the synchronicity of the beat of his heart through her torso. So close.
Goosebumps raised along her arms and her lips curled in a smile moments before his arms wrapped around her waist. He pulled her against his chest and kissed along her shoulder as his hands caressed her skin.
She turned and locked her arms around his neck, pulling his head closer, and he kissed her with a soul stealing intensity. He carried her back to the side of the pool and pressed her to the warm tiles, never relinquishing her mouth. Words and questions unnecessary as their souls twined around each other.
Cara bit his lower lip and then cried out as he thrust into her and their bodies became physically reacquainted. He drove into her with the frenzy of long days denied. He slid a hand between their bodies and pressed his thumb to her centre, adding to the assault on her senses. With their emotions so raw, the wave built fast, eager to crash over parched land and sweep them away.
“Look at me, Cara,” he whispered.
She opened her eyes just as light exploded in her head. A smug smile lit Nate’s face for an instant before his release claimed him. He shuddered against her and they stilled, the warm water lapping at their bodies as their heartbeats raced together and aftershocks trembled through their limbs.
“That should buy me an hour of sanity,” he said as he kissed her throat. “Or at least long enough to get you home.”
She didn’t want to move, the intensity had slammed through her body so hard, she saw stars. She tilted her head for another kiss while her gelatinous brain reformed.
Nate pulled back and rested his forehead against hers. “See to Kirill, and then clothes, or we will need to start all over again.”
She gave a languid stretch and rather liked the idea of starting over and going excruciatingly slow.
Laughter rumbled through
Nate and his hand grazed over her ribs. “We need to return home or Nan will come looking for you.”
She sighed. She should see her family and then spend days rediscovering each nick and scar on Nate’s body. And Kirill’s poor health tugged at her conscience. She tore her gaze away to stare at the slumbering dragon. “I do have an idea about him.”
With reluctance, she untangled her limbs from around Nate and splashed the sleeping dragon. “Wakey wakey.”
He cracked one eye open, and his multi coloured iris whirred. She tapped the edge of the pool. “Come on. Bet you would love a hot bath and I will give you a scrub.” She picked up a hard brush from a bowl by the side and ran a hand over its bristles.
Kirill lifted his head and emitted a questioning trill before he slid off the side and sank like the proverbial stone.
“Can dragons swim?”
Nate shrugged. “I assume we are about to find out.”
The dragon sat for a moment on the bottom and a large air bubble broke free when he burped underwater. Then he pushed off and his body darted up and down like a rainbow trout. Flashes of gold and red bounced as he figured out how to manoeuvre. Cara laughed as he butted against her legs on each pass. Surfacing at last, he rolled onto his back and circled her.
“Up on the side for a quick brush.” She gestured to the tiled edge.
Kirill hauled himself out with a groan and splayed himself like a relaxed cat. With quick strokes, she brushed each rough patch of skin, lifting the unshed scales. Nate attacked the other side, and soon they had targeted all the trouble spots and scrunched up scales littered the floor.
“Do you think we should sweep them up, or give the staff something to puzzle over in the morning?” Nate pointed at the exotic debris.
“Leave them, it adds to the magic of this place.” Cara gestured to the pool. “You, rinse off and then we head home.”
They dressed while Kirill played and impersonated the fountain. With his wings spread out to support his body and using his tail as a rudder, he floated on his back and blew water into the air. He shook like a dog when he finally climbed out, and they headed back down the dim corridor to the waiting carriage.
Nate drew Cara into his arms and she nestled into his chest. She closed her eyes, peace washed through her soul with each synchronised heartbeat. Kirill contorted his body, his gaze on her constantly as they headed to Mayfair.
At the house, an impatient Cara tugged on Nate’s hand as she raced up the front steps. The door swung open, and she was engulfed by relieved women. Nan, Nessy, and Amy surrounded her, hugs and kisses were exchanged. They lifted up Rachel, who swung her arm around Cara’s neck.
“I knew he would find you,” she whispered against Cara’s cheek as they bombarded her with questions.
“Why aren’t you dead?” Amy asked, a frown between her dark brows.
“Try and sound a little disappointed, Amy. Jackson is a terrible influence on you,” Cara laughed.
Her friend punched her shoulder. “You know what I mean.”
Cara hugged her again. “I’m alive and unharmed. Can we save the millions of questions until tomorrow? I need time with Nate.”
She squeaked as he caught her arm and pulled her out of the reach of the women. Kirill scampered into the entranceway, and silence dropped as those assembled stared at the creature.
“You said you were getting a dog.” Rachel pointed and partly hid behind Nan, her eyes wide with curiosity.
The dragon plonked himself down at Cara’s feet, and she patted his head. “Kirill found me by following my scent. Nate said it was all your idea.”
The scamp ventured out from behind Nan. “Well yes, but I said a dog. That’s not a dog.” Now a frown settled on her freckled brow as though concerned the adults in her new life couldn’t discern the difference between canine and overgrown reptile.
Nate knelt down and took her hand. “If you really want a dog, I’m sure we can get one.”
She rolled her eyes. “Oh, no; it’s just that you never said a dragon was an option. I’d much rather have a dragon than a smelly old dog.”
Everyone laughed, and Kirill sniffed at the young girl. She held out her hand and he gave an experimental lick, which elicited a rare giggle from the over-serious Rachel.
Nate ruffled her hair. “Isn’t it past time you were in bed? It’s nearly two o’clock in the morning.”
Nan and Nessy ushered the child between them and up the stairs. Nate swept Cara into his arms and strode up the steps with Kirill scampering behind.
“How exactly did Nathaniel procure a dragon?” Amy asked, succumbing to her own point of curiosity.
“Ask Jackson to tell you the story. I’ll answer the rest in the morning,” Cara yelled before Nate turned down the hall to their suite.
He deposited her on her feet and closed the doors. Kirill trilled to himself as he explored their room.
“It looks like he’s staying with us.” Nate pointed a finger at the dragon. “You sleep in front of the fire, the bed is my territory. You,” he said as his finger moved to indicate her. “Need to be naked and in my bed, we’ve wasted enough time.”
She suppressed her laughter and in a rare display of submission, obeyed. In one way, it was easy to surrender to Nate, her trust so implicit that he would never harm her. Being with him freed her mind, let her soar safe in the knowledge he would catch her. But on the other hand, to be the sole focus of his drive, determination and passion was… heart-stopping.
They made love with exquisite slowness, as though they had been separated for years instead of days. Nate lavished attention to every inch of her body. Each time she cried out his name, he whispered hotly against her skin, “Again.”
Only when they were both exhausted did she lay in her accustomed position, sprawled over his hard torso. She poked him in the ribs. “You still haven’t got any more comfortable.”
He captured the annoying finger and kissed the tip. “I thought you were dead.” Pain flared in his steel gaze as he took a ragged breath. “I thought I was unworthy to keep you alive, to breathe for you, like you did for me.” He swallowed and within the depths of his eyes, yawned the void where they had both dwelt.
She stroked her free hand up his chest to rest over his heart “Whatever force brought us together will never let us be so easily parted. We are light and dark, the phoenix and dragon.”
He frowned. “That’s exactly what Helene said.”
“I suspect there is a library of knowledge locked in her head. The Curator thought separation would break us, but that was his mistake. By trying to make me think I was truly alone, he just showed me that we will never be apart.” She smiled as she held his gaze. “I love you, even Mary Tudor can’t take that away from me.”
He cupped her cheek. “I love you. I would have done anything to free you.”
She settled against his side to sleep, pondering just how far he did go in his efforts to find her.
A few hours later, Cara rose with the onset of dawn. She had grown used to total dark, and the faint scarlet bleeding across the horizon pulled her from slumber. Nate always stirred when she awoke but not today, he slept on. She ran a hand over his shoulder, and he barely moved. How much, or how little, did he sleep while we were separated?
She donned a velvet robe and Kirill jumped off the chaise where he sprawled a few hours earlier. She headed downstairs with a dragon at her heels, then tightening her robe to ward off a chill, let him out into the frozen garden to do his business. After digging several enormous holes and sending a clump of irises and a straggly rose soaring through the air, he finally used one. Then he set off and chased a few sparrows before diving into a snow-covered tree that sent a small avalanche over the lawn. Having expended a tiny portion of his energy by destroying the garden, he bounced back up the stairs to sit at her feet.
She scratched the hard ridge above his eye, and he trilled. The red of dawn morphed into a soft orange as it licked the bottom of thick clouds. Pale sunlight
spread over the city as life stirred. “You’re looking better already. Let’s see about food for both the men in my life.”
ack in their suite, Cara found Nate awake and prowling with a restless energy. He promptly kicked the dragon out. Kirill scratched at the door and whined but Nate steadfastly ignored him, his blazing gaze focused on one target—her.
A thump came from the other side of the door as Kirill banged his head on the thick wood. Cara hoped the dragon didn’t do his usual trick when a wall separated them and flame it down. The heat did turn up; Nate picked her up and pressed her to the wall.
“Everyone will be waiting for us downstairs,” she whispered as he kissed her collarbone. Despite her words, she wrapped her legs around his sides to hold him close.
“They can damn well wait,” he growled as he untied the silk cord at her waist.
A smile curved Cara’s lips as she pushed Nate’s robe from his shoulders. “I suppose we do have two weeks to catch up on.”
She quite forgot about the mythical creature trying to claw open the door, the frozen London outside her window, and the ancient nobleman who wanted to add her to his collection. The world revolved around the man in her arms who made her skin burn with each caress and held her safe while letting her soar.
A heart-racing interlude later, and she was able to dress and tugged at the long laces on her boots. With hands on her corseted waist, she still felt strangely naked, even with the narrow blade tucked inside her boot. She stared at her empty hip and shoulder holsters on her dresser, and made a mental note to commission replacement pistols.
Nate buttoned his vest and then opened a drawer in his tallboy. He carried a silk wrapped bundle across the room.
Cara frowned as he drew back the cloth. “My pistols! I thought them at the bottom of the Thames.” She ran a finger over the carved ivory on the grip. “How I missed you, although bloody useless against the Curator’s men.” Shooting them was like popping holes in a dam, they just leaked water.
