“I’m going to have to teach you in a real short period of time how to sound and act convincing.” Even as he said it, he knew it wasn’t going to fly. She wouldn’t be able to fool Hallstein no matter how good her acting skills were. And there’s no way Kage would hurt her for appearances even if it meant saving her. Still, they needed to figure out something. “He’ll expect a few bruises and for you to be less confident than you were before. Taken down a few notches. More submissive.”
He didn’t miss the slight tremble that went through her. “I can do that.” She nodded and never looked away, her jaw set. “I can do all of that.”
“Yeah?” Disappointment shot through him. Over his dead body would he allow any of that for Hallstein. Yet she was volunteering to impress that evil bastard to such an extent? “You’d be willing to take a few punches and,” he shrugged, “have sex with someone else when you’d rather it be with him?”
She swallowed hard but kept a brave face. “You bet.”
“Damn, things just keep getting more romantic between you two since you left the club, huh?” Erica said, the exasperation and humor in her voice unmistakable as she appeared at the doorway. He’d never even heard her approach. Neither had Viv based on her startled expression.
“Why are you back so early?” Kage said. “Did Hallstein send you to make sure I took care of things with Viv?”
“More like the other way around.” Erica joined them and took a swig right from the whiskey bottle before her eyes met Viv’s. “I came back to make sure my brother took care of you like he assured his boss he would.”
“Yet I hear the sarcasm in your voice,” Viv said softly.
“You sure do.” Erica’s eyes met his. “So what are you gonna do, big brother?” She entered his mind. “Because we both know you won’t lay a damn finger on her.” She snorted. “Well, a harmful finger that is.” She shrugged. “So what’s next? How do you intend to get out of this clusterfuck you’ve gotten yourself into?”
Before he could respond, Viv spoke within their minds first, surprising them both. “Why does it almost sound like you’d stand against your mate to protect your brother, Erica?”
Erica considered Viv for a moment, clearly seeing something they couldn’t. “Hell, you two are so wrapped up in fighting your feelings for each other, you can’t see straight, can you?”
“What are you talking about?”
Erica didn’t reply but gestured that they follow her. Once inside, she tossed Viv something to wear and gestured toward a bathroom off the pool. “Go change. We’ll meet in the water.”
“Seriously?” Viv shook her head. “You want to swim right now?”
“Yup.” Erica headed upstairs. “I love swimming at night.”
Bullshit. Hallstein wouldn’t be able to hear what Erica said in the pool. Water muffled dragon magic…from everyone except your dragon mate. Which made him wonder. She was taking a lot of chances speaking within the mind considering Hallstein could likely hear her. But Erica must know what she was doing. Or at least he hoped so.
Two minutes later, he was in his heated pool waiting. When Viv exited the bathroom, lust made his vision go red, and his cock spring to attention.
What the hell had Erica given her to wear?
The black bikini left little to the imagination. Her breasts were full and round just like her ass and hips. Everything about her was made to fill a man’s hands. Every last inch was created to be stroked and rubbed and slapped affectionately. Even better? She knew it as she headed his way with a sensual, confident swagger he more than appreciated.
A lazy but grateful grin came to his lips when he realized what Erica was up to.
She had no intention of returning. Not anytime soon.
Kage might hate that Viv wanted to ally herself with the enemy, but that didn’t dispel the fact she was his dragon mate. And there was power in that fact. In what they had…what they could have. Vast amounts of power that might just get them out of a tricky situation.
All he needed to do was mate with Vivienne.
Chapter Eleven
VIV KNEW THE minute she put the bikini on she was in trouble. The predatory look in Kage’s eyes when he saw her confirmed it. Seeing him all wet and muscular didn’t help any either. Good thing Erica would be joining them.
Or so she thought.
“Come on in. Cool off.” He gestured at the ten-seater hot tub beside the pool. “Then we’ll head that way.”
“Where’s your sister?”
“She’ll be back.”
Viv strolled down the stairs into the pool. They didn’t say anything right away, just enjoyed the water and eyed each other as they waited for Erica to return. Not that she did anytime soon. In retrospect, she should have seen the set up right away. Only when Kage came close as she drifted in the shallow end, did she realize what was happening.
“How much do you know about dragons and our particular powers?” he murmured as she sat on a step and he drifted nearby. “More importantly, how useful water can be to us?”
Son of a gun. Of course. It jumbled their magic. It could make other dragons blind to their thoughts and actions.
“All right,” she said. “So we’re in your pool. That means Hallstein has no way of knowing what we’re up to.”
She remained curious about what she had sensed from him earlier. That he wasn’t happy she wanted to ally herself with Hallstein. More than that, she kept mulling over what Erica had said telepathically. That Kage would never harm her. That they were both fighting strong feelings that went beyond mere attraction.
But of course they were.
It only made sense given everything she knew.
Did she ever really think Kage would hurt her? No. But there was a sharp edge of danger to him she couldn’t read. One that Julie had sensed. One that Viv figured might be in her own blind spot because she was so attracted to him. Yet now she wondered.
Maybe it had all been some sort of disguise.
She knew all about that sort of thing.
“I won’t beat you, and I won’t take you against your will,” Kage said. “Not even for my boss.” He shook his head. “And we both know we can’t fake any of those things. Hallstein would never believe it.” He moved closer and gripped the railing beside her. “So you have three options left. Two won’t be pleasant. The third, I can assure would be.”
“I’m all ears,” she murmured, overly aware of how close he was, how hot she was becoming.
“The first? I bring you back to Hallstein now and let shit go down the way he sees fit. My guess is it’ll be pretty brutal. The second? I bring you home now, wherever that is, and Hallstein tracks you right back to your family.” He shook his head. “Erica and I aren’t nearly powerful enough yet to protect all of you from him.”
“And the third option?”
“Mate with me,” he said bluntly. “So we become more powerful.”
“Should we, though? What guarantee is there in that?” she murmured. “And while we might have chemistry, I get the feeling you’re not all that crazy about me in general, Kage.” Not to mention you’re the enemy. She shook her head. “So I’m not sure that’s the best course of action…for either of us.”
She didn’t realize what she had said until his eyes narrowed and his voice turned gruff. “I would’ve thought you’d have chosen option number one or two right away based on what you said to Hallstein. The devotion you’re willing to show him.” He drifted even closer. “Yet you’re more concerned with option number three? The one that means you might not be so loyal to him after all.”
Viv thought fast. “Maybe I’m more concerned with option three to see how faithful you really are to him.”
“Hallstein knows you and I are mates,” he countered. “And he knows we’re on his side which means it would only benefit him for us to have sex. To bond like that.”
Sure, if they were both on Hallstein’s side.
But something about the look in Kage’s eyes told h
er she might have things all wrong. Or was it just wishful thinking as he shifted even closer and pressed her knees apart until he came between her legs. He slid a hand up her arm so lightly that shivers raced through her.
“What harm could it do, Viv?” he whispered close to her ear. “We both know it’s gonna happen eventually and it’ll feel so damn good.” He brushed his lips against the side of her neck. A tender spot that made the ache already throbbing between her thighs blaze. “So what harm is there in it? Just to see?”
Outside of him being in league with Hallstein, she couldn’t think of one damn reason that they shouldn’t. Yes, he was the enemy…or was he? Because it felt like he was asking her to take a leap of faith. To trust him as much as he was willing to trust her. Then there was what he had said earlier. That they’d known each other since the beginning of dragon time. That they were fated to be together again.
Dare she hope?
She tilted her head and met his eyes. “Option number two was interesting. It sounded like you and Erica truly would try to defend me and mine against Hallstein even if you lost. If so, why? Because that sounds pretty traitorous.”
Kage didn’t bother responding. Not verbally anyway. Instead, he gripped the railing with one hand, wrapped his arm around her lower back and pulled her close. Before she knew what hit her, his lips caught hers, and all reasonable thought fled.
Odin above, the man could kiss.
She didn’t care if he was the enemy.
She didn’t care if he thought she was.
All she wanted was to get closer. To feel all of him.
It seemed he felt the same way because he ripped away her top and started caressing her breast. Half a breath later, his lips trailed down her neck and latched onto a pebbled, eager nipple. She bit down on her lower lip, arched and wrapped her legs around his waist as he pressed his straining cock against her.
So little separated them.
A thin slip of material.
Blood started to pound through her veins so fast, she could barely hear let alone speak.
“Vivienne,” he murmured against her skin as he licked, kissed and stroked her breasts. He sampled as though he’d never tasted anything so good. As if she was made of pure sugar. All she could think about as she watched him was that moment at Gerri Wilder’s when she first laid eyes on him.
How he had licked that cupcake.
And heck if he wasn’t licking her ten times better.
But just imagine if he made his way down…
She yelped when he pinched a nipple and ground his cock against her clit. Then she whimpered for more.
“Kage,” she half groaned, half roared, not sure what she needed more of. His mouth. Hands. What hung so strong, long and thick between his legs.
All of it preferably.
And all at once.
Then his lips were on hers again, hungry, desperate, searching. He wanted an answer. Consent. She knew it before his words even floated through her mind.
“Is this what you really want, Viv?”
“Hell, yes,” she whispered as she met his eyes. “Just this once.”
“Are you sure?” he murmured as he ran the pad of his thumb along her jaw.
“Damn sure,” she replied.
He didn’t ask again but released a deep-chested growl, propped her on the cushioned top step out of the water and put his tongue where she had wanted it from the first moment they met.
Between her legs.
He stretched and pulled the bikini against her sensitive flesh as he used his mouth, tongue, and teeth in ways that made her head spin.
“Kage,” she panted as the first orgasm came on fast and made her buckle. Fire was filling her veins. Vivid pleasure. She wanted to feel more of him.
Now.
He seemed to know because he was everywhere she wanted him the second she wanted him there. She groaned and shuddered as another orgasm ripped through her. By the time he came up for air, he’d ripped the bottom of her bikini off, and had the thin scrap of material clenched between his teeth. He might be the bad guy, but he had a playful side. She couldn’t help a low, appreciative chuckle as he jerked his head, tossed it aside then swooped down fast to taste her lips again.
After that, the passion was out of control but painfully familiar. The way they kissed, touched, everything. Yet he teased, waited, tempted. He kept her ravenous and hovering on the edge of climax.
“Please, Kage,” she managed, pressing against him. She could see it had taken him a great deal of effort to hold back until now. But he had wanted to…for her.
When he finally locked her wrists above her head with one hand, grabbed her ass with the other and pressed into her, she released a choppy breath then blew apart. He rode her orgasm, thrusting forward a little bit at a time, just enough to keep her stimulated.
She hadn’t felt anything like this in a very long time.
Anything so well measured and calculated to deliver just the right amount of pleasure.
All the while he watched her, the lust and intensity in his eyes a turn on that only added to everything she felt. A small sob of relief broke from her chest when he finally thrust and filled her completely.
Then she began to throb and ache in a whole new way.
The feeling was indescribable. Mind-blowing.
“Holy shit,” she whispered, struggling for breath as she tore her eyes from his and pressed her lips against the side of his neck. This was way beyond sex. Better in a way she never thought she would find again.
“Fuck,” he muttered, his voice hoarse, choppy, struggling. “You feel so damn good, Viv.”
When he pulled back, met her eyes and started thrusting, she knew they were done talking. Now it was all real.
All them.
It didn’t matter that they were screwing on the side of a pool, it was fast, eager, lusty and romantic all wrapped in one. Soaked, they moved against each other like they were running out of time. Like this was it and they might never have it again.
His skin sheened and his eyes went catlike.
Viv cried out as he gripped her hair and thrust harder. She liked his roughness. The dominance he didn’t fully unleash. Not yet. It was his dragon, but it was a different type of aggressiveness than what she’d sensed with Hallstein’s crew.
Kage was different.
He was his own beast.
She wasn’t entirely sure what that meant until his thrusts increased. Fast. Faster. So wonderfully fast. Until their mating heated and sizzled to another degree entirely. Sex with him felt like she was going to implode and explode at the same time.
All at once she hit some sort of limbo…waiting. But for what?
Then it happened.
His dragon eyes met hers, he swelled inside her, and she saw red.
When he pressed deep, locked up and released a half growl, half roar she was right there with him riding the climax of her life. Within that all-consuming orgasm, his mind slammed into hers, and she saw everything. The truth.
Kage wasn’t her enemy.
He was her closest ally. Not just her dragon mate but so much more.
And he intended to die for her.
Chapter Twelve
ALL KAGE EVER wanted to do was get women out of his bed.
Now all he wanted was to get one into it and never let her go. He’d never felt anything as good as Vivienne. Never wanted a woman so badly. It wasn’t just physical but mental. Consuming. And now that he’d connected with her in a whole new way, he realized she wasn’t the enemy at all.
Hell that made him happy. It was the best news he had gotten in a long time.
He breathed heavily as he held her on the side of the pool. They were recovering and based on her increasing heart rate and the way her skin was warming yet again, close to going for another round.
“You’ve got a small window of opportunity now, Brother,” Erica said into his mind. “You need to get her to Maine and deal with Hallstein on turf that’s more diffic
ult for him.”
She was right. Or was she? Hallstein didn’t know Kage had a place up there, so that was an added benefit. If they were dealing with anyone else. But they weren’t.
“This is Hallstein we’re talking about. He’ll eventually find us,” he assured. “We should stay here and stand our ground.”
“Our ground?” Erica said. “Are you out of your mind? I barely have ground. And you? Forget it. Not once he gets one whiff of you taking Viv out of here, which you have to do.”
“I know.” He frowned. “When exactly did you become his mate? That’s pretty damning news, Sis.”
“I can hear you both, you know,” Viv said, cutting them off. “And it sounds like I need to hear a whole lot more.”
Kage murmured a chant and had them back in bathing suits before Erica reappeared and shared more than they expected.
“Because you’ve mated, you’ll grow more powerful,” Erica said. “Which means Hallstein can’t hear your thoughts if you don’t want him to.” She tossed them towels and urged them to join her at the poolside table. “Now you two stand half a chance.”
“It was a good idea,” Kage conceded, his eyes narrowed on his sister. “But aren’t you putting your ass on the line right now?” He frowned. “Especially considering Hallstein thinks you’re his mate? Because I’m fairly certain there’s more to that story.”
There damn well better be.
“There is,” Erica assured. “But I’ve got it under control. Don’t worry about me.” Her eyes went to Viv. “If you haven’t caught all the facts yet from connecting with Kage, he and I have four more sisters. All of whom have traveled back in time and mated with Viking dragon shifters in tenth century Scandinavia. All Sigdirs and all enemies of Hallstein’s.”
Viv didn’t seem all that surprised. But then their minds were connecting more by the moment. “You’re of Bjark’s lineage then.”
Three dragon lineages had started it all. Einar began the Sigdir’s line. Bard, Hallstein’s. And Bjark, Kage’s line.
Paranormal Dating Agency: Her Wounded Dragon (Viking Ancestors' Kin, Book 4.5) (Kindle Worlds Novella) Page 6
