Dragon's Blood

by Brynn Paulin

  None of that mattered at the moment. He wished Behemoth, the head elder, would just get the meeting started. Janos wanted to get upstairs to his charge—he couldn’t believe he hadn’t gotten her name. Aside from saving her, the overwhelming sensation driving through his blood was desire. He wanted to strip away that ugly brown wig and see what she hid beneath. He needed to stare into her wide green eyes as he sank into her body and her legs wrapped around his hips. Her pretty pink lips would part, and she’d cry out his name while lifting her hips to him, an offering to his Dragon—

  He sighed and tapped a pen on the pad of paper in front of him. He couldn’t have her. She wasn’t his.

  Levi, elder of the Ghenton clan from here in New York, leaned back in his chair and tipped toward Janos. “Another fine day in the neighborhood, I see,” he said from the corner of his mouth.

  Janos rolled his eyes. “Yeah. I really need to get back upstairs.”

  “I heard what happened. News travels fast. Explains why all the Elvish and Djinn have flooded New York.”

  “I don’t get why they’re so hot after her. Why not send one assassin, maybe two? Why an army? I know they failed before—”

  “They failed before?” Levi repeated, and Janos felt his scales lifting at the tone of awe in the man’s voice. No one touched her. No one.

  Oh crap. He glanced down at his right arm and saw a light tracery of lines forming, still almost too faint to be seen.

  “It must be Scarlett Mills,” Levi continued, unaware of the cataclysm happening within Janos. “As far as I know, she’s the only one to survive through an attack. She disappeared…” Levi trailed off as his gaze followed Janos’ stare. “She’s yours.”

  Janos shook his head. “Can’t be.”

  “Dude, the marks don’t lie.”

  “Like you know.” They usually saw eye to eye on matters, not surprising since they were closest in age. Though some bright monk had decided to use Levi’s name, Leviathon, to describe an older Dragon mentioned in the bible, Levi was only about a hundred fifty years older than Janos. Though they were both about a millennium old, they hadn’t grown stodgy like some of the other elders. And like him, Levi wasn’t mated.

  Janos still felt ill-fitted to the task of elder—the youngest in history. Except for him and Levi, all of the elders were spawned during the BC era. Originally, there had been twenty-five families making up the council, but six had been exterminated—one by Roman gladiators, one by the crusades, and one by medieval and renaissance witch hunts. The rest had fallen prey to the Djinn and Elvish. They’d nearly decimated the Dragons’ numbers and had wiped the Dragon families of Shadowine, Thorusus and Bleddon from existence.

  Behemoth shuffled some papers in front of him into a pile and stuffed them into a folder. He thumped his fist on the table, and all activity and discussion ceased. Everyone slid their chairs into place at the table, sitting at attention.

  Standing, he scanned those gathered, the silence growing while everyone awaited his announcement. “As you know, and as young Janos experienced earlier today—”

  Janos grimaced at being called ‘Young Janos’ in front of the council.

  “—the Djinn and Elvish are growing to be a greater problem than ever. The last such instance, which was smaller than this, resulted in the witch hunts which took the Bleddon from us. Our enemies’ objective seems to be focused on one woman who is now under Janos’ protection. My operative in the inside reports that she survived when our enemy tried to eliminate her last time, and now they’re more determined than ever to kill her.”

  It had always amazed Janos that Behemoth had managed to get someone on the inside of the Elvish forces. He suspected it was a half-blood who was both Elvish and Dragon, a rare mix. And the Elvish must be aware of the Dragon heritage.

  “Why are they going full out for her?” Harrod asked. “She’s a mate, but she’s just one woman who didn’t even know of our existence.” He pinned Janos with a stare. “Until now.”

  Janos looked down at the arm that lay beside his notepad. The sepia filigreed design grew darker as his blood continued to react to Scarlett—Scarlett. His mate’s name was Scarlett. He liked it and it fit so perfectly for his clan. The Cruentus Clan. The Blood Clan.

  His skin itched at the rapid change taking place beneath it. Normally, the mate marking didn’t appear so quickly. He hadn’t even sampled her blood… His eyes closed as he realized. His shift. He’d shifted in front her. While he’d held her. His body in flux like that could draw in her essence without tasting her.

  Levi nudged him, and he looked up to find everyone staring at him.

  Behemoth cleared his throat. “Do you want to transfer her into the keeping of another Dragon? Most here have larger contingents than you do. You’re only here with your wingscion, correct?”

  Rebellion roiled in Janos’ gut, confirming what he’d denied to now. “Yes, Jonah is my sole companion on this trip. And no, I will not transfer her.” He held up his arm. “She is my mate.”

  A few mouths dropped open, and Behemoth nodded. “That explains why they’re so intent on killing her. The mate of an elder. She’s to be a powerful woman.”

  “How do they know this? How did they know when they tried to kill her years ago, too.”

  “Seven,” Levi supplied.

  “So how did they know she’s my mate?”

  “Magic,” Harrod grated, his tone implying Janos was an idiot.

  Levi chuckled. “Wish we could get us some of that. It would make things a lot easier. It’s seriously unfair that they know our mates before we do.”

  “I’m working on it,” Behemoth answered. “And Dr. Genjhury is developing a way to more easily detect Dragon’s blood, which will lead us to our mates.”

  “How many centuries does a man need?” Harrod grumbled.

  Janos growled, his scales rustling beneath his skin at the affront to his scion. This meeting was pointless and only underlined what he already knew. “My brothers will be here in a few days, and we’ll transport Scarlett to our compound. She’ll be safer there until I can change her.”

  Of course, she’d have to be convinced to change. He swallowed at the prospect. She might be feeling the same intense need he was, but she was an obstinate woman. Becoming a full Dragon mate was her decision. He couldn’t force her, though the need between them would try to. It would grow until neither could stand it, no matter how many times he took her. And the way he felt, that could very well be tonight. He’d seen her desire and felt her tremble in his arms—before she’d seen him shift. She wanted him, too.

  “I’d suggest the rest of you leave, as well—as quickly as possible,” Behemoth advised. “They’ll converge on this place like the plague as soon as they realize we’re all here. My operative has been able to mask us, but that magic can only last for a few hours. Janos, you must move your woman, as well.” He handed each elder a sealed envelope. “Locations of mates,” he explained. “Having someone on the inside helps. Perhaps we can finally get one step ahead. I deemed it safest to deliver these directly into your hands rather than use electronic means or couriers. Both have a history of being intercepted, and we cannot afford that in these times.

  “The women listed should be matches to unmated Dragons within each of your clans. However, this is not perfect. Please use delicacy when transferring ill-fitted mates to another clan.”

  The thin envelope in Janos’ hand seemed to have the weight of lead. He folded it and slipped it into the pocket of his jeans. The fate of his clan could depend on the precious names within—and on his success with Scarlett.

  “Elder Aventech,” Behemoth said, and Janos looked up. “You are excused from the rest of the proceedings. I will see that notes are delivered to you. I suspect…” he added with a knowing smile, “that sitting here will become quite unbearable relatively quickly.”

  Janos nodded and jerked to his feet aware his erection strained at his jeans for all to see. Hell, they were all men and most had alrea
dy been through the mating period. They knew the waiting was already unbearable. He just hoped Scarlett wouldn’t make him wait even more.

  Chapter Three

  Scarlett jumped when the room’s door clicked then swung open. Janos stood framed in the doorway, and her middle gave a happy lurch, heat shafting through her like an infusion of warm brandy going straight to her pussy.

  “Janos,” she said, standing from where she’d sat at the end of the bed.

  Jonah met him just inside the door and placed a hand on Janos’ shoulder. The two men stared into one another’s eyes, visibly connecting. Janos gave a nod and stepped back. He focused on Scarlett while Jonah moved behind him then went through a connecting door to an adjoining room.

  “Jonah explained things,” Janos said when they were alone.

  “Not that it makes things any clearer. So that thing you two just did there?” She waved a hand in the direction of the door. “What was that? Some weird Vulcan mind-meld?”

  “Wingscions can communicate telepathically and relay information quickly. Good thing, or I would have had to rip him apart. Your scent is all over him.”

  She rolled her eyes at the outright male possessiveness. “Give the testosterone a rest, buddy. I was trying to escape.”

  He advanced on her, his dark eyes almost black with intent. “I know. And I doubt the testosterone will rest any time soon. I want you.”

  Her tongue darted across her lips as the bed pressing to the back of her knees seemed to become the edge of a cliff. And she was about to fall. Her throat seemed to close as she was pushed into a morass of swirling desire she fought to control. She shook her head, unable to speak. Staving this off was like containing a tornado. It would sooner rip her apart.

  She struggled to breathe, each ragged intake lifting her chest like that of a frightened bird, and she guessed she should be frightened in the face of what he was and his powerful attraction to her.

  “No?” he said. “I see how your nipples press for freedom from your shirt. I can hear your blood rushing through you. I can smell your desire for me. I can feel your increased heat.” His tongue rested against the bottom of his top teeth for a moment, and he closed his eyes. He sighed. “Yes… I can taste your need. You’re wet. Very wet for me. All of my senses are flooded by you. I know you want me. All you need to do is say yes.”

  How fair was that?

  She crossed her arms over her chest and tucked her trembling fingers beneath the crooks of her elbows. “Explain to me how the mating works,” she said. “I know you think I’m a Dragon mate, and maybe I do have it in my blood, but I don’t want to accidentally chain myself to a man I don’t know.”

  “You will be mine.”

  Her womb contracted, sending a fresh flow of arousal through her folds. “Not unless I choose to be,” she countered, though at the moment, her body was ready to scream ‘yes, take me’.

  Janos shoved his hands into his pockets, and she got the impression he did it to keep from reaching for her. “Mating,” he said slowly on a pained sigh. “It’s a process. We need to have sex.”

  “You and every other man between fifteen and ninety—”

  He growled. “No. We. You will not touch another. You’re mine.” He pulled a hand from his pocket and drove it through his hair. It fisted in the back and he turned away as if thinking and keeping himself calm. “We will mate. We will have sex, and once I have made you pregnant, I will change you. Once I do, you will be safe. And forever mine.”

  She wasn’t so sure safe and his actually went together. Several other parts of his short explanation stuck out in her mind. “Pregnant?” she started with.

  “Once you’ve changed, you cannot get pregnant. Your body will be impervious. You must be pregnant first then you must be changed immediately afterward to protect you from our children as they grow inside you.”

  Okay…so that gave new reasons for condoms use, though having his children seemed to arouse her further. Did he exude some sort of Dragon pheromone to drive her insane? “And the change?”

  “You’ve already had so much to take in.”

  “Tell me!”

  Janos regarded her with a look of resignation, and Scarlett knew she wasn’t going to like what she heard. “Dragons aren’t originally from this dimension, but this is the one most hospitable to us on a long-term basis. In our home dimension, a plant called the Salauret provided essential nutrients to us. It won’t grow here.”

  “And?” She had no idea what this had to do with mating, and his reticence about sharing worried her.

  “We must take blood to survive.”

  “Take blood?” Scarlett echoed, her voice rising slightly. She took a deep breath and swallowed back her reaction. She would not panic.

  “Yes. Once a month, though some partake more often with their willing feeders. It’s very…sexual. Much of the vampire lore stems from us, I’m afraid.”

  She skirted the bed, edging away from him. “You’re Dragons…and vampires?”

  “Just Dragons. There are no vampires. There are no victims. Only those willing to supply our blood. Now at least. We don’t have bloodlust, except from time to time for our own mates, and our feeders live posh, pampered lives. You don’t have to be afraid. I won’t take your blood without your permission.”

  “What does this have to do with mating?” Despite her arousal, which hadn’t abated with this new information, the thought of mating didn’t hold a lot of appeal. Knowing what she did of vampire lore, she had a feeling she knew what was coming when he explained ‘change’.

  “To unite, we will stand before our people. I will take your blood then, when I’ve felt your heart begin to wane, you will take my blood and I will feed you until you regain strength. We will lose ourselves in one another and you will be filled with my Dragon blood. It will protect you from all enemies and nourish our children. And tie you to me for eternity.”

  “Uh huh…” This was what she got for her Dracula obsession when she was younger. She bowed her head and pressed a hand over her belly, wishing she could uncoil the unrelenting arousal twisting there.

  “It won’t go away,” Janos said.

  She looked up and found him inches from her. His breath fanned her face as his mouth hovered above hers, waiting for her consent, needing her to say yes. A barely constrained wildness filled his eyes and promised once she conceded he’d give her a ride she’d never forget.

  “It’s going to multiply until you’re willing to let any man take you, just to soothe away the unbelievable need in you. But it won’t be just any man. It will be me because as long as I breathe, no other male will touch you that way. No other man can calm you, my sweet mate. Just me. Only me. Always me.”

  “Janos…”

  “Let me help you. No promises. No commitments.” His hand pressed beneath her breasts and smoothed down to her belly. She knew he must feel the tremors there. Her want.

  “You have a condom?” she asked.

  His lips pressed together, his eyes sad. He shook his head.

  And she was pretty sure that, once they started, they would get carried away and fully consummate this…thing…between them.

  “I need to think.”

  “Don’t think. You’re destined for my arms.”

  “You don’t even know my name.”

  “Doesn’t matter. This is instinct. Downstairs at the council, they said you’re Scarlett, the only mate to ever survive a Djinn and Elvish attack. Are you? Are you Scarlett?”

  “Yes.”

  “They know—the Elvish and the Djinn—that you will become the most powerful woman in my clan, the one with the ear of the elder. My left hand and stability.”

  “Not helping.”

  His hand moved from her belly to her hip then around to her lower back. He massaged the concave curve, one finger catching her belt loop. “You’d be safe. No more hiding.”

  “That’s blackmail.”

  “No, that’s a promise.” His groin bumped against
her, his cock hard behind his fly. “I want you safe.”

  Her teeth sank into her lower lip while his voice rumbled over her, pulverizing her defenses. Safe would be a relief.

  She waved a hand in front of her. “This isn’t even me. You don’t even know what you’re getting.”

  “Again, it doesn’t matter. What I see is only one sixth of what’s attracting me. And what I see is beautiful despite your attempts to make yourself appear otherwise.” His groin rubbed against her again, and he groaned, his eyes closing, the tip of his tongue going to the bottom of his front teeth again.

  Scarlett couldn’t stop herself. She rose up on her toes and covered his mouth and touched her tongue to his. Immediate lightning shot through her, jolting to her limbs. Her arms circled his neck as they wildly kissed. She felt Janos yank away her wig then the cap that contained her hair. The tresses that matched her name cascaded around her shoulders, surrounding his forearms as he held her to him with one and cupped the back of her head with his other hand.

  That one small movement, that one kiss, unleashed a fury inside them, for she didn’t doubt it engulfed Janos as well. His mouth was frantic over hers, his body taking control of them both. In a moment, her back was to the mattress and his body was between her thighs as they continued to stroke one another and touch everywhere they could despite the clothes separating them. Their tongues dueled, Janos’ quickly winning as he plundered her mouth, exploring the roof, her cheeks, teeth…

  She gasped as his hand found her breast, caressing the mound and shaping it to his hand. Her back arched, giving him more. Her pelvis rubbed his, his hard ridge stimulating her clit even through the material. He reached between them, pressing his fingers to the sensitive spot, pushing the damp fabric against her folds.

  “Open my pants,” she whispered. “I want to feel your fingers on me. Janos… In me. I want them in me.”