by Rinelle Grey
She made up a story willy-nilly, no care for how believable it was.
If he could believe she was a dragon so readily, he’d swallow anything.
Yet he was frowning. “Wait a sec. Does my brother have a baby with her, or not?”
She could see the loyalty flashing in his eyes, and for a moment, she felt a little jealous. This man truly did love his brother. He wanted the best for him.
He’d probably even risk his life for him.
But she had that with her clan. That was why she was here. Why did she feel jealous of a human’s loyalty? It made no sense. Kytrima pushed the feeling away.
“Of course it’s not his. Dragons and humans can’t produce offspring,” she lied. “She’s trying to pass the baby off as his so that he’ll protect her from us. And he’ll do his best to. I don’t want to hurt your brother, he’s not who I’m after. He’s been hoodwinked by this dragon. If you help me, I can get her away without him being hurt.”
Still the human hesitated. “He’s going to be so disappointed,” he said quietly. “I thought this might be it, that he’d finally found someone who could pull him out of his self-absorption.”
Kytrima tried to curb her impatience. “He’s going to be far more hurt the longer it takes for him to find out the truth,” she pointed out. “But maybe he’ll learn a lesson from it anyway.”
She’d only added the last bit as a throwaway comment, but she could see the man’s eyes narrow.
“If I help you, you’ll see that he isn’t hurt, right? You promise me?”
For some reason, Kytrima hesitated. She didn’t care about either of the humans. If she had to sacrifice his brother to bring the princess home, it meant nothing to her. She wasn’t sure why she suddenly felt bad about that. Why should she put some human’s safety over the goals of her clan?
She’d already lied to this human, why did she feel so bad making a promise she didn’t intend to keep?
Why did she need to make a promise anyway? His body was close to hers, and his promise held a desperate note. He was already won over. He just didn’t know it yet.
“I can’t promise that,” she said firmly. “I will do everything I can to see that he isn’t hurt, but I can’t control her. Nor can I sacrifice the safety of your people and mine to protect him. You understand that, right?”
The man stared at her, a hopeless expression on his face. “I understand,” he said slowly. “But please, try to keep him safe.”
“I’ll try,” Kytrima agreed.
And for some reason, she meant it.
Well, it wasn’t like the human meant anything to her. So long as she got the princess and her baby, that was all she needed. The human could go free. She could give both of them enough of a scare that they’d never mention this story to anyone.
Not that anyone would believe them if they did.
The Trima clan had connected with more humans than the Rian clan. Until they’d chosen a human to wake Taurian, those crazy Rian dragons had kept to the rule of not talking to humans, despite how much the world had changed in the last three hundred years.
Their loss. Though it did seem they were trying to make up for it now.
It was possibly to use humans and still keep the secret, though with the way things were going with the Rian dragons hiding amongst the humans, and the Trima dragons searching for them, perhaps their secret wouldn’t last another three hundred years.
That wasn’t Kytrima’s worry.
Lyrian was. She stared into the human’s eyes, trying to guess if he was going to agree to help her. Trying to judge if she could trust him enough to let him help her enter the Mesmer.
He stared back.
Electricity sparked between them, causing Kytrima’s breathing to hitch. Warmth flooded through her, concentrating in intense pools everywhere he touched her. Her world tilted on its axis, and she was having trouble remembering why she was doing this.
It wasn’t supposed to feel this good.
What was going on? She was using this human, not falling for him. That wasn’t part of her plan. Not at all.
Chapter 5
Nate stared at the woman, finding it hard to believe he’d just agreed to to help her.
And yet, not surprised really. She was unlike anyone else he’d ever met. And the way he felt when she just stared at him… a shiver ran up his spine. What was going on?
Nate had taken a lot of chances in his life. Uprooting and moving here to Australia had been one of them. So far, all of them had worked out pretty well for him.
But this one was a step above all the others.
His brother had shot at this woman. And she was a dragon. And he was pretty sure she was using him, just as she’d said the other dragon was using Brad. Those pieces of information should be more than enough to convince him that this was a bad idea. And that was before he considered the fact that he didn’t even know her name.
Well, that one was easy enough to remedy at least.
“What’s your name?” he asked her.
She stared at him, and for a moment, he thought she wasn’t going to answer. Then she gave a small sigh and said, “Kytrima.”
A strange name, for a strange woman.
“I’m Nate,” he said, and held out his hand to her.
She frowned again, staring at his hand disdainfully. But she did put her hand in his.
This time, there was no mistaking it. Electricity arced up his arm, on a direct path to cause a tingle to echo through his heart, where it pumped out to set the rest of his body on fire too. What the hell?
Nate snatched his hand back. “What was that?” His heart was thumping, and he had the strange impulse to touch her again, to see if the same thing happened.
This wasn’t just desire. He’d felt that before. This was amplified a thousand fold.
“I’m sorry, it’s a dragon thing.” The expression in her eyes wasn’t sorry though. Her eyes were dark and deep. “Sometimes humans can react strangely to touching us. It won’t hurt you though.”
Well, she had a point. He’d never touched a dragon before. Who was he to say if this was normal or not?
It didn’t feel normal though.
Nor did the fact that he wanted to do it again. If he’d touched a live electrical wire and received that kind of shock, there’s no way he’d touch it again. Self-preservation would prevent him.
Apparently though, his common sense took a holiday when it came to dealing with dragons.
“So what do you want from me?” he asked suspiciously.
She’d hinted at it earlier. At least, he was pretty sure what her kiss was about. Who knew though, maybe dragons kissed everyone like that?
She stared at him for a long moment.
Nate could hear his heart beating loud in his ears. Loud enough that he wondered if she could hear it too.
“I need to heal,” she said solemnly. “Dragons can heal magically, but they can’t do it on their own. I need your help to enter what we call the Mesmer sleep, where my body will heal completely in a couple of hours.”
Nate swallowed. That sounded very mystical and magical. Totally normal activity for a dragon maybe. Not so much for him.
“That doesn’t sound so hard,” Nate said, annoyed that his voice wavered a little.
She stared at him then, her expression thoughtful.
There was more.
He wasn’t sure he even wanted to know.
She took a deep breath, and stared straight into his eyes. Hers were dragon slits again, sending a shiver through him. This felt serious. Very serious.
“Then when I wake up, you have to sleep with me.”
An echo of the electricity that had zapped him earlier snagged at the bottom of his belly.
He’d known it was coming. The way his body leapt in reaction told him that.
More than that. He wanted this. More than he’d ever wanted any woman ever before.
Still, it shocked him.
His eyes widened. “Sleep
with you?”
A flood of excitement raced through him. He’d never felt so alive.
He saw an answering flash of excitement reflected in her eyes.
So it wasn’t just him.
Her voice, when she spoke, was surprisingly even. “Yes. After healing, my body will be weak. Sleeping with you helps me replenish my energy and magic.”
She thought sex was going to replenish her? Nate gave a chuckle. “I’ve always found it rather exhausting myself.”
Her eyes widened, and then her mouth twisted into an answering smile. She gave a laugh, but it was breathless. She put a hand on his arm, and leaned in close. “You’re not the one who’ll be replenished.”
For some reason, her words sent a chill through him. A tiny thread of common sense wormed its way in past the immediate thrill of excitement. “Does it, like, take my own… energy?”
He wasn’t sure he wanted to know. He didn’t want anything to put a halt to this adventure.
But he wasn’t stupid. He wasn’t going to take a major risk.
Luckily, she shook her head. “No, of course not. That’s the best thing about it. We’ll both feel better afterwards.”
She responded so quickly, almost as if it were automatic. That meant it was probably the truth, didn’t it? He searched her face, his agreement hanging in the balance.
This was crazy. Insane. He’d just met this woman, and the only thing he knew about her was that his brother had taken a shot at her. In dragon form, true, but still…
With all that stacked against her, why did he feel like he could trust her?
Nate was usually a good judge of character. This wasn’t the first time he’d made a snap decision based on his gut feeling. And he was rarely wrong.
But this one felt a little more serious than normal.
“You need to help your brother,” she reminded him. “Every moment we waste here just means it takes longer for us to find him, and Lyrian will sink her claws deeper into him.”
That was the kicker.
He had to take the chance, whether he was certain or not. Because he didn’t see any other options. He had no idea where Brad was, and even if he managed to find his brother, he had no way to deal with the dragon he was with if there was a problem.
Hopefully this woman did.
Nate’s eyes hardened, and he nodded. “Let’s do this then.”
Even though he said the words, it still didn’t feel real. Everything felt like it was turned on its end. The only thing he was certain of was that he needed to help Brad.
He was pretty sure Brad had no idea what he’d gotten himself into.
If his twin actually knew that Lyrian was a dragon, then surely he would have mentioned something on the phone, wouldn’t he? He’d sounded so normal…
Right up until he hadn’t.
By now, Brad had seen a dragon. He’d shot at one. He knew something was going on.
Yet he’d still gone with Lyrian.
What did she want with him?
Nate suspected that whatever it was, it couldn’t be good. He needed to help his brother.
And if sleeping with the gorgeous, sexy dragon woman helped, who was he to argue?
It did feel a little strange, to be stopping in the middle of his hunt to have sex. But he wasn’t going to argue too much. He felt a very strong attraction to her.
He wanted to sleep with her.
That was probably why he was feeling so guilty. But he wasn’t doing this for personal gain. He wouldn’t even be considering it if it wasn’t going to help him find his brother.
Well, he wouldn’t be stopping his search for it anyway.
“So what do I do?” he asked, squaring his shoulders.
She took his hand, that strange surge of energy going through him again as soon as they touched. She’d said it was because she was a dragon, and he didn’t know enough about dragons to judge if that were true or not.
But it certainly didn’t feel like it should be normal.
It felt special. Magical. Amazing.
Then again, he was about to sleep with a dragon. An actual, dragon.
A shiver ran through him. This was going to be the biggest adventure of his life.
As Kytrima lead him back towards the house, they passed by his car. Lily set up barking.
Lily. He couldn’t just leave her out here. “Give me a sec,” he told Kytrima, patting her hand before pulling away, and opening the car door.
He had to give it to Lily, she was a brave little thing. She stared at Kytrima, her whole body stiff, the hair rising in hackles all down her back, barking her little heart out.
He scooped her up. “It’s okay, Lil. She’s a friend, I promise.”
The little pup held stiff for a moment, then relaxed against Nate’s chest, huddling up to him, staring nervously out at Kytrima from the safety of his hold. She gave a little whimper.
Nate scratched her under the chin. “Give her a pat,” he encouraged to Kytrima.
The dragon woman looked doubtful. “That’s not a good idea. Dogs can smell our true nature. The fact that I could crush her with one paw makes them nervous. They are not easily won over.”
Nate suspected she was trying to sound tough. It was kind of cute actually. He gave another chuckle at that. “You’re so persuasive, I bet you could convince her.”
Chapter 6
Kytrima shot a look at him. Was he hinting at something? Did he realise she wasn’t being completely honest with him? Perhaps it had been a mistake to tell him anything. He was unusually perceptive for a human.
But he was just grinning at her, his face open and trusting.
She swallowed, and reached out a hand towards the pup.
The dog shrank back against Nate’s chest, as though she could find safety in the man’s embrace. As though she could hide from Kytrima’s touch.
“I’m not going to hurt you,” Kytrima assured her.
For some reason, the little pup’s blatant fear made her feel bad. She wanted to convince the dog that she wasn’t a threat. That she was a friend.
She touched the pup’s shoulder, and the little dog snarled and snapped at her fingers.
She was a feisty one. She reminded Kytrima a little of herself at that age. Ready to snarl and snap at anyone who tried to push her the wrong way.
Her parents had tried to push her. They’d wanted her to find love, choose a mate, settle down. They hadn’t wanted her to be a warrior. But it had been all she desired, and she hadn’t been willing to give it up.
She gave the little dog a scratch. “I know exactly what you’re feeling, scamp,” she told the little dog, forgetting where she was for a moment. “Maybe we can be friends, huh?”
Then she felt even worse. She wasn’t going to be around to be friends with the little dog.
What was coming over her? Why was she indulging in this nonsense? The dog couldn’t understand her, and certainly wouldn’t care if she was around tomorrow or not. She was just doing this to keep up her act with Nate.
The man who was watching her with a smile on his face.
Her heart gave a thump. Looked like it was working.
This time the pup didn’t snarl, though it was clear she wasn’t happy. She watched Kytrima with suspicious eyes, her body as far away from her as she could get. If she could have crawled into Nate’s chest, Kytrima suspected she would have.
“I don’t think she’s convinced,” she joked.
“Give her time,” Nate said.
His eyes met hers, and Kytrima was sure they were both thinking the same thing.
They didn’t have time.
Nate cleared his throat. “Well, shall we go inside then?”
Kytrima nodded and followed him. He put the little pup into the bathroom with some water and food. Kytrima tried not to feel bad about the pup whining as he closed the door.
Really, she was getting far too emotional about a dog. She had bigger things to worry about.
“So, how does this work?
” Nate asked, jamming his hands in his jeans pockets and staring at her.
Now that the moment had come, Kytrima felt a twinge of nervousness too.
She had a lot riding on this.
Taking a deep breath, she took his hand and led him back into the bedroom, where there was a mattress on the floor. Nate stared at it, then at her, then cleared his throat. “So, um, you’re going to sleep first, is that right?”
“It’s not exactly sleep,” Kytrima explained. “Though we call it that, because it’s the closest we can get. Basically, we need to synchronise our body’s major processes, and this will ease me into the Mesmer. Since I’m conscious for the process, it should be easy.”
Nate nodded. Then he waved to the bed. “Shall we begin?”
For some reason, Kytrima found the invitation set her body humming. That wasn’t supposed to happen until after the Mesmer. But she didn’t have time to focus on it now.
She sat down cross legged in the middle of the bed, and waved to a spot in front of her.
After a moment’s hesitation, Nate joined her.
She held out her hand, and when he put his in it, she placed it on her chest.
Nate’s eyes widened, and suddenly Kytrima was very conscious that his warm fingers were pressing into her breast, sending a tingle of excitement through her body.
Was this going to be an issue?
Nothing she could do about it, so they might as well try.
Kytrima put her own hand on Nate’s chest, feeling his heartbeat reverberating through her fingers. It was a little faster than normal too. Perhaps if they were both accelerated, then it wouldn’t matter.
“We need to sync our heartbeats,” she explained.
Nate’s eyebrows shot up. “How are we going to do that? I can’t control my heartbeat.”
Humans had the strangest notions sometimes. “Of course you can,” Kytrima said firmly. “You’ve just never tried before. Start by listening to my heartbeat. Let it fill your mind and heart. Relax and let it happen.”
