Reawakening the Dragon

by Jessie Donovan

  Taking a bite of her protein bar, she made a face at the tasteless muck that passed for food. She’d almost think Kai was treating her as a prisoner on purpose, but Nikki had the same food laid out on her bed, telling Jane it was the norm.

  Kai took efficiencies to new heights.

  Taking another bite of her breakfast, Jane picked up her notebook and tried to focus on something other than the quiet dragonman.

  Scanning the list she’d made last night, the five possible locations were still too many. As much as it pained her to admit it, she would need Kai’s help to narrow it down to a more manageable number before she could start interviewing the locals and pinpointing the location of the hunters’ base.

  Nikki stepped out of the en suite bathroom. Jane looked up to see the dragonwoman smile. Nikki looked to the protein bar and back to Jane’s eyes. “Enjoying the breakfast of champions?”

  Jane made a face. “Are you sure you can’t allow me downstairs to make a cup of tea? If I’m to put on my charm today, I’m going to need caffeine.”

  Nikki went to a locked drawer next to her bed, inserted a key, and opened it. The action was a stark reminder that Nikki might be polite, but she was still Jane’s guard. “You’ll need to talk to Kai.”

  “Then that means no.”

  Nikki glanced at her. “He can be persuaded. Prove yourself and you might be surprised at the lengths he’d go to help you.”

  “Isn’t telling me that violating some sort of enforced silence?”

  The corner of Nikki’s mouth ticked up. “He never ordered me to be silent.” The dragonwoman’s face became serious again. “However, I’d never tell you anything that could hurt my clan. Besides, proving yourself works with just about any profession. As I understand it, you’re trying to prove yourself to your boss as well.”

  Kai must’ve told her. “Yes, but my boss would never force me into a room and post a guard.”

  Nikki shrugged. “Hey, I’m pretty brilliant as far as guards go.”

  During her time reporting on Stonefire, Jane had learned bits and pieces about what had happened to Nikki with the dragon hunters. She wondered how much the young dragonwoman’s smile and cheery manner hid her true self.

  Not now, Hartley. She wasn’t there to find out Nikki’s story. Not that it wouldn’t be a great story, but she wouldn’t expose someone’s pain just for recognition. It was the one thing Jane had vowed early, after one particular assignment at the start of her career.

  Pushing aside her past, Jane stood. “You’d be even more brilliant if you could find me some clothes in my size. I’m grateful that you’re lending me some things to wear, but I’m two inches taller than you and you can see my socks.”

  Nikki grinned. “Maybe you’re bringing the look back.” Jane shook her head and Nikki continued, “Someone is bringing some clothes and other things later today. You’ll just have to make do until then.”

  “Then I hope I don’t have to go out and talk to people today. If the hunters are in one of the locations I think they’re in, the locals won’t talk to the likes of a high-water jeans wearing mum figure.”

  Nikki finished strapping and attaching things to her body. Closing the nightstand’s drawer, she faced Jane. “That kind of logic will convince Kai to get you clothes on the way. If there’s one more piece of advice I can offer, appeal to his logic. Emotions only irritate him.”

  Interesting, considering Kai had come close to showing his own emotions yesterday and Jane had barely tried to provoke him. “I’ll take that to heart.”

  “Right.” Nikki motioned a hand toward the door. “Let’s go or we’ll be late. And believe me, you’ll never get your cup of tea if we’re late. Kai’s probably been waiting fifteen minutes for us already.”

  Nikki exited the door and Jane followed. “Is he always one step ahead?”

  A male voice boomed behind her. “Three steps, actually.”

  Jane took a deep breath and straightened her shoulders before turning to see Kai. “You’re actually about five steps behind.”

  Kai’s lips twitched into an almost-smile and it made her belly flip. Maybe buried beneath that tough exterior was a sense of humor. Probably not, but a small part of her was determined to find out.

  Not that she would act on that curiosity, of course. She’d work with him for her story and then forget him. A dragon-shifter would damage her career and without it, a small piece of her heart would be torn out.

  He closed the distance between them and Jane forgot everything else as she looked up to meet his eyes. They were blue with a ring of green in the center. She hadn’t noticed that before.

  Kai spoke again. “Do you have a list ready for me?”

  Clearing her throat, Jane held up her notebook. “Right here, but I want some tea before I share it with you.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “You do realize I could snatch it from your hand in the blink of an eye, don’t you?”

  Whatever spell his eyes had held, broke. “Don’t even think about it. That’s not how equals act around each other.”

  Nikki jumped in. “Well, not exactly true. If you had ever met Bram and Evie, you’d see what I mean. I imagine they snatch things from each other all the time.”

  Kai growled. “Enough, Nikki. Wait for us downstairs.”

  Whistling, Nikki left Jane alone with Kai in the hall.

  ~~~

  Standing so close to Jane Hartley was dangerous. She smelled of strawberries and female, and that combination called to both man and beast.

  His dragon spoke up. Strawberries are one of your favorites. She is meant for us.

  No. The one meant for us chose another.

  Not her. The human. Pull her close and kiss her. She will taste good. Better than strawberries.

  Jane’s voice interrupted his beast. “Why are your pupils flashing to slits and back? I think it means you’re talking to your dragon, and if so, I’m curious about what he’s saying.”

  Kai’s dragon was smug. Tell her I want to strip her naked and fuck her until she can’t walk.

  Kai cleared his throat. “He’s impatient to find the hunters. Show me the list.”

  Jane stared at him a second before pointing her forefinger at him. “You’re lying.”

  Tell her the truth. I know from last night she wants us, too.

  Shut it, dragon.

  You’ll thank me later for pushing. Just wait.

  Kai forced his face into a bored expression. “Do you really want to waste time arguing about what my dragon did or didn’t say? Each second we waste gives the Carlisle hunters another second to move their new headquarters. If that happens, you’ll lose your story.”

  Jane paused and then raised her brows. “Fine.”

  The human turned and walked down the stairs. His dragon itched to grab her and haul her back so that her soft arse cushioned their cock, but Kai resisted the impulse and issued a warning. We need to work. The clan depends on us.

  His beast paused a second and then replied, There will be plenty of time after we help the clan. I can be patient.

  Kai nearly choked. Jane paused and looked at him, but he motioned for her to continue.

  Shrugging, the female descended the stairs and Kai followed. You’ve never been patient in the entire time I’ve known you.

  Untrue. I didn’t push when the other one wanted to wait to kiss.

  That’s because I warned Maggie about the mate-claim frenzy. It scared her.

  His dragon huffed. She wasn’t and isn’t worth our time.

  Since Kai and his beast had argued about their true mate dozens of times over the years, he let it drop. His dragon’s memory was faulty at best. At one time, all his dragon had wanted to do was to please Maggie Jones.

  Banishing thoughts of Maggie and his past, Kai picked up his pace. Before long, they reached the same room from the night before.

  Nikki wasn’t there, which was unusual. Ever since the dragonwoman’s capture by hunters, she’d mostly followed his rules and
orders without complaint. The defiance was a sign of her old self.

  He wasn’t sure if that was a good or bad thing. No doubt, it was the human’s influence.

  Jane turned when reaching the table with the giant map of greater Newcastle and held up her notebook. “Tell me what you know and I’ll do the same.”

  His dragon chuckled. Someone is brave enough to give you orders.

  Ignoring his beast, Kai cut straight to the point. “Most dragon hunter gangs live in abandoned farms or houses. The Carlisle branch is different. We found them last time in an abandoned warehouse.”

  Jane nodded. “Right, which makes sense considering just how many of them there are.”

  “How do you know their numbers?”

  “Is that really important right now? How about just the facts relevant to our current task?”

  His dragon chimed in. It’s a fact that I like her more and more. She has more spirit than the other one.

  Kai looked down at the map on the table, refusing to waste more time thinking about Maggie. “Let’s lay out the facts. The hunters would avoid the posh areas which rules out these locations.” Kai pointed to each one. “What I can’t determine is if they’d choose to hide out in one of the forests or in a dodgy neighborhood. Simon Bourne is too clever to set up shop again in an abandoned warehouse. He doesn’t like establishing patterns.”

  “Considering no one has ever seen Bourne, how do you know what he thinks?”

  Kai hesitated. Then he realized if he held back, then Jane might hold back. So, he answered, “I’ve been collecting information on him for nearly a year. Before you ask, no, I don’t have a picture. But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t exist. It just means he’s intelligent.”

  Jane’s voice was dry. “An intelligent bad guy. Lucky for us.”

  “A stupid one never would’ve been able to kidnap my clan leader’s mate, let alone capture and kill one of my people.” Something he swore was sympathy flashed in Jane’s eyes, but he ignored it. “I’ve shared some information, now it’s your turn.”

  “Would it kill you to ask nicely?”

  “Stop wasting time.”

  At his order, Jane narrowed her eyes before looking down at the map. “What you didn’t factor in to your choices is the ease of transportation and lack of CCTV coverage.”

  Kai shrugged. “I usually fly and don’t have to worry about those things.”

  Jane met his eye. “Yes, well, humans can’t. And while no one in Stonefire will tell me about your security cameras, let alone what they cover, humans in the UK use them everywhere. The hunters would want somewhere with several escape routes as well as the least amount of camera coverage.” Jane tapped the map. “That rules out these three, which have too few escape routes. Give me some time on the internet and I can rule out a couple more that have large retail centers, which means lots of cameras.”

  “Good. That means we can start investigating this afternoon.”

  Jane motioned toward her body and Kai didn’t pass up the chance to stare at the tall human female. Her top was extra snug over her lush breasts. Judging by the size, they would fit nicely into the palms of his hands.

  His dragon spoke up. There’s only one way to find out.

  Before his dragon could start banging on again about sex, Jane stated, “I can’t do my job looking like this.”

  He met her eye again. “I don’t understand. You have clothes. That’s all humans seem to care about.”

  “While I’m happy not to be running naked through the streets, I look suspicious. No doubt, the hunters have lookouts posted everywhere. A strange looking woman wearing too-small jeans and a slightly too small top chatting up strangers will send up a red flag.”

  Noticing how tightly the jeans hugged her thighs, Kai decided he didn’t want any other male staring at her.

  His dragon chimed in. She’s ours.

  Ignoring his beast, Kai nodded at Jane. “I can see how a woman putting herself on display in the middle of the day would attract notice.”

  “I’d hardly call this putting myself on display. You may not pay attention to human fashion, but these jeans are too long to be capris and too short to be regular trousers.”

  “The males won’t be looking at your ankles.”

  Jane looked toward the ceiling and muttered, “Dragonmen.”

  He shrugged. “From my time in the army, I learned there is little difference between human males and dragonmen on this topic. We’ll find some clothes that hide your body,” Kai stated.

  Jane met his eyes again. “Hiding my body would be suspicious, too. I’m a grown woman who knows how to blend in when needed. I’ll be choosing my own clothes, thank you very much.”

  Kai crossed his arms over his chest. “You weren’t blending in last night. Every male was staring at you.”

  “I’m not about to defend myself to the likes of you. But why do you care, anyway? Not that long ago, you were threatening to toss me aside somewhere.”

  “We’re working together now and if you fuck up, it puts my clan at risk.”

  Before Jane could answer, Nikki entered the room carrying a tea tray. The dragonwoman winked at Jane and a thread of jealousy shot through his body. Kai wanted to be in on the secret.

  Nikki set the tray down and poured tea. “Humans need tea or coffee to function properly. I figured giving some to Jane will make her more alert for our investigation.”

  “I’m sure that’s the reason,” Kai murmured. The human was definitely being a bad influence on Nikki.

  Raising his voice to normal levels, he added, “Jane needs clothes. You have until noon to take her out and find some.” Kai switched his gaze to Jane. “You’ll be paying for them.”

  Jane crossed her arms over her chest in almost the exact same pose as him. “I’m not buying new clothes. I have perfectly suitable ones in my hotel room. We’ll go there.”

  “Did you tell any of the blokes at the pub where you were staying?” Kai demanded.

  “I’m going to pretend you didn’t just insult my intelligence,” Jane replied. “I used a fake name and even pretended to be American. You’re the one who nearly broke my cover by calling me ‘Janey.’” Kai remained silent, not wanting to admit she was right. Sighing, Jane continued, “Besides, they have no idea where I’d be staying. Especially since I have messy hair and no make-up on today. I look like a completely different person.”

  He grunted. “You look better when natural.”

  Nikki blinked at him, but Kai didn’t care. He merely spoke the truth.

  Jane cleared her throat. “Right, then Nikki can take me to my hotel after I drink my tea. I’ll check out too, since I assume I’ll be staying here. Correct?”

  Jane staying in the same house as him was a bad idea. His dragon would keep pushing for him to kiss the blasted human. And if Kai let his guard down for even a second, he didn’t trust his beast.

  His dragon growled. You want to kiss her, too. You dream about it all the time.

  Maybe, but he wasn’t going to admit to it. He didn’t have time to woo, let alone kiss, a human. Especially a human who would drive his dragon crazy.

  Yet Jane staying with him was the logical choice. He’d just have to exercise his steely self-control for a few days. After that, he’d steer clear of her and never have to see the human again.

  His beast added, Except on TV. Or, when she’s interviewing people in our clan.

  Kai looked Jane straight in the eye. “Yes. It’ll be easier for us to share information if you stay here.”

  The corner of Jane’s mouth ticked up. “And for you to keep tabs on me.”

  Careful not to show his surprise, he replied, “That too.” He glanced at the clock on the wall. “You’d better hurry. I expect for you to narrow the list further as well as retrieve your clothes in the next four hours.” He looked to Nikki. “Make sure she’s back on time.”

  Nikki nodded slowly. “Of course.”

  Kai looked to Jane. “You have one chance.
If you try to escape or withhold information from me, I will find you and lock you away until I finish my investigation. Understood?”

  Jane rolled her eyes. “I’m not a child, nor am I your soldier to order around. You keep forgetting that, Kai Sutherland.”

  Kai grunted. “No, you’re not, but you are a pain in my arse.” She opened her mouth to reply, but Kai cut her off. “I have some business to take care of. I’ll see you in four hours.”

  As he turned and walked out of the room, he heard Nikki whisper, “He’s never that chatty. What did you do to him?”

  Not wanting to hear the answer, Kai hurried down the hall toward his room. Exercise would help clear his mind of the human. She knew how to get under his skin. Next time, he’d be better prepared. The second he let his emotions take control, especially when it came to jealously and arousal, he might start compromising his mission.

  His dragon chimed in. If you want to concentrate, then fuck her and get it over with.

  Is that all you can think about?

  You starve me of sex. A dragon needs it as much as breathing.

  Stop the exaggerations.

  His beast huffed. You’ll regret saying that to me. Consider it a warning.

  With a sigh, Kai entered his room and began stretching. If he worked out hard enough, his dragon might stop being so bloody dramatic. If not, Kai would have to find another way to calm his dragon down. It wouldn’t be long before his damn beast would blare his lust through Kai’s mind and give him a hard-on at all the wrong times.

  And if there was one thing he was determined to do, apart from protect his clan, it was ensure Jane Hartley never knew how much Kai yearned to strip her naked and kiss every inch of her soft skin.

  Chapter Four

  Thirty minutes later, Jane was in the car with Nikki, drumming her fingers on her thigh.

  Not because Jane was impatient to get to the hotel, but rather she was impatient to return to Kai so she could finally put his bullshit in its place. Despite their earlier agreement, he was still treating her as a subordinate.

  She needed to corner the dragonman and give him a dressing down. She may not have his muscles, but Jane had noticed him staring at her breasts before. There was more than one way to catch a man’s attention and she wasn’t above using her boobs to do it.