by Amelia Jade
“Alibi?” he asked, blank look on his face.
He wasn’t listening; he was in his own world.
“Yes,” she said forcefully, dragging his attention back. “I told you that I just sort of saw him and followed him over here.”
“You’re not here on business then?”
“Pyne!” she snapped a finger in front of his face. “I told you all this already. I saw him in the airport and just followed him. It was a gut feeling thing that I needed to do it.”
“Yes, yes. Fate does that sometimes. It’s okay, you’ll be fine.” He grinned at her. “I’m glad you did that. We’re going to catch him this time, you know.”
“I hope you have a better plan than I do. ‘Cause right now I have no idea what to do.”
Pyne nodded sagely.
She waited thirty seconds. “Are you going to tell me the plan? Or make me rip it out of you one word at a time?”
He laughed. “I’d love to see you try. That would be interesting. I’m curious as to your methods.”
She rolled her eyes, then kicked him in the shin. Hard.
“Ow!” he yelped, hopping about on one foot for a few moments. “All right, I give, I give!”
“Good. Now play nice.”
He gave her a cocky look. “If I do will you rub it better?”
“No, but I won’t kick you again,” she teased.
What was going on? They were supposed to be on the hunt, conducting an investigation into Morgan’s reappearance, not flirting with each other! Kim had never had this issue before, if she could call it an issue. Could she? What was wrong with flirting with him? There were no rules, no regulations against it. Not if he wasn’t actually a government official.
Besides, he started it.
“It’s a small victory, but it’s a victory nonetheless.” Pyne held his head high and gestured back at their car. “Let’s go back to the base.”
She shook her head, pulling her foot back. “You said you’d tell me your plan. You can’t back out now.”
Pyne jumped out of the way, holding his hands up. “I’m not backing out now! I promise.”
“So tell me the plan.”
He nodded. “Okay. Let’s go back to the base.”
She advanced on him, but the big man danced easily out of her range, both of them trying to contain laughter. At one point Pyne slipped to the side, came in and wrapped her up in a hug, too close for her to kick him.
A rugged musk filled her nostrils as she breathed his scent in deep, letting it linger for just a moment before she slipped out from under his grip, kicked him in the side of the shin, and then raced for her car before he could catch up.
“What are you doing?” he asked through the window as she shut the door and locked it. “We’re going back to the base.”
“I paid good money for this rental. I’m not about to abandon it.”
Pyne seemed confused by her concern, but he didn’t fight her on it. They drove back to the base after he called someone on his phone, likely to notify them about the car so that they could come get it and do a more thorough search.
She followed the black military police vehicle back to the base. Pyne didn’t take the turn she thought they had come from, instead taking a longer route. She pulled up to the gates, barely stopping in time, her attention thoroughly focused to her left.
“What the hell happened there?” she asked the empty car, belatedly rolling the window down as the guard tapped on it.
Off to her left looked like a warzone. It started perhaps four or five hundred yards away, so details were tough to make out, but the ground was all torn up and black from explosions. The wall was completely leveled in sections, twisted, broken wreckage visible. People moved about cleaning up and maybe even affecting repairs, but she couldn’t tell much more than that.
She followed Pyne to a visitors lot where she left her car and got in his for the rest of the journey.
“What was all that?” she asked cautiously, unable to stay silent for a moment or two.
“All what?”
“The damage. You took this way on purpose. I’m not stupid.”
“I never said you were,” he replied carefully. “I just wanted you to know that we have excellent security here, and that there’s no way Morgan will infiltrate the base. You’re safe in here.”
“Right. I’m safe from him, but what about what happened out there? That certainly was no drill. Am I safe from that?”
Pyne took his time replying. “For now, yes.”
“That’s…not reassuring. Will you ever tell me what that is?”
“Yes.” They pulled into an empty spot in line with half a dozen other vehicles of the exact same make, model, and color. “Eventually.”
“I’m really confused, Pyne.”
“It’s okay. I have a plan to get Morgan. That will help.”
“You keep saying that you have a plan, but so far all that plan has done is leave me confused and back in the base. Which is precisely where you’re insisting Morgan isn’t. Do you see the problem here?” she asked, nudging him with her elbow as they returned the keys to a bored-looking guard sitting at a window.
“Sure. Don’t worry, we’re going to get him. Just go along with it, okay? It’s all part of the plan.”
Kim was about to explode. Reining in the angry shakes that were shooting through her body she stepped in front of Pyne and poked a finger into his hard chest, forcing him to either stop, run her over, or move aside.
He stopped.
“Tell me now, Pyne. What is your plan? I need to feel trusted.”
Pyne considered that. “You are trusted, Kim. More than you’ll ever now.”
She shied away from the intensity of his gaze, the azure orbs in his face nearly glowing with…something. Fervor? Passion? Excitement? She couldn’t tell.
“I’m listening.” She tried a little smile, and was greeted with a much larger one.
“Here’s what I propose…”
Chapter Seven
Pyne
To his immense delight she’d agreed to have dinner with him.
“I can’t believe I agreed to this,” she said as they were seated at a table away from the few remaining occupants.
It was late. A meeting with the other dragons to review the battle with the Outsiders meant they would be among the last stragglers at the dinner rush, but before the evening crowd. At first he’d been worried, but now looking at all the privacy they had Pyne became thankful.
“What do you mean?”
He darted just ahead of her and pulled out the chair from her side. Kim glanced at that, then with a shrug went to the other side and sat down. She tugged unconsciously at the dull green fatigues she was wearing. Her lack of planning for the trip overseas meant she’d only had the one change of clothing, and he wasn’t about to ask her to wear that to dinner. The fatigues were unusual, but not enough so that she would catch grief over it. Not when accompanied by him at least. Nobody questioned the dragon’s choices.
Another mated pair was seated half a dozen tables behind them. Pyne exchanged respectful nods with Garath and his mate Marie. After being gone so long, most of the dragon teams had returned. Only the fire dragons were still out tracking down their quarry. Apparently it had gone to ground deep in the northern part of the mountain range, forcing the dragons into colder climes up in Canada.
The rest were home now, resting up and recovering, and reuniting with their mates. Pyne couldn’t help but smile at this, encouraged by all the other happy dragons. If they could do it, so could he.
“I mean that I’m still upset at you for not actually telling me your plan earlier.”
He chuckled, remembering how she’d taken the reveal of his “master plan” as nothing more than an elaborate method of asking her to dinner. “You must have wanted to say yes just a little bit before I asked,” he joked, pointing out that even after that she had still said yes, instead
of declining.
“I’m aware. I’m also aware you’re paying,” she shot back with a feisty grin.
Pyne loved her humor. It was such quick wit, he was forced to think hard to keep up. If there was anything a dragon loved, it was a challenge.
“Let’s try another angle,” she said as the waiter filled up their water glasses, took their drink orders, and promised to come back to take their choice of meal once he had their drinks in hand. “Why is he here, Pyne? Here, at an American military base in the middle of nowhere?”
Trying not to show his relief, he gave the question serious thought. For a moment she’d sounded like she was going to ask why Pyne was here. That wasn’t something he had a good answer for, not without blatantly lying to her, and he refused to do that. Avoid answering questions? Okay, but not to lie.
“I’m not sure,” he admitted.
“Something has changed. He was in a perfectly safe little hole for ten years. Now he’s come crawling back out, and I want to know why,” she finished with a snarl. “There has to be a reason.”
There was, but it fell under the realm of things he couldn’t tell her just yet. “I’m sure he has his reasons,” he said, awkwardly skirting answering the question.
“Are there any banks out here he might want to rob?” she asked, referring to how he’d almost been caught a decade before.
“I don’t believe so. Nothing special to be worthy of his attention.”
“Well, that only leaves one conclusion then.”
He leaned forward, eager to hear what his mate was thinking. He quite liked this new analytical side of her. It was much less brash than the act-first, think-second mentality she’d had in her younger days.
“He’s after you.”
Pyne blinked. “Pardon?”
“Morgan didn’t come here randomly, Pyne. He came here on purpose, to have something to do with you. This wasn’t a coincidence that you were here.” She stroked her chin, deep in thought. “Why though? What does he have against you?”
Shit. Pyne took a sip of his water, pretending to think. Instead, however, he was fortifying himself for what he was about to say.
“I don’t know.” There. Just like that, he’d gone and lied to his mate, five minutes after promising himself that he would never do that.
Of course Pyne knew. But he couldn’t tell Kim that. To do so would be to reveal everything, and he wasn’t going to do that. Not until she was ready. First he had to tell her about dragons.
“There must be something,” she pushed. “Think, Pyne. Why else would he come here?”
Biting back a stab of irritation at her continued questing, Pyne just shook his head. “I wouldn’t have known he was here if you hadn’t shown up.”
Just trust me, Kim. Please. Stop this line of questioning. All will come clear in a few days.
He was saved by the waiter returning swiftly with a beer for him and a glass of red wine for Kim.
“I feel so weird drinking in uniform,” she muttered as they clinked glasses and took appreciative sips.
“You’re just all sorts of a rebel,” he teased. “Drinking in uniform. Leaving your post just to come overseas to see me. Where will it end, Kim?”
The look he received screamed that she was unimpressed with his jest.
“Well, think about it. We have no proof Morgan is here. Maybe you just wanted to track me down and come find me,” he continued with a grin.
“We all make mistakes.”
Kim had waited until he was halfway through a sip of his beer before responding, and now he choked on the mouthful, forced to pound on his chest to clear his airway of the offending fluids.
“That,” he gasped after half a minute or so, “was thoroughly rude and perfectly timed.”
His mate giggled.
The light and airy sound of her laughter drove his dragon into a frenzy. It had been restless in his mind ever since she’d returned, and now it made its presence known once more, lashing out at him angrily, demanding to be set free so that it could claim his mate if he was too much of a coward to do so.
I’m not a coward. I’m just trying not to scare her off. I have one shot at this. If we screw it up, she’s gone forever, no matter what you want.
The dragon couldn’t understand his actual words, but the pictures and emotions associated with its thoughts it could read clear as day, and for now it subsided, but not happily.
Stupid thing.
“Ow,” he hissed, grabbing at his temple as his dragon hit him harder than it had ever done before.
Maybe it could understand words.
“Are you okay?” Kim asked anxiously, leaning over the table and resting her fingers on his free hand.
Pyne tensed automatically, then forced his body to relax one muscle group at a time. Her fingers were warm and soft, pressing lightly against his skin. The hairs around the pressure points tingled. Was she feeling it too? Their connection?
He locked eyes with her, or tried to, only to find her staring at her hand, shock written on her face. I’ll take that as a yes.
“I’m fine,” he replied when she finally looked up to see him watching her.
His eyes tried to tell her that he knew, that he understood what she’d felt and he’d experienced it as well. Either he failed, or she didn’t know how to respond because Kim snatched her hand back and took a shaky drink from her wine, not her water.
“Good,” she said, then frowned at the hoarseness of her voice, and took another sip.
Things turned to more mundane conversation while they waited for their food and ate. Pyne dug into his steak with gusto, and this time was relieved to notice that he didn’t get any weird looks from Kim over the fact that he had two steaks, or a double helping of garlic mashed potatoes.
“Eat those too,” she ordered when he was almost done, the first remark about his plate she’d made.
“Pardon?”
“Your vegetables. Don’t think I’m not paying attention. You eat like crap, I can tell, and I’ve only been around you for a day now. Eat your vegetables.”
Pyne hung his head. He’d been hoping to avoid that, but now he followed her orders with flirtatious sullenness, if that was even feasible.
Once they were done they sat back and enjoyed their drinks. “What did you do after the case, Pyne?” she asked into a moment of silence that had fallen over them.
“Oh you know, a little of this, a little of that. Mostly desk work now.”
“You? Desk work?”
“Fewer car accidents that way,” he joked, trying to change the subject.
She giggled again. Pyne’s heart was warmed every time she laughed. After how he’d seen her ten years before, humor seemed to be something she could always use.
“I can imagine.” Her empty wine glass clinked against the tabletop.
Finishing his beer he stood. “Come on,” he urged, extending his hand.
Thinking he intended to help her up, Kim played along this time, perhaps having realized he’d been “hurt” by her refusal to let him slide her chair in for her when they were seated. He hadn’t been, not seriously of course, but Pyne enjoyed being chivalrous, and knew he would treasure the moments Kim allowed him to be. She was too independent to let it happen all that often.
“Wait, where are we going?” she asked when he didn’t let go, instead pulling her along after him.
The lighting in the hall was dim overhead, with small lights at each table providing a glow. Now though, he guided her out onto an empty space.
“Oh no,” she said, coming to a halt as music started up. Gentle, slow sounds from an orchestra, the strings section, filled the space around them.
“Ohhh yes,” he said just as forcefully, stepping close to her.
“Oh no.”
“Oh yes. Don’t make me make a scene,” he threatened.
“You wouldn’t.”
He took a deep breath in and turned to face t
he rest of the dining room.
“Okay!” she hissed, falling for his bluff. “All right. Fine.”
Pyne grinned, took her out, and with a flick of his wrist gently twirled her once, then twice, following along with her so that she ended up in his arms at the end.
“That was very smooth,” she said, her normally powerful contralto gone husky as he took the lead and they moved slowly around the dance floor while she figured out the pattern he was leading them through.
“You’re quick on your feet,” he observed as she stayed with him with only a few missteps at the beginning. It was an easy dance, but nonetheless he was impressed by her yet again.
Maybe I should stop underestimating her then.
“I did dance from when I was four until my mid-teens,” she admitted. “I’m rusty, but it’s coming back.”
He spun her again, faster this time. She didn’t hesitate, flowing through, letting his hands and motions guide her. Then he dipped her.
“The world for a dress,” she muttered as he lifted her up and around. They still moved slow, neither of them in a rush.
It was a mating dance, an intricate showing from Pyne. He moved expertly and to perfection. Every step planned, every spin, twirl, or lift executed flawlessly. They weren’t exerting themselves, and yet by the end of it Kim was out of breath as the last notes of the song faded away, leaving them face to face, his back to the restaurant, blocking their view of her.
Kim’s head tilted back, and her mouth parted slightly moments before his crashed into her, covering her lips with his. Pyne had no idea what possessed him to kiss her then and there, but she responded immediately. Their mouths parted, tongues playfully exploring one another, the rest of the world drowned out, ignored. Unimportant.
For three seconds, then five, then a dozen, the light around him burned bright. His mate. This was his mate. He’d thought her lost, but instead of him having to search for her, she’d found him. Fate had brought her back, and he wasn’t going to lose her a second time.
A dish rattled somewhere, a knife hit a plate, and suddenly the world crashed back into reality. They froze, lips locked, neither sure what to do. Pyne opened his eyes. A second later so did Kim. They were still joined at the lips, but now their eyes were open.
