Dragon Rage

by Kelly Armenta

“Mmmm, wonderful,” he murmured and closed his eyes, looking completely at peace. I sat there looking down at the two of them allowing myself a moment of intense satisfaction, which lasted only about as long as it took Gareth to grab my arm and yank me to my feet.

  “Owen,” he hissed, and I heard fingers snapping. Next thing my world had shifted and I found myself standing in Gareth’s bedroom with a very angry Drake glaring down at me.

  Jace was already there and he glanced between Gareth and me with a questioning look. “Oh I remember this room,” I told them sarcastically before either of them could start up on me. “It’s where I sometimes spend the night. But not last night… apparently someone was too busy for me.” I continued turning my head to look around the room as if I hadn’t been there in months.

  “Why are you so angry?” Jace asked, ignoring my comment with a frown.

  “I found her playing with two of Nick’s men.”

  Jace turned his green eyes on me and his frown deepened. “Playing how?” he asked, his voice dropping to the ‘speak fast before I lose my temper’ range.

  “She was exciting them sexually… from a distance.” Wow! He made that sound a whole lot worse than it was. I’d been very careful not to touch anything covered on either of them! Was it my fault they all like to wear short shorts and left so much exposed skin for me to choose from?

  Jace crossed his arms over his chest and his frown turned to something less friendly. “And where were the others?” he demanded.

  “Only Owen and Kit were close enough to assist had it gotten out of hand. The others were practicing some small distance away.”

  “Would you like to explain yourself?”

  I used the line that Gareth had used on me last night. “I don’t believe I’m yet ready for a change of subject. I’d like to know where you two were last night and why I woke up alone in my own bed, still wearing my nightgown, while you were out playing patty cake across town with some bimbo.”

  And just like that, neither of them would meet my eyes. Hmmm… not a good sign. “Fine,” I spat out and started toward the door.

  “Stop!” Jace growled and I ignored him, or tried to. Of course that only worked in my imagination because it surely didn’t work in real life. Jace’s hand landed on my arm and I was swung around, my momentum plastering me against his chest. I took it for about half a second and then I started struggling wildly. It required both of them to hold me; I was suddenly so angry I was seeing red! We ended up in a heap on the floor with Jace wrapped around my top half and Gareth holding the bottom. “Lexi, get a hold of yourself!”

  “Get off me!” I screamed back at him.

  “What is wrong with her?”

  “Let me go!”

  “No,” Gareth replied softly. “Never.”

  The feel of their bodies pressed against mine overwhelmed me and my body seized, the force lifting both of them as my back bowed and my head snapped back. My eyes rolled back in my head and violent tremors wracked my body. A high pitched scream spilled out of me. From a distance I heard both of them yell and the door slam open. And then the smell and taste of more men. My body seized again while they held me down and I screamed and screamed.

  I opened my lashes and glanced into two large round amber eyes, surrounded by Mi’s tan and grey face. “Hi,” I rasped, my voice sounding and feeling as if someone had shredded the delicate lining of my throat with broken glass. My Mother’s face swam into view as she knelt on the floor behind Mi. We seemed to be the only three in the room. “What happened?”

  Mi looked at my Mom who shook her head. I noticed her eyes looked worried and she brushed her palm across my forehead then frowned. “We don’t know,” she told me.

  “Where is everyone?” I asked, realizing that I was drenched in sweat and my skin felt very clammy.

  “You wouldn’t stop screaming until we sent the men from the room,” Mi replied.

  “How do you feel?” Mom asked me.

  “My throat hurts. And I feel… itchy inside… distressed,” I added in a whisper. “Since I awoke this morning.”

  “Have you eaten anything today?” She frowned when I shook my head no. “Mood swings?” she asked and I thought about it for a moment and nodded. “Have you been irritable?” Ah yeah, I think you could say that I told her by nodding, as I thought over my actions this morning. “Lexi, you aren’t taking any drugs are you?” Mom asked softly, her pale blue eyes searching my face. I could see she was clearly upset. When I shook my head, she worried at her lip and brushed back my hair. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were in withdrawal,” she told me. “But from what I can’t say.”

  That didn’t make any sense. I’d never taken drugs of any kind except for the normal childhood shots, which mostly I could have skipped given my nature, but didn’t because Mom was a Doctor and just funny that way. I didn’t even take vitamins or anything for headaches. The only thing I might be addicted to was coffee and I’d had my fix that morning. Coffee… and… wow! My eyes widened and I stared up at Mom and then Mi in horror. No, no that couldn’t be. It had been less than twenty four hours since I’d had sex. That was silly. I couldn’t be having withdrawal from sex. I just couldn’t… could I? Of course I’d slept late and had no idea what time it was. I’d been with Cursed and Kit last… that was yesterday sometime early afternoon.

  “It’s after two o’clock now,” Mi informed me.

  “Which one would you like me to call in?” my Mom asked calmly. Being a Doctor and a scientist obviously prepared her well to test the theory. I was almost afraid to find out but she soothed me with her gentle hands and told me, “If it isn’t that, then between your Father and me, we will figure something out.”

  “Gareth… and Jace,” I whispered, then held Mom’s hand while Mi tilted her head to the side.

  “The hall was too close,” Mom told me. “Even on the other side of the door you still screamed.” Explaining the reason it took several minutes for the door to open and Jace and Gareth to be framed in the doorway. The open door shifted the air, bringing with it their scent. I squeezed Mom’s hand and felt myself convulse on the floor while she held me down. Voices swam above me and I felt my nails dig into my palms as my head struck the floor. A God awful noise filled the room and I somehow realized it was coming from me. Then I was lifted into Gareth’s arms and my convulsions became so violent that he had to struggle to get me to the bed. My clothing disappeared and Gareth was above me, his body pressing me into the comforter while Jace held my arms and shoulders against his chest. I felt Gareth slide inside me and I shuddered and moaned softly, my body stilling instantly on the bed, just at the feel of him within me.

  “Stars and scales!” Jace muttered. I turned my head and brushed my cheek against his bare chest while my hips lifted to Gareth.

  “Please,” I whispered hoarsely. “Don’t stop.” And he didn’t, not for a very long time. And when he was done, Jace rolled me into his arms and proceeded to start the process all over again. I lay in the middle of the bed curled between the two of them. My mind and body satiated with a heaviness that dragged me down into the soft velvety folds of exhausted sleep.

  Chapter 15

  When I cracked open an eye sometime later, I was laying on my back still cocooned between Jace and Gareth’s bodies. Jace’s fingers brushed my arm and shoulder while Gareth lay on his side with his head propped in his hand. Both of them looked serious and I gave them a smile. “Hi,” I rasped, my voice obviously in distress still.

  “Mmmm,” Jace replied softly. “How do you feel?” I closed my eyes and did a self check, realizing the biggest difference between morning and now was that the itching seemed to have disappeared and I felt… calm.

  “Better,” I told them and smiled again when they both seemed to relax.

  “You gave us quite a scare,” Gareth advised me softly, his fingers coming up to trace my nose and lips. “I suppose we are partially responsible… for not bringing you to bed last night where you obviously be
long.”

  I glanced up into his dark blue eyes and nodded. “Why didn’t you?” I finally rasped out. Gareth’s finger moved down my throat and over my collar bone while he considered my question silently.

  “It was a long day yesterday,” he replied softly. “For all of us.”

  Yesterday… my Mom turned up pregnant, I had multiple encounters with potential rivals, starting with the flowers delivered in the morning and escalating from there, and ending with my obvious distress over Amras being taken from us. Yes, I could see how it would be a long day for Gareth…. a long day for both of them and that they might need space from me. “I’m sorry,” I told them, reaching up to cup Gareth’s cheek in my palm while I laced my fingers through Jace’s. “I do not mean to hurt either of you.”

  Gareth nodded and Jace pressed his lips to my temple. “Your Mother seems to think you were suffering from withdrawal. It is… I don’t know what it is,” he replied candidly and shook his head. “Will you be angry at us if we take it as a compliment?” I glanced first at Gareth and then Jace, seeing a glimmer of pride shinning in their eyes.

  “Offended if you didn’t,” I whispered, and felt suddenly better when they both smiled warmly at me.

  “Addiction isn’t necessarily a bad thing,” Jace informed us. “We just didn’t hold up our end of the bargain.” And I nodded and frowned at him. “We’ll need to speak to the others, too,” he added, his voice going soft.

  I glanced sharply at him and inside me Goldy lifted her head and snorted rudely. Gareth and Jace both raised their eyebrows. Need Dragons, want others! she informed us, licked her lips and laid her head back down, closing her big golden eyes with another snort. Okay, well I guess that settled that.

  “So does this mean one or both of you will be visiting the Sidhe with me?” Jace looked at Gareth who looked back at him and they both nodded. “Need to… thank Kit,” I rasped.

  “Why is that?” Jace asked.

  “He thought… you two… were worthy,” I replied. Gareth laughed and shared with Jace what I had told him last night, before Jace came into the room.

  “Lexi, you need to do something about your voice,” Jace told me. I nodded and shifted everything between my shoulders and head and back again.

  When I was done I stroked my throat and told them, “I think that should fix the problem.” And indeed it did.

  “Anything else hurt?” Gareth asked. “You hit your head on the floor several times. It was terrifying,” he told me abruptly, and I pressed my lips together and nodded.

  “It wasn’t real fun from in here either,” I admitted, using my finger and tapping my forehead. “I’m okay. In fact, thanks to you two I’m better than just okay,” I told them with a saucy grin. “Maybe a little hungry,” I admitted.

  “I suppose we can’t bow out of this thing tonight?” Jace muttered, glancing at his watch. “If not, we should get something to eat soon so then we’ll have a little time before we need to think about getting ready. I imagine traffic is going to be all kinds of fun. As long as we’re ready by eight we should be fine.”

  “I wish we could skip and stay here in bed,” I told them. “Unfortunately Mom and Dad are going and that means so are we.”

  “Let’s get you up and fed then,” Gareth offered. “I’m sure the others would like to see that you are unharmed. Good thing we are immortals or the sight of you seizing might have sent the lot of us into cardiac arrest and there would have been more than one of us flopping around on the floor! Your Father was particularly distraught, especially when your Mother kicked him out with the rest of us.”

  “I had a problem with Dad, too?” I asked, somewhat grossed out at the thought.

  “You screamed the loudest when he touched you. I think you might have been trying to drive him away.”

  Oh.

  Jace leaned down and gave me a kiss, then rolled off the bed, handing me the red velvet robe lying across the end. I sat up and pulled it on, then slid to the edge. Gareth got off on the other side and came around to me. His arms gathered me in against him tenderly. I buried my face against his neck and inhaled his warm earthy smell into my lungs. I loved the way Gareth smelled and always had. He held me for several minutes and then set me back and kissed the tip of my nose. “Lets not do any of that again, okay?” he whispered and I nodded.

  When they’d pulled on their clothing we left the room. Everyone was congregated in the living room and they all stood as we came down the hall. Cursed was actually closest and reached me first. His black eyes roamed my face and he stepped between Gareth and Jace and pulled me into his arms, cradling my head against his chest with his hand. His breathing was slightly uneven and I felt a tremor run through him as I slipped my own arms around his waist. “My Lady,” he whispered, kissing my temple. Then he released me to Amras, who had tears in his eyes. I recalled seeing his face above me beside my Mom’s and wondered if he’d tried to heal me in some way.

  Amras’ pale hair brushed my face and cascaded over my shoulder as he pulled me to him and placed his cheek to mine. “Cormamin lindua ele lle” my heart sings to see thee, he whispered and I hugged him tightly.

  Owen was next and he held me briefly, then set me back from him so his dark eyes could look me over. “Power is a two edged sword,” he told me softly. “We need to determine if this is physical or psychological,” he advised before he kissed my brow and hugged me tightly and I found myself facing Kit.

  “I have no desire to return to Hell, Mistress,” he warned me bluntly. “You must take better care of yourself,” he scolded, then reached for me and nearly cracked a rib as he lifted me off my feet and pressed me to him tightly. “Damn you,” he muttered. “You scared the devil out of me, and that’s not easy! I don’t ever want to see you do that again.”

  “I’m sorry,” I muttered against the leather covering his chest and hugged him back. “I’ll try to have sex more often.” He chuckled and kissed me hard, then set me back on my feet.

  “See that you do!” he warned then released his hold.

  Jace had gone to the kitchen and Gareth was still standing a little to my side. I caught his eye he gave me a small smile. I walked to Mom and Dad and held out a hand for each of them. Dad took one look at me and pulled me into his arms. “Lexi,” he grumbled. “Do not ever scare your Mother like that again.” I chuckled and held him tightly. When he released me I hugged Mom.

  “What can you tell me about addiction?” I asked her when she released me.

  She glanced between my Father and myself and said, “Two choices, quit whatever it is you appear to be addicted to and hope you survive withdrawal, or ensure you receive your fix in whatever intervals work best for you. If I were you,” she offered, her pale blue eyes flicking to my Father again. “I’d select the second option. This might just be a temporary thing. It could be tied to your powers… your body’s way of ensuring you reach full potential now that you’ve become… active. Just be careful Lexi. Watch for the signs and take action before you become so distressed.”

  I nodded, thinking as medicine went, this was a lot better than the stuff she forced on me as a kid. “Hey, Mom?” I teased. “Can you write me a prescription?” It caused everyone in the room to chuckle except Nolls and Lira, who couldn’t seem to take their eyes off my Mother.

  “If you are alright, Lexi, I think your Mother could use a nap before we go,” Dad told me, while Mom sighed and shook her head.

  “I am expecting, Roark, not ill,” she reminded him and I could see by Dad’s face that this was not going to be one of those arguments she might win. It occurred to me that our newest additions weren’t aware of her delicate situation. My eyes slid to Lira and Nolls, flicking across Roral first, to see that they were all shocked and in Lira and Nolls case, seemed to be dismayed. I hoped that wasn’t going to cause a problem. Dad picked up my thoughts and his silver eyes followed mine.

  “The Queen has not yet been informed of my Mother’s condition. You will, of course, keep this knowled
ge to yourselves until she has the opportunity to deliver it in person,” I informed them sharply. All three of them dipped their heads, but their eyes remained on my Mother. “I think it would be a good idea for these three to guard my parents this evening,” I remarked, my words aimed at Cursed. “I doubt they would notice if I was murdered in front of them with Mom in the same room.” My comment caused a buzzing in my head and all three of my newest guards acted as if I’d slapped them. Which, I suppose, I had. Nolls’ face flushed and his eyes narrowed while I simply lifted an eyebrow and crossed my arms.

  Lira made a strangled sound in his throat but dragged his eyes away from Mom long enough to give me a horrified look. Roral pursed his lips and glanced from Lira to Nolls then turned his eyes on me and crossed his own arms. “I believe we might notice, Princess,” he remarked gruffly. I said nothing, just glanced at Cursed who looked like he was torn between defending his men and wanting to agree with me.

  “Lexi, I believe I can protect your Mother. We don’t need guards.”

  “Unfortunately Dad, I made you a target last night when I introduced you as my Father. I therefore feel a responsibility to keep not just Mom and my sisters safe, but you, too. I already have six men of my own; you will take these three or you won’t be going.”

  Dad frowned at me and glanced at Mom. “Is she always this bossy?” he asked.

  “No, actually she used to be so sweet you hardly knew she was there,” Mom replied. I felt myself stiffen and was immediately pulled in against Gareth’s chest. I suppose he was worried I might lose my temper and mention how she’d ensured I’d been a mouse by first teaching me to shimmer and then allowing me to think I was going to be carted off if I drew attention to myself. In either event, his perfect cupid bow lips nibbled the point of my ear in an attempt to distract me, while his palm and fingers splayed across my stomach.

  Mom looked at Gareth and informed the group, “Perhaps she isn’t completely over her earlier distress.” Her words sounded accusing and behind me Gareth tensed his own self; I could tell he was having second thoughts.