by Kyl, Celia
Priority number one had been removing the damn collar, which left him barely better than a human. Naturally, the house had been stripped of anything remotely resembling a tool, and venturing outside to find something useful was far too risky at this stage. He’d been damn lucky to get as far as he did, which was good news in more than one way. The collar clamped around his neck might prevent him from shifting into his dragon form, but at least it didn’t have a tracking device in it. If it had, he’d have been back in custody before he climbed out of the strip mall’s dumpster.
He’d worked all night trying to remove the thing without it so much as budging. All the while he’d wondered what the hell had happened to his boss. Had Harlow been silenced? He’d never broken a promise to Grizz in the past, so it made no sense for him to leave him in the lurch during his darkest hour. None of it made sense, no matter how hard he tried. The only logical explanation, one Grizz wasn’t ready to accept, was that Harlow had turned on him.
Sometime around dawn, his exhausted body had shut down on its own, but he’d only managed a couple of hours of fitful sleep before something woke him. Not a sound, but a feeling—a sensation deep in his belly. Not hunger. He’d gone much longer than this without food, though he had dreamed of Sun Chips. This felt more like…excitement.
That wasn’t quite right. Nervous excitement, like when he was young and just starting to notice girls. The anticipation and fear that came before talking to a girl he liked. Which was pretty odd, considering the circumstances.
“Oh, shit,” he whispered, eyes growing wide.
He was being hunted. That explained the bubbly, jumbly feeling in his gut. But whoever was on his trail had a surprise in store for them. Grizz Magna wasn’t about to roll over and let himself be captured. Not now. He had far too much to lose.
He’d run because there was no way he could spend the rest of his life rotting away in a human prison, unable to be his true self, despite the fact his sentence would automatically be upgraded to death. He was dead either way, and Grizz preferred to die fighting for his life instead of being blasted by a firing squad of dragons.
The hunter was close. Right outside the abandoned house’s front door, if what remained of his senses still worked. Not a sound came from the other side of the door, so whoever was about to bust into the house was good. Very good. He only hoped he was better.
Pulling himself to his full height, Grizz moved from the center of the living room so the hunter would have to scan the room for a split second to find him. He crouched low and tensed every muscle, ready to attack. Every hair on his body stood on end.
The front door exploded into a million slivers of wood, forcing him to raise his arm to protect himself from the flying debris. When he lowered it, he froze. The most stunning creature he’d ever laid eyes on stood in the doorway, panting heavily as her black gaze swept the room, searching for him. Every muscle in her body—and there were a lot of them—quivered with readiness. Her thick braid of dark brown hair swung heavily between her shoulders as her head jerked from side to side until she spotted him. Then she did something wholly unexpected.
She froze too.
They stared at each other for far too long, but Grizz couldn’t help himself. She’d obviously released a bit of her dragon, judging by the power rippling through her body and the wisp of smoke trickling out of her left nostril, but he could tell she would be almost as strong in her human form. The woman worked out, that much was clear, and with some of her dragon showing, she was as beefy and hulking as he was. The Spandex in her black clothing was stretched to its limit, threatening to split with every heaving breath she took, which only served to draw his eyes down the luscious length of her. The copper tone of her skin darkened as her cheeks flushed and her eyes dilated.
The dragonsbane in his collar had to be fucking with his senses somehow. His emotions were going haywire because every instinct he possessed screamed for him to go to her. To pull her into a passionate embrace and crush her lips with his own, even though it meant certain death.
Grizz’s sense of survival took over, pushing out the strange yearning for this strange woman, and he lunged at her. She responded instantly and their powerful bodies collided mid-air. Using his training, he spun around and tried to put her in a headlock. But to his shock, she managed to stoop before he could get a good hold and then slipped one arm around his neck and the other between his legs. Before he knew what was happening, she’d lifted him off the floor and thrown him across the room.
His body slammed into the wall, crumbling the plaster and leaving a Grizz-shaped dent before he crumpled to the floor in a heap. If he’d been any other fugitive, he’d have been down for the count. But it took a hell of a lot more than that to keep Grizz out of the action, and he would push himself to new, untested limits before he wasted away in prison.
Almost as if she could read his thoughts, she ran straight at him. For all she knew, he was gravely injured, so Grizz remained crouched until she was only a few steps away. Then he tucked his right shoulder in, ducked his head, and rolled into her legs like a bowling ball. As expected, she tumbled onto the floor, but she was back on her feet a split second after he was. It was still just enough time for him to grab two fistfuls of her black shirt, haul her around, and slam her into the wall. Now there were two matching dents in the plaster.
Both of her hands shot up through the space between his arms and knocked them away, leaving him open. He managed to block blow after blow as she advanced and forced him backward. Pretty soon he’d end up with his back against the wall and then he’d be at her mercy. Ducking low, he darted past her into the center of the room and bounced from foot to foot, his fists at the ready. Her upper lip curled back in a snarl and he had to force himself not to think of how much he wanted to kiss her.
They circled each other, their eyes locked on each other, and for a brief moment, Grizz wondered why she didn’t just go full dragon and blow his ass into ashes. But then she was coming at him and he acted on instinct, putting all of his power into the punch that would have laid out anyone else. Instead, his fist connected with her palm and she used his own momentum against him to spin him around, twist his wrist, and slam him face-first to the floor.
Every alarm bell in his head went wild with every instinct imaginable flashing in all different directions at once. She had to be using some kind of spell or charm that targeted his mind. There was no other explanation.
Grizz struggled to wrench his hands free, but she had him fully under control. With a quick movement, she flipped him over onto his back, forced his arms over his head, and straddled him, the blackness of her eyes flickering with fire. This was it, the end of him. He tried one more time to fight for his freedom, but her dragon power was far superior to his muted strength. With a heavy sigh, he relaxed under her grip.
“Go on,” he growled, ready for the inevitable outcome. “You won, fair and square. Just make it quick.”
Her nostrils flared, another wisp of smoke drifting upward, and then her lips were on his and suddenly everything in his life made sense.
Chapter Three
Every cell in Elektra’s body became imbued with a crackling, restless electrical current. Her heart pounded almost painfully, an ache that betrayed just how much adrenaline pumped through her system. It also betrayed just how shocked she was to have fallen into this devilishly good-looking man’s arms.
How had this happened? Just a few moments ago, they were enemies, slashing and tearing at one another like two cobras in a pit. She was used to that—the chase, the confrontation, the battle. That made sense to her. It was her job, her calling. Hell, she even looked forward to the chance to work out some excess energy and unleash it on a worthy opponent.
And this man, this convicted murderer, had certainly put up quite a fight. In fact, Elektra was impressed by the way he’d seemed to match her blow for blow, almost anticipating her actions before she could even follow through. It was something primal, a predator’s power t
hat seethed and flickered just under the surface at all times, her dragon snapping and snarling for control.
Giving up that power and control wasn’t an option for her, and that’s how she moved through the world—a hurricane trapped in the body of a woman. But right now, lying on top of the man she’d been assigned to capture, she’d never felt her womanhood so potently in her life. This man made her feel strong and vulnerable at the same time, which was not something she ever expected to experience, especially with a stranger. But as she peered down into his rich coffee-colored eyes, plumbing the depths of his very soul, laid bare before her, she knew she was safe with him. It was okay to relinquish a modicum of control. Just this once.
Besides, it wasn’t like she would ever be able to resist him, even if she wanted. Her inner dragon chomped at the bit to touch every inch of Grizz’s body, to get as close as possible. Skin to skin. Muscle to muscle. Calloused soul against calloused soul.
Dipping her head, Elektra claimed his lips again, a soft moan escaping her throat and pouring into his eager mouth. Their bodies writhed against one another in a twisting mass of pure muscle and perfect curves. They fit together like Tetris pieces, molding into one cohesive shape as their hands skimmed over their clothes.
Elektra was almost—almost—embarrassed. They were touching each other with all the frenetic, desperate energy of a couple of horny teenagers. As if they were discovering the sensations of arousal and desire for the first time. Patently untrue, but no experience or attraction in her past compared to her feverish need for Grizz Magna, convicted murderer.
On a surface level, she knew this was wrong. If her team members happened to stumble across this scene, what would they think? Probably that Elektra had lost her damn mind. And truthfully, it kind of felt that way. She was a helpless servant to the waves of desire gripping her again and again. The more time she spent in Grizz’s embrace, the more she needed him.
Her dragon egged her on, urging her to mate with him. The connection was animalistic, just as much a part of their makeup as their own genes. They were made for each other. Destined for each other, and no amount of quibbling about the morality of fucking a triple murderer fugitive on the floor of his crack den hideout was going to change that. So Elektra made the split-second decision to ignore the moral greyness of what she was about to do. No matter what he’d done, she needed him. Now.
“Take this off,” Grizz said in the sexiest Southern accent, tugging at the bottom hem of her black shirt.
“Don’t tell me what to do,” she snarled, even as she stripped off her shirt and threw it across the room.
With a greedy groan, Grizz reached around to unclasp her bra and tossed it aside, letting her full breasts spill out. He claimed them both with his massive, rough hands, pulling one into his mouth and sucking hard. Elektra arched into his rough touch, her core tightening and throbbing for him.
Forcing herself to pull free of his talented tongue, she growled at him. “Now you.”
He dragged his gaze away from her tight, brown nipple to give her an impatient glare. But he did as she’d ordered, tugging his ill-fitting t-shirt over his head before she could blink. What lay underneath nearly took her breath away.
His body looked like a master had chiseled it out of marble. Every inch of him was thick, clenching muscle. His broad chest, his taut abs, the delicious vee-shaped cut of his hips and pelvis. Elektra’s mouth watered. She wanted more. She wanted it all.
With a quick flick of her wrist, she hastily unzipped his pants and pulled them off, releasing his thick cock like a cobra springing out of a box. Elektra smirked, pleased to be responsible for his hardness. She quickly pulled down her own pants and kicked them away. Every place his fingertips brushed felt like fire spiraling in wild designs underneath her skin. She burned for him, and she knew there was no going back.
Maybe he was a killer. Maybe he was a bad man. But the truth of the matter, which was becoming increasingly apparent the longer they stayed pressed against each other, was that she was meant for him and he was meant for her. That instinct had led her straight to him.
They were fated mates. That was the bare and honest reality. She could not deny it any more than she could deny her own nature. And now that they were together in the same room, no force on earth could stop them from claiming one another.
“I need you,” Grizz grunted, his voice husky with lust.
“Take me,” she hissed back, more fierce than fragile.
It wasn’t an offer. It was a demand. And Grizz was all too eager to obey.
His hands roved down her solid frame, reveling in the slope of her back and the sharp dip of her narrow waist. He grabbed her muscled ass with both hands, groaning as his cock slid up against Elektra’s slick slit. She was opening, blooming for him like a rose, and it was only a matter of time before they merged into one being.
Reaching between their bodies, Elektra grabbed his shaft and nestled the swollen head against her opening, sighing with anticipation. Grizz inhaled sharply, his eyes blazing with lust, but he remained still, letting her take the lead.
The thought of sex had never filled her with such joy before. It had always been a pressure release for Elektra, a way to burn some calories or blow off steam. It never meant anything, at least not to her. But now, with her mate’s cock ready to claim her, she finally knew what true happiness was.
With a quick and sudden jerk of her hips, she accepted the full length and girth of him in a single stroke. They both cried out and grappled for purchase, their hands desperately reaching to steady themselves. Their fingers found each other, intertwining as she slowly rocked her hips against his.
Life finally had meaning. Every minute of her life had led to this moment, this man. Maybe it wouldn’t make sense to anyone else, but to Elektra, it was everything. Her teammates wouldn’t understand. They’d wonder how she’d lost her mind in such a short time span, to track down and fuck a murderer instead of taking him into custody. But she knew the truth.
Grizz was innocent.
He didn’t need to proclaim it or explain how his lawyer had screwed him over. She wasn’t deluding herself like so many women had done, making excuses for their male loved ones and wanting to believe in their goodness so badly they ignored the evidence laid before them. Elektra knew, at a cellular level, that Grizz had not committed the murders for which he’d been convicted. His soul was hers to read. He could hide nothing from her. He was innocent and that made her heart sing.
The intensity of their movements increased, deepened, until she could no longer tell where her flesh began and his ended. They were one, bonded for all eternity, bound to one another for the rest of their long lives. The future was but a grey mist, but they would figure it all out. Together.
The thought sent Elektra over the edge of bliss. Her frame shuddered and trembled as she clenched around Grizz, pulling him deeper inside her, as deeply as she could take him. Choked cries echoed off the walls of the deserted house as they climaxed together, her head thrown back as pleasure and a beautiful sense of completion rocked her body and soul. Wetness slicked her face, and for a moment, she thought the roof was leaking, until she realized the liquid was tears.
With a great sob of happiness, Elektra collapsed on her mate’s chest, breathing in his scent as he wrapped his arms around her.
* * *
Grizz had no idea what was going on, and that wasn’t something he often admitted.
He lay on the filthy floor of some abandoned crack den in a nowhere neighborhood on the west side of Los Angeles, on the run for his life as a fugitive wanted for murder and escaping a life sentence…and he was glistening with sweat in the afterglow of the best sex he’d ever had—with his hunter, no less.
To say he hadn’t expected the day to go this way would be an understatement. Then again, he was in a line of work that didn’t give him the luxury of a “typical” day.
But as much as none of this made sense to him, it felt perfectly natural at the same ti
me. As if a part of him knew this was the logical conclusion of the two of them finding each other. No way the encounter could have gone any other way.
Unless she’d kicked down the doors of every house on the block, she’d been drawn to him, as weird as that sounded under the circumstances. But Grizz had spent his entire career at the SBI trusting his instincts, and he wasn’t about to doubt them now. In fact, he trusted them enough that he had faith she’d believe the next two words out of his mouth without question. Part of him thought he didn’t need to say them in the first place, but he was going to anyway.
“I’m innocent.”
Her head lay sideways on his heaving chest, but he could feel her smile against him. “I know.”
No argument, only pure trust.
As if an enchantment had burst between them, they sat up almost in unison, and Grizz felt his whole world spin. Something felt different inside him. He was the kind of man who liked his every emotion and physical trait accounted for in order to be the best at what he did, so that bothered him. But their moment had passed, and now they were left to confront themselves—and each other—with what they had just done.
He stood first and, without thinking, he offered her a hand as she did the same. She took it on instinct, but as soon as she was up, she snatched her hand away as if bitten by fire. Then she looked at him with an uncertain suspicion that softened into curiosity.
“Who are you?” she asked, her voice a whisper.
“I’m more interested in hearing who you think I am.”
