Chapter Nineteen #2
Delphine gave a short, blind wave, but she was too busy exploring Henrik’s mouth to utter a sound — until she tipped her head back and moaned. Henrik’s fangs extended, and her body rippled in anticipation.
“Ugh, guys? Is there somewhere private you can take the show?” Bene tried.
Delphine giggled and dragged Henrik toward the converted barn.
Roux stuck out a hand. “Hey! We’re having a meeting.”
“Not for an hour, we’re not,” Henrik called over his shoulder.
We watched them go without a word. Moments later, a lusty cry broke out from upstairs, making Mina wince.
Bene turned away and sighed. “I call the room farthest from them.”
“I call the second farthest,” Mina chimed in, looking a little pale.
“Dammit…” Roux ran his hands through his hair.
“Like herding cats, huh?” Bene laughed, giving him a playful smack on the shoulder. “Get it? Cats?”
“Cat,” Roux grumbled, making a point of the singular. “I have to herd you, a surly vampire, a maverick dragon, and…and…” He motioned at Mina.
I dare you, her wary expression said.
“Our gracious hostess?” Bene supplied.
Roux nodded wearily. “Our gracious hostess.”
Mina winced at the next lusty cry that came from the barn, and even Bene looked a little grim.
“Just remember, Dorothy,” he murmured. “We’re not in Kansas any more. This here is a whole new world. A dangerous one.”
Mina’s eyes drifted to the balcony as low moans carried out into the night. “Yes, I got that much.”
The cries from the barn grew louder and more frenzied, and Bene grimaced.
“I hate to say it, but I don’t think we’ll get much done tonight. Can we adjourn until tomorrow morning?”
Roux frowned but gave in. “Seven sharp.”
“Nine,” Bene countered.
“Seven,” Roux growled.
Mina pointed silently to the balcony of Henrik and Delphine’s room.
Roux smacked the table in frustration. “All right, already. Eight.”
We grabbed our things and followed a snaking path marked by dim garden lights. On the far side of the property — out of earshot of the barn, thank goodness — Bene pointed at a row of cottages.
“Oh, damn. Only three. Someone will have to share.” He waggled his eyebrows at Mina.
“You and Roux do make a cute couple,” she said dryly.
“A commander always gets his own quarters.” Roux speed walked into the closest building and slammed the door.
Click went the lock, and Bene sighed. “He really, really needs to get laid.” Then he brightened and looked at Mina. “Speaking of which…”
She crossed her arms, daring him to continue.
“Okay, okay. For real, now. We have two options. Option one, you and me.” Bene indicated himself and Mina. “Or option two, you and him,” he finished, pointing to her and me.
“Or boys in one, girls in another,” Mina pointed out.
Bene chuckled. “Like I said, you and him.”
I growled under my breath.
That put us at an impasse. Crickets chirped. An owl hooted. Mina scuffed the ground. I watched her, desperately trying to restrain my hopes and desires.
Finally, she closed her eyes. “I’m too tired to argue. And too tired for anything else,” she added firmly. “So, you two can duke it out. I’ll be asleep — on the couch — in that one.” With that, she headed to the middle cottage.
“On the couch?” Bene waved around. “In a place like this?”
“Goodnight,” she murmured in that flat, end of argument tone she did so well.
Bene tilted his head as she opened the door and disappeared inside.
I smacked his shoulder, and he jerked upright. “What?”
He’d been admiring her ass, and I knew it.
“Maybe,” he chuckled, reading my mind.
I rolled my right hand into a fist and waved it in front of his face.
He backed away. “Like the boss said…goodnight.” He headed for the last cottage, leaving me alone.
I stood there deciding which feline I was going to kill first, and how.
Then Mina cracked open the door of the middle cottage, looked around, and flashed a This is ridiculous look.
I pointed silently at Bene’s cottage. His fault.
She searched the heavens, presumably for patience. Then she crooked a finger, beckoning me closer.
“Nothing personal, but considering we’re on a job…” she started when I joined her at the threshold. Then she petered out and put her face in her hands. “God, you guys have corrupted me already. I sound like a hardened criminal.”
Ha. Not by a long shot.
“I get it,” I said gruffly.
And honestly, I did. It made perfect sense…in my head. In my heart, however—
I dropped my bags before my dragon made me think, say, or do something stupid, and did an about-face. “No problem. I’ll take the couch — after I have a look around.”
Mina followed me outside. “A look around? Now?”
I yanked off my shirt and tossed it at her, then bent to unlace my boots.
“Now,” I growled.
The sooner I shifted and put some space between us, the better my chances of resisting the urge to throw her over my shoulder and take her to bed.
I threw my boots beside the entrance, undid my pants, and hooked my thumbs into the waistband.
Mina’s eyes went wide. “What are you—?”
“Catch,” I muttered, dropping my pants, then tossing them to her.
She caught them, more with her face than her hands. Not very nice of me, but if I didn’t shift and fly away, I might just hustle her to the bed, the couch, or that rug in front of the fireplace.
Rug, my dragon voted.
We’re flying, I hissed to my dragon.
Maybe after? the beast tried.
I ignored the comment, a tactic I’d picked up from Mina.
The cottages clustered around a small, open yard — too small for a sane dragon to shift and take off in. A desperately horny dragon, on the other hand…
I ran three steps, shifting as I went. Then I spread my arms — already turning into wings — bounded to a knee-high boulder, and leaped.
Whoosh! Wind stung my eyes as I strained to fly while pushing away the last vestiges of my human body.
I gritted my teeth, pumped my wings a few times, then held them still. I barely cleared Bene’s cottage, but clear it, I did. The moment open air tickled my belly, I exhaled. Then I coiled my tail and let it crack like a whip over his roof, making the walls shake.
Fucking dragons, he cursed.
Nighty-night, I rumbled before shooting up toward the stars, hotdogging in a spiral in case Mina was watching.
Of course she’s watching, my dragon chuckled smugly, releasing a long, sparkly plume of fire.
Show-off, Bene muttered into my mind.
Isn’t it past your bedtime? I shot back.
Steadying out, I set off to reconnoiter. Partly because that was the smart thing to do, partly to try to keep Mina off my mind.
Operative word: try.
Actual result? Epic fail, because all I saw, smelled, and heard was Mina. I pictured her flying at my side, marveling at it all with me. The patchwork blanket of fields and olive groves… The dry, undulating hills… The gentle sea breeze, carrying a faint message to my ears.
A whisper that said, Destiny.