Chapter 10 #2
“Afraid?” He pressed a last, lingering kiss on her lips before reluctantly lifting his head to study her flushed face. “I don’t believe you. You’re the most courageous creature I’ve ever met. Courageous and reckless and stubbornly impervious to the fact you’re mortal.”
“I don’t have any choice. Before last year I lived a very boring life. Well...” She wrinkled her nose at the blatant lie. “Mostly boring.”
“You’re an adrenaline junkie who lives on the edge.” He wasn’t teasing. This woman was a thrill seeker. He could only hope that taming a dragon would be enough of a challenge. “A trait that will no doubt give me an ulcer.”
Her lips twitched as she accepted she couldn’t fool him. “Can dragons get ulcers?”
“We’ll find out.”
“Hmm.” Her hands smoothed over the muscles of his chest. “Why would you care if I put myself in danger?”
He tugged her hard against the aching length of his erection. “You know why, Wynn.” He groaned at the feel of her soft temptation against his hardness. “We both know why,” he rasped.
The rich scent of her desire swirled through the air, but she arched back as she realized how close they were to forgetting the danger just outside the door.
“Azh.”
“Yes, I know. Wrong place, wrong time.”
Azh clenched his teeth. It took more effort than he wanted to admit for him to lower his arms and step back. He’d spent eons indulging his various appetites, including sex, with a casual appreciation that didn’t include clinging to anyone or anything.
The only thing he hoarded was his treasure.
And now...Wynn.
With a shake of his head, Azh forced himself to concentrate on his sketchy plan to locate Gabriela’s statue. His dragon rumbled in frustration, but with a huff of annoyance the beast settled back to sleep.
“Do you have anything you want to take with us?” he asked.
She sent him a confused glance. “Where are we going?”
“London.”
“Now?”
“The sooner the better.”
She reached into her pocket to pull out a small rock. “My skipping stones won’t take us that far. We’ll have to book a flight. It’s going to take a day or two to get things arranged. Always assuming you have a passport.”
He snorted at her ridiculous words. “I have an easier way. Get whatever you want to take with you.”
Turning, she headed toward the corner to grab her duffel bag that was obviously packed and ready to go at a moment’s notice. He suspected she’d spent her entire life like that. Eager to run.
Could she be convinced to stay in one place? Or would she forever feel the need to roam?
A question for later.
She walked back to stand in front of him, a sudden frown tugging on her brows. “What’s your easier way? You’re not going to turn into your dragon, are you?”
He tried to imagine shifting into his natural form in the middle of New York City. It would be pure chaos. Not to mention warning every creature in the world that he’d left the confines of his lair.
Still, he couldn’t resist teasing his companion. “Does the thought bother you?”
“It’s a little intimidating,” she admitted. “I mean I logically accept you’re a dragon, but it doesn’t feel real.”
Azh held out his hand. “I have something that might help.” He smiled as she hesitated. “Trust me.”
“I don’t trust anyone,” she said, but she laid her hand against his open palm.
He squeezed her fingers. “Challenge accepted.”
“That’s not a challenge...” Her words dried on her lips, her eyes widening as the cheap hotel room began to fade and they were standing in the center of a marble corridor lined with fluted columns that soared toward the distant ceiling.
She turned in a slow circle, her eyes wide.
Everything was built on a grand scale fit for dragons.
From the arched, stained-glass windows that soared ten feet off the ground to the alcoves carved into the thick marble walls large enough for a full-grown dragon to curl up for a nap.
“Is this where your people are hibernating?”
He nodded. “Traveling through here is the fastest route to London.”
She shivered, instinctively stepping closer to him as the chandelier overhead rattled and a blast of heat sizzled through the air.
“It might be the fastest, but I don’t think I’m supposed to be here.”
“You’re with me. That’s all the invitation you need.”
“I hope so.” Her eyes darted from side to side, as if expecting a beast to suddenly appear. “I don’t want to end up a crispy critter because you enjoy breaking the rules.” The chandelier rattled again as an ear-piercing screech echoed down the corridor. “What’s that?”
“Do you want to see?”
She hesitated, then squared her shoulders. “Yes.”
Still gripping her fingers, he headed down the long corridor, reaching the very end before turning into a side tunnel that led to a heavy iron door marked with layers of hexes.
It was hard to imagine any creature stupid enough to sneak into a lair filled with dragons, but better safe than sorry.
Every door was protected by a spell that would alert him if anyone tried to open it.
With a whisper of magic, the heavy door slid open, revealing a steep staircase heading into the darkness. He could hear Wynn’s rapid heartbeat and the uneven breaths she was trying to disguise, but her steps never faltered as he led her into the depths of the vast cavern.
Surrounded by a thick darkness, Azh followed a narrow path that eventually opened to reveal an immense crater so deep the bottom couldn’t be seen and wide enough that the dragon perched on the far side was little more than a smudge of shimmering scales.
In the center of the crater two dragons released precise bursts of fire as they veered and circled each other in elegant patterns.
The larger white dragon with blue eyes was more powerful as he swooped down and sliced his claws along the scales of the emerald dragon.
Not hard enough to penetrate, but enough to leave marks.
The green dragon, however, had the advantage of speed as she performed a swift turn that allowed her to swoop over the top of her opponent and spray her liquid fire over his head.
The male bellowed in pain, slapping the younger dragon with a wing that was ten feet long. The female twirled away, something that sounded like laughter floating toward them.
Turning his head, Azh studied Wynn’s tense profile. She appeared impervious to the fact she was standing on the edge of a sheer cliff. Her attention was locked on the dragons who continued their sparring with a dazzling display of power.
“Terrified?” he asked softly.
“Yes,” she breathed, a fine layer of perspiration coating her skin. The searing heat from their blasts of fire could be felt even at a distance. “But only in the most beautiful way possible,” she continued. “It’s like a dance, only with fire and teeth and claws.”
His clenched muscles relaxed at her captivated expression.
She’d been right when she said that the idea of a dragon was different from seeing one in person.
Their size alone was intimidating, but add in the thunderous power and their pleasure in testing their strength against each other.
..they weren’t a species for the faint of heart.
There’d been a real possibility that she would see them in flight and run screaming in the opposite direction. The fact that she’d instead watched their skirmish with a blatant fascination not only assured him but the beast inside him.
“We’ve tried to minimize the damage we inflict on one another over the years. In the old days this sort of friendly sparring would often end in death,” he admitted. She needed to know the full truth of his people.
The good, the bad, and the ugly.
She arched a brow. “Are you saying that the dragons are evolving?”
“It’s that or become obsolete. A fact that has been difficult for some of my people to comprehend.”
She abruptly turned to face him, her expression somber. “I hope they do survive.”
He impulsively wrapped his arms around her waist, tugging her tight against him.
“I’m going to do whatever necessary to make sure they do.”
He heard her breath catch, her eyes widening as his beast surged toward the surface. Having Wynn in this place, surrounding her in his scent, stirred his most primitive passions.
“Azh...” she breathed.
“What is it?”
“I see your dragon.” She reached up to brush her fingertips gently over his eyes. “He’s lurking just behind here. He looks like he really does want to devour me.”
He tugged her closer, a growl rumbling in his throat. “From head to toe.”
She shivered as he allowed his fire to dance over them, outlining the wings that were invisible in this form. In the background the dragons once again bellowed their battle cries.
Azh hissed as he struggled to control his pagan desires, sternly reminding himself that they were just passing through. Of course, that didn’t mean they couldn’t take a short detour.
“I have something else I want you to see.”
She clicked her tongue, as if she thought he was teasing. “Seriously, you have to work on your cheesy lines.”
He lifted her hand to press her fingers against his lips. “Trust me.”
Before she could argue, he led her along the narrow pathway, heading toward an arched opening that led to the tunnels used by the servants who’d traveled with the dragons into hibernation.
He wasn’t trying to hide. Every dragon in the lair could feel his presence.
Along with his companion’s. This was simply the fastest route to where he was going.
Once inside the tunnel, they curved their way upward, heading to the layer of caverns directly above the arena.
A few minutes later they stepped into another massive space.
Azh stopped at the entrance, raising his hand to release a small flame that danced through the air, igniting the chandeliers that circled the coved ceiling.
The soft glow of light spilled over the endless rows of shelves that held the dragons’ impressive library and the long wooden tables placed in the center of the marble floor.
On the opposite side of the space were glass cases that held manuscripts and parchments collected over thousands of years.
Lost in the shadows was a shimmering circle of magic.
It was the entrance to the forbidden section, where the most fragile and dangerous books were stored.
Next to him Wynn released a small gasp, stepping forward to glance around the heavily stacked shelves with a bemused expression.
“You did this on purpose, didn’t you?”
“Did what?”
“Brought me here to show off your library.” She turned to send him a chiding glance. “You knew I would be enchanted.”
He chuckled, shattering the illusion he’d wrapped around Gabriela’s book. Now that the seal protecting Gabriela’s hidden connection to the corruption had been broken, he wanted to make sure it was safely stored away. The history of the dragons was going to have to be rewritten.
Yet another worry for later.
With a word of power, he sent the heavy book spinning through the air, bypassing the glass cases to disappear through the swirling opening to the forbidden section.
Then he turned to study his companion with a faint smile. “Actually I assumed you’d be enchanted by the arena.”
“They were kick-ass warriors. But this...” She spread her arms as if attempting to absorb the rich scent of leather and incense. “This is the true magic.”
His dragon restlessly paced inside him as he stared down at the face that had captivated him from the beginning. The soft lavender eyes and delicate features were beautiful, but it was the bold, unbreakable spirit that called to his beast.
“Just like you,” he whispered.
She swayed toward him, as if they were being pulled together by unseen forces. But even as he reached to pull her into his arms, the marble floor trembled beneath their feet.
“How dare you taint our home with that creature,” a female voice roared, shattering the sense of peace.
Jumping back, Wynn shoved her hand into the pocket of her coat, no doubt grabbing her skipping stone in case she needed a quick exit.
“Someone’s not happy,” she said, her voice not quite steady.
Azh ground his teeth as his mother continued her angry tirade. “Destroy her or I will.”
Dammit. He should have wrapped his mother’s cell in layers that muffled her from sensing what was happening in the rest of the lair. Her unwelcomed interference wasn’t going to stop until he made her understand that she was no longer queen.
“Time to go,” he announced.
Not because he cared if his mother was angry that Wynn was in their lair. Zanna was always angry about something. But he didn’t want Wynn to think she was anything but welcomed in his home.
“No shit,” she agreed, hurrying toward the door.
Azh heaved a sigh and with a flick of his hand returned the library to darkness.