Chapter Four #2
“Are you kidding? It’ll send the box office through the roof.
” Vildra sighed. “Though Sidney damn near had a stroke when I told him. I pointed out that one of the other centaurs can cast a glamour that will let him pass as Baareo. Not well enough to fool me, but a camera wouldn’t know the difference.
Bar was the best actor out of the bunch, but Warhoof isn’t bad.
Give him a few more takes than Baareo would have needed and he can nail it.
” Smoke curled from her mouth as she growled, “And yes, I do have more scenes to shoot.” A tongue of fire joined the smoke before she continued, pointing a finger at me.
It had a very long, very sharp claw instead of its usual manicured nail.
“Do not go setting a trap for that bastard while I’m busy, or I’m going to be seriously pissed off. ”
I rolled my eyes. “Yes, Mom.”
“And do not call me Mom,” Vildra snapped, her pupils narrowing to vertical slits. “I know what a cunt that woman is. You really should let me eat her.”
“She’d probably give you food poisoning.”
The mayor’s curling lip revealed sharp, impressive teeth that did not belong in a human mouth. “I’d risk it.”
* * *
Dearg
Iona had wanted to do the family notification next, but Mom told me Dad was still arguing with Bloodhoof over it. “We are not sending our son into the Centauri kingdom without assurances you’ll come back,” she told me over the communication spell I’d cast. “How’s it going?”
“We’re notifying a ‘taur family their son was murdered by an unknown assassin. In his sleep.”
“Good point.” Her mouth thinned. “To be clear, we do not want anybody notifying us about you. Got that?”
I knew that look. “Yes, ma’am.”
Vildra and Iona simultaneously turned and stared, grinning at my meek tone. I flipped them off out of view of the spell.
“And if you have to go throw a ring into a lake of lava -- or something equally batshit -- you’d better give me and your dad a call first.”
I’d have laughed, but Mom was serious. “Yes, ma’am.”
“We’re also good for lawyers, guns, and money,” she continued, quoting a song she’d found on YouTube. “I mean it, kid.”
“I love you too,” I said.
She gave me a narrow-eyed stare. “Do not get killed. We love you.”
We said our goodbyes. I cut the spell and turned, expecting snickers. Instead, I found Vildra wearing a stricken expression and Iona staring at her in concern. The mayor smiled, but it looked forced. “You’re a good son.”
I stared after her as she strode from the room.
A new question occurred to me. What the hell is a dragon matriarch doing living on Mortal Earth?
Matriarchs were clan leaders, and since they appointed the Dragon Lords, they held enormous political power in the Dragon Lands.
Yet Vildra had walked away from her clan.
Had to be a story there. I just didn’t have time to dig for it.
An hour later, I scanned the surrounding woods as we headed back to the department. “How did you end up as the Summerwood police chief?” I asked Iona, scanning the surrounding woods as we headed toward town.
“Basically, the mayor showed up and made me an offer I could not refuse…”
“As in, ‘If you say no, I’ll eat you’?”
“She’s not that big an asshole.”
“She eats centaurs.”
“That one was too stupid to live. She probably improved the ‘taur gene pool.” Iona pursed that lush mouth of hers, and my libido gave me a swift kick. “Though admittedly, eating people is her favorite threat. She doesn’t really mean it…”
“And unicorns don’t eat pixies.”
Iona ignored that. “After sixteen years working homicides in Chicago, the idea of a fairy Mayberry sounded appealing.”
When I was a kid, my werewolf grandparents had loved reruns of The Andy Griffith Show. “I don’t recall Sheriff Taylor fighting psychotic centaurs.” I eyed the nearest cluster of trees for anyone with a taste for Iona kebob. Nothing.
Yet.
She chuckled. “Now you’ve got me imagining Andy issuing Barney Fife one spell for his magic wand.”
“And Barney struggling to figure out how to load it.”
We grinned at each other. As the moon painted her lovely face in silver and shadow, desire rolled over me. Don’t start, I told my cock. It ignored me.
Iona’s head came up as she focused on me, her green eyes taking on a soft glow. A rich scent teased my nose: ozone and roses, the scent of her magic.
And desire.
A memory from the vision invaded my consciousness.
Huge, brilliant eyes stared into mine, irises somewhere between green and gold, hot and lazy with passion.
One corner of the woman’s lush mouth crooked up as she smiled.
Her hair was long, a gleaming mass of green curls that tumbled around pale, bare shoulders.
Her graceful fingers slid through my hair, her touch somehow both sensual and soothing.
“I love you,” she breathed, her voice throaty, rich with need. “I need you. Now.”
She was looking at me with that same sensual expression now.
And Cachamwri’s Egg, I was just as hungry for her.
Which still didn’t make it a good idea. Iona Anann could never be a one-night stand. There was just too much about her to love -- not only that lush, long-legged body, but the intelligence, the humor, the sheer sensuality that made her every gesture and step hypnotic.
All of which could distract me at exactly the wrong time.
As I stared down into those brilliant green eyes, I realized I couldn’t stand the thought of losing her. It was ridiculous -- I’d only met the woman that morning. Yet the connection already felt bone-deep.
I flashed on the scene from the vision. “I love you,” she breathed, her voice throaty, rich with need. “I need you. Now.”
My cock pressed hard against my zipper. It took real effort to look away from Iona’s face and the desire making her eyes glow. Now is not the time.
Yes, it is. Court her, Breath demanded.
Look, if I get distracted, something’s going to eat her. I can court her after we execute the murderer.
I will warn you if there is danger. Its mental voice had turned wheedling.
Who are you and what did you do with my psychotic sword?
I am Dragon’s Breath. You know this.
Figure of speech.
Cachamwri wants you together.
Cachamwri wants her alive. That’s more important than my love life. Could be more important than my life if her murder resulted in my parents’ deaths.
I dragged my gaze away from her and forced myself to scan the trees. Between moonlight and my werewolf night vision, I could see into the densest shadows. No sight of anyone else, no scent of active magic.
My gaze slid back to her as she strolled along beside me. Her French-braided hair revealed elegant, pointed ears. I wanted to take one between my teeth, then see how she’d react to the sweep of my tongue…
No. I’d be in love before the sweat dried. She was the embodiment of everything I’d ever wanted in a lover. Fierce, intelligent, beautiful, and dedicated to the well-being of her people.
I breathed in again, looking for signs of the assassin. Instead, the scent of her desire flooded my head, making me remember the passion the vision Iona had offered… “I love you,” she breathed, her voice throaty, rich with need. “I need you. Now.”
No. I am not that self-destructive.
“Dearg,” Iona said, her voice soft.
I managed to drag my attention away from that damn vision and its teasing glimpse of her lush, sweet nudity. “Yes?”
“Are you planning to get a room at one of the B&Bs?” Iona took a deep breath, as if gathering her courage. “Or do you want to come home with me?”
Dragon’s Breath bit into my leg with very long, very sharp teeth. You will not leave her.
I have no intention of leaving her. Aloud, I said, “I’m your bodyguard. I go where you go.” Including your bed, if you’ll have me.
Bad. Idea. Very bad. I fought to keep my gaze from sliding down her long, leggy body in those police blues. She looked sexy as hell even in a uniform with a hip-emphasizing duty belt that could make female officers look dumpy.
The musk of her desire joined the scent of apples and ozone. Her voice was soft when she spoke. “My magic -- I can tell when someone wants me.”
Oh, sweet Maeve, I did not need her widening the gaping hole in my self-discipline. But I also couldn’t lie -- she’d sense it. “Yes, I want you, but we’ve only just met.”
“I’m aware.” Iona’s lips quirked. “Doesn’t seem to matter to my libido.”
“Yes, but it’s a bad idea. You… distract me.” Which was a massive understatement. I looked away, scanned the forest, then the sky through the trees. No sign of anyone or anything. “Neither of us can afford to be distracted.”
“Then again, giving in to the distraction might let us both concentrate.”
My gaze slid back toward her, a lot more tempted than I had any business being. “That sounds like a massive rationalization.”
Iona smiled faintly. “Yeah, but I don’t care.” She paused, examining my face. “When you’re the grandkid of a fertility goddess, an active libido is part of the package. Back in Chicago, I had plenty of opportunities to… indulge.”
The glow in those green eyes was getting brighter, more hypnotic, and the intoxicating scent of her desire intensified, heading straight to my cock.
Thinking of Iona “indulging” with mortals both aroused me and made me sizzle in pure jealousy.
I wanted to be the one to touch her, dammit.
To satisfy her needs -- all of them. Over and over and over until neither of us could walk.
She studied me, then continued as if reassured. “Once I became the Summerwood police chief, I decided getting involved with anyone in such a small town would bite me on the butt. So I bought sex toys and kept my needs to myself.”