11. Bree
“What?” Dominic and I asked simultaneously.
Frankie tugged her glasses out of her hair, leaving some strands sticking up in odd directions. She chewed on one end while her gaze flicked between us as she concocted some hair-brained idea. “Yeah, this could be good. If you win, dragon boy, she’s gotta agree to this date.”
“See, I knew we were friends.” Dominic winked at her.
“And when he loses?” I asked, hands on my hips. Not that I was entertaining this crazy idea.
His chuckle was low and seductive, teasing my nerves into a frenzy. “Oh, darlin’, I never lose.”
Traitorous warmth flooded through me. I quirked an eyebrow, ignoring my body’s reaction to the best of my ability. “First time for everything, right? Just like a woman saying ‘no’?”
He ambled toward me, slow and sure, and his intense gaze held me captive. “What do you want in the unlikely scenario I lose?”
I held my head steady as I looked into his deep amber eyes. “For you to stop harassing me.”
His gaze dipped to my lips, and it was a real struggle not to lick them nervously. “Is that what you want?”
No. Yes. Maybe? I was swimming blind here. What I wanted was a fantasy, a fairytale, a figment of my imagination. I wanted the impossible, which meant what I wanted didn’t matter. What I needed was to forget this man ever existed.
I raised my chin defiantly. “Yes.”
His eyes searched mine before he gave a clipped nod. “Deal.”
“Oh, this is gonna be so much fun.” Frankie waved a hand toward the front door. The deadbolt sparked with a violet light and slid shut with a thunk. “Lemme get my doodad.” She hurried back into her office.
“Wait here.” I held up a finger to stop Dominic from closing the gap between us and rushed after Frankie. I closed her office door behind me and leaned against it. “What do you think you’re doing?” I hissed.
She made a pfft noise as she rustled through a desk drawer. “Oh please, this’ll be a piece of cake. You’ve watched him fight for years, kid. You know all his tells, and he has no idea what he’s in for.” She cackled.
My resolve was crumbling. “I know I just agreed, but I can’t do this. I can’t let anyone know what I am and definitely not him.”
“Found it.” Letting out a whoop of excitement, she held up a dull grey rock and beamed like she’d found a fabled pearl of Tethys. “You can with this.”
“How is a rock going to help?”
“This little beauty is an oath-keeper,” she explained. “You’ll both swear to keep the details of the fight between us and neither of you will be able to discuss it with anyone else. It’s like the equivalent of a magical NDA.”
I furrowed my eyebrows, remembering Dominic mentioning those letters during the massage. I hadn’t known what he meant, but I was sure Marissa would have so I’d played along. “A what?”
“Non-disclosure agreement. Humans love ’em, but ours are more ironclad, just without the iron.”
“He’ll still know about me, Frankie. What I am.” A shiver ran up my spine, but I didn’t know if it was from fear of him finding out or desire.
“But he won’t be able to tell anyone about it. The knowledge’ll be useless. Now come on.” Pushing me out of the way, she pulled open the office door and headed out.
I ran a hand over my face, not quite sure how I got myself into this mess. Somehow it was all Marissa’s fault. Again.
Forget three cleanings. She owed me a month.
Back in the main gym, Frankie strode purposefully toward the ring while pointing toward the supply cabinet. “Yo, dragon, grab a bucket of water and bring it over.”
Amazingly, he didn’t question the command. While he set the flower bouquet down on a bench and did as she asked—well, demanded—I followed after my boss, ducking beneath the ladder-style ropes and onto the ring’s padded flooring.
When Dominic joined us, hefting the filled bucket and setting it down in a corner, Frankie held up the rock. “Once I activate the oath-keeper, none of us will be able to discuss this fight with anyone else. Capiche?”
Dominic glanced at me and nodded, a smile on his beautifully full lips. “Capiche.”
My gaze snagged on those lips, and I couldn’t help but wonder how they’d feel pressed against mine. I realized they were both staring at me. “Got it.”
Frankie shook her head. “You gotta say capiche.”
“Why? I understand the rules.”
“Godsdamn it, Bree, just say it,” she said with an exasperated huff.
This was ridiculous. “Fine. Capiche.”
The rock trembled in her hand before turning pitch black like obsidian. Rising from her palm, it lifted into the air above our heads, and a dome of shadows spread out around the ring, trapping us inside.
Oh, I guess capiche was the magic word to activate the spell. Would have been nice to know such details ahead of time.
“Hurry up and get ready.” Frankie scurried to the side and slipped under the rope. The dome extended a few feet outside the ring, so she had room to move around without leaving the spelled area.
Dominic wasted no time. He pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it over the frame, landing right on Frankie’s head.
“What the! You deadbeat dodo,” her muffled voice yelled out before she could yank it off her face. “Not cool, dragon.” She was about to throw the shirt on the ground but stopped and sniffed it. “Hm, nice cologne.”
Not that Dominic or I were paying her much attention anymore.
My gaze was glued to those rock-hard abs and the smooth planes of his chest. Despite his toned muscles, he was long and lean and absolute perfection.
By the tide, I hadn’t appreciated just how unbelievably sexy this man was during the massage.
When I finally lifted my gaze to his face, he watched me with amusement. He kicked off his shoes, nudging them off the side, then removed his socks and jeans.
Standing there in nothing but red boxers that somehow enhanced the generous package hiding within, he looked every bit a god risen from smoldering embers. If I wasn’t careful, I’d start drooling.
Smirking, Dominic rolled his shoulders. “I’ll go easy on you, princess. Wouldn’t want to damage that pretty face.”
My heart skipped a beat until I remembered he had no idea who I really was. It was just a cute nickname. Two could play at that game. I snorted. “In your dreams, lizard boy.”
As Frankie guffawed from the sidelines, his eyes flashed dangerously. The air around him shimmered with a crimson haze.
Dragon magic.
Curling my hands into fists until my nails dug into my palms, I spun on my heel and stalked over to the full water bucket. This was such a terrible idea.
And yet, I didn’t want to stop either. It had been so long since I’d last used my magic, like really used it against an actual opponent. My palms practically itched as I grabbed the bucket and hoisted it into the air.
Before I had a chance to chicken out, I poured the bucket’s contents over my head.
I gasped as ice-cold water splashed over me, dousing me from head to foot. I swiped a hand over my face and set the bucket down before turning to face Dominic.
He stared at me with wide eyes and a slack jaw, his gaze dipping to my soaking-wet top that clung to my breasts like a second skin.
Yeah… I hadn’t thought that through properly.
Thankfully, there was no time to explain.
“Begin!” Frankie’s voice called out.
Instantly, I released my magic from the tight hold I kept it under. As my body soaked up the water drenching my skin and clothes, the call of the sea washed over me.
I sank into the salty depths of my magic, letting the ocean tides and the moon’s pull move me wherever they desired. The hair across my body rose on end as I delighted in a sensation I’d missed for far too long.
A thousand memories rushed forward next, nearly drowning me in their intensity. Of coral hallways and bubbles of laughter, of games of tag among rows of seaweed and flashing scales on mermaid tails.
As the memories swept me away, I almost missed Dominic’s attack. I flung up a hastily formed water shield to block the fire spear he’d thrown.
He narrowed his eyes as the weapon doused quickly. The spear evaporated far too easily, which meant he was holding back to test me. He hadn’t even released his dragon yet.
His mistake.
I might have been born a princess, but that hadn’t stopped me from badgering my father to allow me to train with his soldiers. He’d finally given in when I was seven, and I hadn’t looked back. I practiced with them every single day until the day I left home.
Since then, I’d spent the last ten years watching the fighters in this very ring. I’d learned so much more about my own abilities than my father ever showed me and practiced as often as I could when no one else was around. No one but Frankie.
I was confident that I was as good as any of them, maybe even better. I just never had the chance to prove it.
Until now.
With a sudden burst of speed, Dominic lunged forward, claws extended.
I sidestepped his attack, my movements flowing as gracefully as a river’s current, and countered with a swift kick that landed against his midsection.
He grunted as my kick propelled him forward into the ropes. With his back to me, he glanced over his shoulder and grinned. There was a glimmer of vulnerability in his gaze, a hint of pride and passion hidden beneath his fierce exterior.
Despite the purpose of this battle, the flutter of an unexpected emotion stirred to life deep within me.
The black ink tattooed across his back glowed red. Emerging from his skin, a shimmering form slithered through the air, growing as long as Dominic was tall.
A dragon born of molten lava soared overhead and released a powerful, terror-inducing roar. The air wavered with the intense heat spewing from the beast’s open maw.
My jaw went slack. I had seen the magnificent creature plenty of times before, but never this close. It was unbelievably beautiful.
Taking advantage of the distraction, Dominic seized my wrist in an attempt to immobilize me, and our eyes locked.
Time stood still.
In that electrifying moment, I felt a connection, an undeniable attraction that soared beyond our exteriors. The lines between us being adversaries and something much more intimate blurred.
Before his dragon could interfere, I twisted my body free of his grasp and delivered a punishing roundhouse kick that sent him staggering sideways.
Growling low and deep, his gaze was now a mixture of determination and something unspoken. Something primal and predatory that sent a shiver up my spine.
The airborne beast shot toward me with the speed of a flaming arrow.
With a flick of my hand, I summoned a powerful wall of water around Dominic and me, blocking the dragon from reaching its target unless it wanted to extinguish itself.
More water surged around Dominic and immobilized him in a vortex of liquid force. Leaping into the air, I kicked him squarely in his chest.
He crashed to the mat flat on his back, beaten.
Hardly breaking a sweat, I gazed down at him and smirked. “I win.”
Only after saying the words did I regret them. I mean, I wanted to win, but I didn’t want the prize I said I did. I didn’t want him to leave me alone.
What’s more, I expected him to be furious about losing. As far as I knew, he’d never lost a fight in this ring. But fury wasn’t what his gaze reflected.
No, he looked downright rapturous while staring up at me.
Maybe he liked getting his ass handed to him.
“What in the seven Hells are you?” he asked, his voice hushed with awe as he sat up.
Backing away, I shook my head, not quite sure what I was saying no to. My hands and voice trembled. “Nothing. Forget this ever happened. Forget me.”
His dragon rumbled over our heads, but I couldn’t decipher the sound.
The dome of shadows surrounding the ring popped and disappeared, and the oath-keeping rock dropped into the middle of the ring, lifeless once again.
My magic still swam inside me, bursting to get out. That fight had been too quick. It wasn’t enough of a release, and if I didn’t get out of there fast, people might die—just like my mother had. A cold sweat formed across my forehead.
Frankie’s slow clap jarred me from my thoughts, and I met her knowing gaze.
Without another word, I fled from the ring.