Denying the Dragon Read online

  “This time.” He caught her restless hands and locked them above her head. “I want to give to you.”

  “I want you,” she said hoarsely.

  His body jerked, the skin on his face tautening. He thrust again, uncontrollably.

  “Hell.” He rolled off her and lay on the floor, chest heaving. “I’m sorry, Isolde. I thought I could—”

  “What?” she asked bluntly. “Make me scream while you stayed in control?”

  “In control.” He half laughed. “Not likely. I’m as randy as a teenager around you, hence this debacle. I damn near came in my pants. When you told me to touch you…that you want me…you can’t invite a man to heaven and expect him to stay sane.”

  “Oh.” Her voice softened. She reached out and clasped his hand.

  His fingers closed around hers. “Tomorrow, we’ll do this properly. A bed, protection, time just for us.”

  “Sounds good.”

  “Only good?” He raised her hand to his lips and kissed it.

  “Sublime.” She sighed.

  He turned on his elbow to face her. “We have a couple of hours till dawn. Why don’t you try to get some sleep?”

  “Huh.” A breath of laughter at the impossibility of that suggestion. “And you?”

  “I’ll take the sofa.” He smiled wryly. “It’ll be safer.”

  Lonelier. Unsatisfying. “I don’t know if I can sleep.”

  “Try.” He stood and pulled her to her feet. For a long moment she stood in his arms, enjoying the warmth of skin against skin, then he kissed her forehead and stepped back. “Good night, Izzy.”

  “Good night, Danny.”

  She walked to her room, aware that he watched until she was out of sight. Her body felt heavy, flooded with desire yet humming. There was no way she’d sleep in this state. She stripped off her clothes and stood beneath her shower. The warm water slid and stroked down her body as a lover would. Far from soothing her arousal, it reminded her that Danny had a water nature. These sensuous touches were his. Even weak and wounded he’d ignited her passion. Healthy, he devastated her.

  “Tomorrow.” Tomorrow, she would take him as a lover. She’d let her earth dragon nature smolder into flame, trusting that he’d meet her passion.

  She turned off the shower and dried herself, newly aware of her body. It was made for loving with firm, full breasts, a narrow waist and generous hips to hold a man. Red gold curls hid her sex.

  Danny had touched her there. She remembered the sensation of his fingers stroking the folds, slipping inside.

  Her knees trembled and she dropped the towel to clutch the shower edge. Her wayward mind needed discipline. “A cold shower,” she threatened, but couldn’t bring herself to inflict the torture.

  She walked naked to her bed and slid beneath the cover. Her skin was unbearably sensitive, shivering at the cool embrace of the sheets. Although she didn’t expect to sleep, she set the alarm, then lay back.

  Danny. She thought of the dark seriousness of his eyes, the exciting line of his mouth, and the controlled strength of his body and dragon nature. She had never trusted a man as she trusted this stranger.

  Was it because she had claimed him by the river and he’d accepted her claim? Was it simply fate?

  She rolled over, cuddling a pillow.

  He had seduced her into passion so he could heal, but he hadn’t used her. He had asked her permission. He had cared how she felt.

  He made her feel wonderful. He challenged her. He demanded all of her.

  “I don’t even know where he works.” He’d mentioned Turkey, but not what he was doing there. Was he an archaeologist?

  “No. Dragons are guards.” All except her. A small smile curved her lips. And she’d been a guard tonight and would be a guard tomorrow.

  She snuggled into the pillow, aware that her world had changed, and accepting it.

  “Izzy.”

  The scent of coffee drifted into her dreams.

  “Izzy. Wake up. It’s nearly dawn.”

  Dawn? No sensible person rose at dawn. Izzy pushed fretfully at her covers.

  “Now, that’s not fair.” There was a clink, as of a cup being placed on her bedside table, then the mattress dipped. “Most definitely unfair and distracting.”

  Someone kissed her shoulder.

  “Hmm-wh?” She opened her eyes. “Danny.”

  He tasted of mint toothpaste and coffee.

  “Mmm.” She stretched luxuriously as he retreated. The covers slipped and she grabbed automatically for them.

  Interest flared in his eyes, but was quickly doused as he glanced at her alarm clock, which started beeping.

  “Oh.” Izzy remembered the reason for this early call, and why a gorgeous, clean-shaven man was in her apartment. He’d clearly made good use of her guest toiletries and borrowed from the stash of clothes her relatives had left over the years. She turned off the alarm. “I’ll get dressed. Thanks for the coffee.”

  “There’s more in the kitchen.” He stood up. “Good morning, Izzy. You wake beautifully.”

  He walked out, and she watched the play of muscle under the worn denim of his borrowed jeans. Now there was a sight to wake up to.

  Clean jeans, shirt, sweater and boots seemed the sensible choice. Izzy called the real estate agency and left a message that she wouldn’t be in to work. “Family matters.” Not a lie. Guarding was the family business.

  She carried her empty coffee cup to the kitchen for a refill and joined Danny at the island bench. He offered her a piece of toast, and she spread honey on it.

  “I hope you don’t mind me making myself at home.”

  “No.” She didn’t elaborate, feeling a little spooked at how comfortable it felt to share breakfast with him.

  “You know you don’t have to come with me to the Statue of Liberty. I’ll be fine on my own.”

  “I’m not scared.” Well, not of the goblins. She bit into the toast which crunched satisfactorily. “Maybe a bit apprehensive, but I don’t think a handful of goblins can defeat both of us in daylight, not if we’re careful. Can they?”

  If she really thought they could, then she’d have to call Rhys. As it was, her protective, police captain, older cousin would shout at her when he found out she’d tackled goblins alone. But she wasn’t really alone, not with Danny healed. And the speed of his healing showed she had a great deal of power. The only question was whether she could release it on command and not simply when it slipped its leash through passion.

  She looked at Danny.

  By the harsh kitchen lighting, the strong lines of his face showed his determination. If he feared the goblins who had nearly killed him yesterday, it didn’t show. He swallowed the last of his coffee, the muscles of his throat rippling, and set the empty mug down with a decisive click of porcelain against wooden counter top. He would do whatever it took to keep his deathbed vow and defeat Orde.

  Her power stirred. It would break bonds if the goblins threatened him again.

  She concentrated on practicalities. “We’d best walk to the ferry terminal rather than risk an accident in a cab or on public transport. Once on water, the goblins ought to be less powerful.”

  “Yes.” He flexed his fingers.

  Izzy felt the battle-ready surge of river power. Last night she’d tasted its life-giving force, but water also took life. It could batter down all defenses. Danny was a powerful water dragon. The knowledge sent a secret thrill through her despite the seriousness of the situation.

  He stood and paced. “I think they’ll hang fire till they know where we’re going. Orde wants the crown, but he also wants to find Anna. He’ll hope we’ll lead him to her.”

  “It’s a risk.”

  “One he’ll take. It’s once we’re on Liberty Island that Orde will actively try to stop us.”

  “I hate power hungry bullies,” Izzy muttered.

  A smile broke his dark musing. “Me, too.”

  She finished her toast and licked honey off a finger.
“Danny, what is it you do?”

  “For a living?” He carried their dishes to the sink, stacking them in the dishwasher. “I’m considered an expert in food security.”

  She froze, finger against her lips. “In what?” She’d expected a typical dragon guard job: military, police, maybe politics.

  “Food security. Does the world have enough rice, wheat, etc.? Are we protecting the genetic diversity of our agricultural plants? What happens to food prices in the event of increased oil prices? It’s not a sexy job, but I think it’s important. I analyze the situation of the world’s food supply and write papers on it.”

  “But you’re a dragon.”

  “So?” He leaned against the sink. “Dragons guard in all sorts of ways. It’s not all brawn and fire fights. Sometimes it’s brains and preparation. Sometimes it’s caring about people.”

  “Why are you looking at me that way?”

  He crossed over to where she sat on a bar stool. A smile tugged at his mouth. “I’m looking at you ‘that way’ because you’re one of the dragon guards who care about people—and don’t say you’re not a guard. You have some very traditional ideas. I thought about your work as a real estate agent for the other-natured. You’re successful because you make sure they have safe homes. That’s how your guarding works.”

  It was such an obvious truth that it silenced her automatic objection. She guarded by giving people safe haven. She looked up at him, her eyes widening. “I’m a guard?”

  “A natural.”

  “A guard.” Power blazed around her, freed from the last of her insecurities and questions of identity. She was as true a dragon as her police cousin Rhys, not a hero but a protector. It had taken Danny to see her heart. “Thank you.”

  She stood and hugged him, breathing in his clean scent, and indulging in the sensory heaven of their complementary powers merging and vibrating through their bodies. It was incredible, hot and fierce. She shuddered and opened her mouth over his, demanding more.

  He answered with a hard kiss that pushed their lips against their teeth. They were grinding into one another, trying to fuse. Her hands gripped his buttocks, massaging with the rhythm pulsing inside her.

  “Isolde.” He growled a warning against the curve of her throat.

  Reluctantly she ran her hands up his back, through his hair, and framed his face. She met the frustrated hunger in his glowing eyes.

  “Danny,” said as an incantation, naming the man she’d know as lover. She touched his lips with a whispered kiss. “It’s light outside.”

  “Yes.” He held her hand against his chest. His heartbeat thundered. “Isolde Draig, beautiful dragon. My beautiful dragon.”

  The awed, possessive words claimed her as surely as a caress. Her power, raw and hungry, gentled into them.

  They stood a moment longer before he brought her hand to his lips, kissed and released it. “We must go. Ready?”

  To face goblins, danger and death? She smiled. “Absolutely.” Because there was no way she’d let him go alone.

  Chapter Three

  The wards on the apartment locked into place behind them as the elevator doors closed.

  Izzy shivered. There was no safety net now, only her and Danny. She gripped his hand. Power still flowed between them, but muted and controlled.

  In the mirrored side wall of the elevator, she saw their reflections. They couldn’t have looked more different to the night before.

  Danny appeared alert but relaxed, moving into the zone martial artists inhabit to fight. His mouth was set firm, his fingers slightly curled as his arms hung loosely by his sides. His body was poised lightly, balanced over the balls of his feet, ready to move in any direction. He was formidably powerful, grounded in his dragon nature.

  And me?

  Usually when she caught the elevator down in the mornings her hair was pinned in a smooth chignon, her make-up understated and impeccable, her clothes a smart suit with elegant high heels. But today, her hair was down, swirling over her shoulders as her power surged with anticipation, her face was unhidden by make-up, and although the jeans flattered her long legs, they were practical rather than fashionable. And still, these weren’t the biggest changes in her appearance. That change was in her eyes.

  Danny noticed. “Golden eyes. You’re all revved up.”

  “Fully dragon.” She said it with pride and a sense of completeness. She wasn’t retreating from life any more or denying her nature.

  “Breath-taking.” He squeezed her hand. “Be careful out there.”

  “You, too.”

  The elevator doors opened. Izzy listened to her boots strike confidently across the foyer.

  Danny moved silently.

  “Goblins,” she whispered as they walked out of the building. She could feel hostile gazes crawling over her. Ugh. They were like slimy spiders. She looked around and saw a goblin standing against a wall, talking into a phone and watching. Another waited in a parked car. “Is Orde here?”

  “I can’t see him.” Danny scanned the street, dragon power skittering out in tendrils to test for danger.

  Izzy knew better than to think that not seeing Orde meant he wasn’t there. She bumped her shoulder against Danny’s. “So let’s walk.”

  The first ferry to Liberty Island didn’t leave till half past eight, nonetheless, they hurried.

  The press of people on the sidewalk increased. So many busy commuters. When she was one of them, Izzy didn’t notice. She hurried along in the same manner: head down, divorced from the world. She watched a woman catch her heel in the sidewalk, steady herself against a streetlight, and walk on, all the time texting on her phone.

  “Stay close.” Danny kept hold of her hand as he walked half a pace in front, angling his shoulder to cut through the crowd.

  The sense of threat intensified. She turned her head and saw a goblin, jostling people as he strove to catch up with them. His scowl was hideous, eyebrows bristling like blonde caterpillars.

  “The crown.” A female goblin stepped out of a doorway in front of Danny.

  He stopped fast.

  Izzy bumped into his back. To judge by his instant obedience, the goblin woman had to have a weapon.

  Dilemma. If Danny attacked the goblin for the weapon she held, the crowd of humans would see only a man attacking a woman. In the confusion, anything could happen.

  And while they hesitated, the other goblin was coming up fast, and already reaching into his jacket.

  “Bitch,” Izzy shouted, and lunged around Danny. In the same instant that she saw the gun, she grabbed the female goblin’s arm. Izzy exerted dragon power and bone broke. The crunch of it sickened her, but the gun dropped. She kicked it away, skidding it through the crowd and into the shadows of the doorway where the goblin had lurked. Izzy shouted, continuing the charade she’d started, their new cover story. “He’s mine now, not yours. You’re just a stalker.” Izzy whirled and thrust the woman at the approaching goblin. “Take your sister home.”

  Her shove toppled both goblins to the ground.

  “Come on, love.” Izzy grabbed Danny’s hand and they ran.

  He grinned as they raced around the corner. “A jealous girlfriend. You were very realistic.”

  She didn’t respond to his smile. “I broke her arm.” Nausea rose.

  He put his arm around her shoulders. “And saved me, again. The goblin would have shot me. It was fast thinking.”

  “It felt awful.” The excitement of the adventure had vanished under the reality of pain and lethal intent. They were part of the burden of being a guard. She drew in a deep breath. “Awful.”

  “I’m sorry, sweetheart.” He scanned the street. “Hopefully, that’s the only surprise until we reach Anna.”

  Izzy shuddered, but she had chosen to involve herself. She couldn’t complain that Danny’s sympathy had to be perfunctory. Anna’s life was at stake. “At least at the ferry they’ll be made to give up their guns and knives.”

  All other-natured beings
had the ability to disguise reality from humans. It was a diffuse don’t-look, don’t-see spell. But the spell didn’t work on machines. The metal detector at the ferry terminal would identify and compel the removal of the goblins’ guns and steel knives.

  Then there would be only stone blades and goblin energy weapons to contend with. Only. Izzy grimaced.

  “Two more streets,” Danny encouraged.

  She saved her breath and didn’t answer. She regarded herself as fit, but the pace he set, combined with the tension in her muscles, left her winded. It didn’t help that she could feel again the skin-crawling touch of the goblins’ observation. She found herself studying the crowd with a suspicion and fear she’d never previously experienced. She hated that her own city felt alien to her, alien and hostile.

  When the ferry terminal came into sight, she could have hugged it.

  They dived into the terminal and joined the queue of tourists.

  “Well, hello there.” A small elderly woman with improbably red hair greeted them eagerly. “Edgar and I are just waiting for this queue. So slow. They think we might have guns. Do we look like we’d have guns? I’ve been pro-gun control for years. Years. I made Edgar give up hunting when I married him. Now he bowls instead. Edgar’s a champion bowler, aren’t you, Edgar?”

  She paused for breath as her husband grunted.

  “I’m Mamie. We’re visiting from Chicago. Our granddaughter just had a baby. A boy, which is a shame. We already have eight grandsons. Eight. I tell Edgar we should start a football team. This is our first time in New York. I said to Edgar, I’m not going home till I’ve seen the Statue of Liberty, and not just seen, touched it.”

  Edgar grunted again and nudged his wife with a chunky elbow.

  “Oh my. The queue’s actually moved. I thought we’d camped here. Now, Edgar, did you remember your hat?” She turned her attention to her long-suffering and silent husband.

  Izzy and Danny looked at one another and laughed.

  A clatter of heels ended the relaxed moment, but the new entrants were simply a family group with three school-aged children. Another family and a tour group followed them.