by Mina Carter
How did she know if she was in love?
Adra sipped her champagne and watched Nik over on the other side of the room. Unused to social gatherings like this, she’d staked out her “territory” by the door to the terrace and had taken a glass of champagne for something to do with her hands.
She didn’t do social things. Normally she was on duty, so she could get away with loitering to one side of the room, unseen and unnoticed as she watched out for everyone’s safety. But tonight she wasn’t on duty. Tonight she wasn’t a black. She was just a woman who had spent a very sexy afternoon in her lover’s arms and was anticipating spending the night there as well.
As though he knew she was thinking about him, Nik looked up and caught her looking at him. Their gazes clashed and held, and even from this distance she could see the heat flare in the backs of his eyes. For a moment her world narrowed down to just the two of them and the link that stretched between them.
Her breathing shortened as he broke the lock, only to rake a scorching look down her body. It was the look of a man mentally undressing a woman, and one that, in the past, she’d have reacted violently to. If Nik had looked at her that way before, she’d have bounced him off every one of the nearest surfaces she could reach... but not now. In fact, instead of reacting with violence, her body softened, her breathing catching as her memory supplied images of all the delicious things they’d done this afternoon... reacted to the dark promise of more of the same tonight that shone in his eyes.
“He sure is a handsome devil. Isn’t he?” a familiar voice said at her elbow, snapping Adra back to reality. “A definite catch and I’m not talkin’ about his money.”
Turning, she found Brenda at her elbow, glass in hand. She followed the older woman’s gaze to Nik. He’d turned back to his conversation, their erotic eye lock lasting no more than a second or so.
“Sorry?” she asked, not sure she’d heard right.
“Cutie-pie over there.” Brenda tipped her glass toward Nik. “He’s gorgeous. If I was twenty years younger and not married to my Roger... well, I wouldn’t kick him outta bed. That’s for sure.”
Adra snorted, her mouthful of champagne almost coming out of her nose. Not dignified at all.
“Brenda! You’re married!”
The older woman just shrugged. “So? Just because I’m on a diet doesn’t mean I can’t look at the menu. And... hell is he a nice looking dessert.”
Oh, he definitely was... one she planned on more than sampling later on. She smiled to herself and took another sip of her champagne. It really was rather pleasant, not at all like the harsh bubbly stuff her aunt always served at family celebrations, but she’d always suspected that was a cheap fizzy plonk cut with lemonade or something. But this... went down as smooth as silk and she found herself being seduced by that just as much as the rest of Nik’s world.
No... it wasn’t the world. It was the man himself. She’d thought he was a playboy only interested in one thing, but she’d been wrong. He was the sweetest man imaginable... take her outfit for tonight. He must have realized she only had one evening-ish dress, and, to be honest, it was more suited to getting hot and sweaty on a nightclub dancefloor than a place like this.
When she’d gotten out of the shower, there had been a dress laid out on the bed. Black, with glitter worked through the fabric somehow, it mimicked her scales in her other form. Her dragon had purred in pleasure at the sight of it. The gift, and thought behind it, took her breath away.
Now, wearing it and the underwear to match that had also been on the bed, she felt like a princess.
“He always brings them here to screw them,” a female voice announced from just outside the door. “She might be a dragon, but she’s obviously as dumb as the other bimbos he brings—”
“We should move,” Brenda announced loudly, finishing off what was in her glass and looping her arm through Adra’s.
But Adra hadn’t been born yesterday and she stood her ground, her eyes narrowing dangerously.
“No, I’m good here thanks.”
A look through the door revealed the speaker was one of the blondes who’d been giving Adra the evil eye around the pool earlier. She was talking to a redhead, both with matching waspish expressions on their faces as they looked at someone through the open doorway. She followed their gaze, her heart beginning to sink. She knew who they were looking at before she spotted Nik.
“Yeah, I heard him talking to James. Apparently he’s been after her for years... kudos of bedding one of those blacks and all that.”
She was the dragon bimbo they were talking about.
“Ignore them,” Brenda said softly from her side. “They’ve both been trying to land him for years and he wouldn’t ever give them the time of day.”
Adra turned to find the other woman watching her, pity in the backs of her brown eyes.
“Does he bring his conquests here?” she demanded. Brenda seemed to be a well-established member of this group, so she would know if anyone would.
“Well...”
It was obvious she didn’t want to answer. Adra raised an eyebrow sharply.
“Yes,” Brenda admitted with a sigh. “He does bring women here. Never the same one twice. But he doesn’t always bring someone,” she added quickly, reaching out a hand to put on Adra’s arm reassuringly.
But Adra was done. With a brittle smile, she handed her empty glass to Brenda. So much for her dreams of falling in love and having a mate... it was all an act. He was exactly the playboy she’d thought he was, only interested in bedding her because of who she was. What she was. A female black.
“Thank you for being so nice to me,” she said to the human woman. “But I don’t fit in here. Never did. I see that now.”
And with that, she turned and walked out of the door.
Chapter 7
Being with Adra had been like nothing he could have imagined. Nik still had a smile on his face hours later, the banked fire in his blood ready to rage into life as soon as he so much as glanced at her across the room. His dragon growled in approval every time, its possessive nature not wanting their female far from their side.
She looked amazing in the dress he’d had shipped in. The one she’d had on last night was stunning, but all he wanted to do was rip it from her body and take her up against the nearest wall, floor or flat surface. Which was great, it would star in his fantasies for years, and maybe he’d get her to wear it later so he could do just that, but he didn’t want anyone else seeing her in it. Ever again.
He’d known she was sneaking glances at him while he was talking, feeling the familiar weight of her gaze. He’d always known when she was near and when she was watching, but now it was backed up with the knowledge of how her lips tasted and what she felt like stretched out beneath him as he brought her to pleasure.
“Punching above your weight there,” James, a business associate commented with a small chuckle. “Congrats on finally persuading her to take a chance on you. Is an announcement imminent?”
Nik blinked, not even bothering to hide his surprise. “You mean a mating?”
James shrugged, taking a swig of his whiskey. “Mating, engagement… whatever you want to call it. Take my advice, brother, and get a ring or whatever you dragons use on her finger. You won’t get a better one.”
Ours… his dragon purred. Our mate likes pretty things. With paper flaps.
He frowned a little at the odd comment from his dragon, but put it from his mind in favor of the main thought… he would ask Adra to marry him, to be his mate. He’d wanted her since the moment he’d seen her. They belonged together, and this afternoon had proven that to him. He couldn’t imagine life without her.
“James, you are a genius!” He clapped the other man on the shoulder with a broad smile spreading over his face.
“Well, I already know this, but glad you caught up there.” James chuckled as he signaled one of the wait staff that his glass was empty. He caught Nik looking at him. “Well, what are
you waiting for? Go get your girl and bloody well pop the question!”
Nik grinned broadly and turned to do just that. The crowded room foiled him for a moment and he had to fight back the urge to use his dragon’s roar and scatter them all like leaves in the wind out of his way. He resisted and a minute or so later found himself at the doorway he’d spotted Adra standing by earlier.
She wasn’t there anymore, but Brenda Price was…with an expression on her face that made his blood freeze in his veins.
“What happened?”
Her lips compressed in a thin line and her gaze skittered sideways. It took him less than a second to realize she was looking at Melissa Miles and Cassandra Reeves. Two of the worst harpies in the group, they’d both slept their way around the group… and he’d turned both of them down at one time or another.
Shit.
“What have they said?” he demanded.
Brenda sighed, her expression one of sympathy. “No more or less than the truth. That you occasionally bring women here… but presented in the worst possible way of course.”
His expression set, his jaw working. “What happened then?”
Brenda’s eyebrow disappeared up toward her hairline. “You’re asking that. Really? I credited you with a little more intelligence!”
He had to take a breath at her tone, already riding the edge of his tolerance.
“She left,” he said flatly. He could tell… he couldn’t feel her nearby like he usually did. “When?”
“About ten minutes ago.”
He closed his eyes. She had to have left on the wing, which meant she had a ten-minute head start. Which meant he had absolutely no chance of catching her. She could be anywhere. Anywhere at all.
He’d lost her.
Opening his eyes, he looked at Brenda and managed a nod.
“Thank you,” he said. Just because his life was falling apart, there was no need to be rude.
Turning, he walked through the crowded room, not seeing anyone. One thing, one thought, consumed him and obliterated all else.
He had to find her. He had to make this right.
But first, he had some things to see to.
She’d made it to the throne room without running into Nik.
Adra breathed a sigh of relief as she waited in line to speak to the queen. Cadeyra held court on a Friday morning, a time any of her subjects could petition her for aid, a ruling on a disagreement or simply to offer fealty. Adra had often stood in this queue for the last reason—to swear loyalty to the queen.
Today was different. Today she wasn’t here to offer her life and dragon to her queen. Today she was here to ask for help. She looked straight ahead, not meeting the eyes of the blacks on duty—Alex, Saul and Sawyer—even though she knew they looked at her with concern. Technically, Sawyer wasn’t on duty. Since he’d married Cadeyra and become prince consort, he’d all but given up his seat on the council.
Nausea rolled up from the pit of her stomach, forcing her to swallow and hold her breath. She’d been feeling sick since she’d flown back from the villa, barely keeping her breakfast down in the morning. Her dragon was worried, refusing to fly far while she was ill. She didn’t blame it. Fiery vomit? So not good.
She’d moved up in line, two in front of her, when the tears threatened to hit. How could she have read Nik so wrong? She’d honestly begun to believe the lies he’d spun around her. How stupid was she? Almost as bad as her mom and cousin, lied to and left… she closed her eyes as her sickness suddenly made sense.
Scales, she couldn’t be pregnant. Could she?
Her hand stole over her stomach as she checked with her dragon. The thing evaded her, purring a little nonsense song about something. It only did that when it knew something and didn’t want to tell her. A way of blocking her out.
Which meant she had her answer.
She was just as bad as her mom and cousin. What was it about the women in their family that they were so easily duped?
Because you fell in love, that’s why, the little voice in the back of her head informed her. Be honest with yourself… you’ve been in love with Nik since you first saw him.
She gritted her teeth as she moved to the front of the queue and ignored it. Damn voice didn’t know anything. She wasn’t in love with Nik and even if she was pregnant, she would deal with it herself. She didn’t need a man to bring up her baby, and she definitely didn’t need a lowlife lying playboy.
“Adra?” the queen’s voice broke through her thoughts and she looked up to find Cadeyra looking at her in concern. “Is everything okay?”
Adra took a deep breath and nodded.
“Your Majesty, I have served you faithfully and with dedication for years,” she began. “But I must ask you today to release me from my dutie—”
She didn’t get any further, her words cut off as the doors behind her crashed open and a male voice called out.
“Adra… what are you doing?”
Nik.
Even though she knew he was a lying asshole, everything in her wanted to turn around and run into his arms. Her stomach did a small flip, like frantic butterflies doing the wall of death in there. She closed her eyes for a moment, dragging in a shaky breath before opening them to look at the queen again.
“Please, I can’t stay here,” she whispered, practically begging her dragon to help her keep it together long enough to say what she had to say and get the hell out of here. “You have to let me go…”
Cadeyra’s eyes flicked between her and something behind her and she knew without looking that Nik was there. She felt his presence wrapping around her, the heat of his body against her back.
“Please, Adra, look at me.”
His voice was low, rough with emotion and his dragon, and she just couldn’t handle it. Shaking her head, she kept her gaze on the queen.
“Please,” she begged the other woman, but her vision was watery, the image of Cadeyra wavering as she stood up.
“Nikolai, you hurt her and you will have me to answer to. Understand?” Adra heard the queen say, all the power of a royal white in her voice in warning. And then they were gone, the room emptied to leave her and Nik alone.
“Adra, sweetheart? Look at me… please?”
She shook her head, keeping her eyes closed. If she didn’t look at him, none of this was real. Yes, it was the coward’s way out but right at the moment she was out of options. Her strength had deserted her completely. Too many hits, too close together… it would overwhelm anyone.
Mate, her dragon purred, delighted to have Nik near again. All it wanted to do was rub up against him, feel the heat of his body against hers. It had only been a few days but she’d felt every moment keenly, even if she hadn’t wanted to. She hadn’t wanted to even think about Nik. That way lay too much pain and heartache.
His hands closed over her upper arms and she tried to throw him off. But he didn’t take any notice, instead pulling her back to lean against his broad chest. It took less than a second for her to rest against him, misery and tiredness conspiring with her body’s need for him. How pathetic was she, to want him still even though she knew what he was? Knew she was just the last in a…
“Sweetheart, you are not the last in a long line,” he murmured as though he’d plucked the words out of her mind. His lips brushed her temple as he held her gently, not doing anything but lending her his strength. “Far from it. There’s only ever been you.”
She snorted, the sound amused and bitter. “Yeah, right. You expect me to believe that when you’re all over the media with a different blonde on your arm each time?”
He sighed, the sound a rumble from his chest against her back. “I escort them. That’s it. They’re mostly friends or daughters of business associates. I don’t sleep around, Adra. I won’t… as soon as I saw you, you were it for me.”
Her breathing caught. His admission was heart-felt, longing and torment in his voice.
She half turned, looking up at him.
“Wha
t? Never since then?”
He held her gaze levelly and shook his head. “Never. I couldn’t. More importantly, I didn’t want to. I wanted you.”
A small kernel of warmth started in the center of her chest. Hope. And it was insidious, sending tendrils out like roots and starting to spread. Perhaps she really had read him wrong after all? Perhaps she’d been too quick to listen to others…
“At the villa…” she began haltingly and watched as his face tightened.
“Melissa and Cassandra,” he growled, an edge of anger and his dragon in his voice. “I turned both down and they’ve been a pain in my ass since.”
A woman scorned… There was no end to the trouble that could cause. She nodded, accepting the truth of his words. Silence stretched out between them. She didn’t know what to say, but it didn’t seem to matter. Nik turned her gently in his embrace, a strong arm around the back of her waist holding her to him.
“Adra, I love you.”
The words wound around her soul and she sighed, her eyes fluttering closed for a second. When she opened them, Nik was still watching her. He slid a hand into her hair, cupping the back of her neck. His thumb stroked gently against her jaw.
“I always have. I always will… for scale’s sake Adra, say something. Please.”
She blinked, opened her mouth and blurted out.
“I think I’m pregnant.”
Time froze as horror filled her. That was it. He’d run for sure. Men always did when there was a baby in the picture. There was no way he’d want her now.
“You are?” He smiled, the expression so blinding and happy that she couldn’t help but return it warily. “Moon and scales! That’s amazing.”
He pulled her to him, claiming her lips with a swift, exuberant kiss. Pulling back, he looked down at her and smoothed the hair back from her face.
“You’ll make a wonderful mom. If the baby’s a girl, she’ll be as beautiful as you…” He paused, and she read the sudden concern in his eyes. The wariness. Her dragon growled, not liking that look on his face.