At least Hilary had already been dealt with. Fire still coated her tongue. She’d forever associate the taste with victory.
The dragons approached, dark and intimidating. Lethal shadows moving with slick grace. Black iridescent scales shone under the moonlight. Their bodies coiled with suppressed rage.
You’re staying here, Raf said to her.
Lara snorted. Smoke puffed from her nostrils. Like hell.
Lara, Raf warned.
Who’s this? one of the menacing new arrivals growled. He hovered close by and craned his neck to look at Lara.
Raf shifted to partially block her from view.
Ugh. Males.
Female, hissed another dragon.
Unmated, another said.
Raf snarled. An iridescent blue shimmer ran down his scales and his cool magic pooled around him. Mine.
The other dragons reeled back. Bursts of wind hit Lara’s face as they flapped their wings frantically to put distance between them and Lara.
She rolled her eyes.
Ugh, males, her dragon snorted, repeating Lara’s thoughts.
You stay here, Raf repeated to her.
She turned toward Raf and let her own magic bathe her dragon form. I go, or I leave. Choose. She’d be no damsel in distress sitting on the sidelines while her man took care of things. If Raf wasn’t willing to let her stand at his side as an equal, she was out of here, mate or not.
A deep growl rumbled through Raf. The other dragons continued to draw farther away. Only Hank remained faithfully nearby.
She growled back and barred her teeth. Choose.
You will go with Hank. He turned to his Secundo.
She didn’t need to hear the exchange between them to know he warned his friend to protect her at all costs.
Stupid, bull-headed, alpha males. She could protect herself, thank you very much.
The two of you will flank the compound after the initial attack, Raf said.
She grinned. Her dragon mouth widened. The cool air brushed against her sharp teeth.
And Lara, Raf continued.
What? If he told her to be careful, she’d snap a chunk out of his pretty wing. With a powerful pump of her wings, she moved beside Hank. Without a word, they pulled their wings in, drove their heads down and dove toward the ispolini compound below.
Raf’s reply rumbled in her mind and vibrated through her heart. I will follow you to hell.
The attack on the compound happened quickly, and the takeover, even quicker. The ispolini still scrambled from their escape and a number of guards, smart enough to know a counter attack from the dragons loomed near, had fled. The nearly deserted compound sat unprotected and vulnerable.
The remaining guards paid for their loyalty to the ispolini cause with their lives. No mercy was sought and no mercy was given. Not to the ispolini. Not to baby killers.
The Bulgarian giants wouldn’t crack under torture anyway. At least, not according to Hank. Lara trusted his judgement and set the compound ablaze.
After dispatching the ispolini guards, and securing what remained of the site, Raf sent his team to salvage any surviving records on site, along with Lara and Hank’s weapons. Then, he ordered Lara to go home. To his home. Ordered.
We need to talk, he said, his deep voice rumbling along her neurons. My place is secure.
As much as she dreaded the impending conversation, she was too tired to argue. She followed Raf as he led her away from the carnage with Hank trailing to provide a rear guard.
Lara’s confidence dissipated as Raf’s large stronghold loomed closer.
What the hell was she going to say?
Rafael shifted back to human form as soon as his feet touched the landing pad on the roof of his estate, still warm from the late spring day. He turned skyward.
Beautiful.
Incandescent in the moonlight, Lara’s crimson scales danced. Like a teasing firelight, she flickered through the night sky. Floral scents from the night blooming flowers in the gardens below rose to greet him.
Lara angled toward the building and landed gracefully beside him. Her dragon feet thumped quietly against the landing pad. Her talons gently scraped the concrete. She tucked her broad wings against her back and focused her gold-streaked emerald gaze on him.
Hank wisely chose to go home without accompanying them all the way to Raf’s.
“Shift,” Raf demanded.
She snorted. Plumes of smoke rose from her nostrils. Heat radiated off her scales. She could roast him where he stood.
She won’t, his dragon said.
Oh, nice of you to pipe up.
What?
Traitor.
His dragon may have kept Lara’s true nature a secret, but he was right about one thing. As his mate, claimed, consummated or otherwise, she’d struggle to override the innate desire to protect and cherish her mate. It would be the same for him.
Even if he wanted to ring her neck.
No, you don’t. His dragon smirked.
True. He didn’t want to hurt her. He wanted to throw her on his bed, bury himself deep inside her, and forget all his troubles. Forget how she’d kept the truth from him.
She had the power to break the curse and she said nothing.
His dragon snarled. You told her you didn’t believe in the curse.
Raf growled.
Lara straightened.
You told her you wanted nothing to do with your mate, his dragon continued.
Raf clenched his fists. “Is this why you avoided me?”
Lara dipped her large, triangular head, but remained silent.
“Shift,” he demanded.
She ignored him. Did she feel safer in dragon form around him? He stood naked and human before a fierce fire-breathing dragon. If anyone should feel vulnerable, it was him. Nerves didn’t plague him, nor doubt. Sudden clarity washed through his mind. He wanted Lara. He wanted her more than he wanted anything else in this life. What did he need to do to show her this? To prove himself? Should he shift back and demonstrate the mighty power of his beast? His dominance as the Astarot and leader of the Obsidian Dragon Clan?
His dragon rumbled approval.
No.
Dominating his mate in dragon form would undoubtedly satisfy Raf and his dragon, but not Lara. Force was not his style, and not the way to win her over. It would only mess things up more.
“Is this why you refused to become my lover?”
She nodded again and shifted her weight. Her emerald gaze broke contact and drifted skyward.
“Oh, no you don’t,” he said.
She glanced back at him.
“You take off and I’ll follow. Then we’ll let our dragons finish this.”
Hah! Nice bluff, his dragon guffawed.
Lara shuddered.
“Shift.”
She bowed her head and released a giant breath. The heat of rushed air fanned his bare skin. Her bright scales shimmered in the pale moonlight as her form drew in on itself to reveal Lara’s human form. Her naked form.
Beautiful.
Her pale skin glowed under the moon and her luscious curves begged him to step forward and claim them. Her sweet cherry scent drifted toward him.
Yet he held back. Her shifting to human form was not permission to have his way with her. Nor was her glorious lack of clothing. He clenched his fists harder.
“Why?” he asked.
She tucked a strand of unruly red hair behind her elfish ear. “Many reasons.”
He waited.
Her gaze traveled down his body and lingered. A rosy hue crept up her cheeks. She rubbed her arms and turned away.
In three steps, he could have her in his arms. He could reassure her with his words, his body, and his tongue. He could tell her in every way possible that it was going to be okay. That she was safe and would always be with him.
He gritted his teeth, tensed his muscles and held back. He had to. He needed to wait and practice patience with her.
He also
needed the truth.
Sirens blared in the distant city. The wind picked up and whistled along the rooftop.
Her voice broke the silence. “My birth parents were killed by ispolini when I was very young. Their friends, both mages, took me in and raised me as their own. I was taught at a young age to hide my true nature. They were strong mages, but not powerful enough to protect me from an ispolini attack.”
His blood turned to ice as some dark energy rose within him. The hatred for ispolini wasn’t new, but the anger for someone else’s past was. She would’ve been so young, so scared and vulnerable. So alone without any dragons to protect her.
“Why didn’t you find your clan later? They would’ve protected you.”
She turned to him and cocked her head. “Would they? Or would they see a female dragon shifter without the protection of her parents.”
He recoiled. “We’re not all like that.”
“True,” she conceded. “But how was I to know who to trust and who to avoid? Even now, the dragon clans have a traitor.”
He grumbled, but refused to look away. An errant thought pinged in his mind. A distant memory of a seemingly random conversation amongst women at a benefit where Lara maintained a cover. “Penelope Reynolds.”
Lara blinked.
“You knew about the party because that identity was actually yours,” Raf said.
About a month ago, Lara had accompanied him to a charity event, posing as his girlfriend and using the cover of Penelope Reynolds. The conversation at their table quickly turned to her "made up past" and one of the women asked why Lara wasn't in the car with her parents when they died in a fatal crash. Without hesitation, Lara explained how she was eighteen and recently finished school. She didn’t want to go to a party with her parents.
The explanation had been perfectly delivered, but it wasn't until later, Raf learned from Hank he hadn't told Lara about the party.
Lara recoiled. A war of emotions splayed across her pixie-like face.
“Is Penelope your real name? Is Lara?” Raf asked.
“I was born Penelope Stone. Penelope died with my birth parents and the Reynolds surname with my adoptive parents. I’m both and I’m neither. I’m Lara Stone.”
Lara remained still. If Raf had been a fire dragon, plumes of smoke would’ve rushed from his nostrils; instead, the cold night breeze brushed her exposed skin. She ran her hands up and down her naked arms again. “It doesn’t matter what my name is.”
Raf’s eyes widened, his expression incredulous. “I disagree.”
She shook her head slowly. “Nothing’s changed.”
A low rumbling sound emanated from the back of his throat. “I strongly disagree.”
“You found your mate.” Lara spread her arms out. “Technically, you found me over a month ago. If the curse was real, if it truly existed, my mere presence in your life should’ve dissolved the curse.”
“Is that what you think?”
Well, that’s certainly how she justified her silence.
“You think you can flounce around in your dragon form and everything will be okay?”
“I do not flounce.”
He gave her a pointed look that said more than any words would have.
What the hell? She didn’t flounce, and she certainly hadn’t made a mistake. She had the best intentions and tried to maintain her quickly dwindling, forever challenged by Raf, professionalism. “What should I have done then?”
“I don’t know.” Raf ran a hand through his thick black hair. The uncertainty on his face appeared ill fitting. It wasn’t an emotion he was probably used to.
“What would you have wanted me to do?” Lara pressed. “You said you wanted nothing to do with your mate. Well, neither did I, so what was the point in announcing my nature besides making you uncomfortable and our work relationship awkward?” She flicked a finger up. “You said you didn’t believe the legend.” Another finger. “And my understanding of the curse was you only needed to find me, which you did.” A third finger. “If the curse existed, it’s gone. If the attacks keep coming, the ispolini perpetuate a myth. The new knowledge you’ve gained regarding my supernatural abilities hasn’t changed our situation, nor would it have changed the events leading up to tonight. The ispolini would’ve been a threat either way.”
Raf grumbled.
“So again. What would you have me do?” She seethed. Despite the anger broiling in her chest, something else twisted in her stomach. Need. Hot, potent need. Her gaze drifted down to his impressive groin again as if it contained a magnet for her eyes.
“I don’t know,” Raf repeated. “But I do know what I want you to do now.” He stepped forward. Naked and glorious.
Her pulse pumped hard in her throat. Her heartbeat thundered in her ears. “Wh…what?”
“I want you to move that pretty little ass of yours inside where it’s safe, flounce up the stairs, and lock yourself in one of the safe rooms.”
Her dragon flailed.
Lara rocked back on her heels. “You can’t throw me in a tower like some terrible Beauty and the Beast remake.”
“Oh, I’m a beast, all right. Give me the word and I’ll prove it to you.”
“I thought you wanted nothing to do with your mate.”
“I find myself amending my original stance on the matter.”
Her brain blanked as her body reacted to the words. Heat ballooned in her chest and spread through her body.
Finally, her dragon crooned.
“Well, isn’t that…uh…fickle.” Fickle? Fickle?
Who uses that word anymore? Her dragon cackled.
Shut up, Clarice.
Her dragon snarled at her.
“Men can change their minds, too.” Raf narrowed his eyes at her.
“Well, I haven’t changed mine. I happen to agree with your original stance. I don’t want someone because some capricious mate call tells them I’m the one.”
Raf laughed. Not his normal laugh. This sounded darker, more twisted. Bitter. “I’ve wanted you since the moment you stalked into my office. After you called me on my bullshit, I wanted you more. This has nothing to do with a mate call.”
She folded her arms.
Raf started speaking, but snapped his jaw shut and paused. “I’m in a precarious position, now, aren’t I?”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“You think I either want you because we’re mates, or because you can break a curse. Nothing I do or say will convince you I want you for who you are.” His muscles tensed. “It seems I have a lot to prove.”
“You may as well admit defeat now and move on.”
“Move on?” He took a step closer. “Is that what you want?”
Her dragon groaned. Not this crap again.
“No,” she said.
A slow smile spread across Raf’s face. “What do you want, Lara?”
The sound of her name on his lips send shivers racing along her nerves. She swallowed and locked her knees. Apparently, it was her turn not to know the answer.
You know the answer, her dragon hissed. Grow some lady balls and admit it.
I really wish you’d stop telling me to acquire testicles. The image is incredibly off-putting.
Her dragon rolled her eyes and huffed. Steam flooded her mind. It’s time to be honest with him…and yourself.
“Lara?” The moonlight reflected off his bright emerald eyes as if they contained multi-faceted gemstones. The wind played with his disheveled black hair and caressed the skin she so desperately wanted to touch.
Lara licked her lips.
“What do you want, Lara?” he repeated.
“You,” she said.
He waited.
“I want you.”
Chapter Eighteen
Lara’s breath caught at the fire in Raf’s gaze. He took one giant step to close the distance. His hands slid along her cheeks, cradling her face with care. His soft full lips pressed against hers, tender at first. Gentle.
She moaned into his mouth. She wanted more. She craved more.
Instead, Raf pulled away, regret tugged down at his lips. He took a few steps away, putting distance between them, so palpable it hurt.
“I want you, too,” he said.
Hot blood pumped heavy in her veins.
“But not like this.”
Her dragon wailed.
Lara blinked a few times to clear the drunk-like haze his kiss induced. “Wh…what?”
The continued high-pitched keening of her dragon made her wince.
“You doubt me, and I doubt you. If the curse existed, we’ve broken it. The ispolini have been crippled, but one of the dragon clan leaders worked with them. Hank is already digging into their phone records. We need to find the traitor and stamp him or her…or them…out. Then we can take our time getting to know each other better. Then we can make sure this is something we both want.”
You really are meant for each other. Clarice groaned. You’re both idiots.
“You want to take it slow?” Lara stuttered. He doubted her? His words sank to the pit of her stomach. All this time she spent questioning him and his motives, it never occurred to her that he doubted her.
Raf nodded.
“Says the man who’s propositioned me more than once.”
Raf’s smile spread. “Yes, but now getting involved with you has more implications and more dangers than a potentially broken heart.”
“Dangers?” The weight in her stomach grew, dragging her down.
“If we bond, and something happened to me…”
The air continued to caress her skin, but instead of the refreshing effect from earlier, it now cooled her skin. Goosebumps pebbled along her limbs. She folded her arms across her chest. “Maybe we can continue this civilized conversation inside. With clothes on.”
Dangerous Liaisons (Obsidian Flame Book 2) Page 11