THE BLACK DRAGON: Werewolves of Montana Mating Mini #7

by Bonnie Vanak

  “I don’t know. I don’t know much of where he goes these days.”

  She went to the kitchen table and sat down, burying her head into her hands. “Why are you doing this, Justin? This place has nothing but bad memories for you.”

  “Not all bad.” He studied her as if memorizing every line of her body, her face. “Why didn’t you leave after I escaped? Why are you still here like a caged bird Leo insists on keeping?”

  The black dragon couldn’t understand the complicated ties of her family, her fear of the unknown, or her worry about a father who had been cruel to him, but kind to her.

  “I like the view here.”

  “Tell me the truth, little bird.” Justin pulled out a chair, turned it around and straddled it, resting his arms on the back. “Truth.’

  Low and hypnotic, his deep voice wove a spell over her. Ariel tried to fight the compulsion. Could not.

  She found herself telling him things she vowed to keep silent. Horror filled her. He couldn’t have this kind of knowledge, and yet she kept talking, spilling information like a burst dam.

  “I couldn’t leave. Father needs me.” She struggled against the mental spell he wove over her. Dragons could force their victims to reveal secrets… before they ate them.

  Or burned them alive.

  Focus on something else. Don’t let him overwhelm you. Ariel thought of cool rushing river waters, the smell of sage drifting through the house.

  Justin frowned. “You have a strong will, Ariel. But mine is stronger. Tell me the truth. Where is your father and what is he doing?”

  A throbbing began in her head, the pounding far worse than the ache in her left leg. Her mouth opened and closed like a fish. I can do this, I can resist him…

  “Is Leo planning to kidnap and torture more black dragons?”

  It felt like a fist wrapped around her head, squeezing. Ariel gasped.

  “He’s in Seattle, arranging my marriage.”

  The fist eased as he made a startled sound and then muttered a low curse. She breathed a sigh of relief. Didn’t last. Pain resumed as he leaned close, his dark gaze hypnotic.

  “Tell me everything.”

  Details spilled in in a rush. Desperate to get him out of her mind, and regain her identity, she talked fast.

  “Father met wealthy Mages who wanted a mate for their only son. The Covingtons are very rich, struck it big in the telecom industry. Parker, their son, expressed interest in finally marrying. He wants me. Traditional Mage marriage, wife and children. I’d be set for life. Never have to work again.”

  Now the pain in her heart surpassed the ache in her head. “Father said with my amputated foot, no Mage male would want me. Our people are whole. Beautiful. Not like me. Parker is my only chance for happiness.”

  “That’s bull.” Claws emerged from Justin’s fingers. He dragged one down the wood table, gouging it. “Is this Parker the skinny geek with the glasses in the photo on your dresser?”

  Ariel licked her lips. “Yes. He and his parents were here to visit. They thought about buying the house, but decided against it. That’s when Father made the deal.”

  “Go on. What else?”

  “Father borrowed thirty thousand from the Covingtons. He needed it to pay back taxes on the house or we’d lose it. It’s all we own.”

  “You’re marrying a stranger? Why?”

  “He’s nice. Safe. Comfortable.”

  “Do you love him?”

  Justin’s voice carried an edge. She shook her head and winced. “No. There’s nothing there for me, no spark. But Parker wants me. With only one condition. He wants me because I’m still a virgin. I have no bad reputation.”

  “And Mage virgins are hard to find, especially after twenty-one,” Justin muttered.

  “If I sleep with anyone else and ruin my reputation, deal’s off. Parker’s father has friends in high places, lots of power. He’ll strip Leo of everything. Maybe even his skin.”

  “Like Leo did to me. I have no pity for your father. He’s using you.”

  “No! He’s doing this to protect me! I’m almost twenty-six and he doesn’t want me to be alone, no one to take care of me. Father… he has issues.”

  Unable to stand the pain anymore, she cried out. Justin sat back and the pain in her mind stopped.

  “I’m sorry I had to do that,” he said quietly. “I didn’t realize how strong you are, or how much you’d resist me.”

  “How did you do that?” What kind of powers did Justin have?

  He narrowed his eyes. “Your father infused my blood with telepathic magick he’d created in the lab with the right mixture of blood magick from a witch and crystals. He had no idea the kind of monster he created, little bird.”

  Not a monster. Only a male dragon who had been abused, and now hated her because of it.

  Justin began kneading the corded muscles of her shoulders, his thumbs working magick much as his voice had forced her to tell the truth. She wanted to snap at him to stop touching her, but it felt too good.

  She wondered if Parker would give massages as good as Justin did. With Parker as her husband, she’d be accepted, and she could study. Maybe she’d find a way to endow herself with more powers. And even if she had to accept marriage and sex with the dull-witted, humorless Parker, there were worse fates.

  Like falling in love with a wicked dragon…

  Ariel pushed his hands away and stood up. “Now you know everything. Get out.”

  Interest sparked in his dark chocolate eyes. Justin was so sexy and handsome.

  Deadly and powerful.

  “It’s my house, little bird. I don’t have to leave.”

  She lifted her chin. Maybe they were broke, but she wouldn’t stop fighting for her right to happiness. Having a job had empowered her.

  “How long do we have to get out?”

  “You don’t. You get to stay. We’ll deal with the lease when your father returns.”

  The gleam in his eye warned he wasn’t being altruistic. The black dragon hated this house and had only one reason to purchase it.

  “I’ll start packing now. I can stay with a friend in town.”

  But as she headed for her bedroom, he blocked her retreat. Justin advanced, and she backed off until hitting the wall.

  “What do you want, Justin?”

  His smile widened. “You. In my bed…for three nights.”

  8

  Three nights. One night for each month he’d suffered at her father’s hands.

  Not a huge price to pay. But he knew it would cripple Leo’s plans.

  Bitter jealousy and rage filled him as he envisioned the puny, weak Parker with his pale hands roaming over Ariel’s naked body, lying atop her and thrusting inside her untried body, claiming her in the flesh.

  Parker planting his seed deep into her womb.

  Parker at her side as Ariel birthed his babies.

  Never! This Mage who thought Ariel could be purchased like one bought a parakeet would never have her.

  She is mine.

  Bed her. Three nights of bliss, Ariel in your arms. You will give her the pleasure she deserves, and have your revenge. You deserve it. And much more.

  Yet he couldn’t deny that seducing Ariel was more than seeking justice. He hungered for her, couldn’t stop thinking about her. The lush mouth of hers, pursed in thought. Her silky brows, arched like the rock formations he enjoyed flying over. Ariel’s soft, smooth skin, which he longed to touch.

  Her amputated limb, oddly enough, fascinated him. Not because of it, but her spirit in working through such a challenge intrigued him. She made the best of it, and during the time he’d been imprisoned by her father, she’d never complained.

  Part of him wanted her to know that the sanctimonious Parker and his family were wrong. Ariel wasn’t defective. Imperfect. Offering her marriage as if she could never find a true mate, find love.

  You deserve much more than that.

  But anger radiated off her like a pulsing beacon
. First he had to calm her down, make known the terms of his offer.

  Business before pleasure.

  Justin reached into his leather jacket and pulled out a contract. “Here. To make everything legal, I had my attorney draft this.”

  As she sat at the table, reading over the terms, Ariel pushed at the long fall of her hair. Finally she looked up, her gaze wide.

  “You want to make me your whore.”

  He flinched. “My lover. For three nights only.” Justin wished he didn’t feel this tiny guilt winking inside him. “After, the house is yours to live in, free and clear.”

  “And you’ll leave my father alone?”

  Chest constricting, he shook his head. “No promises.”

  “Then I refuse to sign.” She pushed the sheaf of papers away. “You can’t blackmail me, Justin. I regret, deeply, what my father did to you…”

  He’d anticipated her response. Hell, he’d anticipated almost everything, rehearsing it in the privacy of his tower room back in North Carolina.

  Everything except this damn guilt and the gut kick he felt at the woebegone look on her pretty face.

  I don’t want to hurt you. It’s your father I want. But you’re a package deal.

  “If you don’t sign, it’s your right. I must warn you, by not signing, you’re in violation of the sales contract.”

  Could her eyes grow any larger, her face any paler? Another kick of guilt. “Your father signed the contract at my lawyer’s office this morning before he left the state.”

  “He didn’t have a lawyer!”

  “Leo should have hired one.” Justin removed a single folded sheet from his back pocket and pointed to a highlighted paragraph. “Seller’s daughter must live with buyer and capitulate to his requests for a term of not more than, not less than, three days and nights, or contract is declared null and void, at which time seller must return the money given to him, plus ten percent interest.”

  He couldn’t meet her shocked and horrified gaze. “Compounded daily.”

  “Father couldn’t have agreed to this! No lawyer in their right mind would draft such an agreement.”

  “No Skin lawyer. But a clever dragon attorney, skilled in the art of negotiation, drew up this sales contract.” Justin met her shocked gaze square on. She had to know whom she dealt with. “That particular paragraph is written in magick and invisible to Skins. Your father was in a hurry and didn’t read over the entire contract.”

  The paper fluttered to the floor. “I have to call him.”

  Walking out onto the deck to give her privacy, he braced his hands on the wood railing. Such a lovely view.

  Unable to enjoy it, or find the peace he craved, Justin heard the door behind him open. He turned to see Ariel’s pale face.

  “I can’t reach him. His cell is out of range.” Her shoulders sagged. “You win, Justin. I’m the sacrificial lamb.”

  In two strides he was before her. Justin smoothed back a lock of hair teased by the wind. “You’re not a sacrifice, sweet. You do have a choice.”

  “No.” She turned away. “I don’t.’

  Part of him desperately wished she’d flip dear old dad the finger and put Leo in dire straits. Ariel was so damn… noble. Self-sacrificing. And her father was a selfish, cruel man.

  If I had a daughter, I’d put my welfare before hers. That’s what family is about. What family should be about. But how would I know? My relatives were only too eager to turn me into a whipping boy.

  A spark of her old self glinted in her green eyes when she turned. “One condition, Justin. One, and if you fail to meet it, I won’t do this. Not for this house or all the gold you dragons hoard in your caves.”

  “My gold is in the bank.”

  “I don’t give a damn where you hide it!”

  Justin clenched his fists. She had never sworn before. He feared he’d pushed her too far. But he waited.

  “My condition for sleeping with you is that you will not kill my father.”

  As conditions went, it wasn’t hard. Killing Leo and making Ariel an orphan wasn’t his plan.

  He wanted the Mage to suffer as he had suffered, and for that, Justin needed him alive until Leo’s spirit grew as stained as Justin’s soul.

  “I want your promise. Signed.”

  Well, that wouldn’t be a problem. After they returned inside, Justin looked around the kitchen, saw a notepad and tore off a sheet. He scribbled a quick promissory note that if he killed Leo Harrington, he would forfeit his own life.

  As he signed it, Ariel shook her head. “In blood.”

  Whoa. His heart pounded. “Seriously? Won’t a formal contract tomorrow from my lawyer suffice?”

  “Now. In blood.” Her smile chilled him.

  When had Ariel grown so cynical, so cold? He wondered what the hell happened over the past year to her. Or had he pushed her to this?

  Justin reached for one of the knives on the butcher block on the counter. Swallowing hard, he made a quick slice across his palm. Nausea rose up.

  Leo had cut him several times, and since his torture, the sight of his life’s blood tended to sicken him.

  He signed quickly, licked his palm, tasting the warmth of copper, and watched the cut heal. Black dragons healed quickly with the aid of their saliva.

  Ariel barely glanced at the paper he handed her. She folded it and tucked it into a drawer.

  “What do you want me to do first? Strip off my clothing? Bathe? You’ll have to instruct me. I’ve never been a whore.”

  Sarcasm dripped from her voice. He sighed.

  “First.” He pointed to the stove. “We eat. I’m starved.”

  9

  He cooked her dinner. After years of surviving on his own, he was a damn good cook and could whip up a plain, but tasty meal from little. Harrington’s cupboards were almost bare, but with the aid of spices and a jar of sauce, he made spaghetti. The meatballs were delivered from the local Italian restaurant. The freezer and refrigerator were also almost empty.

  The meatballs had the right amount of spice, but not too much zing. Justin ate quickly and drank two glasses of water. He really was hungry, having skipped breakfast and lunch so he wouldn’t waste time accomplishing his purpose. Ariel ate much slower.

  She didn’t talk, either, despite his stilted attempts at conversation. He insisted on cleaning up and loading the dishwasher. She sat, staring with mutiny at the table.

  “And now?” she demanded.

  “Bedroom. Now.” Justin wiped his hands with a paper towel and pitched it into the stainless steel trash can.

  Blood drained from Ariel’s face.

  He pointed upstairs.

  With a resigned expression, she marched upstairs, as if headed to her own execution. Justin followed. When she entered her bedroom, he pointed to the bed. “Sit.”

  “I’m not a dog.”

  If looks could cut, he’d be bleeding from a dozen places now. “Ariel, sit.”

  She sat.

  He added in a gentler tone, “Take off your prosthesis. I saw you earlier, and you’re still in pain.”

  Her lush lower lip wobbled. “No, I’m not.”

  “It’s written all over your face.”

  When she’d rolled up her pants leg and removed the prosthesis, he knelt before her. She narrowed her eyes.

  “What are you going to do?”

  “Hush. Trust me.” Justin picked up her left leg, examined her stump. It looked red and raw, despite the cream she’d rubbed on it.

  She’d been working on her feet too much, and the prosthesis most likely didn’t fit right. He inwardly cussed Leo for failing to take care of this.

  Justin opened the tube of special cream he’d bought at the drugstore. It smelled medicinal, and was far more expensive than the type Ariel used. With small strokes, he rubbed it into her stump.

  A sigh fled her. Ariel leaned back on her hands and closed her eyes. “Wow, you have great hands.”

  “Much better than when I use my claws.”r />
  Her lips twitched the slightest at his teasing joke.

  “At least you’re not breathing fire on me,” she muttered.

  “Naw.” He kept his caresses light, gentle and expert, all the while he itched to stroke other parts of her body. Make her pliant and hear her sigh with passion instead of relief.

  “I only breathe fire if I don’t brush my teeth. Dragon breath.”

  The joke made her smile.

  He wanted more from her. Less anxiety and fear.

  “Do you know all dragons have a secret about our claws?”

  Ariel leaned forward, seemingly fascinated. “Tell me.”

  “They never grow like claws on animals. Always stay the same length and sharpness, except in old dragons. That’s how you can tell a dragon’s age. The ancient ones eventually lose their claws. Their claws turn white and fall off. They become as helpless as baby dragons.”

  Justin sensed Ariel probably already knew, since she’d studied dragons so much. But he told her because he wanted her to relax and not fear him.

  Fear in bed was not his purpose.

  She held out a hand, showing bright pink glitter nail polish. “They should consider a mani-pedi. They work wonders for dragons. I can recommend a place. You should try it. She’ll even paint your claws a nice shade of pink. Massage your scales, too.”

  At his expression, Ariel laughed. “You should see your face! You look as if you sucked on a lemon.”

  Justin stared at her eyes. So green, like wet moss. Ariel’s effervescent laugh reminded him of soaring through the starry sky at night, the wind in his face, the laughing joy of living life as dragon.

  Her laughter reminded him there was still good in this world. Encouraged that he made progress with her, he smiled.

  “I don’t look good in pink. But I like the color you picked for yours. Your Skin nails.” He stroked his thumb gently over her stump. “Does that feel better?”

  Ariel bit her lip. “A little.”

  The cream would help, but he hated seeing her in pain. Justin looked at her, his heart twisted. He hated having to compromise her like this.

  But he hated more the idea of Ariel marrying a man she didn’t love, simply so her father could live a comfortable life.