by Katie Reus
“Of course. He hates King,” the vampire rasped out. There was truth in his voice and in the subtle scent she could smell rolling off him. It was hard to tell over the scent of flames and his fear, however.
“He wants to kill King?” Lachlan asked.
“Yes. He’s going to help my coven take charge of the city. Vampires should be in charge, not wolves. They’re allied with humans. And witches!”
Oscar wasn’t in New Orleans to kill King, but he’d very clearly found a foolish vampire he could manipulate into working with him. “Have you been feeding him information about King?” she demanded.
“Yes.”
“What do you get in exchange?” Lachlan’s tone was even, but she sensed the barely leashed dragon underneath the surface.
“His allyship,” the male gasped out. “The world has changed and…” He coughed. “Need allies.”
“Did you send one of your vampires after Star the other night?” Again, Lachlan’s tone was deceptively mild, but Star swore she could actually feel his dragon pulsing in the room, his heat ready to blast this vampire away.
“He was…just supposed to tail her. Wanted to see where she went and who she met with.” Another cough. “He never came back.”
Yeah, because he was dead.
Star couldn’t see, but she guessed Lachlan was still squeezing the male’s throat tight. The sounds of struggling had since ceased, but Lachlan hadn’t moved a fraction so she guessed he was still holding the male up in the air.
“You’re a bloody fool.” Disgust dripped from Lachlan’s every word. “You will give me the exact address for Oscar.”
After the male managed to rasp it out, there was a thud on the floor.
“If you warn him we’re coming, I’ll come back and raze this place to the ground with all of you in it. I’m older and more powerful than your tiny brain can comprehend. There will be no place you can run from me. No rock for you to hide under.” A millennia of power reverberated in Lachlan’s words, his rage rippling throughout the room, dripping off the walls with its raw truth.
Star was comforted by it instead of repulsed. She loved the feel of his power surrounding her, and for one insane moment, reveled in it.
“Understand?” A soft, deadly whisper.
“Yes,” Caesar rasped out.
Star reached out a hand and ordered her fire to subside. Just like that, the flames that had already devoured the chaise disappeared, but the damage to the chair remained.
There was a gasp of surprise from one of the vampires, but she didn’t bother glancing in their direction. She didn’t care what they thought.
“If I were you, I’d get out of the city no matter what,” Star added, facing Caesar. “There’s no room for troublemakers like you. And if you go up against King, know this—every single one of us are his allies.” She nodded at Brielle, Harlow and Axel to head out. They did, but not before snarling at the vampires in their way to move.
Once outside, Star pulled in a deep breath of fresh night air. The vamps who’d been in various stages of screwing on the lawn had all disappeared back inside—or somewhere—in the time they’d been talking with Caesar. So they weren’t all complete fools.
“You were pretty savage in there.” The way Lachlan said it kind of sounded like a compliment.
Her? He’d been the savage. “Thank you?”
He simply shrugged. “You’re a true Alpha.”
She decided not to respond to that. She was young and Alpha of her crew, but that was different. Waaaay different than him. He had the responsibility of a whole clan and territory. “You think he’ll call Oscar?”
“I think it’s a possibility,” Lachlan said. “I embarrassed him. I also scared him. Who knows which emotion will win. So we go there now.”
She nodded in agreement. There was no time to waste, not after their attack earlier. And if they did wait, it might give Caesar time to regain some bravery. Or stupidity.
“You can ride on my back. The others can ride on Teague or Cody’s.”
She was tempted to tell him she could fly—to show him what she was. But for her safety, her sister’s safety, she held back. And because okay, she was protecting her heart. Giving him the most vulnerable part of herself was a risk she wasn’t prepared to take.
Even so, she recognized that he was making himself vulnerable by letting her ride him in dragon form. He’d given her an honor.
“I like riding on your back,” she murmured, the shadow of a memory bubbling up inside her. She knew she’d done so before on the way to her aunt’s place, but… She brushed away the edges of whatever was lingering in her mind, trying to hold on like static cling. She glanced at Lachlan when she saw he had his cell phone out.
“I texted King,” he said, though she hadn’t asked him who he was contacting. “I let him know about this coven so he can do what he needs to.”
“Good.” Star didn’t think this coven would last the night, though something told her King would give them the option to leave of their own accord.
Because that was the kind of Alpha he was.
Chapter 23
The flight to the outskirts of the city was fast and hard, the clear sky and near full moon lighting their way. There were other random dragons in the sky simply out for an evening flight, but they kept a healthy distance as Lachlan and his two warriors flew Star and the others.
Barely fifteen minutes into their flight, Star smelled the acrid scent of smoke on the wind. Faint, but growing stronger, and the heavy ball coiled inside her told her where it was coming from.
She didn’t want it to be true, but in the distance, bright orange flames danced into the sky, smoke curling up against the backdrop of the moon. Lachlan picked up speed and that was when she saw it.
A huge house and outbuildings in the middle of fields were burning.
Her heart rate kicked up as they reached their destination, landing a hundred yards from the burning house. Sharp disappointment surged through her. She’d been ready to find Oscar, to burn him to ashes, to get vengeance for her baby sister. But he wasn’t here.
“Can you scent him?” she asked Lachlan after he changed to human form.
“No. But the fire is thick. It’s covering it up.” He motioned for Cody to circle around the house and to sweep the property.
“You can go too, if you want.” She tried to push back the rage building inside her, the fire that wanted out, that wanted to burn everything in sight.
He shook his head. “Cody’s fast and he’s a good tracker. And I’m not leaving yer side, lass.”
She shot him a look of surprise even as Harlow stripped down and shifted to her tiger form and raced off into the darkness.
“We need to get someone out here to put out the fire,” Teague said. “Or else it’s going to spread, and innocent people will lose their homes.”
“I can take care of it.” Star stalked forward and let her power flow through her. She didn’t just create fire, she controlled it.
The rage built, a suffocating pressure in her chest. When she was barely twenty-five yards away, the heat from the house potent, she held out her hands and let out a scream. She screamed for the year her sister had lost, for the death of her parents, for the memories that scraped at her mind, making her feel crazy, and for a hundred other things as she unleashed the power of her own fire.
The purple fire burst from her fingertips, swooping upward and obeying her command. Another burst of flames exploded in an outward arc, circling the crumbling home as yet another jet of flames headed directly at the house.
Her fire created a giant circle around the house, pushing back against the dragon-made fire. Pushing, pushing, pushing.
She strained against the dragon fire, sweat beading against her upper lip, dripping down her spine, until nothing remained but crumbling concrete blocks and ash.
She might have extinguished it, but her fire didn’t destroy the scent, and the stink of charred wood and furniture and whatever else h
ad been in there filled the air, making her nauseous.
Breathing hard, she bent forward and put her hands on her knees. Expelling that much fire at once took a large amount of energy and focus. Next to her, Lachlan rubbed a comforting hand up and down her back, and damn, did she savor it. He didn’t question how she’d done what she had with her fire, didn’t ask for details she didn’t want to give. No, instead he simply provided comfort.
This man was determined to break down all of her walls. Just kick them all down with his kindness and protectiveness. And when she thought of walking away from this growing thing between them, of not exploring it…pain lanced through her chest.
She sucked in another deep breath, feeling more steady. As Star straightened, feeling nominally better after that release of energy in spite of the fatigue, both Cody and Harlow returned. Cody didn’t shift forms, and he looked so similar to Lachlan—with both his huge size and the indigo coloring it was clear they were related. He just shook his head.
Harlow changed back to human and gave the same news as she started tugging her clothing on. “Nothing. They were definitely here but I scented different trails spreading out in four directions. I guarantee they flew off in random patterns to intentionally throw anyone off their scent trail.”
More disappointment surged through Star even though it was what she’d expected.
“Go on ahead of us,” Lachlan said to the others, his order soft.
Star simply nodded at her own people. She needed a few minutes to clear her head anyway. Once the others were in the air, she said to Lachlan, “Do you want to attempt to hunt them down tonight?” Because she was game. The energy inside her couldn’t be contained. She could feel her fire pulsing under her skin, wanting out. It didn’t matter that she wasn’t at full capacity, she was still on edge. And if she had the chance, she would go after Oscar.
Lachlan shook his head. “No, it would be a fool’s errand. We need to bring them out into the open, get them to come to us. We need to set a trap for them and kill him on our turf.”
He was right, she knew that, but she still had too much pent-up energy. “So why are we hanging back?”
Reaching out, he cupped her face with his big, rough palm.
Surprise and something else slid through her, soothing her nerves. Against her better judgment, she leaned into his hold, enjoying the feel of his callused palm against her cheek. Damn, she liked it way too much. “I don’t want to talk about what I just did,” she whispered. She didn’t have the emotional capacity to hold anything back at the moment and if he pushed, she would tell him what she was.
“Good, because I wasn’t asking. I simply want to know why you’re fighting the heat between us, lass.”
Um, how about for her sanity? “You want to ask that now?” When they were standing near a burned house in the middle of nowhere. And…all alone, she thought. Just the two of them.
“It seems as good a time as any. And we are alone. No one’s coming back here. No one is here to see your fire if you lose control.” His eyes went pure dragon then, as if he liked the thought of her losing control.
“I don’t know if it will come back.” Though her gut said it would. She’d been nineteen when her parents had died and they’d never had a sex talk. Not one about fire showing up anyway. And she’d never talked with Cliona about mating. The fire had never appeared in the past with the few males she’d made out with so she wondered if maybe…this was something to do with a potential mate. Or maybe it was because they were better suited for each other. Or…who the hell knew. For some reason, the thought that this might be a mating thing didn’t appall her. Not when it was Lachlan. Though it did scare her.
He stroked a thumb over her cheek, gently and sensually, sending curls of heat spiraling through her.
Her fire was already simmering under the surface now, her fingertips tingling with it. Still, she cleared her throat. Even though they didn’t need to worry about STDs or anything—not with them both being supernaturals—or pregnancy right now, since she wasn’t in heat, they still needed to talk. “I’m not cut out to be the Alpha mate to a dragon. And I know you’re not asking to mate me but…I’m just putting it out there so you know where my head is at.”
He gave her a wicked, sexy smile as he shook his head slightly. “You were pretty damn Alpha in the vampire coven, and just now with your fire. Your people listen to you without question. And my own brother couldn’t hold your gaze. He’s a powerful dragon even if he is young and reckless. He’s also thousands of years older than you.”
She lifted a shoulder. Okay, so if that didn’t scare him off, then… “There’s something else you need to know. I’ve never done this.”
He frowned, his thumb still gently stroking her cheek. “This?”
She wanted to lean into his soft strokes even more, but forced herself to get the words out. “Ah, I mean, I’ve fooled around with males of course.”
He started growling, making her blink in surprise.
She didn’t want him to think she was completely inexperienced. “I just meant, I’ve made out with them and you know, done other stuff.”
His growls deepened.
Despite the situation, her mouth curved up. “Oh my God, I just meant—”
“I dinnae want to hear about you and other males.” A soft, deadly growl. “Or I may feel the need to hunt them down and relieve them of their heads. And other body parts.”
“I’m clearly doing this all wrong. I’m trying to say that I’m a virgin.” When he stared blankly at her, she continued. “You know, I’ve never done the whole ‘penis in vagina’ thing.”
To her surprise, he snorted out a laugh. “I dinnae think I’ll ever tire of that mouth, lass,” he murmured, his gaze then dropping to said mouth.
“So…we’re good?” Oh, please be good.
“Oh, we’re very, very good.” Again with the deep, intoxicating voice.
Relief slid through her that he wasn’t making a big deal about this or treating her like a freak. Or even worse, putting the brakes on.
Because she could see the hunger in his gaze grow even brighter as he bent his head and crushed his mouth against hers. Yep, apparently they were done with the talking portion of the evening.
Oh, thank the goddess. She didn’t want to talk either. The only thing she wanted to do with her mouth was put it on him, all over. In that moment she let go of all her worries because they didn’t matter.
They were alone, and for this one moment she could be herself. Mostly.
She didn’t have to consciously think about it—her flames burst free, not burning him, as if they knew not to hurt him. Never him. The flames danced along her arms, legs, and even her skin glowed violet as their mouths melded and their bodies came together.
In seconds he’d picked her up, carrying her farther away from the house until he stretched her out on a soft patch of grass. She didn’t care about the lingering scent of fire, about the fact that they were outdoors. In fact, she liked being under the night sky this way with him. She didn’t want a nice, soft bed, she wanted something raw and earthy with this huge male who’d already burrowed his way under her skin. He was ripping down all of her defenses one by one just by being himself. It was a miracle she’d lasted as long as she had against him.
“I’m tasting between your legs,” he growled against her mouth.
And he wasn’t asking. Her flames licked higher at that and he let out a low, wicked laugh.
“You like the thought of that, lass.”
“I’d like it if you’d do it and stop talking about it,” she rasped out.
He threw his head back and laughed, the rich sound rolling over her and making her nipples tighten against her bra cups. Holy hell, she loved his laugh. There was a freedom to it she felt to her bones.
“You’re a feisty lass.”
For some reason those words struck home right to the heart of her, as if he’d said the words to her before, which she knew was ridiculous.
As his shirt went flying behind her, her eyes widened as she realized he was emanating a soft glow himself. The indigo seemed to light him up from within, and when he realized that he was glowing he didn’t seem at all surprised. No, he had an intense, pleased look on his face as he covered her body with his again.
She liked the feel of his chest covering hers, of the whole weight of him pressed against her.
“Mine,” he murmured as he slanted his mouth over hers and pressed her into the grass. Without pause, he reached between their bodies and cupped her mound, testing her slickness as she rode his hand. She loved the friction of his palm against her clit, grinding into him harder and harder as they tasted each other. She was already soaked for him, desperate for everything he could give her.
As she clutched onto his back, digging her fingers into the hard planes of his muscles, she flashed back to one of her dreams, reminded of…something. But the thought at the edge of her mind quickly dissipated as she lost herself in the sensation of him stroking her.
Moaning, she slid her hands lower, raking her fingernails lightly over his back until she reached his ass. Then she dug into his muscles hard, groaning into his mouth. The man was all power and she loved the feel of him against her, his hand between her legs.
It was a heady feeling to have that kind of power at her fingertips. To know this male was hers to command—and she wasn’t sure how she knew that with absolute certainty, but it was true.
He started kissing a path down her neck, to her breasts, and when he slowly started teasing her nipple with his tongue she made an impatient sound. She wanted his head between her legs, wanted that wicked tongue bringing her pleasure.
“Impatient lass,” he murmured. “You were always so impatient.”
She frowned at the wording but when he slid a second finger inside her, all thoughts fled. The sensation of him stretching her like this felt amazing.