Dragon Burn

by Donna Grant

  Sebastian put his hands behind him and leaned back. “All the time?”

  “Well, no.”

  As she thought over the many times she was left behind, she began to have doubts about who her employer was. Perhaps she would do a bit of digging on her own. Oscar was gone anyway, and he’d never know.

  “You need to forget everything I’ve told you,” Sebastian said. “Once I leave—”

  His words sent her heart dropping to her feet. “You’re...leaving?”

  He stared at her before he put a hand against her cheek. “I have to return to my family.”

  “When?” she persisted.

  With his thumb caressing along her cheekbone, he tilted his head to the side. “Mikkel will be watching you closely. You need to resume your normal routine and never mention me. Doona ask him questions or pry into his life. If you do, he’ll end yours without blinking.”

  She knew everything Sebastian said was right, but she couldn’t get past the part about him leaving. It wasn’t as if they were in a deep, committed relationship. She’d only met him and ended up in his bed a few days later.

  Why, then, did she feel as if her world had just crashed around her?

  And if she was going to lose him, she wasn’t going to spend the remainder of whatever time she had left with Sebastian arguing about her employer.

  She shoved his shoulder so that he fell back. She then straddled his hips and leaned over him, her hair falling like a curtain about his face.

  He smiled, desire flashing in his eyes. “Ah, lass. I do love the way you think.”

  She kissed him and slid her sex over his hard cock. His groan sounded more like a growl, and it turned her on. Everything he did turned her on.

  A gasp tore from her when she felt his arousal brush against her. “Condom,” she mumbled as her desire heightened.

  “I’m clean.”

  It was hard to think about being responsible when her body wanted him inside her so desperately.

  He positioned his cock at her entrance. “I can no’ get you with child,” he said before he slipped inside her.

  As soon as he filled her, nothing else mattered. She sat up and braced her hands on his chest as she began to rock her hips. Her head fell back when his hands cupped her breasts and began to knead them.

  Just as before, there was no slow build. The fervor between them was cataclysmic, almost violent. There was no foreplay, no teasing—only the driving, compelling need to find ecstasy in each other’s arms.

  His hands on her hips urged her faster. She opened her eyes and looked at the ceiling, but she didn’t see the thick wooden beams. She was blinded to everything except for Sebastian.

  The desire grew tight and heavy in her belly, surging through her with a force she couldn’t contain. Her lips parted as the orgasm ripped through her, taking her breath even as it filled her with warmth and spine-tingling rapture.

  She heard Sebastian whisper something in a language she didn’t understand right before he climaxed. Their bodies spent, she collapsed atop of him with his heartbeat in her ear.

  Her eyes grew heavy. She didn’t fight the pull of sleep, but welcomed it. As she began to drift off, his hand smoothed down her hair.

  “I’m dangerous for you,” he said.

  She was awake enough to mumble, “I know.”

  If he said anything after, she didn’t know because sleep had claimed her. When she next woke, she was in the same position atop him, with her stomach rumbling. She lifted her head to find him smiling sleepily at her.

  “Food?” he asked.

  “Food,” she said.

  She wrapped a blanket around her as they walked from the bedroom and down the stairs, stepping over their discarded clothes and shoes.

  The palazzo took her breath away. It was pure in style and classic in form. The muted colors accented with wood stained a subdued deep brown made each room feel warm and welcoming.

  There were still items that one would expect in such a Venetian palace. Like the delightful frescoes adorning the walls, rugs that looked to date back to the seventeenth century in style, and classic furniture.

  Yet there were modern conveniences as well. There was a state-of-the-art sound system that reached each room with cleverly hidden speakers she had to search to find. And the kitchen was a chef’s dream, with everything anyone would ever need or want.

  She climbed upon a barstool before the large island in the kitchen as he walked to the refrigerator. She looked around, finding that there wasn’t a single thing she would change. The colors, the style, the lighting, and even the furniture was simple and elegant, though leaning more toward the masculine.

  Her gaze returned to Sebastian to find him watching her with a lopsided grin. “This place suits you.”

  “Does it?” he asked as he began slicing cheese.

  “It does indeed. How often are you here?”

  He shrugged as he did a quick glance around. “No’ as often as we probably should.”

  Gianna had been around families with money, the kind of money she suspected Sebastian was from. Those kinds of people rarely had only two residences. “How many houses does your family have?”

  He paused and looked up, their eyes meeting. “What makes you think we have more than two?”

  “Have you forgotten who I work for and the circles he runs in? I’m used to being around billionaires and millionaires. The fact you don’t want to answer me makes me think you have several.”

  “We do,” he said offhandedly and returned to the cheese. He handed her a slice. “Why does it matter?”

  She laughed and held out her arms. “Look at this place. It’s magnificent. I’ve been in some grand places, but this palazzo should be used more often with its views.”

  He turned and brought out a bottle of wine and two glasses. Then he moved to a cabinet and took out a jar of olives before getting a loaf of bread.

  She waited until he was sitting beside her at the island with the food and wine between them before she said, “Your other properties must be even more gorgeous if they keep you from here.”

  “Work keeps me busy,” he said and popped an olive in his mouth.

  It was obvious by the way he was being so evasive that he really didn’t want her to know of his family or whatever had brought him to Venice that involved Oscar. She knew he was probably right. She should leave it alone and go on with her life. But she couldn’t. Whether it was the passion that held her captive, or something much deeper, she couldn’t walk away from him or any of it.

  “Have you seen Ulrik?” she asked.

  He hesitated, as if he was unsure about what to say.

  Then it hit her. “Oh, my God. He was the man at the masquerade. The one you stopped and stared at for a time.”

  “Gianna, please.”

  She leaned forward to look at him. “You wanted to find him, and you did.”

  “It isna that simple,” Sebastian said.

  She tore off a piece of bread and brought it to her lips. “Then explain it to me.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Sebastian’s gaze was on Gianna’s lips as her tongue peeked out and licked away a crumb of bread. Damn but the woman had him in a knot of desire that wouldn’t loosen.

  “Well?” she pressed in his silence.

  He drained the rest of his wine and set aside the empty glass. If he didn’t give her something, she’d never stop asking. “Think of Ulrik as banished.”

  Gianna’s brows rose high on her forehead. “Banished? What did he do?”

  “I didna stand beside him,” Sebastian said, ignoring her question. “None of us did.”

  She finished chewing and swallowing. “Would anything have changed had you stood with him?”

  “Maybe. I’ll never know.”

  “Why didn’t you?”

  Sebastian popped a slice of cheese into his mouth and considered her words as he chewed. “Ulrik had been in a downward spiral. He needed something that would jerk him out of
it, to see how things were.”

  “And did it work?”

  “No’ as we’d hoped. He...got worse.”

  She wiped her hands as she finished the snack. “I might better understand if you’d tell me what happened.”

  There was no way he could tell her any of it without spilling everything. He’d already made Mikkel take special notice of her. Sebastian wouldn’t put her in any more danger.

  He took her hand and pulled her from the stool as he stood. Then he tugged her after him up the stairs to the master bath. He turned on the water in the shower, and as it heated, he removed the blanket from around her.

  She smiled and walked into his arms. Staring into her eyes, he knew that he’d made a dreadful mistake in using her. Not only because of Mikkel’s interest, but because he hadn’t cared about her feelings. He’d thought only about himself and Ulrik and not about how his actions could hurt others.

  In the time he’d spent with Gianna, he’d discovered that she mattered to him. He cared for her and about her. When she’d stopped being an object to get to what he wanted, Sebastian wasn’t sure. And it no longer signified. He’d stepped over that invisible line—and there was no going back.

  “Sebastian?” she asked with a growing frown.

  He pushed open the glass door of the shower and drew her with him as he stepped inside. He closed them in as steam filled the area. The hot water fell over them from both shower heads on either wall. He watched her eyes fall shut as she leaned her head back to wet her hair. Her breasts thrust out, her nipples forming hard little points as the water sluiced over them.

  He didn’t want the night to end, but already the sun was creeping close to the horizon. He’d already made his decision to leave Venice. Though he didn’t have definitive proof, he’d seen enough with his own eyes to know. That should be enough to convince Con to move forward with an investigation. At least Sebastian hoped it was enough.

  He lathered his hands with soap and began to wash Gianna, massaging her muscles as he did. He took his time, touching every part of her before slowly rinsing her body. Her seductive smile as she grabbed the soap from him made his cock twitch. He stood still as stone while she cleaned him. It wasn’t until she came to his cock that he grabbed the wall.

  His head fell back as her mouth covered him. He couldn’t get enough of her. The more he kissed and touched, the more he thrust inside her, the more of her he had to have.

  He took her in the shower.

  He took her on the bathroom floor.

  He took her against the door.

  Somehow they made it back to the bed, where he took her twice more.

  They dozed and ate between the lovemaking, not caring that the sun rose to its zenith and began its decent again. It was just the two of them in a world of ecstasy and desire, a world where no one else existed.

  They made love in each room of the palazzo amid chases and laughter. There was no more talk of Ulrik, Mikkel, or their pasts. It was only about pleasure.

  After a quick meal of strawberries and whipped cream, he’d set her on the island and spread her legs to feast upon her once more.

  That was an hour ago. Now they were in the oversized tub filled with steaming water. He wrapped his arms around her as she rested back against him. Both had been silent, because they knew their time was coming to an end.

  She lifted her hand from the water, raising her arm to watch the droplets run down her limb. “I wish I could stop time.”

  “I know,” he murmured and kissed the side of her face. “I do as well.”

  “The day flew past. And why do I feel like everything is ending?”

  Because it was, though he wouldn’t tell her that. “It’s no’ over yet.”

  She reached back and wrapped her arms around him, a moan rumbling in her chest. “My body is no longer mine. You’ve touched every inch. I can feel you on my skin and deep inside me.”

  He brought her arms down before running his hand along her arm and intertwining their fingers. His mouth moved to her ear where he whispered, “I can still feel your fire.”

  “It’ll always be yours.”

  They remained until the water began to cool. It was the only thing that drove them from their silence. Sebastian glanced out the window and saw the darkness. He knew before Gianna finished drying off that she was leaving.

  His mind raced with ideas of how he could get her to stay. He started to reach for her, to kiss her and make love to her again, but it was only prolonging the inevitable. He had business he needed to take care of, and the farther away Gianna was from that, the better.

  While she gathered her clothes in the trail they’d left, he grabbed a pair of jeans and a white tee. When he went downstairs barefoot, he found her sitting on the sofa putting on her shoes.

  His boat had been returned last night, thanks to his careful planning and the huge amount of money he’d paid. He could drive her home, but Sebastian knew he wouldn’t leave her if he did. The best thing would be to let her go now. Though it was killing him.

  She drew in a deep breath and released it as she came to her feet. “This is good-bye, isn’t it?”

  “It is.”

  Her eyes moved to look out the windows over the Grand Canal. “But you’ll return one day.”

  “Sure,” he lied. He didn’t have the courage to give her the entire truth—that as long as she was alive, he’d never return to Venice.

  Because if he did, he’d go to her.

  He’d search until he found her—and then he’d never let her go again.

  Because of that, he’d never return. How could he when he’d be bombarded with thoughts of his Ice Queen who burned with a fire that had singed his very soul?

  There was no denying she could be his mate, but he wouldn’t be selfish and bring her into the middle of a war where the outcome could go either way.

  “Come,” he said and took her hand.

  He walked her to the dock, where he flagged down a topetta. As it made its way to them, Sebastian drew her into his arms and kissed her. It was meant as a farewell, but at her taste, he wasn’t able to hold back his longing, his hunger...or his regret.

  Gianna was the one who ended the kiss and pulled out of his arms. She smiled softly and lightly touched his jaw with her fingers. “Thank you.”

  He stood, warring with himself, his heart bellowing for him to make her stay, as she climbed into the boat. His soul gave up a sorrowful cry that only he could hear—and feel—as the topetta drove away.

  While he watched her, his mind drifted to Mikkel. It was Sebastian’s hope that Mikkel would soon realize he was gone and Gianna was innocent. But what if Mikkel didn’t? What if she got into trouble? What if Mikkel harmed her?”

  Sebastian turned on his heel and made his way back into the palazzo. Once there, he found the mobile Ryder made him bring and rang Gianna’s house. He waited for the answering machine to pick up, then he left her his number. “In case you need anything,” he said before he disconnected the line.

  He already missed her, and he feared that his feelings wouldn’t lessen with time. A part of him wanted to go after her, to tell her everything about the Dragon Kings, Ulrik, and Mikkel, but he didn’t.

  As other Kings had brought women to Dreagan, Sebastian always thought of Ulrik. All of this had begun because Ulrik had fallen in love. They were in the middle of a war with the Dark Fae, Mikkel, and most likely Ulrik, all because Ulrik had dared to love.

  Con feared that history was doomed to repeat itself, that a human would betray a King again. That’s not what kept Sebastian from reaching out to Gianna.

  He let her go because he knew she was better off without him and the war surrounding him. It was a war she knew nothing about, a war the Kings had gone to great lengths to keep from the humans. But how much longer would that work?

  The farther away Gianna was from him, the better she’d be. She could continue her life without knowing about the Dragon Kings, Fae, Druids, or Warriors. She could keep
looking at the world without knowing how magic lived and breathed alongside her—and not be in danger because of it.

  He braced his hands on the island and hung his head as grief flooded him. His lungs refused to work as an ache filled his chest that threatened to send him to his knees. He squeezed his eyes closed as his throat clogged with emotion so volatile that he nearly shifted right then.

  Somehow, he reined in his emotions, but nothing could stop the pain in his heart. Getting over Gianna was going to be the toughest thing he’d ever attempt, and he knew she was the one he’d never get past. She had seeped into his very psyche and effortlessly become part of his world. He’d come to Venice to use her, to get information on Mikkel, and instead, her fiery passion had engulfed him, flayed him.

  And renewed him.

  Sebastian pushed away from the island and began cleaning the kitchen. He had to do something to fill the time or he would do something stupid like go after her. He washed and dried the dishes and wiped off the counters. Then he made his way upstairs.

  In the bedroom, he stood at the foot of the bed, staring at it, remembering how Gianna had felt in his arms. How her cries of pleasure had been music to his ears. How he loved watching the ecstasy pass over her face every time she climaxed.

  He turned his back to the bed and clenched his teeth, that wickedly painful emotion threatening to make him shift again. Then he picked up his discarded clothes from the night before, hanging them back in the closet to be picked up later for cleaning.

  With a vicious yank, he stripped the bed of the sheets and tossed them into a pile for the maids. Then he cleaned their mess in the bathroom, anything to keep him busy and his mind from Gianna. Except everywhere he looked, he saw her, smelled her.

  Felt her.

  He was walking through the rooms to look for anything he missed when he spotted their masks on the table near the sofa sitting side by side.

  His knees buckled as he fell to the floor. How had he missed them when he walked her out? But he knew. He’d been too focused on her and saying good-bye. She’d left hers behind on purpose, of that he was sure.

  With his jaw clenched, he reached for them, his hand shaking. He brought hers against his chest and held it, imagining it was her. Then, somehow, he climbed to his feet and made his way upstairs to the closet. He opened the cabinet where the other masks were and returned his to its rightful place. Then he set hers below his.