Dragon Seduction (Crimson Dragons Book 2)

by Amelia Jade

  The sky spun around him as he worked to suck in breath, his stomach and lungs refusing to work at first.

  What the fuck was THAT?!

  Getting to one knee, he took in a lungful of air, the reprieve easing his blurring vision. Staggering forward, he looked through the hole in the shed just in time to see a matte-black shape disappear around the corner.

  The Outsider! What was it doing here?

  Forcing his legs to move, he took off after it. The chase was on as they raced across the ground, moving along the underbelly of the freeway. Here and there piles of broken concrete that had fallen from above were scattered, providing obstacles to dodge around, or over, depending on the side. As his lungs recovered he started to gain ground.

  His mind was working furiously. There had to be a reason it was here, of all places. It was just too much of a coincidence. Either it had been following him…or it had been following the gang? He frowned at that implication. There were a lot of ways that could be really, really bad.

  All at once the debris cleared for a hundred-foot stretch, and he saw the Outsider clearly now as it lurched and humped its way forward in the odd gait that somehow managed to keep it ahead of him. Spinning its head—or at least what he assumed to be the head on the roughly humanoid-looking thing—it looked back at him for a moment.

  Taking a chance, he let loose with a blast of fire from his hand, calling it forth and unleashing a wrist-wide lance. The Outsider took it full in the midsection and flew forward, disappearing in a heap into the stacks of metal scaffolding and fencing. Corde saw the roof of a port-a-potty go flying through the air, bringing a smile to his face.

  He lunged into the debris, intent on closing the gap. They had run for what felt like ages, but was in reality no more than a mile, maybe two. Industrial buildings loomed up to his left, ones that were filled with workers. He saw conveyors carrying stuff from one building to the next, a crane swinging a beam into place. Farther up a massive dump truck shook as it emptied its contents somewhere he couldn’t see.

  Corde was running out of time to apprehend the Outsider. Gritting his teeth, he shot forward and leapt, wrapping his arms around its midsection. They tumbled to the ground. He reared back and slammed a mighty fist home, his blow cracking the exterior, spilling forth some of the dark purple goop that Kallore had told him was housed inside.

  “Yuck.” He shook his hand and hit the creature again. And again.

  Both of its arms came up, grabbed him by the shoulders, and tossed him away. Corde spun midair, landing on his feet and charging right back. The Outsider was already on its feet and running, heading for one of the industrial buildings. It blew right through a fence, Corde hot on his heels.

  “Oh no you don’t,” he snarled, reaching up and above him, summoning his fire into the form of a great broadsword.

  He swung, the mighty blow loping off one of its arms, just as they turned down a dead-end alley. Corde grinned. He had it cornered now. Advancing, sword held at guard, he prepared to extinguish the Outsider’s life. He would be besting even Kallore, who had but succeeded in wounding one, albeit severely, by all accounts.

  “End of the line,” he smiled, raising the sword high and striking it down as the Outsider’s back pressed up against the brick wall.

  At the last second the Outsider reached into itself and flung some of the purple goop from its wound into his eyes.

  Momentum was already carrying Corde forward, and his sword crashed into the wall, blasting it apart as he fell through it, rolling to his feet, using one hand to clear his eyes.

  “I’ll kill you for that!” he roared, at last clearing his vision.

  What he saw froze him in place.

  The brick wall hadn’t led to the interior of the building at all. It had been a façade, a fake, blocking the alley from the street beyond.

  And once again, people were staring at him in stunned amazement. Up the alley there was no sign of the Outsider; it must have disappeared into one of the buildings, or retreated back under the freeway. Corde looked around helplessly as bystanders backed away, only belatedly remembering to dismiss his sword, the fire dissipating into thin air.

  “Please don’t,” he begged, stepping toward the nearby woman on her phone to put it down.

  “Stay back!” she shouted nervously, clutching at her phone as she scurried away. “Don’t kill me. I’m on the phone with the police!”

  Corde stopped, slumping at the waist. Fleeing wasn’t an option. There couldn’t be that many people in the city who wielded swords of fire in public and could make them disappear. They had his information, and even if he ran they could come find him. The best thing to do would be to just go in peacefully. Maybe if he did that, he could salvage the situation somehow.

  Ha. Unlikely. He’d been warned not to do this again, by the police, and by Colonel Mara. He was so screwed.

  Bending his knees, he sat on the ground as sirens sounded nearby, putting his back against the chunk of brick “wall” still standing.

  A low grinding noise preceded the collapse of that part of the wall as well.

  “Perfect,” he muttered as brick dust filled the air once more. “Just perfect.”

  Kylie was going to kill him.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Kylie

  “Thank you so much for your help, Sergeant,” she said politely to the middle-aged woman with the big curly brown hair sitting behind the desk.

  “Oh, you’re welcome, ma’am. I truly am sorry about what happened to your house.”

  Kylie nodded, overcome by a wave of sadness. “It wasn’t much.” She laughed, a sad, forlorn sound. “It was a dump, actually. But you know, despite that…”

  “It was your dump,” Sergeant Coles finished with an understanding smile.

  “Exactly. Nobody burns down my dump,” she said, putting on a stronger face.

  “You go girl.” Sergeant Coles reached out and tapped her hand. “We’ll get this all filed away, don’t you worry. The insurance company should contact you shortly.”

  “Thank you so much. I wouldn’t have known what to do if it weren’t for your help.”

  “That’s why I’m here,” Coles said jovially. “Now go try to enjoy the day. The weather at least, is looking lovely.”

  “It is, isn’t it?” She glanced out the front doors of the police headquarters. “It really is. Thank you, Sergeant Coles. I think I will go do just that.”

  With a wave goodbye she headed toward the large sliding doors and the fresh summer air. Originally she’d gone down to the firehouse, but apparently everything was actually handled by the police. The fire department just put the flames out. So she’d journeyed the few blocks to the police station, where Sergeant Coles had guided her hand through filling out everything necessary, while doing her best to keep the mood light and happy.

  Kylie was feeling buoyed now, her spirits higher than they had been in some time. Yes, her life was in shambles. Her job was all wrong for her, she had no car and no house. But at the same time she’d found an awesome man in Corde, who was kind, gentle, caring, and seemed like a nice guy who had just screwed up. She could help him with that. Was helping him with that.

  Staying with him would help her get back on her feet. He was so supportive of her desire, of the fact that she just wanted to help people. Like him.

  The doors slid open ahead of her and she emerged into the sun, the rays immediately energizing her. Her lips pulled up tighter as the smile grew. The sun was rising on the start of a new day. A new chapter in her life. One with the odd, but seemingly harmless Corde in it. A new day for a new start. A fresh start. Maybe she would be able to go back to school, to do like Corde had suggested, helping those who wanted help. She could be a counselor of some sort perhaps. The possibilities seemed endless. She wasn’t even sure what she might do, but the doors were opening after remaining sealed shut for so very long. The sun was shining in her soul.

  Yawning, she stretched, remembering with a little smile
that she hadn’t gotten much in the way of sleep last night. Tonight was going to be an early one. Corde would just have to have his way with her a little early. She doubted he would object. Not once he found out what she had in mind.

  With a skip in her step she started down the long ramp that led back to the street, phone in hand as she called a cab. The process hadn’t taken all that long after all, she would likely make it out to Corde and the others only shortly after they started for the day.

  A commotion near the bottom of the ramp caught her eye, and she paused, watching as a police SUV pulled up. The heavily retrofitted black vehicle came to a halt and several reporters surged forward, adjusting cameras on their shoulders or phones in their hands as if to record audio.

  “What’s going on?” she asked another person who had stopped to watch.

  “No idea.”

  She pushed closer as officers emerged from the vehicle. One started shouting at the reporters to back away, to give them space. There were perhaps half a dozen all told, so it really wasn’t much of a circus, but the cop still looked agitated. Worried.

  “What’s the deal?” she asked as one reporter clutching their modern smartphone in hand came near.

  “It’s him!”

  “Yeah. Who?” she asked. The attention obviously wasn’t on her.

  “The man with the sword of fire. They caught him again when he burst into the street through a building and started telling people he was going to kill them again.”

  “The what? Who?” Kylie didn’t pay much attention to the news. It was hard without a television or a cell phone. It often left her feeling out of the loop. Like now.

  “Have you been living under a rock for the past week and a half? The fire-sword man. He’s a giant of muscle, wields a sword made entirely of fire. Twice now he’s been seen threatening people with it. But that’s not the craziest part.” The reporter was on her tiptoes now, trying to peer over a couple of her colleagues as one officer opened the rear door.

  “What is?”

  “The sword just disappears into thin air, like a magic trick. But we have cell phone video from all angles and we’ve analyzed it. There is nothing he does to make it appear or disappear. Nor is he holding anything. It’s as if it’s real fire. But it has to be some sort of trick.”

  Kylie’s world froze as one massive booted foot emerged from the back of the SUV. Time seemed to slow, and she heard the perfect little world she’d been constructing in her head just minutes ago begin to crack. The first chunk fell from the sky, with more of it following as a tall man with blond hair that fell just above his eyes emerged from the vehicle. As he stood up he gave his head a flick to push the hair off his forehead.

  It was Corde.

  His hands were secured behind his back with various restraints but he stood tall and proud, just the way she remembered him. But it was the eyes, the eyes that were different. They were sad and empty. Dejected. No, defeated.

  “He’s the one who threatened all those people with a…did you say a sword?” she asked.

  “A fire sword, yes!” The reporter wasn’t really paying attention to her, and now that Corde was visible she surged forward, shouting questions, demanding to know why he was so intent on killing people.

  Kylie couldn’t move. Her feet remained rooted to the spot as Corde waited for the officer to start moving him forward. His eyes surveyed the crowd of reporters, instantly dismissing them. Then his gaze found Kylie, the recognition of who it was staring at him jolting him visibly. The crowd flinched back as his muscles flexed suddenly, making him appear all the more imposing in the blink of an eye.

  He turned toward her, the officer gripping his arm simply taken along for a ride, unable to stop him or force him forward.

  But no words came to her. What would it really matter what she said anyway? Everything she’d thought about him, all the words he’d told her, the promises he’d made. They all fell flat. No matter what he said, she doubted she’d be able to believe him now.

  I should have left when he first told me he was a dragon.

  That was the sign she should have heeded. Just leave and never look back. Whatever she thought she knew about him, it was obviously wrong. All his words were lies. The promises about not being that sort of person—she knew them to be false.

  Corde watched all this play across her face, and she saw the pain at her rejection growing, but she just couldn’t bring herself to feel sorry for him. All the secrets he’d kept… it was too much. Kylie had let herself get swept off her feet by his charm and good looks.

  The reporters were starting to pick up on the tension between the two of them, their gazes and cameras starting to swing toward her. Not wanting to be a part of that, Kylie just shook her head at Corde, the simple gesture telling him everything.

  It was over. Done. She was going to go back to the penthouse, collect her belongings, and leave. Where she would end up was an as yet unanswered question, but it didn’t matter, as long as it was away from Corde, and Vanek, and the idea of dragons and fire swords and everything. She just needed out.

  He took a step toward her, shouting her name. “Kylie!” His voice was filled with anguish, the pain gnawing at her, but it was too late now.

  Kylie stepped back, maintaining the distance between them in a very visible display of rejection. She’d made up her mind. He’d promised to go to community service, and instead he’d gone and proven he hadn’t changed at all since the day she met him.

  “Goodbye, Corde,” she whispered, noticing his head rock back as she spoke. Could he hear her? It didn’t matter.

  Turning, she shuffled down the sidewalk in a half-walk half-jog until she could turn the corner, leaving the police, the reporters, and most importantly Corde, behind her. In the past.

  Where he was going to stay.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Corde

  “I’m telling you what happened,” he growled angrily.

  “You’re lying to me,” the detective accused him.

  Corde looked down at the pathetic metal links that connected him to the metal table. It would be a simple act to snap them, brush past the overly cocky Detective Barnes and simply leave. Nobody could stop him. Not before he could escape and disappear.

  It could be done. Just leave the station and completely disappear. Corde knew, because he’d done it before. When his village needed him and he’d failed them, he’d done the same thing. Run away. Far, far away. In distance, and as it turned out, in time. They’d been counting on him, just like now, and he’d let them down. He could still remember it now: the pair of invading dragons laughing at him as he tried to fight them off without any fire.

  His cheeks burned at the memory. A red dragon who couldn’t breathe fire. Who had ever heard of such a thing? It was preposterous! The pair of onyx dragons who’d attacked had thought the same thing. Once they’d realized he was no threat, they’d simply laughed in his face until Corde fled in shame, the villagers who’d relied on his protection left to fend for themselves.

  Corde thought about doing it now. Kylie would never forgive him. He’d seen the look, and the pain he’d felt when she stepped away threatened to shatter what little resistance to violence he had left within him. The only reason he was hanging on now was for her. But why should he? Kylie had left him behind.

  She’d rejected him. His actions, in trying to save her world, had resulted in him losing his mate. Corde hung his head in shame. No matter how hard he tried, it seemed he was always destined to fail, to screw up and let down those around him, leaving expectations unfulfilled.

  Maybe it was best he go, just disappear, go back to sleep and let the process turn him to stone for eternity like the rest of his kind. It would be easy. So easy. His eyes drifted, becoming unfocused as he thought of the peace that it would bring.

  Rebellion flared deep inside him at the same time, crushing those thoughts. Running away would be the easy way out. But it wouldn’t help him win Kylie back though. The last ti
me he’d run, he’d been young, barely little more than a teenager as dragons reckoned it. Now he was an adult, and had learned from his experiences. He was better than this.

  And most importantly, he had a mate now. She didn’t know it, and revealing that truth was going to be unbelievably interesting. But she existed, and neither of them would truly be happy without the other. Corde might be willing to inflict that on himself, but there was no way he could do that to Kylie. He needed to get back to her, to tell her the truth. The whole truth.

  If he was to have any hope of doing that though, he was going to have to go along with this ridiculous asshole, at least until Colonel Mara showed up. Which she would. Hopefully.

  “Why were you out in that neighborhood to begin with?”

  He rolled his eyes. They’d covered this ground five times already.

  “The gang that burned down my…friend’s house lives there. I went to track them down, in case there was anything that could be used as evidence to put them behind bars. They’re going to hurt her before long, and it’s only after she’s dead or injured that you guys will do anything.”

  “So you took the law into your own hands for a…friend?”

  “It’s complicated. I’d hesitate to label her as more, because she might get upset about that. Have you never been in that situation with a woman before…sir?” He deliberately added the pause at the end to let the detective know that he was tired of the games.

  “We’ll see. This isn’t about me. So, what happened with the gang?”

  “I told you. They came out front when they saw me standing in the street. Things got heated, they pulled out guns. Being the non-violent person I am, I ran for the fence, jumped over, and ran along the underpass.”

  “So you didn’t fight the gang?”

  “No. There were more of them than me.”

  “But you’re bigger.”

  “Despite your insinuations of the opposite, bigger doesn’t always mean dumber,” he shot back.