Aquamarine

by Terry Bolryder

  When he released her, his silver eyes were glowing and his jaw was locked. He slowly ran his tongue over his lower lip, and the predatory look in his eyes matched the coiled strength in his body as his muscles jumped and his hands clenched into fists.

  Then he turned on his heel and walked away, silver robe whipping behind him. To her surprise, he actually opened the door and walked out of it, slamming it halfheartedly behind him.

  Her heart was hammering so hard she could feel it in her swollen lips as she touched them. Could still feel the way his hands touched her, the passion in his eyes just before he’d taken her lips.

  Mercury was dangerous all right, but not for the reasons anyone thought.

  Chapter 6

  Marina wasn’t used to feeling out of her element, especially when she was being admired. She’d acclimated quickly to life on land in the modern world and life in the mansion, and she’d even come to Drakkaris with what she felt was a fairly decent amount of calm acceptance.

  But here in an elaborate, otherworldly ballroom, wearing clothing that was made of some kind of shimmery, silver fabric shot through with blue metal in floral patterns, surrounded by people who openly stared, she felt she wanted to melt into the ground and disappear.

  Lead had been right; there were a few women here. They’d come to introduce themselves, along with their partners, who were nobles in the court. All of the men were tall and appeared to be dragons, but those with mates did seem to be more settled, happier. She supposed that was natural.

  She was nervous as the king and queen escorted her toward the front of the room where Lead was waiting with the other suitors so they could all be introduced and start getting to know each other.

  She felt her stomach twisting uncomfortably as the crowd parted and a group of six rather spectacular men were revealed to her.

  Her eyes almost couldn’t take them all in at once. Looking closer, she recognized them mostly as the ones who’d come for Mercury in his cell, but they looked much different here in dress clothes than they had in the execution hall in their warrior garb.

  They were each wearing the same outfit but with different colors and metal accents. Each wore an elegant, tailored, longish shirt with long sleeves and matching pants that went down to metallic dress shoes. Sort of a futuristic version of a suit, she guessed.

  The outfits were made of a silky, iridescent material that only served to emphasize every bulge of every giant, dragon muscle the men possessed.

  They watched her, some coolly, some with avid eyes, as she approached them.

  Her dress was modest, formfitting through the bodice with a much looser, shimmery skirt. Her sleeves were long, and her neckline dipped only slightly in the front, showing only a hint of cleavage. Her hair had been done up in an elaborate updo, worked with some kind of flexible metal through it to hold it in place, with a few tendrils left to lie over her shoulders.

  She stepped forward. “So who is participating?”

  Lead walked forward. His outfit was a dark brown, woven through with strands of coppery gold. It looked great with his dark-brown hair and hawkish eyes.

  He took a knee in front of her. “Lead, my lady. Captain of the dragon guard.”

  “You can stand,” she said awkwardly.

  “Zinc,” the next man said, stepping forward and taking a knee beside Lead. He was the one who’d vouched for Mercury earlier that day. His gray hair was darker than Mercury’s and slightly less lustrous. His eyes were darker as well. Like the rest of the dragons, he was classically handsome. “Heir to the throne of Drakkaris and member of the dragon guard.”

  Her eyebrow raised. So he would be king next? She would have to ask more about that later.

  “Nice to meet you,” she said, unsure how she was supposed to react to him.

  A man with shoulder-length, dark-blond hair with light-gold strands throughout stepped forward, taking a knee next to Zinc. His outfit was gold with accents of silver.

  “Cadmium. Advisor to the heir, member of the dragon guard, overall badass.” He grinned up at her, and she saw Zinc reach out and swat the back of his head. He grimaced, but didn’t wipe the smirk off his face.

  He’d been there when they took Mercury, and she could tell he was a friendly kind of person.

  “Nice to meet you,” she said softly, still feeling overwhelmed by all the new info.

  “Cobalt,” the next one said abruptly, taking a knee in front of her.

  He was tall like the others, broad-shouldered, with short, light-gray hair with an almost blue tint to it and the deepest, pure-blue eyes she’d ever seen when he looked up at her. His outfit was silver with royal-blue embroidery. “Royal librarian, member of the dragon guard.”

  This was the librarian? She didn’t think she’d ever met someone who looked less like a librarian in her life.

  “Nice to meet you,” she said, feeling as if the words were inadequate, but she didn’t know what else to say.

  “Chromium.”

  The last man stepped forward to stand in line with the others. He was also there the day they took Mercury, his hair so light it was almost white. He was almost ethereally beautiful, with light eyes that were a mix of green and gray. He was tall, powerfully built, with a shiny metal head protector binding back his shoulder-length hair.

  She realized as he knelt there quietly that he hadn’t said his name. Cobalt had.

  “My cousin,” Cobalt said. “Member of the dragon guard, personal bodyguard to the king.”

  “Hello, Chromium,” she said. “Nice to meet you.”

  She got a simple nod in return. Chromium stayed silent. She swallowed, looking at the long line of burly, handsome men. All dragons. All ready to fight for her, yet she felt slightly empty.

  “What’s wrong?” Lead asked, looking up at her.

  “Nothing,” she said, shaking her head.

  “Who would you like to dance with first?” The king stepped forward, looking kind.

  Oh no, dancing. She looked behind her at the beautifully decorated ballroom. They’d brought in exotic-looking plants that dotted the ballroom, and it was covered in ornate metalwork, though it had a much warmer, friendly feel than the execution room.

  Still, the way the couples were moving in the middle of the floor was familiar yet foreign to her. She didn’t want to make a fool of herself.

  And after already feeling like a spectacle, she didn’t particularly want the attention of dancing in the middle of the room.

  She bit her lip, trying to figure out who it would be least awkward with, when she heard someone clear their voice and saw the men look over her shoulder.

  “I believe the first dance is mine,” a deep voice said, and Marina whirled to see Mercury.

  “Wait a minute,” she heard one of the dragons say, but it was too late.

  Mercury had an arm around her waist, and, with his effortless strength, was already sweeping her to the ballroom. “‘Finders keepers, losers weepers,’ I think is the phrase,” he said drily.

  She looked at him in shock as he put one of her hands on his shoulder and took her other hand in his.

  “That wasn’t very fair,” she said, looking at the dragons who were now standing and looking irritated.

  “Life isn’t fair,” he said. “Besides, I’m not going to win against those losers by being all honorable.”

  “So you want to win, then?” she asked as a new song started around them, a haunting, simple melody she had no idea how to dance to.

  “Don’t be nervous. As if I would let you look like an idiot,” he said, taking a breath and sweeping them into a graceful movement.

  “Stop reading my mind,” she said, dipping her head.

  “I read your body,” he said. “You were all tensed up. No wonder with all those awkward introductions. You’re lucky I showed up on time.”

  “For what?” she asked, blinking at him.

  He looked so handsome tonight, with a dark-gray tunic shot through with many colors of silver a
nd gray. It was ornate and looked great on him, and he looked slightly less pale. His silver eyes glittered under long lashes, and his hair had been cut and now just brushed his forehead.

  “So you didn’t have to dance with any of those bores.”

  She looked over at the group of them standing on the edge of the floor, muttering and watching. “I will still probably need to dance with them. And they seem like fine enough men.”

  Mercury’s expression darkened to a scowl. “Really? I don’t think so.”

  “You have a different… way of judging people than most,” she said.

  “I’m realistic,” he said.

  “If that’s what you want to call it.”

  He shrugged. “Well, if you’re going to be difficult, I’m just going to enjoy the feel of your sumptuous body.”

  She flushed, realizing how much she was enjoying his touch, the warmth of being near him, the metallic, cool, masculine scent that was uniquely his. Once again, she got the feeling it was something she wanted, even though she’d never known it.

  “I’m sorry for being a heel,” he said stubbornly. “I don’t like the idea of them even touching you.”

  “Why?” she asked, looking at him in surprise.

  “Wouldn’t it be a failure? I’m supposed to protect you.”

  She raised an eyebrow, disappointment waving through her. “And is that it?”

  “Yes,” he said, avoiding her eyes as he swept them into another turn, into a whirling blur with the other couples. When they finally finished, pulling off to the side of the ballroom, he held her hand for just a moment before releasing it.

  She instantly wanted to take it back.

  “Well, then,” he said. “Since I have no choice, I leave you to your other suitors. But I’ll be watching, Marina.”

  When she gave him an appraising look, he shook his head.

  “Strictly business. I’m here to protect you, nothing more.”

  She grinned slightly as he stormed away, remembering his kiss earlier and knowing his words were a lie. He might be in denial, but she wasn’t the only one who was transparent.

  She saw Lead making his way toward her and braced herself. At least Mercury had broken the tension, making her much less nervous to dance the rest of the night.

  She was at least grateful to him for that.

  “May I have this dance, my lady?” Lead said, giving a quick bow.

  “Just Marina,” she said with a giggle. “And yes.”

  She took his hand and let him lead her onto the floor again, trying desperately not to think of a pair of flashing, quicksilver eyes that she was already missing.

  Chapter 7

  Marina was relieved when she finally got back to her room, escorted by Cadmium, whom she’d found charming.

  He was blond and handsome and easy to talk to, which she couldn’t say of some of the other dragons.

  Still, each had their charms, and after her fortifying dance with Mercury, she’d had fun meeting each of them and getting to know them a little better.

  Her conversation with Cobalt had been the most illuminating, because once he’d figured out she had questions, he’d swept her to the side of the ballroom and sat them in chairs so they could discuss all her concerns.

  When he looked at her with those deep-blue eyes, she felt so heard.

  He’d explained that while yes, there would be fights the next day as part of the right of union challenge, they were more for exhibition, for the competitors to show off their strength and fortitude, not because the strongest would get to carry her off like a caveman.

  The men would compete, but the choice would be hers, as they’d said when she’d first agreed. At least it wasn’t just a competition of brute force, like some of the wolves did back on Earth.

  She liked all of the men so far for different reasons, but she wanted to choose her own mate.

  Arsenic was hilariously grim and dark, a good compliment to Lead’s straightforward but somehow naive leadership style. He was also witty, caustic, and intelligent, with absolutely gorgeous green eyes.

  Lead was Lead. Honest, kind, chivalrous, but with this sort of uptight, stick-up-his-butt demeanor that made her want to see what was underneath the buttoned-up exterior of the dragon guard captain.

  Chromium was quiet and shy, but she could see him watching her intently with those unique, creamy-jade eyes, cocking his head whenever he found something interesting. His body was beautiful, and he had a smooth way of moving that enticed her, as if he had a kind of control over his body that was heightened compared to anyone else.

  He nodded to any of her questions, so it wasn’t like he wasn’t responding.

  He just either didn’t see a need to talk or didn’t want to. But that was fine.

  Other dragons, like Cadmium, were happy to make up the difference.

  Cadmium had given her the dirt on several of the other dragons. Particularly Zinc, whom he was very close to, having grown up together. She could sense the two men meant a lot to each other. Cadmium also seemed a little worried about Zinc’s trust in Mercury, that he could be hurt by him.

  Marina had no idea what to say to that. She wasn’t the one to talk to about someone giving Mercury too much credit.

  But to her relief, Cadmium hadn’t harped on it. He’d just talked a little about the dragon guard in general, how it was comprised of royals, like himself and Zinc, and those from the middle class, like Cobalt and Chromium, and then those from rural areas, like Lead and Arsenic.

  She’d started to sense a little tension between some of the members when she saw them together, when one was coming to take her from another, but overall, she thought they got along well.

  Zinc was probably still the biggest mystery. He’d been the perfect gentleman. Aloof, royal, quick with a soft smile or a comment that could make her laugh.

  But she could sense something else behind his dark-gray eyes. A kind of sadness he kept hidden carefully with a polite smile and a stiff royal bearing.

  He was happy to meet her and assured her if there was anything she needed, he would make sure and supply it, but more than any of the other dragons, she felt she hadn’t really seen into his heart.

  It was just too guarded.

  Nothing compared to Mercury, but guarded all the same.

  She’d noticed Mercury hovering around the perimeter at times, watching her, and even when he wasn’t watching, she wondered if he was in a different form, hidden from others. That was totally creepy, and she wondered if she should tell him not to do it.

  She pulled her dress over her head, leaving her just in her shift, and walked to the closet to hang it.

  She changed into soft, silky pajamas and grabbed a robe to pull on over them. Then she went into the bathroom.

  After she let her hair down and took out all the ornaments, she pulled it into a soft ponytail so it was out of her face. She washed off her makeup, enjoying the feel of water splashing over her, taking with it the stress of the day.

  Then she practically jumped onto the bed so hard she bounced and crawled under the covers, ready to sleep. Or was she?

  She grabbed her human phone off the nightstand and opened a book she’d been reading. Kai and Seaton (her brothers) liked to use the phone to try and win over their human mates, but Marina had found she loved human books and the romance in them.

  Adventure, love, people with good hearts and amazing spirits, all of that was waiting for her the second she flipped the page.

  She had just gotten into the scene when she heard a soft knock on the door.

  She set the phone aside. “Who is it?”

  “Mercury.”

  Even if he hadn’t said his name, she’d recognize that gravelly, sensual voice anywhere. “Come in.”

  No matter that everyone thought he was the most difficult; he was still the person here she knew best. Or who knew her best since she’d done most of the talking when she’d been visiting him in his cell back on Earth.

  He wal
ked forward, still wearing his suit from the ball and looking devastatingly handsome. He rolled his shoulders, cracked his neck, and then began undoing the buttons at his collar.

  “Wait. What are you doing?” she asked.

  “It’s uncomfortable,” he said, continuing down the tunic until he could pull it over his head. He wore an undershirt beneath, but it caught on the tunic and pulled up slightly, exposing a row of perfect abs on taut skin.

  Then he had the tunic off and the shirt fell back down, and she had to pretend she hadn’t been gawking.

  “Why are you here?”

  “To check on you, obviously,” he said. “After having a bunch of boorish dragons slavering over you all night, I thought my company would be welcome.” He raised an eyebrow. “You did travel the stars to see me.”

  She frowned as she tried to pretend she hadn’t been gawking at his abs.

  “No need,” Mercury said, tossing his tunic to the side as he walked to the foot of the bed and sat there without asking. “I’m obviously aware of your attraction to me. Why else do you think you kept visiting me in the basement?”

  She stuttered, shocked that was what he thought. He was wrong, wasn’t he? Sure, he was attractive, but that wasn’t the point. “It was because I felt sorry for you, you—”

  “No,” he said, scooting forward, seeming so impossibly big as he took up more of the space in front of her. “That’s what you probably told yourself, but admit it, Marina. You like what you see.”

  She shook her head, putting a hand out to shove him back. Big mistake. The feel of his hard, bulging chest made warmth zing through her, which only made his point for him. “Back off.”

  He sat back, still on the bed, and looked at her, one steely-gray eyebrow raised. “Really?”

  She nodded.

  “Fine,” he said, stepping off the bed and reaching for the hem of his undershirt. “You give me no choice.”

  “Wait, stop! What are you—” She felt her feeble protests cut off as his undershirt joined his tunic on the ground, showing Mercury in all his half-naked glory.