by Неизвестный
“And Grathers?”
“Dead,” he said, voice empty of emotion.
“I want to go after them, John. Stealing their boat is not enough.”
He nodded to her. “We will, baby. But first I’ve got to get invisible, fast.”
Her forehead wrinkled and she thought to argue, but he was right. Dendric was sure to start tracking him down, even if he hadn’t stolen a million dollar ship. “Aye, Aye, Captain.”
His face erupted in a huge smile. “You’ll come?”
She nodded. “And you’ll help?”
“Help you become a pirate? Of course!”
He practically threw the rest of the boxes on deck. “Well, we’d better get started finding some crew.” When she raised an eyebrow his smile grew broader. “We’re going to need snacks.”
* * * *
Clack, clack, clack. Alara’s heels hit marble. Kaylee skittered beside her as she walked, reading out her meetings for the day. In the weeks since the dragons had left, things had calmed considerable in Murrough. She and her advisors worked diligently to reverse any program changes or funding cuts ordered by her brother. She hadn’t worked up the courage to confront the Council Chair. Just a few more days, she kept telling herself. It was just too soon for her to deal with talking to another dragon.
Kaylee observed her closely. “You don’t look so hot, ‘Lara. Not getting enough sleep?”
Alara knew perfectly well what her assistant was getting at. “I’ve been sleeping fine, thank you very much.”
The younger female looked at her with an odd wisdom. “He’s coming back, you know.”
Her heels clacked harder as she sped up. Maybe Kaylee would fall behind and stop talking. “Who’s that?”
Kaylee jumped in front of Alara, almost getting run over. She narrowed her pale green eyes. “Oh please! You are so dumb! Your dragon, stupid. Your dragon is coming back. Right after he quits his job and gives the Council Chair a piece of his mind.”
Alara sighed loudly and pushed the other female to the side. “Oh him. Yeah, whatever.”
The girl jumped ahead again, this time placing her hand on Alara’s shoulders. “Don’t you ‘whatever’ me! You’re crazy about him.” With a shove, Alara stalked past. “You wuuuuuuuv him. You wanna kiss him. You wanna marry him.” Kaylee chanted like a hopped-up sorority pledge.
Alara threw open the doors to her offices and dashed inside, escaping Kaylee’s taunts. She knew that the immature mere didn’t mean any harm, but her words still stung. If Kai did return, well that would be nice. But Alara had to prepare herself for the possibility that he wouldn’t. Nothing could be worse than waiting for a male who never arrived.
* * * *
Kai’s heart pounded in his chest, and his mouth dried. Alara. Even being near her papers and exercise bicycle stoked his senses. After two weeks in dragon form, his human skin tingled under his clothes.
She walked through the door, and his breath caught in his throat. She dressed in a conservative tan suit, so different from her usual tight jeans. With her hair in a loose bun, she looked every bit the leader of a rich, though small, nation.
Her lips parted when she saw him, the lower one quivering. Her hard eyes filled with tears. “You came.”
He wrapped his arms around her at once. Her body fit his perfectly. “Of course I did.”
She clutched at his back. A growl built in his throat. It had been too long since he’d smelled her, tasted her. Even though he wanted to murmur gentle words of love and devotion, the urge to take her body under his clouded his senses.
Against his chest, she whispered, “I didn’t think you would.”
He lowered his hand to lift her chin, so that her beautiful face peered up at his. “Oh, my Queen. I never tire of proving you wrong.”
* * * *
Kai ducked her slap then hoisted her over his shoulder. Her legs kicked at his chest, and she batted his back with her fists, but he only grunted and swatted her behind as he opened the door to the hallway.
Her face stung with heat. “Put me down! People are looking!” He lowered her to the floor, but slowly so anyone standing nearby could see the smug male satisfaction on his face.
She smacked his chest again, but he only grinned. Just then she noticed that little brat Kaylee down the hall, giggling into Erling’s ear. Alara gave them the finger.
“My Queen!” Kai feigned shock. Then he threw her over his shoulder again and marched down the halls to her room. Alara heard Kaylee’s riotous laughter erupting from behind them and Erling breaking into a dramatic chorus of I Can’t Fight This Feeling Anymore. Kai closed the door to her room, blocking out the sound and tossed her onto her bed.
When he pulled his sweater over his shoulders, her eyes went wide. “So you’re really planning to stay here?”
He nodded.
“On this little island in the frozen north?”
He nodded again. “Undress, my love. Or do you await that I should do it for you?” His unbuttoned shirt revealed that expanse of dark chocolate skin. Her fingers twitched to stroke it.
“But what will you do here?”
The skirt came off, and his muscles flexed as he bent to remove his boots. “I shall lead your forces. You have not yet found a replacement for your old position, correct?” One boot dropped, then another. Her eyes roved his body, but she needed to be sure. She couldn’t stand it if he left again. “You want my old job? And to work for me?”
In only his thin boxers now, he crawled up the bed toward her. His biceps flexed, supporting his weight, and his eyes darkened with lust. “I would work for you and the Council both. They have been persuaded to provide Murrough Island with a security force of twenty soldiers, although only Laird and I will serve here permanently.”
He lowered his body to hers, and she moaned at the contact. He swept his whole body along hers, a stroke against her breasts, her legs, her clenched thighs. She felt the vibration of his growl.
Through her quickening breaths, she whispered, “When you say persuaded…”
He stilled for a moment, but then pinched open the top button of her blouse. “The Council Chair was reluctant for news of his deal with Dendric Research to be made public. It seems that the company is making numerous enemies in the supernatural world.”
He kissed the opening at the top of her shirt, pushing the fabric aside to bare the uppermost curve of her breast. His lips pressed against the plump freckled flesh.
“Blackmail, Kai? That’s not exactly noble.”
At once he flipped her over, unzipping the back of her pencil shirt and pulling it down over her hips. He froze with it halfway down her thighs and let out a low moan. Though Alara honestly had feared he wouldn’t return, she still wore a thong every day just in case.
His face lowered to her hips, and she felt his teeth nip her ass. She squealed, which only scored her another bite, this one lower. “As I’m sure you’re aware, my Queen, dragons are not always noble.”
* * * *
Alara argued and argued, then she argued some more, but Kai refused to get married anywhere but Murrough. So Alara stood, all trussed up in a white—haha!—dress at the front of a crowd of four hundred.
Kai faced her, dashing in a tailored suit. His dark skin glowed, and the white of his collar set of the flashing teeth of his smile. She could almost forgive him for making her withstand this bizarre ritual. With all of the hullabaloo, she felt like Princess Di.
The justice of the peace invited them to take their vows and Kai took her hand.
Fuck, I’m not going to cry. I’m not going to cry.
“I give myself, body, soul and mind, to you my love. I will protect and care for you for the rest of my days.” He placed a ring on her finger, and it seemed like the audience held their breath, wondering what Alara would say in reply.
“Kai…” Her voice cracked. The tears. Damn the tears! “I…I love you…” She gasped, realizing that this was the first time she’d said it, perhaps the first t
ime she’d even really admitted it to herself. “I…”
Loud wolf whistles erupted from the back row. Alara turned to see Kaylee and Erling standing and cheering her on, while Hans shoved a flask into a back pocket. She laughed and turned back to her dragon. “And I want to be your wife, dammit!”
He swept her up so fast she hardly had time to breathe, and thrust his tongue so deep down her throat that she blushed.
A loud voice pronounced them man and wife, and Kai gathered her up in his arms and carried her down the aisle and then out onto the docks. The boat they approached had been draped in Christmas lights and a banner stretched across reading “Just Married.”
“Where the hell are you taking me, dragon?”
He unceremoniously tossed her into the aft and started untying lines. “To our honeymoon, my love.”
Flustered, she gathered her skirts to step back up onto the dock. “Where’s that?”
He’d finished with the lines and pressed her back into the cabin. Through the window, she could see Olaf’s smiling face. He pushed the boat back from the pilings while Kai started the engine. Her dragon turned his magnificent face to meet hers and pressed a soft peck to her lips. “Some place really warm.”
THE END
thedaisyharris.com
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Daisy Harris lives in Seattle with her husband, daughters, and way too many pets. When she isn't writing, she's tweeting. And when she isn't doing that, she's camping, biking, reading, spending time with kids, or gardening.
Check her out on the web at www.thedaisyharris.com, on Facebook, or on Twitter under the handle thedaisyharris.
Also by Daisy Harris
Ocean Shifters 1: Mere Temptation
Available at
BOOKSTRAND.COM
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
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