Faced with gentleness from the only man she’d met who was as dominant as her, something knotted inside her unfurled. She felt the walls she’d built between herself and the world come crashing down.
She was also angry with him.
How dare he turn up when she’d resigned herself to being alone? He’d shown her how it could be with someone who was her equal in every way, who connected with her on the psychic plane. Someone she couldn’t dare mate with for if she did she would kill him. It felt like a cruel joke.
She raised her head with every intention of tearing herself off him. That’s when she glimpsed the flames reflected in his eyes. She glanced down to find violet-gold flames twining over their joint bodies.
The flames seared a path up her spine to her crown, then spiraled down to the tips of her hair. The flame wasn’t hurting Cain. Her mind searched for an explanation.
She reached out to touch his face. The hair on her forearms rose. Her dragon shoved against her skin, warning her something was not right.
Something smashed into her from behind. The breath was knocked out of her and was replaced by…nothing.
There was no air.
Inside, her dragon screamed.
All the oxygen was sucked out of her body. The flames died. Shadows yanked her under.
26
Cain
When Eve had burst into flames it was the most beautiful sight of his life. His dragoness was back and in his arms. The next second, she’d keeled over, the flames snuffed out.
She’d gone so still in his arms that fear crumpled his heart. His muscles locked and held him immobile, just as his lion had leaped to the surface and snarled at the intruder who’d appeared at his feet.
The man’s features were perfect, like they were carved out of ice. Pale gray eyes glowed at him.
He wore black pants and a white full-sleeved shirt.
The metallic stench of sulfur hit Cain. It triggered a memory at the back of his mind, something that surged to the surface, only to dissolve right away.
His lion growled and crashed against his skin, begging to be let out so he could kill the Elysian male.
Cain sat up, cradling Eve in his arms.
The rational part of him couldn’t think beyond the fact that she was too still. He held his finger to her nostrils. Her breath fluttered over his skin. She was alive. His muscles quivered with relief.
“What did you do to her?” He couldn’t remove his gaze from her pale face.
“Just a hit of telekinetic energy, strong enough to render a dragon immobile.” He spoke in a monotone, as if all his feelings had been removed. “Its effects are temporary.”
The man stood with hands loose at his sides. He’d used his psychic power to bring down Eve. He played with a coin, passing it through the fingers of his right hand before sliding it into his pocket.
All of Cain’s senses had been focused on Eve. He’d been so sure that no one could enter or leave the island and he’d been right. No one could, physically.
He’d underestimated the Elysians and their ability to teleport.
The man cocked his head.
Something in the way he moved set off a memory. “You are the same man who took out the bar in Bombay.”
“For a beast you are insightful.” His gaze fell on Eve.
Cain bared his teeth. The growl that rippled out made his intention clear. He was not letting go of Eve.
The man gestured at Cain to stand. There was no question that he would take down Cain at the least provocation.
Cain very much wanted to shift and unleash his beast at the man, but that was not going to help him or Eve. He hadn’t come this far without managing to get a grip on his temper when he needed to. Holding Eve close to his chest, he got to his feet.
The man walked over to them and raised his hand to Cain’s shoulder.
It was like being dragged through a vortex. Lights whizzed and twirled around him, his head spun, his stomach sank.
The colors fragmented, then jammed together.
The world went dark.
Part III
27
Cain
When he woke he was in a cell. Alone.
They’d taken Eve.
Fear churned his guts, and he felt lightheaded.
When he staggered to his feet, sickness rushed up, pushing him back to his knees. His chest rattled. The skin around his eyes ached.
His insides were raw, like they had been taken apart and then put back together. He had no doubt it was the aftereffect of the Elysian male transporting him to this place.
His breath came in short, sharp gasps, and his palms were clammy. He bent his head, waiting for the world to stop whirling. Dragging his hand over his face, he forced himself to think. He had to keep calm. It was the only way to save himself and find Eve.
Where was this place?
It was dark, and the only light came in from a window high up. He tilted his head to listen to any other sound. Nothing but for a faint ebb and flow which he identified as waves in the distance. He was in an underground cell?
He had to shift and find a way to escape.
He shut his eyes and dropped into himself. Sinking into the essence of his shifter self, he lowered his psychic shield and let the beast out.
The lion leaped, only to come up against a barrier which should not be there. Roaring in fury, the lion threw himself at the invisible wall again and again. Nothing gave.
The Elysian had done something to him—he’d managed to put in a second level of psychic shields when there should be none.
Frustration ripped through him as the meaning of this sank in. He was trapped here, with no way out while the Elysians had Eve.
The thought had him throwing his head back and roaring in fury. Fear propelled him to his feet. He had to do something. He couldn’t sit here while they broke her. They’d taken Eve, just like they’d kidnapped Serena.
Both the women in his life were in danger.
Desperation ripped through him.
Springing to his feet, he ran and flung himself at the bars of the cell. The sound echoed around the room, bouncing off the walls of the empty corridor in front.
White pain tore up his side as he sank to his feet.
A pair of legs in black pants came into his line of sight.
Coughing, he swallowed down the bile, raising his head to meet the gaze of the man who’d kidnapped them.
He clenched the bars and rose to his feet. “What have you done to her?”
The man tilted his head. His features were blank and devoid of emotion. “She’ll be safe as long as you cooperate with us.” He spoke in that same monotone.
It grated across Cain’s skin. “What have you done to me?” He rattled the bars, stomach churning with fury. “Why can’t I shift?”
“Just a temporary block. We had to make sure you stayed human, just until we complete our experiments.”
A woman glided over to stand next to him.
Unlike the man, she was dressed in leather pants and a vest cut low enough to show the valley between her breasts. Her thick blonde hair was a cloud around her shoulders.
She wasn’t armed, but Cain had no doubt that this woman was more lethal that the Elysian male who’d kidnapped them. She raised her head to kiss him on the mouth.
The Elysian’s gaze swooped down on her.
They appeared emotionless, but clearly that was only on the surface.
Cain caught the unmistakable hint of lust between them.
Tearing her lips from his, she turned to survey Cain. “Who’s the shifter?”
“He seems devoted to the dragon.” The man shoved his hand in his pocket and shuffled his feet. “This one is almost as strong-willed as dragons. He should make for a good test subject, don’t you think, Vesta?”
The woman tilted her head.
For a second there was only the muted sound of the waves in the background, then something brushed up against Cain’s senses.
&
nbsp; Vesta’s psychic presence was dark metal, so strong and sharp it cut into his psychic shield.
Pain slashed through him. His spine bowed, his neck snapped back.
A scream boiled up, and he stifled it. It was like all his nightmares had concentrated into this ball of liquid darkness that threatened to overcome his mind.
His shield cracked but held. The psychic presence stopped as if surprised, then it withdrew.
The back of his throat hurt. Sweat ran down his forehead.
She was powerful. He wouldn’t be able to defeat her in a straightforward fight.
The woman’s face lit up in a smile that transformed her features into something almost girlish. “This one has as strong a shield as a dragon shifter, he’ll be perfect.” Her voice was smooth and low. “You think of everything, Tibor. It’s why I chose to side with you over Zach.”
Tibor’s features tightened.
Just a fraction, but enough for Cain to pick up the change.
This Elysian woman was manipulating Tibor.
His lion growled at the metallic stench that wafted from the female. He didn’t trust her. He knew without a doubt that she was going to kill him. He had to be smart and find a way out of this cell to help Eve.
Inside, his lion prowled with frustration at not being able to break free.
Clamping down on his emotions, he met the woman’s gaze. “What do you want from me?”
28
Eve
“Wake up, dragon shifter, before they come for you.”
The voice was vaguely familiar. The urgency in the tone pulled at her senses, intruding into the soft darkness she’d been floating in.
She didn’t want to wake up. If she did, she’d have to face the fact that the lion was her mate. The fire that had bled out of her had enveloped him and not hurt him. It meant her dragon accepted him.
If she stayed, it was only a matter of time before her dragon broke through the psychic barrier and bonded with his lion. It would kill him.
She had to leave.
Her eyes flew open.
She stared into the face of a woman whose features were familiar. But she’d never seen her before, she was sure of that.
Her large golden-brown eyes watched her unblinking through the bars that separated them. She sat on the floor cross-legged and as close to the bars as she could get.
A large red scarf was wrapped around her head like a turban. Her stance indicated she’d been there for some time.
“How long have I been out?” Eve’s voice came out groggy. She shook her head to clear it.
“For most of the night.” The woman gestured to the window through which the pale light of dawn crept in.
Eve had been out for at least twelve hours. Another portion of her life that she’d lost while being unconscious. Anger licked her nerves.
She was getting tired of losing parts of her life like that. Once more it was the Elysians who were to blame.
Eve flicked her gaze around the space to find she was in a large cell split into two. Bars surrounded her on two sides. Behind her was a wall with a small window near the ceiling. A single lightbulb was strung up overhead. The light flickered, went out for a second, then came back on again.
She tried to move and found to her relief her body obeyed her. The muscles of her back protested, reminding her she’d been hit from behind. But there was no other pain, so the wound must have healed.
The scent of the sea was strong. She closed her eyes, let her hearing pick up the sounds that filtered through the wall.
The rustle of the sand, the hush of the waves, two people who marched in tandem as they passed by, turning around the building.
By the way they strode, they must be guards.
They left behind a faint metallic scent, the kind she’d sensed seconds before she’d been hit by the telekinetic blast.
She turned on her heel and stalked up to the bars. “Where are the Elysians? Do you know where to find them?”
The other woman peered up from her position on the floor. Her tawny eyes widened. “Don’t waste time, do you?”
“How long have you been in this cell?” Eve scraped her hair back from her face, trying to smooth the strands into some semblance of order.
“A question with a question, you must be an alpha.” The woman’s forehead furrowed. She got to her feet. “You the leader of the dragons?”
She was tiny, five-feet-two-inches at the most, and had to tilt her head back to meet Eve’s stare.
The aroma of sage on a cool desert night teased Eve’s nostrils. “You are Cain’s sister?”
The woman paused, sparks of gold flaring in her amber eyes. Her nostrils flared. “You are his girlfriend.”
Eve opened her mouth, but the woman was speaking again.
“His scent is all over you, so don’t bother denying it.” The curvy woman grabbed the bars. “They caught him, too, didn’t they?” She punched the bar with her tiny fist. She was a shifter and would heal fast, yet it had to have hurt, ramming the bar that way.
Eve surveyed the woman’s face and found there was no acknowledgement of the pain. It impressed her, made her realize the shifter was stronger than she looked.
The woman made a growling noise at the back of her throat. “He’s too hot-headed to give in to anything they ask…”
“Too dominant and strong-willed.” Eve bit her lips. “He’s going to fight them and get hurt.” She’d hoped to focus on rescuing Cain, rather than thinking of ‘him’ as a man, as someone whose mere thoughts turned her on.
It would have been the only way to get through this without her dragon being drawn to him.
She let the fear for him show in her eyes.
The female lion shifter canted her head. Her gaze unnerved Eve. It reminded her too much of Cain. Images of how they’d been kissing before they’d been taken tumbled through her head.
Heat flushed her face.
Eve slid her gaze away. She was surprised to find tears pricking the backs of her eyes.
Why was it that thinking of this lion shifter made her guts churn with fear for his safety? She longed to be near him, hear his voice, smell that comforting essence of him again.
“You in love with him?” The woman’s voice pushed away all other thoughts.
Eve stiffened. She wanted to protest at Serena’s conclusion, then realized her emotions were all over her face. Anyone could take one look at her and realize that she was a goner for the lion shifter. “It’s not that simple.” She glanced at her clothes and adjusted the hem of her shirt.
“Mmm-hmm.” Serena made a noise that sounded like a mix between a chuckle and a growl. “Bet he feels the same.”
Eve leaned back and raked her fingers over her hair. “What makes you say that?” Her nails snagged on a knot, and she pretended to busy herself unraveling it.
“Feisty, territorial, and alpha.” Serena clapped. Her face flushed. “You’re just like him. My, but this is going to be interesting.” She grinned, showing tiny, sharp canines.
She’d just met her, yet this lioness was already acting so familiar with her.
Eve wanted to be annoyed but found she couldn’t.
The giddy delight on the shifter’s face had Eve drawing her lips apart in a smile. “This is a weird conversation to be having with a stranger wearing a turban, while locked up in a cell.”
“I fought the bastards until they let me keep my scarf.” She touched the cloth around her head. “I got my way.”
“Of course you did.” Eve already loved this woman. Her spirit was exactly what she needed right then, and to find a way to get out of here and to Cain.
“It’s called a head wrap, by the way.” The woman smirked and held up her hand through the bars. “I’m Serena.”
“Eve.” She grasped the other woman’s hand.
“See, now we are not strangers.” Serena’s eyes gleamed. “So tell me, Alpha. What’s your plan to get out of here?”
29
Cain
Vesta had used her psychic power to keep him immobile while Tibor had handcuffed him. Then she’d let him out of the room and onto the grounds surrounding the makeshift prison.
The building where the cell was housed was an old-fashioned bungalow but with two floors. He followed her through an overgrown garden with Tibor bringing up the rear. They walked onto a promenade that ran parallel to the beach.
It was quiet, the only sound that of the waves lapping against the walkway.
He slowed his steps until Tibor caught up with him. “Where’s everyone else?”
It was Vesta who answered. “Where they should be—at home or dead or in their cells.” She glanced at him over her shoulder.
Cain continued to address Tibor. “I thought Zach threw you off the island.” He’d met Zach when the Elysian leader had appeared at the meeting room of the Council to ask them for volunteers in helping to restore the emotional balance of the Elysians’ psychic collective.
Tibor didn’t reply. The cords of his throat moved as he swallowed.
Cain knew that of the two, Tibor was more humane. He was more likely to give up something under pressure.
“So, you’ve overthrown your brother and taken control?” Cain clamped down on the need to wrap his hands around the man’s neck and snap it. Stay calm… He needed to bide his time, wait for the right moment to overpower them.
“Half-brother.” Tibor’s features tightened into a grimace. It faded so quickly that Cain only caught it because he was paying close attention.
It was as if Tibor had been schooled not to show any outward sign of feelings. Were all Elysians the same? He needed to find out as much as he could from Tibor.
“You’d do that to your own brother?”
In a move so quick he seemed to blur, Tibor turned on him, hauling him by the collar. He was shorter than Cain and slimmer. His wiry body flexed as he dragged Cain’s head down eye-level with his.
Obsession: Paranormal Romance : Dragon Shifters, lion shifters, immortals and wolf shifters (Dragon Protectors Book 2) Page 10