Dragon's Curse (Harlequin Nocturne)

by Lynn, Denise

  He stopped her words with his lips a hairbreadth from hers. “No buts.”

  “I…”

  Cam held back a groan as her breath washed across his lips. He wanted to kiss her, to taste her. The burning mark on his shoulder blade and the clawing beast in his chest wanted more.

  Just a kiss. That’s all he wanted. It was all he’d take. He quelled his rebellious beast with a sharp, silent No.

  This time the dragon listened. Cam knew he’d not be so lucky in the future. But at least now he’d be permitted to touch, to taste the woman leaning against his chest.

  She parted her lips, granting him the taste he’d wanted. Her hesitantly returned kiss tasted of fruit—sweet, yet not cloying.

  Cam gathered her closer, savoring the feel of her in his embrace and the taste of her on his lips.

  Beneath the floral perfume she’d used, he once again caught the exotic aroma of spices—frankincense, myrrh, cinnamon, clove—a magical combination that blended perfectly, creating her unique pheromones.

  This scent, belonging only to Ariel, branded an imprint onto his conscious.

  She sighed, relaxing against him, offering herself without reservation. Her easy surrender chipped at his willpower, making it nearly impossible to keep a rein on his desires and wants.

  Before his dragon took over, Cam regretfully broke their kiss.

  Ariel stepped back and looked away. “I…I don’t normally…”

  Cam realized by her flushed cheek and stammering that she was embarrassed. Guilty for causing her discomfort, he pulled her back against his chest. “Don’t.”

  Against his shirt she mumbled, “This isn’t appropriate, you’re my boss.”

  He brushed his chin across the top of her head. “Right, I’m the boss. You have to do as I say.”

  She shook with laughter. “We just met, this is insane.”

  He didn’t disagree. The need to touch her, to hold her close was insane. The only logical reason for doing so was that unbridled lust drove him to take a kiss, and lust was still urging him to take more. “Perhaps.” He released her. “Unpack. Settle in. Meet me in the lobby at two and I’ll show you around the Lair.”

  Ariel nodded, then walked into her apartment without another word.

  * * *

  Aelthed held his shaking stomach and fell into the corner of his prison cackling with glee. So far this Drake twin, this dragon changeling of Mirabilus, had made grave errors.

  First, he’d promised his sister-by-marriage that while she was away, he’d guard her possessions—the emerald dragon pendant was now locked in a safe in the twin’s office, along with the grimoire.

  But unbeknownst to him, he along with everyone else seemed to have lost track of the old wooden puzzle cube—the one Aelthed called home. The changeling should have locked the cube away, too, instead of leaving it unattended on a bookshelf in his brother’s apartment.

  A fortunate mistake for Aelthed, it allowed him to hear and envision what was happening. More fortunately, since he was of the dragon line, they’d been unable to detect his weak magic as he’d practiced until he was able to levitate his cube, unseen, to the basement. To his relief, it seemed that his powers, which had been waning through the years, were now increasing.

  Another error had been the changeling’s interest in Ariel Johnson.

  Enemy or not, this woman was the dragon’s mate. Of that Aelthed was certain. It hummed in the air, vibrating through the Lair. There would be no way around that simple fact for the changeling.

  Whether his human form eventually fell in love with the woman or not made little difference. His beast would never let the female go. It would kill her first.

  One thing he needed to do was to arm the changeling with knowledge of the ancient curse. Somehow he had to get the grimoire into the woman’s hands.

  Chapter 6

  Ariel clutched the Lair’s map in her hand, making certain she wouldn’t lose the thing. Even with her guided tour, she knew that she’d never find her way around the resort again without the map.

  Cam plucked the key card from her hand. “Let me.” He unlocked and opened the door to her apartment, then to her consternation followed her inside.

  “You found everything to your satisfaction?”

  She quickly scanned the lush surroundings. “With this apartment?” When he nodded, she said, “No. It’s too much. I don’t live like this.”

  He seemed surprised by her honest answer. “Like what? With a roof over your head?”

  She ignored his comment and swung her arm toward the living room. “Suede-covered furniture isn’t exactly made for those of us less than graceful with a full glass of soda. From the smell and feel, I’m guessing it’s genuine suede, not something manufactured in a factory.”

  He shrugged. “It’s just furniture.”

  Ariel glared at him. “But it’s not my furniture.”

  She’d be a nervous wreck worrying that she might damage someone else’s property. Completely absurd, considering she was here to steal someone else’s property to begin with.

  Cam glanced up at the ceiling before asking, “So, what would you prefer?”

  “I’d prefer to move into the employee wing.”

  “Since Danielle will be helping with the plans for the maze, it’s easier having you here for now. Besides, the available suites are full.” Frowning, he ran a hand through the back of his hair. “If it’s that big a deal, we can have the furniture changed. What kind do you want?”

  Ariel didn’t buy his reasoning about keeping her in proximity. So, she wondered, why was it so important? Did he suspect she’d been the thief? As far as she knew, she hadn’t given herself away.

  Knowing he waited for an answer, she replied, “Something practical like duck, denim or a heavy-weight broadcloth. Something sturdy that I can scrub if I need to.”

  The temperature in the apartment dropped dramatically. Ariel shivered from the icy chill. A swift breeze whooshed through, whipping Ariel’s hair in her face.

  “What the—” Cam’s harsh curse drowned out her question.

  She dragged her fingers through her hair, raking it out of her eyes. Heart racing, she looked at Cameron, then followed his stare toward the furniture they’d been discussing.

  Instead of the buff-colored suede, the pieces were now covered in off-white denim.

  The temperature instantly returned to normal, but it did little to warm the frigid terror assaulting her.

  Ariel clamped her open mouth shut and gritted her teeth as she backed toward the door.

  Without turning around, Cam ordered, “Stay there and don’t faint.”

  She froze at the anger evident in his tone. He was enraged with her? For what? Before she could get her tongue unstuck from the roof of her mouth to ask, Cam swung around to face her.

  “Who are you?”

  “Ar-Ariel John-Johnson,” she stuttered. “You think I did that?” The idea would be laughable at any other time, or in any place other than the Lair.

  “I know I didn’t.” He came closer. Rage darkened his eyes until they glittered like uncut gems. “There isn’t any sign of another wizard.”

  “A what?” Ariel ignored his earlier command and headed for the door. Earlier he’d only admitted to being a man and nothing more. But she knew there was something different about Cameron Drake. She’d thought he was gifted with psychic abilities. Possible insanity hadn’t entered her mind.

 
; Too leery to take her stare off Cameron, she searched blindly with her hand behind her for the door handle. Unable to locate it immediately, she fought back her rising panic and tried again. When her fumbling hand finally touched metal, she held on to it like a lifeline.

  Cameron hitched a brow. She thought she was leaving? He silently locked the door against her escape.

  “Sit down.”

  Her eyes widened further and she shook her head.

  “You aren’t leaving here.”

  “You can’t stop me.”

  Ariel spun around and tugged on the door.

  He crossed his arms against his chest and watched her frantically struggle, pounding her fists against the solid slab of wood to no avail.

  “Stop it. You’re only going to hurt yourself.”

  When she ignored him, Cam went to pull her away from the door. He stopped behind her and put a hand on her shoulder.

  Ariel screamed and jerked away from his touch. “Get away from me!”

  She hadn’t been lying—she hadn’t changed the furniture. From the wide-eyed, unblinking stare on her near-colorless face, he could tell she was terrified.

  Of him.

  The woman was mortal. Cam was fairly certain that outside of the dragon changeling she’d barely seen at Mirabilus, she’d had little prior contact with magic.

  Even so, she was working for the Learneds; if they hadn’t used magic around her yet, they eventually would. Just as they would use her to work their vile magic here at the Lair.

  That knowledge made it difficult to have much sympathy for her fear now.

  “Ariel, sit down.” He made no move to approach her, but she still took off running down the hall toward the master bedroom.

  The slamming of the door and loud click of the lock made him shake his head. She thought that would keep him out?

  He’d almost decided to play along with the locked-door routine until he heard the sound of furniture being moved in the room. Cam had just headed down the hall toward the bedroom, when his cell phone vibrated.

  He pulled the phone from his pocket and glanced at the screen before answering. “What do you want, Sean?”

  “You need any help in there?”

  Cam flipped the phone closed, cutting off his brother’s nosy sarcasm and slid it back into his pocket. He waved a spell to temporarily soundproof the apartment.

  If Sean heard them, it was certain that Danielle would, too. He wasn’t about to let his aunt get involved in this matter.

  The sound of something heavy scraping against the inside of the bedroom door drew him back to the task at hand. He didn’t need any special power to know she was pushing one of the dressers against the door.

  If the crashing noise of something breaking and her curse were any indication, she wasn’t having much luck rearranging the furniture.

  Cam knew he could walk away—just leave the apartment and by morning she’d probably be gone. It would be easier. Unfortunately, his beast disagreed.

  The mere thought of letting her leave the Lair sent a wave of pain lacing through him. He closed his eyes and tried to breathe through what felt like an explosion in his head.

  Perhaps letting her leave would be a mistake. The Learneds would only find another way into the Lair. They obviously weren’t going to give up until either they or the Drakes ceased to exist. While it was true that Ariel Johnson was a threat—at least she was a known threat.

  Relieved that the pain in his head eased to a dull throb, Cam stood outside the bedroom door. The sooner he dealt with this difficulty, the sooner he could try to deal with his dragon’s misconception about Ariel.

  He rapped his knuckles on the door. “Ariel, open the door.”

  “Go away.”

  “I’m not going anywhere. Open the door.”

  “I’ll call the police.”

  That’s just what they didn’t need—attention from outside authorities. Short of patience, he gave up on the idea of reasoning with her and materialized in the bedroom. Before Ariel could react, he grabbed her and dropped her onto the bed.

  As he’d expected, she fought him wildly. Either she’d had some training in self-defense, or she was frightened to death.

  Between her clawing fingers and kicking legs, he had his hands full. When he dodged, preventing her nails from raking his face, she dug gouges down his forearms. She planted the hard heel of her shoe into his knee, then brought her leg back, aiming higher.

  “No, you don’t.” Strengthened by his own anger, and his beast’s rage at the pain inflicted from her kick, Cam flipped her over onto her stomach, pinned her wrists to the mattress and straddled her on the bed.

  “Let me up.”

  Her breathless, panting order made him laugh. “I like you better where you are.”

  She screamed her outrage at his comment and tried to unsuccessfully buck him off her.

  “Ariel, Ariel, you’re wasting your energy.” He leaned forward. “No one is hurting you. There’s no danger threatening your life.” He kept his tone gentle and even, hoping to calm her.

  She ignored him and switched from bucking to trying to twist herself free. “Do you think I’m stupid? You’ll talk nice and sweet until I’m relaxed and then—” Her voice broke.

  He felt her body heave with a sob beneath him. “If that’s intended to make me feel sorry for you, it won’t work.”

  She went limp. “Please, don’t hurt me. I’ll do whatever you say.”

  Cam frowned. Exactly what did she think he was going to do? His stomach rolled. Quickly turning her over onto her back, he readjusted his hold on her wrists. “Look at me.”

  When she kept her eyes tightly closed, he bounced her wrists on the bed. “I said, look at me.”

  He could tell by her washed-out, hesitant gaze that she was terrified. Cam shook his head. “Listen to me. I have never harmed a woman in my life. You don’t have to fear me.” He leaned closer. “Nod if you understand me.”

  After she nodded, he loosened his hold. “If I release your arms, will you attack me again?”

  “Not today.”

  Cam was certain her bravado was nothing more than a cover for her wariness. He released his hold on her wrists, but he remained straddled over her.

  “What are you?” Her question was little more than a whisper.

  He could tell her anything, or everything, and it wouldn’t matter. When he left this room she wouldn’t remember a thing. It would all seem as nothing more than a strange, disconcerting dream to her.

  “I’m a wizard.”

  The pulse point in her neck pounded visibly. “A what?”

  “Wizard.”

  “Like a witch?”

  “Not exactly.” Leave it to a mortal to confuse an element-based belief system with a wizard. But it would be hard to explain the differences in just a few minutes.

  “I was born this way.” He didn’t add that it had taken a lifetime to learn how to safely use the powers he’d been born with. Or that no sooner had he mastered those powers than another one had come into existence.

  “Is that how you changed the furniture?”

  No, he hadn’t, but he was fairly certain that she hadn’t, either. Since the only other presence in the room at the time had been his dragon, it had probably been the beast’s doing. It had never happened before, but the beast had never been attracted to a woman like this before, either, so it was impossible to know at this moment.

  But he wa
sn’t about to tell her any of that. So he lied, “Yes. Isn’t that what you wanted?” He did need to discover who, or what, had cast a spell at the Lair without his knowledge—later.

  “Well, yes. Sort of. I expected a couple moving men and a truck.”

  “Things at the Lair aren’t always what we expect.”

  “Your family…are they like you?”

  “No.” It wasn’t exactly a lie. None of them were changelings as far as he knew.

  “What else can you do?”

  He could almost see the gears in her mind spinning. She thought she was pumping him for information she could relay to the Learneds.

  The idea of playing along was tempting. And he would—to a point. He needed her to relax, but not for the reason she’d thought. And he needed her to trust him. That was something that would take a little more than just magic.

  Cameron silently ordered the furniture away from the door and back to their original places. The broken pieces of glass rearranged back into a lamp, before sailing up to its spot on the nightstand.

  Her eyes widened, but her pulse remained steady. “You’d be handy on cleaning day.”

  He leaned in a little closer. “You have no idea how many things I’m handy with.”

  Ariel’s heart fluttered at the seduction evident in his half-closed eyes and deep, gravelly voice. If she wasn’t careful, she would find herself drawing him closer to kiss him—and maybe more.

  She closed her eyes and shivered at the thought of his strong hands stroking her, caressing her body.

  The warmth of his lips at the corner of her mouth made her shiver again. She gazed up at him, ignoring the self-satisfied smile curving his lips.

  Cameron Drake wasn’t some young inexperienced boy, he knew full well the effect he had on her. What was the point in denying it?

  Gathering her courage, she slid a hand up his arm, coming to rest on his shoulder, then asked, “So, tell me some of the other things you’re handy with.”

  Heat flooded her cheeks, but she held his gaze. Cameron’s smile deepened. “Tell you?”