by Lynn, Denise
“Read what? There’s nothing there to read.”
He hadn’t lost the ability to reason—he’d lost his mind altogether. She backed up another step and ran into a brick wall where there should have been nothing. Sick to her stomach, Ariel looked over her shoulder and saw exactly what was there—nothing. Yet when she pressed back with her body she hit a solid, albeit invisible, wall.
She looked back toward Cam and saw writing in the air. Fighting the urge to faint, she read and reread the two lines until she realized it was an anagram—Renalde followed by Learned.
Still, it didn’t matter. Nothing did. Not the impending danger closing in on her, or what Cameron might know. The only thing that mattered was keeping Carl safe. And it was that single goal that gave her the strength to stiffen her spine and say, “Nice trick. You should host a magic show here at the Lair.”
Quicker than she could blink, Cameron cleared the few steps separating them and clamped one large hand behind her neck.
As he shoved her toward the desk, Ariel swore he growled. Like some animal.
Yet, to her consternation, now that he touched her, she was no longer afraid of him. While his touch conveyed anger, it wasn’t a cold icy touch of impending doom. His grasp around the back of her neck acted more like a solid anchor in what had quickly turned into an extremely bizarre argument.
Although, that fact made her wonder who had lost the ability to reason. Obviously, she had.
“Let me go.” Her struggle proved useless and he pushed her down onto the chair behind the desk.
“Magic show? Trick? You come to the Lair to help the Learneds kill me and my family and then act like it’s a game? Do you think this is fake?”
Before she could respond, he flicked a wrist, flashing his hand above the desk.
A movie with no screen—like the holograms from nearly any science-fiction show—appeared. She watched two families warring against each other through the centuries. From the Dark Ages to modern day she saw gruesome images of torture and death. The years flew past her eyes, one more brutal than the last.
Eventually the setting started to look more familiar. Ariel guessed she was now watching something from about the time her own parents were married. The cars and clothing were similar to those in her parents’ photo albums.
A car with two smiling and laughing adults—Cam’s parents, from his resemblance to the man—picked up speed and rammed into a giant tree. Ariel jumped back, but Cam held her firmly in place. She watched in horror as another man, one who looked like an older version of Renalde, laughed with apparent satisfaction, then took flight from a nearby tree limb to circle the now-burning car before flying away.
The next several years, a decade or two, zipped by uneventfully. She watched as three boys—two twins and a younger boy—grew up with a woman she recognized now as Danielle Drake.
But suddenly another car, one more modern being driven by a very pregnant woman about her own age, came into view. The dark night sky poured rain, rumbled with thunder and flashed with lightning.
It was apparent by the woman’s tears and tight expression that she was very angry with someone—a husband or lover perhaps?
The woman’s anger swiftly turned to fear and terror as a dragon repeatedly rushed the car from behind as if to attack. Ariel realized that the beast had no intention of attacking the vehicle. It sought only to frighten the woman into running the car off the slick mountain road.
This was not the dragon from her dreams, nor was it the one she’d seen at Mirabilus. She knew that by the vile, cruel face, dripping fangs and glowing-red eyes.
After it succeeded in running the car over the side of the mountain, the beast turned into a human. One that once again resembled Renalde. The man leaned over the edge of the road and cursed before disappearing.
Her view focused in on the car. Ariel saw the woman’s life slipping away. To her shocked dismay, she also saw the woman’s belly glow, sending a touch of color back into the unconscious woman’s cheeks.
By the time help arrived, the woman lived, but the babe she carried had somehow given so much of its own life for the mother that he couldn’t be saved.
Behind her, Cam cursed softly. He sounded surprised, as if he had never known what had happened in that wrecked car. Without thinking, Ariel reached up and covered his hand with her own, offering what little comfort she could. A long moment passed before he pulled his hand away, saying, “That’s Alexia, my twin brother’s wife.”
She nodded, then turned her attention back to the next set of images. Another woman, a dark-haired, blue-eyed beauty, stood laughing on top of a rock outcrop. The shadow of a winged beast attacking shrouded her in darkness.
Cam once again stretched out his hand. “No more.”
Ariel stared at the now-empty space above the desk. From the thick pain lacing his voice, she could only assume that this had been his wife or lover. And that she, too, had died at the hands of Renalde or his family.
Ariel wanted to cry, to throw herself across the desk and sob in despair. If the Drakes with their apparent powers had been unable to defeat these monsters for centuries, she and her brother didn’t stand a chance if she couldn’t find the items Renalde wanted.
“Now do you understand?”
She nodded mutely. Oh, she understood, all right. She understood that like Renalde, Cam was more than just a mere human. She also understood that his family was at war with the family who held her brother.
“What are they after? What do you protect?” She had the gut-churning idea that she already knew the answer to both questions.
Cameron tapped the manuscript on the desk. “This, for one thing.”
No one had ordered her to search for a book, so she felt safe asking, “Exactly what is a grimoire?”
“It’s an ancient diary containing the family’s spells and secrets.”
She stared at the blank pages. “There’s nothing there.”
“No, there isn’t. Not for you and me. But words and symbols appear for Braeden and Alexia.”
“She’s like…you?”
“Like me?”
Ariel didn’t want to ask if his sister-in-law was…unhuman…inhuman…not normal, too, so she reworded her thought. “Does she have powers?”
“Not until they were given to her.”
“Given to her?”
“By the grimoire.”
Ariel leaned back. She had no desire to change who or what she was.
Cameron laughed at her. “The book won’t spell you. Not if you can’t read it.”
She wasn’t taking any chances and moved farther away from the desk.
Without preamble, Cam said, “You work for my enemy.”
Ariel remained mute. While he hadn’t asked a question, if she agreed with him, he would expect—perhaps even force—information from her. Yet, if she denied his claim, he would know she lied. Then what would he do to her?
After he obtained the information he wanted, what then? Would she be tossed out of the Lair before she could find what she needed to save her brother?
“No.” Cam leaned over her shoulder to whisper against her ear. “Don’t answer. It will be more entertaining to find out for myself.”
Ariel shivered, uncertain if the sudden increase in her nervousness was caused from his implied threat, or from his nearness.
He stroked a finger down her neck. “And don’t worry, you haven’t lost your front as a gardener—yet. I int
end to keep you close.” His breath was hot against her flesh. “Very, very close.”
“And since I can’t move this—” he reached around her to jab at the edges of the book “—I’m closing down this apartment and sealing off the room. Your things have already been moved to another one.”
“One has opened up?”
Cam smiled. Even though he knew she referred to an apartment in the employee wing, he deliberately chose to misunderstand. “Yes. One has.”
She wouldn’t like the apartment she was moving into, but he didn’t care. The only thing that mattered to him was that while she was at the Lair, she never left his sight.
He pulled out the chair. “I’ll show you to the apartment.”
When they left her suite, he paused to turn back toward the room. After clearing the room of everything except the desk and the grimoire, Cam cast an ancient, powerful spell, one that only he could undo. The room was instantly sealed in a solid block of concrete.
The desk and book were protected from the concrete by a thin layer of pure energy. However, if anyone but him tried to break the spell, both items would disintegrate and the grimoire would be lost for all time.
He turned back to Ariel and placed his hand under her elbow to lead her out of the apartment, down the hall and around the corner to his.
“Where are we going?”
Cam didn’t answer until they were both inside his apartment. Then he released her elbow. Heading for the kitchen, he simply said, “Welcome home, roomie.”
Chapter 9
“I am not staying here with you.”
Cam poured two glasses of water, answering, “Want to make a bet on that?”
When she didn’t respond, he went to the kitchen door. Ariel was still standing in the foyer. Her arms were crossed against her chest. The mutinous look on her face might have bode ill for another man, but he found it amusing. “Come in here. We need to talk.”
“Go to—”
Before she could finish telling him where to go, he crooked a finger at her, moving her bodily to the kitchen against her will.
Her mouth fell open and she frantically tried to grab the doorknob as she floated by the coat closet.
He shrugged, warning, “You break that door, you’ll fix it yourself.”
When she joined him in the kitchen, he guided her to a stool at the counter and handed her a glass of water. “Drink this.”
She set the glass on the counter untouched.
Cam sighed. “You can be as obstinate as you want, but you aren’t going to get your way in this, not if you want to stay at the Lair.”
He leaned both hands on the countertop, effectively encircling her between his body and the counter.
With his mouth against her ear, he said, “Now that we’re putting our cards on the table, why don’t you tell me what your assignment is here?”
He didn’t expect her to answer, but on the off chance she might suffer a sudden attack of honesty, he had to give it a shot.
“I can’t.”
She sounded so small, so defeated. Cam fought back a wave of sympathy. He’d already guessed that she’d been forced into this position, but there were always choices.
“What is he holding over you?”
She shook her head, refusing to answer.
“Ariel, I know you have little reason to believe me, but you can trust me. Whatever it is, I can protect you.”
She wanted to laugh at the absurdity of his claim. But the sincerity she heard behind the words rang strong.
Ariel didn’t want to feel anything for this man—least of all gratitude. She shoved back hard, breaking free of the prison he’d created with his arms.
“Protect me?” She rose and moved away from him. “I’ve seen how well your family has fared against Renalde’s. Your parents, your sister-in-law’s baby, and your own…wife…lover. The track record for you Drakes isn’t stellar on the protection end.”
Cam jerked as if she’d physically slapped him. The half smile should have been a warning, but she hesitated a second too long.
He snagged one arm around her waist and deposited her on top of the counter. Ariel smacked at his arms, demanding, “Let me go.”
“You’re going to hurt yourself if you don’t stop it.” When she swung at him again, he grabbed her wrists. Pinning them against the kitchen wall over her head with one hand, he moved between her legs. “Tell me why you’re here.”
Rage and humiliation waged a war in her mind and heart. Renalde and his thug had mentally and physically threatened her and she’d been terrified.
But this man wasn’t seeking to hurt her physically. He was manhandling her in a show of greater strength and that angered her more than frightened her. Never in her life had any man treated her this way.
And beneath the anger, that still-unfamiliar wildness inside her sprang to life beneath his demanding touch. It set her heart racing with anticipation. His closeness inflamed her senses, Ariel swore she could smell desire—exotically spiced, it called to her, bidding her to let go, to set reserve and common sense aside.
She’d wondered earlier if she’d lost her mind. She no longer wondered. Her lack of fear and unwarranted response to this situation confirmed her insanity.
Ariel mentally shook free from the lust-filled hold threatening to consume her and glared at him. “When did you realize Renalde was an anagram for Learned?”
“At your interview.”
She relaxed a little against the wall. “If you haven’t done anything to force the information from me so far, I have to wonder why.” Cam’s frown prompted her to add, “I don’t think you can.”
He leaned down and placed his lips nearly against hers. “You are in a betting mood, aren’t you?”
Ariel’s heart jumped. If he kissed her now she would be in trouble and she doubted she’d resist. Hoping to ward him off, she asked, “Isn’t this what they call sexual harassment in the workplace?”
“Perhaps.” His breath was warm against her lips—seductively warm. “But I’m positive this will completely cross that line.” He hooked his free arm behind her waist and slid her lower body tight against his.
Ariel gasped at the heat of the contact, giving him the opportunity to capture her open mouth with his own.
Against all common sense and any rational thought she possessed, Ariel let the anger flow out of her body. She’d known this would happen if he kissed her. Heat and desire rushed through her. And while she despised her response, she couldn’t find the will to demand he stop this assault on her senses.
A tiny part of her mind warned of the danger inherent in permitting a virtual stranger this much intimacy. They were alone. In his apartment.
Riskier yet, this man possessed powers she could barely imagine and he had her pinned helpless between a wall and his body. He could do anything he wanted.
His hand caressing her breast made her realize that she wouldn’t stop him. Ariel moaned, pushing aside the insignificant worries.
Cam knew that if he didn’t back off now, there would be no stopping him. Already his beast was screaming for more contact than this kiss and a touch through her shirt. By her ardent response he doubted she’d care.
He ignored the dragon’s demands and tore his mouth from hers, staring down at her flushed face until she opened her eyes.
“Why are you here, Ariel?”
She shook her head. “Sorry, but seducing me will gain you nothing.”
Her breathlessness gave little weight to her words. He took his time trailing his gaze from the spot above her head where he held her wrists, down to where their bodies met. Returning his focus to her face, he smiled. “Who do you think you’re fooling?”
When she didn’t respond, he stroked his thumb across her captured wrists. “I have you trapped and completely at my mercy. Yet, instead of being scared, you challenge me?”
Cam breathed deeply—a dangerous move considering the war being raged between his mind and beast. The sultry scent of desire confirmed his suspicions, and strengthened his desire. She was as hot as he.
Stroking her cheek with his free hand, he observed, “Judging by your enlarged pupils, flushed cheeks and parted lips, you’re more turned on than afraid.”
He expected her to look away out of embarrassment. And while a deeper flush spread across her cheeks and down her neck, she held his gaze without flinching.
“Did it take some kind of special power to come to that conclusion, or were you able to figure it out on your own?”
She was intentionally trying to anger him. What did she think to gain? And what would she do if he refused to play along?
Keeping his tone light, he answered, “A little of both.”
Ariel narrowed her stare to a glittering glare. “You wasted your energy. It doesn’t matter how much you coax me into wanting you, we are never satisfying that want.”
When she presented him with a challenge, she went all out. How could he resist? Cam brushed his lips against the side of her neck, asking, “And why is that?”
She shivered beneath his teasing touch before answering. “For one thing, Mr. Drake,” she drawled his name, making it sound like a curse. “You’re my boss.”
She tugged her arms and he released her wrists. Ariel looped her arms around his neck and played with his hair. “And I work for your enemy, remember?”
He traced the vein in her neck. The tremor in her voice took the sting out of her words as she threw his accusation back in his face.