“Admit it, baby, you love it.” Darren slipped his arm around Slazzamar’s waist, placing a kiss on his cheek.
Opie pouted and Simon saluted. “Right. Air Opie it is. Take us home first, I need to weapon up.”
“I was wrong, this is way better than Tomb Raider.” Opie waved at the men and popped them out.
Chapter 10
Had it really been sixteen hundred years since he’d last watched the waters of the Rhine River flow? Despite the new forest growth, he still knew this land. This was his birth place. He closed his eyes, breathing deep as mixed emotions assaulted his senses. The pain of his betrayal and his execution touched the surface of his mind.
Thanks to the internet and current images of the area around where they needed to search for the Akkadin Amulet, Opie could teleport them directly where they needed to be. It sure beat the human methods of transport, and would be hard to give up when...Don’t think about it.
“Where’re the chocolates?”
Simon bit down on his tongue so he wouldn’t swallow it when he saw Opie’s new outfit. She wore a short, pale green checked skirt, and a white blouse held in place with black laced up lederhosen. The placement of the corset pushed up her breasts and the sexy white stockings made him want to fuck her with them still on. Hells bells, he’d want her even if she wore a potato sack—she was beautiful.
He snorted. “This is Germany, not Switzerland.”
“Oh, sausages and beer then!” She twirled the end of her right pigtail braid.
Simon rolled his eyes. “That was a bit after my time. What happened to the Croft outfit?”
“Well, when in Rome, or in this case Germany.” She twirled, her skirt flaring. He caught a glimpse of a green thong, making his groin area tighten even more. Her grin was bright and flirtatious. “I thought you’d feel more at home with me wearing this.”
A twitch had developed over his right eye. He was sure her outfits were causing some kind of blood pressure problem. Simon felt at home alright, when he was buried balls deep inside her. He swallowed hard at the thought of her ever finding out what he’d done. He’d come close to ripping out Jones’ tongue for almost revealing it. Why should I care if she knows? But he did, and the closer he grew to Opie, the more dangerous it became. One dragon princess was too easily chipping away at a thousand years’ worth of hardened wall around his heart. He’d known plenty of bright, sexy, sassy women, but she drew him deeper, where no one else had—not even his first wife.
Staring off into the river, he closed his eyes. She’d had blue eyes, golden hair, and pink lips. The vision morphed into Opie’s green eyes, deeper reddish lips, and he could feel their softness.
He drew in a shuddering breath.
Warmth seeped into his arm. His eyes snapped open to find Opie touching him, concern in her green depths.
“You okay? You look so...sad.”
“Memories, sweetheart, like everything else, are in the past, and I’m not here to reminisce. We’ve got a job to do.”
Her arms slid around him, cuddling into him, giving him the comfort he needed. “They may be in the past, Simon, but they can still hurt.”
He brushed back a stray hair, trailing his fingers along her jawline. How right she was, but the pain of this memory made his chest feel gripped in a tight vice, knowing how it could cause him the worst pain of all if she ever discovered the full truth. She would hate him and it would tear apart the new and fragile relationship he wanted to nurture with her. It had grown beyond just the physical need to possess her. All his past passion and emotions he’d always thought of as love seemed so small and insignificant in the light of the powerful need to always have her with him.
Yeah, so the mighty aloof demon hunter was falling for a small dragon girl, and it scared the hell out of him.
I have a job to do and I don’t have time for this sentimental bullshit right now. Save the world and protect Opie then sort the rest out later.
He pushed her away and took a step back, but not before he caught the flash of hurt in her eyes. Choosing to ignore it, he fished for the GPS in his pocket and studied the readings on the screen.
“We’re not far from the location, only a half a mile up river. I’d advise you to change your shoes.” Keeping his eyes averted from her too alluring footwear was the best line of defence. Fucking Odin’s balls! There was no way he could un-see what he’d already seen, nor could he stop his mind playing positons in which he wanted to take her, with her in those damn stockings and shoes.
“But they are Jimmy Choo’s!”
“That man has a lot to answer for,” he muttered, stalking off along the river bank. “I’m not waiting for you, and you know what happens when you and I get too far apart.”
“Party pooper! Anyone would easily mistake you for a Brit, with a stiff upper lip and rod up your arse.”
He felt the energy pop and he knew she’d changed something. I’m not going to look. I’m not going to look. Involuntarily his head turned, and this time he did swallow his tongue. He coughed. Dressed in what should be an illegal green army tank top outlining her full breasts, matching short shorts, and shit kicker army boots.
Nose in the air she marched past him. Now he had to watch her hips sway and the curve of her arse as she walked.
“Gods damn it, Opie. Are you trying to kill me?”
“Mind on the mission, soldier.”
Oh, he had a mission in mind alright. It included one naked Ophelia over his lap as he reddened her arse. She was his woman, damn it! “You can’t keep strutting around half naked!”
“Nothing wrong with my clothes, and haven’t we had this conversation before, like twice? I still don’t get why you care.”
“Because I won’t stand for other men lusting after what’s mine!” She paused and turned. He hated the weariness in her gaze as she studied him.
“Am I yours, Simon? Isn’t this all going to end once you’re free of me?” One hand on her hips she gestured between them. “That’s what men like you do, isn’t it? Fuck them and leave them. And it’s what you’ll do with me.”
Fuck, he didn’t need to have this conversation now, but she wasn’t giving him a choice.
“No, sweetheart, it’s not. I admit at first the thought crossed my mind, but even when this is over, I...I want more of us, together.” Why was slaying demons easier than telling her how he felt?
He grabbed her hand and kept them moving forward. “I can’t stand the thought of someone else touching you, being with you.”
“I...I kinda feel the same way about you, about the touching thing, you know, other women, and you know, more of us, together.” He heard the timid caution in her voice, and glanced back down at her, her gaze on the ground. Nibbling on her plump bottom lip through her teeth, he recognised the sign of guilt and uncertainty. His little dragon princess was hiding something from him. Now was not the time for revealing anymore secrets. He’d already blurted out more than he’d intended.
He tucked the thought into the back of his mind for later and scanned the area for any signs of danger.
“It’s good to know we’re on the same page. So can you please stop tormenting me with those outfits while we’re in public? Wear them all you want, but when we’re alone. Remember, I’m a man and need to focus on one problem at a time. It’s bloody hard to fight and kill demons when all I can think of is ripping off those damn shorts, or fucking you in those shoes and stockings."
The ripple of energy rode up his arm and he glanced down to see her in long blue jeans and a plain green t-shirt.
Her smile brightened and she bounced alongside him, pointing at and asking questions about local wildlife or birds she spotted. She waved merrily at every boat passing them on the Rhine. Apart from the reason why they were here, he enjoyed the evening summer sun on his skin and the company of a beautiful companion.
He followed a well-used path along the riverside. Across the other side of the wide river were grape vines planted in the dark rich s
oil, adding a different kind of beauty to the forest-covered land he once knew. Not far from here was the cave in which the dragon had dwelt, and the further they walked, the closer they drew to the mountain of the dragon he’d once slain. Up just a little further would have stood the old castle of Anhalt-Dessau.
So caught up in the affairs of his land and people, it wasn’t a wonder no one could have ever known about any hidden amulet or fabled demon army.
He shook his head and glanced at his GPS tracker and he knew it would lead him straight to the ruins of his old home.
Chapter 11
More, he wants more of us! The reptile did a fist pump along with the happy-sappy little jig Opie’s heart danced. Yeah, she was pathetic.
Mate him, mate him! Opie knew her dragon didn’t have one sensible cell in the reptilian side of her brain. ‘We’ve gotten him to admit he wants more. Don’t push it, or the man will tuck tail and run.’
Her dragon growled back in response, Want mate!
“Just what do you and your dragon talk about? Is it like having a split personality?” Opie glanced up, startled. Heat flooded her cheeks at being caught out.
“Um, well, it’s kind of like having a bothersome toddler in the back of my mind making demands, but I stay in firm control of her.”
He turned back and grabbed her arm when she almost stumbled, not watching where she was going in the fading evening light. More warmth flooded her body.
“What kind of things does the dragon side of you demand?”
Crap, she couldn’t tell him her dragon had been pretty dormant until she’d met Simon.
“Um, well...uh, she kind of runs on natural instincts. I have to do all the thinking.”
“That’s not what I asked. Your eyes kind of glaze over and you scowl when you’re talking to your dragon side. Tell me what your dragon wants.”
“You,” she admitted.
He cocked a dyed eyebrow at her, moving his hand into hers and gripping it tight as he stepped over some larger stones as they climbed up the side of a hill. “Me? In what way? I’m all for kinky sex, but with you as a dragon...I’m really not sure how it would work.”
She poked her tongue out at him for his light teasing.
“Do dragons mate as dragons?”
“Eww, no, all shifter dragons are in human form when, well, you know.”
“You’re such a mix of innocence and sexy sass. It’s good to know. Through you, I’m learning more about dragons every day.”
“Do you like what you’re learning?”
“Apart from the magic and whole reptile thing, you’re not much different from humans, not that I call myself human anymore.” The GPS, pressed into a yellow, moulded plastic case, beeped. “We’re here.”
She mourned the loss of the warmth and pressure of his hand when it dropped away. He shouldered off the backpack and dumped it on the ground. He rifled through it, pulling out two flashlights, handing one off to her. The light was fading quickly and she tried to focus on the job.
“What are we looking for?”
He’d re-shouldered the back pack and turned in a circle. “Humm, before we burned our dead, they were buried in burial mounds. I suspect the castle was built on top of the mound. The outer keep was over there.” He pointed to one point of the landing. Opie glanced down and realised they stood in the rubble of what once would have been a structure of some sort.
“You know this place?”
“A long time ago, though no doubt people over the ages would have pilfered the stone for their own structures. This was the castle of Anhalt-Dessau and its long gone kings. Down along there, houses of a few of the nobles stood, and over to the east here, down along the banks, the peasants grew crops.”
The distant look hit him as once again he saw the past in his mind’s eye. He shook his head and turned back to the ground under them. Walking along, kicking stones out of the way, she followed as he searched for...
“Here is where the steps to the dungeon lay. I can only guess if it’s not caved in we’ll find access to the tomb.”
“You had first-hand knowledge of this dungeon?”
His smile was lopsided as he shrugged his large shoulders. “Clearly not enough knowledge to know what is really hidden beneath.” Simon scowled, studying the stone, vines and roots covering the area. “We’re going to need shovels and picks.” Again dumping the back pack to the side, he started moving stones out of the way.
Now this was something she could handle. “Stand back, muscle man, and let a dragon handle this.”
He straightened, curiosity gleaming in his blue eyes, and a half crooked smile that made her want to do other wicked things to him. He obeyed, taking a step back. “As my lady wishes.”
Rolling her eyes, she let her magic remove her clothes. Simon hungrily watched. “I’m all for doing things naked, but...”
“Shut up, lover boy, and keep an eye out for any humans, or demons for that matter.” She let the change ripple through her body, her dragon happy to be free of its confines.
“You always amaze me.”
‘I do?’ She turned her head, peering down at him.
“How beautiful you are as a dragon.” He spoke aloud rather than into her mind, which he could do if he wanted. She purred at his compliment, then louder when he stroked his hand along her neck.
“Like me touching you, my pretty dragon?” He stroked her neck some more.
If not for her firm control, the damn reptile would be belly up, letting him rub it.
‘Mine,’ her dragon purred into his mind, before Opie could stop her, when he rubbed her snout. He didn’t respond, only grinned. “So can you make shorter work of the rubble pile than I can?”
‘Does a bear crap in the woods?’ Challenged, she poured all her strength into ripping away the large blocks with ease, tossing them down the side of the hill. When the roots got in her way she used her fire to burn them loose before using her tail to sweep them aside.
“Brilliant work, sweetheart. I see it—the entrance—but it’s been sealed with a large stone slab.” Now dark outside, his torch shone on the crack in the stone. She stepped back as he pulled a crowbar out of his backpack and wedged it into the crack, his muscles flexing as he pried it open just far enough. She moved in and gripped it with her talons, pulling it away to reveal a deep black pit.
The dungeon.
“Change now. You won’t fit down there as a dragon.”
Opie complied, her bones cracking and her body sliding as her mass changed back into a normal human girl. Simon didn’t even pretend not to look as she stood naked, her skin slightly chilled by the night air.
Back in jeans and a t-shirt, she added a leather jacket similar to what Simon wore. “Think I liked the Croft outfit.” Unexpectedly, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her, and she moaned, opening her lips to allow a deeper exploration. She could feel the pounding of his heart as he gripped her arse, pulling her against the bulge in his pants.
“What was that for?” She wasn’t unhappy about the kiss, only it made her horny as hell and curious about his sudden outburst of affection.
“Because you are so fucking sexy, sweetheart, in human or dragon form. I may not be a dragon expert, but I want to help you overcome your fears and learn to fly.” He breathed against her lips when he pulled back.
Even in the darkness, her dragon sight allowed her to stare into his eyes. Conflicting emotions of fear and elation spun in her mind and she knew she couldn’t keep it a secret anymore.
“Simon, I need to tell you something. I’ve just been afraid if you knew you’d be mad and, well, run.”
“I don’t know what it is about you, other than being a dragon, but tethered or not, I don’t want to let you go, so get used to being stuck with me, sweetheart.”
“You see, dragons...well, it’s rare, but it has happened, and it has happened with us. You see that first morning together, once the drugs were out of my system, my dragon and I knew you were our—”
“Well isn’t this touching? And here I only thought it was her blood you were after.”
Within a heartbeat of hearing Joshua Jones’ voice, Simon pushed her behind him and had extracted his sword from its hiding place under his jacket, his stance defensive, ready to strike.
“Oh, put your toothpick away.”
A half dozen armed men surrounded them, guns trained at their heads.
Fuck, they’d been so distracted with each other they’d failed to notice Jones and his goons sneaking up on them. “Some of those are filled with a lovely cocktail you’ll be familiar with, dragon girl, and others have platinum bullets. I hear neither of you do very well against either.”
Opie peeked out from behind Simon’s bulk, scowling at Jones. Why would Simon be after my blood?
“Oh and look, you’ve done all the hard work for us.” Jones glanced to the open hole.
“There’s no way I’m letting you get your hands on the Akkadin Amulet. There’s a reason the Gullu demon army was imprisoned by the gods, Jones, and you’re delusional if you think for a second you’ll be able to control them.”
“You really haven’t done your homework on this? The Akkadin Amulet allows only a human to control them, not a demon, not a god or a dragon for that matter. But as we’re all here, why don’t you go ahead and finish the job. Make sure she can’t teleport or change,” Jones ordered his men.
“Touch her and I’ll make sure you suffer painfully before I kill you.” Of course they ignored him, rat bastards. She thought about shifting, but it was too late.
Simon deflected the first two shots with his sword, but they fired so quickly the sixth one caught her in the leg.
“Ouch, you fucking bastard” She batted the dart, anger at Jones swirling through her veins for everything he’d done to her. Only when Simon caught her waist, shoving her back behind him, did she realise she’d launched herself at the vile human, determined to tear out his heart. With her heart pumping furiously fast, the drug worked quickly. Her dragon protested, but at the same time yawned sleepily. Her magical abilities were suppressed under her snoozing dragon, again leaving her more vulnerable.
Falling Dragons (#3 Moon Shadows) Page 9