* * * *
Tielle stepped out of the club feeling down for the first time after a night of partying. Usually, she would select a man she’d allow to take her on a series of dates before they got hot and heavy, or she’d do the booty call to an old buddy. Tonight, she wasn’t in the mood for any new men or the old.
“It’s all that damn Stone’s fault,” she complained under her breath.
“What did you say?” Jamie asked at her side.
Tielle waved her hand. “Oh nothing. So you taking Sandy, huh? I can never remember his name. Maybe because he’s so brown.”
Jamie tapped her hand. “Stop it, girl. You know his name…Shit, I don’t know either. I think I had too many drinks.” Jamie shook her long, silky hair. “Whatever, what he lacks in looks, he makes up for in the bedroom, if you know what I mean.” Jamie wiggled her eyebrows.
“I heard that, girlfriend,” Tielle responded. “Okay, call me in the morning and let me know how it went. I might need details for my lonely nights.”
Jamie laughed, and Tielle knew she didn’t believe her. Tielle wouldn’t stay alone for long. She had a huge sex drive, and doing it herself was not happening.
“You okay?” Jamie asked. “Need us to walk you to your car?”
“Nope, it’s just down that way.” She hooked a thumb over her shoulder. “I want to drag in some fresh air and do some thinking while I walk. See ya, and have fun for me.”
Jamie winked. “Will do.”
Tielle watched her friend head in the opposite direction and, link arms with the man waiting on her, and then she turned to stroll the way she’d indicated. Her car was just around to the front of the club where there was an entrance no one used. She’d spotted a couple of newbies trying the knob, but it was never unlocked. No one ever told them they had to go around back. Everybody seemed to decide if you wanted to get in the city’s hottest club bad enough, you’d figure it out on your own.
Shuffling along, thinking of Stone again, Tielle paused when she heard a low cry up ahead. On instinct, she reached into her purse and locked on the mace she kept there. Growing up on the rougher side of town meant she learned how to handle herself. And right now she could have kicked herself for not paying attention. When she walked these alleys late at night, she always scoped out the area and stayed alert until she reached her car. To get lost in thought thinking about a man was not a good idea.
Cautious now, she kept walking and peering into the shadows. Two people scuffled ahead of her. She was just about to turn back when one of the men dropped to his knees, his face in the light for a split second. Tielle’s eyes widened. Stone was in trouble. She didn’t think twice before reacting. The mace in hand, she sprinted down the alley in spiky heels—another of her quirks. She’d always moved in them as if she was born wearing heels.
Her left hand curled into a fist, her right raising the mace, Tielle first clocked the attacker in the jaw and then sprayed his eyes. He howled in pain and reared back, more so from the mace than her punch, she bet. Small, she could aim a hit well, but she’d never had any power. That didn’t stop her from trying. The man stumbled away a few steps, and something dropped on the ground. The small glass vial shattered upon impact and left a stain of red.
Tielle watched the guy run away before she turned to Stone. She took his arm to help him up. He seemed about to fight, but she did her best to soothe him. “Hey, it’s me, Tielle.”
She pulled him a few steps into the light so she could see into his eyes. The glassy look with drooped lids made her suspect he’d been drugged. The way he stumbled about made her worry. If the drug was more than just something to weaken him, he might be in big trouble.
“I need to get you to a hospital, Stone.”
He pulled back, bracing himself against the wall, his breathing labored. “No hospital.”
She tightened her grip on him and tugged with no effect. The big man wasn’t budging if he didn’t want to. She’d have to convince him. “Look, you’ve been drugged. I’ve seen it before, weak thieves using this kind of thing on a bigger target. Police are trying to figure out where they’re getting the stuff, but either way, if I don’t get you some help, there’s no telling what could happen. Sometimes they inject too much.”
“No hospital.” His insistence seemed to take more energy from him. His knees buckled. Tielle wrapped her arms around him, and he did the same to her, crushing her to his chest. She grunted at the hard, unyielding body. This was not how she’d pictured him holding her. Stone tried to catch his breath while he rested his chin on her shoulder. She winced and knew any second she’d fall underneath him. If Stone went down, they weren’t going anywhere, and she wouldn’t be able to help either. “Take me…” he whispered.
An odd rumbling began in his throat. No training had taught her about such a reaction. She stiffened, waiting to see what would happen. The rumble turned musical, almost like Stone was trying to hum, but then he formed words with a sing-song quality, mixed in the sexiest way with his accent. “Take-me-home.”
Up until that moment, Tielle had no intension of giving in to what Stone wanted. She might not have to take the Hippocratic Oath as a nurse, but she did have her personal promise to take care of someone in a health crisis no matter what. She’d had every intension of getting Stone help one way or another, but when he said those words with that funny musical flow, she became unable to resist him.
“Yes, okay,” she told him. “I’ll take you home. You just give me the address.”
After what felt like hours, they made it to the car, and Tielle got Stone tucked into the passenger side. She rushed around the car and hopped in on her side to turn over the engine. When she tore off down the deserted road, a ringing caught her attention. At first she thought it was her cell, but she didn’t recognize the tune. The beat was not something she would choose in a million years.
Stone muttered. Tielle pulled to a stop at a red light and reached across to him. She realized he’d been clutching his cell phone all this time, and after struggling to take it from him, she answered. “Hello?”
“Who is this? Identify yourself immediately,” the man on the other end demanded.
“Bite me,” she responded, and then thought better of it. “Look, do you know Stone?”
“I’ll ask the que—” He seemed to reconsider antagonizing her as well, given he had no idea why she would be the one answering. “I am his father. Now where is my son?”
He did sound a bit like Stone, although now that she thought of it, the ID on the phone hadn’t come up as “Dad” or with those codes many people used to identify their in case of emergency people like “ICE”. The name had impersonally declared the call to be from Einin Hughes. So Stone’s last name must be Hughes. She liked it.
“Someone tried to mug him. I’m a nurse,” she half-lied. “Examining him, I feel that it’s best to get him to a hospital, but he refused.” She decided not to reveal to Stone’s father that he’d been singing or humming or whatever that was. No need to make the man fear his son was delirious. “Maybe you can convince him to go home.”
“Put him on,” Einin instructed in the same arrogant tone he’d used before. She didn’t even know the man, and she could see how warm loving feelings wouldn’t be associated with him.
Tielle bit back the rude comment she wanted to say and reached across to hold the phone to Stone’s ear. At first he didn’t respond. He seemed to concentrate on breathing—another bad sign given breathing was involuntary muscle action. After a few minutes, his eyes opened to slits. “Father,” he whispered. “No, I’m fine.”
Tielle sensed the immediate irritation rolling off him. Einin must be berating him. That was not good for his health. She was about to tell take back the phone, when a horn blasted behind them. She glanced up to find the light had changed and then drove forward to pull to the side of the road. Stone hadn’t given her his address yet.
“For now,” Stone muttered into the phone. “But as soon as I am well, I
am coming to Ireland to investigate for myself what happened to Uncle Murray. Yes, I will keep in touch.” Stone ended the call without saying good-bye.
“What’s your address, Stone? Is there someone there that can look after you?” she suggested.
He turned to look at her, if anything his lids lower and his face paler. Worry ate at her belly. She wanted to resist taking him to his home but somehow felt she couldn’t do it. Common sense told her she would never forgive herself if he died because she didn’t do her job. Yet she was trapped.
“Change of plans,” he told her. “Take me to your home.”
Her eyes widened. “Hell no. Is this some sort of trick? Maybe you’re not in trouble at all. I think you look good enough not to have to fool women into going to bed with you.”
He chuckled and then winced. “I won’t make love to you until you beg me nicely. I need time, just a little. I promise I will recover fully.” He began that singing thing again. “Take me to your home, Tielle.”
Tielle swore under her breath and threw her car into gear. She was four kinds of a fool, but she was going to do just what he wanted. If she woke up dead tomorrow from some lunatic hottie, well she hoped he’d have given her a wild, sexy ride before he ended it all.
Chapter Three
With Herculean effort, Tielle got Stone into her tiny apartment and dropped him on the couch. She thought he might do better in her bed, but her arm muscles, not to mention every other place on her body, burned like hell. She couldn’t have made it that far if she wanted to. Bending over Stone, she discovered he was unconscious. Her heart racing, she patted his hand. “Stone, wake up. Please.”
He remained unmoving and seemed to be getting paler by the second. She glanced at the phone sitting on the side table and reached for it. Before her hand connected with the phone, Stone’s strong fingers curved around her wrist. “Don’t.”
“You need help. Damn it, I couldn’t even wake you a minute ago.”
He shook his head a little and stopped, closed his eyes, and then forced them open again. His grip on her hand lightened, but he didn’t release her. “No hospital,” he half sang.
She felt the pull, but it wasn’t strong. She considered what his father must have told him, that something had happened to his uncle. And maybe his father told him not to go home. Something havey-cavey was going on. If Stone was in trouble, she didn’t want to make the wrong decision that could cause him to be killed. Remembering that vial of what she now suspected was blood, she came to a decision. Caring for him herself was the right way to go. She just prayed her instincts weren’t wrong.
After kicking out of her heels, she ran down the hall to her bedroom and threw open her closet. The case she kept there was filled with samples of needles and saline pouches for practice. All the upper-class nursing students took them home. She’d never imagined that they would come in handy.
Tielle washed her hands and rushed to Stone’s side. She slipped on gloves and prepared one of the saline and glucose pouches then chose the smallest needle and some tubing to start an IV. “Okay, calm down, Tielle. You’ve done this a hundred times. Boost his metabolism to flush the poison out.” She prayed he wasn’t diabetic.
His sleeve rolled up and the spot she intended to use cleaned with alcohol, she prepared to stick the needle in and gasped when the thing snapped rather than pierce his skin. Tielle blinked in shock. Terror raced through her, but she tried again, this time with the sixteen gauge needle. Even with this size, she had trouble piercing his thick skin, and Tielle marveled. She knew everyone was different, but this was ridiculous. If she didn’t think she’d get in trouble for treating him at home, this would be a wild story to share with her class.
At last, the clear liquid entered Stone’s system, but when after one full bag, he still hadn’t come around, she hooked up another one. She’d have to explain to her instructor why her supplies were so low, but maybe he would assume Tielle was more dedicated than most. She rolled her eyes when she flicked off her gloves and checked Stone’s pulse. His heart beat was now approaching normal, and she breathed a sigh of relief.
The clock over the cabinets in the kitchen said three-thirty. Tielle was exhausted. She pulled out an old comforter from the closet and spread it out over Stone’s body. Then she turned off the lights and headed for her room. If she hadn’t sweated like a pig dragging Stone up to the third floor of her apartment building, she would have dropped in bed without a shower. Instead, she stripped on the way to her room and stepped under a lukewarm spray in her bathroom. Chilled, but not strong enough to care, she toweled dry and fell face first in her bed. The ache in her arms didn’t allow her to put on the oversized T-shirt she often wore or to pull the covers over herself. As she drifted off, she was at least comforted by the fact that Stone wasn’t likely to wake before morning.
* * * *
Stone became conscious with unfamiliar scents in his nostrils—feminine scents. He picked up strawberry and melon, along with some type of potpourri. He wrinkled his nose, knowing he would never have such pretty smells at his place. So where was he? One of his skills being a dragon shape-shifter was the ability to draw a mental blueprint of whatever space he was in. In his mind, the picture was all lines and curves, in blacks, whites, and grays, but when he focused more, he could bring up heat signatures.
Without moving, he opened this gift and found that he was in a small apartment. The space was cluttered with furniture and knickknacks, clothes, and other things the woman who must live here had collected. He sensed no danger at present. Before he could focus on the room at the back of the apartment, his bladder distracted him. The thing felt like it was about to burst being so full. Stone opened his eyes and found his way to the bathroom with no trouble. The lingering aromas she’d left were stronger here. He guessed it hadn’t been long since she showered.
After relieving himself, she stepped into the hall and was about to head to the back where he picked up on her breathing, but he had to rush again to the bathroom. With an irritated growl, he took his time. The memory of what she’d done came back to him. What the hell she injected into his body he didn’t know, but it made him feel like he’d drunk three gallons of water. His metabolism was always high, but the liquid she’d administered took it up another notch.
The whole process had been pointless. He had a natural ability to heal, and as a dragon shifter, his body was almost indestructible. An ache at the upper part of his back caught his attention. Not turning on the lights, he stood and looked in the mirror twisted around so he could see. The spot just beneath his right shoulder blade was red. Had it been luck, or did the person who attacked him know the single place on his entire body that was vulnerable?
He recalled what his father had told him. “Your uncle is quite old, but he is still a dragon. That car accident should not have brought him down so easily, even if he did lose a lot of blood. However, this is one of several incidents he’s been in lately, and I’m beginning to wonder if there is someone out there gunning for him. I’m having someone look into it. Meanwhile, you be careful.”
Several incidents. What could his father mean? And to warn Stone to be careful. His father’s affection for him to his knowledge was nonexistent. Like most of his family, he had a built in desire to protect the family secret and to preserve the rare shifters who could change. But that was as far as his father’s feelings went. To give Stone that warning and to advise him not to return home while he was recovering meant there was more his parent wasn’t telling him. Now that he was feeling better, he’d have to look into it.
Stone left the bathroom and entered her room. He remembered her name—Tielle. Beautiful just like the woman. Her even breathing told him she was deep in sleep. As he approached the bed, his cock stirred. Heightened eyesight allowed him to see every nuance of her sexy body. She lay sprawled on her back, stark naked. Did the woman have no fear having a strange man in her house? Her bedroom door hadn’t even been locked. Granted, he’d been unconscious recover
ing when she must have stumbled in here, but still. Most women were more cautious than this.
He stopped at the foot of her bed, taking in the long slender legs, the curve of her hips, the delicious V between them. He let his gaze linger there, wondering what it would be like to taste her, to run his tongue along that silky slit and enter her to sample her juices. Not be left out of the fantasy, his now erect shaft twitched. Yes, that would be good as well, he thought—to drive himself to the hilt while staring down into her eyes.
Earlier tonight, she’d been ready to offer all of it to him, that is if her friend hadn’t interrupted. Stone sighed. He wasn’t given to using his abilities to convince women to sleep with him. The need had never arisen. They fell at his feet, and he hoped he wasn’t vain because of it, but this one…To possess her was an overwhelming craving. Too bad he had family business to attend to.
While he had the opportunity, he continued to take in the sight of her naked body. Her belly was slightly curve, her breasts full. He’d loved how heavy they appeared when he saw them earlier and longed to stroke and pinch the thick nipples. Her lips called to him, demanding he have a taste of them as well. Stone moved around to the side of the bed and sat down. She stirred but didn’t wake. He imagined he’d exhausted her with struggling to get him here. He’d have to make sure to reward her for her for her heroics.
Too tempted to resist, he ran light fingers over the smooth cocoa brown skin on her cheek. He’d been with black women before, but this one. Something about her intrigued him. Would it be different from his previous sexual exploits? Would it be more satisfying? He was not averse to finding out.
Lowering his head, he kept his gaze on her face to be sure he didn’t disturb her. From the moment he touched his lips to hers, he was hooked. She moaned beneath him, and her sweet lips parted that he might delve a little farther. Stone tipped her chin higher and slanted his mouth over hers. A hungry groan rose inside him.
Dragon Song Page 2