Dragon's Promise (The Drake's Book 3) (Paranormal Nocturne Romance)

by Denise Lynn

  She didn’t need to add the obvious—no matter what he did with the sword it would always answer her summons.

  “Who else has that power?”

  “As long as I breathe, only me.”

  The fact that she’d freely given him that information somewhat eased his concern. Sean grasped the sword and willed it back into the safe. Even though it wouldn’t protect him from Caitlin, at least it would keep the sword out of anyone else’s hands and sight. He didn’t know what his brothers would do if they discovered such a dangerous weapon on Mirabilus.

  Then, as if nothing had just transpired, Caitlin moved back to the counter and turned to the next page in the grimoire.

  The dragon shook off the lingering dread and stared intently at the woman with a new, albeit disconcerting to Sean, gleam in his gaze.

  Too many thoughts crowded his mind, making it impossible for Sean to decipher what his beast was thinking.

  “Who are they?”

  Caitlin’s question drew him from his uncertainty. He once again took his place behind her and looked over her shoulder. A picture of two people in a burning car going over the edge of a mountain had caught her attention. “My parents.”

  He pointed to the dragon hovering just behind the car. “And that is Nathan.”

  She turned the page. “And these are?”

  “Me, Braeden and Cameron, when we were much younger, with our Aunt Danielle.”

  Caitlin leaned over to get a closer look at the grimoire. The softness of her hips pressing into his groin instantly changed the direction of his focus.

  “So, you were raised by your aunt?” She shifted from one foot to the other.

  The perspiration running the length of his spine was far from cold and had nothing to do with fear. Sean clamped his hands on either side of her hips to keep her from swaying side to side. “Uh, yes.”

  Caitlin paused then smiled to herself. So he wasn’t as put off by her actions as she’d thought he would be. After she’d brazenly called Ascalon to her hand, she’d thought for certain that Sean wouldn’t want anything else to do with her. She was honestly surprised that he hadn’t ordered her from the island.

  Apparently, his need to be responsible for her welfare was stronger than she’d realized. Regardless of this whole dragon mate connection idea, once her son was rescued from Nathan’s clutches, she would prove to Sean how little she needed, or wanted, his protection.

  Although, right now, she did want something from him and from the hardness pressing against her, she was fairly certain the only connection he was concerned with at the moment involved naked bodies and moans of pleasure.

  From what she remembered, the sex they’d shared had been indescribably mind-blowing. And she knew from the make-out session on the plane that his touch and kiss still had the power to make her heart race and her toes curl. More than that, she still wanted him with a desperation she couldn’t explain.

  Her natural instinct was to simply take what she wanted. However, they’d never had the opportunity to fully replenish her energy, and the power she’d used to draw her weapon to her hand had just about drained what little life force she had in reserves.

  She longed to turn around and tell him exactly what she wanted, what she needed. But Caitlin feared she had already flogged his ego with Ascalon. She desperately needed his help to rescue her son, and while this was so out of the ordinary for her, it would probably be wiser to let him take the initiative—for now.

  However, since it wasn’t in her nature to let anyone else take the initiative, she found herself unintentionally sighing softly, exhaling just the tiniest hint of lust, before she shifted back to her other foot. At his barely perceptible gasp, she bit her lower lip, determined to remain in control of her desires and let him do all the teasing and leading of this sensual dance. Pointing at the two older boys in the picture, she asked, “The identical twins are Braeden and Cameron, right?”

  “Yes.” He buried his face against the side of her neck. “Except for their eyes.”

  She didn’t even try resisting the urge to moan at the feel of his hot breath and lips moving against her flesh. Tilting her head to give him easier access, she asked, “Anything different besides their eyes?”

  “Not really.” He paused beneath her ear. “Do you really care?”

  The frustration evident in the tightness of his voice made her quickly swallow a burst of laughter before saying, “No. But you’re the one who wanted me to go through this book before we devise a plan to rescue our son. The least you can do to speed this along is answer my questions.”

  Sean groaned before resting his chin on her shoulder. “You’re right. Continue.”

  She nodded, then turned the page to see an iridescent dragon peering up at her. “That’s gorgeous.” She reached toward the picture, wanting to see if it felt as detailed as it looked.

  “I wouldn’t do that.”

  The dragon’s head seemed to morph into three-dimensional life as it rose up from the page and hissed at her.

  Caitlin blinked, uncertain that what she’d just witnessed wasn’t a figment of her imagination—or something placed there by Sean. To make sure, she tentatively touched the tail.

  Before she could withdraw her hand, the tiny beast sunk its teeth into her finger.

  “Damn!” She jerked her arm back. Shaking her hand, she asked, “What the hell was that?”

  “I warned you.” Sean flicked a finger at the bloodthirsty creature, sending it scurrying back down into a one-dimensional painting. He turned her around and grasped her wrist to bring her hand to his mouth, then ran his tongue slowly across her wounded finger.

  The temperature in the room increased by at least a hundred degrees. Caitlin struggled to draw in breath. Her stomach turned and tumbled when he once again drew his tongue along her finger. She tried to pull free, but he simply glanced at her and shook his head.

  From the gleam in his eyes, he was enjoying her discomfort far too much.

  “Sean, that’s enough. It’s healed.” Caitlin closed her eyes. Could her voice possibly tremble any harder?

  His soft chuckle answered her unspoken question.

  Everything about him was a role reversal for her. Even though it had been her intention, she wasn’t used to someone else doing the teasing. It was unfamiliar, uncomfortable and she wasn’t at all certain she liked not being the one controlling the levels of lust and desire.

  Once again she tried to pull free. “Sean, please, don’t.”

  He released her hand then cocked an eyebrow and looked at her. “So, I misread your signals?”

  His heated gaze trailed down her body and back up until he pinned her with a hard stare. “The tight-fitting clothes, come-hither pheromones and that shifting from one foot to the other had nothing to do with teasing?”

  Caitlin wondered if flames would spark to life from the heat burning her cheeks. Most men wouldn’t have called her out. For one thing, other men would have been too far under the spell of her pheromones to be able to form a complete sentence. And for another, they wouldn’t have had the guts to question her.

  “No, you didn’t misread anything. I was leading you on, but I changed my mind.” She knew from the more pronounced arch of his brow that he didn’t believe her.

  “Fine.” He reached around her to pick up the grimoire and pendants. “I’m going to finish looking through this in my office. If you want to join me, feel free.”

  He turned and took a step before stopping to look over his shoulder at her. “I’m not into guessing games. You want something from me, ask for it.”

  Ask for it? Speechless, she watched him walk away. Ask?

  Chapter 6

  The woman would drive him out of his mind, Sean realized. A succubus who turned down an overture after she’d been the one to start the sensual dance? It wasn’t in her nature to blow hot and cold like this.

  He realized she was worried about their son and knew that played a huge part in her indecision. Still, s
omething wasn’t quite right. Hard as he tried, it seemed as if the answer was just out of his reach, and he couldn’t quite grasp it.

  Her mother’s untimely interruption had been unwelcome, as had his brother’s and the demon’s, but none of those instances were responsible for this oddness between them. Something else was causing this strain. What?

  Sean dumped the grimoire on his desk, cringing when the ancient tome landed near the edge, slid halfway off and then teetered. Cursing at himself, he lunged for the book. But his fingertips barely touched the binding as it rushed beyond his reach to hit the floor with a heavy thud.

  The pendants he’d closed inside the book skittered out from between the pages to shoot in different directions across the floor. The emerald dragon pendant slid under his desk, while the sapphire one sailed to the other side of the office and smacked into the base of a bookcase before ricocheting back across the room.

  A flash of amethyst split between the other two, skipping across the gleaming dark walnut floor like a flat stone flicked across the smooth surface of a pond, coming to a dead stop in the open doorway at Caitlin’s feet.

  “What is this?” She bent down and picked up the gem.

  “I don’t know. I’ve never seen it before.” Sean retrieved the grimoire, quickly checked to be sure it was still in one piece and placed it on the center of his desk before scooping up the emerald and sapphire pendants and sliding them into a pocket of his jeans.

  He reached for the gem. “Let me see it.”

  Instead of handing it to him, she just held out her hand. The dragon-shaped amethyst glowed on her palm as if it had a heartbeat.

  Sean stared at it.

  “Where did it come from?” Caitlin held it closer to her body and stroked a finger down the dragon’s back.

  Sean shivered as he felt the gentle touch against his own back. Had his brothers not told him about this effect, he might have been caught completely off guard. They’d gone into great detail about their wives teasing them at the most inopportune moments. While his beast and Caitlin seemed to be mated, he wasn’t about to give her that kind of power over him. As if nothing was amiss, he waved toward the grimoire. “It came out of the book when it fell.”

  “That explains the noise I heard.” She walked into the office. “But how could it have fallen out of the book if it wasn’t there to begin with?”

  He resisted the urge to shrug. “How did the dragon picture come to life and bite you? I can’t tell you how anything with this grimoire works, except to say by magic.”

  “That makes sense.” She sat in an armchair before the desk.

  “I’m glad it does to you.” Sean dropped into his chair and rested his arms on the desktop. “Can I see it?”

  Caitlin leaned forward slowly as if reluctant to part with the piece of jewelry, then handed it to him.

  The instant he touched the pendant, the glowing stopped, leaving it dark and lifeless. He frowned. “Interesting.” He held it out to her. “Here, take it back for a minute.”

  The glowing heartbeat resumed when she held the dragon in her hand. “Do you think it’s alive?”

  “Yeah, and obviously it likes you better.”

  She frowned at him then placed it on the desk. “No need to sound so snappish about it.”

  “I’m sorry.” He hadn’t intended to sound irritated, only stated the facts as he saw them. “I’ve never seen it before, so how would I know if it’s alive or not?” He picked up the now-dark pendant and held it between his index finger and thumb. “Besides, it is apparent the thing does somehow respond to you.”

  Caitlin leaned forward, reaching toward the gem. “Well, I can fix that easy enough.” She flicked the tiny dragon on the end of its nose as if it was a misbehaving puppy.

  An unseen fist slammed into Sean’s nose hard enough to bring tears to his eyes. The pendant clattered to the desk as he slapped a hand over his nose. “Damn!”

  Staring at him, Caitlin’s eyes grew large. “Your nose is bleeding.”

  He wiped at the warm, sticky blood and fought not to respond to her statement of the obvious. While his brothers had told him about the pendant’s ability to transmit sexual desires and wishes, they’d said nothing about this.

  She narrowed her eyes, and the beginning of a purely evil smile teased the corners of her mouth. “Did what I think happened, just happen?”

  Sean cast a wary gaze between her and the pendant. He never should have given it back to her in the first place. With what he hoped was a fierce frown, he said, “Don’t get any ideas.”

  They both reached for the gem at the same time. He groaned when she nabbed it from beneath his fingers.

  Leaning back in the chair, with the pendant securely in her grasp, Caitlin batted her eyelashes. “Why, Sean, I think this little piece of jewelry is charmed especially for you. Just like a little voodoo doll.”

  He didn’t like the lilt in her voice, nor the glint in her eyes. It was one thing for him to know the power contained in the piece of jewelry, but to have her figure it out would be like playing with fire. He needed to get that pendant back in his hands where it, and he, would be safe from mischief.

  Sean held out his hand. “Give it to me.” As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he knew he’d made a mistake. What was he thinking? It was doubtful she’d interpret that as an order, or command—no, Caitlin would take it as a challenge.

  Her slow smile only confirmed his fears. She raised the pendant to her lips, making him shiver with anticipation. Sean took a deep, steadying breath. While she might think she held all the control, she’d soon discover her error. He’d make sure of that after she made the first move.

  She paused, her lips barely brushing the spine of the carved gemstone. “Aren’t you worried in the slightest?”

  He ignored the warmth of her breath against his back and shook his head. “No. You aren’t going to hurt me until after our son has been rescued.”

  “Who said anything about hurting you?” She slowly drew the tip of her tongue along the back of the pendant.

  Savoring the heat racing along his spine, he channeled it into the now-wakening beast within then returned her smile. “I hope you receive as well as you give.”

  She paused, frowning.

  Before she could make sense of his warning, he coaxed his beast into daydreaming about Caitlin. It was a simple enough task. Unfortunately, there was no way for him to avoid the desire and lust rippling through the dragon.

  Sean relaxed in his chair and watched the play of emotions and desire rush across her features. His dragon chuffed, and her eyes widened momentarily in surprise. When he imagined stroking his fingers along the length of her neck, she tilted her head to give him better access. He sensed her desire, felt it in the echo of his own drumming pulse.

  Caitlin sighed. And once again, he sensed that something wasn’t quite right. He focused more closely on her response, and while the aura of lust clung in the air around her, he didn’t sense any wanting...or any longing for him on her part. She wasn’t beckoning him closer.

  That lack made him pause. Whether they had sex or not wasn’t an issue. This teasing on his part had been nothing more than a warning to let her know that she wasn’t the only one who could manipulate desire, just a continuation of the experiment he’d started on the plane to see how far he could go using nothing more than his dragon’s lust and his own thoughts.

  He reined in his thoughts, ignoring his beast’s disgruntled groan, and leaned forward to rest his forearms on the desktop. “What’s wrong?”

  Caitlin closed her eyes for a moment at his question. Everything was wrong. She shouldn’t have come to him for help. Now she was essentially trapped on an island with a man who had the power to manipulate her desires with nothing more than his thoughts. That was her forte, and she’d never expected him, or any man, to have the same sort of power over her. Simply knowing he could set her heart racing and send her desire soaring with nothing more than his thoughts was unsett
ling, to say the least. Yet a part of her couldn’t help but wonder just how far they could go in such a manner.

  They would test those limits...someday. But now wasn’t the time.

  She took a deep breath and then looked at him. To her relief, he didn’t appear angry. His frown conveyed more concern than anything else. “I won’t deny that I find this experiment rather...enjoyable.” After placing the pendant on the desk, she continued, “But maybe this is something we can explore...later.”

  “After we get our son back.”

  To her surprise, he’d finished her sentence so easily. But after all, that was her only reason for being here at Mirabilus.

  She nodded and placed a hand over one of his. “I’m sorry, but I can’t focus on much else right now.”

  He laced his fingers between hers and stroked his thumb along the side of her hand. The warmth of his touch, the gentleness of his action, made her heart flutter. “Then let’s figure out a way to get him back.”

  That suggestion sounded good to her, but how? “And what do you propose?”

  He released her hand, reached behind him to grab a chair and pulled it beside his. “Join me.”

  Caitlin narrowed her eyes. Across the desk wouldn’t work just as well? “Seriously?”

  “Totally.” He pulled the grimoire toward him and flipped it open. “We need to be together to finish going through this tome. And with the size of this desk—” he waved a hand at the expanse of mahogany “—it would be easier if we were on the same side while doing so.”

  With the two of them within touching distance, she could only imagine how this would end. But he had a point. It would be easier than sliding the grimoire back and forth across the desktop. Before she could overthink the idea, she moved to his side of the desk and purposely scooted her chair a few inches away from his then sat down.

  “Comfy?”

  Since she’d now have to lean over to see the pages clearly, not really. But she wasn’t going to admit that. “Yes.”