by K.N. Lee
“Wait, so you're saying that I... that we have to have sex to break this?” No wonder her hormones were acting haywire. She was doped up on the dragon-style aphrodisiac.
“I don't know if it's as simple as that.” Zack waved a hand. “Give me a few days to find out what's happening to you.” He gave Melody a sympathetic smile. “I have a feeling this might date back to the times of villagers offering up a virgin sacrifice to a dragon.”
With a snort, she turned toward the door. She was no virgin and eating people was illegal... even for a dragon shifter. She was going to figure out how to sever this enchantment, one way or another.
Kyle
Kyle ran out of Zack’s house, chasing after Melody. How to explain to her he didn’t know what he’d done with his blood, or that the kiss would turn them into lifemates. His brain spun. Dragon and human mates had created his shifter race long ago using this link. If so, that meant nothing could break this magic. Because of the mating bond ritual, after they fucked, they could be miles apart until she was fertile again. Before the sexual pull was too much to stay away. It was already permeating every other thought in his head.
“Melody, wait!” he called after her, but she continued marching with her head high and her arms locked at her sides.
How had gotten this tangled up in her? He'd only tried to help someone and get his damn memories back.
She trailed through Zack’s backyard and into a park. After they walked - or rather she stomped and he followed - she plopped down on a bench.
Testing his luck, he sat beside her.
“If it's any consolation,” He folded his arms across his chest, “I couldn't let you die. I don't know why.”
“So instead, you gave me no choice. What if we can’t break this between us?” She waved a hand between him and her.
“Are you saying you’d rather have died?” Save someone’s life and they bite back.
“Would you have done it if you’d known the full repercussions?”
He scratched his chin, thinking about how watching her body twist in convulsions had made him want to rip the wolf demon to shreds. “Yeah.”
“I don’t believe you.” Her lower lip quivered a second. If he hadn’t been paying attention, he’d have missed it. She was afraid?
He reached out to comfort her, but she jerked away.
“No way did I plan for this to happen, it just did.” He kicked aside a pebble. “My entire life, I’ve only been good at one thing. Fighting. I couldn’t save my parents from a loan shark that took out his anger on them. I can’t freaking save my sister from her illness. So yeah, when the opportunity came up to help someone live and buy them another chance at life, I jumped in without thinking things through.
“But that’s the way life is sometimes. I screwed up, okay. Only difference between you and me is I got over our predicament. Sure, it sucks being magically handcuffed to a total stranger, but we’re alive. And, for once, I can say I didn’t harm someone… that I did what I could and kept someone from dying.” He took a step toward her. “You can be pissed and upset about it all you want, but I’m not.”
“Guess you're stuck with me for the time being.” She let out a sigh.
“Why do you sound like this is a permanent prison sentence? We’ll find a way to break this enchantment and then we can both return to our lives.”
“And how long will a cure take? Days? Weeks?” She swallowed.
“Who knows? We could both die tonight and what would it matter?” He rolled his shoulders back; his head was pounding. “How about we grab some breakfast and start over?”
She raised an eyebrow at him but then gave him a nod.
“There's a place up the road about a mile. Let’s sit in the back so we can see anyone enter and not be spotted from the road. ” He stood and held out his hand. When she took it, his heart felt as though it matched her pulse.
Maybe he could make this work to his advantage. Have her uncover his memories, and he could convince her that going after Diego was stupid.
“Does being a dragon shifter, or mate of one, increase appetite?”
“For food or sex?” he asked.
“Both.” She blushed and her stomach grumbled. “For at least now, breakfast tops my list.”
“Fair enough. You've gone through a lot in a few hours.” He pushed a branch out of their way. Her hand in his was small and cool in his. Even though soft compared to his rough calloused palms, it fit perfectly.
They crossed the street and when he reached to open the cafe door for her, she let go of his hand and entered. The loss of their physical connection made him grate his teeth. By the goddess, he wanted her close to him.
“Welcome,” a bright, cheery male voice said. “Our special of the day is all you can eat waffles.”
“Sounds yummy.” Melody slid into a booth. “I'll take a side of three eggs and extra crispy bacon, please.”
“I'll have the same. And two coffees.”
The waiter brought out their coffee and Kyle added three sugars to his while Melody added cream and sugar to her mug.
“So, I've been thinking.” Melody blew across her cup of coffee, and he adored how cute she looked when she wasn’t mad. “While we are stuck together, might as well make the most of not being able to be more than a few feet from each other.”
Kyle took another sip of coffee, and shifted in his seat. Was she talking about sex? Because he could skip breakfast and go straight for her dessert. “Oh?” He leaned back and draped a hand across the back of the seat.
She leaned forward and licked her lips. “Yeah. You need my help with your memories, right? And I need to be able to do my job.”
“Are you still talking about Diego?” He cleared his throat. “Cause that will never happen. I'm already wearing one cement shoe for helping you early, I don't want a matching pair.”
“I told you, the police can protect you and your family.”
Right. Like they had his parents when the loan shark had come after them. It was only Kyle's promises from and connection with Diego that kept him and his sister from being slaughtered too. Fuck! And now he'd spat in Diego’s face. His stomach knotted like he'd been punched by a brick.
Wait a minute. What if he could get Melody to back off from her investigation? Take another case or something. Then Kyle might convince his boss to take him back and leave Melody alone. Win-win for everyone. Until this mating bond was reversed, they were stuck together anyway. And he still needed his memory repaired.
“Here are your orders.” The waiter set the food down and Melody shoveled a mound of eggs into her mouth.
Kyle chuckled. “You weren't kidding about being starving.”
“I never joke about food.” She cut into her waffles and drenched them with syrup. “Mom was always on a health kick. Vegan and stuff. Me and my two brothers took turns sneaking in sweets and hiding them in our rooms. There's just only so much green stuff a person can eat before they crack.”
“What a horrible childhood.”
She swallowed and waved her fork at him. “I’m sure everyone had some childhood trauma.”
“Well for me, Mom worked as a waitress and always brought home leftovers. Which was good, ‘cause neither her nor dad could cook.” Kyle added pepper to his eggs. “Dad worked as a machinist but didn't make much. One day my sister got sick, the bills mounted, and Dad took out the wrong kind of loan.”
Melody placed her hand over his. “That sucks.”
“It's in the past.” Her hand on his was comforting and warm. So much so that he didn't want to break contact. “Mom and Dad are gone. Just me and Danielle now.”
Melody nodded. “Dad skipped out when we were in grade school. Found out he died of a heroin overdose when I was in high school. For all her eating plants, my mom died four years ago in a car accident. She was doing too much, as usual, suffered from insomnia, and fell asleep at the wheel. Otherwise, she would've used her magic to shield herself.”
“Guess we're
both orphans then.”
“To a better life than our parents had.” She held up her coffee mug.
“Cheers to that.” He clicked his cup to hers and then drank.
The waiter discreetly dropped off their check after two more rounds of pancakes. Kyle wrote down his credit card number from memory and signed it as they finished their food. Sunlight poured in from the windows and danced across the white table tops. When Melody moved in her seat, the illumination lit up her face, the scattering of freckles on her nose. So beautiful.
Kyle leaned forward and pushed his empty plate to the side. “While we are together, until this enchantment stops, maybe we can help each other. I still need to recover my memories and you need protection while Diego considers you a threat.”
“Exactly what I was thinking.” She wiped syrup off her hands. “So give me the details about this memory lapse of yours. How long are you missing?”
“Two days ago I woke up in an alley.” No need to tell her about the blood part. What if he had killed someone? She was a cop, she'd lock him up and his sister would have no one. “Last thing I remember was fighting in the shadow ring.”
She whistled. “How much time passed after the fight until you woke?”
“A week.”
Her eyes widened. “Really? Usually, memory spells are only effective for a day or two.” Then her brow furrowed and she paled. “Unless it was tied to a trigger or something. A spell could lay dormant forever. Then when the right word is said or action is done, the spell ignites.”
“Are you saying I could slip into another amnesia bout?” Shadow sides of shifters could be deadly if left unchecked. And every time Kyle fought in the third round, another piece of him was chipped away.
“Not necessarily. If someone did this to you, they could've given you a hypnotic suggestion to return at a certain day and time, then rebooted the spell.”
Was that what had happened? If so, what else had the bastard made him do? Diego wasn’t a magic user, but that didn’t mean he was above hiring someone to do this kind of shit. He clenched his fists so hard that Melody reached across the table and took his face in her hands.
“Hey now, don’t worry. We’ll get your memories back, I promise.” Her smile and the scent of her calmed him.
“All right.” He nodded. “We can’t go to either of our places, Diego’s men know where we live.”
She huffed. “They don’t know where I—”
“Trust me. At this point, they even know your shoe size and how many you’ve got in your closet.” He padded his shorts’ pockets. Damn, he wished he knew where his wallet was. Memorizing his credit card numbers to pay for stuff was irritating. It had been missing when he’d woken up coated in blood. “A hotel would be best. Provided it’s one far from town.”
“We can stay at Luke’s.”
The dragon inside him let out a growl. Was this her lover? Even though Kyle had no claim to her, he still wanted to gut whoever this Luke was. Just the idea of someone touching her made the fire rise up in his chest. He let out a puff of smoke.
“Relax,” she beamed. “He’s my brother and he’s out of town this month working as a magical bodyguard to some celebrity.”
“Diego will find—”
“Not a chance. Luke is so paranoid, he lives off the grid.” She stood and he followed her lead. “Like, way off. We’ll have to go to the lake. You don’t have an aversion to water, do you?”
“Of course not. So he lives on a boat?” Some dragon shifters hated the water. Fire and air were the elements that were most comfortable for them. Earth was a close third.
“Not exactly.” The wind greeted them as they dashed outside.
Kyle scanned the waking streets for threats. He kept his arm around her as they hiked up the road to call a cab.
“Umm… can you swim?” she asked.
“Yes.” When she did a double-take, he pulled her aside as two businessmen shuffled past them. “Believe it or not, I can swim. Mom’s cousin drowned when they were little. She got a cramp in her wing. Neither girl could swim and my mom watched helplessly as she died. For all her abilities, flying, fire, strength, she couldn’t save her. So as soon as me and Danielle could walk, it was swim lessons twice a week. I don’t like the water, but I won’t drown.”
“That was very thoughtful of your mother. I’d have done the same. Even though I know unless you’re a water dragon, swimming is abhorrent to your kind.”
“Okay. Let’s catch a cab and reach your mysterious brother’s place before we’re spotted.”
Melody
At the edge of the lake, Melody searched for her brother’s passageway into the underwater house. Each time, the way in changed. It would be a glimmer on the water. Something that most, even a magic user, would dismiss as the sun reflecting off a spot. Last time she’d been here had been for Winter Solstice, two years ago. This year, the event would be at her place. But if she didn’t resolve this with Diego in the next several months, she might have to change their tradition of each sibling hosting.
Kyle sighed, drawing her attention to him nearby. He frowned as he squinted, staring out over the lake.
“All the boats are away from the dock.” He turned to her and the sunlight shining off his bronze muscles sent her heart racing. Wrong place, but her attraction didn’t seem to care. “We gonna swim out?”
“I just have to find his front door. It’s around here somewhere.”
Kyle raised an eyebrow. “On shore?”
“Yes, how else would we reach his place?” Oh wait, non-magic users had a hard time understanding how things worked. “He has a trigger here somewhere that will allow us to go under the water. There’ll be a brief tingle and we’ll have to swim some of the way, but after we pass his front door, our clothes and hair will be instantly dry.”
“Really? Your brother lives under the lake?” His eyes widened.
“Yes.” She kicked aside a black stone. Nope, wrong one. “How else do you expect him to be off the grid where no one can find him except me and my other brother? Luke has been paranoid since birth. Should’ve seen the booby traps he created that you had to bypass to reach his room when we were growing up.” She lifted the edge of her sleeve to show her butterfly tattoo. “This hides the jagged scar I got from one encounter.”
Kyle took her arm in his hands and frowned. When he ran his fingertips over the old wound, her lips twisted. His gaze lifted to her mouth and for those few seconds, she could have sworn he would kiss her. Her whole body burned for his touch.
Leaning in, she stared into his sapphire eyes. They were dark and deep and full of lust as he lowered his mouth to hers. He tasted like honey wine. Sweet and intoxicating. Vibrations of desire shot through her and she ran her fingers through his thick dark hair. He drew her closer, bringing her body to his. Her softness against his hard muscled body made her moan in anticipation. There were too many clothes between them and she stepped back to take off her shirt.
“Wait,” he said huskily. “We can’t do this here. Unless public lewdness isn’t something you’re afraid of?”
His teasing voice was like chocolate with a yummy cherry center. Her nerves danced along her skin. But he was right. Damn it. This wasn’t the time for getting hot and heavy. Across the lake, two fishermen in a boat were grinning - a little too friendly.
“Right. Right.” She dropped her hands. Time to find Luke’s door. Finding another black stone, she picked it up, then hurled it sideways into the lake. Nothing. How many decoys did you set up here, Luke? Two more stones were duds.
“You sure you’re doing this correctly?” Kyle shrugged when she shot him a glare. “I mean does the rock need to skip longer or a certain pattern?”
“It’s the black stones that’s are the key, but it has to jump across the water at least three times.” And on shore, the ground was littered with white and sand-colored stones. Less chance of someone randomly picking the right color and tossing it across the water in the exact pattern.
“May I?” Kyle bent down and picked up a tiny dark pebble.
“Sure.” What could it hurt? She was seconds away from calling Luke and demanding he open his portal remotely anyway.
When Kyle’s rock skimmed along the surface, a yellow glow lit a path to the middle of the lake.
“You did it!” She jumped up and down.
“I don’t see anything,” he answered.
“This way.” She led Kyle to the edge of the water where the gleam started. Not waiting, she dove in, the light showing her the path.
A splash echoed behind her. Kyle. Just the thought of him near her made her stomach do somersaults. After a few yards of swimming, the water changed to a tunnel. She stood and walked through, her skin buzzing from thousands of water droplets beading off. But there was an eerie silence behind her. She turned.
Kyle was underwater, but fighting what looked like a funnel of water crashing into him. She dashed forward and ran into an invisible wall. Must be a safety precaution her brother had created. One that sensed blood. She was safe, but Kyle was fighting for his life. He tried to kick up, but the current hauled him back down.
“Ceversie!” She yelled and threw her hands up on the barrier. It trembled beneath her touch but didn’t budge. “Ceversie Iliminato Rigaletti!”
An arm’s length from her, Kyle’s gaze met hers. He was running out of air.
She pounded against the barrier. “No, damn it. He’s with me.” Panicked, she placed both palms on the magical force separating them. She poured forth her intention, more than she ever had before. Let him live. Let him through. Her hands heated to lava, but she kept her mantra inside her head. The force field quivered and she gasped as a pinprick struck her left palm, then her arms passed through into the churning water. She grasped Kyle’s arm and dragged him forward.
His skin was blue and he wasn’t breathing.
No! A knot formed in her chest as she pulled Kyle’s body by his armpits out of the water and into the tunnel. Wet dark hair covered his face and he didn’t respond when she brushed it out of the way. She laid him on his back; his skin was so cold as she cupped his face in her hands and blew air into his mouth. Then she did chest compressions, but he didn't respond.