Her Dark Dragon

by Lillith Payne

  Danni decided it was a good lesson for her future, not assuming he’d be there. After all, in a short time she’d be far away. Pulling back the ribbons and paper, the envelope was tucked on top of the tissue paper. The weight alone had made her wonder all through the evening what it might be. Now she would find out. With a deep breath, she tugged the small card from the envelope and recognized the handwriting immediately.

  Danni, I can’t give you Cirillo back, but I can give you the world.

  It was signed with just his initial. She laughed at the card until pulling back the paper, revealing the earth enclosed in glass. Taking the stand from the box, she set it beside her bed and watched the light reflect as she turned the globe to view it from different angles. It was an amazing piece, something she’d never seen before.

  His words hit home. Cirillo would be gone. Today’s meetings with the accountants had confirmed it. Nico had given her a broad reminder she was still alive and would find a place for herself when the time came. She slept, but not as deeply as she did when she was beside him.

  Chapter Nine

  The following week was a long one for Nico. He spoke to Danni only twice. Once when she called to thank him for the world, and a second time, an even shorter conversation, to set up their date. She’d shown up with a carefree attitude, willing to go to dinner in town and return to Casa Maria for the night. She was more than willing to re-create the Spooning carving, liking the new position. It seemed to Nico that it was all too perfect. But he couldn’t come right out and ask her why she was so happy. For the first time since she’d returned, she actually laughed with him, and he wouldn’t jeopardize what little happiness she was holding onto. She refused to talk about the vineyard, her parents, or any legal battle that lay ahead.

  The following week she reminded him of her cycle and thought to stay home. He managed to talk her into a movie and dinner, then back to his house for a good night’s sleep. Surprisingly, they did just that. As if they’d been an old married couple, they fell into the routine of her tucking herself against him, falling into a deep sleep, comfortable in his cotton tee to cover herself. The following morning, she made breakfast for them both. Then she was gone.

  It was Wednesday, and he still hadn’t heard from her. She hadn’t returned his calls, and he was getting pissed. He handed his horse off to Marco and was trudging toward the office to accomplish some of the necessary paperwork he’d pushed aside when his cell rang. It was Carmen, asking him to come to Cirillo. The sheriff suggested she call him because he was tied up across county and couldn’t get there right away. Nico grabbed back the horse’s reins and bolted across Severino land and onto Cirillo. There he saw a group of people at the tasting room entrance, including an angry Danielle and the security men who stood barring entrance to the other strangers. He approached, slowing the horse, trying to get a grip on the situation.

  “Danielle,” he said, slipping off his horse, dropping his reins over a nearby tree branch. “Sheriff Addams called, said he’d be a while before he could get here.”

  “Hello, Nico. I’m sorry he called. He shouldn’t have bothered you.”

  “Well, I’m here now, anything I can do to help?” He moved beside her, keeping her eye while trying to access the situation. He nodded to the security men and turned back to Robert and Felice, who was now having another emotional fit of hysterics. It was one of the two strangers that spoke first.

  “I don’t know who you are, buddy, but we don’t need your input. We’re just here to collect on a debt. That means I fill that truck with the wine on this list. No interference and nobody will get hurt.”

  “And why would you think anyone would allow you to take the finest of Cirillo’s stock?” he asked, glancing at the list he’d been handed. He looked to Danni and she gave him an odd look. The second man, a short, rounded, angry-looking man interceded.

  “Look, we’re already late. Just get out of the way and we’ll load up. Talk to Mr. Hanson. He knows all about the arrangement with our boss.”

  “I’ll bet he does.” Nico turned to Robert. “Care to explain?”

  This wasn’t the first time in the last years Nico wanted to take a shot at Robert. Instinct told him today wasn’t the day either. But it was coming. Nico knew he’d get his shot soon. Besides being a jerk, he’d annoyed Nico for years. Time was growing short with the break-up of the business. Soon it would get personal between them, even if it was just for a few minutes of private time where he could tell Robert Hanson just what he thought of him. Felice was another matter. He’d never touch her, but he’d come to hate the sight of her, for how she had treated Danni all these years.

  “Not to you! I have a right to settle a debt with the wine. It’s been all arranged. Just get these so-called security thugs away from the cellars and let them load up.”

  “I can’t do that, Robert. You know as well as we all do, the wine’s not yours to leverage.”

  “They’ll hurt him,” Felice cried, letting a fresh torrent of tears streak her cheeks. Nobody seemed impressed. Finally Danni spoke up.

  “Let them. Cirillo is still paying for your health insurance. Have a field day on him, guys, but no wine leaves the cellars. If your boss has a problem with that, tell him to call Sam Parkins. He’ll make arrangements for him to present his markers in eight weeks when we turn over the yard.”

  “Look, lady, the boss don’t wait on anybody. He sent us here for the cases on that list.”

  “And you’re leaving without them. Take Robert with you. He can explain to your boss he gambled with no backing.” The second man shook his head, not liking the situation.

  “Lady,” he started, moving closer toward Danielle. That was when Nico took a direct step in front of her.

  “Don’t even begin to think about getting near her, or you go through me.” Nico’s stance left no doubt as to his ability to protect her. “Now, give your boss the message and have him call Sam Parkins. And don’t come back. Security just got tighter on Cirillo land.”

  “Look, bud, I don’t know her. I don’t know you or care to. I simply have orders.”

  “Give me a phone number,” Nico said, using his cell to punch in the numbers while both strangers grumbled in the background. When it was answered, Nico informed the man on the other end of the same information he was giving his drivers. A protracted silence wafted around them before the stranger said he didn’t do business this way. Nico told him it would be a new experience for him then and disconnected. By then the sheriff’s car, its red lights flashing and the sirens turned off, was heading down the long road into Cirillo.

  Both men were anxious to leave suddenly and managed to get in their truck before Coy got out of his. He meandered over to them, speaking quietly through the driver’s window. They pulled away in a hurry, kicking up dust and pebbles around everyone standing there. Danni gave Coy the condensed version, and he just shook his head at Robert.

  “You know better than getting hooked up with him.” His disgusted tone said more than the words did. It was Felice who reinforced the injury factor, and Coy looked away, trying to hide the smile forming on his lips. “I suggest you keep a tighter rein on your husband, Mrs. Hanson.”

  “But…”

  “But nothing. No wine leaves here, especially to pay for his gambling debts.” Danni got her spine back and turned to Robert. “I meant what I said. The insurance is paid up. Do us all a favor and take a broken leg for the yard, Robert. You deserve more, but Coy would have to press charges against me if I beat the crap out of you for being a lowlife.” She turned on her heel and walked away, pulling out her cell phone as she did. Nico didn’t follow. He chose to stand beside Coy, waiting for Felice and Robert to leave.

  “You know better than this, both of you. And you were both warned.”

  “I have a right to the wine. I’m the one who spent my youth on this god-forsaken rock pile.” Felice turned, heading toward the house. It seemed her only choice, as Danni was pulling out of the driveway in the pic
kup. Robert followed her, shaking his head, mumbling about needing a drink.

  “I could use one too,” Coy said.

  “She needs more security,” Nico said.

  “Probably the call she was making as she left. I gave her the name and number of a guy in San Francisco who can get her some more help. Our guys will be in charge, but the extra bodies can’t hurt.” Nico mounted his horse, assured by the sheriff and his team that they’d keep a careful eye on things in the coming weeks, all of them knowing it would get worse before the turnover.

  Nico didn’t get any call-backs during the week, and when she didn’t show up on Friday night, he was beyond annoyed. He drove to the Cirillo yard in a snit, only to be told by the security she was last seen in the barn. That was where he found her, brushing down one of the older horses. He stood in the doorway watching, knowing she knew he was there. A woman who obviously worked all day and was tending her horse shouldn’t look so good. Her jeans and boots were grubby. The braid she always wore had loosened, wind-strewn tendrils escaped their bond. Her T-shirt looked soft, even if dusty. She was the woman he loved, plain and simple. He’d have to figure out something to make this situation better.

  He put out feelers to other land buyers with no response. They all knew what was going on at Cirillo. The valley in general was waiting with bated breath to find out what would happen in the next weeks. Danni had to feel betrayed by her entire hometown, not to mention those closest to her. Nico didn’t like this soft side of himself. Where was the competent, self-assured businessman? Gone in a haze of Danielle.

  Their evening depended on how he approached her and how she responded.

  “Bad week?”

  “Aren’t they all now?” This wasn’t the Danielle he’d come to know in the last weeks. She’d gone drastically in a different direction—bitchy, to be precise.

  “We had a date,” he started, but was cut off by her acid-toned words.

  “I’m not in the mood,” she told him, dismissing him with a shake of her head, too exasperated for words.

  “Fine, but a call would have been polite.” Control was difficult. He was sick of walking on eggs around her, afraid to do or say the wrong thing.

  “Fuck polite. I’ve been nice and kind all my life, and look where it got me.”

  “Danni, if you want to vent, fine. But I’m not the enemy.” He was leaning against the stall door, his hands folded over his chest.

  “Of course you’re one of them. Go away, Nico. Keep the netsukes. I don’t care anymore. Just go away.”

  Something inside Nico snapped. He could take arguing with her, but this dismissal wasn’t earned. They bantered back and forth several times further, and he found himself grumbling under his breath. She cursed him in English and Italian before he finally moved toward her.

  “If you think this was about the netsukes, you’re mistaken.” The bluntness of his statement stung from the look on her face..

  “Of course it was.”

  “No, it was a means to the end, you and me, Danielle, beyond land, carvings, or any label.” He held her gaze, forcing her to accept his perspective or at least admit it was valid.

  “None of it matters. It’s over.” She’d been defeated, finally accepting the changes coming were beyond her control.

  “No!”

  Danni looked at him as if he were crazy, believing she’d made her decision. “Yes. It’s all over. The label, the land, you…hell, the house was lost years ago. Me, I just wasn’t in the loop.” Her silence and continued dismissal of him wasn’t helping his temper or frustration.

  “Danielle?” His hands fisted at his sides, his disappointment had hit a new height. She realized he wasn’t going to leave her alone.

  “Look, I’m not complaining. I had a great childhood and education. I’ve traveled and worked in fabulous places. So, the free ride is up. I’m thankful it lasted this long. But it’s gone. I’ve graduated, now I have to find my own way in the real world.”

  “And us? This insipid arrangement over statues? Did you think any number of nights would repay their value? You knew change was ahead, so you rationalized our affair with your stupid arrangement to console your conscience.”

  “How dare you? We’re not having an affair!”

  “No, the benefits would be better!” Both voices had raised, the tension between them was airborne. Some of the horses were starting to unsettle in their stalls.

  “Get out, Nico. I’ll be out of your way in a few more weeks. I’ll stay out of your way until then. And after that, you won’t ever have to think about buying my land behind my back.” Under her breath, she mumbled, “Except each time you set foot on the acreage.”

  He caught her words and let them go. “You are the most obstinate woman I’ve ever known.” His voice went higher and she retorted with an even higher voice.

  “Then you don’t get around much! Like I said, I won’t be your problem for long.”

  “Danni, don’t say that.” It made him ache inside when she did.

  “It’s the truth, face it. You say my wanting the netsukes was a way to overcome my conscience. How do you sleep at night, my dark drago? You bought my future and never once gave me an inkling of what was to come.”

  “I couldn’t,” he defended dully.

  “Fuck you, Drago. You could have if you wanted to. You chose not to.” This time it was Danni staring him down, seeing he was uncomfortable. “Does the truth hurt?”

  She was right, but he wasn’t ready to admit it to her or himself. If only she’d accepted his proposal. Her resistance was too strong and had lasted too long. Nico felt a complete loss of control. He stopped trying to be rational and went with emotions. With one swift move, he had her up on his shoulder and was striding toward the back of the barn. She struggled against him. It only made the situation worse.

  He saw the last stable box was empty, moved inside, dropped onto a bale of hay, pulled Danni over his lap, and landed several slaps across her denim-clad butt. She struggled harder, and he spanked her again. It was only after she’d lowered her hand to his thigh to pinch him in an attempt to get away that she brushed his erection and finally went still.

  “Is this what it takes to get you hard, Drago?”

  “Until today, no, but you’ve crossed the line, bella.” He spanked her several more times before literally tossing her beside him onto the bedding of soft, clean hay. Her hand automatically reached to rub her cheeks, but anger was still in her eyes.

  “Feel better, Drago?”

  With a twist, he pushed her over the hay bale and pulled her jeans below her knees. He was entering her from behind, his hands still spanking, only lighter now, without rage.

  Niccolo knew he’d lost his mind. To take her over his knee was a fantasy he’d never thought to investigate. He’d said the words in vain several times, usually when she had him frustrated. Only now, it wasn’t about control, it was about sex—raw animal lust. The barn around them, the horses in their stalls, the familiar smells.

  She was wet, beyond anything he’d experienced with her. It was like she was melting from the inside out, his cock slipping in and out with ease. He was on a hairpin trigger and knew he couldn’t last. He held her down at the base of her neck with his left hand. With his right, he reached under her, grabbed her hand, and together, they started stroking his cock on each outward pull and her clit, pushing them both over the edge into an abyss so deep he was truly afraid when he came back to his senses.

  Danni didn’t move, rather waited until he pulled from inside her. When he stepped back to right himself inside his jeans, she struggled to pull up her own pants. Her face was red with anger and embarrassment. He’d bet she’d never been spanked, even as a child. Yet, under his hand, it had turned into something she couldn’t explain, probably didn’t even want to try.

  “I never want to discuss this, do you understand me?”

  “Oh, I understand, Danni. You’re ashamed and embarrassed, but mostly because you were more arous
ed than ever before. Is that what it takes to make you wet? Because, bella, you were dripping when I pushed inside you and you pushed back just as hard, wanting that fuck just as much as I did.” He waited for her to deny his words, but she didn’t, fumbling to force her hair back into its long gone braid. He’d pulled the elastic off sometime during their mating.

  Danni hoped he would leave her alone, since she hadn’t returned his calls. Nico was the last person she could deal with tonight. She was mad at the world and Nico didn’t deserve all her rage, a large portion, but not all. She bit back the curse words she was mumbling when he’d come in.

  If only she’d known sooner…Yet, she understood that even if she had, technically Felice and Robert would have still retained control of the label and the land. All that would have accomplished was longer fights, which would have been worse over a longer period.

  With Nico, he made it business. He didn’t love her. He saw her as an asset to his business. The personal perks would be a fringe benefit. Anger and lovemaking didn’t go together. Danni realized she was hot and horny, wanting the physical release he’d taught her. She was missing the tangible side of him and hated them both or it. She also knew taunting him when he was in this kind of a mood was unwise, but she hadn’t stopped. Her verbal campaign against his manhood and use of it was over the top, even in their situation. Look where it got her.

  When she finally turned, it was with a strange feeling in her gut. For the first time in her life, she felt truly free. Adult, female, horny, curious. She wanted more, one last time with Nico, just for herself, a last memory to carry with her. He was tousled, sweating, and looking slightly stunned, too sexy to resist.

  “Your cum is dripping down my thighs,” she said, moving closer, her hands reaching to his shirt, pulling it open, indifferent to the buttons flying in all directions. She latched onto his nipple as her fingers worked his belt, then his jeans, and pushed them down. He reached under her shirt, and she stopped to pull it over her head. She was braless, and her breasts fell to his waiting palms. Her mouth went back to his chest, his neck, and his chin. All the while, he kneaded her full breasts, wanting better access but not getting it, fumbling with the zipper on her jeans, tugging them down her thighs.