Kayla looked even more bewildered.
“Let me begin at the beginning,” he suggested.
“Which is where?”
“For us? When I met you in that seminar room,” he said.
“What about it?”
“I was trying to decide how best to fund research so that the fisheries could be sustained. The Marine Biology Department at the University of Auckland seemed a good place to start. The President of the university suggested Prof. Whitcomb as a guide. And Whitcomb told me about one of his students who had a reef building project I might like to support.”
“I had guessed that,” Kayla smiled.
“I didn’t expect to meet such a lovely young woman when I agreed to a tour of the facilities. But as soon as I saw you I knew you were special. But even my dragon intuition did not tell me just how special.” Roland looked chagrined and his high sculpted cheekbones blazed red. “I thought I was drawn to you sexually, but I did not discern that you were in fact my destiny.”
“Your destiny?” Skepticism dripped from every word.
He inclined his shining head. “My destiny,” he said firmly. “Dragons must mate with a virgin or a dragoness if they are to have offspring. I knew that I must search for a virgin since dragonesses are a rarity and always have been. Do you remember all the stories about dragons demanding virgins in exchange for not attacking a city?”
“You mean like St. George and the dragon?” she asked.
He nodded. “Or the story of Andromeda in Greek mythology. The truth is that we are a race of males. We can only have a child with a dragoness, and only a virgin will transform into a dragoness. It has always presented a difficulty, but in this modern era of birth control it has become a major obstacle. Few females remain a virgin much past their teens.”
“I was a late bloomer,” Kayla said defensively.
“The fault was mine,” he said earnestly. “I did not recognize you as my mate. I insulted you that night on the South Island. I thought that I could buy your favors, when it should have been plain that you were not for sale.” Kayla watched him swallow awkwardly. “Forgive my crassness,” he pleaded.
She said nothing and her hazel eyes remained watchful.
“I was already past the age of seeking a bride,” he confessed. “And one of the reasons I had come to New Zealand was to seek a Maori maiden. Our House has been accepted by the Maori Dragon Lords since Europeans conquered their country. I hoped to be gifted with a virgin.”
Her eyes rounded in horror. “You were going to buy yourself a wife?”
“It sounds vile when you frame it that way. But in the Maori tradition a father and uncles have the right to give a girl in marriage and virginity is highly prized. Take Amiria and Rongo. They have been given to each other since Amiria turned fourteen. He is waiting for her. She is his destined bride and he both owns her and is owned by her.”
“I thought they were cousins or something. Don’t tell me that they are sharing a bed in Aidan’s room!” Kayla was aghast.
“Certainly not,” Roland said firmly. “Rongo is forbidden to so much as touch her. If he had sex with Amiria before their marriage her father, uncles, brothers and cousins would kill him and maybe her.”
“And she gets no say?” Kayla was appalled.
“She is happy enough. They are in love and looking forward to their ceremonies. It is part of Rongo’s testing that he is required to both guard his bride and contain his lust. They both accept their tribal traditions. Does Amiria seem unhappy?” he asked.
“No. I always wondered why she was content to be a nursemaid when she’s so smart,” Kayla admitted.
“She is enjoying being the Temptation of Rongo,” Roland said wryly. “It’s part of an elaborate courtship ritual. It seems to result in happy, fertile marriages. Rongo’s family is delighted with his mate. And Amiria’s family is looking forward to an alliance with a Dragon House.”
“Oh. When do they get married?”
“When the elders of both families are satisfied that they have passed their tests.”
“And Amiria will turn into a dragon when she marries?” Kayla asked. “And she’s cool with that?”
“Undoubtedly she is excited by the prospect of acquiring dragon talents,” Roland said.
Kayla’s face reflected her skepticism.
“You must remember that the Maori Dragon Lords have been marrying and creating dragoness for eight hundred years. Amiria has known about dragons all her life. It is an honor to be chosen as the bride of one of the grandsons of the Dragon Chieftain. To say nothing of the sword bearer of Lord Voros.”
“You lost me now. You aren’t Maori. Why are Maori dragons your servants?”
Roland choked. “My sword bearers aren’t servants,” he said gravely. “Traditionally, the Lord Voros would select amongst his brothers and cousins for a coterie of dragons to defend him. These young warriors would gain training and as they married or settled elsewhere, they would be replaced by younger dragons. But like all the dragons our House too has dwindled. I am all the firelings that my mother and father had. And my nearest kin are Icelandic dragons who have all they can do to raise a squadron of sword bearers themselves.”
“And the Maori Dragon Lords oblige because?” Kayla asked.
“The Maori are a vigorous race,” he said enviously. “Tane Te Mahuta and Rongo Te Paka and their brothers are surplus to the needs of Watatoni Te Kanewa. When my great-grandfather, the fourteenth Lord Voros, came to New Zealand he helped the Maori dragon lords to clear a nest of rogues from Tarakona. The Maori lords gave him this island and the right to call himself Lord of Tarakona.
“For nearly two hundred years my House has come to New Zealand to honor our treaties. I had hoped that he would gift me a bride in honor of our long friendship.”
“Except you met me,” Kayla said flatly.
“Except that you are my fate,” he corrected. “I was destined to marry a daughter of the Maori, only I did not recognize her when I found her. You Kayla Cooper Voros are my destiny.”
“Because I turned into a dragon when we screwed?”
“Because the act of transformation completed the spell you had cast on me,” he corrected. “No sooner did I see you in all the splendor of dragon form than I became your slave.”
“Really? So what was all that crap about right of conquest?”
“It was the foolish boast of a foolish male,” he admitted. “Forgive me, Beloved, for my arrogance and incivility.”
“And then?”
“And then I will woo you and regain your love,” he said.
“Regain my love? What makes you think I ever loved you?”
“Your transformation.”
“Here we go again.” She rolled her eyes.
“I will court you with respect,” he promised her. “And I will keep you safe.
“I still don’t get why your enemies are after me and Aidan,” she said.
“Dragonesses born are rare. Virgins rarer still in the West. Vadim is already married, but he has no firelings. But it has always been possible to steal another dragon’s mate and get firelings on her. It is forbidden by Dragon Law, but I suppose Vadim thought he could get away with kidnapping and mate theft.” Before Kayla’s astonished eyes Roland seemed to grow in size. She realized he really was furious at the attack on her.
“I will see that he pays for his crime,” Roland vowed. “But the attempted abduction was foiled, and you and Aidan are safe here on Tarakona where my sword bearers watch for attack.
“You must understand that the House of Voros and the Houses of Te Paka and Te Mahuta are linked by tradition. The Maori dragons who guarded you and Aidan on Ngaire are my sword bearers — my bodyguards — sworn to defend me and mine. I assigned them to protect you. But I swear I never anticipated Vadim would attempt to snatch either of you.”
“So why did he?”
“His own wife is barren. He would not be the first dragon to attempt to create a harem and increas
e his progeny. The legends about dragons are rife with such stories. And it was not only the mortal heroes who attempted to confound these rapacious monsters. The Dragon Lords have been opposed to such behavior since time immemorial.”
“Huh.”
* * *
Kayla was suspicious of this sudden change in Roland. What had brought this sudden diffidence on? It was difficult to believe he had really had had a change of heart. After all, her whole body was still throbbing from both bouts of hot and vigorous sex and Roland had been completely unapologetic and arrogant just hours before. What the heck did this Alpha Male really want?
To Kayla’s eyes his sudden meekness seemed most unlikely. This was some sort of ploy to make her agree to some outrageous demand. But if he thought she was going to be fooled again, he would learn his mistake soon enough. She would watch and see if his behavior matched his apology.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Far out to sea two men wrangled quietly as they paddled their inflatable through the reefs that surrounded Tarakona Island.
“I thought we were agreed,” said the burlier of the two in menacing accents. “You will remain hidden when we land, and wait for my men to arrive.”
“A pistol does not seem like much of a weapon for a one-armed man,” protested the other man. He waved his prosthetic limb in the other’s face.
“Stop whining, Landor,” growled his companion. “We are committed to our plan. You will hide and wait for the attack to commence. I will assume dragon form and when the moment is right, I will become invisible and enter the abode of that usurper. Soon his home, his bride, and his fireling will be mine!”
“I’ve been thinking, Vadim, that perhaps we’ve underestimated Voros. Rumor says he has an army of Maori dragons. Perhaps it’s true.”
Vadim of Montenegro snorted at the cowardice of his ally. “And perhaps rumor lies. And what have we to fear from a bunch of savages even if the rumors are true? Do you really think my shifters can be defeated by a bunch of Maoris?”
“I guess not.”
“You guess right. I will enter Voros’ house when I judge it safe. None will see me. And I am more than capable of dealing with any who do.”
“I still think the bear will have talked,” objected Prince Maximilian.
Vadim snorted. “He knew nothing of value. And he has led us straight to Voros’ hideaway.” His face contorted with fury. “I will make that usurping bastard watch as I initiate his bride, and then I will kill him!”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Kayla woke to brilliant sunshine cascading through the California shutters of her bedroom. Beside her bed the mischievous face of her son peered at her over the edge of the mattress.
“Good morning,” she said smiling at him.
“Get up,” he said forcefully. “I want to go swimming.”
“Say ‘Good Morning, Mama,’ first,” She corrected him gently.
“Good-morning-mama-first-I-want-to-go-swimming,” he shouted gleefully.
“What does Amiria say?” Kayla asked sitting up.
“I have to ask you and then if you say yes we can go swimming.”
Roland was sitting at the breakfast table waiting for her. He coaxed his son onto his lap and whispered, “Mama needs some coffee. Tell me what you want to do today.”
Aidan bounced. “Swimming,” he bellowed.
“He has a one track mind,” Kayla said. “He woke me up to insist he needed to go swimming.”
Roland nodded. “We will all go.” He made sure that Aidan was looking at him. “Mummy and Daddy and Amiria and Rongo will take you swimming. After breakfast. Have you eaten yet?”
‘I ated egg and toast,” cried Aidan excitedly.
“I guess he likes to swim,” said Roland.
“He’s part fish,” Kayla confirmed.
The four adults took Aidan down to the beach. For the first time Kayla noticed that Rongo was careful never to touch Amiria. Even when he took Aidan from her arms he never grazed her skin. And he took pains to stand where her shadow would not cross his. Weird and weirder. This dragon stuff was deeply odd and when you tossed in the Maori traditions, it got odder.
They were all five of them dressed for the chilly waters of the Tasman Sea. Even in the shallows the temperature was not much above fifty degrees Fahrenheit. Roland had provided Aidan with a tiny wet suit to insulate his body from the chill of the ocean.
“Will you leave Aidan with Amiria and Rongo?” Roland asked quietly. “I want to show you something.”
Kayla followed Roland out past the surging surf to where the ocean was calmed by a wall of volcanic rock. They swam behind this and Kayla gasped in wonder. There in the hollow formed by the rock formation three octopuses clung to the kelp covered rocks, their tentacles swaying idly in the currents.
As she stared through her mask at the iridescent creatures they changed color and became almost invisible against the green and gray of the rocks. At first she thought that she and Roland had alarmed them, but as two long, streamlined, gray shapes swam past she realized they were reacting to sea lions in search of a meal.
The sea lions drifted off in search of fish. A Hawksbill sea turtle pursued a flock of black and white striped angel fish. One after another the denizens of the ocean came and went. Kayla was entranced. This was unspoiled loveliness. She looked around for Roland. He was smugly contemplating her. He looked as self-satisfied as a lion digesting a zebra on a rock.
But she was having too good a time to care if Voros found her amusing. These chilly waters were a revelation. She was only a half-hour from Ngaire, but the species here were subtly but clearly different. It was beyond amazing. Roland touched her shoulder and indicated that she should come with him. Together they swam back to the shore where Aidan had removed his wet suit and was building castles out of the wet sand.
* * *
“I have a necklace for you,” Roland said when she joined him for a pre-dinner drink. Aidan had eaten with Amiria and was bathed and ready for bed.
Kayla put her hands behind her back, decided that was childish and advanced into the sitting room. He stood up and came towards her picking up a small dark blue box from a table. He flipped open and revealed the necklace inside. It was even more lavish than the emerald and diamond necklace he had tried to give her in Auckland.
Blazing diamonds spiraled around a thick chain of yellow gold and black pearls. The pendant was a black pearl the mate of the one on her finger. The flowerlike setting was the same.
“Will you marry me?” he asked her softly. “And wear the dragon’s eye?”
“The dragon’s eye?” Kayla asked playing for time.
“This pearl has the brilliance of a dragon’s eye,” he said. “My great-great-grandfather named it that.” He picked up her hand and kissed the ring on her finger. “This ring I had made for you to match the necklace. “Marry me, Beloved, and let us be happy together.”
Kayla lay sleepless again. She knew she had fallen into the temptation to smooth over the cracks in their relationship with sex. But the sex was so good, and she had been so lonely.
Roland wanted to marry her again, in a proper wedding ceremony. And he had shown her a chest heaped with jewels he said he had collected to adorn her. Which was just nuts. Who bought an antique chest and started filling it with jewelry for a woman who had refused him? Apparently a crazy, Finnish dragon lord.
The chest was beautiful. Its age was evident in the deep patina on its carved panels. The latch seemed to be made of steel gilded with pure gold. And that was the spookiest thing of all. When Roland had placed it in her hands, she had immediately divined its age and almost seen the carver in her mind’s eye. Which was just impossible.
Just as it was impossible that she should know the weight and value of the pearl jewelry he had chosen for her. The thick gold band had no jeweler’s mark but she knew the gold was at least twenty-four caret. And the pearl came from Tahiti and was infinitely precious.
And try as
she might, she couldn’t take his ring off her finger. She had even had to wear it swimming. The ring wasn’t even tight. It had slipped on as if it were made for her, but when she went to wash her hands, no amount of soap would get it to slide back off her finger. And every time she touched it she loved it more. What had Roland done to her?
* * *
Roland was similarly sleepless beside his wakeful mate. He was torn between wanting her and worrying about the bear. He had ordered him brought to Tarakona, but he was beginning to feel the greatest uneasiness about this decision. Yet the bear had seemed more or less truthful. Roland had not challenged him on his name. Let him claim to be a member of the Zhadanov family, it mattered not. But there was something niggling at his intuition.
He rose from his bed. He had set guards on Ngaire and on Tarakona. His surveillance equipment was activated. Yet he was as edgy as if battle were shortly to be expected. He stalked into his dressing room and began to look at the screens.
He could wait no longer. He pushed buttons. “Sir,” came the prompt response. Hahona, here.”
“Scan the prisoner for a tracking device.”
“Sir.” Hahona paused. “Are we talking microchips, sir?”
“Probably subcutaneous. But he might have swallowed something,” Roland said.
“We’re on it, sir. Hahona, out.”
Nine minutes later, the intercom buzzed. “Hahona, here. The bear has three chips, sir. All activated. All broadcasting.”
Roland drew a deep breath. It was far too late to remove the bear from Tarakona. He had been here for days, and Vadim would have long since dispatched dragons to trace his Trojan horse. “Thank you, Hahona,” he said coolly. We are on red alert.”
“Yes, sir!” said Hahona.
Roland began to press buttons. He spoke decisively into the intercom, calm now his decision was made. “Red alert. Assigned stations everyone.” He hurried to Kayla’s side. She was sitting up in bed looking bewildered.
“Get dressed,” he said. “I want you and Aidan in my safe room.” He turned and left while she was still gaping at him.
Dragon's Successor (BBW/Dragon Shifter Romance) (Lords of the Dragon Islands Book 2) Page 18