Kadin: A Scifi Alien Romance (Dragons of Riddich Book 1)

by Teshco, Mel

Kadin moved with soundless stealth, one of his arms twining around her shoulders to bring her close to the warmth of his chest, his other arm locked around a bough above their heads.

  Damn, it felt good, felt right to have him take care of her, to simply know when she needed comfort. She only wished it could be that way forever.

  “It’s going to be okay,” he whispered in her ear. “It has to be now.”

  She pulled back a little and looked up into his shadowed face. God, she wanted him so bad. Her heart flip-flopped. Despite how little time they’d been together, she really did want a future with him, wanted it so much it was nearly a painful, physical ache that spread outward from her chest.

  “Now?” she echoed softly.

  He nodded and murmured, “Now that we’ve found each other.” His hand shook a little as he touched her face. “Sweetheart, I don’t want to lose you.”

  “I don’t want to lose you either,” she admitted.

  It wasn’t a declaration of love, but it was close enough. Right there in a big old gum tree, with a target on their backs and highly trained operatives within sight.

  “I don’t suppose your shifting ability is about to kick in anytime soon?” she asked, an emotion-filled wobble in her voice.

  “No, not without more fuel.” He sighed. “A shame none in your team is weak-minded. I have the ability to plant a suggestion and could have had them turning on one another instead of tracking us down.”

  Was there anything she knew about this dragon? It seemed the agency had decided the less she knew the better. Bastards.

  She pushed aside her contempt and focused on Kadin. “I know so little about you.” At least she understood now why he’d become so rich so fast. It wasn’t just because of his formidable intelligence. She had no doubt he would have planted suggestions to those weak-minded, greedy businessmen he wanted to make deals with.

  “You want to hear my bio now?” he said with an amused undertone.

  “Not everything,” she allowed. “Just your real name, your age.”

  His breath warmed her scalp. “Kadin Mannett. I’m one-hundred-eighty-seven years old.”

  She stiffened. But there was no time for doubts or more questions. She had to focus on her current dilemma. She peered down at the ground below, but the blanket of clouds once again made seeing next to impossible. She grinned. It also made escape much more effective.

  Kadin’s muscles abruptly quivered and went taut. She looked up, making out the glow of his eyes. Dragon’s eyes.

  But of course. He could shift any part of his body at will. Making use of his obviously enhanced dragon vision would be far less painful and use up much less energy than shifting completely.

  “There are no operatives in the immediate area,” he murmured. “We’re safe if we leave right now.”

  She nodded and began the descent. In less than a minute she dropped out of the tree and silently onto the damp ground. Kadin landed on the balls of his feet beside her, crouched like a panther and just as aware as he studied the night terrain one last time.

  “Run,” he whispered urgently.

  Chapter Six

  Branches whipped her face as she sprinted through the trees for all she was worth. Cold air stung her eyes. Eucalyptus seared her nostrils as she gasped for breath. A hit of adrenaline pulsed through her body, a grin almost hurting her face. They were going to be all right! They were going to get out of this nightmare.

  For now.

  Her heart was hammering in her ribs when, some three hours later, they rounded the other side of the lake. “The agents would have come here first,” he reassured. “We should be safe for a while.”

  True. There’d be little chance the team would double back. They’d spread out farther afield first, sweeping areas yet to be searched.

  She followed Kadin through the thicker trees, back to the first unlit house they’d stumbled upon hours earlier. She looked across the water, to the faint lights in the distance, a picture-perfect setting of calm and tranquility. She shook her head. Hard to believe they’d swam to those lights and now they were back where they had started.

  Her team was over there somewhere, looking for Kadin, for her, with the intent to catch … to maybe even kill.

  She spun away, turning her back on the people she’d thought she’d known. It was past time she put them behind her and looked to the future.

  Did she have a future? And did that future include Kadin?

  The front door of the house had been kicked down. A mess of chipped and splintered wood lay scattered in the entryway. She released a taut breath. Sloppy, boys. Very sloppy.

  The bastards had disregarded their most basic training, obviously not caring that she and Kadin might have been inside, alerted by a loud entry. Except for the disabled alarm, the agents hadn’t even tried for discreet and clean to ensure their stealth. Speed had clearly been the only priority.

  She loitered behind Kadin as he strode toward the old-world kitchen. Undeniable dread crept into her psyche. Their bounties must be huge.

  Kadin opened the refrigerator door and examined the vegetable crisper. “I need more sustenance if I’m to make use of my dragon form.” He retrieved a couple of half-decent Granny Smith apples and turned to toss one to her.

  She declined with a weary shake of her head. It had been a hell of a day and night, and food was the last thing on her mind. She smoothed a hand over her gritty eyes before rubbing her brow with the heel of her hand, the beginnings of a migraine creeping into her skull. She needed painkillers and a good eight hours of sleep, although she’d settle for just a couple.

  Kadin studied her with narrowed eyes. “You look wrecked.” He indicated the sofa. “Why don’t you grab a few hours’ sleep? I need to eat and rebuild my energy stores anyway and I can keep an eye on you there, wake you up quickly if need be.”

  “And then what?”

  “And then if I have to, I can shift into dragon and we can get the hell out of here.”

  She toed off her shoes. “Okay,” she allowed. “But what about long-term? A week. A month. A year from now?”

  His smile was edged with a hardness that reflected the ruthless menace in his stare. “I have a few ideas, a few suggestions I can plant in the right people’s heads. And money helps.” His expression flickered and then softened. “But for now you need to rest.”

  She nodded, disregarding that savage part of him she’d glimpsed that no doubt had helped earn him a place at the top of the world’s richest list. Hell, with his fierce intellect, he probably rarely needed to plant suggestions anyway.

  It was a pity he’d have to feed his ruthless side if they hoped to stay alive.

  She settled onto the leather sofa with nothing short of relief. She wasn’t stupid enough to deny a need for sleep. It could well be the difference between life and death.

  Her team would know Kadin’s every weakness, know he’d be unable to become dragon and fly for some time yet. She closed her eyes with a sigh. She’d obviously been the only one not clued in on the facts, the only idiot who’d thought Kadin wasn’t a dragon, despite the gift of her perception.

  But she should have known from the moment she’d met him that Kadin was far more dangerous than any being she’d ever faced.

  *

  Grace woke feeling groggy and disorientated, vivid dreams still dissolving in her subconscious. Dreams that had intermingled reality with fiction.

  Kadin had been in his beast form and chasing her down, turning on her in just the same way her team had. But even as she’d run in terror from the fire streaming out of his mouth, she’d been far more traumatized by the fact her heart was broken in two. She’d still been alive, but inside she was already dead.

  Oh god. How had she already begun feeling so deeply for him? More importantly, what was she going to do about it?

  She didn’t want to feel love, didn’t want to experience loss or grief ever again like she had for her parents. She never wanted to relive that pain … that feel
ing of utter helplessness and despair.

  Her one hairpin had apparently given up its fight and, as she sat up, her loose hair tumbled around her shoulders. The first crack of dawn light revealed Kadin close by, standing guard. As she caught his stare, his cautious smile quickly became smoldering, molten heat. His eyes flamed with primal passion, a dragon glow that caused the air to all but crackle around them.

  She shivered even as she burned, aware precisely now of what she wanted to do.

  Pushing to her feet, she held his stare as she unbuttoned her jeans and worked them down her thighs. Goose bumps erupted over her bared skin, but it had nothing to do with the cold chill of morning and everything to do with the wanton need pulsing through her body. Stepping free of her jeans, she pulled of her socks, then worked her sweater and shirt over her head and tossed them aside, naked now except for her bra.

  Kadin growled low in his throat. The inhuman sound somehow ratcheted up the carnal intensity, the danger of being on the run only adding fuel to the fire.

  He tore off his clothes as Grace slipped free from her lacy bra and stood naked before him. Oh god. Her pussy was wet, self-lubricated, her inner thighs made slippery from her need. She was past ready for Kadin’s possession.

  There was really nothing gentle about their coming together. He pulled her hard toward him, their mouths fusing as he walked her backward and all but slammed her against the wall.

  He massaged her breasts, the seam of her pussy and finally her swollen clit. She gasped. Frissons of unadulterated delight tore through her veins and reawakened every nerve ending she had and more. She hoisted herself to twine her legs around his hips, opening herself wide for his penetration. “I need you.”

  His eyes lit up, a blazing inferno that revealed an inner beast impatient for release. He captured her thighs and held her still, aligning his cock to her moist slit. With a harsh moan, he pulled her down, his shaft plunging deep inside her.

  She closed her eyes and flung her head back. “Ooh. Yes!”

  His cock slid partway out then all the way back in and her eyes snapped open at the relentless motion that thumped her shoulder blades rhythmically against the wall, in perfect time with her unrestrained mewls of delight.

  They were making too much noise, she knew that. But in that moment, all the training in the world couldn’t make her care. In that moment, gratification was her only concern.

  The cords of Kadin’s neck jutted out, his rhythmic thrusts becoming faster, harder. “I’m going to come,” he growled.

  Her fingernails jammed into the sweat-slickened skin of his shoulders as she stared into his blazing eyes. Gratification be damned! She wanted to see the controlling Kadin lose control. She’d even give up her own orgasm to see him unravel. “Do it!” she gasped.

  His breath caught. His eyes flared. In one swift motion, he lifted her high above him then impaled her again, twice as hard and deep. He climaxed with a low, throaty roar, his hot seed pulsing into her again and again.

  There was no time to linger; he knew it as much as she did. He withdrew from her wet heat, his expression fierce. She dropped to her feet as he considered her.

  “You didn’t come.” He cupped her face, his stare intense. “We’ll finish this later. Far away from here where we can take our time, go long and slow. Where I can make you orgasm again and again.”

  She nodded, wanting him so bad she could barely think straight. But seeing him come undone … hell, it’d been more than worth it knowing the effect she had on him.

  His attention abruptly moved to the windows. As his brow tightened, his shoulders bunching beneath her fingers, her brain switched from the “just fucked” afterglow straight into high alert.

  Her lover fairly bristled with high-octane energy.

  “Kadin?”

  He turned to her. “We should go.”

  She didn’t move. Not just yet. “Operatives?”

  His expression flickered with an undercurrent of concern. “I’m not sure. I’ve seen no movement, no sign of anyone.”

  She moved to retrieve her clothes. Pulling them on, she asked, “But?”

  “The birds have stopped singing.”

  Shit.

  Kookaburras. Magpies. Plovers. Those and many more all made noise around dawn.

  “Perhaps our … activity made them quiet?” she suggested.

  “Perhaps.”

  But unlikely. He didn’t need to voice the words, she already knew.

  Adrenaline spiked then poured through her veins, making her voice breathless as she asked, “Are you able to shift into dragon now?”

  He nodded. “I don’t have a choice. Though my depleted energy means it may take some time to completely shift.”

  She glowered. “If it’s dangerous—”

  “It’s not.”

  Her glower became a plea as she returned to him, her fingertips tracing down his arms. She knew she wore her heart on her sleeve, but cared little. She no longer wanted to play the poker-faced agent. No longer wanted iron control of her defenses … her emotions.

  On the precipice of death, she discovered she did want to experience life, wanted to feel what it was to be alive.

  A deep emotion flashed in his eyes even before she curled her hands around his forearms and stood on tiptoe, kissing him softly, gently. Kissing him with an intensity of emotion that threatened to overcome her.

  I love him. I really do love him.

  It was unbelievable but true. In such a short time, she’d fallen for him hard. Irrevocably, with no regrets.

  She managed a half-smile and stepped back. Voicing her true feelings would have to wait another day. She cleared her throat. “I’ll take a look out the back if you want to cover the front.”

  His eyes flared and brightened, revealing the first stages of change. “Perfect. The front yard gives me plenty of space to shift.”

  Halfway down the hallway, Grace spun back to him and asked, “Will you know as dragon to wait for me if you’ve shifted before I return?”

  He nodded, expression possessive … animalistic. “It’s still me underneath all those scales. I won’t leave without you.”

  Her face grew hot with unaccustomed emotions. Tenderness. Adoration. Love. She nodded before twisting away. “Good.”

  Chapter Seven

  Through tinted glass doors, Grace could see the backyard had been designed as an expansive entertainment area. A gleaming wooden deck featured timber benches with brightly striped cushions, a gas barbecue and a glass-and-metal table. Large copper urns were softened by glossy, broad-leafed plants.

  It all looked warm and welcoming. A place where family gathered and friends enjoyed visiting.

  Longing filled her, squeezing the breath from her lungs. If she’d had a normal life—a loving husband, even children—something like this perfect, peaceful place could have been part of it.

  She put a hand on the door. It slid effortlessly along its tracks, opening wide to the view outside. She frowned at her preoccupation. She was getting sloppy, careless, too caught up in fanciful wishes to notice an obviously unlocked door.

  For all she knew, agents could be inside right now.

  As if in response to that thought, her body stiffened, her senses kicking in. A eucalyptus-scented breeze quivered the tops of the gum trees just outside a boundary fence. A plane droned high overhead in the cloudless gray-blue sky. But otherwise all was quiet. Too quiet.

  The hairs on her nape prickled.

  Shit!

  She dropped into a crouch and spun. Wind swished past her face—the barrel of a rifle missing impact with her temple by less than an inch.

  She glanced up at Alexander, unsurprised to see him flanked by Luke and Pete.

  So much for the agents not doubling back.

  “How did you find me?” she asked.

  Alexander nodded toward her now freed hair. “Your hairpins weren’t just lock-picks. You’d been wearing our newest, most sophisticated tracking device.”

 
Of course.

  She straightened with a calm that belied all manner of toxic dread searing her belly. But the sentiment had little to do with the men leveling guns on her. Grace’s sixth sense warned her of something more, someone … worse.

  A figure stepped out from behind the three operatives.

  Her heart froze. “Mr. Briggs?” she whispered.

  It was him. There was no mistake. Though his cherubic face had thinned and aged, his once-solid physique softened, underneath his wrinkled skin and expensive suit, nothing had changed.

  He was still evil incarnate.

  He placed his hand on Alexander’s arm, bidding him to lower the gun. The old man’s intelligent, rheumy stare was all too disturbing as his fingertips drifted slowly up and down the rifle like a lover’s touch. “My little Gracie, all grown up,” he rasped.

  She swallowed. Hard. “What do you want?”

  Mr. Briggs cracked a smile that chilled her right to the marrow.

  “I want you, Gracie,” he replied, gravelly voice laced with barely restrained elation as he took in her expression. “I’ve always wanted you.”

  Shock faded as horror filled her, consumed her from the inside out. No! Somehow she couldn’t voice even that one word of denial, couldn’t push it past the lump in her throat.

  Mr. Briggs’ eyes were devoid of warmth as his thin lips smiled wider. “After everything I’ve gone through to get to this point, did you really think I’d let you go? You escaped me once, albeit briefly. But I stopped at nothing to reel you in again.”

  She swayed, somehow reverting back to the helpless little girl she’d been all those years ago. “It was you, wasn’t it?” she croaked. “You killed my mom, my dad.”

  “Gracie, Gracie.” He clucked his tongue, playing with her like a cat with a mouse. “Do you detect anything paranormal about me?”

  “No. You’re all human. But you’re dead inside. Evil. Sick and twisted.” She shook her head. “You might not have wielded the blade, but I’m betting you killed my parents.”

  “Sexy and smart,” he mocked. “Such a shame, really, to pull my best operative. But I have more important plans for you.”