Paranormal Dating Agency: Her Wounded Dragon (Viking Ancestors' Kin, Book 4.5) (Kindle Worlds Novella)

by Sky Purington

  He pretty much figured he’d be fighting an erection the whole time but had no idea how vicious it would be. How she would sway and undulate against him. He’d never seen a human move like her never mind a female dragon. She had a way of crawling all over him but still making it look like some sort of sensual, strip tease created all for him.

  The strobe light caught her dragon sheen and magnified it, so she appeared to be covered in shimmering body glitter. And her eyes—those damn eyes made for sin—managed to stay in the shadows, caught between each blast of light as they narrowed on his.

  As she accused him.

  Just like he accused her.

  He could only assume she was upset because she didn’t want to be tied to him now that she was so close to Hallstein. Now that she had her eyes on the prize.

  Good enough. Let her hate him all she wanted. It didn’t change a damn thing. This sucked for them both. But they had to keep it up for appearances right? Hallstein wanted them to rock the room? Kage could do that. And Viv sure as hell could too. So he braced his legs just enough to lower his height some, wrapped his arm around her lower back and yanked her against him.

  He might be mad as hell that Viv, his mate, wanted to lay waste to the Sigdirs, the good guys, but it didn’t change his body’s response to her. And it didn’t change hers to him no matter how much she might want to deny it.

  Now it was time to play like dragons.

  To show the room what they were all about.

  That was what Hallstein expected of Kage.

  So he grabbed her ass, pressed his straining arousal between her thighs, wrapped his hand into her hair and tilted her head back until their eyes met. Hell, he was angry with her. Furious. But that didn’t mean he was going to let things play out all the way. Because he knew exactly what would happen if they kept this up. He knew what Hallstein’s ultimate plan was. So he did his best to show her with one look the stupid situation she had walked in to.

  How dangerous it was.

  Because far too many male dragons were gathered around the dance floor now.

  Far too many of Hallstein’s spawn wanted to watch her get accosted then have a taste themselves. The enemy might spare her. He might not. Knowing Hallstein, he’d most likely allow her to be gang raped just to see if she rose from the mental ashes and remained devoted to him. Just to see if she was tough enough.

  And what happened in this place stayed in this place.

  So Kage had a decision to make.

  Try to kill Hallstein now and destroy years of undercover work. Or let Viv be a victim of her own stupidity. Because nothing was more stupid than betraying your own people to join ranks with pure evil.

  Yet, the truth was there was only one acceptable decision.

  He might not approve of her choices, but he would never let any woman get hurt like that. Not the way she would be very soon. So he did the only thing he knew would get them out of this situation. That would buy him time.

  He pulled the steak knife out of his pocket and made it look like she stabbed him.

  Chapter Nine

  VIV’S EYES WIDENED in shock as Kage staggered back.

  “Son of a bitch,” he growled as he yanked a steak knife out of his upper arm and glared at her. “I thought you liked it rough? Shit, you were askin’ for it.” He shook his head. “So why the hell’d you stab me?”

  What was he talking about? He did that to himself.

  Stunned, she could only stare at his wound. He was hurt. And she just couldn’t process that. It was as if she were stuck in some sort of limbo. Why? It wasn’t lethal. But this…anything that wounded Kage was more than she could take and it made no damn sense.

  Her reaction was way too strong.

  But was it really considering he was her mate? Considering everything she knew?

  Considering who he had to be?

  Viv shook her head, suddenly aware of the large dragon males drawing ever closer. Her eyes whipped to Hallstein, but there was no hope there. He wore a heavy frown as he looked from Vivienne to Erica. “What do you make of that? That’s no way to prove she’s an ally.”

  “I don’t know.” Erica’s expression darkened before she looked at the other dragons. “Take care of her, so my brother doesn’t have to look at her anymore. Get her out of here!”

  “Fuck, no,” Kage said, his voice forceful. He ignored the woman who rushed up and pressed a cloth to his bleeding wound. The look in his eyes was deadly as they went from Viv to Hallstein. “She’s mine until she’s yours.” He ground his jaw, so angry she swore steam came off his skin. “Give me permission to punish her.” His eyes narrowed further. “To ruin her.”

  “Well,” Hallstein murmured, contemplating the fate of a woman’s life as though mulling over if he wanted sugar in his coffee. “Ruin is such a strong word.” He sighed, the devil in his eyes as they locked on Viv. “I do not want to lose her. She’s too important.” His gaze met Kage’s. “But teaching her a little more respect wouldn’t hurt, would it?”

  “Nope.” Gritty, all man, Kage tossed her over his shoulder, gripped his wound, and then got moving. “Visit me later, boss, and you’ll see just how much respect she’s gained.”

  “I look forward to it.” When Hallstein made a cease and desist motion, nobody followed.

  Once they were outside, Kage set her down, pulled some gauze out of a sack on his bike and started wrapping his arm as he ground out, “Get on, Viv. Right the fuck now.”

  She frowned, still upset that he was hurt. “Are you okay?”

  “I’ll survive.” The expression on his face was thunderous. “Get on the damn bike.” She jumped when he ended it with a solid roar. “Now!”

  She backed up. “I’d rather find a phone and call Julie.”

  “And I’d rather be anywhere but here,” he muttered before he plunked her on the back of his bike and peeled out of there so fast, she knew dragon magic must be involved.

  By the time they pulled into his driveway, she sensed he was hurting. While tempted to let him suffer, it just wasn’t in her nature. “I can help you with that, you know.”

  “I’m fine,” he grunted as they went inside. “Nothing a little dragon magic can’t handle.” He made a loose gesture toward his state-of-the-art kitchen. “Eat if you’re hungry then sleep wherever you can find a spot.”

  If she didn’t hear his steady heartbeat and know he would be okay thanks to her dragon, she might have kept trailing after him.

  As far as she could tell, she was on the second level of the massive place. A good portion of it was glass encased, including the indoor swimming pool. God, where did he get his money? Because Navy pilots didn’t make enough to afford all this.

  When he said to sleep wherever she found a spot, he wasn’t kidding. Wide, dimly lit hallways went in multiple directions from three floors with more rooms than she could count. Rooms she imagined were fully furnished. She shook her head. Why did one man need this much wealth?

  Her breath caught as she stepped out onto a balcony the size of her house and took in the wide, sweeping view of the Atlantic. She braced her hands on the railing and stared at the ocean as everything sank in. It was official. Kage was the bad guy. He was Hallstein’s right hand man.

  Yet he was also her dragon mate.

  She shook her head. Some might say she couldn’t be in a more perfect position. Now she could get close to the enemy. Maybe even kill him. But would Kage allow it? Better yet, what would he do to her if she managed to end his boss.

  Viv still had no idea why Kage had wounded himself or got so angry with her. More than that, she had no clue how to handle her quickly developing feelings for him. They seriously didn’t fit in her plans.

  What she wouldn’t do for some one on one advice from Jules right now.

  Was Julie still awake? Or was she having some much needed fun with that guy? Viv hoped the latter. She deserved it. Helping out a Highlander wizard the likes of Grant Hamilton wasn’t easy. Being part of a medieval Sc
ottish past she might never see. If anything, it seemed she was only ever doomed to help Scandinavian time travelers.

  She sighed and shook her head. From the get go, she and Julie had walked unique paths that interconnected. It was what had bonded them to begin with. Their drive to help their families. Those in the distant past. Where Julie helped by bringing fated love together, Viv’s goal was to keep her kin safe. Her line of dragons. And that, as it turned out, meant helping to keep the Sigdirs and their mates safe.

  What she never could have anticipated was Kage.

  Who he was.

  The connection forming.

  He was an unseen factor in a well laid out plan. Sure, she might have dreamt about him a lot, but she always thought she’d be able to control things once she met him. It turned out she underestimated the dragon mate connection. More so, forgotten how strong it could be. The way he could suddenly hear her thoughts. How he could tempt her with his telepathic, seductive words. He made her desperate to rip his clothes off and ride him. Worse than that?

  He made her want to love again.

  Love a mate who had teamed up with the enemy.

  Heck, he was related to the very women Viv and her kin would eventually assist. Those who owned the chalet in Winter Harbor. Again, how foolish of her not to have figured out who Erica was from the moment she met her. But in her defense, Erica was estranged from the others, and Viv had only ever kept track of the comings and goings at the chalet vicariously through Julie. What struck her the most in all this, however, was what he had become.

  A traitor to his own blood. As had Erica.

  Or so it seemed.

  She gripped the railing tighter, closed her eyes and hung her head. “Give me strength, All-Father,” she whispered. The strength to push Kage away. The ability to serve well and stay focused. Because that’s what she did. She served a greater good. A higher goal. She wasn’t a fanatic, just a soldier determined to see an age old war won. A keeper of great secrets.

  “Odin won’t help you through any of this,” came Kage’s gruff voice from behind.

  Right, he wouldn’t be a fan of Odin if he was allied with the likes of Hallstein.

  And she wouldn’t have said as much if she was too.

  Though tempted to make sure he was okay, she kept her cool. He didn’t want her help, so she had to repress this unfortunate urge to coddle him. Not to mention, she knew he would heal quickly because of his dragon blood.

  She turned toward him and crossed her arms over her chest. “So what happened back there? Why’d you stab yourself?”

  “To get you out of a bad situation,” he muttered as he joined her.

  Barefoot and shirtless, beach bound by all accounts, his hair was a sexy ruffled mess as though he’d run his hand through it in frustration. It was one thing to see him all bad-ass in black, and another to see him like this. Less intimidating. More approachable.

  Hell and damnation, the best move she could make now was to stare at the ocean or the bandage wrapped around his arm. Anything but the way his sweats hung low on his waist, highlighting all those so-sexy-she-needed-a-cold-shower abs. She licked her lips as her eyes fell to the V where his muscles gave way to a semi-erection that made her want to…

  “It’s not a semi-erection, Viv,” he mentioned, evidently reading her mind. “Give me more credit than that.” He set two shot glasses down and filled them with whiskey. “Hell, this is the resting state of a dragon, or don’t you know any better?”

  Oh, she did. Better than he knew.

  “Ever the charmer,” she muttered as she pulled her eyes away and shot back the whiskey. At least he didn’t seem angry at her anymore. Just irritated.

  “Yeah, charm’s not something I’ve got a lot of anymore,” he conceded before he downed his liquor. “Not when it comes to you.”

  “Right.” She narrowed her eyes, curious about his take on things. “And why is that again?”

  He contemplated her for a moment before he said, “Because you’ve landed on the wrong side of this war and now I’ve gotta figure out what to do with you.”

  The wrong side? She frowned. “I was under the impression that being on Hallstein’s side was the right side of this war.”

  “And what exactly do you know about everything going on?” His eyes narrowed. “You say you’re a Sigdir and implied there are more of you. Where are they? How did all of you survive without anyone knowing?”

  “That’s a lot of questions.” She gave him a you-can-do-better-than-that look. “Why not just read my mind?”

  “I will,” he assured. “Once we’re fully connected and I’m able to.”

  Fully connected? He wished.

  “What are you hoping to achieve with Hallstein?” Kage continued. “He’s Erica’s mate. I hope you’re smart enough not to screw with that.”

  He thought she desired Hallstein. And he didn’t like it. Viv ignored the leap of her pulse and kept her tone borderline mocking. “Are you jealous, Kage?”

  “More like concerned.”

  “Why? I can take care of myself.”

  “Can you?” He refilled their shot glasses. “Because what was about to happen to you back there wasn’t gonna be pretty.”

  “Ah, so now you’re ready to talk about why you stabbed yourself.” She snorted. “Drastic measures to get me out of there all because you didn’t want me lusting after your boss.”

  “You might act the part, but you don’t get out much do you?” he muttered. “I did what I did because it was the only way to get you out of there in one piece.”

  He proceeded to explain in vivid detail what was about to happen. How it had all been a test orchestrated by Hallstein, and she only played into it dancing like she had.

  “I think you’re wrong.” She shook her head. “Hallstein seemed to like me. I was there to offer him a good thing.”

  “Yeah, a good thing with a sideshow for entertainment.” He shot back his whiskey. “He sent you, looking like you do, smelling like you did, onto a dance floor surrounded by male dragons who’ve never been close to a female dragon comparable to you.” Kage looked at her like she had a lot of growing up to do. “What the hell did you think was going to happen? That they’d let you walk away untouched because you were with me?”

  “The thought had crossed my mind,” she murmured, trying to remain unruffled. Truly though, why should she be surprised when she knew what a monster Hallstein was? Nevertheless, it looked like she might have suffered from some blind ambition. Literally. Not to mention, a more and more muddled mind thanks to Kage and dragon lust.

  “So you got me out of there before all hell broke loose,” she continued. “Thanks for that I suppose.”

  His brows shot up. “You suppose?”

  “Yeah, I suppose.” She downed her whiskey and prepared herself for the answer to her next question. “So you told Hallstein you would teach me some respect for stabbing you. How are you planning on doing that, Kage?”

  He didn’t respond but white-knuckled the railing and stared at the ocean.

  “I guess we’ll just figure it out later,” she muttered, revising her plan. At least for now. “I’m going home.”

  Yet something started to happen as she headed across the balcony. Something that she should have seen coming but again, it had been a long time. The further she got from him, the heavier her feet felt. Almost like her ankles were shackled down by weights. Worse than that, her chest started to hurt. As if she were feeling strong negative emotions and stress, though she wasn’t so sure she was.

  “Sorry, Viv,” Kage murmured into her mind. “We might not like it…” He looked over his shoulder. “But this is what it must feel like when you try to put distance between you and the dragon that has been with you since the beginning of dragon kind.”

  Chapter Ten

  Kage WISHED HIS wound was still raw and not nearly healed already so he could stick it in the stinging salty ocean. Anything to feel something other than what he did when Vivienne was
near. He never would have brought her back here to begin with if he knew the feel of her would be so damn addictive. His draw to her went beyond what he had expected. It was far stronger and progressing at a rate he was having a hard time coming to grips with.

  “Hell,” he ground out. “You need to get out of here, Vivienne.”

  “That’s sort of what I was trying to do,” she reminded, a little winded as she touched her chest. “Before you stopped me.”

  “I didn’t do it. Our connection did.” He shook his head. “Uncomfortable or not, I’ve gotta get you out of here.”

  “I agree.” She frowned as something seemed to occur to her. “Hey, isn’t Hallstein supposed to come by later? Isn’t he going to wonder where I am?”

  Shit. She was right. He would and if Kage didn’t deliver it might mean trouble for Erica. Because he wasn’t foolish enough to presume the enemy would be any kinder to his dragon mate than any other woman.

  “Fuck, why’d you have to be on his side?” he muttered as he rubbed a hand over his face in frustration.

  “You mean our side.” She frowned as she joined him again, her eyes curious and her voice cautious. “Because we’re both on Hallstein’s side, right, Kage?”

  “Right.” Damn, he needed to be careful. He’d come too far with Hallstein and couldn’t screw this up. Not now. Viv made him say and do things impulsively, and that just wasn’t good. It would land them both in an early grave.

  So it was time to set things straight and remind her what she had gotten herself into.

  “Not sure you realize it yet but you belong to Hallstein now.” He met her eyes and wondered yet again about her angle. “So what do you hope to accomplish? Because if it was allowing a room full of dragons to have you to impress him, that chance is gone. Now we’re in a different predicament altogether.”

  “Which leads me back to my original question and Hallstein’s order,” Viv murmured. “What do you intend to do to me to teach me a little respect?”

  He had to give her credit for sounding so calm. As it was, no woman in her right mind would want to belong to Hallstein. Except for Erica it seemed. He tried not to think about her right now. That was another whole set of hellish problems.