Let There Be Dragons (The Children of Ankh Book 3)

by Kim Cormack

  Lexy playfully batted him away and sparred, “I’m not into dancing tonight. Go and dance with someone from the ever-expanding harem of hussies over there. Surely, one of them has to be interested in you.”

  He ran one of her sexy ringlets between two of his fingers and whispered, “Come on Lex. You know you want to.”

  She crossed her legs even tighter and bit her lip. “I don’t want to dance,” she sighed.

  He kept pouting and giving her puppy dog eyes until she cracked and agreed to dance with him, “Alright.”

  Grey grinned as he tugged her to her feet and towed her out on to the dance floor.

  Lily casually stirred her drink as she commentated, “He has a dark gift that one.”

  Kayn glanced over to where they were dancing. They were laughing and Grey was openly hitting on her. He didn’t appear to be kidding around. She’d never seen him do this before.

  Lily was watching them to. She whispered, “Apparently, it always happens randomly just like it did tonight. She loves him so much that she always folds like a cheap deck of cards. Dragons and their Handlers aren’t allowed to be together. If they sleep together he’s been spelled to forget about it. How harsh is that? This isn’t necessarily something everyone knows so do me a favor and keep it on the down low. I didn’t even know it was going on until we had a heart to heart a few weeks back. I figured it was all good to talk about because she just came right out and said that to you. After she told me what was going on between them, it all made sense. We were together for a while. I know you remember how awkward that was when it was over. Now, imagine being me. I knew Grey thought he loved me but I’d been clear. I wasn’t into anything serious. I, of course, can separate sex and love quite easily. It’s part of who I am. Grey can’t do that. That’s not who he is.”

  Frost and Lily were similar creatures. Someone capable of having an adoring hoard of women surrounding him at a moment’s notice was certainly a ridiculous choice for a boyfriend. Kayn shook her head and said, “It’s a shame they can’t be together. They’d probably be happy.” She found her eyes gravitating to Frost. Was he trying to make a point and she was just missing it? He was usually a little more discreet with his conquests. She noticed that Lily was observing her watching Frost.

  Lily took a sip of her drink as she pointed out, “You know you can stop that anytime you want.”

  She’d forgotten that she’d been trying to stealthily watch him. Should she? That was the question. It’d probably end up with a piercing headache for Frost and a night of frustration for her. Lily cleared her throat. Kayn turned back around to look at her and away from Frost’s shenanigans.

  Lily smiled politely as she asked, “Are you going to be upset if I take off on you? Our waiter from that restaurant is here and I have my own ability related issues to deal with.”

  Kayn shook her head and sighed, “No, go have fun. I think, I’m just going to go back to the room and watch Netflix.” She had no interest in watching Frost being a giant man whore. Kayn stood up, gave Lily a hug and whispered in her friend’s ear, “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

  Lily chuckled her breathy response in Kayn’s ear, “So, nothing then?”

  Kayn pulled out of the embrace and laughed as she smacked Lily playfully on the arm. They both glanced at the dance floor. Grey and Lexy were making out. Kayn smiled. At least they were going to have a good night. She looked around for Zach but he was already gone. It was time to go. She strolled past Frost only meeting his inquisitive stare for a split second as she maneuvered through the club. Kayn stepped outside into the warm night air and looked up at the sky. The Nevada sky was full of thousands of sparkling stars. It was gorgeous. The differences in each of the states never ceased to amaze her. Her mind travelled back to the fireflies that Frost had captured for her. She contemplated the insanity of turning around and going back inside. Just as she’d talked herself out of it, Frost called her name and she spun around. He was standing there under the light of the pink neon sign. He’d all but ignored her for days. She didn’t blame him. Who would want to be with someone that could slaughter that many demons without even breaking a sweat? She waited for him to come closer but he didn’t. He stood there and loudly said, “Are you leaving? It’s still early.”

  Why was she leaving? She didn’t have an answer that wouldn’t make her sound like a jealous shrew. She replied, “I just want to grab snacks from the vending machine, go back up to my room and watch Netflix in bed.”

  Frost took a few steps towards her and asked, “Mind if I join you?”

  She sparred, “Are you sure you really want to? It’s not going to be nearly as exciting as what you had going on with that harem of girls in the club.”

  He grinned as he started to walk beside her and teased, “You happen to be the most exciting person I know.”

  She smiled. Sure, if mass murder excites you. I’m your girl. They strolled towards the elevator and when the door opened it was insanely packed. She hesitated and he playfully nudged her into the herd. They ended up chest to chest on the side furthest from the buttons.

  A voice boomed, “What floor are you guys going to?”

  Kayn responded, “The second floor.” His chest was pressed against hers and she could feel it rise and fall with each breath he took.

  He intimately played with the delicate material on the front of her dress and whispered, “This is a good look for you.” One of his fingers slipped under the sparse material and grazed her skin, as he skillfully traced the curve of the material with his hand. “This material you’re wearing…it’s incredibly soft.”

  She felt the warmth in her cheeks and she mouthed his name without speaking it aloud. They were in a packed elevator and he was thoroughly enjoying having her as a captive participant to his naughty little games.

  He deviously grinned as he unhooked his finger from the dangerously low neckline of her dress and placed it on her waist. The sensual electricity between them was making her think all kinds of sinfully reckless thoughts. They could let everyone off the elevator, press the alarm and... The door opened on the second floor. They both moved with the herd of hotels patrons, as she fumbled around anxiously searching through her hand bag for the key card. He was standing so close. His presence was making it difficult for her to focus on even the simplest of actions. Kayn slid the card in the slot and a green light turned on. She smiled because it felt like that’s what she’d given him by allowing him to come up to her room with her to watch a movie. A green light. If she’d spoken that sentence aloud she probably would have had to use air quotes with two fingers. She opened the door and stepped into the empty hotel room with Frost right behind her. This was insane. He’d probably get a migraine, courtesy of Ankh’s Oracle the second he attempted to kiss her. She kicked off the torturous heels she’d been wearing and wanted to take her tight dress off too. She wanted to put on something more comfortable.

  Frost chuckled, “You can change into something more comfortable. I promise I won’t get the wrong idea.” He winked at her.

  She dug around in her backpack for a tank top and shorts to sleep in. Then she wandered barefoot into the bathroom and tried to take off the dress she was wearing but couldn’t reach the clasp in the back. She didn’t want to wreck it. She didn’t own many articles of clothing. “Can you help me with something?” She called to him as she walked across the room. He was already sprawled out on the bed with his shirt off and jeans on. She sat down on the bed with her back to him and asked, “Can you undo this hook for me? I can’t reach it.”

  He crawled up behind her on the bed and unhooked it. He folded one side of the material down, kissed her gently on her exposed shoulder and said, “What do you feel like watching? There’s a few good new movies we can rent.”

  She stood up and responded, “Something funny. I’m not sure scary movies would do anything to me now.” As she closed the bathroom door she heard him say, “Probably not,” from the other room. Kayn slipped out of her dre
ss by maneuvering the material over her voluminous hips. She allowed it to drop to the bathroom floor. The scent of the lavender lotion from her massage still lingered on her skin. She took the pins out of her hair and allowed her sexy untameable curls to cascade down her back. She took off her bra. It was uncomfortable and her ample bosom was screaming to be set free from its restraints. After she put on her barely there tank top and tiny running shorts. She wiped off her makeup and came back out of the bathroom. Frost stopped methodically clicking through the channels and stared at her. She climbed under the covers beside him, snuggled in and said, “Do you see anything you like?”

  “You’re such a tease,” Frost chuckled as he tossed the remote at her and got off the bed. He slowly unbuttoned his jeans. “If you get to be comfortable then so do I.” He grinned at her as he tossed his jeans on a chair.

  What had she gotten herself into? She was laughing on the inside as she flipped through the channels and tried to keep looking at the screen without watching his every movement.

  Frost tossed her play on words back at her as he slid under the covers next to her, “See anything you like?”

  Kayn cleared her throat nervously and answered, “Yes.” She ordered a movie while giggling.

  “Oh, you think you’re pretty funny, don’t you?” He teased as he started to tickle her sides. She rolled over while attempting to squirm away from him and buried her face in the pillow to muffle her laughter. Frost was poised on top of her from behind and they were both laughing. She felt the warmth of his breath on the back of her neck. As he hardened against the back of her thighs she reacted instinctually as she arched her back against him and reached back to touch him.

  He abruptly rolled off her and said, “I’m sorry. I’m honestly trying to behave myself. What you just did there. It’s so much like…”

  He knew better than to say her twins name out loud. Kayn hadn’t moved a muscle. Her nerve endings were still humming from being that close to him. One of her twin’s memories had popped into her mind but it was more than that. There was no line anymore. It was as though she’d already been with Frost. The sensation of him behind her had triggered the memory of what she was supposed to do and how his lips would feel on hers. The taste of his skin and the feeling of him within her as they moved together until… Her heart was racing as she turned around. Their eyes met and he saw it. She knew he saw what he’d been waiting for. It wasn’t a dream that belonged to her sister. It was a memory, her memory.

  Her lips parted in anticipation as Frost cautiously inched closer and pressed his lips against hers. When there were no repercussions, he groaned her name and deepened the kiss. He darted his tongue against hers. She slid both of her hands into his hair and pulled him on top of her. She shivered as one of his hands slid between her legs without slipping under the thin barrier of her panties. Their lips parted and she whispered, “Don’t stop” as he started playfully kissing her neck.

  His lips travelled a naughty path down her chest to her abdomen as he whispered, “Tell me what you want me to do.”

  Kayn gasped and squirmed on the bed beneath him. Her mind began to plead. Don’t stop. Please, don’t stop.

  He’d methodically kissed her all the way down to the silky material of her panties. The hot moisture from his breath was driving her insane as he whispered, “We should go back to my room. Lexy might come back here and I have a room all to myself.”

  She nodded. He gave her a quick peck on the lips before jumping off the bed and racing for his clothes. She was going to his room in her tank top and shorts. They were both laughing as they reached the door. Frost backed her up against the wall and kissed her again while he ran the palms of his hands over the thin material of her clothes. He used one hand to turn the door knob and groaned as he pulled away from her. Frost opened the door, turned around and whispered, “You look incredibly hot with your hair all messy and that tank top with no…”

  Kayn’s eyes widened. Jenna was standing there smiling.

  Frost spun around to see what she was looking at and groaned, “Oh, come the hell on.”

  Jenna grinned at him and chuckled, “Not tonight Romeo. Not tonight. Go back to your own room. You need to get some sleep. You guys have an early start tomorrow. If we want to be out of the city before eight am, you’ll need to be out of here by six. We’re not staying here tonight. I left the instructions on how to find the others with Lily. I imagine she’s also not happy with me, for similar reasons.”

  Frost looked back at Kayn, shook his head, winked and promised, “To be continued. I’ll see you bright and early tomorrow Brighton. Sweet dreams.”

  He’d used her mortal last name as a nickname instead of the somewhat condescending sounding ones he used on occasion like Froggy or Princess. She decided she was alright with Brighton.

  Jenna was still standing there grinning at her. Kayn smiled back and sheepishly said, “I guess I’d better say good night then and slowly closed the door. Guess she’d better add sheep to the list of animals on her repertoire. She glanced through the peephole and seriously contemplated waiting until she walked away, texting him for his room number and sneaking over there. With hilarious timing her phone buzzed on the end table. She ran over and looked at the text.

  It read, “You are killing me Brighton.”

  Gathering her guts, she responded, “Ditto. What room are you in?”

  The next text read, “Would you actually come?”

  She nervously bit her lip as she texted back, “Yes.”

  There was a long pause before he responded, “318.”

  Kayn opened the door and peered both ways down the long hallway. Nobody was there. The coast was clear. She sprinted down the hallway to the stairwell and climbed the flight of stairs to the third floor. When she shoved open the weighted doors Jenna was waiting on the other side.

  Jenna teased, “Do I really have to explain this whole Oracle thing to you?”

  Kayn was humiliated. She apologized, “No, you don’t. I’m sorry. I just…” She lost the words to explain what she was doing. I’m insanely turned on. I died a virgin and now I’m ready for this and I don’t want to be one anymore? I now feel like Chloe’s memories are mine. He’s completely irresistible and I can’t be held accountable for my own actions? All of those things couldn’t be said aloud.

  Jenna placed an arm around Kayn as she justified her reasoning, “A Dragon’s first intensely violent confrontation in the real world can cause them to become a bit of an adrenaline junky. Can you wait, just a little while longer? I promise you, it won’t be long. In the very near future, the choice will be yours to make.”

  That was reasonable. Kayn nodded her agreement through her humiliation. She’d obviously heard her, I’m horned up inner commentary. Jenna walked her back down the stairs and all the way to her room.

  She counselled, “Go ahead and call Frost. Explain why you didn’t show up. We’ll keep this whole thing between us.”

  Lexy was in bed when she snuck back in. She’d been gone all of five minutes.

  She sat on the bed and texted Frost, “Lol, I got caught.”

  He answered, “It was worth a try. Jenna has some serious Oracle game. Sweet dreams beautiful. I’ll see you in the morning.”

  She threw herself down on the bed and screamed into her pillow. Lexy quietly chuckled. She’d been pretending to sleep.

  Lexy teased, “Jenna caught you guys to, didn’t she?”

  Kayn gave her a muffled reply with her face still buried in her pillow, “Yes, she did. She also caught me trying to sneak up to his room after she vetoed our hook up.”

  Lexy started to giggle. Kayn lifted her face from the pillow and tossed it at her. She started to howl.

  “Glad you think this is so funny,” Kayn complained.

  Her fellow Dragon sparred, “Tomorrow morning when you wake up, this whole fiasco will be nothing more than a laughable memory. Jenna expects you three newbies to throw a little bit of rebellion into the mix. It’s total
ly normal for someone your age.”

  Lexy was right. She was only nineteen years old. While she had Lexy all to herself, there was a question she’d been dying to ask. She had no idea how long each of these abilities she’d siphoned would last but there had to be a way to shut down the trippy glow that surrounded everyone. Surely Healers didn’t see this all the time. Kayn blurted out, “Can you turn the whole viewing everybody’s aura part of being a Healer off?”

  Lexy rolled over to face her as she responded, “No, it just becomes normal after a while. You can turn it down a bit. It’s strongest when your body’s been freshly healed. You’ll notice it beginning to dim over the next couple of days. Well, that’s only if you haven’t had to use your healing ability for anything.”

  Her healing ability. It would be cool if she could keep this one. Well, minus the trippy aura part. Nothing good came without a price in her new life.

  “We’d better get some sleep. The alarm on my cell is set for five am. We need to be back on the road in four hours,” Lexy whispered.

  Kayn whispered back, “Night Lex.” She snuggled beneath the sheets trying to find a comfortable position. She closed her eyes and tried to think of happy things. As she drifted off her last semi-conscious thoughts were of Frost.

  In her dreams, it was a different story…The scene opened with her standing on a balcony overlooking a red sand desert, wearing a flowing red dress. The material seemed to have a life of its own as it rippled in the breeze. Millions of brilliant luminescent stars lit up the night sky, creating a sensual glow that hovered on the surface of the crimson sand. She heard a door closing but she didn’t turn around. It was followed by the faint shuffle of bare feet on the marble floor. She knew someone was standing behind her but she didn’t turn around to see who it was because she couldn’t stop staring at the red sand. She had the sense that she was waiting for something to happen. The shadow of the enormous crypt that contained the immortal Testing travelled across the enormous moon in the sky. Was it moving? It appeared to be moving. She’d almost forgotten she had company when she felt someone move her hair to one side. Was it Frost? She rested her head against the person behind her, feeling familial safety in their quiet presence. They watched the shadow of the Testing disappear as it left the light of the moon.