Thrilled (Dragon Mates Book 2)

by J. K Harper

  Gabi had to swallow the gasp as the force of just his voice rocked her. Wow. Yes, it was definitely going to be more than just a good night. It was going to be a mind-blowing experience to remember. She could already tell. From the way the other two women on the team looked at Kai, she could tell they definitely agreed with her, and most likely definitely wished they were in her place instead.

  "Same," she managed to say back.

  And then their hands touched. Despite her response to merely his voice, Gabi wasn't at all prepared for the physical contact. Sensuous, cool electricity rolled between them, shattering through her body. She suddenly felt as if she were encased in the slow, rolling waves of the ocean itself, their slide and throbbing power sending what felt like a liquid caress over her suddenly boneless body.

  So pleasurably shocked by it that she could no longer speak, Gabi simply sat there, holding Kai's hand in what looked like a simple handshake. Something deep inside her, though, was loosening.

  Shivering with desire.

  Thundering with the sweet, booming echo of pure certainty that whoever this man was, he was a lot more than a simple night's tumble.

  * * *

  As the self-assured, wildly sexy Gabriela took his hand with hers, a seismic shudder wrenched its way through Kai's body. The sensation itself was so unexpected, so unfamiliar, that pure shock kept his face expressionless, his body outwardly unmoving.

  But inside, everything shifted at once.

  The dark, welcoming oblivion, the unfeeling blankness he'd sought to maintain for so long now, jolted sideways. Something deep inside him stirred beneath the dull, faceless and nameless darkness he preferred over all else. Kai had no idea what this new sensation was.

  All he knew was that it terrified him.

  Taking a deep, silent inhale to steady himself, he made himself picture the void of the deepest part of the ocean as he swam through it in his dragon shape. Regaining the soundless, empty, pure oblivion he craved. After another long moment, the bizarre tumult within him subsided. Reflexively squeezing his fingers once around Gabi's hand, he relinquished it with a teasing slide of his fingertips across her palm. As her eyes widened and she visibly swallowed, Kai let a smile cover his face again.

  This sort of casual interaction, he could handle.

  "So. I see you all had a bottle of Vilmart here.” His tone was breezy. In control. “I'll have Jason bring you a bottle of Cristal next. He keeps them here just for me."

  Several gasps rose from the table at that. Cristal wasn't exactly the kind of fancy, outrageously expensive drink people expected when they walked into this beach bar. And certainly not offered up by a total stranger.

  If only they knew.

  Kai gave them all a courteous nod, adding, "The lady here said you're all worth it. My immediate goal," he looked back at Gabriela, enjoying the rosy flush in her cheeks, "is to make her happy. Shall we?"

  She nodded, that saucy little grin coming back to her face as she apparently regained her own composure a little bit. As she stood up, the slightly older man at the table, the one Kai had instinctively assessed as being the group's leader, and who had not taken his watchful gaze off Kai the entire time, quietly said, "Have fun, Gabi. I expect you bright and early at 7a.m. tomorrow. I'll be looking for you if you don't show."

  A direct, clearly fatherly threat.

  Without missing a beat, Kai smiled and bent back over the table to stretch his hand toward the man. "The name is Kai Long, sir. You can check with the owner here. He knows me very well. He'll even give you my home phone number and address if you feel like you might need to send out a search party in the morning. But you won't have to. She'll be wherever it is she needs to be."

  A slightly expectant hush still blanketed the table as the older man gave Kai another long, piercing look. Although his expression didn't change, Kai sensed the man was coming to silent conclusions about him and the situation. Then he curtly extended his own hand. "Everson Booth. Good to meet you, Kai Long.” Suddenly snorting, he added, “Frankly, I'm not that worried. I'd bet you another bottle of champagne that she could kick your ass. Gabi is pretty tough."

  At the lighter tone, everyone at the table erupted into somewhat relieved laughter. Kai laughed with them as he shook the guy's hand, then stepped back to Gabi's side. "Duly noted. I definitely like the sound of you already, Gabriela," he added, looking down at her.

  She was beautiful. She fit him perfectly, too. Her chin just reached the top of his shoulder, meaning she was an almost perfect height for him to kiss her when she stood right beside him. Smiling, the warmth of excitement over the night to come stealing over him, Kai held his hand to Gabi's back and gently steered them both away from the table.

  * * *

  Gabi surreptitiously studied Kai as they wove their way through the crush of bodies in the bar toward the patio door. He apparently meant for them to sit out in the cool, fresh evening air. His hair, a black so deep it was shocking, so dark she knew that in full sunlight it would almost appear to be blue-black, was shaved close to his head. The warm golden tone of his skin was so smooth, and he smelled so damn good, that Gabi once again was nearly overwhelmed by the desire to lick him.

  For cripe's sake. She was acting like some sort of horny teenager. As they reached the patio doors and he stepped forward to push them open for her, gesturing for her to go ahead of him, she caught a flash of what looked like leather encircling his neck. The leather cord held a small, bone-white piece of what looked like wood nestled right in the hollow of his throat. Her eyes wandered down to the V of his button-up shirt where his chest disappeared beneath it. She found herself wondering if his pecs would feel as good beneath her hands as they looked under his shirt. Stumbling a bit as she went through the door, she caught his amused expression.

  Okay, fine. He just caught her checking him out. Well, that was what this was about, right? A one-night stand between two consenting adults who clearly had a lot of mutual attraction zinging between them. Sliding sexy Kai a wink, she threw a little sass into her hips as she stepped in front of him.

  She almost swore she heard a little groan behind her as she went out onto the patio, pausing to look for a free table. Kai gently took her upper arm with his hand, once again sending that splash of deliciously icy awareness racing through her. "I've got a special spot for us. The owner and I go way back. We have VIP seating, for someone who's very definitely a VIP lady."

  Normally, Gabi would've rolled her eyes so hard at such a cheesy line that she practically would have broken them. Right now, though, she heard purely sincere desire in his words. The tingle racing through her sizzled between her legs, setting off delicious little shocks.

  Bizarre as it seemed, she wanted to follow the mouth-wateringly hot man wherever he decided to take her. Something about him called to her. As if she already knew him.

  Tossing him a grin over her shoulder, she replied, "Lead the way, then. Let's get this evening started."

  5

  Kai watched as Gabi seated herself at the patio table reserved for VIP parties. That basically meant for Kai and whatever woman he was wooing at the moment to spend the night in his company. He had actually been the one to loan the money to Jason so he could open the bar in the first place. Although Kai was a completely silent partner in terms of how the bar was run, it did afford him small perks, such as being able to claim the VIP table any time he was here. Set on a slightly raised dais behind a closed gate on the patio, commanding a riveting view of the lights that circled Avalon Harbor as they were illuminated against the darkness of the ocean beyond, it was the perfect place to charm any particular girl who was proving to be a little more challenging than usual to get to spend some quality time with him.

  This girl—rather, this very sensual woman—wasn't actually a challenge. She clearly was all in for whatever fun they decided to get up to this evening. But he wanted to impress the hell out of her anyway. Her legs, long and sexy beneath the flirty little dark pink and brown skirt sh
e wore, caught his eye again as she stepped up onto the dais. Kai felt his balls tightening in anticipation as she glanced back toward him. That lively, sexy smile was making him so hard he was beginning to ache.

  She placed her phone in a prominent place on the table. “Sorry,” she said, shrugging a little. “My grandmother's not well. I like to be available as much I can when I'm away from the city.”

  Despite her obvious interest in him, Kai had also instantly sensed that Gabi wasn't just a good time girl, someone to play with for a single evening, then never really think of again. He could tell she had no fear of her own sexuality, and would certainly have no problems being willing and open with him. Yet he could also sense that she was a little different than the others. The care in her voice as she mentioned her grandmother oddly tugged at him. It made her seem more intriguing than most women. More genuine.

  Kai gave himself an internal head shake. It was probably just because he really needed to find out what was going on with her knowledge of his shipwreck and his treasure. Nothing else.

  An odd rumble echoed deep inside him, low but there. Kai felt the side of his eye twitch in reflexive reaction, but he managed to keep smiling at Gabi while shoving it down. His dragon. Rumbling at him in—dissent.

  Interesting.

  "So this is the special table you take all the girls to that you really want to show off for, isn't it?" Gabi's tone was pure flirtation, just like the invitation in her pretty cinnamon-brown eyes.

  Kai had to laugh as he stepped up behind her, closed the gate again, and pulled out her chair for her. "Okay, you figured that out. Just because I wanted to treat you like the lady you clearly are." He moved around the table to his own seat as Gabi burst out laughing. Damn, he really liked her laugh. Low, rich, and totally open, it told him she was filled with a vibrant enthusiasm for life. Something in her eyes seemed a little hidden, but he chalked that up to what should be a natural semi-guardedness when meeting a strange guy.

  His dragon rumbled again. Kai felt the slightest jolt of—recognition?—as he kept gazing at Gabi, letting her laughter wash through him. Breathing evenly, he pushed his dragon down with even more force. Whatever that was about, he wanted no part of it.

  "I get called a lot of things, but lady isn't usually one of them." Gabi idly played with the menu on the table in front of her, her gaze not leaving his.

  “And what sort of things do people normally call you?" He grinned at her, enjoying the wildly comforting scent of the ocean sprinkled on the light breeze around them as well as the most maddeningly sexy scent arising from the beautiful woman seated across from him. "Let me take a few guesses. Adventurer, first of all. Definitely."

  Gabi raised one eyebrow, still smiling at him. "Go on," she encouraged as he waited. "So far, you're on a good track."

  Kai laughed again. She was really easy to be around. He liked that. It also would make his goal of getting information from her simpler. "Badass." That was a bit of a guess, but he'd definitely gotten that impression from her mere presence. The way she held herself, the way she talked. "You're a badass who takes life by the throat and doesn't let go until it gives you what you want. Sounds like you can defend yourself pretty well, so that makes you even tougher and hotter."

  "Hot, huh?" The very tip of her tongue slipped out for just a second to graze her upper lip as she said that.

  Kai felt another wave of desire splash through him at the sight. He swallowed hard to keep his expression from getting too hungry at the moment. This little verbal repartee was fun. He wanted to keep it going. "Definitely hot. A woman who can defend herself and enjoy life is a real turn on."

  The rosy flush, making Gabi's gorgeous golden-brown skin an even more beautiful shade on her cheeks, told him that she liked that. Emboldened, he took another step, urging her closer to the direction he wanted the conversation to go. "You must like the ocean to be here on the island. So tell me. You're on vacation? Snorkeling, diving?"

  He paused, carefully watching to assess her reaction. A teasing grin flared to life on her face again, framing it in such intense beauty that his mind stuttered for an instant. Muted but definite, his dragon roared inside him. Kai barely contained the shudder that wracked him with the effort to control his stirred-up dragon. This woman interested his dragon. Fascinated it, even. Kai damn well agreed, even though the level of intensity his wild draconic side felt was still somewhat disturbing. At the same time, though, it made him anticipate the night ahead with her more and more.

  Gabi dipped her head and gave him an almost shy grin. "I do like the ocean, actually. My favorite place in the world to be is in the water out there.” She waved a hand in the general direction of the low, throbbing hum of the waves gently crashing upon the shore. Her voice was so quietly fierce, he understood that her passion for the sea ran very deep. “What about you? You seem like the kind of guy who loves it out there, too."

  She tossed the question back at him so quickly, so lightly, that for the barest hair of a split-second Kai froze. She couldn't possibly—no. That was ridiculous. There was no way she really understood what she'd seen earlier that day. Even less of a way she could associate it with him. She was simply being flirty.

  Just like him.

  Jason suddenly appeared at their side, coming in from the special hallway that led only to this little area. He brought out a bottle of the same champagne Kai had ordered for Gabi's whole table inside the bar. Gabi raised her eyebrows at it, glancing from Jason to Kai to the bottle then back to Kai again. "Wow. You sure do go to some serious lengths to impress a woman when you want to, don't you?"

  Jason chuckled as he expertly popped the cork and poured them each a glass. "I can tell you this much," he said. "Kai doesn't usually go quite this big for a woman. You must have something he really wants. I suspect it's your smile, beautiful.” He grinned easily at Gabi as he neatly flicked his wrist to twist the bottle so that not a drop spilled when he ended the pour. Then he nestled the bottle into its ice bucket on the table. “Enjoy your night, you two." Flipping a grin at Kai, Jason left them alone again.

  Kai raised his glass toward hers. She lifted hers back, letting them clink together. “Well, he's got that right. I have every intention of enjoying my night with you,” she said, eyeing him over the rim of her glass as she tipped it toward the full lips that kept snagging his attention.

  The vibrant yet sultry tone of her voice nearly made Kai choke on his sip. Watching her pull a bit of the champagne into her mouth, her delicate throat muscles working as she swallowed, nearly sent him over the edge. Hmm. Whatever sexy magic this woman was wielding, it seemed to be working on him pretty damned well. Almost well enough for him to forget the real reason for his need to seduce her.

  Almost.

  * * *

  Gabi couldn't help her smile as she kept looking at him. Kai. Picking up a guy, or being picked up by one, was par for the course in her experience. This felt totally normal. Yet at the same time, a tingle of extra excitement seemed to make the very air around them shimmer. The salty tang from the ocean mingled with the sounds of low chatter and laughter from the patio, above which they sat as if in their own private box.

  She had to admit she felt like royalty right now. She appreciated that he was going the extra mile to impress her. He didn't know he didn't have to do that. The second he'd materialized by her side, she'd had that low, slow wash of craving that spread from deep inside her womb throughout every inch of her body. The one that she knew meant there was a serious spark of attraction between them, and she would be acting on it. Of course, she shouldn't have to tell him that. He wanted to toss out $300 bottles of champagne as if they were cans of cheap Budweiser beer, well, no problem. She was just going to enjoy this ride. Besides. Something about him just made her feel—comfortable. Familiar. And strangely protective.

  "So. Want to tell me what it is we're toasting to?" The gorgeous depths of Kai's eyes, which now that she was close enough to him she could see were deep chocolatey brown that
seemed to have the oddest little flecks of jade green in them, held her in a shiver of anticipation as he regarded her over the glass of champagne. "What you all were celebrating in there?"

  Gabi wiggled her eyebrows up and down and flashed him a mischievous grin. She was feeling more relaxed around him by the second. "I'd tell you, but then I'd have to—I don't know. Do something nefarious to you."

  A startled laugh pealed out of him. She really liked how it relaxed his face. "Nefarious, hmm?” he said, the green in his eyes seeming to brighten. “I didn't peg you for the nefarious type. So. You're a searing enigma, wrapped in a riddle, bound up in an incredibly sexy package. Is that what you're trying to tell me?"

  Kai took another sip, regarding her over his glass with those astonishing eyes as his smile still crinkled his skin. Something dark and delicious in his gaze had Gabi shifting in her seat again. She sipped her own champagne, which was incredibly, ridiculously good, and felt her head whirl. "I'm trying to tell you that I think I like where this evening is headed." Gabi kept her voice light as she spoke. But she also kept her gaze directly on his.

  He inhaled sharply, moving his glass away from his gorgeous face and putting it back down on the table. The sheer hunger abruptly visible in his expression rippled over Gabi like the tides, creating an answering sensation in her own body. Going on blind instinct, instinct that told her not only would she have an incredible time with this man tonight, but that she simply felt utterly comfortable with him, which was odder than hell but true, she blurted out the thought at the top of her head. "I had no idea when I came in here that I'd meet a guy who I'd want to be part of my private celebration tonight. I think,” she said in a low voice as the tingles throughout her body jittered and jived, “that's exactly what I'm saying."