I pushed away from him. “It’s not selfish to want to get used to the idea of repopulating an entire race!”
Holding up his hands to placate me, Reed spoke softly,“You’re right. I’m sorry. It’s just when you are this close to me I forget you are still mostly human.”
“Stop making that sound like a damn insult.”
His lips quirked. “You’re beginning to sound like a Queen. That’s a start.”
“Let’s talk about it later. I want to know what your mother found so important she had to send a goon to snatch me.”
Reed hooked his arm through mine. I would have been charmed, except I knew he was probably working his own agenda. He led me back to her receiving area where the males still lounged around half-naked. I expected one to be fanning the Queen with a palm leaf, but instead she was face down naked and being given a massage.
“Join us.”
I tried to bolt, but Reed held firm.
“Uh…”
“Reed is a licensed masseuse.”
I stared at him, my eyes wide. “Help me,” I mouthed.
His face was inscrutable and he shrugged.
“I just got dressed,” I hedged. There was an empty massage table with a white blanket turned back. It was inviting. And I was tempted. A massage would be wonderful right now. I rubbed the kinks out of my neck. It wasn’t as if anyone was looking at me. They all had eyes for Esmeralda.
“Do you require assistance to disrobe? Manuel and Jose can attend you while Reed warms up his hands and selects his oils.”
“I’m good,” I said quickly. “I’m not sure Reed wants—”
“My wants are immaterial,” Reed cut in with a warning shake of his head.
“Listen to the boy, Carolyn. To be a Queen is to be pampered. Your word is law.”
I fiddled with the pretty dress I just put on. Reed’s hands all over my body wouldn’t suck either. But I didn’t want to impose on him. I wanted strange dragons massaging me even less though.
“My word is law,” Esmeralda said with enough bite in her voice that I jumped.
“I think the coconut oil would suffice.” Reed put enough emphasis in his voice, and I bowed to the inevitable. It was just a massage.
I waited until Reed turned toward a table with small tea-light candles adorning a tablecloth with decanters of various shapes and sizes. When no one was looking at me, I shucked out of the dress, leaving on the pretty underwear. Ducking under the thick blanket, I couldn’t resist a sigh at the thread count on the sheets. I put my face in the head cradle at the top of the table and tried to relax.
Guitars strummed softly as Reed came closer—at least I hoped it was Reed. When he put his palm in the middle of my back, I knew it was him. Even with my eyes closed, I sensed his presence, so comforting. The leather-bound hardcover book scent of him was dusted with cinnamon and smelled like home. Each vertebra eased as the music moved around the room and the heat of his palm soaked into me. Traveling guitar players, a hot man touching me. I could get used to this.
Then a frisson of power tickled over me and I was naked. I couldn’t stop a squeak of outrage, but I squelched it as a pool of oil dripped down my shoulder blades. Clenching my teeth against a groan of pure decadence, I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of knowing how both his hands sliding over my exposed back effected me. Still, he probably saw my toes curling.
Reed’s fingers found every knot and tightness on my torso and with the skilled touch of a professional smoothed them out until I was in a half doze. It had been a long day. When his hand glided toward my rear end, I tensed up. But he moved away and went back to my shoulders. I bit my lip this time to keep the moan of sheer delight from disturbing the tranquility. The rhythm of his hands on my body rocked me like a newborn babe. I was safe. I was worshipped. As I was falling asleep, I felt the heated blanket cover me and I must have imagined his lips brushing my ear.
“Reed, take Carolyn out on the terrace while I finish up in here.”
I woke up with an unladylike snort and wiped the drool away from my mouth. It was only at the last minute that I realized I was nude except for my sandals. I wrapped the blanket around me as Reed supported me down. Glancing over at Esmeralda was a mistake. She was sitting up, naked while one of the beefcakes was kneeling between her legs. Cradling his head, she brought him in to the juncture of her thighs. I almost broke an ankle rushing out to the terrace.
“Ramone, please see my guest is well fed until I am able to join her,” she called out in a sultry voice.
One of the half-naked men peeled himself off the wall. “As you wish, my Queen.”
Reed’s magic tickled over me and the heavy blanket I was wearing shifted back into the dress I was wearing. I was still naked underneath though. I shot him a glare, but his face was neutral innocence.
“I see what you did there,” I told him. I didn’t want him to think he got away with anything.
Ramone stalked over to us after shutting the terrace doors. “What would you like to drink?” His tone suggested I might want to try the battery acid, it was a good year.
“His brother was the one who tried to kidnap you,” Reed said, holding the rattan chair out for me, then taking up position behind it.
“Something sweet and alcoholic.” I needed a drink to wipe the mental image of Esmeralda about to have oral sex out of my head. She was in the next room. I closed my eyes and tried to picture something pleasant. Flushing, all I could come up with was an image of me flipping around on the massage table so Reed could do the front. “Or anything cold.” I blew out a breath. “With lots of ice.”
“You first,” Reed said, after Ramone had poured bloodred sangria into a large goblet for me. We both watched him take a sip and then sample a bit of meat and cheeses from a tray he had brought in.
“You insult the Queen, saying she would harm her guests.”
“No, I do not trust you not to break hospitality and harm Carolyn for what she did to your brother,” Reed said, assembling my plate.
Ramone stiffened at the insult. “I would not risk death for harming a Queen. Not that I believe this nonsense. She doesn’t smell like a Queen.”
I sniffed under my pits. My deodorant was still working, even in this heat. I shrugged. Ramone smelled like olives and strong cheese, but that could have been the tapas in front of me.
It was an awkward half hour, but I’d lived through worse. Looking out over the balcony, I saw cruise ships as little white dots bobbing on the glittering blue sea. The heat baked into me and my eyes drifted closed. There was a change in the air as both males drew up when the Queen entered.
“You may both leave,” she said, wrapping a silk kimono around her.
I was having a hard time meeting her gaze. I gave Reed a wild Help-Me glance, but he only shrugged as Ramone and he left us alone. There was an awkward pause while I drained my sangria and tried to come up with a conversation opener.
“So you are Niall’s protégée?” She gave me an amused smile. “You’re aiming much too high. The All Knowing won’t be your lover.”
“Ew. Niall’s my boss. And old. He wears Tommy Bahama shirts in the summertime and thinks it’s cool.”
Esmeralda looked at me like I was from another planet. “Perhaps his son appeals to you more?” She gestured with her hand to where the men had left.
Boy, howdy.
“I’m more worried about why I can’t change forms.” I changed the subject.
The Queen’s eyes glowed a cerulean blue as she stared at me. “You are being blocked. It’s as I suspected.”
“Blocked by what?” I said.
“Your aura is a Queen’s true blue, but it’s bound by a foul magic I can’t recognize.” She took a sip of her own sangria while her eyes went back to a normal brown. “It’s good we found you. We can try to break that bondage.”
“Break it?” I said. “How?”
“I am not sure, but I’ll try to keep it as painless as possible.”
The
ice in her smile didn’t ease my thoughts.
“Why didn’t Niall tell me this?”
Esmeralda waved her hand dismissively. “He is a male. They cannot see auras. But it’s almost a comfort to have proof that something has blocked the dams from emerging. I wish I knew what it was.” She dissected me with her gaze.
“Could it have been a ritual?” I asked, hoping she’d come to the conclusion on her own. It didn’t sit well with me that we were keeping the fate of her daughter secret from her.
“Why do you ask? What has Niall found?” she demanded.
Wow, that was quick. Something to remember—Queens weren’t dumb.
“It was something he said to me,” I hedged.
“Do not lie by omission, or I will toss you over this balcony to your death.” She bared her teeth at me.
And they didn’t suffer fools.
Despite Reed’s warnings, I told her everything that happened to me in the past two days. Her roar startled the birds out of the trees and her human form lost shape. “You are telling the truth. My daughter! My only daughter!”
She exploded into coils of hissing muscle, flapping her wings to stay on the terrace. The pictures didn’t do her justice. She was the color of lavender fields, and her large, bat-like wings slammed against the temple in agitation. She levitated up, kicking up dust and rocks into my eyes. Her tail flipped and snaked in agitation. Esmeralda didn’t have any arms in this manifestation.
How did you get used to that?
“They will pay for this,” she said.
“We don’t know who they are.” Shrinking down in my seat, I tried to make myself as little as possible.
“Arianna was stolen from my nest. She was stolen like the dragons’ hoards are being lifted, right under their very noses. But we have an edge to catch them. The cultists, or their descendants who did the ritual, are still in Mexico.”
“How do you know?”
“I have my ways,” she said cryptically. “You will start your search on the streets of Cozumel.”
“What?”
“They will find you,” Esmeralda continued as if I hadn’t spoken. Shifting back into human form, she began to pace around the balcony. “Another female, not so heavily guarded. They will not pass up another opportunity. And when they do, we will have them.”
“What are you talking about?”
Esmeralda stopped to look at me. “You are going to draw the cult out of their hiding place. They won’t be able to resist a young Queen alone and unguarded. We just need one to rip the secrets of the spell from his mind.”
“So I’m bait,” I said, not liking where this was headed. “How are they going to know I’m a Queen? I don’t smell like one.”
“You’re going to tell everyone.”
I rolled my eyes. “Been there, done that. Almost got the straitjacket.” Ridicule that felt like a physical pain? Yeah sign me up.
“I demand justice,” Esmeralda snarled.
Leaping out of my chair, I backed toward the terrace doors. “The people who killed her are long dead,” I said as kindly as I could.
“The cult is still there. We will destroy them, and this vile curse will die with them. Then our sister Queens will shift as they were meant to.” She sat down at the table and put several tapas on her plate.
I waited, but it seemed that she had said all that she was going to. “How can you be so sure?”
“The curse is already weakening. You are shifting. I’ve heard of others…” She trailed off.
“Where?”
“We’ll discuss it once your mission is a success. I want you to show yourself on the streets of Cozumel. Bring them to us so we may destroy them and I will grant you whatever boon you wish.”
“Promises, promises,” I muttered, thinking I was already owed a house. I was running up quite a tab. Still, I wasn’t being locked away in a lab. That had to count for something.
“What is it you desire? Gold, jewels?”
Books. Somehow I doubted that would impress her.
“Ask and it is yours. Just agree to be bait for these child stealers and I will grant your command.”
“I don’t want to be a Brood Mother,” I blurted out. My voice cracked. I didn’t want to have a harem of men. I didn’t want my life’s purpose to be an incubator.
“I cannot help you there,” she said. “You are a dragon and female. You will feel the need to mate. I cannot stop your biological urges. However, the more females that emerge, the more choices the Queens will have.” She poured refills of the cold ice tea.
I gulped it down in three swallows, wishing there was some tequila in it.
“You are young and so naive of our culture. A strong enough stud could keep you against your will, at least until the others banded together to free you. You need a fortress like mine.” She snapped her fingers, and I caught the glint of diamonds on her nails. “I know. I will give you a state in America to call your own. Which shall it be?”
Hawaii sounded nice. I shook my head to clear it. “I can’t sit around and let strange dragons impregnate me.”
“You are a Queen. You do not let anyone do anything to you that you do not wish to happen.”
“How do I do that? You just said a strong stud could take me away.”
“You build an army of men who would die to protect you.”
“I just want one.”
Unbidden, Reed came to mind.
“Niall and Reed are good dragons to have on your side. In fact, I give Reed to you in good faith.”
I wondered if she could read my mind, or if I was that obvious. “What does that mean?”
“It means he will be your lover and your guard. Your protector and advisor. He will no longer answer to me, but to you. It’s a very rare and fine deal, little Queen. You will build your fief in whichever state you chose with him by your side. In return you will make yourself available to my enemies. Come, we’ll take you to your hotel, and we’ll put our plan into effect.”
“Our plan?”
Her tail flicked out and wrapped around me like a boa constrictor. I had time enough to scream long and loud, before we went bulleting over the jungle toward the resort area of beaches. I was vaguely aware of Reed vaulting over the balcony and following us like a giant black shadow. We landed on the top of a high-rise hotel where her tail uncoiled, depositing me in a heap on the roof. I was giggling—a bit hysterically at that point.
“Reed, I absolve you of your bond to me,” Esmeralda said.
“My Queen,” he said, whirling to face her as he dropped to one knee. “What have I done?”
“I give you to the little Queen for her amusement.” She gripped his face in a hard vise with her tail. “If you are wise, you will use this opportunity for advancement. I have explained to her what she is required to do. Keep her alive. We will be watching.”
“What the hell was that all about?” Reed asked when Esmeralda flew away.
I hiccupped and fainted.
Chapter Eight
Eighth Rule of Dragons: If the Queen isn’t happy, no one’s happy
I was holding onto a sun-warmed, ocean-polished stone. I was naked again, but I didn’t remember flying. My toes curled into soft grass. And then the rock moved and I was aware that Reed was also naked in bed with me. And the grass was the silky hair on his legs.
“So, what did I miss?” I asked, managing to keep calm in the face of major hotness.
He cupped my face and gave me a blistering kiss. Like him, it was hot and angry. I was enjoying it far more than he was and after running my hands over his back and shoulders I struggled for some control. He was all curved muscle and rough sinew. He relaxed under my touch.
“Normally, I need a glass of wine first,” I said catching my breath as his lips left mine and went to my neck. My eyes rolled back and my toes curled. With a gargantuan effort, I grabbed the hair on the back of his head and pulled him so we were eye to eye. He had on his pleasant expression and I could just scream a
t the mask.
“Is there a problem, my Queen?”
“Yes, where’s Reed and what have you done to him?”
His jaw tightened. “My will is to serve you.”
“Did I ask you for some horizontal mambo?”
“You indicated it.”
“When?” I asked. “When I was passed out?”
“You murmured something about taking you to bed or losing you forever.”
“Oh,” I muttered guiltily. “I watched Top Gun way too many times. How about we hit restart? Can you get dressed, please? It’s very distracting, but really nice to be plastered against you. But I get the feeling that you’re just not that into me.”
“My apologies, my Queen, I will try to do better.” This time he cupped my breast as his lips met mine.
Okay, he wasn’t playing fair. I let my hand slide down his hip and over his tight, muscled butt. I might’ve made a purring sound because his lips grew more insistent and our tongues slid over each other. His caressing hand on my chest was making my legs part and in the back of my mind that little voice of reason told me that I needed to get out of the bed before we reached the point of no return.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I told it. In a minute. I ran my thigh over his and he leaned into me, hard and heavy. Oh boy. He dipped his head down from my lips and put his hot mouth over my nipple. I bucked against him.
He’s faking it. He’s obeying orders. His mother told him to do this!
The little voice was becoming desperate as Reed sucked on me, tugging the tip and making me want to rub against him more.
He’s doing a good job of faking it, I told the voice. Now hush, I’m trying to concentrate here.
Reed’s hands were on my ass, drawing me closer. I felt the tip of him and the voice pressed the panic-alarm button.
He’ll hate you for this.
It was like cold water came gushing over me. I tensed and flinched back.
Reed’s eyes were wary and a little dazed. “What is it?”
“I can’t,” I said wildly and pushed away from him so hard, that I fell off the bed. At least the sheets came with me and I made it to the bathroom fully covered. I shut the door and locked it.
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