Dragon Lust
Page 42
Jace stepped forward and greeted the woman, who he introduced as Adara, much in the manner of Gareth. To say she yanked her hand out of his would have been a slight overstatement, however she was rather abrupt. Perhaps touching Jace was distasteful to her?
The Werewolf looked to be about Owen’s height but was wider through the shoulders. His name was Bodark and he wore black leather and was from Russian decent, judging by his accent. He made up for Adara’s lack of courtesy by giving Jace a hearty handshake as well as a clap on the shoulder that would have knocked a smaller man to the floor. Jace merely braced for it, smiling as he turned to introduce me. Bodark bowed low over my hand, but unlike Jace, or Gareth with Adara, he turned my wrist over at the last second and pressed his lips to my palm. Behind me both Amras and Cursed took a step forward while Kit hissed and Owen raised his lips, baring his three inch fangs.
“What a vision of loveliness,” he remarked, ignoring the four of them. “And you taste… enticing.” Jace cleared his throat and Gareth was suddenly standing behind Bodark, the weight of his presence urging the man to drop my hand.
Beside him the Sorceress Adara stood with a haughty look in her dark brown eyes. Her body language was stiff, her expression annoyed, as if Bodark’s comments were a direct insult upon her person. Gareth bundled the two of them away and Jace leaned in his breath teasing my ear as he whispered, “she believes her powers come from her virginity. I don’t think I need to tell you where he believes his lay.”
I flicked my eyes to his and quickly schooled my features back to haughty indifference. Elfin culture was very strict and I had yet to meet anyone to whom I needed to bow, or acknowledge in anyway my superior. So it was up to me to stand there looking ethereal and unaffected. A task more difficult than it might sound, at least for me.
The next two that exited the elevator couldn’t have been more different than if they had planned it that way. Gareth walked them both over, managing to neatly insert himself between the woman, whom he introduced as Angel the head of the local Werehyena pack, and the man Alan who represented the local Werejaguars.
Angel shuffled in looking like she was expecting to be pounced upon at any second. Strange, given that she was larger than Amras with a set of shoulders nearly as wide as Gareth’s. She was wearing chocolate brown leathers that looked uncomfortable and ill fitting. Her eyes flicked to mine briefly and she mumbled something before she shuffled off to find a seat, dragging the two smaller males she’d brought with her along in her wake.
I watched Angel for a second then swung back to Alan, who looked suave and sophisticated in a dark and sexy way. He looked Spanish or maybe South American and was dressed tastefully all in black; I could tell that his clothing was finely tailored. His hair was black and swept his shoulders. He had a small cleft in his smoothly shaven chin and a finely chiseled face dominated by eyes that were dark brown and looked deliciously dangerous. He gave Owen a dismissive look as he flowed like his namesake to me across the floor. I braced myself when he reached for my hand, glad for my long sleeves as I felt the hair on my arm stand at attention. Instead of kissing me, he simply inhaled my scent and lifted his dark lashed eyes to mine. Wow! Talk about sex appeal I thought, then immediately regretted it when Kit painfully squeezed his tail about my neck.
Jace’s smile was a trifled forced as he urged Alan along to the table and I struggled not to watch them go. Gareth’s eyes narrowed and he dipped his head toward me, his perfect mouth hesitating just above mine while he breathed, letting me pull the flavor of him into my lungs. “Behave yourself,” he whispered and I nodded and licked my lips when he moved back. Beside me Owen pressed against my leg. I glanced down at him and gave him a shaky smile while I mentally growled at Kit, letting him know he should stop trying to strangle me.
The elevator dinged again and Gareth and Jace both tensed, causing me to jerk and Kit to dig his claws into my shoulder, while Owen pressed himself a little tighter against my leg. This time Gareth merely turned toward the door, opting to stand with our group instead of greeting the newest visitors at the doorway.
A breath of cold air flowed over us and a pale well built blond haired man of medium height entered the room. He was attractive, dressed in black leather and I had to suppress a smile as he paused and looked us over. Behind him, an exquisitely beautiful woman dressed in dark red leather slid into the room. Her hair was very short and flaming red and she yanked on a leather leash wrapped tightly round her hand. The sharp yank causing a red haired man, also dressed in leather, to trip and grunt as he slammed into the doorway behind her.
He entered the room bent over rubbing his shoulder, with the leash fastened about his neck. When he stood I could see he was a tall young man who didn’t look much older than me. He was broad of shoulder but seriously underweight; his skin looking unwell with a wraith-like pastiness.
I stared at the man, something about him seeming familiar. Then I felt my stomach clench, horror dawning as he lifted his dark pain filled face to me from across the room. Our eyes met and I watched his widen in surprise, while his nostrils flared as he stared back at me. He took a step in my direction and was immediately yanked to the floor by the red haired woman who shoved her foot into his chest and turned her evil gaze on me.
Around me I felt my men struggle not to react as each recognized the Red Dragon from the painting.
Ignoring the woman, I stared back at the man on the floor, feeling his mind brush mine and his words sear as he silently cried out to me.
“Well it looks like your little pet is causing quite the stir,” the blond whom I assumed was Valentine Loveless joked.
I blinked; realizing both Jace and Gareth had a hold of me, one on each arm. Around my neck Kit was hissing and flicking his tail in agitation. Owen was on all fours and was pressing his body against the front of me as if to prevent me from moving forward. Behind me I could feel both Amras and Cursed’s presence.
Gareth took a breath and introduced us all. When he was finished I looked down at the man whom Valentine had introduced as Marcus and simply said, “Please do not do that again.” I had to force myself to sound cold and callous. Then nearly bit my tongue in half when the hope in his eyes died and he seemed to collapse into himself on the floor with a cry. Belinda’s cruel laughter was like a knife through my heart but I somehow managed to ignore them both.
Turning abruptly I slid my hand through Gareth’s as if the man was nothing to me. Jace’s fingers released me immediately, making it seem as if his intent had been to caress me all along. Owen stepped back and my eyes flicked to Amras and Cursed, letting them see my rage and determination once my face was turned away from the three across the room. Neither hesitated, they simply fell into step behind me as Gareth swept us toward the head of the table.
Around my neck Kit pressed himself to me and whispered in my ear. “You aren’t fooling me,” he hissed. “But you need to consider this… he’s damaged goods. So please tell me you don’t want him!”
“I have no choice,” I breathed, then slammed my upper shields into place and smiled darkly as Belinda let out a cry of pain.
At the moment it was all I could do. Gareth and Jace had a meeting to conduct, and somehow we’d all have to get through it. But I’d be dammed if she’d be leaving this building with my Red, damaged or not.
Author’s Note
Thanks so much for reading! I hate deadlines so if you want to know when the next book will be released you can follow me on Facebook (kellyarmenta) or Twitter (@KellyArmenta). Or you can check out my website at www.kellyarmenta.com for some of my favorite art.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Editing was handled by me. So if you see something you believe needs changing, feel free to contact me. If you like the artwork I can recommend Momir Borocki (Proi) who you can find at www.99designs.com and you can get some awesome artwork for yourself.
A special thanks to my family for their encouragement and my fans for their continued patience and support.
&nbs
p; Other works by Kelly Armenta
Dragonfire Series
Dragon Rage
Dragon Envy
Coming Soon
Dragon Greed
Western Romance
Willful Deception
Golden Dream
The Right Man