“I’ve got it,” Nicolai announced grandly. “You want to be wooed. Then I shall woo you. I have no idea how to do this because I’ve never had to, but how hard can it be?”
I was stunned to silence. Was he insane?
“I’ll get my mother to help me. She’s a woman. I will woo the living hell out of you and then you’ll have no choice to straddle me and ride me until we’re both blind,” he said, very satisfied with his appalling plan.
“Um…”
“Great. I will meet you for dinner and we will have a date in the mess hall. Wear something baggy and unattractive so the men won’t stare. Until we exchange Dragon Fire and mate, no one is safe. Did you by any chance bring a ski mask where only your eyes show?”
“Are you serious?” I asked in a strangled tone—shocked my voice worked at all.
“Very. No worries. I have one and you will wear it.”
With that he walked to my door and yanked it open. In his sheer excitement over his horrifying plan, he ripped it clean off its hinges and barely noticed. I sunk down in the chair and let my head fall to my hands. The thought of being wooed by the crazy idiot was the most terrifyingly wonderful thing I’d ever experienced, but the timing was beyond bad.
No matter how much I was tempted to let the powerful Dragon clumsily woo me, I couldn’t let this happen. Something this monumental took time—years of time and I only had a few months. I also had a son from another Dragon and that would be a sticking point that had no happy ending.
My inner Dragon hissed and snarled reminding me that if I mated with Nicolai I would have eternity, not simply a few more months. I was willing to mate with Seth because he accepted Daniel. He wasn’t attracted to me in the normal sense and if I was honest with myself, I was never really physically attracted to him either. It was his spirit and his kindness that appealed to me.
I was attracted to Nicolai and maybe there was a chance that if Seth accepted Daniel that Nicolai would as well… Wait. Who was I kidding? Seth never had a thought in his mind to mate with me and that’s why Daniel posed no issue.
There would be no mating. As soon as my father was dead, I was leaving. All the men in Nicolai’s life would be safe if I left. It was a shitty plan for more reasons than I would ever admit to myself, but it was the only one I could come up with at the moment.
Ignore what you can’t have or change, and deal with what you can.
I needed to get Junior up here. I needed his help and I needed someone to talk to. God forbid getting any kind of rational advice about men and women from Junior, but it would be better than nothing.
Focus on the goal.
God, please help me focus on the goal.
Chapter 12
The mess hall was completely empty. What the hell time was it? I was sure the paperwork in the folder I’d received when I’d arrived said dinner was from six until eight. It was 6:15 and no one was here. Why was it deserted?
And then it all became alarmingly clear…
In the middle of the room was a table set for two. There were candles and roses and wine. Silver domes covered the fine china plates and the food smelled heavenly. It was beautiful and I was sure Nicolai had no hand in the décor. However, I was certain he had a hand in the absence of the other Dragons.
I pressed the bridge of my nose and tried not to laugh as the deadliest Dragon in the world popped up from behind the table and flexed his considerable muscles while grinning like a dumbass. He was wearing his usual jeans that hugged his backside to perfection, but tonight he’d paired them with a green tailored shirt—and it was sinful.
Damn it.
“How am I doing?” he yelled across the mess hall. “It’s a romantic dinner for two. My mother said this was the way to go. Personally I think it’s somewhat ridiculous, but if this is the way into your pants…I mean heart, we will do it everyday.”
“You meant pants,” I corrected him. He was right out of his mind.
“You are correct. However, I’m sure that’s not romantic so let’s pretend I didn’t say it. Or at least don’t tell my mother.”
“Don’t the other Dragons need someplace to eat?” I asked with an eye roll and a laugh as I glanced around the empty mess hall.
“No worries, I ordered pizza and they’re all in the Recreation Area. I though it would be nice for the weyr to see us together, but my killing any male who looks at you could put a damper on things.”
“I can see how that wouldn’t appeal,” I said as I crossed the large dining room and approached the beautifully set table. “You did this for me?”
“I did,” he announced proudly. “Actually my mother, Maria, and Lenny did it while I ransacked my living quarters for a gift for you. However, I will take credit for everything.”
“Of course you will,” I muttered.
“Look at me, Dima. This may be funny to you, but trust me—I’m not playing any games here.”
Silly charming Dragon Guy disappeared and in his place stood the man I couldn’t get out of my head. He went from goofy dude to lady-killer on a freakin’ dime. It made me dizzy and it made me want to run.
“Nicolai, we really need to deal with my father and then we can discuss this…um, thing that might be happening here,” I said backing away as he came around the table stalking me like prey.
Ignoring my halfhearted protests, he gently took my arm and led me to the table. His hand on my bare skin sent pulses of heat just south of my bellybutton. He pulled out the chair and seated me. Brushing my long, wild red curls aside he pressed his lips to my neck and my body jerked violently in response.
“Just imagine what would happen if my lips got to know the rest of your body,” he whispered in my ear.
I gripped the table in sexually frustrated terror. His breath was warm and minty and his scent drove me to distraction. Holy hell, with no one in here but us, there was a very fine chance I was going to tackle him and ride him like a human cowboy.
“This is a bad idea.”
“It’s an outstanding idea,” Nicolai countered as he poured me a glass of wine and a bourbon for himself. “You have to eat and you’ve been holed up in your suite all week. I’m excellent company. It’s a win-win.”
“For who?”
“For my true mate and myself,” he stated as a smile pulled at his lips.
I was riveted to his mouth as he raised his glass and took a sip of his drink. He was gorgeous, powerful and he was good. Not kind like Seth, but as arrogant as Nicolai was, he made me feel safe.
Shit.
“You’ve gone from being okay with the mate thing to actually wanting it?” I squinted my eyes at him and tried to figure out his game.
To give my nervous hands something to do, I removed the domes from the plates and put them aside. The food was even prettier than the table—rare filet mignon with risotto and green beans with slivered almonds. I was ready to inhale the food. It was far more appealing than the microwave dinners I’d been eating all week.
“Yep,” he said as he sipped his bourbon and watched me over the rim of his glass. “I actually had a suspicion you were mine when I was choking you in the parking lot in Chicago.”
“That’s certainly a lovely memory,” I said with a grunt of disgust.
“It will be an interesting story to tell our children some day,” he agreed and placed his glass on the table.
I ignored his statement completely and played with my food. My appetite was gone and my skin felt clammy.
“You don’t like children?” he asked, noticing my uncomfortable silence.
“I love children,” I said a little louder than I’d intended. “I wouldn’t have guessed you would like them.”
“You guessed wrong, Princess.”
“Anyway, we need to just put this on hold and…”
“I’m a very good multi-tasker,” Nicolai said smoothly cutting me off. “I’ve waited my whole life for my true mate but never really believing I would find her. You’re here and you’re mine.”
“Why have you been so hateful?” I demanded and then shook my head and put my hand up to halt his answer. “Don’t answer that. I don’t want to know. I’m sorry that fate has given you me, but I can’t do this.”
“Can’t or wont?”
“Both.”
We silently stared at each other for a long moment and then he smiled.
“I’m winning,” he said as he rested his elbows on the table and steepled his fingers.
“No you’re not.”
“Am.”
“Not,” I shot back with a giggle. “God, you’re like a four year old.”
“With an enormous dick,” he amended my description with a humble shrug and a wicked sexy grin. “You really should see him. He’s dying to meet you.”
“You refer to your dick as a separate person?” I grimaced and laughed.
“I do since he has his own zip code.”
Nicolai’s eyes gleamed with humor, but I’d seen the bulge and he was fairly accurate.
“As to why I was so hateful…I didn’t expect my true mate to be the daughter of the man who killed my sister. I didn’t want it to be you.”
I smiled humorlessly at the irony and took a healthy sip of wine. It was very difficult for a Dragon to tie one on, but I was going to give it a shot.
“I’m not a prize. You should find someone better suited,” I said, dropping my gaze to my lap. My father had killed my siblings as well. I lived with my hatred daily. I didn’t even blame him for the way he felt about me.
“Fate doesn’t work that way, Dima. I want you. I wanted you when I thought I hated you. I couldn’t understand it and it infuriated me,” he said as he refilled my now empty wine glass. “My need has increased to something almost uncontrollable. My instinct is to pick you up, throw you over my shoulder, take you to my room and make you mine…right now.”
“You wouldn’t dare,” I huffed as I downed my wine and poured myself another. What the hell was wrong with me that his caveman scenario turned me on? I was a modern woman, not a damsel in need of a man.
“Actually I would, but Seth and mother were quite clear that I’d be in the dog house with you for several hundred years if I tried that method.”
“Thank God for that,” I muttered and chugged the wine like it was water.
Damn it, I wasn’t even tipsy. I grabbed the bottle of bourbon and took a swig.
“You can deny it all you want, but I can feel you Dima. You want me as much as I want you. Stop playing games. It’s beneath you,” Nicolai said as he took the bottle of liquor from my hands and put it out of reach. “It’s the really good stuff,” he said referring to the bourbon. “It gives me pain to watch you chug it. So get over whatever it is you have to get over and let’s go fuck.”
“Wow, that’s the most romantic proposition I’ve ever received,” I snapped sarcastically. “Is that how you usually get the gals?”
“I usually don’t have to get the gal,” he replied with a shrug and a lopsided grin. “You’ve made me work much harder than I normally would.”
“Too bad, so sad. But we are not happening.”
“Dima, Dima, Dima,” he said with pure delight in his voice. “You have challenged me and we are definitely happening. Clearly not tonight, because I have never forced a woman to come to my bed and I never will.”
“How noble of you.”
“It is, isn’t it? And just so we’re clear here, I will never force you even though my Dragon is all but insisting on it.”
“Again, how noble of you,” I said rudely while my inner Dragon danced inside me with joy at his crude plan.
“You see, my true mate…I won’t have to force you because you will come to me.”
Nicolai sat back in his chair, crossed his arms over his chest and grinned with smug satisfaction.
“You’re going to be waiting a very long time,” I hissed and stood, knocking my empty wine glass to the floor with a crash. Normally I would clean up the mess, but I had to go. Now.
I didn’t trust myself to stay without making his appalling desire come to fruition. Every instinct I had roared through me and insisted I make him mine. It was terrifying and couldn’t happen.
“God you’re hot when you’re pissed,” he yelled after me as I stomped out of the mess hall. “I’ll leave my door unlocked.”
He was an epic asshole and hell would have to freeze over before I would beg him.
Chapter 13
“Now lemme get somethin’ straight here,” Junior said as he walked around the outdoor training ring with me. “I need to keep how much distance between us when we talk?”
“Six to ten feet,” I told him with an embarrassed shake of my head.
“Goddangit, I’m gonna use that one on the pack at home,” he said with a whistle of appreciation. “It craws at my butt when I see guys talking to Sandy.”
“Oh my God.” I gasped and stopped dead in my tracks. “Do you think he’s bullshitting me?”
Junior mulled it over for a moment and shook his head. “Nah, you Dragons have got some weird shit going on. I’d have to guess that your Nicolai is real serious.”
“He’s not my Nicolai,” I insisted. “He’s an arrogant ass.”
“Whatever you say, Dima.” Junior smiled and kept walking.
He wasn’t on my side either.
Initially the Dragons were wary of Junior until he let loose with his theory on how to return my father’s land to all of the Dragons it had been stolen from over the centuries. Some of the Dragons my father had robbed were right here and part of the Resistance. Junior had already obtained a good portion of the deeds and was in the process of reclaiming all of them.
The re-division of land was solely Junior’s idea. I wished I’d thought of it myself. It was brilliant and the right thing to do.
Those in doubt of his MENSA status shut the hell up when they discovered he was the genius behind the solution that prohibited the Dragon shift. It made a few very uncomfortable, but in the end everyone understood why another species would want to have a trick up their sleeve to defend themselves against us.
We weren’t the most popular houseguests.
“I’m getting close to ruining the bastard, but probably need about a week to have it finished up. Working from here is a good idea. Lot of sensitive info coming through now and I want you to see it,” Junior told me as he stopped and took a seat on a bench. “Nothing is obvious to them yet and I’m keeping it that way. Even if they went looking, it’s all status quo at the moment.”
“How’d you do that?” I asked, impressed.
Glancing around and not spotting Nicolai anywhere, I considered taking a seat next to Junior, but he was my friend and I wouldn’t risk his life. I settled myself on the grass about fifteen feet away.
“I’m just that good,” Junior explained with a humble shrug. “And to be honest, this is fun. Your dad’s a damned bloodthirsty little peckerhead with no balls. Watching him fall will be a pleasure.”
I’d never heard that description attributed to my father before—I’d never heard it used to describe anyone, for that matter. It was all kinds of awesome and would make my father go ballistic. I tucked it away and prayed I’d get a chance to use that gem.
“So our plan is once we bankrupt his organization and they’re in chaos, we go in and take him out,” I told Junior. “We would never have had this chance without you. You’ve made it possible for Dragons to live normal lives.”
“Now normal is a relative word,” Junior teased as he shrugged off my praise with a chuckle. “You fire breathers wouldn’t know normal if it bit you in the ass.”
“You are correct, my friend,” Lenny said as he poofed in to our conversation in a blast of smoke and fire. “I’ve been looking forward to your presence. You intrigue me.”
“Damn, that was a fine entrance. I almost peed my goddurn pants,” Junior bellowed as he hopped up and shook hands with an amused Lenny. “You’re one sneaky mother humper.”
&nb
sp; I had to agree. Lenny scared the hell out of me often—and seemed to enjoy the fact immensely.
“Would you be available to have a chat with me later this afternoon?” Lenny asked politely.
“Well, my calendar is pretty free seein’ as I’m here to help y’all out, so I’d be happy to,” Junior said with a twinkle in his eye. “I’ve got some questions for you too.”
“Two o’clock?” Lenny asked.
“Works for me,” Junior replied.
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