"I don't know how I did that." Her laugh was shaky. "I just knew I had to make them stop hurting you."
He drew his fingers along the curve of her jaw, wanting very much to kiss her again. "Thank you."
She stood up, poised to help him to his feet. "Come on. You need to rest."
"I don't want to go back to Dragonspace. Not yet."
Lisa supported him as he got up. His human legs were weak, his muscles and bones aching. Lisa tucked herself under his arm. She felt right, fitted against him. "I'll put you to bed. Your skin is so cold. You need to get warm."
Her bedroom was dark and peaceful. Caleb had never seen this room, the only one not visible from the spare bedroom door. He'd watched her disappear into it every night, feeling wistful that he could not follow.
The light from the living room threw thin shadows of the four-poster bed onto the wall hung with prints of colorful flowers, mostly red. Lisa briskly stripped the covers from the bed then helped Caleb slide under the blankets.
He lay back in a nest of pillows and sheets that smelled of Lisa. He folded one arm behind his head, pain still twisting his belly, and sent her a weak smile where she stood.
"Will you sleep with me, Lisa?"
He thought she would refuse, leaving him alone all night, hurt and adjusting to the newness of being human. He held out his hand, wriggling his fingers to beckon her. In his dragon life, he hadn't known the emotions of worry, jealousy, abandonment, sorrow. Dragons had basic emotions—fear and anger, fight or flight. But he knew that if Lisa shunned him it would break some new part of him that was very fragile.
Slowly Lisa slid her already open dress from her shoulders. Caleb had glimpsed the curve of her breasts and waist, but now he could see her fully. Across her hips, she wore the same kind of black lace that covered her breasts, but the rest of her was bare. Her long legs were strong, calves curving with slim muscle, thighs tight, abdomen flat, her navel a round O above the low-slung lace. Her loosened red hair fell to her shoulders, wisps straggling across her pale skin.
He wanted her, and he realized he'd always wanted her. In dragon form, all he could do was look at her and feel vaguely unsatisfied, but now that he was human, he knew exactly what he wanted: her in his arms. He wanted to make love to her in the human way, bodies together, mouths melding.
She waited one more moment, watching him shyly, then she lifted the covers and scrambled into the bed with him, snuggling her warm, beautiful body next to his. He gave a grunt of satisfaction and relief, too tired to do anything more amorous than gather her close.
Across town, Saba Watanabe got herself off the bus and hobbled the two blocks to her walk-up apartment in SoMa on a street where tourists didn't venture. Exhaustion grated her bones, and her eyelids were sandy, her head sporting a dull ache right in the middle of her forehead. She'd never really believed in the third eye, but she did now, because it hurt like hell.
The magic it took to create the armband so Caleb could cross from Dragonspace to this world had scoured her from the inside out. She'd had no idea that magic could eat a person up like that. She'd always felt peaceful and whole doing spells, but this one had nearly killed her. But beneath the tiredness and the feeling that she'd done something extremely foolish, she tasted triumph. She'd done it.
She'd handed the finished talisman to Caleb and left through Lisa's apartment just before Lisa and her date Greg had pulled up outside in the gray car. From the street Saba had turned back to watch them enter the house, distinctly sensing the black dragon's mark on Greg Shaw. Caleb had been right.
Knowing she could do nothing more effectual than shake her finger at Greg angered Saba. She'd been too spent, the spell to make the armband hurting every pore in her body.
But Caleb would take care of things. She'd gotten to know him as she collected his daily reports for Donna the last six months, and though she'd never say so out loud, she knew Donna and Grizelda underestimated him. Caleb might be a warrior dragon, but he was not as stupid as they believed. His dragon magic was strong and powerful, nothing to ignore, and he cared about Lisa.
Saba knew she'd never be as powerful as Donna, who had inherited her powers and learned to greatly enhance them. Donna was adept at tapping into magics, both those on earth and those of dragons, to make herself extremely strong. Saba, like Grizelda, had been born an ordinary person and had been drawn to the Craft as a spiritual choice.
Saba had been trying to find herself; Donna wanted to control others.
Donna was far older than she looked, Saba had come to sense. Saba had read myths of ancient witches who kept themselves going by siphoning as much magic into themselves as possible, and she wondered if Donna was one of these. She also had enough sense of self-preservation not to ask.
Saba dragged herself up the steps inside the building, her bag of magic accoutrements slung loosely over her shoulder. It was well past midnight and the moon had set, inky blackness oozing over the sky. Not a good time for a witch. She liked the moon and the connection with the Goddess, not utter darkness, which was the time for demons and other nasties that Saba half believed in. The Japanese stories she'd learned in her childhood had been full of foul-faced demons, and she'd learned to her discomfort that some of the stories were true.
Her apartment was dark. It smelled stuffy and a little musty, which was odd because she cleansed it with incense every day and left the windows open when it didn't rain. But she was far too tired to worry about it tonight.
Without turning on a light she locked the door, crossed the one-room apartment to her bed, dropped her bag on the floor, and wearily undressed. She crawled into bed in nothing but her bikini panties, dragged the covers over her, and was asleep in minutes.
When she awoke not much later the covers were gone, the desk light was on, and she was tied, spread-eagled, to her bed.
Saba gasped and jerked at her bonds, but they held her fast. The lamp illuminated a dark-haired man leaning back comfortably in her chair, his feet propped up on the desk as he read the hardbound journal in which she recorded all her meditations, spells, rituals, and notes. Her accoutrements had been strewn everywhere. A swirl of quartz and amethysts glittered under the desk light, her chalice lay on its side amid a heap of candles on the floor, and a swath of salt sparkled softly on the carpet.
Dressed in jeans and a black leather coat, the man sat with lean ease in her desk chair, long legs in skin-hugging denim, black and supple boots on his feet. His hair was as black as hers, pulled back into a ponytail from a square brow, revealing a silver earring glittering in his lobe. She'd never seen him before.
He glanced at her briefly when he heard her gasp. His eyes were silver. Large and luminous, they glowed brighter than the desk light, taking in her nearly naked body bound to her old-fashioned iron-frame bed. After slowly looking her over, he returned to the book, unbothered.
Saba knew she should be terrified. A man with otherworldly eyes had broken into her apartment, tied her up, rifled her belongings, and was now calmly reading a journal of her most private rituals. But after her initial surprise, she felt no fear except for slight worry about what he intended to do to her. Somewhere deep inside her she was truly afraid, but on the surface she watched him without panic.
"Interesting observations you write," he said. His voice was rich and rolling, sliding sensually across the room. "Strange thoughts in one so young."
"That's private," she said quickly. "No one reads a witch's Book of Shadows without her permission."
He glanced at her again. His strange silver eyes belonged to a powerful being, one who knew he was far, far superior to Saba. He did not have to boast, he just knew.
"You sleep soundly," he said. "I put my mark on you and you never woke."
Saba had a sudden, vivid flash of a dream, a man with impossibly handsome features bending over her, spinning words she did not understand, his fingertips skimming her face. She'd sighed and let him stroke her, erotic feelings overlaying her fear of a stranger's tou
ch.
"Goddess help me," she whispered. "You're the black dragon."
He returned his attention to the journal, softly flipping a page with large fingers, as though the declaration needed no answer. "You ensorcelled a golden and let him into this world to come after me," he said, voice rich and soft. "Why did you do something so very foolish?"
It was a question, not an admonition. He sounded curious.
"To protect Lisa." Saba clamped her mouth shut, but she couldn't have stopped the words. He compelled her to speak, and she obeyed.
"Why?" He cast his gaze over her again, the silver eyes disturbing and intriguing at the same time. "Let me guess. You have no idea."
"No."
He touched the page of the journal. "If you knew anything about Lisa, you would have recorded it in this book." A tone of mockery entered his voice. "You are very frank with your feelings. And so, so damn young."
"I am twenty-six, and that is supposed to be private."
He laid the book on the desk and rose sinuously to his feet. He was tall, well over six feet, his head nearly brushing the beams of the low-ceilinged room. "If no one else will read it, why write it down at all?" He touched his finger to his temple. "Why not keep it all in here, where thoughts are truly private and secret?"
"I'd forget things," she answered weakly. "I write them down so I can remember."
"I don't forget." He came to the bed, moving quietly and surely, like a cat, muscles shifting under his coat. "I remember every thought, every word, every feeling I've ever had. I remember every wrong done me, every spell cast, the face of every witch who banished me here."
He climbed onto the bed, placing his hands and knees on either side of her. "You belong to me now, Saba, body and soul, until I release you or I die." He gently squeezed her exposed nipple between his middle finger and forefingers. "Do you know what I'll ask you to do?"
"No," she breathed.
His hands were cool as they skimmed down her abdomen and slid beneath the waistband of her bikinis. "I want you to help me ensnare Lisa. Watch her, report to me all that she does, until I find a way to bind her. And keep that damn golden dragon away from me."
Saba nodded against the pillow, because she could do nothing else. She arched her hips, wanting his fingers to move between her thighs. "Why do you need her? Please tell me."
"She has power." He pressed his fingertips to the folds of her opening and she groaned. "I want to harness it before the witches do, because they'll have no idea what to do with it."
Dark feelings swirled through Saba's body as he began to rock his fingers back and forth. "Does it have anything to do with the dragon orb?"
He glanced at her sharply. "Why do you want to know about the dragon orb?"
"If you use it, Donna says you'll destroy the Earth. I have to stop you."
He stilled a split second, then slanted her an ironic smile. "The universe will be a better place without witches, Saba. You and I will be all right, and we'll have all the power." He moved his fingertips again in circular patterns, drawing a halting moan from her. "You would like that, wouldn't you? To be a young witch with so much power?"
She swallowed. "Caleb will protect Lisa. He asked me to make him human so he could protect her."
"I know." He leaned down, leather creaking, and drew his tongue across her breasts, his touch like a trail of fire. "Golden dragons are all muscle, no brain."
"Caleb is different," Saba whispered, unable to keep her observations silent. "He is strong and very determined."
"Caleb is a slave to the witches," the black dragon said, his breath hot on her skin. "How delightful that I've been able to enslave one of them to me."
"Yes." Saba closed her eyes, a small part of her screaming frantically, the rest of her reveling in the feel of being spread and tied before this powerful man, his breath and fingers dancing on her skin.
"What is your name?" she asked.
He laughed. The laughter was low, rich, and smooth, his hair whispering against the leather of his coat. "I'll never tell you that, witch. A witch who knows a dragon's true name is dangerous indeed. You can call me Malcolm. That is a nice, Earth world name."
"Malcolm." She writhed, hips rising, unable to stop the dance. "Oh, God."
"I thought you only prayed to the Goddess."
He pressed his hand hard between her legs, pumping and rubbing as she screamed and moaned, and he caught her cries against his mouth.
* * *
Chapter Five
Lisa bought Caleb clothes at a store that specialized in big and tall men, choosing extra, extra large everything, and three different sizes of jeans, not knowing which would fit him. It had been a long time since she'd shopped for men's clothing, and come to think of it, Philip had never worn anything she'd bought anyway.
As she trudged home from the parking garage where she kept her car, her hands full of bags, she remembered waking up very early that morning to Caleb's strong, naked, sleeping body stretched protectively next to hers. She'd been so comfortable and warm and felt so safe that she'd drifted back into slumber, dreaming for some reason of lying naked on the living-room carpet while Caleb poured heaps of rubies and diamonds over her body.
She'd woken again to a hard knocking sound and Caleb gone. Grabbing jeans and a blouse, she'd dashed out of the bedroom to find him in the kitchen, thumping a frozen solid rib-eye steak on the counter.
"I can't eat this," he said, looking up at her.
She breathlessly buttoned her shirt, wanting to laugh with relief. "You have to thaw it before you cook it." A thought struck her. "I guess a dragon would like it raw."
"I like it still running." He'd grinned at her, breathtaking, this nude, bronze-skinned man with his flowing golden hair and large blue eyes. "I need to search your city, Lisa. I want to find the black dragon before he finds you."
"Not until I get you some clothes." She thrust her feet into the pair of loafers she always left by the door and grabbed her purse. "Don't you dare go anywhere until I get back."
He came out of the kitchen, tossing the frozen steak from hand to hand, wincing as the ice-cold slab met each palm. "It is too dangerous for you to go alone."
"I'm taking my car and driving to a mall. I'll be in a huge crowd. And no, you can't come with me."
Caleb tossed the steak back into the kitchen. It hit the counter, skittering across the surface to shatter an ugly garlic jar someone had bought her as a housewarming gift.
"Lisa-ling, the danger is real. My mark protects you, but not enough when I am not with you."
She remembered the darkness in Greg's eyes and felt a twinge of uneasiness, but there wasn't much to be done. "You can't go anywhere without clothes, and I have to go out and get them. You can always call one of your witches to baby sit me, although I'm still pretty pissed at them for hurting you."
He quickly negated that idea. "They say they want to protect you from the black dragon but I can smell their lies. Saba, maybe, we could trust, but I don't know where she is."
Lisa remembered how the witches had so easily rendered Caleb helpless and in pain and felt her anger flare. He looked none the worse for wear now, but in bed last night he'd shaken all over and been so cold.
She also remembered the bright power that had streaked through her body and the joy with which she'd let it loose on the witches. She had no clue how she'd done that, and the white-hot feeling of that power hadn't returned.
You have dragon's magic, Caleb had said. What did that mean, and why hadn't she known about it before? Li Na had known, A few of her grandmother's cryptic hints made a little more sense now, but still didn't tell Lisa everything.
Caleb let her go with a compromise—she promised to wear the gold charms from the porcelain dragon bowl. Caleb told her to wear the blossom-shaped charm she already liked, plus three others, one shaped like a dragon, one like the moon, and one fashioned into the shape of a tiny bird's wing.
"Lucky magic," Caleb said, lifting the charms on t
heir ribbons around her neck. "The Chinese know all about magic and dragons and look to dragons for wisdom and luck. They are very smart people."
Lisa had smiled and kissed Caleb's cheek, then tried to tamp down her desire when Caleb turned his head and kissed her full on the mouth.
Now, as she trudged up the hill back to the apartment, she remembered her grandmother's stories of China and her assertion that the women of the family were very special. Particularly you, Lisa, she'd say.
Why? Lisa wondered now. Because we attract dragons?
A small spark deep within her answered the silent question, but she did not understand what it meant.
When she walked into the apartment, the heavy bags nearly breaking her fingers, Caleb was nowhere in sight. She dropped the bags and slammed the door. "Caleb?"
He was not in the bathroom or Lisa's bedroom. The television was off and silent, the wind chimes hanging without a rustle. She took hold of the doorknob to the spare bedroom, drew a breath, and shoved it open.
Nothing. Just the bedroom, the Murphy bed folded up in place. She closed the door with a feeling of disquiet. Had he gone back to Dragonspace? Had the witches sent him back for good? Pain laced her heart, but she refused to let it grow. She didn't know anything yet. He might simply have gone out and gotten lost.
Naked. In San Francisco. She envisioned him explaining to a skeptical cop that he lived with Lisa Singleton, and no, he didn't have a driver's license and no clothes either.
"Oh, Caleb," she said under her breath as she hurried to check the kitchen. The back kitchen door stood partway open, and she heard voices from the sunny balcony that overlooked the garden.
Her heart pounded. Had the witches returned? Could she summon up the flash of power to protect him again? She clenched her fist, trying and failing to feel the hot surge she had last night. She had no idea how she'd done it. She gave up and cautiously peered around the door.
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