by Vella Day
While Greer had worked a miracle in rousing his sister from the depths of unconsciousness, Lily had a long way to go before she was restored to health. He, on the other hand, was improving with each minute.
Someone knocked, and then another giant of a man entered. Birk motioned him over to Lily. She looked up at him and seemed to shrink back against Birk. That wasn’t the reaction Kyle wanted. His poor sister. Being surrounded by so many dragon shifters had to be traumatic for her.
“Hi, Lily. I’m Declan. I’m sorry it took me so long to arrive, but I was helping out in Plux.” Her brows pinched. “Where the dam broke. Did you hear about that?”
“Yes.” Her voice came out weak.
“I know that Greer helped you, but I might be able to restore your health completely. May I try?”
Kyle was thankful this huge man came off as non-threatening.
She looked up at Birk, who nodded. “Okay.”
Kyle hadn’t expected she’d seek Birk’s opinion, but he was pleased she had. Declan knelt in front of Lily. Unlike Greer, he merely held his hands inches above her body without touching her. Slowly, the lines of pain in Lily’s face softened, and right before his eyes, the wounds closed up completely, and Lily’s labored breathing slowed.
Kyle looked over at Nessa, who was smiling. “Declan is amazing,” he said keeping his voice low.
“He is,” Nessa said, her voice filled with pride.
“Do you think he can heal the scars on her back?”
She shook her head. “The wounds need to be fresh.”
“Oh.”
Lily touched where her face had been injured and smiled. She then looked up at Declan. “I can’t believe it. Thank you.”
Declan leaned back on his heels and then rose. “My pleasure.”
Birk slid Lily off his lap. He stood and helped her up. “I think both of you should come to our shelter. You’ll be safe there.”
Shelter? For some reason, Kyle didn’t want to be taken care of anymore. It might have been his wounded pride talking, but he and his sister had been a team for a long time. “I appreciate the offer, but we’ll head on over to my place. I’ll hire some bodyguards to keep watch.”
“They better be dragon shifters, because no one else can protect you,” Birk said.
Nessa placed a hand on his arm. “Please reconsider. It’s not a prison, but rather a safe place. Both of you can go to work. One of us will even escort you there to ensure they don’t harm either of you again.”
Kyle wondered if it would be Nessa by his side. If that were the case, he’d gladly stay at her safe house. He looked over at Lily who was worrying her bottom lip. She must be considering it. “I’ll go if Lily is willing.”
Lily actually looked up at Birk. “Maybe for a little while.”
Thank you, Lily.
“Are there showers in the shelter?” Lily asked Birk.
He looked as if he were fighting a smile. “It has all the comforts of home. Why don’t you pack and then you can see for yourself?”
Lily faced Kyle. “What about you?”
Before he could answer, Nessa spoke up. “I can go with Kyle back to his place so he can grab a few things too.”
Kyle didn’t want to leave Lily with all these men. “Greer, can you stay with her?”
“Definitely.”
Declan walked over to them. “I’ll fly overhead to make sure these men don’t follow you back to the safe house.”
“Thank you.” Nessa spun to face Kyle. “We’ll need to drive your car, since I flew here.”
“No problem.”
Kyle assured his sister she was in good hands before he and Nessa left. Declan followed them out. When they reached his car, parked out front, Declan said goodbye and headed in the direction of the park.
“Where is he going?” Kyle asked.
“The streets are too narrow for him to take off. The park down the street has more space.”
“Ah.”
Nessa held out her hand. “Mind if I drive? You did suffer a second concussion.”
As much as he didn’t like giving up the control, she was right. His vision was still a bit blurry. He probably shouldn’t have driven Lily home in the first place, but she’d been insistent. He stuck his hands in his jeans pocket and withdrew the key. “Be my guest, but please drive carefully. Most of the accidents around here seem to be with dragon shifter drivers.”
She laughed, and the sound bolstered his spirits. “That’s true. I admit I’m better at flying, but I promise to take care.”
“Thanks.” He touched her arm. “I appreciate all you did tonight, and I also appreciate you retrieving my car from the mine. I never thanked you for that either.”
She smiled. “I figured you would need it.”
They both climbed in, and Nessa started the engine. The drive to his place only took a few minutes.
Once inside his apartment, she placed the car keys on the coffee table. Something had been eating away at him during the drive over. “Do you think it’s possible those men followed me to Lily’s?”
“I wouldn’t rule anything out, but don’t start blaming yourself. If one or both cloaked themselves, you wouldn’t have seen anything even if you’d been looking.”
He liked how she tried to make him feel better.
“Thanks. I’ll only be a minute.” Only then did he realize he didn’t know how long this protection service would last. “Any idea how long Lily and I will be in your safe house?”
“No way to say, but pack light. You can always come back for more, though we do have laundry service there.”
She made it sound like a hotel. “Got it.”
Kyle tossed some essentials in his case, still amazed at how much his body had healed. He then returned to the living room with his duffel in hand. “You know, Declan and Greer should go into business as healers. They’d make a mint.”
Nessa chuckled. “I agree, but it tires them out. Declan has been working non-stop over in Plux helping the flood victims there. I’m surprised he was able to fly as fast as he did, let alone heal Lily.”
Kyle knew that Declan was a relief worker, but he hadn’t realized the extent of his help. He’d bet the two men who’d attacked him and his sister would never take the time to help with any relief effort. He hoped Lily realized that.
Kyle lifted his bag. “I’m ready.”
Once more, he let Nessa drive. For some reason, he’d expected them to head to the Caspian mine, but she drove past the turn off.
“If you’re wondering, we’re going to the Sinclair mine, but I have a favor to ask you first.”
“Anything.” He meant it too.
“This is a safe house that both families use, and as such, no one must know about it.” She glanced over at him.
“I give you my word that I won’t divulge where it is.”
She tossed him a brief smile, and his cock hardened. Without thinking, Kyle reached over, and when he squeezed her leg, heat shot through his hand. It was almost as if she’d sent a bolt of electricity straight through him. He jerked away.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
Well, crap.
Chapter Thirteen
Kyle hadn’t meant to react so strongly to the sexual current charging through him, but it had taken him by surprise. “Nothing. I just didn’t want to distract you while you were driving.”
Lame. Very lame. Fortunately, Nessa didn’t say anything, but from the slight upward turn of those sexy lips, she obviously knew that wasn’t the real reason.
Nessa pulled into the Sinclair Gem mine, but he didn’t spot anything that looked like a safe house. Kyle glanced around for Lily’s car and didn’t see that either, forcing him to tamp down his worry. He trusted Nessa though. “I see we beat my sister here.”
“Birk probably parked her car underground.”
This was becoming stranger by the minute. “I don’t see any garage entrance.”
Nessa pulled to a stop in front of a rock wall. “I’ll show you
. Wait here. I need to open the door.”
He would have asked what door, but he’d come to realize that of late, nothing was as it seemed. She took something from her pocket and waved her hand over the stone. The rock glowed, and then a garage door opened. “Well, I’ll be damned,” he mumbled to himself.
Nessa returned and slid into the front seat. “Cool, huh?”
“Totally. How did you do that?”
She smiled, and once more his libido shot up. “It’s called magic.”
Magic seemed to rule everything the dragons did. Nessa drove into the underground parking garage, and when he spotted Lily’s car, relief shot through him. After sliding into a lined spot, Nessa cut off the engine and hopped out. While Kyle retrieved his duffel, Nessa did some hand waving stuff, and the door closed.
“Right this way,” she said.
“What is this place? It’s a lot more than a safe house.” Kyle couldn’t drink it all in. While he had inspected this mine last year, he had no idea something like this existed.
“The Sinclairs and Caspians need a place they can go when things get, shall we say, rough. It’s equipped with a lot of bedrooms and has a huge kitchen—including a gourmet chef—along with many meeting rooms. The monitoring rooms here would put the one we have at our mine to shame. This is a truly state of the art building.”
“So I can see.” The fact Nessa was willing to let him and Lily see their secret hiding place warmed him. It meant she trusted him. Evil dragon shifters would never do that.
Nessa’s upbeat attitude continued to amaze him, and his gut decided once and for all that she was a good person. And a sexy one. Okay, and yes, someone he could see himself with long term.
Nessa couldn’t help but smile at Kyle’s large eyes. If he was impressed with the parking garage, he’d be thrilled with what else they had, and she couldn’t wait to show him. She wasn’t sure where Birk had stashed Lily, but she bet he gave her the suite—the one with a comfy sitting lounge area and the large soaking tub. From the way Birk reacted to Lily, something was going on between them. If Fate had paired her with Kyle, it was possible that Fate had decided siblings should stay together. It wouldn’t be hard to believe that Birk and Lily were meant for each other. How her brother could convince her she should be with a dragon, Nessa didn’t know.
“I’m not sure where Lily is staying, but she has to be somewhere down this hallway,” Nessa said. “The last three rooms are reserved for guests.” She tapped on the first door, and when no one answered, she pushed it open. It was empty. “You can stay in here.”
Kyle stepped inside and set down his duffel. “Wow.” He turned around and had a big smile on his face. “This is amazing.”
“Thanks. My father and uncle designed it. I think you’ll find it has everything you need. If you think this is great though, wait until you try our food. We have an amazing chef.” Which reminded her that she needed to let him know that there would be guests here for a while.
“Seriously?”
“Yes. Let’s find Lily. I’m sure she is anxious to see you.”
Just as Nessa turned to leave, Kyle stopped her. He tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear and let his finger stroke down her cheek. Then Kyle leaned in close and, ever so lightly, brushed his lips across hers. “You constantly amaze me, Nessa Caspian. Thank you for everything you and your family are doing to help Lily and me.”
Her heart nearly burst out of her chest. If she weren’t careful, her purple scales would show through her skin. As it was, her body was already radiating an excessive amount of heat. “You are very welcome. I’m quite impressed with you too.”
“Good to know.” He winked, and her knees weakened, something that had never happened before.
Good goddess, what this man could do to her! She was the one who handled explosives and was never scared of anything—except for spending the rest of her life alone because she’d botched up this whole mating thing.
“Nessa?” he asked.
She jerked her attention back to him. “Ah, yes. We need to find Lily.”
Happy to have something to do, she stepped next door and knocked. When Birk answered, she quirked a brow. Nessa would have thought Lily would have booted him out before this. “Everything okay?”
“Yes. Lily is next door. I’m staying here so I can keep an eye on her.”
Was that so? Birk shared a room with Logan whenever they stayed in this bunker, and that room was down the hall. Where he was now was reserved for guests, and he knew as well as anyone that no one could get into this complex, so there was no need to be so close. Unless…Nessa kept that thought to herself.
“I imagine she’d like to see Kyle.” Nessa stepped next door, knocked, and then faced him. “I’ll let you two chat.”
“Are you staying here?” Kyle asked.
More heat poured into her at the excitement in his tone. “Yes.”
“But you didn’t pack anything.”
“We always have stuff here. Since we never know when we’ll need refuge, we keep spare clothes in the rooms we use.”
Before he could ask her any more questions, Lily opened the door and was in Kyle’s arms in a moment. While endearing, Nessa worried about Lily’s influence on him. After all, she was very anti dragon shifter.
Kyle glanced back at Nessa and mouthed thank you. The wink that followed had her heart pounding. First, he’d squeezed her leg in the car and then he’d tucked a strand of hair behind her ear—all signs that he was an independent thinker when it came to her kind. Then there was that small but amazing kiss. Yes. Nessa was beginning to think there was hope for them after all. The way his beautifully expressive eyes sparkled when he looked at her confirmed it as well.
“I’m going to say goodnight to you both,” Nessa said, wishing she were the one in Kyle’s arms right now. “I’ll be down the hall—four rooms away on this side—if either of you need me. Birk is just next door too.”
“Thanks,” Kyle said, his voice soft and sexy.
Lily nodded then looked away as if she just couldn’t bring herself to change her mind about dragons.
Nessa headed to her room, wishing she had the courage to drag Kyle away from his sister and into her bed. It was becoming increasingly more difficult for her not to touch him. Before Kyle came into her life, she thought nothing of spending her nights alone. Hell, she preferred it. Now that those deep feelings had been released, Nessa wasn’t sure she’d ever be able to rein them in again.
After undressing, she stepped into the shower. As she ran the wet soap over her body, she closed her eyes and imagined Kyle was in there with her. He’d be standing behind her, snatch the soap from her fingers, and insist on washing her until her skin glowed. Little did he know that she didn’t need any water to make her body shine. Just being near him would do that.
Nessa ducked her head under the shower and reveled in the heat. She spun around to face her imaginary mate. He’d grin and then drag the tip of the soap over her nipples, hardening them to points. Unable to stand there and do nothing, she would grab his huge cock and tug on it. He’d moan and then slam his body against hers.
The kiss would be a nibble here and a nibble there until her nails sharpened, and her scales pulsed so hard that she’d have to dip her tongue into his mouth and devour him. He’d taste of mint or maybe cinnamon. While she was losing herself in his sensuality, he’d slip a finger into her pussy, and the spikes of need would cause her to cry out and then beg him to take her. Her eyes would glow purple, and his would deepen to the color of navy blue.
She’d run her hands over his firm ass and then drop to her knees and suck on his cock while the water sluiced over their bodies.
Nessa’s groan, and her resulting climax, jerked her back to reality. Well, damn. Two of her fingers were inside her pussy, and her other hand—not Kyle’s—was pinching her nipple. Nessa never stimulated herself—more proof she was losing her mind.
Clearly, something had to give, and soon, or she might mar
ch into his room, strip off her clothes, and jump into bed with him.
That image helped calm her but only for a moment. The chance of Kyle rejecting her still existed.
But he kissed you, her dragon reminded her.
He did at that, though way too briefly. Needing to mentally move back to reality, she washed her hair and rinsed off. After she stepped out of the shower, Nessa stood in front of the mirror and slowly dragged the towel over her body, wondering what Kyle would honestly think of her shape. She had tits, but they weren’t very big, and her hips were too slim. Damn. Most men told her she needed to gain weight.
Once she finished towel drying her hair and body, she slipped on a pair of panties and a T-shirt. She then slid under the crisp covers. After that sensual daydream in the shower, she probably wouldn’t be able to sleep though.
Reading might take her mind off the hot Kyle Harper. She licked her lips, remembering the light brush of his mouth. Wouldn’t it be great if Kyle were waiting for her to make the first move?
Or wasn’t he ready to be with a shifter?
The kiss! The kiss! It wasn’t just to say thank you, her dragon said. He was testing to see if you wanted him.
Was that true? Uncertainty sucked.
Nessa picked up the e-reader she and Greer kept in the drawer. They both loved romances, so it was stocked full. Nessa mostly stuck to romantic suspense and some thrillers, whereas Greer liked the more sappy contemporaries with an occasional shifter story thrown in. The ones written by people from Earth were funny though. Nessa appreciated their imagination, but too often she wanted to tell them they had it all wrong.
Nessa snuggled in bed, and just as she was about to start reading, someone tapped on her door. It was Kyle. She could feel it. Her hands almost morphed into talons, and she had to force her body to stop the shift.
“Coming.” She threw off the covers and scrambled to find a pair of pants. Her fingers were about to tug on the dresser drawer when she stopped. Why not show him what he would be missing?
Not wanting to go overboard and actually flaunt herself, Nessa stood behind the door and opened up. “Kyle!”