by Ines Johnson
Cardi’s gaze slipped to the doorway of the lion’s den. She knew the door to the den was unlocked. What bothered her was that it was empty.
“I’ll tell you what I want,” said Izem. “A chance.”
“A chance?” Cardi brought her attention back to him. “For what?”
“For you. A chance to win you.”
There it was. Izem was a beast like all the rest of them. All shifters cared about was posturing.
Cardi was nothing but a prize and she knew it. If Izem didn’t know that she knew it, then he was the naive one. There was a game being played. Like always, she intended to leave the board with the highest score.
“Go on a date with me,” he said. “Just one.”
Izem leaned back. He gave Cardi back her space. She had plenty of room to make a decision without him crowding her. Without his undue influence. What kind of game was he playing at?
A second later the door slammed open. A dark figure stood in the doorway. Cold like ice bored into her, slipping across her bare skin and leaving her with warm tingles.
Cardi leaped into Izem’s folded embrace. Then she turned a defiant glare at the welcome intruder.
Chapter Two
Kimber’s head ached. It had been a constant ache for the last three years of his life. In human reality, it was three decades as time in the Veil moved differently than in the realm of the Goddess’ favored creation. Ever since the highly favored human known as Cardi came to stay he'd developed a constant pounding right behind his temple.
Every sacrifice Kimber had known had arrived with tears in her eyes. Not Cardi. There had been fire in her gaze and in her spirit.
He’d seen slight women arrive with crowns on their heads tremble when the dragons approached. He’d seen stout women in rags dissolve as they saw the size of their captor. Cardi arrived in flannel pajamas, fuzzy socks, and she’d brought their whole weyr down to their knees.
The slip of a girl faced off against seven dragons and didn’t blink, not once. Kimber would be in awe of her if his dragon hadn’t wrapped its massive body around her painted pinky finger. She shook down his beast for her every desire. Kimber came to realize that the female he’d claimed was a manipulative, spoiled child.
In the years she’d been under his wing. She hadn’t grown up. He’d hoped that having two mature, obedient females in residence would urge her toward maturity.
But nope.
Cardi still nagged him incessantly asking why when he denied her demands until his dragon forced him to cave. She still snuck out after the curfew he’d set. She still stole sweets at night after dinner. She insisted on wearing revealing clothing.
But this latest stunt was dangerous. What had she been thinking of walking into a lion's den?
Kimber threw open the doors. It was worse than he’d imagined. He spotted her immediately. A lion was preparing to pounce, to devour her.
Kimber was on the male in the space of a breath. His dragon barred his teeth, ready to tear the fur ball’s throat out.
"Kimmy! Kimmy, let him go."
The man in Kimber wanted to taste blood. But his dragon, ever wrapped around Cardi’s thumb, came to heel at her plea. No, not a plea. Her demand. Cardi never pleaded. She always expected to get what she wanted.
“Mine,” his beast growled low in Izem’s ear.
"Get off of him," Cardi demanded.
"He was going to bite you," growled Kimber.
"He wasn't going to bite me," said Cardi. "He was going to kiss me."
Kimber’s mouth fell open along with his hand. Izem dropped to the ground like a stone. Kimber turned his glare on Cardi.
She stood there, defiant as ever. All limbs and big hair. And ridiculous clothes. Her face was painted in bright pinks and purples. Her petulant bottom lip stuck out.
Had he heard her right? "He was going to kiss you?"
"Yes," she lifted her chin. Then doubt furrowed her brow. She turned to Izem. ”You were going to kiss me, right?"
The cub raised his head, even though he was still on the floor. "I was."
Kimber's vision iced over. "You were going to kiss my mate."
"She's not your mate," said the cub coming to stand. "You've had her for years and you've never claimed her."
"She's a child."
The cub turned to look at Cardi. His eyes roamed her body appreciatively. His incisors sharpened to fine points. "There's nothing childish about that tight, little body."
Cardi’s cheeks turned as red as her hair. She bit her lower lip with her pearly white tooth. Her lashes lowered and she looked appreciative.
Kimber had never seen such a look on her face before. Then the spell broke. Her eyes flashed up to him and there was the defiant girl he knew.
"Don't you growl at him," she chided. "He's asked me on a date. What do you think of that?"
What did he think of it? No one could ask her on a date. She belonged to him. He’d marked her after winning the challenge against his father. Was this cub challenging him now?
Or… wait.
There was a challenge going on here. Both males were being manipulated. The dull ache started in the back of Kimber’s head. He was not in the mood for one of her games. But he had no choice.
That was the thing about sacrifices. Dragons were completely devoted to them while they lived. None had ever lived as long as Cardi. Because of her long life with the dragons, she'd learned all the loopholes and tricks. It was why he had incessant headaches. He was constantly warring with his inner beast to please her.
Cardi would make some ridiculous demand. His beast would want to fulfill her desires. The man was the only one who would look at the consequences. It was like Kimber was dealing with two children. One whined from without. The other from within.
He knew what both girl and dragon wanted; for him to claim her. To take her to bed and seal their fate. At first, he’d resisted because he knew all too well the fate of a sacrificed woman. He’d never wanted that kind of blood on his hands.
And then he’d learned that Cardi had fire in her blood. She was half-dragon, which meant she’d likely survive the birth of whelps. He’d known that for months now. So what was holding him back?
Well, the fact that she was still a manipulative, spoiled child as evidenced further by this little stunt.
Really? A cub? As if that would get him to throw her down and breach her virgin flesh.
His dragon growled low in his gut. His claws broke the pads of his fingers. His incisors dripped.
He didn’t miss the gleam in Cardi’s eyes. She had him, and she knew it.
“You only marked her,” Izem was saying. “And that was years ago, decades in her time. There must be some kind of statute of limitations on dibs.”
Dibs? “She’s a person,” growled Kimber. “Not a toy ball.”
“But my boy is right,” said Leona.
Kimber’s headache increased at the appearance of the lioness.
“If you have no plans to use the object for it’s intended purpose, you should return it,” said Leona.
“Cardinal is under my protection,” said Kimber.
“But is that where she wants to be?” asked Leona.
They all turned to Cardi. The red flush was gone from her cheeks. Her shoulders weren’t so straight with certainty.
Good. She needed to be concerned. She needed to know what it was like outside his protection.
“I…”
Kimber felt relief at Cardi’s hesitation. Good, she was coming to her senses. Kimber raised a brow at her. Unfortunately, Cardi never backed down. She was worse than the triplets.
Her shoulders snapped back. Her chin jutted up. “I don’t know if it’s where I want to be anymore,” she said. “I think I’d like to explore other options.”
“A very mature decision,” cooed Leona.
Kimber knew better. Cardi was still a child. Still prone to tantrums and games. This was nothing more than a game. Another way to get his attention.
> Maybe this was exactly what she needed. She thought she was grown? She thought she was ready to date and have a boyfriend?
Fine. He'd let her toy with this cub. It was just a ploy to get under his skin. He doubted she'd even go through with it.
Her smile faltered.
There. He knew it. She was bluffing.
"Fine, you may go on a date,” he said. "But for now your coming home."
“I’ll pick you up tomorrow night?” said Izem.
"Yes?" Her voice wobbled at the end of the word, making it into a question.
Izem lifted her hand to his lips for a kiss.
Kimber didn’t know he’d moved until Leona was in front of him. Protecting one of her little mama’s boys like always.
“We need to come to some kind of understanding,” she said. “Now that Valkyrie are bringing sacrifices in. We don’t want a repeat of the past where we fight to the brink of extinction.”
“My brothers and I have no need to fight,” said Kimber. Not exactly true as the arrival of the last two sacrifices had ended with each male bloody.
“When Cardinal chooses to remain with my boy, I need to be assured there won’t be bloodshed. Same with any more sacrifices that come through the Veil.”
“We are paying for their passages.”
“We can pay. They should have a choice. And with the bears waking up soon, and a full moon on the horizon… I’m just saying, we should talk. Come to an accord.”
Chapter Three
He said yes.
Cardi would have bet all of her Madonna LPs that Kimber would have socked Izem in the nose. Or at least took a bite out of the cub for daring to sniff around his mate. She’d envisioned that in the heat of the moment, Kimber would lift her up and cart her off just like in An Officer and a Gentleman. Once they were out of the den and alone, Kimber would finally see her as the grown-up she was and claim her out in the woods like the animal he was on the inside.
But he'd said yes.
Did he not know what a date was? Of course, he did. She’d made the dragons watch Growing Pains, Family Ties, and 21 Jump Street. He knew well what happened on dates.
Groping. Kissing. Fornicating.
Those were all things Cardi had wanted to do with Kimber. But they’d never even gotten to first base. Heck, he hadn’t even come onto the playing field in all the time they’d been together.
She’d given him every signal that it was opening day on Cardi Field. She flicked her hair over her bare shoulder whenever he entered the room. He’d asked her if she’d like to get her hair cut. She leaned into him the rare times he sat next to her. He often asked if she needed a blanket to warm herself. She always wore the brightest lipstick when she spoke to him. But he never stared at her lips.
She'd tried to be domestic like Clair Huxtable, but she'd burned food like Peg Bundy and nearly burned down the west wing of the castle. She dressed seductively every day mirroring the fashions of her icon Madonna. But Kimber only ever rolled his eyes at her or told her to put something on. Never once had he looked at her with passion.
Cardi looked over at Izem. The lion shifter was gazing right at her. He didn’t look away.
She brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. Izem’s golden gaze tracked the movement. His nostrils flared.
No male had ever flared their nostrils at her. Well, there had been one. Gneiss had licked his chops when he’d seen her that first night. Cardi had lived a sheltered life back beyond the Veil, but she knew what that meant. The old Kraken wanted her in the Biblical sense.
Luckily, Kimber had been there to lay a Medusa-headed smackdown on his dad. But not this time. He had said yes to her demand to date someone else.
Izem closed the distance between them now. He reached for Cardi’s hand, taking it in his own paw. His hands were soft, gentle.
He brushed his mouth over the skin at her knuckles. His lips were warm, tender. Cardi held herself still to receive the pleasant press.
She wasn’t used to such sweetness. She wasn’t sure what to do with the delicacy. She didn’t have to wonder too long.
A rough hand gripped her upper arm. Sharp nails pricked her human flesh. Heat pressed into her skin from the large palm that held her captive. The flush rushed to her chest, pulling her nipples into tight points.
With just one hand, Kimber lifted her bodily, carrying her up and out of the lion’s den and into the cool breeze of the late day. The light wind did nothing to cool the hot trail that blazed from her chest right down to the core of her body.
Gneiss had frightened her the first day she’d been here. Seeing the gnarled beast coming for her had turned her perpetually cold blood to ice. But seeing Kimber’s body move with deadly grace as he fought for her had ignited something inside Cardi that had never died down.
She craved his attention, even if he scowled at her. She craved any words from him, even if they were admonishing. She craved his touch, even if it was bruising. His hold on her would leave a mark. She couldn’t wait to see it.
Kimber was silent as he came out of the lion’s den. But he wasn’t as calm as he pretended. His brown eyes were as hard as ice, a tell that his dragon was not pleased.
So he wasn’t as disaffected about the date as he’d pretended back in there. She knew it. She knew he wanted her. If he would just admit it too, then they could stop this game they’d been playing since that first night she’d arrived.
“You are grounded,” Kimber said.
He let her go abruptly and then took a step back, putting distance between them. Immediately Cardi missed the rough texture of his fingers on her flesh. Kimber spent his days working in the mines, digging diamonds to add to his horde. The act of picking through rough earth also added to the muscles on his form. He was a prime specimen of dragon glaring down at her and… wait?
Did he say she was grounded?
“You can’t ground me.” Cardi put her hands on her hips. “I’m a grown-ass woman.”
“Watch your language, Cardinal.”
Kimber jabbed a finger in her face. Cardi had to tamp down the impulse to bite off the offensive digit. But only because it would prove his point.
She'd been sixteen when the Valkyrie, Morrigan, had brought her here to the Veil. Cardi knew that time in the Veil moved differently than in the human realm. But by any way that you counted the numbers, her arrival was years ago. She had to be twenty now, nineteen at the very least.
“What were you even thinking coming here?” he asked.
“I was watching Poppy’s back. She was the one who was going to go by herself.”
Kimber’s younger brother, Beryl was set to fight one of the lion’s for the right to claim the latest female sacrifice to arrive. Too bad for the lion that Poppy had already made up her mind and claimed Beryl, going so far as to boink him last night and staking her claim on the dragon. Poppy knew the boys would fight anyway, regardless of what she’d decided she wanted to do with her life. And so she’d come to the den to stop the fight.
“I was being responsible,” said Cardi. “I didn’t let her come here by herself.”
Kimber closed the distance between them. “Showing responsibility would’ve been coming to tell me.”
Cardi could taste the flames in his breath. She felt the fire in his eyes. Power radiated off his shoulders as he glared down at her.
Like always she didn’t back down. Anger and annoyance were the main types of attention she got from him. She flicked her hair over her shoulder, pursed her lips, and leaned in.
Kimber took a step back.
Damn, what was she doing wrong? She’d read the articles in Seventeen Magazine again and again about how to attract guys. Maybe it was time she updated to Woman’s Day or Cosmopolitan.
Kimber pinched the bridge between his nose. He always did that with her. It meant she was getting under his skin. Well, good. She still got to him. Time to turn the screws.
“Anyway, I have to go home and figure out what I’m going to wear for my da
te.”
Kimber ground his teeth, but he didn’t say anything.
Inside, Cardi twirled. He was bothered by it. Which meant he did care. Which also meant she was so going on this date. She was certain, he’d stop her at the door when Izem came to pick her up. Or at least interrupt the date and proclaim his love before the entree was served.
Especially if she wore something low cut and revealing with the brightest lipstick in her arsenal. It wasn’t over. It was so totally on. And she’d just kicked it up a notch in this game.
Next level, boinking the dragon.
Chapter Four
Kimber stretched his wings and the wind caught him. He glided along the current, swimming in the air. The sun warmed his back. The world stretched out before him. The humans had it right; heaven was in the clouds. He never felt as free as when he was in dragon form. But there was a price he paid.
"Higher, Kimmy. Faster."
Cardi kicked her heels into his ribs. She was a slight thing, so the jab didn’t hurt him. What did hurt was the snap of the leash he held on his beast.
The dragon gave a yank. Because Kimber had slackened his hold while riding on the wind, he lost control. His dragon obliged her.
It always did. When he was in this form it was the beast that held the reins over the man. The dragon would do anything to please Cardi. Sometimes things that even bordered on the reckless.
Up they went, higher above the cloud cover. Here the air would be thinner for her human lungs. At this height, one strong gust and she could fall off his back and crack her breakable bones.
Cardi kicked her legs, spurring him on. The dragon drove higher, its senses narrowed on the heat between her thighs. It’s nostrils flaring at the strong scent of her pleasure.
Her aroma was that of a blossoming flower. Honey heated from the sun’s rays. The fertile tang of turned earth. And the saccharine scent of over-processed Pop-Tarts.
Cardi thought the dragon was her friend. She didn't understand the beast wanted to throw her down on her back. Its constant thought was of rutting on her until she was filled with its babies.