We were met at the doors by Mayor Claudius Courday himself and his entourage. Courday was much as you would suspect a lifetime politician to look. He had short sandy blonde hair, dimples in his cheeks, hazel eyes and was about an inch shy of six foot. His body was neither overly muscular nor too slender. And aside from the cold I could feel radiating off him, there wasn’t much to set him apart from any other politician I’d ever seen. Except perhaps that his incisors were pointy and he literally sucked the blood out of his constituents. That and the way his eyes moved over me. It was as if he couldn’t get enough and would have liked to have eaten me all up right there on the steps.
Courday stepped forward and Cursed and Owen parted hesitantly when he held out his hand to me. Our introduction became a photo opportunity and those Press members that had followed us up the carpet became frenzied as Courday lifted my hand to his mouth.
“Princess Lexi, I am so very pleased you were able to join us tonight. I have been looking forward to meeting you and welcoming you to our fair city,” Courday informed me in a surprisingly deep well modulated voice. I could see with his pale boy scout features and fine speaking voice how he had found a place as Mayor. His eyes whispered at pleasures untold. I felt myself drawn into to them and gave myself a mental shake when I found myself wondering things I had no business thinking. His smile told me he was not unaware of his effect on me and that he was very pleased at my reaction. Myself, I was somewhat appalled that I’d forgotten my most basic lesson and had stared into his large hazel eyes. Aside from his sex appeal he seemed harmless enough, I thought, as his fingers slowly released mine and the corners of his lips lifted slightly.
“Thank you, Mayor. It is a pleasure to be here. May I present my Consorts, Gareth Blue and Jace Green? I believe you might recognize my mother, Princess Shaylee, and this is my father Roark Silver,” I told him as Amras and Cursed shifted, leaving an opening that revealed both my parents to Courday’s view.
“What an unexpected surprise,” Courday gushed and stepped forward to kiss the back of Mom’s hand. “Such a pleasure to meet you, Princess. I have, of course, heard much about you and am familiar with the work that you do,” he informed her. He turned to my father and shook his hand, then moved on to Gareth and Jace.
“My men,” I continued once he’d finished with Jace. “Lord Amras, Owen, Cursed, and this is Kit,” I told him and he smiled at each of them in turn. Once we were done with the introductions, Courday invited us to all pose for the cameras and I found myself nearly pressed against his side. I could swear his hand caressed my arm but it happened so quickly I couldn’t be certain. “You are even more beautiful than your pictures,” he whispered at one point while we were posing. I had to wonder if the good Mayor of San Francisco was hitting on me right there in plain sight of the reporters and what looked like half the population of the city!
“You do realize… the meaning of consorts?” I replied under my breath and he flashed a grin as the cameras went off.
“Come home with your shield, or on it,” he replied as his arm slid around my waist. I struggled to keep a shocked look off my face while the press went right on capturing us on film. What the heck was that supposed to mean? I wondered then sucked in a breath when his fingers stroked my side. Good lord the Mayor was a letch! Who would have thought it? Over the next five minutes he managed to brush himself against me several times, irritating my men, who couldn’t very well do anything about it. Gareth and Jace looked like they would have liked to use his face for a punching bag but Courday merely smiled and stuck to my side as if he’d been glued there, preventing either of them from inserting themselves between us. After about ten minutes of picture taking and Courday fielding questions, we mercifully left the red carpet and moved into the building through the double doors.
Courday’s people surrounded us, sweeping me into the building at his side. I glanced over everyone in his group, realizing that most of them were human, or much younger Vamps, as none of them had very strong auras. Courday shooed several of his staff out of the way as he escorted me across the hall into the rotunda and up the seven or eight stairs to the platform area. Behind us my men followed closely, their expressions ranging from outrage to annoyance. At his signal the music stopped, and he walked with me to the microphone standing to one side of the platform. His hand continued to caress mine until I thought I might scream or yank it out of his grasp. He gave me a look I might have expected from Gareth, something along the lines of behave yourself … causing my eyebrows to nearly shoot into my hairline from his audacity.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, I’d like to thank you for coming…” Courday began. Somewhere in the middle of his speech one of his assistants carried up a large gift box wrapped in a big red ribbon which contained a very large golden key to the city. After introducing me to the crowd, he presented me with the key and then introduced my Mother and Father.
The entire thing was kind of corny but in the midst of the key exchange I was finally able to retrieve my hand and take half a step away from him. His eyes told me he’d noticed my movement and I ignored him, struggling to pay attention while I scanned the crowd. I’d already picked out Bodark and Jared and it wasn’t difficult to find Blake and Valentine. Of the four, only Jared appeared to have someone on his arm. She was a svelte little brunette that was barely covered in a black little number that draped down the front to her belly button and was slit up her thigh nearly to her hip. She looked to have a death grip oh his arm and a jealous gleam in her eye. I was suddenly glad I hadn’t had the opportunity to dance with Jared last night. A jealous mate was the last thing I needed to contend with.
Bodark looked handsome in a dark grey tuxedo that lit up his grey eyes. He looked cute when he smiled and made a funny face at me. I had to struggle to keep a straight face and look away lest I laugh inappropriately while the Mayor was droning on.
I suppose I shouldn’t have been surprised to see both Belinda and Marcus there but my gaze never stopped as I scanned right over them. Tonight neither of them wore collars or leashes. Marcus had lost some of the healthy bloom I’d given him two nights previous and looked quite serious. I worked at thinking happy thoughts and turned away.
Alan was there and Kit hadn’t been kidding. Kit may have come home scratched, but Alan looked… much worse. His face was bruised and his lip was split. He had his arm in a black sling that matched his black tuxedo. If he hadn’t stolen my gold I might have felt guilty. When our eyes met he smiled and I shook my head slightly, letting him know he should have listened to me.
I think one of the biggest surprises was when I saw Margie, the dark haired Werewolf who’d originally taken me to the Salty Dog, discreetly waving her fingers at me from near the base of the stairs. I smiled back at her and winked, noticing she was wearing huge diamond earrings. My eyes moved to Gareth then back to her, catching his eye and raising an eyebrow. When I teased that I was going to send her a yacht to thank her, he’d told me he had included a nice pair of diamonds in with the flowers he and Jace had sent. It was just their way of saying thank you for her bringing me to their club. I didn’t realize he’d sent her mini icebergs! Gareth’s grin was sweet, his eyes told me I was worth every penny and I felt my cheeks flush with his pleasure.
There were a few other people I recognized. Dten was there but I didn’t see Eldal. Milos and Adar were there, too. Angel appeared to be missing, but then she hadn’t really seemed the party type of girl to me. My eyes scanned the crowd and I skimmed over a man standing near the front doors, he was tall and dark and leaning his shoulder against the wall. His body language said he was bored but it was his eyes that drew my gaze back to him… that and something familiar about him. When our eyes met it felt like I was falling into him and in my head I heard my name whispered.
Gareth and Jace both jerked, as did the rest of my men spread out up the stairs. We looked almost like a wedding procession, with my men as the bridegrooms. Apparently I wasn’t the only one hearing things. Jace glanced at
me and his eyes followed mine across the room. Gareth was already glancing toward the doorway and both of them appeared to grow about three inches as they stared in the man’s direction. The man leaning against the door flashed a smile and pushed away from the wall, pulling himself up straight while his eyes flicked over the men surrounding me. When he was done looking them over, his eyes met mine again. He dipped his head and turned his back to us and strolled through the arch.
Jace cursed under his breath and my eyes flicked first to him then Gareth. Both were tense and struggling to remain calm. I wasn’t sure what the problem was but it didn’t look good. Thankfully Courday appeared to be wrapping up his speech and the majority of the crowd appeared to be none the wiser, although when I glanced over at Bodarks’ tall form I discovered he was moving toward the arch where the man had disappeared. Alan seemed to have disappeared too, until I scanned the crowd and found him also moving in the same direction. It seemed they both had caught the interplay and were curious enough to investigate.
“Our town is suddenly overrun with Dragons,” Gareth whispered in my ear. He had moved in behind me as we all clapped loudly for Courday when he finally finished his speech. I wasn’t even sure what all he had said and hoped I wouldn’t be called upon later to comment on anything in particular. Gareth’s remark surprised me and I pulled back and glanced at him curiously. “Dane,” he muttered and I felt the blood drain from my face. Oh great, just what we needed!
Gareth and Jace eased me off the stairs before Courday could grab me again, and down into the crowd we went, where I was immediately surrounded by both my men and everyone intent upon introducing themselves to me. I smiled and nodded and had my hand kissed while my men scanned the crowd looking for my Black, who Mi had warned me against and Jace and Gareth thought coarse and not good enough for me. At the moment I had my hands literally full. Dane had made himself known to me and would approach when he was ready. I felt no obligation to chase him down and worrying over it was only going to upset me. Besides I wasn’t in any hurry to draw Valentine’s attention to him. If he had just arrived in town he’d need to be warned. Any interest I showed in him would only arouse Valentine and I already felt responsible for my Father, Jace, and Gareth. Adding another Dragon to my list was not something I needed to be doing at the moment.
Beside me Gareth gave my waist a squeeze and his mind brushed across mine, and I smiled. We worked our way around the room and Jace snagged a glass of Champaign off a tray for me while those around us did the same. Mom and Dad worked the other side of the room drawing nearly as big a crowd as I did. I stood there sipping my drink and chatting with people whose names I could never hope to remember and answered as many questions as I could, some rather vaguely.
Somewhere during the one hundredth introduction my mind starting wandering and I glanced over at Kit, who was staring intently at those people surrounding us. His eyes looked mischievous and I wondered what exactly he was thinking. His black eyes met mine and he licked his lips. Apparently whatever it was was entertaining. But then he was a Lust Demon so maybe it wasn’t all that hard to figure out. Between the looks the women were giving to my men and the looks I was getting from the men, if he’d been an incubus it’s likely he would have overdosed and slipped into a coma by now. His teeth flashed in a wicked smile and I shook my head. Excuse me, my penis is not cold, he informed me in my head and I bit my lip to keep from laughing. Apparently Incubus’ had cold penises and Kit was right… his was not.
That thought got me several odd looks and a throat clearing from Gareth while Jace leaned down and nibbled my ear. “Neither is mine,” he whispered. And I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from groaning.
Gareth leaned over my other shoulder, his back cupping my body and remarked casually, “You drank Champagne the night we met. Do you remember?”
My mouth went dry and I stared down at the glass in my hand watching the bubbles rising to the top. “I remember… everything,” I replied in a husky voice. I wasn’t likely to forget.
“You changed our lives that night,” Jace murmured from my other side and I tilted my head and met his eyes, thinking how they had altered my life, enriched it in such a way that I could not imagine them not in it. This conversation was turning very serious and I’d soon be in tears. Giving myself a shake, I looked around me realizing Gareth and Jace weren’t the only ones affected by his words.
Owen and Cursed looked intense, their eyes continually scanning the room as if they were afraid to look at me. But when my eyes met Amras’ the look in his violet orbs made my heart skip a beat. He looked like this was the last time he would ever see me. I didn’t stop to think, I simply acted and just as I had practiced earlier on Dean and Nate, I sent Amras the feel of my palm cupping his cheek while my lips pressed softly to his. Apparently having my shield in place didn’t prevent me from projecting, but I took a second to slow my shield as I watched his nostrils flare and his lids lower slightly. In my mind I heard him whisper… Lle naa vanima, you are beautiful.
My timing was still not perfect, but I concentrated on my lower shield and whispered back to him, diola lee, thank you. Beside him Cursed raised an eyebrow and glanced between us. Obviously it wasn’t just my timing that was off, since Owen smiled and Kit spared me another glance but went back to studying the people around him.
After that it became something of a game, a way to lighten my mood and prevent myself from crying. Every fifth person or so I’d reach out and brush a mental finger or hand down one of my men’s faces, ears, or necks. At one point I sent the feel my palm gently cupping Owen’s bottom and he growled softly, causing several people near him to back away from him in alarm. His dark eyes gave me a look that promised I’d regret that later and he went back to scanning the crowd.
Playing with Kit appeared to be even more dangerous as he had the skills to play back. When I sent a soft kiss against the back of his neck, he took the field and I felt his teeth against my nipple. My eyes widened and I nearly spilled my drink on the older human woman who was telling me all about her trip to see the mounds in South Dakota as a child. “Excuse me. I’m very sorry,” I told her, my cheeks turning pink as she eyed me strangely.
“What are you doing?” Jace leaned down and asked, his eyes glancing amongst the others suspiciously.
“Just um… I’m fine,” I told him, trying not to look at Kit who was now grinning, his eyes daring me to retaliate. “Just lost my concentration there for a moment.”
Jace didn’t know if he should believe me or not but it was Gareth that leaned down and whispered. “Be careful. You wouldn’t want to give one of these people a heart attack.” I bit my lip again and nodded. When Gareth and Jace went back to chatting with the people around us, I narrowed my eyes at Kit and sent him the feel of my hand squeezing down his cock, and was rewarded by the surprised look on his face as his cheeks flushed slightly.
“Ohhh … that was well done, Mistress,” he murmured and bowed his head to me. Beside him Cursed frowned and Amras glanced between the two of us. Apparently my sendings were getting better because neither of them had felt anything. Beside me Jace shifted and made a low sound in his throat. I went back to paying attention to the people streaming past me.
At one point I glanced up and smiled to find Bodark standing in front of me. He leaned down and gave me a kiss on the cheek while I hugged him, much to the dismay of those around me. “Hi, Bodark,” I told him happily. It was nice to see a face I knew. “You will remember to save me a dance?” I asked and he grinned.
“Lexi… Princess,” he corrected himself. “You look lovelier each time I see you,” he teased.
“And you look rather spiffy yourself, very handsome in a tux,” I replied, reaching up to brush back his hair. “Remind me later, I have someone I want to introduce to you,” I told him and he lifted an eyebrow at me skeptically. “Don’t worry, it won’t hurt. I promise,” I teased him back. He nodded then glanced at Gareth, then Jace.
“Who was the man a
t the back of the room earlier?” he asked, his face serious as he came right to the point, lowering his voice so it wouldn’t carry past our little group. The three of them looked at each other and I could tell my other four were listening too. I wouldn’t be surprised if they had already recognized him from the painting in my bedroom, I thought, and heard Cursed pull air through his teeth. Kit grumbled under his breath and I caught maybe one in every three words… he wasn’t mumbling nice things.
Gareth glanced at Bodark and looked at the taller man for a moment before he replied, “Someone interested in meeting Lexi.”
Bodark glanced down at me and his grey eyes searched my face, perhaps looking for some indication if that was acceptable to me or not. “Alan is watching him at the moment. They are both upstairs on the mezzanine. Would you like us to get rid of him?” he asked.
I thought about it for a moment and closed my eyes. Yes… there, I could actually sense his gaze on me and tilted my face back and turned my head slightly. When I opened my lids again I was looking directly into Dane’s eyes. Bodark and the rest of my men followed my gaze until we were all staring up at him. “No he’s fine,” I told Bodark. “Leave him be, he will not harm me.”
“Are you certain? He looks like trouble,” Bodark replied, his eyes skeptical.
I gave him a lopsided smile and nodded. “Yes, I’m certain he will be trouble, but at the moment he is the least of my worries. He must not be harmed. But it was very sweet of you and Alan to offer,” I told him and placed my hand on his arm. “Please go find Alan and bring him down. I would not want him injured on my behalf.”
Bodark seemed to find that funny and chuckled softly. “I’m dammed if I feel good about leaving him up there like that, but if you don’t want us to break him in two then I guess I’ll go find Alan and let him know it is okay.”
Dragon Rage Page 22