The Unseen

by Thea Harrison

  The sunset threw a magnificent kaleidoscope of color across the water and sky. Niall shook himself alert, changed into his Wyr form and careened down the beach, kicking up his hooves and stabbing at rocks in the sand. Skeeter had already gotten used to Niall’s shapeshifting and chased the baby, barking ecstatically.

  When Niall whirled to point the tip of his horn at the dog, Dragos intervened. “Niall,” he said in a tone that brooked no argument. “Do not.”

  Niall wavered. Swishing his tail, he regarded his father, while a hint of smoke curling out of one delicate nostril. There was such an assessing look in the little shit’s eyes, Dragos fought a serious battle to keep from laughing.

  “He is going to challenge you…,” murmured Pia. Her complexion was reddened with the effort to hold back her own laughter. “I foresee years and years of challenges coming.”

  “I know,” he murmured in reply. He repeated more loudly, “Do not stab the dog.”

  Niall broke from the contest of wills by tossing his head and cavorting away.

  Dragos waited until the baby wore himself out and changed back into his human form. Then he said gently, “We have to talk again about binding him.”

  They had gone around and around on the subject before. Sometimes the Wyr faced the challenge of raising a child who was so strong and dangerous they had to cast a binding that would keep the child in its human form until it grew old enough to exercise self-control. Most commonly, the tactic was used on lion Wyr or other predators that might be inclined to violence.

  Her expression darkened. “I hate the idea.”

  “I do too. But he’s too strong willed and chaotic. If we don’t bind him, at least sometimes, one of these days he’s going to shapeshift at the wrong time, and his Wyr form will no longer be a secret.” He paused. “I can protect both of you better here, but the danger of exposure is still very real. As soon as we decided to create a new society in Rhyacia, we allowed for that danger to exist. The only way we could have circumvented it is if we had come to live here by ourselves. And that kind of isolation wouldn’t have offered a real life for any of us.”

  “No, I know.” She picked up a handful of sand and let it sift through her fingers. “The situation never came up with Liam. He was too…”

  “I think the word you might be looking for is sensible.”

  She laughed. “Maybe so. Also, we had no need to keep his dragon form a secret. Everybody expected you to have a dragon son. And even then, we still ran into problems, like the time when we went on vacation and he decided to climb out of the house and go on an adventure.”

  “Exactly.” Watching her carefully, he suggested, “Think of it like putting on a diaper. We already diaper Niall so he doesn’t piss or shit all over the place. When he exercises enough self-control, we’ll stop using the diapers. He’ll still eliminate, but he’ll do it when and where he’s supposed to.”

  “And sometimes we can take the diaper off?”

  He nodded. “We can take the binding off whenever he’s in a safe enough place to allow him to shapeshift into his Wyr form, like here on this stretch of the beach. He’ll still get the freedom to run and explore, only it’ll be on our terms, not his. We can use it as a tool to teach him self-discipline.”

  She pinched the bridge of her nose. “Put like that, I don’t think we’ve got any other real choice.”

  “I don’t think we do.”

  “All right.” It was clearly a hard concession for her to make, but the baby’s safety had to come first, and as soon as Niall had shown an aptitude for early shapeshifting, they never really did have any other choice.

  He pulled Pia between his legs and wrapped his arms around her. Holding the baby, she leaned back against his chest, and they watched the sun slip down past the horizon. The dog settled on the sand and leaned against his thigh.

  Pressing his lips to the curve of her ear, he said, “About Paul.”

  Stirring, she said uncomfortably, “I really went off on him. I’m sorry.”

  “That’s the last thing I want you to be. Yes, you went off on him, but he was inappropriate. Nobody behaves inappropriately to my mate and gets away with it. If you hadn’t done it, I would have. In any case, that’s not what I wanted to talk about.”

  “Okay,” she said, her tone turning cautious. “What about Paul?”

  He rested his cheek against her hair. “I don’t think the woman I once met on Folly Beach in South Carolina would have been capable of doing what you did this afternoon.”

  She chuckled. “You mean the woman you hunted down on the beach.”

  With the wave of one hand, he brushed that off. “Semantics. I am making an important point here. Even as I started to respond to Paul, you stopped me and stepped in, and you gave him the dressing down he deserved. The woman I met on the beach had a mouth on her like I couldn’t believe. She was feisty, and sexy, and endlessly fascinating. But I don’t think she would have had the capability to do what you did so effortlessly earlier today. Sometimes when I look at you, I can see you still doubt yourself. You overthink things, and you worry constantly about whether or not you’re doing the right thing.”

  “You’re right,” she muttered. “I do.”

  “On one hand, it shows you have a conscience.” He tightened his arms. “But on the other hand, I wish you could trust yourself the way I trust you. I wish you could see how much you’ve grown, the way I can see it. You do the right thing more often than not, and when you don’t, you’re fluid enough that you’re capable of executing a course correction and getting back on track. You have something. It’s not just a moral compass, although it’s that too. You have the ability to find your way in difficult circumstances, but it’s also the ability to take command, to establish boundaries, and to back somebody off if they need to be backed off. I would like to see you to rely on that more. You are stronger and more capable than you believe, and I respect the hell out of you.”

  When he finished speaking, she was silent for so long he had just begun to wonder if he had said something wrong, then she whispered, “Thank you for saying that. It means a lot to me.”

  “I didn’t say it to be touchy-feely.” He was not a fan of touchy-feely moments. “I’m telling you the truth as I see it.” He stirred. “Ready to go back up to the house?”

  “Yes.”

  Since she had her arms full, he lifted her up effortlessly and set her on her feet. Within minutes, they had stepped back into the house. In the living room, Eva lay stretched out on one of the couches, reading one of Pia’s paperbacks.

  Followed by Skeeter, Dragos wandered into the kitchen to pull out leftover filet mignon from the icebox. While he stood at the counter and ate, he listened to the women talking in the other room.

  Pia: “Are you sure you’re okay with watching Niall tonight?”

  Eva: “For the thousandth time, yes. I’m not sleepy in the slightest. All I did today was take a magic carpet ride on a dragon, which for me is like going to Six Flags. Then my best friend set me up on a date, and I went swimming with a gorgeous woman who has a saucy ass like you wouldn’t believe.”

  Pia laughed. “I’m glad you had such a good time.”

  Eva: “After that, I took a walk with the same gorgeous woman to retrieve a dog—and that was cute, it was like another date—and then I got to have dinner with her. Being on assignment as your bodyguard has had some heavy moments, but I haven’t even worked today. Quit fretting.”

  Pia: “I can’t help it. You won’t take your eyes off him?”

  Eva: “I’ll do even better. I’ll keep him on my chest the entire time I’m with him. That little baby is going to get so spoiled. He’s going to be held the entire time you’re not with him. How’s that?”

  Dragos ate several bites of the beef while he listened with approval. That little baby was too young to have any sense. He should be spoiled rotten.

  He caught sight of Skeeter sitting in a tight hunch in front of him, large dark eyes pleading. Reall
y, the dog was quite ugly. He had a snaggletooth face, and Pia hadn’t trimmed the hair around his eyes. It was sort of wavy and curly in places and brown, and it hung over his eyes.

  Dragos remembered Pia had said Skeeter had been adopted. Who knew what kind of rough life the dog had lived, and most of that short life was already over. Had he ever tasted filet mignon?

  “This is so inappropriate,” Dragos muttered as he cut off a piece of the beef and held it out to the dog. “And it doesn’t mean I like you.”

  Astonishment bulged in Skeeter’s eyes. He lunged and inhaled, and the beef disappeared from Dragos’s fingers.

  For fuck’s sake. The dog looked like Dragos had just hung the moon, and all over a stupid piece of beef. Dragos couldn’t count the number of times he had eaten beef in his incredibly long life. This was pathetic. He cut off another piece and fed it to the dog, and then another.

  A slight noise made him lift his gaze. Pia stared in astonishment.

  “It doesn’t mean anything,” he growled. “I’m just feeding the rejected snack a snack.”

  She nodded. Holy gods, her eyes filled with tears. “Don’t mind me.” Her voice wobbled. “You know how emotional I’ve been since I’ve given birth. I’m going to take a quick shower now.”

  “Good,” he said with more emphasis than he probably should have. Maybe that would give her a chance to calm down.

  She disappeared down the hall, and as long as he lived, he would never understand women.

  There was one more bite of beef left, half of it gristle. Dragos sneered at the thought of putting it in his mouth. But the dog rested his chin on Dragos’s knee and looked like he might expire at any moment. He fed Skeeter the last bite.

  On his way to the bedroom, he stopped to tell Eva, “Be sure to let me know if you get the slightest bit sleepy, and I’ll take watch.”

  She half reclined on the couch, patting the baby’s back as he lay on her chest. “Sure thing.”

  Maybe it was overkill. In all the stories he’d heard about the unseen, none of them had involved causing actual harm to anyone. There were other children in the settlement, and none of them had been taken. But Dragos was a big fan of overkill. Better to have overkill than to have something happen and agonize afterward about wondering if they could have done more to prevent it.

  He strode down the hall to the master suite. Pia was still showering. Stripping off his clothes, he joined her. The shower stall was large and lined with travertine marble, with an oversized, square rain shower head that hung from the ceiling.

  Water glistened on her rounded hips and graceful, violin-shaped back. She was soaping her hair and she paused to smile at him over her shoulder. His was a fiery nature, and desire burned through his veins to stiffen his cock.

  Brushing her hands aside, he took over the task of working shampoo through her hair, relishing the wet glide of his fingers through the soapy length. When he began to massage her scalp, she moaned and put a hand on the wall to brace herself. “That feels so good.”

  One corner of his mouth lifted. “It does to me too.”

  He finished washing her hair and moved to her shoulders, back, and breasts. Those he handled with extreme care, as she was breast feeding and they were often swollen and achy. He stroked the distended nipples and ran his fingers along the crease under the soft rounded globes, watching her expression as he worked his way down her body.

  When he reached between her legs, she gasped and leaned back against the wall. “I don’t know if I can stand up while you do that.”

  “Let’s find out,” he murmured.

  She looked at him through lashes spiked with water. “Last time I ended up on the floor.”

  “See how long you can take it.” He loved sex in the shower, and he had made sure their prefab had a shower big enough to accommodate both of them.

  He loved the hot wet glide of their bodies moving together, loved the way she looked when she was drenched and lost in pleasure.

  “I have a better idea,” she said huskily.

  She slid down to her knees in front of him, and he knew where this was going to go. Anticipation made him hard as a spike. She held her hand up, and he obliged her unspoken request by squirting liquid soap onto her palm.

  Grasping his erection, she worked the soap all over it and the tight sac of his testicles underneath. She tightened her fingers, pumping him, and the pressure and cleverness of her touch quickly brought him to the edge of climax.

  He gripped her wrists to pull her hands away, hissing, “Oh no, you don’t. I don’t want this to go that quick.”

  The reprieve he bought himself was all too brief. He had barely eased back from the edge when she leaned forward and took him in her mouth. So hot, so wet, so tight.

  “Cocksucker!” he swore.

  Exploding with laughter, she lost her hold on him. Grinning, he took the opportunity to go down on his knees. Angling into a sitting position, he urged her to climb onto his lap, and she swung one of her fabulous legs over his and came astride him.

  That’s it, that’s what he wanted. He fingered her, growing serious, and watched her expression turn intense with need. “Come inside now,” she gasped.

  “Anything you want, lover,” he murmured.

  She positioned his cock while he held onto her hips, and when she eased down on him, he penetrated her, and it was exactly the right fit. They found exactly the right rhythm.

  She clenched, he pumped, she wound her arms around his neck and clung, while he gripped her flexing torso and drove in harder. The rain shower poured and poured water over them, washing away everything from the day, the stress and anxiety from earlier when she had screamed his name and his entire world had stopped.

  He clenched her too hard, crushing her against his chest so that she gasped, and even though he knew he did, he couldn’t stop. Then his climax hit, a volcanic gush that shuddered through his body. Flexing throughout the pulsing pleasure, he lifted his head, eyes closed, and let the water pour over his face like tears.

  He loved her, he loved her, but he was never entirely sure he knew what that meant. What was love, anyway?

  All he knew was what she taught him day by day.

  For him, love was a collection of moments like this.

  Strung together like luminous pearls on a string.

  Chapter Seven

  Niall woke up after five hours. While Pia fed him, Dragos sent Eva back to her cottage to get some rest. Once the baby’s appetite had been satiated and he had fallen back to sleep, Dragos settled him on his chest and took watch for the rest of the night.

  They left early in the morning while it was still cool and relatively quiet. Dragos insisted Pia wear at least some protection. When she grumbled, he gave her a level look.

  “Do we know what we’re going to find when we investigate?”

  She narrowed her eyes. “No.”

  “Precisely. We don’t. That’s why we’re going to investigate. Is there the possibility we might run into something dangerous?”

  “We probably won’t, you know. This whole area was surveyed before we decided to develop here.”

  When Dragos decided upon something, his patience could be ruthless. He pressed. “When the area was surveyed, the engineers didn’t know anything about the unseen. So is there the possibility that we might find something dangerous?”

  “Fine.” She glowered. “There is the possibility we might.”

  “If we are going to indulge ourselves in overkill, I want to see some of that indulgence spread in your direction,” he said.

  In the end she decided, with his approval, on wearing leather leggings and half armor that protected her torso. He strapped his sword to his back, and she chose to arm herself with a bow and a quiver full of arrows. It was the weapon she felt most comfortable with using. Her sword work was indifferent at best, and if for any outlandish reason they ended up in some kind of hand-to-hand conflict, she would do more harm by getting in the way. When Dragos fought he was a
n unstoppable juggernaut. Her best contribution was the accuracy of her aim.

  They left the dog with Jocasta and Ramone. Pia had pumped breast milk for Niall, so when they dropped the baby off at Graydon and Bel’s, they had several uninterrupted hours ahead of them.

  He wanted to check out the site of the concert hall first, so that’s where they headed. Construction had already begun in several different places, but the building dust had not yet gotten too irritating yet. Once at the site, Dragos found the foreman and asked a series of questions about what they had already tested for.

  He was being thorough, but to Pia the conversation was all blah blah blah, so she wandered off to study the frame of the building that they had erected again. She didn’t go far, and Dragos always kept her in his line of sight, but she did get enough distance so that their voices blended into the background.

  The warm sunshine felt good on her exposed arms and face, and the breeze off the water felt refreshing. Opening her senses wide, she studied the beams, the cloudless blue sky overhead, and the raw ground that was strewn with building materials and tools.

  When Dragos finally joined her, he asked, “Do you sense anything?”

  She shrugged and shook her head. “It’s nice here. How about you?”

  He looked up at the sky. Dragos was the only person she had ever met who could stare directly at the sun. “There’s something here,” he said finally. “It’s a feeling akin to a ley line or the kind of energy vortex you would find in Sedona. It’s what attracted me to this spot in the first place—that, and the way the concert hall is positioned so that it should have some of the best views of the city and the harbor.”

  “But none of that should cause a problem with construction, right?” she said.

  “Right. If we were on Earth, we could utilize technology to get some imaging of what might be going on deep underground, further down than we’ve gone to build the foundations here. There’s something called an advanced ground penetrating radar system—GPR—that archaeologists have used to map out an entire buried Roman city in Italy without needing to excavate. I’d love to use that here.”