There on the ground lay her sister’s torn up bag, the tape holding the fabric together broken clean through. A dozen or so bra and panty sets lay strewn haphazardly on the ground. Some lacy, some thong, all matching along with a few satin baby-doll nighties and silk camisoles. Katy groaned, her face flaming with embarrassment. She squeezed her eyes shut as she removed her foot from the car, practically running toward the spilled items as her guards bent to help her retrieve them.
“It’s okay. It’s okay. I’ve got it,” Katy mumbled as she stuffed items back into the bag as quickly as possible. She grabbed the red baby-doll nightie from the ground, realizing too late her sister had used the soft material to wrap something else. A long slender box rolled out, landing atop Vector’s foot. There, in big bold letters, were the words “Extreme Turbo Power Bullet with Remote Control.”
Katy gasped, frozen in place as one by one their gazes trailed from the bullet back to her. Mortified, face flaming, ears burning, she couldn’t get a single word out. Emily had packed a sex toy, and they all thought it was Katy’s! She wanted to sink under the ground and stay there for the rest of the week. Finally, without thinking, she squeaked out, “That’s…that’s not…”
“Yours?” Mist laughed and gave Katy a wink as she picked up the box and casually stuffed it back into Katy’s bag. Returning to help Katy with the rest of the clothes, she whispered conspiratorially, “Whoever said diamonds are a girl’s best friend didn’t have a bullet.”
Katy only nodded, still too embarrassed to say anything rational as the limousine was loaded with the rest of her bags. Although it seemed like hours, only a few minutes passed before the entourage was comfortably settled in and the limousine sped out of a small side gate and into traffic. Dear God, what’s next? Can this day get any worse?
She shouldn’t have asked.
After a twisting, turning car ride that made her slightly motion sick, she was escorted into the darkest, most dreadful office she could ever have imagined. The wood was dark. The floor was dark. The walls, the drapes, even the lights seemed dim and only slightly illuminated the room. The chill inside was a stark contrast to the bright, sunny day outside. It reminded her of a cave, minus the dripping water and squeaking bats.
She sat on the oversized leather sofa, trying to be patient as Vector left her alone with Mist. After at least twenty minutes of awkward silence, Vector strode back in the room, his posture indicating a man under extreme stress.
“My apologies. We will not be able to sign the contracts this evening,” he informed her, a note of sadness and frustration in his voice.
“Okay. I understand.” That was fine with her. All she wanted now was to get out of these shoes, take a quick shower to wake herself up, and maybe enjoy a stroll through the enchanting village she’d seen from the car window as they approached the estate.
“Tomorrow morning? Shall we say ten?”
“Yes, I will be ready at ten.” She tried to sound calm and professional but was really thrilled. Ten would mean she could sleep in, take her time. Maybe even wander around this gigantic estate she’d barely caught a glimpse of as she was whisked into a guarded garage and to this gloomy office. “Since you will not be needing me right now, would it be possible for me to freshen up? It was a very long flight and I would like to see if any of my luggage is salvageable.”
“Of course!” Vector winced as if she’d shamed him. “Mist, escort the lady to her chambers and see to it she has everything she needs.”
Mist nodded and held out her hand to indicate Katy should precede her out of the room. When they were in the hallway, Mist stepped up beside her.
“This way.” She led Katy down a series of stone hallways lined with tapestries and treasures that must have cost a fortune. They walked on rugs that probably cost more than Katy made in a year at the law firm. The deeper into the castle they walked, the more Katy felt trapped, like a prisoner.
“Am I allowed to leave? I’d like to walk around the village a bit. Do a little touristy shopping. Maybe have a glass of wine?” It was still early. She could shower, grab a quick nap, and still have a few hours to spend before she would need to lie in bed and battle her jet lag.
“Or limoncello. You must try it.” Mist chuckled. “Of course, you may go exploring. I am honored to be your guide.”
“We don’t need the entire entourage?”
“Indeed not.”
Katy nearly sighed in relief at the thought of getting away from all the intensity and posturing from the men. And the twin swapping. God, she hated lying about who she was. Trying to be her sister all the time was exhausting. Emily owed her. Big-time.
“Just double-checking since there were so many of you at the airport.”
Mist’s smile grew wider. “We are in our home territory now. No one would dare try to hurt you here.”
As opposed to where? The airport? The next town over?
What kind of insanity had Emily dragged her into?
Deep underground, Ryker’s entire body shook with suppressed desire. Power. Agony. His dragon raked impatiently at his insides with invisible claws and pulled, grappled with the heavy chains holding him prisoner.
Now. Now. Now.
Unable to respond through the dragon’s heavy layers of emotion, Ryker drew the dragon chains tighter about himself. It was the only way to suppress the waves of magic battering him from the inside out.
Be calm, dragon. We will find her.
Something was different about Emily Toure. His dragon sensed it as soon as she entered the main palazzo. The beast became crazed. Even now he could barely connect to the dragon’s thoughts, fought with every breath to contain him. The creature had never fought so hard.
Mate!
That one word brought Ryker up short. Mate? That was impossible. He’d met Emily Toure months ago. Touched her skin. Allowed his dragon to take in her scent. She was not their mate.
MATE! The dragon’s bellow felt as if it would crack his skull in half from the inside.
Vector entered the room, and the dragon roared a warning.
“Calm down, Brother. She is here. All is well.”
But she was not in his home. Not anymore. He’d felt her leave. Known the moment her energy, her presence left the protection of the family compound.
Calling upon a will forged from centuries of struggle, Ryker pushed the dragon deep and regained his human form. “Where is she?”
“My king, she wished to spend some time in the village. Mist and another are acting as her Guardians.”
Mine! The dragon clawed at Ryker’s insides, demanding freedom to go after her.
His mate.
Dragon flame leaped into his eyes. Ryker felt the burn as Vector stepped back.
“Do not singe the hair off my head. She is perfectly safe.”
Ryker’s eyes narrowed dangerously as he waved a hand down his clothes, changing them with dragon magic from the suit he’d donned to a more casual look. Black slacks. Blue button-down shirt more appropriate for clubbing or an evening out. The golden chains ever-present around his neck. The Elven magic in the necklace might be the only thing powerful enough to keep him from dragging Emily Toure into the night like a beast and making her his.
His dragon clawed, eager to do exactly that, but Ryker was firmly in control now.
Silence, dragon. We will claim her. Tonight.
Ryker’s steel will calmed the dragon as nothing else could. They were in agreement. The female was theirs. Their mate.
Vector stepped forward, looking confused. “What is happening?”
“I am going hunting.”
4
Emily: so how’s it going
Katy: fine. sign contract tomorrow. italy is amazing
Emily: told you it would be great. have some fun
* * *
Free from all the problems waiting for her back home, Katy walked along the streets soaking in the sights, sounds, and unique smells of the village in springtime. With Mist accompanyi
ng her from the palazzo, she decided to use the other woman as a tour guide of sorts. When she’d asked for a bit of space, Mist had nodded agreeably and followed at a discreet distance.
Katy wasn’t crazy or stupid, and knowing she was a female alone in a strange place, she felt much safer knowing Mist was watching over her. She had even asked Mist to let her know if any of the places she wanted to visit were unsafe. Mist readily agreed, even going into the shops with her, then melting into the background. Katy was free to roam, unafraid of getting lost or being pestered by strangers.
The sun had gone down hours ago, but still she didn’t want to stop. This was exactly what she needed after the insanity of the last 24 hours. By this time yesterday she had buzzed Bosszilla that she had an emergency and was leaving for a few days then blew out the door without waiting for a response, broken more than a few polite driving rules to get home and then nagged her Uber driver to go faster in her mad dash to the airport. The first-class seat made the flight tolerable, despite her frazzled mental state, but the hours of quiet gave her mind too much time to make up dozens of scenarios and come up with even more questions. The whole airport experience was both bizarre and embarrassing and the uncomfortable drive to the sprawling estate seemed to take hours.
After all of that, postponing the whole ‘you have to be there to sign these papers’ event that started this crazy train was just about enough to send Katy into a full-blown mental meltdown. Now, however, she was much more relaxed. The past few hours had been perfect. A bit of window shopping. A bit of sightseeing. She actually felt like she was on vacation.
Katy enjoyed every moment exploring, stockpiling memories, taking pictures with her phone, tasting the food from local street vendors. She wanted to experience everything, all at once. She smiled, happy to be in the one place she had always dreamed of visiting.
Catching Mist’s eye, she motioned with her head toward a nightclub. Mist would either smile and nod that it was a good place to go, or frown and shake her head no. So far, Mist had only said no twice. Katy was not surprised; the places had even looked a bit sketchy. This one, however, looked very upscale. Discoteca Reale. Katy used her phone to look up the translation: Club Royal. Nice.
After a nod from Mist, Katy stepped eagerly through the doors of the nightclub, glad she had taken the time to shower and change into one of Emily’s little black dresses and a comfortable pair of heels before leaving the palazzo.
The music was upbeat, loud, and the people inside were smiling and dancing. She caught a glimpse of Mist melting into the crowd as she made her way to the ladies’ room. Normally she would have felt suffocated, but here in Italy, she was grateful for the other woman’s unobtrusive presence.
As she opened the door, cool air and modern decor greeted her, a comfortable looking sofa, coffee table, and magazines in one corner, with plenty of stalls farther in to accommodate the largest of crowds. Katy freshened up, even going so far as to let her long hair down. She was in Italy, after all.
When she finished up, she headed out to find a corner table where she could watch the dance floor without attracting too much attention. She wanted to get a feel for the place before she did anything crazy, like dance in front of a roomful of people who were all so much sexier than she was. Her dancing was pathetic. She looked like a stiff robot every time she tried, while Emily, the wild child had joined the hip-hop dance team. Katy had been drawn to the controlled beauty of ballet. Too many years on pointe made her amazingly graceful, but horribly unprepared for clubbing.
Thinking of Emily, Katy took out her phone and dialed her sister, surprised when she answered on the first ring.
“Hey! You must be psychic. I was just about to call you,” Emily chirped happily. “Wow, it’s loud. Are you at a club?”
“Yes.”
“Fantastic. How did it go? Any problems? Everything go okay? Did you sign the contract yet? Have you seen the pool?”
Katy scrunched up her nose as she listened to her sister’s endless questions. Finally she interrupted with a laugh, “Slow down! Let me talk!”
“Sorry,” Emily said contritely. “To be honest I was a little nervous about sending you out there in my place. But everything here is on schedule. I should be there in three days.”
“I thought it was two? What the hell happened now?” Emily could not do this to her. Not again.
“The most bizarre thing. I made it to Anchorage. Flight was supposed to be a hop over the pole to London. Twelve-hour layover and I would have been there with bells on.”
“Em. What. Happened?”
“This amazingly hot pilot comes out of the cockpit and tells the plane we’re being diverted to Inverness, as in Scotland, because of—well, actually, I’m not sure why. Anyway, there’s no flight out of here for a couple days. Something to do with the weather.”
“What the hell, Em?” How the hell did her sister always get into these situations?
“Don’t get mad. It wasn’t my fault this time.”
Katy rubbed her temple with her free hand. “It never is.”
“Well, it sounds like things are going well in Italy. You’re there. You’re at a club. Did you wear the little black dress I packed?”
“Yes. But… yeah. Well, about things going well, not so much.” Katy paused, thinking about the luggage. And the toy. The humiliation. Thinking about it now made her fidget on her chair. “You owe me big-time. I can’t believe you packed a vibrator! That’s probably why they postponed the contract signing until tomorrow.” She practically shouted to hear herself over the pounding music.
A loud peel of laughter forced Katy to hold the phone away from her ear until the sound faded.
“You think it’s funny? Well, your luggage got torn up and your little toy went rolling out of the bag right in front of the people who picked me up from the airport.” Katy’s lips twitched with amusement at her sister’s indrawn breath.
“Really? Oh, well. I don’t care about that silly thing. I threw it in at the last minute.”
“As far as I could tell, everything else is fine. I don’t know why you bother packing toys like that. You’re literally a hot guy magnet. Doesn’t matter where you are, they always find you. Me, on the other hand, they treat like a leper.”
“Oh Katy, stop being so hard on yourself. We look exactly the same. Guys drool all over you, too, but you don’t give them the time of day. I’m not sure you even notice most of them. If you would loosen up a bit. Smile. Flirt. Let the poor guy know you don’t think he’s a lowly worm you want to squish under your heel…”
Katy scrunched her nose. “I do not come across that bad. I just don’t have time to date,” she replied defensively.
“Normally I would argue, but I’m done dating. Done with men.”
“Sure. I totally believe you.” She had heard this from Emily after every bad breakup. The hiatus only lasted until the next drop-dead gorgeous man looked her way.
Katy leaned back into her seat with a grin on her face as Emily spiraled into her sure to be long justification of why this time was different. Katy looked around the club, only half listening to her sister. The crown molding in the room was exquisite; the ceiling etched with some kind of plaster art that made the room feel like a fairy-tale ball should be happening, not a roaring nightclub full of normal people out for a good time. Mythical creatures had been molded into the ceiling. Dragons, mostly. A few fairies. Lots of trees and flowers filling in the spaces. The ceiling alone was worth the trip. Only in Italy would a building this old and beautiful be used as a dance club.
“I’m serious. I’ve been around the block a few times.”
What were they talking about again? Oh yes. Men. “That’s an understatement.”
“Be nice.”
“I was.” Katy grinned and watched a couple writhe and move together on the dance floor like they were making love through their clothes. Sexy. Hot. She couldn’t take her eyes off them as they started to kiss like they were starving for one another.
No man had ever kissed her like that. Not even close. She sighed, jealousy a little green monster twisting in her gut.
Emily was laughing. “Fair. I’ve dated a lot of men, and not one of them was worth keeping. I’m done. I’ve had my fun. I want different things now.”
“Like what?”
“It doesn’t matter. I’m all set, and I’m determined to be happy about it. But you, dear sister, need to get out there. Take the chance to hook up with an Italian sex god and have an orgasmic vacation.”
Katy nearly choked on her dirty martini. “You’re terrible.”
“When was the last time you let loose and had a one-night stand?”
“Um, wow, let me think about that. NEVER. You know I can barely talk to strangers, so picking up a hot guy and letting him see me naked would be next level.”
“Fine. How about sex with a boyfriend? A friend with benefits? Coworker? Anyone at all?”
Katy opened her mouth to reply, but her sister beat her to the punch.
“With a man, not a toy.”
“A long time.” It was probably over a year now, but who was counting?
She was. Fourteen months. Her va-jay-jay was probably covered in cobwebs.
Emily’s voice was sympathetic. “I know you don’t sleep around, which is fine. But Katy, you’re in Italy! The men are gorgeous. No one knows you. Have a little fun. Have a lot of fun! Just relax and enjoy! You deserve this!”
Katy groaned. “I’ll try.”
“Listen, I’ll be there in a few days. Then the real vacation starts for you, Sis. I want you to find someone sexy. Or maybe two someones, and rock their world. I’ll expect a full report after the dust settles,” Emily chuckled.
“One is more than enough.” Katy sighed. “And I don’t know how to rock anything.”
“Then just let him rock you on his really big co—”
Dragon Chains Page 3