Finding the Dragon (Dásreach Council Book 1) (39 page)

“Well, isn’t that a lovely sight?” Kai rumbled from the foot of the bed.

Al opened her eyes and looked at the cocky man standing in front of her in just a towel. In the past she would have blushed and covered, been nervous and tried to distract him from the fact that she was laying naked in the bed. But, last night she had felt something shift inside of her. There would be no covering up, this morning she was a new woman, a woman who wanted the man standing in front of her and trusted that he wanted her just as much.

Al sat up and adjusted to her knees while letting the sheet fall. She crawled towards Kai and watched as his eyes widened and roamed her body. His desire was evident in his molten stare and the tent in the towel he wore. When she reached him, she sat back on her heels and placed her hands at the edge of the towel. Al began to work her hands up his thighs so she could quickly knock the towel to the floor. He let her hands roam upwards to his abs, his eyes looking heavenward for control. When she started to move them down again, he grabbed them in a firm grasp and his eyes snapped to her own.

“Lass.” His voice full of the pain of restrained lust. “I’m sorry, Alvena. We don’t have time. We’ll miss our flight.”

She laid a kiss to his stomach and another one to his hip bone.

“Please, lass, you’re killing me here.” He moaned.

“I’m trying to make you
very
happy.” Al responded seductively.

He still held her hands, but she was free to use her mouth. All men enjoyed a women’s mouth. Al hadn’t performed oral sex too many times in the past. It had been unpleasant and made her feel slutty. But, she was already positive that with Kai it would be different. Everything was different with him.

Watching his expression, she stuck out her tongue and traced his hip bone and then his muscles down. His eyes flashed fire as she felt him twitch due to her attentions. However, before she could reach her goal, Kai moaned and pushed her back on the bed.

“I’m serious Alvena. You have no idea how much I want you to continue, but we have to catch that flight.” He moved back letting go of her hands.

She pushed out her lower lip and pouted at him, struggling not to giggle.

“Don’t you dare look at me like that.” He grouched. “Get that sweet arse up and get dressed.”

He turned and quickly went into the bathroom. “No time for you to take a shower.” He called out as he returned to the room and threw her bag of clothes and things at her.

Kai turned tail and ran back into the bathroom, slamming the door shut. She heard a curse and then the shower was turned back on. It ran for a few minutes before being turned off again. Al couldn’t help but laugh out loud. Kai opened the bathroom door.

“I wouldn’t be laughing if I was you. Pay backs are a bitch.” He grinned wickedly and slammed the door closed again.

Hell… Yeah
. She was counting on it.

*

They grabbed a quick breakfast in the hotel’s lobby and breakfast area before Kai drug Al back on the motorcycle for the short ride over to the airport. After last night and then her teasing and flirting with Kai this morning, she was so sensitized that it was pure torture for her. It was only a 5 minute drive to cross the road and enter the short term parking area, but by the time she was able to get off the motorcycle she was ready to throw Kai in a corner and have her wicked way with him.

Al found herself constantly touching Kai, when he went to grab her hand to walk to the door, she dodged it and went in to put her arm around his waist and cuddle into his side. It wasn’t the easiest way to walk, but all she wanted was to be touching him. So, she hobbled to the door and into the airport. The closeness that she and Kai shared was so new that Al was almost afraid to stop touching him, afraid that he would disappear. So, she kept her fingers in motion, playing with the hem of his t-shirt and running them underneath so she could touch his skin. Disappointingly, Kai eventually grabbed her hand and placed it on top of the material. As he rubbed her fingers with his own, he looked down at her with a heated look and a wink, his lips mouthing the words…
Pay. Back
.

She lifted her chin in defiance and pushed him away while stepping onto the escalator leading up to the upper level of the airport. Kai juggled the duffel that held all of their belongings and stepped on behind her. He was laughing and she thought to herself,
Yeah, a bitch. Keep it up funny man.

At the top of the escalator she stepped off and began walking down the walkway in front of them. When they came to a more open area she looked up at the signs to see which way to go for the United Airlines gate. Kai wrapped his arm around her and pulled her to the left, right as she saw a man in black fatigues. She stiffened with fear.
Oh, god. Did they find us again?
She shook her head and looked back where she thought she had seen him. He was no longer there. Her nerves must be on edge and manifesting bad guys she thought and kept walking.

“What’s wrong, lass?” Kai had noticed her reaction.

“Nothing. I just thought I saw something that wasn’t there.” She answered.

They walked a bit further when Kai started to say something in response to her, but stopped cold in his tracks. Al followed his line of vision and saw another man in black fatigues. Kai immediately pulled her further into him and looked around the room.

“We still have a half hour until the flight. We can’t take the chance that they’ll see us before we can get on. For all we know they could be on the flight. Over two hours on a flight with these mercenaries is not going to happen.” Kai evaluated the situation.

They turned around and headed back to the escalator. Kai unzipped the duffel and pulled out a hooded sweatshirt, which he handed to Al.

“Put this on and pull the hood up over your head. Here, carry the duffel as well. Nod your head like you’re listening to music, that way no one will think it’s odd that you have the hood up.” She immediately followed his instructions.

He tugged the hood farther down around her face. “Now, I want you to head down the escalator. No matter what happens I want you to head out the doors and go for the Harley. I will be right behind you.”

He shoved her towards the escalator and when she glanced around the almost seven foot tall dragon had disappeared like smoke. She didn’t see him anywhere. Al hunched into the hooded sweatshirt, hiked the bag up on her shoulder, and then shoved her hands in the pocket of the hoodie. She bobbed her head and walked slowly towards the escalator with a slide to her step that made her look like she was trying not to dance to the music. She felt ridiculous but kept going. No one even gave her a second look while they hurried to their gates to catch their flights.
People really are oblivious
.

As Al headed down the escalator she saw a black clad figure on the up side. Her heart was pounding and her hands were sweating. She worked to keep her muscles from tensing up and kept bobbing her head to her imaginary music. Glancing out the corners of her eyes, she could see the man looking up the escalator, not paying any attention to those coming down. He reached up to his ear and she noticed a wire looped around it. His hand dropped and he ran up the remaining steps of the escalator. The whole event couldn’t have been more than a minute, but it had felt like hours to her. She breathed in and out slowly, continuing to regulate herself, so that she didn’t look nervous – she hoped.

When she finally reached the first floor, several other black clad figures ran into the building. She glanced over at the ticket counters, like she was waiting on someone as she watched the men race up the escalator after their companion. When they hit the top and disappeared from view. She turned and hurried out of the building. As she came to the cross walk and had to stop for a car, she stood taking in deep breaths. She needed to continue to play her part. She had to do what Kai told her to do. She had to be ready when he came out of the airport.

At the Harley Al paced back and forth. She was worried about Kai. What was he doing? What if those men caught him and did something to him to get to her? She didn’t know how to start the bike and this airport was in the middle of a pretty deserted area. She didn’t think there was any way she’d be able to get out of there quick enough to keep herself alive if Kai didn’t come out. She had been able to fight off the drunks at the bar well enough, but when the man in the fatigues had grabbed her… she would have been dead already without Kai. She knew that she wouldn’t be able to defend herself against these men without him. As time ticked by, Al wondered if she stood out like a sore thumb standing by the bike. She looked around and there weren’t a ton of vehicles and no other motorcycles that she could see. Continuing to glance between the doors and the other cars, Al saw two vehicles sitting side by side but with a single space between them. She could move the bike between the van and sedan and it wouldn’t stand out as much.

Looking at the Harley, she second guessed her decision to move it. Kai made it look so easy, but he was practically 7-feet and a dragon shifter. She waited a second more, glanced at the doors and didn’t see Kai, so she took a deep breath and straddled the bike. Tilting the bike up and kicking back the kick stand, the whole weight of it hit her. Her breath rushed out.
Man this fucking thing is heavy.

Readjusting the wait, she slowly backed the bike up so that she could push forward and maneuver it to the new spot. Taking it one step at a time it went quicker and easier than she thought. Al soon had the Harley positioned and backed it into the space close to the side of the van that she hoped would block her from view. She grabbed the helmet that she was becoming all too accustomed to wearing and strapped it on her head. Deciding that if she was ready, then Kai could jump on, start the bike and they could zoom off hopefully before the mercenaries could get to them.

Al was sweating profusely in the hooded sweatshirt, but she was afraid to take it off. That was all she needed, to get caught with it up over her head. As she began to think of ice cream, slushies, and other icy cold things that could cool her off, Kai came running from the building. He jumped a few bushes and slid to a stop looking at where the bike used to be. He frantically glanced around until he saw her waving at him. He rushed over, a grim look on his face, and slid on to the motorcycle. With practiced ease, Kai started the engine and revved out of the parking spot all in one motion. Al clung to his back and prayed that they would make it away safely.

Glancing up as they raced past the walkways to the front doors, she saw black fatigues come running out of the building. One of the men lifted an arm and another guy smacked it down. The Harley raced past a few cars on the drive, but Kai didn’t even slow down as he passed other people, stop signs, or stop lights. He raced away on deserted roadways that hopefully were taking them to safety.

As the road blurred by, Al couldn’t help to think how uneventful the whole escape had been. She kept expecting a car to race up beside them. A window would lower, an arm would come out and aim a large gun right at them. The sound would ricochet as one of the men shot out the tire. Kai would lose control and go down. They would slide across the road and into a tree or oncoming traffic. She would die. Kai would eventually heal enough to limp away. She clung tighter to him, her fears making her breathing increase. Her chest began to tighten.
No. Not now.
She pounded on Kai’s leg. He shook his head no and kept riding down the road. She brought her hand back to hold against her heart.
Fucking panic attack.
She forced herself to pound on Kai’s back. Tugging on his shirt as her other arm clung to him as best she could. Kai finally pulled to the side of the road. By now, she was seeing spots. Her head felt woozy. He turned to her…

“Lass, we can’t… Alvena! What’s wrong lass?” He turned off the motor and reached around just in time to grab her as she started to fall from the bike.

Her world went black.

Chapter 28

Alvena fell into Kai’s arms. Her eyes closed. He held her and pulled her around in front of him. Kai leaned down and listened for breaths. She appeared to be slowly returning to a normal breathing rhythm from the harsh panting breaths he had felt on his back before stopping. Right before she passed out, her breaths had come in even shorter and faster exhalations before stopping all together. He had no idea what was wrong with her, but for now she seemed to be improving. All he could think about was how she had tried to get him to stop and he had refused, so worried about the mercenaries catching up with them he had only thought to keep going. In his mind he kept seeing Alvena falling off the Harley and hitting the pavement. He could have killed her.

Worried of being found on the side of the road, with no idea of how the men had once again found them, he was afraid to stop for long. But, with only a motorcycle for transportation, he had no choice but to wait until she awakened. If he tried to ride with her in his arms, he took a chance of losing control of the bike or of her waking and throwing him off balance. If he had taken a truck at the pub or stopped somewhere and rented a car, he could have continued to drive. He could have gotten Alvena to a hospital to be checked out. She was not safe here and he had no idea of what was wrong with her. Truthfully, the only place Alvena could possibly be safe was in Tiranam Dásig. He needed to get there but would not endanger her more to make it happen.