Knights of Desire [Flights of Fancy 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (14 page)

"What man wouldn't?" Clemmons slipped his sword into the sheath at his side. "As Landis pointed out several times, you're a beautiful woman."

Heat flooded her face. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me for what God has wrought."

"Thank you just the same."

He chuckled. "I always thought it would be me you ended up in bed with."

"I guess it could have been." The heat again moved across her face. "I find both of you attractive, too."

Clemmons stepped close to her, and the scent of sweat-dampened leather filled her head. "Things might be different now."

He leaned and kissed her lips softly. Shane slipped her arms around his waist, and the pain from her side nearly knocked her to her knees. Clemmons moved quickly and lifted her in his arms.

He frowned. "I'm sorry."

"Yeah, the timing is really bad."

* * * *

Fifteen more troops came down with the little relay boxes the communications people had worked up, and the team was getting ready to move into the cave. Sergeant Kyle gave Dave a bag full of the relays, and Ells was laying out the plan.

"Ten people will stay here topside. Anything with wings gets stunned and stays that way. The rest of us go in, and we have no idea what we'll find." He paused. "The relays have an estimated range of twenty meters, but it may be less than that based on the concentration of ore in the cave walls, so those of you with the bags of gizmos watch your communications links. If it looks weak to you, drop a relay, but in no case should you go more than twenty meters from the last one, even if you have full-scale signal strength."

Kyle picked up the speech. "All weapons are to be set to stun and locked. Have your buddy confirm your weapon. We're not going in to kill dragons—we're going in there to find Rawls and bring her out. Unless Captain Ells or I give you a direct order, you are not authorized to use deadly force. Do you get me?"

Dave joined the chorus of replies. "We get you, Sergeant!"

"Good! Saddle up—we move out in five minutes!"

* * * *

Soft taps at the door made him spin quickly, putting himself between Shane and the wood, drawing his sword in a smooth motion. While he stood to the side, Shane opened the door, and Alicia came inside, quickly closing the door behind her.

She smiled. "We must go now. Cedric has cleared this level and is doing what he can to get a passage for us to the first level. We will find many more dragons, many loyal to Handley, but we can hope for luck there."

Clemmons still didn't feel sure about the plan, but he had nothing better. He wished Landis were here to come up with a plan of action, among other reasons. He nodded. "All right, let's get going."

Shane paused. "Alicia, could you tighten this bandage around my chest? I think it will be more comfortable when I walk."

"Of course." Alicia lifted the shirt Shane wore to expose the bandages. While her breasts remained fully covered by the dressings, a wide expanse of flesh showed between the top of Shane's pants and the white of the bandages.

He found himself staring at her. Bruises and scratches covered her body in some places so densely that it looked like no skin remained at all. Despite the wounds and the bindings, Clemmons still found Shane nothing less than gorgeous, and he struggled to put from his mind the thoughts of where the brief kiss from earlier might have led had her pain not intervened.

When Alicia pulled the bindings tight, Shane winced and grabbed her right side. She blinked rapidly, but he saw a single tear trickle down her cheek. "I think that's better."

Alicia lowered the shirt to cover Shane's torso again. Clemmons had mixed feelings about that. "I'll lead the way. It should be safe, but stay alert for any sounds."

She opened the door and checked the passageway. She led them out and down the corridor, away from the room with the dead king and his bodyguard.

* * * *

Sayid didn't know what to do. Actually, he knew full well what to do—he had to end this war with the dragons. He just didn't know how to actually do it without looking weak to his people. He hoped the humans could help him.

Talbert was a good man, but he wasn't a leader, let alone a king. He didn't understand the weight of leading people.

Davis, though, understood. She wasn't a king—or more correctly, a queen—but she understood command and the need for respect and strength. Perhaps she would be of more help to him in ending the war, but Davis wasn't available now. Finding her missing crewmember had her otherwise occupied.

Even Davis's actions in kidnapping him spoke of her skills and understanding. Despite his indignation, Sayid knew she carefully calculated the effects on not only him but on her own people. He now respected her power and abilities. Her crew respected her determination and focus.

For Davis, the event was a win-win situation.

Talbert took off the headset for the communicator and sighed. "Our troops have entered the cave of the dragons."

"I could still order my men into the area to assist."

He shook his head. "No, Your Majesty. Captain Davis is adamant about your people staying out of this. We worry the dragons will see your men as being an attack for reasons other than recovering Rawls."

"Very well." Sayid doubted the humans would need his help. He'd seen enough of their ship to know they had weapons of staggering power. These warriors the humans sent in for the mission would make his best knights look like children playing at war, even without their blasters and lasers and other tools. He'd learned enough to know the humans could easily see him and his people as primitives.

And yet, Sayid had the feeling the humans didn't see them as primitive barbarians at all. Again, despite his indignation and anger, Davis had treated him more like an equal when she spoke to him. No, he knew that wasn't even correct.

Other than kidnapping him from his own throne room, Davis had respected him and treated him as much as she could, given the situation, like the head of state he was.

A strange peacefulness moved over Sayid.
Yes,
he thought,
these people can help end the death, so men and dragons can both get on with life.

* * * *

Shane had her hands full. Trying to fight the pain, keep moving, not cry, avoid passing out, and keeping her eyes from watching Clemmons's ass all worked against her ability to focus on getting out of the cave.

Alicia had led them to the ramp to the second level, and they hadn't seen or heard a single dragon. So far, it looked like Cedric had succeeded in clearing the lower level somehow.

Alicia paused and whispered to her and Clemmons, "Cedric told me it would be harder to get safe passage through the next level, so maybe we should rest here for a while. That should be safe."

"Until someone finds the dead dragons we left behind." Clemmons watched Shane closely, and heat flushed her face again. "Do you need to rest? Tell the truth."

As much as she hated to admit it, Shane didn't think she could go much farther without resting for a while. The pain in her side was all she could think about. "Yes, I do need to rest." She turned to Alicia. "The pain is really bad."

"I'll check your dressings."

"I need you to be strong, Shane. Without that help, I won't be able to get you out of here." Clemmons smiled a little. "But you can let me be brave for you."

He lifted her in his arms and carried her into a deep crevice that was in full shadow from the scattered torches. Clemmons knelt and sat her down, her back resting against the cave wall. He stared into her eyes for several seconds before he moved to stand up.

Shane put her hands on his cheeks. "There's not much else I can do or say." She pulled his face to hers and kissed his lips. "No matter what may happen, thank you for coming for me."

Clemmons smiled but said nothing as he stood aside so Alicia could check her bandages.

Alicia lifted Shane's shirt, and the right side of the dressings showed several bright-red bloodstains. She frowned. "I need to reinforce these bandages to stop the bleeding."

Without a word, Clemmons shrugged out of his armor and pulled off his shirt. "Use this." As Alicia tore the shirt into strips, Clemmons removed the harness and dagger from the armor and slipped it over his torso.

Alicia pulled the bindings tight around her chest, and the pain blurred Shane's vision. Alicia's frown deepened. "I'm not sure how much farther you'll be able to go, Shane. You've lost a lot of blood, and you're still bleeding."

"I'll be fine after I rest a little."

He knelt beside her, and Clemmons touched her hand. "I have to agree with Alicia. We've come but a tiny amount of the distance we have to cover, and that was no harder than a walk in the woods."

Alicia nodded and lowered Shane's shirt. "We need a different plan. I wish Cedric were here."

Shane needed a distraction. "Alicia, I saw the way you touched Cedric. You care for him."

A smile spread over the girl's face, and her inner beauty more than overwhelmed the disfigurement of the scar on her face. "Very much. I have known only a few people, others who, like me, have been with the dragons for many years, but I believe I love Cedric."

Now it was Clemmons's turn to frown. "How can you say that? His kind stole you from your home and family and have killed many men."

"That's all true, but men have killed many dragons, too." The smile never left Alicia's face, and Shane could see that nothing Clemmons said would change the young woman's opinion. "Cedric has been good to me, always kind, and never has he offered any harm to me. He is an honorable man."

"But he's not a man!"

"To me he is. I can see you are also an honorable man. Part of Shane's love for you is because you have that honor, the same as I love Cedric for his honor."

Shane wondered if the translator had finally crapped out on her. Clemmons just stared at Alicia. A noise from the ramp pulled their attention away from the conversation. Alicia held up her hands, indicating for the two of them to stay put, and she stepped from the cleft in the rock. She returned after a minute with Cedric following close behind.

Cedric nodded to Shane and Clemmons. "Alicia tells me you may not be able to travel much farther. That poses a huge problem."

Shane tried to wave her arm in dismissal, but the shooting pain in her side made the motion look choppy. "I'm OK."

Clemmons shook his head. "No, you're not." He turned to Cedric. "We need another way out."

Cedric leaned back onto his haunches. "I know of no other way out, but perhaps Alicia and I can create a disturbance to make the passage easier for you. I have a few allies whom I can trust to help."

"Maybe, but I don't think Shane can walk much farther. I may need to carry her."

She didn't feel good at all, and the pain wore on her nerves. Shane found she was suddenly angry. "Would you two stop talking about me like I'm not here? I can walk, and I'll be fine!"

"It's one thing to fight through the pain, but it's something else to make an injury worse by ignoring it." Clemmons reached out and brushed the back of his hand down her cheek. His touch sent warm shivers through her Shane didn't understand at all. "Remember, let me be brave for you."

Cedric stood suddenly. "Alicia and I will go to try making the passage easier. I'll send one of my men for you as soon as we are ready." He turned to Alicia. "Come."

The young woman and dragon left the hiding place.

* * * *

The team moved through the cave, but the going was slow. They had no maps, no way of using their sensors to spot the dragons, and they had to keep testing the communications links. This was the most dangerous situation Dave had encountered in his short tenure as a Marine. Based on what some of the others were saying around him, he thought it might very well be the most dangerous situation he would ever encounter.

So far, they'd bumped into, almost literally, only three dragons. The stunners had left all three sleeping soundly in their wake. Sergeant Kyle and Captain Ells had no idea where Rawls might be held, if she was even in the cave, and all the team could do was wander around aimlessly, checking and securing each room as they went. They didn't even know how big the cave was. They could be at this for days.

* * * *

He leaned his sword against the wall of the cave and sat down beside Shane. Clemmons didn't want to sheath his weapon, because it took too long to draw the sword while sitting down. When she looked at him, he saw many things in her face, but Clemmons knew he didn't understand them all.

He thought he saw gratitude there, but he wasn't sure. A woman from his world would certainly be grateful for his rescue. Clemmons wasn't so sure about a woman from Shane's world, most especially Shane herself. Her independent streak might actually make her offended by the idea that he believed she needed rescuing. Maybe it was only his own desire for her getting the better of him, but Clemmons thought the brief kiss of thanks she gave him earlier was only a hint of what she really wanted to do to show him her gratitude.