For the Heart of Dragons (2 page)

One unlucky soul had been caught falling asleep at an event like this before, and the poor man was still out guarding an empty flagpole. And would be for the foreseeable future.

“Would you like to walk?”

Laurence laughed and stood up. “Gladly.” The pair turned and made their way through the guests. “It looks like it’s going to be a nice, quiet party.” He sighed in disappointment.

“Looks like it,” Noah said with a chuckle. Laurence was a good man, but he liked action. His dragon was huge and liked to be right in the middle of any fight he could find. That trait carried over into his human form.

“Oh well.” Laurence let out a snicker. “At least the king will have a nice, quiet birthday. Unlike the last event.”

A grimace stole across Noah’s face. That had been a total fiasco. Somehow, someone had gotten in to Baron Estivis’s ball and kidnapped the king’s sister right under all of their noses. Thankfully, Noah had been off that day. Those poor men had been sent back to basic training. And the instructors were not being easy on them.

Magic tingled up Noah’s spine, and he stopped in his tracks. Something powerful had just crossed the barrier spell.

Noticing Noah’s sudden attention shift, Laurence stopped and looked around. “Something’s up?”

“Maybe.” Noah turned and made his way across the room to the doorway. He wasn’t sure where the other mages were, but something powerful was coming.

“Finally.” Laurence grinned as he set his drink down on one of the waiters’ trays as they passed. “So what is it?” The man cracked his knuckles.

“Not sure,” Noah said as he pushed his awareness out, feeling for the power. There was a low hum of energy around him, but there was definitely something outside.

He and Laurence had just made it to the foyer when the double doors opened and a woman stepped in. She was the most gorgeous creature Noah had ever seen. Long locks of raven-black hair spilled over her shoulders and fluttered down over her ample chest. Though there was plenty of material in the black satin dress she wore, it was cut so it left nothing to the imagination, hugging her body in a way that made Noah’s fingers twitch to touch it. The long skirt of the dress pooled on the floor around her, but there was a split in it that went clear to her hip. Her dark eyes landed on the pair of men and stuck there. The sway in her walk sent unexpected shivers of desire through Noah. He shook his head, trying to clear the sudden array of X-rated images that swarmed his brain.

A hand came down on Noah’s shoulder, stopping him in his tracks.

“Get her out of here,” Laurence hissed.

Noah looked up at his companion. “Why?” he asked, unsure what to do. He had never known Laurence to balk at any task, but here he was, scared by a woman. And the look in his wide eyes was definitely fright.

“That’s Raven Nightingale,” Laurence whispered. His eyes were trained on the approaching woman.

Noah nodded and looked back at Raven. The name was familiar to him. She was a powerful dragon mage. She was also one of the oldest dragons known to exist. But that was no reason to fear her. Noah had always heard she was a very pleasant person. The hand on his shoulder tightened to a painful degree.

“She’s fertile.”

Panic rose in Noah. Any female dragon in their fertile period could cause problems. An old dragon was even worse. When they hit their fertile period, they could drive an entire room full of male dragons into a brooding. And here they were—an old, fertile female dragon in a room full of males. No wonder Laurence was freaking out.

“Yes,” Noah said and stepped out from under the hand on his shoulder. He needed to stop her before she got into that room, and Laurence was not going to be of any help.

“At
any
cost!” Laurence hissed.

Noah didn’t see his friend turn and race off, but there was no doubt that the man was on his way to find Daniel. Drawing himself to his full height, Noah pulled on a friendly smile and walked up to meet Raven. He could feel her eyes burning into him as he approached. “Good evening, my lady,” he said as he barred her path into the gala.

She stopped in front of him. Her eyes traced his frame. “Are you Eternity?” She cocked her head, considering him.

“Yes.” There was no reason for him to hide his identity from her.

Raven drew in a long breath, smelling the air. “Are you human?”

“Yes.”

There was a long pause as she considered him. “Are you… single?”

Thrown by the question, Noah stared at her for a second before his brain kicked into gear. “Yes?” he said, confused.
Why does she want to know if I’m single?

She paused for a moment longer before making some decision. “You’ll do.” Reaching out, she grabbed Noah by the belt at the front of his pants and started pulling him towards the door.

“My lady!” he squeaked, shocked by her actions. He planted his feet, stopping her.

Turning around, Raven looked at him. “Or would you rather I make my choice from the men in the other room?”

“No!” The word echoed through the foyer, carried by several voices.

Noah glanced back at the men blocking the way into the larger room. They were all agents of Eternity. They were all dragons. And they all looked terrified at the prospect of letting this woman into the building. Surprised by their actions, Noah turned back to Raven. Indecision ate at him.

“Don’t you find me attractive?” she asked as she closed the distance between them. The hand holding his belt dropped lower and rubbed against the bulge that had grown in his pants.

Shocked, Noah grabbed her hands and pulled them away. How could she be fondling him in public like that? Better yet, how come he was already hard? Sure, he liked women, but it usually took more than a skimpy dress to turn him on like that.

“Just go,” Josh called from the line of men behind him. “We’ll take care of things here.”

“Yes, come,” Raven purred as she rubbed her chest into Noah’s body. “They have this.”

Desire washed over Noah as he wrapped his arms around the wanton woman.

She rumbled a contented note and slipped her wrists from his fingers. “And I’ll see that you’re
well
taken care of.” Her hands slipped under his arms and up his back. “Just let me worry about everything for a while.”

Torn between duty and desire, Noah shivered as need wracked his frame. He had never had a woman affect him as much as Raven did. The irresistible urges from his body and the insistent encouragement from his coworkers made up his mind, and he nodded his agreement.

The purr rumbling from Raven dropped in tone, vibrating deeper into his body. “Good.” She leaned up and bit him on the neck. Not hard enough to break skin, but still hard enough to leave a mark. It drove a shudder through him as his knees nearly gave way. “You are mine.”

Noah breathed hard as he leaned against Raven. A little voice in the back of his head yelled that he was making a huge mistake, but it was erased by the feel of her in his arms. Any protests he could have made didn’t matter anymore. He belonged to her now. He would do what she asked. No matter what.

“Come,” she purred as she pulled out of his arms.

A whimper slipped out of Noah at the loss of her touch.

She took his hand and led him out the front door.

Giving in to the need riding him, he tugged her to his side and wrapped his arm around her waist as they went down the short steps.

She moaned in response and leaned into him. Taking his free hand, she draped it across her chest so he held her as they walked.

Whatever warning voice that had been going off in his head died a silent death as she pressed his palm into her breast. Desire burned through what little restraint he had left, and his feet stalled on the path to the gate. Turning Raven in his arms, he crushed her against him as his lips descended to catch hers. The fact that he stood in front of the king’s birthday party with half of his coworkers watching made no difference to him. The only thing that mattered was the woman in his arms and the fact that there was too much clothing between them. His fingers found the top of her bodice, and he ripped it down, exposing her to the night air.

She threw her head back and laughed in delight.

Noah growled at the loss of her mouth and attacked the side of her neck with a line of kisses and bites. He bent her backwards as he worked his way down to the sensitive skin he’d exposed.

“Raven!”

The sound of Daniel’s voice cut through some of the lust riding his brain, making Noah pull back from the creamy skin he’d been worshiping. He turned just in time to see his boss storm down the few steps from the door to the ground.

“How dare you come here at such a time and steal one of my men!”

“Hello, Daniel,” Raven purred as she leaned in against Noah. “I don’t know what you mean.” She wrapped her arms around him, holding him to her. “He came willingly.”

Noah felt Daniel’s eyes run over him. He wanted to stand up, away from the woman rubbing against him, but he couldn’t draw the willpower to break their connection. He opened his mouth to explain the situation, but nothing came out.

“Shhh,” Raven soothed him before turning her attention back to Daniel. “You’re upsetting him.”

“Release him!” Daniel growled.

Release him?
Those words echoed around in Noah’s head, breaking into the fog that had collected there. Some sense came back to him.
What the hell is going on
? He glanced down at the woman in his arms. He vaguely remembered her mouth on his neck, but that had been inside. How had they gotten outside?

“Shhh.” Raven reached up and ran her hand along his cheek, tilting his head down so he would look into her dark eyes. “You’re mine.”

The fog filtered back into Noah’s brain, smothering his thoughts. His arms wrapped tighter around Raven, pulling her into him again.

Daniel growled at her but stopped several feet away. “Release him,” he demanded.

This time, Noah just stared at him blankly.
Why is Daniel making such a fuss?

Raven twisted in his grip so she was facing Daniel. “Would you rather I go back in and take my pick of the male dragons inside?”

Noah moaned a protest. He did not like that idea at all.

“You would never get past me and my men,” Daniel challenged her.

Raven laughed. “Very well, you can have your man back, but I
will
find me a man tonight. Even if I have to hit every club downtown. And you had better be sure I’ll take my sweet time about choosing.”

Daniel snarled. “So you’re threatening me?”

“Not a threat,” Raven said cheerfully, “a promise.”

“Damn it, Raven,” Daniel cursed at her, “Noah’s a good man. I can’t stand to lose him.”

Raven scoffed at him. “That was an accident.” Her voice held a hint of shame in it. “Anyway, I’m too old to deal with the whims of a mate. That’s why I chose a human this time. I just need him for a little while. I will see he is returned to you no worse for wear and properly rewarded.”

Daniel bristled at the woman’s words. “I am not running a
brothel
for you to pick and choose from as you please!”

Noah felt the woman in his arms tense as she worked herself up for a fight. His mind was still hazy with lust, but their argument had cleared it somewhat. If Daniel pushed her, she would make good on her threat. If Raven went clubbing as she was, she would drive all the male dragons in the clubs into a brooding. There would be chaos in the streets for days. He could stop that by simply going with her and being her plaything for the next few days. Either choice would mean a few days of chaos for him, but only one would save Daniel and Eternity a bunch of headache.

“I’ll go.” The words were out of his mouth before the pair of dragons could throw down.

Daniel stopped and stared at him. “You know what this means?”

Noah nodded his head. He didn’t know exactly what he was getting himself into, but it had to be better than running riot control on brooding dragons. “I’ll deal with it.”

Daniel stared at them for a long minute. Noah could see the indecision in his eyes. He was weighing the same choices that Noah had.

“
Fine!
” He snapped the word so hard that his teeth clicked together. “But I want him to check in every day at noon. To me.
Directly!
” He pinned Raven with angry eyes. “And if he doesn’t make that call, I will
personally
show up at your door with a SWAT team and remove him. Forcefully, if I have to. Do I make myself clear?”

Raven rolled her eyes. “Such dramatics,” she grumbled.

“
Am I clear?
”

“Yes,” Raven answered in an exasperated voice.

“Then take him and get the hell out of here!” Daniel snapped again.

Shaking her hair back from her face, Raven stepped out of Noah’s arms. She turned around to face him and shifted forms. Black scraps of satin fluttered to the ground from her ruined dress.

Noah looked up at the massive, black dragon in awe. Her scales glittered as the light from the chateau reflected off her hide. She bent at the knee and lowered her head so Noah could climb on to her back. A hand landed on Noah’s shoulder, pulling his attention back to Daniel.

“I
will
come if I don’t hear from you by noon,” he warned. “I just pray that it’s not too late.”

Noah swallowed hard as fear raced through him. He’d never seen Daniel so worried about sending one of his men on a mission before.
Are fertile females that scary?
He paused for a moment, reconsidering his decision.

Raven turned her head to look at him out of one glistening eye. She gurgled at him.

Confirming his choice, Noah stepped away from his boss and climbed onto the back of the dragon. He had flown with dragons many times, but they usually carried him in their claws. This was the first time he had ridden on the back of one. Supposedly, it was a great honor to be allowed on a dragon’s back. What did that say about the woman taking him or the choice he had made? He wasn’t sure, but the moment she spread her wings and kicked into the air, he wished that she had clutched him in her claws. He held on to her neck for dear life as she beat the air into submission. It was the most harrowing experience he had ever had
. If this is just the start of the week, what is the rest of it going to be like?