Kissed by Fire (24 page)

“No, we all smell different, but dragons of
the same sex who share a sire will have a very similar scent.”

It couldn’t be. Could it?

“That means if you had a brother, he might
smell chocolaty, too?”

He shrugged. “I guess. But I don’t have a
brother.”

“How do you know? “

His expression grew bleak. “Because if I did,
he’d have hunted me down and killed me by now. Removed the stain to
his family’s honor.”

“That’s bullshit.” I’d met Drago. He didn’t
seem like the brother murdering type.

“It’s the way it is, Morgan. Dragons believe
that Halflings are a scourge. A stain on the purity and honor of
the race.”

I frowned. “If that’s true, I don’t think I
like dragons very much.”

He grinned at that and kissed me. Hard. “I
think maybe I love you, Morgan Bailey.”

My heart went into overdrive. I stared at him
like an idiot. Did he just say he maybe loved me? Holy freaking
hells bells.

“Um, was that a joke?” It came out a lot more
whispery than I’d planned. “Or did you mean it?”

He sat up slowly, taking me with him. His
expression was grave as he gently tucked a lock of hair behind my
ear.

“I mean it, Morgan. I’ve been in love with
you since the first day I laid eyes on you.”

I licked lips suddenly gone dry. “Why didn’t
you tell me then?”

“Your life was in chaos back then.” His voice
was low and warm, his hand gliding gently up and down my back.
Soothing me. Apparently he thought I might just go flying off the
proverbial handle. He was probably right.

“You had barely survived a vampire attack.
Hell, you’d actually been dead. You were training to be a Hunter,
moved thousands of miles, given up your life in London. Your whole
life had just been turned upside down and the last thing you wanted
or needed was for some young idiot to go stomping into your heart
like a bull in a china shop.”

“So, you thought you’d what? Do the friend
thing?”

He sighed. “I guess so. I thought I’d give
you time. Time to adjust, get used to your new life. Get used to
me. Except it didn’t quite work the way I planned.”

Yeah, I’d thought he was too young for me. I
guess the joke was on me. Then there’d been Jack and the Atlantis
thing. Not to mention that I’d thought he was Kabita’s cousin and I
didn’t want her killing me for playing Me and Mrs. Jones.

“I wish you’d have told me. About what you
are.” I hated that I sounded so plaintive and whiny.

He pulled me hard into his arms, nearly
squeezing the breath out of me. “Anyone who knows the truth about
me is in danger, and I could not risk your life like that.”

I frowned, but cuddled into him anyway. “But
I risk my life every day. It’s what I am.”

“I know. But at least this way it wasn’t me
putting you in danger.”

Stupid man. I thought about being pissed off
at him for a minute then decided against it. In his thick headed
male way, he’d tried to do the right thing. I couldn’t blame him
for that.

I pulled back slightly and poked him in the
chest with my forefinger. “From now on, I want the truth, got it?
No more hiding shit from me, OK?”

“OK.” His answering grin held plenty of
relief. “Deal.”

“Oh, and Inigo?”

“Yeah?” His eyes flashed with hints of gold
as I leaned forward to give him a quick kiss.

“I think I might love you, too.”

***

The first thing I saw when I woke up the next
morning was a very nice male backside headed toward my bathroom. It
took me a minute, but it finally registered that half that backside
was covered with a very odd tattoo.

“Inigo?” I couldn’t take my eyes off the
tattoo.

An exact replica of his dragon form’s scale
pattern was tattooed in shimmering ink from his right hip, all
across his right butt cheek, and down over his right thigh. It was
breathtakingly beautiful, but also incredibly odd. It was the first
time I’d seen it as it was also the first time I’d seen Inigo
entirely naked in daylight.

“Just going to take a quick shower. Wanna
come?” He turned around and leered at me.

“You bet!” I practically flung myself out of
bed. Overeager idiot. “But I was kind of wondering about your tat.
It looks just like your scales.”

His hand went self consciously to his hip.
“It’s not a tat. It’s a birthmark.”

I stepped up to him, running my own hand
along his hip and over his backside. His skin was just as smooth as
I remembered. “It’s the most unusual birthmark I’ve ever seen.”

“Full dragons have the pattern all over their
bodies when in human form. It mimics their scales in dragon form.
They’re able to hide them with glamour if they want to.”

“You’re not?”

He shook his head. He looked a little
uncomfortable. “No. I’m a Halfling, so my glamour isn’t strong
enough. Besides, I’ve only got the pattern in this one spot so ...”
He shrugged.

“You hide it. Well, I think it’s beautiful.”
And I did.

The smile that broke across his face warmed
my heart. Inigo may have been a four hundred year old half dragon,
but apparently his heart was as vulnerable as mine. What a pair we
made.

“Come on, Dragon Boy,” I said, smacking him
on the backside. “There’s a hot shower with our names on it and I
expect you to make me come at least twice before breakfast.”

He made it three.

I admit I felt ever so slightly awkward as I
placed two cups of coffee on the table along with some toast and
eggs. Inigo and I had finally, finally slept together. It changed
everything. The thought of what that might mean made me
nervous.

“Hey.” Warm hands grabbed my hips and pulled
me down onto an equally warm lap. Inigo’s lips met mine, lush and
delicious. I sighed and leaned into him, soaking up his warmth.

He pulled away slightly, his blue eyes
serious. “You’re right, this changes things. But it changes them
for the better, OK?”

“Dammit, did you read my mind?”

He smirked and just like that I relaxed.
Everything was going to be OK. Well, maybe. I still had to tell him
about the Darkness and the Fire.

He handled it amazingly well. “We’ll figure
it out, Morgan.” He squeezed my hand. “I promise. I’m just glad
it’s keeping you safe.”

He made a good point. It was, in a weird way.
The Darkness made me stronger, faster, and harder to kill. The Fire
gave me a weapon like no other. Which was a good thing in my line
of work.

We were halfway through breakfast when the
phone rang. I checked the caller ID. Kabita.

“Morning.”

“Is Inigo still there?”

I could feel myself flushing bright red. “Uh,
yeah, how did you know?”

“Oh, please, Morgan.”

I could visualize her rolling her eyes at me.
It was very clear. I passed the phone to Inigo.

“Yeah.” There was a pause followed by a
series of “uh huhs” and “OKs” before he hung up and handed the
phone back to me. “We need to fly back to the UK.”

“What, like now? I just got back.”

He smiled, but it was a little strained
around the edges. It was pretty clear he wasn’t looking forward to
the trip. “There’s a Conclave tonight at midnight. Drago has asked
for you to be there.”

I got up from the table and went to wash my
dishes. “A Conclave?”

“Yeah.” He joined me at the sink. “A Conclave
of Dragons. It’s sort of like the Senate convening or something.
It’s a rare event, but it’s very important.”

“Why would Drago ask for me?” Granted, he’d
seemed to like me well enough. For a human. But there was a
difference between finding a person amusing and inviting them to
your species’ most important government session.

“When Drago asks, you don’t ask why. You just
do it.”

I turned to face him, leaning my back against
the cupboard and crossing my arms over my chest. “Why would you?
What have the dragons ever done for you besides threaten your
life?”

He winced at that. “They never actually
threatened me. They never knew I existed.”

“What?” Kabita had made it pretty clear that
his life had been in danger from day one. That was why the Jones
family had worked so hard to protect him. Well, until Alister,
anyway.

He sighed as he wrapped his hands around my
hips, pulling me against him. I wanted answers, but I let him wrap
himself around me. I couldn’t help it. I liked it too much. Inigo
had always been touchy feely, but I was seeing a whole new side of
him. A side that needed both to give and receive comfort and
strength. I liked this side.

I ran my palms up and down his back, the heat
of him soaking into me, warming me. I felt the Fire inside flicker
to life, but not in an angry way like it usually did. This was more
like it recognized kindred. Like it hungered for another like it. I
let it out, but kept it low. It seemed satisfied enough with
Inigo’s touch.

“My mother was raped by a Rogue dragon. She
was lucky she survived. It wasn’t an act of love or commitment. It
was one time and he disappeared. She never saw nor heard from him
again. He and his clan would have had no way of knowing he’d sired
a child.” His voice was low and a little raspy.

It must be hell to know you’d been fathered
by a man like that. “So, she hid you not because of any specific
threat, but because she was afraid of what
might
happen.”

I could feel him nod, his head still resting
against mine. “And not just because of the dragons. Humans were a
threat, too. Back then, people were afraid of what they didn’t
understand. Hell, they’re still afraid of what they don’t
understand. But four hundred years ago that could get you
dead.”

“And the dragons? Would they still try to
kill you?”

He shrugged and stepped back a little. The
Fire didn’t like it and tried to flare up, but I smacked it down. I
was getting better with this whole control thing.

“I don’t know. Most likely. Halflings have
been under a death sentence since ancient times. Granted, the
dragons have been off the grid for centuries, but I don’t see that
their edicts would have changed much.”

I frowned. “Humans have changed. Why wouldn’t
dragons?”

“Dragons can live for millennia. They tend to
take the long view of things. Change comes a lot more slowly.”

“Fine.” I nodded. “I’ll fly over with Kabita
and you can stay here. Now that Jade’s locked up, you should be
safe enough. Alister can’t possibly have another Dragon Hunter up
his sleeve. Though I don’t know how they expect us to make it by
midnight. It’s six pm over there and it’ll take at least fifteen
hours.”

He shook his head, blond hair catching the
morning sunlight and turning to molten gold. “Kabita’s not going.
She’s going to be coordinating Alister’s takedown with MI8. I’m
going with you.”

“Oh, hell no. If there’s a death sentence for
Halflings, I’m not letting you anywhere near the dragons.”

“Kabita assures me Drago has promised safe
passage.”

“But I thought they didn’t know about
you.”

“Apparently, they do now. Besides, I’m not
just going with you, I’m taking you.”

“Taking me?”

He grinned and this time it was the old cocky
Inigo. “Yeah, I’m a dragon, remember? I can fly a lot faster than a
747.”

I swallowed hard. “You expect me to fly on
your back all the way to London.”

“Nope,” he laughed, scooping me up off my
feet like I weighed nothing and hauling me toward the bedroom.
“You’re going to ride on my back all the way to Hadrian’s
Wall.”

***

If watching Inigo shift from his human form
into his dragon form had been cool, riding a flying dragon from
Portland to the Northern edge of England was a hundred times
cooler. And I wasn’t just talking about the temperature, though
believe me, that was plenty cold. Thank goodness for my newfound
Fire affinity. It was a challenge keeping it harnessed, but it kept
me warm.

Inigo had shown me a sort of complicated
saddle thing which I’d had to put on him while he was in dragon
form. It was made of soft, supple leather and a padded cushion and
essentially involved me tying myself onto his back, closing my
eyes, and praying to every god in the pantheon that I wouldn’t
plummet to earth and die a horrible death.

As we flew, I realized that while he was too
busy concentrating to speak to my mind, I could feel what Inigo was
feeling. I could feel the thrill of flying, the joy of having me on
his back.

Alongside that were the physical sensations:
the cold wind against my face, the smooth scales under my palms. I
could feel Inigo’s heat and the vibration of his flight even
through the saddle. The sensations were incredibly erotic.

I wondered if he could feel what I was
feeling the same way I sensed his emotions. The answer that came
was a resounding
Yes!

A laugh burst from my throat. I forgot my
fear and gave myself over to the pure joy of flying through the
night on the back of my lover.

Inigo was right. Dragons, even half dragons,
could fly a heck of a lot faster than a 747. I don’t know how he
did it without killing me in the process, some kind of magic I
suppose, but we made it just in time. Midnight struck as my feet
touched the top of Hadrian’s Wall.

Moonlight bathed the Wall and the valley
below coating everything in shades of silver. I gazed around and
sucked in a breath. On every side were the hulking shapes of
dragons quietly watching me out of glowing golden eyes. I held back
a shiver.

Inigo, still in dragon form, nudged me gently
from behind. I felt a sudden wave of warmth and security and
realized he was using his mental gifts to give me courage. I rubbed
his forehead, grateful for the support, though most of my fear was
for him.