Authors: Annie Nicholas
“Wait, wait! I have—”
“You know the rules, Viktor.” They’d been through this before. Once Viktor asked for the dungeon it was up to Eoin to lock him there as soon as possible before the vampire lost control again. This would be the third time he’d helped Viktor. He was the only one strong enough in the city to do it.
Eoin carried the vampire down to the underbelly of the castle, kicking and screaming, to the far end, where thick silver chains hung from the wall.
Chapter Nineteen
Angie squirmed under the sink in room one at Scratch Your Itch. She’d come in on her day off to clear the fucking blockage. At least she got to sleep in today. Adjusting the pipe wrench to the right size, she tried to loosen the trap. Before opening her business, she’d never owned a tool let alone knew how to use one, but the place seemed cursed with repairs.
It had almost taken a blood offering for her tech guys to get the damn alarm to shut off yesterday. Her ears still rang. Maybe she should take Ken’s advice and burn the place down to collect the insurance money. She even knew a dragon who could
accidentally
sneeze a fireball on her place.
All her profits were going back into fixing the building. It was like she had a personal black cloud hovering over her shop—electrical problems, plumbing backups, exploding toilets, for goodness sake. Next the roof would leak. She’d place what little money she had left on that bet.
The pipe loosened and came apart, landing against her forehead with a solid thunk. A gush of cold mucky water splashed into her open eyes. With a noise resembling a dying moose, she scooted out from under the sink and wiped her face on a towel. “I should’ve called the plumber.” But her bank account said no. Not if she wanted to eat next week.
Pulling out the pipe trap from under the white sink cabinet, she peered inside. With her fingertips, she pulled out a clump of what looked like dog hair. Had one of the shifters taken a bath in her sink? Was nothing sacred? She knocked the pipe against the inside of the trash can, while holding her nose shut with the other hand and trying to keep her breakfast down.
She must have been a really, really bad person in another life to deserve this much grief in this one. Nothing would go her way. When she’d made the deal to buy the building, she thought she finally had gotten a break. She could earn a decent living and maybe, just maybe, she could finally afford a decent home. Her throat tightened. Possibly start a family… She squashed that secret dream back inside her heart, not giving it the time of day. She couldn’t allow herself the fantasy. If she couldn’t take care of herself, she definitely couldn’t take care of kids.
With a growl, she put her pity party on hold and crawled back under the sink. Reattaching the pipe was a lot harder than taking it off; the small threads were worn and hard to realign properly over the Teflon tape. She tightened the pipe with her wrench. Her shoulders ached and her neck would have a kink after the way she had to maneuver her body under the sink. She rested her arms at her side and set the pipe wrench on the ground to catch her breath. Gazing up at the sink’s underbelly, she spotted something in the corner of the cabinet. She’d been so focused on the piping that she hadn’t noticed it. It looked like a bunch of little sticks tied together to form a geometric shape. It was wedged where the sink and counter met.
She heard the chime of the front door opening and pulled the thing free. Crawling out from under the sink, she examined it in the light. The sticks looked like something out of the
Blair Witch Project
, an oddly shaped triangle with a string woven around the small branches. She shuddered.
“Angie?” Beth’s voice carried from the front.
Angie jumped and banged her head on the cabinet frame. She rubbed the spot, trying to ease the sharp pain. “I’m in room one.”
Beth flounced into the room carrying two cups of coffee. She handed Angie one of them. “Ryota asked me to drop in and check on you.”
Biting her tongue, Angie fisted the pipe wrench. “How did he know I was here?”
The omega shrugged. “He drove by and saw you.”
“It’s your day off, Beth. He shouldn’t have done that. If I needed help, I would have called.” She was going to need a crowbar to pry the alpha from her life.
“We need to go over the accounts together. Might as well do it today, so we don’t have to stay late tomorrow.”
Angie sighed. “Fine.” She held up the thing and took a sip of liquid heaven, strong enough to make hair grow on her chest. Just how she liked her coffee. “Look what I found.”
“You found my charm?” Beth plucked it from her hand and held the bundle in the sunlight. “I hope you don’t mind. I didn’t know if you would have let me place one in the shop.”
“A charm? Like witchcraft?”
“Yes, exactly that.”
Angie wasn’t sure how she felt about witchcraft. That kind of power could be very harmful in the wrong hands. She usually steered clear of anything to do with witches.
“I had the pack witch make this when we first opened Scratch Your Itch. It’s to bring good luck.” Beth sounded excited.
“I didn’t know the pack had a witch. It doesn’t seem like Ryota.”
“You’d be amazed at how often we need to use her.” Beth shrugged. “Accidents happen and she’s very good at cleaning up messes.”
“Sounds like something I shouldn’t be hearing.”
Beth wouldn’t meet her gaze. “Do you want me to throw it away?” The omega had only been trying to help in her own way. Witch services weren’t cheap and Angie bet the pack didn’t pay for that charm.
“If it’s for good luck, we’ll keep it. I sure could use more.” Maybe she should ask this witch to make a set. This time Angie had been able to dodge a plumber’s bill. At this point, she was willing to try anything to save money.
“Eoin sent a check yesterday. It should cover this month’s mortgage and what we owe the electrician.”
Angie flinched. Damn it, she’d hoped for some profit from her evening shifts with the dragon but all of it went to repairs.
Beth played with the lid of her coffee. “Are you finished working on his scales?”
“I think one more session and I should be done. It might be interesting to branch out in this area. I wonder how many dragons live around New Port.” Now that Angie knew her origins, she was curious about her people. If Eoin was right and she was pure dragon instead of a throwback, what did that mean about her parents? Had they been dragon as well?
“Dragons are more territorial than werewolves. They live mostly in clans in very isolated areas. Eoin is one of the rare cases who tolerates other races but I’m sure if you advertised, some would fly in for a treatment.” Beth gave her a shy smile. “If Eoin gives them permission to enter New Port, that is.”
“We’d need to rent a warehouse if that were the case. Maybe you should get some quotes.” Angie rose to her feet and fiddled with her coffee lid. “He kind of took me on a date yesterday.” She had barely slept last night. Seeing her dragon, hearing about magic, and wondering about her parents had left her exhausted yet unable to find rest.
Beth bounced, almost splashing coffee on Angie’s shirt. “That’s so exciting. Did he kiss you?” She peered at Angie with wide eyes. “What’s wrong? He didn’t force you to do something, did he?” Beth placed her hand on top of Angie’s and gave it a squeeze. “You smell very upset. What did he do?” A small growl escaped Beth’s delicate throat.
“Eoin thinks that I’m a dragon. Not just part dragon, but all dragon.” She ran her free hand down the length of her body. “One hundred percent pure blood.” Would her clients stop coming if they knew she was dragon? Everyone was frightened of Eoin. She didn’t want that.
Beth blinked. “But you can’t shift.”
And there was the kicker. She could be as pure blooded as Eoin wanted but if she couldn’t change shape, the rest of the world wouldn’t view her as a shifter. She wanted to believe Eoin—being a dragon was more than she could ever dream. It was difficult to understand when he was discussing auras and shields. In everyone else’s eyes, even Beth’s, she was still human. “He took me to an isolated area so he could teach me how to shift.” Angie recalled every detail of her dragon, right down to her glossy black scales. Her chest felt hollow. Would she ever see her dragon again? “It didn’t work. I utterly failed.”
“Does he have any idea why you can’t change shape?” Beth crept closer to Angie, pressing their sides together. As an omega, it was instinctual for Beth to offer comfort to those in need. “That ass shouldn’t have hurt you.”
Angie tossed her a quick look. “It wasn’t his intention to hurt me. He really believes that he can fix me.”
“There’s absolutely nothing wrong with you Angie.”
“Fine, help me. Is that better? He says there is something blocking me from connecting to my abilities to shift. He was trying to break through my block. Since it didn’t work he’s going to talk to some of the other dragons to see if they have any ideas.” She didn’t fool herself into believing there’d be a cure. This was a well-traveled route in her life where some shifter would think
they’d
be the one to make her whole. Hope was for romantics, but she wouldn’t stop Eoin. She liked his romantic side. “He kissed me.” The hollow feeling in her chest faded and the space filled with warmth. Something different and new, something she’d never felt for anyone else before.
Beth gasped. She bounced on her heels again. “Details.”
The heat of a blush made Angie’s cheeks ache. “It was just a simple kiss.”
“You do realize I can smell a lie, right?”
Angie laughed. “It was… It was sweet, and hot, and he’s so goddamn sexy, I don’t know what I’m going to do the next time I see him.” Angie felt breathless.
“Next time?” Beth gave her a knowing smile. “You like him.” She said in a teasing voice.
“Of course I do, you wouldn’t?”
“I wouldn’t. I mean, he scares me too much. Actually, he scares everyone.”
“You don’t want me to see him anymore?” Beth was the closest thing that she had to a family. Her opinion meant a lot.
“No, that’s not my point.” An unusual seriousness came over her best friend’s face. “I don’t know him and haven’t smelled him enough to make any judgment calls. I know he’s not a player and that he’s fair.” Those were two qualities that Ryota had failed at and were huge bonus points for Eoin. “Even though he’s a dragon, he’s still a shifter. If Eoin meets his mate while dating you, he’ll drop you in a heartbeat. Shifters can’t help but follow instinct.” That was another reason why Angie had left Ryota, and a huge negative point for Eoin.
Angie stared at the charm in her hand. Maybe the pack witch had a love potion that she could use? She snorted. What was she thinking? “I need to finish with the sink and I might as well check all the other rooms for broken shit before hitting the accounts.”
“Sounds good. I need to eat. Want me to bring you back something?”
The familiar nausea kicked Angie in the gut so hard she had vertigo. “No.” She clutched her stomach. Damn, she thought she’d gotten over this.
Chapter Twenty
Angie sat at Beth’s desk in the shop’s waiting room. They poured over the expense account on the computer screen. Angie rubbed the back of her neck. Even though her business was doing well, she would only break even this month. The way things were going maybe she should consider hiring a full time repairman.
Scratch Your Itch was becoming a money pit. She’d be living off ramen noodles and Pop Tarts for a few more weeks or she’d have to dive into her savings account. Her chest tightened at the thought of being trapped in her apartment for another year. That money was supposed to go towards a down payment for a house, not groceries. She would suffer before spending a dime. If she could just figure out how to stop sinking money into repairs, she’d be able to move forward in life.
The door chimed open and closed. Beth must have forgotten to lock it. They were technically closed.
She and Beth glanced up at the same time. A man with a mane of golden hair to his shoulders gave them enigmatic smile. Angie would bet he was a lion shifter.
“Can I help you?” Beth asked, going into receptionist mode.
He sauntered in, tossing his fabulous hair over his shoulder. It should be a sin for men to have better hair than women. “I heard rumors that you service dragons.”
Eyelashes too. Men shouldn’t have naturally thick eyelashes either. Wait, what? She gave Beth a sharp look.
Her best friend flinched. “I guess what they say about word-of-mouth is true?” She shrugged.
He ignored Beth’s outburst since he only had eyes for Angie.
Angie rose from her chair. “I’m offering scale services.” She tossed Beth a what-the-fuck look because they had just discussed this a few hours ago. There was no way this dragon heard about her. The wolf pack had to be behind this. Maybe they thought they were helping her drum up more business. This had Ken’s name all over it, except where was she going to stuff his dragon ass to work on his scales? The back alley?
Beth scooted behind Angie.
“You’ve nothing to fear from me, pretty shifter.” With a flowing motion of his hands, he produced a daisy out of thin air and offered it to Beth. “A gift.”
She stared at the stem as if it was full of poisoned thorns before plucking it from his fingers
He turned his gaze back to Angie. “I’m not in need of any scale care. I’m here to have my back scratched. Can you fit me in your schedule?” He sat on the edge of Beth’s desk, his body relaxed and at ease as if he were a regular customer.
“I don’t have a room big enough for you in dragon form.” She couldn’t afford to turn away a new customer, even on her day off.
“You can’t scratch it while I’m in human form?”
Waving her fingers in front of his face, she showed him her sharp nails. “Only if you don’t care if I leave marks.”
“My flesh is tougher than it looks.” He stood and took off his sport jacket, hanging it on the rack in the waiting room. “It’s safe to leave it here?”
Beth nodded and elbowed Angie in the kidney.
She grunted at the sharp pain. “Yes, Beth will watch it.” She narrowed her eyes as she turned in the direction of the service rooms and glared at the omega. “We’ll use room three, Beth.” It was almost a growl. Could they still charge triple rates on just a back scratch? She held out her hand to the strange dragon. “My name is Angie.”
The dragon kissed the back of her hand. “My name is Zechariah the Impaler from the Icelandic clan, but you can call me Zech.” He ran his thumb over the inside of her wrist in slow seductive circles.
She’d bet what little cash she had that his name didn’t come from impaling people with a spear. “Room three is the first door on your right. Undress and lie on the table face down. I’ll be there in a few minutes.”
“I like a female who can take charge.” Zech caressed her palm, let go of her hand, and did as he was told.
Angie faced Beth. “I’m beginning to think all dragons are assholes by nature.” She said that for Beth’s benefit and it worked. Her best friend gave her a small smile. The worry lines around her eyes eased. “Do not call Ryota. Do you understand me?” Angie jabbed her finger toward Beth’s cell phone. “Promise me.” All she needed was another scene with the alpha.
Beth clutched the daisy in a death grip. “What if this dragon causes trouble?”
“I can take care of myself. You run.”
Angie walked into room three. Zech was lying face down on the table, as instructed, completely naked without the sheet provided. She snatched a fresh sheet from the shelf and snapped it open, setting it over his firm muscular ass.
“Is that sheet for me or you? Because I’m not shy.” Zech tossed her a heated look over his shoulder.
She snorted. “I don’t know any shifters who are. At least, when it comes to their bodies.”
“We are an exhibitionist race.” He chuckled. The lines of Zech’s well-defined back muscles were softer than Eoin’s. What she would call beach muscle, where Eoin’s cuts held an edge of violence. Zech’s skin was almost as golden as his hair. His scales were probably just as gold. “Iceland is a far journey just to get your back scratched.”
“By wing, it’s only a few hours. The temptation to enjoy something new was too much. If I had known how beautiful you are, I would have been here sooner.”
“Flirt much, Zech?” She began the procedure by running her claws over his smooth flesh. The sharp tips didn’t even leave a mark on his skin.
“That feels nice. This is an excellent way to make a living. Doesn’t it bother your boyfriend that you are touching other males?”
“Doesn’t it bother your girlfriend that you flew hours from home to have a stranger scratch your back?” She bit the inside of her cheeks to restrain her laugh. Zech didn’t need any more encouragement. In her heart, she was already taken. One dragon in her life was more than enough.
“Alas, I am still unmated. I know, hard to believe, isn’t it?”
She covered her mouth, gaining control of her giggle, but it almost escaped. “Very.”
“The traffic is atrocious in this city. It must take you forever to travel to work.” He squirmed under her nails. “Right there, Angie. Right there.”
She put more force into her scratching on the spot he requested. “I walk to work.”
Zech relaxed under her nails, his body almost becoming liquid. “So you live in the area. Your boyfriend doesn’t worry about you walking alone in these neighborhoods? He mustn’t really care.”
Caution ran along Angie’s spine. Zech seemed too interested in her. Not even her regular customers would have asked such personal questions. She shook her head. He was from out of town and a dragon, so maybe he just didn’t know how to act normal.
Eoin parked his motorcycle illegally in front of Angie’s work place. She hadn’t been at home. This seemed like the next logical spot to search.
Securing Viktor within his dungeon had taken longer than he had expected. The vampire’s strength was much improved on fresh human blood and Eoin had lost precious time. He needed to warn Angie about Cedric and could only hope he wasn’t too late.
Beth popped onto her feet as he stormed through the shop’s front door. The sharp smell of brimstone struck his nose. Dammit, he was too late. “Where are they?” he demanded of the meek female.
She clutched her hands to her chest and wouldn’t make eye contact.
“Beth, she’s in danger.” He did not want to scare the little werewolf but for Angie’s safety he would put the pup over his lap and spank an answer out of her.
She pointed to room three.
He clenched his teeth and burst into the room without knocking.
A naked male dragon lay under Angie’s attention. Her nails scratched along his bare flesh in his human form. But it was not Cedric.
Bitter bile filled Eoin’s throat.
She startled at his loud entrance. “Eoin?” Her lips thinned. “I’m with a customer.”
“Not anymore.” Before the other dragon could react, Eoin pulled him off the table by his throat and slammed him against the wall. The drywall cracked and dust poofed over their heads. Wait, this one was blond. “Who the fuck are you? And what are you doing in my territory without permission?” How many male dragons looking for love in all the wrong places were in his city?
Angie made a strangled noise. “I am not paying for that repair.”
“You must be Eoin the Charismatic.” The strange dragon’s words came out strained through his constricted throat.
Eoin clenched his teeth so hard his joints popped. He shook the other dragon and felt slightly better.
“His name is Zechariah the Impaler.” Angie still stood on the other side of the table with her arms crossed over her chest, giving him a daggered glare. “Are you done being an asshole, Eoin?”
“I’m trying to keep you safe, woman.” He set Zechariah on the floor but kept his forearm across the other dragon’s throat, ready to crush it at a moment’s notice.
“By scaring off my customers?”
“He’s not here for you to scratch his back. He’s here for
you
.” He returned his attention to the smaller dragon. “Answer my questions or I’m going to disembowel you.”
“I couldn’t inform you of my presence in your territory because I don’t know where you live. It’s not like you’re listed anywhere.”
“Cedric didn’t have any trouble finding me.” Dropping the older dragon’s name might put the fear of the gods into this young dragon enough for him to leave.
Zechariah stiffened. At least he wasn’t a complete dumbass. “Cedric is interested in her as well?” The dragon was obviously young, to have the balls to trespass into New Port unannounced. He wasn’t worthy of Angie. None of them were.
“Let me make this clear, and feel free to spread the word, but Angie is mine. I’ll cut off your wings and leave you earthbound if you ever lay hands on her again.”
The dragon cleared his throat. “Technically, she had her hands on me.”
Eoin punched a hole in the wall next to his head. “Am I clear?”
“Crystal.”
Angie cleared her throat. “I don’t remember being asked to be yours.”
He released Zechariah and tossed his clothes at him. “Go home.” He turned his attention back to his prickly potential mate. The whole purpose of courtship was to attract receptive and compatible mates. Yesterday’s kiss had proven to be both and it was too late for her escape.
Zechariah sauntered towards the exit carrying his clothes. He made sure that Angie’s eyes were on him before winking. “Catch you later.”
Eoin slammed the door on Zechariah then marched to Angie. “No, I didn’t ask.”
“I don’t get a say in this?”
He pulled her into his arms and let his mouth drift along hers. “You can say it now.”
She tore her lips away from his.
Chuckling, he trailed kisses over her graceful neckline and inhaled her intoxicating scent. The blood in his veins grew thicker and his heart pounded faster. With a whispered touch, he circled her hard nipple.
She hissed. Not a silly little human hiss, but something a true viperous bitch could make.
“Oh baby, I have all day to wait for your answer. Do you?” He forced his thigh between her legs and rubbed. If she held out much longer, he’d be tearing off his clothes and not so she could scratch his back. He had more demanding itches she could satisfy.
The stiffness in her back softened as she arched against him. “Zechariah was only a client.”
It was his turn to hiss. “Don’t say his name. He’s not worth your attention.”
She snaked her hand around his neck and upper back, claws still extended, and dug into his skin. “Kiss me.”
Fuck, yes. He bent her backward over the table, stroking his tongue against hers, dominating and demanding. He mimicked with his tongue what he wanted to do to her body with his aching cock, his erection painfully pressed against her hip.
Wrapping her legs around his waist, Angie pulled him against her and rolled her hips. She sucked on his bottom lip, giving him a delightful taste of what she could do with her talented mouth. He could just picture her plump lips wrapped around his—
She bit down hard.
He jerked away, slapping his hand over his bleeding bottom lip. “What the fuck?”
She set her heel against his hard cock. “I’m a person, not a thing. No one can or ever will own me.”
Gently, he removed her heel, as if it were a grenade, from his precious, aching package. There was his hellcat. He’d feared she might have suffered damage yesterday when she couldn’t connect with her dragon. Not his Angie; she came back biting. A hatchling like Zechariah didn’t have the strength to handle a she-dragon like her.
He gave his Angie a crooked smile and leaned over her, pressing her onto the table. “Fine, I belong to you then. Either way, I’m collecting on your rain check and I’ll be at your place by six. We could meet on the sidewalk or at your apartment.” He wiggled his eyebrows up and down.
She threw back her head and laughed. “You’re relentless. On the sidewalk.” She hadn’t a clue the length he’d be willing to go to keep her in his life.