Releasing the Dragon: Myths and Legends, Book One (38 page)

Rook glanced at Angela who had wide eyes,
then smiled at Dragon. "That's what I'm here for."

"Has there been any word back from the demon
who won the female in The Pit the night I fought Malachi?" Dragon
asked.

"The demon's name is Kaleb, and he declined
your offer to purchase his new slave at this time," Doyle reported
with disgust clear in his tone. "He wants to keep her for at least
six months to see if she can produce a viable offspring for him. If
she's not pregnant by then he'll contact you to see if you're still
interested."

"Six months at the hands of that monster
seems like such a long time," I voiced my concern for the woman
who'd been raped while hundreds of demons cheered her attacker
on.

"If we try to push, Kaleb might decide she's
worth too much to give up. I'm afraid her best chance for freedom
is if we back off and let him have his six months," Dragon said
regretfully. I could feel that he shared my anger and frustration,
but he knew our hands were tied.

"On a more positive note, the wards around
the resort are back up and running better than ever. I even tweaked
them to detect magical doppelgängers not wearing one of my rings so
we shouldn't have to worry about anyone impersonating our staff
members again," Solomon informed the group.

"Thank you, I deeply regret not spreading the
word when we knew there was someone running around impersonating
Scarlett. Had I warned Serafina or even Doyle we might have been
able to avoid the entire incident on the beach that night," Dragon
told Solomon.

"My wolf tried to tell me not to believe my
eyes but I didn't trust his instincts, at least not until it was
too late." Doyle got up to fill a plate with appetizers.

"We all need to work on trusting our animal
instincts again," Dragon agreed with Doyle then asked Rook, "What
are we doing about Ivanna?"

Rook made a frustrated noise. "We know she
was there that night because you told me that her scent was mixed
with Serafina's and Travali's on the terrace. But that wasn't in
this timeline. Nobody in this timeline can positively link her to
Serafina's abduction. So basically the entire supernatural
community sees her as Garrek's grieving widow and we can't touch
her."

Angela had been sitting quietly listening but
now she asked, "Who would stop you if you wanted to question her
without proof?"

Rook focused on her. "The council, at least
until it falls. But even without the council we'd have to proceed
cautiously. We don't want to do anything that will start a war
between the races and attract the attention of humans. Although
according to Claire, and she's never wrong, we won't be able to
avoid that much longer."

Angela met Rook's gaze. "It sounds like you
have the same problems we do. We know the criminals are guilty but
we can't find the proof, so they get to walk around freely while
their victims and their families suffer."

Rook inclined his head to her, acknowledging
her attempt to find common ground with him then said, "Ivanna is
not the real problem though. She may be plotting against us but
she's an outsider. I'm more concerned with how she's getting her
information. Since she was impersonating Scarlett the night of the
bomb then she was most likely the one who sent Malachi to Mystique.
How would she have known about Serafina and where she'd be to send
Malachi after her?"

"Clarissa." Dragon said shocking me.

"Exactly," Rook agreed. "Clarissa is Ivanna's
sister, so the question is, did Clarissa mean Serafina harm or did
she simply tell her sister some juicy gossip? She may have just
mentioned the new girl you were spending time with, not knowing
what Ivanna would do with that information."

Dragon thought about it for a minute while
running his fingers through the short strands of my hair. It was so
strange to have most of my hair gone but the vampire virus
unfortunately heals the body much better than it regrows hair. "It
doesn't feel right. Clarissa specifically requested Serafina to
fill in at Mystique that night, and at that time no one knew she
was my mate. Why would she have requested to have a human dance in
Mystique knowing how it would likely turn out? Then, the other
night in Forbidden Fantasies, Clarissa suggested that Scarlett has
been acting suspiciously by spending so much time in New Orleans. I
think she was helping Ivanna gain access to Serafina and trying to
cast the blame on Scarlett."

"Clarissa has always been loyal to you and
the clans. Why would she do anything to betray us now?" Solomon
asked skeptically.

"Jealousy," Dragon replied grimly. "Just once
when we were talking about my relationship with Serafina I saw it
flash in her eyes before she could hide the reaction. Until that
moment I'd always thought we had the perfect arrangement because
neither of us wanted emotional entanglements. But it was obvious
she feels something for me."

"Maybe it isn't the kind of feelings you're
thinking of," I suggested twisting so I could see Dragon. "The
first time I met her I thought she would make the perfect queen to
your king if only she'd been your mate. Maybe she thought you'd
eventually give up searching for your mate and ask her to fill the
position."

Dragon looked me in the eyes letting me see
how much he loves me. "You are the only queen for me, but perhaps
you're right. It would certainly give her motivation for wanting
you out of the picture, and she's not a nightshifter, so it
wouldn't have mattered to her whether the curse was ever broken or
not."

"Now the question is, what do we do about
her?" Rook came over to sit on the lounge chair beside ours and
Angela blushed again. What was it about that chair? "She's one of
ours so we don't need any proof to take her into custody, but I
don't think that's the right thing to do."

"I agree. We should keep an eye on her and
see if we can find out what they're planning next. I issued a
challenge for Travali to meet me in The Pit, but we all know
there's too much risk involved for him to agree to a match. When
the council falls, he'll be ready for his next attack and we need
to be prepared. The bombing and the attempt on Serafina's life told
me two things. Travali is motivated and he knows our weaknesses too
well. I'm sure he wanted Garrek out of the way but the bomb served
another purpose. He knew I would be in the blast zone and Rook
would have to set time back. Under normal circumstances Rook
wouldn't be able to jump through time again for at least a day.
Therefore, under normal circumstances we wouldn't have been able to
save Serafina, his real target, because that's where his motivation
is coming from. Malachi's death pushed him over the edge and he
won't rest until Serafina pays the price for my actions," Dragon
said regretfully.

"You did what you had to do and I for one
think Malachi didn't suffer enough," I turned and told Dragon.

"No he didn't. But now Travali will be
gunning for you until we either take him out or he's successful."
Dragon tucked my hair behind my ear and kissed me. I could feel his
worry through the bond.

"There's a lot being said here that I don't
understand but right now I'd like to know how I helped Rook jump
back in time," Angela asked and Solomon and Doyle started
whispering together.

"Now boys, it's not nice to place bets on the
personal lives of your closest friends," Claire chided them. To
Angela she said, "I think that's something you should let Rook
explain to you in private dear."

Angela looked at Rook curiously while he
struggled with a decision. Finally he asked her, "Would you like to
go downstairs and take a walk on the beach with me?"

She swallowed hard meeting his eyes. "Um,
sure, why not?"

Rook addressed Dragon. "I think we're
finished here. Everything is set for you and Serafina to leave for
your honeymoon tomorrow night. No one will even know you're gone.
With Solomon's help, I'll spend a little time each day
impersonating you so that the room service staff will see you, and
tell everyone the lovebirds have locked themselves away in their
bedroom for the week."

"Thank you my friend, now go take care of
your woman."

Dragon grinned when Angela sputtered, "I am
not his woman."

Doyle and Solomon shook with laughter while
Claire and I just shook our heads.

Rook chuckled. "There's no point in arguing
with him. He's the king, his word is law."

Angela muttered something that sounded like,
"He's not my king," but she rose from her chair and went with Rook
to the front door.

The rest of us remained on the terrace eating
and drinking and dancing the night away. We all knew it was the
calm before the storm but for now we would enjoy our time together
rather than dwelling on things we couldn't control.

My life had changed so much in such a short
time, but already I couldn't imagine it being any other way. I had
friends I could depend on, a mate who loved me, and our first child
was growing inside of me. If you asked me, life couldn't get much
better than that.

The elevator ride down to the beach had been
tense. There was so much to say, yet it seemed neither one of us
knew where to begin. Now as we followed the path along the beach
the silence between us was becoming increasingly awkward. Maybe I
should just go home and leave all this craziness behind me, pretend
I was never here.

"I was surprised when you showed up tonight,"
Rook said from where he paced beside me.

"Not as shocked as me, I'm sure. I had no
idea why I was invited, but I never imagined I'd be sitting in on
an informal meeting with Donovan Drake and his inner circle." I
shook my head. "I can't decide if I want you to explain everything
I just heard or if I should just have you set time back so I was
never there to begin with."

"But in your case it wouldn't matter. You'd
still remember the meeting even if we did it again without you," he
pointed out.

"And why is that Mr. Delaney?" I asked
glancing over to catch a smile slip from his lips.

"So it's okay for all of us to call you
Angela now, but you still won't call me Rook." I couldn't be sure
but I thought his voice was tinged with hurt.

"I don't know," I blew out a frustrated
breath. This was so hard. "I feel like we should keep our
relationship professional and calling you Rook just feels too
personal right now."

He'd stopped walking without me noticing and
when I turned around his jaw was tight, his fists clenched. I
walked back and approached him cautiously.

"What is it? Why have you stopped?"

"Can you honestly say there is nothing
personal between us Angela?" He demanded, angry now.

I tried to meet his eyes and couldn't when I
uttered the lie that would hopefully end whatever had started
between us. I couldn't get involved with Rook, not when it would
mean the end of my career. "There is nothing personal between us
Mr. Delaney. The other night we did what was needed to save a life,
end of story. It won't happen again, and there's no reason to
discuss it further."

He didn't say anything. It was quiet for so
long that I finally peeked at him through my lashes. What I saw
made my breath hitch. I'd never seen Rook so wild, so inhuman. His
long ebony hair whipped in the wind blowing in off the Gulf. Tiny
silver sparks flared in his black eyes when they met mine, and I
could swear his skin glowed with a pale ethereal light. What had I
gotten myself into? I couldn't look away from the beautifully
terrifying sight of the man, or should I say male, before me. What
kind of creature had I allowed into my body? Did it really
matter?

The memory of that night tightened my loins,
sent liquid heat to my core. I watched him inhale deeply, his
entire body went taut. The silver sparks filled his eyes until
nothing but shinning silver looked back at me.

Time was standing still. I knew it just as I
was sure this moment would change my life forever.

He came forward slowly and slipped his hand
under my hair to cradle the back of my head. Without any thought I
tilted my head up to meet his lips when he bent down to kiss me.
His other hand reached out and pulled me against his hard, muscular
body. Our lips moved together and I couldn't stop myself from
melting into his embrace, from clutching his body closer to
mine.

I gasped when he reached down and picked me
up by the backs of my thighs. Rook took advantage of my surprise by
sliding his tongue against mine with deliciously sensual strokes.
As the kiss gained intensity he strode forward with my legs wrapped
tightly around him until my back rested against a tree.

Over the years I'd wondered what it would be
like to kiss Rook but those fantasies never even came close to the
reality of being held in his arms. Just like the other night, this
was so, so, good. Why did it have to be so complicated?

Our bodies rocked together while our tongues
dueled and our breathing turned to moans and groans. I loved the
way his muscles felt under my hands, the way he sucked lightly on
my tongue, and the way he rubbed himself just right between my
legs. How could I ever stay away from this?

His big hands gripped my ass pulling me
tighter against the arousal hidden behind those supple leather
pants of his. Oh yeah... right there... I broke the kiss, "Rook, oh
God, Rook..." The orgasm crashed over me with a sudden wave of
intense heat that spread from my center all the way to my fingers
and toes.

When the excitement faded my head fell onto
his shoulder, my body went limp as my breathing returned to normal.
That had been incredible and we hadn't even taken our clothes
off.

Rook let out a shaky breath then whispered
roughly in my ear, "When you can admit there is something very
personal going on between us, call me and I'll explain how you
enhance my time travel abilities."