Chapter 5
Nate stared at the woman, finding it hard to believe he’d just agreed to to help her.
And yet, not surprised really. She was unlike anyone else he’d ever met. And the way he felt when she just stared at him… a shiver ran up his spine. What was going on?
Nate had taken a lot of chances in his life. Uprooting and moving here to Australia had been one of them. So far, all of them had worked out pretty well for him.
But this one was a step above all the others.
His brother had shot at this woman. And she was a dragon. And he was pretty sure she was using him, just as she’d said the other dragon was using Brad. Those pieces of information should be more than enough to convince him that this was a bad idea. And that was before he considered the fact that he didn’t even know her name.
Well, that one was easy enough to remedy at least.
“What’s your name?” he asked her.
She stared at him, and for a moment, he thought she wasn’t going to answer. Then she gave a small sigh and said, “Kytrima.”
A strange name, for a strange woman.
“I’m Nate,” he said, and held out his hand to her.
She frowned again, staring at his hand disdainfully. But she did put her hand in his.
This time, there was no mistaking it. Electricity arced up his arm, on a direct path to cause a tingle to echo through his heart, where it pumped out to set the rest of his body on fire too. What the hell?
Nate snatched his hand back. “What was that?” His heart was thumping, and he had the strange impulse to touch her again, to see if the same thing happened.
This wasn’t just desire. He’d felt that before. This was amplified a thousand fold.
“I’m sorry, it’s a dragon thing.” The expression in her eyes wasn’t sorry though. Her eyes were dark and deep. “Sometimes humans can react strangely to touching us. It won’t hurt you though.”
Well, she had a point. He’d never touched a dragon before. Who was he to say if this was normal or not?
It didn’t feel normal though.
Nor did the fact that he wanted to do it again. If he’d touched a live electrical wire and received that kind of shock, there’s no way he’d touch it again. Self-preservation would prevent him.
Apparently though, his common sense took a holiday when it came to dealing with dragons.
“So what do you want from me?” he asked suspiciously.
She’d hinted at it earlier. At least, he was pretty sure what her kiss was about. Who knew though, maybe dragons kissed everyone like that?
She stared at him for a long moment.
Nate could hear his heart beating loud in his ears. Loud enough that he wondered if she could hear it too.
“I need to heal,” she said solemnly. “Dragons can heal magically, but they can’t do it on their own. I need your help to enter what we call the Mesmer sleep, where my body will heal completely in a couple of hours.”
Nate swallowed. That sounded very mystical and magical. Totally normal activity for a dragon maybe. Not so much for him.
“That doesn’t sound so hard,” Nate said, annoyed that his voice wavered a little.
She stared at him then, her expression thoughtful.
There was more.
He wasn’t sure he even wanted to know.
She took a deep breath, and stared straight into his eyes. Hers were dragon slits again, sending a shiver through him. This felt serious. Very serious.
“Then when I wake up, you have to sleep with me.”
An echo of the electricity that had zapped him earlier snagged at the bottom of his belly.
He’d known it was coming. The way his body leapt in reaction told him that.
More than that. He wanted this. More than he’d ever wanted any woman ever before.
Still, it shocked him.
His eyes widened. “Sleep with you?”
A flood of excitement raced through him. He’d never felt so alive.
He saw an answering flash of excitement reflected in her eyes.
So it wasn’t just him.
Her voice, when she spoke, was surprisingly even. “Yes. After healing, my body will be weak. Sleeping with you helps me replenish my energy and magic.”
She thought sex was going to replenish her? Nate gave a chuckle. “I’ve always found it rather exhausting myself.”
Her eyes widened, and then her mouth twisted into an answering smile. She gave a laugh, but it was breathless. She put a hand on his arm, and leaned in close. “You’re not the one who’ll be replenished.”
For some reason, her words sent a chill through him. A tiny thread of common sense wormed its way in past the immediate thrill of excitement. “Does it, like, take my own… energy?”
He wasn’t sure he wanted to know. He didn’t want anything to put a halt to this adventure.
But he wasn’t stupid. He wasn’t going to take a major risk.
Luckily, she shook her head. “No, of course not. That’s the best thing about it. We’ll both feel better afterwards.”
She responded so quickly, almost as if it were automatic. That meant it was probably the truth, didn’t it? He searched her face, his agreement hanging in the balance.
This was crazy. Insane. He’d just met this woman, and the only thing he knew about her was that his brother had taken a shot at her. In dragon form, true, but still…
With all that stacked against her, why did he feel like he could trust her?
Nate was usually a good judge of character. This wasn’t the first time he’d made a snap decision based on his gut feeling. And he was rarely wrong.
But this one felt a little more serious than normal.
“You need to help your brother,” she reminded him. “Every moment we waste here just means it takes longer for us to find him, and Lyrian will sink her claws deeper into him.”
That was the kicker.
He had to take the chance, whether he was certain or not. Because he didn’t see any other options. He had no idea where Brad was, and even if he managed to find his brother, he had no way to deal with the dragon he was with if there was a problem.
Hopefully this woman did.
Nate’s eyes hardened, and he nodded. “Let’s do this then.”
Even though he said the words, it still didn’t feel real. Everything felt like it was turned on its end. The only thing he was certain of was that he needed to help Brad.
He was pretty sure Brad had no idea what he’d gotten himself into.
If his twin actually knew that Lyrian was a dragon, then surely he would have mentioned something on the phone, wouldn’t he? He’d sounded so normal…
Right up until he hadn’t.
By now, Brad had seen a dragon. He’d shot at one. He knew something was going on.
Yet he’d still gone with Lyrian.
What did she want with him?
Nate suspected that whatever it was, it couldn’t be good. He needed to help his brother.
And if sleeping with the gorgeous, sexy dragon woman helped, who was he to argue?
It did feel a little strange, to be stopping in the middle of his hunt to have sex. But he wasn’t going to argue too much. He felt a very strong attraction to her.
He wanted to sleep with her.
That was probably why he was feeling so guilty. But he wasn’t doing this for personal gain. He wouldn’t even be considering it if it wasn’t going to help him find his brother.
Well, he wouldn’t be stopping his search for it anyway.
“So what do I do?” he asked, squaring his shoulders.
She took his hand, that strange surge of energy going through him again as soon as they touched. She’d said it was because she was a dragon, and he didn’t know enough about dragons to judge if that were true or not.
But it certainly didn’t feel like it should be normal.
It felt special. Magical. Amazing.
Then again, he was about to sleep with a dragon. An actual, dragon.
A shiver ran through him. This was going to be the biggest adventure of his life.
As Kytrima lead him back towards the house, they passed by his car. Lily set up barking.
Lily. He couldn’t just leave her out here. “Give me a sec,” he told Kytrima, patting her hand before pulling away, and opening the car door.
He had to give it to Lily, she was a brave little thing. She stared at Kytrima, her whole body stiff, the hair rising in hackles all down her back, barking her little heart out.
He scooped her up. “It’s okay, Lil. She’s a friend, I promise.”
The little pup held stiff for a moment, then relaxed against Nate’s chest, huddling up to him, staring nervously out at Kytrima from the safety of his hold. She gave a little whimper.
Nate scratched her under the chin. “Give her a pat,” he encouraged to Kytrima.
The dragon woman looked doubtful. “That’s not a good idea. Dogs can smell our true nature. The fact that I could crush her with one paw makes them nervous. They are not easily won over.”
Nate suspected she was trying to sound tough. It was kind of cute actually. He gave another chuckle at that. “You’re so persuasive, I bet you could convince her.”