How dare he laugh?

Sue-Ellen did the best with what she had. “You wouldn’t be laughing if I’d hit you in the eye with that fork,” she yelled. “Bastard.”

What game did Samael play with her? Throwing her down here and having his pet catch her. Then sauntering in, naked and nonchalant.

“You would hold the method of my birth against me?” he asked.

“I hold everything against you.” Her rage knew no bounds. Especially since he looked so freaking handsome. So perfect. So naked and ready to go.

Oh, hell no. “Put that thing away.” She pointed at his package. “No means no!”

“You assume I have any interest in your odiferous body.” He shook his head. “You overestimate your charms.”

“You didn’t mind my condition when you propositioned me in the cell.”

“That wasn’t me.”

What? That made no sense. Of course it was him.

And yet…

It wasn’t him.

This Samael—standing naked and proud—possessed a lean frame, much leaner than the man she knew.

That wasn’t the only difference. His hair didn’t have that perfectly cut and coiffed look Samael usually preferred. It hung past his shoulders, a long, shimmering, golden waterfall that curled at the tips.

Oh, fuck. This wasn’t Samael. “Who are you?” she asked, and waited for that voice to speak in her mind again. For that velvety sensation to curl around her senses. Because she finally made the connection that this man before her was the beast from the cave.

He spoke, with his lips, and it proved just as nice to hear. “I’m Remiel.”

“You must be related to Samael because, wow, the family resemblance.” Visually, at least. But there was something about this version…something strangely compelling.

“We are brothers born of one mother, different fathers.”

“Samael doesn’t have a brother.” Surely she would know. He would have told her.

Her own naivety slapped her because the proof of the lie stood before her.

Still quite naked.

She turned away, her cheeks heating. “Could you put some clothes on?”

“Why?”

“Because having your junk dangling is distracting.”

“For you, perhaps. I’m quite comfortable. And I might add, you’re the one who dropped in uninvited to my home and proceeded to bombard me with questions.”

“Home?” She couldn’t help but crane to glance at him over her shoulder. “You live here?” She took in the space with its sparse furniture. The overstuffed chair, the material ripped in places, the stuffing bulging. The stack of paperbacks listed to the right that would soon join another that had already toppled.

By her side was a rock strewn with dishes, including the cutlery she’d tossed.

Her roving gaze stopped on the pile of blankets in a corner. “Is that where you sleep?”

“When in this shape, yes. The amenities leave something to be desired. Which is why I spend more time in the outer cave.”

“But it’s dark.”

“Yes. And quiet. I have a feeling that’s all over now.”

“Are you blaming me?”

“The truth will set you free.”

“The truth got me sent here,” she grumbled.

“It’s not as dire as you think.”

Said him.

Yes, says me. The voice tickled her, and she gaped at his ass because he’d since turned away, displaying taut buttocks. The pale skin a testament to his molelike life.

Cheeks flaming, she dropped her eyes to look at her bare toes. Dirty, dusty toes.

Lovely. It didn’t stop her from recalling his body. She wondered at the rapid pounding of her heart. Fear, surely. Nothing else. Attraction to Samael had gotten her into this mess. Attraction to his clone wouldn’t help her cause.

Besides, there had to be a reason this replica of Samael resided in a closely guarded pit. No one went to this kind of trouble for nothing.

He’s dangerous.

Yes. Keep him.

The cold thought came from the depths where her gator self was buried. Nothing else followed.

Uncle Parker had done his job of tamping down her beast all too well. The drugs were now a part of her.

“What do you know of Samael?” Remiel asked.

“Not much, apparently.” Which made her want to slam her head against a wall and mutter “stupid” over and over.

“Given your shock at my appearance, I am going to assume my brother is still denying my existence?”

“Denying what? I never even heard a whisper that he had family. According to him, he’s the last of his line.”

“Not quite,” the man called Remiel stated.

Her shoulders sagged. “I am such an idiot. I thought I knew him.” But it turned out she’d been very wrong about that. So very, very wrong.

“Tell me, is my brother still playing puppet to Anastasia’s games?”

“You know the priestess?” she asked sharply, once again turning around to peek.

He wore pants now, well-worn track pants that hung low on his lean hips. He sported defined abs and a vee that…

Her gaze jerked upward to his face.

A corner of his lip curled. “Don’t stop on my account. Beauty such as mine should be admired.”

“Not very modest, are you? Must be a family trait.”

“We share a disturbing number of similarities. Except for one very big one.”

“Is this a penis joke?” She’d grown up with boys. She’d heard her fair share.

“No joke, and stop distracting me. I asked you about Anastasia.”

“And? How about you answer some questions first. Like, how do you know her?”

A single golden brow arched. “Are you seriously ordering me around?”

“It’s called conversation.”

“Feels more like an interrogation.”

“You’re making me want to bite you,” she growled.

“Go ahead.” He grinned.

She frowned. “This is the problem with not having my gator anymore. I can’t strike the right note of fear.”

“What do you mean, anymore? It is so hard to tell what you are over the smell.”

“Thanks for noticing.” She wrinkled her nose.

“Explain what you mean about your gator.”

“I’m a shifter.”

He frowned. “Doubtful since your scent is all wrong.”

“Blame that on my uncle. Nothing like using family to test out new medical achievements.”

“Is this a competition of cruel guardians? In my case, Anastasia was not related to either Samael or me, so she was quite diverse in her methods. No sentimental attachment. Especially to me. I was the difficult one.”

“How long has she had you prisoner?” According to Samael, he’d known Anastasia all his life. But was that even true?

“My brother and I have had the pleasure of her acquaintance since birth. She is the one who orchestrated our hatching.”

She blinked. “Did you say hatch? As in from an egg?”

The corner of his mouth lifted. “I did.”

But she still had difficulty processing it. “People don’t hatch from eggs.” At his lifted brow, she backpedaled. “Well, we do, but not like eggs with shells. We’re fertilized in the uterus. And grow there.”

“That is how most humans and other entities handle it. But in the olden days, we chose to wear our majestic forms.”

“And by majestic you mean?” Her eyes widened as she finally clued in on what he was. “You’re a dragon.”

“You say that as if it’s a surprise. What did you think I was?”

Her lips quirked. “I guess not an elephant.” At his glare, she smiled wider. “Sorry about that. But cut me some slack. I’ve seen your kind but never gotten close enough to actually observe and smell one. Samael never showed me his. Said it was too dangerous. He didn’t want the wrong people to know he existed.”

“Probably because he’s not as great as me.” Spoken in a low mutter.

“If you’re so great, why are you in a hole?” For some reason, she couldn’t help herself. It was hard dealing with a guy who looked so much like Samael, who reminded her of her naivety. Now, if only her gaze would stop wandering.

“This abode is meant to keep me contained.”

“Because you’re a dragon. Given your size in the other room, I’m going to assume you ascended?”

“You know of the passage of a dragonling into dragonhood?”

“Yes, I know it. You told…” She trailed off. She had to remind herself that Remiel, this guy locked in a cave, didn’t know her. Hadn’t been the one to teach her anything. “I was pretty close to Samael before all of this, and he told me things. I also saw stuff.”

Uncle Theo had done a good job of hiding his practices from the bigger world, but she’d lived with him, and Sue-Ellen couldn’t help but catch glimpses of the events moving beneath the view of humanity. Hidden from everyone.

The world held more secrets than anyone realized. Secrets that would kill them in a heartbeat.

“My brother might have taught you some things, but you obviously don’t know it all,” Remiel observed. “Or you would have known, in the old days, dragons wore their shape proudly. They hunted in it. Fed. Fucked. And eggs were how we created our young.”

The vulgar word didn’t throw her. She’d said much worse. “That seems so backwards. Didn’t someone have to guard the egg all the time and keep it warm?”

“Someone did. That is what the lesser are for. To care for the eggs so that a powerful drake might fly the skies, his mate by his side, and keep dominion over their territory.”

He made it sound so romantic. “Is this your way of that implying dragons are more evolved since they don’t force the women to stay at home?”

“I am not implying. I am stating. We are more evolved.”

“And arrogant.”

“Thank you.”

She almost smiled. “Lacking modesty, as well. Your knowledge is interesting. I’ve never heard Samael talk about this stuff or use the term drake.” Sue-Ellen was fairly well versed, given that Samael had revealed so many dribs and drabs of the dragon secret in an effort to impress her.

In some ways, the dragons lived just like shifters. While violent predators by nature, they also hunted carefully. They took great pride in not getting caught. Samael had told her of the many laws, laws she recognized because the shapeshifters had adopted their own strict set to ensure they didn’t succumb to their baser instincts.

It kept them safe. It meant their numbers thrived since humans no longer hunted them.

But the world changed. The various hidden groups, whose numbers had bloated over the years, grew restless. That restlessness turned into small spates of violent outbursts. The different groups grew less tolerant, especially once her uncle told the humans that monsters lived among them.

Now, every outed species wanted a piece of the different continents and even the oceans. Every side that had previously lived in hidden silence screamed just cause. They all wanted out of the shadows. None wanted to compromise. No one looked for middle ground.

A war was coming, and she didn’t think anything would stop it.

Why would anyone ruin the fun?

The true predators of the world were tired of hiding. She could understand that feeling. There were times she wanted to loose her wild self. Go for a nice long swim in the bayou without a care in the world. Hunting for a fresh meal.

Instead, because of fear, she and the others kept themselves tightly bound, their other halves hidden.

Choking.

For a moment, she could almost see her gator rolling on her back and playing dead. How she missed the cold touch of her other half.

If only Sue-Ellen knew how to wake the beast.

Remiel stared at her, his head cocked to the side. Had he asked her something? Did she miss it?

Oops. Given Uncle’s propensity for ranting, she’d developed a knack for tuning it out.

She tried a smile. “Sorry. You were saying?”

“Were you listening?”

She knew the answer to that. “Of course I was.”

“Good, because I was saying we should have wild sex right now. You nodded your head.”

Her mouth rounded. Had she truly missed all that? Was he really such a pig? “You did not. And even if you did, I would have never agreed.”

“So you admit to not listening?”

She shrugged.

His lips pursed. “Way to crush my ego. You really were ignoring me.” He sounded so incredulous.

Yeah, she was pretty proud of herself, too, because now that she paid him mind again, his naked upper body really distracted.

Thinking of cute kittens didn’t help. Because she imagined them draped over Remiel like a blanket.

Way too cute.

Distraction. She needed distraction. “How long have you been down here?” If he said his whole life, she’d probably scream for him.

“According to the latest taunt by my brother, almost four years.”

Four years? Not as long as expected, but still long enough to truly shock.

“Why did he put you here?”

“It wasn’t Samael who put me here, actually. It was Anastasia and Parker’s idea.”

“Uncle Theo did this?”

“Your dear uncle apparently has a thing for putting people in dark places. I wouldn’t obey anymore, and their drugs kind of wore off too quickly. I built up a resistance.” His lips turned into a smile, but to Sue-Ellen, it fell flat. “They weren’t ready to dispose of me, so they stuck me in a hole.”

“That wasn’t very nice.” She couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. He’d obviously suffered—just like his brother. “I can see why Samael chose to go the other way.”

“You mean kiss ass and lick boots? Yeah, there’s a real plan.” He rolled his eyes. “Real males don’t bow.”

“He didn’t have a choice.” For some reason, she surged to his defense. “To protect me, he’s had to do whatever Anastasia says.”

“To protect you?” Said so incredulously. Did he not think her worthy of protection?

Remiel stared at her, his gaze pure gold, a dark gold that held her stare and tried to say something.

Something she wasn’t ready to admit.

She turned to look around, realizing she’d still not figured out the source of light in here. Obviously, one existed because she could somehow see around her, and quite well, too. “Where’s the light coming from?”

“The air itself. There’s a gas in here—”

“Gas?” She grabbed her throat, feeling it constricting.

“A perfectly safe gas that reacts to the carbon dioxide exhalation, creating an ignition that doesn’t burn but illuminates.”

“So if we leave the room, it goes dark?”

“Eventually.”

“If breathing lights it, then why was the other tunnel so dark?”

“The gas doesn’t penetrate well through the side passageway, and the little that does, rises.”

“You know an awful lot about this place.”

“Four years, remember?”

Her nose wrinkled. “Don’t remind me. How much longer do you figure they’ll keep you here now that Parker is gone?”

“Gone? When did that happen?”

“A few weeks ago.” She would have danced on the grave if given a chance.

“If he’s gone, then the deal is in jeopardy. And the promise is broken.” He said the cryptic words while pacing with a frown.

Odd—intriguing—man.

“How have you managed to live down here?” she asked, moving deeper into the room, toward a stack of books against a wall, the pile of them scattered like rubble at its base. They proved an eclectic mix of science, biology, and even government texts. Everything non-fiction.

“Do you read?” he asked.

The mundane question caught her off guard. “Yes, but not this serious stuff. I like fiction.”

“Fiction isn’t real. This is,” he said, gesturing to the books.

“That’s the mechanics of reality. I am more interested in learning about people.”

He snorted. “People are overrated.”

“Hence why you’re a hermit.”

“You say that so disparagingly, and yet I say communal gatherings are overrated. Society is annoying.”

“So you’re going to tell me you’re happy down here? By yourself?”

His square jaw lifted. “More than happy. I’m finally at peace.” He scowled. “Or I was until you fell onto me. Can’t a man have a hole to himself?”

For some reason, this struck her as funny. Surely, there was something dirty in there somewhere. She snickered.

“What’s so funny?”

She giggled harder.

He did his best to look stern.

She shrugged. “You said hole.”

“I also said you landed on me.”

“I did. Rode you like a cowgirl.” She waved an arm around and yeehawed. He didn’t seem impressed. “Do you not like a girl on top?” The scandalous words poured from her. She blamed a household of boys growing up. Six years since she’d hung with her family and friends, yet it seemed the bayou had left its mark.

It felt great letting it out.

“You are twisting things. I will note that, despite your innuendo, I was in control.”

“Keep telling yourself that, sugar.” She winked at him and laughed, but as she turned back to the wall, the giggles held an edge of hysteria. With reason. She was terrified. It struck her that she found herself stuck.

Down a hole.

A hole that had kept a man prisoner for years and counting.

A man that teased at her senses, sent her pulse fluttering and her heart racing.

I can’t escape.

A glance around showed walls on all sides. And the ceiling overhead? It wasn’t like the open pit with its high, gaping chasm. Here, it was only about twelve feet at the highest point, tons and tons of rock and dirt pressing down.

Pushing on this tiny bubble with me inside.

Panic suffused her. Did the rock groan with the weight? Were there cracks in the wall? She panted, and her head tossed from side to side.

“What’s wrong with you?”

His voice came as if through a tunnel. Faint. Her vision narrowed, too. Closed in on a spot on the rocky wall. Rough-hewn. Where were the wood beams to support it?

It’s going to collapse!