Chapter Sixteen
Niko sensed her on the other side of the lake.
It was like the beginning all over again. He stared across the lake, the water with a thin crust of ice in the cold.
He didn’t know if he dared to swim across to her. He didn’t know if she wanted to talk to him again. There was no denying he had been a jackass to her, springing all of that and her secret at once. He wondered if she was going to tell him the truth or just let it fade away.
Why did he even care? It was so painfully clear to him now that he was in love with her. He didn’t care what she used to be; he only cared what she could be. That whatever it was she was going to be was together with him.
Stripping quickly, he put his clothes on the rock. He grabbed the Ziploc that he had stuffed a pair of pants into and clutched it tightly before he slipped into the icy water, not feeling the cold at all. He had no idea if she would want to talk to him, or the dragon, but if he wasn’t wearing pants, they’d both be distracted and never get to talking.
The dragon was relieved to be in the water again, and he shifted without any difficulty at all. Taking a few lazy laps in the water, he tried not to think about anything except the dark cool lake around him and how good it felt to be back.
But it was only a short reprieve from the world. The sensation of his mate sitting on the rocks above him was compelling and he had no choice but to go to her. Winding through the dark, he found her on the far side.
He poked his nose out and peered at Betsy through the sheen of water and ice.
“Hello, Niko.”
Even just the sound of her voice was a relief. Pushing out of the water, he rested his great head on the rocks next to her. She moved over closer to him and scratched the scales just above his eye. A moment more and she leaned against him. The miniscule pressure of her pressed against him reassured him that he had done the right thing. That staying as his dragon right now was a wise move.
His little mate wasn’t wearing much, so he brought up some heat to warm her and the rocks, just a little. She sighed as she warmed and leaned against him just a little more.
“I’m a thief, Niko.”
Her words were soft, sad. Being in dragon form, and not mated, he couldn’t answer her. But that was Sia’s advice. Say nothing. Let her talk. So, he stayed exactly where he was.
“It’s been mostly petty shit I’ve slipped into pockets and purses. Till skimming. Pick pocket stuff. People are incredibly careless with the most valuable pieces of their lives. Everything we skimmed and stole we fenced as quickly as we could for the hard cash. There were many nights over the past three years that we spend sleeping in the car because we were trying to conserve the funds.”
He saw her pull out a small stone from her pocket and run her thumb around it while the silence settled again. Niko was content here, with her pressed against him. The silence was sweet and comfortable. He would let her speak at her leisure.
“I grew up outside Raleigh, North Carolina. We lived in a cabin in the woods and I thought we were the richest people in the world. We had an awesome house, my dad had a good job that helped people, and my and brother had the whole forest to play in.
“Dad was a pro bono lawyer who took on only the occasional huge corporate lawsuit to keep us in food and clothes. He was very happy with what he was doing, and he won a lot of the suits. He saved a lot of people from wrong accusations and he kept a lot of mothers out of jail and children out of the foster system.
“But, my mother didn’t agree with me. She wanted to be spoiled and live in Manhattan. She was kind of the rotten spot in our happy apple. She thought that when my father graduated from UNC, they would leave the South, leave the woods, and raise three worldly children who spent time riding bikes in Central Park.
“That was not why Dad went to school. He wanted to work with desperately poor, the desperate, the wronged. Mom made things hard for all of us. She loved Dad, but she did not love his choice of profession. She loved us, but she didn’t like that we were basically grimy little urchin children.
“My brother left home to go to college in Chicago, and we never saw him much after that. He would call Dad every Sunday and they could talk for hours. He only asked for my mother at the end of the conversation, for a few minutes. He would call me a different day. We chatted, but it was clear he was growing away from our Southern roots.
“I got accepted to UNC, which made Dad crazy happy. His little girl was going to be Tar Heel. But I didn’t quite get that far. I met Wyatt my junior year and within six months I had no interest in finishing my degree or going to school anymore. Wyatt was an intoxicating person. Full of life and utterly lacking in fucks to give.
“He taught me to steal, and I was a natural. The first thing I stole was forty dollars out of a classmate’s wallet. It was a thrill to get away with it. Everything grew from there. Not only was I good at it, I was also amazing at making the plans and casing the joints. How I went from veterinary student to thief… it happened so fast. I think part of it was to get away from my mother and another part was Wyatt’s electric personality. And part stupidity.
“The worst thing we ever did was rob an armored car. There was a lot of money from that one, but we had to keep moving and it’s long gone now. I have felony charges in two states, if they ever find me and catch me. Misdemeanors in several others. Things that I would pay restitution for and be let go.
“But last week I called Amy. My best friend. She told me the worst news I’d ever heard. Wyatt has been going off with his brother a few times a year. I thought they were doing little jobs together. A way of bonding. They weren’t bonding. They have been pulling off massive heists. Worse, he’s killed men. Murdered in cold blood simply for being in his way as he tried to steal these big-ticket items. Cars, bikes, trucks. Whatever shipment the two of them could find at the time.
“I had no idea that was going on. I mean, I knew they were pulling crimes, but I didn’t know he was murdering people.”
Niko tilted his head up and let out a little puff of smoke. He knew about the robberies. He hadn’t known about the murders. It wasn’t welcome news.
Betsy rubbed her hand over the scales on his snout. “Shift, Niko. Talk to me, please. I love your dragon, but I need to talk to the man inside right now.”
He nosed her over a bit and levered his huge body out of the water—and as usual, as his tail left the water, he shrank back and shifted into his smaller human body.
“Oh, shit, you’re naked. I forgot.”
Niko felt her eyes on him, and it was going to do things to him, quickly. He retrieved the bag and pulled on the sweats he’d brought. He stepped back to her and pulled her into an embrace.
“I want to talk. I want to hear what you have to say.”
“I’m a thief.”
“We’ve been through that already. Let’s move on, to the crimes Wyatt is committing without you.”
“I don’t know what he’s doing, but Amy told me he’s murdering people. He’s vicious, but I didn’t know he was this horrible. He has to be stopped, but I don’t know how.”
“When is he going to be back?”
“A few days, three, maybe four. He won’t want to hang around when he does. We’ll be on the road in hours.”
“We?”
“He’s not going to let me stay, Niko. You know that. I’m too valuable to him. I keep him fed and clothed and out of jail. I want to stay here, with you, forever, but he won’t let me go.”
Staring into her brown eyes, he could see she wasn’t lying. She wanted to stay—and now it was up to the two of them to figure out how to get her out of his grasp.
“You want forever.”
Betty nodded. “Your exes had a field day with me and our sexploits.”
Chewing his lip, he tried not to laugh. “Sexploits?”
“I got high-fived for sexing you up.”
“And down, and sideways…”
Betsy giggled. The sound bolstered him, and he pulled her even closer.
“We have a few days. We are going to figure this out and I swear you will be welcome here. We can build a beautiful life and beautiful family and friends…”
Her hand pressed on his chest. “You know there’s a chance I’m facing serious jail time. I was key in a few of the larger robberies.”
“I’m immortal. Your father is a lawyer. I think we got this.”
“Niko…”
“I am being serious. I won’t shy away from the law, and with your dad and my gold, we’ll do what we can to minimize this.”
“Amy said if I turn state’s evidence it will also help. And I will.”
“Good. We’ll figure this out. Those families need closure.”
Betsy nodded. “They’ll have it. Are you sure you want to spend eternity with a sticky-fingered liar?”
He pressed himself against her hip as his erection started to climb. “Just being around you does this to me. I will never be able to tell you how awesome it is to be hard because of you—and to know that you can do something about it.” His fingers grazed her breast.
“Where’s your car? Because if it’s safe there, we need to get in mine and get back to your place so I can practice sexing you up.”
Niko scooped her up off her feet and walked back to the car. He slid her in the passenger seat and a moment later took off for his house at breakneck speed.
* * *
They didn’t make it inside.
Or, not all the way in. Niko had her shirt up over her head as he pulled her out of the car, and her pants were somewhere on the lawn between the car and the door to the Florida room. His were flung just inside the door and she wasn’t sure where the shirt had landed.
There was no time to figure out where the clothes were. It was clear neither of them cared at that moment.
The kisses burned hot against her lips, and she had to break away a few times to take a breath. His hand palmed her breast, and a second later, he ripped her bra off so he could feel her skin, instead of the cup in the way.
He wasn’t the only one being impatient. There was no stopping her as she ripped his boxers down his leg and clutched his giant cock.
“Fuck me hard, Niko. Don’t be nice.”
He studied her face just after she said those words and the next instant, she was on her knees. He didn’t wait for her to completely asses her situation. He slammed himself home in her pussy and started an amazing, affirming relentless pace. His cock pistoned in and out of her, and he pressed a hand to her back, pushing her down to the carpet.
Shamelessly, Betsy reached back and found her clit with her fingers and stroked herself while Niko’s pace on her sex kept up. This felt so dirty, and so right.
Without a warning, he turned her over and shoved her legs apart. The next sensation Betsy registered was the marvelous tongue on her pussy. It danced and teased, dipping into her entrance and circling around her engorged bundle of nerves.
Niko’s words were muffled into her sex, and the vibration caused a ripple through her body, her nerves firing off and sending her sailing over the edge.
“Shit, Niko! I’m coming!”
Now above her, he pressed inside again and hit her inner G-spot. She saw sparks and screamed as her orgasm washed over her. Niko released his orgasm inside as she started to come back down from the sexual high. The look on his face was delightful as he let his own pleasure consume him.
His arms trembled and he dropped down next to her on the floor where they had wound up.
Betsy looked up at the ceiling above them, laughing. “We’ve given hot sex a whole new meaning.”
* * *
Niko moved to look and found the whole Florida room’s windows and ceiling completely fogged up. He joined Betsy in a laugh, while standing to move away from her. She whimpered, but he had to start the fireplace if they were going to lie there. Mostly, he conceded to himself, for the ambiance. He had no doubt in his ability to keep his sexy little mate warm.
Her brown eyes were curious as he set up the logs and tinder. “Can you control fire when you’re human?”
“Nope.” He struck a match. “Kind of ironic. Just heat.”
“So, you have fire, but you’re stuck underwater as a dragon, and you can’t use it as a man.”
“Exactly.”
“That’s stupid.”
“Exactly.” Niko trotted into the kitchen and came back with some wine and a small plate of cheese and nuts. “It is totally dumb. But that’s the rules.”
Settling in behind her after putting down the plate and glasses, he pulled her tight against his front and wrapped a blanket around them.
“You realize it’s after midnight?” Betsy glanced back at him.
“Yup. Tomorrow is an early Aaron day.”
“I am supposed to be at work at noon.”
“We’ll be fine. We should work on getting you moved it.”
She jerked against him. “What?”
“Well, you want to stay, right? So we should work on what has to happen.”
“Shouldn’t we wait until we’re married or mated or what not?”
“Those are two different things.”
“I’m lost…”
“Mating is private. In the magical world mating or bonding is as good as a wedding. It’s fully recognized as a legal standing. But in the human world you need the paperwork. I’m happy to do both. But we can mate without anyone’s permission or blessing when we’re ready.”
“You were just all over me, why didn’t we mate?”
“I want you to have your mating stone. It’s not necessary, but I want you to come to that mating bed unadorned and leave bedecked with the stone.” He ran his fingerings through her hair. “And you’re not ready. Are you?”
She shook her head. “No.”
“Then why would you ask that?”
“I… don’t know anything about this. I’m your mate and I guess I just follow along.”
“That’s what got you in trouble in the first place, agapi̱té éna. You have to remember that even though we’re mates, husband and wife, you’re still your own person. I need you to be that person. Don’t just follow me. You have to speak up, too. You have to let me know what you’re thinking, what you’re feeling. I am not Wyatt. I will never make you do something you don’t want to do.”
“Then, no. I’m not ready. Not really. I don’t even know about the moving in thing.”
“You’re not staying in that apartment.”
“But to move in?”
“What’s mine is yours. Move in. We’ll get to know each other better that way. You can have your own room if you really want a space that’s just yours. But you can’t stay in the apartment. Wyatt will come back.” He could see that she was starting to understand his intention, and nodded agreeably.
“Okay, I’ll agree to that. I don’t want him to drag me away with him. Staying there will give him the chance.” Betsy picked at a piece of cheese on the plate next to them as the fire crackled quietly. “Tell me more about the benefits of this mating thing.”
“You mean aside from the amazing orgasms?”
Betsy wiggled her backside against his resting cocking, threatening to take more action than just a wiggle. “Well, I’ve gotten my sample of this benefit. What else you got?”
“Immortality.”
“Always nice.”
“Eternal youth.”
“No gray hair, wrinkles, or saggy boobs. Okay.”
“A little bit of magic.”
“Ooh, not getting out of bed to turn off the light. Yes. I like.”
“A mental link that allows us to talk to each other.”
“Hmm. That could be trouble. Okay, put that in the cons column.”
“And you’ll never get sick.”
Betsy didn’t have a comeback for that, and instead turned to find his gaze. “I’m confused about that part. I thought you said your mother died from cancer.”
“She did.”
“But if she was your father’s mate…”
Niko let out a sigh. “She wasn’t his mate. They were only married. Everyone in Pine Valley accepted her as his mate, but they never had the bond.”
“Why not? Why…”
“She wasn’t my father’s fated mate. She was a woman he fell in love with, long after his mate… well.”
Betsy cozied up to him, laying her head on his chest, her hair soft and satin against his skin. “Tell me what happened? With your father’s mate and with your mother.”
Niko tucked the blanket around her and held up an almond for her. “It’s a sad story. Both of them. Agnes and Sophia.” Betsy didn’t seem perturbed by the warning; he did owe her some of his own history.
“My father was young for a dragon. He was only seventy when he met Agnes, and Agnes was only fifty. They were a perfect couple for the Victorian age. Gentleman and lady, they were the toast of any town they went to, any place they visited. They loved the glittering balls and parties and traveled all the way to London for the Season more than once. Time changed and they were swept up in the Edwardian era, with the crazy bicycles and gas lights and cars that looked more and more Chitty-chitty Bang Bang. The roaring twenties and they were out doing the Charleston every night.
“My father showered her with gifts and jewels and gems. They had houses and a castle in Ireland. They were happy. But right about the middle of the Roaring Twenties, my father wanted to start thinking about having a child. Agnes flat out said no. Not just no, but never. She had no desire to go through the hell that was a dragon-dragon breeding. Every once in a while, my dad would ask again, and her answer never changed. For years.
“The terrible austerity of the Great Depression made Agnes very depressed. Imagine that. But my dad took her over to the castle in Ireland, per her request, and he spent time going back and forth between Ireland and the US. He wanted to help people everywhere, much like your dad, and he kept it up while she hid.
“Leaving Agnes alone was a bad idea. She got bored, not being able to go to parties and balls, and started wandering around Europe while Dad was helping the needy in both countries.
“You’ll probably guess what happened. It’s not hard. With the way things were, the words of Adolph Hitler gave the Germans a place to point their hate, a place to put the blame for the wreck of the country. Agnes loved the sounds he made. She loved his ideas of racial purity, and was all about the Lebensborn.
“Dad came home and found out that she was now a card-carrying Nazi, not realizing the irony of her obsession with the Aryan idea of purity. Nothing out of the normal world. Dad saw two things happening if they ever discovered her: she would become a prize for Hitler’s obsession with the occult and they would force her to use her magic. Or two, they would condemn her and kill her.
“Agnes didn’t see any of that. She just saw and heard what she wanted. She loved laying blame for things she didn’t have a thing to do with at the feet of those Hitler pointed at.
“This time, it was her begging my father for a child. A child for the Lebensborn. Which was ridiculous because pure dragon children are hatched from eggs. They are not born as a half dragon. My father turned her down, and turned her down, and turned her down. He could see what she couldn’t.
“More and more, Agnes became unreasonable. She pushed my father away only to beg for a child. She went to book burnings and meetings. She started speaking only German and started looking into the occult that the Nazis were fascinated by. When he rolled the tanks into Austria, she was celebrating. When they fired on Poland and took over she was saluting the führer.
“As a last desperate move, my father got her pregnant. He knew what dragon reproduction was like. The instant Agnes was pregnant, she shifted into her dragon form and had to stay there for nine months. She could not shift back because a human cannot carry an egg.
“When she finally laid the egg and she shifted back, she had the biggest fight she and my dad ever had. Knockdown, drag out screaming hatred from her. My dad fended her off and just reminded her that she still had another nine months to care for the egg before she could be free. It was what she wanted and my father gave it to her.
“Incubating the egg is pretty easy. It’s not like you have to sit on it. Whatever the element of the dragon inside, you make sure they were surrounded by it, kept warm, and turned once a day. And the egg was an earth dragon like Agnes. So, she had to keep it warm on soil. That was it. Make sure the dirt on which it sat was warm and turn it.
“She couldn’t manage it. She kept leaving to go to book burnings and rallies, and one day, she left and when my father came home the soil was cool to the touch. The egg was cool—it had done something called ‘stoning.’ It had literally turned to a stone when it was cold for too long.
“This was my father’s child. He went apeshit insane trying to warm it. Anything, everything he could to warm the egg. But it was too late. It had turned and now it would never hatch for them.
“Within the dragon culture, because we are so small and there are so few born of dragon-dragon matings, leaving an egg to stone was—well, still is—punishable by death. Originally, only the mother was punishable, but it came to light over the years that some of the males had screwed up too. So, it was always the one who was last left to the responsibility, and it was at the request of the other parent only.
“My father optioned it. He couldn’t deal with Agnes anymore. He had tried so hard to deter her from that path, and it had resulted in the stoning of his egg. Agnes was found guilty, by a jury that included her own sister. Because he was wronged, he was given the choice of how she would die. She could die as a dragon, which is a horrible way to go. Or she could die as a woman, quickly and quietly.
“To the end, she stood defiantly staring at him. She tried to run, but they had her tied. Her last words were to the führer as her head rolled away from her body.”
Betsy was enraptured by his story and had tears in her eyes. “What happened to the egg? Was there any hope?”
“Yes. The egg stoned for my father and Agnes. But after a ten-year rest, it could be revived by someone else. Dad’s cousin had mated a woman who had suffered ovarian cancer at young age and was infertile. They got the egg and were able to successfully hatch and raise my older brother, Valerian.”
“And your parents?”
“Mom was a student at Stellingwerf. She met and fell in love with Dad. It was a sweet, short courtship, and they were married. No hesitation, only the regret that he couldn’t mate with her and keep her forever. I was born just a year later.
“When I was twelve, Mom was diagnosed with stage four glioblastoma. They tried to treat it, but… well. Twenty-three years ago, the treatments weren’t as refined and even with the most aggressive radiation and chemo, she died just four months later.
“Dad died from a broken heart when I was eighteen. Or, that’s what I say. The official report is that he lost control during a thunderstorm over Gooseberry Falls out by the Lake. I think it was just him, tired of living without my mother and having lost his fated mate to something he didn’t understand.”
“Jesus, Niko…”
“I’ve rolled along. I’m okay. Dad was a great guy, but he was always sad after Mom died. But you see why Raissa told me to rearrange the upstairs. I was wallowing, and I shouldn’t have been.”
“I understand, though.” Betsy smiled at him. She glanced around the room. “We should really try using the bed now and again.”
“Eh. This is an upgrade from the rocks.”
Betsy kissed his nose as he lowered himself behind her and pulled her close. He arranged the blanket over them again. “It’s late. We’re never going to get up on time.”
“My phone has alarms.” She yawned. “I don’t know if I care either.”
Niko kissed her neck softly. “Mine.”
“Yours. Forever.”
“Forever.”