Chapter Twelve
Pure, unadulterated relief slammed into Ezra. Sam didn’t seem to be afraid of him. He wasn’t certain she was convinced he was a drakon, either, but that was okay. It was a lot for anyone to take in, especially a scientist like Sam. But his Sam also believed in magic, whether she admitted it or not, why else would she study the legends and myths of ancient cultures.
He captured her lips, taking the gift she was freely offering him. He lifted her off her feet so it was easier to kiss her. He could taste her sweetness, hear the frantic beat of her heart, feel her hands against his bare chest.
Whatever was between them was real and incredibly powerful.
She wrapped her legs around his waist and clung to him as though she would never let him go. The beast inside him roared with pleasure, and he groaned. He never wanted to let Sam go. She’d been made for him, was his match sexually and intellectually. She was his. His dragon side had known from the beginning that she belonged to him. Now that he knew what it was like to kiss her, to make love to her, he knew he could never let her go.
He kissed a path from her lips down her jawline. He should take her to bed. No, he should feed her. But that would mean he’d have to stop kissing her. He didn’t want to do that.
“Ezra.” She gasped his name and tangled her fingers in his hair.
“Mmm.” He didn’t want to talk. He nibbled on her neck. He wanted to map every inch of her skin with his tongue.
“We should…” She sighed and rested her head against his shoulder. “We should talk about this.” She shivered. It was a stark reminder of what she’d been through.
In the past twenty-four hours, she’d been shot and dragged across the open ocean in a dinghy. She’d also made love with him, taken a plunge into the icy waters off his dock, and had to come to grips with a new reality. It was far more than anyone should have to deal with. The fact that she was still on her feet and thinking was a testament to her strength.
He carried her toward the kitchen and deposited her onto one of the stools. “We should turn on the lights,” she said.
Once again, he’d forgotten she couldn’t see as well as him. Night had fallen, leaving the room in shadows.
“I’m sorry.” He flicked on several switches, and Sam blinked. Her lips were full and slightly damp from his kiss. Her cheeks held a tinge of color, and her eyes were luminous. And her hair. He loved her hair. It was wild and vibrant.
“You can see, can’t you?” She rested her elbows on the counter and propped her chin on her hands. “In the dark?”
“Yes.” His stomach growled. They might as well eat if they were going to talk. He opened the freezer and pulled out three large pizzas.
“Are you sure that’s enough?” The dry humor in her question surprised a laugh from him.
“It’s not nearly enough, but it’s a start.” He turned on the double ovens, ripped open the boxes and wrapping, and placed all three pizzas inside. Then he set the timer.
“You’re serious, aren’t you?”
He folded the boxes and tossed them into his garbage bin. He didn’t worry about recycling. He had an old metal barrel not far from the house and used his drakon fire to disintegrate all trace of his trash.
“Very.” He retrieved two bottles of water from the fridge and set them on the counter. Sam reached for one, opened it, and drank. “I burn a lot more calories than a human. I need at least three times the calories to function normally.”
“Wow.” She licked a droplet of water off her bottom lip. He swallowed a groan. She was not making this easy on him. His dick was straining against his jeans, practically begging him to grab Sam and take her upstairs.
Oblivious to his predicament, she continued. “So you have enhanced vision. What else?” She was watching him, her expression rapt. It made him slightly uncomfortable. He didn’t like feeling as though he was a relic she was examining. On the other hand, he liked that she was interested in him enough to ask.
It was better than her reaction might have been, maybe should have been. “Why aren’t you screaming or crying or in shock? You just discovered I’m a drakon, something that’s not supposed to exist.” That bothered him more than it should. She was taking this all too calmly.
She rubbed her forehead. “I am shocked, but I’m fascinated, too.”
“I’m not a damn artifact,” he snapped.
She straightened and sat back on her stool. “I’m well aware of that.” She tilted her head to one side and frowned. “Did you want me to be scared of you? To cringe and cry?”
The thought of her doing just that made his stomach ache and his chest hurt. “No. No, of course not.” He dragged his fingers through his hair. “You just seem to be accepting this all too easily.”
She laughed, and this time he heard a tinge of hysteria. “You think I’m accepting this too easily. I’ve had a year of coming to realize there’s more to the world than I could ever imagine.” She pointed out the window into the darkness. “How many people on the mainland sitting in their living rooms watching television know that the Knights of the Dragon or the Dragon Guard exists?”
She wrapped her arms around herself. “How many of them have had a friend murdered for a book? A damn book.” She blinked hard. He hated the sheen of tears in her eyes.
“Sam.”
She shook her head, making her curls dance. “No. You think this is easy. Well, it’s not. But what other choice do I have? The Knights are out there looking for me. When they find me, they’ll kill me. Then there’s you.”
He held his breath when she pointed her finger accusingly at him.
“You’ve exploded into my life like a tsunami, sweeping away every preconceived notion of reality I had. You made love to me and made me feel things I never have before.”
“Really?” He liked the sound of that. He liked it a lot.
“Oh, shut up,” she muttered. “I don’t want to feel an attachment to you.” She pressed her hand against her heart. “I have to leave in order to protect you. I felt that way when I thought you were just a man. Now that I know who you are, what you are, I have to leave immediately. The Knights can’t find out about you.”
She swiped at an errant tear. “I swore after Brian died and I discovered what I was facing that I wouldn’t get close to anyone. I knew getting justice for him might come at a high cost. Then I met you.”
Her laugh was sad and made his heart hurt for her. “I haven’t known you for very long, but it feels like I’ve known you forever.” She turned pleading eyes toward him. “How can that happen? It can’t be real, can it?”
Ezra walked around the counter and pulled her into his arms. “I feel the same.” He pressed a kiss against her temple. “I wasn’t looking for you, but I found you when I least expected.” He met her open gaze, moved by the raw emotion swirling there. “I can’t explain it any better than you can. I only know I can’t let you go. You belong to me.”
She caught her breath. “You can’t mean that.” He could tell she wanted to believe but was still fighting to be logical.
The emotions he felt for her defied all logic, but that didn’t make them any less real. “I’m four thousand years old, and I’ve never had this reaction to a woman before. Drakons use intellect and reason, but we’re also instinctual creatures. I always knew that when I found the right woman, I’d feel it. And you, Sam Bellamy, were made for me.”
Four thousand years old. As unbelievable as it was, she knew he was telling the truth. She couldn’t fathom living that long, all the things he’d done, the places and civilizations he’d seen. It made her head swim. He’d probably met kings and queens. Been with some of the most beautiful and cultured women in the world. She was a twenty-nine-year-old archaeologist. How could she compete with that?
“Ezra,” she began, but he pressed his lips against hers, smothering her denial in a kiss. When she was pliant in his arms, he pulled away and continued.
“No. Whatever is between us is real. You’re the treasure I’ve been searching for all my life.”
The oven timer chimed, and he set Sam back down on her stool. He didn’t want to let her go but knew they both needed time to deal with his confession. He hoped he hadn’t scared her off but figured if his being a drakon didn’t send her screaming, this shouldn’t, either.
He didn’t bother with oven mitts since the heat couldn’t hurt him. Best she start to know the real him and everything that meant.
…
Sam helped herself to a piece of the pizza. She had no idea what was on it and didn’t care. Because she knew he’d nag her until she ate, she bit off a small corner. Spices exploded in her mouth. Her stomach rumbled. It seemed the body demanded its due even when emotions were in turmoil.
She took a larger bite. Pepperoni and cheese tempted her taste buds.
Ezra had already inhaled two pieces and was on a third. He really was different. She knew he needed a lot of extra calories and also that he had exceptional night vision. Oh, and he could change into an extremely large dragon-like creature.
“So do I call you a drakon or a dragon?” How did he think of himself? It was easier to focus on such things rather than face the myriad emotions swirling inside her.
He licked a string of cheese from his fingers. “Technically, I’m a drakon. But I have a human form and a dragon form. It doesn’t matter to me one way or another what you call me.”
She sensed she’d somehow hurt him with her question. She took another bite of pizza and pondered. “I see you as Ezra,” she assured him. He was all man, but more than a man. “I see you,” she repeated.
He sighed and went back to the oven for the second pizza. He didn’t speak again until he had it on the wooden slab of a cutting board and was running the pizza cutter over it. “I worry that I’m now nothing but an anomaly for you, a legend to be studied and maybe written up in a paper.”
She dropped the crust of her pizza onto the edge of the board. “No, you’re so much more than that. You’re the man who wormed his way into my heart without trying.” It was important he knew he was special, and not just because of what he was. “You’re the man I’d die to save,” she reminded him.
She’d jumped into the frigid waters knowing it could mean her death, and she’d do it again. In that moment, she knew the amount of time they’d known one another didn’t make a damn bit of difference. He mattered to her in a way no other man ever had.
He set the pizza cutter down. “Don’t ever do that again.” His big body shuddered. “I couldn’t bear it if anything happened to you.”
She gave a small laugh. “Where does that leave us? You want to protect me. I want to protect you. But we have a bunch of crazy people searching for me, people who would love nothing more than to capture you and drink your blood.”
Just saying it aloud made her lose her appetite. She pressed her hand against her belly. “I can’t stay.” There, she’d said the words she didn’t want to. A part of her knew the faster she got away from Ezra, the better it was for both of them. Another part cautioned that what they had was special and should be guarded at all costs.
To say she was conflicted was a huge understatement.
“You have to stay.” He pressed his hands into the stone countertop and stared directly into her eyes. “I can’t protect you if you don’t stay.”
“And I can’t protect you if I do.” It was all so mixed up. “They can’t find out about you. And unless they find my body, they’ll never believe I’m dead.”
The Knights were nothing if not thorough.
“How did you find me?” It occurred to her with everything else going on, she’d taken what he’d told her at face value, but that was before she’d known exactly who and what he was.
He lowered his head and blew out a breath. “I was in the water watching the Integrity. I’d planned to sneak on board and see what you’d found.”
Sam knew her mouth was hanging open and closed it. “That’s what your friend meant earlier when he said you should have left me there. Why were you even there? How could you know what the Integrity was searching for?” It was time she found out exactly what Ezra’s involvement in all of this was.
He grinned. “Told you the guy I was talking with earlier could find out anything.”
“Just who is he?”
Ezra shook his head. “I can’t tell you. Not yet.”
It hurt her more than she expected even though she understood. “You’re right. It’s best I don’t know.” What she didn’t know couldn’t be tortured out of her if the Knights caught her.
“Sam.” He reached across the counter, but she ignored his outstretched hand and grabbed another slice of pizza, even though she was no longer the least bit hungry. “I can’t tell you someone else’s secrets. Not without their permission.”
Now she felt petty and small. “You’re right. I shouldn’t have asked you to do that. I’m sorry.”
Ezra watched her intently. His appetite wasn’t suffering. He chowed down on several more slices. “So,” she continued. “You were there in the water.” It all made perfect sense. “You rammed the boat.”
“Yeah, I did. I’m sorry Dexter shot you.”
She waved aside his apology. “You had to suspect I was with the Knights.”
“I did.” He polished off the last piece of the second pizza and went back to the oven for the third. He wasn’t kidding about his appetite. She’d hate to have his grocery bill.
“But you still brought me back here. You could have taken the book and left me adrift.”
He shook his head. “I couldn’t. There was something about you.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I can’t explain it any better than that. I found you. You were mine.”
“Like salvage?”
“Treasure,” he corrected. Maybe she was being naïve and stupid, but she couldn’t help liking the idea of being someone’s treasure. Of being Ezra’s treasure.
Ezra licked his lips, sending a river of molten heat flowing through her. She cleared her throat. Now was not the time for sex. There were too many other things at stake, things that needed to be discussed and decided on.
“Okay, you know I’m not with the Knights. I know you’re a drakon. Where do we go from here?” And it sounded crazy to say those things.
For a split second, Sam was outside herself, watching and listening to the conversation. It was all surreal. She began to shiver and clutched at the edge of the counter.
“What is it? What’s wrong?” Ezra abandoned the last of his pizza and hurried to her side.
“You’re a drakon,” she said, as if it were news to him.
His expression was grave. “I know.”
“Dragons are real. I mean drakons are real.” It was all so confusing.
“You can call me a dragon, if it’s easier for you. A part of me is just that.” Now he looked downright concerned. “Maybe you should lie down.”
Like some damsel in distress. Not happening. Still, she did feel a little lightheaded. “I’m fine.” She wasn’t, but she would be.
Ezra started to lift her, but she scooted off her stool. “I can walk.” It was important he not feel as though she was weak, as if he always had to be the one rescuing her. That wasn’t at all a balanced relationship.
Oh God. They had a relationship. She was in a relationship with a drakon.
A large shudder worked its way through her body.
Ezra ignored her efforts to keep him at bay. He scooped her into his arms and carried her into his office. It was his favorite room in the house. Plus, it held all his treasures, of which she was the greatest. He once again sat in one of the large chairs, swiveling it so it gave them an unimpeded view out the patio doors.
“What is wrong with me?” she muttered.
“Delayed reaction.” He rubbed his big hand over her arm. “I should have suspected. You were a little too calm about things.”
“Well crap.” Sam began to tremble from head to toe, and no amount of effort on her part could stop it. All she could do was cling to Ezra and ride out the wave.
…
Herman Temple studied his recently promoted head of security. Luther was a big man, physically intimidating. But unlike many in Herman’s employ, he didn’t run around in black combat gear. No, the man wore suits. He was smart enough to follow orders, but not so smart as to start thinking for himself and cause problems.
A flawed character trait his last security head had possessed. He’d been loyal and dedicated until he’d met Karina Azarov and become the woman’s lover and spy. Temple had no idea what had happened to the man. He’d gone on some mission for Karina and never returned. Temple figured Karina had either gotten tired of him or he’d fulfilled his purpose. Either way, he was gone and no longer a problem.
“You’re sure?” he asked Henderson.
“Yes, sir.” He didn’t nod, didn’t fidget. “Ms. Azarov has hired a local Maine company to do some salvage work.”
This could work in his favor. Yet another mistake by their leader. He was tired of taking orders from a woman, especially one who was years younger than him.
And time was running out. He was aging at a normal rate once again. He needed dragon blood, and he needed it now. If not for his son’s monumental stupidity, he’d have been able to discover if Darius Varkas was indeed a dragon and trap him. But the book with the potion was lost and Varkas was in the wind.
He sat back in his large office chair and contemplated his next move. He needed to be the leader of the Knights. He suspected that Russian bastard, Anton Bruno, had a dragon on tap. He was looking young and healthy when Temple knew he was much older.
If Temple was leader, he could visit Bruno from time to time and partake of the dragon’s blood. Bruno wouldn’t be able to refuse him if he was in possession of all the secrets of the Knights. To get those, he needed to get into Karina’s records and find out what she knew.
The best way to do that would be to kill her, but she was much too cautious for that. His only other way in was to undermine her authority. From there, it would be a small matter to push her out and take over.
“Find out what’s going on. If they unearthed an artifact, I want it.”
“Yes, sir. I’ll leave immediately and send word as soon as I know something.” Henderson left him alone, leaving as quietly as he’d arrived. For such a large man, he moved quickly and quietly. Another reason why he was good at what he did.
Temple rose from his chair and headed to the door. He’d go upstairs to his living quarters and think about the situation a bit more before he went to bed. He paused in the doorway, surprised to discover his assistant was still at her desk. He hadn’t realized she was still here.
“Victoria?”
She paused in her typing. “Yes, sir. Is there anything you need?” Victoria was young, beautiful, and incredibly efficient. She knew nothing about the Knights of the Dragon, only his legitimate businesses.
“Why are you still here?” he demanded. His regular staff always left on time. His security teams were always on site since he ran both his business and had his home in the same downtown Manhattan building. Only Victoria came to work early or stayed late.
“You said you needed the sales report for your meeting tomorrow morning.” She tapped several more buttons and nodded. “I just sent it to your computer.” She pushed away from her desk and unplugged her laptop. It would go into the safe for protection.
Nothing ever left the premises unless he approved it first.
“That’s fine. Go home.”
Victoria went through the procedure of unlocking the safe and deposited the laptop. She was relaxed and acting normal. She must not have overheard anything from his office, even though the door hadn’t been closed securely. Or had it? Maybe Henderson hadn’t closed it all the way on his way out.
Yes, that had to be it.
Victoria gathered her coat. Her purse would be waiting for her at the security desk out front. “Good night, Mr. Temple.”
He waved her away but followed, watching as she made her way to the checkout area at the front door. The security guard on duty handed her purse to her and tried to engage her in conversation. Victoria was polite but didn’t go beyond that. Just the way he liked things. He didn’t encourage his employees to fraternize.
He put all thoughts of her out of his head and went to the elevator. Usually, he took the stairs, but he was finding he was tired at the end of a day lately.
He needed dragon blood.