Dragon Fever: A Dark Kings Novella (6 page)

“Long.”

She smiled at his choice of words. “And busy, I presume?”

“It nearly took an act of God to get my PA to allow me a few seconds to find a restroom.”

“What do you do to keep you on such a tight schedule?”

He took a long drink of his whisky while he regarded her. Everyone seemed to know who he was and where he was from. Could Rae be different? How refreshing.

“I’m here for the World Whisky Consortium.”

Her eyebrows shot up in her forehead. “Ah. Which explains why you love Scotch.”

“Aye.” He raised his glass to her and took another drink.

“Do you work for a distillery or a distributor?”

“Distillery.”

She leaned forward, placing one elbow on the table. “Do you like it?”

“I love it. I’ve been involved for as long as I can remember. There is something about taking part of the land and combining it to make something as savory as a good whisky.”

“What’s the brand? Would I have heard of it?”

He hesitated, wondering if she would change once she knew the truth. “Dreagan.”

“Oh,” she said with wide eyes. “I do recognize that brand. I’m not a whisky drinker myself.”

“You’re missing out.”

She smiled before bringing the wine to her lips. “Am I?”

“Aye.” His balls tightened at the lowering of her voice.

He was finding it harder and harder to keep his hands to himself and not lean forward and take her lips. Did she have any idea how he hungered for a taste of her?

The conversation was interrupted as the food arrived. Asher watched Rae immediately reach for one of the lobster bites. She was discreet and elegant, but there was no denying she was starving. He kept the talk light until she finally sat back with a satisfied smile.

She noticed him watching and wrinkled her nose. “I guess I was hungry.”

“Did you no’ eat dinner?”

“I had other things going on,” she replied and finished her wine.

“You should’ve told me.”

Rae waved away his words. “It’s fine. Thank you for ordering the food.”

“It’s my pleasure.”

“Want to get out of here?”

“And go where?” he asked, intrigued.

She smiled and rose to her feet. “Come with me.”

He let the bartender know they were done and to put the bill on his room, then he followed Rae into the lobby. A bellman was helping her into a long black coat. She buttoned and belted it before tucking her hands in the pockets with a smile directed at him.

It had been a long time since Asher felt so…exuberant. And it was all because of her. She captivated him in every way possible. She was elegant and enthusiastic, sophisticated and dynamic.

And she pulled it off effortlessly.

With his hand on her back, they walked from the hotel onto the sidewalk. He followed her as she turned and wandered seemingly with no destination in mind.

“Where are we going?” he asked.

She glanced at him with a grin. “Does it matter?”

Actually it didn’t. Gone were the sounds of the bar and hotel. Out on the streets it was quieter, softer with the night around them.

“No,” he answered.

They walked for a time in the shadows and shine of the streetlights without talking. Asher was really seeing the city as he hadn’t while in the car. He listened to traffic as it zoomed by, watched as people walked past them, and smelled the many delicious scents of restaurants, bakeries, and cafés.

They stopped next to the Seine River and stared at the Eiffel Tower aglow with lights. He felt Rae’s gaze on him and turned to her.

“You’re having a good time.”

He was surprised that she was taken aback by that fact. “Aye. And happy about it. Thank you for this.”

“I didn’t do anything.”

“You got me out of the hotel. You allowed me to see, smell, hear, and feel the city as I couldna do any other way.”

His words seemed to flummox her as she glanced away. A second later, she had her composure back in place. “Tell me of Dreagan.”

“Dreagan,” he said, thinking of his home.

* * * *

Rae watched the way his eyes took a faraway look as he murmured the name of his home. The smile he wore bespoke of his love in ways words never could. She thought it would be a safe subject after seeing him enjoy their simple walk that had affected her so. How wrong she was.

But she couldn’t look away. Whatever thoughts she had to lead him about on a merry chase of desire and lust took a backseat somehow. She wasn’t sure how or when it happened.

If something like this had occurred in the past, she would’ve ended the night until she could set them back on course. Asher wasn’t just unexpected in every way, but he constantly astounded her. It was genuine delight she saw on his face and in his eyes as they walked. She loved the simple pleasures in life, and it appeared as if they had something else in common.

Rachel waited with baited breath. She told herself it was a part of her undercover work.

“Dreagan is Scotland,” Asher said. “The land draws you in a way you can no’ begin to understand. You feel the majesty and magic of the ancient land. From the tallest mountain to the lowest valley, in the leaves of the trees and in the currents of the streams, you feel an overwhelming and unshakable need to want to be a part of such a place. To want to belong.

“It doesna confine you. Instead, it cradles you, offering its beauty and solitude for those who answer its call. It’s wild and free. It’s fierce and unbreakable. It’s home.”

Rachel had the urge to board a plane right that moment and travel to Dreagan so she could see all that he just spoke of. In his words, his soul was laid bare.

In those precious few moments, she saw just how much Dreagan meant to him. It was in his heart and his psyche. It anchored him in a way that spoke to her, answering a plea she hadn’t realized she held.

His arm wrapped tighter around her, drawing her into his warmth. She was suddenly cold. It was a bone-deep chill that she feared she might never shake.

Because he’d made her think of the past, of her home where she had been deliriously happy. In a naïve, childish way she’d assumed life would always be so wonderful.

Until it wasn’t.

“Lass, talk to me.”

She heard the worry in his words, heard the deepening of his voice. Unable to help herself, she lifted her face in order to see him. “I’m fine.”

“You’re no’. What is it?”

“You love your home.”

There was a beat of silence before he said, “Aye.”

“You’re lucky.”

“Did you no’ love your home?”

“I loved it with all my heart.” A picture of her parents and sister flashed in her head.

He didn’t ask questions or push for an explanation. No, he did something even worse. He simply held her, letting her drift with her memories.

What was wrong with her? What was it about Asher that kept her from her plan? Why did she allow his words and actions to push past her end goal?

She knew what he was from her research about Dreagan and what little Sam had told her regarding those who lived there. She knew Asher wasn’t human, but a dragon in the guise of a handsome man.

Sam had showed her how deceitful and devious the Kings were by hiding their true selves and using magic to keep humans from a large portion of the sixty thousand acres that was Dreagan. All the Dragon Kings were cunning, beautiful liars who had conned an entire race into believing they were as human as the rest of them.

Sam also cautioned her that the Dragon Kings easily seduced women, but they could also turn on a dime and kill without hesitation. The seduction she believed, but the killing…? That she wasn’t so sure of. Sam hadn’t provided any proof of a King killing a mortal, and neither had her research.

Perhaps that’s why she hadn’t felt any fear with Asher. Though she wasn’t sure why she didn’t pull away and put some distance between them. Why didn’t she feel the same revulsion for Asher as she had two days earlier?

Rachel put her hands on the cold metal of the railing and drew in a shaky breath. Asher’s other hand came to rest atop hers. It was a simple gesture, but it rooted them to that spot, that very instant.

Her gaze was on their hands even as he gently turned her to face him. His fingers brushed her chin. Slowly, her eyes rose to his. The hand he had on her back pulled her closer––and she didn’t resist. She wasn’t sure she could, even if she wanted.

And she didn’t want to.

Every nerve ending sizzled, crackled with excitement and…anticipation. She held her breath, unsure of what she felt or why she was experiencing it.

Then his head lowered and she didn’t care. Their breaths billowed from their lips, mixing together before vanishing into the night.

She gazed into his striking green eyes and saw the lights reflected in his depths. But more than that, she saw the hunger, the yearning within. Her stomach quivered at the tangible desire swirling between and around them.

No longer did she feel even a hint of the cold. Every one of her senses was filled with Asher. And she…liked it.

When his lips touched hers, something electric zapped through her, causing her to suck in a sharp breath in surprise. He pulled back enough to look at her. This was the time she should call it a night, walk away and regroup for the next day.

Instead, she lifted her face to his. She had to experience more of him, to feel his kiss and know his taste.

When his mouth claimed hers, his tongue slid along the seam of her lips. They parted for him, on their own accord, granting him access to do as he wished. His arms wrapped around her, holding her securely. With a sigh, she melted against him.

She tasted the whisky on his tongue. The exotic taste mixed with his kiss caused her blood to heat. Her hands splayed on his chest before moving upward to lock around his neck. With a groan that rumbled his chest, he deepened the kiss.

Then something strange happened. Warmth spread through her, settling low in her belly. At first she thought she was going to be sick, but the more he kissed her, the more the warmth grew––until it was a fire.

And did it rage.

It burned brightly, scalding her with its intensity. She couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think. And she didn’t care. All that mattered was that he continue kissing her, taking her further along this incredible journey.

Then that wasn’t enough. She wanted…no, she
needed
more. As if sensing her thoughts, he turned her so that her back was to the railing. His heat surrounded her. Every breath she drew into her lungs was filled with his scent of dark amber and mahogany. The longer they kissed, the more fiery and out of control their kisses became.

It was Asher who gradually pulled away. She struggled to find words, to tell him she didn’t want it to end. Her lids slid closed when his thumb ran over her bottom lip and he groaned.

She leaned into him, hoping he would kiss her again. This feeling…this sensation…was awful and amazing. She didn’t know whether to fight it or give in, but her body didn’t give her a choice.

Asher didn’t say a word as he laced his fingers with hers and turned toward the hotel. They walked in silence once more, becoming more in tune to him with every step she took. She could literally feel their souls intertwining and melding.

She should be scared, and she was. But she was also excited and aroused to the point that she wanted to crawl out of her skin. He’d done that to her. When no other had caused even a hint of desire, he had brought an inferno.

When they reached the elevator of the hotel, he pressed the
eight
button for his floor and looked at her. She knew what he was asking. Her mind warned her to leave for the night, but her body begged her to experience more of what he had so easily unleashed.

She stood beside him, facing the door. Out of the corner of her eye she saw him grin. It was a pleased smile, one that said her decision made him happy.

Almost as happy as she was.

Chapter Six

Asher didn’t want to think about the passionate kisses he shared with Rae or why he couldn’t seem to get enough of her. The more he tasted and touched, the more he craved.

The more he
hungered
.

As they walked into the penthouse suite, all he cared about, all that mattered was the woman beside him. Desire burned deep, swirling through his muscle and bone like tendrils of flames.

It consumed him until he thought he might go mad with the force of such passion. Lust he’d experienced before, but this was so much more. It went beyond the physical.

He thought of all the Kings who’d found mates, and it stopped him dead in his tracks. Why was he thinking about mates? But then he knew––Rae.

Their hands remained joined as he bolted the door and walked her into the suite. Her dark eyes burned brightly, her lips still swollen from his kisses.

His already straining cock jumped as he thought of taking her in his arms again. He wanted to mark her as his, to claim her in such a way that everyone who looked at her would know she was his.

It should scare the hell out of him. But all he felt was a kind of peace. As if his soul had found what it had been looking for. Which couldn’t be right. He’d been satisfied on his own.

He halted and faced Rae. She turned to him, her wide lips slightly parted and the pulse at her throat beating wildly. He unbelted her coat and slowly released each button. Then he pushed the thick garment over her shoulders.

It fell to the ground at her feet, forgotten as she put her hands on his chest. She hadn’t seemed to notice that he’d gone into the night with nothing more than his suit, and that was fine with him. He didn’t want to answer any questions.

Her hands ran down the front of his charcoal gray suit as if feeling the fabric. Then she unbuttoned it. Those dark, seductive eyes of hers lifted, staring at him through her thick, black lashes.

And just as he’d done, she smoothed her hands up to his shoulders, shoving the jacket off. He shifted his arms so the garment slid off with a slight
whoosh
. His hands rested on her waist, feeling the curve of her hip. A moan stirred when she bit her lip and moved closer. The woman had him aching already, and he hadn’t even begun to make love to her.