Amethyst Bound (10 page)

“You really don’t have much here,” Ben said from the kitchen. “I need to head into town to grab some things anyway. Do you want to make a list of supplies for me to pick up?”

My breath caught at his wording. Why did he assume I wouldn’t be going with him? Was he planning to run again? Could I let him escape me or would I chase after him like a vengeful wife?

Or possessive dragon…

“Toni?” He was scribbling out his list.

“Whatever you want is fine. I’m not picky and at the moment I’m not hungry.” At least not for food. The thought of never seeing him again was raising a fire inside me, a need to mark him, to show him how much I needed him. My suddenly vivid imagination saw me crawling up his body, pinning him to the counter where he leaned. I would devour his scrumptious lips and plunder his hot mouth.

I didn’t remember walking across the room but there I L. Shannon

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was, tugging his chin around to meet his lips with my kiss. This wasn’t a mild, kiss-me-goodbye, have-a nice-day-dear kiss. No, this was a singe-your-knickers-off, you’re-mine-forever kind of kiss. I wanted him to know there was no one anywhere in the world who would be able to touch him with fire like I could.

Dragon fire.

Damn if he didn’t seem to catch on quick. The pen and paper fell to the floor unnoticed and his arms crushed me against his chest while I bathed him in heat.

I had control and was not surrendering the lead in this dance. I angled my attack and plunged into his mouth, delving, sparring and conquering.

Mine.

I pulled back enough to rip my T-shirt off, and I do mean rip, laughing as Ben’s eyes widened. But better still was when he lifted me onto the counter and buried his face between my breasts. He licked a circle around the pendant, then kissed his way to one tight nipple while claiming my other breast with his hand.

The combination left me aching and wishing I had lost my shorts too. As the thought crossed my mind, a burst of fire skittered over my skin. And my shorts were gone.

Fortunately, Ben didn’t seem to be burnt by the blast of magic. In fact he didn’t even raise his head.

He did, however, slide his free hand up my thigh, not even hesitating when he ran out of leg. His thumb brushed over me and I bucked into the contact, almost throwing myself from the counter.

I sank my fingers into his thick hair and anchored his mouth where he sucked at my breast. My blood rushed in a roar through my body. The world spun around me. I wanted the moment to go on, but I wanted to move past it 80

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to fill the aching need which left my body crying out.

His thumb slipped through my folds and caressed in shallow sweeps. I melted against him, opening my thighs wider, demanding more, which he thankfully gave. His fingers joined in and explored my flesh with a thoroughness that stole my mind and offered back a concentration of my senses to this one moment, to the places where our skin collided, to the overwhelming desire that felt like flames sizzling over my flesh.

He abandoned my breasts with a final kiss to each and sank lower, trailing kisses over my ribs and belly. And then the man nuzzled between my thighs and took me into his mouth. With his fingers still tempting and teasing, his lips and teeth took me over the edge into a shattering release. My body clenched over his touch and I was lost. I fell back, and lay gasping on the countertop.

Ben’s masculine chuckle rolled through me and then he was standing. I heard the rasp of his zipper. The whisper of fabric. His thrust joining us together was so filling…and just like that, I was back in the game.

He caught my hands, anchoring me against his motion.

I did the same by wrapping my legs around him and straining my thigh muscles to lever myself against him.

And still it wasn’t enough. I hovered at the brink of a second orgasm, desperate for that last taste of completion.

He growled and pulled back, turning me facedown on the counter and joining us once more with the slap of skin.

The angle was tight and his strokes hard, almost brutal.

Exactly what we both wanted…needed…had to have.

Three strokes later we hit that pinnacle together. He buried his face into my hair but must have found it wasn’t close enough. I agreed and turned into his embrace, L. Shannon

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pleased to feel he had half a stroke left to rejoin us even after the motion.

Once facing him, I gave in to the urge to claim and worship his talented lips, catching the lingering taste of my own desire there as well as the flavor that was all Ben.

Well, Ben and SpaghettiOs.

“Mmm.” I burrowed into his arms, feeling peculiarly safe even while the world and even reality shifted around me.

“Oh no,” Ben groaned into my hair. “I don’t think my legs are going to hold us much longer.”

“Then my vote is to try out the kitchen floor.” I nibbled at his ear as he slowly lowered us both. When he would have taken the top once more, I twisted, forcing him back until I straddled him, still cradling his body within mine.

“Damn, you look good up there.” I purred as his hands ran over my back and rested possessively on my hips. “I feel pretty good.” I rocked forward, relishing the feel of him under me and reveling in taking control. “We’ve had hard and fast twice now. I want this time to be slow.”

Like a good minion, he complied willingly.

Chapter Eleven

When I came back to earth still wrapped in Ben’s arms, the sun was shining in my kitchen windows. And for it to hit at that angle I knew we had frolicked way past noon.

Ben’s hard body lay between me and the cool kitchen floor tiles, and his hands stroked down my back. He pressed a kiss to the top of my head. “Is there a cab company this far out or will I have to walk to the last city we flew over?”

“No, there are no cabs out here, but I have a car parked in the garage on the inland side of the house. You can take it to Mazatlán.” A deranged part of me wondered if he would take my car when he fled or if his conscience would have him leaving the car in town for me to find.

“Or maybe he will come back.”
I ignored Amethyst. Sure he might return, but it was safer if I accepted the possibility that his brains would start working again and he’d bolt.

“Of course you would keep a car here. Why didn’t I think of that?”

“There have been more interesting things happening than my means of getting around.” I wasn’t going to sweat it anymore. If he didn’t come back, I would deal with it. Until then, I would have plenty to do while he was gone.

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“I’ll be gone a couple hours. I might not be back until close to dark. That should give you time to catch up on some rest.”

“I can rest later. I have to make some calls and do some planning. I’ll be contacting my employer. It’s better for us to work quickly in case those mercenaries catch up to us here before we can move out.” I ran my fingers through my hair in a vain attempt to tame the wild mess.

“Where we go next will depend on what information I get.” If I got any information. “The keys for the car are under the driver-side fender. The number here is 555-555-6212. Use the cell phone in the glove box to call if anything comes up.”

“That’s not a Mexican number.”

“No, I don’t use landlines, and all my cell phones are American.” I wanted to tell him so much more, but the fear of never seeing him again trapped the words in my chest, leaving all the important ones unspoken. “Don’t use your credit cards either. They can be traced.”

“I don’t have much cash.”

“There’s some under the floor mat. Use that. It’ll be safer for both of us.” I was glad he trusted me enough to not ask if there was enough there. I had stashed about three thousand in the car and had other safe sites in case I ever got into trouble. I figured this counted, but was a little surprised by how willingly I’d given up my security money to Ben. Maybe I was learning to trust after all. Or maybe I just knew that small amount wouldn’t hurt my finances any.

Ben leaned in and brushed a kiss over my cheek and then glided out the door. If this was my last view of him, at least it was a good one. His jeans hung low and clung to his butt and he still carried his shirt, leaving his broad 84

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back bare except for the claw marks I’d left on him. Then the door swung shut.

I was fairly certain my heart broke at that moment. So I fell back on my skill of ignoring mental issues and focusing on physical action. Survival came first. Then and only then could I worry about recovery.

Priority was to get information from my employer. I’d destroyed the folder of details he’d given me, but only after I’d memorized the contact info. I retrieved my house cell phone and dialed the emergency contact number.

He answered on the first ring. “Yeah?”

“Is this Weaver?” Even using an anonymous cell phone, I wanted to get the call over with as quickly as I could.

A sound very much like choking crossed the line before the man cleared his throat and said, “Yes. This must be the thief.”

“I’ve had a small problem.”

“I figured, since you’re using a number that some have died just for dialing. Elaborate on your ‘small problem.’” The voice had a definite growl to it. My employer was not happy.

For about a second I considered keeping some of the situation secret, but as far as I knew Weaver might be my only source of answers. “One of the artifacts contained strange properties. I’m hoping you know more about the pendants than just that they’re pretty.”

“I know about them. Tell me what happened. Skip past the part where you put on one of the jewels.” I sighed. He knew at least something. “The pendant turned me into a dragon.”

“And?”

He wasn’t surprised, and that fact was rather terrifying.

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“I can’t take the pendant off, so the option of returning it to you is no longer available. A tattoo of a giant dragon burned its way across my back and now a smaller version is stamped on the shoulder of the guy who’s helping me.”

“The dragon claimed and bound you. The bond is forever, or at least as long as you live.” He sucked in a loud breath of air. “Which stone?” Why would it matter to him which stone? “Amethyst.” His breath whooshed out in a roar over the line.

“That’s some good news then.”

Not sure how that was good, but since I was fairly happy with Amethyst, I guessed he was right. “Do you know anything about the tattoos? I’m not so concerned about my own but need to know if the smaller tattoo will hurt my friend.”

“It’s a minion mark, not a tattoo. Your friend is now your minion. It is a symbol of his duty to serve you and your duty to protect him.”

So Amethyst was right. Davis wasn’t going to be happy to have that fact confirmed.

Weaver continued, “However you claimed him, you will have to claim several more if you want to be able to survive in the human world. The mark will only flare to life if the person can be trusted. Whatever you did with your friend just before the mark appeared is likely your method of claiming.”

“Impossible.” I’d had sex with Davis. If he was right about me needing several minions, I wasn’t about to start sleeping around just to see who turned up with new tattoos.

“Did you recover the other pendants?”

“No, before I could take possession they disappeared into thin air.”

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There was a prolific string of angry words in some foreign language, then silence as my employer stewed over my failure. But he didn’t seem at all surprised by the pendants disappearing. “You will come to me to learn about the prophecy and how to survive with your dragon.

Then you will continue the search for the other pendants.” Damn, he was getting bossy, even for a boss, and his intensity left my gut twisting with anxiety. “I appreciate your offer, but I have other jobs—”

“Do you not understand what you have unleashed? By putting on the bloody charm, you have taken the world one step closer to the apocalypse. Nine dragons to burn the world. How many do you think are already out there?

Five? Six? All nine? You will either be a protector or I will have you killed to protect the world from you.” I cringed from the barely leashed violence in his tone.

Shit, Weaver clearly believed in the crazy prophecy. Not that I could blame him. I was more than halfway convinced myself.

The man’s voice dropped to a snarl. “Will we both hunt the stones or will I waste my time hunting you?”

“Not a great choice.” Especially considering the pendants had poofed into nothing, and as far as I knew there were no leads on their new locations.

His tone softened just slightly. “I’m sure the situation has been unsettling. Just get your ass to the third checkpoint and I will teach you all you need to know.

You have until then to make your decision.”

“How do I know that you won’t just kill me? I already seem to have a hit squad on my trail.”

“You can trust me to not kill you at this time, because if I do, then I will have one more pendant to search for. So long as you live, the amethyst pendant will be safe, but L. Shannon

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when you die, it will seek out another companion. As for the others who may be after you, there are those who would rush headlong into the apocalypse to further their own goals. Stay alive long enough to reach me, and I will offer my considerable protection for your service.”

“I see.” I sort of did anyhow. Though if I couldn’t protect myself as a dragon, I wasn’t sure what help he could offer me. On the other hand he was offering to teach me to live as a dragon. Perhaps he’d already found one of the pendants. “I guess you’re still my boss, at least for now.”

“Good. Be at the checkpoint on time.” The line went dead.

I had one more task to finish before Davis returned. I started making calls to collect Davis’s materials from his former hotel room. I couldn’t bring them here, nor could I send them to any address that might link back to either of us. I tracked down a storage center in Castleton, one town over from his family home, to have his things shipped to.