shift happens 03 - no were to run (7 page)

My body was trapped against something enormous, strong and not even remotely human. This was not how I had planned on spending my last moments on earth. How in the hell had anything snuck up on me? I was trained, deadly and not one little bit human either. No one had ever taken me from behind in my ridiculously long life.

I knew what he was. I’d just never come across one quite so powerful—or that smelled as good as he did.

What the fu…? I did
not
need to be enjoying the scent of the beast that was going to tear my head from my shoulders in the next minute or two. I needed to figure out how to remove his head. Shifting would work, but it would attract the attention of the Dragons in the warehouse. Since I had no clue how many were inside, shifting was out.

To add insult to injury, the guard was a pervert. I deduced this when the hand that wasn’t busy choking the life out of me brazenly grazed my somewhat exposed breast. This bastard was messing with the wrong chick.

“You’re gonna to cop a feel before you kill me,
jackass
?” I choked out as I tried to shore up my footing. If I could get my balance I could kick back and hopefully connect with his family jewels. All I needed was a second and he was a dead man.

“My hand slipped.” He chuckled as his warm breath tickled my neck.

My instinct was to lean back and get closer. Clearly my instincts had gone to hell on the express train. What was wrong with me?

“What are you doing here, pretty Dragon girl?” he inquired casually as if he didn’t have me in a damn death grip.

“I was invited,” I tried to snap, but it came out more like a squeak.

“Interesting,” the deadliest asshole I’d ever come across said as he loosened his hold, but still kept me firmly pressed to him.

“Is this how you greet all your guests?”

I reached over my head and tried to gouge out his eyes. He was too tall—had to be well over six foot four. My fingers ended up in his mouth. At least I drew a little blood.

“Only ones I’m unfamiliar with,” he replied as he bit down on my fingers. Hard.

Tit for tat…he drew a little blood as well.

Why I thought his behavior was hot was a fine reason for me to seek therapy. Being choked and getting bitten was
not
healthy foreplay. This was absurd, but at least I was fairly sure I wasn’t in imminent danger of dying. The goon clearly had no clue who I was and that was a very good thing at the moment.

“You’re meeting someone here?” he asked as he pressed his nose to my hair.

“Yes,” I said as I futilely tried to disengage myself from him before I rubbed up against him like a cat in heat. “I’m meeting my mate.”

It was a lie, but it flew out smoothly. I needed to get the deadly sexy Dragon dude off of me. I was here for a reason. It was beginning to seem like an insane reason, but I’d come and I was going to see it through. There was no time at all to be attracted to a lowly, muscled, horny guard dog in a deserted parking lot. I had things to do and a father to kill.

“You’re mated?” he asked, surprised as his grip on me tightened.

“Yes,” I ground out. “And my mate will destroy you when he learns of how I’ve been treated by the help.”

His laugh went all through me. It set my lower girlie region into overdrive and made me want to tear his head off at the same time. This Dragon was bad news. The sooner I got away from him the better. I had Seth—kind of. I didn’t need any complications—not that killer guy would even want me for more than a roll in the hay. Dragons were over-sexed perverts. The mind-bogglingly large bulge in his pants that he had pressed up against my back was proof that they all wanted one thing.

“You’re not mated,” he stated firmly. “I’d be able to tell.”

Damn it, he was correct. If I were mated, I’d have the scent of my mate on me. Hell, I hadn’t even slept with my
mate
yet. I knew that Seth wasn’t my true mate even though I wanted him to be. However, the bastard that wouldn’t let go had no claim on me.

Dragons technically had one true mate, but rarely did we have happily ever afters. Violence followed us everywhere and more often than not, a Dragon’s true mate was killed before they ever met. Or the female’s true mate was killed by a stronger Dragon that desired her…exactly what happened to my mother.

“I’m not mated
yet
,” I snarled as I broke his hold and turned on him. “I will be very soon. And if you lay your hands on me again, I’ll fry your ass to a crisp.”

The look of shock on his face at my escape was priceless. However, I wished I’d kept my back to him. He was hotter than hell on fire. Wouldn’t it figure? If I’d met him under different circumstances, I’d have jumped him in a heartbeat—a meaningless one night stand. But I didn’t meet him in a normal situation…whatever normal meant for Dragons who lived hundreds of years. And I wasn’t looking for a meaningless lay—at all. Ever. I was a single mother with a boyfriend who wouldn’t sleep with me. I was perfectly fine.

It didn’t help that the Dragon bouncer was devastatingly beautiful. His eyes were a golden green and his shoulder length hair was jet black. Cheekbones that could cut glass and a body that belonged on the set of a Hollywood action adventure where the men wore no shirts.

Crappity crap crap
.

I wondered if his Dragon form was as beautiful as his human form. Hopefully I would never see his Dragon. If his human was this deadly, his Dragon would be a freakin’ nightmare.

But damn, it would be fun to shift and have a bloody fight with someone—even a gorgeous jerk. I’d been on the lam and hiding my true nature for so long my own Dragon was angry with me.

“By all means, go in and find you
mate
,” he replied with a smirk on his stupidly full and kissable lips. “Do you have a name, feisty girl?”

“Nope, I don’t,” I replied as I turned on my flimsy heel and prayed it didn’t snap. “And if I did, I wouldn’t give it to you.”

“Oh, I’ll get your name. That’s a promise,” he purred as he slipped back into the darkness preparing to scare the life out of the next unsuspecting guest.

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep, big boy,” I said as I marched away, refusing to look back.

“I don’t,” he said quietly. “Never have. Never will.”

I whipped around to level him with an insult and a zap of fire that would make him hurt, but he was gone. I couldn’t scent him or see him. What the hell kind of Dragons did they have here in Chicago? This night couldn’t get any worse.

Who was I kidding? It could always get worse.

With one last scan of the parking lot, I shrugged and approached the warehouse. The guard was very good. I hoped that wasn’t telling of the power and skill inside—or maybe I did. If I were to ally myself with these Dragons it would be outstanding if they were all as crazy and powerful as the idiot standing guard.

Only one way to find out.

I pushed at the heavy metal door and it was quickly opened from the other side. My stomach lurched with a queasiness I hadn’t felt in ages—first the sexy killer in the parking lot and now this. The opulence of the interior blatantly belied its outer shell. It reminded me of my youth and not in a warm and fuzzy way. Could these people be as evil and materialistic as the ones I’d been running from for years?

“May I take your wrap, Miss?” a formal, tuxedo attired attendant inquired in a monotone. He had as much emotion as the ornate marble covered floor. Handing him my invitation, I shook my head no as I stood at the mouth of Hell and knew I’d made an enormous mistake.

Every instinct I had was to run. Trust was earned. I trusted no one here and as soon as my identity was revealed, I was certain no one would trust me either. What the hell had I been thinking when I told Seth
, my kind-of sort-of boyfriend
, I would join him? These people didn’t want my help and I didn’t want theirs. And where in God’s name was Seth?

“Are you here alone?” the doorman asked as I stood frozen in my spot.

“No. I’m looking for my escort,” I replied as I scanned the room trying my best not to let my distress show.

That was impossible. My distress was very clear to the personality-free Dragon who’d requested my wrap. It was going to be obvious to every Dragon in the room—and there had to be at least two hundred of them present.

Again. What the hell was I thinking? I was still breathing because I’d avoided my people for years and now I willingly entered a lair? Stupid, stupid, stupid.

“Perhaps I can be of assistance,” boring coat-taker dude suggested as he valiantly tried not to stare at my chest.

Dwayne was a dead man. No wait, he was already
dead
. I had no one to blame but myself. I’d let the Vamp choose the scraps of material that somewhat covered my body. He’d insisted that all eyes would be on my chest and if I needed to make a quick get away my boobs would be an outstanding distraction. An hour ago it had made sense. Now…not so much.

Note to self—never take fashion from a Vampyre who moonlights as a drag queen.

Seth was nowhere to be found. This was not at all like him. I inhaled slowly through my nose and exhaled quietly through my mouth tamping down my anxiety. Pink and gold smoke wafted in thin delicate tendrils from my nose, but there was little I could do about it.

Why was I so nervous? I was a freaking killing machine. I could shift in a heartbeat and probably take out half of the room before they knew what hit them. Poison laced daggers were strapped to my inner thighs. In my clutch I had a squirt gun filled with solution that could prohibit a Dragon shift and according to Dwayne, my boobs were freakin’ weapons.

However, boobs were not going to save me tonight.

This was a grave error on every level. I could feel it in my bones. I didn’t need these Dragons to remove my father from power. I was certain their correctly placed hatred of my father would transfer directly to me. I didn’t have time to die at the moment. I had to kill him before death caught up with me.

Seth was wrong about me coming here. He was convinced that the leader of the Dragon resistance would welcome me. I now heartily disagreed. The leader, Nicolai was a notoriously egotistical, womanizing, hard-ass. Surprisingly, I’d never met him, but I’d heard stories about him for the last several hundred years.

I’d already met one handsome deadly idiot in the crumbling parking lot. I wasn’t sure how polite I could be if I met another.

“You must be new,” a delicate and lovely female Dragon said with a giggle as she took my hand in hers and led me into the room. “My my, you are just gorgeous! The men are going to want to eat you up! No worries, I’ll protect you.”

WTH? I followed because I was certain I’d cause more of a scene by resisting the nutty chatterbox.

“Um, okay,” I muttered as she pulled me along behind her.

Dragons in human form wearing their finest eveningwear parted for her and nodded with respect. Some glanced at me curiously while others ignored me completely. Who was she? The woman didn’t seem very powerful, but older Dragons could mask that. I certainly did. It was never wise to show your hand. Dragons loved a challenge almost as much as sex. I hated having to kill those who wanted to see if they could best me.

Was she the consort or mate of Nicolai the leader? I could tell she was mated by her scent, but it was faded—as if her partner might be dead. Her beauty was absurd, but I guessed she was a very old Dragon by the way she was treated. I said a quick thanks to the man upstairs that she’d been the one to grab me first. Without Seth, I was a lone female Dragon in a lair that wasn’t mine. This silly woman was a lifesaver. I was beginning to think she was far older than I’d assumed.

We stopped aging in our mid thirties, but it was always obvious who our elders were.

“You can sit at my table,” she went on as she greeted Dragons left and right.

“I’m actually meeting someone here,” I told her as I was shoved unceremoniously into a seat at a large beautifully appointed table.

“Oh really?” she asked with raised brows and a kind smile. “Who?”

“Seth. Do you know him?” I asked cautiously. Dragons were quite unpredictable. The wrong name or expression could set off a three-alarm fire. I adored Seth, but maybe he was out of favor. I was certain he would become unpopular after his weyr found out who I was.

My crazy new friend clapped with glee and then placed her slim, well-manicured hands on either side of my face. “You’re in luck! He’s at this exact table. What a wonderful coincidence.”

Her smile was contagious and she almost made me comfortable. Again I reminded myself, looks were deceiving. Trusting strangers made you sloppy. I had no time to be careless—there was too much at stake. This silly woman might seem kind, but in reality it could be a façade.

“I don’t believe in coincidences,” I said as I gently removed her hands and moved to a seat with my back against the wall.

“Neither do I,” she admitted as she joined me and scooted close. “What do you think of some of the dresses here tonight?”

Her nose was scrunched, but her eyes twinkled with naughty delight.

“Well, um…I just got here and…” I started, not sure how to respond. My dress was scandalous. Where were we going with this?