SkyFall (Taken on the Wing Book 2) (41 page)

“
And what did you really do,
my friend,
”
Soar voice thickens with danger.
“
Make it quick.
”

“
Lady
Tempest,
”
Cooper says.
“
It is time I asked you to return my key.
”

The effect on Tempest is subtle. She
eases against Soar and rests her fingers on his lips, then hers.

“
You didn
’
t
kiss me,
”
she says to Cooper.

“
Told you so,
”
Soar growls.

“
You lured me to your room. You said it
was a guest room and I could leave from your balcony the next morning
—”

“
Damn it,
”
Soar barks.

“
Easy,
”
Lev
says but Soar is far from easy. He shields Tempest within one feathery wing and
rests his free hand on his dagger. Flay opens her large eyes as Lev gets an arm
in front of Soar. Shadow works a patch of soft scales behind Flay
’
s ear openings and the dragon is content
not to get involved.

“
Hear the whole story, Soar.
”

“
There
’
s a stone on the wall,
”
Tempest
says.
“
When you put your hand on it a
door opened. By the time I got to it you
’
d
opened a box and the room was full of green light. The relic
…”

“
Yes,
”
Cooper adds.
“
I asked you about Soar and why you
’
d come to Calgary. Then I transferred the
magic that opens the door and the box to you and used the relic
’
s will to make you forget. I planted the
false memory of a kiss and told you to flee.

“
I cannot recover the relic, Sire Lev.
Lady Tempest is the only one who can get in the room and unlock the box. I gave
her the magic and made sure she wouldn
’
t
remember. She spent months with Aledaar and Lord Fury. The only one who could
give Aledaar power over the greens was right there the whole time.
”

“
You cannot go, Daniel Cooper,
”
Tempest
says.
“
They will only imprison you
again.
”

“
What do you suggest, Tempest?"
Lev asks.

“
Nobody has to know he gave me the power
to open both the door and the box. I also suspect we need the relic
’
s magic to return control to Daniel
Cooper.
”

“
You are clever, young dragonkin,
”
Cooper smiles.

“
Too clever,
”
Soar
says.
“
I will accompany her.
”

“
That isn
’
t the plan,
”
Lev
says.
“
We need friends at our side to
take on Aledaar. As we decided you will go with Lady Flay as my proxy to bring
as many of her kin from hiding as you can. Daniel Cooper remains here. Firn
will not budge on her orders for his recovery. Talon will be here and I will
seek out as much support as I can from the eyries who once questioned Aledaar
’
s leadership.

“
Tempest will go alone.
”

Flay opts for traditional eyrie clothing
when she returns to her dragonkin form and holds Shadow
’
s hand until Tempest tells everyone she
needs more sleep.

“
My den,
”
Soar
orders and hands Tempest off to Flay and Shadow.
“
She
knows the way.
”

“
She will not be pleased if you insist she
remain here,
”
Lev says when the three
females are gone. White, gold and green, there isn
’
t a common gryphon among them yet they
’
ve become very close in a short period of
time.
“
Tempest knew she
’
d face Aledaar since you were in Skyfall.
”

“
I know.
”

“
It
’
s been a hard lesson for Talon to learn.
Shadow has a duty to all who live here and there will be times it will put her
in danger.
”

“
Shadow
isn
’
t
—”

“
We
’
re not talking about Shadow,
”
Talon interrupts.
“
Tempest faced danger in Calgary. You put her there. Then she went to Aledaar alone. I expect that loyalty from
Shadow
’
s guard, as Lev expects it
from you and the rest of his guard.

“
We have never asked a thing of Tempest.
Never given her an order or asked more of her than we felt she should give yet
she is more generous and loyal than we ever expected.
”

“
She is a good dragonkin,
”
Cooper sighs.

“
She would refuse to be considered for the
guard,
”
Soar snaps but being right
about it feels empty. Even one-upping Talon makes him feel like a shit when it
used to be satisfying. Tempest is Soar
’
s
now and he doubts she
’
ll consider Shadow
’
s guard any time soon. At some point
Tempest
’
s loyalty became a competition
between Soar and Talon. It happened so quietly nobody noticed until it was over
and it no longer mattered.

“
Shadow
’
s mark on Tempest
’
s shoulder wouldn
’
t allow her to pose as a member of the
Will yet she serves as if she were born with it,
”
Soar
tries to soften his victory.

“
You
’
re probably right, my friend,
”
Talon concedes.

So much has changed for Tempest in the
past few months that Soar worries he doesn
’
t really know her at all anymore. His
only certainty is that he needs her.

“
It
’
s been a long night,
”
Lev
says.
“
Get out of my sight for a
while, Soar.
”

“
Sire,
”
he acknowledges.
“
If you
’
ll excuse me.
”

There will be private words later but for
now there's time for some quiet before Soar leaves with Flay. He intends to spend
it at Tempest
’
s side.

“
Master Soar,
”
Cooper calls and Soar
stops.
“
I
’
m
sure Flay had this talk with Tempest
…
make sure she turns her
head aside.
”

“
What?
”

“
You mean
when
and I understand it
’
ll help her recovery.
”

Shit, can everyone butt
out?

“
Later,
”
Soar mutters through his teeth though
getting his little dragonkin alone in his den is a fine idea. By the time he
reaches the tunnel Lev
’
s laughter is ramping up for a
second round.

Soar
’
s den is quiet and he stands in the
tunnel waiting for any sound from the other side of the curtain that covers the
opening. When nothing comes, he steps in to find Tempest alone. The scents of
Flay and Shadow are nearly gone.

“
Lady
Tempest,
”
he says and she smiles.

Soar
’
s assessment only takes a moment. Her
mouth is symmetrical and not half-sagging like the night before. Her head tilts
like she
’
s about to have a shy moment
and it
’
s all for him.

Thank God.

She
’
s
slow but she approaches with sure steps. Soar doesn
’
t want to break the spell by even
breathing. The dream of her in his den has been stolen every morning for the
past three years and now it
’
s here. Her sweetness, the
brush of her adornment against her skin and the tiny creaks of her leather
wings as she moves strike deep. Soar
’
s
aroused response fuses memories of this moment to his heart and releases a
possessive growl.

“
Touch me,
”
Tempest
says as her hands take his hips, at first for balance then to explore. She
grasps the handle of his dagger then places a palm on the hard plane of his
stomach.

Soar
’
s struggle to be gentle ends when her
rough grip cups his erection.

“
Touch me,
”
she
whispers. Her other hand grasps at the fastening for his trousers.

With one hand he seizes the back of her
head, twisting through her hair while he claims her mouth under his. Against
his wrist, the scales on her neck become rough and as her mouth opens in
submission she exhales hot air. A shiver moves over him, traveling the length
of his body and hardening him further against her hand.

“
Good,
”
she murmurs.

“
Better than good,
”
Soar groans as she bites at his lower
lip. Her teeth are damned sharp and the sting as she breaks his skin nearly
pushes him over the edge. Then her long tail twists around his thigh, drawing
him in even closer.

He lets her take control of the kiss,
nibbling, sucking, as he unties her trousers with one hand. As they fall he
gets a foot up to push them down as she slides her tail free. The skin beneath
her adornment is soft and with each breath her dark dragonkin musk strengthens.
Soar
’
s hips move without waiting
for his instruction, grinding his cock against her skin.

“
I missed you,
”
she moans as his own trousers sink to his
thighs, his dagger clattering to the floor.