Carissa’s mouth moved as she continued to insult Kyle, but her anger had burned through the magic holding Michael’s voice. A smirk broke out across Kyle’s face, inflaming Carissa’s anger even more. Reaching out, she grabbed the front of his shirt and slammed her lips to his, stealing his voice.
“This is not a laughing matter!” she screamed at him.
Shock raced across Kyle’s face. She rarely borrowed his voice. And she never took it without asking. His knees caught the edge of the couch, and he went down.
She glared at him as he sat on the couch. “You want Michael? Fine!” Carissa turned and stormed back into the kitchen. Michael tried to scamper away from the raging woman, but she snatched him up. “Fine!” she yelled again as she stormed back to her shocked brother. “Here!” She dumped the little dragon into her brother’s lap.
Kyle’s hands came up to keep Michael from falling off.
“Don’t you dare hurt one goddamn scale on his hide! Do you hear me? He’s mine! And if you even think about asking how he got to be a dragon, you will rue the day you were hatched!”
Carissa turned and stormed out of the cabin, leaving the two men gawking at her. Shifting to grand dragon form, she let out a roar, released Kyle’s voice, and leaped into the air. A good, long flight should help calm her nerves. And if Kyle so much as insulted Michael, she’d roast him when she got back.
***
Carissa’s ferocious roar shook the cabin as the two men stared at the swinging door in silence. The sound of her wings ripped through the air as she took to the skies in a tiff. Man, she was loud when she was mad. She was also amazingly gorgeous. Michael drew in a deep, cleansing breath before letting it out slowly. He looked up at the shocked man holding him.
“I never touched her.” He chirped as he slipped out of the King’s hands and onto the couch next to him. True, he’d thought about it hard and often, but he’d never had the chance to make good on those ideas.
Kyle looked down at the white dragon. Humor washed away the shock on Kyle’s face. A slow smile was followed by a deep chuckle. “I’m sure you wouldn’t have lived long if you had.” Kyle looked back at the door that had come to rest part of the way open. “I’d forgotten she gets feisty when she’s mad.”
Michael nodded his head in agreement. “I’ll remember that.”
“Please do.” Kyle chuckled. “It may save your life someday.” Letting out a cleansing breath, Kyle turned his attention to Michael. “Well, let’s have a look at you.” He slipped his hands up under Michael’s wings and raised the small dragon level with his eyes. “She really did a number on you.”
Michael could feel the king’s eyes shift from his head clear to his tail. “You’re telling me,” Michael grumbled, earning another laugh from Kyle. “Right now, I’m stuck.”
“Oh, really?” The amusement in Kyle’s voice stung.
Michael nodded his head. It sucked having to admit it, but Michael knew the dragon king could help. He had the ability to subdue the dragon part of his subjects, allowing them to transform back to human.
Kyle studied him for a few more moments before setting him on the floor in front of him. “You really need to get more in touch with your dragon side. It will keep this from happening in the future.”
Michael snorted his understanding. That was exactly what his instincts had told him. Great. The peanut gallery wins again. Michael bowed his head and waited, while Kyle called forth Michael’s dragon and suppressed it. The tingle of magic washed over Michael, leaving him kneeling, naked, on the floor.
Kyle handed him the robe Carissa had set out.
Slipping it over his head, Michael stood up. “Thank you.” God this was awkward. What was he supposed to do now? Scrape and bow? Michael had met the king many times in his line of work, but the man had always been regal and respectable. It was hard to respect someone who had come to kill you, and that rumpled shirt and jeans were far from regal. Watching him be chewed up by his sister hadn’t helped, either. Man, she had one hell of a temper on her. Just the thought of the fire flashing in her eyes had Michael’s nether regions sitting up to take notice. And on that note…
Michael turned away from the king to tend to the meat Carissa had pulled out. “We were going to have steaks. Would you care to join us?” Michael fussed with the microwave, trying to distract himself. Why did he have to get hard at the worst possible times?
“Sure,” Kyle answered. He stood up to pull another steak out of the freezer.
Well, at least the man knew his way around a kitchen.
The two men worked in silence as they thawed and seasoned the meat. Sticking it under the hot broiler, Kyle finally turned to Michael. “So,” his voice sounded apprehensive, “you had nothing to do with any of it?”
Michael let out a sigh. “No.”
“And Carissa’s disappearance from her room?”
“Hey.” Michael felt a little upset about that. “She’s the one that tossed me off the building.” Had she really said she’d hoped his instincts would kick in before he hit the ground?
Kyle chuckled lightly. “That sounds like something she’d do.”
“I really would have preferred if we could have ended this thing when she brought me in to see Daniel.” Michael shrugged, not wanting to mention why they ran the second time.
“Point.” Kyle sighed, catching the missing accusation. “To be fair, I was worried about her. The guard that called said she looked rough.” Kyle turned to lean his backside on the counter as he spoke. “No one hurts my sister and gets away with it.”
Michael sighed as he popped the package of broccoli and cheese in the microwave. “I understand that.” If Kyle’s protective streak ran half as deep as Michael’s, someone was really going to pay for kidnapping Carissa. Just the fact that she had taken off by herself was eating at him. But, for once, his peanut gallery and his heart were in total agreement. Mine! needed a little space to cool off. If she wasn’t back by the time the food was done, he’d go looking for her.
“So,” Kyle crossed his arms over his chest and turned a considering eye to Michael, “do you have any ideas about how to clean up this mess?”
Michael paused as he pulled a bowl down for the broccoli. “Maybe.” He and his peanut gallery had been working that problem over since shortly after he had stretched out. “But Carissa is not going to like it.” Oh no, Mine! was definitely not going to like it one bit.
18
Absolutely not! Carissa slammed her cup down on the table, showing her displeasure. Her flight had done a lot to soothe her frayed nerves, and she had been delighted to see Michael and her brother deep in conversation when she got back. That was definitely a good sign. But, the plan they had hatched was asinine. How could either of them think this load of asshatery held any merit?
“But, Carissa,” Kyle spoke softly, trying to soothe his sister. “This is the perfect solution. We can’t just go in there and arrest him without substantial evidence against him.”
Carissa gaped at him and pointed to Michael. He had called for Michael’s arrest on the same amount of evidence! Carissa was livid.
“No.” Kyle shook his head. Years of practice had given him insight into Carissa’s thoughts. It wasn’t hard to follow her reasoning. “I also have him kidnapping you on video.”
Carissa slammed her fist into the table again, mouthing her denial.
“I know that wasn’t you,” Kyle said, soothing her riled nerves, “but at the time, I didn’t. The fact that it looked like you was more than enough to call for his arrest.”
“Carissa,” Michael said, adding his support to Kyle, “look at it from their point of view. As far as they know, I’ve disappeared with you three times. Kyle can’t just walk in there and say I’m innocent and point his finger at the man accusing me. It’s a weak position to be in, and, as king, he can’t afford to be weak.”
Kyle nodded his agreement.
Carissa shook her head, adamantly against this ide
a. This was not going to happen.
“Look. Turning myself in publicly is the best way to draw him out.” Michael tapped the tip of his finger on the table, trying to drive home his point. “Eternity may manhandle me during the arrest, but they won’t really hurt me in a public setting. And once I’m in custody, Daniel will be there to make sure nothing happens.”
“He’s sure to make a move during the arrest,” Kyle added. “He can’t afford to let Michael testify. And that, coupled with the evidence we already have, will be enough to arrest him.”
Carissa shook her head, denying them again. It was going to be over her dead body.
“I know you don’t like it.” Michael took Carissa’s hand and curled it around his. He stroked it gently, trying to soothe her. “But, this is the quickest way to solve the issue.”
Carissa clenched her teeth and glared at him. He continued to rub her hand, sending little jolts of electricity up her arm to befuddle her mind. She shook her head in refusal once again, but her will wasn’t as strong as it had been a moment ago. She looked from Michael to her brother and back. This was stupid. How could she convince them this was a bad idea? Michael’s hand had worked its way up her arm to rub on her bicep. God, his touch felt so good.
“It’s the best option we have.” Michael caressed her, weakening her resistance.
What if he got hurt? Carissa clutched at the hand she held. How did she make him understand her fears? She had promised herself that she would take care of him. Carissa looked back at her brother, but Kyle was tuned in on Michael. There was a calculating look on his face that Carissa didn’t like. She looked back at Michael. What did he see that she did not?
“I’ll be fine.” His hand had reached her shoulder.
Carissa closed her eyes, enjoying his touch. No. She shook her head one more time.
“Carissa.”
The way Michael said her name sent a shiver up Carissa’s spine.
“I have to do this.” His fingers slid over her shoulder and down her back. “I have to turn myself in. There’s no other choice.” He rubbed her back gently. “Eternity will not stop until they’ve chased me down. I can’t hide forever. And I would rather go in my way than be cornered somewhere I could get hurt.”
This logic, Carissa could not argue with. She could keep him safe for a while, but the longer they hid, the more ferocious Eternity would get. She took one more look at her brother before giving in. Fine! She threw up her free hand, signaling her defeat. If he wanted to go get himself shot at, who was she to stop him?
Michael squeezed her hand reassuringly.
But he wasn’t going alone. Carissa pointed at herself, then to Michael, then towards the door. That stopped the movement of Michael’s fingers.
“No!” Both Michael and her brother protested.
She shot them both a wicked grin and nodded her head slowly. If they wanted to play this way, oh, she would play. She made the gesture again, reaffirming her decision.
“Oh no.” Kyle sat up, ready to exert his authority.
Carissa grabbed his shirt and stole his voice once again. “And how, pray tell, are you going to explain my absence?” Carissa snapped.
The two men froze as they considered her words.
“I’m supposedly kidnapped. What do you think Eternity would do if he showed up somewhere without me?”
Michael and Kyle looked at each other, worried.
Carissa knew she had a valid point. “Besides, there’s less of a chance that they’ll shoot if I’m there.” The looks that crossed both Michael’s and Kyle’s faces showed they were expecting just that. She looked from one to the other in shock. Standing up, she threw Michael’s hands off her. “You’re going in expecting to get shot!” How could she be so blind!
She rounded on her brother. “And you were going to let him, knowing this?”
“It’s the only way,” Michael cooed.
“Fine!” Carissa huffed. “You want to turn yourself in and get shot at… so be it. But I am going with you.” She turned and pointed her finger at Kyle. “And not one word from you.”
Kyle shut his mouth.
“Just make sure Daniel has a medic on hand, in case things go bad.” Turning, she stormed out of the cabin again before they could try to talk her out of it. She was not letting Michael go in there alone. She protected what was hers, and he might not realize it yet, but he was most definitely hers.
***
Whose stupid idea was this? Michael questioned his logic for about the millionth time. It had made perfect sense for him to let Eternity apprehend him at Central Park. There would be enough witnesses to keep them from open hostility, yet enough space that innocent bystanders wouldn’t be drawn in if anything did happen. That was before Carissa had inserted herself into his plans. Oh, her case was sound and her logic undeniable, but he wanted Mine! as far away from the action as possible.
“Please, is there any way I can convince you not to do this?” Michael begged again. He knew the answer, but he had to ask.
Carissa just shook her head. This had been the gist of their conversation since Kyle had left last night to make arrangements with Daniel. Carissa hadn’t even let Michael touch her after her second fit of anger. He had pleaded with her to change her mind until she threw a pillow at his head and sent him to sleep on the couch. Even though he didn’t have a clue where they were, he had tried to slip out in the middle of the night, only to find she had magically sealed the doors. That had gotten another pillow thrown at him.
“Just stay close, then.” Michael slipped his hand into hers and pulled her into line with his body. He would do everything in his power to make sure she was safe through this. His dragon protested as they walked out of the bushes and onto the main path. Kyle had informed Daniel that they would make the rounds of the park, waiting for Eternity to show up to arrest him. They would take Carissa to safety, and he would be taken into custody.
Michael’s dragon didn’t like the idea of Mine! being taken from him, but it could not argue that it was the best place for her. Being in Michael’s presence put her in a whole lot more danger.
They made two turns of the park together. Even though he was waiting for all hell to break loose, he couldn’t help but enjoy himself. He had wrapped his arm around Mine!, holding her closer than she had let him last night. Her hand had slipped into the back pocket of the jeans she had dug out for him. Every now and then, her fingers would curl, cupping his ass in a way that made his heart skip. God, she felt good. Eternity had better make their appearance soon, or he was going to abandon this plan and find a nice, secluded spot to give in to that voice yelling in the back of his head.
“Michael Duncan!” an authoritative voice called from behind him. “Hold it right there.” Of course they would come at him from behind.
Michael turned to look straight down the barrel of a 9mm Beretta. He knew that gun, and he knew the man holding it. “Hey, Demarco.” Michael smiled at him. He shifted so his body was between Carissa and Demarco.
Carissa peeked around him.
“Let her go, Duncan.” The clean-cut, black man held his gun level with Michael’s heart.
“I don’t want any trouble.” Michael raised his hands up, away from Carissa.
Demarco shifted his head, checking to make sure Carissa was free. “Please step away from him, Lady Carissa.” Demarco’s eyes switched between Carissa and Michael.
Movement off to the right drew Michael’s attention. Another gun leveled at his heart. His eyes shifted to the left. Two more of his fellow Elites had beads trained on him. Good to know they were taking him as a serious threat.
Carissa slipped her hand out of Michael’s pocket and stepped around in front of him. To his utmost amazement, she pressed her back into his front, shielding him from potential bullets.
Demarco reached out his hand for Carissa. “Come on, My Lady,” he said, trying to coax her away from him.
She just shook her head and leaned into Michael.
&nb
sp; “Go on.” Michael nudged her with his hip, trying to get her to go. The sound of guns cocking filled the air. Great, he hadn’t even lowered his hands, and they were ready to take him out.
Carissa stood her ground and shook her head.
“Is there a problem, Pendarvis?”
Michael’s teeth clench upon hearing his partner’s voice. Of course Jareth would be here for this. They expected that, but the sound of his voice still raked against Michael’s nerves.
“She won’t come away from him,” Demarco answered.
“Then get in there and get her out,” Jareth ordered.
Demarco looked off to the right, where the team leader was poised, ready for action.
“Look.” Michael lifted his hands up a little and watched the taut soldiers track his movements. “There’s no need for this; I’ll come quietly.” Relief passed a few of their eyes. They had all worked with Michael before and knew what he was capable of.
“Yeah right,” Jareth called, “then release her from whatever spell you have on her, and let her go.”
“Jareth,” Michael said, shifting his head to better look at his partner, “you should know that I don’t do magic.”
“Then explain your hair.”
Good point. Michael should have realized that could have caused some issues. Heavy magic use could leach the pigment out of a human. Of course they would think he had Carissa under some spell. There was no way they would believe it if he told them Carissa had turned him into a dragon.
“Go on,” Michael urged her, but Carissa just stood her ground, glaring at Jareth. “I don’t have a spell on her,” he called to the men surrounding them. “She’s just stubborn.” That earned him a quick glare from Carissa.
In that moment of inattention, Demarco leaped at his chance and grabbed Carissa’s hand to yank her out. Movement caught Carissa’s eye, and she twisted away from Demarco, slamming into Michael as the loud pop of a gun went off. Pain ripped across Carissa’s face as blood bloomed on her back, right above the part that covered Michael’s heart.
The circle of Elites froze as Michael caught her. A roar rattled the park as magic rippled across Michael’s skin.