“Just me, now.” Her smile faded and she stared up at the car. Donovan knew he’d caught another glimpse of her feelings for Mark.
He didn’t like the view any more than he had before.
He focused on the problem at hand.
“I’ll need the help of the others to get it down,” he said. “We should move it to the garage to get it running. How did you plan to get it down?”
“We never thought we’d need it,” Alex admitted. “It was Mr. Sinclair’s requirement that we store a prototype off-site. We thought he was too cautious.” She frowned. “It has a steel chassis, like the other prototype, but the parts that would typically be made of plastic are made instead of plant material. It’s lighter than a typical car.”
“It still can’t be that light.”
“But it’s here.” Alex spoke with resolve. “Some tinkering and a batch of salt water and we’ll be ready to go.” She held up her hand, her finger and thumb barely apart. “I’m this close.”
“Good thing you have a team of dragons around to do the dirty work for you,” Donovan teased, wanting to make her smile.
She did. “So maybe it’s a good thing to have dragons on your side. The good ones, anyway.”
“Present company included?”
Alex smiled and a flush lit her cheeks. “Absolutely.”
Donovan stared back at her. She’d seen the full truth of him and hadn’t flinched. Were he and Alex a new team? They certainly worked well together, so well that Donovan dared to think of the future. They’d killed Tyson together. His need to keep her safe had given him extra strength right when he had needed it.
Could she help to heal his missing scale, the way Sara had helped Quinn heal? Was that the benefit of surrendering to the firestorm?
It certainly wouldn’t be the only one.
And it wasn’t the only reason that satisfying the firestorm sounded like such a good idea.
Heat rose in Donovan as they eyed each other, the firestorm redoubling once again. He felt a trickle of sweat run down the center of his back and he saw Alex lick her lips. Her nipples were beaded and he could smell her skin.
He caught Alex’s hand in his, giving her time to step away if that was what she wanted. He watched the point of contact, awed by the sparks that danced between their hands. Alex squeezed his fingers, then glanced up at him, her eyes dancing with relief and anticipation. She smiled, totally unafraid of him.
This was as good as it got. Donovan bent his head and kissed Alex. His was a slow and thorough kiss, a leisurely kiss that left his blood simmering and his heart leaping.
It was a kiss that coaxed the firestorm to new heat, a kiss that tasted of acceptance and transformation. Alex was changing Donovan’s ideas about his own future, and he only hoped he could protect her to ensure that future had a chance.
When Alex turned and twined her arms around Donovan’s neck, he was sure they’d start a conflagration.
And he didn’t care. He just deepened his kiss.
Donovan was going to melt every one of Alex’s reservations. He slid his tongue between her teeth, pleasure shot through her veins, and Alex tried to remember why she should care about having reservations.
Donovan was a dragon.
Surrendering to the firestorm led to the conception of dragon babies—if she chose to believe the Pyr’s publicity.
Indulging in the pleasure of the firestorm could attract other dragons, Pyr and Slayer alike.
But the man was irresistible.
Alex leaned into his kiss, enjoying every spark that it kindled. She’d never had much use for reservations, anyway.
When Donovan lifted his head, Alex was dizzy. She leaned against him, pressing her lips to the pulse at his throat.
“It’s too early to wake the others,” she murmured, and heard Donovan chuckle.
“Too early to go shopping,” he agreed, grazing her ear with his lips. His hands were moving across her back in a ceaseless caress. Alex wished there weren’t so much fabric between them.
“We could pick up where we left off,” she said as he touched his lips to hers.
“You mean where we were interrupted.”
“Not exactly there. Somewhere more private.”
She saw his smile flash. “I like a woman who knows what she wants,” he murmured, his voice low and seductive.
Alex was already seduced. “Good thing you’ve found one, then,” she said, curling her hand around the back of his neck and pulling his head down for another kiss. “And I want you,” she said, just before their lips touched.
Donovan ducked her kiss, bending down to cast her over his shoulder. Alex squealed and he laughed, but he still headed directly for the house. “We need to be inside a smoke boundary mark,” he said.
“Doing it in the canoe isn’t good enough for you?” she teased, and he chuckled again.
“No. And I’ll show you why.”
“Promise?”
He chuckled as he carried her up the sloping hill to the house, setting her on her feet on the front porch. He kissed her soundly again, leaving her hungry for more; then Alex verified her identity to Oscar for admission.
Alex kept her gaze fixed straight ahead as she and Donovan hurried through the conservatory. She didn’t want to see the wreckage from the fight with Tyson, and really didn’t want to see Tyson himself, floating in the lap pool. It was pretty dark in there because of the shutters and the early hour, but she fixed her gaze on the door to the living room just in case.
She thought about the promise of what was ahead.
The low flames from the fireplace showed an unfamiliar silhouette in the living room. It took Alex a minute to realize that Rafferty was sitting on one of the leather couches in the living room, his back to them and his breathing slow. She assumed he was keeping watch. She heard that low rumble ever so briefly and knew that he and Donovan had acknowledged each other.
Old-speak, Sara had called it.
Rafferty was so still, though, that he might have been hewn from stone. Alex was interested that he could be so quiet and so observant at the same time.
Then Donovan tugged her up the stairs and she didn’t think about Rafferty anymore.
To Alex’s delight, the room she usually used hadn’t been claimed by any of the Pyr. They probably had been able to detect her scent in the room and had selected others as a result. In fact, from Donovan’s signals, Alex realized the Pyr had chosen the guest rooms that were least frequently used and had left the master bedroom undisturbed.
How strange to think of dragons as good houseguests.
Donovan closed the door behind them and they were alone in the shadows of Alex’s usual room. The darkness was complete, given that the shutters were still locked over the windows, and Alex felt her senses heighten.
She could hear Donovan breathing beside her, could smell his scent. This moment was special, something she knew she would always remember. Donovan would be hard to forget.
It wasn’t just the fact that he was a dragon. There was a powerful attraction between them, one that she thought would have been between them even if he hadn’t been Pyr. She liked his integrity and his power. She liked his sense of humor, his forthright attitude, his ability to surrender to pleasure. She liked that he was both strong and tender. She liked his loyalty to whomever he defined as being on his team.
But having a dragon baby still wasn’t on Alex’s agenda. Diane was the hostess who thought of everything; Alex knew there were condoms in every bedroom, just in case.
Donovan waited for her to make the first move. Alex reached out to touch him, marveling at the bright orange flames that flickered between them. She could see by the light of the sparks, as if an army of candles were lit between them.
Alex moved closer, into the circle of his arms, and slid her palms over his chest. She could feel his heartbeat beneath her hand, and see his muscles in the radiance that spread from the point of contact. The golden light was magical and awesome.
/> She wanted to make love, lit only by the fire between them.
“Let’s not turn on the lights,” she whispered, stretching to press her lips to Donovan’s throat. He caught his breath as heat flared between them. Her breasts brushed against his chest and her skin tingled at the immediate flush of heat there.
“I don’t think we’re going to need more illumination than this,” Donovan whispered. His features were gilded, his expression seeming all the more warm and welcoming. Alex reached up and traced the firm outline of his lips, liking how his eyes glinted in the light of the firestorm.
Had there been only one spark when they met?
“Is it getting hotter and brighter?” she whispered.
“I think so.” Donovan angled his head and kissed her fingertip. Alex watched the sweep of his lashes, the way the light danced over his jaw. She saw the stubble on his chin, and his sudden wicked smile made her heart jump.
“You don’t know?”
“I’ve never had a firestorm before.” He arched a brow, glancing down at her as he pressed a sizzling kiss into her palm. “No one much talks about theirs.”
Alex half laughed. “Of course not. Men wouldn’t.”
“Ask Sara,” Donovan advised in a murmur, then dipped his head toward her. His mouth closed over hers in quiet demand and Alex surrendered to the heat of the moment.
After all, the time for conversation was past.
Sara dreamed of a dragon fight. It was a vicious battle, between a man in ancient armor and an enormous dragon with eyes of fire. She was uncertain whom to cheer for—the warrior of her own kind, or the one of Quinn’s—and was frightened by the feral strength of the dragon.
He looked old.
Primitive.
Savage.
He nearly shredded the warrior. In the last moment, Sara heard a woman singing, her song low and melodic. The dragon was entranced by the song. He turned, the flames in his eyes dying to glowing coals as he succumbed to the woman’s spell.
She looked, come to think of it, a lot like Sophie.
And she sang the dragon to sleep. The warrior slaughtered the dragon while he was beguiled, then cut away the dragon’s massive teeth on the woman’s instruction.
The woman then disappeared, as surely as if she had never been. That was like Sophie, too. The warrior looked down at the bloody harvest of teeth piled at his feet. He bent to pick them up, gathering them into a sack of some kind.
Sara awakened as he was planting them in furrows.
Like rows of pearls.
Sara nestled closer to Quinn in the darkness, her thoughts flying as she recalled her earlier dream. Were these the seeds she had seen planted? How could teeth grow?
Cadmus. The woman had called the warrior Cadmus.
Sara knew a citation when she heard one. She reached for the light, then remembered the pile of teeth. Each one possessed a number of jagged peaks, like a back tooth of a dog or wolf.
She’d seen something like that before.
She looked across the room at Quinn as he slept. As usual, his lids were open the barest bit and she could see the shimmer of the blue of his eyes. He was sleeping, but alert. If anything happened or if she moved suddenly, he’d be instantly awake. It had taken Sara a while to get used to that, but now she liked it a lot.
She felt safe with Quinn.
Then she knew when she’d seen a shape like those teeth. The pearl Donovan had brought to Quinn last summer for his replacement scale had been that shape.
Hadn’t he called the pearl the Dragon’s Tooth?
Was that really what it was?
Cadmus. Sara stared at what she had written, then went looking for an Internet connection.
This house, of all houses, had to have one.
Chapter 15
The firestorm was like lovemaking in the dark, but better. Much better. The velvety darkness of the room was lit by the sparks between them.
The heat of Alex’s touch swept across Donovan’s skin and resonated in his blood. Alex stoked his fire with each caress, and every kiss kindled the blaze between them to greater heights. He’d intended a slow seduction, but their embrace turned hot and hungry almost immediately.
Alex locked her mouth on his, her fingers knotted in his hair. She kissed him as if she would eat him alive—and Donovan wasn’t going to argue with that. He kissed her back with every bit as much heat. He was raging and was sure she felt the same way.
They backed across the room, kissing all the way. He trusted Alex to lead him wherever she wanted him to be, and smiled into her kiss when his knees collided with a bed.
She tugged him and they fell onto the mattress, their legs entangled. Alex rolled on top of him and held down his wrists as she kissed him. Her tongue was between his teeth, her hair brushing over his face, her breasts against his chest. The sparks that danced between them electrified Donovan. She raised her head, breathless, and he was enchanted by the mischief in her eyes.
“Give up?” she teased.
“I surrender completely,” he said, pretending to be serious.
“As if,” she scoffed, and bent to kiss him again. Her hands moved to the fly of his jeans, but Donovan wanted this to last.
He rolled Alex to her back and she hooted with surprise. He reached for the hem of her blouse and tugged it over her head before she could argue with him.
He had to pause to catch his breath.
The white lace of her bra glowed in the flickering golden light, her skin looking exotic and shadowed in contrast. He ran a fingertip over her curves, tracing the edge of the bra cup, savoring the way each pearl of trim nestled against her skin.
He caught her gaze. “Curves in all the right places.”
“I try.” Alex winked and Donovan grinned as he slid down the length of her. He unfastened the front clasp of her bra and caught her breasts in his hands. He liked their weight, the fullness of their curves. He ran his thumbs across her nipples, enjoying how she closed her eyes in pleasure. She gripped his shoulders but wasn’t afraid to show her response.
He liked that a lot.
Donovan took one nipple gently in his mouth. Alex gasped and he flicked his tongue across her. She moaned and arched her back, sliding her hand into his hair. She pulled him closer, as if to ensure that he couldn’t stop.
He ran his teeth across the tightened peak, teasing her until she writhed. He turned his attention to the other breast and her hands locked on to either side of his head.
She pulled his face to hers in silent demand. Their kiss was even hotter than it had been before. Donovan thought of volcanoes, his blood like molten lava, and knew he’d soon erupt. Alex caught the hem of his T-shirt and pulled it over his head, her hands returning to stroke his back.
His hands meanwhile slid down over the neat indent of her waist. He unfastened her pants and pushed them down. He felt the lace edge on those panties and she shivered as if his touch tickled. He didn’t trust himself to look.
He was too close to exploding as it was. There was only Alex in his world, the scent of her and the heat of her, the insistence of her caress, and his own response to her passion. His hands were full of her, his senses denuded with her. He couldn’t remember ever wanting another woman—or imagine that he’d desire another. Alex was his partner and his equal, and making love with her was a union of spirit such as Donovan had never felt before.
Alex launched forest fires everywhere she touched him. Her hands were in his jeans, her fingers sliding around him, and he knew he’d lose it if she touched him any more.
She was irresistible.
The scent of her arousal drew him lower. He locked his hands around her waist and teased her with his tongue, stoking the flames of her desire. She was naked and golden beneath him, a treasure worth any sacrifice, and he caressed her hidden pearl with increasing surety. The heat built between them and he felt a trickle of sweat moving down his own spine.
Alex wriggled but Donovan didn’t let her go. Her fingers dug at his
shoulders as he held her captive to the pleasure he was determined to give. She was hot and wet. Her hips started to buck, but he didn’t stop. He knew that her blood was simmering, that her skin was sizzling, that the heat between them was impossible to ignore. He wanted to give her the most pleasure she’d ever had.
He wanted her to remember this forever.
He knew that he would.
He drove her onward and upward, pausing just short of the threshold three times. Alex moaned each time; then she growled in frustration. She looked as if she were on fire.
He bent to coax her toward orgasm again. The sparks grew in brightness and intensity, spreading from the points of contact into a brilliant halo of radiance. The light pulsed between them, keeping pace with hearts and breath and the quiver of pleasure. Alex climaxed with a roar and the light grew to blinding intensity.
It had barely died down to a glow when she sat up in front of him. Her hair was tousled; her lips were ruddy; her eyes glinted with intent. She crooked one finger at him.
“Come here,” she murmured, a husky invitation he had no intention of declining. “Now I get even.”
She reached into the nightstand as Donovan stretched out beside her, giving him a sweet view of her bare buttocks. She rolled over and knelt beside him, opening the package with her teeth. She caressed him, then smoothed the condom over him with sure strokes. Donovan thought he would lose it before they really started.
“Oh, I’m going to make you earn it,” she threatened in that husky tone that drove him crazy. Donovan’s heart skipped a beat. She looked like a tigress in the flickering golden light, a woman who would have her way with him.
Then demand more.
He could hardly wait.
Alex wanted to make sure she gave Donovan as much pleasure as he’d given her. That had been the most powerful orgasm of her life, but then, he’d lived more than four hundred years. He must have had some memorable moments in bed in all that time.
Alex wanted this time to crowd out the other memories.
Donovan was huge and hard, ready to go; just looking at him sprawled on her bed in the golden light made Alex ready for another round, too. The question was how to make him last longer, how to torment him without risking a quick orgasm. She considered Donovan for a moment, then stretched out alongside him.