His jaw worked for a second, his eyes wary. “We have a somewhat complicated history,” was all he said.
“Complicated in that she’s another ex-girlfriend?” He said nothing but didn’t dispute it. I sighed. “I seem to be running into them with increasing frequency. Can you warn me when the next one pops up, so I’ll know that she’s likely to try to kill me or get me sent to prison?”
One side of Drake’s mouth twitched. “I will try,” he said gravely.
“Thanks.” I turned back to Chuan Ren, who was now poking around a desk. “So, I take it peace is out of the question.”
She looked down her nose at me. “We will not rest until the green dragons are destroyed.”
I forbore to comment on her sleeping-with-the-enemy tactic and simply said, “OK. It’s on now. Just so you know—you’re going down. Drake did it before, and I have every confidence he can do it again.”
We left her sputtering and slamming things around the room. Sying raced in when she hurled a vase through the window.
“We’re going thraight to a dentitht, right?” Jim asked as we walked through the lobby.
“I’ll get you an emergency appointment with a vet who specializes in dentistry,” I promised. “I’m sure Nora must know of a good vet.”
“Can I get a gold thooth to replathe thith one?”
“No.”
“How abouth an enamel thathoo? I heard they’re all the rage.”
“No.”
“Meanie,” Jim muttered, sucking on its loose tooth.
“What you said to Chuan Ren was not, perhaps, the wisest way to end a conversation,” Drake told me as he beckoned the hotel doorman. “Her temper was difficult enough without you reminding her of her past failures.”
I raised my eyebrow at him. “Do you honestly think you’re getting off this easily?”
“No.” He grinned as I followed Jim into a waiting cab. “I have every confidence you’re going to have much to say on the subject. But I anticipate the making-up process will be most enjoyable to both of us. In fact, I’m looking forward to it.”
The little smile I tried to hide curled my lips. I knew that Drake wouldn’t betray me, but it wouldn’t hurt him to wish to placate me.
Drake wasn’t the only one looking forward to our discussion.
16
I woke up the following morning to find my breasts on fire.
Literally.
“Oooh,” I purred, shivering a little with excitement despite the flames that licked up my body…right next to Drake’s tongue, which was licking a suddenly aching breast. “We haven’t spent enough time together for me to be certain if you are the type of man who wakes up in the mood to frolic, but I see you are.”
“Kincsem, where you are concerned, I’m always in the mood to…frolic. Did you get enough sleep?”
“Oh, yes,” I said, although whether I was answering his question or responding to his touch was unclear. Pleasure, sweet and pure, started at the touch of his mouth to my flesh, rippling out to all points on my body, turning me into one gigantic quivering erogenous zone. My hands slid up his chest, around his ribs, then down his back. I flexed my fingers and dragged my nails gently up his spine, something I knew he liked. His head rose from the sweet torment he was laving up my breast, the fire in his eyes so bright it made his eyes glow.
I traced the line of muscles around his hips to the front, my fingers wrapping around the heavy, hot part of him, marveling yet again that such a simple bit of flesh and muscle could bring so much pleasure.
“You were right, yesterday.”
“I am always right,” he growled, his entire body stiffening for a moment as I caressed him.
“Not even close. But you were right about the making-up part being enjoyable.”
His mouth was busy with a sensitive patch of my flesh, but I heard him mumble something about my ire being worth tolerating just for the resolution of our differences.
“You promised me you’d teach me to breathe fire,” I reminded him, licking his lips as he groaned when my fingers found sensitive skin. I bit his shoulder, releasing one hand to push him over onto his back. “I think it would be an extremely handy skill to have, and what better time than the present to learn it?”
“What better time, indeed?” he agreed, watching with interest as I flicked my tongue over two little pert nipples peeking through the dark hair of his chest.
“Let me have it, Drake.”
“It is all yours, kincsem.”
I bit gently on his nipple, enjoying the little shiver of pleasure that shook his chest. “Not that. I want your fire. Let me have it.”
Dragon fire roared up within him, spilling over into me. I allowed it to fill me, embracing and welcoming it.
“Focus it,” Drake said in a tight voice as I moved over to nibble on the other nipple before using my tongue to trace the glossy trail of hair that led down his belly to points south. “Make it take the form you want, then release it.”
A thick, abrupt burp of fire escaped me.
“Focus more. You’re allowing yourself to be distracted.”
I looked down at his penis, standing so patiently yet proudly, waiting for me to make my way to it. “There’s a lot to be distracted by. I had a thought about this shape-shifting issue—you shift when you have an orgasm, did you know that? I figured maybe if we make love a whole lot, it’ll ease up your shifting muscles, or whatever it is that’s holding you back. Um. I don’t seem to be able to breathe the fire, do I?”
“You must exercise control, Aisling. Without it, you’ll never be able to harness the fire. It is a tool for you to use. Make it into what you want.”
I flicked my tongue across the tip of his penis, savoring the salty drop of moisture collected there. I gathered the fire within me, holding a mental picture of just what I wanted to do with it. As I opened my mouth to take him in, fire blazed out, setting the lower half of his body ablaze. I concentrated until the fire was in a fine stream, and licked a fiery path along the length of his shaft, sending a blast of it at the sensitive underside of the head.
Drake shouted and just about came off the bed. I laughed. “You can’t tell me you don’t like that.”
“Christos, like doesn’t even come close to it.”
“What does it feel like?” I prompted, using both hands with my mouth to set up a rhythm that had his hips thrusting upward.
“It’s an agony of ecstasy,” he groaned, his fingers tangled in my hair. I glanced upward to see his eyes closed, his jaw tight as his fire and my mouth worked their magic. Agony of ecstasy was a good description, so I decided to let him off the sharing hook, and concentrate on bringing him to the very edge of rapture.
Our bodies were coated in flame, Drake groaning nonstop and begging me to climb on him and end the torment, when a cool breeze whispered along my back. Dragon fire being what it is—formed from the originating dragon’s well of emotions—it had never yet harmed me, or left me feeling anything but empowered and usually aroused. But for some reason, this time I was left slick with sweat, as if the fire was impure.
Just as Drake had had enough and was hauling me over himself, his penis poised to impale me, I caught the flash of something yellow from the corner of my eye.
That’s when I realized that what I had thought was sweat was really water…coming from the overhead sprinklers.
“Imps,” I yelled, sliding off Drake to point at the nasty little yellow creature bolting for the opened window. Although Drake’s bedding had been fireproofed, the rest of the room hadn’t been so treated, and everything from the drapes to the wardrobe, uncomfortable Louis XIV chairs, and a squat, ugly desk in the corner was aflame.
As the word left my mouth, a smoke detector near the door went off, sounding a piercing siren that seemed to cut through the thick black smoke that was filling the room.
Drake snarled an oath and was across the room before I could blink, the imp in his hands for a second before he hurled it out the win
dow to the ground three stories below. He slammed open a second window.
“Not again,” I cried, grabbing up his discarded shirt to slip on as urgent voices sounded in the hall. Pál and István burst into the room, both bearing fire extinguishers. Drake snatched a third out of the bathroom, and mindless of his nudity (thankfully, he no longer exhibited visual evidence of his ardor), stood with the other two men to put out the fire.
“What is going on here? What is that appalling noise at such an unholy hour?” Drake’s mother stood in the doorway, clad in an elegant rose-colored silk negligee, her scowl enough to douse any flame. Her eyes pierced me, narrowing at the sight of me standing in nothing but Drake’s shirt. “You! It is all your doing, this unpleasantness!”
The smoke billowed out around her as Nora appeared, peering over Catalina’s shoulder, her eyes owlish as she watched the three men quell the last of the flames. “Imps again?”
“Yes. Drake caught one as it was trying to leave.”
“Aisling, I am prepared to be tolerant of many things, but this situation with the imp kingdom must come to an end,” Drake said, coughing a little as the last blaze died under the white chemical foam. “My house is well prepared to deal with the commonality of dragon fire, but it is not built to withstand fires set by murderous arsonists.”
“I know. I’m so sorry.” I wrung my hands, feeling utterly helpless as I surveyed the damage caused by the fire. It hadn’t had long to burn, and yet the furniture was destroyed, the walls stained black by the smoke. “I’ll take care of it. I promise.”
“I knew it was her doing. All those lovely antiques destroyed,” Catalina said, shooting me another scathing look before sweeping past Nora and returning to her room.
My shoulders sagged.
Outside, in the stillness of an early London morning, sirens sounded. Drake’s security system must have kicked in and alerted the fire authorities.
“I’ll tell them it’s controlled,” István said, clad in only a pair of pants. He, too, gave me a look as he walked past, although it wasn’t nearly as daunting as Catalina’s.
My spirits took a nosedive.
“I’ll get a cart to start clearing this mess away,” Pál murmured, avoiding looking at me altogether as he, barefoot and also wearing only a pair of hastily donned pants, scooted around me.
Guilt, despair, and a frustrating sense of impotence filled me.
Drake eyed me closely. “You are all right? You did not breathe in too much smoke?”
“No, I’m fine,” I said miserably, unable to meet his gaze. “Drake, I’m really, really sorry about this. The fire and…everything.”
“I dislike having any of my possessions taken from me, but I would rather lose a few pieces of furniture than you,” was all he said, and despite the misery swelling within me, his words formed a solid little core of happiness.
That happiness died with his next words. “You have twenty-four hours to take care of the imp situation, or I will do it for you.” He grabbed a pair of pants and shoes from a second wardrobe and retired to the bathroom.
I thought about crumpling up into a little ball and wishing the world away.
Jim burst out the moment the door was opened. “Fires of Abaddon, what’s going on in here? You guys having an orgy or…oh, man.”
With lips pursed, Jim surveyed the mess. Slowly, the demon turned to look at me. “You had a barbeque and you didn’t invite me?”
Two fat tears of self-pity rolled down my cheeks.
“Come, Aisling. No one was hurt, and not much destroyed.” Nora put her arm around me and escorted me out of the room. “Let’s have some breakfast, then put our heads together about how we’re going to placate the imp kingdom.”
“Breakfast! Great idea, Nora. I could really go for a couple of grilled imps right about now,” Jim said, following us out of the room.
I just wanted to rewind the last couple of days and do them over.
A few hours later Nora, Jim, and I left just as a cleaning crew arrived to muck out, repair, dry, and de-smoke Drake’s bedroom. The last sight I had of Drake was a smoldering look he sent me before he left for Paris to deal with an issue that arose with his French businesses. He was as unsatisfied as I was with the lack of culmination of our morning’s activities, but I knew Drake—his passion matched mine, so I was confident we’d find a way to get together before the sun had time to set.
“What is it they say about the weather on a wedding day?” Jim asked as it stepped out of the house, glancing up at the sky, filled with gray, sodden clouds.
“It is not my wedding day,” I said firmly, giving Jim’s leash a snap to pull it away from smelling a passerby’s butt. Rene pulled up in front of the house, the windshield wipers of his taxi making slow passes across the wet windshield. “Morning, Rene.”
“Good morning.”
“Hey, don’t kill the messenger. You wanted a bloodless solution to the imp situation, and I suggested you marrying the current monarch. End of problem. It’s not like it would be a real marriage or anything. Hi, Rene. I’ll arm wrestle you for the best-man position.”
I sighed as I followed Jim into the taxi. Nora climbed into the front seat next to Rene, settling the carrier with Paco on her lap. “Good morning, Rene. We’ve had a bit of an upset this morning.”
“Best man?” Rene asked, craning to look back at us. “Upset?”
“It’s a long story. Can we tell you en route? We’ve got to get Nora to a meeting with the committee in twenty minutes, then we’re off to sacrifice Jim in order to make peace with the imps.”
“Hey, hey, hey! I distinctly remember saying no to that whole sacrifice-Jim idea!”
Rene gunned the engine and pulled out into traffic, narrowly missing a bus, two elderly pedestrians, and a suicidal squirrel. “Do not leave out a single word. I want to hear about it all.”
It didn’t take long to bring Rene up to date with the latest happenings, which is good because it turned out that the London headquarters of the International Guardians’ Guild was a short ride from Drake’s house.
“I believe I understand,” he said, turning in an underground parking garage. “You must settle the imps most strenuously. And Nora must convince this committee that she has done nothing to be punished for, hein?”
“Right. And I have”—I checked my watch—“oh, man. Where did the day go? I have less than fifteen minutes to come up with a plan to get Ariton the demon lord off my back. Lovely. Oh, well, I’ll have to do it after the Guardian meeting.”
I thought Nora’s head was going to come off her neck, so fast did she swivel her head around to look at me. “What is that about Ariton? What dealings do you have with him?”
We pulled into a parking spot. “We are here. I, too, am interested in hearing about this demon lord,” Rene said.
“There’s not much to tell, guys, honest.” I made a little gesture of innocence. “Evidently because I’m technically a demon lord, there’s some sort of etiquette that says I’m eligible to vote on stuff to do with Abaddon, or something like that. And before anyone starts freaking, I’m not going to get involved in any petty squabbles between demon lords.”
Rene stared at me in the rearview mirror. Nora gazed at me with a mixture of horror, concern, and sympathy. Jim groaned, laid its head on the seat, and covered its eyes with two big, hairy paws.
“What?” I asked everyone, wondering why they were making such a big deal out of it.
“Aisling, I can’t believe you don’t know about the Vexamen. I was sure you had heard of it.”
I sighed. “You know, I don’t want to always be so clueless, but it’s a bit difficult when I’m new and everyone assumes I know stuff. What’s a Vexamen, and what does it have to do with Ariton and all the surprised faces you’re making at me?”
Rene shook his head as he got out of the car, opening my door, then going around to take Paco from Nora and help her out.
“Vexamen is the event that happens every six hundred years.
It falls on the autumnal equinox, which is in three days. Vexamen is an upheaval in Abaddon, when one demon lord rises to supremacy and rules over the others. Surely you’ve heard of it?”
I shook my head as I got out of the car, snapping a leash on Jim’s collar. “Nope. Jim, why didn’t you tell me after we left Ariton’s place?”
“You didn’t ask me,” my annoying demon said.
Nora stumbled, grabbing my arm to stop me as we crossed the parking garage. “You went…you visited a demon lord in his abode?”
Rene sucked his teeth and looked thoughtful.
“It’s not like I had any choice,” I told them both. “I was pretty much kidnapped, and I had just been skewered, if you’ll remember. What’s the big deal about me going to Ariton’s digs? It was that house in Islington that gave you the willies, so bonus points to you for sensing Ariton’s presence. Although, I have to admit…I am having doubts that he shot at me.”
Nora’s hands fluttered around with distress. “Aisling, this just isn’t done! No one I know—no one I’ve ever heard of has visited a demon lord in his home. To do so would imply that one is…”
I straightened my shoulders, lifting my chin. “Go ahead. I’m strong; I can take it. What am I? Damned?”
“Unclean,” she said after wrestling with the word for a moment.
“Unclean as in impure? Tainted? Dabbling in dark powers?” I asked, my heart dropping. It seemed like I just couldn’t catch a break lately.
“That’s as apt a description as any,” Nora said slowly. She hesitated for a moment, then started toward the stairs that led to the building above us. “I know you are innocent and not at all influenced by this demon lord you met, but it’s vitally important now that you not have anything further to do with him. As it is, I am not sure how we are going to explain to the guild this latest, but we will cross that bridge when we come to it.”
“I’m sorry to be giving you more trouble,” I said miserably as we climbed to the lobby of a busy building filled with professional offices. “I had no idea this Vexamen thing was going on. I never intended to become involved.”