Captive Dragon (4 page)

How had he done it? There was no way Reef had magically changed from a creature to a man. Impossible. It had to be a trick. Some sort of publicity stunt. Well, maybe she knew his aim, but she was no dupe.

“I guess it might make the evening news to be captured and tanked like a fish, but I’m not letting you out of there until you give me your word to call off whatever you’ve got planned. Otherwise, I’ll ask Sara to get her camera, and we’ll plaster you in all your glory all over the internet. Faster than you can say paparazzi.”

“Glory, huh?” He managed to smirk, of all things. The man was caught with his pants down, and he still managed to fluster her. Of course, that could have something to do with his erection. From her position on the floor, to see his face she had to look past his legs, paddling to stay afloat, and his plain as day boner. Arms and hands swaying in the water, he was an intriguing specimen she could view all day.

Truly. A magnificent body that made hers heat with unmitigated desire. The ache between her legs didn’t care what Reef did for a living.

Turning on her heel, she put her back to him and walked away a bit. She fought the urge to fan her face. The voice that haunted her dreams more than she’d like to admit shivered across her skin.

“I’m not up to anything. I promise. The guys working the dolphin enclosure netted me and caged me in this tank. Trust me, it’s not a pleasant experience to be caught with meshed rope, but I’m thankful it wasn’t wire. That can cut something fierce.”

“You’re trying to make me feel guilty about netted sea creatures while you’re asking me to let you out of the tank?” The man took every opportunity and couldn’t see past his obsessions.

Despite the devil on her shoulder urging her to let Bayard get caught by the dozens of employees due to clock-in over the next hour, the good angel reminded her that he couldn’t swim in there forever. There was nothing to hold onto. It was a miracle he’d survived so far and without breathing equipment. Despite all that, he’d managed to appear like some strange sea creature.

Determined to get the answers out of him, she turned, walked sedately over to the tank, and climbed the attached ladder to let him out. She was careful to keep her eyes on the cold metallic rungs rather than the unclothed attractive man that tempted her to gawk. At the top she hoisted herself on the circular platform ringing the top of the water silo.

What had she done in her life to deserve such karma? She never hesitated, dared not look directly at the face upturned toward her, and unlatched the grated covering. Grunting with the effort to lift the heavy lid, she grimaced at the loud wrenching sound that cut through the serene trickling from the other tanks.

The loud clank of the half-moon lid falling back onto its identical partner nearly disguised the slick rush of water that should have given her warning. Yet when two hands grabbed the edge of the tank inches from her waist, she reeled back in surprise. Her arms shot out to her side, trying to regain balance, teetering on the edge of the platform. They really should have a safety railing here.

Hands clutched her waist and yanked her into a hard, wet body. Naked. Reef Bayard was most definitely naked. With eyes squeezed shut, she was unprepared when his nose found the crook of her neck and inhaled, long and deep. For an insane moment, she understood the impulse, drawing in his scent of salt and man, like a fresh breeze off the ocean, clean but wild, sensual and delicious.

Her sanity didn’t return but rather, stubbornly deserted her. Reef caught her tight around the middle, one hand leisurely caressing her backside while her own hands snaked around his chest and stroked his back. For scant seconds she memorized the decadent movement of his muscles rippling beneath her touch His skin was warm and inviting.

Temptation rocked through her, his closeness and wordless invitation enough to make her eyes cross and set her teeth on edge like she’d just bit into a cold, sweet, delicious hot fudge sundae. That’s what he was—a confectionary goody that was as irresistible as it was dangerous for a woman’s health. A treat the body craved but was against all the rules.

“I’m on a diet,” she murmured and stepped to the side, careful of the edge of the scaffolding.

Only five-five, she had to look up to his towering height, probably six-four, defined and toned with sun kissed skin. Big, like a dark pagan warrior. The confused look on his face gave her some satisfaction, but no way was she explaining that comment, even if he thought she was off her rocker. Besides, maybe that would be best, and she was insane to think for one moment that a man who hung with starlets would find her dowdy figure, leaning toward dumpy despite the hours in the gym and the pool, to be attractive in the least.

Except, he
had
been palming her ass.

“You don’t need to diet.” He grinned and moved toward her as if to bring her back into his embrace.

She stumbled away, careful to stay close to the tank and looked for the ladder with desperation, heart fluttering wildly. As soon as she saw the proof of his reaction to her, or at least of holding a woman against his naked flesh, she wished she hadn’t looked. Heat rushed over her face, she had trouble breathing, and her pulse rate rocketed. Reef Bayard was a large man. Everywhere.

Oh
.

Immediate response heated between her legs.
Oh, glory be
.

She had to get away from him. Dangerous to any woman, he was more so to her. He could very well damage funding to Sandy Bay enough to put her out of a job. She had no business getting excited over him.

Grinding her teeth, she pushed him aside and brushed past, careful of the edge while she soaked in the heat scalding her hand and the tingling along her side from the brief contact. Self-flagellation would probably be less painful than the ache settling into her bones and the intense yearning. It was if she mourned his loss.

She scrambled down the ladder, rushed across the floor to her coffee, and downed the rest, cold and too sweet on her tongue. She drank it all. She needed the distraction and the jolt to her system. Throwing her head back, she even drank the grounds on the bottom and ignored the bitter flavor.

Fortified, she turned to Bayard. He climbed down the ladder at a leisurely pace. His muscular back played a sensuous slide and rippled with each movement. She wrenched her stare away to look for something to cover him and hide all that golden tanned skin. No tan lines.

Oh, glory be
.

Catching movement at the corner of her eye, she turned to search the shadows beyond the nearby tanks. Nothing was there. A shiver climbed up her back, and she squinted, trying to see into the dark expanse of the warehouse. At least the uncanny suspicion of being watched had given her the resolve to act like a grown woman and not like one of Bayard’s groupies.

The aquarium had racks of towels everywhere, and the dock was no exception. She spotted the well supplied shelves behind her near the entrance. By the time she returned with several, Bayard stood at the bottom of the ladder, shaking his hair like a proud stallion, water flying everywhere.

Dark black hair standing straight on end with his treatment of it, he looked up at her. He should have appeared silly, but he was wild with stubble shading his chin and piercing blue eyes staring straight through her, into her, surrounding her.

Dangerous man who gave her dangerous thoughts, he accepted the towels.

“Thank you. And not just for the towels.” He wrapped one around his waist, the ends barely meeting. Either the towel was small, or his broad form was too much for the scrap of cloth. Not that there was any fat to be found on him, and unfortunately she could vouch for that since she was ogling him again.

“You’re welcome,” she clipped out, disgusted with herself and the situation. She had to get away from him and get a handle on herself. “Against my better judgment, I’m going to trust you to find your way out of here. I won’t call security. Though I really should. I have no idea what you’re up to, and I don’t really want to know. I’ll hold you to your promise.”

She turned on her heel, spinning away from the knowing grin slashed across chiseled features in a ruggedly handsome face. When she reached the door, she ignored the disappointment that he hadn’t called her back or followed her.

She was a sick, sick woman.

***

Reef watched the curve of Chloe’s mouthwatering bottom, the horrible cut of her slacks not disguising the sweet temptation or the sway of her hips. Damn, he had it bad.

He hadn’t forgotten his response to her—nor what that meant—but he let her walk away without calling her back, as his whole body urged him to do. He looked down at that part that really, really wanted to follow her, and he spoke to the unruly bit of anatomy hard against the linen struggling to cover him.

“I’ll find some clothes so you won’t scare her senseless. Then we’ll follow her.”

Realizing two things at once, the first that he was speaking to his cock, something he’d done with more frequency in recent months. The second, he’d not been with a woman since he’d met the lovely Chloe Pearl. No wonder he was talking to the poor thing, it was the only action it was getting.

He sighed. If his response to her in aquatic form hadn’t convinced him, the fact that he’d been celibate for a year did. He hadn’t realized it until then. He’d honestly not felt the loss, unless he was near Chloe, and of course every morning when he woke from dreams of her.

She was his mate.

Now was not a good time for the discovery. He had a job to do. His seadragon brethren needed him and might panic if he didn’t get home and back to their training. When he’d come to the surface ten years ago, he’d been naive and weak. No longer. But until the others had learned to stand on their own two feet, they were vulnerable.

He couldn’t leave the aquarium without clothes. Scanning for better covering, he caught sight of a dark shape flickering along the wall. His breath froze in his lungs. The tall, familiar form slinking out the exit meant one thing. Searing rage threaded through him, forcing him to move.

She-dragon
.

Primal instincts awakened, bristling across his skin. Hard ridged plating raised along his arms and chest. The flesh toned armor covered the angular planes of his face along his nose, brows, and cheek bones. The partial change, a primordial response to the nearness of an enemy, usually came when in direct danger. Conditioned behavior to hide this form from humans was completely forgotten.

He took off at a dead run.

The fish smell and dampness of the aquarium had blinded him to scent of the she-dragon. He followed a glimpse of shadow, stalking along the wall with silent grace. Not trusting his eyes, he came to a halt when the long corridor from the warehouse ended at a heavy exit door.

When on land, a she-dragon hunted in a gangly, heavy fashion. Unused to fighting out of the water, it gave her a disadvantage. One he’d use.

His entire body burned as if he’d combust. He had to keep the she-dragon from Chloe. If this one followed Chloe—a mere human that the she-dragons usually ignored to the point of fanaticism—then the she-dragon must have decided it necessary to defend her own territory. He knew exactly who’d come from the deep to drag Reef back down. Pulse hammering, he opened the door into the public area.

Nothing. The empty corridor reminded him the aquarium had yet to open. At least innocent bystanders wouldn’t be involved.

Conditioned battle reflexes to the fore, he still lost the visual trail and tried to follow the scent, quickly overwhelmed by the myriad of creatures housed here. Passing several lit displays of jellyfish, he suppressed a shiver of dread. Those things had a vicious sting.

Nerve racking minutes ticked as he focused, following the trace impressions. The trail took him outside, into the bright morning sun. On a ramp leading to the dolphin exhibit and auditorium, he scanned for his quarry. He stumbled mid-step, chilled to the bone.

A tall, muscular blonde, her armored skin thick and viciously sharp, loomed behind Chloe as she stood talking to a dolphin trainer. Both women had their backs to the she-dragon. Skimming across the floor at a lumbering pace, the warrior would be on Chloe in seconds.

“Chloe,” he boomed.

Turning, her eyes widened in horror, and she flinched away. She’d seen his half-shifted face.

The she-dragon leapt, shifting mid-air, and whipped her tail around Chloe.

Swoosh
.

They fell into the dolphin pool. Dragged behind the she-dragon, Chloe sliced through the water like a torpedo. The trainer screamed and pointed at her disappearing friend.

Reef sprinted to the edge.

Chloe was human. She couldn’t stay under water. The she-dragon didn’t need to fight, she meant to drown Chloe. And he was at a severe disadvantage in the water against the larger she-dragon.

He dove after them.

Chloe’s lungs burned.

Training kicked in, and she tried not to panic. She didn’t thrash around and fight. Conserving her energy and keeping her heart rate down was critical.

Water rushed past roaring in her ears. Opening her eyes in the salt water stung, but she had to. Her lower leg ached. Her ankle was wrapped in a stubbly cable tight enough to make her fear severe injury. If she survived this, her foot might be permanently damaged.

Continuing her clinical appraisal while her lungs screamed was difficult. She tried to wedge her body into a V, but the current forced her straight in the tow. Struggling, she tried again and managed to reach her ankle, muscle strain adding to the exertion of the physical imperative to breathe.

She needed air.

Now.

She attempted prying the wrapped line from around her foot, but she couldn’t budge it. The panic clouded her mind, and she flailed in response, tugging with desperation.

The water turned cold. She’d been towed out of the aquarium pool. If she was going out to open water, she was doomed. This wasn’t possible. It couldn’t be happening. The gate must have been left open. What was tied around her ankle?

Her mind blanked. Her lungs burned and gave up the battle.

A hard yank caught around her waist, and she crushed against something hard. Her foot wrenched and she held in a scream. She was going to be torn in two. Bright spots danced in her vision.

If she passed out now, she’d inhale too much water.

And die.

She didn’t want to die. Not here. Not in the water, her one true love. Her father had given everything to get her this far in life. She couldn’t die. She had to make him proud.

And she wanted to kiss Reef Bayard. She didn’t know why she thought of him now as she faced her own demise.

They slowed. Turbulent water erupted around her and bubbles swirled.

The pressure on her ankle eased. Surrounded by a maelstrom of thrashing, a flailing object hit her arm, and her leg brushed by a shadow she couldn’t discern. Her waist clutched by unrelenting fingers, she was surrounded by confusion and dark flashes of bodies slicing through the water. All the while she twisted, yanked on her leg, and desperately tried to pry her ankle loose.

Then she was free. Blood tinged the water around her. Something, or some things were in the water with her. She had to get away and get air.

Instinct took over, she stroked hard and followed the bubbles rising to the surface.

She burst into the warm air. She gasped and sucked in greedy gulps of oxygen before she could calm herself to breathe evenly. Her lungs hurt.

Waves roiled around her and water sprayed ten feet into the air with surprising force.

“Hurry.” A deep voice urged. “She’s still down there somewhere.”

She wasn’t sure what that meant, but it spurred her to action. Self preservation inspired her tired arms into motion. An island appeared a few yards ahead. A nearby modern light house indicated they were a long way from the aquarium. Luane Park was a spit at the southern edge of the Bay.

Uncertain of the exact distance, they had to be miles out from the inward lee, where they’d started. No wonder her body was distressed with rashes, aches, and pulled muscles. Not to mention her beleaguered lungs.

She struck out for all she was worth and headed for that nearest stretch of sandy beach. Beside her, a man kept pace, impressive given her own strong skills with the crawl. Nearly losing her rhythm when she caught a good look at his face, she picked up the pace. Reef had been her rescuer. On some level, it rang true that he had been the one.

With a sudden roar, he struggled in the water. His body jerked backward with enough momentum to create waves that washed her forward. He yelled, “Don’t look back. Keep going.”

Like hell!

She circled around to help him. She hadn’t had time to figure out this mess. With another spray of waves, he swam at her at a phenomenal pace. Too fast. She must have swallowed gallons of sea water.

“Get on land, woman!” he boomed.

Now
that
was going to earn him a good kick in the shin once they were on dry land. And here she was, feeling grateful to him only a few seconds before. She didn’t have the breath to respond.

Over the next grueling minutes, she ranted and railed in her mind at the rude bastard. If she were honest with herself, she’d recognize the self-righteous anger spurred her on, made her faster and stronger, but she didn’t want to give him any credit even within her own thoughts.

She crawled onto the warm sand. Soft waves lapped at her body when she collapsed with her bottom half still splayed in the surf. Her ankle stung.

Reef stood beside her, bent down, and picked her up. She struggled, but he crushed her to him and cradled her as he strode to a small strand of trees. “Put me down. You. You. Ugh. You, man!”

She sure showed him. Any minute now, he’d stumble under her weight, and she’d get the last laugh. The strength of him enveloped her, but she was still amazed when he easily carried her.

“The she-dragon won’t follow us onto land right away, not until she’s recovered from her wounds, but I want to get under cover just in case. Behind that dune.”

After he’d slogged through the sand, he came to a stop and looked down at her, his face etched with concern. “Are you okay?”

“Yes.” And she was. “My ankle feels like it’s sprained and swollen, but I’m fine.”

The full force of her narrow escape from death slammed into her, and she went slack in his arms. Turning her face into his chest, she rubbed her nose against his hot, bare skin and let herself be comforted by his warm embrace.

For long minutes, Reef held her, rocking under the trees rustling in the wind and murmured to her that they were safe and he’d gotten rid of the dragon—whatever that meant. He’d probably swallowed too much sea water, too.

By small degrees, she reigned herself in and slowly pulled away.

Reef was still nude, like a god of the sea, golden tan gleaming in the sun, breezes blowing his wild black hair across his crystal sky blue eyes. Sand clung to his stubble-roughened chin. When was the last time he’d been clothed? Who cared? A man with washboard abs like that really shouldn’t cover them up. Should be a law against it.

His skin was slick, no body hair except for his face and head, and she couldn’t help it, she stared. Did he actually shave… there? And why hadn’t she noticed earlier today? Right, because she’d been trying not to ogle him.

“No.” He laughed a full-throated, swelling resonance that eased the tension building in her core. The heat remained, the desire burned through her, but it was comfortable, a languid response that made her lazy, decadent.

“How do you know what I’m thinking?”

When his body responded to her stare, she had her answer. His erection enticed her closer, but she stayed put, only a hand’s reach away. Her hand itched.

“Well, it’s a natural question. I get asked a lot.”

“I’ll bet you do.” She snorted.

He smiled, predatory and feral. “It’s natural for my kind. We don’t have body hair
there
.” He wagged his brows. “If you don’t believe me, come over here and see for yourself.”

Her hand really, really itched.

Folding her fingers together, clenching them to keep them in her lap, she sat like a pretzel in the sand, ignoring the chafe of her quickly drying clothes. She needed answers, and not to the hygiene habits of one Reef Bayard.

“What in the hell happened? And thank you, by the way. I think you just saved my life.” She reached up to adjust her glasses and hit her nose. Damn, she’d lost another pair. Thankfully, she was mildly near-sighted. She had no problem seeing the gorgeous body in front of her. Long legs stretched toward the water, Reef lay on his side, leaning on one elbow. His other arm draped across his waist, hand dangling in the sand making leisurely circles as if his blatant sexual interest weren’t bared for the world to see.

Right. The world. They should get the hell off this island somehow, but it was a wildlife refuge. They’d have to hike the entire long, narrow island to the Park Ranger’s office.

“That was a she-dragon.” He hesitated. Unbelievably, his voice had an uncertain edge while his eyes followed his fingers making paths on the ground. That got her attention because she thought a lot of things about Reef Bayard, but never that he was vulnerable.

“I don’t understand,” she said.

“I am clan.”

“You’re Scottish?” She tried to remember an accent. Surely she would have noticed.

“No.” He paused.

Clearly he had a difficult time forming the words, but he seemed to want to explain to her. At least the oddity of his behavior had gotten her mind off the terror of only moments before. Her entire body was shaking like a leaf as the adrenaline reaction kicked through her.

“I am a species you’ve never studied. A marine creature like no other.”

“Right.”

Dammit
. And she’d started to warm toward him. He was up to his old shenanigans of MLLO tactics. “And that’s why you’re a spokesman for the Liberation movement.”

“Yes, it is. But I can see you don’t believe me.”

“No, can’t say that I do. What kind of animal are you, by the way?” She couldn’t help the sarcasm laced through her words.

“The clan of Oceanus Equus. I can take the form of either man or seadragon.”

She laughed in his face. She couldn’t help it.

“All this time,” she spurted. “I’ve wondered if you’d gone off the deep end.” She snorted, but couldn’t stop laughing. “I guess you have.”

Deep inside, a memory of his face—ridged with odd boney plating–surfaced. She had a sneaking suspicion she could believe him. She stopped giggling. His face was resigned, disappointed. That hurt her, a little.

“Seeing is believing.” He stopped with that cryptic remark and changed the subject, leaving her to wonder what the hell was going on. “The thing that grabbed you is a she-dragon, like me, but female. I managed to rip her plating with mine and she’s gone to hole like they’re trained to do when injured. Anyway, if she was still here, she’d be on us already. She has no subtlety.”

“That was no woman.”

He didn’t answer, just stared into the distance before speaking carefully. “It would take at least a day to hike to the Ranger Station. The water is warm enough. This summer has been pretty hot.”

She pulled her itchy shirt away from her scorching skin. The sun beat down on them, indicating it was at least midday. Throat parched, she swallowed the brackish taste in her mouth. “We wouldn’t make it by nightfall.”

“And, I don’t have shoes, yours must be sopping wet, no fresh water, and the brambles would probably scratch our skin quite a bit.” Reef stared out over the water.

“What are you suggesting? We can’t stay here.”

“I can have us to my place in less than an hour.”

“How far is your place?”

“On the promontory on the other side of the Bay. I’d take you back to the Aquarium, but it should be open now, and I don’t think we want to face the questions from all those tourists with cameras.”

“You have a point, but what are you going to do, swim the Bay?” she scoffed. “It’s at least fifteen miles wide.”

“Yes, we’re swimming the Bay.” He got up and walked back to the surf. For a moment, she gawked at his well toned backside. His butt was tight enough to bounce a quarter. Her mouth watered.

Nope, she was absolutely sure. No tan lines.

Awkward in her stiff clothing, she shuffled to her feet to follow, favoring her throbbing ankle but able to manage. Before she could drool all over herself, she muttered, “He’s insane. He’s ruining the Aquarium. He’s probably going to get my job cut.”

The reminders didn’t help. She dusted sand off her stiff pants before raising her chin and limped on. She could be attracted, but no way would she follow through on any advances, even if she’s the one who wanted to make those moves.

At the water’s edge, he held his hand out to her. Tantalizing and tempting, he was earnest with no laughter in his eyes. In a completely even tone, he said, “You should take off those clothes. They’ll weigh us down, and they must scratch like hell.”

She blushed.

Dammit
.

Though she didn’t think of herself as a beauty queen, and she could lose some weight, she was no prude. Frequently in a bathing suit in her job, she’d shed her self-doubt years ago.

Still, she didn’t usually strip in front of gorgeous hunks that made her want to jump their bones.

He gave her an understanding nod, turned his back, and waded into the water. As if he could sense her hesitation, he called to her, keeping his face turned. “Trust me. This is the best way to get out of here. And, I’ll be a good boy. Even if I’ve wanted to devour your sweet body since we met.”

He had? She swallowed a smile. This man was lethal. Any encouragement from him could leave a woman defenseless.

Removing her bland and boring work clothes, she wouldn’t really miss the things. They’d be abandoned here, but she couldn’t care. She left on her bra and panties.

With a self-awareness she’d always had, she knew she hid behind the baggy clothes and glasses when she was outside the water, outside the job. Vulnerable in the bustling city teeming with people, she was only at home when studying the ocean, the wildness and the beautiful animals. She had no family left, and her only friends were from work. But she’d been content until Reef raised questions that had a few backers withdrawal Aquarium funding.

Following Reef, she ignored her sore ankle and splashed into the slightly chill blue. He’d stopped far out, treading water. She had to swim to catch up.

“Ok, I think I can trust you, but I’m not even going to attempt this swim. Maybe we should go back and wait until morning. The nights have been pretty mild, and we can build a signal fire.”

“A signal fire?”

“Well, yeah.”

“Trust,” he said.

His body shimmered, and he slipped beneath the surface. Half-blinded by the light he generated, she blinked, not believing what transpired.

Sure enough, true to his word, he’d changed shape.