For the Heart of Dragons (3 page)

2

The soft rustle of material pulled Noah from the depths of his dream. His mind worked on the noise while his body clung to sleep. The material moved again, but this time, the edge of the bed he was on dipped down under someone’s weight.

“Wake up, lover,” Raven’s soft voice called to him. Her hand pushed into his hair before stroking down his cheek to his exposed shoulder.

He moaned and shifted under her soft caress. Opening his eyes, he found his beautiful, dark-eyed captor staring at him.

“Good morning,” she said before leaning over and claiming his lips for a soft kiss.

Reaching up, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her more deeply into the embrace. For the last three days, from the time he woke until he passed out from sheer exhaustion, he had worshipped at this goddess’s body. His only waking rest had been the few minutes around noon when he was allowed to call and reassure Daniel that he was still alive. Even mealtimes had been laced with lust and desire.

Pulling from his kiss, Raven nipped at his lip before putting some space between their bodies. “Enough of this for now, my lover,” she said, reaching down and fondling his morning arousal. “I hate to leave you wanting, but I have other pressing matters this day.” Letting out a forlorn sigh, she squeezed him firmly before releasing him and sitting up. “We will get back to this later.”

Noah chuckled as he sat up. “As you like.”

An angry growl echoed from her chest as she reached over and shoved him back down. Her long, flowing dress pulled painfully tight over his waist as she straddled him, pinning him to the mattress. Grabbing his wrists, she stretched his hands up above his head and crushed his mouth with hers. After a moment, she relented and pulled back but held him pinned to the bed.

“What I would like is to take you to the skies and teach you things that would blow your mind.” Her dark eyes shifted back and forth between his. “If only you were dragon.” She let out a heavy breath and climbed off him. “But Daniel would have my hide if he lost another man to my guiles.”

Standing up, she turned towards the door leading out of her bedchambers. “I’ve left clothing in the bathroom. Wash and dress. My guests will be here shortly.” She paused in the door and looked back at him. “But have no doubt, lover. As soon as they are gone, you are mine once more.” With that, she slipped from the room, closing the door behind her.

Dropping his head back to the bed, Noah lay where Raven had left him for several long moments, processing what had just happened. Her words played in his head. This whole thing was supposed to be about satisfying her needs during her fertile period. Nothing more. She had made it very clear that sex was all she wanted from him—even to the point that she refused to call him by his name. But, here she was, wishing he were dragon so she could take him for aerial sex. That statement confused the hell out of him.

Having worked with a bunch of macho guys, the topic of sex and kinks often came up, usually while they were waiting for something to happen or to take the edge off a serious situation. On one occasion, the dragons had gotten into a heated conversation about intercourse in dragon form. There had been lots of opinions, but they all agreed on one thing. You only took to the skies with someone you trusted completely. The few who had tried it admitted it was a thrill like nothing else, but it was insane to do. Losing one’s self in passion as you plummeted at thirty-two feet per second was sure to get your blood pumping, but doing it with someone that didn’t personally care about your safety was insane. More than one dragon had met a very messy end that way. Most refused to even attempt the feat with anyone less than a bonded mate. It made Noah think two things—either Raven was an insane thrill seeker, or her feelings for him ran much deeper than he cared to think about.

Shaking his thoughts away, Noah pulled himself from the bed and went to wash. Now he knew why Daniel had been concerned with letting him go with Raven. The intensity of their time together was enough to entice anyone away from their normal life. A brooding dragon wouldn’t stand a chance. He wasn’t a dragon, but if she started showing him even the slightest bit of emotional attachment, he would be lost to her charms as well. At least he wasn’t being driven insane by instincts that he couldn’t control. Well, not
completely
insane.

***

Noah stood at the sink and stared at the outfit Raven had left for him. The pants, if you could call them that, were two pieces of dark material sewn together at the crotch. The top of the garment was hemmed with two drawstrings that would wrap around the waist to hold it in place. It would allow him to be decent in front of guests, but a simple tug on either of the ties would have him exposed in a heartbeat. That he could handle. It was what else she had left for him that gave him a moment of pause.
Cuffs
.

Four heavy leather cuffs sat on the counter, waiting for his wrists and ankles. Picking up one of the cuffs, Noah considered it. The stiff leather was textured with hand-stamped dragon scales and waxed to a high shine. Two small silver buckles held the cuff in place, while a single D-ring would allow it to be secured to something else. He inspected the straps and found there was no wear on the leather at all. Brand new.

A smile turned the corner of Noah’s mouth as he slipped the first band in place. It was cut to his size, but he buckled it as loose as he could so he could slip free if he wanted to. Raven would probably fix it later, but there was no harm in trying. Lashing the rest of the cuffs into place, he picked up the pants to complete the ensemble. A loud clunk echoed through the bathroom. Looking down, Noah found something he hadn’t seen.
A collar
. It was made of the same black leather as the cuffs, but it was different. There was no heavy ring attached to it. Picking it up, Noah looked at the design tooled into its surface—a dragon with its wings spread. His heart jumped as he studied the piece.

Setting the collar on the counter, Noah put the pants on as he thought. There was only one hole in the leather, and there was no wear around the mark at all. Plus, it looked to be perfectly sized for him. Could Raven have had this made just for him? And if so, what was she saying with the gift? This wasn’t a collar used to control like often used in bondage. This was something used to claim. Lifting the collar, he ran his finger over the dragon as he left the bathroom. His heart pulsed as he considered his options.

The placement of the collar gave the item’s meaning more weight. Had Raven put it on top of the pile—the obvious place to put such a thing—he would have assumed it was just part of the ensemble and put it on without thinking about it. But she had placed it on the bottom, where he would find it
after
he had already gotten dressed. That action spoke volumes to the significance of the collar. It meant he had a choice if he wanted to wear it or not. Or, he could just be reading too much into a simple act. Taking a deep breath, he slipped the collar around his neck and buckled it in place.

Magic tingled over his skin, answering his question.
There is significance to the collar
. Reaching up, he pulled the collar off. The tingle stopped as the leather slipped from his skin. Looking down at the piece, he probed the leather softly to see what magic she had wrought.
A binding spell
. Noah swallowed hard as he stared at the collar. He had seen spells like this used to join a human and dragon without the need to share a scale. There was an elegance to the work that awed him. It was so simple that a child could break it, yet strong enough to allow them to share their essence.
Interesting
. Then there was the way she had left it for him.

The fact that she had practically kidnapped him when they first met colored everything they did together. She had both physically and mentally coerced him into going with her. By leaving him wanting and sending him to shower, she had given him time for whatever chemicals that may have been in his system to dissipate. His head was clear of any effect she had on him physically. By leaving the collar among his things, she’d taken away any mental pressure he may have perceived in anything she may have said while giving it. There hadn’t been words of love between them, but the act of leaving the collar spoke of her position on the subject. He knew exactly what she was doing.

If he left the collar, she would say nothing of the gift and they would go their separate ways once their time together was up. Accepting the gift would show he was willing to accept her. But there was another side to the coin. The fact that the spell was fragile showed this wasn’t a choice he would have to live with forever. Refusing her was permanent. Accepting her gave him options—a chance to discuss what the future could hold.

A smile slipped across Noah’s face as he wrapped the leather back around his neck and secured it into place. In his short time with her, he had learned a lot about Raven. Not only was she creative and caring, she was highly intelligent. He would be a fool to pass up the opportunity to really get to know her. She had opened that door with the collar, and he was going to take it.

Pulling himself to his full height, he considered his reflection in the full-length mirror in the corner. The black of the outfit made his toned chest look paler than usual. Frowning, he ran his fingers through his auburn and silver hair. If he were going to stay with Raven, he probably should risk the freckles and see if he could get a little more color into his skin. A quick shake of his head drove those thoughts out of Noah’s head. Raven didn’t care that he was pale. She had already accepted him as he was, so there was no reason to worry about that part of his appearance. Now, he just had to go and play whatever part she wanted him to for the company she had mentioned. They could talk about the collar and its meaning later.

Stepping out of the bedroom, Noah felt the tingle of magic ghost across his skin. “Raven?” he called as he headed down the hall. Something wasn’t sitting right in the pit of his stomach. The magic was vaguely familiar, but he couldn’t place it. Following the pull of it, Noah made his way through the winding halls of Raven’s home to a downstairs sitting room. “Raven?” He pushed the door open to find her resting in one of the armchairs, staring off into space. “
Raven?
” he called as he rushed to her, concerned. She didn’t move as he reached out and touched her face.

A hard object slammed into his shoulder, knocking him off balance. He cursed to himself as he twisted to face his attacker. Surprise flashed through Noah. He knew his attacker!
What is he doing here with that blackjack?
Before Noah could voice his thoughts, the end of the metal rod came down and dropped him into unconsciousness.

***

Swirls of color shimmered behind Noah’s eyes as the pain in his head echoed out his heartbeat.
What the hell happened?
Shifting his head, he opened his mouth and breathed through the pain, praying the contents of his stomach would stay down. He pushed down the nausea and focused on things outside the ball of agony that made up his head and shoulders.

He was alive. That much he was sure of, but the fact that he couldn’t move much worried him. He shifted around and found that he was bound by the cuffs he had donned earlier. Pulling against them, he was pleased to see that one side was still loose. Relaxing, he cracked his eyes. Light stabbed into his head, and he squinted to block some of it out. The rich tones of a highly polished, wooden floor filled his field of vision. He blinked several times until things came into focus properly.

Turning his head just slightly gave him a view of the rest of the room. A table sat in the middle of what could have been a dining room, but the chairs were nowhere to be seen. Instead, three people stood around the table in long black robes. They swayed to the rhythm of some archaic chant that Noah couldn’t make out. The pulse of building magic filled the room and swelled as their voices grew in strength. The heaviness of the power added to the swirling in Noah’s stomach, and it was all he could do not to throw up. Whatever spell the mages were using stemmed from a branch of magic that Noah seldom touched. Blood magic.

Careful not to draw attention to himself, Noah slipped his hand free of the leather cuff. Thankfully, the mages were deep in their spell and didn’t notice as their prisoner bent his legs up and worked the buckles on his ankles free. Relaxing back into position, Noah slowly shifted so he could see what the men were doing. They were focused on something spread out on the table. Fear shot through Noah’s heart as he recognized the hem of the gown hanging over the edge of the table.
Raven.

The mages’ chanting had reached a fervent pitch, and the power hummed along Noah’s spine. Whatever spell they were working was coming to a head, and he had but moments to do something before they completed their task. And blood magic was never used for anything good.

Focusing on the two men closest to him, Noah drew in some of the loose energy floating around the room. He shivered as the dark taint in the magic hit him. The spell being performed was strangely familiar, but Noah couldn’t place it. Pushing that from his mind, he wrapped the gathered magic to his needs and launched himself at the men. Grabbing them by the shoulders, he yanked them away from the table and let loose a bolt of electricity. The well-practiced spell slipped from him with ease and dropped the men with barely a crackle of sound.

The silver flash of a knife in motion caught Noah’s eye, and his heart dropped as he watched the third mage plunge the sharp point deep into Raven’s chest. Shock and overwhelming rage slammed into him, and he dropped the two men from his hands. An unholy sound ripped its way out of his chest as he launched himself over the table at the last man.

Surprised by the sudden attack, the mage ripped the dagger from Raven’s chest and stumbled backwards as Noah flew towards the man’s throat. He raised the knife to defend himself, but Noah ignored it. The tip of the blade caught Noah in the chest just over his heart, but the man was obviously not used to hand-to-hand combat. The blood-soaked dagger slipped from the man’s hand as Noah crashed into him, and the pair went down to the floor.