Immortal Coil (34 page)

Something on the far side of the room caught his attention. The flames were thickest there, and smoke swelled and fluttered as water pelted through it. A figure stood in the center of the cloud. It
look
liked
Anaea
, but there was something different about her.

The inferno surged, whipping in an unfelt wind, framing her in a perfect, horrific frieze. His stomach churned. She wasn’t supposed to be here and he had no idea how she’d found him. The place didn’t even have a phone listing. How the heck had she even gotten in? Didn’t she know being here was dangerous?

Her gaze lifted and met his. His heart skipped a beat. If the fire was of her creation it shouldn’t harm her much. The fire licked at her legs and her eyes widened, then hardened.

Mother of All, he was in love with that woman. Surrounded by flames and drakes, and she still wasn’t going to give in to fear.

He started to run toward her but a man leapt through the flames and grabbed her arm. She twisted in his grasp, her gaze still on Hunter, but the man was too strong and dragged her to the far exit.

Hunter ground his teeth. It should have been him saving her. He glanced around the room, checking for anyone else in trouble, but it appeared all of the drakes had managed to get out safely. Hurrying through the back door, Hunter ran down a narrow hall and out into a crowded alley.

Drakes and humans milled around on the shallow pink steps of the high-rise across the street, bubbling with excited talk. He shoved through them. He had to find her.
Now.
Blood rushed in his ears, roaring away the sounds of the people, the traffic, and the emergency vehicles.
Capri
was going to have a fit when she heard about this.

There, on the edge of the crowd, in conversation with the drake who’d pulled her out of the
flames.
Thank the Mother of All she was safe.

He took her arm, leading her away from the commotion and shooting a glare at the drake
who’d
saved her, daring him to argue. “What the hell are you doing?”

“I’m fine, thank you.” She yanked her arm out of his grip and hugged herself.

His heart clenched at the look on her face, but he pushed the feeling away. Damn it, he was mad at her. She could have gotten killed. “Not the question I asked.”

“But the one you should have.”

She had him there, and that truth stung. “I told you to stay put.”

A woman from the crowd glanced at them. Shit. They were drawing attention. He steered
Anaea
around the corner past a thick stone wall and through an open wrought-iron gate into the small courtyard of the building kitty-corner to
Baltu
.

“I said I’d handle it.”

Anaea
jerked away from him and stormed across the cobblestones along the wall, farther into the yard. She looked glorious, powerful, her cheeks bright with anger. Idly, he noticed her hair seemed to have grown a little bit. It was softer, becoming closer to the pixie cut he’d seen in the dream. He was somewhat surprised he hadn’t seen it before, but it didn’t really matter.
Never had.

“I have no doubt you’re able to handle this. But this is my life, too.”

He strode to her, but resisted the urge to grab her. “My people are dangerous.” Why couldn’t she see that? There was evidence enough that a human couldn’t survive among drakes without protection.

“I know that.” She spun to face him, anger flashing in her eyes.

“Then why?”

“Because.”
She growled out the word, sending a shiver of excitement through him. “You ordered me.”

“I— What—?”
The strength and power radiating from her was intoxicating. The desire to be with her was overwhelming.

“I don’t take orders anymore.”

“It’s for your own good.”

“Fuck my own good. It’s my life.
My choice.”
She shoved him, rocking him back on his new, still-unfamiliar legs and feet.

He snagged her wrist, yanked her to him, and they stumbled against the courtyard wall. Every nerve ending within him ignited. A purr rumbled in his chest and he brushed his jaw hard against hers. His scent to hers—as if they were actually dragons with scent glands. Mother of All, he’d never encountered someone who awakened all his instincts the way
Anaea
did. And it just proved how different and incompatible they were.

“
Anaea
.”

She cupped his face, rubbing her thumbs along his jaw. If she didn’t stop he was going to start purring again.

“
Anaea
, I—”

“Shut up, Hunter.”

She planted her lips against his, as if she feared his rejection or her loss of courage.
Which was ridiculous on both accounts.
Cross-species or not, she was the one he wanted for life. And as for courage, he suspected it flowed, constant and sure, through her veins.

He met her lips with his own hunger. She thrust her tongue into his mouth, licking and teasing, drawing an inferno from deep within him. All thought flew from his mind, consumed by a tremendous need.

He lifted her. She wrapped her legs around his waist and he turned them, pressing her back to the rough wall. She moaned into his mouth, fueling his frenzy. His blood pounded through him. He had to have her.
For real.
Right now.

But she deserved more.
Certainly more than being taken, without care, in public.
She deserved to be wooed properly.
Maybe not in a dragon’s terms but certainly in human ones.

A chill raced over him. A new, terrible thought popped into his mind. Who was she really kissing? Him or the man whose body he possessed? She hadn’t wanted to kiss him earlier, so why now?

He eased away from her lips. It was too soon. She couldn’t want this or him. Maybe in the future, maybe once he’d figured out how to keep her safe. But this... this need wasn’t for him. It was to ease the tremendous shock she had to be in. It was the only explanation. And the honorable thing to do would be to wait until she was thinking straight.

She dipped her lips to his, but he leaned back. He couldn’t take advantage of her like this. He slid her legs from his waist and stepped back.

“Hunter?”

He couldn’t look at her, couldn’t bear to face how his perceived rejection would make her feel, even if it was the right thing to do.

“We should get back to the hotel.”

“What?”

From the corner of his eye he watched her tremble, every line of her body rigid, exuding rage.

“It isn’t safe.” He was a fool, even if he was a fool for the right reason.

She clenched her fists, opened her mouth and snapped it shut. Then she wilted in on herself.

His heart ached. In the blink of an eye his warrior dragoness was gone. And it was his fault.

She sniffed.
“Fine.”

Anaea
followed Hunter into the hotel suite, her lips still burning from the kiss. She had fantasized of running to Mark, after she realized she’d been a fool and her husband didn’t love her. But it hadn’t been Mark she kissed in that courtyard and it wasn’t Mark she wanted now.

How could she want Hunter so badly in so short of a time? It didn’t make sense, and yet she couldn’t deny her yearning to be drowning in his kisses again.

And it was Mark’s body.

Her throat tightened. Her life was supposed to be over. Not his. It was too cruel that everyone around her died while she lived.

She threw open the curtains and stared out at the city, unable to focus on anything beyond the glass. God, she wanted Hunter more than she’d wanted anyone before. But he’d lied to her, kept secrets, and bossed her around. Admittedly, it might have been for
her own
good but she was done with men who wanted to do her thinking for her.

And now he wasn’t talking to her. He’d been silent since he’d cut off their kiss, far too early for her liking. She still throbbed with unsatisfied desire. He’d probably realized she was damaged goods, or too independent, or something. There was a lot of her to find fault with. She just wished he’d say something.

Hunter stormed to the window and yanked the curtains closed. He didn’t turn to her. The knuckles of his hands still clenching the curtains grew white. Anger mixed with something she couldn’t recognize rolled off of him in red waves more palpable than she’d ever experienced before.

Yep. No love here.

What if it had been a pity kiss? She had been the one to initiate it. Sure, he’d kissed back, but what man wouldn’t? Maybe the sensual dreams had put crazy thoughts in her head and made her imagine that the attraction went both ways.

No. That couldn’t be true. There were other moments when he’d seemed interested in her. Going to the spa had probably turned him off. She wasn’t good and quiet and obedient.

But that had been what John had wanted, not Hunter.

Fine.
Whatever.

So she’d screwed up. But he shouldn’t have told her to stay put and expected her to do so.
Which made it his fault.
Okay, that was childish, but she didn’t have anything else to hold on to.

“Are we going to talk about what we found or are you going to stand there all night and pout?” she asked.

“No.” He didn’t turn around.

She clenched her jaw. “You’re just going to stand there and ignore me.”

“I’m seriously considering it.”

Oh for the love of— “Fine. I’ll share first.”

Hunter remained focused on the closed curtains clutched between his hands.

“Nero was there.”

“I saw that.”

Anaea
waited for him to continue. He didn’t. Swell. “He was having a conversation.”

“I saw that, too.”

“Let me guess. You speak Italian.”

He pursed his lips.

That would be a ‘no.’ Bully for her. But then, she knew that. It was in his memories, floating through her head. Probably the same way she knew to rub his jaw to turn him on and the reason she wanted to growl her frustration. She no longer knew where he ended and she began and at the moment she didn’t care.

She brushed his shoulder, making him twitch. Frustration bubbled from him, so strong she could feel it.

“What did they say?” he asked, releasing the curtains and leveling his dark gaze on her.

Her lips tingled anew. She didn’t care if the attraction was one-sided. She just wanted to kiss him again and again.

She swallowed hard. “I didn’t hear much, but Nero seemed to think he couldn’t have you asking questions.”

“Why?” Hunter leaned close.

If she closed her eyes, she could imagine his breath caressing her face. “He didn’t say.”

She inched up on her toes and tilted her face to him. Please let him notice the invitation.

“Then I think—” Hunter said.

His lips were close, so close. A fraction more and—

He jerked away. “I think I need to ask some questions.”

* * *

Hunter rushed into the bedroom, shouldering the door mostly closed. He was honorable.
Really.
He didn’t take advantage of a woman when she was confused. He might flirt a little, but that was different. Honestly. Yep. Sure—

Mother of All, she was driving him crazy and it was too easy for him to lose focus.

He had to concentrate on who was trying to kill them, then get Regis to accept her as a sorcerer, and then he could court her properly—once she’d had time to heal and figure out what she wanted.

Not sooner.

But damn, he yearned to sweep her off her feet and fulfill the promises he’d made to her in her dreams, the promise of being
inamorated
. The kiss in the courtyard had been almost too much for him.

He grew hard at the memory.

This was a disaster.

He sucked in a breath. It did little to cool his rising passion. He sat on the bed by the phone and forced himself to pick up the receiver and not think about
Anaea
, naked on top of the sheets.

A purr threatened to escape.

Shit.
Cold showers.
Ice baths.
Killing things.

He punched in Grey’s number and waited.

“Hello?” Anger, barely contained, edged Grey’s voice.

“Hello to you, too.”

“What? Who is this?”

“You have to ask? Who else calls you?” If Hunter wasn’t so wound up about
Anaea
, he’d find Grey’s reaction hilarious.

“Hunter? How the hell am I to know? Where are you and where’s
Anaea
?”

“Safe.
Fine.”
She was more than fine, but he didn’t want to get Grey started. Just the thought of Grey thinking about
Anaea’s
safety made his hackles rise.