Kiss the Dragon (Maidens Book One) (2 page)

“It’s not me, I swear.” I put my hand over my heart.

His eyes narrowed. “What do you mean?”

“I…ah…well, it’s complicated.” We so did not have time for this. Shit. “I have like a parasite or something. Or an infestation. I swear I’m not trying to do anything to you, but,” I gestured to my gut, “this thing has a mind of its own and I really am in trouble.”  I gave him a pleading look, the one that always convinced my father to agree to ice cream after Mom had already said no. Dad had never been able to resist me, but the rest of the world had yet to fall to its knees. I still tried though. A cute pout was all I had going for me at the moment.

Kiss,
demanded the voice.

What? WHAT?

The voice shoved me forward, almost launching me airborne.
KISS,
it roared until I couldn’t hear any other sound.

My lips crashed into my would-be savior’s. He stood stiff and still for a second, but then his arms wrapped around me and returned my kiss. His mouth was hot and insistent as he seized control of mine. I sank into him, a heady rush swirling through me as his tongue swept my mouth. The world dropped away. The guys coming for me didn’t matter anymore. Nothing did except for this man who cradled me in his arms.

I moaned as he nibbled the fullness of my bottom lip. A frisson of heat burned through me until I wanted to rip off my clothes and let this man have all of me. It was one hell of a lip lock. I would never forget it and all the kisses that came after would forever be measured against this one.

After a long, blissful moment, the man pulled away, leaving me cold and wishing for more. He stared at me, his eyes wide and the hazel darkening from light caramel to a hard crack toffee.

“I-I’m sorry,” I said. “I didn’t mean to do that.”

“Don’t apologize,” he said, the rich burr of his Scottish accent sending a tingle up my spine. “That kiss is what saved you.” He handed me his helmet and I quickly put it on.

Motioning for me to join him on the bike, he said, “Hold on tight. It’s going to be a bumpy ride, lass.”

I vaulted up onto the leather seat, feeling very much like I was attempting to leapfrog over a giant. Once I was settled, I wrapped my arms around his waist and leaned into his back. He felt so solid, so capable and with that yummy kiss still bubbling in my system, I didn’t want to ever let go. Worse, I wanted to kiss him again…among other things.

Oh, this was bad.

Loving me could kill a man.

Chapter Two

We zoomed through the verdant back country of Scotland, a line of black SUVs right behind us. The motorcycle shuddered between my legs, jostling me forward and closer into the stranger who’d said a mere kiss had saved me.

What had he meant by that anyway? I sent a tendril of attention to the voice, poking at it, but it wasn’t talking. My imagination drew a blank, too. I had no magic other than the voice, nothing that would give a kiss any special meaning.

So why had it been a game changer for him? It’s not like the few other guys I’d kissed had ever reacted the way the biker had.

I went airborne for a second as we left the road and crossed an open pasture to dodge the SUVs. The land jolted us with its dips and valleys, bucking under the bike like an angry bull. That didn’t deter the people after me, though. If anything, they drove even more aggressively, fanning out and attempting to box us in.  We zipped up a little hill that acted as a ramp and I felt air under me again. I clamped my eyes shut and searched for the energy that would tell me if we were about to crash or not.

No, it was going to be fine.

I still couldn’t look, though.

When I did open my eyes, we were alone. The SUVs were gone as if they’d never existed. Mist now rolled over the moors, shrouding the countryside in white. The atmosphere of the world changed. I no longer sensed the intense pressure of pursuit, but rather the languid energy of time to spare. The biker relaxed as well, slowing down and leaving the field for a narrow road.

We were safe. At least for the time being.

A few minutes later, we pulled up to a large castle built of dark stone. A collection of motorcycles sat outside its entrance; big machines with shiny chrome and ornate dragon motifs in the paint jobs.

He parked right next to the rest of the bikes and I removed the helmet, which he took and hung over the handlebar. I accepted the hand he offered as I struggled to dismount from the bike. I wasn’t all that short, but the motorcycle was a beast and I was grateful for the help.

“Where are we?” I asked. “Who are you?” He’d sensed the voice, recognized it somehow. I needed to figure out how much of a threat he was.

“This is my home and my name is Alec.” He swept a hand toward the castle door. “We should go in. They’ll want to meet you and we need to talk.”

“They who?” I asked hurrying after him.

“My brothers,” he said over his shoulder.

Alec walked with powerful strides into the castle. The front door swung open at his approach as if expecting him. I stuck as close as a second shadow, nervous and a little scared. If this man knew what I was, he would want to use me and I would have to escape.

I much preferred never being caught in the first place, so it was with some hesitation that I crossed the threshold of the castle. The door shut behind me with a loud boom, operated by a tall blond man with the bulk of a linebacker. He had stood so far behind the door that he was effectively hidden from sight and his sudden appearance gave me a start. His mouth widened at my reaction and then opened, not in a grin, but so he could snap his teeth at me with a predatory, sharp click.

I jumped and stepped even closer to Alec, bumping into him as he came to an abrupt stop.

“Brothers,” he bellowed, head thrown back, voice echoing off the square wooden panels covering the walls.

The thud of feet hurrying across the floor sounded. One set from above us, another from somewhere on the first floor. The blond from the door walked over to lean against the enormous fireplace at the end of the room. He looked me up and down, eyebrows raised, lips pursed.

“You found one?”

Alec gave a curt nod as he pulled off his leather riding gloves. “Aye, I did.”

The blond smiled, this time the gesture displayed pure delight as opposed to his earlier aggression. “Excellent.”

I edged back toward the door just as two more men appeared, their gazes instantly seeking me out and pinning me down. What did they know about me? How much danger was I in? Could I outrun them?

I closed my eyes and absorbed the energy around me. Nothing registered as dark or dangerous. Weird because these guys looked like a rough crowd with their bikes and leathers. Based on their appearance, I should have run screaming. The voice should have been shoving my feet out the door.

There were four of them so far: The teeth-snapping blond, then Alec with his coppery hair, a flaming orange redhead, and one with hair dark as night. They all wore matching black kilts and leather jackets with the same dragon design as Alec’s.

Call me crazy, but I didn’t think they were going to serve me tea and crumpets. They were more the type to ask me to make meth or cut cocaine. Oh wait, scratch that. Alec had known I was something more than human, which meant I was probably destined for torture until I did what they wanted. These guys weren’t going to be petty criminals. They would be big time.

And yet, I didn’t sense that about them at all. What my eyes saw and what the voice registered were two different things. I couldn’t reconcile it.

What’s going on?
I poked at the voice that now controlled my life.

Wait.

You know, it’s possible to use more than one word and actually tell me something useful,
I thought huffily.
Wait for what?

The men were talking now, their voices loud and full of excitement.

“I told you it would work, brother,” crowed the dark-haired biker, clapping Alec’s shoulder.

“Aye, but I think I’ve found more than my maiden.” Alec fixed his hazel gaze on me, eyes narrowed as he tried to take my measure. “She’s in trouble.”

“I can leave,” I said. “In fact, it’s better if I just go.” I took a step toward the door, but Alec was already there, blocking me. I blinked up at him. “You’re really fast. What
are
you?”

“You first,” he said. “After all, I saved your arse back there. There’s magic about you. What is it?”

“I-I don’t know,” I said, panic making my heart drum in my ears. Telling my secret was what made me the most wanted on everyone’s list. The truth had destroyed my life and I’d learned to shut up out of self-preservation.

“You can’t hide from us, lass. We can sense your power.” The weight of his gaze pressed against me, heavy and palpable and telling me Alec was not a man easily swayed from his course.  When I didn’t answer, he loomed over me and roared, “Tell me what danger I’ve brought to my home, lass. Tell me so I can protect us all.”

“Alec,” said one of the men from behind me. “Perhaps we should explain our side to her first. She needs to know we can be trusted.”

“If she’s in trouble as you say, brother, she must be scared out of her mind to have you charging at her like a wild boar,” said someone else.

“Let’s sit in the kitchen, shall we?” suggested a third voice. “Gavin and I just made cookies.”

I half turned around. The bad ass bikers baked? No way.

Alec grunted. “Och, Niall, no biscuits again?” He sounded aggrieved.

The man with the fiery orange hair, who I took to be Niall, grimaced. “Donna be giving me trouble, mate. Not unless you want to be the one doing the cooking.” He smiled at me, the gesture warming his brown eyes. “Donna be afraid of us, lass. We roar a lot, but we donna bite.”

“I do,” said the blond, snapping his teeth at me again.

I frowned at him. “If you bite me, I’m going to smack you.”

Alec cut in front of me, glaring darkly at the blond.  “Touch her, Gavin, and I’ll kill you.”

Gavin appeared unimpressed. “Och, she really must be your maiden if you’re willing to turn on blood.”

Alec’s gaze flickered back to me and his body stiffened as if surprised by Gavin’s observation.

“What’s this about a maiden?” I asked.

“Well,” said Niall, running a hand through his orange hair. “That’s a long story. To tell it proper we’ll need a snack. Come with me.” He walked purposefully out of the room, the hem of his black kilt rippling as he moved.

Not knowing what else to do, I followed after him, the rest of the biker gang falling in line behind me. A narrow hallway with a low ceiling wound its way through the castle. The men had to duck, but my height matched that of whoever had built the castle way back when and I passed through unhindered.

When I lost track of Niall, who walked so fast he left the rest of us behind, and went to turn down a new hallway on the right, Alec caught me by the elbow and pulled me back. “Straight, lass. That’s the way to the turret stairs.”

“Oh, okay,” I said, feeling clumsy. I stepped back and motioned him forward. “Why don’t you lead?”

“Aye, mate. You lead and then I can stare at her arse. You’ve been blocking my view.” This was Gavin, the blond, his pale blue eyes alight with mirth.

Alec whirled around, face contorted into fury. He raised his hand and my jaw dropped when a fireball blinked into existence.

“What the hell…” I started, but no one was paying attention to me. The men were too intent on their imminent firefight to hear anything I said. I could practically see the steam shooting from their ears.

Launching the fireball toward Gavin with a heave of his powerful shoulder, Alec roared, “You will leave her alone or I will make you pay for that smart mouth of yours.”

I flinched as the fireball flew toward Gavin, growing bigger as it went, but the blond stood his ground, not even attempting to evade the thing. The fireball sizzled as it hit his chest and then disappeared as if he’d absorbed it into his body.

“Come now, mate,” Gavin said, raising his hands. “Don’t be so tetchy.”

Behind him, the dark-haired one, whose name I still didn’t know, sighed and brushed past Gavin. “I’ll walk in front of him if that will help.” When Gavin started to protest, he scowled. “Shut it, brother. I’m hungry and we have important business to mind. Stop causing drama.”

Gavin frowned. “Drama? I’m not causing drama. He’s the one who’s got his bollocks in a twist.” He snickered and shot an impudent wink my way. “You’re going to have to help him with that.”

Now I wished I had some fire to throw at him myself. Instead, I laid a hand on Alec’s shoulder, surprised at the anger vibrating under his skin. “Can we just put the fireballs away and go to the kitchen? Please?” I wanted to ask him the how and why he could lob fireballs at people, but it seemed more important to calm everyone down before we all went up in smoke.

Alec swallowed hard and nodded, his jaw clenched tight. Turning on his heel, he marched off. I ran after him, wanting to leave the troublesome Gavin behind.

The kitchen was a cheerful room with a wooden beamed ceiling, a wide hearth and shelving instead of cupboards. Where the main room had square wood panels, the kitchen walls were made up of natural gray stone. An assortment of kitchenware filled the shelves. I counted at least three different china patterns, and there was a selection of copper and steel pots ranging in size from smaller than a teacup to big enough to bathe children. In one corner, an old refrigerator hummed and wheezed as if on its last leg. The far end of the room had a large window under which stood a wooden table flanked by benches on all four sides.