Kiss the Dragon (Maidens Book One) (6 page)

What does this mean?
I demanded.

It’s time to change your journey,
 sighed the voice.
To set you on the path you were supposed to walk.

I wanted to ask more questions, but lips covered my mouth, stealing my air. I couldn’t breathe. The vision faded, the voice receded and I fell into a black void.

***

Someone’s mouth was pressed against mine, gently plucking at my lips. I moaned and the kiss ended. Now a hand smoothed my hair from my face. Whoever it was, held my hand, too. Their thumb caressed the back of my palm over and over, the pattern fast and jittery with worry. It annoyed me. I wanted smooth, reassuring strokes, not this bouncy agitation of my nerves.

The only way to stop it was to wake up.

I cringed before I even opened my eyes. Right on cue, the throbbing in my head resumed. Between the voice and the alcohol, the word ‘hangover’ wouldn’t come close. Try more like ‘how you feel after being mauled by a sledgehammer and a flu virus at the same time’ and that still wouldn’t quite cover it. The word I needed hadn’t been invented yet. Maybe no one else had ever felt this bad.

The world had passed through night into day while I’d been arguing with my paranormal infestation. Just to be contrary, the sun shone bright as a helicopter spotlight. Someone had hunted me that way once and the garish light had left me half-blind for a good hour afterwards.

I missed the gloomy pre-storm weather of the day before.

Alec sat beside me on the bed, my hand clasped in his. He’d been the thumb that had irritated me into consciousness. I snatched my hand away and frowned at him.

He knitted his brow at my reaction. “Everything okay, lass?”

“Were we…
kissing
?” I touched my lips unable to tell the difference between what had just been a vision and what had actually happened.

“Aye,” he said with a curt nod.

Anger heated my belly, but before I could burn him with it, he added, “You asked me to.”

“Oh,” I said, taken aback.

“You were screaming.” He twisted his hands. “Something had you and wouldn’t let go. You begged me to do it. I hope that was okay.”

“It was fine,” I said, my voice short. I couldn’t get the vision of his naked body covering mine out of my head. It made the real kiss mean more than it should have.

“Did you see anything?” His eyes met mine, filled with so much worry, the copper flecks had gone dark.

“Yeah.” I moved to sit up and Alec helped me, steadying me with one hand as I swung my legs over to hit the floor.  I opened my mouth to tell him where to find his brother, but my stomach had other ideas. With one massive contraction, my abdominal wall yanked me out of bed and to the floor where I vomited up what was left of the Scotch I’d drank.

Alec, moving as fast and graceful as a cat, gathered up my hair just in time.

“Sorry, sorry, sorry,” I mumbled. For some reason, tossing my cookies always made me repentant. Like an apology would make it stop.

“Shush, lass. Tis not a surprise after all ye drank last night.”

I sniffed and then heaved again, purging way more than I’d eaten the day before. Maybe it was the voice finally leaving me for good. I hoped so.

Alec kept my hair back and when it seemed like I was finally done, he lifted me to the bed, perching me on the edge. Standing up, he went to a pitcher sitting on the small table under the one window in the room. Pouring some water into a silver goblet, he offered it to me. “Here, drink this. It will help.”

I accepted the goblet and took in tiny amounts of water, having learned long ago that too much of anything too fast when I was in this state was bad news. In between sips, I said, “He’s in New York. I have an address.” The numbers and letters arranged themselves in my mind’s eye and I rattled them off, but Alec gave me a blank look.

My shoulders slumped. “Oh right. You’ve haven’t been outside of Inverness for a few centuries.” I straightened back up. “I’ll go with you. You’ll want someone around who knows the world outside of this castle.”

“I canna go, lass. You’ve forgotten the curse.” Alec raised his eyebrows at me.

I sighed and fought the urge to slump again. I would not be weak, that would not help me. “I know. I’ll be your maiden or whatever.”

His eyes lit up and his entire expression became bright and happy. I’d never seen him like that before and it transformed him from handsome to utterly gorgeous. His eyes danced with glints of copper and his smile showed off sculpted cheekbones. Add in his body and why was I so worried about being his maiden again?

Oh yeah, the voice in my gut was a sociopath.

I held up a finger, hating to burst his bubble, but not wanting to give him false hope either. “But I make no promises beyond breaking the curse. We barely know each other and I might not be safe here.”

He kneeled next to where I sat, looking at me as if I was all that mattered in the world. “I will keep you safe, lass. You donna have to worry.”

“You said that before and look what happened to Malcolm. There are people out there like those witches who will do anything to have me.”

Alec shook his head. “Once Malcolm is here, between his magic and our strength we will make sure no one ever gets close to you again.”

“Just promise me one thing, Alec.”

“What? All I have is yours.”  He took the empty goblet from me and set it on the floor so he could cradle my hands in his.

“If I say I have to run, don’t stop me.”

He frowned. “I’ll run with you then.”

“If I’m running it’s because none of you can protect me. You have to let me go.” I looked down, noting the way our fingers had interlaced, same as that moment on the turret I’d seen in my vision. We cleaved together as if we’d been made to fit each other’s curves. The intimacy of it rattled me. I hadn’t been this close to anyone since before the lightning strike. “I can’t take you with me. I don’t want to be responsible for anything else bad happening.”

He was silent for a moment, unhappy with my request, but he finally acquiesced with a curt nod. “All right, but I will spend my life making sure you don’t have to hold me to that promise. I will keep you safe. You’ve been alone for so long, Sara, you’ve forgotten what it means when someone has your back.”

I didn’t argue with him. He was probably right.  Instead, I sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to release the weight of the world on my shoulders. It didn’t work. “So what do we do now?” I freed my hands and moved to lift my shirt over my head, but Alec caught the hem and held it down.

“Not here, lass.” He glanced around his bedroom. “It’s too small in here.”

“Okay,” I said, drawing out the word. How much room did Alec need?

“And you’re soaked with sweat and probably starving. You’re not ready.” His gaze briefly flickered to the pool of vomit on the floor, but he tactfully said nothing.

“We don’t have a lot of time, Alec.” I pressed my lips together until they thinned.

“Aye, you’re right. But we have a few minutes to set you right.” He stood up. “I’ll show you where the bathroom is so you can clean up while I go find something to break our fast.”

I followed him out of his room and down another interminable stone hallway to a bathroom barely big enough to fit me let alone Alec or his brothers. I turned to Alec, bumping the sink with my hip as I did so. “How do any of you use the bathroom?”

I couldn’t even stretch my arms out without whacking a wall. The guidebooks had warned me of tiny bathrooms in Europe and I’d seen enough to know they weren’t exaggerating, but I still found it astonishing. Had Europe originally been colonized by tiny little fairy folk or what?

“There’s a bigger one on the other side of the castle.” He flicked a switch, turning on a light over the sink. “This one wasna made with us in mind.”

“Then who did you build it for?”

“You or whichever maiden showed up first.”  He opened a narrow cabinet by the toilet and pulled out a pile of towels. “Although apparently we underestimated your size.”

I took the towels and hung them on the hooks next to the sink. “I’m not even a big person. I’d say your scale is way off.”

“Well, the water will get you clean no matter the size of the shower.” He smiled at me, eyes twinkling. “And you donna have to share with me or my brothers, so there’s that. Now I’ll take my leave and find us some food. Come down to the kitchen when you’re done.”

***

The shower stall produced a trickle of water and I kept bumping into the wall, but I managed to wash off the grime of the night before. While I had towels, there were no toiletries, but I had managed to keep my backpack with me through all the chaos. It had the essentials I needed to freshen up, including a change of underwear and a clean t-shirt.

As I brushed my teeth with my flimsy travel toothbrush, I tried not to think about what was going to happen next. Alec and I were going to consummate the magic that had brought us together. Remembering the kiss we’d shared when we first met, I couldn’t deny that there’d been a tingle, but the idea of something permanent and stable seemed impossible. Those words hadn’t defined my life in a long time.

And what about the voice? Telling me we were one and all that jazz? Was I possessed? I had no idea, and until I did, I would never feel safe. The danger wasn’t just from others, it came from inside me too.

Chapter Five

In the kitchen, Alec sat at the table munching on a cookie. He nodded at me in greeting while Niall welcomed me with a smile and a cup of hot coffee.

“Thank you,” I said, accepting the steaming mug. When I took a sip, I thought maybe I’d been hasty in my gratitude. The bitter coffee had been mixed with the burn of scotch.

“Good morn to you, lass. After last night I thought you might need some hair of the dog. You’ve a big day ahead of you and you’ll need a strong drink to keep you upright.”

“This isn’t hair, it’s the entire dog,” I murmured as I eyed the contents of the cup.

Niall chuckled, his eyes crinkling in the corners. “Aye, that’s how we do it here in the highlands.” He tapped his head. “The best cure for a hangover is an even stronger drink.”

I nodded politely and decided I would drink only a little bit. The last thing I needed was to get buzzed and give the voice an opening.  “Could I have some regular coffee, too?” As much as I feared the voice, I was just as leery of life without caffeine. Especially when in the throes of a hangover.

Niall poured me a new cup. “Aye. No problem, lass. I made more cookies, too.” He lifted a plate stacked high with lemon sugar cookies.

I held up a hand as my stomach recoiled. “Not yet. Maybe once the coffee hits my bloodstream.”

Niall’s smile faltered. “I’m sure they donna compare to your cupcakes--”

“They’re delicious,” I said, hastening to reassure him. “My stomach is just a little tender this morning, that’s all. And who told you about my cupcakes?”

Niall nodded to Alec. “He did. Said you had a shop.”

“Well, I did until a bunch of bad guys showed up. The ones Alec saved me from.” I sipped my coffee, the non-alcoholic one, and wondered if I would ever make it back to my little bakery. “To tell you the truth, though, I’m not sure what the future holds for me in the cupcake department.”

Niall patted the wooden counter between us. “Och, well this kitchen is always open to you, lass.”

“Thank you,” I said, warmed by Niall’s generous heart. After Alec, Niall was my favorite of the dragon bikers. Malcolm was next. As for Gavin, I wouldn’t even put him on the list. At the thought of the contrary blond, I scanned the room and did a quick biker head count. “Where’s Gavin?” We were short one tall Scotsman with a bad attitude.

Alec sauntered over to where I stood and pulled me close for a quick peck on the cheek. The scent of juniper mixed with leather filled my senses and I inhaled it, taking comfort in his steady presence. If I was honest with myself, last night had made me like him close to me. Even when I’d been lost in the voice, I’d called out to him to anchor me with a kiss. When I’d been sick, he’d cared for me like I’d mattered.

Letting me go, Alec said, “Gavin’s cleaning the bedroom.”

I smothered a laugh as Alec went to pour himself coffee. Gavin wouldn’t get any sympathy from me, not after all the teeth gnashing the other day. In fact, I rather thought it served him right.

Offering me his elbow, Alec said, “So, are you ready, Sara?”

I froze, the mug halfway to my mouth. Oh, that was a loaded question. No, I wasn’t ready, but Malcolm needed all the help he could get and the voice was adamant that Alec was my future. Plus, I kind of did like the guy. Or at least lusted after him.

If nothing else, I had to reunite the brothers. Not to mention, I would not knowingly leave anyone in the hands of the witches. They had started hounding me a year ago, and while the coven was not the first group to try and grab me, they were the ones who scared me the most. Their magic made nightmares seem pleasant.

Niall came to me, prying the coffee cup from my hand and setting it aside so he could give me a hug. “Welcome to our family, lass. After today you’re one of us.”