Lord Dragon's Conquest (3 page)

“Arrangements?” she asked.

“For tomorrow. Breaking camp.”

“Of course.”

He stepped closer, looking Keltie over. They’d been at the camp for two months, and she knew she looked rumpled, although she had managed to wash off the day’s dirt. Switzer’s clothes looked freshly pressed. Keltie wondered if he had a staff of servants stashed in a trunk.

He gave her a stiff smile. “It’s been my experience that it’s hard to get the students moving on time when it means packing up to leave. I’ll need your help to get everyone on the trucks in a quick and orderly fashion.”

She knew that already, so she simply nodded.

“I need to leave early,” Switzer went on. “ I need equipment from the university to properly document and test those paintings. There are papers to file. Permissions. Verifications. Claims. Time is of the essence. The sooner I leave, the sooner I can get back.”

“Of course,” Keltie agreed. This was why she’d taken the discovery to the professor. A find of this importance required someone with Switzer’s connections to make sure everything was done right.

“Tom and Braden have agreed to act as my media liaisons. They are already preparing a press release.”

Keltie frowned. Those were his two favorite students. “Shall I drop by and give them my first impressions of the site?”

“If you like,” he said in a dismissive tone. “We can work that detail into a longer piece if there’s room.”

Keltie’s cheeks heated. A good teacher would help her get the most out of her discovery, but in true Switzer fashion, he’d made himself the star. “But I was the one who found the paintings.”

“And I am more grateful than you know.” He paused, stroking his short gray beard. He somehow made it sound like she’d done him a favor.

“I’m going to be one of the primary scholars working on that site,” Keltie said firmly.

“We’ll see,” he said quickly. “And that brings me to the point of this discussion. I need you to remain here until I can return with my equipment. Now that we’ve found this site, word could easily get out. There could be vandals, thieves or others wanting to claim the find as their own. Someone needs to keep the site safe until I get back. If you want to be useful, that’s something you could do.”

Keltie’s mouth dropped open. It wasn’t as if she had a fabulous life waiting at home—she didn’t even have a goldfish to notice she was gone—but leaving her here in the mountains could only mean one thing. Switzer didn’t want her around when he announced his big discovery. “But I should be with you.”

He shook his head. “Face facts. These events are as much an exercise in politics and public relations as they are about scholarship. The public, and by that I mean donors, want to see familiar faces like mine. Faces they trust. Or at least ones that are media-friendly.”

Not those of girls who were too tall or too rough, girls who grew up in work camps and on ranches with their brothers. She was smart and capable, but she would never fit with the yacht-and-caviar crowd who could write a check to fund Switzer’s work.

“You’re stealing my find,” she said softly. Her chest hurt, as if Switzer’s fist was around her heart and squeezing hard. If she didn’t whisper, she’d start to scream. “You can’t leave me behind!”

Switzer narrowed his eyes, his soft voice suddenly ten times colder. “I’m giving you a role to play. Take it or leave it.”

Chapter Four

From his place in the shadows, Larkan saw Keltie talking to the leader of the human team. Larkan strained to hear their conversation, but the chatter from around the campfire drowned out their words. He cursed under his breath and slipped a few feet closer, using the darkness the way another might use a cloak.

Larkan’s stomach still felt hollow after his audience with the queen, as if she’d stolen something vital. Perhaps she had. He’d lived his life on a blade’s edge, balancing duty against need, and now she threatened both. Of course any maiden on the threshold of her first flight would be anxious, but the unquestioned power handed down from one royal to another had warped the young queen’s fears into cruelty. And if no one stood against her, she would never mend her ways.

His friend Rand had counseled patience, but then Rand was a priest of the Flame as well as his brother-in-arms. Rand had faith in the plans of the universe, while Larkan saw only a job to do. He had a day to get rid of the humans before Nadiana gave the task to someone with fewer scruples. The safety of those lives came first. Only then, after the humans were safely away, would he confront the disaster of the festival and what that would mean. A life as Nadiana’s consort? Imprisonment? Dishonor? Exile? Deep in the core of his heart, none of the available choices were ones he could face.

But for once it looked as if luck was on his side. In the time since he had taken up his observation post, the humans had begun packing their vehicles with trunks and boxes. At least some of Keltie’s people were already leaving—but were they all? Larkan strained to hear, trying to pick out even a few words.

The man was speaking in a light, sneering voice, his silhouette sharp against the glow of a neighboring tent. The man was clearly no warrior in strength or spirit and yet he seemed to have the power to make Keltie unhappy. As the conversation went on, her lithe body was growing stiff and tight, as bracing for a blow. Protective anger swept through Larkan, pushing him forward a step before he remembered to stay hidden. Every instinct begged that he take dragon form and snatch the man up in his jaws. There were a few deep mountain lakes where the fish might be hungry.

But when the conversation ended the man left Keltie alone. Larkan clenched his jaw, biting back frustration. He hadn’t learned anything, and now he ached to put his arms around the forlorn figure standing adrift in the darkness.
By the Flame
,
are you growing softheaded?
Why comfort someone he was trying to chase away?
Because it’s Keltie.

She came in his direction, head bowed. The moon was nearly full, washing the camp in a fey silver sheen. As she approached Larkan felt suddenly lightheaded, drunk on the scent of pine and snow and the sight of female grace. He willed himself invisible among the trees, but he couldn’t have wished very hard. She saw him right away.

“You,” she said sharply, as if the mere fact of Larkan being Larkan was crime enough.

“Yes, me,” he replied.

“What did you try to do to me with that mind trick?” She marched up to him, not stopping until he could feel her breath on his face. “It didn’t work, but I should sue you anyway.”

“I wanted you to forget,” he said. It was hard to think with her standing so close.

She grimaced. “Forget what, that kiss?”

“No.” Larkan’s temper heated. He was prime among the dragon warriors—not something any female forgot once the festival started. “I wanted you to forget the cave. The paintings.”

She looked disgusted. “No kidding.”

Fire and ash! “I do not know why you find those scribbles so interesting. They are nothing.”

She stepped back, fixing him with a glare. “Then why the secrecy?”

“Because you must leave.”

“Why?”

“There are good reasons.”

“You haven’t given me any
reasons
. Just vague warnings. It makes me want to stay just to find out what you’re up to.”

“That’s not a wise idea.” Larkan’s head swam. This is what he got for being conscientious. Blasting the humans with fire would have been so much simpler. “Your whole camp is packing to leave?”

“Yes.”

“When?”

“Tomorrow morning.”

He exhaled. “Good.”

She put one palm to his chest and pushed him back toward the trunk of the tree behind him. Caught by surprise, Larkan didn’t resist. His spine connected with the bark as she leaned in. “What’s going on? Who are you?”

“I thought I knew until I met you.” His sense of duty to queen and den had defined him. His rank had granted him liberty, which had saved him from suffocation. And yet all that paled to nothing as he stood there, his skin warm where they almost touched.
Why does she have this effect on me?

The answer was there before the question had fully formed. Because Keltie was brave and beautiful and had tried to rescue him from a seven-year-old playing a prank. Clearly she’d driven him mad. “I should be tying you up and throwing you into one of the trucks,” Larkan snapped.

“I don’t think so,” she growled back.

He almost laughed. He had an idea how humans saw dragons—as large, scaly monsters that devoured entire villages in a single banquet. No doubt Keltie would do her utmost to slay him. “I’d rather be persuasive.”

“By hypnotizing me?”

The clear moonlight showed the oval of her face and her remarkable brown eyes. They pulled at him like a vortex, drowning his will. “That was clearly a mistake.”

“You think?”

“How do I convince you to forgive me?”

“Give me a reason to believe you.”

Her expression begged him for the truth. Larkan hesitated, feeling as if he were the one being hypnotized. She had the most remarkable mouth, soft and generous. Her scent surrounded him, the musky sweetness of human female, tinged with sharp emotion. And he liked how incredibly stubborn she was. Yet the only truth he could give her was the pounding in his blood.

He could stand it no longer, and slid a hand around her waist, searching beneath her coat and sweater until he found bare skin. The silken warmth heated his desire like a powerful drink.
This is folly.
She has to leave
,
so why do you yearn to draw her close?
You might as well tear off your own wings.

“Don’t,” she said, though she didn’t move. “You haven’t answered my questions.”

“I’m tired of talking.”

“Oh.” The single syllable was a plea.

She was tall, but he was taller and could look down into her gaze. The darkness made her eyes into a mirror of the night sky. A dragon could lose himself in that much infinity.
Just as well she’s going.

The thought was no comfort. Pain shot through him, anguish born of loss yet to come. Larkan slid his hand up her spine, pulling her closer. Dragons hoarded treasure; they didn’t let it walk away.

Lifting Keltie easily, he reversed their position so that her back was to the tree. Then he caught the tab of her coat zipper and pulled it open in a long, slow move. “What are you doing?” she protested, but he answered in deeds rather than words.

He leaned in to her mouth, savoring the softness of her lips as his fingers traced the delicate arch of her spine. She made a noise of protest, putting her hands against his chest, but her muscles softened as the kiss went on, surrendering to his insistent persuasion. But he was far from done, nipping lightly as he deepened the kiss. He wasn’t even going to try controlling her memories this time. Since she was leaving, he’d give her a memory to keep.

His hands circled to her stomach, then up beneath her sweater to the delicate fabric covering her breasts. This was a garment unlike anything he’d touched before and its clever architecture intrigued him. Warm roundness tantalized him, responding to his caresses without escaping the frail fabric. He slid fingers beneath the silk, making her gasp as he teased her nipples to exquisite hardness. As she arched into his touch, a deep growl of satisfaction rumbled from his throat.

At the sound, a shudder ran through Keltie. The length of her body pushed against him, giving urgency to his desire. It had been far too long since he’d satisfied his mating lust, and Larkan could feel his self-control slipping away. He would have promised her anything in that moment. He would have torn out the wall of the cave and presented it to her, paintings and all, as tribute.

“You’re avoiding my questions,” she murmured, her words slurred with need.

“Don’t talk,” he replied, stopping her mouth with his.

But she pushed him away. As Larkan watched, Keltie emerged from the haze of desire to give him a long, questioning look. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“I was kissing you. You seemed to like it.”

She made an angry noise in her throat. “Yes, of course. But I know you’re still messing with me.”

Larkan didn’t answer. His desire for her rammed headlong into his need to see her gone—and yet she was right. He was taking something he had no right to enjoy. Anger burned through his gut, filling his chest with volcanic heat.
It doesn’t matter.
She is just a human.
And yet that was a lie.

“I apologize,” he finally said. “I want you to forgive me.”

“What good is that?” she exploded. “I can’t forgive you without some kind of explanation!”

“I can’t,” he said hoarsely. “I can tell you nothing.”

She gave him a long, hard look that hit him like a spear. “Then you get nothing.”

And she turned and walked away, back to the cluster of tents. Larkan felt a piece of himself go with her.

* * *

Keltie sat halfway up the mountainside, alone. She stared down at the remains of the campsite, marveling at how bare it seemed now that the students weren’t there. The soul of it had left, while she had given in and stayed behind with the remains.

She had to hand it to Switzer—he could make things happen quickly when he made up his mind. By noon the next day, he’d got the students and most of the artifacts from the dig packed into the vehicles. A few tents still remained, as did some of the less expensive and bulky equipment, which could stay put until the professor and his favorites returned in a few weeks’ time. They’d left Keltie more than enough supplies, and a few of the students had even volunteered to keep her company. She’d declined. She wanted the time by herself to study the artwork at leisure, and to figure out how she was going to outwit Switzer once she got back to town.

As the last Jeep drove away, one of the third-years leaned out the window and waved. Keltie waved back, already missing the students. Somewhere in the trees a bird piped, the sound crystalline in the clear, cool air.

“Why are you still here?” came Larkan’s voice from behind her. He almost sounded panicked.

“You again!” She whipped around, giving him a hard glare even as her heart leaped to see him. Even if she was angry, she couldn’t forget the feel of his body against hers. “You don’t give up, do you?”

He drew closer, the graceful strength of his movements, conjuring the heat of their last kiss. An amazing, incandescent kiss. Keltie’s mouth went dry as ash. He looked good in the autumn sun. Copper highlights softened the dark sweep of his hair, and his skin was a pale ivory, as if he didn’t get outside all that much.

“Why aren’t you with them?” he demanded.

“Because you were so insistent that I leave.” That wasn’t entirely true, but her inner brat had wanted to see the look on Larkan’s face.

She immediately wished she hadn’t. He turned deathly pale, and for a fleeting moment she wondered if he would explode with rage. Then his face calmed into a grim, stony expression. “That was a foolish choice.”

Anger had made her stubborn up till now, but suddenly she couldn’t think past the doubt welling up in her stomach. “You’re serious!”

His green eyes went wide with exasperation. “Do you think I creep about the woods spreading lies? You’re in danger.”

Keltie stammered. “F-from what? You’re still not making sense.”

He pointed one long finger at her campsite far below. “Your friends left you a vehicle. Get in it and go.”

“I’m only supposed to leave if there’s an emergency.”

He grabbed her wrist—it didn’t hurt, but a flutter of panic still made her jerk away. It was pointless. Larkan’s grip didn’t budge. He pulled her close again so they stood almost touching. “This
is
an emergency.”

“Is that a threat?” Keltie found her fury again and hugged it close. It was far better than being afraid. “Are you going to march me down to the truck and force me into it?”

He glanced in the direction of the sun. “The time for talk is past. Please go.” He released her wrist and took both her hands in his, lifting them to his lips. “Please.”

Astonishment curdled her anger into a confused mess of emotion. Keltie opened her mouth, but too many questions crowded her. Nothing was making sense, but her instincts were screaming to obey Larkan and go, just go. In spite of all that, her need to understand rooted her to the spot. Their eyes met, and she saw a plea that matched his words. Whatever was going on, Larkan was being sincere.

“I wish you trusted me,” she said softly.

Regret suffused his face. “Perhaps that would have been easier, but it is not our way.”

And then Larkan looked up, responding to something she neither saw nor heard. His profile was stark against the blue of the sky. “Rand. It’s too late,” he said, and there was a hint of fear in his voice.

“What?” It was the only word she got out before he tightened his grip on her hand and began to run in long, loping strides for the path. Too surprised to protest, Keltie lurched after him, stumbling a few steps before she found her stride and risked a glance behind them.

At first she only saw the sweep of pine, rocks and the campsite below, but then she saw something streaming across the clear sky. The object was far, far away, but even at a distance she could tell it was huge. It swooped like a kite, its long tail curling behind in a sinuous motion. She stumbled, too mesmerized to watch where she was putting her feet.