Skylar awoke with a jerk, the world around her solidifying quickly.
“You dozed off.”
She sat, recognizing the shrink’s office on the compound. Vaguely she recalled bringing in Chace then having her wrists checked before coming here.
Pretty sure you knocked me out, she responded silently. The site where he’d inject her felt swollen like a knot had formed. She glanced at it noticed faint bruising.
“You feel okay?” the shrink asked.
Skylar glanced at him, uncertain why his intent gaze bothered her.
“Hungry,” she replied. “How long was I out?”
“Two hours.”
“Ugh. Starving then.”
He smiled. “Go on to the cafeteria. They should be serving lunch.”
She nodded and climbed off the table.
“See you next year.”
Skylar didn’t respond but left his office, her stomach feeling like it was ready to start eating itself. She touched the tender spot on her arm and flinched. Not only did the light touch hurt, but there was a large bump beneath the surface. She’d never left an annual check-up with a lump like this. It had done as he said and helped her relax.
I can address those during the session.
“Maybe I shouldn’t have slept through it.” The memories were more insistent instead of gone. Was she relieved that she hadn’t lost her mother again or upset that she wasn’t able to return to her normal life?
Shaking her head, she went to the cafeteria to grab a sandwich and sat down with her tray at a table, staring at the food on her plate.
Ginger was baking pies. They smelled like heaven, the rich combination of apple, cinnamon and butter drawing Skylar from her room on the top floor of the two-story home they were renting in eastern Ohio. She hopped down the stairs and skipped through the hallway towards the bright kitchen with a yellow ceiling and white walls.
She loved the smell, had missed it since they started running again months before. It was almost Thanksgiving, the time of year when her mother cooked. The simple tradition of a pie managed to alleviate the fear and uncertainty she’d felt since the day they left the farmhouse.
Life was almost normal again.
“Mama, that smells like heaven!” she exclaimed, running down the hallway towards the kitchen. At thirteen, Skylar was tall and lanky and made an effort not to trip over her feet. “Can I please, please, please try a little piece?”
She hurried into the kitchen and the pie sitting on the counter. Her mother was nowhere around, and Skylar assumed she’d gone to the restroom.
Skylar ventured from the kitchen, listening for sounds of her mother rustling around somewhere in the house. She heard the slam of a car door instead and the sound of someone hurrying up the steps to he front door.
Skylar went to a window overlooking the front. Her mother was nowhere to be found, and Skylar studied a black SUV with windows too dark for her to see who was there. Leaning against the window, she recognized the man at her door.
Caleb.
“You waiting for them to leap into your mouth on their own?” a familiar voice asked.
Skylar shook her head, the scent of apple pie lingering with the weird vision. She waved for Mason to join her.
“Weird day,” she said. “How you doing?”
“Not bad,” he replied. “Here for my yearly. Heard you brought in the dragon.”
“Yeah. He didn’t put up much of a fight.”
“That’s amazing!”
Except it’s not. She rubbed her face with her hands. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I should be psyched.”
“Definitely.”
She toyed with her food, hungry but bothered by the random memory of apple pie.
“You okay?” Mason asked. “Caleb said you were a prisoner. He didn’t hurt you did he?”
“No. I kinda wish he did. I mean, isn’t he supposed to be this horrible monster that eats people?” she asked. “Mason, he’s … not a monster.”
Mason took a bite of his sandwich, listening intently with his dark eyes on her.
“Guess I’m just tired.” She turned her focus to her food, not wanting to think about what was happening to Chace at that moment somewhere on the compound.
“Did you see the shrink?”
“Yeah. Just pumped me full of some shit that is making my arm hurt,” she bent the angry arm.
“You normally leave his office pretty happy.”
Mason’s words added to her sense of something not being quite right.
“Mason, what do you think happens to the shifters when they’re rehabilitated?” she asked quietly enough for only him to hear.
“No idea. Never thought about it.”
“I didn’t either until today. Now I can’t stop and I can’t stop thinking about my mom.”
“Your mom?” he echoed, confused. “But she died soon after you were born, like mine did.”
“I know it doesn’t make sense.”
“I’m not saying that exactly.”
She paused in her chewing to meet his gaze. Mason appeared as troubled as she felt, his large brown eyes distant.
“Did you know I had a sister?” he asked.
“Really?”
“Well, I think I did. I’ve been dreaming about her. That makes no sense, since I was an only child and an orphan.”
“But you remember her.”
“Yeah. Certain events bring back these really just random memories. Like one where we’re racing our bikes down a hill.” He offered a small, affectionate smile at the girl in his mind. “Then nothing for days then like, a totally different random memory.”
“Me, too,” she whispered.
“They started a few months ago. The shrink said he’d address it during my yearly and make sure they stop. I don’t know if I want them to, Skylar,” he admitted. “I kinda like the idea of knowing I had a family.”
“Seems too real not to be.” Skylar toyed with her French fries. “But I mean, it can’t be real. Can it?”
“I don’t know,” he admitted. “I’ve been trying to figure it out since the memories started.”
They finished eating in pensive silence. Skylar was trying hard not to think of what the memories meant, if real. What were the chances that she and Mason started having them after being bitten by shifters? Was it as the shrink said – an aftereffect of the magic – or was there more?
“Do you think … ” she started then stopped, not sure she wanted to go down this road.
“… there might be something else going on?” He finished for her.
“Mason, Chace – the dragon – said that there were never slayers before us.”
Mason studied her, weighing her words carefully.
“He surrendered because he wanted me to bring him here, so he could find out what happened to the other shifters.”
“Caleb took him to rehab?”
“Yeah. You ever been back there?”
“No. You’re not thinking of … what are you thinking of doing?”
“I don’t know.” She sighed. “But what if the shifters we slept with – what if their magic opened up memories we’re not supposed to remember?”
“Sounds like a conspiracy.” Mason smiled. “Not saying you’re wrong, but what is the motivation behind doing that to us?”
“That I don’t know.”
“You like the dragon more than you should,” he guessed.
“He’s just not what I expected or what we were told dragons were like,” she replied. “If he’s right about … some things, then it seems like we might’ve been misled. But why mislead us?”
“To get the shifters here. Maybe we really are the only ones who can track them. Don’t ask me why,” he added quickly. “Just theorizing at this point.”
“What was the shifter you slept with like?”
“Nothing like what they said. She was really sweet.”
Skylar sat back, thoughts on Chace. She hadn’t been able to clear her senses of his smoky sweet scent or dismiss the memory of his hands running down her body. His kiss was incredibly good, his soft growl and intelligent gaze snagging her attention even when they weren’t touching.
He’d been genuinely puzzled or dismissive of everything she tried to tell him, everything she’d been told her entire life. He’d been gentle with her. Now that she knew the cabin responded to his magic, she realized he had turned the interior of her bonds into fleece when he saw they were hurting her.
Aside from hanging her over the cliff’s edge to find out why she was trying to hurt the shifters, he hadn’t done anything to hurt her.
Seeing him in his dragon form, however, was enough to make her reconsider anything nice he’d done. He’d been right about everything from the start, but he was a dragon! Why was she considering trying to help him or at least, to make sure rehabilitation wasn’t as grim as he tried to convince her?
“I need access to the rehab wing,” she said softly. “Chace has been almost right about everything. I want to ask him more about dragons and slayers, and I feel like I need to know what really goes on in the rehab center.” I want to learn more about my history. Somehow, Chace’s magic helped jar the memories loose.
“They told us … ah. Right. We can’t really trust what they told us.”
“Exactly. Who has access?”
“Trainers. Caleb. The shrink. Or at least, their hands do,” Mason joked, referring to the palm scanners at the entrance of the rehab center. “We’d need someone to get us access.”
“You’re headed to the shrink, right?” she asked.
“Yes.”
“Well then, I’m coming with you. We need someone to open the door, and I think he’ll cooperate.”
“You do?”
“Sorta,” she said. “I mean, if he doesn’t, we just knock him out and take him with us to the door.”
“And then when he wakes up?”
“I don’t know.” She thought back to the serum he’d injected her with. It put her out for two hours. It was enough time for them to find out what was going on and leave, if it came down to it. “Hopefully he’ll just agree to help. If not, then I’ll figure out something.”
“Wait a minute. You’re talking about the possibility of having to walk away. Permanently.”
She said nothing.
“Skylar, you can’t go down this path without realizing there might not be a way back. Is it worth it to save this guy?” Mason asked in a hushed tone.
“It’s worth it to learn the truth. I don’t know about him, but these can’t be dreams. I have a mother out there somewhere,” she said. “He scares the shit out of me. But something isn’t right and if this is a dead end, we can grovel and beg for Caleb’s forgiveness and let them brainwash us again, if we’re wrong. I mean, they need us, right?”
“It’s a huge risk, Sky.”
“I know.” She propped her elbows up on the table and cupped her cheeks. “But I mean, I just want to ask Chace some questions. We don’t know that I’ll have to leave.”
He was quiet for a moment then sighed. “Just questions. Okay. But let me get the doc, okay? We play golf together. He’ll probably listen to me more than he would you.”
“You’re so sweet, Mason.” She smiled. “Okay. Go get the doc and I’ll wait for you in the vestibule.”
He stuffed the last of his sandwich in his mouth and stood. She took his tray and watched him walk away.
Skylar dumped their trash and made her way through the compound to the area where she’d led Chace earlier. She paced, waiting nervously for Mason.
Her friend was right – it was a risk, but she couldn’t help the nagging instinct that urged her to find out what was beyond the door where Chace had gone. She wanted to talk to him one more time before he was brainwashed, if that was truly what happened beyond the doors.
Her gaze settled on the palm scanner standing between her and the rehabilitation center beyond. After a moment, she approached it and rested her hand to it, expecting it to light up red, a sign she didn’t have access.
It turned green.
Surprised, Skylar debated waiting for Mason then opened the door.
He’ll catch up. She stepped into the part of the compound where she’d never been before and closed the door behind her. A long, white hall was before her that ended in a T-intersection with a familiar plaque on the wall. The grey plaques were at each intersection and corner of the compound, denoting directions with arrows for what parts of the compound lay in each direction.
She walked to the end of the hallway and read the sign. To the right was the Central Rehab Center while the arrow pointing left was labeled as Dorms. She went right, suspecting Chace’s day wasn’t over yet for him to be in the dorms.
The hallway smelled medicinal and was lined with doors, most of which were closed. She peered into the first one she passed with an embedded window. Her gaze swept around a lab of some sort. It was quiet, with two men in white coats working diligently over equipment she didn’t recognize.
She continued onward, passed an intersection with a plaque indicating there was a medical clinic, and continued towards the rehab center. Another man in a lab coat passed her without stopping, and she relaxed, suspecting they saw a steady stream of different faces throughout the compound.
She engaged her senses, trying to track the dragon shifter.
His elusive essence was behind her. It was stronger this time than the last when she’d tried to hunt him. With a glance in the direction where Mason would come from, Skylar backtracked then headed towards the medical clinic.
She listened to the instincts this time, not expecting them to guide her to the dragon when they’d thus far just confused her. Stopping in front of a door, she paused to orient herself towards a possible route of escape, in case she needed to make a run for it.
Skylar opened the door where she’d sensed the dragon shifter and stepped into a narrow hallway lined by thick, metal doors identified only by numbers. The shifter’s essence was scrambled here and she placed a hand on the first door.
Reminds me of the bar. All the doors seemed to emit some sort of shifter magic. She moved to the next, rested her hand to try to tap into the magic behind the door, and then moved on. She’d made it halfway down the hallway when she almost caught his essence again.
Skylar pressed both hands to the door to double check before she slid one over to the wall and rested her palm on the scanner.
The lock clicked open softly. She pushed the door open and entered the small exam room. Counters and cabinets lined each side, and it smelled of disinfectant.
Her attention was immediately caught by the form of Chace. He was strapped to a bed and unconscious, two IVs running to his arms. He seemed pale beneath the golden skin and his veins were an unnatural dark purple against his skin. Though the power of his muscular frame was far from diminished, his uneven, shallow breathing warned her that he was growing weaker.
We are the dragons’ protectors. Her mother’s voice was louder this time, and an instinct unlike any Skylar had every experienced roared to life within her.
She had to protect him. Whatever was going on here, it was wrong, even if she wasn’t entirely certain what it was.
Skylar approached him, not understanding why he was on IVs when he’d been perfectly healthy the last time she saw him. Was this part of the rehab program? Why were her hands shaking and the warning bells in her mind screaming?
She crossed to him and looked at the contents of the first IV bag.
“Saline. Okay. Nothing weird there.”
The second, however, had a biohazard sign on it and bore the name of a solution with more letters than she cared to count.
“Chace?” she ventured.
His eyes fluttered open. He didn’t seem able to focus and his breathing grew more ragged. He looked from her to the second IV, the one with the biohazard sign. He tried to lift his left arm.
“You um, don’t like that one, huh?” she asked.
Shifter magic permeated the air around her in a sudden surge as if he was trying to shift. His eyes closed again, and his body went limp.
I have to get him out of here. The urge to protect him was almost too strong for her to think logically. It was as powerful as the chemistry between them; it managed to overwhelm years of training the first night they met and did so again now. Skylar tugged the IV tube free of the splint in his arm. She leaned forward and tapped his cheeks until he woke once more.
“It’s out,” she said, concerned. “What is it?”
“Good.” His voice was almost too quiet to hear. “Need ad … ren … lin.”
“Adrenaline,” she repeated. “Where would I find that?”
His eyes went to one cabinet.
Skylar crossed to it and opened the door, observing the syringes in plastic.
“Looks like adrenaline,” she said. “You want one or two?”
“One.”
She tore the package open and returned to his bedside, resting it on his chest while she reached for the releases to the straps holding him to the bed.
“No,” he said. “Ad … renalin.”
“All right.” She pushed up his sleeve to get at the meaty bicep.
“Heart.”
“What?”
“Shot in … heart.”
“Um, seriously?”
“Heart.”
Skylar swallowed hard then picked up the syringe. She freed the needle at one end then rested her hand over his heart. His eyes closed again, and she sensed whatever was wrong, it was getting worse.
She set one hand on his chest and practiced hitting his heart a few times.
“Okay. Just … don’t freak out on me, okay?” she said.
He was unconscious.
She drew a deep breath then plunged the needle into his heart. With a grimace, she pressed the plunger until it was empty then yanked the syringe free.
Nothing happened.
“Chace?”
His breathing slowed and then stopped.
Skylar crossed to the cabinet and snatched another of the syringes. She tore it open with her teeth, braced a hand against his chest and plunged the second into his heart. She emptied it out then tossed it aside, waiting.
About to grab a third, she just opened the cabinet when he gasped.
Skylar whirled and froze.
Chace’s face was red, his muscles bulging. He strained against the straps. They snapped open, and Chace rolled, landing on the floor on his stomach.
“You okay?” she asked uncertainly.
“What … did you do?” he managed in a strained voice.
“One didn’t work, so I used two.” She backed away as she spoke.
He uttered a string of curses. His skin rippled, the muscles bulging and changing beneath his skin. Shifter magic filled the air.
“Shit!” She glanced around. There was no room for a dragon, let alone her and a dragon. Spinning, she went to the door and tried to open it. It didn’t budge. There was no palm scanner inside. “Bad news, Chace.”
She faced him again and pressed her back against the door. Wings were budding from Chace’s back, his body convulsing.
Dear god … just calm down, Chace! She pleaded silently.
“Come … here,” he rasped.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“If I turn … will probably kill you.”
“Maybe there’s something to calm you down in here.” She went to the cabinet again and wrenched it open, starting to pull out the bottles it contained.
Chace’s arms wrapped around her from behind, and he leaned his body weight into her, pinning her between him and the counter. His breathing was harsh in her ears, his body shaking. She seemed to be the only thing keeping him up. He radiated heat, and she quelled her impulse to pull away at the strange sensations at her back. He held her against him tight enough for her to feel the muscles and bones of his body moving.
His breathing started to grow steadier, though the unnerving movements continued.
“You can control my magic,” he said in a voice that sounded more human. “How?”
“I don’t know,” she replied. “I didn’t know I was doing it.”
“I need more of it,” he said. He shuddered. “Whatever it is, if I don’t get more of it, I’m going to shift.”
“What the hell do we do?” She racked her mind, trying to figure out how to help or at least to prevent him from crushing her if he transformed into a dragon in the small space.
“Kiss me.”
“Right now?” she asked with a startled laugh.
“It’s worked before.”
Skylar twisted in his arms. She didn’t wait for him to ask again but took his face in her hands and kissed him. Chace wrapped her in a bear hug, his lips hungry and mouth demanding. She wrapped her arms around his neck, submitting quickly to his intensity.
He kissed her long and hard, until she was breathless and her body burning with desire. Heat built in her lower belly then raced through her while the signs of his shifting slowed and stopped, replaced by the erection pressed against her.
Breaking away, he leaned into her and rested his hands against the counter, his head on her shoulder.
“I need more,” he said, the strain clear in his voice.
Skylar saw one tiny wing start to free itself from his shoulder. Chace’s body shook with effort. The last thing she wanted was to be turned into a pancake.
“More than one way to fry a chicken, right?” she said. She pushed him away to give herself room to move then stripped off her shirt.
That caught Chace’s attention. His head lifted, his eyes starting to focus. One of his hands went to her bare abdomen while the other continued to support him against the counter.
She unsnapped her bra, and the large palm drifted upward to cup one breast, his thumb lightly grazing her coral nipple until it was hard.
Skylar stroked his erection through his pants.
His body began to absorb the wayward wing.
“Good, dragon,” she whispered.
Chace kissed her once more, his hand sliding into her pants. Any thought she had of teasing him until he was no longer in danger of shifting fled at his hunger and the tickle of his shirt against her sensitive breasts.
“I need to be inside you,” Chace said. “It calms me.”
Skylar fumbled with the fasteners on his jeans, finally pushing them down. Chace finished the process but staggered, not yet well enough to hold himself up fully, and he fell, dragging her with him. Her knee hit the concrete floor, but the pain was distant, her attention on him. He broke her fall, his muscular body between her and the floor.
“You okay?” she asked with a small laugh.
“Only a concussion,” he muttered. “Fuck me, Sky, before I kill us both.”
She kissed him hard then shifted to shimmy out of her pants and straddle him. Chace’s dick pressed against her wet opening, and she leaned forward to kiss him.
Adrenaline and knowing they were surrounded by people like Caleb, who might just walk in at any minute, thrilled her, made what could only be a quickie an incredibly erotic experience.
Chace lifted her hips to position her body and lowered her onto his erection.
Closing her eyes, Skylar groaned as he filled her sacred space, fitting inside her in a way that sent pleasure swirling through her already.
“God you feel so good!” she murmured in awe, not understanding what made even a quickie with him so much better than any other sexual escapade she’d ever had.
“So do you.” Chace’s hands went up her sides to her breasts once more, and he twisted her nipples gently then slid one hand to her face. He pushed his thumb into her mouth.
She opened her eyes and looked into his eyes, swirling her tongue around his thumb and sucking hard while holding his gaze. His baby blues were dark with need, his pupils dilated and displaying the tiny flames of his dragon magic.
“You are the sexiest, most beautiful woman I’ve ever known,” he said. “I have to warn you – my stamina is not what it should be right now. But I’ll make it up to you.”
She continued to suck on his thumb and began rocking her hips against his, alternating between undulating her lower body and tightening her sheathe around his thick dick, doing her best to milk and massage him.
His hand left her mouth. He took her hips, pressing her onto him with more force, and sending a ripple of new sensation within her. Skylar shuddered, loving the way he felt inside her, and let his hands guide her hips. The friction between their bodies was intense, the tension within her growing, but not as fast as Chace’s. His body went rigid beneath her.
Wanting to see his face when he came, Skylar focused on him. The muscles of his chest and arms were bulging, his breathing hard and fast. His eyes were closed, his jaw clenching and body arching ever so slightly a second before he climaxed.
True to his word, Chace’s muffled cry of release was quick this time, and he held her in place while his erection convulsed within her.
His body went from tense enough to snap to utterly relaxed within seconds, his grip on her hips falling away, and even his features losing some of the signs of illness from the drugs in his system. Pink bloomed in his cheeks once more. All signs of strain were gone, and his magic was calm. Hidden, leaving him in some level of peace while he rode the waves of his orgasm.
Skylar watched the changes in his body, amazed that she was the one causing them. It touched her at a deeper level than she expected, in the part of her where her newfound instincts to protect him were growing stronger.
His eyes flickered open, and she smiled. She was panting and beyond aroused from their lovemaking, her body aching for the release she’d just given him.
“Sorry,” he muttered.
“Why?” she asked. “My plan worked didn’t it?”
He chuckled. “Something like that. You aren’t satisfied though.”
I’ve never felt so satisfied. She didn’t know what to say or if telling him that watching him come was as incredible as her own orgasm would sound stupid. But it was.
“We need to get out of here,” she said with some regret, wanting to stay with their bodies connected, even if they were lying on the cold, uncomfortable floor of an exam room.
She moved off of him and stretched for her bra, putting it on. A glance at Chace renewed her concern. He was still having problems, though not as bad.
He pushed himself up drew her to him with one hand, kissing her deeply. His taste and scent were invading her senses again, a dangerous invasion.
His fingers slid between her legs to dip inside her core then make their way to her clit.
“Chace,” she objected.
He kissed her harder, robbing her of breath and words while his fingers worked their magic with her clit, swirling and stroking, with pressure that was sometimes light enough to tickle and sometimes hard enough that she groaned. Unable to bear the tease, she moved against his hand, trying to hurry the orgasm that was building once more. Chace’s fingers slid inside her to stroke her G-spot while she rubbed the swollen clit against his palm.
“Oh, god, Chace,” she murmured, breaking off the kiss to lean into his body.
“It’s only fair,” he whispered, nipping her ear. “I get off seeing you come. It’s so sexy.”
She buried her face into the nape of his neck, intoxicated by his scent. His thumb slid to her clit, intensifying the sensations, and her world exploded. She collapsed against him, shuddering and breathless.
He held her against his chest, the warmth of his skin and strength of his frame a welcome barrier between them and whatever awaited them on the other side of the exam room door.
Skylar struggled to catch her breath and rein in her senses, overwhelmed by Chace’s passion. His body was solid and unchanging once more, though he still shook from the strain and drugs in his system. She took his face in her hands, running her fingers along his roughened jaw and warm skin. Under the harsh fluorescent lighting, he appeared haggard, with dark circles beneath his eyes and a chalky hue to his features.
The heartbeat that hadn’t been present when he was hooked up to the IV was back, his pulse rapid and throbbing in the side of his neck.
“One shot next time,” he said huskily. “Let’s get cleaned up and get out of here.”
She rose with effort, her legs shaky. The two of them made use of wet wipes they dug out of one drawer then dressed hurriedly. As her blood calmed, she began to realize what she’d done, not in making love to him, but in freeing him. Her gaze slid to him, and she watched the effortless – if still strained – movement of his body.
This time, it almost scared her how attracted to her he was. How she was able to forget about the threat to his life – and possibly hers – and lose herself in his body.
Skylar, you can’t go down this path without realizing there might not be a way back. Mason’s words returned to her. Looking at Chace, she found herself doubting she was ready for that one-way trip, no matter how much she loved being in his arms and how off-balance she felt not knowing the truth about her own history.
It wasn’t the right time to start down this path. Not yet. Not until she found out all she could from Caleb, Chace and anyone else who held the secrets to her past.
Skylar crossed to the door.
“We’re locked in,” she said.
“Not for long.” He brushed his lips across her cheek before pushing away from the counter and walking to the door.
As she watched, he placed his palms on the door. The metal beneath his hands grew red and hot, until she was able to feel the heat he channeled across the room. Abruptly, the door popped and caved.
Chace shoved it open and strode into the hallway.
“Which way?” he asked brusquely.
This is a mistake. She stared at him, heart beating hard.
“Skylar.”
“Right,” she managed. “Just head down the hallway, left at the intersection and – ”
His gaze sharpened and fell to her. “You’re going with me.”
“You need to get out of here fast. I might slow you down,” she lied. “Go ahead.”
He walked into the room and took her arm, pulling her with him into the hallway.
“Why does this always end with you kidnapping me?” she complained.
“Now is not a good time to piss me off.”
She glanced up at him, sensing his tension and the tightly held magic that was close to snapping. Skylar held her tongue and let him take her with him down the hallway. She pointed the direction they needed to go and within five minutes, they were in a courtyard at the center of the compound.
At once, she felt the rush of magic as he started to shift. He released her.
“We’re good, right?” she asked, stepping back quickly. “You’re free, I’m not totally complicit, we can just part ways once and for all.”
His response was a bellow, a half-human, half-dragon sound that rang in the confined space. He morphed and changed before her eyes, terrifying her the way he had before.
She was to enthralled by the changes to react when they were done. Without giving her a chance to run, Chace leapt into the air, hovering in the courtyard, before he snatched her in a talon.
Skylar shoved at the thick claw, cursing him under her breath. The compound dropped out from under her as his powerful wings carried them with ease into the air. She was about to squeeze her eyes closed and pray when she saw their destination – the cabin.
He dropped to the ground and released her, morphing into his human form before she climbed to her feet. Her eyes swept over his naked body, the wide shoulders, rounded ass and long thighs. Without looking at her, he strode into the cabin.
“If you’re safe, then I’m just gonna take off,” she said.
“I will come after you,” he called over his shoulder, disappearing into the cabin’s depths. “In dragon form.”
“Dammit.” Skylar trudged towards him. In the distance, she heard the sounds of sirens from the direction of the compound. “Magic cabin sounds good about now.”
She hurried in and closed the door behind her just in time to see Chace buttoning jeans.
“Are we going somewhere else?” she asked somewhat anxiously.
“Already there.”
“Where?” She was afraid to look out the nearest window.
“Better question is why you broke me out.”
“That wasn’t entirely my intention,” she admitted. “I meant to just ask you a few questions but then things just went the way they did.”
He sat down on the edge of his bed and gripped his head.
“You okay?”
“Lucky I’m alive after that shit.”
“Sorry. I didn’t realize it took a minute.”
“Not the adrenaline.” He lay back on the bed, displaying the length of his abs and chest. “Your boss was working on killing me.”
“You couldn’t be in the rehab program?”
“There is no rehab program,” he snapped. “There’s no reintegration into society. They kill us, plain and simple.”
Skylar was quiet, watching him. She didn’t want him angry so soon, not when he’d just shifted back into a human. He was struggling, apparent from his uneven breathing and the tremble of his hands.
“Come here.” His voice was husky from exertion and strain.
The idea of him setting his hands on her to calm down thrilled her and concerned her. He wasn’t in control, and she was afraid of what happened if he wasn’t able to rein in his magic, even with her help.
He held out his hand. She crossed to him and sat on the bed, taking it. With his perfect body stretched out before her, she was unable to resist the urge to touch him and skimmed her other palm along the ridges of his abs and up his muscular chest.
His breathing became steady beneath her touch, and she almost smiled at the sight of the erection forming in his jeans. She slowed her movements and let her free hand drift downwards, over his lower abs, and slid her hand under the band of his jeans. She stopped short of reaching his thick, stiff dick and tickled the skin above his groin wickedly.
Skylar glanced at his face. He was calm and quiet, all signs of him needing to shift gone. She removed her hand from his jeans and rested it on top of his erection, stroking him gently.
“So my touch calms you but something more sexual is faster,” she observed. “Is that with every woman?”
“No. Just you.”
She paused, not expecting the response or the strange flutter it sent through her.
He’s my dragon. The thought made her uncomfortable for reasons she didn’t understand. What they had was more than physical … it felt permanent.
“You, um, should probably drink as much water as you can to flush your system,” she advised, disturbed. She rose.
“Wait, that’s it?” he asked, opening his eyes to stare at her. “You’re not gonna finish what you started?”
She rolled her eyes at the familiar words she’d uttered at him not long ago.
“Just trying to help calm you down,” she said cheerfully. She turned away before he could see her interest and crossed the cabin to the kitchenette area, where she poured him a glass of water. She placed the glass on the nightstand nearest him then returned to the kitchenette. Being near him while beyond turned on was dangerous, especially with the unfamiliar, powerful emotions floating through her that she needed to suppress somehow.
“You haven’t eaten in a while, I take it?” she asked, recalling that she’d only just gotten breakfast at close to one o’clock.
“No,” he said. “Haven’t gotten laid either.”
“Wah, wah,” she replied. She went through his cupboards and fridge and pulled out bread and lunchmeat for sandwiches. She didn’t stop to think twice about making them for the monster that had basically kidnapped her twice within the span of a week.
It was the protective impulse, the one that flipped out seeing him lying in the hospital bed. She didn’t understand it or why she – a trained slayer – felt the need to help the creature she was supposed to capture. It had something to do with her dreams. The answer was there in her memories and had been trying to warn her.
She made him three sandwiches and herself one then took a plate with the offering to the bed. Apprehensively, she sat on the corner of the bed and set the plate down close to him, like she would a feral animal.
He lowered his hands from his head and sat. Skylar watched the taut muscles of his abs contract, admiring the ease with which he moved.
“You cut the crusts off,” he said, gazing at the food.
“No one likes crusts.”
“I do.”
“Then you can make your own next time.”
He snorted but devoured the crust-less food and downed the water. Some coloring returned to his face, though his features were still drawn. Rubbing his face again, he looked around.
“So we’re just going to roam the earth in your magic cabin?” she asked, glancing uneasily towards the window. “I, um, would really like to go home.”
“You can’t.”
Skylar stood and crossed her arms, glaring at him.
“Don’t look at me like that,” he said with a faint smile. “You’re the one who broke me out. Don’t think home is the safest bet for you.”
“It’d be fine. They’d just brainwash me again and all would be forgiven.”
“So you believe me now about your people being screwed up.”
“I don’t know what to believe, but I want to find out more,” she said carefully. “I want to know …” if I still have a family out there somewhere.
The idea she might wasn’t something she’d ever considered before. The thought was almost too large for her to digest. In her dreams, she had a mother, one who was afraid enough of something that they began running.
It was hard to consider the dream a memory without dwelling on the great, royal blue dragon she’d also seen in the vision. It wasn’t rational to believe her mother existed but the dragon did not or that her mother had baked her pie but not told her they were protectors of dragons.
“What is it?” Chace was gazing at her.
“Nothing.” Too aware of the two feet of space that separated them on the bed where they’d made love, she stood and walked away, sinking into a chair in the living area. Her injection point still hurt, and she rested a hand on it. The skin felt hot.
“Are you hurt?” he asked. “I didn’t think to ask if I scratched you or anything when flying.”
“No, you’re uh … gentle, aside from the whole kidnapping thing.”
He smiled, the sparkle returning to his gaze while the warmth of life returned to his features.
“The shrink injected me with something. Ever have a shot that feels like it’s just burning a hole in your arm?” She peered at it, perplexed.
“What did they inject you with?” The wariness in his voice made her sit up straighter.
“Something to make me sleep.”
“So they could’ve injected like a tracking device or something in you?”
“Maybe.” She sighed. “I swear if you bite off my arm …”
“What in the name of everything holy will it take for you to understand that I’ve never hurt a fly in my life?” he growled.
She ignored him. She didn’t want to believe that about him. Or that she’d been brainwashed and had a family out there somewhere. Or that everything she’d ever known was just wrong.
“Let me see.” He knelt beside her chair, bringing his warmth and scent into her personal space again. Without asking, he took her arm.
Skylar found herself caught up in admiring the hue of his eyes and the long, feathery eyelashes lining them. His skin was the perfect shade of gold, like a ripe peach, while his bare upper body reminded her that in either form, he could’ve done a ton of damage to her, if he wasn’t the pacifist he claimed to be.
He rested his warm hand over the spot, and she hissed in pain. His gaze flickered up to hers.
“I think this needs to come out,” he said.
“What needs to come out?” she asked.
“What my magic is telling me is that whatever they put into your system, you somehow stopped it. Trapped it right there.” He withdrew his hand.
She stared at the spot on her arm. The way he explained it made sense. The ball that formed as soon as the needle went into her and had halted the spread of the solution’s fire.
Is this why I still remember the dreams, when the shrink said I wouldn’t after the session? Her body was protecting her. Or was it his magic?
She met Chace’s gaze. Confusion and desire raced through her. Whatever was going on, it all started around the time she met him.
“My guess is that they tried to brainwash you again.” He rose and crossed to he kitchenette, pulling free a sharp knife from the block on the counter. He returned to his spot at her side.
“Whoa. What are you doing?” she asked, pulling away when he reached for her arm once more.
“Whatever it is, it needs to come out.”
“Let’s not cut open Skylar today.”
“Skylar, it could make you sick,” he returned. “Like it’ll fester.”
“Why do you care?’ she asked, baffled.
He lowered his hand and gazed at her, appearing as surprised as she felt.
“I’m not a monster,” he said at last. “No matter what they tell you at your reprogramming center.”
The mocking tone made her flush.
“Where, by the way, they kill shifters instead of reintegrating them into society.” He snatched her wrist and gripped it tightly.
“I still can’t believe that,” she said, tugging unsuccessfully at her arm.
“What do you think he was doing to me? That shit was killing me, Skylar.”
I know. Even if she hadn’t been able to pronounce let alone identify what drug they were injecting into him, she’d felt how wrong it was. Admitting it, though, was a step towards acknowledging that her entire world was a lie. I’m not ready for that.
“This might hurt,” he warned her. The dragon shifter was moody again. He flipped her arm to expose the spot where the shrink had injected her.
She squeezed her eyes closed and held her breath, waiting for the pain. It was sharp and hot. He pierced the skin deep enough to reach the bubble beneath.
Gasping, she ventured a look then stared openly.
A grimace was on Chace’s face. He leaned away from the black goo oozing from her arm and dripping onto the floor.
“What the fuck is this?” he demanded.
“I don’t know.” Seeing it made her want to ask him to cut out any part of her body that touched it.
Chace released her wrist and dabbed a finger into the liquid draining from her arm. He studied it.
“Oh dear god!” she exclaimed.
The black goo shifted and moved around his finger of its own recognizance, as if it was alive.
“Get it out!” She shook her arm to hurry the flow of the contaminant.
“Easy,” he said calmly, resting a hand on her forearm. “Now we know how they’ve been doing it. It’s magic of some sort.”
“Out, out, out!” she chanted, pushing at the wound. “This is disgusting!”
“It’s okay.” His gaze was warm, the entertained smile on his face gentle. “We’re taking care of it.” He dropped the knife on the coffee table then reached forward, swiping away a tear she didn’t feel from her cheek.
Embarrassed, Skylar wiped her face on her shoulder. The black stuff only supported a reality that was becoming harder to dismiss. Her breathing was harsh, her heart pounding hard. It wasn’t just the goo upsetting her but the idea that she no longer knew what parts of her life were real and what parts were the creation of an organization she thought had raised her since the death of her mother.
“It just hurts,” she mumbled, feeling like an idiot for crying.
“I’ll let it pass this time. But for the record, I know when someone is bullshitting me.”
She snorted but didn’t look at him, not wanting to be drawn into his intensity and warmth. It was easier to keep her emotions balanced when he wasn’t touching her.
“I’ll get this cleaned up.” He rose and moved away again. Smoked honey wafted towards her with each of his movements, and she sucked in a deep breath, tasting and smelling him.
She shuddered, a shiver working its way through her, before her gaze settled on the black stuff again. Any pleasure she took out of being near Chace died when she saw what was on her arm.
I have to warn Mason. Her only real friend the past few years, he was going through what she had. He’d understand.
Chace handed her a paper towel. She squeezed goo out of her arm. Blood trickled out and she stopped then held the towel in place until it stopped bleeding. Quickly, she tied her hair up in a loose bun on top of her head so as not to get blood or magic goo in it then leaned over to help him clean up.
“It’s running away,” she said, horrified.
“Trying to.” Chace was quickly mopping up the goo then tossing soaked towels into a trash bag. “Put a bandage on. Make sure none of this junk gets back inside you.”
Ugh. She stood and went to the first aid kit on the table. Blood formed a stark red trail against her pale skin, and she caught a drop before it had a chance to reach the floor. She wrapped her arm quickly. Caught up in her task, she didn’t hear him approach.
“What is that?” he asked, a hushed note in his voice.
“What is what?” she asked, turning to face him.
“Your tat.”
She glared at him. “Like you don’t know.”
“I wouldn’t ask if I did.” He took her arm and turned her once more, tracing the tattoo on the back of her neck lightly enough to make her shiver.
“You marked me after we slept together. I assumed so you can keep tabs on me,” she grumbled.
“I didn’t do this,” he replied. “I’d remember giving someone a tattoo.”
“Seriously?” She pulled away. “It’s a magic tattoo, Chace, like the one on your chest.”
“So you’re a dragon?” he asked.
Skylar spun, sensing he was messing with her. Her retort died on her lips at the sight of his genuine confusion.
“Sometimes I feel like we’re talking two different languages,” she said. “This … thing appeared on my neck where you bit me the night we …” she cleared her voice.
Interest flared to life in his gaze.
“Anyway, two weeks later, I’ve got a magic tattoo.”
“I’ve never heard of this,” he said. “Maybe we should cut that out, too.”
“What? No.” She took a step back when he raised the knife. “Whatever was in my arm was just plain evil. This isn’t.” She touched the tattoo, not at all certain what it meant, but sure it wasn’t bad.
“So how did the mark of a shifter dragon get on your neck?” he asked, irritated.
“You put it there.”
“I know you believe that to be true, but you also thought you were slaying monsters that eat people,” he pointed out. “Any intention of finishing what you started earlier?” He took her hand and placed it on his crotch, where she was able to feel how hard he was.
Skylar looked away, feeling claustrophobic with him there and trapped by her attraction to him and the strange emotions. He was everything she didn’t need right now, all wrapped into one delicious, sexy package that was beyond a doubt too real for her to pretend she was a normal slayer doing her job.
She pulled her hand away from his body with effort.
“Can you go fly around or something for a while?” she muttered. “I have a headache.”
“Whatever.”
The moody dragon shifter snatched up the trash bag filled with magic goo and stormed out.
Skylar breathed a sigh of relief, uncertain why her insides were churning like they did when she suspended in his talons again, convinced she was about to fall to her death.
“Calm down, Sky,” she murmured. “We’re slowly getting the answers.” Too slowly.
It struck her then that the only time her past was remotely clear was in her dreams, when her mother spoke to her. She hadn’t learned anything else about herself outside of them.
Too wired to sleep, she searched through the kitchen cabinets for any booze or sleeping aids.
“Hey, uh, cabin. You got any sleeping pills? Downers? Drugs?” she asked.
Something rattled behind her, and she whirled in time to see an orange prescription pill bottle fall off the nightstand beside the bed.
“Thanks, I think.” Crossing to it, she picked it up curiously. “So dragon-boy has sleep problems, too. Interesting. Take one at bedtime, two if needed. Do not exceed two in twenty-four hours. These things look awfully small to work well.”
Skeptically, she poured herself a glass of water and then dumped four of the tiny pills into her hand. Tossing them into her mouth, she downed the glass of water and went to the bed.
Tell me everything I need to know about me, she commanded her mind.
As soon as she settled on the bed, sleep swept over her.