Chapter Six

Jericho stormed downstairs, thankful the others weren’t around. Likely Enoch and Khalil had gone for groceries while Sadiq was securing the perimeter. Karina’s bag was sitting at the bottom of the stairs.

Instead of grabbing it and taking it straight up, he lowered himself onto one of the steps and rubbed his hands over his face. “What the hell am I doing?” he muttered. He’d not only told her his original plan but compounded the mistake by kissing her.

Only it didn’t feel like a mistake. It was the most natural thing he’d ever done.

He’d scared her. And he was sorry for that. More than he could ever say. His attraction to her confused him, causing him to lash out.

Control was something he highly valued, and he hadn’t had it since he’d laid eyes on Karina. When the water started running upstairs, he groaned and raised his head to stare at the ceiling.

She was in the shower. Naked.

His entire body hardened. It was all too easy to imagine what she looked like with water cascading across her high, firm breasts, coasting over her slender torso before spilling down her long, shapely legs. He wanted to lick every single drop from her silky skin. His breathing increased and every muscle in his body clenched as he stood.

“Fuck me,” he whispered. Bag in hand, he took the stairs three at a time as though pulled by an invisible tether. After dropping the leather satchel on the end of the bed, he went to the bathroom door.

It would be so easy to open it, walk in, and see her in all her glory, maybe even share another kiss or more. He definitely was up for the “or more” part. His cock ached, and his balls were close to exploding.

With his fingers spread over the cheap wooden panel, he inhaled slowly and deeply, trying to calm himself. The flowery scent of soap filled his nostrils. He envied the bar of soap being rubbed over every curve and hollow of her body.

Prickles ran up and down his spine. His dragon was perilously close to the surface, something that never happened without his consent. But the creature wouldn’t be denied.

He wanted to protect Karina and to claim her.

He forced his hand away from the door, turned, and walked away. His chest squeezed, growing tighter with each step he took. There might have been two-ton blocks attached to his feet, it was so hard for him to keep moving.

She needed some space and so did he. Best to give it to them both. He freely admitted that he had no perspective or any objectivity when it came to Karina.

He thought he’d known everything about her because he’d looked at some pictures and read a file Enoch had put together.

He’d known nothing. If he had, he might never have approached her.

Downstairs, the kitchen was dated but everything looked functional. Bypassing it, he went straight out the back door, knowing Sadiq was waiting for him. Of all of them, his friend would be the most skeptical.

Sure enough, Sadiq was standing in the yard staring up at one particular window on the second floor. The fine hairs on the back of Jericho’s neck stood on end.

“Don’t,” he warned.

Sadiq’s black eyes were backlit with red and violet flames. His breathing became heavy and rapid. “I can’t promise anything.”

As a fellow fire drakon, Jericho recognized the signs and knew his friend’s dragon was close to the surface. He had to defuse this volatile situation before they questioned Karina, or Sadiq might actually kill her.

“I need her.” Stripping himself bare wasn’t easy, but they’d been through too much together for him to start lying now. “Even if she is the leader of the Knights, I need her alive.”

The fire of retribution that blazed in Sadiq’s eyes slowly faded, replaced with growing concern. “I don’t trust her.”

“I don’t either.” He pressed his hand to his chest. “But she resides here as if there’s been a void all along, just waiting for her fill it.” Even now he could sense the dragon inside him—watchful and protective—ready to spring into action.

Over the course of his lifetime, he’d slept with many women. That had been about biological function and mutual pleasure. This was different. Not only had there been little pleasure involved, but the entire situation was totally inconvenient.

She was his mate, had been created and born to be his. This situation was new to all of them. Mates were rare, but something all drakons dreamed of finding.

Sadiq’s eyes widened in concern. “That’s fucked up. You just met her.”

“Doesn’t matter.” Time seemed irrelevant when it came to the mating call. Not exactly a good time to learn that fact, but there was no denying the reality.

“What happens when her memories come back? And they will. It’s only a matter of time.”

Sadiq was right. “I don’t know.”

“Shit, man.” His friend walked over and clapped him on the shoulder. “I don’t know whether to offer my congratulations or sympathy. I might not like it, but I’ll do what I can. If she threatens you, all bets are off. I’d rather fight than let the Knights have you.”

Jericho swallowed hard, reached out, and dragged Sadiq into his arms, clapping him on the back. This was the brother of his heart, the man who knew him better than anyone. But Jericho couldn’t bear to tell him that if Karina died, he wouldn’t survive long. He knew it all the way to his soul.

Why had he ever wished for a woman of his own, a true mate? Life had been much simpler without her in it. But oh, there was the potential for so much more.

Too bad fate had chosen for him the one woman he’d hated above all others.

By unspoken agreement, they stepped apart. Both of them were unsettled, their dragons riding perilously close to the surface. It took quite some time to make them calm. Being out in nature with the wind skimming over their skin helped. They always did better outside.

Sadiq eventually circled the area, patrolling the outer perimeter. Jericho stayed close to the house, all the while wondering what Karina was doing. The shower had gone off quite some time ago. He imagined her drying off, rubbing a soft towel over her bare skin. His awareness of her was like a hum in his blood, making his senses sing and his cock throb. He ached to touch her, to claim her.

Had she found the bag he’d left? Changed into clean clothing? She hadn’t left her room. Maybe she was sleeping.

God, he was messed up. This morning he’d wanted her dead. Now he was concerned about her getting enough rest.

At the sound of an approaching vehicle, he headed toward the front of the house. Knowing it would be the others with food, he went to help unload. Sure enough, the back of the SUV was stuffed with shopping bags. Sadiq joined them, and with the four of them pitching in, they got everything in one load.

“Pocket the keys,” he told Enoch. The last thing he needed was for Karina to find them and take off. She might be injured and have amnesia, but he wouldn’t underestimate her. She was still a strong, determined woman.

“Anything on the phone you tapped?” Karina’s bodyguard would be making calls.

Enoch shook his head. “Nothing. It’s likely it was destroyed before I could check.”

Jericho had expected as much. Would have been too easy for Enoch to get a number they could trace. The Knights weren’t stupid or careless. But that wouldn’t stop him and his friends from finding out more.

They had the groceries tucked away and were putting together a quick meal when footsteps sounded on the stairs.

They all stilled and turned toward the doorway. Karina hesitated on the other side, squared her shoulders, and then entered the room. The bandage on her temple was missing, but the injury was no longer bleeding. That was a good sign.

She wore leggings, topped with a soft-looking black sweater. There were canvas shoes on her feet. Her hair hung down around her in a dark curtain. It was probably too painful for her to try to do anything else with it.

She took small, careful steps, as if she was sore and tender. He felt like smacking himself in the head. Of course, she was hurting. The car accident had left her bruised and stiff. Unlike him, she didn’t heal quickly. She would be days, likely weeks getting back to normal.

“Sit.” It came out more of a command than a suggestion. She made her way to the chair at the head of the table. It was interesting that was the seat she automatically went for.

“How do you feel?” he asked once she was settled. The others got busy cooking, not even bothering to try to pretend they weren’t listening to every word.

“A bit better.” She swallowed, her slender throat rippling. “Can I have something to drink?”

He went to the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of water and another individual bottle of orange juice.

She took both, but it was the juice she opened first. At the first taste, she closed her eyes and made a sound of pleasure that had his cock jumping to attention. He didn’t want her to see it, and he sure as hell didn’t want to turn around and let the others have an up-close view of his erection.

They’d never let him hear the end of it.

To solve both problems, he yanked out the closest chair and sat. He was fascinated by her. Here she was alone, with no memory of who she was, surrounded by four men who’d taken her, and she was calmly finishing her drink.

Drakons could move with lightning speed when called for, but patience was also something they possessed. It was a skill that had served Jericho and his friends well, especially in their chosen profession as assassins. It made them the perfect hunters.

But she was testing the limits of his.

She slowly lowered the empty bottle to the table and met his gaze.

…

Karina was desperately trying not to panic, but it wasn’t easy with four big men watching her every move. It had taken every ounce of determination and pride not to run screaming when they’d all looked toward her.

Any smart person would be wary of them. And no matter what her earlier actions might suggest, her intelligence wasn’t in doubt.

She was seeing them as a group for the first time without being totally muddled by her injuries. If she were more of a coward, she’d wish for the worst of the headache back again so she wouldn’t have to face them.

They were tough and big. Mercy, were they big. They were all well over six and a half feet and took up every square inch of the rather large country kitchen.

She studied the others first. Anything to avoid having to face Jericho.

They all watched her with varying degrees of suspicion etched on their faces. The man closest to Jericho had the fiercest scowl.

Seeing the direction of her gaze, Jericho glanced over his shoulder. “That’s Sadiq.”

The scowler—was that even a word?—nodded at her. With his cropped, dark hair and equally dark eyes, he was not a man she wanted to get on the bad side of. Problem was, she was already there, for whatever reason. He looked like, given the chance, he’d rather kill her than sit down to dinner with her.

A cold sweat broke out on her skin, but she managed to nod. Never let them see fear. That tenet seemed ingrained in her very being.

“That’s Enoch.” Jericho continued the introductions. He, too, had black hair, but it was longer than Sadiq’s. His eyes were green, their expression more curious than murderous.

“And that’s Khalil.” Like the rest, he had black hair, but his fell down his back in a tight braid. Like Enoch, his eyes were green. The two looked remarkably like brothers.

All of them were wearing jeans, heavy boots, and T-shirts. Tattoos ranged down their bare arms. Her first assessment of them had been correct. They looked like badass bikers.

But what would a biker gang want with her?

“Who am I?” She turned back to Jericho, addressing her question to him. It was obvious he was the leader of this small group.

“I told you.” He eased back in his chair. “Your name is Karina.” The wood creaked, and she held her breath, wondering if the seat would crack under the sheer weight and size of him, but it held. At least for now.

“And that tells me nothing.”

“What do you remember?” Suspicion dripping from every word, Sadiq moved closer. “Surely there must be something.”

She could hear, almost taste the threat in his words. But she took the time to really think. The more she knew about herself, the better off she’d be.

Pressing her fingertips to the side of her head, she concentrated on trying to recall what had happened. “I remember flying through their air, the sound of metal crunching, and then the silence.” Her stomach lurched, but she kept it in check.

“The memories are spotty,” she went on. “But that’s not what you’re asking, is it?”

“No,” Sadiq answered and took another step closer to Jericho, almost as though he was trying to protect him. From what? Her? She wasn’t exactly a threat to anyone in her current state.

Who is Karina? What did she do? She caught a flash of herself. A memory.

“What? You remembered something?” Jericho leaned forward, resting his thick forearms on the table.

She opened the bottle of water and took a sip, her mouth suddenly dry. “I’m in a conference room of some kind. I’m wearing a suit and heels. I feel like I’m in business. I run a business.” She looked to him for confirmation.

“That makes sense.”

Frustration ate at her. “If you know about me, why won’t you tell me anything?” Her past was there, just waiting for her. All she had to do was pull back the veil hiding it from her sight.

“You probably wouldn’t believe me.”

That stopped her cold. He was right. She most likely wouldn’t trust anything he told her. Shouldn’t. Yet, she didn’t think he’d lie. He’d be more likely to evade any question he didn’t want to answer.

She closed her eyes and tried harder to force the memories to come, wanting desperately to reclaim herself and her past.

But there was a part of her that was afraid. No, not afraid, terrified.

She slowly opened her eyes. “What if I don’t want to remember?”

…

That was the last thing he’d expected her to say. “Why wouldn’t you want to remember?”

“I don’t know.” She pressed one hand against her heart. “But when I think about the past, my chest tightens.” She didn’t say it, but he could see the fear darkening her eyes.

He hated to push her, but this was too important to all of them. Jericho held out his hand and Enoch came forward, passing over his phone.

“I mentioned the injury on the top of your shoulder.”

She carefully reached behind and touched the area. “The bandage is wet,” she told him almost defiantly. “But it stayed on during my shower. You said there was a tattoo.”

He’d have to remember to check it later. The last thing she needed was for it to get infected. He tossed the phone on the table between them. “When Khalil was tending to your wounds on the plane, we found this.” He pointed to the picture showing on the screen. “Enoch is researching the design.”

Her frown deepened as she leaned forward to study the image. He wanted to pull her onto his lap and assure her that everything would be okay, that he’d protect her. Only he couldn’t promise her that.

“It’s difficult to make out because of the jagged edges and stitches, but it looks like a labyrinth. Why does it matter? It’s just a tattoo.” She curled her fingers so tight in her lap they turned white. “It’s the only one,” she added. “I checked after my shower. If it’s significant, I should remember why I had it done, but I don’t.”

“You’re a very important person.” It was time to push a little harder. His dragon wasn’t happy with him and was making his presence known, forcing him to exert a huge amount of energy to keep from shifting in the middle of the kitchen.

Might be what she needs to shock her memories loose.

Karina seemed startled by his change of subject, but then gave a sad little laugh. “I don’t feel important. I feel…” She paused, searching for the right word. “Expendable. I feel expendable.”

Now that didn’t make sense. As leader of the Knights of the Dragon, wouldn’t she be hard to replace? She had to have people who supported her. Though, there were probably just as many who’d love to take her position as the head of the group.

They did love power and money.

He hated that she sounded so lost, so alone. Knowing it was probably a stupid move, he shoved back his chair and went down on one knee beside her, cupping her chin in his hand. “You’ll remember in time,” he assured her.

“Promise?” Her eyes were damp with unshed tears.

“Promise.” If he had to, he’d give her some of his blood to drink. That would heal any brain injury and possibly restore her memories. That would be a last-ditch effort. It would be best for her to discover things on her own. It would also give him more time with her.

She was no longer looking at his face but was staring at the tattoo covering his left arm. It was a birthmark, a sign of who and what he was.

“What are you thinking?”

She laughed and gave her head a small shake. “It’s silly.”

“It could be important,” he pressed her a little harder.

Karina shrugged. “It’s just that for some reason your tattoos reminded me of dragons. Which doesn’t make sense since it’s not a dragon tattoo. Do you have one somewhere else? Maybe I saw it earlier but don’t remember.”

He shook his head. “No, I don’t have a tattoo of a dragon.”

She chewed on her bottom lip. “Oh.”

There was no longer any doubt that her memory was starting to come back. It was only a matter of time until she remembered everything. Jericho stood and strode out the back door and into the yard, leaving her alone with the others. They’d protect her, no matter their suspicions.

He stalked off into the surrounding woods. All the while, his dragon roared and roared, going crazy inside him. He barely made it out of sight when the change came over him. Swearing, he hung on long enough to remove his boots and strip out of his clothes.

The creature inside him, his other half, burst past all constraints, embracing freedom. His body grew in size and shape, limbs reforming. His head became wedge-shaped, the top flat, the jaw elongating to accommodate his huge, razor-sharp teeth. Scales slammed down over his skin, covering him in plate-like armor. Each scale was the same red as his tattoo and outlined in black, the color of his eyes.

Giant wings exploded from his back and when he flapped them, the trees around him shivered. He was over fifteen feet long, not including his long, powerful tail, which doubled his size.

It had only taken a second or two for the entire transformation. In that time, he’d flattened quite a few trees, creating a clearing where there had only been forest before.

He huffed out a breath, careful to contain the fire that wanted to explode. His dragon was in a foul mood. They’d always been in accord with each other. Now they were at odds.

The dragon wanted to claim her immediately. The man knew he had to proceed with caution. She was dangerous to him and his kind, might even cage and chain him if she got her memories back.

That gave his dragon pause.

No drakon wanted to be caged. By their very nature, they craved freedom.

He turned his large head back toward the house. One of the others had opened the kitchen window, knowing he would stay close and be able to hear Karina if she was in trouble.

He didn’t try to shift back, not yet. With all the traveling they’d done lately, his dragon had been contained for too long. That was part of the problem. As a group, they spent a lot of time in the untamed, uninhabited places in the world, which allowed them a great degree of freedom. There were cave systems all over the world, if one knew where to find them, big enough for a dragon to fly.

But right now, there was nowhere else he’d rather be. In spite of the danger stalking them and the odds against them, a part of him was happy he’d found Karina. It gave hope to the others that there was a mate out there just waiting for them if they didn’t give up.

He gave a small huff and lay down, careful not to destroy any more of the wilderness. Surrounded by the early morning sunlight, with the wind whipping around him, he let his dragon be. He’d give him a few minutes of freedom before shifting back and rejoining the others.