Hidden Dragons 2: Dragon Mates (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 7

  She hoped they didn’t have too far to go because she wasn’t sure she’d be able to stay awake. Although it probably didn’t matter but she wanted to at least appear alert when she got to their home. She was nervous about meeting their dragon friends and the elder. Sir Lancelot De Lac, one of the Knights of the Round Table and reportedly Lady Guinevere’s adulterous lover. Niki had a feeling the latter was total bullshit and rumors which had never been purported to be true.

  Maybe she would gather her courage and ask him straight out, but not before she got to know him and all the others. She didn’t want to piss off a man who could cut her head off with one swipe of his sword or claw.

  That was her last thought as she lost the battle with sleep.

  * * * *

  Randy knew the instant Niki fell asleep. Her whole body relaxed and she rubbed her cheek against his paw. He’d never thought he would feel such a soft, light touch but he was so in tune with her, he felt every movement she made. When his dragon had first picked her up he was worried she was going to have a panic attack and fight to get away from him but Russ had managed to calm her, thank goodness. And when he’d been at an altitude not too high, nor too low, he’d made a gap between his large toes so she could peek out. He’d heard the awed catch of her breath and the fast beat of her heart and as he slowly flew toward the lair and the heat from his body surrounded hers, her breathing deepened and the beat of her heart slowed.

  Elation filled him at how much she trusted him and although he knew she was attracted to him and his pod brothers—he could smell her desire—he wasn’t sure if she would accede to being their mate. However, now that she was coming to stay with them he was going to do everything he could to woo her. She portrayed herself as tough and feisty but he’d also seen a vulnerability beneath the surface of that façade she tried to hide.

  Randy had a feeling that if they could win her over she would be loyal and her love would hold strong and true. She was full of passion and love and he wanted those emotions pointed in their direction. If they could get her to love them he had a feeling she would be their staunchest supporter for life. Since they lived for thousands of years he was hoping to have her by their sides. First he and his pod brothers needed to get her settled in. He wanted her to be comfortable in their lair so she could be herself.

  “How’s our girl doing?” Russ asked as he came up beside him.

  “She fell asleep.”

  “That’s not a real surprise. She was up at four this morning.”

  “Did she have a dream?” Rex asked as he came up on his left.

  “I don’t know,” Russ answered.

  “If she did it wasn’t one we shared.”

  “Yeah.” Rex sighed.

  “Did you two make sure our apartment was clean?” Russ asked.

  “We did.” Randy flapped his great wings harder and sighed when the landing ledge to the back entrance came into view. “We weren’t sure she’d come home with us, but we didn’t want her walking into an untidy house.”

  “It’s not a house,” Rex teased.

  “I know that. Why do you have to be such an ass?” Randy asked, joshing back.

  “What’s wrong with my ass?” Rex asked.

  “Shit. Don’t ask me that. I don’t go around staring at your backside.”

  “Niki does.” Russ chuckled.

  “Yeah, she looks at all of our asses when she thinks we’re not looking.” Rex smiled.

  “Let’s hope she wants to see a hell of a lot more.” Randy slowed his speed and then landed on the ledge. When he had three feet on the ground he opened the paw holding Niki and couldn’t help but stare at her beautiful, innocent face. She was so fucking attractive he could stare at her for hours on end and never get tired of looking at her. The only thing better than looking was touching but he wasn’t sure she was ready for that yet. None of them had even kissed her except for in their dreams.

  He had a feeling tonight would be the night for a lot of firsts and he was looking forward to each and every one of them.

  Randy shifted his hold on her, pushed his dragon back, and brought forth the man. She sighed in her sleep and snuggled into his chest.

  “She is a stunning woman,” Rex said when he stopped beside him.

  “Absolutely magnificent,” Russ agreed.

  “You know, she reminds me of an actor,” Rex murmured as he brushed a strand of hair back from her forehead.

  “She reminds me of someone, too, but I can’t remember who.” Randy started walking toward the steel door.

  “Natalie Portman,” Rex and Russ said at the same time.

  He halted in his tracks and looked down at Niki again. “Well I’ll be damned. She is almost the spitting image of the Hollywood actress.”

  “She doesn’t have the freckle on her cheek, though,” Rex said.

  “I think she’s better looking than the actress.” Russ moved to the door and pressed the code on the keypad. “She’s petite and toned, but has a little more meat on her bones.”

  “Yeah. Niki’s got more up top.” Randy smiled and stepped into the hallway.

  “I think she needs to eat more.” Rex sniffed the air. “God, I love lasagna.”

  “Me, too.” Russ slapped Rex on the shoulder, skirted around Randy, and hurried toward the door to their apartment. Just as the door closed behind his friends, Niki stirred and her eyes fluttered open. The dreamy, sultry smile she gave him shot straight to his heart and cock.

  “Hi.”

  “Hi yourself, baby.” Randy walked over to the large sofa and sat down with her in his lap. She sighed and rested her cheek against his chest, inhaling deeply through her nose.

  “You smell nice. What are you wearing?”

  “Nothing. Our dragons can’t stand the smell of colognes.”

  “So it’s all you?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Yum.”

  Randy and his dragon growled simultaneously and then he was lowering his head toward hers. The first brush of his lips on hers, and he was drowning.

  Chapter Eight

  Hunger slammed into Niki and bubbled through her blood the moment Randy’s lips touched hers. Having his mouth on hers in reality was way better than dreaming. He made a growling sound deep in his chest and then his tongue swiped over her lips, asking for entrance and there was no way she could deny him. She didn’t want to. She needed his mouth on hers more than anything else right at that moment.

  She opened to him with a sigh and without hesitation and moaned as his tongue glided in past her teeth and along hers. God he tasted so good. Like sunshine and desire, sex and man, but way more than any normal man. She’d been kissed a few times but to her right now, those kisses had been nothing.

  Lust and fire raced through her veins but having Randy’s mouth on hers wasn’t enough. She wanted more. So much more. Without even thinking about what she was doing her hands reached up and threaded in his hair. The strands were soft and silky sliding along her flesh and she grabbed at them pulling his mouth tighter against hers.

  His tongue swirled around in her mouth, taking and tasting, and she answered him right back. The hands cupping her cheeks moved away and if she could have she would have cried out in protestation, but that would mean she would have to remove her mouth from his and that she couldn’t do.

  A whimper escaped her mouth when his hands landed on her ribs and caressed up and down her sides. She arched her chest, seeking relief to her aching needy breasts, and mewled when one of his hands cupped and then kneaded her through her clothes. Lights sparked behind her eyelids and just as she pressed her breasts further into his touch, he stilled. She groaned with disappointment and frustration when he lifted his lips from her mouth and his hand from her breast. She stared at him through a lustful haze and when she heard a knock on the door she scrambled away from him and adjusted her shirt. Niki tried to slow her panting breaths and racing heart as she turned to look at the door.

  Her eyes connected with Rex’s famished g
aze before she quickly looked away. She ached from head to toe with lust for the three dragon shifters but it wasn’t only the physical that drew her to them. There was a connection she felt with them all and even though she couldn’t explain it, other than her supposedly being their mate, her feelings were too strong to ignore.

  Russ opened the door and her mouth gaped open when she saw Belinda Starling standing in the hallway. Looking beautiful and healthy, her green eyes seemed to sparkle as she smiled up at Russ. Jealousy hit her gut but she pushed it away when she couldn’t see anything sexual in the woman’s eyes. She hadn’t really believed that Belinda was still alive and even though she didn’t think the woman had anything to do with Wally’s disappearance, she knew without a doubt that Randy, Russ, and Rex would never harm a woman.

  “Lance sent me to tell you that dinner is ready.” Belinda stepped into the entrance and smiled at Niki. “Hi, I’m Belinda but please call me Bid.”

  Niki rose to her feet, walked toward the other woman, and clasped her outstretched hand. “Hi, Bid, I’m Niki.”

  Belinda released her hand after shaking it and then tilted her head to the side. “Pleased to meet you, Niki. I know you, don’t I?”

  “Not personally but we’ve seen each other around. I’m actually a Rock Springs Deputy.”

  “I knew I’d seen you before.”

  “I’ve been looking for you and Mayor Wallace Core. You were both reported as missing persons.”

  Belinda face colored with a pink tinge. “Sorry, but I promise I’m fine. We can talk over dinner. I’m sure you have a lot of questions.”

  “Oh, you have no idea,” Niki said facetiously.

  “I’ll bet I do.” Bid tucked her arm around Niki’s and tugged her out of the apartment. She didn’t need to look over her shoulder to know that all three of the men were following, but when she felt tingles on her ass where their gazes stopped, she couldn’t stop herself from peeking.

  All three of them had their eyes glued to her butt and when they lifted their gazes to meet hers, gave her wicked grins that set her synapses firing again.

  How in hell am I supposed to get through dinner without jumping their bones while they keep looking at me like that?

  If Bid hadn’t had her arm around hers, Niki would have stopped in the entrance to the kitchen with awe. The gourmet kitchen was huge and so was the man cutting up a massive tray of lasagna. When she saw two more trays of pasta the same size, her gaze slid over toward the dining area. The combined dining and kitchen area was nearly as big as her house and the dining table looked large enough to seat at least forty people, but there were only enough chairs around the piece to seat the men already sitting as well as her, Bid, her guys, and the one at the counter.

  “Niki, I won’t introduce you to everyone ’cos I know you won’t remember all the names, but guys this is Niki.” Bid tugged her over to the table and she flopped into an empty seat before her legs gave out. All the men were huge and handsome. And did she mention huge?

  Randy and Russ sat on either side of her while Rex sat across from her next to Bid, but as soon as the other woman’s ass hit the seat, she jumped up again. The big intimidating man next to Belinda grabbed her hand and tugged her down again. “Sit, sweetheart. I’ll help Lance bring the food over. It’s too hot and heavy for you.”

  The man who spoke and the other guy on Bid’s other side hurried over to the kitchen so fast they were a blur. She blinked with astonished awe and she wiggled nervously in her seat. Niki had never been so apprehensive in her life. She was surrounded by dragon shifters and knew if they wanted to they could snap her neck with the flick of their wrists.

  “Don’t be scared, baby,” Randy said in a deep but gentle voice and then wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

  She frowned and wondered how he knew what she was feeling. Usually she was pretty good at keeping her face stoic so her emotions didn’t show.

  “How did you…”

  “We don’t have to be mated to you to feel some of your emotions.”

  “So you’re empaths?”

  “Yes.”

  Shit! Did that mean they knew when she was turned on? She shifted in her seat again, but this time with embarrassment.

  “Bid told us you’ve been looking for her? I’m Edrick but you can call me Ed.”

  Niki nodded. “She’s been missing from Rock Springs for three months and someone filed a missing person’s report. We’ve been looking for Mayor Core, too.”

  “You’re law enforcement? I’m Eli.”

  “Deputy.”

  “Ah.” The cook sat down at the far end of the table and smiled at her. “So have Randy, Russ, and Rex explained anything yet? Sorry, I’m Lance.”

  Niki had just taken a sip of water and choked when he told her who he was. She coughed and sputtered as she tried to clear her windpipe and wiped the tears from her face when she could breathe again. “Yes.” She studied Lance’s handsome face and immediately wanted to ask him if he’d been Guinevere’s lover, but bit her tongue instead.

  “So you know we’re dragon shifters?” Lance asked.

  She nodded.

  “What else do you know?” Lance served a piece of lasagna onto his place before lifting the hot dish without a pot holder and passing it over to the man on his right.

  “I saw the fight between the dragons, Merlin, Rose, and the hunters,” she said in a whisper.

  All noise and chatter stopped and when she peeked from under her lowered lashes it was to see every eye in the room on her. She glanced at Randy to see his mouth opening and closing as if he wanted to say something but not sure what.

  Ed was the first to break the silence. “How the hell did you see that?” His voice was hard and his eyes were ice-cold. She looked at the piece of lasagna on her plate but didn’t really see it. She shivered with fear and drew in a deep breath.

  When she realized what she was doing and how she was feeling she began to get pissed. With each breath she inhaled and exhaled her anger rose, as did the heat in her cheeks. She lifted her head and pinned Ed with a scowl.

  “Don’t you fucking look or talk to me like that.” She pushed to her feet and pointed her finger at him. Russ tried to grab her finger but she moved it aside and poked him hard in the arm to let him know she wasn’t happy with him, Rex, or Randy. She was supposed to be their mate and none of them had jumped in to defend her and that just made her all the madder.

  “Don’t touch me,” she snarled and then pointed at Ed again. “I didn’t ask for any of this. I was minding my own business getting on with my life when these three idiots invaded my dreams. If you want to yell at someone about what I’ve seen then you better go kill yourself and talk to Lady Guinevere.”

  By the end of her rant she was panting and so angry tears burned the back of her eyes. She decided she was done. She didn’t need to take anyone’s shit and wasn’t about to stay where she wasn’t wanted. Niki spun on her heels, shoved the chair aside with her foot, and hurried from the room. There were five hallways leading off in every direction and she didn’t know where they led but she didn’t care. All she cared about was getting out of here and fast.

  She chose one long dimly lit hall and jogged down toward the other end. Before she reached the last door she stopped and looked back over her shoulder to see if anyone was following her and sighed in relief when she didn’t see anyone. She turned back, walked to the door, and turned the handle. The door opened without any resistance and she stepped into another apartment. She knew it wasn’t Randy’s, Rex’s, or Russ’s because they’d had a dark blue leather sofa in the living room and this one was a dark cherry-brown color.

  The tears which had been building welled and spilled down her cheeks. She wiped the moisture away angrily and threw herself down onto the sofa. She was angry at all of them but she was angrier with herself. Niki had never let her emotions rule her before. It wasn’t that she’d never been afraid because she had, quite a few times, but she’d never let it show. Toda
y she had. However the catalyst had been the piercing pain in her chest when the men supposed to want her hadn’t done anything to defend her. In fact they’d looked just as angry as Ed and the others had, and they'd been looking at her.

  She wished she knew the way out because she wouldn’t be sitting here having her own pity party, but the huge lump in her chest wouldn’t be ignored. She curled up into a ball on the end of the huge sofa and let the tears come. When she was finished with her bawling, she was going to leave and never look back.

  * * * *

  “What the fuck is wrong with you?” Bid shoved to her feet and slapped Ed on the shoulder.

  Rex held his breath, waiting to see how Ed would react.

  “What…I didn’t…”

  “You are such an ass. I’m glad Niki stood up to you because if she hadn’t, I would have.” She turned and glared at Randy, Russ, and him. “And you three should be shot.”

  “What?” Rex frowned and put his hands up palms out in an “I surrender gesture.”

  “Why didn’t you step in?” she asked angrily.

  “Uh…” Randy stuttered.

  “Um…” Russ averted his gaze.

  “We aren’t supposed to go against our leader,” Rex said, hoping his response was enough to placate the woman.

  “Never stopped you before,” Ed muttered only to look down sheepishly when Bid scowled at him.

  Russ rubbed his chest and frowned at the pain and emotion boiling inside of him. His dragon chuffed and turned his back. That had never happened in his three hundred years of life and as he tried to figure out why he was hurting he pushed to his feet. He had an overwhelming urge to see his mate.

  “Don’t you move!” Belinda’s finger pointed right at him. “How could you hurt her like that? If these three boneheads ever treated me the way you all just did Niki, I would be out of here so fast I’d make your head spin.”

  “Bid, calm down, honey,” Ed said and reached for her. She sidestepped out of his reach.