Kiss of a Dragon (Fallen Immortals 1) - Paranormal Fairytale Romance (17 page)

Leonidas stood in pajama pants, bare-chested with bare feet and tousled hair that looked like he’d just gotten out of bed. His brilliant blue eyes glittered with a metallic shine, and a smile slowly crept on his face.

“Arabella,” he said, and it was like he was tasting her name. Or, more likely,
her.
Which gave her a shiver she tried to cover up.

“I hope I didn’t interrupt—” But she stopped when a drop-dead gorgeous girl appeared behind Leonidas, peeking and biting her lip. Her long, black hair was likewise mussed, and it was obvious that Arabella
had
interrupted something. “Oh. I’ll, um… I’ll come back later.” She was already backing away from the door.

Leonidas scowled, then glanced back and tilted his head.

The girl slipped out of sight.

He whipped his attention back to her. “If you leave,” he said, a faux look of distress on his face, “my brother will have my hide for a lampshade.” He stepped back and swept his hand toward the interior. “Please come in.”

Arabella hesitated, but the girl had vanished completely, probably hiding out in Leonidas’s bedroom. Arabella had already interrupted them—she would just make this quick and then get out fast. She shuffled inside, heat crawling across her cheeks as Leonidas ran his gaze over her, checking her out. The short entryway opened into an expansive great room, not unlike the two-story affair in Lucian’s lair, only this one was even warmer in color, with rich bronze trim and copper vases interspersed with white furniture and thick white carpet. It was spotless and neat.

Arabella saw the back of the girl disappear into a room down the hall to the side. The door closed. She stopped and turned to face Leonidas, who was following her with curious eyes.

“What can I help you with?” he asked. The front door slid silently closed behind him.

She folded her arms tight over her chest, wishing she had just left. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to keep you from your… human.” Lucian had told her that some dragons “kept” humans, and now that Arabella had experienced dragon libido for herself, she understood why Leonidas’s “kept woman” wore a smile on her face. She was far from a prisoner. Some people would consider this a kind of heaven.

It just wasn’t for her.

Leonidas lifted one eyebrow and stood face to face with her. “My bedmate probably needs a rest, anyway.”

Arabella felt the heat flood her cheeks. She dropped her gaze to his bare feet, then darted it away to the furnishings of his house.
God,
she was a grown adult. She really should be able to look a man in the face while he talked about sex. She forced herself to meet his gaze.

A small smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

“Look.” Arabella unlocked her arms and lightly tapped her fist against her open palm. It helped a little. “I’m sure having a kept human works for most dragons. And I’m sure she’s enjoying it. It’s just not for me.”

Leonidas frowned a little but mostly seemed entranced by her words. He flicked a look at the closed door, then back to her. “I see.”

The heat was back in her face. Had she just insulted him? “Lucian just said that…” She gestured helplessly at the door. She was only digging herself in deeper.
“Whatever.
It doesn’t matter. I shouldn’t presume. Is she your mate?”

A breathtaking grin broke out over his face. “No.” He seemed to be holding back a laugh. “But then I’m not exactly looking for one, either.”

“Oh.” She grimaced. “So, that’s not something all dragons want?” Didn’t Lucian say it was? Now she couldn’t remember through the haze of all the sex.

“Oh, they do. Most of them, anyway. The ones with any sense.” His eyes narrowed, studying her. “Lucian is definitely in need of one.”

“In
need
of?” She returned his frown. “You mean because he’ll die soon if he doesn’t find a mate.” He
definitely
said that—that his days were numbered unless he found a mate and spawned a dragonling.

Leonidas tilted his head. She guessed that was agreement.

But something didn’t add up. “You’re triplets, right? I mean, if Lucian’s biological clock is running out, doesn’t that mean yours is, too?” She flicked a look to the bedroom, but the door remained closed. These dragons may be five hundred years old, but they had the stamina of a twenty-year-old mixed with the skills of a
very
experienced man. She could see them living that for all it was worth, right up until the end. Whatever
the end
was for a dragon who lived for hundreds of years but still looked hotter than sin.

“It’s different for Lucian.” Leonidas’s face was pinched, examining her. “He’s the crown prince.”

“So he has to carry on the line?” she guessed. It made sense, but that seemed kind of less important than, you know,
not dying.
Plus, didn’t they have contingencies for this sort of thing? She wasn’t an expert on human royal houses, much less dragon ones, but it seemed a little fraught with problems to rely on one guy to provide the sole heirs to the dynasty. Especially when there were two other brothers.

“So to speak.” Leonidas pulled in a breath, and his face opened. Less suspicious, or maybe just relaxing. “Lucian needs a mate to fulfill his duties, and for our own particular reasons, neither Leksander nor I will be taking mates. But I doubt you’re here to find out why I’m bedding my females instead of mating with them.”

She flushed again. The way they put things sometimes made her shiver—direct and yet phrased in a way that made her wish to be in Lucian’s bed again, having him lavish her with that sexy language as well as earth-shaking orgasms.

“I’m here because I think I might be falling in love with your brother.” She pursed her lips after saying it, watching Leonidas’s face open even further in surprise.

Then his surprise collapsed into a pinched look. “But you’re unsure.”

Arabella lifted her hands. “I’ve only known him for a few days!”

“That’s something easily fixed.” He was examining her again with that calculated look.

“And I don’t know anything about being the mate of a dragon.” For some reason, her complaints were sounding less reasonable when she said them aloud. But it was
true
—what did she know about these strange, sexy men-beasts?

He gave her a small smile. “And I’m not the one to tell you. These are things you should be discussing with Lucian, not me.”

Arabella flushed again. He was right. If there were to be anything between her and Lucian, she would have to trust him to give her straight answers to her questions. And just spend time with the man. Get to know him. None of that was accomplished by sneaking off to talk to his brother. What did she expect? That Leonidas would spill Lucian’s secrets for her?

She pulled in a breath. “You’re right.”

He smiled wide again, then gestured to the front door. “When he returns from Seattle, I’m sure he’ll answer any questions you have.”

She frowned at the way he was hustling her out, but she
had
interrupted what was likely some very hot sex. He probably wanted to get back to it. “Well, thanks for listening, anyway.” She hurried toward the door.

He activated it by waving a hand. She had to open the doors manually, but Leonidas and Lucian seemed to have some magic they used instead. Even that small thing nagged at her—there was so much she didn’t know.

Leonidas leaned on the edge of the doorway as she stepped outside and turned back to say goodbye. The humor was back in his face. “Stop by anytime, Arabella. And if things don’t work out with you and Lucian, you know where to find me.” He gave her a crooked grin before sliding the door shut in her face.

What the fuck?
Did Leonidas just offer to have sex with her? After she told him she might love Lucian? Her mouth hung open as she stood in front of the door, gaping at it with disbelief. But heat was rushing to her face again, so she forced herself to turn and march away.

What was she thinking?
These men were hundreds of years old, they had amazing magical powers, and they were dragon royalty on top of everything. What made her think she could understand anything about them after having spent a few days and one twenty-four-hour sex marathon with Lucian? And yet… she couldn’t help feeling
something
for the sexy man who was also a golden dragon. Something more than just lust, although there was plenty of that.

He had saved her from a demon in an alley. Then he’d slowly gone about winning her over—first, offering to help with her practice; then working together on this faux search for a mate; and finally, through the hot healing power of his bed.

It was always you, Arabella. Always you.

He’d whispered the words, but they’d resonated straight through to her soul.

Lucian was at the end of his life, he needed a mate, and he wanted
her.
Even if she didn’t love him, it was something to consider. But he’d made it clear he was serious about finding a woman who could love a man like him.
True Love,
he’d called it. This sealing thing for making the dragonling would only work if she really, actually,
truly
loved him.

But you’re unsure.
Those were Leonidas’s words, and they brought her march down the hallway to a standstill.
That
was why his brother had seemed so cool, examining her, saying nothing, revealing nothing—he was just looking out for his brother, making sure she was the kind of mate who could actually love him. Because that mattered. A lot.

But how could even
she
be sure of such a thing? How could anyone
really
know if their love was “true”? She’d certainly thought she was in love before—and all it had gotten her was nearly choked to death.

Something buzzed in her pocket, making her jump. It was just the phone Lucian had given her. She fished it out.

Back early. Meet me on top of the keep. Want to show you something.

And like
that,
her traitorous heart was skipping beats. She had no idea what Lucian wanted to show her, but it didn’t matter. She just wanted to
be
with him again. Flying around the keep, in bed, or maybe just talking for a while. And they had a
lot
of talking to do.

She trotted down the hall, following her GPS tracker on her phone back to Lucian’s lair. She’d left it unlocked, so she just tapped the wall panel to get in, hurried through the great room and up the stairs. It wasn’t until she was passing Lucian’s bedroom that it occurred to her she might stop to brush her hair or something. But the wind outside would just blow it around anyway. She tucked the phone in her pocket and climbed the spiral stairwell to the roof.

The sun was glorious outside, slowly setting toward Seattle in the West and turning the clouds to fire. She wrapped her arms around her, a slight chill rising in the cooling breeze. She scanned the air for Lucian’s dragon form winging its way back to her.

It took a moment, but then she saw it—just a shadowy form in the distance, but he was rocketing across the sky. She raised her arms to wave so he would see her. He was still far away, but with those super dragon senses, he
had
to be able to see her, if she could see him. Sure enough, he banked toward her and quickly grew closer, only…

Arabella squinted against the setting sun. His shadowy dragon form wasn’t just shaded by the sun…
it was black.

Black as midnight and tar and all the dark things.

Lucian’s dragon was warm golden silk-over-steel, and this thing—this black thing coming for her—had no hint of gold across the full sweep of its dark wings.

Her heart lurched—once, twice—
then she ran.

Breath seized in her throat as she scrambled for the door to the keep, but the black dragon was coming in like a missile. She heard his scream, and she looked back just as horrific, razor-sharp talons reached for her. She leaped for the door—

—and never landed.

She was yanked up, violently, pain slicing across her body with knives of steel clamping down on her and whisking her up, up, up…

Her heart seized as the keep dropped away below her.

She was caught.

“Who’s your sire?”
Lucian demanded.

“You’re fucking crazy!” the demon replied. Or rather, his human half did, with wide eyes and apparent confusion as to why Lucian had him pinned to a brick wall in a dank Seattle alley. His demon half was busy clawing at Lucian’s hand, fighting a hopeless battle against the fae runes that had gathered at his hand and held the man’s chest with an iron-press. There was no hope of escape.

“You can lie to me,
invidias daemonus,
but it will only prolong the agony of your death.” Unfortunately, Lucian couldn’t actually kill the demon, not until he had traced it back to its maker, but the man—and the demon—didn’t need to know that.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about!” The man’s voice had hiked up to hysteria. Which was troubling—because he was clearly demon, but it was possible the human side of him had no knowledge of it.

Then again, he’d clearly understood what he was doing when he broke into a woman’s apartment to steal her laptop. Lucian had caught a whiff of him as he made his exit out the back of the building. The stolen computer lay discarded on the ground, probably damaged when Lucian descended on the man in dragon form and nearly made him piss his pants.