The Queen's Dance (Emerging Queens) (15 page)

Part of her wanted to go upstairs to check on him, but he’d be pissed if she did. The bad guys didn’t want him, they wanted her. Once everyone calmed down enough to realize she’d given them the slip, they’d leave him alone. Besides, if those Celtics were on her side, they’d be busy beating information out of the Chinese dragons.

Her computer packed away, Margery left the stall and concentrated so her clothes changed. She even changed her hair and her features to make her look more ordinary. Gotta love dragon magic. Now, if she could only shift and fly the hell out of here. Since that was still out of her reach, she slung a towel around her neck for added cover and walked out of the gym.

As she predicted, the lobby was a zoo. Looking around, though, she didn’t see anyone familiar. So she casually, with her heart thudding in her chest, sauntered to the outside door, hoping no one noticed her.

I’m invisible. I’m invisible.

And with that, it was like she was back in the clouds. Margery’s body blended into the crowd of people and the surroundings as if she weren’t even there.

That’s new.

Her power must be coming back—it was only a matter of time before she could fly. Glee pulsed through her as she walked out the door. The doorman didn’t even notice her to open it for her. In fact, he jumped as soon as she stepped through the doorway. Margery took in a deep breath. It felt good to be out under the sky again.

It was going to be dawn soon, and she was so tired. The crowds in the street were massive as they tried to get into the hotel but were stopped by bouncers who looked like they ate Priuses for breakfast. Since she was going the opposite way, she felt a bit like a salmon swimming upstream until finally she was far enough away from the hotel. She couldn’t see any sign of battle on the rooftop, but the pulse of flashbulbs confirmed she’d made the right decision to stay far away. Margery darted along the avenues to get to the canal.

The temperature had dropped considerably, and she rubbed her shoulders to keep warm. Even though she could be invisible to humans, all it would take was one stud to sniff her out. She picked up her pace, not quite running, but not the careless saunter she was trying for. At least the long walk helped put the circulation back in her legs, and the night air was exhilarating. The wind must be picking up, because the Richelieu River was roiling with whitecaps. You could almost surf on those waves.

“Remy?” she called, feeling silly.

But something in her heart burst with joy. She sensed something. Sensed him. Although she couldn’t see anything, she felt a presence look right at her. Recognize her. The waves grew even more violent. Then, sprouting up from the middle of the canal, was a fifty-foot monster. Its massive head sniffed the air, and then its eyes, the size of tennis balls, pinned her.

Margery froze. She should have run, but she didn’t feel any menace coming from it. “Remy?” she whispered. It was so big. She didn’t remember Remy being so huge and dangerous looking.

If it wasn’t, she was toast. There was no way she could battle a dragon on her own, and she could be kidnapped again. Just as she decided to run for it, the monster swam to the side of the river and then vaulted in the air. It changed into human form before landing lithely in front of her.

“Remy!” She threw herself into his arms. He wasn’t even wet. He had to teach her that trick. Between covering his faces with kisses, she asked, “How did you find me?”

“I was in the area,” he said. “And I heard you call. Where the fuck is Casimiro?”

“We were attacked.” She had to tell him the whole story, because he’d been swimming for the past couple of hours. Then he filled her in on the other pregnant humans.

“We’re going to see one now,” Margery said, pointing to a man approaching them with a fluffy white dog. “He’s going to take us to Rome.”

“Italy?”

Margery paused. “Yeah, why would we fly to Rome, New York?”

“Are you sure?”

Margery shifted from side to side. “No, I just assumed.”

“What else did you assume?”

“I assumed Bella was telling the truth and not lying to me.”

The man and dog got closer. Remy tensed and pointed to the tattoos on the man’s neck. “Order of the Dragon Slayers.”

“What?” Margery screeched.

“Remember, they have a headquarters in Rome, Italy? Is that where you’re taking us?” Remy stepped between the man and her and squared off to fight. It really cheesed her off, because she couldn’t see a damned thing with his back looking so muscular and yummy.

“The Queen of Italy, Mei Hua, would like to extend the invitation her handmaiden Queen Bella offered. The Order of the Dragon Slayers will grant you sanctuary and offer protection during your stay.”

“You want to go?” Remy asked her over his shoulder.

“Yeah,” she said. “We’re going to need all the Queens’ help we can get.”

He sighed. “I was afraid you were going to say that.”

…

The private jet was gorgeous. Margery hung out in the main cabin and let a nicely muscled man serve her freshly squeezed orange juice and crispy blueberry pancakes with real maple syrup while Remy examined every last nook and cranny. She was considering eating his bacon when he came back from his recon and sat down across from her at the table.

“Coffee, sir?”

He nodded, and the man poured from a fresh percolator into his cup. The waiter refilled her tea, adding cream and two sugar cubes. At Remy’s shake of his head, he left his cup black.

“Leave us. We wish privacy until we land,” Remy said. “If we need you, we will call.”

“Very well, sir.” The man bowed and then closed the locking doors behind him.

“Are we all clear?” Margery asked. She hoped the second cup of tea would keep her awake long enough to have a conversation with Remy. “No bad guys on board?”

“There’s a master bedroom suite through those doors and a bathroom with a hot tub.”

“I’m so there,” she said, using her finger to get the last drop of syrup off her plate.

Remy tracked the motion as she put it in her mouth. Pausing, she realized his attention had dropped to her lips. She sucked on her finger, liking how his eyes narrowed. His nostrils flared as if he smelled her arousal. Her nipples tightened in reaction, and it was getting hard to breathe.

“Hi,” she said.

“Hi.”

The engines whirred, breaking them out of their trance.

“You must be tired,” Remy said, getting up and holding out his hand for her.

“Shouldn’t we have our seat belts fastened and the tray tables up?” she asked.

“I won’t let any harm come to you.”

The jet taxied down the runway, and she closed the distance between them. He held her tight as the plane accelerated. His erection rubbed into the soft curves of her belly, and Margery wanted to feel it lower. Standing up on her tiptoes, she clutched his shoulders for support. Leaning in to him, she parted her lips for the kiss she had been waiting all night for. Warmth flooded her when their mouths touched. It felt like coming home.

“Remy,” she sighed as his tongue licked her lip.

“That wasn’t Vermont maple syrup.”

Her giggle was lost in his bear hug, and her feet left the ground.

The wheels of the plane lifted the same moment, and they were airborne, climbing into the sky. Her ears popped, and the world became brighter and full of color. She felt her inner Queen stretch, and she realized that if there were room, she would be able to shift. It was so easy. How could she have forgotten?

“Want to dance?” Remy asked, and then without waiting for her to answer him, he crashed his mouth against hers and carried her off to the bedroom.

Chapter Fifteen

Remy kicked the door closed behind them and tossed her on the large king-size bed. Margery sank down into the mattress with her arms open.

“What if I pass out?” she asked.

“Then we’ll both get some sleep.” He lay next to her on the bed and slid his hand up her shirt to grab her breast.

“I can vanish my clothes,” she said, kicking off her shoes.

“Don’t you dare. I want to take my time with you.” Remy propped his head up on one hand and took his other one off her breast so he could unbutton her blouse. Leaning down, he kissed her nose. “I’m crazy about you.”

“I think you’re pretty sexy yourself.” Margery unbuckled his belt and slid it off through the loops.

Pushing the shirt off her shoulders, he pressed hot kisses along her chest and stomach.

“Mmm,” she said, arching into his caresses.

He unhooked her bra and eased it down over her arms then groaned and licked her hard nipples. “Wanted to do this from the moment you woke up on my land.”

Margery sucked in her breath at the exquisite pleasure his teeth and tongue were giving to her breasts. Her hands fumbled with the clasp of his jeans and his zipper.

Oh, please. Oh, please. Don’t pass out. Not now.

But she wasn’t feeling light-headed, just breathless and shivery. Remy didn’t pause in ravishing her breasts as he shrugged out of his shirt. She couldn’t resist running her hands all over his muscled arms and back. The tugging on her nipples from his talented mouth urged little cries from her. Just as she got her hands in his pants, he slid down.

“Remy,” she said in a frustrated huff.

“Not yet,” he said, darting his tongue over her belly button.

She squirmed as he pulled her jeans off and then just stood, watching her. Her breasts were cold without his mouth on them, and she cupped them, offering them to him. He hooked his finger into her panties.

“Nice and wet.” He smiled and dipped them deeper.

Margery caught her breath on a moan as he played with her. “Take off your pants,” she said.

“As my Queen commands.”

He vanished them, and she smiled wide. “Bring that over here,” she said, crooking her finger.

“I will. But first, I need to taste you.” Remy shredded her panties, and it was the hottest thing she ever saw. Until he knelt at the end of the bed and grabbed her thighs. With a wicked grin, he hauled her to the edge and buried his face between her legs.

“Fuck,” Margery gasped as her body convulsed when his eager tongue lapped at her clit. Her body arched into him. She tangled her fingers into his hair as flashes of pleasure blinded her.

This has to count.
They were in the sky. Hell, she’d order the plane to crash if that’s what it took.

“Don’t stop.”

Her thighs trembled as his quick and eager ministrations brought her to a screaming orgasm. But it didn’t stop there. He kept going, flicking her swollen and tender bud with relentless strokes of his tongue. Margery’s body jangled like she was being electrocuted with sweet, hot desire. She could only moan and dance to the tune as he played her body like she was a treasured instrument. The second time her orgasm crashed over her, coherent thought was gone.

Scrambling up her body, Remy sank deep inside her. Margery clenched the sheets so tight she left deep rents in the silk. He framed her face with his forearms as he looked down into her eyes.

“So tight and wet for me,” he said through gritted teeth. “I want you so bad.”

“Take me,” she begged. “Hard and fast.”

“As my Queen commands.”

She wrapped her legs around his waist. He held her hands over her head and increased his pace.

Margery took his mouth in a desperate kiss. He rocked into her with heavy strokes that hit every sweet nerve in her body. She never wanted this feeling of bliss to stop. He filled her perfectly.

Remy growled deep in his throat then let her go to brace one arm on the wall above the bed. “So beautiful. My Queen.” Massaging her breast, he looked down at his cock as it pistoned inside her. “Touch yourself. I want you to come with me inside you.”

She reached between their bodies, and he adjusted them so she had access to her clit. “Your tongue feels better.” Margery tickled around the hood of her sensitive bud.

“I’ll go back to it. Maybe after you come.”

She gave a husky giggle. “Are you trying to kill me?”

“I’m giving you everything I have. I am utterly yours.” He had both hands on her breasts now. She rotated her hips to keep him deep inside her.

“Don’t you want to come?” Margery asked in a high-pitched voice she didn’t recognize.

“I won’t be able to stop myself once you clench around me.”

She clamped the muscles of her core around him, and he grunted in surprise. “Yeah, like that. Only wilder. Out of control.”

“Talk to me,” she said, rubbing faster. “I’ll explode if you tell me what you want to do to me.”

She was transfixed by the dark glint in his eyes.

“I’m going to make you forget any other lover. After we’re done here, I’m going to fuck you in that hot tub. Then I’m going to have you suck on me before taking you from behind while you’re on all fours.”

That did it.

Margery’s eyes rolled back in her head.

Remy shouted his climax as she dug her fingernails into his shoulders hard enough to draw blood.

“Nidhogg,” he gasped, collapsing next to her.

It took a while for their breathing to come back to normal.

“I always wanted to ask, what’s Nidhogg?” Margery stifled a yawn as she languorously played with his hair.

Remy pulled the covers over both of them. “He’s a real bastard. An ancient dragon with supreme powers and a god complex. But don’t worry. He’s been imprisoned in the core of the Earth for eternity.”

“Are you sure about that?” She cuddled into his arms.

“Trust me.” He kissed her on the top of her head. “If Nidhogg gets free, he’ll destroy the world before we could worry about it.”

“Comforting.” Margery bit his shoulder. “Not.”

“Unless you’re ready for round two, behave,” he said with his eyes closed.

“I didn’t pass out,” she whispered in his ear.

“I noticed.” He stroked his hand down her back.

“I think I’m cured.”

“I think I’m going to buy a plane.”

Chapter Sixteen

Remy escorted Margery down the stairs of the jet and onto the tarmac, where an honor guard of dragons in human form and soldiers from the Order of the Dragon Slayers lined up to greet them.

“Tell me again why a Queen has aligned herself with an ancient order that kills her species?” Margery angled her face to get the most of the sun.

Remy resisted the urge to stroke her cheek. He was afraid the other studs would view it as a weakness. “From what I understand, they treat Mei Hua better than the dragon studs did. She was one of the rare Queens who shifted even under the Cult of Humanity’s curse. That’s her.” Remy gestured with his chin to a slim Chinese woman who stood slightly behind a brawny human man carrying a trident and yards of chain around his body.

Remy clamped down the urge to kill him. Joachim was the head of the Order and had killed more dragons than most studs. But they weren’t here to avenge old scores. “Where’s Bella?”

“She’s not here.” Margery frowned. “You don’t think this is a trap, do you?”

“A little late for that now, don’t you think?”

Joachim stepped forward and bowed. “Queen Margery, welcome to Rome. I am Joachim, protector of Queen Mei Hua and director of the Order of Dragon Slayers. Please have your protector remain in human form. Queen Mei Hua detests studs in their dragon form.”

“Come walk with me, sister,” Mei Hua said, shifting into a Chinese dragon.

Remy took a deep breath, wondering how they were going to tell her that Margery couldn’t shift without appearing weak. But before he could speak, Margery’s form shifted and grew with a sparkle that hurt his eyes yet warmed his heart. A familiar sky dragon appeared next to him. Of course, she looked a lot healthier than she had when he’d first laid eyes on her.

Queen Margery, indeed.

“Surprise.” Margery inclined her head to him. “Do I still look like a plucked chicken?” she asked, shaking out strong wings. Her scales were sky blue, but they had a sheen of white and gold through them. The only thing remaining of his voluptuous redhead was her pretty green eyes.

“You are exquisite,” he said, breathless at the sight of her.

To his surprise, instead of taking to the skies, Mei Hua waited for Margery to come up alongside her, and together they walked the streets of Rome. The Order had done a good job of clearing the roads of cars and street traffic, but humans lined the streets waving banners with Mei Hua’s likeness on it. The makeshift parade was festive; Mei Hua was apparently beloved by the people of Rome.

Looking more closely at her, he noticed her wings were twisted and hung limply down her back. He turned to ask Joachim about it, but the man had disappeared. Remy glanced around nervously, but there were enough Order soldiers and dragon studs to put down any type of violence.

Mei Hua’s compound was headquartered in Vatican City along with the Order. Walking over the Ponte Sant’Angelo bridge was like returning to a simpler time, when dragons ruled and the most modern convenience was the wheel. That wasn’t to say technology was absent. There was a cell tower, snipers on some rooftops, and the Order’s building had antiaircraft guns mounted in strategic areas. It made him feel less like a sitting duck walking out in the open like this.

When they arrived in the courtyard, both Queens shifted back into human form before entering the building.

“Bella is excited to see you again,” Mei Hua said. “You grace us with your presence.” She slipped her feet into delicate, jeweled slippers and gestured for Margery to do the same with a similar pair. Remy picked up her shoes that she had cast off and stuffed them into the laptop bag. Part of being the consort and protector—you were also butler and servant. He stuffed down the slight resentment. No one was forcing him into this; he’d volunteered. Still, the court life of Queens had never appealed to him. His mother’s court was informal to the point that her protectors were borderline insubordinate. But Nessie preferred that to the ass kissers.

“Do you know her consort, Lane, very well?” Margery asked.

Mei Hua made a face. “I tolerate him.”

Remy trailed behind the Queens as they strolled through Mei Hua’s palace. Margery had magicked her clothes into formal attire. She looked like a sexy lawyer in a tight black skirt and low heels. Remy had to force his eyes away from her fantastic ass so he could scan the room for threats.

“You know he gave her a drug to get her pregnant,” Margery said.

Mei Hua nodded. “She was a willing participant. She loves him.” Another sneer and a toss of her Queenly head.

“But does he love her?”

“He does now.” Mei Hua’s voice contained barely hidden scorn.

Remy hid a snort.
Ain’t that the truth.

Lane, whoever the heck he was, had hit the jackpot. Not only getting a Queen for himself, but also eggs. Remy had never thought much about being a father, but he supposed he should start getting used to it. His mother would be thrilled—if she was still alive.

“Humans can’t survive the pregnancy, though. If she hadn’t shifted, she would have been killed,” Margery said.

They continued down a long hallway filled with gilt-painted stones and marble statues of dragons. Remy was jaded against the casual display of wealth, but Margery’s eyes grew wide as she tried not to gape at some of the artifacts.

“She felt it was worth the risk.”

“Worth dying for?” Margery asked as they reached two large and ornate double doors. Joachim opened them from the other side. How had he gotten ahead of them?

“Some people are willing to die to get their heart’s desire,” Mei Hua said with a casual shrug.

“And some are willing to kill for it, too.”

Mei Hua inclined her head, and they walked into a sumptuous receiving room.

“Margery.” A visibly pregnant woman rose and sauntered over from the chaise lounge she had been reclining on. This must be Bella. Utterly sexual in a slutty, streetwise way, she would have caught anyone’s attention as she crossed the room—even if she hadn’t had three naked and very well-endowed men trailing behind her by collars and leashes. One was a blond. The others were a brunet and a redhead.

One of each.

“Not on your life,” Remy muttered under his breath.

Mei Hua shot him a cool look.

Margery hugged Bella and whispered in her ear. “Are you okay? We can get you out of here.”

Bella threw back her head and laughed. “Why the hell would I leave here? To go back on the streets, hustling backseat blow jobs and giving freebies to the cops so they look the other way? No way. I’m never working that hard again. Right, boys?”

“Yes, my Queen,” they said in unison.

“O-okay,” Margery drawled out.

Remy didn’t recognize the three studs, but they should have a little more self-esteem than to run around bare assed. Although if the Queen commanded it, it wasn’t like they had a choice. Still, they looked content to be at her back. Maybe it was just some bondage thing that he was too uptight to understand.

Mei Hua had walked away and joined Joachim, who was letting three baby dragons no bigger than tomcats crawl all over him. Remy blinked. He couldn’t be seeing what he thought he was seeing.

“Nidhogg,” Remy gasped, his jaw open. “Hatchlings.”

“Mine’s next,” Bella said, rubbing her belly.

Remy clutched Margery’s hand. “I haven’t seen babies in a thousand years.” He had to blink back tears and force his voice to be steady. Babies. His race wasn’t going to die out. Remy understood the naked studs a little better—it was a small price to pay for sons…or daughters. Daughters. Baby Queens. One of those hatchlings was a little girl dragon. Remy needed a drink, or at least a place to sit down while his knees wobbled.

“You see,” Bella said. “It’s not a bad pill.”

Margery’s head snapped back to her friend. “Is one of you Lane?” she asked the naked menagerie.

The three naked men looked down at their feet. “No, my Queen,” they intoned as one.

Yeah, like that wasn’t getting a little creepy.

“I want to talk to Lane,” Margery said.

“If you don’t mind,” Remy tacked on the last bit for tact purposes—not that a Queen needed to be tactful, but three against one was pretty shitty odds if Bella ordered her naked stooges to attack.

Bella shrugged. “He’ll be at dinner tonight.”

A guard approached them. “Queen Mei Hua would like me to show you to your rooms.”

He was another dragon slayer. While Remy had a vague idea of the martial arts training the Order subjected their recruits to, he couldn’t help but wonder what they thought about having to wait hand and foot on a Queen’s whim.

Remy eyed the servant with distrust, but the man met his gaze and waited patiently for Margery to acknowledge his statement.

“Would you like to borrow a couple of studs?” Bella asked as they turned to follow the servant. “As long as they don’t shift, they’re allowed in the palace.”

Remy looked down at his feet so she wouldn’t see his glare. He should get in the habit of that before another Queen whacked him for his insolence. He hated court politics.

“Uh, no, thanks,” Margery said. “I’ve got one.”

Some of the tension eased out of his shoulders. That was good. Real good.

Bella’s face wrinkled in confusion. “Why settle for one when you can have them all?”

“I don’t know,” Margery said in a placating tone. “I’ll think about it.”

You better not.

“Can I talk to you in private for a moment?” Margery asked.

Bella shrugged. “Sure. Stay,” she told the naked studs behind her.

“As my Queen commands,” they intoned as one.

Nidhogg save him. Remy fought not to roll his eyes.

“Do you mind?” Margery asked him with a gentle hand on his chest. To anyone else, it looked like she was stopping him from following. But he could see the question and the apology in her eyes.

He gave her a curt nod. He didn’t have to like being ordered to heel like a dog, but at least she asked nicely. When he scanned the room for threats and didn’t see any, he stayed back with Bella’s studs while the Queens walked over to a chocolate fountain to talk.

“What the serious fuck is wrong with you three?” he asked in a lowered voice.

“It’s a better gig than Cassandra’s court,” the blond said, his eyes lowered.

“Bella only wants to be pampered, and she doesn’t beat us. It’s not a bad deal,” the brunet added.

“Still…” Remy grimaced. “You’re on leashes.”

“Don’t you get it, dumb ass?” the redheaded one said. “We have sex with a Queen all fucking day. Our eggs will be next after that jackass Lane’s are hatched.”

He had a point.

“You were in Cassandra’s court?” Remy asked. “What happened after she was murdered?”

“Pandemonium.” Blondie glanced at Mei Hua out of the corner of his eye. “That one reminds me of her. She hates studs. I think the Order has her here to keep her in check.”

“She wants to make a human her consort and protector,” Brunet said.

“What?” Remy couldn’t help but stare at Mei Hua in shock. Luckily, she was too engrossed playing with her hatchlings to notice.

“To be fair”—Red shrugged—“Joachim is a dragon slayer, so it’s not like he couldn’t protect her.”

“That’s all we need.” Blond clenched his fists. “Humans taking the new Queens from us.”

“He can have that one. Bitch is crazy,” Brunet said.

Remy looked at the Order’s servant still waiting to escort Margery to her room. He held himself aloof, as if he wasn’t listening to every damn word they were saying. Maybe the Order had something about training everyone as a warrior or spy.

“Our Queen loves us, though. If we continue to please her, she’ll name us protectors,” Brunet said.

“Bare assed?” Remy couldn’t help himself.

Brunet rolled his eyes. “We’ll be replaced with another set of studs when she grows tired of us. Then we’ll be promoted to her protectors.”

Remy had his doubts that it worked that way. He was all for seniority benefits, but studs usually didn’t have a long lifespan once they went in service to a Queen. “How the hell did you wind up here?”

“The Order wanted to ask us for more information on Cassandra, and Queen Bella took a liking to us,” Blondie said.

“We didn’t have anywhere else to go,” Red added.

“Quiet,” Brunet interrupted. “They’re coming back.”

Remy wasn’t sure why they had to be quiet. They hadn’t been ordered to be silent. Well, he hadn’t, at least. Better safe than sorry.

“You’re going to like this life,” Bella said with a reassuring pat on Margery’s arm as they approached. “You can do anything you want now and no one can stop you. And if anyone tries, you can order them killed. That’s the first thing I did when I got my studs.”

Remy tensed, wondering if the Order’s goon was going to attack. But he didn’t even react.

“What?” Margery gasped.

“You remember my pimp, Eddie?”

“Unfortunately.” Margery shuddered.

Bella drew a line across her throat with her finger and made a screeching sound. “My stepfather was next. Followed by my uncles.” She blinked up at her. “You should think about it.”

“I will,” Margery said, and for the first time Remy was overwhelmed at the power she held.

“I bet there are enforcers who would line up to help you.”

He had to put a stop to this. “Should we be talking about murdering humans in the Order of the Dragon Slayers’ headquarters?” Remy asked.

“Oh”—Bella waved her hand—“the killings were sanctioned. The Dragon Slayers even offered to do it.”

“They offered to kill humans?”

Bella’s face wiped of emotion. “No, they offered to put down rabid beasts.”

Margery nodded, and in the uncomfortable silence the guard said, “This way to your room.”