Defiant Dragon (5 page)

* * * *

Kirill’s number flashed on the screen. The black dragon didn’t call unless he had something to say, and there was only one reason he would make the effort. It had to be about the Y Ddraig Goch. Over the last month as they worked on the addition to the cabin claimed by the Dragon Kings daughter, Synda. Kirill and Timur plotted their next move. Every decision was based on the clues Manx left them after his death. Kirill would be a fair and compassionate Dragonrex, and with Synda at his side, he truly believed this would be the start of a new era for the clans. Which was why they had his unwavering support, he just wished the damn dragon had better timing.

“Evening, Kirill, I was about to head that way.”

“Change your plans, Jax. I need you to head toward Sumatra.” Kirill’s heavy Russian accent thickened.

“I’ve had a few things come up. Send Timur.” Jax ran through his list of safe lairs in his head if he wasn’t able to return to his current place on Fire Island.

“No time. Timur has taken Ember and Elspeth to one of his homes. With the days growing longer, he will settle someplace else for the time being. Have you ever dealt with a pissed off gargoyle that wasn’t able to shift for a few weeks?”

“Uh, no.” Jax clutched the phone and brought it closer to his mouth. “You go. I think I’ve found my mate.”

Kirill’s burst of laughter annoyed him. He spoke several words in Russian.

“I speak Greek, assassin, not Russian,” Jax grumbled.

“I said if you found your mate, you wouldn’t think it, you would know it. You should learn my native tongue, it works wonders with the ladies.” Kirill enunciated each word.

“I will tell Synda you said that. Regardless, you go to Sumatra.”

“I can’t. Ember thought she saw a few of Drago’s men in town before she left. I don’t want to lead the bastards to the treasure.”

“If that is where the Y Ddraig Goch is hidden,” Jax turned, following Rivers movements as he spoke.

“If it isn’t, we are still one step closer.”

“Why Sumatra?”

“Synda found a coin with distinctive markings in a pyramid deep in the rainforest. Timur did some digging and found coins with same die cuts in a museum, only those were from Sumatra. Had you hung around until I got to the house, I could have told you. The minute you get there, call me.” Kirill hung up.

Jax dropped his head. Why did everyone assume he had no life? He could hide River at his place in Seattle. He stared at the cell screen. Mags was only a phone call away. She’d be pissed, but assigning her to watch his mermaid was an option. If the myths were true, River needed to stay close to water. He really should have paid attention when his tutor discussed the old tribes of shifters who still existed.

“You looked perplexed, reptile. Everything all right?”

He scrubbed his scalp with his fingers. “Change of plans. I’m taking you to my lair in Seattle.”

“As interesting as that sounds, it’s not going to happen. I need to stay here and locate my dad.” She shook her head as she turned and started to walk away.

“You don’t really have a choice. I need to be in Sumatra, like tomorrow, and there is no way in hell I’m leaving you unprotected.” His beast stalked his mind, a haze of smoke filled his vision as his animal made his discontent known.

“I’m over three hundred…Sumatra? What the hell are you going there for?” She spun around and stared at him.

“Business.” He eased around her to cut off her exit. “There are a few valuables I need to locate.”

A devious shine lit her eyes as she followed his movements. “I have friends who live in that area. How about a truce, lizard? I’ll help you with this
business
and you help me get my father back.”

He pondered the offer. Pain sizzled up is arm and across his shoulders. He glanced down and the brand was now curling around his biceps. The way the marking peaked into sharp points with the lines crossing each other reminded him of the ocean’s constant movement.

“You need a healer. You’ll be covered in black marks soon if we don’t stop them.” Her eyes crinkled in the corners as she squinted, staring at his skin.

Pleasure stole through him at the concern in her voice. “Are you worried about me, little fish?”

A pink tinge rose up her neck and she ducked her head. “Not at all, but I do think to take on a dragon I should probably use one, and right now, reptile, you would be the muscle needed for my fight with Drago.”

Jax watched River, the graceful way she moved, almost fluid as she glided across the floor. If he took her with him, he could keep an eye on her, seduce her, make her clamor for his touch as he did hers and complete his claim. If he found the treasure in the meantime, it’d be icing on his cake. He had no desire to be Dragonrex. After he was finish tormenting Drago to death and tearing apart the Tarasque Clan for turning on his father, he’d gladly let Kirill have the horde and the headache of cleaning up the mess his half brother created. Yes, this was his best plan to date. An ache seared through his thoughts and he refocused on River.

She stood before him tracing the etching burning along his arm. She stared at his skin as she spoke, “What spell have you weaved, dragon, that I find it hard to leave your side?” Her voice was a mere whisper.

He snaked his arm around her waist yanked her form against his body. “I don’t need an incantation to know you are mine, fated for me. Even if you could walk away from me, River, there is no place in sky or sea that I won’t find you.”

She glanced up at him and he was lost in her gaze. The swirls of green and gray in her irises reminded him of a storm in the middle of the ocean. He cupped her head, burying his hand in the tangled curls of her hair. She laid her palms on his chest and leaned into him, tilting her head. “Do we have a deal, dragon?” Her voice was an alluring murmur with a lyrical quality.

Was she tying to tempt him into her way of thinking? He snorted. His mermaid wanted to play. He was raised in matriarchal tribe. There wasn’t an angle a female could think off that hadn’t been tried on him by the women in his clan in some form or fashion. Her scent of rose water enveloped him. He put a hold on the desire welling up within his body. River was a seductress with an agenda. Slim arms curled around his neck as she snuggled closer, pressing her breasts into his chest. He pulled back and she raised a slim brow. He pressed his lips together to contain his mirth. She probably never had a man or beast not beckon to her call.

She released him and grazed her forehead against his nose. “This is wrong. You’re a dragon. I’m a mermaid. I need to find Assan and save my father, not stand in a dilapidated warehouse trading insults with a lizard.”

River changed tactics so quickly, he was caught off guard. The woman was possibly as good a manipulator as his mother. Goddess, but it would be fun to play with his mermaid. He learned well at his mother’s knee how to handle conniving women.

Jax slipped a finger under her chin to lift her face. “I am yours and you belong to me. In your time of need you will never seek another out other than me. If you do, their blood will be on your hands. Do you understand me,
polýtimos
?” A thread of anger was clear in his voice as he spoke in clipped tones. He waited a moment before continuing, “There is no pact to make.
You will
have your dad back and
I will
have my revenge. After I change, jump onto my back.” He abruptly released her and jogged to the center of the space. Jax closed his eyes and embraced his dragon.

Chapter Five

Wind whipped River’s hair around her head as Jax glided on the air currents. The tendons in his neck stretched taut beneath her thighs as he streamlined his body to fly high in the sky. Stars sparkled around her like diamonds dotting the night. They sliced through a cloud and the mist dampened her skin. She tugged at the hem of her dress, dabbing her body with the cloth to absorb the moisture.

River leaned over and yelled to be heard over the draft whisking past them, “Avoid the clouds if you can. If my skin gets too wet, I’ll shift.”

His muscles rippled as he turned his head to gaze at her. The bony ridge above his eyes climbed his forehead as if in question. She was heaved up along his body as if he shrugged. He blinked and turned his head back into the wind, aligned his body with the current, and continued to soar along the air streams. She laid her palms flat, his scales were seamless and she had nothing to grip as he rolled to the side. She squeezed her thighs, rested her form flush against his and shut her eyes. Her kind was meant for water, not the sky. She swallowed several times as he flapped his wings to keep them aloft. The sound of him beating the air was deafening and the back draft tugged at her. His body angled up and she slowly slid backward, her hands slipping along his smooth skin. River caught hold of the nylon strap of her bag that hung around his neck.

“Could you give a girl warning when you plan to make a maneuver like that?” She opened her eyes and spoke against his scales.

He chuffed.

“I could have been dropped into the water. We are over the ocean, right?” She eased over to peer below them.

Moving swirls of heavy haze blocked her view. The clouds broke and she stared into the dark abyss beneath them. It might have taken her a little longer to reach South Korea, but she could have met him in Pohang. She wouldn’t have had to swim the entire way, she could have caught a ride with a school of dolphin. Hell, she would have rode the currents with a shark to save herself from flying with the obnoxious lizard. She rubbed her temple on his scales. Even without the exposure to the moisture in the air, she was having a hard time holding onto her form.

Jax made her want to forget about everything, her father, her tribe, and her fight with crazy Drago. Emotions she was sure were not normal. The sooner she got them to his destination and helped him with his task, the faster they could rescue her father. Once Harper was free from Drago, she could disappear and never see her damn dragon again. Her throat went dry and she had a hard time swallowing. The blue reptile wasn’t hers. He was a tool to use in her efforts to free her dad, dammit. Getting to Pohang was becoming more of a challenge than she thought it would be.

The coastal city was the home base for the Mako Tribe, another clan of merpeople, only they had no real ties to other shifters nor did they care to interact much with their own kind. It was sheer luck that she was befriended by a few of the mermaids from that clan years ago.

Against her dad’s wishes, she’d gotten it into her head to swim around the world. Traveling alone, she was caught off guard by some mermen she hadn’t realized were following her. The Mako mermaids came out of the coral reef like a school of swordfish. She actually felt a little sorry for her attackers, those women were vicious in a fight and they hadn’t hesitated to jump in and help her.

Eastern merpeople handled things a bit differently than their western cousins. Their clans were run by mated couples, whereas the western tribes answered solely to a king. Within the western hierarchy, women were considered treasures to be admired and not touched unless a mating had been arranged. The king had regents in place who handled the everyday business of the tribes and gave him updates as necessary. That system was splintered when Drago took over. Some clans stayed in the Alliance of Ancients, a treaty created by Dragonrex Manx and Merpeople King, Tucker. When Drago claimed acting sovereign from his father after Manx’s disappearance, some of the mer clans ceded with Tucker.

In eastern tradition the women,
Ajumma
, handled everything from fighting to food gathering. The men,
Ajosshi
, settled political matters and took care of the child rearing. The summer she’d spent in the Yellow Sea was one of her fondest memories. During those few months she’d spent with the Mako, they’d taught her a lot about defending herself. One of her best friends was Hyori, the youngest of the clan’s princesses. She hadn’t seen her buddy in a couple of years, but they spoke regularly. All she needed to do was get in, catch up with Hyori for information, handle their business, and get out. Finding whatever Jax was looking for shouldn’t take more than a few days.

She didn’t have the time to make contact before she left, she would once they reached the city. Hopefully Hyori would be able to point her in the right direction as to who led the Sumatra beasts.

The dragon begun his descent, he tucked his wings close to his body and they dove, spiraling downward. She held tighter to the strap. Her body floated up and wind rushed up her nose making it hard to breath. Suddenly, he unfurled his wings and caught a current, slowing their decline. They touched down in an open field. She sat up, sucked in air, and rubbed her belly to soothe her roiling stomach. From her perch on his shoulders River could see lights in the distance. She twisted and was able to make out the denser outlines of the mountains. After getting her bearings, she swung her leg over Jax’s neck and jumped down, waiting as Jax took on his human form.

She had to admit, he was an impressive dragon with navy scales that covered his massive body. She’d seen a few reptiles and he was by far the biggest she’d come across. But the man was just as hot to look at. She took a deep breath.
Down,
girl
. He dropped the bag and the heavy
thud
pulled her from her thoughts. She scanned his body. His arm and shoulder were now completely covered in the dark markings. The loops and swirls seemed to be moving across his chest and up his neck. They would have to get that looked at soon. She continued to study his form and her attention fell to his cock semierect between is thighs. She licked her lips and returned her gaze to his face.