Dragon Heat 2 - Red Hot Dragon (12 page)

bathroom holding hands. She slid close to his side, almost

as if seeking his protection. He unlaced their fingers and

curled his arm around her shoulders. Tucking her smaller

body against his, he sent a daring look Ignatius’s way.

Hands up, Ignatius gave a slight shake of his head. His

one good eye remained fixed on Avani. “I have no

intention of driving a wedge between the two of you, so

lower your guards.” He hesitated. “The issue of the blood

feud, however…”

Griff pulled out one of the chairs at the table and sat. He

dragged Avani between his open knees and tugged her

down onto his right thigh. She happily perched on his lap

and gripped his hand, as if still mistrusting Ignatius. He

couldn’t blame her. The ancient dragon had quite a

reputation among their kind for being a serious hard-ass.

Exhaling loudly, Griff asked, “Has Mad been located?”

“Not yet,” Ignatius answered, while Stig steeped tea at

the counter behind him. “Niko and Reynard are on their

way. They’ll find him—and Ivy.”

“So it
is
her.” He eyed Ignatius carefully. “You didn’t

know she was missing?”

“Neither did Niko,” Ignatius replied reluctantly. “We

tried to give her a normal life, and that meant staying far

away from her so as not to rouse the suspicions of the

Knights. Clearly, somewhere along the way, we made a

mistake, and they were able to track her down and take

her.” Regret and guilt darkened Ignatius’s voice. “We

won’t fail her again.”

“What about her connection with Mad?” Avani

nervously interjected. She swallowed and glanced at

Griff. “Back at the house, you said that Niko gave her

some kind of treatment that included your cousin’s blood.”

She self-consciously touched her lips. “Blood magic is

strong magic. It’s the reason my species seals a mate bond

with a bite. If she has his blood in her, maybe it’s more

than dreams connecting them. What if…what if she’s about

to go into heat for the first time? She’s the right age. I was

a junior in college when I first experienced it. What if it’s

—I don’t know—awakened something within her?”

Griff’s concerned gaze skipped to Ignatius. The one-

eyed dragon looked rather impressed with Avani. “I

suspect you’re correct. It’s something we feared might

happen, back when Niko devised the therapy, but it was a

risk we agreed to take.”

“Why Madoc’s blood?” she wondered.

“Chemistry,” Ignatius answered with an uncertain shrug.

“Niko had his reasons for choosing Mad as the donor, and

I trusted them.”

Griff wasn’t so sure Mad had been fully apprised of the

possibilities associated with giving his blood for Niko’s

experimental treatment. It was the type of thing Mad would

have told him and something they would have discussed at

length. He hoped for Niko’s sake that he’d been honest

with Mad up front about the side effects, because if Mad

discovered he’d been lied to, there would be hell to pay.

Stig brought the mugs of tea to the table along with

spoons and some milk. “Avani, I need to apologize for

what happened at Mad’s house. I shouldn’t have attacked

you.”

She shrugged. “It was chaos. I can only imagine what it

must have looked like when you two broke down the door

to find me biting him.”

“I should have taken a moment to assess the situation

more calmly.”

“We’re fine,” Avani assured him.

Ignatius’ stomach made a loud growling noise. He

cleared his throat. “Excuse me. I missed dinner.”

Stig pushed the sugar bowl toward him. “You’ll have to

make do with tea. Cora doesn’t trust me with her scone

recipe yet.”

Taking his seat next to Ignatius, Stig said, “Cora will be

thrilled to learn she’s no longer the only mate in the

group.” Laughing, he added, “Expect a big basket of baked

goods to drop onto your doorstep very soon.”

The mention of Stig’s pretty mate left Griff questioning

the blood feud issue. It wouldn’t be as simple as declaring

it over and done. Affairs like this were governed by

archaic rules. “So, Ignatius, what happens with the feud

between our families?”

Ignatius sat back and sighed. “Well—it
was
a blood

feud. You can’t simply shake hands and call a truce.”

Griff bristled at the idea of causing Avani harm to

satisfy the feud or vice versa. “If you think we’re going to

fight and draw blood just to satisfy some stupid old feud,

you are out of your damn mind.”

Ignatius tilted his head and pointed to Griff’s neck.

“She’s already drawn blood. I doubt those marks are from

the poison darts.”

Griff touched the mating bite that had been interrupted

back in Mad’s bunker. He looked down at Avani who had

fixed her attention on her mug of tea. There was no

mistaking the blush of embarrassment on her cheeks. “It’s

part of the Naga mating ritual,” he explained. “They bite to

cement the bond.”

“Biting?” Stig’s eyebrows waggled suggestively.

“Kinky.”

Griff picked up the nearest spoon and flicked it at his

friend’s chest. “Grow up.”

Ignatius ignored Stig’s dramatic protest of pain as the

other dragon rubbed his chest. “Perhaps Avani could make

a peace offering to your tribe.”

Avani exchanged a look with the Brotherhood’s leader.

“You want me to give him the sword, don’t you?”

“You could always call it an engagement gift.” Ignatius

smoothly maneuvered her into a corner.

Griff shifted uncomfortably. “We haven’t discussed that

far into the future.”

She gripped his hand more tightly and winked at him.

“But we will.”

His chest threatened to burst as his heart swelled. Not

wanting her to feel pressured to give up the sword she’d

taken from the Knights who had slaughtered her family, he

said, “You don’t have to give up the sword. It’s yours to

do with as you please.”

“It needs to be destroyed. I don’t need the leverage

anymore.”

Because you’ve got me
, he thought.

She turned her attention to Ignatius. “Will handing over

the sword to Griffin as a peace offering satisfy the feud?”

“Only a handful of Griffin’s tribe remains. As long as

no one files a grievance with Reynard, I’m sure he’ll put

an official end to this tiresome matter.” Ignatius sat

forward, grabbed his mug of steaming hot tea, and downed

it all in one big gulp. He rose from the table and carried

his mug to the sink. Turning back to face them, he said,

“It’s time we pulled together. This war is ramping up

again, and our numbers are dwindling while
theirs
remain

steady.”

He gripped Stig’s shoulders and gave them a squeeze.

“On that note, Stig and I really should leave the two of

you. I’m sure you have more important things to
discuss

than blood feuds and missing cousins.”

Taking the hint, Stig finished off his tea and headed for

the sink. “I’ll be staying upstairs until morning. If you need

me to stay another few nights, I’m happy to do it.”

“No, I think we’ll be fine.” Griff didn’t think the

Knights would be stupid enough to come after them again,

not so soon after losing an entire team. He strongly

suspected Stig was anxious to get home to Cora anyway.

“If you change your mind…” Stig trailed Ignatius to the

door. He paused long enough to shoot them an encouraging

smile. “Good luck.”

Finally alone, Griff shifted Avani’s position and

threaded his fingers through her damp hair. He touched his

lips to hers ever so briefly. “That went well.”

“Better than I’d expected,” she confessed. Her gaze

skipped to the closed door. “Ignatius wasn’t nearly as

intense as I’d expected him to be.”

“He’s mellowing a bit. I think some of that is Cora’s

doing. She actually called him a marshmallow once.”

Avani’s eyes widened. “She’s a brave woman.”

He traced her pout. “So are you, Vonny. You blew me

away tonight. I’ll admit that I worried you wouldn’t be

able to look after yourself, especially after all that talk of

fasting and denying your inner beast. Imagine how

powerful you could be with some training.”

Excitement glinted in her eyes. “Would you teach me?”

“Yes.” He liked the idea of helping her become more

skilled in protecting herself.

“But none of that sweaty brawling I caught you and Mad

doing,” she said with a wag of her finger.

“Sweetheart, if we’re getting sweaty, I can guarantee

you we won’t be brawling.”

“Oh?” Her eyes began to shift to that peridot color he

found so incredibly beautiful. The enticing scent of her

overwhelmed him. Remembering what they’d been up to

when the Knights had attacked, Griff decided it was time

to pick up right where they’d left off in the bunker.

“In fact, I think I’ll give you that first lesson right

now…”

Chapter Nine

Nineteen Days Later

Avani stepped out of the shower and onto the plush

bathmat. She dabbed at the wetness clinging to her skin

and draped her towel on the bar. When she reached for her

silk dressing gown, her fingers brushed the heavier fabric

of Griffin’s robe. After their mating heat had ended, he’d

decided to move most of his things to her home rather than

travel back and forth between their living spaces. Even so,

she still experienced the occasional moment of surprise at

seeing his things around her home.

She grabbed the robe and pushed her face into the soft

fabric around the neck. Inhaling his scent, she closed her

eyes and imagined his handsome face. She wanted to trace

the crinkly lines that appeared around his mouth when he

smiled and brush her lips to his. Instead she found some

comfort in his familiar scent.

He’d been gone for six days. The initial search for

Madoc had been unsuccessful, but Griffin refused to give

up looking for his cousin. ’ Mad was the closest thing

Griffin had to a brother. He wouldn’t be able to rest until

he’d found him. For her own part, Avani had prayed every

night that Niko and Reynard would find Madoc and Ivy.

She didn’t know if Griffin would ever recover from losing

his best friend.

Thankfully she didn’t have to find out. The moment their

mating heat had ended and it was safe for him to travel,

Griffin had headed for Mexico. He’d been able to lock in

on Madoc and Ivy within two days of his arrival. They’d

mounted a rescue of the pair and had managed to get them

to Niko’s estate, where Madoc and Ivy were now

recuperating from their terrible ordeal. Griffin wouldn’t

say what the two had endured, but the tension and anguish

in his voice when he called told her it was something truly

awful.

Though she wanted him home with her, Avani

understood that Madoc needed Griffin. She’d encouraged

him to stay with his cousin as long as he needed—even if

she ached for her mate’s touch and scent.

With a sigh of longing, she released Griffin’s robe and

slipped into her own. She made her way to the marble

counter and let her gaze fall onto the pregnancy test she’d

taken before hopping into her morning shower. The test sat

on top of its box at the far end of the counter. She didn’t

have the courage to look at it yet. If the digital display had

two words instead of one, she’d collapse into tears.

Studying her reflection, Avani tried to decide if she

looked pregnant. She hadn’t been able to stay away from

the Internet forums and websites catering to women trying

to conceive. She knew all the very early pregnancy

symptoms but wasn’t sure she exhibited any of them.

Untying the belt of her robe, she pushed aside the fabric

and bared her breasts. She cupped her flesh. Did they feel

heavier? Were they more sensitive? Her nipples looked

darker, but it could have been her mind playing tricks on

her.

She ran her hands down her abdomen and rested them

on her belly. Why couldn’t she sense whether she was

pregnant or not? What was the use in being a part of the

dragon species and having so many strange gifts if she

couldn’t even tell whether another life existed within her?

A strong pulse of heat and need streaked through her

chest and into her core. She might not be able to tell

whether she was pregnant, but she most certainly

recognized that familiar beacon of energy. Griffin!

Desperate to see him, she rushed out of the master suite,

down the hall, and onto the second-floor landing. She

heard the door close a moment before he came into view.

Standing there in his jeans and T-shirt with those rugged

boots, he looked out of place in the upscale interior of her

home. He grinned up at her, his sexy, mischievous smile

making her belly flip-flop. “Hey, sweetheart.”

“Griffin!” She started down the stairs but he hurried up

them. He swept her into his big, strong arms and crushed