Forbidden Embers (30 page)

“That would depend. If this is a new development, then no. They might not have noticed yet. Especially the ones who are doing their jobs.”

“What does that mean? I thought you just said no one was patrolling—”

“The borders,” he finished for her. “I said no one is patrolling the borders. But there is one area on the compound that is heavily guarded, and I’m not quite sure what it is.”

Something moved in his eyes as he spoke, a darkness that was so deadly, so without compassion, that for a moment she was frightened of it. Frightened of
him
. But then he blinked and it was gone as quickly as it had come, and she was left wondering if she was simply jumping at shadows.

“Where’s the area?” she asked.

He didn’t say anything for a minute, just stared at her, and she had the very uncomfortable feeling that she was being tested. But that was impossible. She was the princess here. She was the one who had invited him to stay with her. What went on in her clan was no big deal to him.

Finally, when a silence she didn’t understand had stretched her nerves to the breaking point, he pulled a sheet of paper out of his back pocket. “Do you have a pen?”

She fumbled open a drawer and handed him a pencil. He took it and drew a series of connecting lines on the paper. When she looked more closely, she recognized some of the major streets on the east side of the compound.

“You walked all the way over there?” she asked, surprised.

“You told me to take a look around, to get a feel for the place. So I did.”

“That wasn’t a criticism.”

He was too busy drawing a large building to respond. When he was finished, he held the rough sketch out to her. “It’s that building, right there.”

She stared at the place he was pointing to, more than a little perplexed. Checked the street names to make sure she was thinking of the right place. She was, which meant, “The lab? There’s security around the lab?”

His shoulders seemed to relax a little, but she wasn’t sure. Logan didn’t give much away reaction-wise, so trying to figure out what he was thinking was a little like looking in a crystal ball. She was afraid she was seeing only what she wanted to see.

“There’s a whole shitload of security around that building. The soldiers were three deep over there.”

“But why?”

“It’s your clan. I was hoping you could tell me.”

She shook her head. “I have no idea. I mean, it’s a medical facility. They’re doing research . . .”

“What kind of research?”

“I’m not sure. My dad mentioned a couple of diseases last year. Said his doctors were getting close to curing two of the biggest diseases dragons can succumb to.”

“And you believed him?”

“Why would he lie?” she asked, bewildered.

Logan didn’t answer, but there it was again. That unflinching stare that seemed to see right inside her. “What?” she demanded when she couldn’t take it any longer.

He shook his head. “Nothing.”

“Well, obviously it’s something. You keep looking at me like Satan has suddenly invaded my body.”

He blinked, and for the first time since she’d met him, he looked genuinely uncomfortable. “Sorry.”

She nodded. What else could she do when he was being so weird? “Who’s in charge of the soldiers?”

“I’m not sure.” It killed her to admit that to herself and to him. Killed her that she thought she could be queen when she was so freaking incompetent that she hadn’t even realized her people were vulnerable to attack from whoever happened to be flying by. “But I can find out easily enough.” She reached for the phone.

He stopped her with a hand on her arm. “I don’t think you should do that yet.”

“Why not? I need to get someone on the borders. We can’t stay unguarded like this, not with—” She stopped abruptly, not willing to air all of her clan’s dirty laundry at the same time.

But he wasn’t going to let her get away with it. “Not with what?” he demanded.

“We’re on the brink of war with two other clans.”

“Two?” He sounded incredulous, but it wasn’t like she could take offense. She’d been pretty damn disbelieving herself when she’d heard the news.

“I know. It’s insane, but yeah. Two clans are gunning for us, and I don’t think we’re strong enough to hold off either one, let alone both, if they chose to attack together.”

“What’s the other clan?”

“Other clan?” she repeated. “What do you mean?”

He shook his head, dismissed her question. “I meant clans. Which two
clans
are making noises about war?”

“The Dragonstars in New Mexico and the Shadowdrakes of San Diego. Do you know either one of them?”

“I know of them.” He shrugged. “Both have a reputation for being pretty peace loving.”

“Believe me, I am aware of that. Which is why I’m really afraid we’re the ones in the wrong here. I’ve gone over a million different scenarios in my head, asked the
Conseil
to take me through even more, but everything boils down to the fact that we have somehow provoked them.” Cecily pushed to her feet, went to stare out the window into the night.

As she watched, a shooting star streaked across the sky. Maybe if she closed her eyes and wished on it, the disaster looming over her clan would somehow disappear. She sighed. The time for wishing had passed. Now she just had to find a way to get her people through this. Somehow, she didn’t think it was going to be as easy as it sounded.

“So, wise and mighty dragon of all things strategic, do you want to tell me where we go from here?”

 

Logan couldn’t believe how defeated Cecily looked. Since he’d met her a few days before, he’d seen her look a lot of different ways: angry, shy, happy, aroused, even powerful. But never had he seen her look so down, like the weight of her world was on her shoulders and she couldn’t find a way to carry it any longer.

She was standing by the window, head bowed, shoulders slumped, looking a lot more like a dog that had been kicked than she did the princess of one of the most fearsome clans in dragon history. He understood how she felt better than she could imagine. He was feeling like he’d been kicked himself.

But, then, betraying everything you believed in could do that to a man. The fact that he wasn’t done, that he was going to end up betraying both Dylan and Cecily before this was over, was about as comfortable as a hot poker up the ass.

But he’d reached his limit of self-castigation. He could pick it up in the morning, but for now he was exhausted.

“We’re going to bed,” he said. “You look as exhausted as I feel.”

She turned to him with a smile, but her lips were trembling and her eyes were sad. “Yeah, well, some dragon I know kept me up most of the night, doing things that are probably illegal in at least fifteen states.”

“I was thinking more like twenty-eight or thirty, but I’ll give you fifteen.”

She laughed, like he’d hoped she would, and he crossed to her and started guiding her slowly toward the huge, circular staircase that started at the back of the foyer. “Where’s your room?”

“Third floor.”

“Can you make it, or do you need me to carry you?”

“I have made it up these stairs every day of my life since I learned how to walk,” she told him indignantly.

“Okay, then. Carry, it is.” He swept her into his arms and started up the stairs, amazed all over again at just how little she was.

“Logan! I said I can walk.”

“I know. But why should you have to when I’m around? At least give me a chance to be good for something besides bringing bad news.”

Her hand slid over his chest. “I can think of a few other things you’re good at.”

“You’ll have to remind me what they are tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?” she said, her lips pursed in a little moue of discontent. “What if I don’t want to wait that long?”

“Tough. You’re dead on your feet.”

“You shouldn’t get to make that decision for me. I’m a grown woman.”

“Okay, then. Go to town,” he said as he slipped inside her room and deposited her gently on the bed. “I, however, am exhausted and am going to bed.”

He slipped his shirt over his head, took off his jeans, and slid under the covers on the right side of the bed.

The second his body touched the cool cotton sheets, he knew he’d made the right decision. Yes, they had a lot to talk about, and yes, she had a lot to do if she had even a hope of getting her clan back in order. But none of it was going to happen tonight, and the sooner she figured out she couldn’t do everything in one fell swoop, the better off she’d be.

She sighed, a purely female exhalation of annoyance that had him smiling despite the sleep that was already starting to claim him. “That’s my side of the bed, you know.”

“Tough.”

She didn’t say anything, and he started to drift. He didn’t need long to recharge his batteries, just an hour or two. But he hadn’t slept, really slept, in almost two weeks and he was so tired . . .

“Logan?”

“I’m moving, I’m moving.” He scooted over, lifting her off her spot in the center of the bed and putting her down where he’d been lying just a few moments before.

“That’s not what I meant.”

“Now you tell me,” he muttered without opening his eyes.

“Thank you for coming home with me.” She rolled over, dropped a kiss on his cheek. “Thank you for staying with me even though everything is such a mess.” Another kiss, this time on his forehead. “Thank you for taking such good care of me.” A third kiss, on his chin. “And thank you for trying to help me find a way to help my people.” One last kiss on the corner of his mouth. Then she curled up against his side, her head pillowed on his bicep. She was asleep before his head had stopped reeling from the chaste sweetness of her kisses.

As she started to snore, just a little, Logan’s eyes popped open.

It didn’t look like he was going to get any sleep after all. Not while his conscience was ripping him apart from the inside out.

C
ecily woke to pleasure. Incredible, all-consuming pleasure, and the feel of Logan between her thighs.

Struggling to wade through the layers of the most erotic dream she’d ever had, she propped herself up on her elbows and said, “Logan?”

“Ssh,” he whispered. “Just relax.”

“I hate to be the one to break it to you, but that’s not exactly the way to get me to relax.” Her hips jerked against his hands, which were braced on each side of her, as if to underscore her point.

“Maybe not, but it relaxes
me
.”

“Well, then, by all means. I’d hate to stand in the way of that.” She dropped back on the bed and reveled at the feel of his mouth on her inner thighs. “Relax away.”

His laugh was low and sexy, the soft expulsion of air that came with it blowing right across the lips of her aching sex. She arched at the feel of it, trying to get closer to him. Trying to hold him so tight that she would forget that this thing between them was just temporary. That soon—sooner than she would like, certainly—Logan would move on. Without her.

It wasn’t like she could say she hadn’t seen it coming. He was a rogue dragon, for God’s sake. His whole life was about drifting. The shock was that he’d agreed to stay with her for a while and help her get her clan back in order. The fact that it didn’t seem like enough after spending three nights in his arms wasn’t his fault. It was hers.

When she’d chosen him for her first lover, he had seemed the perfect choice. He was handsome, smart, sexy, and though he tried to hide it behind a gruff facade, unfailingly kind. Oh, he would probably never describe himself that way, but she saw it in him. It was hard not to when she thought about the tenderness and patience he’d shown when he made love to her for the first time. The way he’d been so incredibly slow, so incredibly tender.

His eyes had burned pure red for her and he’d been so aroused that he had been shaking, and still he’d made sure to put her first—as he had every time they’d made love since. And the way he’d switched from jealousy to understanding when he’d figured out that Sebastian was in trouble . . . the way he’d praised her for helping someone in need instead of berating her the way her father would have.

How on earth was she supposed to hold out against that? How was she supposed to hold out against
him
?

“You’re not.” His voice was little more than a rumble, but it pulled her out of her thoughts and had her staring at him, mouth open in shock.

“What did you just say?”

“I said, you’re not supposed to hold out against me. I like that you can’t resist.” He lowered his head again and nuzzled her inner thigh, but she was scooting up the bed, putting a little distance between them as she reached for the bedside light and flipped it on. If she used her dragon sight like she had up in the mountains, she would be able to see him clearly in the dark. But she didn’t want to do that. She had a feeling this was a discussion she was going to want to be 100 percent human for.