Fury of Seduction (Dragonfury Series #3) (24 page)

“Yikes.” Another soothing stroke down her spine. She blinked, struggling to stay connected to the conversation. “Talk about a nasty wake-up call.”

“You think?”

Tania smiled, then frowned. Something odd was happening. She felt the swaying pull—the drain and draw—as though she was linked in, aware of...everything. His heartbeat. The strength of his body and the power of his energy. The thoughts meandering through his head. Strange, but oh so easy. Her connection to him felt good...right in the best possible way. And as the current grew stronger, sensation crested, tugging her toward sleep’s slippery slope.

Her head lolled on Mac’s shoulder. Huh. She was sitting sideways in his lap. When had that happened? “What are you doing to me?”

His mouth brushed her ear. “Helping you fall asleep.”

“Don’t want to,” she said, her words slurring.

“Yes, you do, honey.”

One hand cupping her nape, he cuddled her close while the other flicked beneath the hem of her sweatshirt. His skin touched hers. She hummed, arching beneath the press of his hand. Fingers spread wide, his palm settled against the small of her back. He nuzzled her hair, then drifted down to kiss her temple. Surrounded by his scent, safe in his arms, something unlocked deep inside her. She heard the click. Felt the rush as the vortex picked her up, sweeping her along in its powerful riptide.

“Listen to my voice, Tania, and let go. Drift, honey. Nothing to do but drift.”

And just like that, she did as he asked, let oblivion take her, and sank beneath slumber’s warm waves. As she went
under Tania thought...tomorrow. Tomorrow was a new day. Soon enough to gain some perspective and figure her way out of the mess.

Out of a world where red dragons were trying to kill her.

Ass-planted on the couch with Tania asleep in his lap, Mac wondered what the hell he was doing. And when he’d lost his mind. Gone AWOL. Whatever. ’Cause, shit. He shouldn’t be hanging out in the near dark. Or listening to the sound of ocean waves roll into the shoreline beyond his cabin while he tortured himself with the warm, scented weight of the woman in his arms.

Motherfuck, he was deranged. A real candidate for the psych ward and electroshock therapy. Maybe if he got zapped a couple of times, he’d do the right thing. Pick her up. Walk into his bedroom. And put Tania to bed.

Alone.

But oh, not him. The longer he held her, the more he wanted to.

Mac sighed, mourning the loss of his moral compass, and cuddled her closer. A moment later, he compounded the idiocy by stroking her hair. He couldn’t help it. He was too far gone...in Sapsville with no hope of backtracking. So he caressed her instead, loving how the dark strands clung to his fingers, each length an enticement he couldn’t
ignore. Jesus, she was beautiful. Soft and strong at the same time. And in the fading moments of the coming dawn, she was too much for him to resist. Everything he’d always wanted but knew he could never have and certainly didn’t deserve.

He must be a masochist or something. An idiot without the sense God gave most people.

Clearly he didn’t own any at all. If he possessed half a brain he’d tuck her into bed and then do what he did best. Get gone. Disappear for a while. Put as much distance between them as he could before he did something stupid.

Like what? Oh, he could think of a few things. Or twenty. All involved getting naked. Which...yeah. Was
not
going to happen.

He’d already overstepped his bounds and taken without her consent. Had tapped into the Meridian while putting her to sleep and fed on her energy. And oh man, good didn’t begin to describe her. Frickin’ amazing fit better. Perfection worked too. Mac bit down on a groan, combating the urge to taste her again. Drink so deep satiation took hold.

Which made him a first-rate jackass.

He should’ve explained first. Should’ve told her what he took each time he touched her, instead of skirting the issue and telling half-truths. She deserved to know how he staved off hunger and stayed healthy. About the power of the Meridian, her value as a high-energy female, and what that meant for her. For him.

For them going forward.

To indulge or not to indulge, that was the question. Yes, he wanted her. No question about that, but was seducing her—keeping her around for a while—the smart thing to
do? The
right
thing to do? His conscience said no. Tania deserved the best, a better male than him. One willing to go all in and commit to her without hesitation. One ready to offer her his love. Too bad he didn’t know how to give her that. Jesus. He hadn’t seen the better side of himself in years. He excelled at the sex stuff, not intimacy. Didn’t know the first thing about loving a woman, never mind showing how much she meant to him.

His heart sank like a stone in the center of his chest. He was an asshole, cuddling her close while he yearned for more. Everything. Her love. Her passion. The same kind of commitment Bastian and Rikar had found. And yet with his next breath, he questioned whether he wanted to love her in return.

Fan-fucking-tastic. His commitment-phobe tendencies were out in full force, messing with his ability to think straight.

Mac shook his head, then gave in and kissed the top of her head. Not that Tania noticed. Curled around him, she’d fallen into a deep sleep, each breath long and even. He gave her a gentle squeeze, enjoying her heat, reveling in her trust, wanting to get horizontal with her even though he knew it was a bad idea.

Making love to her wasn’t in the cards. At least not tonight. Tomorrow, however? Man, he hoped so, but that would be up to her. Given his uncertainty, he refused to push her. But if she wanted him and initiated sex? Call him a first-class bastard, but she wouldn’t have to ask him twice.

With a sigh, Tania shifted against him, nestling her bottom into his groin. He bit down on a groan. Okay. Time to go. Self-torture proclivities aside, he couldn’t hold her much longer without touching her. In serious ways.

Sliding his forearm beneath her knees, Mac pushed to his feet with her in his arms. She grumbled in her sleep. He murmured an apology and, keeping each stride smooth, carried her across the living room. Desire hummed, streaking through him as she rubbed her cheek against his chest. Mac shoved his arousal aside. Now was not the time or...well, okay. It
was
the place. His bedroom, after all, lay just ahead, but no way he would do that to her. Or himself. When he made love to her, she’d be on board, 100 percent into the sexual play, giving as good as he gave her.

With a mental flick, he opened the double pocket doors to the left of the fireplace and crossed the threshold. Pushed against the far wall, his bed took up most of the room, usually a king-size oasis for him. Tonight, it would be hers. The place he would tuck her beneath feather down and leave her to dream.

After which he’d haul ass. Get as far away from her as possible.

It was either that or suffer the consequences when she woke up with him wrapped around her. Not exactly the best way to start a new relationship. He was already in clusterfuck county as it was, considering the problem with his memory bank. The lapse bothered Mac more than it should. The memory loss wasn’t his fault, after all. His
first shift
into dragon form had kicked his ass, obliterating all but bits and pieces of Tania’s role in it. But that didn’t mean she would understand. She’d no doubt rip him a new one when she discovered he couldn’t remember making love to her.

Women were funny that way. They tended to get irate when a guy confessed to not remembering their name, never mind sharing a mattress. Or a pool table. Or the coat check in a—

Okay, then. No need to go there, but...

Mac frowned. What was he supposed to be doing again? Oh, right. Putting her to bed.

Good plan. Now all he needed to do was stick with it. Especially since he now stood beside the bed, muscles twitching, his dragon rebelling, refusing to lay her down. His mouth brushing the top of her head, Mac cursed. Terrific. Just what he didn’t need, his base instincts riding shotgun.

Fighting to stay on an even keel, he leaned down, supporting her with one arm, and grabbed the corner of the duvet. He flipped it aside, revealing the expanse of white cotton. The territorial beast inside him went into lockdown, wanting to keep her in his arms. Mac shook his head. Jesus, it shouldn’t be so hard. All he wanted to do was take care of her, do right by her, but...

Sometimes the right thing wasn’t the easy thing. And as he stood there, heart thumping, bare feet planted, need rising, he waged an internal battle. Stay. Or go. Be the good guy. Or the needy one. Forcing himself to unlock, he laid her down. The sheets rustled. Tania grumbled, an adorable pucker between her brows. Mac murmured, hoping the sound of his voice would compensate for the loss of his body heat.

Her dark eyelashes flicked.

He froze, his arms still half around her.

“Mac?”

Ah, fuck. He was so screwed, wanting to get away, but unable to leave. “Shh, it’s all right. Go back to sleep. Everything’s all right.”

“No.” The denial slurred by sleep, she turned toward him, wrapping both her arms around one of his. Mac sucked in a quick breath. “Don’t.”

Brushing the hair away from her temple, he caressed her cheek. “Don’t what, honey?”

“Go. Don’t...go.”

Another gentle stroke across her superfine skin. Another sigh from her. “It’s okay. I’ll just be in the other—”

“He might come back,” she whispered, her eyes drifting closed.

“Who,
mo chroí
?”

“The red one.”

Mac closed his eyes. Shit.
The red one.
She meant Ivar. Even in her sleep, the bastard chased her, making her afraid. “You’re safe. I won’t let him get you.”

She shook her head, panic making her breathe faster.

“No one knows where we are, Tania,” he murmured to reassure her. It didn’t work. She was too worked up, and as she whimpered, his heart sank. And he ached for her. For the fear she suffered now and the changes to come. Life as she knew it was over. No more landscape design firm. No more apartment in Seattle. Good-bye, human world. Hello, Dragonkind. A total frickin’ makeover was in order.

“I’ll keep you safe, Tania. He can’t find us here, I promise.” He retreated another inch.

She clung to him. “Please...don’t.”

Her plea wrecked him, just leveled him where he stood and...ah, fuck. He couldn’t do it. Couldn’t leave her knowing she needed him. Which meant more torture. He really must be a masochist. A sadist or something because, without a doubt, holding her without making love to her first would kill him. Yet even knowing that, he slipped in beside her. The mattress dipped. He settled on his back and reeled her in, pulling the duvet back into place, cocooning them in feather down. She snuggled into his side, her
head on his shoulder, one leg thrown over his thigh and her hand—

He jumped like a jackrabbit as she caressed his skin. Oh so not good. He was already set to go off. So damned sensitive her touch made every single one of his skin receptors fire...at once. Sensation flooded him, ratcheting him into the danger zone.

Clenching his teeth, Mac stared at the ceiling, counting the planks of Douglas fir tongue-and-groove paneling to distract himself. Her hand coasted over his belly, moving beneath his T-shirt before she laid her palm in the center of his chest. Tense muscles twitched in protest. He inhaled, filling his lungs to capacity to keep from exploding, hoping she was done with the renegade hand routine.

When she settled deep, relaxing completely against him, he released the breath he’d been holding. Okay. He was up and over hurdle one. Now all he needed to do was leap over all the others in his path between now and nightfall. Mac frowned. Or maybe not. Maybe salvation was just minutes away.

Firing up the connection he now shared with his brothers-in-arms, Mac reached out with his mind.
“Rikar. Where you at?”

Static buzzed between his temples, then...jackpot. The connection flared, his kind’s cosmic equivalent of a cell phone opening the channel between them. Wind whistled inside his head, the sound one of ass-hauling as his XO mind-spoke,
“Nowhere good. Got multiple rogues on our tails.”

Concern lit Mac up.
“You need backup?”

“Nah, B and I got it covered.”
A pause, then,
“You safe?”

“Yeah,”
he said.
“Holed up in my cabin.”

Bastian chimed in.
“Where?”

“On an island off the coast of Seattle.”

Silence met that happy bit of news. Static filled the radio waves, stretching out, making Mac wonder if he’d lost the connection.

“Jesus fucking Christ,”
Rikar grumbled.
“Couldn’t you find somewhere a bit closer to home? Somewhere without a shitload of ocean between here and there?”

Bastian laughed.
“Water dragon syndrome. The more ocean, the better.”

Mac guessed that was true. It hadn’t occurred to him to find somewhere in the city to keep Tania safe. He’d wanted to be in the water, out to sea, as far away from Ivar and his band of assholes as possible.