Taste of Darkness (14 page)

She paused and he could tell she didn’t want to leave but finally she said, “I’ll be right back.”

He inwardly smiled but didn’t move a muscle until she was inside. Once the door shut behind her, he moved from the hot tub and tugged his clothes on. “Talk.”

At that one word they both turned around to face him.

“You’re serious with the shifter.” Conall wasn’t asking as he watched Drake intently.

The shifter?
“Her name is Victoria.” He didn’t keep the edge from his voice as he walked around the hot tub, closing the distance between them. Motioning to the line of cushioned, oversized, wooden chairs, he lifted his eyebrows. Unless they planned to attack, they could all sit and act somewhat civil. Even if that was an illusion for all of them.

“I know. I… We haven’t been introduced properly and I didn’t know if I should call her by her first name.” Conall actually flushed, seeming embarrassed as he and Keelin moved to the chairs.

The sight eased something tight in Drake’s chest. “You can call her Victoria.”

Conall cleared his throat again. “I’m sure you know by now but I’m Conall and this is Keelin.” He motioned to his sister who was watching him silently, her gray eyes moist. Crap, was she crying?

At the sound of the French door opening he turned to find Victoria stepping out. She’d pulled her hair out of the twist thing and it fell in soft waves around her shoulders and over her breasts. Breasts he’d gotten to see and touch. Soon he’d be doing a whole lot more. He should hold off and wait until he had more to offer, but after having a taste of her—it wasn’t happening. He only had so much control. Just like the male he’d been in Hell, he certainly wasn’t a gentleman. His need to claim Victoria was damn near overwhelming, overriding everything else.

She wore dark jeans and a blue cashmere sweater much too big because it was his. She’d given him the sweater for Christmas—the first time he’d ever celebrated—and he loved that she’d put it on now. Now his scent would cover her even more.

Smiling in that soothing way of hers, she directed her warmth at the others as she approached. “We haven’t been properly introduced. I’m Victoria.”

After introductions were made, they all sat. Drake didn’t know what to say and thankfully Victoria broke the ice. “Why don’t you tell us why you’re here, other than to see your brother?”

“You believe we’re siblings?” Keelin asked, her voice as soft as it had been at Bo’s club. The hope there made him feel guilty for the way he’d reacted before.

He shot Victoria a quick look for support before focusing on Keelin. “I would like to do a DNA test, but yes.”

Relief bled into her gray eyes as she smiled. “We followed you from Biloxi because we’re not letting you out of our sight. Whether you want our help or not, you’re getting it. You’re our blood and even if you don’t remember us, we remember you. You were the best big brother, protective and loving and…” Keelin’s voice broke but she didn’t break his gaze.

Something warm spread through his chest, his throat growing tight, but he wasn’t certain how to respond to the kind words. He was getting used to it from Victoria, but this female was still a stranger. “Do you look like our—your—mother?” It felt too strange to say our when for so long he feared he’d either been abandoned by his parents or never had them at all. As if he was this thing who’d just been spawned and left to rot in Hell.

She nodded, her long blonde ponytail falling over her shoulder. “People say we’re carbon copies.”

“Is she…” He couldn’t say it.

“Both our parents are alive but they’re in a Protective Hibernation.” This time Conall answered.

He wasn’t exactly sure what that was, but he could guess. “Protective Hibernation?”

Conall answered. “They found a place to go to ground—a cave most likely—and barricaded themselves in. No one knows the exact location, but it’s on our clan’s land. We’re sort of like bears in that sense, but we hibernate for a lot longer.”

That sounded familiar. If Drake remembered right, dragons came out of Protective Hibernation only when they were ready and could remain in hiding for decades, even longer. “How long have they been in it?”

“Hundreds of years.”

Yes, that definitely sounded familiar. He didn’t respond.

“I was in one too, for a long time. I only came out a year ago. This new world is fascinating. Are you finding it the same?” Keelin said.

Drake’s gaze swung back to Keelin. “Anything would be better than Hell.”

When her eyes went wide, as if she didn’t know what to say, guilt immediately speared through him. He hadn’t meant to make her feel awkward.

“Is a Protective Hibernation something all dragons do?” Victoria asked, smoothly taking over.

He reached out, taking her hand in his, his inner dragon calming when she linked their fingers.

Keelin shook her head. “No. My mother insisted I go into one to keep me safe.” Bitterness laced her words.

Drake wondered if it had anything to do with him being taken but didn’t ask.

Conall cleared his throat. “We need to talk about what’s happening between you two. When you were in the hot tub, you were sending out a beacon to pretty much all supernatural beings, letting anyone within distance see your light.”

“What
was
that?” He hadn’t even known he was producing the light until he’d sensed a shift in the atmosphere and saw his siblings standing on the deck.

“When dragons mate we put off an energy. It manifests in different ways, but the Petronilla clan, your clan, gives off light.”

Petronilla clan. Yes, he knew that name. “Mate?” He wanted Victoria for his mate, but he hadn’t planned to take her tonight.

Conall nodded. “Even humans, if there were any around here tonight, could have seen. It’s why we’re careful when we mate.”

“When you say mate, do you mean have sex or do you mean actually take a mate?” Victoria asked.

Conall looked at her, his gaze shuttered. “Take a mate. Once a dragon picks a mate, we tend to put off that glow whenever we’re with our chosen in a sexual way until the mating is complete.”

Victoria’s fingers tightened in Drake’s, but she didn’t look at him as she continued. “Are there any specific uh, rituals or, I guess traditions when dragons mate?” Her cheeks had flushed pink and Drake loved that she was asking.

He wanted to know too, but he’d figured nature would take care of itself and they’d figure things out. He might not have ever been with a woman but the Internet was very informative and he knew what he wanted to do to Victoria, how much pleasure he could bring her. If he didn’t get it right the first time, he would keep trying until he did. And not stop.

“Not specifically, but dragons bite each other when they seal their bond. And…” He glanced at his sister then back, his expression dark when he looked back at Drake and Victoria. “When dragons mate, it’s for life.”

Drake frowned, unsure why this was a bad thing. It was his understanding that shifters and vampires were the same. Unlike some humans who left each other, wolf shifters mated for life so it made sense that dragons did the same. “Why is this concerning?”

“If one mate dies, so does the other.” Conall flicked a glance between the two of them.

Victoria’s fingers tightened in his again, but she didn’t respond.

Luckily Conall continued. “It’s why our kind are so protective of our secrets and why clans tend to live together. There’s strength in numbers and mates are intensely protective. And possessive. No matter what happens with you and Drake we hope you will keep our secrets,” he said, directing the last part to Victoria.

The statement made something dark inside Drake twist, but Victoria simply nodded, seemingly nonplussed.

“No matter what happens?” he growled.

Conall’s gaze swung back to his, his expression carefully neutral. “I simply meant if she wasn’t…willing to go through with the mate bond. It’s a big risk to take for both parties knowing that if one dies, so does the other.”

If something happened to Victoria, Drake wouldn’t want to live anyway. He might not have much experience in this world, but he knew that much. Hell would be nothing compared to a world without Victoria in it. When he looked at her, he couldn’t get a read on her expression. She smiled at him, but it didn’t reach her eyes. Maybe she didn’t feel the same. The sharpest sense of pain slid through his chest. He’d assumed…

Turning back to his brother, he let Victoria’s hand go. It was too hard to touch her. An acidic scent rolled off her and when he looked at her, her emerald green eyes flashed with hurt. More guilt speared him, but he didn’t reach for her again. He couldn’t touch her and think straight.

“There’s more.” Keelin’s soft voice interrupted his thoughts. “We have about two hundred and fifty members in our clan and you are what is considered royalty for our people.”

Drake frowned, not sure he understood. “How so?”

“Our father is the clan leader and while he’s in Protective Hibernation I’ve taken over as leader. But the honor is yours,” Conall said. “And as soon as you’re ready I will relinquish all the responsibilities to you.”

That tightness began to overwhelm him again, the need to shift and fly a desperate hum inside him. Royalty? “I don’t want it.”

Conall’s eyebrows crashed together. “But it’s your right as the oldest.”

He clenched his jaw tight. He barely knew anything about this world, he certainly couldn’t take on the responsibility of a dragon clan he knew nothing about. “No.” The word came out more savage than he’d intended.

Keelin delicately cleared her throat. “If you decide not to take over that’s okay but everyone wants to see you again. We would also like you to live with us for as long you’d like. Preferably permanently.”

A home to live in? Forever? His throat tightened and he risked a glance at Victoria. She smiled softly, clearly pleased for him. He should be happy too. Part of him was. He had a family who wanted him, but he still had so many questions. Like how had he ended up in Hell? Because someone had to have sacrificed him. And what if Victoria didn’t want to live with his clan? He didn’t even know where they were located. He still wanted her as his mate, but couldn’t read her emotions right now.

Rubbing the back of his neck, he shelved some of his questions. It was after midnight, and after being in the SUV all day he was edgy. Not to mention he hadn’t gotten to finish what he’d started with Victoria in the hot tub and he had a feeling they wouldn’t be finishing tonight. There was more to the mate bond than he’d imagined.

“Where are you two staying?” Victoria asked when Drake didn’t respond to his sister.

“Um, we haven’t…we’re…” Keelin stumbled over her words.

“Staying with us. There are two extra rooms here.” Victoria looked at him questioningly so he just nodded. His instinct told him to trust Conall and Keelin and so far his gut hadn’t let him down.

“We’re parked nearby so we’ll just get our vehicle and things,” Conall said.

“Were you just planning to keep following us?” Drake asked suddenly.

Conall nodded. “We’re not letting you out of our sight again. Not literally of course, but someone had to have sacrificed you to Hell.” His brother’s jaw tightened, his eyes going pure silver. “And that’s not going to happen again. We’re going to find who did it and destroy them.”

Savage, true words.

The conviction in his brother’s voice caused the strangest sensation in Drake’s chest. He wanted to reach out and drag his brother into a hug but wasn’t sure if he should. So he remained where he was. Throat tight, he nodded because he didn’t trust his voice. He wanted vengeance too, he just had no idea how to find it. Not until more of his memories returned.

As his brother and sister stood, he and Victoria followed suit, walking them to the front of the house where they disappeared down the driveway. Getting so many answers tonight had been unexpected.

Right now the only thing he cared about was knowing where he stood with Victoria. He knew he should have more concerns, but she was it for him. If she didn’t want to mate with him after hearing all of that, he needed to know now.

Chapter Twelve

Victoria sat on the end of the king-sized bed in the master bedroom while Drake retrieved her things from the other room. He’d been insistent on moving her bags into his room and she’d needed a few moments alone so she was taking advantage of the silence.

She was glad Drake hadn’t minded her asking his siblings to stay with them. He’d seemed extremely pleased she’d be sharing a room with him, but the way he’d dropped her hand so abruptly during the conversation about mating had her reeling. He’d seemed almost angry with her earlier and she wasn’t sure why.

When he stepped into the room with her bag and toiletry case, she jumped up. Then she felt foolish for being so nervous. “Thank you for getting those.”

He just grunted and placed them next to an oversized distressed-style dresser before shutting the door. Instead of looking at her, he started pacing in front of the door like a caged beast. She’d never seen him like this and wasn’t sure what to make of it.

It wouldn’t be long until his siblings were back and she wanted to talk. “Drake.”

He stopped, pivoting toward her, his jaw clenched tight. “Do you want to mate with me?”