Wildfire (21 page)

“Are you okay?”

The room bucked and her stomach heaved. “I don’t feel so
good,” she muttered into his shoulder.

His grip tightened on her. “Come on, maybe some fresh air
will help.” He gathered up her things, cuddled her close and half-carried her
through the crowd and out the door. He was so strong. Lynn ran an appreciative
hand over the arm she clung to. “Shanks.”

“My pleasure.”

The night air caressed her face with soothing coolness. The playground
song
Henry and Lynn sitting in a tree
popped into her head. Lynn glanced
at Henry.

Shadows darkened his face and hid all expression. He leaned
her against his truck and opened the door. His arms tightened around Lynn as he
tried to lift her into the cab.

Lynn batted at his shoulder. “My car…”

“I don’t think you should be driving,” he said while he
struggled with her flopping arms

The damn lyrics of the song circled inside her head. Lynn
slumped in the seat, gazing at Henry. He smiled and closed in.
K-I-S-S-I-N-G!
Where’d that thought come from?
A memory of the searing kiss she’d
shared with Jack earlier razed the moment. Lynn turned her face away, eyes
closed. “No.”

A cool gentle caress crossed her face, ran along her neck
and seeped inside, until she felt it deep within herself. “You know you want
it,” a soft whisper in her ear. The smell of dragon musk built until it laced
every breath. The dragon inside arched and stretched, panting. Lynn shuddered.

“Oh my God, you smell,” she whispered. “You smell like a
dragon.”

He stilled.

She focused on him as horror flooded her insides. Her tongue
lay thick inside her mouth, refusing to form words.
How come I didn’t smell
you earlier?

A dark flush tinged his sharp cheekbones.
I’m usually
better controlled, but around you sometimes not so much.

Oh God. Mindspeak. All those telltale hints rushed to her.
She should have listened to her intuition. She should have stayed the hell away
from him. She lay still, passive, in his arms.

Do you like smelling my need for you?

Ghost fingers stroked her inside out. He was inside her…no,
no, that wasn’t possible. The dragon pushed close to the skin as forced desire
quaked through its coils. Woman and dragon burned up with a hungry heat. A soft
growl rumbled from her throat.

His eyes glittered in the dim cab.
His head lowered again and soon Henry’s mouth grazed her neck, the soft
roughness of his lips broken by gentle nips. In her mind’s eye, she saw Jack
holding her, kissing her, driving her wild. Desire flooded through her veins. A
groan escaped her as her body buckled upwards, to press against him. The spicy
tang of exotic aftershave overrode the musk,
pushed
through her dreaminess. Not Jack. She put up her hands, flat against a muscled
chest, and pushed— only to find herself clinched tighter. “No.”

He was holding her too tight. She couldn’t breathe, couldn’t
think. Damn her head hurt as if clenched by an unseen hand. A wail of pain tore
from her. He pushed his face into the nape, taking a deep breath. “You’re
mine.”

Mine. Mine. Mine
. The dragon’s enraged roar drowned
Henry’s voice as it thrashed inside, caught in that invisible grip. She needed
to do something, she didn’t know what. All she wanted to do was curl up and
sleep. But the dragon persisted with an angry roar. Her head flopped forward,
resting on Henry’s shoulder.

What the hell did you drug me with?

A soft chuckle bounced around in the nooks and crannies of
her brain.
Oh a little something to make things easier.
A smile tugged
at his lips.
I don’t usually use drugs, I’m the dragon master. I can control
dragons, I can control you.

His words chilled her, forced her to muster the many frayed
threads of her being and pull together. Breath sawed out of her as she focused
on curling her fingers into a fist and strike at her him. The wimpy blow
glanced off the side of his head, but a blow nevertheless.

Lynn gasped as Henry shoved her against the seat and grasped
her face with one hand, cold fingers pressed skin to bone. The pressure, the
pain cleared some of the fog in her head.

Henry smiled lazily at her. “Stop fighting me little girl.
You want me, desire me,” he said, staring into her eyes. “Tell me you want me.”

Fear whispered down her spine. Recognition flooded her.
Henry’s voice, dark and seductive, thick and sticky. Familiar.
Little girl.
Oh God. It was him. Henry had called her the night of the Tavistock fire. He’d
whispered to Elsie.
Henry had called to her
the night
Obaa-chan
died.

No, life wouldn’t make it that easy for her to find
redemption. Was her mind playing tricks on her like everyone believed? Or had
her shadowy nemesis been real? But why the hell couldn’t she move? Drugs
and…could Henry really control her? Or was he delusional and crazy? Either way,
she was in trouble.

Her gaze darted around. For the first time she realized how
vulnerable she was. The parking lot was dark and empty. They were quite a ways
from the bar and the trees hid them from view.

“I -I thought you wanted to be my friend,” she said.

He laughed. “I want to be more, much more.”

“No.” The word shot out as soon as it formed in her head.
Lynn couldn’t stop the shakes shuddering through her body.

Fury darkened his gaze. “What do you mean, no?” he said.
“You can’t say no.”

The viselike grip tightened. Pain and cold wracked her body,
making her shake as if jolted by continuous volts of electricity. Fight back
for God’s sake. But she couldn’t move, couldn’t call the dragon, even thinking
was becoming hard. Cold, so damn cold. She didn’t know how, but he seemed to be
freezing her inch by inch.

“Say you want me.” Spittle landed on her throbbing face.
“You want me.”

“I-I want you.” Waves of desire washed through her. She
blinked and stared at Henry. Why the hell had she been resisting him? He
smelled like a dragon, a virile, male dragon ready to mate. Her breath came in
short pants as she spread her legs apart.

He pressed his mouth down on hers. Hard. Lynn tasted blood
where his teeth bit down on her lips. Desire receded from her, until all she
felt was the physical kiss. Wet and hungry. All teeth and tongue. She closed
her eyes and desperately tried to remember the self-defense moves she ought to
know by heart since Obaa-chan had spent years drilling her, training her, but
her mind still wasn’t completely free. Gagging as his tongue burrowed deeper
into her and the smell of stale cigarettes overwhelmed her senses, she pushed
futilely against Henry’s hard, unmoving chest.

When he finally broke the kiss, Lynn gulped a lungful of air
and pushed herself back against the passenger door.

“Tell me you love me.”

Anger with an underbelly of dread lay heavy inside her. The
dragon reared back unhappy with the manhandling. A rare agreement between woman
and beast. Lynn drew strength from her dragon’s ire and raised her head, met
his gaze. “You can’t force love.”

His hand shot forward, imprisoning her neck. He gazed into
her eyes as he slowly squeezed air out of her. Something dark and lethal fisted
in her head. “I can.”

Chapter
21

Darkness swarmed her vision as she landed against something
hard and flat. Her palm grazed the rough pavement and pain shot up her arm. She
lay limp, waiting for, almost welcoming, oblivion.

A rush of cool sweet air washed over Lynn. Her eyes
fluttered open and slowly focused on the glittering night sky framed by the
windshield. Curses and grunts seeped into her awareness.

Moments later an inferno blazed through her as the dragon
screamed in rage and tore its way out of her. Free at last. Claws erupted as
scales rippled across her skin, her jaw ached as teeth elongated and sharpened.
Muscles, joints, bones trembled with strain as they stretched and bulked. Heat built
up until the pressure inside her head threatened to smash her skull into a
million pieces. Wrenched and disoriented by the rushing shift of molecules and matter,
she stumbled forward, shot out a breath of fire. The two figures rolling around
on the asphalt stilled.

Lynn could only make out dark silhouettes, locked in a
frozen embrace. Henry. Hot fury boiled through her as she remembered how he’d
toyed with her just moments before. Reduced her to utter helplessness. A plume
of fire flashed from her mouth.

With a cry, the figures broke apart, stumbled and ran in the
same direction, trying to get away from her. With a hiss, she swung back the
entire muscled and plated length of her tail and lashed at them. Her tail
connected with thick, heavy slap to a body, lifted it up in the air. Like a
straw doll, the man bounced onto the asphalt and cracked his head on a concrete
barrier. As he lay there, blood ran from his head and stained the concrete, the
other broke into a run. Lynn blinked, shuffled forward, then lowered her head
to the still figure. She breathed in a familiar warm, musky scent laced with a
clean, soapy smell. One breath and the fog in her mind cleared. Jack. Oh shit.
She’d hurt Jack. Lynn’s head swiveled between Henry’s disappearing back and
Jack’s still form.

A bitter taste filled her mouth as her dragon shuddered and
receded. She’d given in to her beast and hurt an innocent man. Drenched in
sweat, she dropped to her knees and hung her head low. Lynn reached inward for
the beast. Found it curled into a ball, trembling. Her anger gave way to
concern. For the first time, her dragon was afraid. She’d never encountered
something like Henry. He smelled like a dragon, but he called himself a dragon
master. He got inside her head and wrecked havoc. What was he? All she could
call him right now was crazy, beyond crazy, frightening. She didn’t want to
chase him into the night.

Shivering in the chilly night, Lynn stared at Jack’s still
form. A warning echoed in her head. Must get out of here. A half-naked woman
and a bloody man would raise questions. Lots of questions. Nausea and nerves
tangoed inside her. Lynn turned to her side and vomited her guts out onto the
asphalt. She looked away from the smelly mess and wiped her mouth on a tattered
sleeve. A tremble raced through her. While not exactly a fan of puking, it did
make her less sluggish, cleared her head.

She gazed at Jim Bob’s. No one had come running out to
investigate yet. Probably the jukebox and the general level of inebriation
drowned the commotion in the parking lot. However, somebody had to come out at
some point. She staggered to her feet and grabbed Jack’s collar. Wincing and
cursing, she dragged him to the mustang, and loaded him up in the passenger
seat. Her backpack lay abandoned on the pavement. She ran back to it and found
her spare clothes.

Music and laughter peppered the night as a couple emerged
from the bar. Lynn crouched in the shadows, behind the trunk. The man drunkenly
serenaded his companion. The woman giggled. They swayed and stumbled to their
truck, never even glancing at her corner of the parking lot. Breathing easier,
Lynn opened the trunk and quickly changed. The baby powder scent of the clean t-shirt
soothed her nerves. She balled up the soiled remains of her former outfit and
stuffed them into a plastic bag, planning to dispose of them later. Shutting
the trunk, she ran to the driver’s side, slid into her seat and started the
car.

“Where to?” She muttered, pulling out of the parking space.
She glanced at Jack, relieved by the regular rise and fall of his chest.
“Something tells me, I’ll have a lot of explaining to do once you come around.”

Would he freak out? Most likely. Her glance lingered on the
blue shadows on his still face. The real question remained would he fight or
flee? Either way, she needed to control the situation and make him understand
that something worse than her roamed Paradise Valley. Her first impulse was to
drive him home, lock him into a room and force him to listen. She gnawed on her
lower lip and cast a quick glance at Jack. The blood and his being unconscious
worried her. She ought take him to the Emergency Room and let doctors check him
out. West Texas Regional, the nearest hospital, was a fifteen minute drive.

Lynn grabbed her cell and called Jen. “Are you back home or
still in town?”

“I’m at the museum for the exhibit opening. Waiting on you.”

“Meet me in front of the hospital ER and hurry.” Relief
flooded Lynn. Jen was in San Angelo.”

The sight of Jen’s station wagon, parked curbside near the
ER entrance, untangled the tension balled up in Lynn’s chest. Her friend must’ve
hauled ass. She parked right behind, hopped out and ran to the passenger’s
side.

Jen sprinted over and glanced in at Jack through the window.
“What happened?”

“Long story short: Henry and Jack got into a fight, he got
hurt and I think he probably should be checked out by a doctor.” Lynn ran a
hand through her hair. “You need to take him in.”

Hand on hips, Jen cocked her head to one side and looked her
over. “Wait, I think you left a few important details out. Why can’t you take
Jack to the ER? And when did you decide on an outfit change?”

The man in question groaned softly and shifted in his seat.
Lynn cursed and whipped around then back again. “I can’t because he saw me turn
dragon, and I’m afraid if he comes to and sees me, he’ll freak.” She kicked a
pebble lying next to her foot and sent it flying. “I’d rather avoid a public
scene.”

“Ah,” Jen said as she opened the door and reached for Jack.
“You owe me girl. Damn he’s heavy. You grab the legs.”

“I have a better idea,” Lynn said. “Why don’t you run in and
ask for a wheel chair or a stretcher or something.”

Lynn stood by the open car door, praying that Jack wouldn’t
come around too soon. Within minutes, orderlies rushed out wheeling a gurney at
high speed. Jen led them to the Mustang and Lynn stepped back and out of the
way. As they wheeled Jack off, Jen grabbed her. “Come on, you can sit in the
waiting room.”

Lynn was half-way through her third Styrofoam cup of coffee,
when Jen came out of the swinging doors that hid most of the ER busy work. She
leapt up, spilling some of the tepid coffee on herself, and ran to her friend.
“How is he?”

“Well, he’s awake and they’re running some tests on him just
to make sure everything is all right.” Jen slumped into a chair.

Lynn sat down next to her. “Um, did he mention anything
about dragons?”

Jen shook her head. “Seems like he’s got temporary amnesia.
Both he and the doc bought my story about finding him injured next to the
road.” She bit her lip. “Of course, the doc also kidded him about brawling.
Some of the injuries indicated something like that.”

“What about the bleeding?”

“That’s a superficial cut he got when his head hit something
sharp,” Jen said. “Like a rock.”

Or a rough-edged parking bump. “Shit.” Lynn finished her
coffee and shot her empty cup into the wastebasket. “Talk about being in the
wrong place at the wrong time. What was he even doing there?”

Jen rolled her head side to side. “That I know,” she said.
“He came by looking for you within minutes of your leaving. Said he really
needed to talk to you.” She stopped and rubbed her chin, remembering. “When I
mentioned that you’d gone to meet Henry at Jim Bob’s Bar, his face darkened and
he almost growled at me before stomping off.”

Lynn stared at Jen “You made that last bit up.”

“No way
Jose
.” Jen straightened herself and leaned
forward. “I’ve never seen Jack so worked up.”

“Wait, how did you know I’d be at Jim Bob’s?”

“There’s only one place on Lake Nasworthy,” Jen said. “Now,
what really happened tonight?”

A shudder threaded through Lynn. How would she explain mind
control to Jen when she didn’t quite grasp it herself? “Henry slipped something
into my drinks. I don’t know what, but I felt like crap.”

Jen shot out of her chair. “The
asshole
drugged you?
Madre
de Dios
.”

Lynn twisted her hands in her lap. “And I forgot one of the
basic safety rules: don’t let strangers near your drink.”

Jen crouched in front of her and placed a hand on her knees.
“Are you okay? Did that asshole hurt you?”

“No. Yes.” Fear cracked her voice. Lynn grasped her head in
her hands. “It-it wasn’t just the drugs, there was something else. I mean the
drug disoriented me until I couldn’t tell my left from my right, but it was like
something alive and evil had entered my head and got a chokehold on my
thoughts, my will.” She hugged herself, remembering the awful cold, the
slippery feel of alien thoughts and desires, the frozen helplessness. Had he
really invaded her? Or was she suffering the effects of the drug and the power
of suggestion? Bile pushed up her throat again and she gagged.

Jen jumped into the seat next to her and hugged her tight. “Do
you need to see the doctor too?”

Lynn shook her head. “No, I’m all right. The dragon managed
to fight him off in the end.”

“Is he the rogue dragon? Is he the one setting the fires?”

A long breath whooshed out of her. “I think so,” she said.
“Henry talked like the guy who called about the Tavistock fire, so I’m pretty
sure he’s the one setting the fires.”

“But?”

“But, the last one was technically set by Elsie. It sounds
far-fetched to say he controlled her, but I believe he did.” Like she’d
believed there’d been another dragon with her grandmother and herself. Could
she get anyone else to believe her this time? “Henry called himself the dragon
master. I don’t know what that means,” Lynn slumped in the chair. “Whatever he
is —plain crazy or mind-control freak— it’s damn scary.”

Jen squeezed her hand. “So what do we do now?”

Lynn shrugged. “Depends. Are the doctors leaning toward
keeping Jack here under observation?”

“No, they definitely made noises about sending him home as
long as there was a friend to watch over him,” Jen said. “I volunteered.”

Lynn smiled. “Thanks. I know he’d appreciate it and I think
it’s important for at least one of us to be there when he remembers and
freaks.”

“Well, I’ll try and calm him down for you, but you need to
do the explaining,” Jen skewered her with a firm gaze. “I saw that hot kiss you
both shared at the Tavistock fire.”

Heat suffused her neck and face, as Lynn shifted her gaze to
a pretty pastel of a fishing scene. “Let’s not go there. I can’t risk being
disappointed and hurt again.” She sighed. “I just need to accept I’m meant to
be alone.”

Jen reared up in her seat. “Don’t even think like that. You
deserve happiness.”

Memory of Jack trying to get away from her rose up like a
specter. “Well, I think my priority should be figuring out Henry.” She stood.
“I’m going to the paper to do some research. Then I’ll come to Jack’s and take
over the watch.”

Jen’s face paled. “I don’t know if you should be running
around on your own tonight.” She rubbed her arms. “Henry’s still out there.”

The image of Henry running into the woods chased through her
mind. “I think I scared him bad enough that he won’t come after me tonight.”
Lynn unclenched her jaw. “But yes, he’s still out there and I’m scared.” She
folded her hands under her breasts and planted her feet firmly on the ground.
“I don’t like being scared.”