Emma (Dark Fire) (11 page)

Lydia shook her head. “Your body is too delicate. Too much pressure and I could easily snap your arm instead of fixing it,” she said.

Leaning across Keith, she lifted the rear of the jeep with a single hand. Having made her point, she eased the jeep back to the ground.

His mouth twitched with humor. “First time I’ve ever been called delicate. You’re going to do bad things to my ego, Dragon Lady. Just take it slow and pop it in.” When she frowned he said, “I’m not going to the doctor. So, it’s either that, or I slam my shoulder into a tree until it pops into place.”

Lydia growled, but finally agreed. After she fixed his arm, she further dented his masculine ego by picking him up like a baby. He grumbled and grouched as they settled into the backseat of the jeep.

Emma drove.

On the way, Keith finished telling them what happened. It wasn’t much. One of Thackwart’s bullyboys recognized Keith and took him to the general.

“Your military doesn’t sound very honorable,” Lydia said, snarling in anger.

“Most of them are,” Emma insisted, flicking her fingers toward town, “but Thackwart is a bully. He nearly got Uncle Keith killed and was responsible for him getting kicked-out of the Special Forces.”

Keith sighed. “There was more to it than that.”

“Yeah, he screwed up and you took the hit,” Emma said, belligerently defending him.

“Enough, Emma, no one could prove he did anything wrong,” Keith said, shaking his head. “The short of the story is simple. I knew what happened. I saw too much, but it was my word against his, and that wasn’t enough for a court martial. Emma’s partly right. I firmly believe his actions caused the death of several good men.” He glared out the window. “I was honorably discharged when I should’ve been court martialed for attacking a superior officer.”

“At least your effort put him in a partial body cast,” Emma said with a grin.

“Yeah,” Keith groaned. “That was one of his comments as his boys held me down and beat the crap out of me.”

“Not that I want you to be hurt any worse, but why didn’t they kill you?” Emma asked, nervously glancing at Lydia when she growled.

“He knows I’ve got too many friends that would demand answers. I don’t doubt Thackwart would love to see me shot. I think that’s why he had me bugged. The president has declared martial law, so if he can prove I’m consorting with the enemy, I’m screwed.”

“Bugged?” Lydia asked quizzically as Emma turned down the narrow dirt track leading to their house.

Keith grinned and gave her a brief explanation of bugs. Her frown grew darker the longer he spoke. When he started explaining other types of technology, she shook her head and said, “Enough, please, my head’s spinning as it is. The council must be made aware of this, but I won’t leave you here.” She motioned to the multi-story house as they drove toward it. “Would you be willing to talk with the council? My people have got to understand this world and I think you two will be our best bet.”

“Getting there won’t be easy. The woods around town and toward your valley are already full of troops,” Emma said, killing the engine.

Tyler leaned toward her and it took all her willpower not to flinch.

“Emma,” he said softly, speaking to her for the first time since she told him to shove-it and find a vampire, “we won’t be going through the woods. We’ll fly over them. They can’t stop us.”

She frowned at him. “Bullets might not stop you, but a hand-held missile probably could. And if it didn’t, whatever mortal was with you would be toast,” she grumbled. “Thanks, but no thanks.”

“I won’t allow anything to happen to you,” Tyler said. Before Emma could respond, he nodded toward several men walking out of the woods. “Anyway, it looks like we’ll have an escort.”

“Who’re they?” Keith demanded.

“Enforcers,” Lydia said. At Keith’s questioning look, she added, “Last night after we returned to the Fortress, Tyler and I talked. I came back and stood guard through the first half of the night and Tyler stood guard the last half. When we headed to town, I brought in a few guards to keep the two of you safe.” She held up her hands. “I know you believe you can take care of yourself and Emma, but there is no escaping the fact that you’re both mortal. You might be able to shoot enough bullets into a vampire to stop one of them, but you’d have to take his head to kill him.”

Keith sighed in frustration, nodding his agreement. “And if there was more than one vampire, as a mortal, I’d never stand a chance. Is that what you’re saying?”

“Yes,” Lydia said softly, wrapping an arm around his waist, supporting him as he stepped out of the jeep.

Chapter - Just a Drop

Emma washed her hands at the kitchen sink, ignoring the moody young man behind her. She had to get a grip on her wishy-washy emotions. Food would help.

She glanced at the phone, but the big display showed no new calls. A hint of worry flickered through her. Kayla should’ve already called.

She grabbed the remote control and flipped on the flat screen. Music blared from the TV.

From the corner of her eye, she watched Tyler jump like he’d been shot.

She snorted, struggling not to laugh. Lowering the sound, she flipped through the channels, stopping on a local station. She figured all the major news channels would have updates. She wasn’t disappointed.

A reporter stood in front of the White House, droning on about the president’s decision to enact martial law.

She tried ignoring Tyler, but it wasn’t easy.

Pretending to scratch her wrist, his confusion and yearning flowed into her the moment her fingers touched the heated flesh. His emotions disappeared and the black hole grew bigger.

“Emma,” he said quietly.

“What?” Keeping her back to him, she rummaged in the fridge for sandwich meat and cheese. She tossed them on the counter and grabbed the lettuce and tomatoes.

She glanced at him, but continued getting stuff together for sandwiches.

“Look, I know you’re angry.”

“You think?” she asked snappishly.

She snatched a knife out of the drawer and began slicing the tomato.

“I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings,” he said, leaning closer. “That wasn’t my intent when I said vampire.”

“I can’t help being mortal,” she snapped. Glaring up at him, furious that he had the audacity to mention wanting a bloody vampire. “I didn’t ask to be your stupid mate. I didn’t ask for any of this.”

“And you think I did?” he asked angrily.

The pain behind his words startled her. The knife slipped off the tomato, slicing a long gash along her finger.

She cried out, clutching her bleeding finger. She moved to the sink, but he stood in the way.

“Move,” she said shakily, “water will slow the bleeding.” She grew light headed. Ugh, she hated blood.

He cupped her hand in his. Before she could stop him, he stuck her bleeding finger in his mouth, curling his tongue around the throbbing gash.

She tugged, but he refused to let her hand go. “Tyler, geez, that’s gross. There’s no telling what you might give me.”

He pulled her finger from his mouth. “Give you?”

“Yes, you moron, you’re not human. What if you give me some kind of virus that just makes you sneeze but kills me?” Her condemning words stumbled to a halt.

Her finger wasn’t bleeding. The gash sealed shut before her eyes. He had somehow healed her. Her heart raced at the implications.

He dropped her hand and the loss of his touch hit her. She sucked in a deep calming breath, trying to understand her confused emotions.

“I was trying to help,” he said, tipping her chin up with a quick touch of his finger. “Until I know if you’re my mate, you’re mine to protect.”

Surprised, she blurted out. “You don’t know if I’m your mate?” How could he hesitate, when it was so obvious they were mates?

She didn’t have a single doubt, not with his emotions and thoughts hitting when she least expected them.

“When I touched you the first time, I thought my skin tingled, but that doesn’t confirm you’re my mate.” His eyes grew hooded and he shrugged his shoulders. “I won’t know for sure until my skin heats and a mate mark appears.”

She swallowed. His lack of heated skin put a new spin on everything. The unknown was always harder than the known. No wonder he bounced from being nice to irritable at the drop of a hat.

She was a total stranger, a stranger that might spell his death in a few years. He was a near-immortal dragon stuck with the possibility of a mere mortal as a mate.

She struggled with her new knowledge. His words still hurt, but if their places had been reversed, she might’ve acted the same way. She snorted to herself. Right, who kept feeling sorry for herself?

“Lydia said it could be months,” she said hesitantly, unsure if she should tell him the truth. He needed to know they definitely were mates, but she didn’t know him well enough to gauge his reaction. She didn’t particularly want a new hole in the kitchen wall when he flew into a rage.

“Yeah, well, that just changed. I’ve tasted your blood and your body absorbed the healing properties in my saliva. The exchange will help rush things along.”

Her head snapped up. “You could’ve asked my permission first. Who says I want to rush this mate thing along?”

“Wouldn’t you rather know?” he questioned. His gaze turned thoughtful. “If you took a drop or two of my blood, we might find out even sooner.”

She stilled. Unsure if speeding up the process was a good or bad thing. She tilted her head studying him, wishing his emotions or thoughts would pick that moment to flash in her head. It didn’t happen.

“Fine,” she agreed impulsively. Maybe drinking his blood would keep the black hole from growing any bigger. That would be a blessing. She was getting desperate to make it go away.

Anyway, at that point, what could rushing his side of the mate-thing hurt? The thought scared the crap out of her, but she knew they were already mated. Her only question was whether she could reject him after the black hole disappeared.

From his raised eyebrow and parted lips, her answer had surprised him. He didn’t give her time to change her mind. Picking up the knife she dropped, he sliced the tip of his finger. Blood beaded. He held his finger to her lips.

She calmly accepted his finger into her mouth, sucking the warm blood down her throat. It tasted salty, but that was it. She didn’t have a sudden revelation or yearning to drink more.

He leaned closer. His warm breath feathered across her cheek.

He slowly pulled his finger out of her mouth. She had a split-second warning before his lips captured hers. Lightly, he brushed his lips against hers. Once. Twice. He hesitated.

Her heart raced as the feathering touches returned, skimming across her cheek. She shivered and leaned into his touch. She didn’t like the idea of a permanent mate, but having him as a boyfriend sounded like a great idea. His lips tilted her world, setting her on fire.

The kitchen door swished open.

She jumped away from him, taking several jerky side steps down the length of the counter.

At a snail’s pace, Lydia and Keith made their way into the kitchen. Her arm curled protectively around his waist. He had cleaned-up and changed clothes, but didn’t look any better than before.

Realizing her uncle didn’t notice her kissing Tyler, she breathed a sigh of relief.

Tyler stepped closer, reaching for her.

She tilted her chin up and shook her head. “No,” she said softly, not wanting her uncle or Lydia to overhear as they settled at the kitchen table.

Her chest ached, hurting as she refused him. She really did like him. His touch warmed her very soul, but she couldn’t forget the emotions she had been feeling from him. “You really can’t stand the thought of what I am. Until you can look at me without disgust in your eyes, just keep away from me.”

“Disgust?” He snarled in disbelief, looming over her. “Did I just act disgusted? Because that sure as heck wasn’t what I was feeling.”

“Then your memory is shorter than mine, because at the jeep you couldn’t get away from my touch fast enough.” Gathering up the food, she settled everything on the table.

“Any word from Kayla?” Keith asked, grimacing as he shifted. His hand curled around his ribs.

“No,” she said, worry creased her forehead. “When I talked to her last night, she said they’d be home by morning. It’s nearly two. She should’ve called by now.”

She picked up the clunky handheld phone, wishing her cell hadn’t caught the brunt of her fall the day before. She figured the SIM card still worked, but the phone was a lost cause, cracked down the middle. Teach her to carry it in her hip pocket, not that she planned to land on her butt again anytime soon.

“Hi, guess what? You missed me! Leave a message at the beep,” Kayla’s recorded voice said cheerfully.

Emma groaned and left another message, her words repeated what she’d said early that morning. Refusing to give up, she tried Kayla’s home phone. It beeped and the answering machine popped on.

Hours later, Emma’s stomach growled. She wished she had eaten a sandwich with the others. At the time, her stomach had been in turmoil, knotting every time she glanced at Tyler. Now, there wasn’t time.

She grabbed a granola bar, and shoved it in her pocket.

Hurrying out the door, she looked around her front yard, searching for a way out of her current problem. It was nearly seven o’clock and Lydia was insisting they leave immediately.

Emma understood the hurry. A few minutes before, an enforcer reported several dozen armed men heading toward the house. She wasn’t exactly excited about an up-close and personal meeting with the U.S. military, and if the dragons stuck around, she knew a confrontation was only a matter of time.

Thirty feet away, Keith had his arm firmly around his youthful-looking mate. Since lunch, they had been discussing the pros and cons of flying to Capital City and what would happen when they got there.

She hadn’t doubted Lydia would get her way. Even with his face beat-up, Keith had a softness Emma had never seen. He had never looked at his first wife the way he looked at Lydia.

The day had been a roller coaster of emotions and it wasn’t over yet. In a way, she was relieved Tyler didn’t have the beginnings of a mate mark, because if he could’ve sensed her emotions, he might’ve felt forced into accepting her. She certainly didn’t want his pity along with everything else.