Licked by the Flame (21 page)

“Lianne, it isn’t like that. I only—”

“You only made me want you so you could get back here and fight off these creepy little fairies, didn’t you?”

“I never used my mental powers to control you for sex.”

“Yeah, that’s what they all say.”

“Hell, Lianne, it’s true! Yes, I’ll admit to clouding your mind a few times to hide the truth from you, but I didn’t—”

“Save it, Nic. I don’t even know why I’m surprised about this. I knew from the start I should never trust you. Go on out there and make yourself all big and scary. Fry those damned fairies and whoever else you don’t like very much. I’m going to stay here and put my clothes back on.”

“Lianne, you must understand that—”

“No! I already understand more than enough. Hell, maybe there’s really nothing to understand. Maybe this is all just some damn hallucination and none of this is real. Maybe I’m not even here, maybe I’m still back in a hospital bed waiting to die.”

“You
are
here, and I
do
care what happens to you.”

“Just go. I’ll be fine.”

He wanted to argue, to convince her that she was wrong about him, about his motives. What would be the point, though? She wasn’t wrong. He had used her from the start—it’s what he did. He was a dragon, after all.

Humans were supposed to mean nothing to him. Once she fulfilled her purpose he should have been ready to go and fulfill his. Why was this so damn hard for him now? He had to leave her, to tend to the clutch.

The clutch.
He was sworn to protect it and nothing else should matter. He could sense the strange magic being brought into his mountain by his enemies. Even now, as he lingered here, still feeling the surge of passion through his veins and the hum of satisfaction in his skin, the danger was growing. He had to put Lianne from his mind and focus on his duty.

But he couldn’t. His mind was still linked to hers. Perhaps it was the recent passion they’d shared, or because her illness had left her more vulnerable and open than others, but the link between them was strong. He knew that her harsh words and the cold disdain in her eyes were entirely an act. She was aching inside. It made him ache, too.

“I don’t want to leave you,” he admitted.

“Well you’d better,” she snapped. “I don’t want you here.”

If he wasn’t still buried deeply inside her mind, he would have likely believed her. The venom in her voice was convincing. The hurt in her eyes, however, ruined the effect.

“Stay hidden. I’ll be back for you,” he promised.

“I hope so. I don’t have a lot of time left, and I’ll be damned if I spend it trying to find my way out of this stupid volcano on my own.”

The heat of passion and battle raging through him flared even hotter. He met her eyes and saw what he’d felt in her mind: she worried for him. An involuntary thrill coursed through him at the realization of her concern, and how much he liked it.

“I will come back to you, Lianne.”

She must have felt the intimacy in his words and felt uncomfortable. She looked away, busying herself with the hunt for her clothes and the effort to keep herself hidden from him. As if he didn’t know entirely too well every curve and contour of her body now. Each velvety inch of her was burned into his mind, his fingers still tingled with the warmth of her skin. Loving Lianne had left its mark on him, inside and out. He would forever see her, taste her, sense her no matter what barriers she put up between them.

For now, though, he’d let her have her privacy. He felt her inward struggle, the fear warring with other emotions she would rather not be dealing with right now. He understood completely.

At this very moment he’d like nothing more than to grab her back into his arms and kiss her until they both forgot duty and cancer and all their warring emotions. Of course he couldn’t do that. The best he could do was leave her in peace and vow to return.

As much as his clan’s future depended on him protecting the clutch, he sensed his own future required he do exactly the same for Lianne.

S
he had her back to him but she could feel when he left the room. He moved silently, yet she sensed him moving farther from her, deeper into the labyrinth of tunnels that honeycombed throughout the volcano. Still, she could feel his presence not entirely gone.

He must be using those stupid dragon powers again, holding her mind and bending her to his will. He could say what he wanted, but she’d never forgive him for taking advantage of her. There was no way she would have ever jumped into the sack so quickly with him if he hadn’t been controlling her mind somehow.

He was an asshole. He was conceited. He was a freaking
dragon
, for God’s sake—not even the same species. No, she would never have thrown herself at him if he hadn’t made her do it. Now she didn’t care if she ever saw him again.

But she did care. Damn it, why should she be worried about what might happen to him out there? She probably didn’t even need him to get out of here. She could maybe just feel her way, retracing her steps. How hard could that be?

Too hard. Yes, she needed Nic. But only to escape this place and get back to the jobsite. Nothing more.

So why was he still stuck in her head? She could feel him, sense his heart pounding as he moved through the tunnels. She’d gotten used to hearing his voice in her mind, and apparently he’d been able to subliminally influence her actions, but this went beyond that. When had she started being able to actually feel what he felt, sense what he sensed?

Her skin prickled with the same tension she knew that he felt. She could sense the darkness around him, yet he was having no trouble finding his way. The walls, the crevices in the rock, it was as if she could trace them all with her fingertips, yet she hadn’t left the warm living quarters. Her eyes could see only the same things she’d seen when he first led her here; the bed, the bookshelf, the table in the corner. How could she possibly feel as if she were looking at the dim passageways between here and the clutch?

Damn him for invading her mind! The tumor had done more than enough of that already. What space she had left in there, she’d rather keep it all for herself. Maybe if she just quit thinking about him, he’d lose his hold over her.

She grabbed up her clothes and fumbled with them. Her body was still weak and trembling from the amazing things he’d done to her. Why couldn’t he have just been some regular guy? If she had to dive into meaningless sex, it would have at least been nice for the guy to be just an ordinary dickhead, someone she wouldn’t feel too bad about if he never called her back. Now she had to spend the rest of her life pining for magic.

She had no delusions on that; magic was the only explanation for the way he’d made her feel. She’d never been with anyone like him and there was no way she’d ever be with somebody better. Not even if she did have a full life span ahead of her. Damn him and his creepy dragon powers! He’d flat out ruined her for anyone else.

And of course she’d meant nothing to him. He’d played with her like a toy, then used her for whatever it was that he got out of her. She could still barely catch her breath or stand on her unsteady legs, but he went off to do battle with a cheerful swagger and that damned cockeyed smile. He probably would come back here, just as he said. No doubt he’d need a little pick-me-up after slaying the magical bad guys.

Well, she wasn’t going to fall into his bed so easily next time. She pulled on her pants, wincing at the pain in her injured leg. He’d done a fairly good job of distracting her from it, at least she was slightly thankful for that. She slipped on her boots and realized she’d be okay to walk out of here on her own. It would have been infuriating to need him to carry her.

The walls of their little room flickered, the warm light from the glowing chamber outside making it almost homey. She paced a bit, then found a book on the shelf that looked interesting. The only really comfortable place to curl up and read, however, was the bed and she couldn’t quite bring herself to hop back in. It would make her remember Nic’s hands and his lips and his crazy-hot abs and…well, she was trying not to think about all that stuff right now.

She dropped the book on the rock table and went closer to the narrow opening in the wall. Would she see him down there yet? He moved quickly; it probably had been long enough for him to wind his way through the dark tunnels and get to his clutch. She peered out, careful to keep herself hidden just in case anyone was down there looking this way.

The clutch seemed untouched. The fiery pool surrounding the eggs seemed hotter and stronger than before. There was no sign of Nic, but no sign of any fairies or other humans, either. Was that a good sign, or did that mean Nic had already found them? Was he okay?

Yes, she knew that he was. She could still feel him. The sensation was more vague, more distant now, but she knew he was not in any danger. He was waiting, prowling. Apparently the creatures he was after had not yet made it to the large chamber where his clutch lay. Obviously he wasn’t planning to let them get there.

She hoped whatever ensued wouldn’t play itself out in her mind. She didn’t need any more craziness in there, that was for certain. She didn’t want to know if anything bad happened to him, either. The thought of anyone harming him…she couldn’t let her mind go there. It was too hard to forget how angry she was with him for using her.

Except that he hadn’t used her. He’d taken care of her and kept her safe, and she was pretty damn sure when it came right down to it, she’d gotten a hell of a lot more out of their lovemaking than he had. She’d do it all over again, too, if they ever got the chance.

God, she hoped they got the chance.

Desperate to keep herself distracted, she went back to her wincing, hobbling version of nervous pacing. How long was this going to take? What was going on here, anyway? Maybe she ought to read that book, after all. She’d go nuts worrying if she didn’t find some way to keep her mind occupied. Too bad her phone wouldn’t work in this place, she could…

What was that sound?

She paused, holding her breath. Had she heard something? No, probably not. Nic wasn’t anywhere nearby, she could feel that. She couldn’t have heard anything. She took one step to start pacing again and then froze.

She
had
heard something. Way off in the distance, echoing around the narrow passages just out beyond the doorway…
voices
. Oh, hell. Nic wasn’t around here, but somebody was. More than one somebody, by the sound of it.

She had to hide! If they found their way here, they probably weren’t going to be happy to see her. Scanning the small room, her options seemed limited.

Under the bed? No, there was no “under the bed”; it was carved out of rock. Damn it. Table and chair? Same problem. Bathroom? She peeked around the corner. Whoa. Kind of primitive, and certainly no hiding place.

The tapestry on the wall! Yes, maybe that would work. She darted over to check it out. Miraculously, there was a little bit of a gap just behind it. The rock face was uneven and maybe that was why Nic hung the thing here in the first place. But it sure was lucky for her. She could tuck herself in there and not leave a bump or even her feet showing from the front.

It was a long shot, but not like she had other options. Gathering up the rest of her clothes and making sure there was nothing else to indicate she’d been here, she pulled up the tapestry and slid behind it. God, she hoped it stopped swaying before anyone might come in and wonder who’d disturbed things.

Mostly, though, she hoped no one would come in at all. Were they still out there? She wasn’t close enough to the doorway to hear. Maybe they’d gone on, maybe they hadn’t been able to find this place.

For a few seconds she dared breathe a bit, but then a new sound caught her ears. She tensed, but held perfectly still. From the doorway she could hear just the slightest whisper, the hint of a flutter, something light brushing the walls.

“This way,” a hushed voice breathed almost inaudibly. “He’s gone.”

The voice was strange, clearly not anyone Lianne recognized. Not any
thing
she recognized, perhaps. She couldn’t say that it even sounded human. Was this a fairy? Maybe. She didn’t exactly know a lot about how fairies sounded. This one sounded like…well, like maybe a sneaky, evil, snakelike grandmother fairy. If there were such a thing.

Another voice replied. This one most definitely sounded human. It sounded a hell of a lot like Mr. Blanchard, one of the engineers she’d left back at that jobsite, as a matter of fact. What could he be doing here?

“Ouch! Damn it, how can you see anything in this place? Why’d you make me turn off the flashlight?”

“Shut up,” the strange, hissing voice shushed. “You’ll be able to see fine inside. Come on, slide through the opening.”

“Walk here, climb this, slide through. What sort of place are you taking—”

Mr. Blanchard’s voice broke off and was replaced by a low whistle. “He’s got a regular apartment set up in here. No wonder he never seemed to be in his room at the site. He’s been coming out here all along.”

“I told you that,” the other voice snapped. “Now stop talking and get the gear set up. We don’t know how long the others can keep him distracted. He’ll sense me if we don’t hurry.”

“Sense you, huh? He sure didn’t sense us wandering into his damn living room.”

“Of course he did. He knows we’re here—he just doesn’t know who poses the greatest danger. He’ll figure out what we’re up to soon enough, though.”

“When we fry those goose eggs down there, huh?”

“We can’t fry them, you idiot. They’re
dragon
eggs.”

“Okay, we’ll blow them up. Whatever. Now where do you want me to set this up?”

“Over here,” the other voice said, moving threateningly close to where Lianne was hiding.

“Ah, you can see right down into that steaming nest,” the man said. “I can launch from here, no problem.”

“Exactly. And we’ll be safely out of the way.”

“Not a bad plan, lizard girl.”

“Stop calling me that! Hurry. Make sure you have the perfect vantage. We’ll only get one shot at this.”

There was much shuffling and the sound of metal clanging against itself. Lianne could only guess what they were doing, but she had a relatively fair idea. The man must be putting together some sort of weapon, a gun, maybe. A big gun if he was using words like “launch,” actually.

Were they going to launch something down into the clutch to destroy the eggs? Damn, that was harsh. If Nic was anywhere down there near the clutch, it probably wouldn’t go so well for him, either.

What could she do? How could she take on two people and a great big gun? Her leg throbbed even harder just thinking about it. Where was Nic when she needed him?

Wait a minute, Nic was in her head, wasn’t he? Why couldn’t she just let him know what was going on? It’s not like she knew how to carry on deep telepathic conversation, but he’d given her directions for finding her way through the tunnels, hadn’t he? Maybe she could get another message to him.

It seemed like that was just about all that she could do. Concentrating on all the sounds she was hearing and the fear thumping hard in her chest, she tried to focus her energy on Nic, wherever he was. It felt stupid, but she tried to overlook that. Pretending to be psychic was not half as stupid as jumping into bed with a dark, dangerous Russian the day after she met him.

But damn, she would never regret doing it, that was for sure. Getting caught here by some crazies with a rocket launcher, she might totally regret that, of course. Somehow she’d just have to make sure they didn’t catch her.

She huddled behind the tapestry as they shuffled and moved about. Minutes ticked by and she kept trying to concentrate on contacting Nic, but there was no way to know if he detected her. Fortunately, it seemed like the two people in the room with her didn’t either.

They seemed to be concentrating their actions near the narrow openings that overlooked the incubation chamber. Metal feet scraped across the floor; a tripod, maybe, being set up to support whatever weapon they were planning to use. Lianne’s heart raced.

She still searched her mind for any real indication that Nic read her thoughts. They were such a jumble of emotion and what-ifs that she had no way of knowing whether or not Nic was aware, or if he could make any sense of it if he was. She needed to focus, to sort through the jumble to the most important thing he needed to know: someone was planning to kill him.

“Ah, there’s the ugly bastard now,” Blanchard announced.

“You see him? Nic is down there?” the woman questioned, her voice very near her companion’s.

“Yeah, look through here. See? You can’t miss him just on the other side, in the shadows. Damn, he’s big and evil looking. You sure that’s him? I only see him looking more humanlike.”

So Nic was in his warrior mode. He was in his big, terrifying dragon form. Good. Maybe he wouldn’t be so easy for these two to pick off.

“Yes, that’s him. Take your aim and make it count.”

“Hell, dragons sure are ugly sons of bitches.”

“You have a problem with how dragons look?”

“I have a problem with how
that
dragon looks. He’s been masquerading as human all this time and now I see this is what he really is. I find it insulting.”

“Only because you didn’t figure it out until I had to tell you.”

“Well, now I know and he’s going to pay for it. Trying to breed a whole army of scaly abominations to take over the world…we won’t let that happen.”

“That’s right. We’ll put an end to it right now. Go ahead, take the shot.”

“Right now?”

“Shoot him, damn it. He’s close enough to the clutch. Fire that thing into his heart. The explosion will be enough to destroy Nicolai Vladik and his whole precious hatchery.”

“You sure? It’ll take them all out and it won’t be too much? I mean, we’ll still be able to get out of here, right?”

“Yes, of course. Do it! Take the shot!”

“I don’t know. What about the McGowan bitch? He brought her out here with him. Maybe she’s still—”