Mere Passion (11 page)

He logged onto his transmitter from the Dendric One and saw that the boat was off the coast of Norway. Time to organize pick up locations and helicopter schedules. The boat would not fit more than maybe fifteen mere, and he hoped to gather far more than that. He mentally calculated how many of the dolphin shifters he might have at his disposal. When he’d first hired John Karon, the man had been a machine. No matter the species, he raked in several each day. However, in Serena his catches had been wanting, and then they'd been stolen right from the captain’s grasp.

Something was slowing Karon down. Perhaps something to do with his latent vampire genes? Dr. Grathers shrugged. John Karon might be reaching the end of his usefulness. Further, the efforts to activate his latent genes had proven unsuccessful. With a sigh, the scientist rifled through new job applicants. It would be hard to find a replacement paranormal species hunter who also knew how to captain a large fishing boat. Then again, a tight job market always encouraged applicants to build new and diverse skills.

He began compiling a list of tests and procedures to perform on the latent vampire. Even if the treatments proved completely unsuccessful, there was always more to learn. After this trip to the Arctic, Karon would be harvested and then sacrificed like any other subject.

* * * *

Council Chair Woodard read the latest fax from Florian on Murrough Island. A broad grin swept his features. So General Kai had begun an affair—with an island royal, no less. This was perfect. A male like him would go to any length to protect his paramour. Things were falling into place far sooner than he could have expected. He opened his laptop and typed an email.

Pierson,

You are free to begin captures as soon as your boat enters Svalbard. Murrough Island’s coordinates and suggested collection sites are attached. Happy Hunting!

Kind regards,

Elijah

Chapter 7

Kai strode like an emperor through the Glass House’s wide hallways, tray of food in hand. Though Alara had insisted he sleep in his own room, he’d woken early and requested breakfast from the kitchen staff. Each person who passed nodded a polite Good Morning, and the dragon responded to each with warm greetings.

His steps were springy, and that grin kept creeping back to his face. Images of the earlier night flashed through his memory. Arousing pictures of Alara in the throes of passion alternated with sweet memories of the talk and caresses they’d shared afterward. He couldn’t wait to see her again, to feed her and see her smile, to press his lips on hers.

When he arrived at her door, a pleasant thrill of nerves rolled through him. He wasn’t sure how one normally behaved in these situations, but his romantic success last night reassured him that he’d figure it out. His knuckles rapped smartly, and his breath caught in his chest as it opened part way.

Alara’s rumpled hair stretched along her body in a tangled mess, and her face was still puffy and dented from sleep. She looked beautiful—sexy and innocent. Those cool-blue eyes hovered half closed with tiredness. She kept the door mostly closed, not allowing him to enter.

“What are you doing here?”

Something about her tone wiggled a needle of dread into him, but he stood firm and smiled. “I brought you breakfast. I mean- I brought us breakfast, to eat together.” He thrust the tray toward her. The small vase holding a red carnation wobbled at the movement.

She frowned, and her eyes rolled. “You don’t seem to be clear on the concept of a one night stand.”

He’d never heard the term before, but the part about “one night” was clear enough. “So, you mean to say that after last night–”

“We go back to the way things were before. You and I have a professional relationship. You’ll finish your observations and return to Dragon Headquarters.”

He only really heard the first sentence of her response. “How could we return to how things were before? That’s not possible.” He sputtered, incensed that she’d deny him the very thing she offered, nay—forced upon him—last night.

“People do it all the time, dragon.” Her tone was distant, bored. He wanted to shake her, kiss her, do something to remove this cold mask she wore.

“I have a name, Princess. You should remember, you screamed it many times last night.” He leaned toward her, planning to push her back into the room, push her back onto the bed.

She shoved a hand out, knocking his shoulder back. Her voice dripped sarcasm like acid. “Well, thanks for the fuck, Kai. It was great. Yay, you! Now finish up what you’re here for and go home.” With that, she slammed the door.

* * * *

A thick funk of guilt settled on Alara’s shoulders as she turned from the door and back to her friend.

“Looks like you’ve earned yourself an admirer, sweetheart,” Erling observed from behind the Style section of an imported
New York Times
. “So, you invited me to breakfast to protect you from jilted lovers and moon-eyed dragons? Or are you going to make it worth my time and spill the deets?”

She shrugged. “Nothing much to tell. It was fun.” Alara hoped her voice sounded less wistful to Erling’s ears than it did to hers.

With an eye roll, her friend put down the paper and started buttering a croissant. “Really? I’m going to need more than that. Was it any good? Was he talented in any specific department? Hung like a walrus? For the love of Odin, you’re going to have to do better than ‘fun’. If I had…”

The crash of Alara’s door slamming into her wall drowned out Erling’s words. The dragon stalked in and grabbed Erling by the neck, lifting him slowly, till the male mere’s toes skimmed the floor.

Kai’s voice rasped and growled, devoid of all humanity. “Why are you here?”

The corded muscles in the dragon’s neck strained, and his biceps bulged under Erling’s weight. His face betrayed murderous rage. Alara fought a soft swell of arousal, and wondered if maybe she’d bit off a little more than she could chew when she’d taken him on.

She laid her hand against him arm, trying to calm whatever beast had been unleashed. “Kai. Erling is my
friend
. We were just having breakfast. Please put him down.”

The dragon blinked rapidly, his teeth grinding, but he softened his hold. Erling shoved against the dragon’s chest viciously, landed on the floor, and pressed a hand to his sore neck. The males faced off, each with his chest heaving in anger. With a snarl, Erling launched. Alara stepped between them, arms out.

“E—that’s not a good idea.” When he struggled to get closer to the dragon, Alara grasped the front of his shirt. “I’m sure Kai will apologize, E.” She turned to the taller male. “Won’t you, General?”

Alara heard his teeth gnashing. “My apologies,” he bit out, clearly not meaning it.

Erling glared, but shook off Alara’s hand. He collected himself, and then shot an assessing glance at Alara, then at Kai, then back to Alara. He snorted. Turning to the door, he said. “You two have fun!”

With dread, Alara realized she and Kai were alone again. His muscles still strained in anger under his black T-shirt. She wanted to lick each and every one of them. But getting naked with a visiting dragon after a night of post-Games drinking was one thing. Doing it in the light of day, stone-cold sober? That was something else entirely.

Kai growled. “You did not…you were not intimate with him?”

Much as Alara didn’t feel it was any of Kai’s business, in the interest of stopping another fist-fight she said, “No, I was not intimate with him this morning.”

Those fathomless eyes swung to her. “But you have been at another time?”

Her shoulders rolled forward as she groaned. “Well yeah, but that was ages and ages ago. He doesn’t even like girls all that much anymore.” When Kai’s forehead knit together, she clarified. “He likes boys, I mean males.”

Kai’s mouth fell open, and he turned green. “That does not occur in the dragon population.” His eyes flickered, seemingly playing out various scenarios, each one frightening him more than the next.

Alara took pity on him even as she rolled her eyes. “Of course it doesn’t.”

The dragon gulped and then took a deep breath, turning to her. “So he was the one who marked you? And then he abandoned females?”

She winced. “Well, no. But Erling came shortly after. And E didn’t exactly abandon females altogether. It’s a small island, and beggars can’t be choosers. There’s always a female trying to turn that ship around.”

Kai’s face betrayed hurt, then disgust. She’d forgotten that expression, though she’d seen it enough the first day he arrived. At first, his censure had been funny—a challenge. Now it cut her like a knife. “Get the fuck out of my room.”

She saw a flash of something in his eyes as he turned to leave, then Kai paused, holding the doorknob. Alara could have sworn he would say something, or that his head would bow in guilt, but he swung the door open and stormed out.

Well, that didn’t go exactly as planned.
Alara shook her head, ridding herself of a barrage of unwanted feelings. He’d left. That’s what mattered. And clearly he’d absorbed the fact that it was a one-night-only deal and that he was one of many.
Good times.

She stood up and head to the bathroom to prepare for her day. A warm shower, a shave of her legs, and Alara would be good as new, ready to regale her friends with tales of her latest conquest, and laugh about the dragon’s prudishness.

Just as she started the shower her phone beeped out the emergency ring tone. Kaylee’s voice blasted through the line. “Alara. Two little girls disappeared from the Southeast quadrant early this morning. They swam off a distance from their friends and never returned. It’s only been a few hours but I thought you should know.”

Her heart beat hard in her chest, and her lips narrowed to a thin line.
Oh fuck, not again!
“Call the lieutenants together. One hour, in my office—and make sure the dragon doesn’t hear anything about any of this.”

* * * *

Kai prowled the bow of a sixteen-foot motorboat as Olaf steered through the outer edges of Murrough Island waters. The impromptu tour of the island’s boundaries appeared a diversion to keep him away from Alara for the day, but the dragon didn’t mind. He couldn’t bear to be near her. The hours he’d spent alone with her had been the most exciting of his life. But to think that she’d shared that experience with another…and more than one…

A great void yawned in his heart and mind, mirroring the barren, icy landscape around him. He hardly understood what Chair Woodard wanted from these mere. The island was perfectly fine without dragon interference, and Alara was perfectly happy without him.

Kai turned to Olaf. “This has been very interesting, but I would like to return to shore. I need to contact my superiors.” Perhaps if the Council Chair felt that Kai had collected enough information, Kai could leave for headquarters right away. A short “Goodbye” to the king, and he could return to dragon form and cut through water for the five day journey home.

When they got back to shore, he retrieved his cell phone from the changing room. The sooner he left, the sooner the empty pulsing in his chest would cease. In fact, upon his return he would demand a bride. His mate would love him, and he in turn would shower her with affection and care. They would be happy, contented, not suffering and tormented and burning up inside.

After only two rings, the Council Chair answered. “General Nasu, good to hear from you, I’ve been calling you all morning.”

“I’m sorry Chair Woodard.” He shot an angry glance at Olaf, who was still docking the boat. “I was out of cell phone range. I want to request to end this assignment early.” He tried to continue, but was interrupted.

“That’s impossible, Kai, not with the kidnappings that have occurred.”

Kai’s eyes widened in surprise. “What kidnappings?”