ROMANCE: SHAPESHIFTER ROMANCE: Dragon Baller's Bride (Dragon Shifter Alpha Male Romance) (Paranormal Romantic Suspense) (65 page)

E
nergy shot through her
. She swayed against him, melting at the soft touch of his lips and the almost cautious way he cupped her face. Tension was vibrating through him, a driving need that terrified her and thrilled her all at once. She was sure she knew what he wanted, but she knew only the shape of it, only that he wanted this same thing that made her shiver even while her blood felt like it was on fire.

She’d given up on sex and relationships long ago. She never quite understood what was so good about it to begin with, and none of her boyfriends had shown the patience to wait for her to feel ready. When she watched romantic comedies or read books, it was with a bemused sort of disbelief. No one ever really felt like that. Not really. Right?

Well, she felt it now. Every single word of those books had come true. She could not have stopped if the roof had caved in. She could not have pulled herself away. She wanted…everything. For the first time, she truly wanted it, and she wanted to laugh, too, at her own absurdity: she’d known this man for so little time, and he had kidnapped her. What made him a better choice than any one of her other boyfriends? What earthly reason did she have to trust him?

The answer came to her at once, defying her attempts to wish it away: of all of them, he had the power to take anything he wanted from her, and he hadn’t. He had come here to reassure her. He had left her here and gone away when he could have demanded her compliance.

And the rest…the connection she had felt since the first moment she looked into his eyes. That, she could not explain. She would have dismissed it entirely except that it consumed her. She was aching with it. She had felt the touch of his hands on her skin and the heat of him, and now she could not get enough.

He had more resolve than she did. He drew back, breath coming raggedly.

“We can’t do this.”

She would ask why, but she knew what he would say. “Yes, we can.” He had kissed her, but she had more than returned the kiss by now.

“No. We…we can’t.
I
can’t.” He stood, backed away. “I…”

“Stay,” she whispered, too lost in desire for any pride. When he did not move, she stood as well. The pajamas she’d found in the dresser felt ridiculous now, little shorts and a camisole, nothing she would have worn herself.

“I have to go.”

Neither of them heard the footsteps on the carpet until Liam was already at the door.

“What’s going on?”

Cameron swore, and Lily tried not to sway. She was already liquid with desire, and the man’s voice only stoked it, making her want—

No. No, she couldn’t want
that.

…Could she?

“What did you do?” Liam asked Cameron when neither of them answered. His tone was accusing…and curious. Almost yearning.

“It just happened,” Cameron whispered.

“It didn’t just—”

“I was crying,” Lily said, making both men jump. They were drawn together, close as lovers, and it was like they had forgotten she was here. “He came to make sure I knew I was safe.”

Liam shot Cameron a look.

“You would have done the same if you heard it,” Cameron muttered.

Liam did not respond to that.

“And then what happened?” He asked, his voice dripping menace and heat at the same time.

“I missed her,” Cameron said, almost lazily. When Liam turned his head sharply, there was a moment of understanding between them.

What she expected, Lily did not know. She did
not
expect for Liam to come into the room, shutting the door behind him with a soft click, and she did not expect his gaze on her face, on her body.

“Come here.”

She could not resist the command: she went to him as if in a dream, sliding into his arms, knowing what he wanted before he said it. This was the electricity she’d felt between them in James’s house, in the study. She’d known his desire, and her own, and all she knew now was that he wanted her. There was not a thought in her mind beyond him—the scent of him, the heat of him, the feel of his body against hers. She stood on tip toe to kiss him and he bent to take her in his arms, one hand sliding down to cup her ass.

When she moaned against his lips, he shuddered. His hand went to the back of her head, holding her in place as his tongue thrust into her mouth. She would have fallen if it were not for his other arm around her back. She could feel him rock-hard, and with daring she hadn’t known she possessed, she slid one hand down to glide over the fabric of his pants. He stiffened, his arms tightening, his assault on her mouth at once confident and desperate. He needed her. He would stop at nothing to have her.

The thought gave her a rush of pleasure, heady and unfamiliar. Other men had wanted to bed her, she knew that. But they had wanted the act. Another woman might have been as good for them. Now, here: Liam wanted
her.
He wanted to bed her so that he could possess her. He wanted to thrust into her and feel her against him,
her
, Lily and no one else. The act was far, far less intimate than the fact that he intended to conquer her. She knew it, she could feel it in her bones. And she wanted him so much she was aching.

He broke the kiss at last and she swayed against him.

“Cameron.” His voice was rough with desire, and Lily only now remembered what had happened a few moments before. Shame suffused her. Kissing Cameron, and then Liam. Wanting Liam as wantonly as she had, when only moments before she had been begging Cameron to stay. What would they think of her?

But Cameron was behind her, his body pressing her closer to Liam while his hand tangled in her hair and drew her head back. When she felt his lips at her throat she whimpered. She could feel his hardness, too, pressing against the curve of her ass, and arched her back to press against him. A growl told her what he thought of that, and one hand grabbed her hip to draw her even closer.

His mouth was on hers now, no less possessive than Liam’s, and they held her immobile for their hands to drag lightly across her skin, fingers circling the sensitive skin of her nipple, drawing the camisole up. There were lips on her throat, hands drawing her forward to press against Liam’s cock, and back to feel Cameron once more. She was fumbling with Liam’s belt, desperate to wrap her fingers around him. What this was, she did not know, could not understand. She only knew that this was the first time in years that she had felt complete…and that she had felt like a woman.

When Cameron’s fingers slipped inside her shorts, she gasped. He pulled her away from Liam, lifting her effortlessly, and laid her down on the bed. A light touch guided her hips up as the shorts came down over her legs; he threw them to one side, and his hands urged her to part her thighs for him.

A weight on the bed told her that Liam had joined them. His fingers turned Lily’s face to his and his lips had just met hers when Cameron slid two fingers inside her. She would have cried out except for Liam’s mouth on hers, and his groan at the sound of her pleasure. The fingers withdrew, and thrust again, and then Cameron parted her legs and she felt the touch of his tongue on her clit.

She was going to faint from pleasure. She had forgotten which way was up. All she could feel was Cameron’s fingers sliding into her, how slick she was for him, and his tongue moving on her skin. She could feel Liam’s fingers pinch lightly around her nipple, and she arched her back, pressing her breast into his hand. A moment later, she felt something more, more pressure, stretching her, and pain—jarring.

Cameron drew away at once, his fingers leaving her, and she tried to remember words, any words at all, to ask what had happened.

“What is it?” Liam was looking down at her, worry clear in his voice.

“It…hurt.”

Liam’s look was quick, sharp, and Cameron only nodded.

“What?” Lily asked them. “What is it?”

“You’re…” Cameron gave a sigh, clearly trying to steady himself. “You’re a virgin.”

Shame crashed down on her. She pulled away from Liam, from them both, wishing she knew where her shorts were.

“I’m not…I don’t just…”

“We know.” Liam’s voice was softer than she had ever heard it. “But we shouldn’t have done this. And we definitely shouldn’t do it now.”

“Why
not
?” Lily whispered, her voice breaking. “You want to. I want to.”

“You deserve more for your first time than a dark room and…” Cameron looked away, and Lily remembered all of it: that she was their prisoner, that she’d been left to die, that…

She turned away, lying down on the bed and hunching her shoulders.

“Just go.”

T
he sound
of shouting reached her ears and Lily looked contemplatively at the door. They were leaving it unlocked now, and had for the past two days. But she didn’t open it. She made sure to be in the bathroom, hidden, when someone came to deliver her meals, and she never went out into the hallways.

She did not want to see either of them. She couldn’t bear to face them, not after they’d rejected her. She was a virgin, nothing more. And she was a virgin, she thought rebelliously, because up until two nights ago, she’d never known what it was she wanted. Well, now she knew. She wanted them—both of them.

And they wanted her. This shouldn’t be so difficult, should it? But they had left and she was still here, still slick between her legs when she thought of them, slipping her fingers between her legs sometimes at night to try to remember how it had felt. She wanted…she wanted Cameron’s mouth on her again, and Liam holding her in place, kissing her until she wanted nothing more than him inside her.

She dropped back on the covers with a groan, hands pressed over her eyes. It already didn’t feel real. They couldn’t possibly have wanted her that much, could they? Had she just dreamed all of it? Maybe it hadn’t actually happened. That would make a lot more sense than what she remembered. Of course, it would make her desire to show up naked in their bed a lot more embarrassing. She sat up, blushing, and tried to compose herself.

The yelling hadn’t stopped, and finally she pulled on her work dress and went to go investigate—barefoot, of course. She hadn’t gotten her shoes back yet. She looked along the corridors to see if anyone was going to apprehend her, but no one seemed to be around at all. Odd. She was just looking around for a clock when the shouting took on a familiar tone, and she froze.

It couldn’t be…

But of course it could, she thought bitterly as she descended the stairs. It had been two days and she hadn’t been released. James hadn’t bargained to release her, or she would be gone. He never lost at bargaining. He must consider keeping the others captive to be a higher priority than her safety.

It occurred to her that Liam and Cameron might have lied to her, but she didn’t entertain the thought for long. Their words had rung true. The business deals had been too good lately; she had noticed, even if she wasn’t smart enough to ask why. She still couldn’t quite believe that she’d thought James was turning into a better person.

She padded along the hallway toward the sound of the yelling: the study, she was willing to bet, though it was difficult to say for certain, when she’d been blindfolded the last time. Two men were guarding the door, and they gave her the sort of nod that said she was welcome in the house, but not quite welcome enough to go into the study just now.

She didn’t particularly care.

“That’s my boss in there,” she said, and if it wasn’t entirely accurate—she intended to quit as soon as she got out of here—she was sure they wouldn’t much care.

“No one’s to go in there,” one of them told her gently. “I’d go back upstairs, miss.”

“No. I need to go in.”

“Miss—”

The door opened behind him, and Liam peered out. He seemed almost approving when he saw Lily’s stubborn expression.

“It’s all right, Dennis. Come in, Miss McDermott.”

Lily raised her eyebrows as soon as she made it into the room. James was lying on a very nice carpet wrists and ankles bound, and his suit mussed. She had
never
seen him look less polished than a GQ model, and she could not stop herself from biting her lip at the indignity.

“Lily.”

“Hello, James.” She supposed she should look frightened or injured, but that hadn’t moved him to pity before, and she rather doubted it would do so now.

“Thank God you’re safe,” he told her, and Lily raised an eyebrow at him.

“It’s not God that’s kept me safe. They haven’t harmed me. That’s why I’m safe.”

“Lily, you can’t
trust
them. Come away from that man.”

“I’m quite all right, you know.” She gave a glance at Cameron, and saw his lips quirk. Was it just her own desire, or could she see the pulse speeding at his throat? Was his breath coming short? She hoped so.

But there were other matters to attend to, and the genuine worry in Liam’s eyes reminded her of that. She leaned forward to peer at James.

“So where are they?”

“They’re—where are
who
?” His voice was suspicious, but growing in fear. She shouldn’t know about this, his eyes said.

“The people you had kidnapped.” Lily watched his face pale, and swallowed down her regret.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said, but it was far too late. She had hoped against hope that when she saw him again, he would say something that would prove he’d had nothing to do with all of it. That everything had been a mistake. A terrifying mistake, but just a mistake. She’d known from the moment he got so scared that he’d done something truly, terribly wrong. She had continued to hope that she was mistaken, but she knew it was a lost cause.

She looked away, tears in her eyes, and took a moment to compose herself.

“Mr. Dominick.” Liam crouched behind him, his voice friendly in a way that made Lily’s blood run cold. “You seem to be under the mistaken impression that you can lie your way out of this.”

“I won’t be lectured to on morality by a hit-man,” James hissed.

Lily winced, expecting a blow, but none came. Liam only stood, pacing around James where he lay on the floor.

“Do you know,” he said conversationally, “Watts constrains himself by the same standards to which he holds you?”

A glare was the only answer.

“Accordingly, he did
not
do what the extended family requested, and hand you over to them.”

At this, at last, James paled.

“He asked,” Liam said, as if he hadn’t noticed the man’s discomfort, “that he at least be given a chance to change your mind. They agreed. They gave him four days. As you’ll note…this is the third.”

“You don’t know what you’re meddling in,” James tried. “You’ll get their enemies coming down on you if you try this.”

“I don’t think so. I think everyone’s going to think a stupid American businessman tried to play hardball and got taken out. You see, Mr. Dominick, I don’t want to hurt you, and we both know that.”

“You’re not a very good interrogator.” James looked like he wanted to laugh. “Watts’s morality shot him in the foot.”

“I don’t have to do anything to you, though, do I?” Liam asked. “Like Watts, I don’t like doing violent things. But you see, in this case…I just have to step out of the way. Unless you give me the information, they’ll be here for you tomorrow. And they’ll kill me and mine if I get in their way. And you see, my obligation to you ends when it starts to endanger my men. Do you understand me?”

James said nothing. His face was contorted with hatred.

“So, let me put it this way: you can tell
me
, or you can go with them, and you
will
tell them, because you will tell them anything you can think of to make them stop hurting you, and then they’ll kill you anyway. What’s it going to be?”

“Lily.” James’s face was twisted. “Don’t let them do this to me. Don’t let them—”

“Where were you,” Lily asked him softly, “when they took me? You were in your panic room. You hadn’t even bothered to warn me. And it’s been two days now that you haven’t even tried to save me. How can you possibly ask me to save you?”

“You could. They’ll listen to you.”

“They will,” Lily agreed. “But if you think I’m going to lift a finger to help you so that you can keep holding a family hostage, you’re sadly mistaken. Goodbye, Mr. Dominick.” She stood up and walked out, listening to his cries behind her, hating him and hating herself for ever having trusted him, and she was almost to the stairs when Cameron’s feet sounded behind her.

She caught her breath when she looked up at him, and saw desire flare in his eyes as well. But he was resolute.

“He’ll talk,” he told her. “He’s talking now. Lily, I’m…sorry.”

“Sorry about what?” She asked, a touch of humor. “Him being him, or you kidnapping me?”

“Both. I’m sorry you were scared. I hope you know that no one here would ever have hurt you.”

“I do know,” Lily said softly. She looked down at her hands, trying to screw up her courage to ask the one question she couldn’t hold back any longer. She had just drawn in a deep breath when he said, softly:

“You should go now.”

“What?” She looked up, lost.

“You should…you should go. There’s a car waiting outside. It will take you home.”

“I don’t…”
I don’t want to go.
She knew how ridiculous it was, but it was still true.

“You should. This is no place for you.” And he was gone. Did she see regret in his face? Was he fleeing from her?

She hesitated, looking at the front door that one of the men was holding open for her. She wanted to run back to the study, to drag Liam and Cameron both away from what they were doing, to tell them the truth—that she wanted them, that she wanted to stay.

“Miss?” The man’s voice was soft, and Lily blinked back tears and hurried out into the sunlight, still shoeless, to go back to a life she no longer wanted.