TheWaterDragon (7 page)

The car rolled to a stop a few minutes later and interrupted his thoughts. Looking through his window, he saw what looked like a modern hotel. Damek opened the door and climbed from the car. Just watching his brother stretch his legs made Adrian’s legs ache with the need to do the same.

Not waiting for an invitation, he followed his brother from the vehicle and turned to help the women as they emerged one by one.

Summer was the last. He almost groaned when she stumbled and bumped into him. How would he manage to keep his hands to himself while she was around if she didn’t stop inadvertently pressing her body against his?

Looking down into her innocent expression, he wanted to pull her tight against him and kiss her senseless. How could he when she stood there, giving him such an innocent smile?

Taking a deep breath, Adrian steeled himself against his emotions, set her from him and moved to help the driver retrieve the luggage from the trunk.

“What now?” May asked as she threaded her fingers through Damek’s free hand.

“We go claim our rooms.” Damek smiled down at her. “We have three. You and I will share one, Emily and Summer will share one and Adrian and Broadbent will share the third room.”

What!
His brother did
not
just say he was sharing a room with the driver.

“Excuse me, Damek. Can I have a word with you?”

Damek pulled free of his mate’s grasp and turned to look at Adrian, a knowing expression on his face. “What did you need?” he asked after the others got a few feet ahead of them.

“I am not sharing a room with the driver,” Adrian whispered, clenching his teeth. He was proud of himself for not allowing his temper to get the best of him. It had been difficult to get used to staying in the human form all of the time. Doing so had been at a great cost. He didn’t have centuries to get used to it the way the other dragons had and staying human drained the energy of one who wasn’t used to it.

“You have no choice but to share with the driver. We were lucky to get the three rooms we got.” Damek stared at Adrian for a moment and shook his head. “I’m ashamed of you, brother. I thought I told you that all are equal in this time.”

“I don’t want to share a room with the driver because I want to share a room with my mate, you ass. It has nothing to do with staying in the same room as the help.”

“Oh.” His brother smiled. “That’s different, but it doesn’t
make
a difference, if you get my drift.”

“I don’t. Explain.”

Damek just stared at him for a moment before he reached up and felt the top of Adrian’s head. “No, I don’t feel a cut where someone’s let your brains out.” He shook his head. “You must share a room with Broadbent because there are two single females and two single males on this trip and only three rooms.” He enunciated the words carefully as though Adrian were stupid. “Do you expect Emily to share a room with Broadbent?”

“No. I do not.” Adrian shook his head with a sigh. “I merely want to spend some time getting to know my mate.” Or, to be more accurate, he wanted his mate to get to know
him.

“You
have
been getting to know her. You’ve spent more time with Summer than I did with May before I claimed her. It’s our nature to claim our women fast. We spend years, sometimes eons awaiting them. What makes you think any of us take the time to get to know them first? You’re lucky. You can’t rush your mate. That’s probably a good thing.”

Adrian wasn’t sure if it was a good thing or not. One thing was certain. It was a frustrating thing. With a sigh, Adrian joined the others and picked up the women’s things. If circumstances were going to force him to wait, he would do his best to be a gentleman about it.

Chapter Thirteen

Summer sat between Adrian and Emily. She purposely pulled Adrian next to her when he climbed into the limo this morning. Leaning against him, she held his hand, resting her head on his shoulder, and she stayed that way for the last several hours. She could tell by his expression the night before that he wasn’t happy to not have his own room. She could just imagine what he’d hoped to do there.

With a small smile, Summer reached over and lightly rested her hand on Adrian’s leg. His sharp breath told her that while he attempted to appear unaffected, her hand on his leg did indeed cause him some kind of feeling. She hoped it was a good one.

“How much longer before we reach the castle you were talking about?” Emily asked. She wrung her hands almost constantly, now. The older woman refused to believe that Declan would still be unmated. Her main reason for even coming to Scotland was not to claim an errant dragon male, but to tell the man goodbye. She needed closure.

What Summer hoped Emily found was a mate who would reverse the aging process so that she wouldn’t have to watch her best friend in the world die. Again, she leaned against Adrian. He squeezed her gently and kissed her temple. This was what she had waited for. This was what she had hoped to find in a dragon mate.

“If I remember correctly, we’re almost there,” Damek said as he, too, peered out through the tinted glass. “I’m not positive because everything looks different now.”

“Things change throughout the years. Some of the landmarks you remember could be gone.” May leaned over to press a kiss to his cheek, then rub his arm. “Don’t worry about it. We’ll find it.”

Damek leaned over and kissed the top of May’s head with a chuckle. “It’s not missing landmarks that make it difficult to tell, love. I’m used to seeing it from the air. Things look different through my dragon’s eyes, especially when I’m flying over them.”

“Oh!” May’s cheeks turned pink. “I hadn’t thought of that.” She leaned over and whispered something in her husband’s ear.

“Definitely,” he replied. “If we find ourselves free one evening when the moon is behind the clouds.”

Summer could only guess that May had asked him to take her flying. She peered at Adrian through the corner of her eye, wondering if he would do the same for her.

Leaning close, Adrian whispered. “She asked him to take her flying.” He threaded his fingers through Summer’s, brought her hand to his lips and kissed it. “Would you care to go flying with me someday?”

Pressing her mouth to his ear, she whispered, “More than anything.”

Adrian smiled and gave her fingers a squeeze.

“I think the castle is just over that hill.” Damek pointed in front of them to the left. “Turn here please, Broadbent. I think we have arrived.”

The driver turned to the left, driving over the hill. They saw the castle just as they topped the ridge.

Emily gasped. “It’s so large.”

“It’s also a bit worse for wear,” May added with a frown. “I doubt anyone lives here.”

“Declan wouldn’t need servants or comfortable accommodations if he’s put his dragon into hibernation,” Damek said as the car rolled to a smooth stop and he opened his door. “The hard part is going to be finding out where he keeps his lair.”

Emily eased out the door and stood looking at the castle. Closing her eyes, she stayed in one place, humming for a bit before she looked to the left of the castle toward the mountainous terrain behind it.

Without a word, she started walking toward the tall cliff behind the castle. About halfway between the worn structure and the mountain she stopped and looked down. At her feet was a giant seal with strange lettering on it.

Kneeling down, Emily reverently pulled the weeds and heather that had overgrown it away and looked down at the strangely beautiful script. “I wish I knew what it says.” She looked up at them with tears in her eyes. “He’s in there, isn’t he?”

Adrian bent down, resting his hands on his knees. “Here lies the Red Dragon, red for the rubies he guards and for the passion he holds for his one true mate.”

Emily began to sob. Summer didn’t know what to say, what to do. Had Emily’s dragon mate ended his life because she refused him? If so, how would her friend live with herself knowing that?

“Open only if you wish to experience the wrath of Declan Brus. Here he shall remain forever.”

“Okay. I could be wrong, but doesn’t that sound like he’s still alive in there?” May asked as she stared down at what appeared to be a grave.

“It sounds that way to me.” Summer walked around the large cover stone, wondering how the thing opened. “So how do we open it?”

“I don’t know. It is likely that there is something in the castle, but until we can legally get inside, we won’t know anything.” Adrian straightened and looked toward the large structure. “Do you think there is a caretaker here?”

“If there isn’t, someone has to be paying the rates and taxes. Otherwise, the government would have seized and sold it by now. I would hypothesize that Declan has someone watching over his home while he’s in mourning.” Damek turned to Emily. “Though you are still with us, he mourns your loss.”

“Just as I would mourn yours if I didn’t truly accept your offer of marriage.” Summer knew she didn’t want to end up like Emily. She didn’t want to look back at this time thirty years from now and wish she’d done things differently. In the last few days, she had gotten to know Adrian. He was a good man and she loved him. Gazing deep into Adrian’s eyes, she went down on one knee and took his hand in hers. “I know you already asked this of me, Adrian, but I felt as though you did it under duress. Now
I
ask
you
. I love you with every breath and every beat of my heart. Will you marry me?”

At that moment, Adrian fell to his knees in front of Summer and gave her a smile so large it showed he had two adorable dimples that nearly made her heart melt all over again. He took her hands in his, kissed each one, and looked deep into her eyes. “Yes, Summer Flowers. I will have you and no other.” Leaning forward, he pressed his lips against hers.

Like before, she saw his memories, his life before and she would continue to do so until they truly bonded. Lightning shot through her system as he molded his lips to hers. The ground rumbled and shook. Dirt fell away from the cover stone that hid the entrance to Declan’s lair and still he kissed her. It wasn’t until a cloud of dirt burst up from the ground amidst a loud screech that Summer even realized that it wasn’t Adrian’s kiss that had made the ground move.

Just as Adrian pulled away and thrust her behind him, a large red dragon burst forth from the ground. It screamed with rage. Lifting its face to the sky, it released a bellow of fire that would have burned them to cinders had he aimed it their way.

After it released its fire, it turned its attention on the five of them standing so close to its exposed lair.

“Whatever you do, don’t run,” Damek said as they stood staring at Declan. “He needs to realize that we are no danger to his mate.”

The dragon jerked back at Damek’s words, took a deep breath and leaned closer. He sniffed at Summer who Adrian shoved more squarely behind him. He then turned his attention to Emily.

Pressing his nose against her shoulder, the dragon took a deep breath. Without warning, he threw his head back and released another bellow, a warning, before he pushed off the ground, grabbed Emily in one of his large front paws and took off like a shot.

Emily screamed, her arms flailing as her dragon mate flew off through the mountains.

“Where is he taking her?” Summer turned to Adrian. “You have to go make him bring her back.”

Adrian shook his head. “No, love, we cannot interfere. Declan has correctly assumed that his mate has changed her mind. I would imagine that he has taken her to another of his lairs, as is his right.”

“We can’t just let him carry her off like that,” May said, agreeing with her.

Summer sighed and looked at Adrian. “You know we have to go looking for her, right? I mean, what if she changes her mind again? After all, he just carried her off like some form of prey.”

“No. He carried her off like a mate.”

Summer and May rested their hands on their hips and stared at their two males. “Well?”

Adrian looked at Damek and rolled his eyes. “One thing is certain, brother.”

“What’s that?”

“I’m not likely to get married anytime soon.”

Summer wrapped her arms around Adrian’s waist with a grin. “Oh, you’ll get the wedding, sweetheart. It’s the honeymoon you’re going to have to wait for.”

Epilogue

Summer watched Adrian confer with her sister’s mates. All of them were here in Great Britain searching for Declan Brus. She knew Emily wanted to say goodbye. She wasn’t certain that she would consent to be Declan’s mate though she had her suspicions.

Even though Summer was certain this was what Emily wanted, she knew she had to find the other woman just to be sure. She knew that
she
would want her friends and family to care enough to search for
her
. How could she do any less for her friend?

“It’s time to go, love.” Adrian interrupted her thoughts, by stroking her hair and pressing a kiss to her forehead. “We have a plan that the others will help us orchestrate. We only need to get a good night’s rest.”

Smiling, Summer took his hand and let him lead her to the room they had shared since Emily disappeared and they found a nice local pastor to preside over their handfasting.

It was hard to believe their wedding had been almost three weeks ago. She also found it difficult to believe that she could be so happy. She loved her husband and she had no doubts that he loved her. As a matter of fact, he showed her that he adored her daily in the little things he did like brushing her hair and just holding her tight in his embrace.

“Wither thou goest, I shall follow,” she said, smiling up at him and waggling her brows.

“You’re just saying that to get into my pants.”

Summer just grinned up at him. “Ya think?”