Dragon Bound (Elder Races #1)(84)

He brushed people out of the way as he entered the gym, caught sight of Graydon and Bayne at the edge of the tumbling mats. The gryphons stood with their arms crossed. They were watching something on the floor and laughing.

As Dragos approached, Graydon caught sight of him over the onlookers’ heads and grinned. “Hey, boss. Thanks for the new toy.”

Dragos demanded, “What are you talking about?”

Graydon told him, “We’re playing pin the herbivore. None of us can figure what the hell she is, but damn, she’s fast. So far Team Gryphon is two for ten. Get her greased up and I bet we couldn’t pin her at all.”

He reached the edge of the mat and looked down.

Constantine was crouched, arms out, intent on the struggle that played out in front of him. “Get her—get her—”

Rune and Pia were in a tangle of limbs on the mat. Rune’s powerful body strained as he fought to cover hers. Pia’s smaller form twisted and flowed underneath him, her face fierce and reddened. They were both panting and slick with sweat. Pale, slender muscles flexed as she avoided his grasp. The gryphon swore as he shifted with her, into a position that was reminiscent of the very one Dragos had used yesterday morning when he had taken her from behind.

The dragon detonated.

FIFTEEN

The attack happened without warning, just as Rune said it might. One minute she was immersed in the move/countermove of her match against Rune, mind racing to strategize against his flow of intent. He’d gotten her down on the mat. Not good. It meant he was more likely to pin her. She had to get out from underneath him fast, or between him and Constantine she was done.

Then his weight vanished.

Thrown off balance, she tumbled onto her back. She gasped to catch her breath and tried to make sense of what was happening.

Constantine lay sprawled against a wall. He spat blood, rolled over and got a knee underneath him.

Bayne shoved people toward the door. “Out. Everybody out.”

Graydon knelt, slipped an arm around her and lifted her to a sitting position. He had gone pale. “You okay, cupcake?”

She said, “What happened?”

He wasn’t paying attention. She followed the direction of his gaze.

Dragos had Rune pinned to the wall, one hand at his throat. Rune held still in the larger male’s grip, arms lax and hands held open. His alert gaze was fixed on Dragos while his face darkened.

Constantine got to his hands and knees and coughed. “He’s killing him.”

Pia found her feet, avoided Graydon, who tried to grab her, and leaped forward.

There was nothing rational in Dragos. The dragon looked out of his eyes. He had partially shifted. The lines of his body and face were monstrous, all wrong. Talons dug into Rune’s neck. Blood trickled from the punctures.

She didn’t pause, didn’t think. She eased up to Dragos and touched him on the shoulder to signal her presence. She stroked his arm as she slid under it, insinuating her body between the two men. She put her hands to that alien, deadly face and stroked his cheeks.

His Power was an inferno. She tried something she’d never done before and brushed her own cooler, gentler energy against his.

“Hey there,” she said. Gentle, soothing. She took a deep, slow, controlled breath. “Dragos, I want you to look at me now, please. I forgot to tell you about the earlier part of my day yesterday. I sent my personal shopper to feed New York. The state, you know, not the city. So you’re going to get a really big grocery bill soon. Sorry about that except, well, I guess I’m not.”

The dragon blinked. He looked at her. She had never seen anything so magnificent.

She smiled up at him and smoothed his inky hair as she kept up the soft patter. “Come to think of it, I bet you’re going to get lots of grocery bills. I can’t imagine Stanford will be able to get so much food from just one supplier. Stanford is the shopper. He’s a Wyr-mink. And my new robe is beautiful. It’s black satin, very soft and elegant. I wore it this morning and thought of you when I took a shower.” She put a hand on the rigid muscles of his arm as she leaned against his chest. “Come down off the ledge now. Let go of your friend. You like him. You’re going to remember that soon and then you’ll be upset if you’ve damaged him. Besides, I want you to give me a kiss, so I can thank you properly for the robe—and for the potion you left on your pillow this morning. They were very thoughtful of you.”

The dragon’s eyes narrowed. His Power shifted to wrap an invisible cloak of warmth around her.

“I’m still not right in the head,” she whispered to him. Sexuality flared in those gold raptor’s eyes. She slipped the tip of her finger between his lips and rubbed the inside of one thigh along his leg. “Come on, big guy, you know you want to.”

He slid an arm around her, took hold of her chin with those long bloody talons and tilted her head up with exquisite care. She rose up on her toes, closed her eyes and lifted her face to him in total trust. His hard mouth brushed against hers.

She could feel the quick movement at her back as Graydon pulled Rune from them. The gryphon gagged and coughed. Then the rest of the world fell away as Dragos deepened their kiss. She slid her arms around his neck. She felt his body shift and flow back into more familiar contours.

He slid his mouth along the curve of her cheek, down to her collarbone, and he buried his face into her neck.