Not my best plan, but it would have to do. Sadly my boobs were not working in my favor as every male I passed ogled them. I was going to kick Dwayne’s undead ass if I made it out of here alive.
Nicolai was clearly a dawdler because the guard pig from hell was the next in. Time was not on my side. Seth was scanning the crowd for me. Getting out was my only goal. I had a trick up my sleeve that I would only use in the most dire circumstances. It was a gift from my mother. It hadn’t saved her life, but it might save mine.
As Seth’s eyes landed on me a huge gentle smile pulled at his lips. My God, his acting skills were impeccable. If I wasn’t onto his plan for my demise, I’d think he was genuinely happy to see me. Note to self…have the words gullible idiot tattooed to my forehead. Never again would I trust a male Dragon. They were all bad.
Screw Nicolai, I didn’t have the luxury of his entrance as a distraction to aid in my escape. Getting past Rambo presented a challenge, but as long as he wasn’t behind me I could take him if I had to.
The midnight oil was burning and I only had seconds before Seth reached me. No time like the present to make the party more exciting.
“Move it, you uncouth, jackass guard pig,” I hissed as I shoved hard at the enormous sexy Dragon and tried to get away.
The expression of shock on his face would have made me laugh if I didn’t have to run like hell. Clearly no one had ever spoken to him as I’d just done. Asshole Dragons like him needed to be taken down a peg or two. It would be very satisfying to continue but I had death coming toward me at a rapid rate and no time to have fun.
Wait. What was happening?
The cheering had stopped abruptly and I could feel every eye in the room glued to me. The silence was deafening. This was not part of my escape plan. This was a clusterfuck. Who exactly had I just insulted?
A sick feeling rolled through my gut. I was pretty sure Rambo wasn’t just a guard.
A stupidly sexy, evil smile lit his face and his attention was focused solely on me. For the briefest moment I wished that his smile was real and that he was truly happy to see me in the way a lover would be. His lust was unmistakable. Unfortunately mine was as well. Dragons had a distinct scent when aroused—a clean scent that could be best described as the ocean after a storm. Part of me wanted to run him over and get the hell out of Dodge and the other part wanted to run to him and wrap his strong arms around me.
However, there was my life to think about.
“Dima, my dear, I see you’ve met Nicolai,” Seth said warmly as he took in the standoff in the entryway with interest.
“This is Dima?” Nicolai demanded as the smile left his face and his eyes narrowed to slits.
“Yes,” Seth said as he stepped between me and his leader. “We spoke about this. You knew I was bringing her.”
“The guard dog is Nicolai?” I asked with unhappy shock.
“Well, I suppose you could call him that,” Seth said as he tried unsuccessfully to hide his grin.
“Seth is who you were meeting here?” Nicolai snapped as he pushed Seth aside and pinned me against the wall. “Our Seer is your mate?” he sneered in a whisper.
“Get off of me,” I growled as I fought my death-wish of a need to press closer to him.
“Nicolai,” Elaina admonished as she grabbed the deadly Dragon leader by the ear and pulled him back. “That is no way to treat a guest of your brother.”
Nicolai and Seth were brothers?
“Mother,” Nicolai snapped. “Leave this to me. There is much you don’t understand here.”
Oh. Hell. No. Elaina was their mother? I’d told her that her son was an uncouth jackass, guard pig. Was the sky going to fall next?
“I understand that your behavior is appalling,” she hissed as she once again yanked him by the ear, throwing him off balance. “This will stop now.”
“I was just leaving,” I said stiffly and edged closer to the door.
All of the Dragons in the room were riveted to the scene. Tendrils of smoky aggression wafted around the room menacingly. My chances of survival were getting slimmer by the second.
“You’re not going anywhere, Princess,” Nicolai growled as his took my arm in a vise-like grip.
The hisses started low but gained volume as the crowd correctly pieced my identity together.
“Nicolai, unhand her now,” Seth said in an authoritative voice I hadn’t heard before. “This is the way it’s destined to be. I’ve seen it. We can’t succeed without Dima.”
Ripping my arm away from a surprised Nicolai, I turned on Seth. “You,” I hissed. “You are a liar and you betrayed me.”
“Dima, you don’t understand,” Seth said gently as he approached.
“No, I understand too well,” I ground out through clenched teeth as I realized the bastard Nicolai was blocking the doorway along with about ten other mean looking Dragons. “You’re scum and I’m stupid. Good luck with your fight. I will have no part of this.”
Seth continued to move closer along with his mother, Elaina. Gasps of outrage filled the room and several small fires broke out. God, I was a fool. Dragons were bad, myself included, but I was trying to make so many wrongs right. Letting these people stop me by using me as a pawn was not an option.
“Dima, calm down and let me explain,” Seth pled.
He looked hurt by my accusations and a humorless laugh left my lips.
“You’re really good,” I said flatly. “And you’re an arrogant ass from hell,” I tossed over my shoulder to Nicolai. “But I’m better. I’d say see you later, but if I ever see any of you again, I’ll kill you.”