My first instinct was to knee him in the throat, but that would be rather counter-productive. It would feel great in the moment, but wouldn’t accomplish my goal of making him grovel.
I could feel his heat, desire and hatred all mixed together. It was heady to have him on his knees and it would be a cold day in hell before I let him go on his knees in front of me for any other reason than the one he’d chosen now.
“I can’t hear you,” I sang and gave him a smile that didn’t come close to reaching my eyes. I was playing with fire and we both knew it.
Elaina wrung her hands and I heard Essie’s gasp behind me. Nicolai’s eyes narrowed to slits, but I kept the smile on my face and didn’t back up even one centimeter. The Dragon had never met anyone like me—and never would again.
I’d been beaten down my whole life. I’d lived on the run for hundreds of years. I’d watched my family murdered in cold blood by my father. This man had a brother and a mother who clearly loved his insane ass. I had nothing but my son and I would move mountains to keep him safe. Nicolai was but a small rock on the mountain to me. He was nothing.
I just wished my rioting female insides would get on the same page as my vengeful brain. Lust was inconsequential. Sex was just an act to meet a need. He was beautiful—so what?
“My apologies, Princess,” Nicolai said in a voice that could be heard by all on the beach. “I have always trusted my brother’s visions and I shall trust this one as well. My regard for your despicable character is not of importance if we can accomplish our shared goal. I’ve worked with the enemy before and I can do it again. However, if you turn on us, I will kill you with my bare hands—and enjoy it.”
“That was a shitty apology,” Essie chimed in from behind me. “I’d make him do it again.”
“I’d have to agree with you,” Elaina said to Essie as she walked up behind her son and whacked him in the head. “You can do better than that. You certainly don’t tell someone you’re going to kill them while trying to convince them to come with us.”
“Dear God,” Nicolai bellowed. “What do you want me to do here? I’ve never apologized to anyone in my life. I’m doing the best I can.”
“It’s fine,” I said as I bit back a laugh that I was sure would send him into a rage. “My apology would have been similar. He’s an ass. I expected no less.”
“I’m not sure your approval is helping me,” Nicolai muttered as he stood and offered his hand. “I will work with you, not against you. I don’t like you and I’m sure the feeling is mutual. As long as our goal stays the same, we will fight together.”
“Well, you’re correct about me not liking you, but I will concede that I’ve not been successful alone. I accept your crappy apology and I’ll work with you until my father is dead and then I never want to lay eyes on you again.”
“Likewise,” he snapped.
I took his hand in mine and a zing of something unfamiliar shot up my arm. My eyes grew wide and I glanced up from our locked hands. His expression matched my own and he squeezed harder to see if it would happen again.
It did.
What the hell?
Feigning indifference, I pulled my hand back and met his gaze steadily. Whatever magic voodoo the son of a bitch had going on, I wanted no part of it. He wanted my father dead. I wanted my father dead. He would not get into my pants or my life. He was simply a tool for me to use to ensure my son’s safety. That was all he was and all he ever would be.
“A truce has been reached,” Hank called out to the Shifters as he approached Seth and they began to talk in earnest.
The Shifters on the beach slowly left and the horrible bloodbath everyone had been expecting was thankfully avoided. I’d made a deal with the devil, but at this point I saw no other way.
“Crazy rude dude is hot and he’s got it bad for you,” Essie whispered as she loaded me down with the solution and the burner phones. “I say do him.”
“Nope, not going to happen. Dragons like him are nothing but trouble,” I whispered back.
“But look at his ass,” she insisted as Nicolai approached his brother and Hank. “That is a fine ass.”
“It’s fine all right, but he’s an ass with a nice ass. I have no time for that.”
“Make time, dude,” Essie advised. “Tomorrow may never come. Live your life and own it. Make no apologies and have a least one massive big O before you bite it.”
“I’ll take it under consideration,” I told her so she’d lay off.
Essie didn’t understand my kind at all. If I had sex with the animal, all of my power would be negated. I needed to stay two steps ahead of the Dragons I was allying myself with. I still didn’t trust any of them, but they could have come here and burnt Hung to the ground. I was alive and so were my friends. All four Dragons had taken their human forms, which was the most non-confrontational thing they could have done. They knew it and I knew it.
So unless they had another nefarious plan up their collective sleeve that involved my demise, I was going to have to trust them to a point. However, I would never trust them fully, just as I was certain they would never really trust me either—normal protocol for Dragons.
I envied the Wolves with their tight knit community and the way they had each other’s backs. I’d never known that kind of life and I never would. I could only hope that after my father was gone I could meld back into Hung, Georgia with Daniel. I only had a few more months on this earth and I’d love to live them in peace. I wanted Daniel to have what was never possible for me.