“I had no way to contact you. I did what I could by ensuring someone from the hotel would find out what happened before you got back, and left it at that.”
“But you would have stolen Mrs. P’s jewelry if her things hadn’t obviously already been gone through?” I pointed out, then shook my head. “Never mind, it’s a moot point now. Not only have you just sworn not to steal anything from her, whatever she had is gone.”
His eyes glittered with humor. “For the record, it was just one item, and it wasn’t hers to begin with. She has done exactly what I tried to do—taken it from someone else.”
“Oh, is that the story now?”
“It’s the truth.” He slid a look at Gabriel, who was chatting with May and Mrs. P, then suddenly grasped my wrist and left the deck, taking me with him.
“Hey!” I protested, digging in my heels when we got to the top of the stairs that led to lower decks. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“We need to have a talk. A private talk. My cabin is on the floor below us.”
“I can’t leave Mrs. P alone. The underwear models—not that I even know if I can trust them—they’re down in the cabin, and she’s all alone. Someone will try to hurt her. Or steal her jewelry.” I put a lot of emphasis on the last sentence, but he seemed to ignore it.
“Gabriel and May will stick with her.”
“That’s just what I’m worried about,” I said, snatching my hand out of his. “Someone trashed our room, and who’s to say it wasn’t them?”
“I highly doubt if it was.”
“But you don’t know for certain.”
“No,” he said slowly. “But I trust them. They may not seem like people who have our own interest at heart, but I don’t believe they will betray our trust.”
The implication was obvious—he had trust where I had none.
“Are they the ones who are blackmailing you?” I asked, wanting to comfort him, and seduce him, and yell at him, all at the same time.
“No. Not them directly. It’s really all of the dragons collectively who are forcing my hand.”
He looked miserable, utterly miserable, and my heart begged me to wrap my arms around him and keep the world from him.
“Isn’t there any other way around whatever’s going on?” I asked, fighting my need to fling myself onto him. “Some way that doesn’t involve stealing?”
“Trust me when I say that if there was any way on this earth I could avoid the situation, I would do so. But my hands are tied. And I’ve been assured that it’s a necessary act, one needed to save not just dragonkin, but mortals, as well.”
My reservations crumbled under the stark anguish in his face and voice. I threw caution to the wind, knowing I might be making the biggest mistake of my life, but believing every word Rowan spoke despite it all. I threw myself against him, kissing every bit of his face that I could reach. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I blamed you when you’re just a victim of—”
He stopped me talking then, but only because his tongue was busy persuading mine to go visiting in his mouth. It obliged, and we remained locked in a steamy kiss until a passing waiter coughed discreetly before edging past us.
“Wow,” I said, gazing up at him, my mind trying desperately to get a grip on itself.
His eyes widened, then a little smile flirted with his lips. “You’re on fire.”
“I know I am. I told you that you’re a heck of a kisser.”
“No, I meant literally.”
I looked down at where he pointed. A small ring of fire encircled my feet. “Eek! Where did that come from?”
“You.” He gave me a heated look that made me want to rip off all his clothes and cover him in something lickable, like chocolate. “You are a mate, remember?”
“Kick-ass mate,” I corrected automatically, wondering how much chocolate the ship had on board.
“That goes without saying.”
“I still can’t get over this whole making fire thing.” I gazed up at him, and wondered how I could broach the subject of sexy times in the near future.
Rowan made a face, then admitted, “I don’t think I’m going to be able to last until later.” His voice was husky in a way that made me shiver with desire just hearing it. “I don’t suppose you would like to—”
“Yes,” I said, taking his hand and starting down the stairs. “Right now. Sooner, in fact.”
He chuckled as he trotted behind me. “I’m glad to know you are just as impatient as I am. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you—oomph.”
He bumped into me when a sudden, horrible thought made me stop midway down the stairs. I turned to face him, a horrible suspicion in mind. “Just one minute. You may trust May and Gabriel, but I don’t, and I’m the one who was hired to help out Mrs. P. Although she may be a bit scatty and frustrating as sin sometimes, she’s still a pretty nice old lady, and she did let me come on this cruise when she didn’t have to, so I’m going to do my job the very best I can.”
“She’s told you more than once that she expects you—us—to protect her. I wouldn’t be assigning to her quite so many altruistic motives as you seem to be wont.”
“You’re trying to distract me—”
He lifted his hand as if he was taking an oath. “I have no ulterior motives in getting you into my bed other than licking every square inch of you. Twice.”
Goose bumps rippled down my back at both the look in his eyes and mental image of his words. But I had to think of Mrs. P, so I pushed aside my own need. I brushed past him retracing my steps to the top deck. “That doesn’t mean I trust those two stalkers up there.”
“They aren’t stalkers. Gabriel and May are here to protect Mrs. P,” Rowan argued.
“So they say, but do you know for certain?”
“I know they are not trying to harm anyone, yes.” I reached the top of the stairs and turned to go out on the open part of the deck when Rowan scooped an arm behind me, and hefted me over his shoulder, one hand holding onto my legs as he descended to the floor below.
“What the hell?” I squawked, and slapped him on the back a couple of times before I realized that my boobs were perilously close to falling out of the Xena bodice. “Eek! Put me down! This costume wasn’t meant to defy gravity in this manner.”
“We’re almost there. You’ll be fine,” he said, and when I struggled to push myself off him, grabbed my legs with his free hand.
It was as is if I’d been touched by fire. Warmth swept up my legs, pooling in secretive parts of me, parts that wanted Rowan to revisit their depths. My breasts, nearly bursting free from their upside-down confines, were sensitized and heavy, the nipples rubbing on the soft interior of the corset cups making little shivers flicker down my arms. When the thought of Rowan’s hands and mouth on my breasts flashed into my mind, it was all I could do to keep from whimpering.
Mrs. P, I desperately told myself in an attempt to keep from ravishing Rowan the second he released me. I had to remain focused on her.
But when his hand slid up higher, under my leather skirt, and his fingers dove into the very parts that were pleading for him, I just about came unglued.
“Put me down!” I shrieked, kicking my legs wildly.
To my surprise, he did just that.
“Goddess above, man, you can’t do that to me,” I said, stuffing my breasts down into my Xena corset. “At least, not out in public where someone could see us. And just what do you think you’re doing by abducting me in that manner?”
“I’m arranging for us to have a private talk. It’s only fair you know what’s going on, since you have taken up the role of Mrs. P’s protector,” he said, opening his cabin door and tugging me inside.
“Oh, no sir,” I said, clinging to the door frame. I glanced over his shoulder, noticed the bed sitting smack-dab in the center of the cabin, and immediately my smutty thoughts went into overtime. “I know what’s going to happen. I won’t be able to resist you, and then May and Gabriel will run amok a
ll over poor Mrs. P, after which you’ll propose to me, get me to agree to marry you, and then die, leaving me alone again. Well, I won’t have it, do you understand? I simply will not have it!”
Rowan paused as he entered the cabin, giving me the oddest look I’d ever received. “Did you… I’m not sure… did you just propose to me?”
“Don’t you dare be adorably confused at me!” I said, shaking a finger at him. I wanted to pounce on him, and yet, I needed to protect Mrs. P from the predatory dragons on the deck above us. “I refuse to fall for your charms! The steamy, mind-blowingly fabulous sex will have to wait.”
“Sophea,” he called after me as I spun around and marched up the stairs. “Wait a minute. I’ll explain.”
“I don’t want an explanation. Aha!” I stopped at the sight of the two dragons with Mrs. P between them. I pointed dramatically at them. “I knew it! You’re trying to steal Mrs. P’s valuables!”
“My shinies,” the old woman said, clutching at her marabou-lined harem top.
“Unhand that woman this instant!” I demanded.
“Unhand her?” May looked faintly amused. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone say that before.”
I pulled my sword from the scabbard and waved it about in a manner that I hoped was suitably impressive. “You are not going to steal anything from her, do you understand? Mrs. P, come over here where I can protect you.”
“I’m tired,” she said and with a little sniff walked past me to the stairs. She took Rowan’s arm—he had arrived at the top of the stairs and was watching the scene—and demanded that he escort her back to our suite.
“Stay!” I told May and Gabriel, waggling the sword at them.
Gabriel turned to May with an indescribable expression on his face. “Did she just give us a command as if we were dogs?”
“She did,” May said, nodding. “I think she’s upset with us.”
“You have no idea,” I snapped, then sheathed my sword and trotted after Mrs. P and Rowan.
Ten
“And to think,” I said when I caught up to Rowan and Mrs. P, “if I had let you seduce me as you planned, even now Mrs. P would be in the clutches of your nefarious friends.”
Rowan stood back as Mrs. P and I entered our suite, following after us. “I’m not sure what I can do to reassure you that May and Gabriel are not going to take anything from Mrs. P, so you’ll just have to trust my judgment about that point. And yes, I’m aware of the irony of that statement.”
“Dammit. You pulled the trust issue. Not fair, dude, not fair at all given what I was thinking earlier.” The leather straps that made up my skirt swung out in an arc when I spun around and gawked at the room. It was filled with luggage, and from Mrs. P’s room came a babble of conversation. I trailed her into the bedroom. “Wow, it’s like a can of sardines in here.”
There were models everywhere… lying on the bed, lounging on the two available chairs and the window seat beneath a porthole, and seated cross-legged on the floor.
“The room is safe for you, my sister,” one of the models called out. Ahset, I think it was. “Ipy is verifying that the shower contains no scorpions or asps.”
“Good news! We are asp free, ladies,” Ipy said, emerging from the bathroom. “You may bathe at will. I see the mortal is here.” Ipy nodded toward me.
“She is a dragon’s mate,” Mrs. P said corrected.
“Ah. We would welcome you to the sisterhood, but we do not have time for the initiations. Know that you have our gratitude, however.”
“Er… thanks. It’s all in a day’s work.” I sidled over to where Mrs. P was admiring one of the ladies’ necklace. “I take it you don’t need me to help you get settled?”
“No, go off and be with your man,” she said, putting the necklace around her neck and easing herself onto the bed. “If he can’t make you happy, I don’t know what will. He has quite an admirable set of buttocks.”
“He does, doesn’t he?” Ipy said. “You are to be congratulated on your choice in men.”
“Thanks. I’m not… uh… never mind.”
Ipy frowned. “You do not think your man has a fine set of buttocks?”
“No. I mean, he does. His behind is awesome, not that I stare at it, but what I saw of it last night was pretty damned spectacular.”
“A man with a good pair of buttocks is a man worth keeping,” she said sagely.
I couldn’t help but do a little bragging. “His hands are nice, too. And his chest. Oh, that chest! I swear, his chest would make a nun weep. With joy, obviously. And lust. Lots and lots of lust, just touching it and petting it, and maybe even licking the little round nipple nubs. I love his nubs. I wonder if he’s a nipple man. Hmm.”
Mrs. P snorted from where she sat on the bed.
I pulled my thoughts back from the land of Rowan. “Sorry, what was that?”
“I snorted at you.”
“Ah.” I glanced around. “You’re sure you’re going to be okay with this many people in the room?”
“Our dormitory was much smaller and not nearly so grand,” one of the ladies (Bunefer?) said on her way into the bathroom with a big towel.
“It’ll be like a slumber party,” Ipy said, nodding. “You may rest easy that we will guard our sister well so that you may do your job.”
“Awesome. Well, good night, I guess.”
“Keep your sword handy,” Mrs. P said, removing her circle hat. “We may need it before morn.”
“I will. Be sure to lock up after me, and yell if you need anything, okay?”
“Enjoy molesting your man’s superb buttocks,” Ipy called as I opened the door to leave.
Rowan stood right outside.
I frowned at him. “Hey, were you eavesdropping?”
“Yes.” He had an odd expression, a combination of pleased and exasperated. “Do you really want to lick my nipple nubs?”
My cheeks, as per usual in these situations, heated up instantly. But I’ve learned not to give in to the fact that I blush at the drop of a hat and I met his gaze. “As a matter of fact, I do. Does that bother you? Are you repulsed by the idea? Are you sickened and disgusted and outraged that I, a mere woman, should lust after your chest, reversing the normal roles of men and women and sexual attraction?”
“I like that you’re wordy,” he said, his head tipping to the side a little. “Some women never tell you what they’re really thinking. With you, I don’t have to guess.”
“That had better not have been an insult.”
“It wasn’t, I assure you. I’m quite sincere in that I like the way you speak your mind.”
“Good. Answer my questions,” I said, prodding him on the arm.
“No, no, and no, assuming that was a total of three questions. I couldn’t tell for sure since there were many parts to that last bit, plus, I’m now imagining what your mouth on my nubs would be like.”
“Damn good,” I said with confidence.
“I’m sure it will be. And in fact, so long as we’re discussing plans for nipples, I’d like to put in a request for time with your breasts. They have been uppermost in my mind all day.”
“Really?” I looked down at where Xena cups presented my breasts for Rowan’s viewing pleasure. At least, that’s how they viewed the situation. “They’re just boobs. They hang off me, and get in the way sometimes, and because they’re a bit on the fluffy side, like the rest of me, they are a pain in the patootie to take jogging. Not that I jog much. I prefer swimming. Am I babbling? I feel like I’m babbling.”
“You are not babbling, but you are speaking unfairly of your breasts. I really want to make love to you, but before we indulge ourselves in mutual exploration of nubs and their related parts, I’d like to make something clear.”
“Mutual exploration sounds good, assuming you were propositioning me this time. Were you?”
“Yes. Although I prefer to think of it as wooing with my manly attractions. Sophea.” He took both of my hands in his.
“Hmm?”
“I really do need to talk to you.”
“About what?” I fluttered my fingers in his when his thumbs stroked identical patterns on the backs of my hands. I swear, my whole body went up in flames.
“Myself. My past. Why I’m here with you now.”
“You’re here because I’m in a sexy Xena outfit, and you can’t resist the lure of a kick-butt dragon with a sword strapped to her back,” I suggested.
He laughed and kissed the back of each of my hands, pulling me over to a love seat that sat under two portholes. “I didn’t realize it before this moment, but you are absolutely correct. Tell me, did you notice that May and Gabriel referred to me as the Dragon Breaker?”
“Yes. I figured that was your rock star name. Or something. Why, does it have any importance?”
“Only to the extent of my life and probable upcoming death.” His lips twisted in a wry manner that pierced the haze of sexual interest that had gripped me.
“In what way?” I asked, guarded lest he be teasing me. I was very well aware that I knew nothing about this man… well, practically nothing. I knew he had a protective streak a mile wide—no one else would have come to our rescue as many times as he had if he hadn’t been one of those people who naturally come to the aid of others—but other than that, and the fact that he had a glint of humor in his eyes that I found incredibly appealing, I wasn’t very conversant with his history.
He sat on the love seat, waiting for me to take a seat beside him before he answered, “When I said I was a sociologist, I wasn’t being exactly accurate.”
I frowned, my lust dying a swift death. If there was anything I disliked, it was men who lied. “Oh, really?”
He flinched. “That was downright frosty, but I guess I deserve it. I am a sociologist, and I do work with emerging tribes in eastern Brazil. But in addition to that I… well, I’m an alchemist.”
I let some of my iciness melt. “I heard someone say that. I thought I must have misheard and the word was really pharmacist. What’s an alchemist when he’s at home?”