WickedBeast Read online

  “I not worried. You berry big an he feels it.”

  Minuet closed her eyes and sank into sleep. That surprising episode told Cord several things. First, he could help Minuet sleep but only if she consented. Her power could override his commands anytime. The second was that though he’d been aware of the conspirator’s paranormal sensitivity, he hadn’t heard the man’s voice. Minuet heard it.

  This future with its human villains was not like his world. He operated on the parameters from a bygone age. Would it be possible for him to learn the range Minuet heard from? Was he even capable of it? He damn well better be. This was the job he’d been created for. He’d be really pissed if the woman who made him had handicapped him with her inability to envision change and therefore made him incapable of adapting to it.

  Cord had directed the pilot to head straight out to sea instead of up the coast and across the Atlantic on the northern route. He wanted them out of range of this population as fast as possible for Minuet. Taking them across the widest part of the ocean wasn’t a problem though the human pilot would worry. Flying to the range limit of their fuel tanks was not the risk he thought it was.

  There was no possibility they could crash. Even if both engines went out, having the Wind Witch and Air Dragon aboard meant the craft would continue to fly. With Minuet aboard, the engines couldn’t fail, nor could the craft run out of power.

  As they moved away from the coast, Kelly asked, “Are you going to wake her up?”

  “I don’t have to. She can wake up any time she wants. Instead of putting her into a deep sleep, I think I simply taught her how to do it herself.”

  Kelly’s brows went up. “She’s that strong?”

  “You are too. You don’t trust your power like she does. She’s too young to doubt what is natural to her.”

  Minuet stirred in Kelly’s lap, gradually coming awake. Looking around her, her eyes quickly lit with the sparkle of childish delight. She hadn’t been awake long enough to finish investigating the plane. Sitting, she asked Cord if she could explore in very polite three-year-old speak.

  “I look Cord’s toys?” Minuet asked.

  “Sure. I think you’ll find something interesting in the bedroom,” he suggested.

  Minuet squealed, reading his intentions easily.

  During their stop in New York, he’d acquired several things from gift shops, doing it in dragon fashion by leaving money in the register and blank spaces on the shelves.

  Cord settled in the chair Minuet had vacated. The armrest between the wide leather chairs had been lifted so Minuet could sleep on Kelly’s lap. Cord scooped Kelly up and set her across his lap.

  Minuet would be fully occupied for a few minutes and he intended to take advantage of the opportunity. His mouth came down on hers in a hard kiss, thrusting into her, sweeping up her taste as if he were starving for it. Kelly’s response was a gratifying low moan as her arms move naturally around his neck and her body relaxed.

  All too soon Minuet dashed out of the back compartment to show Mommy her treasures. Cord’s arms tightened to let Kelly know he wasn’t letting her in her chair yet. He needed the contact, even if it was casual.

  Minuet bounded up to them with absolutely no surprise at how they were sitting.

  “Mommy, Mommy, look what I has.” She held up a Barney and a purple, stuffed dragon. “Cord an Barney. It Cord an Barney.”

  Kelly’s laughter wrapped around Cord, stroking his body with each note. His need of her was physical in every way but there was no question that Minuet’s presence made everything better, and it had nothing to do with the power issues. She completed the circle of life and it felt right to have that beautiful little soul interrupt deep kisses. It was another thing in the natural order of life Cord had never experienced before—children.

  He also realized he had needed to put smiles on Minuet’s face. Her comfort was critical, and helping her deal with the difficulties of traveling, a drive he would kill over. No, that was wrong. She kept him from being a killer, forcing him to find another way. The thought made him smile as he watched Kelly admire the two purple toys.

  “They’re beautiful,” Kelly said. “What do you say to Cord?”

  Minuet climbed up them so she was sitting in Kelly’s lap, still holding both Barney and the dragon, she wrapped her little arms around Cord’s neck and kissed his cheek soundly. “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome. I’m very glad you like them. I wanted Barney and the dragon to be friends and I thought you could help me with that.”

  “I berry good make friends,” Minuet informed him. “But you berry good make Minuet happy. An Mommy happy. Cord have pretty heart.”

  “That’s an interesting thing to say. Why do you say Cord’s heart is pretty?” Kelly asked.

  “Because, him make happy. Him heart makes pretty,” Minuet explained.

  Cord was a little concerned with what Minuet was seeing. Her abilities could become uncomfortable for adults. He wasn’t sure what she meant by seeing his heart. In this form, he had the physical vessel beating in his chest, but that didn’t mean he had a heart as humans knew it. Like everything else about him, it could move and change shape, becoming something entirely different in some forms.

  Minuet scrambled down and went to sit in the chair across from them to play with her new toys. She was completely natural and accepting of the adults holding each other. Talking with them almost continually as she made up games and personalities for her purple possessions.

  Sitting on his lap, Kelly couldn’t help but notice the hard bulge beneath her hip.

  He wanted her to feel it, feel his response to her. She needed to know the contact with her was not just drinking the power she gave him so freely. He wasn’t simply using her but also holding her for selfish reasons.

  The flight was long and eventually Minuet nodded off into normal sleep.

  The events of this trip had highlighted the limitations and advantages of the gifts in each of them. In the ladies, checks and balances were a natural order for power to develop. Cord appreciated the fact that innate power came with a certain cost for humans. The fact that he also was saddled with limitations was comforting for the first time. The feeling of belonging, shared experiences bound them together. He found it an unexpected gift from his maker.

  Kelly draped a blanket over Minuet and came back to him. She stretched out with her legs in her seat and her torso settled naturally into his embrace. Cord pulled a blanket over her as well.

  “How confident are you that this Harrison is in Scotland?” Kelly wanted to know.

  “It doesn’t matter if he’s there, he’ll show up. He has a castle overlooking Loch Ness. People think it’s a dilapidated shell, but actually it’s a den. As soon as we enter the property, he’ll know. He’s got it protected so it alerts him to trespassers. Here’s what has never made sense to me. He’s a water creature and the only one of us with a permanent home on land that he actually lives in occasionally. You’ll see what I mean when you meet him, he’s different.”

  “I wouldn’t be throwing around phrases calling someone else different if I were you,” Kelly laughed softly.

  Cord grinned and found her teasing made him feel good in a weird way. It was unlike the rude insults the three dragons often addressed each other with. Not that they spent much time together, but when they did, communication was correspondingly arrogant. Having spent no time in conversation with the other type of dragon because he’d always been busy killing them, who knew what their interaction was like.

  Conversation with Marelda had been personal, but it still wasn’t even close to the relationship developing with Kelly. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t spoken to millions of women, he just never done it for long periods of time. That had to be his problem. He wasn’t used to it.

  “You’ll see,” he assured her with a raise eyebrow. “Dragons are never wrong, you know.”

  “I see,” she said. “Apparently humble is one of the things they never are either
.”

  “If we’re never wrong, how can we be humble? It would only confuse the humans, and we like to be clear when giving direction or stating facts.” He baited her with the attitude and enjoyed the hell out of it as his little Wind Witch looked at him with female amusement written all over her face.

  “I’m guessing there are no female dragons, right?” she asked.

  Cord frowned. “Why would anyone make a female dragon?”

  “Seriously?” Kelly asked her face registering disbelief. “I didn’t realize I wasn’t joking.”

  As the conversation turned to a subject she was curious about, Kelly asked, “All dragons were created? There are no dragon eggs?”

  “No such thing,” Cord confirmed. “Procreation is strictly a God-given ability. Even though we have the equipment, there has never been a dragon baby.”

  “Wow,” Kelly marveled. “You were created an adult?”

  “Yes. We had an adult body though some development is required to gain experience. Our instincts are fully functional, which was the original problem. We are predators from the moment of consciousness. The longer we live, the better we get at it. That’s the only growth correlation we have with humans. Experience breeds skill. However, innate predatory skills from the start far exceed an adult human male’s abilities. You can see how this would not work out well for creators.”

  “Sounds like male thinking to me. From what you say, they were building an army, not interested in raising children. Still it’s stunningly stupid,” Kelly observed. “How did they expect loyalty?”

  “The wizards realized that, but it was a little late. They attempted to make adolescent dragons, but that created a whole new set of problems. Childlike killers are vicious and totally out of control. They have to grow up to access some of the skills required to control their abilities. They would prey on people but could only control the very weak ones. That was children, the sick or old. The one we found in the desert was a juvenile. I’ve always assumed that dragons not captured at the poles were these adolescent creatures.”

  “How sad,” Kelly murmured.

  Cord regarded his softhearted Wind Witch and marveled at her capacity to feel sad for child killers. “You think a house for wayward dragon children would’ve helped?”

  “I can feel bad about something without having any idea how to fix it,” Kelly informed him from his chest.

  Kelly was completely relaxed, her body turned into his arms and her head on his shoulder as they talked. Her eyes closed, though he could feel her interest in the subject. A little tired, Kelly was unable to sleep, so he continued as his hands moved up and down her back. The gentle massage started because she needed to relax but continued because he needed to soothe her. Her feelings of safety and contentment were a sweet reward.

  This desire to be the source of her every comfort was growing. It pleased him to supply whatever she or Minuet needed. Examining the source of pleasure might not be a wise use of his time at the moment. As they drew closer to the British Isles, the next problem was looming.

  Cord had been mildly worried about Legion before he knew the big earth dragon was already there. Mildly worried because he had Molly handy to introduce to Legion. That situation, while possibly dangerous, had been one he was sure would work out with Legion realizing he could not kill Molly.

  They were going to find Harrison, the water dragon, but had no idea where the Water Witch was. Explaining the new plan to Harrison would be tricky if Harrison was in the middle of trying to execute the old plan by killing Kelly and Minuet. Cord didn’t want to kill Harrison. For the new plan to work, they needed the water dragon and his lady.

  His eyes on Minuet, Cord considered the options. She could be the key. Apparently Minuet had been the power that attracted Legion to the area she lived in. Legion had worked out the imperative that he must protect Minuet, even if he had to do it from a distance. Cord was still pissed that the bastard hadn’t contacted him as soon as he encountered Kelly and Minuet.

  Kelly distracted Cord from his thoughts as her head turned into his body and her lips glided over his neck. Exploring him with lips and tongue she ate her way up under his chin, nibbling along his jawbone. He gave her about two minutes to explore then he’d had enough.

  Intoxicating witch had no idea what she did to him. He’d been as gentle as he knew how to be so far. Trying to ease her into accepting what he was. Last night’s restraint had cost him more than he cared to think about. Her tongue licked through his control with the same destructive power of a wildfire wind walking a California forest.

  Hard lips captured her mouth, punishing the little explorer for lighting the fuse on his libido. He loomed over her as his mouth demanded she open for him. Her melting acceptance only slightly mollified the beast. One of his hands moved from her back to cup her head, holding her under his mouth as he plundered the sweet interior.

  The kiss was hot, urgent and a drawn-out journey into sexuality. He thrust into her with leashed power, letting her know exactly how he’d like to be thrusting into another part of her body. His firm hand palming the back of her head demonstrated the control he would take of her pleasure. Ruthlessly extending the kiss into an endless demand showed her that next time would last a long time.

  Kelly moaned, her body shifting under the blanket as heat bloomed between them. Her breasts suddenly felt heavy, the nipples aching. His mouth would not release her so she pressed into the hard ridges of muscle and tried to relieve the ache by rubbing over him. And still he plundered her. Her hips rolled as she rubbed her legs together. A firm hand grasped her hip bone, holding her still.

  As he lifted from her mouth at last, holding her immobile at head and hip, Kelly sucked in a sharp breath. His eyes were shielded by lowered lids but they were molten smoke. Yesterday she had thought steam was the color of his eyes. Today he looked at her through the gray warning of fire within.

  He let her see the sparks rising in him as the hand on her hip moved around to cup her core.

  “Remain perfectly still,” he directed in low tones that were not quite a whisper but definitely a command. His eyes flicked up over her to Minuet’s sleeping form and back to her gaze. The reason for his direction was perfectly clear. Under the blanket with her body turned facing his, any movement of his arm was hidden from Minuet if she should wake up.

  The hand cupping her crotch lifted to unsnap her jeans. His eyes holding her gaze captive, his large hand pulled down the zipper and palmed her trembling belly. Sliding down under her panties, his fingers curved around her body to invade damp folds.

  His fingers were hard and firm but moved slowly. They explored, caressed down to her entrance. Still his gaze burned into hers as two fingers pushed into her body. The invasion was thick and slow, deliberately taking her. He pulled out as slowly as he had entered. His hand left her to firmly drag her jeans and panties down her legs by using the strength of that arm straightening.

  “Lift up,” he commanded softly so the material would slide down her thighs. He left them at her knees and returned to the juncture of her legs. Pushing between her constricted limbs, he again boldly caressed the petals of flesh guarding her entrance.

  Kelly’s mouth opened in a soft pant.

  “Hush,” he demanded in that soft rumbling tone.

  Kelly swallowed and nodded, unable to come up with any other response as again thick fingers pushed into her body. He had effectively bound her legs together with her jeans and panties at her knees and yet still pushed into her, all the while holding her gaze. If she had had any doubt that he could take her any time it was thoroughly erased.

  His fingers moved over her boldly. The strength in that single arm could have lifted her above his head, she was sure of it. Knowing all that and feeling him enter her as he wished was fiercely erotic. The blaze behind his eyes burned her alive.

  His thumb stroked over pussy lips with relentless rhythm, each pass grazing the top of her clit but not lingering. The finger-fucking continued, heatin
g her from the inside out. His fingers pulled out of her and burrowed up between her outer pussy lips to capture her clit in a sawing grip. Pushing and pulling in long strokes.

  In her mind, his deep voice rumbled. “Tempting the beast?” he asked. “Do you not know I hunger for you? Not to feed, little witch, something much more dangerous than that.”

  Two fingers pressed into her body as he continued. “What I want is to ride this portal to heaven’s gate then show you how delicious the fires on Hell’s shores taste. Deep and fast, the animal will take this cunt. Hard and long, the demon will ride his witch. I have yet to show you what truly enters your body, tastes this nectar.” His fingers pulled out of her and he brought them to his mouth, licking her taste off them with slow enjoyment as she panted in his lap, staring up at him.

  “Nothing to say?” he questioned in softly savage tones. “No begging for mercy? No pleas for gentle love and lighted candles? Say something, Kelly.”

  “What should I beg for? I want more. You’re licking the proof of what I want,” Kelly replied.

  “Damn it, I have to stop,” he hissed in her mind. “Don’t push me to be the dragon.”

  “I didn’t push. I kissed the one who watches over us. That’s not pushing,” Kelly insisted as his hand grasped her pants and panties, firmly pulling them up her body. Swiftly the zipper rose and the button were fastened.

  Cord’s eye sparkled and the irises elongated to slits as he glared down at her. Kelly didn’t recoil as she stared into the eyes of a beast.

  “Now you’re showing off and it doesn’t scare me,” she stated firmly. “No matter what skin you’re in, you are Cord.”

  “I’m trying to warn you. Restraint is not my best thing where you’re concerned,” he confessed, closing his eyes as his head dropped back on the high seatback. “I’m sorry. These feelings are unfamiliar. Please do not kiss me, nibble on me or lick me until I get a better handle on controlling them.”

  “What?” she asked softly.

  “Which part didn’t you understand?” he wanted to know. His eyes opened and they were normal human orbs again.