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  “Or not. It can be dangerous around here in the dark, which isn’t too far off. Besides, I want to see my Jakob and you happily mated.”

  Mated. That was a weird phrase for her to keep using. Happily married, Ciara understood. While Mrs. Bohacek's English was perfect, they were in a Slavic country, so maybe something was getting lost in translation.

  “I don't intend on marrying anyone I have just met, and especially not someone who has kidnapped me.”

  “Marriage is a whole other step. Mated, is what I said. You’re Jakob's true mate.”

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  Chapter Four

  Down to the Dungeon

  Jakob was this close to shifting back into his Dragon form, ripping the French doors off his office and digging a giant hole smack dab in the middle of his wild–style garden. Which was something he hadn't done in a good hundred years. Not since he was a youngling and been yelled at by his father for trying to impress one of the villager girls with his wings.

  What he wouldn't give to be able to ask his father's advice on what to do with the woman upstairs. But, his father was gone and he was the one who people came to for advice now that he was the Green Dragon Wyvern.

  He sank back into his office chair and inhaled the scent of the myriad of green and flowering plants around him. The office may look more like a jungle than the spartan rooms his father kept, but, he was half the age his father had been when he became Wyvern. Jakob knew he could draw strength and focus from having as much of mother nature inside as he had outside. He drew his power from the earth, could manipulate it, and use the ground, trees, and growing things to his advantage.

  He ought to fill the guest room upstairs with every potted plant in the place so he wouldn't strangle the curvy witch up there. Because she was definitely driving him crazy. It was either strangle her or fuck her silly.

  They both needed time to cool down. He'd leave her up there for a few more hours before attempting to interrogate her again.

  He had hoped to already have the First Dragon's relic back in his possession by now. He had precious little time before he would need to reveal the theft to the other Wyverns.

  Match would be coming by in the next few days to check on how Jakob was settling into being the green Wyvern.

  He really didn't want the loss of the dragon's most important sacred item to be the first thing that people thought of when they remembered Jakob's rule.

  Match was the first of their generation to inherit his Wyr, and had assumed the role all red Wyverns did. First son of the first son. Alpha among alphas.

  If you asked Jakob, Match was a cranky old bastard, who acted more like he was pushing six centuries rather than a bit over two-hundred years.

  He would give Jakob hell the minute he realized the First Dragon’s relic wasn’t exactly where it was supposed to be – entrusted to the green dragons and hidden away deep underground.

  How the hell had Ciara even gotten into his lair? It had every state-of-the-art security system, plus every ward and magical deterrent available to him. He didn't have time to investigate his lair's protection shortcomings and get the relic back from Ciara. He hated to have anyone else in, around, or near his treasure, but he hated the thought of having another Dragon in, around, or near, especially not in, his little thief.

  There were few dragons he trusted enough to even know where his lair and treasurer lie. He and Steele had done much of their warrior training together, and battled many a demon dragon at each other's backs these past years. Steele was still young for a Dragon warrior, not even in his prime yet. Although, Jakob was only a few years older.

  Match had questioned Jakob when he chose Steele to be his second. Cage and Ky had backed him. Even if they hadn’t, Jakob knew who he could count on.

  Jakob pulled his mobile phone from his pocket and sent a quick text to Steele to find out how quickly he could get to the villa. Steele replied right away and would be there within an hour.

  Patience was not his best virtue, luckily, he had a mountain of paperwork to keep him occupied. He signed a few invoices, wondered what Ciara was doing, read a dispute he needed to mediate between a green and a red Dragon, pictured Ciara naked in his head, and growled at his own hard on.

  It had to be simply because there was a lush ripe woman in his house. It had nothing to do with her beguiling smile, her pure sensuality, or the way her hips swayed when she walked. Of course not.

  He had been without a woman for too long. That was all. He'd been under a thousand skirts in the past fifty years, but not one since he'd became Wyvern. He'd been too busy. His cock had chosen today to protest that fact.

  Fine, he'd going to Prague the next chance he had and wine and dine the pants off the first woman he met.

  Except, the idea didn't excite him at all. Not like the woman upstairs did anyway.

  Steele sauntered into Jakob's office a few minutes later. Jakob decided to stay in the chair behind his desk rather than try to hide or ignore the tent in his pants. Getting his mind back on the problem at hand would help it go away faster than anything else.

  “What's up, boss?” Steele plopped down into a chair on the other side of the desk.

  Jakob steepled his fingers and said, “My lair has been broken into.”

  Steele’s easy pose straightened and he sat up. “Holy shit. How could that even happen?”

  “I don't know, but you're going to find out for me,” Jakob growled.

  Steele’s eyes widened but he stayed silent.

  “I’ve already caught the thief. If she reveals anything. I’ll let you know.”

  “She?” Was there some insulation in Steele’s tone? Probably. He was a smart dragon with keen senses.

  “Yes, the thief is a witch. A powerful one. My best guess is she is trying to gain power over the earth element.”

  The tattoo at Steele’s neck writhed. No green dragon would take that news lightly. “What’s her element now?”

  Ciara had denied knowledge of her powers, but her passion had given her away. As soon as he could, Jakob was going to tap into that. “That’s the interesting part. I saw her control wind and fire.”

  Steele whistled.

  Yes, Jakob's sweet witch and her power was that impressive.

  “Where did you find her?”

  “The East Coast of the United States.” There weren't any green dragons living in that area, which was why Jakob decided to follow the trail the relic had left all the way across the damned ocean. “What kind of contacts do we have in that area?”

  Steele thought for a minute. “I did a few training exercises with red Dragon named Dax last year. He's stationed over there somewhere.”

  Jakob knew Steele well enough to understand that training exercises was code for late nights at the strip club. God, how he missed those days.

  “Good. Coordinate with the Golds to get over there. I'll assign Merc to your post in Switzerland for the time being.”

  “Will do.” Steele shoved out of his chair and headed for the door. “Hey, glad to see you finally found yourself a companion.”

  Jakob frowned. “I'm not that far into my prime, that I need to settle down.”

  His sex life had been sorely lacking, but he was not a fuddy duddy like Match. Yet.

  “Then who is the sex on a stick in the kitchen making toast? I smell her all over you.”

  The dragon part of Jakob bristled, pushing its way to the surface. A ripple of green scales passed over his skin. His dragon was more on edge about the obvious appreciation of Ciara in Steele's voice then the fact that she had apparently escaped from her room.

  “You get to America and worry about her coven, I'll take care of the witch and the kitchen.”

  “Give me a weeks leave when this is over and I won't tell anyone you're a softy when it comes to jailing pretty women.”

  “Get out.” Jakob pointed to the French doors and Steele laughed and pushed his way out the doors. He shifted to his Dragon form and took flight almost instantly
.

  Jakob headed toward the kitchen making sure to walk silently so as to surprise his escaped prisoner. Less than a meter from the doorway, he heard her talking and then growl in frustration.

  “I am not admitting to liking Jakob even a little bit.”

  Was she talking to herself or the toast? Because he, Steele, and Ciara were the only ones in the villa today. He'd sent everyone else away when he first discovered the theft. None of his human staff would dare steal from him, he would have been able to smell it on any of them. Besides, they were all very loyal, most having served their whole lives for either him or his father.

  Once he'd dismissed them, the scent of the thief had practically overwhelmed his senses. She smelled of sunshine and licorice.

  He would never get enough of that scent.

  When he poked his head around the door, he saw no one else in the kitchen besides her. It was pretty damn cute that she was trying to convince herself she wasn't attracted to him.

  “You don't have to admit to it, I know how much you want me.”

  Ciara spun around and threw her piece of toast at him. He dodged it easily and they both watched it land jelly side up.

  That had to be one of her more useful spells.

  “You scared the pee out of me.”

  Ciara stood before him, her hands on her hips, and those hips, and thighs, and breasts, were covered in the deepest of green silk. The material hugged all of her curves in the best way. That hard-on he'd successfully managed to subdue popped right back up. First Dragon help him, she was so damned gorgeous.

  If she were anyone but a relic stealing thief he'd already have her splayed out on the counter, legs spread wide, with his head between them.

  He'd bet her pussy taste better than any dessert.

  Never would he ever get to find out, because Wyr business was more important than his dick. He'd have to find an old sack for her to wear because if he was going to keep his head in the game, he wouldn't be able to do it with her wearing a dress the exact color of his scales. She was a sly one to use that trick to mess with his mind.

  “How did you get out of your jail cell? I had planned on only bread and water for you until you reveal the location of the relic.”

  “Mrs. Bohacek helped me… uh, find the kitchen.” Ciara indicated toward the toaster, then frowned and shook her head. “Where did she go?”

  Jakob didn't know anyone by that name. She was clearly trying to distract him from his own question. “Good try.”

  “No, seriously?” Ciara spun in a slow circle searching the kitchen.

  “Enough.” He grabbed her by the arm, careful not to hold her so tightly that she would bruise, and dragged her from the room.

  Where are you taking me now?”

  He pulled her toward the stairs, but veered to the side. He shoved aside a potted plant on a small table in the corner. Behind it, hidden well among the decorative wainscoting on the wall, was a rectangular piece of plastic that looked like an ordinary outlet. Jakob pressed and a fingerprint scanner popped out. He swiped his thumb and the wall slid open.

  “Whoa.” She stopped tugging to get out of his grip and stared into the secret passage.

  “Come, I want you to show me exactly how you got in and out of here with the relic.” Before she could protest, he pulled her in and the door shut behind them. His eyes flicked and his dragon site allowed him to see perfectly well with ambient light coming from his soul shard.

  Not something it normally did, until yesterday.

  “I can't even see my hand in front of my face.”

  Jakob tapped a panel and small lights blink on illuminating the long spiral staircase in front of them.

  “Oh man. This is the part where you lock me in your dungeon, never to see the light of day again, isn't it?”

  “That all depends on you.” For the first time since he'd taken her yesterday he caught a whiff of fear from her. Good, maybe they'd actually get somewhere now. After they did, he'd be sure she was never frightened by anyone or anything ever again.

  Not that her well-being was his job.

  Instead of guiding her down the staircase he grabbed her around the waist and jumped over the side of the railing with her. She screamed and clung to him, which he enjoyed immensely. A small spark of the magic he'd been given the day he got his soul shard, pushed out and he unfurled his dragon wings. They caught on the rush of air and helped him to glide the ten or so meters to the cavern floor.

  When they landed she still had her face buried in his chest. His wings, of their own accord, curled forward and wrapped around them both, hugging her tighter to him. He stroked her hair. “You're all right now.”

  She didn't move, so he lifted her chin with one knuckle. Her eyes were screwed shut. “Ciara. You can open your eyes.”

  One eye peeked out at him, then shut again. The sensation of a fiery heat coupled with an icy chill rushed over his skin. Ciara opened both eyes and stared up at him.

  “You. Are. An. Asshat.”

  “I think you called me that one already.” Jakob pulled his wings back and pushed the partial shift back down. He released his hold on her, before he did something stupid like try to kiss her again.

  Her scent was even more intoxicating underground than it had been in the villa. Maybe it had been a mistake to bring her down here. He turned and walked down the hallway that was half modern construction and half carved out of the earth and stone. It took a few moments, for her to follow but as soon the staircase lights blinked off she squeaked and caught up to him.

  They descended along a gently sloping incline that twisted its way deeper into the earth. The farther they went the more primitive the tunnel became, until the only modern-day electronics remaining were the secondary fingerprint scanner and retinal scan terminal at the locked double doors to his lair.

  They were almost fifty meters underground now, and the scent of her was so strong that it was as if he was already inside of her.

  This had definitely been a mistake. He quickly swiped his finger and aligned his face for the scanner. The door whooshed open. Now he would see how Ciara reacted to being back at the scene of the crime.

  She stepped into the cavern and stared around with her jaw open. She looked like a kid who had never even tasted a lollipop standing at the entrance to the world's largest candy store. Except this wasn't candy, it was gold, and art, and rare books, and the largest collection of heirloom seeds in the world. And she wasn't a kid, she was a thief.

  “You think I took something from this place?”

  “I tire of your denial, Ciara.”

  “You said you can smell lies. Take a good sniff, tell me I'm lying again.”

  Fire danced in her eyes and across his skin. The scent of her fear was gone, and it had not been replaced by deceit, but desire. Nothing thus far underground had seen the sun in hundreds of years, but the scent of sunshine on a warm spring day surrounded him.

  She wasn't lying. But along with her natural perfume, he could not only scent the relic, but could feel its power on her. Here, where it had been kept for the past 700 years, it's magic, the same each soul shard a Dragon warrior wore flowed in and around both of them.

  The little stone in the necklace she had on lit up with a green light that matched the incessant glow from his soul shard. It was as if she had her own shard.

  But, that couldn't be. Only dragons were given a shard of the first Dragon soul, that imbued them with the power to shift. There were no such thing as female dragons. Only sons of sons of sons of the First Dragon.

  If he could touch the necklace, hold it in his hand, maybe then he could understand. “I believe you. There are a lot of unanswered questions though.”

  “Finally. So, can I go home now? I've got a lot to do, not to mention my date on Wednesday.”

  Jakob rankled at the mention of a date. She wouldn't be going on any dates with anyone, except maybe him. “Where did you get that necklace?”

  “Ciara touched her neck, and s
eem surprised that the charm was glowing. “Someone gave it to me as a present. I just don't know who. My mother, I suppose. However, that is very atypical for her.”

  The air around them frosted, but not in the pleasurable tingly way it had before. Icicles formed on the wall nearest them. Ciara wrinkled her nose. “Oops.”

  “Oops?”

  “Yes, your Mrs. Bohacek told me I needed to not suppress my emotions while I was here because I might burn the house down. I guess icicles are better than flames.”

  There was a new vulnerability in her voice.

  One that Jakob wanted to hear more of.

  It was really too bad that dragons didn't have mates anymore, hadn't for almost seven-hundred years. Because he could sure imagine himself with Ciara for a good long time. Maybe Steele was right, and he did need a companion. But that term didn't seem right for Ciara at all.

  What did seem right was to do something no one since his grandfather's generation had. Right now, standing with her amongst all of his treasure, what he wanted more than anything else, was to lick his way across her shoulder and bite into that soft, supple flesh, claiming her.

  Ridiculous.

  He might do it anyway.

  “Ciara, come here my little witch.” What would she taste like? He needed to know.

  “What? I'm sorry about the icicles. They'll melt, won't they?”

  “I don't care about the ice, although I do like the fire.”

  His fingers hovered above her arm, ready to pull her to him.

  A shrill alarm blasted through the air, and the door to the vault flashed with lights that indicated it would shut soon.

  Shit.

  That alarm only meant one thing.

  Demon dragons.

  “Do not move from this spot.” Jakob pointed at Ciara. “You will be safe here.”

  He bolted for the door, already letting the shift take over, claws and talons sprouting, his wings unfurling.

  “Hey, where you going? What am I supposed to do?” Ciara scrambled to follow him.

  Jakob used his power over the earth to put up a wall of rocks between her and the door.