Defy Me Read online

  "Like the devil? Satan is a dragon?"

  No.

  Her questions were distracting him and their chances of surviving were already low. He had to get to that river before the flame tornado caught up to them. Jett wasn't going in the drink if he could help it. But Yvaine was. The mers wouldn't let her drown or freeze to death. Once he dropped her off he could turn and fight the Black Dragon without having to worry about keeping her safe. They'd have to fly across half of Glückstadt to get there and the demon dragons were already stalking them. They were popping up out of the shadows as fast as he could fly past them. They wouldn't go in the water though. It was their kryptonite. Unless of course Ereshkigal, the Black Witch and his father's cohort had bespelled them for that specific purpose.

  Fuck a duck. He was going to have to take that chance. The water made him half useless in his dragon, and it wasn't like dear old dad took him to swimming lessons in his human form.

  Just a little farther. Almost there. A ball of fire shot over his head, missing them by a scale and crashed into a parking lot. His father was being awfully reckless revealing himself and the forces of hell to the humans this way. That had Jett chuckling inside. Desperate much, dad?

  It filled him with all kinds of delightful glee to see the Black Dragon freaking the fuck out, but he didn't understand why or what had sent him off. Jett had been free from hell's grip for a while now and it hadn't seemed to matter one fuck. Someone must have betrayed his plan to free the cursed.

  By someone he meant Geshtianna, the succubus queen. Bitch was playing both sides. He should have fucking learned his lesson not to trust her. He needed a Trust No One tattoo on his god damned forehead. Item number four hundred and three on his to do list.

  The demon dragons were piling up below them in a title wave of black scaly bodies. Jett glanced down at them and then to the water's edge. Damn it all to hell. They were building a wall of themselves to block his path. At the rate their bodies were building up they'd be a barricade he wouldn't get through unharmed before reaching the river.

  "Jett, that king dragon just made another flaming wind tunnel on your six. Uh-oh and another one on your three and your nine."

  Great. Ass clowns to the left, jokers to the right and they were stuck in the middle. They weren't going north, south, east, or west. Their only choices remaining were up or down. Up meant fighting the Black Dragon. Down meant eating dirt. Two shitty ass choices.

  Up or down?

  "You're asking me? Don't you have a plan? I thought you had a plan." Yvaine slapped at Jett's leg. "Why don't I actually get the be the damsel in distress. I'm tired of saving your butt today. You owe me, Jett. Down. There."

  She was going to save him. Yeah. Right. She did have some fancy pants powers that he didn't yet understand but that had gotten them out of a tight spot. If she was ready to use them again he was in. Live today and fight the Black Dragon when he was ready to free his brethren. Then they could all defeat the bastard together.

  He saw where Yvaine pointed, and it looked like the worst place on the face of the planet to land. A petrol station. In a firepocalypse. Yeah. Great idea. They were so going to die. He shook his head, then spun and tucked his wings, going straight for the shiny black Porsche Boxster parked at the pump. If he was going to die, he might as well do it in a high-performance piece of German automobile engineering. He dropped Yvaine directly into the passenger seat of the convertible and shifted so he was sitting beside her.

  The probable owner of the car and the station attendant standing next to it with the gas nozzle in his hand were smart and ran away screaming. Now to hot wire the car. He reached under the console to pop it off. Yvaine reached over, pushed the button on the dash starting the car, threw it into gear, and pushed down on his thigh. His leg jerked in response and he slammed his foot on the gas. The car took off and Jett grabbed the steering wheel, swerving to avoid oncoming traffic.

  Yvaine didn't take her hand off his thigh. No, she squeezed it. Hard. "Tell me you think we are well and truly trapped right now."

  "I think we are completely fucking dead. Ten more seconds and those flames will reach the petrol tanks and this place will go up in more flames than are in hell. Which is exactly how the demon dragons and their king like it. We're not just trapped, we're fucked, and not in the fun way."

  "Okay." Yvaine gripped his leg in the same way she had when he'd been in dragon form. That same sense of enjoyment from her touch shimmered through him. Only the magic he used to shift between forms could compare to the zings she sent through his body. What the hell was this woman and what had she done to him?

  "Then hold on." She closed her eyes, scrunched up her nose in the most adorable way, and held her breath.

  Before Jett could ask, the fire, the demon dragons, the Black Dragon, and the whole damn town disappeared. Instead of steering the car through the blackened streets of Glückstadt they transported into a field of wild flowers with the river adjacent. The Boxster bumped and careened, then hit a small mound of dirt. They went flying into the air, Dukes of Hazzard style, and landed hard. Jett spun the steering wheel and the only reason they didn't flip and roll the little car was because of the big ass tree they collided with. The car came to an abrupt stop, the airbags exploded in their faces and the world around them went silent in the aftermath.

  Jett shook his head to get his wits back about him and speared the airbag with a talon, slowly letting it deflate. Then he did the same to Yvaine's. Her head was resting against it as if it was a pillow. It was decidedly not. He could already see the bruises forming around her nose and eyes from the impact. He was going to be real pissed off if they'd escaped only for her to die in a god-damned car crash.

  He pressed his fingers gently against her neck and blew out a shuttered breath when she groaned. She didn't open her eyes but asked, "Are we dead yet?"

  "No. Your spell saved us. Again. I've never seen a witch who can do what you can. What are you?"

  Yvaine sat back against the seat and tugged down the shirt she was wearing until her soft peachy flesh was covered by a cartoon drawing of a unicorn. "Tired is what I am. If hanging out with you is going to be this exhausting, I'm going to need way more caffeine in my life."

  Hanging out. That was not something he'd ever done. Ever. He hunted. He fought. He fucked. He didn't hang. So why did that sound like something he wanted to do with her? Jett reached over and touched her face, very carefully stroking one finger along her cheekbone. "Is that what we've been doing?"

  She covered his hand with hers and leaned into the caress. The necklace she wore glowed with a strange black light. "Ow."

  No way he was removing his hand. "Sorry. Can you shift and heal yourself?"

  "Umm. I don't know what that means. I think there are a lot of things you're going to have to explain to me."

  "Your true form. You're not a witch. Are you not a shifter either? I've imagined you as a cute chubby-cheeked bunny rabbit more than once today." One that he'd like to eat right up.

  Her eyes went wide and she slapped his hand away. "Did you just call me chubby?"

  "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Don't get mad. I happen to like--"

  "Oh man. You're trying to pretend you're a chubby chaser, aren't you?" She pulled at the door handle, but the metal was crumpled and didn't budge. Even slamming her shoulder against it didn't get the door open. She growled at the door in a very cute and sexy way and then climbed up on her seat and slid over the side of the car. "How many mythical creatures am I going to come across today. A dragon I could almost believe, but a hot dude who likes my curves. Yeah, right."

  She put air quotes around the word curves and then stomped off across the field. Jett couldn't hear what all she was muttering, partly because he was mesmerized by the sway of her hips and the way she kept throwing her arms up in the air in all kinds of gesticulations. Damn she was even more adorable when she was mad.

  He glanced around the field to make sure there were no demon dragons popping up out of the
shadows and that they were safe for the time being. Nada. Good. Because, no doubt about it. Whether this girl thought she was hot or not, he was definitely going to fuck her until she was screaming out his name over and over. He'd show her exactly how tantalizing her body was to him. Those hips he could grip hard while he was driving his cock into her, those thighs he was going to use for earmuffs, and the ass he was going to spend hours worshipping with his tongue.

  Jett hopped out of the steaming pile of Porsche and stalked Yvaine across the field. She was still muttering to herself when he tossed her over his shoulder.

  "Hey, what are you doing, you ash face? Put me down, right now." She pounded against his back and tried to kick her legs, but all that did was wiggle her ass under his arm.

  Not a chance, little bunny. It wasn't like he was going to fuck her right here and now. He wanted something more from her than simply great sex. He wanted it to mean something.

  What the fuck was he thinking? No, he didn't want that. He would never mean anything to anyone. He had one goal in life and that was to free his brethren and kill the Black Dragon. That was it. Nothing more, nothing less. What did he think? That he was going to mark her, claim her? That she was going to be his mate or some shit?

  He did not have what the Dragon warriors he had. He was the bastard son of the king of hell. Love was not something he would ever have in his life and he needed to pull his head out of his ass right this second and forget he'd ever met this beautiful, lush, sensuous woman that made him feel more alive than he ever had in his hundreds of years of existence.

  His growl rumbled low in his belly. His head screamed at him to set her down, fly the fuck away from here. Now. Fly away. Right now. He couldn't do it.

  "Uhh, you're setting the field on fire."

  What?

  Jett set Yvaine down and batted at the grass under his feet. He's been so damn far inside his own ass he hadn't even noticed he'd been spewing fire. He'd singed a black path of burnt grass and earth marking his every step. He was lucky the entire field hadn't gone up in flames. That wouldn't be a literal smoke signal to the Black Dragon to come and find them or anything.

  Jett ran a hand through his hair and stared at Yvaine. "Release me from your spell, witch, or fairy, or nymph, or whatever the hell you are. These thoughts and feelings you've put into me are going to get us killed."

  "I didn't do anything. You're the one who turned into a dragon and carried me away. It's not my fault you lit everything on fire."

  Turned into a dragon? "You must have bumped your head harder than I thought. I'm in my human form."

  He waved his hand up and down his body to punctuate the 'duh' in his tone.

  "You are now. But you weren't when you picked me up. One second you're calling me names and poof, the next second you're Poof the Magic Dragon."

  "That is not how shifting magic works. I have to consciously change my form. It doesn't happen by accident."

  "Are you sure?"

  Yes.

  "Well, then I think your shifter is broken, because you're a dragon again."

  Jett glanced down at his hands, but they weren't there. His scaly talons and claws were. What are you doing to me? How are you controlling my dragon?

  He flapped his wings and lifted up into the air. If she had the power to control his shift she was very bad news. Even Ereshkigal, the Black witch didn't have that power. Maybe she was the fabled White Witch the Dragon warriors were all on about. She was supposedly the one who'd given all of dragon kind the ability to shift in the first place.

  If she was he needed to stay. The White Witch was also the mythical being who'd given the dragons the ability to find their mates. They all got a soul shard, given to them by the white witch when they came of age. It contained a small piece of their souls intertwined with that of the First Dragon. When they were in the presence of their mates it glowed and told them who she was.

  Jett had once thought that if he could possess a soul shard he could find a mate of his own. A woman who would complete his soul. He thought she would be the key to breaking the curse.

  He'd been wrong.

  Eenie Meenie Miney Moe, Catch a Dragon by the Toe

  Dragons. What the duck, man? One second he was a hot guy, the next he was a fire-breathing monster. Which somehow was Yvaine's fault. Yeah, no.

  "Whatever dark spell you're weaving, stop it, now. If you were sent by Ereshkigal or Geshtianna you can go straight back to them and then to hell. I will not be captured or fooled by either of them again."

  A minute ago she'd thought he was dragging her off to the bushes to have some sort of make-out session. A minute before that he'd been concerned about her well-being after their car had crashed. She could kind of see why he thought she was the one doing a magic trick on him. She had super duper transported them out of the battle in Glückstadt and out here to the middle of nowhere. That had never happened before. None of this was even a part of her abnormal normal.

  This was not her ducking fault. She stomped her foot. It was the last thing she needed. "I'm not doing anything."

  Black light, red sparkles and poof. Once again man became dragon.

  Obviously you are. His tail swished in the grass behind him and caught a gopher or a squirrel or something, flipping the poor thing up in the air and into a nearby tree. Jett spun in a circle like a puppy surprised by his own tail and then narrowed those big dark dragon eyes on Yvaine again. God dammit. At least leave me in one form or the other for a half a fucking minute.

  Smoke poured out of his nostrils and Yvaine did not relish getting lit on fire. He was pissed. A tiny voice in the back of her mind told her his anger wasn't entirely directed at her. She'd hoped it was right, because she was about to get real with him. She spread her hands out in a placating gesture and instead of stepping away like she should, she moved toward him.

  "Look. I don't know what's going on with you. I didn't even know dragons existed until like a half an hour ago. But I do get that you're scared and frustrated." She could relate. His body was seemingly out of his control and he didn't know what to do about it. Samesies.

  I'm not scared. He huffed even though the words were in her head and not out of his shiny black snout.

  If she didn't know better...and she really didn't... she'd think that was a dragon pouty face.

  "I would be. I have been. That, that," She waved her hand toward the crumpled car. "I don't know what, dissaparation, I guess, we did back there? I think I did that, but I don't know how or why. You obviously think I'm a witch or something else out of a fairy tale, but I don't understand what happens when I go all invisible either. That scares the bejeezus out of me."

  Jett tilted his head to the side, again reminding her of a curious puppy. One she'd like to snuggle up with. Except of course when he looked like he was going to gobble her up in one bite. She took a couple of steps back from that intense glare he had pointed at her.

  He sat down on his haunches and scratched at the ground. I can't tell if you are lying to me. Your scent doesn't betray you, but only a white witch has powers like yours. I know another who did not know the depth of her powers either. Although she is sweet and doesn't pick people's pockets.

  Sigh. Of course she doesn't. She was probably a beautiful, thin, tall, blonde with great boobs and more money than she knew what to do with too. "Yeah, well, I'm sure she's flippin' lovely."

  Jett sniffed the air, brought his head down closer to her and snuffled right between her shoulder and her ear sending zings of shivers all through her body. He took one long inhale and sat back, looking proud of himself for invading her personal space with his snout. You're jealous.

  "What? No. Why would I be jealous?" She threw her arms in the air and turned her back on him. Jealous. Of what? Pushaw. Nothing. She had nothing to be jealous of.

  He bumped her shoulder with his tail trying to get her to turn back around. Poof. "But you are."

  Why, oh why did his voice have to send all the tingles to her girly parts?
It wasn't fair. She was trying to distance herself from him. He was a crazy ass dragon man she was absolutely not going to continue to be attracted to. "I can not scent your lies, but your jealousy, and now embarrassment are coming off you like a sweet piece of candy. One I enjoy very much. That I'd like to eat."

  Don't turn around, don't turn around. He was just trying to bait her. She knew better. There had been plenty of boys at the convent's orphanage who loved to tease and torment her. Granted none of them had been a shape-shifting dragon. Instead of playing his game, Yvaine started walking back toward the car. She didn't have her few meager things anymore, her bag was somewhere in a mass of batstriches back in Glückstadt. If she was lucky the unfortunate owner of the car was on vacation and there would be a suitcase full of plus-sized women's clothes and a mobile phone with hundreds of pre-paid minutes somewhere in the wreckage.

  "Yvaine," he growled her name in a way that was more a caress, than a warning. "Where do you think you're going?"

  She increased her pace and did not look over her shoulder. She didn't bother being careful of where she stepped even though she should pick her way through the possible minefield of wildlife holes, rocks, twigs, and other things that could trip her up. "We should probably go our separate ways now that we're out of danger. Since I can't fly away from here I call dibs on whatever's in the car."

  In a blink Jett was standing in front of her, blocking her way. "Oh no you don't. Not while you can control my shape. I'm not letting you out of my sight."

  "I told you I'm not doing anything." Yvaine brushed against his muscled arm and sidestepped him without even stopping. The faster she ransacked the car the sooner she could get out of there. She had enough of dragons for one lifetime. An angry squirrel popped up out of the car scaring her half to death. Probably the partner of the one that had gone flying up into the tree earlier.

  A big black dragon butt landed right on top of the car, squishing it into the dirt and sending the squirrel scampering. You are whether you know how you are doing it or not. You're stuck with me until we can figure out how to make it stop.