Wicked Dark Dragon (Dragon Heat) Read online

  “The Seer has decided that you two have earned the right to a good meal and a hot shower. This is a privilege I’m only too happy to yank.” He waved the cattle prod in a threatening gesture. “She leads the way. You put your hands on her shoulders.”

  Mad did as instructed. He ran his thumbs up and down her skin, massaging her taut muscles and sending her silent encouragement to relax. Wondering if she might be able to hear him, he concentrated very hard and projected a simple message into his thoughts. Do what they want. They won’t hurt us. We’re valuable.

  She looked back at him, their gazes meeting briefly, before she turned her attention back to the cattle-prod-wielding Knight. Leaning back against him, she put two ominous words into his head. For now.

  He didn’t disagree with her but didn’t want to start down that path. At the moment, Ivy had something the Knights wanted, and they needed Mad’s help to get it. He would do whatever it took to thwart those plans—unless it put Ivy at risk. For the first time in centuries, he found himself conflicted about his role in the Brotherhood. He had sworn that the cause—defending dragons and saving the species from eradication by the Knights—was his number-one priority. But now?

  Now this dark-haired sprite with a deep belly laugh and a wicked sense of humor made him want to reevaluate that position. If he had to choose between Ivy and the Brotherhood tonight, he feared he would make a decision that would seal his fate in a bad way. It was only a matter of time until the Knights resorted to pain to make her talk or reveal whatever secrets she possessed. Could he stand back and watch her suffer to protect all dragons? Or would he urge her to shame the devil and spill it all to save herself?

  A slight tug on the chains tore him away from that uncomfortable quandary. Ivy followed the lead Knight down the hallway. Boxed in by the rest of their escort team, Mad kept close to her. He had seen quite a bit of the prison on the night he had been taken captive. Now, he mentally sketched in the details he had missed that first time.

  The historic fortress had been renovated and retrofitted by the Knights for their nefarious purposes. From what he could tell, they were only using one wing of the building. At present, there were no other prisoners inside the complex, but he had no doubt the cells had been occupied recently. The stink of despair and death clung to the very stones of the place.

  They were led into a space that resembled the locker room at the gym he owned with Griff. The white tiled walls were lined with shower heads on one side of the room and toilet stalls on the other. A long bench sat in front of a row of lockers. Someone had dragged a table into the locker room and placed it near the bench. The delicious scents wafting from the covered dishes sitting on that table tempted him.

  Ivy’s stomach growled noisily. The rumbling emptiness of it made him feel lower than mud. Thinking of how hungry she must be, he decided he wouldn’t ask her to refuse the food offered to them. It was very obviously a bribe but she needed the nourishment. As tiny as she was, she couldn’t stand to lose even one more pound.

  “We’re not hungry.” Ivy turned away from the food, but he spotted the tightness around her mouth that told him she was absolutely ravenous. “You can take it away.”

  “No.” Mad overrode her with a gentle hand to her shoulder. “We’ll take it.”

  She frowned at him. “But—”

  He silenced her by placing his fingertip to her lips. He didn’t think he could muster the focus to send her another message so he hoped she could read his face. “We’ll eat.”

  She didn’t argue with him but she tugged his hand away from her face. He had a distinct feeling that he would be hearing an earful about that mistake once they were alone in their cell again.

  Taking her hand, he led her over to the bench and sat. Because their arms were joined together with long chains, Mad pulled her down onto his lap. He picked up a spoon and took a taste of each of the dishes. When he was assured there were no traces of chemicals, poisons, or potions, he allowed Ivy to dig into the meal. She took her time eating, chewing each bite deliberately and picking the highest-calorie foods on the table.

  Impressed with her strategy, he kissed her temple. Since being thrown in her cell, he had fought the overwhelming need to touch and nuzzle her, but right now he couldn’t help himself. She responded so sweetly to his tender kiss and pressed closer. He hoped she found his body heat comforting and reassuring.

  After their meal, they were handed travel-sized toiletries and towels and pointed in the direction of the showers and sinks. “She can remove the collar for now.” The head guard waved the cattle prod. “Don’t do anything stupid. Water. Electricity. It’s not a good combination.”

  Mad glared at the Knight and steered Ivy toward the nearest sink. He carefully removed the collar and tossed it aside. She rose on tiptoes to see her reflection in the mirror. He gently tilted her head to the side to examine the burn marks on her neck and the raw line the collar had rubbed on her skin. She hissed when he prodded the area. He shot her an apologetic look. “Sorry.”

  “It’s okay. Is it bad?”

  “It will heal.”

  “With scars?”

  “They’ll be faint.” Overwhelmed by the need to reassure her, he kissed the top of her head. Their gazes clashed in the mirror’s reflection, his a bit wide-eyed at the realization of how intimate he was behaving toward her and Ivy’s bright with wonder at the sudden shift in their relationship. Back in the relative safety of their cell, he had been able to maintain control, but out here, with Ivy at constant risk, his inner beast was too dominant. His dragon wanted to mate her and be done with it.

  Clearing his throat, he said, “We’ll get a pretty necklace to cover them, if they bother you.” Realizing he had just offered to buy her jewelry, he headed off a heavy discussion by picking up one of the boxed toothbrushes encased in plastic and ripping open the packaging. He thrust the new tube of toothpaste at her, too. “Here.”

  “Thanks.”

  Ivy looked so damned happy for the chance to properly brush her teeth. She had been making do with a tube of toothpaste, a cup of water, and her finger every morning and night. With full bellies and clean mouths, they were directed to the showers. When it became clear the Knights intended to watch, she grew frightened and embarrassed. Disgusted with those lecherous assholes, he touched her cheek and commanded her attention. “Look at me.”

  She stared up at him with such anxiety. “Mad, please…”

  “I’ll shield you. After a hot shower, you’ll feel better. If they see anything, it doesn’t matter.”

  “Why not?”

  He lowered his face until his lips ghosted along the shell of her ear. “Because I’m going to kill them for everything they’ve done to hurt you. Whatever they see tonight, they take to the grave.”

  She went rigid as his harshly whispered words registered. When she pulled back to peer up at him, her eyes had gone completely reptilian in appearance. The golden irises were now flecked with ruby, and her pupils were elongated and thin. His vow to seek vengeance on those who had harmed her had awoken the dragon’s bloodlust within her. Her scent shifted slightly, and he drew it deep into his lungs. He muscled down the primal need to mate that her changing scent provoked.

  Gathering her courage, she stepped back and peeled out of the shirt he had given her. She covered her small breasts with one arm and placed her hand down to shield her sex. Turning her back on him, she moved under the closest shower head and twisted the knob. Hot water soaked her hair and spilled down her back.

  Entranced by the sight of Ivy’s body, he raked his needful gaze along her naked skin. He had always been fond of bigger women. Zaftig was the term Griff always used for the women he chased, but that definitely wasn’t a word that could describe Ivy. Built like a ballerina, she seemed so fragile. His mind took a natural detour, and he wondered what it would be like to have her in his bed. If she ever invited him between the sheets, he would have to be gentle and easy with her. She was much too precious to harm with
carelessness.

  God, how he wanted her. Shedding his clothes, Mad tried to regain control over the hormones raging through his body but failed miserably. He used his bigger frame to block the Knights’ view of Ivy’s wet, soapy skin. With their arms chained together, they had to work in unison to get clean. Although she was cooperative, he didn’t miss the way she kept her eyes fixed forward on the tile and refused to look at him.

  She gasped when he swiped his lathered palm down her back. There was no way she could reach that patch of skin herself, not with the heavy chains weighing down her arms, so he did the gentlemanly thing and helped her. As his hand glided along the curve of her spine, he suddenly wished they were far away from here. A hotel, his house, her dorm room—anywhere but this awful hellhole. The first time he touched her so intimately should have been something special and sweet, not this sordid and forced spectacle for the amusement of their guards.

  Forget about the guards. Take what you want.

  Mad glanced over his shoulder as the raspy voice of the Seer invaded his mind. Ivy must have sensed the evil presence of the Knights’ secret weapon because she shivered. He rolled his neck and tried to block the psychic’s mental attack but he wasn’t nearly as adept as Ivy.

  Grabbing the small bottle of shampoo that had been left for them, he squeezed a dollop into his hand and worked it into her hair. He stepped closer to her, but mindful of the erection her scent and alluring beauty had inspired, he made sure it wasn’t too close. Ivy relaxed as he massaged her scalp and spread the coconut-scented foam through her hair. He helped her rinse and then stepped back when she pivoted toward him.

  The cuffs spun around her wrists as she twirled under the chains, using the slack to allow her to face him. He stiffened when she wrapped her arms around his waist. With shaky fingers that betrayed her uncertainty and nervousness, she dragged the bar of soap up and down his back. How much courage had it taken for someone who was so obviously inexperienced with men to touch him like this? He could smell her anxiety, but she soldiered on and kept her soapy hands on his skin. Her cheek was pressed to his chest—and the throbbing head of his hard cock nudged the soft flesh of her belly.

  She wants you.

  Go. Away. He hated that this evil crone was trying to manipulate him. Even more, he despised the way his weak body responded. Why couldn’t he control himself? What was so different about tonight?

  Breathe in deeply, Welshman. Her scent has sweetened. She’s in heat—for you.

  He tried to hold his breath but it was impossible. He had to breathe, and the Seer was right. Ivy was hot for him. She was excited, aroused, and nervous. The delicious scent of her drove his inner beast fucking crazy.

  Take her. Mate her. Claim her.

  “No!”

  Ivy jumped, dropping the soap and jerking her hands back. The chains attached to her wrists slapped his arms. “I’m sorry.”

  He grasped the fingers of her right hand. “I didn’t mean you. I meant her.”

  Ivy’s eyes darkened with concern. “Is she talking to you? I can feel her, but she’s not bothering me.”

  “She’s bothering me.” He backed Ivy up until she stood under the showerhead and watched the hot water rush over her pink skin. He prayed it would dilute the enticing and alluring scent of her. Looking down at his dark-haired sprite, he lost himself in her curious gaze. Her lips were reddened, and when her pink tongue swiped the upper one, he swooped down to capture it. At the last possible second, he stopped himself. Ivy’s shuddery breath skated across his cheek. Eyes closed, he tensed his jaw. “I’m sorry.”

  “What’s wrong with you? You feel different to me. You feel…dangerous.”

  “I am.” And he didn’t know why. Unless…

  His gaze darted to the dinner they had eaten. No, he had tasted the food and it was safe. He glanced at the soap and toiletries but those all smelled right. How else might he have been drugged? He hadn’t put anything else in his mouth except for—

  “The toothpaste,” he announced with a growl. “They put lust root in the fucking toothpaste.”

  “Lust what?”

  “It’s an old plant that can’t be found in the wild anymore. Ignatius ordered every last plant searched out and destroyed after the Knights captured Reinhard and forced it on him.” The viciously cruel memories of what his friend had suffered still soured his stomach. “It’s the reason he changed his name. After his rampage, he disappeared for many years, and when he came back, he was an entirely different person.”

  Ivy swallowed. “Rampage?”

  The wavering fear in her voice cut him like a razor to the heart. “I won’t harm you, Ivy. I will kill myself before I force myself on you.”

  Her eyes widened at his vow. “Mad! Don’t say something like that.”

  “I mean it.” He stretched his neck again. “Don’t worry about it. I’m stronger than the lust root. There wasn’t nearly enough in one tiny dose to make me lose my mind.” He might not lose his mind but his control on his body was slipping. His steely erection pulsed in time with his heartbeat. Visions of burying his face between Ivy’s thighs to taste her sweet nectar tormented him. The very thought of sinking into her tight, virgin pussy was enough to make him growl.

  But he wouldn’t do that. He wouldn’t take from her something she had so preciously guarded. “I’ll be in pain for the rest of the night but I’ll survive.”

  “Oh, Mad.” She caressed his jaw. “What about me? Why aren’t I feeling it as strongly?”

  “You’re not a full-blooded dragon. Your body chemistry doesn’t react the same as mine.”

  “Oh.”

  You can’t win this battle, Welshman. Take the girl. Mark her as your own.

  Shrugging off the Seer’s annoying voice, Mad said, “We’ll be fine. There’s nothing they can do to me that will make me hurt you. The Seer can’t—”

  The sentence died in his throat. Clutching his head, he cried out as a horrific stabbing pain lanced his brain. Ivy cupped his neck and gazed up at him with worry. Her lips moved, but he couldn’t hear anything but an eardrum-piercing screech. Logically, he knew the torments weren’t real but that didn’t make the pain any easier to bear.

  Swaying on his feet, he slammed against the wall. He managed to stay upright but Ivy fell hard on the tile. Wincing, she scrambled to stand and put her hands on his chest. “Mad? Mad!”

  He couldn’t answer her. His brain was boiling, and his blood pressure was rising dangerously high. His heart thumped painfully in his chest. An invisible but inhumanly strong hand squeezed the air right of out his lungs. Seized with panic, he realized the Seer was using her abilities to hurt him without ever laying a finger on him.

  Shit! I’m dying. He gripped Ivy’s arm. The look in her terrified eyes punched him in the gut. He had failed her. He had come here to protect and save her and failed miserably. With the last bit of strength, he urged her to fight.

  Just hold on, sweetheart. Hold on.

  Chapter Four

  Leave him alone!” Ivy shouted the words as four Knights rushed them and pried open Mad’s mouth. She tried to fight them off, but one of them grabbed her wrists and held her back, forcing her to watch as another poured a vial of the purple liquid onto his tongue. Mad choked and coughed, but the Seer’s hold over his body was too great. He swallowed down most of what he had been given, more of that lust root no doubt.

  Just as quickly as they had dosed Mad with the vile concoction, they turned on her and pried her jaw wide open. The cold and bitter liquid spilled onto her tongue. She tried not to swallow, but one of the men smacked her across the face, the force of his strike making her gulp with shock.

  Their duties done, the Knights retreated and left them alone. She fell forward against her Beast. “Mad? Mad!”

  Pale and covered in slick, cold sweat, he slumped forward and slid all the way down the wall. The heavy ink scrolling along his shoulders and arms and covering his chest looked so very dark against his graying skin. The blood
was draining from his face and leaving his lips thin and sickly purple. Only one part of him remained a healthy, lively color.

  Ivy gulped at the sight of his extraordinarily thick and long erection. She had always expected a man his size would be well-endowed, but she was still taken aback. Despite her shock, she didn’t shrink away in virgin fright. To her sheer distress, the feral whisper of the dragon within urged her to stroke his hot flesh and ease the ache he must be feeling.

  “What do you want?” she called out to the Seer while she caressed Mad’s handsome face. The thought of him succumbing to the Seer’s torture filled her with such an aching, throbbing emptiness. Her feelings for the dragon were so very complicated, but she couldn’t deny what her heart said was right. And he was it. He was the one she had been waiting for all her life. Just as she had always suspected she was something more than human, she had always believed that there was someone special out there for her. “Please don’t die, Beast.”

  He doesn’t have to die. Save him. Ease his madness and pain.

  No. Ivy refused to play into the Knights’ hand.

  You’re being so stubborn. I’ve seen your dreams. I’ve listened to your thoughts. You want him. See the way he burns for you? Take him.

  The Seer spoke the truth. Even before she had met Mad in the flesh, she had been fascinated by the mysterious man who visited her dreams. After their erotic interlude in the club dreamscape, she couldn’t shake her desire for him. The way he insisted on holding her while she slept didn’t help matters any. He curled that big, strong body of his around her. The soothing heat of him and the security of his powerful arms cradling her close were enough to make a girl swoon.

  Mad made her want things she had never before desired. He made her want to know all the secrets her friends had uncovered years earlier. The sultry, sensual side she had never felt comfortable indulging suddenly demanded to be unleashed. It was as if something dormant had been awakened within her. Maybe it had. Perhaps her connection to this great beast of a dragon had touched off something supernatural and feral in her. The potion she had been forced to swallow wasn’t helping.