Dragon in the Dark (Kindred Tales)

I’m not going to touch her again, he promised himself. Not going to lay a fucking hand on her.

It was time to stop fooling himself—the little Elite wasn’t for him and all the wishing in the universe wouldn’t change that.

But he couldn’t help watching her as she slept and thinking that he had never met a female like her before…and probably never would again.

TWENTY-THREE

Iyanna didn’t know exactly when she drifted off or how long she slept but the next thing she knew a voice from overhead was thanking everyone for flying on the pleasure cruise shuttle and welcoming them to Lix’dor Prime.

When she opened her eyes, she found that her head was pillowed against Dra’vik’s broad chest and he was cuddling her in his muscular arms.

“Wake up, little girl,” he rumbled softly. “Time to get going—we’ve landed and we still have to get through the Lix’dorian check-point before we can meet the Minister of Botany.”

“We do?” Iyanna blinked, trying to piece together how she’d gotten into this situation. Then, everything came rushing back to her—the way she’d allowed Dra’vik to touch her and make her come—not once but twice—the talk they’d had afterwards where she’d basically admitted all her kinks to the big Drake… And after all that, she’d let herself go to sleep cuddled up in his arms.

What’s wrong with me? she asked herself, sitting up and trying to put some distance between them, now that the safety belt had been unhooked. Why would I let myself get so personal with a guy I hardly know—someone I’m supposed to be working with in a professional capacity? Why would I—

“Yes, we do,” Dra’vik rumbled, breaking into her guilty train of thought.

“Um…we do what?” Iyanna was so busy berating herself for her unprofessional behavior, she had completely forgotten what they were talking about.

“We have to go through a check point so they can scan us for weapons or illegal substances before we’re admitted into the main spaceport,” he said patiently. “Are you ready to go?”

“I, um…” Iyanna cleared her throat. “Look, about what, uh, happened between us during the flight… It wasn’t really appropriate behavior on either of our parts.”

He frowned down at her, his yellow-gold eyes flashing.

“Having regrets about letting me make you come, little girl?”

“As a matter of fact, yes,” Iyanna said sharply. “We’re supposed to be colleagues here—partners. I appreciate you helping me with the, er, pleasure poisoning, but I really think we should be more professional for the rest of this mission.”

“Translation, you don’t want us touching each other again,” he growled, his face like a thundercloud.

“I didn’t say that,” Iyanna protested. “I mean, we’ll have to touch each other some—we’re playing husband and wife. I just think we should try to keep it, er, non-sexual. And I’d appreciate if you don’t bring up the things I told you before I fell asleep,” she added. “They were very personal and I shouldn’t have talked about them at all. I’m sorry.”

Dra’vik’s expression grew cold and he raised the seat to its full upright position.

“As a matter of fact, I was thinking the same thing—we need to keep it professional. From now on, I won’t lay a fucking hand on you.”

Iyanna felt terrible—was he taking her words as a rejection?

“Look,” she began. “I didn’t mean—”

“It’s time to go,” Dra’vik interrupted her. “The Minister of Botany will be waiting for us once we clear the check-point.”

He waited for Iyanna to get up and then rose himself to tower over her. Without another word, he led the way down the shuttle aisle with Iyanna trailing behind him, feeling like she’d just made a complete mess of things.

TWENTY-FOUR

The check-point line was divided in two—males on the far left side of the large security room and females on the far right. The space between them was almost the distance of a football field but Iyanna could still see the large form of Dra’vik standing in the other line. Though the Lix’dorians seemed taller than humans, none of them, was as tall as the big Drake.

Dra’vik faced front and wasn’t looking in her direction, so Iyanna faced straight ahead too. She was in line directly behind Yanni, the pale pink Lix’dorian woman with the dark purple dress and pale purple teeth.

Iyanna gripped the handle of her gold suitcase tightly. She was an independent woman but this was a strange planet and she didn’t love being separated from the big Drake during what amounted to a customs search. What if the Lix’dorian guards—which were all men—decided they didn’t like something about her or her luggage? What if she was taken away and strip-searched or something?

She might not have been so nervous if she hadn’t had a bad experience in an airport back home the year before. Having been at an international Botany Conference in Amsterdam, she’d flown back home and had a layover in Miami—which had turned out to be one of those airports where you have to get your luggage and then go through security all over again before you can board your next plane.