Fury of Obsession (Dragonfury Series Book 5) (29 page)

“Praise Silfer,” Hamersveld muttered, Norwegian accent joining the hum of overhead fluorescents. “Let’s go.”

Indeed. Absolutely. The quicker he got home, the better.

He’d had enough of the small town. He needed to get airborne. Back to the laboratory nestled one hundred and fifty feet below 28 Walton Street. The second he landed, he’d go to work while Hamersveld went hunting. Smoke out the spy. Stop the leak. Create an antivirus and find a cure. Tall orders, but it didn’t matter. Do or die. Now or never. Full steam ahead on all fronts. Otherwise, his race would suffer and the traitor would slip away before he made him pay.

Chapter Eighteen

Evelyn flinched as Venom shifted in flight, banking into a wide turn. He settled into a smooth glide over thick forest. Supercharged with the threat of an oncoming storm, the wind tugged at her hair, blowing wayward curls into her face, rattling his scales, shredding her nerves. Wrapped inside his leather jacket, she breathed through the fear. In. Out. Catch and release. The trick usually worked like a charm, helping her think, putting things into perspective and logic front and center. Not tonight. Calm wasn’t part of the package. Neither was catching her breath. No matter how many times she forced air into her lungs, she couldn’t get enough. Which left her worse than afraid. It left her light-headed, in doubt, unable to believe what she was seeing.

God, it was surreal. She was flying. With a dragon. That could turn into a man.

The truth slammed through her, spinning her mental roulette wheel.

Venom descended through wispy clouds, losing altitude.

Her stomach bottomed out. Bile burned the back of her throat. Swallowing the awful taste, she searched the horizon. Thick forest thinned. City lights exploded across the landscape, popping up like mushrooms on the dark ground. Tucking her knees in tight, she snuggled deeper into Venom’s leather jacket, fighting to control the psychological slide into panic. Job one? Put away her fear. Stop trembling. Control her reaction long enough to think straight. All terrific ideas. Completely out of reach considering where she sat—inside a huge dragon paw with razor-sharp claws.

Like Ginsu knives—the ones that filleted fish and never went dull—the black tips gleamed in the weak light. She swallowed. Her heart went into overdrive, trying to escape through her breastbone. Evelyn cupped the front of her throat. God help her. The hooked tips were far too close. Just inches away. Within shredding distance of her face or—she cringed—her jugular. One wrong move. A quick flick. A skin-splitting slice, and good night sweet prince.

Game over.

Angling his wings, Venom wheeled into another turn. Squeezing her eyes shut, Evelyn went back to breathing. Her lungs expanded, providing much-needed air, prompting her mind to unlock. Mental acuity sped into view, dragging logic along. Not that it mattered. It didn’t matter what angle she looked at it from, the conclusions remained the same. She was screwed. Neck-deep in something she couldn’t puzzle out, never mind understand. Dragons and humans. Violence and death. Explosions and ruined hospitals. She and Venom. Each piece belonged in a larger puzzle. And yet, she didn’t know which piece to put where. How did it all go together? Where did she fit in? Why he
r . . .
what reason did Venom have for coming after her?

Frowning, Evelyn played with the mental jigsaw puzzle. An ache expanded between her temples. Still nothing. No matter which way she turned the board, nothing made sense. The pieces didn’t fit. Then again, what did she know? She was dealing with unknown factors and shifting variables. The biggest of which was dragons.

Dragons
,
for the love of God! The stuff of legend, one that belonged in a bedtime story.

Somehow, though, Venom hadn’t gotten the you’re-not-supposed-to-exist memo. He broke all the rules. Add in his ability to turn into a man, a gorgeous one with gentle hands, an incredible voice an
d . . .
good lord. Evelyn shook her head. It didn’t make any sense, but she couldn’t deny the truth. Or keep from wondering who had dropped the ball and forgotten to alert the rest of the planet about the dragon infestation. A huge lapse in judgment on someone’s part. Particularly since the realization left her out in the cold. Alone in Crazyland, on the wrong side of mental health, straitjacket and mind-altering drugs mandatory.

A shiver rolled through her.

Evelyn pulled the jacket tighter, closing thick leather lapels into a cocoon around her. Venom’s scent drifted from the folds, reminding her of the Luxmore. She couldn’t wrap her brain around it. He’d been so gentle with her, almost polite while holding her in his arms. Such a surprise. A welcome one, sure, but she hadn’t expected a man who paid for sex to behave like a gentleman. Concerned for her welfare. Invested in her comfort. Willing to let her go with the money without taking it to the next level.

Nowhere near
john
-like in the high-end escort-slash-prostitution racket.

Heat bloomed in her face. Evelyn turned her warm cheek into his coat collar. Talk about embarrassing. Not her finest moment. A terrible first meeting too. She’d met Venom in a hotel room. Had been willing to sleep with him for money. For
money
!
—
God forgive her. The memory of him—the taste of his mouth, the strength of his body, the careful way he’d touched her, as though she was precious—made her heart ache and her eyes sting. Tears blurred her vision. She blinked them away as the water came into view.

Puget Sound winked beyond bright city lights.

Evelyn stared at the surface of the water. Whitecaps heaved, then dipped. Waves whispered, rolling into the shoreline as she replayed the debacle inside her head. The reason she’d done it surfaced like a whale in ocean swells. She drew a shaky breath. All right, so she’d been in serious trouble. In a desperate scramble, trying to outrun Markov and the Russian mob. Somehow, though, the reasons no longer mattered. She’d done the unthinkable to save her own skin. No doubt a normal response to a life-threatening situation, but that didn’t make her feel any better. Or assuage her wounded pride.

Her behavior with Venom shamed her.

Now she didn’t know what to do. Thank him for coming to her rescue—again, for the second time in as many days? Or nail him for scaring the crap out of her? Serious questions. An even bigger debate. Arguments rose on both sides. She weighed the pros and cons an
d . . .
yup. She could go either way. Shut down and shy away. Or wind up and let fly.

Using her lashes for cover, she looked Venom over again. Ridged dragon scales. Sharp canines in the shape of fangs. Jagged horns jutting from the top of his head. Shimmering ruby-red eyes. She released a fractured breath. Air rattled from her lungs. Self-preservation kicked in. She grimaced. Well, all right then. Maybe yelling at him wasn’t the best idea. Shutting down—staying quiet until she knew him better—seemed like a better option, the safe side of sane.

Too bad she didn’t want to be reasonable.

Or safe.

She wanted to throw caution to the wind instead. It would feel so good to hold him accountable. To relieve the pressure and make him pay. For what? Well, turning into a dragon for one thing. For being the hottest, most generous guy she’d ever met for another. Her heart panged. The pitiful throb echoed inside her head. God, it was unfair. Totally ridiculous. He’d asked her to dinner, made plans with her, demanding exclusivity.

At the time, she’d been thankful, so damned relieved she wouldn’t have to see other men to get what she needed to stay alive. Now she wasn’t so sure. Instinct whispered in her ear, plying her with suspicion. She frowned. What was his game? He must be running one. Venom wasn’t stupid. Far from it. Which meant he must’ve known. Must’ve guessed what would happen—that he wouldn’t be able to hide his scalier side from her forever.

Or maybe he’d simply planned on lying to he
r . . .
ad infinitum.

The thought tugged at her temper. An odd reaction. Not at all warranted. She didn’t own the right to be pissed off at him. Anger didn’t belong in the equation. She’d planned to use him for money. He’d wanted her for sex. A simple exchange. No fuss. No muss. And yet, the idea of him being dishonest with her woke something primal. Something dangerous. Something that shoved her toward the truth. The thought of Venom lying to her more than
bothered
her. It infuriated her, violated her sense o
f . . .
o
f . . .
well, she didn’t know exactly. Right and wrong? Her sense of self-worth? A healthy dose of pride, maybe? No clue. But whatever the catalyst, it lit the fuse, setting moral indignation on fire, tipping the balance, making her throw caution to the wind.

Eyes narrowed, she scowled up at him. “Venom.”

“Almost there,
mazleiha
.”

“Where are we going?”

“Somewhere safe.”

“Will your dragon friends be there?”

Her clipped tone made him glance down. She glared at him. A wary light entered his eyes. “No. It’ll just be you and me for a while.”

“Good,” she said, hot sauce in her tone. “We need to talk.”

“You gonna take it easy on me?”

“No.”

He grimaced. “That’s what I thought.”

His leery expression warmed her insides. Her lips twitched. She shut her reaction to his wariness down. But it was hard not to find him charming. Big, bad Venom of the dark-green scales and vicious claws dreaded her reaction. Strange as it sounded, she could feel the unease in him. Could almost see his mind churning as he searched for a way to placate her. Not a bad plan, all things considered. He’d dropped a whopper on her tonight. Was even now flying her to some undisclosed location to—

Evelyn frowned. To do what exactly?

She stared at him harder. A buzz lit off in her veins. Warm sensation coasted down her spine, hooking her in to something vast. Connection sped through the cerebral space and intuition sparked, giving her a glimmer of his intent. Surprise battered her. Wow, that was weird. She could feel him now. Her heart paused mid-beat, then resumed pounding, keeping time with his, allowing her to read him. He was worried about something. Her reaction to his dragon half, sure, but something more than that too.

Her eyes widened as more of his concerns gained speed inside her head. The strange link flexed. The word
Razorback
whispered against her temples. Evelyn blinked. Holy crap. Hold everything. Put on the brakes. Back up the bus. What in God’s name was that? No way she should be mainlining his thoughts. Pressing her palms to the sides of her head, Evelyn fought to control the cerebral flow—the thought exchang
e . . .
whatever. She didn’t care what it was called just as long as it stopped. The rush amplified, hammering her mental defenses, stealing more of her headspace.

Evelyn blew out a breath. “Uh, Venom?”

“Hold tight.”

Angling into another turn, Venom flew over a beach. A skim of snow covered the sand in spots. Brown intersected with white, then tumbled into rock. The roar of waves rose on cold air as the surf rolled in, painting each stone black. Wings spread wide, Venom slowed and set down on the stretch of lawn fronting a huge house with a long stretch of dark windows. His back paws crunched against frozen blades of grass. Evelyn tensed and got ready for—

The hair on her nape rose. One moment slid into the next an
d . . .
presto change-o. Venom transformed. Green scales turned to golden skin. Huge talons became hands and feet. Horns and sharp spikes disappeared. Long blond hair took its place, falling to his shoulders, framing his gorgeous face.

Evelyn sucked in a quick breath.

With a murmur, Venom wrapped his arms around her and tucked her in close. Her bare feet touched the icy ground. Big hands settled against her back as he dipped his head. Day-old whiskers grazed her temple. Pleasure whispered and bliss arrived, awakening deprived nerve endings a second before her brain turned over. Evelyn flinched. She needed to move. Distance was a requirement right now. Otherwise, he’d suck her in and scramble her thoughts. Which would result in what? Her ability to think straight wavered. Not a great idea. She had questions. He held all the answers. So n
o . . .
becoming distracted, losing herself in him wasn’t a smart move.

The second she gave in, it would be over. He’d win. She’d lose the high ground along with the opportunity to get what she needed—clarification on a large scale.

Reaching for courage, she squared her shoulders and went looking for her voice. She opened her mouth. Venom drew her closer. Her hands met the wall of his chest. He breathed her name, the whisper so full of sex her brain shut down. She blinked. Oh, no. Not good. She was losing the battle. He kept winning the war, screwing with her will to resist.

Evelyn shook her head. Crap. It was official. She was past pathetic and into needy. Which mean
t . . .
she really needed to make up her mind—let him comfort her. Or pull a tilt-a-whirl spin out of her hat and break free. She couldn’t do both. But even as she berated herself for enjoying his nearness, she damned herself by snuggling in and acknowledged her weakness.

She didn’t want to fight with him right now.

Questions would be asked and answers would come. All would eventually be explained. For now, she bowed to a greater urge. She needed a hug. Wanted to be held by him—if only for a little while—and a chance to calm down. Topsy-turvy, total emotional upheaval, didn’t sit well with her. She liked even. Enjoyed steady, for everything to add up in neat rows and orderly columns. Tonight didn’t qualify as any of those things. So instead of shoving Venom away, she whispered his name—mind whirling, body pliant, protest nonexistent—when he kissed her temple, then raised his head, allowing her to take all the space beneath his chin. His heat rolled into her, and, just like that, it was over. She was done, field abandoned and battle lost.