Dragon King: A Dark Kings Novella (1001 Dark Nights) Read online

  “Fine. I’ll leave. You might’ve just sealed my fate as far as my career goes, but I’ll leave your mountain.”

  Did she hear him snigger? That only infuriated Grace all the more. She grabbed her laptop and stalked to the entrance. He wasn’t even going to let the sun dry some of the water on the mountain. But she’d be damned if she fell and gave him something else to laugh at.

  Grace was at the entrance to the cave. She took one step out when she looked down the mountain and spotted four men running toward her.

  Good. Maybe they would be more gallant and at least help her to her car. She lifted her hand to wave to them. Her arm didn’t rise farther than her face when she was hastily jerked back into the cave and pressed against a stone wall...and a solid wall of muscle.

  Her mouth went dry as her free hand landed on his stomach. She could feel every breath he took, every ripple of his hard muscle.

  “Doona move,” he whispered urgently.

  First, he wanted her to leave. Now he wanted her to stay. What was going on? Not that she could think straight with his body against hers.

  She lifted her gaze and felt her breath catch. His face was turned toward the opening as he stared with a severe look in his eyes.

  His face seemed to have been cut from the very granite at her back. The hard planes and angles would be too harsh on some men. But not him. He was breathtakingly striking, astonishingly magnificent.

  Her hand flattened on his abdomen to feel more of him while she wished she wasn’t holding her laptop so her other hand could be touching him as well.

  Then his head slowly turned to look down at her. She could scarcely believe the light-goldish hue of his eyes. They reminded her of the champagne she had drunk the night before.

  His hair was as black as midnight and hung to the middle of his back. His forehead was high, his nose straight. He had thick black brows that slashed over his intense eyes. His lips, wide and full, turned up slightly at one corner.

  His eyes met hers, as if daring her to look at him. Grace let her hand lower to his hip, and she had another shock as she discovered him naked.

  Now those lips of his turned up in a full smile. He liked that he had surprised her.

  And she kinda liked it to. After all, when was the last time that had happened?

  “I...” She cleared her throat and tried again. “I thought you wanted me to leave.”

  His smile vanished in an instant. “That time is gone.”

  Something in his words sent up a warning in her brain. “What’s that mean?”

  “It means you’ll get to write your book.”

  He took a step back from her the same time a bolt of lightning zigzagged across the sky and thunder rumbled. A second later, the skies opened up again.

  Chapter Three

  Arian wasn’t certain whether to believe the mortal. She could very well be with the Dark Fae rapidly approaching his cave.

  With a wave of his hand, Arian cloaked the entrance with more dragon magic. No one was supposed to be able to find the cave except another King. Still, the fact the Dark knew which side of the mountain was his cave was enough to cause him alarm.

  “I really don’t like being ordered about,” the female said in a sassy tone as she looked worriedly to the entrance. She tried to move away, but he wouldn’t let her.

  He had always thought the American drawl was a bit too rough of all the accents Con had shown him through his dragon sleep. But rolling off her tongue, Arian found he quite liked it. He heard another accent as well, though he couldn’t pinpoint it.

  “You wanted to stay here, did you no’?” he asked as he took another step away from her.

  “I’m getting whiplash you change your mind so quickly,” she said, her gaze pinning him. Then a crack of thunder filled the silence, causing her to visibly cringe. “Those men could’ve helped me. I’d be off your mountain and out of your hair.”

  He glanced out the cave. “As tempting as that offer sounds, you’re going to remain.”

  “Yeah. That sounds good.”

  “Because I doona trust you.” It took him a moment to realize she hadn’t asked why as he expected. Arian frowned when he saw she had her arms wrapped around herself while she inched farther away from the opening.

  The war the Dragon Kings were in meant that everyone was a potential enemy. The only way they were going to come out of this as secret as before was if every Dragon King assumed one and all was an enemy until they proved otherwise.

  And the American had a lot to prove.

  “Yep,” she said with a nod. “Perfectly understandable. Trust is...trust is... Oh, hell. Nevermind,” she mumbled.

  Arian glanced at the rain when lightning struck, and she hastily turned away. The way she was breathing shallowly and a fine sheen of sweat covered her were classic symptoms of someone who was terrified.

  She looked like at any moment she was going to fall apart, and that’s one thing Arian didn’t want. A crying female was...well, they were the worst kind of hell for a man—or dragon—to endure. If he could bypass her tears, then he’d consider it a win.

  “Perhaps you should leave. It’s just a wee bit of rain.”

  Her navy eyes jerked to him, widening just enough in her outrage. “Not happening.”

  She pushed away from the wall, her gaze raking down his body as she walked past him, her fear seemingly forgotten in her anger. That scathing look roused him, stirred him.

  His balls tightened and his blood heated. Six centuries was a long time to go without relieving his body, and he was feeling the effects of that abstinence profoundly.

  The mortal’s body was more than adequate. He had the pleasure of seeing—and feeling—more of her. In fact, he found her curves rather enticing. Even the fire in her eyes did something to him.

  Arian knew lust well. Aye, he lusted for her greatly. Yet there was something else he couldn’t name. Was it because he had watched her fingers punch the keys on her laptop and the words form? Was it because she was scared of him and still had the gumption to stand up to him?

  Or was it something else?

  Her gaze on him, however, sent all the blood straight to his cock. Arian turned to keep that part of himself in shadow. He didn’t want her to know how much a look from her could do to him.

  He covertly watched as she returned to her spot near the boulder that stood unmovable about ten feet from the water. She opened the laptop, the light highlighting her face. She blinked quickly before she sat her fingers on the keys. A heartbeat later, she was writing again.

  Arian toned down the thunder and lightning. Every Dragon King had a special power, and his was controlling the weather. When he saw her shoulders begin to relax once more, Arian had confirmation that it was storms Grace was frightened of.

  While she had been working the first time, he had come up behind the boulder and read over her shoulder. She was really quite good, and he wanted to know how the story progressed. It wasn’t just her way with words, but it was how she described things that made Arian feel as if he were in the middle of the story.

  In ancient mortal times, she would’ve been revered for her gifts. And yet, she appeared as if she carried the weight of the world on her shoulders. Then he remembered how she made a comment about needing to finish the book.

  “You’re not going to stand there and watch me, are you?” she asked with a sigh.

  Arian turned his back to her and moved closer to the entrance. The Dark continued to search the mountain for the entrance. How long could he hold them off? The mortal wasn’t a Druid, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t a decoy of some kind.

  “It’s Grace, by the way.”

  He frowned and turned his head to the side. “Excuse me?”

  “My name. I knew you were about to ask, so I saved you the trouble.”

  He hid his smile because he liked her sass. Grace. Aye, the name suited her.

  “And yours?”

  He looked at her over his shoulder. “Arian.
”

  “Arian,” she said, letting it roll off her tongue slowly.

  His balls tightened again. Damn but she was a distraction he didn’t want. Arian needed to get to Dreagan Manor with the other Kings, but with the Dark having arrived, he was glad he remained.

  There was a push on his mind. Arian opened the mental link between Dragon Kings and heard Con’s voice ask, “Our barrier was breached near you twice.”

  “Aye. It was a mortal woman the first time.”

  “Did you send her on her way?”

  “Was about to when four Dark arrived,” Arian explained.

  Con let out a string of curses. “Is the female with them?”

  “I’m no’ sure. Yet.”

  “I’m sending Tristan and Banan to lead the Dark away from you.”

  Arian looked at the mortal. “And I’ll figure out what the human really wants.”

  “Doona take too long. You’re needed here,” Con stated before he severed the link.

  Grace was staring at him again. “Do you always walk around naked?”

  “Does it bother you, lass?” Arian asked with a grin.

  “Of course not. I’m not a prude.”

  He turned away so she wouldn’t see his smile. Arian had the overwhelming urge to goad her, and he didn’t hold back. “Do you no’ like what you see?”

  “I...yes. You have a nice body.”

  “Nice,” Arian said with a shrug. He glanced at her. “Nice isna that good.”

  She looked down at the laptop and pressed her lips together. “Fine. I’ll admit it’s more than nice. It’s...very nice. Gorgeous even.”

  Was she blushing? Arian couldn’t look away. She said the words, but she wouldn’t meet his gaze. How...enchanting.

  Grace shrugged and punched a few keys on her laptop. “You asked.”

  “So I did.”

  She peeked up at him before she focused on the screen. Its white light highlighted her face as she began typing. He made himself turn away before he continued their banter—which he was enjoying entirely too much.

  Arian’s gaze was focused outside. The Dark were still there, and he couldn’t help but wonder why Grace hadn’t asked about them again. Could it be that she wasn’t with them? It was a slim chance. Most likely she didn’t mention them again because she was working with them.

  And Arian didn’t like that thought at all. He enjoyed Grace. Her accent, her feisty nature, her beauty, and her intellect intrigued him. Not to mention her ability to craft a story. In all his years—and they were endless—he hadn’t met anyone like her.

  Arian surreptitiously looked at her. She seemed absorbed in her work. Her brow was furrowed slightly one moment, and a second before she was smiling at whatever she was typing. How he wanted to know what amused her.

  It was the sound of dragon wings that pulled his attention from her. Tristan and Banan arrived quietly, dropping from the sky with wings tucked as they zeroed in on the Dark Fae.

  Banan’s deep blue claws grabbed a Dark before they were even seen. Tristan opened his amber-colored wings and circled around the group of Dark.

  Arian craved to be out there with them. He actually had to stop himself from shifting and joining in the fight, the instinct was so great. But he wasn’t about to leave Grace.

  Not until he learned if she had wandered into his mountain on accident or not.

  If she was innocent, then she didn’t need to see the battle taking place on the side of his mountain.

  Arian fisted his hands at his sides as he struggled not to join the fight. He needed to be there, wiping the Dark from his mountain instead of standing there watching.

  The Dark threw bubbles of magic at Tristan and Banan. Many they were able to dodge, but a few magic balls found their mark.

  Arian knew how painful Dark magic could be. He clenched his jaw and struggled to remain in his cave as Tristan and Banan led the Dark away.

  Only when the Dark were out of sight did Arian turn back to Grace. A small frown furrowed her brow as she stared at the computer screen. Her fingers rested on the keyboard, but she was no longer typing.

  She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before slowly releasing it. When her lids opened, she typed a few words and then halted once more.

  “What is it?” he asked, curious.

  She slammed the laptop closed and dropped her head back against the rock. “I don’t know.”

  “I hear another accent in your words besides American. What is it?”

  Her head rolled to the side to look at him. “French. My mother is from Paris.”

  “You doona sound like someone who has lived their life in Paris.”

  “Because I didn’t.” She set the laptop beside her and pulled her knees up to her chest. “My father raised me after my mom ran off with a musician. She lived in London for a few years until that relationship ended. Then she returned to Paris.”

  “She left you behind?” Arian could scarcely imagine such a scenario.

  Grace gave a half-snort, half-laugh. “She did. She was in love and didn’t want a five-year-old getting in the way.”

  “I doona ken such a thing.”

  She rested her chin on her knees. “Me either, but she told me that some people just weren’t cut out to be parents. She was one of them. It’s a poor excuse, I know.”

  “Aye. It is.”

  Grace’s deep blue eyes focused on him. “I’ve spent the last three years living in Paris. My father wanted me to see the world.”

  “Yet, you remained in Paris instead of returning to him.”

  “He died. It was the last thing he made me promise. To see the world.” She smiled, as if recalling the memory. “We’d been planning the trip for some time, so all the destinations were chosen and everything paid for. The only difference was that I traveled it alone.”

  Arian moved closer to her. “I’m sorry.”

  She shrugged and blinked rapidly. “It’s all right. Our plan was always to end in Paris so I could spend some time with my mother. I’d already arranged to spend a month in Paris, and after that, I found I liked it.”

  “So you remained. Did you see your mother?”

  Grace chuckled softly. “A bit. She really isn’t cut out for parenting. She doesn’t have a maternal bone in her body. She had a new man, so I urged her to go with him.”

  “That was nice.”

  “Not at all,” Grace replied with a laugh. “It was selfish. I didn’t want her around either at that point.”

  Arian found himself smiling. “Who are you, Grace? What are you doing in my mountain?”

  She let out a deep breath. “I’m Grace Clark from Los Angeles, California. I’m a writer...er...novelist who lives in Paris.”

  “What do you write, Grace Clark?”

  “Romance novels.”

  He raised a brow, intrigued. “Interesting.”

  “It would be if I could get the book written. I turned in the first book of the three-book contract, but I’m beyond late with this second book. If I don’t turn it in three weeks from now, they’re canceling the rest of my contract.”

  Arian wasn’t sure what all of that meant, but it didn’t sound good. “And being here does what?”

  “Puts my groove back on.”

  He might know current events thanks to Con and Darius, but there was obviously still quite a bit Arian needed to catch up on, because he had no idea what she meant.

  Grace laughed. “I had writer’s block. For some reason, being on this mountain I’ve written over sixty pages today alone. I’ve never written that many pages in one sitting. If I can keep this up, I’ll meet my deadline.”

  “It sounds to me, lass, as if there are underlying issues to this writer’s block you speak of.”

  Her eyes fell to the ground. “I’ll face that when I get this book turned in. Until then, I must focus.” Her gaze returned to him. “So does that mean you’ll allow me to stay and write?”

  With the Dark gone, there was no reason to keep
Grace in the mountain. Arian was relatively certain she wasn’t a spy, but then again, she could be a really good mole and actress.

  This was going to require him to spend more time with Grace Clark from Los Angeles, California and Paris, France.

  “For a wee bit.”

  Grace’s smile was wide as she bestowed it on him. “You’re amazing. Thank you so much. This is going to save my ass big time. As soon as it quits raining, I’ll leave for the night and return in the morning.”

  Arian nodded as she spoke, because there was no way he was allowing her to leave. He would make sure the rain continued to keep her trapped.

  The only problem was that he was going to have to think about food for her. And light. Because night was approaching quickly.

  Arian looked down at himself. And perhaps some clothes as well.

  Chapter Four

  Grace couldn’t write knowing that Arian was watching her. He made her uncomfortable. Not in an “oh my God, he’s going to kill me” vibe, but an “I can’t look away from that face and body” thing. She would have to be blind not to see how gorgeous he was, even in the dim light of the cave.

  A light that was fast fading.

  She was thankful that the lightning and thunder had stopped. It hadn’t been until she was deep in the story that she realized she had been so caught up in Arian’s change of mind for a third time that she had forgotten the storm.

  That was a first, to be sure.

  Grace checked her battery on the laptop. Fortunately, she had fully charged it the night before. It would last her a few more hours yet, but then what?

  “Is something wrong?” Arian asked.

  She closed her eyes at the sound of his brogue. How she used to roll her eyes at women who said a man’s accent could make them climax. Well, now she knew how true that statement was.

  “Grace?”

  She bit back a moan. He had to stop saying her name. By all that was holy, didn’t he know what it did to her? It was too much. That voice, that accent, and her name?

  “Are you in pain?”