Dragon's Challenge Read online

  She pressed her palms to her eyes, hiding the tears that started to burn there. She wasn’t used to feeling this helpless. Even when she didn’t like the result of something, it was usually something that she had accepted would happen. She couldn’t remember the last time when she hadn’t been in control of the situation.

  Stephen pulled her close, kissing the top of her head. “I’m sorry. I wish I knew what to say to help you.”

  Maura curled her fingers in the plaid shirt he wore. Breathed in his heady, smoky scent.

  “I don’t know what’s going to happen,” he continued, murmuring into her hair in a way that sent shivers down her spine. “But I can promise I’ll do everything I can to protect you.”

  Maura blinked back fresh tears. “You know… I’ve never had someone to protect me before. Even when I was a kid, I looked after myself. My mother was too busy worrying about my father and my father was too busy worrying about himself. I can’t remember anybody caring about me enough to…”

  Stephen pulled her closer, then suddenly released her. He had left her and was back at their supplies before she even knew what he was doing. The sudden loss of his warmth made her shiver. Had she said something wrong? Was he afraid that she thought he felt more deeply than he did? Or that she was putting too much pressure on him to take care of her when all she meant was that it was nice to have someone who cared?

  “I thought there was a tent,” he said, putting aside a couple sleeping bags. “But doesn’t look like it. Guess we’ll just have to sleep on the ground. You said you were tired; I should have thought about this before. And you’re shivering; you’re cold. A sleeping bag will be—”

  “Stephen.”

  He turned, almost reluctantly, holding a sleeping bag in each hand. The food had all been strung up into the trees to keep the forest animals from getting into it. Maura flushed as her shoulders hunched once more.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to imply… I’m sorry.”

  Stephen nodded once, then sighed. “I am too. You said you were confused and now wasn’t the time for any sort of… development in our relationship and I—”

  “What?” Maura’s eyes widened. “Is that why you bolted away from me like a rabbit scenting a wolf? Because you thought you’d taken it too far?”

  Stephen shrugged.

  “You didn’t,” Maura said, hesitantly, even as her heart pounded a little faster.

  She licked her lips, her throat suddenly going dry. She knew that these things usually didn’t happen quite like this. In fact, she couldn’t recall a time when she had thrown herself into something like this headfirst. So reckless.

  But Erica was right. She hadn’t told Stephen no because she was afraid the only reason she wanted him was because of the situation they were in. She’d wanted him a long time before this whole debacle had ever begun. Back when the Blaze Ops was at the height of its success, she had often caught herself staring longingly at him.

  But she had been his boss. Even though there hadn’t been any written rules against such relationships at the time, even though she knew that nobody was going to say anything about their relationship if something did happen, it had felt weird. Not quite ethical.

  Out here, though? When it was just the two of them and the forest and the sky? When were they ever going to have another chance to be together?

  “You didn’t go too far,” she murmured, all the while wondering if perhaps she was the one who was going too far. “And what I said before… I was wrong. Our situation isn’t a reason to avoid being together. It’s all the more reason to…”

  To what? It wasn’t like they could go on dates. No movies, no fancy dinners. No dressing up and going out. Their discussions were more focused on how to survive this rather than their favorite books and future dreams. So, was there space to build an actual relationship?

  There was only one thing they could really do, at least while it was just the two of them.

  Silently, Stephen rolled out the sleeping bags. He layered them, unzipped, one over another to give more of a cushioning before he zipped two of them together and slipped in. A slight smile crossed his face as he gestured for her to join him.

  Maura kicked off her shoes and wiggled into the sleeping back. Warmth enveloped her. A sigh escaped her lips as she pressed herself against Stephen’s hot body. He wrapped his arms around her, and he placed a gentle kiss on her lips that only left her craving more.

  “How far do you want to go?” he asked in a gravelly voice.

  “How far,” she repeated, her head spinning. “I…

  She fell into his lips, kissing him fiercely. They grappled with one another as their tongues battled for dominance. The chill of the night was forgotten as fireworks exploded under her skin. Everything felt hotter, more intense. Stephen’s taste filled her, pooling in her core with a tightness that she couldn’t deny.

  Stephen moved to her neck, nibbling and kissing at her skin. She gasped as her skin was set aflame. It tightened and tingled under Stephen’s ministrations, while his hands roamed her body. She let her own explore him greedily. The supple skin over hard muscles. His sculpted abs, his perfectly shaped ass. She pulled him tighter against her as she clutched at his hips with her thighs.

  He was so raw, so perfect. Lust and desire roared through her like a fire. The fears of what was happening and everything she didn’t know faded away under the assault of this animal need. Her leopard already yowled with pleasure. Cries burst from her throat.

  “Maura.” Stephen returned to her mouth as his hand drifted down her stomach, stopping at the top of her pants. “Maura, I need an answer. How far do you want this to go?”

  “I want as much as you want,” she gasped in reply. “I want it the way you want it. I want you to take control from me, Stephen. I want to be helpless to you and I want…”

  Stephen rested on his elbow, pulling back with a surprised expression on his face. “Really?”

  Maura flushed. “Is that too much?” she asked hesitantly. “I know that it is all rather sudden…”

  “No. No, it’s not that. It’s just that I never pegged you for a sub.”

  It took a moment for Maura to realize he wasn’t talking about a sandwich. Then she burst into laughter.

  “What’s funny?”

  “Nothing. I just misunderstood for a minute there. Sorry.” She wrapped her arms around his shoulders. “But not really. I’m into BDSM. I just like to have my partner take control of the situation most times.”

  Stephen nibbled at her ear, causing her to moan and arch herself toward him. “Isn’t that the definition of a sub?”

  “Maybe. Guess I don’t know enough about sex terms to really know…”

  Stephen moved down her neck, to her collarbone, then flicked open her shirt to trace his tongue along the top of her bra. “Do you really want me to decide how far we go?”

  “Yes.”

  “You do realize that if you hand me that control, I won’t stop until we’ve climaxed together, right?”

  The promise sent shivers of anticipation throughout her body. She thrust her hips against him, grinding as she felt him harden through their clothes. “I know.”

  “Turn over.”

  Maura obeyed, her stomach pressing into the ground beneath her as Stephen settled more of his weight on her. She rested her head on her arms, every inch of her body on fire with anticipation. Stephen pressed her thighs together, his hand running over her ass. He gave her a little squeeze and she giggled as the pleasure swept through her.

  “You are beautiful. All your curves. So perfectly formed for lovemaking.” Stephen kissed the back of her neck and her giggles turned to moans of pleasure.

  He pulled her pants and underwear down to her knees, then brought her hips up so she was offering her rump to him. The sleeping bag puckered around them as he slid his hand between her thighs. The tightness already inside of her tightened even further. Stephen pressed a single finger into her, then spat on his fingers and fo
und her clit. He moved over her, slippery and light, before adding more pressure.

  Maura bucked her hips. She clung to the bedding beneath them, pressing her face into the sleeping back. The heat inside the sleeping bag was almost too much now. Stephen worked her with one hand, preparing himself with the other. She could hear him, could feel the steady strokes against her ass.

  When he pushed himself into her, she didn’t think he’d fit. With her pants keeping her knees together like that, she didn’t think he’d be able to find room. Somehow, though, he did. A shudder ran down her spine as he threw back the sleeping back. There, with only the nighttime calls of animals and the slowly dying fire to keep them company, he took her.

  His thrusts were hard and rhythmic. The feeling of him inside of her cutting through every thought in her mind. She wanted nothing more than for him to keep going. Cries burst from her throat as she held on fast, fighting to keep herself still as a well of pleasure sucked her down below the surface. Her legs and shoulders trembled. Stephen trembled with her. He fell over her, kissing her neck fiercely.

  When they both stopped. Stephen turned them to their sides, still inside of her and brought the sleeping bag back up. He tucked them both in, kissing her lightly. Then he bunched the sleeping bag beneath his own head and gave her his arm to lay on.

  “Well, that wasn’t quite in unison like I wanted,” he murmured in her ear. “But it was pretty good for the first time. Next time, we’ll climax at the same time.”

  Next time. Maura smiled. For the first time since this all started, she had a feeling that there might just be a way out of this after all. She’d been like the others, ready to simply cut their losses and run. But now? Now, it was time to pull out that secret weapon.

  Because nobody was taking Stephen from her now.

  Chapter Thirteen

  There wasn’t much undressing that had happened during their lovemaking, so there wasn’t much dressing that needed to be done in order to be decent when Evan arrived. Which should have been hours ago, and yet he remained absent. Maura slept on Stephen’s arm, soundly and deeply. Perhaps more soundly and deeply than he’d ever seen her sleep. He stroked his fingers gently through her hair, admiring the shimmer of the red strands.

  Dawn was peeking over the treetops, giving everything a new perspective. Stephen sighed as he slowly left the sleeping bag, making sure that he was covered as he started a new fire. Evan’s absence either meant he’d decided to call it quits or he’d gotten himself thrown back into jail. Erica would have easily been able to convince him to stay if she thought turning him in would help her own situation—or even get the reward money.

  Erica isn’t like that, he tried to tell himself, but someone had betrayed the Blaze Ops.

  As he rifled through their supplies, looking for something he could cook so they’d have a hot meal, a yawn and the sound of Maura stirring behind him drew his attention. He turned, smiling to hide his dismayed thoughts. She stretched, poking her hands out of the sleeping bag. Then she shivered and buried deeper, even pulling it up over her head.

  Stephen chuckled as he pulled out some powdered eggs. There was still lots of water and the frying pan would be enough to get it cooked up, at least.

  “Morning,” he called as he carried his prizes back to the small fire. “I’m going to get breakfast started. Are you hungry?”

  After a beat of silence, Maura pulled the sleeping bag down and glanced around camp. “Evan isn’t back yet?”

  “No, not yet. Either he got lost or he decided that he doesn’t want to risk being here.”

  “Or someone picked up his trail and he’s taking a long way back to shake them.”

  Stephen’s cheeks heated as he considered that possibility. Why hadn’t he expected any loyalty from his former teammate? Evan didn’t have a mate like Adam did—and if it weren’t for Karey, Stephen was certain he’d have stayed around. Was he really in such a low, uncertain place that he couldn’t even trust his own people anymore?

  He put the pan over the fire and mixed up the eggs before handing the rest of the water to Maura, who gulped it down eagerly.

  “So, what’s the plan?” he asked her. “How much longer do we wait for Evan to show up?”

  Maura sighed. “First we have to decide where we’re going next. Normally I’d say we meet up at one of the safehouses. If we went there and Evan came back to find us gone, he’d at least have some idea of where to go. I’m guessing that whoever betrayed us told the cops where those locations are, though. And we can’t keep flying around. Dragons are too easy to spot on satellites and radar.”

  Stephen nodded. They needed to find somewhere they could regroup and figure out their next move when it was just the three of them. If Evan was coming back.

  He is. The only reason he wouldn’t is if he got caught, and he’s too clever to get caught again.

  It sounded fake even to himself. He ran his hands through his hair, trying to think of what Patrick and Fiona would do if they were here. When that proved fruitless, he instead turned his attention to what he’d do if Maura wasn’t here. That made him laugh softly, shaking his head.

  “What’s funny?” Maura asked.

  “It’s just… if you weren’t here, I’d be planning an all-out attack on the closest prison that was holding one of the Blaze Ops. I’d throw a truck into the warden’s office or something. Something reckless and stupid that would probably get me killed.”

  Maura started to fold up the sleeping bags. When she didn’t laugh with him, he glanced over at her with a concerned expression.

  “I’m not going to, if you’re worried.”

  “Hmmm?” Maura glanced up. “Oh. No. No, that’s not what I was thinking at all. Maybe it’s time that we did do something like that. Went all-out, did something crazy and reckless that might end with us getting killed. I’m not sure we have any other choice.”

  A shadow and movement in the forest made Stephen draw his gun, snarling, but then came a familiar whistle.

  Evan jogged through the trees, his clothes torn, stained with blood, his hair a mess and a bruise fading to a green-yellow on his cheek. Maura grabbed a water bottle to take to him, while Stephen added a bit more egg to the mix he was making. Evan collapsed near the fire, groaning, and downed half the water bottle in one go.

  “Sorry, shoulda whistled earlier,” he gasped out. “But I didn’t think about it. Ugh. I feel like I was hit by a bus.”

  “What happened?” Stephen asked, stirring the eggs. They weren’t cooking evenly, probably because he added more of the mix when he really shouldn’t have. So he blew out a stream of fire, making them sizzle and brown on the top.

  Evan grimaced as he rolled his shoulders. “Well… I got hit by a bus. Apparently, the bounty’s been broadcast on TV now. Some stupid bus driver decided that trying to bring me in was enough to endanger all his passengers.”

  Stephen growled.

  “When I dropped Erica off, I tried to convince her to come back with us. I agreed to stay the night to make sure she’d be okay before I left. Then we were attacked by a pack of shifters. Two bears, a moose and I think it was a walrus. Took a while to fight them off and in doing so I ended up in the street, where aforementioned bus driver gunned it for me.” Evan lifted himself up and stared hungrily at the partly burned eggs that Stephen was currently dishing into three containers. “After that, I decided it was best if I did a bit of bobbing and weaving. Went flying, swimming, walking, even dug through a mountain.”

  “A mountain?” Maura repeated, her expression incredulous.

  “Well… it already had a hole nearly all the way through it.” Evan shrugged. He dug into his eggs, carefully not looking at either of them.

  Stephen narrowed his eyes suspiciously. There was one thing in that story that didn’t make much sense. “And what about Erica? You just left her behind?”

  Evan winced and shoveled more eggs into his mouth.

  Stephen and Maura shared a glance. Both of them shook their
heads and Stephen jerked his chin toward her. She should be the one to press the issue. Goodness knew he didn’t have the tact for a situation such as this. As Evan continued to stuff his face, Maura cleared her throat.

  “Was she the one who called the bounty hunters in?”

  “What? No!” Evan shook his head hard. “No, Erica wouldn’t do that. She isn’t going to betray us. She wants us to succeed.”

  Stephen opened his mouth, but Maura elbowed him, stopping him from saying what was on his mind.

  “We have to consider the possibility, Evan. With things being as they are, she might not be given any choice. If she and Cooper are fated mates, what do you think she would do to protect him?”

  Evan’s brow darkened but he sighed. “I understand what you’re saying. But she didn’t call in the bounty hunters. She’s hoping that we can figure this all out. She can’t leave Cooper to be alone in that jail, that’s why she went back. So she could visit him and let him know she’s okay.”

  That was reasonable. Although not at all what she said. So, what was the truth—and did it even matter in the end? He shook his head as he finally started to eat his own eggs. As the day became rapidly lighter, a cold, hard truth was being slowly illuminated. His stomach churned and he handed Evan his eggs. Maura noticed the exchange and gave him a hard look, but Evan started gulping down the additional food like he hadn’t eaten anything yet.

  “Maybe it’s not worth it,” Stephen said. “Maybe it’d just be better if we turned ourselves in. At least then, we wouldn’t have bounty hunters coming after us to kill Maura. And how long before we’re put on the kill list, too?”

  Evan froze, his fork halfway to his mouth.

  “Maybe Sly and Adam had the right idea. We could go live in, I don’t know, The Congo. The Amazon. Some forest where we can hide away, raising beets and sheep and never shifting again.” Stephen pressed his palms to his eyes. “But what can we do? Trying to help the others escape didn’t go anywhere. We ended up losing everybody anyway.”

  “Hey!” Evan dropped his fork. “What am I, chopped liver?”