Tess opened her mouth, though she hadn’t yet decided whether to answer or scream for help.
It didn’t matter.
With a flicker of movement, Kaden St. George dragged her inside and shut the door behind them.
THREE
He hated being woken up.
Kaden had been perfectly comfortable for years now, curled around his treasure and mostly asleep in the ramshackle shell of a house he’d long ago made a cave of. No one came near, no one bothered him...even though humans could sense his presence, they didn’t necessarily believe in what he was.
He didn’t give a damn whether they believed in dragons or not, as long as they steered clear.
And so it had been quiet, perfectly peaceful on the edge of a world that had forgotten him. Until today.
He’d considered ignoring the knocking. He’d considered eating the interloper. Then she’d mentioned the necklace, that one little bit of treasure that had vanished out of a different cave he’d called home centuries ago. He’d never accepted its disappearance, lifted by that damned witch who thought she knew more than anyone.
Had it really returned to him after all this time? And if it had...why?
He opened the door.
It only took Kaden an instant to look over the wide-eyed woman so unwisely standing on his porch. Dark auburn hair tumbled around her shoulders, framing an oval face dominated by a pair of big blue eyes. She was a classic beauty, from her aquiline nose to the stubborn set of her jaw. She looked as if she should have been wearing silks and jewels instead of the tight jeans and battered leather jacket she had on.
Though the tight jeans gave him an excellent view of her long legs, along with the gentle curve of her hips.
Too beautiful. Too noticeable. He’d have to bring her inside.
Damn.
Without another thought, Kaden had dragged her inside and slammed the door before she could so much as squeak. Then he had his hand over her mouth, pressing her against the wall. In the darkness of his lair, the only sound was her ragged breathing. There was a faint glow beneath the neck of her shirt, pulsing gently like a heartbeat. Kaden grinned, baring his teeth.
Whoever this messenger was, she had indeed brought his treasure home.
His eyes flicked up to meet hers again. She was terrified. Acceptable, under normal circumstances, but he wanted information and her fear would not be useful. He frowned, considering how best to calm her down. Even now, he had little interest in the nuances of human interaction. In his world, direct had usually worked.
“You will be calm,” he growled.
Her eyes rounded, but the heart pounding against his chest where they touched didn’t slow. Perhaps if he let her speak...
“I’m going to take away my hand,” he said. He paused, then added, “If you scream, I’ll set you on fire.”
When she stopped breathing altogether to stare at him, Kaden decided his warning had been effective. Slowly, he uncovered her mouth, still feeling the sensation of her soft lips on the skin of his palm. He inhaled deeply, leaning in when he caught her scent. She smelled of pomegranate and rich, ripe berry. Delicious enough to sink his teeth into...or simply lick into submission.
A disconcerting thought. He hadn’t given much thought to anything but treasure and sleep in a good long time. Centuries, at least.
The harsh rasp of the woman’s voice, such a contrast to her beauty, startled him back into the moment.
“Listen, asshole, I’m just here to make a delivery. If you don’t let me go, Morgan will have the cops on you before you know what’s happening. She knows I’m here, so back off.”
Kaden pulled back just enough to study her face, which was ablaze not with terror, as he’d thought, but with fury. Fascinating, that such a pretty thing would sound like a warrior. Or a dragoness.
Kaden’s jaw tightened. Finding one of those was something he definitely didn’t need to think about.
“You truly came at the behest of Morgan Le Fay,” he said. Not a question. Just simple amazement. He remembered, with a great deal of irritation, the visits she had paid his cave many years ago. Shouting at him, trying to order him about. When she had finally stopped coming, his necklace had been gone.
He had learned to ignore her a little too well. He would not make that mistake again.
The woman drew in a shaky breath and nodded, her eyes never leaving his. “I did.”
“Ridiculous. Why would the witch hire you to stand for her?” Kaden asked. “You’ve no power. I would know. You’re defenseless.”
“Witch?” Her eyes, now incredulous, stayed locked with his, and Kaden felt something long dormant begin to stir within himself: desire. It caught him entirely off guard. In an instant, he could feel the contours of the soft female body pressed against his own, all long legs and perfect curves, warm against him in a way that the treasures he slept among never were.
Suspicion, his natural state, awakened fully.
“There must be more. Some condition, some trick. Perhaps she seeks to lure me away from my treasure and take it for her own by dangling a pretty treat,” Kaden growled. “Or she is waiting without, preparing to enslave me somehow. What aren’t you telling me, woman?”
“My name is Tess,” she bit out. “Not woman. And I’ve just told you everything she told me! Deliver necklace to the weird rich guy by the river. I don’t know if you’re rich, but you’re definitely weird. So take the necklace and let me get out of here so I can get paid!”
The heat in her voice, the fight in her, pleased him. All of him. Some parts more than others.
He bit back a groan, trying to concentrate despite his rapidly hardening cock. He’d had enough trouble since becoming trapped in this world—finding good hiding places, avoiding the dragon hunters who sought both his hoard and his head. His life was blissfully simple as long as he kept his focus on treasure and sleep. A seduction was out of the question.
Except...when was the last time he’d found a woman more compelling than a piece of treasure?
“Give me the necklace, woman,” Kaden said, troubled by the answer.
She pressed her lips together, and those big blue eyes narrowed. “Let me go and you can have it.”
It was only then that her realized how effectively he’d trapped her. Newly awakened, he’d been rougher than he might have been otherwise. And still, she’d neither fought nor screamed. He found himself impressed anew at her fearlessness with him. Kaden regarded her with fresh curiosity.
“Why are you not afraid of me?”
“I...” She trailed off, frowning. “I’m not sure. I’m just...not.”
He could see she was as puzzled by the truth as he was. Kaden considered her, trying to clear the cobwebs from his mind. He’d slept a long time this time, many years. It took a few hours to be fully alert after such a sleep. But as his focus sharpened, he noted that nothing was as it should be—the way her body already curved into his rather than tensing, his own strong reaction to her presence, her scent. What had the witch sent him?
Rattled, he found himself stepping away before he could think better of it, though he put little enough distance between them. Just enough for him to be able to think.
“If you try to run—”
“I won’t.” The glance Tess gave him was full of reproach as she reached behind her neck to unfasten the necklace.
Kaden kept still, his expression carefully