Dragonswan Read online

  "What would you like to know?"

  "Who made it and why? Where the story of it comes from. For that matter, I would love to know how the museum got it. They have no record of when they acquired it or from whom it was purchased."

  His automatic answers surprised her. "They bought it in 1926 from an anonymous collector for fifty thousand dollars. As for the rest, it was made by a woman named Antiphone back in seventh-century Britain. It's the story of her grandfather and his brother and their eternal struggle between good and evil."

  His gaze was so sincere that she could almost believe him. In a strange way, it made sense, since the tapestry had no ending. But she knew better. "Antiphone, huh?"

  He shook his head. "You just don't believe anything I tell you, do you?”

  “Why, kind sir," she said impishly with a mock English accent. " 'Tis not that I don't believe you, but as a historian I must align myself with fact. Have you any proof of this Antiphone or transaction?"

  "I do, but I somehow doubt you would appreciate my showing it to you.”

  “And why is that?"

  "It would scare the life out of you."

  Channon sat back at that, unsure of how to take it. She didn't really know what to make of the man sitting across from her. He kept her on edge all the while he lured her toward his danger. Lured her against all her reason.

  They remained quiet as their food was placed on the table.

  While they ate, Channon studied him. The candlelight in the pub danced in his eyes, making them glow like a cat's. His hands were strong and callused-the hands of a man who was used to hard work-yet he had the air of wealth and privilege, the air of a powerful man who made his own rules.

  He was a total enigma, a walking dichotomy who made her feel both safe and threatened.

  “Tell me, Channon," he said suddenly, "do you like teaching?"

  "Some days. But it's the research I like best. I love digging through old manuscripts and trying to piece together the past."

  He gave a short half laugh. "No offense, but that sounds incredibly boring.”

  “I imagine dragon-slaying is much more action-oriented.”

  “Yes, it is. Every moment is completely unpredictable."

  She wiped her mouth as she watched him eat with perfect European table manners. He was definitely cultured, yet he seemed oddly barbaric. "So, how do you kill a dragon?"

  "With a very sharp sword."

  She shook her head at him. "Yes, but do you call him out? Do you go to him ... ?”

  “The easiest way is to sneak up on him."

  "And pray he doesn't wake up?"

  "Well, it makes it more challenging if he does."

  Channon smiled. She was so drawn to that infectious wit of his. Especially since he didn't seem to notice the women around them who were ogling him while they ate. It was as if he could only see her.

  As a rule, she stunk at this whole male-female thing. Her last boyfriend, a D.C. correspondent, had educated her well on every personal and physical flaw she possessed. The last thing she was looking for was another relationship in which she wasn't on equal terms with the man. For her next love interest, she wanted someone just like her-a historian of average looks whose life revolved around research. Two comfortable peas in a pod. She wasn't looking for some hot, mysterious stranger who made her blood burn with desire.

  Channon, would you listen to yourself and what you 're saying! You are insane not to want this man!

  Perhaps. But things like this never happened to her.

  "You know," she said to him, "I keep having this really weird feeling that you're going to take me someplace later and tie me up naked so that your friends can come laugh at me."

  He arched a brow at her. "Does that happen to you often?”

  “No, never, but this night has the makings for a Twilight Zone episode.”

  “I promise no Rod Serling voice-overs. You're safe with me."

  And for some reason that made absolutely no sense whatsoever, she believed him. Channon spent the next few hours having the dinner and conversation of her life. Sebastian was incredibly easy to talk to. Worse, he set her hormones on fire. The longer they were together and the more laughs they shared, and the more incredible he seemed.

  She glanced at her watch and gasped. "Did you know it's almost midnight?" He checked his watch.

  "I hate to cut this short," she said, placing her napkin on the table and sliding her chair back, "but I have to go or I'll never get a taxi out of here." He placed his hand lightly on her arm to keep her at the table. "Why don't you let me drive you home?"

  Channon started to protest, but something inside her refused. After the evening they had spent together, she felt oddly at ease with him. There was an aura about him that was so comforting, so open and welcoming.

  He was like a long lost friend. "Okay," she said, relaxing.

  He paid for their food. Then he helped her up and into her coat and led her from the restaurant.

  Channon didn't speak as they made their way toward his car down the street, but she felt his magnetic, masculine presence with every single cell of her body. Though not a social butterfly by any account, she'd had plenty of dates in her life. She'd had a number of boyfriends and even a fiancé, but none of them had ever made her feel the way this stranger did.

  Like he fit some missing part of her soul. Girl, you are crazy.

  She must be.

  Channon paused as they neared his sporty gray Lexus. "Someone travels in style." Winking devilishly at her, Sebastian opened the car door. "Well, I would turn into a dragon and fly you home, but something tells me you would protest.”

  “No doubt. I imagine the scales would also chafe my skin." 'True. Not to mention, I once learned the hard way that they really do call the military out on you. You know, fighter jets are hard to dodge when you have a forty-foot wingspan." He closed her door and walked to his side of the car. She laughed yet again, but then she'd been doing that most of the night. Goodness, she really liked this man.

  Sebastian got into the car and felt his body jerk the instant they were locked inside together. Her feminine scent permeated his head. She was so close to him now that he could almost taste her.

  All night long he had listened to the dulcet sound of her smooth Southern drawl, watched her tongue and lips move as he imagined what they would feel like on his body, imagined her in his arms while he made love to her until she cried out from pleasure.

  His attraction to her stunned him. Why did he have to feel this now, when he couldn't afford to stay in her time and explore more of her? Cursed Fates. How they loved to tamper in mortal lives.

  Pushing the thought out of his mind, he drove her to the hotel where she was staying.

  "You don't live here?" he asked as he parked in the lot.

  "Just here for the weekend to study the tapestry." She unbuckled her seat belt. Sebastian got out and opened her door, then walked her to her room. Channon hesitated at the door as she looked up at him and the searing heat in his captivating eyes. The man was so hot and sexy in the most dangerous of ways. She wondered if she would ever see him again. He hadn't asked for her number. Not even her email.

  Damn.

  "Thank you," she said. "I had a really good time tonight.”

  “I did, too. Thanks for joining me."

  Kiss me. The words rushed across her mind unexpectedly. She really wanted to know what this man felt like against her.

  To her amazement, she found out as he pulled her into his arms and covered her lips with his.

  Sebastian growled at the feel of her as he fisted his hands against her back. He clutched her to him as every fiber of his body burned and ached to possess her. Her tongue swept against his, teasing him, tormenting him.

  She brushed her hand against the nape of his neck, sending chills all over his body, making him so hard for her that he throbbed painfully. He closed his eyes while he let all of his senses experience her. Her mouth tasted of honey, and her han
ds were soft and warm against his skin. She smelled of woman and flowers, and he thrilled at the sound of her ragged breathing as she answered his passion with her own.

  Take her. The animal inside him stirred with a fierce snarl. It snapped and clawed at the human part of him, demanding he cede his humanity to it. It wanted her. He was almost powerless against the onslaught, and his hands trembled from the force of holding himself back. He growled from the effort of it. Channon moaned at the fierce feel of his powerful arms locked around her. She was pressed so tight against his chest that she could feel his heart pounding against her breasts.

  His intensity surrounded her, filled her, made her burn with volcanic need. All she could think of was stripping his clothes off him and seeing if his body really was as spectacular as it felt.

  He pressed her back against her door, pinning her to it as he deepened his kiss. His warm, masculine scent filled her senses, overwhelming her.

  He kissed his way from her lips and down across her cheek, then he buried his lips against her neck. "Let me make love to you, Channon," he breathed in her ear. "I want to feel your warm, soft body against mine. Feel your breath on my naked skin."

  She should be offended by his suggestion. They barely knew each other. Yet no matter how hard she tried to talk herself out of this, she couldn't. Deep inside, she wanted the same thing.

  Against all reason-all sanity-she ached for him.

  Never in her life had she done anything like this. Not once. Yet she found herself opening the door to her room and letting him in.

  Sebastian breathed deeply in relief as he struggled for control. He'd never come so close to using his powers on a woman. It was forbidden for his kind to interfere with human freewill unless it was in defense of their lives or someone else's. He'd bent that rule a time or two to serve his purposes. Tonight, had she refused him, he held no doubt he would have broken it. But she hadn't refused him. Thank the gods for small favors.

  He watched her as she set her key card on the dresser. She hesitated and he felt her nervousness.

  "I won't hurt you, Channon."

  She offered him a tentative smile. "I know."

  He cupped her face in his hands and stared into those celestial blue eyes. "You are so beautiful."

  Channon held her breath as he pulled her to him and recaptured her lips. None of this night made sense to her. None of her feelings. She clung to Sebastian as she sought for an explanation why she had let him into her room. Why she was going to make love to him. A stranger. A man she knew nothing about. A man she would like as not never see again.

  Yet none of that mattered. All that mattered was this moment in time-holding him close to her and keeping him here in her room for as long as she could. She felt his hands free her hair to cascade down her back. He slid her coat from her shoulders, and she let it fall to the floor. Running his hands up her arms, he pulled back to stare down at her with hungry eyes. No man had ever given her such a look. One of fierce longing, of total possession.

  Scared and excited, she helped him from his overcoat. His eyes dark with unsated passion, he removed his jacket and tossed it aside without care that it would be wrinkled later. So much for his impeccable suit. It thrilled her that she meant more to him than that.

  He loosened his tie and pulled it over his head.

  His eyes softened as she moved to unbutton his shirt. He caught her right hand in his and nibbled her fingertips, sending ribbons of pleasure through her, then he led her hand to his buttons and watched her intently.

  Hot and aching for him, Channon worked the buttons through the buttonholes of his shirt. She trailed her gaze after her hands, watching as she bared his skin inch by slow, studied inch. Oh, good heaven, the man had a body that had been ripped from her dreams. His muscles were tight and perfect and covered by the most luscious tawny skin she'd ever seen. Dark hairs dusted his skin, making him seem even more like a predator, even more dangerous and manly.

  Channon paused at the hard abs that held several scars. She traced her hand over them, feeling his sharp intake of breath as her fingers brushed the raised, lighter skin. "What happened?"

  "Dragons have sharp talons," he whispered. "Sometimes I don't get out of the way quickly enough."

  She placed her hand over one really nasty-looking scar by his hipbone. "Maybe you should fight smaller dragons."

  "That wouldn't be very sporting of me."

  She swallowed as he removed his shirt and she saw his unadorned chest for the first time. He was scrumptious. She ran her palm over his taut, hard pecs, delighting in the way they felt under her hands. She ran her fingers up his chest and across his lean, hard shoulder, which was tattooed with a dragon. "You do like dragons, don't you?"

  He laughed. "Yes, I do."

  Sebastian was doing his best to be patient, to let her get used to him. But it was hard when all he really wanted to do was lay her down on the bed and relieve the fierce ache in his loins.

  He nibbled at her neck as he unfastened the buttons on her jumper and let it fall to the floor. She stood before him wearing nothing but her shoes and her misbuttoned shirt. It was the sexiest thing he'd ever seen in his four hundred years of living. "Do you always button your shirts like this?"

  She looked down and gasped. "Oh, good grief. I was in a hurry this morning and-" He stopped her words with a kiss. "Don't apologize," he whispered against her lips. "I like it."

  "You're a very strange man.”

  “And you are a goddess."

  Channon shook her head at him as he picked her up in his arms and moved with her toward the bed. She placed her hands over his muscles, which were taut from his strain. The feel of them made her mouth water. He laid her gently on the mattress, then ran his hands down her legs to her feet so he could remove her shoes and socks and toss them over his shoulder.

  Her heart pounding, Channon watched as he nibbled his way over her hip to her stomach. He moved his hands to her shirt and slowly unbuttoned it, kissing and licking every piece of her skin that he bared.

  She moaned at the sight and feel of his mouth on her, at the way he seemed to savor her body. Spikes of pleasure pierced her stomach as her body throbbed and ached for him to fill her.

  She wanted him inside her so much that she feared she might burst into flames from the fire tearing through her body.

  Sebastian felt her wetness on his skin as he slid himself against her. His body screamed for hers, but he wasn't through with her yet. He wanted to savor her, to commit every inch of her lush body to his memory.

  What he felt for her amazed him. It was unlike anything he'd ever experienced. On some strange level she gave him peace, sanctuary. She filled the loneliness in his battered heart.

  He buried his face in her neck while her hardened nipples teased the flesh of his chest and her hands roamed over his back. "You feel so good under me," he whispered as he soaked her essence into him.

  Channon took a deep, ragged breath. His words delighted her.

  He nuzzled her neck, his whiskers softly teasing her flesh while his hand skimmed over her body to touch the burning ache between her legs. She hissed at the pleasure of his fingers toying with her and arched her back against him as he slowly dragged his mouth from her neck to her breast. His tongue swept against the hardened tip, making her tingle and throb.

  She bit her lip as a wave of fear went through her. "I want you to know that I don't normally do this sort of thing."

  He lifted himself up on his arms to look down at her. He pressed his hips between her legs so that she could feel the large bulge of him while his expensive wool pants slightly chafed her inner thighs. The hot feel of him there was enough to drive her wild with need.

  "If I thought you did, my lady, I wouldn't be here with you now." His gaze intensified, holding her enthralled. "I see you, Channon. You and the barriers you have around you that keep everyone at a distance."

  "And yet you're here."

  "I'm here because I know the sadness inside you. I kn
ow what it feels like to wake in the morning, lost and lonely and aching for someone to be there with me." Her heart clenched as he spoke the very things that really were a part of her. "Why are you alone? I can't imagine a man so handsome without a line of willing women fighting behind him."

  "Looks aren't all there is in this world, my lady. They are certainly no protection against being alone. Hearts never see through the eyes."

  Channon swallowed at his words. Did he mean them? Or was this all some lie he was telling her to make her feel better about what she was doing with him? She didn't know.

  But she wanted to believe him. She wanted to comfort the torment she saw in his hungry eyes.

  He pulled away from her and removed his shoes and pants. Channon trembled as she finally saw him completely naked. Like a dangerous, dark beast moving sinuously in the moonlight, he was incredible. Absolutely stunning. Every inch of him was muscled and toned and covered by the most scrumptious tanned skin she'd ever beheld. The only flaws on his perfect body were the scars marking his back, hips, and legs. They really did look like claw and bite marks from some ferocious beast.

  When he rejoined her on the bed, she pulled the tie from his hair, letting it fall forward to surround his sinfully handsome face.

  "You look like some barbaric chieftain," she said, running her hand through the silkiness of his unbound hair. She traced the intricate lines of the tattoo on his face. "Mmm," he breathed, taking her breast in his mouth.

  Channon held his head to her as his tongue teased her. Ripples of pleasure tore through her.

  She ran her hands down his muscled ribs, then along his arms and shoulders as she drifted through a strange hazy fog of pleasure. Something strange was happening to her. With every breath he expelled, it was like his touch intensified. Multiplied. Instead of one tongue stroking her, she swore she could feel a hundred of them. It was as if her skin was alive and being massaged all over at once. Sebastian hissed as his powers ran through him. Sex always heightened the senses of his breed. The intensity of physical pleasure was highly sought by his people for the elevation it gave them and their magic. The beauty of it was that the surge of power usually lasted a full day, and in the case of truly great sex, two days. Channon was definitely a two-day high.