Page 15 of Chase Me

If she were anyone but a relic stealing thief he'd already have her splayed out on the counter, legs spread wide, with his head between them.

He'd bet her pussy tasted better than any dessert.

Unfortunately he would never get to find out because Wyr business was more important than his dick. He'd have to find an old sack for her to wear because if he was going to keep his head in the game, he wouldn't be able to do it with her wearing a dress the exact color of his scales. She was a sly one to use that trick to mess with his mind.

“How did you get out of your jail cell? I had planned on only bread and water for you until you reveal the location of the relic.”

“Mrs. Bohacek helped me… uh, find the kitchen.” Ciara indicated toward the toaster, then frowned and shook her head. “Where did she go?”

Jakob didn't know anyone by that name. She was clearly trying to distract him from his own question. “Good try.”

“No, seriously?” Ciara spun in a slow circle searching the kitchen.

“Enough.” He grabbed her by the arm, careful not to hold her so tightly that she would bruise, and dragged her from the room.

“Where are you taking me now?”

He pulled her toward the stairs but veered to the side. He shoved aside a potted plant on a small table in the corner. Behind it, hidden well among the decorative wainscoting on the wall, was a rectangular piece of plastic that looked like an ordinary outlet. Jakob pressed and a fingerprint scanner popped out. He swiped his thumb and the wall slid open.

“Whoa.” She stopped tugging to get out of his grip and stared into the secret passage.

“Come. I want you to show me exactly how you got in and out of here with the relic.” Before she could protest, he pulled her in and the door shut behind them. His eyes flickered, and his dragon sight allowed him to see perfectly well with ambient light coming from his soul shard.

Not something it normally did, until yesterday.

“I can't even see my hand in front of my face.”

Jakob tapped a panel and small lights blinked on, illuminating the long spiral staircase in front of them.

“Oh man. This is the part where you lock me in your dungeon, never to see the light of day again, isn't it?”

“That all depends on you.” For the first time since he'd taken her yesterday, he caught a whiff of fear from her. Good. Maybe they'd actually get somewhere now. And after they did, he'd be sure she was never frightened by anyone or anything ever again.

Not that her well-being was his job.

Instead of guiding her down the staircase he grabbed her around the waist and jumped over the side of the railing with her. She screamed and clung to him, which he enjoyed immensely. A small spark of the magic he'd been given the day he got his soul shard, pushed out and he unfurled his dragon wings. They caught on the rush of air and helped him to glide the ten or so meters to the cavern floor.

When they landed, she still had her face buried in his chest. His wings, of their own accord, curled forward and wrapped around them both, hugging her tighter to him. He stroked her hair. “You're all right now.”

She didn't move, so he lifted her chin with one knuckle. Her eyes were screwed shut. “Ciara. You can open your eyes.”

One eye peeked out at him, then shut again. The sensation of a fiery heat coupled with an icy chill rushed over his skin. Ciara opened both eyes and stared up at him.

“You. Are. An. Asshat.”

“I think you called me that one already.” Jakob pulled his wings back and pushed the partial shift back down. He released his hold on her, before he did something stupid like try to kiss her again.

Her scent was even more intoxicating underground than it had been in the villa. Maybe it had been a mistake to bring her down here. He turned and walked down the hallway that was half modern construction and half carved out of the earth and stone. It took a few moments for her to follow, but as soon the staircase lights blinked off, she squeaked and caught up to him.

They descended along a gently sloping incline that twisted its way deeper into the earth. The farther they went, the more primitive the tunnel became, until the only modern-day electronics remaining were the secondary fingerprint scanner and retinal scan terminal at the locked double doors to his lair.

They were almost fifty meters underground now, and the scent of her was so strong that it was as if he was already inside of her.

This had definitely been a mistake. He quickly swiped his finger and aligned his face for the scanner. The door whooshed open. Now he would see how Ciara reacted to being back at the scene of the crime.

She stepped into the cavern and stared around with her jaw open. She looked like a kid who had never even tasted a lollipop, standing at the entrance to the world's largest candy store. Except this wasn't candy. It was gold, and art, and rarebooks, and the largest collection of heirloom seeds in the world. And she wasn't a kid, she was a thief.

“You think I took something from this place?”

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