Loving Her Dragons

Chapter 2

He was the villain in this room and everyone knew it.

He was the villain in this room and everyone knew it.Maryk Warryk eyed the other dragons standing around the perimeter of the conference room with an aloofness he"d cultivated long ago. They shot hostile glares in his direction, but these males would have to up their game to register as a potential threat. His mouth twitched into a derisive grin at their attempts to intimidate him. The ones closest to him growled.

Ignoring them, he shifted his attention to the middle of the room, where a group of human women sat at the cluster of round tables covered in stark white tablecloths.

A much better view.

Yes, these females intrigued him with their feminine shapes, each so different from the next, but all enticingly curved and entirely different from him. When the last of the females died in his clan, he"d been too young to have spared them more than a passing glance. And those matronly, older women had been nothing like the ripe beauties here.

Over the years since the Dragon Announcement, he"d met more women, of course, but those females were Dragon"s Tears addicts. A vain, selfish group, they only sought ways to keep their youthful looks, risking everything else for just one more taste of the drug. But they liked s*x. And since he liked s*x too, he"d bedded more than a few of them. Everyone walked away physically sated, but those women could never become a dragon"s mate, so something was always lacking from the encounters.

The drug tainted their blood, irrevocably destroying any possibility of a successful mating.

Not like the women here, all of whom had been vetted and tested. Healthy, pure blood flowed through these women"s veins, making them ideal candidates to mate dragons.

He cast his gaze over them again.

Mates. So many potential mates. A ripple of awareness rumbled through him, but he suppressed it. These females weren"t for him. Not yet.

He had been branded a rogue, someone who couldn"t be trusted with mate-worthy women. If he so much as brushed against one of these women, his life would be forfeit. And he couldn"t let that happen. Not when he was so close to finishing his punishment with the Mannix clan. So close to freedom.

One foolish woman strutted in front of the dragons along the far wall. Her hips swished back and forth in an exaggerated way. Her taunting behavior proved how ignorant she was about dragons. Her display may be one way to attract a human man"s eyes, but if she teased forth the dragons from the males she pranced in front of... things would become dangerous. Fast.

Had no one taught these women anything? Maryk crossed his arms to rein in his impulse to confront her. To warn her.

She stopped to chat with a couple of the pairs. Her boisterous laughter, apparently something she considered flirtatious, hurt his ears. The males straightened, pulled toward her like metal drawn to a magnet. Her laughter faltered as they closed the distance between them.

When dragon fire glowed in their eyes, the woman gaped.

Her laughter died completely.

Yes. She understood now. These males may have a human-form, but they were dragons, beasts by human definitions.

She scrambled away in a hasty retreat. His tension eased as she dropped into a chair several tables away from the dragons she"d taunted. She slouched low, as if to hide behind the other women. As if that would help. The dragons tracked her like cats hunting a mouse. They knew her scent now. She"d not lose them so easily.

But she was safe for the moment.

At one of the central tables, a few women spoke in hushed tones—despite the whispering, he and all the other males could easily hear their conversations. They were evaluating the pairs, saying which of them they found attractive. The males under discussion tensed their muscles and stared intently at the women, who seemed oblivious to the danger.

Maryk shook his head.

Did these women know anything about the creatures they sought to bind themselves to? Why hadn"t anyone educated them? One quick internet search would have told them of a dragon"s superior hearing. Had they not bothered?

The others, the ones who didn"t speak, cast fleeting and uneasy glances at the males around the perimeter. None of the males hid their true nature. They were dragons. Predators.

Standing alone perhaps made Maryk less intimidating, because more than a few of the females eyed him brazenly. If that"s what they thought, they were fools. Their gazes swept up the scar on his cheek before landing on his eyes, which undoubtedly glowed with the citrine color of his dragon fire and betrayed his irritation at being here.

One bold woman met his eyes. His dragon surged forward, curious. He lifted his nose and inhaled. Her scent was light, interesting… but not enough to tempt him. Still, his dragon writhed under his skin, sucking in more delicate feminine perfumes. Under the cloying notes of fear in the air, there was anticipation. It seasoned the air like an enticing spice. Soon. Soon a woman like those seated before him would be his.

He couldn"t wait.

If his eyes weren"t glowing before, they definitely would be now. The woman gasped at the sight of his decidedly un-human feature. She hunched in her seat and crossed her arms over her chest.

He scowled and turned his attention away from the women, away from temptation.

None of these would be his mate.

He was the novelty of today"s meeting, not a candidate for a mate. Not yet. No, he was the freak. The reformed rogue. The one they all feared.

He gritted his teeth and rolled his head from side to side. When would this thing start?

The newly mated Mannix clan women had dreamed up this "meet and greet"—which was more like a meet and mate—and they hadn"t arrived yet. Restlessness skittered up his spine, but it wasn"t like he had anywhere else to be. Being a captive of the clan meant his life existed at the whim of the chief. And if humoring the chief"s wife kept him alive until the end of his confinement, that"s what Maryk would do.

Even if he doubted this would work.

Women interested in mating with dragons had been invited to attend the two-day conference. The advertisements boasted opportunities to have Q & A"s with "actual" dragons (like there were fake ones?), mated women and reformed rogues (aka the human community"s biggest threat). That"s where he came into the equation. But they were also here to meet potential mates… hence the dragon pairs.

But the number of female attendees couldn"t meet the demand of the males in the room. Each of the fifteen recognized clans were represented, most sent two or three dragon pairs. That was upwards of forty-five mates needed. He cast his gaze over the thirty-some-odd women again. Maryk doubted all of them would be interested in following through with mating by the end of the weekend. Humans were a decidedly indecisive and fickle species.

And then what would happen?

Were the dragons who didn"t find a mate supposed to fly back to their clans empty-handed? Some of those more remote clans had been without the calming energies of a female for too long. To have hope ripped away would be cruel and lead to a faster spiral into instability.

But the Mannix clan thought they knew better. The elitist bastards. They had more mates than any other clan, so they"d lost touch with the realities the less fortunate clans faced.

Supply and demand were universal economic truths. The black market between dragons and humans thrived in situations like this. Some humans even bartered their daughters. Although the council had stopped the most sinister ringleaders, more would fill in the gaps they left. He suspected several of the clan leaders in attendance today were making connections and seeking new ways to secure the mates they desperately needed. The conference was a good excuse to come to the heart of human-controlled lands.

And if conflicts arose…

And if conflicts arose…His fathers" lessons rang through his head, extolling the virtues and opportunities of war. His brother Ansyn, had he lived, would have rubbed his hands at the scent of opportunity in the air.

Maryk tilted his head from side to side to stretch his neck again. His vertebrae cracked and popped, but the tightness in his shoulders didn"t ease. He wanted to be anywhere but here. Even his temporary hovel back in the dragon settlement of Montrose would be better than this.

His first time at the Interspecies Council Building, or ICB as the other dragons called it, wasn"t how he"d have wished it. Ansyn hadn"t been interested in humans beyond the opportunity to exploit them, which he did through the manufacturing of Dragon"s Tears. The drug money made the Kelvin clan wealthy and powerful. But his brother, only concerned with money, had forgotten his clan needed mates too. Maryk would fix that mistake as soon as he reclaimed his rightful place at the head of his clan.

His exile was almost over.

Just one more month.

Anticipation itched at the back of his spine, as it always did when he thought of returning to Kalmut, the Kelvin clan stronghold. They wouldn"t welcome him. He knew that. But he hadn"t been idle in his exile. He"d learned. He"d watched. And now he was prepared to seize the leadership from the usurper who capitalized on his absence. Zale Ryker might have been an acceptable substitute in his absence, but the blood running through Maryk"s veins was that of ancient chiefs. He would lead the clan again.

wouldAll he needed was a dragon to pair with.

That"s what he should be doing right now, trying to find a pair.

Instead? He was attending a meet and greet, of all the stupid things, in the heart of human lands.

Humans. He scowled. If he didn"t need a human mate, he"d be happy never to speak to another one again.

HumansThe bank of windows along the long wall of the room showed the city streets beyond. The settlement didn"t look any better this close than it had when he"d circled over the metropolis this morning as they"d flown in. Perhaps it was worse. The early morning fog, long burned off now, had hidden a cluster of dirty gray buildings. Spindly trees with pale sickly leaves stretched toward the sun. Throngs of humans shuffled along the clogged streets. The closeness and bustling made his skin crawl.

He couldn"t wait to return to the mountains.

He had half a mind to find his way to the roof right now and launch himself into the air. He could be back in Montrose in no time. Screw the ICB. Screw the Mannix clan"s plans to bridge the divide between dragons and humans.

Except…

If he wanted to be a strong leader, he needed a mate. And only human women could fulfill that role. Dragon children were only born male. The Kelvin clan desperately needed women. They"d been without one too long. Ansyn hadn"t worried about it because he travelled into the human-occupied territory enough to absorb the calming feminine energy to settle himself. But the rest of the clan suffered. They deserved and needed a leader who would put them first.

neededNot that acquiring a mate would be a hardship. He grinned. It was something he"d be happy to do. For the clan. Once he found a biddable and eager dragon to be his beta.

But if he f****d today up, he might never be permitted a mate, at least not legally. And with his past, he"d be killed without a trial if he attempted an a*******n.

He clenched his hands. He would remain here. For now.

Soon. Soon he"d be free. But not today.

Today he would stand in front of these dragons and humans and be the posterchild of a reformed rogue dragon. Like he hadn"t been humiliated enough already.

Yes. He"d kidn*pped the Mannix chief"s mate. But bowing down to even the lowliest members of the enforcer clan was getting old. His brother had been chief of a clan and Maryk had been his beta. That status alone should exempt him from this s**t.

A low growl rumbled from him, making two of the woman at the closest table squeak in surprise. He closed his eyes and imagined he was anywhere but here. This would be over soon enough.

Footsteps approached. The sharp click of a woman"s high heels tapped against the floor. This person moved with purposeful strides, not the mincing steps of the women who had filled the tables. It would be one of the dragon mates from the Mannix clan—Jasmine, Calla or Holly. The women who masterminded this farce—

Then her scent hit him.

He whipped his eyes open.

Without thought, his gaze stalked her as she moved through the room to the podium. A skirt hugged her shapely ass, which swayed enticingly with each precise step she took. Her brown hair cascaded down the center of her back, landing between her shoulder blades in loose curls. She held a clipboard tucked under one arm and a phone in front of her so she could read the screen.

She turned when she reached the head table, as if sensing something followed her. Her mouth opened slightly when her eyes met his. A slight wash of pale pink stained her cheeks. Compelled as if by some godly hand, he approached. As he neared, he honed his focus on her. Her scent grew stronger in the still air of the conference room. She fiddled with a ring on her finger. According to his research, the thin band of metal symbolized marriage in the human culture. But her scent—pure and feminine—betrayed her. No other person"s scent marked her. The ring was a lie, one that he would forgive because that had kept her single, waiting for him.

Her heartbeat thrummed faintly in the quiet. It sprinted faster as he drew closer to her. Was she scared of him? No. It couldn"t be.

Not again.

He scented the air again. An anxious cloud of stink emanated from the cluster of women sitting in the center of the room, but the acrid pungency of fear wasn"t among the heady notes coming from this woman.

He inhaled deeply again. Just to be sure.

The faint aroma of the woman"s soap, floral shampoo and something fruity he couldn"t place teased his senses. A soothing sense of calm settled over him, as if her scent was an anti-anxiety drug. So different from what he"d experienced with Jasmine when he"d believed she was his mate. His need for her had been driven by fierce and uncontrollable desperation. But this? This woman wasn"t triggering him in that way. In fact, his reaction couldn"t have been more different. There was a rightness to her scent. And he wanted more of it.

Suddenly it didn"t matter that he didn"t have a dragon pair. His reaction to her told him she could be his mate.

He hadn"t planned to take one so soon, but now…

Her eyes widened as he stepped closer, eating more of the space separating them. Her greeting to him was a soft and stuttering mess of syllables that didn"t form any words. She was nervous. Was that a good thing? He hoped so.

"Hello," he said. He scraped through his head for a reasonable explanation for why he would approach her. He held his hands at his sides, even though human norms suggested they should shake hands. He couldn"t, no matter how much he wanted to. If he touched her now, he would be killed. It was one of the conditions of his confinement. But that didn"t mean he couldn"t speak to her, get to know her. "I"m Maryk. Are you organizing today?"

Her eyes widened even more at his name. She recognized him. She knew who he was… what he was. She nodded.

what"What"s your name?"

"Rose," she whispered. "Rose Anderson."

"It"s nice to meet you, Rose." At the sound of her name on his lips, she shivered. "Do you know what time I"ll be needed?"

She blinked rapidly, as if surprised he would ask her a question. She fumbled to consult her clipboard. "Eleven. In the Sunset Board Room. If you want to wait there until then, I"m sure that"d be fine."

His eyes locked on hers as he leaned toward her, needing to be just a little bit closer to her. "Can I wait with you?"

Her mouth dropped open again, before she snapped it closed and nodded quickly. He"d flustered her. Which made him wonder if she felt this tenuous connection between them too.

He planned on finding out…