Dawn- Dragon's Honor Read online

  A little while later as it slowed down Tony asked, “Do you know that guy? He’s been staring at you for a while now.”

  I had to force myself not to turn, I knew who he was talking about. I felt like I was trying to ignore a storm. Was he waiting for me? Why? The idea of it made me nervous, mostly because I didn’t know what he was or why. Another part of me was excited by the idea. I was curious to figure out the answers to my questions.

  “No, I’m pretty sure he just wants to talk to me though. I get the feeling he sought me out.”

  It wasn’t until I said that, that I realized it was true. My earlier thought of being his prey instead of him being mine seemed to solidify. It was a strange feeling.

  Tony replied, “Well things are winding down if you want to go talk to him.”

  He raised a knowing eyebrow at me and said, “If you aren’t around tonight I’ll understand.”

  I felt strangely self conscious when he said that, what was wrong with me? Oh that’s right, tsunami of lust that almost gave me an orgasm a half hour ago. Would have given me one if I had let it, and not closed off my magic.

  I nodded in response and walked out from behind the bar with a couple of beers. I glanced over at the mystery… creature? He was tall, even sitting down he was almost my height. He had broad shoulders, his muscles were clearly defined, and his choice of wardrobe was… odd. He was wearing leather pants and a kind of leather vest. He was also watching me as I walked over.

  His eyes were bright as he took me in with a confident look. Not arrogant, simply very sure of himself and who he was. If I wasn’t a succubus I’d have probably blushed under his hungry heated gaze. There was also a feeling of shock, as if whatever reason he had tracked me down for he had also found something he hadn’t expected.

  I handed him the drink and sat down across from him. I wasn’t often at a loss for words, but I waited for him to start. It was only fair, he tracked me down after all.

  His voice was deep, rumbling, “Hello, you can call me Rafe. Do you have time to discuss something? I don’t wish to disturb your… work?”

  At least he was polite. I smiled and replied, “I do, have time that is. I’m Dawn by the way.”

  I was dying to know what he was, but I didn’t want to be rude. I also wanted him to take me away, preferably to his bed, badly. It was strange, I didn’t often have trouble resisting strangers. I could still feel his aura and magic, perhaps that had something to do with it.

  He looked around the room, “Perhaps somewhere a little more private?”

  Private… no way. I was having trouble controlling myself in public. Was it merely the strength of the lust I felt? My inner succubus sensing a gluttonous target? Or was it more than that?

  “Yes,” my voice betrayed me.

  We stood and he followed me toward the back. I felt like I wanted to run, I just wasn’t sure which way yet. I opened my succubus senses a little and sensed the deep well of power, life energy, and lust. It wasn’t quite a strong as before, whatever had happened earlier, he had it under control for the moment. I led him to the back and up the stairs and over to my office.

  I considered sitting behind my desk, but my inner succubus guided me to the couch. Inner succubus my ass, my inner witch and angel were turned on too. As we sat I turned a little toward him and smiled. I had a ton of questions.

  He looked unsure for a moment about what to say. There was a dichotomy there, he definitely had two subjects in mind. The one that brought him here… and the way his eyes were devouring me.

  I asked, “So… you aren’t from around here, and I mean this world. Why have you come here?”

  His rumbling voice answered almost reluctantly, “I… This is difficult,” he looked away and continued, “My… race is extremely proud. In fact I did not wish to come here, but my sovereign ordered it. We require assistance.”

  Assistance came out of his mouth as if it were a dirty word. I stayed silent afraid to prod him to just come out with it.

  He shook his head and looked at me again as he said, “My people are being hunted, by others from another world. We can easily fend off any attacks from our strongholds, we can even use magic to prevent world walking directly into our strongholds. But they do not fight our strength. They do not desire battle. They set traps and ambushes out in the wild, where they will only encounter one of us, or maybe two at a time.”

  I felt shocked by the answer. “Why?”

  He laughed but it wasn’t a laugh of joy, more of bitterness or frustration, “You feel my magic yes, how strong it is?”

  I nodded. Of course I did, it was like sitting next to a volcano. I assumed he came from a world with much more magic than this one. Even much higher than the demon dimension. The parallel worlds were like that, the source of magic was at one end of the spectrum, worlds closer to that end were increasingly more powerful. Go the other way far enough and magic didn’t exist at all.

  He continued, “Well the other world is also strong in magic, but the race of humans there can’t absorb as much of it. They are all wizards, mages, or sorcerers of varying power and ability, but every being can use magic. They hunt us for our blood, for the power it will give them on their world.”

  I thought I saw where he was going, but I asked, “So how could I help?”

  He grunted. “As I said, we have plenty of magic, but can only guard our strongholds. It takes a tremendous amount to block a world walking spell in a small area. Yet, somehow with your weaker magic you can protect your whole world from invasion, that is what we want.”

  I nodded, “So why me?”

  He shrugged, “You were the closest witch to where I arrived.”

  I frowned, of course. Why did I think he was looking for me specifically? I pushed down the absurd feeling of disappointment. Lastly, our world was blocked, so how did he get here?

  I nodded. I found myself wanting to help, and at the same time I didn’t want a disruption in my life. I didn’t think it would take much effort though, maybe a week, two at the most. Of real time anyway.

  I said softly, “I think we can do that. It’s fairly straightforward. The spells will take a week or two to build. The catch is the gems will need to be charged with magic every few years.”

  It was fairly simple. The spell to cross dimensions used gravity as one of its target parameters. Gravity like magic had only one source, so all the worlds had a different gravity strength. Gravity was one of the cheapest magic wise to control for a witch, a small disruption of gravity could easily close a world gate. When the gravity didn’t match the spell, it would simply collapse.

  His brows furrowed, “And what would you demand for this service?”

  I felt like I’d been doused in ice water. I hadn’t even considered bartering for it. Did he think witches were greedy? Or perhaps it was point of his society. Or pride? I felt like it would be wrong to ask for payment for simply helping to protect a… neighbor? But I didn’t want to insult him either.

  “I don’t have anything in mind, what would be expected by your society or customs? Witches of this world serve life. Yes, we sell our services at times, but…” I kind of trailed off.

  He grunted, “Treasure usually. A percentage of our hoard. We would not accept charity, or ever offer it.”

  Treasure? Hoard? I suppressed a giggle, was he a dragon? I’m not sure, but I think my mouth may have fell open, not my most seductive look.

  He rumbled a laugh which annoyed me. It also kind of turned me on.

  “Yes, I’m a dragon,” he said gently, he also looked worried, like I might run away screaming or something.

  Oh crap, had I said that out loud?

  I cleared my throat, “I see. So how much of your hoard would be reasonable for this service.”

  I couldn’t quite believe the words I’d just said, but when I thought about his presence, aura, and magic it seemed almost obvious. He was a shifter… just a lot more powerful than any I’d ever met.

  He growled, as if
giving any of it up would be painful, “One percent, not just mine though, my sovereign’s as well. I’m his younger brother by the way.”

  I said, “Done then,” and reached out to touch his arm.

  It was a harmless flirtation, now that we’d gotten business out of the way I’d thought… well, succubus. Enough said.

  His reaction shocked me. I wasn’t a vain person, but I was a succubus. I’d never been turned down or rebuffed by anyone. I stared up at him in disbelief, and not a little bit of hurt since I knew he wanted me too, when he jumped off the couch and stepped away from me.

  He looked both hungry, and unsure. I could tell he wanted me, so what just happened? For the first time since my early teen years I was desperately searching for a social queue.

  He said, “Sorry, but before we go any further I need to make sure you understand what it will mean. Did you feel the intensity of our connection when our eyes met the first time?”

  I nodded wordlessly. Of course I had, that was the whole point in my flirtation.

  He continued, “That means we are for each other on my world… Potential mates.”

  I frowned, “Explain that?”

  He coughed, “If we join together, my magic will bind us. We will be mates for life.”

  After a few seconds of silence I said, “I’m part succubus, I can’t have one person, it’s impossible.”

  He started laughing again, a rumbling deep sound of amusement.

  My eyes narrowed dangerously, I didn’t like being laughed at.

  He shook his head and waved his hand in negation, “I am not laughing at you, just your assumptions. I will explain. For one, you forget my power. I could quite easily quench your appetite for sexual energy by myself and barely even feel tired. But that wouldn’t be necessary.

  “Being mates for life is between us, it has no bearing on others. It is an intimate connection, we would always be aware of each other, even across worlds. That does not mean you cannot have others. In fact I already have a mate, a beautiful red in fact. Still, the mate bond should not be taken lightly, it is rare when two beings can be bonded in such a way, it means we are compatible in all ways.”

  He frowned as if searching for words, “It would not limit us with others, but as I said, the bond is intimate. If we are together, we will be together in mind and magic until death. It would not be honorable of me to not tell you of this before we join.”

  I thought about that for a second, “No privacy? It can’t be blocked or controlled?”

  He responded, “Not blocked, but controlled yes. You can’t block me out, but you can refrain from being present in my mind, as I can for you. We will always, even at the lowest levels, be aware of each other’s general state of mind and health. Deepening that to communicate and exploring each other’s lives takes an act of will.”

  I nodded. That would mean any privacy I could get would depend on him, and vice versa. I could feel how much he wanted me, but the tsunami of lust had turned into a vast dam filled with water behind it. I didn’t feel out of control.

  But I did want him.

  That wasn’t enough though for the price. Not without weighing the consequences. I’d wait, get to know him better. Maybe at some point…

  I sighed, “Maybe we should get to know each other a little better first? But why did you jump away from a simple touch?”

  I’d never said that before. It was usually just a yes or a no. Putting off sex was a novel experience for me.

  He grimaced as if reluctant to answer my question, though I did catch approval at me taking the mate thing seriously. Finally he said, “If you touched me I don’t think I could stop myself from claiming you.”

  My heart skipped and my imagination went wild. Claiming me? That sounded so rough and demanding. I licked my lips as my body tingled at the thought. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t almost change my mind right there and then. As it was, I needed a sexual release badly after the last few hours. If it couldn’t be with Rafe then it would be someone else. I also needed to let Tony and Lily know I’d be leaving for a week or two. Luckily I could kill two birds with one stone. I made arrangements to meet up with Rafe in a few hours and went to find Tony and Lily.

  Chapter 4

  I stretched out on the bed, one of those long stretches with my arms fully extended, back arched, and toes extended. I also had a very satiated smile on my face, my body pleasantly sore. When I’d gotten done telling Tony and Lily I was going away for a bit and why, they’d made me the center piece of our little threesome.

  John was on my right, already snoozing. I leaned over and kissed Lily while caressing her back. Sometimes I really wish I was in love with them, they were wonderful people but just friends. With obvious benefits.

  Lily broke our kiss and pouted, “I’ll miss you, plus you know, I’ll have to work harder.”

  I grinned, “Want me to call Cassie?”

  Cassandra was one of my twin younger sisters though she goes by Cassie. For twins they were almost opposite. Amber was a very serious woman, she actually worked for the government, creator knows why. She says she works as an analyst, but I’m pretty sure she’s an active operative for the CIA. Point being, Amber would never, nor does she have the time, to work at my club.

  Cassie on the other hand is a bubbly happy person that I knew would be quite willing to help. They are both identical and look a lot like me, except for their raven black hair, slightly darker skin and they come in two inches taller at five foot four. The differences are of course due to their father. Same mother, but their dad isn’t Tom, but Harmon.

  Lily considered it for a moment but shook her head, “It’s not a bad idea, but I can call her if I desperately need the help. As long as our other bartender shows I should be able to deal.”

  I nodded and decided not to worry about it. Lily could handle it. I gave her one last lingering kiss before showering and packing a bag. I did pack a dress… or two. But mostly I had jeans and tight t-shirts. A few minutes later I was back downstairs and locking up as I left. As soon as I laid eyes on Rafe my body responded despite me just having marathon sex. This was going to be harder than I thought…

  I asked in a voice more sultry than I intended, “So, do you have the coordinates for your world?”

  He smiled and said, “I can get us there.”

  I nodded, “I’m curious how you got here past our protections.”

  He shrugged, “They only protect the planet.”

  Before I could process exactly what that meant, I felt his magic reach out and surround us. It was completely different from any of my magics. I could kind of read it, but I’d never in a million years be able to duplicate it.

  A startled squeak escaped from my lips as we flew straight up. I could fly, but by manipulating the gravity around me. This was different, this magic was thrust, or propulsion. But it was so much more than that. It was very complicated and elegant. In addition to thrust there was a magic bubble that not only held air inside, but created more and filtered out carbon dioxide. There was also magic to counteract the g-forces, deflect the wind, and a couple of things I wasn’t even sure about.

  We were already approaching three miles up before I finally realized what he’d meant by his cryptic comment. He was taking us up into space, where the spell wasn’t in effect, to move us to his world. It’s something I could probably manage as well, just in a different way.

  I was amazed and I was kind of glad I didn’t just create the simple spell to counteract the gravity effects of the enchantments. There wasn’t much risk to it though. The Earth was huge, and we witches only had a few specific coordinates where transferring was actually possible. The odds against an enemy randomly finding that stable location was next to nothing. But it was easy to create even more temporary ones that lasted just long enough for a world gate to open and close with enough time to get through.

  But yeah, I was glad because being in space was kind of… awesome. I could sense his amusement as I stared, transfi
xed on the curvature of the world as we went higher and higher. It was amazing, and humbling in a way.

  I asked, “What’s to prevent that world of magic users from doing the same once I get the protections up there?”

  He sighed, “Well this is dragon magic. We even use it to fly in our dragon form at speeds that would normally be impossible for a natural animal with wings. I can’t say it’s impossible, but I don’t believe they have the spells to reach space, at least not and breathe at the same time. It may happen eventually, but right now this is better than nothing.”

  I nodded, “Also, it isn’t that hard to set up a stabilizer spell to counteract the enchantment. It would be impossible I think, from their side. But if they have a presence here they can always open a gate from this side.”

  He frowned, “I see what you mean, as long as they have someone here they can open a gate and let more people in or out.”

  “Exactly. When we set up the protections on Earth, afterwards we had to find and banish all our Elven and Demon enemies before we were safe from invasion. Even then…”

  He asked, “What?”

  “Well, you found a way around it, and I imagine any hi-tech world could get a ship into space and… You see what I mean?”

  He nodded. “My world won’t have that problem. Also, you should brace yourself when we go through the gate.”

  My eyes narrowed, “What do you mean?”

  He grinned, “Your world is around the middle, weak magic and hi-tech both work. My world and the world of the Wizards, mages, and sorcerers have very strong magic. So strong hi-tech won’t work. They could probably open a gate and come through, but their ships would just stop working at that point.”

  I nodded. We were probably more than high enough as he opened a portal and we went through…

  I gasped as we appeared on his world, in a field. It’s impossible to describe, but my first thought was I wouldn’t have to feed at all. There was so much magic, the air was thick with it. My body absorbed it and I filled my spelled crystals all the way effortlessly. At the same time, it was incredibly uncomfortable, I felt the pressure around me, as if the world itself was trying to push more magic into my body. It was a very close thing to being overloaded.