Denae tried to slow her pounding heart, but she couldn’t remember ever being so scared. It wasn’t the operatives sent by the agency—it was the others. Those four weren’t human or mortal.
Their hair was so similar in color to Rhi’s, except for the silver shot through the strands, but that was not what made her blood turn cold. It was their red eyes and the way they looked at her as if she were a meal to be sampled at leisure.
None of the eight—humans or others—had curbed their talk in front of her. She knew they wanted a Dragon King and Kellan in particular. And apparently the humans were supposed to take her after the others captured Kellan.
The way the red-eyed men smiled when they talked about the Dragon Kings made Denae nervous. Kellan had said the only way to kill a Dragon King was by another King, but he didn’t say anything about torture.
She eyed the water behind her. The tide was moving out, and with her strong stroke, there was a chance she could get away. There was also a very good chance she would be shot while doing it.
Denae lifted her eyes to find one of the red-eyed men watching her with a wry smile on his face. She stopped herself from shivering at the blatant sexual desire in his gaze.
“I dare you,” he said and glanced at the water.
He knew what she was thinking. How? She had barely given the water a glance. Denae looked away from the man and sent up a silent prayer that Kellan would walk away regardless of how many times they made her call out to him.
But she knew he wouldn’t. She knew their secret, and they didn’t want that in the hands of MI5. The water might be her only option. If she dove into the water, it would release Kellan from his vow.
She would have to be quick and time it perfectly. Two of the four operatives were closest to her with their rifles trained on her, waiting for her to make a move. The remaining two were stationed on the rooftops and had her in their scopes in case she made a run for it.
Of the four red-eyes, only one was near her. She had no idea where the others were, and that was what worried her. They could be anywhere.
She was preparing to jump into the water when the sound of a door opening reached her. Denae then spotted Kellan’s tall, muscular form striding toward her as if he didn’t have a care in the world.
The waves of his long, caramel-colored hair lifted in the breeze, and his eyes locked with hers. What stole her awareness was the half smile upon his lips, which made him appear as if he looked forward to whatever was about to happen.
It transformed his rugged, handsome face into one that left her breathless and needy. With his olive-green shirt hugging his wide shoulders and his jeans slung low on narrow hips, he was a gorgeous sight to behold.
As he drew closer, his brows raised a fraction, as if he were daring her to say something. Her lips parted to tell him not to get nearer, but then he was before her, his steely arms winding around her.
And his lips locked with hers.
Denae was so taken aback that she had her arms around his neck and was returning his kiss before she realized it.
He kissed skillfully, sinfully. It was sensual and carnal, stirring and salacious.
And she never wanted it to end.
Her breasts swelled as he crushed her to him. Desire pumped through her, pooling between her legs as her passion built. Just as quickly as the kiss began, Kellan ended it as he kissed down her jaw until his mouth was even with her ear.
“Trust me,” he whispered.
Her eyes widened to tell him who was watching when he kissed her again. This time the kiss was savage as he plundered her mouth with consummate expertise.
She was falling under his spell again, even with danger lurking all around her. She was powerless to do anything else. Kellan had a hold over her she didn’t understand.
Her eyes opened when his hands came up on either side of her face and he lifted his head. Reality came crashing down like a bucket of ice water when she didn’t see any desire in his green eyes. They were as stony and lifeless as ever.
Gone was the small smile. The lips that had just kissed her with such abandon and tenderness were set in a hard line. There was a loud retort and something slammed into her thigh painfully. In the next moment, he was shoving her to the ground.
At the same instant, gunfire erupted around them, directed entirely at Kellan. Denae ducked even as Kellan sheltered her with his body.
“Stay down!” he yelled at her over the shooting.
With no firearm, Denae had no choice. That is, until she saw one of the agents go down, his gun falling from his lifeless fingers. She rolled; gritting her teeth as her leg pulsed with pain from the bullet lodged within, and came up with the weapon in her hand, sending several rounds at an operative on the rooftop.
With that agent dead, Denae turned to another only to have Kellan grab her and pull her behind a set of crates.
“Are you insane?” he asked angrily.
Now he was showing emotion? Now that she was in her element and able to defend herself? She wanted to roll her eyes. “I was trained for this, remember?”