Zinc Dragon Read online

  She had dark hair pulled back in a severe bun, pale, taut skin, and sharp features. Deep lines on either side of her mouth gave her a cruel appearance.

  “Why would I notice that?”

  Hora leaned back in the chair. “You tell me.”

  “I told you. I don’t have any idea about this dragon heart stuff,” Leanne said. “You might as well just let me go.”

  “I’m afraid that’s no longer possible. True, you may be useless to us, but the fact remains that you are useful to them. Thus, we can’t release you.”

  “So you intend to just let me rot down there?” Leanne raised an eyebrow.

  “Probably. Unless we think of some other use for you.”

  “Great,” Leanne muttered, leaning back with folded arms.

  “But actually, that’s why I called you here. We do have a job for you right now. It involves our new prisoner.”

  “Oh?” That had Leanne’s attention.

  “Yes. In fact, we want you to spend time with him.”

  “Why?”

  “Apparently, your kind offers some kind of suppression of the illness he is suffering. Not to mention, he isn’t allowed to hurt humans, and he hasn’t proven to be very… cooperative with the rest of us.”

  Leann’s heart gave a little jump. “But… he’s a… dragon?”

  Hora gave a nod.

  “Uh, well… what do you want me to do?”

  “Make sure he eats. See him twice a day. Give him medicine. Make sure he doesn’t die.”

  “Um, I’m not really sure how I can do that, but sure. I’ll try.” She bit her lip nervously. “Is he going to eat me?”

  “I don’t think so,” Hora said, an amused smirk on her lips. “But it isn’t a huge loss to us if he does. Disposal of evidence.”

  “Ah.”

  “But really, we aren’t monsters. Why would we want to eat you?”

  “We?”

  “I am also a dragon, obviously,” Hora said.

  Well, that was one strike against dragons.

  “How was I supposed to know that?” Leanne shook her head. “Look, fine. I’ll take care of this guy. Not like I have any choice anyway. But I really don’t see how I’m going to heal him or whatever. What if he dies on me?”

  “He dies, you die,” Hora replied. “So I suggest you keep that from happening.”

  “But why did you take him? I thought you hated dragons.”

  Hora’s eyes glittered. “I have my reasons.”

  Leanne let out a resigned breath. “Fine. I’ll do what I can.”

  “Good. Barney will escort you back downstairs and let you into the cell.”

  “Can I just clean up a little first?” She had a small, enclosed bathroom and shower in her cell, and she didn’t want to really meet her new charge in her pajamas.

  “No. It doesn’t matter how you look when you go to meet him because you aren’t going to be anything but his nurse. You better not try anything else with him because I have plans.”

  “Try anything?”

  “I have heard humans find dragons attractive. So keep your hands off my mate.”

  Leanne was taken aback by that but just blinked at Hora, pitying the poor guy who had to somehow deal with that. She didn’t even know exactly what a mate was, but she figured it was something like marriage for shifters, based on the little she’d heard the guards saying about it.

  “Whatever.” Leanne put up her hands. “Fine. Just take me back down now.” She really didn’t want to spend another minute in this crazy woman’s presence. Everything about her just felt evil, as if she were polluting the very air around them.

  “Guards!” Hora called with a clap. “Come back now!”

  The door opened, and Barney reached for her again, but Leanne jerked away and spun out of reach. “I can go on my own, for Pete’s sake.” She gave him a glare. “And you all need me now, unless you want that dragon to roast you, so you better show some respect.”

  She heard Hora let out a laugh. Maybe dragons in this world didn’t actually roast people. Leanne didn’t know.

  She dodged out of the room and headed for the stairs with the guards following behind, not giving them any reason to accost her.

  When they reached the basement, the guards went around her to open the cell where the “dragon” was held, and she heard the heavy clink of keys and then a click as the heavy metal door swung open.

  She was quickly shoved inside with a rough hand to her back, and she stumbled into the cell, landing on her knees. She looked up just in time to see the guards close it behind her, locking it with a laugh before disappearing through the door to go back upstairs.

  Now she was alone in the basement.

  With a dragon.

  She slowly got to her feet, looking over at the man who was sleeping on the cot, which was clearly not the right size for him.

  His feet dangled over the end, and one long, muscular arm was draped off the side, resting on the floor. The covers were pulled over him, and he appeared to be wearing some sort of gray tunic that covered his shoulders and arms.

  From what she could see of his legs where they hung off the bed, he was wearing a sort of black pajama pants.

  Then again, they had taken him in the middle of the night.

  She got a little bolder, leaning over him to get a better look at his face, which was turned toward the opposite wall.

  Her heart gave a little thump as she studied his perfect features. Even from this angle, she was certain she’d never seen a more beautiful man.

  He was pale, though she thought that was probably from stress and whatever sickness he was dealing with. His long, straight nose finished with a tiny point at the end. His hard jaw mirrored the sharp line of his nose, complimented by a chin with a small dimple.

  She couldn’t see his eyes, but she could see long, gray lashes spread over his cheeks as he slept. He had high cheekbones and high, arched brows in a dark-gray color that was slightly darker than his hair.

  His hair was unlike any she’d seen, a medium gray that seemed almost to have the look of woven metal but the texture of hair. It waved around his ears and neck. The urge to reach up and touch it was almost unbearable.

  Perhaps the lady dragon had been right about humans being attracted to male dragons.

  Anyone would be if they saw this one.

  His body appeared to be tall and perfectly muscled, but there was something elegant about him when, with his size, he could easily have seemed brutish instead.

  She was trying to figure out how any being could ever be this beautiful when she suddenly became aware of a pair of sparking, liquid-platinum eyes staring up at her warily.

  She jumped back, tripping and landing on her butt on the hard cell floor, letting out a little yelp of pain.

  The man quickly tried to push himself up in bed but fell back down in a heap. She heard him take a labored breath, and then he slowly pushed himself up again, looking pained.

  One wavy lock of gray hair fell over his pale forehead as he looked at her in concern. “I didn’t mean to scare you, but… Where exactly am I?”

  Chapter 3

  Zinc could feel the ever-pulsing ebb and flow of his poison threatening to take over as it always did when he awoke.

  He needed to get control of it, clear the fuzziness from his brain, and remember what had happened and how he’d come to be in this place.

  Looking at the woman who was sitting on her butt on the floor, staring at him in shock, he was pretty sure he’d never met her before.

  Never met anyone like her, in fact.

  Her skin was a different color than the other dragon mates. darker. Her eyes were a sparkling shade of brown that was almost black, which matched her dark curls that hung down over her shoulders in an unruly mass.

  No, he would have remembered seeing someone like this before. Instantly, he wanted to go to her, the gentleman in him eager to help her up and make sure she was okay.

  But even the slightest moveme
nt brought on the urge to vomit, and Zinc put his hand over his stomach. He rolled onto his back and waited for the world to stop spinning, for the poisonous gray tendrils of his metal to recede from his body and mind.

  When they did, he realized just how much trouble he was really in. Only blood transfusions from Mercury had been keeping him alive lately. As heir to the throne of Drakkaris, Zinc had extremely noble blood and, as such, really should have been mated by now to slow the metal in his blood that was threatening to take over his heart.

  But there weren’t a lot of mates around, and even though they’d come to Earth, all women they’d met so far had been fated mates of the other dragons.

  Zinc wasn’t angry about it.

  He was also aware he didn’t have much time left. Perhaps fate had never meant for him to be king of Drakkaris.

  “Um, you don’t remember anything?”

  Zinc turned at the sound of the feminine voice, rich and somewhat deep. The woman had gotten to her feet and walked to a chair, pulling it over to the bed and sitting on it so she could presumably talk to him.

  His eyes moved over her body, returning the favor she’d paid him earlier when she’d ogled him. Were all human women really attracted to dragon males?

  He pushed himself to a sitting position, feeling weak and sickly, but no longer in danger of losing control. He rubbed his head, trying to bring back foggy memories. “I was hit in the head. A portal. I was brought here.” He sighed. “And my memory is only okay at the best of times these days.”

  “You’re sick,” she said. “They told me.”

  He pressed his lips together. “Did they say with what?”

  “No,” the woman said, squirming nervously. It emphasized her soft, curvy form. When she folded her arms, her generous breasts were pushed up and together. He could see the shape of them even through her pajamas.

  He quickly looked away.

  “I hope nothing contagious.” Her tone was wary.

  “Nothing contagious,” he said, meeting her eyes. “You couldn’t even really call it sick. It’s… hard to explain.”

  “Well, anything I can do to help, I’m here for it.” She gave him a little mock salute. “My name is Leanne by the way.”

  “Leanne, nice to meet you. My name is Zinc.”

  “Zinc. Interesting name.” She crossed her legs. Even her thighs looked delicious. “So are you one of the good dragons?”

  “I’d like to think so,” he said, smiling slightly at her suspicious tone. Then he realized she was here in his cell with him. Left alone with him.

  Her fragrance was familiar, and he realized he could scent it from the other side of the prison was well. Violets in the rain.

  “You are being kept prisoner as well.” Dark anger rose in him at the thought of it.

  She shifted nervously. “Yes. I’ve been here a while.”

  “How long?”

  “A couple weeks, maybe.”

  “Why did they take you?” He sniffed the air. “You are only human.”

  “I guess I’m a dragon heart or something. I’m not sure I’m supposed to be telling you that. But, uh, yeah.”

  “I see.” He thought it over, wondering why their “hosts” would be putting them together like this. Perhaps they were aware that, as a dragon on the oracle’s side, he couldn’t hurt a human, whereas anyone else they sent in his cell would probably receive death.

  She motioned to the tray of food that had been brought in earlier. “You should eat that. If you don’t, they’ll get on our case.”

  “Our?”

  “I’m sort of… responsible for you now.”

  “I see.” He picked up a roll off the tray and bit into it. “I’ll eat as long as you stay and share this with me and talk.”

  She smiled, and it seemed to light up the dingy dungeon where they were being held. If she was a dragon heart, presumably she’d done something brave to have landed here.

  She’d have to be brave to keep up her spirits in a place like this.

  “Of course I can talk, if it’ll make you feel better. But I won’t eat any of your breakfast. I have my own in my cell. You should eat it all, given how weak you look.”

  Zinc’s eye twitched in irritation before he could stop it. Weak. The last thing he wanted to think he was. In another world, where he’d found his mate sooner, he’d be strong enough to rule nations.

  Now he wasn’t even reliable enough for a human to share his breakfast.

  “I didn’t mean that in a bad way.” She twisted her hands nervously. “I mean, getting knocked over the head and kidnapped would take the strength out of anyone.”

  “I like honesty,” he said quietly, picking over his tray and beginning to eat. If nothing else, he didn’t want this human to get in trouble if he didn’t. “So tell me about yourself. How you got here, where you’re from.”

  “I’m from Oklahoma,” she said. “But I’ve lived all over. Army brat.”

  “Oh,” Zinc said, not exactly sure what that meant.

  “My dad was in the army, so we travelled a lot from base to base.”

  “That sounds like an interesting way to live.” He’d only been here and on his planet, and he couldn’t imagine not having a solid place to call home. “So what is your favorite place?”

  “I couldn’t pick one,” she said. “I liked Hawaii, though. I went to college in New York.”

  Ah, the higher educational facilities for humans. “What for?”

  “Business.” She shrugged, her shoulders hitting her pretty, mussed curls. “But I ended up basically a secretary instead. Oh well.”

  He cocked his head. “Business?”

  “You know, starting companies, managing them, making money.”

  As future king of Drakkaris, making money hadn’t really ever been a concern.

  “I do think I’ll start my own company someday, when I get capital.”

  “What kind of human business would you start?” He wanted to ask her a million questions just to hear the smooth, soothing sound of her voice. He could feel the metal in him subsiding. Could all humans have this effect on him, or was it just her?

  “I’m not sure. I have a few ideas. Wait, that’s right. You aren’t human. Well, half human, like the rest of these guys.”

  “I’m not anything like ‘these guys,’” he said bitterly. “I am sorry they took you. Even if my friends can’t make it here in time for me, I hope they rescue you. I believe they will be able to.”

  “They already rescued other dragon hearts, so I’d like to think so. Not that I understand how we are all linked.”

  “Me neither,” he said. He wondered if he should tell her about being from another planet, but he wasn’t sure how she would react. And he was a little too tired to explain everything right now.

  He finished his meal and pushed it aside, looking to her for approval.

  “I’m glad you finished,” she said. “Is there anything else I can do for you?”

  Mate me, he thought sarcastically with a little laugh to himself. His brow furrowed, imagining for a moment that she truly was his mate and the answer to all of his prayers.

  But that was stupid. It was too late for him, and with his addled brain, he would never trust himself to make a call like that. Not for something that would affect them for the rest of their lives.

  Even if she literally embodied everything he could ask for in a mate. Beautiful, strong, caring, kind, courageous (a given since she was a dragon heart), curvy, and smart.

  He could sense all of that about her instantly, and he wanted to know so much more.

  “What did you do to get captured? I’ve heard dragon hearts perform great feats of bravery.”

  She smiled at him somewhat sadly. “Well, that’s a long story. I don’t know if I’m brave as much as stupid. But I think you should rest now. You look like you’re feeling a little better.”

  He thought about it, wondering why he seemed to feel lighter just with her there with him. Just listening
to her talking. Now that he’d eaten and was feeling a bit better, he could feel tiredness once again overtaking him.

  Damn.

  He wished he’d met her sooner, before he was so far gone with his poison. He would have kissed her hand, as he usually did with females, and been much more talkative, much more charming.

  He would have told her he was a king, maybe, and tried to impress her. Tried to win her as his mate. But now it seemed all too late.

  He could barely think straight, and he had no idea if his friends would come in time or if he wanted them to if it would put them in danger.

  Still, spending his last few days with a woman as wonderful as Leanne wasn’t the worst thing that could happen.

  In fact, it seemed like sort of a waking dream.

  “You look tired,” she said, walking over and grabbing the covers so she could pull them over him. “Go ahead and get comfortable. I’ll wait here until you’re asleep.”

  “Why are you doing this?”

  “It’s my job,” she said lightly.

  He supposed that was true, that she wouldn’t be here unless assigned to him. But he knew that wasn’t the whole story. This was a woman with a good heart.

  It was such an odd situation, having a human woman watching over him, the future king of a planet of dragons. Yet, as he felt his mind drift and his body go warm and limp beneath the covers, he had to admit, for the first time in a while, he felt… safe.

  “Good night, Leanne.”

  “Good night, Zinc.”

  He heard her take her seat in her chair again just as everything went dark.

  That night, Leanne was woken from her sleep by the sound of Zinc murmuring something from his cell.

  She’d gone over at dinnertime and gotten him to eat at least a little, but he hadn’t seemed to feel well at all.

  Definitely not enough to talk.

  She was so intrigued by the beautiful, soft-spoken man that was so unlike any shifter she’d known.

  She paced in front of the bars in her cell, wishing she could go over and see him, make sure he was okay, as he tossed feverishly in his sleep.

  The things he was saying made no sense to her. Drakkar-something. King. But then something that was very clear to her.