Under His Claw Read online

  “So, you basically own every vampire you have ever healed.”

  “Well, my mother took care of most of them. She could access her father’s fire or so Grandma always told me.”

  Zora turned in his arms and burrowed against his chest. He wrapped his arms around her and cuddled her close.

  “Any more questions?”

  “Who is your father?”

  “Yorou.”

  “He who dwells in darkness?”

  She shrugged. “I don’t know. I have never met him.”

  She suddenly realized, “Do all dragons have weird names?”

  He shrugged. “We get references to our major traits.”

  “What is your dragon name?”

  He mumbled against her hair. “Regick, he who gilds the skies.”

  “Nice. Is it on your business cards?”

  He smacked her butt. “Funny.”

  She sighed. “What else do you want to know?”

  “What other dragons are in your lineage?”

  “Darcash and Korlinous. My great-grandfather and grandfather respectively.”

  He whistled low. “Impressive.”

  “What are their other names?”

  “Darcash is he who commands the waves and Korlinous is he who bathes in fire.”

  “Nice. Water, fire, earth and now air. It is a funny lineage.”

  She thought about a child descended from four generations of dragons and four different elements. Grounding it would be a problem, and who would that child consider as a mate?

  “Would you like to see them?”

  “See who?”

  “Your male ancestors. The dragons are all connected and I can make a few calls.”

  “What would happen to us if my father came for a visit?”

  “Nothing. You are mine. He might offer a dowry but I don’t need it.” He chuckled.

  “Why would you invite them?”

  “In a word, etiquette. I have mated with their bloodline and they need to know me. If they need anything, they will know I will be there at their call.”

  She thought about it. She had always wanted to know her father, and her mother had never said anything bad about him. “Sure. Yes. You can contact them.”

  “Good. I will contact all three of them.”

  “Wait. Isn’t Darcash dead?”

  “No. He is still in the great North Sea with his mate. Why?”

  “Grandmother thought that her mother was dead already.”

  “Ah. Awkward. We will see what there is to be seen when and if they return my call.”

  “They might not?”

  “They might not. We have a society but we don’t socialize much. It will depend on them.”

  She sighed and cuddled against him. It wasn’t even three minutes later her stomach growled and she cursed her metabolism. “I need to find some dinner.”

  “There is a restaurant downstairs, if you like.”

  “Do they serve burgers?”

  “They can.” He rubbed his chin against her head.

  “Then, I need a shower and some clothing.”

  “Clothing we will have to get in your room, but the shower, I can arrange here.”

  There was a strange anticipation in him as he rolled to his feet with her in his arms. He stood her up on the tile and whistled softly; a cascade of glittery fire splashed against her and cleared her skin of sweat and other fluids. He whistled up, down and bent to clean between her thighs. The fire splashed and disappeared as it touched her, taking away dirt and oils and leaving a warm tingle from head to toe.

  “Now, do we sacrifice your sheets or make a sprint for the elevator to get me clothing.”

  He smirked, “Or we can take the stairs.”

  “Stairs?”

  “Of course. I will never be inaccessible to you, even if you do not wish to share my bed.”

  She chuckled. “That is a possibility?”

  “Of course. No couple wishes to spend every night together, not when you live as long as we shall. You might need to work late or I might. You will need your own library and your own offices. The apartment below can serve as both.”

  “Show me.”

  He led her past the master bathroom and to a blank wall behind it. He pressed the wall and it slid back. He took her hand and led her down a spiral staircase to the room she had occupied previously.

  “Wait. Where is the bed?”

  He looked up at the ceiling. “Upstairs.”

  “What about no couple always sleeping together?”

  “I lied. I will be next to you, under you or within you for the first century or so.”

  “What if I don’t live that long?”

  “You will, or I will rip the guts out of the person who killed you before I follow you into the afterlife.”

  She made a face and found the wardrobe. It was sparse, but she found replacement underwear and a simple black dress. She slipped on a pair of sensible heels and she put her hands on her hips. “All right. I am ready for dinner and you are still naked. Get dressed and bring your wallet. I don’t have money yet.”

  “Fair enough. May I bring my phone?”

  “Of course. Your life doesn’t stop just because mine hasn’t started.”

  He shook his head and sprinted up the spiral staircase, returning in two minutes wearing a tight T-shirt and jeans.

  The simple girl in her soul sighed at the picture his muscles made in the shirt. It was tight enough to define everything with enough room to make it look like he wasn’t trying too hard.

  “Those jeans are pretty tight. Is your wallet in there?”

  He crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes at her in disapproval. “You are cruising for a spanking.”

  Since she was pretty sure he had paddles readily available, she put her hands up. “You are right. I am sorry. I should know better than to give you a sarcastic compliment.”

  He closed his eyes for a moment, and when he opened them, again he was smiling. He turned around. “Look all you like. Yes, I brought my wallet.”

  She admired his butt and walked over to pat it. He whipped around and caught her in his arms.

  “Having a mate is new to me as well. I may say foolish things from time to time.”

  “I will probably forgive you. That’s in my nature, well as long as the spanking doesn’t become a reality. I am not a fan of pain, even at playtime.”

  He nodded against her temple. “Noted, though I may try and change your mind now and then.”

  She inhaled his warm and comforting scent. “Fine, now let’s get me that burger.”

  “As my lady commands.”

  Chapter Nine

  The spa on the third floor had a private room, and it was there she healed Olvadi.

  She smiled at the vampire king as he settled on the massage table with his back facing her. “So, your majesty, how is your new junk treating you?”

  “It responds quite well. I have had eight lovers of both sexes, and they all appear pleased with the results.”

  Zora blinked and pierced her hands before slathering her blood over his back and moving up and down the whip scars in even passes.

  “You are using a different technique today.”

  “This is a different type of scar. The stroke of the whip moved across you evenly so that is how it will be healed.”

  She kept making the passes and she could feel the damage breaking apart and her blood smoothing the skin.

  “Are you content with Regick?”

  Zora smiled, “I am relatively free here, which is refreshing. Even living in Orchard, I had a hard time making ends meet and wasn’t able to make many friends. I am beginning a new life.”

  “And all you have to do is sleep with a dragon.”

  “It has been done before, in my family.”

  She felt the tension in him.

  “What?”

  “Your majesty, do not pretend you do not know of my lineage. I am well aware Regick told you when he negotiate
d the fees for my services.”

  He exhaled, though, strictly speaking, he didn’t need to breathe.

  “Octavia misses you.”

  “I miss her as well. If you wish to use my services beyond the next six months, you may consider trading her to me for repairs to those holy-water gouges in your thighs, or re-growing Tarthos’s arm.”

  Her hands continued their relentless sweep with the blood sliding under them.

  “I do not wish to part with Octavia. She is one of my favored lovers.”

  Zora made a face. Octavia’s preferences ran to women. She had slept with men, but it wasn’t what she wanted. If she was one of Olvadi’s favorite lovers, Zora bet the sentiment wasn’t returned.

  Another ten minutes passed and she finished the repair. The towels waiting for her were warm and damp. They helped her remove her blood from Olvadi and assisted her in stopping the flow from her hands.

  “You are done, your majesty. Next appointment is in one week.”

  He sat up and his ruby eyes glared at her. “Only one a week? That was not the deal.”

  “I have read the contract. There was nothing in there about frequency of treatments, only six months of treatments were mentioned. I was to decide the schedule, and since I am now involved in the local community, it is important for me to pace myself. Healing takes a lot out of me, and if Regick and I are to have a family, I need to conserve my energy.”

  “You are pregnant?”

  She shrugged. “Perhaps yes, perhaps no. Not for lack of trying.”

  Olvadi checked out his now blemish-free back in the mirror. “You do do excellent work.”

  She nodded. “I am aware of it. I am going to summon my assistant. She will help me with the bandages.”

  “I could help you.”

  “She has requested I ask for her help. She has been charged with my health and well-being and she does a wonderful job.”

  She used her elbow to press a button in the wall, and Leah’s subtle knock came a moment later. She sat Zora down on a spa chair and leaned in to lick Zora’s wounds. After she applied the saliva, she wrapped Zora’s hand with gauze to protect it.

  Olvadi shrugged into his shirt. “Gargoyles.”

  There was such distaste in his tone that she looked over her shoulder with an admonishing glare. “My house, my rules, your majesty. Manners matter.”

  He nodded and stalked from the room, closing the door with a solid click.

  “You should not have done that. He will be angry.”

  “His dick works now. He is angry twenty-three hours per day.”

  Leah was startled into laughing. It took a bit of effort to make her smile and Zora enjoyed the sound.”

  When she was all done, Leah fired up the small brazier and they burned all blood-smeared items. It was time that Zora took what was in her veins more seriously.

  “How did the session go tonight?” Regick smiled at her over the steak dinner he had ordered.

  After spending the night with her own blood, Zora was having fish.

  “It was pretty good. He needs about seven more treatments to give himself the flawless body he has always wanted. I am worried about Octavia, though. I think I will have to make some moves on getting possession of her. Can we do that?”

  “What? Have a vampire on the payroll? Sure. It would have to be done with Olvadi’s agreement, or we would have to move her to another city and get their king to agree to let us have her. They are like leashed dogs. They have to be licensed and monitored wherever they go. If they are not, they breed out of control.”

  “Breeding is a funny word.”

  “Speaking of breeding, how are we doing?” He waggled his eyebrows.

  She laughed. “How would I know? This is not something I can consult a regular physician for.”

  “Perhaps your grandmother could tell you.”

  “Perhaps she could, but she isn’t here.”

  “She arrives tomorrow, as does your grandfather. They have agreed to a reconciliation.” He beamed.

  “Wow. She has been avoiding him as long as I have been alive. This will be interesting.”

  He shrugged. “Since he will be landing on the roof, I thought it would be a good idea to take the gear out of the bedroom. I don’t want it that interesting.”

  She snickered and finished her cod. “Too bad, I was working up the nerve to let you try more than spread-eagling me to the bed.”

  His fork bent sharply. He gave her a narrow-eyed look. “Don’t tease.”

  “We are in public. It is all I have.” She drank water and smirked.

  The restaurant on the third floor was open, charming, and owned by the man across from her. Regick was an excellent landlord and restaurateur. The clientele was having a good time and the arrangements made each table a private oasis. Of course, they were sitting at the owner’s table, so it was the best seat in the house.

  Their server came by and whisked her plate away the moment she finished it. They were very efficient without a lot of chitchat.

  She flipped through the dessert menu, and the manager came over and whispered in Regick’s ear. Her mate sat up and started to straighten his clothing.

  “Bring them in.”

  She decided on the crème brulee and was putting her menu down when a couple approached them. Regick got to his feet and greeted the other man. The blonde woman was staring at Zora with the same shape and shade of amber eyes that she saw when she looked at her grandmother.

  The face was that of her grandmother as well but the coloring was wrong. The man’s hair was a blue so dark, it was nearly black. His ears were slightly pointed, and they were pierced in six places down each curve.

  “Alamina.” Zora breathed the word.

  Alamina smiled. “Tsura. You are lovelier than I imagined.”

  “I thought you had passed on.”

  “It is hard to die when you are wed to a dragon. You stay around as long as they do.”

  Zora got to her feet and ran over to hug her great-grandmother. “I am glad you are here.”

  Alamina finally pried her off, laughing and wiping at tears. Her mate was standing next to her, exasperated.

  “Tsura, this is your great-grandfather and the first dragon in your bloodline, Darcash.”

  She extended her hand to him. “I am pleased to meet you, Darcash.”

  He smiled and took her hand. “May I have a hug?”

  She cautiously moved toward him and embraced him. He squeezed her and she heard him inhale in a long draw.

  When they separated, he nodded to Alamina. “Definitely our blood.”

  Regick laughed. “With this family’s penchant for running, you are definitely due your doubt.”

  They had a moment and the men chortled.

  Zora asked her great-grandmother, “Are you hungry? I was just about to order dessert but if you would like dinner, I could keep you company.”

  Regick nodded, “Please, join us and order what you like.”

  Darcash settled Alamina in her seat and took a chair next to her.

  Darcash looked at her with solemn eyes. “Are you the only one in your line?”

  “I am one of a line of daughters born to dragons. My grandmother, Charani, is your daughter. My mother, Lolli, gets a lot of her coloring from you. She has your hair.”

  He sat back as he heard that his family line went beyond him and his wife. “A line of daughters.”

  Alamina cocked her head. “Have you met my father?”

  Zora made a face. “Yes. That is how I ended up here. He traded his blood—meaning me—for an insult to King Olvadi. No one ever did give me the details.”

  “I hate what Alfonso made me into, but I could not imagine life without Darcash.”

  Darcash smiled, “She paced the shoreline every night for three months before I walked out of the surf to speak with her. When we coupled and the energy flared between us, I was sure she was my mate. She disappeared for a few months and I didn’t think anything of it, but
when she disappeared again for two decades, I became concerned. I followed her and found her battling a nest of vampires in defense of a young woman. I destroyed the vampires and the young woman escaped, but Alamina was mortally wounded. I took her home and nursed her back to health. We have been together ever since.”

  Alamina smiled as she admitted, “I checked up on my girls via a scrying mirror. I always suspected you were doing well, though I was concerned about your mother. She was a wild one.”

  Regick chuckled. “The entire family will be here this week. I have set aside an upper floor of suites for you, and you can have the run of the building, and the city if you wish.”

  Alamina brightened, “They will?”

  “I called them all and asked them if they would come to bless the mating between Zora and myself.”

  Zora smiled. “He really did. He didn’t know if any of you would show.”

  Alamina smiled a beatific smile. “I was born a dhampir, which should have made me sterile. A dragon gave me a chance to have a child, and that daughter gave me the strength to train her into being a survivor. She did the same for her daughter and she did the same for you. It has been quite a legacy.”

  Zora sat back and ordered her dessert, smiling beatifically at part of her history sitting in front of her and bickering with each other on who wanted to have dinner and which one wanted a snack.

  Regick could order what he wanted, she would have what she wanted and they would both end up in the same bed at night. It was strange when she began thinking about the future and could see compromises now made for possibilities later.

  Regick slid toward her until his thigh touched hers under the table. He grinned. “Our first family meal.”

  “You aren’t counting Charani at the diner.”

  He turned toward her and she kissed him softly. “I won’t run. Baby or not. I won’t run, Regick.”

  He blinked and wove his hand through her hair, kissing frantically at her lips, cheeks and eyes. When he finished, he pressed his forehead to hers and he whispered, “Thank you.”

  “I am much more the type to make your life a living hell, love.” She smiled.