Dragonlight Read online

  * * *

  * * *

  DRAGONLIGHT

  by

  SHERRILL QUINN

  Amber Quill Press, LLC

  http://www.amberquill.com

  * * *

  * * *

  Dragonlight

  An Amber Quill Press Book

  This book is a work of fiction. All names, characters, locations, and incidents are products of the author's imagination, or have been used fictitiously.

  Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, locales, or events is entirely coincidental.

  Amber Quill Press, LLC

  http://www.AmberQuill.com

  http://www.AmberHeat.com

  http://www.AmberAllure.com

  All rights reserved.

  No portion of this book may be transmitted or reproduced in any form, or by any means, without permission in writing from the publisher, with the exception of brief excerpts used for the purposes of review.

  Copyright © 2010 by Sherrill Quinn

  ISBN 978-1-60272-685-7

  Cover Art © 2010 Trace Edward Zaber

  Layout and Formatting

  Provided by: Elemental Alchemy

  Published in the United States of America

  Also by Sherrill Quinn

  The Claiming

  Claiming Hannah

  Dragonfire

  Dragonheat

  It Takes A Thief Or Two

  Obsidian's Flame

  Dedication

  Thank you to all the readers who love

  these dragon men as much as I do!

  Chapter 1

  * * *

  Will Ho For Sex.

  Even with the seriousness of the situation, Marina Rodriguez pressed her lips together to keep from grinning at the logo on the man's shirt. Even more than four months after Christmas he was apparently still full of holiday spirit.

  Or full of something, anyway.

  She sobered. This was hardly a time to laugh. The man--the dragon!--wearing the bright red T-shirt with the suggestive text blazed across the broad front was a captive, and the people Marina worked for were about to do very bad things to him.

  Unless she could save him.

  A few years ago when she'd overheard a couple of her cousins bragging about hunting and killing dragons like they would deer or elk, she'd been sickened by it. She'd determined then and there to do whatever she could to try to make up for what others in her family were doing.

  So far all she'd been able to do was get a job here at GenTex, the biomedical lab that appeared to be the headquarters of the dragon hunters. Or at the very least a willing partner to those who slaughtered these magnificent creatures.

  She watched as a small group of white-coated scientists wheeled the unconscious captive's gurney into the main lab--the inner sanctum, as it were. Marina had been here for almost a year and a half and had seen at least a dozen men brought in the same way. At first she'd been naïve enough to think they were only being studied to determine the differences between dragons and humans. She'd soon realized that wasn't the case.

  And when she'd seen body bags carried out... It had eaten at her soul that she'd been powerless to help any of them. It was only within the last month that she'd been granted security clearance to assist the scientists in the main lab. She was determined that this one would make it out alive.

  The doors of the main lab swished closed behind the group. Marina turned back to her workbench and stared down at the small bottle sitting on the metal surface. It was a concoction that had been developed here using a base of methohexatol, a powerful sedative. While most sedatives needed to be injected intravenously to be the most effective, this one could be introduced into the musculature, causing unconsciousness in about thirty seconds.

  Marina would do her best to sneak the captive out without having to drug anyone, but she needed to be prepared in case she had to sneak up on a guard or two. She wanted to be able to do this without getting caught, because otherwise she'd only be able to save this one dragon--and that was hardly balancing the odds against the numerous dragons her family members had killed.

  With a deep breath, she picked up the first syringe and filled it with the clear liquid, then prepared a second and a third, just in case. After making sure the needle caps were on securely, she slipped the syringes and bottle of sedative in her lab coat pocket.

  Christina Vandermaas walked into her small lab, making her jerk with surprise. The other woman seemed not to notice. "Marina? I'd like your assistance with a specimen that was delivered this morning."

  Marina stared at her over top the flat screen computer monitor. "Sure." Here was her chance. Finally!

  Dr. Vandermaas narrowed her eyes. "This will be your first time to assist with our primary work here. Are you comfortable with that?"

  "I wouldn't have applied for a job here if I had a problem with it," Marina responded evenly. No one else needed to know the only reason she was working at GenTex was because she had a huge problem with what they were doing.

  "Good, good." Dr. Vandermaas turned and strode out of the lab, her lab coat flapping behind her.

  Marina drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly, then followed the mad scientist into the main lab. When the doors swooshed open, she saw Dr. Vandermaas standing beside the captive Marina had seen earlier.

  "The nerve, thinking he could blend in by wearing something this inane. This...this crass." Dr. Vandermaas picked up a pair of scissors and cut through the front of the captive's T-shirt, pushing the ruined cotton out of the way to bare his chest. She put the scissors down and stared at the unconscious man on the stainless steel examining table. "Although I will admit he's an impressive specimen." She ran her fingertips between his defined pectorals, following the trail of light brown hair that bisected his abdomen. "It's amazing how human they look. With that blond hair and those high cheekbones, he could easily be mistaken for someone of Slavic descent." She shook her head. "But his blood work tells another story."

  Marina looked at the man on the exam table. She'd be damned if she let this one die. Not just because he was a dragon, but also because there was something about him that called to her on a primal level. A carnal, ultra-feminine level.

  Vandermaas unfastened the captive's belt, then unzipped his jeans and slowly eased the material down his legs. Rather than undo the restraints around his ankles, she left his pants scrunched at his feet. She hooked her fingers around the waistband of his navy cotton briefs. "Hmm. He really struck me as more of a boxers kind of man," she mused.

  Marina didn't think Vandermaas wanted a response from her. She forced herself to not interfere as the scientist yanked the briefs down the man's legs. She tried not to look at his nudity but couldn't help but stare, especially when Vandermaas let out a low whistle. "Impressive specimen, indeed," the doctor murmured. Her long, slender fingers curled around the captive's limp penis. His body responded, the flesh stiffening slightly in her palm.

  Even mostly flaccid, his cock was long and fat, nestled in a thatch of dark brown hair. His thighs were thick, powerful, hinting at strength and stamina.

  Marina felt a rush of liquid heat in her core. She bit the inside of her cheek to focus. She couldn't let the poor man be molested while he was unconscious and unable to defend himself. She dragged her gaze away from his penis and cleared her throat. "Dr. Vandermaas, didn't you want to begin several tests? Some of which will be completed easier with him asleep."

  "Hmm?" Vandermaas looked over at her. "Yes, you're right. Of course, we could always knock him out again." Her lips thinned, and she let go of the man's penis. "It's not like I was going to do anything with that, you know," she said with a gesture toward his cock. "That would be like having sex with an animal."

  Vandermaas clearly considered him to be on the level of a prize bull or stallion, and while he might be built like one, Marina certainly didn't agree that he was an animal. This one was all man. One she wouldn't mind having sex with at all.

  The scientist picked up a clipboard and studied the report on top. "There's no evidence from his blood work that this male has ever had any of the ordinary illnesses most humans get as children. No antibodies for measles, chicken pox, mumps, rubella. Nothing. And he is clean of any sexually transmittable diseases as well." She looked up at Marina. "I think our first step will be to give him a cocktail of viruses and see how his system reacts." She glanced back down at the clipboard.

  "That could kill him!" Marina stared at Vandermaas. When had the quest for knowledge become something to be achieved at any cost?

  The other woman looked at her. "So? Mice, rats and other animals are killed every day in laboratories across the world, Marina." Genuine puzzlement darkened her eyes. She pursed her lips and gestured toward the man on the table. "He's no different."

  Now Marina knew how the other dragons had died--restrained and experimented on as if they were nothing more than lab rats. And it wasn't as if the experimentation would result in betterment for humanity. Not in her estimation, anyway.

  She couldn't--wouldn't!--stand still for this. She put one hand in the pocket of her lab coat and curled her fingers around a syringe. There was enough sedative here to knock the good doctor out cold for several minutes. Just as soon as she could, Marina would make sure Vandermaas was out for a nice, long nap.

  "He's a man," she protested.

  "No, he's not." Vandermaas turned her cold gaze on Marina. "He's a dragon. An animal. Just because he looks like a man doesn't mean he is one. Don't let his current form fool you into think
ing otherwise. As soon as you start thinking of them as human you'll find your compassion used against you." She twisted on one heel and walked over to a nearby counter, where she began filling a syringe from multiple vials.

  As she did so, Marina quietly moved in behind the doctor. Pulling out her own syringe, she slipped the plastic cap off the needle. She squirted out a bit of the liquid to make sure there were no air bubbles--she didn't want to kill the woman, just incapacitate her. But she could not let Vandermaas jeopardize this man's health by injecting him with a viral cocktail. If Marina let that happen she might as well push the plunger herself.

  "We must exterminate them before they burn us all." Vandermaas finished filling the syringe and turned toward Marina and the helpless man on the exam table.

  Saying a quick, silent prayer for strength as well as forgiveness, Marina knocked the syringe out of the doctor's hand. She spun the other woman around and clapped her hand over Vandermaas's mouth, holding her in place and stifling her yells of outrage, then jabbed her own syringe into the woman's neck and pushed the plunger home.

  The scientist struggled, but with the strong sedative moving through her system, her struggles were uncoordinated and growing ever weaker. After several seconds, she went limp. Marina eased her to the floor, then glanced at her wristwatch. She had ten minutes, at best, before Vandermaas started to regain consciousness. She had to move fast.

  "Nicely done." The deep approving voice--gruff and with some sort of accent--came from the exam table.

  Marina took a startled breath and turned around.

  Cool eyes stared at her from beneath heavy lids. The dragon was awake.

  She hurried over to him and began unfastening the restraints. "I'm so sorry about this," she muttered with a vague wave toward his body. "I had to wait for the right moment."

  "And the right moment just happened to be once I was naked?" Freed from his restraints, he sat up and pulled his underwear and jeans up to his thighs, then hopped off the table and yanked his clothing the rest of the way up. Muscles bunched and shifted in his chest and arms, drawing her gaze.

  When she realized he waited for her answer, she tried to ignore her flaming face as she stammered, "N-no. I just needed to be sure she was caught off guard." She frowned at him. She was trying to help him and there he was, grinning at her like a loon.

  "You're a feisty one. Cute, too," he said. His eyes, a pale gray-blue, warmed with merriment.

  Her frown deepened. "Now's hardly the right time to be flirting."

  "It's always the right time to flirt with a beautiful woman, milaya moya." He gave her a wink but then sobered. "But enough of that for now. I heard her call you Marina." His eyes narrowed. "Are you Marina Rodriguez?"

  How did he know her name? "Yes," she said slowly. "Why?"

  "I was sent to find you." He looked down at his ruined T-shirt and a scowl crossed his handsome features. "Chyort voz'mi. I really liked that shirt."

  "Christmas was over months ago," she pointed out. When he seemed puzzled by her remark, she repeated the phrase on the T-shirt. "'Will ho for sex'?"

  He raised his eyebrows. "You will?"

  She sighed at what she had a feeling was deliberate obtuseness on his part. With a shake of her head, she ignored his quip and went back to the subject at hand. "You were sent by whom?"

  He shot her an amused look. "Sent by whom?" he mimicked with a grin. "Very proper. I'm impressed."

  The more he talked, the more charmed Marina became by his accent. Russian, she thought. But she couldn't let herself be swayed by charm and cockiness. Of any sort. "Callate," she told him, shushing him with a frown. She crossed her arms. Dios, she hoped Vandermaas hadn't been right. Saving this dragon might have been a huge mistake, one that Marina might not survive. Keeping her voice firm, she asked, "Who are you, who sent you, and why?"

  He lifted his chin. The light shone more fully on his face, lighting his icy blue eyes. "My name is Gavril Stasio. I was sent by our Rastaban to stop a new hunter named Marina Rodriguez."

  She frowned. "Wha--?"

  Before she could do more than blink in astonishment, his fist whipped out, catching her on the jaw. As a cry of pain and shock tore from her, her head snapped back and everything went black.

  * * * *

  Gav grabbed the young woman before she could fall to the floor and lifted her into his arms. He had to move fast. Balancing Marina against his chest with one arm and a bent knee, he grabbed the ID badge from the lapel of her lab coat, then slid his arm under her knees again.

  Swiping her card in various security swipe machines, he managed to get them to a back hallway of the building. The only thing left to do was to get away from the building without getting recaptured. Or killed. Just because he was holding one of their own didn't mean they wouldn't open fire the second they saw him.

  He glanced around. Going out the back way seemed the best bet, though he knew alarms would sound the second he pressed the bar to open the door. But there was no help for it. The lobby with its ceiling three stories up would allow him to go dragon--and he'd stand a better chance of getting away then--but there were men with guns in the lobby. He knew that from the recon he had done two days ago.

  Plus, in dragon form he couldn't easily cart off his unconscious burden. He looked down at Marina. Long lashes covered eyes he recalled as the color of dark chocolate. Short black hair framed a heart-shaped face. She was a beauty, indeed. And had looked genuinely startled to be lumped in with this lot.

  She had been trying to help him. He'd been awake long enough to hear what the scientist's plans were, had been alert enough to appreciate Marina's foresight in having a sedative prepared. Of course, for all he knew, that sedative could have been meant for him. He couldn't take the chance that she was helping him to satisfy her own hidden agenda.

  He blew out a breath. It was now or never. The more he delayed, the more he chanced getting caught. He pushed open the door, wincing as the strident screech of the alarm bounced against his sensitive eardrums.

  Several minutes later he was heading away from the lab on foot, ducking tree branches as he ran through the woods, Marina slung over one shoulder. From behind him he heard the sounds of a burgeoning search effort and knew he had to get them to safety. Fast.

  It would be so much easier if he could just shift to his dragon form. But with an unconscious woman in tow who couldn't hold onto him in flight... He could carry her in his mouth, but that posed dangers as well. So unfortunately going dragon really wasn't an option at this point. But he hadn't been sure she would come with him willingly, hence the smack on the jaw.

  He frowned and glanced down at her face. He was unused to striking women unless his life was in immediate jeopardy. But he'd seen no other option. If she was innocent, he hoped she would forgive him for that little tap on the chin. If it turned out she was guilty, her forgiveness would be unnecessary.

  Chapter 2

  * * *

  As fast as he was, Gav couldn't put enough space between him and his pursuers, and out in the middle of all these fucking trees there was no place to hide. If it had been just him he'd have shimmied up a tree half an hour ago, but he didn't want to take the chance he'd drop the unconscious woman still slung over his shoulder.

  When he reached a mid-sized clearing--a former campsite from all indications--he set Marina down, taking care to ease her against the rough bark of a gnarled oak tree. He took the time to toe off his shoes, yank off his socks and shuck his pants and underwear. Focusing his energy inward, in the span of two heartbeats he went dragon.

  He'd see just see how brave these intrepid hunters actually were when faced with a full-grown ice dragon.

  He didn't have long to wait. The sun was slowly falling below the tree line as three men burst into the clearing, automatic weapons in hand. When they caught sight of him their eyes widened. Gav drew a deep breath and blasted them with razor sharp shards of ice.