The Summoning [Dragon's Lair 2] (2 page)

It was only a few thrusts, long
and powerful, but they had been so desperate for one another it didn’t require
much. Lilly’s body began to quiver, on the cusp of her orgasm. Philippe slammed
his cock into Remy’s ass again, and then they were all coming together. The hot
jets of cum that poured into his ass triggered Remy’s own release, and he
pumped into Lilly, his cum jetting deep inside her as she spasmed around him.

Breathlessly, his forehead
resting against the soft mounds of her breasts, he said, “I missed you,
cher
.”

She chuckled, sending shivers of
pleasure through all of them. “We missed you too. I think I almost wore
Philippe out.”

Philippe withdrew from Remy and
collapsed onto the chaise beside them. “She was very demanding,” he agreed. “It
definitely takes two cocks to satisfy her these days.”

Remy didn’t laugh, just leveled
a hot look at her. “Or more than two? I went shopping, darling, and bought new
toys with you in mind.”

“Umm. I can’t wait. But I need a
nap first... Are we staying here or going back home?”

Remy stood, pulling his pants up
and tucking his spent cock inside them, before zipping them up. “Philippe and I
have some business to attend to, but it should only be an hour or so. You
should head home and take a nap because, when we get back, there’ll be no sleep
for you.”

Lilly smiled and rose from the
chaise, reaching for her discarded clothing. She dressed slowly, enjoying the
way their eyes roamed over her body. Had anyone told her that she would ever be
so at ease being naked with two gorgeous men, she would never have believed
them. Now, she actually gloried in it. With a last tug to straighten her skirt,
she kissed both of them. “I expect you in one hour. Not a minute more.”

Philippe kissed her again and
swatted her behind. “Don’t get so bossy. I may have to teach you a lesson.”

She nipped his lip in response. “Oh,
I hope so.”

Remy watched her walk out,
enjoying the sway of her full hips under her flowing skirt. Lilly had always
been beautiful, but her sensual awakening had only heightened her beauty.
Putting her from his mind, Remy turned to Philippe. “We have a problem.”

“I figured. You weren’t due back
for another day.”

Remy sighed. “I received a call
from Alphonse, asking to meet with us... Which can only mean bad things.” He
watched for Philippe’s reaction, ready to restrain the other man if needed.
Philippe’s temper, especially when something he loved was threatened, could be
fierce.

“They can’t take her from us. We
marked her. Arcadian law states that she is ours.”

Remy knew that, but he also knew
that if one was willing to look, loopholes could be found in anything. “We can’t
assume anything. There’s too much at stake.”

Philippe’s jaw clenched, and his
words, when he spoke, were clipped. “I won’t give her up, and no one will take
her from us. No matter what I have to do.”

That sentiment mirrored Remy’s
own feelings. Lilly was everything to them. They both needed her. The light and
the softness that she brought to their lives was something they could no longer
live without. “Fine. We do whatever it takes.”

The conversation halted abruptly
as an older man walked into the club. There was an aura of age and wisdom about
him, though his back was straight and his shoulders still strong. He had a
shock of thick, white hair and a face that was curiously devoid of any lines. He
approached them without hesitation. When he entered the alcove, he inclined his
head in a slight bow.

Remy and Philippe returned the
greeting, but it was Remy who initiated conversation. “You called this meeting
for a reason, Alphonse. Don’t waste our time.”

The elder waved his hand
dismissively. “I’m not here to talk bullshit, Remy. It is a waste of time for
both of us... and Philippe looks like he’s ready to take my head off.”

“When the council sends an
emissary, it typically has unpleasant consequences,” Remy responded. Philippe
still stood in stony silence behind him.

“That is a true statement. But I
am not your enemy. I came here personally because I wanted to warn you. The
intrigue and backstabbing of the Arcadian council has not changed... and, though
the both of you left the clan’s compound long ago, you still have enemies
there.”

“Jacques I take it,” Remy said,
referring to another councilman who had long held a grudge against them.

“Yes. As a council member, he
cannot challenge you directly.... But his nephews can. They have petitioned the
council to annul your mating with Lilly, alleging that you stole her from them.”

“It’s ludicrous.”

“They have agreed to allow me to
speak with Lilly, to gather a statement from her and present it to the council.
No one wants to see blood shed.”

“Oh, someone does,” Philippe
intoned gravely.

“We will take you to Lilly,”
Remy said, tossing a warning look at Philippe, “and she can tell you the truth.
She’s never seen Dax or Farron. They haven’t come to New Orleans since Lilly
came into our lives.”

“I look forward to meeting her,”
Alphonse said.

Chapter Two

Lilly moved about in her
bathroom, tidying the expensive bottles on the countertop. Sometimes, it seemed
that her life was just an elaborate fantasy, something she’d made up to avoid
the drudgery that she’d lived in for so long. It wasn’t that she hadn’t loved
her mother, or that she hadn’t grieved when her mother passed away. But for the
longest time, she’d felt that her mother wasn’t even really there with her
anymore, just a shell of the woman she’d been before. Lilly had been only eighteen
when her parents had been in that accident. Coming to New Orleans after her
mother’s death had been the best decision she’d ever made. The city had
revitalized her, had allowed her to discover herself, and, in doing so, had led
her to Remy and Philippe.

Reaching for the satin robe
hanging on the back of her door, she slipped it on and tied the sash. With one
last glance at her feminine retreat, she stepped out of the room with a smile
on her face. She slept with both Remy and Philippe nightly, but she’d drawn the
line at sharing a bathroom with them. They were magical dragon shifters, but
they were still male and, therefore, had no ability to aim. Some things were
apparently universal, she thought, as she moved down the hallway toward their
room.

Opening the door to the large
walk-in closet that they had filled for her, she surveyed the racks of clothes
and lingerie. Both of them were generous to her, to a fault. Bypassing those
items, she zeroed in on a small package in the back. She’d purchased it weeks
ago and had been waiting for the perfect opportunity to wear the new corset and
boots she’d purchased at a specialty store in the Quarter. Lifting the heavy
silk with its deceptively delicate embroidery, Lilly ran her fingers over the
dragon created from intertwined black and gold thread on a deep crimson
background. When she’d seen it, she’d been unable to think of anything but
them. That was how she’d known it would be perfect.

The sound of soft footfalls on
the stairs alerted her. She knew instantly that it wasn’t either Remy or
Philippe. There was something furtive sneaking in those quiet steps that told
her trouble was afoot. Stepping farther into the closet, she eased the door
closed behind her and moved to the back, concealing herself behind the
clothing.

It seemed only seconds had
passed when the closet door opened. Light arrowed into the smaller space. She
held her breath. A cold sweat broke over her skin. Her fists were clenched at
her sides. It was more to hide their trembling than for defense.

“I know you’re here,” the man
said, his voice low and seductive, the accent mirroring Remy’s and Philippe’s. “I
can smell you,
cher
.”

He was a dragon shifter. Lilly
wanted to curse, to scream or cry, but knew that none of it would do any good.

“We aren’t going to hurt you,
darling. But you have to come with us,” another man said coaxingly as he too
entered the small room. “You come with us now, and Remy and Philippe will
follow. That’s what we want, love. Be a good girl.”

She held perfectly still, her
lungs aching as she controlled her breath. She had no intention of giving them
anything they wanted.

The first man spoke again, his
voice clipped and impatient. “He shouldn’t have said we won’t hurt you. I will
hurt you, but I don’t want to. Come out, make this easy for us, and we’ll make
it easy for you. Fight us, and you’ll regret it.”

Lilly felt as if he was looking
directly at her. She hadn’t moved, hadn’t made a sound, but she felt in that
moment as if he were only toying with her and had known all along where she
was.

“Come out,” he commanded.

She was helpless to resist him.
There was a compulsion in his voice that she couldn’t seem to disobey. Parting
the hanging clothes, she moved forward to them. The larger of the two immediately
grasped her wrists, while the other man with the hypnotic voice prepared a
syringe. “It will make you sleep. We can’t have you drawing undue attention to
us.”

“What do you want with Remy and
Philippe?” she demanded.

He smiled. “We want them dead.
But murder is forbidden amongst our kind... we would lose everything. The only
way to see them dead is through challenge.”

The man holding her breathed
hotly against her ear. “And you are the perfect challenge. They will fight to
have you returned to them, and having seen you, and smelled your sweetness, we
will fight just as hard to keep you.”

“I’d rather die,” she said.

The first man laughed. “How
remiss they have been in your education! Did your mates not tell you that if
you die, they will die as well? We have more honor than they do, or I would
simply slit your throat right here. I offer them the choice to at least meet us
on the field. It is more than they offered our brothers.”

Lilly flinched as he stabbed the
needle into her neck. There was a rush of burning heat, and then the world
simply went black.

* * * * *

Entering the house, Remy knew
instantly that something was wrong. Turning on Alphonse, Remy grabbed the older
man by his lapels and shoved him against the wall. “Were you the distraction
then? Sent here to keep us out of the house long enough for her to be taken?”

Alphonse held his hands up in a
calming manner. “Of course not. Dax and Farron were forbidden to come here, but
I should have guessed they would not follow the council’s orders. They will not
hurt her.”

“You’re so certain of that!”
Remy said, his voice harsh with anger and fear. “If they kill her, we die as
well, and then there is no one to save her.”

“A fact that Dax and Farron know
well,” Philippe added.

Remy could easily recognize the
barely restrained fury that coiled inside Philippe. He could sense the
overwhelming desire that Philippe felt to hit something, perhaps because that
desire mirrored his own. He turned back to Alphonse, praying the man wouldn’t
say or do anything to make an already tenuous situation even worse.

Alphonse continued calmly, “If
that happened, the council would be forced to exile Dax and Farron, and they do
not want that to happen. They are only trying to force your hands. We will go
to the compound immediately.”

“You’re damned right we will,”
Philippe all but shouted. “If they touch her, if they harm her in any way,
there is nothing to save them... not the council, not you. I don’t just mean
Dax and Farron.”

Alphonse nodded. “I understand.
Jacques’ continued feud with you and his place on the council have made matters
complicated. I do not doubt that this has all been initiated by his hatred of
you both. I will do everything in my power to be certain that Lilly remains
safe while at the compound.”

Remy managed to reign in his
anger enough to recognize the concession that Alphonse had just made for them. “Thank
you, Alphonse.”

The older man shrugged the
gratitude away. “Jacques and his pettiness have pushed so many of our kind away.
They leave the clan and never return. We must make changes if our culture is to
survive. I will wait for you in the car. Gather what you need, and we will use
the private jet to return to the compound.”

When he left, Philippe asked the
question that hung heavily between them. “Can we trust him?”

Remy shrugged. “We have no
choice. He is the only ally we have.”

* * * * *

Lilly awoke to strange
surroundings and an aching head. Memories flooded her, of Remy and Philippe, of
the two strange men who had entered their home and abducted her. Sitting up in
the large bed that she occupied alone, she surveyed the room carefully. There
were no windows and only one door. The entire room seemed to be comprised of
rough-hewn stone and heavy tapestries, and a thick rug helped to trap the
warmth of the fire burning in the hearth. It was as if she’d stepped back in
time. Fear hit her then. Had she? Remy and Philippe had never really shown her
the extent of what dragon magic could do.

The door opened, and a young
woman entered. The door closed behind her, and the lock clicked in place from
the outside. After depositing a bundle of clothing on the edge of the bed, she
moved deeper into the room and pushed aside one of the tapestries to reveal a
bathroom beyond. While the main chamber was rustic, the bathroom was not. It
had every modern convenience. The girl kept her head down, and everything about
her seemed to indicate that she was beyond shy and, in a strange way, reminded
Lilly of herself before she’d met Remy and Philippe.

“Where am I?” Lilly demanded.
She wasn’t going to be drawn in by the wiles of a woman who appeared to be her
captor.