Reawakening the Dragon Read online

  But Jane was getting ahead of herself. She continued tapping her fingers until Sid stepped back and nodded. “Provided you follow my instructions to the letter, you can probably go home in the next hour or so.” Sid looked to her. “I was told you are going to look after him.”

  “What?” Kai demanded.

  Ignoring him, Jane nodded. “Bram said it was part of my duties whilst I stayed here.”

  Sid eyed her for a second before reaching into the pocket of her white coat and taking out a folded piece of paper. Offering it to her, Jane took it as the doctor said, “Dragon-shifters are a little different than humans. Since we heal faster, the first twenty-four hours are the most important when it comes to treating infection or other complications. If we don’t catch them early, it could have a devastating effect on a dragon-shifter’s ability to shift properly.” Nodding toward the paper, Sid added, “Keep an eye out for everything on that list. I wrote my own personal mobile number at the bottom. Call me if you spot anything.”

  Kai chimed in, “Do I get a say in this at all, Sid? I’m more than capable of looking after myself. I’ve done it before.”

  Sid moved her brown-eyed gaze back to Kai. “Yes, but never when the dragon hunters were within your grasp. If you want out of this surgery, then you’ll allow Jane to look after you. Otherwise, I’ll have Ginny do it.”

  At Kai’s sigh, Jane had a feeling this Ginny wasn’t someone you wanted looking after you.

  Kai finally answered, “Fine. Anyone is better than Ginny.”

  “Gee, thanks,” Jane murmured.

  Sid looked at her and the corner of her mouth ticked up. “Don’t take it personally. All dragon-shifter males turn into big babies when they’re injured. Ginny is one of the few who won’t turn sympathetic and disregard my orders. She handles all of my most alpha patients.”

  Jane waved the folded piece of paper. “I’ll make sure to follow the instructions. Even if Kai bats his eyelashes and gives me puppy dog eyes, I won’t deviate.”

  Sid stuck her hands inside the pockets of her lab coat. “Good. If you do that and need another task whilst you’re on Stonefire, you can help me here in the surgery. I need all the alpha females I can get.”

  Kai muttered, “More alpha females in the surgery are the last thing we need.”

  Sid looked down her nose at Kai, and Jane wanted to fidget from the doctor’s intense look. “Say that again, Kai. Ginny is on duty and can care for you straight away.”

  Jane blinked as Kai sulked, actually sulked, but before Jane could reply, there was a knock on the door.

  Bram walked inside the room and moved to the foot of Kai’s bed. “You’re alive, I see.” Bram looked to Sid. “How long will he be out of commission?”

  Sid answered, “If he follows my instructions, he should be able to shift again in five or six days. If he doesn’t, then I have no bloody idea how long he’ll be out.”

  The corner of Bram’s mouth ticked up as he glanced to Jane. “With Jane looking after him, it should be fine. You won’t let him boss you around, will you, lass?”

  Jane noticed the change of Stonefire’s leader calling her ‘Ms. Hartley’ to ‘Jane,’ but she tried not to read too much into it. “He hasn’t been able to do it so far.”

  Kai jumped in. “I may not be able to shift, but I can still work intelligence and give orders. The Carlisle bastards are within our reach, Bram. We shouldn’t pass up this chance.”

  “Aye, I know. But you’ll hear the rest tomorrow, provided you’ve rested and done as Sid instructed, and don’t kill Jane in the process.”

  Kai frowned. “A day is a long time when your enemy might know you’re on to them.”

  Bram crossed his arms over his chest. “I have plans in motion. I’ll know the full details tomorrow. Until then, rest, Kai. We need you in full health as soon as possible. Even if the hunters and the people of Newcastle saw a dragon today, there’s still time to take them down. After all, it takes a while to move a group as large as the Carlisle hunters, especially with all the kit they have.”

  When Kai gave a slight nod, Jane bit her lip to keep from smiling. Her dragonman really didn’t like being out of commission. She almost pitied any nurse who had cared for him after a more serious injury.

  Once Rafe arrived, Kai might return to his own growly self. She had a feeling her dragonman didn’t act this way in front of strangers.

  She blinked and tried not to read too much into it. She and Kai may have technically known each other for months, but she’d only had a real conversation with him the day before. By definition, she should be deemed a stranger.

  Pushing the thought aside, Jane turned to Bram. “Is there anything else you want to tell him? Otherwise, I’d like Sid and her staff to prep him for discharge. It’s been a long day and I’m sure Kai needs his rest.”

  Amusement danced in Bram’s eyes. “Playing the role already, I see. I may soon lose a bet to Evie.”

  “A bet?” Jane echoed.

  Bram waved a hand. “Forget I mentioned it.” He turned toward Kai. “I know you hate being kept in the dark, but there are a lot of uncertainties at the moment and you don’t need the stress. Concentrate on healing properly. I need my head Protector at my side as soon as possible.”

  “I’ll be well in two days, if I can manage it.”

  Sid rolled her eyes. “I’ll be the judge of that.” She made a shooing motion with her hands. “Everyone leave so I can have my people bring in the necessary medication and supplies. The sooner Kai is out of my hair and in Jane’s hands, the better.”

  For some reason, it seemed like everyone was in on a secret that Jane had no idea about.

  Given she was still the outsider, she decided to wait for the right time to ask for an explanation.

  Bram motioned toward the door and Jane followed. She half expected Bram to interrogate her about her brother, but all he did was smile and say, “Take care of Kai. I’m not sure what the clan would do without him.”

  “Of course.” Bram’s smile gave her the encouragement she needed to ask, “What’s the bet you keep talking about?”

  Bram grinned. “I’m sure you’ll figure it out by yourself soon enough.”

  With a wave, Bram left.

  Jane stood in the empty hall and released a long breath. Dealing with dragon-shifters was exhausting. She wasn’t sure how the other human women managed it twenty-four-seven.

  Depending on how long it took to take care of the Dragon Knights and ensure her safety, Jane might seek out their advice sooner rather than later.

  To distract her from thinking about her future, Jane opened Sid’s list of instructions and went to work memorizing them. Knowing Kai as she did, he might try to swipe the instructions, burn them, and then dictate his own. Jane wanted to be prepared.

  Chapter Eight

  While Kai had talked his way out of being pushed out of the surgery in a wheelchair, he’d been forced to wear the sling. The strap itched against his skin, but as he moved to scratch it, Ginny cleared her throat. “Stop it. You’re the one who wanted to go bare-chested.”

  “Can I go now?”

  The brown-and-grey haired nurse scrutinized him for three long seconds before moving to the door. “Let’s find Jane.”

  His dragon was free inside his mind and spoke up. Good. It will be nice to have Jane take care of us.

  Don’t get any ideas, dragon. I’m only doing this so I can leave the bloody surgery.

  He followed Ginny into the hallway and spotted Jane sitting on a bench with her eyes closed. The strange part was the human was moving her lips without making any sound.

  At their approach, her eyes opened and she stood. “Is he ready to go?”

  “The ‘he’ in question is standing right here.”

  Jane raised her brows. “You’re not the one who has to sign off on you leaving.”

  Ginny patted Jane on the shoulder. “You’ll do, Ms. Hartley. Kai is a sneaky one. I should know since I’ve been taking care of his
scrapes and bruises since he was a boy.”

  Kai was about to grunt, but remembered it irritated his arm. “I’m supposed to go home and rest. You’ll have to save your embarrassing stories for later.”

  Ginny stared at him with her dark brown eyes and Kai tried not to fidget like he’d done as a teenager. “I never said they would be embarrassing, but now that you mention it, I do have plenty of those.” She winked at Jane. “I can share them later.”

  Kai gritted his teeth. “I’ve done what you asked, Ginny. Just let me go.”

  Ginny signed the clipboard in her hand with a flourish. “Go, you troublemaker, and try not to scare Jane away. I like her.”

  “You only just met her.” Ginny gave her trademark stare, filled with disapproval and exasperation, and Kai did grunt. The pain was worth it. He looked to Jane. “Let’s go, Jane. You look tired and I don’t like it.”

  Jane’s eyes moved to his bare torso and Kai’s dragon took notice. It’s too bad we’re injured. Now we can’t fuck our human for a few days.

  I’m surprised you actually acknowledge that.

  His beast growled. If we aren’t careful, we might never shift into a dragon again. If that happens, we both might go insane.

  It was true. If a dragon-shifter lost the ability to shift forever, sometimes the dragonman or woman would lose their mind. Others, like Sid, had learned to adapt through sheer stubbornness.

  Cassidy “Sid” Jackson may not be a Protector or clan leader, but she was one of the strongest dragon-shifters he knew.

  Jane’s voice interrupted his thoughts. “Your compliance worries me, but I’m going to take advantage of it. If you’re sure you won’t freeze to death in the cool October air, then let’s go.”

  “I’ve been naked in freezing temperatures. I think I can survive a ten-minute walk.”

  “Fine, then lead the way.”

  “I never expected to hear you say that.”

  Jane rolled her eyes. “I’ve never been to your place, or I would take the lead.”

  He nearly smiled. “That sounds more like you.”

  When all Jane did was glare at him, the corner of Kai’s mouth ticked up. For some reason, irritating Jane was fun.

  His dragon chuckled. Yes, and we have a few days to enjoy it. By the end of it, you won’t want to push her away.

  His beast’s words were like cold water tossed over his head. Thanks for reminding me I need to keep my distance.

  As his dragon growled, Kai walked out the front of the surgery without a backward glance.

  ~~~

  If Kai wasn’t injured, Jane would’ve punched the bloody dragonman.

  His half-smile had stunned her for a second, but then he’d gone back to his arsehole self, ruining the moment. It didn’t help that she could do nothing but follow his lead.

  Another item to add to her list was to learn Stonefire’s layout. Then she wouldn’t be so dependent on everyone else to get around.

  She tossed on her cardigan as she tried to catch up to Kai’s back. Maybe dragon-shifters gave off extra body heat. That was the only way Kai wasn’t freezing to death. Autumn in Northern England was rainy, cold, and often windy.

  As the breeze blew, Jane fisted her fingers and tried not to shiver in the light cardigan she’d borrowed. Picking up her pace, she hoped the exercise would keep her warm. Sure, she’d rather lean against Kai’s side and absorb his heat, but she wasn’t about to ask him to do that.

  Kissing her whilst away from his clan was one thing, but kissing Kai or leaning against his bare chest in full-sight of anyone on Stonefire was quite another.

  Not that she was going to think about their shared kiss. That would distract her from what was more important for both the clan and her future career.

  For one, Jane needed to prove herself to Bram. Especially since she had ideas she wanted to propose to the clan leader once the dragon hunters were taken care of.

  To distract herself, Jane ran through story ideas and in less than ten minutes, they reached a two-story cottage. It was similar to the rest in that it was made of stone and looked to be a few hundred years old, but there was one major difference—the cottage had bars over the windows and an extra-solid-looking door. Before she could stop herself, Jane asked, “Just how many enemies do you have? No one else has bars on their windows.”

  As Kai unlocked the front door, he glanced down at her. “The bars were installed a little over ten years ago to keep me inside.”

  She frowned. “What the bloody hell are you talking about?”

  She half-expected for him to grunt and remain silent, but he murmured, “Not out here.”

  Kai disappeared into his cottage and Jane followed. Shutting the door behind her, Jane turned toward Kai. “Well?”

  “There’s not much to tell. I was having a difficult time controlling my dragon. I’ve since moved past it.”

  “Then why keep the bars on?”

  “Just in case.”

  Jane sighed. “It’s as if you give me just enough to answer the question and pique my curiosity, but no more. If you don’t give me more information, I’m going to keep coming up with theories until it drives me crazy.”

  Kai studied her a second before his pupils flashed to slits. A few seconds later, they were round again. She opened her mouth to ask about his dragon, but Kai beat her to it. “I’ll explain a bit more provided you promise not to ask any more questions.”

  “Are we back to you dictating orders again? If you remember, I’m the one in charge of you.”

  “Only Bram is in charge of me.”

  “Well, he put me in charge of you, so you need to listen to me.”

  Kai looked unimpressed. “You can try.”

  Jane growled in frustration. “What happened to you? Right before the men in the alley and you being shot, you were telling me you wanted me. I thought we’d made some progress.”

  Kai clenched his jaw and then said, “I wasn’t thinking properly. I would’ve kissed any attractive female who threw herself at me.”

  His words were like a slap in the face. “You’re a real charmer, you know that.”

  “I never said I was charming. I never should’ve kissed you, let alone propose anything more. We should both forget about it.”

  Jane kept her mouth shut. She wanted answers from the dragonman, but she could bide her time. After all, Kai was stuck with her for the next few days, at least.

  If Kai was going to be brusque and dismissive, then she’d just have to steer the situation back toward her favor.

  Jane turned and walked into the living room and then the kitchen. As expected, Kai followed her and demanded, “This is my bloody house. If you want a tour, you should ask first.”

  “Oh, and if I had asked, you would’ve given one with a smile? I’m too tired to argue. I figured it was easier to show myself around.”

  His eyes flashed again and then Kai placed the hand of his good arm on her lower back. Despite his recent arseholery, heat flared at his touch.

  Damn the dragonman.

  Kai pressed gently on her back. “You need to sleep. I’ll show you around afterwards.”

  She looked up at him. The concern in his eyes confused her. “Why do you care if I sleep? I would expect you want me to fall asleep on the job so you can slip away.”

  Kai frowned. “It’s not me, but my dragon. He doesn’t like you looking tired.”

  “What is that supposed to mean?”

  He applied more pressure to her lower back. “I thought you were a journalist. You should know how our dragons work.”

  “Yes, because you lot are so chatty about your inner dragons.”

  The corner of Kai’s mouth ticked up. “Believe me, not hearing my dragon’s voice is for the best.”

  “I somehow doubt that.”

  Kai leaned closer to her. “If it takes telling you a bit about my dragon to get you to go to sleep, then I’ll do it. But only after you’ve taken a nap.”

  She searched his eyes for
any sort of deceit, but there was none. “Is there some sort of dragon-shifter vow you can make so I know you’ll keep your word?”

  Kai’s voice was low when he replied, “I promise to talk a little about my dragon.” He leaned another inch closer. “And when I promise, I always see it through.”

  There was truth in his tone, but she needed something else from him. “I will take a nap if you also promise to stay put. I don’t want to worry about you sneaking off. Bram gave me a job and I plan to do it properly.”

  “I promise I won’t sneak off whilst you’re asleep.”

  She scrutinized his face. “You just don’t want to face Ginny.”

  Kai grinned and she sucked in a breath. His smile lit up his whole face. “You’ve got me there.”

  She battled a smile and lost. “Thanks for that. I now have something I can use to keep you in line.”

  Kai opened his mouth and promptly shut it. She wondered what he had wanted to say.

  Still, as much fun as it was to tease Kai Sutherland, it was getting difficult to stand and concentrate. The sooner she rested, the better.

  Jane nodded toward the kitchen door. “Take me to my room.” Looking back to his face, she added, “And wake me up in two hours. I need to check your dressing and inspect your wound for infection.”

  Pressing against her back, Kai guided her out of the kitchen. “I can do better than promises. There’s an alarm clock in the spare bedroom.”

  Jane studied Kai. “You’re going to take a nap, too, aren’t you?”

  “I’m not daft. The more I sleep, the quicker I’ll heal.”

  “Then just be prepared for when I wake you up to check your wound. Even if I have to dump a pitcher of ice water over you, I’ll do it.”

  “Duly noted. Now, follow me.”

  Kai ascended the stairs and it took everything she had to make her legs climb them. For once in her life, she was tempted to ask a man to carry her.

  Somehow she resisted and reached the top landing. Kai turned right and stopped at the second door. Turning the knob, he motioned inside.

  Jane walked past him and entered a sparsely furnished room. There was a bed, a nightstand, a clock, and a closet. The paint was white and the walls lacked any decorations. She would hazard a guess that Kai didn’t have many visitors or overnight guests.