You Slay Me
Page 41
Drake gave another command, and the car came to a halt. Over the hedge I could see the gazebo as smoke bil-lowed out its top. Several people stood around the burn-ing building, one man hauling a garden hose over to it, others just standing helplessly. Pink Lips was there, clinging to the arm of one of the plainclothesmen.
"Did you do that?" Drake asked quietly, watching as the flames licked up the side of the building.
"No! It was Jim!"
"Me?" Jim gasped. "I did nothing of the sort."
Drake looked at me, his eyes almost black. "You or-dered your demon to set fire to the Venediger's body?"
"It wasn't like that—it was an accident. I was think-ing about your fire, and … and … I guess it got out of control."
Drake snapped an order, and the car backed into an-other driveway, turning around to leave the way we came. His lips pursed, Drake looked at me as if he was trying to figure me out. I lifted my chin, painfully aware that my arm was bleeding, my eyes were burning, and there were bits of broken branches in my hair. "If I get your passport back, will you leave?"
"What?"I stopped wiping at a trickle of blood run-ning down my upper arm to stare at him.
"If I get you your passport, will you leave the coun-try?" Drake pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and gently wiped my arm where blood was beading up in a couple of spots.
"How can you get my passport back?"
He shot me a quelling look. "I am the wyvern of the green dragons. It wouldn't be that hard."
"Oh. Yeah. I forgot about that whole thief thing for a moment."
"I believe it would be best for all if you were out of the country," he said, turning his attention to the scratches on my other arm. His touch was tentative and careful, as if he were handling an object of great value. "If you prom-ise to leave Paris, I will bring your passport to you."
I had to think about his offer for a minute. If all I truly wanted was to go back home, it might tempt me, but now there were other things to think about, things like honor and my pride and … Oh, who am I trying to fool? Drake was one of the things, too, although I still didn't know exactly what I wanted to do about him. "No. I wouldn't go home if you gave me my passport, not so long as Mme. Deauxville's murder is unsolved, and now the Venediger… Hey! How did you know he was dead? How did you
know I found him? How did you know I was even there? OHMIGOD, you killed him, didn't you?"
"Kill him?" Drake snorted, tucking the bloody hand-kerchief back into his pocket. "Why would I kill him? I was working for him. With him dead, 1 won't get paid."
I don't know why, but Drake's admission was the very last thing I was expecting to hear. "Youworked for him? You, a wyvern? What had he hired you to do?"
"I don't believe that's pertinent." Suddenly his eyes narrowed as he turned fully to face me. "Why do you smell of gold?"
My mouth hung open a moment as I stared at him. "You can smell gold, really smell it?"
"Yes." He leaned toward me, sniffing the air around me, his face coming to a halt in front of my bosom. "You have gold. Let me see it."
I clasped both hands to my breasts. I had tucked the jade dragon inside my blouse so it nestled between my breasts, a warm glow that radiated pleasure. There was also the gold-limned stone, the one I thought might be brother to the other two pieces Drake held, but it had slipped down underneath one of my breasts. "If I show you, you'll just steal it from me."
"Possibly. But I'll steal it for certain if you don't show me."
I gave him my very best fulminating glare. "Well at least you're honest about your dishonesty." With an an-noyed grimace I tugged on the chain until the jade dragon popped up. I held it up so he could see the gold bits on it. "It's a talisman, and you can't have it. It was given to me."
Drake's nose twitched as he carefully eyed the dragon. "Jade?"
"Yes. It'smine."
"Hmm." He peered closely at it. "Eighteen-carat gold, approximately two hundred years old. Chinese in origin, judging by the style of the head—the Chinese always in-sisted on giving us those silly fringy bits on top. Not ter-ribly valuable. Very well, you may keep it," he said, sitting back against the seat.
"How very generous that is of you," I said acidly, tucking it away under my tunic, secretly pleased that he hadn't sussed the fact that I had another bit of gold tucked in my bosomage.
"I thought it was," he said placidly. "What were you doing at the Venediger's?"
"Ironically enough, I was just going to ask you that very same thing, along with half a dozen other questions, beginning with why you have snatched me off the street when I was making a perfectly acceptable getaway, and ending with why you were lurking outside around the Venediger's gazebo if you didn't kill him."
Drake waved the questions away. "The answers to your questions aren't important. Why did you go to see the Venediger? Did you not know he had placed a bounty on your head?"
I reached over and pinched the skin on the back of his hand. Hard. "I see you are confused about how this game is played. Conversation consists of give and take—"
He twisted in the seat and grabbed me around my waist, hauling me up to his chest.
"Oh, goody," Jim said from where it was lying on the floor. "I get to see another show. I just love it when he gets all manly with you. You think maybe he's going to rip your bodice or something?"
"Jim, I order you to be quiet," I said.
"Shut up," Drake told Jim at the same time, his eyes burning into mine. "Now, would you like to discuss the rules of the game?"
"Stop doing that," I protested, my bones melting under the look of wanton desire he was sending me.
His fingers trailed across the back of my neck, causing wave after wave of pleasure to ripple down my spine. His head tipped toward mine, his lips just a hairbreadth away. My back arched, forcing my breasts to rub against his chest, his breath hot on my mouth. I parted my lips, un-able to resist the lure of his mouth for another second—
"Damn," he swore, pushing me back onto the seat.
"What?" My body, so close to going up in his flames, protested the rejection.
Drake rubbed his nose. "It's that gold you're wearing. It's distracting me. Take it off."
"Did you do that?" Drake asked quietly, watching as the flames licked up the side of the building.
"No! It was Jim!"
"Me?" Jim gasped. "I did nothing of the sort."
Drake looked at me, his eyes almost black. "You or-dered your demon to set fire to the Venediger's body?"
"It wasn't like that—it was an accident. I was think-ing about your fire, and … and … I guess it got out of control."
Drake snapped an order, and the car backed into an-other driveway, turning around to leave the way we came. His lips pursed, Drake looked at me as if he was trying to figure me out. I lifted my chin, painfully aware that my arm was bleeding, my eyes were burning, and there were bits of broken branches in my hair. "If I get your passport back, will you leave?"
"What?"I stopped wiping at a trickle of blood run-ning down my upper arm to stare at him.
"If I get you your passport, will you leave the coun-try?" Drake pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and gently wiped my arm where blood was beading up in a couple of spots.
"How can you get my passport back?"
He shot me a quelling look. "I am the wyvern of the green dragons. It wouldn't be that hard."
"Oh. Yeah. I forgot about that whole thief thing for a moment."
"I believe it would be best for all if you were out of the country," he said, turning his attention to the scratches on my other arm. His touch was tentative and careful, as if he were handling an object of great value. "If you prom-ise to leave Paris, I will bring your passport to you."
I had to think about his offer for a minute. If all I truly wanted was to go back home, it might tempt me, but now there were other things to think about, things like honor and my pride and … Oh, who am I trying to fool? Drake was one of the things, too, although I still didn't know exactly what I wanted to do about him. "No. I wouldn't go home if you gave me my passport, not so long as Mme. Deauxville's murder is unsolved, and now the Venediger… Hey! How did you know he was dead? How did you
know I found him? How did you know I was even there? OHMIGOD, you killed him, didn't you?"
"Kill him?" Drake snorted, tucking the bloody hand-kerchief back into his pocket. "Why would I kill him? I was working for him. With him dead, 1 won't get paid."
I don't know why, but Drake's admission was the very last thing I was expecting to hear. "Youworked for him? You, a wyvern? What had he hired you to do?"
"I don't believe that's pertinent." Suddenly his eyes narrowed as he turned fully to face me. "Why do you smell of gold?"
My mouth hung open a moment as I stared at him. "You can smell gold, really smell it?"
"Yes." He leaned toward me, sniffing the air around me, his face coming to a halt in front of my bosom. "You have gold. Let me see it."
I clasped both hands to my breasts. I had tucked the jade dragon inside my blouse so it nestled between my breasts, a warm glow that radiated pleasure. There was also the gold-limned stone, the one I thought might be brother to the other two pieces Drake held, but it had slipped down underneath one of my breasts. "If I show you, you'll just steal it from me."
"Possibly. But I'll steal it for certain if you don't show me."
I gave him my very best fulminating glare. "Well at least you're honest about your dishonesty." With an an-noyed grimace I tugged on the chain until the jade dragon popped up. I held it up so he could see the gold bits on it. "It's a talisman, and you can't have it. It was given to me."
Drake's nose twitched as he carefully eyed the dragon. "Jade?"
"Yes. It'smine."
"Hmm." He peered closely at it. "Eighteen-carat gold, approximately two hundred years old. Chinese in origin, judging by the style of the head—the Chinese always in-sisted on giving us those silly fringy bits on top. Not ter-ribly valuable. Very well, you may keep it," he said, sitting back against the seat.
"How very generous that is of you," I said acidly, tucking it away under my tunic, secretly pleased that he hadn't sussed the fact that I had another bit of gold tucked in my bosomage.
"I thought it was," he said placidly. "What were you doing at the Venediger's?"
"Ironically enough, I was just going to ask you that very same thing, along with half a dozen other questions, beginning with why you have snatched me off the street when I was making a perfectly acceptable getaway, and ending with why you were lurking outside around the Venediger's gazebo if you didn't kill him."
Drake waved the questions away. "The answers to your questions aren't important. Why did you go to see the Venediger? Did you not know he had placed a bounty on your head?"
I reached over and pinched the skin on the back of his hand. Hard. "I see you are confused about how this game is played. Conversation consists of give and take—"
He twisted in the seat and grabbed me around my waist, hauling me up to his chest.
"Oh, goody," Jim said from where it was lying on the floor. "I get to see another show. I just love it when he gets all manly with you. You think maybe he's going to rip your bodice or something?"
"Jim, I order you to be quiet," I said.
"Shut up," Drake told Jim at the same time, his eyes burning into mine. "Now, would you like to discuss the rules of the game?"
"Stop doing that," I protested, my bones melting under the look of wanton desire he was sending me.
His fingers trailed across the back of my neck, causing wave after wave of pleasure to ripple down my spine. His head tipped toward mine, his lips just a hairbreadth away. My back arched, forcing my breasts to rub against his chest, his breath hot on my mouth. I parted my lips, un-able to resist the lure of his mouth for another second—
"Damn," he swore, pushing me back onto the seat.
"What?" My body, so close to going up in his flames, protested the rejection.
Drake rubbed his nose. "It's that gold you're wearing. It's distracting me. Take it off."
