Michael rubbed his eyes and looked at the two women watching him. Carissa looked just as good now as she had the first time he saw her. Desire shot through him, pushing blood south. Oh God, he was naked! Grabbing one of the pillows he had been hiding in, he shoved it in his lap, hoping the two women hadn’t noticed the change in his body. He looked at them. Carissa was studying his jacket just to his left, and the taller brunette Carissa had introduced as Matilda had a slight blush to her cheeks and was looking up towards the corner to his right.
Great; they had seen his reaction. So much for dignity. “So.” Michael cleared his throat, trying to break the tension filling the room.
“Yes.” Carissa turned away from him, heading towards what looked to be a bathroom. “Can I get you anything? Water? A towel?” She glanced back at the throw pillow he had pulled over his lap.
“Answers,” he threw out.
Carissa stopped and looked at him. “Yes,” she turned away again, “I suppose we all want those.” She disappeared into the bathroom.
For a long moment, he sat in silence as Tilly studied him. He felt like a bug under a glass. “Hi.” He smiled at her.
She gave him a mischievous smile back.
Oh, goodie!
“I’m sorry.” Carissa came back out. She had stripped out of the rumpled ball gown and pulled on a black-silk robe. Without really looking at Michael, she held a large towel out towards him.
He grabbed her wrist before she could drop the towel and pull away again. “Carissa.” Some reptilian part of his brain screamed Mine! as little bolts of electricity tingled up his arm from where he touched her, inflaming his issues to proportions that the little throw pillow was having trouble concealing. Maybe it was just those dragon pheromones still working on his brain. But—he had turned into a dragon, so they shouldn’t be messing with his head anymore. Or should they be working harder on him? And how, exactly, had he become a dragon?
Shaking away the questions bouncing around in his head, he caught her eyes with his. “I didn’t do it.” His words were soft, but he tried to make her understand. If he could just convince her to hear him out, he could explain part of what Daniel has said. He would need to get the dossier he had put together for the rest.
Carissa studied his eyes for a moment before nodding her head.
At least she would listen to him. Michael released her hand, and she dropped the towel into his lap. He quickly swapped the towel for the inadequately small pillow. Now that his ass wasn’t literally hanging out anymore, he might be able to cover it figuratively.
“It’s true that I volunteered to investigate the missing people,” Michael explained as he jumped up from the bed. He tucked the towel tightly around his waist and followed Carissa over to a walk-in closet as he talked. “And I did make trips to see several of the dragons that have gone missing, but it was part of my job. There’s a group of us that run the solitary dragons list regularly. We keep them up to date on world activities, so they don’t withdraw completely.” It was dangerous to let those lone dragons go. They could easily lose touch with reality and go out rampaging.
“I did go back for coffee. Jareth asked me to…” Michael’s mind caught on a fact he hadn’t seen before. “Jareth.” He repeated the name, turning over what he had heard and what he could remember of his file. No, it couldn’t be. Tucking that though away, he saved it for later inspection. He needed more data. “Jareth asked me to bring him back a cup of coffee, but I ran into the men our investigation was pointing towards. I don’t exactly remember what happened, but I ended up chained in that dungeon. I had nothing to do with your abduction. I swear.”
Carissa shoved clothing around in her closet, looking for something to wear. “So how did you end up on video carrying me out of Baron Estivis’ ball?”
Michael ran his hand through his hair and leaned back against the doorjamb, thinking. He thunked his head against the solid wood, trying to come up with an answer. “I don’t know,” he finally admitted. Nothing that came to mind sounded plausible. “I could venture a thousand guesses, but without seeing the tape, that’s all they would be. Guesses.”
Carissa studied him for a minute. “You had nothing to do with it?” She walked over and stood unbearably close to him.
Michael squeezed his hand into the knot on his towel in an effort not to reach out to touch her. “I swear,” he said solemnly.
Carissa drew in a deep breath and studied him carefully. Slowly, she let the air out and stepped back from him. “I believe you.” She nodded and turned back to her clothing. “The question now is how to get my brother and Daniel to believe you.” Her fingers brushed over the hangers absently as she thought.
Michael pulled his eyes away from her and looked up at the ceiling. “I might have an answer to that.” He tipped his head over to look at her.
Carissa gave him an intrigued look.
“My mission file should have enough evidence in it to prove I didn’t do it.”
“But Jareth already turned in the file,” Carissa pointed out. Daniel had said as much.
Michael shook his head. “True.” He sighed. “But, it sounds like part of the file was missing. Yes, it showed all the information Daniel claimed, but I also had mission assignments and expense reports from those suspicious trips—proof that I had a reason to be there. If those pieces were missing, what else was left out?”
Michael ran his hand through his hair again. “It’s going to be convincing them that I didn’t kidnap you that will be the most trouble. If I could just get a look at that tape…” Michael let out a defeated sigh. Shit! Carissa’s hand on his shoulder drew Michael from his study of the ceiling. God, her touch felt good on his skin.
“Let’s get your file, first; then we’ll worry about convincing Daniel.”
The warmth in Carissa’s amber eyes melted his resolve, and he swung his arms around to pull her against him. Praise all that was holy, she believed him! His lips met hers with a passion he couldn’t control. That corner of his mind that screamed Mine! pushed him to claim her properly. Michael slid his hand down to her backside and pulled her up against him as he explored every inch of her mouth. So perfect.
Michael tugged at the belt holding the dark silk closed. Was she wearing anything under that thing? He hoped not. It would make dropping his towel and pulling her onto him so much simpler. He could already smell her arousal. She would be hot and ready for him. If he just tugged here…
A sharp, annoying noise cut into Michael’s train of thought. A cough? Tilly! He pulled back from Carissa’s lips as if he’d been stung, but he couldn’t make his body let her go. He took two deep breaths, trying to regain his control. Oh, she was so soft, and warm, and fit him in all the right places. He took another deep breath and shut his eyes. He pulled his hands away from her and stepped back.
“Bathroom.” Michael turned and beat a hasty retreat to Carissa’s en suite bathroom. He had to put something solid between himself and Carissa before he physically tossed Tilly out of Carissa’s room and took advantage of every flat surface he could find.
Ignoring everything else in the room, Michael made a beeline for the large, glass stall in the corner and turned the water on, full blast, as cold as he could get it. Maybe if he got it cold enough, that reptilian part of his mind screaming Mine! would shut up for a bit. Then again, probably not.