Page 26 of Charming the Dragon
He asked, “Do you believe me?”
“I have no idea why, but yes.”
After gently touching her shoulder—and pulling away far too quickly for her liking—he turned back toward his project. “You can take the candles with you since I’ll be able to see well enough without them.”
“I’ll just take one of them.” She gently wiggled one out and paused. The light danced across Nathan’s jaw, cheekbones, and his Adam’s apple. She’d never thought a man’s Adam’s apple could be sexy, and yet it made Nathan appear so very…male.
She quickly turned and went searching for the little levers.
Nathan managedto block out Hayley’s movements for about a minute before he watched her covertly. She would bend over to study each terminal closely, putting her lovely, full arse on display. Then he’d think about lifting her skirt and taking her from behind as she moaned and cried out his name.
His dragon growled.We probably could have her. Kiss her, and then she could be ours.
No, dragon. She’s scared and rattled and most definitely not in her right mind. Besides, a kiss could trigger a frenzy, and she’ll have nowhere to run. I won’t force it on her.
Kiss her neck, her breasts, her inner thigh. Lap her sweet honey and then make her moan as she grips our hair with her fingers until she cries out in pleasure.
It was easy to imagine Hayley sitting on a desk, her legs spread, as he teased her hard little clit and made her come with his mouth.
He readjusted his hardening cock and focused back on the computer.Stop it.
I didn’t do anything. That was you.
We don’t even know her, not really. So no matter how many games you play, I won’t give in.
His beast huffed.You’ll change your mind eventually. She should be ours.
Tired of going in circles with his beast, Nathan constructed a mental maze and tossed his dragon inside it. With his mind quiet, he could finally focus on his work.
He’d just noticed a pattern etched on the keyboard when Hayley’s voice jolted him from his thoughts. “There are six levers in this room. They’re all different sizes, though. This one here in front of you is the biggest, and the rest of them go in this order.” She pointed them out and then added, “Using them in order is too easy and is a trick, isn’t it?”
“Most likely. I think the order is etched into this keyboard.”
The human leaned down, putting her face right next to his, and Nathan inhaled her sweet scent. Fuck, what he wouldn’t give to put his nose where her neck met her shoulder and get lost in the smell of her.
Hayley’s head moved, and her hair brushed his check. Nathan had to grip his knee under the desk to keep from touching her. His voice was strained to his own ears as he asked, “Do you see the pattern on the keyboard?”
“I think so.” She pointed to the different keys. “The faint marks get longer. They kind of match the layout of the room. I think.”
“Yes, you’re correct. Ready to try and see if executing the levers in this order works?”
He didn’t say if he was wrong, they might never get the power turned on.
No.He was confident. The start-up sequence wasn’t meant to be completely hidden, just not as easy as turning handles in ascending order of size. After all, if this place were truly used in an emergency, then the various clan members would need to power up the room quickly.
Hayley stood and nodded. “Your reasoning seems sound, so let’s give it a go.”
At her words, he straightened his shoulders a bit. For some reason, it mattered that she trusted him. His dragon would say why, but thankfully, his inner beast was still inside the mental maze.
After taking a deep breath, Nathan turned the switch in front of him.
Nothing happened, but he’d expected that. To be honest, nothing happening until after they turned the last switch was probably a good thing.
One by one he went, his heart rate kicking up with each passing minute. Then it came time to turn the final switch. He paused, hoped like hell he was right, and twisted it.
For a few beats, nothing happened. Then a low humming started before the lights flickered and turned on. The original computer terminal also powered up, and he let out a sigh of relief.
Hayley surprised him by hugging him and laughing. Her warm, soft body felt amazing next to his, and he couldn’t resist wrapping his arms around her.
