Free Rising Dragons Omnibus by Ophelia Bell

alternative?”
    His jaw clenched and he gave her a sidelong look before averting his eyes. “We have to convince her we want it to assist in conceiving. That’s the reason everyone else will likely use. Once the Queen hears from all of us—sees we are united—she will take the request to the Council.”
    She was about to ask how the hell it could help with that, but held her tongue. If it could help them locate Geva’s sister, she shouldn’t be surprised.
    “So, what works? What did your ancestors do to convince the Council?”
    “They’ve never said yes.”
    Erika couldn’t quite believe what she was about to suggest. “What if we steal the pieces? Wait, don’t answer that, it’s a dumb idea. We’d completely compromise your sister if we did that.”
    “It’s also impossible. You saw the security to get into our vault. The others would have similar measures in place. The Queen might not report us over it, but the Council would definitely know who’d stolen it. It’s really a simple request. We will sacrifice rank by making the request prematurely, but the others will follow suit quickly.”
    “So, we convince the Queen we want to have a baby. I’m a pretty decent actress when I want to be.” Even though it would be a blatant lie, she’d compromised her principles for less. “Besides, it’s Corey we’ll be talking to. I’ve known him for years, he’s got a huge soft spot for me.”
    Geva looked more optimistic at that. “Alright. Shall I join you for the picture palaver?”
    Erika stood up and bent to kiss him. “Video conference,” she corrected, pulling back and squeezing his cheeks between the thumb and fingers of one hand until his lips scrunched together. “Yes, I think it would be a good show of intent if you were with me, don’t you? Corey likes you.”
    Geva’s eyelids lowered just slightly and his expression grew thoughtful, a look Erika had grown accustomed to over the past few months, and it made her grow a little warm between the thighs every time. She resisted the temptation to climb onto his lap and take advantage of his infinite libido. It was a particular challenge tonight, too. Ever since their tryst with Benjamin that morning, she’d been aware of a subtle shift in the dynamic between Geva and herself. As if they were even more attuned to each other’s emotions. He’d been agitated to distraction about the bomb his mother’s journals had dropped, but rather than withdraw from her, he’d been more amorous to the point of desperation, like he was driven by raw need for her Nirvana.
    “Come on. The sooner we get this done, the sooner we can find your sister.”
    Erika retreated to the ornate bathroom attached to what Ben had informed her were her ‘quarters,’ though she and Geva had decided to share the smaller, more intimate bedroom on the opposite side of the floor. She wasn’t oblivious to Geva’s wistful glance when she nudged him toward the other bathroom, giving the excuse of not wanting any distractions because they were on a timetable.
    The truth was they hadn’t been apart for almost six months since she and her team had completed the ritual to awaken the dragons. They had spent a brief and luxurious week in a Monastery on a remote island in the South China Sea—a place Erika had thought of as a sort of halfway house for dragons. The the human occupants of the Monastery might have been a sect of Buddhist monks, but it had soon become apparent that they were all very aware of who their new visitors were. It also became apparent that several of the long-term residents of the Monastery were a servant-class of dragons who hadn’t been part of the Brood that slept in the temple.
    These dragon monks had piqued Erika’s curiosity, but when asked, Geva had evaded the question. Even after needling him about it he finally whispered that they didn’t talk about the Unbound . She resolved to get the answers out of him one way or the other, and hearing that term