Dragonfury 02 - Fury of Ice

meeting each pair of eyes head-on. His warriors nodded in turn, greeting her with silence and a whole lot of respect. Rikar’s throat went tight. Thank God for his brothers. Their show of strength—of solidarity and commitment—was just what his female needed.
    “It’s my energy, isn’t it?” she asked, returning her attention to him. “He’s got a lock on it now?”
    “Yeah.”
    “Fucking hell,” Mac growled, staring at Venom, his gaze shimmering so fiercely it lit the male up with blue light. “Forget the bait plan, dickhead. No way you’re putting my partner in the line of fire.”
    Rikar huffed. Well, shit. At least he had one ally in the group. Everyone else looked far too interested in Venom’s suggestion.
    Use her as bait? No freaking way.
    “Wait a second.” Angela’s eyes narrowed, and alarm bells went off inside Rikar’s head. He didn’t like that look or the fact the cop in her was coming back online, pushing fear and a healthy dose of caution out of the way. “Let’s not discount Venom’s idea. You get me the right firepower…a long-range rifle, maybe? Three or four clips full of armor-piercing ammo?” She tilted her head, wheels turning behind her eyes. “Yeah, I should be able to—”
    “No.” Rikar shook his head to reinforce his denial. Armor-piercing bullets, his ass. He couldn’t decide who was more insane: his female or Venom.
    Angela frowned at him, no doubt formulating an annoyingly well thought out argument. He reiterated the “no.” She leaned away, releasing her death grip on his shirt. He cupped her nape, using gentle hands to keep her against him when she tried to pull away.
    She sighed. The soft sound all about exasperation. “Listen, Rikar—”
    “It’s too dangerous, angel.”
    “Not if you energy-regress her,” Sloan said.
    Good Christ. Rikar glared at his buddy. Energy-regress her. Was the male out of his fucking mind?
    Seemed like a good guess because…shit. Energy-regression took a helluva lot of trust, never mind all kinds of commitment. On his part. On his female’s part, too. The only way a male could alter a female’s energy signature was to make love to her. Repeatedly. Bliss her out so well—and so often—a link opened to the Meridian, allowing a male access to the unique frequency woven into a female’s life force. It was like mainlining energy, druglike, addictive, wild as hell. Or so he’d been told.
    Rikar swallowed. Just the thought of spending a week with Angela that way made him go hard. Aroused to the point of pain. God help him. He wanted her that way. Would die to lay her out and use the connection they shared to ensure her safety. The question was…could he do it without hurting her?
    He honestly didn’t know.
    He didn’t know the first thing about energy-regression. All right. So he knew how it worked in theory. Had read about it in the annals handed down by Dragonkind ancestors. Had heard other males talk about it, too—how they’d used the magic to keep others of their kind from finding a female again. Cool idea, sure, but with potentially devastating consequences.
    Angela wasn’t ready to make love with him yet. Not after all she’d suffered, so…yeah. It was a bad, bad, bad plan. Tack on the fact if he changed her energy beacon, she’d not only be safe from Lothair but able to leave Black Diamond. And him. Forever.
    Fuck.
    Just what he didn’t need. An ethical dilemma. One that would make him choose between his need for her as a bonded male. And Angela’s desire for freedom and independence.
    “Rikar?” Smoothing her hand over his shoulder, she stared up at him, confusion and more in her eyes. “What’s—”
    “I’ll explain, but…not here.” No way would he explain energy-regression in front of his warriors. They’d never let him hear the end of it. He glanced at Bastian, looking for encouragement.
    Per usual, B was Johnny-on-the-spot. “Take your time. The other shit can wait a while.”
    “Come with me, angel.” Tightening his grip on Angela’s hand, Rikar tugged her toward the exit. And the corridor that led to his room.
    He needed privacy. Loads of it. If she let him lay her down and love her like he yearned to, he wanted a bed and soft-as-silk sheets to do it in. Maybe then he’d find a way to show her how much she meant to him. How much he loved her. And if he did it right—got really, really lucky—maybe…just maybe…she’d fall head-over-heels in love with him, too. Become his