Page 13 of Inferno (Drake Security Book 4)

VALENTINO

When we drop back into my living room, I exhale with relief. Montrose slumps against me as if the experience drained him.

“Are you okay?”

“Sure,” he says, but his voice is soft. “I’ve made myself the target of the most dangerous demon in existence. What could be wrong?”

My dragon roars protectively inside me, my throat burning with unspent flames that I desperately want to aim at anyone who would dare come near Montrose.

“Are you sure it’s Maggard?” I know I’m grasping at straws here, but I would give all the scales off my back for him to tell me that he’s pissed off dozens of other, far less terrifying demons.

“If it’s not, then it’s one hell of a coincidence,” Montrose mutters, a dark look flickering over his face as he exhales slowly.

“Yeah.” I drag my hand through my hair, racking my brains for what to do. “You’ll be safe here.”

“Really, Tino? How’s that? You think Maggard can’t get into your compound? I waltzed right up to your door, and trust me, he won’t bother to knock.”

His tense energy swirls around me, hitting me like sharp pebbles caught in a storm. My dragon rumbles with displeasure, and neither one of us likes seeing Montrose unhappy.

“No one can get inside my hoard room. Not even a demon. If worse comes to worst, I’ll take you there.”

He huffs, crossing his arms over his chest.

“What?”

“Nothing.” He kicks his shoes against my floor, his mood dark now. All the vibrant sexual energy that normally flows from him is noticeably absent, replaced with a black cloud.

“We can get you new clothes. I know it doesn’t replace everything, but?—”

“I don’t know what to do now, Tino.” His voice trembles. “I don’t want to die.”

“Hey.” I step forward, reaching for his hand. “You’re not gonna die.”

“You can’t promise me that. Unfortunately, all of us are at risk until Maggard is satisfied. Spoiler, he’s never satisfied.” He pulls his hand away, putting distance between us that makes my dragon whimper and push forward. “You should put your brother in hiding. Deep hiding. Maybe your witch can do something to prevent Maggard and his men from catching his scent.” Montrose shivers, his true form flashing briefly as he shakes his head.

“Yeah, okay, but what about you?”

He shrugs. “What about me? I live in fear, looking over my shoulder for eternity. This is the consequence of my choices.”

I want to object and tell him what he did was good and selfless, but he’s right. He broke the demon code and there are consequences for that. But as long as I’m breathing, there’s no way I’m going to let anyone lay a hand on him. I grind my teeth and my chest swells with a sense of determination.

A foreign and unexpected thought swirls through my mind before landing in my chest and tugging at my heart. Before I can stop it, the words are out of my mouth.

“I want to show you something.”

He lifts his head, his expression perking up a bit. “What’s that, dragon?”

Extending my arm towards him, I hold my hand out, and he takes it, a slight smile tugging at his lips. “Come on.”

I lead him up the stairs and down the hall. My dragon is practically tripping over his own feet with excitement, but I’m confused as fuck. The hoard room was for a worst-case scenario, but I guess my need for a private sanctuary is overridden by my need to see Montrose happy again.

Pausing in front of the double doors—black metal, secured with a keypad entry—I brace myself for my dragon’s expected response. Montrose tilts his head, studying the out-of-place decor in the midst of my Parisian aesthetic. I punch in the code, flinching as the mechanisms click and unlock.

As predicted, my dragon is going wild now, thrashing and trying desperately to see Montrose, who’s still behind me. Exhaling slowly, I shiver as scales ripple across my flesh.

“Tino?”

Swallowing hard, I push the heavy door open and step inside before reaching for the pretty demon. Montrose follows me slowly, his eyes darting around the room. A slow smile spreads across his lips seconds later.

“It’s your hoard room.”

I nod, still dealing with the tightness in my chest and my dragon’s reaction. Any second now, he’ll start preening, proud of the treasures we’ve spent centuries collecting, but right now he’s drawing closer to Montrose.

“Wow,” Montrose says as he steps in farther. He rushes over to a table stacked with gold and silver bars, running his long fingers over them, before hurrying to the next table piled high with various gemstones and other precious metals from times past.

I’m waiting for my dragon to do something, but he’s almost silent as he simply sits back and watches the demon walk through my things. I expected to have to control my shift, but he’s held back, except for my eyes.

“This is pretty,” Montrose says with a stunning smile as he drapes a diamond necklace around his neck. “Where did you get it?”

“A Russian princess gave it to me.” I approach, admiring the shimmering gems against his skin. “She was forced to marry an awful man who unexpectedly broke his leg while riding his horse. Poor fellow died of his injuries, leaving the princess a very rich widow.”

Montrose giggles, and the sound is like a balm after seeing him upset earlier. “How very convenient.” He lifts a tiara set with rubies and diamonds. “And this one?”

“England. No one even saw me at the ball. Took it right off the duchess.”

“Soooo,” he says, placing the jeweled item on his head. “Some of this is given and some of it is taken?”

I nod. “You look pretty in my jewels.” My voice dips into a rough purr that’s all human, despite how it sounds. My dragon is still shockingly quiet, almost like it’s holding its breath.

Montrose smiles as his body heats up again. Is that a sign that he’s happy?

“Oooh.” He rushes over to a table with rings and bracelets, choosing a rare item. “What is this?”

“A Padparadscha Sapphire. Extremely rare. It’s twenty-eight carats of pink beauty.”

“Where did you get it?” He rolls it back and forth in his hand. “It’s so beautiful.”

“Ceylon, now known as Sri Lanka. I acquired that one legally. Well, my transaction was legal. I bought it from a known black-market dealer, so who knows where he got it.”

“It must have cost a fortune.”

Shrugging, I say, “Two-point eight mill. I had to have it though.”

“What do you do with something so big?”

My dragon surges forward slightly, purring in response. “I suppose I would make a necklace or a ring for someone special.” I blink in surprise at the words coming out of my own mouth. Is that why I bought the gem all those years ago?

“Oh!” Montrose runs to a corner where I have a few racks of things under sheets. He tugs one sheet off, discovering a fur coat and a few beaded gowns I forgot I even had.

His face lights up as he strokes the coat. “Can I try it on?”

“Sure.” I walk over to help him. Pulling the coat from the hanger, I hold it up as Montrose slides his arms into the sleeves. “I saved these items and a few books and pieces of art from a burning mansion in New York back in the nineteen twenties.”

“It’s beautiful,” he gushes, running his hands over the soft fur.

“I wore it a few times, even though it was a little tight.” I smile at the memories. “And then it became very unfashionable to wear real fur.”

“Shame. It’s stunning.”

“It’s yours,” I blurt, just as startled as my demon is.

“What?” His eyes soften. “Do you mean it?”

I try to force the words out, to take it back. I don’t give my treasures away for any reason, but the dragon’s got my tongue, so I just nod, aware my face is turning red with strain.

“It deserves to be out of storage. I’m sure demons don’t give a fuck about human ethics.”

“Not a single bit,” Montrose says, his voice strangely soft. He touches a red beaded gown. “Oh Hades, is this vintage Valentino?”

I nod, still stunned as he holds the gown up to him and swings it around. Shuffling back, I plop into a chair, watching the scene play out like I’m having an out of body experience. My dragon is acting so odd—not at all how he should in this setting. The fact that I’m comfortable having Montrose in my hoard room is weird enough, but my dragon isn’t preening or being territorial. He’s acting as if he likes how the demon is touching everything. But there’s something missing, like my dragon is holding something back that I can’t quite put my finger on.

“How often do you come in here?”

“Often.” My glance turns to the chaise where I spent weeks licking my wounds from said demon. Fortunately, there’s no lingering evidence of my misery in here. “For a dragon, it’s the equivalent of home. Living among humans, it’s the safest space for us. We can shift and be our true selves.” I smile. “And of course, being surrounded by our treasures is soothing.”

“You don’t bring anyone in here often?”

“Never,” I grumble, followed by a puff of smoke.

Montrose turns and faces me, his eyebrow raised. “Never?”

“No, but you were sad, and I didn’t like it,” I admit, furrowing my brow. “Anyway, you’re not a human. I wouldn’t bring a mortal into this place. They wouldn’t understand.”

“Yet two of your brothers have human mates, no?”

“That’s different. They’re mates. That’s what our hoards are for, to impress our mates.” I clear my throat, trying to dislodge the thick lump that’s forming. My pulse skyrockets, and for some reason I half expect the demon to latch onto that last sentence and, I don’t know, tease me? Press for more information? But he doesn’t say a word. He doesn’t even act like he heard me. An odd sense of disappointment ripples under my surface.

Montrose sprawls out on my chaise longue, covered in my jewels and the fur coat, and my dragon fucking purrs, pressing against me to get a closer look at the beautiful demon. Still, there’s no preening, and no discomfort or desire for him to take off my things. Instead, I’m pretty sure Montrose could walk right out of here with them and I’d let him.

Fucking weird.

MONTROSE

I feel strange.

Tino’s dragon hasn’t taken his eyes off me since we came into this room, and for some reason, I really like the attention. I mean‘ready to pose like I’m in a fashion show’ like it. My dick is pretty damn into it too, in spite of the horrific trauma I’ve suffered this afternoon.

Laying on this velvet chaise surrounded by a thousand-year hoard makes me feel like I’ve climbed the highest ranks of demon nobility, only better, because instead of being in the dark demon realm, I’m here with a pretty dragon.

“Thank you,” I croon. “You too, dragon. You definitely succeeded in lifting my spirits.”

Tino nods, but a puff of smoke rises from his nostrils.

“Is your dragon uneasy with me being here?”

“No.”

“Good. Maybe someday you can let me see him. All the way, you know. Do you have rules about that?”

“Rules?”

“Yeah, like, I don’t show my true self unless I want to terrify someone. It’s sort of a rule we uphold to maintain our mystery and power. We keep it for the shadows and for nightmares. My true form is comfortable to me, of course, but humans find it grotesque.”

“You’re not grotesque,” Tino blurts before clearing his throat. “I’ve only seen it briefly, but it’s not ugly.”

My chest flutters with some unknown emotion that’s kind of pleasant even if it’s uncomfortable. “You’re not human.”

“No, I’m not,” he agrees.

“It frightened your brother.”

Valentino chuckles.

“The circumstances frightened him, and he’s practically a whelp still. Nothing scares a mature dragon,” he blusters, and I laugh before a more sobering thought hits me.

“Maggard might,” I mutter darkly.

“Don’t say that name in here.” His voice is soft but firm. “This is our escape from that. Our safe haven.”

Our.

The snark in me wants to call him on it, but I’m too afraid he’ll take it back if I do. I like being in this room covered in his treasures. That’s hardly shocking—I like nice things and Tino has a lot of them.

“I was thinking…” He pauses, his brow wrinkling as he shakes his head. He huffs out a laugh. “I can’t believe I’m about to say this. I feel like I might be going fucking crazy.”

“Care to clue me in, deliciae?”

Tino exhales, filling the space between us with his sweet, smoky scent. I lick my lips, inhaling and gobbling up the storm of his emotions. They flash by too quickly to identify each one, but they sure are tasty.

With his eyes back in human form, boring into me in the most delicious way, he nods once. “Lake is into fashion. I mentioned earlier that he can take you out to buy new clothes. On me.”

I pull my head back in surprise. “On you? Why?”

“You wouldn’t be in this situation if you hadn’t put yourself on the line for my brother.”

For you.

The thought tightens my throat, leaving me unable to speak for a few seconds.

“It’s the least I can do,” Tino continues. “Besides, Lake is safe. His mate bond is so strong that if he sneezes one too many times, Nico will be there.”

“Okay,” I finally squeak out.

“You’d enjoy your time more with Lake than me. I’ll work with my brothers in the meantime to secure Mac and tighten the protection around us.”

“Will the bond let me leave you?”

“Pretty sure it’s just to keep you from bouncing out to different realms. If it’s too much, just… come back to me.”

The words hang in the air between us, both a promise and a wish that I doubt either of us anticipated when we first hooked up.

Maybe he really can forgive me for the little game I played to get my ring back. I’m in a hoard room, after all. That has to mean he’s warming up to me, right?

When I look back at him, it’s the dragon I see again until he blinks. Is it possible the dragon is helping my cause? Wouldn’t that be something?

“Shopping with a mortal fashionista, huh?” I shrug and smile. “Stranger things have happened. He has a nice aura though, so I’ll try it.”

Tino stands and my eyes follow the action. He seems bigger somehow, even though the room itself is massive with cavernous ceilings. I’m waiting for him to tell me to take his items off, but he just gazes at me for several seconds before turning and leaving the room.

I don’t know much about normal dragon behavior, but I’m pretty sure this isn’t it.