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T he office sounds were slowing, and Reggie finished tidying her desk. Rex stopped next to her. Are you ready?

Are you done getting your ass kicked? Reggie asked.

It pays my bills. Come on. We need to hit the road.

Reggie smiled, turned off her computer, and grabbed her purse. It s now or never. Literally.

Are you sure you want to do this?

Rex, I know that you weren t born with someone else in your head, but the lady in question is screaming that it has to be now. Right freaking now!

Rex nodded. In that case, I am going to drive.

Reggie waved farewell to the others, and she and her sister left the office of the cleaning company that their parents owned. Owens Cleaning was moderately successful and staffed by family.

They headed downstairs to the vast garage of company vehicles. Rex s sand-coloured SUV was waiting for them, fully gassed and ready to go.

Rex asked once again, Are you ready?

Yeah. I have done the test, and things should be ideal in twelve hours or so.

I can t believe we are doing this.

Reggie got into the passenger seat, buckled in, and they were on their way. Outside the city and following the sunset, she asked, On a scale of one to ten, how crazy is this?

Twelve. We are driving through the desert to the Stronghold so that you can get laid, and we can make a run for it immediately afterward.

That sounds rather crass.

Reggie, no matter how many times you say it, your belief that you are the reincarnation of a dead queen from hundreds of years ago is a little weird. I love you, but it s odd.

I know. It doesn t sound less crazy in my own head, but there are two of us in here.

You are serious?

Oh, yeah. She s like a weird conscience, but she is militant that this is what I have to do.

So, you have to find a dead woman s husband in the depths of a place no sane woman would dare to tread?

Yup. Except he s my husband or her husband or something.

Rex chuckled. So you have said. Is this also why you purchased that plot of land with your entire savings?

Reggie groaned. And a loan. She was positive, and she got the architect when she pushed me to the back.

Wait. So, she isn t just a way of thinking; she can actually butt you out of the way?

Yeah. She says that once this mission is over, we will integrate, but I don t know how that is going to happen. She rubbed her forehead.

Headache again?

Yeah. She s excited, but I wish she would chill it with the hormones.

Bad?

Yup.

Suppressors bad?

No. I don t need any. Not this time. Reggie winced.

Rex muttered, That wasn t your voice.

No, it wasn t. Tawney has been popping in and out a lot more this week. Reggie rubbed her forehead again.

Four hours left. Are you sure they won t see us?

I am sure. She s got this covered. She s going to give me enough power to keep us alive. Our survival is very important to her.

Rex nodded. If you say so.

Are you good to drive if I nap?

Absolutely. This is going to be rough for you. If you had tried this on your own, I would have been panicked.

Reggie pulled her jacket up over her and smiled. I would not have done this without you, Rex.

She settled in and slept.

Four hours later, they had followed the GPS coordinates and parked under a granite overhang. Reggie looked at her sister and the crack in the stone. It was just large enough for them to pass through.

Rex whispered, You are sure you want to do this?

I don t have a choice. Stay close. I may need an assist.

If you think I am leaving you, you are deluded.

There may be a time inside where I need to be alone with him. You might not want that memory.

Fine. Just warn me.

Oh, you will know. She drank some water, passed the bottle to her sister, and walked toward the crack in the wall.

The scent was all she had to go by, but she could follow it no matter how far. She heard a click behind her and felt a tug at her waistband. Rex didn t want to get lost, and they weren t talking while they were there. Reggie was the only one who knew where they were going.

They passed a dead Elite and kept going. Slow steps up and cracks in the wall that had to be felt, but they weren t going far. Her husband was in the lower levels.

She felt his proximity, and her hands slipped with sweat. Rex caught her with a hand to her ass and kept her against the wall.

They continued climbing until another jagged hole in the wall let them ease through and into a wide chamber.

Reggie s sweaty hands were suddenly clammy as she saw the huge gates ahead of them. Her eyes could see in the dimness, and Rex was at her side. They walked to the gates, and when they reached out for the doors, two drakes rushed them from inside the prison.

Tawney s memory provided the names. Ignis, Kael, I need to speak with my husband. It is past time.

The heads that looked down from a fifteen-foot vantage point blinked slowly. They shook slowly, left to right.

Rex looked at them, swallowed, and said, I don t know who or what you are, but my sister wants to talk with her husband, and she s probably in heat, so you should probably get the fuck out of the way. Or get out of the way of a fuck. Literally.

Reggie muttered, You know that?

Rex muttered in return, I saw the ovulation test. There is only one reason for that, considering your dating history.

The drakes blinked and sat back like large dogs. One reached out and pushed the gate open with the flick of a claw.

Rex whispered, Go. I will stay back here and keep them from looking.

I have to find Sirrush first.

Behind the drakes, there was a huge stone wall, and then, inside the wall, an eye slowly opened.

Rex whispered, Found him.

Reggie elbowed her and eased through the gate. She was brought to an abrupt halt with a sharp tug on her waistband. A look back showed her Rex carefully gripped in the claw of one of the drakes. Rex reached down and unclipped the tether. Go, Reggie. This shit is weird enough.

The drakes were sniffing Rex from head to toe, and she was glaring at both of them.

For some reason, this seemed to encourage them.

Rex was punching any head that got too close.

Reggie grinned and turned back to the enormous eye.

She walked up calmly and stroked the stone.

It has been too long, husband. This is a different era, and I am in a different body, but I am Tawney, and I have missed you, Sirrush.

The stone shifted until a dragon of smaller proportions stood staring down at her. She smiled. You are still not quite what I had in mind.

The tongue flicked around her face, breasts, and belly. His tail lashed in excitement. You have her scent.

I have never gotten over that enunciation, my beloved, bullheaded idiot. She reached up and caressed his muzzle.

You have returned to me.

She paused. You will have to remain here for ten more years until I come for you again.

He looked and hissed angrily. You are receptive.

Yeah, and I will need fire again to make sure we both have fun, but a decade of dreams will have to suffice.

He paused. How long has it been?

Seven hundred and ninety years.

His eyes went wide. If I return to my normal form, they will be on us.

No, they are scattered across the world, tracking down all the dark Elite who were scattered in time. She smiled. They are creating a distraction for as long as we need.

I will give you fire now. Remove your strange clothing.

This clothing does not come off in an alluring manner.

Seeing you again, no matter the body, is nearly driving me mad.

She grinned and pulled her shirt over her head, unsnapping her bra and then working on her sneakers and jeans. Panties and socks hit the floor.

The dragon licked his lips as she walked toward him. So, mate? Fire?

He grabbed her and pulled her to him, exhaling hard into her open mouth. He lowered her to the floor and moved between her thighs to do the same there. The fire went in, and after a moment, it spilled back again.

He lifted his head in surprise. You are ready for me.

Not you. The man who eased my fears and held me close that first night. The man who went on a killing spree when me and our babe were murdered. The man who went to the greenhouse and made me a crown of roses every day of my pregnancy. That man is invited into me today.

Warm hands were touching her a moment later, and he smiled with tears in his eyes. Little star. You have always been in my dreams.

And you in mine. She caressed his shoulders and tried to pull his head to hers, but he dove between her thighs.

Pleasure started slowly, considering the proximity of their audience, but she couldn t resist it.

She gave in to the one man she had truly trusted, the man who had tried to burn the world before his men held him back.

His advisers had helped to soothe things before they left. With no colony in process, they had no jobs to do. Her soul had watched them leave with her daughter s next to her.

Tawney cried out as she hit her first climax. The pleasure with him was not a surprise; it was expected.

He knelt between her thighs and pulled her up to him, lifting her and pressing into her slowly.

When she was finally containing him, he shuddered but then began to lift and lower her over him.

The friction became pleasure, and the precum warmed her.

She moved with him, digging her claws into his shoulders as they worked to make the impossible, another daughter.

* * * *

R ex looked at the drake nearest her and then inhaled sharply as it grabbed her and started sniffing. The other one began to join in the inhalation of her scent, and when it pressed its muzzle to her lower back, she twisted and struck him. She knew how to throw a punch, but it still stung.

The drake holding her got the same treatment when the hard nose bumped her breasts.

There was an amused gleam in the beasts eyes. She felt cool air rush at her back and turned around again, but there was a low crooning sound, and then a tongue ran up her spine.