Still locked with his gaze, she saw that same heady combination of lust and hunger flaming in his eyes and then something else crept in-something dangerous and feral. He looked all at once predatory. Beneath his skin she caught the faint lift of scales, almost as if a beast lay in wait. He turned his head slowly but she knew he was aware of everything and everyone around them. Only then was she aware of the approach of Gary and Jubal. Disappointment and frustration rushed through her.
"Another petal for both of us."
His voice was husky. He was just as affected as she was and that made her feel better. He didn't want their time together alone to end any more than she did. She put another petal in his mouth and crushed a second in her own. The second petal only seemed to increase her desire. Knowing Jubal and Gary were approaching fast should have taken the heat out of her skin and the hot surge from her veins, but nothing seemed to dampen her desire for Dax, not even company.
Riley was grateful for the night, although the full moon seemed to turn night into a soft glowing day. She managed to place the last petals into Dax's mouth and her own just as Gary and Jubal reached them.
"Good evening," Dax said pleasantly.
Had Riley not seen his reaction she would never have known he was smoldering with desire for her and not at all happy with the interruption.
"Where did you get that flower?" Gary asked, excitement edging his voice Dax frowned, the flames in his eyes growing. Clearly he didn't like the demand in Gary's voice.
"Gary and Jubal came here looking for a particular flower," Riley explained hastily.
"It's important," Gary added. "That flower is extinct in the Carpathian Mountains. We've speculated for a while now that it's important for the women's ability to conceive."
Dax shook his head. "I've lost so much time. I thought, from your memories, that Xavier was the culprit behind the loss of our women and children, that it was his poisonous microbes in the soil."
"He definitely attacked your people," Gary admitted, "nearly destroying an entire species over time, but he had some help along the way."
"The flower?"
Gary sighed. "I think the toxins in the soil, the microbes Xavier introduced, killed off the flower. Gabrielle ..." He stopped, glanced at Jubal and then shrugged. "Jubal's sister is conducting research with me. Some of the ancients have returned to their homeland and when she interviewed them, a fertility ritual with this flower came up again and again. We began to believe there was something to it, so we focused on finding out what happened to it."
"We use satellites and computers," Jubal added. "The good thing about being around a long time is the accumulation of wealth and knowledge so Carpathians can afford all the latest gadgets. We have a couple of kids in the community that are amazing on computers. They've programmed theirs to look for certain trigger words. The man who filmed the ruins on the mountain and sent the pictures to the professor also filmed the flower and posted it on his website, asking if anyone knew what it was. He thought he'd found a new species. Josef, that's our resident genius, picked it up and we came looking for it."
"They can't be native here," Gary speculated aloud.
"Arabejila planted them. She loved them and knew she'd end her life here. She wanted a little bit of home. They only bloom at night, and she planted them up near the village where she planned to live out her days," Dax said.
"Are there a lot of them?" Gary asked. "Enough that we can harvest the roots and transplant them back where they belong? Did they survive the blast?"
Dax nodded slowly. "I can gather them tonight with the roots intact. The larger flower carries the seeds. The dragon covers ground fast. I could be at the top of the mountain and catch up to you fairly quickly."
"You'll need to pack the roots in soil," Riley contributed. "I could go with you to help," she offered, feeling suddenly shy. There was a part of her that was afraid of rejection, but the idea of flying across the night sky on the back of a dragon and spending more time with Dax was irresistible.
Dax rose, reaching down to take her hand and draw her up next to him. "I would enjoy your company very much, Riley."
He pulled her back against his body, the movement so natural she felt as if she belonged. His body felt strong, firm, an anchor in the midst of a storm. Excitement fluttered in her stomach. He reached around her, circling her body with his arms, trapping her against his chest, his hands clasped at her waist.
"You will have to be careful," Dax continued, as though he hadn't just made his claim very public. He was extraordinarily gentle, and so easygoing and natural about it, Riley could tell the movement was a gesture of ownership, but more his need to be close to her.
"Mitro is well ahead of us," he continued instructing the others. "And he's making his way out of the jungle, but he needs information, just as I did. He's been long away from this world and he'll have to catch up. He'll need languages and every bit of data he can accumulate to fit in easily."
"He'll know you're hunting him," Jubal said. "Won't he just run? It seems the prudent thing to do."
Dax shook his head. His thumb slid back and forth in a little caress across the bare skin of her stomach just beneath her shirt. Riley wasn't altogether certain he was aware of that little strumming motion.
"He'll need blood first, and the knowledge of this century is all important to his survival. He will avoid me, and especially Riley. I think he believes she's Arabejila, and he knows she can track him. He'll head for a populated area, but he'll want to slow us down. He'll set traps to kill us and false leads to delay us."
"We'll be careful, Dax. We'll keep moving toward the river." He glanced over his shoulder in the direction of the others. "Weston and Shelton are asking questions why we're not making a straight line for the river. Miguel hasn't said anything to them, but they have GPS."
Dax frowned, clearly not understanding. He touched Jubal's mind and "read" the information and then rolled his shoulders in a casual shrug. "Instruments can be misleading, especially with all this ash in the air."
"Which is why our emergency contact hasn't sent in their helicopter to bring us out," Gary said.
"Avoid any tribesmen," Dax advised. "You can't trust anyone you meet. Riley's given us Mitro's general direction, but she can't know if he's killed anyone else, turned them into puppets, ghouls or programmed them to kill you. We'll be back well before sunrise."