She considered spending more time perfecting the weapon’s drum release but decided she needed to do something a little more mundane to wind down. Beside the S&W revolver was a bottle of gin. She dragged the bottle out of the drawer and looked at it. It was nearly empty. Too many long days babysitting her team and making sure they didn’t mess everything up.

Amanda weighed the bottle in her hand, glanced at the door to make sure the blind was drawn over the little window in the door, then swigged from the gin bottle once before putting it away.

She brought up her email program on her computer. Over the last few days, she had been contacting various sister agencies about where they might send Kyrine next, once she’d bonded with her Keeper. There were multiple locations that would benefit from a dungeon’s presence. The authorities in Cairo were keen, as was Berlin, and even Sydney, Australia. The possession of dungeons gave the US a powerful diplomatic bargaining tool

But, thought Amanda gloomily, the dungeon wouldn’t be going anywhere unless Kyrine and this new Keeper bonded successfully. And for that to happen, Amanda’s team of rogues would need to do their job effectively.

Amanda kicked back from her desk and sighed heavily. Whether she liked it or not, the mission and the future of her career were dependent upon Jeremy Parker’s ability to copulate with the agency’s most troublesome dungeon core.

But there was another motive for Amanda. One the agency didn’t know about. And if she was to prevent a federal prison sentence, they must never know. Queen Viera needed the Keeper to do more than simply copulate with the dungeon. The Queen’s desire was for the Keeper to impregnate the dungeon.

Chapter 13

Warm, scented water sloshed around as Kyrine drew herself off me and then turned to nestle her head into my chest and stroke my stomach. The power of our shared climax and the massive magical joining that had happened still crackled like background static in the air of the room around us. I allowed myself to sink into the hot tub and let out a contented sigh.

All my doubts or questions over the rightness of merging with the dungeon and becoming her Keeper had left me. Now, I felt the rest of my life—an awesome life—stretching before me like a great sea of pleasurable and exciting possibilities.

“Master,” Kyrine said, addressing me in an awed tone, “I have waited aeons for the arrival of a man with your strength.”

“That was definitely something else,” I said. “You weren’t lying when you said we would merge. But I never imagined it would be anything like that.”