High House Draconis Box Set

by Riley Storm

  “No,” he said.

  Olivia hissed, and Aaric prepared to defend himself, stunned by the human’s malevolence toward him.

  What the hell did I ever do to you?

  Chapter 4

  No.

  He’d said no to her.

  It wasn’t a word Olivia had heard very often since moving to Plymouth Falls years earlier. She was number one in this town. Everyone knew that.

  Everyone, it seemed, except the man in front of her. Not only did he not know or care who she was, but he wasn’t the slightest bit inimitable either. Olivia wasn’t entirely certain, but she got the impression he was actually holding back a smile, as if her attempts to force him into selling to her were little more than comedic entertainment.

  What an asshole.

  She was beginning to worry, though she wasn’t about to let that show. This property was essential to the deal she’d signed. Without it, the fat payday she’d been promised would evaporate in front of her eyes. It wouldn’t ruin her, but that wasn’t the point.

  Olivia Lawton did not lose. Nobody said no to her. She’d built her entire reputation on that fact. If she lost a deal she wanted, here and now, it would make things much more difficult in the near future. Others would be willing to go up against her, to test her, to see if she’d lost her edge.

  That couldn’t be allowed to happen.

  “Let’s start again,” she said, stepping forward abruptly and taking him by the arm. Perhaps if the hard-nosed approach did not work, she could take a friendlier tack, talk to him about it. Figure out a way to make the deal work.

  “With or without the rudeness?” he asked.

  Olivia almost snapped at him, but instead she smiled. “Without.”

  There was no point in getting upset over being called out. She’d charged in like a bull in a china shop, demanding this and that, expecting him to just bow to her demands and give her what she wanted. His comment was fair game, and they both knew it.

  However, he hadn’t shunned her arm, which meant he was willing to give her the chance to talk some more, to perhaps adjust her strategy, try a different angle. That was what mattered most to Olivia, so she let him have the point. He could have as many points as he wanted, as long as she got the property.

  “Where are we going?” he wanted to know as she guided them through the building.

  “Rooftop. Charles has a nice relaxing garden and patio there. We can talk in private.”

  Aaric lifted a singular eyebrow at her, but said nothing, allowing himself to be escorted along.

  “I wish I could do that,” she muttered, pushing open the door that led to the stairway.

  “Do what?” Aaric asked, reaching over her head to push the door open and hold it that way as she walked out.

  “Thank you.” She waited for him and then they started taking the stairs together. “Lifting an eyebrow. Just the one. It’s a talent I always wished I had. But I can only make them go up or down together.”

  Aaric laughed. “Wish I could tell you how. But I just sort of do it.”

  “Genetics, I guess.”

  “Maybe,” he agreed.

  They climbed the rest of the stairs in a silence that was really not very uncomfortable. Olivia felt oddly at ease around Aaric, which was even more unsettling. She was supposed to hate him, did hate him, yet it was tough to keep that in mind.

  “This is nice,” he remarked as they exited under the late afternoon sun. It was a pleasant day, enough warmth to be comfortable, not so much that either of them immediately went looking for shade.

  “This is usually where Charles and I do business, on the occasions we’ve had our interests line up,” she said, sitting down on an outdoor couch. “It’s just so much less stuffy than the office. Plus, I’m not usually competing against anyone.”

  “Oh?” Aaric asked, sitting down next to her, though he left a proper gap between them.

  “I’m the biggest real-estate agent in Plymouth Falls,” she said. “That’s by the number of deals in a year, or value of the properties. Stats, not me trying to be an arrogant bitch.”

  “Heaven forbid you do that,” he said quietly.

  She snorted. “People don’t say no to me, Aaric. It doesn’t happen. There must be a way we can work this out. Come to some sort of compromise.”

  “I don’t think so,” he said quietly, his handsome face twisting into something resembling remorse. “I’m sorry.”

  Her clients were not going to be happy about this. Olivia had gone ahead and signed their offer without bothering to get the deal for the property in writing, because she’d been so confident. That was going to be a legal headache. A court may even find that she had to use her own money to buy it from Aaric, to satisfy the conditions of the deal. If that happened, she would be screwed. Not penniless, but most of what she’d worked so hard for in the past five years would be gone.

  “How much?” she asked quietly.

  “Pardon?”

  “How much is it going to cost me?” she asked, as if it was a foregone conclusion that he would sell, and they were just negotiating the price.

  “Olivia,” he said, reaching out to lay a hand on top of hers. “Please, this isn’t anything to do with you, but you need to know, I’m not interested in selling. For any price.”

  “What the hell? Why not?” she snapped, abandoning any pretense of playing nice. “Everyone has a price. Tell me what yours is. I will have this property.”

  Aaric looked at her strangely. “Why do you need this so badly?”

  She hesitated. Should she tell him the truth? No. That would give him leverage over her, and Olivia had sworn she would never do that again. No matter how good looking he might be, or how nice his hand felt as it still rested on hers.

  “I have my reasons,” she said, declining to elaborate.

  Aaric nodded, still studying her. “Have dinner with me.”

  She stared at him, needing a full handful of seconds to comprehend what he’d just said. “Did you just ask me to go to dinner?”

  He nodded. “Yes, I did. Tonight. Have dinner with me.”

  Hell, no, you arrogant prick!

  That was the response that almost slipped out of her mouth. It was what she wanted to tell him. That she saw through his acting. He was having fun denying her what she wanted. It was obvious. Nobody was this kind, this nice, in her business. They were all ruthless assholes behind your back. It’s just how it was.

  But then she saw an opportunity. A chance. Maybe Aaric was just old-fashioned about it. He needed to be wined and dined, so to speak. A little black dress, some flirtatious behavior, and he would have what he needed to sign the property over to her.

  It was a bit exploitative, and absolutely not the method Olivia usually chose to employ. She tried to stay above using her body—and besides, most men weren’t into her that way either, which was tougher. Two of her competitors had tried to use their looks to get ahead, but both of them had been dumb enough to go and fall in love with a client along the way.

  Been there, done that. Never again.

  “Tonight?” she repeated.

  I’m not sleeping with you, if that’s what you think, buster. Show some skin, bite my lip, sure. But I have my limits. I’ll find another way, if that’s what you’re after.

  “Yes. I’ll pick you up at say, seven?”

  “I’m not sure I’m ready for you to know where I live,” she said politely, the reality of everything sinking in. “But if you tell me where to go, I’ll be there.”

  “Leblanc. Seven-thirty?” he responded without hesitation.

  Already had a place in mind? Interesting. Leblanc is a good choice too.

  “I’ll be there,” she said, finalizing the agreement.

  Aaric slipped his fingers under her hand and lifted it to his mouth. “I’ll see you later then,” he said, brushing his lips and stubble against the back of her hand.

  Then he was gone. No subtle implications in his voice, no leering of the eye
s. If he was expecting her to sleep with him, he wasn’t letting it show.

  What’s your game, Aaric?

  She would figure it out. Sooner or later, she always did.

  Chapter 5

  Aaric killed the engine with a push of a button, listening to the throaty rumble fade away, taking its time as it echoed off the abandoned buildings and concrete exterior of the crumbling manufacturing plant.

  “So, this is what my money bought me,” he muttered, lifting the gull-wing door of his car and standing up.

  It was a bit of an exercise to extricate himself from the sleek hypercar, and for a bit, he’d considered bringing something else instead. But he’d been doing his research, and in the six months since he’d been awakened, he’d learned a lot about technology, including cars.

  The Lotus Evija wasn’t the most expensive car in his swiftly growing fleet, nor was it the fastest, but he loved the fact it was electric. Plus, it had style. Nobody else in town would have one, that was for certain.

  He thought about the first time he’d taken Parre for a ride in it. Watching his mentor’s face light up had been worth the over two-million-dollar price tag.

  Reminded of Parre, he fell deep into thought, his mind revolving around what the elder dragon had warned him about.

  Evil is coming. You must awaken the others. You must find a mate.

  Aaric’s shoulders were broad and powerful, but even they could only bear so much weight. He was no Atlas, the mythological figure that held the world upon his back. At times, it felt like he was going to crumble, that he could no longer take the pressure of the task that had been assigned to him.

  Why me, he often wondered in private. Why couldn’t they have chosen someone else, someone better suited to carry out the mission? Aaric would fight, he was good at that. Very good at that. But he was no leader, he couldn’t inspire others, nor was he particularly adept with women. Not when it came to finding one that would settle down with him.

  Most just wanted to settle on top of him, which had its perks, but he was beyond that now, leaving his playboy days a century in the past. It was time to get serious now. The unknown fate of the world might be on his shoulders. He couldn’t afford to play around.

  Overhead, the sun was sinking below the horizon, turning the sky a beautiful shade of red. Gazing at the beautiful sight, Aaric closed the door and wandered off into the property, his mind working to envision how it would look after the transformation.

  Over here, would be the entryway, a tree-lined driveway off the street, leading to parking on either side. A beautiful building with smooth sides, gentle slopes and lots of greenery and glass would rise up to greet people. Aaric wanted as little concrete and pavement as possible in the construction of his building. Along with that, he was hoping to source lots of green projects to help lower the carbon footprint, something he was very keen on doing.

  Dragons were a part of the world unlike the other shifters, at least according to legend. Whether it was true or not, Aaric didn’t see the point in taking chances. If he could help save the world, then he would.

  “It’s going to be beautiful,” he said, eager for the construction to start.

  The sale should be done and finalized in a couple of days, once the lawyers got finished with it. Francis was working on a construction and design team now. The concepts of the buildings had been laid out weeks before by an architectural firm while Aaric searched for an appropriate property.

  And now I have it.

  It annoyed him that everything was taking so long, but there really wasn’t any way around it. Neither Parre nor Elanna could tell him any more about the evil they sensed, and nothing immediate seemed to be happening, so Aaric was forced to work with what he had.

  And I must focus my efforts on finding a mate, not tracking down this evil. If it’s truly bad, then it will be more than a single dragon can handle. I must awaken the others, and soon. Before it’s too late.

  The sound of crumbling concrete caught his ear, and Aaric wandered over to see where it came from. Everything was being demolished anyway, but the entire process was still novel to him. After all, this building had been built and gone through its prime while he was asleep. Aaric was younger, and yet the construction was abandoned, without use. The contrast fascinated him.

  Rounding a corner, he spied a door ajar.

  That alone wasn’t alarming, but it wasn’t just open. It was swinging, still coming to a halt.

  Someone was here.

  Aaric ran forward, careful to hold back. He’d been warned extensively about video cameras and their proliferation in modern society, and the ease with which he could be recorded.

  Diving through the doorway, he opened his mind, drawing lightly on some of his enhanced senses. The darkness of the interior evaporated before him as his eyes adjusted, easily drawing upon the dim lighting to make it look more like daytime.

  The sounds of the building sharpened immediately. In the distance, he could hear the slow drip of water as it fell. Nearby, the sound of a mouse as it crawled along the floor.

  But he heard nothing else. No footsteps. No heartbeat. No breathing. Whoever it was must be either long gone or hiding in a room that helped shield their breathing.

  Stalking forward in near utter silence, Aaric looked in rooms. There was no smell in the building either, not of anything fresh. Just stale air and old rust and mildew. It felt abandoned.

  There was no wind tonight, however, and the door had been visibly moving, more than enough for even a human to have detected. Something was going on. What he couldn’t figure out was what was going on. There was always the chance it was some sort of creature that wasn’t human, wasn’t part of the world.

  One of the Fae, perhaps. Or an elf, though it seemed incredibly unlikely either one of them would just so happen to be there. Not many visited Earth anymore either, preferring to stay in their own realm, the last he’d heard. It was too dangerous.

  Unsure of what it was he was tracking, Aaric turned his mind to who, who would want to be here of all places? There’s nothing here.

  There was one person, he realized, who might want to be there. Who might have business of some sort on this particular property, at this particular point in time.

  “Olivia,” he called. “The game is up. Come out now.”

  Still he couldn’t hear any sound. No startled gasp of surprise as he figured out who it was. No hammering heartbeat. Just pure silence.

  Something alerted him and he dove out of the way just in time to avoid a figure that billowed past him in black robes. Aaric stared, noting the way the figure’s feet never touched the floor.

  What are you, he wondered, getting to his feet and racing off after the shadowy figure. Even with his superior eyesight, he was having an incredibly hard time picking up anything about his quarry.

  They could float fast though, that was for certain. Convinced now that he wasn’t dealing with anything human, Aaric let his true powers spring forth. He raced along the hallway now at incredible speed, but still he couldn’t catch up.

  At the corners, he was forced to slow down so his momentum didn’t carry him into the wall, while the figure he was chasing didn’t seem constrained by such petty rules as physics and gravity.

  “Rude,” he muttered, not giving up the chase just yet, following it up a set of stairs, and then down some hallways, before going up another two floors. Bit by bit, he was gaining on it. Give him another ten minutes and he would catch it. Whatever it was.

  Then the figure did something Aaric wasn’t prepared for. Instead of turning the next corner as he chased it around the perimeter of the building, it kept going, right through the empty window.

  “Like that’s going to stop me,” he snarled, flinging himself out of the fourth story window and plummeting to the ground below.

  He landed on the ground with a crunch, dirt and debris flattening under the impact as he bent his knees to absorb the force of his landing. Standing up he whirled around, looki
ng for his quarry.

  There was no sign of them. It was like they had just disappeared into thin air.

  “Impossible,” he muttered. “Nobody can just disappear like that.”

  But whether they could or not, there were no signs for him to follow. He couldn’t hear anything, nor could he hear or smell anything that might lead him to figure out who the mysterious figure had been.

  He stepped back, considering the old factory. What would anyone see in this place, he wondered? Why would anyone be here? This wasn’t anything special, as far as he could tell, just the most suitable place for what he wished to build.

  But someone else has taken an interest in it…I need to know why.

  Looking around, he wished, not for the first time, that he could use his powers to simply fly up to the six floor. But he couldn’t. Instead, he would have to climb the stairs and then start his search.

  Whatever this place is hiding, I’m going to find it…

  He got up and headed inside to begin looking, his mind focused on nothing else.

  Chapter 6

  “Where is that arrogant asshole?” she wondered, sipping on her second glass of wine, wondering if perhaps she should switch to water.

  Getting drunk now would probably not be the best idea.

  Her embarrassment was reaching new levels. This was far from her first time visiting Leblanc. She was known by some of the staff as one of the bigger figures among Plymouth Falls’ wealthy, such as they were. To sit here now, at a table set for two, clearly drinking to pass the time, was almost more than she could handle.

  “Are we still waiting, madam?”

  She looked up as her server, one of the old hands, came by.

  “No, no; I think I’m done waiting,” she said tightly, hoping Vincent wouldn’t think that her anger was directed at him. “Just the bill, please.”

  Vincent looked offended. “No bill, Miss Lawton. The bottle was already open, I believe.”

  She started to shake her head. Olivia Lawton didn’t take charity. She wasn’t that type. I earned my money, and I intend to pay for what I use or take. She opened her mouth to tell Vincent just that, but he smiled at her.