by Lia Davis
Kara crossed her legs over Nyna’s and smiled. Seduced by a dragon. Yeah, Cayden would have to work for it. Kara was going to enjoy every bit of it, as well as play her own game of seduction with both Nyna and Cayden. She just hoped the budding attraction to Cayden would grow over time so she was able to bond with both of them in the end.
Gripping the steering wheel tighter, Henry watched Joan climb into her Audi and pull out of Nyna’s driveway. Fury built inside him. Kara Mitchell had run straight to his niece. No doubt telling her everything she knew. Why else would Joan, his brother’s former assistant, come to Woodland Creek to see Nyna?
He’d work too hard to get where he was. No one was going to stand in his way, stop him from capitalizing on his wealth. He just needed a few more acquisitions to finalize things and start generating profit. Until then, he needed Joan and Kara to keep their mouths shut.
Once Joan’s car was out of sight, he started his BMW and pulled away from the shoulder of the road, heading in the direction she had gone. He knew where she lived, but he followed her anyway to make sure she went straight home.
It was a twenty-minute drive to her home north of Louisville. He pulled into her driveway as she stepped out of her car. The motion lights over her garage clicked on, blinding him. Letting out a low groan, he exited his BMW and advanced on her. “Good evening, Joan.”
“Henry. What are you doing here?”
“I thought I’d pay you a visit. Can we talk inside?”
She hesitated and glanced around. It was still early in the evening. Her neighbors’ driveways were empty, but that didn’t mean they weren’t home. Most of the snobs in the place parked their cars in their garages.
“I don’t have anything to talk with you about.” She turned toward the front door.
With quick motions, he fell in step with her, gripped her upper arm, and jerked her into him. “I have a few things to discuss with you.”
She swallowed visibly then nodded and unlocked the door. Once inside, he shoved her into the living room, shutting the door behind them. “You’ve been talking with my niece.”
“Nyna and I talk often.”
He narrowed his eyes. “I don’t think so. You need to be taught to keep your mouth shut. Or did you forget who signs your paychecks?”
“Threatening me with the loss of my job isn’t going to work.” She backed up, which brought his attention to the pair of scissors on the side table behind her.
In two steps, he was in front of her and stopped her backward motion. Reaching around her, he picked up the scissors and held them to her throat. “What were you planning to do with these?”
She shook her head, her eyes round with fear. “No…nothing.”
“You shouldn’t spread lies, Joan. Especially about shit that doesn’t concern you.” He pressed the point of the scissors into her flesh. She closed her eyes and her breathing came in short gasps as if she were fighting a panic attack.
A moment later, pain exploded in his groin. He crumpled to the floor, cursing the bitch while fighting to catch his breath. Fuck. Pushing to his feet, he glanced around in time to see her dart into the kitchen. “Joan, you can’t run from me.”
Staggering to the other room, he bit through the throbbing in his nuts. When I get my hands on her, the bitch is dead. He blocked the doorway and glared at her. She grabbed a large knife and thrust it at him. With a low growl, he picked up the toaster from the counter and threw it at her knee. It hit her squarely, and she screamed and fell to the floor on impact, dropping the knife at the same time.
He moved forward, grabbed a fistful of her hair and jerked her head back. With his free hand, he backhanded her. The slap echoed around them. He smiled at the bead of blood that formed on her lip. Leaning down, he smiled. “I’m going to kill you. Slowly. So I can savor it while you die.”
“You are a sick bastard. Is that what you did with David? And Crystal?”
The mention of his brother and his slut of a wife only fueled his rage. “They were weak and thought they were better than me.”
“Why? Because they caught you stealing money from Carter Enterprises?”
He thrust a hand out and grabbed her throat, cutting off her airway. Untangling his other hand from her hair, he placed it around her neck with the other and squeezed. Her arms flailed and she clawed at his hands and kicked her feet. He watched as her face turned red, then blue before her body went limp.
Dropping her lifeless body to the floor, he turned to pick up the knife. With a snarl, he brought the blade down into her heart, then sliced down to her navel.
His heart beat steadily as a calm settled over him. “Too bad it couldn’t have ended differently, Joan.”
Jerking the kitchen towel from the handle on the oven, he wrapped the knife in it and shoved it in the inside pocket of his jacket. The only thing left to do was stage the scene to look like a break-in.
With Joan out of the picture, there was only one more person who stood in his way. Kara would have to be dealt with. Soon.
***
Cayden sipped his wine and watched the females cuddled together with the laptop in front of them. His lips tugged at the corners. At first, the idea of taking both of them as his life partners had thrown him for a loop. After they’d left and he settled down to write, his mind kept wandering to them. His attempt to work and stay away from them until morning failed.
They were his. He only had to convince them of the fact.
“Find anything interesting?”
Kara glanced up first and wrinkled her nose. “No. Henry covered his tracks well. At least in all the public records.”
Nyna sighed. “I’ll talk more with Joan tomorrow at lunch. See if she can come up with a lead or something.”
Setting his glass on the small table beside his chair, he held out his hands. With his telekinesis, he lifted the laptop from Nyna’s lap, closed it, and placed it on the coffee table. “Let’s focus on something else. Henry will make a mistake soon. We can help him do it. But tonight, I want to get to know each of you better.”
Nyna stared at him wide-eyed for several long moments. Her brown eyes fixed on his for a brief moment before moving to Kara next to her. The other female shrugged. “Many dragons have special abilities. When my sister got caught in a dragon’s web, I did some research.”
Then the women smiled and turned their gazes to Cayden, wicked gleams in their eyes as if they plotted against him. Suspicion crawled up his spine. Sneaky she-devils. “What are you two planning?”
“Nothing,” Kara answered much too quickly.
“Right. Nyna?”
She sucked in her lower lip. “We want to ask you questions. Like where are you from? Your family? Are they still alive? What’s your favorite color?”
He held up his hand and chuckled. Once the ice broke with the shy blonde, she talked. Or maybe it was the wine she drank. “I was born in the Rocky Mountains. Although they weren’t called that then. My village was attacked and my parents, along with my baby sister and older brother were killed. I wandered the world for centuries until I met your father and settled in Woodland Creek. My favorite color is blue.”
Nyna glanced to Kara then to him again. “You mentioned you were cursed.”
He nodded. “A wizard cursed me to live a long and lonely life.”
“Why?” Kara asked.
“Because I had an affair with his wife. Only I didn’t know she was married to him until the ass knocked on my door and hexed me.” The wizard’s curse also prohibited Cayden from spinning a dragon’s web with anyone but a pure soul. The wizard was an old, bitter man who didn’t believe in true love or pure hearts.
He was wrong. Cayden had found the female who could break the curse.
They fell silent for a few moments before Nyna asked, “Can I see your dragon?”
He raised a brow. “Now?”
She shrugged, but Kara stood. “Why not? I know you have a place nearby where you shift.”
“I do.” He smil
ed at Nyna, who stared at him with bright eyes. “I hope you two are up for a hike.”
Kara darted out of the room. She returned a few moments later with two jackets, one for her and one for Nyna. “Let’s go.”
Another smile tugged the corners of his mouth. Kara’s eagerness amused him, filled him with a pleasure he hadn’t felt in what seemed like forever. He held his hands out to both females. His heart swelled as they took his hands and allowed him to lead them outside.
“So, what do you like to do for fun?” Kara asked as they walked into the forest.
“I enjoy my work.” He was too old for fun. Wasn’t he?
“That’s not fun.” Kara crinkled her nose.
Nyna laughed and said, “You chase balls of yarn and other random things. I don’t find that very fun. Not everyone has to chase things to enjoy themselves.”
Releasing his hand, Kara dashed around to his other side and hugged Nyna’s waist as they continued along the leaf-covered path. “That’s right. Dragons are too large to chase things unless it’s food.”
Hiding his smile, he brought them to a stop, then cupped Kara’s face. “I will chase my partners.”
Kara’s pupils lengthened into cat-like slits. Heat spread through him faster than he thought possible. A sensual smile spread across her lips. “You know it’s going to be a fun ride between us.”
“Yes. I am aware of that.”
Nyna moved closer to them and wrapped her arms around both of them. “Somehow, I feel like I’m here to balance everything out.”
Dipping his head, he kissed Nyna quickly on the lips, then Kara. “Once you accept the proposal and the web is weaved, things will balance on their own. We have plenty of time to work things out.”
“I guess.” Nyna stepped away from them, separating herself. Cayden moved to grab her, hating the sudden withdrawal.
Kara placed a hand on his arm and shook her head. “She needs time. As do I, but I’ll adjust much quicker. You should take her out tomorrow, spend some alone time with her.”
He clenched his jaw and focused on Kara, about to growl at her, but she placed a cool hand on his cheek. He frowned. “Are you cold?”
She gave him a half shrug. “Just chilled.” Before he could offer her warmth, she rested her hand on his chest. “If I’m chilled, then so is Nyna. Go to her.”
A growl rumbled up from his chest. “Do you always have to be right?”
“Not always.” She winked at him and continued down the path.
Shaking his head, he fell in step with Nyna and linked their fingers together. “You can ask me anything.”
She nodded. “I don’t know where to start. I’m not even sure how I should be feeling. So much as happened today.”
“I’m sorry about that, too. If I could make it all go away, I would.” His heart ached for her loss, and for his own. David was his friend. Cayden should have seen it coming, but his gift of foresight hadn’t worked on the human. Just like it didn’t work on Nyna.
“It’s not your fault. It was bound to happen. I mean, what is fated will eventually come to be.” Her soft voice had a hint of hope. However, that was who she was. Positive, compassionate, and a believer in her own destiny. All her life, she’d just gone with the flow and accepted what life threw at her with grace and a smile. Including her parents’ deaths.
“What do you like to do on a date?”
She glanced up at him, her brows drawing together. “Um, I’m afraid I’m boring and a homebody.”
Smiling, he leaned down and whispered, “So am I. How about you and I have dinner at my place tomorrow night. After, we could watch TV or whatever.”
“That sounds great.” Her mood had lifted, sweetening her scent.
Coming to a stop, he formed a small fireball to hover in mid-air. The small clearing near the cave he sometimes stayed at lit up. Beside him, Nyna let out a soft gasp.
“This is so cool.” She faced him. “I never knew this was here.”
“I keep it hidden with a spell.”
Narrowing her gaze, she studied him for several moments. “There is so much to learn about you.”
She was beautiful in the firelight. With a chuckle, he motioned for her to back up. “And you won’t learn it all tonight.”
Kara stepped behind Nyna and grabbed her hand, then they moved back a few more feet, giving Cayden the room he needed for the shift.
Calling upon his magic and the dragon, he shifted in a swirl of black smoke. He stretched his wings wide and shook his body from his head to the tip of his tail. A calm and relaxed feeling settled over him.
“You’re so beautiful,” Nyna said as she closed the distance. “Can I touch you?”
He nodded his large head and laid on the ground. When her hand brushed over his scales, he sighed and closed his eyes. It was much more sensual to have her hands on him. The erotic, but loving sensations grew when Kara touched him, as well.
In dragon form, he could see the web starting to form within him. He’d have to extend it to the females soon, but he didn’t want to until they both agreed to the union. If they didn’t, then he’d have to leave Woodland Creek forever.
Nyna exited the elevator on the tenth floor of Carter Enterprises and made her way to the accounting department to surprise Joan a little early for lunch. When she reached the older woman’s desk, she frowned. The space was clean and the computer off, as if she hadn’t come in.
Turning, Nyna went to Joan’s supervisor. Cliff glanced up from his computer and smiled at her. “Hello, Nyna. This is a surprise.”
A sinking feeling burned in her gut. Was it that suspicious for her to be there? To have lunch with Joan? Shaking off the feeling, she forced a warmth smile. “Hi. I had a lunch date with Joan today, but she doesn’t appear to be in.”
His brows drew together. “She didn’t come in. In fact, I haven’t been able to get in touch with her. I was going to go check on her at home during my lunch break.”
Oh no. The burn in her belly turned into a wildfire of dread and spread through her. She kept her smile in place so Cliff wouldn’t suspect anything and start asking a bunch of questions Nyna didn’t have answers for. “I’ll go by and let you know when I find her.”
Cliff nodded. “That would be great. Thank you. It was nice seeing you.”
“It was nice visiting the office again.” She waved as she made her way to the elevator. Once inside, she dug out her cell phone with shaky hands.
Cayden answered on the first ring. “What’s wrong?”
She took a deep breath and released it. “How did you know? Never mind. Answer that later. Can you meet me at Joan’s house? I think something terrible has happened. It’s like this feeling I have. I can’t explain it.”
“No need to. You are a sensitive soul. I’ll meet you there.”
She ended the call and hugged her phone to her chest. Tears filled her eyes. Come on, Nyna. You are under stress and your imagination is running wild. God, she hoped that was the case and that Joan was just stuck in bed with a cold, alive and safe.
Ten minutes later, Nyna pulled along the shoulder of the road outside Joan’s house and parked. The feeling of dread soured her gut as she stared at the yellow caution tape surrounding the house. Police cars lined the street, and a crime scene van was parked in the driveway.
No. Fear of what she would see froze her in her seat. A moment later, the car door opened and Cayden’s voice broke through her fogged out brain. “Nyna, dear, are you okay? I can take care of this so you don’t have to go in.”
Shaking her head, she let go of the steering wheel and moved to get out of the car, forcing him to back away. “No. I have to see it for myself.”
“Ms. Carter.”
A familiar voice drew her attention to the house. Detective Marcs advance toward her, the usual too-serious, stern look on his face. Cayden tensed beside her then put a protective arm around her. “Detective.”
Marcs gave a short nod to Cayden as he stopped in front of them.
“Why are you here?”
Nyna glanced to the house then back at Marcs. “I had plans to meet Joan for lunch today. When I went to her office and she wasn’t there, I came here to see if she was feeling all right.”
Without changing his expression, Marcs said, “Home invasion. I’m afraid Ms. Hackett was killed.”
Tears fell down Nyna’s cheek and she broke down into sobs. The weight of everything from the last twenty-four hours crashed in around her, flooding her with emotions.
Cayden tightened his hold and hugged her to his chest. She snuggled in, wanting to disappear. Sadness, anger, and pain filled her, and she barely heard Marcs ask Cayden to call him when she was up for questioning.
A few moments later, or maybe it was minutes, she was placed in the passenger seat of her car. Cayden fastened her seatbelt and kissed her forehead before starting the engine. By that time, numbness had filled her.
Joan was dead.
And it was her fault.
***
“How long has she been like that?”
Cayden cut a sharp glare at Kara as she sat in the chair across from him at the dining table in Nyna’s house. “Where the hell have you been?”
Kara let out a low growl before turning her attention to him. “Out searching for the murder weapon.” Glancing back at Nyna, she frowned. “What happened?”
“Joan was murdered last night.”
Kara stood, but Cayden gripped her wrist. “Henry’s scent was in the area. I could smell it on Marcs’ clothes from being inside Joan’s house.”
“That bastard will pay.” Kara snarled, her eyes going cat.
Cayden nodded. “He will, but he’s human, and we need to follow the human justice system while giving them a little nudge in the right direction. Please tell me you found something.”
One side of her mouth lifted and she sat in the seat next to him. “I found the gun.” She glanced at her watch and smiled.
Studying her, he couldn’t figure out if he wanted to kiss her or scold her. Maybe both. Finding the gun would surely get the case reopened and point right to Henry as the murderer. However, while looking for the weapon, Kara could have been caught or killed.
