Artistic Vision

by Dana Marie Bell

  Dedication

  To Mom, who agreed to babysit my little angels while I took Dusty to his first Steampunk Ball. Why is it they’ll follow Nana’s rules without a whimper, but not Mom’s? I want to know what you bribe them with! And do I get any? It’s gotta be some good stuff…

  To Dad, who still loves to tell embarrassing stories about me to people I don’t know. You had to know I could hear you, right?

  Finally, to Dusty, who looked damn good in his cowboy-steampunk outfit. I only have one thing to say: giddy-up!

  * * *

  Chapter One

  Shane studied the statue, currently sitting in the window of one of New York’s finest art galleries, with a critical eye. He gestured toward the assistant in the window to adjust it, stepping back again to view the results. He shook his head, still not satisfied. “The lighting’s wrong.”

  One of the gallery’s employees rushed forward and began to change the lighting shining down on the piece. He coughed, trying to hide his amusement as the gallery owner flittered around him like a manic butterfly, breath misting in the chill evening air. The pooka always seemed nervous whenever Shane dropped by. “We’re so sorry, Mr. Joloun. We’ll fix it right away.”

  “It’s no problem, Mr. Klaussner. I know this was a last minute addition and I’m just happy you were able to accommodate my request.”

  The little man fluttered some more, pleased with himself. Bart Klaussner had been one of the first gallery owners to give him a break, and Shane had made sure he got as many showings as he could handle. Shane was loyal to those who’d helped him along the way, and if his success helped Klaussner, so much the better. “Yes, Mr. Joloun. If I may say, it’s a wonderful piece. Possibly one of your finest.”

  Shane allowed his smile to break through. “Thank you. It’s very special to me.”

  “It’s a shame it’s not for sale.”

  Shane shook his head, his eyes drawn once more to the magnificent flying figure he’d tried to capture in his art. “No. I’d never sell this piece.”

  He ignored the way the gallery owner stared at him. Instead, he enjoyed the way the light shown on the gleaming metal sculpture. It came nowhere near how wonderful she actually looked in flight. The graceful curve of her wings, the gleaming gold of her horns, the fire and passion in her every movement captivated him. The cold chrome and brass sculpture was merely an homage to the woman who’d captured him, heart and soul.

  “What did you say this piece was called again, Mr. Joloun?”

  Shane grinned, not surprised when the gallery owner took a step back. He had a good idea what his expression looked like. It was getting harder and harder to hide the hunger riding him for the woman who had stolen his soul. “Akane.”

  The child of Dunne will one day perform an act that will change our world. And with those simple words from the Seer, Akane’s world had been changed, possibly forever. Instead of dancing around New York, Milan, Paris, Monte Carlo and Los Angeles, she was stuck on a farm in Nebraska babysitting one of the most annoying men she’d ever met in her life. Except when her charge chose to disappear on her, that was.

  “God damn it, Farm Boy. Where the hell are you? I don’t have time for this shit.” Akane Russo stomped through the slushy New York streets and wished she had time for a little shopping. Here she was in Manhattan, surrounded by luxury, and she couldn’t do crap about it. Shane Dunne had disappeared from his Nebraska farm and the Hob wanted to know where he was—pronto. It was a pretty stupid stunt for Shane to pull, considering the danger his family was in from the Black Court and the Malmayne clan. They’d already kidnapped him once and tortured his sister-in-law to get what they wanted. So what the hell was he thinking, running off to New York by himself? She’d thought better of him, but apparently she was wrong. When most people had the Black Court on their asses they hid behind the Blades like good little boys and girls. Shane, the idiot, just hopped a plane and headed on a merry little jaunt to New York on some kind of lunatic holiday.

  The man was a moron. She no longer had any doubts about that.

  She turned a corner and snarled. It was starting to snow again, the cold flakes dripping down the back of her neck, below the collar of her cashmere sweater. “Feh. I hate the cold.”

  She sniffed the cold air, desperate for a scent of the Nebraskan, but all she got was exhaust fumes and the frustration of every New Yorker stuck trudging through the slush with her. “I’m going to kick his ass when I find him. Kick it and then drag it back home.”

  She paused, then shook her head. Home? Since when had the Dunne farm become home? Akane was a city girl through and through. No Green Acres for this Prada-wearing female, thank you very much. Akane crossed the street, glaring at a cabby who dared honk his horn at her.

  It was time she “looked” for Shane. She just needed to find a nice, quiet spot to do so, one where she wouldn’t be disturbed for a few seconds. She found it, ducking into a doorway and staring up at the sky like she was hoping for the snow to stop falling. Which, however you looked at it, she sort of was.

  Akane allowed her inner eye to open. The pale star in the center of her left iris expanded, granting her that second sight she so relied on in her work. She focused her thoughts on Shane, picturing his striking red-gold hair, his sparkling sapphire eyes, his scarred farmer’s hands that had cradled hers so gently.

  A swirl of power filled her vision, that green and gold signifying his mixed blood, leprechaun and Sidhe. Beneath that swirling light was Shane, but whatever it was he was doing she couldn’t tell. The light of his power blinded her to his actions.

  Shit. She’d never find Jethro at this rate. She closed down her inner sight with a sigh. She was tired, her feet were cold, and she wanted a latte in the worst way, but if she didn’t find Shane soon her ass was going to be a chew toy for Robin’s hobgoblins.

  She stepped out of the doorway and winced as the last of the evening light glinted off of something metal in the window next to her. She turned her head to catch whatever it was that had reflected the light.

  Akane gasped. She was staring in the window of an art gallery. There, on a black pedestal, surrounded by black velvet, was a silver and brass sculpture. It rose majestically from some sort of crystal base, seeming to float in the air. It swirled and dipped with ballerina-like grace, dainty and feminine despite the masculine medium of metal and glass. She stepped closer to the window, enchanted, almost breathless at the sense of flight the figure exuded. She could see wings quivering in the lines of the piece as if it just waited for a moment, a breath and it would take off, forever free. It spoke of strength, elegance, and a fierce desire to fly.

  She wanted it in a way she wanted very little else. The dragoness half of her blood yearned for the piece in a way not even a diehard chocoholic at the window of a Godiva store could comprehend. She glanced down at the card at the base of the statue, wondering who’d created the piece and if she could afford it. When she read the name of the piece she stopped breathing.

  Akane, by Shane Joloun. Not For Sale.

  Shane Joloun.

  “What the hell?” She stomped into the art gallery. Dear gods, she could smell Shane all over the place, his scent rich and earthy and oh so tempting. She grabbed the first person in a suit she caught. “Excuse me, can I speak to the owner please?”

  The owner was soon fetched. “My name is Mr. Klaussner. How may I help you?”

  There was something odd about the man’s scent. She took a deep breath, nodding to herself when she smelled pooka and something else, something elusive. He was definitely fae, that was certain.

  The gallery owner eyed her designer attire and his demeanor changed from simple curiosity to an almost puppyish charm.

  “The piece in the wind
ow. Who made it?”

  The man smiled, all charm. He didn’t even question why she didn’t just read the placard under the piece. Her obvious wealth allowed her some eccentricities. “Shane Joloun, of course. He’s become a famous sculptor in the last five years, and we were thrilled to have a hand in introducing him to the art world.” She nodded, for once speechless. Shane was an artist?

  Jethro?

  Seriously?

  Her eyes strayed back to the sculpture in the window.

  He’d named that exquisite piece Akane.

  The manager’s voice broke into her thoughts before they could go too far in a direction she really didn’t want them to. “Would you like to see other pieces by him? We were lucky enough to get a shipment, and of course the artist himself was here until just a short while ago, helping us arrange them.”

  She followed behind the little man, stunned by what was on display. Shane’s work was, without a doubt, the most stunning she’d ever seen. His sculptures sang, wept, took flight and left you breathless, wanting more. She couldn’t take her eyes off them. Metal, glass and stone were his playthings, and he shaped them into objects that fed her soul and touched her heart. She desperately wanted to reach out, caress them. Own them, so she could look upon them whenever she desired and feel her heart was full.

  She pointed to one in particular that spoke to her. It reminded her of a cat on the prowl, but there was something oddly human in the features. Something female. There was a hint of mischief in the way the cat held its tail, a playfulness despite the glittering unsheathed claws. “I want that one.”

  “Yes, Miss—”

  “I’m not finished.” She’d spotted another, one she needed for Jaden, her partner and one of Shane’s new brothers-in-law. Three faceless figures writhed in glass flame and metal shadow, backs arched, hands clenched around one another, two bowed over one protectively. What struck her as oddly appropriate was that it wasn’t the smallest figure being protected. To her, that middle figure represented Jaden, and everything he’d thought he’d lost when Duncan had Claimed Moira with a single kiss.

  Where others might see only pain in the figures she saw pleasure, and battles overcome. Had Shane created it with his sister and her two bondmates in mind? “And that one.” It was a perfect gift to give to the newly minted lord of Clan Blackthorn and his family. And she bet the one who would appreciate the symbolism the most would be Duncan, Jaden’s bondmate and the former lord of the Malmayne clan.

  “Ah. Yes.” Mr. Klaussner signaled to his employee, who placed a Sold placard in front of both pieces.

  She reached into her purse and held out her credit card, not surprised when the man’s eyes went wide. It was an extremely rare card, given only to the very wealthy, and Mr. Klaussner’s gaze ate it up before he could shield them. “You say the artist was here until just a short while ago?” When Klaussner nodded she smiled, all innocence. With her small size and big, unusual eyes, she’d gotten more than one man to do what she wanted with just a look. “Is there any chance I could meet with him?”

  Klaussner shook his head sadly, the credit card cradled in his fingers. “I’m sorry, Miss—” he glanced down at the card, “—Russo, but Mr. Joloun has already returned to his family estate. I believe he went straight to the airport from here.”

  The family estate could mean only one thing. Shane had gone back to Nebraska. “Thank you, Mr. Klaussner.” She smiled again, amused when the man’s cheeks flushed.

  “Where may I have the sculptures shipped to, if I may ask?”

  Akane rattled off Jade’s address, knowing the vampire wouldn’t mind her using it, especially since one of the pieces was for him. Klaussner barely batted an eye when she said Nebraska, but his shoulders tensed just a hair. Deep inside it pleased her that this man was protective of Shane, even if it was only for the money the artist made the gallery owner.

  She thanked Klaussner and stepped back out into the New York evening. Shane was on his way home, and it was time to report in to Robin. She spared one last, wistful glance at the sculpture in the window, her heart staggered once more by its beauty. Could it be that this was the way Shane saw her? Truly?

  Her hand was on the cold glass before she realized it, reaching for the beautiful artwork she couldn’t take her eyes off. She snatched her hand back and stepped away, yanking her gaze from the window. She set off briskly, hailing a cab to take her back to her hotel room. She’d need to pack and appraise Robin of Shane’s return to Nebraska quickly, before she found herself back in the art gallery, surrounded once more by Shane. She didn’t think her heart would be able to withstand it if she stayed there even a moment longer.

  If she did, it might no longer be hers.

  “Sir? You saw?”

  Shane stepped out of the shadows and grinned. Her reaction had been even better than he’d hoped for. “I saw. Thanks, Mr. Klaussner.”

  “You’re quite welcome, Mr. Joloun.” Klaussner waved at his assistant again, and the man, apparently psychic from what Shane could tell, answered the unspoken command. He began to carefully remove Akane from the window and replaced it with another one of Shane’s sculptures, complete with placard and price. “Shall I have it shipped back to your studio, Mr. Joloun?”

  “Please do.” As if Shane would allow Akane to be sent to anyone’s home but his own. This one was special. This one was theirs, and some day Akane would accept it, and the artist, and all that went with them. Until then, until the day he could Claim and Bind his mate to him, Akane would stay with him.

  Shane grinned as the assistant wheeled Akane to the back of the gallery and through the storeroom doors. He couldn’t wait.

  He thanked the gallery owner and left. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed a number he’d long since learned by heart. “She’s going home.”

  “Good. She saw your sculpture?”

  “Yup. And she reacted the way you predicted she would.”

  A soft, feminine laugh sounded in his ear. “Did you make her present yet?”

  Shane grinned. He’d been working on Akane’s birthday present since the day he met her. “It’s almost complete. I have the final component now. I’ll finish it once I’m back in my studio.”

  “Wonderful. I look forward to hearing my daughter’s screams of frustration.”

  I look forward to hearing your daughter scream for an entirely different reason. “I’m sure she’ll find many hours of pleasure in it.”

  “I’m certain she will as well. Have a good flight, Shane.”

  “Thank you, Seer.” Shane hung up and took a deep, happy breath. So far everything was going the way he’d hoped it would. He was allowing little bits and pieces of the real Shane to shine through for his mate, just enough to tease, to tantalize, to keep the dragoness sneaking closer and closer instead of driving her away. Akane had no desire to have a mate, but as far as he was concerned it was already too late.

  She had one, and she’d learn to love him whether she wanted to or not. And if she doubted that?

  Well. She’d never dealt with a determined Nebraska farm boy before. Akane was in for a rude awakening if she thought for one moment he was ever going to let her get away.

  He remembered his first sight of her, her long, meticulously curled black hair gleaming in the moonlight as she tried to fake him out. She’d acted all innocent, her huge, strange eyes wide, her pouty lips pursed in a smile. Her mother’s Japanese heritage was all over her. With her almond-shaped eyes and small nose she’d looked like an anime doll brought to life. It was only in her dragon form her father’s ancestry shone through, from the tips of her wings to the slash of her tail. She’d turned out to be a tiny little thing when he finally got her out of her car, barely five feet tall if he were to guess, with a waist his hands could span easily and a temper that could light the world on fire. All of it was hidden behind an assumed innocence that made him laugh just to think of it. And her eyes…oh, those gorgeous eyes of hers. Shane got hard with just a glance from of those i
ncredible eyes. One eye was a pure light hazel; the other, dark brown with a startling light hazel star in the center. Black brows were a straight slash above them, giving her a stern expression, and were probably a truer indication of the woman than the big eyes and pouty mouth.

  Gods, he wanted that mouth in the worst way.

  “Shane Dunne, is that you?”

  Shane froze. That haughty voice was familiar. “Henri Malmayne. What a surprise.” He turned to face the blond man and his equally blonde companions. Henri was the new White Court lord of the Malmayne clan, duly appointed by Glorianna herself once she’d removed Duncan Malmayne as lord. She’d removed him because his new brother-in-law had mated not just Shane’s baby sister but his bond-brother, the vampire Jaden Blackthorn. Glorianna hated vampires with an unholy passion. It was unheard of for any of her people, let alone the lord of a clan as powerful as the Malmaynes to have a vampiric mate. Most vampires who chose not to walk on the dark side were Gray Court for that reason.

  The problem was, the Queen of the White Court had put in place a lord whose allegiance was, at best, murky. At worst, Henri was working with the Black Court to control a prophecy he couldn’t possibly understand. Shane himself was still uncertain what was supposed to happen. How could Henri hope to even begin to comprehend it? All they had to go on was the Seer’s obscure words: A child of Dunne will change the world as we know it. Being the Malmaynes, they’d latched onto Leo, the most Sidhe of the Dunnes, thinking his seed would provide the much sought-after child. They’d kidnapped Shane first. When they hadn’t been able to force Leo’s compliance, they’d kidnapped Ruby, Leo’s bondmate, and tortured her, all for a few vague words.

  Worst of all, they’d used Black Court help to do it.

  “Why would you be surprised? The Malmaynes have many businesses in New York.” Cecelia Malmayne was hanging all over her cousin Henri, smirking at Shane like he was dog poo she’d narrowly avoided stepping in. “What are you doing here? Hoping to catch some culture?”