by Amelia Jade
Palin hesitated and Sandy cringed, wondering if he was going to lose his cool knowing that she had to stop things there. For now, and possibly forever. The adrenaline was wearing off, and she was suddenly unsure of just what to do next. Everything was so scary, and her life seemed ready to go off the rails.
Just a few weeks earlier she’d been on her own, working her ass off to make ends meet. Then everything had changed, starting with Palin barging into her life, and ending with Rusty’s goons coming to intimidate her into selling.
She shivered again, but this time it wasn’t the cold. It was another memory that cropped up. Of a time before farms and fields. Back when she was a city-girl and an office executive. She recalled another house, and a situation similar to this one.
Palin spoke, bringing her back to the present. “It’s not the right time, is it?”
Shaking her head slowly she gave him a sad smile. “No, it’s not.”
“Okay.” He bobbed his head a few times and backed off. “I guess I’ll go get those tarps then. Get those set up until I can have the window replaced.” He glanced over at the gaping hole and winced. “Sorry again about that.”
Sighing with exaggerated drama, she waved one hand at him regally. “I suppose that since you broke it while coming to my rescue, that just this once I can forgive you.”
They laughed. She enjoyed moments like that where they could just have fun together. It made her feel…connected.
“Why thank you. Your generosity knows no bounds,” he chuckled, bowing low.
“I know,” she said primly, before sobering. “I have no idea where I’m going to find the money to replace it though. What are the odds the tarps are heat insulating? It’s going to be winter soon.”
Palin frowned. “I’ll be replacing the window. I broke it after all.”
She started to argue, but a sharp glare from Palin stopped her. It appeared he was determined to do this. Sandy hated the idea of charity, but his fierce look wasn’t something she wanted to argue with. “Okay,” she agreed, capitulating.
“I’m also sleeping in here tonight,” he stated. “On the couch, but I’m not letting you stay on your own tonight.”
“I have Champ.”
Palin nodded. “I know. And Champ agrees I should stay on the couch.”
Her dog didn’t make a sound, still watching the rest of the house from close by, but she saw the animal’s approval of Palin in general reflected in the way his side was turned to the big man in a sign of trust. Champ didn’t expect an attack from Palin.
She caved, realizing it would be pointless to protest. Palin seemed to have a protective streak when it came to her, and he was in full bodyguard mode just then. “Okay. But you’re on the couch, no matter what just happened.”
He inclined his head slightly. “You’re the boss.”
Sandy couldn’t help but wonder if that were the truth or not. Palin had a sway over her. It just remained to be seen how strong.
Chapter Seventeen
Sandy
She awoke the next morning with a start. Memories of the night before rushed back to her. The home invasion. Champ barking fiercely. The men coming at her.
Palin.
A hero in shining armor if there ever was one, he’d come rushing to her aid, easily handling her attackers and sending them scurrying as they feared for their lives. Despite the thousands of ways everything could have gone wrong, things had, in the end, worked out. Nobody was hurt. She was okay, her dog was fine, and Palin was unharmed. Relief flooded through her as her sleep-addled brain put it all together and realized one final conclusion.
It was okay.
From downstairs she heard the sounds of someone moving about. At first she tensed up nervously, but the happy humming could only be coming from one person. Palin was working away, doing something, though she had no idea what. Curiosity overwhelmed the desire to pull the blankets back up and nap for another hour.
There was work to be done.
Putting on some comfortable worn black sweatpants, a white sports bra, and comfortable knitted gray sweater, she went downstairs, ready to tackle the cleaning.
To her astonishment the downstairs was already clean. Tables had been righted, furniture set back in their spots, and anything that had broken picked up and the floor swept.
“Did you do all this?” she asked, pointing.
“Yes.” He looked away guiltily. “I didn’t want to sleep. Couldn’t sleep, really. So I decided once you were sound asleep that I needed to do something. I, uh, I hope I didn’t wake you.”
“No,” she said dreamily, though more than a little worried. Had he not slept at all?
“I figured the house should be clean before we go.”
She eyed him. “Go? Where are we going?”
“It’s not safe here,” he stated. “We should go somewhere you’ll be safe.”
“I don’t have anywhere else to go,” she said, forcing her brain to come fully awake and understand what he was saying.
“I know. That’s why you should come with me. We can go to my home. You’ll live among my, um, friends. Those people who can protect you from anything that comes along.”
She stared at him aghast. “You want me to leave? To go to a strange place I’ve never been?”
The idea flat-out terrified her. Despite her growing trust in Palin, he was the only person she would even consider having closer to her, and it had taken a week of forced interaction with him for her to develop that. Going to live among other people was out of the question, and she told him that.
“They could come back at any time,” he said, stabbing an irritated finger out at the tarp-covered window. “Who knows what they’ll try to do now that they know they can get to you? I will protect you with my dying breath, Sandy, but I cannot be everywhere at once,” he pleaded with her. “It’s not safe here. We need to go where it is.”
“No.” She crossed her arms and glared back at him, not willing to relent. “I’m not leaving the farm. It’s the only place in the world that I know. My sense of security is shaken, but it’s not broken.”
Thanks to him. He didn’t call her on it, but he didn’t have to. They both knew he was thinking it. The only reason she could feel comfortable in her home was because she knew he was nearby and would protect her if they came back. Sandy didn’t understand why he was so driven to guard her, but just then she wasn’t going to question it.
“Fine. If you won’t go, let me deal with Rusty.”
“Deal with him? You said last night you were going to kill him, Palin!”
The big man didn’t flinch. “I meant what I said. He purposefully sent those men over here. They were after you, Sandy. They wanted to hurt you.”
She shivered. They would have if he hadn’t been there. “I can’t let you go around killing people. Who does that?” She shook her head. “I thought I knew you, Palin. Or at least, that I was starting to get to know you. But this side of you…it scares me.”
Dark thoughts entered her head. Maybe she’d been wrong to let him into her life. After all, what’s to say that it wasn’t Palin’s interaction with Rusty at the market that had suddenly upped the ante between them? Yes, things had been coming to a head as of late and the tensions were already higher. But that could have been the tipping point.
“I told you what I was. Who I am,” he said, spreading his hands to the sides and shrugging, as if helpless. “I have never lied to you yet. You just don’t believe me. But you will.”
Sandy rolled her eyes. “Nobody is going to believe that you’re a dragon, Palin. That’s what you mean, right? That you’re some sort of magic dragon that can turn into a human who wants to kill my neighbors to protect me?”
“Have I lied to you about anything else?”
“No, but what kind of statement is that?” she snapped. “That’s basically you saying ‘Hey, look at me, I’m a decent human being because I tell the truth and don’t lie to you. That means you need to believe me when I claim something ridicu
lous.’ Do you see how that comes across?”
“I haven’t lied, and I will never lie.”
She laughed. “Okay. Well, most people would consider you crazy and call the police right now.”
Palin looked down, saddened. “You don’t seem to think I’m crazy.”
“You don’t act like it. But maybe you’re just good at pretending, I don’t know.”
“Come with me to the city then. I have an apartment there. It’s close to the farm, easy to come back and check on it. Champ would be welcome there. He’d be spoiled rotten probably. All the others would love him.”
“The others? The other dragons?” She scoffed in disbelief. “And I’m not going to the city, Palin. I’m staying right here. I’m done running, okay? I’m done.”
“Done running from what?!” he blasted, frustration boiling over. “Why are you so shut off from the world, and so insistent on keeping it that way?”
Sandy started to fire back a hot retort, but it died on her lips. Palin didn’t understand. He couldn’t relate to where she was coming from, because he didn’t know what she’d already been through. Maybe if she told him he’d be able to see things better from her point of view. Feeling like this was the way to convince him as she revealed her story.
“I used to live in the city, you know that.”
He nodded, not saying anything, recognizing the change in her tone for what it was.
“I worked in an office. I was on the board of a company. Executive Vice President. It’s a hopped-up title, but there weren’t very many of us. I had power, Palin, real power. I was making money too, though I spent much of it as quickly as I made it.”
As she talked he moved over to the couch and sat down, gesturing at her favorite chair. “It’s not that long a story,” she said, but plopped down anyway. The more she spoke to Palin about it, the calmer she felt.
“Anyway. I lived alone. No boyfriend, no husband. Just me in my big house. I was confident, never really thought things could go bad.” She snorted. “Boy was I wrong.”
“What happened?” he asked, prodding gently when she didn’t immediately continue.
“Someone betrayed my trust. You see, I told a few of my coworkers that I had recently invested in some gold. That I wanted a hard currency that wasn’t cash in case anything happened. Only they and the bank who sold me the gold bars knew about it. I had them locked away in a safe.” She smiled wryly, remembering the attitude of “Old Sandy” as she now thought of her past self. “One night I awoke to a knife being held to my throat, a shotgun in my face, and three men shouting at me to give them the gold.”
Palin’s growl was so loud it startled her out of her storytelling mode.
“Sorry,” he muttered, visibly shocked by the ferocity of his reaction. He took several quick deep breaths, calming himself, then motioned for her to continue.
She could see though that his fists were still clenched tight, knuckles going pale from the stress. “It was terrifying,” she admitted. Then laughed softly. “You know until now I haven’t been able to speak about it without crying. The memories are powerful and they come back to me every so often in waves.”
“You’re safe with me around,” he proclaimed for the tenth time, though she didn’t find it annoying to hear. “Your soul knows this. That’s why you can speak about it without issue.”
“If you say so.” She didn’t want to get into an argument with him just now. “They weren’t very nice about it. I still have a scar.” Pulling down her sweater she exposed the four-inch-long scar that ran from the top of her left breast down to her sternum. It also gave him a full view of her cleavage as her sports bra strained to contain her tits, but she figured after what he’d done for her, she could suck up being ogled for a few seconds.
Besides, it was kind of nice to know that a certified babe like Palin found her attractive and have it reaffirmed. It let her know that what had happened the night before was no accident.
“I can’t believe they would do that,” he said tightly. She saw his jaw twitch, and realized he was tamping down on everything to remain calm just then.
“Yeah. So long story short, they got the gold and left me a beaten, bruised, and bloody mess. The doctors said I was lucky. Victims often end up dead in situations like that.”
“They do,” he agreed. “I’m glad you came out of it alive.”
“Me too.” She smiled grimly. “I tried to go back to work, to keep up appearances and return to my old life, albeit with a state-of-the-art security system installed, but I couldn’t. I was jumping at shadows, suspicious of everyone.” Sandy shook her head. “My uncle died of a massive heart attack right around then, and being the only living Talbert, the farm came to my possession. It seemed like a sign, a way out of my house of horrors. So I sold everything as fast as possible, not caring if I took a loss. After paying all my debts I had a little bit left, so I came out here to work the farm and avoid interacting with people as much as possible. Fat lot of good it’s done me,” she said bitterly, avoiding his gaze.
“It led you to me,” Palin said.
“Yes, but I’ve yet to decide if you’re trouble or not.”
He grinned. “I’m flattered you think I’m not. Don’t worry, I’ll prove you wrong.”
She laughed, relieved at the smooth change of subject. “I have no doubts about that.”
They shared a laugh, the humor helping her stay relaxed.
“Okay, so no city, no going to stay with other dragons,” he said after a few minutes of silence. “But I’m going to need a concession from you.”
“I hardly think you’re in the place to demand something from me.”
“Maybe not, but I’m going to do it anyway.”
She felt her eyebrows rising into her forehead. “I’ll consider it.”
“Me staying on the couch is no longer temporary. If we’re staying here, then I’m staying in the house until things with your neighbor are resolved.” He held up his hands to stop her protests before they started. “I promise I won’t handle it unless either you give me permission, or they come after you again.” He stared at her directly and stuck out his right hand. “Do we have a deal?”
She considered his outstretched hand. Taking it would mean the end of her self-imposed exile. It would mean accepting that she was interested him, and that there was definitely something going on between them. It would mean having Palin in close proximity at all times. All of the above and then some would come her way if she shook his hand.
“Well?” He gave her a questioning look.
Would it be so bad to have him in her life? To open up to someone, to be able to talk, laugh, and maybe even cry on a regular basis, knowing he’d be there with whatever she needed? Sandy didn’t know. There was a lot that she couldn’t account for, and that scared her.
But that’s life. Life is unpredictable. You can’t force it.
Which is precisely what she’d tried to do up until now. She’d tried to force life to move by her unseen, leaving her completely alone. It had worked for a time, but now it was all coming to a head at once, and she was being thrust back into life whether she liked it or not. Her choices were to fight the current and swim upstream where she would ultimately fail, or to go with the flow and try and guide herself through it as best she could, making the decisions she wanted instead of letting it dictate to her.
In the end, the answer was obvious.
“Fine. But don’t think that means you’re off the couch.”
He grinned, shaking hands with her. “You won’t regret this, I promise.”
Famous last words.
Chapter Eighteen
Palin
It was cold that night.
He glared at the tarp as it rattled in the window. After he’d calmed down and accepted Sandy’s decision to stay in her house, he’d started making some phone calls to get someone out to repair the window as soon as possible. He’d made it clear money wasn’t an issue; time and quality of workmanship wa
s.
Only one person had accepted the job, and they’d said they would be there the next day to measure and order it up, but that they couldn’t promise how long until they could be on site. That was fine by him, but it meant several more chilly nights.
They were on the couch, sitting at opposite ends, though they weren’t really apart from each other. It was simply the easiest way that he could gently massage her feet while she relaxed in front of the fire. Logs crackled and fell as one turned to ash, exposing fresh wood to the flames, making them leap higher for the time being. Soon he would have to add more logs, but for now he focused his thumbs on rolling across the soles of her feet, prompting happy noises from his mate.
The blanket was stretched across them, though it barely covered his frame. It was there mostly for her feet, not for him. The breeze didn’t bother Palin, but he could tell that Sandy was chilled. Once again he felt guilty for not keeping his composure during the fight. He was better than that—he’d trained for situations like that—but in his first real combat of any sort he’d panicked and tossed the guy through the window. Not a great start.
Beside him his phone lit up once again. It was Rowe, or maybe Torran, he really didn’t know. Either way, his hands were busy, and he didn’t want to talk to them anyway. The longer he stayed with Sandy, the more irritated they were getting with him. Their comments toward humans, which they insisted on lumping Sandy in with, were getting on his nerves.
Couldn’t they see there were good people out here, people with dragon blood in them? It irritated him that they were so blind to this fact that they wouldn’t even believe him. The phone finally fell dark again as they hung up, and he breathed a sigh of relief.
“Something wrong?” Sandy asked, sitting up. “Are you cold? Do you need to get under the blanket?”
“N—Actually, that might be nice,” he said, catching himself in time. Being under the blanket with her would give him a chance to get closer to her, something he’d been wishing for desperately all day.
The events of the night before wouldn’t leave his brain, nor his balls. All day they had ached dully, a reminder that though he’d broken yet another barrier with his mate, he had yet to claim her. Palin wanted her more with each passing breath, and the barrier that held back his desire was growing more ragged every time they locked eyes or touched. He wasn’t sure how much longer he could hold out.
