“No thank you, Molly.” Jasmine straightened and headed for the stairs. “I think I’ll just have a bite to eat in the kitchen and go to bed. I’m still a bit jet lagged.”
“Oh, please do that, miss. The cook has a nice stew bubbling on the stove and fresh biscuits in the oven.”
“That sounds lovely.”
The maid clasped her hands in front of her chest, a dreamy look on her face. “It is lovely. Our cook is the best in Scotland.”
That was good to know. As long as the cook didn’t try to push haggis on her, they’d get along fine. As far as Jasmine was concerned, she could go the rest of her life without eating something cooked in sheep’s innards.
“Thank you for letting me know. I’ll be sure to tell her that you said so.”
With a small wave, Molly headed into another room that Jasmine thought was the study, presumably to dust.
With her stomach grumbling, Jasmine headed into the kitchen to get her snack. She really was exhausted and needed to take a nap more than anything else. With luck, perhaps she would feel better after she ate. Then again, she doubted it. For some reason, she just couldn’t get that man out of her head.
“Hello, miss.” The cook smiled at Jasmine as she walked through the door. “I have a nice dinner planned out if you don’t mind waiting a few hours.”
“I’d rather not, if you don’t mind.” Jasmine moved to the stove hoping to get a whiff of the stew Molly told her about. “That smells heavenly. Would you mind if I had a bowl of it now? I’m rather tired and would like to go to bed early.” She gave the cook a wan smile. “Jet lag.”
The cook’s eyes widened as though none of the manor’s other guests ate her stew. “If that’s what you’d like, miss. It’s just that most of the people who stay here have an idea about what I should serve them.” She laughed. “And stew is not on that list. The stew and biscuits were for the staff and me. I had a nice rib roast, kidney pie and roasted potatoes planned for you.”
“All that, just for me?” Jasmine held up her hand and shook her head. “Please don’t go to the trouble to make kidney pie for me. I’m not sure I could stomach it. The rib roast sounds heavenly for tomorrow, if it will keep another day. I’m just so tired, I can barely think straight. The stew is perfectly fine. It smells delicious.”
The cook beamed at her as though she’d just given her the world, and gestured toward the large wooden table in the center of the room. “Just you sit down right there, miss. I’ll get you some stew and the biscuits should be done in five minutes.”
Turning, the woman waddled over to the cabinets and pulled out a bowl and a glass. “What would you like to drink with your supper, miss?”
Jasmine sat down and rested her chin in her hand as she watched the large woman bustle around the kitchen. She smiled as the older woman move around the room. She knew where everything was and pulled it from the cabinets with the confidence of a woman who had worked in the same place for a long, long time.
“What do you have besides water?” She didn’t want to try drinking the water today. She felt bad enough already. She didn’t need that change yet.
Turning, the cook paused and looked at Jasmine. “You look like you could use a good stiff drink. Since I don’t have liquor here, I’ll pour you a nice glass of red wine. It’ll help you sleep.”
Jasmine wasn’t sure she needed anything to help her sleep. She was just about ready to fall over already. “That sounds good,” she replied stifling a yawn. “I hope I don’t fall asleep and end up with my face in my stew.”
The cook chuckled and Jasmine realized she had no idea what the woman’s name was. “I’m Jasmine, by the way.”
“I’m Hannah Burns. You can call me Hannah.” The woman grinned. “I like you, miss. You’re not like most others who come here acting all uppity.”
“Thank you, Hannah. I’ll take that as a compliment.” Jasmine could imagine the type of people the house staff had to put up with on occasion. Usually, people who rented places like this had loads of money. They were people like her brothers-in-law. She supposed she could add some of her sisters to that list now, though Jasmine knew that no one could ever describe any of her married sisters as uppity.
“As it was meant to be, miss.” Hannah opened the small wine cooler, reached in and pulled out an expensive-looking bottle of red wine. She poured a generous amount into a wine glass and brought both the glass and the bottle to Jasmine. “Just in case you decide you want a bit more.” The older woman smiled and winked.
Accepting the glass with a smile, Jasmine decided she liked Hannah and if she had money of her own, she would steal this wonderful woman from her employer. It was probably a good thing she didn’t have the money. If the aroma coming from the stove was any indication, Hannah’s cooking would most likely make her fat.
After dinner, Jasmine dragged herself up the stairs and to her room to watch the sunset through her window. She blamed her utter exhaustion on the copious amount of wine Hannah kept dumping into her glass when she wasn’t looking. Tired and tipsy, Jasmine wanted nothing more than to get some sleep.
In her room, she looked out over the gardens and watched the sun disappear beyond the horizon, wondering what became of Ryuu. She shouldn’t care, but found that she did. Wasn’t it just her luck that the first time in ages that she found a man attractive, he’d be a zombie?
“Stop it, Jaz. You need sleep. Your interest in him will flag after a good night’s rest.” She turned with a yawn, hoping she was right.
Stumbling to the bed, she flopped down onto it face first and groaned. “No. More. Wine. You obviously don’t know when to stop drinking.”
“Then I shall consider myself lucky. Do you think you’ll pass out soon?”
“Huh?” Lifting her head, Jasmine peered out at Ryuu through one bleary eye. “What are you doing here?” Frowning, she tried to sit up, but failed miserably.
“I am here to claim you, woman.” Ryuu glanced toward the door as though expecting it to open on its own.
“Claim me? Pfft!” Jasmine waved her hand. “You’re a zombie. You’re probably here to eat my brains.”
“How many times must I tell you that I am not dead and I do not plan to crack your head open like a walnut and eat your brains?” He ran his fingers through his dark hair, shook his head, and sighed. “The idea makes me shudder,” he added, making a face.
“Then how do you explain walking out of the woods out here in the middle of nowhere?” She started to sober up a bit—that was a good sign, wasn’t it? “There’s nothing within miles of this manor. Nothing but family owned cemeteries, at any rate. Face it, bub, you’re a zombie.”
He moved closer, his eyes practically glittering as the silvery depths filled with a strange unearthly glow. “No, love, I am not a zombie. I am the Spirit Dragon and you, my dear, are my mate.”
Chapter Six
Ryuu watched Jasmine’s eyes widen and wondered what she thought about his declaration. He silently prayed the idea didn’t repulse her, but expected nothing less since she still thought him a dead man walking.
“What!” She managed to sit up and peer at him with what appeared to be more horror than when she thought him a walking corpse. “You—you can’t be a dragon and I’m most definitely not your mate!”
In her attempt to stand, she fell against him. Looking up, she stared deep into his eyes. “Tell me you’re joking and that you’re really a zombie.”
Did she really wish he were a reanimated corpse? Ryuu wasn’t certain if he should be amused or insulted. He cocked the corner of his mouth in a sad smile and slowly shook his head. “I cannot, madam. I am the Spirit Dragon and I have come to claim my mate.” Bending, he scooped her up in his arms.
“Put me down!” she shrieked when he didn’t comply.
“Are you trying to rouse the house to arms?” What was he thinking? Of course she screamed to get the attention of her body guards. “Bellow all you like, mate. We will be gone by the time they get up here
and they will not find the secret entrance to this room.”
He moved toward the closet and the place where he entered the house. Looking down, he noticed the dark spot on the floor where the brick wall swung inward. He shook his head and hoped that the idiots charged with her care didn’t look in the closet too closely. Otherwise, his journey with his mate might not be so long after all.
The sound of running footsteps reached him. Hurrying into the passageway, he closed the door behind him and ran down the dark corridor.
“Are there spiders in here?” Jasmine’s voice sounded a bit shaky. “There are spiders in here, aren’t there? Are there spiders in here?”
“No, my dear,” he answered when it seemed as though she might repeat her question again and again. Apparently, his mate was terrified of spiders. “There are no spiders in here.” There might be rats, but he had never seen a spider in his home since nearly a month after he moved in. He wasn’t certain why, but it seemed as though the hairy little creatures didn’t much like him. He shrugged. That was no matter. He didn’t like them either. “It seems we have at least one thing in common. I also do not like spiders.”
Jasmine tried to look around, but Ryuu was certain she didn’t see much. She had human eyesight. He would have been surprised if she could see anything in the dark tunnel.
“Are you sure? Huh? Are you sure?” she asked before her head lolled back to rest on his shoulder.
She had passed out, most likely from the amount of alcohol she had said she drank at dinner. “Thank the gods!” The last thing he needed was to have her in this passageway screaming the walls down. It would only have been a matter of time before her guards knocked down a wall to come to her rescue.
Hurrying down the dark path, Ryuu stopped before a blank wall and pressed several stones in sequence. It was another passageway. If the others managed to find the entrance to this cave, they certainly wouldn’t find the hidden tunnel.
The door popped open with a groan. Ryuu pushed on it with one hand and stepped inside, glad he wouldn’t have to assure his mate about the lack of spiders again. Closing the door behind him, he slowed his steps a bit and took stock of his situation.
For the first time ever, he held his mate in his arms and she was unconscious, not to mention that she would rather he was this dead thing she called zombie instead of being her mate. What did that say about the future of their relationship?
He stared down at her closed eyes, her thick lashes appearing like dark crescents against her skin. What was it about this woman that made him feel so much already? The emotions swamped him as she stared down into her slack face and wondered what kind of life they could build together.
Ryuu had no idea what would happen in this new life they would share. He determined to make it a happy one, for Jasmine’s sake. She would never regret waking him. His little minx might not want to mate with him now, but he vowed she would never, ever be sorry, if she did.
Looking up, he continued through the tunnel, heading for his lair. Whatever future they had together, he would see to it that they would have one filled with love and laughter. Already, she had made him laugh. It was something his life sorely lacked right up until a few hours ago. Now, he had laughed several times today, at himself and at her antics. What did the morrow hold? Whatever it held, one thing was certain, it would not be boring.
It was full dark by the time they finally exited the catacombs below his home. Wasting no time, he quickly used his magic to shift into his dragon and leapt into the air with her still in the cradle of his arms.
Turning north, Ryuu headed for his lair, unwavering in his decision to keep her with him until she either rejected him outright or agreed to be his. One thing was guaranteed, he had no intention of letting her go until she could see him as a flesh and blood, and not to mention, alive man. That he was also a dragon was irrelevant.
Chapter Seven
Jasmine woke to the sound of water dripping into a basin. It echoed through the room, the sound loud to her ears. The house was so quiet, she was almost afraid to get up for fear of disturbing someone. The people here seemed to live to do her bidding and she felt guilty every time they leapt to get her something.
When she finally gathered the energy to open her eyes and look around, her mouth dropped open at the sight of the large cavern before her. She was no longer in her rented manor, but in a large cave somewhere resting on a large, stone shelf cushioned by thick comforters.
Sitting up, she stared out at the large pool of blue-tinted water so clear she could see the pattern of stones on the bottom. Large stalactites hung low over the pool. She could only imagine their mates sat below the surface of the water, though she couldn’t see them. Perhaps the constant flow through the large, stone basin kept them from forming on the bottom of the pool.
Red, green and purple stones glistened softly in the walls, making Jasmine wonder just where in the world she was. If she had to guess, she would have thought it a dragon’s lair. Her sister April had described her husband, Drake’s, lair to them all once.
“Ugh! Why do I feel hung over?” she brought her hand to her aching head and attempted to remember the events leading up to her arrival in this place. Unfortunately, she didn’t remember much past her dinner of lamb stew and wine.
Sliding to the edge of the shelf, Jasmine eased her legs over the side and stood. She swayed as the room spun around her and frowned down at what appeared to be naturally formed steps to the steaming pool.
“Hello,” she called out. Hello, hello, hello, her voice echoed through the huge cavern, and she shivered. “Is anyone here?” Is anyone here, anyone here, here. The sound of her voice eerily thrown back at her made her shiver yet again. For a second time, she tried to remember what happened to bring her here, and failed.
“What am I doing here?” Her mind wandered back to the handsome, yet still completely dead zombie that attempted to woo her the day before and almost felt bad that he was probably lying prostrate on the ground becoming dinner for whatever types of carrions that Scotland had.
Looking around, with the exception of the makeshift bed, Jasmine saw nothing but smooth, limestone and granite walls, glistening pools, and gleaming gems. “Is there no way out of here?” She spoke softer this time, hoping her voice wouldn’t carry to echo back at her. It was just plain creepy. “It’s scary being all alone in here.” She crossed her arms and rubbed her shoulders.
“Do not fear. You were never alone, Jasmine.”
Spinning around, Jasmine brought her hand to rest over her heart. “You scared me half to death!” If he hadn’t been a zombie, she might have slapped him for the scare. As it was, she didn’t want to get any closer to him than she was at the moment. In fact, she decided to back up a pace, just for good measure. She looked around. “Where’s the exit? I am not staying here with you.”
Jasmine knew it was only a matter of time before he decided that he needed her blood to survive. Then he would attack her. She couldn’t afford to be alone with him when that time came.
Ryuu glanced up toward a little spot of light in the rock over their heads. What looked to be a tiny opening must have been the way he brought her into this huge cavern. It was at least three or four hundred feet over their heads.
“The exit is up there,” he said confirming her fears.
How in the hell was she going to get up there to escape?
Ryuu turned to her, his eyebrows nearly at his hairline. “The only way for you to get out of here is to fly through that hole.” He moved a step closer while Jasmine countered his move with two steps back.
“As I have said, I am the Spirit Dragon and you, my dear, are my mate.”
“Well, hell,” Jasmine said on a moan. She moved back to sit on the fur-covered stone shelf where she woke. “Why couldn’t you have been a zombie?”
Chapter Eight
Ryuu was uncertain whether he should be hurt or amused by her comment. What was it about him that made her wish for the company of a reanima
ted corpse over him?
“Why would you rather I be the walking dead?”
She looked up at him and gave an exasperated sigh. “Because, if you were a zombie, I wouldn’t feel bad when Drake’s men kill you.”
He almost laughed at that. Instead, he asked, “Why would they kill me, and how do you suppose they would find us to do so?”
Reaching up, Jasmine grasped the locket that rested against the smooth skin of her throat. She opened it, revealing what appeared to be something oddly mechanical.
“All of my sisters wear a similar tracking device unless we don’t want Drake’s men to find us.” She shrugged. “A few of my sisters have ditched them and ran away. Not that running ever did them any good. Their mates found them and made their claims regardless.”
“That is as it should be.”
“Not in this time, mister. Women are emancipated human beings. We’re allowed to live our lives the way we want without the interference of our flawed male relatives who seem to still think we’re property somehow.” She looked at him angrily for a moment before she looked up and her expression turned sad. “Here they are now, if I’m not mistaken. If I were you, I’d run before they catch and kill you.” Jasmine waved her arm toward the three shadows approaching them that blocked the light from the upper entrance.
“Hell and damnation!” Ryuu immediately shifted into his dragon. An ethereal fog swirled around them as he snatched up his mate and headed for the hidden entrance to his lair. He had not been entirely honest with Jasmine when he told her the hole in the upper reaches of the cave was the only way out.
Desperately flapping his wings, he hurried to the maze of caves that surrounded the large chamber he had made his living quarters. With luck, he would make it into and through the catacombs before they caught up to him. He could collapse the entire tunnel in on itself to keep them from following, but he would rather only have to ruin the entrance. That he could easily fix.
The Spirit Dragon Page 3
