Damn, the woman knew him well. He grunted and nodded. “What have you been doing?” Her cheeks flushed a pale pink. Intrigued, he rolled his chair toward her. “Now I really have to know.”
She slowly picked up the sketchpad and opened the cover. There he was, sitting at the desk, fingers on the keyboard. He took the pad and studied the likeness. “It’s amazing.” He flipped the page and found another drawing. This one was of him in his dragon form. Then another of the little dragon from her children’s book, and still more of the fairies. “You’ve been busy.”
She shrugged. “I know my career as a children’s writer is probably over, but that doesn’t stop the stories from coming.”
He carefully closed the pad and set it aside. “We’ll find a way to make it work. You won’t be able to visit your agent or publisher in person, not for a while anyway, but there are ways.” He held up his hands and wiggled his fingers. “King of the internet,” he reminded her.
She laughed, reached out, and took his hand. “As long as you don’t do anything to endanger yourself or your brothers.”
And speaking of his brothers. “I think we should go visit Ezra before Darius and Sarah take off. I want you to meet them.” It felt right.
“You do?” Her excitement was palpable.
“I do.”
“Isn’t that dangerous?” Valeriya pointed out. “For all of you to be together in the same place?”
He nodded. “It is, but we won’t stay long, and we’ll be careful.” He needed to connect with his family, but more than that, he needed them to meet Valeriya. “Maybe we can even get Nicodemus to tear himself away from Vegas long enough to join us.”
“You don’t seem to be as close to him as you are to the others.”
“Nic is different. He actually likes people.” Tarrant shuddered, and Valeriya laughed at his obvious discomfort.
“That does make him very different.”
“There are four of us,” Tarrant continued. “And as I mentioned before, we all had the same sire but different mothers.” He lifted her out of her chair and onto his lap. “We’re all different kinds of drakons, too. That’s not decided by what the sire is. It develops in each individual drakon.”
“Really? I had no idea. That’s so cool. So your sire wasn’t an air dragon?”
He smoothed her hair back from her face. “No. He was a fire dragon. Nic is the only one who took after him in that regard. Darius is an earth drakon and Ezra a water drakon.”
“That’s incredible. And we’re really going to see them?”
He wanted his family to know Valeriya and for her to know them. “Yes.”
She began to chew on her bottom lip, a sign she was worried. “What is it?” he asked.
“I need clothes,” she blurted. When he started to laugh, she smacked his arm. “It’s not funny. I’m not meeting your family looking like a reject from a thrift store. I can’t keep wearing your clothes, and most of mine are worse for wear after the past week.”
With her in his lap, he wheeled her back to his main console and brought up a popular online store. “So shop.”
“I can’t use my credit cards,” she pointed out. “Maybe you can access my bank account for me.”
He scowled. “I’m buying you clothes.”
She shook her head. “That’s not right.”
“Woman, I’m loaded.” He softened his tone and brushed a kiss over her lips. “Let me do this for you.” He didn’t just want to provide for her, he needed to. For him, it was another way to show her how much he loved her.
Epilogue
“How do I look?” It had taken them about two weeks to get everything planned, but she and Tarrant were finally standing on a shoreline in Maine. It was November and the wind was buffeting them. Thankfully, she was wearing boots and dark jeans, as well as a shirt and a sweater beneath a thick jacket.
Tarrant looked handsome, as always, in faded jeans, hiking boots, and a soft cashmere sweater. He also looked toasty warm. She tried not to resent him for that.
“You look perfect.” He tugged on the end of her ponytail. “And warm,” he teased. He knew how much she detested being cold.
“I need gloves.” She started to stuff her hands into her pockets, but Tarrant caught them.
He frowned when he felt just how chilled her skin was. “You really are cold.” He cupped her hands in his much larger ones, bent over them, and blew. Warm air circulated around her fingers, driving out the cold and slowly warming them.
“Thank you.”
He brought her hands to his lips and kissed them. “You’re welcome.”
The sound of a boat getting nearer caught her attention. It was being piloted by a tall, lean man with extremely broad shoulders and shoulder-length brown hair that caught in the breeze. He had on even less clothing than Tarrant, was actually wearing a tank top. Swirling blue tattoos outlined in turquoise ran up and down his left arm and the part of his chest that was visible above the neckline of his top. Valeriya shivered.
The man pulled the sleek speedboat up to the dock and nodded. She shivered again, but this time it wasn’t from the cold. This man had a forbidding nature that made her glad Tarrant was with her.
“Ezra this is Valeriya. Valeriya, this is my brother Ezra.” He scowled at his brother. “As always, I love your warm welcome.”
Ezra sighed. “Get in the damn boat. I don’t like being this exposed.”
Tarrant hoisted their bags over one shoulder and guided her into the boat. There was no talking as Ezra backed the craft up, turned it around, and headed toward the small island.
She still had a hard time wrapping her head around the idea the man owned an island. It was beautiful in a wild and untamed way. She glanced at Ezra. It suited him.
Tarrant wrapped himself around her and blocked the worst of the wind, but it was still cold. The boat was open, with nowhere to hide from the chill. She guessed it didn’t really bother Ezra.
Thankfully, the trip was a short one. She was more than ready to get inside when they finally docked. The house Ezra led them toward was constructed of stone and thick logs. It looked as natural in the surroundings as its owner did.
The front door opened and a man stepped outside. She recognized him from their video chat, but the small screen hadn’t done him justice. Darius Varkas was even more imposing in person. Big and broad, with shoulder-length black hair, there was something solid and enduring about him.
A woman stepped around him and smiled in welcome. Valeriya had never been so relieved to see another person in her life. Sarah was human, like her. At least she wouldn’t be alone with four drakons.
Not that she thought they’d hurt her. Tarrant would never allow it. That didn’t stop her from being uncomfortable around so much barely contained power, not to mention the testosterone.
“Tarrant.” Darius stepped forward and enveloped Tarrant in quick bear hug. Tarrant slapped his brother on the back. It would have felled a lesser man. Darius didn’t budge.
“This is Valeriya.” The pride in Tarrant’s voice boosted her courage.
She stuck out her hand. “Nice to meet you.” Darius’s huge hand smothered hers. His grip was firm, his handshake brief.
“I’m Sarah.” The woman pushed around Darius and gave Valeriya a hug. “Nice to meet you.”
“It’s so good to meet you, too.” The heartfelt relief in her voice made Sarah laugh and the men frown.
“You get used to them,” Sarah assured her.
“I’ll take your word for that.” She wasn’t sure she’d ever get used to being surrounded by this much animal magnetism. They were all tall and made her feel incredibly tiny even though she was five-seven.
Sarah laughed again. “I’ve made lunch. Chicken soup and sandwiches, since we weren’t exactly sure when you’d arrive.”
“That sounds perfect.”
“Where’s Nic?” Tarrant asked. He put his hand on the small of her back as they went into Ezra’s home. He’d already slip
ped inside. Valeriya wasn’t taking it personally, since neither Darius nor Sarah seemed surprised by his actions. She had a feeling Ezra preferred to be alone, which made it even more amazing he’d opened his home to all of them.
“He’ll be along later tonight,” Darius told them. “You know him. He got a line on some artifact he simply ‘has to have,’ to quote our brother. Once he buys it, he’ll join us.”
Tarrant set the bags down in the entryway and bent down to whisper in her ear. “Nic collects antiquities and paintings and all kinds of interesting things.”
She knew that, because he’d already told her about Nic, she but appreciated the reminder. Ezra was leaning against the counter in the kitchen holding a mug of what smelled like coffee.
“And you, Ezra?” she asked. “What do you collect?” Tarrant had never told her.
He slowly set his mug down on the counter. “Treasure.”
Tarrant wrapped his arms around her from behind, making her brave enough to ask another question. “What kind of treasure?”
One corner of Ezra’s mouth tipped upward. She wouldn’t call it a smile by any means, but it did make him appear a fraction less forbidding. “Sunken treasure.”
That made sense since he was a water drakon.
“Let me take your coat.” Tarrant slid the garment down her arms after she unbuttoned it. Ezra’s gaze went straight to the necklace she wore. Tarrant had taken the emeralds, the drakon tears he’d shed for her, and had them made into the beautiful piece of jewelry. He must have paid a huge sum to have it made so quickly.
The setting was silver, since she wasn’t fond of gold. The emerald teardrops were set at intervals around the double length chain. She loved it.
Sarah put her hand to her mouth and gasped. Then she reached inside her blouse and drew out a gold chain studded in diamonds the same shape as the emeralds. Valeriya knew they had to be drakon tears, and they’d come from Darius.
Ezra swore and pushed away from the counter. He stalked over to her, pulled her roughly into his arms, and kissed the top of her head. “Welcome to the family.”
Apparently, those drakon tears meant more than she’d even suspected. “Thank you.” Her voice was muffled against Ezra’s chest.
Tarrant growled and dragged her away from his brother. “Get your own woman.”
Ezra flashed a grin. It was so fast she almost missed it, but it made him seem so much younger. Handsome, too. “Not many of them floating around the ocean.”
The rest of them laughed, but Valeriya caught an undertone of longing beneath the humor.
“Let’s eat.” Sarah bustled over to the stove and took the lids off two large pots. The yummy smells of chicken and spices filled the air.
“What can I do to help?” she asked.
“You can take the plastic wrap off the sandwiches and set the platters on the table.”
As the women worked, the three brothers stood together by the big window in front of the table. In spite of their different coloring, it was easy to see the resemblance when they were all so close.
They were big men, but it was more than just their size. It was in the way they canted their heads when they listened, the way they stood, and the intensity that surrounded them.
Tarrant must have felt her studying him, because he left his brothers and came over to her. “Everything okay?”
She knew the rest of them could hear her, but that was fine with her. “Everything is perfect.” She went up on her toes and kissed him.
He lifted her right off her feet. She heard Darius chuckle and Sarah laugh. She was warm from her head to her toes by the time Tarrant released her.
“Perfect,” she repeated. Then she handed him one of the platters and they joined the others at the table.
This small group was the family she’d always wanted. And it had taken a drakon to give it to her. No matter what they faced in the future, they’d do it together.
Valeriya knew the war with the Knights of the Dragon was just getting started. As though sensing her unease, Tarrant reached out and squeezed her hand. “You sure you’re okay?” he asked.
She nodded. “I am.” Because no matter what happened, she was with the man she loved. Together, they could get through anything.
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Acknowledgments
Thank you to Heidi Moore. I love working with you!
Thank you to Liz, Bridget, Crystal, Heather, and everyone at Entangled. Your hard work, support, and dedication does not go unnoticed or unappreciated. You guys rock!
About the Author
N.J. Walters is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author who has always been a voracious reader, and now she spends her days writing novels of her own. Vampires, werewolves, dragons, time-travelers, seductive handymen, and next-door neighbors with smoldering good looks—all vie for her attention. It’s a tough life, but someone’s got to live it.
www.njwalters.com
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