by Milly Taiden
The table and chairs appeared to be antiques with a gorgeous scroll design fit to be in a museum. The entire set looked straight out of a castle. The wood looked heavy, as if someone had cut a tree down to make those pieces. None of that shitty compressed wood things were made from nowadays. This was the real deal.
Farther down, she entered a giant open kitchen with top-of-the-line chef-inspired appliances. Either Mr. Dreki could cook, or he had someone that did. Her stomach chose that moment to remind her she’d barely eaten dinner, being so preoccupied with Thane Dreki and his habit of frustrating her to no end.
She set the envelope of papers on the counter and headed back to her car. Time to get the hell out of here. He’d call her if he had any questions on anything.
Back on the road, the car maneuvered the twists and turns better than she anticipated. With the storm setting in, night had fully fallen, narrowing her field of vision. She’d driven in snow for years, but she wasn’t prepared when a thump on the roof pushed her car sideways, coming to a sliding stop in a deep drift.
Panting for air, Lily sank back into the driver’s seat, her arms straight and elbows locked, hands tightly wrapped around the steering wheel. Her heart stampeded like a herd of buffalo. The inside of her car was dark, but her cat’s help showed her nothing was damaged there. She wasn’t so sure about her hood, though. If it was only snow that stopped her, then all should be fine. She turned the key. The engine didn’t respond.
“Oh please, no. Not now.” Lily again turned the key. Same response. Her forehead dropped onto the steering wheel. Goddamn, motherfucker, son of a bitch. Man, she really needed to clean up her language. She never cussed until after she married. His trashy family had more effect on her than she realized.
She pulled her phone from her pocket. Just as she guessed, no signal on the stupid mountain. She sighed.
With her tigress’s help, she was able to shove her door open enough to slip out. Fortunately, only the front half of her car was in the snow drift. She wrapped her coat around her. It was damn cold with the wind whipping. Then she saw the dent in her roof.
Oh hell. What had hit her? A boulder? An eerie cry slashed through the air. Lily searched the dark sky for the cause. That was no bird. What animal could possibly fly in a blizzard? Something in the air wasn’t normal. The snow outlined a long, black body that sort of resembled a whale. Wait, was that wings that the snow swirled around?
Holy fuck. Was she staring at a dragon? One that looked to be diving straight for her. Her animal instincts had her diving into the drift next to her car. A rustle of sound came behind her. What the fuck? Why was a dragon attacking her? Was it Dreki? Shit. He must’ve come home and smelled her and was now coming after her, thinking she was a robber or thief.
She never met the man, so he had no idea who she was. How could she communicate to a flying dragon in the middle of a storm that she was a good guy?
She crawled out of the snow and looked around. Where was he? Since no one was around to ridicule her, she decided shouting was the best option. “Dreki, I’m Lily Cruz from the office.” Turning, she continued. “I brought you the proposal. It’s in your kitchen.”
A man appeared from the blowing snow, naked. His face held an expression that sent a chill down her back. He was smiling, but not. The man was physically stunning. Bodily perfect, including a nice package of junk swaying with his stride. And in the cold, weren’t guys supposed to be their smallest?
The guy had dark hair, not blond, so it wasn’t Dreki. But was he the dragon who attacked her? She put a hand up. “That’s close enough. Did you just dive bomb me for no good reason?” she asked.
His smile turned genuine. “Bold. I like that.”
“I’m thrilled. Now answer the question.” She crossed her arms as best she could in her winter coat.
The man laughed and walked closer. Lily’s cat came closer to the surface. They didn’t like the person. He stopped close enough for her to see his dark eyes look her up and down. Her stomach wanted to throw up.
“I saw you drive away from the cabin. I want to know who you are,” he said.
She relaxed a bit. This was all just a misunderstanding. “I work with Mr. Dreki and was delivering a packet to him. He wasn’t there, so I set it inside his house and left. I’m not a robber or anything like that.”
Within a heartbeat, the man had her pinned against the car. He stuck his nose down the collar of her coat and took a deep breath. His tongue skated up her neck, his breath hot. Before her cat could react to the violation, he jumped back, out of her reach.
“You’re telling the truth,” he said. Again, his eyes took her in.
“Of course I’m not lying, you dickhead,” she growled. “Try touching me again and my cat will rip off your fucking reptilian head before you can bust out a scale.”
The man threw his head back and guffawed. His disrespect was eating at her patience, quickly.
“I am called Ramoth,” the asshole said. “I needed to make sure who you were. I couldn’t have Dreki’s pregnant mate driving alone in such…treacherous conditions.”
Lily broke out in a full body laugh. “Me? Dreki’s mate? Pregnant, even? If that wouldn’t be hell on earth, I don’t know what is.” The wind whipped around too much for her to get any scent from him. She couldn’t tell if he meant her harm or not. Her cat was ready, just in case.
“I see,” he said. “You do smell very, very good to my dragon.” His tongue slid between his lips.
Her knees almost gave out as her body wanted to heave the little food in her stomach. “My cat has no interest in dragons, so I don’t think we’re a good match.”
His eyes narrowed upon her. “Indeed.”
Time to get this conversation over with. She was getting damn cold. “If you wouldn’t mind giving me a hand with my car to pull it from the drift, that would be great.”
He waved her off. “You are of no use to me. You are no one to him, obviously.”
Lily stood flabbergasted. How did she reply to that? She didn’t need to worry about it since he shifted into his dragon and flew into the blowing snow.
“Asshole,” she hollered into the wind. Now what? She pulled her coat tighter around herself. There were few choices at the moment. Either stay with the car and wait for someone to come along, which wasn’t likely, or head back to Dreki’s cabin. At least he’d have something to eat.
Realizing it was much too cold for her human form, she shifted into her animal for the trek. It would be easier navigating through the storm as her tigress, also. She was careful to tear her clothes as little as possible since she’d have to wear them when she shifted back to human at his place.
What a complete nightmare this turned out to be. When she reached the cabin home, her clothes were soaked from dragging them in the snow and she was freaking starving. After shifting at the front door, she knocked and went in to a still vacant place.
Hurrying to the fireplace, she shed clothes as she went. Her dress, she laid on the hearth before the fire, but her undergarments were unwearable, stretched and seams popped. She laid them next to the dress, worrying about them later. She had to eat something before her cat decided it would go out and hunt. Gutting a deer was not what she had in mind for dinner tonight.
Glancing around the kitchen, her eyes fixed on the fridge. He’s not here. What’s the big deal? Better yet, he’ll get over it. If it weren’t for him, she’d not be in this mess. She pulled out the makings for a sandwich and glanced out the kitchen window. Big, fat flakes fell fast and hard.
Fuck! She gulped down the sandwich then glanced at her cell phone. Of course. Still no service. There was locked Wi-Fi available but she needed a password. She grinned at the Wi-Fi host name: TooOldForThisShit.
Last thing she needed was a scalding hot shower to scrub away the dragon smell. The asshole dragon’s touch was on her and it creeped her cat out. Had she been ready for his unwanted advance, she’d be having filet dragon for dinner. If she was quick eno
ugh, she could get in and out of the shower before the owner returned.
6
Thane knew something was off the moment he came through his back door. There was a distinct scent of something that made his dragon rise from sleep. A hot, sweet scent that turned him rock hard and had him searching the house for the culprit.
He inhaled hard, placing the scent in his first level. Marching through the house, he came up on the main room and found a dress and women’s underwear lying on the hearth.
The scent curled around his heart and warmed his still chilled bones. No. He refused to believe it. It couldn’t be! His mate? But how? Who? And more importantly, why?
He curled his fist around the soft dress material and brought it up to his nose. With a deep inhale, he knew without a doubt this was the woman. His.
The dragon inside him roared awake, ready to take his mate and make her his. The animal told him he’d live. She’d come to him. Found him. But Thane didn’t want a mate. He didn’t want to share his life with any one person, to make himself vulnerable to a woman who could destroy him.
The vision of his sister emaciated and dying of a broken heart thickened the walls around his own heart. No fucking way. If she’d come to him, then she could go the same way. But he couldn’t help himself and smashed the torn garments to his face.
A footfall sounded behind him. “Put. The. Panties. Down.” That voice wrapped him with ecstasy. A short woman, no more than five-five with long curly auburn hair and curves that made him want to drop to his knees, walked in. Naked. She was wet and naked.
She glanced around the room and inhaled. Her gazed jerked to the spot where he stood. Her eyes turned a gold color he knew all too well. The scent of her animal reached him then. Feline.
“Do you make a habit of breaking into people’s houses naked?”
She let out a slow breath, her eyes glowing brighter by the second. He had to steel himself to keep from rushing over, grabbing her in his arms, and taking her full lips to find out if she tasted as good as she looked.
“I’m sorry,” she stammered. “Do you mind if I get my clothes? They’re in your hands.”
He was tempted to make her stand there, showing him her body, but he’d already tattooed every glorious curve to the back of his lids and could bring up the visual at any point.
“Be my guest.”
She didn’t run, she padded quietly toward him, and for a moment, he had to fight every instinct along with his dragon. She wasn’t his. Not his mate.
Yes! Mine! Mine! Mine!
No!
The dragon argued fiercely, but Thane wasn’t a kid who lost control of his animal. He was ancient. He wasn’t changing his mind.
He marched to the fridge and got a bottle of water. The cold plastic cooled some of the heat inside him. He drank the entire thing without stopping to take a breath.
“Sorry about…that,” she said from the kitchen entrance.
He turned to face her. It didn’t matter that she had clothes on again, he still saw her naked in his mind.
“Who are you?”
She cleared her throat and glanced down his body. “Lily Cruz, Mr. Dreki.”
Fucking hell! He should have known. Even from a distance, something about her had made him want to communicate with her. “I guess I should be impressed.”
Her dark gaze rushed to his. “By what?”
“The fact you chose to bring the proposal yourself, during a storm, instead of sending it via messenger.”
Fire lit in her gaze. He’d annoyed her. Good. They didn’t have time for any of that mushy emotional crap. He didn’t want or need a mate. Not a human. Not a feline. Not another dragon.
“Yes, well, you did say it was urgent,” she said with a bite.
“There’s just one problem, Ms. Cruz.”
She raised her brows and folded her arms over her chest, pushing her breasts up and precariously close to the edge of the neckline of her dress. “What’s that?”
“I’m guessing you weren’t planning on spending the night?” He grinned.
7
Lily wanted to throw a table at him. Or at the very minimum a chair. Something. Anything. The stupid man was trying to annoy her on purpose.
“No, I was not.” Fucking hell. She was stuck. In his massive cabin with a man so hot, he made her knees buckle.
He really did remind her of a Viking. Tina hadn’t exaggerated at all. Taller than any man she’d ever dated, he had to be well over six feet in height. With scruffy shoulder length blond hair and ice blue eyes, he definitely called attention. That short beard was doing things to her cat she couldn’t explain. The fire in her blood rose with every glance she gave him.
He was gorgeous and she hated that she wanted him. More than that, she hated that her cat seemed to be under the impression this was their mate. He looked ready to toss her out on her ass into the storm.
“Are you hungry, Ms. Cruz?”
“Please,” she said, hating the formalities at this point. The man had seen her naked, for crying out loud. If she hadn’t been a shifter, used to nudity, she’d have had some serious issues by now. “Call me, Lily.”
“Lily. Call me Thane. That’s what everyone else does.” He lifted his lips in a grin. “Though, I’ve been called cabrόn in the recent past.”
He said the word in perfect Spanish. Ah, shit. She widened her eyes and her jaw fell open. He’d heard her on the phone. Of course, he would’ve heard her call him a jackass. Now that she scented his animal, she knew he was a shifter, too. A dragon.
“I think I’ll stick to Thane,” she said.
Humor filled his eyes and they turned a lighter shade of blue. It was mesmerizing to watch. “Very well, Lily. I planned to eat steak for dinner. I hope you don’t mind?”
She shouldn’t eat again, but her tigress burned the meager sandwich quickly.
“Sounds good.” She pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. “Perhaps we can discuss the proposal for the new location and what we can do there.”
He nodded. “Wine?”
Oh god, yes! She needed to control herself before she attacked him for a drink. “Please.”
He pressed a button on the side of the wall that connected to the dining room and the whole damn thing shifted to reveal stairs leading down to a lower level she had no idea existed.
“Are you kidding me?” She pressed her lips together and winced. “Sorry. That popped out.” She’d never been this wound up near a man.
He chuckled and the sound made her insides melt. “Don’t worry about it. Coming?”
She followed him down the stairs into what she realized was a basement wine cellar. She had no idea how old the wine in there was, but holy shit, they looked older than her entire bloodline.
His backside kept distracting her from the wine. Every time she looked at it, his big muscled back shifted under his black T-shirt. She was amazed he could find clothes that fit him with how big he was. Then again, there was now big and tall sections at most major retailers. Why the hell did she care if he had clothes to wear?
“Lily?”
She blinked and noticed he’d stopped, turned, and looked at her. “Yes?”
“I asked what is your favorite wine.”
“Oh. Um, I like white typically. Reisling or Pinot Grigio. Sometimes Moscato.”
He nodded and gave her another of those grins she had to warn every female in the city about.
“That’s it? You sure?” He gave a rough rumble of a laugh and turned back to the rows of bottles.
She placed her hands on her hips and glared at his back. “I like wine, so sue me.”
He walked farther into cellar, to a row of bottles that looked newer. He grabbed two bottles and turned to face her. “Ready?”
They were inches apart and when he went to walk past her, the small space meant he pressed his chest to hers. Their gazes locked and she held her breath as he rubbed his body over hers while sliding out. Her body came alive and every hormone in he
r took notice of how hard he felt. Of how good he smelled. Her tigress mewled under the skin, wanting a taste of him.
Once he was walking ahead of her, she focused on tamping down the surge of hormones telling her to make him hers. Thane Dreki was nowhere near the kind of man she wanted in her life.
Oh, you know you want to get into his pants.
Shut up!
She couldn’t stop her mind from rambling. All her thoughts had moved to the gutter and refused to go anywhere safe. She kept visualizing the man stripping. This man was not the kind to strip. He was the type that would rip his clothes off, and if he didn’t do it fast enough, she’d do it for him.
In the kitchen, he placed the bottles of wine on the counter and motioned for her to take a seat at the kitchen table.
“I don’t use the dining room. I hope you’re okay eating here.”
She nodded. “But if you don’t use it, why have it to begin with?”
He shrugged. “I made the dining set a long time ago for my sister. When she got married. When she was dying, she asked me to keep it. To remember her by.”
8
Lily gulped back at the knot in her throat. “I’m sorry.”
He turned away from her and went about opening the bottles of wine. “It’s fine. It’s really there more as a memory piece than anything else.”
“It’s beautiful,” she said, wishing she hadn’t made him remember such a sad moment of his life.
He pinned her with his gaze, his eyes now a darker, turbulent blue. “What about you? Do you have family?”
“Well, I’ve got lots of cousins, most of which are mated to the Night men.”
He handed her a glass of wine and watched her take a sip. Savory hints of moss and lime, of fragrant, crushed citrus foliage and very pure lemon zest took over her taste buds.
“What do you think of this one?” he asked.
