by Lynn, Denise
Certain she’d find no answers to the puzzles plaguing her, Ariel realized she was missing one of the few opportunities she had to do some more snooping before she talked with Renalde tomorrow.
She dropped the shovel and her gloves into the empty wheelbarrow and ducked into the Lair through the kitchen door.
The only places she hadn’t checked for the pendant and cube were the family’s private offices and the basement. There was no way she was going to get access to the offices while Cam was around. That would have to wait until she could figure out a way to get past his ever-watchful eyes.
The basement, however, was manageable. The entrance was located in a rear hall, away from the lobby and offices.
She’d discovered the door last night and had picked the lock this morning before heading out to the gardens. Hopefully, nobody had noticed and relocked it.
She stuck her head out of the dining room, making sure the hallway was empty before slipping toward the backside of the Lair.
Hearing voices, Ariel ducked through the basement door and held her breath. She waited until the people passed, then headed down the stairs.
The basement was gigantic. They could put ten full-size tennis courts down here and still have room to spare. Uncertain where to start, she chose the bar area. It seemed the most obvious place to hide something. Sort of that hidden-in-plain-sight concept someone like Cam might employ.
Unfortunately, after what seemed like hours later, she’d found nothing. Leaning on the counter, she scanned the basement.
Her attention fell on an old wooden chest against the far wall. Ariel shrugged, then headed toward it. “It’s worth a shot.”
The lid screeched open. The sound echoed in the nearly empty basement. She cringed and held her breath, coming to a dead stop. Certain nobody upstairs had heard the noise, she knelt and started emptying out the chest.
* * *
“How long do you plan on protecting the enemy?”
Cam glanced up from the accounts on his desk. “I’ll protect her as long as she’s here.”
He took one look at his aunt’s face, threw an invisible shield around his mind and leaned back in his chair. “What were you thinking?”
Danielle’s tight face flushed with rage. “Someone needs to do something about that woman. And if you won’t, I will.”
“Burning her alive is not an option.”
His aunt sat down and casually inspected her long, painted fingernails. “I don’t see why not.”
She was just trying to get him to lose his temper; it was, after all, an old trick they’d learned at her knee, so to speak. Get your opponent to drop their focus and you’ve gained the upper hand.
“There’s that unlawful part of the idea that’s going to be rather hard to explain away. And I’m sure the High Wizard can find better things to do than hold a trial and execution.” Especially considering Braeden was the High Wizard.
Danielle sighed and shook her head. “Braeden would never condemn me.”
“Depends on who speaks for Ariel.”
“You wouldn’t.”
“If you killed her? Yes, I would.”
His aunt stared at him a moment before frowning. “You’re sleeping with her.”
That was none of her business. “It doesn’t matter if I am or not. What does matter is the law. And you are well aware that killing a powerless human with wizardry is punishable by lasting death.”
Danielle Drake wasn’t any different than anyone else of their kind. She wasn’t about to risk not having her essence pass over into the next dimension at the time of her physical body’s death.
The law had been on the records for over four hundred years. High council had enacted such a severe penalty because human deaths of the otherworldly nature drew too much attention to the clans.
For all their good intentions, too many humans weren’t accepting of those who were different. To protect their dwindling numbers, the wizards who lived among the general populace kept their powers a secret.
“Sometimes laws need to be broken.”
“So, you’re declaring open season on humankind?”
Since they both knew she didn’t have the power to make such a declaration, she ignored the question and stated, “That woman needs to go.”
He wasn’t arguing that point. Ariel did need to go—before he became too used to having her around. The past few days had been…different…almost pleasant. Her familiar scents and ever-changing moods had become a part of his day.
Still, he wanted to hear his aunt’s reasoning. “Why does she need to go?”
“For one thing, she works for the Learneds.”
“I know that.” Cam flicked the pun-sai tree limb away from the computer keyboard on his desk. The plant flicked back and then started tapping keys, bringing a view from a security camera in the basement up on the screen. “I’d like to discover what she’s after, what they have her doing.”
“That’s fairly obvious. She’s here to see us killed. Doesn’t that matter to you?”
What the hell was Ariel looking for in the basement? She had his and Braeden’s swords and armor out of the chest.
Splitting his attention between his aunt and Ariel, he answered, “Of course it matters.”
Ariel took his sword out of the scabbard and ran her fingertips along the dragons etched into the blade. The warmth of her touch trailed down his spine.
“If you won’t let me deal with her, what do you plan on doing?”
Cam forced his wandering mind back to the conversation. “I’d like to have the advantage of knowing what the Learneds are up to this time.”
With the help of Harold and Jennie, he thought he’d been keeping close enough tabs on Ariel. From the looks of things, he’d been mistaken.
Cam froze when Ariel looked directly at the camera and frowned. Did she realize she was being watched? He flinched when she carelessly dropped the swords back into the chest.
“Did you hear me?” Dani’s screech jolted his attention away from Ariel and the monitor.
“What?”
“I said I’m calling Braeden.”
“For what?”
“You seem unable to deal with this woman. Maybe he’ll do what’s necessary.”
Cam leaned forward. “Aunt Dani, I love you dearly, but your threats get rather tiring at times. Feel free to call Braeden. And I’ll make certain he finds out about your little stunt in the garden.”
Danielle rose. To his relief, she turned and walked out of his office without another word.
* * *
Ariel lifted her hair from her neck and sighed as a breeze rushed across her warm skin. She paused a moment to enjoy the coolness before going inside.
Now that the rose beds were bare and she’d sent her helpers packing for the night, the only thing she wanted to do was to slip into a nice hot bubble bath.
If she had any luck whatsoever, Cameron would still be working. She wanted to unwind in the tub without any interruptions.
She unlocked the door and stepped into the dark silence of an empty apartment with a relieved whoosh of breath. Ariel hurried to her room intent on getting into a tub of bubbles behind a locked bathroom door before Cam arrived.
A cautious glance toward the desk made her groan. That cursed book was still there.
Every morning she woke up hoping it would be gone. And every morning it silently mocked her from the top of the desk.
It didn’t matter wher
e she tried to stash the thing at night—in a drawer, closet, or under the bed—when the sun rose it was back on the desk. The only difference was that it was open to a different page each day.
What appeared as rough sketches of half-formed images and symbols in the sun’s light were highly detailed and vibrantly colored by the end of the day. Either way—draft or completed—made little difference since she didn’t look at the pages long enough to decipher what was unveiled. The chance of being given any type of magical powers wasn’t one she wanted to risk.
The only saving grace with this particular insanity was that the book remained invisible to everyone except her.
“Done for the day?”
She jumped at Cam’s question. Without having to hide the book this time, she turned around. “I didn’t hear you come in.”
He walked into her bedroom. “I asked if you were done for the day.” His calm, even tone was in complete contrast with his angry expression.
“According to the clock I am.” She glanced with longing toward the bathroom. Her bubbles would have to wait. “Unless there’s something else I should be doing.”
“You could explain what you were doing in the basement.”
“Just being nosy.” She’d had her fill of confrontation today and was determined to keep this conversation light. Besides, it wasn’t as if she’d found anything that she needed to lie about. “Wasn’t that obvious?”
“Nosy?”
Ariel chose another word. “Curious.”
“Curious about what was behind a locked door?” Two steps brought him closer. “When you picked the lock, didn’t a part of your mind warn you not to go down into the dark?”
“There was a light switch.” She cringed, wishing that just once she would employ her brain before giving her mouth free rein.
Another step brought him against her. “What were you looking for, Ariel?”
His calm, steady tone chafed. It was the same tone her mother had used whenever she or Carl were being unreasonable. She was no longer a child and Cameron Drake most certainly wasn’t her mother.
The pulse throbbing against his neck caught her attention. While he might be trying to keep his words even and steady, his heartbeat told another story.
Ariel reached up and ran a fingertip across the not-so-steady pulsing. Cam grasped her wrist. “Don’t.”
She tugged her arm free. “I wasn’t looking for anything in particular. You were watching, I saw the light on the security camera, so you know exactly what I found—nothing.”
He lifted a lock of her hair. She shivered as his knuckles brushed against her neck. Cam leaned closer. “Yes, I know what you found.”
Ariel held her breath, fighting the unexpected flash of terror beating against her mind. She knew that voice, recognized the darkly ominous tone.
No.
She pushed back the fear. It wasn’t possible. Cameron was not the dragon changeling from Mirabilus. That creature had frightened her so much she was certain she’d have realized it before now. This unwarranted emotion was caused by nothing more than the heated rush of desire chipping away at her ability to think clearly.
Cameron continued, “What I want to know is what you were looking for in the first place.”
Ariel closed her eyes against another rush of emotions turning the floor into waves beneath her feet. He was too close. His breath wafted too warmly across her ear.
She swayed briefly against his chest, before forcing her legs to hold her steady. “I wasn’t looking for anything.”
“You are such a liar, Ariel.”
His breathless comment sounded more like an endearment whispered by a lover in the heat of the moment than an accusation by a mythical beast. She gazed up at him.
His shimmering gaze reflected the desire coursing through her. He might be angry with her for snooping and he might never trust her, but at this moment he wanted her.
She could feel his longing, sense his need. Ariel didn’t question how she knew it, because she wanted—needed—him, too. Just being near him this past week had been maddening.
She didn’t want to be here—not like this, as a spy and a thief. The Drakes were nothing to her except owners of the items that would spare her brother’s life. Once she found what she needed, she’d leave the Lair without looking back.
Except for Cameron.
It would be hard walking away from him. She’d been attracted to him from the moment she’d walked into his office. Ariel wasn’t foolish enough to hold any illusions about their attraction. There was no budding relationship between them—it was purely physical.
She hadn’t had time for dating. One-night stands didn’t interest her. Acquaintances had called her a prude, but her friends had understood. Juggling the responsibilities of school, work and Carl were all she could handle. Adding the emotional complications that came with relationships and sex would tip the scales.
And now, a man had the ability to make her shiver with desire. It seemed as if she’d waited years for just this moment—for just this man.
When she had nothing to tell Renalde tomorrow, her time at the Lair might come to an end. Tonight could very well be the last chance she had to see if her dreams were right. Would making love with Cam be as erotic and fulfilling as her nightly visions had promised?
She leaned purposely against his chest. “Cam…” Uncertain how to ask for what she wanted, she let her plea trail off.
His heart pounded in unison with her own. He pulled her close to bury his face against her neck, and warned, “Don’t offer more than you’re willing to give.”
Ariel knew that at this moment she would offer him everything—no matter the cost. She was drawn to him by a power she couldn’t imagine let alone define.
Nothing could keep her from his arms. She craved his kisses, needed his touch too much to back away now.
She brushed her cheek across his. “I’m not.”
Cam groaned. Her response broke the chains holding the dragon in check. He couldn’t tell who wanted her more—him or the beast.
His hands shook with the effort required to coax the now-raging beast to be patient. Never, until meeting Ariel, had controlling the dragon been so difficult.
Each time he’d sensed her desire, breathed in the fragrance of her lust or heard her blood rushing with need, the threads of his restraint had frayed.
It wasn’t that he cared for her—his heart wasn’t involved, even if his lust-crazed beast momentarily thought otherwise. But he feared that if he relinquished control, gave the desire full rein, he could quite possibly come to care far too much.
Caring too much now would only make being alone once again more difficult. Because once this was over, she would leave—she would have no choice. And he would return to his solitary existence.
But there was tonight. They could share just one night and somehow he’d make the memory last a lifetime.
Cam took a deep breath, willing himself and his beast to go easy. They had all night. There was no need to rush.
With the blink of an eye, he set the scene. Soft, gentle music filtered in through the ceiling speakers. Candlelight replaced the glare of the lamps. Incense that mimicked her pheromones scented the air.
Still holding her close, he swayed, dancing slowly to the music. She followed his lead as if they had done this a thousand times in the past.
“This feels like a strange date.” Ariel tipped her head back to ask, “No wine, or flowers?”
>
Did she think she was dealing with an amateur? He spun her around the room, pausing next to a side table set with a white lace cloth, orange-hued roses and two full champagne flutes. Cam relaxed his embrace and handed her a glass.
A flash of disappointment raced across her face before she tasted the champagne. He cupped her cheek, stroking his thumb over the softness of her face. “What’s wrong?”
“Impressive.” Ariel’s gaze roamed the bedroom before coming back to him. “How many times have you done this?”
“Never.”
Her eyebrows arched above her shimmering gaze. “Never?”
He stroked her lower lip, smiling at the tremor his touch created. “No.”
Ariel lowered her gaze and set her glass down. She touched the roses. “Orange?”
“The color symbolizes desire.” Cam drew her back into his embrace and onto their makeshift dance floor. “Roses for a beautiful woman.”
“I’m not beautiful.”
“Stop it, Ariel.” She was nervous. He’d expected that. But he had hoped the music and wine would help. Apparently not.
She glared up at him. “Stop what?”
“Stop thinking and questioning. Stop trying to find fault with every little thing. Stop worrying. Tomorrow will get here tomorrow, no matter what.”
Still dancing slowly, he lowered his mouth to brush her lips, whispering, “Right now, just let it all go. Let yourself enjoy this moment.”
She clung to his shoulders. “I don’t think I know how.”
“Like this.” He covered her lips, kissing her, teasing her, coaxing her to relax, beckoning her to feel instead of think.
Chapter 11
Ariel leaned into his kiss with a sigh of surrender, giving up any pretense of control over her desires. She would follow where he led, submit to his will and worry about the consequences tomorrow.
She had waited her whole adult life for this moment—for just this touch, just this kiss—just this man. One with the ability to chase away her breath with a glance and steal her mind with a simple caress.
