There was also a long, winding road that led up to his residence, but she suspected that the dragons usually got there by flying. The castle overlooked North Lyndvale, where the ice dragons lived, and South Lyndvale, where the fire dragons lived.
Gabriel circled lazily over his family home, taking his time.
The castle was big enough to house a small village. There were square towers with stone crenellations, and a courtyard in the middle. Surrounding the castle were flower gardens and a hedge maze and apple orchards. It was achingly beautiful seen from above, and she suspected it would be even more gorgeous when they landed.
There was some kind of celebration going on there, she saw. A crowd had gathered in the field behind the castle.
Dragons were flying in and landing, and shifting into human form. It looked as if about a hundred people were assembled there. There were dozens of banquet tables stretched out across the field, and a big banner with lettering on it strung up between two poles.
They landed with a thud in the field, a few hundred feet from the crowd, and she slid off Gabriel’s back. Then she ripped off her wig and threw it down on the grass. There was no point in pretending anymore.
“Damn this day. Stupid day. Stupid dragons. Stupid me.” She stomped on the wig. “Stupid everything!”
She needed a ride back down to the valley, she needed to bail out her sister, and then she needed to slink home in shame and probably update her resume.
She pulled off the wig cap and shook her head, running her fingers through her sweat-dampened hair.
She watched the air around Gabriel ripple and shimmer as he flowed back into human form, wings shrinking and vanishing, scales melting into smooth human skin. He strode over to her – stark naked, since he’d just shifted. A sheen of sweat coated his magnificent body.
Oddly, he didn’t look surprised to see that it was her instead of Pandora. He looked amused.
“Why, Kelly, I had no idea you felt this way about me.” He grinned. “Actually, that’s not true. I always suspected, what with the way you chased me around the world, but I didn’t know you’d go to these lengths.”
Holy hell, he was hot. So, so very hot.
Focus. You hate him. He’s going to bankrupt your firm and bankrupt your family.
“You arrogant bastard. I was chasing you because you’re a thief!” she snapped. “Where is that ruby?”
He snorted. “That again? I think you’ve got other things you might want to worry about right now. Time to meet the family.”
He glanced up at the banner that was strung between the two poles, and she saw the script. “Congratulations, Pandora and Gabriel!”
“What the hell?” she said, suddenly feeling faint.
His eyes gleamed with wicked amusement. His sensual lips curved into a smile as he stalked over to her and stared down into her eyes. She took a sharp breath, drawing in the scent of his musky aroma. “You do know that tradition says the Fair Queen and the Dragon marry, right?”
Chapter Three
“Ha, ha, ha…” Kelly scoffed. “Wait, why aren’t you laughing?” She stared at him in alarm. He had to be messing with her. There was absolutely no way.
But Gabriel just favored her with a polite grin. “Oh, I’m dead serious about this. Dearly beloved.”
Kelly felt a wave of dizziness sweep over her, and she took several steps back. “It’s just a skit. It’s just one of the amusements at the fair. How could it lead to marriage?”
“You didn’t study up on the traditions of the fair before you staged this elaborate charade?” Several of Gabriel’s servants rushed up to him with clothing, and he started dressing as they spoke. Thank God for that, because it was hard to act professional when all her eyes wanted to do was focus on the region south of his navel. His cock, specifically. His huge, thick, erect cock.
In keeping with the fair’s theme, his servants were dressing him in the costume of a medieval nobleman; he stepped into a pair of lace-up breeches as Kelly frantically tried to remember what she’d read about the Fair Maiden skit.
“Apparently not enough,” she spluttered. “I mean, all I needed to do was get close enough to you that I could…” she paused “…interrogate you.” There was no need to tell him about the truthstone. Maybe, just maybe, if she got her purse back, there was still a chance of using it after all.
Gabriel pulled on a blousy shirt and let two of his servants lace up an embroidered doublet.
One of the manservants gave him a doleful look as he tightened the laces. He was tall and lean, a human, in his forties but with the pinched, prudish expression of someone several decades older. “Sir, I must remind you again that the breeches are of the fourteenth-century Venetian style and the doublet is of the early sixteenth-century French style. This attire is not historically accurate.”
“Thank you, Winthrop, duly noted. Since I look quite dashing, I believe I’ll stick with what I’ve got here.” Gabriel winked at Winthrop, who didn’t even bother to hide his look of disgusted disapproval.
“As you wish, sir,” he muttered.
Then Gabriel focused his attention on Kelly again. “It’s a local tradition intended to unite humans and dragons. The idea was, if a human female from a prominent local family was married to a dragon, then the dragons would be less likely to roast the humans alive. And the humans would be less likely to shoot cannons at us. Win-win all around. So, in Nevada, the name of one eligible male dragon and one eligible female human from the Tri-Valley area is selected each year, and they act out the Dragon and St. George Skit, and then they’re considered to be betrothed. Thirty days later, they marry.”
She thought of Pandora, passed out and nearly naked on the floor with the guy she’d been making out with all morning. When Kelly had entered their trailer earlier that day with the drugged beer, they hadn’t even stopped playing tonsil hockey long enough to acknowledge her presence; the guy had just vaguely waved at a table for her to set the pitcher down.
“But it’s not a love match,” she said.
“No. It’s a sacrifice that we have to be willing to make. Or sometimes it’s a sacrifice.” He grinned at her, his expression turned feral and hungry. “Sometimes we get lucky.”
Panic clutched at her throat, and she sucked in a breath and tried to unscramble her thoughts. This couldn’t be happening. “Surely you can’t intend to go through with this and marry me.”
He cocked an eyebrow. “Can’t I? Dragon law requires it.”
She was in dragon territory. That meant that she was subject to dragon law. “But you should be marrying the Fair Maiden,” she said desperately. “She’s the one who was selected for you.”
He was fully dressed now, and he looked like medieval royalty. He strode over to her until he was so close that he was practically pressed up against her, and stared into her eyes with an expression of gentle amusement. Her heart was pounding so hard that she could feel each throb, and a sensual warmth swept through her, responding to Gabriel’s nearness and his spicy scent.
“I’ve got an excellent knowledge of dragon law as it applies to our clans.” He smiled gently. “What it specifically says is that the dragon marries the maiden from the skit.”
She was really getting lightheaded now; she was afraid she might pass out. This was the twenty-first century. Could something like this really happen? Could he insist on marrying her?
A treacherous voice from deep within whispered, Would that be so bad?
Yes, it would, she reminded herself firmly. Sure, he was handsome, sexy and charming, and he filled her with desire in a way no-one else ever had. He was also a thief, which meant two things. He hurt innocent people by stealing from them, and one day he’d end up in prison. She knew exactly what that did to a family – all too well.
The fact that he was so sexy made it even worse. Getting a taste of him and then having to give it up would be worse than never knowing what he tasted like. Or something like that. She was so panicked that her brain was havin
g a hard time coming up with a decent working metaphor.
“You could get out of it!” she protested. “You could file a legal challenge. You could still marry Pandora.”
“Could I get out of it?” He shrugged. “Perhaps, if I tried really hard. Perhaps not. But I’m not going to try.”
“Oh, come on,” she scoffed. “Surely you aren’t going to pretend that you want to marry me? I’ve been trying to get you arrested for an entire year. And it’s not like you need me. I’ve seen you in action, remember? Everywhere you go, there are all these gorgeous women who worship the ground you walk on – women who would do everything you say and everything you want.”
He was still smiling, still gently amused. “Very true. How dull would that be?”
“But I can’t move here.” She hated the whining sound in her voice. “I live in Seattle. I’ve got a job. I’ve got a townhouse. I’ve got…plants.” Dear God, did her life sound pathetic.
He shrugged. “We’ll pay for you to break the lease. We’ll bring your plants here.”
She waved a hand in defeat, and her shoulders slumped. “Never mind – they’re plastic.” Now her life sounded even more pathetic. No wonder she’d worn through so many Battery Operated Boyfriends over the last year…while fantasizing about Gabriel.
But still…marrying him? Sleeping with the enemy?
No, she would not give up this easily! She drew herself up and scowled at him. “You know, my position with Allied Jewel Insurance is more than just a job – it’s a calling. A public service. I find stolen jewels and return them to where they’re supposed to be.”
“Interesting way to put it…but we’ll discuss that later.”
The crowd was flowing their way now, she saw. He grabbed her by the arm and marched her over to a very attractive older couple who were dressed in medieval garb; the woman wore a gown with bell sleeves and a square neckline, and a snood adorned with pearls, and the man was dressed in a similar fashion to Gabriel, with leggings, a doublet, a leather belt with a ceremonial sword in a scabbard…and an ankle monitor, which meant he was on probation. Probably confined to the castle grounds and forbidden to shift for the duration.
Gabriel’s father Emerson, then. He’d been caught in an office building right next to the Mildenhorff Museum in New York City at three a.m. The Mildenhorff had a renowned collection of jewels on display; one in particular, the Sunrise Citrine, was believed to be his target.
Emerson managed to get off with a mere breaking and entering charge, because he had an excellent lawyer, and he’d never actually been arrested before. That arrest had been an anomaly for the Kingsley family; unusually sloppy for them.
The Kingsleys were widely known as dragon scoundrels, although they also owned a world-renowned jewelry store to make it seem as if they’d gone legit. True, they travelled around the world making completely legal, aboveboard purchases of various gemstones these days, but the rumors dogged them – famous gems had a habit of disappearing when the Kingsleys were in town.
“Mother, Father, this is Kelly Donovan, the woman I’m going to marry. She’s that delightful insurance investigator I told you about, the one who’s after the Dragonsblood Ruby. She sneaked in and substituted herself for Pandora. Kelly, this is Tabitha and Emerson.”
She braced herself as his mother drew her breath in sharply. She waited for the insults, and maybe some threats.
His mother waved at a group of servants, who hurried over to her. “Pull down that banner at once!” she bellowed. “He’s not marrying Pandora! Let the celebration begin!”
The crowd cheered as Kelly stared at them in astonishment. Had his parents missed the part where he’d said that she was trying to arrest him?
“I told you it would all work out in the end, dear,” Emerson said, with an affection stroke of his wife’s arm.
“Yes, you did. You’re always right.”
Tabitha stood on her tiptoes and kissed Emerson on the cheek. Then she suddenly threw her arms around Kelly and crushed her in an enormous hug. She smelled of sweet rose petals and just the faintest whiff of sulfur.
Then she released Kelly and stood back, looking her up and down with approval and nodding to her husband.
“Welcome to the family,” Emerson said cheerfully. “Don’t worry, you’ll get used to us. In time.”
“Oh, thank heavens,” Tabitha said to Gabriel. “What a relief! I’ve barely slept for weeks. I was planning on wearing mourning attire to your wedding, you know. Now I can wear my new Givenchy. Or perhaps the Pierre Cardin.”
Gabriel gave Kelly a devilish smile. “Pandora was not very popular.”
Kelly looked at Tabitha in a desperate appeal for common sense. “Are you saying you want your son to marry someone who is actively trying to throw his scaly tail in prison?”
“Oh, dear, we all know what a trial Gabriel can be.” His mother rolled her eyes at Gabriel. “I’m sure you’ll come to love him as much as we all do, and then the urge to throw him behind bars or off a cliff will lessen.”
“She actually has thrown me off a cliff, back when I was a child,” Gabriel confided to Kelly. “Something about me setting the cook’s hair on fire, as I recall.”
“Oh, don’t be dramatic about it,” his mother snorted. “I waited until I was sure that you could fly.” She paused. “Pretty sure.” Then she hurried over to the banner as the servants struggled to pull it down. She tipped her head back and let out a mighty stream of fire that burned the banner to ashes.
Kelly stood there with her mouth opening and shutting like a fish flopping on a boat deck.
Then she realized that the two women from earlier – the women who’d rushed her over to the stage – were now up here, circulating among the crowd. Had Gabriel known she was in town? Had he orchestrated this whole thing somehow? She would put nothing past him.
“Can I get you a drink?” asked Gabriel, who seemed to be enjoying this far too much. He went to put his arm around Kelly’s shoulders, but she stepped away.
“Yes, please.” Kelly looked around at the crowd, who were starting to stream towards her. “Make it a double,” she added. “Whatever it is, make it a double.”
Chapter Four
He led her over to a bar, and the people crowding around it stepped aside to let her and Gabriel walk to the front of the line. They patted her on the back and congratulated her, and she mumbled insincere thank yous, not sure what to say under the circumstances.
She had the option of going medieval – mead, mulled wine – or modern. She went modern. A possible forced marriage to the dragon she’d been alternately crushing on and trying to arrest for the past year? Calling back to the office to tell them what had just happened? This called for enough alcohol to float an armada.
There followed a blur of introductions. She met uncles, cousins, his gloomy valet Winthrop – who whispered, “My condolences” – and various other servants and friends. Finally Gabriel took pity on her and led her away from the crowd so she could finish her drink.
Gabriel’s mother waved at him to come over, and she made some kind of hand signal as she did so. Of course they’d have hand signals.
“You’ll excuse me just one minute – my mother wants a word,” Gabriel said. “Actually she probably wants several, unfortunately. I’ll be right back.”
He hurried off through the crowd.
Kelly walked away, not sure where she was headed. She was feeling thoroughly disoriented. She’d planned on flying back to Seattle that afternoon, in triumph. Instead she would be stuck here, at least for the night. And probably forever. She could consult with a lawyer, but she knew she didn’t have a legal leg to stand on. Human-dragon shifter relations were delicate enough; no lawyer would want to deliberately stir things up by trying to flout dragon tradition.
As she strolled past an apple tree, she saw a group of teenage girls standing under the tree and gossiping together, and staring and pointing at another teenage girl, who stood alone a few dozen feet away from th
em. Classic case of mean-girl behavior; Kelly grimaced in remembrance of what that felt like.
She started to walk towards the girl who was standing by herself, and the group of girls spotted her.
“Oooh, are you going to marry Gabriel? He is soooo hot!” one of the girls cried out as she walked past them. “Can you invite us to the reception?”
She paused and gave them a severe look. “No bullies allowed,” she said. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to talk to a friend of mine.”
Their faces fell as she walked past and headed over to the dragon shifter, about fourteen or fifteen years old. She wore an ankle-length velvet gown trimmed in gold brocade; it hung awkwardly off her skinny frame. Tall and gangly, with walnut-brown hair that cascaded down her back, she’d be a stunner in a few more years. She just stood there and stared at Kelly without speaking.
“Hello,” Kelly said, holding out her hand. “I’m Kelly. And you are?”
“I’m still making up my mind,” the girl replied.
“About what?”
“Whether you can marry my uncle. So this is the girl you’re thinking of marrying?” she asked as Gabriel strolled up to them.
Gabriel nodded cheerfully. “Looks that way. Evangeline, this is my bride-to-be, Kelly. You should get my mother to take you dress shopping.”
Evangeline resumed her scrutiny. “Well, she seems nicer than Pandora, although I’m kind of disappointed, actually.”
“Disappointed?” Gabriel raised an eyebrow. “You hated Pandora.”
“Yes, exactly. I was looking forward to throwing her off a cliff the first time I got her alone.”
At that, Gabriel shook his head. “No, Evangeline, there will be no throwing humans off of cliffs,” he said firmly.
She squinted at him skeptically. “Not even ones we really, really can’t stand?”
“You heard me. No.”
Evangeline let out a long, martyred-teenager sigh. “Well, I guess I could set her on fire.”
Bride Of The Dragon Page 2
