by Ciana Stone
“Am I?”
Grace turned and ran as fast as she could. She bounded up the steps of the deck and through the back door of Walker’s house. After slamming the door,she locked it, then backed away from it, scared that she had been followed.
A minute passed and then another. The puppy was still in her arms as she stood there, watching the door.
Finally, her mind cleared. She whirled around, eyes searching the room. Did Walker have a landline? She’d call Mr. Friendly and get him to come for her. She had just completed a full turn without spotting a phone when the back door opened.
Walker froze. Grace stood in the middle of his kitchen, clutching a Doberman puppy to her chest, her face slick with sweat and her eyes filled with fear.
“What’s wrong?” He wasn’t at all comfortable at the level of concern he felt for Grace. It made him feel a little off-balance. Hell, he’d known her less than twenty-four hours and here he was, his heart beating too fast at the idea that something was wrong.
“What’s your neighbor’s name?”
“Which one?”
“The one that way.” She pointed to her right.
“Mrs. Willis?”
“Is she married?”
Walker had no clue where the strange line of questioning was leading, but it clearly had Grace fired up. She was literally trembling.
“She’s a widow.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah. Her husband died a couple of years ago. They were married for something like fifty years.”
“You’re lying.”
That shocked him into a few seconds of silence. “What’s going on, Grace?”
“Your neighbor. That guy. This is his dog. It dug under the fence to escape him. That man—he’s evil.”
Walker moved to her, wrapped one hand around her upper arms. “Grace, there isn’t any man who lives there and I can guarantee you that isn’t Mrs. Willis’s puppy.”
“You’re lying. I saw him. Talked to him.”
“No.” Walker was starting to wonder just what kind of woman he’d brought into his home. Was she unbalanced? And why did that scare him so much, make him feel as if someone he loved was in danger?
“Yes. I saw him.”
The determination on her face brought a new concern to Walker’s mind. What if something had happened to Mrs. Willis?
“Then let’s go see.”
He released one of her arms but kept a firm grip on the other as he steered her out of the house, down the driveway and to the house next door. Grace didn’t say a word as he knocked on the door. A few seconds passed before an elderly woman answered.
“Why hello, Ellis. What can I do for you, honey?”
Walked gestured toward Grace. “Is this your dog, Mrs. Willis? My friend, Grace, said it dug under the fence from your backyard to mine.”
“Lord, no. You know I’m allergic to dogs, honey.”
“Okay. So you don’t have anyone visiting who has a dog?”
“Why no, honey. I haven’t had anyone stop by since…let’s see, on Wednesday, when Gladys came by.”
“Okay, our mistake. Thanks Mrs. Willis, sorry to bother you.”
“You’re never a bother. And nice to meet you, Grace. I would invite you in but the dog… Like I said, I’m allergic.”
“That’s okay, Mrs. Willis, we need to be going anyway. You have a nice day.”
When Mrs. Willis closed the door, Walker steered Grace back the way they’d come. She stopped dead in her tracks as they reached his truck in the driveway.
“I need to go home.”
He could tell she waans shaken. Hell, she was physically shaking and the dog, affected by her emotions, was whimpering in her arms.
“Okay, fine. I’ll drive you.”
She nodded and headed for the passenger door of the truck. She didn’t speak again until they pulled out of the driveway. “I need to go get my car.”
“Fine. I’ll take you to the club.”
“Thank you.”
The rest of the drive was passed in silence. When they reached the club, the parking lot was empty except for an old blue Toyota.
“Is that yours?”
“Yes.”
Walker parked beside the Toyota and looked at her. “Doesn’t look like anyone’s here. You want to call the manager and see if he’ll come let you in to get your things?”
“I don’t know his number. It’s in my phone. In the club.”
Walker blew out his breath. “Well, then we’ll have to come back later. It’s my day off, so we’ll head back to my house and once the club opens, I’ll run you back over.”
“No. Can I borrow your phone?”
“Sure.”
She accepted the phone he handed her and dialed. After a dozen rings and no answer, she gave up and ended the call.
“So?” Walker asked. “My place?”
“Yes.”
Walker said no more, just put the truck in drive and headed back the way they’d come.
Grace was silent the entire drive, staring out of the side window, stroking the puppy who had quieted in her arms. Walker didn’t bother to talk to her either. He just drove home, parked and got out of the truck to walk to the back door.
She followed but stopped just inside the door. Walker walked over to the counter and busied himself pouring two cups of coffee. “I don’t have cream but I have milk and sugar.”
She shook her head. “Black is fine.”
“Okay, have a seat. Are you hungry? I am. How about some bacon and eggs?”
Whether she was certifiable or not, right now it seemed like a good idea to keep things as normal and mundane as possible. And what was more normal than breakfast?
Grace took a seat at the table, still holding the puppy. “Thanks. That’d be nice.”
“Great.” Walker turned his attention to cooking and, for a few minutes, neither of them spoke.
“Would it be okay to put him down?” Grace asked. “Maybe give him a bowl of water?”
“Sure,” Walker answered over his shoulder. “Grab a plastic bowl out of that cabinet to the bottom right of the sink.”
He turned his attention to scrambling up the eggs and turning the bacon, but was aware of her movements. She located a bowl, filled it with water from the tap, placed it on the floor, then put the puppy down and knelt, rubbing its back as it drank. After a few moments, she stood and went back to the table.
Walker cut a look at her to see her sipping her coffee and watching the dog. “I guess we need to put up a flyer or something."
“About what?”
“Uh, lost puppy?”
The look she gave him told him that she’d never considered that. She was already attached to the little beast and it was clear that the idea of returning him to his owner was upsetting.
“Could belong to a kid,” he commented as he scrambled the eggs.
That seemed to do the trick. She blinked, looked at the dog, and then at him. “You’re right. Do you have a computer and a printer?”
He shook his head without looking at her and scooped the bacon out of the pan to divide it onto two plates. “An iPad but no printer. There’s one at the station. I can do it tomorrow.”
“And what about till then?”
Walker poured the eggs into the frying pan. “I don’t know. I guess I could close him up in the laundry room for the night.”
The small sound of displeasure she made let him know she wasn’t keen on that idea. “Maybe I’ll just take him home with me.”
“He’s liable to make a mess while you’re working.”
Grace turned her eyes toward the puppy. “That’s okay.”
“Whatever you want.” He set a plate of food on the table in front of her, placed his plate across from her, and took a seat.
They ate in silence for a minute before the things he’d been wanting to say got the best of him. “Grace, about last night…”
She looked up at him with such fear that he wanted to r
each out and touch her, lend comfort.
“It was…” Words failed him.
“Crazy? Unbelievable? Impossible?”
“I was thinking more along the lines of mind-blowing.”
That prompted a fleeting half-smile. “It was that. But…but we…” She put down her fork and lowered both hands to her lap. “Walker…our dragons—they came alive.”
“Yeah, they did.”
Her eyes moved to lock with his. “Has anything like that ever happened to you before?”
“Becoming a dragon?”
“No—what happened between us.”
“Never.”
“Then why now?”
He considered the question for a moment. “Maybe because our ink is more than just ink.”
“Meaning what?”
He stood and took his half-full plate to the sink, then turned to look at her. “I think I need to tell you how I came to have this tattoo.”
“I’m listening.”
“Let’s go into the den.”
“Okay.” She stood, picked up her plate and started for the sink, then paused. “Can I give this to the puppy?”
“Sure, but let’s put him in the laundry room if you don’t mind. Just until he finishes eating. Here, might as well add this to it.” He scraped the remains of his breakfast onto her plate.
“Thanks.” She took her plate and set it on the floor in the laundry room, the puppy on her heels.
“I’ll be back,” she promised.
The puppy was focused on the food and paid her no attention as she closed the door and turned toward Walker.
He gestured toward the den and they made their way to the couch. She took a seat on the end and he sat beside her.
Grace waited for him to start talking. Until now she hadn’t sensed any nervousness in him. Concern? Yes. She could feel his concern for her. He had to be wondering if she was insane. But he seemed so filled with self-confidence. Now she could feel the anxiety rolling off him like the scent of freshly applied perfume.
It sparked surprising emotions inside her. She wanted to comfort him, to make him feel at ease. But why? Why did she have such strong feelings for a man she’d just met?
“You don’t have to tell me.”
“Yes, I do.” He blew out a breath. “Okay, it was like this…”
Chapter Six
Two seven-foot tall gargoyles guarded the door to his private study. Living gargoyles. How had he convinced them to serve him? That was a question she’d ponder later. For now, she followed the tall dark-skinned man to the door, surveying the gargoyles with disdain. They’d refused to swear allegiance to her and for that, they had earned her derision.
The dark-skinned man tapped on the door softly. Moments later, a voice sounded from behind the door. “Enter.”
He opened the door and stepped aside as she entered then followed behind her and closed the door.
“You may go.” The man standing by the wall of windows on the opposite side of the room commanded.
The dark skinned man nodded and left. She waited until the man at the window turned to face her. “It is a waste of your time and mine for you to come.” The man at the window said softly.
“And yet, here I am, Severin.”
“Yes, here you are. So out with it and let us be done.”
She moved closer, noting the way his body tensed when she drew near. So her affect on him still held some sway. That was of note.
“She belongs to me. Even your visage cannot tempt her away from me.”
He dismissed her words with a wave of his hand. “Ever the arrogant goddess. You may have inked her, Nyah, but she does not belong to you. I marked her before you cast your spell.”
“A kiss is not a brand, or have you forgotten? Free will must be honored. Forcing her to walk with you will diminish your power. But perhaps that is what you secretly yearn for—a depreciation in your power so that when you surrender, you can justify it as something beyond your control.”
He chuckled and took a step closer. “An amusing, if erroneous, notion. You above all know that there cannot be surrender. You and I, we are locked in this war with a firmness than will not abate. It is our fate.”
Nyah nodded, feeling the old sadness creep in. He spoke the truth. They would forever play the role of adversaries, battling to shift the balance in their favor. And perhaps for a time one would hold sway over the other, but eventually the balance would shift. It was the way of the universe. Neither Dark nor Light could hold sway over the other for long for within each was a kernel of the other that would swell or recede, and thus affect the balance.
“And yet, you insist upon trying to assert control over her. Why this one, Damos?”
He regarded her for a few moments before answering. “That is not the name by which I am known, as you well know. But no matter. You seek to propagate the species, to give rise to a new breed of warrior. A new type of shifter created outside of the norm for their race.”
She shrugged, unwilling to address the issue. “While you have a more noble purpose in mind for her?”
He regarded her for a long moment and she saw the hidden longing in the depths of his eyes. “Nobility. An overrated notion. It is nobility that set us upon this path. A decree from your most noble mate.”
Nyah turned away so that he would not see the pain in her eyes. It was true. Zarad had sought vengeance against her when, after all the centuries of loneliness, she had turned to Severin for solace. His wrath at her infidelity had cost her everything. All she had left was her role in destiny.
To walk eternity alone.
It was a bitter fate, and that bitterness was something she battled every day. How easy it would be to succumb to the resentment, to turn to the man behind her, a man who craved her, possibly even worshiped her.
Yet she held steadfast to the course fate and her desire for revenge had set her upon. The alternative was beyond contemplation.
*****
Two hours had passed since Grace and Walker had sat to talk. Once he’d started the words had poured from him like a dam that had been breached. He talked until his throat ached with dryness and his chest was tight with emotion.
And all the while, she’d watched, tears streaming down her face as she listened. Walker had to fight his own demons. He let emotions he’d never allowed to pour from him, overwhelm him.
“When I realized that the ink she put on me healed me and gave me abilities that were—unbelievable, I knew I had to go back to being a firefighter. To honor Utah. I had to make sure no one else died on my watch. I know that sounds arrogant and self-important and I don’t mean it to be, but the way I see it is she gave me a chance that no one gets. A chance to be more and do more and I can’t turn my back on that. Not even if it means always being alone.”
Grace wiped at her eyes with one hand and then reached out with her other to touch him, gently clasping his hand. “You’re not alone, Walker.”
His eyes met hers and something swelled inside him. Something that had him acting without thought. He pulled her closer. “Can this be real, Grace?’
“I don’t know.” Her voice was but a whisper, her breath soft in his face as her eyes searched his. “I mean what about Leann? You still wear her on your arm.”
Walker looked down at the small tattoo on his left arm. Leann’s name in a heart. “I won’t ever forget her. I can’t. She was my first love and…and we never got to say goodbye. I’ll always love her—or at least the memory of her. But this…this is in a league of its own, Grace. I don’t know how to even begin to describe it. I don’t know what this is but if we are…changing and becoming dragons, then what does that mean for our lifespan. Are we doomed to die young or will we live forever? Will we age and can we have kids? We don’t have anyone to ask so maybe there aren’t answers. But ask yourself. Who else could we ever share our lives with? Who else would ever understand?”
“But Walker, last night…the sex. It was…it was intense…rough and excitin
g but…”
“But what?”
“But I don’t want to be nothing more than someone who has a matching beast inside that can satisfy your… I don’t know what to call it. Your dragon nature? I don’t want to be just the only option available. Do you understand?”
“I do. And I don’t want that either. But something else happened last night. I felt it. Didn’t you?”
Grace felt a sudden grip of fear. Answering that question revealed so much and despite what she felt or thought she felt, how could she trust him with such knowledge? She looked into his eyes, searching for assurance and miraculously, found it.
“I did. I know it’s crazy but I feel connected to you. Not just the dragon part, but me. I can feel you, Walker. Your emotions. It’s like…”
“We’re mated.”
“Mated?”
“It’s the only way I can describe it. Like we’re joined somehow.”
“Yes. But…but how can it be and how can it work? We’re strangers.”
“That’s how everyone begins. But if you want to walk away…”
“No.” She didn’t. Didn’t know if she could. Especially now that she knew his past and what he’d suffered.
“Then let’s give this a chance, Grace.”
“Okay.”
He smiled and leaned toward her. His lips were soft and the kiss was almost chaste, but it was the most powerful moment she’d ever experienced. A homecoming. She felt him. In her mind.
It claimed her. Completely and irrevocably.
“Walker,” she breathed against his lips.
The sound of his name falling from her lips like a prayer sealed his fate. Something tore through him like fire, consuming and burning, but not with pain. It was a cleansing fire, one that washed the pain of the past from him, soothing and healing.
There had to be a God because he’d just received another blessing, one that set him free from despair. He was not alone. He loved.
“I want you.”
“Like last night? You really want to do that to your house?”
He laughed. “No, not like last night. Not as the dragon but as me. I want you, Grace.”
