Tempting the Dragon

by Karen Whiddon

  She shrugged and took a sip. “Whenever possible. Of course, I can’t in the winter. But the rest of the year, yes. Since it’s covered, I can even sit here when it’s raining, as long as the wind’s not blowing.”

  Since his throat had closed up again and he didn’t want to risk speaking, he simply nodded. The movement didn’t help his pounding head any.

  Jade eyed him. “Would you like to join me? Mind you, I have to be leaving for work soon so I don’t have very long.”

  Grateful for small kindnesses, he took a seat next to her on the swing. The fragrant aroma of hot coffee made his mouth water.

  “Would you like a cup?” she asked, noticing the way his gaze wandered to her mug.

  “Sure. If it’s not too much trouble.”

  “It’s not.” Pushing to her feet, she set her coffee down on a decorative barrel that apparently served as a table. “Do you take cream and sugar or black?”

  “Black, please.”

  After she vanished inside, he kicked back a little, sending the swing in motion. There were very few places on this earth where he felt at peace, and this porch in the front of this house on the hill had been, oddly enough, one of them. He couldn’t help but wonder how much of that had to do with Jade.

  A moment later she returned with his coffee. She moved with a sensual grace, apparently completely unaware of her allure. Still desperate for distraction, he tried to imagine her other form; no doubt whatever kind of beast she became, she would retain her human beauty. At the thought, his own dragon stirred inside him. Sluggish, yes, due to the amount of pain building up behind his eyes.

  “Thank you.” Accepting the mug, he drank gratefully, squinting bleary-eyed at the rising sun. At least the sting of his burned tongue helped him stop thinking about how much he’d like to twine his fingers in Jade’s thick silver hair and pull her close for a kiss. Sort of.

  Realizing he was only looking for a distraction, anything to help him not think about Eve, he knew he needed to focus if he wanted to keep from breaking down. “I didn’t have time to get caffeinated before I came here.”

  Nodding, she retrieved her own coffee. “Are you all right?” she asked. “You look a little green around the gills.”

  He started to nod, but stopped himself. “Not really. I’ve only had a few migraines in my lifetime, but whatever is building up in my head promises to be the mother of all headaches.”

  “I’m sorry. Maybe the coffee will help.”

  “Perhaps it will,” he said, taking a sip.

  “I thought possibly you were hungover. Like you might have gotten bored and hit up the pub last night.”

  Which would be the last thing he’d do, but she didn’t know that. Right now, with his entire body aching with pain, he knew how easily it would be to drink himself into oblivion and just stay there. “No.”

  She watched him, her emerald eyes wiser than her years. “Why are you here, Rance? What do you need?”

  You. The thought came unbidden, the sudden sureness of it making him drink too deeply of the hot coffee than he should have. He winced as he burned his mouth, swallowing quickly and trying not to choke as the pain continued down his throat.

  One cough turned into two. Eyes watering, he looked away.

  “Are you all right?”

  No.

  Wordlessly nodding, he swallowed again before forcing his gaze up to her face.

  Glancing at her watch, she stood. “Well, I’ve got to go. I have to be at work before the first drop-offs of the day.”

  Pushing to his feet, he drained the last of his coffee and put the cup down on the railing. “I need to meet Libby as soon as possible. There are photographs I’ve got to take.” Damned if he’d give up on his promise to Eve, just because she was... No. He forced his mind to go blank. He’d get through this, do what he had to do and then go to a place that would never again be his home.

  “I haven’t forgotten.” Wrinkling her nose, Jade smiled at him, unaware of his inner turmoil. Despite Libby asking her to bring him around at one o’clock, she still wasn’t ready. “I’m just trying to work out the logistics.” Stalling, true. But something still felt...off.

  “I’ve got to leave town,” he blurted, trying like hell to keep his tone ordinary, normal. Though Jim had yet to relay funeral arrangements, he figured it would be in the next two or three days.

  Her smile slowly disappeared. “Oh. When?”

  “I’m not sure yet,” he lied, not wanting to tell her he’d already purchased a ticket for a flight. “Soon. Within the next few days.”

  “I see.” She looked away. “Libby had asked me to set up a meeting with you. You leaving changes things.”

  “Why?” he asked, crossing his arms. “That shouldn’t make any difference.” Slowly she nodded. He got the distinct impression he wasn’t the only one withholding information.

  “It shouldn’t be that difficult. Just let her know and take me there. Unless you think she’d have objections...” He knew his saying this was like offering her an escape route, a way to avoid keeping the promise she’d made. While he knew he really shouldn’t care, to his surprise he did. Taking a picture of a lake monster had been Eve’s last request. Damned if he wouldn’t do his best to honor it, even if the idea of using his camera still made him feel nauseated.

  “No, she won’t object. Like I said, she actually wants to meet you. She even set up a time. But Libby wants the meeting to be while she’s in her human form, and you...from what you said about taking photographs, I think you want to meet her after she shape-shifts into the lake creature.”

  He couldn’t say why, but this statement flummoxed him. Still, that aching, pain-filled part of him felt glad of the distraction. “Wait a minute. Libby’s a shape-shifter?”

  Jade stared back at him, her own shock plain on her beautiful face. “Surely you didn’t think she stayed as a lake creature all the time?”

  Put that way, he could see why she was astonished.

  “I didn’t really think about it,” he admitted, his mind whirling. “Part of me supposed if humans could be nothing more than human, then a lake beast could do the same.”

  While Jade didn’t outright laugh at him, he could see her struggling not to. To his shock, he felt an answering smile tug at the corners of his mouth.

  “I’d like to meet her as human, then,” he said.

  She grinned. “Would you?”

  “Yes. If that’s what she wants to do, then I’m game. I’d like to ask her permission to take her picture and I don’t imagine we’d be able to talk if I met her in her lake beast form.”

  Now Jade snickered. “No, you wouldn’t. Just like when you or I change into our beasts. We can’t talk to humans, only to our own kind.”

  “Of course not.” He sighed. “I got it. Now, when can you set it up?”

  “Give me a minute.” Pulling out her phone, she sent a text. “She suggested a time and I want to make sure it’s still all right.” A moment later, a chime indicated an answer. “Okay. Libby says you can meet her later today.”

  As distractions went, this was a doozy. He nodded. “Fine. What time?”

  Again she glanced at her watch, still watching him closely, as if she somehow sensed something was wrong. Unsmiling, she finally answered, “How about one o’clock? We can grab a bite to eat on the way.”

  As if he could eat. He took a deep breath as another wave of grief threatened to overwhelm him. Though meeting Libby would, under any other circumstances, be awesome, the encounter had come too late. Eve was gone.

  Because his eyes stung, he looked away. He tried to clear a suddenly aching thoat. All he could think about was how on earth he’d manage to fill the time until then. He had to stay busy; otherwise, the hours would stretch out bleakly, ready to constantly remind him of his loss. And he wa
sn’t sure he was strong enough to face it alone. Not just yet.

  “Sounds good.” He thought he succeeded at sounding casual. Normal. As if his entire world hadn’t been shattered. Keep busy, that would be the key. “Jade, do you mind if I hang out with you until then? I can help at your doggy day care if you need an extra set of hands.”

  Tilting her head, she eyed him. “Sure. Let me go inside and grab a few things and then we’ll go.”

  Out of reflex, he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket, meaning to call Eve and tell her he was finally going to meet a lake monster. With the phone in his hand, he froze. Eve could no longer take his calls.

  Dizzy, he closed his eyes, riding out the wave of grief. Maybe in time, he’d grow used to this. Maybe not. But right now, the loss felt all too fresh, and way too painful.

  “Are you all right?” Jade touched his arm. Somehow, without intending to, he turned into her and pulled her close, holding on as tightly as if his life depended on it.

  “Yes,” he managed. “Just fine.” Even though, clearly, he was not.

  Jade stood still, holding him and letting him take what he needed from her embrace. He blinked several times to clear his eyes, cleared his throat and, finally, when he thought he had himself under control, released her.

  “Do you want to talk about it?” she asked, her gaze searching his face.

  He shook his head and averted his eyes. “No. I don’t.”

  “Come on,” she said, taking his arm and steering him toward her car. “If you want to talk, you can tell me about it on the way to DOL.”

  Instead, he sat in the front seat as she drove, doing his best to pretend all was just hunky-dory in his world.

  “Are you able to tell me what kind of shape-shifter Libby is?” he asked. He wasn’t sure why the idea of a lake monster being a shape-shifter had never occurred to him, but now that he knew it to be truth, he sort of felt let down.

  Suddenly he realized if he took photos, he had no idea what he would do with them now that Eve was no longer able to see them.

  Jade flashed him an arch look. “No kind of shape-shifter I’ve ever heard of. Sorry.”

  Normally a mystery of this kind would have intrigued him. As it went, every time his mind went to Eve being gone, he circled it back around to Libby and her Guardian.

  When they pulled up at Dogs Off Leash, two parked cars already waited for them.

  Jade groaned. “Dang it. I’m not that late. Come on, you can help me get the place opened up.”

  The next several hours thankfully passed quickly. While he’d never had a dog, he’d always liked them, and he shepherded dogs from playrooms to outdoor play areas, where Jade’s employees supervised their activities. The dogs seemed to like him, which he considered good, since occasionally other animals sensed his inner dragon and were put off.

  Once the steady stream of clients dropping off their pets slowed down, Jade told Sue that she and Rance would be leaving for a few hours. Surprised, Rance glanced at his watch. It was barely ten.

  Curious, he followed Jade out to her car. Once she’d backed from the drive, she glanced at him. “I think we need to talk before we visit Libby.”

  Usually, hearing those words from a woman was enough to make him shut down. This time, rather from sheer exhaustion or the basic human need to have someone understand his pain, he nodded.

  Still, now that she’d given him the opening, he couldn’t seem to find the right words.

  “Don’t shut me out.” Her soft voice nearly undid him. Even so, he must have opened his mouth five separate times before closing it.

  She took a turnoff that promised to lead to a camping area. When she pulled off the road, killed the engine and turned to face him with an expectant look on her face, he shook his head.

  “I can tell you’re hurting, and from more than just a headache. I can help,” she promised, placing her graceful, long-fingered hand on his arm. “Please let me help.”

  “Why?” he finally asked. “You barely know me.”

  At his words, hurt flashed in her eyes. “True, though I feel like I’ve known you forever. I...care about you, Rance.”

  “Do you?” The harshness of his tone came from pain. Leaning toward her, he slanted his mouth across hers. At first, she didn’t move, and then she opened her mouth to his.

  Passion exploded. He let himself fall into the kiss, suddenly craving her, needing more than anything to feel alive. To push away his sorrow with passion.

  “Wait.” Even though her breathing sounded as ragged as his, she pulled away. “I don’t think...”

  “Don’t.” He claimed her lips again. “We don’t need to think at all.”

  Again, desire blazed between them. And for a few moments, rational thought banished; nothing existed but the drugging taste of her, the sensual warmth of her curves under his hands.

  “No.” This time, she shoved him. Hard. “I get that you want me. As I want you. But I know pain when I see it. Tell me what’s happened.”

  And just like that, reality came crashing down. Eve, her small flame snuffed out far too soon.

  Something must have shown in his face. Jade watched him, the sympathy in her green eyes almost more than he could bear. “You aren’t alone,” she said.

  “Ah, but I am.” The bitterness in his voice made him sound like a stranger. “You see, I was like you once. Always seeing the bright side of things. Once upon a time, I also believed in fairy tales.”

  He maintained eye contact as he spoke, as if he could make her understand by the intensity of his gaze. “I was married, with a family. I had a wife, Violet. She had a little girl from her previous marriage. Even though she and her ex-husband shared custody, I loved my stepdaughter as much as if she was my own.” Swallowing hard, he hoped like hell he could get through the words without his voice breaking.

  Past tense. He couldn’t help but realize that now he used past tense for all of them.

  “I lost my wife to a horrible illness.” True to form, his voice cracked. He’d been expecting it, so he simply swallowed and went on. “Two years ago. I didn’t even get sick. At all. Yet it took her within hours. She died in my arms.” He looked down. “So fast and so deadly.”

  She leaned over, wrapping him in her arms. “I’m sorry. Was your wife a shape-shifter, too?”

  “Yes. Her ex-husband, Jim, he was human. Their daughter... Eve is—was—a halfling. Half human, half...” He stopped just short of revealing what he couldn’t. His species. “Half-shifter,” he said.

  Nodding, Jade continued to hold him. She held on with just the right amount of strength, and he almost let himself clutch on to her as if he would never let her go.

  Almost.

  But he knew better. There were no such things as fairy tales or happy endings.

  “What about your stepdaughter?” Jade finally asked. “Eve. Is she all right?”

  He lifted his head, squared his shoulders and looked her right in the eyes. “I’m not looking for your pity.”

  “And I’m not offering it,” she shot right back. “I want to know what happened to her.”

  “Oh, she got sick, too. And while she didn’t die as quickly as her mother did, her illness ran a different course in her small body.” He took a deep breath. Halflings were different than full-blooded shifters. Ordinary diseases could kill them. Ordinary diseases were not supposed to be able to harm shifters. But this one, targeting only his kind, had. Very few of the Drakkor women had been able to survive this illness.

  “When she was four, she was diagnosed with leukemia,” he continued, unable to tell her the entire truth. “She had a bone marrow transplant and it seemed like she’d recover. She got too thin and weak, but she was a fighter.” He took a deep breath. “But she somehow managed to keep her joy. Her smile could light up a room.” Stil
l, though he continued to use past tense, he couldn’t quite bring himself to say the words. Not yet. Maybe not ever.

  “After your wife died, who took care of her?”

  Simple questions. Those he could answer. “Her father, my wife’s ex. His name is Jim. He’s a good guy. I’ve considered myself damn lucky that he let me see her.

  “Anyway.” He forced himself to continue. “I made my little girl a promise before she died. She wanted me to take a picture of a lake creature.”

  For the first time ever he wondered if Eve had wanted this because maybe, somewhere deep inside of her, she understood her heritage. Being human, Jim didn’t know that when Eve got older she’d begin to demonstrate the ability to shape-shift. And Rance would be the one to teach her. Or he would have been.

  Another wave of grief hit him. He took a moment, willing it to recede.

  “I’m sorry.” Jade smoothed her hand across his cheek. “You lost her, didn’t you? Was this recent?”

  He blinked, startled to realize she’d wiped away a tear he hadn’t even realized he’d shed. “Yes. Yesterday.”

  Suddenly he couldn’t breathe. Opening the car door, he got out. “Jade, she died before I could keep my promise. She was five years old.” His voice shook with the pain he tried to conceal. “And part of me died with her.”

  Chapter 11

  Watching Rance stride away, into the woods, Jade wasn’t sure if she should follow or simply give him space. His grief had been palpable, his unconscious need for comfort making her entire spirit ache.

  Tears stung the backs of her eyes. The magnitude of his loss made her wonder how he was even able to function.

  Had she been wrong to push him away? She wanted him, in every way a woman could desire a man. She always had, from the very first moment she’d seen him in her dreams. But for her, she knew when she and Rance came together, it would have to be more than a rushed coupling in the car.