Licking Fire_A Howls Romance_Stop Dragon My Heart Around

by Mandy M. Roth

  He’d seen one just like that, long ago.

  Without thought, he opened her bag fully and withdrew the journal. As he held it in his hand, confusion filled his mind.

  Rayer opened it, remembering long ago when the man he’d considered a close friend had started it. The journal was filled with information on Rayer. There were sketches of him in both human and dragon form. All the details he’d shared with Samuel were there.

  What was Alondra doing with it, and who was she running from?

  Timothy appeared next to him, a spring in his step. “She’s taking a hot bath now. I’m going to have some clothing sent over for her. Is there anything else you’d like me to order?”

  Rayer eyed the old man, knowing he was up to no good. “You were in there a long time with her. Why?”

  “Don’t be jealous. I’m old. She’s young.”

  Rayer snorted. “I’m ancient.”

  “Fair point,” said Timothy. “I sat in the chair, near the window, and let her pace and talk. She needed to tell someone everything she’d been holding in, and she trusts me.”

  “I noticed,” said Rayer, disappointed that Alondra didn’t seem to trust him as much.

  Timothy touched his shoulder. “Sir, don’t you sense it on her?”

  “Sense what?” asked Rayer, confused and still off his game because of the way Alondra seemed to confuse his every thought.

  Timothy smiled wide. “Magik. She’s got a bit of my kind in her. That’s why she trusts me, and why she was able to resist the push in my voice. In fact, her magik reminds me a lot of my sister’s, gods rest her soul.”

  “The one who ran off and married the archaeologist and turned her back on the ways of magik?” asked Rayer, remembering when Timothy had told him of it all. It had been when Timothy was in his early twenties and had just started working for Rayer.

  Timothy nodded. “Yes. One and the same. My family refused to acknowledge her union to a human and forbid any of us from having contact with her. By the time I’d wised up enough to know their reasoning was based on old ways, my sister had passed, and her husband wanted nothing to do with me. I can’t blame him. At the time, he’d lost not only my sister but both his sons and daughters-in-law as well. I guess they’d all been in a van, traveling together, when a semi went left of center. The only good thing was that the grandchildren weren’t in the vehicle. From my understanding, Samuel was left with a permanent limp and granddaughters to raise all on his own. Samuel wouldn’t let me come and meet the children. Said my sister didn’t want magik to be part of her family’s life, and he wanted to honor her wishes.”

  Rayer froze. “Samuel? An archaeologist? What was his last name? It wasn’t Pallon, by chance, was it?”

  Timothy nodded. “It was, but I don’t recall telling you that. I must be getting old. I heard he passed away not long ago, too. I should probably try to reach out to the children now.” He touched his chin. “Though I guess they wouldn’t be children anymore, would they? My sister has been dead nearly twenty years. The girls would be in their early to mid-twenties by now.”

  Rayer swallowed hard and went back to Alondra’s bag, withdrawing the journal once more. He laid it on the table for Timothy to see. “Alondra had this in her bag. I recognized it as being Samuel’s.”

  “How did you know him?” asked Timothy, lifting the journal and opening it. He skimmed the pages, his eyes widening as he did. When he set it down, it was with shaky hands. He looked toward the hallway. “She said she was twenty-four, about to be twenty-five.”

  “Yes,” said Rayer, getting the same sinking feeling as Timothy.

  Timothy went to the bag and began digging through it more. Rayer was about to scold him for the behavior when the man pulled out a wallet. He opened it and gasped, holding a driver’s license out for Rayer to see.

  There, plain as day, was a photo of Alondra with the surname Pallon.

  “She’s your great-niece?” asked Rayer.

  “It would appear so.” Timothy returned her belongings to her bag and then looked at Rayer. “I think she’s supposed to be here with us, sir. I think powers higher than we can imagine set this in motion long ago. There is a reason she came seeking you.”

  “So that she’d be connected to family again?” he asked, unsure he was following Timothy’s logic.

  Timothy smiled. “Yes, but I think there is more to it, and I think you’re already starting to suspect who she is to you.”

  “I phoned my cousin,” he confessed, his entire body tight. “Zarek thinks she’s my mate. That’s ridiculous, right?”

  “Is it?”

  Rayer closed his eyes. “The truth?”

  “Is always best.” Timothy put his hand on the bloody sweater.

  “I’d given up hope of finding the one for me. And when I saw her, I wanted to keep her forever. I wanted to possess her. That’s not right. It’s not natural.”

  Timothy grinned. “It is for a dragon shifter, sir.”

  “Did she tell you who hurt her?”

  “It would seem your mate wrote an article exposing corruption in our city government, and the mayor isn’t taking it well.”

  The mayor, Henry Valentine, was a bottom-feeding alligator shifter who belonged in the sewers, not running the city. He and Rayer had gone head-to-head more than once over the last few years, and each time Rayer had fought the urge to kill the man.

  “He sent the aemaemurous demon after her?” He turned to head to the door, his intent to track down Valentine and kill him.

  Timothy’s magik swept over him, locking him in place.

  “Release me!”

  “The young lady down the hall needs you here, not out killing anyone. At least not yet. Get to know her, Rayer. Then seek out those who wish her harm, and destroy them—but first, claim the woman.”

  He paused. “Claim her?”

  “You’re acting a lot like you’re six, not six hundred.”

  “I feel like I’m six,” confessed Rayer. “She confuses me. I want to kiss her and kill everything else.”

  Timothy laughed, and then headed for the door with the sweater in hand. “I’ll see to this and get clothing ordered for her. Was there anything else you wanted for her?”

  “What do women her age like?” asked Rayer, feeling out of his element. He was a natural-born ladies’ man who felt anything but suave around Alondra.

  “I’ll see what I can come up with,” Timothy said, heading for the door. “I’ve given her something to help her sleep.”

  “What about the aemaemurous toxins?” asked Rayer, concerned for her.

  “My line has always been able to fight off most toxins. That explains why it’s been seeping from her wounds. Her body is slowly ridding itself of the toxin. Her system just needs rest. By morning, she should be fine. But if anything changes, ring me. Oh, and, sir, you might want to reach out to Tobias and the rest of your men. I think they should go to Alondra’s apartment. The address is on her driver’s license. My gut is telling me Valentine left a trap for Alondra there. Warn your men.”

  Chapter Six

  Alondra stepped out into the hallway and looked around, wondering where Rayer was. When she’d awakened, it was to find her bag and boots near the bed, as well as boxes of varying sizes, all with bows and cards that held her name. She’d opened the gifts to find that Rayer had bought her a wardrobe. He’d even thought of toiletries.

  And, oddly enough, he’d gotten her a necklace with one turquoise gem on a long silver chain. The gem instantly made her think of the color of his eyes.

  She knew she should refuse the jewelry and all the gifts, but she found she couldn’t stand the idea of parting with the necklace. She’d cried over his kindness for a few moments and then she’d showered in his master bathroom, which was more than likely bigger than all the apartments on her floor. It was then she’d noticed her arm was nearly healed over.

  Alondra had stopped questioning the bizarreness that had become her life.

  When
she’d found herself being attacked, she could have sworn that her body had begun to buzz with cool energy a second before most of the men were thrust far from her. Some didn’t stand back up after the blast. And the ones who did ran.

  Everything was so strange in her world now, and she desperately wished her grandfather were still alive so she could talk to him about it all.

  “I miss you,” she said softly, glancing in the mirror on the hallway wall to check her reflection.

  She wore a pair of leggings and a long sweater. Her feet were adorned in an oversized pair of knee-length socks. The entire outfit was very much her style. It was trendy, yet warm and functional.

  She heard Rayer’s voice and followed it until she found herself standing outside of what looked to be a home office. He was wearing a deep blue dress shirt and a pair of dark gray dress pants. He had a phone pressed to his ear and was pacing the room.

  “Was her apartment your handiwork?” he demanded, his voice rising.

  For a second, Alondra was sure the room shook. She took a deep breath and froze in place, not wanting to draw Rayer’s attention or wrath.

  He growled, the sound anything but human. “I sent my people there. Everything in her place is in shreds. And don’t think for a second they didn’t find the present you left behind for her. In case you’re wondering, he will be returning to you in pieces, never to infect another with his toxins. I suggest you clear out of this city before I come for you, Valentine.”

  He was talking to the mayor?

  She clasped her hands together, fear rushing through her. At the same second she felt she should run, Rayer’s gaze snapped to her, his nostrils flaring. He held the phone to his ear, his preternatural eyes locked on her.

  “I’ll tell you why this is my business,” he said harshly. “Because she is mine. Come near her again, and I will be your end. Make another move to discredit her name again, and I will take offense. Send men after her once more, and I will return their heads to you. I have tolerated you in my city. Come near my woman again, and my patience with you will be no more. You do not want me coming for you. I think you know as much.”

  My woman?

  She yelped, and the urge to flee hit her hard once more.

  Unable to stop herself, Alondra turned and ran for the front door. It didn’t matter that she didn’t have her bag, shoes, or a jacket. All that mattered was putting distance between herself and Rayer.

  But why?

  She didn’t believe for a minute he’d hurt her. So why was she running?

  As her body began to tingle in places it shouldn’t, she got a pretty good idea as to why she was running. She was about to be caught by Rayer Drackos, and she had a sneaking suspicious that would lead to his bed once more—though she doubted she’d be alone this time.

  The palm of her hand connected with the door just as something strong snaked around her waist, ripping her back against the expanse of a steely chest. Heat continued to pour through her, and she couldn’t help but cry out. It wasn’t from pain, as Rayer wasn’t harming her. The cry was from something else. Something primal that wanted to accept his verbal claim on her. She wanted to be his in every way possible, and that terrified her.

  It was all too much, too fast.

  “Stop,” he said, his mouth pressed to her ear as he held her suspended off the floor, her back to his front. “I will not harm you.”

  Her hands found his forearm. It was nothing but muscle. She stopped struggling and swallowed hard. “You were talking to the mayor about me, weren’t you?”

  “Yes.”

  “H-how do you know what his men did to my apartment?”

  Rayer kept his mouth pressed to her ear. “I have people too, Alondra. I tasked them with finding out all they could about you. They did their job. They also dealt with a threat that was left there for you, should you have returned.”

  She let her head fall forward, feeling so defeated. Her long hair covered her face, and she sighed. “He won’t stop. He got me fired from the paper, froze my bank accounts, is getting me evicted, tore my place apart and…” She tensed, not wanting to say more.

  “And what?” Rayer demanded, his voice reverberating through her.

  She shook. “He’s had men attack me before. The first time, they were only trying to scare me. The other times were different. They were different. They weren’t normal.”

  Did she dare tell him what she’d seen the men do? That she’d seen them shift forms into something she couldn’t fully explain?

  Was he what her grandfather wrote about in his journals? Was he someone she could not only trust, but who also more than understood what she was dealing with?”

  He kept hold of her. “They looked much like snakes when they changed, yes?”

  She clung to his arm. “Yes.”

  “I will track and kill everyone who dared to harm you,” he vowed, his other arm moving around her tenderly. “You’re safe with me, Alondra. I think you know that. I think that is why you came. You felt drawn to me, didn’t you?”

  She wanted to deny it, but couldn’t. It was true. She nodded, unable to admit it out loud. It was all too much. Too unreal.

  He set her down gently and put his hands on her shoulders, keeping her in place. “I am going to show you something, but I need you to understand that it will still be me, and that I vow to you, I will never harm you.”

  She knew what he was going to do before he did it. She wasn’t sure she wanted to see the truth of it all.

  “Turn around,” he said, his voice sounding off.

  “I don’t know that I can,” she confessed.

  “Trust me. Please.”

  Turning slowly, she closed her eyes and then faced Rayer. It took several long, pregnant seconds before she found the courage to open her eyes and look at him. When she did, her eyes widened.

  He was even taller than he had been. His shoulders were wider, and his exposed skin was covered in what looked to be golden scales. His face was a mix between human and lizard almost. The more she looked at him, the more she realized it was true: he was a dragon shifter. From what her grandfather’s journal had said, this was Rayer in a partially shifted state. Fully shifted, he would have needed to be on the roof or outside in an open area—he was that big.

  With a shaky hand, she reached for his arm, wanting to feel him. He let her, and she skimmed the tips of her fingers over his scaled arm. They were smooth, yet hard. And she realized they had a pearl-like quality to them, were not just simply plain gold. “Wow.”

  He said nothing, standing and letting her continue to pet his arm.

  She stepped closer to him. “Does it hurt? When you do this in-between stage?”

  “No,” he said, still frozen in place.

  “Can you breathe fire this way?” she asked.

  He nodded.

  “Cool.”

  His gaze narrowed slightly. “Are you scared of me?”

  “I probably should be. A smart person would, but no,” she said softly, still touching him. “I’m not scared. I think you look magnificent. I kind of have dragon-shifter envy right now.”

  He smiled, and she realized his teeth were jagged now.

  Her eyes widened, and she reached up to touch one. “That is so friggin’ cool.”

  Catching her wrist gently, he held her hand in place right before his face. “Samuel did not take my change into partially shifted form nearly as well as you are, the first time he saw it.”

  She smiled and then laughed softly. “He wrote in the journal that he passed out.”

  “He did,” said Rayer, shaking his head. Light seemed to shimmer all around him—right before he looked totally normal and totally human once more.

  Alondra took a step back, soaking in the sight of him. “That is seriously the coolest thing ever. Whatever the men are who work with the mayor, they aren’t nearly as beautiful shifted. They were hideous. They reminded me of alligators.”

  “That is what they are, I’m guessing. It’s
what Valentine is as well.”

  Her eyes widened. “The mayor is a shifter?”

  “He is,” said Rayer, showing no emotion.

  She gulped. “Then when he tells me he wants to eat me up, he really means eat me up?”

  Rayer’s jaw clenched. This time it was he who made a move toward the front door. Something deep down told her not to allow him to leave. She grabbed his arm and slid in her socks across the hardwood. She might as well not have been hanging on to him at all, for all it did to slow his progress.

  “Rayer, no!” she shouted, before realizing how stupid it was to yell at a man who could change into a dragon.

  He stopped and looked back at her. “I will kill him.”

  “I know,” she said, understanding he would indeed kill the man. “But don’t. You’ll risk exposing yourself and your kind to the world. Do you think you can really just kill the mayor of the city and no one will find out? No one will dig more into you? Into what you are?”

  “I do not care!” He put his hand on the knob.

  Without thought, Alondra said the first thing that came to mind. “If you go off half-cocked after him, I’ll leave, and I’ll go far away. I won’t ever come back. By the time you find me, it will be too late.”

  Why had she said that? What did she mean by “too late”?

  He flexed his grip on the knob and then lifted his hand away, looking as if it was taking him a great deal of strength to keep from leaving. When he fixed his gaze on her, it was heated and pinned her in place. “You think to threaten me?”

  Wait… She was threatening him by telling him she’d leave? How?

  “You think you can vanish from my life after you only just appeared, at the time I need you most? And you think to throw in my face that you will stay hidden until it is too late for me to claim you as a man should a woman?”

  Her mind raced with everything he was saying. She was close to confessing she didn’t really have a clue why she’d said what she did, but her gut told her not to let him know that just yet. That he was stubborn, and he’d go off and kill the mayor. That would be bad. Very bad.