by A. C. Arthur
An hour and a half later she cursed him for ever mentioning the gym to her. Lying flat on her back, she placed the bar on the base after her sixth set of five lifts.
“One-fifteen. That’s pretty decent,” Ravyn said as she came up beside the bench and glanced at the weights attached to the bar.
“I’m not a fan of the gym.” It was a quick admission, but one she thought might excuse her for not lifting more. She suspected the other Drakon in this place were much stronger than she was, but it didn’t matter. The strength she had worked just fine bringing in her targets and that’s all she needed.
Sitting up, she rested her hands on her thighs and took a few deep breaths. Ravyn tossed her a towel and she nodded her thanks before dragging it over her sweat-soaked face.
“Me either. Even though I did enjoy all the self-defense classes I’ve taken over the years.” Ravyn shrugged, the long, straight side of her hair brushing over her shoulder as she did. “These days I spend most of my time flexing my witchy muscles.”
That’s right, she was the witch of the family.
“How’s that working out for you?” Mel asked, for lack of anything better to say.
Ravyn sat on the top part of the bench leaving Mel no other choice but to pull her other leg over to the side and turn so that they were now sitting side-by-side.
“So far so good, I guess. I mean, I haven’t come up with a spell that’ll be strong enough to kill five-hundred-year-old ancient vampires yet, but then again I’ve only been a witch for about nine months.”
“Really? You just signed up?” She knew that wasn’t how it worked but was trying to find a light way of asking what could be considered very probing questions.
Ravyn smiled and Mel relaxed another notch. “Nah, I just found out who and what I was. Enes told me after the cursed dagger found me. It’s a long story complete with the crazy ass witch/vampire breed called a Dhampir named Temptra who hated me so much she tried to bury me alive in a tomb.”
Mel had pieced together some of that long story last night, so she didn’t push Ravyn in that direction.
“Sounds like a pretty eventful nine months. After which you ended up mated to a hot guy dragon. You think you got what you bargained for?”
“I think I got what was meant for me. That’s how it works.”
Mel stilled. Her fingers gripped the towel and she let her head loll back for a few seconds trying to decide how to proceed. Had she really wanted to know more about Ravyn and Steele as a couple versus Ravyn the witch and how she could help them get this job done?
“You and Aiken have history. And before you get all tense, nobody’s told me anything about it. I don’t think anybody knows details, only what’s so plain for us all to see.”
Looking over at Ravyn, Mel gave in. “What do you see when you look at us?”
“Unresolved emotion. So much of it that it circles the two of you like this heavy cloud. You both know it’s there but you’re kind of tiptoeing around it, like you believe if you don’t touch it, it won’t burn you.” Wow, that was a lot for Ravyn to have seen when they’d only been back together a couple of days.
“It’s not unresolved. I made a decision a long time ago and I’m sticking by it.”
Ravyn nodded. “Yeah, I know how that works. I made lots of decisions before I met Steele. He made some before he met me too, and neither of us wanted to change our minds.”
“But, let me guess, you did change your mind and you decided to go along with what you thought was fate or whatever and now you’re living happily ever after.”
“No.” She stared at Mel pointedly. “I thought my best friend was going to die, watched as a legion of powerful dragons took to the sky in an attempt to kill the woman who threatened my life and then, because all that wasn’t enough to change my every thought, I watched Steele offer his life to the Reaper of death in place of mine.” Ravyn’s gaze had grown intense, her hands fisted on her thighs. “That’s when I stopped taking shit for granted and stood up to do what I was meant to do. When you get to that point, the moment when it could all be gone in a flash, I’m betting you’ll start thinking about what your happy ending could’ve looked like too.”
Ravyn left Mel to ponder those words but all Mel could think about was finally getting away from these people. She didn’t subscribe to their way of thinking and that, to them, was clearly her biggest fault. Yet, that tiny spark of envy she’d felt while listening to Ravyn speak with such fevered emotion about finding and ending up with Steele continued to flicker in the pit of her stomach. The sensation was so familiar, so intense she closed her eyes to the memory that assailed her.
“I love you.” The words had tumbled out of her mouth before she could think of pulling them back. When he stopped on the trail where they’d been walking hand in hand, her pulse quickened. What if he didn’t love her back?
His eyes seemed to warm as he continued to stare at her for those painfully quiet seconds following the admission and she dared not open her mouth to speak again. Having one fanciful set of words slip into the air had put her at her foolish quota for the day.
“I’ve been waiting for you to say those words.” Not, I love you too. It took her another few seconds to process how that made her feel. Something inside her shifted at that moment. It felt like she’d turned around too fast and lightheadedness was on its way. But she didn’t sway with dizziness, instead she took a deep, steadying breath and released it slowly.
“I thought your power was telekinesis, not mind-reading.” Because if she were being perfectly honest with herself she’d been thinking those words, or at the very least had been experiencing weird emotions that she’d suspected would lead to those words, from the day she’d met him six months ago. Was that enough time to fall in love with someone? Hell if she knew, she’d never been in love before.
“What I have is a dragon who selected its mate seconds after seeing you sparring in the training room.”
She blinked slowly because Aiken hadn’t been her first partner. He’d been her trainer and she’d been certain he could barely stand her when, of all the trainees in that room, he’d paid her the least amount of attention. “What are you talking about? You didn’t even like me when you first saw me.”
He shook his head, that sexy as hell smile spreading. “I guess it takes a while before the man, or in your case, the woman, comes to terms with the beast within.”
Why did he keep referring to dragons like the words she’d said had some sort of preternatural meaning? Well, really that didn’t matter, Mel wanted to know if he loved her back. If not, she could walk away. She’d recover and move on as she’d been forced to do all her life. It would be no big deal.
“Is that what you normally say when a woman tells you she loves you?” Did that sound vulnerable? Needy? Desperate? She held her breath while waiting for his answer.
His response didn’t come in words, but a quick tug as he dropped her hand and wrapped his arm around her, pulling her tight against him. Their lips were connected next, his tongue pressing through, dragging her into a kiss that sent her head spinning and the feeling inside her swelling until she thought it would push right through her skin.
Pulling his mouth away from hers, he gave them each a moment to catch their breath. “This is what I do when the Selection is sealed between me and the woman whose tenacious and spirited personality stole my heart.”
Mel’s eyes shot open and she gasped for air. Looking frantically around the room, she noted the exercise equipment, weights and mats throughout. Good, it had only been a flashback. She wasn’t in that moment anymore, and her heart wasn’t beating the rhythm of new love while her mind warred with the words Aiken had spoken. The Selection and all its implications had been like a death sentence breathed over what she’d thought was the best thing to ever happen to her.
It took her a few seconds to let that memory settle
in the back of her mind so she could reclaim the calm she’d practiced over the years. She hadn’t chosen to accept her beast and its selection, instead she’d walked away, to save her life. Now, she needed him to stop pushing her, stop trying to seduce her into making a different decision this time. Time hadn’t changed the fact that the sacrifice she’d have to make to do that was still too great.
With a feeling of resolution and determination, she stood and left the gym.
She hadn’t come here to fulfill some lovesick dream of getting her guy, she’d come to claim her target and that’s exactly what she planned to do, despite how much she’d wanted to climb into bed with Aiken last night and beg him to hold her, to assure her that this was all going to work out. If this was going to go the way she wanted...no, the way she needed it to go, then she was going to have to make sure of that herself. Nothing else mattered.
Chapter Eight
Aiken knew the moment he was no longer alone and turned just as Theo walked up to him. He’d been standing on the second level of the front foyer, arms resting on the iron railing that stretched twenty feet before leading down a wide, curving staircase.
“Getting ready to head out?” Theo was dressed in his normal jeans and button-front shirt, his gait more relaxed but still full of confidence and authority.
“Shortly.” If his tone sounded clipped Theo either didn’t notice or didn’t care enough to comment, which meant this wasn’t a simple chitchat.
“Walk with me.” The instruction given, Theo began walking toward the steps.
Aiken followed. There really was no reason not to. A conversation with his boss might be the last thing on his mind, but considering all that had transpired in the past four days, was probably overdue.
“How long have you known her?” No need for names or preamble, they both knew what this was about.
Taking the stairs, he inhaled deeply, letting the breath out slowly as he weighed his words in correlation to how much he should reveal.
“Eighty-two years.” Less is more was the decision.
“How long were you sleeping with her?” More was what Theo obviously wanted.
“Two years.”
Theo didn’t immediately respond, instead they continued down the stairs until they both stepped onto the plush beige, red and gold Aubusson rug that stretched from one end of the main foyer to the other. In the center of the oval-shaped area was a large table made of wood that was buffed to a pristine shine. On that table was a huge fresh floral arrangement in what Aiken had always thought was the ugliest bronze pot ever created. The flowers made the room fragrant and softer in a way that the heavy gold frames holding portraits that were equally spaced around the walls failed to do.
“While you worked for the Collectors? How did your employers feel about your workplace romance?” The questions came just as Aiken was drifting into more details of the décor in a lame attempt to not focus on what he knew was forthcoming.
Now, he slipped a hand into the front pocket of the navy blue slacks he wore. His dress shirt was light blue, the button at his neck left undone, the sports coat he’d originally planned to wear still hanging in his closet.
“I worked with the Collectors for ten years before Mel arrived. By then, I’d traveled up the ranks and was one of their top hunters. After a record number of collections in a short period of time I was offered a promotion, but chose a training position instead of a desk job. Word spread quickly when Mel came onto the scene. She was damn good and hungry for more assignments. I took over her training three weeks after she arrived. We worked together for two and a half years. Then I left the Collectors, traveled a while and ended up here in Burgess. The rest, as they say is history.”
The bland look on Theo’s face said he wasn’t fooled by all that Aiken had obviously left out of the story.
Lifting a brow, Theo continued to stare at him when they’d stopped walking and stood a few feet away from the front doors. “You weren’t her first trainer?”
“No. I’d assigned another trainer to her when she was first hired.”
“What made you change your mind and want to train her for yourself?”
“At that time she was still rough around the edges. She could be impulsive, there were reports of her taking unnecessary risks in order to claim the target before anyone else did.” Reports that had scared him shitless from the start.
“You could’ve reassigned her to another trainer, or worst-case scenario, fired her. Why didn’t you take either of those options?”
Why had he wanted her for himself? That’s what Theo was really asking.
Aiken stared toward the tinted glass doors. It was early afternoon but there was no sun shining today. The glass, which was covered with Drakon magick to prevent anyone from seeing or breaking through it, except a Drakon, normally kept bright sunlight out as well. But Aiken had been up earlier this morning walking through the forested area that surrounded their mountain oasis to clear his mind. Apparently, he should’ve also taken that time to prepare how to tell a story he’d willed himself to forget.
“I wanted her.” It was the simplest way he could put it. “I couldn’t explain it at the time, I just knew that she belonged with me. So I took her out on the next target hunts and we worked so well together that we eventually became partners, splitting the proceeds from every target we collected.”
“You wanted her or your beast wanted her?” If anybody knew of the effects of the Selection, it was Theo.
Aiken didn’t respond.
“When the beast makes its selection nothing can change it. Some see that as a blessing, others as a curse. I wasn’t too keen when mine went against everything I’d tried to teach it and made a choice without my consent,” Theo said.
“That’s not how it works. The beast doesn’t require your consent to make a choice.”
“You sound like one of the Elder Nobles. Spouting the rules in terms of the absolute.” Theo released a rare chuckle. Actually, he’d laughed more since being mated with Shola and claiming the throne of his heritage. All the years Aiken had known him before then, the emperor had been a brooding killjoy.
Glancing over at Theo with a smirk, he replied, “Just stating the facts.”
“Would you also say it’s a fact that neither time nor space will cancel out the Selection that’s already been made? You two have been apart for eighty years, and the problem I’m guessing one or both of you decided to run from is still right there, front and center.”
He wasn’t wrong. That didn’t mean Aiken had to like it or verbally acknowledge it.
“Look, handle your personal life as you see fit. My concern is if you can handle this job. Because there’s a lot riding on this, Aiken.”
“I know. The fate of the realms depends on whether or not we can prevent this army from being raised. Vampires that’ve been buried for hundreds of years and dead in every other sense, for centuries before, still manage to be a threat to us all. I get it, Theo. And I’ll get Duncan to talk or burn him and his followers to the ground. You don’t have to worry about that.” At least that’s what Aiken had been telling himself since one of Duncan’s flunkies shot him with a fuckin’ arrow two nights ago.
Theo sighed heavily and nodded. “That’s the priority right now.” He waited a beat and then reached out to clap a hand on Aiken’s shoulder. “But you’ll still have to deal with her and the Selection when that’s done.”
Turning to look at his boss and longtime friend again, Aiken shook his head. “There’s no dealing with the Selection. It deals with you however it sees fit.” And in his case, it was taking his ass through the wringer and threatening to leave him shredded in a million pieces when all was said and done.
The quick rise of his beast sent coolness soaring throughout his body and before he could speak another word, he was turning around and looking up to see her standing at the top of the stairs
.
The sight of her never failed to take his breath away. It wasn’t that she was wearing anything special—another pair of jeans, this time black with strategically ripped sections, a white turtleneck and her boots. She hadn’t done anything in particular with her naturally curly hair, still, it was everything about her that made Aiken and the beast within him sigh with delight.
This was the feeling that had plagued him in those first weeks he’d worked alongside her all those years ago. The quickening of his pulse the moment she showed up in the training center ready to start their day. He’d been waiting for her back then, impatiently moving about his morning tasks while trying not to watch the clock to see how long he still had until she arrived. And then she’d be there and it was like his day, his life, could begin.
Growing up a Noble Drakon meant he’d been born with any and everything he could possibly want. Needing another person in the way he quickly came to need Mel was unexpected, but he’d had no defense against falling in love with her, none at all.
“Hello.” She spoke when she was standing a few feet away from them. He’d been so busy watching her and thinking about her and how they’d come to be at this point that he hadn’t realized she’d actually approached them.
Theo probably picked up on that and attempted to ease Aiken’s embarrassment at being mesmerized by her once again by speaking to her first.
