To the world, Saul Drakenstone was the elusive heir of a deceased executive who built the company from the ground up in the Fifties. In reality, he was a dragon who established the business himself as a means of accumulating a larger hoard. No one in Hollywood faulted Saul for his strange quirks and habits, and with Leiv’s father Ivan serving as his personal assistant and driver, he learned enough about the mortal world to safely invest centuries of wealth. The rest remained safe in Saul’s dragon horde, a vast cavern system filled with gold, silver, unpolished jewels, and historic treasures. And Mahasti’s lamp.
With Ivan dead and gone, Leiv now fulfilled the role as one of Saul’s personal liaisons between mortals and dragon kind. Mahasti and Leiv knew him best, and they had adapted to his funny ways.
Dressed with his chauffeur’s hat in place, Leiv met them at the curbside arrival and alighted to load the pair’s luggage into the trunk.
“Allow me to take your bag, Miss Ellis.”
Chloe smiled at him. Tired circles beneath her eyes told the expected story. She and Saul must have had an enjoyable, if busy, month-long vacation in Texas. Leiv packed both pieces of luggage into the trunk and returned to the driver’s seat. After he buckled in, he twisted around to face the pair in the rear.
“I have champagne chilled and ready for you. Shall I open the bottle before we depart?”
“None for me, Leiv.” The blonde woman shook her head. “You know what I’d really like? A burger and a Frosty. After all the swanky places Saul took us to for meals I’m ready for some fast food.”
Saul shrugged and spread his hands. “As she says.”
Leiv consulted the vehicle’s GPS unit to narrow down an acceptable location nearby.
“It’s so strange riding in the back seat,” Saul’s mate commented five minutes into their drive. “I guess it makes sense for you to pick us up from the airport and all, but I still don’t get why Saul never drives himself places.”
Saul grumpily uttered something under his breath. “He tried to teach me once. It was an effort in futility.”
Despite Saul’s three centuries of age, he had never learned to operate an automobile. Granted, the man had no rival while controlling a carriage or cart and buggy, but given a wheel and stick shift, he fell apart into a pile of frustration that only deteriorated into road rage as other motorists tried his nerves. He could be eager to learn a human habit in one moment or incredibly set in his ways in the next. Unfortunately, driving an automobile was a skill that never reached Saul’s bucket list; he firmly resisted.
“So I’m curious. What do you do when Saul’s away, Leiv?” Chloe continued her interrogation. Leiv liked her, but generally, she never remained quiet for long.
“I maintain the grounds. You know this, Miss Ellis.”
“And…” she pressed.
“That is all.”
“Nothing for fun? You don’t hang out with the guys? Hunt? Fish? Surf? This is California, so people surf all the time, right?”
“Fish, yes. Surf, no,” Leiv told her as Saul chuckled and relaxed in his seat. His friend made no attempt to call off his inquisitive woman, apparently entertained by the spectacle of Chloe firing one inquiry after the next.
Greasy burgers and a chocolate shake finally brought quiet to the vehicle. With the excuse of wanting to give the pair privacy, Leiv raised the partition and increased the radio volume. The remainder of the drive went smoothly without interruption. Leiv dropped the couple off in front of the house then took the car to the garage.
To his surprise, Saul showed up as he was finishing an interior cleanup to air the smell of grilled onion from the car. Chloe had the manners to take her trash with her, but her quick meal left behind an enticing aroma and made Leiv’s stomach rumble in protest, urging him to retreat to the cabin for a late dinner.
A dinner he wouldn’t have anytime soon if his suspicions about Saul’s visit were on point. Sighing, he moved around to the front of the vehicle with a spray bottle and rag in hand. He detested automatic car washes and always detailed the vehicle himself, inside and out, as if it were his own possession. In some ways it was, since Saul entrusted everything to him.
Say something or he will continue to stare. Nothing was more unnerving than receiving a dragon’s complete but silent attention.
“After all this time, Saul, why do you not learn to drive? You have much better control than you give yourself credit for.”
“Humans and their cars are fragile,” Saul replied ominously.
“Bah. You will not shift forms during a traffic jam, or if some foolish mortal cuts you off. I will teach you.”
Saul raised his brow then glanced around the spacious garage interior. The finished cement floors gleamed beneath a fresh coat of polish recently applied during Leiv’s lonely week. “While this has been an adequate attempt to distract me, I did not visit to discuss becoming a motorist. We are alone, Leiv. Alone to converse in absolute privacy.”
He must not know of the attack, if my petty troubles remain his primary concern. “Has Mahasti not told you of the news?”
Saul’s smile wavered. “What news, my friend?”
“An attack took place while you were away. A vampire breached our defenses and took Mahasti’s lamp.”
Saul tensed. “What?” The words hissed past his clenched teeth.
Leiv gave Saul the rundown on what occurred during his vacation, watching his friend become all the more angry with each passing second.
“You should have called me.”
“Mahasti and I handled it. As I have said. It is all good now, yes?”
Saul huffed indignantly and muttered under his breath. Leiv continued his work and wished the dragon would let him be. As usual, luck was not with him; Saul continued his interrogation.
“Fine, but something troubles you and I would like to know what is wrong. More importantly, what may I do to comfort you?”
“Nothing to concern you, my friend. It is all small things,” Leiv attempted to assure him. He crouched down and wiped the car’s grill.
“My home sparkles. The grounds have never been more organized. There are flowers in tidy rows. Rows, Leiv. You took the time to place them in rows.”
Damn.
“And my bar is empty of vodka,” Saul added as an afterthought.
Damn.
“I have not seen Mahasti. She usually greets me in person no matter the hour of the day. This is not the first time some fiend has sought her lamp, nor will it be the last, so I know its attempted theft is not to blame for her absence.”
“I am not her keeper. If you wish for your djinn, call her,” Leiv grumbled irritably before he tossed the rag into the corner of the garage.
Saul raised his brow again, but said nothing.
“I will bring your bags up. Miss Ellis must want her things by now, yes?”
“No, I can take them. As I’ve already said to you, that is not why I came down.”
If Leiv had learned anything in his time serving Saul, it was that dragons were stubborn, tenacious creatures. Saul would not leave him alone until his curiosity was satisfied.
“Did something happen with Mahasti, Leiv? Is this what has you tied up in knots?”
As an unwilling participant in the conversation, Leiv frowned deeply and turned his head. A gentleman didn’t kiss and tell, and he certainly considered himself as one, but there could be no harm in answering Saul’s question either. On some level, the dragon had to already know what plagued his servant.
“Mahasti and I became intimate, and things did not work as planned. It is my fault she failed to greet you.”
“I know. I suspected as much. The arak is also gone. Threats to her lamp have never driven her to drinking, but affairs of the heart are another matter.”
Leiv grunted again. “I apologize for keeping her from her duties.”
“As far as I know, you have done nothing, and she is not forced to greet me.” Saul sh
ook his head. “Mahasti is free to do as she wants; I vowed many years ago to honor whatever choice she makes. Do not let her service to me be what holds you back from making your claim.”
“She does not want me, Saul.” Leiv groaned into one palm and straightened.
The big man grinned. “Perhaps she wishes you to chase her. Stride into her room, sling her over your shoulder, and take her to your home. Show her your strength and vigor.”
I would if she appeared before me. Instead, she hides away within her lamp and shuns my very presence as if the idea of a commitment is too shameful. “This is not a conversation we will have. We have spoken enough of Mahasti and her choices. Please. Attend to your mate.”
“I will once you have cast aside these foolish wastes of your time. You worked plenty during my absence, Leiv. Go to your home and enjoy the evening off from your duties. Tomorrow as well. I want no work from you.”
“Who will tend to the livestock?”
“Chloe and I shall do it.”
Leiv raised a dubious eyebrow. “She is a city girl, but if that is what you want, who am I to complain?”
Saul chuckled and clapped him on the back. “I knew you would see it my way, friend. Now go, enjoy a dinner and time to yourself.”
Chapter 4
Mahasti occupied a reclining chair on the tiled veranda overlooking the grounds. With her legs drawn to her chest and arms around them, she laid her cheek against one knee and listened to the melodic songbird chirping in the trees.
“I see many things have changed during my month-long hiatus,” Saul remarked from the open door.
“Was the room not to your liking?” she asked, lifting her head. “Have I displeased your cherished mate?”
Saul dismissed her concern. “No, nothing like that. Chloe’s resting quite comfortably, I assure you.”
An hour ago, Mahasti heard the sound of the garage door opening and closing around the other side of the small mountain. Leiv had returned with their Master and his newfound lover. True to his usual habits, he spent an hour meticulously cleaning the expensive vehicle inside and out before he shed his human appearance and lumbered toward his cabin. Mahasti’s position on the veranda gave her the perfect long distance view of him. He slept like a baby amidst the grass, as he did each afternoon to unwind.
“When you failed to greet me, as has been your custom for over a century, I wondered if you were away for a change.”
Mahasti lowered her legs and sat up in the chair. She turned her eyes toward Saul and frowned. “Forgive me, Master. I became aware of your return and remained lost in my own thoughts.”
“I noticed,” Saul replied dryly as he approached. “Not that it inconveniences or upsets me in the least that you failed me to meet me at the door. It would be nice to see you seek respite from your duties.”
“I did for a time during your absence. After two weeks’ time within my lamp, it’s nice to feel the sunshine against my skin again.”
“Was this two weeks before or after the failed attempt to take your lamp?”
Mahasti winced. While she had expected Leiv to share the tale with their friend and Master, she hadn’t expected him to confront her on the matter. During their century together, he’d thwarted similar efforts by smarter criminals.
“A little of both,” she admitted grudgingly. “Mostly after. What did Leiv tell you?”
“Leiv gave me the basics. He has been quite tight-lipped. In fact, it was like pulling a drake’s teeth to convince him to utter a single word during our drive from Los Angeles.”
Her gaze dropped away. “I apologize for your distress.”
Saul waved off her remorseful words with a hand. “No need. My two best friends are troubled. I came seeking answers, not to voice complaints, Mahasti. Speak with me. Please. What troubles your heart, my friend? What may I do to help you?”
“I slept with Leiv before the vampire came.” In her experience, honesty was always the best policy when it came to dragons. They excelled at riddles so trying to talk around the issue would be an exercise in futility.
“Ah. Finally. I expected the two of you to mate years ago.”
Saul lowered to sit beside her on the patio. In his open-front shirt with his golden hair blowing in the summer breeze, it was easy to understand how Leiv had once mistook the two of them as lovers. Her Master was a handsome being, powerful beyond measure as a dragon, and more generous than any owner before him. She loved him unconditionally and, in return, he gave her equal affection and freedom to live her life.
Mahasti knew him best, and over the years of voluntary servitude and friendship had become familiar with even the most subtle cues. She waved a hand to instantaneously summon a teacup, kettle, and small dishes of cream and sugar onto the table.
“It was a moment of weakness, one I shall not repeat.”
“Was the coupling not to your liking?”
“No, not that.”
“Where does the problem lie?”
“Truthfully, I had hoped his curiosity would be satisfied.”
Saul turned his head toward the meadow in the distance. Leiv’s cabin occupied a modest plot of land a half mile away, separated by pastures of sweet grass. “I see.”
Over the century, Mahasti had come to understand those two words meant precisely what he said. He saw everything down to the inner truth of the matter and no amount of clever wording would keep Saul in the dark. She sighed. It also didn’t help that he had the vision of an eagle and could see the sleeping bear shifter snoring in the grass beneath a tree. “He would be unhappy beside me, and that is a fact we both know well. He wants a mate, Saul.”
“Not any mate. He wants you for his mate.” A smug smile spread over Saul’s bearded features.
“Leiv is a child who does not know his own wants. You and I will outlive him—”
The smile slipped from her old friend’s face before she could take back the poor choice of words. “Yes, you will. Just as you and I will surpass the lifespan of my chosen mate, so shall you outlive Leiv.”
A cold sensation spread through her belly. Mahasti turned her head and sighed. “My apologies, Saul. I did not mean — I did not think before I spoke.”
Saul’s sad smile twisted a knife in her heart, filling her with a sense of endless remorse. “It is a sad fate, the burden of an immortal. Did you share this reason with Leiv?”
“I did.”
“You were dishonest with him,” Saul stated, his voice a disapproving rumble.
“I never lied to him.”
“You withheld the truth. A lie by omission remains a lie, dear friend. You may take my words of experience at face value, or you may choose to ignore my warnings, but you will never find a more deserving man willing to guard you. Never.”
“What you suggest is…” She poured a cup of tea for herself, adding sugar in generous quantities. “It is not to be given lightly.”
“As your Master and the keeper of your lamp, I have literally held your life in my hands for a century. My race is known for our greed, treachery, and our thirst for power, and yet you have entrusted your well-being to me, when I least of all deserve such a privilege. Tell me why.”
“You saved me from a tyrant, Saul. Is that not enough?”
“You have repaid the debt a thousand times over in the course of a century in my employment. Don’t take me to be a fool, Mahasti. At any moment, you could ask for possession of your lamp to be given to another and I would gladly give it; allow you to leave.” Saul thoughtfully leaned back with his eyes on the distant horses grazing the fresh green grass amidst his cattle. “Hell, I would let you stay, too. You are a friend and always welcome in my home.”
“Your mortal has affected your speech.”
“She has,” Saul agreed. Once he settled in, the man propped both feet on the adjacent chair and crossed his ankles. “You made an excellent attempt to drift the conversation to my beloved, by the way, but it is a failure n
onetheless. Tell me why you fear offering your heart to Leiv. What troubles you?”
“I have seen too many die. I have seen how the lamp turns people to greed and cruelty.”
“Two months ago, I watched him attempt to woo you with fish. Do you truly believe he would abuse your gifts to become a tyrant?”
“And others have courted me with song.
“But none with fish,” Saul pointed out.
No, none with fish, she thought. Saul’s words made her chuckle, no doubt his intent all along.
“He tried to mount me,” Mahasti complained, voicing an impulsive concern.
With his teacup raised to his lips, Saul coughed and sputtered a few times. Clearly, she had chosen the wrong moment to speak up. “Forgive me, but I seem to be at a loss. Is there something the matter with mounting one’s own mate? It is how I claimed my bride.”
“And she allowed it?” She arched a dark brow.
“Well, the first time, yes. Then she showed me how human women prefer to make love.”
As I suspected. No woman enjoys when a man takes her like an animal, Mahasti thought. “I told him no, because I have the freedom to do so. Were he to hold my lamp such would no longer apply,” she fretted.
“You are able to tell me no. You have multiple times.”
“Because you have granted me such allowances.”
Upon finishing the last sip of tea in the fine porcelain cup, Saul set it on the saucer and rose from the chair. His golden eyes, bright and filled with happiness, made him altogether different from the forlorn and defeated man who returned alone so many weeks ago.
“You do our friend a disservice to believe he could deny you, Mahasti, but this is not my choice to make. Your life is not mine to give, and I will respect your autonomy over the governance of your lamp. I merely implore you to reconsider.”
Mahasti sensed Saul’s mate stirring in bed upstairs, exhausted from the flight and lengthy drive between LA and the estate. The djinn turned her head toward the upstairs bedroom and, as if reading her mind, Saul pushed his chair beneath the table again and trailed to the doorway.
Bearing Her Wishes Page 3
