by Donna Grant
“How is everything coming?” Claire asked.
V looked at the bare walls and then everything piled in the center of the room. “Pretty good.”
“Want some help?” she offered.
He was about to tell her that he could handle it, but then he realized that if she were in the room with him, he could talk to her instead of maneuvering himself to try and catch just a few glimpses. “If you’d like.”
Claire walked to him and put her hands on her hips as she looked at the organized mess behind him. “Where do we begin?”
V motioned to the far wall and described what Darius had mapped out for him. By the time he’d finished, Claire was smiling.
“This will actually work out much more efficiently. Sophie is not exactly organized, and I did the best I could when we initially set up. I moved some things, but others I couldn’t do myself, and didn’t want to ask for help.”
“You doona like help?”
She laughed, her deep brown eyes meeting his. “Not at all. I’m mostly the one who deals with everything in this room, and it wasn’t that big of a deal.”
“Obviously Darius and Sophie didna think so.”
Claire’s gaze slid away from him as her arms dropped to her sides. “Sophie has been my best friend for a long time. We’ve been through a lot, and I’m so happy that she and Darius found each other. I’ve gotten so used to believing that they don’t see anyone but each other.”
That made V frown. “You doona think they see you?”
“Oh, they know I’m here, but when they look at each other, the rest of the world disappears. It’s just the two of them.”
“Aye. There are others like that at Dreagan.”
She smiled wryly. “I’ve seen that the few times I’ve gone.”
Now that surprised him. “You’ve been?”
“Was I not supposed to go?” she asked cautiously.
“That’s no’ what I meant. The fact you were invited says a lot about your relationship with Sophie.”
Claire grinned. “I have no doubt it was Sophie urging Darius that allowed me to go. I’ve only been twice, but both times were spectacular. That place is.… Well, I have no words,” she finished with a laugh.
“Did you walk the grounds?”
“The first time I visited during the day. Sophie and Cassie brought me behind the scenes of the distillery. And I got to have lunch. The second time, I went at night to a small gathering of the wives and girlfriends. I think Sophie invited me because she felt sorry for me, but I didn’t care. I had a great time.”
V couldn’t take his eyes from her. Her expressions held him transfixed. But he also noticed that she was careful with her words, as if she chose each one judiciously. Whether that was to keep something secret or not, he wasn’t sure.
But he wanted to find out.
She looked around at the room. “I didn’t say anything about wanting to reorganize this area. How did Darius know?”
“Observation, I assume. He’s here often. Even I noted the last time I helped bring in an order that things could be shifted to make it easier.”
Claire swallowed loudly. “I consider Sophie my family. She’s like a sister, and Darius a brother.”
“They are family.”
“Yes,” she said, looking at him.
“Darius comes with a rather large family.”
Her lips curved into a smile. “I’ve noticed.”
“That means we’re your family now, too.”
His statement was meant to soothe her, and yet he realized that it had done the opposite if the way her forehead creased in a frown was any indication.
“Did I say something wrong?” he asked worriedly.
Her smile was a little forced as she shook her head. “No, I’m the one who should apologize. It made me think of my actual family. Mom and Dad are still happily married and living just outside of Edinburgh in the same house I grew up in. They have a small group of friends that they do everything with. My parents are utterly devoted to each other.”
V drew in a breath, her words making him think about his own. “I doona have any blood family anymore.”
“That must be hard. Though you have everyone at Dreagan, it isn’t the same, is it?”
“Nay. Do you see your parents much?”
She gave a small shake of her head. “Sadly, no. I’m a bad daughter. But we talk at least once a week, and text constantly.”
“Family should be treasured.”
“Yes, they should. I’ve missed the past several holidays with my parents. Though that was by choice. You don’t have that option. It must be hard during the holidays.”
V shrugged. He wasn’t sure how he felt about the image of him and Claire together that flashed in his head. It left him in such turmoil, he wasn’t able to reply to her comment.
“I bet everyone at Dreagan makes up for it.”
He cleared his throat, determined to answer this time while doing his best not to think about what his mind had conjured. “They do. When you doona go home, you stay here?”
He really hoped she did, because maybe then he could see her. As soon as that thought went through his head, he thought about returning to sleep. But he would much rather be with Claire. Maybe he could put off going to his mountain for a few more months.
She twisted her lips. “I should point out that when I moved out on my own, my parents started a tradition of traveling for Christmas. They always invite me, but sometimes, I don’t want to go or I can’t. So, I end up staying wherever I am.”
“I know Sophie and Darius will include you.” And if they didn’t, V certainly would. A woman like Claire should never be alone.
“Being a third wheel isn’t very nice,” she stated with a laugh.
V flashed her a grin. “I doona think that will be the case this year.”
“Okay,” Claire said and rubbed her hands together. “Where do we begin?”
He pointed to the wall before him. “This one.”
“Shelves?” she asked.
“Shelves.”
He waited as she went to her side of the shelving unit. V could easily lift it himself, but he quite liked that she was with him. Together, they moved two of the six storage stacks side by side.
Then they sorted through all the contents that he had moved and figured out what should go on the shelves. When he started to put something down, Claire stopped him.
“Set it in front of it for now,” she urged him. “That way, I can see what all is going on the shelving and figure out the best way to organize it.”
In no time, both units had several boxes and other things set in front of them. When he turned to Claire, she was grinning at him.
“What?” he asked, hoping he hadn’t done something stupid. He was still finding his footing in this world, but he hadn’t felt off-balance once with Claire.
“We’ve gotten a lot done thanks to you.”
He shrugged, but he liked her praise. “Glad I could help.”
“It’s noon. You hungry? We could break for lunch.”
“Of course. Where would you like to go?”
No sooner were the words out of his mouth than he realized he had no way to pay for food. If he’d thought about that before, he would have suggested going to The Fox & The Hound since another Dragon King, Laith, owned the pub.
“I love the fish and chips at the pub. How about that?”
V nearly sighed in relief. At least he knew that he didn’t have to worry about payment now. “Sounds good to me.”
While Claire turned off the music and gathered her purse, V opened a link to Laith and said his name. In moments, the King of Blacks answered him.
“Everything all right?” Laith asked.
“Aye. I’m coming to the pub with Claire.”
“Okay.” There was a pause, then Laith said, “Ohhh. I got it. Doona worry, brother. I’ll take care of everything. There’s a booth in the back that I’ll keep open for you. Sit with your back toward t
he kitchen. You’ll find some money tucked between the booth and the wall.”
“Thank you.”
“We’ve all been where you are. Remember that, V. We’ve got your back. Always,” Laith said.
“I know.”
V severed the link and stood with Claire outside the clinic as she locked the door. She dropped her keys into her purse and said, “Let’s walk.”
V fell into step beside her. He searched his mind for something to say, but the longer the silence went on, the harder it was for him to come up with anything.
Then he looked over at her. Claire was smiling, her eyes taking in the various flowers planted all over the village. She didn’t care that they weren’t talking. She was simply enjoying their stroll. Something he should do, as well.
V relaxed then. Now that he didn’t worry about coming up with something to talk about, he realized how nice it was to just walk with her and enjoy her company.
They continued another few minutes before she asked, “What does V stand for?”
He glanced at her. “Vlad.”
“Vlad?” she repeated. “As in … Vlad?”
He laughed, nodding. “Aye.”
“And you go by V because you don’t like the name?”
He tried to remember how everyone began calling him V, but it was too long ago. “There are nicknames for a few of us. We call Warrick, War. Constantine is Con. Haldor is Hal. And somehow, I became V.”
“It’s better than Claire,” she said with distaste.
His head snapped to her. “There is nothing wrong with your name.”
“It’s an old woman’s name.”
That made him smile. “I like it.”
“Thank you,” she replied. “Does anyone call you Vlad anymore?”
“No’ really. I’ve been … away … from Dreagan for a long time.”
“Doing what?”
He hesitated, trying to come up with a reason that she would believe. “I had some things to sort out on my own.”
“But you came back.”
“I’ll always return to Dreagan.”
She turned her head to him. There was something in her deep brown eyes that he couldn’t quite place. He almost thought it was as if she knew his secret. But surely that couldn’t be true. Darius would have alerted everyone at Dreagan if that were the case.
And yet.…
“What about you?” V asked. “You’re from Edinburgh. Will you go back?”
She shrugged and looked forward. “There’s Sophie. We work well together, which helped cement our friendship.”
“And you followed her here.”
Claire laughed. “You make me sound like a dog or a stalker.”
V’s lips parted as he tried to think of a way to reword his statement. But by then, Claire was already talking again.
“When Sophie asked me to come with her, I didn’t need to think about it. The hospital wouldn’t have been the same without her. Plus, I liked the idea of working in a clinic rather than the vastness of a hospital with all the trappings that go along with it.”
“So, you’re happy here?”
“Most definitely,” she replied. “The village is perfect. And it’s not that far from Inverness, which allows me to actually find men to date.”
V took offense at that. Dreagan had any number of unmated Kings available.
“I mean, take a look around,” she said. “The men here are either old enough to be my father or young enough to be my son.”
“There are others.”
She looked sideways at him, her gaze briefly meeting his. “A few, yes.”
It’s not like he could blame her for her thinking. It wasn’t as if anyone at Dreagan were asking her out, though that was more because of Darius than anything. And V couldn’t tell Claire that.
Bloody hell, he really wanted to ask her out now and forget about the promise he’d made to Darius.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Once in the booth at The Fox & The Hound, Claire was very aware that she was with a Dragon King. No one—not even Sophie—realized that Claire knew their secret.
But after what had happened in Edinburgh with the Dark Fae and the Kings coming to her rescue, how could she forget? She’d made everyone believe she had no memory of the encounter simply because she feared that the Kings would try and take those memories away. And she refused to allow that to happen.
All her life, nothing had ever happened to her. Until that night.
She had been terrified of how the Dark Fae could make her lose control of her body in such a way. Claire had wanted them, but it had been an empty need. Hollow and meaningless. Though she knew that, she couldn’t stop herself.
While she’d begged the Dark to take her body, inside her mind, she had been screaming for someone to help. It had been the worst feeling in the world to be so helpless.
And then, the Dragon Kings were there. Claire knew that she had gotten caught up in the fight because she was Sophie’s friend. She liked to believe that the Kings would’ve helped her regardless, but she knew that being with Sophie had a lot to do with it.
It also helped that Sophie was right there, begging Darius and the others to help.
The moment Sophie had mentioned opening a practice near Dreagan, Claire hadn’t hesitated. It gave her the opportunity to remain with her best friend and maybe get another chance to see the Kings.
And now she was sitting down to lunch with one.
Not just any Dragon King. V.
Vlad. Who happened to be the sexiest of them all. She didn’t care that she’d spent the past few hours working nonstop. Sure, a lot had gotten done at the clinic, but she wasn’t thinking about that. Her mind was on the hunky Scot sitting across from her. The one with the ice blue eyes and the ability to make her knees go weak with just a smile.
“You’re quiet,” V said.
She laughed nervously, thankful that he couldn’t read her mind. Once she looked into his eyes, it was difficult to look away. They sucked her in, taking hold and refusing to let go. Not that she minded being seized in such a way.
Claire blinked, reminding herself that there was much she had to keep to herself. “I was thinking about how long Sophie and I have been friends.”
“Oh?”
“She’s a workaholic. She never used to take time for herself.”
V quirked a dark brow. “Some would say you work just as hard.”
Claire had to giggle at that. “I work long hours, but I’m all about self-love. I take a spa day as often as I can.”
“Sophie didna?”
“Never,” she said with a shake of her head. “She never did anything for herself. And dating? Pfft. That didn’t happen at all.”
V cocked his head to the side. “While you did?”
“I’m a glutton for punishment, obviously.”
“Why do you say that?”
Claire shrugged, wishing she hadn’t said anything. Now that she had, there was no getting out of it. “I’m a poster child for the perpetual dater who is never in a relationship.”
V’s brows snapped together, confusion filling his ice blue eyes. “Why is that?”
Luckily, before she could answer, they were interrupted by Iona, who was mated to Laith. The woman smiled, looking between Claire and V. Her gaze was probing, but she didn’t pry. “Hi,” she said, her Scottish accent heard even in that one word.
V nodded in acknowledgment.
Claire returned the woman’s smile. “Hello.”
“Do you want your usual?” Iona asked Claire.
“Please,” Claire said.
Iona swung her brown eyes to V. “What would you like to eat?”
“Have Laith surprise me,” V said.
“Oh, goodness,” Iona said with a laugh. “This should be interesting.”
Claire watched Iona walk away. Then she looked at V. For a moment, she couldn’t remember why he looked at her so expectantly. Suddenly, she recalled his question. “I’m a serial dater becaus
e I can’t seem to find a man who wants to be with me.”
“I doona believe that.”
“That’s kind of you, but it’s the truth. Well, there is also the fact that some of them aren’t datable. I learned that pretty quickly. Just wish I could figure that out before I agree to a date and waste both of our time.”
V studied her a silent moment. “Perhaps you’re seeing the wrong men.”
“Without a doubt,” she agreed with a laugh. “It’s something Sophie and Darius point out often. All the algorithms in all the dating sites in all the world just can’t help me find who I’m supposed to be with.”
“Maybe he isna on the sites.”
She twisted her lips, chuckling. “I’ve thought of that. With my luck, he’s already married.”
“Or hasna found you yet.”
Claire looked down at the table. She hated talking about her love life—or lack thereof. Mostly because it reminded her of the emptiness in her life. It was even more difficult at this moment because she was talking about it with V. All she could hope for was that she didn’t sound desperate.
Even though she was.
“Maybe.”
“I’m sorry.”
Her gaze jerked to V’s face. “Why are you apologizing?”
“Because it’s obviously a sore subject, and I’ve made you talk about it.”
“It’s fine,” she said with a shake of her head. “Seeing Sophie and Darius happy makes it hard sometimes. I don’t begrudge them, but when I want what they have, it makes it difficult.”
“Aye,” V murmured. “I know the feeling.”
Iona returned then with their drinks. She set them down with a smile and then left once more.
V rested his arms on the table. “Where is it you meet these men?”
“Dating sites. It’s pretty much the only way people date anymore.”
Was it her imagination, or did he look confused? She might know that V and the other men at Dreagan were Dragon Kings, but that’s about all she knew. She was insanely curious, but it wasn’t as if she could come out and ask him why he didn’t know about the sites. So, she played along.
“You should give the sites a try. There are a few I recommend if you’re actually interested in a relationship and not just sex.”
