Claimed by Ice (4 page)

J
ane slipped
out of the building, purposefully avoiding Eric. She needed space, to think, to slow her pounding heart, to figure out how the heck she was going to manage for the next seven weeks, tried to ignore what would happen if she couldn’t. Exander’s office was in the financial district, so she watched the passersby, losing herself in the crowd as she so often did when she wanted to get away from her own thoughts.

But today was different. She’d looked at the pictures and news reports, seen countless dragons on the Internet, but having been up close gave her a new perspective, one she wanted to explore further. And so she watched, letting her eyes linger on the people who reminded her of Exander. They were few, but her eyes caught some, a man whose powerful build reminded her of him, a woman whose skin gave off the same preternatural glow.

But none, not the most handsome of the men, the most beautiful of the women, held a candle to him. They were all uniformly attractive, inhumanly so, but none had quite that combination of handsomeness and undeniable power, the casual ease that brought it all together. It was a potent, heady mix.

He
was a potent, heady mix.

Jane chided herself, reminded herself that this was about Jewel, not about him or her, whatever silly things he made her feel. She’d have to remember that, keep it at the forefront of her mind always.

To see him as anything else, no matter how handsome he was, no matter how much he drew her, was madness, would only add to the already unbearable situation.

So she’d keep her head down, do the job, and make sure her sister was free and clear.

Refocused and resolved, Jane walked a little faster.

“
J
ewel
! Open the door!”

“I’m coming, Janie!” Jewel called, voice muffled by the thick wood. The doorman had waved her up, but Janie knew that he’d called to tell Jewel she was on her way, so she was annoyed that the door wasn’t already open when she arrived.

Jewel pulled open the door and huffed out exasperatedly. “Where’s the fire?”

Jane bit back an exasperated sigh of her own as she looked at her sister. It was nearly one o’clock and Jewel was clearly just out of bed, her tank top and men’s boxer shorts telling Jane as much. It also told her that Jewel probably had company.

But Jane overlooked her attire, and the fact that she seemed to have been sleeping away, or doing whatever else, while Jane had been worrying herself sick about fixing things.

“I just walked thirty blocks. I’d like to have a seat,” Jane said, moving toward the couch.

“Thirty blocks? Don’t sit on the couch, then; go sit in the dining room,” Jewel said, nose scrunched up.

Jane rolled her eyes, but complied, settling in the hardwood chair when she would have much preferred to spread out on the fluffy sofa.

“So,” Jewel said as she settled across from her.

“So it’s done. Seven-week trial, and then I’ll have the money,” Jane said.

“Janie! Thank you so much,” Jewel said, jumping up and throwing her arms around Jane’s shoulders.

Jane laughed, hugged her sister back, her heart lifting at Jewel’s happiness. “Told you I’d take care of it.”

“What is it?” Jewel asked, looking down at Jane skeptically.

“What you mean? Everything’s fine,” she said.

Jewel tilted her head. “Janie, you’re a horrible liar. Tell me what happened.”

“My other job…” Jane started and then trailed off.

“What about it?”

“He says I have to quit.”

Jewel shrugged. “So?”

“So? So I need a job. Anything I earn with him is spoken for. How will I take care of myself?”

“He’s a freakin’ dragon, Janie. He won’t let you starve. And if worse comes to worse, you can stay here with me.”

“Is that going to be an option? I don’t think I’ll be able to help out as much, or maybe even at all,” Jane said, voice low with her shame.

“It’ll be okay. I have a plan B,” Jewel said, turning to look at Henry, her on-again-off-again boyfriend, who, based on his lack of shirt or any other clothing besides underwear, was on again.

“Yeah, Janie. You can crash with us.”

“How gracious. But I wouldn’t want to intrude,” Jane said, turning her eyes to the hallway archway where Henry stood.

“How are you this morning, Janie?” he asked, scratching his head and rubbing at his flat stomach, apparently unabashed at his state of undress.

“Afternoon, Henry,” Jane said, trying to keep from wrinkling her nose.

Henry was nice enough, and Jewel had stuck with him for far longer than the others, but Jane always worried that he brought out the worst in her sister, or that they brought out the worst in each other, and she couldn’t imagine them all living together peacefully and functioning for too long.

Another problem to add to her already full plate.

“How did it go with the dragon?” Henry asked, flopping on the couch.

She looked at Jewel, brow furrowed. “What?” Jewel said. “I was upset and needed someone to talk to.”

Jane shook her head. “Why am I not surprised? Did you know about the loan shark before, Henry?”

Henry looked over at her, eyes practically neon signs that screamed
Guilty
. “I tried to talk her out of it, but she wouldn’t listen.”

“And you didn’t tell me?”

“I ain’t no snitch, Janie,” he said, smoothing the words over with a quick smile.

“Too bad. Would have saved me a bunch of trouble.”

“It’ll be okay, Jane,” Jewel said.

“Easy for you to say,” Jane muttered.

Jewel frowned, her nostrils flaring as they always did when she took offense. “Don’t put yourself out for me. I can take care of myself. Fix my own problems,” Jewel replied snidely.

Jane grabbed her sister’s hand. “No. I’ll take care of it. And you’re right; it’ll be fine,” Jane said with confidence she didn’t feel.

“That’s the spirit,” Jewel said.

“Hey, Janie,” Henry called, looking at her with a pleading smile on his face.

“No, Henry. I just walked thirty blocks, and it’s been a long day already. So no, I will not make you French toast.”

“Come on, Jane, please,” Jewel said.

She looked from one to the other, their identical expressions almost funny.

“Fine,” she said on a deep sigh as she stood. “You want bacon, too?”

T
wo Weeks
Later

“
A
m I boring you
, Ms. Graves?”

Exander hadn’t looked up, but at Jane’s deeply exhaled, “Yes,” he did, smiling before he managed to stop himself.

She’d spent every day of the last two weeks in his office, and it seemed that today was particularly taxing for her. She had fidgeted, looked around the room, not showing any of her ordinary reserve. He wondered if it meant she was getting used to him. But he quickly pushed that thought aside and put down the contract he’d been reading to focus on her.

“I’m sorry,” she said, “but I’m not used to this.”

“Used to what?”

“Doing nothing. I mean, data entry isn’t thrilling, but at least I did
something
. Here I’m just sitting around,” she said, looking around his office as if it were distasteful, and not a beautiful, well-appointed space where business was transacted.

“Then do something,” he said.

“What?”

“Show some initiative. It’s a part of the process.”

She bugged her eyes out and then shook her head. “You couldn’t have told me that two weeks ago?” she said.

“I was waiting for you to figure it out,” he replied with a shrug.

“Lucky I didn’t die of boredom first,” she said with a roll of her eyes.

Exander laughed despite himself, and she stood, moving to the window, where he noticed her gaze was almost always drawn.

But his was riveted to her, and he found himself welcoming the chance to watch her without worry of being caught. He still hadn’t placed it, couldn’t put a finger on what it was, but rather than receding, his fascination with her grew every day.

There was nothing different about her; she wore the same bland, unflattering clothes, kept her hair pulled tight in a bun, not a single strand out of place, which had him halfway convinced he had imagined what he’d seen that first night, the thick dark waves cascading against her face. Had found himself, far too often, imagining pulling that hair down, pulling the white blouse away from her brown skin, breath bated as he waited for the first glimpse of the curves the clothes hid…

He stopped the thought in its tracks and followed her gaze to the view.

“What do you do anyway?” she asked, turning to face him.

Without thought he looked at her, the sun bathing her in a luminous glow.

“Secret dragon stuff? You can’t tell me about it even though I work here, sort of?” she said after a long moment.

“Some secret dragon stuff. Not nearly enough. Mostly I just watch, make sure that our holdings and assets are protected.”

She smiled faintly, and Exander felt himself doing the same. “I’m not making this sound any more interesting, am I?”

She shook her head. “No,” she said, her voice brimming with humor.

“What can I say? Despite assertions to the contrary, being a dragon is not all glitz and glamour. We don’t fly from castle to castle, hoarding gold and burning villages as we pass. Well, not usually anyway.”

Her soft, almost musical laugh, drew one of his own.

“But you can, can’t you? Fly?” she asked.

Even through the bright light of the sun, he saw the spark in her expression, but it wasn’t the fear, or the reverence, that he usually got from humans once they realized what he was. It was something more akin to curiosity and wonder. And for the first time, he tried to see through a human’s eyes, through
her
eyes, tried to think of what it must be like to know that creatures of myth existed.

“I can,” he said simply.

“That must be amazing,” she replied, her eyes taking on a far-off quality.

“I suppose. I’ve never really given it any thought. It’s just like you being you; it’s just a part of who I am,” he said, standing to cross the office and stand next to her.

She shook her head. “No. It’s nothing like that. The only thing notable about me is…”

She trailed off, looked away, and her silence bothered Exander. She had no way of knowing it, knowing that this, a genial chat with a human, was unprecedented, something that had not happened before, and probably wouldn’t again.

But he had no way of telling her that, of how amazing he found her, without revealing far, far too much. Wasn’t quite sure if he understood it himself.

“Sorry, Mr. Vale. I know you don’t like to waste time,” she said, turning.

“Call me Exander,” he said on a husky command, the words springing out before he gave them a thought, the tenor of his voice far too revealing for comfort.

She paused, glanced back at him, her eyes alight with surprise. “Okay. If it’s all right with you, I’ll go down to the basement. Seems like there’s a lot to keep organized down there, and I’m sure they could use a hand,” she said.

He nodded, for some reason unable to speak, and watched her, unblinking, as she exited the office and closed the door behind her.

Exander stood there, staring out into the distance after she’d left, unable to figure out how or why she affected him so, but equally unable to pretend that it was nothing.

Only the sound of his door being thrown open drew him away from the window.

“Kyr, please come in,” he said as his brother stormed into the office, headed straight for the scotch decanter.

“Not now, Exander,” he said, taking two long slugs.

Exander laughed, wondering what was bothering his brother now. “Did someone park in your parking space again?”

Kyr turned, glass grasped tight in his hand. “I said don’t start.”

“Will you tell me what’s going on? I’m going to have Father send you back to anger management,” Exander said.

Kyr scowled, squeezed the glass even tighter, teeth clenched. “It’s Bell. Doing her best to drive me insane as usual.”

Exander nodded, but stayed silent. Kyr and Bell had been going round and round for years, and Exander had long since decided that his stubborn brother wouldn’t acknowledge his mate until he was good and ready, so he chose not to waste his breath.

“I’m sure you’ll work it out,” Exander said.

“I should just fire her and be done with it,” Kyr said, repeating the statement for the thousandth time, though he and Kyr both knew that would never happen.

“Maybe,” Exander said, taking the noncommittal course.

Kyr put his glass down and strode over. “How do you do it?” he asked.

“Do what?”

“Stay so fucking calm all the time.”

“I guess it’s my nature,” he said.

“Mother always said so, ice and fire,” he said.

“And you always went out of your way to prove her right,” Exander said.

“And so did you,” he replied.

The brothers laughed, and then Kyr looked at him, a question in his eyes. “So what’s the story with the new hire?”

“What story? There’s no story,” Exander said.

“It’s just unusual is all,” he said. “She’s been sticking pretty close to you. I’m sure Bell can find something for her if you want, press her and see if she’s a washout,” Kyr said.

“No!” Exander breathed out, then smoothed his suit jacket. “That won’t be necessary,” he said.

“If you say so,” Kyr said, though he regarded his brother with skepticism.

And Exander was grateful when Kyr chose not to press the issue and instead moved to a new topic. “Are you coming to the ball?”

“Would I ever hear the end of it if I didn’t?”

The Dragon Ball was a feature of the social calendar every year, and Exander had never come up with reason to wiggle out of it and had resigned himself to things not being any different this year.

“I’ll see you there with your flavor of the week, I take it?” Exander said.

“Yeah, otherwise every mama will be trying to get me mated before the night is over. I should give that ice-dragon thing a try, because you don’t seem to have that problem,” Kyr said.

“No. It’s all you. Old ladies and their mamas bow in the presence of Kyr Vale.”

Kyr’s phone chimed, and he grabbed it, face immediately taking on its usual scowl. “This is all contingent on me making it to the ball, of course,” he bit out.

“Bell, I presume?”

Kyr looked up, eyes bright with fire. “Who else?” he said as he turned and stormed out of the office.

Exander managed to stifle his laugh until his brother was gone.