Her Dragon Billionaire (2 page)

If he initiated the blood magic, he could save this woman’s life.

Problem was, she wasn’t his mate. How he was going to tell her the truth when she woke up from her injuries, good as new? Human didn’t believe that dragons existed, and his kin had never been inclined to prove the thousand-year- old myth was true. If he healed this woman, he would have to tell her their secret.

But if he didn’t help her, she’d die.

Liam wasn’t sure he could live with that on his conscience if he had the chance to save a life and he chose not to.

Help her now, everything else can be explained later
.

Liam made a split-second decision.

She must live
.

He slipped his arms underneath her and lifted her out of the water. Hades barked, circling him as he put the woman on the muddy ground. It appeared the gun shot on her temple was made from a small caliber. He checked carefully and found out it didn’t have an exit wound. The bullet was still lodged in her brain. If the blood rite was successful, the magic would repair any damage. And any strange objects lodged into the body like the bullet would be automatically expelled. Scratch that.
Bullets
. He found she had also been shot in the chest and stomach. Heavens have mercy.

How could she still be alive?

Hades settled in, watching his every move. Liam summoned his power, partially shifting. His right fingers turned into sharp talons. With a flick of his wrist, he cut open his left palm.

Chanting the rite, he bled into her mouth.

Eva woke up with a start.

Her first instinct was to grope her head and her stomach, looking for the bullet holes that had almost robbed her of her life.

She found nothing.

She couldn’t figure out why she thought she had been shot, because there were no signs of any wounds at all. She was completely unscathed. A frisson of terror shot through her when she found herself as naked as the day she was born. She pulled herself into a sitting position and shoved the comforter down, examining her body.

Nothing. No pain. No holes. No bandage.

Other than a mild headache and a slight chill, she was completely fine.

Why was she naked?

And why did she think she had been in an accident?

No, not accident.

Something worse.

She felt as if she had recently been in a life-or-death situation and the horrible part was that she didn’t make it.

Strange.

She couldn’t remember anything at all.

She knew her name. Eva. And that was it. She couldn’t remember her last name. Her family, or what she did. Everything else felt like a big black hole, a leviathan eating memories that had swallowed her past.

Where am I
?

Who am I
?

She wasn’t in a hospital bed for sure. The room she was in looked like a private home. A luxurious one. The bed had four columns draped with sheer ivory fabric. Rich, dark furniture contrasted with the pleasant, muted tones of the walls. Everything looked so expensively furnished and yet it looked so…alien. She didn’t recognize this as her bedroom. Too fancy for her tastes—she was sure of it.

There were no photos hanging on the walls, only two large oil paintings depicting wooded landscapes. Across from her bed was a large fireplace flanked by two cozy high-backed chairs upholstered in fancy velvety print.

Her gaze drifted to a vanity mirror between the nightstand and the fireplace. She saw clothing folded on the vanity bench.

Eva scooted down.

Cool flooring touched her feet as she ambled to the bench to grab them. The clothing turned out to be a bedroom robe. She donned it. The fabric felt soft against her skin. It was a pretty one. For no reason, she just knew the fabric was silk. It was strange that she knew this while everything else about herself seemed to be a big jumble of haziness.

Who am I
?

What am I doing here
?

She tied the robe and whirled backward to face the vanity mirror. A stranger stared back. She blinked.
My name is Eva. What’s my last name? And why did I think I had been hurt
?

She narrowed her eyes, scrutinizing her own reflection. She had a lush figure and pale complexion. Her reddish hair was cut just below her shoulder; it had been neatly combed but now was tousled from sleeping. She had blue eyes with an oval face and thin petulant lips. A curious face. She thought she looked like a startled mouse.

There
.

She knew what a mouse was yet she couldn’t remember who she was. This not-knowing-anything was starting to bug the hell out of her.

The door opened. A matronly woman came in bearing a tray with a pot of tea and cups. She was wearing a conservative dress with a spotless white apron. She looked to be in her early sixties but she moved with the agility of a person half her age. The porcelain cups jingled on the silver tray. White plumes of steam billowed from the teapot. A smile broke out on her face. She sighed with relief. “Thank goodness you’re awake, child.”

“Hello.” Eva gave a tiny wave. “Who are you?”

The woman put the tray on a nearby table. “I’m Rosa. How do you feel?”

“Okay, I guess. I can’t remember anything though.”

“You don’t know who you are?”

“I’m Eva. But that’s just about it. Do you know who I am?”

“Oh dear.” Rosa was crestfallen. “Mr. Caderyn should hear about this.”

“Mr. Caderyn?”

“Liam Caderyn, my employer. I used to be his nanny. Changed his diapers when he was a baby. Now I’m taking care of his household.”

Eva heard feet shuffling by the door. A moment later, a man entered the room. He paused when he saw her. His face lit up and a smile followed. Eva’s heart stuttered.

The man was very good looking.

He was tall with a toned physique, broad shoulders, tapered waist, and long legs. His brown eyes were pools of melted bronze. His sun-kissed skin contrasted with the white polo shirt he wore, above the faded jeans. He was bare-footed. His hair was midnight black, gathered into a ponytail.

 “Eva?” he called.

God gracious, he knew her name? He knew who she was and how she got here?

“You know me?” She found herself blushing. She didn’t know why. Maybe because he was so stunning. Or maybe because of the way he was staring at her. He had dimples when he smiled and he looked as if he wanted to take a nibble and swallow her in one bite.

“Rosa, would you excuse us?” he asked. He had a deep, dulcet voice, dripping with authority.

The woman waved. “Sure, sure. Call me if you need anything.” She shuffled to the door and closed it.

“How are you feeling?” the man asked. “You should stay in bed. You’re still unwell.”

“I feel pretty good. I’m sorry, I don’t remember you.”

He furrowed his lush brows. “What do you remember?”

“I know my name is Eva. That’s about it.”

“You don’t remember anything else?”

Eva shook her head.

“Let’s sit, love. Rosa has made you some tea.” He took her hand and ushered her back to the bed.

A sudden vertigo slammed her head. She felt dizzy. Probably from standing up too long. She didn’t know what had happened to her, but she felt as if she had been run over by a truck. Her hands and legs were shaky. She felt so groggy and weak. And the tea sounded like a good idea.

He poured her some tea into a cup and handed it over to her. She sipped it with delight. “If you don’t mind me asking, who are you?”

The man gave her a long, measured look before finally answering. “Eva, I’m Liam. Your husband.”

*

Liam didn’t know why he blurted out such an outrageous lie, but at the moment it seemed like a good idea. He knew her name from the medical bracelet on her wrist: Eva Smith, but that was about it. At present, the private investigator he had hired was working to find out more information about her.

He didn’t have the heart to tell her that he found her on the verge of death in his property. And how was he supposed to explain to her that his blood had brought her to life with no telltale signs of her injuries? A bullet in the head. Broken ribs. Broken fingers. Another bullet in her stomach and one in the chest. All miraculously healed within twenty-four hours. Besides, he needed to keep her within his sight. If he told her who she really was, he was afraid she would want to leave. He needed to monitor her healing progress. And there were people out there who wanted her dead. She wasn’t safe out there.

Eva’s eyes rounded, looking shocked. “I…I’m your wife?”

The problem with lies was that when you started one, you would soon need to begin embellishing it with more lies to make them stick. Liam gulped, trying to sound more convincing. “Yes. We’re newly wedded.”

“I don’t remember anything.”

“Clearly, you have amnesia, Eva.”

She shook her head. “How … how did I get…“

“You fell and bumped your head.”

“Oh.” She rubbed her right temple. “No wonder. I felt funny in here.”

What had happened to her wasn’t funny at all. It was miracle she had sustained a head trauma like that and lived. Humans were more resilient than he thought. Once, he saw a man on TV had taken a piece of metal rod through his skull and survived. It was a medical miracle. Or the grim reaper wasn’t inclined to harvest his soul yet. “Are you hungry?”

“No.” She paused. “Yes. I’m famished. But I have a lot of questions to ask you. What’s my maiden name?”

“Smith.” According to her medical bracelet, her name was Eva Smith. She was also diabetic. But Liam doubted she had diabetes anymore. When the blood magic brought her back to life, it would have also healed her from her any illness.

Liam studied her closely. He saw a great deal of improvement in her. At first he didn’t think the blood magic would work. He had been waiting in trepidation after he fed her his blood. He brought her to the house and bathed her in the tub while waiting for the blood magic to do its work. A great worry lifted off his shoulders when he saw her wounds knitting closed. Her bones reset. Her gashes and bruises mended. When she was breathing normally, Liam was relieved that she would be okay.

With the healing over, he faced a new dilemma. She would ask questions and Liam didn’t quite know how he would explain his secret to her. The moment he had her in his arms, he was filled with a surge of overbearing protection. What could she have done possibly that compelled someone to do terrible things to her? Random mugging? Revenge? Jealous boyfriend? She didn’t strike him as a person who was able to commit such a horrible act that someone wanted to hurt her. No—not that angelic face. She didn’t have rings on her so he safely assumed she wasn’t married. Somehow, he felt that the two of them were alike. He had been hurt by Natalie’s betrayal. And this woman… well, she was a victim of a heinous crime. He and Eva were connected. They were both wounded souls.

“Do I have family? Mother? Father? Sister? Brother?” she asked.

That, Liam didn’t know. Anderson Cod, his private investigator, was working on her case at the moment. “Eva.” He smiled. “I want you to take things slowly. You took a hard blow to the head.”

“But…”

“Don’t worry, love. Everything will come back to you eventually.”

“I suppose you’re right. It just jars me I can’t remember anything about us. I feel like we’re strangers.”

“It will pass,” Liam comforted her. “You just rest. I’ll ask Rosa to bring you food.”

“What’s your name again?”

“Liam. Liam Caderyn.”

“Liam,” she repeated it as if his name was a mantra. “So I’m Eva Caderyn?”

“Yes.” He had to admit that the name suited her very well. He liked it. He didn’t know her at all, but he loved everything about her. From her smooth silky skin to her curvaceous figure, ample and filled up all in the right places. Her face was innocent like a child. She was beautiful without any makeup. What kind of monster would want to harm a woman like her? He silently vowed that he would protect her. No one would ever hurt her while she was under his watch. “Are you hungry? What are you in the mood for?”

“Anything. I’m so hungry I could eat a cow. Hey, how do I know that?”

Liam chortled. Rosa had warned him when Eva woke up she would want to eat. Blood magic always incited ravenous appetites. He planted a light kiss on her forehead. “I’ll go tell Rosa. I’ll call Doctor Hall to come and check on you too.”

“Who’s Doctor Hall?”

“He’s our private physician.”

“We have a private physician?”

“We can afford one, love.”

“Oh. I suppose that’s nice. Thank you.”

“Not at all, love.”

He left Eva with her tea and found Rosa in the kitchen in the process of assembling a sandwich.

The housekeeper glanced from her cooking and asked, “What did you tell her?”

“About?”

“Who she was? About you?”

Liam made a face. Discomfort ambushed him when he was confronted by the matronly woman. Rosa had been in the Caderyn family since her twenties. She wasn’t a full-blooded dragon, but she had dragon blood in her. Rosa’s mother was a Halfling and married to a human. The bloodline weakened. Because of it, Rosa couldn’t shift. Only boys sired by a Halfling father and human mother retained their shifter ability. The blood remained strong on the patriarchal line.

“I told her I’m her husband,” he confessed.

“Husband?” Rosa parroted in a mocking tone. “You’re joking, right?”

“I’m afraid not. I panicked. I didn’t think she’d wake up that soon.”

“Blood magic has a powerful healing property, Mr. Caderyn. I’m surprised it took twenty-four hours to make her whole. Your mother needed only thirty minutes to recuperate from the bypass surgery after your father administered it.”

He ran his fingers on his head. “If I tell her the truth, she’ll leave. I can’t let her go. What if she turns into one of us?”

“Have you forgotten? One is born as a dragon. Not made. Your mother received blood magic from your father and it didn’t turn her into one.”

About twenty years ago, his father had incited the rite so his mother would be given long life. But five years later, his father had an unfortunate accident that had taken his life. His mother died within months from grief. Dragons mated for life. Liam didn’t know why his marriage with Natalie hadn’t worked out. Once bonded, dragons wouldn’t desire someone else. The more he thought about it, his marriage with Natalie had felt wrong from the beginning. He didn’t feel the bond—an attachment between husband and wife like a pair of soul mates should have. Perhaps that was what had turned his marriage into a shambles.