Light My Fire (10 page)

He stifled his grin at her surly acquiescence and straightened. “Life would be a lot simpler if you were less stubborn.”

“For you, maybe.” She gave him a saccharine smile. “But why would I want to make things simple for you?”

His grin stretched wider and the inner beast growled in approval. Ah yes, his little sacrifice certainly knew how to properly challenge a dragon.

Chapter Eleven

By the time she locked up the gallery and trailed after Aiden and Jace to the Navigator, Dana felt like she’d been put through the emotional wringer. Sure, the meeting with the insurance adjuster had been relatively painless, but shoving her damaged paintings into oversized Hefty bags had pitched her into a dark depression. Jace opened her door and she climbed onto the passenger seat, listlessly hooking the seat belt over her shoulder.

“You all right?”

Noting the concern softening Jace’s expression, she plastered on a weak smile. “Just tired.”

Jace didn’t look entirely convinced by her answer but he thankfully shut her door without further comment. Aiden settled behind the wheel and granted her a frown identical to his brother’s before merging with the traffic clogging Main Street. She shifted in her seat and shivered when the cold air blowing through the vent blasted the side of her arm. Without saying a word, Aiden reached out and adjusted the vent, aiming it away from her. His thoughtfulness pricked her conscience. He and Jace had bent over backward today to help her with everything. Because of them, the past six hours were less of a nightmare than they could have been. And how did she repay them? By being sullen and testy. It wasn’t their fault she couldn’t stop thinking about the break-in and scary female dragons with strap-ons.

Lolling her head on the neck rest, she gave Aiden a halfhearted smile. “I haven’t been the best company today.”

“Understandable.”

“Maybe, but I haven’t even thanked you both for cleaning up the gallery.”

“Dana, we’re here for—”

“Me,” she said on a soft sigh. “I know. Trust me, you’ve told me enough times it’s starting to sink in.”

“Good. Maybe now rather than argue with us, you’ll let me and Jace take care of you.”

That was highly doubtful. She didn’t have the heart to point it out to him though. “Tell you what, you can take care of me by stopping at La Luna so I can pick up a pizza. It’ll save me having to scrounge something for us to eat later.”

“Deal.” It wasn’t until Aiden nodded vigorously that she suspected his enthusiasm had more to do with avoiding her cooking than a love for pizza.

They arrived at La Luna thirty minutes later. Thanks to Aiden’s cell phone she’d been able to call their order in ahead of time. Hopefully she’d be able to sneak in and out without tipping Emmaline off about being in the vicinity.

Aiden coasted to a stop. She unclipped her seat belt and reached for the door handle. Aiden and Jace did the same.

“Really, you guys don’t have to—” She gritted her teeth when the brothers climbed outside. “Why do I even waste my breath?” Gripping the armrest, she jumped to the pavement and slammed the door closed with her elbow.

Inside the restaurant, she was greeted by Emmaline and Tiffany at the hostess stand. Dana sent Tiffany a narrow-eyed stare that earned a sheepish look from the younger woman.

“Your aunt cornered me in the hall when she overheard me giving your order to Raul.”

Her expression triumphant, Emmaline stacked her arms over her chest. “Next time don’t order your usual if you’re hoping to fly under my radar.”

Dana muffled a groan. Damn, busted by a personal-sized pizza with chorizo sausage and extra mushrooms. “I was planning to stop by your office.”

Emmaline cocked one eyebrow, her I-can-see-straight-through-your-bullshit trademark. “And were you planning to tell me about the break-in at the gallery during this alleged visit?”

Dana’s mouth fell open. “How did you hear about that?”

“Luann Wells is dating the dispatcher for the Warren PD. He told her about the call and she phoned me twenty minutes ago to find out if you’re okay. Seeing how you didn’t answer your cell
or
the gallery’s phone, I didn’t know what to tell her.”

“The battery in my cell phone died.” Dana grimaced. The excuse sounded pathetic even to her. She lifted her shoulder in a half shrug. “Plus I didn’t want to worry you.”

Emmaline tossed her arms out in a dramatic flourish. “Why would I be worried? You haven’t called me in over a day, someone broke into your gallery, and you’re being escorted around town by two dra—”

Aiden and Jace coughed in warning, effectively stalling the incriminating word before it completely left Emmaline’s mouth. Everyone glanced at Tiffany. Unabashed curiosity sparkled in the girl’s wide eyes. Dana didn’t doubt for a second that every detail of this encounter would be later recounted to the rest of the staff.

“Maybe we should finish this conversation in private?” Though Aiden phrased it as a polite inquiry there was no mistaking the steely authority in his tone.

Surprisingly Emmaline didn’t balk. Dana suspected it had more to do with her aunt wanting to get her questions answered than anything else. Her back stiff, Emmaline led the way to her office. Once inside, she parked her fanny on the corner of her desk and divided her glare between Dana, Aiden and Jace.

“Someone care to fill me in on what the devil is going on in my niece’s life?” Her eyes flashing fire, Emmaline wagged a finger in Aiden’s direction. “Let’s start with why your people are trashing Dana’s gallery.”

Dana groaned.
This is what I get for hankering after pizza.
Why didn’t I just have them drive through McDonald’s?
“They didn’t have anything to do with what happened,” she said, trying to inject some calm into her voice.

“Actually, we shouldn’t rule out the possibility.”

Dana whipped her head around and stared at Aiden. “
What?
”

Aiden scrubbed a hand over his jaw, his expression guarded. “There’s a chance a Drakoni might have played a part in the break-in.”

Thrown off balance by his startling newsflash, Dana groped behind her for the couch. Reasonably assured she wasn’t about to fall on her ass, she plunked onto the cushion. “I don’t understand. Why would they do something so…hateful?”

“Probably to scare you.”

She frowned. “Into accepting the sacrifice?”

“Or not accepting it.”

This was all becoming a little too
The Godfather
meets Dungeons and Dragons for her. Aiden stepped in front of her, his crotch directly in her line of sight. Like she needed
that
distraction. Rubbing her temples, she dragged her focus upward until their gazes locked. “I thought talking me into the sacrifice was the whole point of you being here.”

“There are those who probably wish to see me fail.”

She wasn’t sure what to make of Aiden’s flat, emotionless tone. If she suspected someone was trying to deviously sabotage her she’d probably go ape shit on the no-good backstabbers. “Sounds like you Drakonis are a little on the traitorous side.”

Jace snorted. “We blame it on the ten-percent human DNA lurking in our gene pool.”

Rolling her eyes, she shifted her weight on the cushion. The couch’s broken spring noisily protested being disturbed. “So what does this mean? I need to worry about the creep making a repeat performance? Or worse?”

Aiden scratched the back of his neck, his expression pensive. “I doubt they’ll hit your gallery again. It’d be too obvious. Still, I’d advise beefing up security at any logical targets they might strike at next.”

“Such as?” Dana and Emmaline demanded simultaneously.

“This place, for one,” Jace said, his tone matter of fact.

A cramp squeezed Dana’s stomach. It was bad enough worrying about her gallery. If they vandalized La Luna in any way, the guilt that would slam her would be near unbearable.

Emmaline hopped down from her desk. “Now don’t anyone worry about this place.” She stared Dana straight in the eye, making it clear who she was directing the statement to. “I’ll talk to Leo. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind spending a few nights here with Yeager. If that dog doesn’t put the scare in any would-be vandals, nothing will.”

The tight ball of dread anchored in Dana’s belly eased slightly. Leo and Yeager were a force to be reckoned with. Particularly since Leo would fight to the death when it came to protecting Emmaline and her turf. Hopefully it wouldn’t come to any actual bloodshed. A chill crept over Dana and she rubbed her arms briskly. “Okay, that covers this place. The only other potential target I can think of would be my home.”

“Jace and I have you covered there.”

She took one look at Aiden’s ferocious countenance and knew without a doubt that anyone who’d attempt tangling with him would have to be certifiably insane.

On the one hand, it certainly made her feel safer, but who the hell was going to protect her from
him
?

By the time the Navigator finally rolled down her driveway, the tantalizing aroma of sausage, oregano and an artery-clogging blend of cheeses wafting from the pizza boxes had Dana’s salivary glands working in overdrive. Leaving Jace to carry their dinner and Aiden to lock up the vehicle, she trekked inside the house and into the kitchen. Snatching plates and napkins, she hustled to the table. Jace ambled in and she made room for him to plop the pizza containers down. She flipped the top open on the smallest box and inhaled with an appreciative sigh.

Jace’s nostrils twitched. “Damn, that looks good.”

He started to reach inside the carton. She slapped his hand away and wagged a finger at him. “Nuh-uh, dragon boy. This one’s all mine.” Fully intending to stake her claim, she scooped up the biggest slice and sank her teeth into the gooey layer of cheeses.

Jace watched her with the unblinking intensity of a starving feral dog. Feeling a tad guilty for depriving him, she swallowed her bite of pizza and lowered her hand. Before she could offer him a slice, he leaned in and licked the grease from her lips. The move caught her off guard, stunning her, and she dropped the pizza slice.

Normally, just the thought of someone licking her face would majorly gross her out. But the teasing rasp of Jace’s tongue and the hungry little growls rumbling from his throat were unbelievably erotic and sexy. She whimpered and he nipped her bottom lip before pulling back with a grin.

“Thanks for the taste, sweetness. Sorry I made you drop your slice.”

He sure didn’t sound remorseful. Bending, she snagged the pizza from the linoleum and gave it a mournful glance. “Farewell, old friend. Wish I’d known you longer.” She pivoted toward the trash can and her gaze collided with Aiden’s. He stood in the kitchen entry, the car keys clenched in his white-knuckled grip. Fierce possessiveness brewed in his dark eyes. A dizzying sense of recognition flared within her. She knew that look, had shivered and responded to its call night after night.

Her dragon.

Aiden was her dragon.

The truth hammered into her brain, almost making her drop the pizza again. Knees wobbly, she crossed to the trash can and tossed the half-eaten slice in. Finding out the gorgeous hunk looming in her kitchen entrance was the same dragon who’d given her mind-blowing orgasms in countless dreams should be the least shocking of the bombshells detonated on her over the past three days. So why did the epiphany leave her uneasy?

Sucking in a deep, steadying breath, she turned back toward Aiden and Jace. “W-what would you like to drink? I have pop or milk. Or I could crack open a bottle of wine.” Both brothers just stared at her and she shook her head. “Guess that was a dumb question. We should probably go with the wine, right? I mean, pizza is Italian and it’s customary to accompany Italian dishes with wine.”
Someone please stop my blabbering before I twist my tongue into a knot
.

Aiden stuffed his keys in his pocket before stepping into the kitchen. “Wine would be great.”

Grateful to have a task for her spinning mind to concentrate on, she walked to the wrought-iron étagère outside the pantry. Inspecting the bottles occupying the lower faux-marble shelf, she bypassed the Zinfandel for the Cabernet Sauvignon. She reached for the corkscrew dangling from a side hook just as a large hand curved around her hip.

“Here, let me take care of that.” Caging her from behind with his big body, Aiden freed her grip on the corkscrew. His other palm slipped beneath the hem of her blouse, branding her with his heat.

Branding seemed the perfect descriptor, because there was no misinterpreting the marking of territory going on. She should probably be thankful he wasn’t a werewolf. Odds were he would have urinated on her.

His fingertips skated along the twin dimples at the base of her spine before reaching for the wine bottle. Skin tingling from the phantom imprint of his touch, she sidled sideways and unhooked three glasses from the built-in rack overhead. Her attention strayed to Aiden. There was something incredibly sexy about the way the muscles rippled and flexed in his forearms as he twisted the corkscrew. The bastard probably knew it too, if the ghost of a smile playing at his mouth was any indication. With a loud pop, the cork dislodged from the bottle. Aiden set the corkscrew aside and filled each glass without a single dribble of wine splashing out of bounds. Apparently when dragons weren’t busy torching villages or rounding up sacrifices they worked on perfecting their sommelier skills.

Aiden handed a glass to her, deliberately brushing his fingers over hers. The clomp of Jace’s boots announced his approach. Grateful for the distraction his appearance provided, she snatched one of the other glasses and shoved it at him. “Here, let’s toast to tomorrow being a better day.”