Light My Fire (16 page)

“You first. Did you find the shooter?”

“No.” Irritation made his eyes bright green. I bit back
a smile and the urge to kiss the tip of his nose. “We were
unable to find him. Now, where have you been, and why
did you leave when I told you to stay?”

I sighed, climbing into the car to sit between Nora and
Drake. Even though I didn’t believe Drake and I were
ready to shack up, we needed a home, and if he really had
changed his mind about supporting me in my Guardian
training, then perhaps there was a future for us after all.

Maybe.

“We followed the trail of the person who shot at me,
but when we got to the house the person was in, Nora said it was too dangerous to go in ourselves, so we came back.
Happy?”

“No. I will investigate this house you found and determine if the person in it is a threat. You should not have
gone without me to protect you. I do not like you rushing
off in such a heedless manner.”

“Well, tough. Just so you know”—I leaned over and
spoke quietly next to his ear, telling my body to stop its
celebrations that we were pressed so closely together.

“until we’ve had time to work out several things, I want
my own room.”

His eyes burned with answering heat.
“Kincsem.”

“What?”

He nodded toward my lap. My purse was on fire. I
slapped out the flames, shooting him a little annoyed
glance. He just smiled. My body threatened to melt under
the effect of that smile.

This was going to be a long, long day.

10

“Now, this is what I call living. Wooo! Drinking foun
tain!”

I glanced into the elaborate bathroom as I passed the
door. Jim stood with one furry paw on a handle. “Stop playing in the bidet. This is
not
our room.”

“Drake said we could have it,” Jim said, examining itself in the shiny gold faucet attached to a sunken marble
bath. “Why can’t we take it?”

“Let’s just say I have issues with one of the fixtures in
the room.” I closed the door on Jim’s bathroom ecstasy
and crossed my arms to look at the fixture in question,
lying with negligent grace on the biggest bed I’d ever
seen.

“You don’t like the room?”

I looked around it. “It’s . . . big. Very big. This room
alone is bigger than my entire apartment. And it’s . .. old.
I’m assuming these are very antique antiques?”

Drake propped himself up on one elbow and glanced
around the room. “Yes. This was my mother’s house for
many years. She eventually tired of it and gave it to me. I
haven’t bothered redecorating because I’m in London so
little. But now that you’re here, and given your situation”—
he paused to look meaningfully at my stomach—”per
haps you’d care to put your own mark on the house. You
may redecorate to suit your taste.”

I defy any woman to resist those sorts of words. I
was speechless for a few moments, weighing my need
for independence against the mouth-wateringly delicious
thought of having carte blanche to redo a five-bedroom London house. I compromised with, “That’s a thought. If
we get things resolved between us so I know there’s a fu
ture here, then I would be delighted to take charge of a bit
of redecoration.”

His hand stroked the embroidered bedspread. My en
tire body tightened at the sight of Drake on a bed, his long
fingers moving rhythmically over the material. “You desire to speak to me about our relationship. I am amenable
and willing to discuss the situation now.”

I opened my mouth to tell Drake where he could stick his gracious permission but decided this was as good a
time as any to get a few things worked out. I settled my
self in an uncomfortable wingback chair next to an ornate marble table. “Very well. You mentioned negotiating ear
lier. Well, I have a few conditions to make if we are going
to have a life together.”

“Name your terms,” he said, lolling back on a huge
mound of silken pillows.

I spent a few minutes fighting with my body, which wanted to fling itself on the bed and have its wicked way with him. Several times. “First of all, there is the issue of
my Guardian training.”

He waved that away. “I told you I had changed my
mind on that subject. I would prefer you to devote your
self solely to the sept, but I understand now that you
would be extremely unhappy if I forced that upon you.”

“Extremely unhappy doesn’t even begin to touch it,” I
answered, ignoring his reference to forcing me to do any
thing. “Since that’s a moot point, I’ll simply say that I
will require your help and full support to achieve my
goals of Guardian education.”

He was silent for a moment, then inclined his head.
“You will have it.”

“Oh, no;
I’m
not going to be caught on technicalities
again. Say the words, Drake.”

“I will support fully your wish to become a Guardian,
including your training.” Desire flared to life in his eyes.
A little smile flickered across his lips. It took me a cou
ple of moments to remember what it was we were talking
about.

“Thank you,” I said. “Next we have the issue of you telling me what to do all the time. I want autonomy.”

A little frown pinched between his eyes. “That is not
allowable.”

“Hang on, I’m not talking about bailing on you. I will continue to support you and the sept. I will fulfill all the
duties of a wyvern’s mate. When it comes to things drag
onish, I will follow your orders. But everything else in
my life is opinion only.”

His frown didn’t lessen.

I sighed. “Look, Drake, I’m a big girl. I have a mind
of my own. You’re more than a little bossy. I welcome ad
vice, and I don’t mind you offering your opinion, but if
we are going to live together in relative peace, you have
to give me some room to be myself.”

“There are many things you do which are dangerous or which could bring trouble upon the sept. Many times you
go headlong into situations at which a more knowledge
able person would hesitate. You have so much to learn
about this world, Aisling—I cannot allow you to harm
yourself or the sept in your desire to be independent.”

“Nor would I want you to.” I clutched the arms of the chair to keep my body from flinging itself on him. “I will
modify that point to exclude times when I might be unaware of a dangerous situation, or one that would have
political ramifications for the sept.”

“We will try it your way,” he said, his voice filled with
suspicion. “But if it does not work out to my satisfaction,
we will renegotiate this point.”

“If it doesn’t work out to our
mutual
satisfaction, then
I’m willing to discuss the matter,” I corrected him.

“Agreed,” he said after thinking about it for a few min
utes. “Your next condition?”

“It’s something you just brought up—my cluelessness
regarding dragons. You have to fill me in on exactly what
the duties are of a wyvern’s mate. Also, I want a list of
my responsibilities with the sept and a detailed history of
the dragons so I don’t feel like such an idiot around you
all.”

“Granted,” he said without pause.

“One last condition,” I said, taking a deep breath. I was
honestly surprised that he’d agreed to my conditions thus
far. Maybe he
had
changed? Maybe the separation had
done what I’d hoped it would—made him see I was seri
ous about being a Guardian? Maybe we could live hap
pily ever after, after all? “I want you to tell me what
you’re thinking.”

He didn’t move. Not even an eyelash trembled. “Why?”

“Because I never know what it is you’re thinking or
feeling unless you decide to spill, and that doesn’t hap
pen very often. I want to know what interests you. I
want to know your pet peeves. I want to know what
makes you giddy with delight, and what makes you
sad. I want to know about your past, your hopes and
dreams, the trials you’ve overcome, what you’re proud of, what you want in life . . . everything. You’re not a
very forthcoming man, Drake. I respect the fact that
you wish to have some privacy, but I feel like an out
sider whose body is just conveniently handy for a little
romping between the sheets. I want more than that. If
I’m
going to have you, I want every bit of you, dragon
warts and all.”

“I do not have warts,” he said absently, mulling over
my request. His green eyes sparked with inner fire that I
could feel from across the room. “Will you do the same
for me?”

I laughed. I couldn’t help myself. Verbal reticence had
never been one of my faults. “Sure. Consider yourself the
recipient of all my thoughts and feelings.”

“Very well. I accept that condition so long as you
recognize there are some things I will not be at liberty to
tell you.”

“Things? What sort of things?” I asked suspiciously.

“Nothing about my hopes or dreams, as you put it.
There are certain things wyverns swear to that I cannot
discuss with anyone, not even my mate.”

“All right. I can accept that some things are off limits.
Everyone is entitled to a certain amount of privacy. I’m sure there is some supersecret Guardian stuff I won’t be
able to share, too. So long as you do as I’ve asked the rest
of the time, I think we’ll be OK.”

“Where is Jim?”

“In the bathroom, with orders to stay there.”

“Excellent. Let us make love.”

I laughed again as Drake rolled backwards onto the bed, waggling his eyebrows and giving me the come-hitheriest of all come-hither looks. “You know, I don’t
think I’ve ever seen you be silly. Why don’t you do it
now, just to let me see a side of you that I doubt few get
to see.”

He stopped come-hithering. “You want me to be silly?”

“Yes. Just a little. A tiny bit of silliness. Something to
give me a wee little peek into your psyche.”

“I am a dragon. Dragons are not silly.”

I tapped my lower lip. “OK, then, show me your
dragon form. I’ve never seen one of you guys all scaly
and winged and breathing fire. Why don’t you show me
that instead of being silly?”

Drake stood up, peeling off his shirt. “This is as silly
as I know how to be.”

As I stood there, blatantly ogling his bare chest, arms, and every other bit of magnificent exposed flesh, he put
his hands on his hips and breathed fire.

On me.

In the shape of a heart.

I burst into laughter a third time as the ring of fire
wafted over to me, encircling me in dragon fire. “Very silly, and very romantic at the same time. Thank you.”

“Now can we make love?”

I swear his toes tapped in exasperation as I spun
around in the ring of fire, opening myself up to his unique
form of passion.

“Oh, no, not yet. I have a lot more things to say.” I
stopped spinning and traced the sept brand mat Drake
bore on his collarbone in the same place mine was lo
cated.

“Very well,” he said, his face resigned as he caught
my fingers in his, flicking his tongue over the tips. “Pro
ceed.”

“For one, I want to apologize for leaving the sept in the
lurch. I had no idea things hinged on me being present in
Budapest. I honestly thought everyone would be just fine
without me.”

Drake gently bit one of my knuckles. I had to stiffen
both my knees and my resolve to keep from jumping on
him. “I accept your apology. I will admit that in hind
sight, perhaps I might have explained the situation to you
in a better fashion.”

“Well, I’d make a comment about an understatement
of the year, but that would be petty of me. I will content
myself with accepting
your
apology.”