Her Dragon's Fire (2 page)

She never told anyone, not even Kyndel, what she had heard that night, letting them all think she walked away because he was a cheating piece of crap. That was enough. From that night on she devoted all her time to studying, and when she graduated in the top ten percent of her class, with job offers from five of the top law firms in the country, she knew that all that hard work had been worth it. Month after month of interviewing was tiring, but she knew that she would know when she was talking to the right firm. That day came when she got an offer to interview with the State Prosecutor’s office. At first, she was sure it was because of her father, but when the man that later became her boss, the State Prosecutor himself, had asked about her family, she simply replied they were ‘estranged’, then leveled the ‘do not fuck with me’ look she had perfected early on in her life at him. He shifted his tie – a move Grace now knew meant he was rethinking his position – and went on with the interview. Out of all the offers from all the prestigious law firms she had received, she decided to work for the State. It held true to the decision she made so long ago to put away the trash that preyed on others weaker than themselves. Grace Kensington had made it her way, and no one could take that from her.

Being a lawyer was a natural decision for her. After all, she had spent most of her life negotiating with nannies or tutors or whoever she got stuck with while her parents were out
saving the world
. Early on, she had learned to argue any perspective, of any issue, decisively and effectively, with her eyes closed and a hangover from the party the night before. At a young age, her favorite nanny, Miss Annabelle, told her that she would make a fine lawyer; that no one could stand their ground and present the facts like her. She smiled as she remembered all the times Miss Annabelle, and later the others, had been called to school after she had defended another student and eloquently eviscerated the bullies with her words.

She almost laughed out loud as she thought about the time she debated Wade Sheffler, the star pitcher, about the unfair treatment of the mathletes. She had presented point after point of the outlandish perks the baseball team received, despite the fact that they had yet to have a winning season, as opposed to the lack of perks the mathletes received. She stated that the incredibly intelligent group had won the title of State Champs five years running. It was such a spirited defense that she ended up standing on the table in the center of the cafeteria, demanding equal treatment for all academic clubs. Of course, that was the precise moment Principal Stark made his daily appearance. Grace was taken to his office and Miss Annabelle was called. She still remembered the twinkle in her governess’ eyes as she assured the principal Grace would be properly reprimanded. The ‘proper reprimand’ included dinner at the Dairy Queen and a night at the movies. That incident, on top of all the others, solidified Grace’s decision to go into law. She would either fight for the underdog or put away the ones that preyed upon them. Fate had decided she was better suited to put the trash away, and that was damn sure what she was doing. Better than any other first year associate in any firm in the country, and she was doing it her way.

The night she had forgotten to get Kyndel from work, she had been prepping a case where the accused needed to be hanged and shot, but putting him behind bars was the best Grace could do. Kidnapping cases involving young women were happening more frequently and the police were helpless to find the culprit. The victims of these abductions were completely disappearing. No ransom demands, no bodies found later; they were simply gone. The police had finally gotten a lead and asked for a consult with the State Prosecutor’s office. Grace got the assignment and went right to work. She had been so engrossed in her mission that she had worked through the night, showered in the locker room at the gym in their building, changed into the spare clothes she kept in her office closet, and worked on. So caught up by the case, it wasn’t until lunch the next day that she remembered she was supposed to pick up her best friend from work
the night before
. When Grace had not been able to get a hold of her, she was sure she was being ignored, and knew it would take some serious groveling to make it up for her latest screw up. She left messages at Kyndel’s job, but as usual, didn’t hear back from her best friend. She knew Kyndel’s cell phone was in the car she had borrowed, so by the time she left the office after six that evening, and still could not get a hold of her friend, panic had taken over. Racing to Kyndel’s apartment, she had imagined every possible scenario and almost lost her mind when she found it empty. A week spent not eating, not sleeping, working all day, searching all night and sick with worry, took its toll on Grace. Finally, on the morning of the eighth day, she had gotten a call from Kyndel. Her bestie was alright! Then joy turned to skepticism when Kyndel explained she had
literally
run into a guy while walking home and it was love at first sight. The person she trusted more than any other in the world had hardly even listened when she tried to apologize and explain. Grace had decided over that grueling week, that she was going to set her best bud straight about the men in her life, or actually the
lack
there of, and tell her the whole story about Derek. It had been a long time coming, and something that needed to be cleared up between them, but Kyndel was so caught up in talking about the new man in her life that she didn’t listen to a word Grace said. She had rattled on and on about Rayne, his large family, and how blissfully happy she was. The woman she had spent almost every day of the last eight years with, in way or another, seemed to have undergone a complete transformation. She was actually
gushing
over a
man
. Kyndel Masterson, or whatever her last name was now, did
not
gush. The longer she listened, the more her instincts screamed that her best friend was not telling her the whole story. Her suspicions were confirmed when she met Rayne, the man Kyndel had fallen head over heels for. Grace’s
spidey senses
told her he was full of secrets. It made absolutely no sense that her best friend, the one that trusted absolutely no one, the girl that had put Grace through every test and interrogation a person could think of before she would call her a friend, had gotten
married
to a man she had known
less than a week,
and what she was reluctant to admit, was that her feelings were hurt because she had not been invited to the wedding.

The look in Kyndel’s eyes told Grace that she was most definitely over the moon in love and sickeningly happy. All gagging aside, she was incredibly thrilled for her. No one deserved the love and devotion Grace saw in Rayne’s eyes when he gazed at her friend more than Kyndel. Her life had never been easy, and to see her happy warmed Grace’s heart. Still, no matter how hard she tried to put her suspicions aside and blame them on the envy she felt at watching them together, the green-eyed monster reared his ugly head. Fact was, she wanted a love like that, and a man that looked at her like she was his whole world. If
only
a man existed that she could trust. The harder she shoved her wariness over the recent changes in her best friend’s life away, the more her intuition told her she was right; there was more to the story. She hated herself for being suspicious, but she always followed her gut. That was one of the things that made her good at her job and had saved her too many times to count. Something was just not how it seemed.

Of all the things that bothered her, the fact that one of Rayne’s brothers was staying at Kyndel’s apartment was at the top of the list. It was silly, but it still bothered her. Not only did her bestie trust the guy she married in less than a week, she also trusted his family? With her home?
And her plants
? That was a lot of trust in a small amount of time for a person that didn’t
ever
trust easily. It was just such a complete turnaround from the Kyndel she had known for all these years. She had always heard that love changed a person, but this was way over the top.

To add insult to injury was the fact that when she stopped to check the plants and pick up the mail, this brother was nowhere to be found. Grace knew for sure he had been there. He left the most intoxicating scent in his wake. It was all she could do to not get lost in the rich, masculine scent of the woods after a snowfall, the air crisp and fresh with a sweet woodsy undertone, every time she smelled it. She found herself taking long deep breaths, immersing herself in the intoxicating aroma, wanting to carry it with her. She was ashamed to admit she had started inventing reasons to stop by more often just to inhale that scent.
Riiiiigggghhhhttttt, Grace. That’s why you are going over there. Just to
smell
that man. Face it girlie, you are hoping to get a glance of the man whose scent makes you light-headed.

Shut the hell up Grace, you don’t know what you are talking about!

Having conversations with herself was probably a sign she was losing her mind and something she should stop, but no matter how much she denied it, her inner voice was right. All she really wanted was to get a look at the guy that made her pulse race and nipples bead, just from the way he smelled. He entered her thoughts more and more. She wondered what he looked like, what his hands would feel like against her skin, and what he looked like first thing in the morning. Her imagination had gotten the best of her so many times that even sitting in her office, supposedly working, could not stop her eyes from sliding shut at the mere thought of him. She felt his lips on her neck, kissing the sweet little spot behind her ear, and his hands moving under her silk blouse, up her ribs, palming her already hard and tender nipples. She scooted farther down in her chair and shivered from the feel of her lace panties rubbing against her aroused flesh. Oh God, that felt good. “Grace? Are you still here?” Alice, her assistant, called from the other room.

Grace jerked herself upright so quickly she barely grabbed the desk in time to keep from landing face first in a pile of paperwork. “Yes! I’m in here,” she called through the open door, sounding way more breathy than she should have and praying Alice didn’t notice.
Oh shit!
She really needed to keep her mind on business and off the mystery man sending her libido into overdrive. She had enough to worry about with trying to convict a kidnapping, lying, asshole and now Kyndel’s pregnancy, without dreaming about a guy that she had never seen and probably never would. With her luck he was probably the bum of the bunch any way.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Three days spent tracking down leads that went absolutely nowhere, added to the six months since the brother he had thought dead decided to “pull a Lazarus” with a plot to kill their entire Force starting with his Commander’s mate, and Aidan was as frustrated as he had ever been in all of his 100 years combined. Whatever black magic Andrew had learned, absorbed, or whatever from the wizards that had held him captive, gave him the power to hide all but the faintest bit of his scent, and if that was not enough, he stayed in populated areas to hide whatever residual signs there might be, making tracking him almost impossible. Aidan had to depend on the Intel he received from other clans and their supernatural allies, which for him was like flying blind. Andrew seemed to depend a little too heavily on his new magical abilities and that was the crutch Aidan would use to catch him. Unfortunately, he was still about a half step behind his asshole brother, and that was just unacceptable for the formidable warrior.

He had spent the better part of six years mourning the death of his younger brother and dealing with a shitload of guilt that had nearly eaten him alive. His obsession started months earlier, when the dreams of a raven haired beauty with curves that begged to be explored and a scent that set him on fire had begun to haunt his nights. Then, the night before that fated evening when
her
scent had enveloped him on a routine flyover, it had been more than he and his dragon could stand. She was
his
, the one that would calm the dragon within,
his mate,
so close and a confirmation of every story he had ever been told about the one the Universe had created for him alone. As spectacular as all of that was, nothing excused what he had let happen that fateful night.

It had been his duty as the older brother and Guardsman to lead and protect Andrew. Instead, he had been so intent on getting a glimpse of the woman whose scent had nearly driven him mad that he had flown off half cocked, brother in tow, ignoring all their protocols. He had been so engrossed in his search for
her
that he and his younger brother were taken by surprise. They were overpowered by black magic combined with the blood of the mage that had created the dragon shifters, and Andrew had been hidden away while Aidan lay a few yards away, unconscious; a fact he now knew from Andrew’s reappearance. He had awakened disoriented, and watched what he thought was Andrew’s head thrown into a fire surrounded by wizards, chanting and swaying.

He now knew that had all been subterfuge on the part of the wizards. It was the head of a farmer they had sacrificed for their ritual that was thrown into that fire, not his brother’s. From the information he continued to gather, he learned the wizards had spent most of their black magic knocking him and Andrew out of the sky and subsequently subduing and hiding his brother, while keeping Aidan in a weakened state. They’d had to perform their rite to amass more black magic so they could virtually disappear, while he struggled to get back to the lair for help to take out the zealots he believed had murdered his brother. At least he had learned one very important fact; the use of black magic was limited and needed ‘recharging’ so to speak. Now all he had to do was figure out what kind of spell or ritual it took for them to replenish their magical stores. He was not a magical practitioner at all, but as he thought, he really hoped the direction his thoughts were taking him were wrong.