Her Dragon's Fire (4 page)

The drive over was uneventful. She pulled her Volvo into the driveway beside Kyndel’s cute little “country in the city” apartment. Even though her friend had not been back to her home in over six months, all the flowers and plants were still beautiful and healthy. Grace had always loved plants, but in an effort to keep up appearances, her parents had always hired gardeners and landscapers. They even went as far as having fresh flowers delivered to the house every other day. It was a guilty pleasure of Grace’s to be able to take care of Kyndel’s gardens.

As she stepped out of the car, her
spidey senses
started tingling. She looked around and saw nothing or no one unusual, nothing was out of place, but she could not shake the feeling that something was not right. She walked through the carport towards the back of the house and saw nothing but shadows in the dark. She had to remember to set the timer for the outside lights. They needed to come on at dusk; anyone could be hiding in all the plants and bushes growing everywhere. She shook her head, wondering if her lack of sleep had her intuition going wacky. She turned around, heading back the way she had come. As she walked to the front door, she ran her hands over the bushes, felt the water droplets on the leaves and breathed a sigh of relief. Thank God, Kyndel had installed a timer on her irrigation. There was no way Grace had the energy to water plants tonight, she was barely staying vertical long enough to get to the front door. As she put the key in the door, the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end and a shudder ran the length of her back. She could feel a pair of eyes watching, her
special intuition
screaming to get inside. Whatever was watching her, and she was sure there was something or someone watching, was definitely not friendly.

She was in such a hurry to get in the apartment and lock the door that she almost missed the blur rushing towards the hallway. Had it not been for the tantalizing scent she knew was Rayne’s brother, she would have completely freaked out. Instead, she was glad he was there; it felt a lot safer than being by herself. Funny how the creepy experience outside had completely pushed her earlier reservations away. At times like this, she really wished she understood why she felt the things she did. For as long as she could remember she had had these weird feelings; just knowing something was not how it seemed, sensing danger when everything seemed okay, or knowing if someone was being truthful or not. She was thankful for her intuition and often wondered where it came from and how it worked. But there really wasn’t time to unravel the mysteries of the universe. She snorted.
Mysteries of the universe. Sure Grace, you’re a mystery alright!

She made sure the door was securely locked, slid the chain into place, and kicked off the heels she had had on since six that morning. It really felt good to finally have those torture devices off her feet. She was woman enough to admit that she wore them to be as tall as most of the men at the office. If she was close to their height, they couldn’t look down at her. It was bad enough that she felt like she should wear a ‘These are not my eyes’ sign across her more than ample chest. She figured it was the price she paid for breaking into the boy’s club that was the Prosecutor’s office. She hung her suit jacket on the coat tree and went to see where the man with the delicious scent went hurrying off to.

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

Aidan laid his head against the door, completely disgusted with himself. He had been so caught up in his erotic daydreaming, he had completely missed the woman of his dreams walking right through the front door. His mate!
Really? Big strong Dragon Guardsman, Aidan O’Brien, hiding in the bedroom, dick in hand, scared to face the woman the Universe made for you. The one you have dreamed of for over 6 years? Wow, aren’t you a catch?
He hated that the voice in his head was right. Hiding in the bedroom like some scared little school boy was really a great first impression. If his senses were right, and they always were, she was heading right for him.

“Hey! Rayne’s brother, whatever your name is, I’m Grace, Kyndel’s friend. Everything ok in there?”

“Yea, everything is fine. Name’s Aidan,” he tried to sound as normal as possible while putting his now limp dick back in his pants. “I was just napping. You caught me by surprise. It’s been a long couple of days since I slept,” he lied. “I’ll be right out.”

“I understand the lack of sleep,” she agreed. “It’s been a really long couple of days for me too, and I don’t know about you, but I don’t see an end in sight.” She turned to head back to the living room and called over her shoulder, “I’m starving. You wanna share a pizza?”

A pizza, really? She wanted to eat with him? Well, hopefully that meant she hadn’t seen what he was doing when she walked in. Lost in his thoughts, he didn’t realize he hadn’t answered her until she said, “Ummmm, they do eat pizza wherever you are from right, ummm….Aidan?” He could tell from the decreasing volume of her voice she was walking away.

“Yea, we do,” he chuckled. “Pizza would be great!”

Now, if he could keep his mind, as well as other body parts, focused on eating pizza and not on the irresistible woman on the other side of the door, everything would be great.

CHAPTER TWO

She decided she deserved a gold star and brownie points for making it through their pizza dinner without drooling all over herself or spilling food down the front of her blouse. Keeping her mind
on
eating and
off
jumping on top of the most beautiful man she had ever seen, had been one of the hardest things she had ever done.
Beautiful?
Yes, beautiful was the only word that came to mind, and even that paled in comparison to the man himself. He reminded her of the ancient Greek statues she had admired on her frequent visits to the Met; well chiseled muscles, sleek and without compare. She’d been on the phone ordering the pizza as he had come striding around the corner. The sight of him blew her mind. She stood holding the phone, mouth wide open, just staring. It wasn’t until the girl from Luigi’s said, “Ma’am, are you still there? Does that complete your order?”, that Grace had spun around, taken a deep breath, and finished ordering their dinner. She took a few extra minutes getting plates and silverware from the kitchen just to hide the effect he had on her. She felt like she was back in high school and the quarterback had just smiled at her. One look and the man she’d had more than one erotic thought about made her palms sweat and pulse race. His light brown hair, wet and darkened from his shower, was combed back off his forehead and hung past the collar of his well worn black t-shirt. She was envious of the drop of water that traveled down his cheek and neck, disappearing into his shirt. It was not hard for her to imagine her tongue following its path.

Breathing under control, she turned to put the plates on the table just as a cell phone rang from the other side of the living room. She admired the slight swagger in his walk, as his long legs ate up the distance to the weather beaten leather jacket that hung just inside the front door. The fit of his faded jeans showcased the roll and flex of the powerhouse muscles at the top of his legs. He moved with a grace most men his size did not possess. He had to be at least six feet four inches of well toned, completely lickable muscle. He took the ringing phone from the pocket of his jacket and answered, keeping his back to her. She took full advantage, ogling the almost perfect male physique displayed right in front of her. His neck was corded with well exercised muscles, leading to a wide expanse of shoulders that her hands itched to knead and massage. She followed the line of his spine, outlined by the shirt pulled tight across a back she longed to rub herself against, down to the sexiest ass she had ever seen. Good God, it looked tight enough to bounce a quarter off of and damn if her mouth didn’t water wanting to take a bite. He stood with his legs a little less than shoulder width apart. His feet were bare, and although she had never found feet anything but appendages for beautiful shoes, she found his as sexy as hell.
Oh shit!
She was in trouble.

Grace snapped out of her “hot-man induced” stupor in time to hear him ending his call. She busied herself with wiping off the counters and grabbing napkins out of the cabinet, while once again getting her raging hormones under control. What was it about this man that reduced her to a mass of want and need? She had thought his scent was powerful;
hell
, his presence was lethal, and now she was going to stay under the same roof with him
all night
.

Buck up, Gracey girl! You can do it! You have stared down convicted killers. One sexy man is not gonna do you in.

Yea, easy for you to say. You're just a voice in my head.

“So what is on the menu tonight, Grace?”

Lost in her thoughts, she almost missed his question, “What? Oh! I ordered the meat lover’s special, a salad, and some garlic knots. Hope that’s ok with you.”

“I eat anything,” he chuckled. “Whatever you ordered is fine with me.”

Her gaze flew to his and before she could comment on his choice of words, she was snared by the most hypnotic, whiskey colored eyes she had ever seen. His stare was a physical touch to the middle of her chest that slid down her body, warming every inch it touched. That touch settled in her core, becoming a spark that left her wet and needy. As she stood mesmerized, she realized those beautiful amber eyes held flecks of brown, green, and gold, flowing like a kaleidoscope, stealing the breath from her lungs. The doorbell rang and the spell was broken. She felt a blush heat her cheeks as she reached for her purse. “I’ve got it, Grace,” he shook his head as he opened the door to retrieve the pizza. “Why don’t you get the plates and stuff so we can eat in the living room? Maybe watch some tv?”

She nodded, sure there was no way she could speak without stammering, grabbed the stack of plates, and headed into the living room. Before she sat down, Aidan was already placing the delivery boxes on the coffee table and kneeling down on the floor across from her.

“Thank you,” she said, as she opened each box and set them so they could take what they wanted. Grace handed him a plate and proceeded to fill hers with salad. “Aren’t you eating any of this awesome pizza?” he asked, with a piece inches from his mouth.

“I prefer to eat my salad first, then I don’t eat as much pizza. I love pizza, but it likes to reside on my backside, so I have to be careful how much I eat.” She was chuckling when she looked up and saw Aidan’s brow furrowed.

“What is that look for?” her voice sharper than she intended.

Aidan schooled his features quickly, “Nothing. No particular look.”

Grace flashed her patented, fear inducing stare at him, “Yes, there was a particular look. You were scowling at me. Why?”

He just sat there staring. This was one of the times she wished her special intuition came with the ability to read people’s minds. He was definitely thinking hard about something, she just wished she knew what it was. “Well, are you going to answer me or are you just going to sit there and stare at me?” she snapped.

“I was just wondering why someone as beautiful as you would think they needed to watch what they ate. That’s all,” he said, like it was something everyone knew, and she would have sworn he had smirked if her brain had not picked that moment to short circuit.

After their brief discussion, they ate in companionable silence until Aidan grabbed the remote, switched on the television, and flipped through the channels. She caught herself staring at the damn near perfect male specimen sitting on the floor, eating pizza, apparently trying to catch a glimpse of every single one of the one hundred and twenty-five channels available. Even breathtakingly handsome men felt the need to work the remote like they were paid by the click. She smiled, thinking that it had been forever since she sat and watched tv. She set her plate on the table and scooted back into Kyndel’s huge overstuffed couch. She pulled her legs under her and leaned her head to the side, resting it on the arm. Aidan finally landed on a rerun of The Big Bang Theory and stood up. “If you’re all done, I’ll clear this,” he pointed to what was left of their dinner and the dishes. “Sit there and relax. Be right back.”

Grace raised her head, “I can help clean up.”

He leaned down to look right in her eyes and touched her shoulder, “Just lay there, Grace. You look like you need to rest. I can get the mess.”

He stood up and gathered the debris from the table. She couldn’t help but rub the spot where his hand had touched her shoulder. Even through her clothing she felt the spark, a current running from the spot he touched straight to her womb, pulling her nipples into taut peaks on its way. She curled farther into the couch, hunching her shoulders, trying to hide her body’s reaction to his simple touch. Why did this man have such an effect on her? Her intuition told her she had nothing to fear, that he was a good man, but damn he could set her body on fire and suck all the air out the room with a simple touch.

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

Aidan barely kept his composure on the way to the kitchen. Walking with an erection hard enough to pound nails was difficult to say the least, but when he had scented Grace’s arousal, it took all of his considerable control not to fall on her luscious body and give them both the release they wanted and needed. As soon as he made it into the kitchen, sure Grace couldn’t see him, he threw the dishes in the sink and braced both hands on the counter, taking long deep breaths in an effort to regain his balance. That woman made the world tilt on its axis,
literally
. He let his head fall forward, exhaling very slowly and counting to ten in an attempt to get his mind and body under control. He had spent the entire dinner thankful the coffee table hid his obvious erection, while sneaking glances at the most devastatingly beautiful woman in the world. More than a few times he’d had to wrestle the dragon within to keep him from jumping across the table and claiming the one the Universe had designed for them alone.