by Vella Day
“I carried you.”
No man had carried her anywhere. “Why?”
He chuckled. “Don’t you remember? Your workshop caught fire. I saw the smoke, came in, and carried you out.”
The events became clearer. “The kiln caught fire.” Or at least that was the only thing that made sense.
“It’s possible. It could have malfunctioned, or the heat could have caught some combustible material or flammable liquid on fire. I can’t be sure until everything cools, and I study it more.”
She pushed up on her elbows and leaned against the back of the sofa. “I need to see the damage.”
Josh placed his hand on her shoulder, and what felt like electric sparks shot straight through her body. Yikes. She must have been more injured than she thought. For some reason—instinct perhaps—she touched her tingling lips. She then ran her tongue over the surface, tasting not only smoke but something else. “Did you have to do a mouth-to-mouth lifesaving maneuver on me?”
His cheeks reddened. “Only briefly. You woke up before I could even blow a breath into you.”
Magnolia couldn’t even name the year she last kissed a man, not that what he did counted as a real kiss. Sure, in her younger years, she’d had several men friends, even engaging in pleasurable lovemaking, but once the pottery shop became a viable business, she’d focused on making it a success.
Many men had asked her out over the years, probably because people estimated she looked no more than thirty, but little did they know it couldn’t be further from the truth. Being an immortal goddess had its advantages.
“Thank you.”
Josh handed her a glass of water. “Drink this.”
The first sip was divine, and she ended up polishing off the glass in no time. Wanting to see the damage for herself, she pressed on her knees and stood.
Josh jumped up and moved out of the way. “Easy there. You almost died. You can’t go back in there. As the fire inspector, I forbid it.”
His command had her lifting her chin. “This is my house and my studio. I can’t have our livelihood threatened.”
He held up his hands and blew out a breath. “Fine, we can walk around on the outside and you can peek in, but that’s all.”
For some reason, she suspected that was the most she was going to get out of him. “Fine.”
While her breathing was a bit strained, and her legs none too strong, Magnolia held her shoulders straight and tried to ignore everything but determining the damage. Too bad, the moment Josh placed a hand on the middle of her back, spikes of need soared through her once more. She stopped and faced him.
“Is something wrong?” he asked, clearly unaware of what just passed between them.
The sexual tension had to have been her imagination. The heat must have short-circuited her brain. “No. I was just trying to think of a way to tell my sisters how I nearly burned down our store.”
“It might not have been your fault. Has the kiln ever given you any trouble before?”
“Never like this, but it’s older than sin. Someday, something was bound to happen. I should have been in the shop and kept watch.”
“In the past, if you left the kiln running all day, would it have caught on fire?”
“No, but then we are all careful with it.”
They left by the back door and walked around the side of the house. When she saw the hole in the wall and the black char marks running up the side, her knees buckled. Had it not been for Josh, she might have collapsed.
She needed to get a grip. Weakness had never been an issue. It must be the guilt. “I’m fine.”
He let her move closer to the opening and look in. “You can’t go inside,” he said.
Bossy man, though in truth it would be even more depressing to see all of the devastation. “I won’t, but where did the water come from? We never installed a sprinkler system.”
“Really? They’re required for a commercial establishment like this one, you know.”
She shrugged. “We had planned to have it done, but we never got around to it.”
“See that you do.”
“Yes, sir.” Magnolia debated saluting, but that wouldn’t have been nice. She owed him a lot. “Did you see the smoke or something?”
“Yes, I was flying overhead when I saw it. Before I could drop down and check it out, this other dragon showed up. I know this may sound crazy, but he turned blue right before my eyes, swooped in low, and shot water through the hole.”
Magnolia sucked in a breath at her good fortune. “I’ve heard of him before. We call him the water dragon.”
Josh’s jaw tightened. “A befitting name.”
Magnolia stood there a moment longer but then had to cover her nose. “It will take days to clean this up.”
“I can call someone for you. The company I’m thinking of also does repairs. Being in the fire business, I have access to several services.”
With a few spells, Magnolia might be able to evaporate the water, but since he’d offered, she couldn’t divulge her talents without him asking a million questions. It was enough that the Guardians were aware of her capabilities. She didn’t need this stranger to learn about her too. Magnolia forced a smile. “That would be great.”
She’d pay for it herself. Taking money out of the general fund wouldn’t be fair to her sisters.
Josh pulled out his phone, turned his back, and spoke with someone. If she’d concentrated, she could have listened in, but why bother?
He spun around. “It’s all set. Someone will be here with a crew in a few hours.”
She reached out to touch his arm as a way of thanking him, and a shock wave of pleasure shot through her once more. Magnolia immediately withdrew her hand, a bit scared at what had just happened. Thankfully, she’d mastered the ability to shutter her expressions. “I can’t thank you enough for running into a smoke filled building and saving me. But how did you know I was in there?”
“I heard you moan.”
It must have been his dragon shifter senses that allowed him to hear her cry out over the loud crackle of the fire.
“I don’t know how I will ever thank you.” And she meant it too.
“Let me take you to dinner.”
“No!” Her eyes widened. “I mean the reason I left the kiln unsupervised in the first place was because I was in the kitchen preparing dinner.” And lunch. “In fact, I’m really hungry. Would you care to join me?” Magnolia never babbled, and she certainly never asked a man to dinner. This dragon shifter was somehow messing with her.
“I’d love to.”
Josh smiled, and her heart started to thaw.
Josh was pissed at himself for lying to Magnolia, but he hadn’t been thinking. The lie about someone else being the water dragon had been an automatic response. He couldn’t afford to have anyone be aware of his identity. If he had told her the truth, his life as he knew it would be compromised. People would assume there’d be no need for a fire department if he existed. They didn’t understand how much it took out of him to switch his body from a fire breathing dragon to one capable of filling up with water and then extinguishing a flame. As it was, it took all of his effort just to fly away afterward.
Yet, he’d never felt this good. If he didn’t know better, he’d think he’d transported to another dimension.
It’s because of Magnolia, you dunce, his dragon said with disgust.
You’re saying she can restore my health?
No. Think! The answer is obvious.
Not that Josh discussed the dialog between a man and his dragon with anyone else, but he’d heard stories, and his dragon seemed to be the most cryptic of them all.
They reentered the kitchen, and only then did he notice she had been cooking. Dirty pots were stacked next to the sink, and ingredients were spread out all over the counter.
“Sorry about the mess,” she said. “I was in the middle of making dessert when I smelled the smoke.”
“As a bachelor, this looks am
azing. A neat kitchen is highly overrated.”
From the way she stood taller and pressed her lips together, he’d said something blasphemous. “With four of us living here, we must keep things neat at all times.”
“Gotcha.” Not having to deal with others was one reason why he liked living alone. Well, sort of liked living alone.
As if she hadn’t just offered to make him a meal, she rushed over to the kitchen sink, dropped some soap on a sponge, and began to wash the big pots. While he doubted she needed to finish cleaning them to complete the meal, he grabbed a dishcloth that had been threaded through the kitchen drawer handle and waited to dry them.
When Magnolia looked over at him, her eyes widened, and the tension around her mouth softened. “You don’t have to do that.”
“I know, but I want to help.”
Her smile was brief, but it sure did jack up his libido.
For the next few minutes, she washed while saying nothing, and he dried. The comfortable silence suited him fine. It gave Josh the chance to study this enigmatic woman. “You mentioned your sisters. Where are they?”
“Thankfully on vacation for two weeks. It will give me time to do damage control.” Magnolia’s shoulders slumped. “But if they’d been here…” Her voice trailed off.
“If they’d been here what?”
“Nothing. I guess I should be thankful I was the only one overcome by the smoke.”
Magnolia glanced away. While he was keeping a secret from her, he wanted to let her know she could let down her defenses. He chuckled. “Don’t tell me one of your sisters would have been able to do a spell to put out the fire? If so, she could make a mint working for the fire department.” If Josh hadn’t been friends with Birk Caspian and a few of his siblings and cousins, he wouldn’t have heard about what the four sisters were capable of. Apparently, they were as protective of their secret identity as Josh was of his.
Magnolia acted horrified. “No. Sure, we can do a spell or two, but we can’t do something as powerful as put out a fire.”
“Too bad.” That wasn’t what he’d heard though. According to one story, these women had swapped Finn McKinnon’s face with a guard’s face at the Royal Castle to enable him to sneak in and save his mate, Kaleena Sinclair. Rumors, however, weren’t always true.
She handed him another pot to dry. Josh had caused her enough stress, and he didn’t need to probe further. “Why don’t you sit down, and let me finish cleaning up?” He was a pro at loading a dishwasher. “You’ve been through enough trauma today.”
“I’m fine.” There went those pressed lips again—lips he really wanted to taste more fully.
What had happened in her life to make her so uptight? He’d not interacted with her sisters, but he’d heard they were rather pleasant.
Not wanting to make things more uncomfortable between them, he stood back while she loaded the plates and silverware into the dishwasher. Once she finished cleaning up, Magnolia turned to him and actually smiled, and it was as if someone had shot him up with lust. While he couldn’t see his eyes, he’d bet they were teal laced with amber ribbons. Josh ran his tongue along his teeth. Damn. They’d sharpened too.
Mate, mate, his dragon chanted.
Josh wasn’t ready to admit that yet, but Magnolia Faiten sure did enchant him. He liked a woman who was honest with herself—one who could take responsibility for everything that happened.
“Are you the oldest?” he asked. That might explain her need to protect the others.
“Yes, why do you ask?”
He pretended it wasn’t important. “No reason. Just trying to understand you better.”
She stepped back and placed a hand on her chest. “Why?”
Her puritanical look caught him off guard and caused him to laugh. “I was trying to have some friendly conversation. Relax. I won’t bite, I promise.”
He hoped she hadn’t spotted his sharp teeth.
Magnolia glanced downward for a moment. “Where are my manners? I’m sorry. I guess I’m still a little upset over what happened is all.”
“You’re doing great.” Josh wished there was something he could say or do to lighten the mood.
“I need to heat up the vegetables,” she said with a hardened tone, as she rushed to the counter to pick up a casserole dish.
“I don’t mind lukewarm food. You only just made it, right?”
“More or less.”
Poor Magnolia. He wanted to believe she was his mate, but she certainly didn’t seem to think he was hers. Then again, humans didn’t react the same way shifters did. Even if she felt some sexual pull, she didn’t seem the type to just jump into bed with someone to see if they clicked.
Josh however never gave up on a worthy cause. “I’ll set the table.”
Magnolia planted a hand on her hip. “Are you even from around here?”
Josh stilled. Oh, shit. She couldn’t have guessed his secret.
Chapter Three
Considering how awkward she was acting, Josh would think she never left her house. Okay, that wasn’t far from the truth, but in all fairness, her duty was to the family business.
For some reason, Josh didn’t seem to understand why she had asked where he was from. Not that Magnolia had a lot of experience, but from the tales she’d been told, men usually didn’t offer to do housework.
She needed to face it—she just wasn’t comfortable around men—especially hot ones. Magnolia partly blamed her mother. After their dad had died in battle, her mom basically turned over the raising of Acacia, Primrose, and Poppy to her, while her mom went to work. One would have thought being a goddess would entitle her to some financial benefits, but apparently it didn’t.
At least being in charge at such a young age had given her some skills that had proven to be helpful over the years. If anyone wanted to talk to her about pottery and glazes, Magnolia couldn’t stop chatting. But when it came to men—or rather to a man who caused her body to heat and then become excited in places she had long thought were dead—that was different.
Josh was unique, but she couldn’t pinpoint exactly what it was about him that twisted her up inside. He was different for sure, but it wasn’t just that he was kind, protective, and sexy as hell. It was that her body was trying to convince her that he was her mate.
Mate, ha. None of the sisters of Fate would ever have one—or so she believed. Their job was to serve others with their mates—not enjoy being with one. If that were true, though, why couldn’t she think straight when she was around him? It wasn’t as if Magnolia didn’t know the signs.
“I moved to Edendale from Hearndon Province about five years ago,” Josh said interrupting her thoughts.
That was probably why she hadn’t run into him. “I only ask because most men aren’t so considerate.”
It was as if he had been a balloon and she had just punctured a hole in him. “Oh, then thank you.”
Probably because having a man in her kitchen unnerved her, she decided that eating less than piping hot food was okay, since heating up the meal would take too long. The sooner they ate, the sooner he’d leave.
“Plates?” he asked.
She pointed to the overhead cabinet next to the sink.
Josh smiled and then grabbed the dishes and some silverware and carried them over to the table. They both moved about the large kitchen in peace, causing Magnolia to appreciate how nice that was. Once Josh had set the table, he waited for her to sit down before he pulled out his chair.
“Dig in,” she said as she took her place at the table. Her thoughts immediately jumped to her sisters.
Josh seemed to be waiting for her to be the first to scoop up the food. “Is something wrong?” he asked. “You looked lost in thought.”
The man was too intuitive. “I always do the cooking, and Poppy is always the first to shove the big spoon into a casserole dish.”
“You miss your sisters.”
She looked up at him. “Yes. A lot. I take it you have siblings?
” How else would he know?
Josh inhaled and looked off to the side. Magnolia sensed he was debating how much to tell her. “No. No brothers or sisters, and my parents passed away a few years ago.”
“I’m sorry. I lost my dad quite a while ago too. I might have been twenty at the time, but it was still hard. Poppy was only eight, Primrose eleven, and Acacia fifteen. They had it the worst.”
“Did you help your mom take care of them?”
“Yes.” It would be the closest thing to being a mother as she would get.
“That must have been tough growing up.”
“Looking back, it wasn’t too bad, but at the time it frustrated me. I wanted to go out and have a good time, but I couldn’t.” Magnolia smiled, hoping to cut short this line of questioning. “So, tell me about being an arson investigator.”
Josh stuffed the sautéed mushrooms that were sprinkled with pine nuts and pimientos into his mouth. “Mmm. This is amazing.”
Heat raced up her face. “Thank you. I think my sisters take my cooking for granted sometimes.”
“Well, I appreciate it. Trust me,” he said once he swallowed.
This man was too good to be true. “About your job?”
“Oh, yes. Basically, I enter a building after it has cooled to determine who or what started the fire. It might sound simple, but it’s actually quite complicated. It doesn’t help to have a lot of dragons flying around who can shoot fire. It gives us lots of suspects.”
She laughed for the first time in a while. “I can only imagine. I’m well aware that not all dragons are good.”
“No, they are not.”
“What was your most difficult case?” she asked.
“Hmm. I’ve had a lot of cases that have stumped me. I’d say a house fire in Hearndon Province where I worked for four years was the most difficult.”
By the time he finished regaling her with how he solved that case, they had finished their meal. She liked that Josh was so humble about his accomplishments.
He pushed back his chair. “Before the clean-up crew arrives, I want to check out the workshop. Because the fire was started without anyone’s help, it should be easy to find the cause.”