by Tia Didmon
Mara rubbed her face. “Oh god. What have I agreed to?”
Natalie narrowed her gaze. “Who is this Legion guy, and why is he paying off your debts?”
Mara blew out a long breath. Fear traced her spine with icy fingers. “What do you call a guy who hates you, admires you and believes you are something you are not?”
Natalie’s eyes widened. “A stalker.”
“Then I am having dinner with my stalker.”
Chapter 7
They pulled up to the door of the upscale Italian restaurant. A valet, wearing a red suit jacket, opened the door to the gold SUV and waited for Mara to exit. Legion passed the keys to his vehicle to the man and slipped him a hundred-dollar bill before offering his arm to Mara.
She took his arm, inhaling the alluring scent of grilled meat and pasta, before allowing him to lead her inside. “This is fancier than I expected.” She said, glancing down at her simple black dress.
Legion’s eyes followed her gaze. “You look perfect. Of course, you will look better, naked.” His eyes glittered. Gold sparks that fluttered like tiny fireflies inside his black pupils.
She coughed, trying to hide the static charge that ran through her body. “You can’t say things like that,” she whispered.
He gave her a quizzical look. “Why? It is true.”
Mara gazed at an older couple eating a salad with gold cutlery. The dress the woman wore was silver and black with shiny sequins. Her husband’s black tuxedo was equally stunning. While they had to be in their seventies, they looked radiant. Happy. “It’s... inappropriate.”
Legion led her to a second seating area, to a table in the center of a private room. He slid her chair over the lush burgundy carpet, allowing her to sit. “It would be inappropriate for you to deny me the luxury of your body.”
Mara put her leather purse on the table, lowering her voice. “Listen, I’m sure the alpha male routine works on most women...”
His eyes flared. The fireflies turned to an eternal flame. Liquid lava, that dared her to defy him. “There are no other women, Mara. Not in over a thousand years.”
Her jaw dropped. She covered her reaction by grabbing the glass of water on the white tablecloth. She glanced around the room. Every table was pristine. Expensive crystal glassware, gold utensils and a vase with a single red rose adorned every empty table. “I thought this restaurant was booked solid for the next couple of years. Where is everybody?”
Legion’s eyes bored into her. “I booked this section of the restaurant. I wish our conversation to be private.”
Mara choked on her water. “But this place is so expensive.”
“You are worth any price.” His voice was even as if he were stating a mere fact. That telling her she was the center of his universe was no more interesting than his coffee order.
Mara ran a finger over the gold butter knife, tracing the intricate pattern carved on the handle. “About the money you gave me. I would like to pay you back.”
“No.”
Mara’s head snapped up. “Pardon me. You can’t say no.”
His body was rigid. A carved statue with a creature encased inside. “I just did.”
Mara picked up the white napkin from the table, flicking it forward to place it on her lap. “Do you work on being this annoying, or does it come naturally to you?”
Legion’s lip twitched. “It’s not my intention to... annoy you. The money means nothing to me.”
She leaned forward. “Don’t dragon’s horde their gold?”
Legion snorted. “Hardly. We own mines all over the world. Precious metals and gems are our business. We can sense the ore in the rock and extract it at will. My clan has unlimited access to money. It is a means to protect my family.”
“Your family?” Mara asked with interest.
He nodded. “The dragons of color.”
She sat up, smoothing the napkin in her lap. “Not all dragons?”
His eyes flinched. “When a dragon turns against his clan, against our laws, he turns black. He loses the color he was born with and the ability to mate. He loses his emotions, as well, but the black dragons have a temporary cure for that affliction.”
“What is it?”
His lips thinned. “Druid blood.”
Her eyes went wide. “Excuse me?”
Legion rubbed his chin. “They use the magic in a druid’s blood to create a temporary high. They feel, lust, drive, all the basic human emotions, but it doesn’t last.”
“Are all druids female?”
“Yes. Human males born of magic were mage, but their race perished in the war two thousand years ago.”
She swallowed hard. “You said I was in danger. Is that what you meant?”
“Yes. Once your magic matures, it will alert the black dragons around you, like a beacon in a storm.”
She believed him, but she didn’t want to. Her life was complicated. The last thing she needed was an alpha male telling her what to do.
Legion growled. “A black dragon won’t tell you what to do. He will take you against your will. He will take your blood, use your body, all while making you believe he loves you. When a dark takes your blood, he is able to circumvent the wards your magic erects in your mind.”
Mara’s eyes blazed with blue fire before she tamped down the initial anger. “I appreciate the warning. I do. But please stop reading my thoughts without my knowledge. It’s bad enough learning that dragons exist, let alone they can all read my thoughts.”
“No other dragon will invade your thoughts. You are my mate and your mind and body belong to me alone.”
She hissed. “I am not your...” His eyes blazed fire, daring her to finish her statement. She cleared her throat as icy fingers squeezed her chest. She wasn’t ready for this showdown. While she wasn’t one to back down from a fight, Legion radiated power like a nuclear plant. How could she bow out of this date?
Legion frowned. “Tell me about your life. Your family. Where did your love of painting originate?”
Mara picked at the napkin on her lap. He couldn’t have known it, but that was a loaded question. “I grew up above the shop. In the same loft that I live in now. My parents ran the shop, and they loved it. They weren’t rich, but the store has always held its own. My mom made all the creams and potions by hand. She did teach me how to make them, but Natalie is more talented in that area than I am.”
The server brought over a small salad and placed it in front of them. Legion nodded to the man, who refilled their water glasses before leaving. “Natalie is not your sister. She has a different last name.”
Mara squinted. “How did you know that?”
“Her name is on the bank accounts. You trust her like family as she has access to all your finances, but her last name is Lesko.”
Mara nodded. “She’s the sister I wish I had. Mine is... well, let’s just say Alana is her own person.”
“Alana is your younger sister?”
“Yes.”
Legion’s eyes flickered like tiny stars in the night sky. The crystalline quality unique and majestic. “Where is she?”
Mara picked up the gold salad fork. “I wish I knew. She hates being around me. We aren’t close. I haven’t seen her since my mother’s funeral.”
Legion frowned. “She has druid blood. She will need protection when her magic surfaces.”
Mara mentally pushed away the steel blade that pierced her heart when talking about Alana. “Good luck with that. Alana doesn’t listen to anyone. Not even our parents.”
“We will have to persuade her when the time comes. Tell me about your painting. Have you always been so talented?”
Warmth skittered over her skin, but she tried not the let that pride show. She loved painting, and many people told her she was talented, but Legion’s opinion about her artwork mattered to her. She wondered if she was becoming as vain as her dragon suitor. “I love painting... anything. Flowers. Scenery. Animals. My most recent painting was of a dragon.”
/> Legion’s lip curled on the side before breaking into a smile. “I would like to see that one. I wonder what inspired you?” His full lips were sexy and shouldn’t belong to any man.
Mara was unprepared for the effect his teasing had on her. She looked down and choked back a bite of food to cover her reaction. She had read a story in one of her mom’s books. A Scottish fairy tale. A warning that no woman of magic could resist a dragon on the prowl. She had laughed at the story as a child. She wasn’t laughing now. “I can’t imagine, must be the dreams,” she whispered.
Legion took a single bite of his salad before pushing the plate away. “Those weren’t dreams, Mara, but we will discuss that in more detail later. How did you meet Natalie? She is always uppermost in your mind.”
Mara looked up. “Is she? I mean... yeah. She is the only person I have been able to depend on since my mother’s death. I don’t think I would have survived those first few months without her.”
Legion looked like he had something else to say, but he cleared his throat. “How did you meet her?”
“We met at a girl’s camp when we were ten. It shocked us to learn we lived only a block away from one another. Natalie had just moved to my neighborhood before the camp started.”
Legion’s eyes flickered before the air crackled around them. An invisible force pulled at her chest. The power living within her flared, reaching for the man in front of her. Pressure built within her chest, making it difficult for her to breathe. She gasped as her lungs struggled for air. He leaned back. “I apologize. You are not ready for the merge.”
She breathed deeply as the power within subsided. She was tempted to ask what he meant, but was sure she couldn’t deal with the answer. Not right now. She smiled at the server when he brought over her steak with pasta and fresh bread. She bit back the instinct to comment on the thirty-ounce, blue rare slab Legion ate in front of her.
Mara ate in silence, putting her napkin on her plate when she finished. “That was superb. Thank you.”
“You are welcome.” Legion said, pushing away his plate with the pasta left untouched.
Mara glanced at his plate. “You’re more of a meat-eater, huh?”
Legion’s eyebrow went up. His lip twitched.
Mara squinted. “You were kidding about eating humans, right?” Legion’s smile was mischievous. Cunning. Sexy. “You know what, don’t answer that. I don’t want to know.”
He inclined his head regally. “Please remember that I will answer any of your questions. Just be sure you want the answer before you ask.”
Mara glanced at the door. “I have an interview with the owner of an art gallery. I plan to create some new pieces for him, and will paint all day tomorrow. Is it okay if we have an early night?”
Legion nodded. “Of course. Will you show me your work when we go home?”
“Sure,” she said, trying to figure why the word ‘home’ sent a tingle through her body.
Legion tapped his finger on the steering wheel. He was unaccustomed to uncertainty. He’d expected to order her around and garner the respect he deserved, but while Adara’s soul had been reborn, her memories had not. Mara was not the druid Legion had known and respected in the past. In truth, he’d never been attracted to Adara like he was with Mara.
His entire body hurt. The instinct to touch her, kiss her and bind her to him for all time was a battle he was losing. It wasn’t just her rebellious nature, though he conceded he found that sexy as hell. He was enjoying getting to know her. It was a gift to a man who could invade the minds of most creatures. He had thought he wanted answers. The reasons she’d betrayed him so many years ago, but as he spent more and more time with her, he came to realize, he just wanted her. Everything about Mara appealed to him and his dragon, and she hadn’t even come into her power. What would it be like when her magic called to him? It was frightening, and nothing had scared him in a long time.
He opened Mara’s door to the SUV and followed her up to the loft, admiring the tight fit of her dress as it hugged her ass. The entrance on the side of the store was private and hidden. He pushed back the overgrown brush in order to ascend the stairs.
Mara glanced at the tall bushes that had overtaken the terrace. “Sorry about the terrace forest. My mom had a garden under the stairs. It’s overgrown in the last couple years.
Legion glanced down at the foliage below. “Druids call to the earth. They are one with nature. Plants flourish in their presence.” He hadn’t meant his words to come out so harshly. Everything he said to Mara came out as if he were reprimanding her. Was he always this unforgiving, or had the years of loneliness turned him into a complete bastard?
She looked down as she unlocked the discolored oak door to her loft and allowed him entry. She hung her light jacket on a hook by the door, before putting her purse down on the green counter. They stood in the kitchen. If one could call it that. One that consisted of a small counter beside a yellow stove with a matching refrigerator. The small wooden table and four chairs were so worn, Legion doubted he could sit on one without breaking it. While he was large in his human form, his dragon’s density made it mandatory to seek sturdier furniture. Even the floorboards creaked under his weight.
He followed her to the purple couches in the front room that matched those in the store downstairs. Her loft was only one large room with three smaller ones attached. “Is that your bedroom?” Her scent drifted from the lavender painted room.
She nodded. “Yes, the larger room is Natalie’s. The tiny one is the bathroom.”
He tried not to let his distaste for the apartment show on his face. The eclectic suite was neat and quaint, but it was small. Dragons hated confined spaces. Anything that prohibited them from taking their dragon form. If he shifted here, he would destroy the loft and the store beneath. He planned a polite retreat when he noticed a large painting in her bedroom. Legion strode toward it, attempting not to let his surprise show. He pointed to the artwork on the wall. The man was looking over a meadow. His back was bare, while his kilt billowed in the wind. A meadow from another era, but that wasn’t the most noticeable feature. The man’s exposed back had a black tattoo of dragon’s wings. His wings. “Where did you get this?”
Mara glanced at the painting. “It’s been in my family for generations. It’s an heirloom. Painted by my great grandmother... with several greats added on.”
He studied the painting in silence, remembering the first time he had seen it. “I thought they had destroyed it. Adara must have retrieved it before they destroyed the second temple.”
Mara studied the picture. “What are you talking about? Do you know who this man was?”
Legion pulled off his shirt, turning to allow Mara to see the tattoo on his back. The painting, a recreation of the day he received them. The day he became leader of his clan. A sweet memory before destiny ripped his world apart. “The druid who painted this was a friend of mine. She was Adara’s aunt and a powerful druid.” He motioned to the picture. “May I take it down? There is an inscription on the portrait.”
Her eyes sparkled with interest. “Please do.”
Legion held the painting by the simple wooden frame. He whispered low under his breath in a language long forgotten by humanity. The gold script shimmered before appearing. It was visible for a few seconds, then faded into obscurity. His forehead creased as the words echoed in his soul.
Mara ran her delicate fingers over the invisible scripture. “What did it say?”
“It was a warning.”
She looked up at him. “What kind of warning?”
“For me to vigilant. When I first saw this painting, I did not understand the significance of the scripture.”
Mara let her fingers slip from the painting. “To be vigilant against what?”
“The dark dragons. Anyone who would take you from me. You are the last seer. The only treasure that matters to me.”
Mara’s heart stuttered. The staccato a reminder his reward stood beside him. Alive. A
fraid. Beautiful. “I’m not a seer. I have had episodes, but I have never predicted the future.”
Legion’s eyes focused on her pink, perfect lips. The quiver in her voice was light and sexy. “You are a seer, Mara. You have not come into your power. When you do, there will be few creatures on earth who can oppose you.”
His dragon rumbled its displeasure as her fear tickled its nostrils. The need to kiss those perfect lips was an instinct he didn’t want to deny. He leaned toward her.
Mara was such a coward. Thinking about Legion’s body. His lips so close to hers made her body heat. She had run from him. She had not only run, but tripped on the corner of the coffee table when she did. Legion catching her before she fell, had dampened her arousal and reminded her of an emotion she was more familiar with. Her cheeks flamed, thinking about it.
She sat in the lobby of the Dark Art Gallery, glancing at her watch, hoping that Ross wouldn’t keep her waiting long. He had excused himself as soon as she had arrived and promised to return. That had been over an hour ago.
The office door creaked opened. She recognized Devlin Night from the many magazines he had graced. Those pictures had made him seem debonair. Attractive. Sexy. Faced with the reality, she felt none of the thrilling emotions she hoped for. “Hello, Miss Krane. It is lovely to meet you.” He extended his hand.
As soon as her hand touched his, ice traveled through her veins, making her shiver. She was careful not to let the reaction show on her face. Her lips turned up in a fake smile. “I had no idea I was meeting you today. This is quite an honor.”
Devlin nodded smugly. “I’m sure it is. I am quite taken with the samples you left with Ross, and would like the Dragon painting for a private collection. You need to come up with a fair price for your work. The gallery will take a percentage of all sales in the future.”
Mara blinked. Was he taking her on? Was he talking about future shows? “I will get an agent. She can work out all the details. I appreciate your interest, Mr. Night. I had no idea we were progressing to pricing for my artwork.”