by Vella Day
The text message had been a total ruse to distance himself from Chelsea. He had to do it. Everything about her excited him. As much as he tried, he hadn’t wanted to drown in those eyes that were bluer than the clearest lake, but he couldn’t stop himself.
Fuck. Now what was he supposed to do? He could only hope that by working until he dropped, Chelsea’s allure would dissipate. There had to be some explanation for the attraction—only he couldn’t for the life of him figure it out.
The cool night air and star-filled sky might have helped clear his head, but it had done nothing to rid his body of the intense desire swimming through his veins. Everyone always commented that Declan Sinclair was the epitome of control, and that his easy-going manner conveyed confidence. If anyone saw him now that image would have been shattered.
Once at the mine, he headed inside. Thankfully, no one was there. Declan had thought his cousin Birk would be at his desk, but even he seemed to have finished his work and was now probably out enjoying himself with Lily, the love of his life.
Declan scooted his chair up to his desk and pretended it was a usual Saturday night. He pushed aside all thoughts of what everyone else might be doing and studied this month’s revenue.
A half hour later, he found himself staring at the same page. This sucked. Maybe he should embrace his feelings and go out with Chelsea in order to purge her from his system. Most likely, this rush of hormones was his body’s way of coming to life again after Bess’ death. Hell, he’d been in mourning all these years, and Chelsea had lit the ember in his gut.
He wasn’t sure how long she’d be here, but he’d give her a few days and then conveniently bump into her. Happy with his newfound solution, he refocused on the books.
By day three, Chelsea was beside herself. She had hoped she’d bump into Declan or at the very least, he would have asked her brother for her phone number but no such luck. Finn had purchased a new cell for her so she’d be connected, but perhaps Declan didn’t think she’d have one.
Clearly, she was the only one who had been affected by the sexual attraction. Damn. One-way affairs were the worst kind of emotional rollercoaster. However, she wasn’t giving up.
Finn had given her keys to his car since he preferred to fly everywhere. For the last two mornings, she’d woken up long after both Kaleena and Finn had left for work. After eating, Chelsea headed out to go for a run at the place Finn had first taken her to. Chelsea was the first to admit that exploring Tarradon while in her wolf form had been fantastic and exhilarating.
She would return around lunchtime, chow down last night’s leftovers, and then wait for either Kaleena or Finn to return home. Not being able to communicate with anyone on Earth was the biggest downer, but it was a small price to pay for being able to experience this amazing world. Now however, it was time to make some changes.
Chelsea wanted to stay here—at least until she had her fill of Declan Sinclair. After that, Earth might hold more appeal. To do that however, she needed money, which meant a job. As wonderful as this condo was, hearing her brother and his mate go at it every night for hours just wasn’t her thing. A new place to live was also needed. The question that plagued her was would someone from Tarradon hire a person from Earth?
To her delight, Finn came home just as she finished lunch. He said he normally did some Guardian stuff in the morning—or goofed off if they didn’t need him—and then tended bar four nights a week. That meant he was often free for lunch.
“You look excited about something,” he said. “Want to share?”
Finn always could sense her every mood. “I’ve decided I want to give living on Tarradon a try.”
His eyes widened. “Oh, really? Even though Declan is not your mate?”
She tried not to let his words sting. “Yes.”
Chelsea certainly wasn’t about to tell him that just because they weren’t mates didn’t mean they couldn’t indulge in some hot and heavy kissing, touching, and sheet-twisting sex. Once she became tired of Declan—or Declan of her—she’d consider moving back.
“I thought you said you came here to be with him.”
Kaleena had a big mouth. “I never said those words. And even if I did, now that I know Declan had a mate, I plan to just enjoy myself here.”
Finn grinned. “Liar. Even after you learned about Declan’s mate, you were completely enamored with him at the party.”
He was making that up. “Was not.”
Her twin laughed. “It doesn’t matter. You’re here, and that makes me happy—Mom and Dad though, probably not so much.”
She slumped. “I do miss them, but I was stuck in a rut back on Earth. Without a job, I felt lost. I’m hoping that being here will give me a new perspective on things.”
“What can I do to help?” he asked.
“Do you know of any animal shelters or vets that might be hiring?” They had been to one shelter, but they had a full staff.
“No, but let me ask around. I think Griffin mentioned something about some shelter that recently opened.” He pulled out his cell and called Kaleena’s cousin. “Hey, Chelsea is planning on staying in Tarradon for a while and is looking for a job as a vet tech or anything to do with animals. Do you know of someone who might be hiring? Uh-huh.” He paced while he listened. “Okay, we’ll give them a try.” He disconnected and faced her. “There is a vet’s office on the edge of town that has been looking for someone. Want to check it out?”
“Now?”
“Why not?”
That was too good to be true. “Absolutely. Are we flying or driving?”
Finn chuckled. “Driving. I need the GPS. Besides, landing anywhere close to the city is tricky. Not every place has a rooftop door that leads to a stairwell.”
That worked for her. They headed to the parking garage, and she showed him where she’d last parked. Because Finn was used to driving around Edendale, she slipped in the passenger side. He exited the garage and headed east.
“Did you have to save anyone today?” she asked, wanting to take her mind off Declan.
He chuckled. “No. A lot of the Guardian work involves legwork and searching on the Internet. Crime is about the same here as on Earth, though the Tarradons seem to be a bit better at hiding their illegal activities.” He looked over at her. “You aren’t going to ask if I saw Declan today?”
She’d asked the last two days. “Nope. I’m over him.”
“Uh-huh.”
She didn’t know why she bothered to lie. Chelsea never could keep anything from him.
It didn’t take long before they arrived at the veterinarian’s office. It was a lot smaller operation than the one she worked at in Silver Lake, and her hopes plummeted. Most vets worked on a shoestring budget, but if Griffin said he heard there was an opening, she wanted to ask.
Once inside, the woman tending the desk looked up and smiled. She was so beautiful that Chelsea was surprised she wasn’t doing modeling work. Her nametag read Sabrina, and she looked as exotic as her name. She had long black hair down to the middle of her back and the prettiest ice blue eyes.
“Hello, can I help you?”
“I’m a vet tech who’s looking for a job. I heard you were hiring.” Chelsea explained about her educational background and experience.
“I’m really sorry. We just filled the spot yesterday.” The woman looked genuinely disappointed.
Chelsea looked over at Finn, but he didn’t seem all that concerned. “Thanks anyway.”
“What about an animal shelter?” Sabrina said as Chelsea turned to leave.
She spun back around. “Do you know of one who is hiring?”
“I do.” Sabrina gave them the directions. “Tell Stick I sent you. He’s my brother.”
Stick? Chelsea wondered how he had earned that nickname. “I will, thank you.”
Once they left, Finn wrapped an arm around Chelsea’s shoulder. “If this animal shelter doesn’t pan out, I imagine the Sinclair office could use you.”
She
shook her head. Chelsea couldn’t imagine working in close proximity to Declan. That would drive her crazy. Most likely she’d become so distracted that they’d fire her.
This animal shelter was in the opposite direction of the first one and quite far out of town, but as soon as she saw the space for the animals to run, she had a good feeling about it.
A tall, thin man was outside feeding the animals. While they were in pens, the animals looked well fed. The man emptied his bowl, wiped his hands down his pants, and came over to them.
“Welcome. Looking for a pet to adopt?”
As much as she wanted a dog, she needed to establish herself here first. “Actually, I’m looking for a job.” She explained how Sabrina had recommended this place.
“I could use some help, but I can’t pay you too much.”
Chelsea glanced over at Finn. “How much isn’t too much?” Finn asked, acting like the protective brother.
“Three hundred Denlars a week.”
She wondered what that would be in US dollars. When Finn nodded though, she guessed it was fair. “May I look around first?”
“Sure.” He held out his hand. “I don’t know where my manners are. I’m Seth Parnell, but everyone calls me Stick.” He swiped a hand up and down his thin body to indicate why the nickname fit.
She shook his hand. “Chelsea McKinnon.”
“We just got in two tramors. Maybe you’d like to see them.”
“What are tramors?”
His brows rose. “Are you from Earth or something?”
He made it sound like a bad thing. “Yes.”
Seth nodded. “They’re a cross between a wolf and a sintor.”
She didn’t dare ask what a sintor was. Seth led her to a cage where two mangy animals resided. Both were pacing. As soon as they spotted Seth, they bared their teeth and growled. Okay, that wasn’t good.
Chelsea knelt down in front of the cage to study them, and they both calmed. The brown and white spotted one eased toward her, raised his nose in the air, and sniffed. When his tongue lolled out, she smiled and then glanced up at Seth. “He seems sweet enough. May I feed him?”
“Be my guest, but if he attacks, I’m not responsible. I’ll get them their food.”
As soon as Seth, or rather Stick, left Finn stepped up next to her. “Are you sure you should be near those animals? I’ve never seen anything like them before. They look mistreated.”
“That’s why they’re here. Don’t worry. My charm, or should I say my magical talent, is being able to handle animals.”
“Maybe that means you are Wendayan, too. Have you ever had blue sparks shoot off your body when you’re…um…sexually excited?”
Where had that comment come from? Her face heated. “No, though I always did wonder about my abilities.”
“I inherited great grandmother’s ability to dream-walk with Kaleena. Maybe your ability with animals was inherited from her too.”
She’d never thought about that. “Could be. If I ever start to glow, I’ll let you know.”
“There’s nothing like seeing sparks jump off your body.”
“I won’t be seeing them any time soon. I thought they were reserved for when I was with my mate.”
“They only showed up on me when I met Kaleena, so maybe that’s true.”
Before she could comment, Stick returned and handed her a bowl full of food and then unlocked their cage. “Have at them.”
Wanting to show him she was good with animals, she bent over and stepped into the cage, knelt down, and placed the food in front of them. Both tramors dove for their meal. Poor things. She hovered her hand over the brown and white spotted one’s head and then petted him. The animal seemed to purr.
“I’ll be damned,” Stick said.
Chelsea inwardly smiled. She stroked the second one’s back. When they finished devouring the food, they dropped down onto their haunches, seemingly content.
She grabbed the bowl and backed away from them toward the cage door. Once outside she stood.
“Are you interested in the job?” Seth asked.
“Yes!”
“Great. Can you start tomorrow?”
This was too good to be true. “I sure can.”
Now all she had to worry about was whether Finn could lend her his car until she could afford to buy one.
Chapter Four
When Declan breezed into the office the next morning, Finn glanced up from his desk. “Hey.”
No one other than Finn had arrived. Good. Declan wasn’t in the mood to be cordial. For every hour that had passed since Chelsea’s welcome party, Declan’s mood had grown darker.
“Something wrong?” Finn asked, nodding to Declan’s face.
Without thinking Declan dragged a hand down his jaw. Shit. He’d been so preoccupied this morning, he hadn’t shaved. “I was in a rush.”
“Uh, huh.” A twinkle sparkled in his eye.
Did Finn know something? Not wanting to deal with him now, Declan headed over to the coffee machine at the back of the room and poured himself a cup. When he returned to his desk, Finn was still staring at him. “I said I was in a rush. There’s no crime in that, is there?” Declan asked, not pleased with his gruff response.
“Whoa. Stand down. All I’m saying is that you seem distracted.” Finn leaned back in his chair, legs outstretched, with a cat-ate-the-bird look. “You know, ever since Ophelia begged you to return to Earth to help heal Ronan, you’ve been…withdrawn.” Finn sobered. “Is there anything I can do to help?”
Declan waved a hand. “No. I’ve just been worried about all the fires on the other side of the province.” That was lame. Sure, he was concerned, but no lives had been lost. Yet.
“The fires have you worried? I know there have been a rash of them, and several farmers have lost their crops, but I don’t see how that is the responsibility of the Guardians, or am I missing something here?”
“Those setting the fires need to be stopped.”
Finn’s brow rose. “I agree, and I’m happy to help. If you want, I can talk to Josh Gerrard to see if there is something we can do.”
If only the arson investigator could solve his problems. “Not yet. If the farmers find out whoever’s responsible, and then decide to take things into their own hands, violence could erupt. That’s when we’ll intervene.”
“Is that the only thing that has you upset?”
“Who says I’m upset?”
Finn barked out a laugh. “Really?”
Clearly Chelsea’s twin wasn’t going to let it go. Hell, even though Declan had confided in Birk, Finn might be able to give him the inside scoop. “Fine. It’s your sister.”
Finn sat up straighter, all cheer evaporating from his face. “Did she call you or something?”
He wished she had. It might have calmed his libido. Leaving only a few minutes after seeing her at the party had been stupid and quite shortsighted. How did he think he could analyze his feelings in such a short period of time? “That wouldn’t have been a problem, though she would have no reason to contact me.”
Finn shrugged. “Then what is the issue?”
Declan picked up his coffee cup and blew the steam off the top. “You never met Bess, my mate.”
“No, but Kaleena has told me a few details about her. What does this have to do with my sister?”
From the one raised brow, he knew what the problem was. “Everything.”
“Spill.”
Declan’s hand was actually shaking. Providing Finn with details might help. “About six years ago, I was in Colorado brushing up on some mining techniques at the university there when I met Bess Lambert, a human.” Declan shook his head. “She was so sweet and innocent, but I knew right then and there that she was my mate.”
“I know what you mean. Did she feel the pull too?” Finn leaned forward, his elbows on the desk.
“She was attracted to me but not like I was to her.”
“That makes sense since she was a human. Eventua
lly, you told her about being a shifter—a dragon shifter, no less, right?”
Declan nodded. “Yes, and you can imagine my surprise when she said she was okay with it. I tried to impress upon her that being told I was a dragon and actually seeing me as one were two different things.” He could still remember the look on her face the first time he shifted. He’d feared she’d shriek, but she actually had jumped with joy.
“Then what happened?”
“Then we did the dating thing for a while. When it came time for me to return to Tarradon, I asked her to come with me.”
“Obviously she agreed but wasn’t she afraid? I mean learning about shifters had to be a big step for her—as was leaving her life behind.”
“You would have thought so. To my delight, she wanted to go, and even said she didn’t care what I was. I won’t go into detail, but she’d had a stalker in Colorado and feared for her life.”
“She was running away?”
“Kind of, but that wasn’t what prompted her to say yes—at least I don’t want to believe it had been. We loved each other. If I thought Bess was using me as an escape, I wouldn’t have taken her with me. Just so you don’t think I’m a cad, we didn’t mate until several months after we arrived here. I wanted her to understand our culture first.”
“Which apparently she did.”
Declan nodded. “Good ole Bess. I still can’t believe how excited she was when she saw me in my dragon form. She actually wanted to parade me in front of her friends back on Earth—in my animal form, of course.”
Finn laughed. “Yeah, that wouldn’t have gone over well.”
“No.”
“Then what happened, if you don’t mind me asking?”
Declan’s family knew most of the story. He was surprised Kaleena hadn’t filled him in. “After Bess and I mated, she embraced her dragon side.”
“If Bess hadn’t been your fated mate, she wouldn’t have been able to become a dragon, right?”
“Right.”
Finn waved a hand. “Go on.”