This time, he was able to give a straightforward response. “I’ve always had an inborn desire for the guilty to be punished. Too often, the innocent are the recipients of evil’s wickedness. And my goal has been to offset this imbalance between the opposing forces of the good and the wicked. ”
Wasn’t that why he’d been exiled years ago along with his protectors? And wasn’t his life and world intertwined with an unknown destiny because of a madman?
“You’re being rather cryptic, aren’t you?” she teased, raising a brow.
“Well, you did ask why I became involved in law, right?” he said defensively, shrugging his shoulders. “Sorry if you don’t approve.”
“You couldn’t be more wrong,” Nicole replied, turning serious. “As a matter of fact, I agree with you. If everyone were law-abiding, there wouldn’t be murders, kidnappings, and drug smugglings among many other things.” She bit into the bruschetta after bringing it to her lips. “And I suppose becoming a private investigator sealed the deal for you.”
“Exactly. In 2001, I entered into a training program with the Paulding County sheriff’s department when they were looking for fresh, young recruits. Readily, I jumped in feet first,” he admitted. “Needless to say, I passed with flying colors and became a deputy.”
Of course, he couldn’t mention that by then, he’d managed to hone his ‘special talents’. After working tirelessly along Princeton for many years, he’d learned how to control his carnal rages and hungers.
And those were the cold, ugly truths that he’d spare her.
Clearing his throat, he continued. “After three years as a deputy, I became restless and dissatisfied. Then, at that point, I was determined to find something more challenging to get my adrenaline pumping.”
Bracing a hand against her cheek, she gave a breathless laugh. “I just can’t imagine you in one of those tight, brown uniforms with a Billy club strapped to your waistline.”
“Now, you’re making fun of me.”
“No, I’m not. Go on, tell me more.”
“After that humbling experience, I had more training, got licensed, and opened my P.I. office. For seven years, I operated in Paulding County. Then, I made a crucial decision to move here to broaden my scope on a much larger scale.”
Again, what he couldn’t mention, though, was his sudden, unexplainable urge to move to Atlanta. It was like some invisible force had been prompting him, telling him what moves to make, leading him here---straight to her.
“You have accomplished a lot. More so than someone my age,” she reflected, her eyes gleaming with interest. “And you don’t seem to be that old.”
Not if you considered a century old, he thought bitterly, knowing that the distance would widen between them further in more ways than one.
But, still her beautiful face was filled with vivid wonder. And he could sense that she wanted to learn more---much more.
For a second, he contemplated reading her thoughts.
Without any real effort, he could read them easily.
But, the last thing he wanted to do was invade her privacy.
Apart from the time when she had visited the psychic or when the vamp walked her dreams, he’d forced a mental shield that hindered him from reading her thoughts.
Eyeing her closely, he tipped the glass to his lips. Once again, he had to force the ugly bitter truth down his throat. Finally, he lied, “If you don’t consider thirty-two old, I suppose that I still have some mileage left in this life of mine.”
How about an eternity? That is, unless he couldn’t come up with a feasible plan other than Princeton’s. If that were the case, then he was ‘toast’ as they say.
Once again, he was spared as the maitre d’ careened around the corner with his hands fully laden. Within seconds, he arrived at their table with steaming plates.
“Spaghetti alla puttanisca, smothered in a delicate, rich salsa that consists of olives, garlic, diced onions, anchovies, capera, and tomatoes, all sautéed in olive oil. I hope that you enjoy it,” the man said as he placed the plate before Nicole.
“And for you, sir, I have Tagliatelle served with tomato sauce topped with beef and bricoile e noci, which is simply a nice heaping of savory breadcrumbs and nuts. I hope that you enjoy your meal as well.”
As the man put the plate before him, his mouth watered. The surprise filled him. He’d never imagine the day would come where he’d actually enjoy human food.
At Princeton’s insistence, he’d learned how to eat and digest human food. That way, the protector had argued, his enemies wouldn’t be able detect him easily. It’d taken long, painstaking years before he’d been able to accomplish it. But, he’d done it. And he actually enjoyed it.
As they dined, their conversation drifted to more mundane topics. Several long moments later, the maître d' returned with dessert. Only this time his tray was laden with two servings of Gelato, a rich blend of ice cream and sorbet, topped with a fresh waffle biscuit.
An hour later, content, she tossed the napkin on the table. “I’m stuffed. No more.”
“So am I. But, right now, I think it’s more of the food eating you,” he agreed, noticing the smidge of ice cream at her lip. “You have some cream on your face.”
Without thinking, he leaned forward to dab it away with his napkin. Her eyes widened as the soft linen touched her skin, and he sensed her nervousness at his gesture. But, wasn’t he also holding his own breath as he stroked it across her flesh. Somehow, he wrestled the words out. “There you, go. All clean.”
“Thank you,” she whispered.
“Don’t mention it. Make sure that you add that to your tally. You owe me another one, sweetheart.”
“Who’s counting now?” she asked in return.
The maître d' returned and quickly removed the dirty dinnerware. “More wine sir, for you and your lady?”
“No, no, no. I really must be going,” Nicole interrupted.
“No thank you. Just give me the tab, please.”
Balancing the huge tray, the man scurried away.
As she began rummaging inside her small beaded purse, he raised a brow. Then, folding his arms along his chest, he eyed her across the table. “Are you trying to insult me now? Put that away,” he said. “This dinner is on me. While it may seem improbable, I do have some gentlemanly attributes.”
She had the good grace to color at his words. “I’m sorry, Xander. Believe me. I wasn’t trying to insult you. It’s just that I’m used to taking care of myself and doing things on my---”
“Own,” he finished for her. “Nicole, sometimes you just have to let someone in.”
He didn’t know who his words surprised most, him or her.
And why did he want that someone to be him?
He accepted his credit card and receipt from the maitre d’ once he returned, scribbled his signature on the check before passing it to the waiter. Then, he stood. “Ready?”
She nodded. “Yes.”
Quickly, he moved behind her before pulling out her chair.
“Thank you,” she said before turning away.
After placing a sizeable tip onto the table, he turned towards her. She smiled shyly before grasping his offered arm. In silence, they ventured towards the exit and soon were on their way.
They spent the ride home in comfortable silence as he weaved the sports car through the heavy traffic. Within a half-hour, they cruised to a halt at the apartment’s back parking lot.
“Hang on a second,” he instructed before getting out and moving to her side. Her hand fit into his easily as he assisted her from the car.
“The air has a bite to it, tonight, doesn’t it?” she said quietly, shivering as the cold wind breezed through. “I don’t remember it ever being this cold before.”
“Come here.”
Before she could protest, he removed his jacket and draped it along her shoulders. Immediately, his warm, masculine scent swathed her senses. “Xander, you don’t have to---”
> “I know that I don’t have to. But, I want to,” he insisted, pulling her closer while adjusting the jacket around her. “Don’t give me a hard time. And if you’re not careful, you’re going to hurt my feelings.”
“And I would never want to do that,” she smiled, enjoying the warmth of his body as he stood close. The cold air brushed against her again as he stepped away, and she longed for his closeness instantly.
Grabbing her hand, he pulled her along. “Come on. I don’t want you to get chilled.”
The warmth enveloped them as they entered through the side door. Within moments, they’d reached the elevator and ascended to the fourth floor.
Seconds later, they were standing before her apartment door.
Shrugging off the jacket, she passed it to him, and once more shyness won over. “Thanks again.”
He grabbed the jacket. “You’re more than welcome.”
After facing the door, she opened the small purse.
The butterflies flitted in her stomach.
Would he kiss her?
To her shame, her hands trembled as she searched for the key.
Suddenly, he grasped her hand and she stopped breathing. “Here, let me,” he insisted.
Nodding, averting her face, she released the purse. Then, she heard the keys jingling as he fished them out and unlocked the door.
With a soft click, it opened.
She turned towards him expectantly, not knowing what she even wanted herself.
He nudged her gently before sweeping past. “I want to check the place out and make sure that it’s safe, especially since Macy’s not here.”
She shut the door. “Good idea.”
She ambled towards the sofa before tossing the purse and her wrap onto it. And she could hear him bustling about as he moved from room to room. Slowly, she sank down onto the sofa. Grabbing the huge plush pillow, she hugged it close to her body.
How could she protect herself from these feelings that were brewing within her? The man made her want to throw caution to the wind and jump feet first into uncharted territory. And that had never happened before.
She’d always been rational, logical, straight-laced…
But, with him, she felt different.
With him, she felt real…
She was alive, not just breathing…
All of those feelings----she wanted to embrace them freely.
With no guilt…no reservations…no rationale…
She started when he shut the door leading to the balcony. Taking a shaky breath, she stood. “Is everything okay?”
“All’s clear,” he muttered, coming to stand before her. “Everything’s locked up air tight.”
But, nothing inside of her was intact, she surmised, allowing the searing feelings to sweep through her. In fact, everything inside of her was scattered into a million pieces because of the fact that he stood so close.
Finally, wasn’t it time to admit what she really wanted?
“Xander,” she said softly, grasping his hand in hers. “Wait…please.”
Before her badly riddled nerves could dissuade her, she made a fateful step forward. Dear heavens, if she thought that the heat consumed her enough already, she was dead wrong. For now, they stood so close that their bodies nearly touched, and the atmosphere was charged with sensual tension.
His raspy breaths met her unsteady ones, and she shivered as he whispered her name. “Nicole.”
He closed both hands along her waist, bringing them dangerously closer. It was hardness against softness…a raging storm of new awareness…
Their breaths hitched as they edged closer, and his hard body tensed against hers. Reaching out, she traced the stubble along his taut jaw line. “Xander, I---I---”
He caught her wayward hand in his, and then, he destroyed her inhibitions further as he pressed a soft kiss against her palm. His breath seared her flesh as he breathed a single word against it. “What?”
“I---I just,” she said, breathless. “…want to thank you for a lovely evening.”
“I enjoyed our time together as well,” he murmured, and then brushed another gentle kiss along the back of her hand. Then, to her disappointment, he released her, and a new tension radiated from his body. “But, I really have to be going.” Then, he paused. “Maybe we can go out to dinner another time.”
She smiled shyly. “I would like that.”
“So would I,” he murmured, and she heard the smile in his voice. “I’ll see myself out. Goodnight.”
“Goodnight.”
She didn’t follow as he crossed the room.
A moment later, she was alone.
No longer able to restrain herself, she squealed in childish delight.
Had she finally found her own prince?
Chapter 9
A few moments later, he was marveling in his own private heaven as he entered his apartment. As he paused in the foyer, his lips curled in a smile.
Had there ever been a woman more captivating?
Well, that answer was simple, he mulled, shoving away from the door.
There wasn’t a woman more beautiful or enchanting than her. Nor would there ever be…
He bypassed the light switch, leaving the apartment shrouded in darkness, and crossed the room. He paused alongside the table before tossing the keys on it.
The smile left his face.
He wanted her.
More than he had anything.
And he’d be lying to himself if he didn’t admit that she was feeling the same undercurrents of desire.
Even now, he was weak-kneed from her innocent gesture.
And it had taken all of his restraint to not give in.
As her fingers had trailed along his skin, he’d nearly come apart. The hot raging need had ignited inside of him, and his instant thought had been claiming her. The fact that she’d wanted him too had only intensified things.
But, they couldn’t act on their feelings.
Doing so would only mean their destruction.
He tossed the jacket onto the leather wingback chair. Grabbing the audio remote from the glass-topped coffee table, he turned on the stereo system. As the popular rap tune flooded the open space, he ventured towards the kitchen.
The white light flooded across his face as he opened the refrigerator. He quickly grabbed the bottled water, and as he raised it to his lips, he tensed.
He wasn’t alone.
Now, things were really about to get really interesting.
“How many fucking times have I asked you not to sneak up on me like that?” he cursed. “Damn it, Princeton. If you’re not careful, I’m going to mistake you as an intruder, and my gut reaction will be to take you out.”
“What kind of poison you’re listening to?” his protector asked smoothly, stepping from the dark shadows, and then leaned against the kitchen counter. “Has this place corrupted you so much that your choices are tasteless?”
“Don’t insult me or my taste in music,” he retorted, and then quickly downed the water. Then, crinkling the water bottle, he hurled it into the waste basket. “Besides, it’s not Earth that’s corrupted, but rather the vile creatures that run amok within it.”
“Is that so? And such a passionate reaction that you’re giving,” Princeton frowned and assessed him closely. “I’m beginning to think that this foreign world means more to you than it should.”
“But, a part of me does belong here!” he raged, returning the protector’s burning stare with one of his own. “And it’s obviously the very part that you want me to ignore.”
“Have you convinced yourself that you do?” Princeton asked, shaking his head in disapproval. The protector’s white teeth gleamed like fine porcelain as he gave a cold smile. “If you believe so, then I’ve failed you in more ways than one. You are the dragon prince of Vale! Fire roars through your veins like the raging rivers. Your gaze is so sharp that it could pierce a man to shreds. And not only that, not many can boast of having ancestral ties of both
vampire and dragon. Xander, you are one of a kind---”
“Just save your rhetoric, Princeton,” he said sharply, combing a hand through his hair, and his frustration mounted. “I don’t need to be reminded of those facts!”
Suddenly, Nicole flitted through his mind again.
Why couldn’t things be different?
And why couldn’t he?
Princeton spoke again. “And yes, you are partly human. Sadly, fickleness and absurdity is deeply embedded within the human heart. That’s its nature. It convinces you of nothing, but imprudence. You don’t belong here, dragon prince, and you never will.”
At the protector’s words, he pushed away from the counter angrily before striding towards the balcony. The brisk cold air blasted against him as he ventured outside, but still, his body didn’t absorb the cold stinginess of the night.
He glanced upward.
In the overcast sky, the stars winked against the backdrop. Usually, he was soothed by the myriad of sparkling, bright lights as which lay amidst the dark heavens. But, tonight, they failed to appease his dark mood.
Thanks to Princeton, reality was stabbing him in the back like a sharp, jagged knife!
He clenched his fists into tight balls.
He wanted to yell, scream out, and hurtle words of insult words of insult. But, to whom or what he did not know.
And his anger, he mulled, breathing harshly, wasn’t it totally unwarranted? For hadn’t he always known his purpose?
“Your anger is useless and holds no merit,” the protector said, and empathy played in his tone. “Accept your reality and fate, young prince. Nothing in the world will ever change them.”
“Thanks for the words of encouragement, man,” he quipped sarcastically. “How very thoughtful of you---I don’t know what I’d do without them.”
“By now, you should know that my words of wisdom and logic never end, my good friend,” Princeton went on. “Like many Vamdragans, you, too, have been seduced by this world.”
As he studied Princeton closely, the surprise lit his features. The protector really sounded sympathetic to his plight. Until now, the protector never revealed any inner emotions. Yet, finally, he was showing shades of them.
Dragon Reign: A Paranormal Love Tale Page 22