Dragon Claimed

by Donna Grant

  “Makes sense. Thank you,” he said when she handed him the tea. He took a drink and smiled to let her know he liked it.

  Gemma took a deep breath and met his gaze. “Are you hurt? Is that why you’ve come?”

  Cináed should have expected her to ask that. He gave a shake of his head and walked to the counter where he set the cup down. “I came to let you know that I’m perfectly fine.”

  “I backed into you hard enough to knock you on the ground,” she said. “I also saw your ripped shirt, and I was sure I saw blood.”

  “I doona have a scratch on me. I assure you. I knew you’d be worried. That’s why I came.”

  She studied him a moment, her gaze narrowing as her lips twisted. “You’re a Dreagan.”

  He shrugged. None of the Kings had last names, so when one was needed, they used Dreagan. “So?”

  “Well...I don’t know. I guess I thought you might seek compensation or something.”

  “Gemma, I was as much as fault as you were. I didna get out of the way. If anything, you could sue me.”

  Her eyes grew large as she took a step back. “I would never.”

  “Please believe me that I’m no’ at all harmed from yesterday.”

  She nodded reluctantly. “Thank you for that.”

  He saw the dog bed before her desk and glanced around for the animal.

  “Buster died a few months ago,” she explained. “I’ll get another dog soon, but I’m not quite ready.”

  “We have a few dogs at Dreagan. Two herders for the sheep and cattle, but we also have a Great Dane.”

  Her lips curved into a heart-stopping smile. “Really? I love Great Danes. Actually, I love all animals.”

  “You’re welcome to come see Duke and the others.”

  “I-”

  “It’s the least you could do after running into me,” he said before she could refuse.

  She cut him a look. “Oh, I see what you’re doing.”

  “You love animals. We have three dogs, several cats, and too many sheep and cattle to even count. Why no’ come see it all?”

  “Why?” she asked warily.

  Cináed shrugged. “Maybe I like you.”

  “People don’t usually like me.”

  “They doona see you.”

  She tilted her head to the side, her ginger hair falling over her shoulder. “And you do?”

  “I do.”

  “And what do you see?” she asked in a soft voice.

  Cináed took a breath and released it. “I see someone who shies away from the world. I see a woman who has a beautiful smile and a big heart. I also see someone who has suffered. It’s in your eyes. Some might believe it’s a mask of indifference, but you just want to hide your pain.”

  She was silent for a full minute. Then she said, “How do you know this?”

  “I recognize it because I too have much pain to hide.”

  Gemma looked away.

  Cináed knew he’d gone too far. He hadn’t meant to say all of that, but it had been out of his mouth before he could stop it. There was so much he wanted to tell her, but now wasn’t the time. He wasn’t sure there was a time for it.

  And there was a chance that she wouldn’t react well to what he had discovered.

  “You know, don’t you?” Her gaze slid back to him. “You know about my past. You know who I am.”

  “Aye.” He wasn’t going to lie to her. That was the last thing she needed.

  She shook her head, rolling her eyes. “Of course. You looked into me after yesterday. I should have known you’d do that.”

  When she turned and began gathering files, Cináed quickly walked to her. “What are you doing?”

  “It’s time for me to leave.”

  He put his hand atop hers, stilling her instantly. He waited until her gaze lifted to his. “I doona want to exploit you in any way. If you want to know, I’ll tell you how I discovered you.”

  Cináed paused, wondering how far he should go. Then he realized it was all or nothing. This might be his only chance with her. “And if you want, I’ll tell you what I found when I did a search for your family.”

  “What?” She jerked her hand from his, glaring at him as if he was the devil himself. “You’re actually going to use that? You want to play on my emotions.”

  “No,” he assured her. “I want to help.”

  Gemma snorted loudly. “You think I haven’t used everything at my disposal? It’s what I do for a bloody living!”

  Damn. This wasn’t going at all as he’d hoped. Cináed took a step back so she wouldn’t feel as if he were crowding her. “I’ve no doubt you’ve done a thorough job. However, there are... things...I’m able to get done.”

  “Because of your money,” she said with a sneer.

  “Something like that.”

  Cináed had messed up, and badly. Merrill had suggested that Cináed get close to Gemma and then tell her what he knew. But he hadn’t wanted to do that. That seemed like trickery, and he wanted honesty. She deserved that.

  Or at least as much honesty as he could give her.

  He reached into his pants pocket and drew out the locket. “My friend, Merrill, and I went diving off the isle near the dock. It took some time, but we found this.” Cináed set the jewelry on the desk. “I believe that belonged to your mother.”

  Gemma never took her eyes from his face.

  “If you want my help, you have it,” Cináed told her. “Come to Dreagan and ask for me any time. But please doona leave the village on my account. You will never see me again, and no one from Dreagan will bother you. You have my word.”

  He thought she might say something, but she remained silent. Defeated, he turned on his heel and walked to the door. When he reached it, he paused and looked over his shoulder for one more glimpse of her. Then he walked out.

  As he made his way to the Range Rover, Cináed wondered if she would stay. Even if she didn’t, he wasn’t going to stop looking into what happened to her family. It wasn’t an accident, of that he was sure.

  The little time he and Merrill had spent on the isle proved that. Actually, it was what wasn’t in the water that raised their suspicions. There was plenty of debris from boats, but all was much older than what they were looking for.

  They widened their search, picking up anything that resembled wood or parts of a boat, but nothing matched the one that belonged to the Atherton family.

  It was Merrill who found the necklace. Once it was cleaned they saw the initials on the back. They matched those of Laura Atherton’s. Ryder was then able to find a photo of the mother wearing the locket.

  There was a chance that the necklace had been lost before that night, but there was also a good chance that it had fallen into the water the night they disappeared. Cináed hoped Gemma might be able to tell him.

  He really wished he knew why finding out the truth to her story was so important. All he knew was that it occupied his thoughts and drove him to keep searching, keep looking for answers. For her.

  For himself.

  He drove back to Dreagan wondering how he could rectify what he’d so badly ruined. His search into Gemma proved that she moved constantly. It was his visit today that would have her leaving sooner than she’d planned.

  When he returned to the manor, Merrill was waiting for him.

  “Well?” his friend asked when Cináed climbed out of the SUV.

  He shook his head. “It didna go well.”

  “Just as I knew it wouldna. What are you going to do?”

  “Keep looking into that night. The answers are there. I feel it.”

  Merrill shrugged nonchalantly. “Then we go back. We keep looking. What are you going to do if we do find answers?”

  “I’m going to give them to Gemma.”

  “Yourself?”

  Cináed shot him a dry look. “She doesna want to have anything to do with me now. I’ll send her whatever we find.” He wrinkled his face. “I really thought being upfront and honest was the
way to go.”

  “She’s too closed off,” Merrill pointed out. “You noticed that from the beginning. Those like that doona welcome anything that disrupts their world, and you did just that. She’s been on her own for so long. I’m no’ sure if it’s that she doesna trust people or that she just doesna know how.”

  Cináed ran a hand down his face. “It doesna matter now, I suppose.”

  “You wanted to get to know her.”

  Cináed had the denial on his lips, but he didn’t say it. Instead he looked into Merrill’s blue eyes. “Aye. I really did. There was something about her.”

  “Then doona let her go.”

  “She’s no’ someone who can be held,” Cináed said, though he really wished it were otherwise.

  Chapter Six

  He’d looked into her family. Gemma shouldn’t be surprised, and yet she was. She was flabbergasted actually. After all the precautions that she’d taken through the years, somehow Cináed had discovered who she was.

  That’s what rattled her the most. She wanted to know how.

  “No, dammit,” she said to herself. “I don’t.”

  But she knew it for the lie that it was.

  Her gaze moved to the locket on the table. Emotion welled up inside her, choking her. Tears rolled down her face as she was transported back to that night years earlier.

  “Hurry, Gemma,” her mother said over the storm.

  Gemma yanked back on her mother’s arm. “I don’t want to leave my stuff.”

  “It’s just toys. We can buy you new things.”

  “I like my dolls.”

  “Laura!” her dad yelled from downstairs.

  Her mother knelt before her and pulled the locket from underneath her shirt. “Come with me right now and I’ll let you wear this.”

  For as long as Gemma could remember she’d wanted to wear the locket. The fact her mother never took it off only made her want it even more.

  “Really?” she asked hesitantly, wondering if she could really get that lucky.

  Her mother smiled brightly. “It’ll be yours from now on. But you have to come with me now.”

  Gemma immediately took her hand. They rushed down the stairs, her toys and dolls forgotten. It wasn’t until they were at the boat that she called out to her brother.

  Kyle stuck his red head out of the hull. The hood of his rain jacket did little to keep his hair dry. “What?”

  “You have Daisy, aye?”

  There was a pause as Kyle looked to their father. Gemma felt her mother’s hands grab her, getting ready to lift her over the side of the boat. That’s when Gemma knew the dog wasn’t with them.

  Then she heard Daisy’s bark.

  She jerked out of her mother’s arms. “I’m not leaving Daisy!”

  “Gemma, we have to leave. Now!” her father bellowed.

  She always listened to her parents, but she had to bring Daisy. Gemma hastily took several steps back while her mother reached around to the back of her neck.

  “Look, Gemma,” her mother said as she held out the locket. “It’s yours now. Come and get it.”

  Gemma wanted it badly, and she was going to have it. Just as soon as she got her dog. She spun on her heel and raced back to the house for Daisy. The last thing she heard was her brother screaming her name.

  She gasped, her eyes squeezed closed as the memory faded. Gemma’s knees gave out and she collapsed onto the floor. A bellow of regret, grief, and sorrow filled the tiny cottage. She curled inward, her forehead against the floor as she cried.

  The past could be a cruel bitch, bringing into focus minute details that she had forgotten before. The mention of the locket would have been enough to knock her on her arse, but actually seeing it? That had been like a sucker punch to her stomach.

  She rolled onto her side and kept her legs tucked against her. Dried tears stained her face. She sniffed, wishing she had a tissue and decided to use the sleeve of her shirt.

  Her mind wandered in various directions, but it all came back to the locket—and the fact that Cináed had found it. He’d offered to give her answers.

  What made him think he could find things that she had spent most of her life looking for? She was good at her job. She hired people who were good at their jobs. Yet neither she nor anyone else had found the locket. Had Cináed just gotten that lucky?

  Or was he that good?

  Perhaps it was time she found out. Why let her pride get in the way of gaining the answers she longed for? Because that’s exactly what it was. Her bloody pride.

  Gemma pushed herself into a sitting position with her hand and wiped her face. She forgot about the work she was supposed to be doing as she rose to her feet and found some shoes. After grabbing her purse and keys, she was out of the house and inside her car in the next few minutes.

  It wasn’t until she was pulling into Dreagan that she realized she hadn’t changed. She glanced down at herself and winced. Not exactly giving a good impression.

  “Why do I care?” she asked aloud. “There’s no one here I want to impress.”

  Then she recalled Cináed’s gray eyes. They looked at her as if she were the only person in the entire world. As if he saw her. All of her. The good and the bad. The broken parts and the determined bits.

  It was as if he noticed all the pieces that made her unfit for others and accepted her.

  Or maybe she had been on her own for so long that she was seeing things that weren’t there. That had to be it. To think differently was setting herself up for pain that she didn’t want or need.

  Ever.

  She parked and shut off the engine. Gemma let her gaze wander over the parking lot that was filled with vehicles. She spotted a large group being led by someone from one of the buildings. Obviously a tour group.

  People came and went from another building. Gemma leaned her head to the side and read Gift Shop. Since she didn’t see anywhere else to go and ask for Cináed, she decided that was as good a place as any.

  She briefly debated going home and changing, then resolve took her. She didn’t care how much money those at Dreagan had. She didn’t care that Cináed was so gorgeous that he outshone the sun. So what if she looked bedraggled and had on clothes most wouldn’t even wear around the house? This was who she was. They could take it or leave it.

  Just as soon as they gave her the information she needed.

  She climbed out of her car and shut the door behind her. Then, with her chin raised, she walked to the door of the gift shop. As soon as she walked in, she was surrounded by all things Dreagan. Mostly whisky—in so many different bottles and styles that her eyes nearly crossed—along with attire, coasters, glasses, and anything else people would buy with the logo.

  A part of her wanted to walk through the shop and see what all there was. Especially when she caught sight of a sweatshirt that looked so comfortable she might never take it off. But she stopped herself and instead pivoted to the cashier, who smiled as she walked up.

  “Good day to you,” the woman said. Her dark eyes crinkled in the corners. “How can I help you?”

  Gemma had to swallow before she could talk. “I’d like to see Cináed, please.”

  The cashier’s dark eyebrows rose slightly. “Just one moment. I’ll get him.”

  As she walked through a door behind her, Gemma took a step back. It felt as if every eye in the store was on her, although she knew that wasn’t true. Since she wasn’t purchasing anything, she moved away from the area.

  Her fingers fiddled with the handle of her purse, toying with a frayed string from the stitching. The longer she stood by herself, the more nervous she became. It was partly due to the fact she was out in public. After so many years of keeping to herself, it was difficult to be around others.

  But the true reason was because she feared that Cináed had gotten her hopes up. There was a very real chance that he knew nothing more than what he’d already told her. It could all be a ploy to try and get...

  What? What did he
want? Her mind went blank. She didn’t have an answer, but there were enough others who had tried to exploit her that it became a habit to keep everyone at a distance.

  Essentially, she was a hermit. And that was a hard habit to break.

  “Gemma.”

  She turned at the sound of her name to find Cináed. There was surprise in his gaze at the sight of her. And if she wasn’t mistaken, there was also happiness there. As if her arrival had given him pleasure.

  “I’m glad you came,” he said.

  She kept her focus on his face. Mainly because it was difficult to look at anything else. Why did he have to be so handsome?

  Cináed grinned at her silence. “Come. We can talk in private.”

  Yes. Private. That’s what she wanted. No one else needed to hear their exchange.

  She fell in step behind him. Trepidation swallowed her as she walked around the counter and through the doorway the cashier had disappeared through to get Cináed. There was something about being at Dreagan that felt as if she had walked into another world.

  And passing through the doorway gave her the impression that she was entering an area not seen by anyone other than those at Dreagan. Almost like a secret section.

  It was silly. Her overactive imagination could create all sorts of things. Just like that figure in the storm when she was little. It didn’t help that she had seen the video about the supposed dragons at Dreagan.

  Maybe she should have been a writer with her imagination. It would have given her the same kind of reclusiveness that she’d come to depend on. But honestly, she couldn’t see herself doing anything but being a researcher. Her topics changed often, allowing her to delve into things she wouldn’t have otherwise known about.

  Cináed looked over his shoulder at her. Almost as if making sure that she was still there. What did he think? That she would disappear?

  She had to admit, she was thinking about it. Gemma didn’t know where he was taking her—or to who. She liked to be prepared in any situation. Every time she had come in contact with Cináed, it had been anything but.