by Donna Grant
His boots crunched in the thick snow, but he never noticed. His gaze was trained on the forest ahead. Every one of them answered to something, and for Hal it was the forest.
Always had been.
Always would be.
Once he was in the trees, he took a deep breath and lifted his face to the sky. Snow landed on his lashes and rain dripping from the limbs above pelted his face.
It was glorious.
Hal smiled and spread his arms wide. He touched his chest, through his jacket and sweater, to the tattoo beneath.
A person could get lost in the glens of the Highlands, and there were thousands of glens. Which made it a perfect place for Hal and the others like him to stay hidden.
It had been a long time since he’d allowed his other self to show, his dragon self. And for some reason, this night he desperately yearned to spread his wings and fly.
To feel the wind around him as he soared through the sky.
He still remembered flying low over the trees, the leaves brushing against his underside as the sun beat on him. He hadn’t needed to hide then. For once upon a time, he had been able to call to his brethren and listened to their roars fill the forest.
So very long ago he had lived a completely different life. Back before the humans betrayed them, before a war that changed everything.
A sound off to Hal’s right had him turning his head in that direction. He dropped his arms as his eyes fastened on a large, fast-moving animal loping through the trees.
Hal let his coat drop from his arms as he sprinted toward the animal. As he neared, he realized it was a dog—a very large dog. And the only person near Dreagan land who had such a dog was Dan Hunter.
With more frustration than Hal wanted to concede, he came to a halt. He had been able to take flight, but now he had to chase a dog. For several moments he watched the Great Dane running, his tongue lolling out the side of his mouth.
There had been a few times in Hal’s life where he’d felt that free, been that free. Those times were the barest of memories now.
When a person was as old as Hal, time blurred.
It was so easy to get lost in his memories, of what had once been, and what he had once been. But to allow himself to get absorbed in such recollections was not wise.
He pulled himself back from the brink and gave a loud, short whistle, which pulled Duke up short. The Great Dane turned his head to Hal and issued a deep, booming bark in greeting.
“Come here, lad,” Hal called.
Immediately, the dog ran to him, his tail wagging.
Hal rubbed the dog’s massive head. “It’s no’ like Dan to allow you to run like this. Nor is it like you to run off. What’s the problem, lad?”
Duke jerked against the hold Hal had on his collar. Hal narrowed his eyes. He’d learned very early in life to listen carefully when animals tried to speak. They might not be speaking your language, but they were talking. It was obvious Duke was trying to tell him something.
“Show me,” Hal said, and released the collar.
Duke took off at a run and Hal was quick to follow. Dreagan land extended far as the eye could see, and Dan’s cottage was the closest anyone lived to Dreagan.
It was because Dan rarely rented the property and didn’t cause any problems that Hal and the others hadn’t made a point of getting rid of him.
Hal easily kept pace with the Great Dane as they traversed over the land. When they crested the last hill that overlooked Dan’s cottage, Duke stopped and whined.
Dan’s Corsa could be seen by the light of the moon despite the heavy snowfall. Thankfully, the rain had tapered off, but the snow made it difficult to see where Dan was.
Duke butted Hal’s hand with his head before he took off down the slope to the cottage. Hal had memorized the lay of the land centuries ago and knew where the boulders lay hidden in the snow.
He leapt down the slope and landed in thick snow. Duke caught up with him, and they both ran the rest of the way down the side of the mountain.
Hal rushed to the front door, but found it locked and all the lights out. When Hal turned to look for Duke, he found the Great Dane standing beside the car.
That’s when Hal noticed there was someone inside. In three strides he was beside the car. He tapped on the window, but the figure didn’t move.
Duke barked. Hal opened the door to find the most beautiful face he’d ever seen. Hair as dark as chocolate silk hung over her shoulder and next to her pale skin.
The same dark brows arched over large eyes. Her oval face was streaked with tears. Thick lashes lay against her cheeks. Lips, full and luscious, were slightly parted and tinged a pale blue.
That pulled Hal out of his perusal. He touched her cheek to find it ice cold. Cursing under his breath, he rushed to the lockbox next to the door and punched in the code. With keys in hand, he unlocked the front door before he ran back to the car.
Carefully, he gathered the woman in his arms and walked into the house. He laid her on the couch and stripped her out of boots that were made for walking the streets of Edinburgh, not traipsing through the Highlands.
He found her socks dry, so he left them on her feet and got to work removing her jacket. The hem of her sweater was wet, which led him to inspecting her jeans, only to find them also soaked.
With grim determination, Hal lifted her sweater and unbuttoned the jeans. He was resolute in ignoring the glimpse he got of her flat stomach and the feel of her smooth skin against his hand.
He gritted his teeth and tried to look away from the long, shapely legs revealed as he peeled off her jeans. Tried—and failed.
Hal took in one long glance and felt a stirring of desire before he covered her with the thick tartan blanket from the back of the sofa. The fact she was shivering from the cold prompted him to take action and build a quick fire.
When the flames were dancing before him, Hal looked over his shoulder to find Duke lying in front of the couch as if to guard the woman.
“Doona worry, lad. I’m no’ in the habit of taking sleeping women.”
Duke laid his great head on his paws, as if he were satisfied with the answer.
Hal rose and retrieved the single small piece of luggage and the woman’s purse from the car. His curiosity awoken, he searched her purse to find her wallet and looked at the ID.
Somehow he wasn’t surprised to find she was American. He read over the Arizona driver’s license until he found her name. “Cassandra Hunter,” he read aloud.
He shifted his gaze to Cassandra. So, she was related to Dan, but how? She wasn’t Dan’s wife—that was for sure. Dan’s wife, Shelly, was British and was well known for being outgoing and a socialite.
Hal leaned a hip against the back of the sofa. “So who are you, Cassandra Hunter from Arizona? And why are you here?”
* * *
Hal shut his phone off, ending the conversation with Rhys, and put two more logs on the fire. He hadn’t felt right leaving Cassandra alone overnight, so he had called Rhys to bring a few groceries.
Once Hal learned who Cassandra was, and if she was supposed to be there since he couldn’t reach Dan, then he would leave the American to herself.
Hal reclined in the chair and stretched his legs in front of him. His gaze returned to Cassandra. She hadn’t made so much as a sound since he’d brought her inside. Thankfully, the blue tinge to her lips had faded after an hour of him rubbing warmth into her arms, feet, and legs.
Duke had kept his guard duty. If the dog trusted her, then Hal mostly likely would as well. Animals had uncanny abilities in reading people.
Hal must have dozed because he awoke to the sound of a vehicle approaching. He knew before he looked that it was Rhys. Hal rose and walked to the door to open it before his friend could knock.
“Is she still unconscious?” Rhys asked as he walked inside with a bag in each hand.
“Aye. She’s no’ moved.”
“Duke is with her, I see.”
Hal took one of
the bags and set it on the counter to unload the milk, orange juice, and water into the fridge. “Aye. Which leads me to believe Dan sent her, but then why couldn’t she get inside?”
“You still have no’ gotten a hold of Dan?” Rhys asked as he set a loaf of bread, cereal, and some bagels on the counter.
“Nay. What did you discover?”
“I found a Cassandra Hunter from Phoenix, Arizona. She boarded a flight from Arizona, had a layover in Missouri, and then another in New York before coming here. Oh, and her luggage was lost.”
Hal raised a brow. “How is she related to Dan?”
“She’s his sister.”
“Ah. So why is she here, I wonder?”
Rhys shrugged his thick shoulders and smiled, his dark blue eyes creasing in the corners. “That I’m curious to know as well. I’ll let Con know where you’re at when he returns in the morn.”
Hal nodded, his gaze still on Cassandra.
Odd that after so many thousands of years, a female would draw his attention as Cassandra did. Their dragon magic had put a stop to that. Or so he thought. He had stared at her through the night, wondering what color her eyes were and why she was in Scotland.
He ran the pad of his thumb over his fingers as he recalled the feel of her soft skin and the wonderful curves he’d seen as he stripped her.
His fingers still tingled from their contact with her. While his body stirred with desires he couldn’t harness or begin to understand.
“Hal,” Rhys called from the door. “Be careful, my friend. You know we doona mix with humans.”
“She was in need of my help,” he answered as he tore his eyes from the woman. “That’s all there is.”
“Hmm. I see how you look at her, no’ that I blame you. She’s verra comely. We are—”
“I know what we are,” Hal interrupted as he turned away from his friend. “I doona need reminding.”
“We all need reminding from time to time. Part of our punishment is that we’re forever to be alone.”
“Punishment for something we didna do. We are no’ the ones who should be punished. We take the humans’ penance while they thrive.”
“And we hide. I’m no’ arguing that. We did what we had to do.”
“Forever is a verra long time, Rhys.”
“Especially when you’re as old as time. Just guard yourself.”
Hal heard the door close behind Rhys and the motor of the vehicle turn over a moment later.
“Forever is too long,” he mumbled.
They were supposed to be free, but how free could someone be if they were meant to guard, meant to spend eternity alone?
Some centuries were easier to live through than others. Over the past few weeks, Hal had found … a hunger … growing inside him that had nothing to do with food.
He craved something, but he didn’t know what.
All he knew was that it was out there, waiting for him. He just had to find it. But how? They were forbidden to leave for more than a few months at a time.
He and the other Kings were careful to leapfrog through time by hiding through a generation or two. It had been easier in the past. There wasn’t computers, video cameras, or cell phones.
Nowadays, a face was logged into a database, and that was it. They took great pains to keep themselves from being seen, but the inevitable would happen. It always did.
So many lifetimes, so many names. Hal didn’t even remember his original name, he’d taken so many. He kept his present one for several centuries, but then all of them had. It was easier that way.
They had a responsibility as Dragon Kings, a duty that no others could fulfill. An obligation caused by one of their own so very long ago.
As eternity stretched before Hal, he wondered how he would get through it all alone.
CHAPTER
THREE
Cassie was torn from the cocoon of warmth and sleep by something very cold and very wet on her hand. She cracked an eye open and found Duke’s face in front of hers.
He ducked his head and nudged her hand with his nose for a second time.
“I’m awake,” Cassie said with a yawn.
As soon as she stretched, the pain in her lower back and butt made itself known. Cassie grabbed the injured area and winced.
The day before came rushing back to her in an instant. That’s when she realized she was inside a house instead of in the sorry excuse for a car Dan had left her.
“Oh, good. You’re awake,” said a too-cheerful female voice with a Scottish accent.
Cassie rose up on her elbow and looked over the back of the sofa toward the kitchen to see a young pretty blond woman wiping a plate dry before putting it in the cupboard.
“How did I get in here? And who are you?”
The girl chuckled as she tossed aside the towel and walked to Cassie. “I’m Alice. I work at Dreagan, but Hal asked me to do some shopping for you.”
“Hal?” Cassie was becoming more confused as time went on. Who was Hal, and why was he stocking her kitchen?
Alice’s smile grew. “Follow the chopping, and get ready for an eyeful. I’ve been watching him all morning.”
Cassie didn’t have time for another question before Alice was gone. With nothing else to do, she threw back the covers and then stopped as she noticed her bare legs. Had this Hal taken off her jeans?
She gingerly stood and made her way to the flight of stairs where the bedrooms turned out to be. It didn’t take her long to find where her one lone piece of luggage had been taken.
After she donned a pair of sweatpants and socks and combed out her hair, Cassie walked back down the stairs and did as Alice suggested—followed the chopping.
She rounded a corner and found herself peering out a dining room that was all glass. It looked more like a sunroom than a dining room, and the views of the mountains were staggering.
Or at least they might be if she could tear her eyes away from Hal.
He stood well over six feet, his long black hair pulled back in a queue at his neck while sweat rolled down his face. Thick black brows slashed over his eyes, eyes she wished she knew the color of.
His face was all angles and rugged handsomeness. A dusty coating of whiskers covered his square jaw and chin, but even the whiskers didn’t hide the slight indent in his chin.
He had a wide forehead and a long straight nose. And his lips … Cassie had trouble swallowing as she caught sight of his mouth. No man should have lips so wide and thin, so damned seductive.
A jacket and sweater were discarded on the back of a wooden chair, leaving Hal in nothing but a skintight white tee that showed every wonderful muscle.
With each move, each swing of the axe, she watched the play of muscles in his back and arms. The blade of the axe cut through the wood as easily as a hot knife through butter. Cassie was mesmerized watching him.
It wasn’t just his amazing body or his good looks, there was something different about him that Cassie had never seen in a man. Something that would set him apart in a crowd of thousands.
As if he realized he was being watched, Hal halted just as he was about to bring the axe down again and turned his head. Their gazes locked, and Cassie felt all the air rush from her lungs.
For several moments they simply stared at one another before he sent her a grin and went back to chopping. It didn’t seem right to continue staring at him, so Cassie turned away and hurried into the kitchen only to discover it was nearly noon.
“Duke, I’ve slept the entire morning away,” she said in alarm.
With everything Hal had done, the least she could do was fix him lunch. Cassie grabbed her coat from a hook near the door and shrugged it on as she stuffed her feet into her boots.
She walked outside and huddled into the jacket as the brisk January wind hit her full in the face. Duke raced past her and bounded around Hal.
He laughed and rubbed Duke before he tossed the blade into a stump as if weighed nothing and turned to her.
Being t
his close to him did something to Cassie. Maybe it was because she was hungry and still exhausted from the day before, but it was as if she couldn’t get her balance, as if the world kept tilting beneath her feet.
“I hear I owe you my thanks,” she said.
His mouth twisted in a half smile. “I did what anyone would.”
She had never thought the Scottish brogue sounded appealing until that moment. His deep, almost gravelly voice made goose bumps race over her body. He could read from an accounting book and she’d listen to him. Avidly.
“I didn’t know there was a code, and I couldn’t get a hold of Dan.”
“He gave it to us a few years ago in case there was ever an emergency.”
Cassie chuckled. “Thank God he did.”
“I’m Hal.”
“Cassie,” she said, amazed at how breathless she sounded.
Just from being this close to him. Was it his brogue, his eye-catching body, or was it something more that caused the world to fade to nothing around him?
Silence stretched between them. Cassie cleared her throat. “I apologize for sleeping away the morning. Yesterday was probably the worst day of my life.”
“Ah, you slept all of yesterday, lass. This is your second morning here.”
Cassie snorted, wondering if the frozen ground could open up and swallow her. “Of course it is.” She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear that the wind kept blowing into her face. “Thank you for having Alice bring the groceries. I can pay you for that.”
“No need.”
“I think I owe you my life. Let me fix you some lunch at least.”
He smiled once more, making her stomach flutter as if a thousand butterflies took flight inside her.
“That sounds good. Let me finish up here. Dan didna leave you with much firewood, and with the weather we’ll be having, you’re going to need it.”
“I’ll see you inside then.”
It wasn’t until Cassie was walking away that she remembered she was an awful cook. The only thing she could manage without burning it was a sandwich.
She hastily looked through the small pantry and fridge and found different deli meats and cheeses that she cut up and laid out along with bread and mayo and mustard. There was a bag of chips, which she also put on the table.