by Ashlyn Chase
Before she reached the door, she was spotted. Someone called out, “Bliss!” It may have been Tory. He was standing at the bar talking to Angie. Angie whipped her head around and gasped when she saw Bliss.
Drake burst into the bar through the front door.
Before Bliss could take another step, Angie lifted the bar top and rushed through it, almost tackling her.
“Bliss! Oh, God! Where have you been?”
“I don’t know, but you may have just guessed who I was with.”
Angie took a step back. “God? You were with God?” Her hands flew to cover her second gasp. “You saw God? Did you have a near-death experience?”
Hey, that’s as good an explanation as any… “Yeah, I think so. In all the confusion, I was—um… I got knocked down and I think I hit my head.”
“On the street? But didn’t anyone stop to help you?”
Drake battled his way through the crowd.
“Uh… no. You know how big cities are.”
Angie glanced around at the people that were watching as if to say, “Do you believe this shit?”
Drake reached her and pulled her into a giant hug. “Bliss, honey. We were all worried about you, but I think I speak for everyone when I say we’re just glad to have you back.” Raising his voice he announced, “Bliss needs time to rest and regroup. Let’s give her some breathing room.”
Everyone murmured their assent and stepped back. Most folks returned to their tables. Kurt and Tory stayed nearby, probably to make sure she was all right.
“Thanks, Drake. I need to tell Anthony I’m okay and get yelled at, or more likely fired.”
Drake smiled. “He’s not going to fire you.”
“Wanna bet?”
“How much?” He placed his hand on the small of her back, guiding her toward the office.
Tory laughed. “You’re seriously betting on whether or not she gets fired?”
Drake grinned at him. “Why not? I know I’m going to win. Maybe I can get something I want from her in the bargain.” He winked at Bliss.
His calm demeanor and good humor relaxed her somewhat, but she wondered how he could be so sure of himself.
As soon as they reached the office door, he opened it.
“Drake! We always knock first.”
Anthony strode right over to them and opened the door wider. “Come in, Bliss.”
“Can I join you?” Drake asked.
Anthony gave a slight bow and backed away enough to let both of them into his office.
“Anthony, I’m so sorry…” Bliss began.
He held up one hand. “I’m sure you had your reasons. There’s no need to go into them right now. Are you all right?”
“Yes. But I’m so sorry…”
“Are you able to finish your shift?”
Her mouth opened in surprise. She had been ready to defend her poppycock story, but it didn’t appear as if she had to. Not only that, but she wasn’t losing her job or even being warned about repeat behavior.
“Uh… yeah. I can get out there right after I wash my hands, if you want.”
“Then please go ahead. I’d like to talk to Drake for a moment.”
“Sure.” She fished in her pocket. Somewhere during all the sky travel and rough landings, she’d lost her order pad. “I, ah… I just need a new pad and pen.”
Anthony opened a side drawer of his desk and found the needed items. “Here you go,” he said with a smile.
This was all too weird. He didn’t even appear upset. But not wanting to look a gift boss in the mouth, she grabbed the pen and order pad and scurried out the door.
***
Drake strolled to the couch on the far wall of Anthony’s office and made himself comfortable. Anthony took the adjacent chair.
“You must be relieved.”
Drake blew out a deep breath and dropped back onto the cushions. “You can say that again. If it hadn’t been for Vulcan, we might never have found her.”
Anthony shook his head. “I don’t know if I like having the Supernatural Council here in Boston or not. Nick met them and seemed to feel uncomfortable about it. Of course, Mother Nature did threaten to drop him into an active volcano.”
“That would give anyone cause for alarm.”
“Yes. Well, I assume it’s only a matter of time before they call me in. The Balogs tried to discourage me from opening the bar, and I assumed it was simply because they didn’t want that element near their home. Now I understand from both you and Nick that the Balogs seem to be in the Council’s employ.”
“I think you’re all right as long as humans don’t discover the bar’s real purpose as a safe place for paranormals to meet and get to know each other as fellow, well, creatures.”
“It’s more than that. They don’t want humans knowing about our existence at all. I can understand their concern since I employ humans. I’ve tried to find paranormals to work here, but most aren’t interested in such mundane duties and lousy pay.”
Drake laughed. “Can you blame them?”
“No. If I didn’t firmly believe in my theory that hostilities between the factions would cease if everyone just got to know one another’s daily struggles and challenges, I wouldn’t be doing this, either.”
“It’s a positive message and I, for one, hope it’s working.”
Anthony nodded. “For the most part. I’ve had to mesmerize a couple of employees who’d seen too much, but it was absolutely essential. They had to forget about our… uniqueness.”
“I understand. But Bliss knows about me, and now that Vulcan has intervened, she may know a lot more.”
“She’s a smart woman, and I trust her not to blab. You must too if you’re sitting here and talking to me casually. I thought you might ask me to mesmerize her.”
“As you said, she’s smart. I think she knows no one would believe her, and I trust her not to jeopardize my safety. Just now, she made up a crazy story about being knocked out and having a near-death experience.”
Anthony’s brows shot up. “That’s a little much, isn’t it? Why not temporary amnesia?”
“I don’t know. I’ll ask her about it later. Right now I want to wait until her shift is over and see if I can talk her into going to my place for the night.”
“You don’t believe she’s safe here anymore?”
“It isn’t that. She’s probably safe anywhere. Vulcan said he was going after Zina and Bliss was back at the bar. You have no idea what a relief that was. The Council must have Zina in their custody by now.
“I can’t imagine that Bliss would have been able to escape without their help. That’s probably why she made up that bullshit story about seeing God. I can hardly wait to hear what really happened.”
“Ah, I think I understand now.”
“If I’m right, we should have nothing to fear from Zina from now on. Thanks for your help while she was being a menace.”
Anthony chuckled. “I may ask you to return the favor someday. Wait until you see Ruxandra on a rampage.”
***
Mother Nature screamed a string of obscenities. “Are you kidding me? You had that dragon bitch in your grasp and you lost her?”
Vulcan’s gaze dropped to where his white robe met his bare feet. “I’m sorry, Gaia. She was about to open the bathroom door and I panicked. I grabbed the mortal and returned her to safety instead of grabbing the immortal and going back for the other one later. You’re absolutely right. I should have done it the other way around. I don’t know what I was thinking.”
“You were thinking it would be easier to deal with a helpless mortal than battle a nasty fire-breathing dragon.”
It chafed, but she was probably right. That’s why Vulcan didn’t visit earth very often. He was much more comfortable in his solitary workshop or among his own kind. Mortals
were so frail and easily broken, they made him nervous.
“Not only that, but you actually brought the mortal here.” Mother Nature tossed her hands in the air. It was never a good sign when she began talking with her hands. “Here! No mortal has ever—or should ever—be aware of our location. They need to think we’re everywhere. Otherwise there will be chaos wherever we’re not.”
“Yes, Goddess.”
“Fortunately I was able to blind her with über-bright direct sunlight. If I hadn’t, she could have seen everything. How would you have explained it to her then?”
“I don’t know. I am very, very sorry.”
“Well, get your sorry ass back down there and find that friggin’ dragon. You know how I hate dragons! I’ve almost wiped them out completely, but if this one manages to get pregnant… Gaaaah!” Thunder rumbled in the distance.
Vulcan had never seen Mother Nature this angry. Well, no, that wasn’t quite true. She’d caused some impressive earthquakes and tsunamis when she was really on a tear. Vulcan wondered what kind of destruction was taking place on earth during this tirade, but he wasn’t nearly as concerned about that as he was with his own hide at the moment.
“I’ll find her, Goddess.”
“Damn right you will, because you won’t be allowed back here until you do.”
Why did I ever volunteer to help in the first place?
Chapter 14
“I thought you didn’t want me to leave my building. Don’t get me wrong. I’m glad to be out and about again. I was beginning to feel like I was on house arrest.”
“I’m pretty sure you’re safe now, or I wouldn’t have suggested coming here.”
Drake unlocked his front door and led her down the hall of the old brick house. Near the end of the corridor, he unlocked another door and let her go inside first.
“I know it’s small. Someday when I have more money saved, I’ll look for a bigger place. Basically, it was affordable and convenient to walk to work.”
“Your place is… cute.” Bliss took in the entire apartment from her vantage point. The room couldn’t have been more than twenty by twenty-five feet, but he had managed to make every square inch useful. There was one door in the middle, which had to be the bathroom. On the left side stood a very efficient kitchen.
A set of bookshelves ran the length of the opposite wall, but built into the middle was a dresser and, on top of that, a TV. The wall unit looked as if it had been custom made. Perhaps it was. She remembered his telling her about making his own Murphy bed and desk combination. She spotted them on the other side of the bathroom door and walked over. “Am I in your bedroom now?”
“Oh, yeah,” he said in a sexy, low voice. “And you look mighty good there.”
She chuckled. “Where do you sit and talk? You do still want to talk, right?”
“We should. Let me fold down the bed. It’s my sofa too.”
She backed up out of the way, and he made short work of flipping up his desk, fastening it in place, and dropping down a queen-size bed.
“You made that look easy.”
“I’m used to it.” Then he gestured to his bed, inviting her to sit on it.
She couldn’t help but wonder if other women had been to his place. It really wasn’t an entertainer’s paradise. She had a hard time reconciling her social guy with a place like this. Bliss took a seat on the end of the bed and tried to cross her legs at the ankle and tuck them beneath her. She was a little too close to the ground for a ladylike position.
Drake sat down next to her and pulled her close for a long, warm kiss. Afterward, he rested his forehead against hers and spoke so softly, she almost didn’t hear him.
“I’ve never been so worried about anyone in my life.”
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have put you through that.”
He brushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear. “It’s not exactly your fault. It wouldn’t have happened if you weren’t involved with me in the first place.”
“Yeah, well, I’m glad I am. I just don’t understand why Zina wants you so badly.”
He looked surprised and she realized how that must have sounded. Her face heated and a nervous giggle escaped. “I mean… you’re a great guy and everything, but the only thing she said to me was that I was ‘in the way.’ She seemed to have some kind of plan for you.”
Drake hung his head. “She wanted to mate with me. Dragons are only fertile once every five years and the cycle only lasts for a month.”
“Oh.” Bliss didn’t know quite what to say to that. She hadn’t known him a month yet? It seemed at times like they’d known each other for years. And what if they were still together in five years? Did that mean she’d have to worry about Zina coming back?
“Look. You were never ‘in the way’ because I was never going to be with her. If I had just been honest from the beginning and told her I wasn’t interested…”
“I don’t think it would have mattered. She seemed to think you were her property. If she really is a princess as she claimed, maybe she’s used to just telling people what to do and being obeyed.”
“She certainly acted like a spoiled princess,” Drake agreed.
“So, now what happens? Is the month over? Will she just give up and go away when it’s too late?”
Drake shook his head. “I don’t think we’ll have to worry about her anymore.” He ran the back of his fingers over Bliss’s face, tenderly. “I know you were probably told not to tell anyone how you got away, and I won’t say anything, but I figure we should talk about it… just between us.”
“Oh, um, that.” She looked at her lap, not even sure if she knew what happened. “I—I don’t mind telling you, but please don’t laugh.”
“Laugh? Believe me, I won’t laugh.” His voice sounded sure and sincere.
She gazed up into his eyes and took a deep breath. “God helped me. I know it sounds nuts, but I was sitting on the toilet in a disgusting tiny bathroom in a warehouse. No way out. Zina standing guard. I thought I was done for. Suddenly this… guy appeared. He turned around just long enough for me to pull up my panties and then zing… we were somewhere else. It was so bright, I think it was heaven… but maybe not. I heard a woman’s voice, and she sounded angry. Then, zing… we were standing outside in the alley behind the bar.”
“Zing?”
Bliss waved away the word in frustration. “I don’t know what to call it. There wasn’t a noise involved. I was just somewhere and then I wasn’t there anymore. Then I was suddenly somewhere else.”
“And you think God took you to heaven and brought you back?”
“Either that, or he was some kind of angel and the angry woman was God… or a goddess… Oh, I don’t know.” She rose and paced toward the windows. “I knew you’d think I’m crazy.”
He followed her and grabbed her by the arms almost as the mystery man had. “You’re not crazy.” He turned her in his arms and kissed her. “You’re perfectly sane. I don’t know why you’re not losing it after what you’ve been through, but I’m glad you’re not.”
She blinked. “You don’t think I’m crazy?”
“Put it this way, crazy things happen. Maybe denying that is crazy.”
She threw her arms around his neck. “Thank goodness you understand.”
***
Back in her hotel room, Zina paced and muttered to herself, “So that human thinks I’m spoiled? Nothing could be further from the truth. I had a very critical father. Nothing I ever did was good enough for the king of the Amazon. There was no pleasing him. He said he was toughening me up for the world. You know what? Now I just want to punch the world in the face.”
She punched her own palm, then shook it to release the sting.
“Come on, Zina, think. You have three more days to get this Drake guy to sleep with you.” She snorted and a curl of smoke left her n
ostrils. “Yeah, willingly or not. At first, I thought I only had to show him my charming side, but nooo… that wasn’t good enough.
“Now I not only have to come up with a plan to get him alone, I also have to think of some way to threaten him into cooperating. I thought for sure, holding his woman hostage would get him to do anything. Now I find out she has some kind of magical power that lets her escape through walls. Damn it! I can’t catch a break.”
As she paced, she became angrier and angrier. “Why the hell would he allow the whole dragon species to die out? Am I that repugnant? He knows how few and far between we are. He said so himself. And I know that Bliss bitch isn’t a dragon. I mean, we’re good, but even a dragon can’t escape though a solid wall without leaving a big, gaping hole. What the fuck?”
She halted in her tracks as a kernel of an idea came to her. “Maybe I can just threaten to burn the city to the ground. He knows I can do it, and I don’t think he’d let that happen.” The more she thought about it, the better she liked the idea.
***
Drake tucked a loose strand of Bliss’s hair behind her ear. “A couple days ago you said you thought you loved me but reserved the right to take it back. Now that we’re safe from Zina and all her crazy distractions, do you have a definite opinion on that?”
Bliss smiled and lay back on his bed. “I do. Come here and let me show you.”
Nice. It was all he could do not to tear her clothes off and make love to her. Now it looked as if they’d get there after all. But he didn’t want to assume and be wrong, so he lay next to her and waited to see what she’d do next.
She reached for the buttons on his shirt and undid them slowly. The heat in her eyes spoke of good things to come, and she didn’t look away. Perhaps she was waiting to see if his eyes turned gold. Regardless, making love face to face was something he’d wanted to do from the start, and now that she knew his secret, he could.
As soon as she’d removed his belt, he reached out and unbuttoned her blouse with the same care she’d shown his uniform. It took a lot of restraint, but he managed to get her clothes off without tearing anything.
She rolled him onto his back and kissed him. Their tongues found each other instinctively.