by Zoe Chant
He’d never been able to focus his powers as other dragons could. Long ago, Raul’s father had lost his hoard—and with it, the heart stone to which Raul’s dragon had begun to bond. Raul had been a small child at the time. Normally, as he grew older, he would have cut and polished the jewel himself, establishing the mystical connection between a dragon and the dragon’s heart. The jewel became not only a dragon’s most prized possession, but also held most of his power, enabling a dragon to properly focus it.
But Raul had lost his dragon’s heart long ago, when his father’s hoard had been stolen.
In consequence, Raul had never felt in full control of the power inside himself. He knew it was there. He could feel it. But when he tried to use it, it often went wrong.
He couldn’t focus it, which mean he was useless in a fight. The danger of harming an innocent by accident was too great, so he kept his power bottled up in himself. Shifting was painful for him, too. He only did it very rarely, and if he did, it usually left him drained for weeks. It was as if every time he tried to use his power, it leaked out of him, with nothing to refill it.
And now he’d found his mate. What would she think when she knew that her mate was broken and not a real dragon at all? That he could be dangerous, if he didn’t control himself all the time?
“There you are,” an older woman with gray hair up in a bun said, giving him a welcoming smile. “I see you already met each other. I’m Janet Henderson. I help my niece to run the Snow Castle’s restaurant. I promised Henrik and Dara that I’d look after you two. Any questions you’ve got, I’ll be happy to help.”
“Thank you. I really appreciate it,” Claire said warmly.
She’d changed, Raul noticed. She looked very business-like now in black trousers and a simple, white shirt that fell in soft folds over her delicious curves. Her curly, shoulder-length brown hair was pinned up. Her heart-shaped face was flushed, her delicious, full lips pink and glistening so that he could barely tear his eyes off them.
The dragon in him immediately noticed that she wore no jewelry, except for a little stud of gold in each ear.
Raul had to swallow as he stared at the sliver of soft skin revealed at her throat. A chain of gold—a thin chain to nestle against her warm skin, with a ruby to rest against that delicious cleavage. That was what she needed.
But would she accept a gift from him?
Raul wasn’t poor—but he didn’t have a dragon’s usual hoard, or a family mansion. His father had lost all of that.
He could offer her a gold chain and a simple ruby, but what she should be wearing was his dragon’s heart, the jewel which had been lost long ago.
“Now I’ve got to start setting up the tables for the dinner crowd,” Mrs. Henderson said resolutely. “Why don’t you go and explore? We’ve got everything under control today, and officially you don’t start until tomorrow. Enjoy your last day of peace!” She winked at them.
“I’m going to my room,” Dylan said sullenly.
Claire looked disappointed, releasing a heavy sigh as soon as he’d left with Mrs. Henderson, who’d volunteered to show him the way to his room.
“Teenagers,” she muttered, then looked up at Raul. “Sorry for that. It’s a difficult age.”
“Can’t be easy to spend Christmas away from your family,” Raul said, gallantly holding open the door for her.
Claire gave him a small smile. “True. And my dad only just married his mother. They’re off on their honeymoon right now. Lots of changes for him.”
“Hmm,” Raul murmured thoughtfully, taking a moment to look around.
They’d stepped out into a fantastical garden. It was filled with ice sculptures, each of which glittered like diamonds in the sunshine.
“It’s not right to take it out on you,” he said after a while. “But there are lots of kids his age around. I bet in a day or two, he’ll make new friends and forget all about how angry he was.”
“I fear that these days, kids his ages only make friends playing games online,” she said. She sighed again. Then she perked up, her smile widening as she turned to look around.
“This is incredible! I saw pictures, but the real thing is so much better. Look at that—is that an elephant?”
Together, they walked up to an elephant carved from the ice. He had his trunk raised at the sun, and in the shadow behind his legs, an elephant cub was joyfully rearing up on its hind legs.
“Wow,” Claire breathed as she took in all the tiny details.
The animals looked life-like—as if at any moment, they’d start running around the garden.
Next to the elephant, a knight stood, perfectly carved from the ice down to the sword and shield he was carrying. Around a corner, they found a ballerina, balancing on the point of her toes with her arms gracefully stretched out—and behind her, a group of swans had been carved from the ice, their wings spread so that it looked as if they were just taking flight.
“Incredible,” Claire said again then turned around to smile at him. “Do you still hate winter?”
“This isn’t so bad,” Raul admitted. He was smiling helplessly. He didn’t tell her that what he was enjoying the most was her reaction to the sculptures.
She’d been beautiful before, but now she was radiant, excitement and happiness filling her eyes with warmth.
“Just wait, by the end of this season I bet you’ll end up the biggest fan of Christmas of them all.”
“I’m happy to let you try,” he murmured, watching her still, until she blushed a little and hastily turned towards the gate that led out of the garden.
“If we’re to be colleagues, I won’t allow any grumpiness to interfere with the Christmas spirit,” she declared after a moment. “This is the Snow Castle. I’m pretty sure you’re contractually obliged to love Christmas to work here.”
Raul laughed, still watching her with admiration. “I haven’t actually signed a contract. I’m... family, you could say. Distantly, but still. Henrik felt better at having someone like me around. Just in case. But you’re the one who actually knows what she’s doing. I’m not going to interfere with your work, I promise.”
“He wanted a shifter around, huh?” Claire looked him up and down again, her eyes lingering just a moment too long, so that she blushed again when their eyes met.
“It’s a family thing,” Raul said with a shrug.
Dragons were enough of a secret that he didn’t feel comfortable telling her right away. Even though she was his mate.
Especially since she was his mate.
They’d only just arrived and barely knew each other. This wasn’t the time to tell her he could turn into a large, mythical monster with terrible powers.
Powers he couldn’t even control.
Again he felt an ache in his heart. If only he’d still had his family’s hoard. He could have wooed her properly, showered her with gifts and laid all of his power at her feet...
“The snow castle,” Claire breathed a moment later.
Raul shook off his gloomy thoughts. Before them, a massive structure made from nothing but snow arose. Two stories high, there were flags fluttering from the top, and shrieking children waving eagerly from the windows.
“There are slides inside,” Raul said. “It’s not as large as the actual mansion, but it’s quite something.”
“It’s amazing!” Claire shook her head with a laugh. “And I can’t believe how lucky I was I got this gig. My last two jobs were in two huge chain hotels—you know, every room and restaurant looks exactly the same, no matter what city you’re in? I thought it would be a great career opportunity, but—I’ve missed places like this.”
“They’ve put a lot of their own dreams into this,” Raul said softly.
He could feel it. It was a dragon’s home. A dragon who was distant family, which was why the land accepted Raul here—but it didn’t sing for him, the way it would for Henrik. Raul was just a guest here. It ached, to look at how Henrik and his mate had built this place with so
much love, because Raul knew he’d never have the same.
“That’s how I started out,” Claire said as they walked into the snow castle, dodging a snowball fight currently in progress there. “Small hotels, family-owned, where it wasn’t all about the shareholders and quarterly profit margins, but about the soul of the place. About real hospitality.”
Raul opened his mouth to reply, but at that exact moment, a snowball hit him straight in the chest.
With mock outrage, he twisted around, playfully roaring in challenge as he grabbed some loose snow from the ground, throwing it at their attacker.
Two giggling girls in matching yellow parkas shrieked with delight and raced back around a corner to hide from them.
Only a short moment later, giggling loudly, the little girls reappeared—this time from a slide that came down from above, sliding down the ice past Claire and Raul with pelting them with more snowballs.
Laughing, Raul raised his hands, sinking to his knees. “I surrender! You win!” he shouted, and the girls whooped as they raced back into the castle, looking for new victims.
Claire raised a hand to her mouth to hide her giggling. Then she held out her hand to help him up.
Heat rushed straight through Raul when their hands touched. He couldn’t take his eyes off her when he slowly stood.
Claire swallowed.
“You got—here, let me,” she murmured. A moment later, she reached up to his hair. Snow fell as she carefully brushed it away. “You should really get some more appropriate clothes. And a hat.”
Raul held her gaze, seeing the answering heat in it. “I’m not cold right now,” he murmured hoarsely.
Claire’s hand trembled a little as she lowered it. Daring, Raul reached out to take hold of hers.
Again heat surged, like a perfect arc of light connecting them.
“Your hands are cold. I hear there’s mulled cider out by the frozen lake,” he then said.
“I’d like that.” Claire’s eyes were full of awe, as if she wasn’t used to such attention.
Which was strange, because Raul had never seen anything as beautiful as the sight of her eyes gleaming in the light of the sun, her cheeks reddened by the cold, a snowflake sparkling, caught in her eyelashes before she wiped it away.
There were more children out by the frozen lake. Entire families were skating on the ice. Around the lake, several stands sold food and drinks, and somewhere, a speaker was playing Christmas carols. To the sound of Winter Wonderland, a group of teenagers was skating circles around what looked to be their parents taking their first awkward steps on the ice.
Then there was a tinkling of bells, and from behind a hill, a sleigh pulled by ponies came up, driving in a large loop around the lake.
“You know, they’ve listed all the activities they’ve got going on here, but I never imagined it would be like this.” Claire was breathless as she turned, taking it all in with obvious delight. “How can you look at this and hate Christmas?”
Teasingly, she nudged him with her elbow. She was standing so close that Raul felt his heart racing. He could smell the scent of her hair—delicious and sweet, like cinnamon and powdered sugar. It was the most irresistible thing he’d ever smelled, and the dragon within him stretched his wings, aching to possess his beautiful mate.
“Some of your famous mulled cider, please,” Raul said firmly to the woman manning the stall.
The ponies had stopped by the shore of the lake. From the sleigh, a couple emerged. They’d been wrapped in furs for the ride. Now they were laughing, holding hands as they said goodbye to the driver—and then they kissed.
Again Raul felt that overwhelming pull towards Claire. He could just see them, all wrapped up in the sleigh, her hair against his cheek, the sound of her laughter filling the air together with the tinkling of the bells.
“I’ve never sat in a sleigh,” Claire said, sounding almost wistful as she looked at where the ponies were shaking their manes, bells tinkling in invitation.
“Would you like to?” Raul said immediately.
Again Claire looked at him with eyes that had suddenly widened, filled with what Raul hoped was the same heat and attraction he was experiencing. Her cheeks flushed, and for one wild, reckless moment Raul imagined pulled her hard against his body to kiss her breathless.
A second later, all the many reasons why he shouldn’t came rushing back in.
He had nothing to give a mate. No hoard, no true family home. And worse—with his power so unfocused, he might harm her. Wouldn’t it be better to die alone than to live with the knowledge that he’d hurt his mate?
“I’m sorry,” Claire said in apology when a moment had passed. “I’d love to, but I should really get back and check on Dylan. I promised to take good care of him. Not that you’d know it, listening to him...”
“I think you’re doing just fine,” Raul said hoarsely. “He’s a teenager. He’ll grow out of it eventually.”
She gave him a small smile. “I hope you’re right.”
Chapter Three: Claire
When Claire got back to the castle, she found Dylan in a room next to hers. He was stretched out on the bed, headphones on, playing World of Warcraft and ignoring her until she nudged his shoulder.
“You should go out, explore a little,” she said, ignoring his sullen look. “And we’ll have dinner in the castle’s restaurant in two hours. Can you be ready by then?”
Dylan rolled his eyes at her. “Sure” he muttered, killing more orcs on his screen.
Claire smiled at him, but he’d already turned his attention back to his laptop. With a sigh, she returned to her own room, closing the door and collapsing face-down onto her bed.
“It’s all going to be fine,” she murmured. Faintly, she could still hear the carols playing by the lake in the distance.
The bed beneath her was soft, the sheets smelling of that comforting scent of fresh laundry.
The room was nice. It was large, with a four poster bed with actual curtains that made her feel like a princess. She had a gorgeous dresser of dark wood with a silver mirror against one wall. There was a comfortable couch with a small flat screen TV, as well as a desk with a chair facing the window, so that she could work while watching the snow fall outside.
She had an office too: she knew it was situated on the ground floor, and it was where the owners of the castle spent their days to keep everything running smoothly.
I hope I’m not in over my head.
She’d never doubted herself. She’d worked hard to get where she was now, starting out as a maid and working weekends and nights during college.
And now here she was, in the coziest and most beautiful venue she’d ever seen. This was the exact sort of place she’d dreamed of ending up at: a family-run place with lots of charm and heart, instead of a big chain.
It was a dream come true. And she couldn’t even concentrate on it because her stomach was currently twisting itself into knots over the warmth of Raul’s smile and the heat of his touch.
He hadn’t even worn a coat in this weather... But his body was hot like a furnace.
For a moment, she imagined pressing herself against all that hot skin, soaking up his heat, just the two of them beneath a blanket, bare legs entwined as the snow continued to fall outside.
Then she shook her head. What was she thinking? They were going to work together for the next several weeks. She couldn’t become distracted like this. Falling for Raul would be incredibly unprofessional. This was her dream gig. She couldn’t ruin this just because she couldn’t stop thinking about that square jaw and the sexy hint of stubble and the broad shoulders stretching beneath his knit sweater...
With a groan, Claire sat up. Her face was burning. She hadn't felt like this since she’d been a teenager.
I’m too old for crushes. And I don’t have the time to date. Especially not in the workplace. If I want a family, it’ll have to wait a few more years, until I’ve got some savings and an unlimited contract. No man is go
ing to want to move around with me for my job. And how would I even handle kids? It’s impossible right now.
She imagined Raul looking at her with disappointment when she told him that her next job would take her straight to the other coast.
What would he say if she told him that she’d have a room at the hotel where she worked instead of a home? After that gig, she’d have another temporary contract that might take her all the way north to Alaska, or maybe to the heat of Florida instead—and despite all that work, she wouldn’t even earn enough to be able to seriously think about starting a family.
And she couldn’t give up her job. It had taken her long years of hard work and little to no sleep to get to where she was now. It didn’t leave her any time for a personal life. It didn’t even pay well for all the hours she had to put in, and she had to put out endless fire after fire in her position and handle all the stress and chaos of keeping a huge place like this moving smoothly.
But she loved it more than anything. She couldn’t give it up. It was her dream; it made her who she was.
I’d go crazy without all this excitement and all these people. Guys like Raul want a woman who’s happy to give up her own life and devote herself to her family. And I want a family more than anything—but not at the cost of this.
Slowly, Claire went towards the door that led out to her balcony. When she opened it, the crisp air bit at her exposed skin, but she welcomed the sudden rush of cold.
Outside, snow was still falling in heavy flakes. The low afternoon sun had turned the frozen lake in the distance golden. The tiny figures skating in circles on it looked like painted figures on an old-fashioned music box.
Claire breathed in deeply, turning her head up. Snowflakes landed on her face. When she stuck out her tongue, she caught one. It melted in a quick burst of cold on her tongue, and she laughed, suddenly feeling calmer.