by Milly Taiden
“Ker’s coming?” Jae asked. Of course he would. This could be his mate they were talking about. Why did the idea of some woman that wasn’t Avery wearing his mark not excite him? This was what he’d been waiting centuries for. A mate. Someone who would help him go on.
The family was already growing with Morgan and Lexi’s children. His brother, Tor, had been clear about making sure they continued their race and having as many children as Morgan allowed.
“Yes. He’s got some work so he won’t be there right away, so you’ll have to care for Hannah on your own.”
What did this mean for him? Until he knew for sure whose mate Hannah is, he couldn’t very well tell Avery who she was. That didn’t mean he had to stop seeing her.
Suddenly, his brother was on the line. “Jae, it’s Tor. I saw something online I think needs checking out.”
“What’s that?”
“Some small website that focuses on alien invasion and UFO sightings is reporting a crash in the mountains of Central America.”
Jae frowned. It could be something or nothing. For years, they’d followed every UFO sighting, hoping that some of their kind would return. So far, nothing had panned out from it but that didn’t mean it couldn’t happen in the future.
“What are you going to do?”
“I’m going to send some of the security I hired to check it out. I might go down there myself once Clacher and Lexi come back from Switzerland.”
“Sounds good. Let me know if you find anything we need to check out.” He cleared his throat, raised his hand and yanked on his tie. “Hannah Moore. Can you send me any info you have on her or do I have to call the security firm to find her?”
“I already did,” Tor said. “I wanted to have information at hand as soon as possible. I’ve emailed you what we found out. From what I understand, she’s a pediatric nurse.”
Jae rubbed his fingers over his jaw. He was exhausted. It had been a long day and he wanted nothing more than to take a shower and get in bed. The thought of his big bed being empty didn’t sit right. Not when he knew Avery was home alone, too. He wanted her. He hadn’t wanted a woman this much in so long.
He downloaded the file and sent the documents to print. Then he stood and pressed his thumb print against a flat panel toward the back of his office. The wall moved, revealing a glass set of double doors with another panel he used his finger prints to open.
Once inside, the lights came on and he was in his private apartments. He shut himself away so anyone who went into his office looking for him wouldn’t know he was there. Only one employee knew he was there, Charles. And he knew better than to try to get into his private space. He’d call Jae instead of ever trying to intrude.
He took a shower and sat down with Hannah’s papers. The thirty-year-old pediatric nurse had bright green eyes and fiery red hair. She had a sweet smile and pale skin. She was beautiful, but he wasn’t attracted to her. Not even a single goddamned sexual thought. If she was his mate, it wasn’t going to go well.
SEVEN
The following day, Jae tried to get a hold of Hannah, but she’d been working a double shift and no one was allowed to visit the neo-natal unit without permission. He could have pushed, even mentally changed the guard’s thoughts, but chose to wait instead.
Instead of taking his driver, he took one of his cars and drove all the way up to Westchester to find Hannah himself. He sat in his car, waiting for her to leave the hospital. Her shift ended soon.
His cell phone rang. Avery. He’d been dying to listen to her voice again, but promised himself he wouldn’t push her too fast.
“Hello?”
“Is this Jae Drachen?” she asked hesitantly.
“Avery. This is Jae.”
She gave a nervous laugh. “I didn’t realize my name would show when I called you.”
He didn’t bother telling her he’d found out her number from the application she’d filled out and saved it to his cell phone. “Are you okay?”
“Oh, yes. Sorry. I was calling because I think I want to work for you. But I don’t want any handouts. I want to earn whatever I get.”
A wide smile spread over his lips. He wanted her in his bed and he’d give her anything she wanted to be there, but he understood he couldn’t propose that or she’d be offended.
“Avery, I like you. I think you’re beautiful, spunky, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to get you out of those clothes and into my bed, but I promise you I will control myself.”
She gulped on her side of the line. “You…you will? Why?”
“When you come to me, you’ll come to me because you want to. Not because of what I have done or given you. You’ll want me as much as I want you. The job is yours. Whenever you’re ready to take your place in my bed, that's yours, too.”
There was a moment of silence before she finally spoke. Jae didn’t like games. He knew he wanted Avery and he was going to let her know. Once he knew for sure what was going on with Hannah, then he’d let Avery know the mate situation.
“I should say no to the job and get away from you. You’re very…intense,” she breathed. “I can sense stuff and I know I can trust you, but that doesn’t take away from how overwhelming this is.
“You can sense things?”
“I’m sensitive to certain things, the term is empathic. I call it being able to tell when someone is a natural born dick or a nice person.”
“So you know you can trust me. You sensed it.”
“Yes, I know. I can’t say no to you forever, I know that, but I won’t rush into anything, Jae. Right now, I want to focus on taking this job.”
“That’s fair. I can understand that. Go to my building and meet with Charles. He’ll fill out all your paperwork tonight. We can get you started in a day or two.”
“That works. I need to hand in my resignation.” There was a shuffling noise. “I just wanted to thank you for the chance.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Oh, Jae?”
He loved hearing her say his name. The soft sound made his chest tighten. “Yes?”
“I…I like you, but I need time,” she whispered.
He grinned wider. “Relax, Avery. I know how to behave myself. Like I said, you’re in control. Things will happen whenever you want them to.”
“Thank you,” she replied. “Goodnight.”
There was so much he wanted to say. To ask. But he said goodbye and hung up the call. For hours he sat there, thinking of Avery and what they could be to each other. It was a long time before most of the cars were gone. All but one was left behind.
This wasn’t the hospital parking lot. This was another, further from the employee garage. He wondered why she parked so far, but the building next to it was hospital property so it was probably not a big deal.
He glanced at the parking lot he knew Hannah parked in. The outdoor lot was almost vacant and dark. A car pulled into the lot, lighting up the space. That’s when he noticed the woman walking to the end of the lot alone. He jumped out of his car. It was her. The red hair and scrubs gave her away. He was lucky he could see her so clearly in the dark, thanks to his night vision.
He rushed to where she was. In a heartbeat, two men showed up, grabbed Hannah and started dragging her off. She attempted a scream but one of the men had a hand over her mouth. She was kicking the one trying to grab her legs, getting a good hit to his chest while scratching at the guy with his hand on her face and torso. It was useless. She was overpowered.
Jae roared. He picked up speed and shoved the men away from her. She landed on her ass. Jae helped her up and thrust her toward her car. “Get in and lock the doors.”
EIGHT
One of the guys growled, dark wings ripping through his T-shirt. Jae tore out of his own clothing and shot up into the air. He sent balls of flames to both dragons, mentally attaching a GPS location to his weaponized fire power.
Both dragon targets quickly dove for the nearby woods, heading into the trees. Flying through branc
hes behind the targets, the balls exploded against wide trunks, freeing the dragons of the missiles. They were back on Jae before he had time to do anything.
The rage in his dragon grew, changing his scale color. He and the two dragons fought hard, back and forth. He hit one and the other flew at him. He dodged one and got the other. Finally, he whipped his tail around and ripped off half the wing of one. He breathed fire on the beast, setting it aflame since it couldn’t maneuver away quickly enough.
The second enemy roared with anger and dove at him. Jae hovered in the air, waiting until the precise second, then like a child batting at T-ball, Jae swung his tail and snapped the other’s neck, sending it spiraling into the trees.
He shifted back to man and raced to the car to make sure Hannah was okay. He found her head first in her trunk, pulling something out.
“Are you all right?”
She turned to face him with a picnic blanket in her hand. Before he knew what was going on, she was throwing herself in his arms. “You’re the guy from my dream!”
His chest tightened and fear grew in his heart. “What do you mean?”
She pulled back and handed him the blanket. “Sorry, ever since I had my dream of you, I knew you’d show up to save me and end up naked from shifting out of your clothes. I’ve been carrying around this blanket.”
“Thank you,” he said and grabbed the blanket, wrapping it around his waist. It did nothing for the cold. “We should go before someone else shows up.”
She nodded. “It’s late, but there are still people who come to this side for more space. I can follow you—”
He shook his head. “No. Let’s take my car. I’ll have someone pick up yours and drop it off at your place. It’s not too far from here anyway.”
She raised her brows and gave a slow nod. “Okay.”
He was glad she wasn’t arguing or putting up a fight. Instead, she put the keys above one of the back tires in what appeared to be a place she’d used before.
“How did you get them to stay?”
She grinned. “Magnet. I’ve had to lend my sister the car in the past so it helps being able to leave the key there for her.”
They walked back to his car. His dragon was vigilant that she not be hurt, so he hurried into some clean clothes he kept in the trunk and then started driving her home.
“Do you have the mark already?” Jae asked the minute they pulled away from the hospital. He turned to look at Hannah better. She had beautiful pale skin with a dusting of freckles over the bridge of her nose and cheeks. Bright green eyes and hair so red, he bet people wondered if she colored it. She didn’t. He didn’t scent any chemical scents other than hospital stuff coming off her. Lots of baby smells.
“Yes,” she smiled at him. “I knew it was coming.”
“What kind of powers do you have?”
"I guess I'm an empath of some kind. I feel the emotional and physical pains of others.”
He would introduce Hannah to his brothers’ mates. They shared gift traits. He didn’t sense any dragons in the area, but kept vigilant for her. “How safe is your current home?”
She grinned. “I think it’s pretty safe. There’s a police precinct across the street.”
That didn’t guarantee anything. He gave a slow nod. “I think it’s best if you come down to the city and stay at the hotel with me.”
The smile fell from her lips and a frown formed over her eyes. “I’m sorry, Jae. I can’t. I love my job and those children need me.”
He went back to the road and gripped the wheel. Fuck. This would go easier if she’d just cooperate a little. “What exactly do you do?”
“I’m a pediatric nurse. I work in the neo-natal unit and sometimes I trade with another nurse to work the children’s cancer ward.”
A true selfless woman. If she was his mate, she had wonderful qualities he couldn’t help but admire in her. He clenched his jaw in frustration. It didn’t matter how nice she was, he didn’t want her to be his mate. He didn’t care that she was pretty or her eyes were bright like emeralds. He wanted Avery.
“Do you have any days off?”
“Tomorrow’s my day off. I could take the next two since it was up in the air for me to be gone.”
He glanced away from the road and back at her. “What do you mean?”
She shrugged. “I was going to come looking for you.”
“How did you know who I was?” he asked, making a turn carefully. It started snowing again as he drove her home. The longer he drove, the faster and thicker the flakes fell.
“I told you, I dreamt about you. I knew your name. I knew I needed to find you. I knew you’d—”
He shot a quick look at her. “I’d what?”
She cleared her throat. “Protect me.”
He nodded. “I will protect you. And so will my brother. He will be here in a few days. But for us to do this right, until we know what’s going to happen, we need you to stick to being near us.”
She was quiet for a moment. He pulled up at her street. There was no parking so he double-parked behind a minivan and blinked at the decals on the back glass. There was a man and a woman and what looked like eight kids and four pets.
A soft giggle sounded from Hannah. He turned to look at her. “Everything okay?”
“Your face when you saw my neighbors’ decals was pretty funny.”
“Sorry. I hadn’t seen one of those before.”
“A couple with a lot of kids?” she asked cheekily.
He grinned and shook his head. “The decals. I hadn’t seen those before. They’re very…informative.”
She outright laughed at that and shifted in her seat to look at him better. “I can come with you for a few days, but what will that do for us? Will we know what happens next in that time period?”
“I don’t know,” he replied. “This isn’t exact science, Hannah. All I know is that you’re a Drachen mate and I need to protect you. That means you have to be near me and my hotel is safer than your home.”
She seemed to mull it over before taking a deep exhale. “Fine. I can come to your hotel for a few days. If nothing happens, I’m coming home. I have a big event in the cancer ward and I won’t miss it.” She met his gaze and pressed her lips into a straight line. “I’m going to grab some stuff and water my plants. I’ll be back in a few.”
NINE
Avery wasn’t sure what the hell she was doing. She glanced at the front doorman of The Lair for long moments before finally going into the hotel. She wasn’t looking forward to seeing the clerk again, but once inside she realized there was a smiling woman in his place.
“Good morning,” the woman said. “Welcome to The Lair. May I check you in?”
Avery smiled and shook her head. “I’m here to see Mr. Drachen.”
The girl’s eyes widened and she nodded abruptly. “You must be Ms. Harper. So nice to meet you, my name is Trinity Fields,” she offered Avery her hand to shake.
“Nice to meet you, Trinity.” Avery shook the girl’s hand and started feeling a bit more at ease. This wasn’t so bad.
“Mr. Drachen said to send you right up,” Trinity said, coming from behind the reception desk. “If you follow me, I’ll show you to his private elevator.”
They went past the elevator banks to what looked like an office door. Trinity opened it and down a short hallway they found another elevator. She pressed the call down button.
“Ms. Harper is here, sir.”
The button lit up. In seconds the door opened to the elevator and she got in.
“Have a great day, Ms. Harper.”
“Please, call me Avery,” she said as the doors started to close. “It was nice to meet you, Trinity!” was the last she got to say before she was headed up to Jae’s offices.
She had a distinct burning in her back. It has been going on for a while. She wondered if it was stress or allergies. She’d have to go to the bathroom and look at it because it was hurting.
She stared at herse
lf in the glass and pushed her red and blue tipped hair behind her ears. Curls looked best with that color, but it took a while to get them to look nice.
The doors opened to a reception area with sofas and chairs and a single door leading into what she presumed was Jae’s office.
The sound of voices stopped her on her feet. She frowned but knocked on the door and waited.
“Come in,” said a female voice.
Her brows flew up and she wondered if Jae was meeting someone and she was interrupting. He should have given her a better time to arrive. Why hadn’t Trinity told her he was busy?
She went into the office and gasped. There was two giant glass walls on both sides of the floor, letting in natural light. A red-headed woman sat on a sofa with her feet curled under her and her cell phone in her hands.
She jumped to her feet, a wide smile on her face, and padded over to Avery.
“Hi! I’m Hannah. Jae had to take a call so he went somewhere and will be back shortly. How are you?”
Avery sighed, a bit confused still but not as uptight now that she knew Jae wasn’t there with them. “Good, thank you. I’m Avery Harper.”
Hannah nodded. “I know.”
Of course, she knew. Jae probably told her. “If I’m interrupting, I’m happy to return later on. I wasn’t sure what would be a good time and since Charles told me nine, here I am.”
Hannah waved off her concerned. “No. You’re fine. I’m not here on business. This is more of a personal nature.”
Avery’s stomach clenched. Who was she? “Oh.”
Hannah’s eyes widened, the green almost darkening to black. “I’m so rude! Do you want some coffee? Jae showed me how to make it on his really weird looking espresso machine.”
God, she’d kill for a cup. “Yes, please!”
“Take your coat off, we can chat while he’s gone,” she said and started walking to the back of the massive office where she saw the espresso machine and coffee mugs.
Avery wasn’t very social, so she didn’t really want to talk, but she also didn’t want to come across as a jerk to this woman. Especially if she was someone important to Jae. Was she someone important to Jae? What the fuck did she care? Didn’t she just tell Star last night that she wasn’t ready to meet another man? Fuck! She hadn’t meant that. This feeling of insecurity was so…new. She’d never had jealous feelings for anyone in the past.