Tempting the Dragon

by Karen Whiddon

  “Since I came here to help you, I need to know exactly what I’m getting into. In other words, complete honesty. What is it that you aren’t telling me?”

  Silence. And then she nodded.

  “You’re right.” At least she had the grace to wince. “I’ve been told by good authority that my cousin might be in danger. That’s why I need you to come with me.”

  “Might be?” He kept his eyes locked on hers. “That sounds pretty vague to me.”

  “It’s the best I can do. And yes. Her mother is worried. Better safe than sorry.”

  “Darlin’,” he drawled. “I have to tell you, I don’t like the idea of you putting yourself at risk.”

  She reared back, as though his words had startled her. Only his grip on her hand kept her close. For a moment she went silent, considering what he’d said. Then a slow smile blossomed over her beautiful face, making him ache to touch her. “That’s why you’re coming along—to protect me.”

  “Lead the way.” Now he pulled his hand free. Instantly regretting the loss of contact, he covered with a mock bow and an insolent grin.

  Jade only stared. Then, shaking her head as if shaking off water, she looked away. “I’d rather you stay close to me,” she said, her words contradicting her earlier assurances that they’d be perfectly safe.

  Again, he had to squash the urge to kiss her. Now was not the time nor the place.

  “I will,” he promised, meaning it. If he had his way, he’d never let her out of his sight again.

  The winding path appeared illuminated ahead of them, a luminous pearly white. The vibrant blue of the sky reminded him of the clarity of a Santa Fe afternoon. Except the colors—the greens and reds and yellows—glowed, as if lit from within.

  Jade must have noticed his bemused expression. “I’d heard this place was gorgeous. I guess I should warn you that the Fae’s beauty is legendary. Steel yourself, because men have been known to be beguiled and ensnared by it.”

  “I’m not most men. I’m...” He cut the words off, aware he’d nearly revealed his nature.

  “You’re what?” She regarded him curiously.

  “Different.” His lame answer sounded too curt. “Don’t worry. I’ll be fine. What about you?”

  “Me?” Surprised, she turned to face him. “I’ll be okay. I can’t stay gone too long—my duties won’t permit it.”

  “Duties?” He knew he couldn’t let that go. “You mean looking after Libby?”

  Immediately her expression shut down. “Yes.” She started off again, forcing him to catch up.

  Like a mirage appearing in the desert, ahead in the distance a building appeared. Shimmering in the bright sunlight, it looked like a castle, like something straight out of a medieval story. As they got closer, he saw it was indeed a castle, apparently made out of some sort of pearly marble that glowed where the sun touched it.

  Beyond the castle, he saw several other structures, constructed from wood and stone. “This is like a village in Europe, built in the shadow of an ancient keep,” he commented.

  “Except this castle isn’t old and abandoned,” she pointed out. “It looks occupied and vibrant.”

  Still, he’d yet to see a single person. “Where do you suppose they all are?” he asked.

  Again her lips tugged up into a smile, as if she found his question amusing. Whatever it was about this woman, she beguiled him. He had to fight to keep pulling her close and kissing that pretty mouth.

  “They’re here,” she said, clearly unaware of his thoughts. “When they’re ready to reveal themselves, I’m sure they will.”

  She’d barely finished speaking when three men appeared, striding up the path toward them. If they’d come from the city, he hadn’t seen them until now.

  All of them were tall and moved with an uncommon grace. They wore their hair long and as they approached they each had aquiline features, perfectly symmetrical, a kind of masculine beauty he hadn’t realized even existed.

  A quick glance at Jade revealed her thunderstruck expression. Evidently, neither had she. Was that a twinge of jealousy stabbing his chest?

  One of them stepped forward. His long, blond hair was streaked with shades of the sun. His eyes were a mixture of cobalt and violet, a shade Rance had never seen before. And those eyes were locked on Jade, his expression indicating he’d never seen a woman as beautiful.

  “Oh,” Jade murmured, blindly reaching for Rance. Quickly he gave her his arm, and then decided the hell with it and tugged her close. Putting his arm around her in a clear gesture of possession, he stared at the other man, daring him to protest.

  Instead, the two companions stepped up in a show of solidarity with the blond leader.

  “I’m Cai, Prince of Fae,” he announced, his smile both confident and full of charm. “This is my cousin Bradrick and my best friend, Llewyn.”

  Clearly still starstuck, Jade attempted a curtsy. Only Rance’s arm holding her up kept her from falling. Rance hoped the Fae prince couldn’t tell.

  For whatever reason, Rance had taken an instant dislike to the man. Still, with his amazing bone structure, he couldn’t help but wish he had his camera. Faces like Cai’s were born to be photographed.

  “I’m looking for my cousin.” Finally, Jade spoke up. Her voice had a breathless quality that told Rance she still hadn’t entirely recovered. The second stab of jealousy knifing through him both irritated and surprised him.

  “Her name is Diamond,” she continued. “Have you seen her?”

  The two men flanking the prince exchanged glances, but didn’t speak.

  “Yes, I have.” His confident tone grated on Rance’s nerves. “Come with me, pretty cousin of Di.” He held out his hand, a large gemstone winking on one finger of his slender hand.

  When Jade took a step forward, Rance wasn’t sure whether to tighten his grip or let her go. In the end, he gave in to his instinct and kept her close. After all, he’d promised to protect her, even if that meant saving her from herself.

  Jade shot him a startled look, her green eyes slightly unfocused, but didn’t fight him.

  The prince, on the other hand, shook his head, his gaze sending daggers Rance’s way.

  “Of course, we’ll both be glad to follow y’all,” Rance put in, his smooth tone revealing none of his annoyance.

  Prince Cai waved his hand and, just like that, they stood at the castle steps.

  “Neat trick.”

  “Magic,” Jade whispered in Rance’s ear, as if he hadn’t just experienced it.

  “I get that,” he drawled, tugging her closer. Caving in to his impulse, he gave her what he’d intended to be a quick kiss but changed to a searing kiss of possession. Maybe this could drive away whatever Fae enchantment Cai had placed on her.

  She shivered but didn’t pull away. Meanwhile, Mr. Fancy Prince and his companions made sounds of impatience.

  “We understand what you’re attempting to make so clear,” Prince Cai declared. “I assure you, I have no intention of moving in on your woman.”

  Now would be where Jade would protest, Rance felt quite sure. She’d say something along the lines of she wasn’t anyone’s woman. But she didn’t. Instead of speaking, she simply nodded.

  “Shall we go and locate your cousin? I’m certain she’ll be happy to see you.”

  Rance found himself wondering if the men looked like this, how beautiful were the women?

  A few seconds later he found out. A woman strolled into the room, her lustrous inky black hair long and straight. His heart skipped an involuntary beat as he took in her exotically tilted, amethyst eyes fringed by thick black lashes. She walked with a sensual grace, the formfitting gown she wore swirling around her lush figure.

  Belatedly realizing his mouth might be open, he glanced at Jade, who watched him with a
narrow gaze and no hint of amusement. In fact, her reaction was an external manifestation of the way he’d felt inside when she’d ogled the Fae men.

  He laughed; he couldn’t help it.

  “What’s so funny?” Jade asked, sidling up close so their hips touched.

  “I’ll tell you later, darlin’.” Smiling down at her, he completely forgot about the other woman.

  “Excuse me?” The lilting feminine voice exactly matched the gorgeous creature who’d strolled into the room. “I thought you wanted to see Diamond.”

  “We do,” Jade answered. She actually slipped her hand into his—he wasn’t sure if she did so for her benefit or his, but he didn’t care.

  “Follow me,” the Fae woman said. Still Rance kept his gaze on Jade, aware at a visceral level that she mattered most.

  When Jade started forward, Rance finally glanced away so he could watch where he walked as he went with her. All he could see was the other woman’s back. Her glorious curtain of hair swirled and swayed as she walked, almost as if it had taken on a life of its own.

  “We’ve got to be careful,” Jade said, sotto voce. “The Fae are very skilled at ensnaring the unwary. I’m worried that’s what may have happened to Di.”

  He hardly thought that would qualify as danger. Whatever or whoever had given Jade reason to believe her cousin was in danger would surely have had a better reason than that.

  He figured they’d find out soon enough.

  “Don’t let your guard down for a second,” Jade murmured. “Especially don’t eat or drink anything—I’ve heard that alone can trap you here.”

  “But why?” he had to ask. “Why would they want to do something like that?”

  “The Fae always have their own agenda.”

  He wondered where she got her information. He’d had a pretty decent education, including classes taught by his own people about the other nonhuman races, but he couldn’t remember learning much at all about the Fae.

  For now, he’d simply take her word on it.

  “Here we are,” the Fae woman said. “Di awaits you in here.” She stood back and waved her hand gracefully at a set of wooden doors gilded in gold.

  Carefully avoiding meeting her gaze, Rance nodded. “Are you ready, sweetheart?”

  Jade swallowed and then nodded. “I think so. Yes. Yes, I am.”

  “Then you may enter.”

  Since Jade continued to stand frozen, Rance stepped forward and pushed the door open, still holding Jade’s hand. He tugged her through the open door.

  As soon as they stepped into the room, the double doors closed by themselves behind them.

  Rance barely noticed. At the other end of the room, a blonde woman reclined on an overstuffed bed. Four gauzy drapes hung on all four corners, the silver color threaded with gold. The woman eyed the two of them without expression, her emerald eyes marking her clearly as Jade’s relative.

  She didn’t appear to be in any danger, as far as he could tell.

  As they got closer, Jade spoke up, clearly thinking the same thing. “Di, are you all right?”

  “What are you doing here?” Rather than pleased to see them, Di’s voice vibrated with anger. “You’re a Guardian. You can’t leave and come to Fae.”

  Jade’s tight smile matched the coldness in her gaze. “Well, now, I don’t know about that. It looks like that’s exactly what I did. I need to know if you’re planning to come home or not?”

  “What’s it to you?”

  Rance decided he’d had enough. “Your cousin and I went through a lot to get here. There’s no need for you to talk to Jade like that.”

  Di’s emerald gaze touched on him briefly and without interest. “Did my mother send you?” Ignoring Rance, she directed her question to Jade, which made Rance want to shake her.

  “She’s very worried about you,” Jade said, a thread of steel underlying her deceptively soft voice. “So worried, she had me ask Libby about you.”

  This got a reaction. Di’s eyes widened. “What did she say?”

  Jade glanced back at the closed doors. “Only that you might be in trouble and I needed to find you.”

  “Trouble.” Di’s laugh sounded bitter. “I guess you could call it that.”

  And then she stood, letting them all see her rounded stomach. “I’m pregnant.”

  “But...” Jade nearly choked. “You haven’t been gone that long. How could you show already? It hasn’t even been two weeks.”

  “Time passes differently here, you know that. What seems like a couple weeks there is months here.”

  “I thought it was the opposite,” Jade said, frowning.

  Di shrugged. “Maybe. I don’t know. I guess it can be either way. Or maybe Fae babies grow faster. Apparently.”

  Rance stepped in, deciding to ask the question Jade apparently hadn’t thought of yet. “Who’s the father?”

  Di shot him a disgruntled glare. “Who are you again?”

  “He’s with me.” Jade’s clipped tone was a warning. “Now answer the question.”

  Di sighed. “Cai. My prince. My child will be Fae royalty. I’m not sure they want me to leave.”

  “Tough. You need to go home and tell your mother.”

  While Rance knew he should stay out of this, he couldn’t help but admire Jade’s no-nonsense, take-no-prisoners approach.

  “You’ll have to talk to the prince.” Di’s smug tone grated on Rance. “He’s always telling me how precious I am to him. I’m sure he won’t let me out of his sight.”

  “I’m sure he can bear a few days apart,” Jade insisted. “Let’s just find him and ask.”

  Before she’d even finished speaking, the double doors swung open. The tall blond man who’d met them earlier strode into the room. He spared Jade a lingering smile before turning his attention on the now-glowing Di.

  “You can go,” he told her. Rance inwardly winced at the disinterest in the other man’s voice. “Di, you are free to leave.”

  At first Di simply stared at him in stunned shock. “But, Cai. What if I don’t want to?”

  “This is not your place.” Cai’s tone hardened. “You don’t belong here any more than your friends did.”

  Her friends? Were they pregnant, too? Rance and Jade exchanged a look.

  As she stared at the prince, on the edge of tears, Di’s mouth trembled. “But what about the baby?” she asked.

  “The child will survive a few journeys back and forth between your realm and mine. After all, your other friends have all returned home.”

  Di stared at him, dawning horror reflected in her green eyes. “Are you telling me that you’re the...”

  “Father of their children?” Again he flashed that humorless smile. “Yes. Of course.”

  Of course? Rance balled his hands into fists to avoid punching the guy. As if she felt the same way, Jade gripped his arm.

  One single sparkling tear ran down Di’s alabaster cheek. “But why? I thought you loved me.”

  “I do love you.” He stepped forward and gently wiped away her tear. “As I love them. I’m a Fae prince. I love many women. That’s what we do.”

  Rance snorted, unable to take much more. “That’s the biggest bunch of BS I’ve ever heard.”

  The prince ignored him. Rance clenched his fists, aware he couldn’t let his temper rule his actions. He needed to get both Jade and Di out of this place without complications.

  Apparently, Cai didn’t share this sentiment. He turned to Jade, taking her free hand and kissing the back of it. Rance just about decided if the other man’s mouth lingered a second longer, the hell with keeping his temper in check. Luckily, the prince released her.

  Jade blinked, her expression confused. Rance squeezed her hand to bring her back to reality.

&nb
sp; “We need to go,” Rance told her. A quick glance at Di revealed a jealous storm brewing in her eyes as she took in her prince fawning over her cousin.

  Jade shook her head as if clearing out cobwebs. Rance squeezed her hand again to keep her gaze from drifting back to the prince. He didn’t know what the Fae man was doing, but whatever it was, even Jade succumbed to the pull of it.

  “We need to go,” Rance repeated. “Now.”

  “You’re right. We do.” Jade frowned, glancing at her cousin, who glared at her as if she’d like to set her on fire. “Di, come on. We need to get back to Forestwood.”

  “I don’t want to go.” Enunciating each and every syllable, Di crossed her arms in defiance. “I’m going to stay right here until my baby is born.”

  “My darling, don’t overstay your welcome. You know as well as I do, when I want you, all I have to do is call and you’ll be back.” Voice silky, the prince gestured. All at once, Jade, Rance and Di were no longer inside the palace, but back in the forest, near the portal where they’d entered this place.

  * * *

  Jade swallowed, stunned to see they stood back in the trees near the portal. If they’d walked all this way from the castle, she had no memory of it. She saw that she still clutched Rance’s hand, and relief flooded her. Whatever had happened, at least he’d done as she’d asked and had never left her side.

  An outraged squeal from behind her informed her that Di was with them, too. A quick glance around verified the prince was not.

  “This is ridiculous!” Di declared, stopping just short of stomping her feet. “How dare he treat me this way? I’m going to be the mother of his child.”

  “You and a couple of others, it seems,” Rance drawled. “I think you need to get with your friends and find out how many of you were taken in by this guy.”

  Jade wondered why he shot her a look as he spoke. And then she remembered how dreamy she’d felt when she and the Fae prince had locked eyes. Damn. She shuddered. It seemed even she hadn’t been immune. She’d mistakenly believed her rapport with Libby and her role as Guardian would protect her. And Rance. Grateful, she decided to thank him later.

  Meanwhile, Di continued to complain. Loudly.