Brash. She had balls. He chuckled and leaned forward, backing her to the wall and inhaling the faint vanilla scent perfuming from her skin. “Trust me, love, if I were playing with you, you’d be screaming.” Her hitched breath satisfied a primal urge itching beneath his skin, but he got the feeling she was timid, like a wild animal who might bolt at any second if he got too close too fast. He eased back, giving her space.
“So, ah, the stone?” Hand quivering, she shoved those glasses higher onto her nose.
He withdrew the gemstone from his pocket again. This time, he handed it to her.
She inhaled and held her breath, peering at the rock atop her palm.
He cocked his head, studying her. She wasn’t a dragon, that much he was certain of. So why did she want the gem so badly?
And just how much would she be willing to trade for it?
***
Ling Tse blinked at the stone in her hand. It was beautiful. Magnificent. Perfect. And because of those things, utterly disastrous.
The hairs on her arms raised; Cao’s burning stare heated her skin. Right. Regardless of him bringing this gem to her, she couldn’t trust him.
She couldn’t trust any of them.
Only a fool would stick their hand into the same fire where they’d been burned before.
And she was no fool.
“Who sent you here?” She tore her focus off the precious stone and glared at the Eight Immortal Cao Guojiu. Though she’d stared at his picture for more hours than she would be willing to admit, the real, in-the-flesh version of this striking male had dried her throat and stolen every ounce of her cool composure. Okay, so she usually got tongue-tied around hot guys, and Cao was no exception. His messy, just-out-of-bed-and-probably-after-intense-sex dark brown hair was just long enough in the front to slash irresistibly across his sinfully twinkling, deep honey eyes. He was at least half a foot taller than her five-nine frame, and his black leather jacket hugged across wide, brawny shoulders. His white cotton shirt and dark jeans conformed to each thickly ripped muscle. The jagged cut of his angular jaw, the long straight line of his nose, and those killer high cheekbones screamed youth, though the male was thousands of years old.
Time has been kind to you, gorgeous. Oh, yeah.
She moistened her lips, tingling spreading from her toes to her core.
Yeah, he had “bad boy, stay away at all costs” written across every lickable inch of him.
He met her stare straight on. “The Matchmaker. She said you would help me.”
Ling bit down a curse. Only that woman would be so meddlesome as to send an Immortal her way. She’d worked hard to build up her reputation as being the best supplier to the beings in the Jade Emperor’s world, but Immortals were clients she refused to serve.
Yet, the stone was important. She’d already managed to collect three other pieces. With this one, she’d be halfway to possessing all eight of them. Surely, she could put aside her trepidations and trade with Cao. The sacrifice would be worth it.
The fate of the world teetered on an even more precarious cliff now that the Red Death—a nasty plague—had done its job, dividing the lines between the humans and those of the Jade Emperor’s world. Some evil people had unleashed the Plague God and, in turn, the Red Death, several years ago. The pandemic had killed millions, effectively plowing the field and clearing the way for a new world.
One Ling would do anything to prevent from rising.
Except reveal her true nature. She’d been born a Chosen, a human host paired with one of the twelve spirit animals of the Chinese Zodiac—the Sheep. The Supreme Ruler of the Universe, the Jade Emperor, tasked the Chosen with restoring the balance of yin and yang to the world.
While she’d become friends with many of the other Chosen—Tiger, Rabbit, Ox, Snake, and Horse—the Matchmaker was the only person aware that Ling carried the Sheep. When she was little, the woman had instructed Ling to conceal her identity until the right moment. Although the waiting sucked, she had faith in the Matchmaker. The only other entities Ling trusted were Sheep and her nǎinai—her grandmother.
This small rock, and the others like it, just might hold the power to turn the tide. Her hunch was an untried theory, but if the Matchmaker had sent her this Immortal, then maybe Ling was on the right track.
Maybe her plan would work.
“What do you want in exchange?” She braced for the usual, impossible requests. Finding a cure for cancer, robbing a dragon’s lair, and her personal favorite—locating the peaches of immortality. Yeah, right. Like she would be looking for that tree anytime soon.
Not even if they paid me in chocolate.
He raked one hand through those unruly locks and her own hands itched with the desire to help him in the task. “I need to find someone.”
Oh. She frowned. “Okay, sure. That shouldn’t be too hard.” With her resources and talent, there were few people she couldn’t locate. “Who do you want to find?”
He exhaled low and deep. “My—Wait, do you smell that?” He sniffed the air, eyes growing wide, and snatched her hand.
Before she could stop him, he dragged her up the stairs and down the narrow aisle. Just as they passed through the door, he wrapped his arms around her, sheltering her with his large body.
A shockwave flung them to the ground outside, booming through her bones and ringing in her ears. They smacked into the hard cement, Cao’s body cushioning her fall.
Smoke filtered into her nostrils while flames heated her back. Dazed, she lifted her head to gape at her grandmother’s shop.
Crumbling walls. Searing flames.
No. No, no.
The tiny shop had imploded, the remnants collapsing onto themselves.
With her grandmother still inside.
*****
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Matching Dragons Chinese Zodiac Romance Series Book 6 Page 10