Rena slid her hand slowly across the slightly damp surface of the wood table, but her eyes remained locked with his. He was challenging her, daring her to call him on his bluff or merely gloating because he came through with money she’d never thought he really had. Excitement swirled in her belly as he threw down the proverbial gauntlet.
Rena loved a challenge, probably because she was so rarely faced with one.
“Fine.” Her hand hovered over the chunk of bills, still not touching them. “While I do this, why don’t you head over to the bar and find out why Patricia is taking so long with your beer?”
“Happy to.” Zander rose slowly to his feet. He leaned both hands on the table and moved in so his face was scant inches from hers. “I trust you won’t run off with all my money.”
Rena sucked in a deep breath, and her head was filled the scent of leather and a musky cologne of some kind. Or was that simply him? Sex. He smelled like great sex—at least that’s what her passion-starved brain told her. Rena swallowed the sudden lump in her throat and forced herself to form a coherent sentence.
“It’s a little early in our relationship to be talking about trust,” she murmured. “Don’t you think?”
“No, I don’t.” Zander’s pale-green eyes shimmered between strands of dark hair. “And we don’t have a relationship. It’s business, Ms. McHale. Like you said. Not personal. I am hiring you to find my brother. That’s it.”
Her jaw fell open. What the hell?
Before she could come up with any kind of retort, he pushed himself off the table and strode to the bar, where Patricia and Dino were waiting. Rena couldn’t help but allow her eyes to wander over the full length of him. He looked as good from the back as he did from the front. The black leather jacket and dark-gray T-shirt, emblazoned with some punk rock band logo, concealed what looked like a well-sculpted torso. His well-worn Levi’s fit him exactly the way a pair of jeans should fit a man—hugged his ass and covered his long legs with perfection.
Zander glanced over his shoulder just in time to catch her staring at his ass. Her cheeks flamed, and she quickly looked back at the money. He was right. If she was going to take this job, then the only thing between them could be business. It was unethical to get involved with a client.
Even if he was the sexiest and most desirable man she had ever set eyes on.
Rena let out a long, slow breath. It was now or never. She’d been holding out long enough, and even if she didn’t take the gig, at the very least, she was going to find out what Zander Lorens’s story was. She let out a curt laugh because, in about two seconds, she was going to know way more about him than he likely wanted her to.
Bracing herself for the change in her environment she knew was inevitable, Rena curled her fingers around the paper-banded stacks of hundreds, and in a split second, the bar and all the people in it vanished.
A buzzing sound, one only Rena could hear, grew louder, and then she was blinded. Rena fought for a sense of calm as she waited for the world around her to become clear again. She hated this part. It was like being thrown in a murky, foggy limbo land. Nothing and no one was real. Not even her. This place, amorphous and intangible, made her feel like she was dissolving into nothingness.
A tiny part of her, one she rarely entertained, feared that if she stayed there too long, she would never find her way back and end up lost in the fog forever.
Rena pushed harder, needing to immerse herself in Zander’s memories so she could see it all. A bright light flashed, and pain blazed through her chest—it was like having a red-hot poker jammed into her breastbone. She fought the urge to cry out, but the glimmer of fear abated when the ground was solid once again beneath her feet.
No longer sitting in the dark, moody bar, she was now inside one of Zander’s memories. Rena laughed softly, feeling a strong sense of accomplishment, and glanced around, but the smile faded when she realized she was standing in an all-too-familiar space.
This was the forest from her dream. The one with the monsters.
A rumbling sound, one she could feel deep inside her chest, filled the woods, and a blast of hot air puffed over her from behind. Zander’s spirit stream swirled around her, and she knew he was there.
Rena mustered up the courage to turn around. She was as terrified as she was curious about what she would find.
With her gaze pinned to the leaf-covered ground, Rena spun around slowly, and a gasp escaped her lips when an enormous pair of clawed feet came into view. They looked like they belonged to a mammoth bird, but the scaly skin, a blackish brown with flashes of iridescent reds and golds, didn’t look like any she’d seen before. Her heart skipped several beats as her gaze moved slowly upward, taking in the massive beast before her.
It was larger than life, right out of the pages of a fairy tale—a dragon.
Sitting on its hind legs, it had to be almost thirty feet tall. The animal’s thick, muscular body was covered in the same scaly skin as its feet, but a lighter shade of red bathed its chest and belly. A huge pair of wings were tucked in above its back. Curved, razor-sharp-looking talons on the feet were almost identical to the ones on its hands.
The beast was a magnificent combination of breathtaking beauty and otherworldly power.
Instinctively needing to put space between her and the mythical creature, Rena backed up and fought to find her breath, which seemed to have stopped all together. When her butt hit the rough bark of a tree, she let out a yelp. A split second later, the beast dropped its clawed hands to the ground. The force of the impact shook the earth, and Rena felt it in her bones.
Standing on all fours, the dragon lowered its massive head so it was almost face-to-face with Rena. Glowing, crimson-colored eyes peered at her beneath two long, curved horns, which seemed to be extensions of the creature’s eyebrows. The horns gleamed like satin. About the same shade of red as its eyes, they were matched by a series of spikes that littered the spine and stretched all the way down the tail, which the beast had curled around its body like a cat.
All that I am is yours. I give you my heart and my life. I would never harm you, my love.
There was no mistaking it. That was Zander’s voice coming from the creature and tumbling in Rena’s mind like ribbons of velvet. Smooth and rich. The dragon’s mouth didn’t move, but the voice definitely came from the beast. The beast with Zander’s spirit stream was speaking telepathically.
Zander was the dragon?
It rested its snout on its clawed hands, and its eyes fluttered closed. With no thought to the consequences, driven totally by instinct and moving through the memories of another, Rena reached out to touch it.
MINE!
Another dragon, identical in color and size, flew down from the sky as its rage-filled cry shattered the night. Its winged body blocked out the light of the moon, darkening the forest that had been serene and silent only moments ago. Rena tumbled to the ground, and the intruding beast’s burning, hateful gaze was the last image that filled her mind.
“Rena!” A strong hand curled around her shoulder and shook her gently. “Hey, are you all right?”
Rena blinked rapidly as the fog of the vision lifted and the world around her came back into sharp focus. Zander’s worried gaze was the first thing she saw. Pat and Dino stood right behind him with equally concerned expressions.
The dragon was gone, but the voice was the same. Zander was definitely the dragon, but that was crazy, wasn’t it?
People couldn’t turn into dragons.
Hell, the damn things weren’t even real.
Rena’s gift allowed her to slip into the past and visit the memories of other people, but how the hell could that scenario have been one of Zander’s memories?
There was no such thing as dragons.
Yeah right. And there was no such thing as getting visions either.
“You okay, sweetie?” Dino had
his arm around Patricia’s waist, and he wiped his sweaty, balding head with his free hand. “It’s like you were sleeping with your eyes open or something.”
Rena sucked in a shuddering breath and tried to appear more confident than she felt. Coming out of her visions was never a problem, but she rarely took the chance in front of other people. She scolded herself for the foolhardy move and forced a smile.
“Musta been getting her hands on all that dough.” Patricia let out a weak laugh. “Right?”
“Dough?”
Rena blinked and then looked down at her lap. The brick of cash was clenched tightly between her fingers. Her face heated with embarrassment, and she promptly put it back on the table.
“Musta been,” Zander murmured.
His palm, warm and rough, slipped from her bare arm as he slowly rose to his feet with an expression on his face that hovered between concerned and curious.
Damn it. This was mortifying. At least she hadn’t fainted or fallen out of her chair or anything.
“Jeez, doll,” Patricia snorted. “You were, like, totally spaced-out. Again.”
“Again?” Zander asked. “This sort of things happens a lot?”
“Pfft, yeah it does. She usually gets one of her crazy hunches after she spaces out like that. Don’t ya?”
“Patricia,” Rena said in a warning tone. “I’m fine. I-I was just thinking about something.”
“Uh-huh.” Pat gave her a skeptical look. “I thought you were gonna go see the doctor about that spacing-out stuff. I told you it could be seizures or something. I saw a documentary all about it.”
Rena let out a small laugh, and some of the tension in the room eased back. Patricia loved documentaries about weird medical problems. Maybe Rena should ask her if she ever watched one about dragons and psychics.
“I’m fine.” Rena pushed the hair off her forehead and adjusted her position in the chair. “Really.”
“Are you sure?” Zander asked quietly. He sat in the chair across from her. “You were definitely…elsewhere.”
“Yes. I’m sure.” She waved her hand dismissively. “I’m just tired. I haven’t been sleeping well lately.”
“Bad dreams?”
Rena stilled, and her eyes locked with his.
Son of a bitch.
He knew.
Somehow, this man knew about her gift or her dreams or something.
Then again, after what she saw in his memories, why would that surprise her? Not only had she dreamed of him, but she was also seeing him as a dragon in his memories. This was too damn weird. She had absolutely no idea what was happening, but she was sure as hell going to find out.
“Maybe you should go home,” Patricia said, “and get some sleep.”
“You’re right, Pat. I’ve got a big week ahead.” She grabbed the brick of cash and quickly put it in her purse. “As of tomorrow, Mr. Lorens and I will be on our way to Montana.”
“What made you change your mind?” His voice was quiet and gruff. “Was it the money or…something else?”
His eyes searched hers, and a spark of awareness flickered in the air between them. A connection. A sputtering moment where one soul recognized the other. But like a flame in the wind, it vanished as swiftly as it appeared, making her wonder if it had been there at all.
“Like you said earlier.” Rena lifted one shoulder, attempting to be matter of fact about it all. “I’m going to have questions, and you’re the only one with the answers. Right?”
Silence hung between them for three beats of her heart, and for a nanosecond, Rena thought she had made a horrible mistake. Maybe her sleep-starved brain was making more out of this situation than was really there. Was her mind creating images of dragons when there were only clouds in the sky?
Or was Zander Lorens the answer to her lifelong questions?
“Right.” Zander rose to his feet. “I’ll meet you at your office in the morning. Nine sharp.”
“O-okay. But let’s make it eight. There’s still paperwork to fill out and our travel arrangements.”
“I’ll cover all of the travel.”
“You said you that you don’t fly, so—”
“We’ll be taking my Harley. It’s about a sixteen-hour trip, give or take, and I’ve already mapped the route, including the stops along the way. I figure we can do it in three days if the weather holds up.”
“You expect me to ride on the back of your motorcycle all the way to Montana?”
“Doll, for sixty grand, you’re lucky he ain’t makin’ you walk,” Patricia said through a snort of laughter.
“Honey,” Dino interjected, “why don’t we let them finish this in private? It’s business. Right?”
“Right,” Rena and Zander said in unison.
A small smile curved Zander’s firm-looking lips, and Rena couldn’t help but smile back as Dino and Pat made themselves scarce. An awkward silence swelled between them, and Rena quickly tore her gaze from his.
“Have you ever ridden a motorcycle before?”
“Nope.”
“A virgin, huh?”
“What?” Rena’s heart lurched in her chest, and her eyes flew to his. “No. I mean, I’ve had a few boyfriends but—”
Zander’s pale-green eyes crinkled at the corners, and her stomach fluttered as wildly as her heart. He wasn’t talking about sex. Rena’s cheeks flamed, and she gaped at him while trying to figure out how to take her foot out of her mouth.
“It’s okay, Rena.” Zander winked. “All you have to do is hold on tight and let me drive.”
Desire surged, and Rena couldn’t have suppressed the smile if she’d tried. She had no idea what Zander’s deal was, but she knew it was going to be fun as hell trying to figure it out.
“That won’t be a problem, Mr. Lorens, at least when we’re on your motorcycle.” Rena rose slowly from her seat and extended her hand. “You have yourself a private investigator.”
Zander flicked his gaze to her fingers briefly before gathering them in his far larger hand. When his flesh, rough and manly, connected with hers, a shiver of awareness tripped along her skin and made her catch her breath. His eyes widened, and the hint of smile lingered there, as though he knew exactly the kind of effect he had on her. He squeezed her hand lightly and ran his thumb over the sensitive flesh before letting her go.
“And you have yourself a client, Ms. McHale.”
Without another word, Zander strode out the door. Rena kept her eyes on the entrance to the club, half wishing he would come back and at the same time praying he wouldn’t. She settled back into her seat with far more questions than she should have when taking on a case.
Rena was treading in uncharted territory on every single level.
When she’d touched the money Zander had given her, she had fully expected to find all the answers she was looking for but instead ended up with a ton more questions. Why the hell was he in her dreams, and why would she see him as a dragon in his memories? Why had she agreed to take this case and run off to Montana with a total stranger when she didn’t know a damn thing about him?
It came to one major leap of faith and her insatiable need to know the truth.
Rena knew, deep in her gut, that helping Zander Lorens find his brother would also help her discover more about herself. He was the first person she had ever met who was as full of oddities as she was.
For the first time in her life, Rena believed she would get the answers she had been looking for. The blank spaces, the ones that haunted her, would finally be filled.
“Are you sure about this, Rena?” Patricia hurried over to the table and looked at Rena with genuine concern. “I mean, what if he’s a crazy psycho serial killer or somethin’? I saw a documentary about guys like that, but I’ll admit none of ’em were as hot as Zander.”
“I can take care of myself, and I�
�ll be taking my gun with me. I’ll be fine.”
“I dunno. I know you’re tough, but maybe you should find out more about this guy before you just take off with him?”
“That’s exactly why I’m going. I need more answers,” Rena said quietly. “His brother isn’t the only one who’s lost.”
Chapter 5
For the first time in ages, Zander didn’t battle with Zed in the dreamrealm while he slept. There was only one other phase during his five hundred years when he hadn’t relived that fateful battle in his dreams.
At the turn of the last millennium, Zander had an epiphany that basically added up to Screw it. None of his attempts to break the curse had worked. He was pissed off, tired, and had finally resigned himself to his fate. He drank himself into oblivion for more nights than he could count, because that was the only thing that would keep the dreams at bay.
Until it wouldn’t.
Zed eventually came to him again in the dreamrealm, tortured and confused, and after hearing his brother’s tormented soul, Zander knew he couldn’t give up. He had to find a way to break this damned curse and free Zed from his brutal existence. His brother was still reliving the horrible moment that had sealed both their fates and destroyed the only woman he had ever loved, Arianna.
The only woman they both had loved.
Until last night.
No dreams. No Zed. No Arianna. No Rena. Nothing.
It had been the single most restful night of his unusually long existence. When he awoke in his hotel room, it took him a minute to realize he had slept at all. He wasn’t sure how or why his sleep had been dreamless, but the early-morning sun streaming through the cracks of the drapes of his hotel room confirmed his suspicions.
Zander should have been grateful, but instead, he was left feeling out of sorts, off his game. He suspected the absence of dreams had something to do with Rena’s presence. Maybe Zed had recognized her, and they made a mate connection in the dreamrealm last night? If they had, then it made sense Zander would be shut out. After all, the first place that mates connected was in their dreams, and only then could they make contact in the physical realm.
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