“Yes, thank you.”
The maid held a duffel bag and handed it to her. “Your belongings, Miss. Mr. Emmerick said you would need a change of clothes for the day. Also, he wanted me to let you know to write up a list of anything that you might need. I’m happy to get those items for you.”
Tess accepted the duffel bag from the polite maid, startled at the exceptional hospitality. She wasn’t used to being tended to and didn’t quite know what to say or do. Let alone how to react. Finally, catching her manners, she managed to stammer out a thank you and a polite nod, acknowledging the maid’s kindness with a warm smile.
“When you’re ready, please come down to the dining area. I will prepare you a nice breakfast to start the day right.”
Again, Tess was struck by the hospitality.
“That would be lovely, thank you. Very much,” she stammered, feeling awkward and nervous.
The maid smiled and turned away, leaving Tess to have her privacy at getting ready to meet the day.
***
Entering the dining room, Tess saw that Clay was sitting at the table, absorbed by a newspaper that he was reading. She was immediately struck by how handsome he was and once again, that magical energy that emanated from him.
Only today, she could actually see a glow. Golden, like the one she’d seen around her own body the day prior.
It caused her to pause and she approached the table slowly, her gaze riveted on his forearms, where the glow seemed more intense. She also noticed how toned and muscular they were. Very masculine and sexy.
Clay looked up and smiled brightly at her. “Good morning, Tess. Sleep well, I hope?”
Suddenly, her mouth went dry and she found herself stammering out a response in nervousness. “Yes, tha- thank you. I tossed and turned a bit, as you can imagine, the wheels of my brain were going a mile a minute for a while before I could finally fall to sleep…”
Clay nodded, his light green eyes absorbing her, suddenly making her feel naked. “I can imagine…” he said softly, “Please, sit. Have some breakfast.” He gestured to the seat next to him.
Tess sat down and took a deep breath to calm her nerves and anxiety. Despite knowing he was mannered and kind, she still felt incredibly intimidated by him. She took in another deep breath to calm herself and in doing so, she suddenly noticed the potency of his scent.
It was masculine, musky, smoky and had an amber note to it. As if he was on fire…
It totally caught her off guard and she found herself leaning forward to sniff the air in front of her, “Is that you?”
Clay put down his paper, peering at her with a bit of confusion, “Is what me?”
Blushing suddenly, realizing she was going to have to explain herself, she attempted to speak but ended up being unable to articulate an intelligible response. Her mouth open and left gaping a bit, she finally closed it, embarrassed.
What had gotten into her?
“I think we’d better get you some coffee before we converse further. Sound good?” Clay asked, an amused look on his handsome face.
“Yes, please…” Tess managed to get the words out of her mouth, having found her voice all but frozen.
So weird! What was going on??
Clay picked up a carafe full of coffee and poured her a cup and passed it over to her. He nodded in the direction of cream and sugar, then resumed reading his paper. Tess coyly went about fixing up and doctoring her drink, quickly sipping the warm nectar. Grateful that he was reabsorbed by his paper again, she noticed the artwork on the dining room walls and let out a small gasp.
Beautiful oriental paintings of goldfish and koi decorated the walls, displayed in a delightful array. She peered about the room realizing suddenly that the entire décor of the mansion worked with the stunning artwork displayed before her.
She was pulled into the images and wasn’t sure if she was entirely awake as some of them seemed to be playing tricks on her eyes. They appeared to be moving!
Like a 3D image or something.
Which was bizarre. And cool. And interesting.
But for some reason, made sense.
Suddenly, she was pulled back into her dream, all the details vivid in her mind.
I need to write this down in my dream journal, after breakfast. There is something very important about that dream…
She realized that the questions were piling up. So many questions at this point…
The maid reappeared, a couple of plates in her hands piled with many staples of a traditional American breakfast. The delicious smell of pancakes, scrambled eggs, hash-browns, and sausage beckoned to Tess, causing her stomach to grumble in hunger.
She placed them before Tess, smiled and quietly exited the dining room. Clay peered over his paper, his eyebrow arched. “By all means, dig in. I’ve already eaten. You must be famished.”
She was and she wasn’t sure how he knew that. But then again, there seemed to be precious little that he didn’t know. Digging into her food, she ate hungrily.
At first, she felt somewhat conspicuous, having always been hyper-aware of what men might think, seeing a curvy woman like herself enjoying her food.
But for some reason, that feeling didn’t set well in Clay’s company. As nervous as she felt, being a guest in his house, she also felt welcomed.
Comfortable. At home.
Which was saying a lot for a man she barely knew. A man who was her client. A paying customer. A man who wasn’t a man. But a dragon.
Was he really a dragon?!
The funny thought seemed to jolt her out of her reverie and she heard a chuckle from behind the newspaper that Clay was hiding behind.
Was he chuckling at her or something he read?
Accepting that she might never know, she dug into her meal again, enjoying it completely. The wheels of her mind spinning…
***
Clay was amused. He didn’t think it was a good idea to remind Tess that he could hear her thoughts. Not so early in the day, at least. It would take a while for her to adjust, get used to her new reality. Give her a chance to wake up first. He had decided to not speak to her telepathically just yet… As the night before had been rather intense.
Her reaction to the decoration of the dining room had been noticeable. He liked that she was pulled into the elegant Asian artwork which were worth a fortune. Not that their value or price mattered the most to him. What mattered was what and who they represented.
Female dragons were incredibly rare. So rare, that just like a queen bee, there was only one in ratio to the many hundreds of male dragons. As a result, the majority of dragon shape-shifters never partnered or mated with another dragon-shifter. Being immortal, this came with a heavy toll. A burden.
Unbeknownst to Tess, the room was full of portraits. Portraits of Clay’s former koiaa’s. Human women with the right lineage, physiology and DNA that could be a mate to a being such as himself. Women with magic weaved into their blood. Being as old as he was, he’d had many koiaa wives, partners, mates and spouses over the centuries.
And he’d always done right by them. Allowing for the appropriate amount of time to pass, in mourning, before accepting their mortality, their deaths, and moving on. He never stopped loving them. Anguished over those who were his favorites and lived with his collection of portraiture, in memory.
His living collection, of real koi and goldfish, was his way of keeping them eternal. The memory of them, alive. The fish had been with him since as far back as he’d existed. They were generationally linked and so, immortal in their own way. He cared for them himself, and always had a staff member who helped him with the loving task.
When Tess’s dream recollection flashed before his mind’s eye, he paused. Stunned.
Had she really had a dream about his koiaa brides?
Grateful that he was hidden behind his open newspaper, an old habit he refused to replace with an eReading device for his news subscriptions. Right now, the simple wall of paper was proving to be quite usef
ul as he feigned reading.
He honed in as she mused over the dream, her thoughts a bit confused yet very curious about the unique dream. Vividly, they flashed before him in his mind’s eye.
Things were indeed moving fast if the revelation had already happened for her. A bit worried, he peeked over the edge of his paper.
“Everything to your satisfaction?”
She flashed him a winning smile, “Delicious, thank you.”
“Good.”
Satisfied she was pleased with her meal, he went back to reading his paper, deciding he’d have to gently find a way to bring up the paintings, his goldfish collection and their entwined meaning. His phone chimed with a text from Jeff.
Sir, we’ve got trouble.
Clay first muttered than grumbled a bit under his breath. All he wanted was a chance to have breakfast in peace with Tess before the world started to give him grief. He could already sense the brewing storm of trouble headed his way. His enemies knew a fae was in his residence and of course, they were determined to get to her, somehow – someway.
He texted back a quick response.
Almost done here…
He set his phone back down, hoping he could get at least another ten or fifteen minutes of time before having to go off and be a superhero, something he deplored being forced to do.
Not sure it can wait. Sorry, sir.
Clay folded up the newspaper and placed it down on the table. Jeff only said something was urgent when it truly was.
“My dear, business calls. I must leave to tend to some urgent matters. Please stay and enjoy the rest of your breakfast. Is your assistant coming to work today, to help finish the decorating?”
Tess nodded, her mouth full. She quickly finished her bite and took a sip of orange juice. “Yes, he should be here around ten.”
Clay nodded in acknowledgment and stood to leave. He wondered if the young woman in his dining room had any idea just how much her life had already changed and how much more it would continue to change. He could only hope that she’d take the good with the bad. And forgive him.
Because she was about to lose a lot of the freedom she’d always taken for granted. All so that he could protect her from a dark and sinister world she didn’t even know existed.
With that thought in mind, he left the room to meet Jeff and see what disaster they could avert for the day.
***
Tess was already working when Jay arrived. She heard the maid escorting him into the grand room where she was attempting to make an entangled string of lights behave.
“I’m over here, Jay,” she called out, realizing that she was surrounding by half-empty boxes that had been delivered earlier that morning. Since she was sitting on the floor, she knew that Jay couldn’t see her from the entrance of the room.
She heard Jay’s footsteps and then he was peeking over her mini-fortress of cardboard and peering down at her. He had a look of alarm on his face.
“What’s wrong?” She asked.
Jay came around the boxes to join her on the floor and in a hushed voice, expressed his concern to her. “I’m fairly certain the mob or the mafia or something is trailing me…”
Tess’s eyebrows arched high on her face, “What? The mafia?! What do you mean?”
“Last night, a black SUV was outside my place the entire night. There were two guys in it. They didn’t leave. Just sat in the SUV all night,” Jay said nervously, pausing to look around and check if they were still alone. “And just now, they followed me, on my way here.”
Tess quickly realized that Clay was already protecting her assistant, her friend. Why hadn’t he said anything to her at breakfast?
Tess reached out and placed her hand atop Jay’s, “Listen, there has been a really interesting turn of events since I last saw you. I don’t think it’s the mafia or the mob. I think its Mr. Emmerick’s security team.”
Jay looked at her with exactly the confused expression she’d anticipated. “What? Why?”
“Well, I think he’s got reason to be concerned about those who are in his residence being safe. It’s hard to explain, but he’s not exactly who he appears to be,” Tess explained, struggling to find the right words.
Jay looked even more confused, but at least he also seemed less worried. “Okay, like what do you mean? Fess up.”
Tess let out a sigh, “Look, I don’t know how much I can share just yet, but you’ve got to trust me on this. Something big is happening. I don’t quite understand it myself, but as soon as I know it’s okay to share, and as soon as I can wrap my head around it, I promise that I will, okay?”
Jay wrapped his long arms around his knees and studied Tess closely. “Did you two get it on or something?”
Tess flushed red immediately, “Heaven’s no! What made you go there?”
Jay shrugged one of his fabulous nonchalant, but oh-so-dead-serious shrugs, his eyes full of mischief. “Just that something is different about you this morning, Missy and I can see it plain as day. Don’t try and hide it from me.”
Tess let out a small gasp. Partly defiant, partly surprised. Was it really so obvious?
“Not to mention, you’ve sorta got a glow going on girl. Like, big-time glow,” he said winking at her.
“I do not!”
“You do. Don’t deny it. If something ain’t already happened, it’s about to. That’s all I’m saying…” Jay taunted, teasing her.
“You hush now. Just know that for now, it’s not the mafia or the mob. It’s just Clay’s – Mr. Emmerick’s security team.”
Jay nodded, grinning from ear to ear, “Wow… a Beverly Hill’s client. Who woulda thought? My girl has got it going on…”
Tess shook her head in frustration and decided that if she didn’t divert Jay’s attention, they’d end up spend all day talking about his favorite topic.
Men.
Hot, rich, powerful, ridiculously sexy men.
One in particular.
“Let’s get to work, we’ve got a lot to do today…”
“Yes, m’am. You’ve got lots of things to do. I understand,” he said then winked at her, hopping to his feet.
Tess couldn’t help but smile, then laugh as a naughty image in her mind of Clay wrapped in Christmas lights came to mind. Naturally, he was nude.
She let out a groan. It was going to be a long day.
***
Clay was watching Jeff’s body language closely. Although he’d been under Clay’s employ for eons, one of his gifts was that it was next to impossible to read his body energy and aura signatures. In a way, this made him semi-invisible in the realm of shifters and provided a unique type of advantage that Clay held in high regard.
His head of security had the most aloof, self-possessed, and in control persona of anyone he knew. But spending centuries around each other, Clay had slowly learned how to read his entrusted employee and comrade. And right about now, Jeff was worried.
Concerned and worried.
“So chatter started almost as soon as when she first arrived, to decorate?” Clay asked, clarifying what Jeff had shared.
“Yes, which means only one thing. We have a security breach and possibly a spy. Someone is on the inside. Someone who was in her presence as that is the only possible way they could have figured out or sensed her fae nature.”
This was bad news. It had to be someone on his house-staff or his business assistant. Someone he also highly valued. Clay rubbed his head in consternation.
He hated betrayal. Despised spies. Detested two-faced people.
His inner dragon started to rise up, enraged.
To think, he’d just barely met her, his next koiaa and he was already on the verge of losing her. His enemies were getting better and better at thwarting him over the eras, something he was loathe to admit. Their ways more sneaky, reckless and underhanded. He hated living in a world where the cost of trust was so high.
So fragile.
He let out an exasperated sigh, “What do you recomme
nd at this point?”
“I think we should play at being sitting ducks. Bring them to us, in our space. I hate to say it, but in a way, we need them to make an attempt on the mansion. Lie low and not indicate that we’re already aware.”
Clay squinted at Jeff, “But I’ve already had you do watch duty on her friend, her assistant. Surely they noticed our surveillance?”
Jeff shook his head, “We sniffed out his area and neighborhood very thoroughly before setting up duty. There was nothing. Zilch.”
“Set up?” Clay asked.
“I don’t believe so, sir. I think whoever this is, is small-time. Trying to keep it really small, low-key and tight. They don’t want to be noticed. They’re sneaky and sly.”
“A snake?” Clay guessed.
Jeff nodded, “Likely so. Exactly what I was inclined to think.”
Clay chewed on the information. In his mind, he was running through everyone on his staff. Most had been working for him for hundreds of years. They were more like family and kin. Within reason. It pained him to believe that one of them was about to make the stupidest mistake of their life because he would have no choice but to allow his dragon to extinguish them.
***
Morning went by quickly and before she knew it, it was almost two p.m. Tess was famished. Her stomach let out a low rumble, causing Jay, who was perched atop a ladder in the foyer, to look at her with amusement.
“Lunch time?” he said, more of a command than a suggestion.
“God yes, I could kill for a soda too… Or an afternoon coffee.”
“That makes two of us,” Jay said as he descended down the ladder. “Want to drive somewhere and get lunch?”
Tess chewed on her lower lip. She hadn’t seen Clay since morning and she knew well enough that he didn’t want her leaving the property, much less the house. “Well…”
From the other side of the foyer, the maid appeared, a tray of sandwiches, chips and soft drinks piled on it. “Hungry?” She asked, smiling sweetly.
Shifter Wonderland: Twelve BBW Paranormal Holiday Shape Shifter Romances Page 67