Ignited By Flames

by Day, Vella

  Then there was Crystal—the woman he had previously believed he wanted to marry. It was possible that the trauma had messed with his head and was making him doubt himself. Men got cold feet all the time, right?

  No, you idiot. Greer is your mate, his dragon grunted.

  You might be right. Blake was so confused he wasn’t sure if the swirling emotions inside him were ones of joy or depression.

  It was time to find out which one. As he stood in front of the jewelry store, he wasn’t even sure if Greer worked today until he spotted her near the back, dressed in a classy blue and white polka-dot dress wearing red heels—the same red heels she had on when he’d taken her.

  Blake inhaled and pressed the button. A blonde woman unlocked the door and smiled as he entered.

  “May I help you?”

  “I’d like to speak with Greer.”

  Her grin widened, but he didn’t dare try to figure out what that meant.

  When Greer and he locked gazes, his dragon scratched and clawed. Had he not been wearing a long sleeve shirt, his black scales would have been flashing against his mostly sand colored ones. He had no doubt his dark brown eyes must already have teal-colored swirls running through them.

  Are you finally convinced she’s your mate? his dragon asked.

  I’m still unsure.

  For real? Look at her, dude. Her eyes couldn’t get any more purple. And check out those light-yellow scales flashing under her skin. What more proof do you need?

  I don’t know, Blake shot back, almost afraid to have his dream of finding a mate come true.

  Just because their dragons seemed to be interested in each other didn’t mean Greer the woman would desire him.

  “I see you were released,” Greer said as she approached him.

  “Yes. All charges were dropped. I’m sure I have you to thank.”

  “Not really. There was no real evidence against you. Anderson couldn’t hold you for more than forty-eight hours.”

  “No proof? What about the video showing what I did?”

  “Are you trying to get thrown back in jail?” she asked with a sly smile.

  “No. Trust me, that place was disgusting.” She acted as if dark entities were commonplace, and that the cops understood what they were capable of. “I’m just glad things worked out the way they did.”

  “Me too. Are you here to pick out that engagement ring?” Greer asked.

  Too bad he couldn’t tell if she wanted him to say yes or no. “Actually, I came to see you.”

  While she kept her expression shuttered, at least she didn’t tell him to go to hell. “About what?”

  This wasn’t going to be easy. “Greer, not only do I need to apologize for everything I did, I’m still trying to wrap my head around what really happened and why. You seem to have a good idea about these things. Do you think we could do an early dinner and discuss them? I still have a lot of questions.”

  Her brows furrowed as she reached out and cupped his hand. “Are you having nightmares? I might be able to help with that.”

  He was pleased with her concern, but her interest seemed born out of a desire to help rather than a willingness to go out on a date. That was okay. He just wanted to be with her. Needing to think clearer, he slipped his hand out of her grasp. “Not nightmares exactly. It’s more like I’m living in a fog. I thought if I understood who this man—or rather this being—was, I might find some closure.”

  “I see. Sure. We can meet. Will your girlfriend be there so she can understand what you’re going through? It is always nice to have someone to talk to.”

  Fuck. He didn’t want to start off with a lie. “No. I’ll explain it to her later.”

  Just then a customer walked in, and Blake’s sixth sense kicked in. Over the years, he’d developed the ability to tell the good from the bad, and this person reeked of evil. When he glanced over, Blake exhaled.

  His judgment must be off, like everything else since the attack. This customer appeared to be just an ordinary guy, dressed in a nice brown tweed suit, wearing a large brimmed chocolate brown hat. The gray aura pulsing around him must be in Blake’s imagination. Being around Greer probably disrupted his special abilities.

  “I’m looking for something with sardonyx,” the newcomer said. “Do you have anything with that gemstone?”

  The blonde was waiting on the man. “Just these earrings.”

  “What time would you like to meet?” Greer asked, interrupting his study of the newcomer.

  Blake shifted his attention back to her. It wasn’t a good sign that he was so easily distracted, but he’d been looking at the energy trail coming off the man. “Is five okay? I can pick you up here.”

  She smiled, and his body lit up once more. “Perfect. See you then.”

  Not wanting Greer to change her mind, he headed off, taking one more glance at the man who seemed so intent on buying his jewelry. As Blake exited the store, an image of Crystal popped up in his mind’s eye, and he focused hard to banish it. Blake needed to concentrate. Tonight had to be about this Mange character. While this entity might be dead, Blake needed to know if there could be any more of his kind around.

  You’re deluding yourself. You don’t give a flip about the entity. You just want to spend time with Greer, his dragon said. And I thank you for that.

  Maybe, but remember you were the one who urged me to be with Crystal. I thought you wanted us to be together. Fickle animal.

  All dragons like sex. I never said you should be together forever.

  No, he hadn’t, which was all the more reason why he had to find out if Greer felt the same way about him as he did about her.

  “Woowee!” Tory exclaimed as soon as Blake and the other customer left the store. “He’s into you, Greer.”

  “You don’t know that. You heard him. The poor man is confused, that’s all.”

  Her cousin laughed. “Confused about Mange maybe, but not about you. Didn’t you see how his eyes glazed teal? Or how his scales pulsed?”

  His eyes did have specks of teal in them, but no way Tory could have seen any of Blake’s scales—pulsing ones or not. His arms were covered, though Greer thought she saw something dark flash around his collar. Even if his scales had lit up, it didn’t prove they were mates. “What about his future fiancée?” Greer challenged.

  She shrugged. “He said he plans to get his head on straight and then talk with her. Hopefully, it will be to tell her the two of them can’t be together because of you.”

  “Coming to grips with what happened doesn’t imply he plans to break up with her,” Greer countered. Though she wished it did.

  Tory shook her head. “I think he’s having second thoughts. I mean if you two really are mates, he’s got to be going through hell right now wondering what to do about her. Does he let her down gently, or does he try to figure out if you’re feeling the same draw before he does?”

  She didn’t like the idea of anyone suffering because of her, but she couldn’t do much about it. “I, for one, won’t judge him no matter what he decides. Tonight, I will hopefully get some answers about his intentions.”

  Greer was happy she hadn’t committed herself to someone before finding Blake. That would have been tough having to say goodbye to the person she cared for. The real question was whether Fate had paired them. Her dragon was definitely saying yes, but her animal might have said that solely based on the fact Blake was disarmingly handsome.

  I’ve never led you astray before. Her animal actually sounded hurt.

  I agree you’ve never told me a man was my mate before.

  See?

  Greer was thankful Blake had made the first move and asked her out. It might not be a real date, but she would learn more about him.

  As the time grew closer to five, Greer’s nerves increased. She was always the cool one, and yet this evening could determine her path for the rest of her life. If Blake turned out to be the one… Stop it! She didn’t need to be getting ahead of herself. Blake had ask
ed her out to discuss the incident. That was all.

  Or was it?

  “I need to call Angelique,” Greer told Tory.

  “Why?”

  “Blake wants to know more about Mange. I can’t explain about dark and light entities without talking about her. I don’t want to out her without her permission.”

  “You could just say an anonymous friend told you about Mange.”

  Greer smiled. “That’ll work. If I didn’t believe Blake was my mate, I’d tell him almost nothing, but he deserves to know.”

  Tory clapped. “I am so happy for you.”

  “Don’t start cheering just yet. Remember, he’s involved with another woman.”

  Blake stepped out of the jewelry store and headed in the direction of the bank, his concern for Crystal growing. She probably had gone back to work after dropping him home. Blake had showered as he said he would, and had even rested for a few minutes, but the need to see Greer prevented him from sleeping.

  While he could go into work to see if anything needed his attention because of his unfortunate absence, he feared Crystal would see the guilt swimming in his eyes. In his frame of mind, he wasn’t ready to tell her about finding his potential mate. Besides, he hadn’t spoken with his boss yet to see if he still had a job. Since Blake had been taken against his will and then unjustly incarcerated, there shouldn’t be any issues with him returning.

  Tomorrow was Saturday, which was Crystal’s day off. He’d see her that night. On Monday, he’d go in to work and pretend as if nothing had happened. No doubt he’d be bombarded with a bazillion questions about his close call with death and the subsequent arrest. After tonight’s date—or rather meeting with Greer—he hoped he’d learn enough to answer all of their concerns.

  The best thing for him now was to head home and try to grab a nap since he wanted to be at his best tonight. The last thing he needed was to be so tired that he blurted out he and Greer were mates. Tonight was all about learning who Mange had been. If Greer tossed him some favorable signals, he’d wing it and hint at having feelings for her.

  Once in his condo, he grabbed a snack and then stretched out on the sofa with the television softly playing some tunes, ready to fall asleep. Unfortunately, his mind wouldn’t stop spinning. After an hour he gave up.

  A few minutes before five, Blake headed to the jewelry store. He hadn’t changed his clothes on purpose, since he didn’t want her to think this was a real date. In fact, he decided to take her to the Hillside café—a casual place where they mostly served sandwiches. The shop closed at seven, which implied this was a fact-finding mission only.

  Even though the café was within walking distance of SinCas jewelers, he wanted to drive his Landspur—a rather high-end car. Was he trying to impress Greer? Hell, yeah. She was practically nobility and probably didn’t slum it—ever.

  He parked in front of the jewelry store, slid out of the car, and straightened his shirt. He shouldn’t be nervous, but for some reason he was. When he rang the bell and was buzzed in, his body exploded with need. Whoa. No doubt every black scale was flashing. His teeth sure had sharpened, and his talons were trying to poke their way out of his fingertips.

  Blake wasn’t sure if he should be upset or excited about his body’s continued reaction to Greer when he was close to her. One thing he did know was that he could no longer deny his destiny.

  The worst part was that he’d have to tell Crystal about Greer, and her negative reaction would tear out his heart.

  His challenge now was to figure out how to convince Greer they belonged together. That might sound like a silly concern since Greer’s animal would be clawing at her too for them to be together, but if she still harbored any ill will toward him, she might deny the truth.

  Greer looked up after locking the glass display case. “Hey, give me a sec. I’m almost ready.”

  He had to hand it to her. She was a cool one. Greer twisted her head to the side so he couldn’t see if her eyes had turned purple. The change would indicate she was excited to see him. Since the lights were so bright in the store, it prevented him from seeing if her scales were flashing. Damn. His scales were so dark no one could miss them.

  “No rush,” he answered.

  He studied the jewelry in the case, pretending to be interested, but it was impossible to focus on the intricate design of the earrings when Greer was near. Heat was rushing through his veins too fast to truly appreciate the beauty of any of the pieces.

  Greer locked the case. “Let me get my purse, and we can go.”

  Either the blonde had already left, or she was in the back. After Greer returned, they exited through the front door. Using some kind of electronic device, she locked and alarmed the store.

  “I drove since I didn’t think you’d want to walk the six blocks in heels.”

  She laughed, and his dragon roared. “I live in high heels. Short of running a marathon, these shoes won’t stop me from going anywhere.”

  Goddess, but he loved her attitude. “Driving is faster. Besides, the Hillside Café closes at seven.”

  “Then driving it is.”

  He opened her car door and had to avert his gaze the moment he caught sight of those endlessly long legs. How Blake was going to last through dinner without his horny dragon showing signs of his desire was anyone’s guess.

  He said nothing during the short drive to the restaurant, mostly because he didn’t want to delve into what had happened with Mange only to stop the discussion two minutes later.

  There weren’t any spaces in front, so he parked in the rear lot. In silence, they entered through the back. The restaurant was only half full, which meant there were several options for seating. Blake chose one as far from anyone as possible. Scaring someone with some dark entity discussion wouldn’t be good.

  Greer slid into the booth, and he sat across from her.

  “Tell me what about the incident troubles you the most,” she said, getting right to the point.

  So much for her thinking this might be a date. It didn’t matter. He really did have a ton of questions. “Why did this entity target me? Did this being have a type—young male perhaps?” Being a dragon shifter he didn’t look one hundred and two years old.

  “As far as we could tell, it only inhabited men. I’m guessing it picked you because you were a convenient target. This entity wanted to use me as leverage to get to my friend, and you were at the right place and the right time.”

  “You mean Angelique?” Her eyes widened. “That thing you called Mange mentioned her name.”

  “I forgot that it did. Yes, Angelique is my friend, but she is also mated to my cousin, Thane. Mange seemed to think he could get to her through me.”

  “I know Mange said something about her being a white entity, but what exactly is that? I know of white and dark lighters. Is she like one of them?”

  Greer leaned back against the seat and blew out a breath. Just then the waitress stopped by.

  “Can I get you two something to drink?” she asked.

  “Coffee for me,” he said.

  “I’ll have iced tea—unsweetened, please.”

  “Be right back.”

  Blake looked around to make sure no one was listening. “You were telling me about Angelique.”

  “Oh, yes. She’s not a white lighter. Angelique is far more powerful than that.” Greer proceeded to tell him some unbelievable story about another realm in which entities existed without bodies. These pure energy entities could be either light or dark. They were relegated to remain in that realm unless Fate needed them on Tarradon for some reason. “That’s where Angelique comes in. She is a light entity who Fate sent on a mission. I don’t understand how it all works, but Fate gave her a body so she could fulfill her duties.”

  “That is too strange. What was her mission?”

  “It’s on a need-to-know basis.”

  “Ah, I get it.” He was an outsider.

  She sighed. “I know this is hard to understand. Even I don
’t know all of it. What I do know is that somehow this dark entity either escaped from its realm or was released. We figured that because Fate didn’t give it a body, his presence on Tarradon wasn’t sanctioned.”

  “So it had to enter someone else’s body in order to do whatever it had planned.”

  “Precisely, and since we believe its plan was to harm Angelique, who is a light entity, it decided to take me to get to her,” Greer said, her tone suddenly hard.

  He huffed out a laugh. “This dark entity must have misjudged your friend, because Angelique and your cousin killed him.”

  “They did, thankfully.”

  This was overwhelming. Blake had never heard of this other realm until now. “I really was a means to an end then,” Blake said, his voice trailing off.

  She leaned back. “I believe so.”

  He was thankful he’d done nothing to deserve it. “Let’s hope no one else escapes from that place.”

  She chuckled. “No kidding. My family has been around a long time, and none of us have heard of anything like it before.”

  With his questions more or less answered, he wanted to bring up the delicate subject of whether they could be mates. Blake was out of practice when it came to discussing matters of the heart, and he hoped he didn’t mess it up.

  Chapter Three

  Interesting. Blake really seemed to only want to talk about why that dark entity had attacked him and nothing else. Despite their discussion being smooth and easy—comfortable even—Greer wanted to steer things in a different direction—like whether he believed they were destined for each other. She hadn’t planned to bring up that topic tonight, but when he was asking her questions, his eyes had swirled with different colors a few times, and his eyeteeth had elongated a bit, implying he was excited to be around her. Too bad his long sleeved blue shirt hid any flashing scales. That would have been another indication they were fated for one another.

  Not only was Blake physically reacting to her, he also seemed to be hanging on her every word. Was that the kind of reaction a man who was almost engaged should have? Or did it mean he realized they were meant for each other and would no longer pursue this other woman?