Dragon Song (16 page)

“Tielle, please help him,” Stone pleaded.

She rushed past him to the office doorway to find Einin Hughes crumpled on the couch holding a blood-soaked leg. Not far from him, on the floor, glass lay scattered. She couldn’t imagine what he’d broken, but a piece must have caught him. Tielle didn’t think twice about how much she disliked this man and how he didn’t deserve her help after he called her a whore. She went into action, racing across the room.

She put her fingers into the area where the pants were ripped and tore them further. Einin swore. “Damn it, you’re ruining six hundred dollar trousers!”

“Then you’re an idiot,” she told him. She examined the wound. “Stone, get his belt off and tie it around his thigh. He’s losing a lot of blood, and if we don’t stop it, he’s going to die.”

Both men paled, but Stone rushed to do her bidding. She glanced at Einin and drew satisfaction from what she would have to do next.

“This is going to hurt like a bitch.” She didn’t give him time to react or protest. She reached inside the wound to find the vein curling just like she’d been taught. If she didn’t keep it unfurled while also pinching it off, Stone would still lose his father. Einin howled and soon passed out. Stone clenched his fists but said nothing. “Pick him up, Stone. We’ll have to get him to the hospital fast. Don’t out walk me though, because I have to hold this.”

He
nodded,
his face grim.

When they got to the main hall, Lawrence had the front door open, and the limo was parked out front, the chauffeur behind the wheel. As they tucked Einin inside, Monica came running, screaming and crying. She tugged at Stone’s arm.

“What is she doing to him, Stone? Stop her, stop her!”

“Shut up, Monica,” Stone commanded, and to Tielle’s surprise, she did.

“Elevate his feet with something,” Tielle instructed. Stone found a jacket from somewhere and lifted his father’s feet. They sat in silence while the limo sped down the long driveway back to the main road leading into town. Already, Tielle’s hands were aching from holding them in the same position, but she couldn’t let go. This was more serious than anything she’d dealt with so far, and it also seemed like déjà vu given she’d saved Stone too.

When they drew up to a small house that did not look like a hospital, she turned to Stone for an explanation, but he said nothing. The limo door opened, and Stone moved to help his father out.

“Stone, he needs a hospital. This is serious. He needs surgery,” she told him.

“Our family doctor is a surgeon. Trust me.”

She didn’t argue but followed him inside still holding Einin’s vein. When they were directed to a back room in the simple house, she found a doctor’s operating table. Was this normal for small town people? She guessed it was, but it still seemed back water to her.

The doctor came out already prepared for Einin. Someone must have called ahead. They laid Einin on the table, and the surgeon took over. He nodded knowingly after examining the wound. A nurse shuffled them out of the room, and Stone and Tielle sat in a makeshift waiting room. Tielle sat at Stone’s side, his hand engulfing hers. He made no sounds, his face expressionless, but she had the feeling he was worried. Einin might be evil incarnate in her book, but Stone loved him.

The time passed slowly. Tielle grew sleepy. She’d visited the bathroom to wash some of the blood off of herself. When her head began to dip back and forth as she nodded off, Stone lifted her onto his lap and pulled her head to his chest. She wasn’t about to resist at this point despite their unresolved issues. Tired as she was, she didn’t have the strength.

At last the doctor came out of the operating room stretching. He must be sore after working so hard to save Einin. The smile that graced his face seemed to put Stone at ease.

“He’s going to be okay, I think.” The doctor wagged a finger at Tielle. “You, young lady, saved his life. How did you know to hold onto the vein?
Any medical training?”

She nodded. “I’m a nurse.”

“Ah, well, Mr. Hughes, you have a good woman, there,” he told Stone.

“Aye, I see that, Doctor,” Stone answered. “So he will be fine?”

“He’ll be fine. You know Einin is a stubborn old coot. He won’t stick his spoon in the wall that easy. He will need to stay here a few days. He won’t like it, but Margie is time enough for him. You all go home and get some rest. Nothing you can do tonight. You can see him in the morning.”

Tielle took Stone’s hand. “Come on. You can come back in the morning.”

They left the small house clinic and got in the limo for the return ride to the castle. Stone put his head back with his eyes closed. She thought he was asleep until he spoke. “Thank you, Tielle. You saved his life. You don’t know what that means to me.”

“It’s my job.”

He opened his eyes and looked at her like he was about to say more, but he said nothing. The ride home was silent, and Tielle stared out at the darkness around them. The sun had long since descended, and beyond a few feet from the car, there was little visibility. By the time, they drew up to the castle, the moon had come out from behind the clouds, and the night brightened.

Stone walked Tielle to her room and acted as if he would join her, but she put a hand on his chest. “I’m tired. I don’t feel like it tonight. You understand, don’t you?”

“Of course.”
He lifted her chin and brushed a feathery kiss over her lips. Tielle’s body responded, but she tamped it down. “Good night,” he said and turned to head to his own room.

Tielle closed her door and leaned her forehead against it. Everything inside her wanted to call Stone back, but despite what had happened with his father, his words from earlier played and replayed through her head. She meant nothing to him.

Chapter Twenty

Tielle couldn’t believe what she was going to do. She’d taken a shower and gone to bed with the intension of sleeping, only to find that sleep evaded her. Now, she’d tossed on a robe and slippers and tiptoed through the house to find Noah. She’d previously seen Noah entering his bedroom, located at the other end of the wing she and Stone occupied. At least she hoped it was his room and not someone else’s he happened to visit at the time she spotted him.

She laughed at the thought of
visit
but could think of no other way to describe it. All the rooms in the castle seemed to have a living room before reaching the area where one slept. They were like mini-apartments that took Tielle some getting used to.

At Noah’s door, she paused, dredged up her courage, and knocked. When no answer came, she knocked again. “Noah,” she whispered.

The door opened. She expected him to be groggy, dressed in pajamas, not wide awake but butt naked. His smile grew, and he held his arms open. “I knew you couldn’t resist me,
a stór
.
”

Tielle folded her arms over her chest, not
fazed
in the least, especially since she was tired as hell but couldn’t sleep, and she was scared about what Noah would reveal. “Cut the crap, Noah. I have no interest in you. Now get some clothes on and come downstairs so we can talk. I’m not coming into your room.”

She thought she saw a flash of anger in his eyes, but it was gone in an instant. He held his smile, but she didn’t believe it was sincere. “You have perfect timing. I will show you something significant instead.”

He snatched up a pair of jeans from the floor and led her on an almost run down the hall. The man had no shame for the fact that he was out here with his thing swinging in the wind. At Stone’s door, Noah stopped. Tielle jerked away from his hold, her eyes widening. He could not be trying to trick Stone into thinking they had been together.

She was about to tell him about himself, when he pressed a finger to her lips and then leaned in close to Stone’s door. Tielle heard nothing out of the ordinary other than she thought Stone was up pacing. Noah ran, almost dragging her along. When they reached a set of stairs she’d never seen before, he paused to slip on his pants, and then he compelled her up the steps, not caring when she tripped and stubbed her toe.

Tielle tugged on her arm trying to get it away, but he dug his fingers into her flesh. She winced, and he glared down at her at the landing’s top. “You wanted to know the truth. You’ll know it, but you have to move fast. It’s only a matter of time before he decides to go out.”

“Out where?”

He didn’t answer. They rushed on until Noah opened a door two down from Stone’s but a floor higher. Inside the room, the furnishings had been removed. Noah raced across to the double doors leading to a balcony and threw them wide. The cool night air flowed in, chilling Tielle. She stood in the middle of the room eyeing Noah, convinced she’d made a mistake trusting him this far.

When she was about to tell him she was returning to her room, he said, “Now we wait.”

“You wait,” Tielle snapped. “I’m freezing my ass off.”

“If you leave you won’t ever learn the truth,” he warned. She had her hand on the doorjamb. “He’ll keep his secret from you as long as you’re together. But tonight, I know he’ll reveal himself for the simple fact that you are not in bed with him.”

“If you’re trying to prove that Monica and Stone are lovers, forget it. Stone has shared my bed every single night since I arrived, and we spend almost all of our time together when not sleeping if he’s here in Ireland.”

She felt somewhat better after making that speech. It was true though. Realistically, Stone would not have had time to be with Monica. Knowing that gave her a little peace, but
Noah’s pitying
gaze made her want to smack him.

He glanced down at something over the side of the balcony. “He’s out there. Come and see.”

She hesitated. Why would he lure her up here?
To toss her over the side?
Did Noah take his and Stone’s rivalry that far that he would murder her? Was Stone even out there? She took two steps back. Noah saw her fear.

“Stupid woman.”
He rushed across the room, grabbed her and covered her mouth so she couldn’t scream.
“Just look, damn it.”

Tielle did, and Stone was out there on his balcony below. He stood as naked as Noah had been. She was beginning to think they all had issues. Stone stretched his arms above his head and stared up at the stars. When he did, they had to jump back out of sight. What he did next blew Tielle’s rational thoughts right out of her head.

Stone began to change. His back seemed to crack and bend in ways she thought were impossible. His skin rippled, and where she could just make out the lighter shade of it in the moonlight, she realized it was turning darker. Almost like he had put on a sci-fi cloaking material, it became hard to distinguish him from his surroundings.

Then the moon shone brighter, and Tielle saw that Stone had shifted from a human to a dragon. Where she thought he had made himself disappear, he’d only turned his skin some dark color.

He jumped up on the low balcony wall and balanced there like an expert. Wings with an unbelievable span opened from his back. Stone flapped them once and then tucked them away so he could climb up the wall. Tielle stared horrified at the clawed feet and hands on the man she loved as he scaled the wall.

Noah’s hand fell away from her mouth, and he let her be while she watched Stone. Her knees gave out. She sank to the ground crying. After Stone disappeared over the roof, he reappeared moments later gliding through the air, his wings expanded to their full potential.

Tielle bowed her head leaning against the balcony wall. Her shoulders shook because of the intensity of her feelings. “He’s…” she began. “He’s a…a…monster.”

When Noah would have taken her hand, she snatched at away. “Don’t touch me. You knew what he was, why he was so important, yet you let me find out like this.” She sobbed uncontrollably. “I can’t do this. I just can’t!”

“Let me help you, Tielle,” Noah offered.
“Whatever you want to do.”

She could leave him, she thought. Leave Stone, right here and now. She couldn’t deal with the fact that he wasn’t human. Not now, maybe not ever. Resting her hand in Noah’s, she stood. Tears flowed from her eyes nonstop, but she kept brushing them away.

Whatever she wanted to do? Her decision came right away. “Take me home, Noah. Please,” she begged. “Just take me home.”

When he agreed, Tielle shuffled to her room to pack. She knew she should hurry before Stone got back, but all the energy had left her body. Moving took too much effort, and all she could do was stumble through the motions it took to leave Ireland for good.

* * * *

High above the ground, Noah flew, allowing the wind to race against his scales. He dipped and dove, loving every heart-pounding moment. Flying was part of his life, and he didn’t know what he’d do if he couldn’t do this. Over the years, he’d felt sorry for Noah although he’d never shown it. To know he had the dragon shifting gene but would never be able to access it must be tormenting. Then again, Noah had never flown, so maybe he didn’t know what he was missing.

Having the gene active wasn’t all good, of course. He’d outlive his family, have to move and change his name. He’d always be a Hughes. The difference was at some point, he might be forced to become his father’s grandson and then someone else. Just like his uncle. Murray, more than three hundred years old, had not been Einin’s brother but a much older cousin. Noah had come along late in his life to his third wife.

Thinking of the complications, the lies, the adjustments to being a dragon shifter, Stone wondered how everything would work out with Tielle. Could he tell her the truth? If he did, how would she react? Would she be disgusted with him or accept him as he was? Everything inside him longed for her to understand, because he was sure now that he could never let her go. He’d told Einin that Tielle was for right now, but that had been a lie. He knew even then what she meant to him. For however long they could be together, Stone would take it. One minute with her was more than several lifetimes with any other woman.

He let out an ear-piercing roar, knowing he was too high for anyone to hear. Love had made him sentimental. He didn’t care. At last he could admit to himself that he loved Tielle. That was all the mattered. In fact, the sooner he let her know what he felt, the better. Under normal circumstances, he would not cut his flight short for anything, but Tielle was more than worth it. He knew she was tired from saving his father’s life, an act that endeared her to him even more, but he needed to be with her. He had to make her understand she was everything to him.

Excited to see her and tell her all, Stone hurried home and landed on Tielle’s balcony. He tried the doors, found them unlocked, and let himself in. She’d be startled that he was stark naked since he didn’t wear clothes when he changed, but it wasn’t anything she hadn’t see before. A grin splitting his face, he hurried across her sitting room to her bedroom door. To his surprise, it was open. He knew she preferred it closed.

The room when he entered was silent and dark—
too
silent. Stone didn’t hear Tielle’s gentle breathing, and he could see just fine in darkness. He only wished his eyes were deceiving him. Tielle’s bed was empty and made with haste from the look of it. The wardrobe stood open, where she’d hung the dresses he had purchased for her. Not one dress remained. Stone’s chest constricted. She couldn’t have left him, could she?

He clicked on the lamp to find a folded slip of paper on Tielle’s bed. His heart thundering in his chest, Stone picked it up. Before he opened it, he went back to his room and got dressed. With her gone, there was no way he’d sleep tonight. At last ready to face her words, he opened the paper.

Stone,

Our time together has been amazing, but I think it’s time I move on. I have never stayed with a man longer than a few months. It’s just not my style. I hope you understand. Don’t worry about me. I know how to take care of myself. Thanks for everything.

Tielle

Stone crushed the paper in his fist. Don’t worry about her? Did she think her kidnapping was a
joke, that
the man who had perpetrated it would understand since she broke it off with him? He stood and threw the paper on the floor, but that did nothing to take away his frustration. Stone ran his fingers through his hair. Why now of all times, when his father had just come through surgery and was still under observation? He felt he knew Tielle pretty well, and something had to have compelled her to leave.

He stomped over to his cell phone which he’d left on the nightstand. Before he could dial Jimmy to demand he get his ass out of bed and help Stone locate Tielle, the phone rang. A sense of foreboding fell down over him that he couldn’t shake. He answered not recognizing the number on the ID.

“Stone here,” he said.

“Just the man I want,” the voice on the other end said. The person didn’t sound familiar.

“It’s a bit late,” Stone told him. “Who are you, and what do you want?”

“I’m sure you can guess,” the man teased. “Are you missing someone?” Stone’s stomach sank.
“Someone
important
to you?”

“How much?”
Stone muttered. Whatever the amount, he’d pay it.
Just let her be safe. Please.

The man chuckled.
“So hasty, Mr. Hughes.
No, we need to discuss matters before we get into particulars. How about you meet me?”

Stone frowned. This was starting out odd. He’d assumed the kidnapper would name his price and then demand Stone drop off the money at a particular location. Then Tielle would be left in a different location. Fear that the guy wouldn’t release her at all snaked through his system, but he refused to give into panic. He needed his mind clear if he was going to save Tielle. And he
would
save her. The bastard who dared put his hands on Tielle would have them ripped off and shoved down his throat.

“How about you prove to me that you have Tielle?” he demanded.

Before he even finished speaking, his phone clicked with a received text. Stone moved the phone from his ear and pressed a button that would let him check messages without disconnecting the call. His chest tightened at the clear picture of Tielle asleep on a bed. Another picture arrived, a close up, and Stone’s heart seemed to shatter when he noted the tearstains on her cheeks.

Stone dropped his forehead into his palm while he mastered his emotions. After some time, he lifted the phone to his ear again. “When and where?”