Dragon's Flame (3 page)

She and Lia stopped at a table selling charms. The vendor, a dark-skinned woman with a bayou accent said, “It’s okay to handle them. They require blood to be activated.”

Oh boy
, Saffron thought, picking up a silver charm with a clear crystal center and etched lines that created the impression of an eye. A tag on a thin string where a chain could be attached claimed that the charm would allow its wearer to become aware of their personal magic so it could be channeled.

Saffron set the
eye
on the table and turned toward Lia who was fixated on a charm with a thousand dollar price tag. “What’s it for?”

“It attracts a supernatural mate.” And damned if Lia wasn’t fiddling with her purse clasp like she was getting ready to open it and shell out the cash.

Oh hell no, not on my watch
.

Saffron pointed to a table toward the end of the row. “Give it some thought while we check out the tarot cards.”

Lia turned away from the charm though her hand didn’t drop away from the purse clasp. “Okay.”

Out of hearing range from the charm seller, Saffron said, “Tell me you are not considering spending a thousand bucks on a charm.”

She didn’t say
wasting
a thousand bucks, but only because the jury was out on how much of the supernatural stuff was real. And considering she always wore the charm her twin, Sabra, had given her, that’d be a little hypocritical.

Lia glanced over her shoulder. “If the charm worked, it’d be worth the money.”

“No way. No how. Human men are problematical. A supernatural male—if such a man exists at all—has got to be a thousand times more trouble.”

“Says the woman who ends things the instant she gets the feeling a guy is close to thinking the L word, let alone saying it out loud.”

“Guilty.” And fearing the conversation was going to lead to Lia psycho-analyzing her as she’d done in the years since Dashon’s death, Saffron said, “You’re smart, gorgeous and fun to be with. You don’t need to lay down that kind of cash to meet someone special. It’ll happen.”

“Maybe.”

Saffron put her arm around Lia and pulled her into a shoulder-to-shoulder hug. “It. Will. Happen. Believe it.”

Lia was beautiful with her long brown hair and blue eyes, but more than that, she was compassionate and generous—not that she couldn’t also be tough in a tough-love kind of way.

They reached the vendor selling tarot cards, everything from fantastical to downright creepy. She and Lia both zoomed in on a deck with art that was predominantly black and white, though each card had one bright splash of color on it somewhere. Red eyes on a bat. Yellow eyes on a wolf. Bright orange on a Monarch butterfly hanging upside down on a branch in a very dark forest.

Saffron was already pulling out her wallet when Lia said, “Sabra would love this deck.”

“Sabra probably wouldn’t leave the fair with fewer than five decks.”

“Too true.”

Saffron paid and took possession of the deck. They moved on, turned the corner and started down the next row of stalls.

Lia stopped in front of a table crammed with fetishes. Most were of animals or reptiles. They were in various sizes, carved from wood or stone. Crude figures stood mingled with elaborately detailed miniatures.

Saffron’s phone rang. She checked the number, saw it was Animal Control and knew it was Tanya. “What’s up?”

“The iguana needs a place to go. Like today.”

“What about the Herpetological Society?”

“Foster homes close to being maxed out. Even if they weren’t, iguanas are a challenge for them. They’re willing to help if I can get him-her-it out of here and into a safe place.”

“And that would be me?”

“Please. Pretty please. I’ll owe you, big time. Besides, you liked the little guy-girl-whatever. Don’t tell me you didn’t. You’ve status-checked more than once. And the iguana liked you, at least, that’s what the AC officer said.”

“I don’t know—”

“Please, pretty please. It doesn’t have to be a for-life commitment.”

Good. She wasn’t a for-life-commitment kind of woman.

“Please, Saffron.”

How could she say no when the seven-inch green iguana in question had been living in an old Honda with an Army veteran? The guy had
served
, then come home and failed to make the transition from war in the Middle East to civilian life.

A collision with an F-150 had left the vet trapped in his home on wheels. Her engine had taken the call and pried him from the car, discovering the iguana in the process.

The vet left in an ambulance, in bad shape. She’d found out later that he didn’t make it.

The iguana left in an Animal Control truck. And she’d felt sickened at being the one to slide the vet’s companion into the small vented compartment.

“I’ll take her,” Saffron said, assigning a sex since she wouldn’t know for sure what the iguana was until it got larger.

It almost felt as if it was fated. She’d been curious enough to read up on iguanas, had thought about the one that’d survived the wreck more than once, maybe because her brother had been Army before he’d become a cop.

“You’ll come by today?” Tanya asked.

“I’ll swing by the pet supply store after I leave the supernatural fair, then come get her.”

Tanya laughed. “Now you’ve surprised me. I wouldn’t have thought you were into that kind of stuff.”

“I’m not. Not really. See you later.”

Saffron pocketed the phone. Lia exaggerated a surprised expression. “You’re getting a pet?”

“This is temporary.”

“Tell yourself that if it makes you feel better. What kind of pet?”

“An iguana.”

“The one from that callout?”

“Yes.”

“Your soft side is showing.”

“I don’t have a soft side. What you see is what you get.”

“Yeah, right.” Lia picked up a dragon fetish carved out of black onyx. “My opinion? You want something scaly in your life, hook up with a dragon shapeshifter.”

Saffron shook her head. “Not prepared to believe they exist.”

“Yet. Truth in myth, sister. Truth in myth.”

“So you’ve said before.”

Lia set the fetish on the table and they resumed walking, passing tables offering charms and crystals.

At the end of the row, Lia grabbed Saffron’s arm. “Hottie alert at ten o’clock.”

Saffron looked and heat immediately flared between her legs. Sensuous need pooled in her belly.

Taine. Of course IRE agents would be here.

Her heart sped and her nipples puckered, and this time, in a tank top instead of the turnout gear, there was no hiding his effect.

Standing next to Taine was more eye candy, a blond discharging plenty of sex pheromones. Every woman around the two of them seemed to be in a trance but she couldn’t give blondie more than a flicked glance.

Taine was wearing what he’d had on earlier, the dragon tee that asked,
Got fire?

Their eyes met and she felt engulfed by fire. She licked her lips and his gaze zeroed in on them, turning the heat up.

Another man stopped next to him, this one dark-haired and equally potent.

“Now there’s a glorious trifecta,” Lia said. “If a charm would pull one of those bad boys into my life, I’d hand over my credit card in a heartbeat.”

“They’re IRE agents.”

“Better and better. And how do you know that?”

“Car fire. The one in the
Got Fire
tee—”

“The one who looks like he can hardly wait to get you naked and beneath him?”

Saffron shivered, ignored the comment. “His Maserati went up in flames. It was our last callout before shift change.”

“If he touched me, I’d go up in flames too. But no such luck. He’s fixed on you. Which isn’t to say I wouldn’t be happy with one of his friends as a consolation prize.” Lia squeezed Saffron’s arm. “Intro time.”

Before they could take a step, the blond drew Taine and the other dark-haired agent away.

Taine glanced back at her before he disappeared and there was a whole lot of promise in that look.

“You’re going to be breaking your sex-fast,” Lia murmured.

“Maybe.”

Probably.

He was obviously on duty now, but he wouldn’t be later. She’d see him again, at the beach, if he’d also recognized her earlier and realized he’d seen her there.

Or he’d call. Admit to using agency resources to get her phone number.

Her pulse sped and there was no denying that she hoped Lia was right, and she was about to break her sex-fast.

Concentrating on what was being offered for sale was pretty much impossible after encountering Taine. Saffron’s thoughts kept returning to their earlier exchange. And those thoughts were followed by scenarios of what might happen if they ran into each other on the beach.

 There wasn’t a lot of clothing involved. But there was a whole lot of fire.

The crowd thickened, making it harder and harder to get down the vendor aisles. She wasn’t much of a shopper to begin with and battling to be entertained by something that might be a sleight of hand rather than evidence of the supernatural wasn’t worth the effort.

“You’ve had enough of this,” Lia said, knowing her too well.

Saffron grimaced, feeling guilty. “Sorry.”

Lia hooked her arm through Saffron’s. “You get major points for lasting this long. One more row and I won’t be bummed by your taking off.”

“Deal.”

They reached the end of the aisle. Skipped five that were
somebody probably needs to call the fire marshal
crammed, then headed down a row packed with fortune tellers.

Runes. Tea leaves. Palms. Bones. Tarot cards. Saffron wasn’t tempted. Unlike her twin, she wasn’t a fan of readings.

They were at the halfway point when a privacy curtain at a tarot reader’s booth was pulled aside and Ace, Sabra’s male BFF, stepped out, all chiseled movie-star looks and shoulder-length blond hair.

He was wearing a light blue tank that showed off his eyes and put muscled arms sleeved with tats on display. He flashed a white, white smile then grabbed Saffron into a tight, rocking hug.

“Long time no see,” he said.

“Too long.” She hugged him back, brushed a closed-mouth kiss across his lips and somewhere nearby, a woman screamed, “Fire!”

Saffron pulled away and hurried toward the cry, eyes searching for smoke.

She didn’t find it though she did find the blond who’d been with Taine.

He stood in front of a table with a scorched collection of charms. And though no one nearby was holding a fire extinguisher, the air felt saturated with moisture and some of the charms glistened with water.

“What happened?” she asked.

“Spontaneous combustion.” He looked at her as if he knew who she was, added cryptically, “Everything is under control, for now.”

She rejoined Lia and Ace. Lia said, “That was fast. False alarm?”

“No. Just already out.”

“Any damage?” Ace asked.

“Some charms,” she answered, glad that she could leave the fair guilt-free now that Lia had someone to hang with. “I’m gone. Pet store and then the shelter to collect Emerald.”

“Emerald?” Ace asked.

“She’s getting an iguana.”

“A shrink suggest this was a good first step toward taking on a permanent significant other?”

She lightly punched Ace on the arm. “I don’t
have
a shrink.”

“Emerald is the name the iguana came with?” Lia asked.

“No.”

Lia grinned. “So you just happened to come up with a name so quickly? Even though you claim this is temporary?”

“Have to call her something.”

“I still say that if you want something scaly in your life, hook up with a he who’s also a dragon shapeshifter—or a guy wearing a picture of a dragon on his T-shirt.”

Got Fire?

Saffron heated up at the possibility of running into Taine later on the beach. Maybe third time would be the charm when it came to picking a lover who wouldn’t complicate things by falling in love or wanting more from her than fun.

“I’m out of here. And Ace, make sure she doesn’t drop a grand on a charm that’s supposed to attract a supernatural mate.”

“Got it. Who needs that kind of complication?”

“Exactly.”

Chapter 3

Taine walked toward Maksim’s office. His chest tightened with each step and at his sides, he clenched and unclenched his hands. Someone had ratted him out.

It had been a matter of time. He knew that, but…

Damn the sorcerer who’d opened a portal and allowed so many demons into this world! If not for that human, he would have claimed his mate by now. Wouldn’t have reacted so badly at the fair—probably.

Smoke streamed from his nostrils at envisioning Saffron in another man’s arms. He’d just regained sight of her when…

Long time no see.

The words had registered seconds too late, seconds after the kiss his mate had given the blond, seconds after his fire had gotten away from him for the second time that day.

Taine stopped in Maksim’s doorway. This was as embarrassing as being called before a dragon elder.

The elders loved to have offenders stand on a rock that was hot enough to force a wrongdoer to shuffle from foot to foot in front of an audience, further putting them in their place.

Maksim pointed to a chair on the opposite side of his desk. It was hard wood, straight backed and without cushioning. The equivalent of the elders’ sun-heated rock.

Taine sat. Maksim said, “You were supposed to prevent problems at the fair, not create them.”

“It won’t happen again.”

“Really?” Maksim picked up a piece of paper. “Saturday, a little less than four weeks ago. Incident report. A red Porsche nine-fifty-nine owned by—you—apparently went up in flames in an event you claimed was akin to spontaneous combustion.”

Maksim slapped the paper onto his desk. “No great loss. It was an ugly little sports car. But that wasn’t the end of it.”

Taine shifted from one buttock to the next on the hard seat. Maksim picked up a different piece of paper.

“Tuesday, roughly two weeks ago. Incident report. A silver Porsche nine-eighteen Spyder, valued by humans at close to eight hundred and fifty thousand and won by you in a poker game a couple of months ago, was irreparably damaged in a blaze of
unknown
origins.”