The Scars of Her Dragon (Dragon Guard Series Book 14) (17 page)

Kellan took the ring from the velvet, tossed the box over his shoulder, and held her left hand in his. Looking deep into her eyes, he promised, “Nothing but laughter, love, and happiness from now until forever.
Is brae liom tú le gach go bhfuil mé
.” Then he slid the ring on her finger.

Hours later, laying across her dragon’s chest, replete from their lovemaking and floating on a cloud of utter bliss, she listened to her dragon humming the words to the song his father used to sing to his mother. The words were so beautiful she hummed along in her head in English,
“You’re more beautiful every day. I will love you until the stars fall from the sky and the Heavens close their gates.”

Olive looked at the ring on her finger as she listened to Kellan singing and their hearts beating as one and teased, “I never thought it possible, but you’re even better than chocolate, Mr. Aherne.”

The rumble of his laughter under her cheek was all the warning Olive got before Kellan slid his hands under her arms, pulled her up his body, and rolled them over until he was looking down at her. “Is that so?” He waggled his eyebrows. “Well, Mrs. Aherne,” he chuckled before attacking her neck with loud slobbering kisses and pretend growls. Olive laughed out loud when the words,
“You know, you just might be better than chocolate too, but I’m thinkin’ I need another taste,”
floated through her mind.

This is the way life was meant to be lived... 

“W
hat do you mean you can’t find your mate?” Kyra shrieked. “You seriously cannot have lost a whole person, Mother. You’re the Grande Priestess of every witch everywhere, not to mention the Council will be here tomorrow to perform the Wiccan Matrimonial Ceremony. You cannot have lost Maddox.”

“Well, I’m not saying I lost him, I’m just saying I can’t find him...anywhere,” Calysta had waited as long as she could before going to her daughter for help. Two days of dodging everyone’s questions concerning Maddox and it had become more than she could handle. It was time to call in the cavalry.

“Royce! Get down here. Mom’s lost Maddox.”

“Kyra, I really wish you would stop saying I’ve lost him. You make me sound like a crazy old woman.”

“What would you rather I say? You misplaced him? Can’t remember where you put him? He’s run off with the maid?” Kyra had the audacity to roll her eyes and sigh. Calysta thanked the Goddess that Royce came down stairs before her daughter could really get started, but of course, he also had to be a smartass.

“Did the old coot flake out on ya’ already?” Her daughter’s mate laughed. “My bet was on six months.”

Ignoring his not-so-funny jokes, the Grande Priestess simply answered, “I have no clue where he is.” Calysta knew how desperate she sounded but it was the truth; the mad dragon had simply disappeared.

“Have you scryed for him?” Kyra asked as she paced circles around the huge sectional in the middle of her living room with her hands on her hips.

“Of course.”

“But you’re mated, like have the mark, blessed-by-the-clan-and-the ancients mated. How can you not contact him or at least feel where he is?” Royce’s brow was furrowed and he was rubbing his forehead like just the thought of Maddox being missing gave him a headache.

Throwing her hands in the air, Calysta jumped to her feet and shouted, “I have no clue what the dumb jerk has done, but I
cannot
find him.”

Before Kyra and Royce could say anything else, the front door swung open and in walked Kayne, Kellan, and Olive. The demi god was the first to speak, “Any of you ever hear the one about the dragon that got away?”

“Very funny, jerk,” Royce snickered then to Calysta he explained, “I called Kayne and Kellan because if anyone can find Maddox, it’s these two. No one knows him better, well, except maybe Rian, but he has his hands full with contacting the shifters
still
in the clinic, so I thought we’d hold off on getting him involved.”

“Good thought,” Kellan agreed, sitting on the end of the couch and pulling Olive into his lap. “I overheard you ask if Calysta had scryed for him, which makes sense, but you know how magically skilled Maddox is...”

“And powerful,” Kayne interjected.

“Yep, and powerful,” Kellan agreed. “So if he doesn’t want to be found then you won’t find him, at least not with magic.”

Kayne walked towards Calysta with a look of concern that only served to make the Grande Priestess more nervous. “I know what I’m about to ask is personal, but it might help me figure out where the crazy asshole has run off to. Did you two fight? Was he more agitated than usual?”

“No, quite the opposite. He’s been better, happy even.” Calysta ran back through the days before his disappearance, trying to think of anything she’d missed, but came up empty-handed...again.

“Yeah, she’s right. When I talked to him, he even smiled and laughed...
twice
. Mated life really seemed to be helping the old man.” Kellan smiled and kissed his own mate on the cheek.

“That’s what I thought, too. I know I haven’t been around much but the few times I talked to him, he seemed like the younger version of himself I’d known before my
vacation
in Hell. I just had to be sure before...” Kayne’s words trailed off, making Calysta wonder if he was thinking or talking to another of his brethren.

She didn’t have to wait long for the answer as the demi god shook his head and stood. Looking like he’d just been punched in the gut, Kayne walked towards Calysta and asked, “Did he happen to take a large leather bound book with the Crest of the Dragons on the front?”

“I don’t know. I know he brought it back from his cave and put it in the study. I haven’t been in there for a few days but I can call and ask Della. She’s still here helping me get the house in order and for the wiccan ceremony.”

“Please do. I have an idea where he’s gone and if I’m right, it’s gonna take all of us to bring him back.”

It took less than thirty seconds to ring her sister, Della, and find out that Kayne’s suspicions had been right. Still holding her cell phone in her hand, the Grande Priestess relayed the information to the demi god and asked, “What does that mean?”

Shaking his head and heading for the door, Kayne called over his shoulder, “It means he’s gone dragon hunting for a dragon who doesn’t want to be found.”

“Son of a ...” Kellan set Olive’s feet on the ground, grabbed her hand, and was moving towards the door to follow Kayne before the demi god’s words even registered in her head.

“You have got to be kidding me,” Royce growled while pulling on his boots.

“Wait!” Calysta yelled, stopping the dragons mid-stride. She watched Kayne turn around while she took a deep breath and searched for a calm that was not to be found. In as peaceful a voice as she could muster, the Grande Priestess asked, “What does that mean?”

It was her daughter’s mate who spoke up as he walked past, “It means he’s about to be cooked alive if we don’t get to him first.”

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Sassy and stubborn have gotten Kyndel through everything life had to throw at her. Will her moxie help when destiny falls at her feet? 

Hundreds of years of loyalty to Dragon Guard have made Rayne a fearless leader. When the long foretold pull of his mate rocks the Commander’s world to its core will he be able to save her from his enemies in time? 

The chemistry between this strong-willed curvy girl and fierce warrior makes all the difference in the world where nothing is as it seems. The existence of an ancient race of honor-clad, tradition-bound protectors might be hard to accept but now the dead are coming back to life and holding a knife to her neck. 

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“W
ell, la dee da, lookie here, Miss Fancy Pants. You have an invitation to the gala celebrating the Katsaros Industries and Roma Tech merger.” Cyn’s admin and long-time friend, Adele, sing-songed as she fanned herself with what looked to be an expensive off-white linen envelope while doing her best model walk into Cynthia’s office.

“I have no idea why I would be invited to that. I’m just sales consultant for a drug company. I don’t know diddly about tech. And besides, I don’t have anything to wear.”

“Well, you better get your butt in gear. Dust off that credit card, baby, cause you’ve got the golden ticket.”

“What the hell are you talking about? What golden ticket?”

“Girl, get your head out of the books and catch up on your pop culture. There is more to life than the newest anti-inflammatory or anti-depressant. You have a VIP ticket to the big show. It says you’ll be sitting at one of the tables next to the head guy, his new wife, and the other big wigs. You have to go so I can live vicariously through you.”

Cyn shook her head. How in the hell had she ever gotten on the guest list for something so prestigious? These people were the movers and shakers, kings of industry. Hell, most of them were from other countries, highly educated, rich from birth, and way out of her league.

Grabbing the invitation from Adele, Cyn saw the signature that had obviously been signed with the sender’s own hand at the bottom of the beautifully embossed correspondence and had to sit down before she fell down from shock. Running the pad of her thumb over the signature, a chill ran down her spine and an image formed in her mind. 

It had only taken one time, just a chance encounter at Starbucks two years ago in Dallas, and Cyn had been hooked. The spark of recognition between them when they’d touched had been electric. Sort of like déjà vu but stronger, and maybe a little different. It didn’t make sense but it was oh so real. Long after they’d parted ways, Cyn couldn’t shake the feeling that their meeting wasn’t completely coincidental. Not that he’d planned it or anything stalkerish, but that they were ‘supposed’ to meet, like it was a destiny kind of thing. 

He was tall, had light brown hair that she knew would be wavy if he didn’t tame it with products, and hazel eyes that mesmerized as the smooth golden in the center spread to an almost green before turning brown at the edge. To say Roman Marinos was good-looking was like saying South Fork was a farm. He was amazing and had an accent so exotic it curled her toes. She hadn’t even told Adele about their chance encounter and Cyn told her friend everything.

Lost in thought, Cyn jumped when the intercom on her office phone buzzed. “Sexy man voice on line two,” Adele chirped.

“I have told you a million times not to give the people on the phone nicknames.”

Cyn cut off Adele’s rebuttal by answering the phone. “Cynthia St. James, how can I help you?”

“You can accept my invitation to the KI/Roma Tech gala.”

Her mind went blank. Her palms began to sweat. Her heart beat like a bass drum. Cyn thought she might pass out. Recognition like no other filled her mind. Dumb luck had walked up and smacked her in the back of the head again. How could it be possible? How could the man who’d she dreamed about every night for two years be on the phone? Wasn’t it enough that she thought about him every spare minute of the day? Now, he was on her phone?

He owed her nothing, just as she owed him nothing. He’d replaced her favorite London Fog trench coat after spilling coffee on it and even bought the dark brown leather gloves she’d been eyeing for weeks, almost as if he read her mind. She’d tried repeatedly to return them only to have him refuse.

“Well...it’s just that...” Taking a deep breath to stop further embarrassment, Cyn began again. “I have a previous engagement and to be honest Mr. Marinos, I’m in pharmaceuticals not tech. I think there’s been some mistake.”

For several seconds, Cyn could only hear him breathing on the other end of the phone. She was just about to apologize for seeming ungrateful when the rumble of his deep voice floated from the phone. If possible, his accent seemed thicker and his voice more intense. “My invitation has little to do with the gala and everything to do with you, Cynthia St. James.”

Unsure what Marinos meant and with no idea how to answer, Cyn fell back on the one tried and true excuse she always used when she wanted to get out of something. “I appreciate your invitation. I am truly humbled but as I said, I have a previous engagement.”

Chuckling like she’d said something funny, Marinos’ only reply was, “No you don’t. Pick you up at eight.”

He disconnected the call while Cyn was still dumbfounded by his response. It took several minutes before she returned the receiver to its cradle. Shaking her head, she just stared out her window at the cars on the freeway.

I have no clue what just happened but I’m sure I’d be safer directing traffic out there on the highway than spending a night with Roman Marinos.

“E
njoy your stay in London, Ms. Romalesky. Thank you for flying American Airlines.”

Enjoy? Yeah, right.   

“I will and thank you, Natalie,” Kat smiled and answered the perky flight attendant as sweetly as she could as she exited the plane.  It was the best she could do considering the Diet Pepsi and poorly baked fish she’d consumed during her eight-hour sleepless flight from the states were threatening to make an unwanted reappearance.

In less than eighteen hours she would meet the single most powerful businessman in the world—the elusive Viktor Katsaros. Not only her future but that of her father’s company depended on the multi-million dollar deal she was hoping to broker between Roma Technologies and Katsaros Industries. In the last two years, Kat had taken the nearly bankrupt company she’d inherited after her parent’s death and turned it into a thriving business that just the day before she’d left home had been added to the Forbes’ Most Innovative Companies list. If she had any hopes of getting their new product in the hands of consumers outside the U.S., she had to convince Katsaros to be her partner.