Tianna Xander (3 page)

Standing, she moved to rest her hand on
Antonio’s forearm as he stood staring at Armand whose expression
was just as hard and unforgiving. “Don’t do this, Antonio. Please
don’t.” He turned his attention to her, his emerald-colored eyes
looking reptilian with their elongated pupils glowing with the need
to protect what he believed was his.

Tansy bit her lip, her cheeks burning
with some strange inner heat she never knew she possessed before
meeting Antonio. Whatever was between them only seemed to fuel the
fire within her. That was what made her run from him…from
everyone.

Like her sister Rose, Tansy
didn’t want to hurt anyone…most of all, him. “I will leave with
you, if you go now.” She turned at Armand’s growl. “He’s right,
Armand. Think about it. Not once have you committed to anything
beyond
many nights
together.”

“
You are mine, Tansy,”
Armand said as he continued to glare at Antonio for a minute before
turning his attention to her.

Stepping back, she avoided the other
man as he reached for her and rested her hands on her hips. “Then
tell me I’m your mate, Armand. Look me in the eye and tell me that
I am your mate and that you are mine and you will never look at
another woman ever again.”

Tansy almost laughed as the color
drained from his face at the prospect of telling her he would never
look at another woman.

“
See what I mean?” She waved
her arm. “Would you even hesitate to claim me if I was really your
mate?” She turned to Antonio. “I don’t know what it was about
that…that drug, or whatever it is, but I couldn’t seem to control
myself until you walked into the room.”

Taking a deep breath, Tansy gathered
her courage about her, knowing that what she was about to say would
effectively imprison her in a relationship with Antonio Saladino,
but something compelled her to tell him.

“
I think the only reason I
can control it now is because you’re here and…” she paused to look
away, unsure of whether she wanted to see the look in his eyes when
she said what she had to say. “Like it or not, Antonio Saladino, I
think I’m your mate. She had no doubt
he
would like it, but the jury was
still out on her opinion of the situation.

* * * *

“
Tony, call me Tony. Only my
mother calls me Antonio anymore.” He looked down into her beautiful
green eyes, shot with gold flecks that were so different from his
own and felt his dragon back down. It no longer sat ready to strike
Armand with a killing blow.

Finally leashed, it sat waiting,
watching as he stared down into her expressive face. Why had the
plant worked on her the way it did while it seemed to have no
effect on her sisters? Tony saw a mixture of shame and
embarrassment on her face and it further tamed his
dragon.

Reaching out, he slid his finger over
her cheek, catching the tear that fell from the corner of her eye.
His gut clenched at the thought that she could feel shame for
something that wasn’t her fault and he wanted nothing more than to
take her in his arms and tell her everything would be
okay.

“
I didn’t mean to fall for
him, Tony. I really didn’t.” She swiped her arm over her eyes and
looked away. “I don’t know what came over me.”

“
I think I do,” Tony said as
he turned his attention back to Armand. “Armand here, found a way
to make more money, didn’t you?” He glared at the other man who
returned his stare without guilt.

“
I have no idea what you are
talking about.”

It was interesting that Armand’s accent
grew thicker with the accusation. Could it be that he was wrong and
Armand had no idea he’d come in contact with the plant?

“
When was the last time you
were at the botanical gardens, Armand? And do not lie to me. I can
find that out well enough on my own. I merely ask you out of
courtesy and to save time.”

It was easy enough to gain access to
the gardens and easier to watch the surveillance video, so long as
he hadn’t managed to circumvent it as Viktor had.

“
Botanical gardens?” Armand
shook his head and stiffened his spine. “There are botanical
gardens here?” Was his look of confusion real or feigned? “Where
are these gardens? I demand to know! How can you keep such
knowledge from me when you are aware that my breeding would demand
to know these things?” Armand’s stance was stiff, his natural
arrogance causing him to thrust his chin in the air.

This self-important ass was the Armand
he knew. Tony shook his head and grinned. “No one kept it from you,
you arrogant Frenchman. We merely forgot to inform you of its
existence.”

Armand huffed, his nose in the air. “I
am not arrogant, you…you cretin. I am French. It is time you
learned the difference.” Armand waved his arm in a dismissive
gesture.

“
If you have never been to
the botanical gardens, how did you come in contact with the
dragon’s desire?”

“
You tell me.” Armand smiled
at Tansy and batted his eyes. Tony shook his head at his antics.
His actions were almost funny now that he knew Tansy was immune to
them. “Would you care to have dinner with me, my sweet? I shall
show you delights you have never known.”

“
I…uh…” Tansy looked up at
Tony, confused. “He
was
in the room when we discussed the fact that he was exposed to
the dragon equivalent to Spanish fly, wasn’t he?”

For the first time since walking into
Armand’s office, Tony wanted to laugh. “Yes, my love, he was. His
mind is not quite his own as yours was not until I arrived.” Tony
couldn’t help but feel sorry for the other man, even though a few
minutes ago he would have cheerfully killed him. It wasn’t Armand’s
fault he was under the influence of the aphrodisiac.

He took Tansy’s hand, their
fingers tangling together. “Question your men, Armand. Somehow, you
have come into contact with the Dragon’s Desire. Since it has been
kept well hidden over the last few centuries, there are only a few
people who could be using it. One of your men may have found out
about it and brought it into your home or business.” There was one
other possibility. Someone close to the Earth dragon could have
designed its reappearance. After all, it
was
Damek who allowed its delivery to
the botanical gardens in the first place. If the dragon’s desire
fell into human hands, there would be hell to pay, no matter who
was responsible.

Whatever the reason, it didn’t matter
right now. All that mattered was getting his mate away from Armand
before she changed her mind. Tony knew how lucky he was that she
was willing to listen, to see reason while under the influence. He
still wanted to know how the drug worked on her when it obviously
didn’t work on her sisters.

That idiot, Viktor, didn’t think of the
consequences when he brought his mate Rose back to Drake’s
household after exposing himself to the drug while he retrieved it
from the botanical gardens.

Every female in Drake’s home tried to
throw themselves at him. Luckily, Drake realized that could be a
problem and attempted to keep the women in a different wing.
Somehow, a few of the staff and one of the dragon women ended up
falling at the man’s feet when Viktor attempted to take his mate
from the house. April, Drake’s mate, however, did not. Was it
because she was already mated, or was it because she was a witch…or
both?

Taking Tansy’s hand, Tony stared down
into her beautiful eyes. As sappy as it sounded, not to mention
cliché, Tony knew he could get lost in eyes like hers. In fact, he
had lost himself for a time, the night they met. He’d stared into
those gorgeous eyes for a good two minutes before he gathered his
wits about him enough to ask her to dance.

He got the impression she thought he
was ridiculous. He couldn’t argue that fact with her. He was. Not
once before meeting Tansy Flowers had he ever lost control of his
tongue. That night, however, it seemed stuck to the roof of his
mouth, refusing to make even the most remote of articulate
conversation.

Still, he’d managed to ask her to
dance. When he pulled her into his arms and pressed her body close
to his for a slow dance, Tony knew Tansy Flowers was the woman for
him.

Like the rest of his kind, he’d lived
centuries without a woman. At first, living without a woman wasn’t
bad. It was all fun and games and hot sex with anyone who would
have him. Like most young, male dragons he’d been a bit of a whore,
but after two hundred years of tomcatting around, he’d had enough.
Sex didn’t appeal to him no matter how beautiful the woman. When he
met Tansy, all of those long-lost sensations returned and he knew
that she was the one for him.

Unlike Drake, her sister, April’s mate,
Tony didn’t want to press his suit too soon. He wanted to give
Tansy time to get to know him, to come to terms with the fact that
he was her mate. That was not to be, however. Even though he had
attempted to give her time, she’d run from him anyway and almost
gotten herself and her sister Rose kidnapped.

No matter what she may feel about him
emotionally, Tony knew it was time. He must press his suit and he
must convince her to mate with him. Anything less would only
prolong the inevitable and leave her in danger. He couldn’t have
that. His dragon wouldn’t allow it.

“
It cannot be one of my
men.” Armand was adamant. “I would know.”

“
Perhaps, but if you are
wrong, it would unleash the world’s most powerful aphrodisiac onto
an unsuspecting public. Can you imagine the implications should
someone manage to synthesize the damned thing? Think beyond getting
attention to your groin, you ass.”

Armand’s eyes widened at the thought
and Tony knew he’d finally gotten his point across to the other
man’s drug-induced brain.

“
This is true. It could be
disastrous.” Armand began to pace. “If human women could buy the
drug, they would find us and throw themselves at us non-stop.” The
other man looked pleased with the idea for a moment and then he
frowned. “When would we sleep?”

Tony wanted to laugh at the Frenchman’s
train of thought. Always, he thought about sex. “What worries me
the most, Armand, is that if the women are finding and throwing
themselves at dragons because of the Dragon’s Desire, what’s to
stop our enemies from using the aroused women to target and kill
us?”

“
Mon Dieu! I have never
thought of that.” Armand moved to his desk, pressed a button on his
phone and barked something in French. He looked up, his expression
grim. “
Merde
. What
if this should spread throughout my home?” Armand practically
turned green. “What if the women begin to throw themselves at me? I
cannot have relations with a woman in my employ!”

Tony wanted to laugh. That was the last
thing the other man should worry about. “Concern yourself with
finding the man or woman in your employ that would have need of the
drug and confiscate it.” Tony took hold of Tansy’s arm and led her
toward the door. Stopping just inside the doorway, Tony turned.
“Armand?”

“
Yes?”

“
Don’t let it touch your
skin or you’ll have half the women in the city after you. If an
accidental exposure can do this to you, what do you think will
happen if you purposely expose yourself to it?”

“
It doesn’t bear thought!”
The look of horror on Armand’s face was enough to convince Tony
that the other man wanted nothing more to do with Dragon’s
Desire.

Chapter Three

Tansy followed Tony from Armand’s
office, knowing that she had tied her life to his when she conceded
that she could be his mate. No dragon would let her walk away from
that. It was disturbing to know that these men lived for centuries
without mates and he would bind her to him while she was still so
young. It just didn’t seem fair, somehow.

That was another reason why she ran
last night. She wanted more freedom to do the things she wanted to
do before settling down. She’d gotten a taste of what it was like
to live under a dragon’s rule at Drake’s house. She knew her
brother-in-law meant well, but his type of protection was stifling.
For an adrenaline junkie like her, that was
unacceptable.

Tansy’s gaze followed Tony’s arm up
from where he held her bicep to his thick upper arm to his broad
shoulders. She knew this man could be just as smothering as Drake
had been with April. It didn’t matter that her sister seemed happy.
Tansy knew she could never be happy if she had to live her life
with bodyguards and her mate refusing to let her do the things that
mattered to her—that gave her a sense of worth.

“
You worry over nothing, my
heart. April allows Drake to do what he must to protect her because
she cares about him and she likes his protection. As my mate, it is
my duty to see to your happiness. I could never lock you in a room
the way you think I must. It would smother you. At that time, I
would be remiss in seeing to your happiness.”

Could it really be that simple? Tansy
bit her lip, wondering if they could find a way to make a life
together if he was willing to compromise on the things that
mattered the most to her. She tried not to think of how their
connection was so strong even before they kissed. She followed him
from Armand’s place of business and stared up at him when he
stopped next to a black, four-door sedan.