Bewitching the Dragon: Bad Alpha Dads (Taming the Dragon Book 4) Page 5

  Neither one of them spoke for several long minutes, until Becca finally said, “Thanks.”

  “For what?”

  She gripped the steering wheel until her knuckles turned white. “That sort of felt like a rescue,” she admitted.

  She could actually feel him studying her as she drove. She stole a quick glance. Yep, he was staring at her like he was expecting something. If she didn’t know any better, she’d swear he knew she needed him, and that’s why he’d shown up when he did.

  Which was crazy. The only way he would have known was if they had some sort of telepathic connection, which, of course, did not exist.

  “What happened?” he asked, his voice gentle.

  “You’re going to think I’m crazy.”

  “I promise you, I will not.”

  There was a whole lot of conviction in his voice. She pushed out a nervous chuckle.

  “Well, I’ve been apartment shopping today—”

  “Alone?”

  “Oh God, please don’t go all ultra-protective on me. I don’t think I can handle it from Aunt Pacey and you. Yes, I’m grateful you showed up when you did, and yes, it felt like I needed help, but I was actually about to go ask the cook to walk me to my car, and he’s a really big guy, and he probably could have—”

  “Becca.”

  She snapped her mouth closed.

  “Take a deep breath. Relax. Look, we’re at your house. This is one of the safest places you can be right now.”

  She guided the car to the curb and shifted it into park. A quick glance at the porch told her that Aunt Pacey had added yet another gargoyle. Becca forgot to buy clothes for them yesterday when she was at work. Although, after what just happened, having scary statues perched all over the place did make her feel a little safer.

  “Better?” Rahu asked.

  She nodded.

  “Okay, now that I’m over the shock of you wandering around town by yourself, tell me what happened that has you so spooked. Was it those three guys who left the deli as I walked up?”

  She turned to face him in her seat. “How did you know?”

  He waved at the windshield. “The way they left in such a hurry. I figured they’d done something wrong.”

  “They hadn’t done anything, actually. It’s just…” She hardly knew the guy, yet she’d already told him about her parents and her trauma-induced memory loss. She’d told him about her plans for teaching this year. Hopefully, telling him about the time she’d been babysitting and the child had been kidnapped wouldn’t scare him off, because she could really use a friend right now.

  “I recognized them.” She took a deep breath, and then she told him everything she remembered from that night. He didn’t say a word until she finished.

  “You’re still here,” she said.

  He furrowed his brow. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

  “A lot of weird things seem to happen to me. Especially lately. If you’re looking for a nice and normal girl, I’m not her. Which is crazy in itself, because I sure did used to be her.”

  “Did you like being the normal girl?”

  A laugh burst from her lips. “Actually, no. I’m not into being scared, but I don’t mind a little excitement every now and then.”

  He reached across the console and cupped her knee. She knew it was her imagination, but she could see sparks dancing around his hand where it touched her. Not to mention that electrical current was setting her body on fire, and not in a bad way. Not at all.

  “I’ll protect you. I’ll keep you safe. And I’ll try not to be overbearing about it.”

  She laughed again. Somehow, the idea of him being overprotective was a lot more appealing than Aunt Pacey doing it. “How about tonight? Maybe you can protect me over dinner and a movie.”

  The grin that spread across his face made it worth being brave enough to ask him.

  “I like that idea. I actually have to go to an appointment right now, but how about I come back around seven? Do you want to go out or stay in?”

  “Staying in sounds divine.”

  “Perfect. I’ll bring a pizza, and we can dial up something on demand. Anything but ham and pineapple.”

  “Actually, I still love ham and pineapple.”

  He chuckled as they both climbed out of the car. “I like your spirit. Now, go inside, lock the doors, and don’t leave unless you have an escort.”

  “You’re starting to sound like Aunt Pacey, except with a deeper voice and a Midwestern accent.”

  “Trust me, my version of keeping you safe and hers are nothing alike.”

  Becca had absolutely no doubt he spoke the truth.

  “Do you need a ride somewhere?”

  He shook his and pointed at the sidewalk. “The place I need to be is not too far from here. Now go, get inside.”

  “We should exchange numbers. In case, you know…in case.”

  “Good idea. Here, give me your phone.”

  He used her phone to call himself, and then he handed the contraption back to her. “Call me if anything feels off, okay? Anything at all. Doesn’t matter. I want to hear from you, understand?”

  She canted her head, sucked in a breath. She could do this. Yesterday he’d given off all sorts of positive vibes. And he’d rescued her today. And they had a date later tonight. “How about a kiss?”

  His eyes widened. “You want to kiss me? Now?”

  “Don’t you want to kiss me?”

  “Hell yeah, but—”

  “Then do it.”

  “Uhh.” His gaze flicked to the porch. Was he looking at the gargoyles? Why? Who cared about some dumb stone statues when she was about to find out just how well the real thing measured up to the fantasies she’d been indulging in since yesterday morning?

  “Can’t,” he said, bursting her bubble of anticipation. “Not with them watching us.”

  She glanced over her shoulder. “The gargoyles? Seriously?”

  “Yeah.” He took a couple of steps backward and stopped. “There are blinds to cover the glass doors leading into the courtyard, right?”

  “Um, yeah. Why?”

  He looked at the gargoyles again. “No reason. Now, go inside, okay? I’ll text you in a little while.”

  She sighed and shuffled up the walk, then up the wooden steps, where she paused next to the newest stone statue. “I could’ve had a good-bye kiss, if not for y’all.”

  She kicked it.

  Chapter Seven

  “We have to tell her,” Rahu said after storming into Antoinette and Ketu’s mansion and interrupting what appeared to be a meeting with the Elders of the Rojo dragon colony.

  “Tell who what?” Ketu asked, standing.

  “Becca.”

  “Who’s Becca?” the female Elder asked. Mildred Voltaire was smart as a whip—a favorite phrase of the older generation—and Rahu was pretty sure she cheated at cards, but so far he hadn’t been able to prove it.

  The Elders were actually a fun group of dragons, multiple generations between he and them notwithstanding. Every time Rahu came to visit, he lost a considerable amount of his spending money playing poker with them, late at night, long after Antoinette and Ketu had retired to their suite to do those things mated dragons did when they finally had time alone together.

  “She’s a human,” Rahu said, and then he clarified, “Well, actually, she’s a witch who thinks she’s human.”

  Mildred nodded from her perch on the couch, where she sat primly, holding what was probably a whiskey sour in one hand. “That makes a great deal of difference.”

  “Technically, she’s half witch, half gargoyle,” Ketu said. “And what do you think we should tell her?”

  “Fascinating,” Mildred murmured.

  “What do we need to tell her?” Ketu repeated.

  “What she is,” Rahu answered.

  “No,” someone said from behind him. He turned around to watch Argyle stride into the room.

  “Why are you always around?” Rahu asked, throwing
up his arms.

  The exceedingly tall and maybe a little scary-looking man straightened his shoulders, which added another couple of inches to his already impressive height. “I do what is necessary to protect my daughter.”

  “Who’s his daughter?” Hank asked.

  “Becca, I assume,” Mildred replied.

  “How do you know that?” Rahu asked.

  She lifted that shoulder again. “Ketu said she’s part gargoyle, and he’s definitely a gargoyle.” She did a two-shoulder shrug this time.

  Rahu shook his head and looked up at Argyle, who had come to a stop next to the couch, standing there like a soldier awaiting his next command. Except it felt like he was the one in charge.

  “She needs to know so she can protect herself,” Rahu argued.

  “She has survived for twenty-five years believing herself to be human,” Argyle stated.

  “Okay, maybe that’s true, but until now, no warlocks were aware of her existence. But they are now. Which means she’s in serious danger. She needs to know, so she knows what to look out for.”

  “My entire brethren are on alert and watching out for her.”

  “She thinks her aunt has a hoarding problem.”

  Argyle furrowed his brows.

  Rahu flapped his arm. “All the gargoyles that keep appearing on her lawn? Becca thinks her aunt is buying them as lawn ornaments, and she’s worried Pacey is buying too many.”

  “That’s funny,” Mildred piped up.

  “She’s planning to buy baby clothes to put on all the gargoyles in her yard,” Rahu added.

  Argyle’s dark complexion paled several shades.

  “That’s funnier,” Mildred said.

  “It doesn’t matter,” Argyle said, shaking off his apparent fear of baby clothes. “So long as she is safe.”

  “That’s the problem,” Rahu argued. “She isn’t.”

  “I beg to differ.”

  “You can beg all you want, but the truth is, the second she steps foot out of that house, she’s vulnerable.” He flung himself around to face his best friend. “She was at this deli today, and I don’t know how she did it, but she summoned me. I swear. One minute, I was, er…” He’d actually been thinking about her, but he was pretty sure that had nothing to do with what happened, since he hadn’t stopped thinking about her since he ran into her at the bar on Friday evening.

  “I was watching TV when all of a sudden I had this crazy urge to protect her. So I stood up and left the house and walked straight to this deli down the street. And when I was half a block away, three Rojo dragons left the deli and hurried down the road in the opposite direction.”

  “So?” Argyle said.

  “Wait. Rojo—” Ketu started to say, but Rahu cut him off.

  “So she was in that deli too, and she was scared. I could see it in her eyes when I got there. She practically leaped into my arms she was so happy to see me.” He’d been hoping she would, at the time, public displays be damned.

  Argyle scowled. “That means nothing.”

  “Why did I drop what I was doing and go straight to that place? I didn’t know she was there. Hell, I didn’t even know why I was walking down the street until I saw her standing inside that deli.”

  “She does not know of her powers. How could she use them?” Argyle argued.

  “Latent magic is strong,” Mildred supplied. “Especially if it’s been dormant for—how many years?”

  “Twenty-five,” Rahu said.

  Mildred nodded. “That’s a lot of power.”

  Argyle was already shaking his head. “It’s too dangerous. I will not risk her life because you want—”

  “You’re risking her life by not telling her,” Rahu said.

  Somebody whistled shrilly. Rahu whipped his head around to face Antoinette, who was removing two fingers from her mouth.

  “Now that I have your attention,” she said and then waved at Ketu, who clearly wanted to speak.

  “Rojo dragons,” he said. “Rahu, remember when they kidnapped Petra and Noah’s baby?”

  Rahu nodded. “Yeah, it was them. They took off when they spotted me, and I took her straight to her house and then came here.” He narrowed his eyes and glared at Argyle. “I assume you were one of the gargoyles perched on the front porch?”

  Argyle arched one brow. Rahu took that as a yes, which was why he hadn’t kissed Becca out there on the sidewalk, even though, damn, the woman was getting harder to resist by the minute.

  In retrospect, though, he should have given in to the impulse. Hell, what would Argyle have done? He couldn’t very well have shifted in front of Becca.

  Even though he should be able to, because damn it, she should know about his kind—her kind. She should be aware of her supernatural side. Jesus, there wasn’t even a “supernatural side.” She was 100 percent not human, and she had no freaking clue.

  “She really is in danger,” Ketu said, “and not just from warlocks. I’m not going to tell you what to do regarding letting her know what’s going on, but I do think she needs more protection than the gargoyles can provide.”

  “My brethren are the most elite protectors of our species,” Argyle stated hotly.

  Ketu raised his hand and shook his head. “I’m not disputing that, Argyle. I’m saying she needs protection against other dragons, and that’s where we come in.”

  “We should convince her to stay here,” Antoinette said. “That way, there are dragons around all the time. And if you want to add gargoyles to the mix,” she said, nodding at Argyle, “feel free. There’s plenty of room.”

  “Wait a minute,” Rahu said. “If we aren’t supposed to tell her about dragons and gargoyles, how the hell do you think moving her here is going to work?”

  “It’s not like we walk around in dragon form all day,” Ketu pointed out.

  “The Elders approve of this idea,” Mildred piped up.

  “We do?” Hank asked.

  “Yes,” Mildred said with a firmness that did not allow for discussion.

  Argyle released his military stance and paced to the window, rubbing his hand over his bald head as he walked. “I cannot be here, not in human form. I spend too much in Pacey’s company. I cannot risk her asking too many questions.”

  Rahu was suddenly all for this idea of moving Becca to Antoinette and Ketu’s mansion.

  Antoinette took charge at that point. “Ketu, pull together a group of trackers. Rahu, you go with him and fill them in on what you know, no matter how insignificant you think it is.”

  “I don’t think it’s insignificant at all,” Rahu said.

  “Good. Show them where you saw those Rojo dragons. See if you all can track them. I know they were initially working for Delilah, but I’d bet money they’ve sided with Darius now. At the very least, we can question them, see if we can find out what they intended to do with Becca. And once that’s done, go convince Becca to move in here. I’ll have Maria prepare a room for her. Anything in particular that will make her feel welcome?”

  “All I know is she loves ham and pineapple pizza and she hates gargoyles.” The last he said deliberately for Argyle’s sake.

  And then he felt like shit when the poor gargoyle’s face fell. But before he could work out something to say to ease the sting, Ketu grabbed his arm.

  “Let’s go,” his friend said, and Rahu allowed him to lead him out of the room.

  Now, he just had to figure out how to convince Becca she wanted to move into the reeve’s mansion.

  No problem, his dragon said with a snort.

  That was sarcasm, wasn’t it?

  Yep.

  ***

  Rahu stood on the porch, a steaming pizza balanced on one hand while the other held a bottle of rosé nestled in a paper bag. He didn’t know shit about wine, but Antoinette used to be a bartender before she became reeve of the Rojo dragons. And although, like everyone else in his life at the moment, she was opposed to him getting to know Becca a little better, she’d still given him adv
ice on a decent bottle of wine to drink with pizza.

  He was here only to protect Becca and to invite her to move into Antoinette and Ketu’s mansion. Nothing else.

  But his dragon laughed at him, and Rahu knew the beast was right. There was something between him and Becca, something different from anything he’d experienced before with either a dragon or human. He didn’t understand it, not fully, but whatever it was, he wanted to explore it in more depth, get to know her better. Yes, on a physical level.

  Oh gods, yes.

  Becca opened the door and smiled at him.

  “Hey,” he said. “You look nice.”

  She glanced down at her white capris and yellow-and-white striped, boatneck shirt. “Thanks. So do you.”

  He wore his nicest pair of jeans and the only dress shirt he’d brought with him from Detroit, and damned if this didn’t feel like a date. Which it was, right?

  “Come on in to the kitchen,” she said, holding the door open. When she turned, he nearly tripped over his own feet because he was so busy staring at her ass as it sashayed in those seriously hot white pants.

  He placed the pizza box on the kitchen counter.

  “What did you get?”

  “Ham and pineapple, of course.”

  She clapped her hands. “Oh, man, I could kiss you right now!”

  With the wine still in one hand, he spread his arms wide and said, “What’s stopping you?”

  A slow smile curved her lips, and she stepped closer. “Nothing, actually.” She wrapped her arms around his waist and lifted onto her tiptoes.

  “Good news. I think the leak is fixed.”

  Rahu jerked away from Becca and damn near dropped the bottle. He whirled around and glared at Argyle as he stepped into the kitchen wearing a navy-blue button-down work shirt and carrying a giant wrench.

  “Who the hell are you and what are you doing in my house?” Becca demanded, crossing her arms and narrowing her eyes, not appearing the least bit frightened that the large, dark, stone-like man had made an unannounced appearance in her kitchen.

  Argyle seemed flustered by her question, or maybe, just maybe, it was being this close to his daughter for the first time while he was in human form. He’d told Rahu that other than as a stone statue protecting her while she slept, he’d had precious little contact with her over the years.