Dragon's Curse (Harlequin Nocturne) (4 page)

“That depends.” Cam asked, “Is it true?”

Ariel hated lying. She seemed to be getting better at it of
late, but she still hated it. In this case, as in so many cases the past few
weeks, there really wasn’t any other choice. “Most of it’s true. The manager and
I were friends, so he embellished a bit.”

From the way her pulse raced against her neck, Cam doubted if
anything in the letter was true. It was more likely that the letter, the friend
and her employment history were nothing more than complete fabrications.

“Actually, I think there is a request for sainthood in here
somewhere.” Cameron Drake closed the folder and slid it into his desk drawer.
“Why don’t you just tell me why you want this job and what your ideas are for
the resort.”

Ariel wanted to scream that she didn’t want the job. Renalde
had given her no choice. He’d sent in her application, résumé and references.
All produced at his expense. It was only after the appointment was set when
she’d been made aware of what had taken place and given copies of the paperwork
to memorize.

Even knowing that the family who owned Mirabilus also owned
this resort, she had to proceed as ordered, praying that she didn’t run into any
dragons other than the pendant Renalde wanted. Ariel glanced back at the
amethyst beast in the corner and hoped there were none that lived and breathed
here.

Running into one mythical beast at Mirabilus had been enough
for her. She had no desire to ever repeat the experience.

She took a breath, folded her hands in her lap and looked at
Mr. Drake. She needed to convince him she was the right person for this
position.

“I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve never tackled a project
this size before. But it seemed too much an interesting challenge to refuse.”
Her well-practiced speech rolled easily from her lips. When in truth, she could
kill what was supposed to be an indestructible ivy plant in ten days—tops. What
she knew about gardening and landscaping had been learned in the past couple
weeks—from between the pages of books, websites and countless gardening shows on
cable.

“So, you like challenges?”

No. She liked it when things were predictable. She was a
project manager with a background in systems. Schedules, flowcharts and to-do
lists were more up her alley. She preferred to know what was going to happen
from one minute to the next. Ariel nodded. “Yes, I love them.”

“Have you given any thought to the outdoor maze?”

“Maze?” She frowned, trying not to panic. Nobody had mentioned
a maze. “What maze?”

Mr. Drake stared at her, and for a second she wondered if she’d
just blown the interview. Finally, his hard features eased and he shook his
head. “Maybe we didn’t mention the maze to the agency.”

Ariel swallowed. He’d tried to set her up. Why? Had he guessed
she was here under false pretenses? How? She was certain she hadn’t given him
any clues.

Mr. Renalde had warned her what would happen if she failed him
this time. He had promised her that Carl’s death would fade to nothing compared
to her own.

She knew Mr. Drake was waiting for a response. She leaned
forward, more to settle her rolling stomach than anything else. “If you did,
they forgot to mention it to me. I would have remembered something so grand.
It’s an outdoor maze you said?”

To let him think she was visualizing the design, she closed her
eyes. He didn’t need to know she was mentally scrambling to remember what she
had read. “Boxwood could be an excellent choice for the border. If the parent
plants are of good stock, you could propagate your own replacement plants from
cuttings.”

When he remained silent, she continued, “Yew could be another
option.” She opened her eyes and shook her head. “No, that might not work. Do
your guests bring their children or pets?”

“Why?”

“The plant is poisonous. Kids might be attracted to the
berries.” Ariel snapped her fingers. “I’ve got it. Thuja…white cedar would be
perfect. It grows fast, stays green year round and has that holiday-evergreen
scent.”

He just kept looking at her, studying her. She wondered if he
was waiting for her to make a mistake. Would he know if she did? She sat back in
her chair. “Forgive my eagerness. I got carried away.”

“No need to apologize.” Mr. Drake rose. “It shows your
interest.” He came around his desk and took a seat in the chair next to her.

He was tall. She’d noticed that when he’d opened the door to
his office. He moved with the fluid grace of an athlete. Very little effort
seemed to go into his movements.

What she’d not noticed was the length of his legs, or the width
of his chest and shoulders. He dwarfed the armchair. Yet, when he stretched his
legs out before him, he appeared comfortable. She only wished she could be half
as relaxed.

“Since you live in Ohio, would there be a problem with moving
to Tennessee?” Cam wanted to keep her talking. Her nervousness increased with
every passing minute.

“No, that wouldn’t be a problem at all. There isn’t anything to
keep me from relocating.”

A sudden movement from the ancient pun-sai dragon tree on the
corner of his desk caught his attention. The blasted plant was slowly inching a
branch toward Ms. Johnson. Silently, he ordered,
Knock it
off
. The plant shivered and he got the distinct impression it was
from laughter, not fear.

He drew his focus back to the interview. “Your family wouldn’t
mind?”

She stared at her clasped hands. “There’s only my younger
brother and we don’t see each other much anymore.”

Cam picked up a tremor in her voice, and despair wafted in the
air around her when she mentioned her brother. So, he asked, “Does his job keep
him away?”

Ariel shrugged. “More or less.”

“What does he do for a living?”

She hesitated. Her gaze drifted to the dragon statue, then
roamed the office before she finally answered, “He’s an archeologist for a
museum in England.”

Her lie sizzled and nearly crackled in the air between them.
Once again the dragon tree stretched toward her. Cam rose and went over to pick
up the plant. He wanted to get it away from the woman before she saw what it was
doing.

“Oh, my, what a lovely bonsai.”

The pot in his hand trembled at the insult. Cam placed it on
the window ledge. “It’s a pun-sai tree. It needs a little more sun than this
office provides. I keep thinking I need to move it outside.”

He knew full well how much the plant detested the outdoors. As
if it understood the warning, the branches gently stroked his wrist before
settling back into place. Cam resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the sudden
petlike obedience.

While at the window, he glanced outside. Harold, the family’s
right-hand man, sometimes chauffeur, mechanic and occasional handyman, inspected
Ms. Johnson’s van. Apparently, he didn’t like the looks of the vehicle, or he’d
found something suspicious, because he kept shaking his head as he scanned the
undercarriage with a mirror.

Cam turned around to face Ariel and returned to his chair
alongside her. “I apologize. You said your brother was an archeologist?”

“Yes.”

Again, negative energy from the lie sizzled in the air. “Which
museum is he with?”

“It’s a private one.” She unlaced her fingers to brush an
imaginary strand of stray hair from her forehead. “I forget the full
name—Renalde something or another.”

Renalde?
Cam frowned.
Renalde?
Something about that name felt…wrong.
Renalde
. The letters rearranged themselves in his
mind.
R-e-n-a-l-d-e…L-e-a-r-n-e-d
. A cold, sinking
feeling hit his gut like a fist. Silently cursing, he resisted the sudden urge
to murder the woman where she sat.

He’d been right. About everything. Nathan wasn’t dead. And this
woman worked for him. So that meant the jewelry she was looking for was most
likely Alexia’s dragon pendant. She could look all she wanted, she wasn’t
getting her hands on it.

He wasn’t certain what the box she sought might be—unless it
was that cube Alexia’s dragon had found, and he wondered why she wasn’t
searching for the grimoire, too. Not that it mattered, because that was another
item she would never acquire—Braeden and Alexia had the family’s book of Druid
secrets under guard at all times.

He knew what Nathan’s stake was in getting his hands on the
pendant, but what was in it for her?

She was relatively new on the scene. She wasn’t a member of
either family—not the Drakes, nor the Learneds. She possessed not even a trace
of magic, so where did she fit in?

He retraced events of the past few months in his mind. During
the last break-in at Mirabilus an intruder had been shot and taken to the
hospital in a coma. The young man had miraculously disappeared before they could
discover anything about him. A few weeks later Ariel had
visited
Mirabilus.

Without staring, he studied her. She couldn’t be more than
twenty-six. The man in the coma was young enough to be her brother. While the
shapes of their faces were different—the young man’s was more squared at the
chin, where Ariel’s was more of a heart shape—they both had slight builds and
dark hair.
Was the missing patient and her brother one and
the same?

If so, was she completing his job? She would fail.

His beast laughed, taunting him with the fact that she’d
already succeeded at one task. She was here—the woman had gained entrance into
the Drakes’ stronghold.

Cam leaned closer to her. He still sensed no magic, no hidden
powers, which he knew meant little. His sister-in-law hadn’t possessed any
powers when she’d first come to the Lair, either. But she’d quickly gained
them.

The one thing he did sense was that she wasn’t here of her own
volition. He’d recognized that same fleeting emotion at Mirabilus, too. He had
the impression that she was being forced against her will. Since she didn’t seem
to possess any darkness in her soul, it was likely that the Learneds held
something over her.

Ariel leaned back against the chair, her eyes wide. Cam sat up
straighter. Obviously he’d intruded on her space. At the moment, though, he
didn’t care.

What he was about to do would be dangerous. This might be a
chance to thwart Nathan once and for all. Cam knew that it could cost him and
his family their lives.

But from the day he’d first discovered his ability to
shape-shift into a dragon, he’d been driven to outwit, and destroy Nathan the
Learned. He wasn’t going to start running from danger now—not with so much at
stake.

Cam stood up. “I’d like to thank you for coming.”

Ariel rose. He wondered at the panic briefly crossing her
features, but pushed his questions aside. There would be plenty of time to find
the answers.

“When would you be able to start?”

“You’re offering me the job?”

Her relief caught him off guard. Cam went back to his desk as
an excuse to glance out the window. Harold was no longer in sight. “The salary
you requested is reasonable. Your references checked out. And you have the
experience. So, yes, I’m offering you the position.” He shifted his gaze to her
face. “When can you start?”

Ariel fought to hide her surprise. Mr. Renalde had told her
she’d get the position. He’d been right. How had he known?

She realized Mr. Drake was staring at her, waiting for an
answer. “I need to find an apartment—”

“No need.” He cut her off. “We have a wing specifically for
employees. An apartment can be ready in the morning.”

Is that what Renalde wanted? For her to be
here 24/7?
What did it matter? The man wanted her to get the job and
she had. Why would he care about where she lived? And if he did, she could
always manufacture an excuse for Mr. Drake about how she’d changed her mind and
wanted to move elsewhere.

She nodded. “That would be wonderful. Thank you, Mr. Drake. I
could start tomorrow if that fits your schedule.”

“Good.” He extended his hand. “My father was Mr. Drake. I’m
Cameron or Cam.”

Ariel shook his hand. She nearly melted from the warmth of his
touch. If this was what a handshake did, what would a kiss do? Confused by the
direction of her thoughts, she released his hand.

He walked with her to the door. “I’ll let Jennie know you’ve
accepted the position. She’ll have a contract and other paperwork for you to
fill out and sign.”

His words rushed against the side of her face and Ariel’s heart
skipped. She frowned. Something about this man was vaguely familiar. Since it
was unlikely she’d have forgotten someone who could set her senses reeling as
easily as Cameron Drake, she was certain they’d never met.

She stared up at him as he opened the door and placed a hand on
the small of her back. His sapphire eyes shimmered. The bitter taste of fear
dried her mouth and the vision of a darkened ancient workroom flitted through
her mind.

Ariel shook the absurd thought from her mind to say, “Thank
you.”

She headed out to the receptionist wondering if she’d made a
more costly mistake by accepting the position. Failure would have brought
death.

Would success be worse?

Chapter 3

S
omething wasn’t right, but Ariel reached
for the door of her van and refused to look back at Dragon’s Lair.

It was more the odd feeling of a presence than it was a
knowing. If her off-kilter intuition could be trusted, someone watched her.
Who—or what? More important, she wondered, why?

She gasped and peered into the windows at the rear of the van.
What if the beast from Mirabilus was here? What if there really was more than
just the one dragon changeling she’d seen on the island? What if he…it…had
followed her here?

No
. Ariel sucked in a steadying
breath to stop the what-ifs from multiplying. Her concern for her brother, guilt
about lying to get this position and the sudden reoccurrence of her dreams were
fueling her fear.

She gritted her teeth against the all-too-familiar feelings of
fear—terror—uncertainty. They’d become a part of her life—a part she
despised.

Her days had been quiet, some might even say dull, before
Renalde had entered her life.

Since then her days had consisted of constant worry and fear,
not knowing from one minute to the next if she or Carl would live long enough to
return to their dull, boring lives.

Never again would she complain that nothing exciting ever
happened to her. She’d seen
exciting
, had witnessed
the unexplained and as far as she was concerned the world was better off not
knowing about magic—real magic with its wizards and beasts—that truly did walk
the earth.

She had to wonder if she would ever be able to forget the
events of these past few weeks. Would she ever again fall asleep and have normal
dreams instead of nightmares?

Would she ever be able to walk down the street without looking
over her shoulder, afraid that any moment a dragon would suddenly appear to
bring an end to her life?

Stop!
Ariel pushed the thoughts
from her mind. She refused to let her imagination get the best of her.

Hopefully giving the appearance of a calmness she didn’t feel,
she climbed into the van and drove away. Once there was enough distance between
her and the Lair, she glanced into the rearview mirror.

Even with dazzling sunlight as a backdrop, Dragon’s Lair looked
ominous. The imposing towers flanking the resort gave it the appearance of a
medieval stronghold. It seemed more a place to be feared rather than
revered.

Danger lived here, lurking around every corner, waiting for
unsuspecting prey.

She could think of countless other things she’d rather do than
take a position at Dragon’s Lair. The idea of moving here, living inside what
could essentially be the proverbial belly of the beast, made her ill.

Only for her brother’s sake had she accepted the position.
Ariel knew she would have to get as close to Cameron Drake as possible. But how
close?

She’d be living under his roof while working for him. Would
that be close enough to satisfy Mr. Renalde?

You will get as close as it takes to find
what I need.

Ariel cringed, shuddering at the cold, ominous tone of
Renalde’s warning buzzing in her head.

As close as it takes? Didn’t he realize where that could
lead?

If you have to sleep with the man, try to
smile.

Obviously he knew exactly where it could lead.

The mental image of Mr. Drake’s…Cameron’s…naked long legs and
broad chest stirred warmth into her veins. Ariel’s cheeks flamed at the sudden
vision of him looming over her, with those sapphire eyes mesmerizing her,
holding her spellbound, as he came closer…then closer—

Renalde’s sudden burst of laughter in her mind chased away the
warmth.

What had she been thinking? Did Renalde possess the power to
control her desires? She waited, but nothing—no one—answered her unspoken
question. Apparently she was once again alone with her thoughts.

Ariel gripped the steering wheel tighter. She might have no
choice but to succeed at the task she’d been ordered to perform, but nobody was
going to tell her who to sleep with.

* * *

Something nudged the ancient wizard, dragging his soul
from a prolonged slumber.

Aelthed studied his prison knowing that nothing tangible could
have invaded his makeshift cell. That was one certainty about being trapped
inside a wooden puzzle box—nothing, and nobody, could gain entry.

Another certainty was that he couldn’t escape. He’d tried for
well over eight hundred years. But the spell Nathan the Learned had used still
held fast.

Only love would set him free. He’d interjected that little kink
in Nathan’s spell of his own accord. Unfortunately, he’d not specified whose
love.

He thought that once the Dragon Lord of Mirabilus found his
soul’s mate that he’d finally be free. Since each generation of Dragon Lords had
found their specific mate, apparently that wasn’t the case.

So, what had pulled him from his deep meditation, his only form
of escape?

A tendril of warmth circled around him, inviting him to pay
attention. He pulled away, unwilling to get involved once again.

But like a demanding child who refused to be denied, the warmth
urged him to focus on the race of emotions building outside the walls of his
cube.

Fear, lies and distrust wafted strong. Still, he wondered why
he needed to pay attention to such mortal emotions.

Hunger, desire and need sizzled in the air. Like a thunderbolt
lacing the night sky, the emotions crackled around him with an intensity that
would not be ignored.

Aelthed rose, a smile curved his lips. “So, another dragon has
found his mate.”

From the power and hunger pulsing beneath the desire, he could
only surmise it was the changeling.

A frown wiped away his smile. Getting this dragon to
acknowledge his feelings wouldn’t be easy. The man had fallen in love
before.

Unfortunately, because of an angry, frightened curse spoken
centuries earlier, his beast hadn’t been interested. Unless it could find
another of his kind it was cursed to thirst for nothing more than Learned blood,
the dragon would never know love.

Since another of his kind didn’t exist, the man had fallen in
love with a human woman. And when danger had threatened the man’s beloved, the
dragon had ignored the frantic call for help. An act that had ended with a
woman’s death and a man’s horrified distrust.

Aelthed worried that a part of this changeling unknowingly
despised his beast. That hatred had been the downfall of the other Drake
changelings.

If the Drake dragon wanted to break the curse, to live or to
ever experience the fulfillment offered by taking a mate, the changeling needed
to embrace his inner dragon.

Aelthed paced his cell. There had to be a way to help. He
paused, his eyes widening as he sensed something else on the wind.

Impossible.

But as he focused harder, a smile curved his lips. The
impossible had happened. He didn’t know how and could hardly fathom the event,
but somewhere out there this dragon’s true mate did indeed exist and she was
close at hand.

How would he bring them together? He frowned again, then
finally rolled his eyes at his own stupidity.

Once again hunkering down in a corner of his prison, he traced
symbols and letters in the air. A thin trail of smoke followed his fingertip
before dissipating.

With a wide grin Aelthed wrote faster, knowing for certain that
the smoke would reappear as ink on the pages of the Drake family’s grimoire.

* * *

Cam had watched the van disappear down the mountain and
still he stood before the window, staring at the vast expanse of mountains and
sky.

Something about Ariel Johnson affected him on a level he
couldn’t quite define—a level that made him strangely uncomfortable.

Her looks were most definitely a part of his attraction—after
all, what man wouldn’t be drawn to a woman with killer curves and a brazenness
that belied her no-nonsense appearance? No one who looked at her would guess
that beneath the all-business guise lurked a criminal and a liar.

Ariel Johnson could probably fool a not-so-discerning
investigator. If they didn’t pay close attention, they might miss the way the
flecks of green in her hazel eyes darkened when something unsettled her. The
sudden quickening of the pulse along her pale throat might have gone unnoticed
by another—but he had seen it.

And his wayward beast had heard the increased tempo of her
heart, along with the rush of blood flowing through her veins, when she
lied.

But his odd fascination went deeper than the physical. Neither
he, nor his beast, should be so aware of this woman. Her scents of fear and
desire shouldn’t be so easily detectable.

But they were.

Pheromones that were uniquely Ariel Johnson still lingered in
his suddenly cramped office. His gut tightened, making him painfully aware that
not only was he attuned to her emotions, he wanted more.

He wanted to taste her lips, stroke the softness of her flesh,
feel her move beneath him and hear her sigh of pleasure as it turned to cries of
fulfillment.

Muscles played across his back involuntarily. The oddly shaped
birthmark on his shoulder blade burned. Cam tore his attention from the view and
his thoughts from Ms. Johnson with a curse.

What the hell was he thinking? She worked for the Learneds,
making her as much an enemy as they. He couldn’t let desire and need cloud his
judgment this way.

He swung away from the window determined to rein in the growing
hunger and came face-to-face with his twin.

Braeden stared hard at him, frowning when Cam erected a wall to
protect his thoughts. “The interview didn’t go well?”

“It went fine.” Cam sat down behind his desk. Careful not to
reveal too much about the interview or his unease, he said, “She starts
tomorrow.”

“She?”

“Ariel Johnson.” He pushed her folder across the desk. “She’s
too dangerous to turn down.”

Braeden sat in one of the chairs in front of Cam’s desk. He
shook his head while thumbing through the glowing references. “Dangerous? How
so?” He tossed the folder back on the desk. “All I see are some overblown
references.”

“She’s our latest would-be thief at the castle.”

Braeden’s eyebrows rose sharply. “And you didn’t think it worth
mentioning before?”

“I wanted to be certain.”

“Why did you hire her if you knew she could prove
dangerous?”

“I’m not sure.” He paused, unwilling to divulge everything to
his brother. “Something…” Cam shrugged. “I figured it would be safer if I could
watch her here to see what she’s up to.”

“Watch her?” Braeden leaned forward and, holding Cam’s gaze, he
asked, “You sure there’s nothing more? Maybe another reason you want her
close?”

Uncertain how to answer that loaded question, Cam frowned. The
only woman he’d ever wanted that close was gone. It was doubtful anyone could
take her place.

“Your pause says more than you think. I’ve known for a long
time that you blamed yourself for Carol’s death.” He leaned back into the chair.
“I just never knew why.”

Cam absently traced the handle of the letter opener on his
desk. Dragons etched on the smooth surface mocked him.

Images of an unknown beast—part dragon, part gargoyle—swooping
down from the sky to attack his wife as she looked out across a deep gorge, and
Carol falling from the cliff’s edge as he watched in shocked helplessness
flashed through his mind. Had he been able to awaken his dragon, Carol would
still be here and these cold knots of failure and fear wouldn’t still be eating
at him.

While he could live with the failure and the fear, what he
could hardly bear at times was the guilt. Guilt because he’d stood there frozen
with shock. Guilt and rage because his dragon hadn’t cared enough to even blink
at the threat of danger.

He forcibly shook off the memories and answered his brother,
“It’s my fault because I did nothing.”

Instead of rehashing the argument they’d had countless times
over this very topic, Braeden frowned. Finally he said, “Tell me about this
Ariel Johnson.”

“Not much to tell. She broke into the workroom at
Mirabilus.”

“And you’re certain it was her?”

“Without a doubt. I saw her, but she…bolted when she saw me.”
It wasn’t exactly a lie. She had bolted from the island once he’d released
her.

“How does that explain why she’s here?”

“I think she’s related to the missing coma thief.” He explained
about Ariel’s brother and the timing that made him believe the thief and brother
were the same person.

Braeden nodded in agreement. “Who’d she say her brother worked
for?”

“A Renalde.” Cam waited for Braeden’s response.

“Renalde.” Braeden frowned before repeating, “Renalde. I can’t
think of anyone with that name.”

Cam grabbed a piece of paper and a pen. Beneath the name
Renalde, he wrote
Learned
and pushed the paper
toward Braeden.

His brother stared at it a moment before he nearly growled.
“Learned.” He cursed. “Nathan. I wonder if he’s still alive.”

“I’m sure he is. And since I sense no magic swirling around
Ariel, I’m certain either he, or a member of his clan, is personally controlling
her.”

“Probably someone else under Nathan’s orders.” Braeden crumpled
the paper and tossed it into the garbage. “You can’t go against them alone. I’ll
call off my trip.”

Even though he disagreed, Cam wasn’t going to argue. “Maybe,
maybe not. Either way, I don’t need you here right now. You know they aren’t
going to attack tomorrow—they can’t.”

The spells surrounding the Lair were too powerful for the
Learneds to break. If another wizard came within sight of the property
uninvited, every Drake would instantly know and be ready for whatever danger
presented itself.