Dragon's Lair (10 page)

“You just feel sorry for her because she needs you right now. What about later, Braeden? When she's back on her feet and no longer needs or wants your help? What then?”

Alexia blinked. Is that what everyone thought? That she was just using Braeden? Granted, she had come here because she had no place else to go, but she hadn't done so with the idea of using Braeden and then leaving.

She heard Braeden's sigh. Didn't Danielle realize that meant he was losing patience?

“You have too many other things to deal with. You shouldn't have to deal with her and her problems, too.” Danielle's overprotectiveness set Alexia's teeth on edge.

“She's still my wife,” he repeated.

“Fine. Have it your way. I have warned you since the first day you brought her home that her soul was black and dangerous. But you wouldn't listen then and you aren't listening now.” Danielle headed toward the door. “Have you considered what'll happen if she leaves you powerless this time?”

She slammed the door behind her before Braeden could respond.

He ran a hand through his hair and sat down behind his desk. “How are you feeling?”

Alexia tried to dismiss his uninterested tone, but it still stung. “I'll be fine.”

His frown deepened. “This shouldn't have happened.”

Whether it should have happened or not, it did. And it had left her humiliated and him bleeding. “How am I going to know if it happens again?”

“It won't.”

He said it with such forceful confidence that Alexia believed him.

“Either way, under someone's spell or not, there was no excuse for my actions last night.” She nervously traced a finger around the rim of her coffee cup before adding, “I am sorry, Braeden, and I wish you'd accept my apology.”

“If it'll make you feel better, I accept.”

His tone was clipped, as if he was unwilling to discuss the incident. Did he think she lied about even this? “You don't think I had any part in what happened, do you?”

He stared at her as if contemplating his answer. Unable to stand the silence any longer, Alexia leaned forward, prompting, “You said yourself that I have no powers.”

“That doesn't mean anything. You could easily be working with someone.”

A shudder of disbelief, anger or both rippled down her spine. Before giving it any thought, she replied, “It would take a lot more than magic to get the two of us in bed together.”

Horrified at her own stupidity, Alexia closed her eyes and prayed for the floor beneath her to open up and swallow her. There was nothing like offering Braeden an open invitation to see exactly what it would take.

“Sure about that, are you?”

Fortunately he didn't elaborate on his response. She hoped that by ignoring it, the subject would be dropped.

Alexia stared mutely into her nearly empty coffee cup. A nerveracking silence filled the space between them. The longer it lasted, the more time Alexia had to think of what might have been.

She needed a diversion before she got lost in memories and dreams that would do nothing except stab at her heart. “I know it's Sunday. But I'm willing to start working on the Dragonierre's Manual.”

“Good.” Braeden unlocked a desk drawer. “I don't think it wise to do this in here. Come tomorrow there'll be people in and out.” He pulled a leather satchel from the drawer. “There's a well-equipped office in my suite.”

“Wouldn't it just be easier if I had a suite of my own? Then I wouldn't be taking up your office—”

“We've already had this discussion. You're staying put.”

The urge to argue was overwhelming. But she managed to bite her tongue. “Fine. Since you're better able to protect the manual, your suite will work.”

He closed and locked the drawer before heading toward the door. “The rest of the pages are up there in my private safe.”

“Do you want something to eat before we get started?”

“No.” Alexia's stomach rolled at the thought. “The coffee was enough.”

She followed him out of the office, down the hall and across the lobby. Her thoughts, which should have been focused on the task ahead, were, instead, riveted on his tight jeans.

Braeden was dressed less than casually by his standards, but the jeans and T-shirt look worked well for him—and better for her.

Did he keep himself so trim, firm and muscular by working out or by magic? And when had his legs gotten so long? He'd always been tall, but for some reason she'd never noticed them quite so vividly before, not even when they'd first married. Why her attention was drawn so acutely to his body now was a mystery she didn't wish to solve. Alexia resisted the urge to fan her warming cheeks.

“Alexia?”

She caught herself right before literally running into his chest. When had he stopped and turned around? Hesitantly lifting her gaze to his, she felt her face warm even more.

He lifted one eyebrow.

“I…uh…” She took a breath and gave up. “What?”

His deep laugh rumbled through her like a lingering caress, sending a shiver through her. The fact that he so obviously thought it amusing only embarrassed her more.

“I assume you'll want to take notes. On the computer or on paper?”

She shook the budding passion from herself. “Actually, both, and a tape recorder if there's one available.”

“No, but there's a mic on the computer.”

“That'll work.”

To her relief the elevator ride up to his suite was uneventful. He opened the door and waved her inside.

The office was through the double doors off the living room. A conference area took up one end of the room. A mahogany desk, credenza and file cabinets were in the other end. About midway down the side wall was a long, narrow worktable.

Alexia slid the pages from the satchel onto the worktable while Braeden retrieved the others from the safe behind his desk.

She stopped. “I need the case from the back seat of my car.” She didn't want to handle the fragile pages without gloves. The acid and sweat from her hands could damage the parchment.

“I'll get it.” Braeden paused at the door. “Do you need anything else?”

Without taking her fascinated gaze off the pages, she sat down in the swivel chair before the table and answered, “No, that should do it.”

While most of the words appeared to be gibberish, or some strange code, the drawings were exquisite. There was a drawing of a dragon pendant. The fine detail made it so lifelike that Alexia was drawn to gently touch the winged creature.

She stroked from the beast's head to its tail and felt the creature stretch beneath her touch. “What the—” She jerked back her hand.

“Bugs.” It had to be bugs. She lifted the page and found nothing underneath.

Certain the impression of movement was because of the intricate detail, she picked up a magnifying glass and leaned over the page.

The pointed barb at the end of the tail seemed to vibrate. She hadn't realized she was shaking. Steadying her wrist with her other hand, she moved her gaze up the tail. Instead of just an outline drawing with some details etched in, each individual scale had been recreated on the page.

She jotted a few notes on a pad and continued to study the dragon. The wings had been drawn in a manner that mimicked movement, another technique she wouldn't have expected from something done in what was supposed to have been the twelfth century.

The magnifying glass jumped as if it had been tapped
from below. She leaned away, frowning at her carelessness. It wouldn't do to get so carried away that she accidentally damaged the page by scraping her hand or the glass across it.

With more care, she bent back to her task. Alexia studied the dragon's back and neck before moving higher up the drawing. She positioned the glass directly over its head—and froze as she stared into the dragon's blinking eyes.

She dropped the glass and shoved away from the table, nearly tipping the chair backward in her attempt to get away.

Alexia raced out of the office to the front entrance door, but it wouldn't open. She opened her mouth to scream, but nothing came out. Her heart threatened to pound out of her chest as she fought to calm the frantic beating.
Braeden! Braeden, I need you. Now!

He materialized at her side immediately and pulled her into his arms. “What?”

Unable to speak, she pointed at the table in the office.

Braeden saw nothing unusual, but Alexia's fear was too real. He moved toward the table and she pushed free. He left her by the door and went to see what had caused such a reaction.

He stood over the page and stared down in amazement. “Well, I'll be.”

The drawing of the dragon was seeking life. The end of the tail and part of its head had already freed itself from the page. He hadn't been this excited about something magical in ages. Braeden reached toward Alexia. “Come here. Look at this.”

“No.”

“You've got to see this before I put it back.”

She pressed herself against the doorjamb. “No.”

He wasn't going to argue with her. Braeden stretched out his arm, extended his hand and ordered, “Come.”

Her eyes grew large as her body obeyed. Levitated a few inches off the floor, she closed the distance between them until he grasped her hand and she lowered to her feet.

“Now, look at this.”

He could smell her fear as she stared down at the table.

“It's not going to harm you, Alexia.” He leaned closer to the dragon. “Look at the color.”

The sections of the beast that had come free from the page were turning amethyst.

“Make it go away.”

He glanced up at the sound of her strangled voice. Her eyes were huge and bright against the paleness of her face. Alexia wasn't just afraid—she was absolutely terrified. He realized that if he didn't do something, she would faint.

Reluctantly he put his hand over the page. “Remain the drawing you were meant to be.” The dragon melted back into the book.

And behind him, Alexia hit the floor with a thud.

 

Nathan strangled on a laugh and dragged his shaking wife more tightly to his chest. He enjoyed the pureness of the fear racing through her body. She knew well the price she'd have to pay for casting a failed spell. But he intended to enjoy her terror in a way he'd not enjoyed their long marriage.

Without taking his eyes off the scrying mirror, he stroked the soft flesh on the side of her neck. “Your spell didn't work. They have not made love.”

Elsbeth tried pulling away, but he held her fast. “You know what that means, don't you?”

Nathan grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him. “Kiss me, my love. Let my lips be the last thing you feel.”

He captured her scream with his mouth sealed firmly over hers. She trembled beneath his deadly touch. Slowly, with near reverence, Nathan literally drew the breath from her body. He inhaled her life force and, along with it, the meager powers she possessed.

After dumping the now lifeless body to the floor, he pulled the wooden box from his desk drawer. “Nice trick with the dragon, Aelthed. How did you do that?”

Not that it mattered in the least. Nathan was certain he'd learn that secret when he gained control of all the others.

Excitement thrummed through his veins like a drug. Soon, very soon, he would have all he ever wanted.

Now that Drake and his wife were finally getting around to the grimoire, his wait would soon end. He'd give them a few days. If they made little or no progress, he'd be forced to prompt them into action himself.

Quite a few of the Drake kin lived on Mirabilus. The untimely death of one or two of them should be enough to speed things along.

Nathan whispered a curse as Drake turned his head and seemingly stared directly at him. He waved a hand before the mirror, darkening the image.

He'd have to be more careful in the future and be satisfied with nothing more than a quick glimpse now and then.

“A
lexia.” Braeden knelt beside her. “It's gone.”

She came to with a jerk, swinging her fists and catching Braeden on the shoulder.

“Stop.” He grasped her wrists. “It's gone.” When she uncurled her fingers and relaxed her arms, he released her and rose.

“What
was
that?” Pushing up from the floor, she stood with Braeden's help, then moved behind him.

“I'm not sure, but it was easy enough to quell.”

Alexia headed for the door. “I need some air.”

“You don't want to get back to work?”

“Sure.” She narrowed her eyes. “Right after I get my heart rate down around aerobic level.”

He didn't want to stay in the suite. There were at least two dozen things on his desk that needed to be completed. But he didn't want her left alone, either. She was upset
enough to take off. “Just a few minutes so I can check this out, too, and then we'll go for a walk.”

She stayed by the door and waved a finger at the pages. “Fine, but turn that one over.”

Braeden reluctantly conceded and flipped the dragon drawing facedown. Hands resting on the table, he leaned down and studied the next page. “What do you make of this?”

Slowly, as if uncertain she wanted to get much closer, Alexia asked, “There's no drawing?”

“Nothing like before. A swirl at the top-right corner and the rest is just letters—words, maybe.”

She joined him at the table. “Any you can make out?”

“Actually, yes.” He pointed at what looked to him like a fancy swirl. “This is on my and Cam's dragons.”

Alexia jotted a few things on her pad before holding the magnifying glass over the symbol. “Well, of course it's on your dragons.”

“Of course?”

She put the glass on the table. “It says ‘dragon'.”

It was all Braeden could do to keep his lips from twitching. Apparently Alexia was going to get more than her fill of dragons today.

She picked up her pad and scribbled something on it before handing it to him. “The letters DRACA are written on top of each other. Each letter smaller than the last.”

“Draca is…?”

Alexia took the pad from him. “Old English.”

“Why would a Druid be writing in Old English?”

She shrugged, wondering the same thing. Why hadn't the author followed the methods of the church at the time and created an illuminated manuscript? Perhaps
they hadn't wanted their text tied to the church. “Because they didn't commit their secrets or lessons to writing?”

“Are you asking me?”

“No, just wondering out loud. With no written language, illustrations could have been used. It would have made more sense. Or they could have reverted to the Greek alphabet of the Gauls. Either way, Gallic Druids did not hand down their lessons in writing.” She tapped on the table alongside a page. “So what is this?”

He reminded her. “You're the one who did the paper on this book that doesn't exist. You tell me.”

She flushed, but said, “I hope to.”

Braeden grasped two chairs and dragged them over to the worktable. “Here.”

Without comment she sat down and pulled a pair of gloves from the case he'd brought in from the car. Alexia refocused her attention on the pages.

He took a seat next to her and watched as she stared at a page, made some notes, then went back to staring and frowning at the page.

Someone who didn't know her might think she was performing a task that frustrated or bored her. But he caught a glimpse of the bright shimmer in her eyes. And the way every now and then she would pause, chewing on her lower lip before scribbling another note on her pad.

A stranger wouldn't notice that the tiny pulse in her neck would suddenly speed up when she discovered something new to jot down.

But he wasn't a stranger. And he noticed every little nuance whether he wanted to or not. Each movement, even just the rise and fall of her chest as she breathed, beckoned him to remember what they'd once shared—and what they'd both lost.

He frowned, knowing he had a choice to make. He could either make her life miserable, or he could call a truce at least until this manual was translated. After that she would once again leave to make her own life without him.

The knowledge angered him, but he wasn't certain why. As he'd declared more times than he could remember, they were still married. But his life was easier without her around. Calmer. Less tense.

Boring.

He shook the thought from his mind. Just take one thing at a time. Right now his responsibility was to ensure her safety. He thought that would be easy. Obviously he hadn't counted on the strength of the outside force following her.

For now he watched, fascinated by the play of emotions racing across her features as she became lost in her work. Braeden remained quiet, oddly content to do nothing more than sit here on guard in case another mystical creature decided to scare her half to death.

Almost two hours flew by before Alexia leaned back in her chair. She rubbed her neck and arched her back.

“Figure anything out?”

“I can only assume this is the beginning of the manual. It seems to be telling a story, or relating events about the Mirabilus twins. I think they were women, but I'm not sure. It's as if there are words missing.”

“Missing? As in faded out or as in intentionally not written?”

Turning her head from side to side to stretch her neck, she answered, “I'm not certain.”

Without thought Braeden stood behind her and kneaded her shoulders. He suggested, “Let's take that walk I promised, then we can grab some lunch.”

She leaned back into his hands. “In a minute.”

He pressed his thumbs into her neck before leaning down to whisper in her ear, “You said it would take more than magic. Is this something more?”

To demonstrate what he meant, he slid one hand over her shoulder and across her collarbone. The tips of his fingers grazed the swell of her breasts.

Alexia gasped softly before sitting upright and swiveling the chair away from him. She shook her head, whispering, “No. No, it's not.”

She lied badly. He read the look in her eyes. How could he not recognize the glimmer of desire? But he wasn't certain if the desire was real or just the lingering remains of last night's spell.

Braeden stepped back. “A walk in the fresh air will do you good.”

She nodded. “Let me note where I left off, then we can go.”

 

The late-October sky was clear and bright. Alexia lifted her face to the sun, glad he'd suggested a walk. The fresh air did more to clear her head than the aspirin she'd swallowed this morning.

They walked side by side along a well-kept path around the Lair. It led them alongside, then behind the resort before passing a large outbuilding that looked like a garage of some type.

Harold yelled from the doorway. “May I have a minute, Mr. Drake?”

Braeden nodded at the man and looked at Alexia. “This won't take long.”

“That's fine.” Alexia pointed up the path where it led into the woods. “I'll wait for you up there.”

“Don't go too far.”

She heard a vague warning in his tone and asked, “It is still your property, isn't it?”

“Yes. You'll be fine, just stay on the main path, and if you get to the fence, stop. I should catch up with you well before then.”

After Braeden headed off to talk to Harold, she ambled up the path, following it into the woods. The sun filtered through the mix of pine and oak trees, but it wasn't enough to provide much warmth beneath the denseness of the trees. Alexia buttoned her jacket and stuffed her hands in her pockets.

The path angled up, but the freshness of the air, the freedom of being outside, made the hike worth the effort. And the scenery went a long way toward making the journey enjoyable. She was at an elevation where the evergreens and deciduous trees grew together. The darker green of the evergreens provided a contrasting canvas for the palette of colored leaves still hanging tenuously from the deciduous trees.

When the path forked, she paused, wondering which branch was the main path. If guests were going to use these trails, the Drakes might want to think about marking them.

Before she could decide left or right, Braeden came up behind her. “This way.” He took the trail heading off to the left.

Alexia followed him more deeply into the forest. “What's on the other trail?”

“Nothing.”

He answered too quickly for her to believe him. But she wasn't going to call him on it now. They had to work together and it'd be easier to do if they weren't at each other's throats.

They hiked in silence until the path led up to a grassy knoll. A light breeze rustled the long, brown grass. She climbed onto a large boulder to survey the scenery.

Alexia sighed as all her cares and concerns faded away beneath nature's calming touch. She could live here without hesitation. She could once again be Braeden's wife with little coercion.

Alexia blinked. Where had that thought come from?

Braeden Drake didn't need a wife. He needed nothing more from life than the rush of the next challenge to meet and conquer.

Her gaze wandered over the mountaintops and the hollows before coming to rest on Braeden.

She felt his return stare and turned away from the questioning look in his eyes.

Alexia didn't want to face the questions. She didn't want to search for the answers. Not right now. Not when his nearness made rational thought almost impossible.

No. All she wanted to do was finish this translation and get as far away from Dragon's Lair and Braeden Drake as possible.

Quickly, before the hunger and need gnawing at her caused her to do something her heart would later regret. She didn't think she could survive losing him again.

She bent her legs and rested her forehead on her knees. Coming here had been stupid. The threat at home had been physical, but here, at the Lair, her heart and soul were in grave danger.

The grass surrounding the boulder rustled. Yet no breeze had set the long blades moving. Alexia shivered as a finger of ice traced down her spine.

Braeden glanced around before joining her on the boulder. Kneeling beside her, he whispered, “Stay still.”

His softly spoken order made her nerves twitch with dread. Just as quietly, she asked, “What's going on?”

He pointed at the still-moving grass. Her gaze moved in that direction and she held her breath.

Like undulating waves, the grass rippled in the stillness. Each wave was broken by a thin curving line racing toward them, breaking only at the base of the boulder then continuing around.

Alexia closed her eyes and tried to swallow the cry in her throat. She grabbed Braeden's arm.

“They're just garter snakes, Lexi. Stay calm.”

“Calm?” She didn't care what kind of snakes they were. They were slithering creatures with fangs and they were nearly upon them. He wanted her to be calm? The threatening cry escaped with her question. She snapped her mouth closed and dug her fingers into his arm. “Get me out of here.”

“In a minute.” Braeden pried her fingers from his arm, then rose.

Careful to keep her gaze on him and not on the still-rustling grass, Alexia opened one eye. “What are you doing?”

He nodded toward the other side of the knoll. “We have company.”

Alexia hazarded a glance and saw a wispy, nearly formed figure levitating at the edge of the forest. With his dark robe and wild hair he had the appearance of someone who'd just stepped out of the Middle Ages—or off some movie lot.

“Who the—”

“Nathan. That is Nathan the Learned.”

She stared up at Braeden. “So he is real.”

“Obviously.”

Alexia shivered. Then he was also probably the voice of evil she'd heard in her mind.

Nathan looked straight at them, without any ac
knowledgment, then disappeared. Taking his snakes with him.

“Did he see us?”

“Oh, he saw us.” Braeden jumped off the boulder and held out a hand to help her down. “We need to get back to the Lair.”

“What are you—” Before she could finish her sentence, she stumbled over the thick carpet in Braeden's office. Quickly catching her balance, she took a seat. “A warning would have been nice.”

He shrugged. “Walking back would have taken too long.” Without waiting for her reply, he tapped a button on the phone. “Cam, Sean, Dani, in my office.”

Something was dreadfully wrong, but from the frown of concentration on Braeden's face as he sat down behind his desk, she wasn't at all certain she wanted to know.