For the Memory of Dragons (11 page)

“Sorry about that,” Terra said. “We’ve had a
long day.”

Alex listened closely to the warm note in
her voice while trying to hold back his instinct to hide her away
from the unknown person.

The man laughed. “Don’t worry about it,
love. Brooding dragons have a tendency to be a little
overprotective. Although, I’m surprised to see this one brooding
over anyone.”

Alex cracked his eyes and watched as the man
held his hand out to Terra.

“I’m Alister Stewert, but the men call me
Brigs.”

“Terra Watson.” Terra reached out and took
his hand.

A soft growl rumbled up from Alex’s
chest.

Pulling her hand back, Terra shot Alex an
offended look.

Alex shook his head slightly and forced the
sound to stop. Yes, his dragon was trying to claim her, but he
needed to get it under control. She still wasn’t his mate, and this
man, whomever he was, wasn’t out to steal her away from him. Humans
didn’t understand instincts the same way dragons did, and if he
didn’t cool it, he could easily drive a wedge between them.

To settle the irritation riding him, Alex
reached over and pulled one of the cups towards him. It was hot,
and the soft aroma of flowers drifted up with the steam. Blowing on
the frothy top, he sipped at the pale liquid inside. Sweetened milk
flavored with tea rolled across his tongue and soothed his frayed
nerves. He remembered this drink. It was relaxing and helped to
slow his thoughts so he could process them.

Taking the hot mug with him, he leaned back
in the booth and rested the cup against his chest, where he could
breathe in the pleasant aroma. Alex listened to Terra and Brigs
chat as he let things process through his mind. This had been
exactly what he needed to get his memory back. This and a little
time.

Terra stared at Alex for a moment. She
vaguely remembered him mentioning that dragons were protective over
their mates, but did that mean they were possessive of them, too?
She shook the thought away and turned her attention back to the new
man. Smiling at Brigs, she ignored Alex as he pulled his cup over
to himself. Maybe his drink would chill him out.

“How did you get a name like Brigs from
Alister?”

Brigs dropped the leather jacket on the
table and folded his arms over the back of the chair. “It comes
from the time I spent in the army.”

“You were in the army?” Terra glanced over
the man. He was a touch on the stout side with neatly trimmed,
brown hair and a thin mustache. His voice held a hint of an accent
to it, but Terra couldn’t place it.

“Aye. But that’s a long story.” Brigs
grinned at her and changed the subject. “So how did you end up with
a curmudgeon like Alex here?”

“Curmudgeon?” Terra said as she looked at
the man in the booth next to her. He had relaxed back on the bench
so he was almost lying down. His cup was cradled on his chest and
his eyes were closed. If she didn’t know better, she would have
sworn he’d fallen asleep. She considered him for a moment. He
didn’t seem like a surly person.

Brigs shrugged a bit. “Well, maybe not a
complete curmudgeon, but he does tend to be a bit antisocial. It’s
been a while since I’ve seen him show up anywhere with a lovely
lady by his side, let alone brooding. So how’d you manage to catch
his attention?”

She glanced between Brigs and Alex, not sure
how to take this news. He didn’t seem very antisocial to her. In
fact, he had been great company. Well, for the hours that he’d been
awake, at least. She studied him for a moment, trying to see him as
Brigs had suggested, but she couldn’t.

“That’s also a long story.” Terra kept her
answer vague, unsure how much information she should give Brigs.
They had, after all, been chased out of her home at gunpoint.

“I crashed in her backyard,” Alex
answered.

Terra stared at him, surprised. “You
remember?”

“Bits.” Alex sighed and sipped at his drink.
“It’s coming back.”

“Remember?” Brigs asked. His voice held a
note of concern.

“He hit his head,” Terra said, feeling a
little guilty. “He’s been having some problems with his
memory.”

Alex made an irritated noise but didn’t say
anything else.

“Ah.” Brigs shifted in his seat. “And a
brooding on top of that certainly wouldn’t make things easy.”

Alex made another soft noise and sipped at
his drink.

“But the tea should help.” Brigs chuckled.
“It always helps.”

“Tea?” Terra asked glancing at the mug Alex
clutched to his chest.
What was in his tea?
Reaching out,
she pulled her matching cup over and looked into it. White foam
covered the top, preventing her from seeing the actual liquid, but
there was a thin chain attached to the side of the cup. Picking it
up, she sipped at the drink and found it rather pleasant.

“It’s a Lo—” Brigs started.

“London Fog,” Alex supplied, cutting off
Brigs’ answer.

Brigs grinned again. “One of the few drinks
that will relax an uptight dragon.”

“Not uptight,” Alex grumbled, but he didn’t
move.

Brigs laughed again. “Alex, you are one of
the most tightly wound dragons I know. But that’s what makes you so
good at your job.”

Another irritated noise came from the man
relaxing in the booth, but he didn’t move or protest.

Turning his attention back to Terra, Brigs
smiled again. “He can get a little caught up in the details, but
he’s very good at solving problems once you get a cup or two of tea
in him.”

“Tea?” Terra asked again as she glanced into
the cup. It was definitely some form of milk tea, but it had a
floral taste to it that she couldn’t place.
Very tasty.

“Well, not the tea.” Brigs shrugged.

“Lavender,” Alex supplied the answer.

Terra stared down into her cup. Now that she
knew what that floral taste was, she recognized it. “Lavender?” She
looked back up to the men.

“Aye. It’s one of the few things that will
affect a dragon,” Brigs explained, nodding towards the relaxed man
in the booth. “For Alex, it opens his mind.”

“Catnip for dragons,” Alex muttered as he
took another sip.

Brigs laughed again. “It has been called
that.” He turned his attention back to Terra. “But you have to be
careful with it. A little can help you relax, but a lot can wind
you up. And some dragons are more sensitive to it than others.”

Alex made a confirming noise in his throat
before taking another sip.

“But most know their limits,” Brigs
added.

Interesting.
Terra sipped at the warm
tea. “What happens if they get too much?” she asked, glancing over
at the way Alex was resting in the booth.

Brigs grinned. “Get three cups in him, and
you’ll find out.” His voice held a hint of mischief to it. “But
make sure you don’t have anything planned for the rest of the
night.”

The suggestion in the man’s tone surprised
Terra. She glanced at Alex again. Did Brigs just imply that
lavender would increase a dragon’s desires? If that was the case,
maybe she should take the cup of tea away from Alex. After that
kiss in the elevator and his confession at breakfast, she wasn’t
sure what would happen if he continued to drink that stuff.

“Alex.” The serious tone Brigs took washed
all thought out of Terra. “Can you tell me what happened with
Melanie yesterday?”

Terra tensed up, waiting to see how Alex
answered. Obviously, his crashing in her backyard had something to
do with this woman.

Alex sat quietly for a moment before
answering. “Not right now.”

Brigs shot Terra a glance before nodding.
“Do you need me to call Sanders? He’s been blowing up everyone’s
phones looking for you.”

An annoyed noise came for Alex. “No. I’ll
deal with it.”

“Well then,” Brigs thumped the table gently,
“I’ll leave you to your tea.” He stood up and spun the chair back
to the table where it had come from. “Let me know if there is
anything I can do.”

Alex made another soft noise in agreement,
and Brigs turned to leave.

“Oh.” The man stopped and turned back.
“Since the weather’s been bad, we moved your bike to the barn.”
With that, he turned and left.

Terra watched as Alex raised his hand in
acknowledgement. He dropped it back to the seat and sat there,
quietly sipping on his tea. She tried not to fidget in her seat as
her curiosity grew. It was obvious he remembered something, but she
had no idea how much until he decided to say something. And he
didn’t seem like he was going to say anything at the moment.

“Well?” Terra pushed when she couldn’t stand
the suspense anymore. “Is it coming back?”

Alex let out a long breath and sat up.
“Yes.” He set his cup on the table and reached for the leather
jacket Brigs had left. “But not fast enough.” Digging in the
pockets of the coat, he pulled out a phone and a wallet. “Let’s see
what we can find here.” Concern crossed his face when he looked at
the phone. “I think this is going to take me a minute. Why don’t
you look through this?”

Surprise hit Terra as Alex held his wallet
out to her. Reluctantly, she took it. “Are you sure?” she asked,
holding the folded leather. It didn’t feel right digging through
his wallet.

“Mmm,” he answered as he scrolled through
the missed calls and messages on his phone.

Terra glanced at the screen. Someone was
really trying to get ahold of him. There were a lot of missed
calls. Turning her attention back to the wallet, she looked at it,
considering her options.
Why the hell not?
He’d given it to
her for just that reason.

Flipping the leather open, she searched in
it and found his driver’s license tucked into a slot in the front.
A card stuck to the back as she pulled the thin plastic free. It
fluttered to the table and landed faced down. Terra set the wallet
down and picked up the fallen card. On the front was the same
symbol from Alex’s bag and a number, but nothing else. Setting it
on the wallet, Terra turned to study Alex’s ID.

Alexander Fied. Born 1856.
Holy hell! The
man was over a hundred and fifty years old!
Terra sat, shocked
by the information. There was no way that could be true. He didn’t
seem anywhere near that old.

“Mmm.”

The noise that came out of Alex shook Terra
out of her shock. He reached over and carefully took his ID out of
her fingers. “Alexander Fied.” The tone of his voice told Terra
that he accepted this information as his.

“I told you I was at least as old as that
woman.” He turned the card so Terra could see it again. “Well, at
least we have a place to start.” He picked up the card on his
wallet and stared at it for a moment before tucking both it and the
identification back into the billfold. Pulling out a ten, he
dropped it on the table and stuck everything back into the pockets
of the jacket. “Come on.”

Terra looked up when he patted her on the
leg and slid from the booth. She watched him stand up and slip into
the soft leather jacket. It settled around him like it was supposed
to be there. Yes. She may not know much about the man, but that was
definitely his coat. Dread crept into her heart as she slid from
the booth.

“So, what now?” she asked, not knowing if
she wanted the answer. Terra wanted to smack him when he made
another one of those contemplative noises. Didn’t the man know how
to give a proper answer?

Alex led her through a door in the corner
and up a ramp. “I need to find out what happened yesterday,” he
finally answered.

A sigh slipped from Terra.
Of course, he
needed to find out what had happened.
And now that they had
found out who he was, he didn’t need her help anymore.

“Well then, if you don’t need me anymore,
I’ll just…” her words trailed off. She couldn’t finish that
sentence. If she left now, she knew she would never see him again.
The men that had broken into her house were only a passing thought
compared to the heart-deep pain she was feeling. How could she have
grown so attached to this man in the very short time she had known
him?

“No,” Alex said as he wrapped his arm around
her shoulders and pulled her into his side. “You can’t leave yet.
It’s not safe for you to go home.”

A mix of emotions washed the pain away. It
was nice that he thought about her safety, but it was disappointing
that that was his only protest.
Had that tea brought him to his
senses about the whole mating thing?
She shook off that thought
and shifted away from him. She needed to get a grip on herself.
Obviously, Alex had a job to do, and she needed to let him do
it.

“Go do what you need to. I’ll…” She paused
as she thought about her choices. “…wait here.” It was the only
idea that fit. She couldn’t go home yet, but she didn’t really have
anywhere else to go.

Alex chuckled and pulled her back into his
side. “No,” he said as they turned a corner and stepped into what
looked like a locker room. “I need you safe.” He stopped and moved
her around so she was facing him.

“And this place isn’t safe?” she asked,
worried. Glancing around, she searched for possible dangers. There
wasn’t anything unusual. A soft laugh rumbled up between them.

“I’m not sure.” Alex tilted his head as if
he were thinking hard. “Something isn’t sitting right with me, but
I can’t identify it.” He looked back into her eyes. There was a
heat there that set Terra on fire. “And I’m not about to risk it.”
Sliding his hand up to her head, he weaved his fingers into her
hair and leaned in. The kiss he laid on her lips was hot,
passionate, and possessive.

Terra moaned lightly as he pulled her closer
and deepened the embrace. Her hands slipped up inside his coat as
he held her. If she had any doubts about his feelings before, this
burnt them up.