Her Druid Desire (The Amber Druid Series) (2 page)

           
“Nadia, do you know how badly the dog is hurt?”

           
 “I’m no vet, but I think that she has a broken back leg. She appears to
be breathing normal, if a little fast, and there is a small bit of blood. I
didn’t mean to hit her,” Nadia added in a low tone.

           
Sounding completely businesslike, he said, “Do you know where Ridgeland Lane
is?”

           
Her heart sped up in her chest. Of course she knew where it was, half the town
of Beaumont knew where he lived. A couple of years ago he’d built a massive,
sprawling log cabin out along the quiet banks of Ridge Lake, and from then on
it had been like a mad house of crazy females to see who would be the woman to
tie down the infamous Drake Thompson. The property was gorgeous, the house was
amazing, and the man was Croesus rich. So far no woman had been successful.

           
“Yes, I can be there in ten minutes.”

           
After telling her he would have the gates open and waiting, she hung up and
glanced to the backseat of the Rover. Large, hypnotically beautiful brown eyes
stared back at her. A piteous whine came from the depths of the female Border
Collie
. She turned back around and reservedly put the
vehicle in drive. She would get this dog some help, no matter where she needed
to bring her for that to happen.

***

           
A little over ten minutes later the lights of her Rover were bathing the trunks
of his trees with a lazy circle of bright blue halogen. The blue picked up
everything, including a large handsome sign that proclaimed this to be 118
Ridgeland. The beat of Nadia’s heart told her she was close. She didn’t even
need to see the damned sign.

           
Large indigenous trees, oak, sugar maple, silver maple, pine and dogwood, all
vied for attention as the wind whipped their healthy foliage around. The rain
finally stopped, and just like he told her, a large wrought iron gate was left
open.

           
Nadia drove for what seemed like another ten minutes, until she found a
clearing and got her first full glimpse of Drake’s house in the moonlight as
she cleared the opening. A huge, sprawling log and natural stone affair took up
a large amount of space. The place was at least four thousand square feet, with
rough timbered logs and natural paving stones that led to the front doors.
Lights spilled out from the massive windows, illuminating people milling around
inside.

           
She parked her Rover right next to a silver Tesla, a big black Hummer, a low
slung Audi and a new model Chevy pick up then stepped out, murmuring to the dog
the whole while. Seconds later, she stepped out and gently grasped the dog in
her arms.

           
Please be okay
, she muttered to herself, as she made her way along the
meandering flagstones towards the front door. The last thing she wanted to do
was walk up to Drake’s front door like a guest, when she resembled nothing more
than a drowned rat, but she didn’t have time to waste on looking for another
entrance.

           
Looking down into the dog’s sorrowful brown eyes caused her throat to close up.
But at least she was here getting her some help instead of leaving her to die
in the road.

           
Nadia made it up to the large double oak doors whenever the Border
Collie
started shaking in her arms. “Shit, shit, shit…”
Tightening her arms around the shaking dog, she began kicking the door, praying
for someone, anyone, to open up and help her. Just when she was about to start
shouting, one of the large doors opened.

           
Drake Thompson stood in the opening, as imposing as Nadia remembered him being
in person. Before she had the chance to drool over him, he immediately leaned
over to scoop up the shaking dog into his arms. She didn’t hesitate to hand
over the poor animal. It was a well known fact that even as the owner, Drake
spent just as much time at his business as his vet’s did. Nor did she have the
chance to soak in his voice when he told at her to follow him. When she cleared
his foyer and got a good look at the people in his living area, she remembered
exactly what she must look like at the moment. The past two hours of her life
had been more than emotionally draining, especially with her running around in
the weather. Well, needless to say, it hadn’t helped her appearance one bit.

           
There were four men and three women standing around a counter between the
living area and the monstrous kitchen. It was clear to Nadia that these people
were the crème de la crème of society. Wealth dripped from huge diamonds that
adorned the women and the clearly tailored lines of the men’s clothes. 
After giving Nadia a dismissive glance, they turned back to their conversation,
clearly telling her without words that she didn’t belong here, even if she
could buy her way into their clique with her new money. To them, it didn’t
matter if she’d inherited the Rockefeller’s
assets,
she was still a newcomer into their elusive and highly critical world.

           
She shook off the feeling that she truly didn’t belong, and got a brief glance
at the imposing ruggedness and masculinity of the house before having to run
and catch up with Drake as his long-legged strides led her through his house
and then into a mudroom of sorts.

           
The dog stopped seizing and was now lying still on top of a long counter
covered in various garden tools and lawn care spray bottles. Her liquid brown
eyes were closed now, but Nadia could see the rise and fall of her labored
breathing. She took a deep breath and thanked God that the seizure hadn’t
harmed the dog anymore than necessary.

           
Drake’s body was huge beside hers, which was nothing new for Nadia. When you
are 5’2” it is almost a foregone conclusion that you will meet an adult in the
eye. Not only was he tall, he was just all around big.

           
She sensed something, some kind of powerful ripple in the air around her, as
his hands ran over the dog’s body. The instant connection between this massive
man and a small, wounded dog was clear to Nadia. No wonder he had started the
shelter and clinic; it was obvious to anyone with eyes that he was an animal
person. He was gentle, thorough, and within minutes he was finished checking
the dog. He immediately grabbed his cell from his pocket and dialed a number.

           
Nadia just stood there, still wondering if the dog was okay or not. Instead of
blurting out questions, she let Drake do what he needed to do. He knew more
about this than she did anyhow.

           
“Chase, how’s the mare?” Drake questioned, while one large hand stayed firmly
on the dog in case she decided to bolt. To Nadia’s untrained eye it seemed as
if the female was more than happy to stay right where she was, regardless of
her injuries or pain, and with her eyes closed she seemed extremely relaxed.

           
“Good, look, I have an injured dog here,” he stopped for a minute, his light
brown eyes leaving the dog, and spearing her where she stood, “Possible broken
back leg, multiple cuts, but she is alert and comfortable right now.” Drake
looked back to the dog, and Nadia was immediately relieved to have those
intelligent, all seeing eyes off of her. “Ten minutes? Alright, we’ll be here.”

           
Keeping his hand on the dog, he ended his call and looked back at Nadia.

           
“Chase Williams, he’s the vet on night duty this week, just finished up with a
mare out on the Circle T Ranch. He should be here in ten minutes.”

           
“Good, I was so worried and I needed to make sure that she would be okay. Do
you think that any of her injuries are life threatening?” Nadia asked, trying
to ignore how intimidating and wholly masculine he was. The harsh, fluorescent
lights threw him into stark relief. With his broad forehead, low slashing brows
and beautiful bone structure, it was like staring at a sculpture, all except
for his penetrating brown eyes which bored holes into Nadia.

           
 Thick, dark russet colored hair was cropped somewhat close to his head,
but it still managed to look unruly and wild. His body was muscled, without
being overblown, and his overwhelming height made him seem much larger. He
moved with a grace, a slow as molasses
saunter, that
had given Nadia warm flutters more than once.

           
“She’s lucky you are such a compassionate person. Most people would have left
her there to die.”

           
The deeply accented Texas drawl shook Nadia out of her secret appraisal of his
body. She mentally slapped herself out of the trance she had sunk into.

           
“I couldn’t leave her there,” Nadia murmured, more to herself than to him. Her
fingers sank into the dog’s fur and immediately Nadia remembered what had
happened earlier.  With all the drama of the thunderstorm, and injuring
the dog, she’d almost forgotten the emotions from before. Now it came back,
sizzling through her like a firestorm.

           
Tears hit the backs of her eyes, while humiliation slammed into her body like a
wave. She should get used to this. Certainly shame and humiliation would be her
constant companion once the truth hit, and she knew it would. For all of its
charm and small town flair, Beaumont was a bustling city. Its citizens were
good, honest, hard working people but, like always, and mostly in the wealthier
groups, there were those that would gossip. She would have to learn to live
with it.

           
She remembered the people milling around Drake’s living area. That was his
crowd.
The super rich.
The elite of
society.
He’d been born to this. The ins and outs of this world ran
through his blood by right. She, on the other hand, was an upstart here. The
denizens of this crowd regarded her with something akin to horror and smug
defiance. If it were up to them, she would never make it in their world.

           
The only person who had thought differently, and helped her maneuver the
vagaries of her new social calendar, was now enemy number one. Thank God she
was a quick learner; otherwise, she would be left out, floundering, and lost to
the cruelty of society. Well, she’d learned her lesson and she doubted she
would trust so openly again.

           
Dear God, how would she ever face anyone after this?

           
Was she strong enough to do this?

           
She stepped back from Drake’s overwhelming presence. Out of the corner of her
eye she saw him regarding her intensely. Of course he was. She was practically
having a nervous breakdown in his house.

           
“I have to leave, but please send word, or call me whenever you find out
something. You remember where to find me, right?”

           
He nodded, and without stopping her, let her leave. The look in his eyes when she
turned around showed her that he knew something. Somehow Drake Thompson
realized something wasn’t right, and Nadia knew that if she allowed it, he
might make everything worse than what it was already. That was the last thing
she needed.

***

           
Camera’s flashed and snapped. Every paparazzo was out for a surprise shot.
Drake Thompson knew better than to let one hint of unsettling emotion cross his
face. That would only invite their specific brand of torture.

           
 He pressed his arm tighter around Laura’s waist, slipped a lazy, one
sided grin on his face and pretended that this was exactly where he wanted to
be at the moment.
Which was a lie.
What he really
wanted was his back porch, a cold beer, and his comfortable deck chair to
lounge around in. With the sounds of wildlife that was so abundant in south
Texas, Drake could unwind and listen to nature calm him like always.

           
As for right now, he stood there obediently and mentally chanted a small spell
which would turn every picture on every frame into a blurry haze for him, a
light Amber Druid trick that he incorporated to keep people from getting a
clear view of him on camera.

           
Ten minutes later he was inside the large ballroom that was set up for a
certain animal charity tonight. The plate fees were set at two thousand a
piece, but with all the proceeds and donations going to shelters and clinics
around Texas, Drake hadn’t minded forking out the money. The place was packed,
filled to the brim with politicians, ranchers, and business folk who knew just
how important this funding could be. Drake refused to get on his soapbox. He
would rather work hard and talk less, but he knew his appearance tonight would
be remarked upon and might draw generous donations not only for his clinic, but
also for others.

           
Society was like a mistress. You needed to charm her every once in awhile,
well, a bit more often than that, and if you were nice you might get lucky
every time you stood in her presence. Drake kept that phrase in his mind when
he thought of all of the invites he received in the mail. There was no need to
attend every single one, but every so often it was needed to keep the peace, so
to speak. Drake was a business man first and foremost, so coming out and playing
polite every once in a while helped.

           
“She is an upstart bitch.”