“Nothin’ too unusual,” Brad said after rolling down his window. “No dragons or anything. There was a werewolf and a couple of bears. They all left in a hurry. I reckon they caught your scent on the girl. They looked spooked. The girl worked like everybody else, though. No real action.”
Brad didn’t ask how Wrath had gotten his scent on her. He had better sense than that.
“Thanks,” Wrath said. “Lily found out Jess has connections to another dragon in Austin. Her family might’ve been dragon hunters. I don’t think she’s one but keep the kids in tonight to be on the safe side. I dunno if dragon hunters can tell the difference.”
“Got it. You need me to stick around?”
“Nah. You go on.”
As Brad left, Wrath headed inside. He picked up Jess’s scent immediately—cherry blossoms and coffee. Anu help him, he already felt a tightness in his groin. The sooner he got her out of his system, the better. Still, his dragon was silent. It seemed passive aggressive at this point.
Jess came out from the back and he felt a smile forming on his lips. She mirrored it, or maybe it was a genuine feeling. He couldn’t tell. He should be able to tell but his dragon was fucking napping or something.
What he could tell was that the smile on her pouty lips was sweetly seductive. Kissing her, tasting her, was all he wanted in that moment.
“Have you heard from our mutual friends?” he asked, trying to keep his head in the game.
“I got a couple of texts. Not too interesting. I have questions, though,” she said.
“I hope I can answer them. Come on, let’s go somewhere we can talk more privately.”
She seemed a little nervous. Possibly because the shifters that came in earlier said something stupid. Bears weren’t known for their brains.
As he held the door open for her, she said, “Clarence texted to say Kurt overreacted.”
“Interesting,” Wrath said, leading her to his truck.
“Apparently, Kurt’s wife was in labor and he wasn’t in his right mind.”
“You believe that?”
“It might be true.”
“I think he saw the picture and decided to change the game plan,” Wrath said, walking around to open the passenger door.
Jess stopped before getting in and looked Wrath square in the eyes. “Probably. Why’s he afraid of you? Why is everyone afraid of you?”
She wasn’t getting in unless he answered, he could see that.
“That’s two different questions,” Wrath said. “As to my family, it’s because of choices I made in the past that I don’t regret. Not even a little. For others, they fear me as much as they would any of my brothers, including Kurt. I mean, look at me.”
She narrowed her eyes at his vague answer but got into the truck anyway. He closed the door behind her and then walked around to get in on the driver’s side wondering if it was a little too easy to get her to ride off with him, a virtual stranger.
Did she really trust him or was there something else giving her a sense of security?
His dragon had no comment. Rude.
~
Jess knew that Wrath couldn’t murder her for several reasons. First, she’d been seen leaving with him. Second, she’d had plenty of time to tell a lot of people she was going to see him after work. Third, her employer knew she was with him and he could track her with her phone. Fourth, he wanted information from her and killing her would be counterproductive. Fifth, her rental car was sitting in the parking lot and would be noticed if she didn’t return.
Granted, murderers weren’t all geniuses, but he seemed smart enough to know that he couldn’t get away with killing her. Plus, she had no problem telling him anything he wanted to know.
Wrath got into the truck and started it. On the radio, Golden Earring played “Radar Love”. Wrath turned it down before reversing out of the parking spot.
“There’s something we need to get out of the way before we talk about anything else. One of the reasons I noticed you was that you didn’t react to being burned. Is that your only magic trick or do you have more?”
The question was unexpected and so was the slight change in accent when he spoke. He sounded American most of the time but then, when he asked her the question, he almost sounded British.
Odd.
“I think that’s my only one,” Jess said. “I have thick skin. Though, my grandfather said my grilling skills bordered on magic. I was kind of a pyromaniac as a kid. You’d think I’d be afraid of fire—my parents were killed in one—but it was the opposite. I wanted to understand and control it.”
She cut herself off. She’d just given him entirely too much information. Open ended questions led to big revelations from the unwary. She should be more wary around him, but it was difficult. As much as he radiated power, it made her feel secure rather than threatened and that was the wrong response. Maybe it was because he was so damned sexy that even looking at him had to be a mortal sin.
Even his hands on the steering wheel were attractive. They were large and masculine, but his fingers were long like a pianist’s. She’d never been attracted to a man’s hands before, but she thought those fingers could be put to good use if they were as skilled as she imagined.
Heat blossomed between her legs and she shifted uncomfortably in her seat. Why did everything about him have to be so enticingly masculine?
“I’m sorry to hear about your parents,” Wrath said. “Were you there when it happened?”
Yeah, mentioning it had been a mistake, but the information was publicly available. No point in shutting down.
“I was,” Jess said. “I was just a baby, though. They said it was a miracle that I wasn’t burned. Again, thick skin.”
“I assume you went to college if you’re working for my brother. I would also assume it would be hard to pay
