A Way to a Dragon’s Heart (3 page)

“Agreed. Does today work for you? My vacation starts in six hours.”

Well, his mini-vacation started. There would be some business thrown in there as well. But first it would be a few days, maybe a week, spent up north at the cabin, surrounded by nature and little else, a chance to get back in touch with what he wanted to do with his life without all the distractions of life to confuse things. The last three weeks would be spent in the tourist-filled art community to reconnect with that side of him and check out the bakeries and restaurants interested in carrying some of his specialties. Although, if he was honest, only one bakery mattered.

“Your vacation, yes; I’ve been wanting to ask you about that all day. I got an email from Caleb. Eternal Delights is still doing wonderfully.”

Eternal Delights stood as the hottest new eatery in Port Jacobs and just happened to be owned by Caleb James. Caleb had called him six months ago with an offer Xander couldn’t help but consider—a pending partnership in a thriving business that encompassed everything the two had dreamed up while still in culinary school. They hadn’t broken up after graduation so much as drifted apart to fulfill the obligations they each had back home, coming together every few months like a long-term tide.

No matter how he tried to tie it up in his mind as a business vacation, the truth remained. He’d be spending time away with one lover while trying to figure out how to gain the commitment of a new lover. Not exactly the kind of thing they put in the brochure for the touristy town, but Xander was willing to juggle the drama if everything worked out in his favor.

“Come on, I want to hear everything,” Kryssa insisted.

She came out of his arms with what he chose to believe was reluctance. She sat back down, gesturing to pull the chair across from her closer. The front of his body radiated with her warmth and a generous bit of his own. He brushed his hand just shy of his chest as he moved into his usual lunch spot and took his seat.

“So, is everything set for the drive up there?” she asked. “Groceries delivered, water tank flushed, vents checked, circuits cycled, the whole nine yards?”

Xander nodded and pulled out his own lunch. The scent of baked spaghetti filled the room as he explained those things taken care of on his palm-top and the details he’d had to call the caretaker to cover in person. She beamed over every little thing as she took their plates and swapped out half of each dish like always. It depressed him to think he’d be eating alone for a full week. If he took his laptop, it could be his turn to Skype in from the road and ensure he wouldn’t be alone. Assuming of course Caleb stayed away long enough to make it matter.

“So what about Caleb? You know he’s got more than baking and business in mind. Your month off is going to become two, easily.”

Yes, he knew, and he wished she didn’t sound so enthusiastic and encouraging about it. She and Caleb had hit it off beautifully the moment he brought Caleb to meet her, and Xander probably talked about him more than he should—every time they spoke, for instance. Still, not a reason for her to try to pawn him off on his old flame. Not that he was really an old flame, more an ongoing-but-with-little-guarantee-of-a-future-together, kind of…never mind.
Caleb.
She didn’t have to pawn him off on Caleb.

“Yes, I know he does, and as usual, he’ll draw things out to fit his own desires. But the opportunity is something I can’t turn down without at least considering it.”

She looked confused and shook her head. “Wait a minute, what do you mean ‘without at least considering it’, as if you shouldn’t consider it just because he wants to be with you? You don’t get more perfect than sharing your dream with a gorgeous guy who then goes out of his way to build you your very own place. What’s not to consider? Are you insane?”

Xander turned in his chair and looked behind him, searching the room for another presence before turning back to her.

“I’m sorry; I thought you had to be talking to someone else. Because there’s no way the woman I haven’t been able to drag out the office for a drink in two years just counseled me on what to do when a gorgeous guy that’s really into you goes out of his way for your attentions. I mean, if that had happened, I might have to get out of the way before the lightning strikes.”

She threw him a narrowed gaze and then nodded with a smile. “Agreed, it’s hypocritical. You’re going to have all sorts of wonderful details to share when you get back, and it should be done in person. We can have a drink together and discuss Caleb and everything as soon as my sabbatical starts and you’re back from your time off.”

Xander didn’t know what to say, nor did he get the chance to figure it out before they were interrupted.

“Time off? Did I hear he has time off?” Dominic came through the door with a hopeful smile. “Do you have plans for this time off? Because rest is important, but boredom can be lethal if you don’t have something to do and we wouldn’t want that.”

“With Kryssa needing an assistant and you needing something to do, it feeds two birds with the one handful of seeds. Lovely, yes? Best of all, it’s all small things; it’ll hardly cut into your relaxation at all.”

In that moment Xander believed in faerie godparents again. It was perfect. He’d stay and spend his first week with Kryssa, helping and talking and eventually he’d get them to relocate so they could spend some time outside of—

“You can’t ask him to do that, Nicky.”

Or not.

“But, Kryssa, he seems perfectly willing to help and…” He looked down to the plates. “Are you sharing food?”

Xander’s heart sped up at the sound of Dominic’s voice. He’d known it held significance that she blended their food. It was a Therian sign of affection and acceptance. But her brother’s tone said that with Kryssa it might mean even more. Xander didn’t get the chance to find out before she waved off Dominic’s words.

“We share lunch every day but don’t change the subject. I’m not going to let you ruin my best friend’s vacation.”

Xander warmed at the words as he always did. If she’d been human, the label “best friend” would’ve been the kiss of death to any romantic plans, but he’d grown up around Therians and knew it to be the one guarantee on his side. Most Therians had scores of acquaintances, but they only tended to form full friendships with the type of people they’d one day want to build a Sect with. And Sects always began with lovers and mates. The thought distracted him so much he missed part of their argument and picked it back up with Kryssa’s plea.

“I know, Nicky, but you can’t trap him into being stuck here for his vacation. He’s got a cabin upstate that his parents gave him. Seven acres on the lake, and he just finished upgrading everything last summer. He hasn’t even had the chance to enjoy it. And it’s just twenty minutes from that little art community of Port Jacobs where we went antique shopping for Mom’s birthday.”

“How great does that all sound? You can’t guilt him out of it; it’s wrong and evil.”

Very wrong and very evil and Xander wanted him to succeed. How to help that? It was the first vacation he’d taken since he’d met Kryssa, and she wouldn’t let him give it up easily. He’d already offered up his time upon hearing about Caitlin’s early maternity leave. He’d felt a sense of culpability since his brother first stole her away, got her pregnant and then talked her into an early leave, but Kryssa had shot him down before he’d finished his first full sentence.

“Xander, it’s on a lake, private property, fully updated?” Dominic asked.

Something in the older Dragon’s eyes made Xander smile as he answered. “Yes, sir. Fully updated and private.”

Dominic slipped his hands in his pocket and gave a decisive nod. “Perfect. I’ll see you both when you get back.”

Xander stood and took the hand Dominic held out. It seemed to take Kryssa a second to catch on to what her brother had just said.

“Wait, what? I’m not going.”

He ignored her, still focused on Xander. “Luciano’s caters, right? You’ve coordinated calls, scheduled appointments, and arranged callbacks before. That’s all this is, only easier. Caitlin left a complete step-by-step instruction booklet for the temps. She did all the heavy lifting before her maternity leave. Only the grunt work’s left, and the temp agency apparently feels anyone with a high school reading level and moderate command of the English language can do the job. You should be able to pull it off in your sleep.” He stepped closer. “Having seen what they’re sending her, you do want to help, yes?”

Did he want to help?
Let me think… The first legitimate opportunity to see if Kryssa and I have a real chance together, plus the bonus of having my best friend present to buffer things with Caleb while figuring that whole thing out?
“I’d love to, sir.”

“Good. She never leaves the office, and sixty percent of what she does in a day is work for other departments. They dump things on her desk because they know that she completely lacks a life and thrives on chaos, so she gets the job done. Take her out in the middle of nowhere so she can concentrate on her own work. Help her out, feed her, have a good time, don’t come back early. I’ll see one or both of you in two weeks to a month or so. Emphasis on the
or so
should you find the time away as productive as I predict.”

“Nicky!” Kryssa got up, put her hands on Dominic’s chest and pushed them apart. “You can’t do this.”

Dominic kissed her forehead. “Of course I can. I did. It’s done. Just go. Why are you fighting this? This whole no-dating thing originated around your sabbatical, right? Your five year plan that you’ve managed to pull off in two and a half years—which I’m very proud of by the way. But your sabbatical is around the corner, so what’s the problem? I’m not asking you to elope, just to go and work in a beautiful environment with a helpful friend. I mean look at him, Kryssa. He’s healthy, he’s handsome, and he’s sexually available.”

“He’s also right here, Nicky!” she pointed out.

“Which makes it no less true. You’ve been seeing each other for two years. Him and Caitlin are all I hear about over breakfast every morning. He’s obviously a great friend because he’s willing to do this, and by your scents, neither of you have had a lover in months. He’s aroused right now by the idea; just go with it.”

“He’s. Right. Here. Dominic.”

Dominic hugged her close. “Then the sooner you leave the sooner I stop talking. I can stand here and state the obvious all day, I went straight from captain to admiral, and I enjoy that particular shade of red he’s wearing. So pick your poison. Are you going to fight me on this or accept Xander’s hospitality and stop making him feel like a little time with him is a fate worse than death?”

She mumbled something Xander couldn’t understand, but Dominic’s smile told him enough.

“Good.” He kissed her forehead and stepped back. “Thank you again, Xander. Bye, Kryssa. Love you.” Dominic walked out of her office without even a look back.

Kryssa turned to him, a near bewildered look on her face. “My brother just kicked me out of my office for two weeks, horned in on your vacation, got work out of you—that as far as I can tell he expects for free—and did it all in the same breath.”

Xander shrugged, fighting to keep an ear-to-ear grin off his face. “He also tried to pimp me out there at the end, but he looked damn impressive when he did it all. I should go and order more groceries.”
And find someplace to jump up and down.
“What time should I pick you up?”

She was going to refuse; he could see it in her face. She just couldn’t let go of the mindset that had her chained to her office, even though she seemed equally as tempted. He steeled himself for an argument. Dominic had laid the groundwork for him, and he’d be damned if he’d let her steer them off the path now. Just as her lips parted, a burst of braying laughter came from the hall and he watched her face change mid-thought as she looked at the door in panic.

“It’s still in the building, and they’ll send more like it from the Bobble-headed, Body-snatching Demon Factory and Temp Agency.” She looked back to him and nodded. “How about now? Now’s good.”

She shut her laptop, got up, and opened the large closet in her office. “It’s just two weeks, right?” She hefted the larger of the duffle bags marked casual and took up its matching backpack and computer bag. “Impromptu business trips are what these are here for, so I’m ready. And this’ll be good, right? I mean I can return the favor and look over the paperwork Caleb has for Eternal Delights and mediate if you guys need me to.” She nodded, convincing herself. “We’re just two friends helping each other out; it’s good. Now let’s get the cart back and go before I change my mind. Or before she comes back and wants to know if I breathe fire.”

As it happened, it was the last question shouted after them as they both ran full tilt out of the building, lunch cart and all.

Chapter Two

Caleb hung up the phone and crossed his arms, leaning against the stainless steel counter.

“So what did he say?” Kathleen asked.

Caleb took a breath, let it out, and pressed his lips together fighting a smile.

“What did Xander say and why are you grinning like a fool?” she demanded.

The words made his smile burst forth in full, and he shook his head. “I don’t know exactly how I feel so I’m trying to figure out where to start.” He walked over to the sink and started to wash his hands. “He came up early and brought Kryssa.”

His sister’s eyebrows shot up. “Kryssa? I thought he couldn’t get her out of her office.”

Caleb dried his hands and went back to measuring out cocoa powder into a large glass bowl of flour, sugar, baking soda and salt. “Apparently she brought the office with her. She needed an assistant, and he offered to help her out. They’re going to finish up her projects, and she’s going to go over the contracts and stuff with him.”

Kathleen nodded. “Wow, he’s got it bad. It’s cute, and at least this way while she gets an extra set of hands, he gets moral support.”

“Pretty much, but I think it’s more than just a chance to spend time with her and get support in return. Something in his voice… I think he’s finally going to make a move for more. I don’t know where I am with that.”

He grabbed the measuring cup beside him and took it and the glass bowl over to the stand mixer. He turned it on low and slowly poured the small amount of organic beet juice into the stainless steel bowl to color the red velvet cake batter. Next he added the dry mix to the rest of the waiting wet ingredients, incorporating it a spoonful at a time. “Nervous, I think I feel nervous, well, more nervous.”

“I thought you said Kryssa was your biggest cheerleader. Are you nervous that you’re in competition with her?”

Caleb quickly shook his head. “No, it’s never been like that. I’ve encouraged Xander to go for it from early on when they first met. I thought they’d be good for each other, and I felt better knowing Kryssa would take care of him the next time I left.” He looked over at her. “Even when his brothers were at their most negative and vocal, Kryssa never wavered in her support. She offered to throw me out a window the first time Xander and I were off-again after they became friends, but the goal was to clear the way so we could go straight to make-up/comfort sex after I healed.” Caleb laughed and nodded. “I know she’s been on my side from the beginning. And with his Fae blood and my Therian and Vampire instincts, I knew we’d go back to being polyamorous eventually; we always do. I’ve even spent more time than I should admit to wondering about it being Kryssa. It makes sense that he’s following one big decision with another and putting it all on the table together. I get it.”

Kathleen walked over with the silicone cake pans. “So then if you don’t think it’s a choice between the two of you, and you don’t think she’s going to talk him out of the partnership and adding her to the mix works for you, why are you nervous? It can only be a good thing if he’s here with someone rooting for you and in a mindset for wanting more, right?”

“Right, right, it’s a good thing, definitely.” He scraped the batter down the sides of the bowl with a spatula. “This is just great…if it works out.”

“What do you mean?”

Caleb turned off the mixer. “Xander is charming and sweet and funny and brilliant and beautiful—and Kryssa still dodged him these last two plus years. If he plans on making a move, it’s because there’s been some kind of clear signal or message. Maybe the fact her sabbatical starts in the fall has mellowed her out; I don’t know. What I do know is that if she held out this long and only now means to give him a chance, it’s not going to be an easy thing. This could all go sideways, and I don’t want to be the cause. It would break his heart, and I do enough of that by myself without causing Kryssa to do the same thing because I spooked her.”

Kathleen hugged him from behind while he poured his batter into the pans. “Caleb, there’s never been any animosity between you and Xander. He knew how you were back in college, and he accepted it. If his brothers didn’t give him such a hard time about it, things would be different. Things
are
different. This is all going to work out. You just have to give it a shot and stop blaming yourself. Xander is going to understand, the two of you are going to work this out, and Kryssa is going to help.”

Caleb sat the bowl down and hugged her arms. “You have to say that; you’re my sister and my bonded-sibling. What’s the point of all that time spent crawling around in each other’s psyches if you don’t lie to me when I need you to?”

Kathleen shook him. “My job isn’t to lie to you, baby brother. It’s to tell you the truth as I know it and, when the truth doesn’t line up to what you want, to fix it until it does.” She stepped around him and took the cake pans. “This is all going to work. I’m your big sister and therefore automatically always right. That’s just the way the world spins.” She walked away to the ovens.

Caleb wanted her to be right. So much had fallen into place the last year, with the last three months being a complete surprise and a sign from the Universe that now was the time. But he couldn’t let go of the idea that Xander’s brothers might be right, that he might be about to hurt Xander in a way he could never fix.

“You’re not going to hurt him.” Kathleen said from the ovens.

“Get out of my head.” Caleb laughed.

“No, I like it in here. Your mind’s dirty and disorganized but otherwise rather homey.” She set the timer and turned to face him. “You know it’s not automatic that you’ll scare Kryssa off. I mean she came with him, right? She knows what’s going on, probably better than he does. All you have to do is give her space and let it be a vee, you both with Xander and with no obligation to be together. It’s how it was with Nina and me when we first started seeing Vivian. Later the same thing happened with Nina and Max when Vivian and I started seeing him. It’s just about having a little patience and taking it slow.”

Caleb shook his head. “It’s so much harder than you make it sound, especially now. When you meet her you’ll understand. Since I got off the phone just the
memory
of her scent is distracting me.”

Kathleen’s face changed as if something just dawned on her. “Her family is full blooded Dragon, aren’t they?”

“Damn near as far back as the Cretaceous Period,” Caleb said with a sharp smile.

His sister gave a low whistle. “Okay, yeah, I understand, you’re definitely doomed. But, hey, she’s been working twenty-hour days for years. She’ll probably need the both of you just to mellow out a bit, let alone fully relax. Hell, you might even need to call in reinforcements, so don’t worry about overwhelming her just yet. You and Xander are definitely facing the greater danger.”

Caleb nodded. “Thanks, really, I feel so much better. Just keep talking. If you accidentally say something useful, I’ll let you know.” He fought a laugh and lost. “Although the imagery helps at least. Anything that distracts from the disaster, right?”

He looked over to see Kathleen covering a smile with the back of her hand. “It’s really not funny when you think about how badly this could go, Lee.”

Kathleen shook her head. “I’m not laughing at the possible tragedy. I’m smiling at what might go right.” She walked over to him. “I know you love Xander, but you really like Kryssa too, don’t you? You have pictures of her and Xander on your phone, but it’s more than just them together. You talk about her non-stop after you visit, and you visit even when you and Xander are on a break. Some of this is definitely about Kryssa, right?”

Caleb walked to the fridge. “Of course some of it’s about Kryssa. You’ve seen the pictures. Even you asked if she was single.” He pulled out a bowl of butter cream frosting and walked to the other side of the kitchen aisle.

“Why are you running away from me?”

Caleb huffed. “I’m not running away. I need to get this into the piping bags.”

Kathleen walked over to him, and Caleb stepped away to get the bags. “You are running away. What happened? What didn’t you tell me?”

Caleb whipped the butter cream, his eyes on his task. “I kissed her. Not a kiss of greeting or departure or comfort, but I kissed her like I meant it—because I did.”

Kathleen leaned across the counter and tried to catch his eye. “When did this happen and why didn’t you tell me? You can tell me anything, and so far, this doesn’t sound like anything. Unless you were naked at the time I don’t see the reason for avoiding eye contact, not that you’d have to avoid eye contact. It’s me.”

All true and yet he couldn’t look up. Kathleen walked to the cooling racks, leaving him alone with his thoughts. They fell into the rhythm of the kitchen, moving to the soft music constantly playing while they cooked. He smiled and frowned alternately, spiraling from guilt to excitement and back again. The oven timer rang, and he watched Kathleen collect the cake pans.

“We both had our clothes on, and it happened six months ago when I went to get her opinion on the floor tiles,” he confessed. “I got in late, and she still wanted to see me while there were fewer distractions.” He opened his mouth for the bite of test cake Kathleen held out. He nodded. “Perfect.” Caleb looked back to his decorative work with the piping bag. “We had some wine and the dessert samples I brought, and we talked about everything for hours.”

“Everything or Xander?”

Caleb smiled. “Xander, everything else, and a little more about Xander, but really it was different from every other time I’d ever been there. I’ve known how much she wants Xan and me to be happy and together, but for the first time, I realized it wasn’t just about Xander. Yes, I’m his boyfriend, lover, whatever, but liking me is also about me. If Xander and I never got back together…” Caleb cleared his throat as unexpected emotion took him at the idea. “If he moved on to be happy with someone else, Kryssa would still answer my emails and return my phone calls and go out of her way to see me when I’m in town. She has genuine affection for me just for being me.”

He let Kathleen take the three-tiered cake in front of him and replace it with a tray of cupcakes.

“Okay, so I can see how that might lead to some kissing. It’s always great to be appreciated on your own merit,” Kathleen agreed. “So why do you feel guilty? It’s good she feels affection for you.”

Caleb nodded and refilled the piping bag. “It’s great that she feels that way; I feel the same.” He secured a cupcake and started the spiral decoration. “The longer we talked about her work and her sabbatical and why she kept dodging Xander, the more I realized things would have been different if I’d met her first.” His sister made a knowing sound, and Caleb nodded. “She didn’t want a relationship after whatever happened with her ex, but she’s still a healthy, beautiful Therian woman. If we’d met first…”

“You would have been just what she needed to get over the ex and maybe to be ready for Xander,” Kathleen supplied.

“A connection without an obligation yet still open for whatever happened later down the line,” Caleb confirmed.

“So you feel guilty for thinking you should have met her first?”

“No.” Caleb looked up to meet his sister’s gaze. “I feel guilty that I didn’t meet her first, and for a moment there, part of me didn’t care. When I kissed her I just wanted to feel what it might have been to be exactly what someone needed without judgment or the need to change.”

“What about the rest of you?” she asked.

“The rest of me couldn’t help wondering if maybe it wasn’t too late. Maybe Xander would understand that Kryssa and I could be exactly what the other needed and in the end…”

“In the end he could have both of you the way he needed instead of the way he’s settled for?”

Caleb nodded. “So, when I walked her home, I kissed her because it felt right.” His eyes closed. “It felt good, and I wanted to more than anything, so I did.”

“And by the change in your scent it went well.”

Caleb looked at her and smiled. “Understatement. If just a little more of me believed Xander would have understood, I would have asked her back to my hotel. But I figure if any part of
her
thought Xander would understand, she would have offered to take me upstairs.”

Kathleen made a sound of agreement as she whipped another batch of butter cream. “So what did Xander say when she told him?”

Caleb laughed. “How do you know she told him?”

“Kryssa sounds like good people.” Kathleen shrugged. “I’m assuming it didn’t occur to her not to.”

“He wanted to know what kind of wine we drank for future reference and asked if we were up to a reenactment, so he completely understood the scope of what she described.” Caleb captured his bottom lip between his teeth a moment. “I considered it. I
greatly
considered it. I’d know how he felt when we finished, but since I didn’t know how he felt before we started, I went the safe route. I figured in the end it seemed a better idea to think on it a bit, put it out there as an idea in a few different ways, and go from there, to come back to it later. But everything took off with Eternal Delights, and later never came.”

Kathleen stopped stirring and stared at him. “Did you hear that?” She knocked on the counter. “That’s later, it’s here. You just have to answer the door.”

“Things are different now, Lee.”

She shook her head. “Not really. Yes, you have some great news and the café is a big deal, but at the heart of it, has there ever been a better time? If you mean this, if what you’re offering Xander is real and as extensive as you say, then squaring this connection with Kryssa is vital. He’s here as her assistant for All’s sake. It’s not like he doesn’t need the help, and she doesn’t need the bridge. This is your chance, baby brother.”

Kathleen crossed her arms and looked at him. “And you knew it too, didn’t you? The guilt isn’t about what you would have done given a chance; it’s about what you still want to do. You knew, even with all of her protests, that cementing things with Xander meant having a shot with Kryssa.”

“I know. I’m a terrible person. I can’t help it.” He put the bag down and grasped the counter. “You should see the way he looks at her, the way they look at each other. And then the kiss and knowing how she feels about me…” He turned to his sister. “Lee, what if it works? This might not only be the start of a real, permanent relationship with Xan but the beginning of building a Sect, a family. I could go from nothing to everything, and I’ve been fixated on the idea for half a year trying to separate out what part’s about Xan, what part’s about Krys, what’s about us—and now they’re both here. And I feel like an idiot because now I’m panicked.”