Authors: Unknown
He hovered in the far corner by the covered buffet trays. On the lower level, a deejay worked on setting up his sound equipment near the black-bottom pool. Beside the speakers was a draped table with a large cake flanked by fresh sunflowers.
It looked stunning, but even by her parents’ standards, this was over the top.
“This is incredible.” Gabe took her hand, and her fingers surprised her by twining with his as though she’d been holding his hand forever. “I thought we’d just have pizza and birthday cake.”
Tegan laughed. “My mother’s motto with a party is ‘go big or go home.’” She pointed toward her father. “Dad’s over there.”
She pulled Gabe with her and tapped her dad’s shoulder. “Daddy?”
He turned around and wrapped her in a bear hug that brought tears to her eyes. The world could be ending and her dad’s embrace would still make her feel safe. He was at least as tall as Gabe, with silver hair and a twinkle in his dark eyes as if he knew exactly what you were thinking.
He loosened his grip and straightened up. “You’ve brought a guest along.” He offered his hand. “I’m Maddock.”
“Gabe.” He shook her father’s hand. “Good to meet you, Maddock.” He released her father’s hand and clasped hers again. “That’s Welsh, isn’t it?”
The corner of her father’s mouth curved up. “Sure is. I was the first of my family to leave the island.” He chucked Tegan’s shoulder. “I like this one.” He glanced at Gabe again, all playfulness vanishing from his face. “You be good to my girl.”
“Daddy.” Tegan rolled her eyes. “It’s not like I’m ten.”
But Gabe didn’t dismiss her father’s admonition. “She deserves no less.”
“Damn straight.” Her father’s grin returned. “Tegan, go tell your mother the caterers have the food all set up. We should eat before it gets cold…”
Her heart lurched a little at her father’s obvious attempt to get Gabe alone. The caterers could alert her mother the food was ready—in fact, they may have already done so. “I’m sure they’ve already told Mom.”
Her father didn’t relent. “You know how she is with a roomful of guests. The caterers won’t drag her away like you can.” He winked. “Take care of it for yer old dad.”
She couldn’t leave Gabe. There’d be questions. How would she answer? What if their answers didn’t match? They should have discussed this.
Panic threatened, but Gabe leaned in close to her ear; the sound of his voice sent a pang of longing through her, distracting her from worry. “Everything’s fine. We’ll compare notes when we get to the table.” His lips barely brushed her temple.
She gulped down the mass of conflicting emotions, squared her shoulders, and made herself walk away toward the houseful of guests.
Chapter Six
Gabe watched Tegan walk away. The woman had no idea how easy it was to pretend to care about her. Being this close to her, touching her, blurred the lines. He didn’t get involved with clients.
In fact, he didn’t get involved with anyone anymore. Those were dangerous lines to cross with demons nearby.
“What do you do for a living?” Maddock’s voice jarred him from his thoughts. “Are you some kind of karate wizard like my daughter?”
Gabe chuckled. “No, sir. I actually specialize in medieval weaponry.”
“Weaponry?” Her father dodged a caterer carrying glasses. “Like bows and arrows?”
“Sometimes. I also have swords, battle-axes, katanas, and flails. You name it. I sell a few replicas for renaissance fairs, too.”
“Huh. You make money at that?” Maddock crossed his arms.
“I do. You would be surprised what a collector will pay for an authentic dagger or bow.” Gabe reached into the inner lining of his coat and withdrew a leather-sheathed dagger. The blade was about six inches long, and carvings covered the handle. Welsh Gaelic carvings.
It couldn’t hurt to see if Tegan’s father recognized the words.
“This is a small piece I stumbled upon recently.” He handed the dagger to Maddock. “It’s worth more than my car, so I’ve been carrying it with me for now.”
He squinted, bringing the handle closer. “Well, I’ll be damned.” Maddock twisted the dagger in the light. “
Y Ddraig Goch ddyry gychwyn
. The Red Dragon will show the way.” He lowered the weapon, meeting Gabe’s eyes. “This tells the Welsh story of the red and the white dragon. It’s part of our national flag.”
Gabe started to smile. “So you can read the inscription?”
“Aye.” Maddock handed over the knife with a probing gaze. “How did you come across a dagger for a dragon’s heart?”
Gabe tucked the dagger back into his coat. It was actually a magic-imbued dagger that killed certain types of demons. The dragon slaying was a whole new angle. “I ran across it at an estate sale.” He’d appropriated it from a demon loan shark, but the demon was dead so technically the dagger
was
part of his estate.
Gabe lifted his chin a little. “Don’t worry. I’m looking for buyers, not dragons.”
Maddock broke the tension with a boisterous laugh. He clapped Gabe on the back. “Good answer.”
The doors opened and Gabe turned to see Tegan and her mother chatting with guests. Now that he’d met her parents, it was obvious Tegan had gotten her dark-brown eyes from Maddock, but her smile was all Nancy’s. Seeing them together made his throat tight with emotion. He did his best to stay away from family events. He didn’t go see movies or read books that involved families. His was gone, and nothing would change that, so why dwell on it?
But now he was surrounded. No escaping the empty chasm inside.
Tegan approached him with a cautious curve to her lips. “How did things go with my dad?”
“He’s crazy about his daughter.” He slid his arm around her waist, maneuvering her out of the way of a caterer with a tray of drinks. He hadn’t meant for her to end up so close to him, but she didn’t jerk away from his touch this time.
“Thank you.” Relief flushed her cheeks as she smiled up at him.
He nodded, glancing at the opulence around them. Good thing they had no future together. Even if she weren’t a client and if he didn’t have demons hunting anyone he cared about, he’d never make enough money to fit into this world.
Tegan tugged his hand. “We’re sitting over here with my parents.”
Almost on cue, the music piped up from the pool area. Gabe surprised her by helping to push her chair in. When he sat beside her, she patted his leg to get his attention, but he took her hand under the table, sending a hot zing of awareness through her body.
Gabe met her eyes, and the fire in his gaze made her wish this wasn’t a charade. His thumb brushed across her knuckles, making her shift in her seat. It’d been so long since she’d been touched by a man. Her body acted as though it’d finally found an oasis in the desert, flooding her with unwanted heat in her belly.
He leaned in close to her ear. “Are you all right?”
“Yeah.” She squeezed his hand. “Let’s get through dinner and cake. Then we can get out of here.”
They filled up on fresh lasagna, Caesar salad, Italian rolls, and sangria, and as Tegan had predicted, her mom gushed over Gabe all through dinner. On the other hand, her dad sat back in his chair, letting her mom do most of the talking. He kept watching Gabe, then glancing her way. Did he suspect something was off? Seeing her mother chatting without that concerned frown on her face made the whole charade worthwhile. She didn’t want her dad to break the spell.
As if he’d read her mind, he interrupted. “Excuse me, Nance. Can I steal Tegan for a minute? I have something I want to give her.”
“Now?” Her mom gave him a pleading look, but he didn’t relent. “Fine, but don’t keep our guest of honor long. We still have to cut the cake.”
Panic seized her.
He knows
.
Tegan gripped Gabe’s thigh. Hard.
He surprised her by draping his arm across her shoulders and giving her a gentle squeeze. “See you soon, birthday girl.”
He brushed his lips against her cheek, but there was nothing chaste about the way his breath caressed her skin. When he pulled back, his eyes held hers, that same smoldering fire in his gaze, and for a moment, she would have sworn time stopped. Her entire body melted, and she wished she could make all the people around them vanish.
He swallowed. His voice was soft, gruff. “Don’t keep your dad waiting.”
Tegan nodded, suddenly mute and completely distracted. She stood, laid her cloth napkin over her plate, and walked to the French doors where her father waited.
Once they were inside, he walked her to his office. “This Gabe. He seems…different. You really like this one?”
So much more than I should.
“Don’t you?”
He sat with her on the couch across from his desk. “I’m not sure what to think. You didn’t tell us you started dating again, and you show up with this man that you introduce as your friend. You look like more than friends to me.”
She bottled up her sigh of relief. He believed it. For now. “Well, it’s new.”
“I’m glad you’re finally getting out after…” He glanced toward the door. “But this one doesn’t seem like the type you used to bring around.”
“He’s not.” A defensive ember simmered in her gut. “Gabe’s much better than any of the other guys I dated. He respects me and my work.”
“Did you tell him about the attack?”
Tegan sighed and stared at her hands in her lap. “Yes, Dad. And he’s ready to kill the bastard if we ever seen him again.”
Her father’s laughter surprised her.
She raised a brow. “You find that funny?”
“No.” He patted her leg. “That’s exactly what I wanted to hear.”
He stood and walked behind his desk. After opening and closing the drawers in a certain succession, a concealed drawer dropped from the bottom onto the floor.
Tegan squinted, struggling to see the contents. “What’s that?”
He scooped it up and laid it on top of the desk. “After you were attacked, I talked to the doctors at the hospital. They couldn’t explain the wound. They tried to tell me he stabbed you and that the wound was cauterized with acid. It was the only way they could explain it. You should have been bleeding.” He stared at his desk. “But then I watched them change the dressing on the wound, and I knew.”
Tegan scooted to the edge of the couch. “Knew what, Daddy?”
His dark eyes met hers. “
Y ddraig goch
. The red dragon. Ever since he defeated the white dragon and saved our land, his people have been hunted.”
“I was
not
attacked by a dragon.” But she wasn’t ready to tell him it was a demon, either.
He waved her contradiction away. “He would not look like a dragon in our world.”
She frowned as he handed her a worn leather book filled with faded Welsh Gaelic scribblings. Years ago he’d taught her his language, but without anyone to practice with, she was rusty. It looked like names and dates mostly.
“That’s our family ledger, Tegan. You weren’t the first to bear the mark.” He swallowed and cleared his throat. “Just the first to live through it.”
“The mark?” She closed the book. “What are you talking about?”
“You weren’t stabbed. You were bitten.” His eyes welled with tears. “I was so grateful you were spared. I’d hoped it was over. But tonight, when yer ‘friend’ showed me a Welsh dagger with ‘
Y Ddraig Goch ddyry gychwyn
’ carved into the blade…” He shook his head slowly. “He’s more than he seems, that one. Anyway, it was time. I wanted to tell you. Everything.”
Tegan’s heart pounded. “Why didn’t you say something sooner?”
“Would you have believed me?” He stared at the ledger.
“All this time I thought I was crazy.”
“I’m sorry.” He rubbed his wrinkled brow. “I had no one I could turn to, and when days, weeks, months passed…” His gaze met hers. “I started to believe the doctors were right. I was foolish for believing the old stories.”
He sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose, holding back any stray tears. “I have no idea how you escaped, but there might be something in the ledger that could help.”
Tegan pressed her lips together. If she leveled with him about Gabe, it might ease his worry, but it could also ruin the peace for her mother.
“Does Mom know about any of this?”
“Yer mother isn’t of Welsh blood. Dragons and demons are fairy tales for her. I thought it best they stay that way.” He paused and glanced at the door. “I want you to take the ledger and show it to yer friend. He believes more than you realize. He carries a dragon dagger in his coat.”
“Gabe hunts and kills demons, Dad.” Tegan sighed. “I can’t believe I’m telling you this.” She clutched the ledger to her chest and looked at her dad again. “I told him it would worry you and Mom if you found out I hired a private eye.”
He leaned back in his chair. “The hand-holding, that kiss, was all for show?”
She nodded. “Yes, but please don’t let Mom in on it. She hasn’t looked this happy since before the attack.”
“Why do you think I brought you inside, eh?” He smiled, and the knot in her stomach loosened.
They walked back toward the party. “You tell Gabe something for me…”
“Sure, Daddy.” She looked up at him. “What?”
“Tell him to kill that dragon.”
When they got back outside, her gaze locked on Gabe’s, and her breath hitched. Her mind replayed the feel of his warm lips brushing her cheek, and the all-too-familiar heat swamped her. The strong angle of his jaw, the bright green of his eyes, his broad shoulders, every part of him made her pulse race. Then his voice echoed through her mind:
just doing my job
. This time she was grateful for the reminder.
Tegan raised her chin and walked to her seat. Gabe got up, but she plopped down and scooted her chair in before he could help.
He sat down again and leaned in close. “Everything okay?”
She nodded. “It’s fine. Can you put this in your pocket?”
He took the leather journal and slid it inside his coat without asking any questions or making any effort to read it. He was a pro, she’d give him that much.
Her mother chose that moment to stand up and clink her fork against the edge of her wine glass. “Can I get everyone’s attention? We’re going to move this party poolside for cake and dancing.”
The volume increased instantly with guests moving chairs and talking. Gabe took her hand, halting her before she could get up.
“What happened?” His gaze searched her as if he might find answers in her facial expressions.
Keeping her voice low, Tegan answered. “What happened out here? I thought we agreed no public displays of affection.”
He released her hand like it burned his skin. “Sorry about that.” He shook his head. “You looked scared and I…” He glanced her way and then tossed his napkin on the table. “I made a mistake. It won’t happen again.”
Gabe got up and followed the crowd to the pool, leaving Tegan behind. She couldn’t take her eyes off his back. What was happening here? They had a deal. And she should definitely
not
be disappointed that he wasn’t going to break it again.
That’s when it hit her. Tonight was a charade, and that made it safe. She could give in to the physical desire her body had pent up for the past four years without having to deal with any relationship ties.
She worried her lower lip, giving herself one last chance to come to her senses, but seeing Gabe down by the pool watching her made the choice simple.