Dragon's Curse (Harlequin Nocturne) (16 page)

He moved away from the window and into the sitting room. He
didn’t need to see where she was going, he already knew. She was going snooping
for the pendant and box that she’d finally admitted the Learneds wanted.

At the moment, he didn’t care. It wasn’t as if she would find
anything, or be in any danger. The men were under strict orders to call him if
anything unusual happened. He didn’t care if the wind changed direction—they
were to call immediately.

Nor did he worry about her snooping around on her own. He’d
expected it and would have been disappointed had she not taken the opportunity
to go out on her hunting expedition.

She wasn’t going to discover anything in the workshop. After
he’d searched for the items himself, he’d had the circular chamber cleared of
everything. Ariel would be lucky if she found so much as a speck of dust, let
alone a pendant or a puzzle cube.

Cam poured a snifter of brandy and sat in the overstuffed
armchair before the fireplace. Raising his glass, he spoke to the empty air, “To
you, Brightworthe. You’ll be sorely missed around here.”

He’d known the caretaker for his entire life. The man had been
ancient when Cam and Braeden were born, so there was no telling how old he
actually was in human years.

Like Harold, Brightworthe wasn’t quite wizard, but neither was
he quite human. They’d both been from the clan of long-lived folks of
Mirabilus.

Harold would be devastated to learn of Brightworthe’s death.
The men had been close, more like brothers than friends. And for that reason Cam
had put the funeral off for a couple days. He wouldn’t dishonor his own
friendship with either man by not giving Harold a chance to attend the
ceremony.

The jet would return to the Lair tomorrow. The next day they
would bring Harold, Danielle and Sean to Mirabilus. With any luck, his aunt
would have had enough time to cool off before coming face-to-face with
Ariel.

Cam frowned and set down his brandy. He realized that Braeden
deserved and needed this vacation with his wife, but it might be best if he at
least made an appearance.

“I’ll be there.”
Braeden’s voice
raced through Cam’s mind, easing his concerns on that score.

“Any idea what happened?”

He had a few ideas, but none he wanted to share until he
checked them out fully. “Not yet. I’ve questioned the men who found the body on
the beach, but they had no answers for me. Still working on it. Go pester your
wife.”

Sensing his brother’s departure, Cam leaned his head back
against the chair, propped his feet up on the cushioned ottoman and closed his
eyes. After being up for over two days, he was exhausted.

Hopefully, Ariel would return to the keep soon so they could
all get a good night’s sleep. The buzz of his pager drew a ragged sigh from him.
So much for a good night’s sleep.

He glanced at the backlit screen, then lunged from the chair.
Something was wrong in the workshop, otherwise the men wouldn’t have contacted
him.

Cam slipped into his shoes and grabbed a jacket as he headed
out the door of his bedroom. He waved off the men standing guard in the hallway.
They were only doing their job, protecting the current ruler in residence, but
he didn’t want any babysitters around when he confronted Ariel.

Racing across the grounds, he came to a skidding halt outside
the old shed that disguised the entrance to the workroom. The two men assigned
to Ariel met him at the door. The taller, older man said, “Sorry, sir. There was
a strange light.”

The other man added, “Then something whizzed past our heads and
went inside the shed.”

“Did you see if it followed her in?”

Both men shook their heads. “It was there, then just—gone.”

Cameron sensed no presence of magic, no Learneds, nothing that
gave him reason to believe Ariel was in any danger.

After dismissing the men, he entered the shed. It took a minute
for him to locate the panel that would slide open, giving him entrance to the
corridor leading to the workroom.

Thankfully, his beast was awake and alert, so he didn’t need a
flashlight to see his way down the blackness of the hallway.

His mind flipped back to the last time he’d followed her in
here. He’d been in dragon form then, intentionally wanting to frighten her
enough to keep her from returning.

Apparently, it hadn’t worked.

So, this time, he would approach silently and then use attitude
and threats to scare the hell out of her.

With any luck, that might work.

He stopped at the arched doorway into the workroom and peered
around the bricks. The chamber was ablaze with light from at least a dozen
flashlights. Did she really think the light would keep the dragon at bay?

She was using a metal file to dig at the foundation near the
old coal brazier. Was she planning to excavate the entire room?

Ariel paused, she had the odd feeling that she was no longer by
herself. Had the men following her come inside? She’d closed the secret panel
behind her, so unless they knew the trick to opening it, she doubted they had
entered the corridor.

Besides, these men obviously weren’t skilled at secrecy—she’d
spotted them on her tail almost the minute she’d walked out of the keep. If they
had figured out how to open the sliding panel, she was certain she’d have heard
their approach.

It had taken every ounce of bravery she possessed to make
herself come back here. But she’d been able to think of no other way. She had to
find that puzzle box for Renalde.

Since Cam had been so certain that his sister-in-law would
never give up her emerald pendant, Ariel knew she had to make certain she
located that box. Maybe in the process, she’d find another pendant. Hopefully,
the significance was in the pendant itself and the color wouldn’t make any
difference.

She’d vowed never to return to Mirabilus, but since she was
here through no volition of her own, she knew that she might as well make use of
her time. After all, Carl’s life depended on her success.

A quick glance over her shoulder showed her that she was still
alone. Her pulse settled back to a more normal tempo.

No. If someone had opened the panel, she’d have heard it. The
thing had screeched so loud when she’d slid it open, she was surprised the
entire castle hadn’t rushed out to see what all the noise was about.

Besides, she’d brought along her stun gun, so if someone was
unwise enough to sneak up on her, they’d be in for a shock—literally.

She resumed picking at the foundation. A closer examination of
the wall had shown what appeared to be a separate square, much like the panel in
the shed’s wall. It was a long shot, but she hoped that her efforts would turn
up something of—

Ariel froze at the sound of a footstep behind her. Slowly, with
her free hand, she reached inside her jacket to slide her hand through the wrist
strap of the gun, then pulled it from the holster.

Before she could change her mind, she spun around, closed her
eyes, reached out until the gun pressed against something semisolid, and then
hit the button.

Chapter 15

“D
amn!” Over the ratcheting noise of the
gun, Cam’s strangled curse took her breath away.

Ariel opened her eyes and backed against the wall behind her
for support. Whatever she’d jolted was, yet at the same time it wasn’t, Cameron
Drake.

It was a—thing—a man writhing on the floor and changing,
transforming into a…
dragon
.

An extremely angry, spitting, snarling dragon.

Unable to back away, and too frightened to convince her
suddenly paralyzed legs to run, she covered her face with her hands and
screamed.

It seemed as if seconds turned to hours, heartbeats evolved
into years. Finally, when she was hoarse from screaming, and nearly deaf from
the beast’s roars, Ariel spread her fingers enough to peer out between them.

Staring back at her was the most magnificent animal she’d ever
seen.

Magnificent?

Half afraid she’d lost her mind from fear, Ariel drew in a
shaking breath and screamed once again.

The beast jerked its head back and did the same. His roar shook
the timber supports.

Desperately trying to think, Ariel knew the only escape route
was to find a way around the beast. But it shifted, effectively blocking her
path to the door.

She swallowed.
Now what?

The dragon rumbled, cocked its head to stare intently at the
gun still dangling from her wrist.

Ariel fought to clear the haze of fear from her mind. Dragons
don’t exist—at least not in her world. Hadn’t she tried to convince herself of
that before?

And hadn’t she been wrong then, too?

To keep a grip on what was left of her sanity, she reminded
herself that this was somehow Cam. While that didn’t help much, it did permit
her to breathe.

Besides, if the beast had wanted to kill her, wouldn’t it have
done so by now? Unless it was like a cat and wanted to toy with its food
first.

Ariel forced that fleeting thought from her mind. She untangled
the strap around her wrist and tossed the stun gun across the workroom. Then,
with her heart in her throat, Ariel stepped forward to stroke the
dragon’s…chest.

To her surprise, its scales felt more like a soft, supple
leather against her fingertips than anything resembling a reptile.
Ever-changing, iridescent greens, blues and purples shimmered as his skin
rippled beneath her touch. He looked just like the dragon drawing in the
grimoire.

But where that was nothing more than a painting, this was a
living, breathing beast.

She stood her ground as he lowered his head, but closed her
eyes when his breath blew hot against her cheek.

Like a dog chuffing for a scent, the beast slowly nosed her
cheek, neck and head. The heavy inhale and warm exhale of his breath blew her
hair back and forth against her face.

Whose actions were more insane? The
beast’s or her own?

Ariel couldn’t understand why she hadn’t fainted. Then the
reason suddenly came to her—this was the beast she’d been dreaming about all
along. She had lost her fear of this dragon weeks ago when she’d realized that
it wasn’t in her dreams to hurt her, but to protect her.

She reached up to grasp the dragon’s head between her hands and
pull it down so she could gaze into his deep sapphire eyes. “Enough, big guy.
You know damn well who I am.”

The rumbling in his chest sounded suspiciously like a growl.
Had she gone too far?
Ariel quickly lowered her
arms, stepped back and with her eyes closed prayed she hadn’t inadvertently
turned herself into an evening dragon snack.

“You are seriously a fool. That’s who you are.”

The voice whispering against her ear wasn’t coming from a
mythical beast. She relaxed with a shudder of relief.

“Don’t get too comfortable.” He pushed her aside to inspect the
area on the wall that she’d been chipping away at earlier. “What were you
looking for?”

“Shouldn’t you be asking if I’ll live instead of what I was
looking for?”

Cam glanced over his shoulder for a split second. “You look
fine to me.”

“The dragon—thing. That’s how you knew I’d been here
before.”

“Yes.”

Ariel frowned. Now that her whirling thoughts had slowed and
she’d had a chance to catch her breath, questions flooded her mind. “You are the
dragon from my dreams.”

“You dream about beasts?”

She approached, hoping to see his face as he talked. Her
thoughts now ran in never-ending circles. “On occasion. In fact, more so since
coming to the Lair.” She narrowed her eyes, asking, “You had something to do
with that, didn’t you?”

Cam realized that she wouldn’t like his answers, so he opted to
keep his mouth shut as he picked at the stone block.

“Could you at least look at me?”

He brushed away another crumbling piece of block before turning
around. Ariel had crossed her arms against her chest. Her anger swirled around
him, hotter and more intrusive than her fear had been.

“So, tell me something,
Sir Wizard
.
Can you influence my dreams?”

“A little.”

Her eyes widened for a split second before resuming the
familiar glare. “A little? Meaning, you have the ability to know what I dream
about?”

“Of course.”

“Of course?” Ariel stepped back, her shock evident on her face.
“And can you participate in them, too?”

He knew exactly where she was headed with this line of
questioning. His first impulse was to lie through his teeth.

But she’d just stood toe to toe with a beast. She’d stroked a
dragon, had the audacity to treat it like a pet dog. It was debatable if she’d
done so out of bravery or momentary insanity. Nevertheless, she had.

If nothing else, he owed her the truth—or as much of it as he
dared give her. “Yes.”

Her glare deepened. “Can you make me dream?”

He held her stare, answering, “Yes.”

Cam watched as the meaning of that answer sunk in. Ariel
blushed with embarrassment, then paled as she whispered, “Oh. My. God.”

She uncrossed her arms, and holding them out in front of her,
stumbled away from him. “You used me. Then passed it off as nothing more than a
dream.”

“No, Ariel, I didn’t.” He didn’t know what had happened in her
dreams after he’d departed, but he certainly hadn’t used her. He’d left her on
the hammock untouched, although not unwanted by any means.

“You changed the upholstery on my sofa because I didn’t like
suede, then accused me of doing it. When I tried to hide from you in my bedroom,
you used magic to get inside, then forced yourself on me.”

Forced himself on her?
“Your memory
is a little faulty there.”

“Oh, really? What part is faulty?”

“For one thing,
I
didn’t change
your upholstery.” Although he was fairly certain his dragon had. Cam stepped
toward her, trying to keep from shouting. “And I certainly didn’t force myself
on you.” He raised his eyebrows and looked down at her. “Not even after you
begged me.”

“I never—”

“Oh, didn’t you?” She really wanted to debate this? From the
smug look on her face, she obviously thought she was right. Fine, he’d remind
her of the event.

Before she could guess his next move, Cam reached out and
grabbed her. He jerked her hard against his chest. “You did beg me, Ariel.” He
ran one hand through her hair until he cupped the back of her head. Threading
her hair through his fingers, he tugged her head back and stared down at her.
“Remember?”

Her overbright gaze faded and a frown replaced her glare.
Certain he could convince her to think back to that day, he said, “You thought
I’d be handy on housecleaning day. When I claimed to be handy with other things,
you asked me to show you what things.”

Her cheeks flushed with color. She whispered an unintelligible
curse.

“Yeah, you remember now, don’t you? Then you should also
remember that I didn’t just jump to the occasion even after you begged me
to.”

“Fine. You’re right, you didn’t.” Her flush darkened further.
She shook her head out of his hold. “But afterward, you did something to make me
think the entire episode, the furniture, the wizardry, the kissing, that all of
it was a dream. Why?”

“You were the enemy. I didn’t want you to remember that I’d
admitted to being a wizard. Why would I let you remember information you might
use against me?”

“What did you do?”

“Made you go to sleep and dream to forget.”

“Of dragons, flying and making love on a beach.”

“No. That was
your
dream.” To his
regret, he hadn’t been there for the making-love part. What he had done was set
the stage and nothing more. “I just supplied the beach and opportunity.”

She cleared her throat, then asked, “Am I still the enemy?”

Cam released her with a sigh before answering her question with
a question of his own. “What were you doing sneaking around the workroom, alone,
at night?”

“So, this dragon thing…” She made no pretense of avoiding his
question. “How does it work?”

“What do you mean?”

“Do you just decide to be a dragon at whim?”

“Sometimes. Not often.” He crossed the room to retrieve her
weapon. Handing it to her, he added, “Usually the change is under my control.
Unless I somehow get zapped with a stun gun.”

At least she had the decency to look away. “Sorry about
that.”

“Yeah. I’m sure you are.”

“It’s not like you could have died. There isn’t enough juice
for that.”

“Maybe not, but you could have been killed.”

“Good point.” She shrugged. “But I wasn’t.”

“Nor did you answer my question. What are you doing out here
alone?”

“I wasn’t alone, your goons were with me.”

“My
goons
didn’t come into the
workroom. What if one of the Learneds had been in here, waiting?”

“I thought they couldn’t come on your property without you
knowing about it.”

“They can’t. However, Brightworthe’s body was found on the
beach. And if you remember correctly, it’s fairly easy for the Learneds to get
one or more of their minions on the property.”

Ariel groaned. “I hadn’t thought of that.”

“Obviously.” He wanted to lock her in a room back at the keep,
but knew she’d throw enough of a fit to start tongues wagging. Too bad Mirabilus
didn’t have an equipped dungeon.

“So what now?”

“Now that you know my secret, I’ll have to toss you from a
cliff into the ocean.”

“But…”

He couldn’t believe it—she frowned as if she was trying to
determine if he was serious or not. Cam rolled his eyes as he walked by her on
his way toward the corridor. “Not tonight though. I’m too tired.”

She fell in step behind him. “From your point of view you’d
probably be justified. I am technically working for your enemy.”

When he didn’t reply, she added, “And I did lie to get hired at
the Lair.”

Without stopping, Cam asked, “What are you doing? Trying to
convince me to murder you?”

“No, I just…I don’t know.”

He stopped at the entrance panel and turned toward her.
Reaching out in the dark, Cam grasped her shoulders. “Look, Ariel, if killing
you had been my intention, don’t you think I’d have done so by now?”

“I suppose. But I’ve never been quite certain what your
intentions are.”

Unfortunately, neither was he. The more he was around her, the
more undecided he became.

She shivered and he brushed a hand down her arm before taking
off his jacket to wrap it around her. “My intentions have always been the
same—to find a way to get to the Learneds. You seemed the most direct
route.”

She pulled the jacket tighter around her shoulders. “And
now?”

Cam slid the panel open, asking, “And now what? What are you
thinking, or trying to figure out?”

Ariel buried her face in the collar of his jacket and breathed
in the woodsy scent of his aftershave. She didn’t exactly know what she was
thinking.

He’d told her before that there was no “us” and he’d been
right, they weren’t a couple. And they’d both claimed more than once that they
were essentially enemies. Again, the claim was correct—regardless of the reason,
in the end her job was to rob him and naturally, his was to prevent the
theft.

Then why did his touch say otherwise? Why did the lingering
memory of his kisses leave her thinking of a future together?

“Ariel?” His breath rushed warm across her temple. “There is no
us
. You understand that, right?”

His nearness, the gentleness of his voice made her brave enough
to ask, “How can you be so certain?”

Cam jerked away and walked through the panel door into the old
shed. “Certain? I’m positive. It would never work between us.”

She hadn’t the slightest clue what drove her. Temporary
insanity perhaps? Maybe she was overly tired, or more fed up with this entire
situation than she’d realized. Or maybe she just felt the need to be contrary.
The only thing she knew for certain was that she had to ask, “How can you be
positive if we don’t at least try?”

Ariel followed him out of the shed and squinted against the
brightness of the perimeter light as it swept across them.

“No.”

“So, what then? It was just a brief roll in the hay with an
employee?” If his intent had been to make her feel cheap and used, he’d
succeeded. “And now you’ll just send me on my way?”

He still kept walking toward the keep without turning around.
“If that explanation works for you, feel free to use it.”

“What about Renalde and my brother?”

“I said I’d help. I won’t change my mind.”

“And once that’s all settled I’ll be out of your life for good,
right?”

“That is the goal.”

Ariel’s head pounded. This was the reason she’d avoided
involvement with men to begin with. She liked her life ordered, uncluttered,
compartmentalized.