My Wild Irish Dragon (20 page)

“Aw, you're makin' this decision harder and harder.”

Ryan watched Rory laugh when he was presented with the plate of toast. Brother and sister had a wonderful way of expressing affection through teasing. He'd hate to take Chloe from her family, but if they were to stay together without his getting plastic surgery, they would have to move far away.

She glanced at him. “You seem…I don't know…serious, all of a sudden.”

He took her aside and whispered, “There are still details we have to discuss. I was just hoping this celebration wasn't premature.”

“Premature!” Rory cried.

“Crap. You dragons have superior hearing, don't you?”

“Never mind that,” Rory said. “What's premature about toasting an engagement? Did you propose to me sister or didn't you?”

“I did. And I meant it. We just have a few complications to work through.”

Chloe nodded solemnly. “He's right. There's the small matter of his face.”

Rory rose and examined Ryan up close. “What's wrong with his face?”

Ryan leaned away. “Nothing, thanks. Just that it's the same one I had before I died.”

“Ah. And you're afraid of scarin' people…like you did when you came here tonight. It sure looked as if Chloe had brought a ghost with her.”

“Exactly. You took it a lot better than most people would.”

Rory nodded. “I imagine a lot of people would faint or run screamin' from you.”

“Yeah.” Ryan scratched the back of his neck. “I'm afraid you're right. My family has had to deal with this before, but usually the person just moves away and starts over.”

“Is that what you're plannin' to do?” Rory's brow wrinkled and he held his sister's gaze. “Move away and take me sister with you?”

“I…don't know. That's one possibility.”

Rory sat back down in his chair as Ryan and Chloe took their seats on the couch. “Are there other options?” he asked.

“Yeah. The family mentioned my getting plastic surgery to look like a cousin who fights wildfires in Arizona. He wants to do something else now—maybe in South America. Then I could take over his identity and get a job here—not in the same firehouse, though. It would be too easy to slip up and say something a stranger wouldn't know. But I might be able to get a job in one of the nearby suburbs.”

Rory whistled long and low. “That's drastic. Even in Ireland, dragons have faked their deaths or moved around and reinvented themselves when their longevity attracts attention. We're only a small handful, but we've been doin' it for centuries. And the whole country is only the size of your state of Indiana.”

Ryan gazed at his feet. “It's true that America is bigger, but it's harder to disappear here. Everyone leaves a paper trail. Not to mention firefighters have their fingerprints on file and it would be easy to grab a bit of DNA from their gear.”

“I'm beginning to see the problem.” Rory rubbed his chin and looked to be deep in thought. He opened his mouth to say something, then closed it and shook his head. He opened his mouth again, then did the same thing and sighed.

“It's not up to you to think of an answer to this dilemma. Chloe and I will find a way to solve this.” He took her hand and gave it a squeeze. “Together.”

“I have some things to talk to you about too,” Chloe said. “Mother Nature just dropped a bit of a bombshell on me.”

Amber smiled. “I was hoping you'd share that with both of them.”

“It's only right that I do. Rory is the crown prince and Ryan is to be my mate.”

Both men gave Chloe their full attention.

“It seems that Mother Nature wants more modern muses, and she has offered me a job.” She took a deep breath. “She wants me to be the muse of assertiveness. Now don't get all excited. I'm not keen on that job…”

Neither of them interrupted as she hastened on.

“She usually wants her muses in Boston, but Amber said there's no reason I couldn't do the job from anywhere in the world.”

“But you said you don't really
want
the job,” Amber reminded her.

“Too right. It sounds bloody awful.” She faced Ryan and took both of his hands. “It might solve a problem for both of us if we were to move to Ballyhoo. Before I knew you were still alive, I was considerin' going home. We have cousins with designs on our ancestral castle. Without Rory there, Shannon is vulnerable.”

“Why? Is she helpless?”

Chloe and Rory exchanged a sad look. Rory spoke up. “Me youngest sister is softhearted, and her husband is human. All they'd have to do is hold him hostage and she'd do anythin' they asked.”

“
If
the clans reunited, Conlan would be next in line,” Chloe explained. “And that's a big if. But according to his next youngest brother Aiden, he said he'd abdicate if I wanted to marry one of 'em and become queen—or rather the crown princess unless we discover our elders are deceased.”

Ryan shot to his feet. “Marry your cousin? That's illegal.”

Rory shrugged. “If you go back far enough, there are plenty of instances of cousins marryin' each other to keep or unite royal bloodlines.”

“But none of them have proposed…” Ryan glanced at the other three in the room as they looked at the ceiling, the floor, or anywhere except at him. “
Have they
?”

“Aiden has,” Chloe said. “I turned him down.”

“I should hope so,” Ryan said. “This isn't the middle ages, and he's still your cousin.”

“He is. And a feckin' nasty one too. I wouldn't marry him if he were the last dragon on earth.”

Ryan relaxed somewhat, then stiffened again. “But you could have children with him.”

She sighed. “And that's what he wants me to do. He'd keep me barefoot and pregnant, livin' in a crumblin' castle. I can't think of anythin' I'd rather do less.”

A stony silence followed, broken by the doorbell.

“I'll get it,” Amber said.

From the other room, all three paranormals heard her mutter under her breath, “Speak of the devil…”

* * *

“Aiden! What brings you here?” Amber let the Ulster cousin into the foyer.

He used his Irish charm, making a comment about her wonderful hospitality and how he couldn't stay away.

Chloe groaned and shot to her feet. She jogged to the entryway, hoping to stop Amber from welcoming him too far inside.

“Chloe, me darlin'. You're lookin' well.”

“What do you want, Aiden?” She knew she was being rude, but she didn't care. He'd better not be trying to talk her into the stupid marriage idea again.

“Is that any way to welcome a man who's crossed an ocean to see you?”

“If you came to see me, specifically, I'll have to disappoint you. I was just going out.”

She sensed, rather than felt, Ryan coming up behind her.

“Ah, so this must be the boyfriend,” Aiden said. He stuck out his hand, and Ryan stepped around Chloe to shake it.

“Ryan,” he said. “And I take it you're Chloe's
cousin?
” he said, emphasizing the relation.

“I am. And proud of it too.”

Chloe cleared her throat. “Forgive me for not making introductions. Aiden Arish, this is my
fiancé,
Ryan Fierro.”

Aiden's eyes rounded. “Fiancé? But
we're
to be married, luv.”

“Whatever gave you that feckin' stupid idea? You asked, and I said no.”

“Ah,” he laughed. “You can't fool me, luv. Many women say no with their mouths, but yes with their eyes and hearts.”

She stepped so close to him they were nose to nose. “Read my eyes. I said no and I meant no. If you ask me again, I'll say no until the lambs return.”

Aiden took a step back and frowned. Then he quickly pasted a smile on his face. “Hee-hee. Me brothers said you'd play hard to get.”

“Not ‘hard to get,' you stubborn fool. Not getable. At. All.”

By this time Rory was standing beside his sister. Smoke was wafting up toward the ceiling and it was hard to say which dragon it was coming from. The crown prince inserted himself between the two cousins who were squaring off.

“None of that, now. I won't have you brawlin' in me house.”

“We won't be resortin' to that,” Aiden said. “I just need to borrow your sister for a wee bit, and I'm sure I can reason with her.”

Ryan wrapped a protective hand around Chloe's waist and practically clamped her to his side.

Rory burst out laughing. “To be sure, you'd try. But I know me sister better than you do. Trust me. She gave you her answer and it will not change.”

“How can you take her side?” Aiden roared. “You're the head of our clan. You can order her to marry for the sake of the…for the sake of our…”. He glanced at Ryan, obviously wondering how much to say without violating Mother Nature's number one rule.

“I know she can only have children with another dragon,” Ryan said.

Aiden's dark eyebrows almost hit his widow's peak. “He knows?” Then he turned his righteous anger on Chloe. “You told a human? And you-know-who didn't smite you—or send you back to Iceland? Or something?”

Chloe tipped her nose in the air. “Who says me fiancé is human?”

Aiden covered his mouth and mumbled through his fingers, “Oh, shite. What the hell is he?”

“He's someone who loves Chloe,” Ryan said. “And she loves me. If you truly care about her, you'll want only her happiness.”

Aiden turned his back on that logic and addressed Rory. “But what about duty? What about the preservation of our species?”

“Hang duty,” Chloe shouted. “It's my life and I plan to do what I like,
not what's expected of me.”

Rory tipped his head toward her. “And there you have it, Cousin.”

“You're going to let
her
make this important decision? What kind of prince are you?”

Rory's rare openmouthed grin showed his fangs. “I'm the kind who wants peace in me kingdom. Now, if you cannot give me that, I suggest you find another place to stay.”

“Mayhaps I will.”

Chloe relaxed for the first time since her cousin's arrival. She looked up at Ryan and he smiled at her. She wrapped her arms around his waist and snuggled into his chest. He let go of his death grip on her and stroked her back with his warm fingers.

Aiden was about to leave when the doorbell rang again.

“Excuse me,” Amber said. She strode to the door and gasped in happy surprise. “Candy Marie? What are you doing here?”

“Can't a former neighbor and coworker come to visit?”

“Of course!” Amber glared at the family group as if to say, “Behave.”

Chloe was fine now. As long as her brother had her back, and Ryan had the rest of her, she could ignore Aiden and his antics.

Candy stepped into the foyer right into Aiden's personal space. The two of them stared at each other as if struck dumb. Then they smiled as if recognizing a long-lost friend.

Candy recovered first. “I—um…didn't realize you had company.”

“Oh,” Amber said. “This is Aiden Arish, Rory's and Chloe's first cousin from Northern Ireland. I
think
he was just leaving.”

Aiden took Candy's fingers and placed a kiss on the back of her hand. “Or I could stay and get to know your lovely friend—if you don't mind, that is.”

Candy grinned. “I don't mind a bit.”

The sparks of mutual attraction were practically pinging off the walls.

“Stay, Aiden,” Chloe said. “Ryan and I need to…um…”

“Go to my place,” Ryan said helpfully.

“Yes. That,” Chloe agreed.

Amber and Rory smiled at each other. “I'll get your coats.”

“No need,” Chloe said. “We can get them. You pay attention to your guests. I insist.”

Amber kissed Chloe on both cheeks and Rory shook Ryan's hand. “Good to see you both. We'll have you over for dinner soon.”

She couldn't help glancing over her shoulder at the love-struck couple being welcomed into the living room. Aiden had his hand on the small of Candy's back. She hoped her cousin would soon know what true love was like. Maybe someday they'd be able to laugh about how absurd this evening could have been.

* * *

On their walk toward the South End, Ryan realized he needed Chloe all to himself for a while. Not that he'd thought for a second her brother might order her to marry her cousin…well, maybe a second, but that was all.

“Are you up for a little experiment?” he asked her.

She slowed her pace and leaned back to see around his hoodie and take a good look at his face. “What kind of experiment?”

“The good kind.” He smiled, not only to put her at ease, but also in hopes that they might accomplish a couple of important goals.

“I'm listenin'.”

“Well, instead of passing this lovely big hotel here, what if we just go inside and get a room?” He nodded toward the fancy place next to the civic center—right across from their fire station.

“We might be able to afford a broom closet.”

Ryan laughed. “Don't worry about the expense. I have an idea to make the experience worth it.”

“Oh? Do tell…” She smiled and waggled her eyebrows.

“I want you to practice coming quietly.”

Her face fell. “Oh. I'm sorry. I didn't realize—”

He squeezed her hand. “Hold that thought. First, I want you to know, I love your screams. It's like applause to me.”

Her face colored and she looked at her feet.

Before she could take that in any way other than a compliment, he forged on. “I just want to be sure we can visit your sister's cottage, my parents' guest room, or your brother's B and B without having to stay celibate the whole time.”