The Sapphire Dragon (3 page)

“Great. I’ll just step back out into the ballroom so she won’t know we’ve already spoken.”

“That’s fine.” Drake came around the desk and followed Jarrod from the room. “Just search me out when she makes her way back down here.” He held out his hand. “Welcome to the family.” He grinned. “I can only say that you’ll never be bored.”

“I’m getting some time out without guards!” Daisy said to her sister the next evening as she dressed for her date.

“What?” Marigold, Daisy’s twin turned to face her. Black brows rose up to meet her equally black hair and her green eyes widened with disbelief. “How’d you manage that?”

“Jarrod, my date, knows Drake and convinced him to let us go out without an escort. I think he’s got his own body guards.”

“You’re going out with a dragon?”

“Of course not!” Daisy reached into her closet and pulled out a beautiful blue silk gown. The rich color shimmered in the glow of the waning sunlight. “He’s human and his eyes are just this color.” She held the dress up in front of her. “He’s one of Drake’s neighbors and he’s known him since he was a boy. Drake couldn’t possibly tell the man that the reason we couldn’t go out without a guard is because I’m a witch and Drake is a dragon.” She rolled her eyes. “The man would die of a heart attack.”

“Oh, so he’s old.”

“What? No,” Daisy said, shaking her head. “He’s a young man. What makes you think he’s old?”

“Well you’re the one who said he’d have a heart attack.”

“Wouldn’t you, if you didn’t already know that witches and dragons exist?”

“You forget.
We
grew up not knowing dragons exist. Finding out about
that
is a rather new development. None of
us
had strokes. I just wanted to know what makes you think that this guy would.”

“Whatever.” Daisy rolled her eyes. “I don’t know why you have to always be so literal.” She held the dress up in front of the full-length mirror. “What do you think?” she pursed her lips. “It’s this one or the little black one. She moved back and forth, trying to get a feel for how it moved. Not that she’d be doing much dancing. The man had already told her he didn’t dance.
Damn it!

“I like that one, though there is something to be said about a little black dress.” Marigold sighed. “I wish
I
could go out without a group of guards breathing down my neck.”

“Find yourself a man and Drake will let you,” Daisy said absently. “I think I’ll wear this one. You’re right. It’s different. Every woman owns a little black dress.”

Removing the garment from the hangar, Daisy pulled it over her head and turned her back on her sister. “Will you zip me up?” She glanced over her shoulder. “I can’t do it myself. I can only hope that Jarrod won’t be bashful if I ask him to help me out of it later.”

“I didn’t just hear that. You’re going to make me gag, you know,” Marigold said with a laugh. “I
don’t
want to think of you doing anything but eating, drinking and dancing with this guy.”

“He doesn’t dance.”

“What?” Marigold frowned. “Wow. He must have really caught your attention. You don’t date anybody who doesn’t dance.” She grinned. “Or are you really just
that
desperate to get out of the house?”

“I’m desperate, all right,” Daisy replied, “but I’m not sure it’s to get out of the house.” She sighed when she thought of him. The man would be perfect if he would learn to dance. “I don’t really understand it myself, Mari. It’s just that Jarrod is tall, dark and handsome. In fact, he’s so handsome that I can barely get him out of my mind.”

“That could be said for any number of Drake’s dragon buddies. Why the human? A dragon could better protect you.” Marigold leaned back on her elbows and watched as Daisy slipped her shoes on.

“You know how I feel about our world.”

“Yes, I do, and it’s ridiculous.” Mari shook her head. “Look at April May and the others. They found their dragons and their powers have leveled out. They have control. In fact, they all have more power than they know what to do with
and
they have control over it.”

That was the important part. All of their sisters had magical abilities, but none of them had much control until they met the man destined to be their match. So far, they had all met dragon males. Daisy didn’t want a dragon. She wanted a human. She could only hope that she’d lose her powers if her predetermined mate was human.

She didn’t know how long she could go on with her magic raging out of control, burning food in chafing dishes, exploding toilets and floods of raw sewage at the mall or cars that inexplicably died for no reason other than she sat in the backseat.

“I don’t want control. I don’t want this. I never did. I just want to lead a normal life with the man I love. What’s so wrong with that?”

“Oh, honey, there’s nothing wrong with that.” Marigold bounced off the bed and gave her a hug. “It’s just that I can’t imagine you without your magic. It seems as though it would feel like me without mine and I couldn’t stand it.”

Daisy hugged her sister back. “Of all of our sisters, you know me best.” Daisy laughed. “You have to. You
are
my twin, after all.” She reached up and gently pulled a lock of her sister’s hair. “Even though you try to hide that fact by dying your hair and wearing contacts.”

“It’s got nothing to do with you. You know that.”

Daisy tilted her head and stared at her sister. “No, Mari, I don’t know that. What’s so wrong with the way that we look that you have to hide who you really are?”

“Don’t you ever get tired of looking like me?” Marigold asked as she moved to look out the window. “Haven’t you ever wished that you were unique?”

“I am unique and you’re unique. Haven’t you realized that it’s not what you look like, or who you look like that matters?” She reached out and touched the center of her sister’s chest. “It’s what’s in here that counts.” She gave Marigold a hug. “I love you, Mari, no matter what you look like. The rest of our family loves you, too. You just need to learn to love yourself.”

Pulling back, she smiled into her sister’s eyes. “Now, will you do me a favor and help me find the bag that I bought to go with this dress? I need something to carry my lipstick and cell phone in.”

Jarrod almost swallowed his tongue when Daisy and her sister walked down the stairs. Had he seen Marigold without Daisy next to her, he would have sworn the other woman was Daisy with black hair and green eyes. He’d never been in a house with so many gorgeous women until Drake brought the Flowers sisters here. Every one of the girls was a knockout, though these two were the only ones who even resembled each other.

“Hello, Jarrod,” Daisy said as he bent over her hand. “Have you met my twin, Marigold?” She turned to the woman. “Marigold, this is Jarrod.”

Marigold smiled up at him. “Now I can see why you want to date him, Daiz. He’s gorgeous.”

“Mari!” Daisy slapped her sister on the arm. “I don’t believe you!”

Jarrod smiled, casting his gaze between them. “I’m happy to meet you, Marigold.” He took her hand in his and bent to kiss it.

“And he’s a gentleman, too.” Marigold grinned up at him. “That’s always a plus.”

“I do try to serve, my lady.” He eased into the old-world manners he’d grown accustomed to over the last few centuries. “You look lovely tonight, Daisy.”

She was a vision in a sapphire blue gown. She wore her blonde hair up, loose curls tumbling down her back. A shining rhinestone clip held her hair in place. He inhaled deeply, breathing her in. She smelled just the way she looked…lovely.

He held out his arm and glanced at her twin. “If you’ll excuse us, we have reservations.”

“Don’t let me hold you up,” Marigold said with a wave of her hand. “Have fun, kiddos. I’ll be here when you get back.” She waggled her brows at her sister. There was definitely some sort of twin communication going on between them.

“Just be sure to keep my man close. I’m backing off on security at your request. Don’t make me regret that decision.” Drake managed to glare at them both, making Jarrod wonder to which of them he directed his comment.

“Shall we go?” he asked as he held his arm out and gazed down into her strange, amber eyes. Flecks of blue stared back at him. Why hadn’t he noticed that before? He’d noticed she had beautiful eyes, but he’d never realized how unusual they were before.

Daisy took his arm with a smile. “I can’t wait.”

How did she always manage to say just the right thing? She stared up at him with those blue stars in her eyes and he couldn’t help but smile down at her. Just the act of looking at his mate nearly had him at a loss for words. What was the matter with him? He’d endanger her if he couldn’t get a handle on the powerful attraction between them.

His chest constricted as he stared down at her. He wanted nothing more than to take her in his arms and tell her everything would be okay.

More than anything, Jarrod found that he wanted her to want him. He wanted her to want not just Jarrod, the man, but the dragon as well. Was that so much to ask? In all of his years of existence, he’d lived the life of a true gentleman. He didn’t think it so much to ask that he could finally have a lady of his own. He spent his life being of service to others. He’d protected humans and dragons alike from forces and dangers that most couldn’t believe even existed. Was it so much to want a small bit of heaven for himself after living alone for so many years?

“Lead on, my friend.” Daisy leaned into him with a smile. “I’m anxious to see what you have planned.”

So was he. Jarrod hadn’t courted a woman in so long, he was certain to raise her eyebrows a time or two with his mannerisms. The last time he attempted something like this, the woman’s parents sat in the same room, glaring at him as though he intended to ravish their daughter before their eyes.

Having Daisy to himself for the entire night would be both refreshing and nerve wracking. The last thing he needed was to do something that would out him as a dragon.

“Then we should embark on our little adventure, post haste.”

“I just love the way they talk,” Marigold said with a little sigh. “Find a nice English chap for me while you’re out there, will you?”

“Mari! Will you stop that?” Daisy said with a laugh. “I don’t believe you.”

Jarrod winked at her sister. He liked Marigold, though her name didn’t seem to fit Marigold as well as the other girls’ names. April, May and June were equal breaths of fresh air. Tansy, Rose and Daisy were beautiful and bright blooms among the bouquet of Flowers girls. It just seemed as though Marigold should have blonde hair like her twin and she was, somehow, hiding her light beneath the proverbial bushel.

Taking his attention from her sister, and giving it to his mate, he covered her slender fingers with his. “Come, my lady.” He smiled down at her and winked. “Our chariot awaits.”

Daisy loved the fact that they only had the one guard following them. By the way it looked, Drake had told him to be discreet. The body guards usually were discreet, but there were usually more of them and no matter how unobtrusive six guys tried to be, they were just too much.

“I don’t see your men anywhere,” she said as she glanced out through the back window.

“You don’t see them, because they aren’t there.” He stared at the rearview mirror for a moment and grinned. “You said you wanted a night alone. I took you at your word and told my men to stay home.”

“I don’t believe it.” Daisy bounced in her seat. “A night out without an entourage is unheard of in Drake’s circles.”

“I can imagine why. He is quite wealthy. I can see where he might think that a criminal could target someone he cares about. A person could get rich if they managed to kidnap one of you girls.”

“You mean if they managed to kidnap April. I don’t see why Drake would care if one of her sisters went missing,” Daisy said with a snort.

“Don’t make the mistake of thinking that Drake doesn’t care for you,” Jarrod replied as he took his gaze off the road to glance at her briefly. “Even if he cares only because your sister loves you, it would make him a formidable opponent, not to mention put you and the rest of your sisters at risk. That is why he keeps you within arm’s reach.”

“Oh.” Daisy bit her lip with a frown. “I hadn’t thought of that.” She hadn’t put much thought into the reasons Drake did what he did, beyond thinking about how annoying it was for a man who wasn’t related by blood taking over her life and the lives of her sisters.

Her parents, nor any of her seven brothers, had bothered to be so protective of them since the girls became adults. Her parents were gone now, thanks to a spell gone awry…and people wondered why she wanted nothing to do with magic.

“Most people wouldn’t think that a brother-in-law would care for his wife’s sisters. However, Drake is known for his devotion to your sister. That alone puts you all at risk.”

They approached an intersection and, at the last minute, Jarrod cut to the left, making a turn just as the light turned green. They darted around the corner in front of the oncoming traffic that effectively blocked the dragon following behind them.

Jarrod made a series of successive quick turns and lost the escort Drake sent with them. Normally, Daisy would have been ecstatic. However, at that moment, she wasn’t sure it had been the right thing to do. Her sister would worry once she found out that Jarrod had purposefully ditched their escort. Not to mention the fact that Daisy really knew very little about the man next to her. For all she knew, he could be the one who had taken the photographs in the first place.

Stupid, stupid, stupid.
Really, she was no better than the too-stupid-to-live heroines she griped about in some of the books she read. “Um…where are we going?”

“To dinner,” Jarrod replied with a grin. “Where else?”

“My sister will worry since we ditched Drake’s escort. I should probably tell her I’m okay.”

“You make no sense, woman.” Jarrod laughed and shook his head. “First you want to ditch him, then you tell me you want to tell them where you’re at so they can send another to take his place.”