Their Runaway Mate (15 page)

"Oh? And you like it?"

"What's not to love? All these hunky dragons around. Every one of them eager to fall into a woman's arms." Gabby's breathing came faster, as if she was remembering just such an encounter. "Have they shown you the mirrored ceiling yet?"

She didn't remember a mirror. She glanced up.

"Not there, silly," Gabby said. "I guess not, hey? Well, they'll probably get to it eventually."

Jasmine's stomach burned. "What do you want, Gabby?"

Gabby leaned forward. "I'm just here to warn you. Maryk and Ansyn are from a powerful clan and they are pissed at what's happened and how you came to be here. As enforcers we need to stay stronger than the others and, perhaps more importantly, we must be neutral. Taking you as a mate will jeopardize the clan. Until you came, we have always been above reproach. The clansmen speculate that there will be an inquiry. Kylan will be removed as an advisor to the Dragon Council, which means the Mannix clan will lose their place as the enforcers, and then we'll be vulnerable."

Jasmine was sure her eyes were bulging in surprise. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Because
they
won't." Gabby tucked her hair behind her ear. "Besides, why else would the Kelvin clan come here?"

Chapter 16

J
asmine waited for Gabby to leave before she crossed the room to the large window at the far side of the bedroom. With a strong sense of déjà vu, she cranked the pane open. It squealed in protest. Cool, crisp autumn air rushed over her. The sun had already set, so darkness cloaked the nooks and crevices around the building.

God, it was a big drop.

But she didn't have a choice. She wouldn't let Kylan and Dillon risk anything more for her. There would be another human woman for them. She pressed against the sudden hollow in her chest. A tear rolled down her cheek. How had she come to care for them so quickly?

She sucked in a deep breath and straightened her shoulders. She had to move quickly. She didn't have time to wallow. There would be time enough for that later.

She changed quickly out of her dress and into her own clothing again. The scent of sugar and flour drifted over her as she pulled on the shirt she'd baked in earlier. She'd planned to make them another loaf tomorrow morning. They'd loved the one she'd thrown together at the cabin. She'd wanted to see them smile again.

That wasn't going to happen now.

She dropped her backpack and sandals out the opening and waited for a minute. No one came running. She swung her leg over the windowsill. Oh, it was a long drop. A hell of a lot farther than the last window she'd jumped from.

She dangled her foot along the wall and felt with her toes for a ledge. Luckily the building was finished with river rocks on this side. She should be able to—

Aha. There it was.

She balanced on the rock, and pulled her other leg outside. She inched out the window, stepping down slowly, until all that remained in the room were her fingers. She took a deep breath. This was the moment. Once she let go of the ledge, she would only have the vertical rock face to cling to.

Her toes were already cramping.

Where was the next rock?

She reached down. Rock climbers probably didn't have big boobs to work around. Their center of gravity was probably a little different too, not having to contend with fat asses or bulging bellies. It didn't matter. She could do this.

This was the only solution.

She needed to get away.

Inch by inch, she climbed down the wall. When her first foot hit the coarse texture of bark mulch, she wanted to sob with relief. She collapsed to the ground. Her fingers and toes ached. She scrambled to find her shoes in the dark.

With sandals strapped to her feet, she crouched behind the shrubs and looked out at the quiet street. She didn't see anyone. Good. She snuck along the perimeter, hugging the shadows, until she saw a lit window. She crept closer. It was open. It would ruin things if someone saw her now. She had to go slowly.

There was no mistaking Laughlin's voice when it floated through the window. Not that it mattered, but she’d missed what he said.

"Oh, Laughlin, is that really you?"

Oh, God, that was her Aunt Trixy. Jasmine froze. What was she doing here? She wasn't supposed to leave home for another three weeks. That was the plan.

"Hush, Trixy," he said. "What's going on?"

What the hell? It sounded like he knew Trixy. No, that couldn't be right.

"It's happened again, Laughlin. I need your help."

Laughlin took a deep breath. It must have been a doozy because Jasmine could hear it all the way outside. "Tell me everything."

"My girl has been getting hunted down by dragons. You saved her last time. Please. Help me—help
us
—again."

Jasmine's heart hammered in her chest. What were they talking about? There wasn't a last time. Was there? A shiver coursed over her like icy fingers sliding over her spine.

"Oh, God, I never even realized…"

"What? You know something, don't you?"

"She's safe," Laughlin said. "She's here."

"I've got to see her. I've got to…"

Jasmine lost the conversation when the light went out. They'd left the room. She hit the back of her head against the wall in frustration. She couldn't leave now. She dropped her bag and stepped out of the shrubs. She brushed off the few leaves that clung to her pants.

This was only a temporary delay. There would be another opportunity to leave. And this time she'd take her aunt too.

She followed a crushed gravel pathway to the front door. She tried the door handle, and it gave. Thank God. She didn't want to have to ring the doorbell and be greeted by a troop of dragons.

Bright lights blinded her as she slipped inside the foyer. She stepped behind one of the pillars that framed the entrance to let her eyes adjust. How was she going to get back into her room unnoticed? There had to be at least eight men guarding her door, so it wasn't going to be easy.

She froze when Gabby's silky laughter tittered through the room. Oh, God. She'd been caught, by Gabby of all people. Jasmine winced and waited, but the blonde didn't come. Jasmine peeked around the column to see Gabby tug Maryk into the parlor. The door clicked shut.

Huh. What was she playing at?

Jasmine stepped out of her hiding spot and tiptoed across the polished marble floor to the stairs.

"Jasmine!"

She spun around to see Trixy's little body barreling toward her. Her head was a wild nest of artificially red hair. Jasmine could well imagine how many times she'd run her hand through her short style. And with each step, metal clanged. She'd come to dragon country well-armed and ready to rumble. At the sight of her, Laughlin's gaze darted toward the stairs. Confusion creased his brow.

"Aunty," Jasmine said. "What are you doing here?"

"I had to find you," her aunt said as she pulled her into a bear hug. "When the newspapers and TV shows quit announcing your disappearance I knew something had happened. I knew…"

Jasmine sank into the familiar embrace. This was the woman who'd always been there to soothe her scraped knees or braid her hair. She felt like home.

But all this time she'd been harboring a secret, and Jasmine needed to know what it was.

***

When Ansyn and his compatriots left the meeting room, Kylan stayed behind while Dillon escorted them out. Kylan listened. They didn't debate why they were being led to the door on the other side of the building.

He purposely unclenched his hands before he punched something. Ansyn was more bluster than common sense, although he had managed to evade Kylan's questions about Maryk's sudden recovery. Unfortunately the younger heir had snuck out before that. Maryk tended to show his emotions on his face, which was a terrible trait in a dignitary. Where had the miscreant gone?

At least he couldn't get close to Jasmine, not without a battle.

Just the thought of Jasmine upstairs, waiting for them, made Kylan's pulse kick up. Oh, the things they were going to do tonight…

Dillon entered the room without knocking, a privilege of his position in the house. If his primary was concerned about the encounter with the Kelvin clan, he'd hear about it soon enough, but Dillon moved calmly through the room to the chair on the opposite side of Kylan's wide mahogany desk. He and Dillon could do wickedly satisfying things to their mate on this desk. They might need to experiment in each room, come to think of it.

"Do you think they'll cause trouble?"

Dillon's question roused him from his illicit daydream. He blinked to clear his head. It was dangerous to be distracted when so much of the clan's health and prosperity was a direct result of his leadership. "No more than usual."

"That's my impression too." Dillon nodded.

A loud and urgent rap on the door had them both turning.

"Enter," Kylan said as he stood from his desk.

Had their unwelcome guests caused problems? What was going on? Dillon was already on his feet and halfway to the door when Garryck, the commander of his outer guard, and Ryder, his primary, entered. Jasmine's backpack was in Garryck's hand. It was covered in dirt and had clumps of bark mulch clinging to it.

"Sir," his commander said, "we found this outside."

Red panic shot over Kylan. He inhaled quickly. The scents were clear. Jasmine had been one of the last people to touch the bag. Sonofabitch. His heart felt like it'd been ripped from his body.

"Where is she?" Dillon asked. Instant desperation hung thick in the air.

Garryck shook his head. "We didn't see her. I came in directly. The others are following her scent."

"So she was outside?"

"Yes, sir."

Curses fell from Dillon's mouth in a deluge. He and Kylan raced down the hallway to the main foyer. It was the closest route to the outside. When Dillon had ushered out the Kelvin clan earlier, he'd deliberately taken them through the back door, keeping them as far away from Jasmine as possible. It'd all been for naught. Somehow they'd gotten to her. Had they convinced her to leave? Had they threatened her? Had they kidnapped her? Or had she simply decided to run again?

Even as he asked himself those questions he knew the answer. She was running again. But why now? She'd had other, better opportunities to run, but she hadn't. Why would she choose now when the enemy was under their roof?

She had to have known she was putting herself at risk.

Why couldn't she understand that she was safer here than anywhere else? Damn it. If the Kelvin clan so much as laid a finger on her…

They poured into the foyer and stuttered to a halt when they saw Jasmine embracing an older redheaded woman. Relief swept over him. All he wanted to do was whisk her up those steps to their room and check her all over.

Upon hearing them enter, the older woman twirled around and grabbed for the knives at her waist. What the hell? Kylan blinked to confirm if he was seeing things correctly.

"Take one, Jasmine," the strange woman urged, "the short sword is at my back."

"Stop," Laughlin said. "These aren't the enemy."

The woman braced her arms, but didn't lower her weapons. She held them with confidence and ease. This little woman, in her pink velour leisure suit, could do damage if she put her mind to it.

Jasmine stepped forward. "Um, Aunty?"

"You go, dear. I'll head them off."

"No, you don't understand. These are the dragons who saved me." Jasmine looked at them then and waved toward the woman at her side. "Meet my Aunt Trixy."

Chapter 17

J
asmine held her breath as she gauged Kylan and Dillon's reaction to meeting her spitfire aunt. She wanted to blurt out all the questions she had about her aunt knowing Laughlin, but now was not the best moment. There were too many witnesses, and Jasmine wasn't sure she was going to like the answers.

"Welcome!" Dillon grinned at Trixy, who still hadn't lowered her weapons.

Laughlin stepped forward and extended his hand. "Give me the knives or we'll take them from you."

"As if." Her aunt snorted, but under threat of being disarmed, she holstered them in her custom leather belt.

Jasmine exhaled quietly. "I guess we should talk."

Trixy made no effort to hide her visual evaluation of the two dragons. The auditor of Jasmine's accounts last spring hadn't taken as much care or attention. "Who are you?"

Kylan raised his eyebrows. Few people would talk to him with such imperiousness.

"This is Kylan, Dillon, and I believe you already know Laughlin." Jasmine motioned toward each of the men.

At her reference to Laughlin, Trixy's mouth dropped in surprise. "I don't know what you mean."

"Let's go to the dining room to talk," Dillon said. "Maybe we can have some of that delicious looking cake you made earlier."

"It's upstairs, I'll just—"

Laughlin snapped his fingers, and suddenly one of the guards who'd followed Kylan and Dillon into the foyer was running up the stairs, presumably to fetch the cake.

"This way, ladies," Laughlin said with a smile as he guided them down the hall. Perhaps he hadn't completely surrendered his role as leader within the clan.

Just as they had settled at one end of the long table, the guard returned with the dessert. Laughlin offered Jasmine the cake knife. As she stood to slice the chocolate layer cake, plates and cutlery arrived in front of her. Dillon licked his lips as he eyed the first piece.

She dished it up and passed it to him. If he reacted that way to everything she made, she'd gladly stay here and bake for him forever just to see the pleasure on his face when he tasted her sweets. Well…maybe not just
that
look. The look he and Kylan had in the bedroom earlier was pretty awesome too.

Dillon grinned as he dug his fork into the spongy wedge. He inhaled, then he froze.

"What is this?" His nostrils flared as he twisted his head away.

"Chocolate cake, why?"

"No." He shook his head. He shoved his cake to Kylan. "Smell this."

Kylan cursed. "Dragon's Tears."