Jace snorted. “We blame it on the ten-percent human DNA lurking in our gene pool.”
Rolling her eyes, she shifted her weight on the cushion. The couch’s broken spring noisily protested being disturbed. “So what does this mean? I need to worry about the creep making a repeat performance? Or worse?”
Aiden scratched the back of his neck, his expression pensive. “I doubt they’ll hit your gallery again. It’d be too obvious. Still, I’d advise beefing up security at any logical targets they might strike at next.”
“Such as?” Dana and Emmaline demanded simultaneously.
“This place, for one,” Jace said, his tone matter of fact.
A cramp squeezed Dana’s stomach. It was bad enough worrying about her gallery. If they vandalized La Luna in any way, the guilt that would slam her would be near unbearable.
Emmaline hopped down from her desk. “Now don’t anyone worry about this place.” She stared Dana straight in the eye, making it clear who she was directing the statement to. “I’ll talk to Leo. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind spending a few nights here with Yeager. If that dog doesn’t put the scare in any would-be vandals, nothing will.”
The tight ball of dread anchored in Dana’s belly eased slightly. Leo and Yeager were a force to be reckoned with. Particularly since Leo would fight to the death when it came to protecting Emmaline and her turf. Hopefully it wouldn’t come to any actual bloodshed. A chill crept over Dana and she rubbed her arms briskly. “Okay, that covers this place. The only other potential target I can think of would be my home.”
“Jace and I have you covered there.”
She took one look at Aiden’s ferocious countenance and knew without a doubt that anyone who’d attempt tangling with him would have to be certifiably insane.
On the one hand, it certainly made her feel safer, but who the hell was going to protect her from him?
By the time the Navigator finally rolled down her driveway, the tantalizing aroma of sausage, oregano and an artery-clogging blend of cheeses wafting from the pizza boxes had Dana’s salivary glands working in overdrive. Leaving Jace to carry their dinner and Aiden to lock up the vehicle, she trekked inside the house and into the kitchen. Snatching plates and napkins, she hustled to the table. Jace ambled in and she made room for him to plop the pizza containers down. She flipped the top open on the smallest box and inhaled with an appreciative sigh.
Jace’s nostrils twitched. “Damn, that looks good.”
He started to reach inside the carton. She slapped his hand away and wagged a finger at him. “Nuh-uh, dragon boy. This one’s all mine.” Fully intending to stake her claim, she scooped up the biggest slice and sank her teeth into the gooey layer of cheeses.
Jace watched her with the unblinking intensity of a starving feral dog. Feeling a tad guilty for depriving him, she swallowed her bite of pizza and lowered her hand. Before she could offer him a slice, he leaned in and licked the grease from her lips. The move caught her off guard, stunning her, and she dropped the pizza slice.
Normally, just the thought of someone licking her face would majorly gross her out. But the teasing rasp of Jace’s tongue and the hungry little growls rumbling from his throat were unbelievably erotic and sexy. She whimpered and he nipped her bottom lip before pulling back with a grin.
“Thanks for the taste, sweetness. Sorry I made you drop your slice.”
He sure didn’t sound remorseful. Bending, she snagged the pizza from the linoleum and gave it a mournful glance. “Farewell, old friend. Wish I’d known you longer.” She pivoted toward the trash can and her gaze collided with Aiden’s. He stood in the kitchen entry, the car keys clenched in his white-knuckled grip. Fierce possessiveness brewed in his dark eyes. A dizzying sense of recognition flared within her. She knew that look, had shivered and responded to its call night after night.
Her dragon.
Aiden was her dragon.
The truth hammered into her brain, almost making her drop the pizza again. Knees wobbly, she crossed to the trash can and tossed the half-eaten slice in. Finding out the gorgeous hunk looming in her kitchen entrance was the same dragon who’d given her mind-blowing orgasms in countless dreams should be the least shocking of the bombshells detonated on her over the past three days. So why did the epiphany leave her uneasy?
Sucking in a deep, steadying breath, she turned back toward Aiden and Jace. “W-what would you like to drink? I have pop or milk. Or I could crack open a bottle of wine.” Both brothers just stared at her and she shook her head. “Guess that was a dumb question. We should probably go with the wine, right? I mean, pizza is Italian and it’s customary to accompany Italian dishes with wine.” Someone please stop my blabbering before I twist my tongue into a knot.
Aiden stuffed his keys in his pocket before stepping into the kitchen. “Wine would be great.”
Grateful to have a task for her spinning mind to concentrate on, she walked to the wrought-iron étagère outside the pantry. Inspecting the bottles occupying the lower faux-marble shelf, she bypassed the Zinfandel for the Cabernet Sauvignon. She reached for the corkscrew dangling from a side hook just as a large hand curved around her hip.
“Here, let me take care of that.” Caging her from behind with his big body, Aiden freed her grip on the corkscrew. His other palm slipped beneath the hem of her blouse, branding her with his heat.
Branding seemed the perfect descriptor, because there was no misinterpreting the marking of territory going on. She should probably be thankful he wasn’t a werewolf. Odds were he would have urinated on her.
His fingertips skated along the twin dimples at the base of her spine before reaching for the wine bottle. Skin tingling from the phantom imprint of his touch, she sidled sideways and unhooked three glasses from the built-in rack overhead. Her attention strayed to Aiden. There was something incredibly sexy about the way the muscles rippled and flexed in his forearms as he twisted the corkscrew. The bastard probably knew it too, if the ghost of a smile playing at his mouth was any indication. With a loud pop, the cork dislodged from the bottle. Aiden set the corkscrew aside and filled each glass without a single dribble of wine splashing out of bounds. Apparently when dragons weren’t busy torching villages or rounding up sacrifices they worked on perfecting their sommelier skills.
Aiden handed a glass to her, deliberately brushing his fingers over hers. The clomp of Jace’s boots announced his approach. Grateful for the distraction his appearance provided, she snatched one of the other glasses and shoved it at him. “Here, let’s toast to tomorrow being a better day.”
The three of them clinked glasses and Dana gulped down a healthy swallow of wine, the sharp bite of the tannins tingling on her tongue. Much like her skin tingled under the expert handling of her nighttime dragon.
Though she willed herself not to, she glanced at Aiden. He was watching her, his hooded gaze predatory. Did he know she’d dreamed of him almost every night for the past nine years?
Does he ever dream of me? The thought slammed her out of the blue, inciting a whole host of disturbing questions that made her ponder the possibility of soul mates and fate.
The wineglass wobbled between her fingers. She tightened her grip around the stem with steely resolve. No, soul mates didn’t exist, and the notion of some predestined fate was a load of BS. Because if it wasn’t, then God really did have a twisted sense of humor for setting her up with the one individual dead set on taking her away from everything she loved.