Fire & Ice (2 page)

Evangelina Blackmon searched for the perfect spot to set up. She didn’t want to get in the way of children watching the parade, but she needed an open spot to photograph. The local newspaper was offering her a hundred and fifty dollars for both pictures and a short write-up in tomorrow morning’s edition, and she desperately needed the money. She was a struggling photographer, and often found herself doing freelance jobs with the local paper just to make ends meet. Finding the perfect spot, she quickly set up her camera on the tripod, and started adjusting her lens.

That's when she spotted him walking toward her, looking like a Greek god in tight jeans and a t-shirt that molded to his upper torso. Throw in a leather jacket for good measure and
my oh my
! Damn, she could feel her body already preparing itself.
Damn, and double damn! Guess it’s a good thing I’ve got an extra set of batteries for good ol’ faithful BOB!
She took her eye away from the lens for a few seconds, and when she looked back into it, her mystery god had disappeared.

Adrian felt her eyes upon him the minute she spotted him.
Crap!
He would really need to lose himself within the crowd now. Tapping his earpiece, he contacted his brother, “I’ve been spotted.”

“So I see. And let me tell you something, bro, if her body language is anything to go on, she likes what she sees. I swear I am watching her nipples harden and poke through her shirt as we speak.”

Adrian came across two buildings with just enough space between them to sneak in the tiny alleyway. It was little more than a dirt path, but he could see it led straight through to the next street over. He walked around the block so he could come in on the opposite side. From there, he found a spot that allowed him to watch their troubled charge and the young woman, all the while looking like he was watching the parade.

'
When are you and your brother going to listen to me and claim that sweetheart as your mate? You could have had her in your arms by now.'
Fadri questioned, maintaining his belief the young woman was their mate.

Adrian stood in the shadows and watched Evangelina take photo after photo of the parade floats. He grinned as he observed her bending down to speak to a couple of curious kids who were sitting near her.

'
She will make a good mother to our younglings,'
his dragon sighed dramatically.

“Aiden, have we received that background check yet?”

“I am hoping it will be sitting in my inbox when we get home tonight.”

Later that evening, Aiden sat back in his chair, running a frustrated hand through his hair. Whoever this guy was, it wasn't Michael Stills. They had found only one Michael Stills in their city, and the man they were following was not him. Obviously, the man who called had given the newspaper an alias.

“Fuck,” he snarled as he threw the report on the desk. His brother stuck his head in the door.

“Let me guess, our charge isn’t named Michael Stills, is he?” Adrian snarked.

“No, and I need a drink. It’s Friday night, is our girl going out tonight by chance?”

“Yes, she was meeting a friend around eight, but said she wouldn’t be staying long. She told her friend she had to get home and write her report for the local newspaper about the parade. It’s supposed to go out in tomorrow’s edition,” Adrian replied as he cocked his head to one side. “Tracking down the real name of our charge shouldn’t prove difficult. I wonder if Evangelina could help us identify him.”

Aiden stood from behind his desk. “We probably should have approached her first. Sure would have saved a lot of time and headache. I’m going to go take a shower and get ready to go out. Maybe we can salvage today after all.” He had a frown on his face as he walked out of the office.

Adrian shook his head as his brother left. They knew the young woman’s name, Evangelina Blackmon. He loved the way her name rolled off his tongue. He hoped Fadri was correct, and she was their mate, because he was going to be hard-pressed to look at another woman. The moment he had seen her, that had been it for him.

The only reason they hadn’t already thrown the book at the man they were following was because he hadn’t made any type of move. They had both his and her phone lines tapped, but he had even gone as far as putting his phone in his alias. So far, other than going around talking to himself, they were unable to pin anything on him.

As far as their possible situation with Evangelina went, they had wanted to wrap the situation up with the newspaper before approaching her. But the case was dragging out a lot longer than expected. As long as Fadri insisted she was their mate, they would watch over her and protect her. As far as they could tell, she was not even aware she was being followed, which was something Adrian planned to rectify, and soon! She obviously needed to be more concerned about her surroundings.

Chapter One

Evangelina Blackmon sipped her glass of white wine while perched on a bar stool talking with her best friend, Angel.

“Well, at least I’ll be able to keep my lights on another month, thanks to the newspaper article I am going to be knocking out tonight.”

Her friend gave her a sympathetic look. “I know. I swear it gets harder and harder to make ends meet every month!” She shook her head as she reached for her beer. “The little bit of fun I allow myself now has to be taken out of grocery money.”

Evangelina already felt bad for cutting the night short, and she didn’t want to bog down their spirits complaining about finances. “Oh, did I tell you I saw the best-looking man I have ever laid my eyes on today at the parade? Honey, he put everyone else to shame!” She leaned in a bit closer so only her friend could hear. “I just about climaxed right there in the middle of the street!”

Her friend burst into giggles. “Now this I’ve got to hear. Come on, I want details, girlfriend!”

“Well, he was really tall. Like, well over six feet. And a body to die for. You could tell he works out, no man has that kind of upper body without working out…a lot. He had gorgeous blonde hair, just begging for a woman’s fingers to run through.”

Angel laughed. “I was about to tell you to turn around, because your dream man was right behind you, but he has short, black hair.”

Evangelina looked over her shoulder to see what her friend was talking about, and almost fell off her bar stool. Standing right beside her, ordering two beers, was her dream man. Only it wasn’t her dream man. This man had black hair. Other than the difference in hair color, he was practically identical to the man she had seen at the parade today.

“Good evening, ladies, may I buy you a drink?” he asked solicitously.

Evangelina stared at the man who could pass for her dream guy’s twin. Then she realized her mouth was hanging wide open.
Smooth, girl, real smooth
. Thankfully, her friend didn’t appear to be as dumbstruck as she was.

“Umm, hi, I’m Angel, and this is Evangelina. And sure, if you want to get our drinks refilled, that would be great.”

Evangelina realized even though Angel was talking, this stranger couldn’t take his eyes off her. And then he smiled, lighting up his entire face.
The man is gorgeous
, she thought. Then, as if by magic, her dream guy came walking toward them.

“Hey, bro, got those beers yet?”

Finally, after what seemed like forever, Evangelina found her tongue. “Are you following me?”
Great, don’t even give the guy a chance. And you wonder why you don’t have a boyfriend. Paranoid much?
Her conscience screamed at her.

Even though she was having an internal war with herself, she held her ground and cocked an eyebrow up at the men. She couldn’t be too careful these days. Experience had taught her not to trust men.

The one with the dark hair sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. “Yes, but it is not what you think. May we refresh your drinks? Then how about we sit down and talk about this. Someone is following you, and we are trying to find out why.”

The words had just left his mouth when both women looked at each other and said in unison, “Gerald.”

Blondie spoke next, “Look, we mean neither of you any harm. We run our own security company, Fadri Security. Here is our card. How about we take this to the corner booth where we can have a bit of privacy. You are still in a crowded bar, so if you do not feel comfortable, you can get up and walk away at any time.” He then pulled out his credit card and motioned for the bartender.

'
What do you mean she can walk away at any given time? She is our mate. You and your brother are supposed to be mating her, not sending her in the opposite direction!'
Fadri huffed in annoyance.

'
We have to give her time to get to know us. She is human. We can’t just come out and say, hey, we are dragon shifter royalty, and you are our mate. We want to make mad, passionate love to you, fill your belly with child, and take you home to a faraway land you’ve never heard of,'
Adrian tried soothing the beast raging within him.

'
Well, I’d leave out the royalty part if I were you
.'

“Refills for the ladies and two beers over at the corner table, please.” Adrian turned his pale blue eyes back to the women. “They will bring the drinks over, or we can wait right here and take a chance at missing the empty booth.”

The girls nodded to each other. Angel knew of Evangelina’s past and the problems she’d had with Gerald, her ex. She knew her friend had been hounded, bullied, and threatened by her ex. She had been there when her friend had been forced to get a restraining order on him. He just didn’t seem to understand what the word “no” meant.

They both climbed down from their bar stools and headed toward the empty corner booth. Angel grabbed ahold of Evangelina’s elbow before sitting beside her. “I am not going anywhere until we get you safely out of here.”

Her friend turned her head and flashed her a smile. “Thanks, Angel. However, something tells me I can trust these guys. I hope my gut isn’t wrong.”

The guys held back, giving the women plenty of space. They were both able to hear the girls' conversation loud and clear, thanks to their enhanced senses. Trailing slightly behind, they had their own telepathic conversation.

'
Man, I can’t believe it! Fadri has been correct all along. She is even more beautiful up close
!' Aiden exclaimed.

'
Yes, now more than ever, I want to get to the bottom of this case and clear our schedule, so we can claim her properly. You know father will be upset if we don’t take her home, at least for a visit,'
Adrian replied.

'
One step at a time, bro. We have to convince her to mate with the two of us first. Remember, she’s human. We may have our work cut out for us
.'

Fadri raised his head and decided to join in the conversation, '
If you boys would just step aside, I would gladly take care of everything.”
The dragon purred. '
Mmm, just look at that backside and those hips. Oh yes, let go, boys, and watch the master at work!'

'
We are in the middle of a crowded bar on Earth. No, you are not coming out now. Settle back down and behave,'
Aiden reprimanded.

'
Fine, have it your way. But when you two bumbling idiots send her running, just remember, I’ll be the one chasing her
.'

The two brothers shared a glance and shook their heads. '
Been a while since Fadri was this irritated at us
,' they communicated silently. When they had been younger, the two of them loved to play tricks on Fadri, irritating the beast to the point of exasperation. But when their dragon had become so annoyed at them one day that he accidentally set the castle on fire, their father and king was quick to put an end to their misdeeds. Since then, dragon and humans have shared both body and soul. Not always in total harmony, mind you, but at least respectfully.

They sat down on the other side of the booth from the women just as their drinks were delivered to the table. The brothers held off until the waitress had left to begin any conversation.

Aiden was just getting ready to start his explanation when Evangelina spoke, “So, I do believe you two owe me an explanation as to why you are following me.”

Aiden nodded and reached into his inside jacket pocket, pulling out a photo of the man who they had seen following her since they started following him.

“As we stated, we own Fadri Security. We were contacted about a week ago about this man and some suspicious activity. We were told his name was Michael Stills, but we now know that is not his name at all. Since we have been watching him, we also discovered he is stalking you. Here is a picture of him. Do you recognize him?”

It was Angel who spoke up first, “This is Evangelina’s ex-boyfriend. They broke up about eight months ago, and he has been a nuisance ever since. He just won’t seem to go away. Things got so bad about six months ago that she was forced to take a restraining order out on him, but we know he plays games to get near her.” She stopped and shook her head with a frown, then glanced over to her friend. “Has he been bothering you again, and you haven’t told me?”